To: The Standing Committee on Foreign AffairsFolketinget, Christiansborg1240 København KDenmarkYour Excellency,I am writing this letter to your good office to express my deepest concern about the systematic humanrights atrocities committed against Oromo people and other nationals by Ethiopian PeopleRevolutionary Front (EPRDF)-led Government of Ethiopia. The ongoing act is heralding for amassive Genocide to be seen. Genocide Watch in its report released on 12th of March 2013considered Ethiopia to have already reached

Stage 7,

genocidal massacres, against many of itspeoples, including the Anuak, Ogadeni, Oromo and Omo tribes.Your Excellency,I have attached herewith three valuable documents that are indicating horrendous atrocities eitherdirectly or indirectly committed by Ethiopian regime. These three documents indicate execution ofindividuals as result of excessive force, mass execution and instigated ethnic conflicts. These welldocumented gross violations of human rights in Ethiopia for the last twenty plus years are mainly andsystematically directed on the Oromos, Ogadeni, Gambellas (both Anuak and Nuer), Sidama,Omotic, Shakko and Majanger nations and nationalities. After 1992 “snap” election when OromoLiberation Front won by landslide in Oromia region TPLF led EPRDF started to focus on politics ofpower protection and consolidation consequently intimidation and planned manipulation ofdemocratic processes eventually resulted in the departure of the second strong political force, namely,the OLF, and other forces such as All Amhara People Organisation (AAPO), Ethiopian DemocraticAction Group (EDAG), GPDO, ONLF and SLM from the election. Since then Oromos weremassively arrested, tortured, unlawfully disappeared, and extrajudicial killed by the governmentsecurity force. Several mass graves and thrown corpse were instantly reported in countryside. Mainlyin river valleys and forests nearby to the military camps.Your Excellency,For this human rights violations the present Ethiopian regime masque raiding under the name of“Terrorism”, “Narrow Nationalism”, “Territorial integrity”, “Act of Treason” and “Ethnic conflict”.However the true causes behind this mask are :- for having attended a course in Oromo language andhistory, for their protest against banning of Oromo civic organisations such as Human RightLeague, Oromo Relief Association, Metcha-Tulama self-help association and various Newslettersuch as Urjii, for their demand for freedom of press and release of political prisoners, for the protestagainst derogation of Oromo Culture, for their demand to exercise religion freedom, for their demandto help to extinguish the fires which destroyed up to 600,000 hectares of forest, for their demand onnew educational, taxation and agricultural policies, for their protest against the Removal of OromiaRegion seat from Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) to Adama (Nazareth) and for their support of OLF.P.O.Box 73247 Washington DC 20056 or P.O.Box 510610, 13366 Berlin, Tel. +491632492458, E-mail[email protected]Page1

Your Excellency,The Ethiopian government's human rights record has been criticised by various human rightsorganisations, various media outlets, US State Department reports on human rights practices and theEuropean Union (EU). Individuals like defectors from the regime, victims from the atrocities allwitnessed about the gross human rights violations of Ethiopia.The March 1992 massacre of oromos along the streets of Water town Harrarge region, the Massacreof oromos at Babo Gambel village West Wollega in April 1995,the Massacre of oromos at Sigmoand Gattira Districts in March 1995, the Massacre of Oromos Gara Sufi in February 2007, theFebruary 1994 Massacre Ogadeni in Wardheer, the 2009 mass murder of Ogadeni in KabiribayahOgaden, the Massacre of Sheko and Majenger people on 11 March 2002, The Locke, Sidama,Massacre of May 2002, the December 2003 mass killings of Anuaks, the Massacre after turmoil of2005 National election in Addis Ababa, the massacre of members of the Suri tribe(Omo) ofDecember 2012, the Massacre of Muslim protestors April and August 2013 in Asasa and KofeleOromia and the Massacre by special (Liyu) Police 2013/2014 on Ogadeni and Oromos are some ofthe living testimonies of the state terrorist act of the TPLF regime and are true historical records.Your Excellency,Since there is no peace in Ethiopia the Oromos flee from their country to escape atrocities of theEthiopian government. After they flew from their country they also face and faced unparalleledatrocities either by hosting governments or by the cross border raids undertaken by the Ethiopiangovernment. Not only individuals assassinated but also the Mass Murder in Bossaso (Puntland,Somalia) 5th of February, 2008 is a fresh memory for EPRDF across border atrocities.The TPLF leading body is always known for its unleashed false accusations and blatant propagandaagainst its oppositions. The regime is well known for terrorizing and savagely massacring innocentpeople in the country and of fabricating news to slander and blackmail opposition organizations.WikiLeaks file id: #06ADDISABABA2708 of US Embassy clandestine communication of 2006 isone of the typical witness to be mentioned.Your Excellency,Not only against its political opponents but also the Ethiopian regime’s track record of the past 22-years also reveals that the regime pursues a malicious divide and rule policy by instigating a chain ofconflicts between different nations. Some to be mentioned are between Sidama and Oromos, Somalisand Oromos, Gedyos and Oromos, Anyuwak and Nuers, Oromo and Afar, Oromo and Konsos,Oromo and Amharas, and currently between Gumuzis and Oromos, Oromos and Oromos and etc.These peoples who have lived together as good neighbours for centuries are culturally intermingledand share valuable social, political and economic set-ups. It is this mutually interdependent personthat the EPRDF regime turned against each other for its “divide and

rule”

policy.Your Excellency,Ever since the Ethiopian state took its present form, change in government always emanated from thebarrel of the gun rather than the ballot box. Opposition to the state has always remained a deadlybusiness. Thus, the only recourse for a serious opposition is to resort to arms resistance. Thisphenomenon has created a cyclical vicious circle. If the International community and all democraticforces vest a credible interest to end that cycle, they need to exert a pressure on Ethiopiangovernment to settle the political conflict it has with other democratic forces and so that free peopleof Ethiopia will elect their government by free will without intimidation; a government that is by thepeople and for the people.P.O.Box 73247 Washington DC 20056 or P.O.Box 510610, 13366 Berlin, Tel. +491632492458, E-mail[email protected]Page2

The root cause of Ethiopia’s political conflict lies in its history of State formation. The formation ofthe modern Ethiopian empire state contemporaneously coincides with the European “scramble forAfrica”. The process of state building of Ethiopia involved no more than conquest and subjugation ofconquered peoples, accomplished under the auspices of monarchy that expanded its power from thecentral highlands to disparate areas of the periphery. The annexation of this independent polities leftfundamental political problems, which became chronic to the human rights violations in the empirestate of Ethiopia. Permanent conflict and war, total wretchedness and poverty, deeply rooteddependency and famine remain to be some of those chronic problems.Ethiopia is categorised as “soft state” whose economy is under developed and mainly dependent onexternal aid. We feel that democratic governments including Denmark conveniently ignored thisgross violation of Human rights by the regime that is reaching to genocide level every passing day.Your Excellency,It is true that the major hotspots of conflict at the Horn of Africa are the first priority concern forDemocratic governments and other international organisations. Ethiopia is geopolitically situated todetermine the stability of the Horn. The Oromo People who are about half of the Ethiopianpopulation are economically and politically determinant for the stability of Ethiopia. The EPDRF thatrules by force will neither bring peace to Ethiopia nor to the Horn as far as Oromos and other nationsand nationalities of Ethiopia are excluded for the polity.Generally the government should demonstrate its total opposition to extrajudicial executions and theunlawful use of lethal force against prisoners or demonstrators. The government should also ensurethat law enforcement officials execute in accordance with its constitution. The constitution ofEthiopia Concerning Human Rights PART ONE which covers Article 15 the Right of Life, Article16 The Right of the Security of a person, Article 17 Right of Liberty, Article 18 Prohibition againstinhuman treatment, Article 19 Right of a person Arrested Article 20 of a person accused and Article21 concerning a person held in custody all protect the individual rights of a person. The democraticrights from Article 29 to Article 44 also protect for the students or any individual of the nation toexercise their right in accordance. The denial of the above all is the violation of Article 6 of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which Ethiopia ratified in 1993. It isalso a violation of Article1, 2, 3 of Universal declaration of human rights.Such continuous genocidal act of the Ethiopian government is simply witnesses the hidden Agendaof its policy from the very beginning which was indicated in its party journal,Hizbaawi Adera[People’s Custodian – 4, 7. December 1996 – February 1997 (Tahsas, 1989, Ethiopian Calendar)],called for the elimination of ‘narrow nationalist tendencies’ in Oromia State Region, ‘fighting thehigher intellectual and bourgeoisie extensively and resolutely’. It is with this objective that ittargeted to Oromo students, elders, politically prominent figures, intellectuals and businessmen. As alegislative body, Foreign Affairs Committee has a responsibility to inquire Denmark government.The Committee has also an influence on the Development Aid policy. The Denmark as a Member ofDevelopment Assistance Group (DAG) in Ethiopia has strong influence to exert a diplomaticpressure on Ethiopian regime and for searching peaceful way of resolving the conflict.Therefore, we appeal to Democratic Governments, Parliamentarian and NGOs to work closely withdemocratic forces for a democratic power transformation in Ethiopia. Denmark government as themember of EU has bilateral and multi-lateral agreements with Ethiopia. Most of these agreementsenshrined human rights protection, good governance and democratic freedom. We feel however thatthe Denmark and EU has failed to force Ethiopia to abide with these agreements. For those who carefor humanity, Ethiopian has been a killing field of innocents just because of their identity or theirsupport for opposition. The massive detention and killings perpetuated so far against Oromo students,businessmen and peasants is a living testimony for the EPRDF’s bad record on humanitarian issues.P.O.Box 73247 Washington DC 20056 or P.O.Box 510610, 13366 Berlin, Tel. +491632492458, E-mail[email protected]Page3

Ethiopia needs to honour its commitments to internationally accepted human rights principles. HenceI appeal to the Foreign Affairs Committee to play its role that:-1. The international community publicly censure Ethiopia over its human rights record;2. The Ethiopian government should be held responsible for infamous mass killings, disappearances,arbitrary arrests, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment;3. Perpetrators of extra judicial executions and other atrocities should be brought before aninternational tribunal;4. The international community refrain from aiding and supporting the Ethiopian government withoutpreconditions as long as it violates human rights and fundamental freedoms in the empire-state ofEthiopia;5. The Ethiopian regime recognizes the rights of the prisoners to have access to lawyers and family orthe relatives.6. That the regime to stop using unofficial places and military camps as hidden prisons.7. Search peaceful way of resolving the political conflict with the oppositions and resistances.Sincerely