To: Your Excellency Mr. Per Stig MøllerChairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Danish ParliamentFolketinget, Christiansborg1240 København KYour excellency,This is an urgent appeal to your good office on the unlawful imprisonment of Oromo activistsand other nationals in Ethiopia. I have attached herewith the prisoner’s data from the prisonsof

Kalliti, Kilinto, Zuway, Maikelawi

and

Torhayiloch

in Ethiopia. Various human rightsOrganizations had already indicated that Ethiopian government is skilled in displacing theprisoners from one prison to the other. It is also accustomed that the Ethiopian governmentrelease on pardon at the eve of New Year and again arrest and put them into its “Bermudas”(secret detentions places behind the bars, offices, military bases or residential areas). As aresult of such orchestrations sometimes it is difficult to locate whereabouts of victims. Thecollected data is by no means complete; it is a drop of an iceberg. Various human rightsadvocators and Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) information sources gave an estimated figureof 30,000 Oromo political prisoners in Ethiopia. It is likely that some have been died becauseof severe torture or maltreatment after the data has been collected or few been released. Mostof these activists in their twenties and a few are between 30 and 40 years old, have receiveddeath sentences on dubious charges of terrorism, violating territorial integrity, and instigatingwar. Nearly all activists that have been given life sentences are on charges of violatingterritorial integrity and acts of terror. The government crackdown on Oromo activism hasbeen disproportionate and has specifically targeted this nation. The Ethiopian government hasespoused heavy-handed policies in dealing with any form of opposition, and has silencedhuman rights activists by unlawful detention and extrajudicial executions with pretext ofterrorism. The Oromo people currently suffer from a number of persecutions at the hands ofthe government, including the suppression of their freedom of speech and assembly, arbitraryarrests, extrajudicial killings, and extreme torture at the hands of the Ethiopian police. Therestrictive Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (adopted in 2009) has been used to justify arrests ofP.O.Box 73247 Washington DC 20056 or P.O.Box 510610, 13366 Berlin, Tel. +491632492458, E-mail[email protected]Page1

both journalists and members of the political opposition leaders and members. Consideringthe on-going tribulations that the Oromo people, the political prisoners in particular, and thelack of progress towards democratic change in Ethiopia, we earnestly appeal to theinternational community and legislative bodies to use its influence on the Ethiopiangovernment and facilitate the release of all political prisoners, and to take practical action topromote real democratic changes in the country. It is our believe that the change of yourgovernment policy that is cooperating with Ethiopia as one of its thirteen partner of Africancountries will significantly change the political situation of Ethiopia for good. As a legislativebody being of member for EU parliament and Danish Parliament you have a say on theDanish government and Organs of EU. The Committee has also an influence on the Danishand EU Aid policy. Both Denmark and European commission as a Member of DevelopmentAssistance Group (DAG) in Ethiopia has strong influence to exert a diplomatic pressure onEthiopian regime and for searching peaceful way of resolving the conflict. Ethiopia will alsoappear before Human rights Council for its second Universal Periodic review in April 2014.Considering all these opportunities you have, we specifically urge you to:1. use your diplomatic influence to put political, economic, and social pressures upon theEthiopian government to unconditionally release these prisoners, who face death and life-longsentences on purely political grounds.2. advise the government of Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, ironically led by TigrayPeoples Liberation Front (TPLF) from its incipient until today, to respect the currentEthiopian Constitution and International human Rights bill, and to stop the extrajudicialkillings and arbitrary arrests of innocent people and prolonged detention without trial.3. demand the repeal of all new laws that violate the fundamental freedom of citizens:particularly the “Anti-terrorism Law”, and the “Press Law”.4. demand to stop the unlawful evictions of Oromos and illegal selling of Oromo landimmediately.Sincerely