Daily Archives: February 29, 2020
URGENT ACTION: OROMO OPPOSITION LEADERS AT RISK OF INTIMIDATION
(A4O, Press Release 29 February 2020) Advocacy for Oromia, a non-profit advocacy organisation working to ensure that the Oromo people’s rights and wishes are respected, requests SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT for detained Oromo Liberation Front officials, members, advisers and supporters.
The organisation says in today’s press release, more than 10,000 Oromo individuals are imprisoned because of their bold stand against in justice in Oromia.
Issue: Five Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) officials including two EC members and two guards & two drivers have been arrested in Finfinne, Oromia.
Call of Action: Show your SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT for them in every way you can: going to the police station, changing your social media profile, campaigning for justice, and doing everything that is orderly and peaceful.
When: From today, 29 February 2020
Where :‘sostegna’ police station, Finfinne, Oromia
For full press release:Press Release 29 February 2020
URGENT ACTION: OROMO OPPOSITION LEADERS AT RISK OF INTIMIDATION
(A4O, 29/02/2020) Five Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) executive committee leaders have been arrested in Addis Ababa.
Gamtessa Boru, OLF economic advisor,
Dr Shigut Geleta, OLF Advisory Head,
Abdi Regassa, OLF Executive Committee member,
Kenessa Ayana, OLF CC member.
Michael Boran, OLF Executive Committee member,
Among those detained today are Gamtessa Boru, OLF economic advisor, Abdi Regassa, OLF Executive Committee member, Dr Shigut Geleta, OLF Advisory Head, Michael Boran, OLF Executive Committee member, and Kenessa Ayana, OLF CC member.
According to reliable sources, police broke into their home in Finfinnee, Oromia on Saturday 29/02/2020 and arrested them.
The house of five OLF leaders have been surrounded by security forces.
The OLF is a major political force in Oromia.
The return of mass arrests of opposition leaders and supporters is a worrying signal for opposition leaders in Ethiopia.
Just months ahead of the elections, the Abiy’s regime intensifies mass arrest and detention in Oromia.
- Parts of Western Oromia have been shut off from the internet and phone services since late 2019. At a press conference in mid-January, EthioTelecom CEO Frehiwot Tamiru acknowledged the shutdowns and said they were “connected to peace and security” in the area, according to the Addis Standard.
- Several Ethiopian media houses have reported that OLF-Shane, the military splinter wing of the OLF, has been waging war against the government in the Kelem Wollega region.
Amnesty International has documented for decades government control over the judiciary. Mass mobilization is needed to ensure that the Ethiopian authorities allow independent monitoring of his trial to ensure that it is fair.
Advocacy for Oromia 