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Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa

(HRLHA)

Written Statement:

Submitted to United Nations Human Rights Council,

34th Session

27 February - 24 March, 2017

Item 4: Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

(Country- Ethiopia)

Geneva, 12 February, 2017

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ETHIOPIA:

ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN OROMIA ESCALATE

AFTER THE STATE OF EMERGENCY IS DECLARED

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ETHIOPIA:

How Many Should die Before the Internatioanl Community intervenes to save lives?

HRLHA Calls for Intervention by the international community

to end Human Tragedy in Ethiopia

1. The Ethiopian government has targeted the Oromo people in general and the youth in

particular, since the 2005 beginning of the mass, but the peaceful uprising of the Oromo people led

by Orom students demanding their freedom and the halt of systematic violations of their

fundamental rights. The response from the government to the legitimate and peaceful demands of

the people] was massive arrests, torture, disappearances and summary executions of the civilian

population. However, the heavy hand of the government forces didn’t stop the demands of the

Oromo people and the protest has continued for over ten years. From November 2015, the mass

movement- in which Oromos from all walks of life have participated- has continued on a daily basis

until the government declared a State of Emergency on October 8, 2016.

The government also targeted prominent political leaders of Oromo parties that are registered and

functioning peacefully in Ethiopia. Deputy Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress – OFC, Mr.

Bekele Gerba- has been in jail for some years now, with his case still pending in the court of justice

under the pretext that the prosecutor is unable to gather witnesses to testify against the accused.

The number of Oromo political prisoners has reached an unbearable level and so disproportionate

that, using the words of one senior government official who spend few years in prison, “Afaan

Oromo (the language of the Oromos) has now become the official language of Ethiopian prisons”.

2. Ethiopian prisons, as far as the rights of the political prisoners to a reasonable space/room

for sleeping, access to daylights, to proper sanitation, to family visits and meeting with their

respective lawyers is concerned, are that they are among the worst correctional facilities in the

world. The level of torture, as reported by the families who were granted rare visits, is unbearable.

The government continues to deny access to international organizations, the UN Human Rights

Special Rapporteurs and the ICRC, whose report could have shed more light on the situations in the

prisons.

3. The Ethiopian government boldly demonstrated its dedication to continue violating the

fundamental human rights of its citizens, when it arrested Dr. Merera Guddina, chairman of the

Oromo Federalist Congress - OFC, on November 30, 2016 upon his return to Ethiopia after briefing

the European Union officials on the situation in Ethiopia. The arrest, according to the government,

was justified because of an alleged meeting of Dr. Merera with the other opposition leader, Prof.

Berhanu Nega, chairman of the outlawed political party, Ginbot – 7 (a.k.a G7). Dr. Merera Guddina

and Professor Berhanu Nega, the G7 Leaders, had been invited by the EU parliament to Brussels to

attend an EU organized Conference on the Ethiopian current political crisis. According to reliable

sources, Dr. Merera Gudina was taken to the infamous Maikelawi interrogation center, with the

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other two of his friends, Taye Negera and Kumala, both of whom were in his house during the

arrest.

4. The peacful protests that have rocked Ethiopia over one year (November 2015- October

2016) led by “Qeerroo Bilissummaa” literally, youth for freedom against subjugation, dramatically

changed the peaceful protests into violence after the tyrannical government mercilessly massacred

over 700 Oromos, from the ground and the air, at the Irrecha Festival, Oromo Thanksgiving Day on

October 2, 2016. This dramatically changed the peaceful protests into violent ones all over the

country.

5. The two major regions of Ethiopia, populated by the two most populous nations of Ethiopia

– the Oromos and Amharas - where the resistance movement was stronger and coordinated, were

put under strict military rule. Civilian authorities were literally removed from the scene rendering

free and unlimited power to the military and paramilitary forces to detain, torture or summarily

execute every single citizen they considered to be harboring anti-regime sentiment.

6. After more than a year of continued unrest in the country, the Ethiopian government

declared a state of Emergency on 8th October, 2016. The government’s special killing squad known

as the Agazi force was deployed into Oromia and Amhara Regional States with full authorization to

commit killings, incarcerations, rapes and looting. Although there has been no single section of the

society that the Ethiopian government5 has spared in the past one year, the Oromo youth in

particular has become the prime targets of the killing squad since the Declaration of the State of

Emergency.

7. As a result, several Oromo youth from universities, colleges and high schools have been

arrested and taken to unknown locations or summarily executed right in their houses and in front

of their own family members. The violation of the rights of the peaceful youth reached an

unbearable level forcing many affected youth to leave the country seeking sanctuary in neighboring

countries and abroad. As a result, Oromia is losing many brilliant young men and women not only

at the hands of government sponsored murderers every day; they are also dying in the Sahara

desert and the Mediterranean. The nation is losing its entire generation simply because the youth

cannot lead a normal life in their own country because their own government is making their life

extremely difficult, forcing them to leave the country and risking their lives.

8. The population in general and the youth in particular, notwithstanding the unprecedented

brutality of the regime, have continued to resist, paying a heavy price. In this brief report, the

HRLHA will provide a far from exhaustive list of names of Oromos who were summarily executed

by the regime’s forces. The HRLHA is also in possession of pictures, most of them very graphic,

which it could include in this report. It is compiling them to be included in a future special report to

the Council.

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9. According to the reliable information available to us from Oromia regional, state, over 1000

Oromos, mostly youth, have been summarily executed and close to 40,000 detained in different

military training camps far away from the reach of relatives.

10. In Southern Oromia alone (Western and Arsi Zones) according to the information available

to HRLHA, from 8th October – 30th October, 2016, a total number of 248 civilian Oromos were killed

and 3706 were kept in detention being denied visits by relatives and friends. There are reports that

the detainees were severely tortured, starved and deprived of their fundamental human rights of

access to due process of law applicable during a state of emergency.

# District Detained Killed

1 Negele Arsi 335 70

2 Kofole 87 6

3 Shala and Aje 400 85

4 Adabba 65 3

5 Dodolla 77 17

6 Jaju 97 5

7 Sadiqa 361 16

8 Munessa 347 12

9 Tiyo (Xiyo) 180 2

10 Heban Goljota 213 2

11 Qore(Kore) 311 25

12 Digalu and Tijo 235 3

13 Shirks 700 2

14 Bokoji(Boqojjii) 300 –

Total 3706 248

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11. Below is a list of names of Oromos among the detainees from Munessa district (# 8 above).

1. AMAN TUNUNII RAFISSO 2) MOHAMMAD FAYYISO 3) JAMAL DALU

4. ADAM WAAYYUU 5) ABDURO BATIRI DHAQABO 6)DOKTORE DHEKAMA

7. ASI GALATO MAGADO, 8) BARISO QABATO SI GEDA 9) HAJ M. DHAQABO

10. TAWAQI QABATO SIGEDA 11)BATIRI QABATOO SIGEDA 12)HUSEN QABATO SIGEDA

13. AMAN ABABA 14) QASIM DHABI 15) JAMAL HAJI GANAMO

16. HUSEN HIRPHO 17) HAJI HUSEN HAJI HAJi 18) MUSXAFAA OSOLEE

19. ARABUU MUHAMMAD 20) BARUU KADUU 21) HUSEN HIRPHO

22. MILKESSO KADIRO 23) AYYUB TULLU 24) GOBE MAKURA

25. ASRAS MAKURA 26) HAJI QAASIMI DHEKKO 27)HAJI M. DHEKKO

28. JAMAAL GALATO 29) GABI GALATO 30) ABDULLAHI GALATO

31. ABDULJABAR GALATO 32) SHEK M. KADIRO TUSAA 33) HAJI GAMMADO WOYYO

34. HAJI DARASA HASO 35) HAJI URGESSA HORDOFO 36) NASHU BADHAANE

37. NASHU MAGARSA 38) MOSISA WAKANE, 39) MAMMO QABATO

40. JAMAL AMAN 41) MOHAMAD WOYYU 42) TOGA SAFAWO

12. The HRLHA also received from reliable sources the below partial list of Oromo civilians who were

arrested in different parts of Shoa zones (central Oromia region) between 8th October – 2nd November,

2016, and taken to the infamous Tolai Military training camp in the southern part of Ethiopia.

# District Detained

Detained and

under tight security

1 Sululta/Gullale/Caancoo 270 23

2 West Showa 659 87

3 North Showa 229 35

4 Yekka, , & Sandafa 34 16

5 South West shwa 288 43

6 Burayu, kolfe 67 21

7 Akaki, Kaliti,Galan, 265 11

8 Sabata, Nifas silk, Lafto 989 342

9 Ada’a Barga 12 67

Sub Total 2813 645

Grand Total 3,458

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13. The following are among the many Oromo students who have been detained in Jimma

University, Kitto Furdisa Campus by Agazi forces since November 20, 2016.

# Name Faculty / Department (position)

1 Dr. Fikadu Assefa Lecturer

2 Shimelis Nemerra Chemical Engineering , 4th year

3 Milkessa Alemayehu Water Supply & Environmental Engineering ,2nd year

4 Adugna Hundessa Electrical & Computer Engineering, 3rd year

5 Gemechu Diriba Computer Science, 2nd year

6 Wakanbon Aweke Mechanical Engineer, 2nd year

7 Dirba Ayyana Computer & Electrical Engineer, 3rd year

8 Lemi Jafar Civil Engineering, 5th year

9 Niguse Gudeta Civil Engineering, 2nd year

10 Teshome Gonfa Mechanical engineering, 2nd year

11 Nimona Mulugeta Civil Engineering, 2nd year

12 Ebba Galalcha Mechanical Engineering, 2nd year

13 Fromisa Tamiru Information Technology, 2nd year

14 Samuel Mechanical Engineering, 2nd year

15 Ebisa Electrical & Computer engineering, 2nd year

16 Solomon Taye Electrical & Computer Engineering, 2nd year

17 Iyasu Worku Information Technology,2nd year

18 Birhanu HWREE, 5th year

19 Gutu Tekle Information Technology, 2nd year

20 Chala Tulu Information Technology, 2nd year

21 Oliyad Teshome Information Technology, 2nd year

22 Ibrahim Yusuf Computer Science, 2nd year

23 Istifanos Matiyas Computer Science, 2nd year

24 Milkias Information Technology, 2nd year

25 Rabuma Computer Science, 2nd year

26 Dagim Civil Engineering, 2nd year

27 Asfaw Mechanical Engineering, 2nd year

28 Lencho Civil Engineering, 5th year

14. The HRLHA also received from reliable sources in southern Oromia, (Bale zone, in Ginir

district) news that a number of Oromos had been picked up on the night of November 20, 2016 and

taken to an unknown destination by the government para-military forces. The following are some

of the names of those individuals whose whereabouts remain as yet unknown.

Name Name Name

1) Hasan Aman 2) Muhammad-Saanii kabir 3) Taajuu Kabir

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4) Aman kabir Sheekaa 5) Abdurahman Umar Haji Aalle 6) Syid-Husen Umar 7)

Umar Aman 8) Jamal Aman 9) Awwalee Jamaal

10) Amaan Hassan 11) Aliyi Haji Aadam 12) Amano Usman

13) Kadiir Aadam 14) Nafisa Abdalla 15) Husen Salih 16)

Abdura,uf Ismail 17) Said Ahmad shekaa 18) Abdu Musxafa

15. Despite the fact that it remains difficult to obtain regular information from Ethiopia due to

the government’s suspension and its blocking of access to all information and media outlets

including Facebook, Viber, Messenger and Internet, the HRLHA’s carefully selected and fact- based

authentic documentation provides fresh evidence that large scale extermination of Oromos and

Amharas- presumed to be protected from the government’s human rights abuses- are taking place

at night in Oromia and Amhara regions.

16. For example, as late as 6th November, 2016 at around 5:00 am, Agazi forces entered the

house of Mr. Jamnalo Hussein located in Shirka district of the Eastern Arsi Zone and summarily

executed three of his sons, namely, 1) Marabu Jamalo, 2) Abdissa Jamalo; and, 3) Tola Jamalo.

In the interview done with the father, Mr. Jamalo Hussein was seen saying "my children have been

killed by the killing squad of the fascist government, not because they stole or did something

wrong, or violated the law but only because they are Oromos". Such crimes are widespread all

over Oromia and Amhara regional states, especially at night, and continue to be perpetrated on an

ever-increasing scale and as part of the State of Emergency policy to terrorize the civilian

population who are persistently demanding the enjoyment of their fundamental human rights.

There is also evidence of the government’s deliberate targeting of special social groups such as the

youth and educated citizens including journalists.

17. Notwithstanding all the above gross violations of the human rights of citizens and despite

the continuous reporting and the subsequent pleas by the HRLHA, and other international human

rights agencies such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, the International

community to a large extent has failed to show its concerns by taking action against this gross

violation of the fundamental rights of Ethiopian citizens- violations imposed by the very

government that boasts of being elected. The United Nations Human Rights Council, despite the fact

that High Commissioner himself raised alarms in the past, has fallen short of any full systematic

appraisal of the human rights situation in Ethiopia, let alone taking appropriate action to rectify the

wrongs.

18. What had happened in Darfur in 2003 -2004 where the government waged an undeclared

war on its own defenseless civilians citizens should have served as a lesson . What is happening in

Oromia and Amhara regional states of Ethiopia today resembles more or less what happened at the

embryonic stage of the Darfur genocide in the Sudan. The Responsibility to Protect (R2P), coined in

2001 under the leadership of the Canadian government and adopted by 150 heads of states and

governments in 2005, could have served as simple justification for the international community to

intervene, at least through engaging the Ethiopian government by reminding it of its duty to live up

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to the expectations of the international community and fulfilling what it is committed to by being a

party to the UN Human Rights Conventions.

19. As a matter of principle, a State shoulders the primary responsibility to protect its own

citizens from their rights being violated, but "when a state is unable or unwilling to protect its

population from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, the

international community has the responsibility to intervene" it is incumbent on the international

community in general and the Human Rights Council in particular to bring the perpetrator

government to the world of accountability.

20. The HRLHA once again renews its calls to the international community to act collectively in

a timely and decisive manner – through all available mechanisms of the United Nations in

accordance with the UN charter to stop the Ethiopian government’s assaults on its own citizens

before it is too late.

21. The HRLHA further requests that members of the UN Human Rights Council urge the

Ethiopian government to allow the UN Human Rights Special Rapporteurs to visit the country to

assess the human rights situations of political prisoners and others in detention centers all over the

country. It also requests that the Council apply pressure on the Ethiopian government to allow the

International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the permanent and makeshift detention centers

and permanent correctional facilities to assess the living conditions of the political prisoners with a

view to securing guarantees from the government for regular family visits and access to their

respective defense counsels.

22. The International community has the responsibility and the mandate to use appropriate

actions, diplomatic, humanitarian and other available means to protect the people who are only

demanding the enjoyment of their fundamental human rights as recognized by the United Nations.

When States violate the terms of the social contract they have with their own population, then it has

always been the responsibility of the international community, including the United Nations, to step

in and save the defenseless civilians from being exterminated, as is now happening in Ethiopia.

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