OGF Letter to The United Nations Security Council’s decision to intervene in the ongoing war in Ethiopia

RE: The United Nations Security Council’s decision to intervene in the ongoing war in Ethiopia 

We, the undersigned member organizations of Oromia Global Forum (OGF) are writing to express our full support for and appreciation of the United Nations Security Council decision to intervene in the ongoing war in Ethiopia. According to sporadic reports, the war has already cost thousands of lives and destruction of critical infrastructure and properties. The underlying causes of the conflict are deeper and span far beyond the subject region with the possibility of degenerating into a full-scale civil war. We thus wish to take this opportunity to also appeal to the UNSC to push for an all-inclusive dialogue among all critical stakeholders in the country, including the eight regional governments, and to draw your attention to the simultaneous gross-human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings that is taking place in Oromia. The extrajudicial killings and incarcerations of prominent Oromo opposition party members and the supporters of the Oromo public at large has been going on for the last two years. The conflict in the region has already claimed tens of hundreds of Oromo lives and displaced more than 2.5 million Oromos, the largest Internally Displaced Population in the country.  

We cannot stress enough that any peace talks and dialogs need to address the root cause of Ethiopia’s vicious cycle of violence including representatives of the Oromo people through their independent political organizations. We wholeheartedly believe that addressing the Oromo people’s political demand is addressing the root cause of the country’s political problems. The Oromo people are the largest ethno-national population in the country, more than 40% of Ethiopia’s population. Oromia is host to the AU headquarter, diplomatic corps, and international organizations. 

The Oromo people played a key role in the creation of the current Federal arrangements and the Constitution of the country.  In the past, several attempts have been made to reconcile the country’s long-standing political problems without addressing the root causes that have ravaged the country for more than half a century. 

Your Excellencies,

Dr. Abiy Ahmed came to power for the most part on the backs of the Oromo people’s peaceful resistance against his former Party, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition dominated by the TPLF. Between 2014 and 2018 alone, more than 5,000 Oromos were murdered, and tens of thousands were incarcerated, resulting in the resignation of his ex-PM Hilemariam Dassalegne and replaced by Dr. Abiy in 2018. 

Unfortunately, soon after assuming power, PM Abiy Ahmed aligned himself with those hellbent on dismantling the Federal arrangement that hundreds of thousands of people sacrificed their lives, to institutionalize, replacing the dreaded imperial unitary system that promoted Amhara hegemony at the expense of the rights of more than 80 Nations and Nationalities to use their own language, govern themselves and develop their culture in their geographic regions. To this end, PM Abiy and his newly formed Prosperity Party declared war on the Oromo people. Currently, part of the region is under military rule while the remaining parts are under undeclared military rule. Disenfranchised Oromo youths are back on the streets. People are arbitrarily arrested, tortured and killed. Prominent Oromo activists, political leaders, and community leaders are either in jail or killed. A large number of former youth peaceful resistance are forced to pick up arms and fight for their people’s right. Today, a political turmoil is going on in Oromia. Independent International human rights watch groups and Amnesty International have repeatedly reported on this. 

Your Excellencies,

For the Oromo people, Abiy Ahmed’s administration does not represent their interests. Oromo political Organizations and activists with millions of supporters are in jail. When the Oromo Liberation Front’s leaders arrived in Addis Ababa on September 15, 2018, more than six million Oromos flooded the streets of Oromia to welcome them. Today, most of its leaders are in custody.  Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure that any peace talks designed to bring about peace and stability in a country includes all critical stakeholders, especially independent Oromo political organizations representing over 40% of the population of that country.  The stability of Oromia is a cornerstone for the stability of the country and the region. 

In conclusion, we once again wish to strongly appeal to UNSC to ensure that any peace talks and dialogues involving Ethiopia includes representatives of all nations and nationalities in that country, especially the independent Oromo political Organizations. 

With highest regards,

1. H.E. Ambassador Zhang Jun
   Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the UN
2. H.E. Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere
   Permanent mission of France to the UN
3. H.E. Nebenzya Vasily Alekseevich
   Permanent mission of Russian Federation to the UN
4. Her Excellency Dame Barbara Woodward
   Permanent Representative of the UK to the UN
5. Ambassador Kelly Craft
   Permanent Representative of U.S. Mission to the UN
6. H.E. Ambassador Philippe Kridelka
   Permanent Mission of Belgium to the UN
7. H.E Ambassador Christoph Heusgen
   Permanent Mission of Germany to the UN
8. H.E. Ambassador Sven Jürgenson
   Permanent Representative of the Republic of Estonia to the UN
9. H.E Ambassador Jose Singer
   Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to UN
10. H.E Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani
    Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia to the UN
11. H.E Ambassador Moncef Baati
    Permanent Mission of Tunisia to the UN
12. H.E. Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy
    Permanent Mission of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to UN,
13. H.E Ambassador Abdou Abarry
    Permanent Representative of Niger to the UN

Signatories:

1. Advocacy4Oromia
2. Bilal Oromo Dawa Center
3. Canaan Oromo Evangelical Church
4. Charismatic International Fellowship Church
5. DMV Oromo Islamic Center
6. FOCAS
7. Gaadisa Sabboontottaa KP
8. Global Gumii Oromial
9. Global Oromo Advocacy Group
10. Global Waaqeffannaa Council
11. Horn of Africa Genocide Watch
12. Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa
13. International Oromo Lawyers Association
14. International Oromo Women’s Organization
15. International Qeerroo Support Group
16. Network of Oromo Studies
17. Mana Kiristaanaa Fayyisaa Addunyaa
18. Oromo Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church
19. Oromo Communities’ Association of North America
20. Oromo Community of Bergen
21. Oromo Community of Columbus Ohio
22. Oromo Community of Oslo
23. Oromo Evangelical Lutheran Church of Los Angeles
24. Oromo Evangelical Lutheran Church of Washington DC Metropolitan Area
25. Oromo Evangelical Lutheran Mission Society
26. Oromo Human Rights and Relief Organization
27. Oromo Lutheran Church of Baltimore
28. Oromo Parliamentarians Council
29. Oromo Political Prisoners Association
30. Oromo Relief Organization, ORA in USA
31. Oromo Resurrection Evangelical Church
32. Oromo Scholars and Professionals
33. Oromo Seniors Welfare & Benevolent Association In Victoria (OSWBAV) Inc.
34. Oromo Society of Science and Technology
35. Oromo Studies Association
36. Oromia Support Group
37. Our Redeemer Oromo Evangelical Churc
38. Tawfiq Islamic Center
39. Tawhid Oromo Islamic Center in Minnesota
40. Tumsa Sochii Haqa Oromoo
41. Union of Oromo Communities in Canad
42. United Oromo Chirstian Church in Australi
43. United Oromo Evangelical Churc
44. Wabii Maccaa Association
45. Washington DC Metropolitan Oromo SDA Church