Press Release of Oromo Communities in Edmonton, Calgary and Books

Press Release


We, members of the Oromo-Canadian Community Association of Northern Alberta, Oromo Community Association of Calgary, and Oromo community Association of Brooks, Alberta humbly request the Canadian government to pressure on the Meles Zenawi’s regime to stop the killings of peaceful demonstrators and all flagrant violation of human rights in Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia.

Since 1991, the Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), a party that comes from the Tigrean ethnic group representing less than 8 % of the Ethiopian population, has ruled Ethiopia. The TPLF’s denial of basic human rights to other nations and nationalities, and years of popular dissatisfaction with the government’s unwillingness to address the basic demands of the people have recently caused serious popular unrest all over the country. As a result violations of human rights against Oromos, who constitute more than 40 % of the population, and other peoples of Ethiopia have intensified.
For the past several days, Oromos have staged peaceful demonstrations from all walks of life all over Oromia Regional State protesting against basic human rights violations. The Ethiopian government's response to these peaceful demonstrations has been brutal, marked with unwarranted cruelty. Several peaceful demonstrators have been killed in towns and villages across Oromia, hundreds more wounded, and thousands arrested and detained indefinitely. We are gathered here today to condemn the killings of innocent civilians and the detention of hundreds of our kins by the Ethiopian government simply for peacefully protesting against violation of human rights and suppression of democratic principles that have swept the country under TPLF’s rule.
We are also deeply saddened by the indefinite closure of schools as an apparent measure for purging political opposition from cities with large student populations. We view the continued closure of Addis Ababa University, the country's largest educational and research institute, as a highly irrational and harmful act. This short sighted measure hurts education, the single most important tool needed to move the country out of willful backward intolerant culture that has subjected it to perpetual war and abject poverty for decades. We condemn the inhuman measures that were taken against the students and the indefinite closure of schools, both of which reflect the little value that the TPLF dominated regime places on human lives and public welfare.
We call on the concerned governments and organizations to press the Ethiopian government to:
1. Stop killing peaceful demonstrators.
2. Bring those who are responsible for the death of innocent Oromo students and civilians to justice.
3. Release all detained demonstrators and political prisoners immediately and unconditionally.
4. Reopen immediately all schools and colleges so that students will return to their education.
5. Address issues and demands raised by demonstrators in a peaceful manner.
6. Respect fundamental human rights and reinstate Oromo civic organizations including the Macca Tulama Association.

Oromo Community of Edmonton
Oromo Community of Calgary
Oromo Community of Brooks

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