OLF Press Statement to Set a Record on AU’s Briefing Notes
August 08, 2022, Fininnee
OLF, as its core value, always upholds a peaceful resolution of any conflict and political
issues. Likewise, we support the attempt being made by AU and other stakeholders to resolve conflict
in the Horn, including those in Ethiopia. However, the AU “Brief Notes’ of 4 August 2022 (though the
note is confusingly dated 29 July 2002) has come up with erroneous assumptions and factual fallacies
that one does not expect from a continental organization. A modest observer expects AU to base its
conclusion on a non-partisan, solid, and comprehensive analysis of the drivers of the conflict and its
actors.
The AU tried to characterize the conflict in Oromiya as merely ‘ethnic’. Different groups of people
who subsume varied identities have amicably lived with the Oromo people in Oromiya in general and
Western Oromiya in particular. Hospitality, friendliness and protection of non-Oromo groups have been
the hallmarks of the Oromo culture since immemorial. Members of the Amhara ethnic group have lived
in the area mainly referred to by AU for the last 30 years and have never complained of misdeeds, as
they have never had any problem. Armed confrontation has been raging by liberation forces since the
1980s, and there is no single report of an attack against civilians, including the Amhara. The Prosperity
Party tries to model the conflict as ‘ethnic’ to shun a political solution to the problem and deny the
liberation fighters’ political demands. It is sad to see the AU endorses this disingenuous stand of the
Ethiopian ruling party. This raises serious doubt about the impartiality of the continental organization.
It is equally outrageous to see the AU claiming ‘more than 100 people, mostly from Amhara ethnic
group were killed in Ethiopia’s Oromiya region in the aftermath of Gambela attack’. We condemn any
civilian killing and uphold the peaceful existence and rights of all civilians living in Oromiya. We also
expect the AU should have reported about hundreds of innocent Oromos killed in Oromiya by armed
government soldiers and cross border militias which human rights groups have continuously reported.
The civilian killings in Gambella after the onslaught by the armed rebels on the government military
camp categorically targeted the Oromo residents in Gambella, accusing them of providing support for
the rebels. Armed government troops went from door-to-door and attacked the Oromos, which graphic
pieces of evidence have corroborated. It suffices to refer to the purposeful killing of a young Oromo, his
hands tied on his back and repeatedly shot by Gambella Regional police members.
We are dismayed by AU’s biased ‘Briefing Notes’, which endorses state terrorism. We strongly
demand the AU correct those facts and straighten its partiality; we expect at minimum from AU to
refrain from complicating the already complex problem of this troubled empire.
Victory to the Masses!
Oromo Liberation Front
Finfinne
August 0