Oromia Shall Be Free!

Date: 22/04/2015 ADDA BILISUMMAA OROMOO OROMO LIBERATION FRONT OLF Statement On The Recent Brutal Acts of Savagery by ISIS in Libya We received news of the slaughter, by shooting and beheading, of helpless Christian refugees from Ethiopia on April 19th, 2015, by the group called ISIS in Libya, with deepest shock and sadness. The brutality of ISIS against refugees from Ethiopia just because they were Christians is savagery and a crime against humanity. The OLF condemns this cowardly act by ISIS, who claim Islam, in the strongest terms. Among those slaughtered was a young man who was a Muslim by religion. He refused to part from his Oromo and other national comrades from Ethiopia and died with his Christian fellow refugees and his friends. He is a hero to be memorialized. Many of the victims were refugees running away from the dictatorial regime in Ethiopia and who reached Libya after the arduous journey of crossing the Sahara desert. Even though the victims were from one of the resource rich region of the world, because of the gross violation of their human and people’s rights by the Ethiopian regime they had to run away from their beloved homelands. They were running away from political harassment, torture, imprisonment, killings, denial of the right to education and work, discrimination, etc. by the regime. Therefore, the Ethiopian regime cannot be free from the blame for this loss of the innocent lives. Thousands of Oromo and other national refugees and exiles from Ethiopia have been trapped in the regional and civil war in Yemen. Already, many have been killed from bombs dropped on refugee camps and from fighting taking place on the ground. Many countries have rescued their citizens by air-lifting or by boats. On the other hand, the Ethiopian regime have labelled the Oromo, Ogadeni refugees as terrorist and has refused to rescue them. Similarly, hundreds of thousands of Oromo and other refugees from Ethiopia are to be found in neighboring countries of Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan and faraway places. In particular, the development in South Africa is very worrying. Many have lost their life’s work and others have lost their lives. Similarly, the situations that is looming in Kenya, Sudan, etc. is worrying for refugees from Ethiopia. The cause of the problem is the gross violation of people’s and human rights of the peoples under it governance by the regime. The solution is to bring about political change in Ethiopian where the rights, including political rights, of all the peoples are respected. The OLF is ready to work with political and civil groups who uphold the rights of the peoples as the primary issue and work to bring about changes in Ethiopia that serves the interests of the peoples. We appeal to international humanitarian organizations and the UN to save the lives of those remaining in hiding under very difficult condition in Libya today. Additionally, the international community should pay due attention to the serious human and peoples’ rights violations by the regime in power in Ethiopia. We express our deepest sympathy to the families who lost their loved ones. Victory to the Oromo People! Oromo Liberation Front April 22, 2015 تاريخ رقم Lakk.: 10/stm-abo/2015 No.: جبهۃ تحـرير اورومـو P. O. Box 6973 Asmara, Eritrea Tel 2911 110236 Email: Caalchis@gmail.com, www.oromoliberationfront.org