Kidnapping and Disappearances of Innocent Civilians in Central Oromia in Ethiopia
Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) is highly concerned about the whereabouts and safety of seven Oromo nationals who were kidnapped and disappeared at different times and places in and around the capital Addis Ababa/Finfinne in the past month of June.
Mr. Gammachu Anbassa Waddessa (head of finance department with a German relief agancy), Mr. Gammachu Garbaba Gurracho (a project manager with an NGO called Good Samaritan Training Centre), Mr. Asfaw Dadhi Tufa (an athlete with Menar Athletics Club), Miss Shitaye Melaku Kitila (internal auditor with the Urban Development Office of Kiltu Kara), Miss Abinet Hailu Gebresellasie (a human resource manager with a private company in the Capital), Mr. Girma Anbassa Waddessa (a project coordinator with Yetinayet Construction Company), and Mr. Ayala Alamu Qana’a (systems administrator) were all kidnapped and taken away by who were described as government security agents on the 19th of June, 2011; and their whereabouts were not known since then.
According to HRLHA correspondents in Addis Ababa/Finfinne, these Oromo nationals were targeted because they were suspected of supporting an alleged underground youth movementprocess has already failed; and, in an already impoverished society with limited sources of income, individual and collective social-economic lives have gone from bad to worse.
The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) is highly concerned, among other things, about the well-being of the three Oromos, as anything that could endanger their lives could happen to them under such extra-judicial circumstances. Also, the socio-economic, political, and psychological impacts of such circumstances on the families and friends whom those victims have left behind are not simple. So, the Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) calls on all local, regional, and international human rights and diplomatic agencies to exert pressure on the Ethiopian TPLF/EPRDF Government to, first of all, disclose the overall situations of those victims to families and friends, and allow the relevant and proper legal processes to take place in case the three persons have committed any crimes; and, secondly, to exercise accountability and responsibility as a government by refrain from committing such extra-judicial and undemocratic harassments and intimidations against its own citizens.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to the Ethiopian Government and its
concerned officials as swiftly as possible, in English, Ahmaric, or your own language expressing:
- Your Concerns at the apprehension and fear of Torture of the citizens who are being held in Ma’ikelawi Central Investigation Office and other detention centers since in February, 2011 at different times and calling for their immediate and unconditional release;
- Urging the authorities of Ethiopia to ensure that these detainees are treated in accordance with regional and international standards on the treatment of prisoners,
- Urging the Ethiopian Government to disclose whereabouts of the detainees and
- Your concerns to diplomatic representatives of Ethiopia accredited to your country.
v His Excellency: Mr. Meles Zenawi – Prime Minister of Ethiopia
P.O.Box – 1031,Addis Ababa
Telephone – +251 155 20 44; +251 111 32 41
Fax – +251 155 20 30 , +251 1552020
v His Excellency Birhan Hailu –Min. of Justice
PO Box 1370, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Fax: +251 11 5517775; +251 11 5520874 Email: ministry-justice@telecom.net.et
v Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Fax: + 41 22 917 9022 (particularly for urgent matters) E-mail: tb-petitions@ohchr.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
v ICRC
International Committee of the Red Cross
Address:
19 Avenue de la paix CH 1202 Geneva
Tel: +41 22 734 60 01
Fax: +41 22 733 20 57
E-mail webmaster@icrc.org>
v African Commission on Human and Peoples‘ Rights (ACHPR)
48 Kairaba Avenue, P.O.Box 673, Banjul, The Gambia.
Tel: (220) 4392 962 , 4372070, 4377721 – 23 Fax: (220) 4390 764
E-mail: achpr@achpr.org
v U.S. Department of State
Tom Fcansky – Foreign Affairs Officer
Email;-TOfcansky@aol.com>Washington, D.C. 20037
Tel: +1-202-261-8009
Fax: +1-202-261-8197
v Amnesty International – London
Tom Gibson
Telephone: +44-20-74135500
Fax number: +44-20-79561157
Email;- TGibson@amnesty.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
v Human Rights Watch – New York,
Leslie Lefkow
| lefkowl@hrw.org; rawlenb@hrw.org |
Tel: +1-212-290-4700
Fax:+1-212-736-1300 Email: hrwnyc@hrw.org
