At least 94 opposition politicians of the Oroma ethnic group arrested

At least 94 opposition politicians of the Oroma ethnic group have been arrested in Ethiopia since 30th October 2008. „It is not only opposition politicians who have been arrested, but also artists, lawyers, office workers, journalists, business people, school and university students and teachers”, reported the Africa consultant of the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV), Ulrich Delius, on Monday. In various towns of the Oromia region children have also been arrested.

The GfbV has called energetically on the European Union (EU) to call for an immediate halt to the arbitrary arrests. It is quite unacceptable that Ethiopian citizens be arrested solely on the basis of their ethnic background. (dt. verfolgt: habe ich als verhaftet übersetzt. NP)

The detainees have been charged with supporting the Oromo Liberation Movement OLF. The GfbV reported on 7th November 2008 already the arrest of twelve Oromo opposition politicians. The international community must exercise pressure on the Ethiopian government to stop the wave of arrests.

As an example: the respected artist Zerihun Wadajo was arrested on 7th November in the capital of Addis Abbaba and there is to the present day no information as to where he may be. The father of four children was sentenced for the last time in the year 1992 to 24 months’ imprisonment. He had before that spent many years in prison under the reign of terror of the dictator Mengistu.

The 33-year old TV-journalist Lalisee Dhiphisaa and the grammar school pupils Shumi Dandana, Bayisa Hinsene and three of their fellow-pupils in the town of Ambo, 125 km from the capital, have also been arrested. Among those from Addis Abbaba are at least five women, among them Urge Abeba, who was arrested with her three-year old child. Her husband, Girma, and her brother Dargu have also been arrested.

There were similar waves of arrests against the discriminated ethnic group of the Oromo in the years 2004, 2002 and 1997/98.