Benishangul People Exteremination

In the last month Oromo organised militia commenced intensive military operation against Benishangoull people. This is not the first time to see Oromo attacking Benishangoul in their own homeland. Oromo have been ambitious to control some parts of Benishangoull. In the last decade when Ethiopian oppositions were fighting against previous dictatorship government of Mangistu, Oromo left their main targets to secure peace, stability, justice, freedom and turned their artilleries against Benishagoull people, they have committed unprecedented massacre in the State, many civilian disappeared, mother killed, girls raped, properties destroyed and stolen and many people compelled to leave their own land. The two neighboring nations went through a critical time. Since then Oromo’s organizations represented in OPDO (Oromo people Democratic Organization) and OLF (Oromo Liberation Front) have divided their roles, each has a role to play, OPDO as a government alliance and OLF as opposition movement. Both OPDO and OLF are two faces for the same coin; the OPDO excites the internal policy and OLF external policy.

The OPDO is part of the current ruling government; they share the government with the TPLF (Tigray people Liberation Font) forming what is called EPRDF, the coalition under which they rule the country. OPDO is the closest alliance to the TPLF whose leader is the current Prime Minister Melez Zinawi. The government main ministerial positions are divided among the two. The military forces, security personnel, Police forces, local communities leaders, and government leaders in the disputed area are Oromos, Tigrians or Amharas. However Beni shagnoull people have nothing in the current government except the regional government that is leaded by TPLF agents.

The power and the role of the OPDO in the current government reinforce our conviction that Oromo’s aim is to annihilate the people of Benishangul from their own land. They have proved this through onkilling of innocent civilian people and targeting Benishangoul students in Addis Ababa University. For example, innocent civilian were targeted and killed in the Bus while travelling through the Oromo region to Benishangoul. Today many people are kept in Addis Ababa as prisoners. Thus, they are being cut from their homeland as the Oromos target them everywhere. Still Benishangoull people live as strangers in their own country. The claim of Oromos that the government has trained Benisshangoul is a complete lie. Who is the part of the government? Is it Benishangoul or Oromos? If the Benishangoull is part of the Tigray led government why do not the government intervene to stop the on slaught of Benishagoull people by the Oromos. This can show both Oromo and Tigray are collaborating to annihilate Benishangoul people. How can they get to be organised to attack Oromo when they can not be save in the capital city, and when the students of the university from Benishangoull are not able to go to university because Oromo will persecute them.

Last week OPDO military forces and Oromo regional police have participated in the crime of genocide against innocent civilians in the Benishangoull. The role of OPDO to deprive Benishangul people of their land has been partially achieved by committing this massacre. However the OLF plays its deceptive role through the media, they try to convince international human rights organizations and international communities that Benishagoul People invaded them, justifying Oromo massacre against innocent civilian of Benishangoul. When they were the ones who started attacking innocent civilians. The Oromo Writers’ responsibility lye on using the media to justify the OPDO committed atrocities against Benishangoull people out of international sights. They write to accuse the Benishangoull people who have no relation to the ruling of Oromo and Tigray coalition. The Oromos have become accustomed and experienced in fabricating lies to show themselves in the position of the victim.

The Oromo regions’ police, OPDO and the central government have incited Oromo civilians to instigate massacre on innocent civilians of Benishangoull. This act has violated the universal declaration of human rights. The Oromo regional government and Central government have made nothing to promote the human rights declaration instead they have violated all articles of the declaration. They compelled Benishangoull people out of their land that is violation of:
Article 17

2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

The Declaration has confirmed the right of individual to access education. The education rights should be promoted and respected by each individual. However Oromo people and their organizations have violated this part of the declaration. Attacking students inside the university because of race is genocide.
Article 26
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

Today many students from Benishangoull are not able to attend their studies in the Addis Ababa University, because the Oromo are targeting them. On the 5th of June we have been informed that the Oromos committed unforgivable crime against one of Benishangoul student in Addis Ababa University, he has been found mutilated and killed. Benishangoull Students in Addis Ababa University are being persecuted by the coalition of Oromo/Tigray led government in Ethiopia. In recent incident more 2 people have been asked to come down from the bus, In addition here follows the list of some of the students who were victimized by the Oromo/Tigry collaboration and are unable to follow their studies.
1\ Ja’afar Alsamani
2\ Abdul Salam Jeena
3\Hussen Ahmed
4\ Abdullah
5\Babiker Alkhalifa, etc.

The Benishangoull people have suffered for so long, and still suffering. Therefore, it is the responsibility of Oromo leadership to stop the descrimination against Benishangoul people and put an end to the killing of the innocent civilians people of Benishangoull.

Hatred never contributed to peace and justice, I would like to say what the legend Martin Luther King said "like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats always its vital unity. Hate destroys a man’s sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true", I call on all Oromo to say let us not allow Civil war in the State; let us not repeat Rwanda’s genocide.

The Benishangoull people have promoted equal rights for every individual in the State. The Oromo people have the same rights as every individual in Benishangull State regardless of their race or colour. We all know that there is a relationship between both nations. The Oromo are employed in the State more than Benishangoull people. There are intermarriages between the two neighbouring nations. These indicate how Benishangoull people are peaceful and innocent. Thus, leaders from both nations should encourage both nation to recognise each other, and they should not degrade one another in order to have stability in the State.

As Benishangoull people have suffered from the Oromos atrocities, we human rights promoters of Benishangoull advocates peace and cooperation among people by asking to:
1\ Elevate the undergoing siege against innocent Benishangoull students in Addis Ababa University.
2\ Encourage and promote peace and stability in the area especially by lifting the blockage on the road to asossa.
3\ The Benishangoull people is against the action of others to promote division among the people of Benishangoull. The Oromo organizations have accused Tigray for applying the outdated ‘divide and rule’ policy to weaken people. The Benishangoull people opposes and totally rejects to be referred to as Gumuz or Berta. They are one nation, whatever affects Gumuz, affects the other. This is what has been proven by the current crime that did not discriminate any of this people but instead they suffered the same crime that was targeting them.

This is a plea to international communities to intervene and investigate the conditions of Benishangoull students in Addis Ababa, and the civilians who are blocked up by the siege our people in Addis Ababa. They became isolated in their country; they don’t know what happened to their families. We call on all humanity people to get involved to reduce the inhuman atrocities Benishangoull people are facing. They are now faced with shortage of money to buy food and place to live in. These crimes have violated all articles of human rights declaration. These are not propagandas to mislead the international communities. We have mentioned every thing in details in the previous topic, and now we are writing what we heard from those victims. We want the International human rights organizations to take this plea seriously; and strive to eliminate the infringement of human rights in Benishangoull.

The top Senior official of the Tigray led government, Mr Abai Tsahai, went back to Benishangoull to commit the atrocities on the people of Benishangoull, Like that he commited on the Gembella People as he declared in his first visit in May. At that time Mr Abai Tsahai have removed the vice President of the state and imprisoned him and some other regional community leaders in order to create fear among the people. Today 2nd of June 2008 he went back asking the elders of the State to support the government policy. The whole people have rejected this; they demanded the government to release imprisoned vice president and they asked for explanation on their imprisonment

The initial hearing was in the last week of May, the imprisoned personnel have refused to attend court in Asossa, they asked the government to transfer their trial to Addis Ababa, because their rights will not be protected, and the trial won’t be fair if the trial procedure continued in Asossa. Mr Sabil has rejected the allegations of the government; similarly Mr Zaruqe has rejected the government allegations against him. The government does not want the trial to be in Addis Abab because international human rights activists will demand a fair trial; unfortunately the government has refused to accept their request. Therefore, we call this plea’s as "Free Benishangoull Prisoner".

The government represented in the person of Mr Abai Tsahai in his second visit to Asossa is trying to use all opportunities to wage war in the State. He has now ordered the killing of so many civilians in Menge district, As he is also engaged in the imprisonment of so many people among whom Mr Madhawi Abdulraheem, Adminstrator of Khomosha Community Cancel. The government has contributed in creating instability. The current clashes in the State with Oromo have been triggered by the government support to Oromo. The government turned to such barbaric strategy to stop the mobilization of communities’ opposition movements in the State. The government lost few garrison in the State. This made them to commit crimes, killing civilians, imprisoning innocents. Last week more than 200 people have been arrested from the northern part of the State. The government Militias go from village-to-village killing villagers. The top commander of EPRDF Mr Abai Tsahai has met his promise he made in his first visit, where he promised to make Benishangoull people suffer on the same way Gambela people suffered from the genocide inflicted by this same person on them.

Benishangul Human Rights Advocate
coco_khalid72@hotmail.com
06.06.2008