Like their predecessors, the Oromo political prisoners that were sentenced to death, life and long-term imprisonments on March 31, 2010, committed no crime. The only “crime” they have committed is to stand for the fundamental human rights and dignity of the Oromo nation. The charges filed against them are trumped-up charges. They did not get a fair trial. The kangaroo Court that passed the unjust sentences and condemned the Oromo political prisoners to death, life and long term imprisonment was neither independent nor impartial; it is the tyrannical minority regime’s instrument of repression. The Prosecution as always presented concocted witnesses against the Oromo political prisoners. The political prisoners were not represented by defense lawyers; even if they had one, it could have served no purpose because the sentences that were rubberstamped by the court were already made by the TPLF’s political leadership. It is a public secret that under the TPLF tyrannical rule, the judiciary is reduced to an instrument of political repression.
The Oromo political prisoners who were sentenced to death, life and long-term imprisonment were engineers, lawyers, businessmen, students, farmers, stay at home mothers, etc. Some are mothers who left young children at home without care or fathers. Some of the political prisoners who were sentenced to death, life and long-term imprisonment were once refugees; who were compelled to flee their country due to political repression – for being an Oromo and having different and independent political views. These political refugees were deported to Ethiopia by a neighboring country, in contravention of the Geneva Convention, and were made to face the TPLF regime’s human slaughter machine. This is an example of the international travesty of justice against the Oromo.
The March 31, 2010, death, life and long-term imprisonment sentences by the TPLF tyrannical regime’s kangaroo court against the Oromo political prisoners were not the first. Under the TPLF tyrannical rule,
thousands of Oromo political prisoners were previously subjected to similar treatments. It is to be recalled that the Ms. Asli Oromo was the first female political prisoner who was sentenced to death penalty by the TPLF court; maybe she is the first female political prisoner who has been sentenced to death in the country’s most recent history. It is a public secret that under the TPLF rule, thousands of Oromos were extra judicially killed or “disappeared” for political reasons in all corners of Oromia. The extra judicial and wanton killings, “disappearances”, arbitrary detentions for a longtime without or trail, etc. of the Oromos are unabated. The notorious TPLF prisons are overcrowded mostly by Oromo political prisoners. The notorious TPLF prisons “speak the Oromo language” is a correct description of the situation.
The TPLF regime was not the first to sentence freedom loving Oromos to death, life and log-term imprisonments. In the repression of the Oromo, the TPLF regime is perpetuating the policies and practices of its predecessor regimes; albeit in its worst and massive form. Oromos who stood for equality, freedom and justice were also penalized with death penalty, life and long-term imprisonments under the previous Ethiopian regimes. To mention only a few: Lt. Mamo Mezemir, a proud Oromo nationalist and a member of the Mecha-Tulama Oromo Self-Help Association, was subjected to a trumped up charge, sentenced to death penalty and publicly hanged for political reasons during the reign of Emperor Haile Sillassie. General Taddasaa Birruu and Colonel Hailu Raggaasaa, were sentenced to death by the Military Junta regime that preceded the TPLF regime, and were killed by a firing squad. We all know how the rules of the killers of Mamo Mezemir, Taddasaa Birru, and Halu Raggaasaa ended. The same verdict of history awaits the tyrannical TPLF rulers, whose head, Meles Zenawi, already stands accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The TPLF rulers should know that political death sentences, life and long term imprisonment of the Oromos will not deter the Oromo people from struggling for their freedom, justice and human dignity. The Oromo people’s struggle for freedom, justice and human dignity is a just struggle; history is on the side of the Oromo people. Yes, it is a sad time for the Oromo people; but the Oromo people also realize very well that freedom is not for free and today his daughters and sons are shading their blood for it.
The OLF strongly condemns the March 31, 2010, political death and imprisonment sentences passed on the Oromo nationals by the murderous regime of TPLF. The brutal and inhuman TPLF regime’s leaders: you are perpetrating the gross human rights violations of the Oromo and the other peoples in Ethiopia in a “borrowed time”. Your fate will not be any different from your predecessors. The Oromo and other people in Ethiopia longing for freedom and justice shall prevail.
Victory to the Oromo People!
Oromo Liberation Front
April 2, 2010
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Oromo Liberation Front
North America Office Waajjira Amerikaa Kaabaa
1810 9th St., NW 1810 9th St., NW
Washington, DC 20001
