EU Request To Ehio gov

From: Oromo Students of Higher Educational Institutions. Addis Ababa

To: - American Embassy, Politiocal Section Attn. To Political officer Addis Ababa - German Embassy Attn. Human Rght Department Addis Ababa - Biritish Embassy Attn. Second secretary/political Addis Ababa - Amnesty international London

Subject: To Draw Attention to the Further Human right Violation in Ethiopia We are very much pleased by the recent release of a report by the Foreign Office of the USA on the human right status of Ethiopia in the year 2001 and also would like to thank the USA government to give such a due consideration to the human right condition in Ethiopia. We are now having confidence that the USA government is doing what it ought to do, and hope that other international organization and governments would follow the same path and work for the betterment of human right conditions in Ethiopia. At this juncture, we would like to report recent events of human right violation by the Ethiopian Government and call upon the attention of the international comminute and governments. It is now a well-established fact that human right violation in Ethiopia by the incumbent regime is a day-to-day phenomena. Extra-judicial killings, imprisonment without court order, disappearance of citizens, prohibition of public gatherings and security surveillance of citizens are becoming the order of the day. Such actions are so severe in Oromia where the government allegedly suspects the citizens to have some connections, without any evidence, with some revel groups. To make the matter worse, the judiciary process in Ethiopia, which is supposed to be independent, is evidently shrouded by partisanship that the government itself is a plaintive and a defendant at the same time. A dramatized court hearing on February 12, 2002 has sentenced a death penalty and life imprisonment to Ahmed Ismael Muda and Hamza Muhammed Ahmed Yunus respectively. We have hard evidence that five other suspects are also sentenced to death, which the government purposely concealed to publicise from the that it may cause public riots. The court hearing was conducted in the absence of independent judiciary. We have evidence that the judges of that particular hearings were members of the EPRDF who denied these people the right to council and without public trial. No one attended the hearing including the journalists and the whole trial was conducted in secret. One hundred one (101) Oromo prisoners in Ziway are also missing from the Ziway prison house and their families are in problem to trace them. A cultural concert and sharing of experience among high school Oromo students prepared by Bishoftu High School students at Debre Ziete, on February 10,2002 was forbidden by high officials on the day of the concert after it secured a legal permission from local administration. This shows that public gathering or a right to assembly, stipulated in the constitution of the country, is practically impossible. Beginning from 20 March, 2002 government troops and security are harassing students and civilian in Neqemte, Gimbi, Najo, Mandi, Shambu, Gudar and Dembi Dollo, in Western Ethiopia. The incident began when the students staged a peaceful query to the economic and political policy of the regime and inquired for the clarification of the recent fall of grain price and other economic problems. More than 40 students are imprisoned in Neqemte and those beaten by the police are denied medical attention. The school is totally closed for days. Unconfirmed number of students is also taken to jail in Gimbi with heavy beatings. In Ambo 2 students were heavily wounded. In Shambu, eastern Wellega, on 27 February 2002 3 students were shot and found dead while those who suffered heavy wounds and beatings are denied medical attentions. The peaceful demonstration is still continuing with government security men and police force intensifying their barbaric acts against the students and the civilian. In light of these, we would like to bring to the attention of the concerned bodies: � To follow closely the case of those people sentenced to death penalty and life imprisonment without a proper and a fair judicial procedure. � To follow the case of those one hundred one (101) people taken from the Ziway prison, and help the family of these people to trace the where about of these people. � Give a due attention to the conditions of the students imprisoned in Neqemte, Ambo, Shambu and gimbi. � Give due consideration to the general course of events in Oromia and the gross human right violation in this region. � To understand that the Oromo people are subjected to the grand violation of their indispensable natural and social rights by the regime.

Ad-hoc Committee of Oromo Students of Higher Educational Institutions.

Amnesty USA Urgent call For Oromo Students