http://m.deseretnews.com/article/865649906/Utah-Oromo-community-calls-for-US-pressure-to-end-Ethiopia-violence.html
Utah Oromo community calls for U.S. pressure to end Ethiopia violence
By Katie McKellar, Deseret News
Published: Fri, March 11, 2016, 5:20 p.m. MST
4 comments
Geleta Fite crosses his arms in protest as members of Utah's Oromo
community rally for human rights in Salt Lake City on Friday, March
11, 2016.
(Ravell Call, Deseret News)
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SALT LAKE CITY — Holding signs depicting bloodied victims of the
violence that has erupted in the Oromia region of Ethiopia over the
past several months, Utah's Oromo community rallied Friday in front of
the federal building.
The group is demanding U.S. help in bringing justice to their friends
and families living in Ethiopia, where government forces have killed
hundreds of peaceful protesters opposing the annexation of the
country's capital Addis Abada into surrounding towns.
"We're here today to protest the killings taking place in every corner
of Oromia and to bring that violation of human rights to the
government of the United States so that the United States can make
some pressure to stop the killing," said Geleta Fite, who came to the
U.S. in 2013. But his family, he said, remains in Ethiopia.
"We will not sit back until we see some change and we see some justice
for the murdered," he said.
Fite joined several dozen other Oromo community members to deliver
letters to Utah's U.S. senators, demanding that the United States
"condemn the brutal acts of the Ethiopian government and ensure these
acts stop immediately," the letter states.
Among its requests, the group urged the U.S. to advise its business
community to limit spending in Ethiopia until the violence ends and
pressure the Ethiopian government to establish an independent
investigation into the killings.
The Human Rights Watch has said that there have been "almost daily
accounts of killings and arbitrary arrests" since the beginning of the
year as Ethiopian forces have suppressed peaceful protests in a
government crackdown.
The Associated Press has reported that the protests were led by
students who opposed what they believed to be a government plan to
expand the capital, which would ultimately lead to the displacement of
thousands of families and farmers. The Ethiopian government has denied
the protestors' claims, saying it only seeks to link Addis Ababa with
nearby towns.
In January, after the deadly protests erupted, the AP reported
Ethiopian officials canceled plans to integrate the capital with
surrounding communities. However, the Human Rights Watch has said the
bloody crackdown has continued, after the plan's cancellation did not
halt protests.
"This is genocide," said Genemo Bedaso, chairman of the Utah Oromo
Community. "We appeal for America to stop it. They have the power."
Bedaso and Fite tried to meet with Sen. Orrin Hatch and Sen. Mike Lee
on Friday to deliver their group's letter. The senators were not
available, but staff members accepted the letters. Hatch's
spokeswoman, Heather Barney, said the letter will be relayed to the
senator in Washington.
"Sen. Hatch is always responsive to his constituents' concerns and has
directed staff to meet with them," she said. "He's very concerned
about the problems that they're sketching out and he's happy to
listen."
The European Parliament adopted a resolution in January to condemn the
peaceful protest killings, call for an investigation of the violence,
and demand immediate release of arrested Oromo activists.
Email: kmckellar_at_deseretnews.com
Received on Sun Mar 13 2016 - 12:23:40 EDT