From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Sat May 23 2009 - 16:12:01 EDT
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO)
Oromo: Call to Stop Aid to Ethiopia
http://www.unpo.org/content/view/9617/135/
Friday, 22 May 2009
A call to place aid to Ethiopia under greater scrutiny and to bring
pressure to bear on Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to ensure the respect of
human rights in Ethiopia has brought Oromo from all over Europe onto the
streets of Brussels.
Below is the edited text of a press release issued by the Union of Oromo
Students in Europe and UNPO:
22 May 2009, Brussels - Oromo activists from across Europe converged on
Brussels today to raise international awareness of the ongoing human
rights abuses being perpetrated in Ethiopia under the administration of
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Marching from the European Commission's
Berlaymont building, demonstrators crossed the city of Brussels to bring
their message to the embassies of both the United Kingdom and the United
States.
Oromo representatives explained to international media the importance of
the protest as a means of bringing scrutiny to bear on Ethiopia ahead of
the 2010 elections and the environmental degradation that was going
unchecked at the same time as human rights were being eroded.
As part of the protest, letter of appeal were issued to the European
Commission, Members of the European Parliament, representatives of the
African, Caribbean, and Pacific states, and the embassies of the United
States and United Kingdom.
The appeal made the following calls:
That the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees initiate an
inquiry into allegations of human rights abuses perpetrated by the
Ethiopian Government;
That European Union (EU) member states to raise the issue of human
rights in Ethiopia with the Ethiopian government;
That EU member states to express a collective and public concern at the
human rights situation in Ethiopia, including a call for the release of
all detained political prisoners;
That European companies, their Ethiopian partners, and the Ethiopian
government adhere to international environmental standards and
obligations;
That a mechanism capable of bringing together all stakeholders in
resolving Ethiopia's internal conflicts be established and supported.
That the Ethiopian government is held publicly accountable for all aid
donated to, or channelled through, its departments.
Note: To download the press release, please click here
http://www.unpo.org/images//oromo_demonstration_final_press_release_%28v
1%29.pdf
<http://www.unpo.org/images/2009-05-22_oromo_demo_1.jpg>
<http://www.unpo.org/images/2009-05-22_oromo_demo_2.jpg>
<http://www.unpo.org/images/2009-05-22_oromo_demo_3.jpg>
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