Three Ethiopian Opposition parties call for the government to bring East Wollega areas where there has been a recurring massacre of civilians under the “Command Post” administration and deploy Ethiopian Defense Forces
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An increasing number of opposition political parties are blaming the government over the massacre in East Wollega. Hundreds of civilians were massacred, tens of thousands displaced and properties worth millions of birr destroyed due to the latest attack by the militant OLF-Shane group.
On Tuesday, three parties issued a joint statement reflecting what they described as a “shocking massacre” in Kiramu, Gida Ayana and Haro.
ENAT party, Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) and All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP) said in their statements that they have learned from residents in East Wollega that deployed Oromia region special forces committed ruthless action. The parties expressed sadness about it.
“Lack of interest in stopping identity-based attacks in the Oromia region, not even condemning it and recognizing the massacre and covering it up, and the inexistence of accountability is more than enough evidence that the government was involved in it,” the parties said in their joint statement.
No Federal or regional authorities released a statement regarding the attack.
It also said that residents are facing a double-edged sword. The militant group attacks them with the pretext of giving information to the government and the government attacks for “supporting the OLF -Shane.”
The militant group entered Ethiopia, mostly from Eritrea, after the now defunct Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Party picked Abiy Ahmed as Prime Minister following Hailemariam Desalgne’s resignation in April 2018.
The group has massacred tens of thousands of civilians, mostly ethnic Amhara subsistence farming communities who lived in the region for generations.
Oromia regional state has been making several claims that it has weakened what it calls – OLF-Shane ( the militant group that calls itself Oromo Liberation Army).
Apart from the three opposition parties, the Ethiopian Citizens For Social Justice Party (EZEMA) has released a statement expressing grief over and reflecting on the latest massacre in East Wollega.
While it blamed the Ethiopian government for repeated failure to protect civilians, the party said that the way to end the vicious circle is for Ethiopians to stand together and address the principal cause.
According to EZEMA the problem will continue so long as the political, legal and administrative support to the divisive system is in place.
It said the ethnic-based system in the country allowed the horrifying massacres to happen. Furthermore, it said that external forces that are hostile to Ethiopia’s stability are exploiting the ethnic-based groups to cause the security crisis.
Regarding the solution to end the existing problem in East Wollega, EZEMA, unlike the three parties mentioned above, said that the government has to arm and train communities in remote areas so that they can defend themselves.
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