ESAT News (March 03, 2016)
Representatives of civic organizations and academics gathered at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday to deliberate on the worsening human rights situation in Ethiopia and human rights violations perpetrated by the tyrannical regime in that country.
Dr. Awol Kassim Alo of the London School of Economics speaking about the ongoing protest in the Oromia region of Ethiopia said the Oromos have for years been marginalized by successive governments and the change of government in 1991 promised to resolve this historical grievance. He however said the current government has continued to oppress the Oromos and the judiciary in the country is sustaining and justifying the tyrannical government.
Dr. Alo said uprooting the Oromo farmers has been going on for so long and an estimated 150,000 people have been forced out of their land.
Dr. Tedla on his part told the gathering about the journalists and politicians in Ethiopia whom he said were prisoners of conscience. He said the representatives of the EU and civic organization in attendance were fully aware of the grim human rights situations in Ethiopia. The representative of the Ethiopian government at the meeting was seen evading the truth and avoiding to address questions and issues directly, according to Dr. Tedla.