Activists on social media are calling for a massive demonstration in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa this Wednesday to commemorate citizens who were condemned to brutal death because of their ethnic or religious identities in their own country.
The campaign which is using the hashtag # AllBlack is calling for residents of Addis Ababa to dress in black for the demonstration. Social media organizers have also disclosed that the demonstration will demand the Ethiopian government to hold those responsible for the death of at least 67 citizens, as confirmed by police in Oromo speaking part of Ethiopia where the killings took place, accountable.
Out side of Ethiopia, Ethiopians living in the United States have organized a demonstration to take place in Washington DC to oppose the recent horrifying carnage in Oromo region of Ethiopia and demand that Jawar Mohammed, believed to he the cause who also managed to stop road closure in the single update, be held responsible.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed issued a statement on October 26 saying that his government will take decisive action on those responsible while predicting the problem could get worse before it gets better.
However, reports about a meeting between the prime minister and “Abba Geda,” ethnic Oromo elders that seem to be theoretically considered as measures of “moral compass for the ethnic Oromo community,” a meeting attended by the Defense Minister Lemma Megersa and Oromo regional state president, Shimeles Abdissa, suggest that the prime minister is not consistent with the statement he issued on October 26. The topic of discussion was seem to be rather the concerns of Abba Gada regarding the “reversal of the Federal arrangement” to which the prime minister reportedly said that his government will not make changes to the federal arrangement.
Also, the prime minister allegedly advised the elders to approach those “displeased” by his government which is unclear if it is a reference to Jawar Mohammed.
The latest string of violence in the Oromo region of Ethiopia which seemed to have targeted ethnicity and religious identity was triggered after Jawar Mohammed wrote an update on his Facebook in the middle of the night on October 22 claiming that Ethiopian government withdrew security details who were on duty in his residence.
Activists like Abebe Gelaw are openly calling the Ethiopian government to bring Jawar Mohammed before law and face justice.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian Opposition groups are urging Prime Minister Abiy’s government to act decisively to protect the security of citizens and enforce the rule of law. Some opposition groups have, in fact, criticized the government for inaction in the face of the death of civilians.
All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP) issued a statement condemning the government for what it called “aggravating the security crisis in the country.” The party said that the government failed to protect citizens while they were killed in their own place in broad daylight. Failure to take legal measures against individuals who have committed crimes in the past has encouraged another round of violence, as reported by DW Amharic.
Similarly, the Amhara Intellectual Council is calling for legal measures against those who are responsible for the violence and the death of citizens. In a press statement on Sunday, Gebeyaw Tiruneh, who is president of the council, said that lives have been lost and properties created through years of hard work have been destroyed due to the violence that seemed to have an ethnic and religious character in different parts of Ethiopia. If the situation continues as the one witnessed in the past few days, “our country could find itself in an irreversible condition,” he said.