Ethiopia rebel group protests over UN body’s AU terror plot report
* Article
* Comments (0)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
*
*
*
*
August 19, 2011 (PARIS) - An Ethiopian rebel group, the Oromo
Liberation Front (OLF) wrote a protest letter to United Nations
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, denying any involvement in the alleged
bomb plot at an African Union Summit held in Addis Ababa earlier this
year.
A UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea (MGSE) report on July
28th accused the outlawed OLF of attempting to smuggle explosives into
Addis Ababa to bomb the AU headquarters.
Ethiopian security forces foiled the attack and arrested suspects days
before the planned attack.
According to the UN body’s report, testimony by arrested members of
the terrorist team claimed Eritrea paid them to carry out the
operation.
However, the Oromo rebel group in its protest letter sought to have
the UN monitoring group retract the allegation arguing the report’s
conclusion was reached based only on claims and “manufactured
evidences” from the Ethiopian government.
“Indeed the report of the MGSE that links the OLF to the terrorist act
is flawed. Foremost, the methodology that the Monitoring Group used is
flawed and has no scientific base” the group protested.
“It has been indicated that the MGSE interviewed individuals that the
Ethiopian government claimed to have been captured while they were
plotting to bomb the General Assembly of the African Union” it said.
“The MGSE team reached its unsubstantiated conclusion solely based on
the claim of the plaintiff, i.e., the Ethiopian regime, and without
counterchecking with other sources”.
The OLF accused the UN panel of failing to offer the rebel group a
chance to disprove the serious allegations despite promises to contact
them.
“MGSE not only decided to deny the OLF the right to be heard on the
matter in which it has been falsely accused, but also did not want our
input in accomplishing its mission. It is our considered judgment that
the MGSE’s investigation process was not fair and its report lacks
veracity” the group said.
The group urged the UN Security Council (UNSC) to reject what it said
was a “biased and baseless report” further calling for “a genuine
scientific research” against governments “gross human rights
violations against Oromo peoples”.
Founded in 1973, the OLF is an organisation established by Oromo
nationalists to promote self-determination for the Oromo people, the
largest single ethnic group in Ethiopia.
The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) is one of the three home-grown
political groups the Ethiopian parliament recently designated as a
terrorist organisation along with the Ogaden National Liberation Front
(ONLF), Ginbot 7.
Somalia ’s Al-shabab and al Qaeda were also included in the terror
list as international terror networks posing a threat to Ethiopia.
Ethiopia’s government holds the OLF responsible for 106 deadly
terrorist acts inside the country.
Daawud Ibsaa Chairman of the group in the protest letter to Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon, said the OLF opposes all forms of terrorism and
as a matter of policy rejects using terrorism as a form of struggle.
“The OLF does not target civilian populations and their properties in
its military operations.” He said adding “The OLF did not and will not
plan to bomb the AU headquarters.”
It noted a need for the international community to exert maximum
pressure against the Ethiopian government to engage in a “meaningful
dialogue”.
(ST)
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD
info" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
