Five Reasons to Stop Saying "Good Job!"
By Alfie Kohn
NOTE: An abridged version of this article was published in Parents magazine in May 2000 with the title "Hooked on Praise." For a more detailed look at the issues discussed here, please see the books
Punished by Rewards and Unconditional Parenting.
Para leer este artículo en Español, haga clic aquí.
Hang out at a playground, visit a school, or show up at a child’s birthday party, and there’s one phrase you can count on hearing repeatedly: "Good job!" Even tiny infants are praised for smacking their hands together ("Good clapping!"). Many of us blurt out these judgments of our children to the point that it has become almost a verbal tic.
Plenty of books and articles advise us against relying on punishment, from spanking to forcible isolation ("time out"). Occasionally someone will even ask us to rethink the practice of bribing children with stickers or food. But you’ll have to look awfully hard to find a discouraging word about what is euphemistically called positive reinforcement.
Lest there be any misunderstanding, the point here is not to call into question the importance of supporting and encouraging children, the need to love them and hug them and help them feel good about themselves. Praise, however, is a different story entirely. Here's why.
1. Manipulating children. Suppose you offer a verbal reward to reinforce the behavior of a two-year-old who eats without spilling, or a five-year-old who cleans up her art supplies. Who benefits from this? Is it possible that telling kids they’ve done a good job may have less to do with their emotional needs than with our convenience?
Rheta DeVries, a professor of education at the University of Northern Iowa, refers to this as "sugar-coated control." Very much like tangible rewards – or, for that matter, punishments – it’s a way of doing something to children to get them to comply with our wishes. It may be effective at producing this result (at least for a while), but it’s very different from working with kids – for example, by engaging them in conversation about what makes a classroom (or family) function smoothly, or how other people are affected by what we have done -- or failed to do. The latter approach is not only more respectful but more likely to help kids become thoughtful people.
The reason praise can work in the short run is that young children are hungry for our approval. But we have a responsibility not to exploit that dependence for our own convenience. A "Good job!" to reinforce something that makes our lives a little easier can be an example of taking advantage of children’s dependence. Kids may also come to feel manipulated by this, even if they can’t quite explain why.
2. Creating praise junkies. To be sure, not every use of praise is a calculated tactic to control children’s behavior. Sometimes we compliment kids just because we’re genuinely pleased by what they’ve done. Even then, however, it’s worth looking more closely. Rather than bolstering a child’s self-esteem, praise may increase kids’ dependence on us. The more we say, "I like the way you…." or "Good ______ing," the more kids come to rely on our evaluations, our decisions about what’s good and bad, rather than learning to form their own judgments. It leads them to measure their worth in terms of what will lead us to smile and dole out some more approval.
Mary Budd Rowe, a researcher at the University of Florida, discovered that students who were praised lavishly by their teachers were more tentative in their responses, more apt to answer in a questioning tone of voice ("Um, seven?"). They tended to back off from an idea they had proposed as soon as an adult disagreed with them. And they were less likely to persist with difficult tasks or share their ideas with other students.
In short, "Good job!" doesn’t reassure children; ultimately, it makes them feel less secure. It may even create a vicious circle such that the more we slather on the praise, the more kids seem to need it, so we praise them some more. Sadly, some of these kids will grow into adults who continue to need someone else to pat them on the head and tell them whether what they did was OK. Surely this is not what we want for our daughters and sons.
3. Stealing a child’s pleasure. Apart from the issue of dependence, a child deserves to take delight in her accomplishments, to feel pride in what she’s learned how to do. She also deserves to decide when to feel that way. Every time we say, "Good job!", though, we’re telling a child how to feel.
To be sure, there are times when our evaluations are appropriate and our guidance is necessary -- especially with toddlers and preschoolers. But a constant stream of value judgments is neither necessary nor useful for children’s development. Unfortunately, we may not have realized that "Good job!" is just as much an evaluation as "Bad job!" The most notable feature of a positive judgment isn’t that it’s positive, but that it’s a judgment. And people, including kids, don’t like being judged.
I cherish the occasions when my daughter manages to do something for the first time, or does something better than she’s ever done it before. But I try to resist the knee-jerk tendency to say, "Good job!" because I don’t want to dilute her joy. I want her to share her pleasure with me, not look to me for a verdict. I want her to exclaim, "I did it!" (which she often does) instead of asking me uncertainly, "Was that good?"
4. Losing interest. "Good painting!" may get children to keep painting for as long as we keep watching and praising. But, warns Lilian Katz, one of the country’s leading authorities on early childhood education, "once attention is withdrawn, many kids won’t touch the activity again." Indeed, an impressive body of scientific research has shown that the more we reward people for doing something, the more they tend to lose interest in whatever they had to do to get the reward. Now the point isn’t to draw, to read, to think, to create – the point is to get the goody, whether it’s an ice cream, a sticker, or a "Good job!"
In a troubling study conducted by Joan Grusec at the University of Toronto, young children who were frequently praised for displays of generosity tended to be slightly less generous on an everyday basis than other children were. Every time they had heard "Good sharing!" or "I’m so proud of you for helping," they became a little less interested in sharing or helping. Those actions came to be seen not as something valuable in their own right but as something they had to do to get that reaction again from an adult. Generosity became a means to an end.
Does praise motivate kids? Sure. It motivates kids to get praise. Alas, that’s often at the expense of commitment to whatever they were doing that prompted the praise.
5. Reducing achievement. As if it weren’t bad enough that "Good job!" can undermine independence, pleasure, and interest, it can also interfere with how good a job children actually do. Researchers keep finding that kids who are praised for doing well at a creative task tend to stumble at the next task – and they don’t do as well as children who weren’t praised to begin with.
Why does this happen? Partly because the praise creates pressure to "keep up the good work" that gets in the way of doing so. Partly because their interest in what they’re doing may have declined. Partly because they become less likely to take risks – a prerequisite for creativity – once they start thinking about how to keep those positive comments coming.
More generally, "Good job!" is a remnant of an approach to psychology that reduces all of human life to behaviors that can be seen and measured. Unfortunately, this ignores the thoughts, feelings, and values that lie behind behaviors. For example, a child may share a snack with a friend as a way of attracting praise, or as a way of making sure the other child has enough to eat. Praise for sharing ignores these different motives. Worse, it actually promotes the less desirable motive by making children more likely to fish for praise in the future.
*
Once you start to see praise for what it is – and what it does – these constant little evaluative eruptions from adults start to produce the same effect as fingernails being dragged down a blackboard. You begin to root for a child to give his teachers or parents a taste of their own treacle by turning around to them and saying (in the same saccharine tone of voice), "Good praising!"
Still, it’s not an easy habit to break. It can seem strange, at least at first, to stop praising; it can feel as though you’re being chilly or withholding something. But that, it soon becomes clear, suggests that we praise more because we need to say it than because children need to hear it. Whenever that’s true, it’s time to rethink what we’re doing.
What kids do need is unconditional support, love with no strings attached. That’s not just different from praise – it’s the opposite of praise. "Good job!" is conditional. It means we’re offering attention and acknowledgement and approval for jumping through our hoops, for doing things that please us.
This point, you’ll notice, is very different from a criticism that some people offer to the effect that we give kids too much approval, or give it too easily. They recommend that we become more miserly with our praise and demand that kids "earn" it. But the real problem isn’t that children expect to be praised for everything they do these days. It’s that we’re tempted to take shortcuts, to manipulate kids with rewards instead of explaining and helping them to develop needed skills and good values.
So what’s the alternative? That depends on the situation, but whatever we decide to say instead has to be offered in the context of genuine affection and love for who kids are rather than for what they’ve done. When unconditional support is present, "Good job!" isn’t necessary; when it’s absent, "Good job!" won’t help.
If we’re praising positive actions as a way of discouraging misbehavior, this is unlikely to be effective for long. Even when it works, we can’t really say the child is now "behaving himself"; it would be more accurate to say the praise is behaving him. The alternative is to work with the child, to figure out the reasons he’s acting that way. We may have to reconsider our own requests rather than just looking for a way to get kids to obey. (Instead of using "Good job!" to get a four-year-old to sit quietly through a long class meeting or family dinner, perhaps we should ask whether it’s reasonable to expect a child to do so.)
We also need to bring kids in on the process of making decisions. If a child is doing something that disturbs others, then sitting down with her later and asking, "What do you think we can do to solve this problem?" will likely be more effective than bribes or threats. It also helps a child learn how to solve problems and teaches that her ideas and feelings are important. Of course, this process takes time and talent, care and courage. Tossing off a "Good job!" when the child acts in the way we deem appropriate takes none of those things, which helps to explain why "doing to" strategies are a lot more popular than "working with" strategies.
And what can we say when kids just do something impressive? Consider three possible responses:
* Say nothing. Some people insist a helpful act must be "reinforced" because, secretly or unconsciously, they believe it was a fluke. If children are basically evil, then they have to be given an artificial reason for being nice (namely, to get a verbal reward). But if that cynicism is unfounded – and a lot of research suggests that it is – then praise may not be necessary.
* Say what you saw. A simple, evaluation-free statement ("You put your shoes on by yourself" or even just "You did it") tells your child that you noticed. It also lets her take pride in what she did. In other cases, a more elaborate description may make sense. If your child draws a picture, you might provide feedback – not judgment – about what you noticed: "This mountain is huge!" "Boy, you sure used a lot of purple today!"
If a child does something caring or generous, you might gently draw his attention to the effect of his action on the other person: "Look at Abigail’s face! She seems pretty happy now that you gave her some of your snack." This is completely different from praise, where the emphasis is on how you feel about her sharing
* Talk less, ask more. Even better than descriptions are questions. Why tell him what part of his drawing impressed you when you can ask him what he likes best about it? Asking "What was the hardest part to draw?" or "How did you figure out how to make the feet the right size?" is likely to nourish his interest in drawing. Saying "Good job!", as we’ve seen, may have exactly the opposite effect.
This doesn’t mean that all compliments, all thank-you’s, all expressions of delight are harmful. We need to consider our motives for what we say (a genuine expression of enthusiasm is better than a desire to manipulate the child’s future behavior) as well as the actual effects of doing so. Are our reactions helping the child to feel a sense of control over her life -- or to constantly look to us for approval? Are they helping her to become more excited about what she’s doing in its own right – or turning it into something she just wants to get through in order to receive a pat on the head
It’s not a matter of memorizing a new script, but of keeping in mind our long-term goals for our children and watching for the effects of what we say. The bad news is that the use of positive reinforcement really isn’t so positive. The good news is that you don’t have to evaluate in order to encourage.
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Copyright © 2001 by Alfie Kohn. This article may be downloaded, reproduced, and distributed without permission as long as each copy includes this notice along with citation information (i.e., name of the periodical in which it originally appeared, date of publication, and author's name). Permission must be obtained in order to reprint this article in a published work or in order to offer it for sale in any form. Please write to the address indicated on the Contact page at www.alfiekohn.org.
Thursday
What are you discussing these days?
Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.
"Eleanor Roosevelt"
"Eleanor Roosevelt"
How Money Drains Add Up To $175,000 In 10 Years
Money Drain | Average Price | Estimated Annual Cost | Future Value In 10 Years* |
|---|---|---|---|
Coffee | Average price of brewed coffee: $1.38 | One coffee each week day costs around $360 annually. | $5,488 |
Gum | Average price for one pack: $1 | Chew a pack a day for a year: $365 | $5,488 |
Cigarettes | Average price for a cigarette pack: $4.54 | Pack-a-day smoker’s annual cost: $1,660 Weekend smoker’s annual cost: $236 | Pack-a-day smoker’s cost: $25,247 Weekend smoker’s cost: $3,659 |
Alcohol | Average: $5 per beer (includes tip) | One beer a day, annual cost: $1,825 | $27,807 |
Bottled Water | One 20 ounce bottle costs $1 | One bottle a day for a year: $365 | $5,488 |
Manicures | Average cost: $20.53 | Weekly manicure, for a year costs $1,068 a year | $16,282 |
Car washes | Average cost: $58 | Cost of detailing every 2 months, for one year: $348 | $5,305 |
Weekday lunches out | Daily lunch: $9 | Weekday lunches for one year: $2,350 | $35,857 |
Junk food, vending machine snacks, soda | Average snack: $1 | Afternoon snacks for one year costs $260 | $4,025 |
Credit card interest charges | Median amount of credit card debt is $6,600. Standard rates average 13.44%. | Minimum payments will take 21 years to pay off the debt, costing $4,868 in interest. | N/A |
Unused memberships | Monthly service fees: $35 to $40 | Per year, unused memberships cost $480 | $7,318 |
Expensive salon visits: fake nails | Fake nails cost $500 to $600 | Getting them done once a quarter for a year costs $2,000 to $2,400 | $30,552 |
Premium gas | At 20 cents more for premium, pumping 20 gallons of it instead of regular would cost $4 more. | Annually, that’s a difference of $171 for a vehicle that averages 14 miles per gallon — as some big sport-utility vehicles do — and is driven 12,000 miles a year. | $2,561 |
Lottery | Typical cost: $10 a week | For one year: $520 | $7,867 |
Direct TV | A basic program can run $100 a month | $1,200 a year | $18,295 |
Total | $11,548 a year | $175,994 |
Do not be shy about switching sides if that's the right thing to do.
You are constantly evolving as a person, which means you are also constantly evolving in your opinions. Changing your mind about controversial issues or political points of view isn't necessarily a sign that you are weak or just going along with whatever someone else is telling you to believe. As long as you are revising your thoughts based on facts and not on external pressure, you are being true to yourself. Do not be shy about switching sides if that's the right thing to do.
Speak out Oromo!
Speak out Oromo!
Tuesday
So, what is next?
I strongly believe that there is some sort of change need to happen with OLF. Don’t ask me what kind of change or if the change recently happened is the right one or not. I leave these questions for politicians to decipher it. My hope after all said and done ONE strong OLF come out and will lead the Oromo people to libration or this organization will be buried in very very deep under and will save the Oromo people back home from their misery and suffering they are facing for the sake of this NAME.
People are suffering in Oromia because of the “action” or “inaction” of this organization and as far as I am concerned this should not allowed to continue any more. Forget about leading Oromos to libration but this organization should have to continue to wander around with no finish line in mind. The price is too much to pay and it is digging bigger hole for Oromos in Oromia and around the world.
Speak out Oromo!
People are suffering in Oromia because of the “action” or “inaction” of this organization and as far as I am concerned this should not allowed to continue any more. Forget about leading Oromos to libration but this organization should have to continue to wander around with no finish line in mind. The price is too much to pay and it is digging bigger hole for Oromos in Oromia and around the world.
Speak out Oromo!
Friday
The best way to defeat wayane is by dividing OLF into pieces…
Statement of OLF Executive Committee on Unconstitutional Activities and Conspiracies Against the OLF
The Executive Committee (EC) of the OLF conducted an emergency meeting to deliberate on the current
internal anarchic and anti organizational activities and passed the following decision.
It has been observed that a clique has clandestinely been conducting destructive activities within the
organization for a while. This includes agitations targeting the legitimate leadership of the organization in
contradiction to the latest resolutions of the National Council that met last March, 2008. The effort of the
leadership to handle this matter wisely and patiently has been disregarded. Now that this clique has gone
public in its campaign against the organization by:
1. Conducting illegal public meetings in Nairobi, and Minnesota USA, to that effect;
2. Publicly declaring their split from the organization on electronic media and
3. Declaring, on public radio, that they have substituted the legally elected leadership of the
organization by their own men;
4. Stated that they have, unconstitutionally, revised the political program of the organization.
The EC, as the defense council of the organization, realizing:
a) that this situation poses danger to the safety and security of the organization,
b) the need to avert the looming confusion in the organization and
c) that the members, supporters and the Oromo people at large should be informed about the possible
danger facing the organization and prepare them for the necessary required actions and
d) the need to avert any possible damage to the organization and defend the constitution, rules and
regulations of the organization
has taken the following administrative decision.
The following core leaders of the clique:
1. Hassan Hussein
2. Leeco Baatii
3. Kamal Galchu
4. Abbaa-Nagaa Jaarraa
are excluded from any responsibility or activity of the organization, as of today July 31, 2008, for their
activities against the liberation struggle lead by the OLF, violating the constitution of the organization and
declaring division within the organization. These individuals can not represent the organization in any
capacity nor speak on its behalf. The EC will subsequently take any necessary measure to avert possible
action directed against the activities of the organization by any means.
Victory to the Oromo People.
OLF EC
July 31,2003
The Executive Committee (EC) of the OLF conducted an emergency meeting to deliberate on the current
internal anarchic and anti organizational activities and passed the following decision.
It has been observed that a clique has clandestinely been conducting destructive activities within the
organization for a while. This includes agitations targeting the legitimate leadership of the organization in
contradiction to the latest resolutions of the National Council that met last March, 2008. The effort of the
leadership to handle this matter wisely and patiently has been disregarded. Now that this clique has gone
public in its campaign against the organization by:
1. Conducting illegal public meetings in Nairobi, and Minnesota USA, to that effect;
2. Publicly declaring their split from the organization on electronic media and
3. Declaring, on public radio, that they have substituted the legally elected leadership of the
organization by their own men;
4. Stated that they have, unconstitutionally, revised the political program of the organization.
The EC, as the defense council of the organization, realizing:
a) that this situation poses danger to the safety and security of the organization,
b) the need to avert the looming confusion in the organization and
c) that the members, supporters and the Oromo people at large should be informed about the possible
danger facing the organization and prepare them for the necessary required actions and
d) the need to avert any possible damage to the organization and defend the constitution, rules and
regulations of the organization
has taken the following administrative decision.
The following core leaders of the clique:
1. Hassan Hussein
2. Leeco Baatii
3. Kamal Galchu
4. Abbaa-Nagaa Jaarraa
are excluded from any responsibility or activity of the organization, as of today July 31, 2008, for their
activities against the liberation struggle lead by the OLF, violating the constitution of the organization and
declaring division within the organization. These individuals can not represent the organization in any
capacity nor speak on its behalf. The EC will subsequently take any necessary measure to avert possible
action directed against the activities of the organization by any means.
Victory to the Oromo People.
OLF EC
July 31,2003
Wednesday
U.N. abandons Eritrea-Ethiopia peace mission
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to end its eight-year peacekeeping mission between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that failure of the mission could lead to a new war between the Horn of Africa neighbors.
Council members and other diplomats said the U.N. had little choice but to withdraw its 1,700-strong force that has been monitoring a 15-mile-wide, 620-mile-long buffer zone between the two nations.
The vote means the entire mission will be terminated on Thursday, Vietnam's U.N. ambassador, Le Luong Minh, told reporters after the vote.
Belgian Ambassador Jan Grauls told the council that the mission, known as UNMEE, "had become impossible to implement" because Eritreans progressively limited peacekeepers' movements -- including restricting night patrols, supply routes and diesel fuel -- and Ethiopians refused to accept an independent boundary commission's 2002 decision to award the key town of Badme to Eritrea.
"The border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea remains total, and the United Nations is withdrawing without having been able to assist the two countries in finding a common ground, in spite of having tried all to achieve it," Grauls said.
Eritrea and Ethiopia have been feuding over their border since Eritrea gained independence in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war. The U.N. entered under a 2000 peace agreement that ended the 2½-year border war.
In a resolution drafted by Belgium, a former colonial power in Africa, the council said it regretted that Eritrea's "obstructions ... reached a level so as to undermine the basis of the mission's mandate" and forced peacekeepers to temporarily relocate, mainly on the Ethiopian side.
The resolution also called on Ethiopia to respect the boundary commission's decision and demanded that both nations comply with their previous agreement "to show maximum restraint and refrain from any threat or use of force against each other, and to avoid provocative military activities."
Ban warned in April that a new war could break out if peacekeepers were to withdraw entirely from along the disputed border, and urged Eritrea to restore the U.N.'s ability to patrol its side of the border.
Troops from both countries also exchanged gunfire several times in recent months, Ban said.
But already the $113 million annual peacekeeping mission had pulled most of its personnel from the Eritrean side; fewer than 200 peacekeepers had remained there, mainly to guard U.N. equipment until it could be removed.
In 2005, Eritrea banned U.N. helicopter flights in its airspace
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that failure of the mission could lead to a new war between the Horn of Africa neighbors.
Council members and other diplomats said the U.N. had little choice but to withdraw its 1,700-strong force that has been monitoring a 15-mile-wide, 620-mile-long buffer zone between the two nations.
The vote means the entire mission will be terminated on Thursday, Vietnam's U.N. ambassador, Le Luong Minh, told reporters after the vote.
Belgian Ambassador Jan Grauls told the council that the mission, known as UNMEE, "had become impossible to implement" because Eritreans progressively limited peacekeepers' movements -- including restricting night patrols, supply routes and diesel fuel -- and Ethiopians refused to accept an independent boundary commission's 2002 decision to award the key town of Badme to Eritrea.
"The border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea remains total, and the United Nations is withdrawing without having been able to assist the two countries in finding a common ground, in spite of having tried all to achieve it," Grauls said.
Eritrea and Ethiopia have been feuding over their border since Eritrea gained independence in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war. The U.N. entered under a 2000 peace agreement that ended the 2½-year border war.
In a resolution drafted by Belgium, a former colonial power in Africa, the council said it regretted that Eritrea's "obstructions ... reached a level so as to undermine the basis of the mission's mandate" and forced peacekeepers to temporarily relocate, mainly on the Ethiopian side.
The resolution also called on Ethiopia to respect the boundary commission's decision and demanded that both nations comply with their previous agreement "to show maximum restraint and refrain from any threat or use of force against each other, and to avoid provocative military activities."
Ban warned in April that a new war could break out if peacekeepers were to withdraw entirely from along the disputed border, and urged Eritrea to restore the U.N.'s ability to patrol its side of the border.
Troops from both countries also exchanged gunfire several times in recent months, Ban said.
But already the $113 million annual peacekeeping mission had pulled most of its personnel from the Eritrean side; fewer than 200 peacekeepers had remained there, mainly to guard U.N. equipment until it could be removed.
In 2005, Eritrea banned U.N. helicopter flights in its airspace
Monday
Just hit 'delete' and move on
Don't fly off the handle due to any shocking news that might come your way, today -- you might be only getting part of the story, so it's very unwise to connect the few dots you've been given. Wait for this story to develop more fully over the next few days. You will probably see that not only are things more complicated than you had heard, they're also none of your business. Making assumptions will only lead to problems. So when you get that email or text, just hit 'delete' and move on.
Dancing around the truth is a waste of time
The people around you today don't seem like they are saying what they truly mean -- could they be holding their tongue because they are afraid of hurting your feelings or ticking you off? When they ask you for your opinions, you don't mince words -- so why should they? Speak up and let them know that when you ask them a question, you expect the truth. Ask for this kind of honesty today -- and be prepared for what it may bring you. Dancing around the truth is a waste of time.
Speak out Oromo!
Speak out Oromo!
Wednesday
Now we broke the 500 milestone. Lets get the 500 more we needed
Thank you all Oromos and frind of Oromos who signed this petition so far. Please invite your frinds and relatives to do so...
We are only 485 more signature to go. Please go to this link and sign and support your Oromo people by being voice to voice less!
We signed the "IOYA CONDEMNS THE MASSACRE OF 400 OROMOS (AND COUNTING) IN WESTERN OROMIA" petition!
Speak out Oromo!
We are only 485 more signature to go. Please go to this link and sign and support your Oromo people by being voice to voice less!
We signed the "IOYA CONDEMNS THE MASSACRE OF 400 OROMOS (AND COUNTING) IN WESTERN OROMIA" petition!
Speak out Oromo!
Tuesday
7 more to go!
Please go ahead and get us reach the 500 mark. Only 7 more to go... It been already more than a week to just get 500 signatures.
We signed the "IOYA CONDEMNS THE MASSACRE OF 400 OROMOS (AND COUNTING) IN WESTERN OROMIA" petition!
Speak out Oromo!
We signed the "IOYA CONDEMNS THE MASSACRE OF 400 OROMOS (AND COUNTING) IN WESTERN OROMIA" petition!
Speak out Oromo!
Saturday
Shouldn't we thinking about defending ourself?
All Oromos should have the right to carry gun! If government can't protect our people we should be able to arm and protect ourselves! It is not choice anymore, it is necessity!
Friday
Help Children in Oromia
You can help us save the lives of children in Darfur.
Do it now!
Contact us to find out more how you can help.
Speak out Oromo!
Thursday
Please go out and sign this petition
IOYA CONDEMNS THE MASSACER OF 400 OROMOS (AND COUNTING) IN WESTERN OROMIA
Target:Human Rights SupportersSponsored by: International Oromo Youth AssociationDate: May 30, 2008
IOYA condemns the Massacre of 400 Oromos (and counting) in Western Oromia
IOYA condemns the Massacre of 400 Oromos (and counting) in Western Oromia
Continuing its Nazi style agenda, the TPLF government has introduced its next tactical chapter on systematic massacre of Oromo civilians. The trained commandos of the Ethiopian government, who are backed by bombs, AK 47s and other heavy artillery, have continued their massacre of Oromo civilians killing mothers, burning children alive in locked houses, amputating those they could catch alive and destroying their properties, in Western Oromia, Eastern part of Wollega.
In this area of Western Oromia, Oromos have lived side by side with the Gumuz people peacefully until recently. The TPLF regime has systematically and maliciously turned the Gumuz against Oromos. Specifically on May 17, 2008 marked the beginning of13 days and counting of violence that claimed the lives of more than 400 people in its first two days. The Gumuz militia backed by TPLF regime, attacked unarmed civilian Oromos burning down their houses while cutting open pregnant mothers' wombs, amputating elders and children and forcing thousands to flee their homes. There have been more deaths and injuries as the issue has escalated and no attempts were made by the government to contain it.
Hospitals can only accept those who are on the verge of dying while those who are severely injured are being turned down. Thousands of people are living in an open soccer field, away from the center of the conflict areas, where they hope to seek refuge, with no money or food to survive. Most have been forced to beg on street for daily survival.
The TPLF regime trained and armed Gumuz militia with AK-47 and heavy machine-guns and ordered them to commit indiscriminate killings of unarmed Oromo civilians of East Wallagaa. The worst part of the story is the fact that the Oromos were not allowed to bear arms and those who possessed firearms in the past were forced to disarm prior to the staged incident. The Gumuz militia is said to be so heavily armed that the local police could not hold them off using their sticks and police uniform.
Ever since it came to power, the TPLF/EPRDF regime has applied the outdated 'divide and rule' policy to weaken peoples' struggles for freedom and justice by sowing seeds of disharmony among friendly neighboring peoples. The TPLF regime's track record of the past 17 years of tyrannical rule is full of such evil intrigues that instigated bloody conflicts among people of Ethiopia. It has become a common living situation for Oromos to be terrorized by the government for being nothing other than Oromos.
It was just about a year ago when the government sponsored a daylight killing in Easter Oromia, in a place called Gaara Suufii, where civilians were indiscriminately massacred and their dead bodies were fed to hyenas. Who could forget the daylight killings of Oromo refugees in Kenya by the Ethiopian government agents to suppress the opposing voices that fled their homeland and live in refugee camps to start over life?
Fresh in our memories is also are the outrageous story of the heinous crimes committed against Oromo refugees in Puntland%u2019s Bosasso city of Somalia on February 5, 2008, where 65 Oromo refugees were bombed to death in daylight, while over 100 were also wounded, sponsored by no one other than Ethiopian government.
From time to time, over the last 17 years, the TPLF regime instigated a series of disputes between Oromos and Sidamas, Oromos and Somalis, Oromos and Gedaos, Anywaks and Nuers, Oromos and Amharas, Oromos and Oromos, now Oromos and Gumuzis.
The International Oromo Youth Association (IOYA) deeply condemns the massacre of Oromo civilians by the TPLF backed Gumuz militia.
Therefore IOYA:
Calls on International community to pressure the Ethiopian government to help stop the massacre of civilians and bring to justice those who are responsible
Calls on the International Red cross and other humanitarian agencies to provide food and shelter for those who have been displaced as a result of the conflict
Calls on Ethiopian government to allow the Oromos to arm themselves in order to defend themselves and keep their families safe
Calls on all Oromos and friends from around the world to come together and join hands in an effort to support the devastated communities overcome this ongoing nightmare
Justice for the Oromo People,Justice for All
International Oromo Youth Association
Target:Human Rights SupportersSponsored by: International Oromo Youth AssociationDate: May 30, 2008
IOYA condemns the Massacre of 400 Oromos (and counting) in Western Oromia
IOYA condemns the Massacre of 400 Oromos (and counting) in Western Oromia
Continuing its Nazi style agenda, the TPLF government has introduced its next tactical chapter on systematic massacre of Oromo civilians. The trained commandos of the Ethiopian government, who are backed by bombs, AK 47s and other heavy artillery, have continued their massacre of Oromo civilians killing mothers, burning children alive in locked houses, amputating those they could catch alive and destroying their properties, in Western Oromia, Eastern part of Wollega.
In this area of Western Oromia, Oromos have lived side by side with the Gumuz people peacefully until recently. The TPLF regime has systematically and maliciously turned the Gumuz against Oromos. Specifically on May 17, 2008 marked the beginning of13 days and counting of violence that claimed the lives of more than 400 people in its first two days. The Gumuz militia backed by TPLF regime, attacked unarmed civilian Oromos burning down their houses while cutting open pregnant mothers' wombs, amputating elders and children and forcing thousands to flee their homes. There have been more deaths and injuries as the issue has escalated and no attempts were made by the government to contain it.
Hospitals can only accept those who are on the verge of dying while those who are severely injured are being turned down. Thousands of people are living in an open soccer field, away from the center of the conflict areas, where they hope to seek refuge, with no money or food to survive. Most have been forced to beg on street for daily survival.
The TPLF regime trained and armed Gumuz militia with AK-47 and heavy machine-guns and ordered them to commit indiscriminate killings of unarmed Oromo civilians of East Wallagaa. The worst part of the story is the fact that the Oromos were not allowed to bear arms and those who possessed firearms in the past were forced to disarm prior to the staged incident. The Gumuz militia is said to be so heavily armed that the local police could not hold them off using their sticks and police uniform.
Ever since it came to power, the TPLF/EPRDF regime has applied the outdated 'divide and rule' policy to weaken peoples' struggles for freedom and justice by sowing seeds of disharmony among friendly neighboring peoples. The TPLF regime's track record of the past 17 years of tyrannical rule is full of such evil intrigues that instigated bloody conflicts among people of Ethiopia. It has become a common living situation for Oromos to be terrorized by the government for being nothing other than Oromos.
It was just about a year ago when the government sponsored a daylight killing in Easter Oromia, in a place called Gaara Suufii, where civilians were indiscriminately massacred and their dead bodies were fed to hyenas. Who could forget the daylight killings of Oromo refugees in Kenya by the Ethiopian government agents to suppress the opposing voices that fled their homeland and live in refugee camps to start over life?
Fresh in our memories is also are the outrageous story of the heinous crimes committed against Oromo refugees in Puntland%u2019s Bosasso city of Somalia on February 5, 2008, where 65 Oromo refugees were bombed to death in daylight, while over 100 were also wounded, sponsored by no one other than Ethiopian government.
From time to time, over the last 17 years, the TPLF regime instigated a series of disputes between Oromos and Sidamas, Oromos and Somalis, Oromos and Gedaos, Anywaks and Nuers, Oromos and Amharas, Oromos and Oromos, now Oromos and Gumuzis.
The International Oromo Youth Association (IOYA) deeply condemns the massacre of Oromo civilians by the TPLF backed Gumuz militia.
Therefore IOYA:
Calls on International community to pressure the Ethiopian government to help stop the massacre of civilians and bring to justice those who are responsible
Calls on the International Red cross and other humanitarian agencies to provide food and shelter for those who have been displaced as a result of the conflict
Calls on Ethiopian government to allow the Oromos to arm themselves in order to defend themselves and keep their families safe
Calls on all Oromos and friends from around the world to come together and join hands in an effort to support the devastated communities overcome this ongoing nightmare
Justice for the Oromo People,Justice for All
International Oromo Youth Association
Sunday
Okaaaaaaaaaaay!
Human Rights Watch,Amnesty International USA
The Wayane/TPLF Instigated Massacre of the Oromos in Western Oromia
Once again the TPLF/ EPRDF regime has deliberately organized and instigated armed attack on the Oromo. This time the regime organized, trained, armed and unleashed militia from Gumuz, a nation in a region neighboring Oromia from the West, on wanton killings of the Oromos of East Wallaggaa, Western Oromia. This is a Crime against Humanity.
The Oromo and Gumuz peoples have lived together as good neighbors for hundreds of years. It is these neighboring peoples that the TPLF regime maliciously turned against each other causing days of violence that claimed the lives of more than 400 people, as a result of a campaign that went on from May 17, 2008 to May 19, 2008 . The Gumuz militia attack on the unarmed civilian Oromos caused the death of hundreds and many more injuries and displacement of hundreds to people, and destruction of large amount of properties. The TPLF regime trained and armed Gumuz militia with AK-47 and heavy machine-guns and ordered them to commit indiscriminate killings of unarmed Oromo civilians of East Wallagaa . As a matter of the TPLF government's policy, the Oromos were disarmed and are not allowed to bear arms. The Gumuz militia attacked the unaware and unarmed civilians. Hundreds of Oromos were subjected to horrific and barbaric killings. The militia is said to be so heavily armed that the local police themselves had to flee along with the civilians. The relevant government body and armed forces were bystanders watching the massacre of the unarmed and defenseless Oromos.
On May 17, 2008 , a significant number of well armed forces from the Benishangul Gumuz regional state suddenly attacked unprepared civilian Oromos early in the morning, before they were even awake from sleep. As the attackers were well armed with AK-47 and other unmentioned heavy machine guns, and were highly trained military personnel, they inflicted deadly massive casualties on the unawake Oromo civilians.
Conflicts have been reported in the following parts of East Wallagga . These are:
Saasiggaa District, particularly at Haroo Waataa, Camp 4, Camp 5, Camp 8,
and Baloo villages;
Limmu District, particularly at Arqumbee village; and Other areas
(clear location not found): Amba 7, and Mandar 10 villages. The conflict is still spreading to other areas in the region.
Digaa District, Arjoo Gudatu, and Dimtu area new war against the innocent unarmed Oromo people
2. Scope of the attacks which is stil going on
The invaders¢ actions include mutilation of body parts (arms, legs, and
other organs of children, breasts of women, male genitals), throat cutting and slaughtering, burning down of housings and other properties, looting of properties including animals, raping of women and children, and burning of dead bodies in masses, to make access to information impossible. Very disturbingly, the invaders seriously target the male section of the society.
They also snatch infant babies from mothers¢ backs and kill, only to force the mothers to eat the flesh of their own babies.
Access to information has been intentionally made difficult, not only by the killers, but also by government structures. We are able to get information only for a limited part of the victim population (Saasiggaa district), and only for limited days of the incident (May 17-19, 2008). According to key informants and victim families, the names of which we don¢t have to disclose due security reasons, the following major causalities have resulted from the incident.
3. Consequences of the conflict
3.1 Lose of lives
A total of 400 Oromo civilians are estimated to be killed until May 19, in the areas mentioned above. About 65 of the dead are from Haroo Waataa village of Saasiggaa alone. Most of the dead are male children and the elderly. Only 115 dead bodies were found and buried in groups, in just four graves (40, 30, 25, 20 bodies). The remaining bodies, most of them burnt or eaten by dogs and hyenas, are being gradually discovered.
The following list provides the names of some of the dead, in Saasiggaa
district. The age and other identifications of the victims could not be found, for the moment.
a. Tasfaayee Qana¢aa
b. Waq-gaarii Deetii
c. Boggaalee Waaqtolee
d. Salbaanaa Galataa
e. Kabbadee Salbaanaa
f. Fiqaaduu Salbaanaa
g. Fayyisaa Wadaajoo
h. Tarrafaa Nagaraa
i. Badirii Jamaal
j. Samu¢el Waanee
3.2 Injuries
According to the key informant¢s observation, about 40 seriously injured
Oromo civilians were receiving medical treatment in Naqamtee Hospital as of May 19. Below is the list of only six of them, all of them from Haroo Waataa village:
A. Saamu¢el Tolasaa (See Picture 1)
B. Daani¢el Dhaabaa (See Picture 2)
C. Adam Muhaammad
D. Darajjee Fiqaaduu
E.. Addaamuu Imaanaa
F. Warkinesh Fiqaaduu
G. Abraham Mallasaa
3.3 Lose of properties
There is no quantified information about the extent of property lose resulted from the conflict. Generally, however, the properties of three villages in Saasiggaa, including Haroo Waataa and Baloo have been irrecoverably damaged: housings and in-house properties, including crops were totally burnt down; and the livestock were looted by the invaders. Similar types of loses of property have been reported elsewhere covered by the conflict.
3.4 Displacement
Civilians in the affected areas have continued to flee their homes and
properties beginning with the onset of the conflict on May 17, 2008. Until May 21, over 12, 0000 people are believed to have left their homes, and are camped in Naqamtee town and at a primary school in Saasiggaa district. According to a key informant, the Ethiopian Red Cross is providing minimum basic life-saving assistance to the victims.
4. Action taken by the government to stop the conflict
According to the Ethiopian Law, civilians are not allowed to bear arms in
general. Hence, Oromo civilians are totally unarmed. On the contrary, even ordinary Gumuz people are armed. The armed invaders used that opportunity as a source of arms supply for their continued killings. However, both the regional and the federal movements exhibited significant reluctance at stopping the conflict. Although the federal government has deployed its forces, they remained witness to the raging killings, instead of stopping the killers. They rather successfully prohibited Oromos from neighboring villages and local militias from coming to the rescue of the victims, and from and defending themselves. Most of the loses (both life and property) happened at the presence of the federal forces.
In further worsening of the situation, the government has systematically
blocked access to information through prohibiting access to victims and the damaged areas, by information seekers. Neither government media nor the free press has brought the issue to public attention.
5. The TPLF Regime only this year crime against the Oromo
Ever since it came to power, the TPLF/EPRDF regime has applied the outdated 'divide and rule' policy to weaken peoples' struggles for freedom and justice by sowing seeds of disharmony among friendly neighboring peoples. The TPLF regime's track record of the past 17 years of tyrannical rule is full of such evil intrigues that instigated bloody conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia . As a result of TPLF's machinations Oromo and Sidama, Oromo and Somali, Oromo and Gedao, Anywak and Nuer, Oromo and Amhara, Oromo and Oromo, now Oromo and Gumuz and several other people have clashed. As the result thousands of innocent lives were lost, tens of thousands of people were displaced and enormous amounts of properties were destroyed in the past 17 years. For example in this year only:-
1.With the TPLF, woyane regime instigated conflict between Guji Oromo and Konso 40 peoples have lost their life¢s, dozens wounded and properties were destroyed.
2.In the historic place of Madda Walabu many Oromo¢s have lost their lives.
3.In Me¢esso and many other places ,conspiracy was made between Oromo and Somalis , in which civilian Oromo¢s were murdered by the well armed groups.
4.In Wondo Genet more than 40 Oromo¢s were killed by raids.
5.TPLF have armed the Afar so as the can raid to the extent of Adama.
6.In Wanbara Oromo¢s are being hunted like a wild.
7.Many times and at different places in the Region of Benishangul TPLF have armed its murderers and raided the Oromo¢s in Limmuu ,Gigami, Manasibuu, Gidda, Sasigga ; which is followed in huge destruction. Accordingly as of may 17/2008 on civilian Oromo¢s are under armed attack by the same group.
8. The TPLF government is also active in refuge murder in the horn. In Somalia ; Punta land (Bosaso)65 were killed ,100 wounded and 250 homes burned down.
9.Ever year Oromo University students are killed and dismissed from school in group.
10. The government have the same plan in other part of Oromia in near future to create conflict between Oromo and Gambela (Anyuak) South, Isaa and Oromo in the East Oromiya
The most horrific act includes killing a mother and forcing the son to eat the deed body ,and they also killed the 2 week long mother giving birth and wounded the son.
Behind all the conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia during this period, there always are the TPLF regime's security agents deliberately creating distrust and suspicion among peoples who have lived peacefully for many years as neighbors. The regime survives by creating armed conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia . Such heinous act is a crime against humanity.
6. Annex
Last, but not least, we call upon the international community and governments to exert all necessary pressures on the TPLF regime to desist from its inhuman and destructive policies of deliberately setting the people it purports to govern against each other. We also call on all concerned governments and international organizations to pay close attention to the crime against humanity the minority tyrannical TPLF regime is perpetrating in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa in general and take remedial actions before it is too late. We call European Union And USA government to stop all economic and material support for dictatorial regime.
Appeal for UN General secretary
The Wayane/TPLF Instigated Massacre of the Oromos in Western Oromia
Once again the TPLF/ EPRDF regime has deliberately organized and instigated armed attack on the Oromo. This time the regime organized, trained, armed and unleashed militia from Gumuz, a nation in a region neighboring Oromia from the West, on wanton killings of the Oromos of East Wallaggaa, Western Oromia. This is a Crime against Humanity.
The Oromo and Gumuz peoples have lived together as good neighbors for hundreds of years. It is these neighboring peoples that the TPLF regime maliciously turned against each other causing days of violence that claimed the lives of more than 400 people, as a result of a campaign that went on from May 17, 2008 to May 19, 2008 . The Gumuz militia attack on the unarmed civilian Oromos caused the death of hundreds and many more injuries and displacement of hundreds to people, and destruction of large amount of properties. The TPLF regime trained and armed Gumuz militia with AK-47 and heavy machine-guns and ordered them to commit indiscriminate killings of unarmed Oromo civilians of East Wallagaa . As a matter of the TPLF government's policy, the Oromos were disarmed and are not allowed to bear arms. The Gumuz militia attacked the unaware and unarmed civilians. Hundreds of Oromos were subjected to horrific and barbaric killings. The militia is said to be so heavily armed that the local police themselves had to flee along with the civilians. The relevant government body and armed forces were bystanders watching the massacre of the unarmed and defenseless Oromos.
On May 17, 2008 , a significant number of well armed forces from the Benishangul Gumuz regional state suddenly attacked unprepared civilian Oromos early in the morning, before they were even awake from sleep. As the attackers were well armed with AK-47 and other unmentioned heavy machine guns, and were highly trained military personnel, they inflicted deadly massive casualties on the unawake Oromo civilians.
Conflicts have been reported in the following parts of East Wallagga . These are:
Saasiggaa District, particularly at Haroo Waataa, Camp 4, Camp 5, Camp 8,
and Baloo villages;
Limmu District, particularly at Arqumbee village; and Other areas
(clear location not found): Amba 7, and Mandar 10 villages. The conflict is still spreading to other areas in the region.
Digaa District, Arjoo Gudatu, and Dimtu area new war against the innocent unarmed Oromo people
2. Scope of the attacks which is stil going on
The invaders¢ actions include mutilation of body parts (arms, legs, and
other organs of children, breasts of women, male genitals), throat cutting and slaughtering, burning down of housings and other properties, looting of properties including animals, raping of women and children, and burning of dead bodies in masses, to make access to information impossible. Very disturbingly, the invaders seriously target the male section of the society.
They also snatch infant babies from mothers¢ backs and kill, only to force the mothers to eat the flesh of their own babies.
Access to information has been intentionally made difficult, not only by the killers, but also by government structures. We are able to get information only for a limited part of the victim population (Saasiggaa district), and only for limited days of the incident (May 17-19, 2008). According to key informants and victim families, the names of which we don¢t have to disclose due security reasons, the following major causalities have resulted from the incident.
3. Consequences of the conflict
3.1 Lose of lives
A total of 400 Oromo civilians are estimated to be killed until May 19, in the areas mentioned above. About 65 of the dead are from Haroo Waataa village of Saasiggaa alone. Most of the dead are male children and the elderly. Only 115 dead bodies were found and buried in groups, in just four graves (40, 30, 25, 20 bodies). The remaining bodies, most of them burnt or eaten by dogs and hyenas, are being gradually discovered.
The following list provides the names of some of the dead, in Saasiggaa
district. The age and other identifications of the victims could not be found, for the moment.
a. Tasfaayee Qana¢aa
b. Waq-gaarii Deetii
c. Boggaalee Waaqtolee
d. Salbaanaa Galataa
e. Kabbadee Salbaanaa
f. Fiqaaduu Salbaanaa
g. Fayyisaa Wadaajoo
h. Tarrafaa Nagaraa
i. Badirii Jamaal
j. Samu¢el Waanee
3.2 Injuries
According to the key informant¢s observation, about 40 seriously injured
Oromo civilians were receiving medical treatment in Naqamtee Hospital as of May 19. Below is the list of only six of them, all of them from Haroo Waataa village:
A. Saamu¢el Tolasaa (See Picture 1)
B. Daani¢el Dhaabaa (See Picture 2)
C. Adam Muhaammad
D. Darajjee Fiqaaduu
E.. Addaamuu Imaanaa
F. Warkinesh Fiqaaduu
G. Abraham Mallasaa
3.3 Lose of properties
There is no quantified information about the extent of property lose resulted from the conflict. Generally, however, the properties of three villages in Saasiggaa, including Haroo Waataa and Baloo have been irrecoverably damaged: housings and in-house properties, including crops were totally burnt down; and the livestock were looted by the invaders. Similar types of loses of property have been reported elsewhere covered by the conflict.
3.4 Displacement
Civilians in the affected areas have continued to flee their homes and
properties beginning with the onset of the conflict on May 17, 2008. Until May 21, over 12, 0000 people are believed to have left their homes, and are camped in Naqamtee town and at a primary school in Saasiggaa district. According to a key informant, the Ethiopian Red Cross is providing minimum basic life-saving assistance to the victims.
4. Action taken by the government to stop the conflict
According to the Ethiopian Law, civilians are not allowed to bear arms in
general. Hence, Oromo civilians are totally unarmed. On the contrary, even ordinary Gumuz people are armed. The armed invaders used that opportunity as a source of arms supply for their continued killings. However, both the regional and the federal movements exhibited significant reluctance at stopping the conflict. Although the federal government has deployed its forces, they remained witness to the raging killings, instead of stopping the killers. They rather successfully prohibited Oromos from neighboring villages and local militias from coming to the rescue of the victims, and from and defending themselves. Most of the loses (both life and property) happened at the presence of the federal forces.
In further worsening of the situation, the government has systematically
blocked access to information through prohibiting access to victims and the damaged areas, by information seekers. Neither government media nor the free press has brought the issue to public attention.
5. The TPLF Regime only this year crime against the Oromo
Ever since it came to power, the TPLF/EPRDF regime has applied the outdated 'divide and rule' policy to weaken peoples' struggles for freedom and justice by sowing seeds of disharmony among friendly neighboring peoples. The TPLF regime's track record of the past 17 years of tyrannical rule is full of such evil intrigues that instigated bloody conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia . As a result of TPLF's machinations Oromo and Sidama, Oromo and Somali, Oromo and Gedao, Anywak and Nuer, Oromo and Amhara, Oromo and Oromo, now Oromo and Gumuz and several other people have clashed. As the result thousands of innocent lives were lost, tens of thousands of people were displaced and enormous amounts of properties were destroyed in the past 17 years. For example in this year only:-
1.With the TPLF, woyane regime instigated conflict between Guji Oromo and Konso 40 peoples have lost their life¢s, dozens wounded and properties were destroyed.
2.In the historic place of Madda Walabu many Oromo¢s have lost their lives.
3.In Me¢esso and many other places ,conspiracy was made between Oromo and Somalis , in which civilian Oromo¢s were murdered by the well armed groups.
4.In Wondo Genet more than 40 Oromo¢s were killed by raids.
5.TPLF have armed the Afar so as the can raid to the extent of Adama.
6.In Wanbara Oromo¢s are being hunted like a wild.
7.Many times and at different places in the Region of Benishangul TPLF have armed its murderers and raided the Oromo¢s in Limmuu ,Gigami, Manasibuu, Gidda, Sasigga ; which is followed in huge destruction. Accordingly as of may 17/2008 on civilian Oromo¢s are under armed attack by the same group.
8. The TPLF government is also active in refuge murder in the horn. In Somalia ; Punta land (Bosaso)65 were killed ,100 wounded and 250 homes burned down.
9.Ever year Oromo University students are killed and dismissed from school in group.
10. The government have the same plan in other part of Oromia in near future to create conflict between Oromo and Gambela (Anyuak) South, Isaa and Oromo in the East Oromiya
The most horrific act includes killing a mother and forcing the son to eat the deed body ,and they also killed the 2 week long mother giving birth and wounded the son.
Behind all the conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia during this period, there always are the TPLF regime's security agents deliberately creating distrust and suspicion among peoples who have lived peacefully for many years as neighbors. The regime survives by creating armed conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia . Such heinous act is a crime against humanity.
6. Annex
Last, but not least, we call upon the international community and governments to exert all necessary pressures on the TPLF regime to desist from its inhuman and destructive policies of deliberately setting the people it purports to govern against each other. We also call on all concerned governments and international organizations to pay close attention to the crime against humanity the minority tyrannical TPLF regime is perpetrating in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa in general and take remedial actions before it is too late. We call European Union And USA government to stop all economic and material support for dictatorial regime.
The Wayane/TPLF Instigated Massacre of the Oromos in Western Oromia
Once again the TPLF/ EPRDF regime has deliberately organized and instigated armed attack on the Oromo. This time the regime organized, trained, armed and unleashed militia from Gumuz, a nation in a region neighboring Oromia from the West, on wanton killings of the Oromos of East Wallaggaa, Western Oromia. This is a Crime against Humanity.
The Oromo and Gumuz peoples have lived together as good neighbors for hundreds of years. It is these neighboring peoples that the TPLF regime maliciously turned against each other causing days of violence that claimed the lives of more than 400 people, as a result of a campaign that went on from May 17, 2008 to May 19, 2008 . The Gumuz militia attack on the unarmed civilian Oromos caused the death of hundreds and many more injuries and displacement of hundreds to people, and destruction of large amount of properties. The TPLF regime trained and armed Gumuz militia with AK-47 and heavy machine-guns and ordered them to commit indiscriminate killings of unarmed Oromo civilians of East Wallagaa . As a matter of the TPLF government's policy, the Oromos were disarmed and are not allowed to bear arms. The Gumuz militia attacked the unaware and unarmed civilians. Hundreds of Oromos were subjected to horrific and barbaric killings. The militia is said to be so heavily armed that the local police themselves had to flee along with the civilians. The relevant government body and armed forces were bystanders watching the massacre of the unarmed and defenseless Oromos.
On May 17, 2008 , a significant number of well armed forces from the Benishangul Gumuz regional state suddenly attacked unprepared civilian Oromos early in the morning, before they were even awake from sleep. As the attackers were well armed with AK-47 and other unmentioned heavy machine guns, and were highly trained military personnel, they inflicted deadly massive casualties on the unawake Oromo civilians.
Conflicts have been reported in the following parts of East Wallagga . These are:
Saasiggaa District, particularly at Haroo Waataa, Camp 4, Camp 5, Camp 8,
and Baloo villages;
Limmu District, particularly at Arqumbee village; and Other areas
(clear location not found): Amba 7, and Mandar 10 villages. The conflict is still spreading to other areas in the region.
Digaa District, Arjoo Gudatu, and Dimtu area new war against the innocent unarmed Oromo people
2. Scope of the attacks which is stil going on
The invaders¢ actions include mutilation of body parts (arms, legs, and
other organs of children, breasts of women, male genitals), throat cutting and slaughtering, burning down of housings and other properties, looting of properties including animals, raping of women and children, and burning of dead bodies in masses, to make access to information impossible. Very disturbingly, the invaders seriously target the male section of the society.
They also snatch infant babies from mothers¢ backs and kill, only to force the mothers to eat the flesh of their own babies.
Access to information has been intentionally made difficult, not only by the killers, but also by government structures. We are able to get information only for a limited part of the victim population (Saasiggaa district), and only for limited days of the incident (May 17-19, 2008). According to key informants and victim families, the names of which we don¢t have to disclose due security reasons, the following major causalities have resulted from the incident.
3. Consequences of the conflict
3.1 Lose of lives
A total of 400 Oromo civilians are estimated to be killed until May 19, in the areas mentioned above. About 65 of the dead are from Haroo Waataa village of Saasiggaa alone. Most of the dead are male children and the elderly. Only 115 dead bodies were found and buried in groups, in just four graves (40, 30, 25, 20 bodies). The remaining bodies, most of them burnt or eaten by dogs and hyenas, are being gradually discovered.
The following list provides the names of some of the dead, in Saasiggaa
district. The age and other identifications of the victims could not be found, for the moment.
a. Tasfaayee Qana¢aa
b. Waq-gaarii Deetii
c. Boggaalee Waaqtolee
d. Salbaanaa Galataa
e. Kabbadee Salbaanaa
f. Fiqaaduu Salbaanaa
g. Fayyisaa Wadaajoo
h. Tarrafaa Nagaraa
i. Badirii Jamaal
j. Samu¢el Waanee
3.2 Injuries
According to the key informant¢s observation, about 40 seriously injured
Oromo civilians were receiving medical treatment in Naqamtee Hospital as of May 19. Below is the list of only six of them, all of them from Haroo Waataa village:
A. Saamu¢el Tolasaa (See Picture 1)
B. Daani¢el Dhaabaa (See Picture 2)
C. Adam Muhaammad
D. Darajjee Fiqaaduu
E.. Addaamuu Imaanaa
F. Warkinesh Fiqaaduu
G. Abraham Mallasaa
3.3 Lose of properties
There is no quantified information about the extent of property lose resulted from the conflict. Generally, however, the properties of three villages in Saasiggaa, including Haroo Waataa and Baloo have been irrecoverably damaged: housings and in-house properties, including crops were totally burnt down; and the livestock were looted by the invaders. Similar types of loses of property have been reported elsewhere covered by the conflict.
3.4 Displacement
Civilians in the affected areas have continued to flee their homes and
properties beginning with the onset of the conflict on May 17, 2008. Until May 21, over 12, 0000 people are believed to have left their homes, and are camped in Naqamtee town and at a primary school in Saasiggaa district. According to a key informant, the Ethiopian Red Cross is providing minimum basic life-saving assistance to the victims.
4. Action taken by the government to stop the conflict
According to the Ethiopian Law, civilians are not allowed to bear arms in
general. Hence, Oromo civilians are totally unarmed. On the contrary, even ordinary Gumuz people are armed. The armed invaders used that opportunity as a source of arms supply for their continued killings. However, both the regional and the federal movements exhibited significant reluctance at stopping the conflict. Although the federal government has deployed its forces, they remained witness to the raging killings, instead of stopping the killers. They rather successfully prohibited Oromos from neighboring villages and local militias from coming to the rescue of the victims, and from and defending themselves. Most of the loses (both life and property) happened at the presence of the federal forces.
In further worsening of the situation, the government has systematically
blocked access to information through prohibiting access to victims and the damaged areas, by information seekers. Neither government media nor the free press has brought the issue to public attention.
5. The TPLF Regime only this year crime against the Oromo
Ever since it came to power, the TPLF/EPRDF regime has applied the outdated 'divide and rule' policy to weaken peoples' struggles for freedom and justice by sowing seeds of disharmony among friendly neighboring peoples. The TPLF regime's track record of the past 17 years of tyrannical rule is full of such evil intrigues that instigated bloody conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia . As a result of TPLF's machinations Oromo and Sidama, Oromo and Somali, Oromo and Gedao, Anywak and Nuer, Oromo and Amhara, Oromo and Oromo, now Oromo and Gumuz and several other people have clashed. As the result thousands of innocent lives were lost, tens of thousands of people were displaced and enormous amounts of properties were destroyed in the past 17 years. For example in this year only:-
1.With the TPLF, woyane regime instigated conflict between Guji Oromo and Konso 40 peoples have lost their life¢s, dozens wounded and properties were destroyed.
2.In the historic place of Madda Walabu many Oromo¢s have lost their lives.
3.In Me¢esso and many other places ,conspiracy was made between Oromo and Somalis , in which civilian Oromo¢s were murdered by the well armed groups.
4.In Wondo Genet more than 40 Oromo¢s were killed by raids.
5.TPLF have armed the Afar so as the can raid to the extent of Adama.
6.In Wanbara Oromo¢s are being hunted like a wild.
7.Many times and at different places in the Region of Benishangul TPLF have armed its murderers and raided the Oromo¢s in Limmuu ,Gigami, Manasibuu, Gidda, Sasigga ; which is followed in huge destruction. Accordingly as of may 17/2008 on civilian Oromo¢s are under armed attack by the same group.
8. The TPLF government is also active in refuge murder in the horn. In Somalia ; Punta land (Bosaso)65 were killed ,100 wounded and 250 homes burned down.
9.Ever year Oromo University students are killed and dismissed from school in group.
10. The government have the same plan in other part of Oromia in near future to create conflict between Oromo and Gambela (Anyuak) South, Isaa and Oromo in the East Oromiya
The most horrific act includes killing a mother and forcing the son to eat the deed body ,and they also killed the 2 week long mother giving birth and wounded the son.
Behind all the conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia during this period, there always are the TPLF regime's security agents deliberately creating distrust and suspicion among peoples who have lived peacefully for many years as neighbors. The regime survives by creating armed conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia . Such heinous act is a crime against humanity.
6. Annex
Last, but not least, we call upon the international community and governments to exert all necessary pressures on the TPLF regime to desist from its inhuman and destructive policies of deliberately setting the people it purports to govern against each other. We also call on all concerned governments and international organizations to pay close attention to the crime against humanity the minority tyrannical TPLF regime is perpetrating in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa in general and take remedial actions before it is too late. We call European Union And USA government to stop all economic and material support for dictatorial regime.
The Wayane/TPLF Instigated Massacre of the Oromos in Western Oromia
Once again the TPLF/ EPRDF regime has deliberately organized and instigated armed attack on the Oromo. This time the regime organized, trained, armed and unleashed militia from Gumuz, a nation in a region neighboring Oromia from the West, on wanton killings of the Oromos of East Wallaggaa, Western Oromia. This is a Crime against Humanity.
The Oromo and Gumuz peoples have lived together as good neighbors for hundreds of years. It is these neighboring peoples that the TPLF regime maliciously turned against each other causing days of violence that claimed the lives of more than 400 people, as a result of a campaign that went on from May 17, 2008 to May 19, 2008 . The Gumuz militia attack on the unarmed civilian Oromos caused the death of hundreds and many more injuries and displacement of hundreds to people, and destruction of large amount of properties. The TPLF regime trained and armed Gumuz militia with AK-47 and heavy machine-guns and ordered them to commit indiscriminate killings of unarmed Oromo civilians of East Wallagaa . As a matter of the TPLF government's policy, the Oromos were disarmed and are not allowed to bear arms. The Gumuz militia attacked the unaware and unarmed civilians. Hundreds of Oromos were subjected to horrific and barbaric killings. The militia is said to be so heavily armed that the local police themselves had to flee along with the civilians. The relevant government body and armed forces were bystanders watching the massacre of the unarmed and defenseless Oromos.
On May 17, 2008 , a significant number of well armed forces from the Benishangul Gumuz regional state suddenly attacked unprepared civilian Oromos early in the morning, before they were even awake from sleep. As the attackers were well armed with AK-47 and other unmentioned heavy machine guns, and were highly trained military personnel, they inflicted deadly massive casualties on the unawake Oromo civilians.
Conflicts have been reported in the following parts of East Wallagga . These are:
Saasiggaa District, particularly at Haroo Waataa, Camp 4, Camp 5, Camp 8,
and Baloo villages;
Limmu District, particularly at Arqumbee village; and Other areas
(clear location not found): Amba 7, and Mandar 10 villages. The conflict is still spreading to other areas in the region.
Digaa District, Arjoo Gudatu, and Dimtu area new war against the innocent unarmed Oromo people
2. Scope of the attacks which is stil going on
The invaders¢ actions include mutilation of body parts (arms, legs, and
other organs of children, breasts of women, male genitals), throat cutting and slaughtering, burning down of housings and other properties, looting of properties including animals, raping of women and children, and burning of dead bodies in masses, to make access to information impossible. Very disturbingly, the invaders seriously target the male section of the society.
They also snatch infant babies from mothers¢ backs and kill, only to force the mothers to eat the flesh of their own babies.
Access to information has been intentionally made difficult, not only by the killers, but also by government structures. We are able to get information only for a limited part of the victim population (Saasiggaa district), and only for limited days of the incident (May 17-19, 2008). According to key informants and victim families, the names of which we don¢t have to disclose due security reasons, the following major causalities have resulted from the incident.
3. Consequences of the conflict
3.1 Lose of lives
A total of 400 Oromo civilians are estimated to be killed until May 19, in the areas mentioned above. About 65 of the dead are from Haroo Waataa village of Saasiggaa alone. Most of the dead are male children and the elderly. Only 115 dead bodies were found and buried in groups, in just four graves (40, 30, 25, 20 bodies). The remaining bodies, most of them burnt or eaten by dogs and hyenas, are being gradually discovered.
The following list provides the names of some of the dead, in Saasiggaa
district. The age and other identifications of the victims could not be found, for the moment.
a. Tasfaayee Qana¢aa
b. Waq-gaarii Deetii
c. Boggaalee Waaqtolee
d. Salbaanaa Galataa
e. Kabbadee Salbaanaa
f. Fiqaaduu Salbaanaa
g. Fayyisaa Wadaajoo
h. Tarrafaa Nagaraa
i. Badirii Jamaal
j. Samu¢el Waanee
3.2 Injuries
According to the key informant¢s observation, about 40 seriously injured
Oromo civilians were receiving medical treatment in Naqamtee Hospital as of May 19. Below is the list of only six of them, all of them from Haroo Waataa village:
A. Saamu¢el Tolasaa (See Picture 1)
B. Daani¢el Dhaabaa (See Picture 2)
C. Adam Muhaammad
D. Darajjee Fiqaaduu
E.. Addaamuu Imaanaa
F. Warkinesh Fiqaaduu
G. Abraham Mallasaa
3.3 Lose of properties
There is no quantified information about the extent of property lose resulted from the conflict. Generally, however, the properties of three villages in Saasiggaa, including Haroo Waataa and Baloo have been irrecoverably damaged: housings and in-house properties, including crops were totally burnt down; and the livestock were looted by the invaders. Similar types of loses of property have been reported elsewhere covered by the conflict.
3.4 Displacement
Civilians in the affected areas have continued to flee their homes and
properties beginning with the onset of the conflict on May 17, 2008. Until May 21, over 12, 0000 people are believed to have left their homes, and are camped in Naqamtee town and at a primary school in Saasiggaa district. According to a key informant, the Ethiopian Red Cross is providing minimum basic life-saving assistance to the victims.
4. Action taken by the government to stop the conflict
According to the Ethiopian Law, civilians are not allowed to bear arms in
general. Hence, Oromo civilians are totally unarmed. On the contrary, even ordinary Gumuz people are armed. The armed invaders used that opportunity as a source of arms supply for their continued killings. However, both the regional and the federal movements exhibited significant reluctance at stopping the conflict. Although the federal government has deployed its forces, they remained witness to the raging killings, instead of stopping the killers. They rather successfully prohibited Oromos from neighboring villages and local militias from coming to the rescue of the victims, and from and defending themselves. Most of the loses (both life and property) happened at the presence of the federal forces.
In further worsening of the situation, the government has systematically
blocked access to information through prohibiting access to victims and the damaged areas, by information seekers. Neither government media nor the free press has brought the issue to public attention.
5. The TPLF Regime only this year crime against the Oromo
Ever since it came to power, the TPLF/EPRDF regime has applied the outdated 'divide and rule' policy to weaken peoples' struggles for freedom and justice by sowing seeds of disharmony among friendly neighboring peoples. The TPLF regime's track record of the past 17 years of tyrannical rule is full of such evil intrigues that instigated bloody conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia . As a result of TPLF's machinations Oromo and Sidama, Oromo and Somali, Oromo and Gedao, Anywak and Nuer, Oromo and Amhara, Oromo and Oromo, now Oromo and Gumuz and several other people have clashed. As the result thousands of innocent lives were lost, tens of thousands of people were displaced and enormous amounts of properties were destroyed in the past 17 years. For example in this year only:-
1.With the TPLF, woyane regime instigated conflict between Guji Oromo and Konso 40 peoples have lost their life¢s, dozens wounded and properties were destroyed.
2.In the historic place of Madda Walabu many Oromo¢s have lost their lives.
3.In Me¢esso and many other places ,conspiracy was made between Oromo and Somalis , in which civilian Oromo¢s were murdered by the well armed groups.
4.In Wondo Genet more than 40 Oromo¢s were killed by raids.
5.TPLF have armed the Afar so as the can raid to the extent of Adama.
6.In Wanbara Oromo¢s are being hunted like a wild.
7.Many times and at different places in the Region of Benishangul TPLF have armed its murderers and raided the Oromo¢s in Limmuu ,Gigami, Manasibuu, Gidda, Sasigga ; which is followed in huge destruction. Accordingly as of may 17/2008 on civilian Oromo¢s are under armed attack by the same group.
8. The TPLF government is also active in refuge murder in the horn. In Somalia ; Punta land (Bosaso)65 were killed ,100 wounded and 250 homes burned down.
9.Ever year Oromo University students are killed and dismissed from school in group.
10. The government have the same plan in other part of Oromia in near future to create conflict between Oromo and Gambela (Anyuak) South, Isaa and Oromo in the East Oromiya
The most horrific act includes killing a mother and forcing the son to eat the deed body ,and they also killed the 2 week long mother giving birth and wounded the son.
Behind all the conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia during this period, there always are the TPLF regime's security agents deliberately creating distrust and suspicion among peoples who have lived peacefully for many years as neighbors. The regime survives by creating armed conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia . Such heinous act is a crime against humanity.
6. Annex
Last, but not least, we call upon the international community and governments to exert all necessary pressures on the TPLF regime to desist from its inhuman and destructive policies of deliberately setting the people it purports to govern against each other. We also call on all concerned governments and international organizations to pay close attention to the crime against humanity the minority tyrannical TPLF regime is perpetrating in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa in general and take remedial actions before it is too late. We call European Union And USA government to stop all economic and material support for dictatorial regime.
Appeal for UN General secretary
The Wayane/TPLF Instigated Massacre of the Oromos in Western Oromia
Once again the TPLF/ EPRDF regime has deliberately organized and instigated armed attack on the Oromo. This time the regime organized, trained, armed and unleashed militia from Gumuz, a nation in a region neighboring Oromia from the West, on wanton killings of the Oromos of East Wallaggaa, Western Oromia. This is a Crime against Humanity.
The Oromo and Gumuz peoples have lived together as good neighbors for hundreds of years. It is these neighboring peoples that the TPLF regime maliciously turned against each other causing days of violence that claimed the lives of more than 400 people, as a result of a campaign that went on from May 17, 2008 to May 19, 2008 . The Gumuz militia attack on the unarmed civilian Oromos caused the death of hundreds and many more injuries and displacement of hundreds to people, and destruction of large amount of properties. The TPLF regime trained and armed Gumuz militia with AK-47 and heavy machine-guns and ordered them to commit indiscriminate killings of unarmed Oromo civilians of East Wallagaa . As a matter of the TPLF government's policy, the Oromos were disarmed and are not allowed to bear arms. The Gumuz militia attacked the unaware and unarmed civilians. Hundreds of Oromos were subjected to horrific and barbaric killings. The militia is said to be so heavily armed that the local police themselves had to flee along with the civilians. The relevant government body and armed forces were bystanders watching the massacre of the unarmed and defenseless Oromos.
On May 17, 2008 , a significant number of well armed forces from the Benishangul Gumuz regional state suddenly attacked unprepared civilian Oromos early in the morning, before they were even awake from sleep. As the attackers were well armed with AK-47 and other unmentioned heavy machine guns, and were highly trained military personnel, they inflicted deadly massive casualties on the unawake Oromo civilians.
Conflicts have been reported in the following parts of East Wallagga . These are:
Saasiggaa District, particularly at Haroo Waataa, Camp 4, Camp 5, Camp 8,
and Baloo villages;
Limmu District, particularly at Arqumbee village; and Other areas
(clear location not found): Amba 7, and Mandar 10 villages. The conflict is still spreading to other areas in the region.
Digaa District, Arjoo Gudatu, and Dimtu area new war against the innocent unarmed Oromo people
2. Scope of the attacks which is stil going on
The invaders¢ actions include mutilation of body parts (arms, legs, and
other organs of children, breasts of women, male genitals), throat cutting and slaughtering, burning down of housings and other properties, looting of properties including animals, raping of women and children, and burning of dead bodies in masses, to make access to information impossible. Very disturbingly, the invaders seriously target the male section of the society.
They also snatch infant babies from mothers¢ backs and kill, only to force the mothers to eat the flesh of their own babies.
Access to information has been intentionally made difficult, not only by the killers, but also by government structures. We are able to get information only for a limited part of the victim population (Saasiggaa district), and only for limited days of the incident (May 17-19, 2008). According to key informants and victim families, the names of which we don¢t have to disclose due security reasons, the following major causalities have resulted from the incident.
3. Consequences of the conflict
3.1 Lose of lives
A total of 400 Oromo civilians are estimated to be killed until May 19, in the areas mentioned above. About 65 of the dead are from Haroo Waataa village of Saasiggaa alone. Most of the dead are male children and the elderly. Only 115 dead bodies were found and buried in groups, in just four graves (40, 30, 25, 20 bodies). The remaining bodies, most of them burnt or eaten by dogs and hyenas, are being gradually discovered.
The following list provides the names of some of the dead, in Saasiggaa
district. The age and other identifications of the victims could not be found, for the moment.
a. Tasfaayee Qana¢aa
b. Waq-gaarii Deetii
c. Boggaalee Waaqtolee
d. Salbaanaa Galataa
e. Kabbadee Salbaanaa
f. Fiqaaduu Salbaanaa
g. Fayyisaa Wadaajoo
h. Tarrafaa Nagaraa
i. Badirii Jamaal
j. Samu¢el Waanee
3.2 Injuries
According to the key informant¢s observation, about 40 seriously injured
Oromo civilians were receiving medical treatment in Naqamtee Hospital as of May 19. Below is the list of only six of them, all of them from Haroo Waataa village:
A. Saamu¢el Tolasaa (See Picture 1)
B. Daani¢el Dhaabaa (See Picture 2)
C. Adam Muhaammad
D. Darajjee Fiqaaduu
E.. Addaamuu Imaanaa
F. Warkinesh Fiqaaduu
G. Abraham Mallasaa
3.3 Lose of properties
There is no quantified information about the extent of property lose resulted from the conflict. Generally, however, the properties of three villages in Saasiggaa, including Haroo Waataa and Baloo have been irrecoverably damaged: housings and in-house properties, including crops were totally burnt down; and the livestock were looted by the invaders. Similar types of loses of property have been reported elsewhere covered by the conflict.
3.4 Displacement
Civilians in the affected areas have continued to flee their homes and
properties beginning with the onset of the conflict on May 17, 2008. Until May 21, over 12, 0000 people are believed to have left their homes, and are camped in Naqamtee town and at a primary school in Saasiggaa district. According to a key informant, the Ethiopian Red Cross is providing minimum basic life-saving assistance to the victims.
4. Action taken by the government to stop the conflict
According to the Ethiopian Law, civilians are not allowed to bear arms in
general. Hence, Oromo civilians are totally unarmed. On the contrary, even ordinary Gumuz people are armed. The armed invaders used that opportunity as a source of arms supply for their continued killings. However, both the regional and the federal movements exhibited significant reluctance at stopping the conflict. Although the federal government has deployed its forces, they remained witness to the raging killings, instead of stopping the killers. They rather successfully prohibited Oromos from neighboring villages and local militias from coming to the rescue of the victims, and from and defending themselves. Most of the loses (both life and property) happened at the presence of the federal forces.
In further worsening of the situation, the government has systematically
blocked access to information through prohibiting access to victims and the damaged areas, by information seekers. Neither government media nor the free press has brought the issue to public attention.
5. The TPLF Regime only this year crime against the Oromo
Ever since it came to power, the TPLF/EPRDF regime has applied the outdated 'divide and rule' policy to weaken peoples' struggles for freedom and justice by sowing seeds of disharmony among friendly neighboring peoples. The TPLF regime's track record of the past 17 years of tyrannical rule is full of such evil intrigues that instigated bloody conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia . As a result of TPLF's machinations Oromo and Sidama, Oromo and Somali, Oromo and Gedao, Anywak and Nuer, Oromo and Amhara, Oromo and Oromo, now Oromo and Gumuz and several other people have clashed. As the result thousands of innocent lives were lost, tens of thousands of people were displaced and enormous amounts of properties were destroyed in the past 17 years. For example in this year only:-
1.With the TPLF, woyane regime instigated conflict between Guji Oromo and Konso 40 peoples have lost their life¢s, dozens wounded and properties were destroyed.
2.In the historic place of Madda Walabu many Oromo¢s have lost their lives.
3.In Me¢esso and many other places ,conspiracy was made between Oromo and Somalis , in which civilian Oromo¢s were murdered by the well armed groups.
4.In Wondo Genet more than 40 Oromo¢s were killed by raids.
5.TPLF have armed the Afar so as the can raid to the extent of Adama.
6.In Wanbara Oromo¢s are being hunted like a wild.
7.Many times and at different places in the Region of Benishangul TPLF have armed its murderers and raided the Oromo¢s in Limmuu ,Gigami, Manasibuu, Gidda, Sasigga ; which is followed in huge destruction. Accordingly as of may 17/2008 on civilian Oromo¢s are under armed attack by the same group.
8. The TPLF government is also active in refuge murder in the horn. In Somalia ; Punta land (Bosaso)65 were killed ,100 wounded and 250 homes burned down.
9.Ever year Oromo University students are killed and dismissed from school in group.
10. The government have the same plan in other part of Oromia in near future to create conflict between Oromo and Gambela (Anyuak) South, Isaa and Oromo in the East Oromiya
The most horrific act includes killing a mother and forcing the son to eat the deed body ,and they also killed the 2 week long mother giving birth and wounded the son.
Behind all the conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia during this period, there always are the TPLF regime's security agents deliberately creating distrust and suspicion among peoples who have lived peacefully for many years as neighbors. The regime survives by creating armed conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia . Such heinous act is a crime against humanity.
6. Annex
Last, but not least, we call upon the international community and governments to exert all necessary pressures on the TPLF regime to desist from its inhuman and destructive policies of deliberately setting the people it purports to govern against each other. We also call on all concerned governments and international organizations to pay close attention to the crime against humanity the minority tyrannical TPLF regime is perpetrating in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa in general and take remedial actions before it is too late. We call European Union And USA government to stop all economic and material support for dictatorial regime.
The Wayane/TPLF Instigated Massacre of the Oromos in Western Oromia
Once again the TPLF/ EPRDF regime has deliberately organized and instigated armed attack on the Oromo. This time the regime organized, trained, armed and unleashed militia from Gumuz, a nation in a region neighboring Oromia from the West, on wanton killings of the Oromos of East Wallaggaa, Western Oromia. This is a Crime against Humanity.
The Oromo and Gumuz peoples have lived together as good neighbors for hundreds of years. It is these neighboring peoples that the TPLF regime maliciously turned against each other causing days of violence that claimed the lives of more than 400 people, as a result of a campaign that went on from May 17, 2008 to May 19, 2008 . The Gumuz militia attack on the unarmed civilian Oromos caused the death of hundreds and many more injuries and displacement of hundreds to people, and destruction of large amount of properties. The TPLF regime trained and armed Gumuz militia with AK-47 and heavy machine-guns and ordered them to commit indiscriminate killings of unarmed Oromo civilians of East Wallagaa . As a matter of the TPLF government's policy, the Oromos were disarmed and are not allowed to bear arms. The Gumuz militia attacked the unaware and unarmed civilians. Hundreds of Oromos were subjected to horrific and barbaric killings. The militia is said to be so heavily armed that the local police themselves had to flee along with the civilians. The relevant government body and armed forces were bystanders watching the massacre of the unarmed and defenseless Oromos.
On May 17, 2008 , a significant number of well armed forces from the Benishangul Gumuz regional state suddenly attacked unprepared civilian Oromos early in the morning, before they were even awake from sleep. As the attackers were well armed with AK-47 and other unmentioned heavy machine guns, and were highly trained military personnel, they inflicted deadly massive casualties on the unawake Oromo civilians.
Conflicts have been reported in the following parts of East Wallagga . These are:
Saasiggaa District, particularly at Haroo Waataa, Camp 4, Camp 5, Camp 8,
and Baloo villages;
Limmu District, particularly at Arqumbee village; and Other areas
(clear location not found): Amba 7, and Mandar 10 villages. The conflict is still spreading to other areas in the region.
Digaa District, Arjoo Gudatu, and Dimtu area new war against the innocent unarmed Oromo people
2. Scope of the attacks which is stil going on
The invaders¢ actions include mutilation of body parts (arms, legs, and
other organs of children, breasts of women, male genitals), throat cutting and slaughtering, burning down of housings and other properties, looting of properties including animals, raping of women and children, and burning of dead bodies in masses, to make access to information impossible. Very disturbingly, the invaders seriously target the male section of the society.
They also snatch infant babies from mothers¢ backs and kill, only to force the mothers to eat the flesh of their own babies.
Access to information has been intentionally made difficult, not only by the killers, but also by government structures. We are able to get information only for a limited part of the victim population (Saasiggaa district), and only for limited days of the incident (May 17-19, 2008). According to key informants and victim families, the names of which we don¢t have to disclose due security reasons, the following major causalities have resulted from the incident.
3. Consequences of the conflict
3.1 Lose of lives
A total of 400 Oromo civilians are estimated to be killed until May 19, in the areas mentioned above. About 65 of the dead are from Haroo Waataa village of Saasiggaa alone. Most of the dead are male children and the elderly. Only 115 dead bodies were found and buried in groups, in just four graves (40, 30, 25, 20 bodies). The remaining bodies, most of them burnt or eaten by dogs and hyenas, are being gradually discovered.
The following list provides the names of some of the dead, in Saasiggaa
district. The age and other identifications of the victims could not be found, for the moment.
a. Tasfaayee Qana¢aa
b. Waq-gaarii Deetii
c. Boggaalee Waaqtolee
d. Salbaanaa Galataa
e. Kabbadee Salbaanaa
f. Fiqaaduu Salbaanaa
g. Fayyisaa Wadaajoo
h. Tarrafaa Nagaraa
i. Badirii Jamaal
j. Samu¢el Waanee
3.2 Injuries
According to the key informant¢s observation, about 40 seriously injured
Oromo civilians were receiving medical treatment in Naqamtee Hospital as of May 19. Below is the list of only six of them, all of them from Haroo Waataa village:
A. Saamu¢el Tolasaa (See Picture 1)
B. Daani¢el Dhaabaa (See Picture 2)
C. Adam Muhaammad
D. Darajjee Fiqaaduu
E.. Addaamuu Imaanaa
F. Warkinesh Fiqaaduu
G. Abraham Mallasaa
3.3 Lose of properties
There is no quantified information about the extent of property lose resulted from the conflict. Generally, however, the properties of three villages in Saasiggaa, including Haroo Waataa and Baloo have been irrecoverably damaged: housings and in-house properties, including crops were totally burnt down; and the livestock were looted by the invaders. Similar types of loses of property have been reported elsewhere covered by the conflict.
3.4 Displacement
Civilians in the affected areas have continued to flee their homes and
properties beginning with the onset of the conflict on May 17, 2008. Until May 21, over 12, 0000 people are believed to have left their homes, and are camped in Naqamtee town and at a primary school in Saasiggaa district. According to a key informant, the Ethiopian Red Cross is providing minimum basic life-saving assistance to the victims.
4. Action taken by the government to stop the conflict
According to the Ethiopian Law, civilians are not allowed to bear arms in
general. Hence, Oromo civilians are totally unarmed. On the contrary, even ordinary Gumuz people are armed. The armed invaders used that opportunity as a source of arms supply for their continued killings. However, both the regional and the federal movements exhibited significant reluctance at stopping the conflict. Although the federal government has deployed its forces, they remained witness to the raging killings, instead of stopping the killers. They rather successfully prohibited Oromos from neighboring villages and local militias from coming to the rescue of the victims, and from and defending themselves. Most of the loses (both life and property) happened at the presence of the federal forces.
In further worsening of the situation, the government has systematically
blocked access to information through prohibiting access to victims and the damaged areas, by information seekers. Neither government media nor the free press has brought the issue to public attention.
5. The TPLF Regime only this year crime against the Oromo
Ever since it came to power, the TPLF/EPRDF regime has applied the outdated 'divide and rule' policy to weaken peoples' struggles for freedom and justice by sowing seeds of disharmony among friendly neighboring peoples. The TPLF regime's track record of the past 17 years of tyrannical rule is full of such evil intrigues that instigated bloody conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia . As a result of TPLF's machinations Oromo and Sidama, Oromo and Somali, Oromo and Gedao, Anywak and Nuer, Oromo and Amhara, Oromo and Oromo, now Oromo and Gumuz and several other people have clashed. As the result thousands of innocent lives were lost, tens of thousands of people were displaced and enormous amounts of properties were destroyed in the past 17 years. For example in this year only:-
1.With the TPLF, woyane regime instigated conflict between Guji Oromo and Konso 40 peoples have lost their life¢s, dozens wounded and properties were destroyed.
2.In the historic place of Madda Walabu many Oromo¢s have lost their lives.
3.In Me¢esso and many other places ,conspiracy was made between Oromo and Somalis , in which civilian Oromo¢s were murdered by the well armed groups.
4.In Wondo Genet more than 40 Oromo¢s were killed by raids.
5.TPLF have armed the Afar so as the can raid to the extent of Adama.
6.In Wanbara Oromo¢s are being hunted like a wild.
7.Many times and at different places in the Region of Benishangul TPLF have armed its murderers and raided the Oromo¢s in Limmuu ,Gigami, Manasibuu, Gidda, Sasigga ; which is followed in huge destruction. Accordingly as of may 17/2008 on civilian Oromo¢s are under armed attack by the same group.
8. The TPLF government is also active in refuge murder in the horn. In Somalia ; Punta land (Bosaso)65 were killed ,100 wounded and 250 homes burned down.
9.Ever year Oromo University students are killed and dismissed from school in group.
10. The government have the same plan in other part of Oromia in near future to create conflict between Oromo and Gambela (Anyuak) South, Isaa and Oromo in the East Oromiya
The most horrific act includes killing a mother and forcing the son to eat the deed body ,and they also killed the 2 week long mother giving birth and wounded the son.
Behind all the conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia during this period, there always are the TPLF regime's security agents deliberately creating distrust and suspicion among peoples who have lived peacefully for many years as neighbors. The regime survives by creating armed conflicts among peoples in Ethiopia . Such heinous act is a crime against humanity.
6. Annex
Last, but not least, we call upon the international community and governments to exert all necessary pressures on the TPLF regime to desist from its inhuman and destructive policies of deliberately setting the people it purports to govern against each other. We also call on all concerned governments and international organizations to pay close attention to the crime against humanity the minority tyrannical TPLF regime is perpetrating in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa in general and take remedial actions before it is too late. We call European Union And USA government to stop all economic and material support for dictatorial regime.
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