We, members of the support groups of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), the Ginbot 7 Movement for Justice, Freedom and Democracy, and the Gambella Democratic Movement (GDM) residing in Minnesota, after many deliberations agree to work together for the aspirations and best wishes of all people currently repressed and marginalized by the Meles Zenawi’s regime in Ethiopia. We agree to work together for the realization of the peoples’ rights to self-determination and supremacy of the people, a democratic and peaceful resolution of political differences and a just, representative and genuine democratic process. We also would like to be a vehicle to eliminate mistrust and suspicion between political groups and communities to put an end to the existing destructive mentality of winner takes all.
We aspire to purposefully cultivate the values of compromise, tolerance, inclusion, reconciliation and mutual understanding. We recognize that our differences to a large extent were created by the tyrant Meles Zenawi and our failure not to work together will only help prolong Meles Zenawi’s terroristic regime to continue killing our people. We all agree the only way to quickly end the underlying causes of repression, bloodshed, and exclusion in Ethiopia and the region is to work together. Time and time again the people in Ethiopia have separately risen against oppression with no lasting solutions. We believe the current wave that is engulfing North Africa and the Middle East to get rid of dictators will soon reach Ethiopia and the time for all people to stand together against the systematic oppression to achieve justice is now.We believe the people in Ethiopia now more than ever, have demonstrated their readiness for equality, freedom and democracy and we therefore, fully agree to support the declaration of the National Oromian Youth Movement for Freedom and Democracy and endorsed by the Ethiopian Youth Movement and the Ogaden Youth movement. We call upon all the people of Ethiopia, both at home and abroad, to rise up in unison to support these movements to get rid of Meles Zenawi’s repressive regime that will pave the way for a peaceful and democratic transition process.
We call upon the international community and the USA government in particular to immediately halt any military and other financial aids to the regime in Ethiopia and to stand with the oppressed people of Ethiopia. The time has come for international community to realize that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s two decades of deception in the name of democracy is ending soon and the only way to achieve a lasting solution is to back the people’s movement. We also hope the international community will realize that peace and stability, sustainable development and good governance can be a reality in the Horn of Africa and particularly in Ethiopia only when the disfranchisement of the many by the few is stopped and by bringing all the stakeholders together to chart a genuinely democratic course.
We call upon all civil servants, military personnel’s, and security and intelligence officers currently working for Meles Zenawi to stand with your people and end the two decades of Zenawi’s terror against the people in Ethiopia.
We once again ask the international community and the West in particular to support the current nonviolent movement of the peoples in Ethiopia and use their good offices and influence Meles Zenawi to peacefully end his two decades reign of terror and persuade him to exit.
We also call upon all our brothers and sisters around the world to support the youth movement by all means necessary. The time has come for all of us to stand together in solemn for justice and liberty and against tyranny. There will soon be a public meeting in Minnesota and we will layout our vision and work programs in details in the coming days.
For more information, please contact us at
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Freedom for all!
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