Press Release - The Unethical Acts of Hospital Authorities against Oromo Student is an insult to humanity
On April 23, 2007 an Oromo student Muhammad Abdurahman, a third-year pharmacy student, was found dead of an "unknown" cause at Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) University. The university sent his corpse to Menelik II Hospital for autopsy. When the corpse was handed over to his family in a coffin, they learned that Muhammad's body had been disfigured, his internal organs; including his eyes, kidneys, heart, liver, and lungs had been stolen. His skull was opened and his brain removed. This all was done without consent from his parents. This despicable, immoral and illegal act had been done without any regard to the religious beliefs and cultural values the Oromo people have for their deceased. This not only puts the professionalism and ethics of the medical institution in question, but also shows the lack of respect for the greater Oromo mass. It is further evidence of total disregard and hatred by the genocidal Ethiopian regime and its institutions towards the Oromo people.
Shocked by this incident, the parents of the deceased and the Oromo students demanded an explanation for these atrocious acts. However, instead of responding to the legitimate demand, the president of the University Dr Endrias Eshete, made a derogatory, demoralizing and dehumanizing comment to the student representatives and the father of the deceased. It is to be recalled that this is the very president who dismissed 350 Oromo students in 2004 which led to wide-spread unrest in the country.
Rejected and insulted by the president, the Oromo Students at Addis Ababa University began an intensely heated demonstration this week demanding the government to intervene and investigate these racist acts conducted by the Hospital with full awareness of the University. To add an insult to injury, rather than answering the questions of the students, the government special forces, the Agazi commandos, known for committing a street massacre after the 2005 election that left over 193 people dead, took over the campus to forcefully disperse the peaceful rally. As a result, an unknown number of students have been injured, jailed and disappeared. In addition, over 90 students have been admitted to Black Lion Hospital as a result of a supposed case of food poisoning.
The International Oromo Youth Association is extremely appalled by this inhumane act of the university and the hospital in particular, and by the worsening security concern of Oromo students in various educational institutions in the country at large. This current tragedy against Oromo students is in fact not an isolated incident. Just last week alone the dormitories of Oromo students at Jimmaa and Gondor Universities were set on fire, completely destroying the property of the students. In this country, Ethiopia, where being born Oromo is seen as a crime, the atrocities continue to be censored/ignored by international media, human rights groups, and particularly states that sponsor the genocidal machinery of the Ethiopian regime.
Unless this institutionally orchestrated act of the Ethiopian regime is stopped, it will certainly lead to another round of massacre and bloodshed worse than that of 2004. To settle this issue without bloodshed, Ethiopian authorities must unconditionally;
Bring those institutions and personnel who committed the unethical and illegal crime to justice
Reinstate all Oromo students to their normal academic life immediately
Guarantee the security of Oromo students at all institutions and improve the quality, and guarantee the safety of food served at campus cafeteria.
Offer a public apology to the family of the deceased and the Oromo public at large for the disrespectful, unethical and immoral act committed against their deceased one.
Failure to comply with the above demands effectively and promptly will lead to yet another civil unrest when lends a pretext for the government to unleash its massacre and expel Oromo students from academic institutions.
Justice for Oromo People, Justice for All!
International Oromo Youth Association
Freedom for all !!
