OLF Press Release on the Massacre of Oromo Refugees in Waters of Puntland

A press release from Oromo Liberation Front , To Read the press release in Afaan Oromoo click here and To Read the press release in Amharic click here

                                      OROMO LIBERATION FRONT

21 December 2012

Last week, most of one hundred plus refugees, who were crossing the Indian Ocean from the town of Bossaso in the administrative region of Somalia’s Puntland to Yemen in two boats, were massacred by shooting on the ocean. This is not the first incident of its kind. Hundreds have faced such ordeals and fed upon by marine scavengers in the past. Most of these refugees, who face such fate, have been from the Oromo people.

Oromo refugees are forced to flee the oppressive Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) regime to the neighbouring countries. They have to flee across the Ocean to a second country to escape the assassination and kidnap the TPLF extends on them here in collaboration with some of these neighbouring countries. All these atrocity is visited upon the Oromo at home and abroad because they have no state to look after their interest.

The duty to protect such people is clearly that of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It is sad to see such ordeals befell repeatedly upon the Oromo refugees in countries where the UNHCR has its branch offices. It is our belief that, had the UNHCR extended its due protection to these refugees who plead for it, such atrocities could not have happened to them.

Therefore, we plead the UNHCR to provide due protection to the refugees who are still waiting in the neighbouring Somalia, Somaliland, Puntland, Djibouti, Sudan, Kenya and Yemen to grant appropriate protection for these refugees before further atrocities are committed on them.

Victory to the Oromo People!

Oromo Liberation Front

December 21, 2012

Oromo Liberation Front