On
Oromo
Protests, US
Power
Concerned, ICP
Asked UN,
Canned
Statements
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 18 --
Despite the UN
having offices
in Addis
Ababa,
Ethiopia, it
had nothing to
say about the
crackdown that
has led to the
killing,
reportedly, of
over 140 Oromo
people, when
Inner City
Press on
January 11
asked UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon'
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric. Video here.
On
January 15,
there was a
large Oromo
demonstration
across First
Avenue from
the UN. Inner
City Press
broadcast it
live on
Periscope,
with
interviews, putting it on YouTube, here and
below.
On
January 23,
the US Mission
to the UN
issued this
read-out from
Addis:
"U.S.
Permanent
Representative
to the United
Nations
Ambassador
Samantha Power
met with
Ethiopian
Foreign
Minister
Tedros in
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia on
January 23,
2016.
Ambassador
Power and
Foreign
Minister
Tedros
discussed the
situation in
Burundi and
the need for
an inclusive
political
dialogue
outside
Burundi, which
remains the
only credible
and
sustainable
route to
securing a
political
solution.
Ambassador
Power and
Foreign
Minister
Tedros also
discussed the
political and
security
situation in
Somalia, and
Ambassador
Power thanked
the Foreign
Minister for
Ethiopia’s
leadership on
regional
security
issues,
including its
ongoing
support for
implementation
of the peace
agreement in
South Sudan,
which it
played a
catalytic role
in helping
secure.
"Ambassador
Power
expressed her
deep alarm
over the
current
drought and
food crisis in
Ethiopia and
reiterated the
United States’
commitment to
support
Ethiopian
efforts to
address huge
humanitarian
needs.
Ambassador
Power
expressed the
United States'
concern for
the deaths of
protesters in
Oromia and
encouraged the
Ethiopian
government to
engage in a
dialogue to
address Oromo
political and
economic
grievances.
Finally,
Ambassador
Power stressed
the importance
of a free and
independent
civil society
in Ethiopia.
"Later in the
day,
Ambassador
Power met with
seven
Ethiopian
civil society
leaders.
Ambassador
Power noted
the courageous
efforts made
by the
journalists,
lawyers and
nongovernmental
organization
leaders to try
to preserve
space for
civil society
and deepen
civic
engagement in
Ethiopia.
Ambassador
Power thanked
the leaders
for their
commitment to
a more
transparent
and inclusive
society
despite the
challenging
political
environment in
which they
work.
Ambassador
Power assured
the civil
society
leaders of the
United States’
continued
support for
human rights,
development
and security
in Ethiopia,
as well as our
core
conviction
that the three
objectives go
hand in hand."
Inner City
Press: it
seems
inevitable to
ask you.
There's a big
protest in
front of the
building by
Oromo people
saying that
more than 140
of them have
been killed by
Ethiopia.
So I'd asked
you about it
on
Monday.
You said you
don't have
anything but
you'd
check.
What does the
UN know given
that it has an
office in
Addis about
these
killings?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
On the
protests,
we're
obviously very
much aware of
the protests
not only going
on outside but
in Ethiopia
itself.
I think the
Secretary-General
would call on
the Government
and the groups
concerned to
hold a
constructive
and peaceful
dialogue and
also to ensure
that all those
who want to
protest are
able to
express
themselves
freely and
free of
harassment as
it is their
right.
Inner City
Press: You
just announced
an Ethiopian
general
heading
UNISFA-
Spokesman
Dujarric:
soldiers from
any
nationality,
as you know,
for serving in
DPKO, in
peacekeeping
missions, they
go through a
screening
policy to
ensure that
the
individuals
and the units
themselves are
free of any
human rights
violations.
We'll
have more on
this. For now,
note that the
UNSC's
upcoming trip,
from which
Inner City
Press was
Banned, goes
through Addis
Ababa. Will
anything be
said about
Oromo?
The UN report
on rapes
in the Central
African
Republic,
released on
December 17,
found that UN
Peacekeeping's
Under
Secretary
General Herve
Ladsous
“illustrate[s]
the UN's
failure to
respond to
allegations of
serious human
rights
violations in
the meaningful
way.”
Ladsous
has yet to
take any
questions
about the
report.
Now the Office
of the UN
Spokesperson
refuses Press
questions on
reports that
"peacekeepers"
from Burundi,
France, Gabon
and Morocco
paid fifty
cents for sex
with children
in CAR. On the
morning of
January 12,
Inner City
Press asked
three separate
UN
spokespeople,
in writing:
"In light of
the Jan 11-12
Washington
Post report
that “ in
interviews,
U.N. officials
said the
peacekeepers
were from
Gabon,
Morocco,
Burundi and
France. The
prostitution
ring they
allegedly used
was run by
boys and young
men who
offered up
girls 'for
anywhere from
50 cents to
three
dollars,'
according to
one official,”
please state
the current
status of
these
'peacekeepers'
from Morocco,
Gabon, France
and Burundi -
and the status
of the waiver
USG Ladsous
gave to the
Burundian
contingent.
, 
