Minority Rights Group:

1. Calls on the Ethiopian government to immediately provide protection and humanitarian assistance to the thousands of people who have lost their properties and have been displaced from their homes, many of whom are now at greater risk of contracting COVID-19.

2. Calls on the Ethiopian government to conduct an independent and transparent enquiry into the atrocities committed in Oromia region, bring the perpetrators to justice and embark on institutional and legal reforms that ensure the safety and security of all minorities in Ethiopia.

3. Urges the US authorities to intervene to halt the hate speech propagated by US-based Oromo Media Network, which broadcasts messages that incite violence against ethnic Amhara, Gurages and other non-Oromo minority groups in the region.

4. Urges social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter to be on the alert for hate speech against minorities in Ethiopia and quickly take down harmful content that encourages inter-ethnic hatred and violence.

5. Urges the United Nations to carry out a full investigation into the violence, including root causes and report with recommendations concerning how political and social institutions inclusive of Ethiopia’s diverse society can be built and supported.

6. Urges all countries that have contributed to the training of Ethiopia’s law enforcement personnel to review training methods and content to understand how law enforcement personnel (in some cases) took decisions to not intervene in what appears to have been widespread ethnic cleansing

Reports to MRG as well as media coverage show that following the tragic murder of Hachalu Hundessa, a renowned Oromo singer and activist, an organised and large group of predominantly young people from the Oromo community killed members of ethnic minorities in the region and burned down hotels, schools, business centres and residential homes belonging to ethnic Amharas and Gurage people, though the properties of Christian Oromos were also damaged.

An unknown number of people and structures have been impacted.

http://www.hlrn.org/news.php?title=Ethiopia:-Ethnic-Cleansing-in-Oromia-Region&id=qGhmaA==#.X3ZrrFl7nOQ

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