Ginbot 7 Condemns the Mass Murder of Civilians in the Ogaden Region

Press Release
May 22^th 2011

Ginbot 7 strongly deplores the recent extrajudicial killings of civilians in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. The Zenawi regime chooses to continue to use force and intimidation to solve the socio-political problems created by its 20 year brutal rule. Mass killings of civilians and collective punishment will only exacerbate the myriad internal problems and destabilize Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.

Ginbot 7 is troubled by the heinous act in which 37 civilians were brutally killed at the hands of Meles Zenawi’s security forces. The killing of civilian population in a conflict zone flies in the face of human morality and is a violation of international law.

The savagery with which the Meles regime responds to internal problems must be condemned by all civilized nations. It is incumbent upon the international community to vociferously condemn the barbaric actions of the Zenawi regime and hold the perpetrators of such reprehensible deeds accountable for their crimes.

It is imperative for the international community to rein in on Zenawi’s regime and demand that the International Red Cross, rights groups and independent media be given unfettered access to the Ogaden region to deliver badly needed food aid and to investigate the horrific incidents.

Ginbot 7 supports the call of the Ogaden community for a UN sanctioned independent body to investigate such egregious human rights abuses. We also call on the United States, the UK and the EU to demand that the Zenawi regime immediately stop the wanton violence against the civilian population that is tantamount to crimes against humanity.