Young Birtukan Temesgen, who stated that she was one of those who were abducted from the university where she studied with other friends years ago and suffered a terrible injustice, has courageously addressed the atrocities she suffered and the very challenging life she is currently leading in a way that victims of such attacks do not dare to do. This is an atrocity that has been highly questioned by our people and has been presented with extremely distorted and distorted information by government bodies without any solution being provided. The atrocities committed against Birtukan are considered to be a manifestation of the structural and systemic injustices committed in Ethiopia in general, but they are not the only ones. In this case, when the girl’s safety is protected and she has found a place to live, and when she is trying to gather information that gives some clues about other students who have disappeared, trying to hide the truth about the girl is no different from being an accomplice. We, the parties that work together, promise to closely monitor the girl’s case. We call on our people to understand that the problems are systemic and to stop pointing fingers at each other and to fight together, so that we can come out of this terrible tragedy together.
The government, while at least acknowledging the problem and coordinating the people to find a solution, has chosen to hide it, and the problem has become entrenched and is getting worse day by day. On March 8, 2017, we heard that all the passengers, including the driver, were kidnapped from a public bus traveling from Addis Ababa to Amhara Region in a place called Alidoro, North Shewa Zone, Were Jarso Woreda, Oromia Region, and that millions of dollars were being demanded for their release.
Similarly, on March 14, we heard that armed groups in the Sululta Woreda of North Shewa Zone, Gorfo Town, around 10:00 PM, kidnapped about forty people in two vehicles. Although no one has officially claimed responsibility for the two kidnappings, the area has become a “death zone” where perpetrators of similar acts have repeatedly carried out kidnappings without any restrictions and have repeatedly demanded compensation of millions of birr.
As we have repeatedly stated, the government’s failure to ensure the security of citizens’ movement, which is its primary duty, and the lack of justice has made it easier for these and similar groups to commit murder and kidnapping at the national level, and even made it a source of income for these and similar groups. We call on the parties we work with to stop taking innocent lives and to immediately release the kidnapped citizens without preconditions.
May God protect our country, Ethiopia and its people!
