On April 28,2013 The Agenda of Nile Dam Fundraising Event organized by TPLF, In Oslo Norway has failed again.

By :  Fayisa Tasfaye


A historically pro-Oromo refugees Norway has been evolving into an unfavorable place for Oromo refugees and refugees from the Horn of Africa in recent years. Abandoning its own humanitarian streak, the Norwegian government has drifted too far in the direction of questionable tolerance and support for the regime in Finfinne (Addis Ababa), which stands accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in regions such as Oromia, Ogaden and Gambella, among other places. "Genocide Watch considers Ethiopia to have already reached Stage 7 [of genocide], genocidal massacres, against many of its peoples, including the Anuak, Ogadeni, Oromo, and Omo tribes."

According to a news article by Johansen , of 150 Oromos who have showed up to stage protest in front of Radisson SAS hotel in Oslo, police arrested 11 under the pretext of causing a "public nuisance." They were allegedly protesting without permission, which justified the arrest.

                                     

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcPw4eklOTI
http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/artikkel.php?artid=10109509
http://oromopress.blogspot.no/2013/04/injustice-somewhere-will-follow-you.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoGXrO_etrI
you.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoGXrO_etrI

Unfortunately, for the Oromo who gathered to protest the meeting of Ethiopian officials, injustice in Oromia followed them in Oslo, Norway. Oslo police clearly demonstrated that it cared more about the proceeding of the meeting organized by Ethiopian officials more than it cared about burning human rights issues that were to be raised by the protesters: "It [Ethiopia meeting]does not go peacefully. We must try to keep them away from the hotel entrance, said operations manager of the Oslo police..."


                       

The arrest of the protesters against Ethiopian regime officials is not only unusual in highly developed nations like Norway, but it is also a worrisome situation as this might set off not only restrictions on freedom of speech, but also the potential for deporting refugees just like Yemen and other Horn of African regimes neighboring Ethiopia have been doing over the years in collaboration with Ethiopian authorities.

It would have been fair if instead of arresting and handcuffing Oromo exiles with legitimate grievances, Oslo police arrested Tigrean People's Liberation Front officials who work for a regime known for committing mass atrocities and crimes against humanity in Oromia and Ogaden regions. To put it in perspective, not arresting Ethiopian officials was almost like not arresting Omar al-Bashir, but instead arresting Darfurian protesters in Oslo, hypothetically speaking.

This arrest was not all too bad despite the dehumanizing aspect of holding down protesters on concrete sidewalks and handcuffing them in public. The protesters did manage to make their case of opposing the rampant human rights violations in Oromia. The good news was the Oslo protesters were released later in the day and got news coverage in a Norwegian media out of the unfortunate event. That is a good trade-off, but arrest targeting human rights activists should not have happened on a Norwegian soil of all places in the first place.