July 13, 2024
borkena
Toronto – Although some students are released after paying the ransom amount they were asked to, the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) on Friday said that many students are still under the control of their kidnappers.
Recalling that Debark University students were kidnapped in Garba Guracha area of Oromia region, the statement that EHRCO released, on Friday, said it has gathered information from different sources that some students were released for paying the amount of ransomed asked and some for “other reasons” (unspecified.)
A report by BBC Amharic earlier this week said that kidnappers – who are said to be members of the group that calls itself Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) – demanded between 500,000 and 1,000,000 birr in ransom. OLA denied that it is involved in the kidnapping of students near Garba Guracha. Three buses of passengers – mostly Debark University students – were traveling from Amhara region of Ethiopia to the capital Addis Ababa when they were kidnapped in the Oromia region about two weeks ago.
The militant OLA said ruling prosperity party cadres and intelligence are involved in the latest kidnapping in the Oromia region and it was motivated by economic gains.
Two days ago, the Oromia regional state claimed it had secured the release of 160 kidnapped students in an operation, with only 7 students remaining captive. Parents, like EHRCO, say many are still under their kidnappers.EHRCO stated it reached out to relevant government authorities for information about the kidnapped students, but was unsuccessful. It appears authorities declined to respond.
EHRCO said the proliferation of kidnappings has compromised the right to live and move from place to place. Highlighting the duties, the statement said that the government needs to end the kidnappings of citizens.
It called on the Federal government to secure the release of those kidnapped in the Oromia region, and also end abduction of citizens. It also called on the Oromia regional state to end kidnappings in the region.
Kidnapping has become a prevalent problem in many parts of Ethiopia since Abiy Ahmed took over power in 2018 but the intensity and frequency of it is exceptional in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. Many of the kidnappings in the region had been linked to OLA but there are allegations from ethnic Oromo opposition parties that the government itself is orchestrating the kidnapping.
__