Sidama commemorates 4th anniversary of Loqqe Massacre

Press Release
June 24, 2006

The members of the Sidama communities living in North America, Europe, Australia and Africa are commemorating this barbaric massacre of peaceful antigovernment demonstrators in Sidama by holding various meetings in their respective continents. In addition to condemning the massacre, the participants of these meetings also organized committees who will be responsible for mobilising funds to support the Sidama movement for peace, democracy and reinstatement of the Sidama regional status.

This commemoration coincided with yet other manifestations of continued violations of human and democratic rights of the Sidama people by the incumbent regime. One of such violations is the recent reversal of the proposed measure to grant regional status for Sidama administration. The Sidama people have been demanding the return of their regional status in Ethiopia which was illegally dissolved by the current ruling party in 1993 to form the so-called Southern Ethiopian Region and their peaceful struggle to attain their constitutional rights will continue.

The most recent manifestation of continued human rights violations in Sidama is the appointment of Melese Marimo, an ethnic Sidama and the former vice President of the South Ethiopian Region and one those who ordered the massacre of innocent Sidama civilians on May 24, 2002, as the new Ethiopian ambassador to South Africa. The members of the Sidama communities all over the world have repeatedly presented their demand to the Ethiopian regime to bring Melese Marimo and his accomplices to justice for the massacre. However, instead of this, the Ethiopian regime rewarded Melese Marimo by highest level diplomatic appointment to a strategic country in Africa. This person does not deserve the appointment not only because he is responsible for the massacre of the Sidama people but also because he is not capable of discharging his duties as an ambassador of a country with 77 million people. The latter concern was already voiced by the participants of a workshop on Ethiopian politics held in the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. The only thing his appointment reflects is the contempt of the Ethiopian prime minister on the Sidama and other Ethiopian peoples.

The Sidama people will not tolerate such continued abuse of their rights by the current Ethiopian regime. Therefore, we the Sidama people both at home and in Diaspora

1. Emphatically condemn such continued gruesome violations of human and democratic rights of the Sidama people by the EPRDF/TPLF regime.
2. Demand that Melese Marimo who is appointed as an Ethiopian ambassador to South Africa be recalled back to Ethiopia and made face justice alongside with his other accomplices.
3. The reversed decision to carry out referendum in June 2006 to return the Sidama regional status be carried out as soon as possible
4. Call up on all Sidama people to continue their peaceful struggle against violations of their human and democratic rights by the incumbent regime.
5. Call up on the international community, global civic and human rights organizations and the African Union to put meaningful pressure on the Ethiopian regime to respect the basic rights of the Sidama people.

Members of the Sidama Community at Home and in Diaspora.
June 22, 2006