INTERNATIONAL OROMO LAWYERS ASSOCIATION (IOLA)

2147 University Ave. West; Suite 117    

Saint Paul, MN 55114 

oromomarch@gmail.com

www.oromolawyers.org

 

July 19, 2020

TO:

The Nobel Foundation
P.O. Box 5232, SE-102 45 Stockholm, Sweden
Street address: Sturegatan 14, Stockholm
Tel: +46 (0)8 663 09 20 Fax: +46 (0)8 660 38 47

E-Mail: postmaster@nobel.no

TO:

NOBEL PEACE CENTER
Brynjulf ​​Bulls plass 1
0250 Oslo

post@nobelpeacecenter.org
 

 

Re: MR. ABIY AHMED ALI OF ETHIOPIA 

 

Dear Norwegian Nobel Committee,

          Ethiopia, under your Nobel Laureate, Mr. Abiy Ahmed, is on the precipice of an all-out war laced with a series of atrocious crimes and crimes against peace.

          We call upon the Peace Prize Committee to revoke the Prize awarded to Mr. Ahmed and correct the grave error of adorning an incompetent leader with the highest accolades of the emblem of peace. 

          Mr. Abiy and his government are causing the dismantlement of any semblance of stability in the country. Assassinations of prominent figures are on the rise in the country. Imprisoning those who hold critical views, extra-judicial killings, and trumped-up charges against political leaders and journalists have become the principal descriptions of Mr. Abiy’s administration. He has suspended elections without reference to future schedule.

          The telltale signs of Mr. Abiy’s dictatorial tendencies were there when the Committee decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize, citing hope of encouraging the prime minister to pursue peace. The profound irony, however, is that even now, Ethiopia and Eritrea are neither at peace with each other nor within themselves; certainly, not enough to merit talk of a breakthrough. 

          We believe the Committee has all the evidence it needs from reports of human rights organizations and the recent killings and mass arrest of political leaders. It must retroactively remedy its decision of awarding an emerging dictator, who is cosigning Ethiopia to descend into what looks like a civil war with disastrous implications for its peoples and the Horn of Africa. 

 

Respectfully Submitted;

IOLA Executive Board