OLF Statement Regarding  the Killing of EOTC Priests and Calls for Independent Investigation.

As the week nears closing, we heard statements about the kidnapping and subsequent killing of four priests of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church (EOTC) at the Ziquala Abune Gabre Menfes Kidus Monastery, East Showa Zone of Oromiya Region. The EOTC has confirmed the news, and its affiliated TV channel accused the group it called ‘Shene’.

The regional government of the “Oromiya Peace and Security Office” confirmed the news and blamed the action on the armed group, which was referred to as ‘Shene’.

The OLF denounces all kinds of killings of innocent civilians, whoever perpetrates them, and other forms of human rights abuses against innocent civilians, public figures, religious leaders, women, men, young or the elderly. The OLF believes that killings and human rights abuses against civilians, whoever perpetrates them, should be condemned in all possible terms.

It should also be emphasized that the government structures, at all levels, are responsible for protecting the lives and security of all citizens. Blame-shifting and scapegoating have been the daily duty of the government in the last five years but have not produced any propitious results for ordinary citizens.

The OLF reiterates that the EOTC, on its part, should review its role as a religious and moral authority in the country. The actions of some of its members and leaders during the Tigray War have been a disgrace as they played their part in fueling the conflict rather than alleviating the situation. On the occasion of brutal drone strikes and mass killings in the Oromiya and Amhara regions, the Church has refrained from denouncing such barbaric acts or has spoken out selectively for those they favor. Selective voicing is not a moral standard required from the EOTC when it fits to their secret agenda only. We thus remind the Church that it should reconsider its role as a peacemaking body amidst the conflict and violence that is raging in the country. We firmly believe the church as religious institution must take its hands out of politics and conflict between regime on power and its adversaries.

The OLF, as usual, calls for an independent and neutral investigation of this particular incident and other arbitrary killings perpetrated against the civilians. As stated above, whoever commits the massacre of these priests, the prime responsibility lies in the regional and federal governments and their respective structures. The government should stop shrouding such criminal acts through blame and scapegoating and open up its rank and file for an independent investigation. The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which the government vaguely and erroneously refers to as ‘shene’, should also cooperate for a similar independent investigation.

Victory to the Masses!

Oromo Liberation Front

25 February 2024,

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