News: OFC calls for establishment of interim govt; negotiation towards all-inclusive transitional govt – addisstandard.com

The Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) strongly reiterates its support for any genuine and honest political solution that helps the redemption of Ethiopia.

Addis Abeba, November 25,2021- Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) issued a statement yesterday reiterating calls for peaceful resolution to what it called an avoidable war raging all over the country. In its statement the OFC listed steps to immediately be taken to salvage the country from disintegration and the entire region from potential destabilization, among which is the immediate establishment of an interim government for a period of 3-6 months with a mandate to maintain law and order, undertake the charting of a common roadmap and facilitate the national dialogue processes. During the mandate of the interim administration, all parties will begin negotiations on the formation of an all-inclusive transitional government that shall last for 18 months. No major stakeholder shall be excluded from these negotiations, the OFC said.

Full Statement

Recalling the recent press release Only Honest, Genuine, and All-inclusive National Dialogue Can Solvethe Countrys Political Crisis announced on 25 October 2021, and evenbeyond the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) has been repeatedly called for andappealed to the current ruling party and its leaders to change course from thepresent perilous road to destruction and the political dead-end thereof, whichhas pushed the country to brink of a potential disintegration. For the rulingparty and its leaders are not bold enough to take concrete positive measuresdangers are looming on the land of Ethiopia. To tackle the imminent danger, wehereby again strongly reiterate that peaceful resolution is a panacea for thecurrent Ethiopian crises.

Starting from the assumption of power by Prime Minister AbiyAhmed in 2018 after 27 years of a one-party authoritarian rule, Ethiopians ingeneral and the Oromo people in particular, have become hopeful for asuccessful democratic transition through honest and genuine national dialoguethat can lead the country to durable peace, democratic governance andmeaningful economic development, which in turn could pull millions of ourcitizens out of poverty. However, the incumbent government quickly moved to fulfillits ambition of a one-party rule that squandered the opportunity for a realdemocratic transformation, dashing the hopes of millions of people who weredreaming for freedom and democracy.

Our party, OFC used every opportunity to cooperate with theruling party to draw a common road map for smooth transition. Our effort tohelp the ruling party move in the right track has become to the risking of thesafety of our members who have been imprisoned in mass, forced to flee fromtheir loved ones, beaten, and even shot dead just for disagreeing with the paththe government has chosen.

Sadly, the governments response to all our peaceful pleawas the closure of almost all our party offices across the country, except justthree, in addition to forcing the OFC out of the 2021 ill-designed electionshosted by illegitimate election processes that resulted in the usual, I won99% or 100% of the vote tradition we experienced from Ethiopias pastdictators or elsewhere in Africa. Consequently, today, Ethiopia is at a criticalcrossroad of uncertainty, which forced us to forward the below points as analternative for solution. For sure an avoidable war is raging all over thecountry consuming the lives of tens of thousands and bringing misery for tensof millions. And, more than ever before in our countrys history, the war isnot limited to armed factions, but also ordinary citizens with no real trainingfor war or have no knowledge of international rules of engagements in war havebecome active actors of the horror.

After assessing the on-going blood bath in the country andthe potential for a war of all against all whose end-result cannot bepredicted, our party is calling for the following steps to immediately be takento salvage our people from civil war, our country from disintegration and theentire region from potential destabilization.

In conclusion, OFC urge all Ethiopians, the international community, and the warring parties to hear our voice and cooperate in achieving durable peace and stability to salvage our country. In this regard, the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) strongly reiterates its support for any genuine and honest political solution that helps the redemption of Ethiopia. Dispatch

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News: OFC calls for establishment of interim govt; negotiation towards all-inclusive transitional govt - addisstandard.com