Oromo and Tigray Communities Resolution

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RESOLUTION By Osman, Reich, Gordon, Fletcher, Cunningham, Ellison, Goodman, Jenkins, Cano, Bender, Schroeder, Johnson, and Palmisano Supporting the Oromo and Tigray communities in Minneapolis. Whereas, Ethiopia is an ethnically diverse country, with 110 million people and it has been a strategic partner to the United States; and Whereas, the Oromo are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, and Minnesota is home to the largest Oromo diaspora population in the United States of America and the world; and Whereas, on June 29, 2020, the assassination of Haacaaluu Hundessa, a popular Oromo singer and activist, was followed by a violent response from the Government of Ethiopia; and Whereas, the response has seen the arrest and detention of prominent Oromo activists and political leaders; and Whereas, those leaders, including Bekele Gerba one of the most important figures in Oromo advocacy, and Jawar Mohammed, a Minnesotan who started an international news network to give voice to the Oromo people have been held in unsafe conditions; and Whereas, numerous human rights groups have accused the Ethiopian government of perpetrating further violations, including random arrests, killings, and torture during the aftermath of the assassination; and Whereas, Gerba, Mohammed, and thousands of others are kept in crowded and unsanitary jails, military camps, and underground detention centers, with inadequate medical care exposing them to COVID-19 and other illnesses; and Whereas, the Ethiopian government has also denied residents the free flow of information through shutting down internet access and social media networks; and Whereas, starting on January 27, 2021, Bekele Gerba, Jawar Mohammed, and others have partaken in an extended hunger strike, bringing international attention to the actions of the Ethiopian government; and Whereas, the prisoners are using their hunger strike to bring national and international attention to their demands that political prisoners be released, opposition parties be allowed to operate freely and participate in upcoming elections, and to end the mistreatment of their family members and visitors by prison officials; and Whereas, the Tigray region has also been the site of a growing humanitarian crisis with the displacement of thousands of civilians, allegations of war crimes and atrocities, and millions more experiencing hunger because necessary aid has been blocked; and Whereas, the tragedy unfolding in Oromia, the continued war in the Tigray region, and state sponsored terror deeply effects the Oromo Community in Minnesota; Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved by The City Council of The City of Minneapolis: That the City Council and Mayor hereby support the Oromo community and the people of Ethiopia, and call for the cessation of all violence and state sponsored oppression, access to unimpeded international humanitarian aid, the restoration of communications services in Oromia and Tigray, the release of all political prisoners, an independent investigation into crimes perpetrated by the Ethiopian government, free and fair elections which all parties can participate, and the beginning of a national dialogue which will invite healing and growth. .

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