THREAD: OMN statements

Recalled that OMN has been consistently covering almost all the stories of the human rights violations in all the places in Oromia and Amhara Regional States covered in the latest Amnesty International’s report: https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/AFR2523582020ENGLISH.PDF

1/

OMN reported on most of the human rights violations based on verified information/data that it managed to collect from the ground sources in each of the areas covered in the said report; and our balanced reports are all available in public domains for everyone to check. 2/

In fact, it should be underscored that it has been such bold moves made on the part of OMN team in taking the risk to reporting such stories as these, which the government and its co-opted chronic detractors do not like, that put it at odds with the later,
more often than not. 3/

The case in point could be the story of Qimant, as fairly covered in the said report of Amnesty International, on which OMN did some verified reports and subsequent follow ups. It’s important to highlight the fact that on this particular story of the Qimant, the OMN had to... 4/

receive accusations from officials of Amhara regional state govt’s communication bureau, via Ethiopian Broadcast Authority (EBA), who presented an unfounded allegation against the OMN, that it’s working to destabilize the Amhara region, but merely because OMN did report on...5/

..some of the atrocities perpetrated against the Qimant as have meticulously been documented in the said report of Amnesty International. OMN was later to be vindicated (or so) as they had to freeze their case for failing to produce any substantive evidence on the allegation. 6/

Well, it should be boldly stated that the said report by Amnesty International not only corroborated the evidence-based reports that OMN has been producing/broadcasting on such stories from those parts of the country, but it also did establish the facts on the ground there. 7/

It has to also be added that almost all of the broadcast media houses in the country (private/public) were essentially muted on almost all of these stories from all the places covered in the said report by Amnesty International. And, there exist little to no doubt that the...8/

...govt & its co-opted detractors went at odds with OMN because it did break such deafening silences on such stories grounded in the remote and often underreported communities at the receiving ends of such systematic violations of human rights, as perpetrated by state actors. 9/

At last, OMN would like to ascertain all its esteemed audiences that it will continue, as always, to pursue the paths of truth, professionalism and passion-driven-public-services. 10/10

[END OF THREAD]

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OMN, May 30, 2020
Finfinne, Oromia