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@MinorityRights continues to disgrace itself by refusing to take responsibility. You cannot throw an extremely serious allegation against an entire category of people with no evidence and expect not to be called out. What is the evidence underpinning your conclusion? https://twitter.com/MinorityRights/status/1319737793627770880
No one is pressuring @MinorityRights into revealing sources. They are being asked to backup the incendiary allegation with evidence - is that too much to ask when your baseless and disingenuous statement has caused so much damage to vulnerable people and community relations.?
Several people tried to engage with MRG to understand what definition of ethnic cleansing is applied (68% of those killed are Oromo) and what the evidence is. They were urged to conduct a thorough investigation. Instead of addressing these concerns fairly, they doubled down.
@MinorityRights chose to accuse a community while there were reasonable grounds to suspect that security forces may have been involved. The statement acknowledges police refused to intervene. MRG didn't ask itself why police refused to protect people & their property @MRGDoBetter
The mayor of Shashamanne, one of the key sites of violence, told a court that his request for security forces to intervene that night was turned down by the regional government. Why? Why would a government stand by and watch as people die and their properties are burnt down?
@MinorityRights is clearly misled by external actors, most likely by groups it calls 'partners.' Most NGO's working on human rights issues in Ethiopia are ideologically opposed to multinational federation & are part of the current drive to dismantle it.
It seems to me that MRG was used by these organizations to advance an agenda that fits into the current narrative that the sources of Ethiopia's problems is ethnicity. Every human rights orgs I spoke say MRG's statement was utter rubbish.
But once the gap in their statement is brought to them, including the political deployments made of their statement to demonize and malign the Oromo, they chose to standby their dishonest and dangerous statement. MRG can do better and should do better. #MRGDoBetter
And the op-ed written by @MinorityRights director, Prof. Joshua, was regrettable. I believe he is well-meaning but the op-ed reveals lack of knowledge of current country conditions, and Ethiopia's complex history. MRG can do better and must do better. #MRGDoBetter
