Ethiopian refugees protest “kidnapping” of 25 Oromos in Kenya

Dec 26, 2005 (NAIROBI) — Close to 1,000 Ethiopian refugees are camped at the offices of UN High Commission for Refugees in Westlands – Nairobi – protesting against the kidnapping of 25 of their members.

The refugees, all of Oromo origin, claim that the Ethiopian government has sent spies among their midst and is scheming to repatriate them back to Ethiopia.

But Ethiopian Ambassador Murad Musa blames the kidnapping on the Oromo Liberation Front militant group, some of whom are said to be operating in this country.

The refugees do not want to be associated with the group that opposes the Ethiopian government.

An Oromo elder, Geleta Aboye, told the enyan KTN TV “we have a community, there is the Oromo community in this country, in Nairobi and the government of Ethiopia has planted its spies from Oromo community.”

Ambassador Musa said “I have sent my diplomat to verify this thing on what’s going on there. And this country as you know is a sovereign country, it has its own structures, security structures. It knows what’s going on here.”

An embassy’s function is not kidnapping, embassy’s function is having a direct relationship with its community, Musa said.

(KTN TV/ST)