The Recent 'Report' on the Washington Post about the OLF Has Nothing to Do with the OLF

The Recent 'Report' on the Washington Post about the OLF Has Nothing to Do with the OLF

OLF Press Release | April 6, 2012

The article by Emily Wax, The Washington Post reporter, under the title "As separatists in Ethiopia disarm, a new chapter for D.C.'s Oromo community" alleging laying down of arms and succumbing to the imposed unity of Ethiopia is inaccurate. Many Oromo nationals who got the chance to read that article have been airing their disapproval of the said report in every possible term.

The erroneous nature of the report emanates not only from the misrepresentation of the OLF goal and objective but also from the list of the people that appear in the report who are not currently in the membership list of the organization. It would not be that hard for a genuine report to be prepared about the OLF since the organization's office is listed in the Washington DC telephone directory with the right numbers and address, and the names of the officers thereof could be obtained from the Department of Justice. We regret that the reporter, probably misled by our opponents, opted to misrepresent our organization in such an embarrassing manner. We are also surprised that, despite our repeated request, the reporter failed to correct this violation of journalistic ethics. This one-sided report in The Washington Post, based on the distortion of the legitimate struggle of the Oromo people by negligible splinter group, has infuriated not only our members but also the Oromo people at large.

Read:
Full Statement (English)
Full Statement in Afaan Oromoo
Full Statement in Amharic