On November 14, 2009 supporters of Oromo Federalist Congress met at Unification Church in Washington, DC to discuss important strategies and to give their support for the upcoming election.
The chairman of UEDF and OPC, Dr Merera Gudina, gave a very motivating speech and called all Oromos in the Diaspora to unite and to contribute something for the coming national election. Dr Merera also mentioned the current rise of tension of the ruling EPRDF party and the continuation of the imprisonment of supporters and members of OPC and OFDM. He also mentioned that the OFC, the coalition between OPC and OFDM, is now official and has been given recognition by the election board after 9 month of waiting.
We all remember what the May 2005 election turned out to be. The ruling party took its lesson from the previous election and is making things even worse for our candidates and supporters to operate in the country.
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The chairman mentioned the scarifies every member is making in the country, facing harassment and imprisonment everyday and even death. But these obstacles did not stop our people who are fed up by the way they have been treated for the past decades and are working hard under these conditions. Dr Merera also announced that a strong and unified Oromo party(OFC) is going to participate on all Oromia regions for the coming election. He stressed throughout the meeting that a divided elite cannot lead the same nation.
The upcoming election is very important for our people; it will give us another chance to bring about lasting change in our country's political structure. It is our only way of bringing change in a peaceful and democratic way. Since the world will be watching closely, we must work together and unite for a common cause.
Dr Merera also explained about the main objective of FDD (Forum for Democratic Dialogue in Ethiopia) which is to work together with other opposition parties and to unite for a common cause. The new programme of the forum is now available to the public and you can find it on this website (view the programme here).
More meetings will be held in the coming months. All supporters should make the necessary financial, material, and emotional contributions.
God bless our country.
Million Tesfaye