Questions shower Ethiopian ex-leader
Minnesota Daily, MN - August 1, 2007
Remedan Yuya fled Ethiopia to escape the hardship and strife brought upon the Oromo people by the Ethiopian government.
Dr. Negasso Gidada, an Oromo himself, served as president of that government from 1995 to 2001. He is currently a member of the Ethiopan parliament.
"When I saw him, what I feel, (he is) somebody who tried to kill me, who tried to hunt me back home, I escaped from that," said Yuya, an activist and Oromo Studies Association member. "My sisters, my brothers, my mom, my father, because of him, disappeared. Then, how can I tolerate (him) over here?"
Last week, hundreds of Oromos attended two conferences at Coffman Union to discuss human rights issues facing the Oromo community in Ethiopia.
Gidada spoke at both conferences; Yuya attended one.
"When Sept. 11 happened, I was a student in college. I was made sick by that day because of all the people dying in America," Yuya said. "That's the same I feel when I see (Gidada)" ...