Oromo: Abadula Gemeda Resigns as Speaker of the Ethiopian Government
In the wake of how the Ethiopian Government has dealt with the Oromo Protest in 2015 and 2016, Mr Abadula Gemeda, a member of the Ethiopian parliament handed in his resignation as spokesperson of the Parliament. Although Mr Gemeda has not disclosed the reason for stepping down, speculations indicate that he might have disapproved the Government’s violent crackdown on protesters, which resulted in multiple deaths and mass arrests.
Photo courtesy of: Oromia movies
The article below was published by: JournalduCameroun.com
Speaker of the Ethiopian parliament Abadula Gemeda has submitted his resignation amid rumours of split within the government and the security force. Abadula Gemeda did not disclose reasons behind his resignation, but said he would disclose the factors once his request is approved by the House of People’s Representatives (parliament).
“Given the existence of circumstances that do not enable me to continue and loss of interest in this position, I have submitted my resignation to my political party and the House of People’s Representatives,” he said in a short speech on national television on Sunday.
“I, however, would continue working as MPs, discharging responsibility bestowed up on me by the people I represent and the party (Oromo People’s Democratic Organization).” former defence minister said.
Speculations have it that Abadula, an ethnic Oromo, may have decided to step down owing to disapproval of the government’s response to unrest that roiled Ethiopia’s Oromia region in 2015 and 2016.
The violence there forced the government to impose a nine-month state of emergency that was only lifted last August.
Earlier this month, Ethiopian prime minister’s protocol Baye Tadesse defected to the United States after he had attended the UN General Assembly.
Baye who has served in the Prime Minister Office for the last 20 years blamed the split within the government and security forces which he said is posing threat against the security situation of the horn African nation.
