Ethiopia removes 3 rebel groups from terror list

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - The Ethiopian Parliament on Thursday unanimously approved a Council of Ministers resolution to rescind “terrorist” tags on three rebel groups.

The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), and Patriot Ginbot 7 will not carry the "terrorist" appellation anymore.

No international agency or country has ever labeled any of the three organizations as terrorist.

Since he came to power on April 2, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called on all rebels to join the democratic process.

His overtures were met with positive responses as senior OLF leaders came to the capital Addis Ababa in May to meet senior government officials.

Similarly, Patriot Ginbot 7, a rebel group that took up arms from inside the Eritrean border, announced two weeks ago that it had suspended the armed struggle.

The three organizations were labeled “terrorist” in 2011.

Over the past three months, Abiy Ahmed’s government has released thousands of political prisoners, including rebel leaders such as Andargachew Tsige of Ginbot 7, who was in a maximum security cell since his arrest in Yemen four years ago.