The general secretary of the council, Reverend Derege Jamberu, said in a statement made public today that more than seven places used by believers in Addis Ababa for offices and worship had been taken by different parties and are still not returned to them.
He stated that numerous sites of worship in Bishoftu and Dessie have still not been returned, despite the bellivers’ steadfast demands to the corresponding authorities to do so. There have been twenty-three destroyed houses of worship in Sheger City, and no replacement has yet been suggested.
The western part of the Kellem Wollega Zone, in the Gidem area, saw the savage murder of nine Christians after they were abducted from their places of worship. He asserted that sufficient government measures ought to be in place to stop such occurrences from happening in the future. To ensure that justice is served, these murderers must be tracked down and tried.
“Though many church places were largely returned during the EPRDF era that were confiscated in the Derg regime , the government has not complied with repeated demands to release church properties.”
He requested that the government to return the Baptist Church, Olympia Meserete Christos, Genet, Mekane Eyesus, and Kera Berhane Christos to the Christian community.
The secretary complimented the Dire Dawa administration for holding a thorough discussion on the matter of the Dire Dawa Mekene Eesus Church.
“The administration had earlier resolved on the matter and had given the church one month to leave the premises, at which point it chose to halt its decision. However, we now require the administration to clarify his position on the location and to give it back to us.”
“The city of Bischoftu has taken over the land owned by the Full Gospel Church and opened an office of its own. In addition, the Kuriftu centre, which is owned by the church, is attempting to seize control of its land by prohibiting the church not to do any work ” .He added
He claims that 23 churches in Addis Ababa Sheger city were destroyed, and they have not yet received replacement land.
He claims that the expense of burial a deceased person at the Peter Paulus cemetery is extremely high. He went on to say that it is regrettable that some people are trespassing on Kolfe Cemetery.
“In general, justice must be served, and religious institutions must all be respected. This entire situation arises from the subordinate government body misusing its power. a few individuals with separate goals. In a statement today, he stated that justice should be carried out by the federal government.” He said.