why are students in ethiopia protesting against a capital city expansion plan

Over the past two weeks, students in Ethiopia’s largest regional state, Oromia, have been protesting against a government plan to expand the area of the capital, Addis Ababa, into Oromia. Report suggest security forces used violence including live ammunition to disperse crowds of peaceful demonstrators in the compounds of universities in Oromia.

According to Human Rights , at least seven students were killed and hundreds were injured across the region as security forces used excessive force to disperse student protesters. Other reports put the number of students killed up to ten. Although protesters are primarily university students, in some instances, high school and primary school children were also reportedly involved in intense confrontations with government forces.

At least nine students were killed  by government forces in May 2014 while protesting over the same issue.

The persecution of Oromo people expelled

The students argue that the controversial plan, known as “the Master Plan”, to expand Addis Ababa into Oromia state would result in mass eviction of farmers mostly belonging to the Oromo ethnic group.

It wouldn't be the first time the government has uprooted members of an ethnic group. Thousands of ethnic Amharas in western Ethiopia were expelled from the country's Benishangul Gumuz region in 2013 in what critics called “ethnic cleansing”.

The students have other demands such as making Oromo a federal language. Oromo, the language of the Oromo people, is the most widely spoken language in Ethiopia and the fourth largest African language. However, it is not the working language of the federal government.

According to Ethiopian Constitution, Oromia is one of the nine ethnically based and politically autonomous regional states in Ethiopia. Oromo people  make up the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. However, the group has been systematically marginalize and perecuted for the last 24 years. By some estimates, there were as many as 20,000 Oromo political prisoners in Ethiopia as of March 2014.

A 2014 Amnesty International report on repression in the Oromia region noted:

Between 2011 and 2014, at least 5000 Oromos have been arrested based on their actual or suspected peaceful opposition to the government. These include thousands of peaceful protestors and hundreds of opposition political party members. The government anticipates a high level of opposition in Oromia, and signs of dissent are sought out and regularly, sometimes pre-emptively, suppressed. In numerous cases, actual or suspected dissenters have been detained without charge or trial, killed by security services during protests, arrests and in detention.

The ruling elite of Ethiopia are mostly from the Tigray region, which is located in the northern part of the country.

Social media fills in the gaps

Even as the Ethiopian drought and impending food crisis makes a rare appearance in local—and some international—headlines, little attention is being paid to the student protests in Ethiopian media. But despite Ethiopia’s highly controlled online environment and the government’s firm grip on communications infrastructure, social media users are reporting on the issue, particularly on facebook, with additional coverage coming from diaspora-based media.

Photo widely circulated on social media, taken from the Facebook page of Jawar Mohammed.

One Facebook user, for example, hoped for the world to hear stories of the student protesters’ inspiring actions:

The silence has truly been deafening. We need to see and hear the inspiring actions undertaken by huge numbers of ‪#‎Oromo‬ in ‪#‎Ethiopia‬. Tell their story, enable the world to be swept up in their story.Considering the complete absence of freedom to criticize the government or report opposition stories from within the country, people around the world reading about it can help greatly by doing everything possible to amplify this story.

Another Facebook user, Aga Teshome,toke note of  the political power of Oromo youth:

…‪#‎OromoProtests‬ a call for all oppressed people in ‪#‎Ethiopia‬ to support the ongoing protest against ‪#‎landgrabing‬

….the Oromo youth are a powerful political entity capable of shaking mountains. This powerful political entity is hell bent on exposing the [ruling party] EPRDF government’s atrocious human rights record and all round discriminatory practices.

While Desu Tefera said:

We call upon the media to investigate the conditions that these students died trying to expose and resist, to draw attention to these concerns. Oromia needs a new kind of reporting by the international media, which gives voice to the voiceless Oromo people, who for a very long time have been killed, mistreated, abused, neglected and repressed in Ethiopia. Going forward with the current plan, which ends up displacing tens of thousands of poor farmers, destroying their livelihood and depriving their identity, is a tragedy. It deserves attention. These students put their lives on the line to draw attention to the farmers’ plight.‪#‎OromoProtests‬

Although social media reports are pivotal in letting the world know about the protests, they miss a huge chunk of nuance that would help observers understand how this dispute is unfolding. Notably, the fact that the student protests combine delicate ethnic politics, urban land grabbing and Ethiopia’s diaspora community’s involvement in home country politics.

Given Ethiopia’s highly controlIed environment, one might wonder how the students managed to get organized to express their grievance in the mid of highly controlled environment. Despite the firm grip on communication infrastructure there are constant update on Facebook and Twitter about the protest.

Dubious development practices

The story is unpleasantly familiar, as students are protesting for the second time in less than two years.

In April and May 2014, the protests began in response to the government’s plan to implement the “Integrated Master plan  for Addis Abeba”. As Addis Abeba, the capital of Ethiopia, is an enclave within Oromia regional state, students primarily from Oromia state accused the Ethiopian government of attempting to take over land owned by local farmers in the name of integrating adjacent Oromia towns into the sprawling city of Addis. The students further alleged that if implemented, the Masterplan would result in Addis Abeba further encroaching into the territory of Oromia

The government rejected the accusation, claiming that the Master plan was intended only to facilitate the development of infrastructure such as transportation, utilities, and recreation centers.

When the protests began the students’ main demand was the complete halting of the Master plan. In May 2014, the government did momentarily halt the plan in order to abate the protests after at least nine were killed and hundreds of ethnic Oromo students were imprisoned. But when the government decided to resume plans to implement the Master plan in November this year  resentment boiled over again, resulting in the currently two-week-old student protest leaving at least ten people dead and many injured.

Since the highly contested 2005 national election, forceful evictions and urban land grabbing have become frequent in Addis Abeba. The capital city’s rapid growth has resulted in increasing pressure to convert rural land for industrial, housing, infrastructure, or other urban use.

Diaspora-based advocates say the unrest in Oromia is just a part of the general unhappiness that prevails in the country. They accuse the government of working for the benefit of a few people at the expense of others. They even suggest that the Ethiopian government covertly encouraged informal settlement on the outskirts of Addis Abeba so that they could later find a way to intervene under the guise of rebuilding the slums and lease the land to real estate developers.

Ermias Legesse, a high profile government defector, traces the cause of the Oromo student protest to events that took place 15 years ago. In his book, "Addis Abeba : The Abandoned city", Ermias notes that since 2000 the Addis Abeba city municipality, with the support of the federal government, enacted five different pieces of legislation to “legalize” the informal settlements, and then sold the “legalized” lands to private property developers.

Most informal settlers on the outskirts of Addis Abeba manage to establish themselves for a period of time until they are displaced by government. “Sometimes the informal settlers are given only a few days’ notices before bulldozers arrive on the scene to tear down their shabby houses and lay foundations for new investors,” Ermias said in an interview with a diaspora-based television channel.

በረሀብ ለተጠቁ ወገኖቻችን እንድረስላቸው !

በወቅታዊ ሁኔታ ላይ የአርበኞች ግንቦት 7 የአቋም መግለጫ

የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ዳግም ለአስከፊ ረሀብና ችጋር ተጋልጧል፤ ስፋት ጥልቀቱ በ70ዎቹና 80ዎቹ ከነበሩት ጋር ይስተካከላል ተብሎ ተፈርቷል። ከአሁኑ ሰው በረሀብ መሞት መጀመሩ ከአራትና አምስት ወራት በኋላ የሚመጣውን አደጋ ከባድነት መገመት ያስችላል።

ለአስር ተከታታይ ዓመታት ከአስር በመቶ በላይ ዓመታዊ የኢኮኖሚ እድገት በማምጣት ዓለምን እየመራን ነው የሚለው ዓይን ያወጣ ውሸት፤ “ድህነትን ተረት እናደርጋለን” የሚለው ጉረኛ መፈክር፤ የኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቪዥንና ራድዮ “የህዳሴ ብስራቶች”፣ የአባይ ግድብና የከተማ ባቡር ግንባታ ዜናዎች ለኢትዮጵያዊው አርሶ አደር ቁርስ፣ ምሳና እራት አልሆኑም።

“አድገናል”፣ “ተመንድገናል”፣ “በምግብ ራሳችንን ችለናል” ሲል የከረመው የህወሓት አገዛዝ የረሀቡ ዜና አፈትልኮ ሲወጣ እና የዓለም መገናኛ ብዙሀን መነጋገሪያ ሲሆን የተራበውን ወገናችንን ለማብላት ከመሯሯጥ ይልቅ ተፈጥሮ ላይ ማላከኩን ተያይዞታል። ከዚህ አልፎ ዓመታዊ ድግሶቹ እና ለባለሥልጣናቱ የሚሰጡ ጥቅማጥቅሞች ጉዳይ ከረሀብ በላይ አሳሳቢ በመሆኑ 15 ሚሊዮን የሚገመት ሕዝብ በሞት አፋፍ ላይ እያለ የአገሪቱ ሀብት ለድግስና ፈንጠዚያ እንዲሁም ለእያንዳንዱ ባለሥልጣን ቤተመንግሥት አከል መኖሪያ ቤት ማሠሪያ እየዋለ ነው። መቀሌ ላይ ህወሃት 40ኛ ልደቱን ለማክበር ወደ ግማሽ ቢልዮን ብር ባወጣ ማግስት በአማራ ስም ለወያኔ ባርነት የገባው ብአዴን 300 ሚሊዮን ወጪ በማድረግ በረሃብተኛው ሕዝብ አናት ላይ እየጨፈረ ነው:: ይህ የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ መናቅ ብቻ ሳይሆን ደግሞ ደጋግሞ ከመግደል የሚቆጠር ወንጀል ነው።

ለመሆኑ የአየር ንብረት መዛባት እየተደጋገመ ለሚመጣ ችጋርና ቸነፈር በቂ ምክንያት ሆኖ ያውቃልን? ለምንድነው ፍትህና ነፃነት በሰፈነባቸው አገሮች ውስጥ ዝናብ ጠፍቶ የእርሻ ምርት ቢቀንስ እንኳን ሰው በረሀብ የማይሞተው? አስከፊ የረሀብ ዜናዎች የሚሰማባቸው አገሮች በሙሉ ነፃነት የታፈነባቸው አገሮች መሆናቸውስ የአጋጣሚ ጉዳይ ነው? ለምንድነው ተደጋግሞ ከሚመጣ የረሀብ አዙሪት መውጣት ያቃተን?

የእነዚህ ሁሉ ጥያቄዎች መልስ አጭርና ቀጥተኛ ነው። ለችግሮች መፍትሄ መሻት የሚቻለው በነፃነት ማሰብ የሚችል ጭንቅላት ሲኖር ነው። በባርነት ጨለማ ውስጥ ያለ ጭንቅላት ለችግሮች መፍትሄ የማፍለቅ አቅም የለውም። እንዲያውም እንዲህ ዓይነቱ ድኩም ጭንቅላት ችግሮችን ማሸነፍ ሳይሆን ተሸናፊነትን ተቀብሎ ከችግሮች ጋር ተስማምቶና ተወዳጅቶ መኖርን ይመርጣል። ለዚህም ነው የአስተዳደር በደልና ረሀብ ምክንያትና ውጤት ብቻ ሳይሆን እጅና ጓንትም ጭምር የሆኑት።

ነፃነት ያለው ሕዝብ ረሀብን እንደሚያሸነፍ ተደጋግሞ የታየ ጉዳይ ነው። ለዚህም ነው ረሀብን የተፈጥሮ ሚዛን መዛባት ውጤት ብቻ አድርጎ ማቅረብ እውነትን መሸፈጥ የሚሆነው። ረሀብ የብልሹ አስተዳደር ውጤት መሆኑ ያፈጠጠ፣ ያገጠጠ ሀቅ ነው። ከረሀብ መገላገያ መንገድም የተበላሸ አስተዳደር ተወግዶ ኃላፊነት የሚሰማው፣ የዜጎች የማሰብ ነፃነት የሚያረጋግጥ ሕዝባዊ አስተዳደር ሲኖር ነው።

አገራችን ኢትዮጵያን የረሀብ ቀጠና ካደረጉ የ24 ዓመታት የወያኔ “የዘርፈህ ብላ” የኢኮኖሚ ፓሊሲ ውጤቶች መካከል አንዳንዱን ለአብነት ያህል መዘርዘር ይቻላል።

1.ገበሬና መሬት ተለያይተዋል። ኢትዮጵያዊያን አርሶ አደሮች መሬት አልባ ሆነዋል። ለም መሬቶች በኢንቨስትመንት ስም ለህወሓት ጉልተኞችና ምስለኔዎቻቸው ታድሏል፤ እነሱ ደግሞ በተራቸው ለባዕዳን ሽጠውታል። ኢትዮጵያዊው አርሶ አደር በሀገሩ ጭሰኝነት እንኳን አጥቶ ለቀን ሠራተኝነትና ልመና ተዳርጓል። በዚህም ምክንያት ገበሬው እንኳንስ ትልቁን የአየር መዛባት ትንሿንም የዋጋ ንረት መቋቋም እስከማይችልበት ደረጃ ተዳክሟል።

2.ዘርን መሠረተ ባደረገ ክልላዊ ድንበር ሳቢያ ኢትዮጵያዊው ጎበዝ አርሶ አደር አንዱ ቦታ ቢከፋ ወደ ተሻለ ቦታ ተዛውሮ ማረስ አልቻለም። ከሰሜን ወደ ደቡብ ከሄደ የአገራችን አርሶ አደር ይልቅ ባህር ተሻግሮ የመጣ ኤንቨርስተር ነኝ ባይ መሬት ማግኘት ይቀለዋል። እንዲያውም ኢትዮጵያዊው ገበሬ በዱላና በጥይት ሲባረር፤ ከባዕድ አገር የመጣው ብድርና ማበረታቻዎች ይሰጠዋል።

3.የህወሓት ባላሥልጣኖችና በየቦታው ያስቀመጧቸው ምስለኔዎቻቸው ራሳቸውን ባለሚሊዮኖች፣ ከፍ ሲልም ባለ ቢሊዮኖች አድርገዋል። እነዚህ በአንድ ጀምበር ከትቢያ የተነሱ ቱጃሮች ከገንዘብ በተጨማሪም የጄኔራልነት፣ የሚኒስቴርነት፣ የክልል ገዢነት፣ እጅግ ቢያንስ የቢሮ ኃላፊነት ሥልጣንን ኪሳቸው ውሰጥ ከተዋል። የመንግሥት ሥልጣንና ሃብት ይኸን ያህል የተቆራኙበት ሥርዓት በኢትዮጵያ ኖሮ አያውቅም። የጥቂቶች ያለአገባብና ያለቅጥ መክበር በአንፃሩ ደግሞ የብሃኑን ሕዝብ መደህየት ረሀብ እጣ ፈንታችን እንዲሆን አድርጓል።

4.በአቋራጭና በፍጥነት ለመክበር አስተማማኙ መንገድ የገዛ ራስ ጥረትና ታታሪነት ሳይሆን ቅጥፈት፣ አጭበርባሪነትና ሎሌነት ማደር መሆኑን የህወሓት አበጋዞች በተግባር እያሳዩ ሠርቶ፣ ለፍቶ ማደግ ሞኝነት እንዲሆን አድርገውታል። በዚህም ምክንያት በባህላችን ውስጥ ኮትኩተው ያሳደጓቸው አድርባይነት፣ ስንፍናና እና ልመና ችግርን የመጋፈጥ አቅማችንን ሰልበውታል።

5.ደኖቻችን ተጨፍጭፈው፣ ለም መሬታችን ተሸርሽሮ በማለቁ የግብርናችን ምርታማነት በእጅጉ ቀንሷል። በህወሓት የአገዛዝ ዘመን የደን ጭፍጨፋና የመሬት መሸርሸር በአስደንጋጭ ሁኔታ ጨምሯል። አገሪቷ በፍጥነት ወደ ምድረበዳነት እየተቀየረች ነው።

6.ኢትዮጵያዊያን ገበሬዎች ድርቅን መቋቋም ስለሚችሉ ሰብሎች ወይም የአስተራረስ ዘዴዎች ማሰብ፣ መመራመርና መፈተሽ አይችሉም። አዲስ ነገር መሞከር “የኢህአዴግ የግብርና ፓሊሲን“ በመቃወም ወንጀል የሚያስቀጣ ተግባር ሆኗል። በዚህም ምክንያት ገበሬው ድርቅን መቋቋሚያ አዳዲስ ዘዴዎች መፈለግ ቀርቶ በተለምዶ የሚያውቃቸውንም መጠቀም አልቻለም።

7.የህወሓት አገዛዝ፣ እንደ ኢኮኖሚው ሁሉ የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ ብዛት ሊቆጣጠር የሚሞክረው ቢሮ ውስጥ ቁጭ ተብሎ በሚደረግ የቁጥር ጨዋታ ነው። አገዛዙ ውጤታማ የስነ ሕዝብ ፓሊሲ የለውም፤ እንኳንስ የቀጣይ ዓመታት የሕዝብ እድገት ምጣኔን ሊቆጣጠር አሁን ያለነው ቁጥራችን ስንት እንደሆነ እንኳን በትክክል ሊነግረን አልቻለም፤ ረሀብ ነው መብዛታችንን እየነገረን ያለው።

አርበኞች ግንቦት 7፡ የአንድነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ እነዚህና የመሳሰሉት ጭብጦችን በማንሳት የረሀቡ መሠረታዊ ምክንያት የህወሓት አገዛዝ ያሰፈነው ብልሹ አስተዳደር መሆኑን በአንጽዖት ይናገራል። ሕዝባችን በነፃነት ማሰብ፣ መመራመር፣ መፈተሽ ቢችል ኖሮ ረሀብን መከላከያ ብልሃት ማግኘት ባላቃተውም ነበር ብሎ አርበኞች ግንቦት 7 ያምናል። ረሀብን ለማጥፋት ህወሓትን ከሥልጣን ማስወገድ ከምንጊዜውም በላይ ወሳኝ የሆነ ጊዜ ላይ ተደርሶአል ብሎ አርበኖች ግንቦት 7 ያምናል።

ነገር ግን ረሀብ ጊዜ አይሰጥም። የፓለቲካ ሥርዓት ለውጥ በሞት አፋፍ ላይ ላለ ወገናችን መፍትሄ አይሆንም። ስለሆነም ለረሀቡ መሠረታዊ መፍትሄ የሆነውን ትግላችንን ሳንዘነጋ የወገኖቻችንን ሕይወት ለመታገድ የምንችለውን ሁሉ እንድናደርግ አርበኞች ግንቦት 7 ጥሪ ያደርጋል። ሲቪክ ማኅበራት የተራበው ወገናችን የወያኔ መጠቀሚያ ሳይሆን የአስቸኳይ ጊዜ እርዳታ የሚያገኝበት መንገድ እንዲያፈላልጉ እና ወገን ለወገን የሚቆምበትን ዘመቻ እንዲያስተባብሩ ጥሪ ያደርጋል። ለወገኖቻችን የሚላከው እርዳታ ከዚህ በፊት እንደነበረው ሁሉ ወደአገዛዙ ባለሥልጣኖች የግል ኪስ እንዳይፈስ ጥንቃቄ እንዲደረግ ያሳስባል። ለወገኖቻችን ለመድረስ እያንዳንዳችን በግል፤ እንዲሁም በቡድን የተቻለንን ሁሉ እናድርግ።

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ!!!
ኅዳር 3 ቀን 2008 ዓ.ም.

Ending Ethiopia's food aid dependency

Ethiopia has been hailed by the international organizations as the fastest growing economy. The Western media is now telling the world that Ethiopia needs food aid because of a widespread drought. 

Economic growth is a change in total output between two consecutive years expressed as a percentage. Economic growth, however, does not tell us the components of growth. In the last ten years, Ethiopia’s growth has been in housing and infrastructure; not in food.
Thus, the government in Ethiopia has recently appealed to its international partners for food aid to feed 8.2 million people.  According to U. N. reports, the number of people needing help may reach 15 million by 2016.
The regime in Ethiopia always appeals for food aid whenever the country is affected by a drought. Then its international aid partners will deliver the food. This has become routine.
Since the early 1970s, Ethiopia has been affected by a drought frequently. As a result, the country has become dependent on food aid despite its rich potential.
The regime’s food aid partners are Western governments, international organizations, including the United Nations and its specialized agencies, as well as NGOs. Presently, they are all working hard to avert another famine in Ethiopia.
A number of initiatives have been announced in the past by the United States and its Western allies in response to a global food problem. For instance, in 2009, at the G8 Meeting in L’Aquila, Italy, more than $22 billion was pledged for a global food security campaign.
In 2012, a symposium on global agriculture and food security was held in Washington, D.C. At that symposium, the President of the United States launched his New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.
The President stated in his remarks that the new initiative would be a better alternative than simply handing out food. Thus, according to the President’s New Alliance, G8 nations will honor the commitment, they made in L’Aquila. Second, African governments, “committed to agricultural development will build on their own plans making tough reforms and attracting investment.”
Third, donor countries will “closely align their assistance with these country-plans.” Fourth, the private sector, that is, the World Bank, international development agencies, multinational corporations, NGOs and civil societies will coordinate their involvements with the other partners.
The President in his remarks rightly said, “The whole purpose of development is to create the conditions where assistance is no longer needed, where people have the dignity and the pride of being self-sufficient.” The President’s New Alliance, however, leaves a lot to be desired.
First, it is not based on the successful experience of America’s agricultural development. America has a lot to offer to help Africa modernize its agriculture.  The United States of America is a world leader in agricultural productivity thanks to the Homestead Act of 1862.
The Homestead Act created numerous privately owned family farms. The government made credit sources available to make the purchase of land and farm machinery by the people feasible. The Homestead Act was a strong democratizing measure because it gave Americans private property, which is the foundation for individual rights.
Second, The New Alliance does not incentivize African countries so that they should modernize their agriculture. On the other hand, the U. S. applied incentives to influence Southeast Asian countries to develop their agriculture.
For instance, Japan would not have abolished landlordism and established owner farmers without American involvement. The American Occupation in 1946 used its power to enforce a land reform law, which was against the interest of wealthy and powerful landlords.
The United States pushed for similar land reform laws in South Korea and Taiwan. Thanks to American involvement, South Korea and Taiwan today are among the prosperous nations in the world (see Table below).

For example, in 1961, Ethiopia, South Korea and Taiwan all had per capita incomes less than $120. By 2014, South Korea’s per capita income was 60 times larger than Ethiopia’s and Taiwan’s per capita income was almost 100 times bigger.
 During 1961-2014, Ethiopia got poorer while South Korea and Taiwan got richer. Furthermore, the income gap between South Korea and the United States decreased by almost 50%. And the income gap between Taiwan and the United States shrank by 80%. On the other hand, Ethiopia’s per capita income as a percentage of America’s per capita income declined from 2.3% to 0.8%.
From 1951 through September 30, 2013, the United States provided loans, grants/food aid to Ethiopia amounting to $11.7 billion in constant dollar. Ethiopia received most of the aid between 1991 and 2013 under the present government (see USAID chart below). However, the current regime is not committed to agricultural development.

 If America really wants to help Ethiopia modernize its agriculture, giving food aid is not the answer. In the first place, food aid is not sustainable in the long-run because it has budgetary consequences for America.
Secondly, food aid encourages the government in Ethiopia to postpone land reform,  which is essential for agricultural transformation. For instance, the current regime has vowed that land privatization will happen over its dead body. This does not sound like a government committed to agricultural development.
In Ethiopia, government landlordism is the major impediment to agricultural development. Thus, America should leverage food aid to reform the government’s land monopoly and help Ethiopia modernize its agriculture.
The government in Ethiopia has to agree to privatize land and capitalize the rural sector in return for receiving food aid. Only then can Ethiopia be able to develop its rich agricultural potential and end its dependency on food aid. Only then can the people of Ethiopia “have the dignity and the pride of being self-sufficient.”
 By Daniel Teferra(PhD)*  November 4, 2015

US and European officials urge Ethiopian to release Andargachew “Andy”

Politicians from the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union have sent a letter to Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn urging the release of British citizen Andargachew “Andy” Tsege, a political activist who has been held incommunicado for more than a year and has been sentenced to death.
The father of three was on his way to Eritrea to attend an opposition conference on June 23, 2014 when he was detained in Sana'a, Yemen, during a layover, at the behest of the Ethiopian government.
Tsege, 60, a former secretary-general of a banned opposition party, had already been sentenced to death in absentia by an Ethiopian court in 2009.
The letter, obtained only by Al Jazeera, criticizes the Ethiopian authorities for conducting a “deeply flawed” trial and demands the release of Tsege, who is kept in solitary confinement and subjected to artificial light 24 hours a day.
“You have emphasized in the past Ethiopia’s commitment to human rights, but it is unconscionable and illegal for your government to have targeted Mr. Tsege in this way. Your government’s treatment of him is a stain on its reputation, and threatens to isolate Ethiopia internationally," said the letter, co-authored in June by California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Other politicians who signed off on the letter include British parliament members Jeremy Corbyn, Baron Dholakia, and Emily Thornberry along with European Parliament officials Ana Gomes and Richard Howitt.
British officials have only been permitted to see Tsege three times since his arrest in monitored visits that take place away from his jail cell, circumstances that lawyers say prevent him from speaking openly about his mistreatment.
The Independent reported  that during one of those visits, in April, Tsege told Greg Dorey, the British ambassador to Ethiopia that he would prefer being executed to remaining in detention.
“Seriously, I am happy to go — it would be preferable and more humane,” Tsege reportedly said.
Yemi Hailemariam, Tsege's partner and mother of his children, said the ordeal has left the family devasted.
“It's dreadful, what has happened. The way he was taken, it's really terrifying. I was hoping things would evolve quickly and he would be released, but it feels like it's only getting worse and worse,” she told Al Jazeera America in an exclusive interview.
Concerns that he is being mistreated by Ethiopian authorities, who routinely subject political detainees to torture, grew after the Ethiopian government released videos of a gaunt and disoriented Tsege apparently confessing to a number of offenses.
UK-based legal charity Reprieve submitted the videos to an expert for analysis who concluded that Tsege exhibited signs of torture.
“The expert found that there are signs of significant deterioration in his mental condition, an indicia of PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] that could be the result of torture. And we already know that torture is pretty endemic at Ethiopian detention sites,” said Maya Foa, director of Reprieve's death penalty team.
She described Tsege's arrest in Yemen and rendition to Ethiopia as a “politically motivated abduction.”
Ethiopia's embassy in Washington and its mission in New York did not respond to Al Jazeera's calls and e-mails for comment.

Dedicated reformer

Tsege was tried in absentia in 2009 along with a group of opposition members and journalists under Ethiopia's controversial anti-terrorism laws, which human rights experts say are used to repress peaceful political dissent.
The charges leveled against Tsege include high treason, espionage and involvement with a terrorist organization.
He was an active member of Ginbot 7, a political party founded in the U.S. – home to the largest Ethiopian population outside of Africa – that advocates for democratic reforms.
Ethiopia designated Ginbot 7 a terrorist group in 2011, a move that human rights experts say was meant to quash opposition.
"They are not considered a terrorist group by any government apart from the Ethiopian [government]," Foa told Al Jazeera.
She added Tsege's arrest was part of a larger crackdown on dissent by the country’s authorities in the run-up to the May 2015 elections, in which the ruling party won by an overwhelming majority.
Human rights experts have denounced the elections as an exercise in "political theater."
“A decade-long campaign by Ethiopia’s government to silence dissent forcibly has left the country without a viable political opposition, without independent media, and without public challenges to the ruling party’s ideology,” wrote Daniel Calingaert in The Guardian.
Calingaert is the executive vice-president of Freedom House, an International human rights organization. “For most Ethiopians, these elections are a non-event,” he added.
The ruling party - Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPDRF) - has been in power for the last 25 years, following the 1991 ouster of the country's military junta, the Derg.
When the EPDRF ascended to power, Tsege – who sought asylum in the UK in 1979 – traveled back to Ethiopia for the first time in 20 years to help his homeland rebuild and to serve as the secretary of the Addis Ababa City Council.
He resigned from that post 18 months later, having grown disillusioned with the new government, which showed no signs of implementing genuine democratic reform, according to his partner Hailemariam.
Tsege returned to the UK, where he had become a full citizen in 2006, and although he lost his Ethiopian citizenship (dual citizenships are prohibited under Ethiopian law) he continued to advocate for change in Ethiopia from the UK.
"He never stopped believing change would come to Ethiopia. In the UK, he saw the difference between those who live in a free society and people who live in authoritarian regimes like Ethiopia. He really couldn’t let it go. Anytime he saw an opportunity to get involved, he was always involved," said his partner, Hailemariam.
In 2005, Tsege published a book entitled Freedom Fighters Who Don’t Know What Freedom Is – a scathing indictment of the EPDRF leadership.
The following year, he traveled to Washington D.C. to speak on Ethiopia's human rights record before a Congressional committee, telling them that “the scale of repression has exceeded Ethiopia's darkest hours during the military dictatorship.”
ethiomedia

President Obama to Africa:Nobody shoud be president for life.

Barak Obama -- addressing the African Union (AU) today: “If a leader says he is the only one who can hold the country together, then that leader has failed to build their nation…Nobody should be president for life. A country is better off with new blood and new ideas.”
“I don't understand why people want to stay in power for so long especially when they have a lot of money...”
"When a leader tries to change the rules in the middle of the game just to stay in office it risks instability and strife. As we've seen in Burundi...”
"I'm still a pretty young man, but I know that somebody with new energy and new insights will be good for my country. It would be good for yours too in some cases."
“I have to be honest with you—I just don’t understand this. I am in my second term. Under our constitution, I cannot run again. There’s still so much I want to get done to keep America moving forward. But the law is the law and no one is above it, not even presidents.”
“…frankly, I’m looking forward to life after being President. It will mean more time with my family, new ways to serve, and more visits to Africa.” 
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/barack-obama-africa-trip-democracy-ethiopia-120711.html?cmpid=sf

ፕ/ት ኦባማ «ኤርትራ ያለ ተቃዋሚ ድርጅትን በአሸባሪነት ለመፈረጅ» የሚያስችል በቂ መረጃ የለንም አሉ፤

July 27,2015
ኢሳት ዜና ፦ የአሜሪካው ፕ/ት ባራክ ኦባማ ይህን የተናገሩት ” በአሜሪካና በኤርትራ የሚገኙ የተቃዋሚ ድርጅቶች ኢትዮጵያ ሽብርተኝነትን ለመወጋት የምታደርገውን ጥረት እያደናቀፉ በመሆኑ የእርስዎ መንግስት የኢትዮጵያን መንግስት ለመርዳት ምን ያክል ዝግጁ ነው ተብሎ ከኢቢሲ ጋዜጠኛ ጥያቄ መቅረቡን ተከትሎ ነው። ጋዜጠኛው የድርጅቱን ስም በግልጽ ከመግለጽ ቢቆጠብም፣ ፕ/ት ኦባማ የሰጡት መልስ ፣ የኢህአዴግ ባለስልጣናት ከዚህ ቀደም ለአሜሪካ ስቴት ዲፓርትመንት ምክትል ሃላፊ ዌዲ ሸርማን አርበኞች ግንቦት7ትን በአሸባሪነት እንዲፈረጅ ያቀረቡትን ጥያቄ፣ ለፕ/ት ኦባማም ማቅረባቸውን የሚያመለክት ነው። ፕ/ት ኦባማ በመልሳቸው «ፖሊሲያችን መንግስትን በሃይል ከስልጣን ማውረድን አይደግፍም፣ ይህ ፖሊሲያችን በዲሞክራሲያዊ ሁኔታ የተመረጠውን የኢትዮጵያን መንግስትንም ያካትታል» ካሉ በኋላ፣ «በኢትዮጵያ መንግስት በኩል ከፍተኛ ችግር እየፈጠሩብኝ ነው በማለት የሚፈርጃቸው ድርጅቶች እንዳሉ እናውቃለን፣ ይሁን እንጅ በመንግስት ላይ ተቃውሞ ቢያሰሙም የሽብር ዝንባሌ እንደሌላቸው የእኛ የመረጃና የደህንነት መረጃዎች ያሳዩናአል» በማለት በኢህአዴግ መንግስት በኩል የቀረበውን ጥያቄ ሳይቀበሉት መቅረታቸውን ተናግረዋል። «ይህንን በመገምገም በኩል ግልጽ የሆነ መስፈርት አለን ያሉት ኦባማ፣ ለወደፊቱ እነዚህ ድርጅቶች የሽብር ጥቃት ይፈጽማሉ አይፈጽሙም የሚለውን ለወደፊቱ የምናየው ይሆናል ብለዋል።
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«አንድ ድርጅት የፖለቲካ ተቃውሞውን ቢገልጽ ፣ ከአስተሳሰቡ ጋር ባንስማማም እንኳ ከለላ እንሰጠዋለን፣ ይሄ በአሜሪካ በሌላም ቦታ የሚሰራበት እውነታ ነው፤ ይህን ማድረግ ለዲሞክራሲ እድገት አስፈላጊ ነገር ነው» ያሉት ኦባማ ፣ ድርጅቶቹ ወደ ሃይል ሲያዘነብሉና በህገመንግስት የተቋቋመን መንግስት ለመገልበጥ ሲሞክሩ፣ ድርጊቱ ያሳስበናል።» በማለት መልሰዋል። የውጭ አገር ጋዜጠኞች ፣ በእስር ላይ ስለሚገኙ የነጻው ፕሬስ ጋዜጠኞች እንዲሁም ስለኢትዮጵያ የሰብአዊ መብት አያያዝ ጉዳይ ለፕ/ት ኦባማና ለአቶ ሃይለማርያም ደሳለኝ ጥያቄዎችን አቅርበዋል። ፕ/ት ኦባማ በኢትዮጵያ የሰብአዊ መብት ጥበቃ እና በዲሞክራሲ ዙሪያ ከአቶ ሃይለማርያም ጋር ሰፊ ውይይት ማድረጋቸውን፣ አሜሪካ በቅርብ ሁና እገዛ ለመስጠት መዘጋጀቷን ገልጸዋል። የኢህአዴግ መንግስት ከፕ/ቱ ጉብኝት በዋናነት የሚጠብቀው ለስልጣኑ ስጋት የሚፈጥሩ ድርጅቶች በሽብረተኝነት እንዲፈረጁለት ቢሆንም፣ ይህንን ሳያገኝ ቀርቷል። ይሁን እንጅ ባራክ ኦባማ የኢህአዴግን መንግስት በዲሞክራሲያዊ ምርጫ የተመረጠ ነው ማለታቸው በርካታ የሰብአዊ መብት ተሟጋች ድርጅቶችን ሳያስቆጣ አይቀርም። ኦባማ በአንድ በኩል በኢትዮጵያ እየጠበበ ስለመጣው የፖለቲካ ምህዳር ሲናገሩ፣ በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ምርጫውን ዲሞክራሲያዊ የሚል ካባ ማልበሳቸው፣ የአሜሪካ የውጭ ፖሊሲን ተቃርኖ የሚያሳይ ነው።
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በሌላ በኩል ኢ/ር ይልቃል ለፕሬዝደንት ኦባማ በተዘጋጀው የእራት ግብዣ ላይ እንደማይገኙ አስታውቀዋል። የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ሊቀመንበር ኢ/ር ይልቃል ጌትነት መንግስት ሀምሌ 20/2007 ዓ.ም ምሽት 1፡00 ሰዓት ላይ ቤተ መንግስት ውስጥ ለአሜሪካው ፕሬዝደንት ባራክ ኦባማ የሚያደረገውን የእራት ግብዣ ያልተቀበሉት፣ «አሸባሪ አድርጎ የሚቆጥረን ኢህአዴግ፣ ፕሬዝደንት ባራክ ኦባማ ሲመጡ በዴሞክራሲያዊ መንገድ የተመረጠ ለማስመሰልና ዕውቅና ለማግኘት ያደረገው በመሆኑ አልገኝም» ብለዋል፡፡ ኢ/ር ይልቃል አክለውም «የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ጭቆና እና ስቃይ ውስጥ ባለበት በአሁኑ ወቅት ኢህአዴግ የጠራው የቅንጦት ግብዣ ላይ መገኘት የህዝቡን ሰቆቃ እንደመርሳት እቆጥረዋለሁ» ብለዋል፡፡ በሌላ በኩል የአሜሪካው ፕሬዝደንት ባራክ ኦባማ መግለጫ በሚሰጡበት ወቅት ኢህአዴግ በዴሞክራሲያዊ መንገድ የተመረጠ ነው ማለታቸው ቅር እንዳሰኛቸውም ሊቀመንበሩ ለነገረ ኢትዮጵያ ገልጸዋል፡፡ «ኢህአዴግን በዴሞክራሲያዊ መንገድ የተመረጠ ነው ማለት የሰላማዊ ታጋዮችን ስቃይ የሚክድና ለአምባገነኖች ይሁንታ የሚሰጥ ነው» ሲሉ የፕሬዝደንት ኦባማን ንግግር ነቅፈውታል፡፡ ፕሬዝደንት ኦባማ የጠበንጃ ትግልን አለመደገፍን ለመግለፅ የአሜሪካ ስቴት ዲፓርትመንትን ጨምሮ ሌሎች የአሜሪካ ተቋማት ኢ-ዴሞክራሲያዊ መሆኑን አረጋግጠውት፣ መቶ ፐርሰንት ምርጫ አሸንፌያለሁ የሚልን ፓርቲ በዴሞክራሲያዊ ምርጫ እንደተመረጠ መግለፃቸው እንዳሳዘናቸው ኢ/ር ይልቃል ገልጸዋል፡፡

Obama begins Ethiopia, African Union visit

Addis Ababa (AFP) - US President Barack Obama landed in Ethiopia on Sunday, beginning a two-day stay and becoming the first American leader to visit Africa's second most populous nation.
Air Force One touched down at Addis Ababa's international airport after a short flight north from the Kenyan capital Nairobi, and the president was greeted on the tarmac by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
The visit will include talks with the Ethiopian government, a key strategic ally but criticised for its record on democracy and human rights. Obama will also become the first US president to address the African Union, the 54-member continental bloc, at its gleaming, Chinese-built headquarters.
He will also hold talks with regional leaders on the civil war in South Sudan.
AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma hailed what she said will be an "historic visit" and a "concrete step to broaden and deepen the relationship between the AU and the US."
While Kenya launched one of the biggest security operations ever seen in the capital Nairobi to host Obama from Friday evening to Sunday, the habitual reach of Ethiopia's powerful security forces meant there was little obvious extra fanfare ahead of his arrival.
Ethiopia, like Kenya, has been on the frontline of the fight against the Somali-led, Al-Qaeda affiliated Shebab. Both nations have troops in Somalia as part of an AU and US-backed force, and are key security partners to Washington.
But the visit also comes two months after elections that saw the prime minister's ruling coalition take every one of the 546 seats in parliament.
The opposition, which lost its only seat, alleged the government had used authoritarian tactics to guarantee victory.
The US State Department notes Ethiopia's "restrictions on freedom of expression," as well as "politically motivated trials" and the "harassment and intimidation of opposition members and journalists."
Ahead of the visit, the White House stressed it frequently addresses issues of democracy and political rights with countries in the region. Having spoken frankly in Kenya on human rights and corruption, Obama can also be expected to address Ethiopia's -- and Africa's -- democracy deficit.

- South Sudan peace push -

Through the tinted windows of his bomb-proof presidential limousine, nicknamed "The Beast," Obama will see Addis Ababa's construction boom of tower blocks, as well as sub-Saharan Africa's first modern tramway.
Ethiopia has come far from the global headlines generated by the 1984 famine, experiencing near-double-digit economic growth and huge infrastructure investment -- making the country one of Africa's top-performing economies and a magnet for foreign investment.
The Horn of Africa nation also remains a favourite of international donors -- despite concerns over human rights -- as a bastion of stability in an otherwise troubled region.
On Monday Obama will try to build African support for tough action against South Sudan's warring leaders if they reject an August peace ultimatum.
Obama will meet with leaders from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda as well as Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour in Addis Ababa to try and build a collective front to end the 19-month-old civil war in the world's youngest nation.
Signalling a deeper commitment to ending violence that has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than two million from their homes, Obama is expected to make the case for tougher sanctions and a possible arms embargo.
South Sudan's rivals -- President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, who will not be at the meeting -- effectively face an ultimatum, a "final best offer," according to one senior administration official.
"The parties have shown themselves to be utterly indifferent to their country and their people, and that is a hard thing to rectify," the official said.
Rights groups, however, are not happy about Obama visiting Ethiopia, saying the trip could lend credibility to a government they accuse of suppressing democratic rights. They say that includes the jailing of journalists and critics, often using anti-terrorism legislation said to stifle peaceful dissent.

"We don't want this visit to be used to sanitise an administration who has been known to violate human rights," said Amnesty International's Abdullahi Halakhe, adding he feared Ethiopia would "spin" the visit to its benefit.

U.S. President B. OBAMA arrived in Addis Ababa Bole International Air Port

The obamas having famliy dinner in Nairobi. what about this old pickup?

 

 

 

Obama Meets With Extended Family on First Night in Nairobi

Five things learned from the latest Ethiopian election

Uneventful
The 2015 edition of the Ethiopian general election — the fifth of its kind since the current rulers took command of state power — is happily over. The results were so predictable and inconsequential that a government leaning private weekly couldn’t hide the apparent. “No other national elections held over the past two decades have a result as obvious as the one held to day.” International media had long come out with similar views. The Economist’s latest issue incidentally carried a story about Ethiopia, there the elections were just a side note dubbed “uneventful…with a predetermined outcome.”
The curious case of the professor
But the hoopla surrounding the elections unwittingly showed the true colours of the entire system, some new and some tired. Head of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) famously said
the ruling party doesn’t need the support of his institution to win an election, when some raised concern about the Board’s impartiality. Lately he has come out even more strongly, his combative edge getting the better of him. And those who casted doubt about the fairness of the polls should be “ashamed of themselves,” lashed out the former veterinary science professor over the weekend.
The new face of censorship
Censorship has scores of manifestations in the country. In its latest iteration electronics media were given a carte blanche to censor the contents of election campaign materials that representatives of contesting parties were supposed to air. While a number of candidates were eager not to miss their five minutes of fame on the national media, those who took the matter more seriously decided to quit the exercise all together.
The Interview
Probably one of the most memorable part of the election was the Prime Minister’s interview on the Al Jazeera network. The Premier sat down with the former BBC news anchor Martine Dennis. The event had some intense moments reminiscent of the BBC’s Hard Talk host Stephen Sackur’s face off with Hailemariam’s predecessor two elections ago. Asked whether he wields real power: “Even during PM Meles era and period this country has been deciding collectively in the system.” Seriously? Martine got on Hailemariam’s nerves when she called the judiciary an extension of the government.“This is an insult for an independent judiciary system of Ethiopia,” the PM retorted. In his attempt to paint a rosy picture of the administration, the clichés of “developmental democratic state” and the rhetoric of neoliberalism were in full abundance. Any criticism against the system is a conspiracy of “the neoliberal paradigm and prescription,” whatever that meant. It was also interesting to hear him talk about the Zone 9 bloggers who have been detained since April 2014 on terrorism charges. “My government has a clear evidence that they are connected with one of the terrorist groups I will not tell you now.” Heaven only knows how long will it take till the “clear evidence” makes it to the court.
Blame game

The ruling party’s complete sweep is creating discomfort within the party’s rank. Now they are in the business of damage control. Some of the party’s stalwarts are coming out in various media to bash the non existent opposition calling it fragmented and only showing up during election times. Having jailed and driving the better part of the opposition out of the country, TPLF/EPRDF has only itself to blame for the embarrassment of a 100 percent victory. “They who have put out the people's eyes reproach them of their blindness.” Hail to the Poet!

Is Ethiopia about to get more than one opposition MP?

• 21 May 2015
 
• From the sectionAfrica

The ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is likely to win Sunday's elections

Is Ethiopia about to get more than one opposition MP?

The current parliament in Ethiopia has only one opposition representative. Could this all change when up to 36 million voters head for the polls this Sunday?

These will be the first elections since the death of the long-term Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in 2012. His Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has been in power for almost a quarter of a century, and faces no reasonable prospect of defeat.

The ruling EPRDF has been in power for a quarter of a century

Who is participating in the polls?

There are 57 political groups which have registered for the election. Many of them are organised along ethnic lines.

Ethiopia has more than 80 different ethnic groups

Apart from the EPRDF, some of the main contenders include the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum; a coalition popularly known as Medrek (the Forum); Unity For Democracy And Justice; and the Semayawi (Blue) Party, which was established in 2012, and has earned itself a reputation for organizing protest rallies and which draws support from young people.

Why have these elections caused controversy in the US?

US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman has praised Ethiopia as a democracy, prompting outrage among human rights organisations.

Speaking during a press briefing in Addis Ababa in April, Ms Sherman said: "Ethiopia is a democracy that is moving forward in an election that we expect to be free, fair and credible and open and inclusive in ways that Ethiopia has moved forward in strengthening its democracy. Every time there is an election it gets better and better."

US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman has praised Ethiopia

In a joint letter, various groups, including Amnesty International USA, said that through her statement the US endorsed ''a government that systematically suppresses the fundamental rights of its citizens. Political pluralism and the ability of Ethiopians to freely express themselves, associate, and participate in peaceful assembly is far more restricted today than ten years ago under the same government.''

What happened in previous elections?

In 2005, 174 opposition politicians won seats in the 547-seat parliament, but many did not take them up after pronouncing the vote rigged.

In the 2010 polls, Girma Seifu, of the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), was the sole opponent to win, while the ruling EPRDF garnered 99.6% of all parliamentary seats. An independent candidate was also elected.

What do opposition parties say about these polls?

The fractured opposition groups have accused the government of harassing their members and carrying out illegal detentions ahead of the elections.

One politician, Yonathan Tesfaye, spokesman for the Blue Party, told journalists that some party members had been beaten, especially in the southern region.

The capital Addis Ababa is expanding rapidly at a time of economic growth

But ruling party spokesman Desta Tesfaw dismissed the allegations and accused opposition groups of trying to discredit the elections, saying: "They don't have their own policies and agendas, and that's clear to the Ethiopian people."

Which outsiders are monitoring the polls?

The African Union has sent election monitors, but the European Union won't be sending observers. The EU said it hasn't been invited.

BBC

Authoritarian Ethiopian Regime Cadres Force People to Cast Open Ballots in Advance of Election

 The Ethiopian National Election is on May 24, 2015, less than two weeks away, but the authoritarian regime, under the control of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) for the last 23 years, appears to be panicking. The political mood of the Ethiopian people is feistier than ever as they see the election to be a totally controlled process, hardly worthy of their participation. Yet, even despite the scrupulous closing down of all political space, the EPRDF is obviously still scared and has come up with a new plan to further protect themselves from the vote of the people, even while pretending otherwise.

Regime cadres, all on salary, have been organized so that one cadre is responsible to ensure five people fall into line with the goals of the EPRDF. These cadres have been going to the homes of those people assigned to them with election ballots for the May 24th election. The people are told they must immediately cast their ballots and to stay home on Election Day. Reportedly, the ballots are not secret, but are collected by these agents who also write down their names. Anyone who refuses to cast their ballot or who tries to vote on Election Day will face serious consequences like the loss of jobs, opportunities, or other benefits. Some are threatened with punitive actions, which in this country might mean arrests, beatings or other abuse. With the full authority of the regime behind them, they are able to harass and intimidate these persons in order to achieve full compliance.

This is the first election since the death of the former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the atmosphere of discontent in the country is greater than ever. Since the 2005 election, where some limited space was allowed for the opposition, the EPRDF has increasingly tightened the political space. In 2010, the EPRDF clamped down on nearly all political space to opponents and according to documentation by Human Rights Watch, used humanitarian aid as a means to manipulate votes. The unpopular EPRDF then claimed an absurd 99.6% electoral victory, giving only one opposition member a place in the 547-member parliament. However, in 2015, the EPRDF has restricted the playing field even more. If one thought of it as a soccer field; there would be only one ball, one net and one team—their own. No other team would be on the field and now, even the spectators would have to stand outside. It is obvious that Ethiopia has become one of the most repressive regimes in Africa; however, beyond that, it may be the most egregious example of an ethnic-apartheid regime on the continent—possibly worse than South Africa.

The four ethnic-based parties that make up the EPRDF fail to represent the over eighty or more ethnic groups in the country; yet, even those in three of the four parties are puppets of the one controlling group of the Tigrayan Peoples Democratic Front (TPLF). Going even further, the TPLF does not represent many of their own people who object to its actions. It is a system built on patronage. In order to gain and maintain power, the TPLF has built an entrenched system of gifting regime loyalists from every ethnicity; but especially endowing its own region with perks as a means of entrapping them and making them complicit in supporting the regime. However, only those with connections to the Tigrayan Central Committee are assured the benefits. These are the people who dominate all key positions throughout every sector of society and who have greatly profited from this association. If the TPLF loses the election, this power group fears losing everything they have gained through years of brazenly seizing the power and assets of the country with impunity.

Words like democracy, elections, and the rule of law are used to cloak the truth. Actions in the light are only meant for public display while what happens in the shadows undermines all else. For example, the TPLF/EPRDF is a regime that espouses the values of a robust civil society; yet, they passed a law, the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO), which has totally silenced any independent civil society voices within Ethiopia. In their place, government-controlled institutions have taken the place of the previous ones, working in concert with the goals of the TPLF/EPRDF. For example, efforts to advance such things as women’s empowerment, human rights, reconciliation, justice and electoral rights, have been criminalized if an organization receives more than 10% of their funds from foreign sources. Over 2,600 organizations closed as a result. Another example is an anti-terrorism law that has been used to silence political dissent. In the light, it pretends to be working to protect the people against terrorism, but in the dark it has resulted in the imprisonment or exile of human rights bloggers, journalists, political activists, religious leaders or any others who speak out.

Now, there is a national election scheduled that is merely for show. Wendy Sherman, the U.S. State Department Undersecretary, is the only one calling it a free, fair and credible election. She is the only one figuratively selling tickets to a political game where there are no seats left for anyone but the TPLF. All the groundwork has been laid months ago to ensure there is no competition.

As we described in a February 2015 press release http://www.solidaritymovement.org/downloads/150116-Ethiopians-Boycott-Fake-Election.pdf by the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE), the TPLF/EPRDF has taken many steps to make sure there are no viable opposition groups running against them. Instead, they have manipulated the process all along the way so as to deny any entry. This has included intimidating and arresting political leaders and hijacking at least one organization from its leadership—Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ)—by replacing the legitimate leaders with their own regime cadres. Now they, under the guise of UDJ, will compete against themselves so they can win either way. Yet, even though they have successfully closed off all political space, they still are afraid of the people.

Now they are sending their agents door-to-door to urge people to cast their ballots right there, warning them that now that they have voted, the TPLF/EPRDF knows who they are and how they voted. Many will be afraid to cast their vote for any other than the TPLF/EPRDF candidates. Those who resist are threatened.

When one tiny section of a political party, like the TPLF, holds complete power over the marketplace of opportunities as well as over the institutions capable of punishing those who fail to yield to its authority, you get a country like today’s Ethiopia and an election like the one coming up this month. Just wait until the TPLF manipulates the political scenery by removing Hailemariam Desalegn, the current prime minister who comes from the south—not from the Tigray region like others in the TPLF—and replaces him with one of their own TPLF cronies. How long can such a regime last when it excludes the vast majority of Ethiopians by ethnicity and corruption? The answer to this question is “not long” for it is unsustainable. It is out of desperation that this new pre-election vote is being forced on the people of Ethiopia.

Interestingly, the recent tragedies affecting Ethiopians abroad have taken on a life of their own, uniting the people around their deep compassion for the many nameless Ethiopians whose ethnicity, religion, and background no longer seem to matter. Diverse Ethiopians have been greatly affected by the death or hardship of these fellow Ethiopians—who were shot or beheaded in Libya for their Christian faith, who were burned alive in South Africa, whose organs were removed in the Sinai Desert, who are unwanted in countries among a flood of other refugees, who have been raped, abused or kept in domestic servitude in the Middle East until some even hung themselves or jumped off a bridge or balcony, or who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea as they posed as Eritreans because so many international authorities discount the totalitarian nature of the TPLF/EPRDF. They left seeking freedom, safety from arrest or abuse, or a better life outside of Ethiopia. Ethiopians grieve for them and their loved ones regardless of their differences.

We are witnessing a change before our eyes. Ethiopians are putting humanity before ethnicity, one of the foundational principles of the SMNE, as never before and it is a threat to the TPLF/EPRDF. When Ethiopians came out to mourn for those who died it turned into a protest against a system that drives so many of our young people from their homeland.

In fact, during the protest some of the younger people, born under the rule of the TPLF/EPRDF, were calling for former Ethiopian President Mengistu Hailemariam, a known brutal dictator, to come back to rule the country; choosing him over the current brutal and corrupt ethnic-apartheid system. Their position was based on the belief that people were more unified under Mengistu and that there had been more equal opportunity regardless of ethnicity. No wonder the TPLF/EPRDF fears what might happen if people came out to vote.

In conclusion, is this the democratic process that Wendy Sherman alluded to a few weeks ago that keeps getting better and better? Is this what a credible election is to the Obama administration? Obama was not elected in this way. If the State Department speaks the language of democracy building, should they not be outraged by what is happening in Ethiopia? Why is such a double-standard tolerated? Why is no one condemning it? Where are the other donor countries who are the financiers of this regime? Where is their voice? They cannot claim they do not know. We are attaching the voting cards that have been handed over to the people so others can see further evidence of what is happening on the ground. Now, the US, the UK, the EU and others cannot claim they did not know.

We are calling on donor countries to make the TPLF/EPRDF accountable. If donor countries can condemn a corrupt, rigged election process in countries where we have no alliances; but then overlook it in places like Ethiopia where we have national interests, is it not morally wrong? For Ethiopians, it is not only about our own national interests, but it is about the survival of our people and about our future.

The greatest responsibility for change in Ethiopia lies on the shoulders of the people of Ethiopia. For us, whether or not the outsider comes to our aid, we cannot determine, but with God’s help and in keeping with His sovereign will, we Ethiopians will free ourselves. We are not begging for our freedom to be handed over like foreign aid. Ethiopians will claim it for themselves. What we are asking is for outsiders not to be a roadblock to our freedom or to our future and to speak out truthfully when harm and immoral actions are committed.

The SMNE was created for the freedom, justice, and overall wellbeing of the Ethiopian people, but even if there was opportunity for a change of government or leadership, it would not be enough. During the domination by the TPLF/EPRDF, the people of Ethiopia have been encouraged towards division, hate, violence and self-interest. Without change in the hearts and minds of the people of Ethiopia, we will be stuck in a self-defeating pattern. If we are to become a healthy, well-functioning society of diverse people, we must put humanity before ethnicity and care about the freedom, justice and well being of others like we care about our own for no one is free until all are free. This goes beyond our borders to our neighbors close and far in this global society.

Right now, the TPLF/EPRDF is not free. They are consumed with their personal survival and it is becoming increasingly more difficult for them to live in their self-made prison. We must find a way as a society to re-engage as people. The apparatus of the TPLF/EPRDF political collective includes millions of regime collaborators who have chosen to buy into the system rather than to stand up against it; however, that loyalty is not deep, but can quickly change. Right now, only a few are thriving while the majority struggles to survive.

Let us strive to be people who will not collaborate with what is to the detriment of others. Let us not take advantage of our own people, but instead, let us help contribute to the creation of a government of the people, by the people and for the well being of all the people. May God give courage to Ethiopians to stand up for what is right, good, and wise for our future together.

For more information, contact Mr. Obang Metho, Executive Director of the SMNE. Email: Obang@solidaritymovement.org

Protest held in Ethiopia over killings by Islamic extremists

Unidentified relatives and friends mourn for the Ethiopians who were were held captive in Libya and killed by the Islamic State group, in the poor Cherkos Village neighborhood of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Monday, April 20, 2015. Many in Ethiopia are reeling from the news that several Ethiopians were killed in Libya by the Islamic State group, which over the weekend released a video purporting to show the killings that has shocked many in the predominantly Christian country where some on Monday gathered in an Addis Ababa slum to mourn two former residents whose faces were recognized in the Islamic State video.

 

ኢንጂንየር ይልቃል ጌትነት እንዳይወጡ ታገዱ

ኢንጂንየር ይልቃል ጌትነት እንዳይወጡ ታገዱ
በኢትዮጵያ ዋነኛ የሚባለው ተቃዋሚ የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ሊቀመንበር ኢንጂንየር ይልቃል ጌትነት በአሜሪካ የሚኖሩ የፓርቲውን ደጋፊዎች ለማግኘት እንዳይጓዙ ዛሬ ምሽት በድጋሚ ከቦሌ አለም አቀፍ አየር ማረፊያ ታገዱ።
በእልህና በቁጭት በተለያዩ ሃገራት የሚገኙ ኢትዮጵያውያን ሰማያዊ ፓርቲን ለመደገፍ የሚያደጉት አስተዋጽዎ ከመቸም በላይ እንደሚሆን አገዛዙ ተገንዝቧል። ትግሉ ይቀጥላል !!!

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan sign accord over Nile waters

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on Monday signed an initial agreement on sharing water from the Nile River that runs through the three countries, as Addis Ababa presses ahead with its construction of a massive new dam it hopes will help alleviate the country's power shortages.

The dam had been an issue of contention among the three countries, with Egypt concerned it would reduce its share of the Nile established under a colonial-era agreement that gave Egypt and Sudan the main rights to exploit the river's water.

But on Monday, leaders of the three nations — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Sudanese President Omar Bashir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn — welcomed the agreement in speeches in Khartoum's Republican Palace, linking hands and smiling at a signing ceremony.
"While you are working for the development of your people, keep in mind the Egyptian people, for whom the Nile is not only a source of water, but a source of life," el-Sissi said, addressing his Ethiopian counterpart after the three watched a short film about the Grand Renaissance Dam highlighting how it could benefit the region.
Cairo previously had voiced fears that Ethiopia's $4.2 billion hydro-electric project, announced in 2011, would diminish its share of the Nile, which provides almost all of the desert nation's water needs, especially under previous governments.
The agreement, hashed out by officials from the three countries weeks beforehand in Khartoum, outlines principles by which they will cooperate to use the water fairly and resolve any potential disputes peacefully, leaving details on specific procedures to be determined later after the release of joint, expert studies.