ETHIOPIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
EHRCO stands for democracy, the rule of law and the respect of human rights
EHRCO
The Human Rights Situation in Ethiopia
29th Regular Report
January 2008
Introduction
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) in this 29th regular report assesses the general human rights situation in the country. The human rights violations incorporated in this report have not been covered by any of EHRCO’s preceding reports issued until the end of December 2007, and are compiled based on complaints received from victims, evidence gathered through onsite investigations and testimonies of eyewitnesses.
Table 1 Human Rights Violations incorporated in the Report
No.
Type of violations
Extent of damage
Page
A
Extra judicial killings
17 (see the details of nine of them in section 2, page 29 and 31)
2
B
Beating and torture
16
4
C
Rape
1
9
D
Violation of the right to freedom of expression
1
9
E
Illegal detention
Detained and released
Still under detention
244
59
185
9
F
Enforced disappearances
3
19
G
Threats and intimidation
3
19
H
Unlawful dismissal from job
24
20
I
Denial of justice
2
23
J
Enforced isolation from social life/property damage/looting
6 families
24
Part Two: Rights violations associated with ethnic conflicts
Killings, destruction of property, eviction, enforced isolation from social life, etc
26
1
Part One
Various forms of Human Rights Violations
A. Extra judicial killings
Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which Ethiopia has endorsed, provides that everyone has the right to life. Article 6(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Ethiopia is a party, states that every one has a natural right to life. Likewise, Article 15 of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) also recognizes the right to life.
However, in violation of the aforementioned provisions of the country’s constitution and of international human rights instruments, the following persons have been killed.
On 5 August 2007 on the excuse that the day was the last day before the start of the fasting period for orthodox Christians, prison officials allowed alcohol to get into the premises of Mota Prison, East Gojjam Zone in the Amhara Region ignoring rules that prohibit the use of alcohol in prisons. In the festivities, the prisoners got drunk. At around 5:00 p.m., a brawl ensued between the inmates and the prison guards, and as result the following five inmates were killed. The families of the late victims reported to EHRCO that they were not allowed to take the bodies of their loved ones and they later heard that all five men had been buried in one grave. The details are presented below.
1. Bamlaku Azmeraw Worku: 29, He was from Amhara Regional State, East Gojjam Zone, Huleteju Enessie Woreda, Mota town, Sona Medhanealem Kebele Farmers’ Association. He was running a private business going to prison in 2006 suspected of killing a police officer. Hw was awaiting trial. On August 5, 2007, at about 5: 00p.m., he was shot and wounded by prison guard for allegedly trying to escape from prison. The prison guards kept on beating him with butt of the guns and truncheon until he died. He was then buried in the Mota Giorgis cemetery. Family members of the deceased reported to EHRCO that they were not allowed to take the body of late Bamlaku, and was buried with other four inmates killed in a similar account. Police have also refused to give back the personal effects of the deceased unless the family produced a letter from the Kebele stating that the deceased was killed because of his own fault. The mother of the deceased further reported that she put under detention for a day and were insulted and intimidated for asking the body of her son.
2. Yeshiwas Mekonnen : 50, He was from the Amhara Region, Ense-Sar Midir Woreda, Borebor Bete Midir Kebele. He was the head of a seven-member family, and member of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP).He was arrested for allegedly concealing firearms in his house. On August 5, 2007 at
2
about 5:00 p.m., he was shot dead by the prison guards for allegedly to escape from prison. His body was laid to rest in the same condition as the late Bamlaku (stated in No. 1 above). The family of the deceased reported to EHRCO that the prison administration refused to hand over the personal effects of the deceased to them unless they produced a letter from the Keble stating that the late Yeshiwas had died on his own fault.
3. Ambelu Gedefaw: 48, He was from Amhara Region, East Gojjam Zone, Enessie Sar Midir Woreda, Shewa Kebele Farmers’ Association. He was also a member of CUDP. In January 2006, he was shot by police and arrested for allegedly concealing firearms. On August 5, 2007, at about 5:00 p.m. he was shot dead by prison guards for allegedly trying to escape from prison. He was buried in the same condition as Bamlaku and Yeshiwas (No. 1 and 2 above). His family reported to EHRCO that the prison administration refused to hand over the deceased’s personal effects to them unless they produced a letter from the Kebele stating that Ambelu had died on his own fault.
4. Jemberu Yibeltal: 24,He was from Amhara Region, East Gojjam Zone, Enessie Sar Midir Woreda, Jan Gebeya Kebele Farmers’ Association. He was a member of CUDP, and arrested being accused of hiding firearms. On August 5,2007, at around 5:00p.m. , he was shot dead by prison guards for allegedly trying to escape from prison. His family reported to EHRCO that, he was buried in a similar condition as the other victims mentioned above. They also said that the prison administration refused to hand over the personal effects of the deceased to them unless they produced letter from the Kebele stating that the Jemberu had died on his own fault.
5. Nigat Settie: He was from Amhara Regional State, East Gojjam Zone, Enessie Sar Midir Woreda, Yizana Kebele Farmers’ Association. He was in Mata prison for reasons EHRCO was unable to establish for the time being. On August 5, 2007, at about 5:00p.m., he was shot dead by prison guards for allegedly trying to escape. As his family reported to EHRCO, he was buried in the same conditions and in the same grave with the other victims mentioned above.
6. Zerihun Abate: 17 He was a resident of Oromia Region, East Wollega Zone, Guto Wayu Woreda, Nekemt town, Kebele 09. On 29 April 2007 at about midnight, he was shot by a police officer on his chest and died instantly. Although the killer was put under control, he was not formally charged by the time this report was being compiled.
7. Aregash Gebremariam (F): 45, She was a resident of Somali region Jijiga town. On August 17, 2007 she was brutally stabbed to death by a member of the Somali ethnic group who had a long-standing claim to the house she was living in. The deceased reported the threats to her life several times to the kebele office as well as to the police but nether acted in time to prevent
3
her death. After her death her house was broken into in the night of 3 September 2007 and property belonging to her was looted. After this incident her family, reported the house breaking to the police and requested the police to seal off the house to prevent further break in. The region’s Police Commission wrote a letter to the kebele to seal off the house as per the request of the owners but kebele officials refused to comply with the order saying that the letter should have come from the Regional Council, not from the police. IT was learnt that the killer was not apprehended and brought to justice by the time this report was being compiled.
8. Ehite Getahun (F): She was a resident of Somali regional state, Jijiga town, On August 17, 2007, she was stabbed to death along with the late Aregash (No. 7 above) by the same assailant.
B.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
ETHIOPIA | Trends in Conflict and Cooperation
The EPRDF continues to dominate the political landscape, while the legal opposition is on the defensive driven
by internal conflict and suffering from the absence of a clear vision and strategy on how to effectively confront the
ruling party. While the government has toughened its stand on its dealings with the legal opposition, the run-up to
the local, district and by-elections for the Addis Ababa Council and the parliament scheduled for next year already
has began amid vociferous complaints by the opposition of unfair treatment. Internal and external actors had put
pressure on the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) and on the government to reform the electoral law as a
precondition for fair elections in the future, but it seems that yet again the electoral process will only exacerbate
the conflicts between the government and its political opponents.
The internal split of CUD representatives in national parliament continued to fester with the leadership of both
factions resorting to the courts to win official recognition as the leadership of the party. Long-simmering conflicts
among the released CUD leaders openly erupted during their long tour abroad in North America and Europe. The
released leaders not only failed to resolve differences between the two wings of the external leadership but
became fractured into two bitterly opposed factions each aligned with one of the external factions. One faction is
led by Hailu Shawl, chairman of the CUD, and the other by CUD’s Vice-President Birtukan Mideksa and Berhanu
Nega. Underlying this split are personality issues but also different concepts on how to lead and to reunify the
CUD. The splits within the CUD "family," the political mud-slinging, and the whiff of a financial scandal deeply
by internal conflict and suffering from the absence of a clear vision and strategy on how to effectively confront the
ruling party. While the government has toughened its stand on its dealings with the legal opposition, the run-up to
the local, district and by-elections for the Addis Ababa Council and the parliament scheduled for next year already
has began amid vociferous complaints by the opposition of unfair treatment. Internal and external actors had put
pressure on the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) and on the government to reform the electoral law as a
precondition for fair elections in the future, but it seems that yet again the electoral process will only exacerbate
the conflicts between the government and its political opponents.
The internal split of CUD representatives in national parliament continued to fester with the leadership of both
factions resorting to the courts to win official recognition as the leadership of the party. Long-simmering conflicts
among the released CUD leaders openly erupted during their long tour abroad in North America and Europe. The
released leaders not only failed to resolve differences between the two wings of the external leadership but
became fractured into two bitterly opposed factions each aligned with one of the external factions. One faction is
led by Hailu Shawl, chairman of the CUD, and the other by CUD’s Vice-President Birtukan Mideksa and Berhanu
Nega. Underlying this split are personality issues but also different concepts on how to lead and to reunify the
CUD. The splits within the CUD "family," the political mud-slinging, and the whiff of a financial scandal deeply
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Police shoot dead more protesters in day two of demos
By Standard Team
The toll of those whose lives were brutally brought to an end by police rose to more than 10, on another day of mass protests coupled with a drastic international response to the post-election crisis.
For the second day running, members of the ODM Pentagon protesting against the December 27 presidential election they say was rigged were dispersed with teargas and gunfire in Nairobi as police again resorted to force to subdue demonstrators.
Scenes of vicious police action were enacted in Kibera and Mathare slums in Nairobi, Kisumu, Narok, Homa Bay and Eldoret towns.
Protesters block a road leading to Kibera slums, in Nairobi, on Thursday.
Other places rocked by demonstrations included Voi, Mwatate, Taveta, Nakuru, Molo, Keringet and Litein, while Mombasa and Kakamega were relatively calm.
On Thursday, police again chased ODM leaders from central Nairobi and maintained a tight ring of officers around Uhuru Park to bar them from entering.
The officers teargassed members of the public in Nairobi streets, and clobbered people randomly — including lone passersby who seemingly posed no threat at all.
As police heightened their crackdown on demonstrators, the Government faced international pressure as the European Parliament said all European budgetary aid to Kenya should be frozen until the crisis over President Kibaki’s disputed election is solved.
Police condemned
In Nairobi, the Government faced severe censure and criticism from ODM leaders led by Mr Raila Odinga and from various groups for the brutality employed by police in dealing with the riots.
ODM accused police of arbitrary execution of peaceful demonstrators across the country and alleged that the party politicians were being targeted for assassination.
But Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe, while denying that the force was using excessive force to quell mass protests, declined to comment on the assassination claims.
The accusations’ came in the wake of the mysterious murder of a driver for the Kasarani MP, Ms Elizabeth Ongoro, on Thursday.
And Police barred journalists from entering Kibera where more than 100 GSU officers descended into the slum’s alleys, firing bullets and teargas.
Journalists saw police officers beating up protesters with gun butts, kicking down doors and hurling teargas into houses.
Witnesses said they saw four bodies lying in the slum’s alleys.
In Mathare slums, two more people were shot dead.
The bodies were collected by police moments after the shooting, amid shouting from locals who accused them of extra-judicial killings.
Police shot dead another youth in Kisumu in a fresh flare-up, bringing the death toll in the battered lakeside town to six in under 24 hours.
Master Bernard Ochieng was shot dead next to the Kisumu Molasses Plant, where protesters used tyres and electricity poles to light bonfires barricading the
Kisumu–Busia Highway.
Kiraithe also confirmed that two more people had been shot in Kisumu as they reportedly tried to set ablaze oil tankers.
Tear gas in hospital
In Homa Bay, police chasing protesters threw teargas canisters into the district hospital while in Eldoret, a similar police attack was mounted against Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Thick teargas smoke wafted through wards and offices at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, choking patients.
A contingent of the GSU also opened fire from G3 rifles, sending over 500 patients, nurses, doctors and members of staff into panic.
Nurses and security staff also said the invading force was in GSU uniform but they did not communicate in Kiswahili and were also asking staff to identify their tribes.
Violent drama similar to that of Wednesday was re-enacted in Nairobi as anti-riot police teargassed some members of the ODM Pentagon and chased them out of town.
Fumes of teargas pervaded the CBD and gunfire rattled the centre of town as police chased away pedestrians caught unawares by the arrival in town of the ODM team.
ODM MPs Mr William Ruto, Mr Najib Balala, Mr Ayiecho Olweny and Mr Omingo Magara managed to drive up to Kimathi Street at about 2pm before tens of anti-riot police spotted them.
The four walked up to Wabera Street as a crowd started building up behind them, but were intercepted by Central Police Station OCPD Mr Titus Kilonzi, who saw them and shouted into his walkie talkie: "They are here!"
Anti-riot officers went running at them and hurled teargas at their feet. They also shot several rounds of live bullets over the MPs’ heads, with one empty catridge falling just by Ruto’s shoes.
The leaders ran towards City Hall Way where they hopped into their vehicles. They were driven round to Kenyatta Avenue where Balala alighted, but he was met with a cloud of teargas hurled at him.
The ODM team drove back and alighted again near the Hilton Hotel, where they were joined by MPs Mrs Charity Ngilu, Mr Reuben Ndolo, Mr James Orengo and Mr Joe Nyagah.
Police charged at them again and dispersed a crowd that was milling around them. They jumped back into their cars and headed back to Pentagon House.
Chaos ensued in downtown Nairobi as anti-riot officers turned on crowds and chased them towards River Road.
Nairobi streets remained deserted as pedestrians scampered into buildings or ran to safety out town.
Friday, January 4, 2008
kenya in chaos
WHEN DICTATORS REFUSE TO ACCEPT THEIR DEAFET THIS WILL OCCUR. THE LIKES OF MELES ZENAWI SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR BEHAVIOR.
Kenya's humanitarian crisis grows
familliar pictures??????? ETHIOPIA JUNE 2005
Kenya's humanitarian crisis grows
The UN says half a million Kenyans urgently need help
Enlarge Image
At least 180,000 people have been displaced by unrest as the humanitarian crisis grows after last week's disputed election in Kenya, say UN officials.
Some have been housed in makeshift camps while others have sought refuge in police stations or churches, fleeing violence that has claimed 350 lives.
In badly-affected western Kenya nearly all the refugees are hungry, and several children have died of exposure.
A top UN official in Nairobi says about 500,000 Kenyans need urgent help.
The latest developments came as anti-government protests fizzled out and the president said he might accept opposition demands for a fresh election, but only if ordered by a court.
See Kenya's ethnic divisions by province
The UN World Food Programme said it was struggling to get food to 100,000 hungry people forced to flee their homes in the Rift Valley area.
We are profoundly alarmed by the reports of incitement to racial hatred and the growing frictions between the different ethnic groups in Kenya
UN rights experts' statement
Can Tutu heal the wounds?
Diplomacy falters
In pictures: After the violence
The International Committee of the Red Cross issued an urgent appeal for more than £7m of aid.
The BBC's Karen Allen in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret, where at least 30 people were burned to death in a church this week, says 30,000 local people have been displaced.
Some 10,000 people there are seeking refuge in the compound of the cathedral of the Catholic Church, which is now spearheading local relief efforts.
A statement by a group of independent UN rights experts on Friday said: "We are profoundly alarmed by the reports of incitement to racial hatred and the growing frictions between the different ethnic groups in Kenya."
The officially-declared results of the 27 December presidential poll - giving victory to incumbent President Mwai Kibaki over opposition rival Raila Odinga - unleashed a wave of violence.
'Blackmail'
Protesters furious at alleged electoral fraud went on the rampage, killing scores of people and torching churches, businesses and homes.
The opposition Orange Democratic Movement party has laid down four conditions to resolve the political deadlock.
Kenya has been dogged by ethnic tensions since independence
They want Mr Kibaki to stand down as president; an international body appointed to adjudicate in the dispute; and in the meantime, a transitional authority established to oversee steps to condition four: a new presidential election in three months' time.
A Kenyan government spokesman, Alfred Mutua, said the opposition's three-month deadline smacked of "blackmail".
He told the BBC: "What we are clearly saying is that Kenya is not a banana republic, Kenya is not a war-torn country.
"We have court systems and laws and orders and what we are saying is that let things follow the procedures like they do in other countries with constitutions."
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu met Mr Kibaki on Friday and said the president was not averse to the idea of a coalition.
In other developments:
Top US diplomat Jendayi Frazer arrived in Kenya for talks aimed at bringing the two sides together
The unrest hits Kenya's tourism as visitors cut short holidays
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged calm in separate telephone conversations with Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he believed the Kenyan elections had been rigged.
A massive security force presence on Friday prevented opposition demonstrators from holding a mass rally in central Nairobi but there were clashes in the eastern port of Mombasa and the western city of Kisumu.
Kenyan politics has been dogged by ethnic tensions since independence in 1963.
Mr Kibaki depends for support on the largest ethnic group, the Kikuyus, while the western Luo and Kalenjin groups - who seek greater autonomy - back Mr Odinga.
World leaders deplore chaos in Kenya
By Ben Agina
Several world leaders have reacted to the violence arising from the disputed presidential elections in Kenya.
According to Los Angeles Times, US President George Bush called on both President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga to reach a solution.
"It's very important for the people of Kenya to not resort to violence," Bush told Reuters news agency in an interview at the White House. "I believe that they have an opportunity to come together in some kind of arrangement that will help heal the wounds of a closely divided election."
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. was not prescribing what the solution should be.
"They do need to come together, they need to broker some political solution to the political crisis. . . . They are going to have to define that."
South African Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of the international figures trying to help mediate, said Kenya's stability had been damaged.
"This is a country that has been held up as a model of stability. This picture has been shattered. This is not the Kenya that we know," Tutu said in Nairobi.
And the Daily Telegraph reported that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for President Mwai Kibaki and the popular opposition leader, Raila Odinga, to work together to ease tensions.
"I want to see the possibility explored where they can come together in government," he told reporters.
"The reason is the violence must come to an end. There has been criticism of the election procedures. I think it is important all sides must recognise that by working together we can make progress."
David Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary, said both rival leaders had "major responsibilities" for the violence, and called on them to find "common ground" to heal their country's divisions.
"I very much hope that both Mr Odinga and President Kibaki will realise that actually there is nothing to be gained by either of them in pretending that this is cut and dried," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, adding that there was evidence of vote-rigging by both sides.
The Canadian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Maxime Bernier and Beverly J, Oda the International Co-operation Minister said: Ò Canadians are shocked at the horrific deaths of people taking refuge in an Eldoret Church as well as at the loss of life elsewhere in KenyaÓ.
They said Canada is very concerned about the number of Kenyans displaced in their own country because of violence and lawlessness.
The World Bank said on that the unrest threatened KenyaÕs impressive recent economic growth and poverty reduction, citing business leadersÕ estimates that the country was losing some $30 million a day.
And the ills here are hurting the entire region. Gas stations in Rwanda are now rationing fuel because their supply from Kenya has been cut.
In Uganda, Sudan and Congo, displaced people are running low on food because United Nations relief trucks cannot get past vigilante checkpoints.
''Production in places like Tanzania is slowing because materials that come from Kenya have not arrived. Kenya is the dynamo of this whole region," said Harvey Rouse, a diplomat for the European Union.
Mr. Rouse spoke from a hill overlooking an enormous slum where the police were battling protesters.
Several world leaders have reacted to the violence arising from the disputed presidential elections in Kenya.
According to Los Angeles Times, US President George Bush called on both President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga to reach a solution.
"It's very important for the people of Kenya to not resort to violence," Bush told Reuters news agency in an interview at the White House. "I believe that they have an opportunity to come together in some kind of arrangement that will help heal the wounds of a closely divided election."
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. was not prescribing what the solution should be.
"They do need to come together, they need to broker some political solution to the political crisis. . . . They are going to have to define that."
South African Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of the international figures trying to help mediate, said Kenya's stability had been damaged.
"This is a country that has been held up as a model of stability. This picture has been shattered. This is not the Kenya that we know," Tutu said in Nairobi.
And the Daily Telegraph reported that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for President Mwai Kibaki and the popular opposition leader, Raila Odinga, to work together to ease tensions.
"I want to see the possibility explored where they can come together in government," he told reporters.
"The reason is the violence must come to an end. There has been criticism of the election procedures. I think it is important all sides must recognise that by working together we can make progress."
David Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary, said both rival leaders had "major responsibilities" for the violence, and called on them to find "common ground" to heal their country's divisions.
"I very much hope that both Mr Odinga and President Kibaki will realise that actually there is nothing to be gained by either of them in pretending that this is cut and dried," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, adding that there was evidence of vote-rigging by both sides.
The Canadian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Maxime Bernier and Beverly J, Oda the International Co-operation Minister said: Ò Canadians are shocked at the horrific deaths of people taking refuge in an Eldoret Church as well as at the loss of life elsewhere in KenyaÓ.
They said Canada is very concerned about the number of Kenyans displaced in their own country because of violence and lawlessness.
The World Bank said on that the unrest threatened KenyaÕs impressive recent economic growth and poverty reduction, citing business leadersÕ estimates that the country was losing some $30 million a day.
And the ills here are hurting the entire region. Gas stations in Rwanda are now rationing fuel because their supply from Kenya has been cut.
In Uganda, Sudan and Congo, displaced people are running low on food because United Nations relief trucks cannot get past vigilante checkpoints.
''Production in places like Tanzania is slowing because materials that come from Kenya have not arrived. Kenya is the dynamo of this whole region," said Harvey Rouse, a diplomat for the European Union.
Mr. Rouse spoke from a hill overlooking an enormous slum where the police were battling protesters.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Somali insurgency to intensify
The military wing of Somalia's Islamist movement plans to intensify its offensive against government troops and their Ethiopian allies, a senior commander said on Sunday.
In his first comments to Reuters since going into hiding a year ago, Muktar Ali Robow said al-Shabab had killed nearly 500 Ethiopian soldiers and would fight until foreign troops left the Horn of Africa country.
"We are now planning to launch the most enormous attacks on the government and Ethiopian main positions. We will allow no foreign forces in our land," Robow said in a phone interview.
"In the past days the infidel troops of Ethiopians along with their puppets and al-Shawab al-Mujahideen have fought heavily in Mogadishu. We have raided the enemies' military bases showering them with mortar shells," he said, referring to his "Movement of Young Mujahideen" faction.
Robow did not give away his location, but said he was in the southern Bay province of Somalia.
Also known as "Abu Mansoor", Robow was the Islamic Courts' deputy defence secretary before the movement that ruled Mogadishu and most of south Somalia for six months was ousted by allied Somali-Ethiopian forces in the New Year.
His al-Shabab has since spearheaded an Iraq-style insurgency, waging near-daily roadside bombings, grenade attacks and shootings against government and Ethiopian positions.
The conflict has killed 6 000 civilians this year, according to a local human rights group, and forced hundreds of thousands to abandon their homes and livelihoods in what the United Nations calls Africa's worst humanitarian crisis.
Support
Robow said Somalis backed the insurgency and denied reports his fighters were shelling Mogadishu's main Bakara market.
"We are financially and morally supported by the population," he said. "We have the people's allegiance. We would never shell Bakara. But the Ethiopians know that the market is the main source of revenue for the Somali people. They needed justifications to destroy that source."
Robow also dismissed reports al-Shabab had recruited boy soldiers to fight. "It is not Islamic, even our Prophet, Muhammad ... did not send youngsters to jihad. We do not arm children with bombs or grenades to go into a war."
Robow dismissed as "lies" a report by Ethiopian Information Minister Berhan Hailu that 75 al-Shabab fighters were killed in a surprise attack on their secret hideout this week.
He urged new Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein to quit and said his group's intention was to rule Somalia by sharia law.
"When we force Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from our country, its traitors will follow and the people will be able to embrace an Islamic government," he said.
"Democracy is not right. They call it democracy when a man marries another man and a woman marries another woman. How can such things be allowed to happen?"
The Somalia Islamic Courts Council (Sicc) had run widely despised warlords, who enjoyed United States backing, out of Mogadishu in June 2006 with decisive victories.
Many Somalis credited Robow's Sicc with bringing a semblance of order to the capital Mogadishu. But its attempts to enforce strict sharia law in the moderate Muslim country drew rumblings of discontent after they banned Bollywood films and khat, a mild narcotic leaf chewed throughout the Horn.
Somalia has been plagued by anarchy since warlords toppled military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. The interim government's efforts to restore central rule have largely been paralysed by infighting and the Islamist-led insurgency. - Reuters
In his first comments to Reuters since going into hiding a year ago, Muktar Ali Robow said al-Shabab had killed nearly 500 Ethiopian soldiers and would fight until foreign troops left the Horn of Africa country.
"We are now planning to launch the most enormous attacks on the government and Ethiopian main positions. We will allow no foreign forces in our land," Robow said in a phone interview.
"In the past days the infidel troops of Ethiopians along with their puppets and al-Shawab al-Mujahideen have fought heavily in Mogadishu. We have raided the enemies' military bases showering them with mortar shells," he said, referring to his "Movement of Young Mujahideen" faction.
Robow did not give away his location, but said he was in the southern Bay province of Somalia.
Also known as "Abu Mansoor", Robow was the Islamic Courts' deputy defence secretary before the movement that ruled Mogadishu and most of south Somalia for six months was ousted by allied Somali-Ethiopian forces in the New Year.
His al-Shabab has since spearheaded an Iraq-style insurgency, waging near-daily roadside bombings, grenade attacks and shootings against government and Ethiopian positions.
The conflict has killed 6 000 civilians this year, according to a local human rights group, and forced hundreds of thousands to abandon their homes and livelihoods in what the United Nations calls Africa's worst humanitarian crisis.
Support
Robow said Somalis backed the insurgency and denied reports his fighters were shelling Mogadishu's main Bakara market.
"We are financially and morally supported by the population," he said. "We have the people's allegiance. We would never shell Bakara. But the Ethiopians know that the market is the main source of revenue for the Somali people. They needed justifications to destroy that source."
Robow also dismissed reports al-Shabab had recruited boy soldiers to fight. "It is not Islamic, even our Prophet, Muhammad ... did not send youngsters to jihad. We do not arm children with bombs or grenades to go into a war."
Robow dismissed as "lies" a report by Ethiopian Information Minister Berhan Hailu that 75 al-Shabab fighters were killed in a surprise attack on their secret hideout this week.
He urged new Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein to quit and said his group's intention was to rule Somalia by sharia law.
"When we force Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from our country, its traitors will follow and the people will be able to embrace an Islamic government," he said.
"Democracy is not right. They call it democracy when a man marries another man and a woman marries another woman. How can such things be allowed to happen?"
The Somalia Islamic Courts Council (Sicc) had run widely despised warlords, who enjoyed United States backing, out of Mogadishu in June 2006 with decisive victories.
Many Somalis credited Robow's Sicc with bringing a semblance of order to the capital Mogadishu. But its attempts to enforce strict sharia law in the moderate Muslim country drew rumblings of discontent after they banned Bollywood films and khat, a mild narcotic leaf chewed throughout the Horn.
Somalia has been plagued by anarchy since warlords toppled military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. The interim government's efforts to restore central rule have largely been paralysed by infighting and the Islamist-led insurgency. - Reuters
Bomb wounds 12 soldiers near Somali Parliament
15 December 2007 03:48
A roadside bomb wounded at least 12 Somali soldiers in Baidoa and two people were killed in violence in Mogadishu on Saturday.
The attacks in the capital and the south-central town hosting Somalia's Parliament came after two days of fighting in Mogadishu between allied Somali-Ethiopian forces and Islamist insurgents.
"A remote-controlled roadside bomb targeted a military pick-up truck," said police officer Aden Moalim in Baidoa. "At least 12 soldiers guarding the road to parliament, including one Ethiopian, were hurt."
In the capital, two people died after grenades were hurled at government troops patrolling Bakara Market, triggering a gun battle.
A local journalist who asked not to be named said he saw the insurgents execute one blindfolded captive during the clash while the second victim was killed by crossfire.
"I and a few other people witnessed the killing of a blindfolded man who was shot dead by six young men armed with pistols," the journalist said. "Some people were saying the man was suspected of spying for government forces."
A police spokesperson said several weapons caches had been seized since Friday during government operations in Bakara, which contains an open-air weapons bazaar.
Four suspected insurgents were killed on Friday after being seen firing mortars, he said, and several others were arrested.
At least 25 people have been killed in the capital since Thursday when mortar bombs damaged parts of Bakara and sustained fighting broke out in other parts of the city. Many Somalis say the insurgents -- remnants of a hardline sharia courts groups chased out of the city a year ago -- have become increasingly confident in recent months while the interim government has been hobbled by infighting.
The government says the rebels are backed by 4 500 foreign jihadists from Afghanistan, Chechnya and the Middle East.
Fighting in Mogadishu has killed nearly 6 000 civilians this year and uprooted about 720 000 more, a local rights group says. The United Nations says the humanitarian crisis in Somalia is Africa's worst. - Reuters 2007
A roadside bomb wounded at least 12 Somali soldiers in Baidoa and two people were killed in violence in Mogadishu on Saturday.
The attacks in the capital and the south-central town hosting Somalia's Parliament came after two days of fighting in Mogadishu between allied Somali-Ethiopian forces and Islamist insurgents.
"A remote-controlled roadside bomb targeted a military pick-up truck," said police officer Aden Moalim in Baidoa. "At least 12 soldiers guarding the road to parliament, including one Ethiopian, were hurt."
In the capital, two people died after grenades were hurled at government troops patrolling Bakara Market, triggering a gun battle.
A local journalist who asked not to be named said he saw the insurgents execute one blindfolded captive during the clash while the second victim was killed by crossfire.
"I and a few other people witnessed the killing of a blindfolded man who was shot dead by six young men armed with pistols," the journalist said. "Some people were saying the man was suspected of spying for government forces."
A police spokesperson said several weapons caches had been seized since Friday during government operations in Bakara, which contains an open-air weapons bazaar.
Four suspected insurgents were killed on Friday after being seen firing mortars, he said, and several others were arrested.
At least 25 people have been killed in the capital since Thursday when mortar bombs damaged parts of Bakara and sustained fighting broke out in other parts of the city. Many Somalis say the insurgents -- remnants of a hardline sharia courts groups chased out of the city a year ago -- have become increasingly confident in recent months while the interim government has been hobbled by infighting.
The government says the rebels are backed by 4 500 foreign jihadists from Afghanistan, Chechnya and the Middle East.
Fighting in Mogadishu has killed nearly 6 000 civilians this year and uprooted about 720 000 more, a local rights group says. The United Nations says the humanitarian crisis in Somalia is Africa's worst. - Reuters 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
Partial list of Meles Zenawi's Crimes - From file
2007:
According to U.N. reports on Ogaden, EPEDF is committing the Worst Humanitarian Crisis in Africa. Persistent and
reliable reports emanating from the Ogaden region of Ethiopia clearly affirmed the alarming state of human rights abuse
in the whole area. The reports show that the security and armed forces of the EPRDF have carried out arbitrary killings
and numerous arrests grossly violating the human rights of the people in the region.
2005:
Members of an Ethiopian inquiry team charged with investigating violent mass demonstration following the May 2005
elections and separate protests about ballot fraud in November 2005 announced that 193 civilians were killed by
Ethiopian security forces during the violence, nearly three times the official number reported by the government. Zenawi
reportedly told the inquiry team to alter its report in July, just two days before the group had planned to present its
findings to the Ethiopian Parliament. At least two members of the 10-person panel have since fled from Ethiopia.
Furthermore, over 100 journalists, lawmakers and human rights activists were initially charged with treason following the
mass protests in 2005 even though some have been granted amnesty by EPRDF
According to U.N. reports on Ogaden, EPEDF is committing the Worst Humanitarian Crisis in Africa. Persistent and
reliable reports emanating from the Ogaden region of Ethiopia clearly affirmed the alarming state of human rights abuse
in the whole area. The reports show that the security and armed forces of the EPRDF have carried out arbitrary killings
and numerous arrests grossly violating the human rights of the people in the region.
2005:
Members of an Ethiopian inquiry team charged with investigating violent mass demonstration following the May 2005
elections and separate protests about ballot fraud in November 2005 announced that 193 civilians were killed by
Ethiopian security forces during the violence, nearly three times the official number reported by the government. Zenawi
reportedly told the inquiry team to alter its report in July, just two days before the group had planned to present its
findings to the Ethiopian Parliament. At least two members of the 10-person panel have since fled from Ethiopia.
Furthermore, over 100 journalists, lawmakers and human rights activists were initially charged with treason following the
mass protests in 2005 even though some have been granted amnesty by EPRDF
Ethiopia expels UK, Australian aid staff
ADDIS ABABA, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Ethiopia has expelled an Australian and a Briton working for Save the Children UK on accusations of diverting food aid to rebels in the troubled Ogaden region, officials and aid sources said on Friday.
The Ethiopian army has this year been carrying out an offensive against the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebel movement in the remote eastern region bordering Somalia.
Several aid organisations were ordered out in July, but the Ethiopian government has since then relaxed restrictions, and licensed the United Nations and 19 agencies to work there amid fears of a humanitarian crisis fuelled by the fighting.
Government sources said the pair had abused their position.
"The two foreigners were expelled because they were involved in an attempt to divert food aid to rebels," one told Reuters.
The worst-hit areas in the conflict have been the most difficult for aid workers to access.
Save the Children -- which has been working in Ethiopia since 1932, and runs education, livestock and sanitation projects in Ogaden -- gave no version of events on Friday.
But aid workers in Addis Ababa confirmed the pair's exit.
"They have been working in Ogaden on business visas, but were then refused additional work permits and asked to leave," said one humanitarian worker, who asked not to be named. (Reporting by Barry Malone and Tsegaye Tadesse; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Catherine Evans)
The Ethiopian army has this year been carrying out an offensive against the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebel movement in the remote eastern region bordering Somalia.
Several aid organisations were ordered out in July, but the Ethiopian government has since then relaxed restrictions, and licensed the United Nations and 19 agencies to work there amid fears of a humanitarian crisis fuelled by the fighting.
Government sources said the pair had abused their position.
"The two foreigners were expelled because they were involved in an attempt to divert food aid to rebels," one told Reuters.
The worst-hit areas in the conflict have been the most difficult for aid workers to access.
Save the Children -- which has been working in Ethiopia since 1932, and runs education, livestock and sanitation projects in Ogaden -- gave no version of events on Friday.
But aid workers in Addis Ababa confirmed the pair's exit.
"They have been working in Ogaden on business visas, but were then refused additional work permits and asked to leave," said one humanitarian worker, who asked not to be named. (Reporting by Barry Malone and Tsegaye Tadesse; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Catherine Evans)
Quebec family accused of human trafficking wants RCMP apology
A Laval couple is demanding a public apology from the RCMP after they were arrested earlier this year in what the Mounties called Canada's first case of human trafficking.
All charges laid against Nichan Manoukian and his wife, Manoudshag Saryboyadjian, were dropped Thursday following an investigation into their alleged exploitation of their Ethiopian nanny.
The Quebec Crown said it was dropping charges against the couple based on the appearance of new facts.
The good news was little consolation to the couple, who said they were treated as though they were already guilty. "[Police] took our mug shots with numbers as though we were criminals," Manoukian said.
The couple maintained their nanny was treated like a member of the family throughout the eight years she worked for them — in Quebec and in Lebanon.
The nanny went out when she wanted, used the phone as much as she liked, had the keys to the front door and knew the code to the burglar alarm, Saryboyadjian said Friday.
The high-profile investigation exacted a toll on the couple, who are subject to dirty stares in public, Saryboyadjian said. "This story has taken 10 years off our life," she said.
A public apology could start the mending the family needs now, she said.
The couple was arrested in May when the RCMP held a news conference to explain the charges against the couple.
The Mounties alleged the Ethiopian nanny was practically a slave. "She couldn't get out, she couldn't have access to her papers, and the only time she could get out was with the couple, the persons who hired her," said Const. Magdala Turpin at the time.
The RCMP insists it was just doing its job when it followed up in its investigation.
The nanny — whose name hasn't been released — received refugee status shortly after the allegations were made, the couple's lawyer said.
All charges laid against Nichan Manoukian and his wife, Manoudshag Saryboyadjian, were dropped Thursday following an investigation into their alleged exploitation of their Ethiopian nanny.
The Quebec Crown said it was dropping charges against the couple based on the appearance of new facts.
The good news was little consolation to the couple, who said they were treated as though they were already guilty. "[Police] took our mug shots with numbers as though we were criminals," Manoukian said.
The couple maintained their nanny was treated like a member of the family throughout the eight years she worked for them — in Quebec and in Lebanon.
The nanny went out when she wanted, used the phone as much as she liked, had the keys to the front door and knew the code to the burglar alarm, Saryboyadjian said Friday.
The high-profile investigation exacted a toll on the couple, who are subject to dirty stares in public, Saryboyadjian said. "This story has taken 10 years off our life," she said.
A public apology could start the mending the family needs now, she said.
The couple was arrested in May when the RCMP held a news conference to explain the charges against the couple.
The Mounties alleged the Ethiopian nanny was practically a slave. "She couldn't get out, she couldn't have access to her papers, and the only time she could get out was with the couple, the persons who hired her," said Const. Magdala Turpin at the time.
The RCMP insists it was just doing its job when it followed up in its investigation.
The nanny — whose name hasn't been released — received refugee status shortly after the allegations were made, the couple's lawyer said.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Canadian inmate sues Ethiopian government
Nov 27, 2007 04:30 AM
Debra Black
Staff Reporter
A Canadian citizen who has been detained in Ethiopia for the past 10 months without being charged is suing the government there and its officials for "violations of international law, assault, battery, false arrest and false imprisonment."
The statement of claim, which was filed in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice late last week, names Warqine Gabayo, the head of the Ethiopian police, and Taadese Masareti, the head of the prison where Bashir Makhtal is being detained.
The suit claims that Ethiopia "is illegally holding" Makhtal and is "subjecting him to torture and other forms of cruel and inhumane treatment." According to the statement of claim, Makhtal has been held "incommunicado" for more than nine months, and he has not been charged with any offence. Nor has he been brought before a court of law.
His rights to legal counsel and adequate access to the consular protection of Canada have also been denied, the suit says.
"He has been denied his fundamental rights under international, Ethiopian and Canadian law," according to the suit.
The suit adds Makhtal was also "subject to frequent interrogations during which he has been subjected to torture and cruel and inhumane treatment. He was also forced to videotape a false confession under the coercion of the Ethiopian authorities. The false confession was broadcast on the television in Ethiopia."
The suit also alleges that Makhtal's family, many of whom remain in Ethiopia, have been detained, arrested and subjected to torture and coercion to force them to implicate him.
None of the allegations in the lawsuit has been proven in a court of law.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
WHEN: NOVEMBER 3, 2007
WHERE: 84 TYCOS DR.
ST'MARYS ETHIOPIAN
ORTHODOX CHURCH
TIME 2PM ........2AM
FUNDRAISING WITH
THE TALENTED ACTOR COMEDIAN ABEBE BELEW
Grand Town Hall meeting
with Kinijit Leaders
The Honorable Birtukan Midekssa
The Hounorable Gizachew Shiferaw
The Famous Comedian Actor
&
Head of Public Relation CUD
Debebe Eshetu
SUPPORT THE PEOPLES REPRESENTATIVE
SAY YES TO DEMOCRACY
GO CUD GO
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Ethiopia in the Third Millennium—Forward or backward?
By Mr. Obang Metho / October 6, 2007
The celebrations of the Ethiopian Third Millennium going on all over the world have ended, but we still have reason to celebrate! Why? Just this past month, the recently released Kinijit leaders began a tour of the United States, Australia, Africa, Canada and Europe, speaking to thousands of excited Ethiopians in the Diaspora who are hoping that there will now be strong guidance towards stopping the oppression of the people in Ethiopia and instead bringing true freedom, justice, equality and peace to the nation.
Just this week, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the bill HR2003 which will directly connect the receipt of financial aid and diplomatic privileges with the upholding of human rights and democracy within the country. This was accomplished despite the alleged huge financial investment Meles and the EPRDF made to the lobbying firm, D.L. Piper, to block the bill’s passage.
More cause for celebration was given when on the same day and close to the same time of the vote on HR2003, Kinijit leaders and an Ogadeni human rights representative were given the opportunity to testify before The House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, “The Human Rights and Humanitarian Situation in the Horn of Africa: The Cases of Somalia and the Ogaden Region of Ethiopia”
All of these successes can be seen as a great advancement in the struggle, but it is not a time to sit back and rest. There is major work still to be done and we cannot stand by and be spectators, waiting for others to do it for us. Instead, we all must get ready for what may be the most difficult part of our battle for a new Ethiopia—a movement of united people—representative of all Ethiopians—that will bring about the Ethiopia we want for tomorrow. Right now, the celebrations must be quieted and the difficult work of transformation must begin. May God be our leader, guide and protector as each of us humbly carries out whatever our part might be.
Our success, if we are to achieve it, is about all of us doing our share, contributing to the whole, if we are to find our way out of the “valley of the shadow of death” that now encompasses all of Ethiopia. That valley is like a maze that brings us into unknown regions. If we Ethiopians are currently going to find our way out of such dark confusion, it will require the eyes of the Afar, the ears of the Ogadeni, the legs of the Gurage, the hands of the Tigray, the shoulders of Oromo, the head of the Berta, the feet of the Amhara, the arms of the Sidamo, the mouth of the Anuak……and the hearts of each of us to make it safely and completely to the other side. Then we will have cause to celebrate. Until then, our people remain in jeopardy.
Tremendous atrocities—what some now call a genocide—are being perpetrated against the Ogadenis. This is going on today and is a silent Darfur that we must do more than our best to stop before the lives and livelihood of these fellow Ethiopians are destroyed. This should be cause for outrage for all of us. This government’s poison has crossed the border into Somalia and the people there are suffering similarly at the hands of Meles and those under his command. We must speak up for them as well as people of moral courage who are against such evil or we may be found culpable at some later date.
Besides the ongoing human rights abuses and the suppression of the people by Meles, many areas of our country have been victims of natural disasters. Reportedly, 200,000 Ethiopians, from Gambella to Amhara have been affected by the recent flooding—many being displaced or losing their homes, crops and property. To add to this cause of misery, the rate of inflation has been climbing at record speed, causing such hardship that more and more people cannot afford the basics to survive.
We have seen recent reports that more and more educated Ethiopians, in particular, those in the medical and health professions, are leaving the country for better opportunity elsewhere, leaving an already crippled health system, even worse off than before even though Mr. Meles Zenawi, says Ethiopia does not need doctors!
Now, with all of these realities, we should know that if this bill, HR#2003, goes to the Senate and becomes law, we can be thankful for what it will accomplish and should heartily congratulate those who worked so hard on this, but please know that the struggle is not over.
More importantly, it is critical to recognize that we need the average Ethiopian, not only the politicians, to make themselves available to contribute to creating a better Ethiopia for those who follow us. Ethiopians need to regroup and reorganize. Like when nature struck, it affected seven regions of the country, making it important to work together because what is happening is affecting many of us. Ethiopians on the ground must do the work because we know outsiders have their own interests.
For instance, with Burma, as the monks courageously stood up this past week and said enough to a tyrannical government, it is Ethiopians who must do the same in our own country. If there is a message to the people of Ethiopia it is to be ready to not be a spectator but instead to become an active participant.
The Ethiopian problem cannot be solved by one political party, but will require all of us. They deserve our gratefulness for starting this struggle, but now, it will require all groups to come together because one group cannot do it by themselves. Yet, the Kinijit can take a strong stand by reaching out to all Ethiopian organizations. In fact, the most effective way to go forward is with unity, even more than democracy.
For Ethiopians to succeed, problems within organizations, not only within the Kinijit, should be quickly resolved and then each should start by reaching out to others to be coalition builders. Insulting each other, infighting, backbiting and rumormongering will only hold back the new millennium hopes for a new Ethiopia. Instead, it will be through tolerance, putting aside one’s personal interests, agendas and resentments that we will be able to move on. In the meantime, let us remain calm, but persevering in our goals and reflect on some of our strengths as well as the obstacles we must overcome.
Our country is unique and gifted with an ancient history dating back over 3000 years. We are the second largest country in Africa in terms of population, now around 80 million. We host the headquarters of the African Union. We have a reputation for being able to live in peace and harmony with Christians, Muslims, Jews and Animists.
Yet, unfortunately, when many people of the world think of Ethiopia, they are still reminded of images of famine, beggars and starving children. Someone on American radio has even referred to one of the poorest states in America, Louisiana—after Hurricane Katrina, as being “the Ethiopia of the United States.” What an embarrassing comparison.
Our standing on most every survey of how we are doing as a society, rates us near to the bottom in the world, thanks to the EPRDF who cannot even admit our dire situation. Instead, they perpetually exaggerate progress by boasting that things are improving in the country when we know how bad things really are.
Where there is development, huge debts are being incurred, robbing the future away from our Ethiopian youth of tomorrow who will be expected to pay it off. As we face the advent of the Third Ethiopian Millennium, it is high time to soberly consider where we are today and what we must do to give our descendents increased freedom, justice, equality, opportunity and prosperity in the future.
Yet, it is hard not to be excited about the recent release of the Kinijit Opposition Party leaders, journalists, human rights activists and now 18, 000 more Ethiopians (still not all) from all over the country who have been detained for months or years even though Meles had previously denied there were any political prisoners in the country. One might wonder where these 18, 000 or more prisoners came from!
As some of them are now visiting Ethiopians in the Diaspora, we can be extremely grateful to them for so quickly organizing a political movement before the May 2005 National Election that brought together so many different groups under one umbrella of the CUDP. It was in many ways, a miracle that no one, even them, expected! Even though most of us knew that Meles was a repressive dictator, we were surprised when he risked his reputation as “a new breed of African leader,” to become “one of the most vicious dictators” according to both Congressman Chris Smith and Congressman Donald Payne, made public in recent statements, by openly hijacking the election, killing 197 Ethiopian protestors and forcing the Opposition leaders and countless others to be detained in the prisons of our country.
The celebrations of the Ethiopian Third Millennium going on all over the world have ended, but we still have reason to celebrate! Why? Just this past month, the recently released Kinijit leaders began a tour of the United States, Australia, Africa, Canada and Europe, speaking to thousands of excited Ethiopians in the Diaspora who are hoping that there will now be strong guidance towards stopping the oppression of the people in Ethiopia and instead bringing true freedom, justice, equality and peace to the nation.Just this week, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the bill HR2003 which will directly connect the receipt of financial aid and diplomatic privileges with the upholding of human rights and democracy within the country. This was accomplished despite the alleged huge financial investment Meles and the EPRDF made to the lobbying firm, D.L. Piper, to block the bill’s passage.
More cause for celebration was given when on the same day and close to the same time of the vote on HR2003, Kinijit leaders and an Ogadeni human rights representative were given the opportunity to testify before The House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, “The Human Rights and Humanitarian Situation in the Horn of Africa: The Cases of Somalia and the Ogaden Region of Ethiopia”
All of these successes can be seen as a great advancement in the struggle, but it is not a time to sit back and rest. There is major work still to be done and we cannot stand by and be spectators, waiting for others to do it for us. Instead, we all must get ready for what may be the most difficult part of our battle for a new Ethiopia—a movement of united people—representative of all Ethiopians—that will bring about the Ethiopia we want for tomorrow. Right now, the celebrations must be quieted and the difficult work of transformation must begin. May God be our leader, guide and protector as each of us humbly carries out whatever our part might be.
Our success, if we are to achieve it, is about all of us doing our share, contributing to the whole, if we are to find our way out of the “valley of the shadow of death” that now encompasses all of Ethiopia. That valley is like a maze that brings us into unknown regions. If we Ethiopians are currently going to find our way out of such dark confusion, it will require the eyes of the Afar, the ears of the Ogadeni, the legs of the Gurage, the hands of the Tigray, the shoulders of Oromo, the head of the Berta, the feet of the Amhara, the arms of the Sidamo, the mouth of the Anuak……and the hearts of each of us to make it safely and completely to the other side. Then we will have cause to celebrate. Until then, our people remain in jeopardy.
Tremendous atrocities—what some now call a genocide—are being perpetrated against the Ogadenis. This is going on today and is a silent Darfur that we must do more than our best to stop before the lives and livelihood of these fellow Ethiopians are destroyed. This should be cause for outrage for all of us. This government’s poison has crossed the border into Somalia and the people there are suffering similarly at the hands of Meles and those under his command. We must speak up for them as well as people of moral courage who are against such evil or we may be found culpable at some later date.
Besides the ongoing human rights abuses and the suppression of the people by Meles, many areas of our country have been victims of natural disasters. Reportedly, 200,000 Ethiopians, from Gambella to Amhara have been affected by the recent flooding—many being displaced or losing their homes, crops and property. To add to this cause of misery, the rate of inflation has been climbing at record speed, causing such hardship that more and more people cannot afford the basics to survive.
We have seen recent reports that more and more educated Ethiopians, in particular, those in the medical and health professions, are leaving the country for better opportunity elsewhere, leaving an already crippled health system, even worse off than before even though Mr. Meles Zenawi, says Ethiopia does not need doctors!
Now, with all of these realities, we should know that if this bill, HR#2003, goes to the Senate and becomes law, we can be thankful for what it will accomplish and should heartily congratulate those who worked so hard on this, but please know that the struggle is not over.
More importantly, it is critical to recognize that we need the average Ethiopian, not only the politicians, to make themselves available to contribute to creating a better Ethiopia for those who follow us. Ethiopians need to regroup and reorganize. Like when nature struck, it affected seven regions of the country, making it important to work together because what is happening is affecting many of us. Ethiopians on the ground must do the work because we know outsiders have their own interests.
For instance, with Burma, as the monks courageously stood up this past week and said enough to a tyrannical government, it is Ethiopians who must do the same in our own country. If there is a message to the people of Ethiopia it is to be ready to not be a spectator but instead to become an active participant.
The Ethiopian problem cannot be solved by one political party, but will require all of us. They deserve our gratefulness for starting this struggle, but now, it will require all groups to come together because one group cannot do it by themselves. Yet, the Kinijit can take a strong stand by reaching out to all Ethiopian organizations. In fact, the most effective way to go forward is with unity, even more than democracy.
For Ethiopians to succeed, problems within organizations, not only within the Kinijit, should be quickly resolved and then each should start by reaching out to others to be coalition builders. Insulting each other, infighting, backbiting and rumormongering will only hold back the new millennium hopes for a new Ethiopia. Instead, it will be through tolerance, putting aside one’s personal interests, agendas and resentments that we will be able to move on. In the meantime, let us remain calm, but persevering in our goals and reflect on some of our strengths as well as the obstacles we must overcome.
Our country is unique and gifted with an ancient history dating back over 3000 years. We are the second largest country in Africa in terms of population, now around 80 million. We host the headquarters of the African Union. We have a reputation for being able to live in peace and harmony with Christians, Muslims, Jews and Animists.
Yet, unfortunately, when many people of the world think of Ethiopia, they are still reminded of images of famine, beggars and starving children. Someone on American radio has even referred to one of the poorest states in America, Louisiana—after Hurricane Katrina, as being “the Ethiopia of the United States.” What an embarrassing comparison.
Our standing on most every survey of how we are doing as a society, rates us near to the bottom in the world, thanks to the EPRDF who cannot even admit our dire situation. Instead, they perpetually exaggerate progress by boasting that things are improving in the country when we know how bad things really are.
Where there is development, huge debts are being incurred, robbing the future away from our Ethiopian youth of tomorrow who will be expected to pay it off. As we face the advent of the Third Ethiopian Millennium, it is high time to soberly consider where we are today and what we must do to give our descendents increased freedom, justice, equality, opportunity and prosperity in the future.
Yet, it is hard not to be excited about the recent release of the Kinijit Opposition Party leaders, journalists, human rights activists and now 18, 000 more Ethiopians (still not all) from all over the country who have been detained for months or years even though Meles had previously denied there were any political prisoners in the country. One might wonder where these 18, 000 or more prisoners came from!
As some of them are now visiting Ethiopians in the Diaspora, we can be extremely grateful to them for so quickly organizing a political movement before the May 2005 National Election that brought together so many different groups under one umbrella of the CUDP. It was in many ways, a miracle that no one, even them, expected! Even though most of us knew that Meles was a repressive dictator, we were surprised when he risked his reputation as “a new breed of African leader,” to become “one of the most vicious dictators” according to both Congressman Chris Smith and Congressman Donald Payne, made public in recent statements, by openly hijacking the election, killing 197 Ethiopian protestors and forcing the Opposition leaders and countless others to be detained in the prisons of our country.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
US targets Ethiopia for sanctions
US congressmen are defending a bill threatening to impose sanctions on Ethiopian officials and stop military aid unless democratic reforms are made.
Legislator Donald Payne told the BBC the House of Representatives passed the bill "because there has been a serious problem with democracy in Ethiopia".
Ethiopia's ambassador to the US criticised the proposal saying it would "undermine regional stability".
Ethiopia is the US's strongest ally in the region in its "war on terror".
The legislation now passes to the Senate for approval and can be vetoed by the president.
Correspondents say Ethiopia has come in for increased criticism over its human rights record since the violent crackdown on post poll protests in 2005; opposition leaders imprisoned as a consequence have subsequently been released.
And since Ethiopia's went into Somalia last December to help the transitional government- a rebellion in its eastern Ogaden region which borders Somalia has escalated.
'Correct wrongdoings'
The US representatives approved the Ethiopian Democracy and Accountability Act on Tuesday, which puts Ethiopian government officials at risk of being denied entry visas over human rights violations.
It also threatens to withhold military aid of at least $1.5m
Mr Payne said the bill was bipartisan and secured unanimous approval.
"It's something that's been discussed ever since the killing of civilians, gunned down in the streets of Addis [Ababa] almost two years ago," the Democratic Congressman told the BBC's Network Africa.
"There was a feeling that Ethiopia, being an ally of the United States, should have an opportunity to correct some of the wrongdoings, and that has not happened.
"Two years later people are still being imprisoned. There's still problems in the Ogaden region. People are having food kept away from them. That's why we finally said we need to move forward with it."
Samuel Assefa, Ethiopia's ambassador to the US, called the bill "irresponsible" and said it would hamper efforts to improve things.
"The legislation also would undermine regional stability in the Horn of Africa by jeopardising vital security cooperation between the United States and Ethiopia," he said in a statement, Reuters news agency reports.
The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in Addis Ababa says as Ethiopia is such a strong ally of the US in the Horn of Africa, it is unlikely that President George Bush's administratation will be sympathetic to the bill.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Gizaw | |
| September 24.2007 | |
| | |
|
Thursday, September 20, 2007
UN seeks Ethiopia abuses inquiry
The UN has called for an independent investigation into reports of human rights abuses in Ethiopia's predominantly Somali Ogaden region.
A visiting UN group says they found a pervasive fear among residents caught in clashes between the army and rebels.
The Ethiopian army has been accused by ONLF separatists of operating a food blockade and causing a man-made famine.
Responding to the report, Ethiopia said it would work with the UN to ensure the region's food requirements were met.
However, it did not comment on allegations of abuses.
The report by the mission, who visited the area last month, also calls on the government to give aid agencies access to the region.
It says the food situation is deteriorating rapidly and could reach emergency levels very shortly and that there is an acute shortage of drugs and other medical supplies in the area.
The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in Addis Ababa says that the fact that the mission decided not to make the report public but to share the findings privately with the government suggests that publication would have caused considerable embarrassment and prejudice the chance of getting matters improved
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Friday, September 07, 2007
Former Addis Ababa University Professor, Gizachew Shiferaw, Kinijit's Head of Organizational Affairs, is part of the party's delegation that will tour North America. EZ Post has a revealing inteview with him.
EZ: Your upcoming tour has its critics. Why are you traveling abroad before all Kinijit prisoners are released?
Gizachew: The tour is part of the wider political activity we are undertaking now. We have to thank for the great effort and commitment Ethiopians living abroad showed both to the struggle for democracy and our release from prison. What Ethiopians abroad did when we were in prison was incredible. In 2006 and the beginning of 2007, there were massive demonstrations all over the world. They-children, the elderly, people with tremendous work and professional responsibilities- withstood the harsh weathers and made their points. They put pressures on host countries; made the media to pay attention. I haven't seen or heard the Diaspora of other countries showing such commitment.
The Ethiopian diaspora is a force to be reckoned with. This is not only because of what it has done in the past two years but also because its potential is immense. We have a lot of educated people, people with money, people with connections, people with vigor, enthusiasm and incredible love of the country living abroad. Any political force in Ethiopia should be able to mobilize our Diaspora for the benefit of the country. Kinijit will certainly do that.
But our tour doesn't exclude doing things at home. We have already established two committees which are entrusted with the task of getting the prisoners out. One is a data committee which gathers information about the prisoners all over Ethiopia. The other is a contact group which liaisons with the Shimagles. Part of our agreement when we were released was the release of all people who were imprisoned in connection to the election. The Shimagles are facilitating that and we are meeting them every two weeks. I think in our trip abroad we will also highlight their ordeals if they aren't released by then.
EZ: But why wouldn't you just wait here until they are released?
Gizachew: We can do a lot of things at a time. Our trip is short. The South African group stays for ten days. They will come and continue what we have started. We also have a lot of council members who won't go abroad. They will also do the task. I don't see any reason why we can't do two things at the same time. We are a political organization. Our tasks are vast. We should be able to do a lot of things at the same time.
EZ: There are divisions in the Diaspora. Part of the reason for your trip is to solve that. How are you going to do it?
Gizachew: Our direction and vision regarding that is very clear. There will be no more appointments from Addis Ababa. It is a cliché; but I have to say it: Power belongs to the people. Ethiopians abroad will choose their own representatives for the chapters and kinijit support groups – at city, state, national and continental basis. It is each constituency which determines what its leaders will be.
EZ: That is for the future. But what about the past? There are serious allegations; allegations of embezzlement of incredible amounts of money collected in the name of Kinijit? Allegations of authoritarianism? Can you talk about the future without addressing the past?
Gizachew: We have started to address that. What we first did when we got out of prison was to take away the political powers of groups who were acting in the Diaspora on our behalf
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
NTERVIEW-Ethiopian opposition leader takes fight abroad
By Timothy Gardner NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The man who was elected mayor of Addis Ababa said he is not sure whether he can hold public demonstrations there, so he is visiting the United States and Europe seeking support for a new era of democracy in Ethiopia. "It is very difficult to know what it means to be engaged in political struggles in Ethiopia," Berhanu Nega, deputy chairman of Ethiopian opposition party Coalition for Unity and Democracy, or CUD, told Reuters in an interview in New York. "Can you organize demonstrations, can you organize discussions? All this is not answered." Nega won the mayoral race of the capital city in 2005, but was jailed in November of that year after a government crackdown on a protest about the general elections where at least 193 civilians and six police officers died. The elections, the freest yet in Ethiopia, had raised hopes of democracy after decades of feudalism and dictatorship. Now Sub-Saharan Africa's second most populous country after Nigeria awaits to see whether the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the CUD will reconcile, or if there will be more authoritarian rule. After Nega's release nearly two years later in July, Zenawi said Nega and other CUD members who had won seats in parliament and Addis Ababa's city council would be free to run for office in the future. But Nega said it's too early to tell whether he will run in any future election. "Most of the institutions that are necessary for democratic order don't seem to be operating right now," he said, adding that Ethiopia's judiciary, security forces, and election boards were all under control of Zenawi. SERIOUS PROBLEMS He said the government has so far reneged on the release agreement, facilitated by traditional elders, that CUD leaders would meet with the government and third party negotiators on how to broaden democratic institutions. "Clearly what's at stake, so long as the bitter disagreement continues, is that it keeps the country from addressing its really serious problems such as overpopulation, looming famine, soil erosion and flooding," said Donald Levine, an expert on Ethiopia at the University of Chicago. Until CUD knows whether it can hold public forums, it is meeting internally and working with the international community to raise support, said Nega, who this week will address academics at The New School for Social Research in New York, where he studied for an economics degree. In addition, Nega will lead a delegation of fellow opposition members, who were also jailed after the protest, to visit New York, Washington, and Atlanta. For about a month they will visit Ethiopians who have relocated to the United States. He hopes the delegation will also meet with members of U.S. Congress and officials at the State Department to urge them to look closely at the Zenawi administration. The longer it takes for the government and the CUD to come together, the greater chance violence could spread through the country from places such as the remote Ogaden region where the government is leading a crackdown on rebels, he said. "If we don't fill the political space in this discussion with the commitment to settle this impasse peacefully, then these other forces are going to be the ones (the) government has to deal with," he said.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
MSF Press Release: Urgent Appeal to Government of Ethiopia Despite repeated appeals over the past weeks to gain permission to return, the Government
Violence and displacement are threatening the lives of the civilian population in Ethiopia’s conflict-affected Somali region, says the medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Despite urgent humanitarian needs, however, two sections of MSF have been denied access to the region. MSF is calling on the Ethiopian authorities to immediately allow its teams to provide assistance to people in the region who are facing an increasingly desperate situation. MSF has a signed agreement with the Government of Ethiopia to work in the Somali region –often referred to as the "Ogaden region" – and had conducted several assessments of the humanitarian needs in the area when it was forced to evacuate its teams for security reasons in late July. Despite repeated appeals over the past weeks to gain permission to return, the Government of Ethiopia has denied MSF access.
"There is a humanitarian crisis in the Somali-region of Ethiopia," said William Robertson, Head of Mission for the Dutch section of MSF in Ethiopia. “Our teams have treated people who have been forced to flee their homes and are now struggling to survive with little or no assistance. People are living in fear because they find themselves targeted by and caught between armed groups. We are urgently calling for immediate access to the region in order to help civilians in need."
While conducting mobile health clinics and measles vaccination campaigns in the Wardher area of the region until fighting forced the MSF team to leave on July 24, MSF international staff saw emptied and burned villages and assisted numerous people who reported being forcibly displaced from their homes. Despite limited operations, MSF treated several victims of beatings and gunshot wounds, underlining the need for urgent medical care in the area.
In July, MSF also conducted assessments of the humanitarian needs in the region in the areas of Denan, Garbo, Degahmadow, Sagag, and Fiq. During these assessments, the MSF team saw a number of villages wholly or partially abandoned and were told of food shortages by villagers and displaced people.
"Last week, we asked the authorities to grant us access at least for 24 to 48 hours so we could provide medications and material to Fiq health centre. We know that the health centre and the wider district are suffering from a serious shortage of drugs as the last supplies arrived six months ago" , said Loris De Filippi, operational coordinator for MSF Belgium in Ethiopia. "But once again, the authorities refused to let our team move from the capital city Jijiga to Fiq by road or even by plane".
As insecurity has left health structures empty of staff and medicines, there is a risk that the health situation will deteriorate further. In the month since MSF carried out its assessments, no independent humanitarian non-governmental organizations have been able to provide assistance to these areas. The region is known to be extremely precarious and subject to nutritional emergencies and famines causing extremely high mortality, as witnessed by MSF in the years 1992 and 2000. Humanitarian organizations must be allowed immediate access to the region, otherwise the medical and nutritional consequences risk becoming catastrophic.
Eyewitness Report of Ogaden Crisis Villages deserted, burned in Ethiopia's Ogaden - MSF Reuters, Sep 4, 2007
- "I saw burned out villages. I remember passing a number of villages that were empty other than the elderly and sick," Eileen Skinnider, assistant coordinator for Ethiopia, told the news conference via an Internet link from Canada. "We didn't pass one commercial vehicle ... I saw women and children chased away (by soldiers) trying to collect water from wells ... I saw small groups of men living in the bush."
Ethiopia 'blocking MSF in Ogaden' In December 1985 Mengistu kicked Medecin Sans Frontiers (MSF) out of Ethiopia because they spoke up against the diversion of aid and the forced resettlement program. MSF continued to work behind rebel lines in Tigray and Eritrea to provide desperately needed medical help. In 1999 MSF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Note - Somali region is larger than indicated in above map
ICRC deplores expulsion from Somali Regional State International Committee of the Red Cross Press Release, July 26, 2007
- ICRC (Geneva) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) deplores the decision by the authorities of Ethiopia's Somali Regional State, where it has been present for over 12 years, to give it seven days' notice to leave.
In 1936, the fascist regime of Mussolini refused any cooperation with the Red Cross and bombed Red Cross hospitals and ambulances in Ethiopia. Mengistu also attacked civilians while the Red Cross was distributing relief. According to a Human Rights Watch Report (1990): "Wukro was held by the [Mengistu] government until March 1988, and was a center for relief distributions by the Ethiopian Red Cross. After the TPLF captured the town, the Ethiopian Red Cross distributions continued according to the schedule already agreed with the government. On April 8, the distribution went ahead as planned, but government bombers attacked and killed about 100 civilians who had gathered there.
Friday, August 31, 2007
A MUST READ ARTICLE FROM ANDARGACEW TSIGE ABOUT KINIJIT DIASPORA
The name KINIJIT is about transparency, democracy, accountability, participation, inclusiveness, individual freedom, equality with diversity, and more....for this Kinijit is a name associated with all of the above. The modern organization of kinijit has no place for corrupt, egoist, backward, feudal minded individuals. Recommended read Andargachew Tsige's very fine analysis about kinijit in diaspora.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Political Violence and Democratic Uncertainty in Ethiopia
Summary
• The pardon and release of thirty-eight political detainees, mostly from the leadership of the main opposition party, may give impetus to political negotiations in Ethiopia after more than two years’ crisis and stalemate.
• Contentious and previously unresolved national issues, such as land and economic development; the institutional and constitutional structure of the Ethiopian state; and the best way to ensure equality of ethnic and religious communities, were brought to the fore during the past election cycle. However, after the election, much- needed national dialogue on these matters ended. It must be reinvigorated now that the political opposition’s leaders have been freed.
• Citizen discontent has grown with the caretaker administration in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa and repressive local administrations. Elections for city and local government
must be held. Further delays will undermine any democratic progress.
• The current Parliament includes members of several opposition political parties, though not the leaders who were imprisoned. Both the ruling party and the main opposition parties should make as many visible and meaningful concessions as possible
to their political opponents.
• Ethiopia’s military intervention in Somalia in December 2006, its ongoing military presence in that conflict, and its unchanged, tense border stalemate with Eritrea have contributed to growing violence in the Horn of Africa and stymied domestic democratization.
I
• The pardon and release of thirty-eight political detainees, mostly from the leadership of the main opposition party, may give impetus to political negotiations in Ethiopia after more than two years’ crisis and stalemate.
• Contentious and previously unresolved national issues, such as land and economic development; the institutional and constitutional structure of the Ethiopian state; and the best way to ensure equality of ethnic and religious communities, were brought to the fore during the past election cycle. However, after the election, much- needed national dialogue on these matters ended. It must be reinvigorated now that the political opposition’s leaders have been freed.
• Citizen discontent has grown with the caretaker administration in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa and repressive local administrations. Elections for city and local government
must be held. Further delays will undermine any democratic progress.
• The current Parliament includes members of several opposition political parties, though not the leaders who were imprisoned. Both the ruling party and the main opposition parties should make as many visible and meaningful concessions as possible
to their political opponents.
• Ethiopia’s military intervention in Somalia in December 2006, its ongoing military presence in that conflict, and its unchanged, tense border stalemate with Eritrea have contributed to growing violence in the Horn of Africa and stymied domestic democratization.
I
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
THE REPRESSION IN THE OGADEN MUST BE STOPPED
Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political Prisoners (SOCEPP), August 14/2007
The regime in Addis Ababa is benefitting from the diplomatic and political support of certain countries that have liked its role as a foot soldier in the so called "war on terror" and it has taken this opportunity to spread terror among the people in Ethiopia. One of the main targets of its wrath are the Ethiopian Somalis living in the Ogaden.
Alleging that it is trying to stamp out an insurgency waged by the Ogaden National Liberation Front and claiming (for the benefit of the West) that the ONLF is allied with the Islamic Courts Militia in Somalia (where the troops of Meles Zenawi are waging a brutal war as an invading force), the soldiers of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi are virtually on a rampage--burning settlements, shooting down cattle and camels, killing innocent civilians. Reports coming from the area highlight gross violation of rights. The regime has expelled the Red Cross from the area and restricted journalists from going to the front to report on what is going on. This is a situation that the ruling front loves with passion-- to commit atrocities away from the public eye. But its crimes have not been covered up.
Certain actions of the ONLF have also been severely criticised.Yet,the main responsibility falls on the regime as its counter insurgency has proved to be nothing less or more than brutality and terror on the people at large. It is worse than its action in Mogadishu and deserves vigorous condemnaton.
SOCEPP calls on peace loving people to call for the immediate cessation of the State Terror against the people in the Ogaden. SOCEPP calls on all Ethiopians to oppose the actions of the regime against the Somalis in the Ogaden. Insurgency is not crushed by indiscriminate violence against innocent people. On the contrary, such violence fans more resistance and compounds the initial problem to no end.
STOP THE REPRESSION AND VIOLENCE IN THE OGADEN!
INJUSTICE ANYWHERE IS INJUSTICE EVERYWHERE
SOCEPP, POSTFACH 51213, BERLIN 13372,GERMANY
E MAIL: SOCEPP @AOL.COM
WEB SITE: WWW.SOCEPP.DE
Posted on 14 August 2007 @ 22:59
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)