POLITICS-ETHIOPIA: A Career In Dissent

Michael Chebsi

Mideksa -- "The values that guide me are truth and fairness"

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 29 (IPS) - Frozen in disbelief on the steps of the courthouse where she presided as a federal judge, Bertukan Mideksa watched as a man she had just ordered released on bail was detained by plain-clothes police with no warrant and no apparent regard for the law.

That was in 2001. She next saw that man when she became a fellow inmate at Kaliti Federal Prison in 2004, charged with crimes serious enough to have her imprisoned for life: treason, outrage against the constitution, inciting, organising or leading armed rebellion, obstruction of the exercise of constitutional powers, impairing the defensive power of the state and attempted genocide.

She claims her only true transgression was dissent.

"I couldn't stand the lack of human dignity," said Mideksa, seated behind her desk at her poorly furnished office in central Addis Ababa.

Mideksa is unique among Ethiopia's politicians. At 34 years old, she is exceptionally young; she was still in high school when rebels toppled the country's brutal military regime in 1991. And she is a woman, the first ever to head a political party in this notoriously patriarchal country.

Fewer than 22 percent of the country's 547 lawmakers are women. The only female cabinet member -- predictably -- is in charge of women's affairs. Mideksa became the exception to the rule in September, when she was elected to head Ethiopia's newest political party, the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party. She has since become the leading spokesperson for the opposition.

At a press conference on Oct. 10, Mideksa, flanked by her fellow party leaders, announced her party's plan to open 117 regional offices in a bid to mobilise the public across the country. Her party has also joined a forum of other opposition parties to forge a joint platform ahead of the 2010 elections, where the coalition hopes it will fare better than in the past.

In November 2004, leaders of two long-standing opposition groups and two newly-formed political parties formed an electoral coalition. The strategy helped the opposition to win significant gains in the parliament, but fell short of a majority.

Pointing to reports by international observers of irregularities at the polls, the opposition claimed that there were significant instances of expulsion and harassment of poll workers, incidents of intimidation, multiple voting and ballot stuffing.

The political conflict turned into violent clashes on the streets, and when some of the coalition members refused to assume their elected posts, the coalition fractured acrimoniously.

The newly-constituted administration of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi detained over 100 leaders of the opposition and jailed tens of thousands of their supporters in the ensuing crackdown. Mideksa, then vice president of the coalition, was among the detainees. She was convicted on July 16, 2007 by the Federal High Court.

Mideksa and 34 others were sentenced to life imprisonment while three others were handed jail sentences that range 18 months to 18 years. The same day, they appealed for amnesty, which was later accepted by the pardon board and endorsed by President Girma W. Giorgis.

"It was the greatest challenge of my life," Mideksa told IPS. "It's strengthened me though."

Mideksa was not discouraged by the experience. She cites as one of her inspirations the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who is leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma (Myanmar). "I marvel at her courage and determination," she says.
Her party, however, will need more than mere determination to prevail.
In the April local elections, the Ethiopia People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) scored an overwhelming victory, with pro-government candidates outnumbering opposition candidates by 500 to 1. Irregularities in voter registration and difficulties in the result and complaints processes combined to reduce the legitimacy of the election. Recent legislation affecting political parties, the press and civil societies threatens to narrow the political space even more.
Mideksa believes she can help broaden the political space through a series of public dialogues with the media. Her party has also announced that it has allocated close to 750,000 dollars to mobilise supporters from the four corners of the country in the run-up to the election.
But observers doubt that Mideksa has the leadership skills to bring together the fractious opposition.
Born in Addis Ababa in 1974, Mideksa went to public schools for her primary and secondary educations. She joined the law school at Addis Ababa University, and graduated with an LLB degree in 1996.
Prior to her entry into politics, she served as a Judge at the Federal First Instance Court for close to seven years, before she resigned, claiming that there is government interference in the judiciary.
"The values that guide me are truth and fairness," she says.
She first entered politics running as an independent parliamentary candidate back in 2000. Neither her friends nor her mother supported the decision, warning her against the dangers of politics. After eight years, however, she is content with her decision.
"It is a great success for me personally," says Mideksa, adding with a shrug and a smile, "and I guess for Ethiopian women too."

'Famished' Canadian held in Ethiopia

Terrorism Charges; Human Rights Watch urges Ottawa action
Stewart Bell, National Post

A Canadian awaiting trial on terrorism-related charges in Ethiopia was described as injured and malnourished in a human rights report released yesterday.

Human Rights Watch said it had interviewed a former detainee who saw former Toronto resident Bashir Makhtal in a prison in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

"He was limping. He had a deep cut in one of his legs. He looked weak. He looked so famished," the report quoted the unidentified witness as saying during an interview conducted at a refugee camp.

The report did not directly accuse Ethiopia of mistreating Mr. Makhtal but it did say that detainees like him have been subjected to "brutal beatings and torture." It also quoted a man who was detained with Mr. Makhtal as saying that Ethiopian interrogators had repeatedly asked, "Are you al-Qaeda" and beaten him when he said no.
He was arrested in December, 2006, as he was crossing from Somalia into Kenya. He was secretly flown to Mogadishu, Somalia, where he was handed over to Ethiopian officials who brought him to Addis Ababa.

At the time, Islamist militants in Somali were fleeing toward Kenya to escape U. S.-backed Ethiopian and Somali troops. The Canadian government has claimed that some of the Islamists fighting in Somalia were actually Canadians.

Mr. Makhtal immigrated to Toronto from Ethiopia and is the grandson of the founder of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, an Ethiopian guerrilla group, but his family says he was only selling used clothing in Somalia.

The New York-based human rights group yesterday released a report, titled "Why Am I Still Here?" that named Mr. Makhtal as one of 10 who were sent to Ethiopia as part of a rendition program and who remain in detention there.

The report said several of the men were interrogated by American officials in the Ethiopian capital soon after they were transferred there from Kenya and Somalia. Others remain unaccounted for, it said.

Mr. Makhtal was placed in solitary confinement, the report said. He could face the death penalty if convicted at his upcoming military trial.

Canadian officials visited Mr. Makhtal in July, 2008. Ethiopia has assured Canada he will have a lawyer at his trial.

The report called on the Canadian government to ask Ethiopia either to prosecute Mr. Makhtal in a civilian court that meets international standards or release him and return him to Canada. The Department of Foreign Affairs had no comment yesterday.
sbell@nationalpost.com

Ethiopia/Kenya: Account for Missing Rendition Victims

Secret Detainees Interrogated by US Officials Are Still in Custody
(Washington, DC, October 1, 2008) – At least 10 victims of the 2007 Horn of Africa rendition program still languish in Ethiopian jails and the whereabouts of several others is unknown, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Several of the detained men were interrogated by US officials in Addis Ababa soon after they were secretly transferred from Kenya to Somalia, and then to Ethiopia in early 2007.
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"Why Am I Still Here?": The 2007 Horn of Africa Renditions and the Fate of Those Still Missing
Report, October 1, 2008

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The 54-page report, “‘Why Am I Still Here?’: The Horn of Africa Renditions and the Fate of the Missing,” examines the 2007 rendition operation, during which at least 90 men, women, and children fleeing the armed conflict in Somalia were unlawfully rendered from Kenya to Somalia, and then on to Ethiopia. The report documents the treatment of several men still in Ethiopian custody, as well as the previously unreported experiences of recently released detainees, several of whom described being brutally tortured.

“The dozens of people caught up in the secret Horn of Africa renditions in 2007 have suffered in silence too long,” said Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “Those governments involved – Ethiopia, Kenya and the US – need to reverse course, renounce unlawful renditions, and account for the missing.”

In late 2006, the Bush administration backed an Ethiopian military offensive that ousted the Islamist authorities from the Somali capital Mogadishu. The fighting caused thousands to flee across the border into Kenya, including some who were suspected of terrorist links.

Kenyan authorities arrested at least 150 men, women, and children from more than 18 countries – including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada – in operations near the Somali border and held them for weeks without charge in Nairobi. In January and February 2007, the Kenyan government then rendered dozens of them – with no notice to families, lawyers or the detainees themselves – on flights to Somalia, where they were handed over to the Ethiopian military. Ethiopian forces also arrested an unknown number of people in Somalia.

Those rendered were later transported to detention centers in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and other Ethiopian towns, where they effectively disappeared. Denied access to their embassies, their families, and international humanitarian organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, the detainees were even denied phone calls home. Several have said that they were housed in solitary cells, some as small as two meters by two meters, with their hands cuffed in painful positions behind their backs and their feet bound together.

A number of prisoners were questioned by US Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in Addis Ababa. From February to May 2007, Ethiopian security officers daily transported detainees – including several pregnant women – to a villa where US officials interrogated them about suspected terrorist links. At night, the Ethiopian officers returned the detainees to their cells.

“The United States says that they were investigating past and current threats of terrorism,” Daskal said. “But the repeated interrogation of rendition victims who were being held incommunicado makes Washington complicit in the abuse.”

For the most part, detainees were sent home soon after their interrogation by US agents ended. Of those known to have been interrogated by US officials, just eight Kenyans remain. (A ninth Kenyan in Addis Ababa was rendered to Ethiopia in July/August 2007, after US interrogations reportedly stopped.) These men, who have not been subjected to any interrogation since May 2007, would likely have been repatriated long ago but for the Kenyan government’s longstanding refusal to acknowledge their claims to Kenyan citizenship or to take steps to secure their release.

Human Rights Watch recently spoke by telephone to several of the Kenyans in detention in Ethiopia, many of whom complained of physical ailments and begged for someone to help get them home. Although Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga made a campaign pledge to help repatriate these detainees, little progress has been made to date. In mid-August 2008, Kenyan authorities visited these men for the first time. The officials reportedly told the detainees they would be home within a few weeks, but more than a month and a half has now passed.

“The previous Kenyan government deported its own citizens and then left them to rot in Ethiopian jails,” Daskal said. “The new Kenyan government should reverse course, bring these men home, and show that it is not following the same shameful path as the old.”

The Ethiopian government also used the rendition program for its own purposes. For years, the Ethiopian military has been trying to quell domestic Ogadeni and Oromo insurgencies that receive support from neighboring countries, such as Ethiopia’s archrival, Eritrea. The Ethiopian intervention in Somalia and the multinational rendition program provided them a convenient means to gain custody over people whom they could interrogate for suspected insurgent links. Once these individuals were in detention, Ethiopian military interrogators and guards reportedly subjected them to brutal beatings and torture.

Detainees said Ethiopian interrogators pulled out their toenails, held loaded guns to their heads, crushed their genitals, and forced them to crawl on their elbows and knees through gravel. Several reported being beaten to the point of unconsciousness.

The Human Rights Watch report calls upon the Ethiopian government to immediately release the rendition victims still in its custody or prosecute them in a court that meets basic fair trial standards. It also urges the Kenyan government to take immediate steps to secure the repatriation of Kenyan nationals still in Ethiopian custody, and the US government to withhold counterterrorism assistance from both governments until they provide a full accounting of all the missing detainees.

The Marxist roots of Ethiopia's suffering

Geoffrey Clarfield, National Post Published: Thursday, September 25, 2008
Once again, the twin spectres of drought and starvation stalk the land of Ethiopia. UN sources suggest that four million Ethiopians now need what they call "emergency assistance," while another eight million need what is more vaguely described as "food relief."

Already, thousands of people are dying. The first to expire are the very young and the very old. In some areas of the country, people are dying of starvation and malnutrition while their goats and sheep get fat eating crops that will not be harvested until late September.

Few saw this coming. Two years ago, Ethiopian officials boasted that food surpluses would allow their country to sell corn to neighbouring Sudan. The government has been investing more than a sixth of its budget in agricultural development, far above the average in other African countries. Child mortality has been reduced by 40%, and the agricultural sector has been growing by 10% annually over the last few years.

But in this part of the world, as Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said, "one unexpected weather event can push us over the precipice." Only 1% of Ethiopia is irrigated, meaning that a lack of rainfall can produce catastrophic results for the five-out-of-six Ethiopians who eke out a living through subsistence agriculture.

Famine-relief food distribution is never a straightforward affair in an African country. Those (mostly southern) regions where voters did not support the regime in recent elections typically complain that they are cheated of food aid at the expense of more "loyal' parts of the country in the north.

Inter-regional friction is no stranger to Ethiopia. Five hundred years ago, Cushitic-speaking Muslim tribesmen from the desert plains of (what is now) southeastern Ethiopia and the borderlands of Somalia declared a jihad and attacked the Semitic-speaking Christian highland kingdoms whose emperors claimed descent from Solomon and Sheba. With the timely help of Portuguese musketeers under the leadership of the son of Vasco da Gama, the southerners were repelled. The next 400 years of Ethiopian history led to a gradual domination and conquest of these southern tribes, who were vanquished once and for all by the last Emperor of Ethiopia, Hailie Selassie.

Selassie himself was overthrown by a group of Marxist revolutionaries, who plunged Ethiopia into a brutal civil war. Then came the famous drought of 1984, which brought us We Are the World.

One of the reasons so many people starved in Ethiopia during that time was that the ruling regime would not let food from food-rich areas go to food-poor areas -- because the latter were dominated by opponents of the government. Nor would they allow people to migrate from food-poor to food-rich districts. "Starve or submit" became the watchword of this new regime.

Ethiopians, Speak Out for Your Fellow Ethiopians! No One is Free until We All are Free!

August 27, 2008
Ethnically-based killing has now erupted in the city of Hagere-Mariam, first starting in the small town of Soyama, sixty kilometers to the west of Hagere-Mariam in the Sidamo region of Ethiopia. Reports I am receiving from people on the ground indicate that the Burji, a tiny ethnic group in the region numbering less than 50,000, are being targeted by some Guji, a much larger ethnic group, numbering over two million, who also live in the area. The local administration in Hagere-Mariam is run by the ethnic Guji.
Despite the vulnerability of the Burji, many are asking questions about the Meles government’s possible role in condoning the violence as they have done little to intervene in the face of increasing tensions and threats. According to the reports from witnesses in the area, some Guji are threatening to murder any Burji they find, even warning those from other ethnic groups to place signs or symbols designating them to be of “non-Burji ethnicity” in front of their homes so that they will not be mistaken for a Burji and be killed. Does this remind you of Rwanda?
These two ethnic groups have fought in the past, since the time of Haile Selassie, but reportedly, the Guji are being unfairly favored and empowered by the Meles government who have given them administrative authority in Hagere-Mariam, the main commercial center in the region. As part of this preferential treatment, it is alleged that the Guji have been able to take the offensive against the Burji with impunity. Many also suspect that the TPLF government has equipped the Guji with the sophisticated weapons they are using against the Burji. For instance, on August 25, 2008, a grenade was thrown on a house in Hagere-Mariam by the Guji. There were about 30 people in the building, including women and children who took refuge there for fear of violence. The bomb exploded on the roof of the building and did not penetrate, thereby sparing the lives of those victims!
According to some Burji, the conflict has its roots in the Guji’s desire to claim the town of Soyama, known for its fertile land, as their capital. Currently, the town’s inhabitants are almost exclusively Burji and they have been “told” to leave Soyama for the small town of their same name—Burji.
The attacks allegedly began at 6:00 AM on August 10, 2008 when 60 truckloads of well-armed Guji, with alledgedly sophisticated weapons, attacked the Burji of Soyama. However, apparently the Burji had received advance word of the imminent attack and despite their fewer numbers and weapons, were prepared and successfully held them off. During the fighting, it was reported that three Burji and five Guji were killed. When these Guji attackers returned to the very ethnically-mixed city of Hagere-Mariam, home to 200,000 people, they began their death-threats towards Burji living in the city. It is now clear to those on the ground that this campaign of ethnic cleansing is being conducted with the tacit support of the local administrators and security officials in Hagere-Mariam!
After the Burji appealed to the local government for help, instead of the government taking a powerful approach, controlling or disarming the perpetrators and becoming a fair and impartial referee between the two groups, they have essentially aligned with the Guji.
They have failed to hold the perpetrators accountable and have instead “escorted’ Burji men, women and children from their homes, land, property, cattle and crops as they hurriedly leave everything behind to run for their lives. As they seek safety, they are sure to encounter the overwhelming costs of being internally displaced refugees— deprivation, disease, hardship and some deaths because of these things.
Fortunately, due to the efforts of some, the news got out to the German Ethiopian radio station who reported on the conflict along with condemning the government for its lack of constructive intervention. The situation calmed down for a short while, but the Burji’s fears of further violence continue to drive them from their homes.
This past Friday, Burji elders went to Addis Ababa to hand-deliver a letter, a copy of which we have in our possession, to Meles describing the seriousness of the situation and asking for immediate intervention. They were road-blocked. Officials from the Prime Minister’s office reportedly told them that hand-delivered letters would not be accepted due to security concerns. Instead, they were instructed to mail the letter which they did, but they received no response.
The Burji elders then went to the office of the Ethiopian Minister of Justice and hand-delivered the letter there indicating that they had not heard any response from the Prime Minster’s office. The letter was read by some of the Minister’s staff who responded by referring them back to the office of the Prime Minister. After again going to the Prime Minister’s office, they were told that their office staff would look into it. They have not heard anything since.
In the meantime, people in Hagere-Mariam report there are simmering tensions with many fearing that the issue could explode at any moment. Some Guji continue to tell non-Burji to put up identifying symbols in front of their homes to avoid imminent violence, yet the government’s lack of response is fueling the fire.
This is not the first time some of the Guji have attacked another ethnic group in the region with the appearance of Woyane support and Woyane immunity. In 2006, similar attacks were perpetrated by some of the Guji against the Borena.
Ken Silverstein of the Harper online magazine, reports about this situation in his August 2, 2006 article named, “Ethiopian Generals and Somali Warlords.” In it he gives reasons to believe that the Meles government is backing Guji attacks against the Borena. He states:
There's also trouble in Southern Oromiya Province, where violence broke out this spring between the Guji and Borena clans. When the Ethiopian government, keen to secure access to the potential income stream from a gold mine in the Borena Zone, put the mine under the control of the Guji, a group it has historically favored in the region, fighting ensued, and the government aided the Guji. Sources in the region said that the violence continues and that the province is now in the throes of a major humanitarian crisis. More than 100,000 people are reported to have fled their homes.
One Ethiopian reported to me about an article documenting the history of the TPLF government’s failure to act on previous aggressive actions by some Guji towards other small ethnic groups in the area where some, not all, Guji took control of towns after driving out some of these smaller groups—such as the Gedeo, the Gabra, the Borena and the Amaro—from their homes.
He states, “Unfortunately, as the article points out, for the past misdeeds, particularly with the Gedeo situation as you can read, they plundered unimpeded and the Federal government took no action to correct the injustice that was dealt to Gedeo people.”
He goes on to conclude that unless these aggressive actions of EPDRF- favored groups against more vulnerable groups are “brought to light and publicized to the whole world, thereby pressuring the Federal government to take decisive action, we are at the precipice of an impending blood bath.”
This has been the pattern of the EPDRF government—to divide groups based on ethnic lines, favoring one over the other and sometimes, like in the case this time, where they have sided with the majority group. This is who they are. The divide and conquer, apartheid-style policies, are the way the TPLF have been known to operate since they came to power in 1991.
It is like what happened between the Anuak and other ethnic groups in the Gambella area. It is also similar to what happened between Muslims and Christians a year ago in the Jimma area when TPLF sympathizers attacked either the Christians or the Muslims in the name of the other in order to foment conflict and to set the rationale for the invasion of Somalia. Recently, it happened between some Oromo and some from the Gumuz ethnic group. Many other examples exist and the reader may know of others less well-known.
We need to persuade groups like the Guji that they are being used and that the same snake that is coaxing them to believe they can get away with such aggression is the same snake that will turn around and strike them when they least expect it. They cannot flourish in such an Ethiopia. Those of us who can see through this manipulative and deadly game, must speak out to tell Ethiopians what is going on so they are not tempted to become a survival tool for the TPLF. It is now time for every Ethiopian to speak out against the sabotage of our own society.
No one group will be free until we are all free. All Ethiopians must speak for each other, not only for our own ethnic group but for our people everywhere. When their human rights are violated, ours are violated. When something is going on in your local areas, it is up to those in the area to speak up. If you are unable to speak out within Ethiopia, call those in the Diaspora with your carefully documented information, just like the people who called me at 4:00 AM direct from Hagere-Mariam in Ethiopia. Ethiopians must become aware that we will all benefit from establishing a strong multi-ethnic, Pan-Ethiopian institution that can speak for everyone.
I call on any Ethiopians in a position to stop this cycle of murder, suffering and misery to confront the precursors to those crimes—hatred, greed, the desire for revenge and the dehumanization of other Ethiopians. In order to vaccinate a nation against the TPLF virus of destruction which is spread from person to person, ethnic group to ethnic group and nation to nation, we must step out of this life-consuming cycle into a society known to revere life and liberty.
Woyane know how to play “favorites” with people in various ethnic groups, getting them to do their dirty deeds against fellow Ethiopians. It may seem like you can get away with it, but no one can commit such crimes without paying the penalty in their souls. Our children, families, communities and our society may suffer and judge us for our wrongful actions at this critical time in our history or if we rise up with new passion for what is right, we will most certainly leave a legacy of blessing to our descendents.
This does not mean that there are not numerous reasons for legitimate complaints against the others, but murder, destruction and robbery will never bring peace or resolution to the problems between people so that we can move on.
Right now, the Burji are feeling very alone as they face this crisis—the same as many other groups that when targeted with violence, find no protection from their own government. Let us come together in solidarity to speak out for them. We need the concerted effort of many to make a difference and that effort should be well-organized in anticipation of such crises as the Burji are now facing.
I have personally contacted some human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch and will send this press release out to the over 4000 people on my email list, but this is not enough.
In order to exert the most power and influence, we need a strong Pan-Ethiopian institution that can speak out against such violence and injustice towards any Ethiopians in our multi-ethnic society and one that also promotes tolerance between diverse ethnic and religious groups. EHRCO and others within Ethiopia have been attempting to do this despite the repression of such messages and message-givers in Ethiopia; however, after the killing of the protestors of the 2005 failed election, Ethiopians reacted by rallying throughout the world. Unfortunately, since that time, many Ethiopian groups have lost their voice and moral and political will to stand up in behalf of others.
For our voice to resound through the international community, it is time that the Ethiopians in the Diaspora rise up together in a planful and organized effort. The meeting of representatives from civic organizations that will take place this weekend in Washington D.C. is an effort to organize such an institution. We hope many will join this Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia!
May God help us to bring justice and peace to our beloved country.

____________________________________________________________

If there is a NGO or group interested in further pursuing this, please contact us for more information.

Mr. Obang Metho,
Director of International Advocacy
Anuak Justice Council
E-mail: Obang@anuakjustice.org

CIVICUS: Criminalizing Ethiopia’s civil society

21 August 2008 – Under a draft law, Ethiopia could see severe restrictions on civil society and even closures of organisations working on contentious issues, such as human rights and governance, cautions CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation in a recent analysis.
“We appeal to the government to stop the introduction of the bill in its current form. If enacted, many organisations will be forced to choose between stopping their work on vital issues or facing closure and possible imprisonment,” said Ingrid Srinath, CIVICUS Secretary General.
The government has released three consecutive drafts of the Charities and Societies Proclamation over the last few months. While the recent draft, due to be introduced to Parliament in October, makes some improvement on the last two, it retains many draconian provisions.
The government has stated that the intention of the bill is to increase civil society organisations’ (CSOs) transparency and accountability to stakeholders, but local and international groups have expressed concern that it will instead serve to silence dissent.
CIVICUS’ report lists a number of concerns regarding the law, including:

· The Proclamation prevents CSOs that receive more than 10% of their income from foreign sources from working on issues of public importance, including human rights, gender and religious equality, children’s rights, the rights of the disabled, conflict resolution and judicial reform. Given the lack of domestic fundraising opportunities, most organisations rely on funds from abroad.

· The Proclamation permits excessive government interference in the functioning of CSOs, through the power to carry out random investigations at will. Among other requirements, CSOs must provide the government with seven days notice of any general meeting.

· By creating a web of exhaustive reporting procedures, the Proclamation gives the government a convenient way to intimidate CSOs. Mandatory annual reporting, requirements to keep meticulous financial records as well as re-registration every three years, leaves ample room for possible procedural delays and intimidation by the authorities.

· Once a CSO is denied registration, or fails to apply, the organisation is then declared unlawful. If members and supporters continue their involvement with the CSO, they risk severe punishments, including three to fifteen years in prison. According to international standards, the decision to officially register should be voluntary not imposed by the government. Such harsh repercussions for breaching the provisions of the law could deter the free participation of individuals in civil society activities.

· CSOs have limited rights to appeal against decisions taken under the Proclamation. For example, if a CSO is denied registration, it will not be able to ask for a judicial review of the facts on which the government has based its assessment. Aside from amounting to a denial of justice, it could also allow authorities to arbitrarily silence independent groups and individuals.
If the current draft of the Proclamation is passed, the already narrow space for civil society in Ethiopia could be even further restricted. In recent years, political opposition, media and civil society activists have been systematically harassed and even imprisoned because of their criticism of the government.
“The government must listen to the concerns of the country’s civil society. Their activities contribute immensely to the people of Ethiopia. But, sadly, rather than promote this vital work, this bill threatens to criminalize it,” says Srinath.
The Proclamation, if permitted to pass, would violate Ethiopia’s commitments to international and regional human rights agreements, as well as its own constitution. Article 31 of the Constitution specifically guarantees, “Every person has the right to freedom of association for any cause or purpose”.
An analysis of the Proclamation is available at: http://www.civicus.org/csw_files/AnalysisEthiopiaCharitiesProc140808.pdf

Mr. Obang Metho Speaks at St. Mark's Anglican Church, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

August 20, 2008
My Journey of Faith
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“I will read from Psalm 2 in the Bible—the passage that changed my life:

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand against the LORD and against his Anointed One. “Let us break their chains, they say, “and throw off their fetters.”

The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill. I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

=============================
Can anyone think they can get away with evil without being accountable? Do the powerful really think they can commit crimes against the weak and overpower the rule of law set in place not by man, but by God—the creator of the entire universe, including them?

This scripture warns all, but especially the most powerful in the world, that God is in charge—human beings are not—no matter how hard they try to “break the chains” of God’s law and justice, He will prevail and we best submit to His authority. This will be the topic of my talk today as it was the scripture that unexpectedly thrust me into the work of human rights as a “calling” rather than as a job.

I want to thank Pastor Karen Sandell, this congregation and my good friend, Clay and his wife Cheryl for inviting me to speak today. It is an honor and a privilege to be here. I am not a pastor, like my older brother, but yet it is not the first time I have been asked to speak in a church.

I could never have imagined it before a life-changing event in December of 2003 threw my quiet life in Saskatoon into a journey with deep valleys, deserts and mountains that I could never have anticipated. As I stand before you today, I am witness to the truth that God dramatically changes lives, like my own, when we least expect it!

I was asked to talk about my human rights work
Today, I was asked to talk about my human rights work, something that is closely connected, nurtured and sustained by my faith in Jesus Christ. I did not know that this work was part of God’s plan and purpose for me, but now as I look back, I see that God’s hand of preparation began many years ago when I was a young child in Africa. I am from Gambella, Ethiopia, from a tiny, marginalized ethnic group called Anuak. Gambella is in the southwestern region of Ethiopia and Anuakland extends over the border into southern Sudan.

I was nearly 18 years of age when I migrated to Canada where I attended high school after which I then went on to attend the University of Saskatchewan. Saskatoon is my home, even though I will always have one foot in Africa for I have never forgotten where I have come from. Much of Africa is a poor place with no access to clean water, education, health care and other opportunities we enjoy here in Canada. Much of the reason I wanted to come here was for something that is desired by most every African—an education.

I had a very happy childhood. We were in such a remote area, that we almost exclusively, were only around other Anuak. I never remember witnessing or experiencing discrimination or being told that I was less than someone else based on superficial distinctions. It was only at an older age when I was exposed to discrimination against darker-skinned people, like myself, in Sudan and in other parts of Ethiopia. However, it had little effect on my identity because I already had a strong foundation. I can thank my parents, my grandmother, my community and the teachings of my ethnic group who viewed everyone as equal.

The word “Nyuak” means sharing and the word “Anuak” means the people who share together, eat together and laugh together. This was lived out in our daily life. No one was supposed to go hungry or be ashamed for not having enough food to eat so the food would be in one container and all were welcome to eat. The women would sit together and the men would do the same.

We kids could eat at anyone’s home. During suppertime, this meant that we would eat a little bit at different homes, so we always carried our spoons with us. Many relatives lived close by—our cousins, aunts, grandmas and grandpas—all enriching our lives in different ways. When outsiders came, they were heartily welcomed. It was our culture and it was a treasure in my life to be raised in this way.

The Anuak are considered an endangered people group
Just a short aside—although the Anuak are considered an endangered people group, different Anuak families have migrated within Africa and still maintain the same language and similar cultural values.

These families are called the Lou people (also spelled Lwo/Luo). The Lou are a family of linguistically affiliated ethnic groups who live in an area that stretches from the Gambella region in south western Ethiopia, the southern Sudan, through northern Uganda and eastern Congo (DRC), into western Kenya, and ending in the upper tip of Tanzania. People who speak Luo languages include the Shilluk, Anuak, Acholi, Lango, Palwo, Alur, Padhola, Joluo (Kenyan Luo), Bor, and Kumam. Many of them have names that start with O—like Obang, Odenga, Omot, Obama, Oboya, Ochan, Okello, Ojulu and so forth.

Because of my protected background, when I grew up and went to the larger cities, I discovered a different world than the village of sharing. I found the world of the individual—of “me alone.” I also found the world of money, guns, power, greed, hatred and tribalism. I don’t mean we had no conflicts in our village, but our elders would help deal with them peacefully. They would tell us that God created us and that we have a purpose. We were to share what we had because God shared it with each of us and because we did not get on our own.
However, when I finally got to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, I saw that there were all sorts of distinctions between people that affected how one was treated, like dark-skinned vs light-skinned, having money vs not having money, having an education vs not having an education, having power vs not having power, holding a gun vs not holding a gun—all creating a new class structure that collided with my world as I had known it.

I saw people with money buying good things to eat, but not sharing it with anyone else. I could smell the good food, but never got to taste it. This is when I first heard about slavery, how even Africans, Westerners and Arabs in past years would sell other people as commodities rather than considering them human beings. It was in response to my disillusionment with this new and bigger world that caused me to start asking why God allowed these things to happen to people and I started to doubt God.

I already had seen the agony and suffering of the Sudanese refugees who came through Anuakland in huge numbers. I saw the displacement of many thousands of people into the Gambella area during the Ethiopian drought of 1984 and the death it brought with it. I witnessed the guns being used for power and intimidation. I saw the evil actions of men and the lack of action by others. It began my period of questioning.
please press the link for all statement.

TIRUNESH DIBABA WINS OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL

Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba produced her trademark electric last lap to win the women’s 10,000 metres gold medal at the Olympics on Friday.
Dibaba set a new Olympic record time of 29 minutes 54.66 seconds in perfect conditions at a packed National Stadium, setting herself well on the way for a 5000 and 10,000m double in Beijing.
The reigning double world 10,000m champion had been happy to follow the race leaders for all but one of the 25 laps.
But as soon as the bell for the final lap sounded, Dibaba opened up and pulled away with ease from silver medalist Elvan Abeylegesse, the Ethiopian-born runner representing Turkey.
American Shalane Flanagan won a shock bronze medal in 30:22.22.
Kenyan-born Dutchwoman Lornah Kiplagat led through the first 17 laps, with Kenyan duo Lucy Wangui and Linet Chepkwemoi Masai, Ethiopian Mestawet Tufa, Abeylegesse and Dibaba happy to sit on her shoulder.
As the main pack fell to seven with eight laps to go, Abeylegesse kicked past Kiplagat and upped the speed.

Her move had the desired effect as runners drastically fell off the pace, and with six laps to go, the race became a straight duel between Abeylegesse and Dibaba.
As the bell went, Dibaba stretched her legs and by 100 metres had built up a comfortable lead on her former compatriot.

Somali soldiers kill 20 Ethiopians

Around 20 Ethiopian soldiers have been killed by their fellow servicemen in the Somali military in the southern district of El Warego.

The region was a scene of heavy fighting between Ethiopian soldiers and Somali troops, Press TV correspondent reported.

The El Warego district is near the town of EL Merka, 100km south of the capital Mogadishu.

The soldiers had just entered Somalia from Ethiopia, where they had been receiving training. Ethiopia, backed by the US, sent troops to the country in an attempt to support the Somali transitional government.

The Ethiopians have been held responsible for the deaths of countless Somali civilians.

Five soldiers were also found dead in the Boondheere district north of Mogadishu, witnesses said.

Reportedly a Somali officer has resigned his post, accusing the government of contributing to more killings and plundering of the country.

Live up to the Spirit & Theme of the Occasion!!!
(One Dream implies Human Rights)

The world's most prestigious sporting event, once again, has began; in Beijing this time. The sporting activities at the 29th Olympiad will obviously continue to over shadow all other world events in the coming two weeks. The Chinese have long dreamt about hosting the Olympics as a show off to the world that they have all the power to emerge dominant in every sphere of influence. They continue to shrug off all charges against their heavy handed handling of dissidents and over all human rights records.
As the most populace country in the world, China has continued to expand its hegemony on third world countries for several reasons. China needs natural resources for its developing industries and hence creating such an influence in most African countries has become the corner stone of their Foreign policy since the 1980s. All diplomatic and economic supports Chinese have been rendering thus far have paid off as they are enjoying the fruits of unchallenged control over most African countries. Their control over mining, agriculture and communication industries have grown in every African country. Over the course of time, they have earned the respect of individuals like Meles Zenawi who is most revered disciple of their brutal ideology. He has been heard emulating the Chinese development path whilst preaching democracy; the EPRDF style
The Chinese sphere of influence has widened in securing huge multi million government contracts without bidding they know they can play the game along the line to the top leader. Their contractual dealings with the Ethiopian government in major sectors like construction, mining and communication are obvious proofs that Chinese are favored over all other companies.
In reciprocity, the government of Ethiopia is enjoying to reap the fruits of its open door policy to the Chinese. It has earned the expertise on how to quash oppositions. The technology to suppress freedom of expression like blocking popular internet sites, monitoring electronic mails and tapping phones were supplied and implemented by the Chinese as a favor for their close ties. How about jamming radio frequencies!! Again, the Chinese technology has been instrumental in blocking alternative media outlets which have earned the respect of millions of listeners for airing nothing but the truth. These are just a few examples to cite. Their influence is felt in every sector of the government apparatus run by cadre bureaucrats who are beneficiaries of the corrupt system.
We take this occasion to express our condemnation of the Chinese government for supporting Meles Zenawi's government brutal action in suppressing the will of the people. We call upon the leaders of the Chinese government to immediately cease their activities in supplying the regime with technologies of terror. The desire of our people in realizing its one dream (establishing a democratic society) must be respected in the true spirit of the sporting event the whole world is currently watching
The true Olympic spirit dictates that peace and love are the cornerstones of mankind. With that spirit rekindled once again, the Beijing 2008 sporting event has embraced the theme of ’One world and one dream”. We wish every success to all our athletes whose one dream is not limited to the medals they earn by excelling over their competitors, but also the institution of "unity and democracy" for the people of Ethiopia they represent. We all wish that our" democracy and Unity” flag will be waved at the 30th Olympiad in London. Free and equal participation of all qualifying athletes will be the theme of our country's sporting events. We will continue to cheer you up from where ever we Ethiopians live. You are all our hopes and your long years of hard work will guarantee your dreams come true.
Therefore, we at "Kinijit for Human Rights and Democracy Canada", in the spirit of the Olympics, call upon Canadian athletes and government officials to take this occasion to show their solidarity to the people of Ethiopia in their struggle for freedom, democracy and justice. We wish our Canadian and Ethiopian athletes who are taking part in the events; all the best in their endeavours, at the same time condemning China; for its human rights violations and its support for African breed of dictators like Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia.
August 11, 2008

Kinijit for Human Rights and Democracy, Toronto

Bashir Makhtal, might soon face execution???????

Canadian Bashir Makhtal, might soon face execution in Ethiopia

Bashir Maktal, A Canadian Jailed Overseas Documentary: Into the Darkness A Canadian citizen, languishing in a foreign prison without being charged with a crime or appearing in a courtroom -- and never seeing a lawyer, or for that matter, a Canadian consular official. This was the experience of Bashir Maktal, who has been held in Ethiopia for more than 16 months. And no one in Ottawa or the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa wants to talk about his case. The Current producer John Chipman investigated Bashir Maktal's story and joined us to talk about it.

Living in Unreality: The Disconnected World of Ethiopians

July 22, 2008
I was recently in Washington D.C. to speak at the Ethiopian Border Commission Meeting as well as to
attend the Ethiopian Sport Federation sponsored soccer games, political meetings and other Ethiopian
events, all packed into one week.
My days were filled with intense political meetings and serious discussions regarding the abysmal
condition of Ethiopia and what to do about it, but when I attended the soccer games at the stadium and the
Union Station’s Nightclub event for young Ethiopians it was as if I had entered a totally different world
from the first.
Ever since, I have been thinking about the disconnections
between these worlds. As I did, I was struck with the
impression that we might discover some clues to finding a
way out of our current mess by considering how to bridge
the gap between these and other disconnected realities held
by Ethiopians. My week in Washington D.C. proved to be
filled with opportunities to experience Ethiopian life from
various different perspectives. I will cover three groups of
events in three articles or parts: 1) the stadium soccer games,
2) the youth event at Union Station, and 3) the political
events.
Ethiopian Sport Federation’s Silver Anniversary
This year’s soccer games, sponsored by the Ethiopian Sport Federation, were held in Washington D.C.
from June 29 to July 5. It marked the organization’s Silver Jubilee Anniversary of its hosting of these
soccer games for Ethiopians. Since the events’ inception twenty-five years ago, Ethiopians from all over
the world have been coming together once a year, meeting as one people in some major city in North
America. It is a time Ethiopians get together, not only for the sporting events, but for family reunions,
cultural events and political events.
As tens of thousands of Ethiopians converged on Washington D.C. for this year’s events, Ethiopian flags,
music, food, colors and sports drew young and old, men and women and Ethiopians originating from
most every region of Ethiopia. These Ethiopians now live in many different cities and countries
throughout the world, but they have not forgotten their Ethiopian roots. No other event has drawn more
Ethiopians in the Diaspora to celebrate the beauty, diversity and joy of their cultural heritage than this one
week—a week that is super-charged with “everything Ethiopian.”
The Building Blocks for a New Ethiopia...........press the link above for full article.

Mr. Obang Metho Addresses Ethiopians in Washington DC

Why Should All Ethiopians See the Border Issue as a Collective Threat to Our Existence as a Nation and People?

July 2, 2008

Hello! I am thrilled and honored to be here to speak to my fellow Ethiopians. First of all I would like to applaud the Ethiopia-Sudan Border Affairs Committee for their hard work, commitment and vision in convening us here today to address this matter of most urgent importance—the next chapter in the destruction of Ethiopia—now happening on our western border with Sudan.

I thank this committee for inviting me to speak. It is a real privilege and I am looking forward to working further with all Ethiopians of diverse political, religious, ethnic, regional and cultural backgrounds in order to find new and workable solutions to the crises we are now facing as Ethiopians. This is everybody’s issue. It is not just about one group.

As most of you know, I do not belong to any political group and that when I speak, I am free to speak honestly about human rights as well as what I see is going wrong in Ethiopia without having to claim or favor one group over another. When I speak of human rights, I am speaking about the human rights of every person—of all Ethiopians.

When I speak of justice, it is not limited to the Anuak people just because I am an Anuak. Instead, I speak about all the people of Ethiopia because I firmly believe that unless justice comes to all, no one will have long-lasting justice. I am not even speaking only for the rights of Ethiopians, but I am speaking for the rights of others in the Horn, others in Africa and others in our world.

The human rights of every human being is fundamental to their survival. The same applies to the people of Ethiopia and how this applies to the crisis at our border is the focus of my talk today because failure to resolve this issue will only lead to other issues until our country is destroyed.

If any of you have children, perhaps you have seen the toy where the child is supposed to quickly hammer the head of whichever animal head pops up, but as soon as one head is hit, another one pops up somewhere. Unfortunately, this reminds me too closely of Ethiopia.

Problems are popping up all over. As soon as one is discovered, another one rears its ugly head. We must pay attention well or we will lose the game Meles loves to play—the game of “surprise, deceive, divide and conquer.”

The purpose of my talk today will be to call Ethiopians together to refuse to play by Meles’ imposed rules anymore. One of the reasons he is playing this game is because we leave ourselves open to be manipulated because of our greed for short-lived pleasures and self-interest instead of protecting the country and its people.

As I address this topic, I will attempt to answer four questions:
1) Why should all Ethiopians take this border issue seriously as a threat to their future?
2) What is the background of this border issue?
3) Which account of what is happening should we believe—that of the Ethiopian people on the ground or the version given by Meles—and why?
4) What are the solutions? ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Press the above link for full story

ETHIOPIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

The Human Rights Situation in Ethiopia
30th Regular Report
Introduction
June, 20, 2008

The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) in this 30th 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 March 2008, and are compiled based on complaints received from victims, evidence gathered through on site investigations and testimonies of eyewitnesses.
PRESS THE LINK ABOVE FOR DETAILS.

Female opposition leader is Ethiopia's first, BIRTUKAN MIDEKSSA

Ethiopia's opposition survivors of the post-election government crackdown in 2005 have once again re-grouped in Addis Ababa, and after several ups and downs, formed their party: "Unity for democracy and Justice party (UDJP)," or known by its short Amharic name "Andinet," meaning "Unity."

Elected to lead the new party is Bertukan Mideksa, a 34-year-old former judge who was - while in prison for nearly two years - hailed by the pro-democracy community as the "Aung San Suu Kyi of Ethiopia."

In an Internet radio interview with the Ethiopian Diaspora, Ms. Bertukan on Teusday hailed the formation of the new party as a "political breakthrough."
Her former party, then Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP), would have been the legitimate government in Ethiopia today had it not been for the war Mr. Zenawi conducted in the name of a ‘state of emergency’ against the Ethiopian people who overwhelmingly voted for the opposition parties: CUDP and UEDF.

In the subsequent nationwide terror campaigns, hundreds were killed, thousands wounded, and over 100,000 interned at concentration camps where many died of hunger, torture, and disease.
Heavy-weight political leaders of CUDP, including former CUD chairman Hailu Shawel, current Ginbot 7 opposition leader Dr. Berhanu Nega, current Andenet leaders Engineer Gizachew Shiferaw, Dr Hailu Araia, Dr. Yacob Hailemariam, Prof. Mesfin Wolde-Mariam and many more others, were thrown into jail under fabricated charges of “attempts to overthrow a constitutional oder.”

In the nationwide terror campaign that stood out on the African continent for its brutality, and left Ethiopians wailing for help, the West gave scant attention, though Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, among others, were frequently alerting the international community of the murder spree Zenawi was carrying out with impunity.

If there were exceptions to the eerie silence of the Western democracies, it was members of the US Congress in the likes of The Honorable Donald Payne and the Honorable Chris Smith, the latter known for making a huge and honest remark: “No regime that terrorizes its own citizens can be a reliable ally in the war on terror."
Relentless protests by Ethiopians around the world, and the support among some EU members and the US Congress secured the release from prison of CUDP leaders last year.
The survivors of one of Ethiopia's darkest moments have once again tried to re-build their once robust opposition party from scratch, and Bertukan pins her hopes on the commitment of the change-seeking Ethiopian people, particularly the Ethiopian youth.

Last week Ethiopia Zare, a newly-launched website fast gaining the trust of its readers, reported that the founding Andenet party was brimming with a class of young educated delegates.

In a country where the ruling party is above the law, and knows no mercy at the slightest challenge to its rule now close to 20 years, one must be gutsy to join hands with the likes of the charismatic Bertukan Mideksa.

Though Bertukan's fledgling party is most likely to enjoy the crucial support of the people at home and the Ethiopian Diaspora, many skeptics say it is a matter of time before Zenawi – long resented as a mercenary than a tyrant – axes his rivals to death.

"We must stop pretending that Ethiopia is run by a respectable government,” once said Ana Gomes, member of European Parliament, “When in fact it has a murderous and oppressive regime."

Collective Punishment

IN JUNE 2007 New York Times Video Report on ONLF - Ogaden Somali Fighters



War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia’s Somali Region

ONE YEAR LATER JUNE 2008 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REPORT
Summary
Tens of thousands of ethnic Somali civilians living in eastern Ethiopia’s Somali
Regional State are experiencing serious abuses and a looming humanitarian crisis in
the context of a little-known conflict between the Ethiopian government and an
Ethiopian Somali rebel movement. The situation is critical. Since mid-2007,
thousands of people have fled, seeking refuge in neighboring Somalia and Kenya
from widespread Ethiopian military attacks on civilians and villages that amount to
war crimes and crimes against humanity.
For those who remain in the war-affected area, continuing abuses by both rebels and
Ethiopian troops pose a direct threat to their survival and create a pervasive culture
of fear. The Ethiopian military campaign of forced relocations and destruction of
villages reduced in early 2008 compared to its peak in mid-2007, but other abuses—
including arbitrary detentions, torture, and mistreatment in detention—are
continuing. These are combining with severe restrictions on movement and
commercial trade, minimal access to independent relief assistance, a worsening
drought, and rising food prices to create a highly vulnerable population at risk of
humanitarian disaster.
Although the conflict has been simmering for years with intermittent allegations of
abuses, it took on dramatic new momentum after the Ogaden National Liberation
Front (ONLF) attacked a Chinese-run oil installation in Somali Region in April 2007,
killing more than 70 Chinese and Ethiopian civilians. The Ethiopian People’s
Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government, led by Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi, responded by launching a brutal counter-insurgency campaign in the five
zones of Somali Region primarily affected by the conflict: Fiiq, Korahe, Gode,
Wardheer, and Dhagahbur. In these zones the Ethiopian National Defense Forces
(ENDF) have deliberately and repeatedly attacked civilian populations in an effort to
root out the insurgency.
Ethiopian troops have forcibly displaced entire rural communities, ordering villagers
to leave their homes within a few days or witness their houses being burnt down and
Collective Punishment 4
their possessions destroyed—and risk death. Over the past year, Human Rights
Watch has documented the execution of more than 150 individuals, many of them in
demonstration killings, with Ethiopian soldiers singling out relatives of suspected
ONLF members, or making apparently arbitrary judgments that individuals
complaining to soldiers or resisting their orders are ONLF supporters. These
executions have sometimes involved strangulation, after which their bodies are left
lying in the open as a warning, for villagers to bury. The information confirmed by
Human Rights Watch is only a glimpse of what is taking place—real figures are likely
to be higher.
Mass detentions without any judicial oversight are routine. Hundreds—and possibly
thousands—of individuals have been arrested and held in military barracks,
sometimes multiple times, where they have been tortured, raped, and assaulted.
Confiscation of livestock (the main asset among the largely pastoralist population),
restrictions on access to water, food, and other essential commodities, and
obstruction of commercial traffic and humanitarian assistance have been used as
weapons in an economic war aimed at cutting off ONLF supplies and collectively
punishing communities that are suspected of supporting the rebels.
To read the whole report please follow the above link

Dr. Berhanu's Visit in Toronto

THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO MADE Dr. BERHANU'S VISIT SUCCESSFUL; TOGETHER WE DID A FANTASTIC JOB. BRAVO KINIJIT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY.

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We have a wonderful Time (Dinner with Berhanu Nega)

Dr. Berhanu Nega Will be a guest speaker at a Town Hall Meeting In Toronto.April 19,2008 @ 2pm 40 donlands Ave. You are all invited

Ethiopia: Repression Sets Stage for Non-Competitive Elections

"It is too late to salvage these elections, which will simply be a rubber stamp on the EPRDF’s near-monopoly on power at the local level. Still, officials must at least allow the voters to decide how and whether to cast their ballots without intimidation. "
Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch


Opposition Candidates, Voters Silenced Ahead of Local Polls

(New York, April 11, 2008) – The Ethiopian government’s repression of registered opposition parties and ordinary voters has largely prevented political competition ahead of local elections that begin on April 13, Human Rights Watch said today. These widespread acts of violence, arbitrary detention and intimidation mirror long-term patterns of abuse designed to suppress political dissent in Ethiopia.
" It is too late to salvage these elections, which will simply be a rubber stamp on the EPRDF’s near-monopoly on power at the local level. Still, officials must at least allow the voters to decide how and whether to cast their ballots without intimidation. "

“It is too late to salvage these elections, which will simply be a rubber stamp on the EPRDF’s near-monopoly on power at the local level,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Still, officials must at least allow the voters to decide how and whether to cast their ballots without intimidation.”

Human Rights Watch carried out two weeks of field research during the run-up to the polls and documented systemic patterns of repression and abuse that have rendered the elections meaningless in many areas. That research focused primarily on Oromia, Ethiopia’s most populous region and one long troubled by heavy-handed government repression.

The nationwide elections for the kebele (village or neighborhood councils), and wereda (districts made up of several kebeles administrations), are crucially important. It is local officials who are responsible for much of the day-to-day repression that characterizes governance in Ethiopia. Many local officials in Oromia have made a routine practice of justifying their abuses by accusing law-abiding government critics of belonging to the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), which is waging a low-level insurrection against the government.

Candidates allied with the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) will run unopposed in the vast majority of constituencies across Ethiopia. On April 10, one of Ethiopia’s two major opposition coalitions, the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), pulled out of the process altogether. UEDF officials complained that intimidation and procedural irregularities limited registration to only 6,000 of the 20,000 candidates they attempted to put forward for various seats. By contrast, state-controlled media reports that the EPRDF will field more than 4 million candidates across the country.

Violence, Arbitrary Detention, and Intimidation

Local ruling party officials have systematically targeted opposition candidates for violence, intimidation, and other human rights abuses since the registration period began three months ago. Particularly in areas with established opposition support, local officials have arbitrarily detained opposition candidates, searched their property without warrant, and in some cases physically assaulted them.

Credible reports collected by Human Rights Watch indicate a pattern of cooperation among officials across all three tiers of local government – zone, wereda, and kebele administrations – in carrying out these abuses. Victims interviewed by Human Rights Watch across different locations in Oromia recounted a consistent narrative. Some were arbitrarily detained and then interrogated or threatened by wereda administration officials in the presence of zonal officials. Others were arbitrarily detained by wereda police and then transferred to the custody to zonal security officials or federal soldiers.

One 31-year-old school teacher in western Oromia was detained by police and then interrogated by wereda and zonal security officials when he sought to register as an opposition candidate. “I was afraid,” he told Human Rights Watch. “They accused me of being on OLF member and said I would be shot... They put a gun in my mouth, and then made me swear that I wouldn’t go back to the opposition.” He was released nine days later, after the deadline for candidate registration had passed. Human Rights Watch interviewed other OPC candidates who had also been detained after trying to register in other constituencies.

Prospective voters who might support the opposition have been similarly targeted by the government. Secondary school students in Oromia’s Cheliya wereda, many of whom are of voting age, reported to Human Rights Watch that they have been compelled to provide a letter from representatives of their gott/garee – unofficial groupings of households into cells that are used to monitor political speech and intimidate perceived government critics – attesting that they did not belong to any opposition party. Local officials said that unless they produced those letters, they would not be allowed to register to vote. One civil servant in Gedo town was warned by a superior that he would lose his job if he supported the opposition.

“The same local level officials who are directly responsible for much of the day-to-day political repression that occurs in Ethiopia have their jobs at stake in these elections,” Gagnon said. “As such, their efforts to intimidate ordinary people into returning them to office are especially intense.”

Local authorities have also prevented the registration of opposition candidates in many constituencies where the opposition’s success in 2005 parliamentary polls appeared to give them a chance at winning. In Fincha in western Oromia, for example, the opposition Oromo People’s Congress (OPC) made three attempts to register a candidate for an open parliamentary seat. The seat had been vacated by an OPC candidate who won 81 percent of the vote in 2005 but was later forced into exile after local authorities accused him of being an OLF supporter. The OPC tried to replace him on the ballot with three different candidates but each was prevented from registering. All three candidates were physically threatened by members of the wereda administration and police and one was detained for more than a week when he tried to register.

The opposition Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) has encountered similar problems in western Oromia, with 10 of its 14 candidates resigning in response to pressure from local officials. In February, police in Dembi Dollo arrested 16 OFDM members and accused them of belonging to the OLF. Although a court ordered them all released two weeks later when police could provide no evidence to support their allegations, they were subsequently threatened with physical harm by local officials.

The home and crops of one OFDM member in the same area were burned. He reported this to the police with the aid of OFDM officials but alleged to Human Rights Watch that the police then failed to investigate the incident.

Such repression has been widespread in Oromia. The OPC gave Human Rights Watch the names of more than 300 party members it claims have been detained since November 2007. Investigations carried out by the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), Ethiopia’s preeminent human rights monitoring organization, corroborate claims that many opposition supporters in Oromia have been arrested or illegally detained for periods ranging from days to months, often on the basis of alleged links to the OLF.

Procedural and Other Bars to Opposition Participation

In many cases, acts of intimidation have gone hand-in-hand with unjustifiable bureaucratic and procedural bars on free opposition participation in the polls. Some representatives of the NEB responsible for the registration of candidates at the constituency level have worked with local officials to block opposition registration. In some cases NEB agents have cancelled the registration of opposition candidates either without explanation or based on age and residency criteria despite clear evidence to the contrary. In other instances, NEB representatives provided the names of opposition candidates to local officials and to the police. Police in some of those constituencies then cordoned off access to NEB offices and physically prevented suspected opposition candidates from entering.

Across western Oromia, the country’s largest state, local officials have refused to allow candidates of the two main opposition parties there, the OPC and OFDM, to register more than a token share of candidates. In some constituencies, authorities have closed down OPC and OFDM offices and threatened their candidates with arrest if they persisted in competing.

In some cases, local authorities offered bribes to opposition candidates to withdraw. One OFDM candidate interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that local ruling party leaders offered to pay his college tuition and guaranteed him a job in the local administration if he withdrew from the election.

“The run-up to these elections illustrates how meaningless the process of voting can be in an environment of intimidation and fear,” Gagnon said. “The Ethiopian government must publicly commit itself to ending the systemic human rights abuses that have become part of the foundation of its hold on power.”

Background

The patterns of repression and procedural manipulation that surround the upcoming polls are motivated in part by the increased importance that control of wereda and kebele administration has taken on since 2001. Financed in part by the World Bank and other donors, the Ethiopian government has decentralized the provision of basic services such as health and education. This has effectively empowered wereda administrators, who are appointed by the elected councils, with greater discretion in the allocation of budget expenditures.

The kebele system in particular is also a central part of the ruling party’s elaborate system of surveillance, intimidation, and coercion of ordinary people who are perceived as being unsympathetic to the government. The kebele were originally created by the dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam for precisely this purpose and have been put to the same use by the current government since Mengistu’s ouster in 1991. Because of the kebele system’s importance in this regard, the EPRDF is particularly loathe to contemplate losing control over them.

A dominant theme in the EPRDF’s political discourse on Oromia is the need to combat the activities of the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), which has been fighting a low-level insurrection against the government for years with Eritrean backing. Across much of Oromia, local officials have routinely and for many years used unproven allegations of links to the OLF as a pretext to subject law-abiding government critics to arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial killing, and other forms of human rights abuse.

Local officials in Oromia have also made extensive use of the kebele system, along with smaller cells called gott and garee, to keep residents under constant surveillance for signs of government criticism. The overwhelming majority of local and regional authorities in Oromia belong to the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), which is the regional arm of the EPRDF.

Ethiopia’s last elections were parliamentary polls in 2005. The run-up to the elections saw signs of openness in some areas, though in most constituencies the same patterns of repression documented above prevailed. Following the elections, opposition efforts to contest the results sparked a heavy-handed government crackdown that saw several hundred people gunned down in the streets of Addis Ababa, mass arrests of perceived opposition supporters, and several prominent opposition leaders jailed on charges of treason that were ultimately dropped.

Elections for city councils, kebele councils, and vacated parliamentary seats will be held on Sunday, April 13, 2008. Elections for the wereda councils will follow on April 20. The exercise is a vast one – Ethiopia is made up of 547 weredas, and each of those is broken up into numerous kebeles whose governing councils each seat 300 representatives. The weredas are grouped into zones, whose administrations are not at stake in these elections, and the zones are grouped into nine ethnically-based regions.

Ethiopia’s government is highly dependent on donor assistance but donor governments, including the United States and United Kingdom, have largely refused to criticize repression in Ethiopia or to demand improvements in the country’s human rights record. The United States in particular views Ethiopia as a key ally in the “war on terror,” and donor governments in general often express fear that Ethiopia’s government will react poorly to human rights-related criticisms. The Ethiopian government has refused to allow any foreign observers to monitor the upcoming elections.

Ethiopia' "war crime tribunal" violated human rights

Appolon | April 8, 2008

The Ethiopian legal system has accused several thousands of brutal war crimes. Now the war crimes tribunal has itself violated fundamental human rights.

Tekst: Yngve Vogt, Translated by Kathrine Torday Gulden

Ethiopia's trial against the criminals of war from the harsh Derg regime (1974-1991) undermines human rights, says Associate Professor Kjetil Tronvoll at the Norwegian Center for Human Rights at the University of Oslo.

He has studied the political development in Ethiopia since 1990 and has attended the elections as a researcher and election monitor both in Ethiopia and Eritrea. His book on the trial, which is a result of collaborative work between anthropologists, legal practitioners, historians and political scientists from Ethiopia, Norway and USA, is to be published at the publishing houses James Currey (Oxford) and the Ohio University Press (Athens).

Red Terror

After the revolution against Emperor Haile-Selassie in 1974, the Mengistu Hailemariams military junta took power. The regime supported by Moscow withheld power until 1991.

Even thought the regime and opposition maintained Marxism, they're interpretations differed. Severe punishment of those in opposition to the military junta was executed. The purifications at the end of the seventies, known as Red Terror, were similar to the Moscow processes in the 1930s. Approximately 55 000 political intellectuals were liquidated. The victims consisted mainly of urban, young students.

– The method of torture was dreadful. The goal was to spread public fear. Eye witnesses tell that the victims were cooked in oil and their nails were pulled out. Mothers were raped in front of their children. Pieces of clothing soaked in urine and covered with other excrements were stuffed in the victims' mouths. The torturers used a pair of pincers to break noses. Then they would slit the victims' throats or strangle them slowly, says Kjetil Tronvoll to the research magazine Apollon.

Many were shot at night. The regime attached tags which read «contra-revolutionary» on the bodies. Relatives were only permitted to fetch the bodies if they paid for the bullets used to kill them.

The political party EPRP was acknowledged as the main enemy, but they also had blood stained hands and killed thousands of people, among these several mayors and governors. All in all almost 200 000 people were killed during the seventies and eighties due to the conflicts in the multi-ethnic society where «everyone was at war with each other».

– One could say that it was legitimate of the state to defend itself against «illegal opposition», but the defence method they used got out of hand.

The Trial

Contrary to South Africa, which chose a commission of truth and national reconciliation, Ethiopia leans on the penal settlement.

Several thousands were interned when EPRDF came to power in 1991. Not everyone had connections with Red Terror. The government also used the situation to cleanse out political enemies and dissidents within their own party and kept them interned for years.

2258 people were accused of war crimes. The accused can be divided into three groups.

Group one: Colonel Mengistu and the political and military leadership, all in all 55 men.

Group two: 200 people from the military interlayer who channelled the orders to kill and burn down villages.

Group three: The last group consisted of approximately 2000 men who were enlisted foot soldiers accused of torture and murder.

Many of the executions during the Red Terror were carried out on written order. These documents were used as evidence in the trial.

Long-drawn-out

The trial began in 1995 and lasted for 13 years. The sentence in regard to the top leaders was passed in December 2007. This sentence has been appealed. The appeal case can take time.

– The most important criticism in regard to human rights is the length of the case process. The custodians had to wait for 16 years. Some of these were given shorter sentences than the time they had spent in custody. Some were released due to lack of evidence.

– The defence was denied access to the evidence material before the prosecutor presented the material in court. Some counsels for the defence were denied meeting their client in court. The process has undermined public security.

The judges were biased

EPRDF replaced most of the judges from the Megistu Regime with their own. Many believe the replacement was based on ethnic issues.

– The new judges were loyal to the party, lacked juridical competence and education. The sentences of the leadership were based on the paragraph on genocide. International legal practitioners are sceptical to the use of this paragraph.

– The murders were ideological and not ethnically motivated. It is therefore difficult to define this as genocide.

The problem with a trial that has lasted for 13 years is that many judges have been replaced during the process. The person who is to pass the sentence has therefore not heard the first submission of evidence.

The trial took long time due to an ineffective administration and lack of resources such as too few secretaries and copying machines. The trial was too thorough and the submission of evidence was too extensive.

– Instead of 100 witnesses and 10 000 pages of documents, it would have been more than enough with five witnesses and 100 pages to pass a sentence.

That the court only met every second week did not improve the situation either.

Loss of legitimacy

A few death sentences were passed, but the real bad guy Mengistu and his generals were not sentenced to death. This was most likely a political decision to get Mengistu extradited from Zimbabwe.

– The court process started to educate the Ethiopian public about the political divide after the fall of Mengistu. The process became the main cause of the new regime. They signalized that they took human rights seriously.

When the government met an increasing political opposition after 1995, the regime itself became the perpetrator.

– Today, Ethiopia has thousands of political prisoners, the regime is not democratic or based on human rights. That in itself demeans the legitimacy of the court process.

As an example of this three generals from Red Terror are mentioned. They were pardoned of having partaken in the war against Eritrea in 1998-2000. Friends became enemies and vice versa. Soldiers of the Derg Army were asked to enlist the new Eritrea war.

 This in itself indicates that the court process has a political lopsidedness.

The government has not pardoned those who have been interned for a longer time than their sentence would entail.

Uncertain future

Tronvoll fears the judicial authority in Ethiopia.

– The legal system has not been consolidated and does not have sufficient capacity. They have a long way to go. The danger of new politicians yet again replacing the judges with their own loyal party fellows, is most definitely present, says Kjetil Tronvoll at the Norwegian Center for Human Rights.

Will democracy defeat a despot?;

Toronto Star: April 03, 2008

Election could spell the end of Mugabe in ruined Zimbabwe

The bell finally seems to be tolling for Robert Gabriel Mugabe, as the party led by the octogenarian Zimbabwean strongman suddenly finds itself without
a parliamentary majority for the first time in nearly three decades.

The loss marks a critical and perhaps fatal blow for a man once seen as the hope of a troubled continent slowly freeing itself from the shackles of European
colonialism, but a politician now more widely regarded as an iron- fisted power monger who battered his opponents and presided over his country's economic
decline.

In recent years, it has seemed only a funeral would wrest Mugabe from the presidency of a beautiful and once prosperous land - prosperous by African standards
- a land that he himself ruined.

But yesterday, it was starting to appear that a democratic election, of all things, might finally serve as the mechanism to bring the despot down.

After four suspenseful days, a trickle of voting results released by Zimbabwe's electoral commission following Saturday's elections finally produced a clear
result, with Mugabe's long-ruling ZANU-PF party losing to the combined opposition, led by the Movement for Democratic Change, in the country's national
assembly.

But, days after the elections, there was still no word on the outcome of the crucial presidential race, which was held alongside the parliamentary vote.

Meanwhile, the 84-year-old Mugabe, who has run this land-locked southern African republic since 1980 when Zimbabwe won independence under majority rule,
has not been seen or heard in public since casting his ballot on Saturday.
Nonetheless, his sombre, bespectacled visage continued to glower down upon Zimbabweans from campaign banners and nearly ubiquitous official portraits, much
as it has done for decades.
Once the breadbasket of southern Africa, Zimbabwe in recent years has suffered a breathtaking economic collapse, and Mugabe, his policies, and his cronies
are widely held to blame, both for this country's financial misery and for its bleak human-rights record.
The opposition MDC insists its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has won the presidential contest, as well as the legislative vote, and yesterday released its
own figures, showing Tsvangirai besting Mugabe with 50.3 per cent of the presidential ballots cast against 43.8 per cent for the long-time ruler.
But a government spokesperson warned Mugabe's adversaries against drawing hasty conclusions.
"You are prejudging the election, aren't you?" Deputy Information Minister Brighton Matonga told a television interviewer yesterday. "It's not over until
it's over."
If no presidential candidate captures a majority of the ballots cast in Saturday's vote, a runoff between the top two candidates would have to be held within
three weeks.
Based on its own unofficial results, the MDC has claimed another vote isn't needed, but Tendai Biti, a party official, said yesterday the MDC would agree
to a second round if necessary. "We accept under protest," he said. "It's just a delaying of the inevitable."
As for the legislative contest, according to official results, the opposition won 109 seats in the country's 210-seat legislative chamber, versus 97 seats
for Mugabe's party and one for an independent candidate. Three seats must be decided in by-elections after candidates died or withdrew.
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier welcomed the results.
"This opens a window of opportunity for real and significant democratic change in Zimbabwe," he said in a news release. "Specifically, we look to the new
Zimbabwean government to implement policy changes that will improve the human rights situation in Zimbabwe.
"Canada commends the Zimbabwean people, who have remained calm and peaceful in the face of inexplicable delays. We call upon Zimbabwe's leaders to seize
this critical opportunity for positive change in a manner that respects freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law."
Most Zimbabweans seemed to be taking the unfolding drama in stride yesterday, condemned as they are to a daily battle, trying their best to get by despite
their country's economic free-fall.
Inflation is reckoned to be spiralling at a breakneck annual pace of more than 100,000 per cent, as the central bank continues to churn out banknotes in
ever larger quantities and denominations, never mind that they become worthless almost as soon as they hit the streets.
At Greaterman's Department Store on Jason Moyo Ave. yesterday, a small tin of pilchards in tomato sauce was selling for 47 million Zimbabwe dollars. A can
of tinned beans cost 75 million. A bar of deodorant soap bore a price tag of 81 million. And a single apple would set you back by 25 million.
At the Clicks Health Home Beauty Store, a basic Phillips toaster could be yours for just 3.5 billion dollars.
Based on the black market exchange rate prevailing yesterday (it will be different today), a Canadian loonie was worth about 38 million Zimbabwean dollars.
Along Harare's First St. pedestrian mall, large queues formed all day near automated telling machines, as city-dwellers patiently waited to withdraw seemingly
vast quantities of currency.
One woman outside a branch of the ZB Bank on First St. said she meant to withdraw a cool half-billion dollars.
But how much is that? A little or a lot?

"It depends on your budget," she replied.

But a man in the same lineup quickly contradicted her.

"No, it's very little money," he said. "It's just for a day."

At yesterday's black-market rate, a half-billion Zimbabwe dollars were worth about $13.16 Canadian.

That won't go far, considering that the Drumstick Special at the Chicken Inn ("Luv Dat Chicken!") outlet was priced at 110 million Zimbabwe dollars yesterday.

Other queues formed on the basis of hearsay. About 50 people were lined up late yesterday outside the OK Supermarket because they had heard a rumour that
a delivery of wheat flour was expected soon.

"There hasn't been any flour for days," said one man in the lineup.

An hour later, there was still no flour, and yet the queue remained.

Mugabe blames the country's woes on economic sanctions imposed by Western nations, but outside observers and local opposition leaders say the former schoolteacher
and longtime freedom-fighter brought on Zimbabwe's misery through a succession of disastrous decisions, including the expropriation of white commercial
farmers - long the country's economic backbone - and a costly military adventure in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among other financial fiascos.
With his party's now official loss in legislative elections, it seemed difficult to imagine Mugabe - who is widely believed to have manipulated elections
his way before - could now engineer a remotely credible victory in the presidential contest. After 28 years of unbroken and nearly dictatorial rule, it
seemed likely - though not yet certain - that the patriarch's days in power were finally numbered.
But the electoral commission's continuing silence on the results of the presidential vote was cause for concern and even alarm.

Oakland Ross