The Rebel Leader and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi dead at 57

By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press – ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia's long-time ruler who held tight control over this East African country but was a major U.S counter-terrorism ally, died of an undisclosed illness after not being seen in public for weeks, Ethiopian authorities announced Tuesday. He was 57.
Meles died Monday just before midnight after contracting an infection, state TV said.
Hailemariam Desalegn, who was appointed deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs in 2010, became acting prime minister and will be sworn in as prime minister after an emergency meeting of parliament, said Bereket Simon, the communications minister. Parliament is controlled by Meles' ruling party and governing coalition, ensuring Hailemariam will be approved. No new elections will be scheduled, Bereket said.
Bereket did not say where Meles died, only that he was abroad for medical treatment. Officials had expected Meles to return to Ethiopia but a sudden complication reversed what had been a good recovery, he said.
A European Union spokesman said that Meles died in Brussels.
Meles hadn't been seen in public for about two months. In mid-July, after Meles did not attend a meeting of heads of state of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, speculation increased that his health problems were serious. Ethiopian officials gave no details and said the prime minister was in "very good" health and would return to office soon, but international officials said quietly it was unlikely he would recover.
State TV on Tuesday showed pictures of Meles as classical music played in the background. Simon called the death shocking and devastating. The country's council of ministers declared a national day of mourning.
Opponents of Meles accuse him of killing and jailing opposition members and of rigging elections. Ethiopia's Somalia community in particular has suffered under Meles, who won his last election in 2010 with a reported 99 percent of the vote.
Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, offered his condolences to the Ethiopian people, praising Meles' development work and calling him "a respected African leader." But he also expressed concern about the state of democracy in the country.
"I sincerely hope that Ethiopia will enhance its path of democratization, upholding of human rights and prosperity for its people, and of further regional stabilization and integration," Barroso said in a statement.
Born on May 8, 1955, Meles became president in 1991 after helping to oust Mengistu Haile Mariam's Communist military junta, which was responsible for hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian deaths. Meles became prime minister in 1995, a position that is both the head of the federal government and armed forces.
The U.S. has long viewed Meles as a strong security partner and has given hundreds of millions of dollars in aid over the years. U.S. military drones that patrol East Africa — especially over Somalia — are stationed in Ethiopia. The U.S. goal for Somalia — a stable government free of radical Islamists — is in line with Ethiopia's hopes.
Though a U.S. ally, Ethiopia has long been criticized by human rights groups for the government's strict control, and Meles' legacy is likely to be mixed: positive on the economic development side and negative on the human rights side, said Leslie Lefkow, the deputy director for Human Rights Watch in Africa.
Meles brought Ethiopia out of a hugely difficult period following Mengistu's rule and made important economic progress, she said, but the ruling party has been too focused on building its own authority in recent years instead of building up government institutions.
"I think on the human rights side his legacy will be much more questionable. The country remains under a very tightly controlled one-party rule and this will be the challenge for the new leadership, to take advantage of the opportunity that his death presents in terms of bringing Ethiopia into a more human rights-friendly, reform-minded style of leadership," Lefkow said.
During Meles' election win in 2005, when it appeared the opposition was likely to make gains, Meles tightened security across the country, and on the night of the election he declared a state of emergency, outlawing any public gathering as his ruling party claimed a majority win. Opposition members accused Meles of rigging the election, and demonstrations broke out. Security forces moved in, killing hundreds of people and jailing thousands.
In 2010 Meles won another five years in office while receiving a reported 99 percent of the vote in an election that the U.S. and other international observers said did not meet international standards.
Meles was the leader of a political coalition known as the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. He was also the longtime chairman of the Tigray People's Liberation Front and has always identified strongly with his party.
"I cannot separate my achievements from what can be considered as the achievements of the ruling party. Whatever achievement there might have been, it does not exist independent of that party," Meles once said when asked what he thought would be his legacy.
Under Meles, Ethiopia saw strong gains in the education sector with the construction of new schools and universities. Women gained more rights. And in the mid-2000s Ethiopia saw strong economic growth, which won Meles international praise. The International Monetary Fund in 2008 said Ethiopia's economy had grown faster than any non-oil exporting country in sub-Saharan Africa.
Despite those gains, Ethiopia remains heavily dependent on agriculture, which accounts for 85 percent of the country's employment. Per capita income is only about $1,000, or roughly $3 a day.
Though he won accolades for economic progress, human rights groups have long denounced Meles' government for its use of arbitrary detention, torture, and surveillance of opposition members inside Ethiopia. The ONLF, an opposition group that mostly consists of ethnic Somalis, has openly clashed with the government, including in 2007 when Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia to fight al-Shabab militants.
The ONLF said Tuesday that Meles' death is an opportunity for a new government to "initiate a new era of peace, stability, freedom and justice for the people of Ogaden and not to pursue the failed policies of the past."
At the end of 2006, Somalia's U.N.-backed government asked Ethiopia to send troops into Somalia to try to put down an Islamist insurgency. Ethiopian troops moved into the country and captured Mogadishu, but the Somali population rebelled against what it saw as an occupation and Ethiopian forces withdrew in 2009.
Ethiopia again sent troops to Somalia in early 2012 as part of an increased international effort to pressure al-Shabab. Uganda, Burundi and Kenya all have thousands of troops in a coalition under the African Union, though Ethiopia's forces are not part of the coalition.
Earlier in Meles' tenure, from 1998-2000, Ethiopia fought a border war with Eritrea, a conflict that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.
Meles grew up in the northern town of Adwa, where his father had 13 siblings from multiple women. He moved to the capital, Addis Ababa, on a scholarship after completing an eight-year elementary education in just five.
Meles is survived by his wife, Azeb Mesfin, a member of parliament, with whom he had three children.
State TV said funeral arrangements would be announced soon.

Have you seen this Ethiopian prime minister?

  14-08-2012 

Toronto Star

 Debra Black
Staff Reporter

Where is Meles? It’s a question that is being asked by Ethiopians, local and international media, and making the rounds of blogs and Twitter.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who has led the country since 1991, has gone missing. And his absence has triggered a political game of Where’s Waldo?, with everyone speculating on the missing leader’s location and the state of his health.
His last public international appearance was at the G20 Summit in Mexico in June. At home he was last seen on June 26 at a meeting with Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in the Ethiopian capital, according to media reports.
His absence has fuelled speculation in media reports published by Think Africa Press, the Committee to Protect Journalists, World Politics Review, the Independent, the Guardian and the Washington Post, to name a few.
Rumours about the 57-year-old’s health have circulated since 2009, when he was said to be receiving treatment for an unknown disease. But they have been front and centre since he failed to attend the recent African Union summit in Addis Ababa, a parliamentary debate on the budget earlier this summer and a meeting of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
At first, reports had him in hospital in Brussels with a possible brain tumour, then other reports said he was in Germany getting treatment. Now some government officials are saying he was sick, but is now away, resting and recuperating.
For the moment, government spokesmen are remaining tight-lipped about Meles and his health. The ruling coalition — the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front — has confirmed that medical reasons are behind the prime minister’s absence. And a government spokesman says Meles will reappear in public life before the Ethiopian New Year, which is celebrated on Sept. 11.
His own information minister and close ally Simon Berekat has said that Meles is expected to return to work “soon” and that he had taken a sick leave, the Independent reports.
But this answer hasn’t stopped speculation that Meles might be dead and that government officials are just holding on to power so his wife Azeb Mesfin, who is an MP and member of the ruling coalition’s nine-member executive committee, can take over.
Ethiopians both at home and abroad are taking to Twitter — using the hashtags #WhereIsMeles or #MelesZenawi — to weigh in about the health of Meles and the future of their homeland. For those who have relatives who have been wrongly jailed in Ethiopia, the suggestion that Meles is dead brings bittersweet hope — the possibility that a new leader might abide with a long-standing tradition of granting amnesty to all political prisoners upon taking office.
Meles has ruled Ethiopia with an iron fist since he overthrew Col. Mengistu Haile-Mariam’s 17 year dictatorship. Analysts say he has used his security apparatus to hang on to power.
Some consider him a “darling” of Western donors and governments for the growth his country has seen under his leadership, but his reputation for ignoring human rights, oppressing political opposition and rejecting press freedom has tarnished his image.
 http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1241853--have-you-seen-this-ethiopian-prime-minister

The Federal Police in Addis Ababa Clashed with Muslim Prayers Around Anwar Mosque

The first fasting day of Ramadan started in clash Ethiopian Muslims and police. Ethiopian Muslims protestors throwing stones with police and no official report on the injuries.
According to the government owned TV station report a group of people disrupt the fasting process in the Anwar mosque and protesting with anti-government slogans.
In the meantime arresting muslim individuals that government claiming they are terrorist and unlawful continues.
A group called a Committee for solution for the Muslim questions claims government involving
 in the religion freedom and their question is an independent Islamic council be elected by the Muslims. Police reported forcing people to close their shops around Merkato.
Watch the government TV News and video recorded by an individual shows that Ethiopian police beating protesters on the street. Even though the protesters are sitting without any reaction,they still get the beating. Video Taken July 21, 2012

Ethiopian blogger Eskinder Nega jailed for 18 years

A prominent Ethiopian journalist and blogger has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for violating the country's anti-terrorism legislation.

Eskinder Nega and 23 others were found guilty last month.
They were accused of links with US-based opposition group Ginbot Seven, which Ethiopia considers a terrorist organisation.
Opposition activist Andualem Arage was given a life sentence by the court in the capital, Addis Ababa.
In May, Eskinder was awarded the prestigious Pen America's Freedom to Write annual prize for his work.
Human rights groups have criticised Ethiopia's anti-terrorism legislation for being too far-reaching.

Courtroom packed

"The court has given due considerations to the charges and the sentences are appropriate," Reuters news agency quotes Judge Endeshaw Adane as saying.
Eskinder and Andualem, a member of the opposition Unity for Democracy and Justice party, were in court on Friday to hear their sentence - 16 members of the group found guilty in June are in exile, AFP news agency reports.
The two men waved to family members as they walked into the courtroom which was filled with friends and family of the activists, as well as journalists and diplomats, the agency says.
Eskinder was arrested last September after publishing an article questioning arrests under the anti-terrorism legislation, especially that of well-known Ethiopian actor and government critic Debebe Eshetu.
In 1993 Eskinder opened his first newspaper and has been detained at least seven times by the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
Right group Amnesty International said the trial fell short of international standards.
"The imprisonment… is emblematic of the Ethiopian government's determination to gag any dissenting voice in the country," Amnesty's Ethiopia researcher Claire Beston said in a statement.
"The Ethiopian government is treating calls for peaceful protest as a terrorist act and is outlawing the legitimate activity of journalists and opposition members."
An Ethiopian guard working for the UN was jailed for seven years for communicating with the banned Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) in June.
In December, two Swedish journalists were sentenced to 11 years in prison for supporting the ONLF.
Both the ONLF, which has been fighting for greater independence in the Ogaden area that borders Somalia, and Ginbot Seven, have been designated as terrorist groups by the Ethiopian parliament.
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18825538

Ethiopia: Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) Statement

If judicial institutions are to cease serving regimes as instruments of oppression in Ethiopia there is no alternative to removing TPLF/EPRDF from power through peaceful and legal means.

A press statement issued by Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ)

The court that was handling the case of Andualem Aragie et al has, at its sitting of June 27, 2012, handed down a verdict of guilty on all of the accused. The court has finally put down in writing what Prime Minister Meles has been saying all along in public on the guiltiness of the prisoners. The decision of the court is of no value other than demonstrating, in no uncertain ways, that courts in our country have become devoid of the elements of freedom and independence. The decision has given a further proof to the strong popular conviction that courts would not be free and independent as long as TPLF/EPRDF remains in power.
It is ascertained once more, that the present regime is using judicial institutions as weapons of offense against political activists without shame and with impunity. It also shows clearly the fate of future heroes who dare to struggle for freedom and democracy to prevail in this country. Furthermore, it is clearly demonstrated that TPLF/EPRDF is incapable of tolerance and of handling differences in a civilized manner. This grossly unjust decision shall be remembered as one of the most repulsive and shameful decisions in the history of the rule of the TPLF/EPRDF regime. UDJ believes that the arguments, documents and the witnesses lists of the prosecutors, as well as the defense records of the accused should be preserved as historic records to be re-examined by history under a just system.
TPLF/EPRDF had two objectives when it imprisoned the peaceful activists on September 14, 2011. The first objective was to stifle the popular struggle by imprisoning young activists. The second objective aimed at plunging the youth, the dynamic power behind the struggle, into a state of fear so that they would not be in a position to join hands and push the struggle forward. The elaboration of the court on its decision demonstrate this clearly.
What we see on the ground is that, despite the repression, the people’s struggle is producing young activists in the thousands. The demand for justice, equality, democracy and respect of human rights that young activists like Anduale, Natnael, Eskindir and others have raised is getting ever stronger and surging forward. On the hand, it is becoming more and more obvious that the champions of freedom are growing stronger while the downward journey of the ruling regime is on the acceleration.
Recently, information has leaked indicating that UDJ members are about to be rounded up thrown into the Kaliti jail under the pretext of terrorism charges. What TPLF/EPRDF has failed to understand is this bitter truth: the desire for change deeply rooted in the hearts of the people has reached a stage where it cannot be reversed by repression and imprisonment.
The world has seen many dictatorial regimes but, in the end, they have all fallen a fall of shame. It is becoming more and clearer that, given the repressive path that TPLF/EPRDF is pursuing, its downfall is inevitable.
UDJ/MEDREK, fully aware of the fact that the present regime is creating havoc in our day to day life, is calling upon he people to join the struggle for a common cause. Ethiopians around the world are hereby being called upon to stand behind UDJ/MEDREK in the peaceful and legal struggle that is being waged to bring down the dictatorial regime ruling our country. The International Community also is called upon to realize that it is being used as crutch by the ruling regime and to give support to the struggle for freedom and democracy for which the Ethiopian people are waging.
UDJ/MEDREK is now fully convinced that there is no alternative but to intensify the peaceful and legal struggle to remove from power the narrow-minded and corruption- plagued TPLF/EPRDF regime. Members of UDJ/MEDREK are ready to pay with pride whatever sacrifice is required to push this cause forward.
The sacrifice that is being paid by Andualem et al shall always be remembered in history.
Long live Ethiopia!
Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ)
June 28, 2012

Dr. Negasso Gidada, Former President of Ethiopia and curent chairman of Unity for Democeacy and Justice Party needs Emergency Medical Help.

http://andinet.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/News-Paper-No.-48-colour2.pdf

The Government should listen to the pleas of the Prisons of Conscience immediately

The people should follow the measures taken by the government and exert pressure on it

A press statement given by Unity for Democracy and justice Party (UDJ)

The prisoners of conscience at Kaliti Prison are being subjected to violations that threaten their physical and mental well-being. As indicated by a document coming out of Kaliti Prison, the violations against the prisoners are many. For example, their court cases are intentionally delayed and prolonged. Degrading insults are thrown at them and cruel beatings are being perpetrated against them by the prison police and other officials. In disregard of the fact that they are peaceful political prisoners, they are hand-cuffed and made to be seen by the public with the intention of degrading their morale. They are held with hard core criminals in violation of the law that rules that political prisoners should be held separately. They are prevented from being visited by their friends, relatives, religious and legal counselors, again in violation of their constitutional rights. They are denied adequate medical care when they are sick. They are also prevented from reading newspapers and listening to the radio. They are not allowed to take any kind of education and training as are other prisoners. Writings that are products of their labour are confiscated without any explanation.

The prisoners of conscience have made numerous complaints against the violations perpetrated against them and made pleas to relevant bodies, hoping that someone would listen to them but all in vain. Therefore, they are in the process of taking various measures in search of sympathetic ears at home and abroad. One of these measures is a hunger strike. As a result of there being no one that would listen to them, many prisoners of conscience at Kaliti prison have gone on a three-day hunger strike from June 15 to 19, 2012. The number that we have so far of those who are involved in the hunger strike is 11. However, since there is still no one from the government that would listen to their pleas, they have decided to continue the hunger strike indefinitely. According to the information we have, it is said that some of the hunger strikers are getting physically weak.

If the hunger strike continues, we fear that it could cause serious harm on the physical and mental constitution of the prisoners. Therefore, Unity for Democracy and Justice urges the government to ensure that immediate attention is given to the well-being of the physical and mental health of the prisoners of conscience, that the cause behind their hunger strike is addressed urgently and resolved and that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is allowed to visit the prisoners.
We call upon the Ethiopian people to follow carefully the irresponsible lack of response on the part of government regarding the pleas of the prisoners of conscience and to exert pressure on it to take appropriate measures. We also call upon the International Community to stand on our side in our demand for justice for our prisoners of conscience.

Ethiopian law criminalizes independent telecom use

http://www.cpj.org/2012/06/ethiopian-law-criminalizes-independent-telecom-use.phpNairobi, June 15, 2012--A new law in Ethiopia imposes prison sentences for offenses related to the independent use of telecommunications tools and services, according to local journalists and news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by broad and vaguely worded provisions of the law, under which journalists could be prosecuted for the methods they use to circumvent government surveillance and censorship.

The House of Peoples' Representatives, where 99 percent of the seats are controlled by the ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front, passed on May 24 the Telecom Fraud Offenses Proclamation, local newspaper Addis Admas reported. The law purports to "prevent and control telecom fraud," which it described as "a serious threat to national security beyond economic losses," according to a copy of the text obtained by CPJ.
The law allows for a prison sentence of up to eight years and a fine of up to 80,00 birr (US$4,500) for "using or causing the use of any telecommunications network or apparatus to disseminate any terrorizing message" or using telecommunications for an "illegal purpose." What constitutes a "terrorizing message" could be broadly interpreted under the country's far-reaching anti-terrorism law, which criminalizes reporting that the government deems favorable to banned opposition groups and causes.
The law also gives the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology unchecked authority over the import, sale, and possession of telecommunications equipment. Use or possession of equipment without government authorization is punishable by a prison sentence of up to four years and a fine of up to 40,000 birr (US$2,250). The ministry may determine which equipment may be used without a government permit.
The government retains a tight monopoly over telecommunications in Ethiopia, with state-run Ethio Telecom the sole national provider, according to CPJ research. Under the law, methods used by journalists to circumvent state surveillance, interception, or Internet censorship on Ethio Telecom in the course of newsgathering could be interpreted as "obstructing or interfering" with the network--a criminal offense carrying a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
"We condemn the Ethiopian government's systematic effort to control all forms of communications," said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. "Authorities are obviously deeply threatened by any source of independent information, from critical journalism to sharing of information online."
Ethio Telecom has been losing revenue to Internet-based communication services and popular international calling businesses, according to local reports. Local journalists, however, fear authorities will use the law to curtail cost-effective and secure communications with contacts, including those outside the country, where most dissidents reside. Over the past decade, Ethiopia drove more journalists into exile than any other country, according to CPJ research.
Local journalists say the government has sought to control the use of Internet-based telecom services in recent years, by cracking down on Internet cafés that offered Web-based telecommunications services and requiring them to keep records of the names and addresses of their customers, according to local reports. A student, Yidnek Hail, claimed he was arrested by Ethiopian authorities in December 2011 for showing citizens how to use Skype in an Internet café where he was employed in the capital, Addis Ababa, according to news reports.

Skyping in Ethiopia Could Result in Stiff Jail Term

he Ethiopian government has laid down a harsh new law prohibiting the use of Skype and other VoIP services in the country, threatening jail terms of up to 15 years for anyone who's caught violating it. Whether the Ethiopian government will enforce the law against ordinary citizens is still an unknown.

Ethiopia has passed a draconian new law criminalizing the use of Voice over Internet Protocol services such as Skype or Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Talk. People who violate the ban will find themselves facing 10-to-15 years in prison. The government has cited national security as a reason, although it is widely assumed that protecting the market share and revenue of the state-owned telecom provider, Ethio Telecom, is also a driver -- if not the main one.

Another assumption is that the government wants to keep a tight grip on its political opponents and hence the ban, Jason Wisdom, CEO of Wisdom Consulting, told TechNewsWorld.

Deep Packet Inspection Put to Ill Use

Ethiopia is among a handful of nations, including China and Iran, that is deploying deep packet inspection technology to spy on its citizens, noted Wisdom.
"DPI will be used to monitor enforcement of this new rule, because it can recognize the ports and channels that are used for VoIP communication," he said.
In general, DPI is a helpful technology when used properly, Wisdom added, largely because it works well to protect corporate networks from intrusions.
In the hands of an extremist government armed with vague laws, though, it can be an effective tool to rein in dissent, he said.
In this case, Ethiopia is using its broadly worded antiterrorism laws to implement this rule, Wisdom observed.
"There are ways to circumvent deep packet inspection monitoring," he explained. "It is a continual cat-and-mouse game between activists and hackers and repressive governments."
However, with a possible 10-to-15 year jail term as punishment in the background, it is questionable whether many people unschooled in hacker technologies will even try.
Whether the Ethiopian government will enforce the law against ordinary citizens is still an unknown.
"I can't see the government wanting to throw the book at a grandmother talking with her grandchild in the United States, for example," said Wisdom.
It is also unlikely the government would want the negative publicity that would surround jailing an international aid worker for a decade because he was using Skype to communicate to the home office in the country -- another possible scenario, given the level of international assistance Ethiopia continues to receive.
Still, the law is on the books, and even if the intent is to limit its application to political dissent, that could quickly change.

Corruption and Ethio Telecom

It is important not to underestimate the symbiotic ties between the government and the country's telecom provider.
It's a "you scratch my back I will scratch yours" relationship, Wisdom said. "The current government has a vested interest in keeping them happy, so I could see it not being too pleased by alternative and competitive forms of communication available in the market."
There are other methods to make low-cost phone calls without violating the country's new ban, , however -- at least they are available for now.
One is provided by the international calling service KeKu, a cross-platform technology app that offers free calls from app to app, along with low-rate calls to landlines and mobile phones. It is active in more than 180 countries and said to be very popular in Ethiopia.
KeKu can still operate despite the new law because it doesn't require an Internet connection on the caller or recipient's part, CEO Manlio Carrelli told TechNewsWorld.
"Our customers are able to talk with their friends and family in Ethiopia because we connect them just like a regular international call, but at a tiny fraction of the cost," Carelli said.
The company gives customers a local number, say in the U.S., for each number in Ethiopia that they call.
"Someone in New York City could obtain a unique local 718 area code number for each of their family members back home," he explained. "The customer's phone company treats this like a local call."
Then, the KeKu technology automatically connects the call to the right international number. --END-- http://www.technewsworld.com/story/75406.html

Jailed Canadian a 'significant irritant' in Ethiopia relations: Baird

OTTAWA - A Canadian citizen languishing in an Ethiopian jail is straining relations between Canada and the east African country.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has been the most high-profile champion for the release of Bashir Makhtar, an Ethiopia-born ethnic Somali who became a Canadian citizen in 1994.
Baird spokesman Rick Roth said Tuesday the minister "has made clear to the highest levels of the Ethiopian government that this case will continue to be a significant irritant in our relations."
Makhtal's family was in Ottawa Tuesday trying to raise awareness about the case they worry has fallen off the federal government's radar.
Roth said Baird has spoken with both Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopian prime minister, and his counterpart Hailemariam Desalegn specifically about his case.
"Unfortunately, the Ethiopian government continues to stand firm on the verdict," Roth said in a statement.
Makhtar, a Toronto IT specialist, was arrested crossing the Kenyan border from Somalia in December 2006 while on a business trip, and illegally rendered to Ethiopia a few weeks later.
He was convicted of three terrorism related offences in 2009 and sentenced to life in prison in an Addis Ababa jail.
Canadian officials say he's innocent and Amnesty International says his trial fell far short of international legal standards.
Said Maktal, Bashir Makhtal's cousin, said he's been informed that the case is complex and difficult to solve.
"I don't understand why it's not easy," he said. "What are we doing wrong?"
While Maktal said he's grateful for Baird's support after the minister took up the case in late 2008, he now wants Prime Minister Stephen Harper to step in directly to help secure his cousin's release.
"Five-and-a-half years - this is too long," he said.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011


The most significant human rights problems included the government's arrest of more than 100 opposition political figures, activists, journalists, and bloggers. The government charged 14 of those arrested under the anti terrorism proclamation. In addition it charged another 17 persons outside the country in absentia under this proclamation. The government restricted freedom of the press, and fear of harassment and arrest led journalists to practice self-censorship. The Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO law) continued to impose severe restrictions on civil society and nongovernmental organization (NGO) activities.

Other human rights problems included torture, beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees by security forces; harsh and at times life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights, including illegal searches; allegations of abuses in connection with the continued low-level conflict in parts of the Somali region; restrictions on freedom of assembly, association, and movement; police, administrative, and judicial corruption; violence and societal discrimination against women and abuse of children; female genital mutilation (FGM); exploitation of children for economic and sexual purposes; trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against persons with disabilities; clashes between ethnic minorities; discrimination against persons based on their sexual orientation and against persons with HIV/AIDS; limits on worker rights; forced labor; and child labor, including forced child labor.

Impunity was a problem. The government did not take steps to prosecute or otherwise punish officials who committed abuses other than corruption.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), an ethnically based, violent, and increasingly fragmented separatist group operating in the Somali region, was responsible for abuses.
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/186406.pdf

HRW: Lebanon, Stop Abuse of Domestic Workers

(Beirut) – March 23, 2012
 Lebanese authorities should act quickly to reform restrictive visa regulations and adopt a labor law on domestic work to address high levels of abuse and deaths among migrant domestic workers, a group of eight concerned civil society groupssaid today. The government should also announce publicly the outcome of the investigation into the recent abuse and subsequent suicide of Alem Dechasa-Desisa, an Ethiopian domestic worker. The eight groups are Human Rights Watch, Caritas Lebanon Migrant Center, KAFA (enough) Violence & Exploitation, Anti Racism Movement, Amel Association International, Insan, Danish Refugee Council, and Nasawiya.

On March 8, 2012, Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI), a Lebanese television network, released a video filmed on February 24 by an anonymous bystander in which a labor recruiter physically abused Dechasa-Desisa outside the Ethiopian consulate in Beirut. As she protests, he and another man drag her into a car. LBCI later identified the man beating Dechasa-Desisa as Ali Mahfouz,the brother of the head of the recruiting agency that brought her to Lebanon. Mahfouz agreed to be interviewed on television and alleged that his brother’s agency had been trying to return her to her home country because she had mental health problems.

Andualem says beaten in apprehension (AFP)

Addis Ababa – An Ethiopian antithesis personality charged with terrorism pronounced during a justice coming on Monday that he was exceedingly beaten by a associate inmate, terming it a murder attempt.
“There was a murder try opposite me and according to rapist procedure, we wish to record a assign opposite a jail given we did not get adequate medical attention,” pronounced Andualem Arage, of a Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party.
“I direct to be taken out of that prison,” combined Andualem, who has been in apprehension given September.
Andualem, who walked in justice limping and complained of serious headache, has been charged alongside 23 others, including distinguished Ethiopian publisher Eskinder Nega.
He pronounced he was beaten on Feb 16.
Judge Endashaw Endale pronounced a jail administration contingency benefaction a box to a justice before grave charges lodged.
Andualem’s co-defendants pronounced they feared for their possess reserve given a invalid indicted of aggressive Andualem had not been relocated.
“We are afraid, so we take turns sleeping and we are fearful he will poison a food,” one of a accused, Kinfemichael Debebe, told a court.

 

UDJ authority Gidada Negasso pronounced a indicted attacker, convicted of murder, should not be hold with prisoners undergoing hearing and should have been reprimanded.

“Right divided a justice should have pronounced this is wrong and… a jail administration should also retaliate him,” he told AFP.
Negasso filed a censure with a Human Rights Commission about a attack, though pronounced he had not perceived a grave reply.
Government officials were not accessible for comment. The hearing is approaching to resume on Mar 26.
All a 24 indicted are charged underneath Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism legislation, that rights groups have criticised of being distant reaching and used to suppress pacific dissent.
Some 200 people were charged underneath a legislation in 2011

Andualem Aragie in need of urgent medical care after prison beating

By William Davison
ADDIS ABABA (BLOOMBERG) — An imprisoned Ethiopian opposition leader needs urgent medical attention 12 days after being assaulted in his cell, former President Negasso Gidada said.
Andualem Aragie, head of public relations for the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party, was kicked in the head and beaten by a fellow prisoner on Feb. 15, Negasso, the chairman of the party, said by phone today from Addis Ababa, the capital.
Andualem, who is being tried on terrorism charges, had to be supported by prison guards when his wife went to see him, Negasso said. “He complained yesterday he has a headache and has problems with his balance,” the ex-president said. “He needs urgent treatment and examination by a private medical doctor.”
Andualem could not be examined when taken to a police hospital because the equipment was not working, according to Negasso. A prison doctor saw him last week and said he was suffering from low blood pressure, said Negasso. “No serious medical attention has been given,” he said. “His wife is very much worried. We are also very worried.”
Ethiopia’s human rights commissioner, Teruneh Zenna, said today that he would again contact the “relevant authorities” about the case, Negasso said. Teruneh did not answer his mobile phone when called seeking comment. The party also plans to write to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Negasso said.
The trial of Andualem and 23 others is scheduled to resume next week.

Human Rights Watch World Report 2012: Ethiopia

Discrimination in Government Services
In October 2010 Human Rights Watch published Development without Freedom: How Aid Underwrites Repression in Ethiopia, a report which documented discrimination in the administration of foreign donor-funded government services, including agricultural assistance, food-for-work programs, educational training opportunities, and civil-service reform programs. The report also showed how donor-funded facilities, such as schools and teacher training colleges, underwrite the indoctrination of civil servants and school children in political propaganda. Human Rights Watch’s research suggested that donors in the Development Assistance Group (DAG), including the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, were aware of such allegations, but were taking insufficient steps to investigate the misuse of their aid money.
DAG denied that aid was politicized, citing as evidence a UK Department for International Development-led report, “The Aid Management and Utilization Study,” which concluded that existing monitoring mechanisms would not detect politicization if it were occurring. That report also promised a second phase, a field investigation, which it said was crucial to establishing whether or not politicization was occurring on a broad scale. In April 2011 DAG told Human Rights Watch that this second phase, the field investigation, had been cancelled. A 2009 US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks said that the US embassy in Ethiopia was “keenly aware that foreign assistance … is vulnerable to politicization,” but that monitoring the problem, “risks putting the assistance programs themselves in jeopardy from a ruling party that has become confident that its vast patronage system is largely invulnerable.”
Key International Actors
International donor assistance continues to pour into Ethiopia, one of the world’s largest recipients of aid, but this has not resulted in greater international influence in ensuring government compliance with its human rights obligations. Conversely, donors appear to be reluctant to criticize the Ethiopian government’s human rights record so as not to endanger the continuity of their assistance programs.
Nonetheless, government spending remains hugely reliant (between 30 and 40 percent) on foreign assistance, and donors retain significant leverage that they could use to greater effect to insist on basic measures, such as the repeal or amendment of the Charities and Societies Proclamation and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, admission of UN special rapporteurs on human rights, the release of political prisoners, and better monitoring of foreign-funded programs to make sure they are not being used to bolster the ruling party.

Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism laws must not be misused to curb rights – UN

2 February 2012 – A group of independent United Nations human rights experts today spoke out against the ongoing use of anti-terrorism laws to curb freedom of expression in Ethiopia, where several journalists were recently given prison sentences under such legislation.
“Journalists play a crucial role in promoting accountability of public officials by investigating and informing the public about human rights violations,” said Frank La Rue, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression. “They should not face criminal proceedings for carrying out their legitimate work, let alone be severely punished.”
A week ago, three journalists and two opposition politicians were given prison sentences ranging from 14 years to life imprisonment under Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism laws. This followed the sentencing of two Swedish journalists to 11 years in prison in December, a news release issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated.

Journalists play a crucial role in promoting accountability of public officials by investigating and informing the public about human rights violations

Another 24 defendants are scheduled to appear in court next month, for various charges under the anti-terrorism law, several of whom may face the death sentence if convicted.
Ben Emmerson, the Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, said that “the anti-terrorism provisions should not be abused and need to be clearly defined in Ethiopian criminal law to ensure that they do not go counter to internationally guaranteed human rights.”
The Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, emphasized that “journalists, bloggers and others advocating for increased respect for human rights should not be subject to pressure for the mere fact that their views are not in alignment with those of the Government.”
She voiced concern at the case of Eskinder Nega, a blogger and human rights defender who may face the death penalty if convicted. Mr. Nega has been advocating for reform on the issue of the right to assemble peacefully in public.
Similarly, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, cautioned against the ongoing campaign of harassment against associations expressing dissenting views, while Gabriela Knaul, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, deplored the reported failure to ensure the defendants’ right to a fair trial.
The experts called on the Ethiopian Government to respect the concerned individuals’ fundamental rights, especially their right to a fair trial, and reiterated the need to apply anti-terrorism legislation cautiously and in accordance with the country’s international human rights obligations.

SOCEPP Canada condemns the conviction of journalists & Leaders of the Opposition

SOCEPP Canada condemns the conviction of journalists & Leaders of the Opposition
On January 19, 2012, the EPRDF/TPLF controlled Federal High Court in Ethiopia convicted three Ethiopian journalists, an opposition leader and a fifth person under the so-called an anti-terrorism law. The journalists are Wubshet Taye Abebe of the now-closed weekly newspaper – Awramba Times, Reeyot Alemu Gobebo of the weekly newspaper – Feteh, and Elias Kifle, editor of the online Ethiopian Review (tried in absentia), an opposition leader, Zerihun Gebre-Egziabher Tadesse of the Ethiopian National Democratic Party, and a woman named Hirut Kifle Woldeyesus.
SOCEPP Canada maintains that the continued incarceration and conviction of leaders of the opposition, journalists and citizens is a travesty of justice that must be condemned in the strongest possible way.
As we have repeatedly reported in the past, the TPLF/EPRDF regime has used the justice system to silence independent voices, political opponents and free media. To name a few of the many subjected to the ruling junta’s abuse of human rights include: the renowned surgeon and founder of the AAPO – Prof. Asrat Woldeyes, the former leader of the opposition UDJ – Betrukan Mideksa, the former leader of the Ethiopian Teachers’ Association – Dr Taye Woldesemayat, and Mr . Abera Yemane Ab – leadership member of COEDF.
This latest travesty only shows that even after 20 years of mockery of justice, the ruling TPLF/ EPRDF has no intention of reforming the justice system, introduce professionalism within the legal system and within its law enforcement agencies. Such behavior is unacceptable both to the Ethiopian public and the international community.
The ruling group continues to use all means at its disposal to stifle the justice system hoping this would go unnoticed. However, more and more Ethiopians are showing the willingness to pay the highest sacrifice to secure their dignity and basic human rights. As witnessed on November 11, 2011, a teacher by the name Yenesew Gebre, of Waka, Southern Ethiopia, burnt himself to death in protest. As one of the greatest leaders in Africa – Nelson Mandela once said, “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires”. That is exactly what Ethiopians have and continue to be doing the last so many years.
We would like to remind the rulers in Ethiopia that repression only begets resistance. The way forward is to respect human rights engage in a genuine reconciliation to bring a lasting peace in the country and submit to the people’s verdict. Therefore, we call upon the ruling EPRDF/TPLF regime to immediately drop the case, release the defendants and refrain from further violation.
We call upon the government of Canada and the opposition parties and other donor governments to closely review the escalating repression in Ethiopia and use their influence to bring a lasting peace in that country.
SOCEPP Canada: www.humanrightsethiopia.com

በኦሮሚያና በሶማሊ ክልሎች በመጪዎቹ ስድስት ወራት ከፍተኛ የምግብ እርዳታ ያስፈልጋል ተባለ

ጥር 12 ቀን 2004 ዓ/ም

የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት በሚቀጥሉት ስድስት ወራት ከሶስት ሚሊዮን በላይ የሚሆን ህዝብ አስቸኳይ የምግብ እርዳታ ያስፈልገዋል ብሎአል። የአለማቀፍ የእርዳታ ድርጅቶች በበኩላቸው መንግስት አሁንም የተረጂዎችን ቁጥር ቀንሶ አቅርቧል ይላሉ።
የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ያወጣው ቅድመ ማስጠንቀቂያ አሀዝ እንደሚያሳየው በመጪዎቹ ስድስት ወራት ከ365 ሜትሪክ ቶን በላይ የምግብ እርዳታ የሚያስፈልግ ሲሆን፣ አብዛኛው በኦሮሚያ እና በሶማሊ ክልሎች የሚከፋፋል ነው ብሎአል።
ከተረጅዎች ውስጥ 34 በመቶው በሶማሊ ፣ 33 በመቶ ደግሞ በኦሮሚያ እንደሚገኙ ታውቋል። ከዚህ ቀደም ከፍተኛ የተረጅዎች ቁጥር በነበረው የትግራይ ክልል በአሁኑ ጊዜ ቁጥሩ በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ አሽቆልቁሎአል። በአማራ ክልል ደግሞ በፊት ከነበረው የተረጅዎች ቁጥር ጋር ሲተያይ በአሁኑ መረጃ ብዙም ለውጥ አልታየም።
የኦሮሚያ ክልል ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ በድርቅ እየተጠቃ እና የተረጅዎች ቁጥር እጨመረ መምጣቱ ከዚህ ቀደም የነበረውን የረሀብ ተጠቂ ጂኦግራፊያዊ አቀማመጥ እየቀየረው መምጣቱን የሚያመልክት መሆኑን መረጃውን ያቀበሉት የግብርና ባለሙያ ተናግረዋል።
በግብርና ምርቶች ዋጋ ጭማሪ ሲታይ ደቡብ ክልል ፣ ኦሮሚያና ሶማሊ ከአንድ እስከ ሶስት ያሉት ደረጃዎችን መያዛቸውን መረጃዎች ያሳያሉ። የምግብ ዋጋ አነስተኛ ጭማሪ  የታየ ሲሆን፣ በአዲስ አበባም ጭማሪው ቢኖርም እንደ ደቡብና ኦሮሚያ የከፋ አይደለም።
ኢትዮጵያ መንግስት አዲስ ያቀረበው የተረጅዎች ቁጥር የአለማቀፍ የግብረሰናይ ድርጅቶች እንዳልተቀበሉት ተውቋል። የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት 11 በመቶ የኢኮኖሚ እድገት ፕሮፓጋንዳ የበርካታ ንጹሀን ዜጎችን ህይወት አደጋ ላይ እየጣለው ነው።
ሴቭ ዘ ችልደርንና ኦክስፋም ባወጡት መረጃ የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት በረሀብ የተጎዱ ዜጎቹን አሀዝ አሳንሶ በማቅረቡ በሺ የሚቆጠሩ ሰዎች ህይወት አልፎአል ሲሉ በዚህ ሳምንት ባወጡት መግለጫ መተቸታቸው ይታወሳል።
በኢትዮጵያ፣ ኬንያና ሶማሊ ባለፈው አመት በተከሰተው ረሀብ ከ50 እስከ 100 ሺ የሚጠጋ ህዝብ ማለቁን ድርጅቶቹ አስታውቀዋል።
የመለስ መንግስት ከአምስት አመታት በፊት ረሀብ ታሪክ ይሆናል፣ ከ17 አመታት በፊት ደግሞ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ በቀን ሶስት ጊዜ እንዲበላ እናደርገዋለን ማለቱ ይታወሳል።
ይሁን እንጅ ለኢሳት የሚደርሱት መረጃዎች እንደሚያሳ ት በደቡብ፣ በኦሮሚያና በሶማሊ አሁንም ከፍተኛ ረሀብ ገብቷል።
በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ በአለም ባንክንና በሌሎችም ለጋሽ ድርጅቶች በሚሰፈርላቸው ስንዴ ብቻ የሚኖሩ ፣ ሴፍቲኔት በሚባለው ፕሮግራም የታቀፉ 7 ሚሊዮን ዜጎች አሉ።

Ethiopia: Forced Relocations Bring Hunger, Hardship

Donor Funds Should Not Facilitate Abuse of Indigenous Groups

(London) – The Ethiopian government under its “villagization” program is forcibly relocating approximately 70,000 indigenous people from the western Gambella region to new villages that lack adequate food, farmland, healthcare, and educational facilities, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. State security forces have repeatedly threatened, assaulted, and arbitrarily arrested villagers who resist the transfers.

The report, “‘Waiting Here for Death’: Forced Displacement and ‘Villagization’ in Ethiopia’s Gambella Region,” examines the first year of Gambella’s villagization program. It details the involuntary nature of the transfers, the loss of livelihoods, the deteriorating food situation, and ongoing abuses by the armed forces against the affected people. Many of the areas from which people are being moved are slated for leasing by the government for commercial agricultural development.

“The Ethiopian government’s villagization program is not improving access to services for Gambella’s indigenous people, but is instead undermining their livelihoods and food security,” said Jan Egeland, Europe director at Human Rights Watch. “The government should suspend the program until it can ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place and that people have been properly consulted and compensated for the loss of their land.”

The government says the “villagization” program is designed to provide “access to basic socioeconomic infrastructures” to the people it relocates and to bring “socioeconomic & cultural transformation of the people.” But despite pledges to provide suitable compensation, the government has provided insufficient resources to sustain people in the new villages, Human Rights Watch said.

The residents of Gambella, mainly indigenous Anuak and Nuer, have never had formal title to the land they have lived on and used. The government often claims that the areas are “uninhabited” or “under-utilized.” That claim enables the government to bypass constitutional provisions and laws that would protect these populations from being relocated.

The report is based on more than 100 interviews in Ethiopia in May and June 2011, and at the Ifo refugee camp in Dadaab and Nairobi, Kenya, where many Gambellans have fled.

“My father was beaten for refusing to go along [to the new village] with some other elders,” a former villager told Human Rights Watch. “He said, ‘I was born here – my children were born here – I am too old to move so I will stay.’ He was beaten by the army with sticks and the butt of a gun. He had to be taken to hospital. He died because of the beating – he just became weaker and weaker.”

The Villagization Program
The Ethiopian government is planning to resettle 1.5 million people by 2013 in four regions: Gambella, Afar, Somali, and Benishangul-Gumuz. Relocations started in 2010 in Gambella, and approximately 70,000 people there were scheduled to be moved by the end of 2011. Under the Gambella Peoples’ National Regional State Government Plan, 45,000 households are to be moved during the three-year program. The plan pledges to provide infrastructure for the new villages and assistance to ensure alternative livelihoods. The plan also states that the movements are to be voluntary.

Instead of improved access to government services, however, new villages often go without them altogether. The first round of forced relocations occurred at the worst possible time of year – the beginning of the harvest – and many of the areas to which people were moved are dry with poor-quality soil. The nearby land needs to be cleared, and agricultural assistance – seeds and fertilizers – has not been provided. The government failure to provide food assistance for relocated people has caused endemic hunger and cases of starvation.

Human Rights Watch’s research showed that the forced relocation policy is disrupting a delicate balance of survival for many in the region. Livelihoods and food security in Gambella are precarious. Pastoralists are being forced to abandon their cattle-based livelihoods in favor of settled cultivation. Shifting cultivators – farmers who move from one location to another over the years – are being required to grow crops in a single location, which risks depleting their soil of vital nutrients. In the absence of meaningful infrastructural support and regular supplies of food aid, the changes for both populations may have life-threatening consequences, Human Rights Watch said.

The resident of one new village told Human Rights Watch: “We expect major starvation next year because they did not clear in time. If they [the government] cleared [the land] we would have food next year but now we have no means for food.”

Commercial Land Investment
The villagization program is taking place in areas where significant land investment is planned or occurring. The Ethiopian government has consistently denied that the resettlement of people in Gambella is connected to the leasing of large areas of land for commercial agriculture, but villagers have been told by government officials that this is an underlying reason for their displacement. Former local government officials confirmed these allegations to Human Rights Watch.

One farmer told Human Rights Watch that during the government’s initial meeting with his village, government officials told them: “We will invite investors who will grow cash crops. You do not use the land well. It is lying idle.”

“We want you to be clear that the government brought us here… to die... right here,” one elder told Human Rights Watch. “We want the world to hear that government brought the Anuak people here to die. They brought us no food, they gave away our land to the foreigners so we can’t even move back. On all sides the land is given away, so we will die here in one place.”

Mass displacement to make way for commercial agriculture in the absence of a proper legal process contravenes Ethiopia’s constitution and violates the rights of indigenous peoples under international law.

From 2008 through January 2011, Ethiopia leased out at least 3.6 million hectares of land, an area the size of the Netherlands. An additional 2.1 million hectares of land is available through the federal government’s land bank for agricultural investment. In Gambella, 42 percent of the total land area is either being marketed for lease to investors or has already been awarded to investors, according to government figures. Many of the areas that have been moved for villagization are within areas slated for commercial agricultural investment.

“The villagization program is being undertaken in the exact same areas of Ethiopia that the government is leasing to foreign investors for large-scale commercial agricultural operations,” Egeland said. “This raises suspicions about the underlying motives of the villagization program.”

Role of Foreign Donors
Foreign donors to Ethiopia, including the United Kingdom, United States, World Bank, and European Union, assert that they have no direct involvement in the villagization programs. However, the multi-donor Protection of Basic Services (PBS) program subsidizes basic services – health, education, agriculture, roads, and water – and local government salaries in all districts in the country, including areas where new villages are being constructed and where the main activity of local governments is moving people.

As a result of their potential responsibilities and liabilities, donors have undertaken assessments of the villagization program in Gambella and in Benishangul-Gumuz and determined that the relocations were voluntary. Human Rights Watch’s field-based research and interviews with residents, however, indicates that the moves have been coerced.

International donors should ensure that they are not providing support for forced displacement or facilitating rights violations in the name of development, Human Rights Watch said. They should press Ethiopia to live up to its responsibilities under Ethiopian and international law, namely to provide communities with genuine consultation on the villagization process, ensure that the relocation of indigenous people is voluntary, compensate them appropriately, prevent human rights violations during and after any relocation, and prosecute those implicated in abuses. Donors should also seek to ensure that the government meets its obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill the economic and social rights of the people in new villages.

“It seems that the donor money is being used, at least indirectly, to fund the villagization program,” Egeland said. “Donors have a responsibility to ensure that their assistance does not facilitate forced displacement and associated violations.”

Selected Accounts from “Waiting Here for Death”

“We were told, ‘If somebody refuses, the government will take action’ – so the people went to the new village – by force.”
–Villager in Abobo woreda (district), May 2011

“Farmers in our woreda did not want to go. The woreda reported to the region that farmers are refusing to accept. The governor asked the woreda chairman to investigate. He did – ‘Yes, they are resisting. What shall we do?’ he asked the governor. The governor told him that five development agents should be suspended from their job, and that he would bring in the soldiers. So that is what happened.”
–Former woreda civil servant, June 2011

“The government is killing our people through starvation and hunger. It is better to attack us in one place than just waiting here together to die. If you attack us, some of us could run, and some could survive. But this, we are dying here with our children. Government workers get this salary, but we are just waiting here for death.”
–Elder in recently relocated village, Abobo woreda, May 2011

“There is a psychological impact on children. No learning is happening. There was a school in the old village, here there is none. No one is going to school now, as they are afraid. Who will protect them going to the old village? Even the children themselves are refusing to go.”
–Anuak woman from new village discussing the lack of promised school in Abobo woreda, May 2011

Canada’s aid to Ethiopia bankrolling repression, says jailed Canadian’s lawyer

Toronto Star December 18, 2011
 Maintaining that Canadian aid is supporting repression in Ethiopia, human rights lawyer Lorne Waldman has filed an application in Federal Court to block it.
In his application, he is asking that the Canadian government be prohibited from contributing any more development dollars to the African nation to Ethiopia, through the World Bank or the United Nations Development Program.
The application is a last-ditch effort to win the freedom of Bashir Makhtal, a Canadian sentenced in 2009 to life in prison in Ethiopia, the third largest recipient of Canadian official development assistance.
In 2009-2010 Canada provided $168.54 million in development and humanitarian aid to Ethiopia, according to the Canadian International Development Agency’s own reports.
The request for the prohibition of further aid comes on the heels of repeated efforts to win the freedom of Makhtal, a Toronto man who was rendered illegally from Kenya to Ethiopia in January, 2007, kept in prison without access to a lawyer or Canadian consular officials for 18 months, then sentenced to life in prison on terrorism charges.
Makhtal, a former Toronto businessman, had returned to Africa in 2002 to run a used clothing business out of Djibouti, a tiny country between Ethiopia and Somalia on the Horn of Africa. He has been in prison since Dec. 30, 2006, when he was stopped at the Somalia-Kenya border.
The suit states Makhtal “was wrongly accused by the Ethiopian government and was found guilty of being a member of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, an organization seeking independence from Ethiopia of the oil-rich Ogaden region.”
Makhtal has said repeatedly that he does not belong to the organization. His only tie to the organization is a familial one, he has said. His grandfather was one of the co-founders.
Both Makhtal’s family and John Baird, minister of foreign affairs, have repeatedly attested to his innocence. Baird visited Makhtal in prison in Ethiopia and told the family he hoped to win his freedom. There was talk of amnesty from the Ethiopian government, but so far Makhtal remains behind bars in an Ethiopian jail.
“We’re now approaching the 5th anniversary of Bashir’s detention,” Waldman said in an interview with the Star. “We don’t doubt the sincerity of Mr. Baird’s efforts. We had high expectations . . . . But we have no choice but to take action. There have been many times when our hopes have been raised in expectation something would happen, but at this point there is absolutely no indication of any movement on these matters.”
Waldman is arguing in the application that Canada’s assistance program to Ethiopia to fund a variety of national programs is inconsistent with section 4(1) of the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act.
That clause stipulates “official development assistance may be provided only if the competent minister is of the opinion that it (a) contributes to poverty reduction; (b) takes into account the perspectives of the poor; and (c) is consistent with international human right standards.”
Waldman told the Star in an interview that the Canadian government is in contravention of the act because the money Canada is contributing to Ethiopia is being used as “a tool of repression,” rather than uplifting Ethiopian society generally.
Ethiopia has been ruled since 1991 by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front which has been “repeatedly accused of repression and breaching international human rights,” the application said.
According to Waldman’s application, in the U.S. State Department 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on Ethiopia there is a long list of human rights abuses, including “unlawful killings, torture, beating, and abuse and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, especially special police and local militias which took aggressive or violent action with evident impunity in numerous instances.”
As well, the U.S. report points to “poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of suspected sympathizers or members of opposition or insurgent groups; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights, including illegal searches, use of excessive force by security services in counterinsurgency operations.”
Waldman’s application also cites a 2011 Human Rights Watch World Report, saying “hundreds of Ethiopians have been arbitrarily arrested and detained and sometimes subjected to torture and other ill treatments by the Government.”
In October 2010, Human Rights Watch issued a report that stated Ethiopia is using international development assistance for state repression, discrimination and violations of civil and political rights. The report pointed to “serious concerns with respect to national programs, funded by CIDA and other international donors.”
Waldman argues that Canadian official assistance, as directed through the World Bank and the UNDP to Ethiopia, is “bankrolling the Ethiopian government’s state repression, and perpetuates the politicized and discriminatory access to government services, including the judiciary.”
“My client Bashir Makhtal is a victim of the repression of this regime,” Waldman said. “In his particular case the Ethiopian judiciary played a role in his imprisonment. It is not impartial and is in the control of the ruling party of Ethiopia. Some of the money from Canada being channeled through the World Bank goes to back government services which would go back to the justice system — the instrument of repression that was used to sentence Mr. Makhtal to life in prison as a result of an unfair trial. It was a kangaroo court and all the reports of the trial support that.
“The Ethiopian government could end the lawsuit tomorrow if they release Bashir,” Waldman said.

Ethiopia: Stop Using Anti-Terror Law to Stifle Peaceful Dissent

Diplomats Should Systematically Monitor Terrorism Trials

November 21, 2011

For more HRW reporting on Ethiopia

The anti-terror law itself is a huge problem. The international community, especially the European Union, United States, and United Kingdom, should ask the Ethiopian government hard questions about why it is using this law to crack down on peaceful independent voices.

Rona Peligal, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch

(Nairobi) – The Ethiopian government should cease using its overly broad anti-terrorism law against journalists and peaceful political activists, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today.

On November 23, 2011, the trial of 24 people charged with terrorism offenses on November 10 will continue. Those charged include six journalists and two members of the opposition Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party. Sixteen of the 24 are being tried in absentia. Several other terrorism trials of journalists and opposition activists are ongoing.

“The Ethiopian government is exploiting its vaguely worded anti-terror law to crush peaceful dissent,” said Rona Peligal, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

The Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of 2009 includes an overbroad and vague definition of terrorist acts and a definition of “encouragement of terrorism” that makes the publication of statements “likely to be understood as encouraging terrorist acts” punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison. These provisions mean that critics of government such as journalists and political opponents could be charged for encouraging terrorism, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said.

The organizations urged the Ethiopian government to facilitate systematic monitoring of the trials by the diplomatic community. The times and locations of hearings have been altered at the last minute at least twice during the ongoing trials. The government should ensure that key information, including location and time of hearings, is available to the public.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also urged diplomats stationed in Ethiopia to carry out systematic monitoring of the ongoing terrorism trials and the trials of members of the Oromo political opposition arrested during 2011. This is particularly important in the absence of independent human rights organizations, which the Ethiopian government has effectively banned. While diplomatic representatives have attended several remand hearings and trial sessions of terrorism cases, none were apparently present at the November 10 confirmation of charges hearing, following a last-minute change of location, nor at the subsequent hearing on November 15.

Ethiopia’s foreign partners closely followed a series of trials from 2005 to 2007, in which treason charges were brought following contested elections. The Council of the European Union appointed a full-time trial observer, although the findings of its report were never made public. EU embassy staff monitored these trials on a rotating basis, and a US embassy staff member was also present.

“Diplomats’ systematic monitoring of these trials is essential,” said Michelle Kagari, deputy director for Africa at Amnesty International. “Without the presence of local civil society, diplomats can play a vital role in witnessing whether or not the suspects’ right to a fair trial is respected.”

None of the defendants detained and charged under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation during 2011 had access to a lawyer during the pre-trial period. Three of those charged have complained in court of mistreatment in detention.

Public comments by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the government spokesman, Shimeles Kemal, have undermined the defendants’ presumption of innocence, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said. Their comments might also exert political pressure on the courts in a country where the judiciary lacks independence.

Since June 2011, the Ethiopian government has charged at least 33 people under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of 2009.

In addition, in 2011, at least 98 members of the two main Oromo political opposition parties, the Oromo Federal Democratic Movement (OFDM) and the Oromo People’s Congress (OPC), have been arrested and charged under the Criminal Code on the basis of alleged involvement with the Oromo Liberation Front, a banned rebel group.

Seven of the people charged on November 10 had previously been charged during the trials that followed the 2005 elections. All had been given presidential pardon. Three of the seven are among the defendants who are now in custody, two others fled the country after their earlier release, and two were already living in exile when they were charged in the earlier cases.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have long called for the anti-terrorism law to be amended to bring it into line with Ethiopia’s domestic and international legal obligations.

“The anti-terror law itself is a huge problem,” Peligal said. “The international community, especially the European Union, United States, and United Kingdom, should ask the Ethiopian government hard questions about why it is using this law to crack down on peaceful independent voices.”

  PRESS RELEASE

 We, members of Unity for Human Rights and Democracy Toronto are shocked to hear of the death of Yenesew Gebre, a 29-nine year old Ethiopian teacher from southwest Ethiopia who set himself on fire on Friday, November 11, and died on Monday November 14 in the town of Dawro, Waka, Southern Ethiopia, after confronting government officials at a public meeting.

It gives heartbreaking testimony to the unbearable pain he and others have suffered under the brutal and oppressive rule of the Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front under the leadership of Meles Zenawi for the past 20 years. We strongly believe every life is a God-given gift and one life lost is one too many. As advocates of a peaceful struggle for democracy and justice, this stands for upholding the human and civil rights of all people regardless of ethnicity or other differences. When one Ethiopian is hurt, we are all hurt.

Mr. Yenesew Gebre is not just some unknown Ethiopian; he is one of us and has a name. He is the son, brother, uncle, best friend, teacher or valued colleague of others who also have names. We are sure his absence in this world will be deeply grieved by all of them and our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time. He is part of our greater Ethiopian family and together, we mourn the loss of his life. He is one of the many Ethiopians who have been deprived of his life.

The Canadian government has spent hundreds of millions of Canadian tax payers’ money supporting the regime in Ethiopia.  Particularly, in the past decade millions of dollars were spent to revitalize the justice system in Ethiopia, which today is in total collapse. The regime of Meles Zenawi, uses the justice system as a tool to intimidate political opponents. Political motivated trials in the past also indicate that, the judiciary in Ethiopia is neither independent nor impartial. In the last twenty years no person accused of an offence in relation to his political activities has received a favourable ruling. Simply put, the justice system is manipulated controlled and directed by the regime.

According to Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) sources, Yenesew was very angry at the injustice the people were subjected at the hands of ruling party officials. It also appears that Yenesew had been fired from his teaching position due to his political views and unswerving stand against human rights violations, tyranny and oppression. As Canadians it hurts us a lot to see our government supporting and more, sending Canadian Tax payer’s money to a dictator that does not respect basic Human rights.

We, members of Unity for Human Rights and Democracy, demand Canada review, more clearly stop its financial support to the regime of Mr.Mels Zenaw, and raise the issue of an immediate political reform in Ethiopia.

Our condolence goes to the family and friends to Yenesew Gebre.

Yousuf Omer

President

November 18, 2011