24 Ethiopian migrants drown off Yemeni coast

December 29, 2014, Sanaa (Zeenews): The Yemeni interior ministry said Monday that 24 Ethiopian migrantswere found dead after their boat sank off the Yemeni coast.

In a statement posted on its website, the ministry said the boat sank off the Red Sea coast of Yemen`s southwestern province of Taiz, Xinhua reported.

It said the rescue operation has been launched to search for survivors off the port city of Al-Makha. The statement did not tell when the boat sank.

It was the second accident in the Yemeni waters in less than a month. On Dec 7, about 70 Ethiopean migrants drowned after their boat sank in the Red Sea due to bad weather.

According to media reports, hundreds of Africans drown every year while trying to reach Yemen in crowded boats.

Over 62,000 asylum seekers, refugees and migrants arrived in Yemen from the Horn of Africa in 2013, according to the United Nations` refugee agency.

Source: AP

Ethiopia struggles to help its 5.5mn child laborers

Ethiopia’s Central Statistical Agency says there are over 5.5 million child laborers in this country between the ages of 5 and 14

December 27, 2014 (World Bulletin/News Desk) - Eleven-year-old Senait travels the streets of Addis Ababa, the bustling Ethiopian metropolis of 3.5 million people, every day in search for people who want to try their luck by buying one of the lottery tickets she sells.

Along with the lottery tickets, Senait also sells roasted cereals.

None of the people who see Senait merchandizing her wares in the Ethiopian capital is sure what the future holds for her. She, however, is confident that this future will bring her luck.

“I am sure that my bad luck will come to an end one day,” Senait said. “I work hard to bring this end quickly,” she added.

Senait is not, however, the only child in this African state who struggles to alter her condition. As many as 5.5 million Ethiopian children do the same.

The country’s Central Statistical Agency says there are over 5.5 million child laborers in this country between the ages of 5 and 14, out of a total child population of 22 million. Almost as populous as Egypt, Ethiopia boasts a total population of 90 million.

Most of these children work in Ethiopia’s informal sector, according to the agency.

These young laborers are forced to be part of household chores, carry water home, collect wood for fire and be part of farming activities.

Everywhere in this country, children are seen carrying goods, shining shoes, vending or working as minivan driver assistants.

In Ethiopia’s countryside, the children work at home, wash clothes and dishes, cook and take care of younger relatives.

Senait, a 5th grader, has no time to study her school lessons. She says she has to work to support her poor family.

“This is a tough life,” the little girl said. “I have to stay out in the streets and enter taverns to sell my tickets and cereals,” she added.

Senait does this from the morning until 9: 00pm every day. Small and wafer-thin as she is, Senait is sometimes harassed by drunk clients. Other times, these clients take her tickets and cereals, but refuse to pay their prices at the end.

Poverty

Fekadu Gebru, an industrial relations director at the Ethiopian Labor and Social Affairs Ministry, believes that poverty is the root cause of child labor in this country.

He said the government worked hard to improve the livelihoods of citizens to prevent the proliferation of such a trend.

“We strive to prevent child labor in line with an international convention Ethiopia signed earlier and legislation already put in place,” Fekadu told The Anadolu Agency.

Nevertheless, there are so many working children out there. The stories of all these children are almost similar.

Ten-year-old Tagel works in shoe shining. He said his father died some time ago, which made it necessary for him to work to support his poor mother.

After he attends school, Tagel takes a wooden box where he keeps the shoe shining materials and equipment and hurries to the street to earn a living.

“I earn about $2.5 a day,” Tagel said. “This covers the cost of my school uniform and educational materials,” he added.

He added that he puts food on the table for his mother also with the same amount of money.

Hope

Aklilu Yohannes and Alemayehu Abera work also in lottery ticket selling.

The two boys – 12 and 13 respectively – earn around $2 a day each, but a relative who sponsors them gets the lion’s share of this amount of money every day.

Now, both of them are hopeful that one of the lottery tickets in their hands will win.

Despite this, Ethiopia’s economy has been growing at 10.9 percent, almost the highest economic growth rate in the world.

This growth rate has contributed to reducing poverty across Ethiopia, according to the World Bank.

In 2004 and 2005, around 38.7 percent of Ethiopians lived in abject poverty. This rate dropped to 29.6 percent five years later.

Fekadu said Ethiopia had enough legislation to protect the children against labor abuse. He said children should not be allowed to work before the age of 14.

“Raising family income is the best way to prevent child labor,” Fekadu said. “The children are after all forced to work to support their poor families,” he added.

Ethiopia has partnered with international NGO World Vision in bringing child labor down in it through a program that has been implemented in 2012 and is expected to come to an end by the end of 2014.

The program introduced improved clay pottery wheels and spinning tools to adults to help them earn a living without the involvement of the children.

Around 20,000 children were saved from labor so far as a result, according to Fekadu.

As family earnings improve, children get the opportunity to go to school, he said, adding that over 93 percent school age children are already enrolled in schools across Ethiopia.

Source: World Bulletin

Professor Merrara Gudina an Oromo intellectual has been sacked from his post at AAU

December 27, 2014 (siitube) –Professor Merrara Gudina, an Oromo/Ethiopian Political Science Lecturer has been sacked by Ethiopian government from his post at Addis Ababa University (AAU) for his political view. He is known for his staunch support for human rights of the peoples of this entire region in general, for his ethnic national, the Oromo (40% of the entire Ethiopians) in particular.

Regardless of its barbarism to the citizens, the Ethiopian government receives from the UK tax payers about 340million annually, despite its abhorring records of human rights. About 6 month ago (June 2014), the UK citizen with Ethiopian origin known as Andargachew Tsige (one of prominent Diaspora Opposition leaders) has been kidnaped by Ethiopian security forces from Yemen Capital Sana’a and taken to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa where he has been allegedly tortured and deprived access to consular support and kept out public sight. His wife and children in London are left in darkness. The UK government is doing little or nothing about their citizen.

Between 80.000 to 100.000 political prisoners are kept in various Ethiopian prisons (from whom about 90% prisoners belong to Ethnic Oromo of professor Merrara Gudina). Freedom of assembly, association and expression are unthinkable. Literally the regime in power, dominated with minority Tigreans (less than 6%) rules the remaining 94% citizens with terror and constant intimidation.

Moreover, about 15 journalists have been unlawfully arrested and remain imprisoned; whilst over 24 journalists have fled the country in the past 2 years alone. The regime kidnaps and kills any person fleeing the country suspected of becoming opposition party members.

The latest campaigns against the Oromo nation’s formidable academician, staunch human rights activist and intellectual is part of such sustained state sponsored terror against civilians. Whilst doing so, the regime of this empire is being sponsored by the West under the pretext of War on Terror’ practically the regime is terrorising the citizens.

Source: Siitube

Norway: Demonstration outside City Hall

We want justice for the Oromo people.

By Tina Alnes-Jørgensen | December 26, 2014

(HA) – Protestors shouts against the town hall: “We want justice for the Omoro people”.

Dagmawi Bitew have come to Hamar from Trondheim to demonstrate together with others Omoro. Among them are Roba Pawos that takes pictures of the demonstrators and their posters.

– There are about 40 million Oromo, and many of those being treated badly in Ethiopia. Leaders expanding towns at the expense of the population and the farmers who live there. They do not have homes, and are not being heard by the government, he said.

Several attempt to demonstrate in their home country, but was not well received says Pawlos.

– 17 students who demonstrated have been killed because they cried out, he says.

Because I am Oromo

At one of the signs says “because I’m Oromo”. That is why they demonstrate explains several of the protesters. They are not being heard in Ethiopia where injustice occurs, so now they cry in Hamar and other cities around the world. They appeal to including Norwegian authorities and say they have been well received by those who came out of the town hall.

On the banner they carry is the text (translated from English):

“We condemn the ongoing massacre of Ethiopian students, made by the Ethiopian regime. And the eviction of Oromo people from their homeland and areas by Finfine (Addis Ababa).

Arrested

On 27 August 2011, Olbana Lelis from “Oromo People’s Congress party” (OPC) arrested. Authorities have also arrested university teachers and others who are accused of belonging to Oromo, Amnesty on its website.

– This is a method authorities for silencing opposition leaders and troublemakers, says Amnesty.
This happened three years ago, after the Amnesty authorities have arrested as many as 5,000 to. Oromo is the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia.

Source: HA

WAYYAANEEN NACAQASSI !

Habtamu Negashe Balcha Irraa

       Mudde, 25,2014

Oromumaan keenyaan biya iraa baqanee.

Yakka taka malee Oromiyaa  irraa fagaannee,

Kino haga araa biyyatti hindeebinee.

Lammi irraa addan baane,

Firaan addan banne,

Ollaan addan banne.

Kino haga araa Oromumaaf jeenne,

Akka ilmaan shibiraa adunyaa iraa facaanne.

Hayyottin Oromo maaf biya baqattan,

Baratton Oromo maaf biya baqattan ,

Goottonni Oromo maaf biyyaa baqattan?

Maalifissi hidhaman,

Maalifissi tumaman ,

Maalifissi ajeefaman?

Biya keessa kan jiran?

Mee yakka maal qaban?

Gutummaa Walaloo Haftaamuu Dubbisuuf:-  Wayyaaneen Na Caqasi

Ethiopian pilot defects to Eritrea in helicopter

Russian built M-35 fighter helicopter

December 23, 2014 (Reuters) — Eritrea and Ethiopia have been locked in a border dispute for years and routinely accuse each other of backing rebels trying to destabilise and topple the other’s government

An Ethiopian air force pilot has defected to Eritrea, flying a helicopter across the border with his co-pilot and a technician, Ethiopian state-run media said on Tuesday.

The three men had been missing since Friday morning soon after leaving their base on a routine training session, Ethiopian Television reported.

Eritrea and Ethiopia have been locked in a border dispute for years and routinely accuse each other of backing rebels trying to destabilise and topple the other’s government – a legacy from the two-year war they fought in the late 1990s.

“The military helicopter landed in Eritrea, flown by a traitor pilot who forced both his co-pilot and a technician while they took part in a training exercise,” the report said, citing a defence ministry statement.

It did not give further details.

No official from either side was available for comment, but reports from pro-Eritrean government outlets and those of opposition groups said the helicopter was an MI-35 gunship.

Ethiopia says the spat over the demarcation of their shared border following the 1998-2000 war would only be solved through a negotiated settlement.

Eritrea wants Ethiopia to pull its troops out before normalising relations, citing a decision by a Hague-based boundary commission which awarded it the flashpoint frontier village of Badme in 2002.

Reuters

Government Eyes to Federalize Shashamane-Hawasa Corridor of Ethiopia

December 14, 2014

Federal government plans to take over the entire corridor of 25km between Hawasa and Shashamene. Both Sidama Zone or SNNPR and Oromia have not been consulted yet

Major cities in Oromia are administered in what is termed as “special zone.” Jimma and its surrounding is special zone; Addis Ababa and its surrounding is special zone; Adama and its surrounding is special zone. Now the federal government of Ethiopia is considering to create one for Shashamane because, sources disclose, the city is becoming home for ”nations and nationalities” and economically very significant to be left for the regional government. In fact, the federal government wants to take over the entire corridor of 25km between Hawasa and Shashamene. And both Sidama Zone or SNNPR and Oromia have not been consulted yet. The plan will land on table presumably after 2015 election and EPRDF secures majority in the house that is already decided at the council of ministers in their last successive meetings.

As a tradition, top-down orders from the Government of Ethiopia (GoE), which is mostly controlled and manipulated by the Tigrayan minority group TPLF, would not be questioned by the regional states and the ruling regional “allies.” Any form of divergence from what the GoE says would not be tolerated and often officials are intimidated. The Addis Ababa master plan for example faced stiff resistance and after about months of “mediation,” the GoE via Addis Ababa city administration is bracing for what is thought to be a potential escalation of dispute with Oromia when the plan is once again put for test in January 2015. The exact terms reached between Addis Ababa and Oromia with more arbrating than mediating role of Federal officials will never be known until documents are available for media and public. As to Diriba Kuma himself, he is nervous because he wants to return back to Oromia with his little left reputation. Aafter all Oromia is much formidable place for officials than the federal government, and this master plan is not making things easy for him. Again, he also wants to stay and turn things around, and that would risk him for intimidation by GoE.

The word ‘’federalize’’ is only used in this context to describe the intention of the Federal government. As it is dictated by the constitution and other bylaws, federal government can’t own land. However, the GoE acts as if it owns everything in the empire amplifying the stark reality and difference between what is on paper and what is being practiced. In fact, the creation of special zones can be taken as a strategy of weakening the regional governments by snatching economically viable and productive areas, at the same time, strengthen the much talked about TPLF’s economic empire.

Creating a special zone is not new thing in developing countries. The noble motive of creating such geographic and administrative demarcation is to facilitate development and ensure smooth and dynamic rural-urban divide, and reduce the negative impacts of emerging industries on the the environment and the society. However, the case of Oromia is quite different, or perhaps as the source indicates, disastrous.

In Addis Ababa, rampant mismanagement and corruption of land is source of fortune for few and destitution for most. Although rarely, this has been acknowledged by the city government itself. The last wave of urban land grab was right after the 2005 election. The so called Land Bank was fabricated to ration land to Tigrayans; following that campaign, Ex-Minister Ermisa Legese tells, over 150000 Oromo farmers and their families were displaced in what is now understood as systematic genocide. The second wave of land grab, this time deep into Oromia, is an ongoing project since 2012 right before Mele’s death. And many believe this Adds Ababa master plan legitimizes what has been done under the radar for the last 10 years. We should be afraid that It might take another 15 year but a complete social and economic Abyssinianization of Jimma, Adama and Shashamane is quite possible within this regime unless change is pending.

As smooth as it looks from outside falsely to handle investment and industries, the creation of special zone is an administrative hurdle because it is a redundant procedure. Creating a zone within Zone, society within society, economy within economy, is not sustainable and fair. There are experiences from other federal countries how to develop both social and economic sectors of the population without adversely impacting the livelihood of the people and the ecology. And the best way to do that is not to disconnect the rural surrounding from its urban epicenter.

Special zone model is attentively and particularly geared to be applied in Oromia as neither in Amhara nor in Tigray regions that they have special zones in a way they are in the former. In the later two regions, there are Mekele zone and Bahirdar zone but it is only purely for economic reasons since they have a smooth and consistent social transition from urban to rural settings. Without bold social and economic policy changes, my source thinks, these cities such as Jimma or Adama are administratively would soon be out of Oromia. because of their economic and administrative model and their social mix, which are not according to the interest of the Oromo people, just like Addis Ababa.

Apart from serving as a new hotbed for corruption and mismanagement, the new special zone around Shashamane and its link with Hawasa is intended to create an ‘’atmosphere of cooperation’’ between the two regional states. The increasing hostility between regional states were an intense topic during several federal security meetings. Most of these disputes are over land and border. Tigrayan controlled GoE, heavily influenced by Amhara individuals (not ANDM persei), wants to check and demise the little autonomy of regional state in pretext of ‘’creating one socioeconomic community’’ rhetoric of the constitution thereby pleasing the assimilative and border-phobic motives of some influential Amhara elites to restore their nostalgic interest of the empire and at the same time ensuring the continuous economic hegemony of Tigrayan minority.

Addis Master Plan completed, sent to local governments

December 12, 2014 (Capital Ethiopia – pro-government website) — Established to craft a plan that integrates Addis Ababa with the surrounding Oromia region, the Addis Ababa and Surrounding Oromia Special Zone Integrated Master Plan Project Office will come to the end of its mission at the end of the current Ethiopian year. The board of directors, which is led by Dirriba Kuma, mayor of the Addis Ababa city government and Abdullaziz Mohammad, vice president of Oromia regional state, decided to submit the finalized integrated plan by January, 2015.

The board of directors are also expected to announce the approval of designs prepared by the project office, as part of the master plan. These include developing a green economy and using city rivers for recreational purposes. They are also contemplating to launch the plan in the next two weeks. The plan will serve the capital and the special zones for the next 25 years.

“By 2023, Addis Ababa and the surrounding Oromia will provide a safe and livable environment for their people and become Ethiopian’s hub to ensure the national vision of becoming a middle income county, Africas diplomatic capital and internationally competitive city” reads the mission statement of the master plan.
The plan’s purpose is to link Addis Ababa with special zones within 100km of the capital; economically and socially. These zones are administered under Oromia regional state.

“The aim of the project office was to prepare the integrated plan and pass it on to respective economic sectors, under the Addis Ababa city government and the Oromia regional state. Carrying the plan out will be the responsibility of local governments,” said Dawit Nigussie, Public Relation Head at the project office.

Hopes are that this will improve economic conditions in outlying areas. Currently, the integrated plan has introduced new industry zones in Sululta, Burayu-Menagesha, Adama, Sebeta, Gelan-Dukem, and Legetafo/Legedadi.

Source: Capital Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Release protestors, stop crushing political opposition

December 11, 2014 (Amnesty International) — On 5 and 6 December, security services in Addis Ababa arrested an estimated 90 people during attempts to stage a demonstration by a coalition of nine opposition political parties. The arrests are the latest manifestation of the authorities’ hostility towards the political opposition ahead of the general election scheduled for May 2015. The Ethiopian authorities must ensure the immediate and unconditional release of those arrested for peaceful participation in, or the organization of, the demonstration, and all others imprisoned in Ethiopia for the peaceful expression of their political opinion.

Amnesty International is concerned that in the period ahead of next year’s poll such instances of the authorities cracking down on political opposition will intensify.

The nine-party coalition was attempting to stage a demonstration in Addis Ababa’s Meskel Square on 6 December as the culmination of a series of activities calling for a free and fair election.

The exact number of people arrested has not been established, but the political parties involved report that around 90 people arrested in relation to the demonstration have appeared in court remand hearings in recent days.

The Semayawi (Blue) party, one of the coalition members, says that around 75 of its members and leadership were arrested, including its Chair, Engineer Yilkal Getnet, who is reported to have been injured as a result of beating by the police before he was arrested. The leaders of at least three other parties in the coalition were also arrested – Girma Bekele of the Omo People’s Democratic Union and Chair of the coalition, Erchafo Erdelo, Chair of the Kembata Peoples’ Congress and Alesa Mengesha, Chair of the Gedeo People’s Democratic Organization.

The other parties in the coalition are the All Ethiopian Democratic Party, the All Ethiopian Unity Party, the All Ethiopian National Party, the All Amhara People’s Organization and the Sodo Gordona Democratic Organization.

Two eye-witnesses told Amnesty International that there was a heavy federal police presence in Meskel Square on 6 December. Some would-be protestors were reportedly arrested on their way to the square. Another group was arrested shortly after leaving the Semayawi party office to walk to the square. The latter group was reported to have been beaten by police, resulting in a number of injuries.

The two groups are being detained in Sostegna (third) and Cherkos police stations.

The group detained in Sostegna police station, which numbers over 50 people, the majority of whom are Semayawi party members, appeared at Arada first instance court on 8 December, accused of participating in an illegal demonstration and attempting to overthrow the Constitution. They were remanded in custody until 22 December. 27 people detained at Cherkos police station were brought before a court in the Cherkos area, also on 8 December, accused of destroying public property in Meskel Square and remanded in custody until 15 December.

A group of six further Semayawi party members and two members of the All Ethiopian Unity Party, were arrested on 5 December after leaving the Semayawi office, and are being detained in Kotebe police station. They reportedly appeared in Yeka first instance court on the day of their arrest and were remanded in custody until 15 December.

The Semayawi party told Amnesty International it had informed the city administration of its intention to stage a demonstration, as required under the relevant proclamation, and had received a response informing the party it should not hold the demonstration, due to construction work in Meskel Square and a reported lack of security services to police the event. The response did not offer an alternative date or location. Semayawi states that due to this failure, it went ahead with its plans.

According to the Proclamation to Establish the Procedure for Peaceful Demonstration and Public Political Meeting (No. 3/1991), anyone planning to hold a demonstration must provide written notice to the relevant authorities 48 hours in advance, providing specifics of the nature, time, location and number of expected participants. The administrative office must provide a written response to the applicant within 12 hours if it is preferable that the demonstration be held at a different time or location.

The Ethiopian Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights all oblige the Ethiopian government to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. Under international law, any restrictions on the exercise of these rights may only be such as are demonstrably necessary and proportionate for specific reasons recognised as legitimate, and must not undermine the right itself. Despite these legal obligations on the Ethiopian government, thousands of Ethiopians have been arrested in 2014 alone for their involvement in protests.

The Ethiopian government’s intolerance of dissent is increasing apace ahead of next May’s general elections. Throughout 2014, as well as large-scale arrests of protestors, there have been multiple arrests of members and leadership of opposition political parties, as well as other dissenting voices.

The Oromo Federalist Congress opposition political party reported that between 350 and 500 of its members were arrested between May and July, with further arrests of party members continuing every month since then. In July, Yeshewas Asefa of the Semayawi party was arrested along with Habtamu Ayalew and Daniel Shebeshi of the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party and Abraha Desta of the Arena Tigray party. The four were subsequently charged under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. Semayawi members Befekadu Abebe, a party official in Arba Minch, and Agbaw Setegn, a member from Gondar, both remain in Maikelawi federal police detention centre since their arrests in September and October respectively.

The Semayawi party has also reported numerous arrests of its members throughout the year in relation to protests or attempts to stage protests. Seven female members were arrested in March during a run to mark International Women’s Day in Addis Ababa, along with three male party members. They had been chanting slogans including “We need freedom! Free political prisoners!” They were released without charge after ten days. In late April, 20 members of the party were arrested while promoting and distributing flyers for a demonstration in Addis Ababa. They were released after 11 days.

The crackdown has also included the remnants of independent media in the country during the year. Seven independent publications were targeted in an orchestrated smear campaign in the state-owned media, alleging they had printed a number of articles which ‘promoted terrorism,’ denied the economic growth, belittled the legacy of Meles Zenawi, and other ‘transgressions.’ Subsequently over 20 journalists fled the country under threat of prosecution. Six bloggers from the Zone 9 collective and three independent journalists associated with the group were arrested in April, and later charged with terrorism offences. The arrests came just days after the group announced on social media the resumption of its activities, which included a programme of work leading up to the elections, such as voter education. In late October, after a trial that had lasted more than two years, editor Temesgen Desalegn was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for ‘defamation’ and ‘inciting the public through false rumours’ in the now-defunct publication ‘Feteh.’

This series of events demonstrates that, despite the fact that since the 2005 elections the government has taken multiple steps to entrench its rule and suppress other political parties, to coerce voters, and to dismantle opposition and dissent, the authorities still are intent on stifling any possibilities of political opposition ahead of May’s poll.

Amnesty International is concerned there will be further human rights violations ahead of the elections, including arbitrary arrests and the detention of opposition political party members, and possible violence against opposition party members and demonstrators.

In the lead-up to the 2015 elections, the government must ensure the ability of all Ethiopians to exercise their right to hold and express political opinions without fear of arrest or other repercussions, and must immediately remove unlawful restrictions on free and open political participation, including restrictions on the independent media, civil society organisations and opposition political parties. The government should also issue clear orders to security services to cease their harassment and arrest of persons peacefully expressing opposition to the government, including those campaigning for opposition political parties.

Anyone who has been arrested based solely on their activities as a member of an opposition political party, their peaceful expression of dissent or of their political opinion, their journalistic activities or their participation in a peaceful protest, must be immediately and unconditionally released.

Source: Amnesty International

Mediterranean deadlier than ever as migration surges in 2014

In November 2014 alone, at least 8,000 people were rescued at sea. © IOM 2014

December 11, 2014 (Euronews) — The world’s deadliest sea is the Mediterranean, the United Nations refugee agency tells us, reporting that more people than ever are embarking on risky sea crossings in search of a better life.

The UN said the previous high of about 70,000 in 2011 during the Libyan civil war has roughly tripled. Syrians and Eritreans make up half the total.

The surge in numbers coincides with growing anti-immigration feeling in many countries, prompting UN human rights chief Antonio Guterres to criticise states as ‘mean-spirited’.

The bulk of arrivals has been in Europe: more than 207,000 people crossing from the Middle East and countries in Africa since January 1st; 3,419 died trying.

Rasha Almasri, Syrian, described her experience: “We stayed at sea for a week, really suffering, seven black days in the middle of the sea. Each day the smugglers told us we would leave tomorrow. They kept bringing more migrants out to the boat, filling it and filling it. Eventually, the engine failed and we were stuck. Then an Egyptian warship caught us and brought us here.”

Libya still has armed internal conflicts getting worse. It can’t control its vast border, so much in the desert. Migrants make their way through it to the Mediterranean.

Amer Bashier, an official on the front line in Sebratha, in the northwestern corner of Libya, said: “We get illegal immigration with asylum seekers coming from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, also a lot of Syrians now, as a lot more of them are trying to reach Europe.”

Sebratha fishing port is a major starting out point for attempts to reach Italy.

Other bodies of water criss-crossed by people fleeing war and desperation include the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. This year, 82,680 people took that route from the Horn of Africa, trying to reach the rich Persian Gulf countries; 242 are known to have paid with their lives.

In the Bay of Bengal 540 died from among 54,000 boat people.

The UNHCR says at least 384,000 people have taken to the seas this year. Almost 4,300 died trying to reach safety — eight out of ten of them crossing the Mediterranean.

Ethiopia: The Right to Remain Silent

ANALYSIS

By Ben Rawlence

Few political rights exist in Ethiopia and even fewer voices criticise the government.

Ethiopian ‘Democratic’ Election

December 11, 2014 (Africa in Fact) — The right to remain silent is one liberty not denied to critics of the Ethiopian government. Most other political entitlements have vanished. This explains the puzzle of Ethiopia’s invisible political opposition: it is so battered and brutalised, tattered and torn, that what is left of its pieces may never fit together again.

The current government is mostly to blame. It came to power in 1991 after it toppled the communist military junta led by despot Mengistu Haile Mariam. The victorious coalition of ethnic militias promised a new dispensation, based on the concept of “ethnic federalism”.

But nearly a quarter of a century later, Ethiopia remains a de facto one-party state. As countless analysts have noted, including successive European Union election observation missions, there is no separation between the government bureaucracy and the ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). No political space is allowed to dissenting voices.

Most critics are behind bars, the first and main reason for the absence of a political opposition in Africa’s oldest independent nation.

Of the 547 members of Parliament (MPs), only one is from an opposition party. Girma Seif Maru of the Unity for Democracy and Justice party (UDJ) is the lonely MP–window dressing whom the government allowed to win a seat in the last general election in 2010. But large swathes of the UDJ are in prison.

Other opposition party members, including Bekele Gerba, a leader of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, and Olbana Lelisa of the Oromo People’s Congress Party, were imprisoned days after meeting with representatives from Amnesty International in 2011.

Andualem Arage, the UDJ’s vice-chairman, and another UDJ leader, Natnael Mekonnen, were put behind bars for debating the 2011 Arab spring rebellions. So was outspoken journalist Eskinder Nega, who posed questions about the possibility of a similar Ethiopian movement in his online pieces. In June 2012 Mr Andualem was sentenced to 75 years in prison, while Messrs Eskinder and Natnael got off lighter with 18 each.

They are just three of the thousands of government critics silenced in the slammer. Barely a month goes by without news of fresh arrests and detentions. In July, four more leaders of the UDJ, Arena Tigray and Semayawi (“Blue”) opposition parties were detained. In addition, Andargachew Tsige, an Ethiopian opposition leader and British citizen, was arrested in Yemen and extradited to Addis Ababa, the capital, in July. He is facing the death penalty for allegedly plotting a coup in 2009.

In July 2013, thousands of people took to the streets of Addis Ababa demanding the release of some of Ethiopia’s estimated 30,000-40,000 political prisoners, according to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The protestors also called for the repeal of a draconian anti-terror law that has been exploited to target legitimate opposition members. Crackdowns and arrests followed, including the detention of 40 UDJ activists who had distributed flyers encouraging people to protest.

The second reason for the opposition’s muffled voice is fear: a decade or more of repression has taken its toll. The government spies on dissidents in the diaspora and uses its control of food aid to literally starve the opposition at home, according to Human Rights Watch. Yet, Ethiopia’s citizens seem to passively accept each new transgression of their rights. They are just too scared to fight back.

A brief emancipatory moment swept Ethiopia in 2005. The ruling EPRDF, under the leadership of the late Meles Zenawi, allowed the forerunner of the UDJ, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), a degree of freedom to campaign in the general elections that year. In polls that appeared relatively free, 174 opposition MPs were elected.

But the CUD disputed the results and protests erupted in the capital. Police killed nearly 200 unarmed protestors and arrested 40,000 CUD members and sympathisers in a nationwide clampdown, according to media reports. The memory of that brutality still casts a long shadow. Since then, the government has given no quarter.

This is the third factor explaining Ethiopia’s invisible opposition: the government controls every aspect of daily life. In 2010 Human Rights Watch documented the strategic use of food aid, agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertilisers, access to microcredit, teacher training and even university admissions to encourage support for the ruling party.

It worked. In the 2008 local election the ruling party won 99% of the votes and 3m local government seats. In the 2010 general election, the debacle of 2005 was avoided and voting was peaceful. The EPRDF took 99.6% of the parliamentary slots, leaving the UDJ with the one decorative seat.

The final squeeze on the political opposition and any form of dissent has been the use of repressive laws. The 2009 anti-terror law has a sweeping definition of terrorism. Another 2009 law bans NGOs that engage in human rights or advocacy activities from receiving more than 10% of their funds from abroad. It also requires all NGOs to re-register with a new government agency. This legislation closed down Ethiopia’s critical organisations and made hundreds of activists redundant.

As long-time Ethiopia observer, René Lefort, commented in July in an article on the Open Democracy website: “When the political space is impermeable, the inevitable internal conflicts can only overflow into the ethnic and/or religious sphere.”

They have. The government has been jostling for the last two years with the Muslim community that objected to government attempts to interfere in the appointments of the Islamic council. Every Friday, peaceful protests are held at mosques in Addis Ababa. Every Friday security forces shut them down and jail religious leaders, as reported in the media and acknowledged implicitly by government statements.

In June more protests erupted just outside Addis Ababa in opposition to what is considered a discriminatory plan by the city council to expand the capital and displace many of the ethnic Oromos who live at its edges. The government often makes blanket accusations against critics based on their ethnicity, linking them to banned ethnic-based militias such as the Oromo Liberation Front and the Ogaden National Liberation Front, active in Ethiopia’s eastern Somali region. At least 5,000 ethnic Oromos have been arrested between 2011 and 2014 based on their actual or suspected opposition to the government, according to an October 2014 Amnesty International report.

The EPRDF has portrayed itself as a vanguard party, charged with a sacred duty to articulate the “developmental state”. Its dictum is “You are either with or against us.” It has evolved a rich rhetoric for those who oppose it by labelling them “anti-development” or “neoliberal”. In the meantime, the state’s command economy depends on dollars from “neoliberal” donors. It took $3 billion in external assistance in 2012, according to the World Bank, more than any other country in Africa.

In the run-up to the May 2015 general election, will the EPRDF allow the opposition to compete? Will the opposition participate or boycott the polls? Such queries are beside the point: the struggle for democracy in Ethiopia was lost long ago. The next election will be another EPRDF landslide, in keeping with the history of the current ruling party and its revolutionary roots.

Ben Rawlence is researching and writing a book about Somali refugees in Kenya with the support of the Open Society foundation. He is the author of “Radio Congo: Signals of Hope from Africa’s Deadliest War”. Mr Rawlence received his master’s in international relations from the University of Chicago. He lives in London.

ETHIOPIA: Outbreak of Deadly Disease in Jail, Denial of Graduation of University Students

HRLHA – URGENT ACTION

December 10, 2014

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) would like to express its deep concern over the outbreak of a deadly disease at Gimbi Jail in Western Wollega, as a result of which one inmate has already died and sixty (60) others infected. HRLHA strongly believes that the very poor sanitation in the jail, absence of basic necessities, and denial of treatment after catching the illness have contributed to Mr. Yaikob Nigaru’s death. HRLHA fears that those who have already caught the disease might be facing the same fate. It is well documented that particularly inmates deemed “political prisoners” are deliberately subjected to unfriendly and unhealthy environments and, after getting sick as a result, are not allowed access to treatment until they approach or reach the stage of coma, which is when recoveries are very unlikely. HRLHA considers it one way of the systematic eliminations of alleged and/or perceived political dissidents.

Mr. Ya’kob Nigatu was one of the 224 Oromo Nationals (139 from Gimbi in Western Wollaga, 80 from Ambo, and 5 from Ma’ikellawi in Addis Ababa/Finfinne) who were charged by the Federal Government on the 10^th of November, 2014 for allegedly committing acts of terrorism in relation to the April/May, 2014 peaceful protests by Oromo students in different parts of the regional state of Oromia. HRLHA has learnt that five of the 224 Oromo defendants, who were held at the infamous Ma’ikelawi Criminal Investigation for about six months, were subjected to harassments and intimidations through isolations and confinements, with no visitations by relatives and friends, no access to a lawyer, and no open court appearance until when they were eventually taken to court to be given the charges. Those five Oromo nationals, who were transferred to Kilinto Jail right after receiving the alleged terrorism charges, were:

1. Ababe Urgessa Fakkansa (a student from Haromaya University),
2. Magarsa Warqu Fayyisa (a student from Haromaya University),
3. Addunya Kesso (a student from Adama University),
4. Bilisumma Dammana (a student from Adama University),
5. Tashale Baqala Garba (a student from Jimma University), and
6. Lejjisa Alamayyo Soressa (a student from Jimma University).

Besides the outbreak of a deadly disease witnessed at Gimbi Jail, and the likelihood of the same situations to occur particularly at highly populated and crowded jails, Kilinto is known to be one of the very notorious substandard prisons in the country. Such facts taken into consideration, HRLHA would like to express its deep concern over the safety of those young Oromo prisoners.

HRLHA has also received reports that 29 Oromo nationals, who have been attending the Addis Ababa/Finfinne University, have been denied proofs of graduations (degrees and/or diplomas) and, as a result, prevented from graduating after completing their studies for allegedly taking part in the April/May peaceful protests of Oromo students and other nationals against the newly drafted and introduced Finfinne Master Plan. The 29 Oromo students were first detained along with 23 other Oromo students of the same university, following the protests, and released on bails ranging between $1000.00 and $4000.00 Birr. Upon re-admission back to the University, they were all (52 of them) forced to appear before the disciplinary committee of the University, where they were asked to confess that their involvement in the peaceful demonstrations was wrong and that they should apologize to the Government and the public. According to reports from HRLHA’s correspondents, it was the students’ refusal to confess and apologize that has resulted in their prevention from graduating, despite their fulfillment of all the academic requirements. HRLHA describes the University’s becoming a political weapon as shameful, and the restrictions imposed on Oromo students as a pure act of racism aimed at partisan political gains. Of the 29 Oromo students who have become victims of the University’s non-academic action, HRLHA has obtained names of the following nine students:

1. Jirra Birhanu
2. Jilo Kemee
3. Mangistu Daadhii
4. Taddasaa Gonfaa
5. Lammeessa Mararaa
6. Ganna Jamal
7. Nuguse Gammadaa
8. Dajanee Daggafaa
9. Gaddisaa Dabaree

Sabboonaan Oromoo Barsiisaa Dirribii Nagaasaa Mootummaan Wayyaanee Waggaa Sadiif Manneen Hidhaa Ma’ikalawwii fi Qaallittii Keessatti Hidhee Dararaa Cimaa Irraan Gahaa Ture Irraa Dandamachuu Dadhabuun Har’a Wareegame

Gabaasa Oduu Gaddaa Mudde 9,2014 Sabboonaan Oromoo Barsiisaa Dirribii Nagaasaa daraaraa(torture)  guddaa mootummaan EPRDF/TPLF/n  irratti rawwataniin waggaa Sadii (3)oliif Mana hidhaa Wayyaanee Ma’ikalawwii fi Qaallittitti hidhamee dararama kan ture, darara ulfaataa irratti rawwatamaa tureen hakan Edaa hospital Geedootti lubbuun isaa Wareegame.

Sabboonaan Oromoo  Barsiisaa Dirriibii Nagaasaa barsiisaa M/B Geedoo Sadarkaa 2ffaa fi Qopha’inatti muummee barnoota Information Technology barsiisaa kan ture, Sochii warraqsaa dargaggootni Oromoo mirga abbaa biyyummaa Uummata Oromoo kabachisuuf gaggeessan keessatti ga’ee guddaa taphachaa kan turee fi sabboonaa Oromoo mirgii namummaa fi dimookiraasii uummata Oromoof kabajamuu qaba jechuun soda tokko malee gaaffii mirga abbaa biyyummaa finiinsa turedha.

Gootichi Oromoo barsiisaa Dirribii Nagaasaa bara 2010  carraa barnoota Mastersii argachuun Yuunibarsiitii Adaamaatti damee barnoota Information Technology tiin carraa barnoota Mastersii itti fufee barachuu utuu jiruu mootummaan abbaa irree Wayyaanee EPRDF/TPLF/OPDO’n humnoota tikaa isheen bara 2011 ukkamsuun FDG qindeessa jirta, sochii warraqsaa Qeerroo bilisummaa Oromoo qindeessaa jirta, ABO waliin hidhata guddaa qabda jechuun ukkamsuun mana hidhaa Wayyaanee gidduu galeessatti darbame humnoota tikaa Wayyaaneetiin daraara(Torture) guddaan waggaa tokkoo oliif  irratti fudhama turuu yeroo irraa gara yerootti gabaasaa turuun keenya ni yaadatama. Wayyaaneen  gooticha Oromoo barsiisaa Dirribii Nagaasaa waggaa tokkoo oliif maa’ikalawwiitti dararaa turuun, waggaa lamaa oliif immoo Mana hidhaa Qaallittiitti daraaraa turuun yeroo garaagaraa gabaasa kan turredha.

Mana hidha Qaallittittis haalan dararaa ulfaatan kan irratti gaggeeffama ture yoo ta’uu, dararama ulfaata irratti rawwatameen akka malee dhukkubsatee achii keessatti lubbuun isaa illee haala sodaachisaa irra turuu gabaasa turre, mootummaan Wayyaanee barsiisaa Dirribii Nagaasaa Waggaa Sadii(3) oliif erga dararaa turtee booda ganna darbe  Hagayyaa 2014 keessa mana hidhaa qaallitti irra kan gadi lakkise utuu inni du’aa fi jireenya giddutti dararama jiruu ta’uun beekamadha. Gootichi Oromoo barsiisaa Dirriibii Nagaasaa erga mana hidaa Wayyaanee irraa ba’ees guyyaa tokko boqonnaa hin argannee dararama waayyaneen irratti rawwatteen haala fayyuu hin dandeenyee fi yaaddessaa keessa turuun halkan edaa galgala Hospitalaa Geedootti lubbuun isaa Wareegamee jira.

Yeroo ammaa kana reeffii Gooticha Oromoo barsiisaa Dirriibii Nagaasaa ganda dhaloota isaa Aanaa Calliyaa Magaalaa Baabbichaa gara maatii isaatti  galee kan jiru yoo ta’uu, Sirni awwaalcha gooticha Oromoo barsiisaa Dirribii Nagaasaa guyyaa boruu Aanaa Calliyaa Magaalaa Baabbichatti kan gaggeeffamu yoo ta’u, sirna Awwacha isaa kana irratti argamuuf uummatni Oromoo, dargaggootni barattootni Oromoo fi barsiisotni Oromoo godinaalee Oromiyaa garagaraa fi dhaabbilee barnootaa garaagaraa irra gara kanatti adeemaa jiru, uummatni kumoota dhibbootan lakka’amuus guyyaa boruu magaalaa Baabbichaa irratti sirna gaggeessa gooticha Oromoo kanarratti akka argamuuf jiruu ta’uun haalaan eegamaa jira.

Mootummaan abbaa irree Wayyaanee yakka ofiin dhala Oromoo irratti dalage kanan soda guddaa keessa seenuun Magaalaa Amboo hanga Magaalaa Geedootti human waraanaa guddaa ramaduun magaalotni Amboo, Gudar, Tokkee Kutayyee, Baabbichaa, Geedoo, Ijaajjii fi Baallammiin waraanaan qabamtee jirti.

Haaluma kana ilaalchisuun   Hoggansii Qeerroo bilisummaa Oromoo dararaa ulfaataa gooticha Oromoo barsiisaa Dirribii Nagaasaa irratti rawwatamaa turee fi Wareegamuu gooticha kanaaf gaddaa ulfaataa itti dhagaa’amaa jiru dargaggoota Oromoofi uummata Oromoo hundaaf ibsaa jira. Bilisummaa uummata ofii kabachiisuuf warregamuun darqama qabsoo keessatti goota mudatu waan ta’eef saba ofiif wareegamuun gootummadha, barsiisaa Dirriibii Nagaasaa wareegama gootummaa baase, qabsa’aan ni kufa qabsoon itti fufa jechuun dhaamsa ilmaan Oromoo bakka jirtan hundaa sirna gaggeessa gooticha Oromoo kanarratti akka argamtan jechuun dhaamsa dabarsuun, kanneen fageenyii fi haalli isin hanqisee qabsoo bilisummaa Oromoo goototni qaaliin irratti wareegamaa jiran galmaan geenyee bilisummaa keenyaa akka gonfannuuf FDGtti akka jabaattan jechuun dhaamasa gaddaa dabarsee jira. Gabaasaan sirna awwaalchaa fi Seenaa gooticha Oromoo barsiisaa Dirribii Nagaasaa kan itti fufuun isiniif ergamu ta’uu ni hubachiifna!!

Source: Qeerroo.org