AI: Ethiopia: Account for all people arrested after Hachalu Hundesa’s killing July 18, 2020
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: Amnesty International, Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, Genocide Against Oromo People, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights violations
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Ethiopia: Account for all people arrested after Hachalu Hundesa’s killing
Amnesty International, 18 July 2020
The authorities in Ethiopia must immediately reveal the whereabouts of dozens of politicians and journalists who were arrested alongside other people following widespread protests and violence on 29 June, Amnesty International said today.
The killing of Hachalu Hundesa, a popular outspoken Oromo singer, sparked protests, some of which degenerated into intercommunal violence, which together with a police crackdown left at least 177 dead and hundreds wounded.
In Addis Ababa and Oromia region, the police arrested at least 5,000 people, many of whom are in incommunicado detention with their whereabouts unknown. Those arrested include leading opposition politicians like Jawar Mohammed from the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), leaders of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Eskinder Nega of Balderas for True Democracy party, and journalists.The Ethiopian authorities are causing great anguish to the families of those arrested by failing to divulge their whereabouts. Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa
“The Ethiopian authorities are causing great anguish to the families of those arrested by failing to divulge their whereabouts. They must immediately disclose where each detainee is being held, and either charge them with a recognizable crime or release them immediately,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa.
Families are worried about their loved ones being held in crowded, unsanitary conditions in places of detention amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
OLF detainees’ whereabouts
Lawyers are unable to establish the whereabouts of key officials of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) including Michael Boran, Shigut Geleta, Lemi Benya, Kenessa Ayana, and Colonel Gemechu Ayana, who were arrested on various dates since Hachalu Hundesa’s death.
They told Amnesty International that the Addis Ababa Police Commission, the Federal Police Commission, the Oromia Police Commission and the Oromia Special Zone authorities have all denied having any of the OLF officials in their custody.They must immediately disclose where each detainee is being held, and either charge them with a recognizable crime or release them immediately. Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa
Another OLF leader, Abdi Regassa, arrested in February, remains unaccounted for, according to his lawyer, because the police have been moving him from one place of detention to another, such that neither his family nor his lawyers know his whereabouts.
Jawar Mohammed
Jawar Mohammed, founder of the Oromia Media Network (OMN) and chair of the OFC, was arrested on 30 June alongside his deputy Bekele Gerba. They were arraigned in court a second time on 16 July and remanded in police custody for two more weeks as investigations continue. Bekele Gerba was arrested with his son, daughter and a nephew, who the courted ordered to be released.
Jawar and Bekele are being held on suspicions of “mishandling of a corpse” (of the late Hachalu Hundesa during a tussle about his burial location), “attempted murder on OPDO (now Prosperity Party) officials”, “initiating violence” and the “murder of a police official”.Pre-trial detention is only permissible when police have solid evidence to support accusations against those arrested. No one should be denied their rights to liberty while police go off on fishing expeditions to justify arrests. Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa
“Pre-trial detention is only permissible when police have solid evidence to support accusations against those arrested. No one should be denied their rights to liberty while police go off on fishing expeditions to justify arrests,” said Deprose Muchena.
The two were initially held at Addis Ababa Police Commission premises, where they were last seen by their lawyers on 10 July, then found at an underground cell at an unofficial detention location near the Federal Police headquarters in Mexico Square on 14 July. Other OFC detainees were moved to a school in Addis Ababa.
OFC leaders like Dejene Tafa are yet to be presented in court or charged with any crime. His pregnant wife spends her days outside the courthouse just in case he is arraigned so that she may catch a glimpse of him.
“This morning (15 July), the police allowed me to look at him remotely after I begged them considering my pregnancy. The police do not allow me to give him food, allegedly for fear of COVID-19. Even now I am still waiting at the court should the police bring him here,” she said.
Eskinder Nega
Eskinder Nega, a prominent journalist who is now the Chairman of the Balderas for True Democracy party and his deputy Sintayehu Chekol were also arrested on 30 June in Addis Ababa. Eskinder was presented in court on 1 July on suspicions of organizing Addis Ababa youth for violence, and again on 16 July, when the police asked for more time to complete investigations.
Eskinder Nega complained to the court of having been beaten during arrest and detention. The court ordered investigations into the allegations, but according to his lawyer, the police have not done so. The court re-issued the orders.
Two journalists, one an editor of OMN, Melesse Diribsa together with a technician at the media house, Misha Chiri, and a Kenyan journalist, Yassin Juma, were arrested on 2 July and arraigned in court on 4 July. They are due back in court on 18 July but have been denied family and consular visits respectively.Ethiopian authorities must resist the urge to return to the familiar path of repression. They must respect the right to protest and express political dissent. Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa
Yesterday the police arrested Guyo Wario, the OMN journalist who interviewed Hachalu Hundesa about a week before his killing, and Nasir Adem, a photo and video editor at the same media house.
“Ethiopian authorities must resist the urge to return to the familiar path of repression. They must respect the right to protest and express political dissent,” said Deprose Muchena.
“They must also uphold due process and guarantee all detainees’ access to their families and lawyers, and fair trials that adhere to international human rights law and standards.”
Oromia: OBS TV Journalist Abdi Gada arrested for broadcasting Oromo cultural news November 15, 2016
Posted by OromianEconomist in The Tyranny of TPLF Ethiopia.Tags: Abdii Gadaa, Africa, Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, Enemies of Press Freedom, Ethiopia, Genocide Against Oromo People, OBS TV Journalist Abdi Gada arrested, Oromia, Oromo
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OBS TV Journalist Abdi Gada arrested for broadcasting Oromo cultural news
OBS-Oromia Broadcast Service Television journalist Abdi Gada went missing in Adama, Oromia (Ethiopia) last Wednesday. His whereabouts is not known yet.
An Oromo, Ethiopian journalist missed in Adama/Gazexeessaa Abdii Gadaa achi buuteen dhabame.
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Journalist Abdi Gada |
An Oromo, Ethiopian journalist is missing in Adama. OBS-Oromia Broadcast Service Television journalist Abdi Gada went missing in Adama, Ethiopia last Wednesday. His whereabouts is not known yet. His family, friends and colleagues have been looking for him in all areas of detainees and prisoners including Ma’ikelawi, and Zeway (Batu). Many of his family, friends and colleagues believe that Journalist Abdi Gada was kidnapped by Ethiopian security forces because thousands of Oromo people are missing and have been arrested in Ethiopia. Journalist Abdi Gada was one among 20 Oromo (Ethiopian) journalists who were dismissed from the Oromia Radio and Television Organization in 2014, in a single day.——————————-
Gaazeexeessaan TV OBS-Oromia Broadcast Service, AbdiGadaaRoobiidarbiteAdaamattihojiidhaquufakkamanaabahettiachibuuteenisaadhabameera. Gaazexeessaankun, bara 2014 keessagaazexeessitootaOromoo 17 dhaabbataRaadiyoo fi TV Oromiyaakeessaasababatokkomalee ari’aman keessaa tokkoakka ta’eefi, saaniinbooda TV OBS keessa kan hojjataajiruudha.
Namoonni itti dhiheennaan gaazexeessaa Abdii Gadaa beekanu akka jedhanitti, “haaluma yeroo ammaa Oromoo irratti raawwamaa jirutti isarrattille raawwatame jennee shakkina malee, Abdiin waan balleesseefi yakki inni hojjate hin jiruu; diina biraa itti shakkinulle hin qabnu” jechuun himan. Gabaasa guutuuf oduu OMN 14.11.2016 caqasaa.
Genocide in the making in Oromia November 15, 2016
Posted by OromianEconomist in #OromoProtests.Tags: #OromoRevolution, #Oromorotests, Africa, Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, Genocide, Ginchi, mass arrests and genocide against Oromo people, Oromia, Oromo, Tarekegn Chimdi
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Genocide in the making in Oromia
Brief account on the Oromo protest from Nov. 2015 – Nov. 2016
Background
The Oromo people constitute over 40% of the total population and a single largest national group in Ethiopia. Since the date of colonization by the Abyssinians at the end of 19th century, their political, economic, social and cultural life was undermined. Historians noted that after more than three decades of fierce wars of resistance their demographics were reduced from 10 million to 5 million. They were faced with cruel subjugation, exploitation, discrimination and marginalization; forced to slavery and servitude. Their egalitarian and democratic system of governance known as Gadaa was abolished. Successive regimes in Ethiopia had been furthering their subjugation and repression through heavy-handed cruel, inhumane policies (be it under the guise of democracy or socialism). The current Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) led totalitarian regime is the worst the Oromo people witnessed.
The TPLF dominated authoritarian regime ruled for a quarter of century with complete control on political, economic and social life in Ethiopia after toppling over a century old Amhara hegemony in 1991. Currently, it controls 80% of the economy through its conglomerate the Endowment Fund For the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT), 98% of the military and security leadership controlled by the TPLF membership, 100% of the parliament controlled by the TPLF and its puppet People’s Democratic Organisation (PDO)s remotely operated. As a result, the TPLF elites and PDO operatives amassed billions of dollars from trading on the natural resources under their control; restricting the ownership of businesses and industries, sprawling real estates and mansions in big cities; foreign direct investment, aid and leasing millions of hectares of lands to foreign investors. The TPLF operatives benefitted from the illicitly maintained economic, political and security power without observance of the rule of law.
On the other hand, the Oromo people were faced with rampant human rights abuses and systematic repressions that were repeatedly reported by international human rights organizations and yet largely ignored. Untold sufferings and systematic repressions in the last 25 years include extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, raping and torture. However, the Ethiopian government champions itself for being the fastest growing economy and key ally in the fight against terrorism to hide its genocidal character against the Oromo people. The reality on the ground shows that the Oromo people are targeted on the basis of their racial origin. As a result, over 95% of the prison cells in Ethiopia are filled with the Oromos and Afan Oromo has become the official language in prisons.
Land grabbing as a trigger to peaceful protest in Oromia
Land grabbing negatively affected the livelihood of millions of farmers and forcibly evicted from small subsistence farming, pastoral and grazing areas. Forced eviction and relocation in the name of investment that was orchestrated by internal and foreign actors, has evicted over 1.5 million Oromo farmers without their consent and compensation from around Finfinne (Addis Ababa) in the past ten years. Millions of hectares of arable land was confiscated mainly by agribusinesses from foreign multinational companies and the ruling regime (TPLF) cadres and their operatives resulted in the uprooting and destitution of the millions that led in part to further the starvation of the ten millions of peoples in Ethiopia. Such unethical and inequitable investment had been observed to yield abysmal poverty, food insecurity, broken communities, loss of identity and culture and aggravated environmental degradation. Above all the Oromo people in and around Finfinne (Addis Ababa) became the epicenter of the episode and in a way it reflects the way the Oromo people were conquered, robbed off their land and properties, reduced to serfs and slaves, and kept under inhumane subjugation.
The dynamics of the land grabbing that was aimed to expand Finfinne (Addis Ababa) by ~2000% from the current 54,000 ha to 1.1 million ha started with the horticulture industry, mainly the cut flower plantations. In less than a decade, several dozens of cut flower investments from within and abroad mushroomed within the radius of 80km surrounding Finfinne (Addis Ababa) to takeover the land from subsistence farmers that fed millions before the change of ownership. The establishment of these plantations and the expansion of real estate within the peripheries were the stepping stone to establish the boundary of Finfinne Special Zone of Oromia which later to be incorporated into the infamous “Addis Ababa and the Surrounding Oromia Special Zone Integrated Development Plan” or shortly “Master Plan”, in 2014. Similarly, Midroc’s and Karturi’s farms were meant to benefit and export crop produces into their countries of origin; jatropha, castor oil and sugar cane plantations were not established on non-arable terra nulis land, but on small subsistence farms whose owners were forcibly evicted without (with small) compensation and the security to their livelihood deprived. In general, the Oromo people are deprived of their livelihood by the Ethiopian successive regimes. As a result of deep historical and current grievances, suffering from oppression, exploitation and persecution for years, the students staged peaceful protests over Oromia for years and the response were being quelled heavy-handedly by the security forces of the Ethiopian government. The announcement of the infamous “master plan” further triggered the already deep-rooted grievances to explode. The plan was opposed by the Oromos from all walks of life: Oromo political parties, civic organisations, students, farmers, etc. for several reasons as it was unconstitutional, not inclusive and without the consent of the people. Moreover, it was deliberated to destroy the identity, livelihood, culture and language of the Oromo people.
War on Unarmed Oromo Protesters
In May 2014, the Oromo students from different universities, secondary schools and the general public from all over Oromia engaged the Ethiopian government in a peaceful protest in tens of thousands to denounce the “master plan” and voice their legitimate concerns. In the demonstration that started at Ambo, 100km from the capital, more than 50 civilians were shot and killed by the Ethiopian government security forces. In total over 80 unarmed civilians were killed in different parts of Oromia the same momth. Several hundreds of unarmed civilians were injured and thousands were arrested. The Ethiopian government shelved the implementation for a while until it issued final version of its master plan in the last quarter of 2015.
On November 12, 2015, peaceful student protest broke at the town of Ginchi, 80km from the capital to the West of Addis Ababa, against the sale of Ginchi stadium to an investor and the clearing of Chilimo forest. The government security forces killed two students and the population were angered. As a result, peaceful protests engulfed all parts of Oromia within two weeks. In order to legitimize its discriminatory policies, the Ethiopian Government issued a decree for Oromia to be ruled under martial law from the end of December 2015. Over 50,000 regular and special army was deployed under the command post led by the Prime Minister, Head of Army, Police and Security Chief to stop the protest mercilessly.
In Figure 1, the maps in the years 2015 (upper) and 2016 (bottom) show the distribution of protests from November 2015 – November 2016. In the last one year, peaceful demonstrations were staged mainly by the students and farmers across almost all Oromia districts at least once. They were all peaceful until turned violent by the heavy-handed measures of the Ethiopian security forces. As shown in Figure 1, 2015 (upper) in the last quarter of 2015, there were sporadic protests in Oromia that matured to cover all parts of Oromia intensively, some parts of Amhara and other southern regional states after July 2016.
Figure 1: the maps of the distribution of protests in 2015 (upper) and 2016 (bottom)
Table1 below shows the scale of fatalities over one year period across the states in Ethiopia. The total number of fatalities from November 12, 2015 to December 31, 2015 was 137 in total, with Oromia at 102. In the year 2016, violent crackdown from the Ethiopian security forces spread all over Oromia and a total of 1855 persons were killed in the last ten months. The security forces also reacted violently against protesters in Finfinne (Addis Ababa), Amhara, Dire Dawa, Somali and Southern Nations and Nationalities (SNNP). In the Amhara state, the protests that started in July 2016, in Gondar, was triggered by the opposition of the inclusion of Welkait district into the Tigray state. Over 233 persons were killed in this state in the last five months in Gondar, Bahir Dar etc in relation to peaceful protests. Similarly, in Konso and Gedeo districts of the Southern Nation and Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) state dozens of protesters were killed. The data shows the cause of fatalities in the Gambela, Somali, Harari and Tigray different from peaceful protests. In general, the scale and distribution of the protests and fatalities in Oromia over the other states indicate the degree of harshness and discriminatory measures carried out by the Ethiopian government and the genocide is in the making against the Oromo people.
Table1: the scale of killings over one year period (Nov.12, 2015 – Oct. 29, 2016)
By definition the killings of over 1000 people from the same social group in a year qualifies the term “genocide” and killings of unarmed civilians in mass also refers to “massacre”. The graph in figure 2 shown below covers the daily fatalities across Oromia and Finfinne (Addis Ababa) where those killed are from the Oromo national group. In the graph the killing from the beginning of August 2016 to the end of October 2016 was covered. The first peak corresponds to the killings on the Oromia grand protest staged all over Oromia on the 6th of August 2016 and over 188 people were killed by the Ethiopian security forces. On this particular day, peaceful protests were held in over 200 towns and cities across Oromia and Finfinne (Addis Ababa) (see figure 3) and tens of thousands were arrested from all over Oromia and Finfinne in inhospitable remote malaria infested Tolay, Awash Arba, Huriso and Dhedhessa military camps.
Figure 2: the scale of killings by the security forces in Oromia and Finfinne (Aug. – Oct.2016)
The second peak corresponds to the killings at Qilinto maximum-security prison located in the southern part of Finfinne (Addis Ababa) on September 3, 2016. A local newspaper Addis Fortune reported that the government security forces indiscriminately shot at the prisoners after fire broke on the premises. The government sources report 23 prisoners died of suffocation from fire. However, the Ethiopian Human Rights Project (EHRP) put the figure to 67 and the Oromia Media Network also reported additional two killings. Local sources alleged the Ethiopian government sources for starting the fire and indiscriminately shooting the prisoners.
Figure 3: the map showing the geographical coverage of protests in Oromia on August 6,2016
The third peak in Figure 2 corresponds to the Irreechaa massacre at Hora Arsadi of Bishoftu town, 40km to the East of the capital that occurred on October 2, 2016. On the Irreechaa annual thanksgiving festival, over 2 million Oromos from all over Oromia were gathered to celebrate. The Ethiopian government agitated and provoked the festival by installing its close operatives and cadres to takeover the stage from the legitimate leader of Gadaa (Abba Gadaa) who is in charge of the event. The celebrants were angered and started chanting slogans and crossing wrists above head – the popular sign of Oromo protest. The security forces deliberately started roaring Humvee in the crowd, hovering helicopter in the sky, firing the tear gas and bullets to suffocate the people on a narrow space. Most of the people perished in the ditch and the lake. Some sources put the death toll at 55 and above citing the cause of death simply as a deadly stampede. However, local and opposition sources put the figure of the death toll to at least 678. It is the responsibility of the government to protect the people away from the ditch through fencing and/or soil filling; avoiding any provocative acts, unblocking the safe exit and panicking the population on narrow space unless it deliberated and planned to cause massacre.
After the Irreechaa massacre, the Oromo people reacted with deep sorrow and responded through difference means of peaceful resistance against the Ethiopian government. The roads to different parts of the Oromia and Ethiopia were blocked, the economic boom of the TPLF elites was devastated. In a week to Irreechaa massacre, the Ethiopian government declared state of emergency that applies to the other states as well. The security forces reportedly killed more that 283 people (see figure 2, the fourth peak) in one week of the state of emergency.
Summary
The Ethiopian security forces continued their unparalleled genocidal crimes of torturing, raping and killings, largely hidden from the eyes and ears of the international observers, embassies and the media. Records show that over two thousand Oromo civilians (students, farmers, teachers, civil servants, elders, leaders and members of the Oromo opposition party) were killed in the last one year from live bullets of the Ethiopian security forces. Witnesses out of Oromia show exceptional heinous crimes of killing that includes children from age 1 to the old men to the age of 80, pregnant women and mothers, a mother killed with her two sons, three siblings from the same parent. There are evidences of mothers and siblings ordered to sit on the dead body of their loved ones after being killed by the security forces. Wives and daughters were gang raped in front their husbands, loved ones and parents. Moreover, every independent Oromo person is routinely subjected to harassment, extrajudicial killings, imprisonment, rape and torture. Several thousands were wounded from live bullets and estimated over 50,000 were arrested in different detention camps in remote areas labeled as “terrorists” without convictions and/or rare trials.
The TPLF/EPRDF is still acting with impunity despite continued call for investigation into the genocidal crimes it commit by the renowned international human rights organizations, the UN Human Rights Council, African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights in the last several months. The western governments such as US, UK, Canada, Australia and others issued the statements of concern and travel warnings which may not be enough to curb the looming dangerous situation. The Ethiopian government had been major recipient of direct investment and economic aid earnings mainly from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), the US, UK and the EU used to further human sufferings. Western governments are requested to sanction, use their diplomatic leverage to pressure the Ethiopian government to allow an independent UN and African Commission investigations over the massacres, completely halt the state of emergency and remove command posts from the villages, unconditional release of Oromo politicians and civilians from detention camps. Furthermore, the perpetuators of the massacres must be brought before international tribune to curb the genocide in the making in Oromia.
References
- The data for this analysis was extracted from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) database http://www.acleddata.com/
- Tarekegn Chimdi “Systematic repression and rampant human rights abuses against the Oromo People in Ethiopia (2008) ” presented at AFSAAP conference, “The Oromo People and Finfinne (2004) ” intervention at the UN office of High Commission for Human Rights http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/WG/IGFM1-oromo-4b.doc
- Addis Fortune newspaper on Qilinto prison indiscriminate killings 4. Human Rights Watch, Society for Threatened Peoples and Amnesty
- International reports in 2015 and 2016
- Press releases from the UN Human Rights Council, African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights, foreign offices and governments
- News from Oromia Media Network, Al Jazeera, VOA, DW and others
AI: Ethiopia: Draconian measures will escalate the deepening crisis. #OromoProtests October 19, 2016
Posted by OromianEconomist in #OromoProtests.Tags: #OromoProtests, #OromoRevolution, Access Now, Africa, AI, Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, Digital Rights, Ethiopia, Freedom Expression, Genocide, Independent investigation to Oromo genocide, Oromia, Oromo, State of emergency
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Ethiopia: Draconian measures will escalate the deepening crisis
Heavy-handed measures by the Ethiopian government will only escalate a deepening crisis that has claimed the lives of more than 800 protesters since protests began in November 2015, said Amnesty International today after the government issued a directive imposing wide-ranging restrictions as part of a state of emergency.
The directive authorises arrests without warrants, as well as rehabilitation measures. When such measures have been used in the past, they have led to arbitrary detention of protesters at remote military facilities without access to their families and lawyers.
“These emergency measures are extremely severe and so broad that they threaten basic human rights that must not be curtailed even under a state of emergency,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.
“These measures will deepen, not mitigate, the underlying causes of the sustained protests we have seen throughout the year, which have been driven by deep-seated human rights grievances. These grievances must be properly addressed by the authorities. Further crackdowns and human rights violations will only make the situation worse.”
It is the government’s failure to constructively engage with the protesters that continues to fuel these protests. It must now change course
In a public statement issued today Amnesty International recommends that instead of further curtailing human rights, the government should seize the moment and recommit itself to respecting, protecting and fulfilling them, in line with its regional and international obligations.
“It is the government’s failure to constructively engage with the protesters that continues to fuel these protests. It must now change course,” said Muthoni Wanyeki.
“The government must ensure an end to excessive and arbitrary use of force by the security forces against demonstrators and release all protesters, opposition leaders and supporters, as well as journalists and bloggers, arrested for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.”
At least 600 protesters have been killed in Oromia and 200 in Amhara since November last year.
Background
Protests began in November 2015 when ethnic Oromos took to the streets fearing possible land seizures under the government’s Addis Ababa Masterplan, which aimed to expand the capital’s administrative control into Oromia. The protests continued even after the Addis Ababa Masterplan was scrapped, evolving into demands for accountability for human rights violations, ethnic equality and the release of political prisoners.
Protests later spread to Amhara, a region that has long complained of marginalization.
The worst incident involved the death of possibly hundreds of protesters in a stampede on 2 October at Bishoftu, about 45 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa, during the Irrecha religious festival. Protest groups say the stampede was caused by the security forces’ unnecessary and excessive use of force. The government has denied this, instead blaming the deaths on “anti-peace forces.”
What’s happening in Ethiopia and how can we protect human rights?
Protests, internet shutdowns, deaths — and a new law that threatens digital rights when the people of Ethiopia need them most
Ethiopia has issued a six-month state of emergency in the country following months of citizen protests. The state of emergency comes in an environment of increasing repression. Government forces have killed more than 500 people since November 2015 and authorities have already shut down access to social media in the Oromia region four times this year: in January, July, August, September, and October. Now the situation is escalating, with the government cutting mobile internet in the capital Addis Ababa for more than a week (the previous shutdowns affected only the Oromia region).
Human rights advocates are taking action. On October 10th, seven U.N. human rights experts issued a statement calling on the Ethiopian government to allow an international investigation into allegations that it has violated the human rights of its citizens. Additionally, on October 12th, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights released a statementhighlighting the fact that it will investigate the Ethiopian situation with regard to human rights.
More atrocities to come?
Ethiopia began a series of shutdowns in January 2016 after activists shared a video online showing police brutality. The deaths during protests – and the government’s decision to disrupt the internet — underscore how shutting down the internet often precedes or is accompanied by atrocities. This new state of emergency could not have come at a worse time, because it will set a lower threshold for arresting and detaining citizens, just when more human rights protections are needed.
This is a dark time for human rights in Ethiopia. Shutting down communications networks, even during times of conflict, violates the human right to freedom of expression and access to information. Shutdowns also cause knock-on effects.
Internet shutdowns do not restore order. They hamper journalism, obscure the truth of what is happening on the ground, and stop people from getting the information they need to keep safe. Further, shutdowns harm the local economy; by June 2016,Ethiopia had already lost $8.5 million due to internet disruptions, according to a recent report by the Brookings Institution.
In the U.N. statement last week, special rapporteurs Maina Kiai and Dr. Agnes Callamard said, “We are outraged at the alarming allegations of mass killings, thousands of injuries, tens of thousands of arrests and hundreds of enforced disappearances…We are also extremely concerned by numerous reports that those arrested had faced torture and ill-treatment in military detention centres.”
This statement highlight dangers exacerbated by the ongoing internet shutdowns, which are happening concurrently with the state of emergency. As we have pointed out, research shows that internet shutdowns and state violence go hand-in-hand. We are deeply concerned that the casualties due to state actions will increase over the next six months.
New computer crime law threatens privacy, free expression
The shutdowns are not the only cause for worry when it comes to fundamental rights. There’s also a new computer crime law that legislators in Ethiopia have approved and have forwarded for presidential signature, the Computer Crime Proclamation of 2016 (draft text). It threatens people’s free speech and privacy just when they need it most.
Our analysis of this new law shows it would hobble digital rights. The proclamation aims “to prevent, control, investigate and prosecute computer crimes and facilitate the collection of electronic evidences.” However, the legislation would infringe human rights and chill cybersecurity research not only in Ethiopia but throughout the African continent.
The law goes against Ethiopia’s commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, among other international instruments, which support the right to privacy (Article 17, ICCPR), the right to freedom of expression (Article 19, ICCPR), and the right to freedom of association (Article 22, ICCPR). Ethiopia is also a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Banjul Charter), which establishes the rights to dignity (Article 5) and freedom of information and expression (Article 9), among other rights.
This proclamation hasn’t been signed into law yet, so there’s still time to strip out harmful provisions. This should take place as part of the electoral reforms that were announced last week by Ethiopia’s prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, after pressure from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
How to promote human rights in Ethiopia now
It will take effort from many corners to restore Ethiopia from its human rights crisis, stop rights violations from happening, and protect privacy and free expression in the long term.
Our recommendations are:
For the government of Ethiopia and the federal Attorney General
- Call on the Ethiopian government to immediately restore full internet access in the country.
- Urge the government to safeguard human rights in the Computer Crime Proclamation 2016 and to recommend repealing or amending sections of the law that threaten human rights.
- Advise the government on international best practices to protect democracy and free speech in the country. This includes acting on all recommendations accepted at the United Nations Universal Periodic Review process.
For donors and governments trading with Ethiopia
- Push Ethiopia to fulfil its human rights obligations and reforms its practices impacting access to the free and open internet.
- Hold corporations registered in Ethiopia responsible for any of their technology used to infringe on human rights in Ethiopia.
For companies selling products or services in Ethiopia
- Desist from selling or servicing technology that is used to infringe on human rights in the country. This includes technology used to surveil citizens or technology used to disrupt access to information online. Some of the companies with a record of bad practices in Ethiopia include Hacking Team and Gamma International.
For civil society organizations and individuals who want to make a difference in Ethiopia
- Request that your government question Ethiopia about human rights at its mid-term review for United Nations Universal Periodic Review, taking place in May 2017.
- Join our international campaign to stop internet shutdowns in Ethiopia and across the globe. Individuals can join the #KeepItOn pledge here and organizations can sign up at https://www.accessnow.org/keepiton.
Right now, our thoughts are with the people of Ethiopia. We call on humanitarian and digital rights organizations globally to draw attention to what is happening and join us in our efforts to #KeepItOn so Ethiopians can exercise their rights and freedoms, and above all, stay safe from harm.
The regime in Ethiopia (Fascist TPLF) has lost any semblance of humanity September 10, 2016
Posted by OromianEconomist in #OromoProtests.Tags: #OromoProtests, Africa, Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, Genocide, Genocide Against Oromo People, Oromia, Oromia: #OromoProtests Alerts! Crimes Against humanity: Fascist Ethiopia's regime is continue with mass killings of Oromo children, Oromo, The regime in Ethiopia (Fascsit TPLF) has lost any semblance of humanity, Tyrannic Ethiopia
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It is an act so savage, so devoid of any norms and values cultural or otherwise, it reflects the psychopathic behavior of forces that do the killings in Ethiopia.
The regime in Ethiopia has lost any semblance of humanity
By Alem Mamo, Nazret.com, 9 September 2016
“They killed my son, and they forced me to sit on his dead body while they were beating me.”
If there is any doubt in one’s mind that the regime in Addis Ababa would come to its senses and respect the dignity and sanctity of human life, what happened this week in a western town of Dembi Dolo should put that doubt to rest. An act so cruel, so abhorrent, not just humans, it makes the rocks weep. A mother finds her sixteen-year-old son’s lifeless body covered with blood in the middle of the street, shot by forces loyal to the regime. Arriving at the scene, a mother, as all mothers do, began wailing while holding her son’s body. What followed next was hard to describe and painful to comprehend to any one with a minimum degree of decency. The same forces loyal to the regime ordered the mother to sit on her sixteen-year old son’s dead body as they mercilessly hit her.
It is an act so savage, so devoid of any norms and values cultural or otherwise, it reflects the psychopathic behavior of forces that do the killings in Ethiopia. Ephrem Hailu, the sixteen- year old boy, was simply in his daily routine like any other sixteen-year-old, playing and doing what sixteen-year-olds do. His life was cut short for no apparent reason except the psychopathic killing machines called Agazi have to kill someone to satisfy their addiction of killing.
The regime in Addis Ababa is at war with the Ethiopian people, young and old, men and women are being terrorized and murdered in broad daylight for simply demanding freedom of expression, assembly and respect to the rule of law.
This is the dark and horrifying reality in the four corners of Ethiopia. Mothers are terrified to send their children to school because they have no guarantee they would return home safe. If they escape from the bullets they might not avoid the concentration camps where they are tortured and exposed to malaria infection without any proper medical service. The suffering of the Ethiopian people, particularly the young has reached an intolerable climax. While all peace and freedom loving people in Ethiopia and around the world mourn with Ephrem Hailu’s mother, it is also a reminder that the only way to have safety and security is by ridding the country from a brutal authoritarian rule once and for all.
Recently, I posted a piece titled “Refusing to be adversaries.” In this piece I was given a short poem which was written by a young man who lost his best friend to forces loyal to regime. I was moved by the poem because it describes the sorrow and pain of a mother whose child was gunned down. I have re-posted the same poem (below). It was originally written in Amharic. I translated it to English.
Tears of the moon
Gripped with an overwhelming sorrow
A mother says “I have no tears left
I have cried until I no longer see
I have wailed until I have no voice left
What is sight for, if I cannot see my child?
What is a voice for, if he cannot come to me when I call his name?
Here we have run out of tears.
Instead, our rocks, trees and fields are crying for us,
Here the birds no longer sing,
As they are mourning with us in silence.
The sun, too, weeps as we languish in the burning shadows of oppression,
And the moon sheds tears with us at night, as we hide in our blood stained forest.
When will this end?”
She asks,
“When will we relearn to laugh again?
When will peace reign?
When will the true spirit of humanity return to this land of our ancestors again?
We are collectively tired of oppressionWe are people of an exhausted nation.”
Time:Grand #OromoProtests: Scores Killed in Crackdown on Protests Across Ethiopia. August 9, 2016
Posted by OromianEconomist in #OromoProtests, Uncategorized.Tags: #OromoProtests, Africa, Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, Genocide against the Oromo, Human rights, Oromia, Oromo, Time
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(ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia) — Ethiopian security forces shot dead several dozen people in weekend protests across the country as frustration with the government grows, an opposition leader and Amnesty International said Monday, while hundreds staged a rare demonstration in the capital after calls via social media. The government again blocked the internet over the weekend,…
via Scores Killed in Crackdown on Protests Across Ethiopia — TIME
“JUSTICE, FREEDOM AND EQUALITY FOR MAJENGER AND ALL NILOTIC PEOPLE OF ETHIOPIA” June 23, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in Ethiopia's Colonizing Structure and the Development Problems of People of Oromia, Afar, Ogaden, Sidama, Southern Ethiopia and the Omo Valley.Tags: Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, endigenous people, FREEDOM AND EQUALITY FOR MAJENGER AND ALL NILOTIC PEOPLE OF ETHIOPIA, Gambella and Omo Valley, Genocide against Ogaden People, Genocide Against Oromo People, Genocide Against people of Omo Valley, Land grab in Oromia & Gambella, Minority Rights Groups International 2015 Report, Mursi, Suri People, surviva
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“JUSTICE, FREEDOM AND EQUALITY FOR MAJENGER AND ALL NILOTIC PEOPLE OF ETHIOPIA”
Press Release
May 22nd 2015, Gambella
Gambella Nilotes United Movement (GNUM) strongly condemns the TPLF/EPRDF killings of the Mezenger people of Southwest Ethiopia. The massacre of Mezenger people has now escalated and spread to all neighbouring villages of Sheka, Surma, Bench and Menit tribes in the Southern Nations Nationalities and People Regional State. The massacre is jointly carried out by the federal police forces, ENDF (Ethiopian National Defence Force) and the illegal settlers (highlanders) in Teppi and Metti towns Godere Zone of the Gambella region. It has started in September 2014 and so far no investigation and action taken against the perpetrators to stop the massacre. Since January 2015 the killing intensified and all villages of Majengirs and neighbouring villages destroyed and all people from these villages went into bush leaving behind their belongings without anything to support their livelihood. However, attempted to return home from the bush is killed, chanting that the monkey has come home to live with human beings.
As our sources from the ground indicates so far more than 120 Mezenger are reported dead and the killing is indiscriminate against children, women and men. It is a systematic genocide to exterminate the Mezenger people, as many of their educated ones were packed into prison without any trial in the court. To weaken the power of Mezenger people, the police forces from the local community were disarmed and they were replaced with ENDF to manoeuvre the plan successfully and take over the land from Mezenger people. In addition to this the Kwegu and Hamer people are being displaced from their land and many more killed by the Ethiopian government because of sugar plantation project of Hailemariam Desalegn. Likewise, the Hamer tribe is now engaged in full scale war with the government soldiers in resistance to land grabbing and forced displacements.
The sugar plantation project in the South Omo zone has been carried out without the consultation of local community. The people of Southern Ethiopian should not be deceived by the leadership of the current prime minister because he is from the region. As he was baptized by the deceased Prime Minister Meles for the post he should be known for his hatred against the indigenous Nilotes in the southern region for which he can manipulate the system and exterminate the tribes.
The people of Majengers and other Nilotic people of South west Ethiopian have been in constant conflicts and frustration with the Ethiopian government and illegal settlers from the north, and the loss of land has been in alarming rates as clearing of the forests by commercial investors and the illegal settlers continue to surge. Since EPRDF took over, the Mezenger people were killed in 1993, 2001 and the current one of 2014/2015. The current massacre is worst of all kind as it has devastated and destroyed the properties of people and forced people to flee their land.
GNUM will continue to fight for justice, equality and freedom of the indigenous Nilotes to ensure their full recognition and identity in their land. The TPLF/EPRDF government is a racist government that puts ethnic conflicts as means to prosper its own people to settle in the southwest regions. It is a government that cares only for its citizens from Tigrai region, and it should be resisted strongly by all means as racist and divisive.
GNUM also call upon the international community to investigate the killings of Majengers and other Nilotic people of southwest Ethiopia through their body, and force the perpetrators to be brought to justice. We call upon all the donors to withhold their funds from the TPLF government to make sure their funds are not used to perpetuate the killings against the innocent indigenous populations. Further, we also strongly ask the international community to analyse and make serious investigation toward the root cause of the increasing killings against the indigenous populations in Southwest Ethiopia and come up with strong recommendations and actions for maximum self determination as the only lasting solution to protect the life of the indigenous populations.
Therefore, GNUM would like to call upon all the indigenous Nilotes to unite themselves as one people and resist and fight the racist TPLF/EPRF government to protect their land.
In conclusion the Gambella Nilotes United Movement (GNUM) will continue it struggle for all people of Gambella and all the South-western Nilotes to ensure freedom, liberty, justice, security and prosperity are brought to people in their God given lands.
“All Nilotic People Should Stand Together and Fight As One to Overthrow TPLF/EPRDF Government from Their Land”
Gambella Nilotes United Movement/Army
Central Committee
Our contact: gambellagnuma@yahoo.com OR
Darajjee Goobanaa, Oromo national and 3rd year student at Bule Hora University is murdered by fascist TPLF Ethiopia (Agazi) forces: Barataa Waggaa 3ffaa Yuuniversitii Bulee Horaa Kan Ta’e Sabboontichi Darajjee Goobanaa Rasaasa Poolisoota Wayyaaneen Wareegame. June 9, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in Africa, Amnesty International's Report: Because I Am Oromo.Tags: Africa, African Studies, Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, Darajjee Goobanaa, Genocidal killings against Oromo people, The Tyranny of Ethiopia
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Barataa Waggaa 3ffaa Yuuniversitii Bulee Horaa Kan Ta’e Sabboontichi Darajjee Goobanaa FDG Qindeessite Jedhamuun Rasaasa Poolisoota Wayyaaneen Wareegame.
Waxabajjii 08,2015 Gabaasa Qeerroo Bulee Horaa
Gaafa Caamsaa 24,2015 Fincila Diddaaa gabrummaa Yuuniverstii Bulee Horaa keessatti ka’een wal qabatee baratoota Oromoo irratti loltoota Wayyaaneen dhukaasi banamuun kan yaadatamu dha. Haala kanaan barattaan Oromoo ganna 3ffaa Yuuniverstii Bulee Horaa irraa baratu barattoota Oromoo adda durummaan fincilaaf qindeessiteetta jedhamee adamfamuun rasaasa Wayyaaneen yeroo rukutamu iyyaa fi diddaan barattootaa waan itti hammaateef jecha loltooti barataa rasaasaan rukutan achitti gatanii deeman,haala kanaan gootichi barataan Darajjee Goobanaa gargaarsa barattootaan Hosptala Xiqur Ambessaatti ergamee osoo waldhaanamuu Waxabajjii 05,2015 lubbuun isaa uummata Oromoof jecha wareega qaalii kaffaltee jirti.
Barataa Darajjee Goobanaan godina Wallaggaa Horroo Guduruu aanaa Jaardagaa Jaartee jedhamutti kan dhalatee guddate ta’uu fi amal qabeessaa fi qaroo ilma Oromoo akka ta’e barattooti Yuuniverstii Bulee Horaa dubbatu.
Thousands Suffer After Africa Land Grabs. May 18, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in Land Grabs in Oromia, Omo Valley.Tags: Africa, Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, land and water grabs in Oromia, Omo Valley
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Ms. Mittal describes the situation with regard to land grabs in Ethiopia as “dire”, with evicted farmers and their families facing persecution, intimidation, and arrest if refusing to leave the land which has sustained them for generations or by protesting. While many around the world are under the impression that colonialism in Africa is long-over and a thing of the past, what the Oakland Institute has discovered is a type of “re-colonization” of the African continent has occurred in recent years through land grabs/giveaways to investors looking to extract natural resources. ….Oakland Institute Director Anuradha Mittal believes the land is being stolen and not being paid for, that the practice of land grabs shows the absence in nations of rule of law, and that wealthy corporations/investors are taking the opportunity to re-colonize Africa and get away it.
by Jerry Alatalo
xecutive Director of the Oakland Institute Anuradha Mittal and her team have worked for years on land, food and environment issues in regions around the Earth. Oakland Institute recently joined the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in exposing World Bank actions involving land grabs/acquisitions by foreign investors in Ethiopia which have resulted in tens of thousands of small farmers becoming forcibly evicted from their land.
Ms. Mittal describes the situation with regard to land grabs in Ethiopia as “dire”, with evicted farmers and their families facing persecution, intimidation, and arrest if refusing to leave the land which has sustained them for generations or by protesting. While many around the world are under the impression that colonialism in Africa is long-over and a thing of the past, what the Oakland Institute has discovered is a type of “re-colonization” of the African continent has occurred in recent years through land grabs/giveaways to investors looking to extract natural…
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Africa paying a blind eye to xenophobia April 25, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in Aannolee and Calanqo, Africa, Amnesty International's Report: Because I Am Oromo, Because I am Oromo, Ethiopia's Colonizing Structure and the Development Problems of People of Oromia.Tags: Africa, Because I am Oromo, Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, South Africa
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‘Colonial laws and practices have not imposed themselves on the independent Africa; the real and biggest problem has been the unwillingness of the current African leadership to change and/ or repeal the many unjust colonial laws. If anything, colonial laws and practices have either at worst been maintained to protect whites and the black African elite interests or at best been adapted to suit the needs of the African leadership, needs of ruling tribes or clans or nations at the expense of all others….If there is anything that Africa should learn from the latest xenophobic attacks in South Africa, it is that the continent has yet to command its independence and seriously address tribal prejudice and stereotypes. Governments continue to show little or no interest in respecting people and dealing with simmering internal social injustices. African independence has perpetually shown no empathy towards any black communities carrying a different social identification from those wielding authority. Historically, we have struggled with accommodating internal diversity.
The starting point towards correcting one’s mistakes is owning them. Africa needs to stop hiding behind colonialism and accept most of the problems we face today are our internal creation and only we can make the necessary changes required. Africans can conveniently blame colonialism all they want but the majority of conflicts between nations and communities show more internal prejudice and less external intervention as the cause.’
If there is anything that Africa should learn from the latest xenophobic attacks in South Africa, it is that the continent has yet to command its independence and seriously address tribal prejudice and stereotypes. Governments continue to show little or no interest in respecting people and dealing with simmering internal social injustices. African independence has perpetually shown no empathy towards any black communities carrying a different social identification from those wielding authority. Historically, we have struggled with accommodating internal diversity.
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Oromo Political Prisoner Bekele Gerba Freed. Obbo Baqqalaa Garbaa Hiikamanii Jiru. #Oromo March 31, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in Because I am Oromo.Tags: Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, Obbo Baqqalaa Garbaa
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(VOA AFAAN OROMOO, WASHINGTON DC)—Itti aanaa dura ta’aa paartii mormituu Warraaqsa Federaalistii Dimokraatawaa Oromoo kan turan Obbo Baqqalaa Garbaa hidhaa waggaa sadii fi baatii torbaa booda kaleessa Bitooteessa 30 bara 2015 hiikamanii jiran. Himannaan shoroorkeessummaa irratti dhiyaatEe murtiin hidhaa waggaa saddeetiI eega irratti muramee booda ol-iyyannaa dhiyeeeffatanii turaniin gara hidhaa waggaa sadii fi baatii torbaatti gad cabeef. Akka seera Itiyoophiyaatti hidhaa na irratti murame sadii keessaa harka lama akkaan xumureetti mirgi gadhiifamuu naa kennamuutu irra ture kan jedhan obbo Baqqalaa Garbaa garuU kanas dhorkameen hidhaa na irratti murame xumuree ba’uuf dirqame jedhu.
Kaleessuuma yeroo gadhiifamuuf turantti illee eega baafamanii booda, waan qoratamuu qabuutu jira jechuun yeroof mana hidhaatti isaan deebisuu isaanii dubbatu Obbo Baqqalaan. Booda garuu magaalaa Finfinneetti si geessinee qoranna jedhanii Zuwaay irraa kokolaataa seennee Moojoo akka geenyeetti achuumatti na gadhiisan jedhhan. Akka Obbo Baqqalaan jedhantti himnannaan irratti dhiyaatee ittiin adabaman kan sobaa ta’uu fi ragaan dhiyaates qindeeffamee ta’uu dubabtanii jiru. Haallii fayyaa isaanii ogeessa wal’ansa fayyaan ilaalamuu kan fedhu ta’uus kan sadarkaa hamaa irra hin jirre ta’uu Raadiyoo Sagalee Amerikaaf Ibsanii jiru.
Gaaffii fi deebii geggeedffame armaan gaditti caqasaa
http://www.voaafaanoromoo.com/content/article/2701292.html
(Oromedia, 31 Bitootessa 2015) Ob Baqqalaa Garbaa Bitootessa 30, bara 2015 hidhaa hiikamuun gabaafame.
Maddeen keenya Finfinnee irraa akka nuuf gabaasanitti, Ob Baqqalaan murtii dabaa mootummaa Itoophiyaa irraa itti darbe fixanii bahan.
Ob Baqqalaan miseensa paartii karaa nagaa biyya keessa sochooú, Warraaqsa Federaalistii Dimokiraatawaa Oromoo taánis, mootummaan Wayyaanee garuu miseensa ABO ti, jechuun akka hidhe beekamaadha.
Abbaa ijjoollee afurii kan taán Ob Baqqalaa Garbaa waggaa saddeetiif akka hidhamu dhaddechi Itoophiyaa Muddee 11, 2012 itti murteesse. Yeroo sanatti akka murtiin laafuuf dhiifama akka gaafatu gaafatamnii diduu fi waan hojjatanitti akka hin gaabbine ibsachuun isaanii kan yaadatamu.
Akka sirnaa fi seera biyyattiitti Ob Baqqalaan hidhaa isaanii harka sadii erga fixanii cabsaa seeraatiin hiikamuu qabu turan.
Haataúutii, loogii sanyummaa fi sabummaatiin haga yoonaatti hidhaa keessa turruun isanaii kan beekamu.
Ob Baqqalaan Yunvarsitii Finfinneetti barsiisaa Afaanii ti.
Ob Baqqalaa Garbaa fi Ob Olbaanaa Leellisaa Hagayya 27, 2011 humnoota tikaa mootummaa Itoophiyaatiin hidhaman.
http://oromedia.net/2015/03/30/ob-baqqalaa-garbaa-hiikame/
https://www.oromiamedia.org/2015/03/omn-hubachiisa-bitootessa-30-2015/
Oromo Political Prisoner Bekele Gerba Freed; the Ideals (Land Grabbing, Environment, National Equality) He Got Imprisoned for Still Unresolved
Bitootessa/March 31, 2015 · Finfinne Tribune | Gadaa.com
Oromo media outlets, OMN and Radio Afuura Biyyaa, have confirmed the release from prison of the Oromo political prisoner Ob. Bekele Gerba, who was the Deputy Chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) at the time of his arrest in August 2011. Ob. Bekele Gerba had been unjustly imprisoned for about three and half years. According to information we have received, his fellow prisoner Ob. Olbana Lelisa, the high-ranking leader in the Oromo People’s Congress party (OPC) at the time of his arrest with Ob. Bekele Gerba in August 2011, remains imprisoned unjustly.
Issues Ob. Bekele Gerba Imprisoned for Remain Unresolved …
BEKELE GERBA LAND-GRABBING AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION:
In 2010 – a year before his arrest, Ob. Bekele Gerba passionately debated during the General Election about land-grabbing, especially land-grabbing around Finfinne, and the appalling environmental pollution in Oromia and beyond (listen below); his firm stand on these issues had brought land-grabbing around Finfinne and environmental pollution to the forefront of the people’s consciousnesses at the time and since then. http://gadaa.net/FinfinneTribune/2015/03/oromo-political-prisoner-bekele-gerba-freed-the-ideals-land-grabbing-environment-national-equality-he-got-imprisoned-for-still-unresolved/
BEKELE GERBA ON NATIONAL EQUALITY FOR OROMOS AND OTHER NATIONALITIES IN ETHIOPIA:
His firm stand on national equality has been also widely reported by the media (listen below); Ob. Bekele Gerba made the appeal for national equality for Oromos and other oppressed nationalities in Ethiopia as a political prisoner facing the Ethiopian government’s politically biased and motivated court in November 2012.
Ethiopia: stealing the Omo Valley, destroying its ancient Peoples. #Oromia #Africa February 18, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in Ethiopia's Colonizing Structure and the Development Problems of People of Oromia, Afar, Ogaden, Sidama, Southern Ethiopia and the Omo Valley, Omo, Omo Valley, Oromia.Tags: Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, Ethiopia's colonizing structure and development problems in Oromia and Omo Valley, Gambela, Genocide, Genocide against the Oromo, Human rights violations, Land grabbing, Land grabs in Africa, National Self Determination, Omo Valley, Oromia, Oromiyaa, Oromo, Oromo people
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Ethiopia: stealing the Omo Valley, destroying its ancient Peoples
Megan Perry* / Sustainable Food Trust
A land grab twice the size of France is under way in Ethiopia, as the government pursues the wholesale seizure if indigenous lands to turn them over to dams and plantations for sugar, palm oil, cotton and biofuels run by foreign corporations, destroying ancient cultures and turning Lake Turkana, the world’s largest desert lake, into a new Aral Sea.
What is happening in the lower Omo Valley shows a complete disregard for human rights and a total failure to understand the value these tribes offer Ethiopia in terms of their cultural heritage and their contribution to food security.
There is growing international concern for the future of the lower Omo Valley in Ethiopia. A beautiful, biologically diverse land with volcanic outcrops and a pristine riverine forest; it is also aUNESCO world heritage site, yielding significant archaeological finds, including human remains dating back 2.4 million years.
The Valley is one of the most culturally diverse places in the world, with around200,000 indigenous people living there. Yet, in blind attempts to modernise and develop whatthe government sees as an area of ‘backward’farmers in need of modernisation, some of Ethiopia’s most valuable landscapes, resources and communities are being destroyed.
A new dam, called Gibe III, on the Omo River is nearing completion and will begin operation in June, 2015, potentially devastating the lives of half a million people. Along with the dam, extensive land grabbing is forcing thousands from their ancestral homes and destroying ecosystems.
Ethiopia’s ‘villagisation’ programme is aiding the land-grab by pushing tribes into purpose built villages where they can no longer access their lands, becoming unable to sustain themselves, and making these previously self-sufficient tribes dependent on government food aid.
A total disregard for the rights of Ethiopia’s Indigenous Peoples
What is happening in the lower Omo Valley, and elsewhere, shows a complete disregard for human rights and a total failure to understand the value these tribes offer Ethiopia in terms of their cultural heritage and their contribution to food security.
There are eight tribes living in the Valley, including the Mursi, famous for wearing large plates in their lower lips. Their agricultural practices have been developed over generations to cope with Ethiopia’s famously dry climate.
Many are herders who keep cattle, sheep and goats and live nomadically. Others practice small-scale shifting cultivation, whilst many depend on the fertile crop and pasture land created by seasonal flooding.
The vital life source of the Omo River is being cut off by Gibe III. An Italian construction company began work in 2006, violating Ethiopian law as there was no competitive bidding for the contract and no meaningful consultation with indigenous people.
The dam has received investment from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and the hydropower is primarily going for export rather than domestic use – despite the fact that 77% of Ethiopia’s population lacks access to electricity.
People in the Omo Valley are politically vulnerable and geographically remote. Many do not speak Amharic, the national language, and have no access to resources or information. Foreign journalists have been denied contact with the tribes, as BBC reporter Matthew Newsome recently discovered when he was prevented from speaking to the Mursi people.
There has been little consideration of potential impacts, including those which may affect other countries, particularly Kenya, as Lake Turkana relies heavily on the Omo River.
At risk: Lake Turkana, ‘Cradle of Mankind’
Lake Turkana, known as the ‘Cradle of Mankind’, is the world’s largest desert lake dating back more than 4 million years. 90% of its inflow comes from the Omo. Filling of the lake behind the dam will take three years and use up to a years’ worth of inflow that would otherwise go into Lake Turkana.
Irrigation projects linked with the dam will then reduce the inflow by 50% and lead to a drop of up to 20 metres in the lake’s depth. These projects may also pollute the water with chemicals and nitrogen run-off. Dr Sean Avery’s report explains how this could devastate the lake’s ancient ecosystems and affect the 300,000 people who depend on it for their livelihoods.
Tribal communities living around the lake rely on it for fish, as well as an emergency source of water. It also attracts other wildlife which some tribes hunt for food, such as the El Molo, who hunt hippo and crocodile. Turkana is home to at least 60 fish species, which have evolved to be perfectly adapted to the lake’s environment.
Breeding activity is highest when the Omo floods, and this seasonal flood also stimulates the migration of spawning fish. Flooding is vital for diluting the salinity of the lake, making it habitable. Livestock around the lake add nutrients to the soil encouraging shoreline vegetation, and this is important for protecting young fish during the floods.
Lake Turkana is a fragile ecosystem, highly dependent on regular seasonal activity, particularly from the Omo. To alter this ancient ebb and flow will throw the environment out of balance and impact all life which relies on the lake.
Severely restricted resources around the lake may also lead to violence amongst those competing for what’s left. Low water levels could see the lake split in two, similar to the Aral Sea. Having acted as a natural boundary between people, there is concern that conflict will be inevitable.
Fear is already spreading amongst the tribes who say they are afraid of those who live on the other side of the lake. One woman said, “They will come and kill us and that will bring about enmity among us as we turn on each other due to hunger.”
Conflict may also come from Ethiopians moving into Kenyan territory in attempts to find new land and resources.
A land grab twice the size of France
The dam is part of a wider attempt to develop the Omo Valley resulting in land grabs and plantations depending on large-scale irrigation. Since 2008 an area the size of France has been given to foreign companies, and there are plans to hand over twice this area of landover the next few years.
Investors can grow what they want and sell where they want. The main crops being brought into cultivation include, sugar, cotton, maize, palm oil and biofuels. These have no benefit to local economies, and rather than using Ethiopia’s fragile fertile lands to support its own people, the crops grown here are exported for foreign markets.
Despite claims that plantations will bring jobs, most of the workers are migrants. Where local people (including children) are employed, they are paid extremely poorly. 750km of internal roads are also being constructed to serve the plantations, and are carving up the landscape, causing further evictions.
In order to prepare the land for plantations, all trees and grassland are cleared, destroying valuable ecosystems and natural resources.
Reports claim the military have been regularly intimidating villages, stealing and killing cattle and destroying grain stores. There have also been reports of beatings, rape and even deaths, whilst those who oppose the developments are put in jail. The Bodi, Kwegi and Mursi people were evicted to make way for the Kuraz Sugar Project which covers 245,000 acres.
The Suri have also been forcibly removed to make way for the Koka palm oil plantation, run by a Malaysian company and covering 76,600 acres. This is also happening elsewhere in Ethiopia, particularly the Gambela region where 73% of the indigenous population are destined for resettlement.
Al-Moudi, a Saudi tycoon, has 10,000 acres in this region to grow rice, which is exported to the Middle East. A recent report from the World Bank’s internal watchdog has accused a UK and World Bank funded development programme of contributing to this violent resettlement.
For many tribes in the Omo Valley, the loss of their land means the loss of their culture. Cattle herding is not just a source of income, it defines people’s lives. There is great cultural value placed on the animals. The Bodi are known to sing poems to their favourite cattle; and there are many rituals involving the livestock, such as the Hamer tribe’s coming of age ceremony whereby young men must jump across a line of 10 to 30 bulls.
Losing their land also means losing the ability to sustain themselves. As Ulijarholi, a member of the Mursi tribe, said, “If our land is taken, it is like taking our lives.”
They will no longer be independent but must rely on government food aid or try to grow food from tiny areas of land with severely reduced resources.
Ethiopia’s food security
Ethiopia is currently experiencing economic growth, yet 30 million people still face chronic food shortages. Some 90% of Ethiopia’s national budget is foreign aid, but instead of taking a grass-roots approach to securing a self-sufficient food supply for its people, it is being pushed aggressively towards industrial development and intensive production for foreign markets.
There is a failure to recognise what these indigenous small-scale farmers and pastoralists offer to Ethiopia’s food security. Survival of the Fittest, a report by Oxfam, argued that pastoralism is one of the best ways to combat climate change because of its flexibility.
During droughts animals can be slaughtered and resources focused on a core breeding stock in order to survive. This provides insurance against crop failure as livestock can be exchanged for grain or sold, but when crops fail there can be nothing left. Tribal people can also live off the meat and milk of their animals.
Those who have long cultivated the land in the Omo Valley are essential to the region’s food security, producing sorghum, maize and beans on the flood plains. This requires long experience of the local climate and the river’s seasonal behaviour, as well as knowledge of which crops grow well under diverse and challenging conditions.
Support for smallholders and pastoralists could improve their efficiency and access to local markets. This would be a sustainable system which preserved soil fertility and the local ecosystem through small-scale mixed rotation cropping, appropriate use of scarce resources (by growing crops which don’t need lots of water, for example) and use of livestock for fertility-building, as well as for producing food on less productive lands.
Instead, over a billion dollars is being spent on hydro-electric power and irrigation projects. This will ultimately prove unsustainable, since large-scale crop irrigation in dry regions causes water depletion and salinisation of the soil, turning the land unproductive within a couple of generations.
Short of an international outcry however, the traditional agricultural practices of the indigenous people will be long gone by the time the disastrous consequences becomes apparent.
*Megan Perry is Personal and Research Assistant to SFT Policy Director, Richard Young.
This article was originally published by the Sustainable Food Trust.
Source: http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2754229/ethiopia_stealing_the_omo_valley_destroying_its_ancient_peoples.html
Fordi jeg er oromo: Because I Am Oromo January 10, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in Africa, Amnesty International's Report: Because I Am Oromo, Fordi jeg er oromo.Tags: Africa, African Studies, Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, Fordi jeg er oromo, Genocide against the Oromo, National Self Determination, Oromia, Oromo, Oromo people
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Kelilew Urga:- Norwegian Newspaper’s Coverage of the Crimes Committed Against Innocent Oromo by the TPLF/Tigrean Govt
Amajjii/January 9, 2015 · Finfinne Tribune Gadaa.com http://finfinnetribune.com/Gadaa/2015/01/kelilew-urga-norwegian-newspapers-coverage-of-the-crimes-committed-against-innocent-oromo-by-the-tplftigrean-govt/
Below is an article in a Norwegian newspaper covering the human rights crimes committed against innocent Oromo by the TPLF/Tigrean government. The scanned version of the article (and the text format of the article) are also presented below (language: Norwegian).
Scanned version:
Full Text:
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Fordi jeg er oromo
Oromoere den største etniske urfolkegruppen i Øst-Afrika med en befolkning på rundt 40 millioner i området fra Etiopia til Kenya og deler av Somalia og Egypt. Oromoere er Etiopias største etniske gruppe, og deres språk er den fjerde mest talte i Afrika (etter arabisk, hausa, og swahili). Oromo snakkes over et geografisk stort område. De andre navnene på språket inkluderer afaan oromo, oromiffa og oromo. Men språket og dets brukere utsettes for i marginalisering og diskriminering av den etiopiske regjeringen.
Oromoerne i Etiopia har blitt kuet av de etiopiske herskere siden forrige kvartal av det 19. århundre. Oromo ble da utestengt for bruk i undervisning, massemedia og det offentlige liv. Afaan oromo ble forbudt først under keiser Haile Selassies regime. Den gang ble oromotalende privat og offentlig latterliggjort. Regjeringen gjorde alt i sin makt for å sikre dominans av abyssiner-språk og -kulturer på bekostning av oromo. Dette fortsatte senere under kommunistregimet som fulgte etter keiserens fall. I 1992 ble forbudet opphevet, og språket brukes i Oromia-områder med visse restriksjoner.
Alle de påfølgende etiopiske regimer, inkludert dagens, har drevet bevisste og systematiske kampanjer av feilinformasjon om oromoere og deres språk og kultur for å opprettholde undertrykkelsen av folkegruppen.
Hvorfor har de etiopiske herskere undertrykt Oromo?
Det tigrinja-ledede regimet har i hovedsak valgt seg ut oromoere grunn av deres økonomiske ressurser og politiske motstand. Oromia-støttegruppen uttaler: “Fordi Oromo spenner over Etiopias rikeste områder og utgjør halvparten av befolkningen i Etiopia, blir de sett på som den største trusselen mot den nåværende tigrinja-ledede regjeringen. I ettertid har flere Oromo-organisasjoner, inkludert Oromo Relief Association, blitt nedlagt og undertrykt av regjeringen. Den hyppigst anvendte begrunnelsen for å anholde oromoere er at de er mistenkt for å støtte OLF.”
Human Right Watch, Amnesty International og andre internasjonale organisasjoner retter jevnlig søkelys mot statens hensynsløse forfølgelse av oromoere, basert utelukkende på deres oppfattede opposisjon til regjeringen. Det nevnes hvordan oromoere stadig utsettes for vilkårlig arrest, langvarig fengsling uten rettssak, tvungen forsvinning, gjentatt tortur og ulovlige statlige drap som eksempler på regjeringens uopphørlige forsøk på å knuse dissens.
“Den etiopiske regjeringens ubøyelige aksjon mot reell eller innbilt dissens blant oromoere er sweeping in its scale og ofte sjokkerende i sin brutalitet,” sa Clair Beston, Amnesty Internationals Etiopia-forsker. “Dette er tydeligvis gjort for å advare, kontrollere eller bringe til taushet alle tegn på politisk ulydighet i regionen.” Ifølge rapporter fra Amnesty International har 5000 etniske oromoere blitt arrestert mellom 2011 og 2014 basert på deres faktiske eller mistenkte fredelige opposisjon til regjeringen.
Disse inkluderer fredelige demonstranter, studenter, medlemmer av opposisjonspolitiske partier og mennesker som gir uttrykk for sin oromo-kulturarv. I tillegg til disse blir folk fra alle samfunnslag, som bønder, lærere, helsepersonell, tjenestemenn, sangere, forretningsfolk og utallige andre jevnlig arrestert i Oromia basert kun på mistanke om at de ikke støtter regjeringen. Mange er anklaget for å ha ”oppildnet andre mot regjeringen”. Familiemedlemmer av mistenkte har også vært forfulgt kun basert på mistanke om at de deler et familiemedlems syn eller har arvet sine meninger, eller de er arrestert i stedet for deres savnede slektning.
Mange av de arresterte har sittet fengslet uten grunn i måneder eller år og blitt utsatt for gjentatt tortur. I hele regionen er hundrevis av mennesker arrestert i uoffisiell forvaring i militærleire. Mange blir nektet kontakt med advokater og familiemedlemmer. Dusinvis av de faktiske eller mistenkte dissentere har blitt drept. Majoriteten av dem er anklaget for å støtte Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), den væpnede gruppen i regionen.
Under Tigrinyan People’s Liberation Fronts brutale styre har rettssaler vært viktige arenaer for undertrykkelse. Siden TPLF tok makten i 1991 har mennesker blitt myrdet, torturert og uskyldig fengslet under grunnløse og falske, fabrikerte anklager om at de støtter Oromo Liberation Front.
Kilder: Amnesty Internationals rapport publisert 28. oktober 2014
Oromia støtte-gruppe
BBC NEWS 28. oktober 2014
UCLA Language Materials Project
Av Kelilew Urga
Read @ http://finfinnetribune.com/Gadaa/2015/01/kelilew-urga-norwegian-newspapers-coverage-of-the-crimes-committed-against-innocent-oromo-by-the-tplftigrean-govt/
President Obama wakes up to the Darfur genocide December 18, 2014
Posted by OromianEconomist in Africa, Darfur, Ethiopia's Colonizing Structure and the Development Problems of People of Oromia, Afar, Ogaden, Sidama, Southern Ethiopia and the Omo Valley, Ethnic Cleansing, Genocidal Master plan of Ethiopia, Uncategorized.Tags: Africa, African Studies, Because I Am Oromo: Amnesty International Report, Genocide against the Oromo, Horn of Africa, Human rights, Human rights violations, Janjaweed in Darfur Liyu Police in Oromia, Land grabs in Africa, National Self Determination, Oromia, Oromo people
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Please also refer to the genocide going on in other Horn of African country (Ethiopia) against Oromo (Oromia) people:
http://www.amnesty.nl/sites/default/files/public/because_i_am_oromo.pdf
This excellent analysis by Eric Reeves provides an analysis of US policy towards Darfur.
Martin
“Awakening” to the Continuing Nightmare of the Darfur Genocide
Source: Eric Reeves, 17 December 2014
The Obama administration seems finally to have found its voice again in speaking about ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. More than a decade after rebellion and conflict began, some three million people are internally displaced or refugees in neighboring Chad. More than 800,000 have been displaced in the past two years; some 2 million human beings have been newly displaced since the disastrously conceived and badly failing UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) took up its civilian protection mandate in January 2008. The death toll from the direct and indirect consequences of violence now exceeds 500,000—and mortality looks to be poised to rise steeply given reduced humanitarian capacity.
After seven years of distinguishing itself only by being…
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