Economic and development analysis: Perspectives on economics, society, development, freedom & social justice. Leading issues in Oromo, Oromia, Africa & world affairs. Oromo News. African News. world News. Views. Formerly Oromia Quarterly
My Home, My Land is a graphic representation of much of the Oakland Institute’s work on land grabs. Illustrated by the Institute’s Intern Scholar, Abner Hauge, this publication dismantles the many myths promoted by so-called donor countries, development agencies, and corporations about the positive effects of foreign direct investments through large-scale land acquisitions.
Over the past seven years, the Oakland Institute has exposed the actual impact of the land grabs on indigenous, pastoralist, and smallholder farming families around the world. The powerful illustrations of My Home, My Land remind us of the beauty and complexity of the world’s ecosystems and indigenous cultures, and call upon us to take action now to stop exploitative land grabs internationally. My Home, My Land
Mr. António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Case Postale 2500 CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt Switzerland
Your Excellency Mr. Guterres,
The Board of Directors of the Macha-Tulama Association, USA, is writing this urgent letter to bring to your attention about the suffering of thousands of Oromo refugees and other nationals in Yemen, South Africa, Libya as well as in the Middle East and Africa. Among these refugees were individuals who were killed or beheaded by terrorists and other criminal elements. Furthermore, the most vulnerable elements of these refugees such as the sick, women, children and elderly are dying every day. At this moment no calling is more urgent and noble and no responsibility greater for the leadership of UNHCR than trying its very best for saving the lives of thousands of Oromo refugees and others who are trapped among warring factions in Yemen and attacked by terrorists in Libya and burned by criminals in South Africa.
The Macha-Tulama Association (MTA) is a non-profit organization legally registered in the United States of America for advancing the objective for which the main MTA was established in Oromia (Ethiopia) in 1963. For your information, the Oromo constitute the single largest national group in Ethiopia. And yet, they are political minority in that country. Consequently, successive Ethiopian governments, including the present one, have banned MTA, the only civic institution of the Oromo people in the Ethiopian Empire. The MTA envisioned mobilizing Oromo citizens for fighting illiteracy, diseases, constructing schools, building roads and clinics, promoting Oromo self-consciousness, and reviving Oromo language, culture and history. It also struggled to restore the human dignity and inalienable rights of the Oromo people that have been suppressed by successive Ethiopian regimes.
Continuing the policies of the previous regimes of Ethiopia, the current minority Ethiopian government has intensified political repression as well as land-grabbing and transferring other economic resources of the Oromo and other peoples to the current government officials, their supporters and foreign corporations. It is the Ethiopian government’s policy of illegal land grabbing and political persecution of the Oromo and others that have forced the young, old, women and children to flee from their fatherland and get exposed to dangerous conditions in foreign lands. Oromo refugees and other nationals who have been forced to leave their homeland by the political and economic repression of the current minority Ethiopian government are exposed to gross human rights violations and terrorism. These refugees have been forced to flee from their homeland in order to seek protection from persecution, arbitrary imprisonment, torture and extra-judicial killings because of their ethno-national and religious identities, political opinions and their economic resources. According to Amnesty International report, entitled ‘Because I am Oromo: Sweeping Repression in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, between 2011 and 2014 at least 5000 Oromo were arrested, tortured, and faced extra-judicial executions because of being Oromo, and for also peacefully demonstrating against the regime’s land grabbing policies and the so-called Addis Ababa Master Plan that has been intended to evict millions of Oromo farmers from their prime land around Addis Ababa (Finfinnee), the capital city of the Ethiopian Empire.
Unfortunately, global powers and international financial institutions indirectly finance the gross violations of human rights of the Oromo and other people claiming that the current minority Ethiopian government is “democratic” and promotes “development.” For the Oromo and other people who have been terrorized and evicted from their ancestral lands, the claims of democracy and development are just propaganda ploys. In fact, the policies of this dictatorial regime are exposing the Oromo and others to unimaginable misery. When the people have resisted illegal removal from their ancestral lands, the current Ethiopian government’s police force and soldiers have beaten and detained them without trial, and many have been killed. It was for the purpose of saving their lives that thousands of Oromo and others have fled from Ethiopia to foreign lands. However, those who fled to South Africa, Yemen and Libya have faced torture, looting, and burning; they have been also beheaded, raped, tortured and killed by criminal elements and extremists. (Please see the following sites and videos for further information). http://www.ayyaantuu.net/ethiopia-muslim-martyr-among-those-killed-by-isis/; http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/20/south-africa-xenophobic-violencemigrant-workers-apartheid; http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/terrorism-security/2015/0420/Islamic-Statemurders-30-African-migrants-in-Libya-while-up-to-700-died-off-coast-video
Particularly, there are thousands Oromo refugees in Yemen alone in areas including Sana, Eden and other refugee camps. The current political crises and turmoil in Yemen has put the lives of these refugees in a very dangerous condition. These refugees are trapped among warring factions without any help from international and regional organizations such as yours. Many of these refugees have been raped, imprisoned, wounded or killed. They are also exposed to terrorists, fundamentalists, slavers and human traffickers. We are gravely concerned about the deteriorating conditions of Oromo and other refugees in Yemen, South Africa and Libya. These refugees are concentrated in camps and other places without adequate food, shelter and medical services. Therefore, we appeal to the UNHCR and your leadership to take the following urgent actions:
• First, we request that the UNHCR demand that the governments in Yemen, Libya and South Africa provide protection for Oromo and other refugees who have sought protection and safety in their countries.
• Second, we request that the UNHCR provide material support urgently for those Oromo refugees and others who are trapped among warring factions, especially in Yemen.
• Third, we appeal to the UNHCR to arrange suitable conditions with other countries for these refugees to have an opportunity for permanent settlement in third countries.
• Fourth, we request that the UNHCR seeks permanent solutions through the United Nations for eliminating political and economic conditions that have produced tens of thousands of Oromo and other refugees from Ethiopia.
• Fifth, we request that the UNHCR persuade big powers and international financial institutions not to finance the Ethiopian government’s policy of land grabbing, which has evicted tens of thousands of Oromo nationals and others from their ancestral lands.
We believe that as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the principal voice on refugee issues, you have an extraordinary opportunity to alleviate the incredible human sufferings of the Oromo and other refugees in Yemen, Libya and South Africa and in other countries. We urgently request you to take a concrete measure that will save the lives of Oromo and other refugees who are trapped among warring factions in Yemen. Additionally we request you to urge the government officials of Libya and South Africa to protect Oromo and other nationals in their countries. Finally, we thank you for your interest in the wellbeing of the Oromo and other refugees from Ethiopia and for taking concrete actions to protect them.
Sincerely,
Abera Tefera,
For the Board of Directors of the Macha-Tulama Association, USA
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
-George Orwell, Animal Farm
“The very common way that the EPRDF and its agents try to shift the public attention from lack of human and democratic rights and the daylight looting of the country’s resources, is by referring to the ‘impressive’ economic development registered in their rule. If they are talking about the only region that they are exclusively devoted to developing, then, they are absolutely right.”
In TPLF /Tigray dominated minority tyrannic regime of Orwellian social and development policy, all nations and nationalities in theory are equal in Ethiopia, but in reality Tigray is more equal than others. This is not a development process.
According to UNDP report, while more than 45% of children in Tigray have achieved Net Lower Secondary Enrollment, the statistics for Oromia is only 16.9%, very huge inequality variations. The report indicated that while Human development Index (HDI) of Tigray is the highest (above national average), states such as Oromia, Afar, Ogaden and Amhara have the lowest HDIs, below the national HDI of 0.461. These are the outcomes of Tigray only, exclusionist, social, economic and development policies of the ruling regime. UNDP is not exposing the Tigray only growth and development strategy but we can read from its data and graphs.
As the TPLF has been engaged (https://oromiaeconomist.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/amnesty-internationals-report-because-i-am-oromo-a-sweeping-repression-in-oromia/) in destabilizing, robbing and massive evictions of people from their ancestral home and land grabs in Oromia, by all sorts of engagement, resource and soil transfers, it has conducting massive subsidized development in its Tigray home. In other studies, BBC Magazine in its 20th April 2015 publication under the title ‘ Turning Ethiopia’s desert green,’reports: ” A generation ago Ethiopia’s Tigray province was stricken by a famine that shocked the world. Today, as Chris Haslam reports, local people are using ancient techniques to turn part of the desert green. In the pink-streaked twilight, a river of humanity is flowing across Tigray’s dusty Hawzien plain. This cracked and desiccated landscape, in Ethiopia’s far north, occupies a dark corner of the global collective memory. Thirty years ago, not far from here, the BBC’s Michael Buerk first alerted us to a biblical famine he described as “the closest thing to hell on earth”. Then Bob Geldof wrote Do They Know It’s Christmas? – a curious question to ask of perhaps the world’s most devoutly Christian people – and thereafter the name Tigray became synonymous with refugees, Western aid and misery. The Tigrayan people were depicted as exemplars of passive suffering, dependent on the goodwill of the rest of the planet just to get through the day without dying. But here, outside the village of Abr’ha Weatsbaha, I’m seeing a different version. From all directions, streams of people are trickling into that human river.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32348749.
Martin Plaut’s analysis which is based on world banks report is also interesting and important to refer here which is as follows:-
The World Bank has just published an authoritative study of poverty reduction in Ethiopia. The fall in overall poverty has been dramatic and is to be greatly welcomed. But who has really benefited?
This is the basic finding:
In 2000 Ethiopia had one of the highest poverty rates in the world, with 56% of the population living on less than US$1.25 PPP a day. Ethiopian households experienced a decade of remarkable progress in wellbeing since then and by the start of this decade less than 30% of the population was counted as poor.
There are of course many ways of answering the question – “who benefited” – were they men or women, urban or rural people. All these approaches are valid.
The Ethnic Dimension
But in Ethiopia, where Ethic Federalism has been the primary driver of government policy one cannot ignore the ethnic dimension.
Here this graph is particularly telling:
Tigray first
The answer is clear: it is the people of Tigray, whose party, the TPLF led the fight against the Mengistu regime and took power in 1991, who benefited most. What is also striking is that the Oromo (who are the largest ethnic group) hardly benefited at all.
This is what the World Bank says about this: “Poverty reduction has been faster in those regions in which poverty was higher and as a result the proportion of the population living beneath the national poverty line has converged to around one in 3 in all regions in 2011.”
The World Bank does little to explain just why Tigray has done (relatively) so well, but it does point to the importance of infrastructure investment and the building of roads. It also points to this fact: “Poverty rates increase by 7% with every 10 kilometers from a market town. As outlined above, farmers that are more remote are less likely to use agricultural inputs, and are less likely to see poverty reduction from the gains in agricultural growth that are made. The generally positive impact of improvements in infrastructure and access to basic services such as education complements the evidence for Ethiopia that suggests investing in roads reduces poverty.”
Not surprisingly, the TPLF under Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and beyond concentrated their investment on their home region – Tigray. The results are plain to see. https://martinplaut.wordpress.com/2015/01/23/ethiopias-poverty-reduction-who-benefits/
In its 2014 National Human Development Report, which has been written on the theme of “Accelerating Inclusive Growth for Sustainable Human Development in Ethiopia,” UNDP indicates that 25 million Ethiopians currently remain trapped in poverty and vulnerability. This and many Ethiopians just above the poverty line are vulnerable to shocks and food insecurity. Maternal health care has lagged well behind other health statistics and the availability of effective health care is inconsistent across the country. UNDP’s educational indicators suggest ongoing problems with the quality of education, as shown by retention rates and educational performance markers. UNDP says, perhaps most worrying from the standpoint of inclusive growth are the high rates of un- and underemployment in both urban and rural areas, especially as large numbers of productive jobs for the poor and near-poor are needed under current and projected labour market trends. Economic growth over the past decade has generally meant an increase in productivity and output levels in some parts of the economy, but these have been accompanied by increasing severity of poverty. The absolute number of the poor is roughly the same as 15 years ago and a significant proportion of the population hovers just above the poverty line and is vulnerable to shocks. Moreover, the severity of poverty 2 increased from 2.7 per cent in 1999/2000 to 3.1 per cent in 2010/11 (MoFED, 2013b). The prevalence of vulnerabilities and food insecurity are on the rise.
According to UNDP report, during the last three years (2010/11-2012/13), inflation was in double digits. The inflation rate, which was 18 per cent in 2010/11, increased to 33.7 per cent in 2011/12, declined to 13.5 per cent in 2012/13 and fell further to 8.1 per cent in December 2013. Other studies demonstrate that inflation figures have always been in double digits including 2013 and 2014 and at present.
Further, UNDP says with a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.435 in 2013, the country is still classified as a “low human development” country, based on UNDP’s Human Development Index. Even though Ethiopia is one of the 10 countries globally that has attained the largest absolute gains in its HDI over the last several years, in the most recent Human Development Report (2014) Ethiopia ranks 173rd out of 187 countries. Thus, its Human Development Index (HDI) has not moved appreciably during the past decade, when compared with other developing countries that have registered similar growth rates. Looking at the HDI values of Seychelles, Tunisia and Algeria, which are in the high HDI bracket, and the other 12 African countries, which are in the medium HDI bracket, the major reasons why Ethiopia is still in the low HDI bracket are low education performance (particularly low mean years of schooling) and low GNI per capita. The minimum mean years of schooling and GNI per capita for medium HDI countries were 3.5 years and US$3,000, respectively in contrast to Ethiopia’s mean years of schooling of 2.6 years and GNI per capita of US$1,300. The inequality-adjusted Human Development index (IHDI), which is basically the HDI discounted for inequalities, is also computed for Ethiopia. Between 2005 and 2013, the IHDI increased from 0.349 to 0.459 indicating an average human development loss of 0.5 per cent per annum due to inequalities in health, access to education and income. According to (UNDP 2014), Ethiopia’s IHDI for 2013 was 0.307 in contrast to HDI of 0.435 indicating an overall human development loss of 29.4 per cent.
With regard to regional disparities in HDI values, while Tigray is significantly above national average, the four states of Afar, Somali, Amhara and Oromia have the lowest HDIs, below the national HDI of 0.461.
The outcome of the development strategy of Tigray only when mathematically averaged to the whole regions cannot hide TPLF’s Apartheid policy on Oromia and the rest as it is only the development focus for 5% of the 94 million population. Thus, Tigray is rich but Ethiopia is poor. Ethiopia is rich and fast growing only for development tourists those who lodge in Finfinne and tour to Tigray to take a sample and conclude the result for the whole states.
With regard to regional disparities in HDI values, while Tigray is significantly above national average, the four states of Afar, Somali, Amhara and Oromia have the lowest HDIs, below the national HDI of 0.461.
Another social indicator which demonstrates that Tigray is more equal than others is health services. UNDP’s report confirms that there are wide inequalities in the immunization status of children in Ethiopia. Children of educated women, rich households, and Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) and Tigray State have higher chances of being fully immunized. Children from the richest and middle income households are less likely to have no immunization at all (by 74 per cent and 57 per cent respectively) compared with those from the poorest households. Children from SNNPR, Oromiya and Amhara are 3.82, 7.00 and 3.65 times less likely to be fully immunized compared with those from Tigray, which has the second highest proportion of fully immunized children. According to UNDP, a report by Save the Children (2014) also raises concerns about equity in health services citing how immunization coverage is different among different income groups, and between urban and rural areas. According to the report, children from richest households are twice as likely to be immunized compared to those from the poorest households and children in urban areas are twice as likely to be immunized as those in rural areas. Based on revised data from the National Water Sanitation and Health Inventory, national potable water supply coverage increased from 58 per cent to 68.4 per cent between 2009/10 and 2012/13, reflecting an increase in both rural and urban coverage. Even though many health outcomes have improved significantly over the last decade, Ethiopia is still lagging behind on some measures. For example, Ethiopia has still higher than expected shares of malnutrition compared with countries at the same income level. What is especially striking about Ethiopia’s health data is the exceptionally high level of maternal mortality, given Ethiopia’s income level.
UNDP argues that that development can be inclusive and reduce poverty only if all people contribute to creating opportunities, share the benefits of development and participate in decision making.
Ethiopia at a Glance (UNDP Report Data)
Population: 85.8 million (2013)
GDP: US$46.6 billion (2013)
GDP per capita: US$550 (2013)
Annual Average Br/US$ exchange rate: 18.3 (2012/13)
Life expectancy at birth (years): 62.2 (2013)
Primary school gross enrolment rate (%): 95.3 (2012/13)
Births attended by skilled health professional (%): 23.1 (2012//13)
Contraceptive prevalence rate (%): 28.6 (2011)
Literacy rate (% of both sexes aged 15 and above): 46.7 (2011)
Unemployment rate (urban) (%): 16.5 (2012/13)
Unemployment rate among urban youth (15-29) (%): 23.3 (2011/12)
Areas further than 5 km from all-weather roads (%): 45.8 (2012/13)
Mobile phone subscribers (million): 23.8 (2012/13)
When we are condemning J-Zuma and his fellow Zwelithini‘s statement, we must not skip the fundamental question of “why are citizens running away from their countries in Africa? Why Zimbabweans, Nigerian, Mozambicans etc. are so many in South Africa? What Malian, Senegalese, Eritreans… are doing on the Mediterranean Sea? What Ethiopian, Eritreans… are looking for in Libya on their way to cross the sea? And Why African Leaders and institutions are silence on these questions? Close to 2000 migrants died crossing the Mediterranean to Europe this year only, many times more than during the same period in 2014…
Many in our continent, many of our leaders and institutions know the answers to these questions. Unfortunately, there are no actions being taken to resolve them; there are not even any honest acknowledgements of the problem; rather we are served with empty diplomatic statements everyday with no decisive action for change. We are turning around and the situation is getting worse.
The Ethiopian Government is Responsible for the Inhuman Treatments against Ethiopian Refugees and Asylum Seekers around the World
HRLHA Press Release
25th April 2015
The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa has been greatly saddened by the cold-blooded killing of 30 Christian Ethiopian refugees and asylum seekers in the past week in Libya by a group called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria/ ISIS. The HRLHA also highly concerned about thousands of Ethiopian refugees and asylum seekers living in different parts of Yemen were victimized due to the political crises in Yemen and hundreds have suffered in South Africa because of the unprecedented actions taken by a gang opposing refugees and asylum seekers in the country. The suppressive policy of the EPRDF/TPLF government has forced millions of Ethiopians to flee their country in the past twenty-four years. The mass influx of Ethiopian citizens into neighboring countries every year has been due to the EPRDF/TPLF policy of denying its citizens their socioeconomic and political rights. They have also fled out of fear of political persecution and detention. It has been repeatedly reported by human rights organizations, humanitarian and other non – governmental organizations that Ethiopia is producing a large number of refugees, estimated at over two hundred fifty thousand every year.
The HRLHA calls upon the Ethiopian government to unconditionally release the detained citizens and allow those who have been injured during the clash with police to get medical treatment.In connection with the incident that took place in Libya, on April 22, 2015 tens of thousands of Ethiopians marched on government- organized rallies against the killing of Ethiopian Christians in Libya. However, with the demonstrators’ angry expressions were directed at the authorities, the police used tear gas against them and hundreds of people were beaten on the street and arrested. On the 23rd and 24th of April 2015 others were picked up from their homes and taken to unknown destinations according to the HRLHA reporter in Addis Ababa.
Recommendations:
The Ethiopian government must stop political suppression in the country and respect the human rights treaties it signed and ratified
The Ethiopian Government must provide the necessary lifesaving help to those Ethiopians stuck in crises in the asylum countries of Yemen, South Africa and others.
The EPRDF/TPLF government must release journalists, opposition political party members, and others held in Ethiopian prisons and respect their right to exercise their basic and fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution of Ethiopia and international standard of human rights instruments.
“Under Secretary Sherman’s comments today were woefully ignorant and counter-productive,” said Daniel Calingaert, executive vice president of Freedom House. “Ethiopia remains one of the most undemocratic countries in Africa. By calling these elections credible, Sherman has tacitly endorsed the Ethiopian government’s complete disregard for the democratic rights of its citizens. This will only bolster the government’s confidence to continue its crackdown on dissenting voices.”
In response to today’s comments by Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Wendy Sherman, in which she referred to Ethiopia as a democracy and the country’s upcoming elections free, fair, and credible, Freedom House issued the following statement:
“Under Secretary Sherman’s comments today were woefully ignorant and counter-productive,” said Daniel Calingaert, executive vice president of Freedom House. “Ethiopia remains one of the most undemocratic countries in Africa. By calling these elections credible, Sherman has tacitly endorsed the Ethiopian government’s complete disregard for the democratic rights of its citizens. This will only bolster the government’s confidence to continue its crackdown on dissenting voices.”
Background:
Since coming into power in the early 1990s, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has dominated politics through a combination of political cooptation and harassment. The country experienced a degree of democratization through the early 2000’s, culminating in the most competitive elections in the county’s history in 2005. Since these elections, the EPRDF has restricted political pluralism and used draconian legislation to crack down on the political opposition, civil society organizations, and independent media. In the 2010, EPRDF and its allies won 546 out of 547 parliamentary seats.
Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.
U.S Department of State Endorsing of Upcoming Elections: Denial and Disrespect
The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA)
HRLHA Statement:
The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) strongly opposes to the position that the U.S State Department has taken in regards to the upcoming Ethiopian election and the overall democratization process in the country in the past twenty-four years; and describes the comments by the Under Secretary of State as a sign of disrespect for ordinary citizens of Ethiopia and disregard for the human miseries that hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian have gone through under the EPRDF/TPLF-led government.
The HRLHA has no doubt at all that the U.S Government in general and U.S Department of State in particular, with the biggest and highly staffed of all Western embassies in Ethiopia, are very well aware of the political realities that have been prevailing in the country over the past two decades. An excellent proof is the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices that is issued annually by the US Department of State itself. Suppressions and denials of fundamental human rights in Ethiopia under the EPRDF/TPLF Government were being reported on by various human rights and humanitarian as well as government and diplomatic agencies; and, based on the facts revealed in such reports, the Ethiopian Government has repeatedly been ranked as the worst both at the regional and global levels.
In a country that has witnessed the highest number of political incarceration in its history, where unarmed students and other civilians were gunned down in hundreds simply because they attempted to exercise some of their fundamental rights, in “one of the ten most censored countries” where the existence of independent media has become impossible and, as a result, press freedom has been curtailed completely, where all sorts of socio-economic rights have been tied to political sympathy and supports, it would be an insult and disrespect to its ordinary citizens, and a disregard for the precious lives of innocent people that have been taken away by brutal hands to say that such a country is a democracy, and that the upcoming elections would be free and fair while intimidations and harassments of opposition candidates, as well as potential voters, were taking place out in the field even while the Under Secretary of State was making the comments. While encouraging the most repressive government and governing party towards becoming more dictatorial, the Under-Secretary of State’s comments discourage and undermine the sacrifices that the Ethiopian peoples have paid and are still paying to realize their century-old dream of building free and democratic country.
The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) requests that the Under Secretary of State retract the wrong comments and apologize to the Ethiopian peoples. It also urges the U.S State Department to recognize and acknowledge the realities in Ethiopia and use the close ties that exists between the two governments to put pressure on the ruling EPRDF/TPLF party so that it allows the implementation of a genuine democracy.
This is the state terrorism of the TPLF-led Ethiopian regime that continues to drive thousands of Oromo and other nationals in the Ethiopian empire to seek refuge in uninhabitable, volatile and inhospitable corners of the world. During today’s incident (watch the video below), it’s only because Finfinne is the Capital (with many international watching eyes) that the Tigrean regime’s elite killing squad had not used live bullets to violate the mourners’ freedom of assembly. Almost a year ago, on April 30, 2014, in Ambo (some 100 or so kilometers away from the Capital), the same federal militarized police force used deadly force during a nonviolent Oromo students protest against the ‘Addis Ababa Master Plan’ for Oromo Genocide; in a single day, more than 100 Oromo students and non-student civilians were killed by the federal security force in Ambo on April 30, 2014.
Letter to UN from Oromo Community in Seattle on Plight of Refugees in Yemen
Open letter to UNHCR from the Oromo Community Services of Seattle (OCSS)
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Antonio Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Case Postale 2500
CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt
Switzerland
Dear Commissioner Guterres,
We, the Oromo Community in Seattle*, are writing this letter to express our deep concern and dismay regarding the inhuman suffering of Oromo refugees in Yemen. Thousands of Oromo refugees have fled their homeland to neighboring countries, including Yemen, seeking protection from persecutions, large-scale arbitrary detentions, disappearances, tortures and extra-judicial killings they would be subjected to from the Ethiopian government due to their ethnic identity and political opinions. According to the Amnesty Internationalreport ‘Because I am Oromo’ – Sweeping Repression in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, that was released on October 2014, between 2011 and 2014, at least 5000 Oromo have been arrested, tortured, and faced extra-judicial executions due to their peaceful opposition to the government. This report is self-evident that Oromo were forced to escape to rescue their lives from possible harassment of the Ethiopian government.
Currently, it is estimated that over ten thousands Oromo refuges reside in refugee camps in Yemen, including Sana and Eden. The current political turmoil in Yemen put the refugees’ lives in dire situation. Reports reaching us from Yemen indicate that refugees are trapped with no help in situation beyond their control. We have also received a report that a number of Oromo refugees have been killed, and some of them wounded by the flying bullets and indiscriminate ongoing fighting due to lack of adequate protection. Lives that they clenched to save are again put them in grave danger.
We are gravely concerned about the deteriorating condition of Oromo refugees in Yemen unless your leadership and international community intervene as soon as possible, and necessary steps are taken immediately to save the lives of the refugees. Oromo refugees in Yemen are also suffering from lack of food, shelter and medical care. Furthermore, the Ethiopian government security agents follow Oromo refugees and abduct some individuals using the current political crisis as an opportunity. This situation also jeopardizes the safety of the refugees.
We believe that, at this critical juncture, your leadership and the active engagement of the international community could mean the difference between life and death for many Oromo refugees. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed in 1948 and 1951, have articles that recognize the rights for refugees. Any country that has signed these declarations is obliged to respect them. When every letter of these declarations violated, member countries of the UN and humanitarian organizations should not keep silent.
Your Excellency,
We strongly believe that as a UN refugee agency, you are sanctioned to making a lasting impact on the lives of refugees and other displaced communities around the world by focusing on the basic needs and rights for refugees – like shelter, water, food, safety and protection from harm. Silence about the dire situation of Oromo refugees in Yemen is not only inhuman, but it is also a flagrant violation of the letter and spirit of the 1951 UN Convention, the 1967 Protocol Relating to Status of Refugees, and the UN General Assembly Resolution 2198 (XXI).
It is a duty of the United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights, UNHCR and the international community to take a swift action to rescue the refugees whose lives and freedom have fallen in a grave danger. We earnestly demand the UNHCR and member nations to extend their humanitarian assistance so as to find a way in which the refugees could be rescued from that imminent humanitarian disaster that may result in carnage. We believe Oromo refugees, as any other people in the world, are entitled to get protection and humanitarian from the UNHCR and governments that signed 1951 Geneva Convention.
We, therefore, appeal to the UNHCR, all UN member nations and other humanitarian organizations to put all necessary pressure on the governments and groups to refrain from violating the rights of refugees in Yemen and territories under their control. As the current situation in Yemen exposes Oromo refugees to further threats, we demand respectfully the UNHCR Office to find urgently durable solutions in which the lives of the refugees can be saved. We also request urgent medical care, food and shelter for Oromo refugees in Yemen.
Sincerely Yours,
Oromo Community Services of Seattle
C.C:
H. E. Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General
The United Nations
New York. NY 10017
E-mail: Inquiries@UN.Org
Fax: 212-963-7055
U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry
Washington, DC 20520
E-mail: Secretary@state.gov
European Union
E-mail: public.info@consilium.eu.int
Fax: Fax (32-2) 285 73 97 / 81
U.S. Committee for Refugees
1717 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202-347-3507
Fax: 202-347-3418
E-mail: uscr@irsa-uscr.org
Amnesty International
International Secretariat
1 Easton Street
London
WC1X 0DW, UK
Fax: +44-20-79561157
Human Rights Watch
Rory Mungoven
Global Advocacy Director
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
Tel: 1-(212) 290-4700
Fax: 1-(212) 736-1300
———– * Oromo Community Services of Seattle
Address: 7058 32nd Avenue S. Suite # 101 – Seattle, WA 98118
Tel: (206) 251-1789
(Oromo Refugees in Aden) – Yemen seeking for international attention to the excessive discrimination made against us, in particular all the last two decades. The right delayed is the right denied.
Subject: problem of the Oromo Refugees in Yemen remains unsolved, while Other refugees enjoy with fair protection and the rights (to live or move with free, education, health, resettlement out of Yemen just for better changes of life etc) which the Oromo refugees are denied even, after more than 17 years of deprivation and discrimination. And now under fire of the war
Who is behind and why is this all about? Is it sensible to think or say that such huge discrimination and inhuman treatment against the Oromo refugees, in particular is made out of the sight of or, does the international community including the relevant law intends to discriminate against the Oromo refugees? And what will the outcome or effects of the closed eyes (of the governments, human rights etc) to the abuses facing the Oromo refugees in Yemen be on future of the human rights?
Despite the prevailing situation is serious in general and probable to deteriorate our situation from bad to worse or to expose us more to the dangers anticipated/ intended, but it is not seemed however to be much different from the war of the excessive discriminations inflicted on us, in particular since more than 17 years as refugees in Yemen. As Oromo refugees we were under constant threats, intimidation, systematical discrimination and deprivation of the rights as refugees and, or the right to seek /claim against or for fair protection and treatment as equal as the other refugees in Yemen.
Specific details
Threats: harassment and extortion the Oromo refugees with UNHCR mandates (in the streets, at their work places and even, in their home etc) by the police just for they are” Oromo refugees” that compelled the Oromo to hide under the pretense of Somalis on need (during movement out of the living area etc). Intimidation: frightening the Oromo refugees by threatening situation or forcibly deportation for claiming for the right to protection, equal treatment to other refugees, Or for claiming against the abuses. Systematical discrimination: whenever we seek for the right to (protection, education, etc), the response for this by UNHCR (national staffs) in Aden is to say that we are not allowed to have or to seek for these rights in Yemen because the authority doesn’t recognize or that it does consider the Oromo refugees as illegal.
We are honest that we should respect the irregular policy of the Yemeni government towards us because it has been clear to be unwilling to grant the Oromo refugees as others. But we are seriously pointing to UNHCR which fails a pinnacle of its obligation towards us by procrastination with our refugee protection.
Oromo refugees particularly, in Aden are trapped in the moist of systematical pressures and deprivation by UNHCR , which was and still having political outlook towards us and practicing very scathing criticism( as to blame us as though we behave to contravene against the law etc) and misinformation against us excessively as a pretext to disprove or deny as well as to blur the international attention towards the well-founded and flagrant threats facing the Oromo refugees, in particular in Yemen. Whatever we seek or claim for (e.g. Refugee protection, assistance, the rights etc as refugees) is distorted as being for resettlement (: as if our entire claim intends for resettlement) even though it is for specific assistance. On the contrary, UNHCR is giving resettlement in third countries just for better change, for non-Oromo refugees those are granted all the rights as equal as the host community. Sometimes UNHCR claims that they are treating the Oromo refugees as same as the others by offering them assistance needed including resettlement. And at the same time they contradict what they’ve already mentioned by saying that ‘our refugee status has been deaden for belonging to the (OLF), which has lost its political legitimacy in the world. But they are still unable to respond to the question says “ how could the Oromo Refugees in Aden – Yemen seeking for international attention to the excessive discrimination made against us, in particular all the last two decades. The right delayed is the right denied. failure of the” OLF” policy in the world effect on only the refugees in Yemen apart from those in other countries of asylum”?
We are under influence of the national staffs who struggle hard to hide and confuse the actual facts related to our prolonged sufferings. UNHCR expatriate doesn’t perceive severity / situation facing us, because we are denied the right to access to persons of concern, and any written letter is interceded by the staffs intend to fail our reasonable claim before reaching the person of concern. So, they use to deter and eliminate us even, our committee leaders by their guards or the police. The staffs just then give the expats distorted information and persuade them wrongly about our intention.
What kind of the humanity is this, of which the deserving people are deprived while offered for those who should be considered as secondary concern?
In spite of such flagrant abuses, unkind treatment and discrimination treated against Oromo refugees, but the international community uses to turn a blind eye towards us by relying on the distorted information given by its customers (UNHCR) concern problems of the Oromo refugees.
All this discrimination is made to us because we are defenseless and without advocate, although the situation necessitates because the general attention to the refugee protection has become less and complicated unless international advocacy is made on behalf of these refugees according to the relevant laws. But the silence of the international community, Human Rights watch etc towards these inhuman treatments against the Oromo in particular has discouraged humanity and courage much more the abusive policy of the Ethiopian government against Oromo in Yemen.
UNHCR has played very crucial role in getting the Oromo refugees deprived of not only the rights as refugee in Yemen, but also of humanitarian intervention endeavored by some government interests and supports humanity such as( the government of Canada, which made great attempts two consecutive years [ 2004, 2005 ] willingly intending to give the Oromo refugees citizenship. But UNHCR in Aden denied the two times missions preventing them even, from visiting location of the Oromo refugees. However, we never forget the praiseworthy attempts intended by government of Canada.
The prolonged deprivation or discrimination treated against us has now been affecting our children those were born under the flag of UNHCR in Yemen. If the law itself discriminates against the parents, isn’t there any of the laws which support the right of the children?
This is not for the first time but we wrote a lot of petition to you since 2004 but never brought any positive change. Instead, we have been made to face worse and badly overreacted pressures resulted from the petitions applied, because no intervention or attention has been made towards us, excepting the amnesty’s very humanitarian Endeavour which should never be forgotten. But UNHCR blocked the process before reaching destination.
Comment on the Oromo communities in (the global continents) On behalf of the Oromo refugees living under appalling condition in Yemen, we would like to mention fraternal regards to all the Oromo communities in the world and we hope for you great success in your efforts aiming for the Oromo problems inside and outside of Oromia in general and for the Oromo Refugees in Aden – Yemen seeking for international attention to the excessive discrimination made against us, in particular all the last two decades. The right delayed is the right denied. Refugees those have threatened by the abusive policies emanating from the despotic government of Ethiopia in countries of asylum.
As we believe Oromo has lots of intellectuals in many countries in the word but we are disappointed and surprising about their silence on the sufferings of their people (refugees). What is the main role they have played in bringing a possible solution for their threatened refugees particularly, those in the Arab countries although a massive petition to you has been applied? We hope this time should not be as before.
You are aware of what is going on in Yemen that has compelled the international community to take its peoples from Yemen. Refugees (Somalis) have been leaving and others even, the Eritrean refugees have been promised by the Ethiopian authority to be taken from Yemen. But what about the Oromo refugees who have nowhere to return although Oromo is the most vulnerable, the most threatened refugee in Yemen? UNHCR in Aden also has left us heedlessly and without even, a piece of advice concern the dangers surrounding despite we are the most liable refugees to any possible threats on the ground more than any others.
Effects expected from this deterioration towards us: Oromo refugees in Yemen are beset by Ethiopian abusive policy through the Saudi which is striking on Yemen.
As we know the last aggressive deportation process made against thousands of Ethiopian from Saudi Arabia was carried out by the request from the Ethiopian authority through its friendly relationship with kingdom of Saudi. And now it is controlling completely all over Yemen and it is intending to deploy its forces that can be very harmful to us in Yemen. It is believable that Saudi will carry out forcibly deportation against us on the request of Ethiopia. In addition there is rumor information that some political faction in Yemen uses to recruit and exploit peoples (refugees) in struggling. And this can make us target to any possible revenge.
As remembered last year on 7 March 2014 Ethiopian authority came to our settled area called Basateen with Yemeni authority to make plane how to deport Ethiopian refugees In Aden/ Yemen. The other side is the Ethiopian government is planning and made agreement with Djibouti government to deport Oromo refugees in Yemen by sea if by the plane is impossible, as we hearing information and we seen in this month they taken 30 Ethiopian embassy community from Aden to Ethiopia by the sea.
Therefore, we are writing this urgent appeal letter to international community( US government, human rights organizations and others) seeking your urgent attention and assistance to get us rid of this threatening situation as soon as possible.
Finally, we would like to insist you( the Oromo communities and representatives wherever they are) to give a good support to this petition and enable it reach to all peoples of concern and governments possible to give us lasting solution as humanitarian.
Thank you
You can contact to: Abdulmalik Mohamed Ahmed. Mobile No, +967-771361374
Ahmed Kamal Abdalla, Mobile No. +967-771605410/+967-734420407
Over 250,000 East African refugees trapped in Yemen
Many refugees and asylum-seekers from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea say they have nowhere else to go
Tens of thousands of East African refugees and asylum-seekers are at risk of being left behind in Yemen’s roiling violence, deprived not only of safe options for evacuation but also of a home country that might take them in, activists and U.N. officials said this week.
Since pitched fighting between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and forces loyal to the ousted president erupted in March, escape from the country has been arduous even for foreign citizens and wealthy Yemenis. Airports are under fire and commercial transportation cut off, forcing the most desperate to charter simple power boats and make harrowing journeys across the Red Sea.
But for the over 250,000 registered Somali, Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers, the situation is even more trying. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners have a contingency plan to receive 100,000 refugees in Somalia’s relatively stable regions of Somaliland and Puntland, and another 30,000 in Djibouti, but that process will unfold over the next six months. And it is barely underway.
“The reality is that there are limited options for people to get out,” said Charlotte Ridung, the Officer-in-Charge for the UNHCR in Yemen. “Some have fled by boat, but many ports are closed, and fuel is an issue so the options for escape are indeed limited.”
As gunbattles and aerial bombardment engulf the port city of Aden, at least 2,000 people have fled urban areas to take shelter in the nearby Kharraz refugee camp, Ridung said. Thousands more refugees and Yemenis alike have begun to make the dangerous voyage across the water, including 915 people who fronted $50 each for boats from the Yemeni port of Mukha to Somalia — among them Somalis returning home for the first time in decades.
There, the UNHCR registered “women and children who arrived extremely thirsty and asking for water,” Ridung said. They included a pregnant woman who was immediately transferred to a hospital to deliver her baby.
Meanwhile, asylum-seekers and migrants traveling in the opposite direction from East Africa continue to arrive in war-wracked Yemen. Last Sunday, the UNHCR registered another 251 people, mostly Ethiopians and Somalis, who arrived by boat at the port city of Mayfa’a. Whether they were unaware of the violence in Yemen or hopeful mass evacuations from the country might take them somewhere safer is unclear.
“Many people think when they reach Yemen they’ll get passage to Europe right away, but it is wrong information,” said Sana Mohamed Nour, 21, an Eritrean refugee and community leader in the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa. “We are trying our best to get out.”
For those like Nour, whose parents brought her to Yemen from politically oppressive Eritrea when she was just an infant, Yemen’s violence has made the daily hardships of refuge that much worse. Many refugees, who are only able to find informal work as maids, construction workers or day laborers, have lost their jobs in recent weeks as businesses shut down and people hole up in their homes. The closure of ports means food and other supplies are dwindling in the country, which imports roughly 90 percent of its food. “At night, we can’t sleep,” she said. “And when we go out during the day, we’ll be asked for ID or passport [by security forces], and there’s a lot of people [being] taken to prison.”
The options for escaping Yemen are somewhat more acceptable to Somalis, the largest refugee contingent in Yemen at over 236,000, according to UNHCR estimates. While violence has plagued Somalia since the early 1990s — including the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab insurgency that still terrorizes pockets of the country — many Somali refugees have taken the war in Yemen as their cue to finally return, if not to their home towns then to the Somaliand and Puntland regions.
The situation is different for political refugees, who include most of the over 14,000 Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees or asylum-seekers left in Yemen. They say returning home would mean political persecution, imprisonment or violence. “The Somali refugees can go back to their home country, because there was no problem, and it will take them,” said Abdulmalik Mohamed Ahmed, a 42-year-old ethnic Oromo refugee from Ethiopia, who lives in Aden with his five children. “But we have no place or country to welcome us. We are just waiting.”
Ahmed said many of the estimated thousands of Oromos in Yemen are fearful that the Ethiopian government, which denies it persecutes Oromos and considers them economic migrants, will try to use evacuation efforts to whisk his people back home and perhaps into prison. In recent days Ethiopian embassy officials have deployed in Oromo neighborhoods in Aden, hoping to round up volunteers for government-run charter flights back to Ethiopia, he said.
But the idea of relocating anywhere in the Horn of Africa, as the U.N. is planning, is unfeasible, Ahmed said. Somalia, which borders Ethiopia to the east, is within reach of the government in Addis Ababa that imprisoned Ahmed once and still holds his father. “If we go back it is clear, we will face our fate there,” he said.
The U.N. has told refugee community leaders that it is “working on” getting them out, Nour said, but there has been little sign of progress. Members of the Eritrean diaspora have been called upon to help negotiate transportation for refugees, but she fears “no one else is talking about refugees in Yemen.”
“We are waiting, and every day the situation gets worse.”
Ethiopians talk of violent intimidation as their land is earmarked for foreign investors
David Smith, Guardian Africa network, 14 April 2015
New report gives damning indictment of the government’s mandatory resettlement policy carried out in a political climate of torture, oppression and silencing. Breaking the Silence
Ethiopia has long faced criticism for forcibly relocating tens of thousands of people from their ancestral homes.
The human cost of Ethiopia’s “villagisation” programme is laid bare by damning first person testimony published on Tuesday. The east African country has long faced criticism for forcibly relocating tens of thousands of people from their ancestral homes to make way forlarge scale commercial agriculture, often benefiting foreign investors. Those moved to purpose-built communes are allegedlyno longer able to farm or access education, healthcare and other basic services.
The victims of land grabbing and displacement are given a rare voice in We Say the Land is Not Yours: Breaking the Silence against Forced Displacement in Ethiopia, a report from the California-based thinktank the Oakland Institute. Some of the interviewees still live in Ethiopia, while others have sought political asylum abroad, and all remain anonymous for their own safety.
‘My village refused to move so they forced us with gunshots’
“My village refused to move,” says one, from the community of Gambella. “So they forced us with gunshots. Even though they intimidated us, we did not move – this is our land, how do we move? They wanted our land because our land is the most fertile and has access to water. So the land was promised to a national investor. “Last year, we had to move. The promises of food and other social services made by the government have not been fulfilled. The government gets money from donors but it is not transferred to the communities.” The land grab is not only for agriculture, the interviewee claims, but the community has also seen minerals and gold being mined and exported. “We have no power to resist. We need support. In the villages, they promised us tractors to help us cultivate. If money is given to the government for this purpose, we don’t know how it is used. “The government receives money from donors, but they fill their pockets and farmers die of hunger. The Saudi Star rice paddy in Gambella. The government wants to voluntarily resettle 200,000 people in the region over the next three years.
Opposition will not be tolerated
Opposition to the scheme is not tolerated, according to the witness. “People are intimidated – we are forced to say positive things about villagisation, but really we refuse to accept the programme. If you challenge, the government calls you the mastermind of conflict. “One of the government officials was opposed to the government. They wanted to put him in prison. He escaped and is now in Kenya, living as a political refugee.”
Agriculture makes up nearly half the GDP of Ethiopia, where four in five people live in rural areas. But since the mid-2000s, the government has awarded millions of hectares of land to foreign investors. The commune development programme, which aims to move 1.5 million rural families from their land to new “model” villages across the country, has faced allegations of violent evictions, political coercion, intimidation, imprisonment, rapes, beatings and disappearances. A witness from Benishangul laments: “This is not development. Investors are destroying our lands and environment. There is no school, [no] food security, and they destroy wild fruits. Bamboo is the life of people. It is used for food, for cattle, for our beds, homes, firewood, everything. But the investors destroy it. They destroy our forests. “This is not the way for development. They do not cultivate the land for the people. They grow sorghum, maize, sesame, but all is exported, leaving none for the people.” In response to the report’s allegations, a spokesperson for the Ethiopian embassy in London has denied that the country engages in land-grabbing, saying: “As our economic track record clearly shows, the vast majority of Ethiopians have benefitted from the growth and sustainable development programme under implementation.”
‘The government dictates’
Another interviewee, from South Omo, says mandatory resettlement has stoked conflict among different ethnic groups. “There was no open consultation between the community and the government. If there was a common agreement based on joint consultations, perhaps the community might accept. But, the government dictates. “We are scared that the highlanders will come and destroy our way of life, culture, and pasture land. What will we do? The government says we can keep two to three cattle, but this is a challenge. Our life is based on cattle, and we cannot change overnight. I keep cows, oxen, sheep, goats – where do we go? “The investors take land in the Omo Valley. They clear all land, choose the best place where trees are, leaving the area open. They say it is for development, but they are clearing the forests. I wonder how to reconcile development with forest destruction.” Such accounts threaten to dent the image of Ethiopia, a darling of the development community that has enjoyed double digit economic growth for the best part of a decade. The government has been criticised for brooking little opposition, clamping down on civil society activism and jailing more journalists than any country in Africa, except its neighbour Eritrea.
‘Basic human rights are not being upheld’
A government employee told the researchers: “I want the world to know that the government system at the federal level does not give attention to the local community. “There are three dynamics that linger in my mind that explain today’s Ethiopia: villagisation, violent conflict, and investment. They are intertwined and interrelated. It is hard for outsiders to know what leads to what. When people are free, they talk. When they are afraid of repercussion, they stop.” Critics have claimed that British aid to Ethiopia’s promotion of basic services programme were being used by the Ethiopian government to help fund the villagisation programme. But last month the Department for International Development announced that it was ending the contributions because of Ethiopia’s “growing success”.
Ethiopia: UK Company Takes License to Produce Largest Gold and Silver Reserve in Ethiopia
The mining of gold and silver will support our national economy A United Kingdom company, KEFI Minerals Ethiopia Limited, has discovered the largest gold and silver ore reserve, and took a license from the Ministry of Mines yesterday at the Ministry. Minister of Mines Tolosa Shagi said that the type of licensing given to the company is large-scale mining in western Welega Zone. After exploring for the last 8 to 9 years in the area and fulfilling the required regulations, the Ministry has provided them with license to carry out mining in Ethiopia. http://www.directorstalk.com/ethiopia-uk-company-takes-license-to-produce-largest-gold-and-silver-reserve-in-ethiopia/ As a result more than 1600 Oromo families from Western Oromia (West Wallaggaa) are being dispossessed and evicted from their ancestral land.
A Summary of Oromos Killed, Beaten and Detained by the TPLF Armed Forces during the April 2014 Oromo Protest Against The Addis Ababa (Finfinne) Master Plan
Compiled by: National Youth Movement for Freedom and Democracy (NYMFD) aka Qeerroo Bilisummaa
Western Governments’ Aid is Funding Human Rights Repression in Ethiopia
The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA)Presented by Garoma B. Wakessa, Executive DirectorOSA Mid-Year Conference at Maximilians-University, GermanyMarch 28-29, 2015. After its first year of being in power, the TPLF government made its next step the weakening and/or eliminating of all independent opposition political organizations in the country. To pretend that it was democratizing the country, the TPLF signed five international human rights documents from 1991 to 2014. These include the “Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment”. Despite this, it is widely known that the TPLF has tortured many of its citizens ever since it assumed power and has continued that to the present day. The TPLF Government adopted a new constitution in 1995; based on this constitution, it formed new federal states.The new Ethiopian constitution is full of spurious democratic sentiments and human rights terms meant to inspire the people of Ethiopia and the world community. The TPLF’s pretentious promise to march towards democracy has enabled it to receive praise from people inside and outside including donor countries and organizations. The TPLF government has managed somehow to maintain a façade of credibility with Western governments including those of the USA and the UK, who have supported them since 1991. From 1991 onwards, the TPLF militia has been fully equipped with the UK government, equipment that the TPLF security force has used for intensive killings, abductions, and disappearances of a vast number of people. The victims were Oromo, Ogaden, Sidama peoples and others whom the TPLF suspected of being members, supporters or sympathizers of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). TPLF high officials to ordinary level cadres in the various regional states have engaged in enriching themselves and their family members by looting and embezzling public wealth and properties, raping young women in the occupied areas of the nations and nationalities of Ethiopia, and committing many other forms of corruption. The TPLF government declared, in 2004[1], an investment policy that resulted in the eviction of indigenous peoples from their lands and livelihoods. Ethiopia is receiving a significant aid package estimated at one-third of its annual budget from donor governments and governmental ganizations each year. The donations pouring into Ethiopian Government banks are in the name of development, humanitarian and security aid. The Ethiopian government is using these development aids to suppress political dissent, freedom of expression and assemblies. Human rights campaigners have repeatedly urged donor governments to ensure that their aid Money is utilized in an accountable and transparent manner- not for political repression. However, the Ethiopian government has boldly rejected even measured criticism of its human rights record with sweeping, contemptuous denials. Donor governments have appeared reluctant to challenge the Ethiopian government’s complete refusal to engage in constructive dialog about the donor government’s many human rights-related failings. Western governments have been too timid to challenge the government publicly. Instead, their aid policies are influenced by Ethiopia’s perceived status as the most stable country in the Horn of Africa and made Ethiopia their friend to fight the “global war on terrorism.” The development project funded by the UK government and run by the World Bank has been used for a violent resettlement program in Ethiopia. Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID) is the primary sponsor of the World Bank’s foreign aid initiative, supposedly set up to improve basic health, education, and public services in Ethiopia[2]. Those who attempted to oppose or resist evictions were murdered and/or jailed by the TPLF[3]. European Union (EU) is also working with the government of Ethiopia on several development programs. The partnership between Ethiopia and the EU is based on the African-EU strategic partnership[4] which gives emphasis to Peace and security and good governance and human rights. Regarding the governance and human rights under the strategic priority (b) it says,” the promotion of democratic governance and human rights constitutes a central feature of the Africa-EU dialog and partnership”. Moreover, the Cotonou/city of Benin agreement defines relations between the EU and Africa collectively, and between the EU and ACP countries. Based on this policy, EU and Ethiopia signed in Nairobi on June 19, 2014 European Union aid in favor of Ethiopia in an amount of 745.2 million EUR to be made available to Ethiopia for the period 2014-2020 based on Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement which is to provide the basis for political relations and dialogue between Ethiopia and the EU. By providing help to the dictatorial regime in Ethiopia, the EU has breached:
The Africa-EU Strategic Partnership, a joint Africa-EU strategy policy adopted in Lisbon in 2007/ Lisbon, 9 December 2007 16344/07.”[5]
EU International Cooperation and Development policy which is primarily based on good governance and respect for human rights, their national country’s laws and international human rights standards,[6]
The giving away of Oromo land in the name of investment also includes Addis Ababa, the capital city situated at the center of Oromia Regional State. More than 30,000 Oromos were evicted by the TPLF/EPRDF Government from their lands and livelihoods in the areas around the capital city and suburbs. Their lands have been given to the TPLF officials, members and loyal cadres over the past 24 years. The TPLF government prepared a plan called “ Addis Ababa Integrated Master Plan” in 2013/2014, a project that aimed at annexing about 36 towns and surrounding villages into Addis Ababa. The project was challenged by the Oromo People’s Democracy Organization/OPDO in March 2014 in the seminar given to the members how to implement the project. The challenge was first supported by Oromo students in different universities, colleges and high schools in Oromia. The resistance then spread to Oromo farmers, Oromo intellectuals in all corners of Oromia Regional State and Oromo nationals living in different parts of the world. TPLF Agazi snipers brutalized More than seventy Oromo students from among the peaceful protestors. The “Addis Ababa integrated master plan”threatens to evict more than two million farmers from around the capital city. More than five thousand Oromos from all walks of life were imprisoned in different parts of Oromia Regional State. The inhuman military actions and crackdowns by the TPLF government against peaceful protestors were condemned by various international media such as the BBC[7], human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and the HRLHA[8]. The government admitted that it killed nine of them[9]. As well, more than seventy Oromo youths were brutalized. The HRLHA believes that the gross human rights violations committed by the TPLF government in the past 24 years against Oromo, Ogaden, Gambella, Sidama and others were pre-planned and intentional. The TPLF killed, tortured, and kidnapped and disappeared thousands of Oromo nationals, Ogaden and other nationals simply because of their resources and ethnic backgrounds. The recent research conducted by Amnesty International and released under the title “Because I am Oromo”: SWEEPING REPRESSION IN THE OROMIA REGION OF ETHIOPIA’[10], confirms that people in Ethiopia who belongs to other ethnic groups have been the victims of the TPLF. The TPLF’s inhuman actions against the citizens are clearly genocide, a crime against humanity[11]and an ethnic cleansing, acts, that breach domestic and international laws, and all international treaties the government of Ethiopia has signed and ratified. We at HRLHA firmly believe that the TPLF government leaders are accountable as a group and as individuals for the crimes they have committed and are committing against Oromos and others. Therefore, the HRLHA calls upon EU member donor states, investors and Organizations reassess their relationship with the Ethiopia TPLF/EPRDF government for its persistent brutal, dictatorial, and suppressive actions against innocent and unarmed civilians and refrain themselves from helping the dictatorial regime in Ethiopia. Recommendations:
Western Government donors should abide by their development and aid policy which says “no democracy, no aid”. The EU must respect its “Africa-EU Strategic Partnership, a joint Africa-EU strategy policy adopted in Lisbon in 2007/ Lisbon, 9 December 2007 16344/07.”[12]
The EU must abide by the Cotonou partnership agreement EU International Cooperation and Development policy which is primarily based on good governance and respect for human rights, their national country’s laws and international human rights standards,[13]
The Major Challenges of Opposition Parties in Ethiopia and the Case of Leenco Lata’s ODF
By Kiya Tesfaye*
Since the adoption of the new Constitution in 1995, Ethiopia has organized 4 elections carried out regularly ever 5 years (in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010); the ruling party, TPLF, claimed victories in all of these elections. Unfortunately, post-election reports always show that none of the elections in Ethiopia has so far been free, fair and democratic.
Through intimidation by local cadres, or by withholding basic government rations from rural and urban poor households, people had been forced to vote for TPLF. Through such controversial elections, TPLF had claimed victories over the majority of the votes. In some places, where the TPLF had been unable to win, stealing the ballot cards had been the case. Election frauds, reactions of the opposition parties to the unfair elections, and anger of the public had been the main reasons to see instabilities, chaos, mass arrests, deaths, harassment and disorders in the aftermaths of election periods. Therefore, due to the undemocratic nature of these elections, dissenting political parties had been unable to win over the dictatorial TPLF regime – which indirectly means that people can’t change their leaders through the ballot box in Ethiopia.
In absence of free and fair election, the election itself can’t be a means to justify the legitimacy of a given government. Thus, the 2015 election will not be different from the past. According to the National Electoral Board, nearly 35 million people had registered to vote, and 60 opposition parties had registered to run for parliamentary polls dated for May 24, 2015.
Having seen the previous elections in Ethiopia, what will we expect from the upcoming 2015 election? I have a firm belief that the upcoming election will not be any different from the previous ones unless otherwise the opposition parties can make miracles helped through the divine power. Given the totalitarian nature of TPLF, no one in Ethiopia votes for the opposition parties to win the election and form a government, but instead people vote for dissenting parties only to have some seats in the TPLF-dominated Parliament.
In meantime, it is important to remind that it is not due to lack of alternative policies that opposition parties fail to win an election in Ethiopia. The major reasons why opposition parties are unable to win elections in Ethiopia are due to the fact that they are mired in multiple challenges, unlike the ruling party. I will briefly discuss these challenges below.
Major Challenges of Opposition Parties in Ethiopia
1. ABSENCE OF FREEDOM OF MEDIA
In the absence of independent media outlets, it is almost impossible to hold free and fair elections. Unfortunately, Ethiopia, under the TPLF government, is not a friendly home for independent media. The government in Ethiopia is best known for its systematic repression of the very few independent media outlets. Especially after the Anti-Terrorist Proclamation of 2009, independent media have been subjected to intimidation, harassment, and in most cases, exile. You can hardly find a single independent, non-state affiliated media outlet in Ethiopia today. The majority of newspapers, and radio and television stations are state controlled or state affiliated. The very few pseudo-independent media, which in some cases are accused of being state-affiliated behind the screen, are also subject to strict procedures of state censorship. The main radio and television stations, which are run by the state, are usually seen broadcasting the propaganda of the TPLF regime and promote government policies; and in contrary, they have no room to broadcast the human rights violations and corruptions of the dictatorial administration of the ruling party.
Since more than 85% of the population in Ethiopia resides in rural areas, radio is the only medium of news, and hence, this gives the ruling party a significant advantage in promoting its policies and preserving itself as the irreplaceable political party by controlling the radio access to the rural population. Journalists of local media outlets, which deviate from state censorship of the government, usually face arrests, harassment, shutdowns and/or exile.
The only media opportunities available for the local opposition parties are Diaspora-based media. Usually, most of these websites are blocked and cannot be accessed in Ethiopia while popular stations like OMN [Oromia Media Network] are jammed by the government in Ethiopia. It is clear that media can have huge impacts to the mind of a society. Due to the fear of the power of media, TPLF has been denying media access to opposition parties, and at the same time, restricting the blossoming of independent media in the country – forcing opposition parties to rely on Diaspora-based media outlets.
The case for Oromo media is even worse. Being the largest nation, Oromo lacks access to media in Afan Oromo, which is the largest language spoken in the Horn of Africa; it is safe to say that there is no single Afan Oromo media outlet in Ethiopia. Due to the fear of the government for independent Oromo media, Oromo political organizations suffer from the absence of freedom of media, more than others.
2. ABSENCE OF A NEUTRAL ELECTORAL BOARD
The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, which is theoretically supposed to be an autonomous and independent body, has been accused of being the mouthpiece of the ruling party. The Election Board, which consists of nine individuals strategically nominated by the late Prime Minister, has been the major reason for the lack of fair and free elections in Ethiopia.
Dr. Merga Bekana (Chairman) and Dr. Addisu Gebre-Egziabher (Deputy Chairman) are key figures in the Board that is accused of working for the interest of TPLF. The latter, Dr. Addisu, who is currently working as a Head of a Department in the Ministry of Federal Affairs and a close friend for members of the TPLF Central Committee, is purposely assigned in the Board to protect the interest of TPLF. The Election Board has also been accused of interfering in the internal affairs of opposition parties, and putting complicated procedures and criteria for opposition parties with the goal of expelling them from election runs when found not abiding with these complicated election procedures and criteria.
3. The NON-NEUTRALITY OF THE MILITARY
What has enabled the TPLF regime to brutally rule the country for more than two decades is not its ability to create a robust and democratic political, social and economic environment. The strength of TPLF is its military. The military, which is almost dominated by one nation, the Tigreans, from which the TPLF ruling party officials also come, has been the backbone to the dictatorial regime of TPLF. Basically, a military is responsible to maintain peace, uphold constitutional orders and protect the territorial sovereignty of the country. But, in the case in Ethiopia, the TPLF government has been usually criticized for using the military for spying, intimidating and arresting opposition party individuals. It is not uncommon to hear accusations from dissenting political parties about being spied upon and about their everyday activities being tracked by the military intelligence services, and in some cases, about physical obstacles put on their ways during election campaigns.
THE CASE OF LEENCO LATA’S ODF
Having seen the three major challenges of opposition parties in Ethiopia, ODF [Oromo Democratic Front] will never be an exception to not be mired in these aforementioned challenges, had its move to Ethiopia turned long lasting. ODF’s 24-hour stay in the country, after all, is a witness to what this article wants to address. Members of ODF are prominent politicians with ample experiences in Oromo and Ethiopian politics, and had been pioneers of the Oromo struggle for freedom, and hence, they can have the possibility to make positive impacts on the political atmosphere in Ethiopia. However, that is not what the government in Ethiopia wants at all. Although the government claims to have established a multiparty system to convince donor countries, that remains true only in books; especially, chasing away exiled politicians who had come back home for a peaceful political struggle, has proven the multiparty system in Ethiopia fake and nonexistent.
The above challenges of opposition parties deliver one clear message to outsiders who observe politics in Ethiopia. That is, the totalitarian nature of the TPLF regime. Despite holding regular elections every 5 years – visually appealing rituals for the international community, the TPLF regime wants to rule the country eternally and brutally by using brute-force. Period.
* Kiya Tesfaye is an Oromo activist and lives in Norway; he can be reached at kiyaa28@gmail.com
See more at: http://finfinnetribune.com/Gadaa/2015/03/kiya-tesfaye-the-major-challenges-of-opposition-parties-in-ethiopia-and-the-case-of-leenco-latas-odf/
Jaal Bunguli (Abdiisaa) Hayilee abbaa isaa obboo Hayilee Dagabaasaa Camadaa fi haadha isaa Aaddee Muluu Daammanaairraa Caamsaa 14/1986 A.L .O. ti Godina Shawaa Lixaa Aanaa Jibaat ganda Gaamoo Hadaadiitti dhalate. Yeroo umuriin isaa barnootaaf gahutti, barnoota isaa sadarkaa 1ffaa achuma aanaa Jibaat mana barumsaa iichaa hadaadiitti xumure. Barnoota isaa sadarkaa 2ffaa mana barumsaa shanan sadarkaa lammaffaatti barachuun qormaata biyyoolessaa(kutaa 10ffaa) qabxii giddugaleessaa galmeessissuun gara kolleejjii teknikaa fi oggummaa Ambootti ogummaa seeraa barachuu eegale. Ogummaa seeraa baratee osoo jiruu carraa hojii waan hin arganneef ogummaa dhuunfaa isaa hojii ijaarsaa garaa garaatiin biyyoota adda addaa deemee hojjachuu eegale. Jaal Abdiisaan nama qajeelaa dhaabbii fi ilaalchi isaa namatti tolu ture. Hawaasa naannoo isaa biratti taphataa kubbaa milaa cimaafi farda gulufuun beekama. Jaal Bunguli (Abdiisaa) bara 2014 yeroo ummanni Oromoo daangaa lafa Oromiyaa falmatu mirga saba isaatiif nama of kennee falmaa turee dha. Sababa kanaanis hiriira seeraan alaa gaggeesite; jeequmsaaf ummata kakaafte jedhamee yeroo dheeraaf hordofamaa ture. Innis hordoffiin itti hammaannaan bakka jireenyaa jijjirachuun jiraataa ture.Yeroo keessa haalli tasgabbaa’eera jedhee Ayyaana Irreechaa kan magaalaa Bishooftuutti kabajamuu kabajee gara maatiisaatti galuuf osoo deemaa jiru, osoo maatii isaa bira hingahiin magaalaa Shanan ganda 01 tti gafaa guyyaa 05/10/2014 to’annaa poolisii jala oole. Poolisiin toánnaa jala isa oolches guyyaa lamaaf achuma magaalaa Shanan waajjira poolisii tursuun guyyaaa torba booda gara waajjira qajeelcha poolisii G/Sh/Lixaa Ambootti dabarse. Achittis qorannaa guddaa erga irratti raawwatanii booda gara mana sirreessaa Ambootti dabarsuun hiriyyoota isaa otuu mirga saba isaaniif falmanii diina harka buánitti makame.Jaal Abdiisaan yeroo qorannoo poolisii jala turetti hedduu reebamaa ture. Qaamni isaa hedduu miidhamee ture. Yeroo heddduu kan mana hidhaa keessatti dubbataa tures, waaée miidhamuu isa aotuu hin taane akkamiin akka sabni Oromoo bilisummaa isaa deebifatee goonfatu akn ibsu ture. Yeroo mara kan inni dubbatu, “diinni kan hidhu qaama keenya malee yaada keenya miti; yeroo amra waa’ee bilisummaa keenyaa yaaduu dhiisuu hin qabnu,” jedhaa ture. Waa’ee reebichaa fi hiraarsaa yeroo dubbatus, “namni bilisummaa barbaadu reebicha himatuu hin qabu; gatiin bilisummaa olaanaa dha,” jechaa akka ture hiriyyoonni isaa ragaa bahu. Reebichi Jaal Abdiisaa irra gahe garuu oolee bulee isa miidhuu hin dhiifne. Yeroo hedduu gara mana yaalaa akak geessan iyyatus, manni yaalaa deebii kennuufii dide. Erga inni miidhamee du’a jala gahee booda garuu, gaafa guyyaa 14/03/2015 gara hospitaala Ambootti geeffame. Yeroo geeffame sanatti hedduu hubamee waan tureef akka irraa hin hafne ni beekama ture. Namoota isa gaafachaa turanittis akka dhibee gidiraa irraa itti dhufe irraa hin fayyine itti himaa ture. Keessayyuu, kaayyoo haqaaf falmuun itti fufuu akka qabu dubbataa ture. “Mootummaa gabroofataan nama ofitti amanu hin jaalatu; motummaanni Habashaas sabni keenya akka doofaa taée hafu barbaadu. Kan dide immoo kaan biyyaa ari’uun akka baqataa taú godhan; kaan immoo qabanii mana hidhaatti gidirsuun achuman ajjeessan. Kun har’a miti, kan eegale. Kaleessas nurra ture; har’a illee kunoo aadaa ta’ee nu nyaachaa jira. Sabni keenya qabsoo isaa itti fufuu malee fala biraa hin qabu,” jechaa ture.Abdiisaan dhibee gidiraa irraa itti dhufe irraa otuu hin dandamatiin akkuma kaateenaan hidhametti gaafa guyyaa 17/03/2015 osoo beellama mana murtiitti deddeebi’u hin xumuratiin, murtee dabaa gaaffii bilisummaa isaatiif isatti kannameef ture otuu hin argatiin lubbuun isaa ganama keessaa sa’a 6:00 irratti bakka haati manaan isaa hin jirretti maatii isaa harkatti umurii 29 tti biyya lafaa irraa boqote.Gootichi Oromoo, Jaal Abdiisaan (Bunguliin) yeroo lubbuun keessaa bahuuf jirtutti akkas jedhee barattota Oromoofi ummata Oromoo maraaf dhaamsaa dabarse.
“Yaa ummata Oromoo! Yaa hiriyoottan koo fi yaa firoottan qabsoo bilisumma Oromoo! Duuti koo, du’a goota Oromoo kan obboo H/Gammadaa, kaadhimamaa Engineer Gaaddisaa Hirphasaa fi kan gootota Oromoo biroo waliin wal fakkaata. Ani kanin hidhameef, kanin ajjeeffameefis waanan, ‘lafti Oromiyaa hintaatu kan alagaa!’ jedheef. Akkasumas, waanin Oromumma kootti booneef duá kanaaf na kaadhiman malee yakka hojjadhee miti.”
Abbaan isaa obboo Hayilee Dagabaasaa haala du’a ilma isaanii haala nama gaddisisuun ergaa dabarfatan;
“Yaa ilmaan Oromoo ilmikoo hatee ykn nama reebee, ajjeessee miti kan biyya isaa irratti hidhame; lafti ilmaan Oromoo maaf ciccirama jedheeti kan falme, maal godhu garuu ilma koo miti kan karaa baase; duuti ilmaan Oromoo walfakkaataa dha. Warri kaan reeffa ilmaan isaanii hin argiin jiran. An garuu reenfaa ilma kootii, kaatenaan hidhamee jiru argadheen jira.” jedhan.
Barruu yaadannoo isaa irraa dhaamsi argames ejjannoo dhugaa inni qabu kan ibsuu dha.
“Duuti ilmaan Oromoo amma du’a sareellee dhageettii dhabaa jira. Ani qabeenyaa keenyaafin hidhame; reebame; yoon asitti dué illee kaayyoo saba kootiifan wareegame. Namuu irra deddeebi’ee hidhii xuuxuun waa akka hin finne beekuu qabna. Kan nu baasu kaayyoo goototi keenya irratti wareegaman jabeessinee galmaan ga’uu qofaa dha; imaanaa kun kan tokkoon tokkoon Oromooti.”
Har’a Jaal Abdiisaan nu waliin hin jiru. Kaayyoon inni wareegameef immoo amma illee galii isaa hin geenye. Akak galii isaa gahuuf kan hojjatuu qabu dhaloota haaraa imaanaan eeggatuu dha. Yaadannoon Jaal Abdiisaas kanuma mirkaneessa.
“Karaan irra jirru karaa sirrii ti; karaan kun kan jaallen Oromoo itti wareegamaa jiran, karaa qajeelaa fi haqaa ti. Kana waan ta’eef, waan nu itti roorrifamnee itti ajjeeffamnu kana murannoon galmaan gahuun dhaloota keenay irraa eegama. Namuu waadaa kana tiksuu qaba; dhalooti haaraan hojii manee kana hojjatan malee Bilisummaan tola hin dhufu. Ani gama kootiin, saba guddaa gabrummaa jala jiru kanaaf osoon lubbuu lama qabaadhee kenneefii waanan itti gaabbuiu miti; waanti guddaan dagatamuu hin qabne garuu Oromoo inni hafe gumaa keenya baasuuf irbuu isaa haaromsuu qaba!”
Jaal Abdiisaan akka hawwetti fayyee dirree falmaa seenuu hin dandeenye. Garuu, irbuu isaa cabsee ergamtuu diinaa hin taane. Bakka gahe maratti otuu saba isaaf dubbatuu, otuu haqaaa fi dhugaaf falmuu dhibee roorrootiin addunyaa kana irraa darbe; seenaan isaa seenaa qabsaa’ota Oromoo keessatti hallu kabajaan barreeffamee dhalootaa dhalootatti dubbifamuun immoo mirkana. Jaal Abdiisaan, abbaa ilma tokkoo yoo ta’u, bakka haati manaa isaa hinjirretti qobaa isaa ilma isaa guddisuuf nama dhama’aa tureedha.
A Tigrean Oldie that seems misunderstanding the trend of history was heard bellowing from somewhere in Awaasaa anti-Oromo stance as if the Oromo were still those of yester years that Yohaanis had cut their tongues to impose his will. Since the colonization of Oromiyaa, Oromoo movements towards liberation had come being sabotaged by those that originated from her bosom and registered for serving the enemy knowingly or unknowingly. Oromo by nature are effective and efficient in all fields of engagement. As fighters they were known for bravery that thousands could not subdue. Believing that the colonizer gave priority to hiring them for fields that require guts and open mindedness. For internal and external conflicts including against the Oromo, it used to deploy mostly such hirelings. Those forget even the ethical and cultural obligation of their ancestors once their belly is full. In their cultural setting they used to brag by their father’s name, as galtuu to brag by the master’s name become their source of pride.
Many none Oromo anticolonial activists take the Oromo as force of reaction merely from the number of galtuu (runaways) mobilized against them. These days, those ashamed of serving the enemy are increasing. Gone are the days the Oromo join colonial camp in masse hired to strengthen colonial forces. The trend is joining liberation force to empower subjugate nations. The objective of Oromoo liberation movement that was set by the vanguard OLF is not only to liberate the land but also includes liberation of the enslaved minds. As long as there are those brainwashed, Oromiyaa will remain a forest from where everybody cuts shafts for their spears. For this reason whenever we talk about organization that are formed in the name of Oromo this should not be forgotten. To leave behind one’s nationals behind will be pilling up shame for the nation. They have to be told daily that enemy organization is not compatible with their identity. Stripping them or adding curs to humiliation they are already suffering in hands of the enemy is of no use for the nation. That should be the way progressives think. Progressivism is not a monopoly of a class or a party; it is the determination of individuals or groups from all walks of life that stand for change to betterment of society. Negotiations are possible but the nation’s kaayyoo is not negotiable.
The Tigreans are occupying Oromiyaa by changing their ancestors’ tactics keeping the major strategy constant. They had contact with Oromo activists when both were in struggle for liberation but failed to enroll them for their major mission. However it was then that they were exposed to strong and weak points of Oromo struggle. That helped them to devise ahead the means by which to thwart it. Though the basic objective is to lure and recruit from among the Oromo it was not as glaring recruitment for servitude as their forebears. But they created a pseudo organization for Oromummaa seemingly with equal status as theirs. The tither attached to it was not as discreet as they thought but was visible to the naked eye. In that way a fake organization, OPDO was molded for POW galtuu. They formed a similar “PDO” for the Amaaraa and others and created EPRDF under the leadership of TPLF that is now reigning. OPDO means Tigrean ruling Oromiyaa with mask of Oromummaa on. Thus TPLF that came pretending to be a progressive force was exposed as the most reactionary batch of all past autocratic rulers of the empire.
Those that are now called members of the OPDO are mere servants like olden times galtuu and never represent Oromiyaa. Some Oromo persons had their doubts to call openly OPDO is mere servant. But others has given it an adjective “Maxxannee”(appendage). To assure its continued loyalty periodically OPDO was called for “gimgamaa” (assessment) meeting chaired by the masters. With this “gimgamaa” members of OPDO were subjected to insults, reprimand, threat, and harassment, being chased out, disappearance and imprisonment up to this day. This time, knowingly or unknowingly sour relations between the colonizer and OPDO was leaked from a meeting hall. A Tigray oldie who gathered his “Maxxannee” leaders in an Awaasaa meeting hall was heard swearing and reprimanding them. Unless he was not drunk he would not dared provoking swarm of bees.
He treaded over sovereignty of Oromiyaa claimed to have been recognized by their constitution. The fire was not limited to OPDO alone but jumped to the people they originated from. His reprimand to his “Maxxannee” was not surprising, but what made the Oromo rise together in furry was his demand from servants to hogtie and handover the Oromo people to him. Even those in the meeting roared with laughter at his below, it seems. Oromo liberation movement had its own pre drawn program on how to handle enemy machination. Rumbling of the person seemed new because of foot drugging of Oromo revolution. His doings brought forth the true nature of EPRDF to the open and excited Oromo that were giving it benefit of the doubt; otherwise it did not surprise those that knew its nature. The oldie verified the truth for those that had doubts of OPDO being an Addeet forged arm of TPLF not of the Oromo.
Though those threatened are runaways it was because of their Oromummaa that they were sworn at. It was looking down up on Oromummaa in the open market that provoked nationalists’ anger. Many Oromo and ordinary members of OPDO might have never thought that those leaders of the organization would be censured like small kids. It was told that OPDO was equal partner of the organization that rule the empire but that was like the saying “Hoodwinking the hen they entangled her with cable to put her down”. Now their defective relations are made very public, to quietly overlook is shame. Oromo says “shame is worse than death”.
Modern technology enables one to hear what is whispered in room in Awaasaa from Shaashamannee. The Wayyaanee oldie forgot or from contempt he has for the people he pushed the Maxxannee into a corner and bellowed on them. He told them to give up their nation’s land or he will show them their size. The choice is since death is inevitable to die honorably or to kiss their feet and continue in shame. That equality of member organization is false is officially heard from true ruler of Oromiyaa. Everybody knew that relation between OPDO and EPRDF was not what is in writing but that between master and servant. If relation that had existed for the last twenty five years could accidentally leak and make all nationals to rise in fury there is no reason for it to cool off. That could guard from being kicked around by minority forever. For that reason instead of being caught by surprise and reacting to provocation of the enemy year in year out, it is high time that one firmly sticks to own program. For the time being let us sing with artist Gaaddisaa “Qeerroon mataa tuutaa hin jarjartu suuta” (The hairy head youth moves without haste). But, for how long should we drag our foot?
Habashaa government has come down kicking and suppressing Oromo and other nations with help of Oromo runaway as instrument since the last decades of 19thcentury. The Oromo can never be free from alien contempt until those who are Oromo stop serving as arm of the enemy. The Habashaa that used to shun mentioning the name Oromo now when time got harsh on them started to claim equal participation of Oromo in their administration citing services of individual runaways and POW as if the Oromo nation has ever made a pact with them to participate in their governance. All past world empires had recruited great armies from their colonies for own purposes. For example, when the British defeated the Italians and reinstituted Hayila Sillaasee to his throne except for few officers all it deployed to war fronts were persons from colonies of their own and other European countries’. From among them those from the Sudan, Congo and Asia can be mentioned. The Italians also used fighters from Eritrea, Somalia and Libya when they forced the emperor to flee his empire. Those participated not representing their countries but as individuals. Whether it is for bad or good their countries are not responsible .To say they ruled Britain and Italy together will be laughable. What is attributed as part played by Oromo individuals in Ethiopian administration was not different from those.
OPDO and its present day members are different in nature. TPLF built OPDO and filled its rank and file with demoralized prisoners of war in its captivity and those supplied it by EPLF. Those captives looked upon it with fear as their God and lived kowtowing for it for sparing them after butchering most of their comrades. Most captives survived to this day after losing stamina and lots had been purged. Now only few are left at the top. They were those that rebuke of the oldie thundered on these days. It seems the need for them is waning and they may even be considering to be replaced by better group. Because they have gained knowledge of the country and the language they might have felt no more need for a surrogate. Most OPDO members are recent recruits and are younger. They did not receive the hardship that their seniors experienced. For this reason the type of brainwashing they are subjected to is different. Unlike their elders it is not only with their belly but if they want there could be a bit of grey matter remaining in their head to think with. That there are those that comply with orders by luring or forcing and those that refuse to comply can be deduced from words of the oldie. He yelled at those he took as not conforming to his silly orders.
Most OPDO members are blamed for being opportunists. Opportunism can be viewed in two ways. One is those that went into it in masse not the chance of filling their belly. The others are those that believed it could be a short cut to find solution for problems of their people. Freedom has no short cut one has to sweat, bleed and be maimed to reach it. But they may get experience to realize their naiveté from the road they started to travel. That might give them the experience to realize their naiveté. They may also realize that objective of the guest is not only to plunder resources and honor of the nation but also to erase its identity. If that could not propel them to patriotic move nothing could. With steel strong discipline, revolutionary commitment for national cause and determination to achieve principal goal of Oromummaa, let alone Wayyaanee Mountain will not dare stand in their way. There is nothing valuable than one’s life. But no one can avoid death. For this reason it will be honorable to die cultivating priceless freedom than to live in perpetual humiliation. Even those that salivate for Ethiopianism will be respected if only they could first become themselves and stand on their feet. Then only they will be listened to respectfully. The oldie and friends that came wiping nits that struggle of liberation infested them with got not only chubby chicks and bulging belly but were also listened to and respected by the world because they had among others strong dependable rear.
It is expected from the wronged to be ever prepared rather than spontaneously boiling by periodical provocations of the enemy. Belching of the oldie after over eating should not be a point of irritation. What does “We shall reduce them to their size” means? Does it mean turning them to dust and level them with the ground? What is the unit of measure of said size? Could it mean massacring and reducing size of population to their own? So far they have never spared them; could it be possible that they got new more efficient weapons this time? Could it be that the oldie accepted Master Isaayyaas Afawarqii’s advice and going to erase article 39 of their constitution? There was nothing they did not do to tighten their domination on the Oromo. However Oromo youth had assured them that they cannot move back Oromo revolution one finger. Africa belongs to the future generation; the role of those that are in their last phase should have been reviewing and evaluating their past rather than making distortions they created transcend their time and create obstacles to bright future and understanding of coming generation. Lamenting about archaic Ethiopian empire is a backward idea. Without distinction Africans need review colonial chronic. Not leaders that see country, people and themselves as entities independent of each other but the African peoples should come forward and impose their will in reconstructing their continent. Groups that fought their ways to freedom should know how to maintain it not itching to control and enslave others in their turn. Abusing gains registered by sacrifices of thousands is dishonoring not only the nation that suffered much for it but also to memory of those patriots. They should have the courage to regret for past misdeeds and stop endless killings or herding citizens to prisons. By doing so whom are they serving, for what end? This will only send their names down to garbage bin of history with Quisling, Mussolini and Hitler. Failing to heed they know what peoples’ storm could bring. Bellowing of the oldie did not add anything different to the existing conflict, but it is possible for it to leave stigma to relations of future generation of the region.
Honor and glory for the fallen heroines and heroes; liberty equality and freedom for the living and nagaa and araaraa for the Ayyaanaa of our fore parents!
The Calanqoo Massacre Memorial Monument Inaugurated on March 21, 2015.
The Calanqoo Massacre Memorial Monument was inaugurated on March 21, 2015, in the presence of thousands of attendants. The Calanqoo Massacre was perpetrated on the Oromo people and other neighboring peoples on January 6, 1887. During this day-long atrocious killing of thousands of innocent Oromos and others, King Menelik of Abyssinia was himself presented as a leader of his Neftegna army.
See more at Finfinne Tribune and Gadaa.com, Bitootessa/March 21, 2015
In 2014 the Ethiopian government continued to suppress free speech and associational rights, shattering hopes for meaningful reform under Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. Government harassment and arrest of prominent opposition and media members continued, including the April arrest of nine journalists who were charged under Ethiopia’s controversial antiterrorism law. In April and May, massive protests in Oromia Regional State broke out following the announcement of the planned expansion of Addis Ababa into Oromia. At least 17 people died after the military fired on unarmed protesters.
Despite nascent signs of an opening with Eritrea, formal dialogues remain frozen between the two countries. The Ethiopian-Eritrean border remains highly militarized, though no major border clashes were reported in 2014.
Sporadic violence resumed in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region after talks failed in 2013 between the government and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a separatist group that has fought for independence since 1991. In January 2014, two ONLF negotiators dispatched to Nairobi for a third round of talks were abducted and allegedly turned over to Ethiopian authorities by Kenyan police. The kidnappings effectively ended the talks.
Ethiopia ranked 32 out of 52 countries surveyed in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, below the continental average and among the bottom in East Africa. The country’s modest gains in the index are due to its improvement in human development indicators, but its ranking is held back by low scores in the “Participation and Human Rights” category.
Ethiopia’s bicameral parliament is made up of a 108-seat upper house, the House of Federation, and a 547-seat lower house, the House of People’s Representatives. The lower house is filled through popular elections, while the upper chamber is selected by the state legislatures; members of both houses serve five-year terms. The lower house selects the prime minister, who holds most executive power, and the president, a largely ceremonial figure who serves up to two six-year terms. Hailemariam has served as prime minister since September 2012, and Mulatu Teshome as president since October 2013.
The 2010 parliamentary and regional elections were tightly controlled by the ruling coalition party Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), with reports of voters being threatened with losing their jobs, homes, or government services if they failed to turn out for the EPRDF. Opposition party meetings were broken up, and candidates were threatened and detained. Opposition-aligned parties saw their 160-seat presence in parliament virtually disappear, with the EPRDF and its allies taking all but 2 of the 547 seats in the lower house. The next elections are scheduled for 2015.
B. Political Pluralism and Participation: 2 / 16
Shorn of their representation in parliament and under pressure by the authorities, opponents of the EPRDF find it difficult to operate. In July 2014, opposition members—two from Unity for Democracy Party, one from the Arena Tigray Party, and one from the Blue Party—were arrested without charges and held without access to legal representation. The Ethiopian government denies the arrests were related to 2015 elections, but the detainments follow the government’s pattern of suppressing political dissent prior to popular votes.
A series of December 2014 rallies by a coalition of opposition parties saw nearly 100 people arrested, including the chairman of the Semayawi Party. Witnesses report that police beat protesters, though nearly all those arrested were released on bail within a week.
Political parties in Ethiopia are often ethnically based. The EPRDF coalition is comprised of four political parties and represents several ethnic groups. The government tends to favor Tigrayan ethnic interests in economic and political matters, and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front dominates the EPRDF. While the 1995 constitution grants the right of secession to ethnically based states, the government acquired powers in 2003 to intervene in states’ affairs on issues of public security. Secessionist movements in Oromia and the Ogaden have largely failed after being put down by the military.
C. Functioning of Government: 4 / 12
Ethiopia’s governance institutions are dominated by the EPRDF, which controlled the succession process following the death of longtime Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in 2012.
Corruption remains a significant problem in Ethiopia. EPRDF officials reportedly receive preferential access to credit, land leases, and jobs. Petty corruption extends to lower-level officials, who solicit bribes in return for processing documents. In 2013, the government attempted to demonstrate its commitment to fighting corruption after the release of a World Bank study that detailed corruption in the country. As part of the effort, the Federal Ethics & Anti-Corruption Commission made a string of high-profile arrests of prominent government officials and businessmen throughout 2013 and 2014. The Federal High Court sentenced many corrupt officials in 2014, including in one case a $2,500 fine and 16 years in prison. Despite cursory legislative improvements, however, enforcement of corruption-related laws remains lax in practice and Ethiopia is still considered “highly corrupt,” ranked 110 out of 175 countries and territories by Transparency International’s 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index.
Civil Liberties: 11 / 40
D. Freedom of Expression and Belief: 3 / 16
Ethiopia’s media are dominated by state-owned broadcasters and government-oriented newspapers. Privately owned papers tend to steer clear of political issues and have low circulation. A 2008 media law criminalizes defamation and allows prosecutors to seize material before publication in the name of national security.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Ethiopia holds at least 17 journalists behind bars—the second-highest number of jailed journalists in Africa as of December 2014, after Eritrea. Restrictions are particularly tight on journalists perceived to be sympathetic to protests by the Muslim community, and journalists attempting to cover them are routinely detained or arrested. Those reporting on opposition activities also face harassment and the threat of prosecution under Ethiopia’s sweeping 2009 Antiterrorism Proclamation. At least 14 journalists have been convicted under Ethiopia’s antiterror law since 2011, and none convicted have been released.
In April 2014, police arrested nine journalists—six associated with the Zone9 blogging collective and three freelancers—and charged them with terror-related offenses. Their trial has been postponed 13 times and was closed to the public until recently; their defense lawyer claims the defendants were forced to sign false confessions while in prison.
In June, the government fired 18 people from a state-run, Oromia-based broadcaster, silencing the outlet’s reporting on Oromo protests. In August, the government charged six Addis Ababa–based publications with terrorism offenses, effectively shuttering some of the last independent news outlets inside Ethiopia. In October, three publication owners were convicted in absentia after they fled the country. The same month, Temesgen Desalegn, former editor of the weekly Feteh, was convicted under Ethiopia’s criminal code on defamation and incitement charges and sentenced to three years in prison.
Due to the risks of operating inside the country, many Ethiopian journalists work in exile. CPJ says Ethiopia drove 30 journalists into exile in 2014, a sharp increase over both 2012 and 2013. Authorities use high-tech jamming equipment to filter and block news websites seen as pro-opposition. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), since 2010 the Ethiopian government has developed a robust and sophisticated internet and mobile framework to monitor journalists and opposition groups, block access to unwanted websites or critical television and radio programs, and collect evidence for prosecutions in politically motivated trials.
The constitution guarantees religious freedom, but the government has increasingly harassed the Muslim community, which has grown to rival the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as the country’s largest religious group. Muslim groups accuse the government of trying to impose the beliefs of an obscure Islamic sect, Al-Ahbash, at the expense of the dominant Sufi-influenced strain of Islam. A series of protests against perceived government interference in religious affairs since 2012 have ended in a number of deaths and more than 1,000 arrests.
Academic freedom is often restricted in Ethiopia. The government has accused universities of being pro-opposition and prohibits political activities on campuses. There are reports of students being pressured into joining the EPRDF in order to secure employment or places at universities; professors are similarly pressured in order to ensure favorable positions or promotions. The Ministry of Education closely monitors and regulates official curricula, and the research, speech, and assembly of both professors and students are frequently restricted. In 2014, the Scholars at Risk network catalogued three incidents in academia, including the jailing or firing of professors who expressed antigovernment opinions.
The presence of the EPRDF at all levels of society—directly and, increasingly, electronically—inhibits free private discussion. Many people are wary of speaking against the government. The EPRDF maintains a network of paid informants, and opposition politicians have accused the government of tapping their phones.
E. Associational and Organizational Rights: 0 / 12
Freedoms of assembly and association are guaranteed by the constitution but limited in practice. Organizers of large public meetings must request permission from the authorities 48 hours in advance. Applications by opposition groups are routinely denied and, in cases when approved, organizers are subject to government meddling to move dates or locations. Since 2011, ongoing peaceful demonstrations held by members of the Muslim community have been met with violent responses from security forces. Protesters allege government interference in religious affairs and politically motivated selection of members of the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council. Though momentum has slowed, protests continue.
After the government announced an expansion of Addis Ababa’s city limits into the Oromia Regional State in April 2014, thousands of Ethiopians took to the streets. Witnesses reported that police fired on peaceful protesters, killing at least 17—most of whom were students in nearby universities—and detained hundreds.
The 2009 Charities and Societies Proclamation restricts the activities of foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) by prohibiting work on political and human rights issues. Foreign NGOs are defined as groups receiving more than 10 percent of their funding from abroad, a classification that includes most domestic organizations as well. The law also limits the amount of money any NGO can spend on “administration,” a controversial category that the government has declared includes activities such as teacher or health worker training, further restricting NGO operations even on strictly development projects. NGOs have struggled to maintain operations as a result of the law.
Trade union rights are tightly restricted. Neither civil servants nor teachers have collective bargaining rights. All unions must be registered, and the government retains the authority to cancel registration. Two-thirds of union members belong to organizations affiliated with the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions, which is under government influence. Independent unions face harassment, and trade union leaders are regularly imprisoned. There has not been a legal strike since 1993.
F. Rule of Law: 3 / 16
The judiciary is officially independent, but its judgments rarely deviate from government policy. The 2009 antiterrorism law gives great discretion to security forces, allowing the detention of suspects for up to four months without charge. After August 2013 demonstrations to protest the government’s crackdown on Muslims, 29 demonstration leaders were charged under the antiterrorism law with conspiracy and attempting to establish an Islamic state; their trial remains ongoing. Trial proceedings have been closed to the public, media, and the individuals’ families. According to HRW, some defendants claimed that their access to legal counsel has been restricted.
Conditions in Ethiopia’s prisons are harsh, and detainees frequently report abuse. A 2013 HRW report documented human rights violations in Addis Ababa’s Maekelawi police station, including verbal and physical abuse, denial of basic needs, and torture.
Yemen’s June 2014 arrest and extradition of British citizen Andargachew Tsige to Ethiopia at the government’s request has sparked outrage from human rights groups. Andargachew is the secretary-general of banned opposition group Ginbot 7 and was sentenced to death in absentia in 2009 and again in 2012 for allegedly plotting to kill government officials. Reports suggest that police have denied the British Embassy consular access.
Domestic NGOs say that Ethiopia held as many as 400 political prisoners in 2012, though estimates vary significantly. Nuredine “Aslan” Hasan, a student belonging to the Oromo ethnic group, died in prison in 2014; conflicting reports about the cause of his death—including torture—have not been verified.
The federal government generally has strong control and direction over the military, though forces such as the Liyu Police in the Ogaden territory sometimes operate independently.
Repression of the Oromo and ethnic Somalis, and government attempts to coopt their parties into subsidiaries of the EPRDF, have fueled nationalism in both the Oromia and Ogaden regions. Persistent claims that government troops in the Ogaden area have committed war crimes are difficult to verify, as independent media are barred from the region. The government’s announcement of its intention to expand Addis Ababa’s city limits into the Oromia Regional State exacerbates tensions over historical marginalization of Oromia; according to activists, the expansion will displace two million Oromo farmers.
Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited by law and punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment.
G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights: 5 / 16
While Ethiopia’s constitution establishes freedom of movement, insecurity—particularly in eastern Ethiopia—prevents unrestricted movement into affected sites.
Private business opportunities are limited by rigid state control of economic life and the prevalence of state-owned enterprises. All land must be leased from the state. The government has evicted indigenous groups from various areas to make way for projects such as hydroelectric dams. It has also leased large tracts of land to foreign governments and investors for agricultural development in opaque deals that have displaced thousands of Ethiopians. Up to 70,000 people have been forced to move from the western Gambella region, although the government denies the resettlement plans are connected to land investments. Similar evictions have taken place in Lower Omo Valley, where government-run sugar plantations have put thousands of pastoralists at risk by diverting their water supplies. Journalists and international organizations have persistently alleged that the government withholds development assistance from villages perceived as being unfriendly to the ruling party.
Women are relatively well represented in parliament, holding 28 percent of seats and three ministerial posts. Legislation protects women’s rights, but these rights are routinely violated in practice. Enforcement of the law against rape and domestic abuse is patchy, and cases routinely stall in the courts. Female genital mutilation and forced child marriage are technically illegal, though there has been little effort to prosecute perpetrators. In December 2012, the government made progress against forced child labor, passing a National Action Plan to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor and updating its list of problematic occupations for children.
Oromo: HRLHA Plea for Release of Detained Peaceful Protestors
February 8, 2015 By Stefania Butoi Varga, Human Rights Brief, Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law*
From March to April 2014, members of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo, engaged in peaceful protests in opposition to the Ethiopian government’s implementation of the “Integrated Regional Development Plan” (Master Plan). The Oromo believe that the Master Plan violates Articles 39 and 47 in the Ethiopian Constitution, by altering administrative boundaries around the city of Addis Ababa, the Oromia State’s and the federal government’s capital. The Oromo fear they will be excluded from the development plans and that this will lead to the expropriation of their farmlands.
In response to these protests, the Ethiopian government has detained or imprisoned thousands of Oromo nationals. In a January 2005 appeal, theHuman Rights League of the Horn
of Africa (HRLHA) claimed that the Ethiopian government is breaching the State’s Constitution and several international treaties by depriving the Oromo prisoners of their liberty. Amnesty International reports that some protestors have also been victims of “enforced disappearance, repeated torture, and unlawful state killings as part of the government’s incessant attempts to crush dissent.”
Under the Ethiopian Constitution, citizens possess the rights to liberty and due process, including the right not to be illegally detained. Article 17 forbids deprivation of liberty, arrest, or detention, except in accordance with the law. Further, Article 19 provides that a person has the right to be arraigned within forty-eight hours of his or her arrest. However, according to the HRLHA, a group of at least twenty-six Oromo prisoners were illegally detained for over ninety-nine days following the protests. The HRHLA claims that these detentions were illegal because the prisoners were arrested without warrants, and because they did not appear before a judge within forty-eight hours of their arrest. The Ethiopian authorities’ actions also disregard the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which requires that no one be subject to arbitrary arrest, and that those arrested be promptly brought before a judge. Ethiopia signed and ratified the ICCPR in 1993, and is thus bound to uphold the treaty.
Additionally, the Ethiopian Constitution deems torture and unusual punishment illegal and inhumane. According to Article 18, every citizen has the right not to be exposed to cruel, inhuman, or degrading behavior. Amnesty International reports that certain non-violent Oromo protestors suffered exactly this treatment, including a teacher who was stabbed in the eye with a bayonet for refusing to teach government propaganda to his students, and a young girl who had hot coals poured onto her stomach because her torturers believed her father was a political dissident. Amnesty International further recounts other instances of prisoners being tortured through electric shock, burnings, and rape. If these reports are an accurate account of the government’s actions, the Ethiopian authorities are not only acting contrary to their constitution, but also contrary to the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT). According to Article 2 of the CAT, a State Member must actively prevent torture in its territory, without exception. In addition, an order from a high public authority cannot be used as justification if torture is indeed used. Ethiopia ratified the CAT in 1994, and is thus obligated to uphold and protect its principles.
The HRLHA pleads that the Ethiopian government release imprisoned Oromo protesters. This would ensure that the intrinsic human rights of the Oromo people, guaranteed by the Ethiopian Constitution and several international treaties ratified by Ethiopia would finally be upheld. Furthermore, it would restore peace to and diminish the fear among other Oromo people who have abandoned their normal routines in the wake of government pressure, and have fled Ethiopia or have gone into hiding.
*The Human Rights Brief is a student-run publication at American University Washington College of Law (WCL). Founded in 1994 as a publication of the school’s Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, the publication has approximately 4,000 subscribers in over 130 countries.
Walumaagalatti egaa sabboontonni Oromoo Godina Gujiitti maqaa ABO waliin hidhata qabaachutiin ykn Oromummaa isaanii qofaan yakkamanii gara jabinaan ajjeefaman, miidhaa qaamaa fi qor-qalbiif saaxilamanii fi saamamanii hiyyoomfaman dhugaan oolee bulus awwalamuu waan hin dandeenyeef, amma ifa bahee beekkame. Miidhaa fi roorroon kun har’allee Godina Gujii dabalatee guutummaa Oromiyaa keessatti ilmaan Oromoorratti itti fufiinsaan babal’atee raawwatamaara. Kunis waa lama akeeka.
Inni duraa diinni kooraa akaakilee-abaabilee isaa kaleessa dhaale Oromiyaa gabroomfataa jiru, murni wayyaanee, Oromoorratti yakka raawwachuutti quufuu dhabee awwaaluudhaan yakka dachaa raawwachuun jibbaa fi tuffii saba keenyaaf qabu agarsiisuu itti fufuu isaa ti. Inni lammaffaan ammoo dhaamsa gochaan diinaa kun nu ilmaan Oromoo har’a lubbuun lafa kanarratti hafnee jirruuf dabarsuu dha.
Gochaan hammeenyaa diinni Oromoorratti raawwataa bahee fi ammas itti jiru kun, ilmaan Oromoo ajjeefamuu, rasaasaan reebamuu, hidhamanii dararamuu fi saamamanii hiyyoomsamuu jalaa bahuu kan danda’an yoo didatan qofa tahuu dhaamsa nuuf dabarseera. Akka sabaatti mataa walitti qabannee, gurra walii laannee, jaarmayaa keenya jabeeffannee tokkummaadhaan diinaan “Si gaha” jennuun malee falli rakkoo kana keessaa ittiin baanu gara biraan hin jiru.
Yeroo dhiyoo keessatti (Ebla/Caamsaa, 2014) ammoo sababa maastar plaanii “Addis Ababa” tiin walqabatee motumman abba irree TPLF qaanii tokko malee barattootaf ummata harka qullaa mormii isaa dhageessisa jiru irratti waraana banuun ummata Oromoo fixaa kan ture fi ammas kan itti fufee jiru ta’uun nibeekama. Dabalatas, hidhamtoota manneen hidhaa TPLF keessatti argaman keessaa tilmaamni harki 95 Oromoo akka ta’e ni beekama. Bara 2011 hanga 2014 qofa Oromoon manneen hidhaa TPLF keessatti hidhaman kuma shan ol ni ta’a.3 Kana malees motummaan abbaa irree TPLF gargaarsa biyya guddatan kan akka UK, Australia, USA fi kanneen biraa irraa fudhatuun meeshaa waraanaa bituun ummata nagaa ajjeessuf itti fayyadamaa akka jiru nibeekama.4,5
Obbo Abbaay Tsahaayyee Waajjira Muummicha Ministeeraa keessatti Gorsaa Olaanoo Muummee Ministeera Itoophiyaa kan ofiin jedhan dubbii dhaddannoo dheekkamsa, doorsisaaf akeekkachiisa of keessaa qabuun akka beeksisanitti Yeroo kami irraa tuffii ummata Oromootif qaban ifatti kan mirkaneessedha. Akkas jedhan “karoorri kun lafarra harkisamuun isaa ijaa barattoonni wacaniif ykn waliin dhahuu qondaaltota motummaa nannoo Oromiyaa tokko tokkoon osoo hin ta’in sababa doofummaa, rincicummaaf lamsha’uu qondaalttota motummaa Oromiyaatin. Ammas karoorichi hojiirra ni oolfama! Yaa ta’u malee namni ykn qaamni kamiyyuu karoora kana gufachiisuf yaalii godha taanan tarkaanfin gahaa ta’e ykn sirriitti isa ni galchina. Bulchinsi motummaa naannoo Oromiyas hattuuf bututtuun kan keessa guutedha” jechuun haasa’a dhadannoon walmakeen ifa godhaniiru.
Adeemsi isaa kunnis Oromoo lafaaf qabeenya isaa irraa buqqisuu, aadaa, afaan fi seenaa ummata Oromoo dhabamsiisuu, biyya Oromiyaa jedhamtee waammamtu tun gara fuula duraatti akka isheen hin jiraannee gochuu, lafa Oromoo, qabeenya Oromoo fi biyya Oromoo saba Tigreef oolchuuf halkaniif guyyaa boqonnaa malee socha’aa jiru.
Dhaddannoon Ob. Abbaay Tsahaayyee kan ammaa kun seeraaf heera ittiin bulmaata biyyatti kan cabseef kabaja ummata Oromoo kan mulqe yoo ta’u saba Oromoo irratti lola dugugginsa sanyii kan labse, jibbinsaf tuffii saba bal’aa Oroomoof qaban yeroo kammi irra kan ifa baasedha.6
Dhuma irrattis yaada waliigalaa kan “Oromian Economist” kanaan xumura The Critical Minimum Effort (dhambicuu murteessaan): Gaheen Oromummaa maal?
Bilisummaa (Freedom) dhambicuu murteessan; Qabsoo (Struggle), Tokummaa Oromoo (Oromo Unity) (T) fi afuura Oromummaa (Spirit of Oromummaa) qabachhun murteessadha.
B = f(Q,T,O)
Garbummaa (subjugation-cum-slavery), faallaa bilisummaati kunis amala warra Abyssinian (A), Neo-Gobanaa’s factor (N factor), Lack of Oromo unity (L) fi Un-Oromummaa (U) (lack of the Spirit of Oromummaa). G = f (A, N, U) Garubummaa (G) faallaa Bilisummaa (B) ykn garagalcha isaa jechuudha.7
In Ethiopia they live like animals, relentlessly persecuted, hunted down like games, killed at will and incarcerated en masse. No mercy is shown even to women and children. They are the Oromos — the largest ethnic group, the most marginalised in Ethiopia and arguably one among the most oppressed people in our planet. Despite their numerical majority, the Oromos, much like the Palestinians, are facing xenophobic oppression.
Amnesty International’s report on the state of existence of the Oromos, published last year, has been damning. It painted a chilling picture of the brutality unleashed by Ethiopian government on the hapless community to which the country’s President, Mulatu Teshome, belongs. The rights group, based in London, said: “At least 5,000 Oromos have been arrested based on their actual or suspected peaceful opposition to the government”. And most of them have been “subjected to treatment amounting to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”.
Amnesty researcher Claire Beston has been scathing. She said, “The Ethiopian government’s relentless crackdown on real or imagined dissent among the Oromo is sweeping in its scale and often shocking in its brutality. This is apparently intended to warn, control or silence all signs of ‘political disobedience’ in the region”. Beston, in her report, said in no uncertain terms that she saw “signs of torture, including scars and burns, as well as missing fingers, ears and teeth” on those Oromos she interviewed.
The scenario in the country is perhaps far more terrifying. The United States, in its 2013 Human Rights Report, has pointed out that at least 70,000 persons, including some 2,500 women and nearly 600 children are incarcerated with their mothers, in severely overcrowded six federal and 120 regional prisons. “There also were many unofficial detention centres throughout the country, including in Dedessa, Bir Sheleko, Tolay, Hormat, Blate, Tatek, Jijiga, Holeta, and Senkele,” the report added further.
Plurality, respect for basic democratic values and tolerance for dissent have never been the fortes for which Ethiopia is known in the world. It is for reasons on the contrary the country has already earned a massive notoriety internationally. Corruptions are rampant and behind the façade of development the government in Ethiopia is infamous for selling out the country to the western world and foreign corporations and, of course, for its blatant violation of basic human rights.
What defines Ethiopia today is the greed and corruption of its politicians, especially those in power. The brazenness with which the government is trying to sell out Omo Valley to foreign corporation is a shame and a heinous crime. Twice the size of France and UNESCO World Heritage Site, Omo Valley is known as the ‘cradle of mankind’ which, according to ancient-origins.net, has the world’s largest alkaline lake as well as the world’s largest permanent desert lake.
The Ecologist says, Lake Turkana in Omo Valley was a prehistoric centre for early hominids. Some 20,000 fossil specimens have been collected from the Turkana Basin. Anthropological digs have led to the discovery of important fossilised remains, most notably, the skeleton of the Turkana Boy, (or Nariokotome Boy). Finding Turkana Boy was one of the most spectacular discoveries in palaeoanthropology. His reconstruction comes from the almost perfectly preserved skeleton found in 1984 at Nariokotome near Lake Turkana.
Discovery of the fossilised Turkana Boy, aged between seven and fifteen who lived approximately 1.6 million years ago was a milestone in the study of our origin and ancestry. Yet, to the corrupt, shameless and avaricious Ethiopian government it is of no significance. And neither is the welfare of the indigenous people of the valley who are believed to be the living descendants of the early hominids.
Alas! Ethiopian government wants to sell out this important archaeological treasure trove to foreign corporations where they want to develop sugar, cotton and biofuel plantations. A shameless land grab is underway in Omo Valley where hundreds of more fossilised skeletons of our forefathers are expected to be found and retrieved.
Misrule, human rights violations, hubris, arrogance and corruption plagues Ethiopia. Continuous demagoguery against the Oromos has made Ethiopia sit atop a huge mound of gun powder waiting for a spark to explode. The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), the armed wing of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) is getting ready for yet another armed struggle to overthrow the present political dispensation in power.
And given the history of insurgency in Ethiopia the country today seems to be heading fast towards a fresh bout of armed insurrection.
A low intensity struggle has already started as the Oromos are no more in mood to take the oppression, they are in no mood to suffer in silence their marginalisation. The ethnic fire the Ethiopian government has been stoking is gradually turning into an inferno.
We know human stupidity is endless and that of Ethiopia is infinite and dark. It cannot achieve growth and progress keeping its people delegitimised and aggrieved. The oppressed and tortured shall one day erupt to claim what legitimately belongs to them as well.
The author is the Opinion Editor of Times of Oman. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of Times of Oman. He can be reached at opinioneditor@timesofoman.com
In a leaked recording, a senior official of the Ethiopian Government, Mr Abay Tsehaye, threatens officials from Oromia regarding a delay in the implementation of the tendentious ’Addis Ababa master plan’. Oromo political and human rights activists fear an increased crackdown on the population, as they believe these threats are part of a wider persecution mainly due to the upcoming national elections, which will take place in May 2015. http://unpo.org/article/17983
The Oromo social media have been buzzing over comments attributed to senior Ethiopian official, Abay Tsehaye. In a leaked audio Tsehaye can be heard threatening officials from the state of Oromia for a delay in implementing the controversial Addis Ababa master plan.
Ethiopia is also gearing up for yet another symbolic election. The two events signal the potential return of crackdown on Oromo leaders and human rights activists.
In recent years the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has adopted a series of draconian legislations to profile and target dissenting Oromos. If EPRDF’s conducts during the past four elections are any guide, the persecution of the Oromo is likely to increase over the next few months ahead of the May [2015] vote.
The Tigrean Liberation Front (TPLF) controlled regime in Ethiopia associates every dissenting Oromo with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). After proscribing the group as a terrorist organization in 2011, authorities have turned to two legal instruments adopted in 2009 to criminalize and eliminate any presumed threat to its reign: the Civil Societies and Charities law and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation.
Counterterrorism has been on the international agenda since 1934 when states made a failed attempt to come up with a comprehensive international convention to prevent the rising threat of terrorism.
Most states now agree on the increasing risks of terrorism and the need for collective response. However, given the lack of comprehensive convention or even an agreement on what constitutes terrorism, national counterterrorism efforts have contributed to the worsening of human rights and civil liberties, especially in authoritarian states such as Ethiopia.
In its preamble Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism proclamation states that it aims, inter alia, to enable the country cooperate with other states in the fight against terrorism and to enforce its international obligations. However, the EPRDF made the true purpose of the legislation clear by proscribing major opposition groups as terrorists, thereby systematically reserving legally sanctioned power to relentlessly crackdown on any opposition to its rule.
Article 3 of the law stipulates very broad and vague definitions of terrorism, which has enabled the government to severely restrict human rights in violation of both the country’s constitution and its international treaty obligations. The disproportionate targeting of the Oromo using the counterterrorism legislation has been confirmed by independent investigations by human rights organizations such as the Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The proscription of the OLF as a terrorist organization has made it easier for the TPLF regime to profile and intensify its crackdown on the Oromo.
The Ethiopian Constitution provides for the legitimate exercise of the right to assembly. However, the vague provisions of the anti-terrorism law has given the regime a free reign to link any attempt to advocate for the advancement of Oromo rights as a ‘moral’ support for the OLF. Authorities label any conscious Oromo as having involvement or sympathies for the OLF and hence a terrorist.
Multitudes of Oromo youth, activists and leaders involved with legally recognized political organizations, civil society groups; religious and cultural institutions have been victims of such unfounded association. Even critical members of the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) are not immune from this collective persecution.
The anti-terrorism law classifies ‘damage to property’, natural resources, historical or cultural heritages, and interruption or disruption of any public service as acts of terrorism. The legitimate exercise of the right to peaceful assembly could result in a minor breach involving any of these activities effectively enables the TPLF government to classify them as terrorist activities and make a prior restraint to the right to peaceful assembly. These activities could have been governed under ordinary criminal law. One of the main purposes of an anti-terrorism legislation is to tackle serious threats to civilian lives not minor offenses that could be dealt with within the bounds of the existing criminal law.
Over the past half-decade thousands of Oromo students, teachers, business owners and farmers, who took part in peaceful protests, have been charged with under the sweeping legislation. These include those who were detained, tortured or killed last year following Oromia wide protests against Addis Ababa’s master plan, which Tsehaye has vowed to implement with or without regional support.
EPRDF has no tolerance for any dissenting political views but the impact of suppressing Oromo’s freedom of expression is far reaching. The anti-terrorism law provides harsh punishment for ‘publishing or causing the publication of a statement that is likely to be understood by some or all of members of the public to whom it is published as a direct or indirect encouragement for terrorism.’
Such broad definitions have enabled the government to crackdown on Oromo journalists, bloggers and anyone who is critical about its oppressive laws and policies.
Currently, there is no active independent TV, radio, newspaper or magazine in Afaan Oromo inside Ethiopia. The government actively monitors and routinely blocks media outlets based outside the country. Oromo journalists working for state owned media that dare speak out on the interest of the Oromo nation are persecuted or threatened with dismissal. This restriction on freedom of expression has made independent Oromo press non-existent.
In theory, the 1995 Ethiopian constitution provides extensive guarantees for the rights of the Nation, Nationalities and Peoples in Ethiopia. Its preamble commences with the phrase ‘we the nations nationalities and peoples’ asserting the role of the constitution as an expression of their sovereignty and inalienable right to self-determination. The constitution also aims to rectify the oppression perpetrated against minority ethnic groups under previous Ethiopian regimes.
It makes the country’s nations and nationalities the sovereign power holders, entrusts them with the power to interpret the constitution and guarantees their right to self-determination which extends from establishing autonomous regional government to an independent State.
The formation of Oromia state was a vital step toward ending the century old yoke of oppression against the Oromo. The constitution gives Oromos the right to establish an organization, which can advocate for its self-determination. The decision to remain within federal Ethiopia or to form an independent state through a referendum is theirs to make.
The broad and vague provisions of Ethiopia’s terrorism law and its aggressive and discriminate application undermines Oromos right to self-determination, violates the country’s constitution and international treaties ratified by the country. The law has made it impossible for the Oromo to enjoy their right to self-determination in all of its expressions such as celebrations of Oromummaa, Waaqeffannaa, Afaan Oromo and Oromo history without fear of persecution. It is unthinkable to even imagine the establishment of a political organization that openly advocates for the creation of independent Oromia through referendum. All these acts are construed as terrorism and punishable under the anti-terror law.
The 1995 Constitution widely recognizes fundamental human rights for all in accordance with international human rights instruments that Ethiopia has ratified. As the supreme law of the land and its requirement of interpreting these human rights tenets in accordance with international human rights documents ratified by the country places more weight on the document. As such, any law and decisions of state organs that contravenes the constitution is null and void.
This means that the raft of oppressive legislations adopted by EPRDF, including the anti-terrorism proclamation are in clear violation of the constitution and a range of international treaties. This also includes the decision to expand Addis Ababa’s jurisdiction with clear disregard to a series of individual and collective human rights of the Oromo and the constitution’s “special status” clause with respect to Oromia’s rights.
Unfortunately, the 1995 Constitution suffers from various contradictions including some rooted in the document itself. In fact, it is used to create a facade of democracy and cover up EPRDF’s despotic rule. Besides, the constitution entrusts the task of interpreting the law to the House of Federation. The EPRDF dominated House considers the constitution as a political rather than a legal document. These factors made the constitution practically illegitimate outside the governing party. It serves the sole purpose of defending the regime’s transgressions.
Oromo activists should continue to appeal to international organizations and donors to put pressure on the Ethiopian government to respect human rights and monitor their aid disbursements. Yet real solutions to Oromos quest for liberty, equality and justice lie in locally based response. Given the circumstances, there is no better place to start than demanding the implementation of the constitution itself. Unruly officials like Abay Tsehaye must be challenged using the same constitution that they swore to uphold but break at will. And they must be brought to justice for the gross human rights violations they are committing against innocent civilians. http://unpo.org/article/17983
Ethiopia Official Threatens to Continue Mass Murder in Oromia to Grab Land; Use the Hashtag “#StopAbayTsehaye” to Protest Abay Tsehaye and the Addis Ababa Master Plan
February 21, 2015 · Finfinne Tribune & Gadaa.com
(OromoPress) – Abay Teshaye, a member of the Executive Committee of Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and adviser to the current nominal Prime Minster of Ethiopia, made a genocide threat against the Oromo people who oppose the implementation of a land grabbing policy. Abay Tsehaye made the threat with a vitriolic tone of hatred and arrogance toward the Oromo:
“The master plan will be implemented now. If anyone from the Oromia regional administration or anti-peace forces oppose this, we’ll cut them to size,” OMN reported citing a leaked Amharic audio of Abay Tsehaye from a meeting that took place in Hawasa town in the south. Made against the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) and the wider Oromo people; the threat comes on a the heels of massacre across Oromia region from May to July 2014. Oromo media have repeatedly reported that Abay Tsehaye was one of TPLF/EPRDF masterminds of the episode of genocide that claimed the lives of over 200 Oromo students and led to the incarceration of 3,765 students and farmers across Oromia in mid-2014. The students were protesting the implementation of a land grab policy in Oromia towns and rural districts in and around Fifninnee/Addis Ababa, which led to an unexplained disappearance of over 200,000 Oromo farmers.
Abay Tsehaye made the statement at an official meeting on behalf of his party and the Tigrean-led Ethiopian government. His speech was not an empty threat since he and other TPLF officials have followed through with threats and engaged in acts of genocide in Oromia State against innocent civilians, especially the Oromo youth, over the last 24 years (since Tigreans grabbed state power). Oromo activists created a Twitter hashtag #StopAbayTsehaye to protest the angry and arrogant genocide threat by Abay Tsehaye and to spread awareness about the issue to the global audience.
Few months ago, in an interview with journalist Befekadu Moroda of Oromia Media Network (OMN), I asserted that TPLF and the Tigrean ruling class have transformed into Neftegna. Abay Tsehaye’s recent words and behavior testament to that. Remember the Neftegna system that gave monopoly over the means of violence and the sources of wealth produced chauvinistic agents who exploited and disrespected oppressed groups in Ethiopia. The system also engineered social behaviors that justified the actions of those agents and popularized myths of the dominant groups socio-cultural superiority. Overtime, the ruling class and its base began rationalizing and institutionalizing prejudice and extreme form of violent responses towards those who dissented.
During the early years of their rule, as violent and oppressive they were, TPLF differentiated themselves from their predecessors by being sensitive and showing reasonable respect for groups they subjected. However, they began abandoning such sensitivity as they consolidated power and began amassing wealth, and they have started adopting the ugly behaviors of their predecessors. Nowadays, emboldened by the absolute monopoly of the means of violence, intoxicated with abundance of wealth at their disposal and facing no so significant threat to their rule, the TPLF Tigrean rulers’ rudeness, arrogance and disrespect for other cultures have become their norm. Just like their predecessors, they have the false sense of inherent superiority which had made them feel invincible. This behavior is even worse among their rising generation – which was born into wealth and power and grew up being drugged with post-victory (post-1991) bravado of TPLF.
This is good and bad news. It’s ‘bad’ because such collective behaviors increase and justify violence and repression against the subjected populations. However, on the ‘good’ side, it makes the system intolerable – expanding the base of resistance, and, consequently, speeding up the downfall of the system. –
#StopAbayTsehaye – Abay Tsehaye’s Liyu Force (aka TPLF’s Liyu Force in Ogaden) Responsible for the Mayu Muluqqee Massacre and Other Militarized Land-Grabbing Expeditions of the Tigrean Neftegna
In 2007, as a right-hand military security man of Meles Zenawi, Abay Tsehaye was in charge of creating the TPLF “Liyu” (“Special”) Paramilitary Force in Ogaden/Somali Region. The nickname among Ogaden Nationalists for the TPLF “Liyu” Force in Ogaden was (and still is) “Abay Tsehaye’s Liyu Force.”
Abay Tsehaye’s “Liyu” Force was responsible for the Mayu Muluqqee and other massacres and uprooting of Oromos in Eastern Oromia over the last two years. The “Liyu” Force conducted military raids on innocent Oromo farmers in Eastern Oromia to rob them of their land.
Abay Tsehaye’s “Liyu” Force was also behind the Asabot/Miesso attacks in Chercher in Oromia. He’s also the main TPLF agent behind the tribal conflicts in Moyale and other areas on the Southern Oromian and Kenyan border.
In 2010, Abay Tsehaye was then moved to a newly created “Sugar Corporation” as a director (read here about the resume of Abay Tsehaye). Many were surprised by the move of a Military Security Adviser to a Sugar Corporation directorship position. However, the surprising appointment soon became clear. The main goal of this “Sugar Corporation” is to lead military-backed (Neftegna, i.e. backed with rifles) land-grabbing missions in the South (Oromia, Ogadenia, Sidama, Omo, Afar, and other Southern Parts) in the name of “expanding” commercial farmings. Abay Tsehaye has become the face of the Tigrean Neftegna in the Ethiopian Empire – he leads large land-grabbing missions (supported by TPLF’s military) just like the Menelik-II era’s grabbing of land from Southern natives (Oromo, Ogaden, Sidama, etc.)
In addition to the Mayu Muluqqee Massacres, Abay Tsehaye’s militarized land-grabbing expeditions are well documented in Gambella, Omo region, Afar – and even in the Amhara region (he was in charge of the plan to turn the Waldiba Monastery in the Amhara region into a commercial sugar farming).
#StopAbayTsehaye – The face of the Tigrean neo-imperialist Master Plan in Oromia and elsewhere in the Ethiopian Empire has recently appeared on the regime’s TV in military attire as he vows to wage a genocidal war on Oromo farmers in Central Oromia (especially those around Oromia’s center Finfinne). The “Addis Ababa Master Plan” is a plan to evict and dispossess Oromo farmers of their land, and also to cleanse Oromo from Finfinne and from areas surrounding Finfinne – in order to make the land available for Tigrean and other Habesha Neftegnas (in the name of ‘investment’ and ‘development’). Those Oromo farmers already evicted from the Kilinto area are settled in slums in Finfinne where they lead below-poverty living as security-guards and house-maids (after losing their land to Tigrean and other Habesha ‘investors’/Neftegnas). For TPLF, ‘development’ is the enrichment of Tigrean Neftegnas – not the empowerment of Oromo farmers. The struggle must continue to #StopAbayTsehaye, the face of Tigrean chauvinism and Neftegna in Oromia and elsewhere in the Ethiopian Empire. Gadaa.com
The answer is clear: it is the people of Tigray, whose party, the TPLF led the fight against the Mengistu regime and took power in 1991, who benefited most. What is also striking is that the Oromo (who are the largest ethnic group) hardly benefited at all.
This is what the World Bank says about this: “Poverty reduction has been faster in those regions in which poverty was higher and as a result the proportion of the population living beneath the national poverty line has converged to around one in 3 in all regions in 2011.”
The World Bank does little to explain just why Tigray has done (relatively) so well, but it does point to the importance of infrastructure investment and the building of roads. It also points to this fact: “Poverty rates increase by 7% with every 10 kilometers from a market town. As outlined above, farmers that are more remote are less likely to use agricultural inputs, and are less likely to see poverty reduction from the gains in agricultural growth that are made. The generally positive impact of improvements in infrastructure and access to basic services such as education complements the evidence for Ethiopia that suggests investing in roads reduces poverty.”
Not surprisingly, the TPLF under Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and beyond concentrated their investment on their home region – Tigray. The results are plain to see.
The World Bank has just published an authoritative study of poverty reduction in Ethiopia. The fall in overall poverty has been dramatic and is to be greatly welcomed. But who has really benefited?
This is the basic finding:
In 2000 Ethiopia had one of the highest poverty rates in the world, with 56% of the population living on less than US$1.25 PPP a day. Ethiopian households experienced a decade of remarkable progress in wellbeing since then and by the start of this decade less than 30% of the population was counted as poor.
There are of course many ways of answering the question – “who benefited” – were they men or women, urban or rural people. All these approaches are valid.
The Ethnic Dimension
But in Ethiopia, where Ethic Federalism has been the primary driver of government policy one cannot ignore the ethnic dimension.
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.
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.
According to a schedule released by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, citizens will go to the polls to elect a new government on 24 May 2015. It will be Ethiopia’s fifth national election since EPRDF came to power in 1991.
In connection with the coming National Election of Ethiopia, the ruling EPRDF government has begun to wage a widespread campaign to secure again the 99.6% of parliamentarian seats it has controlled since 2010- the seats it acquired by electoral fraud. As the election date of May 2015 approaches, the government of Ethiopia has unabashedly continued its systematic violence against opposition political parties’ leaders, members, and supporters. Candidates of the opposition political parties are the major targets in all regional states in the country including the capital city, Finfinne/Addis Ababa. For example, the information that the HRLHA has obtained through its correspondents indicates that hundreds of election candidates of the opposition OFC (Oromo Federalist Congress) party from most zones of Oromia Regional State have been arrested and sent to prisons.
In the most recent wave of arrests and imprisonments that has been going on since the first week of January, 2015 and which has touched almost all corners of Oromia, hundreds of OFC party leaders, members and supporters from all walks of life have been taken from their homes and work places and sent to prison.
According to the HRLHA reporter, in this particular political violence by the ruling party against the OFC party leaders, members and supporters in western Oromia zone Qellem, Dabidolo and Gambit districts, in the eastern Wallagga zone Guduru, Nunu Qumbq, and Wama Haagaloo districts, in the Eastern Oromia Zone in the Western Hararge zone in Masala district, in the Southern Oromia zone in Robe – Bale town Regional State of Oromia have been taken to prison.
The HRLHA reporter has managed to obtain the names of the following few OFC leaders currently held in prison: 1, Mr. Dula Maatiyoos, chairman of the OFC political party in Qelem district, 2. Mr. Abiyot Tadesse, Chairman of the OFC political party in Dambi Dollo district, 3. Mr Zelalam Shuma, chairman of the OFC political party in Sayyo district, and 4. Mr. Mezgebu Tolessa, chairman of the OFC in Gidami district.
The HRLHA strongly condemns the EPRDF government’s move towards the systematic elimination of the opposition parties from the coming election in order to control again all parliamentarians’ seats for itself as has happened in the previous four elections. It should be remembered that the EPRDF has claimed victory in the elections of 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010- ever since the fall of the military/ Derg regime of 1991 and the adoption of a new constitution in August 1995.
The HRLHA calls on the Western allies of the ruling TPLF/EPRDF party as well as regional and international diplomatic, development and donor agencies to put pressure on the Ethiopian government and demand an immediate halt to this extra-judicial and unconstitutional act of violence and the unconditional release of those innocent citizens whose arrests and imprisonment are purely political. It also calls on those bodies to put additional pressure on the ruling TPLD/EPRDF party to organize a truly free and fair election, and prepare itself to participate accordingly.
This UA is copied to:
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• Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights
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U.S. Department of State
Short Echalar Julie A
shortJA@state.gov
U.S. Department of State
Trim, Vernelle X
Ethiopian desk officer
trimvx@state.gov
Amnesty International – London
Claire Beston
Claire Beston” <claire.beston@amnesty.org>,
Human Rights Watch
Felix Hor
“Felix Horne” <hornef@hrw.org>,
Nobody trusts politicians, but some governments are more despicable than others. The brutal gang ruling Ethiopia is especially nasty. They claim to govern in a democratic, pluralistic manner; they say they observe human rights and the rule of law, that the judiciary is independent, the media open and free, and public assembly permitted as laid out in the constitution. But the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) systematically violates fundamental human rights, silences all dissenting voices and rules the country in a suppressive, violent fashion that is causing untold suffering to millions of people throughout the country.
There is no freedom of the press: Journalists are persecuted, intimidated and arrested on false charges, so too their families. All significant media outlets and print companies are state-owned or controlled, as is the sole telecommunications company – allowing for unfettered government monitoring and control of the internet. Radio is almost exclusively state-owned and, with adult literacy at around 48 percent, remains the major source of information. Where private media has survived, they are forced to self-censor their coverage of political issues: If they deviate from “approved content,” they face harassment and closure.
In many cases, journalists are forced to leave the country, and some are illegally tried in absentia and given long prison sentences or the death penalty. Human Rights Watch (HRW) states in its detailed report “Journalism Is Not a Crime,” that Ethiopia has more journalists in exile than “any country in the world other than Iran,” and estimates, “60 journalists have fled their country since 2010 while at least another 19 languish in prison.” More than 30 left in 2014, twice the number escaping in 2013 and 2012 combined, and numerous publications were closed down, revealing that the media situation and freedom of expression more widely are becoming more and more restrictive. “If they cannot indoctrinate you into their thinking, they fire you,” said a dismissed journalist from state-run Oromia Radio, summing up the approach of the ruling party to press freedom and indeed democracy as a whole.
With upcoming elections in May, the media should be allowed to perform its democratic responsibility – revealing policies and the incumbent regime’s abuses, providing a platform for opposition groups and encouraging debate. However, the guilt-ridden EPRDF government, desperate to keep a lid on the human rights violations it is committing, sees the independent media as the enemy, and denies it the freedom, guaranteed under the constitution, to operate freely.
Tools of Control
Soon after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, President George W. Bush made his now notorious speech in which he reaffirmed Ronald Reagan’s 1981 declaration to initiate a worldwide “war on terror,” against terrorism and nations that “provide aid or safe haven to terrorism.” Bush’s understandable if hypocritical political statement of intent allowed regimes perpetrating terror like the EPRDF to impose ever more repressive laws under the guise of “fighting terrorism” and “containing extremism.”
A year before the 2010 Ethiopian general election, the government introduced a raft of unconstitutional legislation to control the media, stifle opposition parties and inhibit civil society: The Charities and Societies Proclamation introduced in 2009 decimated independent civil society, and created, Amnesty International says, “a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rights in Ethiopia.” It sits alongside the equally unjust Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (ATP) of the same year, which is the sledgehammer commonly used to suppress dissent and silence critical media voices both inside the country, abroad and on the internet. Overly broad and awash with ambiguity, the ATP allows for long-term imprisonment and the death penalty for so-called crimes that meet the government’s vague definition of terrorism, and allows evidence gained through torture to be admissible in court, which contravenes the UN Convention Against Torture, ratified by Ethiopia in 1994. In 2012, the government added the Telecom Fraud Offenses Proclamation to its arsenal of repression, criminalizing “the use of popular voice over IP (VoIP) communications software such as Skype for commercial purposes or to bypass the monopoly of state-owned Ethio-Telecom.” Eight years imprisonment and large fines are imposed if anyone is convicted of “using the telecommunications network to disseminate a ‘terrorizing message'” – whatever that may be.
The anti-terror legislation violates international law and has been repeatedlycondemned by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. In addition, in September 2014, a group of UN human rights experts urged the ruling party “to stop misusing anti-terrorism legislation to curb freedoms of expression and association in the country.” The eminent group went on to call upon the government “to free all persons detained arbitrarily under the pretext of countering terrorism,” and “let journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents and religious leaders carry out their legitimate work without fear of intimidation and incarceration.” Their visit followed one made by members of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights who visited Ethiopia in July 2013 when they pressured the government to release journalists and opposition activists imprisoned under the ATP.
Wrapped in arrogance and paranoia, the EPRDF disregarded these righteous demands as well as requests to allow a visit by the “Special Rapporteurs on freedom of peaceful assembly and association, on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” to visit the country and report “on the situation of human rights defenders.” No doubt, the people of Ethiopia would welcome such a visit; one questions the protocol that allows regimes like the EPRDF the right to deny such a request.
Keep Quiet
The ATP has been widely used to punish troublesome journalists who criticize the government or publish articles featuring opposition members and regional groups calling for self-determination. Anyone who challenges the EPRDF’s policies or draws attention to the human rights violations taking place throughout the country are branded with the T word, intimidated and silenced.
The two most prominent journalists to be imprisoned are award-winning Eskinder Nega and Reeyot Alemu Gobebo. Arrested at least seven times, Nega is currently serving an 18-year sentence for doing nothing more than calling on the government to respect freedom of expression laws enshrined in the constitution (that the EPRDF themselves penned), and end torture in the country’s prisons. Reeyot Gobebo, winner of the 2013 UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, is currently serving a five-year jail term (commuted from 14 years after two of the charges were dropped on appeal), after being charged with a variety of unfounded, unsubstantiated terrorist related charges. These two courageous professionals, HRW relates, have “come to symbolize the plight of dozens more media professionals, both known and unidentified, in Addis Ababa and in rural regions, who have suffered threats, intimidation, sometimes physical abuse, and politically motivated prosecutions under criminal or terrorism charges.” When an article critical of the government is published, writers or editors receive threatening phone calls and text messages (emails in my case) from government stooges. If publications and broadcasters persist in publishing such pieces, they suffer persecution, arrest and imprisonment.
The EPRDF’s paranoid desire to control everything and everybody inside Ethiopia is not restricted to the national media alone. Voice of America (VoA) and Deutsche Welle (DW), which both have a presence in Addis Ababa, are routinely targeted by the government, as is ESAT TV, a shining light of independent broadcasting in Amharic from the United States and Europe. Their satellite transmissions are regularly jammed, and their staff and family members threatened and harassed; on January 11, 2015, the wife of Wondimagegne Gashu, a British citizen, long-time human rights activist and ESAT worker, was violently detained with her three young children for two days inside Addis Ababa airport. Before the family was deported, security personnel threatened to kill her husband if he continues his associations.
The government also restricts access to numerous websites, including independent news, opposition parties and groups defined by the government as terrorist organizations and political blogs. The required technology and expertise to carry out such criminal acts is supplied by unscrupulous companies from China and Europe – companies that should “assess [the] human rights risks raised by potential business activity, including risk posed to the rights of freedom of expression, access to information, association, and privacy.” In other words: behave in a responsible, ethical manner.
State Terrorism
Freedom of the media and freedom of expression sit alongside other democratic principles, like an independent judiciary, consensual governance, participation and freedom of assembly. Where these basic tenets are absent, so too is democracy. If the state systematically crushes independent media and commits widespread human rights violations, as in Ethiopia, we see not a democratic government, but a brutal dictatorship committing acts of state terrorism.
In HRW’s damning report on media freedoms within the country, a series of commonsense recommendations are made that should be immediately enforced. Chief among these are that all journalists currently imprisoned be released; that the government immediately cease jamming radio and television stations and unblock all websites of political parties, media and bloggers; that all harassment of individuals exercising their right to freedom of expression stop and that the regime repeal or amend all laws that infringe upon privacy rights.
By essentially banning independent media and making freedom of expression a criminal offense, the Ethiopian government is in gross violation of its own legally binding constitution as well as a raft of international covenants. All of which seems not to concern the ruling party, which treats international law with the same indifference it applies to the Ethiopian people. Pressure then needs to be applied by those nations with longstanding relationships with Ethiopia: the United States and Britain come to mind as the two nations that have the biggest investment in the country and whose gross negligence borders on complicity. As major donor nations, they have a moral responsibility to act on behalf of the people, to insist on the observance of human rights and the rule of law, and to hold the EPRDF regime accountable for its repressive criminal actions.
URGENT APPEAL TO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES
Oromo Refugee Community Welfare Association, Kenya
The Oromo Refugee Community Welfare Association is a registered organization under the Societies Act at Registrar of Societies in Kenya. It’s a non-political and non-profit making, whose mission is to promote, protect and advocate the rights of Oromo Refugee and asylum seekers in Kenya.
Thus, the Oromo community legal officials have the responsibility to appeal to the concerned body that the entire of the Oromo community here in Kenya is exposed to imminent danger from Ethiopian security agents. They used different methods to crack down innocent refugee’s, especially whom they still expected that the mastermind of unrest going on in that state. This has been found and confirmed from the invitation letter proposed by Oromo Regional State high officials.
The invitation move is intended to perpetuate the previous persecution which has been done on several refugees who are currently living here in Kenya. To highlight on this matter; the incident which encountered the innocent and surviving refugees have been drawn as follows.
Arrest and Repatriation of Asylum seekers
In 2004 for example, over 750 Oromo refugees who escaped to Kenya, majority number being students from various institutions from the Oromia region has been forcefully deported back and exposed to several persecutions. The Kenya authority arrested them in Moyale by mislead of the Ethiopian government allegation at Kenya border town. On their arrival, they reported to Moyale Police Station for a few days, then hosted for about a week at the Butiye Primary School.
They were later transferred to Odda Airstrip a few kilometers away from Moyale town, provided to tenants and food. After two weeks of their stay at the airstrip, they were visited by some people said to be officials of the UNHCR, unfortunately, while the said UNHCR officials were addressing the crowd, contingent of Kenya Military lorries, surrounded them, brutalized and forcefully loaded them into the military lorries and took them back to Ethiopia and handed over to the aggressively waiting Ethiopian security forces.
Among the deported students
Mahadi Halakhe, a former student from Moyale High School. Mr. Mahadi fled back to Kenya after serving the detention and torture, at present lives in Kenya recognized refugee with UNHCR mandate.
Adunya Dhaba, a former student from Mekele University
Legesse Abetu, a former student of Addis Ababa University.
Teshale Tesfaye, a former student of Addis Ababa University
On 4th October 2010, three Oromo asylum seekers who were registered with UNHCR were arrested from Huruma – Nairobi. The three are: –
Diida Godana – UNHCR File No. Neth 034648
Wako Godana
Guyo Biqo
The three were arrested and detained at the Gigiri Police Station for eight (8) days without any charges and trial before the law court. Through the effort of community and human rights organization that facilitated a legal representation, the three were arraigned in court with malicious charges of being unlawfully in Kenya and suspected OLF members by false allegations of Ethiopian security agents. For reference, “CMS 328/10 Nairobi, the case is pending for hearing as they are out on a cash bail of Kshs. 100,000 each.
DEPORTATION OF OROMO REFUGEES WHO LIVES WITH UNHCR MANDATE IN KENYA
Legesse Angessa and Teklu Bulcha Dhinsa were abducted from Dhadhab Refugee Camp and deported back to Ethiopia.
In 2005, Mr. Liiban Jarso, Olqabaa Lataa and Amansiisa Guutaa (former student from Addis Ababa University) were abducted from Eastleigh, Nairobi and unlawfully deported back to Ethiopia. In connection to this and many other disappearances of Oromo refugees, hundreds of Oromo refugees marched in mass demonstrations and gathered outside the UNHCR office in Nairobi on 27th December 2005 to complain the rise of insecurity and abduction cases instigated by the Ethiopian government and claimed that some had been killed.
The Kenya government authority intervened and the security detectives arrested three Ethiopian men believed to be secret security agents deployed to cause atrocities to Oromo refugees in Kenya. The three; Mr. Tesfaye Alemayo and Lulu were charged and tried before the law court which ruled and ordered their deportation to Ethiopia.
On 27th April 2007 the Kenya terrorist police arrested Engineer Tesfahun Chemeda and Mesfin Abebe from a Nairobi hotel. They have lived as recognized refugees since 2005 under the concern of UNHCR mandate. They were charged as a suspected terrorist and arraigned before a law court in Nairobi.
Efforts by members of Oromo community, the Kenya Human Rights Commission and the UNHCR to prevent their refinement went to no avail, when on 7th May 2007 during a court hearing, Kenyan officials told a local judge, the two were already deported back to Ethiopia to face terrorism charges. Later on, they were then sentenced to life imprisonment. Moreover, because of harsh conditions and torture at the prison, one of the arrested engineer Tesfahun Chemeda passed on. Nevertheless, the Ethiopian government brutally arrests, tortured, killed, and expelled innocent Oromo students from different universities who stood for their constitutional rights. Those who survived from such persecution compelled to exile from their homeland to neighboring countries like Kenya, which host a bigger number of these Oromo refugees.
OROMO REFUGEES WHO WERE ASSASSINATED BY ETHIOPIAN SECURITY IN KENYA
Jattani Ali Tandu, assassinated in Nairobi hotel on 2nd July 1992.
In 2003, asylum seeker Mr. Halakhe Diidoo was killed by Ethiopian security in the town of Moyale – Kenya as he crossed to seek asylum.
In 2004, Mr. Areeroo Galgalo was gunned down in Moyale – Kenya just some 50 metres away from Moyale Police Station as he was heading to seek asylum at the police station.
On 4th September 2007, Mr. Gaaromse Abdisaa was shot dead in Moyale town – Kenya while in bid to save his life and seek asylum.
6th November 2007, a group of ten (10) Oromo refugees was attacked in their living apartment in Eastleigh Nairobi. At least two were killed on the sport and some injured.
On 20th March 2010, Mr. Asefa Alemu Tana, a refugee with UNHCR File No.: Neth 029833/1 was found dead at his home near a bathroom, with deep head injuries. He lived in Huruma with his family members.
On 1st February 2013, Mr. Dalacha Golicha a registered asylum seeker with UNHCR appointment letter was shot dead at his home in Huruma Nairobi.
On 4th April 2013, Mr. Mohamed Kedir Helgol was shot dead and left in his private car along Eastleigh Street. It’s our great belief with no doubt that the killers of Oromo refugee are the Ethiopian secret security agents in Kenya.
In 1994 a twenty four year old Boru was found hanged on a tree at the backyard of the camp. Most Oromos believe that the EPRDF agents killed him.
In 1994 an unknown gunman, who is believed to be an EPRDF agent, shot and killed many Oromo refugees inside the refugee camp.
In the same year (1994), an Oromo religious man, Shek Abdusalam Mohammed Madare, was shot and wounded seriously. As a result, many Oromos living in the camp had protested against the discriminating killings of the Oromo refugee.
In 1995 three Oromo houses were burnt down in Kakuma camp, where a 5 year old baby girl, Hajo Ibrahim, was killed.
N 1996 a frustrated Oromo refugee, who fled from the camp and was found dead in the surrounding area, after half of his body was eaten by scavengers.
In 1998 a group of masked gunmen, showered bullets in the Oromo section of the camp for several hours.
In 1998 Mr. Rashid Abubaker was found dead in Eastleigh by gunmen believed to be EPRDF agents.
In 1999 Mr. Sulxan Adem, Awal and Mohammed Seraj were kidnapped by unknown secret agents, and disappeared.
On 3rd June, 2000 a young nationalist Abudulwasi Abdulaziz was killed by EPRDF government secret killing square on the Juja Road at Pangani. He was a member of the Oromo Traditional Band.
In the same year (2000) Mr. Alamu a well known and respected Oromo in Dadab, was killed by unidentified people, but it is believed that those killers were assisted by the Ethiopian authorities.
In the same year (2000), a UNHCR field officer named Shida had found one of the Ethiopian community members who bought a gun to kill the Oromo. She was said to have brought the person to Nairobi so that he would be charged in Kenya for his killing attempt.
In the same year (2000), one Oromo refugee was shot and lost one of his limbs.
In the same year (2000), in Dadab Mr. Solomon was shot dead.
In 2001 Ifrah Hussein was kidnapped in Kakuma by an unknown group of people and her whereabouts unknown to this date.
In 2001 Mr. Jamal Mussa, Mr. Mohammed Adem and Mr. Mohammed Jamal and Tofik Water all disappeared and their whereabouts are still unknown.
In 2001 again the one Oromo refugee was killed in a planned car accident, the car was driven by an Ethiopian who is believed to be an Ethiopian government agent.
At the beginning of 2002 Awel Mohammed Hussein was kidnapped from Dadab, and then found while he was taken to Dolo Military Camp in Ethiopia where he was killed by EPRDF soldiers two days later.
In the same year four Oromo refugees escaped in Kakuma fleeing to Nairobi from planned assassination by EPRDF squad.
On 2nd November 2002 Mr. Indalkachaw Teshome Asefa was murdered by Ethiopian security forces in Moyale town.
On the same day the body of Oromo women, believed to be murdered by security force was found in the town.
In December, 2009 an organized attempt by the Ethiopian government to deport some innocent Oromo refugee community members Mr. Mamed Said a well known elder of the community Mr. Alemu Ware and Yesuf Mohamed was reversed with the help of concerned bodies and the cry of Oromo community members.
The recent plan of the Ethiopian security agents who came here in Kenya was to trap and exhaust the survivors of Oromo refugee’s life who are residing here in Kenya.
Therefore, the entire Oromo community here in Kenya would like to appeal to its members to refrain from attending the expected meeting organized by Oromia regional state of high officials which is to be held on 14TH February 2014. Besides, the Oromo community would like to appeal to the international community and international human rights organizations as well as human rights activists to intervene the situation and provide legal protection.
Oromo Refugee community welfare Association Walda Walgargaarsa Hawaasa Baqattoota Oromoo
Torture survivor inspired by Elie Wiesel’s ‘Night’
By Feyera Negera Sobokssa*
February 10, 2015 (Washington Jewish Week) — I am a torture survivor who was persecuted by the government of Ethiopia because I was advocating for the Oromo ethnic group in the country. I suffered so much between 1991 and 1996; even now I feel the severe trauma of what I experienced at the hands of torturers. I was trying to search for the right vocabulary to explain what happened to me.
After traveling to the United States in 2000, I came across a book called Night by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. This book helped me describe the human brutality and the need to speak out for others who did not have the same opportunity.
This paragraph in Night (p. viii) helped inspire me to become a voice for other victims of torture. Wiesel wrote about the importance of becoming:
“a witness who believes he has a moral obligation to try to prevent the enemy from enjoying one last victory by allowing his crimes to be erased from human memory.”
When I was a young boy in the 1950s and 60s, I witnessed how the government treated my people, the Oromos. The Oromos are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, more than one-third of the population. They have their own culture and traditions; our language, Afan Oromo, was banned in schools, government offices and the courts. As a child, I remember seeing Oromo boys beaten if they spoke the language. Even today, the ruling elites in Ethiopia still use the term “galla” to refer to Oromos. “Galla” is a horrible, derogatory word used to dehumanize Oromos and to keep them in a low position.
I was distributing a book called “History of the Galla” in 1991 the first time government agents arrested me. They grabbed me by the arms and took me to a military camp. They forced me to drink something, probably a hallucinogenic drug, and made me dance in front of the soldiers. They wanted to know what types of books I was reading, besides “History of the Galla,” I told them Exodus by Leon Uris was one of my favorite books.
My worst torture experience was in a military camp in 1995. Soldiers inflicted a terrible kind of torture called “Code Number Eight.” They tied my elbows together, causing terrible pain in my chest and damaging my ligaments and muscles. Then they suspended me on a metal object and kept me like that for long hours for two nights. It was so horrible I remember asking the security forces to kill me. They said “We don’t want you to die, we want you to suffer.”
I finally escaped Ethiopia in the year 2000, leaving my children behind. My wife was in a special refugee camp in Germany which used to be a Nazi concentration camp. I immediately was granted political asylum. Shortly after that I discovered the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC). TASSC is a place that helps survivors give meaning to their lives. They assigned me a case manager who talked to me about PTSD, she listened and cared about me. She also helped my family by writing a recommendation to bring my daughter from Ethiopia to Washington. Today, TASSC provides counseling, housing, health care and pro bono legal services to survivors in the Washington area. It also has an advocacy program where survivors meet congressional staff to create awareness about the impact of torture on victims and their families.
I have always thought the Oromos and the Jewish people have a lot in common because Oromos were persecuted just like the Jews. I realized this a long time ago after readingExodus and visiting the Holocaust museum. It was unbelievable to read about the gas chambers and what happened in Auschwitz and other concentration camps. But Exodus also gave me hope. People who were persecuted can rise from the depths of despair to be free. That made me think that one day Oromos can be free too.
Last April, TASSC organized a Passover Seder that focused on the universal desire for freedom by honoring survivors and their journey from persecution to freedom. The Bible teaches us the story of Moses, Pharaoh and the Exodus. I brought Night to the seder and shared what the book means to me with the Jews and the other survivors. The Seder was a wonderful connection for survivors because it helped us transform our pain into strength.
Ultra-nationalistic totalitarian movements brought Nazism and Fascism to Germany and Italy, creating hatred for minorities. Many people do not know that we also have a totalitarian regime in Ethiopia controlled by a small ethnic group who are oppressing the Oromos and other ethnic groups. We have to fight these kinds of movements everywhere in the world. According to the human rights group Genocide Watch, Ethiopia has already committed “genocidal massacres against many of its peoples.”
Elie Wiesel was right when he said “Silence helps the perpetrators, not the victims.” For this reason, over the last ten years, I have become a TASSC “truth speaker,” going to schools, universities and churches to speak about torture and create awareness about the persecution of the Oromo people. If given the chance, I would welcome the opportunity to connect with the Jewish community in Washington by visiting synagogues and Jewish groups.
*Feyera Sobokssa is a torture survivor from Ethiopia who received political asylum in 2001. He began his political activities as a young man employed as an accountant by Ethiopian Airlines, helping to distribute publications about the Oromo ethnic group and their history of persecution by the Ethiopian government. Feyera is now a spokesman against torture with the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC). He is a strong advocate for human rights and for raising awareness about the plight of the Oromos in Ethiopia.
Sexual violence with special emphasis on sexual aggression in Oromia Regional State in Ethiopia*
By Dr. Baro Keno | February 6, 2015
Love and Honour for our living and fallen heroes who resisted any barbarian act against Oromo nation
Addee Asli Oromo: The first woman in the history of Ethiopian Empire that sentenced to death because of her political vision about Oromo people but released after 18 years in prison as a result of international communities campaign.
Addee Urjii Dhaabaa: Is one out of many Oromo Women that survived sexual aggression of Ethiopian government military force, police and security agents.
Thank you Mr, Chairman
Your excellences member of the European parliament, Dear participants, Ladies and Gentlemen, my most heartfelt thanks are extended to the Organising Committee of this seminar. I am particularly grateful to my informants Asli Oromo, Urjii Dhaabaa, Ilfinesh Qano and Dinkinesh Dhereessaa whom I am able to speak to about the agony they endured and who also morally supported of the Oromo women survivors of sexual violence who able to speak to them while their stay in Ethiopian Prison.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Ethiopia is the tenth largest country in Africa and it is the second most populated country in Africa with projected population of 100 million by 2020. It has a number of nations/ nationalities with distinct culture. Ethiopia consists of peoples speaking more than 80 different languages (CSA, 2006)[1]. Currently, Ethiopia is classified into nine regional states. Oromia is the largest regional state in land mass and population. Ecologically and agriculturally Oromia region is the richest region in the Horn of Africa. Oromos are accounted for more than 45% of the population of the Ethiopian empire. The population size of the Oromo people and their resources makes Oromia the heart of Ethiopia. Failure and progress in Oromia regional state is grossly contribute to the failure and progress to Ethiopia.
Oromo people are egalitarian society. Historically their democratic system of government known as “Gadaa” governed the social, economic political affairs of the Oromo people. Under Gadaa, Oromo women developed their own unique institution known as “Siiqee”. Oromo women used Siiqee institution to defend their rights, promote their interests and challenge male domination. After the Oromo people are colonized in 1880s all Oromo institutions are either totally banned or incapacitated. Since then the Oromo people are denied the right to determine on their social, economic, political and cultural affairs. For example, banning or incapacitating Siiqee hindered the Oromo women defending their rights. The colonial power not only banned and incapacitated Oromo institutions but also introduced and/or widened gender hierarchy and discriminatory social practices. This conditioned Oromo women to bear double burdens (i.e. colonial and male domination) and exposed them to sexual violence.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The definition and the scope of sexual violence is a major problem in communications as it can be defined either narrowly or broadly. Here are four selected exemplary definitions of the term for the purpose of this presentation. The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (UN, DEVAW, 1993)[2], defines violence against women as: ‘any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.
The second definition of violence which is worthy to consider is one that is found in the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, better known as the Maputo Protocol, which was adopted by the African Union in 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique and entered into force in 2005 (AU, Maputo Protocol, 2003)[3]. As per this protocol, violence against women means: “all acts perpetrated against women which cause or could cause them physical, sexual, psychological, and economic harm, including the threat to take such acts; or to undertake the imposition of arbitrary restrictions on or deprivation of fundamental freedoms in private or public life in peace time and during situations of armed conflicts or of war” (AU, Maputo Protocol, 2003: article 1.b. paragraph. 8)
The third one is expertise definition of DeGue and DiLillo (2005)[4]. They classified these unwanted sexual behaviours into four categories: sexual offense, sexual coercion, sexual assault, and sexual aggression. According to their definition sexual aggression is referred to as perpetrating unwanted sexual intercourse through the use of physical force (DeGue & DiLillo, 2005).
The fourth one is the Security Council resolutions (1325, 1820, 1888, and 1960) that fundamentally changed the concept of considering sexual violence not as a second class crime but as a tactic of war.
In 2008, U.N. Security Council Resolution 1820 affirmed that sexual violence can constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity. In several ongoing conflicts in Africa, notably those in DRC, Darfur, and Ethiopia’s Oromia and Ogaden region, sexual violence has reportedly been used by one or more conflict parties as a tool of war.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Despite a wide spectrum of sexual violence, there is strong limitation to get enough information in Oromia, Ethiopia. This because of the fear of social exclusion or fear of being marginalized by society, which will bring serious consequences. Occasionally survivors are silent because they felt they would never achieve any redress. Indeed, no individual perpetrators such as soldier or security officer appears to have been, or is ever likely to be, held to account. In World Health Organizations (WHO) multi-country study on domestic violence and women’s health conducted in ten countries including Ethiopia[5], indicated in rural Ethiopia, nearly half of the women had tolerated and didn’t talk the incident to anybody. Very few (6%) had fought back to defend themselves, and other 30% had left home on one or more occasions to escape from violent husbands/partners. In addition, the WHO study confirmed that between 19% and 51% of victims had ever left home for at least one night and between 8% and 21% reported leaving 2–5 times[6].
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The practices of sexual aggression or perpetrating unwanted sexual intercourse through the use of physical force in Oromia, Ethiopia is mainly politically motivated rape to destabilize the Oromo social system, ill-treatment or torture, as a reward for soldiers, for extracting of information and social humiliation.
Torture or ill- treatment
Torture and ill-treatment have been used by Ethiopia’s police, military, and other members of the security forces to punish a spectrum of perceived dissenters, including university students, members of the political opposition, and alleged supporters of insurgent groups. Human Rights advocators have documented incidents of torture and ill-treatment by the Ethiopian security forces in a range of settings. Gang rape against women is one of the frequent patterns of abuse by the security agents, soldiers and police officers of the federal and state governments involving commanding officers. In several cases information from rape survivors reveals the involvement of military commanders.
Rape in the area of insurgent zones
Rape committed during war is often intended to terrorize the population, break up families, destroy communities, and, in some instances to change the ethnic make-up of the next generation. It is rumoured that the Ethiopian government security forces use rape to deliberately infect women with HIV or render women from the targeted community incapable of bearing children. In rural areas where OLF armed forces are operating after any combat unlawful killings, gang rape, torture, beating, and abuse and mistreatment of the nearby villagers by security forces is quite common. The soldiers have collected young Oromo girls and women into their camps or base and gang raped them in front of their relatives, fathers, brothers, and husbands. This is done to humiliate and demoralize the women and the Oromo people.
Pre-trial rape or in detention centres, Military camps and unofficial prisons
Amnesty International (AI) reported in almost all its annual reports on Ethiopia’s human rights status reveals that women’s rape is an act of torture used as a form of coercion or punishment. Rape also occurs as a result of security services exploiting situations where women are held arbitrarily, incommunicado and sometimes in unofficial places of detention – in all places where women are beyond the protection of the law and at heightened vulnerability to sexual violence. For example, in its October, 2014 report describedrape including gang rape is one of the most frequently reported methods of torture.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
To be a specific I will mention the experience of few out of the many women reported their experiences and observations.
Women reporting rape against themselves and others:
Ladies and Gentlemen, I communicated with one of the victim of sexual aggression committed to her by members of Ethiopian defence force. Aaddee Urjii Dhaabaa.
Urjii is currently residing in Colorado, USA. Since 1993 until 2005 she was consistently arrested, detained without Court warranty. On our personal communication she reported during her detention in High School of Dire Dawa, Hurso, Mana Iyasuu of Gara Mul’ata and other detaining centres she said: ‘I was raped at every place of detentions now and then by six to ten armed forces every day.
The barbarity of Ethiopian troops was beyond imagination they repeatedly gang-raped her every night until she could no longer walk. She told they inserted broken beer bottle in to her genital body. They were burning a candle on her vagina. Urji told she was bleeding following the rape. Making her long story short, she subsequently developed a fistula and has urinary incontinence currently using diapers for her daily life. A woman named Haadha Oromo who currently residing in Canada faced the same problem like that of Urji because of her sympathetic expression for Urji.
Oromia Support Group (OSG), 2012[7] reported about some Oromo women victims of sexual aggressions. For instance:-
Biftu: she was detained in Dire Dawa police station, together with her sister-in-law, just after the May 2005 elections. She was raped by five policemen every night for 20 days. Her sister-in-law was also raped. She was told ‘We will do this every day until you bring your brother.’ She is now infertile because of a gynaecological infection.
Amina: estimated to be only 11 or 12 when, in 1993, soldiers took away her parents and three siblings from their home in Masala, near Chiro in West Hararge. Two soldiers took her into the forest and raped her. She was abandoned there and found by strangers from a nearby village next day.
Kadija: was only about 14 years old when three soldiers took away her mother in Kemise, Wollo, in 1991. Another soldier remained behind, threatened her with a pistol and raped her in her house
Abiba Ali Was born in Wachile, Arero, Borana Region and she was a housewife and street vendor (clothes, matches, sugar, small items). Her husband was a supporter of the OLF but not a member. He was arrested in 2004 and taken to Harero and then disappeared. She has looked for him ‘in every jail’.
Seven days after her arrest, eight uniformed soldiers came to her house demanding to see OLF documents. They took her to the bush with her one year old twin boys. From 8.00 p.m. to 12.00 midnight, the eight soldiers raped her in front of her sons and left her there. She was unable to walk and was found by neighbours 9.00 a.m. next morning. Since that time she has frequency of urination – about every 10 minutes. (OSG Press release nr.46, 2010)
Reports extracted from AI October 2014:
AI report 28 Oct 2014 reported about a woman who was released from prison. Subsequently arrested again and spent nearly three months detained without charge in Dalo Mana, in Bale Zone. She was subjected to torture, including rape, in an attempt to force her to reveal her husband’s whereabouts. At the end of this period, she told AI, she signed a condition of release that she would report her husband’s whereabouts within one month or she would be shot. She fled the country after release. In the same report AI mentioned that it interviewed over 15 people who reported one or more incidents of rape. Interviewees also reported to AI incidents of rape taking place in people’s homes, and in detention centres and perpetrated by the members of the military or police forces and by the members of the security services who came to threaten or intimidate them, search for evidence or demand information.
Rape is used as a form of torture against the victim to threaten them or their relatives, as punishment for the alleged activities of her relatives or to coerce her into giving information. In a number of these cases, women were raped by two or more perpetrators and it occurred on repeated occasions. Several of them have reported that they had had children as a result of rape and two women who were visibly pregnant during interviews told Amnesty International their pregnancies resulted from rape by security services in detention or in their homes:
One woman arbitrarily detained without charge for nine months in a military camp in Shinile told Amnesty International: “During the interrogation, I was thoroughly beaten. I cried for help saying that I was not guilty and should not be killed. One night three men came to my cell and said that I was being taken for interrogating but they just took me to a room and all raped me. After that, they just threw me back into the cell. I was not the only one – they would do the same to the other women there.”
“I was raped by three men – one after the other. I remember them very clearly and can identify them. Rape happened several times over the nine months. This was not unique to me; the other women in the cell had the same experience. There were so many soldiers in the camp and they were all taking advantage of the situation. They had no shame.”
Women reported incidents of rape against others:
Asli Oromo:
Asli was in prison for more than 18 years (from 1992 to 2010). After13 years in prison, Ethiopian government gave her death penalty. She was the first Oromo woman or the first woman in Ethiopian Empire to be sentenced to death penalty for her political and national vision. She was released with the influence of international community and fled the country and currently residing in Texas, USA. From my communication it is completely difficult to provide the information I received about her sufferings and the conciliation she did to her fellow Oromos with this little time and words. She was detained in Dire Dawa, Hurso, Sarkam, Zuway and Qaliti. For most part she was kept in confined solitary room or toilets. She was interrogated and tortured by higher military and police Officials such as General Samora, Hasan Shifaa and Military judge Liul. She was severely tortured with all miserable torture systems reported.
She is now infertile because of these sever torture mainly poking on her abdomen with barrel. She witnessed that in her stay in Hurso and Qaliti many Oromo women told her that before their arrival to the place they were gang raped. An Oromo women whom she did not want to give her name are currently residing in USA is infected by HIV as a result of gang rape.
Ilfnesh Qannoo:
Ilfnesh is a beloved professional singer of popular songs. She has been detained several times by EPRDF regime. She is currently residing in Bergen, Norway. In our communication she witnessed the case of Mrs Aberash Dabala.
Mrs. Aberash Dabala was born and lived in Chancho town about 40kms north of Finfinnee until her death on 14 December 1993 at the age of 22. Before her death she was in detention centre and raped by military officers and she was pregnant from this rape by the time of her death.
Dinkinesh Dhereessaa:
Currently residing in Washington D.C USA who was a long time prisoner in Karchale and known to many human rights advocators in which the court ruling was reversed by officials of the government told me that in prison she met some Oromo women who shared the misery they faced in Hurso sometimes before by being raped every night by the members of government armed force as a punishment.
Sexual aggressions in Refugee camps
Ethiopia has bordering neighbours: Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and Eritrea. Thousands of Oromos have subsequently fled from Oromia, Ethiopia, to these neighbouring countries either to escape the economic hardship that is the result of government discrimination and marginalization or following threats to their lives or their families for their political, media, or civil society work. Thus, this people without their intention are forced to flee their beloved Oromia to save their lives by leaving their families and possessions. As a result of lobbying and intergovernmental relation of Ethiopia’s government with neighbouring countries, in countries of asylum, the Oromo are faced with similar prejudices and discrimination in all refugee camps by security agents of Ethiopian government and/or hosting country.
For instance on 16 February 1997 the Kenyan Human Rights Commission released a report, titled “The Forgotten People”: Human Rights Violations in Moyle and Marsabit Districts, which includes accounts and testimonies of detention, torture, murder, disappearance and rape by Kenyan police on Oromo in Kenya.
Sexual aggression in human trafficking
An anonymous woman revealed that she became the victim of sex slavery after she attempted to find work as a domestic worker in Saudi Arabia. Alem Dechasa committed suicide in April 2012 in Lebanon, where she apparently sexually abused.
Infection by HIV/AIDS Virus
In Ethiopia, women account for a larger share of those directly affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2006, the national HIV prevalence was estimated to have been 3% among males and 4% among females. In the same year, 55% of the estimated1.32 million People Living with HIV/AIDS were women. They accounted for 54.5% of AIDS related deaths and 53.2% of new infections.
The ‘Single Point HIV Prevalence Estimate issued by MOH and HAPCO(2007) [8]vividly shows the gender dimension of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia in relation to prevalence rate of the virus, the number of HIV positive, new infections with the virus and annual HIV deaths. The 2008[9], 2009[10] and 2010[11] estimates also show that the gap in HIV prevalence rate, rate of new infections with the virus and HIV death between men and women would continue. What these estimates suggest is that HIV/AIDS has become more and more a disease of the women in Ethiopia as in most countries in the Sub-Saharan region (UNFPA)[12]. War and instability are major contributing factors in the spread of the HIV/AIDS in Africa, and most military personnel are known to be HIV positive (Harker, 2001).
Benga F. Dugassa (2009)[13] analysing HIV/AIDS from the framework of human rights revealed that social, economic, political marginalization of women are social ills, which create conditions that can exacerbate biological process to the disease. On his research on Oromo women he concluded that the HIV/AIDS epidemic disproportionately affects more women than men. The fact is that, as with many other diseases, HIV/AIDS has its own social pathways. The higher number of HIV/AIDS patients among women reflects their subordination, illiteracy, and poverty level. Whether or not the resources of the country are vast or limited, they should be fairly distributed. Women should be empowered and have equal say in the social, economic, and political affairs of the country.
Impact on Victims and Communities:
Survivors of sexual violence often suffer from short-term and long-term consequences with regard to their health, psychological well-being, and social integration.
In addition to physical injuries, potential health consequences include:
Sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV/AIDS), miscarriages, forced pregnancy, and traumatic fistula—debilitating tears in the tissue of the vagina, bladder, and rectum[14].
Access to treatment and follow-up care is insufficient, location is limited, and victims were intimidated by military/security forces.
The legal provisions regarding gender based violence are specified in the gender based violence section.
Legal Framework:
The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia ratified in 1995, made all the international conventions part of the domestic law, requires the interpretation of the human rights provisions of the Constitution to be in conformity with international conventions. The Constitution under Article 25 provides for the right to equality before the law without discrimination and under Article 35 proclaims the equal rights of women, including in marriage, and the right to be free from harmful traditional practices. Moreover, Ethiopia is a party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which in Article 16 requires states parties to take appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage.
Articles 558 and 599 of the 1957 Ethiopian Penal Code allowing abductors and rapists to escape punishment through marriage contravene both the Constitution of Ethiopia and the international conventions to which Ethiopia is a party.
Article 35 of the FDRE constitution, though never specific about GBV, outlaws any custom and tradition that results in mental or bodily harm to women. Under the same article, the state also assume obligation to enforce the right of women to eliminate the influences of harmful customs.
There are also basic supportive legal grounds conducive for combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other related infectious diseases, among which, the following are the major ones. Article 34 (4) and article 35 (9) of the Constitution[16] provide the right to health care and the right to protection from harmful customs and practices. Moreover, Article 35 (7) of the Constitution provides equal rights for women with regard to inheritance and property rights. On the other hand, article 514 of the Penal Code[17] makes any deliberate or negligent act to transmit any kind of disease to a person punishable by law.
However, Ethiopian government always failed to comply with its constitution and covenants which it decorated on paper for the purpose of foreign aid. While arresting and intimidating Oromo women and other nationals.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Sexual violence has serious consequences for women’s physical and mental health. It affects their reproductive health i.e. unwanted pregnancy, increased HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases as well as complications linked to pregnancy and post-maternal. It hinders their self-steam cause depression or loss of self-confidence. It also causes injuries disability and even death.
Sexual violence is a violation of human right to liberty and freedom from fear, and torture. Human rights violation affects the physical and social wellbeing and it is now recognized as a priority public health issue. Sexual coercion exists along a continuum from forcible rape to nonphysical forms of pressure that compel girls and women to engage in sex against their will.
Culturally limited access to family planning services, high fertility, low reproductive health and emergency obstetric services, and poor nutritional status and infections all contributed to elevate maternal mortality. Although changing international and national laws are major steps towards finding lasting remedies and ending sexual violence are important, they cannot be successful without a fundamental change in the Ethiopian human rights records and in the attitudes of people towards the sexual abuse of women. On its turn this cannot be achieved until the Ethiopian government abides its own constitution and implement the principles set in ethno/national federalism and resolve the deep rooted political conflicts. Hence I recommend:-
Regarding the social, economic, political and cultural rights of the Oromo people is essential to find the lasting remedy to sexual violence in Oromia.
If the political/cultural rights of Oromo people are respected, Oromo woman would freely re-institutionalize Siiqee. At the same time, the Oromo people would develop their indigenous democratic governance Gadaa and allow the voice of women to be heard. This will reduce gender hierarchy and delegitimize harmful cultural practices.
Genital mutilation and gender hierarchy are introduced and/or widened following the colonial cultural impositions. If the cultural rights of Oromo people are respected they will be in a better position to critically evaluate the harmful practices imposed upon them and change. For example, to enhance people’s knowledge about human rights i.e. sexual violence, it is necessary to develop free media. Through free media i.e. radio, newspaper, TV and social media we can effectively educate regard for human rights and raise awareness the impacts of sexual violence.
If economic rights of the Oromo people are respected they will more effectively use their resources in raising awareness about sexual violence, support the victim and enhance recovery and rehabilitation in Oromia and in all neighbouring countries.
We need to encourage and assist Oromo women organisation in Oromia and Diaspora to make a fruitful contribution in societal change at home and abolish all forms of discrimination in Ethiopia in general and Oromia in particular.
Exert a diplomatic pressure on Ethiopian government to end impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence and seek justice for victims;
Protecting and empowering civilians who face sexual violence in conflict areas, in particular women and girls who are targeted disproportionately;
Strengthening coordination and ensuring a more coherent response from the UN system on its member states;
Increasing recognition of rape as a tactic of war as a crime against humanity;
and;
Finally the ultimate remedy for politically motivated sexual aggression is to exert a pressure on Ethiopian government to solve the deep rooted political conflict of the empire by respecting the right of people to self-determination that paves way to build a broad based peace through the initiative and ownership of the people themselves.
(M.L.King: True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice).
Thank you,
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[1] Central Statistics Agency CSA. (2006) Ethiopia demographic and health survey 2005. Addis Ababa: CSA.
[2] UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women General Assembly Resolution 48/104 of 20 December 1993
[3] AU. (2003). The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, better known as the Maputo Protocol, adopted by the African Union.
[4] DeGue, S., & DiLillo, D. (2005). “You would if you love me”: Toward an improved conceptual and etiological understanding of nonphysical male sexual coercion. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 10(4), 513–532
[5] WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women
[6] WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women summary report 005
[7] Oromia Support Group Report 48 May 2012 Djibouti: destitution and fear for refugees from Ethiopia
[8] MOH and HAPCO (2007), “Single Point HIV Prevalence Estimate”, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
[9] Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia/HAPCO. 2008. Report on Progress towards Implementation of the UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. HAPCO: Addis Ababa.
[10] FMoH, 2008/09 Administrative Report and HAPCO, 2010 Report
[11] FMoH, 2008/09 Administrative Report and HAPCO, 2010 Report
[13] Women’s Rights and Women’s Health During HIV/AIDS Epidemics: The Experience of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa Begna F. Dugassa
[14] United Nations, In-Depth Study on All Forms of Violence against Women: Report of the Secretary-General, U.N.document A/61/122/Add.1, July 6, 2006, esp. pp. 47-49. See also CRS Report RS21773, Reproductive Health Problems in the World: Obstetric Fistula: Background Information and Responses, by Tiaji Salaam-Blyther.
[15] See, for example, LaShawn R. Jefferson, “In War as in Peace: Sexual Violence and Women’s Status,” in HRW, World Report 2004; MSF March 2009; and others
[16] FDRE (1995) the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Addis Ababa.
[17] Penal Code of the Empire of Ethiopia, Proclamation No. 158 of 1957, Negarit Gazeta
Getting United, Bold, Loud and Active Key to Uncover the Suffering of Minority Women and Misuse of EU Funds in Ethiopia
On 4 February 2015, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) in cooperation with the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), hosted by Ana Gomes MEP (S&D) and Julie Ward MEP (S&D) at the European Parliament in Brussels, welcomed a number of international guests to speak about the serious issues facing minority groups in Ethiopia, particularly ethnic minority women. At the event titled ‘Minority Women’s Rights: An Ethiopian Inferno?’, participants spoke about the systematic persecution of Ogaden and Oromo ethnic groups in Ethiopia by the ruling regime; combining expert analysis and personal accounts to not only share views, but also help plot a course of action.
In his introduction UNPO Secretary General, Marino Busdachin, raised the hypocritical stance of the western world towards Ethiopian governance and the Ethiopian people – a theme that would run through the course of the discussions that followed. By outlining the huge amount of aid that Ethiopia receives – over $3 billion per year on average – Mr Busdachin questioned the motives of the European Union (EU). Aid constitutes over half of the total budget of the Ethiopian government (with the EU being the second largest single contributor), yet there is no transparency in the use of this aid and no safeguards or effective conditions attached to money in order to ensure its proper usage. To this end Mr Busdachin concluded by saying that the 15 May upcoming elections in Ethiopia are an opportunity for the EU to change its relationship with Ethiopia, encourage democratic opposition to the regime and wake up to its responsibilities outside of Europe.
Mr Busdachin then passed the floor to Julie Ward MEP who spoke of her political concerns surrounding the use of aid funds in the Ethiopian regime’s policy of systematic violence used against Ethiopian minorities, particularly women. Ms Ward said that the violence in Ethiopia is “causing a fractured society” and causing sections of this society to crumble like a house of cards. She said that the use of violence in any country makes minority women particularly vulnerable as the combination of deeply rooted discrimination and use of physical force in a socio-political mean that minority women lose their power to influence and improve society. Like Mr Busdachin before her, she attacked the EU’s role in providing funds to Ethiopia while turning a blind eye to how these funds are being used on the ground. Ms Ward concluded powerfully by admitting that “silence is complicity; silence is guilt”, if the EU does not speak out then it is complicit too.
Ana Gomes MEP then extrapolated on the points made by Ms Ward by talking about the inherent lack of transparency in the Ethiopian governance structure. Drawing on her personal experiences of visiting Addis Ababa, Ms Gomes talked about the Ethiopian regime’s ability to use politically correct language and let the international community hear what they want to hear. The EU in turn has used Ethiopia as an exemplary case study of what aid promotion can achieve. This reciprocal denial between the regime and the EU means that it has become very hard to actually discover the true situation in the country. Restriction on freedom of expression and the freedom of the media particularly distressed Ms Gomes, who underlined that the EU needs to support brave journalists and activists on the ground, who in turn can reveal much of the truth that is hidden by organisations, media outlets and political parties supportive of the Ethiopian government. She finished by stating that the Ethiopian diaspora also has a responsibility; they are in a position to know part of the true situation in Ethiopia but not be constrained by restrictions on their freedom of expression. Ms Gomes called on all Ethiopian ethnic minority diaspora to unite, forgoing any current disagreements and finding the right platform from where to voice their concerns and ideas.
The first panel Divide and Conquer – State Sanctioned Repression in Ethiopia was opened by Mr Abdullahi Mohamed of the African Rights Monitor, who gave an account of Ethiopia’s non-compliance with several international human rights conventions. Mr Mohamed described how the Ethiopian regime has signed many international human rights conventions but continuously fails to follow through with any of the recommendations made by international actors regulating convention implementation. Among these are examples of Ethiopian unwillingness to submit mandatory reports – the 2011 Ethiopian state review requested by the Committee on Civil and Political Rights was 17 years late – and the regular denial of access to minority regions to UN monitoring groups and special rapporteurs. Mr Mohamed also highlighted the pressing need for Ethiopia to allow access to minority regions such as Ogaden for international humanitarian organisations whose continued absence from the area is causing serious humanitarian crises.
The next speaker was Mr Abdullahi Hussein, former head of the Ethiopian state media, who had managed to smuggle over 100 hours of footage to Sweden when he fled his home country, appalled by the brutal crimes committed by the regime he had worked for. He presented his findings from the footage and personal accounts of what he experienced. His moving story recounted how he progressed in the governance structure of Ethiopia and became increasingly exposed to military fear tactics and persecution in minority areas such as the Ogaden region. He spoke of media dominance by the regime and the smokescreen that is created to prevent the outside world learning of serious persecutions that take place, especially with regard to sexual violence used against women in the infamous Prison Ogaden.
The floor was then given to Mr Ato Abebe Bogale, Vice-Chairman of the Ethiopian political opposition movement Ginbot 7, who expressed his exasperation that despite the myriad human rights reports and empty words of foreign powers, no concrete action is being taken. He stressed the extent to which systematic persecution of political opposition, minority groups and women has permeated throughout all levels of governance in Ethiopia and is a pandemic that needs to be stopped. He called on the EU to stop focusing on the apparent economic improvements that are being made in the country and to consider the human cost of achieving positive growth figures saying, “for the sake of humanity and for the betterment of Ethiopia and Africa, please stop helping the dictatorship within the country”. Mr Bogale’s speech was followed by Ms Dorothée Cambou, PhD candidate at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) specialising in the rights of indigenous groups. Ms Cambou contextualised the actions of the Ethiopian government within its national, regional and international legal obligations, and emphasised the land rights of indigenous peoples in relation to development projects.
The first speaker on the second panel Victims of Politics – Women in Ogaden and Oromia was Ms Juweria Bixi Ali who, on behalf of young Ogaden women in Ethiopia, spoke of the vulnerability that minority women in Ethiopia experience being the targets of the dictatorship’s attempts to break the will of ethnic minorities in the country. She spoke passionately about the horrors that minority women experience at the hands of military personnel who are specifically trained how to rape and abuse women in order to “shame the men and disgrace the women”. Ms Ali described how the military use tactics of sexual violence and orchestrated starvation against women in particular in order to instil the maximum amount of fear in a people.
Following Ms Ali was Mr Graham Peebles, a freelance journalist who had visited the Ogaden and surrounding regions on a number of occasions. He spoke of many of the interviews that he had conducted with both the victims and confessed perpetrators of these crimes. He spoke of how orchestrated rape and fear tactics have become a norm in Ethiopia, and the horrors that he spoke of are by no means isolated cases. He described that no woman, particularly those of targeted ethnic groups, is safe from the state sponsored persecution. He concluded with yet another plea to the EU to eliminate their hypocritical practices of providing financial support to this regime and questioned how donor countries around the world could have a clear conscience when supporting such blatant criminality.
The floor was then passed to Dr Baro Keno Deressa who gave a chilling account of the medical issues that occur from regular use of rape against women. He described how rape that is used for extracting information, political terror and as a reward for soldiers does not only undermine the social standing of women but can cause terrible, untreatable medical conditions that victims have to live with for the rest of their lives, including HIV transmission and genital deformation. He also outlined that the rape tactics used by the Ethiopian government against Oromo women are destroying the traditional social fabric of the Oromo people, creating a large gap in gender equality in a people that are traditionally egalitarian and have a long and proud history of democratic values.
The final speaker of the panel was Dr Badal Hassan, representative of the ONLF, who called on the Ethiopian regime to remove all suffering and oppression that his people face and allow them to pursue their right to self-determination. He summarised the main facts surrounding the persecution of the Ogaden and Oromo peoples: tens of thousands of civilian executions, tortures, rapes and forced migration. He also spoke of the persecutions that Ethiopia conducts against Ogaden and Oromo people who have fled to neighbouring countries making this an international issue rather than a domestic problem. He concluded by calling on all Ethiopians, regardless of ethnicity or religion, to unite and raise their collective voices against oppression.
Ms Ana Gomes MEP closed the panel discussion by reaffirming her commitment to take the issues that had been raised to the relevant parliamentary committees and push for promises to be made and firm action to be taken. Although she said it may be a slow process, she urged everyone present, especially the Ethiopian diaspora to “get united, bold, loud and active”, assuring that there are politicians like herself and Ms Julie Ward who will listen, and in time, will make others listen too.
UNPO is fully committed to work towards raising the issues of human rights and democracy in Ethiopia with all relevant international stakeholders and demand concrete action to address the persecution of innocent civilians; be they Ogadeni, Oromo, or from any other ethnic group. The 4 February conference at the European Parliament was an important first step in the right direction, but much more remains to be done to overcome the silent complicity of Western donors in relation to the Ethiopian inferno.
ETHIOPIA: Flagrant Human Rights Abuse against Oromo Nationals Continues
HRLHA Urgent Action
Feb 01, 2015
For immediate Release
It is cruel, brutal and inhumane to hang any person for any wrongdoing particularly in Ethiopia, a country that claims democracy is its core principle of governance. The execution of Ketama Wubetu and his friend by Ethiopian solders- by hanging on a fence- on December 09, 2014 in Salale zone of Dera District in the regional State of Oromia was barbaric. If the hanged men were members of an opposition group fighting against the government, once they were captured they should have been brought to justice.
Sadly enough, the government soldiers shamelessly displayed the bodies of these two Oromo nationals to the public- including children. This kind of inhuman and fascistic action will not solve the political crisis in the country. Rather, it will complicate and escalate it to another level. The fascistic action committed against the two Oromo nationals by the government army clearly shows that justice in the country is dysfunctional and symbolic.
By doing this the Ethiopian Government has blatantly violated international humanitarian law and international human rights law principles including international human rights standards.
The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa highly condemns the federal armed force, as well the Oromia regional state militia, for their fascistic acts against these two individuals and calls upon the Ethiopian government to bring the killers to justice. The Government of Ethiopia should also explain the situation to the world community particularly to the UN Human Rights Council that it is a member of.
The HRLHA calls upon regional and international donors, UN member states and Organizations to take measurable steps against the Ethiopian TPLF/EPRDF government for its persistent brutal, dictatorial, and suppressive actions against civilians. It also urges all national, regional and international diplomats, donor countries and organizations and human rights groups to join hands in putting pressure on the Ethiopian government so that it invites immediately neutral body to investigate the human rights situation in the country.
BACKGROUNDS:
The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) has reported (May 1st and 13th, 2014, urgent actions, www.humanrightleague.org) on the heavy-handed crackdown of the Ethiopian Federal Government’s Agazi Special Squad and the resultant extra-judicial killings of 34 (thirty-four) Oromo nationals, and the arrests and detentions of hundreds of others. Amnesty International in its most recent report on Ethiopia – “Because I am Oromo – Sweeping repression in the Oromia region of Ethiopia” – has exposed how Oromo nationals have been regularly subjected to arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention without charge, enforced disappearance, repeated torture and unlawful state killings as part of the government’s incessant attempts to crush dissent.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to the Ethiopian Government and its concerned officials as swiftly as possible, in English, Amharic, or your own language expressing:
explanation for its brutal and fascistic action against citizens and invite immediately nutria body for investigation
the Ethiopian authorities to ensure that the killers are brought to justice immediately
Send Your Concerns to:
His Excellency: Mr. Haila Mariam Dessalegn – Prime Minister of Ethiopia
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Fax: + 41 22 917 9022 (particularly for urgent matters) E-mail: tb-petitions@ohchr
Human Rights Treaties Division (HRTD)
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson – 52, rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva (Switzerland)
: +41 22 917 97 06
Fax: +41 22 917 90 08
E-mail: cat@ohchr.org
Secretariat contact details
Secretariat of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson – 52, rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva (Switzerland)
Committee on Enforced Disappearance (CED)
Human Rights Treaties Division (HRTD)
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson – 52, rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva (Switzerland)
African Commission on Human and Peoples‘ Rights (ACHPR)
48 Kairaba Avenue, P.O.Box 673, Banjul, The Gambia.
Tel: (220) 4392 962 , 4372070, 4377721 – 23 Fax: (220) 4390 764
E-mail: achpr@achpr.org
Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights
‘Many governments have responded to the turmoil by downplaying or abandoning human rights. Governments directly affected by the ferment are often eager for an excuse to suppress popular pressure for democratic change. Other influential governments are frequently more comfortable falling back on familiar relationships with autocrats than contending with the uncertainty of popular rule. Some of these governments continue to raise human rights concerns, but many appear to have concluded that today’s serious security threats must take precedence over human rights. In this difficult moment, they seem to argue, human rights must be put on the back burner, a luxury for less trying times. That subordination of human rights is not only wrong, but also shortsighted and counterproductive. Human rights violations played a major role in spawning or aggravating most of today’s crises. Protecting human rights and enabling people to have a say in how their governments address the crises will be key to their resolution. Particularly in periods of challenges and difficult choices, human rights are an essential compass for political action. ‘ in Tyranny’s False Comfort, http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/essays/tyranny-false-comfort?page=1
‘Ethiopia Hopes that Ethiopia’s government would ease its crackdown on dissent ahead of the May 2015 elections were dashed in 2014.’
‘In April and May, protests erupted in towns throughout the region of Oromia against the planned expansion of Addis Ababa’s municipal boundary into Oromia. Security personnel used excessive force, including live ammunition, against protesters in several cities. At least several dozen people were confirmed dead and hundreds were arrested. Many of them remain in custody without charge. Restrictions on human rights monitoring and on independent media make it difficult to ascertain the precise extent of casualties and arrests. Foreign journalists who attempted to reach the demonstrations were turned away or detained by security personnel. Ethnic Oromos make up approximately 45 percent of Ethiopia’s population and are often arbitrarily arrested and accused of belonging to the banned Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).’
Ethiopia Hopes that Ethiopia’s government would ease its crackdown on dissent ahead of the May 2015 elections were dashed in 2014. Instead the government continued to use arbitrary arrests and prosecutions to silence journalists, bloggers, protesters, and supporters of opposition political parties; police responded to peaceful protests with excessive force; and there was no indication of any government willingness to amend repressive legislation that was increasingly condemned for violating international standards, including at Ethiopia’s Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Security forces have harassed and detained leaders and supporters of Ethiopian opposition parties. In July, leaders of the Semawayi (“Blue”) Party, the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), and the Arena Tigray Party were arrested. At time of writing, they had not been charged but remained in detention. The Semawayi Party’s attempts to hold protests were regularly blocked in 2014. Its applications to hold demonstrations were denied at least three times and organizers were arrested. Over the course of the year, authorities repeatedly harassed, threatened, and detained party leaders. In June, Andargachew Tsige, a British citizen and secretary general of the Ginbot 7 organization, a group banned for advocating armed overthrow of the government, was deported to Ethiopia from Yemen while in transit. The transfer violated international law prohibitions against sending someone to a country where they are likely to face torture or other mistreatment. Tsige had twice been sentenced to death in absentia for his involvement with Ginbot 7. He was detained incommunicado in Ethiopia without access to family members, legal counsel, or United Kingdom consular officials for more than six weeks. He remains in detention in an unknown location. Protests by members of some Muslim communities against perceived government interference in their religious affairs continued in 2014, albeit with less frequency. As in 2013, these protests were met by excessive force and arbitrary arrests from security forces. The trials continue of the 29 protest leaders who were arrested and charged under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation in July 2012.
In April and May, protests erupted in towns throughout the region of Oromia against the planned expansion of Addis Ababa’s municipal boundary into Oromia. Security personnel used excessive force, including live ammunition, against protesters in several cities. At least several dozen people were confirmed dead and hundreds were arrested. Many of them remain in custody without charge. Restrictions on human rights monitoring and on independent media make it difficult to ascertain the precise extent of casualties and arrests. Foreign journalists who attempted to reach the demonstrations were turned away or detained by security personnel. Ethnic Oromos make up approximately 45 percent of Ethiopia’s population and are often arbitrarily arrested and accused of belonging to the banned Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Freedom of Association The Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO law), enacted in 2009, has severely curtailed the ability of independent nongovernmental organizations to work on human rights. The law bars work on human rights, good governance, conflict resolution, and advocacy on the rights of women, children and people with disabilities if organizations receive more than 10 percent of their funds from foreign sources. The law was more rigorously enforced in 2014. In March, Ethiopia was approved for membership in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which promotes transparency on oil, gas, and mining revenues, despite the requirement for candidate countries to make a commitment to meaningful participation of independent groups in public debate on natural resource management. Ethiopia’s previous application was denied in 2010 based on concerns over the CSO law. Freedom of Expression Media remain under a government stranglehold, with many journalists having to choose between self-censorship, harassment and arrest, or exile. In 2014, dozens of journalists and bloggers fled the country following threats. In August 2014, the owners of six private newspapers were charged following a lengthy campaign of threats and harassment against their publications. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Ethiopia is one of three countries in the world with the highest number of journalists in exile. Since 2009, the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation has been used to target political opponents, stifle dissent, and silence journalists. In July, Ethiopia charged 10 bloggers and journalists known as the Zone 9 Collective under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation after they spent over 80 days in pre-charge detention. The charges included having links to banned opposition groups and trying to violently overthrow the government. The bloggers regularly wrote about current events in Ethiopia. Among the evidence cited was attending a digital security training course in Kenya and the use of “security in-a-box”-a publicly available training tool used by advocates and human rights defenders. Due process concerns have marred the court proceedings. Other journalists convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation-including Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu, and Woubshet Taye-remain in prison. The government continues to block even mildly critical web pages and blogs. The majority of opposition media websites are blocked and media outlets regularly limit their criticism of government in order to be able to work in the country. The government regularly monitors and records telephone calls, particularly international calls, among family members and friends. Such recordings are often played during interrogations in which detainees are accused of belonging to banned organizations. Mobile networks have been shut down during peaceful protests and protesters’ locations identified using information from their mobile phones. The government has monitored digital communications using highly intrusive spyware that monitors all activity on an individual’s computer, including logging of keystrokes and recording of skype calls. The government’s monopoly over all mobile and Internet services through its sole, state-owned telecom operator, Ethio Telecom, facilitates abuse of surveillance powers. Abuses of Migrant Workers Hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians continue to pursue economic opportunities in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain, and other Gulf countries, risking mistreatment from human traffickers along the migration routes. In Yemen, migrants have been taken captive by traffickers in order to extort large sums of money from their family members. In late 2013 and early 2014, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, mainly Ethiopians, were detained and deported from Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia. Saudi security forces and civilians attacked Ethiopians, prompting restrictions on migration to certain countries.
Forced Displacement
Both the government of Ethiopia and the donor community failed to adequately investigate allegations of abuses associated with Ethiopia’s “villagization program.” Under this program, 1.5 million rural people were planned to be relocated, ostensibly to improve their access to basic services. Some relocations during the program’s first year in Gambella region were accompanied by violence, including beatings, arbitrary arrests, and insufficient consultation and compensation. A 2013 complaint to the World Bank’s Inspection Panel from Ethiopian refugees, the institution’s independent accountability mechanism, continues to be investigated. Ethiopian refugees alleged that the bank violated its own policies on indigenous people and involuntary resettlement in the manner a national program was implemented in Gambella. In July, a UK court ruled that allegations that the UK Department for International Development (DFID) did not adequately assess evidence of human rights violations in the villagization program deserved a full judicial review. The judicial review had yet to be heard at time of writing. Ethiopia is continuing to develop sugar plantations in the Lower Omo Valley, clearing 245,000 hectares of land that is home to 200,000 indigenous people. Indigenous people continue to be displaced without appropriate consultation or compensation. Households have found their grazing land cleared to make way for state-run sugar plantations, and access to the Omo River, used for growing food, restricted. Individuals who have questioned the development plans face arrest and harassment. Local and foreign journalists have been restricted from accessing the Omo Valley to cover these issues.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHLGBT Rights
Ethiopia’s criminal code punishes consensual adult same-sex relations with up to 15 years in prison. In March, Ethiopia’s lawmakers proposed legislation that would make same-sex conduct a non-pardonable offense, thereby ensuring that LGBT people convicted under the law could not be granted early leave from prison. However, in April the government dropped the proposed legislation.
Ethiopia came for Universal Periodic Review in May 2014, and they rejected all recommendations to decriminalize same-sex conduct and to take measures to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Key International Actors
Ethiopia continues to enjoy unquestioned support from foreign donors and most of its regional neighbors, based on its role as host of the African Union (AU); its contribution to UN peacekeeping, security and aid partnerships with Western countries; and its stated progress on development indicators. Its relations with Egypt are strained due to Ethiopia’s construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam, which will divert water from the Nile and is due to be completed in 2018. In 2014, Ethiopia negotiated between warring parties in South Sudan, and its troops maintained calm in the disputed Abyei Region. Ethiopia continues to deploy its troops inside Somalia; they were included in the AU mission as of January. Ethiopia is one of the largest recipients of donor aid in Africa, receiving almost US$4 billion in 2014, which amounted to approximately 45 percent of its budget. Donors remain muted in their criticism of Ethiopia’s human rights record and took little meaningful action to investigate allegations of abuses. Donors, including the World Bank, have yet to take the necessary measures to ensure that their development aid does not contribute to or exacerbate human rights problems in Ethiopia. Ethiopia rejected recommendations to amend the CSO law and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation that several countries made during the examination of its rights record under the Universal Periodic Review in May.
HRLHA Urgent Action
(Image: 
Oromo Refugee community welfare Association
Addee Asli Oromo: The first woman in the history of Ethiopian Empire that sentenced to death because of her political vision about Oromo people but released after 18 years in prison as a result of international communities campaign.
Addee Urjii Dhaabaa: Is one out of many Oromo Women that survived sexual aggression of Ethiopian government military force, police and security agents.
Ethiopia is the tenth largest country in Africa and it is the second most populated country in Africa with projected population of 100 million by 2020. It has a number of nations/ nationalities with distinct culture. Ethiopia consists of peoples speaking more than 80 different languages (CSA, 2006)
Oromo people are egalitarian society. Historically their democratic system of government known as “Gadaa” governed the social, economic political affairs of the Oromo people. Under Gadaa, Oromo women developed their own unique institution known as “Siiqee”. Oromo women used Siiqee institution to defend their rights, promote their interests and challenge male domination. After the Oromo people are colonized in 1880s all Oromo institutions are either totally banned or incapacitated. Since then the Oromo people are denied the right to determine on their social, economic, political and cultural affairs. For example, banning or incapacitating Siiqee hindered the Oromo women defending their rights. The colonial power not only banned and incapacitated Oromo institutions but also introduced and/or widened gender hierarchy and discriminatory social practices. This conditioned Oromo women to bear double burdens (i.e. colonial and male domination) and exposed them to sexual violence.
The definition and the scope of sexual violence is a major problem in communications as it can be defined either narrowly or broadly. Here are four selected exemplary definitions of the term for the purpose of this presentation. The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (UN, DEVAW, 1993)
The third one is expertise definition of DeGue and DiLillo (2005)
Despite a wide spectrum of sexual violence, there is strong limitation to get enough information in Oromia, Ethiopia. This because of the fear of social exclusion or fear of being marginalized by society, which will bring serious consequences. Occasionally survivors are silent because they felt they would never achieve any redress. Indeed, no individual perpetrators such as soldier or security officer appears to have been, or is ever likely to be, held to account. In World Health Organizations (WHO) multi-country study on domestic violence and women’s health conducted in ten countries including Ethiopia
By doing this the Ethiopian Government has blatantly violated international humanitarian law and international human rights law principles including international human rights standards.
Oromian Economist 
Freedom House: U.S. Wrong to Endorse Ethiopia’s Elections. #Africa #Oromia April 23, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in Africa, Ethiopia's Colonizing Structure and the Development Problems of People of Oromia, Ethnic Cleansing, Free development vs authoritarian model, Groups at risk of arbitrary arrest in Oromia: Amnesty International Report, Sham elections, The Tyranny of TPLF Ethiopia.Tags: Africa, African Studies, Ethiopia's sham elections, Freedom House in response to comments by Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Genocide against the Oromo, The Tyranny of Ethiopia, Under Secretary Sherman’s comments, Wendy Sherman
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https://freedomhouse.org/article/us-wrong-endorse-ethiopias-elections#
U.S. Wrong to Endorse Ethiopia’s Elections
(Frredom House, Washington, April 16, 2015)
In response to today’s comments by Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Wendy Sherman, in which she referred to Ethiopia as a democracy and the country’s upcoming elections free, fair, and credible, Freedom House issued the following statement:
“Under Secretary Sherman’s comments today were woefully ignorant and counter-productive,” said Daniel Calingaert, executive vice president of Freedom House. “Ethiopia remains one of the most undemocratic countries in Africa. By calling these elections credible, Sherman has tacitly endorsed the Ethiopian government’s complete disregard for the democratic rights of its citizens. This will only bolster the government’s confidence to continue its crackdown on dissenting voices.”
Background:
Since coming into power in the early 1990s, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has dominated politics through a combination of political cooptation and harassment. The country experienced a degree of democratization through the early 2000’s, culminating in the most competitive elections in the county’s history in 2005. Since these elections, the EPRDF has restricted political pluralism and used draconian legislation to crack down on the political opposition, civil society organizations, and independent media. In the 2010, EPRDF and its allies won 546 out of 547 parliamentary seats.
Ethiopia is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2015, Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2014, and Not Free in Freedom on the Net 2014.
Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.
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https://freedomhouse.org/article/us-wrong-endorse-ethiopias-elections#
Ethiopians dispute US official’s assessment of their ‘democracy’
U.S Department of State Endorsing of Upcoming Elections: Denial and Disrespect
The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA)
The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) strongly opposes to the position that the U.S State Department has taken in regards to the upcoming Ethiopian election and the overall democratization process in the country in the past twenty-four years; and describes the comments by the Under Secretary of State as a sign of disrespect for ordinary citizens of Ethiopia and disregard for the human miseries that hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian have gone through under the EPRDF/TPLF-led government.
The HRLHA has no doubt at all that the U.S Government in general and U.S Department of State in particular, with the biggest and highly staffed of all Western embassies in Ethiopia, are very well aware of the political realities that have been prevailing in the country over the past two decades. An excellent proof is the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices that is issued annually by the US Department of State itself. Suppressions and denials of fundamental human rights in Ethiopia under the EPRDF/TPLF Government were being reported on by various human rights and humanitarian as well as government and diplomatic agencies; and, based on the facts revealed in such reports, the Ethiopian Government has repeatedly been ranked as the worst both at the regional and global levels.
In a country that has witnessed the highest number of political incarceration in its history, where unarmed students and other civilians were gunned down in hundreds simply because they attempted to exercise some of their fundamental rights, in “one of the ten most censored countries” where the existence of independent media has become impossible and, as a result, press freedom has been curtailed completely, where all sorts of socio-economic rights have been tied to political sympathy and supports, it would be an insult and disrespect to its ordinary citizens, and a disregard for the precious lives of innocent people that have been taken away by brutal hands to say that such a country is a democracy, and that the upcoming elections would be free and fair while intimidations and harassments of opposition candidates, as well as potential voters, were taking place out in the field even while the Under Secretary of State was making the comments. While encouraging the most repressive government and governing party towards becoming more dictatorial, the Under-Secretary of State’s comments discourage and undermine the sacrifices that the Ethiopian peoples have paid and are still paying to realize their century-old dream of building free and democratic country.
The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) requests that the Under Secretary of State retract the wrong comments and apologize to the Ethiopian peoples. It also urges the U.S State Department to recognize and acknowledge the realities in Ethiopia and use the close ties that exists between the two governments to put pressure on the ruling EPRDF/TPLF party so that it allows the implementation of a genuine democracy.
http://www.ayyaantuu.net/u-s-department-of-state-endorsing-of-upcoming-elections-denial-and-disrespect/