WP: A year after Obama’s visit, Ethiopia is in turmoil. #OromoProtests August 10, 2016
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: #OromoProtests, A year after Obama’s visit, Africa, Ethiopia, Ethiopia is in turmoil, Obama, Oromia, Tyrannic Ethiopia, Washington Post
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A year after Obama’s visit, Ethiopia is in turmoil
Protesters’ shoes lie scattered on a sidewalk in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Aug. 6 after demonstrators were arrested and taken away by police. (Paul Schemm/The Washington Post)
By Paul Schemm August 9, 2016
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — The shoes lay scattered on the sidewalk as the detained protesters walked barefoot through the rain, escorted by grim-faced police officers who casually beat them with batons to keep them moving.
In nearby Meskel Square here in the heart of the Ethiopian capital, police kicked around the remnants of protest signs. Just 10 minutes earlier, 500 people had gathered at the site, shouting slogans against the government — before being beaten, rounded up and carted off by police.
In Ethiopia’s countryside, however, it was a bloodier story. Rights groups and opposition figures estimate that dozens were killed in a weekend of protests that shook this key U.S. ally in the Horn of Africa.
The government had switched off the Internet over the weekend, apparently to prevent demonstrators from organizing, so it was only by Monday that word spread of the extent of the violence across the Oromia and Amhara regions.
[Ethiopia confronts its worst violence in years]
Police break up anti-government protest in Ethiopian capital Play Video0:57
Hundreds of protesters on Saturday clashed with police in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa after campaigners called for nationwide protests due to what they say is an unfair distribution of wealth in the country. (Reuters)
Just a year ago, Ethiopia was basking in the world’s spotlight after a visit from President Obama and global accolades for its decade of double-digit growth and enviable stability in a dangerous region.
Since then, however, this country of nearly 100 million has been hit by a widespread drought that has halved growth, and anti-government protests have spread across two of its most populous regions.
The local weekly Addis Standard estimated that at least 50 people were killed over the weekend — based on phone calls to protest hot spots. Amnesty International put the toll at about 100, citing sources across the country.
On Monday, the government announced that the situation was under control and that “the attempted demonstrations were orchestrated by foreign enemies from near and far in partnership with local forces.”
Merera Gudina, chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, told The Washington Post that an estimated 50 people died in the Oromia region Saturday and 27 were killed Sunday in Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara region and a major tourist destination.
“The government is responding in the same way it has responded to such incidents for the last quarter of the century,” he said by phone from Washington during a visit with the Ethiopian community there. “They want to rule in the old way, and people are refusing to be ruled in the old way.”
[History repeats itself in Ethiopia]
Protests began in November in the Oromia region, a sprawling state the size of Nevada that is home to the Oromos, the largest ethnic group in the country. It is also home to the capital.
As a booming Addis Ababa expanded and Ethiopia brought in foreign investors, more and more land from the surrounding Oromia region was confiscated. People also complained of corrupt administrators and, with little recourse to justice, began to stage demonstrations.
The government response was harsh. Human Rights Watch estimated that at least 400 people were killed in protests over the next several months. The official Ethiopian human rights council put the figure at 173.
In the face of the repression, the protests slowly quieted in Oromia, only to erupt last month in the neighboring region of Amhara, the historical ethnic center of the Ethiopian state and home to spectacular rock-cut churches and medieval castles that attract tourists.
A botched government attempt to arrest activists in the northern city of Gondar in mid-July led to two days of rioting that left 11 members of the security forces and five civilians dead. Two weeks later, tens of thousands held a peaceful demonstration over land issues and government repression.
Protesters in Amhara declared solidarity with the Oromo people and their opposition to the government, which many say is dominated by the minority Tigrayan ethnic group.
Activists abroad then called for demonstrations across the two regions this past weekend — a call to which thousands responded despite the Internet shutdown.
“It is clear Ethiopia has a potentially serious and destabilizing unrest on its hands,” said Rashid Abdi, the Horn of Africa project director at the International Crisis Group. “What started off as isolated and localized protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions has now morphed into a much broader movement covering a large swath of the country.”
He said the government has to move swiftly to defuse the crisis by engaging in talks with the communities and addressing the root causes of the dissatisfaction. Despite Ethiopia’s impressive economic gains, the growth has not been enough to “keep pace with rising social inequality” and unemployment, he said.
Opening these lines of communication, however, may be difficult because of a lack of leadership. Opposition parties have been repressed — the ruling coalition won 100 percent of the parliamentary seats in elections last year — and local officials are often mistrusted or viewed as corrupt.
Seyoum Teshome, a university lecturer in Woliso, a town in Oromia where protests also occurred, said people have taken to the streets because they do not feel they have any other choice.
“They have no other option other than protests to explain their grievances,” he said. “They have nothing.”
Gudina, the opposition leader, said his party has been so curtailed by authorities that it has little control over what has been happening in Oromia. Most of the party’s leadership was imprisoned when the protests began last year.
He said that unless the government eased its repression, the violence would worsen.
“These protests are at the level of an intifada — people in their own ways are resisting the government pressure and demanding their rights,” he said, using an Arabic term that means uprising. “I don’t think it’s going to die down.”
Forbes: Obama’s True Legacy: Propping Up Dictators. #Africa August 6, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in US-Africa Summit.Tags: Africa, Appeal Letter to President Obama from OCA-NA, but Obama has been told only rosy stories and shown rosy pictures., Obama, The Tyranny of Ethiopia
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By praising Ethiopia’s repressive regime for being “democratically elected” last week, President Obama was driving home once again something that should be abundantly clear by now: His administration marks a radical departure from previous ones when it comes to democracy promotion.
On the contrary, the Obama legacy will be one of propping up dictatorial regimes around the world. His praise for the government of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn merely took to Africa what Obama and his foreign policy team have already done on a grander scale in Iran, Cuba and Burma.
To be sure, President Obama was standing next to Desalegn at a joint press conference in Addis Ababa when he spoke. Maybe he didn’t want to be a bad guest. And the President did add that the Ethipiopian government has “more work to do.” After a slew of criticism at home, he later also questioned why African leaders clung on to office rather than leave after their terms were completed.
But Mr. Obama didn’t have to go out of his way to call Desalegn “democratically elected,” let alone do it twice. Nor did he have to make excuses for his government’s horrendous human rights record by recalling the country’s past hardship and the relative infancy of its constitution.
Before leaving for Africa, human rights activists and think tanks had called on Mr. Obama to use his trip to promote economic and political freedom—something the president did only in the mildest of ways.
The Ethiopian government, for the record, has been roundly criticized by all major human rights organizations for holding sham elections in May in which Desalegn’s Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) claimed to have won 100 percent of the vote. Immediately upon Mr. Obama’s comments, the President of Freedom House Mark P. Lagon released this reaction:
President Obama unfortunately was fundamentally wrong in his comments about the parliamentary elections Ethiopia held in May, in which the ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) won every seat. Calling Ethiopia’s government democratically elected lowers the standards for democracy and undermines the courageous work of so many Ethiopians who fight to realize a just and democratic society.
And that’s just it. President Obama seems to have very little time for dissidents who fight brutal regimes in troubled lands. The reasons for that are many. My Heritage Foundation colleague Joshua Meservey, an Africa expert, brings up two when he tells me:
President Obama seems uncomfortable with democracy promotion for two reasons. First, he wants to distance himself from President George W. Bush’s agenda, a significant plank of which was democracy promotion. Second, I think he is a product of a certain liberal worldview that believes the U.S.’s and West’s past sins, such as slavery and the Crusades, disqualify them from pushing their values abroad, as doing so implies that the U.S.-led West’s model is superior.
Meservey is right, except what liberals don’t seem to get is that they are turning on its head one of the huge achievements of classical liberalism: the Enlightenment promotion of the idea that some rights are natural, and thus universal.
The 18th century Enlightenment was all about the universal applicability of such natural rights as life, liberty and the pursuit of property. Except that to modern liberals, the Enlightenment was all about dead white men, so promoting their ideas is culturally insensitive. Ironically, they resemble in this sense the conservatives of the 18th century, who shared Edmund Burke’s belief in each nation’s particularism.
Only up to a point, of course. Liberals still want to push their pet causes on others. Unfortunately these don’t include democracy or traditional human rights.
David Kramer, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy and Human Rights under President Bush, sees the hand of National Security Adviser Susan Rice in the Ethiopia faux pas, saying Rice has “had a long-standing interest in Ethiopia and… was a huge fan of the late President Meles Zenawi, who was no democrat, to say the least.” Ms. Rice’s sympathy for African despots is well known.
For the most part, though, Kramer’s analysis is the same as Meservey’s: Obama’s problems with democracy are larger.
“For the first year I put it down to ABB, Anything But Bush—Bush did it, so it was bad,” Kramer told me. “But seven years on that doesn’t explain it anymore. He’s the president who’s shown the least interest in democracy and human rights since Richard Nixon. It’s sad. For someone who constantly extols his past as a community organizer, this is pretty unexplainable.”
Read at:-
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikegonzalez3/2015/08/05/obamas-true-legacy-propping-up-dictators/
The tale of two countries (Obama’s/TPLF’s Ethiopia and Real Ethiopia): The Oromo (Children, Women and elders) are dying of genocidal mass killings and politically caused famine, but Obama has been told only rosy stories and shown rosy pictures. #Africa #Oromia August 2, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in Ethiopia's Colonizing Structure and the Development Problems of People of Oromia, Genocidal Master plan of Ethiopia, Genocide.Tags: 'BECAUSE I AM OROMO’: SWEEPING REPRESSION IN THE OROMIA, Africa, but Obama has been told only rosy stories and shown rosy pictures., Ethiopia and poverty, Obama, Women and elders) are dying of genocidal mass killings and politically caused famine
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In Tyrannic fascist TPLF Ethiopia war, poverty and famine were not only in the past but also very true in this very moment, right now. It has spatial variations as rulers and time changes. In 1960’s and 1970’s (Hailse Sellasie Regime) Wollo and Afar regions were the mainly affected. As documented in Wikpedia:-
In 1973, a famine in Wollo killed an estimated 40,000 to 80,000, mostly of the marginalized Afar herders and Oromo tenant farmers, who suffered from the widespread confiscation of land by the wealthy classes and government of Emperor Haile Selassie. Despite attempts to suppress news of this famine, leaked reports contributed to the undermining of the government’s legitimacy and served as a rallying point for dissidents, who complained that the wealthy classes and the Ethiopian government had ignored both the famine and the people who had died.[12 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983%E2%80%9385_famine_in_Ethiopia
In 1980’s Tigray was severely affected but not the only.
Five Ethiopian provinces—Gojjam, Eritrea, Hararghe, Tigray, and Wollo—all received record low rainfalls in the mid-1980s.[17] In the south, a separate and simultaneous cause was the government’s response to Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) insurgency. In 1984, President Mengistu Haile Mariam announced that 46% of the Ethiopian Gross National Product would be allocated to military spending, creating the largest standing army in sub-Saharan Africa; the allocation for health in the government budget fell from 6% in 1973–4 to 3% by 1990–1.[18]
Although a UN estimate of one million deaths is often quoted for the 1983–5 famine, this figure has been challenged by famine scholar Alex de Waal. In a major study, de Waal criticized the United Nations for being “remarkably cavalier” about the numbers of people who died, with the UN’s one-million figure having “absolutely no scientific basis whatsoever,” a fact which represents “a trivialization and dehumanization of human misery.”[19]
Nevertheless, the magnitude of the disaster has been well documented: in addition to hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions were made destitute.[20] Media activity in the West, along with the size of the crisis, led to the Do They Know It’s Christmas? charity single and the July 1985 concert Live Aid, which elevated the international profile of the famine and helped secure international aid. In the early to mid-1980s there were famines in two distinct regions of the country, resulting in several studies of one famine that try to extrapolate to the other or less cautious writers referring to a single widespread famine. The famine in the southeast of the country was brought about by the Derg’s counterinsurgency efforts against the OLF. However, most media referring to “the Ethiopian famine” of the 1980s refers to the severe famine in 1983-5 centered on Tigray and northern Wollo, which further affected Eritrea, Begemder and northern Shewa.[21] Living standards had been declining in these government-held regions since 1977, a “direct consequence” of Derg agricultural policies.[22] A further major contributing factor to the famine were the Ethiopian government’s enforced resettlement programs, utilized as part of its counter-insurgency campaign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983%E2%80%9385_famine_in_Ethiopia
Since 1991 as rocky Tigray has been prospering through political favoritism, nepoltism and resource transfer from green Oromia and the south that have been subjected to underdevelopment, exploitation, land grabbing, evictions, genocidal mass killings and famine. It is not Ethiopia that has been growing fast and rising, it is rocky Tigray at the expenses of the suffering Oromia and the south. What the TPLF propaganda machine shows to the world is rosy pictures of its business empire that serves only the Tigray, genocidal cliques and new colonizer from the region. During the Obama visit, what the president was shown were Coffee ceremony in government office, Lucy’s skeleton, Fafa factory near Finfinnee, Ethiopian Air Line’s Boeing plane, Abyssinian women and their cultural dances and the Chinese built African Union building in Finfinnee.
Realities in Ethiopia that Obama have not seen:-
Systematic genocidal killings, mass eviction going on against Oromo people in Burrayyuu (Central Oromia, near Fifinnee) and in Bishoftuu (Central Oromia). Thousands have been become homeless and destitute as their homes have been destroyed by Agazi (TPLF) fascist forces that has targeted Oromo for land grabs in its genocidal (Addis Ababa) master plan:-
http://odeeffannoo.com/garaa-jalaan-maastar-plaanii-finfinnee-hojii-irra-oolchaa-jiru-672
Maqaa Master Plaaniin Qonnaan Bultooti Oromoo Qe’ee fi Mana Isaanii Irraa Humnaan Arihamaa Jiru!
The following pictures are children, women and adults that has been exposed to famine in Eastern Oromia at the time Obama Africa/ Ethiopia visit. Thousands are exposed to famine and dying but help is reaching them. The pictures are on social media. The main stream media, TPLF and Obama are in Ethiopia’s fast growth hype, democratically elected government and war on terror. No one of them are talking war on politically caused famine.
Suuraaleen armaan gadii kun daa’imman dabalatee namoon kumaatamaan lakaawamani Godina Hargee Lixaa keessatti beelaaf saaxilaman jirachuu kan mul’isu dha. Ogeessonni fayyaa balaa beelaa hammaataa jiru kana dormannoof yoo waywaatanis haga ammaa dhageetti hin arganne. Gargaarsa tokko illee argachaa hin jiran.
Source:- Adem Abdela Adem, social media
COFFEE IS OROMO ONTOLOGY: BARACK/BARAK ‘RIVER OF BLESS-INGS’ July 31, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in Coffee (Buna).Tags: Africa, African Studies, Buna, Obama, Oromia, Oromia is the region where coffee first originated, Oromia's traditional Coffee farm
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Oromo Coffee ceremony
The original Oromo/ African name for coffee is ‘Buna’.
Akka dammaa mi’aa, akka bunaa urgaa’
(As sweet as honey, as savoury as coffee)
– Oromo saying‘Bunaa fi nagaa hin dhabiinaa’
(May you not lack coffee and peace)
– Oromo saying
COFFEE IS OROMO ONTOLOGY: BARACK/BARAK ‘RIVER OF BLESS-INGS’
By Dereje Makkoo Tadesse on social media
BARACK OBAMA is the only president-professor to ACKNOWLEDGE that COFFEE is the invention of Ethiopians. Indeed, coffee is NOT ONLY invention of the Oromo, but also that, for the OROMO, the color of REAL coffee tree-plant (blue-black) is the color of Waaqa–the BLACK-SKY SUPREME BEING!!! MOREOVER, coffee is not just beverage/drunk, but also is FOOD for the Oromo–sacred ceremonial food of Qaallu Institution and the QAAALLUU ‘First-Born Wise Father of Unction” of the Oromo nation.
MOREOVER, coffee is, for Oromo, mythological since antiquity–it is symbol of, if I may say, TRINITARIANISM/Trinity, but of NOT like the Christian seraphs or mumbo jumbos but of Two Virgin Brides + Offspring (two inner seeds plus cover/jacket of the bean/berry)! Even more mythological-cum-REAL Cultural History for Oromo, the fact that the color of the coffee berry changes SEQUENTIALLY three–from BLUE-BLACK [English ‘green’] to RED to Black. It’s Oromo ontology since Barraqa “the dawn of history”!!!
In Oromo BARACK or BARAK-aa is the “Blessing Phase” of the THREE-PHASE Coffee ceremony!! It is drank first during BARAQA ‘Time of MORNING SUNSHINE’ or American ‘Morning Rush-hour’! Or when the morning sun shines like that BEAUTIFUL Oromo queen displayed in the picture!!
Unlike the jabberwockies that some spout, the English word ‘COFFEE” is corruption of Oromo qaawwi/akawwii ‘coffee (boiled only)’, literally ‘the roasted, blackened’ from qawa/akawa ‘to roast; to get black’ (see Tutscheck’s 1844 “Oromo-German-English Dictionary”!!
Europe and Arab saw coffee for FIRST TIME during first half of 19th century–about 1830!! Falsities are recently produced casting anachronistically back to 15th century! ONLY fools believe it! They were surprised and began research on coffee by 1900!! There was Journal of Coffee Research (??) I knew and read. Both Coffee and Circumcision SURPRISED them simultaneously!! They tell you FALSITIES like Jesus Christ circumcision. Neither BIBLE nor Qura’an make a SINGLE word about coffee! NEVER!! BOTH coffee and circumcision are Oromo QAALLU-GADAA Institutions–NEVER DONE haphazardly or unintentionally or whimsically or by intuition. BUT Scientifically!!! Before Christianity and Muslims DISTORTED them!! I discussed elsewhere about Christian falsity of Trinitarianism/Trinity versus Oromo Circumcision philosophy of TRINITY!
One of the reasons that Euro-Abyssin Orthodox-Catholic (I can’t accuse the Ethiosemitic, especially Amaaraa innocently-victimized people) joint hatred of Oromo was for the Oromo drink-eat coffee!!! Like tobacco or SMOKING and Č’aatii/Jimaa or ‘khat’, both of which were sacred and ceremonial for Oromo, coffee was considered PAGANISM for they never knew it. Arabs or Islam was also ‘cheated’ originally. They learned their lessons for it was TOO SWEET, gastro-economically!!!
Coffee leaves, powders and young buds, was and indeed IS today, too, also MEDICINAL for the Oromo—against fatigue, asthma, constipation, diarrhea, pneumonia, snake bites, etc.—perhaps one of the earliest herbal medicine in human history. Arabs or Islam was also ‘cheated’ originally. They learned their lessons for it was TOO SWEET, gastro-economically!!!
Once, the funny Euro-Abbysin ‘scholars’–rather venomous hatred propagandists–told us a funny his-stories; (1) the Galla (their preference to ‘Oromo’) wanderers knew nothing about coffee; (2) a certain people of Island of Grox ate coffee as food–the ONLY people on the planet to eat coffee as food!!! (If there were, they must be Oromo-Afrikan slaves they exported as commodities—the MOST degenerate, despicable human-states project ever against another human being!!]. Rubbish the “Arab origin of Abyssin coffee” that they spewed out!!!! FUNNY!!!
READ the Catholic Father and great scholar Lambert Bartels, who threw away the Catholic mumbo jumbos and turned Qaallu himself!! READ another Catholic Father and GREAT scholar Martial De Salviac who did the same!!!!! I don’t wanna kill my energy and spacetime here!!!!
Our river of BARAK-AA ‘Bless-ings’ go to the great BARACK OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Buna (Coffee) is original to the Limmu in Jimma, Limmu Kossa district, a village of chorra in Western Oromia. Any other version of the story is only myth.
It was through Eastern Oromia, that the plant was popularized around the world. The plant was brought to Harar from Western Oromo area by a saint called Sheikh Shazali.
Obama’s Pilgrimage of National Interest. Godaansa Fedha Sabaawaa July 14, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in Because I am Oromo, Ibsaa Guutamaa, US-Africa Summit.Tags: 'BECAUSE I AM OROMO’: SWEEPING REPRESSION IN THE OROMIA, Amnesty International Asks Ethiopia to Investigate Suspicious Murders and Human Rights Violations, Appeal Letter to President Obama from OCA-NA, Ibsaa Guutamaa, Macha-Tulama Association Requests President Obama to Rethink Visit to Tyrannical Ethiopia, Obama, Obama's plan to visit Ethiopia criticised as 'gift' for repressive government, OLF Statement on President Obama’s Planned Visit to Ethiopia, Professor Mohammed Tahiro's letter to President Obama
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Obama is going to tie knots with TPLF-EPRDF’s Ethiopia, the poorest country on the planet – on behalf of the richest and the most powerful country of the world. That is his right. Forget the stereotypical consolation of discussing human rights and democratic governance. The main purpose is economy and security. Again forget about the highest economic growth rates fanned by financial institutions. That, there is no growth can be seen with necked eyes. Million are hungry and destitute. This trip will try to accomplish the deregulation of remaining sectors, like banking, telecoms, land, etc. As far as the peoples of the Ethiopian empire are concerned, these were already deregulated, but monopolized by TPLF business conglomerates. International corporations want their big share. – Ibsaa Gutamaa
Obama’s Pilgrimage of National Interest
By Ibsaa Guutama* | July 2015
The oppressed and abused of Africa, and their friends and sympathizers are making their voices heard high above the globe that President Obama refrain from legitimizing dictatorship and human rights abuse in Ethiopia. This is not a casual visit, but a pre-planned trip for which arrangements were made to pave the way for the diplomatic pampering of the most brutal regime in the area; a long-time Guerrilla-friendly ambassador was appointed in addition to a visit by the U.S. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs. The rulers of Ethiopia were among those that Clinton’s Democrats branded as the “new breeds of African Democrats.” Many have now fallen out of line. These ones are also starting wavering. This visit of the President may keep them in line before they jump to another bandwagon. Obviously, it is not a pilgrimage of democracy, but that of “NATIONAL INTEREST.”
Democracy is an ideal which all human beings aspire to attend. So far, we have seen attempts, not commitment, to it. It is a principle well defined by persons like Abraham Lincoln, “Government of the people for the people …” But, in most cases, it remains in principle, not in practice. Otherwise, it is assumed that democracy is the standard of political governance – which has, at least, as ingredients equality, freedom, fairly elected officers, and freedom of speech and expression. Any of this missing, there could be no democracy. As the Assistant Secretary of U.S. State Department once said, “America believes in ‘NO DEMOCRACY NO COOPERATION.’” Ethiopia lacks even the few ingredients of democracy mentioned; however, cooperation has never been lacking for the last quarter of a century. It is alright to delay one to three years, but not to abide by one’s promise for so long, for the greatest country of the world is tantalizing. If people’s sovereignty was respected, there was no need to petition a far off power for one’s internal affairs. Their problem could be solved within the region. But, that remaining a wish, expecting fairness and impartiality from those interfering is not too much. Considering their position, they have the moral responsibility to do that.
On part of the abused people, the assumption that democracies of the world will come to their rescue should have been given up long ago. But, unfortunately, protest is made through the social media, through demonstration marches, through written materials, etc. to oppose the continued cooperation. It is all in vain; world powers are blinded by national interests. Hence, the poor and oppressed peoples of Africa are left solely to themselves to fight for their rights. The real “survival of the fittest” theory is being practiced by the world against Africa. Africans have come so long on their own; they have to continue gallantly defending their land, interests and dignity – not to perish silently. Whatever they are doing, world powers are doing knowingly and convinced that they are doing the right thing. Thousands could go hungry, rot in prison, forced to flee their country, and thousands could die and disappear, they are not worth severing friendship relations with perpetrators of genocide.
Obama is going to tie knots with TPLF-EPRDF’s Ethiopia, the poorest country on the planet – on behalf of the richest and the most powerful country of the world. That is his right. Forget the stereotypical consolation of discussing human rights and democratic governance. The main purpose is economy and security. Again forget about the highest economic growth rates fanned by financial institutions. That, there is no growth can be seen with necked eyes. Million are hungry and destitute. This trip will try to accomplish the deregulation of remaining sectors, like banking, telecoms, land, etc. As far as the peoples of the Ethiopian empire are concerned, these were already deregulated, but monopolized by TPLF business conglomerates. International corporations want their big share.
As for security, the TPLF is “the key ally of the U.S.” in hunting down terrorism. Already, many Ethiopian empire’s recruits have perished unaccounted for in Somalia. TPLF is ever ready to engage whenever the U.S. pays without any limit to geography in their deployment. The visit may encourage the continuation of this relation. As for terrorism, TPLF is manufacturing them at its convenience – killing thousands, and terrorizing and imprisoning numberless. Yes, the people have risen and are rising further against the TPLF terror. It is a rise for “liberty equality, freedom and peace” – which no body claims to know its cause and effect more than America. But since terrorism is not defined, the whole population of the empire is branded as a terrorist and is subject to persecutions. It is without consideration to redefine that the package is going to be discussed to strengthen the relation. The peoples of the empire, in particular the Oromo and journalists, are going to continue being terrorized.
Let alone a big power, the tiniest being knows no limit in defending its interests. But, for human beings, there should have been moral restraints. Here, our concern is not that for now. It is a lesson from history. During the past regimes, and under the present one, whenever there is an occasion, the destitute in towns are rounded up, beaten and taken to unknown places. There, they live in crowded enclosure without enough food and water in a deplorable hygienic environment. Many perish unreported. Now that a leader of the most powerful country is coming, and since the coming is unprecedented, unprecedented measures are certainly going to be taken. What makes this time different is that thousands were recently uprooted from their homes by the land grab, and the policy to de-Oromize and expand Finfinne (Addis Ababa). The evicted are the majority of thousands of homeless in Finfinnee. A fate worse than that of the infamous Shoolaa Camp under the emperor is awaiting them. Then very few mothers, children and the elderly were saved from typhus epidemic after university students discovered them accidentally. In addition to rounding these up much more harsh measures are to be expected to impress U.S. intelligence that certainly will be there to bolster their efforts.
Many complain that the visit amounts to recognizing the atrocities committed by the notorious dictators of the Horn of Africa. Had Africa not been ruled by autocrats pretending to be elected democrats, the visit would not have happened. Only those types can serve as partners in plundering the wealth and service of the continent during this period of the New Scramble for Africa. Whether the President visits or not, his administration had already recognized legitimacy of the illegitimate. The endeavors made to “democratize, and the free and fair election” was praised by frontline cadres months ago. Was it true? What they should complain about must have been their not been ready to defend their interests as peoples. Assuming democratic values are intrinsically universal, and no double standard for it, it would have been just if the President did not make the trip his predecessors had avoided. Healthy human and political developments could have eventually served the interests he is after better and for a longer time to come. But, the world had never been just.
If the President does not come out with a conclusion that he was dealing, not with hooligans, but legitimate rulers, the agony of the peoples of the Horn is going to be double fold; for the hooligans will be more encouraged with their brutality. We wish the President a good trip to his father’s land and back to the White House. Here inHabashaa land, his Lou people are going to be considered as Americans for his participation in the American administration, as Oromo are considered likewise for Tafarii’s participation in the Ethiopian administration. This trip will give the Wayyaanee a moral boost. We will see the leaders gleaning sitting around this powerful leader of the world to get photographed for the last time. People of the empire will wake up to another miserable day worse than before.Bon Voyage, Mr. President! Viva Oromiyaa! The struggle shall continue!
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 forefathers!
* Ibsaa Guutama: Gubirmans.com
Godaansa Fedha Sabaawaa
Ibsaa Guutama irraa* | Adoolessa 2015
Ummati Afrikaa cunqurfamee fi itt roorrifame fi michuulee fi mararfatooti sagaleen saanii akka dhagahamutt baaqulaa ol kaasanii Presidant Obaamaan akka abbaa hirree fi mirga ilmoo namatt roorrisaa seerawaa gochuu irraa of qoqopbatu iyyaa jiru. Kun daawwii tasaa utuu hin tahin imaltu dursee karoorfame. Bulchoota godinaa keessaa nama nyaataakan tahee qanansiisa malbeekii kennuuf karaa haxaawuuf jechuun, daawwii Ittaantu Barreessituu Murnaasa Finnaatt dabalamee ambasadara michuu riphee lolaa bara hedduu muudamteett . Bulchooti Itophiyaa kanneen demokratoti Klinton “dhaloota demokratotaa haaraa” jedheen keessaa tokko turan. Hedduun amma karaa irraa maqaniiru. Jarri kunis daddaaqaa jiru. Daawwiin Presidant kun utuu isaan kan biraatt hin utaalin karaa irra isaan buusa taha. Godaansich godaansa demokraasii miti, kan “FEDHA SABAAWAATI.”
Demokraasiin fakmishoo ilmaan namaa hundi bira gahuuf hawwani. Hanga yoonaa abbala malee hojii irra ooluu saa hin agarree.Kun akeeka namoota akka Abraham Loncolniin dansatt “Mootummaa ummataa ummataaf …” jedhamee furameera. Garuu gara caaluu shaakala utuu hin tahin akeeka tahee hafe. Kanaaf malee akka jedhamutt demokraasiin hangammeessa bulcha malbulchaa kan qabeen saa yoo xinnaate “walqixxummaa, birmadummaa, qondaalota qajeeltoon kennatamanii fi bilisummaa haasaa fi of ifsuu” of keessaa qabu. Kanneen keessaa tokko hirdhannaan demokraasiin hin jiru. Akka bar tokko Ittaanaa Barreessaan Finnaa jedhett Amerikaan “DEMOKRAASIIN HIN JIRU, GAMTAAN HIN JIRU” kan jedhutt amana. Itophiyaatt qabee yartuu dhahaman keessaa hundatu hanqata. Garuu gamtaan arfacha jaarraaf hanqatee hin beeku. Waggoota tokko fi sadii tursuun hama hin tahu; yeroo dheeraa akkasiif biyyi addunyaa keessaa dagaagaan kun irbuu seene hin guutin hafuun malalchiisaa dha. Utuu moo’ummaan ummatootaa ulfeeffame dhimma keessa waliif humna fagoott iyyachuun barbaachisaa hin turre. Dhibdeen saanii godinaa keessatt furamuu dandaha ture. Garuu sun hawwa tahee hafus jara dhimmicha keessa seenan irraa qajeeltuu eeggachuun waan guddaa miti.
Sun kan fedhe haa tahu, gara itt roorrifamootaan demokraatoti addunyaa nuu birmatu taha jedhaanii eeggachuu qaata dhaabbachuutu irra ture. Garuu kan nama dhibu mormiin, gamtaan akka dhaabbatu karaa qubqabsiisii hawaasomaa fi dhiicha hiriiraan, barruulee kkf itt fufee jira. Hundi dhama’uu qofa; anga’oon addunyaa “fedha sabaawaan” jaamaniiru. Kanaaf hiyyeeyyii fi cunqurfamoon Afriikaa akka mirga ofiif lolatan of qofaatt dhiifamani. “Baraarama kan caalaa of dandahuu” dhugaan addunyaan Afriikaa irratt shaakalamaa jira. Afriikaanoti hanga yoonaa ofumaan as gahaniiruu; callisanii dhumuu irra jannumaan lafa, fedha fi ulfina saanii irraa faccisaa itt fufuu qabu. Anga’ooti addunyaa kan godhan hunda beekaa godhu, akka waan sirrii hojjetaa jiran of amansiisaniiru. Kumooti beela’uun, hidhaa keessatt samuun, biyyaa ari’amuu fi kumooti du’uu fi baduun firummaa kanneen qacefixa raawwatanii dhiisisuuf nafii hin guutani.
Obaaman ABUT-ADWUE biyya, biyyoota addunyaa hunda keessaa deegduu taatett rakoo qaluuf deema. Sun mirga saati. Jecha mararfannaan keessa deddeebi’amu waa’ee mirga ilmaan namaa fi bulcha demokratawaa jedhamu haa irraanfannu. Mummichi manaa isa baase dhimma diinagdee fi nageenyatii. Ammas waa’ee deettii guddina diinagdee dhaabota horoon afarsamus haa irraanfannu. Akka guddinni hin jirre ija qullaan ni argama. Kumkumooti beela’oo fi deegoo dha. Daawwiin kun kutaa diinagdee dambii jalaa hin bahin hafan kan baasisuu yaalu.Ummatoota Empayera Itophiyaaf kun qaata dambii jalaa bahee, garuu hidhata daldala ABUTin dhuunfatame. Korporashinooti addunyaasi qooda guddaa ofii barbaadu.
Waan nageenya ilaalutt gooltuu duukaa bu’ee adamsuuf ABUT “gartuu furtuu U.S.” Somaliyaa keessatt madaqfamtuun Empayera Itophiyaa heeduun duruu dhumanii gabasa malee hafanii. ABUT utu lafquwiin isa hin danga’in U.S. kaffallaan ergamuuf qophee dha. Daawwich akka hariiroon kun itt fufu jajjabeessa taha. Waan gooltummaa ilaalutt ABUT akka fedhett homishee, kumoota ajjesee fi shoroorkeessee kanneen lakkofsa hin qabne hidha. Dhuguma shoroorkaa ABUTiin mormuun ummatooti ka’aniiru, caalaa ka’aas jiru. Kaka’a “gaaffii mirgaa, walqixummaa, birmadummaa fi nagaaf” godhamu, kaasaa saa fi itt baha saa Ameriika caalaan beeka kan jedhu hin jirre. Gooltummaan waan maljechi saa hin himamneef dilormaan empayeritt hundi gooltuu jedhamee unkuramaa jira. Utuu sana hin maljechisini kan amma hariiroo jabeessuuf walti qabaaman mari’atamuuf deemu. Ummatooti empayeritt keessattuu Oromoo fi jornaalistoota shororkeessuun itt fufufuuf deema jechuu dha.
Aanga’aa guddaan hafee uumaa bucureenuu fedha ofii eeggachuufn hin daangahamu. Garuu ilmoo namaaf safuun madaalaa jiraachuu qaba ture. Ammaaf dhimmi keenya sana miti. Barnoota seenaati. Bulchoota duriif isa ammaa jalattis yeroo waa tokko jiraatu deegaan magaalota keessaa marfamanii tumamaa bakka hin beekamnett geeffamu. Achitt dallaa nammi walitt gooji’e keessa nyaataa fi bishaan gahaa malee, haala qulqulinni hin eegamne jala jiraatu. Heedduun dhumanii hin gabaafaman. Amma mootiin biyya hunda caalaa jabaan dhufaa jira. Dhufaatiin akkasii kanaan dura argamee waan hin beekneef tarkaanfiin fudhatamus mamii malee kan argamee hin beekne taha. Kan isa si’anaa adda tolchuu ummati kumootaan samicha lafaa fi imaammata Finfinnee Orommiteessuu fi ballisuuf lafa saanii irraa kumootaan buqqifamuu dha. Alabul kumootaan lakkaawaman Finfinnee keessaa garri caaluu buqqifamoota sana. Hiree Mooraa Shoolaa bara Nugusaa caalaa hamatutu isaan eeggata jechuu dha. Yeroo sana haadhootaa fi ilmaanii fi Manguddoo yartuutu akka tasaa barattoota Universiitiin argamanii golfaa irraa hafanii. It dabalee jara kana marsanii qabuu fi qaruutee angoo saanii ol kaasuuf Amerikaa dhufuun saanii hin hafnett of agarsiisuuf tarkaanfii caalaa hamaa tahe fudhachuun akka hin hafne hedama.
Hedduun kan komatan, daawwichi badiisa abbaa hirree gamsiisa Ganfa Afriikaan hojjetamaa jiruun hamma ishoo jechuuti jedhaniitu. Afrikaan jara abbaa hirrootaa kan ummataan kennataman fakaatanii dhihatanii utuu hin bulfamtu taatee daawwichiyyuu hin godhamu ture. Jara akkasii qofa kan saamicha qabeenyaa fi maayi baasii waldayyichaa irratt bara Hirmannaa Afriikaa Haaraa kana miltummaan tajaajiluu kan dandahan. Presidantiin daawwatee dhiisee bulchi saa qaata seerawwoo kan hin taane, seerawoo tahuu kan beekeefi. “Ifaajjee demokratawuu fi kennata qajeelaa fi bilisa hojii irra oolchuuf deemanis” dabbaloota qaraatiin ji’oota dura farsamaniiru. Kun dhugaa dhaa? Kan isaan komachuu qaban mirga ofii irraa faccifachuuf qophee tahuu dhabuu saanii tahuu qaba ture. Demokraasiin nafii barbaachisaa halle hammataa qaba yoo jedhame fi hangammeessa lakkuu hin qabu yoo tahe Presidantiin imala angafooti saa lagatan utuu hin goonee dansa ture. Misi fayyaa qabeessi ilmoo namaa fi malbulchaa, bulee fedha inni duukaa jiru caalaatti yeroo dheeraaf tajaajilu dandaha ture.
Prsesidantichi addaggoota utuu hin tahin bulchoota seerawoo waliinin dubadhe jedhee baanaan gadadoon ummatoota Gaanfaa dacha tahuuf deema; addagooti jajjabina argatanii hammeenya saanii kan dur caalaa cimsanii itt fufu. Presidantichi milla mikii qabuun gara biyya abbaa saa gahee Waayit Hawusitt akka deebi’u hawwinaaf. Akka biyya Habashaatt ummati saa Luwoon waan inni bulcha Amerikaa keessatt qooda fudhateef Amerkaaniitt fudhatamuuf deemu; akkuma Oromoon Tafariif jedhamee ilaalaman jechuu dha. Imalli kun hamilee Wayyaanee dhiitessa. Hoogganooti see, hooggana addunyaa humna guddaa kanatt marsanii yeroo dhumaaf footoo kahuuf yoo ilkaan afan ilaaluuf deemna. Ummati empayeraa bariin dammaqee guyyaa gadadoo kan duraa caalutt gad baha. Karaa Nagaa! Oromiyaa haa jiraattu! Qabsoon itt fufa!
Ulfinaa fi surraan gootota kufaniif; walabummaa, walqixxummaa fi bilisummaan kan hafaniif; nagaa fi araarri Ayyaana abboolii fi ayyoliif haa tahu!
Appeal Letter to President Obama from Oromo Communities Association in North America (OCA-NA), an Umbrella Organization of NA Oromo Communities. July 10, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in Oromia, Oromo, US-Africa Summit.Tags: Africa, an Umbrella Organization of NA Oromo Communities., Appeal Letter to President Obama from OCA-NA, Macha-Tulama Association Requests President Obama to Rethink Visit to Tyrannical Ethiopia, Obama, Obama's plan to visit Ethiopia criticised as 'gift' for repressive government, OLF Statement on President Obama’s Planned Visit to Ethiopia, Oromo, Professor Mohammed Tahiro's letter to President Obama
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Appeal Letter to President Obama from OCA-NA, an Umbrella Organization of NA Oromo Communities.
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
http://www.whitehouse.gov
Tel: (202) 395-2020
Subject: Your Plan to Visit Ethiopia in July, 2015
Dear President Obama,
On behalf of the Oromo Communities in the United States, we, the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the (OCA-NA), are writing this urgent letter regarding your plan to visit Ethiopia in July 2015. OCA-NA is an umbrella organization of the Oromo communities, and represents thousands of citizen and legal residents of Oromo origin in the United States. It is organized to advocate for the human rights of the Oromo in Diaspora and those at home, in the Horn of Africa.
Like the majority of US citizens and the global community, we were excited when you were elected as the president of the United States in 2008 and expected huge progress for all freedom loving people in the world. Your statement in Ghana, during your first visit to Africa in 2009, in which you promised your administration’s commitment to support “strong and sustainable democratic governments” in Africa and to deny assistance to corrupt and dictatorial regimes confirmed our hopes and widened our imaginations. Despite moments of frustration, over the last seven years, we have continued to hope for your strong support for democracy and freedom in Ethiopia. On several occasions, the Oromo communities have appealed to your administration and to you personally, regarding the repressive acts of the Ethiopian regime. Incidentally, the Oromo residents of Washington, DC Metropolitan Area and representatives of communities from many states were holding a peaceful rally in front of the White House when they learned the announcement of your planned visit to Ethiopia.
It is with shock and profound sadness that we received this message. We are afraid that your visit sends the wrong messages to both the government of Ethiopia and the people suffering from government’s repressive policies. First, your visit emboldens the dictatorial EPRDF regime and encourages it to implement even more destructive and undemocratic policies. Portraying your visit as an endorsement of its misguided actions, the regime intensifies the violence against innocent people, continues violation of human rights, further suppresses dissidents, stifles legitimate grievances of citizens, and displaces farmers, the youth and intellectuals. Your meeting and photo ops with Ethiopian government officials will be exploited to the maximum by the regime to subdue the people claiming that your administration fully supports its dictatorial practices and the unbelievable 100 percent victory in its sham elections. Second, the Oromo in particular, and the Ethiopian people in general, would lose hope. They would feel the most powerful nation and its president, whose speeches and actions they passionately follow and expect highly from his administration, have ignored their plight. Your meeting in Addis Ababa with Ethiopian officials, who torment innocent people daily, will deepen the people’s disillusionment and frustrations. Third, the Oromo communities in US are extremely concerned that your visit will have negative implications for the policy objectives of your administration and the long term interests of United States in the region.
The Ethiopian government distorts facts, manipulates the reality, and represents itself as democratic. But, human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Survival International, Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa and the annual human rights reports of the State Department have attested to the massive human rights violations of the EPRDF regime. The well documented long list of imprisoned students, journalists, bloggers, and members of opposition political parties fully confirm the undemocratic nature of this regime. In a country like Ethiopia, with complicated and highly contested political issues, the recent 100 percent victory in the national elections is totally unbelievable, and leaves no doubt about EPRDF regime’s dictatorial rule. Finally, the Ethiopian government also exploits global and regional security issues. Declaring its support for the war on global terrorism and posing as an ally of the United States, the government uses resources it receives from big powers for suppressing dissent, terrorizing innocent people, and for subverting democratic processes. It should be clear that a regime that terrorizes its citizens cannot be a reliable ally to fight extremism.
Mr. President,
For these reasons, we are puzzled by your decision to visit Ethiopia and meet government officials who contradict your convictions and the principles of American democracy. First, we are strongly appealing to you to reconsider your planned trip to Ethiopia. Second, if your visit to the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa is absolutely necessary, we are strongly urging you not to meet Ethiopian government officials in public and not offer them the opportunity to use your visit for their domestic propaganda. Third, we also request you to make it clear to the people in public that the Ethiopian regime’s undemocratic practices are unacceptable. We believe the United States will not ignore the atrocities perpetrated against the 95 million people in favor of the oppressive regime in the name of alliance against global terrorism.
Sincerely,
Oromo Communities’ Association in North America (OCA-NA)
Ethiopia: President Obama Should Urge Changes to Help Civil Society, Political Opposition July 24, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in US-Africa Summit.Tags: Africa, Appeal Letter to President Obama from OCA-NA, Barack Obama, Freedom House, Freedom House in response to comments by Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Obama, Obama's plan to visit Ethiopia criticised as 'gift' for repressive government
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(Freedom House) — As President Obama prepares to visit Ethiopia next week, Freedom House has prepared policy recommendations for the White House, highlighting Ethiopia’s undermining of civil society, independent media, and the political opposition:
“The political environment during parliamentary elections held in May included arrest, harassment and intimidation of opposition members and supporters,” the letter says. “Apart from seriously eroding citizens’ faith in any prospect of an inclusive political framework, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front’s entrenched control over all levers of political power sends a strong signal that all avenues of legitimate dissent are closed, fomenting resentment that could lead to violent extremism.”
“Freedom House recommends that President Obama urge the Government of Ethiopia to undertake a comprehensive review of the country’s civil society and anti-terrorism laws and to release imprisoned journalists and peaceful political activists.”
Read the policy reccomendations below.
Ethiopia is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2015, Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2015, and Not Free in Freedom on the Net 2015.
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.
Ethiopia: Policy Recommendations, July 2015
Background
In 2009, the Ethiopian Parliament passed the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSP), tightly restricting Ethiopian civil society organizations (CSOs). This includes limiting the amount of foreign funding that organizations are allowed to receive to 10 percent. Legislation passed in 2009, the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (ATP) has been extensively used to silence critical voices including independent journalists and members of opposition political parties. These laws coupled with other government policies seriously limit the ability for independent voices to be heard.
Political Space and Inclusive Political Process
In May, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) conducted another tightly controlled national election and won all seats in both federal and regional legislatures. The political environment included the widespread arrest, harassment and intimidation of opposition members and supporters. Apart from seriously eroding citizens’ faith in any prospect of an inclusive political framework, EPRDF’s control of all levers of political power sends a strong signal that all avenues of legitimate dissent are closed, fomenting resentment that could lead to violent extremism. The rise in politically motivated killings of opposition activists after announcement of the election results in May and June (seven reported cases) shows that local officials believe that a total win for EPRDF means no space for opposition. Freedom House therefore recommends that during his visit, President Obama:
Civil Society and Media
The CSP has effectively decimated human rights groups in Ethiopia. While the stated purpose of the CSP is ‘to aid and facilitate the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the development of the country,’ it has actually forced at least 10 prominent human rights and democracy promotion organizations to abandon their mandates in order to continue receiving foreign funding while others were forced to scale back their operations significantly. As a direct result of the CSP, Ethiopia’s leading human rights NGO, Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO, now HRCO), had to close 9 of its 12 regional offices and cut 85 percent of its staff. The Ethiopian Women Lawyers’ Association (EWLA), another prominent group, cut nearly 70 percent of its staff. Authorities also froze the bank accounts of these groups. In addition to the severe restrictions the CSP imposes on funding and human rights work, the dysfunctional legal framework it put in place is actively undermining the role of civil society in development. A 2014 performance audit conducted by the Federal Auditor General found that more than 85 percent of NGOs were not able to comply with one or more of the expenditure and reporting requirements. The Director of the Charities and Societies Agency, the government agency in charge of regulating NGOs, told parliament that if his agency were to enforce the CSP as written, all NGOs would have closed. During President Obama’s visit to Ethiopia, Freedom House recommends that he:
Human Rights and National Security
After Ethiopia’s most competitive elections in 2005 concluded with violence and the detention of hundreds of opposition members and civil society leaders, EPRDF moved to systematize the tools of political control through a series of restrictive legislation backed by intense crackdown on media and civil society intended to silence perceived opponents and critics. As a result, the operational space for legitimate opposition, independent media and human rights activists has been seriously constrained. The ATP is being used to pursue vigorous prosecution of opposition party members and journalists.
The excesses of Ethiopia’s counter-terrorism operations that include arbitrary arrests, widespread practice of torture, alarming trends of disregard to due process rights of detainees and excessive pre-trial detention have stifled legitimate dissent and created a profound climate of fear. Lack of accountability of security forces is exacerbated by a judiciary that is largely subservient to the executive and lacks institutional autonomy to exercise effective oversight and enforcement of constitutionally guaranteed human rights protections. Freedom House therefore recommends that President Obama:
Support for Human Rights and Democracy Promotion
Given the highly repressive political environment in Ethiopia, it is admittedly difficult to support those who risk their lives to promote democracy and human rights. But it is not impossible, and if such groups are to survive in Ethiopia, they need outside support. Even a small increase in democracy and human rights assistance can have an enormous impact in ensuring that local civil society is able defend the fundamental rights of all Ethiopians. Freedom House recommends that the Obama Administration: