Representatives from @UNHCR_KENYA, @UNICEFKenya, WFP, @IFRCAfrica, Refugee Affairs Secretariat and Kenya #RedCross, visit Moyale to see first-hand the situation of the over 9000 displaced persons from Ethiopia.
SPILLOVER: Ethiopia’s political crisis is now spilling over into Kenya’s borders. – Quartz Africa #MoyaleMassacre March 20, 2018
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: #MoyaleMassacre, #OromoProtests, #Prevent #Genocide, Africa, Current Horn of Africa news, Ethiopia, Genocide Against Oromo People, Human rights violation, Kenya, Oromia, Quartz Africa, Refugee Crisis, Tyranny of TPLF Ethiopia
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Persisent crisis. (Reuters/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo)
The refugees fled the restive Oromia region following a botched military operation targeting members of the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front. During a raid on the villages, the government said faulty intelligence led soldiers to “mistakenly” kill nine civilians and injure 12 others. Since then, the unrest and fear has forced thousands—including 600 expectant mothers, disabled, and elderly persons—to flee into the border town of Moyale in Kenya and establish makeshift camps. The UN refugee agency said it was difficult to assess how many more people had fled since many were being housed by friends and relatives.
The outbreak of violence comes weeks after the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front’s council imposed a six-month a state of emergency amid mass anti-government protests. The grassroots opposition to the government largely stemmed from the Oromos and Amharas, who for over two years now have decried systematic exclusion, land grabs by the minority Tigray-dominated state, besides limited representation in senior government posts.
The government reacted to these protests with force, drawing sharp criticism from its allies in the West. The unrest also jeopardized the nation’s booming economy and its place as an important center for global apparel sourcing.
In January, in a move described as a salve for the Oromo, the government announced it would close an infamous detention center and release political prisoners, including those awaiting trial. And in a corollary gesture, prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned in mid-February, opening up a succession game and bitter internal wrangles. Opposition figures insisted that tepid reforms or half-hearted concessions won’t solve the country’s problems, calling for the system of governance to be overhauled.
The EPRDF is set to meet soon to choose its next leader. Chris Suckling, a senior analyst with IHS Markit, says Abiy Ahmed who leads the Oromo party that makes up the ruling alliance “is the most likely successor as prime minister.” Suckling said Ahmed was a favorite given his close relationship with Oromo youth and the country’s political and security agencies.
In Moyale, meanwhile, the displaced refugees continue to arrive daily, narrating stories of horror from the villages straddling the border on the other side.
Related (Oromian Economist sources):
- World Food Program fears more refugee inflow from Ethiopia. #MoyaleMassacre
- Ethiopia crisis is ‘the beginning of the end of autocracy’ – Kenyan security expert. Africa News
- Ethiopians online laud Oromia official detained for tough talk against military | Africanews. #MoyaleMassacre #OromoProtests
- Ethiopian refugees in Kenya narrates ordeal.- Today #MoyaleeMassacre
- ‘Freedom!’: the mysterious movement that brought Ethiopia to a standstill.- The Guardian
- #MoyaleMassacre: Indiscriminate Mass Murder in Moyale, Southern Oromia Carried out by the fascist Ethiopia’s TPLF Regime. #Prevent #Genocide
- Fascist Ethiopia’s regime arrests critical blogger and professor of Ambo University, Seyoum Teshome. #FreeSeyoumTeshome
- Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Law: A Tool to Stifle Dissent, OAKLAND Institute
QZ Africa: TAXING: Ethiopia’s troubled Oromia State has been hit with anti-tax protests. #OromoProtests July 20, 2017
Posted by OromianEconomist in #OromoProtests.Tags: #OromoProtests, Africa, Ethiopia, Oromia, Quartz Africa, TPLF's thievery in the name of taxation in Ethiopia
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Ethiopia’s troubled Oromia region has been hit with anti-tax protests
Demonstrators chant slogans while flashing the Oromo protest gesture in October. (Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)
A new tax levied by authorities on small businesses and vendors has reportedly led to protests in Ethiopia’s Oromia region with the military and police deployed to bring the situation under control. The tax hike is being imposed on businesses with an annual turnover of up to 100,000 birr ($4,300), as part of a new government proposal to boost the tax base and raise much-needed government revenue.
Residents in Ambo city in Oromia damaged two state-owned vehicles, according to Addis Standard newspaper, while businesses in Woliso town shut their businesses in protest. The paper also quoted state officials saying that even though the situation was currently under control, there were plans for region-wide protests.
Like many sub Saharan Africa countries, tax collection in Ethiopia is still a low share of GDP when compared with the average for OECD countries of around 34%. Just 15.2% of Ethiopia GDP was generated by tax revenue as of 2015, according to the World Bank. Last year, a World Bank survey also showed that 54% of businesses thought the process of complying with taxation was more burdensome than the amount of due tax itself.
The new reports from Oromia are significant given that it was the genesis of anti-government protests that hit the country in Nov. 2015. The demonstrations initially began in response to the government’s master plan which sought to expand the capital Addis Ababa into neighboring towns and villages inhabited by the Oromo, the country’s largest ethnic group. The Oromo said the plan would displace farmers and stymie the growth of their culture and identity.
For Oromos, who make up at least a third of the population, they believe the federal capital, which they call Finfinne, belongs to Oromia. They recount a long history of grievance which casts Oromos as colonial subjects violently displaced from their land and alienated from their culture.
The Ethiopian government reacted with force to the protests, leading to the death of 669 protesters, according to a government-mandated investigation. Last October, the government also declared a still-ongoing state of emergency, shut down the mobile internet, and banned the use of social media networks to document the unrest.
Related articles:
Ethiopia: The bankrupted fascist Ethiopia’s regime has imposed huge sums of arbitrary payments and demands on small businesses
Africa News: Ethiopia economy gets knock with unneeded tax protests in Oromia
Reuters: Businesses go on strike in Ethiopia’s Oromiya region over taxes
OMN: Oduu (Ad. 19, 2017)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y78aLyj6hQ&feature=youtu.be
https://youtu.be/0y78aLyj6hQ
OMN: Oduu (Ado. 18, 2017)
Diddaan Xumura Gabrummaa Oromiyaa Bakka Gara Garaa Keessatti Itti Fufee Jiraachuu Qeerroon Gabaase.
J.M. irra: The road from Finfine to Chiro has been closed at Chiro this evening at 9 PM local time
“Arra galgala 19/72017 sa’aatii 3:00 irratti daandiin guddichi Finfinne Harar geessu magaalaa Ciroo iddoo Hospitaalaatti sa’aatii muraasaaf cufameera. amma qeerroo barbaacha poolisoonni fifiigaa jiru. qeerroon magaalaa Ciroo hundi ofeeggannoo akka godhan dhaamsa dabarsiif…”
Feyisa Lilesa Gemechu irraa dhaamssa darbbe.
Namni barreeffama kana argitan hundi ilmaan oromootin naaf gahaa.
Akkam jirtu kabajamtoota qaqqaalii Qeerroo ilmaan Oromoo!
Nagaa kiyyatti aansuudhaan,akkuma beekamu yeroo ammaa kana fincilli diddaa gabaa lagannaa itti fufeeti jira.haa ta’u malee,godinoota muraasa keessatti qofa waan ta’eef quubsaa miti.Oromiyaa bakka hunda walga’uutu irraa eeggama.
Dhimmi kuni kan yeroo gabaabaa keessatti dhaabbatu osoo hin ta’iin kan yeroo dheeraf itti fufu ta’uutu irra jiraata.irra caalatti waantootni baadiyyaarraa fe’amanii gara magaalaa finfinnee deeman hundu haalan dhorkamuutu irra jiraata.sana booda kabajni keessan gaafattanii osoo hin ta’iin,ofiif manatti isiiniif dhufti.
Kana booda daandirratti harka duwwaa du’uun dhaabbachuu qaba.qabsoon keenya haala abshaalummaa qabu kanaan deemutu irra jiraata.kan nu fixaa jiru qabeenya keenya waan ta’eef isuma gabaa laguudha.
Loon,Hoolaa,Re’ee,Midhaan,Kuduraa fi Fuduraa gabaa lagi.yoomiyyuu waan qabeenya kee gurguruu diddeef namni dhufee mana keetti si ajjeesuu hin jiru.
Inni dhaabbatee isinitti dhukaasus maal nyaatee akka sinitti dhukaasu gaafasuma hubattu.
Keessayyuu Harargee bahatif,jimaa keessaan sumaalee dhorkachuu waan diddaniif kan daangaa ce’anii ilmaan keessan duguugaa jiran.ammaan booda dhaabaa.
Galatoomaa!
Dogoggora yoon qabaadhe nasirreessaa.
Godina Harargee lixaa Aanaa Dadar Magaalota Aanaa Jiranii Keessatti Diddaan Gabaa Lagannaa Itti Fufe.
jalatti Argaman keessatti lagannaan gabayaa itti fufeeti jira Qobbootti Lagannaan gabaa roga hundaan godhamaa kan jiru yoo ta’uu wayyaanen daldaltoota walitti qabdee dirqamaan gara hojii keessanii akka deebitan jettee doorsisaa jirti.daldaltoonnis gibirri humnaa ol nutti fe’ame kan doorsisa kamuu kan nu sodaachisuu miti.nuti waan waggaa kudhanitti dalagannee hin arganne waggaa tokkotti mootummaadhaaf kaffaluu maaltu fide osoo hin hojjanne jiraachuu ni dandeenya jechuun ergamtoota wayyaanee ufirraa oofaniiti jiru.
Adoolessaa 19/2017 Oromiyaa Lixaa Godina Wallagga Bahaa Magaalaa Naqemtee Keessatti Guyyaa har’aa Sochiin Warraaqsa Biyyoolessaa Oromiyaa FXG Duullii gabaa lagachuu, mormiin gibiraa fi qaraxa adda addaa dhorkachuu itti fufe. Qeerroon dargaggootni Magaalaa Neqemtee fi uummatni Daldaltootni Sabboontootni Oromoo guutummaatti mana daldalaa isaanii
✔manneen nyaataa fi hoteelotni cufamanii tajaajila dhaabaniiru
✔dunkanoonni (Suuqiiwwaan) daldaltootas hojii dhaa uun cufamaniru
✔Uummatni waliigalee qabeenyaa keenya gabaa hin baasnuu jechuun duula gabaa lagachuu itti fufuun mormii sirna abbaa irree wayyaaneef qabu ifatti argisiisuun diddaan daran jabaatee itti fufee jira.
Qeerroon dargaggootni Oromoo fi sabboontootni daldaltootni Oromoo hanga gaaffiin kabajamuu mirga abbaa biyyummaa uummata keenyaa kabajamuutti hacuuccaan kamuu nurraa dhaabachuu waan hin dandeenyeef qabeenyas keenyaafi gibira mootummaa garboomsaa wayyaaneef kanfallee diina of irratti hin goobsinuu jechuun guyyaa har’aa mormii Duula gabaalagachuufi diddaa gibiraafi qaraxa humnaa olii balaaleffachuun oromiyaa keessatti sochii FXG finiinaa jiruuf dirmannaa gochuun motummaa wayyaaneefi ergamtuu wayyaanee boqonnaa dhorkaa jiru.
Adoolessa 18/2017 Godina Lixa Shaggar Aanaa Aadaa’aa Bargaa Mogor irraa Warshaan Simintoo DANGOTE Hojjattoota ilmaan Oromoo 417 Hojii irraa Dhorkee Jira. Hojjettootni Warshaa Daangootee Guyyaa 4ffaaf guutummatti hojii dhaabanii jiru. Sochiin Warraaqsaa Biyyoolessa Oromiyas FXG daran jabaachuun Itti fufee oole.
Dhaabbatni Ejensii TZE kan warshaa DAANGOTE waliin hojjatu yeroo darbe yeroo dheeraaf mindaa hojjattootaa seeraan ala irraa murachaa kan tureefi tarkaanfii irratti fudhatameen eeyyamni dhaabbatichi qabu haqamee ture. Dhaabbatni kuni ilmaan Oromoo achi keessa hojjachaa turan 417 hojii irraa dhorkuun ibsame. Sababa kanaan waldiddaa guddaan warshichaafi hojjattota gidduutti muudachaa jira. Haaluma kanaan guyyaa har’aa :
✔Ambaassaddar Abduu Alii (Itti gaafatamaa dhimma warshaa DANGOTE ) Finfinnee irraa
✔Aangawootni Olaanoon OPDOfi
✔Kaabinootni Ergamtootni Wayyaanee Godina Shawaa Lixaa Shaggar Amboo irraa garas dhaquun hojjattoota kanneen mariisisaa turaniyyuu waliigaltee malee gargar bahani. “IMX’dhaan galmooftan malee hojiitti deebi’uu hindandessan. Kanaan alatti mindaas akka hingaafanne” Jechuudhaan beeksisa maxxansanii carraa hojjattota kanneenii cufaniiru.
Haa tahu malee, hojjattotni kaanis sababa diddaa kanaafi haalota ummatni Oromoo keessa jiruun walqabatee guyyaa 4ffaaf hojii dhaabaniiru. Rakkoo hojjattoota kanaa qaamni ilaallatus furuu waan hinbarbaadnef kisaaraafi badii warshicha eeggatuuf ittigaafatama kan fudhatu qaamuma ilmaan Oromoo irratti yakka raawwachaa jiru akka tahellee Qeerroo, Hojjattootni fi ummatni naannichaa dhaammataniiru!
#OromoRevolution Adooleessa 15/2017 Gidduugaleessaa Oromiyaa Magaalaa Burraayyuutti Sochiin Warraaqsaa Biyyoolessaa Oromiyaa FXG Daran Jabaachuun Mormiin dachaa sadii(3) oliin dabaluu Gibiraa fi Qaraxa adda addaa uummata akkam kan dheekkansiise yoo ta’uu Qeerroon Dargaggootni Oromoo Magaalaa Burraayyuu roorroon uummata keenyarraa dhaabbachuu qaba jechuun Magaalaa Burraayyuu naannoo Kattaa fi Ashawaa Meedaa jedhamutti Sochii Warraaqsaa finiinsuun konkolaataafi Taaskiiwwaan (minibus) ajajaafi tajaajila mootummaa wayyaaneetiin socho’anii fi konkolaataa manaa kan abbaan qabeenyummaa isaanii kan aangawootaafi ergamtoota wayyaanee kanneen ta’an irratti Tarkaanfiin irree Qeerroo Dargaggoota Oromoon irratti fudhatamee deerooftee jiraachuu maddeen keenya Burraayyuu irraa gabaasan. Gaaffiin mirga abbaa biyyummaa itti fufinsaan gaafachaa jirruuf deebiin qubsaa hanga nuukennamuttiifi Master Plan Finfinnee hanga haqamutti falmaa irraa hin dhaabbatnu jechuun Qeerroowwaan Naannoo Burraayyuu dhaamsa dabarfatan.
Haaluma kanaan guyyaa har’aa sa’aa boodarraa eegaluun sochiin kun magaalaa Burraayyuu keessatti kan jabaate yoo ta’uu mootummaan wayyaanee humna poolisaa federaalaa fi komaandii poostii heddumminaan gara Burraayyuutti bobbaased uummata goolaa jiraachuun ifa ta’eera.
Magaalaa Amboofi Gudar Keessattis mormiin kan itti fufee jiruu yoo ta’uu Magaalaa Gudaritti Daldaltootni Guutummaatti dunkaanaa(Suuqii) isaanii cufuun mormii sirna wayyaaneef qabaniifi balaaleffaannaa daballii gibiraa mormaa jiraachuu ibsatan. Magaalaan Amboo dirree waraanaa fakkaatee muddama ulfaataa keessa jiraachuu maddeen Qeerroo ifa godhaniru. Gabaasaa dabalataan walitti deebina.
QZ: Finfinnee: Ethiopians are having a tense debate over who really owns Addis Ababa July 7, 2017
Posted by OromianEconomist in #OromoProtests.Tags: #OromoProtests, Africa, Finfinnee, Finfinnee Karri Shani, Oromia, Oromo, Quartz Africa, QZ, Why do the Oromo Resist the Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) Master Plan?
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For many activists the revised bill is wholly insufficient. There are no plans to “pay a penny” to Oromia for use of its natural resources, such as water, or for dumping the city’s waste on its farmlands.
Finfinne: Ethiopians are having a tense debate over who really owns Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa aka Finfinne (Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)
Nine months into a state-of-emergency imposed to quell popular unrest, Ethiopia’s ruling party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), has unveiled its first significant political concession. But the furor surrounding the draft bill presented to parliament last week reveals just how deep tensions in Africa’s second most populous country still run. At stake is the answer to a highly charged question: who owns Addis Ababa?
For Oromos, who make up at least a third of the population and formed the backbone of last year’s mobilization against the central government, the answer is simple: the federal capital, which they call Finfinne, belongs to Oromia. They recount a long history of grievance which casts Oromos as colonial subjects violently displaced from their land and alienated from their culture.
This anger became especially acute in the past decade as Addis Ababa expanded rapidly and when, in April 2014, the authorities published a new master plan which proposed further eviction of Oromo residents and farmers in the name of development. “The issue of Finfinne is the heart of our politics,” says Gemechis, an Oromo resident of the city. “It is where we lost everything.” The master plan was dropped in January 2016 but demonstrations continued unabated until October.
Addis Ababa, with a population approaching four million people, is also home to the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa and is widely regarded as Africa’s diplomatic capital—and indeed the world’s third largest diplomatic hub.
The new bill is a symbolically important effort to address some of the protesters’ demands, and to give concrete meaning to Oromia’s constitutionally-enshrined “special interest” in the capital. Proposed changes include making Afan Oromo an official language of the federal government alongside Amharic, as well as setting up Afan Oromo schools in the city; renaming the city “Finfinne/Addis Ababa”; restoring original Oromo names of public squares, roads and neighborhoods; and the establishment of a joint council with the federal government to administer the city.
It is a watered down version of an earlier draft that reportedly met with much objection inside the ruling party. This is not surprising since the meaning of “special interest” has never been fully spelt out and there is much debate as to how much privilege Oromos should have in a multiethnic city that, despite being located entirely within Oromia, has a population that is only around 20% Oromo.
For many activists the revised bill is wholly insufficient. There are no plans to “pay a penny” to Oromia for use of its natural resources, such as water, or for dumping the city’s waste on its farmlands, says Seyoum Teshome, an academic and blogger. “The bill is trash.” He and others argue that promises to pay farmers proper compensation for further evictions merely proves that the government still intends to expand the boundaries of the city.
Quartz Africa: Ethiopia’s humans rights problems may tank its ambition to become a global apparel center May 4, 2017
Posted by OromianEconomist in #OromoProtests, Ethiopia's Colonizing Structure and the Development Problems of People of Oromia, Afar, Ogaden, Sidama, Southern Ethiopia and the Omo Valley, Free development vs authoritarian model.Tags: #Oromorotests, Africa, Ethiopia, Free development vs authoritarian model, Quartz Africa, sweet labour, The natural reactions to authoritarianism
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Ethiopia’s humans rights problems may tank its ambition to become a global apparel center
BY Abdi Latif Dahir, Quartz Africa, 4 May 2017
Uncertain future. (Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)
Ethiopia wants companies that make clothes to view it as one of the world’s most hospitable places to operate. Low employee wages and cheap power have led foreign companies to gravitate towards the Horn of Africa nation in recent years. The government recognizes the strategic importance of garment and textile making, and has continued to invest in the sector by constructing large industrial parks like the Hawassa Industrial Park.
But its land and human rights problems could jeopardize that ambition, according to a new report from risk consultancy firm Verisk Maplecroft. Protests over land reform and political participation have rocked the country since 2015, leading to the reported death of hundreds of people and the detention of tens of thousands of others.
“The sector remains exposed to a host of political, social and environmental risks,” says Emma Gordon, a senior Africa analyst with Verisk. And “many of these issues are unlikely to be resolved over the coming five to ten years.”
These concerns could affect the cotton industry, and limit the opportunity to expand sustainable production. The persistence of child labor, water pollution, the exposure of workers to harmful chemicals, and the possibility of resumption of protests also pose a threat.
Ethiopia is one several east African countries—including Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania—identified as an important center for apparel sourcing. In a 2015 survey by global management company McKinsey, Ethiopia appeared as one of the top countries worldwide where companies wanted to source their garments from in the next five years.
Retail giants such as H&M, Primark, and Tesco have sourced or established textile factories in Ethiopia to diversify from Asian markets like China and Bangladesh. The footwear industry in Ethiopia is also growing, with the Huajian Group, the Chinese manufacturer that produces Ivanka Trump’s shoe brand, talking about plans to move production to Ethiopia.
These operations could be undermined by the political and social protests. The demonstrations began over plans to expand the capital Addis Ababa into neighboring towns and villages populated by members of the Oromo community—the country’s largest ethnic group. Although the Tigray-dominated government canceled the plans, protests escalated.
At the height of the protests in August and September 2016, flower farms and foreign commercial properties worth millions were burnt. The government responded by quashing the protests, shutting down the internet, and instituted a state of emergency in October that has lasted to date.
Gordon says that given that the “underlying drivers” of the protests have not been addressed, it is “highly likely that similar protests will erupt again.”
Land problems are also expected to intensify as drought ravages the country. Last week, the government announced that 7.7 million people were in need of emergency food aid. While the economy depends on agriculture, just 5% of the country’s land is irrigated, according to the United States Agency for International Development. The competition over fertile land as well as the government’s controversial plan to lease large swaths of land to foreign investors and private interests could jeopardize prospects for companies interested in doing business in Ethiopia.
“Investors are likely to become increasingly unpopular in the communities that they rely on for both their security and their workforces,” Gordon said.
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