Is this the most farcical use of taxpayers’ money ever: Ethiopian gets legal aid from UK – to sue us for giving aid to… Ethiopia

March 30, 2014

by Ian Birrell
Mail Online

• The farmer claims aid is funding a despotic one-party state in his country

• Alleges regime is forcing thousands from their land using murder and rape

• Prime Minister David Cameron says donations are a mark of compassion

• If farmer is successful, Ministers might have to review overseas donations

Gift: Prime Minister David Cameron claims the donations are a mark of Britain’s compassion

An Ethiopian farmer has been given legal aid in the UK to sue Britain – because he claims millions of pounds sent by the UK to his country is supporting a brutal regime that has ruined his life.

He says UK taxpayers’ money – £1.3 billion over the five years of the coalition Government – is funding a despotic one-party state in his country that is forcing thousands of villagers such as him from their land using murder, torture and rape.

The landmark case is highly embarrassing for the Government, which has poured vast amounts of extra cash into foreign aid despite belt-tightening austerity measures at home.

Prime Minister David Cameron claims the donations are a mark of Britain’s compassion.

But the farmer – whose case is set to cost tens of thousands of pounds – argues that huge sums handed to Ethiopia are breaching the Department for International Development’s (DFID) own human rights rules.

He accuses the Government of devastating the lives of some of the world’s poorest people rather than fulfilling promises to help them. The case comes amid growing global concern over Western aid propping up corrupt and repressive regimes.

If the farmer is successful, Ministers might have to review major donations to other nations accused of atrocities, such as Pakistan and Rwanda – and it could open up Britain to compensation claims from around the world.

Ethiopia, a key ally in the West’s war on terror, is the biggest recipient of British aid, despite repeated claims from human rights groups that the cash is used to crush opposition.

DFID was served papers last month by lawyers acting on behalf of ‘Mr O’, a 33-year-old forced to abandon his family and flee to a refugee camp in Kenya after being beaten and tortured for trying to protect his farm.

He is not seeking compensation but to challenge the Government’s approach to aid. His name is being withheld to protect his wife and six children who remain in Ethiopia.

‘My client’s life has been shattered by what has happened,’ said Rosa Curling, the lawyer handling the case. ‘It goes entirely against what our aid purports to stand for.’

Mr O’s family was caught in controversial ‘villagisation’ programmes. Under the schemes, four million people living in areas opposed to an autocratic government dominated by men from the north of the country are being forced from lucrative land into new villages.

Their land has been sold to foreign investors or given to Ethiopians with government connections.

People resisting the soldiers driving them from their farms and homes at gunpoint have been routinely beaten, raped, jailed, tortured or killed.

Exodus: The farmer claims villagers are being attacked by troops driving them from their land

‘Why is the West, especially the UK, giving so much money to the Ethiopian government when it is committing atrocities on my people?’ asked Mr O when we met last year.

His London-based lawyers argue that DFID is meant to ensure recipients of British aid do not violate human rights, and they have failed to properly investigate the complaints.

Human Rights Watch has issued several scathing reports highlighting the impact of villagisation and showing how Ethiopia misuses aid for political purposes, such as diverting food and seeds to supporters.

Concern focuses on a massive scheme called Protection of Basic Services, which is designed to upgrade public services and is part-funded by DFID.

Force: Ethiopian federal riot police point their weapons at protesting students inside Addis Ababa university in the country’s capital, Addis Ababa

Critics say this cash pays the salaries of officials implementing resettlements and for infrastructure at new villages.

DFID officials have not interviewed Mr O, reportedly saying it is too risky to visit the United Nations-run camp in Kenya where he is staying, and refuse to make their assessments public.

A spokesman said they could not comment specifically on the legal action but added: ‘It is wrong to suggest that British development money is used to force people from their homes. Our support to the Protection of Basic Services programme is only used to provide healthcare, schooling, clean water and other services.’

As he showed me pictures on his mobile phone of his homeland, the tall, bearded farmer smiled fondly. ‘We were very happy growing up there and living there,’ he said. This was hardly surprising: the lush Gambela region of Ethiopia is a fertile place of fruit trees, rivers and fissures of gold, writes Ian Birrell

That was the only smile when I met Mr O in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya last year. He told me how his simple family life had been destroyed in seconds – and how he blames British aid for his misery. ‘I miss my family so much,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to be relying on handouts – I want to be productive.’

His nightmare began in November 2011 when Ethiopian troops accompanied by officials arrived in his village and ordered everyone to leave for a new location.

Men who refused were beaten and women were raped, leaving some infected with HIV.

I met a blind man who was hit in the face and a middle-aged mother whose husband was shot dead beside her – she still bore obvious the scars from her own beating and rape by three soldiers.

Unlike their previous home, their new village had no food, water, school or health facilities. They were not given farmland and there were just a few menial jobs.

‘The government was pretending it was about development,’ said Mr O, 33. ‘But they just want to push the indigenous people off so they can take our land and gold.’

After speaking out against forced relocations and returning to his village, Mr O was taken to a military camp where for three days he was gagged with a sock in his mouth, severely kicked and beaten with rifle butts and sticks.

‘I thought it would be better to die than to suffer like this,’ he told me.

Afterwards, like thousands of others, he fled the country; now he lives amid the dust and squalor of the world’s largest refugee camp. He says their land was then given to relatives of senior regime figures and foreign investors from Asia and the Middle East.

‘I am very angry about this aid,’ he said. ‘Britain needs to check what is happening to its money.
‘I hope the court will act to stop the killing, stop the land-grabbing and stop your Government supporting the Ethiopian government behind this.’

As the dignified Mr O said so sagely, what is happening in his country is the precise opposite of development.

የወያኔን ከፋፋይ አገዛዝ እናምክን (ግንቦት 7)

March 29, 2014

የኢትዮጵያ ብሄር ብሄረሰብ ሊከበርላቸውና ሊያሳድጋቸው የሚገቡ የተለያዩ የባህልና የታሪክ ቅርሶች ያሏቸውን ያህል በብዙ መንገድ የሚያይዝ የጋራ ታሪክ ቅርስና ዝምድና አላቸው። ልዩነቶቹ ራሳቸው ተጠቃቃሚ ለሆነ የእርስበርስ ግንኙነታቸው ጠቃሚ እንጂ ከአንድ ሀገር ማህበረሰብነታቸውና ከጋራ ህልማቸው ጋር የሚጋጩ የጠብና የግጭት መንስኤዎች አይደሉም። ከጠብና ግጭት ማንኛውም ብሄር ብሄረሰብ ተጠቃሚ አይደለም። ከጠብና ግጭት ጥቅም ይገኛል ብለው የሚያስቡ “ግርግር ለሌባ ይመቻል” የሚለውን የወሮ በላ ፍልስፍና የሚከተሉ የቀን ጅቦች እንጂ የኢትዮጵያ ብሄር ብሄረሰቦች አይደሉም። በወያኔ የግዛት ዘመን የደረሱትን ግጭቶች መፈናቅሎችና የተፈጠሩትን የእርስበርስ ጥርጣሬዎችን ልብ ብሎ ለተመለከተ ሁሉም በአገዛዙ እና በሎሌ የበታች ሹማምንቱ የተፈጠሩ እንጂ አንድም ጊዜ እንኳን ከህዝብ የመነጩ አይደሉም።

የወያኔ ጉጅሌ በአገዛዝ ዘመኑ ሁሉ ብሄር ብሄረሰቦችን ከሚያይዟቸው የጋራ ማህበራዊ ቅርሶችና ህልሞች ይልቅ ካለመታከት ልዩነቶቻችን ላይ ያተኮረ ፖለቲካ እያካሄደ እንዳለ ግልጽ ነው። ከዚህ አልፎም አዳዲስ የእርስበርስ ግጭቶችን እና ጠቦች እንዲፈጠሩ ተግቶ የሚሰራ ከፋፋይ ቡድን ነው። እርስበርሱ መጠራጠርና መፈራራት እንዲሰፍን ልዩ ልዩ ስልቶችን ይቀይሳል። ከአንዱ ብሄረሰብ ተንኳሽ አዘጋጅቶ ሌላው ብሄረሰብ ላይ አደጋ እንዲደርስ ከዚያም ተጠቃሁ የሚለው አጸፋ እንዲመልስ ያደርጋል። የአንዱን ብሄረሰብ መንደርና ንeበረት በእሳት ለኩሶ በሌላው ብሄረሰብ እንዲመካኝ ያድርጋል። አንዱ በአንዱ ላይ እንዲያማርር ከንፈሩን እንዲነክስ ማድረግ ለወያኔ ጉጅሌዎችና ለሎሌዎቻቸው እንደፖለቲካ ጥበብ ከታየ ሁለት አስርት አመታት አልፈዋል። በየትኛውም የሀገራችን አካባቢዎች የተቀሰቀሱ የርስበርስ ጥርጣሬዎችና ግጭቶችን ያሸተተ ሁሉ ወያኔ፣ ወያኔ እንደሚገሙ ያረጋገጠው ጉዳይ ነው።

ወያኔዎች የኢትዮጵያን ብሄር ብሄረሰቦች ከፋፍለውና ከቻሉም አጋጭተው ካልሆነ በስተቀር የዝርፊየ ኢኮኖሚያቸውን መቀጠል እንደማይችሉ አረጋግጠዋል። የኢትዮጵያ ብሄር ብሄረሰቦች የጋራ ጥቅማቸውንና ህልማቸውን ይዘው የተነሱ እለት ወያኔ ያከተመለት መሆኑን ያውቃል። ለዚህም ነው በየክልሉ እና ዞኑ በፍጹም ከሆዳቸውና ጥቅማቸው በላይ ማሰብ የማይችሉ ግለሰቦችን ከየብሄረሰቡ እየመረጠ የሚሾምልን። ወያኔ ነጻ የህዝብ ምርጫ የሚፈራው ለዚህ ማረጋገጫ ነው፡፡

የወያኔ ጉጅሌዎች ከጊዚያዊ ጥቅም በዘለለ ማሰብ ስለተሳናቸው እንጂ ይህ አካሄዳቸው ለራሳቸውም ለዘለቄታው የማይጠቅም መሆኑን ዘንግተውታል። በልዩነታችን ላይ መጫወት ማለት በእሳት እንደ መጫወት የማይመስላቸው ለዚህም ነው። ይህ የተጀመረው እሳት ራሳቸውንም አይምርም።

ግንቦት 7 የፍትህ የነጻነትና የዴሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ መላው የኢትዮጵያ የብሄር ብሄረሰቦች የጋራ ግብና የተሻለው የነገ ነጻነት ተስፋቸው የሚረጋገጠው በጋራና እጅ ለእጅ ተያይዘው በሚያደርጉት ትግል ብቻ ነው ብሎ ያምናል። ለዚህ የወያኔ መሰሪ የከፋፍለህና አጋጭተህ ግዛ ተንኮል ራሳችንን እንዳናመቻች የገዛ መከራችንን ማራዘሚያ እድል ለዘራፊ ገዥዎቻችን እንዳንሰጥና ለጋራ ህልማችን እንድንቆም ጥሪውን ያቀርባል።

የወያኔ ጉጅሌ ሆን ብሎ በቀጥታና በተዘዋዋሪ የኢትዮጵያ የብሄር ብሄረሰቦች እንዲጋጩ፣ እርስበርስ በጥርጣሬ እንዲተያዩና እንዲፈራሩ ለማድረግ የሚያደርገውን ጥረት ድርጊቱ በእሳት መጫወት መሆኑን አውቆ ከዚህ እኩይ ተግባር እንዲታቀብ ግንቦት 7 እያሳሰበ በማንኛውም ሁኔታ በማህበረሰቦች መካከል ለሚደርስ ግጭትና ጉዳት ሙሉ ሀላፊነቱ የወያኔና የወያኔ ብቻ መሆኑን አጥብቆ ያስገነዝባል።

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ!!!

Ethiopian Journalists Forum (EJF) warns leaders of three Journalists Associations

March 28, 2014

by Betre Yacob

Ethiopian Journalists Forum (EJF), the newly established journalists association in Ethiopia, warned leaders of three journalists associations operating in the country.

In a statement issued yesterday, the association accused the officials of Ethiopian journalists Association (EJA), Ethiopian National Journalists Union (ENJU), and Ethiopian Free Journalists Association (EFJA) of fabricating false accusations against the association and members of media organizations.

Ethiopian Journalists Forum is a nonpartisan and independent professional association intended to defend the freedom of speech and of the press in Ethiopia.

The press statement says that the officials have been deliberately engaged in fabricating false accusations ranging from terrorism to conspiracy— aiming to intimidate journalists and members of the association. “They are trying to spoil the name of our association, which is getting a wider acceptance among journalists and media workers”, the statement explains.

“For instance, in an interview published at Addis Admass weekly newspaper issued on March 30, 2014 they said that journalists had been preparing to commit terrorism against the nation and its citizens. They also accused two unnamed countries of backing the journalists. In another article published at Reporter, a weekly newspaper, issued on March 9, 2014 they once again said the same thing accusing journalists”, it further explains.

The statement says the association doesn’t have a response for the groundless accusations of these depraved individuals—who are barking to retain their own cheep benefits. It says it only would like to warn them once and for all to refrain from their unlawful acts.
The EJF was established on 20 January, 2014 considering the harsh working conditions of journalists in Ethiopia; and the importance of a unified media workers and journalists’ voice. In a few months only, the association has been able to get acceptance among journalists and media institutions.

Particularly, the EJF has been welcomed by almost all journalists operating in the free press. Its formation has been good news to those who wish to see an independent institution—which is loyal only to the journalists.

The EJF is supposed by many to be a best framework to work against the deteriorating press freedom in the country and bring about change on the safety of journalists. It is, however, seen as a threat by EJA, ENJU, and EFJA. According to the association, it has begun to experience their accusation since its inception.

The EJF has a vision to become a leading professional association in Ethiopia, which defends the freedom of speech and of the press as well as the rights of journalists.

The Wake of Non-operational Associations

Ethiopian journalists Association (EJA), Ethiopian National Journalists Union (ENJU), and Ethiopian Free Journalists Association (EFJA) were in active for a long period. They came to the stage following the formation of EJF.

Both the associations are accused of being loyal to the regime and of failing to play their role. None of them have ever been seen doing anything to bring about change on the deteriorating press freedom and safety of journalists.

Despite the fact that journalists are still subjected to violence, EJA, ENJU, and EFJA believe freedom of speech and of the press is respected in Ethiopia, and accuse CPJ and other international organizations of defaming the name of the country.

They also accuse Ethiopian journalists of using their rights to incite violence in the country. They even don’t accept the journalists, who are currently behind the bar in the country, are prosecuted because of their job.

የቀድሞው የጋምቤላ ፕሬዚዳንት ደቡብ ሱዳን ከሆቴል ውስጥ ታፈኑ

“ወያኔ እጅ ገብተዋል”

March 28, 2014 01:24 am By Editor Leave a Comment

የጋምቤላ ክልልን ሲመሩ ቆይተው ባለመስማማት የኮበለሉት የቀድሞው የክልሉ ፕሬዚዳንት ደቡብ ሱዳን ከሆቴል ውስጥ ታፍነው መወሰዳቸው ተጠቆመ። ዜናው በገለልተኛ ወገን ባይገለጽም ኖርዌይ በስደት ከቤተሰቦቻቸው ጋር ይኖሩ የነበሩት አቶ ኦኬሎ አኳይ በኢህአዴግ በጥብቅ የሚፈለጉ ሰው ነበሩ።

በመለስ ዜናዊ ውሳኔ በአኙዋክ ተወላጆች ላይ በጅምላ የተከናወነውን ጭፍጨፋ አስመልከቶ ተቃውሞ በማሰማት የኮበለሉት አቶ ኦኬሎ ወደ ደቡብ ሱዳን ከማምራታቸው በፊት ኬንያ እንደነበሩ፣ ከኬንያ ወደ ደቡብ ሱዳን ለምን እንደተጓዙ የዜናው ምንጮች በይፋ ከመናገር ተቆጥበዋል።

ስማቸው እንዲደበቅላቸው የጠየቁ የጋምቤላ አስተዳደር ባልደረባ ለጎልጉል የአካባቢው ዘጋቢ እንደተናገሩት አቶ ኦኬሎ ደቡብ ሱዳን ሆቴል በተቀመጡበት መታፈናቸውን አረጋግጠዋል። “ወያኔ እጅ ገብቷል” ሲሉ ያከሉት እኚሁ ሰው “አቶ ኦኬሎ ብረት በማንሳት ወያኔን ለመታገል ከተነሱ ጋር ተቀላቅለዋል በሚል ስማቸው መመዝገቡንና ወደ ደቡብ ሱዳን ማቅናታቸው በመታወቁ ህወሃቶች እጅ ሊወድቁ ችለዋል” ብለዋል። ምንጩ ይህንን ይበሉ እንጂ አቶ ኦኬሎ አክዋይ ወደ ደቡብ ሱዳን ያቀኑበትን ምክንያት በርግጠኛነት ሃላፊነት ወስዶ የገለጸ ወገን አልተደመጠም። ኢህአዴግም ቢሆን የቀድሞውን ሹመኛ ስለመያዙ ይፋ ያደረገው ነገር የለም።

ከደቡብ ሱዳን ቀውስ ጋር በተያያዘ የኑዌር ተወላጅ ከሆኑት ሬክ ማቻር ጦር ጋር በመሰለፍ የሳልቫ ኪርን ሃይል ሲወጉ ከተገደሉ ወታደሮች መካከል የኢህአዴግን ሰራዊት መለያ የለበሱ ኑዌሮች መገኘታቸው ውዝግብ አስነስቶ እንደነበር ያመለከቱት ምንጭ “ደቡብ ሱዳን እየወጋት ካለው ኢህአዴግ ጋር አብራ የቀድሞውን የጋምቤላ ርዕሰ መስተዳደር ከምድሯ ላይ እንዲታፈኑ መፍቀዷ ቅሬታ ያስነሳል” ብለዋል።

ከቤተሰባቸው ተነጥለው በስደት ከሚኖሩበት ኖርዌይ ወደ ደቡብ ሱዳን ያመሩት የቀድሞው የጋምቤላ ርዕሰ መስተዳድር ደቡብ ሱዳን በህወሃት ሙሉ ቁጥጥርና ፈቃድ የምትንቀሳቀስ አገር መሆኗን እያወቁ ወደዛ ማቅናታቸውን ባሥልጣኑ “ታላቅ ጥፋት” ብለውታል። ቤተሰቦቻቸውን ለማግኘት ያደረግነው ሙከራ አልተሳካም። በቅርቡ አቶ ኦሞት ኦባንግ መኮብለላቸውና በብዙዎች ዘንድ አውሮጳ እንዳሉ ቢነገርም በትክክል ያሉበት አገር በይፋ አለመታወቁን መዘገባችን ይታወሳል

ኢህአዴግ ባደባባይ የወደቀውን ፈተና “በጓሮ” አለፈ ግልጽነትና ተጠያቂነት ፈረዱ ወይስ ተፈረደባቸው?

March 24, 2014 08:11 am

ለግልጽነትና ለተጠያቂነት ብሎም ለህዝቦች ጥቅም ቅድሚያ እንደሚሰጥ ህግ ደንግጎ የተቋቋመው ዓለም ዓቀፋዊ ተቋም ኢህአዴግ ያቀረበውን የይግባኝ ማመልከቻ ተቀብሎ ማጽደቁ አነጋጋሪ ሆኗል። በ2009 ኢህአዴግን “ያወጣሁትን መስፈርት አታሟላም” በማለት እውቅና የከለከለው ይህ ተቋም፣ ኢህአዴግ በሚከሰስባቸው ዋና ጉዳዮች ለውጥ ሳያደርግ የራሱን ውሳኔ የገለበጠበት አካሄድ እየተመረመረ እንደሆነ የጎልጉል ምንጮች ጠቁመዋል።

የኢህአዴግን የእውቅና ይግባኝ ጥያቄ ተቀብሎ ያጸደቀው የተፈጥሮ ሃብትን በትክክለኛ መንገድ ለሕዝብ ጥቅም መዋሉን በመከታተል ለአገራት እውቅና የሚሰጠው The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) የሚባለው ዓለም ዓቀፋዊ ተቋም ነው። ተቋሙ ኢህአዴግ በ2009 አቅርቦት የነበረውን የእውቅና ጥያቄ ውድቅ ሲያደርግ የሰጠው ምክንያት “የመያዶች ህግ የተሰኘው” አዋጅ ተግባራዊ እንዳይሆንና በአገሪቱ የተተከሉት አፋኝ ህጎች እስካልተወገዱ ድረስ ማመልከቻው እንደማይታይ በማሳወቅ ነበር።

በ2009 ጠ/ሚኒስትር የነበሩት አቶ መለስ “መሰዋት” በስተቀር ኢህአዴግ አንዳችም ለውጥ ባላደረገበት ሁኔታ ባለፈው ረቡዕ መጋቢት 19፤2006 (March 19፤2014) ይኸው እውቅና ሰጪ ተቋም የራሱን ውሳኔ ቀልብሶ ለኢህአዴግ እውቅና መስጠቱ የብዙዎችን ቀልብ ስቧል። ከውሳኔው ቀናት በፊት በጓሮ የሚወጠን ድርጊት እንዳለ መረጃ ደርሶት የማሳሰቢያ ተቃውሞ ያሰራጨው ሂውማን ራይትስ ዎች የተሰኘውየሰብአዊ መብት ተሟጋች ድርጅት እንዳለው ከሆነ ከተገለበጠው ውሳኔ በስተጀርባ ሚስ ክሌር ሾርት ከፊት ረድፍ ተቀምጠዋል።

ማመልከቻው እንደገና እንዲታይና የቦርዱ የቀድሞ ውሳኔ እንዲገለብጥ እየተንቀሳቀሱ የሚገኙት የቀድሞ የእንግሊዝ ዓለምአቀፍ ትብብር ሚ/ር የሆኑት ክሌር ሾርት መሆናቸውን የድርጅቱ መግለጫው ይፋ አድርጓል። እኚህ ግለሰብ የአፍሪካ አምባገነኖችን በመደገፍ የሚታወቁ ሲሆን ይህ ከጥቅማቸው ጋር የተሳሰረው ግንኙነታቸው አሁንም ኢህአዴግን እንዲደግፉ እንዳደረጋቸው ይነገራል፡፡ እንዲሁም በሌሎች ኢህአዴግ ባቋቋማቸው ዓለምአቀፋዊነት ሽፋን በተላበሱ ድርጅቶች ውስጥ የአመራር አባል በመሆን ሚስ ሾርት እንደሚያገለግሉ መረጃዎች ይጠቁማሉ፡፡ የእንግሊዝ ፓርላማ አባል በነበሩበት ወቅትም ያላወጡትን ወጪ አውጥቻለሁ በማለት በብዙ ሺዎች የሚገመት ገንዘብ ለግል ጥቅማቸው ያዋሉ መሆናቸው በወቅቱ ዴይሊ ቴሌግራፍ ባወጣው መረጃ አጋልጦ ነበር፡፡ የተወሰነውን ገንዘብ የመለሱ ቢሆንም ጋዜጣው በወቅቱ ያወጣው መረጃ ግለሰቧ የሕዝብን ገንዘብ ለግል ጥቅማቸው የተጠቀሙ “ሙሰኛ” መሆናቸውን ያስረዳል፡፡

ክሌር ሾርት

ለጉዳዩ ቅርበት ያላቸው እንደሚሉት ከሆነ ባለፈው ረቡዕ ኦስሎ፤ ኖርዌይ ላይ ውሳኔው በተላለፈበት ወቅት ሚስ ሾርት በግልጽ የኢህአዴግ ደጋፊ በመሆን ተጽዕኖ በማድረግ ወደ ውሳኔ እንዲደረስ ግፊት አድርገዋል፡፡ ግለሰቧ ባላቸው ኃላፊነት በመጠቀም (የEITI የቦርድ ኃላፊ ናቸው) እንዲህ ዓይነቱ ግልጽና ወገናዊነት የታየበት ድጋፍ በማድረግ ከድርጅቱ አሠራር ውጪ ውሳኔ እንዲሰጥ ማድረጋቸው ለወደፊት በሚቀርቡ ማመልከቻዎች ላይ ከፍተኛ የሆነ የአሠራር ችግር እንደሚያስከትል ካሁኑ እየተጠቆመ ነው፡፡

በኢትዮጵያ ከማዕድን ኢንቨስትመንት ጋር በተያያዘ ማህበራዊ ቀውስ የደረሰባቸው አካባቢዎች እንዳሉ የሚታወቅ ነው። በግንባር ቀደምትነት ከሚጠቀሱት አካባቢዎች መካከል በኦሮሚያ ክልል ጉጂ ዞን ባልጸዳ የሽያጭ ሂደት ሼኽ መሐመድ ሁሴን አላሙዲ የገዙት ሻኪሶ የወርቅ ማዕድን በህዝብ ላይ እያደረሰ ችግር የሚዘገንን ነው። በየጊዜው ግልጽ ባልሆነ የማስፋፊያ ውል የሚፈናቀሉና ከፋብሪካው በሚወጣው ዝቃጭ ለከፍተኛ ብክለት የተጋለጡ ዜጎች ድምጻቸውን ሲያሰሙ መታሰራቸው፣ መገረፋቸው፣ ለይስሙላ በተቋቋሙ ፍርድ ቤቶች የተፈረደባቸው እንዳሉ ታዛቢዎች ያስታውሳሉ።

በጋምቤላ ኢንቨስትመንት ህዝብን እየበላ እንደሆነ የሚጠቁሙት ክፍሎች “ኢንቨስትመንት በከፍተኛ ደረጃ የሚደገፍና የሚበረታታ ተግባር ቢሆንም፣ ኢህአዴግ ፍትሃዊ በሆነ ደረጃ መጠቀም፣ ማስተዳደር፣ መምራትና ኢንቨስትመንቱን ህዝብ “የኔ” ብሎ በመቀበል እንክብካቤ እንዲያደርግ የሚያስችል ስርዓት አለማበጀቱን እንደ ዋንኛ ችግር ያነሳሉ። ኢህአዴግን ያዘጋጀው ህወሃት በራሱ ሰዎች አማካይነት ከውጪ ሰዎች ጋር እየተሻረከ ለህዝብ ጥቅም ሊውል የሚገባውን ሃብት ወደ ውስን ቋት እንደሚያግዝ የሚገልጹት እነዚሁ ክፍሎች” ይህ ዓለም የሚያውቀውን፣ ራሳቸው ህወሃቶችም የማይክዱትን እውነት ነው ብለዋል። ዜጎች የአገራቸው ሃብት ተጠቃሚ ከመሆን ይልቅ አካባቢያቸው ባደላቸው የተፈጥሮ ሃብት ሳቢያ መከራ ሲደርስባቸው፣ ሲሰቃዩ፣ ሲገረፉና፣ ሲገደሉ ማየት በተለመደባት ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ለኢህአዴግ የማይገባውን ካባ መደረብ ውሎ አድሮ የሚጋለጥ ክፉ ተግባር እንደሆነም አመልክተዋል።

አነስተኛ ደረጃ ላይ የሚገኙና ኢህአዴግ “ልማታዊ” የሚላቸው ኢንቨስተሮች ሳይሆኑ በከፍተኛ ደረጃ የሚመደብ መዋዕለ ንዋይ የሚያፈሱ ባለሃብቶች ኢንቨስት የሚያደርጉበትን አገር ለመምረጥ የመጀመሪያው መለያቸው የEITI ድረገጽ የአባል አገራት ዝርዝር እንደሆነ ስለ አሰራሩ የሚያውቁ ይናገራሉ። ኢህአዴግም አስፈላጊውን የምዝገባና የማመልከቻ መስፈርት በማሟላት የተቋሙን እውቅና የጠየቀው በድርጅቱ ድረገጽ ላይ ለመመዝገብ ነበር። የሁለት ጊዜ ሙከራው ቢከሽፋም በመጨረሻ ተሳክቶለታል። ስኬቱንና የስኬቱን መንገድ፣ በተለይም የዳይሬክተሯ ክሌር ሾርት ጉዳይና የተዘጋውን ፋይል በማንሳት ውሳኔው የተገለበጠበት አካሄድ ኦስሎ በሚገኘው ሃያ የቦርድ አባላት ባሉበት ተቋም ውስጥም ግራ ያጋባቸው እንዳሉ መረጃዎች አሉ።

ኢህአዴግ አጓድለሃል ተብሎ የሚከሰስባቸውን የዴሞክራሲ ግባቶችና የሰው ልጆች የተፈጥሮ መብቶች፣ አንዲሆም አፋኝ የተባሉትን ህጎች አጠናክሮ ተግባር ላይ ባዋለበት ሁኔታ፣ የዚሁ የአፈናው ሰለባዎች በተለያዩ ማጎሪያዎች ውስጥ ሆነው ድምጻቸውን በሚያስተጋቡበት ወቅት፣ EITI ከተቋቋመበት ዓላማና “መሰረቴ” ከሚለው የግልጽነትና ተጠያቂነት መርህ በተጻራሪ ግልጽነትና ተጠያቂነት በጎደለው መልኩ ለኢህአዴግ የደረበው ብሉኮ ጉዳይ እየተመረመረ አንደሆነ ለማወቅ ተችሏል። ጉዳዩን የሚከታተሉ “ግልጽነትና ተጠያቂነት በኦስሎ ተፈረደባቸው” ሲሉ ምጸት ሰጥተዋል፤ የክሌር ሾርትንም አካሄድ በEITI የህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ ተወካይ በማለት ተችተዋል። ይህንኑ ጉዳይ እመልክቶ ከሳምንት በፊት ለሪፖርተር አጭር መልስ የሰጡት የማዕድን ሚኒስትሩ EITI ውሳኔውን ያነሳል የሚል ጥርጣሬ እንዳለባቸው የሚያሳብቅባቸው መልስ ሰጥተው እንደነበር ይታወሳል።

በዚህ ጉዳይ ላይ ዳያስፖራው እንደሚገባው አለመንቀሳቀሱ እንደ ሽንፈትና አቅጣጫ መሳት እንደሚቆጠር ለጎልጉል አስተያየታቸውን የሰጡ ጠቁመዋል፡፡ ዳያስፖራው ከጥቃቅንና ስሜታዊ ጉዳዮች በማለፍ በከፍተኛና አገራዊ ጉዳዮች ላይ ትኩረት የማድረግ አመለካከቱን ማስፋት እንደሚገባው አሳስበዋል፡፡ አለበለዚያ ኢህአዴግ እንደዚህ ዓይነቱን አጋጣሚ በመጠቀም የራሱን ገጽታ በዓለምአቀፍ መድረኮች እየወለወለ በማቅረብ የሥልጣን ዘመኑን እንደሚያራዝም ጠቁመዋል፡፡

Ethiopian Regime Detained Opposition Party Leader, Terrorized Semayawi Party Members

March 24, 2014

Mr. Yilkal Getnet

Ethiopian American Council (EAC)

Silver Spring, Maryland, March 23– Just before boarding time last Friday night, airport personnel told Mr. Yilkal Getnet that he was to report to a Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) officer at Bole Airport, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mr. Getnet, chairperson of the rising Ethiopian opposition Semayawi Party, was leaving Ethiopia to attend a Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) fellowship program in the United States.

Mr. Getnet’s luggage was removed from the plane and he had to endure three hours of intense questioning by some TPLF so-called “security agents” which caused him to miss his flight. Mr. Getnet, educated as a civil engineer, returned to his home around 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

The TPLF government insists that it is a democratic nation concerned with only the best interests of the Ethiopian people. Yet the current regime has no qualms about denying a basic human right – the liberty for a citizen to freely move about and travel to any country he or she desires. Perhaps America is secretly forbidden to young Ethiopian leaders by the ruling government, fearful that these young people may learn too much about democracy and a free citizenry.

YALI was initiated by American President Barack Obama in 2010. He wanted a program, set up through the U.S. State Department, to strengthen young African leaders as they “spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa.” Because of the TPLF actions that stopped Mr. Getnet’s travel, these high goals must be troublesome to the corrupt ruling regime.

The ruling powers in Ethiopia can still claim the U.S. as an ally. But, the present regime should be wary about preventing a young Ethiopian from visiting American shores to learn about economic growth, commercial prosperity, and human rights. President Obama set up this program himself. Surely he and his state department, along with American citizens in general, will finally see the farce in this alliance with a dictatorial regime that tramples the rights of its citizens. As of yet, no comment has come from either President Obama or the U.S. State Department regarding Mr. Getnet’s detention.

This is not the first incident in 2014 that marks the repression and terror the current regime has visited on Semayawi Party members and their supporters. In early February, 14 were arrested in the city of  Gondar as they planned a peaceful demonstration to take place in the city’s Mesqel Square. Four executive leaders were among them: Getaneh Balcha (Organization Affairs), Yidenkachew Kebede (Legal Affairs), Berhanu Tekeleyared (Public Relations), Yonatan Tesefaye (Youth Affairs). Two drivers and a camera man were also arrested. Cameras and laptop computers were confiscated.

More recently, Semayawi Party members were arrested and some badly beaten during a protest at a 5k Women’s Great Run event. The women runners used the event to protest the strangle-hold the ruling regime has on the liberties of the Ethiopian people. As is standard with terrorist organizations, the regime’s goons took the women away in the night for interrogation and threatened them with guns held to their heads.

Other parties in opposition to the current regime’s tyranny exist, such as the Andinet and the All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP). The Semayawi Party is distinguished by its youthfulness. Most members are under the age of 35 and seem somewhat fearless in the face of state police brutality and the regime’s terrorizing of its own citizens.

The Semayawi Party, also known as the Blue Party, became part of the opposition front during June of last year when a huge rally formed in Addis Ababa. Demonstrators were protesting the unlawful jailing of journalists, and religious and political leaders..

When a regime bans or restricts social media and confiscated cell phones, that is evidence that the regime is restricting or banning the rights of its populace to free speech and other civil expression.

Among other crimes, the current regime is evicting people from their heritage lands and leasing thousands of acres to foreign  corporations – regime cronies pocket the monetary reward. Corruption and poverty presently are endemic in this ancient land and the populace at large deeply resents the ruling regime. The Semayawi Party hopes to forge a unity with other opposition parties, and the Ethiopian populace, to bring about the necessary political change that will allow a truly democratic government to prevail and serve the Ethiopian people.

Last summer, Mr. Getnet vowed that if social and economic issues such as unemployment and inflation were not dealt with soon, that his party would organize more protests. “It is the beginning of our struggle,” he said.

Blue Party’s executives and female members are being accused of freedom of expression!

March 14, 2014

BlueParty Ethiopia

Early in the morning many gathered at the compound of the court house. The appearance was expected to be held at 10:00AM yet only the men arrived. It took the police about an hour after to bring the girls. Most were worried. Then we heard they were being forced to change their shirts that they put on. But they refused to change. After some quarrel at the police station finally they arrived at the court house at 11:08AM.

The court house was full of people, some even stood and it was quite humid. After the judge took his place the ones stood were much in number than those who sat. The attorney of the suspected and The Inspector how is handling the case stood by the sides; amid was Blue Party’s young members and leaders of high position.

The case was of course presented 5 days ago and ended with denying a bail for the young activists and members of the party because they were believed to terrorize and as well suspected of disturbance on Women’s Great Run which ended way peacefully.

In fact, the detail of the charge was literally mentioned and most find it funny and confusing at the time. The inspector namely Yemata said they were followed and caught saying out loud that: “they are daughters of Tayitu(Minillik’s II wife), they are daughters of Emeye Minillik, they are hungry, they demand political prisoners and jailed journalists like Reeyot, Eskinder, Andualam and others to be free, and they opposed the conspiracy of 5 to 1 policy which suppress women from expressing them selves freely and put them in fear”… these were the lists of slogans presented to be provocative and terrorizing. The men arrested with the girls suspected of supporting their deeds for they were found at the scene carrying their bags and materials.

Of this charge the police demanded 14 days to investigate deep while they must remain in prison. The motive was that the police fears they would destroy evidences which already are held by the police. Another silly reason was that the police fears if they bailed out they would scare the witnesses. Sadly the judge denied their freedom over such ridiculous matter and ordered their case to be presented on March 14. Of all the drama that happened on March 9 first day in court was that the police held their guns in the court house and none said anything.

Well today after 6 days in jail the police inspector, Yemata, with his mate still insists on denying bail for the same reason that they gave the first appearance. And this time they inquired 7 days for more inspection on the matter. Perhaps the addition accusation was that the police worry if they are able to be bailed out they would cause harm on the peace of the state in addition to that it was said the suspected doesn’t have a permanent address.
However, their attorney, Ato Alemu Gobebo (Father of Celebrated yet jailed journalist Reeyot Alemu), explained for the court that the accused members of the Blue Party are responsible citizens that works in different positions and each has a family that they live with which enables them to appear anytime they are wanted for further questioning. Ato Alemu farther explained that 10 of them are well disciplined and a committed party members that they struggle for a democratic and peaceful Ethiopia for that the allegation against bail is totally baseless and he added it was a conspiracy to keep them behind bars so that the assault continues.

In fact the victims were happened to be the arrested ones. Some of them put in plain words that they were threatened of their lives, and asked to work with EPRDF they are even offered a large amount of money if they work with the spy organization of EPRDF INSA. All stood still and resisted the intimidating of the so called interrogators who they said doesn’t even have an ID or a uniform on them. One of the incriminated, Nigest Wondifraw, told the court that the previous night three male police came to their cell at mid night and commanded them to go out and ordered her to go with them, and one of the three held a sweeping-stick like a cane and warned her he will beat her to death if she doesn’t cooperate with them. The others as well (specially the females) were separately called out in the late night the day before and threatened and assaulted. Two of them were even crying. The reason they said was that the police insulted them and added the insult is not that simple to tell, “it hurts, all they want is embarrass us so that we back down, they tried to hit us for they want us to stop our active membership and fellowship at the Blue Party.”

The judge was quite unsure of what to do. We believe he was trying to counsel everyone there instead of exercising his mandate. Seems he cannot do or say more than he was told to. Even the inspectors could not say more except denying all that has been said and dramatically insisted on the enquiry that they exact, more seven days.

Finally after a long talk the judge ordered the police officers to complete all that they are doing/interrogating and bring the case on March 18 and today again denied their freedom; no bail. No justice. We as a blue party members and leaders in general will not be demoralized or won’t back down for we precisely know the character of the dictatorial rule. The scenario which is taking place even showed us a glimpse of the sacrifices we must go through. One of the girls has two daughters; the others are very young and enthusiastically want to contribute their best to the country. All they did was exercising their freedom; they stood and voiced the voice of million women who live in fear. The women of the Blue Party on women’s freedom day demanded FREEDOM, JUSTICE and EQUALITY exceptionally for all the women in Ethiopia and through that for their brothers and fathers as well. Where are they now? In prison! We demanded their freedom for they are freedom fighters.

ወያኔ በግንቦት 7 ስም ሠላማዊ ዜጎችን ማሰቃየቱን ባስቸኳይ ማቆም አለበት

March 8, 2014

ባለፉት አራትና አምስት አመታት በግልጽ እንዳየነዉ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ እኩልነቱን፤ መብቱንና ነጻነቱን ለማስከበር የሚያደርገዉ ትግል ጫና በፈጠረበት ቁጥር ዘረኛዉ የወያኔ አገዛዝ የራሱን ህገመንግስት የሚደፈጥጡ ህጎች አርቅቆ አያጸደቀ ሠላማዊ ዜጎችን አስሯል፤ ገድሏል ከአገር እንዲሰደዱም አድርጓል። ለምሳሌ በ2003 ዓም የኢትዮጵያ ፓርላማ ከቤተመንግሰት የተላለፈለትን ትዕዛዝ አክብሮ ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ መብትና ነፃነት መከበር የሚታገለዉን የግንቦት 7 ንቅናቄ ሽብርተኛ አድርጎ ፈርጇል። ይህ ፈር የለቀቀ ፍረጃ ደግሞ ወያኔ የሱን ዘረኛ ስርዐት የሚቃወሙ ግለሰቦችን፤ ሀሳባቸዉን በነፃነት የሚገልጹ ዜጎችን፤ ጋዜጠኞችን፤ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ መሪዎችንና ከወያኔ ጋር አናብርም ያሉ ወጣት ኢትዮጵያዉያንን “ግንቦት ሰባቶች” ናችሁ እያለ በጅምላ እያሰረ እንዲያሰቃይ ህጋዊ ሽፋን ሰጥቶታል። ለምሳሌ ከፍትህና ከነጻነት ጥማት ዉጭ ከግንቦት 7 ንቅናቄ ጋር ምንም አይነት ግኑኝነት የሌለዉን የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ መሪዉን አንዱአለም አራጌን፤ ታዋቂዉን ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋንና መምህርት ርኢዮት አለሙን የግንቦት 7 አባላት ናቸዉ የሚል ሰንካላና መሠረተ ቢስ ክስ መስርቶ ለረጂም ዘመን እስራት ዳርጓቸዋል።

ወያኔ እንደ ዛሬዉ ከተማ ዉስጥ ሆኖ ሥልጣን ሳይቆጣጠር ገና ጫካ ዉስጥ እያለ ጥርሱን ከነከሰባቸዉና ከተቻለ አጠፋቸዋለሁ ካለዚያም አሽመደምዳቸዋለሁ ብሎ አስራ ሰባት አመት ሙሉ ከተዘጋጀላቸዉ የኢትዮጵያ ብሄረሰቦች ዉስጥ አንዱና ዋነኛዉ የአማራ ብሄረሰብ ነዉ። በለስ ቀንቶት ሥልጣን ከጨበጠ ማግስት ጀምሮም በወሎና በጎንደር በኩል ከትግራይ ጋር የሚያዋሰኑ ሰፊ የሆነ ለም መሬቱን ጠቅልሎ በመውሰድ ዘረኛ ሥርዓቱን ዕድሜ ሊያራዝሙልኛል ይችላሉ ብሎ የሚተማመንባቸውን የቀድሞ የትግል አጋሮቹንና ካድሬዎቹን አስፍሮበታል:: ይህ በደልና ግፍ አልበቃ ብሎትም ቀደምቶቹ የኢትዮጵያ ገዥዎች ለፈጸሙት ግፍና የአስተዳደር በደሎች ሁሉ አማራዉን በጅምላ ተጠያቂ የሚያደርግ ፕሮፖጋንዳ እነሆ እስከዛሬ በመርጨት ለዘመናት በሠላም ከኖረው ኢትዮጵያዊ ወገኑ ጋር በጠላትነት እንዲተያይ አድርጎታል:: በወያኔ አጋፋሪነት በበደኖ ፡በአርሲ በአረካና ሌሎች አካባቢዎች አማራው ላይ በግፍ የተፈጸመው ጭፍጨፋና ከ2004 እስከ 2005 ዓም አማራዉን ከጉራፈርዳና ከቤንሻንጉል ለማፈናቀል የተወሰደው እርምጃ የዚህ የወያኔ የጥላቻ ፕሮፖጋንዳ ውጤት መሆኑን የሚስት የለም::

ሟቹ መለስ ዜናዊና በህይወት የሚገኙ ቀንደኛ የወያኔ መሪዎች የተጠናወታቸው የአማራ ጥላቻ በጸረ ፋሽስት ዘመቻ ወቅት ባንዳ ከነበሩ አባቶቻቸዉና አያቶቻቸዉ የተወረሰ ፋሽስት ጣሊያን ለደረሰባት ሽንፈት በዘርና በሃይማኖት ተከፋፍለን እርስ በርሳችን እንድንጠፋፋ ተክላብን የሄደቺው ተንኮል አካል ነው ::

የዚህ የጥፋት አጀንዳ አስፈጻሚ የሆነው ወያኔ የጀመረውን አገር የማፍረስና ህዝብ የመከፋፈል አጀንዳ ለማሳካት በየክልሉ የተኮለኮሉ ምስሌኔዎች እንወክለዋለን በሚሉት ህዝብና ክልል ላይ እየፈጸሙት ያለው በደልና ሰቆቃ አዲስ ምዕራፍ በያዘበት በአሁኑ ወቅት እራሳቸዏን ለባርነት አዋርደው ህዝባቸውን በማዋረድ ላይ የሚገኙት የብአዴኑ አለምነህ መኮንንን የመሳሰሉ ሆድ አደሮች ውርደት በቃን ዘረኝነት በቃን ብለው በተነሱ ዜጎች ላይ እየወሰዱ ያለው ጭካኔ የተሞላበት እርምጃ እጅግ አሳሳቢ ሆኖአል::

ግንቦት 7 የፍትህ የነጻነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ ከሰሞኑ በደረሰው መረጃ ወያኔ ከአማራው ቀምቶ በትግራይ ክልል ባስገባቸው ወረዳዎች ላይ የሚኖሩ ንጹሃን ዜጎች ለምን በወያኔ የግፍ አገዛዝ ትማረራላችሁ እየተባሉ በወያኔ ታማኝ ሚሊሻዎች እስር እንግልትና ድብደባ እየተፈጸመባቸው መሆኑን አረጋግጦአል:: በዚህ በአዲስ መልክ በተጀመረዉ የወያኔ የጥቃት ዘመቻ መሳሪያ ያነገቡ የህወሃት ሚሊሻዎች ከክልላቸዉ ዉጭ ወደ ተለያዩ የአማራ ከተማዎችና ወረዳዎች ሰርገዉ እየገቡ የእነሱን ቋንቋ የማይናገረዉን ሁሉ የግንቦት 7 ተላላኪዎች ናችሁ በሚል እያሰሩ በመደብደብ ላይ ናቸዉ።

ይህ በመሆኑ ዛሬ አትዮጵያን ከሱዳንና ትግራይን ከጎንደር ጋር በሚያዋስኑ የአማራ ክልል ዉስጥ የሚገኙ ገበሬዎች እጃቸዉ እርፍ ከሚጨብጥበት ግዜ ይልቅ በወያኔ ሰንሰለት የሚታሽበት ግዜ ይበልጣል፤ የመንግስት ሰራተኛዉና የከተማ ነዋሪዉም ቢሆን አብዛኛዉን ግዜ የሚያጠፋዉ ከወያኔ ካድሬዎች ጋር ግምገማ በመቀመጥ ሲሆን ተማሪዉና ወጣቱ ህብረተሰብ ደግሞ “መጡ አልመጡም” እያለ ሌሊቱን የሚያሳልፈዉ በየጫካዉ እየተሸሸገ ነዉ።

የዚህ አይነት አስከፊ ግፍና መከራ በአፋር ፡ በጋምቤላ በኦጋዴንና በኦሮሚያ በሚኖሩ ዜጎቻችን ላይ ሲፈጸም ቆይቶአል:: ወያኔ እራሱ አርቅቆ ባጸደቀውና በሐምሌ ወር 1987 ዓም በስራ ላይ በዋለዉ የወያኔ ህገ መንግስት ኢትዮጵያ በዘጠኝ የፌዴራል ክልሎች መከፈሏንና እያንዳንዱ ክልል እራሱን በእራሱ የማስተዳደር መብቱ የተረጋገጠ እንደሆነ ይደነግጋል። በዚህ ህገ መንግስት መሠረት እያንዳንዱ ክልል የራሱ ቋንቋ፤ የአስተዳደር ማዕከልና እንዲሁም የክልሉን ሠላምና ጸጥታ የሚያስከብር የፖሊስ ኃይል ይኖረዋል ይላል። ታድያ ለምንድነዉ እያንዳንዱ ክልል የራሱ ፖሊስ ኃይል እያለዉ ከትግርኛ ቋንቋ ዉጭ ሌላ ቋንቋ የማይናገሩ የህወሃት ታማኝ ሚሊሻዎች አማራ ክልል ዉስጥ እየገቡ አማራዉን የሚያሰቃዩት?

መልሱ ቀላል ነዉ። ኢትዮጵያ ዉስጥ ህዝባዊ አምቢተኝነቱ እያየለ በመጣና የነጻነት ኃይሎች ጡንቻ በፈረጠመ ቁጥር ወያኔ አንገቷ ላይ ቃጭል እንደታሰረባት በቅሎ ይደነብራል። የደነበረ ደግሞ መራገጡ አይቀርምና መሳሪያ ያነገቡ ኃይሎችን እንቅስቃሴ እገታለሁ በሚል ከንቱ ጥረት ደንባራዉ ወያኔ የፈሪ ብትሩን በድንበር አካባቢ በሚኖሩ የአማራ ክልል አርሶ አደሮች፤ ወጣቶችና ሠራተኞች ላይ ማሳረፍ ጀምሯል።

ወያኔ እንደ ግንቦት ሰባት የኮነነዉና የህዝብና የአገር ጠላት አድርጎ የሳለዉ ድርጅት የለም፤ የወያኔ የዜና ማሰራጫዎችም ይህንን የአገዛዙን አቋም በተደጋጋሚ ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ አሰምተዋል።የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ግን ማን ለመብቱና ለነጻነቱ እንደቆመና ማን መብቱና ነጻነቱ ላይ እንደቆመበት ለይቶ የሚያዉቅ ህዝብ ነዉ። ስለዚህም ግንቦት ሰባት ወያኔዎች አላፊዉንና አግዳሚዉን “ግንቦት ሰባት” ነህ እያሉ ከሚያሰቃዩ፤ ህዝብንና ግንቦት ሰባትን ያስተሳሰረዉ ነጻነት፤ ፍትህና ዲሞክራሲ ነዉና የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብ ጥያቄ ቢመልሱ ለእነሱም፤ ለእኛም ለአገርም ይበጃል የሚል የጸና እምነት አለዉ። ወያኔ በኢህአዴግ ስም ያስጠጋቸዉን ምሰለኔዎች ጨምሮ ከራሱ ዉጭ ሌላ ማንንም አያምንም፤ ስለዚህም ነዉ የአገሪቱን የመከላከያ፤ የደህንነትና የፖሊስ ተቋሞች በራሱ ሰዎች ቁጥጥር ስር ያደረገዉ። ዛሬ በግልጽ እንደምንመለከተዉ ወያኔ በጉልበት ለያዘዉ ስልጣን ያሰገኛል ብሎ በሚጠረጥረዉ ቦታ ሁሉ የራሱን ልዩ ሚሊሺያ እየላከ የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብ መኖሪያ ቤቱ ድረስ አየሄደ እያጠቃ ነዉ። ግንቦት ሰባት ወያኔና የፈጠረዉ ዘረኛ ስርዐቱ የቆሙት በፍጹም ማንሰራራት የማይችሉበትት የመጨረሻ መቀበሪያ ጉድጓዳቸዉ ጫፍ ላይ ነዉ የሚል ጽኑ እምነት አለዉ። ሆኖም ጉድጓድ ጫፍ ላይ የቆመ ጠላት በራሱ ተወርዉሮ ጉድጓዱ ዉስጥ አይገባምና ይህንን የተዳከመ ጠላት እየተፈራገጠ ጉዳት ከማብዛቱ በፊት ለመደምሰስ ክንዳችንን አጠናክረን በህብረት እንደ አንድ ሰዉ እንነሳ ይላል።

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ!!!

ኢህአዴግ – ሌባ ወይስ አገር አስተዳዳሪ?

March 5, 2014 08:01 am By Editor Leave a Comment

ከላይ የጠየቅነው ጥያቄ ዛሬ የተነሳ አዲስ ነገር አይደለም። ኢህአዴግ መሰረቱን ዝርፊያ ላይ ያደረገ አገር አስተዳዳሪ መሆኑ ግብሩ ራሱ ምስክር ነውና “ሌባ አገር አስተዳዳሪ” ስለመሆኑ ማስተባበያ ሊያቀርብም አይቻለውም፤ አያስፈልገውም። ሌብነቱ አገርንና ህዝብን ወደ ገደል እየሰደደ መሆኑ ግን ሁሌም የሚያስጨንቅ ነውና ዛሬ እንደ አዲስ አነሳነው እንጂ!!

ኢህአዴግ ግዙፍ፣ ሃብቱ በዶላር ካልሆነ በብር የማይቆጠር፣ በህገወጥ ንግድ ሰላማዊ ነጋዴዎችን የሚውጥ፣ ለብቻው መግቢያና መውጪያ የተዘጋጀለት፣ የተለየ ጨረታና የነጻ ቀረጥ እድል የሚበጅለት፣ በየትኛውም ተቋም እንደፈለገ መጋለብ የሚችል ልጓም አልባ የሆነ፣ በፈለገው ቦታና ማህበረሰብ ጥቅም ላይ እንዳሻው ከበሮ እየደለቀ የሚጨፍር፣ ጡሩምባ ይዞ የሚያንጠራባ፣ የፈለገውን ማስወገድ፣ ማሳገድ፣ ማስከፈት፣ ማዘጋት የሚችል፣ ድንበርና ኬላ የማይዘው የንግድ ተቋም አለው። እወክላቸዋለሁ በሚላቸው የአንድ ክልል ሕዝብ ስም ባቋቋመው ሻርክ ኦዲት በማያውቀው የ”ንግድ” ተቋም አማካይነት አገሪቷን እየዘረፈና እየዋጠ ነው።

አገሪቱ አምጣ የምታገኘውን የውጪ ምንዛሬ በበላይነት ሲፈልግ ከራሱ ባንክ፣ ሲያሻው የራሱ ሰዎች በሚያዙበት የህዝብ ባንኮች በተራ ትዕዛዝ ያግበሰብሳል። በፋይናንስ ዘርፉ ውስጥ እጅና እግሩን ነክሮ እንዳሻው ያንቦጫርቃል። የሚቀናቀኑ ብቅ ሲሉ እየበለተ ይሰቅላቸዋል። ሲያሻው ፋይል አስከፍቶ በ”አጎብዳጅ ባንዳ” ዳኞች ያስፈርድባቸዋል። “ጸረ ልማት” ብሎ የፍየል ወጠጤ ያዘፍንባቸዋል።

እንቶኔን ያየ … በሚል አገር ወዳዶች ሸሽተው አለቁ። ምሁሩ አገሩን ከዳ። ነጋዴው ኮበለለ። ወጣቱ በኑሮ ጠኔ መጨረሻው በማይታወቅ ስደት የባህር ላይ ሞትን መረጠ። የቻሉ አረብ ምድር ገብተው በግፍ አለንጋ ተጠበሱ። ኢኮኖሚያዊ ቀውሱ የበረታባቸው ራሳቸውን ማጥፋት ጀመሩ። ይህ ሁሉ የማያስደነግጣቸው ህወሃትና ጭፍሮቹ በጥጋብ ያገሳሉ።

ተቀናቃኞቹን በሰበብ ለማላመጥ የተቋቋመው የፌደራል የስነ ምግባርና የጸረ ሙስና ኮሚሽን በቅርቡ በሰጠው ማረጋገጫ ያለ ህጋዊ ቀረጥ ከሚነግዱ ድርጅቶች መካከል ይኸው የህወሃት ድርጅት ግንባር ቀደም ነው። ነገር ግን ጠያቂ የለውም። ለምን ቢባል ባለቤቱ ራሱ አገር መሪ ነውና። ሌባ አገር አስተዳዳሪ ነውና!!

“አስገራሚውና አነጋጋሪው ጉዳይ ህወሃት መቼ ነው ዘርፎ የሚጠግበው?” የሚለው ነው። አንድ ነጻ አውጪ ድርጅት አገር መምራቱ በራሱ ይገርማል፤ ምን አልባትም በዓለም ላይ በነጻ አውጪ የምትገዛ ብቸኛ አገር ኢትዮጵያ ትሆናለች ። በዚህም ላይ ይህ “ነጻ አውጪ” ከፍተኛ አመራሮቹ እንደሚሉት ከበረሃ ጀምሮ ዘርፎ ዘርፎ አለመጥገቡ ያስደንቃል። ከሁሉም በላይ የሚያስገርመው ግን በየቀኑ የጠላቶቹን ቁጥር በሺህዎች እያባዘ ነገ ምን ሊገጥመው እንደሚችል ያለመገመቱ ነው።

እዚህ ላይ አጠንክረን የምንለው ይኖረናል። ህወሃት አንዱን ከሌላው በማጋጨት መሰረት ላይ በተከለው ፖለቲካ የትግራይ ህዝብ የሌላውን ብሔረሰብ ህዝብ ሙሉ በሙሉ እንዲጠረጥርና ራሱን እንዲከላከል እየሰራ መሆኑን እናውቃለን። የማያውቁና መረጃ የሌላቸው ከግምት በላይ ይረዱታል። ይህ ሰይጣናዊ አካሄድ ዋጋው አስቀድመን እንዳልነው “ደም” ነውና ከወዲሁ ማርገቢያ እንዲበጅለት እናሳስባለን።

በቁጥር እየከፋፈሉ በምስጢር ከየአይነቱ በማስታጠቅ የትግራይ ህዝብን ከሌላው ህብረተሰብ ጋር ለማጋደል በምርጫ 97 ወቅት ሟቹ አቶ መለስ የሰጡትን ትዕዛዝ አጠንክሮ መያዝ አሁንም መዘዙ የከፋ ነውና ህዋሃት ከዚህ ተግባሩ እንዲታቀብ እንመክራለን። በወቅቱ “ራስህን ተከላከል፣ ሊያጠፉህ ነው” በሚል በመታጠቅ በየቀበሌው ለመተላለቅ መመሪያ የተጠበቀበት ደረጃ ተደርሶ እንደነበር ለምናውቅ ድርጊቱን ስናስበው ይቀፈናል። ያመናል። ያስበረግገናል። ተከስቶ ቢሆን ኖሮ ጠባሳው ምን ያህል በከፋ ነበር?

የትግራይ ህዝብ እንደ ህዝብ እንደ ማንኛውም የተረገጡ ዜጎች ሁሉ የስርዓት ለውጥ ያስፈልገዋልና ሌላው ህብረተሰብ ከጭፍን ጥላቻ ራሱን እንዲያርቅ እንመክራለን። የትግራይ ልሂቃንም በገለልተኛ ሚዛን በራሳቸው ላይ እንዲሆን የማይፈቅዱት በሌሎች ላይ እየተደረገ መሆኑንን በመቃወም በህዝብ መካከል የተረጨውን መርዝ በማምከን ተግባር ላይ ሊሰማሩ እንደሚገባ ለመጠቆም እንወዳለን። ዙሪያችንን የከበቡን ጠላቶች ይበቁናልና!!

ኢህአዴግ እንደ ገዢ ያለው አቅም ተቦርቡሯል። ሟርት ነው ካልተባለ የኑሮ ብሶት፣ ሌብነትና በሌላው ህዝብ ላይ የሚፈጽመው የግፍ ክምር ሊንደው ተቃርቧል። የሚመካበት የጦር ሃይልም ቢሆን ወገን አለውና አንድ ቦታ ከተፈረከሰ አደጋው የአገር ነው። በቡድን አደራጅቶ መሳሪያ በማደል በጎጥ ወኔ የህዝብን ቁጣና ምሬት መቋቋም የሚታሰብ አይደለምና ህወሃት በመፈክር አታሎ በጨረሳቸው ታጋዮች ደም ላይ የሚደንሰውን ከልክ ያለፈ የጥጋብ ጭፈራ ይግታው። በነጻ አውጪ ስም አገር እየመሩ ዝርፊያ ተራ የማፊያ ተግባር እንጂ አገር እምራለሁ ከሚል ወገን የሚጠበቅ አይደለምና ያደባባይ ዝርፊያ ይቁም!! ኢህአዴግ ሌባ ወይስ አገር አስተዳዳሪ በማለት የሚጠይቁ ሁሉ እውነት አላቸውና ልብ ያለው ልብ ይበል።

በግብር የምናየው ኢህአዴግ ከተዘፈቀበት ችግር ራሱን ከማጽዳት፣ ህዝብ የሚበጀውን እንዲመርጥ መንገድ ከማመቻቸትና አገሪቱን ወደ መልካም ጎዳና ከማሸጋገር ይልቅ፣ ህዝብን በጅምላ “ለሃጫም” እያለ መስደብ የሚያስደስተው ነው። ህዝብን “ጠባብ፣ አሸባሪ፣ ጸረ ልማት፣ …” በማለት መፈረጅ የድል ያህል የሚያስፈነድቀው ነው። ራሱ ስራ ፈት ያደረገውን ትውልድ “ቦዘኔ” ሲልና ሲሳደብ የስኬት ገድል ያስመዘገበ ያህል ይመስለዋል። ከሁሉም በላይ የህወሃት የእጅ ስራ ውጤት የሆኑ አሻንጉሊት ካድሬዎች እንደ ጌቶቻቸው “ለሃጫም” እያሉ ህዝብን ሲሰድቡ ሽልማት ለመስጠት ይሽቀዳደማል። ህዝብ ሲያኮርፍና ሲበሳጭ ይደሰታል። አገሪቱን ባህር አልባ አድርጎ ስለቀረቀረባት ኩራት ደረቱን ይነፋል። በማያገባው ጦርነት ምስኪን ወገኖችን ማሽጨፍጨፉ ልዩ ገድል ሆኖ ይታየዋል። ድንግል መሬት በሳንቲም ሲቸበቸበ ልማት ነው ይላል፡፡ ነዋሪዎችን ለትውልድ ከኖሩበት እያፈናቀለ መሬታቸውን ለውጪ ባለሃብቶች እየሰጠ “እስካሁን ያልሸጥነው መሬት ነው የሚያሳስበን” በማለት በሰው ደም ይቀልዳል፡፡ በዚህ ሁሉ ትዕቢቱ ላይ ንጹሃንን እያሰረ ማሰቃየቱ፣ መግረፉና መግደሉ፣ አሁን አሁን ይፋ የሆነበት የመርዝ ጣጣ ጀብድ ሆኖበታል። በልክ በልኩ የሰራቸውን አሻንጉሊት ተላላኪዎቹ ሰብስቦ በሚሰራው ድራማ መደነሱና ውሸታም አገር አስተዳዳሪ መሆኑ የኩራቱ ሁሉ ኩራቱ ነው። በዚህ ሁሉ ሲደመር ዜሮ በሚሆን ትምክህት ውስጥ ሆኖ አገር መምራቱ በእጅጉ ያሳስበናል፣ ያስጨንቀናል፣ ወደፊት የሚመጣውን ስናስበው እንደ ዜጋ ያስበረግገናል። ለዚህ ነው “ኢህአዴግ ሌባ – ወይስ አገር መሪ” ስንል የጠየቅነው። መልሱን የሚሰጥ ሁሉ እንዳመላለሱ ትግሉን ሊያካሂድ ይገባዋል እንላለን፡፡

In Ethiopia the truth is stranger than fiction

March 4, 2014

by Abebe Gellaw

The life of the young Ethiopian co-pilot who sought political asylum while flying in the airspace of Switzerland two weeks ago will never be the same again. If the amount of money people make is a measure of success, the 30-year old co-pilot Hailemedhin Abera Tegegn had a relatively “privileged” life in Ethiopia, where per capita income is around $400.

In contrast to the paltry income of the majority of Ethiopians, the average pilot working for the state-controlled Ethiopian Airlines is said to make well over $2000. That is a fortune in Ethiopia, a country where crony capitalism has widened the disparity between the fortunate haves and the unfortunate majority that barely affords to eat a decent meal.

Hilemedhin Abera Ethiopian Airlines Co-pilot

It could indeed be puzzling how the young pilot chose to risk it all with what appears to be a deliberate and dramatic “hijacking” incident that he executed calmly despite the inevitable consequences awaiting him upon landing. But man does not live by bread alone. Man also needs guarantees for dignity, rights and freedom.

Hailemedhin is now a prisoner under the custody of the Swiss police facing air piracy and hijacking charges that carry a penalty of up to 20 years in jail. The incident is actually another testimony to the fact that people living under tyranny tend to resort to extreme measures risking their comfort and lives to call for attention and win their freedom.

According to media reports, Hailemedhin took control of the plane when the pilot left the cockpit to take a toilet break over the airspace of Sudan. He locked out the pilot and commandeered the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-300, Flight ET702, with 202 passengers and crew en route to Rome and diverted it to Geneva, where he sought political asylum in midair, a daring action that attracted global attention.

The measure is definitely extreme as the young man could have quietly slipped out of the country to seek political asylum in the United States or Europe. Tens of thousands of professionals leave the country every year. So many pilots and crew members from the Ethiopian Airlines have fled the country without attracting glaring attention at a global scale.

The reaction of the Ethiopian government, which is dominated by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), was not unexpected. It is a minority government that routinely makes every effort to hide its appalling human rights record from the attention of the international community. The Minister of Government Communication, Redwan Hussein, told reporters in Addis Ababa that the incident “beggars belief”.

While is it an open secret that the Ethiopian constitution is not worth the paper it is written on, Mr. Hussein said the action of the co-pilot was in violation of article 32 of the Ethiopian Constitution, which guaranteed the freedom of citizens to travel out of the country.” He also claimed that basic liberties such as freedom of expression are fully respected in Ethiopia and claimed that citizens have no reason to flee from their own country. But the citizens enjoying such privileges might be TPLF members.

What beggars belief is actually the depressing reality on the ground and the cruel way that ordinary citizens are oppressed and stifled in Ethiopia. Thousands of journalists, human rights activists and dissidents are languishing in harsh jails where torture and other forms of inhuman treatment are rampant. The Draconian anti-terrorism law is routinely invoked to jail anyone who dares to speak out against the gross human rights violations and corruption which characterizes a regime that ironically enjoys cozy relationships with Western powers as well as China.

The United States, which considers the Ethiopian government a credible ally on the “war on terror”, doles out about a billion dollars annually in the form of foreign aid to prop up the brutal TPLF-led regime. It is a crucial support for a government that significantly depends on foreign aid to survive and maintain its tight grip on power. To please its Western funders, the ruling party periodically holds inconsequential elections and regularly pays lip service about “flourishing” democracy.

Press freedom is a far cry in Ethiopia. Three award-winning journalists that have been convicted of terrorism offenses because of their critical writing are serving long-term sentences. Eskinder Nega is winner of the 2012 PEN America’s Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. Earlier this year Eskinder was also awarded the 2014 Golden Pen of Freedom by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). But the award given to him by the Ethiopian government for his courageous work as a journalist is 18 years behind bars after he was convicted of “terrorism” offenses. His most serious crime was writing a few critical articles that predicted that Ethiopia would face a popular uprising in the style of the Arab Spring. In fact, all tyrants don’t want to believe that reality but the doom is inevitable.

Reeyot Alemu is another courageous journalist who celebrated her 33rd birthday in a harsh jail last month. She is suffering from breast cancer but has been denied proper medical care. While in jail, Alemu has bagged three coveted international awards for her extraordinary commitment to press freedom and courage in journalism. She was awarded the 2012 Courage in Journalism Award by the International Women’s Media Foundation, Human Rights Watch’s press freedom prize, Hellman/Hammett award, and the 2013 UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Woubishet Taye also received the Hellman/Hammet and CNN Free Press Africa Journalist Awards.

Journalists are by no means the only victims. While journalists are mostly the primary targets due to the nature of their jobs, individuals like Hailemedhin, no matter what their profession and education, sometimes tend to take inexplicable actions such as choosing to live in jails rather than living in fear and silence. The most extreme measure was taken by Yenesew Gebre, a 29 year-old Ethiopian school teacher. Frustrated by the lack of basic freedom, he set himself ablaze in November 2011 and died a horrific death shortly after the incident.

In a New York Times piece, “Letter From Ethiopia’s Gulag”, which journalist Eskinder Nega penned from jail, he noted: “I’ve never conspired to overthrow the government; all I did was report on the Arab Spring and suggest that something similar might happen in Ethiopia if the authoritarian regime didn’t reform.”

Authoritarian and totalitarian regimes live under the illusion that they can sustain repression forever through intimidation and killings. As history shows time and again, those who fail to reform create their own demise by forcing people to rise up in anger to claim their own destiny. The case of a defiant young pilot is not unprecedented. Defiance is a familiar alarm bell in nations like Ethiopia where the truth is stranger than fiction.

Hailemedihin seems to be more interested in calling for global attention to the plight of the people of Ethiopia than just seeking asylum. While he could have sought asylum quietly, he chose to do it in full view of the world over Geneva. For most Ethiopians, he is a hero and a protester against the injustice they are facing under the boots of their cruel rulers that have no regard for the rights, dignity and freedom of their subjects.

As the former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark once said: “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” Switzerland and the rest of the world should definitely take note of this reality.

The not so cheap talk of Alemnew Mekonnen et al

March 4, 2014

by Hindessa Abdul

Amid the drama and conspiracy theories surrounding a co-pilot who had hijacked a plane, two local politicians were hitting the headlines in their own ways.

Zenebu Tadesse is Ethiopian Minister of Women, Children and Youth Affairs. Last week she allegedly tweeted: “There is no place for hate, discrimination in my beloved Africa. It’s not Governments’ business to make dress code or anti-gay laws.” The tweet was a reaction to an anti-gay bill that was signed into law by Ugandan President Yoweri Musevini. Zenebu’s comment quickly drew controversy both at home and abroad. However, the tweet was a short-lived one: deleted. The Minister later denied posting it.

In an interview with the ruling party owned Radio Fana, Zenebu said while she actively uses Tweeter to promote some of the activities of her Ministry, she denied posting the tweet. “I was out of town when I heard about the tweet. I was saddened to hear that. I didn’t even have access to network… I am not an IT expert to comment on how it was posted. We are conducting an investigation.”

Probably the most important issue here is not the content of the tweet. It is to what extent the officials are free to speak their mind. Was the Minister forced to retract her comment? Would she be as blunt to comment on such controversial matter without expecting a backlash? Is the level of IT sophistication that high to easily hack on to her account? Why didn’t the hackers go after more prominent politicians that are known to use Tweeter? Whatever the answer to those questions, officials will be intimidated to say what they think; making their online life as boring as the officialdom they are caged in.

Making Alemnew famous

Alemnew Mekonnen is deputy head of the Amhara Regional State and the second in command of the Party that is imposed on the Region.

Alemnew – according to his own explanation – was “training” the local media staff on issues of good governance and democracy, put simply – he was engaged in political indoctrination.

A leaked audio from the “training” shows what ruling party functionaries are capable of saying behind closed doors. Alemnew scorned the Amhara – Ethiopia’s second largest ethnic group considered to be 30 million strong – labeling them “ultra-chauvinists” and “barefoot pedestrians.” He added: “The Amhara walks barefoot but what they say is utterly poisonous.”

Those remarks aired by Ethiopian Satellite Television and later spiraled onto other social networking sites brought about disgust and indignation. While the state media was mute about it, some government affiliated “private” papers talked about the incident without delving into the content.

All sorts of discussion and condemnation ensued. Opposition party members staged mass protest in the regional capital Bahir Dar. Scores of them actually took off their shoes to make a point on the “barefoot” remark.

The deputy chief convened a press conference of handpicked journalists who read questions from a script. The caption that run on the TV screen didn’t even identify him as deputy regional administrator – a move taken by the spin doctors to distance the administration from the comment – only vaguely mentioning his position in the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM).

Alemnew took an hour to basically say two things:

• First, he denied making the remark. “How can I say that?” he threw the question back to the reporters. “I didn’t say any of the comments that have been attributed to me by the opposition. I have respect for the people. Who am I to make such disparaging comment against my own ethnic group? (The whole thing) was doctored by computer techniques. It is the work of the opposition politicians to alienate the ANDM leadership from the people.”
• Second, he blamed the participants of the training for their chauvinistic outlook. He insisted that he was mainly trying to address issues of ethnic politics that the trainees lacked tremendously.

For whom the bell tolls

Remarks by officials that single out specific ethnic groups, particularly the Amhara, are not uncommon. To start with, the pages of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) manifesto handwritten in February 1974 are packed with references to the “oppressing Amhara ethnic group.” That’s where small time ethnic ideologues get their cue from.

Former chief of Southern Region, who has since become Minister of Education, Shiferaw Shigute issued a letter akin to ethnic cleansing when he ordered the eviction of Amhara settlers from the Gura Ferda locality in southern Ethiopia. His counterpart in the Somali Regional State, Abdi Mohammed Oumer, was shown in a video advising his “brethren” which ethnic group they should embrace if they happen to go to the Capital, Addis Ababa.

Such ethnic disparaging languages should not be tolerated where ever they come from. At the end of the day no body chose where they come from. An attack on one is an attack on all. “… never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.