Breaking News: Burkina Faso army colonel Zida announces resignation of President Blaise Compaore

October 31, 2014

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) – Burkina Faso’s President Blaise Compaore has left power, a colonel in the presidential guard announced on Friday, according to television channel Burkina24.

Lieutenant-Colonel Issaac Zida made the announcement in the central Place de la Nation in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou when tens of thousands of people had gathered to demand Compaore’s resignation after a day of violent protests on Thursday.

Omega radio also separately reported that Compaore had issued a statement announcing his resignation and saying that the head of state’s position was now vacant.

Temesgen Desalegn – an Ethiopian embodiment of courage

by Hindessa Abdul

In one of his articles Temesgen discusses how the struggle of the Ethiopian opposition and other activists were reduced from raising political and civil liberty issues to merely demanding the release of opposition figures or imprisoned journalists. Ironic as it may seem, now the 37 years old is in the later’s shoes and rest assured others certainly will not stop demanding his release.

Temesgen Desalegn, publisher and editor of the now defunct Feteh and a couple of other newspapers, has been found guilty of articles that were published in his paper between July 2011 and March 2012.

The five page charges for the most part interrelate to each other. On top of that, some of the charges listed negate the very essence of journalism. One of the charges states “with a view to change the mindset of the youth.” The whole point of writing is the fight for the hearts and minds of citizens; to contribute to making an informed debate and decision making. Devoid of such ordinary logic, the charges evolve around incitement, mischaracterization of the government, manipulation and defamation.

Five articles written in that time frame were presented as evidence. After two years long deliberation, the Federal High Court found the defendant guilty as charged. On October 27,2014, he was sentenced to three years in prison.

Temesgen’s imprisonment was hardly unexpected. He was a vocal critic of the ruling party. As such he has been detained several times. He shared his prison stint with readers in various blogs he posted regularly.

Temesgen’s articles stand out as well thought, analytical and empirical. His knowledge of the country’s current affaires, with all its intricacies and complexities, is almost unparalleled. Even long after all his publications were shut down, Temesgen never missed an opportunity to pen his views and analysis on current affairs.

In an unusual tribute, a veteran economist and politician Bulcha Demeksa recently commended him as a knowledgable, fearless journalist whose gut has inspired many a youth.

The popular Amharic weekly Feteh was shut down in July 2012 in a dramatic manner, the last publication was seized from the government owned printing press. To add insult to injury, the printing house forfeited the money amounting to a little over $4,000.

Not to be completely outdone, the indefatigable chronicler of the country’s state of affaires had earlier managed to publish a collection of his articles in a book entitled Yemeles Amelko ( Worshipping Meles). The book was a huge success that it had to be reprinted a number of times.

For now Temesgen doesn’t seem to be that concerned about the sentence as he is adamant about his innocence. His lawyer Amha Mekonnen told VOA Amharic that they declined to present mitigating circumstances for that is tantamount to admitting guilt. So their next move is to appeal the court’s decision. As Temesgen’s favorite metaphor has it, his journey won’t stop until he gets to Golgotha! He is determined to relive that moment by challenging the judiciary where ever it takes him. Here’s to idealism.

Amnesty Says Ethiopia Detains 5,000 Oromos Illegally Since 2011

October 28, 2014

by William Davison (Bloomberg)

Ethiopia’s government illegally detained at least 5,000 members of the country’s most populous ethnic group, the Oromo, over the past four years as it seeks to crush political dissent, Amnesty International said.

Victims include politicians, students, singers and civil servants, sometimes only for wearing Oromo traditional dress, or for holding influential positions within the community, the London-based advocacy group said in a report today. Most people were detained without charge, some for years, with many tortured and dozens killed, it said.

“The Ethiopian government’s relentless crackdown on real or imagined dissent among the Oromo is sweeping in its scale and often shocking in its brutality,” Claire Beston, the group’s Ethiopia researcher, said in a statement. “This is apparently intended to warn, control or silence all signs of ‘political disobedience’ in the region.”

The Oromo make up 34 percent of Ethiopia’s 96.6 million population, according to the CIA World Factbook. Most of the ethnic group lives in the central Oromia Regional State, which surrounds Addis Ababa, the capital. Thousands of Oromo have been arrested at protests, including demonstrations this year against what was seen as a plan to annex Oromo land by expanding Addis Ababa’s city limits.

Muslims demonstrating about alleged government interference in religious affairs were also detained in 2012 and 2013, Amnesty said in the report, titled: ‘Because I am Oromo’ – Sweeping Repression in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia.

Government Denial

The state-run Oromia Justice Bureau said the findings were “far from the truth” in a reply to Amnesty included in the report. “No single individual has been and would not be subjected to any form of harassment, arrest or detention, torture for exercising the freedom of expression or opinion.”

The majority of detainees are accused of supporting the Oromo Liberation Front, which was formed in 1973 to fight for self-determination, according to Amnesty.

Senior Oromo politicians Bekele Gerba and Olbana Lelisa were jailed in 2012 for working with the group, which was classified as a terrorist organization by lawmakers in 2011.

“The accusation of OLF support has often been used as a pretext to silence individuals openly exercising dissenting behavior,” Amnesty said.

The bulk of Amnesty’s information came from interviews with 176 refugees in Kenya, Somalia and Uganda in July this year and July 2013. More than 40 telephone and e-mail conversations were also conducted with people in Ethiopia, it said.

Some interviewees said they fled the country because of conditions placed on them when released, such as being told to avoid activism, meeting in small groups, or associating with relatives who were political dissenters, the report said.

Amnesty has been banned from Ethiopia since 2011 when its staff was deported.

David Cameron writes to Hailemariam Desalegn

October 23, 2014

David Cameron writes to Ethiopian PM on behalf of British political dissident on death row

Andargachew “Andy” Tsege, a critic of the Ethiopian regime, was kidnapped in Yemen

(The Independent) – The PRIME Minister has personally intervened in the case of a British father-of-three facing the death sentence in Ethiopia, after the man’s children appealed for his help.

David Cameron wrote to the Ethiopian PRIME Minister in a bid to save the life of Andargachew “Andy” Tsege, 59, whose plight was revealed by The Independent last Friday.

His actions were in response to what he described as “very touching messages” from Mr Tsege’s children, who are calling for the PRIME Minister to help get their father home.

Mr Tsege, who came to Britain as a political refugee in 1979, was arrested at an airport in Yemen in June and promptly vanished. Two weeks later it emerged he had been sent to Ethiopia, where he has been imprisoned ever since. The Briton, a prominent opponent of the Ethiopian regime, is facing a death sentence imposed five years ago at a trial held in his absence.

Menabe, his seven-year-old daughter, recently wrote to Mr Cameron asking him to help get her “kind, loving and caring dad” out of prison. Her twin brother, seven-year-old Yilak, simply asked: “What are you doing to get my dad out of jail?” Mr Tsege’s 15-year-old daughter, Helawit, summed up the mood of the FAMILY in her letter: “Please, please, please (!) bring him back soon. We miss him so much.”

Responding to the children’s appeals, the PRIME Minister claimed the government is taking the case “very seriously”. In the letter to Yemi Hailemariam, Mr Tsege’s partner and mother of their children, Mr Cameron admitted “Ethiopian authorities have resisted pressure” from British officials to have regular “access” to Mr Tsege.

“As a result of the lack of progress TO DATE I have now written personally to PRIMEMinister Hailemariam Desalegn to request regular consular access and his assurance that the death penalty (which the British Government opposes in all circumstances) will not be imposed,” he added. “I very much hope that there will be further progress to report in response to my letter,” he concluded.

Responding to the news yesterday, Maya Foa, head of the death penalty team at legal charity Reprieve, commented: “The PRIME Minister says he is ‘concerned’ – but where is the outrage at this flagrant breach of international law, and the ongoing abuse of a British citizen?”

She added: “Andy’s small children are terrified of losing their father, his partner is desperate with worry, and we are no closer to seeing Andy released and returned to safety. Enough delays – we need firm action now to bring him home to London.”

Reprieve has begun legal moves which could result in a judicial review to force Foreign Office officials to press for Mr Tsege’s immediate release and return to Britain – something which the Government has resisted TO DATE. A letter to Treasury Solicitors, sent last week by lawyers acting for the charity, argues: “Far from not being ‘entitled’ to request his return, the UK Government has every reason to do so and we urge you to exercise that power as a matter of urgency.”

Meanwhile, Mr Tsege’s family remain in limbo. The past four months have been “agonising” said Ms Hailemariam. “Waking up every day not knowing where Andy is or how he’s being treated is taking a terrible toll on my children and myself.” She added: “The Prime Minister has told our family that he is taking action, but it seems like next to nothing is being done to get Andy back. The children and I need him here with us in London. The Government must demand his return, before it’s too late.”

የእንግሊዝ መንግሥት ለኢትዮጵያ ያዘጋጀውን የደኅንነት ማኔጅመንት ፈንድ አቋረጠ

በእንግሊዝ መንግሥት ገንዘብ ለኢትዮጵያ የደኅንነት ኃላፊዎች ይሰጥ የነበረው የደኅንነት ማኔጅመንት ፕሮግራም ተቋረጠ:ሪፕሪቭ የተባለ ነፃ የሕግ አገልግሎት የሚሰጥ የእንግሊዝ ኩባንያና ሌሎች የሰብዓዊ መብት አቀንቃኞች፣ ካለፈው ዓመት አጋማሽ ጀምሮ የእንግሊዝ መንግሥት ይህንን ፕሮግራም እንዲያቋርጥ ግፊት ሲያደርጉ ነበር::

እነዚህ ወገኖች ይህንን ግፊት የጀመሩት የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት በልማት ምክንያት ዜጐችን ከመኖሪያ አካባቢያቸው ያፈናቅላል በሚል ክስ ነበር:: ይሁን እንጂ የግንቦት ሰባት ጸሐፊ የሆኑት አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ በየመንና
በኢትዮጵያ የፀጥታ ኃይሎች፣ ባለፈው ሐምሌ 1 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም. ወደ ኤርትራ ለመጓዝ የመን በኢትዮጵያ የፀጥታ ኃይሎች፣ ባለፈው ሐምሌ 1ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም. ወደ ኤርትራ ለመጓዝ የመንሰንአ አውሮፕላን ማረፊያ በቁጥጥር ሥር ውለው ወዲያውኑ ለኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት ከተላለፉ በኋላ፣ በእንግሊዝ መንግሥት ላይ ጫናው እንዲጠናከር ሲጥሩ ነበር::
አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ አሁን ያለውን የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት በኃይልም ሆነ በተገኘው አማራጭ ለመለወጥ የሚታገለው የግንቦት ሰባት አመራር ይሁኑ እንጂ፣ ዜግነታቸው እንግሊዛዊ መሆኑ ተጨማሪ ግፊት ይፈጥራል ብለውም ነበር::
እሳቸው በቁጥጥር ሥር ከዋሉ በኋላ በእንግሊዝ መንግሥት ላይም ሆነ በኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት ላይ ከፍተኛ ግፊት ከሚያደርጉት መካከል፣ መቀመጫውን ለንደን ያደረገው ነፃ የሕግ አገልግሎት የሚሰጠው ተቋም የሆነው ሪፕሪቭና የአውሮፓ ኅብረት የሰብዓዊ መብት ኮሚቴ ይገኙበታል::
የሪፕሪቭ የሕግ ዳይሬክተር ቲኔክ ሀሪስ በነሐሴ ወር ለእንግሊዝ መንግሥት ዓለም አቀፍ ትብብር ሚኒስትር ጀስቲገን ግሪንግ በጻፉት ደብዳቤ፣ ‹‹የእንግሊዝ ዜግነት ያለውን ግለሰብ ላገተውና ቶርቸር በማድረግ ለሚጠረጠረው የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት ኃላፊዎች ይህንን ፕሮግራም መስጠት ተገቢ ነው ወይ? ተገቢ ነው ብለው ካላመኑ አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ እስካልተፈቱ ድረስ ምን ዕርምጃ ሊወስዱ እንደሚችሉ ቢያሳውቁን?›› በማለት ጥያቄ አቅርበው ነበር::
የአውሮፓ ኅብረት የሰብዓዊ መብት ጉዳዮች ኮሚቴ ባለፈው መስከረም ወር ባካሄደው ጉባዔው በአቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ እስር ላይ የእንግሊዝ መንግሥት ምንም ዓይነት ጫና አለማሳደሩን በመውቀስ አስፈላጊ ነው የተባለ ውሳኔ በኢትዮጵያ ላይ ለማሳለፍ የሁለት ወራት ጊዜ ቀጠሮ ወስዶ መበታተኑን መዘገባችን ይታወሳል::
ይህ ጫና ባለበት በአሁኑ ወቅት የእንግሊዝ መንግሥት ዲፓርትመንት ፎር ኢንተርናሽናል ዴቨሎፕመንት (ዲኤፍአይዲ) ለኢትዮጵያ የደኅንነት ኃላፊዎች ይሰጥ የነበረውን የደኅንነት ማኔጅመንት ፕሮግራም አቋርጧል::
ፕሮግራሙ የተመረጡ የኢትዮጵያ የደኅንነት ኃላፊዎች በእንግሊዝ አገር በደኅንነት ማኔጅመንት የማስትሬት ዲግሪያቸውን እንዲሠሩ የሚያግዝ ነበር::
የፕሮጀክቱ አጠቃላይ ወጪ ወደ 70 ሚሊዮን ፓውንድ ሲሆን፣ ለመጀመሪያው ዙር ፕሮግራም ሁለት ሚሊዮን ፓውንድ ያስፈልግ ነበር::
ለዚህ ዓመት ተይዞ የነበረው የሁለት ሚሊዮን ፓውንድ ወጪ ለአጠቃላይ ፕሮግራሙ መሆኑን መረጃዎች ያመለክታሉ::
የዲኤፍአይዲ የኢትዮጵያ ቢሮ ጉዳዩን በተመለከተ ከሪፖርተር በኢሜይል ለቀረበለት ጥያቄ ፕሮግራሙ መቋረጡን አረጋግጧል:: ነገር ግን ምክንያቱ ከአቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጋር ግንኙነት እንደሌለው አስታውቋል::
‹‹ፕሮግራሙ የተቋረጠው የእንግሊዝ መንግሥት ለፕሮግራሙ የሚያወጣውና የሚያገኘው ምላሽ (ኢንቨስትመንት ሪተርን) የሚጣጣሙ ባለመሆናቸው ነው፤›› በማለት በደፈናው መልሷል::

ሪፖርተር