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

Ethiopian government policies in Gambella: For Peace or Occupation?

September 1, 2014

by Anywaa Athow

Ethiopian government portrays different image at international level-peace loving, non-interference policy and trusted ally in the war against terror. Yet, the same government continued to play dirty tactics;-campaign of murder, intimidation, harassment, arbitrary detention and crime against humanity. The government deliberately violates its constitution and federal arrangement intended to cement geographical and ethnic diversity.  Anywaa (Anuak), a minority ethnic in the country, are primary targets of the government discriminatory policies.

On the pretext of war on terror, the Ethiopian government has been arresting, detaining and sentencing numerous ethnic Anyuak. More than 56 individuals are suffering in Ethiopian detention and tortured accused of murdering their fellow ethnic groups in a remote Gambella region. Many more are sentenced to life imprisonment and some waiting on death row. While the government commits gross human rights abuses against indigenous Anuak in their own homeland, the authorities freely enjoys without limit extending their support to so call federal police and other Ethiopians.

Despite relative peace returning to Gambella after a prolong trouble over arbitrary massacre in 2003 and continued eviction to grab indigenous communities land, the government in Addis Ababa repeating the same mistakes by arresting and intimidating Anyuak to leave their land. It has embarked on arresting innocent civilians and returnees to allow them to suffer or die in prison. This move by authorities in Addis Ababa abrogates the fundamental federal arrangement that gives power to members of federal states as federal state police and anti-terror groups detained and imprisoned citizens without the knowledge of local police and perhaps local authorities.

In a nutshell, the authorities in the federal do not want peace to return in Gambella. In the past few months, farmers enjoyed relative peace and welcomed the returned of their young ones from exile. Yet, the return of arbitrary arrest and government violent act will create further tension and potential conflict unnecessarily.

As the community and other peace leaving individuals learnt about the arrest of regional special force commander, Philemon KwotAgid, the region was thrown into confusion and chaos. It is not clear why authorities arrested him while he is sick. Perhaps, they intend for him to die in prison.

The regional special force commander is a veteran fighter along TPLF to over throw the military junta and supposed to be rewarded with better rank rather than locking him up for unfounded reasons. He was a brain behind the return of thousands of Anyuak from exile to their traditional homeland, Gambella. It seems that his effort to convince 2003 genocide survivors to return to their families after 10 years has been so much undermined and ignored by authorities. His recent arrest on 23rd August 2014 on impractical reasons is a sustained effort by federal authorities to undermine his peace effort.

It is to be recalled that the Anyuaksuffered tragically in the hand of current regime; in 2003, about 2500 innocent Anyuak civilians were murdered in cold blood and many more fled the region into neighboring countries for safety, land grabbing and government villagisation policy has evicted thousands and deprived them of decent livelihoods and many innocent civilians are picked up and suffering in Ethiopian federal government jails. Many more are intentionally infected with HIV/AIDS.

So far the mass grave of those who perished in 2003 is not known to their loved ones apart from a single non-Anuak individual who fear for his safety if he disclosed the three mass graves outside of the Gambella town. It is estimated that about 50,000 Anyuak have lost their lives and 25,000 displaced from their homes in last 10 years period.

The former Gambella governor, OkelloAkway Ochalla escaped narrowly during unforgettable Anuak genocide. After 10 years, when he returned to visit some of his family members in exile, he was picked and deported to Ethiopia. This was the time when South Sudan slipped into anarchy and prolong turmoil that threatened many national and refugees from Gambella. The Ethiopian government paid staggering amount of $23,000,000 to South Sudanese authorities to arrest OkelloAkway and seven other Anyuak who they accused of being part of terrorist group. The money needed for key regional development is being misused on unfounded ground just to simply continued promoting genocide policy.

The arrest of Philemon KwotAgid would have sparked serious and irreversible disaster in the region had it not been the effort of regional elders to calm the situation that is developing and soon will get out of control. This is an indication that Ethiopian government does not enjoy affording peace to the region. But to send a clear single to those who already came back hopping that peace has been attained to return into exile. Moreover, it is a clear signal that those who are in exile should not return to their beloved homeland to live in peace with their families.

Despite the clams that Ethiopian government is among the most powerful country in the continent and with high number of troops, my hope is in the power of God who could do anything bigger than human ability and power. It would take away this great power one day and perhaps turned these heavy weapons against great number of troops.

This Ethiopian government policy threatened all Anyuak irrespective of where they came from in the Anyuak country. I appeal to all my brothers and sisters to preach the message of unity rather than division along the line of Lul, Openo, Chiro, Jor, Akobo and even Adongo. Let us understand that we are one and the same people irrespective of where we came from in the eyes of Ethiopian government. The clear evidence is that all people in federal prison are all from corner of Anywaa land; you find people from Lul, Openo, Jor, Akobo, and even from Adongo side in South Sudan. They are all arrested for being Anywaa. We should understand that the policy is to evict all Anywaa from their land which God gave them.

Our land is rich in both agricultural potential and various minerals. It is a home endowed with vast natural resources, wild lives, and four rivers that could feed Ethiopia for 10 years if its resources are utilized wisely in the interest of genuine development. But the current policy lacks sustainability and does not respect ethics of environmental friendly development. Instead, to follow degradation and make the beautiful land barren.

In conclusion, Ethiopian government should stop harassing innocent Anyuak by returning their army into the barracks as they are there to protect citizens equally from any cross border attack. Rather than protecting the section of their fellow Ethiopian highland community in the region who continually feed them with lies throughout. It is also appropriate for large section of the army to be stationed at international border to protect any incursion from across the international border as the military junta used to practice.

The Anuak and other indigenous communities in Gambella are threatened by the presence of large army among unarmed groups. History would repeat itself if this large army who only protect their Ethiopian highland groups remain in towns.

It is also a good idea for the government to release all Anyuak in federal prison. They are far away from their parents and families who would wish to visit them in prisons. They also suffers various ill treatments while in federal prisons as they are discriminated against by Ethiopian highlanders in prisons; Paul Agwa was beaten by a group of Ethiopian highlanders and he lost his teeth without any intervention from prison officers. In the interest of peace, the government should look into God fearing Anyuak who would want to tell the truth and other Ethiopian highland population whose culture is surrounded by selfish interest.

The release of Anyuak in federal prison would send a signal to those still in exile to return to their homeland. Their return would make them live peacefully with other Ethiopian communities as it used to happen during the regime of Haile Selassie and Dergue period. Comparatively, the military junta was more peaceful and respect equality of all citizens than the current EPRDF government that oppresses Anyuak without limit.

I am also of the opinion that land grabbing should stop immediately. The beautiful land of Gambella should be preserved for ecotourism and increase national wealth for the benefit of the country. The current land grabbing is bad for the people, natural environment and wild lives. It destroyed National Park and displaced many human and wild lives. It further encourages environmental degradation rather than sustainable environment management.

 Ethiopian government policy could be illustrated by the following triangle:

ቀጭኗ፤ ፖለቲከኛ ሀሙስ ፍርድ ቤት ትቀርባለች፤ እና ሌሎች ቀጫጭን መረጃዎች

ወይንሸት ሞላ የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ አባል እና የወጣቶች ጉዳይ ውስጥ አመራር ላይ ካሉት ሃላፊዎች አንዷ ነች። ጋዜጠኛ ኤሊያስ ገብሩ ሲገልጻት ”ቀጭን እና ጠንካራ” ይላታል። ይቺ ልጅ አርብ እለት (ጁምዓ) በአንዋር መስጊድ ሙስሊም ወንድሞች እና እህቶቻችን ሰላማዊ ጸሎት ለአላህ፤ እና ሰላማዊ ተቃውሞ ለመንግስት በሚያሰሙ ጊዜ የመንግስት ታጣቂዎች ያገኙትን መደብደብ እና ማፈስ ሲጀመሩ ወይ ጉዳዩን ለመታዘብ ስትበር በቦታው ተገኝታ፤ አልያም በአጋጣሚ በአንዋር መስጊድ አካባቢ ስታልፍ ብቻ ለጊዜው ለዚህ ዜና ጸሀፊ ግልጽ ባልሆነ አጋጣሚ አንዋር መስጊድ አካባቢ ከዚህ በፊት ይከታተላት የነበረ ደህነነት አያት፤ ከዛም ለቀም አድርጎ እየደበደበ ከፖሊሶች ጋር ተባብሮ ወሰዳት። ከዛም ማንም የርሷ ወገን ባልተገኘበት ፍርድ ቤት አቀረቧት፤ ይቺ ቀጭን ወጣት እና ጠንካራ ፖለቲከኛ ዳግም ለሐሙስ ሐምሌ 16 ሜክሲኮ አካባቢ በሚገኝ ፍርድ ቤት ትቀርባለች።

ሌላ የፎቶ ጋዜጠኛ የሆነችው አዚዛ መሃመድ የፎቶ ካሜራ ለአዲስ ጉዳይ መጽሄት ዘገባ በአንዋር መስጊድ ባለፈው አርብ የተፈጸመውን ድርጊት በካሜራዋ ስታነሳ በመገኘቷ የመንግስት አሳሪዎች አስርዋታል። አዚዛም ማንም በሌለበት ፍርድ ቤት የቀረበች ሲሆን አሁንም ሀሙስ ሃምሌ አስራ ሰባት በቂርቆስ ከፈለከተማ ምድብ ችሎት ከሌሎች በርካታ ታፍሰው የተወሰዱ ንጹሃን ጋር ዳግም ፍርድ ቤት ልትቀርብ ቀጠሮ ተይዞላታል።

ሌላ ሀምሌ አስራ አንድ የመንግስት ታጣቂዎች በሰላማዊው ጸሎተኛ እና ሰላማዊ ተቃዋሚ ህዝብ ላይ ያደረሱት ድበደባ አፈሳ እና ማሰቃየት ”ጥቁር ሽብር” የሚል ስያሜ እንደተሰጠው የድምጻችን ይሰማ ልጆች ነግረውኛል።

ሌላ ቅድም ያልኳችሁ የመሬ ነገር የምር መሆኑን ከመሬ አረጋግጠውልኛል። መሬ እምቢኝ ብሏል! (የከፋ ጉዳት ተወዳጇ መሬ ላይ እንዳይደርስ መጸለይ አትርሱ!) ኢህአዴግ ሰው ብትሆን ይሄ አይነቱ ነገር ሲገጥማት ጦሯን ወደ መሬ ከማዝመቷ በፊት ለሚ ላይ ቁጭ አድርጌ ብመክራት ደስ ይለኝ ነበር። ህዝብ ካመረረ ጥይት ሳይሆን ጸሎት ነው መፍትሄው እላት ነበር። ችገሩ ኢህአዴግ ሰው አይደለችም ግንባር ነች እንጂ… ለዛውም ቴስታ ካልተማታ የሚታመም ግንባር!

ፌደራል ፖሊስ ሕዝቡን ሲቀጠቅጥ፣ ሲያሸብር፣ አንዋር መስጊድን ሲከብና ሙስሊሙን ሲያስር የሚያሳዩ ፎቶዎች

ከድምጻችን ይሰማ

ሰላማዊው ሙስሊም እረፍት የነሳቸው የመንግስት ሃይሎች ዛሬም የጎዳና ላይ ነውጥ ፈጥረው እየደበደቡ እና ያለምንም ልዩነት መንገድ ላይ ያገኙትን ሁሉ እያሰሩ ነው፡፡ ፖሊሶች ከተክለሃይማኖት ጀምሮ አንዋር መስጂድ ድረስ መንገድ ዘግተው ቆይተዋል፡፡ አደባባይ ላይም ያገኙትን እያሰሩ ነው፡፡ አንድ ፖሊስ በተፈጠረው ግርግር በራሳቸው በፖሊስ መኪና ተገጭቶ ከፍተኛ አደጋ ደርሶበታል። መንግስታዊ ሽብር ዜጎች ሰላም እንዳይሆኑ የሚያደርግ ፀረ ህዝብ አቋም ነው! ህዝበ ሙስሊሙ ዛሬም በቀደሙት መንግስታት ይደርስበት እንደነበረው በእምነቱ እየተጨቆነ በአምልኮ ቤቱ እርምጃ እየተወሰደበት ነው፡፡ ህዝበ ሙስሊሙ ዲኑን እስከዛሬ ያቆየው በመስዋእትነት ነው! ለዚህ ድንቅ ትውልድ ምስጋና ቢያንሰው እንጂ አይበዛበትም!

Woyanne rounded up 3,000 Oromo students in Addis Ababa, shaved their heads and sent them to a concentration camp in Afar region

Woyanne rounded up 3,000 Oromo students in Addis Ababa, shaved their heads and sent them to a concentration camp in Afar region 

The Woyanne junta claims that the 3000 shaved young Ethiopians shown in the photo below are street children, but according to Ethiopian Review sources, they are actually Oromo students who were rounded up from Addis Ababa University and other schools following the recent protests. The number of Oromo students who have been rounded up from Ambo and other towns and currently detained in concentration camps exceeds 30,000, witnesses say.