Thursday, November 30, 2017

መሀል ኢትዮጵያ- አዲስ አበባ

መሳይ መኮንን
ፍርድ ቤት ውስጥ ህዝቡ በእንባ ይራጫል። አንድ ሰውነቱ በግርፋት የተዘለዘለ እስረኛ ልብሱን አውልቆ ''እዩት ሰውነቴን። አኮላሽተውኛል። ዘር እንዳይኖረኝ አድርገውኛል።'' እያለ ሲቃና ለቅሶ ባሸነፈው ድምጽ ይማጸናል። ''የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ይፍረደኝ'' አለ። ፍርድ ቤቱ በሀዘን ክው ብሎ ቀረ። ሁሉም ተላቀሰ። አሁንም እዚያው አዲስ አበባ ወጣቷ ንግስት 10ሩም የእጆቿ ጥፍሮች ተነቅለው በኪሶቿ ይዛለች። የደረሰባት ቶርቸር መልኳን አገርጥቶታል። በጉጠት የተነቀሉት ጥፍሮቿን እንድትይዛቸውም አልተፈቀደም። በኋላም በህወሀት ገራፊዎች ተነጥቃለች። የሻሸመኔዋ ሸጊቱም ትናገራለች ''ጆሮዬ እስኪደማ ድረስ ተደብድቤ ተጎድቷል።ግራ እጄ ታሟል። በእግራቸው ነበር የሚረግጡኝ። ጸጉሬን እየጎተቱ ነበር የሚደበድቡኝ።''
Bilderesultat for ወጣቷ ንግስት

ሁለቱ የዋልድባ መናኞች በማዕከላዊ የደርሰባቸው ስቃይና ድብደባ ቃላት አይገልጸውም። የህወሀት ደህንነቶች ሌሊትን አልፈዋቸው አያውቁም። እኚህን ዓለምን የተጠየፉትን መናኞች ዘቅዝቀው በመደብደብ፣ በመዝለፍ፣ በማንቋሸሽ ይህ ነው የማይባል ስቃይ እያደረሱባቸው ነው። ልብሰ ተክህኖአቸውን፡ ቆባቸውን እንዲያውልቁና የእስረኛ ዩኒፎርም እንዲለብሱ ነው ግርፊያውና ስቃዩ። ከዚህ ቀደም አበበ ካሴ አስሩንም ጥፍሮቹን በጉጠት ተነቅለዋል። / እማዋይሽ ጡታቸው በኤሊክትሪክ ሽቦ ተተልትሏል። ብዙ የኢትዮጵያ ልጆች በማዕከላዊ ተኮላሽተዋል። ተቀጥቅጠዋል። የስቃይ መዓት ቆጥረዋል። ከትላንት እስከ ዛሬ።
ሰሜን ኢትዮጵያ- መቀሌ
ዝሆኖቹ ረጅሙን ስብሰባ ተቀምጠዋል። የሚያስጨንቃቸው የኢትዮጵያ ጉዳይ አይደለም። ጓዛቸውን አስጠቅልሎ ለሁለት ወራት መቀሌ የከተታቸው ስለኢትዮጵያውያን ተጨንቀው ተጠበው አልነበረም። የትግራይን የበላይነት ለተጨማሪ ዓመታት አስጠብቀን እንዴት እንቆያለን? የሚለው ላይ በአካሄድ ተለያይተው እንጂ። 77ቢሊየን ብር ዱቄት ያደረገውን አባይ ጸሀዬን መርቀው፡ አባይ ወልዱን ረግመው ዝቅ አድርገዋል። የማዕከላዊ ሰቆቃ እስር ቤት አዛዥ፡ ናዛዥ፡ ገራፊ አስገራፊ፡ የሆነውን ጌታቸው አሰፋን ሸልመው አዜብን ሸኝተዋል። በየነ ምክሩን አዋርደው፡ ጌታቸው ረዳን ከፍ አድርገዋል። ጉልቻ ቀያይረው፡ ከዝንጀሮ መሀል አንዱን ሊቀመንበር መርጠው፡ ወንበር ተለዋውጠው ከጨረሱ በኋላ ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ''የምስራች፡ ምስር ብላ'' ሊሉት ተዘጋጅተዋል።
ሙስናን ህወሀቶች አላነሷትም። ከመሃላቸው በዚህ ጉዳይ የሚተርፍ አልነበረምና። አቅምና ብቃት ማነስም ለግምገማ አልቀረበም። ሁሉም አቅመ ቢስ፡ የደናቁርት ስብስብ ናቸውና። አባይ ወልዱ የተገመገመው የትግራይ ተወላጆች በአማራ ክልል ጉዳት ሲደርስባቸው የወሰድከው እርምጃ ዝግ ያለ ነው፡ የወሰኑ ጉዳይ መቋጪያ ሳያገኝ ተራዘመ የሚል ነበር። ወልቃይትን በጠራራ ጸሀይ የወሰደው፡ ራያን ከአማራ ነጥቆ ወደ ትግራይ የከለለው፡ ግጨውን እጅ ጠምዝዞ የነጠቀው፡ ከምንም በላይ በመቶዎች የሚቆጠሩ የአማራ ወጣቶችን በጥይት ደብድቦ የገደለው ህወሀት፡ ለፖኣለቲካ ትርፍ ተብሎ ጭረት ሳይነካቸው በአውሮፕላን ተሳፍረው ወደትግራይ የተወሰዱትን የትግራይ ተወላጆች ጉዳይ አንገብጋቢ አጀንዳ አድርጎ ነበር ሊቀመንበሩን የገመገመውና ከቦታቸው ያነሳው።
በተንኮልና ሴራ ያላረጀው ስብሃት
86ዓመቱ ሽማግሌ በስጋ አርጅቶ፡ በተንኮል ጎልምሶ ዘንድሮም ብቅ ብሏል። በህወሀት የፓርቲም ሆነ በፌደራል መንግስት ውስጥ የያዘው ስልጣን የለም። ሆኖም ከጀርባ መዘወሩን ማሽከርከሩን ከዘመናትም በኋላ አላቆመም። በተንኮል ተፈጥሮ፡ በሴራ አድጎ፡ በሸፍጥ ሸብቷል። የአረቄ ብዛት የተንኮል አቅሙን አላደከመውም። ሰውነቱ ውስጥ በቀን የሚገባው የአልኮል መጠን፡ የአእምሮውን ሴራ የመጎንጎን ክፍል አልጎዳውም። 6 በላይ ህንፍሽፍሾችን በአሸናፊነት የተሻገረ፡ ስንቱን የህወሀት አመራር መንግሎ ያስወገደ፡ በስተርጅናም በጥሎ ማለፍ ታክቲክ ሻምፒዮን ሆኖ እየታየ ያለ ሰው ነው። የአጼ ዮሀንስን ዘውድ ያስመለሰ ተብሎ በታሪክ እንዲጻፍለት እየታተረ ያለ፡ ይህቺን ታሪኩን በህወሀት መዘገብ ውስጥ መስፈሩን ሳያረጋግጥ ሞቱን ላይጨልጥ ለራሱ ቃልኪዳን የገባ ለመሆኑም ይነገርለታል። የህወሀት መሀንዲስ ነው። King maker ነው ይሉታል። በእሱ ያልተቀባ ለስልጣን የማይበቃ፡ በሱ የተረገመ ደግሞ ስልጣን የማይበረክትለት ይባልለታልም።
ስብሃት ነጋ ለጊዜው የአሸናፊነት አክሊሉን ደፍቷል። በአልኮል ብዛት ጎሮሮው ሲርርር የምትልበት ስብሃት ከቀን እንቅልፍ ጋር እየታገለ፡ የመቀሌውን ስብሰባ በድል አጠናቋል። በእርግጥ ውስኪ የጠበሰው ፊቱ ደስታውን ደብቆበታል። እንደልማዱ ቀጣዩን የህውሀት አለቃ እንዲሰየም አድርጓል። የሚጠራረጉትን ጠራርጓል። የሚፈልጋቸውን አስገብቷል። በጊዜ እጅ የሰጠው በረከት ስምዖንም ለስብሃት ውዳሴ ማቅረቡ ተሰምቷል።
በእርግጥ ድሉ ጊዚያዊ ነው። ተጀመረ እንጂ አላበቃም። ህወሀት በማይድን በሽታ የተለከፈ፡ ቀኑን እየቆጠረ ያለ ድርጅት ነው። አቶ ገብረመድህን አርዓያ እንዳሉት ህወሀት ሟሙቷል። መሪዎቹም አርጅተዋል። ከተፈጥሮአዊ ሞት በፊት መቃብር የሚወስዳቸው ማዕበል ከደጃፋቸው ደርሷል። ለእነሱ ግን አይታያቸውም።
ከወዲሁ ድለቃው ተጀምሯል። ኢቲቪ የህውሀትን ማላገጫ በሰበር አቅርቦታል። ሪፖርተር በጉጉት የሚጠበቅ ብሎታል። የፓርቲና የመንግስት ሚዲያዎች ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ የብስራት ያህል የመቀሌውን ስብሰባ ውጤት ሊያበስሩ አፋችውን እያሟሹ ነው። የክልል መንግስታት የደስታ መግለጫ እንዲያወጡ ይደረጋል። አጋር፡ አባል፡ አሯሯጭና ደሞዝ ተከፋይ ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች ለህወሀት ስብሰባ ስኬት ''የእንኳን ደስ አላችሁ'' መልዕክት ከሰሞኑ ይዥጎደጎዳል። በየከተማው ያለው በሊግ፡ በፎረም፡ በጥቃቅንና አነስተኛ የተደራጀ፡ በሴልና በመሰረታዊ ድርጅት መዋቅር የተሰገሰገ ካድሬ በያለበት ሰልፍ ወጥቶ በእልልታና ጭፈራ ለመቀሌው ስብሰባ ውጤት ደስታውን እንዲገልጽ ይደረጋል። በቃ! የኢትዮጵያ ችግር ተፈቷል። ሰንኮፉ ተነቅሏል። ይለናል ሃይለማርያምም በቴሌቪዥን መስኮት ብቅ ብሎ።
ከወዲሁ የህወሀት የፌስቡክ ሰራዊት ቄጤማ እየጎዘጎዘ፡ ፈንዲሻ እየነሰነሰ ነው። የህወሀት ስብሰባ ኢትዮጵያውያንን ያስጨነቃቸው ጉዳይ እንዲመስል የሚችሉትን እየተፈራገጡ ነው። አንዳንድ የህወሀት ደጋፊዎችም በዱቄትና አመድ መሃል የሚደረገውን ፉክክር የሂላሪና ትራምፕ ዓይነት አስመስለው ማን ይመረጣል፡ ማን ይወገዳል በሚል ትኩረት እንድንሰጠው እየተሯሯጡ ነው። ያስጨነቀን የሞንጆሪኖ መምጣት፡ እንቅልፍ የነሳን የአዜብ መወገድ፡ ትካዜ ውስጥ የከተተን የጌታቸው ረዳ ስራ አስፈጻሚ ውስጥ መግባት ይመስል አጓጊና ልብ ሰቃይ የሆሊውድ ፊልም አድርገን እንድንከታተለው ተፈልጓል።
የቁጭት ዘመን አልፏል
የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ጆሮው ከመቀሌ አይደለም። ይልቅስ ከነጻነት ሃይሎች የድል ዜና ተቀስሯል። የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ቀልቡ የህውሀት ስብሰባ ላይ አልነበረም። ይልቅስ የኦሮሚያ ቄሮዎችን ገድል የአማራ ፋኖዎችን ተጋድሎ፡ የጋሞጎፋ ጀግኖችን ውሎ፡ በመከታተል ተጠምዷል። የመቀሌው ቲያትር የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ጉዳይ አይደለም። አሁን ዘመን ተቀይሯል። የቁጭት ጊዜ አብቅቷል። የእርምጃ ምዕራፍ አንድ ብሏል። እየተደበደቡ ከቤት መግባት ቀርቷል። እየተገደሉ ማልቀስ አሮጌ ሆኗል። ግራን ሲመቱ ቀኝን መስጠት በትላንት ታሪክ ውስጥ ገብቷል። ሲደበደብ፡ የሚደበድብ፡ ሲገደል፡ የሚገድል፡ ግራውን ሲመቱት፡ መልሶ በጥፊ የሚያጮል ኢትዮጵያዊ ብሎ ተነስቷል።
የኦሮሞ ቄሮዎውች የህውሀትን ዝርፊያ በየከተሞቹ መግታት ጀምረዋል። ስኳር፡ ቡና የጫኑ የህወሀት ተሽከርካሪዎች እርምጃ ይወሰድባቸዋል። በባህርዳር ህዝብ ሲገድል ሲያስገድል የነበረው ኮማንደር ደሳለኝ ልጃለም በነጻነት ሃይሎች ተገድሏል። በጋሞጎፋ ሳውላ ግብር አንከፍልም ያሉ ነዋሪዎች የወረዳውን ገቢዎች /ቤት ዶግ አመድ አድርገዋል። በጋምቤላም የከተማው አስተዳደር ገቢዎች /ቤት እንዲቃጠል ተደርጓል። በአጭሩ የቁጭት ዘመን ወጥቷል። የእርምጃ ዘመን ገብቷል። ህወሀቶች ጉልቻ ብትቀያየሩ፡ ከመሃላችሁ አንድ መርጣችሁ አለቃ ብትሰይሙ፡ ብታስወግዱ፡ ብትሾሙ የራሳችሁ ጉዳይ ነው---ብሏል የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ።
የትግራይ ህዝብ ሚና
ሰሞኑን በማህበራዊ ሚዲያዎች የሚዘዋወር በኢትዮቲዩብ የቀረበ የአንዲት የትግራይ / ቃለመጠይቅ እያቃረኝም ቢሆን ሰማሁት። የትግራይን ህዝብ በዚህች ሴትዮ ሚዛን ላስቀምጥ አልችልም። በሷም መነጽር የትግራይን ህዝብ መመልከቱ ተገቢ ነው ብዬ አላምንም። ሆኖም እንደዚህች ዓይነቶቹ ሰዎች የጎረበጠውን ይበልጥ የሚያሻክሩ፡ የህዝብ ለህዝብ ግንኙነቱን በጥርጣሬ ውስጥ የሚደፍቁ በመሆናቸው ጉዳታቸው የትየሌለ ነው። ስለትግራይ ህዝብ ዝምታ አጥብቆ እየተጨነቀ ያለውና ይሄ ህዝብ ራሱን ህወሀት ከተሰኘ የዘራፊዎችና ነፍሰገዳዮች ቡድን ነጥሎ እንዲቀርብ እየጠየቀ ያለው የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ የእነዚህ ዓይነት ሰዎችን በድንቁርና የተለወሰ ንግግር ሲሰማ ስለትግራይ ህዝብ ተስፋ እንዳይቆርጥ እሰጋለሁ።
በእንግሊዝ የህውሀት ደጋፊዎች የመቀሌው ስብሰባ መቋጨቱን ተከትሎ መግለጫ አውጥተዋል። ዘራፍ ብለዋል። አጆሃ፡ ጀግናው ወያናይ፡ እንደብረት የጠነከረ የማይገረስስ ሲነኩት የሚያርድ ተራራን ያንቀጠቀጠ ዓይነት ፉከራና ቀረርቶ አሰምተዋል። እነዚህ ዘረኝነት ከደማቸው ሰርጾ ከአጥንታቸው የገባባቸው የህውሀት ደጋፊዎች በመግለጫቸው እንዲህ የሚል አስፍረዋል ‘’ሁሉም ነገር ወደትግራይ እየሄደ ነው; የትግራይ ተወላጆች ከሌላው የኢትዮጵያ ህዝበ የበለጠ ጥቅም ያገኛሉ እየተባለ የሚወራውን የውሸት ፕሮፖጋንዳ ትክክል እንዳልሆነ የሚያስረዱ መረጃዎች ወደ ህዝብ እንዲቀርቡ::’’
የህወሀት ደጋፊዎች ዘረኝነት ልቦናቸውን ስለጋረደ ለማስተዋል የሚያስችል ጠብታ አቅምም የላቸውም። የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ የሚኖርበትን እውነት በፕሮፖጋንዳ ጭነት ለመለወጥ መፍጨርጨራቸው አስገራሚ ነው። አሁንም እነዚህን በሌላው ኪሳራ ምቾትና ድሎታቸውን አስጠብቀው እሰከመጨረሻው ለመዝለቅ ቅንጣት ታክል የማይሰቀጥጣቸውን ሰዎች ከትግራይ ህዝብ ጋር አድርጎ መውሰድ ስህተት ላይ ይጥላል። ነገር ግን በቋፍ ላይ ላለው የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ይህ ዓይነቱ ጭፍንነት ስለትግራይ ህዝብ ጥያቄ እንዲያነሳ ይገፋፋዋል። በውጭ ሀገራት በየፓል ቶኩ፡ የየአከባቢ ሬዲዮ ጣቢያዎች፡ በድረገጾች በትግራይ ህዝብ ስም እየማሉና እየተገዘቱ ሌላውን የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ የሚያበሻቅጡ ጥቂት የትግራይ ጽንፈኞች ድምጻቸው ጎልቶ የሚሰማ በመሆኑ በወደፊቱ የትግራይ ህዝብ አብሮነት ላይ ግርዶሽ እንዳይጥሉ በእርግጥም እሰጋለሁ።
እናም የትግራይ ህዝብ ዝምታውን መስበር አለበት። መቀሌ ላይ ለሁለት ወራት የተጎለተው የዘረኞች ስብስብ በኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ላይ የሚያደሰውን ግፍና መከራ በአስቸኳይ እንዲያቆም መጠየቅ መጀመር ይጠበቅበታል። በማዕከላዊ፡ ቂሊንጦ፡ ቃሊቲ፡ ዝዋይና በተለያዩ የኢትዮጵያ እስር ቤቶች ስቃይ እያየ ያለው ወገናቸው፡ መቀሌ በተሰብሰቡትና በስሙ በሚነግዱት ጥቂቶች ትዕዛዝ የሚፈጸም በመሆኑ ይህ እንዲቆም ያደርግ ዘንድ የትግራይ ህዝብ ውሳኔው ይጠበቃል። ጊዜው እየረፈደ ነው።
በመጨረሻም
የሀራሬ ሰማይ ፈክቷል። ምድሩ በተስፋ ለምልሟል። ሀራሬ በጭፈራ ላይ ናት። በደስታ ሰክራለች። የአንድ ሰው ፊት እያየ ያደገው 2 ትውልድ ዛሬ ጮቤ እየረገጠ ነው። የዚምቧቡዌ አየር በነጻነት ጠረን ታውዷል። ዛሬ ልዩ ቀን ናት። 37 ዓመቱ የሙጋቤ ዘመን አክትሟል። 93ዓመቱ አዛውንት በመጨረሻው ሰዓት ከውርደት ስንብት ተርፈዋል። የሙጋቤ ነገር በታሪክ ማህደር ሰፍሮ ፋይሉ ተዘግቶ መደርደሪያ ላይ ተሰቅሏል። አዲስ ቀን፡ አዲስ ዚምቧቡዌ።
የኢትዮጵያም ሰማይ በጉም ጠቁሮ አይቀርም። ከዚህ በላይ ምድሯ በተስፋ ጥም እንደገረጣ አይዘልቅም። በየከተሞቿ ልጆቿ በአጋዚ ጥይት መውደቃቸው ይቆም ዘንድ ጊዜው ደርሷል። ኢትዮጵያ የለበሰችውን የሀዘን ከል ታወልቃለች። ዘረኛው፡ ቅጥረኛው፡ ወንጀለኛው፡ መንግስታዊ አሸባሪው ስርዓትን እያየ ያደገው ትውልድ መድረሻ አጥቶ መንከራተቱም ያበቃል። ከኢትዮጵያውያን ጫንቃ ላይ እንደ አልቅት ተጣብቆ ላለመውረድ የሚንገታገተው የህወሀት ቡድንም በህዝብ ማዕበል ተጠራርጎ የሚወግድበት ጊዜ ሩቅ አይደለም። አዲስ ቀን፡ አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ በቅርብ ቀን።
ባዶ ምኞት አይደለም። ሰማይ ላይ የተሰቅለ የማይደረስ ተስፋም አይደለም። አፍንጫዬ ስር የሚሸተኝ የነጻነት መዓዛ እንጂ።
ፈጣሪ እግዚያብሔር ውድ ሀገራችንን ኢትዮጵያን ይባርካት


Monday, November 27, 2017

Ethiopia: Political prisoners and their accounts of Torture


This is the second part of torture accounts of prisoners in Ethiopia’s prisons. Association of Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE) has gathered testimonies of torture and other inhuman and illegal treatments of prisoners in detention centres, prisons, military camps, and other undisclosed areas. 
The selected stories are translated from Amharic with the aim of notifying the international community the dire conditions of Ethiopia’s political prisoners at this time, and the highly disturbing prison system in the country. The stories also affirm Ethiopia’s government’s politicized use of the ominous Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, and the inability of the justice system to protect the safety of prisoners. Equally important- the prisoners’ accounts also exemplify the ways Ethiopian authorities, in violation of constitutional and international obligations, continue to use power to silence, criminalize, torture, and kill dissidents.
  1. Belayneh Alemneh: Age 29, resident of Amhara Regional state, Bahir Dar
He was detained on October 2016. Belayneh and five other defendants on under file name Nigist Yirga et al, were officially charged on January 20, 2017, for the offense of contravening articles 3(4) and (6) of the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. The case is still open.
Charge description: Recruiting members Ginbot 7 (listed as a terrorist organization by Ethiopia’s government); travelling to Eritrea to take political and military training; communicating with the London based Dr. Tadesse Biru on Facebook and notifying his allegiance to Ginbot 7, and his plans to engage in military warfare with Ethiopian troops; reporting to ESAT TV about the protests in Amhara region; damaging government and personal properties.
Belayneh’s testimony:
“Security officers apprehended me when I was entering into my office in Bahir Dar, and took me to Bahir Dar Police Station. I spent the night there lying on the floor without any food. The next day, they took me to intelligence bureau in Bahir Dar, and severely beat me for two consecutive days. They were demanding that I falsely testify against Engineer Yilkal Getnet and Abebe Akalu, leaders of Semayawi Party (a legally registered political party), and testify to the court that they are linked with Ginbot 7.
The beating got worse after I moved to Maekelawi prison in Addis Ababa; they beat me with their stick and electrical wires. Sometimes they would call me in the middle of the day for interrogation and had me skip my lunch; other times they would call me at 9:00 PM and beat me until 12:00 AM. I was very hurt and too weak to move on my own for three days.”
  1. Lakew Robe: Age 67, resident of Oromia regional state, Berhe woreda, kiade kebele.
He is 18th defendant under the file name Olana Kebede et al, who were charged for the offense of contravening article 32(1)(a) of the FDRE Penal Code of 2004 and article 7(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (652/2009).
Charge description: Along with five other defendants in the same file- being a member of Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) (Listed a terrorist organization by Ethiopia’s government); organizing themselves in cell structure; assigning themselves duty and responsibility; recruiting members; communicating with and receiving missions, training and money from leaders of the terror organization based abroad for the purposes of executing missions.
Lakew’s testimony: “I used to be a healthy person, but that changed after I was arrested. I am now suffering from diabetes, cholesterol, hemorrhoids, and kidney failure.  I got all of these due to the abuse and maltreatments I endured in prison.  It is very hard to get proper treatment here. The prison system has a procedure of releasing chronic patients before they finish their prison time, but the prison officials hid my medical file so as to deny me an early release. They also refused to grant me admission to referral a hospital for better treatment.
  1. Mamushet Amare resident of Addis Ababa, Bole Sub City
He is charged for the offense of contravening Article 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (652/2009.
Charge description: Recruiting members for the purpose of spreading the people’s protests in Amhara region to other parts of the country; organizing and leading the movement in Gonder and Gojjam by communicating with individuals in Ethiopia and in exile; recruiting members for Ginbot 7, and sending them to Eritrea; opening a military training in Semien Shewa so as to overthrow the government in a coup, and training and arming members.
Mamushet had already been imprisoned and released 11 times before his recent arrest; this is his 12th., making him the most frequently imprisoned political prisoner in Ethiopia.
Mamushet testified that he is suffering from nerve disease and haemorrhoids, both due to ill-treatments he faced in prison, especially in “Siberia” ward at Maekelawi prison in Addis Ababa where movement and exposure to sunlight was impossible. He is also denied further treatment despite his deteriorating health and against the advice of prison health officials for a better treatment at a referral hospital.
  1. Two prisoners, Armaye Wako and Mohammed Chane Gebeyehu, were beaten to death in prison
During a court hearing on October 25, 2017, defendants under the file name Bisrat Berhanu et al, told Lideta Federal High Court 3rd Criminal Bench that two prisoners under the same file were beaten to death.
Armaye’s father recounts his conversation with his late son:
“He was moved to Showa Robit prison follwing Qilinto fire outbreak[1]. When I went to visit him, his hands and face had swollen; he told me they were beating him. He couldn’t talk freely because security guards were closely monitoring us. He was wearing shorts, and was almost naked. I saw that there were bruises on his feet. He told me they hit him every evening, and said they tied a plastic water bottle to his testicles; he had difficulties waring trousers.
Later, they moved him back to Qilinto, but the beating got worse. In the summer 2016, they took him to a solitary confinement for 15 days, claiming he provoked other prisoners to rebel. He was born and raised in Addis Ababa, but they claimed he was OLF member simply because his family members were born in Ambo. He told me they were threatening to kill him. We used to visit him once a week, but he asked us to visit him at least three times a week so we could at least receive his body on time if they kill him.”
The first defendant in the same file, Bisrat Abera said this in court:
“They kicked Armaye to death in the chest with their shoes; I was there when it happened. They beat many of us in the presence of the prison head, Superintendent Assefa Kidane. We have already asked the court last time to move us to another prison. We are at the hands of killers; where can we go?
I am risking my life for speaking today, but what else can I do? I have asked before and I will ask again now; please don’t send me back to Qilinto. Move me to either Kaliti or Maekelawi prison. I know about the violations in those prisons, but nothing can be compared to Qilinto. I will not go back there again; they will kill me.”
The court however declined to order the transfer.
A complaint letter signed by his father, his mother, his sister, and one other family member was filed to court. Excerpt from the letter reads:
“We went to prison to see him on September 12, 2017, but prison officials told us he was in the hospital for stomach ache, and told us to come back the following day; so, we went back home. That same night they called his sister from prison and told her that he had passed away, and that we could take his body from St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College.
When we went there, we saw that his head was crushed from violent beating; his belly was cut open and stitched back. (In another testimony, his father requested for autopsy saying, “it looks like Armaye’s organs were taken out”) His body was laid to rest in St. Rufael Hospital on September 13, 2017 at 3:00 PM.
We kindly urge the court to hold accountable Zone 5 security officials who were on duty on September 11 and 12 and bring them to justice.  …. And taking what happened to Armaye into consideration, to provide legal protection to his brother Tewodros Waqe who is detained in Kaliti prison.”
N.B: Tewodros Waqe and his brother Armaye Waqe were initially arrested and charged for the offense of possessing and selling drugs under the same file and were put in 2 different prisons. Following Qilinto fire outbreak, prosecutors filed criminal charges against 121 prisoners, and later added additional 38 prisoners charging them for the offense of contravening different articles of Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (652/2009) and the 2004 penal code.  Armaye was on the list of the first 121.







Pictured above: Armaye Waqe
  1. Testimonies of two Monks from Waldba Monastry: Father Gebre Eyesus Gebre Mariam and Father Gebre Sellasie Wolde Haymanot
Two monks, facing terrorism charges, have reported that they are being harassed and intimidated by prison officials. On October 26, 2017 Father Gebre Eyesus Gebre Mariam and Father Gebre Sellasie Wolde Haymanot told the Federal High Court that they have faced various kinds of maltreatment and intimidation at Qilinto prison.
Father Gebre Eyesus said, “We have already been assaulted and beaten in Maekelawi prison. Now in Qilinto, we are physically and psychologically assaulted. We are prohibited from praying and from sharing our meal with prisoners who don’t have visitors (Usually prison food is of poor quality, and prisoners receive food from family members and other visitors).
Father Gebre Sellasie on his part said in court: “The government demolished Atseme Kidusan, (a part of Waldeba Monastery), including the surrounding forest. It was my hope and my refuge. We filed a complaint, but to no avail. In fact, I have been harassed since 2004 ever since I complained about the destruction. And now in prison, I am a target of abuse and maltreatment. Our country has no government, only God protects her.”
Recommendations:
AHRE urges the Ethiopian authorities to fully comply to its constitutional and international legal obligations and commitments including under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment that Ethiopia has ratified.
AHRE urges the international community, particularly the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, to urgently demand the Ethiopian authorities to comply to UN standards and agreements Ethiopia has signed and to the country’s own constitution regarding treatment of prisoners.
We also urge the Special Rapporteur to conduct fact-finding country visits in Ethiopia to investigate the allegations of inhuman treatment of prisoners in Ethiopia’s prisons.

Does a struggling Ethiopian model town offer lessons for the future?

With Addis Ababa struggling to cope with housing demand, Ethiopia’s government wants to bring urbanisation to the countryside – but the model town of Buranest has had mixed fortunes
By Tom Gardner
BURANEST, Ethiopia, Nov 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A group of shepherds amble slowly down the main thoroughfare of Buranest, a tiny village in a far-flung corner of northern Ethiopia.
The town square lies empty, as does the school, while sheep and cows graze peacefully in the overgrown grass.
Buranest is a model town, a “real life experiment” that a team of Ethiopian and European urban planners hope can provide crucial lessons for the country’s future.
Founded in 2010 by Franz Oswald of Nestown Group and experts from ETH Zurich, a Swiss university, the nascent town is a paragon of sustainability.
It features self-built homes that harvest rainwater, workshops for light industry and craft, local eucalyptus trees to supply wood for building, and irrigated fields for growing crops.
But for seven years Buranest struggled.
Its model homes are still unoccupied, and local farmers remain suspicious.
“At the beginning most locals did not like the idea,” Mestawet Libokemkem, project coordinator from the local government, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “They feared their land would be taken away from them.”
Urbanisation, and the task of bring jobs and infrastructure to the countryside, is central to the government’s future agenda.
Ethiopia’s urbanisation rate is estimated to be between 4 and 6 percent per year, while the population of the capital, Addis Ababa, is expected to double to more than 8 million over the course of the next decade.
FARMERS SUSPICIOUS
“When we started we thought we could change the world with our plans,” said Fasil Giorghis, an architect based in Addis Ababa and a lead researcher on the Buranest project. “But the farmers are very suspicious, very sceptical.”
Buranest, in the northern Amhara region, is now gradually coming alive. But its past troubles have added significance as a new plan to build 8,000 new towns across the country, gathers momentum.
Whether this dream can become reality depends on whether the kind of problems faced by Buranest can be successfully overcome.
Farmers stroll down the new road of Buranest, Ethiopia, on November 1 2017. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Tom Gardner
Relentless growth is putting enormous pressure on Addis Ababa’s creaking infrastructure, with an estimated half a million homes needed to meet demand and as much as 80 percent of residents living in slums, according to UN-Habitat, the United Nation’s agency in charge of sustainable urban development.
Efforts to expand Addis Ababa, which resulted in the displacement of farmers from its surrounding area, sparked anti-government protests in 2014, culminating in the imposition of a nine-month state-of-emergency last year.
Ethiopia’s government, which came to power in 1991 after more than a decade of civil war, has long sought to manage such pressures by curbing the flow of people from the countryside to the capital.
State ownership of land, for instance, makes it difficult to sell family plots and makes relocating to the city harder.
URBANISING THE COUNTRYSIDE
The plan to build 8,000 small towns is the latest manifestation of these efforts, reflecting a desire to keep people in the countryside “by bringing urbanisation to them”, said Dirk Donath of the University of Weimar in Germany.
Donath is part of a team developing the project in partnership with the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC).
The project, known as Rural-to-Urban Transformation, is the brainchild of Tsedeke Woldu, a wealthy Ethiopian businessman and housing developer, and Bereket Simon, an influential Ethiopian politician and former policy advisor to the prime minister.
It takes inspiration from a 2015 government growth and transformation plan, which included planning 8,000 “rural-development centres” by 2020.
“In the past we were very much focused on promoting agriculture,” said Yinager Dessie, minister of national planning and one of the authors of the plan. “But now we want to have more towns all across the country.”
A chalk blackboard in an empty workshop in the new model town of Buranest, Ethiopia, on November 1 2017. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Tom Gardner
Each village, or “rural development centre”, will be provided with a school, health centre, housing, and government offices.
Farmers will be encouraged to migrate from the surrounding area to take up jobs in light industry, urban agriculture and construction, among others.
In Ethiopia, a town must have a population of more than 2,000 people, and more than 50 percent of the population must earn a living from something other than agriculture, in order to claim urban infrastructure and services from the regional government.
This threshold will soon be lowered to 500 people to help jumpstart the urbanisation process, according to Zegeye Cherenet, an Ethiopian urban planner at the EiABC.
Woldu, the businessman, hopes to start work on 13 pilot towns across the country in early 2018, mostly with his own finances.
“I want to transform them from backwards villages into modern towns,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
CHEQUERED HISTORY
But the problems encountered by Buranest’s founders are expected in these towns, too.
“We have learnt a lot from Buranest,” said Cherenet. “It was a laboratory. And we learnt that the most difficult part of this kind of campaign is mobilizing people to live in it.”
“People are very averse to this,” said Woldu. “They are definitely suspicious. They say things like: ‘they wouldn’t come all the way here if it wasn’t for our land’.”
In Buranest, local farmers believed communal grazing land would be used for one of the many horticulture businesses that have sprung up across Ethiopia over the past decade.
Like many in the Horn of Africa country, they have been scarred by its chequered history of forced resettlement and so-called “villagisation”.
Ethiopians endured failed attempts to resettle millions in collectivized villages under the communist regime known as the Derg, in power from 1974 until 1991.
The current government, led by the Ethiopia People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), launched its own resettlement scheme in 2010.
It moved tens of thousands people in the western Gambella region into purpose-built villages before closing the programme in 2013 following criticism by rights groups.
More recently, the outbreak of mass protests against large-scale land acquisitions and the expansion of Addis Ababa has forced the government to tread more cautiously on issues concerning land.
“The problem is when we create urban centres we have to take land and pay compensation to the farmers,” said Dessie, the minister. “Expansion will definitely take a lot of land – and these days farmers ask for a lot of compensation.”
Despite the obstacles, local authorities are currently selecting poor farmers from the surrounding area to live in Buranest’s model houses, more of which are now under construction.
Over 50 farmers have come together to form a housing co-operative and are receiving bank credit to start building their own.
The school should soon be operational, too, according to Giorghis, and new residents have recently arrived in the area and set up shops along the main road, anticipating further expansion of the town.
“The farmers have changed their attitude,” said Libokemkem, the project coordinator. (Reporting by Tom Gardner, Editing by Astrid Zweynert @azweynert. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women’s rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)

ህወሀት ጉልቻ እየቀያየረ ነው። (ጋዜጠኛ መሳይ መኮንን)


Bilderesultat for ጋዜጠኛ መሳይ መኮንን

የፊት ለውጥ ይዞ ሊመጣ መሆኑ ታውቋል። አዜብ መስፍን ባፋንጉሎ ተብላለች። የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብ ደም የመጠጠው ኢፈርት የተሰኘው ድርጅት የንትርኩ ማጠንጠኛ ይመስላል። እነአዜብና በየነ ምክሩ ከዚሁ ድርጅት ጋር በተያያዘ አይናቸው ደም በለበሰባቸው በእነስብሃት ነጋ ብጫና ቀይ ካርድ ተሰጥቷቸዋል። እነስብሃት ለጊዜው በለስ ቀንቷቸዋል። የመለስ ሌጋሲን ከመለስ ጋር እንዲቀበር የፈለጉት እነስብሃት የሌጋሲውን አቀንቃኞች በጠረባ እያሏቸው ነው። ስብሰባ ሳይጠናቀቅ መግለጫው መቅደሙ ግን ገና ጦርነቱ ያላበቃ መሆኑን ያሳያል።
እነኣዜብ ኢፈርትን ለነስብሃት አስረክበው ቤታቸው ይገባሉ? የመለስ ዜናዊ አምላኪ የሆነው ሳሞራ የኑስ ምን ብሎ ይሆን? ኢፈርትን የተቆጣጠረ ሻምፒዮን ይሆናል። የኢኮኖሚ ጡንቻ የሚሰጠው ኢፈርት ለፖለቲካው የበላይነት የጀርባ አጥንት መሆኑን አቦይ ስብሃት ልቅም አድርገው ያውቁታል። እናም የመለስን ሌጋሲ ከነአስጠባቂዎቹ መንግሎ ለመጣል መንገዱን በኢፈርት ጀምረውታል። በፖለቲካው ቀጥለዋል። እነአዜብ እጃቸውን አጨብጭበው ኢፈርትን ካስረከቡ የመልስን ሌጋሲ ብቻ ታቅፈው ይቀራሉ።

ፈረንጆቹ the bottom line ይላሉ። ዋናው ጉዳይ እንደማለት ነው። እናም ዋናው ጉዳይ የአዜብ መወገድና የስብሃት ማንሰራራት አይደለም። ጉልቻ ቢቀያየር ትርጉም የለውም። ወጥ አያጣፍጥም። ኢትዮጵያን አይቀይርም። ሌሎችንም ቱባ ባለስጣናት በማባረርና በእስር የሚገኙ ተቃዋሚዎችን በመፍታት ይህቺን የምጥ ጊዜ ለመሻገር ህወሀት ተዘጋጅቷል። ፊት በመቀየር፡ ጉልቻ በመለወጥ ህወሀት የሚድን ከመሰለው ተሳስቷል። ህወሀት ከነግሳንግሱ፡ ከነኮተቱ፡ ከራስ ጠጉሩ እስከ እግር ጥፍሩ፡ አንድም ትራፊ ሳያስቀር ካልተወገደ በቀር ለውጥ አይኖርም። የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ የሚናፍቀው ያንን ነው።

የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ቃል አቀባይ የነበረው ዮናታን ተስፋዬ ይግባኝ ተቀባይነት አገኘ


Bilderesultat for ዮናታን ተስፋዬ


የፌደራል ጠቅላይ ፍርድ ቤት ዛሬ ማለዳ የቀድሞው የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ቃል አቀባይ ዮናታን ተስፋዬ ያቀረበውን ይግባኝ ተቀብሎ ውሳኔውን ከሽብር ወደ ወንጀል ድርጊት ዝቅ አድርጎታል። 
በዚህም መሰረት ባለፈው ግንቦት ከፍተኛው ፍርድ ቤት ያስተላለፈበትን የስድስት ዓመት ከስድስት ወር የእስር ፍርድ በወንጀል ሕጉ አንቀፅ 257 (ለ) መሰረት ወደሦስት ዓመት ከስድስት ወር ዝቅ አድርጎለታል።
ዮናታን በታህሳስ 2007 ዓ.ም በቁጥጥር ስር ከዋለ በኋላ የሽብር ሕጉን በመጣስ ክስ ተመስርቶበት እንደነበር ይታወሳል።
በተለይም በፌስ ቡክ ፅሁፉ የጥፋተኝነት ብያኔና የእስር ፍርድ ከተላለፈበት በኋላ ይግባኝ ጠይቆ ሲከራከር ቆይቷል።

Renewed Ethiopia clashes kill over 20: state media

Oromo regional police officers wait in a pick-up car during the Oromo New Year holiday Irreechaa in Bishoftu on October 2, 2016. (Photo by AFP)
Oromo regional police officers wait in a pick-up car during the Oromo New Year holiday Irreechaa in Bishoftu on October 2, 2016. (Photo by AFP)
A renewed bout of clashes between two of Ethiopia's largest ethnic groups killed more than 20 people last week, the state-controlled broadcaster reported on Monday.
Fighting again broke out between the Oromo and Somali peoples along the border of their ethnically-demarcated federal regions but the cause of the violence was unknown, according to the Fana Broadcast Corporate.
Hundreds of people were killed and tens of thousands displaced in a string of clashes between the ethnic groups in September until the military intervened to quell the bloodshed.
"Conflicts claimed the lives of more than 20 people from both regional states," the broadcaster said, citing government spokesman Negeri Lencho.
It added that while the security situation has improved since September's bloodshed "it is impossible to say that the conflict is totally ended."
The reports of the new clashes came after the government said 103 people had been arrested on suspicion of stoking the September fighting, though it was unclear if the arrests and the violence were connected.
Somalis and Oromos have for years squabbled over access to arable land along their borders, but the clashes two months ago were much more widespread, with one local official in a city near the border saying 67,800 Oromos alone had fled.
Ethiopia's government has prioritized ending the conflict and helping the survivors, and three other regions in the country have donated 30 million birr ($1 million, 919,000 euros) to assist people displaced by the crisis.
(Source: AFP)