When Enough is Enough: Rise up People of Ethiopia By Graham Peebles

World wide protest against the ethnic Tigrayan-led Ethiopian government following the violent cracked down on peaceful protesters, killing dozens of ethnic Oromo students and injuring or imprisoning hundreds more

By Graham Peebles,

THERE are tentative signs that the people of Ethiopia are beginning to organise themselves and stand up against the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government, a brutal dictatorship, albeit one dressed in democratic western garb.

After 23 years of suppression at the hands of the EPRDF, simmering discontent and anger appears to finally be spilling over onto the streets. Robbed of hope, the people have had enough, enough of the wide-ranging human rights abuses. The denial of constitutional rights, the arbitrary imprisonments and torture, regime violence, the displacement of people from ancestral land, the partisan distribution of aid, and the rising cost of living.

The Right to Peaceful Protest

Like many democratic principles, the right to protest is enshrined in Ethiopia’s constitution. Written in 1991 by the EPRDF, the legally binding document of liberal correctness is routinely ignored by the regime, whose response to public protests has been consistently violent.

Last year Addis Ababa witnessed the first mass demonstrations since 2005, when “security forces killed dozens of protesters [some estimate that up to 200 people were murdered by government forces] and arbitrarily detained thousands of people across the country.” [Human Rights Watch(HRW)] Unsurprisingly since then the streets have been quiet. Until 2013 that is, when in June thousands found the courage to march through the capital demanding the release of political prisoners, “respect for the constitution” and “Justice! Justice! Justice!” [ Reuters ] And again in November, when enraged demonstrators gathered outside the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Addis Ababa and cities across the world to protest the appalling abuse meted out to Ethiopian migrants in the Gulf State. Many hoped this united response was the beginning of a coordinated movement of collective action, a long overdue movement for change.

Ethiopia is young, 65% of the population are under 25, the median age is a mere 17, and like protest movements elsewhere — Egypt, Brazil, Turkey e.g., it is the young who are leading the way. They see clearly the injustices, the violations of fundamental freedoms and the duplicity of a government that presents a democratic face to its international allies and benefactors whilst brutalising its own people.

Since 25 th April, students have demonstrated throughout the Oromia Regional State, protesting against the government’s sinister sounding ‘Integrated Development Master Plan’. The Oromo people constitute Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group — around 27 million people — almost a third of the population. They have been marginalised and discriminated against since the 19 th century when Empress Taytu Betul (wife of Menelikk II) chose the site of Addis Ababa for the capital. As the city grew Oromos were evicted from their land and forced onto the margins — socially, economically and politically: “time and again, Oromo farmers were removed from their land under the guise of development without adequate compensation.”[ Geeska Africa ]. Like tyrants everywhere, the paranoid EPRDF is hostile to all forms of dissent no matter the source; however they react with greater levels of brutality to dissenting voices in Oromia than perhaps anywhere else in the country, and “scores of Oromos are regularly arrested based on their actual or suspected opposition to the government.” [ Amnesty International (AI)]

The proposed ‘master plan’ would substantially expand the boundaries of Addis Ababa into areas of Oromia surrounding the capital. “ Protestors claim they merely wanted to raise questions about the plan — but were answered with violence and intimidation.” [ BBC ] They rightly feel smallholder farmers and other groups living on government land (all land in Ethiopia is government owned) would once again be threatened, leading to large scale evictions to make way for land leasing or land sales, as has happened elsewhere in the country. In addition many Oromos see the proposed expansion as a broader threat to their regional and cultural identity and say the scheme is “in violation of the Constitutionally-guaranteed protection of the ‘special interests’ of the Oromia state.” [ AI ] Constitutional guarantees that mean nothing to the members of the ruling party, or a politically controlled judiciary.

Killing, Beating, Intimidating

University campuses have formed the beating heart of the protest movement that has now spread throughout the region. On Tuesday 29 th April around 25,000 people, “including residents of Ambo town in central Oromia, participated in a city wide demonstration, in the largest show of opposition to the government’s plans to date.” [ Revolution News ] Somewhat predictably, security forces, consisting of the federal police and military Special Forces known as the ‘Agazi’, have “responded by shooting at and beating peaceful protesters in Ambo, Nekemte, Jimma, and other towns with unconfirmed reports from witnesses of dozens of casualties.” [ Human Rights Watch (HRW)] A witness told Amnesty International that on the third day of protest in Guder town, near Ambo, the security forces were waiting for the protesters and opened fire when they arrived . “She said five people were killed in front of her. A source in Robe town, the location of Madawalabu University, reported that 11 bodies had been seen in a hospital in the town. Another witness said they had seen five bodies in Ambo [80 miles west of Addis Ababa] hospital.”

Whilst the government says that “at least nine students have died” during the protests, “a witness told the BBC that 47 were killed by the security forces” — a misleading term for government thugs, who are killing, beating and intimidating innocent civilians: Amnesty reports that children as young as 11 years of age were among the dead. In addition to killing peaceful protesters, large numbers have been beaten up during and after protests, resulting in scores of injuries, and hundreds or “several thousands”, according to the main Oromia opposition party, the Oromo Federalist Congress (AFC), have been arbitrarily arrested and are being detained incommunicado. Given the regime’s history those imprisoned face a very real risk of torture.

In many cases the arrests took place after the protesters had dispersed. “Security forces have conducted house to house searches in many locations in the region, [looking] for students and others who may have been involved. New arrests continue to be reported,” [ AI ] and squads of government thugs are reportedly beating local residents in a crude attempt at intimidation. Amnesty reports the case of a father whose son was shot dead during a protest, being ‘severely beaten’ by security forces, who told the bereaved parent “he should have taught his son some discipline.”

The Oromia community has often been the target of government aggression, and recent events are reminiscent of January 2004, when several Oromia students at Addis Ababa University were shot and killed when protesting for the right to stage an Oromo cultural event on campus. Many more were wounded and 494 [ Oromo Support Group (OSG)] were arrested and detained without charge or trial. HRW reported how “police ordered both male and female students to run and crawl barefoot, bare-kneed, and bare-armed over sharp gravel for three-and-half hours; they were also forced to carry each other over the gravel.” The Police, HRW goes on to say, “have repeatedly employed similar methods of torture and yet are rarely held accountable for their excesses.”

The recent level of extreme violence displayed by the State is not unusual and takes place throughout Ethiopia; what is new is the response of the people. Anger at the security forces criminality has fuelled further demonstrations in Oromo as friends and family of those murdered have added their voices to the growing protest movement. This righteous stand against government brutality and injustice is heartening for the country and should be supported with condemnation and pressure from international donors and the UN more broadly. Those arrested during protests must be immediately released and investigations into killings by security personnel instigated as a matter of utmost urgency.

Tools of Control

The government’s heavy-handed reaction to the Oromo protests is but the latest example of the regime’s ruthless response to criticism of its policies. Political opposition parties, when tolerated at all have been totally marginalised, dissenting independent voices are quickly silenced and a general atmosphere of fear is all pervading. Despite freedom of expression being a constitutional right virtually all media outlets are either government owned or controlled; “ blogs and Internet pages critical of the Ethiopian government are regularly blocked and independent radio stations, particularly those broadcasting in Amharic and Afan Oromo, are routinely jammed.” [ HRW ] The EPRDF has created “one of the most repressive media environments in the world.” Reinforcing this condition, “the government on April 25th and 26th arbitrarily arrested nine bloggers and journalists in Addis Ababa. They remain in detention without charge.” [ Ibid] International human rights groups (whose activities have been severely restricted by the stifling Charities and Societies Proclamation of 2009) as well as foreign journalists are not welcome, and reporters “who have attempted to reach the current demonstrations have been turned away or detained,” [Ibid] making it difficult to confirm exact numbers of those killed by government security personnel.

The UN Human Rights Council recently reviewed Ethiopia’s human rights record under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Since the first review in 2009 the human rights condition has greatly deteriorated. The EPRDF rules the country through fear and intimidation, they have introduced ambiguous, universally condemned legislation to control and intimidate: the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO law) and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation specifically. Laws of repression that together have made independent media and civil society completely ineffective. Freedom of assembly – another constitutional right – is not allowed, or as can be seen with the Oromo protestsis dealt with in the harshest manner possible; the Internet and telecommunications are controlled and monitored by the government and phone records/recordings are easily obtained by security personnel. Arbitrary arrests and false Imprisonment of anyone criticizing the government is routine as is the use of torture on those incarcerated. In the Ogaden region the regime is committing gross human rights abuses constituting crimes against humanity and in Gambella and the Lower Omo Valley large numbers of indigenous people have been forcibly moved into government camps (Villagization Programme), as land is sold for pennies to international companies. In short, human rights are completely ignored by the Government in Ethiopia. As the people begin to come together and protest, international pressure should be applied on the regime to observe the rule of law and uphold the people’s fundamental human rights.

We are living in extraordinary times, times of opportunity and change, times of great hope. With elections due next year now is the time for the various ethnic groups and factions inside and outside Ethiopia to unite, and speaking with one voice demand their rights, to freedom and justice and to live with hope in their hearts.

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Graham Peebles is Director of The Create Trust, www.thecreatetrust.org A UK registered charity (1115157). Running education and social development programmes, supporting fundamental Social change and the human rights of individuals in acute need. Contact , E:graham@thecreatetrust.org

በራችንን ከፍተን የወያኔን ሌብነት ማቆም አንችልም!

የወያኔ ጉጅሌና ሎሌዎቹ ስልጣናቸውን በህዝብ ፈቃድ ላይ እንዳልቆመ አሳምረው ያውቃሉ። ነጻ የህዝብ ምርጫ ቢኖር ምን እንደሚሆኑ የዛሬ ዘጠኝ አመት በአይናቸው አይተዋል፣ በጀሮቸው ሰምተዋል። ከዚያ ተመክሮ ተነስተው ዳግም የህዝብ ፈቃድ ላለመጠየቅ ምለዋል። ቅዱሱን የዴሞክራሲና የፍቅር መንገድ ሳይሆን ሳይጣናዊውን የከፋፍሎና አናክሶ የመግዛትን መንገድ ዋና ምርጫቸው አደርገው ከወሰዱ ሰንብተዋል። የፍትህና የዴሞክራሲ ሂደት በኢትዮጵያ እነሱ እስካሉ ድረስ እንዳይነሳ አድረገው ቀብረውታል። በራሳቸውና ጥቅማቸው ላይ ኮሽታ በመጣባቸው ቁጥር ችግሩ በምስኪኑና የነሱ ሰለባ በሆነው ህዝብ ውስጥ መካከል እንደተፈጠረ ግጭት ለማስመሰል እና ለማድረግ የማያደርጉት ነገር የለም።

ወያኔ ሰሞኑን በመላው የኦሮሞ ተወላጆች የመጣበትን ተቃውሞ የአማራና የኦሮሞ ህዝቦች ጠብ ለማድረግ ያላደረገው ነገር የለም። መሰረታዊ የሆነውን የኦሮሞ ተማሪዎች ጥያቄ የባህርዳር እና በሌሎች የሀገሪቱ የሚገኙ ተማሪዎች ደግፈው ሂወታቸውን ያጡለትን የጋራ የወገንን ጥያቄ ለመቀልበስና፣ የኦሮሞና የአማራ ህዝብ ጠብ ለማድረግ ያላደረገው ጥረት የለም።

መሰረታዊ የሆነውን የኦሮሞ ተማሪዎች ጥያቄ በጥይት ብቻ ሊመልሰው እንደማይችል የተረዳው ወያኔ፤ በግርግሩ ውስጥ አማሮችና ኦሮሞዎች ደም እንዲቃቡና እንዲጋጩ አድርጎ ገላጋይ ለመምሰል የሚያደርገው ሙከራ ባይሳካለትም ይህን ተንኮል በህዝቡ ውስጥ የመትከል አባዜ ስራውን በስፋት ተያይዞታል። ሰሞኑን በመላው ኦሮምያ ካድሬ በማሰማራትና ገላጋይ በመምሰል ዋናውን የወያኔ መሬት ዝርፊያ ይቁም የሚለውን ጥያቄ በማለባበስና በማፈን ዘዴ ላይ ይገኛል።

ወያኔ ይህን ስልት የመረጠው ወያኔን የምንቃወም የነጻነትና የዴሞክራሲ አንድነት ሃይሎች የትብብር ደረጃ ያለበትን ሁኔታ ከግንዛቤ በማስገባት ነው። በርግጥ ይህን ሳይጣናዊ በር የከፈትንለት እኛው የነፃነትና የዴሞክራሲ ሃይሎች ነን። በመካከላችን የተቀናጀና የተባበረ እንቅስቃሴ ማድረግ አለመቻላችን በብዙ መልኩም ህዝባችን የሚያስተባብር የጋራ አመራር በመጥፋቱ ነው።

የወቅቱም ሆነ የዘላቂው ችግር መፍቻ ይህ የዴሞክራሲና የነጻነት ሃይሎች የተግባር ህብረትና ቅንጅት መሆኑን ለመማሪያ ከሰሞኑ ተሞክሯችን የበለጠ መማሪያ ያለ አይመስለንም። የወያኔ ጉልበት የተቃዋሚዎች ክፍፍል ብቻ ነው። እኛ ተጠቂዎቹ የችግሩን ማስወገጃና የዘላቂ የሀገራችንን ህይዎት የሚመራ የጋራ ራእይ አለማበጀታችን ነው። ሌባው ህዝባችንን የሚከፋፍልብን በራችንን በርግደን ስለከፈትን እና ለመከፋፈል ስለተመቸናቸው ነው። ይህን በር ከፍተን እስካቆየነው ድረስ የህዝባችን ደም በግፍ መፍሰሱ፣ ህዝባችን መዘረፉና በውርደት መኖሩ ይቀጥላል።

ከወያኔ ፍትህም ሆነ የህዝባችን መሰረታዊ ችግር መፍትሄ አይጠበቅም። ከእባብ እንቁላል ርግብ መጠበቅ አይቻልምና።

ግንቦት 7 የየፍትህ፣ የነጻነትና የዴሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ በኢትዮጵያ የአንዱ ብሄረሰብ ችግርየሚፈታው የሁላችንም ችግር ሲፈታ መሆኑን ያምናል። የተናጠል ትግላችን ከሚያስጠቃን በቀር ውጤት የለውም ብሎ ያምናል።

በእኛ የግንቦት 7 አስተያየት የሰሞኑ የወያኔ ጭካኔና ደባ ከቁጭት ዘሎ የዘላቂ መፍትሄ መፈለጊያ እድል አድረገን ልንጠቀምበት ይገባል። ይህንና ተመሳሳይ ጥቃቶችን ተባብረን መመከት ባቃተን ቁጥር የህዝባችን መከራ እያራዘምን ነው። በዚህ ወቅት ህዝባችን ከአገራችን አጽናፍ እስከ አጽናፍ አንድ ድምጽ መሰማት መቻል ይኖርበታል። የሁላችንም አይን ያን ጊዜ ወያኔና ጉጅሌዎች ላይ ብቻ ይሆናል። ወያኔ የሚደግስልን የጎን ለጎን ግጭት ድግስ የሚከሽፈው ይህን ጊዜ ብቻ ነው።

በሚደርሱን መረጃዎች መሰረት ወያኔ በተለይ በኦሮሞ ህዝብና በሌላው ብሄረሰቦች መካከል ስር የሰደደ ጠብ ለመፍጠር በመራወጥ ላይ ይገኛል።

ለዚህ ተግባር የሚሆን የሰው፣ የገንዘብና የሚዲያ ሃይል አደራጅቷል። የተደገሰው የብሄር ለብሄር ግጭት ብቻ ሳይሆን በእያንዳንዱ ብሄረሰብ ውስጥ ክፍፍል በመፍጠር ህዝብ የማባላት ድግስ ነው። ወያኔ ለውጪ አሳዳሪዎች የህዝቡን ደም የማፈሰው የእርስ በእርስ ግጭት ለማስወገድ ነው የሚል መልስ በማዘጋጀት ላይ ይገኛል። ራሱ የሚያደርሰውን ጥፋት ሁሉ በተቃዋሚዎቹ እና በራሱ ህዝብ ውስጥ ባሉ ሰለባዎቹ ላይ ለማመካኘትና በዚሁ እብሪቱ ለመቀጠል መወሰኑን አረጋግጠናል።

ግንቦት 7 ዘወትር እንደሚለው ሁሉ ህዝቡ የወያኔ የተንኮል መሳሪያ እንዳይሆን የልዩነት በሩን እንዲዘጋ የቻለውን ሁሉ ያደርጋል። ለሁሉም የነጻነትና ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሃይሎች የእንተባበር ጩኸቱንም ደግሞ ያሰማል።

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ!!!

ስብሃት “እርቅን” እንሞክራለን፤ ከባልደረቦቼ ጋር እመክራለሁ አሉ

እርቅ ላይ የምትሰሩ የት አላችሁ?

ባለፈው ሳምንት የጀርመን ድምጽ ሬዲዮ የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲ ወኪሎችንና አቶ ስብሃትን ባንድነት በየተራ አናግሮ ነበር። ከውይይቱ የተለመደ ክርክር በዘለለ አቶ ስብሃት እርቅ አስፈላጊ መሆኑንን ማመናቸው የተለየ ጉዳይ ነበር። እንደ እርሳቸው አነጋገር አሁን የተጀመረውን መልካም የልማት ስራ ለማስቀጠል እርቅ አስፈላጊ ነው። የእርቅን አስፈላጊነት በማመን ከባልደረቦቻቸው ጋር በመምከር የእርቅ ጉባኤ ለማዘጋጀት እንደሚሰሩ አረጋግጠዋል።

አቶ ስብሃት “የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲ አለ ብዬ አላምንም” በማለት ተቃዋሚዎችን እንደወትሮው ሁሉ ዘልፈዋል። “መደብ የላቸውም” ሲሉ ተቃዋሚዎችን ጭራሽ እንደ ፓርቲ እንደማይቆጥሯቸው የተናገሩት አቶ ስብሃት ከዘለፋቸው በኋላ ስለ እርቅ አግባብ መናገራቸውን፣ ጠያቂው እሳቸው ባነሱት አዲስ ሃሳብ ላይ በመንተራስ ማረጋገጫ ሲጠይቃቸው “ከጓደኞቼ ጋር መክሬ” በማለት በቅርቡ የእርቅ መድረክ እንዲፈጠር እንደሚተጉ መናገራቸውን ተከትሎ እርቅ ላይ እንሰራለን ከሚሉ ወገኖች ምላሽ አልተሰማም።

አሁን ባለው ውጥረት የነገሰበት የኢትዮጵያ ፖለቲካ አብዛኞችን ስጋት ውስጥ የከተተ ነው። በስዊድን አገር በአንድ የእራት ግብዣ ላይ ተገኙ የትግራይ ተወላጅ ለጎልጉል እንደተናገሩት “በጎሳና በክልል ተለይቶ የሚንቦገቦገው የጥላቻ ፖለቲካ መጠኑ አሳሳቢ ደረጃ ላይ መድረሱ አስግቶኛል። እርቅ ብቸኛ መፍትሔ ነው። በዚህ ሃሳብ ላይ መስራት ግድ ነው” የሚል አስተያየት ሰጥተዋል።

በፍርሃቻ ከሁሉም ያጣ ላለመሆን ኢህአዴግን የሚደግፉ እንዳሉ ያመለከቱት እኚሁ ሰው የኢትዮጵያ ጉዳይ በእጅጉ ዕረፍት እንደነሳቸው አልሸሸጉም። “ስብሃት ነጋ እርቅ ላይ ለመስራት ከልብ ያሰቡ ይመስልዎታል?” በሚል አስተያየታቸውን የተጠየቁት እኚሁ ሰው “ኢህአዴግም ሆነ ህወሃት እኮ የሰዎች ጥርቅም እንጂ ሌላ ግዑዝ ነገር አይደሉም። ችግሩን ከሁላችንም በላይ ይረዱታል። እንደውም እነሱ የሚያውቁትን ያህል የችግሩን አሳሳቢነት ተራው ነዋሪ ቢረዳ ልቡ በድንጋጤ ሊቆም ይችላል” የሚል ምላሽ ሰጥተዋል። አያያዘውም ኢህአዴግ ችግሮች ገንፍለው እንዳይወጡ የሰጋበት ደረጃ እንደሚገኝ አመልክተዋል። በሁሉም አቅጣጫ የሚያገኟቸው ወገኖች የሚነግሯቸው ይህንኑ የስጋት ጉዳይ እንደሆነም ተናግረዋል።

ኢህአዴግ የሚነሳበትን ተቃውሞ በጥይት እያረገበ መዝለቅ እንደማይችል ብዙዎች እየተናገሩ ነው። ኢህአዴግ ችግሮችን በሰላማዊ መንገድ ከማስወገድ ይልቅ ጥይትን መምረጡ የበቀሉን ደረጃ እያናረው ስለመሆኑም ክርክር የለም። ኢህአዴግ የገደላቸው ወገኖች በሙሉ ወገን አላቸው፣ ዘር አላቸው፣ ተቆርቋሪ አላቸው፣ ጎሳ አላቸው፣ ምድር አላቸው፣ ቀበሌና ቀዬ አላቸው፣ ወዳጆችና ተከራካሪዎች አሏቸው በሚል ኢህአዴግ ያልተመከረበት ወቅትና ጊዜ ለም። እንደውም ባንድ ወቅት ለጎልጉል አስተያየት የሰጡ “ብሶት ህወሃትን ብቻ አይወልድም፣ የብሶት የበኩር ልጅ ህወሃት ብቻም ሊሆን አይችልም” ብለው ነበር።

ከግድያው፣ ከእስሩ፣ ከአፈናው፣ ከድብዳው፣ ከማስፈራራቱ በተጨማሪ በአገሪቱ ሃብት ላይ ኢህአዴግ እየፈጸመ ያለው ፍትሃዊነት የጎደለው የንግድ ስምምነትና የንግድ ውድድር ያስቀየማቸው ወገኖች ቁጥርም ቀላል አይደለም። አብዛኞች በተለያዩ ወቅቶች ሲገልጹት እንደነበረው ኢህአዴግ ባለስልጣናቱ የህዝብን ሃብት በሽርክና በመቸብቸብ ሃብት አፍርተዋል። እነርሱ እንዳሻቸው እየዘረፉ ምስኪን አርሶ አደሮች ለእለት ጉርስ እየጫሩ ከሚኖሩበት ቀዬ ከነቤተሰቦቻቸው እንደ ባዕድ በጎሳ እየተለዩ እንዲፈናቀሉ ተደርጓል። ኢህአዴግ ካለበት ፍርሃቻ በመነሳት በየጊዜው በደልን እያበዛ ጠላቶቹን በማብዛቱ ስጋት የገባቸው የህብረተሰብ ክፍሎች ሰላማቸውን አጥተዋል።

በበዳዩ ወገኖች ተርታ በተሰለፉና በተበዳዩ ወገኖች ጎን ባሉት ዜጎች መካከል እየታየ ያለው የበቀል ስሜት ልክ እንዳጣ የሚናገሩ ክፍሎች አሁን አገሪቱ ላለችበት አጣብቂኝ ወቅት መፍትሔው እርቅ እንደሆነ ሲወተውቱ ዓመታት ተቆጥረዋል። አቶ ስብሃት የተናገሩት እርቅ ሃሳብ እውነተኛ ይሁን ከምርጫ ጋር በተያያዘ የተቃዋሚዎችንና የህዝቡን ስሜት “ለማቀዛቀዝ” ኢህአዴግ እንደለመደው ሊጠቀምበት የፈለገው ማደናገሪያ ይሁን በእርግጠኝነት ለመናገር አይቻልም፡፡ ሆኖም ግን ስብሃት ለተናገሩት የእርቅ ሃሳብ ድጋፍ በመስጠት አገሪቱ ላይ የነገሰውን የጥላቻና የቁጣ ፖለቲካ ማምከን አስፈላጊ ቢሆንም እስካሁን ከሌሎች ወገኖች የተሰማ ነገር አለመኖሩ አስገራሚ ሆኗል። በወቅቱ የጀርመን ድምጽ ሬዲዮ ዘጋቢ ነጋሽ መሐመድ የጋበዛቸው የተቃዋሚ ፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ተወካዮች ግን ኢህአዴግ የእርቅ ጥሪ ካቀረበ እንደሚስማሙ ተናግረዋል።

ጥቅምት 25፤2006 ዓም (November 4, 2013) ላይ ጎልጉል “በህወሃት ውስጥ የዕርቅ ሃሳብ መነሳቱ ተሰማ” በሚል ርዕስ ባሰፈረው ዜና ላይ ምንጭ አድርጎ የጠቀሳቸው “የኢህአዴግ ከፍተኛ አመራርና ዲፕሎማት እንዳሉት ህወሃት ውስጥ “እርቅ አስፈላጊ ነው” በሚል እቅድ እንዲያዝና እንዲሰራበት ሃሳብ ቀርቧል። በድርጅቱ ውስጥ በተፈጠረ አለመተማመን ሳቢያ ስጋት የገባቸው የህወሃት ሰዎች የእርቅ ሃሳብ እንዲሰራበት ያቀረቡት ሃሳብ ግን በመደበኛ ስብሰባ አይደለም” ማለታቸውን ዘግበን ነበር፡፡

የዕርቁን ሃሳብ እንዲነሳ ያደረጉ ምክንያቶች በርካታ ቢሆኑም በዜና ዘገባው ላይ የቀረበው ቀዳሚ ሃሳብ “በህወሃትና ህወሃት በሚያዛቸው አቻ ፓርቲዎች መካከል ያለው የመከባበርና የመገዛት ስሜት ከመለስ ሞት በኋላ መበላሸቱ፣ በኢህአዴግም ሆነ በህወሃት ደረጃ የተፈጠረው ልዩነትና በሙስና ስም የተጀመረውን ዘመቻ ተከትሎ የተነሳው አለመግባባት አደጋ እንዳያስከትል መፈራቱ” ጎልጉል እንደ ምክንያት ጠቅሶ ነበር፡፡

ጎልጉል በዝርዝር ባሰፈረው በዚህ የዜና ዘገባ ላይ ምንጭ አድርጎ የጠቀሳቸው የኢህአዴግ አመራርና ዲፕሎማት በሰጡት አስተያየት ዕርቅ “በቅርብ ጊዜ ውስጥ የሚታይ ነው” ማለታቸውን ዘግቦ ነበር፡፡ ዲፕሎማቱ ሲቀጥሉም “አንዱ እኔ ነኝ። ሌሎችም አሉ። ብዙዎች ሰላማዊ ህይወት ናፍቆናል። የተወሳሰበውን አገራችንን ፖለቲካ አካሄድ ለመተንበይ ተቸግረናል። መፍትሔው የእርቅ ሃሳብ ብቻ ነው” ብለው ነበር።

አስተያየታቸውን ሲያጠናቅቁም “በድርጅታቸው ውስጥ የበላይና የበታች መጥፋቱን፣ የበታቹ የበላዩን እንደሚያዘው፣ አንዳንዴ የበላይ መስለው ምንም ዓይነት የውሳኔ ሰጪነት ሚና የሌላቸው ክፍሎች መኖራቸው የአደባባይ ምስጢር” መሆኑን አልሸሸጉም ነበር፡፡

በመጨረሻም በዕርቅ ሃሳብ ላይ ቀዳሚውን ቦታ የሚወስዱት ስብሃት መሆናቸውን ሲገልጹ “እርቅና ዋስትና የሚሰጥ አግባብ ቢያገኝ የመጀመሪያው ስምምነት ፈራሚና ደጋፊ ስብሃት ነው። ቀሪውን የጡረታ ዘመኑንን በትዝታ ያለውን እየበላ መኖር ይፈልጋል። እሱ ብቻ ሳይሆን ብዙዎች ተመሳሳይ ፍላጎት አለን። አስከማውቀው ድረስ ችግሩ ከራስ ምግባርና ከድርጅት ተልዕኮ በመነጨ የተሰሩት ጥፋቶችና ሃጢያቶች መብዛታቸው ከለውጥ በኋላ የሚያመጣቸው የተጠያቂነት ጣጣዎች ናቸው” ብለዋል፡፡

Source: goolgule

ሰበር ዜና

የአረና አመራሮች በአዳራሽ ውስጥ ታግተዋል

አረና ትግራይ ለሉአላዊነትና ለዲሞክራሲ ፓርቲ በዛሬው ዕለት በሀውዜን ከተማ ከ3፡00 ሰዓት ጀምሮ ሕዝባዊ ስብሰባ ለማድረግ በዝግጅት ላይ እንዳለ ከመቀሌ የመጡ ከፍተኛ ባለሥልጣናት ደርሰው እኛ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ስለምናደርግ ስብሰባ የሚባል ነገር የለም በማለት ወደ አዳራሹ የሚመጣውን ሰው ድንጋይ በመወርወር ስብሰባው እንዳይካሄድ እያደረጉ ይገኛሉ፡፡ ስብሰባውን እንዲታደም ሲቀሰቅሱ የነበሩ አንድ የማዕከላዊ ኮሚቴ አባልና ሁለት አባላት ታርጋ በሌላቸው ሞተር ሳይክሎች በመግጨት አደጋ አድርሰውባቸዋል፡፡ በአሁኑ ሰዓት አዳራሹ ውስጥ ተዘግቶብን ዙሪያውን ተከበናል ፖሊስ መቆጣጠር ስላልቻለ ተጨማሪ ኃይል ጠይቋል ሲሉ የአረና አመራር ለፍኖተ ነፃነት ገልጸዋል፡፡ ከአሁን ቀደም በአቶ ኃይለማርያም ደሳለኝ የትውልድ ስፍራ ወላይታ ከተማ በተደራጁ ሰዎች ዝርፊያና ታርጋ በሌላቸው ሞተር ሳይክሎች አደጋ ለማድረስ መሞከራቸውን ፍኖተ ነፃነት መዘገቧ የሚታወስ ነው፡፡

Ethiopia’s independent publishers may face another hurdle

A CPJ Guest Blogger

Newspapers are significant in Ethiopia because there are no other independent media sources in the country. (Ethiopia Forums)

>In what appears to be one of a collection of measures to silence the press ahead of 2015 elections, Ethiopian authorities in the Communications Ministry are preparing a new system to control the distribution of print media. Privately owned newspapers and magazines, possibly the only remaining independent news sources in the country, would face more state control if the proposal is set into motion.

Originally proposed in February, the new measures are still at a draft stage. They aim to ensure that private newspapers and magazines are distributed through one company with links to the ruling party, according to local journalists.

The proposal, entitled “A Draft Document for Making the Print Media Accessible,” claims that supporters of the opposition are mainly in control of the current newsprint distribution system, according to the draft proposal in my possession.

Members of the media and some observers have sharply criticized the government’s move to hand over circulation to a single company. The step comes after the anti-terrorist law of 2009, which criminalized reporting on opposition groups and has intimidated many journalists into self-censorship. Since 2011, 11 journalists have been given harsh prison terms under Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law, and five are currently serving sentences under this legislation.

While the reach of independent newspapers is negligible, with roughly 90,000 copies a week circulating in a population of 90 million, the papers are significant because there are no other independent media sources in Ethiopia. The state controls the only television station, and out of five privately-operated radio stations, three are wholly pro-government while the rest toe the state line.

“I am suspicious of this move,” said freelance journalist Betre Yacob. “These enterprises are created by the government to push their own political agendas and interests.  I am sure this particular case will be similar–where the distribution company is used to ensure only positive government news is distributed.” Betre is president of the independent Ethiopian Journalists Forum, a contributor to several Ethiopian news sites, and a former political columnist for the now-defunct local magazine Ebony.

Currently, publishers of newspapers and magazines either distribute directly to retailers across the country, or contract trusted private distributors to do so for them. Under the new proposal, a company with direct government links would take copies from the printers and control distribution. Local journalists fear that the new company would block distribution if the government deems a publication too critical.

According to the draft proposal, print media suffers from the lack of a legal framework governing the current distribution system. The proposal claims most distributors do not have designated areas in which to circulate or proper identification. It also suggests that giving the distribution work to a company with some information about the media will help the industry as well as create jobs for youth.

However, independent journalists argue that the biggest challenge for Ethiopia’s media industry is not the print distribution system but government intervention and suppression of the flow of free information. “The government should take its hands off the media. Giving the distribution of newspapers and magazines to a politically motivated enterprise does not solve the problem,” Betre said. “Instead it just adds fuel to a fire.”

Another bad sign for publishers is a study conducted this year by the pro-government Ethiopian Press Agency, a state-controlled news wire, analyzing the editorial content of certain magazines. Published in February, the study claimed that seven magazines were responsible for inciting violence and terrorist acts and upholding opposition viewpoints, according to local news reports.

Local journalists working for these publications fear that the study will be used as a pretext to censor them. “Magazines are some of the few independent publications left in circulation here,” said one local journalist based in the capital, Addis Ababa, who did not wish to be identified for safety reasons. Betre concurs, saying, “The release of this research could indicate that the government is preparing to silence these magazines.”

The prohibitive cost of printing in Ethiopia also serves as a barrier to media freedom. Because of a fear of censorship from the state printer, independent publications prefer to use private printers, even though they often lack the capacity to produce sufficient copies. At times, security agents infiltrate these private printing companies, local journalists said. “It is very challenging to find a printing house willing to publish independent publications,” Betre said. “Sometimes agents warn printing houses not to print a particular publication and so they fear any association with the private press.”

These challenges, along with high taxation, are already having a detrimental effect on independent publications. While newspapers pay a reasonable publishing tax of two percent of their sales after printing each edition, annual taxes can sometimes equal a months’ total sales revenue, if not more. After six years in circulation, the local Ebony magazine closed in April due to the high annual income tax and printing costs, according to a local news report. Authorities recently demanded business income tax of 143,000 birr (US$7,300) from the independent newspaper Ethio-Midhar, an amount equivalent to their annual gross revenue, the same report said.

Unlike overt political interference such as the recent jailing of nine journalists, which has drawn a local and international outcry, these economic measures have the potential to undermine an alternative Ethiopian narrative without drawing public attention. If adopted, the new distribution system would subtly but effectively silence any critical publication ahead of May 2015 elections.

The author is an Ethiopian journalist in exile. He chooses not to be identified for his security.

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Wikileaks documents on Meles Zenawi, Ethio-chinese relationship and oppositions

EMF – Wikileaks released hundreds of documents which specify Ethiopian internal issues. These E-letters corresponded by American embassy officers who personally know Meles Zenawi and other higher officials. It’s all about Meles Zenawi’s personality, Ethiopia Chinese relationship, Eng. Hailu Shawel, Lucy, Ethiopian prisons and more Please Click here to read WikiLeaks documentation On Ethiopia.

http://ethioforum.org/wikileaks-documents-on-meles-zenawi-ethio-chinese-relationship-and-oppositions/

Free or charge the bloggers: IFJ

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on Tuesday severely criticised authorities in Ethiopia following the decision by a court to grant police nearly one more month to conduct investigations against the journalists and bloggers detained in the country last month.Three journalists and six bloggers were arrested on 25 and 26 April by police using an arrest warrant from a public prosecutor in Addis Ababa, the country’s capital city. The police on May 19 said that while the investigations continue the three journalists and six bloggers will remain in prison. “This is a clear human right violation,” said Gabriel Baglo, IFJ Africa Director. “These journalists and bloggers have not been charged yet and must be released immediately. The court is clearly hesitating because there are no strong charges against our colleagues”.

The IFJ criticism comes a few weeks after it wrote an open letter to U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, during his visit to the country to ask him to raise his concerns about the ordeal of the imprisoned journalists when he met with Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn. According to media reports, Kerry subsequently raised the arrests during meetings with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Tedros Adhanom, on May 1.

Following the meeting the IFJ welcomed Kerry’s action, but the Ethiopian court has now taken the decision to extend their detention.

The journalists who have been arrested are Tesfalem Weldeyest, who writes independent commentary on political issues for Ethiopia’s Addis Standard magazine and Addis Fortune newspaper, Asmamaw Hailegiorgis, senior editor at an influential Amharic weekly magazine Addis Guday, and Edom Kassaye, who previously worked at state daily Addis Zemen Newspaper and is an active member of the Ethiopian Environmental Journalists Association (EEJA).

The bloggers are reportedly members of the Zone 9 group, which is known to be very critical of government policy. They have a strong following on social media. They are: Atnaf Berahane, Befeqadu Hailu, Mahlet Fantahun, Natnael Feleke, Abel Wabela and Zelalem Kiberet. They are accused of using social media to create instability in the country and collaborating with international human rights organisations.

According to independent news reports, Ethiopian police said on Saturday, May 17, that the detainees were to be charged with the country’s anti-terrorism proclamation, No 652, published on 28 August 2009, which violates international standards on freedom of expression.

The IFJ believes that this proclamation directly threatens freedom of expression and human rights in the country which is Africa’s second worst jailer of journalists and media professionals.

Independent sources have reported that at least three of the detainees have complained of severe torture and long interrogations, while they have only seen the their lawyers twice since their arrests. “Holding detainees without charge for a prolonged period is a new trend that is becoming routine and systematic,” said Baglo. “It is another severe blow to human rights in Ethiopia and the international community must stand up and fight against it.”

Source: addisvoice