Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of hijacking Oromo protests, but says region had 'legitimate concerns'

The two countries fought a bloody conflict from 1998-2000, but tensions are never far from the surface

A burnt out truck, assumed to be set fire by protesters, lies outside the village of Wolenkomi, in the western region of Ethiopia on December 17, 2015. (Photo/AFP).

ETHIOPIA accused arch-rival Eritrea on Thursday of being behind anti-government protests in the Oromia region last year which led to a violent clampdown by the government in Addis Ababa.

The two countries fought a bloody conflict from 1998-2000, but tensions are never far from the surface and were fuelled by protests which erupted last November.

“We have concrete evidence that some of the people… involved and instigating violence in these particular localities… have their origins from Asmara,” the capital of Eritrea, said government spokesman Getachew Reda.

Home to some 27 million people, Oromia encircles Addis Ababa and stretches over large parts of the rest of the country. It has its own language, Oromo, distinct from Amharic, the language of Ethiopia’s government.

Demonstrations erupted last November in Oromia to protest against a government plan to expand the Ethiopian capital.

The so-called Master Plan, which was eventually abandoned in January, fuelled land-grab fears among Oromo farmers, from the country’s biggest ethnic group.

Reda accused Eritrea of working in concert with two Ethiopian movements, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) rebel group and the Ginbot 7 opposition group exiled in the United States and categorised as terrorists by Addis Ababa.

“The Eritrean government is not only working with OLF’s leftovers in Asmara but also with Ginbot 7, and they want to infiltrate all troublemakers into Ethiopia,” Reda said.

He added: “The protests that were being expressed by the people were based on legitimate concerns. But at a certain point, there were political elements involved in hijacking the process.

“What transpired… is an absolutely despicable case of criminal gangs roaming village after village and causing innumerable loss in lives.”

There was a brutal crackdown on the protests, which left over 140 people dead and thousands arrested, according to figures released in January by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In a report published Monday, HRW said the crackdown is still ongoing, asserting that killings and arbitrary arrests were still being reported almost daily.

Eritrea separated from Ethiopia in 1991 after a 20-year independence war. The two countries have remained on a war footing since the open conflict around the turn of the Millennium, notably over their 1,000 km-long (620- mile) common border.

Source: Mail and Guardian Africa

OROMO PROTESTS: WHY ETHIOPIA’S LARGEST ETHNIC GROUP IS DEMONSTRATING

BY CONOR GAFFEY

Oromo people mourn a suspected protester who was allegedly shot dead by Ethiopian security forces, Oromia region, Ethiopia, December 17, 2015. Oromos have been protesting against plans to expand the capital Addis Ababa since November 2015.

Since the Ethiopian government announced plans to expand the territory of the capital Addis Ababa in April 2014, the country’s largest region, Oromia, has been racked with protests that have led to hundreds of deaths.

Oromia, which completely surrounds the capital of the Horn of Africa country, is home to the Oromo ethnic group. Oromos constitute the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, yet members of the community claim to have suffered systematic discrimination and oppression at the hands of Ethiopia’s federal government.

Newsweek explains who the Oromo are, why they are protesting and how the Ethiopian government is responding.

Who are the Oromos?

More than one in three Ethiopians hails from the Oromo ethnic group: Oromos constituted more than 25 million of the total 74 million population at the last census in 2007 (the population of Ethiopia has since grown to almost 100 million). The Oromo have their own language and culture distinct from the Amharic language, which is employed as Ethiopia’s official dialect.

The Oromo have been subject to human rights violations and discrimination under three successive regimes in Ethiopia, according to a 2009 report by U.S.-based Advocates for Human Rights group: the Abyssinian Empire under Haile Selassie, dissolved in 1974; the Marxist Derg military junta that seized power in 1974 and ruled until 1991; and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, established in 1991 and existing until the present.

Oromo language was sidelined and not taught in schools for much of the 20th century and Oromo activists were often tortured or disappeared. A 2009 report by the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated that 594 extra-judicial killings and 43 disappearances of Oromos were recorded between 2005 and 2008 by an Oromo activist group. The ethnic group have clashed with the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), in power since 1991; an Amnesty International report in October 2014 stated that at least 5,000 Oromos were arrested between 2011 and 2014 on the basis of opposition to the government.

Why have Oromos protested against the Addis Ababa master plan?

According to the Ethiopian government, the Addis Ababa Integrated Master Plan proposed to expand the capital’s territory in order to bring better services and greater economic opportunities to the rural areas surrounding Addis. For the Oromos, however, the plan constituted an attempted land grab that could result in the forced eviction of Oromo farmers and the loss of valuable arable land in a country regularly plagued by drought.

Protests began in Oromia immediately after the plan was announced—at least nine students were killed in April and May 2014, according to the government, although eyewitnesses said the total was at least 47. The most recent round of protests began in November 2015 and have spread across the entirety of the vast Oromia region. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported in January that at least 140 protesters had been killed in demonstrations after heavy-handed crackdowns by security forces.

The Ethiopian government announced later in January that it was abandoning the Addis expansion plans after the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO)—the ruling party in Oromia and a member of the governing EPRDF coalition—dropped its support for the scheme. Yet despite that, the crackdown has continued: HRW’s latest update on February 22 cited claims from activists that more than 200 protesters had been killed, with security forces allegedly firing on peaceful protesters and thousands detained without trial.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, pictured addressing a U.N. summit in New York, September 25, 2015, has vowed to crack down on "destructive forces" the government says are hijacking Oromo protests.Andrew Kelly/Reuters

How have the government responded to Oromo protests?

The EPRDF has come down hard on protesters, claiming that “destructive forces”—including groups designated as terrorist organizations by the Ethiopian government—are hijacking the protests for their own means. Hailemariam Desalegn, the Ethiopian prime minister, said in December 2015 that protesters had burned down government properties and killed security forces, and that “merciless legitimate action” would be taken against those causing disorder.

In a statement sent to Newsweek on February 23, the Ethiopian embassy in London said that the claims made in HRW’s February report were based on “malicious statements, false accusations and unsubstantiated allegations from opposition propaganda materials.” The embassy claimed that the Addis expansion plans were dropped after “extensive public consultations” and an investigation into killings and destruction of property was underway.

Are Oromos seeking secession from Ethiopia?

One of the designated terrorist organizations accused of involvement in the protests by the Ethiopian government is the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). The group was established in 1973 to campaign for the Oromo’s right to self-determination. The OLF is now based out of Washington, D.C. and any accusations of its involvement in the Oromo protests is a means of “criminalizing protesters,” according to Etana Habte, Ethiopian author and PhD candidate at SOAS University of London. “I don’t believe the OLF has very significant influence on this protest,” says Habte. “[Claims the OLF is involved] have not any relevance or grain of truth within itself. Oromo protests are fundamentally peaceful and it carries a legitimate question.”

Habte claims that what the Oromo are seeking is self-determination, not secession. Article 39 of Ethiopia’s 1994 constitution affords “every nation, nationality or people in Ethiopia” the “unrestricted right to self-determination up to secession.” What the Oromo are asking for, says Habte, is a greater say in how their region is governed. “Oromos understand Oromia as their own territory where they have an absolute and constitutional right to self-rule,” says Habte. “The Oromo protests don’t ask for anything more than [what is provided by] the constitution.”

Source: europe.newsweek

Ethiopia warns Eritrea over fresh aggression

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

(ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopia on Thursday threatened to take actions against neighbouring Eritrea over what Addis Ababa said was in response to latest aggression by president Issayas Afeworki-led regime in Asmara.

Eritrea, which borders Sudan and Ethiopia, has been dubbed the North Korea of Africa (HRW)

At a press conference held in the capital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s communication minister, Getachew Reda, said Eritrea has continued to deploy armed groups and bandits as part of its long standing position to destabilise his country.

The minister was refereeing to the latest cross-border mass kidnappings carried out by armed Eritrean men in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region bordering Eritrea.

Recently, a group of armed men dressed in the Eritrean army uniforms crossed borders to Ethiopia and forcibly kidnapped over 80 young Ethiopian miners who were mining gold in Tigray regional state at Kafta-Humera district in Tsirga Girmai locality.

The abducted were among some 400 traditional gold miners who had long been engaged in traditional gold mining activities near the Ethiopia - Eritrea shared border.

While confirming the incident Getachew however downplayed it saying “it wasn’t a big surprise” coming from a sworn enemy.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if a same thing happened because it happens once in a while and because the borders are very porous and it is not like you can guard every inch of the border every minute of the day” he said.

He added all bandits and armed groups are being deployed to Ethiopia by Eritrea using some Ethiopian rebels or other armed groups the Red Sea nation harbors.

With regard to the latest cross-border attacks and mass kidnappings the senior government official said the Ethiopian government is following the incident closely and will take retaliatory actions.

Considering the level of the aggression “We have been taking proportionate measures in the past and we will take proportionate measures” this time Getachew told reporters.

The minister however refrained to reveal the type and level of those proportionate actions he said will be taken in response.

Ethiopia has routinely accused arch-rival Eritrea of orchestrating a number of cross-border attacks carried out in its soil, an accusation Asmara denies.

The Horn of African nation had previously carried out attacks on targets inside Eritrea to what Addis Ababa says is a proportional measures to Eritrea’s continued aggression including to cross-border kidnappings targeting foreign tourists.

In 1998, the two neighbors fought a two-year long war over their disputed border which has claimed the lives of at least 70,000. The row over their border remains unresolved and forces of both sides regularly engage in lower-scale skirmishes.

(ST)

Source: Sudan Tribune

ዴቪድ ካሜሩን ወደ አዲስ አበባ ሊጓዙ ነው፣ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ እንዲፈቱ ግፊት ያደርጋሉ ተብሎ ይጠበቃል፡፡

የብሪታኒያው ጠቅላይ ሚኒስቴር ዴቪድ ካሜሩን በተለያዩ ጉዳዮች ዙሪያ ለመምከር በቅርቡ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ እንደሚጓዙ የሃገሪቱ ባለስልጣናት ረቡዕ ይፋ አድርጉ።

የጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ ጉብኝትም ከሳምንት በፊት ዴቪድ ካሜሩን አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ፅጌ እንዲፈቱ ግፊትን እንዲያደርጉ የቀረበላቸውን ከ130ሺ በላይ ፊርትማዎች ተከትሎ እንደሆነ ታውቋል።

የብሪታኒያ የኢሚግሬሽንና ዜጎች እንዲሁም ተጓዳኝ ጉዳዮችን የሚከታተለው ሆም ኦፊስ ምክትል ቋሚ ፅሃፊ የሆኑት ኦሊቨር ሮቢንስ ከኢትዮጵያ ባለስልጣናት ጋር በአዲስ አበባ እየመከሩ መሆናቸውን ከሃገር ቤት የተገኘ መረጃ አመልክቷል።

በጉብኝነት ላይ የሚገኙት ሃላፊው ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ ዲቪድ ካሜሩን በቅርቡ ወደአዲስ አበባ በመጓዝ ከሃገሪቱ ባለስልጣናት ጋር በተለያዩ ጉዳዮች ዙሪያ እንደሚፈራረም ይፋ አድርገዋል። ይሁንና፣ ሃላፊው ኦሊቨር ሮቢንስ ዴቪድ ካሜሩን መቼ ወደ አዲስ አበባ እንደሚጓዙ ዝርዝር መረጃን ከመስጠት የተቆጠቡ ሲሆን የአቶ አንዳርጋቸው ፅጌ ጉዳይ ዋነኛ አጀንዳ እንደሚሆን ይጠበቃል።

በቅርቡ የብሪታኒያ ታዋቂ ግለሰቦችና የፓርላማ አባላት ያካተተ የ135ሺ ሰዎች ፊርማ ለዴቪድ ካሜሩን የቀረበ ሲሆን ፊርማቸውን ያሰባሰቡ አካላትም ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ አቶ እንዳርጋቸው ፅጌ የሚፈቱበትን ሁኔታ እንዲያመቻቹና ግፊትን እንዲያደርጉ አሳስበዋል። የቀረበላቸውን ፊርማ ተከትሎ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ በቅርቡ የሚጓዙት ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ዴቪድ ካሜሩን ይህንኑ ጉዳይ ዋነኛ መነጋገሪያ እንደሚያደርጉት ተነግሯል።

የሃገሪቱ የሰብዓዊ መብት ተሟጋች ድርጅቶችና ግለሰቦች የብሪታኒያ ባለስልጣናት አቶ አንዳርጋቸውን ከእስር ለማስፈታት ለዘብተኛ ሆነዋል በማለት ተደጋጋሚ ተቃውሞን ሲያቀርቡ መቆየታቸው ይታወሳል። የብሪታኒያ ውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስቴር በበኩሉ የአቶ አንዳርጋቸው ፅጌ ጉዳይ ችላ አለመባሉን በመግለፅ አሁንም ድረስ የሁለት ሃገራት መነጋገሪያ አጀንዳ ሆኖ እንደሚገኝ በቅርቡ አስታውቋል።

ከሶስት ወር በኋላ በቁጥጥር ስር ከዋሉ ሁለት አመት በሚሞላቸው አቶ እንዳርጋቸው ፅጌ የታሰሩበት ቦታ የማይታወቅ ሲሆን በቤተሰቦቻቸውን በህግ ባለሙያዎች እንድይጎቨኙ ተደርጎ ይገኛል።

ኢሳት (የካቲት 16 ፥ 2008)

Fear stalks Ethiopia's Oromia region after brutal crackdown—the protest is about much more than what you see

Sparked by a plan to expand the capital, Human Rights Watch says more than 200 people have been killed, but history is also playing a major role.

Demonstrators call for an end to killings in Wolenkomi, west of Addis Ababa, after police shot dead at least four people. during a demonstration (AFP Photo)

FEAR is so pervasive in Ethiopia’s largest region Oromia, where the government is accused of killing scores in a crackdown, that people don’t even like to give their names.

Oromia, which surrounds the capital Addis Ababa, is dotted with machine-gun mounted vehicles and Ethiopian soldiers who locals say have disrupted daily life with incessant checks, harassment and intimidation.

“If you go out in the evening, the police will arrest you, check your papers and your phones. If you have music or photos linked to the protests, you’re in serious trouble,” a young man in his twenties said in Ginchi, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Addis Ababa.

“I am very scared for our children, for our youths. I no longer sleep at night. Our life has become hell and it has no meaning,” said a mother of two aged in her forties.

Demonstrations began in Oromia in November due to a government plan to expand the boundaries of Addis Ababa into the region, raising fears among the Oromo people that their farms would be expropriated.

Authorities dropped the urban development plan on January 12 and announced the situation in Oromia was largely under control.

But the demonstrations continued, along with the brutal response, which Human Rights Watch said has claimed the lives of more than 200 people, according to Ethiopian activists.

Distinct language

The Oromos are the largest ethnic group in the east African country, estimated at 27 million in a total population of some 99 million.

Their language, Oromo, is distinct from Amharic, spoken by the Ahmara people and used by the national administration.

In Ambo, 40 kilometres to the west of Ginchi, policemen and soldiers patrol the streets. Some shops are open but schools and hospitals have been closed for three months.

Three young bank employees, huddled on small paved street, discreetly recount the latest protests that erupted at the end of last week.

“There are more policemen in Ambo than there are cobblestones,” said one.

Professor ‘disappeared’

“We are scared of soldiers. There have been a lot of arrests. Tension has been growing since the start of the protests,” added another.

At a nearby dimly-lit billiard hall, a dozen-odd students relate their version of last week’s events.

“One of our professors was arrested and we have had no news of him since. We decided to go to the ministry of education to get some news. The police came and asked us what we wanted. We wanted to explain why we were there but they fired tear gas,” said one.

“Then special army commandos arrived and started firing live bullets.”

Villas in Addis Ababa. The capital city is growing.

They said a young man, named Elias Arasasa, died of bullet wounds and his sister Nagasse was injured by gunfire.

“The soldiers do not speak our language. We cannot communicate with them. Weapons are their only language,” said the mother of two.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said security forces have arrested several thousand people since November and are holding them without charge.

“Almost daily accounts of killings and arbitrary arrests have been reported to Human Rights Watch since 2016 began,” said the New York-based non-governmental organisation.

Marginalisation

The HRW’s Horn of Africa expert Felix Horne told AFP that while the expansion of the capital was the spark that triggered the protests, the Oromo people had been feeling marginalised for a long time.

“There is also less and less information coming out from the areas where the protests are happening,” he said.

“Many individuals who provided updates and information have either been arrested, have disappeared, or are afraid to provide further information.”

Addis-based expert Tadesse O’Barr said the “Oromo people have underlying unanswered cumulative political and socio-cultural questions.

“Language is the major and oldest question of the Oromo. The government of Ethiopia denied to make it a federal language ... (but) while Addis Ababa is the centre of the Oromia region, the government denied even a single school in Oromo language in the capital.

Rejected criticism

“Oromos often ask for self-rule, language and freedom,” he said.

Ethiopia has rejected the criticism as lies and said the recent violence did not involve protestors but criminals.

“Now they are armed gangs who are committing crimes; they destroyed bridges, burned down churches. It’s nothing like before,” Communications Minister Getachew Reda said.

“If one thinks these are demonstrations, it’s far from the truth.”

But despite the overriding fear, the youths say they will press on with their movement.

“We are not going to abandon our right to freedom. It’s too late for that now.”

Source: Mail And Guardian Africa