Amnesty International has documented thousands of shockingly brutal abuses against citizens suspected of political opposition.

Thousands of Ethiopians tortured by brutal government security forces… while Britain hands over almost £1 BILLION in aid money

• Amnesty International says 5,000 people tortured, raped and ‘disappeared’
• Over the last three years the UK Government has given Ethiopia £1 billion
• It pocketed £261.5 million in 2012 and £284.4 million in 2013

Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Dessalegn, has rejected accusations that his government tortures its own people

October 29, 2014 (The Daily Mail) — More than £1billion from taxpayers was given in aid to Ethiopia while its security forces tortured, killed and raped, campaigners claimed yesterday.

Amnesty International has documented thousands of shockingly brutal abuses against citizens suspected of political opposition.

The human rights group’s report follows calls for greater scrutiny by Britain and other donors to ensure their money does not support state-sanctioned killings and brutality.

Amnesty warned that thousands have faced repeated torture while unlawful state killings have been carried out in a ‘relentless crackdown on real or imagined dissent’.

Horrors inflicted on ordinary Ethiopians include women being gang-raped and tortured by prison guards. Amnesty’s report also tells how a teacher was stabbed in the eye with a bayonet after refusing to teach pro-government propaganda to his students.

Entire families were arrested with parents and siblings ‘disappearing’ after they were taken to army camps, said Amnesty.

Britain has donated more than £1billion to Ethiopia in the last five years alone. The Government has denied funding security forces in the autocratic one-party state.

But Britain’s relationship with the East African country is likely to come under scrutiny in a judicial review into claims made by a Ethiopian farmer.

He has been given legal aid in this country to pursue allegations that UK aid supported the regime while it forced thousands of villagers like him from their land using murder, torture and rape.

Ethiopia remains one of the world’s poorest countries following decades of drought and famine, suffering highlighted by the 1984 Band Aid fundraising appeal.

The West has been accused of turning a blind eye to human rights abuse and effectively propping up the regime because of its support for the so-called war on terror.

Ethiopia has given support to combat radical groups such as Al Qaeda in the Horn of Africa and Al Shabaab in neighbouring Somalia. Last year, an independent analysis accused countries giving aid of not stopping the hardline Addis Ababa regime from abusing its citizens.

It said donors had ‘failed to take decisive action to prevent policies that deny the basic human rights of some of the poorest and most marginalised people of Ethiopia’.

The US report went on: ‘Donor organisations have failed to hold the Ethiopian government to standards of human and political rights, a neglect principally illustrated by the accounts of the forced relocations of entire communities in the name of development.

It should be no surprise that unchecked assistance to a hegemonic political party gets diverted to efforts to maintain political control,’ it added.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening is under pressure to investigate allegations that major recipients of British aid are guilty of torture state-sanctioned murder

International Development Secretary Justine Greening is under pressure to investigate allegations that major recipients of British aid are guilty of torture state-sanctioned murder

The Oakland Institute, of California, added that the Department for International Development was the third biggest donor to the country after the US and the World Bank.

Questions have been raised over the value of some of the projects funded by the DfID in Ethiopia.

Last year, the Daily Mail told how £4million of taxpayers’ money paid for an Ethiopian version of the Spice Girls to spread a message of empowerment to women.

The DfID denies that aid money is used to force people from their homes or to fund security forces.

A spokesman said Britain gave £261.5million to Ethiopia last year. This was used to provide clean drinking water for more than 250,000 people, send 1.6million children to primary school and ensure 110,000 mothers gave birth safely.

‘Not a penny goes to Ethiopia’s police or security sector,’ he said. ‘We work with independent agencies like Unicef to make the security and justice sector fairer and more accountable, eg helping women and girls get better access to justice.

‘The UK provides targeted funding for health, education and sanitation, not to the central Ethiopian treasury. We have robust legal and accounting checks to ensure UK aid is spent where it is intended.

‘We regularly raise human rights with the relevant authorities, including at the highest level of the government.’

A spokesman for the regime ‘categorically denied’ Amnesty International’s claims. Redwan Hussein also accused the campaigners of being ‘hellbent on tarnishing Ethiopia’s image again and again’.

‘They put hot coals on us. We screamed as our clothes melted’

Harrowing accounts of rape and brutality were highlighted by Amnesty International.

In one case, three teenage girls arrested with their parents were tortured with hot coals by soldiers at a military camp where they were held for years.

One sister, named only as Nooria, said the soldiers came to her family’s home when she was 14 or 15, after her father was arrested on suspicion of political dissent.

She said she was interrogated and beaten, and still carried horrific physical scars from when she and her sisters were burned.

‘Two soldiers did this to me. They came into the room, tied up our hands and made us lie down on our backs. They put hot coals on my stomach. They didn’t just burn me; they also burned my two sisters.

‘Our clothes melted on us. We screamed but the soldiers didn’t care, they’re accustomed to screaming.’

Nooria was later released with one of her sisters but has not seen her parents or eldest sister since.

Other detainees told the campaigners how molten plastic was poured onto their legs. There were also shocking accounts of captors cutting off the ears and fingers of prisoners.

A 33-year-old woman told Amnesty she was detained without charge for nine months in a military camp.

‘I was thoroughly beaten,’ she said. ‘I cried for help saying that I was not guilty and should not be killed.

‘One night, three men came to my cell and said that I was being taken for interrogating but they just took me to a room and raped me.

‘After that, they just threw me back into the cell. I was not the only one –they would do the same to the other women there.’

A second woman said: ‘I was raped by three men – one after the other. I remember them very clearly and can identify them. Rape happened several times. This was not unique to me, the other women in the cell had the same experience.’

A midwife said he was beaten and punished after delivering the baby of the wife of a member of the banned Oromo Liberation Front.

A university student told how he was arrested at gunpoint after winning a competition to produce a business plan because security forces said it was political.

The student was beaten, starved and endured months of interrogation, including a mock execution.e

Source: The Daily Mail

Oromo students protested in April and May against the capital city’s restructuring plan – which they said would dilute Oromo culture through annexing traditional Oromo land surrounding Addis Ababa. The rare protests led to violence. Several dozen people were killed and hundreds arrested. Peaceful Oromo Muslim protests in 2012 and 2013 were also crushed with force and mass arrests. Beston said Oromo students and protestors are not the only ones who are at risk in Ethiopia.

Amnesty: Ethiopia Systematically Repressing Oromo

FILE – Ethiopian migrants, all members of the Oromo community of Ethiopia living in Malta, protest against the Ethiopian regime.

October 28, 2014, ADDIS ABABA(VOA News) — Amnesty International has issued anew report claiming that the Ethiopian government is systematically repressing the country’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo.

Amnesty says the Oromo are subject to arbitrary arrest, detentions without access to lawyers, repeated torture and even targeted killings as part of the state’s efforts to crush dissident.

Claire Beston, the Ethiopia researcher for Amnesty International, said the East African country is hostile to any kind of dissent but particularly fears the Oromo for a number of reasons.

“[Reasons include] the numerical size of the Oromo because they’re the largest ethnic group; a strong sense of national identity amongst the Oromo; and also kind of [a] history of perceived anti-government sentiment,” said Beston.

Oromia is the largest state within Ethiopia. About 35% of the population is considered to be ethnically Oromo.

Oromo students protested in April and May against the capital city’s restructuring plan – which they said would dilute Oromo culture through annexing traditional Oromo land surrounding Addis Ababa. The rare protests led to violence. Several dozen people were killed and hundreds arrested. Peaceful Oromo Muslim protests in 2012 and 2013 were also crushed with force and mass arrests.

Beston said Oromo students and protestors are not the only ones who are at risk in Ethiopia.

“We’re talking about hundreds of people from ordinary people from all walks of life including teachers and mid-wives, and even government employees, singers and a range of other professions who’re all arrested just on the suspicion that they don’t support the government,” said Beston.

Amnesty International has not been allowed into Ethiopia since 2011. Researchers based the report’s findings on several hundred interviews with Oromo refugees outside Ethiopia and telephone and email conversations with Oromo inside the country. Many of the respondents said they had been detained in prisons, police stations, military camps or unofficial detention centers where they were subjected to repeated torture.

Amnesty has concluded at least 5,000 Oromo have been arrested and detained since 2011, many for weeks or months without being charged. The report said they are usually accused of supporting or being members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), an outlawed armed group. The OLF has been fighting for self-determination for more than 40 years. The report claims this is just a pretext for silencing dissent.

In response to Amnesty, the government – through the state-run Oromia Justice Bureau – said there is no clear evidence of violations as claimed by Amnesty and called the allegations “untrue and far from the reality.”

Beston said repression throughout the country, and particularly against the Oromo, is likely to increase as the May 2015 elections approach.

Source: VOA News

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Ethiopia ‘ruthlessly targeting’ and torturing Oromo people, says Amnesty

Damning report says thousands of people from country’s largest ethnic group are subjected to abuse including rape and killings

Oromo demonstrators protest in London earlier this year following the killing of student protesters in Oromia state by Ethiopian security forces. Photograph: Peter Marshall/Demotix/Corbis

October 28, 2014 (The Guardian) — Ethiopia has “ruthlessly targeted” and tortured its largest ethnic group owing to a perceived opposition to the government, Amnesty International has said.

Thousands of people from the Oromo ethnic group have been “regularly subjected to arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention without charge, enforced disappearance, repeated torture and unlawful state killings,” according to a damning report based on more than 200 testimonies. “Dozens of actual or suspected dissenters have been killed.”

At least 5,000 Oromos have been arrested since 2011 often for the “most tenuous of reasons”, for their opposition – real or simply assumed – to the government, the report added.

Many are accused of supporting the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

Former detainees who have fled the country and were interviewed by Amnesty in neighbouring Kenya, Somaliland and Uganda described torture “including beatings, electric shocks, mock execution, burning with heated metal or molten plastic and rape, including gang-rape”, the report added.

One young girl said hot coals had been dropped on her stomach because her father was suspected of supporting the OLF, while a teacher described how he was stabbed in the eye with a bayonet after he refused to teach “propaganda about the ruling party” to students.

There was no immediate response from the government, which has previously dismissed such reports and denied any accusation of torture or arbitrary arrests.

“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,” the Amnesty researcher Claire Beston said.

“This is apparently intended to warn, control or silence all signs of ‘political disobedience’ in the region,” she added, describing how those she interviewed bore the signs of torture, including scars and burns, as well as missing fingers, ears and teeth.

With nearly 27 million people, Oromia is the most populated of the country’s federal states and has its own language, Oromo, which is distinct from Ethiopia’s official Amharic language.

Some of those who spoke to Amnesty said people had been arrested for organising a student cultural group. Another said she was arrested because she delivered the baby of the wife of a suspected OLF member.

“Frequently, it’s because they refused to join the ruling party,” Beston added, warning that many were fearful attacks would increase before general elections slated for May 2015.

In April and May, security forces shot dead student protesters in Oromia. At the time, the government said eight had been killed, but groups including Human Rights Watch said the toll was believed to be far higher. Amnesty said “dozens” had been killed in the protests.

የኦሮሞ ፌደራሊስት ኮንግረስ ፓርቲ መሪ ዶ/ር መረራ ጉዲና በአምነስቲ የተጠቀሰው ቁጥር አንሷል ይላሉ፣ ዶ/ር መረራ በአምቦና በወለጋ ብቻ ከአምስት ሺ በላይ አባላት ታስረዋል ይላሉ።

በርካታ ቁጥር ያላቸው ኦሮሞዎች እየታሰሩ እየተገደሉና እየተዋከቡ መሆኑን አምነስቲ ኢንተርናሽናል ገለጸ

ጥቅምት ፲፯(አስራ ሰባት) ቀን ፳፻፯ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-ታዋቂው አለማቀፍ የሰብአዊ መብት ድርጅት በፈረንጆች አቆጣጠር ከ2011 እስካሁን ያለውን ሁኔታ አጥንቶ ይፋ ባደረገው ሪፖርት ፣ ከ5 ሺ ያላነሱ ኦሮሞች በእስር ላይ ይገኛሉ። ጥናቱን ያጠኑት የአምነስቲ የኢትዮጵያ ክፍል ሃላፊ ክሌር ቤስተን መንግስት አገሪቱን

ለአለማቀፍ የመገናኛ ብዙሃን፣ ለአለማቀፍ የሰብአዊ  መብት ድርጅቶች እንዲሁም ለአገር ውስጥ የመገናኛ ብዙሃን ክፍት ቢያደርግ ጉዳት የደረሰባቸው ሰዎች ቁጥር ከዚህም ሊልቅ ይችላል ሲሉ ከኢሳት ጋር ባደረጉት ቃለምልልስ ገልጸዋል።

የኦሮሞ ፌደራሊስት ኮንግረስ ፓርቲ መሪ ዶ/ር  መረራ ጉዲና በአምነስቲ የተጠቀሰው ቁጥር አንሷል ይላሉ፣ ዶ/ር መረራ በአምቦና በወለጋ ብቻ ከአምስት ሺ በላይ አባላት ታስረዋል ይላሉ።

Many are accused of supporting the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Former detainees, who have fled the country and were interviewed by Amnesty in neighbouring Kenya, Somaliland and Uganda, described torture “including beatings, electric shocks, mock execution, burning with heated metal or molten plastic and rape, including gang rape,” the report read

Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group has been subjected to torture and gang rape for perceived opposition to government, according to an Amnesty report.

Ethiopia has “ruthlessly targeted” and tortured its largest ethnic group for perceived opposition to the government, Amnesty International said in a damning report on Tuesday.

Thousands of people from the Oromo ethnic group have been “regularly subjected to arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention without charge, enforced disappearance, repeated torture and unlawful state killings,” read the report based on over 200 testimonies.

“Dozens of actual or suspected dissenters have been killed.” At least 5 000 Oromos have been arrested since 2011 often for the “most tenuous of reasons”, for their opposition – real or simply assumed – to the government, the report added.

Many are accused of supporting the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Former detainees, who have fled the country and were interviewed by Amnesty in neighbouring Kenya, Somaliland and Uganda, described torture “including beatings, electric shocks, mock execution, burning with heated metal or molten plastic and rape, including gang rape,” the report read.

One young girl said hot coals were dropped on her stomach because her father was suspected of supporting the OLF, while a teacher described how he was stabbed in the eye with a bayonet after he refused to teach “propaganda about the ruling party” to students.

No reaction from government
There was no immediate response from the government, which has previously dismissed such reports and denied any accusation of torture or arbitrary arrests. “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,” Amnesty researcher Claire Beston said.

“This is apparently intended to warn, control or silence all signs of ‘political disobedience’ in the region,” she added, describing how those she interviewed bore the signs of torture, including scars and burns, as well as missing fingers, ears and teeth.

With nearly 27-million people, Oromia is the most populated of the country’s federal states and has its own language, Oromo, distinct from Ethiopia’s official Amharic language. Some of those who spoke to Amnesty said people had been arrested for organising a student cultural group. Another said they were arrested because they delivered the baby of the wife of a suspected OLF member.

“Frequently, it’s because they refused to join the ruling party,” Beston added, warning that many were fearful attacks would increase ahead of general elections slated for May 2015. In April and May, security forces shot dead student protestors in Oromia.

At the time, the government said eight were killed, but groups including Human Rights Watch said the toll was believed to be far higher. Amnesty said that “dozens” were killed in the protests. – Sapa

ዲሞክራሲ የግሪክ ቋንቋ መሆኑን የሚያምነው የወያኔ መንግስት ዲሞክራሲ ማለት እኔ የምለውን የሚከተል አድርግ የምለውን የሚያደርግ ነው እንጂ ካለኔ ፈቃድ ብሎገር ነኝ፣ የሚል ጋዜጠኛ ነኝ፣ ተቃዋሚ ነኝ የሚል እንዲህ አይነቱ በኔ አጠራር አሸባሪ ነው እነሱን የሚከተል የኔ ሊሆን አይገባውም

የሰው ልጅ በነጻነት በሚንቀሳበት በዚች ዓለም ላይ ለነጻነታቸው የሚታገሉ ንፁሀን ዜጐች መብታችን ይከበርልን የፈለግነውን የመምረጥ መብት ይኑረን የታሰሩ ወገኖቻችን ይፈቱልን ዲሞክራሲ መብታችን ይከበርልን ስላሉ ብቻ በብዙህ ሺህ የሚቆጠሩ ወንድሞቻችንና እህቶቻችን በተለያዩ እስር ቤቶች እየተሰቃዩ ይገኛሉ። ትላንት አምንስቲ ባወጣዉ መግለጫ አምሰት ሺ የኦሮሞ ተወላጆች እስር ቤት ውስጥ እንደሚሰቃዩ በዘገባው አስረድቷል፥ እንግዲህ እነዚህ አምንስቲ እድሉን አግኝቶ የተመለከታቸው እስር ቤቶች ሲሆኑ መንግስት እንዳይጎበኙ የከለከላቸውን ስናስብ ምን ያህል እንደሆነ መገመት አያዳግትም።እንግዲህ ምንድነው ኢትዮጲያ የወደፊት ተስፉዋ ልጆቿን አስተምራና አስመርቃ ሁሉን በየፊናው በስራ አሰማርታ እየተንቀሳቀሰች ነገር ግን አምባገነኑ የወያኔ መንግስት የተማረው ሀይል እውቀቱ እየጎለበተ ሲመጣ መብቱንና ግዴታውን ሲያውቅ እንደ አንድ ዜጋ ስለ ሀገሩና ስለ ወገኑ ጬኸቱን ሲያሰማ ብዕሩን አንስቶ ሲፅፍ ጋዜጠኛው ሲዘግብ ዲሞክራሲ አለ እያለ ፖለቲከኛው ለምርጫ እራሱን ሲያዘጋጅ ዲሞክራሲ የግሪክ ቋንቋ መሆኑን የሚያምነው የወያኔ መንግስት ዲሞክራሲ ማለት እኔ የምለውን የሚከተል አድርግ የምለውን የሚያደርግ ነው እንጂ ካለኔ ፈቃድ ብሎገር ነኝ፣ የሚል ጋዜጠኛ ነኝ፣ ተቃዋሚ ነኝ የሚል እንዲህ አይነቱ በኔ አጠራር አሸባሪ ነው እነሱን የሚከተል የኔ ሊሆን አይገባውም በማለት በቅርቡ ብቻ አስራ ስምንት ጋዜጠኞች በእስር ቤት ሲገኙ ከዛ በላይ የሚሆኑት ደግሞ ስርዐቱን በመሸሽ የተወለደበትን ሀገሩን ጥለው በጎረቤት ሀገር ሀገር እንደሌለው በየድንኳኑ ሲጠለል ይታያል ስለዚህ ስለኛ  ነጻነት ነውና የሚሰቃዩት ሁላችንም በጋራ ከጎናቸው ለመቆም በጋራ እንነሳ አመሰግናለው።                         ተስፋዬ ወርዶፋ

“I was arrested for about eight months. Some school students had been arrested, so their classmates had a demonstration to ask where they were and for them to be released. I was accused of organising the demonstration because the government said my father supported the OLF so I did too and therefore I must be the one who is organising the students.” Young man from Dodola Woreda, Bale Zone.

ETHIOPIA: ‘BECAUSE I AM OROMO’: SWEEPING REPRESSION IN THE OROMIA REGION OF ETHIOPIA

October 28, 2014

Amnesty International released a-166 page report on the repression committed against Oromo by the TPLF. Please find the report in PDF herewith.

“I was arrested for about eight months. Some school students had been arrested, so their classmates had a demonstration to ask where they were and for them to be released. I was accused of organising the demonstration because the government said my father supported the OLF so I did too and therefore I must be the one who is organising the students.” Young man from Dodola Woreda, Bale Zone.

The anticipation and repression of dissent in Oromia manifests in many ways. The below are some of the numerous and varied individual stories contained in this report:

A student told Amnesty International how he was detained and tortured in Maikelawi Federal Police detention centre because a business plan he had prepared for a competition was alleged to be underpinned by political motivations. A singer told how he had been detained, tortured and forced to agree to only sing in praise of the government in the future. A school girl told Amnesty International how she was detained because she refused to give false testimony against someone else. A former teacher showed Amnesty International where he had been stabbed and blinded in one eye with a bayonet during torture in detention because he had refused to ‘teach’ his students propaganda about the achievements of the ruling political party as he had been ordered to do. A midwife was arrested for delivering the baby of a woman who was married to an alleged member of the Oromo Liberation Front. A young girl told Amnesty International how she had successively lost both parents and four brothers through death in detention, arrest or disappearance until, aged 16, she was left alone caring for two young siblings. An agricultural expert employed by the government told how he was arrested on the accusation he had incited a series of demonstrations staged by hundreds of farmers in his area, because his job involved presenting the grievances of the farmers to the government.

In April and May 2014, protests broke out across Oromia against a proposed ‘Integrated Master Plan’ to expand the capital, Addis Ababa, into Oromia regional territory. The protests were led by students, though many other people participated. Security services, comprised of federal police and the military special forces, responded to the protests with unnecessary and excessive force, firing live ammunition on peaceful protestors in a number of locations and beating hundreds of peaceful protestors and bystanders, resulting in dozens of deaths and scores of injuries. In the wake of the protests, thousands of people were arrested.

These incidents were far from being unprecedented in Oromia. They were the latest and bloodiest in a long pattern of the suppression – sometimes pre-emptive and often brutal – of even suggestions of dissent in the region.

The Government of Ethiopia is hostile to dissent, wherever and however it manifests, and also shows hostility to influential individuals or groups not affiliated to the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) political party. The government has used arbitrary arrest and detention, often without charge, to suppress suggestions of dissent in many parts of the country. But this hostility, and the resulting acts of suppression, have manifested often and at scale in Oromia.

A number of former detainees, as well as former officials, have observed that Oromos make up a high proportion of the prison population in federal prisons and in the Federal Police Crime Investigation and Forensic Sector, commonly known as Maikelawi, in Addis Ababa, where prisoners of conscience and others subject to politically-motivated detention are often detained when first arrested. Oromos also constitute a high proportion of Ethiopian refugees.According to a 2012 Inter-Censal Population Survey, the Oromo constituted 35.3% of Ethiopia’s population. However, this numerical size alone does not account for the high proportion of Oromos in the country’s prisons, or the proportion of Oromos among Ethiopians fleeing the country. Oromia and the Oromo have long been subject to repression based on a widespread imputed opposition to the EPRDF which, in conjunction with the size of the population, is taken as posing a potential political threat to the government.

Between 2011 and 2014, at least 5,000 Oromos have been arrested as a result of their actual or suspected peaceful opposition to the government, based on their manifestation of dissenting opinions, exercise of freedom of expression or their imputed political opinion. These included thousands of peaceful protestors and hundreds of political opposition members, but also hundreds of other individuals from all walks of life – students, pharmacists, civil servants, singers, businesspeople and people expressing their Oromo cultural heritage – arrested based on the expression of dissenting opinions or their suspected opposition to the government. Due to restrictions on human rights reporting, independent journalism and information exchange in Ethiopia, as well as a lack of transparency on detention practices, it is possible there are many additional cases that have not been reported or documented. In the cases known to Amnesty International, the majority of those arrested were detained without charge or trial for some or all of their detention, for weeks, months or years – a system apparently intended to warn, punish or silence them, from which justice is often absent.

With each journalist sentenced to prison, Ethiopia takes another step further from freedom of the press and democratic society,” said CPJ East Africa Representative Tom Rhodes. “We urge Ethiopian authorities to overturn Temesghen’s conviction on appeal and release him and all other journalists jailed for doing their jobs.”

Sentencing of Ethiopian journalist Temesghen Desalegn

October 27, 2014

Ethiopian court sentences journalist to three years in prison

CPJ Nairobi, October 27, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s sentencing of Ethiopian journalist Temesghen Desalegn to three years’ imprisonment on charges of defamation and incitement that date back to 2012. A court in Addis Ababa, the capital, convicted Temesgen on October 13 in connection with opinion pieces published in the now-defunct Feteh news magazine, according to news reports. He was arrested the same day. Authorities have routinely targeted Temesghen for his writing. Temesghen’s lawyer said he plans to appeal the ruling, according to local journalists.

“With each journalist sentenced to prison, Ethiopia takes another step further from freedom of the press and democratic society,” said CPJ East Africa Representative Tom Rhodes. “We urge Ethiopian authorities to overturn Temesghen’s conviction on appeal and release him and all other journalists jailed for doing their jobs.”

A state crackdown on independent publications and bloggers has taken place in Ethiopia this year, prompting several Ethiopian journalists to flee into exile, according to CPJ research. With at least 17 journalists in jail, Ethiopia is the second worst jailer of journalists in Africa, second only to its neighbor Eritrea, CPJ research shows.

On October 13th 2014 in Abwobo town highlanders killed innocent Anuaks and caused many injuries and stability. The killing in Abobo town spread to Gambella town as well. On Tuesday night of October 14th 2014 one Anuaks young boy was killed and another one injured. As pretext the EPRDF government is currently mobilizing illegal and criminal highlanders to own machetes and pangas to carry out a well planned massacre against the indigenous populations. This is a racist plan of the EPRDF/TPLF government to create ethnic cleansing conflicts in the region to displace and extinct the indigenous Nilotes from their ancestral lands and promote systematic settlements and occupations of Northerners in the land they don’t own in the South-western regions. We are calling up on all the indigenous people to remain alert and conscious to defend themselves against the planned atrocities of the Ethiopian government

EPRDF MUST STOP KILLING THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF GAMBELLA

Gambella Nilotes United Movement/Army

Press Release

October 24^th 2014, Gambella

Gambella Nilotes United Movement (GNUM) strongly condemns the Ethiopian government’s ethnic cleansing plans and act by creating conflict between highlanders and the indigenous people of Gambella. The massacre of Mezenger tribe since September 11/2014 is increasingly spreading to all villages of Godere zone by criminal and illegal highlanders supported by EPRDF national defence forces. Along the border between Gurafarda District (SNNPR of Ethiopia) and Godere District of Gambella all Mezenger villages were destroyed by Ethiopian National Defence following the campaign of the government to eliminate all Mezenger people from their ancestral land. Until today there is no access for independent body to visit the area to investigate the scale of damage and massacre of the Mezenger people due to presence of highly equipped military throughout the two districts.

Since 2003 Anuaks genocide in the Gambella region, the Ethiopian government has increasingly carried out several massacres and serious crimes against humanity as means to appropriate land for the northern settlers and commercial investors in Gambella. The chronological records of these massacres are still mounting.

On October 13^th 2014 in Abwobo town highlanders killed innocent Anuaks and caused many injuries and stability. The killing in Abobo town spread to Gambella town as well. On Tuesday night of October 14^th 2014 one Anuaks young boy was killed and another one injured. As pretext the EPRDF government is currently mobilizing illegal and criminal highlanders to own machetes and pangas to carry out a well planned massacre against the indigenous populations. This is a racist plan of the EPRDF/TPLF government to create ethnic cleansing conflicts in the region to displace and extinct the indigenous Nilotes from their ancestral lands and promote systematic settlements and occupations of Northerners in the land they don’t own in the South-western regions. We are calling up on all the indigenous people to remain alert and conscious to defend themselves against the planned atrocities of the Ethiopian government.

GNUM has been aware that the Ethiopian federal police and the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) have been very instrumental in instigating racist conflicts against the indigenous Nilotes in the region, and their role always is to make sure they flush out the indigenous populations from their ancestral lands in favour of highlanders. The indigenous Nilotes don’t enjoy freedom and equality as they continue to suffer discrimination against their colour and race in the country. They are seen inferior, less citizens, less humans of not deserving any right to acquire properties as other citizens, even in their own lands.

For this very reason, GNUM is determined to fight for the freedom and equality of the indigenous Nilotes to ensure their full recognition and identity in their ancestral land. The TPLF government beyond any doubt is a racist government that puts ethnic conflicts as means to prosper its own people from the north. It does not care for all its citizens, and it should be resisted strongly by all means.

GNUM would like to inform the Nilotic people of south-western Ethiopia to remain courageous that the TPLF government have lost support from the Ethiopians and it will soon vanish. We urge all Nilotes and Omotic people to maintain their unity and moral to fight back this dictator and oppressive regime.  For all those who lost their lives in the hands of EPRDF government, we share your grief and death for your ancestral land and your bloodshed in will not be in vain; one day will change to freedom, prosperity, happiness, and equality. Your bloods cry loud for freedom and justice before God. GNUM will stand with you always.

Therefore, GNUM would like to call upon all the indigenous Nilotes to unite themselves as one people and should resist and fight the racist government plan to protect their land. Resistance should be encouraged and strengthened against this racist government to protect the livelihood of the indigenous populations. Our land, as indigenous peoples, should be known as source of our livelihood. We should be determined to protect this right at all cost.

In this particular moment, GNUM would like to call upon the international community to investigate the killings of indigenous people in Majenger Zone, Abobo and Gambella towns through neutral body, and cause the perpetrators to be brought to justice. We call upon all the international donors to stop their funding to the TPLF government to make sure their funds are not used to perpetuate the killings against the innocent indigenous populations.

We are also strongly calling upon the international community to investigate more critically the root cause of the increasing killings against the indigenous populations in southwest Ethiopia and come up with strong recommendations and actions for maximum self determination as the only lasting solution to protect the life of the indigenous populations.

In conclusion the Gambella Nilotes United Movement (GNUM) will continue it struggle for all people of Gambella and South-western Nilotes to ensure security, freedom, liberty, justice, and prosperity are brought to the indigenous peoples in their God given lands.

“Southwest Ethiopian Indigenous Nilotes Should Unite As One People to Resist and Fight the Racist Government of EPRDF/TPLF” 

Gambella Nilotes United Movement/Army

Central Committee

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

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 Prime Minister 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.”

G/Kamal Galchu has violated the laws he initially took an oath to uphold to serve his personal benefits and spread false propaganda among members of the organization, making it difficult to implement effective change. There is no a greater betrayal and shame than one who compromises a national struggle for personal benefits, the leadership of General Kamal Galchu displays an outright violation similar of that of tyrannical leaders in Ethiopia. He ran the organization on the platform of absolute tyranny, led by one man and for one man only, by creating an environment that made it difficult, if not impossible, for members to work towards the organization’s goals. This was prevalent when he chose not to abide by the rules of the organization and pushed for deleterious aims in order to advance his personal gains.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM OROMO LIBERATION FRONT (OLF)
The Oromo Liberation Front (Popularly known as OLF for change) chairman, Brigadier General
Kamal Galchuu has been removed from his position effective immediately.
Kamal Galchu since he came to the helm of the OLF, he has caused great destruction to the
functions of the organization as a result of his poor leadership qualities and dictatorial actions.
On numerous occasions he has been counseled to change his controlling and tyrannical behaviors
in order to uphold the organization’s bylaws. In addition, he was continuously counseled to focus
on the main objectives of the OLF, which is to unite the Oromo people and lead a unified
struggle against tyrannical rule in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, he has resisted any initiative to bring
different Oromo political organizations to form unit against the Wayyane regime. His
irresponsible and tyrannical actions has deterred (OLF Change) from creating a relationship and
cooperation between other Oromo Political groups. As chairman, G/ Kamal Galchu has led our
organization on the path of political and material corruption by further annihilating the
organization from implementing positive changes that serve the interests of the Oromo people as
a whole.
G/Kamal Galchu has violated the laws he initially took an oath to uphold to serve his personal
benefits and spread false propaganda among members of the organization, making it difficult to
implement effective change. There is no a greater betrayal and shame than one who
compromises a national struggle for personal benefits, the leadership of General Kamal Galchu
displays an outright violation similar of that of tyrannical leaders in Ethiopia. He ran the
organization on the platform of absolute tyranny, led by one man and for one man only, by
creating an environment that made it difficult, if not impossible, for members to work towards
the organization’s goals. This was prevalent when he chose not to abide by the rules of the
organization and pushed for deleterious aims in order to advance his personal gains.
His actions led the organizations on a detrimental path and made it difficult for our objectives to
become a reality. Essentially, his tyrannical motives have brought great havoc to everyone in the organization and the broader national struggle of the Oromo people. He displayed oppressive and
authoritative behaviors of his former boss Meles Zenawi, whilst enhancing his personal motives
at the expense of the cause. He uses divide and rule system of the Wayyane regime that has
applied against our people in similar in its context within the organization.
The Oromo Liberation Front, in particular, and the Oromo people in general, do not have any
more tolerance for such tyrannical behaviors, which is contrary to the egalitarian Gadaa
democracy, which our ancestors gave to our people. The Oromo people have sacrificed the
ultimate sacrifice to establish a source of true democracy, rule of law and human rights for all.
We certainly cannot allow any tyrannical and self-interested leaders to keep the Oromo people
from attaining their freedom. His actions are blatantly shameful, instead of listening to the
council and advice of many leaders and elders, Oromo elites and think thank within the
organization at different levels; he disregarded his duties and responsibilities by continuously
violating our constitution that mandate collective leadership. By violating the collective
leadership principles enshrined in our organization’s constitution, he has already removed
himself from a position he was chosen to serve whilst creating a hostile environment for other
loyal members. These behaviors display anti-democratic principles and utter disregards for rule
of law, placing him in a position of the same authoritative leaders we took an oath to fight by all
means.
In order to deter him from causing any further destruction and chaos to the organization’s
objective, we have decided to remove him from his position as chairman of (OLF for Change). In
accordance to our bylaws, formal and informal mediations, we have implemented all available
strategies to resolve the issue. However, all our efforts fell on deaf ears of an individual who was
determined to destroy the organization, by turning collective leadership embodied in our
organization’s constitution into a single person controlled entity, which we are afraid greatly
resembles that of his former boss, Melese Zenawi. General Kamal Galchu, by conducting in all
of these destructive actions has lost the moral and legal ground to continue to lead our
organization. Allowing him to continue with his dictatorial actions will destroy an organization,
thousands, if not millions have lost their lives and are still losing to maintain. His lack of
leadership skills has been a complete abomination. He has lost the trust, confidence and respect
of the organization, both as a leader and a person.
Therefore, we the Executive Committee of the organization (OLF) made political decision and
announce that general Kamal Galchu purged from his chairman position of the organization.
Until the general assembly of the organization holds an official meeting and chooses a new
Chairman/Chairwoman, senior members from the Executive Committee and National Council
will lead the organization.
We will also take this opportunity to call upon leaders, individuals and groups who left this
organization because of G/ Kamal Galchu’s tyrannical behavior to come back. Let’s stand
together, under a unified objective and lead this great organization to victory for our people. We have no doubt that together; we can ensure great leadership with core principles that are based on
teamwork, accountability & responsibility.
Finally, due to the mess that made by G/Kemal Galchu, the wayyane agents and those who have
anti Oromo unity have infiltrated in our organization in the past. We assure that our organization
has no fertile ground for the infiltrators and we call upon our members to give particular
attention to watch infiltrators with great concern for the safety of our organization.

Draining development: illicit flows from Africa

October 21, 2014 (Open Democracy) — Illicit flows are difficult to measure due to lack of reliable data. Global Financial Integrity in 2008 reported that Africa has lost between $854 billion and $1.8 trillion in the last four decades.

The flows seeking higher returns are directed towards western financial institutions and the process is being facilitated by tax havens, trade mispricing (by overpricing imports and underpinning exports on customs documents, residents can illegally transfer money abroad), fake foundations and money-laundering techniques.

Sometimes it is a response to economic and political instability or to high taxes placed on international trade. Frequently it is a way of hiding the illegal accumulation of wealth owed to corruption or criminal activity. Additionally, massive illicit flows can also be a reaction to a defaulting government debt or to a lost confidence on the economic strength of the country.

These outflows of capital seriously harm the efforts for poverty alleviation and socio-economic development. In the first place, investment has decreased, yielding negative implications for job creation, improvement of infrastructure and industrialization.

Illicit flows of money harm economic growth by stifling private capital formation and causing the tax base to remain narrow. Since it drains hard currency reserves, it encourages poor countries to borrow money from abroad making their debt crisis worse and curtailing public investment further. This burden is paid more by the poor since high levels of unemployment and increased inflation affects them more. Illicit flows increase inequality that can lead to political tensions and further poverty.

Interestingly, Africa has become a net creditor to the world despite its global image as an inactive recipient of aid and loans. It has the highest share of private external assets among developing regions. Since 1970, Africa has lost at least $854 billion through capital flight which is not only enough to wipe out the continent’s total external debt of $250 billion but leaving around $600 billion for poverty alleviation and pro poor growth.

Africa is the largest recipient of aid in the world. Vast amount of resources are being spent every year with the task of achieving poverty reduction and meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

But what’s the point of sending money in the region if the region sends it back? For the region as a whole, illicit outflows outpaced official development assistance by a ratio of around 2:1. Taking other statistics into account, developing countries lose at least $10 through illegal flight for every $1 they receive via the aid regime. It is logical to conclude here that it would have been more beneficial to keep the locally produced wealth and invest it in the continent rather than waiting for aid from abroad to safeguard basic needs.

A serious inquiry that needs further investigation is what exactly this amount (between $1 trillion and $2 trillion) being lost means in terms of schools, hospitals and infrastructure. For example, the Education For All 2011 report stated that current aid levels fall short of the $16 billion required annually to close the external financing gap in low-income countries.

This crime kills the economic chances of the region. In 1970 it sent abroad 2% of Africa’s GDP, in 1987 it sent abroad 11% and 8% of its 2007 GDP. Illicit outflows from Africa grew at an average 12% a year over the four decades. To have a chance to meet the Millennium Development Goals, African countries must attack the illicit outflow and try to recover what is now held abroad. If the amount lost could be returned, then development can be achieved painlessly with local resources finally putting an end to aid dependency.

Economic growth without reform that can keep the wealth locally reinvested will lead to more illicit capital flight, and not to less. Sub Saharan Africa had high growth-rates over the last decade. Illicit outflows have also increased during this period. If the resources gained from growth cannot be invested locally then pro poor growth will not be achieved and the continent will continue suffering from extreme poverty. The region crucially needs diversification of its economy, research and development in relation to its agriculture and an expansion of its social services both in urban and rural areas. Only locally-led efforts, with local resources, can succeed in bringing prosperity.

Former South African president Mbeki blamed multinational companies for the flow of capital out of Africa, whereas other people are blaming the growing African elite for wanting higher returns for their money. The alternative view is that this economic problem of the outflow of money is just one of the consequences of the real problem that generates all others: in many African countries, governments (even the whole apparatus of the state) lack legitimacy, and their policies and actions do not represent the whole of society but special groups with economic and political power. In most African countries there is no bargain among groups; just the imposition of power by a small elite.

An effective state can tax its citizens with a political settlement, a rational consensus between state and citizens whereby taxes will be used to further guarantee and protect their interests. At this point we can start perceiving the problem of illicit flows more as a political problem and less an economic one. It is necessary for African societies to address their weak state legitimacy by becoming more open political units, which will integrate the different groups from the societies they supposedly lead. On the other hand businessmen, in order to keep their wealth inside their countries, need to be sure that they will profit with a positive real rate of interest. Serious macroeconomic policies, such as lower fiscal deficits, low inflation and reduced monetary expansion need to follow.

In conclusion, capital flight places the whole burden of solving the problem upon African countries. However one views the problem, either as an economic or a political one, the burden is placed on these societies to solve problems through their own efforts.

It is true that African financial institutions are the smallest and least developed in the world. It is also true that they are not transparent – probably a symptom of their connection with the political establishment which also lacks credibility among the locals. But credibility, transparency and legitimacy are central ideas to development. It would be wiser to start our development discussions from these basics rather than wasting more resources and time setting more and more millennium goals.

About the author
Menelaos Agaloglou is the Head of Geography in the International Division of the Greek Community School in Addis Ababa. He is a researcher of the Center of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (CEMMIS), part of the University of Peloponnese in Greece. He has taught Conflict Resolution and English in the University of Hargeisa in Somalia and Social Studies at the Ahmadiyya elementary school in Sierra Leon

Ethiopia is one of the leading repressive nations in Africa. With at least 17 journalists in jail, the country is now the second leading jailer of journalists and bloggers in the continent.

Ethiopian journalist Died in Exile

October 16, 2014

by Betre Yacob

A prominent Ethiopian journalist, Million Shurube, died in Nairobi, Kenya, where he had been in exile since September 2014.

Million, father of a son, passed away on 13, October 2014 at Kenyata hospital at the age of 33. The cause of his death is still unclear.

Million was one of a dozen of Ethiopian journalists forced in to exile recently having been harassed, threatened, accused, and charged with fabricated terrorism offenses. He fled from Ethiopia on September 2014 to escape from imprisonment.

Affectionately known as “Milli”, Million Shurube served as a journalist for more than 10 years. He was the founder and managing editor of a weekly magazine “Maraki”, and had worked for different publications including the now-defunct Abay, Ethiop, and Google newspapers.

Million was also the author of a book discussing the deep rooted social problems in Ethiopia.

Reports indicate that the journalist got sick 20 days after he left his country, and finally died having suffered for more than 20 days. Some weeks ago, he was told to have got Taifoid at a clinic and used to receive medical treatment.

“Starting from September 24, he was not feeling healthy; he had headache”, his room partner said yesterday in her commentary on his death.

“Recalling memories of his son and his country, he used to cry. So that we would advice him to not be worried too much believing stress was the cause to his headache. But, we later took him to a nearby clinic when we saw no improvement in his health and he was given medication”, she explained.

According to sources, the health of the journalist got much worst over the past weekend. Fallen unconscious he was taken to Kenyata hospital on 11 October midnight and died after two days.

Million was known for his exciting writings on issues including art, religion, and tradition. He was also known for his out spoken and inspiring articles on the political and human right crisis in Ethiopia.

Plight of Ethiopian Journalists

Ethiopia is one of the leading repressive nations in Africa. With at least 17 journalists in jail, the country is now the second leading jailer of journalists and bloggers in the continent.

Despite the growing condemnation from the west, the country has continued to intensify its crackdown on the private press aiming to silence independent voices ahead of the 2015 national election. In the past few months only, more than 9 publications have been closed, of them 1 newspaper and 5 magazines were shutdown having faced fabricated accusations and charges.

The country has also sentenced 3 publishers in abstain to more than three years in prison few weeks ago. All of the journalists were convicted on charges of “inciting violent revolts, printing and distributing unfounded rumours, and conspiring to unlawfully abolish the constitutional system of the country.”

In other latest case, the Federal High Court in the capital Addis Ababa also convicted the prominent journalist Temesghen Desalegn. Early this year, a group of vibrant bloggers along with 3 other journalists had been arrested on charges of “terrorism” offenses. A journalist association called Ethiopian Journalists Forum (EJF) was also being accused and later banned, and many of its leaders were eventually forced to flee the country.

As the crackdown continues to intensify, the number of journalists fleeing Ethiopia is rising dramatically. According to recent reports, in recent months only more than 25 journalists and bloggers have fled the country in order to escape from imprisonment. In the face of complicated problems, many of them are currently struggling to survive. The death of Million highlights the plight of these journalists.

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Betre Yacob is an Ethiopian Journalist and blogger. He graduated in Journalism and Communication from Bahir Dar University. He is currently working for ASSAMAN, and writes for different print and online medias. He is also the co-author of a book entitled Nipo, nipo tu, a collection of short stories illustrating socio-economic problems in Ethiopia. Betre Yacob is the president of Ethiopian Journalists Forum(EJF), an independent journalists association in Ethiopia working for freedom of speech and of the press.

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