protesters in Ethiopia reject authoritarian development model

Posted by: ecadforum December 20, 2015

The Oromo students’ defiant protests are a response to decades of systemic and structural marginalization

by Awol Allo | Al Jazeera

Social media is full of images of dead and injured students from Ethiopia’s Oromia state. At least 50 protesters have been killed, hundreds injured and thousands more arrested in monthlong protests across the region. Tensionsescalated sharply this week after authorities accused the demonstrators of terrorism and confirmed deploying military forces.

The government continues to take a hard line. On Dec. 17, Communications Minister Getachew Reda described the protesters as “terrorists” and “demonic.” Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has threatened to take “merciless action against any force bent on destabilizing the area,” echoing pronouncements by the country’s counterterrorism task force, which has promised “legal and proportionate” measures.

This is an old tactic in Ethiopia, where protests and public proclamation of dissent are criminalized. Addis Ababa often dismisses genuine local grievances as evil designs of anti-development elements.  Over the last decade, the government in Addis Ababa used the “war on terrorism” and the rhetoric of development to silence independent voices and curtail democratic debate. The press is effectively muzzled, and independent civic and political organizations face an array of government tactics, including manipulation, co-optation and violent repression.

The immediate trigger for the crisis is the Integrated Regional Development Plan for Addis Ababa and the Surrounding Oromia Region, commonly known as the Master Plan, which aims to expand the Ethiopian capital’s jurisdiction to Oromia. But the movement is a reflection of long-simmering ethnic tensions and deeper historical injustices. The Oromo, who constitute nearly half of Ethiopia’s 100 million people, have long been pushed to the periphery of Ethiopia’s economic, social and political life. The anger and defiance of the last few weeks is a spontaneous response to decades of systemic and structural marginalization of the Oromo.

Despite the government’s claim, the ongoing largely peaceful protests pose no threat to Ethiopia’s economic or national security interests. However, the government’s heavy-handed crackdown on protesters and the implementation of the Master Plan presents a clear and present danger to the well-being of the Oromo.

Why are Oromos protesting?

These protests are not new. In April and May 2014, similar protests broke out when the government unveiled the controversial Master Plan. Dozens of people were killed and many more wounded. Authorities insist that the draft plan will better coordinate development activities and facilitate the delivery of public services to remote areas. The protesters say it is a blueprint for annexation and will displace millions of Oromo farmers.

Addis Ababa, one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, faces a population explosion. The city has sprawled into neighboring Oromo villages, farmlands and forests. In the last 10 years, more than 150,000 Oromo farmers have been evicted from their ancestral lands without adequate compensation and proper relocation. Displaced farmers are becoming daily laborers on lands taken from them. Oromo activists and opposition politicians fear that the Master Plan will lead to a new and unrestrained land grab that could radically alter the region’s demographics and cultural makeup. The protesters say such expansion would cleanse the Oromo people and culture from the area.

Addis Ababa lies in the heart of Oromia. The Ethiopian Constitution recognizes the state’s “special interest” over the city and mandates Parliament to enact laws that would regulate the “provision of social services or the utilization of natural resources” between Oromia and Addis Ababa. However, two decades after the constitution’s adoption, no such laws have been enacted. Meanwhile, Addis Ababa’s expansion into surrounding Oromo towns continues unabated. This advance, which is in part fueled by demand for land by foreign and private investment, has had serious economic and ecological consequences for the area.

Human-centered development

The government has appealed to developmental goals to silence such concerns, but its approach to development is narrow. Ethiopia follows a developmental state model that doesn’t guarantee democratic participation and representative procedures necessary to scrutinize the legality, viability and proportionality of state-led projects. Its five-year Growth and Transformation Plan is mainly funded by foreign aid, including from the United States. The plan envisions the relocation of people from lands slated for infrastructure construction, industrial parks and large-scale agricultural development. These programs are often implemented through intimidation, violence and other repressive tactics.

Ethiopia happens to be a key U.S. ally in the “war on terrorism.” In 2006 the U.S. provided technical and financial support for Ethiopia’s invasion of Somalia under the pretext of targeting the Somali armed group Al-Shabab. Since 2011, the U.S. has been flying armed reaper drones from bases in Ethiopia as part of its counterterrorism mission in East Africa. Washingtonacknowledges the ruling party’s increasingly authoritarian tactics but has consistently ignored human rights concerns. The U.S. State Department on Friday expressed concern about reports of deaths and urged the Ethiopian government “to permit peaceful protest and commit to a constructive dialogue.”

The protesters oppose policies that disregard the will of the people. They are calling for a system grounded in fair processes, driven by equitable outcomes and the effective participation of affected communities in defining the scope of development programs. In short, they want a human-centered development that places people at the center of government policies and programs and allows everyone to get a fair share of what belongs to all.

These protests are unprecedented in many ways. They are broad based and resilient as well as creative. They are using roadblocks, sit-ins, lunch boycotts and striking hand gestures and other symbols of civil disobedience to capture asymmetries of power and governance.

Their nonviolent resistance transcends deep political fault lines and is building interethnic solidarity among Ethiopia’s key political players. Over the last two weeks, several non-Oromo political parties and civic organizations have expressed solidarity with the protesters. This in and of itself is a remarkable achievement in a country sharply divided along ethnic lines.

This movement may not end the subordination of the Oromo people and the displacement of its farmers, but its legacy will endure. It leaves behind traces and reminders that will serve as the seedbed of indignation and frustration, providing inspiration for future struggles for equality and justice in Ethiopia

“Oromo and Amhara will not fight” Protesters message to TPLF

Let Us Take Warning: It is a Dangerous Time for Ethiopia

Posted by: Obang Metho December 11, 2015

SMNE Press Release

Washington, DC- On Wednesday, December 9, 2015 a group of courageous Oromo students from the Addis Ababa Science and Technology University made a strong statement of protest on behalf of Ethiopians at risk throughout the country!

As planned in advance, these students arrived early at the school’s dining room. They took their food, sat down and then prayed together to God for their fallen brethren who had been killed and for the nation under attack. They then got up from their tables and left the food untouched; asking how they could eat while 15 million Ethiopians were at risk of starving in the coming months; while millions of farmers were losing their land; while thousands were in jail; and while tens were being killed for peacefully demanding their rights.

Their model of prayer, followed by peaceful and compassionate convicted action, is inspirational and one from which we can all learn. Its message, perhaps by plan, is not only geared to one ethnicity, one region or one religious group. Instead, it gives acknowledgement to the present and potential suffering of countless diverse Ethiopians due to famine, displacement, imprisonment and death at the hands of a government that is supposed to protect its people.

Ethiopia has been a country of disconnected parts; grieving, protesting, and suffering within those parts during one’s own season of difficulty. When the current ethnic apartheid regime of the TPLF/EPRDF came into power in 1991 the TPLF targeted their own people who opposed them, then it was the Amhara they viewed as the enemy, then the professors at the University of Addis Ababa followed by the students who protested in reaction to it; then the Sidamo, the Anuak, the Kinijit election protestors, the Ethiopian Somalis in the Ogaden, the Afar, the Majanger, the people of Benishangul-Gumuz, the Berta in the South, the farmers on the border with Sudan, the Muslims, the journalists, democracy activists, opposition party leaders, city-dwellers, people of the Omo Valley and all along, the Oromo and too many others to mention them all.

The actions and words of these students connect the parts and the seasons together. Can we Ethiopians see the suffering of our people as a whole or only as it happens to us or our own ethnic groups? Could God use the tragic images of our young people, whose bodies have been riveted with bullets and their blood covering their stilled bodies, as a bridge to feeling the sorrow of someone outside our own ethnic background? Could God use the threat of a far-reaching famine to help us to see the value of all our people—that someone else’s “season” of suffering is of concern to oneself?

Do members of the TPLF Central Committee grieve for the starving children? Do they see their own son’s and daughter’s in the death of the promising university student who was shot dead for simply standing up for their God-given rights, many of these rights being part of the Ethiopian Constitution? Do they put themselves in the shoes of the student activist, recently arrested for peacefully protesting? Do they feel ashamed of robbing the poor farmer of his land or the city-dweller their homes so they can individually prosper? Are they convicted of pretending that the voices of strength are terrorists so their influence can be eliminated? Are they afraid what might happen in reaction to the injustices, corruption and lies they have committed? Will they be able to face reports of millions of Ethiopians dying largely because of their lies, inaction and failure to care about others? They could have helped create the breadbasket of abundance in Ethiopia; but instead, they stole the land, the dreams and the future of our people. How will they deal with this in the quiet moments of their lives?

Lest any of the rest of us feel superior, judgmental only of the TPLF/EPRDF; we, the people of Ethiopia, must also question ourselves. Have we simply dwelt on our own part or ethnic group? Have we cried only during our own season of grief, suffering and persecution and ignored the rest? What kind of people are we to be? Let us cry for our lack of caring. Let us weep for those we hated so much we forgot about their humanity. Let us repent of our callousness.

The ethnic apartheid regime of the TPLF/EPRDF can serve our impulse to project all the blame on them; thereby minimizing our own inaction, lack of compassion or unwillingness to forgive whole groups of people within our country. They are an easy target, but let us think about who God wants us to become rather than how we can advance ourselves at the cost to others. We need reconciliation; not only between our people, but with God—do we not? Let us not only blame the TPLF/EPRDF. Let us look into our own hearts, souls and minds and be convicted of our own shortcomings. We Ethiopians are failing at many points. How can we recover, or be made anew, since many will question if we ever had what we seek now? If we do not change, how can we bring about a New Ethiopia? Think on these things as we enter a very dangerous period of time ahead where our action or inaction could either bring about the destruction of our people and country by our own hands or a country where we can live and thrive together.

Ethiopians are in crisis and we see a reaction to it unfolding before our eyes; not only among these students, but in protests igniting across Ethiopia. They are taking place on many university campuses like in Ambo, Haromaya, Bule Hora, Addis Ababa, Mekelle, Jimma, and Dila. Although our youth are leading these protests; it is not only our youth who can no longer hide their growing frustrations with the repressive TPLF/ERPDF regime. Others are joining them from the local communities. The simmering tensions of the past years are erupting, but mostly in peaceful demonstrations like the one mentioned; however, federal police, military and security agents who see it as a threat to their power, have used fatal force in some cases, killing some students and injuring many others.

Let us take warning. It is a dangerous time. This is not only because of the likely strong-armed reaction from the TPLF/EPRDF; but also because a disjointed movement without a central command, shared goals and foundational principles based on God’s truth about the value of every human being, regardless of our differences, can easily be defeated, hijacked by power-hungry and self-seeking others or devolve into something catastrophic that none of us want to see happen to our people and to our country.

There is reason for serious concern related to all three possibilities. What will you do? As for us in the SMNE, we will try to continue to do our share and encourage people to start crossing bridges to talk with each other rather than about each other. This is the beginning of building a harmonious, more just, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous society for all; not only for one ethnic group or a few elite from that group.

We call on the TPLF/ERPDF to restrain yourselves. Do not kill or injure our precious students. Too much blood has already been spilt on this land and too many tears shed by our mothers. Today, this text was received from one of these mothers. She said: “I sent my son to school in October; I received his body back for burial in December.” This could be any mother or father. This could be anybody’s child, including your own—the daughters and sons of the TPLF leaders. How many more Ethiopians will receive their loved ones coming back to their homes in boxes? It must stop.

You, the leaders of TPLF rose up to take on injustice when you were young. Just like your own children, these young people are full of dreams and hope for a better Ethiopia; but if they are thwarted at every turn, we will all lose, including you. Rend your hearts, make changes and bring reforms. Do not hold onto empty, meaningless things that will make you empty people; holding “everything” but having no hope or future. Reform yourselves first and let us Ethiopians do the same. We are in an impossible situation to resolve without violence unless God convicts each of us of what we must do and we listen. Ask for forgiveness and forgive your brothers and sisters. Correct wrongs done in the past to the best of your ability.

Think about the death toll from the famine and of the dying or orphaned children. Can you handle the accusations once all is known? Can you face yourself, your family, your Creator? The outcome from repressing the reality of a famine and hunger is unthinkable! Do not do it! Change! You can be restored! Give freedom and justice to all people equally. Think on these things! Not just you, but let us all think on these things! Put humanity before ethnicity or any other differences; caring about their freedom as we care about our own because no one ethnic group is free until all ethnic groups are free!

May God bring healing to the wounds of Ethiopians so we can rise up, not alone, but together; not in protest, but in joy!

Thank you for what each of you is willing to do to bring God’s peace, justice, freedom and love to Ethiopia.

May the ancient and living God who watches over Ethiopia teach us a better way! May He renew our land and restore His people! Let us open our eyes and our ears to the truth that truly sets us free at last!

——————
I am appealing to each of you to forward it to all your friends. If you do, you will not just be giving a voice to our beautiful people, but you would be doing justice to our humanity. Knowing the truth is overcoming the first obstacle to freedom!

Thanks so much for your never-ending support. Don’t give up. Keep your focus on the bigger picture and reach out to others and listen! Care about those who are suffering. Think about our family of Ethiopians and humanity throughout the world—they are YOU! There is no “us” or “them.” This is at the heart of the SMNE.

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For more information, contact Mr. Obang Metho, Executive Director of the SMNE. Email: Obang@solidaritymovement.org                                                                        source  http://ecadforum.com/ 

Addis Ababa University student’s joined the countrywide protest.

Hailemariam Desalegn Warns Saudi Arabia And UAE

Posted by: ecadforum December 2, 2015

AFRICANGLOBE – Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, has told a local private newspaper that Saudi Arabia and the UAE will bear the consequences of Ethiopia’s response if their operation in and around Eritrea’s Port of Assab supports the ‘Eritrean regime’s destabilization agenda against Ethiopia.’ He made the remarks after a recent United Nations monitoring group report indicates that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have leased the Port of Assab for 30 years from the Eritrean government in their coalition to fight the Houthis in Yemen.

“They have assured us that they would not be engaged in activities that would endanger the peace and security of Ethiopia. They have said this is only a choice of tactical convenience to their operation in Yemen and that they would evacuate the area as soon as the mission is completed,” Hailemariam told The Reporter newspaper. “We have also stressed that they will bear the consequences of our response if their operation in the area supports the Eritrean regime’s destabilization agenda against Ethiopia. Although we understand their objective, we were not consulted before the countries reached to this agreement.”

The Premier also told reporters of the newspaper during his first interview with a local private media outlet that Ethiopia absolves itself of any responsibility in case of disruptions to their operation in the area due to its proportionate response to any provocations by the Eritrean regime.

“Although we understand their objective, we were not consulted before the countries reached to this agreement. We have a right to protect the sovereignty of our country. And this might depend on the actions of the Eritrean regime,” Hailemariam said.

The Prime Minister, however, said that there is no evidence Saudi Arabia and the UAE had leased the Port of Assab from Eritrea for 30 years.

Experts say the relationship between Eritrea and Ethiopia is arguably the most important and volatile in East Africa. The fall-out between the former brothers-in-arms initiated a two-year-long border war in 1998, which claimed around 100,000 causalities, and cost billions of dollars. Many say the ‘no war, no peace’ situation between the two countries continues to serve as the main source of regional instability in the Horn of Africa.  http://ecadforum.com/sourse                                                                                    

የሕወሓት አስተዳደር አዲስ አበባን “እናሰፋለን” በሚል ሰበብ የሚሰራው ሸፍጥ ተጋለጠ (ምስጢራዊውን ደብዳቤው ይዘናል)

የሕወሓት አስተዳደር አዲስ አበባን “እናሰፋለን” በሚል ሰበብ የሚሰራው ሸፍጥ ተጋለጠ (ምስጢራዊውን ደብዳቤው ይዘናል)

Journalists honored for courageous reporting

International Press Freedom Awards go to Ethiopian bloggers, Malaysian cartoonist, Paraguayan crime reporter, Syrian citizen journalists

New York, November 25, 2015–Journalists from Ethiopia, Malaysia, Paraguay, and Syria were honored Tuesday night at the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 25th annual International Press Freedom Awards for courageous work amid risks such as physical attack, imprisonment, exile, and murder.

“These awardees go forward with their work in the face of threats from repressive governments, drug cartels, Islamic State, and other terrorists and thugs determined to stifle the truth,” said Joel Simon, CPJ’s executive director. “In recognizing these fearless journalists, we send a message of support to journalists everywhere–and a message to authoritarian actors that we are watching.”

Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, a group of Syrian citizen journalists that has seen two members murdered by Islamic State, received its award from the editor of The New Yorker and CPJ board member David Remnick. Creator of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Doonesbury comic strip Garry Trudeau presentedZulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque (“Zunar”) of Malaysia with his award, the first time CPJ has honored a full-time cartoonist. Suroosh Alvi, co-founder of VICE Media, presented an award to the Zone 9 bloggers, a group of journalists from Ethiopia, of which six were charged with terrorism and imprisoned for more than a year in retaliation for critical reporting. Cándido Figueredo Ruíz, a Paraguayan journalist who has lived under 24-hour police protection for two decades because of his reporting on organized crime, received his award from CPJ board member Isaac Lee, president of news and digital for Univision Communications, Inc. and CEO of Fusion.

Kathy Gannon, special regional correspondent for Pakistan and Afghanistan at The Associated Press, received the Burton Benjamin Memorial Award for lifetime achievement in the cause of press freedom from Christiane Amanpour, the chief international correspondent for CNN and host of CNN International’s nightly program “Amanpour.” Gannon has covered the region since 1998. In 2014, she was seriously wounded when an Afghan police officer opened fire on the car she was sharing with AP photographer Anja Niedringhaus, who was killed.

The awards dinner was chaired by Steven R. Swartz, president and CEO of Hearst, and held at New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel. The dinner raised a record $2.04 million for CPJ’s worldwide advocacy–including a special appeal during the evening that was matched by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

“We are most grateful to Steve’s leadership in making this evening such a success,” said Kathleen Carroll, CPJ’s vice chair and the executive editor of The Associated Press.

Source: ecadforum.co

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CPJ Awards Zone9 Bloggers of Ethiopia: International Press Freedom Award

 November 22, 2015

In April 2014, Ethiopian authorities arrested six bloggers affiliated with the Zone 9 collective. The bloggers–Abel Wabella, Atnaf Berhane, Mahlet Fantahun, Natnail Feleke, Zelalem Kibret, and Befekadu Hailu–were charged with terrorism.

The Zone 9 blogging collective was formed in May 2012 in response to the evisceration of the independent press and the narrowing of space for free expression. The name, “Zone 9,” is derived from the zones in Kality Prison, the main jail where Ethiopia’s political prisoners, including several journalists, are held. While Kality Prison is organized into eight different zones, the bloggers refer to the entire country as “Zone 9” because of Ethiopia’s lack of democratic freedoms, one of the bloggers told CPJ.

The collective is made up of nine bloggers–the six named above, and Soleyana S Gebremichael, Endalk Chala, and Jomanex Kasaye, all of whom are in exile. Soleyana has been charged in absentia.

In July 2015, weeks before U.S. President Barack Obama visited the country, Ethiopian authorities released Mahlet and Zelalem.

The Zone 9 bloggers were arrested along with three other journalists–editor Asmamaw Hailegeorgis and freelancers Tesfalem Waldyes and Edom Kassaye, who were later released. The initial charges against the group included working with international human rights organizations and taking part in email encryption and digital security training. The group was subsequently charged with terrorism.

Since 2009, when Ethiopia’s anti-terror law was implemented, the government has used the sweeping legislation to imprison more than a dozen critical journalists, according to CPJ research. In 2012, blogger Eskinder Nega was sentenced to 18 years in prison and Woubshet Taye to 14 years, both on terrorism charges. CPJ’s 2014 prison census found that Ethiopia was the fourth worst jailer of journalists in the world, with at least 17 journalists behind bars. Ethiopia also ranked fourth on CPJ’s 2015 list of the 10 Most Censored Countries.

With the motto “We Blog Because We Care,” the Zone 9 collective has voiced concerns over domestic issues, including political repression, corruption, and social injustice. The collective’s posts were frequently blocked inside Ethiopia, but gained a following with Ethiopians in the diaspora, according to local reports. Their posts on Facebook solicited some 12,000 responses a week, reaching 200,000 during a four-part “campaign” they ran on Facebook.

By awarding the Zone 9 bloggers with its International Press Freedom Award, CPJ recognizes the important role that bloggers play in environments where traditional media are weak or have been all but shuttered by financial hardship and direct or indirect state attacks.

Country facts:

• Ethiopia released at least six journalists from prison in 2015, but is still holding around a dozen journalists in jail in relation to their work.
• In May 2015, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) won 100 percent of the vote.
• In 2014, at least eight independent publications were shut down, according to CPJ research.
• Between 2013 and 2014, in response to the continued government crackdown on the media, more than 40 journalists fled into exile from Ethiopia.

Source http://ecadforum.com/

» Video » Ethiopia: The War in Africa that Changed the World!

This one is definitely a must see by every Ethiopian who loves Ethiopia and her beautiful people.

This short video is a great reminder of how amazing our people were once and what a wonderful our country was before the ethnic apartheid regime of the TPLF/EPRDF came to power to destroy the fabric of our society.

It is very inspiring video. Watching it make me proud of our country and the true leaders of the country over 80 years ago.

It is history like this that let me pledge to do whatever I can to help establish the first ever government of all Ethiopian people, by the Ethiopian people and for the Ethiopian people.

It help me pledge to do my share to make Ethiopia one of the most respected country in the world.

I am very grateful for those who served Ethiopia over 80 years ago before the ethnic apartheid regime of the TPLF/EPRDF came to power.

The video makes me proud to be an Ethiopian and to serve my country because I love my precious people and beautiful country.

May God protect Ethiopia from all these enemies inside and out. May we the people of Ethiopia see peace, love, harmony, brotherhood and sisterhood. May God/Allah the Almighty bless our nation and make our country strong and unite hearts of all its people.

Long live Ethiopia!                                                                                                              source  ecadeff .com

UN Emergency Fund releases $17 million to help communities affected by worst drought to hit Ethiopia in decades

UN Emergency Fund releases $17 million to help communities affected by worst drought to hit Ethiopia in decades

(New York, 12 November 2015) – United Nations humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien today released US$17 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support people affected by the worst drought in Ethiopia in decades. UN and partners are supporting the ongoing response led by the Government of Ethiopia.

The El Niño global climactic event has wreaked havoc on Ethiopia’s summer rains. This comes on the heels of failed spring rains, and has driven food insecurity, malnutrition and water shortages in affected areas of the country.

“A timely response to the emergency is critical. If we don’t act today, we face an even graver situation tomorrow, with more immense needs in 2016,” warned the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “CERF funds will immediately provide crucial food supplies for people affected by the drought, now, when they need it most.”

The emergency funding will be provided to the World Food Programme so it can support some 1.37 million Ethiopians with food, and provide specialized nutritional supplements to 164,000 malnourished women and children.

The Government reports that 8.2 million people now require emergency food assistance, up from 2.9 million in early 2015. The number of people who need food assistance in East Africa is forecast to increase to over 22 million at the start of next year, including 15 million in Ethiopia.

By the end of the year, the UN’s global emergency fund will have provided over $80 million in response to humanitarian needs because of climate-related events linked to El Niño. Since July alone some $76 million has been disbursed to agencies to carry out essential aid activities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Malawi, Myanmar, Somalia and Zimbabwe.

CERF pools donor contributions in a single fund so that money is available to start or continue urgent relief work anywhere in the world. Since its inception in 2006, 125 UN Member States and dozens of private-sector donors and regional Governments have contributed to the Fund. CERF has allocated more than $4 billion in support of humanitarian operations in 95 countries and territories.                sourse  http://ecadforum.com/

They can jail the journalist but not journalism

On  November 7, 2015, journalist Serkalem Fasil posted a Facebook reminder. It was her husband’s birthday. “Four years and two months have passed since we physically separated,” she wrote.

“No matter how long it takes, I will persevere and will never give up hope with the help of Almighty God,’” she promised to her husband. Sentenced to 18 years in jail on trumped-up terrorism charges in Ethiopia, Eskinder Nega cannot read the note from his beloved wife.

The couple have been through hell together that she certainly feels his presence and unbreakable spirit is with her at all times.

Journalist Serkalem Fasil and Eskinder Nega proudly show off their son Nafkot and Menelik, one of banned newspapers they used to publish in Ethiopia.

When Serkalem met Eskinder nearly two decades ago, she could not have predicted the trials and tribulations awaiting them along their ways.

Eskinder is now serving 18 years behind bars for using pen and paper and sharing powerful stories and his thoughts with his people.

Theirs is a touching story of true love that has endured constant threats, attacks, prison, torture and exile spanning almost two decades. Serkalem leads a challenging life as an exiled “single mom” in Alexandria, Virginia, with their nine-year old son Nafkot, who was condemned to be born in jail.

Her husband is languishing in Kaliti jail, which he referred to as “Gulag” in a New York Times op-ed that he penned two years ago. After that article was published and exposed the harsh realities behind bars, he has been banned from having access to his lethal weapons, pen and paper. He is not allowed to read anything–even his Bible, which was confiscated by prison guards.

Charged with treason and “genocide”, Serkalem and Eskinder were among a group of journalists falsely accused of causing turmoil during the 2005 national election. Unprepared to accept any electoral defeats , the late Meles Zenawi declared a state of emergency and took personal control of the armed forces. Security forces massacred hundreds of unarmed peaceful protesters and injured almost 800 others. Scores of opposition leaders, journalists, human rights activists and civic leaders, along with some 30 thousand suspected supporters of opposition parties, were also jailed.

They languished in vermin-ridden jails, where their son Nafkot was born. Serkalem was denied prenatal care in prison under the orders of Meles Zenawi. The couple were released after 18 months behind bars with the condition that they “never write, never publish and never speak out against injustice”.

Terrorist journalists

In many parts of the world, journalism is a very dangerous profession. Whoever chooses to be a journalist ready to take on the challenges of telling truth to power and exposing wrongdoings, corruption, abuse of power or human rights violations knows the exorbitant costs and sacrifices that must be paid at one point or another.

In Ethiopia, journalism is not only dangerous but officially treated as an act of “terrorism”. Most of the “terrorists” convicted and jailed under Proclamation No. 652/2009, or the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, are journalists and bloggers.

According to the latest CPJ’s data on exiled journalists, Ethiopia is the second top source of exiled journalists in the world after Syria, which took the top spot earlier this year. Fleeing from persecution and torture chambers, hundreds of journalists and writers have left the country and become hapless refugees and asylum seekers.

When Eskinder was denied permission to run his newspaper again, he resorted to publishing a series of hard-hitting blogs and opinion pieces online. In September 2011, he was arrested for the ninth times and charged with terrorism offenses.

The evidence presented in the federal Kangaroo court by the regime’s hack prosecutors was nothing but a collection of online stories and articles he had previously published. The most “damning evidence” the regime presented to prove Eskinder’s guilt was an opinion piece that contended that something like the Arab Spring was inevitable in Ethiopia unless the regime took serious political and economic reform measures. “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable,” he warned quoting President John F. Kennedy.

In another op-ed–General Tsadekan, the EPRDF and the North African Revolution, he had revealed prior to his final arrest that he was detained by a group of armed men and taken to the then federal police commissioner Workneh Gebeyehu. The police boss fumed with anger and threatened him that they would no longer waste time to arrest him. “We will come to your house and will take the final action,” he told him.

Nonetheless, Eskinder was arrested again while he was picking up his son from school. His captors were cruelly videotaping his arrest mocking and laughing at the crying boy who begged them in vain to leave his dad alone.

The last decade has been the harshest for Ethiopian journalists. CPJ’s 2015 list of 10 Most Censored Countries ranked the country in fourth place, in league with North Korea, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.

Empty rhetoric

BBC World Service Africa editor Mary Harper recently posed a few questions to “Prime Minister” Hailemariam Desalegn on the disturbing state of journalism in Ethiopia.

“Free media is very essential for the democratic process and development,” Hailemariam said. He seems to have a difficulty of distinguishing between democracy and tyranny.

Eskedar Alemu welcoming her sister Reeyot Alemu at Dulles International Airport. PHOTO from Facebook

Hailemariam insisted that the bloggers and reporters arrested and jailed were not real journalists. To him, they are all terrorists. “This has to be very clearly underlined because that shouldn’t be confused with the noble profession journalism and the work that journalists do in this country,” he said.

While Serkalem was trying to figure out a way to celebrate her jailed husband’s birthday, another journalist arrived from Ethiopia on the same day.

Reeyot Alemu spent over four years in jail. She was denied access to medical care despite the pain of a malignancy on her breast. She is another convicted “terrorist” who suffered a lot in solitary confinement until she was suddenly released last July in advance of President Obama’s visit to Ethiopia.

In her Facebook post, Serkalem also expressed her worries about another fiery journalist and her husband’s good friend, Temesgen Desalegn. Temesgen, the former publisher and editor of Feteh newspaper has also been denied access to medical care. He is not even allowed to get painkillers. They want him to bear unbearable pains physical and mental pains like so many others before him. This is how a desperate tyranny defends itself when it feels totally besieged by the brave warriors of truth.

As Eskinder wrote in his Letter from Ethiopia’s Gulag (NY Times, July 24, 2013):

Tyranny is increasingly unsustainable in this post-Cold-War era. It is doomed to failure. But it must be prodded to exit the stage with a whimper — not the bang that extremists long for. I am confident that America will eventually do the right thing. After all, the new century is the age of democracy primarily because of the United States. Here in the Ethiopian gulag, this alone is reason enough to pay homage to the land of the brave.

The land of the free and home of brave that has guaranteed us freedom and granted us refuge in these dark hours should also hear the voices from faraway jails. America can exert its leverage, at least to prod and nudge its East African ally, to release the “terrorist” journalists for its own sake.

There is no journalism without those who take risks for the sake enlightening and informing the world.

All the brave journalists that go to war zones, confront powerful tyrannies and expose crimes and atrocities deserve attention. After all, they are the light of the world.

In a lengthy piece, “Letter to My Son”, Eskinder noted that his suffering for the sake of freedom and justice is exalting. But he never denied that the most unbearable pain to him is the physical separation from his beloved wife and son. He wrote movingly:

I miss you and your mother terribly. The pain is almost physical. But in this plight of our family is embedded hope of a long suffering people. There is no greater honor. We must bear any pain, travel any distance, climb any mountain, cross any ocean to complete this journey to freedom. Anything less is impoverishment of our soul. God bless you, my son. You will always be in my prayers.

Locking up, torturing and killing journalists has never been a show of strength and power. It only magnifies the very crimes and wickedness that perpetrators of such acts of terror want to hide from the rest of the world.

Tyrants that terrorize nations don’t seem to pay attention to one important fact. When true journalists suffer, journalism also suffers and feels the pain.

Eskinder is the living defiant embodiment of press freedom. He has been given major international awards and honors including PEN America’s Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award (2012), Golden Pen of Freedom Award of World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (2014), PEN Canada’s One Humanity Award (2015). None of these coveted prizes are reserved for criminals, tyrants and terrorists.

Eskinder today is a free man because he has inspired the young bloggers of Zone 9. He has inspired thousands of Ethiopian “citizen journalists” who freely express themselves on social media.

Eskinder is the very face of journalism today. A face bloodied and bludgeoned by the wrath of tyrants but unbowed. A face menaced by 18 years of prison but unafraid.

His life in prison means only one thing. Tyrants can jail the journalists, but never journalism.

Journalism will never die. Journalism has outlived so many tyrannies in recorded history.

We shall never forget Eskinder Nega!
—-course http://ecadforum.com/