Little to Celebrate in Ethiopia During World Press Freedom Day – Voice of America

May 02, 2014 5:09 AM

Marthe van der Wolf

May 02, 2014 5:09 AM

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopian journalists have little to celebrate during World Press Freedom day Friday, with the arrest last week of nine bloggers and journalists, the continuous harassment of those working in the media and 11 journalists in jail.

The East African country is frequently criticized by international organizations for harassing and arresting journalists, and using a 2009 anti-terrorism proclamation to imprison journalists.

Human Rights Watch has condemned the recent arrests. Ethiopia researcher for the human rights organization Felix Horne said the media environment in the country is one of the worst in Africa.

“The recent arrests of the journalists and the Zone9 bloggers underscore that the media environment is actually getting worse ahead of the 2015 elections instead of getting better. What we see is that independent journalists continue to flee Ethiopia, publications continue to close down, journalists continuously practice self-censorship afraid of the reprisals that may result if they are critical of government policy or perspectives. And we see that independent media sites are frequently blocked,” said Horne.

Human Rights Watch believes the international community should do more to push Ethiopia to open up its media space.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Ethiopia this week and was asked by local journalists if his concern about press freedom was real or “just lip service,” as the matter is frequently raised without any real change.

Kerry said he met one of the bloggers last year and called for the release of the arrested bloggers and journalists when speaking to Ethiopian officials such as Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalgen.

“I make clear to Ethiopian officials that they need to create greater opportunities for citizens. To be able to engage with their fellow citizens and with their government by opening up more space for civil society. And we shouldn’t use the anti-terrorism proclamations as mechanisms to be able to curb the free exchange of ideas,” said Kerry.

With 11 journalists imprisoned, Ethiopia ranks 143 out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom index for 2014. Last year, UNESCO’s World Press Freedom prize was awarded to imprisoned Ethiopian journalists Reeyot Alemu.

Government officials have repeatedly said that whenever journalists are involved in criminal activities, they will go through the same process as any other criminal.

Tamrat Gebregiorgis, the managing editor of the English weekly newspaperFortune, said that the truth is somewhere in the middle when it comes to the perception that the Ethiopian government is brutal to the media.

“There are too many elements – society, culture, history. Those are all factors that affect to the extend journalists are operating. This is not an ideal environment where you can publish anything you want and get away with. It’s not as doomy and gloomy as many critics of the government tried to portray. That there is no room to criticize the government and report stories that deem negative to the authority or power that be. It is possible, at the same time it is difficult, it is somewhere in the gray area,” said Gebregiorgis.

Ethiopia’s human rights situation will be assessed next week by the United Nations, known as the Universal Periodic Review. Despite Ethiopia’s poor human rights record, it is part of the U.N. Human     aRights Council.

አንድነት በአዲስ አበባ ዛሬ የጠራው ሰልፍ በሰላም ተጠናቀቀ (ፎቶዎች ይዘናል)

(ዘ-ሐበሻ) አንድነት ፓርቲ በአዲስ አበባ ከተማ ዛሬ የጠራው ሰልፍ በብዙ ወከባዎች እና እንግልቶች ቢታጀብም በሰላም መጠናቀቁን ለዘ-ሐበሻ የደረሱ መረጃዎች አመልክተዋል። “ሰልፉ እጅግ በጣም ደማቅና አስገራሚ ሰልፍ ነው !” ያሉት የዜና ምንጮቻችን “በጥይት በዱላ አይገዛም አገር፤ በጥፊ በርግጫ አይገዛም አገር፤ ፖልሲ የሕዝብ ነው !መብትን መጠየቅ ሽብር አይደለም፤ አትነሳም ወይ አትነሳም ይሄ ባንዲራ ያነታ አይደለም ወይ !ሕገ መንግስቱ ወረቀት ብቻ !” በማለት መንግስትን ሲያወግዙ ውለዋል። በተለይም ሰልፈኞቹ ሰሞኑን በኦሮሚያ ክልል በሚገኙ ተማሪዎች ላይ የደረሰውን ግድያም አውግዘዋል።

ከተሰሙት መፈክሮች መካከል፦

የፈሪ ዱላ ጀግና ማሰር ነው !

ልማት እያሉ ሙስና  ሰሩ !

ድል የህዝብ ነው !

 ድምጻችን ይሰማ !

 ዛሚ ሌባ!

ተማሪዎችን የገደሉና ያቆሰሉ ለፍርድ ይቅረቡ !

ስድስቱ ጦማሪዎችና ጋዜጠኞች ይፈቱ !

 መግደል ይቁም !

እየገደሉ ገደሉ አሉ !

ራሱ ገዳይ ራሱ ከሳሽ !

ውሸት ሰለቸን ኢቴቪ ሌባ ህዝቡ በአንድነት ሰልፍ ካስደመጣቸው መፈክሮች ይመደባሉ :

መብትን መጠየቅ ሽብር አይደለም !

ውሃ ፣መብራት፣

ኔት ወርክ ፣ትራንስፖር !

ፍትህ እያሉ ቃሊቲ ገቡ !

ፍራቻው ይቅር ተቀላቀሉ !

ለፍትህ ብለው ቃሊት ገቡ ! በመግደል በማሰር አይገባም አገር !

ተከበረሽ የኖርሽው ባባቶቻችን ደም ፣ እናት ኢትዮጵያ የደፈረሽ ይዉደም ! እያለ ህዝቡ እየዘመረ ነው።  ሰልፉ ተጀምሯል።  መፈክሩ ደምቋል። እስክድነር፣ ርዮት ፣ አንድዋለም …እያሉ የሕሊና እስረኞቹን እየጠሩ ነው። «አሸባሪ አይደለንም !» እያሉ ነው።

«ኢትዮጵያ ካድሬዎች እንደፈለጉ የሚፈነጩባት አገር አትሂንም»፣ « አንድ ሕዝብ ነን።  በቋን ቋ፣  በባህል፣ በሃይማኖት ሊከፋፍሉን ሞከር። አልተሳካም»   …የመሳሰሉ መፈክሮች እየተሰሙ ነው።

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Ambo: A city in a war zone?

By Ethiomedia May 2, 2014 Abebech Gedera Hotel where at least 10 vehicles were destroyed AMBO - At least ten vehicles were on Tuesday parked in front of Abebech Gedera Hotel, a favorite tourist hangout. Before owners got the time to move their vehicles, they were burned down.It was a telling evidence Ambo was at the epicenter of an Oromo uprising against the regime in Addis Ababa. "The gunfire was unlike any other time," said a long time resident of the city. "It was like the war in 1991 [when TPLF rebels clashed with Ethiopian soldiers on their way to toppling the Derg military regime in Addis Ababa]. Businesses were looted and and a bank ransacked. Scared of an ethnic conflict, non-Oromo residents took refuge in churches, mosques and the forest. No one targetted them for their ethnicity. "The Amharas, Tigres, Gurages etc were scared for their lives but the conflict was purely politically motivated as none of them were targetted," said the source, who sought anonymity due to fear of government retribution. "The destroyed businesses, for instance, belonged to Oromos, Amharas, Tigres and others. It shows the people were simply angry at government action, not at the indidivuals who live with them in peace." But the casualty was hard to comprehend in Ambo. "Eleven were killed from Ambo while six were gunned down in nearby Guder town," The opposition Oromo Federalist Council (OFC) said in a statement, adding "Ambo Hospital was flooded with the dead and injured, signifying the death toll could be higher than original figures." Earlier reports say at least 30 were killed, and no one has disputed the figure. OFC has accused the ruling EPRDF regime of attempts to spark conflict between the Oromo and Amhara. Oromo protests broke out against a City Master Plan of Addis Ababa, which has threatened to engulf about a dozen Oromia towns and hamlets into the Ethiopian capital. Protesters claim the Master Plan disregards the rights of millions of Oromo. The government on Thursday said with a stern warning that a public discussion was afoot to debate the pros and cons of the controversial Master Plan. The state-owned radio ETV blamed the ongoing crisis on "few extremists who seek to gain power through turmoil and upheaval." Also on Thursday, Sidist Killo and Arat Killo University campuses were cordoned off by a huge presence of police and undercover agents. The fear was students may spark protests, and that may spoil the visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry to Addis. Critics have over the years accused the ruling party of using "ethnic tension" as a method to instill fear in the society and get a credit for itself as a "savior" in the run-up to coming elections. One killed, 70 Injured at Haromaya University In the meantime, one student was killed and 70 others were injured when a hand grenade was hurled onto a crowd of Haromaya University students who were watching soccer games on TV, according to an ESAT report that quoted police as saying. Police said an investigation was launched to identify the culprit behind the bomb explosion.But the public sees the crime as the work of the government, an allegation supported by a WikiLeaks report: Recent bombings blamed on Oromos possibly the work of government." Ethiomedia.com - An African-American news and views website. Copyright 2013 Ethiomedia.com. Email: editor@ethiomedia.com

«ነጻነት ነጻ አይደለም። ነጻነትን ከሌሎች አናገኝም» – ግዛቸው ሽፈራዉ የአንድነት ሊቀመንበር

ግዛቸው ሽፈራው የአንድነት ለዲሞክራሲና ለፍትህ ፓርቲ (አንድነት) ሊቀመንበር

ግዛቸው ሽፈራው እባላለሁ። የአንድነት ለዲሞክራሲና ለፍትህ ፓርቲ (አንድነት) ሊቀመንበር ነኝ። አንድነት በኢትዮጵያ ሕጋዊ ፍቃድ አግኘቶ፣ በአገሪቷ ባሉ ክልሎች ሁሉ ሰላማዊ በሆነ መንገድ የሚንቀሳቀሰ ድርጅት ነው። አንድነት ከማንም ግለሰብና ድርጅት ጋር ፀብ የለዉም። የአንድነት ፖለቲካ የኢትዮጵያዊነት፣ የፍቅርና የመቻቻል ፖለቲካ ነው። አላማችን ፣ የበለፀገች፣ ልጆቿ፣ በዘር ፣ በሃይማኖት፣ በጾታ ልዩነት ሳይደርገባቸው እኩል የሆኑባት፣ አንድነቷና ሉዓላዊነቷ የተጠበቀ ኢትዮጵያን መመስረት ነው።

አሁን በስልጣን ላይ ያለው የኢሕአዴግ መራሹ መንግስት፣ ግልጽነት የጎድለው፣ ተጠያቂነት የሌለው፣ በሙስና የተዘፈቀና የመልካም አስተዳደር ችግር ያለበት እንደመሆኑ፣ በሕዝብ ላይ ትልቅ በደል እያደረሰ ይገኛል። የሚከተለው የተሳሳተና ጎጂ የመሬት ፖሊሲ፣ ዜጎች፣ በልማት ስም፣ በቂ ካሳ ሳይከፈላቸው፣ ከቤታቸው እና ከእርሻ ቦታቸው በኃይል እንዲፈናቀሉ እያደረገ ነው። የሰብአዊ መብት ረገጣው፣ ተማሪዎች፣ ጋዜጠኞች የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ አባላት ….. በግፍ መታሰራቸው፣ የኑሮ ዉድነቱ ሕዝቡ ከሚሸከመው በላይ እየሆነበት ነው።

ሕዝባችን ከዚህ የተሻለ ይገባዋል። ኢትዮጵያዉያን አሁን ያለውን አሳዛኝ ሁኔታ አንቀበለም በማለት፣ ለዉጥ መጠየቅ፣ ባለስልጣናትን ተጠያቂ ማድረግ ይኖርብናል።

ሕዝቡ ድምጹን ማሰማት የሚችልበት መድረክ ያገኝ ዘንድ፣ አንድነት፣ በሚመለከታቸው የመንግስት አካላት እውቅና ያገኘበት፣ ሁለት ታላላቅ ሰላማዊ ሰልፎችን ፣ እሑድ ሚያዚያ 26 ቀን፣ በአዲስ አበባ እና በደቡክ ክልል በምትገኝ የድራሼ/ጊዶሌ አዘጋጅቷል። የአዲስ አበባ እና የጊዶሌ ነዋሪዎች፣ በነቂስ ወጥተው ድምጻቸውን እንዲያሰሙ በአክብሮት ጥሪ አቀርባለሁ።

ነጻነት ነጻ አይደለም። ነጻነትን ከሌሎች አናገኝም። ነጻነትን እኛዉ እራሳችን ነን ለራሳችን ማወጅ የምንችለው። እራሳችንን በግል ካያነው፣ ምንም ማድረግ የማንችል፣ አንድ ተራ ሰው አድርገን ልንቆጠር እንችላለን። ነገር ግን ተራ ሰዎች፣ በሚሊዮን ሲቆጠሩ፣ እነርሱን ማነቃነቅ የሚችል ምንም ኃይል አይኖርም። እንነሳ። ሰልፍ እንዉጣ። ድምጻችንን እናሰማ። ከሚሊዮኖች አንዱ እንሁን ! እራሳችንን ነጻ በማወጣት አገራችንን ነጻ እናውጣ !

እንግዚአብሄር አገራችን ኢትዮጵያን ይባርካት

ግዛቸው ሽፈራዉ

አንድነት በኦሮሞ ተማሪዎችና በአምቦ ነዋሪዎች ላይ የተፈጸመውን ጥቃት አወገዘ!! – አንድነት

May 3rd, 2014  ይመይሉ  ያትሙ

ወደ አስተያዮቶችአስተያየቶን ይተዉልንለ

አንድነት በኦሮሚያ ክልልና በከፍተኛ የትምህርት ተቋማት በሚማሩ የኦሮሞ ተማሪዎች ላይ የመንግስት ሐይሎች በወሰዱት እርምጃ ቁጥሩ በውል ያልታወቀ የሰው ህይወት በመቀጠፉና ብዙዎችም ለአካል ጉዳት በመዳረጋቸው የተሰማውን ጥልቅ ሐዘን በመግለጽ ለችግሩ ዘላቂ መፍትሄ ለማበጀት መወያየት የግድ መሆኑን አስምሮበታል፡፡

በተማሪዎችና በተለይም በአምቦ ከተማ ህዝብ ላይ የተፈጸመው የመብት ጥሰት ምን ያህል መሆኑን ለማወቅ በቀጣዩ ሳምንት አንድነት የራሱን ልዑክ ወደ አካባቢው እንደሚልክ አስታውቋል፡፡በተማሪዎች ላይ ግድያና የአካል መጉደል እንዲፈጸም ያደረገ ትዕዛዝ ለታጣቂዎች ያስተላለፉ ክፍሎችም በህግ ሊጠየቁ እንደሚገባ አንድነት አሳስቧል፡፡

ህይወታቸው የተቀጠፈ፣አካላቸው የጎደለና ቤት ንብረታቸው የተዘረፈባቸው ዜጎች ተገቢ የሆነውን ካሳ የሚያገኙበት ሁኔታ በአፋጣኝ እንዲመቻችም አንድነት ጠይቋል፡፡

Five killed in Gendaweha, North West Ethiopia

ESAT News

May 1, 2014

The number of people killed in Gendaweha, North Western Ethiopia by the Federal Police

has reached five; other four have been seriously wounded and are now receiving treatment in

Gonder Hospital.

Although the Woreda Administrators have summoned the residents for talks; the people have

said that they are not ready to talk with the people.

Police detained youth suspected of “inciting the violence.”

Meanwhile, Melkamu Masresha, a famous priest from the Abuna Hara Church in Gonder,

who has been representing people whose houses were being demolished by the government

in Maraki, Gonder, has been killed by unknown people. He was called to immediately present

himself in the Church moments before he was killed.

The priest used to criticise the government for carelessly allowing the people to spend their

resources and energy in building the houses and then all of a sudden ordering demolition.

ESAT had interviewed Melakmu a month ago. One the interview, he had called the

government to pay a heed to the issue.

Similarly, the government has also continued demolishing houses in Azezo, Gonder.

Representatives of the victims who were travelling to the area to speak with government

officials were detained.

ዱሞክራሲ ሇኢትዮጵያ ዴጋፍ ቡዴን በሜሌበርን Democracy for Ethiopia Support Group In Melbourne

http://quatero.net/pdf/weyanie-spying-doc.pdf