ሁላችንም ነጻ ካልወጣን ማንም ነጳ ሊሆን አይችልም አንድነት ሀይል ነው።

        ህብረት አንድነት የሰውልጆች  የሚያስቡትንና   የሚያልሙት ሊተግብሩት ያቀዱትን ራዕይ ወደተግባር የሚለውጡበት
እና የሚያሳኩበት ትልቅ ሀይለ ቃል ነው በቡዙ ፖለቲከኞች ፀሀፍቶች ሀያሲዎች የፖለቲካ ተንታኞች ሰፋባለ መልኩ ሙሁራዊ
አገላለፅ ሲፅፉ እናነባለን ሲናገሩ እንሰማለን በተለይም ደግሞ በአገራችን የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶች በአንድ ላይ ሊሰሩ ተስማሙ
ወይም ደግሞ በአንድ ላይ ሊሰሩ የጋራ ዕቅድ አወጡ የሚሉ ቃላትን በተለያዩ አጋጣሚዎች እንሰማለን ለምንድነው በቃላት ደርጃ
የሚነገርውን አንድነት ለምን ወደተግባር ተለውጦ ትርጉም ያለው ለህዝብ የሚጠቅም የተግባር ስራ ተሰርቶ የሚታሰበው
የስርዓት ለውጥ ተለውጦ ማየት ያቃተን፧ ምናልባት በኔ እይታ አንድነት ከአንደበታችን የሚወጣ የቃል አጠራር ትርጉም
እንጂ ከውስጥ ከልባችን የሚወጣ የ አንድነት የፍቅር፣የመተሳሰብ ፣የመደማመጥ የተግባር ሂደት አይደለም ።  
 የተለያዩ ጥያቄዎችን በመደማመጥና በመነጋገር ግልፅ በሆነ መልኩ ባለመነጋገር የሀሳብና ያመለካከት ልዩነቶችን
አለማቻቻል ነው ወይም መልካም የሆነውን የበለጠውን ሀሳብ ተቀብሎ ወደጥፋት የሚወስደውን የጋራ የሆነውን ጎጂውን
ሀሳብ ትቶ መልካም የሆነውን የጋራ እሴት ላይ ትኩረት አለመስጠት ነው።                                                                                                                                     
ለዚህ  ጽሁፍ  መንደርደሪያ  ሀሳብ  የሆነኝ  በአብዛኛው  ኢትዮጵያዊ  እንደሚረዳውና  እንደሚገነዘበው  በተለያዩ  የኦሮሞ  ክልል የህዝባዊ  የተቃውሞ  በተለይም  የአዲስ  አበባን  የማስፋፋት  የማስተር  ፕላን  በሚል  ደሀውን  አርሶ  አደሩን  ነዋሪውን  ከመኖሪያው  ቀዬው  የማፈናቀል  የተንኮል  እስትራተጂ   ነው በዚህም  የተነሳ  መብታቸውን  ለማስከበር  በሰላማዊ  መንገድ ትቀዋሟቸውን  ለማሰማት  የወጡትን  ሴት፣  ህፃን፣  አዛውንት ፣ወጣት  ሰይመርጥ  የህወሓት  ወያኔ  አጋዚን  ወታደር  የበርካታ  ህዝብ  ህይወት  በማጥፋት  በምግደል   በማሰር  በመግረፍ  በማሰቃየት  በገዛ  ህዝብ  ላይ  ሊወሰድ  ቀርቶ  ሊታሰብ  የማይገባውን ጨካኝ  እርምጃ  ወስደዋል  የነፃነት  ቀን  ሲመጣ  እያንዳንዱ  ከተጠያቂነት  እንደማያመልጥ  እሙን ነው።

በሌላ  መልኩ  ደግሞ  በተለይም  በኦሮሞ  ቋንቋ  ተናጋሪዎች  ወይም  ተወላጆች  የሚነሳ  ጥያቄ  አለ  እሱም ትግሉን  ሊሎች  አካሎች ወይም  ማህበረሰቦች  አልተቀላቀሉትም  ወይም  አልተባበሩንም  የሚል  ነገር  በተላያይ  ሆኔታዎች  ሲገለፁ  እናስትውላለን

ጥያቄው  እውነታ  ቢኖረውም  የመፍተሄው  ቁልፍ  በኛው  እጅ  ነው  እሱም  ጥያቄውን  ብሔር  ተኮር  ሳይሆን  ትልቋን  ሀገር ኢትዮጵያን  ለብዝዎች  የጥቁር  ህዝቦች  የነፃነት  ቀንዲል  ምሳሌ  የነፃነት  ዓርማ  ምልክት  የሆነቸውን  ሙስሊም  ክርስታያን  ሁሉም በፍቅር  የሚኖርባት  በመፀህፍ  ቅዱስም  በቅዱስ  ቁራአን  ትልቅ  ሰፍራ  የሚሰጣ ት እረፍትና  ሰላም  የሚገኝባትን  የሰላም  እና እንግዳተቀባይ  የሆነችውን  ሀገር  ስም  ኢትዮጵያን  ሰሟን  እየጠራን  ሁሉንም  ማሳተፍና  ማንቀሳቀስ  ስንጀምር  ነው  በተለይም ከቀድሞ  አመለካከታችን  ሙሉ  በሙሉ  ተቀይረን  ወያኔ  ፪፭ አመት  ሲደክምበት  ሲሰራበት  የነበረውን  ብቱቶ  የሆነውን  የዘር ፖለቲካ  ከውስጣችን  ማስወገድ  አለብን  ያኔ  ለሁላችንም  የምትሆን  ምቹ  ሀገር  ዲሞክራሲያዊ  ስርዓት  መገንባት  እንችላለን  ያኔ ትግሉ  የሁሉም  ኢትዮጵያዊ  ይሆናል  ስለዚህም  ነው  አንድነት  ሀይል  ነው  የምንለው  ከቃል  የዘለለ  የተግባር  የሚሆነው።                                                                                                                                                                  ሌላው  በተለይም  ለአንባገነኖች  መንግስታት  ትልቅ  ትምህርት  ሰጥቶ   ያለፈው  በቱኒዚያ  በአንድ  ሰው   መሰዋትነት    የተቀጣጠለው።  የአርብ  እስፕሪግ  አድማሱን  አስፍቶ  የስሜን  አፍሪካ  ሀገሮችን  ግብፅን  ሙባርክን  ሊቢያ  ጋዳፊን  ለውርደት  ሲዳረጉ በአይናችን አይተናል  ወያኔና  ለህዝብ  ሳይሆን  ለሆዳቹ  ያደራቹ  ማናቹሁም  የስርዓቱ  ዳጋፊዎች  አስተሳሰብ  ቢኖራቹህ   ከነሱ  ብዙ  መማር ትችሉ  ነበር  ግን  የምታስቡት  ለሀገር  ለወገን  ሳይሆን  ለሆዳቹሁ  ነው   ወደ  ግብፅ  ስንመጣ  ህዝቡ  ለለውጥ  ሲነሳ  ምናልባት ምናስታውስ  ከሆን  የወታደራዊ  ሀይሉ  ከህዝቡ  ጋር  ወግኖ  የግዛ  ህዝቤን  አልገልም  ብሎ  ከህዝቡ  ጋር  ነው  የወገነው  ይህነው ለህዝብ  የቆመ  መለዮ  ለባሽ  የሚያስበለው  በተጨማሪም  በተለይ  በተሀሪር  እስኬር  በተደጋጋሚ  በማደር  ነፃነታችንን  ካለገኘን በማለት  በአንድነት  ለአንድ  ዓላማ  በመቆም  የአንባገነን  ስርዓት  ገርስሰው  ያሶገዱት  የወያኔ  መከላከያም ሆነ  የፖሊስ  ሀይል በማንኛዉም  ዘርፍ ያለው  የወታደር  ሀይል።

የህዝብ  ደህንነትም  ነገ የታሪክ  ተወቃሽ  ሰትሆኑ  የህዝብ  አጋርነታችሁን  የምታሳዩበት  ወቅት  አሁን  ነው ።

                                         

ድል ለሰፊው የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ።                    

Corporate Council on Africa or Corruption Council for African authoritarian regimes?

The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) “Inaugural Meeting of theEthiopia Working Group presented by  Girma Birru, Ambassador of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Stephen Hayes President and CEO of The Corporate Council on Africa on Thursday, January 21, 20162:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. at the CCA HQ Washington, DC”, according to CCA.   Unnoticed by the concerned Medias and the public it went on like many others before.

 

The meeting with unidentified members of the Working Group appears a preparation for CAA’s10th biennial U.S.-Africa Business Summit that is being hosted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from February 1-4, 2016.  Apparently, CCA believe it “ will bring together business representatives and government officials, entrepreneurs and investors, decision-makers and managers, from throughout Africa, the United States and beyond, to talk about what you really need to achieve your goals, forge new partnerships, expand your business and, ultimately, make it a success”.

Moreover, CCA claims; “the objectives of this group that aims to foster trade and investment flows between the United States and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia”.

The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA).that represents most of the major US Corporation involved in Africa got it all wrong. By abandoning the basics of transparency rule of investment and trade from the start; the Council threw the baby with the bath water against the interest of its members and the risks to all concerned as well as the credibility of CCA and the Working Group itself.  Canceling the identity and credential all involved in dealing with totalitarian regimes entangled in all kinds of corruptions and racketeering is misnomer.

The Obama Administration’s misguided policy towards Africa and international agencies’ outlay in the name of development and ‘investment (the new phrase for foreign aid expenditure) and the hasty decisions by the Administration to invite African leaders wholesale in 2014 followed by billions of dollars indiscriminate spending on corrupt regimes aren’t helping CCA to do the right things.

The Council claims it is “a nonprofit, membership-based organization established in 1993 to promote business and investment between the United States and the nations of Africa. CCA is the premier American organization devoted to U.S.-Africa business relations and includes as members more than 180 companies, which represent nearly 85 percent of total U.S. private sector investments in Africa”

Since its inception; CAA invited many African Head of States and officials, ‘experts’ and ‘business leaders’. Ironically, in its 23 years existence it did little to help expand US investment and only conducted four trade missions in half a dozen countries of Africa; all in 2015 for a reason.

Most African regimes are totalitarian and are not interested in investment and trade that doesn’t enhance their corrupt business practice and sustain their grips on power. Therefore, as a membership organization with a primary mission of looking after the economic interest of its member, CCA failed the basic transparency rule to distinguish one-from-another regime in governance and transparency to protect the long-term interest of its members, the private sector in general and legitimate businesses that would enhance the private sectors on both sides of the continents.

Africa, a continent with 54 independent nations represents some of the best governed as well as most of the worst dictatorships in the world. Often lumped together as one entity by the international Media and organizations — little attention is given to appreciate nations that transformed their governance to lead trade and investment with the US.

The past decades saw a new way how business is conducted in Africa led by the Communist Republic of China that presently dominates the African contents’ investment expenditure often doing business directly with many illegitimate totalitarian regimes that don’t qualify to represent their respective people. Unfortunately, the decision of ‘don’t ask-don’t tell’ policy of China on governance, corruption and human right violation became the standard operating procedures for many including the US to follow.

CCA is not immune. “The working group divided in several sectors including Agribusiness, infrastructure, energy, Health, security…” neither reviles the members’ identity, background and credential nor made to disclose their relationship with regimes they directly or indirectly benefit in the course of their work.

For instance,  according to CCA “on May 14, CCA’s Security Working Group hosted Ambassador Hiruy Amanuel, former chief of political affairs for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and current UN advisor to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Grouping (IGAD). Ambassador Amanuel led mediation efforts on the South Sudan conflict. The briefing focused on the timeline of the crisis in South Sudan, the key players in the conflict and the efforts of regional and international parties to restore peace in the region.”

How unidentified members of the Security Working Group host a person with close tie with the ruling party of Ethiopia and with no credibility in security matters presented as a former Ethiopian Ambassador to Berlin and as chief of political affairs for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the current UN advisor to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Grouping (IGAD) tells the story of how easily the ruling Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) operatives infiltrated the international community and how CCA failed to independently verify the background of its working groups’ members as and the hosts to protect its members’ interests as well as from violating the US and international laws.

CCA lack of transparency to disclose and its lax requirement to qualify who join its working groups and does business with made it possible for the ruling party’s operatives disguised as government officials, businessmen, civic organization operators and ‘experts’ of one-thing-or-another concealing their true identities and activities to the determinant of members, legitimate entities and the Council’s creditability itself.

In the past, Western governments, multilateral organizations and Foundations played major role in the economic affairs of African nations — supporting and legitimizing authoritarian regimes as long as one can remember and failed miserably to mitigate poor governance, corruption, human right violation  and lack of investment and trade opportunities that sustained  poverty and underdevelopment for far too long.

The new China economic model — the State knows better managing the economy swept the Less-Develop Nation (LDN)  like wildfire because of the philosophy — transparency in governance and corruption matter little to grow the economy and couldn’t come at a better time to legitimize authoritarian regimes’ justification to cling on power for life. Unfortunately, the Western model led by US with little to show for its investment on totalitarian regimes conceded for the new Chinese model that officially legitimized totalitarian rule.

Noting validates that reality than what the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs – Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on BBC Hard Talk a month before President Barack Obama visited Kenya and Ethiopia last year and legitimize the authoritarian Ethiopian regime as democratically elected.

In stunning admission; the Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield reviled; not only has the US had no coherent economic policy to engage African nations to promote sustainable trade and investment but conceded for the Chines model as better alternative. CCA representing US ‘private sector’ is not far behind– Failing to come up with better alternative how to engage African regimes.

There is no wonder why Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) that represents the core engines of the US private sector presences in Africa couldn’t come up with  coherent and transparent policy how and why its members engage with African regimes. Nor it failure to discloses or demand disclosure (to the determent of its members and the nation as well as the private sector as a whole) dealing with questionable entities associated with authoritarian regimes of Africa to build the necessary confidence for US private investments to flourish.

The question is; if the only organization that engages African regimes on behalf of the US private sector can’t do it, who would demand change on the US policy and/or transparency from the respective African regimes?

As the US private sector remain uninformed spectators what goes on in authoritarian ruled African regimes’ investment environment, responsible institutions like CCA, US government bodies, development agencies and Medias’ failure to do due diligence in order to sort out who-is-who in the business of African nations cost the US private sector many opportunities in favor of others.

As the ongoing CAA’s 10th biennial U.S.-Africa Business Summit happens as we speak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from February 1-4, Georgetown University Africa Rising: Business in Action Conference hosted by Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business and the Walsh School of Foreign Service’s African Studies Program will follow in Washington, D.C. on the 6th of February 2016, according to organizers.

Africa may be rising and business may be in action. But, what in actuality is rising and in action is corrupt regimes’ racketeering by silencing their respective populations at gun point legitimized by the international community.

Unfortunately, the model regime that mastered corruption and racketeering as investment and trade is the same country CAA’s 10th biennial U.S.-Africa Business Summit is being held as we speak.

The Corporate Council on Africa could have been a pioneer organization on how US companies can be the model of investment and trade in Africa if only it follows the very transparency and rule of law that made its member companies pioneers of their trade. Instead, it became a Forum of dictators and their operatives.

Ethiopians and the international community, including the Medias must and should be present in every African investment and trade venue to challenge the participants; transparent governance and the rule of law comes first before investment and trade take place with totalitarian ruled nations.

Failure to make concerned institutions and individuals involved unaccountable amounts to complicity on crimes against humanity and corruption.                                        source http://ecadforum.com/

Dozens killed in ethnically motivated violence in Gambella, residents say TPLF forces and Riek Machar’s army fuel the violence

ESAT News (January 30, 2016)

Dozens of people were killed in the Gambella region of Ethiopia in what appeared to be killings motivated by ethnic animosity. A group from the Nuer clan broke into the regional prison yesterday and killed 9 inmates from the Anuak tribe; 7 others were seriously injured.

Four people were shot and killed by the regional special forces following a violence that erupted at the Teachers Training College between the Anuaks and the Nuers. Seven others sustained serious injuries and were taken to the hospital. An Anuak was also injured in a grenade attack near the Baro River.

The recent violence was sparked two weeks ago by the shooting of the driver of the regional president, who is an Anuak. He was in a land dispute with the dean of the college, a Nuer.

Sources told ESAT that in a retaliatory measure, a group of youth from the Anuak tribe ambushed and killed the head of the regional transport bureau, a Nuer.

A month ago, a married couple, a Nuer and an Anuak, were killed following a dispute between the two. The violence then spread to others as houses were set on fire and lives lost.

Meanwhile, according to sources in Gambella, armed militia lead by Riek Machar, a group opposing South Sudan’s Salva Kiir government, and which is operating from Gambella, have been allegedly involved in the ethnic violence. The Ethiopian government is accused of arming and supporting Reik Machar’s militia, who are ethnically Nuers. Director of Survival International, Nykaw Ochala accused soldiers and migrants from South Sudan, who are Nuers, for fueling the ethnic violence. He accused the Ethiopian government of arming Machar’s militia and Sudanese migrants, who got weapons at their disposals to carry out the attacks against the Anuaks.

An already tense situation between the people of Gambella and members of the ruling TPLF who have taken huge tracts of farmlands from the locals, have now turned violent. Sources say TPLF operatives have been involved in inciting and fueling the conflict in order to divert the attention of the Gambella people, who were irate about the plunder of their fertile land by members of the TPLF and their close allies.

International rights groups accused the Ethiopian government of perpetrating the 2003 genocide against the people of Gambella. Over 2000 people, mainly Anuaks, were killed and 50,000 others fled their villages that year, according to the Anuak Justice Council.                                                                                                             source http://ethsat.com/

How Ethiopia exploits AU role to suppress international criticism

by Simon Allison | Daily Maverick

Media and civil society at the African Union’s headquarters in Addis Ababa face a stark choice: avoid criticising Ethiopia, or risk being denied access to the continental body. SIMON ALLISON reports on how the Ethiopian government uses its role as gatekeeper to the AU to keep journalists, researchers and activists in check.

ADDIS ABABA – The African Union headquarters, 24-storeys of clean lines and soaring glass, is Addis Ababa’s tallest building. It looks all wrong in the context of its dusty, low-rise surroundings (although increasingly less so, as the city develops furiously around it). It’s almost like it was accidentally transplanted from Shanghai or Beijing, which, in a way, it was – China paid for and built it. But there’s no question that it belongs. The building is Africa’s diplomatic centre, and Addis is the continent’s diplomatic capital. There’s nowhere else it could be.

The city’s starring role in continental politics began in 1963, when Ethiopia brokered a truce between two rival African blocs with different ideas of what a continental body should look like. The breakthrough conference in 1963, where the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was declared, took place in Addis Ababa, and it was only natural that the new institution should establish its headquarters there too.

Not that there wasn’t a fight. Togo spent $120 million – that was half its annual budget at the time – on a lavish new hotel and conference centre in Lomé, complete with 52 presidential villas, in an effort to persuade the OAU to move its headquarters. The bid failed, and the complex turned into a ludicrously expensive white elephant, abandoned and left derelict for decades.

Togo’s attempt to steal Addis Ababa’s thunder was only crazy because it failed. Had it worked, the investment would have looked like a small price to pay. As Ethiopia well knows, the benefits – both financial and political – far outweigh any costs associated with hosting the AU.

Let’s start with the obvious. The AU rakes in hard currency for Ethiopia. There’s the $2,000-plus a month rentals for staff villas; the restaurants, hotels and conference venues built to cope with the regular influx of summit delegates; the thousands and thousands of flight bookings – often first or business class – which have helped Ethiopian Airlines become the largest airline in Africa. The AU is a cash cow, and Ethiopia has been milking it for more than 50 years.

It’s not just about the AU itself. Almost every African country has an embassy in Addis, because they’ve all got ambassadors to the AU (Why else would the likes of beleaguered Mali, for example, maintain a mission here?). This applies to non-African countries too: Addis Ababa’s status as a diplomatic hub means it attracts more foreign representation than other African capitals of a similar size, including another vast international organisation: the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. These missions all rent offices and houses, employ local staff, and shop in local stores, as do the research organisations and NGOs who trail in their wake.

While there’s no doubt that the AU is good for the local economy, it’s also true that hosting the AU inflates Ethiopia’s influence over AU decisions. Unlike many African countries, Ethiopia is able to attend every meeting, and, as host, it is given the floor whenever it wishes. It is able to send high-level representation with ease, which can play a major factor in smaller meetings outside of summits. So far, so normal for any major diplomatic city, be it Brussels, Geneva or New York. But Ethiopia takes things even further, using its role as gatekeeper to the AU to protect itself from international scrutiny and criticism, and to monitor those who deal with the continental body.

Non-governmental organisations are particularly affected. In order to open an AU liaison office in Addis, foreign NGOs must first be registered by the Ethiopian government. This registration can be withdrawn at any time, and with it, access to the AU. Several senior staff at international NGOs and civil society organisations told the Daily Maverick that this arrangement is premised on a tacit understanding: as long as you don’t criticise Ethiopia, your registration remains intact, and you are free to interact with the AU. On occasion, this includes hiring a local employee with known links to national intelligence.

“We are very, very careful with what we say about Ethiopia. They are very sensitive, and the AU comes first for us,” said one senior NGO official, speaking on condition of anonymity – for obvious reasons.

A similar arrangement applies to journalists, who cannot receive AU accreditation without first obtaining an Ethiopian press card; the arrangement is slightly different during AU summits, although visiting journalists must still register with the government communications office. Effectively, this means that Ethiopia, a country that is notorious for its tight grip on independent media, controls who can and cannot report on the AU. Again, this forces journalists to make a trade off: either report on the AU, and stay quiet on sensitive issues in Ethiopia, such as human rights violations; or report accurately on Ethiopia and risk deportation and losing access, perhaps permanently, to the AU.

Several prominent NGOs and research organisations, such as Human Rights Watch and International Crisis Group, have declined to open an office in Addis for fear of working in such sensitive conditions, and base their offices that deal with the AU, elsewhere. Likewise, most foreign correspondents choose to work from Johannesburg or Nairobi rather than Addis, even though Addis – with all its diplomatic activity and excellent air links – is a natural base. This not only protects the Ethiopian government from criticism, but weakens scrutiny of the AU itself.

The extent to which Ethiopia’s state security agency is involved in monitoring and screening people who work or visit the AU becomes obvious at the January summits held in Addis Ababa. Their involvement is so blatant, in fact, that the National Intelligence and Security Service actually produces the badges given to all attendees:

The message is unmistakeable: we are watching you.

An Ethiopian government spokesman did not respond to a request to comment for this story.

The restrictions imposed on media and NGOs have the very real consequence of minimising negative news and information coming out of Ethiopia. This is one element of a censorship regime that is working. Recently, this was apparent in the coverage – or lack thereof – of the huge Oromo protests, where affected communities demonstrated against government plans to expand Addis Ababa. An estimated 140 people were killed, but the situation barely made international news, unlike, for example, the global headlines generated by the Marikana massacre in South Africa, even though the Marikana protest was smaller and far fewer people died.

In some ways, the suppression of information about Ethiopia is a missed opportunity. The country is growing at a tremendous rate, and has made huge strides in the provision of healthcare and education. It desperately needs to improve its international image, which (unfairly) remains rooted in the famine reporting of the 1980s. There are good news stories that aren’t being told, as well as bad.

Still, for an unabashedly authoritarian government, the ability to control information flow is the most significant advantage to hosting the headquarters of the AU. Just like that shiny AU building distracts the eye from the relative poverty of the suburb around it, so hosting the AU in Addis Ababa helps to disguise and obscure the darker elements of the Ethiopian growth story.                                                    source http://ecadforum.com/

በኮንሶ ታጣቂ ሃይሎች ህዝቡን በማዋከብ ላይ ናቸው

ኮንሶ ራሱን ችሎ በዞን ደረጃ ሊተዳደር ይገበዋል በሚል ህዝቡ ከወራት በፊት ያነሳውን ተቃውሞ ተከትሎ የጸጥታ ሃይሎች የተለያዩ ወጣቶችና ጎልማሶችን ይዘው ካሰሩ በሁዋላ፣ ጥያቄው የአርበኞች ግንቦት 7 እንጅ የህዝቡ አይደለም ብላችሁ ፈርሙ በማለት ካለፉት 3 ሳምንታት ጀምሮ ቅስቀሳ ሲያካሄዱና ፊርማ ሲያሰባስቡ ቆይተዋል። ይሁን እንጅ ጥያቄው የአካባቢው ህዝብ በጉልበት ጥያቄያቸውን እንዲቀይሩ ለማድረግ እየተወሰደ ያለውን እርምጃ በመቃወማቸው፣ ከፍተኛ ቁጥር ያላቸው የፌደራልና የደቡብ ክልል ልዩ ሃይሎች አካባቢውን ተቆጣጥረው ህዝቡን እየመረጡ ማሰር በመጀመራቸው፣ ነዋሪዎች ከአካባቢው እየሸሹ ነው።
የጸጥታ ሃይሎች የሚያደርሱትን ጫና በመቃወም ካለፉት ሶስት ሳምንታት ጀምሮ ትምህርት ቤቶች እና የተለያዩ መስሪያ ቤቶች መዘጋታቸውን ነዋሪዎች ገልጸዋል። በዛሬው እለት በፋሻ ፣ ዱሪያና ኮልሜ ቀበሌዎች የልዩ ሃይል አባላት በሌሊት በመግባት ህዝቡን በመክበብ በግድ እንዲፈርም ለማድረግ ቢሞክሩም አልተሳካላቸውም።
የወረዳው የኢህአዴግ አባላት ጥያቄው የህዝብ ነው ብለው ጽፈው በመላካቸው ወቀሳ የደረሰባቸው ሲሆን፣ የወረዳው አፈጉባኤና ሌሎች የወረዳው ባለስልጣናትም ከስልጣን መነሳታቸውን ነዋሪዎች ተናግረዋል                                                                                       sourse  http://ethsat.com/amharic

Ethiopia’s Invisible Crisis

Protests broke out in Ethiopia in November, and the government is continuing its massive crackdown.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn confers with President Barack Obama

“Badessa” was a third-year engineering student in western Ethiopia in April 2014 when he and most of his classmates joined a protest over the potential displacement of ethnic Oromo farmers like his family because of the government’s plan to expand the capital, Addis Ababa, into the farmland.

The night of the first protests he was arrested and taken to an unmarked detention center. Each night he heard his fellow students screaming in agony as one by one they were tortured by interrogators. “I still hear the screams,” he told me later. Eventually his turn came to be interrogated. “What kind of country is it when I voice concern that my family could lose their farm for a government project and I am arrested, tortured, and now living as a refugee?”

Since mid-November, large-scale protests have again swept through Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest region, and the response from security forces has again been brutal. They have killed countless students and farmers, and arrested opposition politicians and countless others. On January 12, the government announced it was cancelling the master plan, but that hasn’t stopped the protests and the resultant crackdown.

Although the protest was initially about the potential for displacement, it has become about so much more. Despite being the biggest ethnic group in Ethiopia, Oromos have often felt marginalized by successive governments and feel unable to voice concerns over government policy. Oromos who express dissent are often arrested and tortured or otherwise mistreated in detention, accused of belonging to the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a group that has long been mostly inactive and that the government designated a terrorist organization.

The government is doing all it can to make sure that the news of these protests doesn’t circulate within the country or reach the rest of the world. Ethiopia’s allies, including governments in the region and the African Union, have largely stood by as Ethiopia has steadily strangled the ability of ordinary Ethiopians to access information and peacefully express their views, whether in print or in public demonstrations. But they should be worried about what is happening in Oromia right now, as Ethiopia — Africa’s second most-populous country and a key security ally of the US — grapples with this escalating crisis.

This may prove to be the biggest political event to hit Ethiopia since the controversial 2005 elections resulted in a crackdown on protesters in which security forces killed almost 200 people and arrested tens of thousands .

Although the government focuses its efforts on economic development and on promoting a narrative of economic success, for many farmers in Oromia and elsewhere economic development comes at a devastating cost. As one Oromo student told me “All we hear about is development. The new foreign-owned farms and roads is what the world knows, but that just benefits the government. For us [Oromos] it means we lose our land and then we can’t sustain ourselves anymore.”

It has become almost impossible for journalists and human rights monitors to get information about what is happening, especially in smaller towns and rural areas outside Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia is one of the most restrictive environments for independent investigation, reporting, and access to information, earning the country a top-10 spot in the global ranking of jailers of journalists. For the past decade, the government has limited access to information by regularly threatening, imprisoning, and prosecuting individual activists, bloggers, and journalistsand sending a clear public message that the media must self-censor and that dissent or criticism of government policy will not be tolerated.

Independent media have dwindled—more than 70 journalists have fled the country since 2010 and five of the last independent publications closed down before the May elections. Meanwhile the state-run media parrot the government line, in this case claiming that the Oromo protesters are linked to “terrorist groups” and “anti-peace elements” who are “aiming to create havoc and chaos.”

Very few international journalists are based in Ethiopia. Those who have attempted to cover events on the ground since the protests began have braved threats and arrest, but these are a few lone voices.

Given restrictions on local and international media, you might think that ordinary citizens, local activists, and nongovernmental organizations would fill the gaps and document the events in Oromia. But Ethiopia’s human rights activists and independent groups have been crushed by draconian legislation and threats, and even ordinary people are often terrified to speak out. People who dare to speak to international media outlets or independent groups have been arrested. The government taps phone lines and uses European-made spyware to target journalists and opposition members outside the country.

Since the protests began, the restrictions have become even harsher. Authorities have arrested people, including health workers, for posting photos and videos or messages of support on social media. The state-run telecom network has also been cut in some areas, making it much more difficult to get information out from hotspots.

Radio and satellite television outlets based outside Ethiopia, including some diaspora stations, play a key role disseminating information about the protests within Oromia, as they also did in 2014 during the last round of protests. Last year numerous people were arrested in Oromia during the protests merely for watching the diaspora-run Oromia Media Network (OMN).

The government has frequently jammed foreign stations in the past, violating international regulations in the process. When the government is unable to jam it puts pressure on the satellite companies themselves. Throughout the protests government agents have reportedly been destroying satellite dishes.

Yet despite the clear efforts to muzzle voices, information is coming out. Some protesters are losing their fear of expressing dissent and are speaking openly about the challenges they are facing. Social media plays a key role in disseminating information as people share photos and videos of rallies, of bloodied protesters, and of expressions of peaceful resistance in the face of security forces using excessive force.

In the coming days and weeks Ethiopia’s friends and partners should condemn the use of excessive force by security forces that is causing tragic and unnecessary deaths. But they should also be clear that Ethiopia needs to ensure access to information and stop disrupting telecommunications and targeting social media users. The world needs to know what is happening in Oromia—and Ethiopians have a right to know what is happening in their country.

Felix Horne is the Ethiopia researcher at Human Rights Watch.                                    source ecadforum January 22, 2016 0

European Parliament condemns Human Rights violations in Ethiopia

Posted by: ecadforum January 21, 2016 0

European Parliament strongly condemns the recent use of violence by the security forces and the increased number of cases of human rights violations in Ethiopia. It calls for a credible, transparent and independent investigation into the killings of at least 140 protesters and into other alleged human rights violations in connection with the protest movement after the May 2015 federal elections in the country.

It also calls on the Ethiopian authorities to stop suppressing the free flow of information, to guarantee the rights of local civil society and media and to facilitate access throughout Ethiopia for independent journalists and human rights monitors. The EU, as the single largest donor, should ensure that EU development assistance is not contributing to human rights violations in Ethiopia,