February 27, 2007
Pregnant woman gave birth in detention
Feb 27, 2007
Reports from the Ogaden Online reporter in the provincial city of Jig Jiga, Ogaden confirm that an illegally detained, pregnant woman, Samsam Farax Dawaare has given birth in the Jig Jiga prison. Samsam is reported to have been severely tortured in detention for the past six months.
It is reported that the Ethiopian militia controlling the prison refused any medical care for the pregnant woman who has since gave birth. Eyewitnesses and close relatives of Samsam confirm that she was detained on September 9th 2006.
The illegally detained woman has at one time been held in a prison known as Habaano, which is well known throughout Ethiopia for extreme forms of torture and extra judicial killings.
Samsam was recently brought before a provincial courts which found her not guilty of any crimes however the kangaroo court did not order the immediate release of the severely tortured pregnant woman.
Ogaden Online
Eyewitnesses within the Jig Jiga prison told our reporter that Samsam and her new born are still in detention with neither medical attention nor the provision of healthy foods for her to help with breastfeeding.
Reports from the Ogaden Online reporter in the provincial city of Jig Jiga, Ogaden confirm that an illegally detained, pregnant woman, Samsam Farax Dawaare has given birth in the Jig Jiga prison. Samsam is reported to have been severely tortured in detention for the past six months.
It is reported that the Ethiopian militia controlling the prison refused any medical care for the pregnant woman who has since gave birth. Eyewitnesses and close relatives of Samsam confirm that she was detained on September 9th 2006.
The illegally detained woman has at one time been held in a prison known as Habaano, which is well known throughout Ethiopia for extreme forms of torture and extra judicial killings.
Samsam was recently brought before a provincial courts which found her not guilty of any crimes however the kangaroo court did not order the immediate release of the severely tortured pregnant woman.
Ogaden Online
Eyewitnesses within the Jig Jiga prison told our reporter that Samsam and her new born are still in detention with neither medical attention nor the provision of healthy foods for her to help with breastfeeding.
Teff (Xaafii) touted as new cash crop
New potential cash crop being discussed
Teff, an Ethiopian cereal grain, touted as new cash crop
February 27, 2007
MALONE — Teff, a hearty grass grown primarily in Ethiopia as a cereal grain, has the potential to be a high-quality horse feed and forage grass for dairy cows in northern New York.Results of a two-year study on the promising cash crop will be presented to farmers and growers in six counties as part of the 11th-annual North Country Crop Congress, to be held Wednesday, March 14, in Carthage and Thursday, March 15, in Canton.
Peter Barney, a field-crop educator from the St. Lawrence County extension office in Canton, and his counterpart in Jefferson County, Michael Hunter, will present regional field-crop research on teff.
PROMISING TESTS
Barney said it was grown during the past 24 months at the extension's farm in Canton, in Jefferson County and in Rensselaer County to test its durability and adaptability.
"We're looking at it, and a number of other states are doing this, like Oregon and Idaho. It's becoming popular around the country.
"Our results have been very positive," Barney said. "It is capable of producing high tonnages of quality grass and can be planted as late as July.
"It's very drought tolerant and is tolerant to wet conditions. It can be planted late in the year, used as part of a rotation-pasture system and as a high-quality horse hay.
"The seeds are very, very small," he said, estimating that four to five pounds would sow an acre of land.
"It costs about $4 a pound, so it's going to be economical to grow, and that's part of the information we're going to present," he said.
FOOD USES
According to information gleaned from the Web site of the Center for New Crops and Plant Products at Purdue University, teff grain is usually ground into flour, fermented and made into a type of flat, sourdough bread.
It can also be eaten as porridge or as an ingredient for home-brewed alcoholic drinks.
Tiny teff seeds can be substituted in recipes for baked goods that call for seeds, nuts or small grains.
Less teff would be used in the recipe since, for example, a half-cup can replace a full cup of sesame seeds.
The Web site states that when cooked, teff has a molasses-like sweetness. It adds body to puddings and could be used as a thickener for soup, stews and gravy.
It contains no gluten, is rich in calcium, iron and thiamin and is considered a good source of protein, carbohydrates and fiber.
Ethiopians also use teff straw to reinforce mud or plaster in building construction.
More details about teff's potential as silage for cattle and its responses to different weather conditions, soils and other factors will be shared at the Crop Congress.
GOOD FEED
Barney said the seed producers he has visited in Oregonnation said the market for teff is slow right now, except for a growing number of Ethiopians living in the United States who seek it out as a delicacy.
But local growers could expect fields of strong grass for cow forage and horse hay.
"Horses don't need a lot of protein, but teff has a fine texture. It's not a dusty grass," Barney said.
Dusty grass or feed could become moldy and cause a horse to develop breathing problems and dry heaves, which is different from the ailment of the same name that humans get.
"We're just realizing what a good feed value it is," he said, adding that Cooperative Extension's research will extend for a few more years.
"We'll continue to look at it at during different (growth) phases for its fragility, its yield and quality data," Barney said.
"We'd like to add to the knowledge we gained these last two years."
MANAGING WEEDS
This is the 11th year Cooperative Extension has sponsored the Crop Congress. For years, Cornell University held the meetings for field-crop dealers and other interested parties.
But when the training and discussions were to be phased out locally and held farther south, the St. Lawrence County office — Barney, in particular — revived the event here.
"We felt it would be too much of a loss, so we established our own all-day meeting," which covers a range of agriculture-related topics.
In addition to teff, this year's Crop Congress will also include creative weed-management techniques, nitrogen needs for a variety of crops and the findings of an extensive study on 42 varieties of corn.
www.pressrepublican.com
CUD's Dr Admassu, spouse seek asylum in Sweden
By Tedla Yeneakal
Capital
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Dr. Admassu Gebeyehu, a high official of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), his wife Dr. Mulualem Tarekegn and an opposition Member of Parliament of the same party are said to have applied for political asylum in Sweden.
Dr. Admassu, who was deputy mayor-elect of Addis Ababa is one of the few CUD leaders who have not been arrested along with other party associates, who have been accused of charges ranging from attempted genocide treason.
He was one of the prominent figures in the May 2005 elections, and was trying to have the party registered by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), in accordance with the decision made in September 2005 to unify the constituent parties of the coalition. However, he failed to complete the merger and obtain legal recognition from the board.
He did not join parliament and has been urging the government to release more than twenty members elected to the new council, including the elected mayor, Berhanu Nega, the speaker of the house and the party secretary general, all of whom are in jail and charged with treason, attempted genocide and intent to take over power by street violence.
His wife, Dr. Mulualem on her part, had joined parliament representing Woreda 12/13 of Addis Ababa but reportedly said she had been wrong in deciding to join alleging the government prevented them from exercising their democratic rights.
Sources disclosed to Capital that the couple first traveled to Germany on a private visit and then made their way to Sweden to seek political asylum.
www.nazret.com
Capital
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Dr. Admassu Gebeyehu, a high official of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), his wife Dr. Mulualem Tarekegn and an opposition Member of Parliament of the same party are said to have applied for political asylum in Sweden.
Dr. Admassu, who was deputy mayor-elect of Addis Ababa is one of the few CUD leaders who have not been arrested along with other party associates, who have been accused of charges ranging from attempted genocide treason.
He was one of the prominent figures in the May 2005 elections, and was trying to have the party registered by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), in accordance with the decision made in September 2005 to unify the constituent parties of the coalition. However, he failed to complete the merger and obtain legal recognition from the board.
He did not join parliament and has been urging the government to release more than twenty members elected to the new council, including the elected mayor, Berhanu Nega, the speaker of the house and the party secretary general, all of whom are in jail and charged with treason, attempted genocide and intent to take over power by street violence.
His wife, Dr. Mulualem on her part, had joined parliament representing Woreda 12/13 of Addis Ababa but reportedly said she had been wrong in deciding to join alleging the government prevented them from exercising their democratic rights.
Sources disclosed to Capital that the couple first traveled to Germany on a private visit and then made their way to Sweden to seek political asylum.
www.nazret.com
February 26, 2007
Night of deadly violence
25 February 2007Heavy fighting took place in Mogadishu Friday night as Ethiopian troops used tanks and artillery to beat off a well organized attack by at least 30 mojaheds. As night came Friday night about 30-40 mojaheds attacked the former defense ministry which is a base camp for Ethiopian troops, with heavy mortars, anti aircraft guns and RBGs inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy forces, this lasted for about 45 minutes when the Ethiopians fearing total elimination, retaliated with tanks and heavy artillery barrage killing at least 10 civilians. Shelling continued well after the mojaheds withdrew from the area killing scores more of civilians and damaging houses.
After dawn on Saturday morning hundreds more civilians fled the city to safer areas and 80 wounded where brought to the hospitals.
- Meanwhile photos have appeared proving that the Americans used Ethiopia to launch attacks on the Islamic forces during the war.
- Former Somali prime minister Ali Khaliif issued statement supporting the resistance and urged the Ethiopians to be kicked out.
A tape of Sheikh Shariif Abdi Nuur grand mufti of Somalia also urged the Ethiopians to be kicked out of the country as well as noted that the "president" should not be obeyed.
Kavkaz Center
February 24, 2007
Somalia's chaos: The Iraq model leads again to trouble
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThe administration of President Bush has done it again, this time in Somalia, as in Iraq having replaced what it considered to be a flawed government with one of its own choice, which turned out to be incapable of governing, leading to violent chaos in the country.
Somalia, a nation of 8.3 million on the Horn of Africa, had basically no government from January 1991 to June 2006, when the United Islamic Courts group gained control of virtually the whole country, having driven Somalia's U.S.-backed warlords out. During their period of control the Islamic Courts' government brought relative peace to Mogadishu and most of the rest of the country. Peace is, of course, the essential precondition to reconstruction, planning for which resumed under the Courts' government.
Its Islamic character, however, raised concerns on the part of the United States and neighboring Ethiopia. Ethiopia has been a chronic meddler in Somali affairs. It was Somalia's opponent in the 1977-78 Ogaden war and peddles itself as a Christian nation, even though only some 35-40 percent of its population is Christian.
Thus, in December, an estimated 20,000 Ethiopian troops crossed the border and, with U.S. air support, based in Qatar and Ethiopia, "spotted" by U.S. military personnel on the ground in Somalia, and with CIA assistance, routed Islamic Courts forces, driving them into Kenya or hiding. An also unelected Somali government, this time cobbled together by the United States and other international parties in Kenya over a period of two years, was moved to Mogadishu from its provisional capital, Baidoa, and installed in power, financed entirely by outside donors.
Now, Ethiopia wants to withdraw its forces as Somali nationalist insurgents begin to pepper them. Other African countries under the aegis of the African Union have pledged to provide peacekeeping forces, but haven't yet. In the meantime, Mogadishu has once again become the scene of deadly mortar exchanges and other combat that makes the place unlivable and serves as a formidable barrier to economic and social development.
In short, violent chaos is back in Somalia. And the United States can't or won't do anything to try to rectify the situation it helped to create in the miserable country. Given the financial and manpower resources that the United States and the United Nations devoted to trying unsuccessfully to put Somalia back together in the 1992-95 period, it would be hard to recommend that the United States intervene again in Somalia, even if it had the means to do so with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars taking a higher priority.
At the same time, it is fair to ask if the Bush administration leaders who decided that the Islamic Courts group had to go also thought about what would come afterward. Or did they not think about that? Or did they simply not care what happened to 8 million Africans as long as their own quest for Muslim enemies could be pursued by military means again?
www.post-gazette.com
Massacre of Mount Sufi
The Mount Sufi Massacre in the West Hararge zone of Oromia State in Ethiopia
By By Qeerransoo Biyyaa*
Feb 23, 2007 — Residents of Western Hararge of Oromia State witness that over 20 people were massacred on Sufi Mountain. In the zone, reports indicate that killings torture, and arbitrary detentions are escalating. Government security forces do this to revenge an Oromo civil disobedience that started a year ago.
The mount Sufi tragedy like any holocaust is motivated by the ruling party’s hatred against the Oromo people. Parents of holocaust victims who prefer to be anonymous tell tragic stories. A mother to a 14 year old daughter tells us the tragedy of how her daughter was taken from home and killed. She said that Ayisha Aliyi was taken at night by security forces in her nightgown. Ayisha never came back. Local police station told the mother that it does not know the whereabouts of Ayisha. Later, the mother figured out Ayisha was amongst the 20 killed on mount Sufi. She found her hair and bits of her body and clothes.
The local security forces are empowered by the government to kill and deny the act. One might rightly think that one of reasons for the killings is to terrify the local people from participating in protests. We know this because local administrators call meetings and tell people that your so and so was killed and go and find his corpse on mount Sufi.
Prior to killings such as this, people are arbitrarily arrested in the name of supporting the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and taken to an exclusively Oromo concentration camp called “China Camp”; it is named so because previously Chinese people settled there when constructing roads. Later after they finished and left, the Ethiopian government turned it into a concentration camp. Over 30 people are huddled in a room. All sort of heinous abuses take place there: beatings, torturing, raping and so on. And when these abuses are not enough, prisoners are taken to the hills and shot dead at night. The 20 people were all taken from China Camp and killed on mount Sufi.
Even more tragic, the security forces disallow relatives to take the corpse of the dead ones to bury. People have said they have been interrogated and funeral processions interrupted. Security forces go to the funeral and ask the wife, the father or the mother or anybody why they have gone to Sufi to look for the corpses without their authorisation.
How much do we care as human to pay attention to the holocaust on the making on Oromo land? Should the world continue to see Oromos collecting the bits of bodies and clothes of their massacred family members, friends and relatives? Sufi mountain is just an instance of massacres practically taking place in Oromia for their dissent against tyranny. For an observer, however, the Sufi massacre is a vivid depiction of the wider brutal policy of selective killings the Ethiopian government follows against Oromo people.
* The author is based in Ethiopia. He can be reached at meettaa@gmail.com
February 23, 2007
US hunted al Qaeda suspects from Ethiopia
Reuters | Saturday, 24 February 2007
WASHINGTON: The US military used bases inside Ethiopia last month in a quiet campaign to capture or kill top al Qaeda leaders in the Horn of Africa, The New York Times reported on its web site on Thursday, citing US officials.
The Times said the campaign included the use of an airstrip in eastern Ethiopia to conduct air strikes against Islamic militants in neighbouring Somalia.
Officials were quoted as saying the clandestine relationship with Ethiopia also included significant information-sharing on the militants' positions and information from US spy satellites with the Ethiopian military, the newspaper reported.
Members of a secret US special operations unit, Task Force 88, were deployed in Ethiopia and Kenya and ventured into Somalia, the officials added.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to discuss details of the operation with the Times, but the paper said some officials agreed to provide specifics because they considered it an relative success story. They said the campaign disrupted terrorist networks in Somalia and led to the death or capture of several Islamic militants.
The mission was in support of Ethiopian troops' recent drive to enter Somalia to help the government oust the militant Islamist movement.
According to the Times, Washington resisted an official endorsement of the Ethiopian invasion, but US officials from several agencies said the Bush administration decided last year an incursion was the best way to remove the Islamists from power.
The dead and captured does not yet include some al Qaeda leaders such as Fazul Abdullah Mohammed and Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam, whom the United States has hunted for their suspected roles in the attacks on the Kenya and Tanzania embassies in 1998.
The sharing of battlefield intelligence on the Islamists' positions was a result of an Ethiopian request to General John Abizaid, then the commander of the US Central Command. John Negroponte, then the director of national intelligence, also authorized spy satellites to be diverted to provide information to Ethiopia, officials told the Times.
The secret operation in the Horn of Africa is an example of a more aggressive approach the Pentagon has taken to send Special Operations troops to hunt high-level terrorism suspects. President George W Bush gave the Pentagon powers after the September 11 attacks to carry out such missions, the report said.
The newspaper said that Ethiopian troops have received US training for counterterrorism operations for several years in camps near the Somalia border.
NY Times: US Staged Anti-Terror Campaign from Ethiopia
By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
23 February 2007
Nairobi
23 February 2007
Officials in Ethiopia are vehemently denying a report in The New York Times newspaper, which says that the U.S. military secretly used an airstrip inside Ethiopia to conduct attacks against Islamic militants in Somalia last month. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has that story from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.
 |
The New York Times report, citing unnamed U.S. officials, said that Ethiopia had, among other things, allowed the Americans to use an airfield in the east of the country as a staging ground for attacks against al-Qaida suspects and their Somali allies in neighboring Somalia.
The special adviser to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Bereket Simon, tells VOA that the report, published Friday, contains little truth and called the article ridiculous.
The United States has acknowledged that it carried out two air strikes in early January near Ras Kamboni, an Islamist stronghold deep in southern Somalia near the Kenyan border.
But Simon says the American war planes did not fly there from Ethiopia.
"The U.S. has not used any airfields in Ethiopia to mount the air strikes. This seems to be a pure and simple fabrication," he said. "If any of the U.S. officials has said this, it must be a person, who has no knowledge of the reality on the ground."
Simon says that does not mean Ethiopia has not cooperated with the United States on counterterrorism issues. He says his country fully supports U.S. efforts to eliminate terrorist threats in the Horn of Africa.
"Any cooperation is most welcome, and we will continue to cooperate," said Simon.
The New York Times report says that cooperation between Addis Ababa and Washington is much closer than previously reported, and largely clandestine.
In the campaign against al-Qaida and radical Islamists in Somalia in January, the report says, Ethiopian and U.S. militaries shared intelligence and information. Members of a secret U.S. Special Operations unit, deployed in Ethiopia, allegedly moved back and forth across the border to conduct ground operations in Somalia.
The report adds that the U.S.-Ethiopian alliance has deepened in recent years because both countries share a common goal - to root out Islamic radicalism inside Somalia.
In late December, Ethiopian troops, tanks and artillery helped Somalia's secular interim government drive out a radical Islamist movement that had gained control of the capital, Mogadishu, and much of the south.
Since then, the government has struggled to stabilize the country, which has been without a functioning government for nearly 16 years.
Islamist insurgents have staged near-daily attacks against Ethiopian and government troops throughout southern Somalia. In Mogadishu, the relentless violence has killed and wounded hundreds of people and has caused hundreds more to flee to neighboring regions.
VOA News
Letter to Ethiopian Ministers on Human Rights Violations Against Students
Federal Agencies Must Investigate Alleged Abuses By Police
Hon. Siraj Fegeta
Minister of Federal Affairs
P.O. Box 5608
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
VIA FACSIMILE: +251 11 552030
Hon. Assefa Kesite
Minister of Justice
P.O. Box 1370
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
VIA FACSIMILE: +251 11 5517775
February 20, 2007
Dear Ministers:
Human Rights Watch wishes to draw your attention to several incidents of human rights violations allegedly committed by federal police officers against students in the towns of Dembi Dollo and Ghimbi in western Oromiya State in the past weeks. In sum, we have learned that one student, and perhaps two, died as a direct result of police beatings and that other students were severely injured and hospitalized in Dembi Dollo. Between 30 and 50 have been detained and remain detained without charge in the central Dembi Dollo jail and in two district police stations. In Ghimbi, local police and militia members deputized by local officials are reported to have shot and killed two high school students—cousins—in January.
We urge you to investigate these incidents promptly and to prosecute police officers and others responsible for these serious crimes. At the same time, we strongly urge you immediately to release students detained without charge in Dembi Dollo. If there is substantial evidence that any student has committed a serious crime, they should be promptly charged, brought to court, and released pending trial.
With regard to Dembi Dollo, Human Rights Watch has received credible reports that following a small explosion near Quellem High School in the first week of January, a police officer accused three students of being responsible and arrested them. A crowd of students protested that the three were innocent. Some started throwing stones at the police. The police officer called for reinforcements and when they arrived, they began to beat students and bystanders indiscriminately. Police also arrested some 20 students.
Several weeks later, on January 18, as students were gathering at school to march to the zonal administration headquarters to present a petition to the zonal administrators concerning the arrests and beatings, a squad of police broke into the school and beat yet more students and arrested others.
According to reports from credible sources, dozens of students and some adults were injured in these two incidents. Eight students were hospitalized. A tenth-grade student was beaten so severely that he died a few days later. Human Rights Watch received an unconfirmed report that a second student also died as a result of the beatings.
The United Nations Basic Principles on the use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (Havana, 1990) provides that security forces should use force only when strictly necessary in the circumstances. If force is unavoidable, it may be used only in proportion to the seriousness of the offense so as to minimize injury. Under the Principles, governments must investigate and criminally punish the abusive use of force by law enforcement officials.
Among the students detained without charges and still in detention in Dembi Dollo jail and in two district police stations are the following: Mitiku Abdisa; Mezgebu Bekele; Dawit Warati; Binyamin Zerihun; Amana Ayale; Amanuel Magarsa; Cali Kebede; Worku Tamrat; Amanuel Degefu; Gamachu Ligaba; Waqgarri Habte; Bacha Yadesa; Ashenafi Degefa; Ishetu Getaneh; Amanuel Aklilu; Kedir Suleiman Wakshira Jabessa; Geremew Mitiku; and Abraham Hora Gusa. Two of these, Waqgarri Habte and Amanuel Magarsa, are reported to have been tortured.
In addition, at least eight female students are being held without charge and access to courts: Beti Gurmessa, Annane Tamiru; Lalise Badhasa; Galana Girma Bokka Dhinsa; Dinknesh Tekle Barkessa; Tigist Tamiru Tola; Abaynesh Lelisa; and Naima Zenyu Gobbu.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (article 37(b)), to which Ethiopia has acceded, provides that detention and imprisonment of children “shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate time.” Article 19 of the Ethiopian Constitution requires all detained or imprisoned persons to be brought before a court within 48 hours. The UN Child Rights Committee on Juvenile Justice in General Comment 10 requires that children detained or imprisoned should be brought before a court even sooner, within 24 hours.
Regarding the Gimbi incident, Human Rights Watch received reports that two cousins, Gemechu Benesa Bula and Lelsa Wagari Bula, were killed by militia members and police officers.
On the evening of January 4, police and militia members were on patrol near Guyi High School when they came upon several students walking together. Unlike previous incidents where security force patrols have been used to break up student demonstrations there was no demonstration but several students fled as the police and militia members approached. The patrol shot at the fleeing students, severely wounding Gemechu. Lelsa returned and covered the fallen Gemechu with his body. The patrol ordered Lelsa to leave. When he refused, he, too, was shot. Both cousins died shortly after. Human Rights Watch has in its possession the names of those police officers and militia members allegedly participating in that patrol.
International human rights law requires that a government investigate allegations of serious human rights violations. According to the United Nations Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions (1989), “[t]here shall be thorough, prompt and impartial investigation of all suspected cases of extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions…. A written report shall be made within a reasonable period of time on the methods and findings of such investigations. The report shall be made public immediately and shall include the scope of the inquiry, procedures and methods used to evaluate evidence as well as conclusions and recommendations based on findings of fact and on applicable law…. The Government shall, within a reasonable period of time, either reply to the report of the investigation, or indicate the steps to be taken in response to it.”
Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that, once again, some of Ethiopia's children have been brutally attacked by government security forces. Ensuring that police officers and militia members are held fully accountable for any crimes they commit is necessary both for the development and maintenance of a professional police force and to ensure Ethiopia’s compliance with Ethiopian and international law.
We would appreciate being advised of the results of investigations by both of your two agencies into these incidents. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Georgette Gagnon
Deputy Director, Africa Division
Cc:
Human Rights Watch
Hon. Siraj Fegeta
Minister of Federal Affairs
P.O. Box 5608
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
VIA FACSIMILE: +251 11 552030
Hon. Assefa Kesite
Minister of Justice
P.O. Box 1370
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
VIA FACSIMILE: +251 11 5517775
February 20, 2007
Dear Ministers:
Human Rights Watch wishes to draw your attention to several incidents of human rights violations allegedly committed by federal police officers against students in the towns of Dembi Dollo and Ghimbi in western Oromiya State in the past weeks. In sum, we have learned that one student, and perhaps two, died as a direct result of police beatings and that other students were severely injured and hospitalized in Dembi Dollo. Between 30 and 50 have been detained and remain detained without charge in the central Dembi Dollo jail and in two district police stations. In Ghimbi, local police and militia members deputized by local officials are reported to have shot and killed two high school students—cousins—in January.
We urge you to investigate these incidents promptly and to prosecute police officers and others responsible for these serious crimes. At the same time, we strongly urge you immediately to release students detained without charge in Dembi Dollo. If there is substantial evidence that any student has committed a serious crime, they should be promptly charged, brought to court, and released pending trial.
With regard to Dembi Dollo, Human Rights Watch has received credible reports that following a small explosion near Quellem High School in the first week of January, a police officer accused three students of being responsible and arrested them. A crowd of students protested that the three were innocent. Some started throwing stones at the police. The police officer called for reinforcements and when they arrived, they began to beat students and bystanders indiscriminately. Police also arrested some 20 students.
Several weeks later, on January 18, as students were gathering at school to march to the zonal administration headquarters to present a petition to the zonal administrators concerning the arrests and beatings, a squad of police broke into the school and beat yet more students and arrested others.
According to reports from credible sources, dozens of students and some adults were injured in these two incidents. Eight students were hospitalized. A tenth-grade student was beaten so severely that he died a few days later. Human Rights Watch received an unconfirmed report that a second student also died as a result of the beatings.
The United Nations Basic Principles on the use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (Havana, 1990) provides that security forces should use force only when strictly necessary in the circumstances. If force is unavoidable, it may be used only in proportion to the seriousness of the offense so as to minimize injury. Under the Principles, governments must investigate and criminally punish the abusive use of force by law enforcement officials.
Among the students detained without charges and still in detention in Dembi Dollo jail and in two district police stations are the following: Mitiku Abdisa; Mezgebu Bekele; Dawit Warati; Binyamin Zerihun; Amana Ayale; Amanuel Magarsa; Cali Kebede; Worku Tamrat; Amanuel Degefu; Gamachu Ligaba; Waqgarri Habte; Bacha Yadesa; Ashenafi Degefa; Ishetu Getaneh; Amanuel Aklilu; Kedir Suleiman Wakshira Jabessa; Geremew Mitiku; and Abraham Hora Gusa. Two of these, Waqgarri Habte and Amanuel Magarsa, are reported to have been tortured.
In addition, at least eight female students are being held without charge and access to courts: Beti Gurmessa, Annane Tamiru; Lalise Badhasa; Galana Girma Bokka Dhinsa; Dinknesh Tekle Barkessa; Tigist Tamiru Tola; Abaynesh Lelisa; and Naima Zenyu Gobbu.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (article 37(b)), to which Ethiopia has acceded, provides that detention and imprisonment of children “shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate time.” Article 19 of the Ethiopian Constitution requires all detained or imprisoned persons to be brought before a court within 48 hours. The UN Child Rights Committee on Juvenile Justice in General Comment 10 requires that children detained or imprisoned should be brought before a court even sooner, within 24 hours.
Regarding the Gimbi incident, Human Rights Watch received reports that two cousins, Gemechu Benesa Bula and Lelsa Wagari Bula, were killed by militia members and police officers.
On the evening of January 4, police and militia members were on patrol near Guyi High School when they came upon several students walking together. Unlike previous incidents where security force patrols have been used to break up student demonstrations there was no demonstration but several students fled as the police and militia members approached. The patrol shot at the fleeing students, severely wounding Gemechu. Lelsa returned and covered the fallen Gemechu with his body. The patrol ordered Lelsa to leave. When he refused, he, too, was shot. Both cousins died shortly after. Human Rights Watch has in its possession the names of those police officers and militia members allegedly participating in that patrol.
International human rights law requires that a government investigate allegations of serious human rights violations. According to the United Nations Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions (1989), “[t]here shall be thorough, prompt and impartial investigation of all suspected cases of extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions…. A written report shall be made within a reasonable period of time on the methods and findings of such investigations. The report shall be made public immediately and shall include the scope of the inquiry, procedures and methods used to evaluate evidence as well as conclusions and recommendations based on findings of fact and on applicable law…. The Government shall, within a reasonable period of time, either reply to the report of the investigation, or indicate the steps to be taken in response to it.”
Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that, once again, some of Ethiopia's children have been brutally attacked by government security forces. Ensuring that police officers and militia members are held fully accountable for any crimes they commit is necessary both for the development and maintenance of a professional police force and to ensure Ethiopia’s compliance with Ethiopian and international law.
We would appreciate being advised of the results of investigations by both of your two agencies into these incidents. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Georgette Gagnon
Deputy Director, Africa Division
Cc:
- Gen. Workneh Gebeyehu, Federal Commission of Police
- Dr. Kassa Gebre Hiwot, Ethiopia Human Rights Commission
Human Rights Watch
February 22, 2007
Should the West go on helping a repressive Ethiopia?
On a dilemma in the Horn
Feb 22nd 2007 | ADDIS ABABA
From The Economist print edition
Should the West go on helping a repressive Ethiopia?
THE second most populous country in Africa and one of the poorest, Ethiopia is a test case for the West in its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty on the continent. But its government's undemocratic leanings have presented donor countries with a dilemma. Should they continue to funnel their taxpayers' money to a country that routinely jails and tortures its critics or should they turn off the tap and thereby hurt the blameless poor?
Most donors are keeping up or even increasing their giving. Britain, with qualms, is upping its aid from $180m last year to $260m this year. Some donors have harmonised and even pooled their support. Many have signed up to schemes to promote transparency and hold the government to account. Whether the nastier bits of Ethiopia's government will co-operate fully is moot.
So the donors—Western governments and charities—think that on balance they should continue to improve farming, health care, education and access to water in the rural areas where 85% of Ethiopians live. There are signs that the government's ambitious poverty-reduction strategy is working. Infant mortality is down, school attendance and literacy are up, though only 40% of Ethiopians can read and write.
Farming practice may be improving. In Ethiopia's wet highlands farmers may try to diversify crops. Ethiopia hopes to export hydroelectricity to neighbouring Djibouti and Sudan. Some agronomists think that, with enough investment, Ethiopia will be able to feed itself. That may be optimistic. The population of 75m-plus is growing by about 2m a year. Food prices in Addis Ababa, the capital, rose last year by 27%.
In any event, Meles Zenawi's government is finding it hard to run the show. Some 80% of the people in Addis Ababa probably back opposition parties. In response, the government has become harsher, muzzling free speech and forcing independent newspapers to close. Many journalists are in jail on trumped-up charges. Dissidents have been disappearing, along with critical websites. Telephones are often tapped. For more than a year, text messaging on the country's small number of mobile phones has been hampered by “technical difficulties”.
The government keeps up a hum of fear with attacks on opposition supporters. Teachers are a favourite target. Some have been beaten so badly in detention they could not stand up in court. Even schoolchildren have faced the authorities' wrath. In Ambo, west of the capital, some 14 of them in a secondary school were detained; some were allegedly tortured. The usual charges, if brought at all, are sabotage or treason. Suspects are often “found” to have links with familiar bogeymen: neighbouring hostile Eritrea; the Oromo Liberation Front, a movement in the centre and south; or, in the heartland of the once-ruling Amhara around Addis Ababa, “terrorist groups” whose existence is fuzzy.
The opposition's lot may be worsening. Dissidents say as many as 250 supporters were rounded up on terrorist charges after the African Union summit last month; some have disappeared. The opposition's main leaders have been in prison for over a year. Torture, especially against lesser-known prisoners, is common. If rural areas are taken into account, extrajudicial killings may run into thousands. But the opposition is divided, often has regional rather than national allegiances, and tends to take its cue from radicals in exile.
Moreover, despite help from abroad, the economy is struggling. Exports are worth $1 billion against imports of $5 billion. Sales of coffee and flowers to the West have increased but not enough. Mr Zenawi has applied for membership in the World Trade Organisation. He has also asked China for loans—some say for $3.5 billion.
But most of all he is banking on keeping up his friendship with the EU and the United States, whose administration was delighted by the Ethiopian armed forces' recent success in invading neighbouring Somalia, capturing its capital, Mogadishu, and smashing the Somali Islamists who had taken over there. Still, there are conflicting attitudes to Ethiopia in Washington. Congress has lambasted Mr Zenawi's human-rights record and demanded cuts in aid. The Pentagon, on the other hand, is dead keen to boost his armed forces.
In September, hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians from their vast and far-flung diaspora are expected to visit their homeland to celebrate the coming of the third Christian millennium, according to their ancient church's calendar. Some hope Mr Zenawi, in a gesture of conciliation, will free some of his opponents from jail before then. But do not bet on it. Mr Zenawi has got used to wielding an iron fist.
The Economist
Feb 22nd 2007 | ADDIS ABABA
From The Economist print edition
Should the West go on helping a repressive Ethiopia?
THE second most populous country in Africa and one of the poorest, Ethiopia is a test case for the West in its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty on the continent. But its government's undemocratic leanings have presented donor countries with a dilemma. Should they continue to funnel their taxpayers' money to a country that routinely jails and tortures its critics or should they turn off the tap and thereby hurt the blameless poor?
Most donors are keeping up or even increasing their giving. Britain, with qualms, is upping its aid from $180m last year to $260m this year. Some donors have harmonised and even pooled their support. Many have signed up to schemes to promote transparency and hold the government to account. Whether the nastier bits of Ethiopia's government will co-operate fully is moot.
So the donors—Western governments and charities—think that on balance they should continue to improve farming, health care, education and access to water in the rural areas where 85% of Ethiopians live. There are signs that the government's ambitious poverty-reduction strategy is working. Infant mortality is down, school attendance and literacy are up, though only 40% of Ethiopians can read and write.
Farming practice may be improving. In Ethiopia's wet highlands farmers may try to diversify crops. Ethiopia hopes to export hydroelectricity to neighbouring Djibouti and Sudan. Some agronomists think that, with enough investment, Ethiopia will be able to feed itself. That may be optimistic. The population of 75m-plus is growing by about 2m a year. Food prices in Addis Ababa, the capital, rose last year by 27%.
In any event, Meles Zenawi's government is finding it hard to run the show. Some 80% of the people in Addis Ababa probably back opposition parties. In response, the government has become harsher, muzzling free speech and forcing independent newspapers to close. Many journalists are in jail on trumped-up charges. Dissidents have been disappearing, along with critical websites. Telephones are often tapped. For more than a year, text messaging on the country's small number of mobile phones has been hampered by “technical difficulties”.
The government keeps up a hum of fear with attacks on opposition supporters. Teachers are a favourite target. Some have been beaten so badly in detention they could not stand up in court. Even schoolchildren have faced the authorities' wrath. In Ambo, west of the capital, some 14 of them in a secondary school were detained; some were allegedly tortured. The usual charges, if brought at all, are sabotage or treason. Suspects are often “found” to have links with familiar bogeymen: neighbouring hostile Eritrea; the Oromo Liberation Front, a movement in the centre and south; or, in the heartland of the once-ruling Amhara around Addis Ababa, “terrorist groups” whose existence is fuzzy.
The opposition's lot may be worsening. Dissidents say as many as 250 supporters were rounded up on terrorist charges after the African Union summit last month; some have disappeared. The opposition's main leaders have been in prison for over a year. Torture, especially against lesser-known prisoners, is common. If rural areas are taken into account, extrajudicial killings may run into thousands. But the opposition is divided, often has regional rather than national allegiances, and tends to take its cue from radicals in exile.
Moreover, despite help from abroad, the economy is struggling. Exports are worth $1 billion against imports of $5 billion. Sales of coffee and flowers to the West have increased but not enough. Mr Zenawi has applied for membership in the World Trade Organisation. He has also asked China for loans—some say for $3.5 billion.
But most of all he is banking on keeping up his friendship with the EU and the United States, whose administration was delighted by the Ethiopian armed forces' recent success in invading neighbouring Somalia, capturing its capital, Mogadishu, and smashing the Somali Islamists who had taken over there. Still, there are conflicting attitudes to Ethiopia in Washington. Congress has lambasted Mr Zenawi's human-rights record and demanded cuts in aid. The Pentagon, on the other hand, is dead keen to boost his armed forces.
In September, hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians from their vast and far-flung diaspora are expected to visit their homeland to celebrate the coming of the third Christian millennium, according to their ancient church's calendar. Some hope Mr Zenawi, in a gesture of conciliation, will free some of his opponents from jail before then. But do not bet on it. Mr Zenawi has got used to wielding an iron fist.
The Economist
Ethiopia's TPLF/EPRDF officials accuse Eritrea of "terror attacks"
22.2.2007
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Ethiopian intelligence officials on Thursday accused the Eritrean government of involvement in "terror attacks" in Ethiopia.
"There is convincing information about Shaebia's (the Eritrean government) strategy, plan and network aimed at wreaking havoc in Ethiopia through the orchestrated terror attacks," officials said in a report broadcast on national television.
They claimed to have substantial evidence, including email messages, video recordings and photographs, linking Eritrea with groups Ethiopia claims use terrorist methods.
"Major targets of the terror attacks were hotels, main roads, government officials and institutions in Addis Ababa," it said.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi pledged his commitment to fighting terrorism after meeting with members of the US Congress.
"All peoples and governments should join in the anti-terror struggle," Zenawi said in a statement, calling for more help with training and logistical support.
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought each other from 1998-2000 over a border dispute and, despite a peace deal in 2000, have yet to define the status of their 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) frontier.
Accusations and counter-accusations have fuelled the looming threat of the resurgence of another dispute.
Ethiopian intelligence services last month claimed to have foiled an attempted terrorist attack by Eritrea on the 8th African Union Summit, which took place at the end of January in the Ethiopian capital.
DEHAI NEWS Mailing list
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Ethiopian intelligence officials on Thursday accused the Eritrean government of involvement in "terror attacks" in Ethiopia.
"There is convincing information about Shaebia's (the Eritrean government) strategy, plan and network aimed at wreaking havoc in Ethiopia through the orchestrated terror attacks," officials said in a report broadcast on national television.
They claimed to have substantial evidence, including email messages, video recordings and photographs, linking Eritrea with groups Ethiopia claims use terrorist methods.
"Major targets of the terror attacks were hotels, main roads, government officials and institutions in Addis Ababa," it said.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi pledged his commitment to fighting terrorism after meeting with members of the US Congress.
"All peoples and governments should join in the anti-terror struggle," Zenawi said in a statement, calling for more help with training and logistical support.
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought each other from 1998-2000 over a border dispute and, despite a peace deal in 2000, have yet to define the status of their 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) frontier.
Accusations and counter-accusations have fuelled the looming threat of the resurgence of another dispute.
Ethiopian intelligence services last month claimed to have foiled an attempted terrorist attack by Eritrea on the 8th African Union Summit, which took place at the end of January in the Ethiopian capital.
DEHAI NEWS Mailing list
Mass arrest of Oromo Professionals from Oromia Rural Roads Authority (ORRA).
Mass arrest of Oromo Professionals from Oromia Rural Roads Authority (ORRA)
The TPLF minority led ERPDF government is blindly harassing innocent professionals for their mere being OROMO. Recently on February 16, 2007 security agents detained more than 10 professionals from Oromia Rural Roads Authority (ORRA) with out any court order and took all of them to Maikelawi Central prison. Of those detained some are:
1. Engineer Abdissa Kumsa- Civil Engineer-Technical and Development Division Head of ORRA.
2. Engineer Ibsa Mohammed -Civil Engineer-Former Ilu Abba Bor Rural Roads Maintenance Manager, Currently Working at HQ of ORRA.
3. Engineer Belay Ginbo - Civil Engineer-Project Manager of Kula-Daraba.
4. Engineer Habtamu Alemu-Civil Engineer-Project Manager of Kombolcha-Dadu-Kawo.
5. Engineer Matwos Tamiru-Civil Engineer- North Shawa Zone Rural Roads Maintenance Manager.
6. Engineer Frew –Civil Engineer-Borana Zone Rural Roads Maintenance Manager.
7. Engineer Birhanu Sime-Engineer-Project Manager of Ogolcho-Meki.
8. Engineer Adugna Dheressa-Mechanical Engineer- Administration and Maintenance of Machineries of ORRA.
9. Engineer Mulugeta Dinka-Civil Engineer –Former General Manager of ORRA, currently General Manager of Oromia Urban Development Authority. He is OPDO Cabinet Member, suspended from duty due to unsubstantiated suspicion of relation to ORRA employees and OLF. His fate is most likely to face same harassment as those currently arrested and taken to prison.
10. Engineer Lamma Mosisa-Civil Engineer-from Adama Projects.
11. Mr Firdissa Yadata- Statistics Expert.
All of these professionals were arrested only for being Oromo, self confident professionals and mere allegation of supporting OLF. There is serious surveillance on remaining professionals and harassing innocent Oromo professionals continue an abetted.
As per the information delivered today, the prime informants for the brutal Wayyaane security forces are individuals promised high promotion from the regime to spy under guise of official duty in every office.
It was of recent memory that many of same the professionals were suffering prolonged imprisonment, forced exile and disappearance with out any trace.
Victory for Oromo and Oppressed People!
OLF Info Desk
The TPLF minority led ERPDF government is blindly harassing innocent professionals for their mere being OROMO. Recently on February 16, 2007 security agents detained more than 10 professionals from Oromia Rural Roads Authority (ORRA) with out any court order and took all of them to Maikelawi Central prison. Of those detained some are:
1. Engineer Abdissa Kumsa- Civil Engineer-Technical and Development Division Head of ORRA.
2. Engineer Ibsa Mohammed -Civil Engineer-Former Ilu Abba Bor Rural Roads Maintenance Manager, Currently Working at HQ of ORRA.
3. Engineer Belay Ginbo - Civil Engineer-Project Manager of Kula-Daraba.
4. Engineer Habtamu Alemu-Civil Engineer-Project Manager of Kombolcha-Dadu-Kawo.
5. Engineer Matwos Tamiru-Civil Engineer- North Shawa Zone Rural Roads Maintenance Manager.
6. Engineer Frew –Civil Engineer-Borana Zone Rural Roads Maintenance Manager.
7. Engineer Birhanu Sime-Engineer-Project Manager of Ogolcho-Meki.
8. Engineer Adugna Dheressa-Mechanical Engineer- Administration and Maintenance of Machineries of ORRA.
9. Engineer Mulugeta Dinka-Civil Engineer –Former General Manager of ORRA, currently General Manager of Oromia Urban Development Authority. He is OPDO Cabinet Member, suspended from duty due to unsubstantiated suspicion of relation to ORRA employees and OLF. His fate is most likely to face same harassment as those currently arrested and taken to prison.
10. Engineer Lamma Mosisa-Civil Engineer-from Adama Projects.
11. Mr Firdissa Yadata- Statistics Expert.
All of these professionals were arrested only for being Oromo, self confident professionals and mere allegation of supporting OLF. There is serious surveillance on remaining professionals and harassing innocent Oromo professionals continue an abetted.
As per the information delivered today, the prime informants for the brutal Wayyaane security forces are individuals promised high promotion from the regime to spy under guise of official duty in every office.
It was of recent memory that many of same the professionals were suffering prolonged imprisonment, forced exile and disappearance with out any trace.
Victory for Oromo and Oppressed People!
OLF Info Desk
Immigrant detention sites problem-filled, report says
By Chris Mondics
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted February 22 2007
WASHINGTON · The nation's two family detention centers for illegal immigrants -- one in Texas and the other in Berks County, Pa. -- are plagued by problems including inadequate medical care, lack of privacy, and abusive behavior by staff toward detainees, two advocacy groups alleged in a report being released today.
Of the two centers, the Berks Family Shelter Care Facility in Leesport has the more humane conditions, but even there detainees reported harassment by staff including the threat of separating parents from their children, the report said.
"Every woman we talked to in the facilities cried," said Michelle Brane, one of the authors of the report, prepared by the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children. "Many of the children were clearly sad and depressed. Some feared separation from their parents, a common threat used to ensure that children behaved according to facility rules."
Both facilities are inappropriate for children and families because they too closely resemble jails, the authors said. The detainees are largely Latinos, apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border or in the United States, but the facilities also house immigrants from China, Greece, Ethiopia and other nations.
Marc Raimondi, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the Homeland Security Department, said Wednesday that the facilities were run humanely with a high standard of care for the detainees. He said allegations that staff members had threatened to separate parents from their children were unsubstantiated.
The "detention facilities maintain safe, secure and humane conditions and invest heavily in the welfare of the detained alien population," Raimondi said.
The report recommends a series of changes including moving families to more homelike facilities, while seeking opportunities to parole others.
The Texas center was more harshly criticized in the report, which said children there typically get only one hour of schooling a day. Apart from sleep, an hour of recreation and 20 minutes per mealtime, families are confined to communal areas for the bulk of the day.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted February 22 2007
WASHINGTON · The nation's two family detention centers for illegal immigrants -- one in Texas and the other in Berks County, Pa. -- are plagued by problems including inadequate medical care, lack of privacy, and abusive behavior by staff toward detainees, two advocacy groups alleged in a report being released today.
Of the two centers, the Berks Family Shelter Care Facility in Leesport has the more humane conditions, but even there detainees reported harassment by staff including the threat of separating parents from their children, the report said.
"Every woman we talked to in the facilities cried," said Michelle Brane, one of the authors of the report, prepared by the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children. "Many of the children were clearly sad and depressed. Some feared separation from their parents, a common threat used to ensure that children behaved according to facility rules."
Both facilities are inappropriate for children and families because they too closely resemble jails, the authors said. The detainees are largely Latinos, apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border or in the United States, but the facilities also house immigrants from China, Greece, Ethiopia and other nations.
Marc Raimondi, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the Homeland Security Department, said Wednesday that the facilities were run humanely with a high standard of care for the detainees. He said allegations that staff members had threatened to separate parents from their children were unsubstantiated.
The "detention facilities maintain safe, secure and humane conditions and invest heavily in the welfare of the detained alien population," Raimondi said.
The report recommends a series of changes including moving families to more homelike facilities, while seeking opportunities to parole others.
The Texas center was more harshly criticized in the report, which said children there typically get only one hour of schooling a day. Apart from sleep, an hour of recreation and 20 minutes per mealtime, families are confined to communal areas for the bulk of the day.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com
February 21, 2007
Open Letter (from Obang Metho) to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
Open letter to Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi
February 20, 2007
His Excellency Meles Zenawi
Prime Minister of Ethiopia
Office of the Prime Minister
P.O. BOX – 1031
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Dear Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi,
I, Obang Metho, am contacting you regarding the gross human rights abuses and current crisis within Ethiopia as I want to make some suggestions to you as the leader of Ethiopia, as an elder to me and as a fellow human being on this earth. Despite our differences—of our actions, beliefs, positions, backgrounds, ages and situations, when it comes down to the basics, we are both equal in the eyes of God and both needful of His mercy. I am seeking to approach you in our African tradition, a younger person to an elder, giving you the proper respect and dignity deserved in such situations as I attempt to present before you my perspectives on the serious issues we are facing as Ethiopians.
Mr. Prime Minister,
There can be no doubt; we are midstream in a deepening crisis. How we resolve these issues at this juncture will inevitably make a vast difference to the future not only of the Ethiopian people, but to the future of your children, grandchildren and ethnic group. Equally so, that future will be shared with the children of the Anuak and those children from every other ethnic group throughout our country. What kind of an Ethiopia will they have? What we do at this hour of history may make all the difference as to whether we pass on a curse or a blessing. Because of this, I come to you in order to urge you to carefully think about changing the course upon which we are on together as Ethiopians.
Mr. Prime Minister,
Despite the long-term situation looking very bleak for the future, particularly yours and that of the EPRDF’s, I would suggest that it is not entirely hopeless for you under certain circumstances. Those circumstances though, will require such a change of direction for you that I am fairly certain you will not accept it; however, I feel I still must do my part in suggesting it to you. However, before I begin, first let me point out why I believe the current ruling party is short-lived—whether three months, thirteen months or three years. I obviously cannot be conclusive on how long your present regime will last; however, I can see many signs that it, in its present nature, is coming to an end and therefore believe that you and the rest of us should be preparing well for that day.
Consider this—the world has become very different today from when you overthrew Mengistu. For one thing, his own repressive regime, as well as the civil war in 1991, caused a great exodus of refugees to flee from Ethiopia to many places throughout the world. Currently, these refugees are entering a new stage of political empowerment made possible by their adaptation to their new cultures. They have learned the languages of the countries where they have settled, many gaining citizenship. Many of these Ethiopians who fled to the West were those who more probably had been targeted by the government—the politically active and those more well-educated. They have carried their skills with them.
In addition to these people are the many who were denied an education in Ethiopia, but who now have been able to earn college degrees and advanced degrees. Those in the Diaspora are now equipped beyond what they may have been able to gain access to in Ethiopia. Add more to that—they are finding their political voices as they are emotionally outraged regarding the suffering and pain of their family and friends who are remaining in Ethiopia. This is made more intense because they are able to have more direct access to information than ever before about what is going on daily in most every area of the country. Add to that an additional component to that equation—the rise in technology like the Internet, cell phones, cheap phone cards, PalTalk and so forth and the communication capacities of Ethiopians and people sympathetic to the Ethiopian cause has risen exponentially.
Additionally, a mind change is going on. The “old school” of political thought grounded in Marxist-Leninist thinking has perpetuated a style of repressive governance that has become the modus operandi of the EPRDF government, something that appears to be a system characterized by increasing resistance from the general population and an example of ultimate failure much like Ukraine, Romania and Belarus. If you rigorously hold on to this course, I warn you will discover greater and greater obstacles in maintaining your current strong hold on Ethiopians. Your best approach—divide and rule—will increasingly become more difficult as the leaders mature in their ability to overcome this tactic and as Ethiopians become more aware of how they are being played against each other. How is this happening you might ask?
Mr. Prime Minister,
For one, those in the Diaspora have mostly, if not exclusively, settled in free, democratic countries where their thinking has been influenced by enjoying the benefits of personal freedom and basic rights of such privileges as free speech, free press, and the right for peaceful assembly, the expectation that justice will be followed and equality under the law. They have been allowed to transition into communities where one does not have to be Tigrayan, Oromo, Anuak, Swedish, German, Chinese or Italian to gain access to opportunities. For instance, in Minnesota, Ontario, Washington D.C. or in California, most people only talk about their ethnic backgrounds as an interesting bit of conversation rather than as a way to divide and exclude. It is beginning to change the way Ethiopians think about ethnicity as they realize most citizens of the US, Canada, Europe and in other democratic societies see them as Ethiopians and usually do not understand or care much about which ethnic group they come from.
Now, compound this further by introducing the reality of an increasingly global economy where the walls between countries are breaking down as business ventures cross international borders in new and increasingly more transparent ways. When you consider all of this, you may realize that secrets and manipulations of a government that you were once able to keep hidden from the outside world, will no longer be possible. You may need to understand that for a vibrant economy to emerge in Ethiopia, the influence of outsiders will increase.
Mr. Prime Minister,
Secondly, as you are aware, the rift between your government and the Ethiopian people is widening and the speed of that separation is gaining momentum. As that happens, resistance to the status quo will emerge with greater strength and vigor. Despite your keen ability to discern an impending crisis, I would suggest that the way out of this crisis will easily elude you as it is so contradictory to who you really are, that, it may not seem like a choice at all. Instead, as it is likely that you will only intensify the use of oppression and force to control the people, you may not fully comprehend how you are creating a monster which will eventually turn around and destroy you. Your approach, instead of controlling the resistance of the people, is actually increasingly unifying the people against you in their struggle towards freedom, democracy and the rule of law. It is only a matter of time before they succeed.
Mr. Prime Minister,
The Ethiopian people are tired of ethnic politics, corruption, violence, repression of rights, poverty and manmade humanitarian crises. It is impossible to “control enough” so as to repress this movement. Incentives like the new land loan programs, encouragement of the Diaspora to come home to Ethiopia to celebrate the Ethiopian millennium and treating the Diaspora when visiting in Ethiopia with great honor so they will not speak out against you or your government, are good ideas for manipulation, but will only work for a short period of time. Instead, it is becoming a no-win situation that will just get more difficult to sustain.
For instance, the impending trial may only further destroy the reputation of the TPLF and EPRDF as it will be impossible to cover up the political nature of these charges. Thus, postponement of the court hearing was clearly an attempt on your part to avert further outrage over this injustice, but continued postponement of the legal process as you have done on February 19, 2007 regarding the top CUD leaders, journalists and human rights activists, a trick that has worked for years in remote areas of Ethiopia—like in Gambella, Ogaden and Oromyia—simply will not work in the same way with all the international attention. You can send the international journalists home, but it is easier now for all onlookers to witness further manipulation of the system.
Mr. Prime Minister,
My recommendation comes in two parts. The first invites you to consider a political solution and the second invites you to a personal transformation that could later lead to the integration of the two presenting the most remarkable results. You could do invariably implement one without the other, but I would suggest that a personal transformation within you, those in the TPLF or those in the EPRDF (including the military) could lead to a miracle in Ethiopia from which we all could benefit.
Let me be more clear—I am suggesting to you and others in the TPLF, the EPRDF and in the military, a revolutionary path and by this, I do not mean a revolution of guns, bullets and violence, but a revolution that comes out of transformation of the hearts, souls and minds of people, starting with you. You may find this ridiculous, but please hear me out and keep in mind that the key to getting out of this mess may be very close, yet difficult to see. Who knows but that such deep changes will cause Ethiopians to change their attitudes towards you and those near you, providing a real opportunity for forgiveness, reconciliation and positive fundamental change in our country?
Mr. Prime Minister,
The first suggestion is that you not continue postponing the trial of the Opposition leaders and others. Instead, I would suggest that you release them and all of the other political prisoners in Ethiopia. Make a public speech, acknowledging the need to forgive each other and invite a dialogue that could begin reconciliation and real change towards democracy, a legitimate election and the execution of real justice within Ethiopia—helping the entire country to be able to avoid bloodshed and more suffering. It will totally come unexpected and you might be amazed with the reaction of Ethiopian people to such a substantial change should you do it. Your legacy would forever be changed for good. As many have built a case against you and are preparing for your future trial in International Criminal Courts, who knows if the people would demand this with the same persistence and desire. I assure you, without such change being initiated by you, many are looking forward to that day in court. This is just one option alone which could potentially work along with the next recommendation.
Mr. Prime Minister,
You may find my next suggestion outrageous, however, perhaps worth considering. I suggest that you lead the way to real transformation in Ethiopia by truly seeking God. For many reasons, this path may not have been very clear to you in the past as you and those around you were brought up under the communist school of thought where God was denounced; however, may I suggest that you may wonder about the truth of this as a parent. You may have to go back to the models of faith given by a parent or a grandmother to understand what has been lost. If you have such models of faith, it will be easier to consider such a change; if not, it will be difficult but not impossible even though the communist ideology may have blinded that you. You may say you have already chosen so much wrong that you are afraid to face the consequences. I again say, who knows, if you make a total turn around, there may be solutions you never dreamed possible.
Think, if you would please, about this quote from Jim Elliot, missionary martyr, recently depicted in the Hollywood film, “End of the Spear.” He said, "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Taking a different direction may cost you much; yet, with it comes freedom for your soul—something that is priceless. Yet, most do not choose this path. In your case, how you proceed with your life can make a tremendous difference in the future of your party loyalists, of your family and of your descendents as they face the task of finding a way to prosper and live amongst the children of your victims.
Mr. Prime Minister,
I would like to offer the following scripture from the Bible found in Ezekiel 18:30-31. Even though you may not be a believer in organized religion, most of us, when we consider the vastness, beauty, complexity, power and awesomeness of nature, realize that someone bigger than us was its Creator and will ultimately be our Judge, but yet, God reaches out to each one of us with the opportunity to seek His mercy. With this in mind, please consider these words and evaluate them for yourself. “Therefore, O house of Israel (Ethiopia), I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel (Ethiopia)? For I take no pleasure in the death (spiritual) of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!”
I, as a man of faith, can only advise you that we are all children of a forgiving and loving God. Regardless of what you have done, you still have an opportunity to ask for forgiveness, repent all of your sins and surrender yourself to God, your people and your country. I urge you to also do this for the sake of your wife, your children and your future grandchildren. Give your innocent children a chance for a future devoid of the consequences of your (documented) crimes against humanity.
Mr. Prime Minister,
As you probably know, I am among those who have accused you of committing serious crimes against my people, the Anuak of Gambella, as well as to many other citizens of my country. You may not have been directly responsible for the acts themselves, but whether or not these acts were done by you or whether they were done under your orders and authority, you, as the head of the country, shall be held accountable. Just like the head of a household bears the burden of all that may go wrong in the family, so it is in a country where the head is held responsible for something as grave as murder and even genocide is committed.
Mr. Prime Minister,
You have been in power now for 18 years under the appearance of a democratic government, a difficult role for you to play as a self proclaimed Albanian communist. From the outside, people are questioning the reality you have attempted to camouflage so well; if Ethiopia is an emerging democracy, why is it that the ruling party and its Prime Minister are not stepping down to give others a chance- isn’t that the rule of democracy, passing on leadership to the next elected party and its officials not to last more than 4 years as is done in most democratic nations?!
Something you may not realize is that we have some things in common with each other. For example, as a young man you left medical school, changing your plans midstream, in order to go to the bush to defend your people, not knowing whether or not you would lose your life during the struggle. You had seen evil and suffering perpetrated against your ethnic group and gave up your plans in order to confront injustice. In this, you went through more than I—enduring more hardship, pain and suffering—until Mengistu was overthrown. You fought for a platform of justice, equality, people’s rights and greater opportunity for your people.
Mengistu was responsible for the deaths and suffering of many thousands of Ethiopians and he was stopped. These are good things. God wants us to confront injustice, no matter how big the obstacles ahead of us. In doing this, you followed your convictions to protect the vulnerable and to make Ethiopia a better place. God desires justice and protection of the poor and vulnerable. However, in accomplishing this, have you forgotten what brought you into the struggle, and in doing so, have you become another Mengistu?
Mr. Prime Minister,
Please consider what is happening—by your actions now, have you created someone like me to become like you once were—someone who is committed to fighting against injustice? It is not only me, but also many others throughout our country who are now rising up against the same injustice faced by the Tigrayans during Mengistu regime. Something went wrong Mr. Prime Minister, between the time you were under the protection of your mother’s loving arms, to when you emerged as a man willing to fight in the bush against oppression and now, when you have become a man willing to rule Ethiopia with hate, anger and brutality. What happened within you to allow your soul to become so entrapped by the hardening of your heart, bringing along with it the slow death to a nation under your control, while you and your supporters feast on her riches much like scavengers over a helpless victim? Yet, such a feast will never satisfy you and your supporters—it will never be enough! And there in lies the danger and perhaps the end of your regime.
Mr. Prime Minister,
As an infant, you came to this world as an innocent child, free of all of your crimes. Deep fear and the wounds of loss, devaluation and mistreatment often give birth to such self-protective hate, anger and self-alienation, but there is an antidote for it—and that is God’s love, mercy and forgiveness. I speak to you as a fellow Ethiopian brother here, who personally refuses, to have you sink your teeth into another unsuspecting peaceful innocent victim, yet I also speak to you as someone, who is committed to conveying the kind ways of God who can forgive you. Your outrageous rampage of shedding the blood of the innocent will come to an end and then what? I want you to know that even though I have taken a stand against human rights abuses and oppression of our people, I would rather see you do something that no one would ever think that you would do—repent, choose to change your ways and through that change, you will become part of the transformation of Ethiopia into a true democracy, with real freedom and the respect of all peoples as equal under God’s eyes.
Mr. Prime Minister,
Let me tell you my story that led to me taking up the battle against injustice. On December 13, 2003 my uncle, other relatives, friends, my former teachers and my work colleagues, along with many other Anuak, totaling at least 424 in number were amongst those killed by your government within three days. Many more have been killed since that time and over four thousand have become refugees. You may not have been the one to pull the trigger, but as the head of this government, you were in charge and evidence points to your involvement in this massacre. Even if you deny your involvement, you still failed to speak out against it, lied about most every aspect of it, calling it fiction and then proceeded to cover up responsibility for it in your whitewashed Gambella Commission of Inquiry. Yet, the blood of the Anuak your government mowed down like grass, still cries out to me, sometimes wakening me in the middle of the night; their tears now filling my eyes; my thoughts of them guiding my every move; their faith in God ensuring me that justice will be done.
It is your actions that created me—much like Mengistu created you-you have now become my Mengistu! I am asking you—when will this cycle end? If you will not do the Ethiopian people the honor of ending this cycle, myself and others like me along with the people of Ethiopia will join hands to do just that; end the cycle of ethnic based hate and divisiveness, crimes against humanity, injustice and clear the way to a democratic nation where peace, justice, rule of law, equality, respect and good governance will one day reign in Ethiopia.
Mr. Prime Minister,
If your mother and father asked you what you have accomplished in your life, what would you say about the massacre of the Anuak in Gambella, the 123 killed in Awassa, the 193 killed during the election protests, many hundreds more in Ogaden and Oromia and the thousands of political prisoners in the jails, prisons, detention centers and torture chambers throughout the country? What would your mother say to Mary, an Anuak woman who witnessed her husband being hacked to death by an enraged mob and then being shot in the head and back by Ethiopian soldiers under your authority? She is now a young widow with children, hardly managing to support herself and her family.
What would your father think about Alemzuria Teshome whose mother was shot in front of her as her mother protested the arrest of her father? What would your daughter think of the young Anuak girl who was raped by seven soldiers in uniform? How would you feel about sending your son to school only to find him dead on the road because “he looked suspicious?” How would your grandmother feel about burying the six bodies of her family members and being left alone? How would your brother feel if his pregnant wife was beaten and tortured by your security forces in an attempt to find out where he was, finally losing the baby? I ask you to see the killing, rape and torture of these people through the eyes of your children and grandchildren who will be reading about you in Ethiopian history textbooks in the near future. Such disregard for human life can only result from killing one’s conscience and numbing one’s own humanity. In doing so, you have created the memories of human loss within our society that will be passed on for generations.
Mr. Prime Minister,
What have you inherited from the wounds of your past that you are carrying on now against others? Are you prepared for your victims and their descendents and ethnic groups to do the same to your children, your descendants and your ethnic group (if they do not separate from you) or will you stop it all now? Do these innocent descendents deserve to be hated, despised and killed because of your actions? Worse yet, will they become haters, despisers and killers in their own right as you pass on such a curse to the next generation? Many Tigrayans are good and decent people who should not suffer for what you and other perpetrators have done, but yet you are creating so much ethnic hate that without proper management, other innocent Tigrayan people might suffer for your crimes?
Mr. Prime Minister,
We need a new Ethiopia where all people are equal and where we do not only speak for our own ethnic group. As a young man growing up in Gambella, I witnessed on a daily basis the hardship faced by Tigrayans after they were forced to settle in a new land with an inhospitable environment during the time of Mengistu. From my classroom window, in Ras Gobena elementary school, in front of the only hospital in the entire region, I could see a daily stream of grief-stricken Tigrayans, sometimes five or six in a day, carrying their dead children in their arms on their way to the graveyard nearby our school. Frequently, the mothers were alone and had to dig out a shallow grave for their beloved child. We then saw the mothers, empty-armed, some crying and others in the silence of grief, hanging on to a walking stick for support as they left, knowing they would never see their child again. This went on for months and months. We Anuak would wonder why such suffering was going on among these people. It affected me so much. I still can feel the pain. Each one of those children was precious and unique to their family.
At the time, I believed malaria was responsible—or the hot climate with its water borne diseases—but later, I realized that behind the deaths of so many of these Tigrayan children was a man—Mengistu—and his government—the Derg. Now you, Mr. Prime Minister, came into power, overthrowing this evil man, but as you have, you have caused continued untold suffering to the mothers, fathers and children of Ethiopia. As they ask, who is responsible for this suffering—we say it is you and the ruling party of the EPRDF.
Mr. Prime Minister,
How long must this legacy of shame be carried on? I challenge you to do the unthinkable—bring the country back to the people. There is much for you to fear for yourself, for the elite in TPLF and EPRDF, and all of your descendents if this curse is not stopped soon. I ask you to look for a solution to avoid a great catastrophe in Ethiopia. With God’s help, who knows, he might show great mercy to us all and help us to find a way so that we can all live together without witnessing more bloodshed, replacing it with love and respect between all ethnic groups. Yet if you refuse to change your ways, God will still work on behalf of those who are now calling on Him for deliverance. May you choose well and find blessings that will change your direction from that of crime against humanity to that of reconciliation, peace and love for Ethiopia and its diverse, colorful and beautiful people. I look forward to hearing from you on the issues raised and the proposed recommendations.
Sincerely yours,
Obang Metho; Director of International Advocacy, Anuak Justice Council
CC:
United States of America Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice
Congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House
Congressman, Donald Payne, Chairman, House Subcommittee on Africa,
Congressman, Tom Lantos, Chair, House Committee on International Relations
Congressman Christopher H. Smith, Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Africa,
Senator Russ Feingold, Chair, Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs
Mr. Donald Yamamoto, U.S Ambassador to Ethiopia
Ms. Margaret Beckett, Ministry of Foreign Affairs - United Kingdom
Mr. Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs- Canada
Ms. Luisa Morgantini, Chair, Committee on Development; European Parliament
Ms. Helène Flautre, Chair, Subcommittee on Human Rights, European Parliament
Ms. Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Obang's email: advocacy@anuakjustice.org
www.anuakjustice.org
February 20, 2007
His Excellency Meles Zenawi
Prime Minister of Ethiopia
Office of the Prime Minister
P.O. BOX – 1031
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Dear Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi,
I, Obang Metho, am contacting you regarding the gross human rights abuses and current crisis within Ethiopia as I want to make some suggestions to you as the leader of Ethiopia, as an elder to me and as a fellow human being on this earth. Despite our differences—of our actions, beliefs, positions, backgrounds, ages and situations, when it comes down to the basics, we are both equal in the eyes of God and both needful of His mercy. I am seeking to approach you in our African tradition, a younger person to an elder, giving you the proper respect and dignity deserved in such situations as I attempt to present before you my perspectives on the serious issues we are facing as Ethiopians.
Mr. Prime Minister,
There can be no doubt; we are midstream in a deepening crisis. How we resolve these issues at this juncture will inevitably make a vast difference to the future not only of the Ethiopian people, but to the future of your children, grandchildren and ethnic group. Equally so, that future will be shared with the children of the Anuak and those children from every other ethnic group throughout our country. What kind of an Ethiopia will they have? What we do at this hour of history may make all the difference as to whether we pass on a curse or a blessing. Because of this, I come to you in order to urge you to carefully think about changing the course upon which we are on together as Ethiopians.
Mr. Prime Minister,
Despite the long-term situation looking very bleak for the future, particularly yours and that of the EPRDF’s, I would suggest that it is not entirely hopeless for you under certain circumstances. Those circumstances though, will require such a change of direction for you that I am fairly certain you will not accept it; however, I feel I still must do my part in suggesting it to you. However, before I begin, first let me point out why I believe the current ruling party is short-lived—whether three months, thirteen months or three years. I obviously cannot be conclusive on how long your present regime will last; however, I can see many signs that it, in its present nature, is coming to an end and therefore believe that you and the rest of us should be preparing well for that day.
Consider this—the world has become very different today from when you overthrew Mengistu. For one thing, his own repressive regime, as well as the civil war in 1991, caused a great exodus of refugees to flee from Ethiopia to many places throughout the world. Currently, these refugees are entering a new stage of political empowerment made possible by their adaptation to their new cultures. They have learned the languages of the countries where they have settled, many gaining citizenship. Many of these Ethiopians who fled to the West were those who more probably had been targeted by the government—the politically active and those more well-educated. They have carried their skills with them.
In addition to these people are the many who were denied an education in Ethiopia, but who now have been able to earn college degrees and advanced degrees. Those in the Diaspora are now equipped beyond what they may have been able to gain access to in Ethiopia. Add more to that—they are finding their political voices as they are emotionally outraged regarding the suffering and pain of their family and friends who are remaining in Ethiopia. This is made more intense because they are able to have more direct access to information than ever before about what is going on daily in most every area of the country. Add to that an additional component to that equation—the rise in technology like the Internet, cell phones, cheap phone cards, PalTalk and so forth and the communication capacities of Ethiopians and people sympathetic to the Ethiopian cause has risen exponentially.
Additionally, a mind change is going on. The “old school” of political thought grounded in Marxist-Leninist thinking has perpetuated a style of repressive governance that has become the modus operandi of the EPRDF government, something that appears to be a system characterized by increasing resistance from the general population and an example of ultimate failure much like Ukraine, Romania and Belarus. If you rigorously hold on to this course, I warn you will discover greater and greater obstacles in maintaining your current strong hold on Ethiopians. Your best approach—divide and rule—will increasingly become more difficult as the leaders mature in their ability to overcome this tactic and as Ethiopians become more aware of how they are being played against each other. How is this happening you might ask?
Mr. Prime Minister,
For one, those in the Diaspora have mostly, if not exclusively, settled in free, democratic countries where their thinking has been influenced by enjoying the benefits of personal freedom and basic rights of such privileges as free speech, free press, and the right for peaceful assembly, the expectation that justice will be followed and equality under the law. They have been allowed to transition into communities where one does not have to be Tigrayan, Oromo, Anuak, Swedish, German, Chinese or Italian to gain access to opportunities. For instance, in Minnesota, Ontario, Washington D.C. or in California, most people only talk about their ethnic backgrounds as an interesting bit of conversation rather than as a way to divide and exclude. It is beginning to change the way Ethiopians think about ethnicity as they realize most citizens of the US, Canada, Europe and in other democratic societies see them as Ethiopians and usually do not understand or care much about which ethnic group they come from.
Now, compound this further by introducing the reality of an increasingly global economy where the walls between countries are breaking down as business ventures cross international borders in new and increasingly more transparent ways. When you consider all of this, you may realize that secrets and manipulations of a government that you were once able to keep hidden from the outside world, will no longer be possible. You may need to understand that for a vibrant economy to emerge in Ethiopia, the influence of outsiders will increase.
Mr. Prime Minister,
Secondly, as you are aware, the rift between your government and the Ethiopian people is widening and the speed of that separation is gaining momentum. As that happens, resistance to the status quo will emerge with greater strength and vigor. Despite your keen ability to discern an impending crisis, I would suggest that the way out of this crisis will easily elude you as it is so contradictory to who you really are, that, it may not seem like a choice at all. Instead, as it is likely that you will only intensify the use of oppression and force to control the people, you may not fully comprehend how you are creating a monster which will eventually turn around and destroy you. Your approach, instead of controlling the resistance of the people, is actually increasingly unifying the people against you in their struggle towards freedom, democracy and the rule of law. It is only a matter of time before they succeed.
Mr. Prime Minister,
The Ethiopian people are tired of ethnic politics, corruption, violence, repression of rights, poverty and manmade humanitarian crises. It is impossible to “control enough” so as to repress this movement. Incentives like the new land loan programs, encouragement of the Diaspora to come home to Ethiopia to celebrate the Ethiopian millennium and treating the Diaspora when visiting in Ethiopia with great honor so they will not speak out against you or your government, are good ideas for manipulation, but will only work for a short period of time. Instead, it is becoming a no-win situation that will just get more difficult to sustain.
For instance, the impending trial may only further destroy the reputation of the TPLF and EPRDF as it will be impossible to cover up the political nature of these charges. Thus, postponement of the court hearing was clearly an attempt on your part to avert further outrage over this injustice, but continued postponement of the legal process as you have done on February 19, 2007 regarding the top CUD leaders, journalists and human rights activists, a trick that has worked for years in remote areas of Ethiopia—like in Gambella, Ogaden and Oromyia—simply will not work in the same way with all the international attention. You can send the international journalists home, but it is easier now for all onlookers to witness further manipulation of the system.
Mr. Prime Minister,
My recommendation comes in two parts. The first invites you to consider a political solution and the second invites you to a personal transformation that could later lead to the integration of the two presenting the most remarkable results. You could do invariably implement one without the other, but I would suggest that a personal transformation within you, those in the TPLF or those in the EPRDF (including the military) could lead to a miracle in Ethiopia from which we all could benefit.
Let me be more clear—I am suggesting to you and others in the TPLF, the EPRDF and in the military, a revolutionary path and by this, I do not mean a revolution of guns, bullets and violence, but a revolution that comes out of transformation of the hearts, souls and minds of people, starting with you. You may find this ridiculous, but please hear me out and keep in mind that the key to getting out of this mess may be very close, yet difficult to see. Who knows but that such deep changes will cause Ethiopians to change their attitudes towards you and those near you, providing a real opportunity for forgiveness, reconciliation and positive fundamental change in our country?
Mr. Prime Minister,
The first suggestion is that you not continue postponing the trial of the Opposition leaders and others. Instead, I would suggest that you release them and all of the other political prisoners in Ethiopia. Make a public speech, acknowledging the need to forgive each other and invite a dialogue that could begin reconciliation and real change towards democracy, a legitimate election and the execution of real justice within Ethiopia—helping the entire country to be able to avoid bloodshed and more suffering. It will totally come unexpected and you might be amazed with the reaction of Ethiopian people to such a substantial change should you do it. Your legacy would forever be changed for good. As many have built a case against you and are preparing for your future trial in International Criminal Courts, who knows if the people would demand this with the same persistence and desire. I assure you, without such change being initiated by you, many are looking forward to that day in court. This is just one option alone which could potentially work along with the next recommendation.
Mr. Prime Minister,
You may find my next suggestion outrageous, however, perhaps worth considering. I suggest that you lead the way to real transformation in Ethiopia by truly seeking God. For many reasons, this path may not have been very clear to you in the past as you and those around you were brought up under the communist school of thought where God was denounced; however, may I suggest that you may wonder about the truth of this as a parent. You may have to go back to the models of faith given by a parent or a grandmother to understand what has been lost. If you have such models of faith, it will be easier to consider such a change; if not, it will be difficult but not impossible even though the communist ideology may have blinded that you. You may say you have already chosen so much wrong that you are afraid to face the consequences. I again say, who knows, if you make a total turn around, there may be solutions you never dreamed possible.
Think, if you would please, about this quote from Jim Elliot, missionary martyr, recently depicted in the Hollywood film, “End of the Spear.” He said, "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Taking a different direction may cost you much; yet, with it comes freedom for your soul—something that is priceless. Yet, most do not choose this path. In your case, how you proceed with your life can make a tremendous difference in the future of your party loyalists, of your family and of your descendents as they face the task of finding a way to prosper and live amongst the children of your victims.
Mr. Prime Minister,
I would like to offer the following scripture from the Bible found in Ezekiel 18:30-31. Even though you may not be a believer in organized religion, most of us, when we consider the vastness, beauty, complexity, power and awesomeness of nature, realize that someone bigger than us was its Creator and will ultimately be our Judge, but yet, God reaches out to each one of us with the opportunity to seek His mercy. With this in mind, please consider these words and evaluate them for yourself. “Therefore, O house of Israel (Ethiopia), I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel (Ethiopia)? For I take no pleasure in the death (spiritual) of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!”
I, as a man of faith, can only advise you that we are all children of a forgiving and loving God. Regardless of what you have done, you still have an opportunity to ask for forgiveness, repent all of your sins and surrender yourself to God, your people and your country. I urge you to also do this for the sake of your wife, your children and your future grandchildren. Give your innocent children a chance for a future devoid of the consequences of your (documented) crimes against humanity.
Mr. Prime Minister,
As you probably know, I am among those who have accused you of committing serious crimes against my people, the Anuak of Gambella, as well as to many other citizens of my country. You may not have been directly responsible for the acts themselves, but whether or not these acts were done by you or whether they were done under your orders and authority, you, as the head of the country, shall be held accountable. Just like the head of a household bears the burden of all that may go wrong in the family, so it is in a country where the head is held responsible for something as grave as murder and even genocide is committed.
Mr. Prime Minister,
You have been in power now for 18 years under the appearance of a democratic government, a difficult role for you to play as a self proclaimed Albanian communist. From the outside, people are questioning the reality you have attempted to camouflage so well; if Ethiopia is an emerging democracy, why is it that the ruling party and its Prime Minister are not stepping down to give others a chance- isn’t that the rule of democracy, passing on leadership to the next elected party and its officials not to last more than 4 years as is done in most democratic nations?!
Something you may not realize is that we have some things in common with each other. For example, as a young man you left medical school, changing your plans midstream, in order to go to the bush to defend your people, not knowing whether or not you would lose your life during the struggle. You had seen evil and suffering perpetrated against your ethnic group and gave up your plans in order to confront injustice. In this, you went through more than I—enduring more hardship, pain and suffering—until Mengistu was overthrown. You fought for a platform of justice, equality, people’s rights and greater opportunity for your people.
Mengistu was responsible for the deaths and suffering of many thousands of Ethiopians and he was stopped. These are good things. God wants us to confront injustice, no matter how big the obstacles ahead of us. In doing this, you followed your convictions to protect the vulnerable and to make Ethiopia a better place. God desires justice and protection of the poor and vulnerable. However, in accomplishing this, have you forgotten what brought you into the struggle, and in doing so, have you become another Mengistu?
Mr. Prime Minister,
Please consider what is happening—by your actions now, have you created someone like me to become like you once were—someone who is committed to fighting against injustice? It is not only me, but also many others throughout our country who are now rising up against the same injustice faced by the Tigrayans during Mengistu regime. Something went wrong Mr. Prime Minister, between the time you were under the protection of your mother’s loving arms, to when you emerged as a man willing to fight in the bush against oppression and now, when you have become a man willing to rule Ethiopia with hate, anger and brutality. What happened within you to allow your soul to become so entrapped by the hardening of your heart, bringing along with it the slow death to a nation under your control, while you and your supporters feast on her riches much like scavengers over a helpless victim? Yet, such a feast will never satisfy you and your supporters—it will never be enough! And there in lies the danger and perhaps the end of your regime.
Mr. Prime Minister,
As an infant, you came to this world as an innocent child, free of all of your crimes. Deep fear and the wounds of loss, devaluation and mistreatment often give birth to such self-protective hate, anger and self-alienation, but there is an antidote for it—and that is God’s love, mercy and forgiveness. I speak to you as a fellow Ethiopian brother here, who personally refuses, to have you sink your teeth into another unsuspecting peaceful innocent victim, yet I also speak to you as someone, who is committed to conveying the kind ways of God who can forgive you. Your outrageous rampage of shedding the blood of the innocent will come to an end and then what? I want you to know that even though I have taken a stand against human rights abuses and oppression of our people, I would rather see you do something that no one would ever think that you would do—repent, choose to change your ways and through that change, you will become part of the transformation of Ethiopia into a true democracy, with real freedom and the respect of all peoples as equal under God’s eyes.
Mr. Prime Minister,
Let me tell you my story that led to me taking up the battle against injustice. On December 13, 2003 my uncle, other relatives, friends, my former teachers and my work colleagues, along with many other Anuak, totaling at least 424 in number were amongst those killed by your government within three days. Many more have been killed since that time and over four thousand have become refugees. You may not have been the one to pull the trigger, but as the head of this government, you were in charge and evidence points to your involvement in this massacre. Even if you deny your involvement, you still failed to speak out against it, lied about most every aspect of it, calling it fiction and then proceeded to cover up responsibility for it in your whitewashed Gambella Commission of Inquiry. Yet, the blood of the Anuak your government mowed down like grass, still cries out to me, sometimes wakening me in the middle of the night; their tears now filling my eyes; my thoughts of them guiding my every move; their faith in God ensuring me that justice will be done.
It is your actions that created me—much like Mengistu created you-you have now become my Mengistu! I am asking you—when will this cycle end? If you will not do the Ethiopian people the honor of ending this cycle, myself and others like me along with the people of Ethiopia will join hands to do just that; end the cycle of ethnic based hate and divisiveness, crimes against humanity, injustice and clear the way to a democratic nation where peace, justice, rule of law, equality, respect and good governance will one day reign in Ethiopia.
Mr. Prime Minister,
If your mother and father asked you what you have accomplished in your life, what would you say about the massacre of the Anuak in Gambella, the 123 killed in Awassa, the 193 killed during the election protests, many hundreds more in Ogaden and Oromia and the thousands of political prisoners in the jails, prisons, detention centers and torture chambers throughout the country? What would your mother say to Mary, an Anuak woman who witnessed her husband being hacked to death by an enraged mob and then being shot in the head and back by Ethiopian soldiers under your authority? She is now a young widow with children, hardly managing to support herself and her family.
What would your father think about Alemzuria Teshome whose mother was shot in front of her as her mother protested the arrest of her father? What would your daughter think of the young Anuak girl who was raped by seven soldiers in uniform? How would you feel about sending your son to school only to find him dead on the road because “he looked suspicious?” How would your grandmother feel about burying the six bodies of her family members and being left alone? How would your brother feel if his pregnant wife was beaten and tortured by your security forces in an attempt to find out where he was, finally losing the baby? I ask you to see the killing, rape and torture of these people through the eyes of your children and grandchildren who will be reading about you in Ethiopian history textbooks in the near future. Such disregard for human life can only result from killing one’s conscience and numbing one’s own humanity. In doing so, you have created the memories of human loss within our society that will be passed on for generations.
Mr. Prime Minister,
What have you inherited from the wounds of your past that you are carrying on now against others? Are you prepared for your victims and their descendents and ethnic groups to do the same to your children, your descendants and your ethnic group (if they do not separate from you) or will you stop it all now? Do these innocent descendents deserve to be hated, despised and killed because of your actions? Worse yet, will they become haters, despisers and killers in their own right as you pass on such a curse to the next generation? Many Tigrayans are good and decent people who should not suffer for what you and other perpetrators have done, but yet you are creating so much ethnic hate that without proper management, other innocent Tigrayan people might suffer for your crimes?
Mr. Prime Minister,
We need a new Ethiopia where all people are equal and where we do not only speak for our own ethnic group. As a young man growing up in Gambella, I witnessed on a daily basis the hardship faced by Tigrayans after they were forced to settle in a new land with an inhospitable environment during the time of Mengistu. From my classroom window, in Ras Gobena elementary school, in front of the only hospital in the entire region, I could see a daily stream of grief-stricken Tigrayans, sometimes five or six in a day, carrying their dead children in their arms on their way to the graveyard nearby our school. Frequently, the mothers were alone and had to dig out a shallow grave for their beloved child. We then saw the mothers, empty-armed, some crying and others in the silence of grief, hanging on to a walking stick for support as they left, knowing they would never see their child again. This went on for months and months. We Anuak would wonder why such suffering was going on among these people. It affected me so much. I still can feel the pain. Each one of those children was precious and unique to their family.
At the time, I believed malaria was responsible—or the hot climate with its water borne diseases—but later, I realized that behind the deaths of so many of these Tigrayan children was a man—Mengistu—and his government—the Derg. Now you, Mr. Prime Minister, came into power, overthrowing this evil man, but as you have, you have caused continued untold suffering to the mothers, fathers and children of Ethiopia. As they ask, who is responsible for this suffering—we say it is you and the ruling party of the EPRDF.
Mr. Prime Minister,
How long must this legacy of shame be carried on? I challenge you to do the unthinkable—bring the country back to the people. There is much for you to fear for yourself, for the elite in TPLF and EPRDF, and all of your descendents if this curse is not stopped soon. I ask you to look for a solution to avoid a great catastrophe in Ethiopia. With God’s help, who knows, he might show great mercy to us all and help us to find a way so that we can all live together without witnessing more bloodshed, replacing it with love and respect between all ethnic groups. Yet if you refuse to change your ways, God will still work on behalf of those who are now calling on Him for deliverance. May you choose well and find blessings that will change your direction from that of crime against humanity to that of reconciliation, peace and love for Ethiopia and its diverse, colorful and beautiful people. I look forward to hearing from you on the issues raised and the proposed recommendations.
Sincerely yours,
Obang Metho; Director of International Advocacy, Anuak Justice Council
CC:
United States of America Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice
Congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House
Congressman, Donald Payne, Chairman, House Subcommittee on Africa,
Congressman, Tom Lantos, Chair, House Committee on International Relations
Congressman Christopher H. Smith, Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Africa,
Senator Russ Feingold, Chair, Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs
Mr. Donald Yamamoto, U.S Ambassador to Ethiopia
Ms. Margaret Beckett, Ministry of Foreign Affairs - United Kingdom
Mr. Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs- Canada
Ms. Luisa Morgantini, Chair, Committee on Development; European Parliament
Ms. Helène Flautre, Chair, Subcommittee on Human Rights, European Parliament
Ms. Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Obang's email: advocacy@anuakjustice.org
www.anuakjustice.org
February 20, 2007
Witnesses say 12 killed in heavy shelling in Somalia's capital
Mohamed Olad Hassan, Canadian Press
February 20, 2007
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Mortar rounds and rockets hit Somalia's capital early Tuesday in a series of attacks that killed 12 people, including a 4-year-old boy, and wounded more than 40 others, doctors and witnesses said.
The violence, which erupted after mortar attacks on three Ethiopian and Somali government barracks, was among the worst since Somalia's government moved into the capital late last year. Somali troops, with the help of soldiers from neighbouring Ethiopia, drove out an Islamic group who wanted to rule the country by the Qur'an.
The presidential palace and seaport were also targeted in attacks. Ethiopian troops returned fire with artillery and heavy machine-gun fire throughout the night.
Families have begun fleeing the city in recent days as the violence escalated.
"We cannot keep our children in this violent situation," said Yonis Nor, a father of eight as he left the capital with his family. "It is the civilians who are the victims here. We want to go where we think our children are safe."
Doctors at two of Mogadishu's main hospitals said 42 injured people were hospitalized overnight, seven of them were children. Five were treated early Tuesday.
"Some of the wounded are in a very serious condition with shrapnel wounds all around their body," said Dr. Dahir Mohamed, of the city's Medina Hospital.
Mogadishu's mayor blamed the attacks on remnants of the Islamic movement that was pushed out of Mogadishu and parts of the country's south earlier this year. The Islamic group has been accused of harbouring al-Qaida suspects, which it denies.
"It is a bad thing to watch our people dying in front of us and this would damage the unity of Somalia," mayor Mohamud Hassan Ali said on local radio.
The Islamic movement, which still has support in Mogadishu, has vowed to wage an Iraq-style insurgency, and attacks in the capital have happened almost daily in the past month.
But other residents said the casualties were the result of Ethiopian artillery. Many residents say the Islamic group brought a semblance of order to this anarchic nation.
The sound of gunfire could be heard throughout the night.
"We spent the whole night under this concrete wall because I do not know where to run," said Ruqiyo Madobe Ahmed, a 34-year-old mother of four. Hodan Wali Nuure, a mother of a 6-year-old boy who was wounded by shrapnel from a nearby explosion, said it was the worst night of fighting she had seen in the capital.
On Monday, a Somali government anti-terror unit trained by Ethiopian troops went into operation to quell the growing unrest.
It is a government plan to fight terrorists and bring them to justice, Deputy Defence Minister Salad Ali Jelle told The Associated Press.
He refused to provide more details about the unit but another government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said it numbered around 700 soldiers.
Insecurity in Somalia has been growing since the transitional government drove out the rival Islamic movement with Ethiopian military help late last year. Since the government's return to Mogadishu, insurgents have staged near-daily attacks.
On Sunday, a car exploded in the capital, killing all four occupants. No one has claimed responsibility but witnesses said the car was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired from another vehicle.
Jelle said the occupants of the car were suicide bombers.
Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy. The transitional government was formed in 2004 with UN help.
© The Canadian Press 2007
February 20, 2007
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Mortar rounds and rockets hit Somalia's capital early Tuesday in a series of attacks that killed 12 people, including a 4-year-old boy, and wounded more than 40 others, doctors and witnesses said.
The violence, which erupted after mortar attacks on three Ethiopian and Somali government barracks, was among the worst since Somalia's government moved into the capital late last year. Somali troops, with the help of soldiers from neighbouring Ethiopia, drove out an Islamic group who wanted to rule the country by the Qur'an.
The presidential palace and seaport were also targeted in attacks. Ethiopian troops returned fire with artillery and heavy machine-gun fire throughout the night.
Families have begun fleeing the city in recent days as the violence escalated.
"We cannot keep our children in this violent situation," said Yonis Nor, a father of eight as he left the capital with his family. "It is the civilians who are the victims here. We want to go where we think our children are safe."
Doctors at two of Mogadishu's main hospitals said 42 injured people were hospitalized overnight, seven of them were children. Five were treated early Tuesday.
"Some of the wounded are in a very serious condition with shrapnel wounds all around their body," said Dr. Dahir Mohamed, of the city's Medina Hospital.
Mogadishu's mayor blamed the attacks on remnants of the Islamic movement that was pushed out of Mogadishu and parts of the country's south earlier this year. The Islamic group has been accused of harbouring al-Qaida suspects, which it denies.
"It is a bad thing to watch our people dying in front of us and this would damage the unity of Somalia," mayor Mohamud Hassan Ali said on local radio.
The Islamic movement, which still has support in Mogadishu, has vowed to wage an Iraq-style insurgency, and attacks in the capital have happened almost daily in the past month.
But other residents said the casualties were the result of Ethiopian artillery. Many residents say the Islamic group brought a semblance of order to this anarchic nation.
The sound of gunfire could be heard throughout the night.
"We spent the whole night under this concrete wall because I do not know where to run," said Ruqiyo Madobe Ahmed, a 34-year-old mother of four. Hodan Wali Nuure, a mother of a 6-year-old boy who was wounded by shrapnel from a nearby explosion, said it was the worst night of fighting she had seen in the capital.
On Monday, a Somali government anti-terror unit trained by Ethiopian troops went into operation to quell the growing unrest.
It is a government plan to fight terrorists and bring them to justice, Deputy Defence Minister Salad Ali Jelle told The Associated Press.
He refused to provide more details about the unit but another government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said it numbered around 700 soldiers.
Insecurity in Somalia has been growing since the transitional government drove out the rival Islamic movement with Ethiopian military help late last year. Since the government's return to Mogadishu, insurgents have staged near-daily attacks.
On Sunday, a car exploded in the capital, killing all four occupants. No one has claimed responsibility but witnesses said the car was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired from another vehicle.
Jelle said the occupants of the car were suicide bombers.
Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy. The transitional government was formed in 2004 with UN help.
© The Canadian Press 2007
Does he realy deserve this?
Ethiopia PM gets top Caf award
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has received the Confederation of African Football's (Caf) Gold Order of Merit award.
Zenawi was given the organisation's highest award on Monday in Addis Ababa for his services to African football.
"Football is playing a great role here and in the continent. I will do everything at my disposal to support and encourage the game in Ethiopia," said Zenawi.
In commemoration of Caf's 50th anniversary awards are to be given to the heads of state of the original founding countries of the football body, namely Ethiopia, South Africa, Sudan and Egypt.
"I have also come to recognize the tremendous progress African football has made, but I deeply regret the fact that Ethiopia has not made any progress," Zenawi added, before thanking Caf President Issa Hayatou for the award.
After paying tribute to the late President of Caf, Ethiopian Yidnekatchew Tessema, Hayatou lauded the African Union for its role in initiating "International Year of African Fooball".
"It is up to us more than ever, to cultivate the duty of the memory for generations," Hayatou said.
"We must never forget that Caf is one of the major continental institutions."
Caf was founded in 1957 and presently includes 53 member countries.
The confederation organises various competitions including the African Nations Cup, the African Champions League and Confederation Cup.
News Source: BBC
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has received the Confederation of African Football's (Caf) Gold Order of Merit award.
Zenawi was given the organisation's highest award on Monday in Addis Ababa for his services to African football.
"Football is playing a great role here and in the continent. I will do everything at my disposal to support and encourage the game in Ethiopia," said Zenawi.
In commemoration of Caf's 50th anniversary awards are to be given to the heads of state of the original founding countries of the football body, namely Ethiopia, South Africa, Sudan and Egypt.
"I have also come to recognize the tremendous progress African football has made, but I deeply regret the fact that Ethiopia has not made any progress," Zenawi added, before thanking Caf President Issa Hayatou for the award.
After paying tribute to the late President of Caf, Ethiopian Yidnekatchew Tessema, Hayatou lauded the African Union for its role in initiating "International Year of African Fooball".
"It is up to us more than ever, to cultivate the duty of the memory for generations," Hayatou said.
"We must never forget that Caf is one of the major continental institutions."
Caf was founded in 1957 and presently includes 53 member countries.
The confederation organises various competitions including the African Nations Cup, the African Champions League and Confederation Cup.
News Source: BBC
February 19, 2007
First an immigrant, then a victim
By Errol Castens
Daily Journal Oxford Bureau
NEW ALBANY - Before he was a Mississippian or Minnesotan, he was a Somali and an Oromo.
It was a sad irony that this man eulogized as "a brother" and "a great leader" left the violence and poverty of his native East Africa as a child, only to be felled by a shotgun blast in a Northeast Mississippi town usually thought of as peaceful.
"He moved to Mississippi maybe three months ago," said his sister, Sayat Basha, who lives in Minneapolis, where much of his family lived. One brother also lived in New Albany but has since returned to Minnesota. The brothers moved to Union County for a business opportunity.
"He wanted to change his life and do more for his family," she said. "He wanted to open a business."
It was at that business, Central Station convenience store just off the U.S. Highway 78 bypass, that Hamza Basha's life ended late on the night of Jan. 18. Part-time employee Walter Tremayne Cullens, a 17-year-old New Albany resident, is charged with murder in the case and remains in Union County Jail on $1 million bond.
The 38-year-old business owner sometimes had his family with him at the store - a reality that strikes Hamza Basha's brother-in-law, Fuad Ibrahim, particularly hard.
Missed already
Dallas record producer Elias Ibssa and Hamza Basha served each other as best man and remained close friends.
"To lose a brother, a friend, a leader, and more important, a great man with two small beautiful children is incomprehensible," Ibssa wrote on the Web log he launched to honor his fallen friend - hamzabasha.blog.com.
"To lose him in such a senseless manner as this is beyond words," he continued. "To lose such a giving and humble human being in his prime is a tragedy indeed."
Fuad Ibrahim came to New Albany to escort his brother-in-law's body back to Basha's long-time home state of Minnesota for burial.
"I lost my hero, and the community lost a great leader," Ibrahim said. "I don't have enough words to express my feelings. This is a big loss for family, friends and community."
Oromo leader
As respected a friend, husband, father and businessman as he was, Hamza Basha's influence reached much farther.
A Muslim whose fellow Oromos also include Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christians as well as followers of East African indigenous religions, Hamza Basha helped create the Oromo Sports Federation of North America. The group says it is "a non-political, nonreligious and nonregional sports entity that fosters sports among Oromos in North America." Oromos are one of the major ethnicity and language groups of people in East Africa.
For a decade its tournaments have drawn participants from as far as Seattle and Atlanta, enabling "the Oromo Diaspora" to compete in sports and to reconnect with others who share their history and language.
Responses to Hamza Basha's death in the Oromo community have ranged from sadness and frustration - one blogger wished for a chance to confront people who would kill for money - to an outpouring of generosity: By early February, more than $40,000 reportedly had been raised among the Oromo-American community for Basha's wife and children.
As one blogger noted, "Hamza will be missed not only by his closest family and friends but by the larger Oromo society."
Contact Daily Journal reporter Errol Castens @ 662-281-1069 or errol.castens@djournal.com.
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
Daily Journal Oxford Bureau
NEW ALBANY - Before he was a Mississippian or Minnesotan, he was a Somali and an Oromo.
It was a sad irony that this man eulogized as "a brother" and "a great leader" left the violence and poverty of his native East Africa as a child, only to be felled by a shotgun blast in a Northeast Mississippi town usually thought of as peaceful.
"He moved to Mississippi maybe three months ago," said his sister, Sayat Basha, who lives in Minneapolis, where much of his family lived. One brother also lived in New Albany but has since returned to Minnesota. The brothers moved to Union County for a business opportunity.
"He wanted to change his life and do more for his family," she said. "He wanted to open a business."
It was at that business, Central Station convenience store just off the U.S. Highway 78 bypass, that Hamza Basha's life ended late on the night of Jan. 18. Part-time employee Walter Tremayne Cullens, a 17-year-old New Albany resident, is charged with murder in the case and remains in Union County Jail on $1 million bond.
The 38-year-old business owner sometimes had his family with him at the store - a reality that strikes Hamza Basha's brother-in-law, Fuad Ibrahim, particularly hard.
Missed already
Dallas record producer Elias Ibssa and Hamza Basha served each other as best man and remained close friends.
"To lose a brother, a friend, a leader, and more important, a great man with two small beautiful children is incomprehensible," Ibssa wrote on the Web log he launched to honor his fallen friend - hamzabasha.blog.com.
"To lose him in such a senseless manner as this is beyond words," he continued. "To lose such a giving and humble human being in his prime is a tragedy indeed."
Fuad Ibrahim came to New Albany to escort his brother-in-law's body back to Basha's long-time home state of Minnesota for burial.
"I lost my hero, and the community lost a great leader," Ibrahim said. "I don't have enough words to express my feelings. This is a big loss for family, friends and community."
Oromo leader
As respected a friend, husband, father and businessman as he was, Hamza Basha's influence reached much farther.
A Muslim whose fellow Oromos also include Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christians as well as followers of East African indigenous religions, Hamza Basha helped create the Oromo Sports Federation of North America. The group says it is "a non-political, nonreligious and nonregional sports entity that fosters sports among Oromos in North America." Oromos are one of the major ethnicity and language groups of people in East Africa.
For a decade its tournaments have drawn participants from as far as Seattle and Atlanta, enabling "the Oromo Diaspora" to compete in sports and to reconnect with others who share their history and language.
Responses to Hamza Basha's death in the Oromo community have ranged from sadness and frustration - one blogger wished for a chance to confront people who would kill for money - to an outpouring of generosity: By early February, more than $40,000 reportedly had been raised among the Oromo-American community for Basha's wife and children.
As one blogger noted, "Hamza will be missed not only by his closest family and friends but by the larger Oromo society."
Contact Daily Journal reporter Errol Castens @ 662-281-1069 or errol.castens@djournal.com.
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
Female courage unveiled
By Suzanne Fields
Together they enlisted millions of followers and ushered in a feminist revolution on behalf of the most privileged women in the world.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is trying to spark another revolution, one that reveals Western women of that earlier revolution as engaging in child's play. In her memoir, "Infidel," Ms. Hirsi Ali targets the tortured legacy of Islam, the way in which a literal interpretation of the Koran makes it difficult for women in many Muslim cultures to thrive, or even survive. Her odyssey takes her from Somalia in her younger years to Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, always seeking a larger vision for her life. She endured painful female circumcision at the age of five. As a teenager she took pride and pleasure in wearing the hijab that covers the entire body in black, declaring her faith to all. Her intellectual odyssey finally takes her to Holland, were she studied writers of the Enlightenment and began to understand and appreciate democracy and the freedom to think for herself. She began to question her faith.
The world first heard of Ayaan Hirsi Ali when filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered on the streets of Amsterdam by a Moroccan-born Dutch Islamist who pinned a note to Theo van Gogh's chest with a dagger. Ms. Hirsi Ali had worked with Mr. van Gogh on a documentary entitled "Submission," describing how Muslim women are often forced into arranged marriage and beaten if they disobey what the men understand as the teachings of Mohammed.
In Holland she worked as a Somali translator and listened to many accounts of Muslim women who had been beaten, bloodied and raped by the men in their lives.
She became an aggressive advocate. She pushed the Dutch government to keep records of "honor killings," and the findings of a pilot project initiated by the Dutch parliament astonished the public. In only eight months in just two small regions of the country, 11 Muslim girls were killed by their families for bringing "dishonor" to the family. (Such offenses range from going out with a non-Muslim, running away from an arranged marriage, or wearing lipstick and modern dress.)
As a Liberal Party member of parliament, she urged the Dutch to quit tolerating the oppression of Muslim women in the name of multiculturalism. This was a hard sell. She urged Muslims who lived where they could enjoy free speech to start a debate to expose inequities inherent in Islam. This was a harder sell. She urged Muslim women to understand that their suffering was not ordained even though they found interpretations in the Koran that sustained it. This was the hardest sell of all.
"People who are conditioned to meekness, almost to the point where they have no minds of their own, sadly have no ability to organize, or will to express their opinion," she writes. She understands their meekness and fear; she travels with bodyguards.
Her friends and colleagues told her that Islam had nothing to do with September 11. She disagreed, and argued that September 11 had everything to do with Islam as the radicals teach it. Islamist violence, she says, has nothing to do with poverty, colonialism or Israel. Mohammed Atta, the leading hijacker, was exactly her age and she knew many men like him. She understood that these terrorists acted as if on behalf of Allah, counting on their brutal violence as validating "a one way ticket to Heaven." She accuses "stupid analysts," especially those who call themselves "Arabists," as spinners of fairy tales, who know nothing about the reality of the Islamists but blindly defend Islam as "a religion of peace and tolerance." Those who look for reasons everywhere but in the Koran to explain Osama bin Laden and his followers are like those who would analyze Lenin and Stalin without reading the works of Karl Marx.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali lives somewhere in Washington and works to expand her forum at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. Each chapter in her book "Infidel" reads like a perverse version of "Tales of the Arabian Nights." Muslims, she insists, can transform their religion into one of peace, but they have a long way to go. Well-meaning friends in the West can help by appreciating the difference between fancy and fact, between myth and reality.
The Washington Times
February 19, 2007
A generation ago Betty Friedan wrote "The Feminine Mystique" to expose the misery of American housewives living in what she scorned as a "comfortable concentration camp." Gloria Steinem put on a bunny suit with a fluffy cottontail to dramatize the way the male customers regarded the bunnies at the Playboy Clubs.Together they enlisted millions of followers and ushered in a feminist revolution on behalf of the most privileged women in the world.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is trying to spark another revolution, one that reveals Western women of that earlier revolution as engaging in child's play. In her memoir, "Infidel," Ms. Hirsi Ali targets the tortured legacy of Islam, the way in which a literal interpretation of the Koran makes it difficult for women in many Muslim cultures to thrive, or even survive. Her odyssey takes her from Somalia in her younger years to Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, always seeking a larger vision for her life. She endured painful female circumcision at the age of five. As a teenager she took pride and pleasure in wearing the hijab that covers the entire body in black, declaring her faith to all. Her intellectual odyssey finally takes her to Holland, were she studied writers of the Enlightenment and began to understand and appreciate democracy and the freedom to think for herself. She began to question her faith.
The world first heard of Ayaan Hirsi Ali when filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered on the streets of Amsterdam by a Moroccan-born Dutch Islamist who pinned a note to Theo van Gogh's chest with a dagger. Ms. Hirsi Ali had worked with Mr. van Gogh on a documentary entitled "Submission," describing how Muslim women are often forced into arranged marriage and beaten if they disobey what the men understand as the teachings of Mohammed.
In Holland she worked as a Somali translator and listened to many accounts of Muslim women who had been beaten, bloodied and raped by the men in their lives.
She became an aggressive advocate. She pushed the Dutch government to keep records of "honor killings," and the findings of a pilot project initiated by the Dutch parliament astonished the public. In only eight months in just two small regions of the country, 11 Muslim girls were killed by their families for bringing "dishonor" to the family. (Such offenses range from going out with a non-Muslim, running away from an arranged marriage, or wearing lipstick and modern dress.)
As a Liberal Party member of parliament, she urged the Dutch to quit tolerating the oppression of Muslim women in the name of multiculturalism. This was a hard sell. She urged Muslims who lived where they could enjoy free speech to start a debate to expose inequities inherent in Islam. This was a harder sell. She urged Muslim women to understand that their suffering was not ordained even though they found interpretations in the Koran that sustained it. This was the hardest sell of all.
"People who are conditioned to meekness, almost to the point where they have no minds of their own, sadly have no ability to organize, or will to express their opinion," she writes. She understands their meekness and fear; she travels with bodyguards.
Her friends and colleagues told her that Islam had nothing to do with September 11. She disagreed, and argued that September 11 had everything to do with Islam as the radicals teach it. Islamist violence, she says, has nothing to do with poverty, colonialism or Israel. Mohammed Atta, the leading hijacker, was exactly her age and she knew many men like him. She understood that these terrorists acted as if on behalf of Allah, counting on their brutal violence as validating "a one way ticket to Heaven." She accuses "stupid analysts," especially those who call themselves "Arabists," as spinners of fairy tales, who know nothing about the reality of the Islamists but blindly defend Islam as "a religion of peace and tolerance." Those who look for reasons everywhere but in the Koran to explain Osama bin Laden and his followers are like those who would analyze Lenin and Stalin without reading the works of Karl Marx.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali lives somewhere in Washington and works to expand her forum at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. Each chapter in her book "Infidel" reads like a perverse version of "Tales of the Arabian Nights." Muslims, she insists, can transform their religion into one of peace, but they have a long way to go. Well-meaning friends in the West can help by appreciating the difference between fancy and fact, between myth and reality.
The Washington Times
February 18, 2007
The Darfur Disease Comes to Visit
February 18, 2007: The Ethiopian government said that the UN had failed to stop Eritrea from sending troops and armor into the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ), which separates Eritrea and Ethiopian military positions. The action Ethiopia criticized is old news. It took place last fall when Eritrea sent 1500 troops and 14 tanks (a company) into the TSZ. Initial reports said that Eritrea had sent 10,000 soldiers (troops backed by militia organizations). That proved to be incorrect. However, Eritrea did send a significant number of forces into the demilitarized zone and the UN did not force Eritrea to pull out. Ethiopia complained when the action took place – so why is Ethiopia complaining now? Eritrea has spent the last ten weeks accusing Ethiopia of "aggression" and "imperialism" for attacking the Islamic Courts in Somalia. Ethiopia did indeed attack the Islamic Courts militia and dealt the Islamists a huge defeat. This was also a huge defeat for Eritrea, which backed the Islamic Courts. The Ethiopian complaints call attention to Eritrean military violations of a ceasefire and demilitarization agreement. However, in the larger context, this could be a diplomatic signal that Ethiopia is once again interested in resolving the border dispute with Eritrea. Ethiopia may believe it is in the politically superior position after its victory in Somalia.
February 16, 2007: Hundred of people belonging to the Borana and Gabra tribes have fled across the border into Kenya. These Ethiopian tribes are cattle-herding pastoralists. In the past they have clashed over pasturing rights. This is the same kind of fighting that has torn Darfur apart, and is common throughout the semi-arid Sahel region (the stretches across Africa, just south of the Sahara desert.) However, in this case, both tribes are herders, and both are ethnically related. In Darfur, it's Arab herders versus black African farmers.
February 15, 2007: T the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a rebel group operating in Ethiopia, claimed that 33 people died in the "inter-clan" fighting. The OLF statement said that the Ethiopian government provoked the fighting between the clans.
February 13, 2007: There was an outbreak of tribal fighting in Ethiopia's Ogaden desert region. The clash involved the Borana and Gabra.
February 10, 2007: The Ethiopian government asked the government of Turkey to consider providing troops to serve with a peacekeeping force in Somalia. Ethiopia intends to withdraw its troop units in Somalia by the end of March 2007.
Strategy Page
February 16, 2007: Hundred of people belonging to the Borana and Gabra tribes have fled across the border into Kenya. These Ethiopian tribes are cattle-herding pastoralists. In the past they have clashed over pasturing rights. This is the same kind of fighting that has torn Darfur apart, and is common throughout the semi-arid Sahel region (the stretches across Africa, just south of the Sahara desert.) However, in this case, both tribes are herders, and both are ethnically related. In Darfur, it's Arab herders versus black African farmers.
February 15, 2007: T the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a rebel group operating in Ethiopia, claimed that 33 people died in the "inter-clan" fighting. The OLF statement said that the Ethiopian government provoked the fighting between the clans.
February 13, 2007: There was an outbreak of tribal fighting in Ethiopia's Ogaden desert region. The clash involved the Borana and Gabra.
February 10, 2007: The Ethiopian government asked the government of Turkey to consider providing troops to serve with a peacekeeping force in Somalia. Ethiopia intends to withdraw its troop units in Somalia by the end of March 2007.
Strategy Page
February 17, 2007
More Ethiopian diplomats defect
Indian Ocean Newsletter N° 1208 17/02/2007
More Ethiopian diplomats have defected, bringing the total that has decided to leave the diplomatic service to seventy three. The latest to ditch the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and ask for political asylum in the United States is Ambassador Tayework Tilahun, who was his country’s consular attaché in Kuwait. Recently a staff member of the Ethiopian embassy in Ottawa (Canada), Dereje Ejigu, decided to do likewise. Several employees of embassies in London, Geneva, Stockholm and Paris, have defected the last few years.
Bekele sets world Record in indoor 2,000 meters
Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia set a world record for the indoor 2,000 meters of four minutes, 49.99 seconds at the Norwich Union Grand Prix on Saturday, beating a nine-year-old mark of Haile Gebrselassie.
BIRMINGHAM, England -- Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia set a world record for the indoor 2,000 meters of four minutes, 49.99 seconds at the Norwich Union Grand Prix on Saturday, beating Haile Gebrselassie's 9-year-old mark.
But there was disappointment for Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva and American sprinter Xavier Carter in the 400 meters, who had hoped to set records here.
After winning the men's 400, Carter was disqualified for stepping out of his lane before overtaking Robert Tobin of Britain just ahead of the line. Tobin won with 46.07.
"I have no idea why I was disqualified," Carter said. "It's a bit shocking to me because personally I think I ran the race how it was supposed to be ran. I never felt myself stepping on the line. I didn't feel myself breaking into it."
Isinbayeva failed to beat the world mark she set at the "Pole Vault Stars" in Ukraine last week, but a leap of 15 feet, 6inches was enough to land the 24-year-old Russian her third successive victory.
"I had problems with my run-up," Isinbayeva said. "Sometimes I was quick, sometimes I was slower. It was all a bit inconsistent."
Bekele, the Olympic champion and world record holder for 5,000 meters, set the world record running at the same National Indoor Arena where Gebrselassie ran his 4:52.86 in February 1998.
"It makes me very happy after all the hard work," Bekele said. "The previous record was very difficult, but I knew I was in good shape to beat it."
www.6abc.com
BIRMINGHAM, England -- Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia set a world record for the indoor 2,000 meters of four minutes, 49.99 seconds at the Norwich Union Grand Prix on Saturday, beating Haile Gebrselassie's 9-year-old mark.
But there was disappointment for Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva and American sprinter Xavier Carter in the 400 meters, who had hoped to set records here.
After winning the men's 400, Carter was disqualified for stepping out of his lane before overtaking Robert Tobin of Britain just ahead of the line. Tobin won with 46.07.
"I have no idea why I was disqualified," Carter said. "It's a bit shocking to me because personally I think I ran the race how it was supposed to be ran. I never felt myself stepping on the line. I didn't feel myself breaking into it."
Isinbayeva failed to beat the world mark she set at the "Pole Vault Stars" in Ukraine last week, but a leap of 15 feet, 6inches was enough to land the 24-year-old Russian her third successive victory.
"I had problems with my run-up," Isinbayeva said. "Sometimes I was quick, sometimes I was slower. It was all a bit inconsistent."
Bekele, the Olympic champion and world record holder for 5,000 meters, set the world record running at the same National Indoor Arena where Gebrselassie ran his 4:52.86 in February 1998.
"It makes me very happy after all the hard work," Bekele said. "The previous record was very difficult, but I knew I was in good shape to beat it."
www.6abc.com
Bush's Somalia strategy and the Ethiopian despot
Bush's Somalia strategy and the Ethiopian despot
The Bush administration is all too happy to overlook the undemocratic excesses of Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi, who has pledged his support for Bush's "war on terror,” says Paul Wachter.
It may be too early to tell what, if anything, has been accomplished by the recent US-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, but at least on the streets of Addis Ababa one thing has become clear. Here in the Horn of Africa, as elsewhere, Washington is all too happy to overlook the undemocratic excesses of a dictator who will do its bidding in the "war on terror."
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has ruled Ethiopia since 1991, when his minority ethnic guerrilla group, the Tigray People's Liberation Front, overthrew the country's post-imperial Communist regime, the Dergue, which had murdered, tortured and imprisoned tens of thousands during its brutal seventeen years in power. Like most contemporary resistance groups in Ethiopia, the TPLF began as a Marxist-Leninist
party.
But by the time its fighters marched into Addis Ababa, Meles had realized the global political winds had changed and that he would be better off with patronage from Washington and London. "So Meles started talking about free elections and free markets - anything that was sweet to American ears," said Merera Gudina, an opposition parliamentarian and political scientist at Addis Ababa University.
Meles's ideological switch has paid off. By introducing several Western-friendly economic reforms, he was applauded by President Clinton as a sterling example of the "new generation" of African leaders and later by President Bush as one of the "strong friends of America." Development gurus chimed in. Meles combined "intellectual attributes with personal integrity: no one doubted his honesty and there were few accusations of corruption within his government," wrote Joseph Stiglitz in his 2002 book Globalization and Its Discontents.
But Meles is corrupt. He has turned the state and its resources into a trough for the ruling umbrella party, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), in which the TPLF is pre-eminent. To take just one example, when Ethiopia's auditor general, Lema Aregaw, reported last year that about $600 million in state funds were unaccounted for, mainly in regional coffers, Meles fired him and publicly defended the regional administrations' "right to burn money."
Meles enjoys little support from Ethiopia's two largest ethnic groups, the Oromo and Amhara. Instead, he has appointed Tigrayans to the most important and sensitive government positions. But even among Tigrayans, who account for only 7 percent of the population, his support is waning. "The people are sick of the corruption, about the lack of government services, and they only support Meles out of fear," said Gabro Asrat, the former governor of Tigray. Asrat and several other top TPLF officials were expelled from the party in 2001, after they called for an inquiry into the handling of the disastrous 1998-2000 war with Eritrea. Meles, with no trace of irony, justified their dismissal as part of a crackdown on corruption within the party.
In 2005, Meles's transgressions at last came to the world's attention during that year's parliamentary elections. The two previous contests, in 1995 and 2000, had largely been boycotted by the opposition, which felt the election process was heavily rigged in the government's favor. But in 2005 Meles opened up the process a little, granting opposition parties some access to the media and allowing international observers to monitor the vote. Still, in the run-up to the elections, "there were arrests, beatings and intimidation of candidates and supporters from the two main opposition groupings," reported Amnesty International.
Uncowed, 90 percent of eligible Ethiopians cast ballots on May 15. But as it became clear that the ruling party was in danger of losing power, the government stopped the vote counting and moved to manipulate the results. The partisan National Electoral Board called for reruns in thirty-one "disputed" areas. Amid even greater intimidation and violence, many EPRDF candidates regained their seats. During subsequent mass protests, on June 8 and November 1, police opened fire, killing 193 according to the government's own report. Meles had scores of opposition leaders and journalists arrested, and about 100 face charges of treason. Meanwhile, thousands more have been detained. Virtually all independent media has been shut down, and the new EPRDF-dominated Parliament remains a rubber stamp. The government continues to face limited armed resistance from two ethnic rebel groups, the Oromo Liberation Front and Ogaden National Liberation Front, but its most vocal opposition comes from Ethiopians in diaspora, particularly the relatively wealthy Ethiopian communities in the United States.
And yet for all his abuses, Meles remains our friend. In July 2006, US Representatives Chris Smith and Donald Payne introduced a bill to cut US military aid to Ethiopia unless it ended political repression. But the bill was quashed by Republican leaders doing Bush's bidding.
After all, Meles had pledged his support for the President's war on terror. And after it became clear that CIA-funded warlords in Somalia - including one whose militia killed eighteen American troops in 1993 - could not defeat that country's Islamic Courts Union, Washington turned to Meles to make good on his pledge. (Gen. John Abizaid's early December meeting with Meles in Addis Ababa is believed to have been the final go-ahead.)
The invasion was a rout. But it also was very unpopular in Ethiopia. "Somalia is not a threat to Ethiopia," said Negasso Gidada, the former Ethiopian president who served alongside Meles but recently has emerged as one of the prime minister's most outspoken critics.
"The Somalis didn't attack us, so why are we fighting them?"
Most felt that the attack was a diversion, both for Bush, from Iraq, and for Meles, from international scrutiny of his domestic affairs.
Bush's gambit may not have worked: Already, as Ethiopian troops withdraw, the Islamic Courts are regrouping, and there is little hope that the US-backed transitional government, a fractious collection of warlords, can hold Somalia together.
But for Meles, Somalia wasn't the risk. It was the prospect of losing Washington's support, and the Somalia adventure helped insure that didn't happen. "What I can't understand is why the Americans fall for this," Gudina said. "Do they think that if Meles was gone and terrorists attacked Ethiopia, that we wouldn't respond?"
It's a hypothetical Bush seems not to have pondered. And so Meles is further emboldened, a Washington-backed Big Man who now has ruled Ethiopia for as long as the Communist dictatorship he deposed.
Paul Wachter is a free lance journalist and lives in New York. He is writing a novel set in Beirut, where he lived for four years.
Middle East Online
The Bush administration is all too happy to overlook the undemocratic excesses of Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi, who has pledged his support for Bush's "war on terror,” says Paul Wachter.
It may be too early to tell what, if anything, has been accomplished by the recent US-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, but at least on the streets of Addis Ababa one thing has become clear. Here in the Horn of Africa, as elsewhere, Washington is all too happy to overlook the undemocratic excesses of a dictator who will do its bidding in the "war on terror."
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has ruled Ethiopia since 1991, when his minority ethnic guerrilla group, the Tigray People's Liberation Front, overthrew the country's post-imperial Communist regime, the Dergue, which had murdered, tortured and imprisoned tens of thousands during its brutal seventeen years in power. Like most contemporary resistance groups in Ethiopia, the TPLF began as a Marxist-Leninist
party.
But by the time its fighters marched into Addis Ababa, Meles had realized the global political winds had changed and that he would be better off with patronage from Washington and London. "So Meles started talking about free elections and free markets - anything that was sweet to American ears," said Merera Gudina, an opposition parliamentarian and political scientist at Addis Ababa University.
Meles's ideological switch has paid off. By introducing several Western-friendly economic reforms, he was applauded by President Clinton as a sterling example of the "new generation" of African leaders and later by President Bush as one of the "strong friends of America." Development gurus chimed in. Meles combined "intellectual attributes with personal integrity: no one doubted his honesty and there were few accusations of corruption within his government," wrote Joseph Stiglitz in his 2002 book Globalization and Its Discontents.
But Meles is corrupt. He has turned the state and its resources into a trough for the ruling umbrella party, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), in which the TPLF is pre-eminent. To take just one example, when Ethiopia's auditor general, Lema Aregaw, reported last year that about $600 million in state funds were unaccounted for, mainly in regional coffers, Meles fired him and publicly defended the regional administrations' "right to burn money."
Meles enjoys little support from Ethiopia's two largest ethnic groups, the Oromo and Amhara. Instead, he has appointed Tigrayans to the most important and sensitive government positions. But even among Tigrayans, who account for only 7 percent of the population, his support is waning. "The people are sick of the corruption, about the lack of government services, and they only support Meles out of fear," said Gabro Asrat, the former governor of Tigray. Asrat and several other top TPLF officials were expelled from the party in 2001, after they called for an inquiry into the handling of the disastrous 1998-2000 war with Eritrea. Meles, with no trace of irony, justified their dismissal as part of a crackdown on corruption within the party.
In 2005, Meles's transgressions at last came to the world's attention during that year's parliamentary elections. The two previous contests, in 1995 and 2000, had largely been boycotted by the opposition, which felt the election process was heavily rigged in the government's favor. But in 2005 Meles opened up the process a little, granting opposition parties some access to the media and allowing international observers to monitor the vote. Still, in the run-up to the elections, "there were arrests, beatings and intimidation of candidates and supporters from the two main opposition groupings," reported Amnesty International.
Uncowed, 90 percent of eligible Ethiopians cast ballots on May 15. But as it became clear that the ruling party was in danger of losing power, the government stopped the vote counting and moved to manipulate the results. The partisan National Electoral Board called for reruns in thirty-one "disputed" areas. Amid even greater intimidation and violence, many EPRDF candidates regained their seats. During subsequent mass protests, on June 8 and November 1, police opened fire, killing 193 according to the government's own report. Meles had scores of opposition leaders and journalists arrested, and about 100 face charges of treason. Meanwhile, thousands more have been detained. Virtually all independent media has been shut down, and the new EPRDF-dominated Parliament remains a rubber stamp. The government continues to face limited armed resistance from two ethnic rebel groups, the Oromo Liberation Front and Ogaden National Liberation Front, but its most vocal opposition comes from Ethiopians in diaspora, particularly the relatively wealthy Ethiopian communities in the United States.
And yet for all his abuses, Meles remains our friend. In July 2006, US Representatives Chris Smith and Donald Payne introduced a bill to cut US military aid to Ethiopia unless it ended political repression. But the bill was quashed by Republican leaders doing Bush's bidding.
After all, Meles had pledged his support for the President's war on terror. And after it became clear that CIA-funded warlords in Somalia - including one whose militia killed eighteen American troops in 1993 - could not defeat that country's Islamic Courts Union, Washington turned to Meles to make good on his pledge. (Gen. John Abizaid's early December meeting with Meles in Addis Ababa is believed to have been the final go-ahead.)
The invasion was a rout. But it also was very unpopular in Ethiopia. "Somalia is not a threat to Ethiopia," said Negasso Gidada, the former Ethiopian president who served alongside Meles but recently has emerged as one of the prime minister's most outspoken critics.
"The Somalis didn't attack us, so why are we fighting them?"
Most felt that the attack was a diversion, both for Bush, from Iraq, and for Meles, from international scrutiny of his domestic affairs.
Bush's gambit may not have worked: Already, as Ethiopian troops withdraw, the Islamic Courts are regrouping, and there is little hope that the US-backed transitional government, a fractious collection of warlords, can hold Somalia together.
But for Meles, Somalia wasn't the risk. It was the prospect of losing Washington's support, and the Somalia adventure helped insure that didn't happen. "What I can't understand is why the Americans fall for this," Gudina said. "Do they think that if Meles was gone and terrorists attacked Ethiopia, that we wouldn't respond?"
It's a hypothetical Bush seems not to have pondered. And so Meles is further emboldened, a Washington-backed Big Man who now has ruled Ethiopia for as long as the Communist dictatorship he deposed.
Paul Wachter is a free lance journalist and lives in New York. He is writing a novel set in Beirut, where he lived for four years.
Middle East Online
With Ethiopian TV Network, ex-pats find voice
2/17/2007
From THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALEXANDRIA
--After three decades as a prominent reporter in Ethiopia, the arrests and jailings--punishment for articles deemed critical of the government--became too much for Mulugeta Lule. He fled his country and now works for a District parking company.
Tamagne Beyene was a famed entertainer who toured Ethiopia's stages and arenas. But he gave up that life for refuge in Alexandria after his public jokes about the government led to jail time and police beatings.
Nebiyu Eyassu published articles in his Addis Ababa magazine censuring government policies and was rewarded with criminal charges of incitement. Today, he oversees airport buses in Northern Virginia, where his closest tie to the profession he abandoned a decade ago is through the fictional journalist in a novel he is writing.
Until recently.
Now these men and other political exiles whose words were stifled in Ethiopia are reclaiming their voices here. In an unmarked warehouse off a gritty Alexandria street, they are creating a medium to reach out to their homeland: a 24-hour, independent TV network about Ethiopia and its people.
By March 1, they hope to speak again to the more than 100,000 Ethiopian expatriates living in North America--via satellite broadcasts of news and political analysis, educational programs and entertainment recorded mostly in Amharic. Eventually, they say, the Ethiopian Television Network, produced from the safety of a studio half a world away, will extend into Ethiopian homes.
"Land of opportunity," Beyene, 42, said of America while standing in the studio's production room, where he has recorded several episodes of a Jay Leno-style talk show for ETN. "You can say what you want to say and no prison."
For ETN reporters and hosts, many of whom have been granted political asylum, the network represents a professional renaissance and the chance to report freely on Ethiopian issues, even if from afar.
Success or failure, the station will be a milestone for U.S.-based Ethiopians, who had to turn to the Internet, radio or government-run satellite television for Amharic-language news about their country's recent invasion of Somalia. And it is a sign of the vitality of the Washington region's Ethiopian population, the nation's largest.
Under the bright lights of the production studio, Beyene described a satirical 2005 DVD he made. In it, he pretended to interview Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, then spliced in comments Zenawi had made in real interviews. In one of his favorite parts, Beyene asks Meles how he rules his country. Meles' response: By instinct.
Beyene said he read on the Internet that because of the DVD, which had been distributed in Ethiopia, he was charged in absentia with treason and genocide.
www.Fredericksburg.com
From THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALEXANDRIA
--After three decades as a prominent reporter in Ethiopia, the arrests and jailings--punishment for articles deemed critical of the government--became too much for Mulugeta Lule. He fled his country and now works for a District parking company.
Tamagne Beyene was a famed entertainer who toured Ethiopia's stages and arenas. But he gave up that life for refuge in Alexandria after his public jokes about the government led to jail time and police beatings.
Nebiyu Eyassu published articles in his Addis Ababa magazine censuring government policies and was rewarded with criminal charges of incitement. Today, he oversees airport buses in Northern Virginia, where his closest tie to the profession he abandoned a decade ago is through the fictional journalist in a novel he is writing.
Until recently.
Now these men and other political exiles whose words were stifled in Ethiopia are reclaiming their voices here. In an unmarked warehouse off a gritty Alexandria street, they are creating a medium to reach out to their homeland: a 24-hour, independent TV network about Ethiopia and its people.
By March 1, they hope to speak again to the more than 100,000 Ethiopian expatriates living in North America--via satellite broadcasts of news and political analysis, educational programs and entertainment recorded mostly in Amharic. Eventually, they say, the Ethiopian Television Network, produced from the safety of a studio half a world away, will extend into Ethiopian homes.
"Land of opportunity," Beyene, 42, said of America while standing in the studio's production room, where he has recorded several episodes of a Jay Leno-style talk show for ETN. "You can say what you want to say and no prison."
For ETN reporters and hosts, many of whom have been granted political asylum, the network represents a professional renaissance and the chance to report freely on Ethiopian issues, even if from afar.
Success or failure, the station will be a milestone for U.S.-based Ethiopians, who had to turn to the Internet, radio or government-run satellite television for Amharic-language news about their country's recent invasion of Somalia. And it is a sign of the vitality of the Washington region's Ethiopian population, the nation's largest.
Under the bright lights of the production studio, Beyene described a satirical 2005 DVD he made. In it, he pretended to interview Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, then spliced in comments Zenawi had made in real interviews. In one of his favorite parts, Beyene asks Meles how he rules his country. Meles' response: By instinct.
Beyene said he read on the Internet that because of the DVD, which had been distributed in Ethiopia, he was charged in absentia with treason and genocide.
www.Fredericksburg.com
February 16, 2007
Confussion in Addis: Meles Zenawi says "the Ethio- Eritrea Boundary Commission was illegal
5 years after the decission of the Ethio- Eritrea Boundary Commission, Meles Zenawi claims "the commission was illegal"
Addis Ababa (HAN) February 16th, 2007 - The current Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said it was inappropriate for the UN Security Council to fail to take measure when Eritrean troops crossed temporary security zone between the two neighboring countreies.
With his diplomatic chatting with UN Security Council Special Envoy for Belgium Pierre Chevalier here on Wednesday, Meles said the Security Council need to discharge its responsibilities appropriately.
He said though the decision passed by the Ethio-Eritrea Boundary Commission was illegal, Ethiopia has accepted the decision in principle forever.
However, Meles said, the issue of the demarcation of the boarder should resolved through dialogue; between Ethiopia and Eritrean future leadership.
He said the people and government of Ethiopia have strong desire to resolve the boarder dispute between the two countries peacefully. Meles said though Eritrea had failed to defeat Ethiopia through war, it has been attempting to destabilize Ethiopia, which he said, was also futile.
Chevalier told journalists after the talks that Belgium became non-permanent member of the Security Council since last January.
He said as member of the Council Belgium would hold discussions with the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea to address the problem regarding the boarder dispute.
His talks with Meles was part of that discussion, he said, adding that he understood the position of Ethiopia now from his talks with Meles.
He said if there is good will among the two countries, the issue of the Ethio-Eritrea border dispute would be resolved peacefully.
He said his talks with Meles regarding the situation in Somalia and Darfur was constructive, according to Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Source: Geeskaa Afrika
*****************************************************************************
Few Questions from OromiaTimes:
>>>>> How long it takes to have the so-called "future leaderships" of Ethiopia and Eritrea to resolve the boundary issue?
>>>>> These days, the TPLF rulers are organizing the meeting of Eritrean opposition forces in Finfinnee. What will be next?
>>>>> At the same time Qinijit (CUD) and its supporters are organizing a world wide demonstration against the arrest of CUD leadership under the moto "free our leaders".
>>>>> After he (Meles) rallied ethiopian troops with the support of USA deep in to Somalia, Meles claims again on Waltainfo "Security Council's Failure To Take Measure On Eritrea Inappropriate". What measure is he talking about?
Addis Ababa (HAN) February 16th, 2007 - The current Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said it was inappropriate for the UN Security Council to fail to take measure when Eritrean troops crossed temporary security zone between the two neighboring countreies.
With his diplomatic chatting with UN Security Council Special Envoy for Belgium Pierre Chevalier here on Wednesday, Meles said the Security Council need to discharge its responsibilities appropriately.
He said though the decision passed by the Ethio-Eritrea Boundary Commission was illegal, Ethiopia has accepted the decision in principle forever.
However, Meles said, the issue of the demarcation of the boarder should resolved through dialogue; between Ethiopia and Eritrean future leadership.
He said the people and government of Ethiopia have strong desire to resolve the boarder dispute between the two countries peacefully. Meles said though Eritrea had failed to defeat Ethiopia through war, it has been attempting to destabilize Ethiopia, which he said, was also futile.
Chevalier told journalists after the talks that Belgium became non-permanent member of the Security Council since last January.
He said as member of the Council Belgium would hold discussions with the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea to address the problem regarding the boarder dispute.
His talks with Meles was part of that discussion, he said, adding that he understood the position of Ethiopia now from his talks with Meles.
He said if there is good will among the two countries, the issue of the Ethio-Eritrea border dispute would be resolved peacefully.
He said his talks with Meles regarding the situation in Somalia and Darfur was constructive, according to Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Source: Geeskaa Afrika
*****************************************************************************
Few Questions from OromiaTimes:
>>>>> How long it takes to have the so-called "future leaderships" of Ethiopia and Eritrea to resolve the boundary issue?
>>>>> These days, the TPLF rulers are organizing the meeting of Eritrean opposition forces in Finfinnee. What will be next?
>>>>> At the same time Qinijit (CUD) and its supporters are organizing a world wide demonstration against the arrest of CUD leadership under the moto "free our leaders".
>>>>> After he (Meles) rallied ethiopian troops with the support of USA deep in to Somalia, Meles claims again on Waltainfo "Security Council's Failure To Take Measure On Eritrea Inappropriate". What measure is he talking about?
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