A must-watch ESAT Special on Ginbot 7 Meeting in Washington DC (Part 1)

     September 26, 2013           

 

Editor’s Note: On Sunday September 22, 2013, the Ginbot 7 leadership had a very revealing and open discussion in Washington DC meeting like it has never had before . As you know, the issue of working with Eritrea has been a bone in the throat for G7 as well as for its supporters around the world. Many have argued against using Eritrea as a spring board to wage an armed struggle against TPLF.
Opponents claim that Eritrea can not be trusted based on their experience with Isayas Afeworki so far and his public rhetoric as it relates to Ethiopia. They may have a point. But the problem is that they don’t practice the position they defend or argue for. They don’t provide an alternative and actually implement that alternative. For example, they don’t answer to the question of where to wage an armed struggle and show us the way by an example.  They don’t. For instance, what don’t they find a place within Ethiopia and wage an armed struggle? What do they go and practice what they preach instead of simply analyzing and arguing from the comfort of their homes in the West. What they do is simply disagree and sometimes with bitterness and even animosity against G7 position towards Eritrea.
Instead of making an honest and logical attempt to convince and win our support, those who oppose G7′s position in Eritrea use intimidation, name callings, insults, put downs and inuendos to impose their opinion on G7 and its supporters. But the irony is that these forces claim to believe and fight for democracy in Ethiopia and yet they impose their position on others. G7 has repeatedly expressed the right of any political entity to follow a path it believes in without imposing its policy or belief on any one else except asking their support.

G7 has often made clear that it does not oppose other political parties who pursue a political path different than its own. It is interesting whether we know how to win support with a clean logical argument backed by results in the ground instead of an endless ineundos and name callings. 
Those who opposes G7 are not all  in the same wave length. Pro-TPLF mercenaries like Awramba Times editor are going against G7 to accomplish their paid assignments. There is no surprise about them. They are part of the package. There is also a second group that questions and suspects a multi-national political force like G7 for fear of revenge by TPLF victims in the form of genocide or a lesser nationwide violence against the Tigrian population.
 These group has a legitmate fear. But opposing such a political force as G7 is not a solution to their fear. In fact, a force such as G7, if strengthened, may help stabilize the country by preventing a possible chaos and ethnic violence in Ethiopia when TPLF collapses.
And there is a third group. These are political organizations who are competing for power in Ethiopia after TPLF. They believe if they don’t cook the dish, it does not taste good. They want power at any cost and by any means necessary. They are ego-driven and uncompromising. Nothing satisfies them until they are in power to implement their belief. They oppose everything any opponent does. They deliberately or honestly believe that truth is on their side. Doing so is wounding their ego and it is relinquishing the possibility of power in Ethiopia.

There is one final group which I consider innocent but suspicious. Our story with Eritrea is full of suspicions and actual heart-breaking experience due to the war waged between Ethiopia and Eritrea for over 40 years now. They don’t trust anything related to Eritrea no matter who said what including God. These group has a legitmate concern but suspicion should not tie our hands and prevent us from doing what needs to be done. Our situation today is desperate. TPLF has done and still doing all it can to destroy our people and country. These suspicioius group should know that there are times in life when you have to do what you got to do to get out of a rock and hard place by swallowing our pride and controlling our suspicion.There is a saying in our country,” ቀን እስኪአልፍልህ የአባትህ ባርያ ይግዛህ” that we should follow. These group has no alternative except to give it a try while holding its suspicions. At this point, all of us have one universal enemy. And we have to focus on it. And that is TPLF. And it is wise to talk about our differences after we free Ethiopia from TPLF by any means necessary.

The G7 leadership has directly presented the question in a ‘take it or leave’ it manner to the audience and the Diaspora watching on ESAT.

Click the image above to watch the G7 meeting in DC on September 22, 2013
Ato Andargachew Tsige, secretary of G7, has explained in detail about the Eritrean question during the meeting. It may be hard to tell if every body is convinced. With all their suspicions remaining, there is no doubt many may be considering to give G7′s policy on Eritrea a chance, if it has any possibility of working, given the dire and critical circumstances Ethiopia has found itself at this time. 
There is no sure thing in life as well as in struggle. You take chances and you take risks. Not a blind risk but a pragmatic one based on the circumstances you found yourself boxed in. Not taking that risk, no matter how difficult, is committing a self-inflicted suicide. You put all your options on the table. And you pick the one with the least risk. And then you move on.
 And if not, the choice is to get stuck in some meaningless and fruitless activity and continue to waste time, money and even lives for nothing and finally give up and be forgotten. G7 seems to have made a decision to take the least risky option, according to Ato Andargachew Tsige, and is pursuing it with resolve. 
And for those of us with an apposing view, let us do what we believe in without imposing our position on G7 and its policy towards Eritrea. According to Ato Andargachew Tsige, G7 is not imposing its position on any person or political entity. He said they don’t oppose the positions other political organizations are taking when it comes to Eritrea or any other political position.
The take home message is that, we in the opposition camp, should all follow our individual political choices in our quest to remove TPLF from power without attacking each other. We all don’t have to come to the same conclusion. Let us just disagree without being disagreeable. There is no need to vehemently be involved in slash and burn campaign against a position we don’t agree on. First, it is not democratic. Second, it is nasty. We will sound like the dictators we claim to hate like Mensgistu and Meles. No one party or person has the monopoly on the truth of what works best to bring TPLF down. The only way to establish that truth is based on the results of a given policy on the ground. And let us all give a chance, with patience, to see what works with our suspicions still intact

እንደ ቆራጥ ንስር ፓይለቶቹ…

September 26, 2013
ባለፈው ሳምንት በኢትዮጵያውያን ዘንድ ዋና የመነጋገሪያ አርዕስት የነበረው አራት የአየር ሃይል አብራሪዎችና አስልጣኝ መኮንኖች ከዘረኞቹና ከዘራፊዎቹ ጎራ ወጥተው ወደ ነፃነት ታጋዮች ጎራ የመቀላቀላቸው ጉዳይ ነበር። እነዚህ ቆራጥና አገር ወዳድ አብራረዎች የወሰዱት እርምጃ ወገንን የሚያኮራና ከፍተኛ ጀግንነትን የሚጠይቅ ትልቅ ውሳኔ ነው።ይህ ውሳኔ ሰው ባጣች አገር፤ጀግና ባጣች አገር፤ለአገር ለወገን ተቆርቋሪ ባጣች አገር ውስጥ ትልቅ ተስፋ ሰጪ ነው። የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ በያለበት በተለያየ መንገድ ይህን የጀግና ውሳኔ የወሰኑ ልጆቹን እያደነቀም እያመሰገነም ይገኛል::

የግንቦት ሰባት ንቅናቄም ይህን የጀግና ውስኔ የወሰኑ ወንድሞቹን እንኳን ተወለዳችሁ፤ እንኳንም ተማራችሁ፤ እንኳንም ወደ ነፃነቱ ትግል ተቀላቀላችሁ እያለ ደስታውንና ለጀግኖቹ ያለዉን ከፍተኛ አክብሮት ይገልፃል። ውሳኔያችሁ ከፈርዖን ቤተ-መንግስት ምቾት ይልቅ ከህዝቤ ጋር መሰደደ ይሻለኛል ያለውን የታላቁን ሰው የሙሴን ውሳኔ ይመስላልና የወሰዳችሁትን ትክክለኛ እርምጃ ትውልድ ምን ግዜም አይረሳዉም።

የእነዚህ ቆራጥ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ልጆች፣ ሙያና ችሎታ ስጋዊ የሆነ ፍላጎታቸውን ለማርካት ከበቂ በላይ ነው።ከዘረኞቹና ከቃየላውያኑ ቡድኖች ጋር እየተሞዳሞዱ ለመኖርም የሚሳናቸው አልነበሩም።ሆኖም ግን ዘረኞቹ(ህወሃቶች) የሚፈፅሙትን ግፍ ተሸክመው ፤ብኩርናቸውን ሽጠው እና ከሰው ተራ ወርደው ለመኖር ሂሊናችው አልፈቀደላቸውም።ለሚበላና ለሚጠጣ ከንቱ ነገር ብለው ጥቂት ዘረኞችን ተሸክሞ ከመኖር ይልቅ የነፃነቱን መንገድ መርጠዋልና ጀግኖች ብለን ብናወድሳቸው ተገቢ ይሆናል። እንዲህ ዓይነቱን ውሳኔ የሚወስን ሃሞተ ኮስታራ ጀግና እንጂ ሌላ አይደለም።

አሁንም ለራሳችሁ ክብር ያላችሁና ተመሳሳይ እርምጃ ለመዉሰድ በዝግጅት ላይ የምትገኙ የአገር መከላከያ አባላት እንዳላችሁ እናውቃለን። ቅምጥሎቹ ጄኔራል ተብየዎች ከድሃ ወገኖቻችሁ ላይ የዘረፉትን ዘርፈው አገሪቷን ጥለው መሄድ ጀምረዋል። ቀሪዎችም የዘረፉትን የድሃ ንብረት ወደ ውጪ አገር እያሸሹ እንደሆነም ይታወቃል።በአጠቃላይ በእናንተ ምርኩዝነት አገራችንን እያፈራረሷት፤ህዝቧንም እያወረዷት ነው።የህዝቡም መከራና እሮሮ ተወርቶ የሚያልቅ አይደለም።እንዲህ አይነቱን ግፍና በደል እያዩ ከንፈር መምጠጥ እያበቃ ነው።እንግዲህ አሁን እኔ ብቻየን ምን አደርጋለሁ የሚባልበት ግዜ እያለፈ ነው።ጋሻ መከታ እና የኋላ ደጀን የሚሆኗችሁ ብዙ አገር ወዳድ ኢትዮጵያዉያን በየቦታው አሉ።ብትወድቁ የሚያነሷችሁ፤ብትደሙ ደማችሁን የሚያብሱላችሁ፤ብትሰው መስዋእትነታችሁን ለትውልድ የሚዘክሩላችሁ ወገን አለላችሁ።አትፍሩ። ከዘረኞቹ መንደር ወጥታችሁ የነፃነቱን ትግል እንድትቀላቀሉ ወገናዊ ጥሪያችንን እናቀርብላችኋለን።

ህውሃት ማለት የዘራፊዎች እና የጨካኝ ነፍሰ ገዳዮች ስብስብ መሆኑን ያለምንም ጥርጥር ማመን አለባችሁ።ህወሃት ስንቱን አርዶ፤ስንቱን ገድሎ፤ስንቱን አጥፍቶ፤የስንቱን ኑሮ በትኖ፤ስንቱን ዘርፎ ባዶ እጁን አስቀርቶ በትረ ስልጣኑን እንደያዘ ምስክር የሚያስፈልገን አይደለም።

የህውሃት ዘረኝነትና ዝሪፊያ የቆጨህ እና ለራስህ ክብር ያለህ ኢትዮጵያዊ ሁሉ ተነስተህ ትግሉን ተቀላቀል።እነዚህን ግፈኞች የሚፈፅሙትን በደል እያዩ ዝም ማለት ግፉን ከመደገፍ ተለይቶ የሚታይ አይደለም።እናንተ ለራሳችሁ፤ ለወገናችሁና ለአገራቸችሁ ክብር ያላችሁ ዜጎች ዝም በማለታችሁ ህወሃቶች ዝምታችሁን እንደ በጎ ፈቃድ ቆጥረውት የግፍ ሰይፋቸውን ወደ ሰገባው ሊመልሱ ፈቃደኞች አልሆኑም።በማን አለበኝነታችውም ፀንተው ቆመዋል።እነዚህን ግፈኞች በቃ ለማለት ግዜው ደርሷልና የነፃነቱን ትግል ሳትዘገዩ አሁኑኑ ተቀላቀሉ።

እኛም ወደ ነፃነት ትግሉ እንድትቀላቀሉ ጥሪ ስናደርግላችሁ ለአገራችን ክብርና ለወገኖቻችን በሰላም መኖር ስንል ቆርጠን የተነሳን መሆናችንን ልንገልጽላችሁ እንወዳለን።የግንቦት ሰባት ንቅናቄ በምንም ሁኔታ በዘረኞች እጅ ተንቆና ተዋርዶ መኖርን አይቀበልም።እንዲህ ዓይነቱን ውርደት ተቀብሎ ለመኖር ሰው መሆናችን ይከለክለናል።እነዚህን ዘራፊዎች ተሸክመን ከመኖር ከነፃነታችን ጋር አያቶቻችን በተሰውበት ተራራ ላይ ቆመን መሰዋትን እንመርጣለን።አሁን ተነስተናልና የሚያቆመን የለም። እግዚአብሄርም መንገዳችንን ያከናውንልናል። ኑ ሀገርን ለማዳን የነጻነት ትግሉን ጎራ ተቀላቀሉ።

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ!!

የዛሬው የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ሰልፍ ፎቶና የሚያሰሟቸው መፈክሮች በጥቂቱ !! September 22, 2013

የዛሬው የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ሰልፍ ፎቶና የሚያሰሟቸው መፈክሮች በጥቂቱ !!

September 22, 2013

በአሁኑ ሰዓት ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ከሶሰት ወር በፊት የጠራውን ሰልፍ እያካሄደ ይገኛል:: ሰልፉ በደማቅ ሁኔታ ተጀምሮ ነበር የሰልፉ መድረሻ መሰቀል አደባባይ ቢሆንም ሕዝቡ አራት ኪሎ አካባቢ ሲደርስ የአዲስ አበባ ፓሊሶች ሰልፈኛውን ወደ መሰቀል አደባባይ እንዳይሄድ ሲያግዱ የፌድራል ፓሊስ ደግሞ በርቀት እየተመለከተ ነው::ሰልፈኞቹ ወደ ስማያዊ ፓርቲ ቢሮ እንዲመለስ ተደርጓል ሕዝቡ ግን ድምጹን ከማሰማት ወደኋላ አላለም

ርዮት ትፈታ !! ውብሽት ይፈታ !! እሰክንድር ይፈታ !! አንዷለም ይፈታ !!! አቡበከር ይፈታ !!! ፍትህን መጠየቅ አሽባሪነት አይደለም !! ነፃነት እንፈልጋለን !! እኛ አሽባሪ አይደልንም !! ፍትሕ እንፈልጋለን !!! የሙሰሊም ኮሚቴ ይፈቱ !!! ዜጎችን ማፈናቀል አግባብ አይደለም !!! አንለያይም !!! አንለያይም !! ፍትህን ያሉ ቃልቲ ገቡ!! አሽባሪ አይደለንም !! ፍትህ ናፈቀኝ !! ድምፃችን ይሰማ!! ፍትሕ እያሉ ቃልቲ ገቡ !! ውሽት ሰለቸን !! ፍትህ ናፈቀን !!

ጠቀሚ እና ወሳኝ መረጃ በኢትዮዽያ ለምትገኙ የፌስቡክ ተጠቃሚዎች በሙሉ!

ጠቀሚ እና ወሳኝ መረጃ በኢትዮዽያ ለምትገኙ የፌስቡክ ተጠቃሚዎች በሙሉ!

ገዢው ፓርቲ በፌስቡክ ህዝብን ያነሳሳሉ ትግሉን ይመራሉ ብሎ ያሰባቸውን በኢትዮዽያ ውስጥ የሚገኙ ወጣት የፌስቡክ ተጠቃሚዎችን እና አክቲቪስቶችን ወደ ማእከላዊ ለመወርወር እየተዘጋጀ ነው።
ለስውር አላማው ይረዳው ዘንድ የonline user’s location finder ሶፍትዌር በስራ ላይ አውሏል።
ነገር ግን ይህ ሶፍትዌር የፌስቡክ ተጠቃሚዎችን
ትክክለኛ መገኛ እና ቦታ ይፋ ማድረግ የሚችለው
የፌስቡክ ተጠቃሚዎቹ ቻት በሚያደርጉበት ወቅት ነው።
እናም ኢትዬጵያ ውስጥ ያላቹህ ወንድሞች እና እህቶቻችን ፌስቡክ ስትጠቀሙ ቻቱን ኦፍ(off) በማድረግ እና የማታውቁትን ግለሰብ ቻት ባለማድረግ ከተንኮለኞች ሴራ እንጠበቅ፡፡

ከነፃነት ጐህ

ሰበር ዜና 4 የአየር ሀይል አብራሪዎች ግንቦት 7ትን ተቀላቀሉ

መስከረም ፰(ስምንት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-በኢትዮጵያ አየር ሀይል ውስጥ በማገልገል ላይ የሚገኙ አራት አብራሪዎች ፣ የበረራ አስተማሪዎች ስርአቱን ከድተው ግንቦት7ትን መቀላቀላቸው ታውቋል።

ከኢትዮጵያ አየር ሀይል በመለየት ግንቦት 7ትን መቀላቀላቸውን ለኢሳት ያረጋገጡት የበረራ ባለሙያዎች በአየር ሀይል ውስጥ የተንሰራፋውን ዘረኝነትና አድሮ ለርምጃው እንደገፋፋቸው አመልክተዋል።

በኢትዮጵያ አየር ሀይል ውስጥ ከዘረኝነትና አድሎው ባሻገር በሰራዊቱ ውስጥ የተስፋፋው ሙስና ተቋሙን ለቀው የነጻነት ታጋዮችን ለመቀላቀል እንዳስወሰናቸው ገልጸዋል።

በኢትዮጵያ አየር ሀይል ውስጥ በአብራሪትና በበረራ አስተማሪነት ሲያገለግሉ ቆይተው ስርአቱን የተለዩት አራቱ የበረራ ባለሙያዎች ካፒቴን አክሊሉ መዘነ፣ ካፒቴን ጥላሁን ቱፋ፣ ካፒቴን ጌቱ ወርቁና ካፒቴን ቢንአም ግዛው ናቸው።

በ1998 ኣም በሶማሊያ ከእስላማዊ ህብረት ሀይሎች ጋር በተደረገው ውጊያ ተሰታፊ እንዲሁም በዳርፉር የሰራዊት ማስከበር ተልእኮ የዘመቱት እነዚህ የበረራ ባለሙያዎች ሁለቱ ለከፍተኛ ትምህርት ከተላኩት ቻይና ተመልሰው ትግሉን መቀላቀላቸውን ሲገልጹ ሁለቱ ደግሞ ከሳምንት በፊት ድሬዳዋ ከሚገኘው የአየር ሀይል ምድብ ተነስተው ስርአቱን መክዳታቸው ተመልክቷል።

በቅርቡ የመረጃ መኮንን የነበረው ሻለቃ መሳፍንት ጥጋቡ ግንቦት7ትን መቀላቀሉን መዘገባችን ይታወሳል።

በአሁኑ ጊዜ በርካታ ወጣቶች ንቅናቄውን እየተቀላቀሉ መሆኑን የሚደርሱን መረጃዎች ያመለክታሉ። አንዳንድ እግረኛ የሰራዊት አባላትም ድርጅቱን እየተቀላቀሉና ለመቀላቀልም ጥያቄዎችን እያቀረቡ መሆኑን ለማወቅ ተችሎአል።

Please sign the petition Save Reeyot Alemu, Imprisoned International award winner Journalist.

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Ginbot 7 Popular Force fundraising event in oslo norway September,28, 2013

Ginbot 7 Popular Force fundraising event in oslo norway September,28, 2013. During this event representatives of the G7PF leadership will be present and the program of the event comprises, discussions, fundraising and entertaining activities Freedom, 
justice and democracy to all Ethiopians

ESAT Yesamintu Engida Ato Andargachew Tsege Sep. 2013 Part 2

ESAT shared a link.

ESAT Yesamintu Engida Ato Andargachew Tsege Sep. 2013 Part 2

ethsat.com

ዶ/ር ብርሃኑ ነጋ እና አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ ወቅታዊ ጉዳዮች ዙሪያ ከሕዝብ ጋር ሊወያዩ ነው

sep14,2013
(ዘ-ሐበሻ) የግንቦት 7 ንቅናቄ አመራር የሆኑት ዶ/ር ብርሃኑ ነጋ እና አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ እሁድ ሴፕቴምበር 22 ቀን 2013 በዋሽንግተን ዲሲ/ ቨርጂኒያ በወቅታዊ ጉዳዮች ላይ ለሕብረተሰቡ ገለጻ ለማድረግ ሕዝባዊ ስብሰባ መጥራታቸውን የመርሃ ግብሩ አዘጋጆች ለዘ-ሐበሻ በላኩት በራሪ ወረቀት አስታወቁ። “የወቅቱ የኢትዮጵያ ተጨባጭ ሁኔታና ለነፃነትና ለዴሞክራሲ የሚደረገው ትግል ላት ገለጻ ይደረጋል” በሚል በአርሊንግተን ቨርጂኒያ ከቀኑ 2 ሰዓት ጀምሮ የተጠራው ይኸው ሕዝባዊ የውይይት መድረክ ሰፊ የጥያቄና መልስ ክፍል ስለሚኖረው ማንኛውም ኢትዮጵያዊና ኢትዮጵያን ወዳጅ በመገኘት እንዲሳተፍ አዘጋጆቹ ጥሪያቸውን አቅርበዋል። ለዚህ ሕዝባዊ ውይይት መድረክ የመጥሪያ በራሪ ወረቀት የሚከተለው ነው።

Andargachew Tsige’s interview with ESAT, September 2013

September 9, 2013 | Filed underVideo | Posted by admin

Andargachew Tsige’s interview with ESAT, 04 September 2013

Andargachew Tsige’s interview with ESAT, 04 September 2013, Click here to listen to the interview

Esat interview Dr Birhanu Nega

Ginbot 7

Search in G7 Archive

Aid agencies accused of ignoring rights abuses in Ethiopia

Samuel Loewenberg

Several major aid agencies have been blamed for not addressing rights violations in Ethiopia, including those linked to their programmes in the country. Samuel Loewenberg reports.

The World Bank, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) have consistently failed to act on allegations of human rights abuses in Ethiopia, including ones that are tied to their aid programmes, according to new reports by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Oakland Institute, a California-based think tank.

The Ethiopia case is a microcosm of the issues regularly faced by wealthy western governments and international aid organisations attempting to provide health and other types of foreign assistance to governments with questionable records on issues like human rights, corruption, and governance. Ethiopia is one of the biggest recipients of foreign aid money, according to the Oakland Institute, receiving an average of US$3·5 billion a year from donors, which accounts for more than half of its national budget.

Ethiopia is often held up as an example of the success of foreign aid and global health programmes. The number of people requiring emergency food assistance, for example, has dropped from 15 million in 2003 to 5·6 million in 2012, according to USAID.

Full-size image (65K) Bloomberg via Getty Images

Food aid being delivered in Ethiopia from USAID, a major donor to the country

The reports raise troubling questions over alleged abuses—including beatings, rape, and murder—connected to the government's villagisation programme, described as being the forcible relocation of 1·5 million people to new villages where they are promised access to health services and infrastructure. Instead, the villagers find that they have been moved to arid areas without the promised services. Although the aid agencies do not directly support the villagisation programme, the billions of dollars they provide in development aid can be used by the government in myriad ways: money is fungible. The reports conclude that the aid agencies need to take responsibility for the effect their development money is having in Ethiopia. They also bring into question the accuracy of the country's health data and the issue of at what cost claimed successes are being achieved.

An HRW report on the programme from last year found that Ethiopian “state security forces [were] repeatedly threatening, assaulting, and arbitrarily arresting villagers who resist transfer”. The group claims to have found at least seven incidences when people died as a result of their beatings by government forces.

The Ethiopian Government has firmly denied all the allegations, describing them as politically motivated. DFID, the World Bank, and USAID say they have examined the allegations but have not found sufficient evidence of abuses or forced relocation.

According to the latest HRW report, however, “The Bank failed to appropriately monitor human rights risks related to the program, or to meaningfully respond to the concerns about such violations when they were identified by third parties”. The organisation urged Bank officials to explicitly make human rights part of its mandate and to develop standardised procedures for making sure its programmes do not directly or indirectly support such abuses.

The report by the Oakland Institute documents how officials from USAID and DFID, who were investigating claims of abuse, heard first-hand accounts from villagers recounting brutal treatment by Ethiopian authorities under the villagisation programme. But even after these reports the two agencies failed to act.

The Oakland Institute report's author, Will Hurd, worked as a translator for the assessment team interviewing villagers in the Lower Omo Valley, and includes transcripts of the agencies' interviews. One exchange, regarding the alleged appropriation of tribal land by the Ethiopian Government, is revealing: a villager tells the foreign representatives, “the Ethiopian Government comes and takes up all our land and give us violence, and they rape our wives…If they give us violence and we are killed off then the highlanders can take over the land.”

According to the transcript, one of the DFID representatives responded: “we agree that it's unacceptable, beatings and rapes and lack of consultation and proper compensation, to discuss plans, is something we will raise”. However, the representative continued, “we don't want to be here saying, yeah, we can go back and say to them ‘stop your plantations’ and they'll say ‘yes, okay, fine, because you think we should we will’, because that won't happen”.

The USAID representative added: “Yeah, I don't think we should raise expectations that we can do more than what we can.”

All three agencies tell The Lancet that they have not found evidence of abuses or forced relocation connected with their funding. “It is completely wrong to suggest that British development money is used to force people from their homes. Our assistance has helped millions of people in Ethiopia”, says a DFID spokesman. “We condemn all human rights abuses and, where we have evidence, we raise our concerns at the very highest level.”

Wahide Belay, the head of public diplomacy at the Embassy of Ethiopia in Washington, DC, dismisses the allegations of human rights abuses, and stressed his government's close ties to Britain and the USA. Although those governments had sometimes raised concerns, he says that it was an issue of cultural perspective. “Nobody in this world is perfect. We are building democracy”, said Belay. “Who said we are perfect ? But there is no deliberate stifling of human rights in Ethiopia, not at all.”

Anuradha Mittal, head of the Oakland Institute, says that donors should stop programmes tied to human rights abuses. They have made “a political choice” to continue their support, she says. “At what cost are we going to maintain this partnership? Are we going to look the other way when you have genuine accounts of human rights abuses?”

Despite the continued reports of abuses by the Ethiopian Government, the country, which is bordered by Somalia, Sudan, and Kenya, has been viewed by the USA as a crucial strategic ally in a region rocked by crises. A 2012 USAID report found that “the positive role played by Ethiopia within the Horn of Africa region is a strong basis for US constructive engagement with Ethiopia, despite problems such as the democracy deficit”.

USAID officials said that they have tried to address the human rights issues in Ethiopia and other countries through integrating their pro-democracy efforts within their development programmes. “The dilemma in all of these authoritarian settings, is how much through programming you can do to promote broader political space….You try and do as much as you can; in many cases you can't do much because the restrictions are so great to start with”, says David W Yang, the Director of the USAID's Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance. “For all policy makers around the world, you face a short-term trade-off about tactical implementation of your broad strategy.”

But the kind of trade-offs that foreign aid agencies frequently make to work with authoritarian regimes are ultimately counter-productive, says William Easterly, a professor of economics and the co-director of the Development Research Institute at New York University, NYC, USA. Authoritarian regimes are by definition focused primarily on keeping themselves in power, he points out, so how can one trust their data or actions, or expect them to make long-term sacrifices for the greater good?

The politicisation of aid is not a new charge in Ethiopia. A 2011 investigation by BBC Newsnight and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism found that badly needed food and agricultural aid that had been given by foreign donors was being denied to hungry village communities not allied with the ruling party. In view of the long-running problems documented in Ethiopia, “the impunity of the donors astonishes me”, says Easterly, a former economist at the World Bank. Human rights are essential to development, so when a foreign donor finances a government that represses these rights, it does not help a country develop, it sets it back, he says.

The Bank has recently begun a review of its “safeguards” policies, which include a plethora of issues such as natural resources, resettlement, and informed consent—although not human rights. World Bank officials said that incorporating a human rights programme is hard because the Bank is supposed to be non-political and it would be hard to define human rights in a way that would be acceptable to all of the Bank's 188 member nations.

The relation between human rights and aid is almost non-existent, says James Lebovic, a political scientist at George Washington University, DC, USA, who has studied the issue. In fact, some of the worst abusers receive the most aid, he says. Rather than rights, the primary drivers of aid are strategic and economic, he has found.

There have long been calls for the Bank to perform due diligence on the social impact of its work. In 2000, the editors of the bookDying for Growth: Global Inequality and the Health of the Poor, noted that although assessments sometimes took place, “such exercises are rarely undertaken systematically, conducted by independent analysts, or calculated with the same painstaking precision that routinely goes into reckoning projected economic gains”. One of that book's editors was Jim Yong Kim, who now serves as the World Bank's President.

Even with good policies in place, human rights or otherwise, the real challenge is in effectively implementing them. A 2010 report by an internal Bank monitoring group found that the existing safeguards policies were often not followed: “More than a third of World Bank projects had inadequate environmental and social supervision, manifested mainly in unrealistic safeguards ratings and poor or absent monitoring and evaluation.”

For the HRW report see http://www.hrw.org/re

For the Oakland Institute report see http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/development-aid-ethiopia%20ports/2013/07/22/abuse-free-development

SL received support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

Ethiopia Human Rights and Government Wrongs

By Alemayehu G. Mariam

Another Groundhog Year

Four years ago, I wrote a weekly commentary lamenting the fact that 2008 was "Groundhog Year” in Ethiopia:

It was a repetition of 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004... Everyday millions of Ethiopians woke up only to find themselves trapped in a time loop where their lives replayed like a broken record. Each "new" day is the same as the one before it: Repression, intimidation, corruption, incarceration, deception, brutalization and human rights violation… They have no idea how to get out of this awful cycle of misery, agony, despair and tribulation. So, they pray and pray and pray and pray... for deliverance from Evil!

It is December 2012. Are Ethiopians better off today than they were in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011?

Does bread (teff) cost more today than it did in 2008…, a year ago? Cooking oil, produce, basic staples, beef, poultry, housing, water, electricity, household fuel, gasoline...?

Are there more poor people in Ethiopia today than there were in 2008? More hunger, homelessness, unemployment, less health care, fewer educational opportunities for young people?

Is there more corruption and secrecy and less transparency and accountability in December 2012 than in December 2008?

Are elections more free and fair in 2012 than in 2008?

Are there more political prisoners today than in 2008?

Is there less press freedom and are more journalists in prison today than in 2008?

Is Ethiopia more dependent on international handouts for its daily bread today than it was in 2008?

Is there more environmental pollution, habitat destruction, forced human displacement and land grabbing in Ethiopia today than 2008?

Is Ethiopia today still at the very bottom of the U.N. Human Development Index?

The Evidence on Government Wrongs in Ethiopia in 2012

Human rights violations in Ethiopia continue to draw sharp and sustained condemnation from all of the major international human rights organizations and other legal bodies. In 2012, the ruling regime in that country has become intensely repressive and arrogantly intolerant of all dissent and opposition. The regime continues to trash its own Constitution, sneer at its international legal obligations and thumb its nose at its critics. Though some incorrigible optimists hoped a post-Meles regime would open up the political space, reach out to opposition elements and at least engage in human rights window dressing, the nauseating litany of those who are falling head over heels to fit into Meles’ shoes has been “there will be no change. We will (blindly) follow Meles’ vision…” In other words, 2013, 2014, 2015… will be no better than 2012 or 2008.

The evidence of sustained and massive official human rights violations in Ethiopia is overwhelming and irrefutable. Let the evidence speak for itself.

The U.S. State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Ethiopia (May 2012) concluded:

The most significant human rights problems [in Ethiopia] included the government’s arrest of more than 100 opposition political figures, activists, journalists, and bloggers… The government restricted freedom of the press, and fear of harassment and arrest led journalists to practice self-censorship. The Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO law) continued to impose severe restrictions on civil society and nongovernmental organization (NGO) activities… Other human rights problems included torture, beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees by security forces; harsh and at times life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights, including illegal searches; allegations of abuses in connection with the continued low-level conflict in parts of the Somali region; restrictions on freedom of assembly, association, and movement; police, administrative, and judicial corruption…

Human Rights Watch concluded:

Ethiopian authorities continued to severely restrict basic rights of freedom of expression, association, and assembly. Hundreds of Ethiopians in 2011 were arbitrarily arrested and detained and remain at risk of torture and ill-treatment. Attacks on political opposition and dissent persisted throughout 2011, with mass arrests of ethnic Oromo, including members of the Oromo political opposition in March, and a wider crackdown with arrests of journalists and opposition politicians from June to September 2011. The restrictive Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (adopted in 2009) has been used to justify arrests of both journalists and members of the political opposition…

Freedom House concluded:

Ethiopia is ranked Not Free in Freedom in the World 2012, with a score of 6 for both political rights and civil liberties. Political life in Ethiopia is dominated by the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which was led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi from 1995 until his death in August 2012. May 2011 federal and regional elections were tightly controlled by the EPRDF; voters were threatened if they did not support the ruling party, and opposition meetings were broken up while leaders were threatened or detained. The EPRDF routinely utilizes the country’s anti-terrorism laws to target opposition leaders and the media. Parliament has declared much of the opposition to be terrorist groups and has targeted journalists who cover any opposition activity. Media is dominated by state-owned broadcasters and government-oriented newspapers. A 2009 law greatly restricts NGO activity in the country by prohibiting work in the area of human and political rights and limiting the amount of international funding any organization may receive. This law has neutered the NGO sector in the country. The judiciary is independent in name only, with judgments that rarely deviate from government policy.

Amnesty International urged that the “government of Ethiopia should see the succession of Meles as an opportunity to break with the past and end the practice of arresting anyone and everyone who criticizes the government.”

A group of U.N. Special Rapporteurs (an independent group of investigating experts authorized by the United Nations Human Rights Council) in 2012 issued public statements condemning the ruling regime for its indiscriminate use of the so-called anti-terrorism law to suppress a broad range of freedoms and for flagrantly perpetuating and sanctioning human rights violations.

Maina Kiai, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, concluded, “The resort to anti-terrorism legislation is one of the many obstacles faced by associations today in Ethiopia. The Government must ensure protection across all areas involving the work of associations, especially in relation to human rights issues.”

Ben Emmerson, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights warned that “the anti-terrorism provisions should not be abused and need to be clearly defined in Ethiopian criminal law to ensure that they do not go counter to internationally guaranteed human rights.”

Frank La Rue, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression stated that “Journalists play a crucial role in promoting accountability of public officials by investigating and informing the public about human rights violations. They should not face criminal proceedings for carrying out their legitimate work, let alone be severely punished.”

Margaret Sekaggya, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders criticized that “journalists, bloggers and others advocating for increased respect for human rights should not be subject to pressure for the mere fact that their views are not in alignment with those of the Government [of Ethiopia].”

Gabriela Knaul, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers argued that “Defendants in a criminal process should be considered as innocent until proven guilty as enshrined in the Constitution of Ethiopia… And it is crucial that defendants have access to a lawyer during the pre-trial stage to safeguard their right to prepare their legal defence.”

On December 18, 2012, 16 members of the European Parliament issued a public letter to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn “expressing grave concern over the continued detention of journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega”. In the letter, the members reminded Desalegn to comply with his “government’s obligation to respect the right to freedom of expression as established under customary international law and codified in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Ethiopia is a party.”

The Regime Must Cease and Desist All Unlawful Interference in the Exercise of Religious Freedom

Article 11 of the Ethiopian Constitution mandates “separation of state and religion” to ensure that the “Ethiopian State is a secular state” and that “no state religion” is established. Article 27 prohibits “coercion by force or any other means, which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.”

Despite clear legal obligations to respect the religious liberties of citizens, the ruling regime in Ethiopia has played fast and loose with the rights of Muslim citizens to select their own religious and spiritual leaders. According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent body constituted by the Congress and the President of the United States to monitor religious freedom worldwide:

Since July 2011, the Ethiopian government has sought to impose the al-Ahbash Islamic sect on the country’s Muslim community, a community that traditionally has practiced the Sufi form of Islam. The government also has manipulated the election of the new leaders of the Ethiopia Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (EIASC). Previously viewed as an independent body, EIASC is now viewed as a government-controlled institution. The arrests, terrorism charges and takeover of EIASC signify a troubling escalation in the government’s attempts to control Ethiopia’s Muslim community and provide further evidence of a decline in religious freedom in Ethiopia. Muslims throughout Ethiopia have been arrested during peaceful protests: On October 29, the Ethiopia government charged 29 protestors with terrorism and attempting to establish an Islamic state.

The regime must conform its conduct to the requirements of its Constitution and international legal obligations and cease and desist interference in the free exercise of religion of Muslim citizens. All citizens unlawfully arrested and detained in connection with the peaceful protest of unlawful deprivation of religious liberty must be released forthwith.

All Political Prisoners Must be Released

The number of political prisoners has yet to be fully documented in Ethiopia today. While human rights organizations have focused on multiple dozens of high profile political prisoners, there are in fact tens of thousands of ordinary Ethiopians who are held in detention because of their beliefs, open opposition or refusal to support the ruling regime. All political prisoners must be released immediately.

In a broader sense, there are two types of political prisoners in Ethiopia today. There are prisoners of conscience and prisoners-of-their-own-consciences. The prisoners of conscience are imprisoned because they are dissidents, opposition party leaders and journalists. They have done no legal or moral wrong. In fact, they have done what is morally and legally right. They have told the truth. They have spoken truth to power. They have stood up to injustice. They have defended freedom, democracy and human rights by paying the ultimate price with their lives and liberties. They can be set free by the stroke of the pen.

The prisoners-of-their-own-consciences became prisoners by committing crimes against humanity in the first degree with the lesser included offenses of the crimes of ignorance, arrogance and petulance. These prisoners are numbed by the opiate of power. They live in fear and anxiety of being held accountable any given day. They dread the day the wrath of the people will be visited upon them. They know with certainty that they will one day be judged by the very scales they have used to judge others.

The prisoners-in-their-own-conscience can free the prisoners of conscience and thereby free themselves. That is their only salvation. In the alternative, let them heed Gandhi’s dire warning: “There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end they always fall—think of it always.”

Stop Repressing the Press

Napoleon Bonaparte said, “Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.” That rings true for the ruling regime in Ethiopia. Last week three imprisoned and one exiled Ethiopian journalists received the prestigious Hellman/Hammett Award for 2012 “in recognition of their efforts to promote free expression in Ethiopia, one of the world’s most restricted media environments”. The recipients included Eskinder Nega, an independent journalist and blogger and recipient of the 2012 PEN International freedom to Write Award; Reeyot Alemu, one of the few Ethiopian female journalists associated with the officially shuttered weekly newspaper Feteh and recipient of the 2012 International Women’s Media Courage in Journalism Award; Woubshet Taye, editor of the officially shuttered weekly newspaper Awramba Times and Mesfin Negash of Addis Neger Online, another weekly officially shuttered before going online. The four were among a diverse group of 41 writers and journalists from 19 countries to receive the Hellman/Hammett Award.According to Human Rights Watch:

The four jailed and exiled journalists exemplify the courage and dire situation of independent journalism in Ethiopia today. Their ordeals illustrate the price of speaking freely in a country where free speech is no longer tolerated. The journalistic work and liberty of the four Ethiopian award-winners has been suppressed by the Ethiopian government in its efforts to restrict free speech and peaceful dissent, clamp down on independent media, and limit access to and use of the internet. They represent a much larger group of journalists in Ethiopia forced to self-censor, face prosecution, or flee the country.

All dictators and tyrants in history have feared the enlightening powers of the independent press. Total control of the media remains the wicked obsession of all modern day dictators who believe that by controlling the flow of information, they can control the hearts and minds of their citizens. But that is only wishful thinking. As Napoleon realized, “a journalist is a grumbler, a censurer, a giver of advice, a regent of sovereigns and a tutor of nations.” Like Napoleon, the greatest fear of the dictators in Ethiopia is the “tutoring” aspect of the press -- teaching, informing, enlightening and empowering the people with knowledge. They understand the power of the independent press to effectively countercheck their tyrannical rule and hold him accountable before the people. Like Napoleon, they have spared no effort to harass, jail, censor and muzzle journalists for criticizing and exposing their criminality, use of a vast network of spies to terrorize Ethiopian society, shining the light of truth on their military and policy failures, condemning their indiscriminate massacres of unarmed citizen protesters in the streets and for killing, jailing and persecuting their political opponents.

All imprisoned journalists must be released immediately.

“Those who make peaceful change impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” JFK

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.

People left for abuse, a regime bankrolled to abuse

For Immediate Release

 People left for abuse, a regime bankrolled to abuse

On Saturday August 31, 2013, the Ethiopian capital once again turned into a hell where heavily armed TPLF commando forces besieged the Blue Party headquarters, looted the entire office material, and assaulted young men and women who at the time were on their last minute preparation for a peaceful demonstration planned for the following day. According to eye witnesses, leaders, members and supporters of Blue party were handcuffed; frog marched and badly beaten by heavily armed Special Forces. The assault and humiliation on young female members of the party was even worse and strange to the Ethiopian culture that treats all women as mothers. Many female members of the party were taken to police stations and army barracks, ordered to take out their clothes, and forced to roll in stinking sewage sludge.

Just like the absolute majority of the over 90 million Ethiopians, the dream of young men and women of Blue party is to see the important values of justice, liberty, and democracy prevail in their country. The only weapons they carry are pen and paper, their sole goal is peace and prosperity, and their slogan is “Let our voices be heard”. However, last Saturday; the response from an excessively brutal regime that knows only violence was to use an overwhelming force to silence the voices of freedom. This past Saturday, as it usually does; the TPLF regime took the constitutional right of the people and by doing so; the brutal regime has once again demonstrated its utter intolerance to multi-party politics and any kind dissent in Ethiopia.

Ginbot 7 Movement for Justice, Freedom and Democracy denounces the savage and heartless acts of the TPLF regime in its strongest sense and holds the regime accountable for all of its actions. Ginbot 7 understands that no words can comfort those who endured last Saturday’s horrendous assault and humiliation at the Blue party headquarters. However, we at Ginbot 7 want the courageous Blue Party leaders and members to know that we are thinking of you and sharing your pain at this difficult time. Most importantly, we want to reassure you that regardless of what the brutal regime does, no one can close the opened gates of liberty, and we shall overcome.

After 22 years of brutal killing, complete neglect for human right, utter intolerance for dissent, ever shrinking democratic space and unprecedented corruption; Ethiopia is left completely shattered and is now a failed State. At this historic juncture, Ginbot 7 wants to ask donor nations and other enablers of Ethiopia’s brutal dictators a very important question: Are you for the Ethiopian people or against the Ethiopian people? Are you financing dictatorship or development?

At the meantime, Ginbot 7 makes a call for all democratic forces of Ethiopia inside and outside the country to set aside their minor differences and stand firm for a nation that has been bleeding for so long. The question of how to fight the TPLF regime has already been answered by the continued and unabated brutal actions of the regime. We as a nation have been pushed to the limit and there is no more space to be pushed. We either fight collectively and declare our freedom or perish collectively. The nation has called us, let us answer the call.

We shall overcome!