Ethiopia: Increasing human rights violations in the Omo Valley

Posted by: ecadforum March 6, 2016 4 Comments

Increasing human rights violations and deaths from careless state-owned sugar plantation in the Omo Valley!

(SMNE News Alert) — We in the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE) sounds an urgent emergency alert regarding the present endangerment of the people of the Omo Valley.

These fellow-Ethiopians are being threatened with human rights violations and atrocities by the TPLF/EPRDF’s troops in the region as the regime moves ahead to remove the people from their land in another crony development scheme for a state-owned sugar plantation on245,000 hectares of land with an additional 100,000 or more hectares of some of the most fertile land committed for other agricultural projects. Those who resist, face state-sponsored human rights crimes.

In all of Ethiopia, the 500,000 people of the Omo Valley may be among the most neglected of Ethiopians by the current TPLF/EPRDF regime.

These dark-skinned and marginalized tribes—the Bodi, the Mursi, the Kwego, the Suri, the Hamer, the Karo as well as others—have only been valued in Ethiopia for the tourism business they attracted due to their unique and primitive customs that have remained unchanged for centuries. Now, the TPLF/EPRDF has found a better use for their land and it does not include them.

The previous and present government of Ethiopia never did value them and even now, they do not see them as their own people. In the entire Diaspora of about a million Ethiopians, some experts suggest that only one person from Omo Valley is among them. This is an example of how marginalized these people are.

Not only have they been intentionally denied access to entering the 21st century—it would negatively impact tourism—they have also been denied access to clean water, education, health care and other opportunities to a much greater degree than most other marginalized groups.

Now, as their land is being taken away from them, they are also being denied their most prized asset, their indigenous land and water.

Just wait, the TPLF/EPRDF regime will suddenly pretend to be forcing the people from their land and into resettlement camps—where they have no means for independent sustenance—in order to “help” bring these people into the 21st century. Do not believe it! It is just an excuse to cover up for illegally stealing their ancestral land and they are ill-prepared to defend themselves!

The people of the Omo Valley are living in a nation set up under the flawed government policy of ethnic federalism. Each ethnic group is supposed to look after people of their own ethnicity, without the expectation that others will care about the rights, interests and well being of those outside their own groups. Because of this, the people of the Omo Valley are more deprived of their rights than many others. Who speaks for them?

Their land is being taken over by their own government without any consultation. The authorities did not care about them and now the people of the Omo Valley have taken matters into their own hands.

Some limited fighting has broken out and as the TPLF/EPRDF sends troops to silence them through intimidation, human rights crimes and secretive extra-judicial killings, they seem to think they can eliminate these people without the world knowing.

The people of the Omo Valley are depending on the world not caring about them, but the SMNE has already received information from the people and we want to warn the ethnic apartheid regime in Ethiopia to stop the human rights abuses against these people and if they do not, they will be found accountable.

We also call on other peace and justice loving Ethiopians to stand up with the people of the Omo Valley. They are us. The people of the Omo Valley may be deprived and they may have been used as commodities for tourism in the past, but to God and to us, they are precious, just like everyone else.

The establishment of the SMNE was to educate Ethiopians about the value of those outside our villages, tribes and regions. One of the SMNE goal was to eradicate this primitive thinking where some devalue the humanity of others and turn away in apathy to their pain and suffering.

This SMNE principle of putting “humanity before ethnicity” and caring about the freedom, justice and well being of others—neighbors near and far—is the basis for healthy societies and cooperative global partnerships.

We in the SMNE will continue investigate and gather evidence to be used for future prosecution so perpetrators of these crimes will face justice and not get away with these crimes.

The people of Ethiopia will hold them accountable under the rule of law that is not simply rhetoric.

If any think that they can commit crimes without being found out, you are wrong as we already have our sources from this remote region of the country. We will continue to monitor what is going on there.

As we stand up for the people of the Omo Valley, let it bring us together as one people of Ethiopia who stand up for the freedom, rights and wellbeing of all of us.

Ethiopia: Civil society calls upon UN Human Rights Council

Civil society calls upon UN Human Rights Council to investigate government crackdown on Oromo protest

To Permanent Representatives of

Members and Observer States of the

UN Human Rights Council

Geneva, 24 February 2016

 RE: Addressing restrictions on freedom of assembly and civil society in Ethiopia

Your Excellency,

The undersigned civil society organizations (CSOs) write to express our serious concerns about the Ethiopian Government’s grave restrictions on fundamental human rights, exemplified by the recent crackdown on largely peaceful protests in the Oromia region. As the UN Human Rights Council (UN HRC) prepares to release its landmarkrecommendations for the proper management of assemblies, we urge your delegation to address the rapidly deteriorating environment for independent dissent and violations of the right to freedom of assembly in Ethiopia at the upcoming 31st UN HRC Session.

Since December 2015, Ethiopian security forces have routinely used excessive and unnecessary lethal force to disperse and suppress peaceful protests in the Oromia region. The protesters, who have been advocating against the dispossession of land without adequate compensation under the government’s Integrated Development Master Plan, have been subjected to widespread rights violations. According to international and national human rights groups, at least 150 demonstrators, including scores of children and university students, have been killed during the protests. It is also widely reported that hundreds of people have suffered bullet wounds and beatings by the police and military.

Supreme Court President, Judge Tegene Getaneh has resigned from his post

Supreme Court President, Judge Tegene Getaneh has resigned from his post, effective February 9, 2016.
His resignation, officially communicated to the Judges’ Administrative Council, cites health problems that render him unable to carry out his duties.
Sources close to the system contemplate other factors, including weak commitment to the good governance campaign.
Others, however, strongly argue the cause is highly related to the issue that called for the  resignation of the High Court’s President, Wubishet Tegene has served the judicial system in different positions.
He was appointed by the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in 2009. Before he became
President, he had served as a judge both in the High Court and Supreme Court. His term in the highest post lasted for 7 years.
Tegene, was a few months away from his retirement age.  He was born in Illubabor Zone, Mettu.
Source – addisfortune.net/
- See more at: http://www.zehabesha.com/supreme-court-president-judge-tegene-getaneh-has-resigned-from-his-post/#sthash.aLDQKlUZ.dpuf

ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋ የምስክርነት ቃሉን ሰጠ

“የህሊና እስረኛ ነኝ” እስክንድር ነጋ

በነገረ ኢትዮጵያ ሪፖርተር

በሽብርተኝነት ወንጀል ጥፋተኛ ተብሎ 18 አመት እስር ተፈርዶበት በእስር ላይ የሚገኘው ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋ የመከላከያ ምስክርነት ቃሉን ሰጥቷል፡፡

ከግራ ወደ ቀኝ፡ እስክንድር ነጋ እና ዘላለም ወርቃገኘሁ

በእነ ዘላለም ወርቃገኘሁ የክስ መዝገብ አንደኛ ተከሳሽ ለሆነው አቶ ዘላለም ወርቃገኘሁ መከላከያ ምስክር ሆኖ ልደታ ከፍተኛው ፍርድ ቤት 19ኛ ወንጀል ችሎት ከእስር ቤት የቀረበው ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ዛሬ ጥር 27/2008 ዓ.ም ምስክርነቱን ሊያሰማ ችሏል፡፡

ያለጠበቃ በግሉ የሚከራከረው ተከሳሽ ዘላለም ወርቃገኘሁ ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር እንዲያስረዳለት የሚፈልገው ጭብጥ ጡመራ ምንድነው፣ ከወንጀል ጋርስ ግንኙነት አለው ወይ፣ እና ሰብዓዊ መብት እና ዴሞክራሲ ላይ ስልጠና ስለሚሰጡ ድርጅቶችና የስልጠናው ይዘትን በተመለከተ እንደሆነ ቢያስታውቅም በጭብጡ ላይ አቃቤ ህግ ተቃውሞውን አሰምቷል፡፡ በዚህም አቃቤ ህግ ጡመራ ምንድነው፣ ወንጀልስ ነው ወይ የሚለው በምስክር ሳይሆን በህግ ድንጋጌዎች የሚረጋገጥ እንደሆነ በመግለጽ ተቃውሟል፡፡ ፍርድ ቤቱም ግራ ቀኙን ከሰማ በኋላ ጡመራ ወንጀል ስለመሆን አለመሆኑ የተያዘውን ጭብጥ ውድቅ በማድረግ ስለ ስልጠናውና አሰልጣኝ ተቋማት የተመዘገበው ጭብጥ ላይ ምስክሩ እንዲመሰክሩ ብይን ሰጥቷል፡፡

ብይኑን ተከትሎ ምስክሩ ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋ ችሎት ፊት የቀረበ ሲሆን በመጀመሪያ በፍርድ ቤቱ የቀረቡለትን ጥያቄዎች መልሷል፡፡ ምስክሩ ሙሉ ስሙን፣ እድሜውን፣ ስራውንና ለምን እንደመጣ፣ እንዲሁም ከተከሳሾች ጋር ስለመተዋወቁ ለቀረቡለት ጥያቄዎች መልስ ሰጥቷል፡፡ እስክንድር ‹‹ስራ›› ተብሎ ሲጠየቅ፣ ‹‹ጋዜጠኛ ነበርኩ›› ብሏል፡፡ ‹‹አሁንስ›› የሚል ጥያቄ ፍርድ ቤቱ አቅርቦለት፣ ‹‹አሁን የህሊና እስረኛ ነኝ›› ሲል መልሷል፡፡

UN experts urge Ethiopia to halt violent crackdown

UN experts urge Ethiopia to halt violent crackdown on Oromia protesters, ensure accountability for abuses

GENEVA (21 January 2016) – A group of United Nations human rights experts* today called on the Ethiopian authorities to end the ongoing crackdown on peaceful protests by the country’s security forces, who have reportedly killed more than 140 demonstrators and arrested scores more in the past nine weeks.

“The sheer number of people killed and arrested suggests that the Government of Ethiopia views the citizens as a hindrance, rather than a partner,” the independent experts said, while also expressing deep concern about allegations of enforced disappearances of several protesters.

The current wave of protests began in mid-November, in opposition to the Government’s ‘Addis Ababa Integrated Development Master Plan’ to expand the capital’s municipal boundary. The ‘Master Plan’ could reportedly lead to mass evictions and the seizure of agricultural land in the Oromia region, as well as extensive deforestation.

አቶ ኃይለ ማርያም ምን ነካካቸው?

– ከተማ ዋቅጅራ

ጠቅላይ ሚንስትር ማለት፡- የቃሉ ትርጉም የሚንስትሮች ሁሉ የበላይ፣ ሁሉንም ሚንስትር የሚያዝ፣ ሁሉንም ሚንስትሮች ጠቅልሎ የሚመራ የሚለውን ትርጉም ይሰጠናል። እንደ ኢትዮጵያ፣ እንግሊዝ፣ ጃፓን የመሳሰሉት አገሮች የአገር መሪነት ድርሻ የጠቅላ ሚንስትሩ ነው። የአለማችን አብዛኛው አገራት የሚመሩት በፕሬዝዳንት ሲሆን ኢትዮጵያ ግን የምትመራው በጠቅላይ ሚንስትር ነው። በጠቅላይ ሚንስትር የሚመሩት አገሮች ሁሉ የሚመረጡት በህዝ የሚሾሙትም በህዝብ የሚያገለግሉትም የመረጣቸውን ህዝብ ስለሆነ ባለሙሉ ስልጣን ባለቤት ናቸው። በዚህ የተነሳ ሃገራቸውን የሚያስከብር ስራ ይሰራሉ ህዝባቸውንም የሚጠቅም ስራ ይሰራሉ። ከህዝባቸውን የተሰወረ ነገር አያደርጉም ህዝባቸውንም የሚጎዳ እና የሚያሳፍር ድርጊትም አይፈጽሙም። ስለዚህ ህዝቡ በመሪዎቻቸው ደስተኛ ነው።

ኢትዮጵያ ግን እንደ እድል ሆኖ እንደዛ አይደለም። መሪው የሚመረጠው በህዝብ ሳይሆን በህውአት ሰዎች ነው። መሪ ተብዬዎች አገልግሎታቸውን የሚሰጡት ለኢትዮጵያን ህዝብ ሳይሆን ለመረጣቸው ፓርቲ ብቻ ነው። በዚህ ምክንያት ህዝባችን ቢገደል፣ ቢታሰር፣ ቢንገላታ፣ ቢራብ፣ ቢጠማ፣ የትኛውም አይነት መከራ ቢደርስበት የመረጣቸው ፓርቲን የማይነካ ከሆነ እንደ አገር መሪ ትንፍሽ ማለት አይችሉም። የኢትዮጵያ ዳር ድንበር ተደፍሮ አገር ተቆርሶ ለበአድ ሲሰጥ  እንደ አገር መሪ አንድ ስንዝር የአገሬ መሬት አይሰጥም ብለው ለአገር እና ለህዝብ የቆሙ መሆናቸውን የሚያሳዩበት ንግግር ማድረግ አልቻሉም።

The Making of TPLF’s Paramilitary Death Squad: Agazi Murder Inc.

A Mother’s Tears

The Pentagon trained Ethiopian forces- including the notorious Agazi Special Forces unit.

Jeremy Scahill, founding editor of the Intercept, and National Security Correspondent testifying before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on December 9, 2010.

She looks much older than her actual age. One could guess she is sixty or even older. The truth is that she is only forty-four. “I was born two years before the military took power” she says referencing history. Her wrinkled face, discolored skin, and greying hair tells a story of a women who endured unimaginable tragedy. Living has been hard for her over the last decade or so. “I lost my first born 10 years ago, when we the opposition won the election and they refused to relinquish power” she says her sight disappearing into the horizon as if she is expecting someone to emerge from behind the hills.

“How did he die?” I asked following her into the house from the cool evening breeze outside where we spent the last fifteen minutes. “They killed him in a broad day light along with his best friend. They were killed at the same spot the same day in Addis Ababa.” She said, tears streaming over her wrinkling face. The depth of her anguish is too strong for words. I got up and sat close to her holding her hands. “who killed them?” I asked. She took a long pause, walked a few steps to close the door and whispered “Agazi, Agazi killed them” and handed me the pictures of her dead boys after kissing them couple of times. They were school graduation pictures. Smiling, aspirational and full of hope. The pictures were wet with her tears. Each drop spreading on the smiling faces of her children as if they were sharing a grief, crying together so to speak. I felt their presence in the room. May be the connection between a mother and child transcendence mortality, I don’t know, but their spirits were palpable in the house where they grew up in before their lives were cut short. I took a sheet of tissue paper out of my pocket and wiped both pictures gently. As I looked at them, with an imploring look, I thought they would have been my brothers, nephews, cousins even children. They looked so familiar to me; even if I have never met them. Perhaps, they reminded me of my own youth.