An Ethiopian medalist just led a protest that could land him in jail

By Kevin Sieff, Washington Post
August 22, 2016

Feyisa Lilesa the brave (AFP)

NAIROBI — When he crossed the Olympics marathon finish line, Feyisa Lilesa put his hands above his head in an "X." Most of those who watched Lilesa's spectacular silver medal performance didn't know what that meant — or just how dangerous a protest they were watching. Lilesa was protesting the Ethiopian government's killing of hundreds of the country's Oromo people — the country's largest ethnic group — that has long complained about being marginalized by the country's government. The group has held protests this year over plans to reallocate Oromo land. Many of those protests ended in bloodshed. According to Human Rights Watch, more than 400
people have been killed since November.

For months, the Oromo have been using the same "X" gesture that Lilesa, 26, used at the finish line.

At a news conference following the race, he reiterated his defiant message.

"The Ethiopian government is killing my people, so I stand with all protests anywhere, as Oromo is my tribe," Lilesa said. "My relatives are in prison and if they talk about democratic rights they are killed."

It was a remarkable turn of events — within seconds, Lilesa had gone from a national hero to a man who might not be able to return to his home country. In addition to those killed, many Oromo protesters are currently languishing in prison.

In Ethiopia, the state broadcaster did not air a replay of the finish.

Lilesa was conscious of the danger. He immediately suggested that he might have to move somewhere else.

"If I go back to Ethiopia maybe they will kill me. If not kill me, they will put me in prison. I have not decided yet, but maybe I will move to another country," he said.

It wasn’t the first time an Ethiopian athlete had considered defecting after competition. In 2014, four of the country’s runners applied for asylum in the United States after disappearing from the international junior track championships in Eugene, Ore.

The plight of the Oromo and the Ethiopian government's use of force against civilians have received some attention recently, but nothing as prominent as Lilesa's defiance. Earlier this month, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa said that it was “deeply concerned” about the most recent killing of protesters. But likely because Ethiopia remains a U.S. ally in the fight against Somali Islamist group Al-Shabab, American officials have been relctant to offer any further condemnation.

Oromo dissidents, particularly those outside Ethiopia, have been active on social media about their cause. As soon as Lilesa crossed the finish line, tweets and Facebook posts went up with pictures of their new folk hero. Ethiopia is one of Africa's fastest growing nations, and it seen by many as a model of economic potential. The government has played down the protests, saying earlier this month that “the attempted demonstrations were orchestrated by foreign enemies from near and far in partnership with local forces.”


Lilesa has been racing internationally for Ethiopia for more than eight years, and holds one of the world's fastest ever marathon times: 2:04:52.

The Horn: Another Civil War Looming

By Dawit Giorgis
August 18, 2016

A civil war, and possibly genocide, is in the making in the Horn of Africa, in Ethiopia. The most recent events characterized by regular countrywide demonstrations in defiance of a government ban, by the two largest ethnic groups, the Oromos and the Amharas, have demonstrated once again the power of a marginalized majority to wreak havoc and paralyze the country despite the state’s brutal response.

Ethiopia’s minority ethnic group, the Tigrai, which comprises less than six percent of the population of ninety million, has ruled the country with an iron-fist for 25 years. As was the case in Rwanda decades ago, the accumulated anger directed at this minority group is likely to explode and result in a human catastrophe with serious implications on regional stability.

The 2015 US Country Human Rights Report on Ethiopia states: “The most significant human rights problems included harassment and intimidation of opposition members and supporters and journalists; alleged torture, beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees by security forces; and politically motivated trials and arbitrary killings.”

The 2016 Human Rights Watch on the Oromo protests depicts a disturbing picture of a government that thrives on systematic repression and official violence. The report, which puts the death toll from the seven-month-long protest at more than 400, rightly exposes the myth of "Ethiopia rising" as a political "Ponzi scheme.” This figure does not include the100 killed during the first weeks of August.

To camouflage the repressive nature of the regime, the government and its international supporters
have been blatantly asserting that Ethiopia has the fastest growing economy in Africa, while in actual fact it is one of the ten poorest countries in the world currently with over 10,000,000 facing famine.

Now, after 25 years of absolute control over the people, the regime is facing a deadly resistance to its iron-fisted rule and people are anxiously waiting for its staunchest ally, the US, to intervene.
“Washington must be prepared to press its partner to alter its strong-handed approach to political dissent and counterterrorism or consider ending the relationship”

In 2012 Genocide Watch reported “Genocide Watch is deeply concerned with the rising number of human rights violations in Ethiopia; as a result Genocide Watch is classifying the situation as a genocide alert. The warning signs have been there for sometime.

In the case of the Rwandan genocide administration officials admit that the US lost “opportunities to reverse the tide of killings at the earliest stages.” Information obtained through the US Freedom of Information Act shows that President Clinton knew about the planned "final solution to eliminate all Tutsis." Over 800, 000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in this genocide. In 1998 Mr. Clinton apologized “for not acting quickly enough or immediately calling the crimes genocide.”

If civil war begins in Ethiopia it will be unprecedented catastrophe the likes of which has not been seen in Africa. It will also create an opportunity for extremist like al Shabab to flourish in next-door Ethiopia, which has a 40% Muslim population. Because of the Nile River, the lifeline of both Sudan and Egypt, instability in Ethiopia will be a major concern and it is likely that these countries will intervene either directly or indirectly. Together with the failed states of South Sudan, Somalia, Central Africa Republic, Yemen across the Red Sea, and with Sudan and Eritrea tittering as a result of US sanction, the Horn can turn out to be the most complicated security zone the world has yet to see with severe implications for maritime activities in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

Because of the protracted war in the Horn of Africa over the last three decades, including some of the world’s longest war, the Horn has become the source of a huge percentage of the world’s refugee and migrant population. With civil war in Ethiopia this percentage can quadruple.

The US cannot afford to miscalculate the possible consequences of the gross abuses of power for 25 years. Its strategic interest, including the partnership on counter terrorism in the region, can be taken care better by a stable democratic government rather than a fragile autocratic regime, which is most likely to fall soon under the weight of people’s insurrection. Therefore, the United States should see beyond its short-term interest and support the establishment of an inclusive democratic government.

Dawit Giorgis was a visiting fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He is currently the Executive Director of the Institute for Strategic and Security Studies

USA og Europa må reagere på krisen i Etiopia

Publisert den 12. august 2016 av Leoul Mekonen 

NEAR JIJIGA, EASTERN OGADENIA, ETHIOPIA - OCTOBER 8TH: A column of ONLF rebels are leaving the hill where a week long stand off with ethiopian troops finally ended, October 8th 2006, in Ethiopia. The two rebels are carrying the most important idem of the unit, a light machine gun and its ammo. (Photo by Jonathan Alpeyrie/Getty images)

Nesten 100 demonstranter er nylig drept av det etiopiske regimet. Vi kan ikke lengre anse diktaturet som våre venner

Om Leoul Mekonen (1 artikler)

Leoul Mekonen er etiopisk flyktning, menneskerettighets- og politisk aktivist mot det etiopiske regimet for Solidarity Movement for New Ethiopia. Han er sosionom og jobber med helse- og sosialt arbeid med etniske minoriteter og psykososialt arbeid med asylsøkere og flyktninger.

De siste ukene har internasjonale medier begynt å dekke den eskalerte konflikten og den blodige situasjonen mellom demonstranter og det autoritære regimet i Etiopia, hvor nesten 100 demonstranter har blitt drept ifølge Amnesty. Etiopia er hovedsakelig styrt av TPLF (Tigray People Liberation Front). Hundrevis av mennesker, også barn, har blitt drept i Oromiya- og Amhara- regionene under anti-regjeringsdemonstrasjoner, som har spredd seg siden november 2015. Fortsatt kommer det grusomme bilder og filmer av avdøde personer og alvorlig skadde personer i Oromiya- og Amhara-regionene i Nord-Etiopia, særlig i byene Gonder og Bahir Dar. Dagens alvorlige politiske klima i de to største regionene i Etiopia, er i ferd med å komme ut av kontroll, det kan potensielt skape et folkemord. 

Farlig returavtale

Dagens alvorlige politiske utvikling i Etiopia og regimets brutalitet viser oss dessuten at det er ekstremt farlig å inngå eller implementere returavtale for etiopiske asylsøkere som har fått avslag i Norge eller andre europeiske land. Det er en alvorlig feil å utsette asylsøkere som har en eller annen tilknytning til opposisjonsbevegelsene i Etiopia for forfølgelse og tortur. Den foruroligende situasjonen kan ikke forstås uten å forstå hvem som har hatt den politiske, økonomiske og militære makten i Etiopia de siste 25 årene, og hvordan makthaverne har klart å opprettholde den hele denne perioden.

Ett parti har styrt hele Etiopia siden 1991

Det er flere årsaker bak den eskalerende konflikten i Oromiya- og Amhara-regionene. Det etiopiske regimet kom til makten i 1991 etter 17 års geriljakrig mot marxistregimet. De representerer den etniske minoritetsgruppen fra Tigray-regionen, som utgjør 6 prosent av landets 85 millioner mennesker. Det politiske partiet TPLF (Tigray people Liberation Front), var dannet hovedsakelig for å kjempe for å frigjøre Tigray i samarbeid med «The Eritrirean People Liberation Front.» Mens kommunistregimet kollapset, grep TPLF anledningen til å kontrollere hele Etiopia. Siden 1991 har dette partiet styrt hele Etiopia ved å ha full kontroll over landets forsvar, militærstyrker, etterretning, økonomi og media. Dette har skapt enorm frustrasjon, marginalisering, utstøting og opprør blant andre etniske grupper og opposisjonsgrupper.

Etnisk basert politikk som skaper konflikt mellom ulike etniske grupper

TPLF har ført en sterkt etnisk basert politikk overfor det etiopiske folket og har skapt unødige konflikter mellom ulike etniske grupper. «Etnisk politikk» har gitt en formidabel mulighet til å splitt og hersk over det etiopiske folket ved å skape en «oss og dem»-følelse, preget av hat, mistanke og fiendtlighet. Istedenfor å skape samhold og samarbeid mellom ulike etniske grupper, har regimet bevisst fremmet fiendtlige holdninger mellom Amhara- og Oromo-befolkningen ved å bruke nasjonale medier.  For å ha kontroll over hele landet og få legitimitet som demokratisk styre, har TPLF dannet andre partier ved å rekruttere lojale tjenere fra ulike etniske grupper (Amhara, Oromo, Afar, Somali, osv), som ikke er folkevalgte. Disse partiene har ikke egne ideologer eller selvstendig politisk agenda. De ble utelukkende dannet for å være en forlenget arm for hovedorganisasjonen TPLF, og få kontroll over ulike folkegrupper og deres ressurser.  

Politiske partier som ikke er i tråd med regimets politiske agenda og interesser blir angrepet, forfulgt og stemplet som terrorister, anti-fredskrefter osv. Regimet har ved terrorlovgivning stengt muligheten for opposisjonsgrupper til å bevege seg fritt og drive politisk virksomhet. Populære politiske partier som Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Oromo People’s Congress (OPC), Ogaden Liberation Front(ONLF) og Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJP) har blitt fratatt sin organisasjons- og forsamlingsfrihet og rett til å stille til valg. Regimet har klart å sitte ved makten ved å slå hardt ned på populære opposisjonsledere, aktivister og medlemmer av opposisjonspartier.

Journalister og redaktører blir angrepet og folkegrupper blir tvangsflyttet

I tillegg til fravær av demokratiske valg, blir kritiske stemmer angrepet, særlig folk som jobber i media. I følge Pen Internationals rapport fra 2015, er Etiopia blant de landene som har høyest antall forfulgte og fengslede journalister og redaktører.  En annen viktig årsak til den blodige konflikten mellom regimet og resten av etiopiske befolkningen er tvangsflytting av Oromoer, Amhara folk og folk i Gambella fra deres eget land, slik at utenlandske investorer eller personer med tilknytning til regimet skal tjene på det. Millioner av mennesker har hensynsløst blitt tvangsflyttet fra sitt land, uten å bli spurt om samtykke eller få erstatning. I den nordlige delen av Etiopia har det Tigre-dominerte regimet tatt et stort jordbruksområde fra Amhara-regionen og satt den under Tigray-regionens administrasjon. Dette har medført en stor konflikt, som er i ferd med å eskalere til krig mellom Amhara- befolkningen i Gonder og det Tigre-dominerte regimet. 

TPLF-regimet har fått støtte fra USA OG EU

Massearrestasjoner av mennesker tilhørende opposisjonsgrupper, drap og bruk av eksessiv vold mot fredelige demonstranter er ikke noe nytt i Etiopia. Folk har levd med det i de siste 25 årene. Selv om regimets bruk av vold og udemokratiske midler har blitt dokumentert igjen og igjen, fikk TPLF-regimet enorm støtte fra USA og EU som en viktig samarbeidspartner i «the war on terror». Obamas administrasjon snakker klart og tydelig om samarbeidet med det etiopiske regimet for ivaretakelse av amerikanske interesser. USA har hittil valgt å ha mer fokus på sin egeninteresse, enn den grove undertrykkelsen 85 millioner mennesker i Etiopia er utsatt for, under en etnisk gruppe i minoritet som har full kontroll over militæret. Det vesten har glemt, er at å ensidig støtte en bevæpnet minoritetsgruppe, etter hvert vil skape en stor misnøye hos befolkningen i et etnisk delt samfunn. Det vil komme protester som preger, ikke bare Etiopia, men også hele Afrikas Horn. Det er viktig å understreke at Vestens interesse i Afrikas Horn kan ivaretas best under folkevalgte ledere og forsamling enn under en minoritets autoritære styre.

Veien til folkemord kan være kort

De siste 25 årene har det vært folkeopprør og protester i alle etiopiske regioner, unntatt Tigray-regionen, der regimet kommer fra. Folkeopprørene har blitt slått hardt ned i regionene Amhara, Oromo, Gambella og Ogaden ved å skyte demonstranter nådeløst. De som har utøvd vold er stort sett lojale soldater som hører til Tigre-stammen med navn «AGAZI»- styrken. Dette har allerede skapt alvorlig hat og en fiendtlig holdning mot Tigray-folket i tillegg til motstand mot regimet. Mange som mener at Etiopia er styrt av «Tigray Apartheid-regime», argumenterer at det er bare de andre folkegruppene, ikke Tigray, som har blitt utsatt for blodige angrep de siste 25 årene. Det har aldri vært folkeopprør, massakre av opposisjoner eller tvangsflytting av folk i Tigrayregionen. Dette kan få store konsekvenser når folkets opprør eskalerer i ulike regioner.

Dagens favorisering av Tigray-folket i form av privilegier til utdanning, til arbeid og til nøkkelposisjoner i samfunnet gir hat og mistillit til regimet og til Tigray i de andre folkegruppene. Derfor mener mange etiopiere, og også lederen av Genocide Watch, Professor Gregory Stanton, at veien til folkemord kan være kort, dersom Vesten ikke griper inn og støtter eller presser på for politisk reform der alle opposisjonspartier får mulighet til å delta i et demokratisk valg og danne en ny regjering som inkluderer alle partier. Problemer og konflikter som har å gjøre med rettferdig fordeling av ressurser og land kan løses best under en demokratisk valgt regjering. Ikke under et regime som bestemmer alt ved å bruke sine militære styrker.

Regimet har kun klart å overleve med vestens støtte

Etiopia trenger vesten mer enn noen gang. Regimet har kun klart å overleve med vestens støtte, som en samarbeidspartner i “krigen mot terror”. Dersom USA og EU gjør sitt beste for å skape demokratiske valg, kan de forhindre et mulig folkemord og endeløs borgerkrig i Etiopia. Etiopia trenger vesten før det er alt for seint.

Ethiopia grapples with the aftermath of a deadly weekend

By NPR 
August 11, 2016

Protesters chant slogans at a demonstration in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, on Aug. 6. Demonstrations took place last weekend across the country, and Amnesty International says dozens of peaceful protesters were shot dead.Tiksa Negeri/Reuters

The videos trickled out slowly on social media — slowly, because those posting them had to use special software to get around what seemed to be a government-imposed internet block.

This video showed thousands of people in the streets of the northern Ethiopian town of Gondar. The size of the crowd was significant in a country where civil protests are usually banned.

Even more significant? The location o f this anti-government protest.

For the last nine months, protests have erupted further south, in Oromiya, home to Ethiopia's largest but historically marginalized ethnic group, the Oromo. But now the protests have spread north to a second region, the Amhara.

The different protesters have different grievances, but they share a growing frustration with the rule of a third, minority ethnic group — the Tigrayans. They say the Tigrayan elite has a cartel-like grip on the government, military and the fast-growing economy.

The response by the Ethiopian military to the protesters was swift and brutal. Amnesty International says that nearly 100 people were killed over the weekend when soldiers fired directly on demonstrators.

The U.N. human rights chief has "urge[d] the government to allow access for international observers" to investigate what happened.

Even after those weekend confrontations, witness reports were still filtering back to Addis Ababa, the capital. "We're hearing who's been wounded, who's in hospital, who's been killed, not to mention those who've disappeared without a trace," said Tsedale Lemma, editor in chief of Addis Standard, one of the few Ethiopian magazines that risks open critiques of the government.

She described an Orwellian spectacle on state-run television, with "ferocious PR work" to discredit the protests. "People are being paraded in the TV, being made to denounce the protests. People denouncing even the use of Facebook."

For years, Ethiopia's government has warned against a social media-fueled uprising like the one that happened just north, in Egypt, in 2011.

If you watch Ethiopia's state TV broadcasts, what you'll be told is that the country's protests are fueled by ethnic separatists — or even ethnic terrorists.

Tsedale disputes this explanation, saying the protesters' beef is with the government, not with any particular ethnic group. "I don't see that people are deliberately orchestrating ethnic violence in the country," she says. "Of course, the government is eager to identify it as such."

In Ethiopia, politics is ethnicity, and ethnicity is geography. The country is formally divided into autonomous ethnic states, each with its own ethnic government. It's a controversial system called "ethnic federalism" that was instituted by the current regime. Political parties are organized along ethnic lines. Thus any critique of the central government will automatically take on ethnic dimensions.

The protesters impugn the Tigrayan elite — the government officials and army generals — who, they say, have a choke-hold on the country. The government accuses the protesters of fomenting ethnic war on all Tigrayans, rich and poor. And in the fragile ethnic balance that is Ethiopia, the battle to claim the narrative is just as important as the battle in the streets.

UN calls for probe into Ethiopia protesters killings

Ninety deaths in Oromia and Amhara regions must be investigated by international observers, UN human rights chief says.
But Ethiopia says UN Observers not needed (See 2nd headline story below) 

By Reuters
August 11, 2016

The UN human rights chief has urged Ethiopia to allow international observers to investigate the killings of 90 protesters in restive regions at the weekend.

Zeid Raad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Wednesday that allegations of excessive use of force across the Oromia and Amhara regions must be probed and that his office was in discussions with Ethiopian authorities.

"The use of live ammunition against protesters in Oromia and Amhara of course would be a very serious concern for us," Zeid told the Reuters news agency in an interview in Geneva.

He also said that his office had "not seen any genuine attempt at investigation and accountability" since January when the killings of protesters first began.

Unrest continued in Oromia for several months until early this year over plans to allocate farmland surrounding the regional capital for development.

Authorities in the Horn of Africa state scrapped the scheme in January, but protests flared again over the continued detention of opposition demonstrators.

In the weekend, protesters chanted anti-government slogans and waved dissident flags.

Some demanded the release of jailed opposition politicians. Information on the reported killings has been difficult to obtain, Zeid said.

He added that any detainee, who had been peacefully protesting, should be released promptly.

The state-run Ethiopian News Agency said on Monday that "illegal protests" by "anti-peace forces" had been brought under control. It did not mention casualties.

Ethiopia says UN observers not needed as protests rage

Addis Ababa - Ethopia has dismissed a plea from the United Nations that it allow international observers to investigate the killing of protesters by security forces during a recent bout of anti-government demonstrations.

Getachew Reda, a government spokesman, told Al Jazeera on Thursday that the UN was entitled to its opinion but the government of Ethiopia was responsible for the safety of its own people.

Reda's comments came after the UN urged the government to allow observers to investigate the killings of at least 90 protesters in the Oromia and Amhara regions over the weekend.

Zeid Raad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said allegations of excessive use of force must should be investigated and that his office was in discussions with Ethiopian authorities.

Reda, however, told Al Jazeera that it was not necessary to send observers to specific parts of the country since the UN already had a massive presence in Ethiopia.

He said the government would launch its own investigation into whether security forces had used excessive force and would do so in consultation with local people.

He blamed what he called "terrorist elements" for stoking the violence from abroad, without giving further detail.

At the weekend, an opposition leader told the AFP news agency that up to 50 people were killed as security forces suppressed the protests. Amnesty International put the death toll at 97.

Oromia, an area which surrounds the capital Addis Ababa, has seen several months of protests, sparked by plans to allocate farmland in the region for development.

Authorities scrapped the land scheme in January, but protests have flared again over the continued detention of opposition demonstrators.