Protest rally in Oslo, Norway: Against the recent forceful eviction of Amharas from different parts of Ethiopia

By ecadforum, 19.04.2013

Ethiopians in Norway have held a great and spectacular demonstration opposing the recent evictions of ethnic Amharas from different parts of Ethiopia and demanding freedom in Ethiopia.

The demonstrators showed their anger and frustration walking through the main street in Oslo and chanting slogans denouncing the barbaric act of the TPLF regime and demanding democracy and regime change in Ethiopia.

The participants in the demonstration were different organizations, political parties, supporting organs, civic organizations, religious groups and independent individuals reflecting Ethiopians unity and colorfulness!

The demonstrators have also met the representative of the Norwegian parliament –Stortinget, and delivered their appeal.

In this demonstration Ethiopians in Norway not only showed their solidarity with all victims of TPLF in Ethiopia, but also confirmed their determination to confront any activities what so ever done in Norway by TPLF in the name of Ethiopian people!



OSLO - Ethiopians protest against ethnic cleansing!

By Ethiomedia:  April 20, 2013

 OSLO, Norway - Ethiopian protesters on Thursday expressed outrage at the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Amhara, and called for the removal of the TPLF regime that is responsible for the heinous crime.

– Stopp støtten til regimet

Norge må slutte å støtte et regime som driver med etnisk diskriminering og bryter menneskerettighetene, var slagordet til flere titalls etiopiere, som demonstrerte utenfor Stortinget tidligere denne torsdagen.

Foto: Claudio Castello

Tonen var resolutt da et flere titalls etiopere som bor i Norge, holdt en protest utenfor Stortinget tidligere i dag.

Claudio Castello

claudio.castello@utrop.no

18.04.2013 17:00

Gjengen avbildet her mener de elleve prosentene som går fra Norge som u-hjelp er med på å bidra til en håpløs situasjon for flesteparten av Etiopias minoritetsgrupper.

Foto: Claudio Castello

 

– Norge må slutte å støtte Etiopias myndigheter økonomisk og moralsk. Regimet er udemokratisk og villig til å drive med etnisk rensing, var en av anklagene som ble lest opp under appellene på Eidsvolls plass.

Shemilesseb (43), fikk opphold i Norge på grunn av politisk aktivitet i hjemlandet. Han er skuffet over at Norge har opprettet såpass gode økonomiske og politiske forbindelser til Addis Abeba.

Foto: Claudio Castello

 

"Rensingen" som det siktes til er anklagene om at etiopiske myndigheter tvangsflytter tusener av amhara-språklige bønder fra Etiopias sørlige regioner. Tvangsflyttingen skal ha skjedd under uverdige former, mener flere av de som var tilstede under demonstrasjonen.

 

– Folk har blitt tvunget til å forlate hjemmene sine uten noen av sine eiendeler. Flere skal ha blitt mishandlet av soldater, og vi har allerede fått høre om folk som mistet livet på grunn kvelning, i det de nærmest ble stablet oppå hverandre i forskjellige lastebilder. sier Gennet, en kvinne i 50-årene, som kom som politisk flyktning til Norge, til utrop.no.

 

– Kastet i elven

Ifølge andrehåndsbeskrivelser som hun har fått via bekjente i Etiopia, var det en brutal skjebne som møtte folk som ikke ga etter for soldatenes ordrer.

 

– Ifølge det jeg fikk høre ble de slått livløse med geværkolber, og kastet ned i nærmeste innsjø eller elv, forteller hun videre.

 

Hvor langt har regjeringens kampanjer mot amhara-folket foregått?

 

– I snart 22 år. Problemet med Etiopia er at Norge har et svært godt forhold til regimet, og sender flere millioner årlig i investering og u-hjelp. Norge må bruke sin posisjon for å utøve press slik at vi får slutt på denne etniske rensingen, legger hun til.

 

Frykter et nytt Somalia

Shemilesseb (43) kom også til Norge som flyktning. Ha sier rett ut at han demonstrerer fordi "vi etiopere kan ikke lenger leve som slaver"

 

– Regjeringen domineres av tigrinjerne, som er den mest innflytelsesrike av alle etnisiteter i landet, og presser sin vilje på de andre. Folk som ikke er tigrinjere behandles som andreklasses borgere. Norge må sette foten ned og kutte støtten til regimet i Addis Abeba, mener han.

 

Ifølge Shemilesseb er kampanjene godt planlagte, ved at enkelte grupper tvangsflyttes sammen eller at hele stammer sendes til ressursfattige områder.

 

– Formålet er å skape etnisk- og stammebaserte konflikter, mens majoriteten i landet får styre som de vil.

 

Han frykter kaos og at Etiopia blir som Somalia hvis hverken Norge eller det internasjonale samfunnet ikke griper inn.

 

– Vi har 80 ulike etniske grupper i Etiopia. Og da sier det seg selv at kaoset vil rå hvis landet skulle deles i 80 stater. Skal Etiopia preges av fred og demokrati så må alle etniske grupper komme overens med hverandre og ha like muligheter til å påvirke styringen av landet, sier han til utrop.no.

Ministry or Foundation of Meles?

Meles Zenawi Foundation (MZF)

By Teklu Abate : Saturday, 13 April 2013

The government of Ethiopia organized a congress that founded the Meles Zenawi Foundation (MZF) on the 6th of April 2013 at the AU Hall in Addis Ababa. The foundation is set to establish a library, a research center, a fellowship programme, and a public park, and will also recognize great achievements. Present at the occasion were Meles family; senior government officials; Presidents of the Sudan, Uganda, and Djibouti; former President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo; Commissioner of the African Union (AU) Commission Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma; and other invited guests.

Foundations play a crucial role in advancing social and economic development, science and technology, equality, democracy, and the rule of law worldwide. Taking this context, it is required to acknowledge and support the MZF, as Ethiopia needs more and more such independent voices as foundations, think tanks, professional associations, and NGOs.

                                    The late PM Meles, picture from Google

Unfortunately, the MZF seems to lack, from the very outset, such qualities as independence, diversity, innovation, and ambition expected of all foundations. I could argue that the MZF looks a quazi-government ministry that is intended to give to the works of the late PM eternity. I could further conclude that the foundation would not significantly contribute to the betterment of democratic culture and governance, freedom, and the rule of law in Ethiopia. It is rather intended to scale up and sustain the status quo. The following points ground this conclusion.

Aim of the Foundation

The rationale behind the formation of the MZF is to preserve the “legacy” of the late Meles. According to the AU website, “The Meles Zenawi Foundation aims to pursue the developmental democracy and socioeconomic renaissance initiated by the patriotic and pan-Africanist late Leader”. And the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency has it that “The Meles Zenawi Foundation is dedicated to preserving and advancing the legacy of the Great Leader Meles Zenawi in his lifelong commitment to peace, justice, economic development, good governance, and democracy for the Ethiopian and African peoples”. Similarly, Walta Info wrote “The Foundation would serve as a living center of ideas and programs to further advance the works and legacy of the great leader Meles Zenawi”.

All these tell us just one thing: the foundation would not entertain ideas that deviate from the golden standard, Meles’ views and policies. Studies, scholarships, libraries, publications, and recognitions all must clearly reflect and advance the late PM’s convictions. We know that Meles did not care for democratic governance, individual freedom, free and fair election, national assets and cultures such as our flag and our borders, corruption, and generally the rule of law. The foundation is unfortunately poised to repeat the same failures. Nothing new is going to happen- it’s all about old wine in new bottle. This conclusion is consolidated further if one considers the governing bodies of the foundation.

The Board

The founding congress named 13 personalities to serve as board members for the foundation. Four members of the board are from Meles family, Azeb Mesfin is made President of the Board. The other members are Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Sufian Ahmed, General Samora Yenus, Tedros Hagos, Aster Mamo, Kassa Tekleberhan, Muktar Kedir, Shiferaw Shigute, Abdu Mohammed and Ahmed Nasir. These are all ministers or top government officials.

Generally, the government seems the creator and owner of the foundation. These officials are not known for running their respective government apparatuses quite well, save Dr Tewodros in his capacity as Minister of Health. It is unlikely that they would invest the kind of competence and conviction required to successfully run the foundation. The best they could do is just to simulate the operations of their government ministries and offices.

Why did the government like to get hold of the foundation this much? It is not because they have the readiness and competence to run an entity of this kind. It is because they do not want to see a genuinely independent organization that champions democratic principles and practices. The government is suffering from obsessive-compulsive syndrome- they have the conviction that no chance should be given to any organization to operate uncensored. They control professional associations, public institutions, religious institutions, and even Idirs. It is indeed due to this grip on power that enabled them to rule for decades. The government generously takes care of bills for any organization that plays within the defined territory.

Funding Regimes

According to Walta Info, “Funding for the Foundation will come from private donations, income generating programs, contributions from the government of Ethiopia and other sources in accordance with the law”. During the founding congress of the foundation, the regional governments of Ethiopia, the Addis Ababa City Administration (11 million), EFFORT (one million), MIDROC Ethiopia (25 million), and the Sudan, South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, and Djibouti pledged to provide nearly 184 million Birr for the foundation.

That means, regional governments (tax payers) have already started to feel the heat- it is their obligation to cover a significant part of the foundation’s costs. Just to preserve the legacy of the late PM, one has to pay. Contributing a lot for a foundation that is not going to conquer new grounds is both economically and morally unaffordable. We already have nine regional governments and millions of EPRDF cadres that work day and night to echo his legacy. Why should we need another structure having exactly the same mission? What are the legal and moral grounds to establish an ‘independent’foundation under government proclamation? Is it under the government’s legal jurisdiction to open new foundations for the founding members and ‘great’ leaders of EPRDF following their deaths? Helping and facilitating the establishment of a genuinely independent foundation is commendable but requiring, by law, the tax payer to regularly donate seems arbitrary and out of mandate.

Concluding Remarks

The legacy of Meles is itself highly controversial. That Meles was a visionary, democratic, and nationalistic leader is true only to EPRDF members and sympathizers. For the majority of Ethiopians, Meles failed to consider them as valuable and respected citizens. That he was a technical writer and speaker did not translate into democratic ideals and the rule of law. Erecting skyscrapers, constructing roads, schools, health facilities, and giant hydro-electric dams did not leave real legacy: people should have come first. If the founders really care about Meles, they should make the foundation a really independent organization that studies, disseminates and champions democratic ideas and practices regardless of Meles’ conviction. It is only this way that they could preserve Meles in Ethiopian history.  

Deputy prime minister ato Demeke Mekonen and ato Hilawi Yosef humiliated (see video)

World Bank Must End its Support for Human Rights Abuses in Ethiopia

By David Pred, April 10, 2013

A multi-billion dollar aid program administered by the World Bank is underwriting systematic human rights abuses in Ethiopia. Last September, Ethiopian victims submitted a complaint about the program to the World Bank Inspection Panel, which is tasked with investigating whether or not the Bank complies with its own policies to prevent social and environmental harm. A meeting of the Bank’s board of directors to discuss the Panel’s preliminary findings was postponed on March 19th due to objections from the Ethiopian government.

Ethiopia is one the largest aid recipients in the world, receiving approximately US$3 billion annually from external donors. The largest aid program, financed by the World Bank, the UK, the European Commission and other Western governments, is called Promotion of Basic Services (PBS). It aims to expand access to services in five sectors: education, health, agriculture, water supply and sanitation, and rural roads. The PBS program objectives are indisputably laudable and aim to meet a number of dire needs of the Ethiopian population. There is evidence, however, that it is contributing to a government campaign to forcibly resettle an estimated 1.5 million people.

In the lowland region of Gambella, the government’s principle means of delivering basic services is through the implementation of the “Villagization Program”. The government claims that “villagization” is a voluntary process, which aims to “bring socioeconomic and cultural transformation of the people” through the resettlement of “scattered” families into new villages. The services and facilities supported by PBS are precisely the services and facilities that are supposed to be provided at new settlement sites under the Villagization Program.

However, Gambellans, now amassing in refugee camps in Kenya and South Sudan, report that the program has been far from voluntary. When I visited the camps last fall, the refugees reported a process involving intimidation, beatings, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture in military custody and extra-judicial killing. Dispossessed of their fertile ancestral lands and displaced from their livelihoods, Gambella’s indigenous communities have been forced into villages with few of the promised basic services and little access to food or land suitable for farming. Meanwhile, many of the areas from which people have been forcibly removed have been awarded to domestic and foreign investors for large-scale agro-industrial plantations.

In September, Human Rights Watch and my organization, Inclusive Development International, arranged a meeting with the World Bank and five newly arrived refugees in Nairobi. One by one, they gave chilling testimony of the abuses that they and their families have experienced under the Villagization Program. Their testimony corroborated detailed reports about the program by Human Rights Watch and the Oakland Institute.

Yet, despite these credible reports and first-hand accounts that Bank staff heard in Nairobi, the Bank has continued to deny the forcible nature of villagization. The Bank also insists that its project is not linked to the Villagization Program, despite its acknowledgement that it finances the salaries of public servants who are tasked with implementing villagization. These arguments are wholly disingenuous. Donors must accept responsibility for human rights abuses they help make possible and do everything in their power to prevent them. There are ways the Bank can support critical investments in human development while ensuring that it is not underwriting human rights violations. It could, for example, require that the Villagization Program comply with its safeguard policy on resettlement as a condition of its $600 million concessional loan for the latest phase of PBS. If this policy were applied, the government would have to ensure, and the Bank would have to verify, that resettlement is truly voluntary and that the program improves people’s lives.

Yet the Bank and bi-lateral donors have instead chosen a strategy of denial. They have invested too much for too long in Ethiopia to admit that things have gone horribly wrong, and they are too worried about upsetting a critical military ally in a volatile part of the world to start attaching human rights conditions to aid packages.

That is why the World Bank Inspection Panel is so important. After undertaking a preliminary assessment, the Panel determined that the link between PBS and villagization was plausible and it recommended to the Board a full investigation in order to make definitive findings. However, Ethiopia’s representative on the Board has stymied approval of the investigation. A meeting to discuss the Panel’s report scheduled on March 19 was postponed due to resistance from the Ethiopian government, which is vying to set the terms of the investigation.

The Inspection Panel was established as an independent body that people harmed by World Bank lending practices can access in order to hold the Bank to account. Bank managers and member states are not supposed to interfere in the process. The Bank’s president, Jim Yong Kim, should stand up for accountability and tell the Board to let the Panel do its job. The truth that will come out of this investigation may be inconvenient for the Bank and an important client government, but it will be a rare measure of justice for the Ethiopian people.

Ethiopia threatens journalist with solitary confinement

By Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ): April 10, 2013

His Excellency Berhan Hailu
Minister of Justice
P.O. Box 1370
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia

Via facsimile: +251-11-517-755
Via email: justice@telecom.net.et

Dear Minister Birhan Hailu,

We are writing to bring to your attention the case of Ethiopian journalist and teacher Reeyot Alemu, whose health has deteriorated since her imprisonment in June 2011 on terrorism charges and who is now being threatened with solitary confinement. The Ethiopian Ministry of Justice has publicly subscribed to a vision in which "human and democratic rights are respected," yet Reeyot's full human rights are being denied to her in Kality Prison.

The Ethiopian High Court sentenced Reeyot, a columnist for the now-defunct independent weekly Feteh, to 14 years in prison on January 2012 under the country's anti-terrorism law. In August 2012, the Supreme Court acquitted her on two counts, but upheld the charge against her of participation in the promotion or communication of a terrorist act, and reduced her sentence to five years.

Prison authorities have threatened Reeyot with solitary confinement for two months as punishment for alleged bad behavior toward them and threatening to publicize human rights violations by prison guards, according to sources close to the journalist who spoke to the International Women's Media Foundation on condition of anonymity. CPJ has independently verified the information. Reeyot has also been denied access to adequate medical treatment after she was diagnosed with a tumor in her breast, the sources said.

We would like to draw your attention to the 2011 report by Juan E. Méndez, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, in which he urged the prohibition of "the imposition of solitary confinement as punishment--either as part of a judicially imposed sentence or a disciplinary measure." We would also remind you that Ethiopia is a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and is legally bound to uphold these principles.

As a current member of the United Nations Human Rights Council and a signatory to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Ethiopia has committed itself to upholding the human rights of all of its citizens. This includes the right to freedom of expression and speech, as well as protection from cruel and inhumane forms of punishment such as solitary confinement.

All of the charges against Reeyot were based on her journalistic activities--emails she had received from pro-opposition discussion groups and reports and photographs she had sent to opposition news sites. Reeyot, who received the International Women's Media Foundation Courage in Journalism Award in 2012, has covered key developmental issues in Ethiopia such as poverty, democratic opposition, and gender equality.

The prison sentence against Reeyot for performing her duties and exercising her rights as a journalist to ask questions and express opinions calls into question Ethiopia's commitment to the democratic values and human rights the country claims to uphold.

We urge you to fulfill Ethiopia's promise to build a humane and democratic state by withdrawing the threat of solitary confinement against Reeyot and ensuring her access to adequate medical care. No journalists should face detention or imprisonment in the exercise of their duty.

Yours sincerely,
Joel Simon
Executive Director

CC List:

Shiferaw Tekle-Mariam, minister of federal affairs of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia
Girma Birru Geda, ambassador of Ethiopia to the United States
Donald Booth, ambassador of the United States to Ethiopia
Lieselore Cyrus, ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Ethiopia
Greg Dorey, ambassador of the United Kingdom to Ethiopia
Xavier Marcha, head of the European Union Delegation to Ethiopia
Juan E. Méndez, special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, U.N. Human Rights Council
Claudio Grossman, chairperson, United Nations Committee against Torture
Firmin Edouard Matoko, UNESCO representative to Ethiopia
Pansy Tlakula, special rapporteur on freedom of expression, African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights
Med S.K. Kaggwa, special rapporteur on prisons and conditions of detention, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
Reine Alapini-Gansou, commissioner and special rapporteur of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
Margaret Sekaggya, U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
Arnold Tsunga, director, Africa Program, International Commission of Jurists
Antoine Bernard, chief executive officer, International Federation for Human Rights
Berhane Melka, head of Federal Prison Administration, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tombet Ariane, head of delegation, International Committee of the Red Cross, Ethiopia
Alana Barton, program manager, International Women's Media Foundation, United States

April 10, 2013 11:45 AM ET 

Request for an immediate investigation in to the forced eviction of Amharas

Ethiopian People’s Congress for United Struggle (Shengo)

To Navanethem Pillay – Chair, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Request for an immediate investigation in to the forced eviction of Amharas from Western and Southern Ethiopia.

Recent developments in Ethiopia indicate that thousands of ethnic Amharas have been forcefully evicted from the Benshangul Region in Western Ethiopia. Overnight, masses of unassuming people including vulnerable women and children have been uprooted and forced to leave their livelihood in the most callous circumstances. This forced eviction was confirmed by credible international news agencies including the Voice of America.

This is not the first time that such forced and ethnic based eviction was carried out targeting the Amharas in Ethiopia. Last year thousands were also evicted from Maji Guraferda a location in Southern Ethiopia in a similar action taken by the local authorities. According to a leaked memo the horrendous ethnic based forced eviction was ordered by the president of the southern region Mr Shigute.

Shengo is appalled by such inhuman and illegal act perpetuated with the full knowledge of the ruling EPRDF. To date the government has taken no steps to stop such ethnic based forced eviction. Shengo is very concerned that whatever the pretext, this current eviction is part of a systemic policy of “ethnic cleansing regions in Ethiopia”.

We contend that this action could constitute crime against humanity as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

As such, we urge your office to give the situation a very urgent and immediate attention, investigate and avert further human tragedy.

Sincerely yours;
Ermias Alemu, (Dr)
Chairman

Cc Genocide watch
Human Rights Watch
Amnesty International
AU