Ethiopia is enduring its worst drought since the 1980s says Oxfam

By Brendan Cole
January 29, 2016 03:03 GMT


ethiopia-drought (3)
 The government, WFP and a group of charities such as Save the Children are working on the relief effort. Addis Abbaba is already spending about $300m (£208m) and other funds have come from the United States, Canada, European states and others. About $38m (£26m) was committed this week, the WFP said.
But more is needed when international aid budgets are stretched by crises such as the Syria conflict.
Unlike in 1984, whose drought led to the deaths of one million people, this time the Horn of Africa country is relatively stable and is at peace. But the El Nino weather phenomenon is even overwhelming government policies which have seen agriculture health and social programmes put in place.
Some experts say that the $1.4bn (£970m) to cover food relief may prove inadequate, after rains failed in 2015 and with the 2016 outlook unclear.



Ethiopia drought relief needs $500 mln for support beyond April – WFP

Freedom House Report 2016: Freedom in Ethiopia declined in 2015

Fredome House
RATINGS CHANGE:


 Ethiopia’s political rights rating declined from 6 to 7 due to the government’s systematic constriction of political space surrounding the May parliamentary elections. The ruling party took all the seats in the lower house, the preelection period was marked by the detention and arrest of opposition members, and discrimination against and harassment of Muslims and the Oromo population limited their participation in the political process.
OVERVIEW:
 A full narrative report for Ethiopia will be posted as soon as it becomes available.

Eritrea ‘appalled’ by hoax forced polygamy story

BBC | A satirical story that Eritrean men have been ordered to marry at least two wives, which has been shared across Africa, has upset Eritrean officials.

“Even a madman in [the Eritrean capital] Asmara would know that this story was not true,” an Eritrean official told the BBC.

The hoax was first published online on a Kenyan news site called Crazy Monday.

Some men have commented on Twitter that they are ready to travel to Eritrea to find a new wife.

Crazy Monday, which is published by the Standard newspaper, is well known for its focus on scandalous stories and gossip as part of an attempt to attract a younger readership, says Mathias Muindi from the BBC’s media monitoring service.

But this has not stopped it being reported in many countries from Nigeria to South Africa, with some suggesting that it was true.

The story said that to make up for the shortage of men in the country, following the civil war with Ethiopia from 1998-2000, every man must marry at least two women or face imprisonment.

It has been trending on Twitter in Nigeria, and other countries, for several days with people sharing links to the Eritrea’s visa application documents.

‘Dark Forces’
Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel tweeted that “the media frenzy to parrot this ludicrous, fabricated and trite story… is appalling”.

One news website, Sahara Reporters, has retracted the story acknowledging that it was false.

In another tweet Mr Yemane said “the story illustrates [the] vileness of the dark forces of disinformation and proclivity of others to readily embrace the negative narrative on Eritrea”.

The New York-based group Human Rights Watch says that there is a “dismal human rights situation” in Eritrea and the restrictions there, including on the freedom of expression, have led some to call it the North Korea of Africa.

BBC seeks Ethiopia and Eritrea service

China Is Getting Ready to Surge Troops Into Africa

Military deploying to protect Beijing’s people and Investment

 by PETER DÖRRIE


 Chinese activities in Africa have expanded massively during the last decade. To be sure, most of this has been purely economic—such as bartering access to natural resources in exchange for loans.

But these money-making activities have grown so much in recent years, China is realizing it can’t keep relying on African governments to protect them—and the thousands of Chinese nationals who’ve moved to the continent. Beijing isn’t giving up on making business deals in Africa. Far from it. It’s just that protecting those economic ties is turning into a job for the Chinese military.

 David Shinn, a former American ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso—and an expert on China-Africa relations—believes Chinese investment in Africa will slow down over the next 15 years. But there’s a catch. China’s military will grow to take a more prominent role.

 “The other sectors are pretty well advanced at this point, and the security connection is still relatively modest,” Shin tells War Is Boring.

 “Although it’s grown a lot, particularly since the Chinese got involved in 2008 in the anti-piracy operation off Somalia,” he adds. “That has significantly increased ship visits to Africa—and not just on the east coast—but throughout Africa.

” China’s economic growth and internal stability relies on free and open trade routes. In 2008, when Somali pirates began abducting merchant ships on a weekly basis—and jacking up insurance costs—China joined the international naval mission to stop the hijackers. Since China’s initial contribution to anti-piracy activities, the country greatly increased maritime cooperation in with Africa, holding exercises with Tanzania and providing warships to the Nigerian navy.

Above—Beninese soldiers with Chinese Type 65 rifles. U.S. Marine Corps photo. At top—United Nations peacekeepers from China in Gao, Mali. Marco Dormino/U.N. photo Power projection Officially,

 China abides by a strict hands-off policy when it comes to the internal affairs of other countries. And to be fair, Chinese intervention in Africa is nowhere near the scale practiced by the United States,

 France and some African countries. But Beijing hasn’t followed this practice consistently. China is also becoming more assertive on the continent. It has to.

 “With the growing numbers of Chinese living in Africa, they become more and more subject to negative incidents, just like Westerners,” Shinn says.

 “[China is] finding that they have to be somewhat more innovative in the way that they protect their own interests and nationals on the continent.” Beijing has relied on local governments to handle security for Chinese nationals in Africa.

 But this approach has met its limits, Shinn explains. When civil war broke out in Libya four years ago, Beijing had to evacuate 36,000 Chinese nationals living in the country. The long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi wasn’t willing or able to do it.

 And China certainly didn’t want to ask Western powers to help rescue its citizens. “China had to do the entire evacuation on its own without any assistance whatsoever,” recalls Shinn. “That was a wake-up call for the Chinese.” “They didn’t even know that they had 36,000 nationals in the country,” he adds.

 “They did very well actually pulling it all of, but they realized that they were hopelessly unprepared for this sort of thing.” Then there’s considerable economic interests. A prime example is the young nation of South Sudan. China procures about five percent of its oil imports from the east African country. In 2013, South Sudan collapsed into civil war.

 China soon embarked on its first major military intervention in Africa—deploying 700 soldiers as part of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

 While China had far more peacekeepers deployed to Africa than any other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, the South Sudan mission is the first that explicitly includes Chinese combat troops. The soldiers were part of an unprecedented level of Chinese engagement. Beijing’s diplomats also took on the role of direct mediators between the warring parties.

 On Jan. 12, the South Sudanese government and the rebels signed a Chinese-brokered cease fire. “China’s mediation of South Sudan issues is completely the responsibility and duty of a responsible power, and not because of China’s own interests,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. Which is incredulous. Africa has many conflicts, but China has majoreconomic stakes in South Sudan—and the civil war is the only one Beijing introduced combat troops.

 But this isn’t to say that China’s interests and those of South Sudan are mutually exclusive. In this case, China helped bring the warring sides to an agreement that, at least for the time being, slowed the conflict. Beninese soldiers fire on the move from Chinese Type 65 rifles as part of a joint U.S.-Benin live fire exercise. U.S. Marine Corps photo Guns and diplomacy The main thing is that China wants to be an economic and diplomatic superpower in Africa.

 But this has exposed some curious contradictions. Case in point is one of Beijing’s most important businesses with African countries—the arms trade. China has exported massive amounts of heavy and light weapons to the continent in recent years. “If you go back to the ’60s and ’70s, [Chinese weapons] were somewhere about three percent of all arms going into Africa,

” Shinn recalls. “If you look at it up until 2010 or ’11, around 25 percent of all arms going Africa, by dollar value [are Chinese].” “In part because Chinese military equipment is of higher quality with each passing year,” he adds. “It is also very cheap compared to Western-equivalent equipment. The Africans are enthusiastic about it.

” Chinese companies don’t really care who they sell their merchandise to. “A lot of those arms go to effectively pariah countries like Zimbabwe and Sudan,” Shinn says. Both countries are under European Union and U.S. arms embargoes, and look to China as a no-questions-asked weapons supplier. But this market-oriented trade is beginning to bite Chinese policymakers in the back.

 In South Sudan, Chinese credibility took a blow in early 2014, when media outlets began to report on a massive delivery of small arms and ammunition to government troops from Chinese state-owned arms manufacturer Norinco.

 Chinese diplomats were quick to point out that these deals came years before the civil war, but they were nonetheless politically embarrassed by the apparent lack of coordination. China is also arming South Sudanese troops with anti-aircraft missiles. That’s still only part of it.

 The Chinese government is signing security-related partnerships with Egypt and is sending hundreds of military personnel to support the response to Ebola in West Africa. “We absolutely will not take the old path of Western colonists,


 and we absolutely will not sacrificeAfrica’s ecological environment and long-term interests,” Wang said during a recent visit to Kenya. But when it comes to military engagement, China will soon have to make hard decisions about where Africa’s own long-term interests end, and its own interest begin. Its troop presence is only likely to grow.

17 Children Killed by Authorities in Ethiopia Land Protests

Demonstrations over a plan to expand the capital into the ethnic region of Oromia began in Ethiopia in late November. Since then, there have been 140 confirmed deaths of protesters at the hands of government authorities. Of the 17 minors killed by authorities, most were between the ages of 12 and 17 years old. Citizen media reports also show that many more school children have been injured in the protest movement.

The protesters are speaking out against the so-called “Master Plan” to expand the capital city, Addis Ababa, into Oromia, fearing that the proposed development will result in direct persecution of the Oromo ethnic group, including mass evictions of Oromo farmers from their land.

Oromo people, who represent the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, have experienced systematic marginalization and persecution over the last quarter century. Some estimates put the number of Oromo political prisoners in Ethiopia at 20,000 as of March 2014. The country’s ruling elite, of the EPRDF party, are mostly from the Tigray (only 6% of Ethiopia’s 90 million population ) region, which is located in the northern part of the country.


In parallel with efforts of global organizations such as Human Rights Watch, local activists have worked to document and preserve evidence of these killings since early December. Last week, Ethiopian media scholar Endalk Chala and Oromo activist Abiy Atomssa published a map of confirmed deaths based on a crowdsourced data set comprised of reports from citizens, activists, social media, local media networks and VOA’s Amharic service.


Ethiopia: Deaths of Minors in Oromo Protests, December 2015 : minors killed december 2015

Name Description Where When Remarks                    
Gutu Abara Dheressa 12th Grade Student at Chaliya High School Guliso, West Walaga) 12/2/2015       
             
Dejene Serbessa 10th Grade Student at Bantu Secondary School Tole, South West Shawa) 12/3/2015         
           
Miftah Juneydi Bushra High School Student Furda Town, Bedeno, East Hararge 12/5/2015               
     
Murad [Murata] Abdi Ibrahim 9th Grade Student at Bate High School In front of Haromaya University 12/7/2015 Funeral on 8 Dec 15 in Kombolcha       
            
Bekele Seifu 11th Grade Student Inchini, West Shawa 12/7/2015 Killed on spot                    
Bekele Seboka Hunde 12th Grade Student at Inchini Preparatory School Inchini, West Shawa 12/7/2015 Shot & wounded. Died before reaching Paulos Hospital                    
Banti Dhuguma Burqa Wanjo Secondary school Lalo Asabi district, West Walaga 12/10/2015      
              
Alazar Kelbessa [Benti] Student Inango, West Walaga 12/10/2015                     
Lucha Gamachu 9th grade student at Burqa Wanjo Secondary School Inango, West Walaga 12/10/2015 https://www.facebook.com/Jawarmd/videos/10102047226079323/?theater    
               
Gudata Bayissa Gobena 9th grade student Babichi, West Shawa 12/10/2015                     
Dereje Gadissa Taye 9th grade student Babichi, West Shawa 12/10/2015                     
Fikadu Girma 9th grade student Gedo, West Shawa 12/10/2015
                    
Lamessa Fayera 12 years old student Ambo, West Shawa 12/12/2015                     
Ulfata Chimdi 4th grade student. Age 12 Ambo, West Shawa 12/12/2015  
                  
Tadasse Dhaba Jobir 8th grade student at Gixire Elementary school Abuna, Gindabarat, West Shawa 12/14/2015 wounded on 14 Dec 15. Funeral on 16 Dec 15                    
Name not yet identified Young age Awaday, East Hararge 12/15/2015  
                  
Name not yet identified Young age Awaday, East Hararge 12/15/2015                     
Damee Dabali 10th grade student Maqa-Najjo, West Walaga 12/15/2015 soldiers would not allow the public remove the body for several hours as they kept firing                    
Barihun Shibiru 8th grade student Ejaji, West Shawa 12/16/2015 Arrested and executed. Funeral date 17 Dec 15                    
Eshetu Fedessa Son of Sirne Gudata Chanka, Qellam, West

Wallaga 12/17/2015 http://amharic.voanews.com/audio/3102692.html                    
Eighth grader Barihun Shibiru of West Shawa was among a handful of minors who were arrested and executed once in official custody. Shibiru’s funeral was held on December 17.

Citizen videos have also helped document and confirm deaths of minors, including a video that shows students crowding around the body of Lucha Gamachu, a 9th grader at Burqa Wanjo Secondary School

Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Law: A Tool to Stifle Dissent | A Legal Analysis by International Lawyers

While legitimate anti-terrorism laws exist, Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation criminalizes basic human rights, especially freedom of speech and assembly. The law defines terrorism in an extremely broad and vague way so as to give the government enormous leeway to punish words and acts that would be perfectly legal in a democracy,”

 said Lewis Gordon, editor of the report and Executive Director of the Environmental Defender Law Center. “It also gives thepolice and security services unprecedented new powers, and shifts the burden of proof to the accused. Worse still, many of those charged report having been tortured, and the so-called confessions thathave been obtained as a result have been used against them at trial,” he continued

.


 “Through our extensive work on land related issues in Ethiopia, we have witnessed firsthand how the anti-terrorism law has been misused to curb peoples’ opposition to forced land evictions and land grabbing by domestic and foreign investors,” said Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of The Oakland Institute.“We are grateful to the legal community for providing this essential analysis of the dire situation in Ethiopia. It is timefor the international community and donor countries to demand that this law, used to oppress and intimidate political speech and freedom is struck down

immediately,” Mittal continued. “The conclusions reached in this report are not those of a few fringe lawyers or policy organizations,” said Lewis Gordon. “This law has been harshly criticized by the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, numerous UN Special Rapporteurs, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, the governments of the US and UK, and the EU. Given our findings, we must, as an international community,

 demand that until such time as Ethiopia revises this law to bring it into conformity with international standards, it repeal or suspend the use of this repressive piece of legislation.” Those who have been charged as terrorists under the law include newspaper editors, indigenous leaders, land rights activists, bloggers, political opposition members, and students. About the report’s authors& contributor:

 Lewis Gordon, Editor & Author: A Harvard graduate, Mr. Gordonhas been a lawyer for over 35 years and is the Executive Director of the Environmental Defender Law Center (EDLC). Mr. Gordon has worked on numerous high-profile environmental and human rights cases on behalf of thousands of victims, as well as a host of international prize-winning activists, in dozens of countries around the world. Sean Sullivan, Author:J.D., University of Southern California. Mr.

Sullivan is a lawyerat the Los Angeles office of Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP, and focuses his practice on intellectual property and complex class action litigation. He has assisted EDLC on a number of projects in the past, including obtaining freedom for an international prize-winning Mexican activist wrongfully charged with murder, and obtaining political asylum for another imprisoned Mexican activist who had received an international prize delivered to him in his jail cell by the widow of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Sonal Mittal, Author: J.D. Harvard Law School. Ms. Mittal is an associate at the San Francisco office of Wilson SonsiniGoodrich &Rosati where she focuses her practice on privacy, data protection, and Internet law. Kate Stone,

Contributor.International Human Rights Law, University of Oxford.Kate Stone is a barrister specializing in international human rights law at Garden Court North Chambers, Manchester, UK.

In Ethiopia, anger over corruption and farmland development runs deep

Despite the government ending plans to build on Oromo land around the capital, clashes continue, as lack of transparency and maladministration fuel dissent
William Davison, Mon, 18 Jan. 2016

Two years ago, on the edge of Chitu in Ethiopia’s unsettled Oromia region, local officials told Chamara Mamoye his farmland might be developed when the small town expanded. He hasn’t heard anything since. “Losing the land would be a big problem for me, but if the government forces us, we can’t do anything,” the father-of-five says outside his compound.

 Last month, Chamara, 45, saw the bodies of two protesters lying on the road after demonstrations rocked Chito. The dead were among up to 140 people killed by security forces during region-wide protests triggered by claims of injustice and marginalisation from the nation’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo. Bolstered by US-based social media activists, the protest movement coalesced around opposition to a government plan to integrate the capital, Addis Ababa, with surrounding Oromo towns. After weeks of protests, the ruling coalition in the Oromia region said last week that it wascancelling the planned expansion. Protests, however, go on, and the roots of popular unease and anger in Oromia run much deeper.

Dissatisfaction with corruption, maladministration and inadequate consultations on investments are fuelling dissent. This patchwork of grievances presents a fundamental challenge to an authoritarian government aiming to rapidly transform Ethiopia from an agrarian society to an industrial powerhouse. And the discontent is a national issue. Urban expansion is causing clashes across the country as investors, officials and farmers protect their interests, says Seyoum Teshome, a lecturer at Ambo University.

 “The villagers who have been asking for basic services and infrastructure rush to sell their farmland at market rate before it is expropriated at low rates of compensation,” he says. As all land is state-owned in Ethiopia, houses are rapidly built on the edge of towns without official permission, to give plots value, Seyoum says. Investors may bribe corrupt officials to formalise illegal transfers, causing anger among dispossessed farmers, he adds. Chamara was not among the mostly youthful protesters who took to the streets in Chitu, but he shares their concerns about an unresponsive ruling system.

 He’s frustrated by repeatedly broken official promises to tarmac the main road that runs through Chitu. Although the area has electricity and a mobile-phone signal, he is disappointed with the rate of progress since the government came to power 25 years ago. “There is no big development considering the time they had,” he says. He is also upset by a lack of information and consultation over land policies, as well as concerned by suspicions of corruption – though officials do not flaunt ill-gotten gains. “The corruption is done in a secret way. It’s a silent killer,” he said. In elections last May, Ethiopia’s ruling coalition and allied parties won all 547 seats in the federal parliament and 100% of legislative positions in nine regional councils. Despite the result, the government

acknowledged widespread dissatisfaction with the quality of public administration and levels of corruption. “In many areas, personnel said to be involved in massive corruption that led to sudden outbursts of anger are being dismissed,” government spokesman Getachew Reda said in an interview last week. One of the deadliest incidents last month took place in Woliso town, about113km south-west of Addis Ababa. Six protesters were killed by security forces after thousands of people from surrounding villages took to the streets to protest over planned expansion of the town. A group of young Oromo, who had gathered next to the Walga river a few miles from Woliso, spoke of community fears of evictions and poor compensation. But nobody seemed to know anything specific about government plans. “The government does not discuss in detail.

 They do not have consent,” one said. Ethiopia has long been a darling of the international donor community, which has appeared willing to ignore its poor record on human rights because high growth rates over the past decade have delivered some development goals. But the Oromo protests illustrate the vulnerabilities of this strategy.

 To the north of Chitu, at Wenchi, which boasts a spectacular crater lake popular with tourists, grievances are almost tangible. Soldiers are still in town and, as elsewhere, the authorities have arrested people suspected of involvement in the protests. While some seem cowed by the crackdown, Rabuma Terefa is not. His friend was shot in the leg on the edge of Chitu as he marched with other protesters from Wenchi. When an elite military unit told elders the protesters must turn back, the group refused, arguing they had a constitutional right to peacefully demonstrate, said Rabuma.

 Within minutes, soldiers opened fire, killing people, including Birhanu Dinka, who was leading the crowd at that moment. “They did not say anything, they just pointed the guns at us. We were begging them not to kill us,” Rabuma, 27, says. While abuses may have occurred, security forces are told to protect civilian lives, according to Getachew. It is not only lives at stake: around the time of the protests in Wenchi, the property of a Dutch agricultural company, Solagrow, was torched by hundreds of people. Rabuma says the investment angered locals as it fenced off 100 hectares of prime communal grazing land, leased by the government.

Solagrow says community relations were healthy and the valley was waterlogged until they drained it. The project was collateral damage of the political dispute, according to manager Jan van de Haar. “[The protesters] became angry and they said there was only one way to continue, and that’s our farm, because we’re the only investment in that place,” he says. The attack destroyed $300,000-worth of machinery and potato seeds. Rabuma had no sympathy for Solagrow, which he says was complicit in the government’s oppression of the Oromo. He is instead focused on the struggle Ahead.

 In Chitu, Chamara speaks for many Oromo as he implores the government to better manage investments and urban sprawl. “No one is opposing the development of the city, but it should not be at the expense of farmers’ lives,” he says..

U.S. Says Concerned Over Ethiopia Stifling Oromo Dissent

The U.S. is concerned by the sustained stifling of dissent by its ally Ethiopia, including the detention last month of ethnic Oromo opposition politicians during recent fatal protests, the State Department said.

Demonstrations against a government masterplan to integrate the development of the capital, Addis Ababa, with surrounding areas in Oromia region began in mid-November and continued this week in the town of Ambo.

“These arrests have a chilling effect on much-needed public consultations to resolve legitimate political grievances in Oromia,” according to the Jan. 14 statement. “We call for the release of those imprisoned for exercising their rights, such as political party leaders and journalists.”

Bekele Gerba, deputy leader of the Oromo Federalist Congress, the main opposition party, was arrested on Dec. 24 with other senior party officials.

As many as 140 “generally peaceful” protesters were killed by security forces during the wave of protests across Oromia, according to Human Rights Watch. The government says a dozen security forces and a significant number of civilians died. The governmentshelved the masterplan on Jan. 14 after the Oromo wing of the ruling coalition withdrew its support.

Tedros forced to cancel press briefing in Brussels

HIS EVENT IS CANCELED
Invitation Press Briefing
H.E. Dr Tedros Adhanom
Foreign Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Regional Powerhouse or Hostage of Horn of Africa’s troubles?
EU-Ethiopia Partnership: What is in it for Europe?
Since the official relations between Ethiopia and the European Union were initiated 40 years ago, Ethiopia has proved to be an important partner for the European Union in areas like stability in the Horn of Africa and international migrations.
The Joint Declaration for a Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility signed between the two entities at the Valetta on 11 November 2015 attest this strong relation.
Moreover, European investors are increasingly interested in business opportunities in Ethiopia in sectors like agro-processing, manufacturing and light industry.

Wednesday, 13 January 2016 at 9:30
Press Club Brussels Europe
Rue Froissart 95, 1040 Brussels

The Minister will give a briefing to the journalists on these topics as well as on the internal situation of the country and answer their questions. You are cordially invited to join the briefing.

Program
09.30 : Registration and tasting of Ethiopian fine coffee
09.45 : Start of the press briefing
10.15 : Q&A with journalists
11.00 : End of the event
RSVP: jonas.lismont@ethiopianembassy.be +32 485 73 61 51

Ethiopia: TPLF in Disarray and the Remaking of National Unity | By Messay Kebede

That in less than six months after announcing a 100 percent electoral victory in national elections the TPLF faces a formidable uprising in Oromo regions and in a lesser scale in some parts of Ethiopia constitutes the mother of all irony. Unsurprisingly, the only response known to the government to the popular unrest is massive mobilization of security forces, including the army, and violent crackdowns resulting in deaths, severe beatings, and arbitrary imprisonments. This time, however, there is a difference: the TPLF is badly wounded by the protests and uprisings and seriously weakened.

This is shown by the fact that the TPLF was compelled to publicly drop the Addis Ababa Master Plan in an attempt to quell the unrest. I give no credence to what the TPLF says or promises and remain convinced that it will implement the Plan in one form or another. Still, that the TPLF was forced to back down in the face of popular opposition is the first in kind since it seized power in 1991. No doubt, the official announcement of a retreat was an extremely difficult one in view of the too familiar and boundless arrogance of the TPLF. Like an injured animal attacks left and right, one should, therefore, expect the intensification of repression and a tightening of the control system from the enraged arrogance.

Another manifestation of a weakened TPLF is the surrender of Ethiopia’s exclusive sovereignty of the so-called Renaissance Dam. Despite denials of the Ethiopian government, the recent agreement does stipulate that the filling of the dam requires a prior consensus with Egypt and Sudan; it also specifies that the latter will be given priority for the electricity generated by the dam. One must be a fool not to see that these conditions establish a de facto co-ownership of the dam by the three countries.
The surrender is just a confirmation of the TPLF’s conviction that it does not have the national support that it needs to withstand Egyptian demands.

In my view, the current popular revolts are bound to have consequences that will deepen the weakening of the TPLF. Among these consequences, three major ones particularly stand out. The first has to do with the cohesion of the EPRDF itself. As a major partner in the ruling coalition, the OPDO has been humiliated and seriously rebuffed by the uprisings in Oromia. Non-Oromo security forces had to be called to repress the popular protests, obvious as it is that Oromo security personnel were either reluctant to crackdown or the TPLF could no longer trust them. We even heard some TPLF members accusing the Oromo forces of gross incompetence, worse yet, of secretly supporting the protesters. Whatever the interpretation, one thing is sure: a rift that would be difficult to bridge is now visible within the EPRDF.

Another major consequence is the end of the myth of Ethiopian stability under the hegemony of the TPLF. Some such outcome is likely to be of great concern for Western governments and investors as well as for the growing Chinese involvements in Ethiopia. Western governments had so far turned a blind eye on the gross violations of human rights in Ethiopia as a ransom for the guarantee of stability and economic development in a continent too prone to political turmoils and violent conflicts. But when unrests multiply, especially when they come from the Oromo who are supposed to have most benefited from the liquidation of Amhara hegemony and the establishment of federal system of self-rule, they reveal a deep crack in the very foundation of the regime.

The impact of the collapse of the myth of stability is already visible in the recent declaration of the American government expressing deep concern over government’s crackdown on protesters and calling for a “constructive dialogue to address legitimate grievances.” Another possible expression of discontent of the US could be the precipitated shutdown of American base for drone operation in southern Ethiopia: even if military factors must have been the real reason for the decision, its official announcement at a time when the TPLF is losing face in the eyes of the international community looks like a betrayal of an ally that has no longer faith in the regime.

Last but not least, the uprising and the violent crackdown invite a rethinking among opposition forces, notably a heightened awareness of the need to counter the divide-and-rule strategy of the regime by going past ethnic alignments. Many observers are wondering why other ethnic groups, especially the Amhara, are not joining the Oromo uprisings, all the more so as it is but evident that the TPLF would be unable to suppress if the uprisings extend to other regions. Indeed, expanding these protests into a national movement, by which alone other ethnic groups can be coopted, is the sine qua non to defeating and overthrowing the TPLF.

The good news is that appeals for rapprochement between the various groups are being heard here and there and in some places––still very limited––we see a debut of implementation, as in the case of Medrek and Semayawi parties agreeing to work together. There is no doubt that it would be difficult to overcome the descending path created by decades of divisive politics and mutual suspicion, but the spectacle of Oromo protesters abandoned to the violent fury of the TPLF should give us all a pause.

The crackdown on Oromo protesters under the eyes of other groups acting as bystanders is simply the spectacle of a people made powerless by its own divisions.

Needed, therefore, is the remaking of unity through the dialectical process of negation and negation of that negation. The original unity was abstract, homogenizing; it was negated by divisions and ethnic fragmentations. The TPLF is trying to solidify the movement of fragmentation. We have to say no by negating the fragmentation, but this time to obtain a synthetic unity, the unity that integrates diversity conquered through the first negation. This is called development, as opposed to fragmentation or secession.

They wanted me to say I was wrong’: Freed Ethiopian journalist on why 1,500 days in jail failed to silence her

Reeyot Alemu, an Ethiopian journalist who worked for the independent weeklyFeteh, spent almost 1,500 days in prison after being arrested in June 2011 andcharged with terrorism in 2012. She was released unexpectedly in July.


In interviews with CPJ in November and December, Reeyot discussed her experiences in prison, during which she was held for brief periods in solitary confinement and denied visits. She says she refused an offer of a pardon because it would have implied an admission of guilt. “They wanted me to kneel down, but I was not OK with that,” she said. “I think they wanted to release me, but they wanted me to say that I was wrong.”

Reeyot also discussed her decision to join Arbegnoch Ginbot 7, a coalition of opposition political organizations banned by the Ethiopian authorities. She announced her membership to the group in December, during an interview withEthiopian Satellite Television Service in Washington D.C.
You were released unexpectedly on July 9. What did you think when you heard you were free?

I was confused. I didn’t ask for pardon and I did not fill out the parole form. I suspected they might take me to another police station or prison, or for torture. I said to the prison officers, “Maybe you say something false and if I reveal it, you will bring me back?” I think maybe they released me  suddenly to avoid many people knowing about it.

 My sister had come for the release of [journalists] Edom[Kassaye] and Mahlet [Fantahun.] Fana Radio [a pro-government station] had announced their release. She didn’t know about me, because the media didn’t say anything. She wasn’t there for me, but she was very happy and excited.

What was it like in prison? Are you able to put those memories behind you?
I don’t think someone in prison can put the prison memories behind. I can’t and I also don’t want to because I must not forget. If I forget these kinds of things it’s not good for the struggle. There are many prisoners there, there are many who’ve been tortured there, there are many innocent people who don’t deserve to be in prison. Therefore I want to remember.
What were some of the things you experienced prison?

For 13 days while I was in the police station I was in solitary confinement, the room had a bad smell. No lawyer could visit me. They insult you. One day, one policeman crashed my head into the wall. These things can happen in that prison–inMaekelawi–you expect it. Also, they warn you, “If you won’t be a witness, we will detain you for life, or we can kill you.” They say this just to make you give false witness. And when I said “No,” they said, “OK, we can call you a terrorist,” and they did just that.

Reeyot Alemu spent almost 1,500 days in jail for her journalism. (Barbara Nitke/CPJ)
For the first three months, no one could visit me. The prison is very crowded but they wanted to isolate me from other prisoners. To be able to say that I was not isolated, they built another home for me and they put three other prisoners with me. There were four small beds, close to each other in a narrow room.

They even denied my right to read. When my parents or friends brought books [the prison authorities would] look at the title of the books or the cover and say “It’s politics or it’s history,” and return them. They want you to read these love stories [laughs] and to forget politics. They only wanted me to read books that they said should “entertain” me.
They denied my right to education. I was going to study my Masters in political science and when I was in prison I enrolled and paid my fees. They knew when I had paid and then after that, they denied me, as a kind of revenge.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: The Ethiopian embassy in Washington D.C. and the government spokesman in Addis Ababa did not immediately respond to CPJ’s request for comment on claims that political prisoners and jailed journalists are mistreated.]
What helped sustain you in prison?

I spent my days and nights reading, even if I didn’t get the books I am interested in. I took risks and was writing and smuggled them out. If I was not reading or writing, I was thinking about what we can do as a country, as a people. What must the people of Ethiopia do, including me?
I told myself I must be strong, I must pass these bad days. I told myself that some people survived Nazi camps and therefore I can too. You can’t be OK physically if they beat you, but I must keep my mental health. I also remember many people’s stories that I’d read before I was in prison–the ideas remain in my heart and soul. For example, Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X, Viktor Frankl, The Diary of Anne Frank. Her diary helped me realize I could also survive. There were also the poems of Bewketu Seyoum.

How did you get the news that the Zone 9 bloggers were arrested?
My mother and father told me when they were visiting. When I heard I became angry, but I also expected it. What is the future of Ethiopia, if someone tries to write something and they are arrested? What is the solution? I was very angry.

It must be frustrating to be so angry but not to be able to do anything.
That is the problem of being a prisoner [laughs]. If you are out, maybe you can speak or you can write something, but in jail, you can’t even do that. You feel even more bad when you are in prison.
While you were in prison did you know what CPJ and other groups were doing for you, or that you were part of CPJ’s Press Uncuffedcampaign?

Not the details, but I knew some of it. I heard more when I came out. [CPJ] helps a lot. People or governments or organizations must know about the situation. You give awareness–that’s a big thing.
The world must know what the Ethiopian government is like. We [as journalists] are trying to be a voice for the voiceless, but when we were arrested, CPJ became our voice.
Now that you are free, what are your plans?

I will continue to write. After I was released, I began immediately to publish articles onEthiomedia. I’m sure of two things: I will continue my writing and struggle against our government. It goes with writing.

Are you leaving journalism now that you’ve joined a political party?
I have no intention to stop journalism because I joined a political party. Journalism is a profession I am devoted to throughout my life. But I am also an Ethiopian and my country is in great danger. My country needs me. If I can do it through my beloved profession, I am happy and will continue. If the struggle needs me to contribute in other ways, I am also ready to do that. It depends on where I can contribute more to save Ethiopia from ruin.

What is your motivation for making this move?
I made this decision in the last two years of my imprisonment. I believe there is little opportunity for peaceful struggle. Within a week of parliament labeling five organizations as terrorists [in June 2011], the ruling party imprisoned me, Woubshet [Taye,] and other innocent citizens. After that many journalists, opposition party members, and leaders were accused under the anti-terrorism law. Ethiopia become a big prison for all dissident voices.

Many political parties have tried to change the government by peaceful means. By taking Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders as role models, I was also part of a peaceful struggle. But in prison I realized the situation in Ethiopia is very different. To struggle against this government, there must be a political organization not controlled by the government. There must be a political party the government cannot shut down. There must be an armed group to respond to the cruelty of the regime in an appropriate way. As Mandela wrote in his autobiography, the struggle is defined by the oppressor, not the oppressed. I am forced to talk with the oppressors in the language they understand.
What is it about G7’s policy/position that made you join them?

I have many reasons to join Arbegnoch Ginbot 7. The main one is they are struggling for allEthiopians–that means all ethnic groups, all religions, and allindividuals.
What do you say to those who criticize you for abandoning your independence as a journalist to join a political party?

I ask them, “Why would I abandon my independence as a journalist?” For me, being independent is related to open-mindedness. I was and am ready to see beyond my religion, gender, ethnicity, and other things. I am ready also to see beyond my political party. I am curious enough to know about different ideas and groups. I think these and other qualities have enabled me to be an independent journalist. I have met with some people who have asked me these kinds of questions. Some of them mix being independent with being neutral. I cannot be neutral and stand between just and unjust, oppressors and oppressed. I am with oppressed ones and against the oppressors.

Sue Valentine, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, has worked as a journalist in print and radio in South Africa since the late 1980s, including at The Starnewspaper in Johannesburg and as the executive producer of a national daily current affairs radio show on the SABC, South Africa’s public broadcaster.ource- CPJ

For Immediate Press Release: OYSU: A Call to Action in Ending the Crimes against Humanity in Ethiopia

(Ogaden Youth & Student Union) — The Ogaden Youth and Student Union condemns the systematic genocidal massacres taking place in Oromia and Ogaden, and stands with student protesters fighting to end the authoritarian regimes policies of mass displacement against the Oromo and Ogaden people.

Alemneh Wase News: A Look Back at Sululta’s Protest Last Thursday | Audio

 

The current EPRDF regime in Ethiopia continues and has exacerbated the policies of successive authoritarian Ethiopian regimes in the past. The genocidal massacres taking place in the Ogaden is well documented by human rights organizations and has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilian populations since 2007. The Ethiopian government’s exploitation of natural resources in the

 

Ogaden has led to a dire humanitarian crisis and a worsening armed conflict. The Ogaden region is currently facing the worst drought in history and international humanitarian organizations that have historically provided much needed assistance, such as Doctors Without Borders and the International Red Cross, have been denied access to operate in the region. Government-sponsored militias, known as the Liyuu Police, continue to commit rape, extrajudicial killings, mass arrests, and torture with impunity. Millions of people in the Ogaden are facing one of the worse famines in the world and the international community continues to turn a blind eye.

The gross human rights situation that has been taking place in the Ogaden has now spread all over Ethiopia, mainly in the Oromia and Amhara regions. The EPRDF regime, which is mainly controlled by the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), is now committing mass genocidal campaigns against the Oromo people.

 

 

 We are receiving credible reports of mass arrests, kidnappings and extrajudicial killings taking place in different parts of Oromia. The Ethiopian regime’s current policy of displacing hundreds of thousands of Oromo farmers off their land has led to an uprising led by the Oromo youth. Protesters have spread all over the country and new armed opposition groups have emerged in parts of the Amhara, Afar, and Sidama regions. The Oromo people, who make up nearly half the population of Ethiopia, have been under repression and marginalization by successive Ethiopian regimes in the past. The Oromo people are essential to the future of Ethiopia and can play a fundamental role in the stability or instability of the Horn of Africa. The Ethiopian regime’s ill-advised policies and criminal behavior will lead to a humanitarian crisis in epic proportion if the international community does not intervene.

The Ogaden Youth and Student Union (OYSU) stands in solidarity with the Oromo youth and students who are leading the peaceful protests currently taking place in Ethiopian and have been the main target of rapes, mass arrests, killings, and kidnappings. The Ogaden and Oromo people, not only share a common struggle, but also share a common history of repression and marginalization by successive Ethiopian regimes. We are calling upon both people to unite against the Ethiopian regime, and reclaim freedom and justice for their respective people.

OYSU urges the international community, and mainly Western nations, to put an end to the funding and sponsoring of authoritarianism and genocide in Ethiopia. We urge Western powers, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, to pressure the Ethiopian government to end the gross human rights abuses taking place in Oromia, Ogaden and elsewhere in Ethiopia. We urge international human rights organizations to continue and further their commitment to exposing the genocidal massacres and displacements taking place in these regions. Lastly, we urge international media organizations to shed light on the acts of genocide and crimes against humanity the Ethiopian regime has been committed in the Ogaden, Oromia, and in othe