The legalization of political repression in Ethiopia

May 26, 2014

by Beza Tesfaye

It has been one month since the latest round of repression against government critics in Ethiopia began. Last weekend, the Zone9 bloggers and three journalists who were arrested in late April appeared in court. To date, very little information has been given about the crimes the bloggers and journalists are accused of committing or the reasons why they are being held practically incommunicado. Rather than indicting the prisoners during the recent court appearance, the presiding judge gave police an additional 28 days to investigate the case, sending the nine bloggers and journalists back to jail without officially charging them. It was the second time since their arrest that the court has delayed the process, and knowing Ethiopia’s dodgy laws around “crimes against the state,” it probably will not be the last time.

The tactic of detaining and delaying is not uncommon in Ethiopian political trials. The recent Anti-Terrorism Proclamation gives the court broad liberties on detention and remand, allowing the accused to be held up to a period of four months while investigations are underway. Four months without knowing what one is charged with, without the possibility of bail (as in this case) and without sufficient access to legal representation or time with family and friends. The longer the bloggers and journalists linger in jail, government may hope that media attention and the initial outcry against the crackdown will wane. But, the move is more than just a ploy to diffuse interest in the situation. More importantly, it buys time for the state to build a legal case against the accused because in Ethiopia the façade of legalism has become an indispensable gloss on political repression.

As ludicrous as the accusations of terrorism or subversion by bloggers and journalists is the ritual of political trials and court proceedings used to affirm such crimes. If a state seeks to silence criticism and repress freedom of expression, why go through the trouble of a trial? In the past, regimes that sought to clamp down on opposition did so more candidly, without any pretexts or deliberations. Yet, in recent years, few states—liberal or illiberal—have attached as much significance to legalism as the Ethiopian government when it comes to resolving political disputes.  On the surface, this is a welcomed change—since it would be foolish to argue that anyone would prefer the barrel of a gun to a trial—but the reliance on laws hides a deeper problem at the core of the political system in Ethiopia and other states that have adopted liberalism without fully buying into it.

Over the past two decades, Western countries have spent millions of development dollars on rule of law and judicial strengthening projects in transitioning countries like Ethiopia, with the aim of codifying the rights of citizens and the role of government inline with most established democracies. Much to the chagrin of Ethiopia’s Western donors and allies, though these efforts have yielded a proliferation of new laws, there has not been a commensurate increase in respect for human rights, provision of justice and restraint on government power. On the contrary, laws like the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (2009), the Charities and Societies’ Proclamation (2009), and the Mass Media and Freedom of Information Proclamation (2008) have been used to close down the political space.  In essence, laws, trials and stronger courts are not the answer to an inherently undemocratic system; they have become part of the problem.

This has been Ethiopia’s tragic paradox in recent years—the perversion of law and the legalization of repression, which is far more difficult to challenge than open brutality because any act of repression can be legitimated. Hence, the inclination of the Ethiopian government in response to genuine concerns about democracy, human rights and freedom of speech is to switch the discourse to one on legality. We hear, for instance, statements such as this one to justify the arrest of journalists for crimes of terrorism:

The government has made it clear that it fully respects the rights of the media to work freely within the framework of its legal obligations and its attendant responsibilities. The law in Ethiopia could not be applied selectively to different professions. It should apply equally to all citizens and professions, including journalists.

But, let us not fail to see that, at the heart of the matter, the recent arrests, in addition to the unfair trials of dozens of other prisoners of conscious, is not a legal issue but a political one. It matters because how we define the discourse determines what is possible to bring up for debate. Shifting the focus to legalism usurps the ability to question the very legitimacy of a system that institutionalizes repression. The struggle that continues with the growing support for the Zone9 bloggers and journalists in prison is resistance to the notion that expressing criticism of government is a crime. No matter how intricate the case and sophisticated the legal arguments devised to criminalize the nine detained writers, they stand on the side of truth and justice.

Source: Africa is a Country

Fairtrade failing to deliver benefits to Ethiopia and Uganda farmers

May 24, 2014

Fairtrade accused of failing to deliver benefits to African farmworkers

Study claims wages on officially certified markets are below what is paid by comparable employers

(The Guardian) – Sales of Fairtrade-certified products from Uganda and Ethiopia are not benefiting poor farmworkers as profits fail to trickle down to much of the workforce, says a groundbreaking study.

Millions of British consumers have bought Fairtrade coffee harvested in Uganda. Photograph: Simon Rawles/Getty Images

The Fairtrade Foundation is committed to “better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world”. But a UK government-sponsored study, which investigated the production of flowers, coffee and tea in Ethiopia and Uganda, found that “where Fairtrade flowers were grown, and where there were farmers’ groups selling coffee and tea into Fairtrade certified markets, wages were very low”.

Christopher Cramer, an economics professor at the University of London and one of the report’s authors, said: “Wages in other comparable areas and among comparable employers producing the same crops but where there was no Fairtrade certification were usually higher and working conditions better. In our research sites, Fairtrade has not been an effective mechanism for improving the lives of wage workers, the poorest rural people.”

Researchers who collected detailed information on more than 1,500 people said they also found evidence of the widespread use of children being paid to work on farms growing produce for Britain’s leading ethical label.

Fairtrade, started in Britain 25 years ago by development and consumer groups including Oxfam and the Women’s Institute, has grown into one of the world’s most trusted ethical schemes, with 1.24 million farmers and workers around the world. Fairtrade products contribute to the funding of schools, health clinics, sanitation and other “social projects” in rural areas. To join the scheme, farmers must agree to meet social, labour and environmental standards. In Britain it is a £1.78bn enterprise backed by government, Comic Relief, churches and supermarkets.

Fairtrade tea and coffee from Ethiopia and Uganda have proved popular with millions of British consumers. Starbucks, the House of Commons and Virgin Atlantic are among many organisations advertising that they serve Fairtrade produce from these countries.

Generally, the study found, wages were higher on farms that were larger, commercial and not Fairtrade-certified. Even comparing different smallholder sites, wages were generally lower in the areas dominated by Fairtrade producer organisations.

Social projects, paid for partly by the Fairtrade premium, were found not to provide equal benefit to all. The researchers reported that many of the poorest did not have access to facilities. In one Fairtradetea co-operative the modern toilets funded with the premium were exclusively for the use of senior managers.

The study also found that young people were widely used as labourers on both Fairtrade and other farms. “When wage workers aged over 14 years were interviewed, a very large proportion of them said they had been working since the age of 10, or even earlier,” it said. “What is clear … is that very significant numbers of young, school-age children are having to work for wages in the production of agricultural export crops, including Fairtrade-certified commodities.”

The authors said a combination of idealism and naivety could explain why Fairtrade did not reach the poorest people in Ethiopia and Uganda. “One possibility is that Fairtrade producer organisations are always established in significantly poorer, more marginalised areas where an accumulation of disadvantages means smallholder farmers are unable to pay even the paltry wages offered by smallholders in other areas without Fairtrade producer organisations,” they said.

“Fairtrade attempts to support and subsidise co-operative groups of ‘smallholder’ producers on the remarkably naïve assumption that the benefits of this support are distributed evenly amongst the group. This assumption about egalitarian distribution is unwarranted.”

Fairtrade International said the report’s conclusions were unfair and generalised. “In several places it compares wages and working conditions of workers in areas where small-scale Fairtrade-certified tea and coffee farmers were present with those on large-scale plantations in the same regions,” it said in a statement.

“The report itself identifies farm size, scale and integration into global trade chains as major factors influencing conditions for wage workers, but then its conclusions appear to be based on unfair and distorted comparisons between farms and organisations of dramatically different size, nature and means.

“When comparisons are based more on like-for-like situations, such as the study’s own analysis of Ugandan coffee in small scale coffee production set-ups, it finds key areas where workers in areas with Fairtrade-certified farmer organisations in fact had better conditions compared with those in non-certified, such as free meals, overtime payments and loans and wage advances for workers. This is in sharp contrast to the more generalised conclusions being presented by the School of Oriental and African Studies team.”

A Democratic Hero who deserves our appreciation!

May 23, 2014

by Nesanet Nerese

For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice, necessity and importance of political and social rights. B. R. Ambedkar (Roughly translated in to Amharic: ወጤታማ የሆነ ፖለቲካዊ ለወጥ ‘ኣብዮት’ ለማመጣት የሚያሰፈልገዎ በሆኔታዎች መጥፎ መሆን ማላዘን አይደለም ይልቁንስ ዋናው አስፈለጊው ነገር ለፍትህ ለፖለቲካዊ እና ማህበረስባዊ መብት መከበር ኣስፈላጊነት ጠንካራ የሆነ እምነት ይዞ ማራመድ እንጂ)

Yes, this Quote from Ambedkar speaks a volume about the need of having a strong belief (conviction) in change i.e. for a real change to take place in a society where there is a deep rooted discontent because of injustice.

So in this respect it is fair to say that Ethiopia is blessed to have sons and daughters who struggle with conviction, commitment and dedication to bring a democratic change in Ethiopia so that each and every Ethiopians can live equally in a justice, democratic, and united Ethiopia.

One of the many remarkable Ethiopians who have strong conviction and dedication to such noble cause is Journalist & Activist Abebe Gellaw. Abebe Gellaw is a highly educated professional journalist who earned his bachelor’s degree from Addis Ababa University and a post-graduate diploma from London Metropolitan University. Abebe Gellaw’s excellence in his profession and the achievements he made in his life time is several and simply amazing.

Just to mention some of his several achievements:

He has for example received many awards and bursaries (i.e. monetary awards) such as:

1. An international journalism training bursary at the London-based Reuters Foundation in 1998.
2. He also received a Champions of Change Millennium Award in 2002
3. He was even awarded with lifetime membership of the Millennium Awards Fellowships in the UK.
4. He even received a British Telecom Community Connections Award that same year.
5. Abebe Gellaw was also one of the few professional journalists who were sponsored by the world biggest Internet Company Yahoo at Stanford University in 2008-09.https://www.flickr.com/photos/yodelanecdotal/3329635076/
As many of his achievements are unquestionably amazing, it’s even worth noticing how responsible, honest, rational, balanced and down to earth he is.

In his dedication for a democratic and noble cause, Abebe has on different occasions reaffirmed his decision to keep on his engagement as a democratic activist, case in point is the promise he made when he was selected as one of the 197 Young Global Leaders by World Economic Forum.

On this occasion Abebe said “I am not only thrilled but also humbled to be included in this year’s World Economic Forum list of honorees. I will take advantage of this global opportunity to promote the causes that are closer to the heart of Ethiopians such as the struggle for freedom, respect for human rights and dignity in Ethiopia,”

As you all know, Abebe Gellaw was one of the 197 Young Global Leaders who were selected by World Economic Forum from a pool of nearly 5000 nominees from around the world for their “professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.”

Few names who were selected with him were Evan Williams, Co-founder and CEO of Twitter, Steven Chen, Co-founder and Chief Technologist of YouTube, Jon Favorue, Obama’s chief speech writer, Nelson Mandela’s grandson and South African Member of Parliament, Mandla Mandela, Saudi Arabian Prince Khalid Bin Bandar Bin Sultan, Crown Princess Mette-Marrit of Norway, sixteen Ministers from around the world and many CEOs

Keeping his promise, Abebe has continued his struggle in his democratic activist role using his wisdom, knowledge, skill and experience.

Here are some of the many occasions that he raised the concerns of millions of Ethiopians on different forums where world decision makers are gathered.

• In Tanzania: Abebe confronted Meles Zenawi at the World Economic Forum on Africa, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, May 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI598aBMCvI
• In Norway: In 2012, At Oslo freedom forum, where humanitarian issues come to the top of the global agenda, Abebe gave eye-opening presentations to the gathered audience and thereby exposed the TPLF tyranny to the whole world attending through different medias.http://www.oslofreedomforum.com/speakers/abebe_gellaw.html
  • In USA Washington: The Prominent journalist Abebe Gellaw confronted the late hated dictator Meles Zenawi by interrupting his speech at the Symposium that was held at Reagan Building & International Trade Center in Washington DC where the attendants of the Symposium include, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America; Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary, United States Department of State; and 3 African leaders. http://ecadforum.com/ethiopianvideo/2012/05/18/esat-breaking-news-meles-zenawi-humiliated/
  • On May 8, 2014, Ethiopian journalist and freedom activist respectfully interrupted President Barack Obama at a Democratic National Committee Fundraiser and called on his support to stand with the oppressed people of Ethiopia. Fortunately, President Barack Obama also agreed with Abebe’s call for freedom and systematically made it clear that a foreign policy change will be needed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR0w__Zbu94/

The fact that Abebe, in addition to his appeal to Obama, even has taken the advantage of his presence on the fundraising to inform other US High officials about the ongoing repression in Ethiopia is very admirable.

Here are some of the many occasions that he raised the concerns of millions of Ethiopians on different forums where world decision makers are gathered.

Abebe Gellaw is the only Ethiopian who actually systematically succeed in taking the freedom demand of the Ethiopian people to as high level as it can go.

Abebe apart from being very active in his advocacy role on different global arena, he has obviously been one of the founders and program host on ESAT, in which he interviewed several US high officials who direct or indirectly can have an impact on Ethiopian politics.

Apart from being a program host on ESAT he himself also has been active in debating with different people on ESAT, VOA and on other different Medias as a defender of human right issues in Ethiopia.

This link here below can take you to one of the many videos posted on ESAT on which we can watch Abebe debating with one of TPLF cadres and wisely and intellectually puts his fact based argument about the repressive nature of TPLF.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR0w__Zbu94

To make the long story short, Abebe Gellaw is a great democratic Ethiopian who is a good role model for millions of Ethiopians.

We Ethiopians need to appreciate and support such precious Ethiopian like Abebe Gellaw, as we also need to encourage other democratic activist Ethiopians who are engaged in the struggle at home and in different parts of the world.

It’s only when we support and encourage those who struggle for a peaceful, united, and democratic Ethiopia, where freedom and justice can prevail in our country.

May GOD Bless Ethiopians and Ethiopia!

The Ethiopian People have Said No to Ethnic Federalism

May 20, 2014

by Tedla Asfaw

Wow Aboy Sibhat I wish I heard this one 23 years ago what he said on German Amharic recently, Ethiopian and Eritrean people are One and the Same.

If we put into practice the language based Ethnic Federalism the crown jewel of TPLF/EPRDF the coastal area of Eritrea will be Afar Kilil and the highland part will be incorporated in to Tigrai Kilil. Foreign powers suggested such alternative long time ago but Emperor Haileselassie rejected it.

The promised “discussion” which is going to be initiated by Sibhat Nega the founder of TPLF shortly will bring in all the people of Ethiopia, from Asmara to Ogaden, Metema to Asab, Borena Neglle to Addis Ababa in general people of all nations and nationalities of Ethiopia.

Some will accuse such initiative as the “Habesha Conspiracy”. They know very well that such initiative will bury their dream of establishing “The Oromo Republic” and the “Ogaden Republic” the two front runners among many “to be formed Republics” based on the TPLF/EPRDF Constitution of 1995 Article 39.

We saw “implementation” of that article on the Oromo Kilil after waiting almost 23 years. Can we say without any doubt what the Oromo Kilil is asking is no different from what Shabia asked 23 years ago?

Aboy Sibhat claim of the “Ethnic Federalism” as a case study for the whole of Africa on how to make Ethnic Federalism an attractive alternative to avoid disintegration of the African countries is not serious. We know it failed miserably in Ethiopia.

South Sudan that has been in Ethnic war since December 2013 should redraw its map at least into Dinka and Nuir Kilil if we take the wisdom of Aboy Sibhat and “learn” from Ethiopia’s model of Ethnic Federalism.

Ethiopians in major protest estimated more than one million in Addis Ababa nine years ago denounced Ethnic Federalism practiced by the regime and we should give the same opportunity for the people of South Sudan what they think of redrawing their country into Ethnic Kilils.

Ethnic Federalism is a “Master Plan” of Fascist Italy more than seven decades ago which has been practiced in the last 23 years in Ethiopia. It is a bad model should be rejected by the people of Africa. It will not empower the people and put them into perpetual conflict like the one we recently witnessed in the Oromo Kilil and other Kilils of Ethiopia.

Silencing the Zone9 by hook or crook

May 20, 2014

by Hindessa Abdul

It has been over three weeks since close to a dozen journalists and bloggers were arrested, most of whom members of the blogging collective known as Zone 9. Their site, hosted in Google’s Blogger platform, was launched two years ago with a catching motto “We blog because we care.” They coined the name after a visit to the Zone 8 of the Kaliti prison, where a fellow journalist, Reeyot Alemu, is serving a five year sentence. Zone 9 is a metaphor to say the rest of the populace is also in jail but in a different cell block. No surprises, their page was blocked within weeks of its launch.

Abel Wabela, Asmamaw W/Giorigis, Atnaf Berhane, Befekadu Hailu, Edom Kassaye, Mahlet Fantahun, Natnael Feleke, Tesfalem Weldyes, Zelalem Kebret have been locked up in the notorious Maekelawi in the north of Addis, where the tradition of torture is well alive and kicking.The bloggers were public servants,university professors,information technology professionals, full time journalists so on and so forth.

As it has become absurdly the norm, police had detained then started to investigate the alleged crimes, dashing the hopes of a speedy trial. So far the broad allegations are: working with a foreign organization that claim to be human rights group; conspiring to incite violence via the social media. An advisor to the Prime Minister put it as “criminal activities” without delving into specifics. Police have requested more time to investigate. The courts have no problem granting the wishes of the police at the expense of the detainees.

Some papers that came out in the last couple of days said, weeks after the arrest nobody knows the reason for their detention. However piecing together the words of police and close associates of the ruling party , there are clues to indicate where this thing is going to end up.

The dots

At the beginning of April, security officials detained Patrick Mutahi, a Kenyan national and a staff of Article 19 – a London based rights group working for the defense of freedom of expression — at the Bole International Airport. His earlier visits to the country (said to be five times) have been closely monitored.

Ironically Patrick’s travel to Ethiopia was related to a training on security and safety. Talking of safety, media watchdog groups train journalists in various skills. In recent years, with governments filtering the web, the subject of circumnavigating censorship; concealing the location from where blogs are posted have gained traction. Back in the early days of Internet filtering, the Paris based Reporters without Borders produced a famous manual called Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-dissidents to help protect journalists in otherwise unfriendly political systems.

While Patrick was deported back to his country after a day in custody, his cell phone was confiscated, leaving behind a trove of information.

Enter HRW

In March of this year Human Rights Watch published a report on the state of surveillance in Ethiopia. The 100 page report entitled: ‘They Know Everything We Do: Telecom and Internet Surveillance in Ethiopia’ explains how security officials willy-nilly eavesdrop on the phone conversation of citizens. Here is a witness telling his encounter in the report:

“After some time I got arrested and detained. They had a list of people I had spoken with. They said to me, “You called person x and you spoke about y.” They showed me the list—there were three pages of contacts—it had the time and date, phone number, my name, and the name of the person I was talking with. “All your activities are monitored with government. We even record your voice so you cannot deny. We even know you sent an email to an OLF [Oromo Liberation Front] member.” I said nothing.”

Hence, the call log in Patrick’s phone will reveal all the individuals he had contacted. No matter what the conversations, it would be construed in a way that justifies the government’s paranoia.

TPLF insiders

A day after the detention of most of the suspects, Mimi Sebhatu, a close confidant of the Meles-Azeb family went on to her radio station and said the suspects had contact with Article 19. Mimi may have an inside knowledge not least because of her association with the inner circle as to her family’s history in the lucrative security business in the country.

In the closed court appearance police told the judges that some of the suspects travelled to Kenya and have received money and training from a human rights group. Police stopped short of mentioning who the rights group was.

TPLF run online media in North America are having a field day attacking Article 19 and the bloggers. They call the group “a neo-liberal extremist organization for hire, created for the sole reason of overthrowing democratically elected governments.” And the bloggers are guilty even before they are formally charged. “It’s a criminal act to make Addis Ababa turn into Ukraine’s Kiev for the sake of money, by working with the likes of ‘Article 19’ Eritrea and Egypt,” opined one.

So there should be no doubt as to what the charges will be associated with. The insiders have told us in no uncertain terms that it is all about Article 19. We, surly, will stay tuned.

Ethiopia: Journalists are not terrorists

May 19, 2014

Reporters Without Borders has learnt today that the court in Addis Ababa granted the police investigating the case against the 6 bloggers and three journalists, 28 more days for further investigations. The police notably claimed they were unable to access the Facebook and Twitter accounts of the detainees, which were reportedly disabled after the hearing on May 7th and 8th.

According to the Eastern Africa Journalists Association ’s Secretary general, Alexis Niyungeko. “The request by the police for more time to conduct further investigations clearly shows that the three journalists and six bloggers were arrested without sufficient evidence”.

Following today’s hearing, the news providers are now being officially charged under thecountry’s infamous anti-terrorism proclamation of 2009, which can carry imprisonments sentences from 5 to 10 years.

During today’s hearing, a witness said that Zone9 blog member Atinaf Berhanecomplained of sever torture and interrogation throughout the night. The detainees were able to see their lawyers for the first time on May 14th and May 16th, according the defense lawyer Amha Mekonnen. The next hearing is scheduled for June 14th.

Reporters Without Borders

Exiled Ethiopian church convenes in Oakland

May 19, 2014

OAKLAND — Bishops from one of the world’s oldest Christian churches gathered in the Oakland hills for a four-day summit last week, hoping to sort out their differences as they shepherd an East African denomination to new lands.

The gathering was “to talk about the next generation, the one in the United States, what we have to do for them,” said Palo Alto resident Benyam Mulugeta, president of the board of Oakland’s Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Mekane Selam Medhane Alem Cathedral. “We don’t want to lose the next generation.”

Exiled Patriarch Abune Merkorios was scheduled to preside over the convening of the Holy Synod, but the elder church leader fell sick shortly before his flight to the Bay Area.

Merkorios was dethroned and replaced amid Ethiopia’s political turmoil of the 1990s, but still has a worldwide following of Ethiopian emigrants who consider him the true spiritual leader of an institution that dates back to the 4th century.

Merkorios lives in New Jersey. A rival patriarch and institution continue to be seated in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

Clergy from Australia, Canada, Germany, South Africa, Sweden and across the United States gathered at the Mountain Boulevard cathedral last week from Wednesday through Saturday.

Ethiopian Orthodox Christians say they hope to establish the kind of American footprint that Greek and Russian Orthodox churches began more than a century ago, building their own church buildings and monasteries and appealing to younger, U.S.-born congregants who grow up speaking English.

Hosting the convention was 90-year-old Abune Melketsedek, who heads the Oakland cathedral and is also the general secretary for the exiled church. Bishops and congregants were seen tearfully hugging on Friday after resolving some internal disputes over church policies.

“It’s one of the big events of our church,” Mulugeta said of the meeting.

Inside Bay Area News

EHSNA Condemns Human Rights Violations in Ethiopia

May 19, 2014

Washington, D.C. – The Ethiopian Heritage Society in North America (EHSNA) condemns the killing of students in Oromia region in Ethiopia. Furthermore, EHSNA condemns the arrests, torture, and imprisonment of Ethiopians through out Ethiopia and calls on all human rights organizations to put pressure on TPLF/EPRDF regime for its heinous crimes.

For the past month and a half, the situation in Ethiopia has been very disconcerting. The vast ongoing human rights violation by the TPLF government has urged the Ethiopian Heritage Society In North America (EHSNA) to speak and condemn the ongoing onslaught on Ethiopian citizens. The level of instability in the country has never been more apparent than ever before.

Oromo students have been peacefully protesting against a land policy where the government intends to implement. Largely, the protests took place in universities in towns such as Ambo, Jimma, Wellega and so on. According to BBC, in Ambo, 125km (80 miles) west of Addis Ababa, eye witnesses reported at least 47 students were killed by security forces during the days preceding May 2, 2014.

Instead of addressing the issue peacefully the TPLF/EPRDF regime security forces used live ammunition at unarmed student protestors killing and leaving several hundred causalities in various parts of Oromia region.

According to human rights watch the TPLF government is, “showing increasing intolerance of any criticism of the government and further restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and association.” Hundreds of students and perhaps in the thousands now have been so far imprisoned and expelled in relations with the protests.

The regime has been systematically implementing an ethnic cleansing of Amharas. As a result thousands of Amharas have been expelled by and still continue to be ethnic cleansed from South as part of the government’s land policy. In reality, the land policy is a façade to extend its systematic implementation of confiscating land from poor villagers. The regime systematically incites violence between ethnic groups to create mistrust and hate among them. . Such an agenda has been advantageous for extremists group to exploit the policy and in turn carry out violence. This agenda disguised as policy is eroding the communal relationship and harmony that has existed for centuries

The imprisonment and intimidations of bloggers and journalists is another case that has been increasingly unsettling. Several Ethiopian journalists languish in prisons for merely expressing their opinions. Just recently, the TPLF regime arrested young bloggers, also known as zone9 bloggers, for blogging about societal issues affecting the country. The zone9 bloggers were jailed without due process and effectively sent to prison where they still remain in horrendous conditions. They have been denied access to their families and lawyers and are being imprisoned in Makelawi federal prison which is infamous for torturing prisoners. According to the Committee for protecting Journalists (CPJ), “Ethiopian authorities are turning the peaceful exercise of free expression into a crime.”

The Oromo students, as any other group of students, have the right to peacefully protest and be herd, Amharas have the right to live where they wish, and Journalists and bloggers have the right to free speech without any form of repression and intimidation. The EHSNA does not advocate any form extremists’ ideologies or align itself with any political groups; however, the question of human rights is a universal obligation where every citizen and organization must stand guard diligently. As a society based in democratic country, we support and believe in these basic human rights ideals.

The government’s gross human rights violation and divisive character has put into question the very fabric of Ethiopian identity and the future prospect of the country. Preserving and promoting Ethiopia’s heritage is only possible when the rights of its people are respected and the essence of Ethiopia stands firm. Thus, EHSNA condemns the killings, arrests, torture, and imprisonments and calls on all human rights organizations to put pressure on and condemn the TPLF government for its heinous crimes.

For more information, email: pr@ehsna.org

መድረክ በአዲስ አበባ ደማቅ የተቃውሞ ሰልፍ አካሄደ

ግንቦት ፲፰(አስራ ስምንት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-የተለያዩ ፓርቲዎች ስብስብ የሆነው መድረክ በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ “ለሰላማዊ ተቃውሞ የጥይት መልስ አይሰጥ” በሚል አላማ ያካሄደው ሰልፍ በተሳካ ሁኔታ ተጠናቋል።

ሰልፈኞቹ “ነጻነት እንፈልጋለን” ፣ “ቢሉስማ ኒበርባና “፣ ዲሞክራሲ እንሻለን፣ ገለልተኛ የምርጫ ስርአት ይኑር፣ የታሰሩት የፖለቲካ መሪዎችና ጋዜጠኞች ይፈቱ፣ አትግደሉን፣ አትዋሹን፣ ለመብት መታገል ሽብርተኝነት አይደለም፣ የዜጎች በግፍ መፈናቀል ይቁም የሚሉ መፈክሮች በአማርኛ፣ በኦሮምኛና በእንግሊዝኛ አሰምተዋል።

እጅግ ሰላማዊ በሆነ መልኩ በተካሄደው የተቃውሞ ሰልፍ ላይ ሌሎች የፖለቲካ ድርጀቶች መሪዎችም ተገኝተዋል።

ከዚሁ ጋር በተያያዘ በቅስቀሳ ላይ የነበሩ 12 የመድረክ አባሎች በቡራዩ ታስረው እንደሚገኙና ይህን ዜና እስካጠናቀርንበት ጊዜ ድረስ አለመፈታታቸውን ለማወቅ ተችሎአል።

ስቱዲዮ ከመግባታችን በፊት  የመድረክ ስራ አስፈጻሚ እና የህዝብ ግንኙነት ክፍል አባል የሆኑትን አቶ ጥላሁን እንዳሻውን በሰልፉና በቡራዩ ስለታሰሩት ሰዎች ዙሪያ አነጋግረናቸዋል።

በኦሮምያ የተነሳውን ተቃውሞ ተከትሎ የታሰሩ ተማሪዎች ስቃይ እየደረሰባቸው መሆኑን ሂውማን ራይትስ ሊግ አስታወቀ

ግንቦት ፲፰(አስራ ስምንት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-የሰብአዊ መብት ድርጅቱ ባወጣው መግለጫ ከእስር ቤቶች የሚወጡት መረጃዎች አስደንጋጭና አሳሳቢ ናቸው ብሎአል።

እስረኞቹ እጆቻቸውን ወደ ሁዋላ  ታስረው  ከሌሎች እስረኞች ጋር እንዳይገኛኑ በማድረግ   የተለያዩ ማሰቃያዎች እየተፈጸሙባቸው እንደሆነ የሚገልጸው የሰብአዊ መብት ሊግ፣ አስከፊ የተባለ ስቃይ ከደረሰባቸው 10 ተማሪዎች መካከል ተማሪ ተስፋየ ቱፋ እና ባናቱ ሃይሉ ይገኙበታል።

በምእራብ ወለጋ የተያዙ 50 እስረኞች የደረሱበት አለመታወቁን ከእነዚህም መካከል 15 ቱ ሴቶች መሆናቸውን ድርጅቱ ገልጿል።

ከዚሁ አካባቢ የተያዙና ወደ ማእከላዊ እስር ቤት ሊወሰዱ ይችላሉ የተባሉ የ9 ሰዎችን ስም ዝርዝርም ይፋ አድርጓል።

በተለያዩ የኦሮምያ አካባቢዎች ሰዎችን ያለፍርድ ቤት ትእዛዝ ይዞ ማሰርና ማሰቃየት መቀጠሉን በቅርቡ ከታሰሩት በመቶዎች ከሚቆጠሩ ተማሪዎች መካከል የተወሰኑትን ዘርዝሮ አቅርቧል።

ድርጀቱ ተማሪዎቹ ያለምንም ቅደመ ሁኔታ እንዲፈቱ፣ ተማሪዎችን ማሰር፣ መግደልና ማሰቃየት እንዲቆም፣ ገለልተኛ አጣሪ ኮሚቴ እንዲቋቋምና ወንጀለኞች ለፍርድ እንዲቀርቡ ጠይቋል።

በአብየ የሚገኝ የኢትዮጵያ የሰላም አስከባሪ የሚሽከረከር ታንክ ተገልብጦ በወታደሮች ላይ ጉዳት ደረሰ

ግንቦት ፲፰(አስራ ስምንት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :- ግንቦት ፲፰(አስራ ስምንት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-Bottom of Form

በሱዳን የአብየ ግዛት  የሚገኘውየኢትዮጵያ የሰላምአስከባሪጦርየታንክሹፌርበአጋጠመውአደጋታንኩተገልብጦ የአሽከርካሪውህይወት ወዲያውኑሲያልፍ  ፣ አብረውት በነበሩ ወታደሮችም ላይከባድየመቁሰልአደጋእንደደረሰባቸውታውቋል:: የታንኩ ሾፌር አስከሬን ወደ ቤተሰቦቹ ተልኳል።

ከስፍራው የደረሰን መረጃ እንደሚያመለክተው  በአበየየሚገኘውጦርበየጊዜውየመሰላቸትባህሪእያሳየሲሆንየሰላምሂደቱመጓተቱ በተሰማሩት ወታደሮች ላይ አሉታዊ ተጽእኖ እያሰረፈ ነው።

ኢየሱስወርቅ ዛፉ በፍርድቤት ረቱ

ግንቦት ፲፰(አስራ ስምንት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-ሕብረት ኢንሹራንስ ያቀረበውን ክስ ሲመረምር የቆየው  የፌዴራሉ የመጀመሪያ ደረጃ ፍርድ ቤት 5ኛችሎት ታህሳስ 10 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም የተካሄደው ዘጠነኛው የአዲስ አበባ ንግድና ዘርፍ ማህበራት ምክር ቤት ጠቅላላ ጉባኤ ውሳኔዎች ሊሻሩ ይገባል በማለት ውሳኔ ሰጥቷል።በዚሁ ውሳኔ መሠረት በዕለቱ የተካሄደው የምርጫ ውጤት ተሰርዞሌላ
ምርጫይካሄዳል፡፡

በምክር ቤቱ መተዳደሪያ ደንብ፥አንድአባልበጠቅላላጉባኤውስብሰባበአካልወይምበተወካዩአማካኝነትተገኝቶሃሳብይሰጣል፣ይመርጣልያስመርጣልእናሌሎችመብቶችምተደንግገዋል።

በተያዘውአመትታህሳስወርላይለተካሄደውጠቅላላጉባኤምክርቤቱሕብረትኢንሹራንስእንዲሳተፍየሚልደብዳቤየፃፈሲሆን፥ኢንሹራንሱበበኩሉመብቱንበመጠቀምየቦርዱሰብሳቢእናከፍተኛባለአክስዮንየሆኑትንአቶ ኢየሱስወርቅዛፉንመወከሉንበደብዳቤያሳወቀቢሆንምተቀባይነትሊያገኝአልቻለም።

ምክርቤቱጉባኤውታህሳስ 10 ሊካሄድለሕብረትኢንሹራንስበዋዜማውታህሳስ 9 ተወካዩበእንዲህአይነትስብሰባመሳተፍአይችሉምየሚልየቦርድውሳኔስለተቀመጠአልቀበልምበማለትምላሽይፅፋል።ለክሱመነሻምምክንያትየሆነውም ይህነው፡፡

የቀረበለትንክስየመረመረውፍርድቤቱሁለቱንክሶችውድቅበማድረግ፥ታህሳስ 10 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም የተካሄደውየጠቅላላጉባኤውሳኔዎችሊሻሩይገባልበማለትዛሬወስኗል።

ፍርድቤቱንለውሳኔእንዲበቃካደረጉምክንያቶችአንዱየምክርቤቱአባልየሆነውህብረትኢንሹራንስበህግየተሰጠውንበጠቅላላጉባኤተሳትፎያለፍርድቤትትእዛዝ  መጣሱ  ነው።

ታህሳስ 10 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ምየተካሄደውዘጠነኛውየአዲስአበባንግድናዘርፍማህበራትምክርቤትጠቅላላጉባኤ  ካስተላለፋቸውውሳኔዎችየዘጠኝያህልዳይሬክተሮችንምርጫአንዱመሆኑይታወሳል።

የኢትዮጽያናአየአዲስአበባየንግድናዘርፍማህበራትምክርቤቶችንበፕሬዚደንትነትየመሩትአቶኢየሱስወርቅዛፉበመታገዳቸውምክንያትከምርጫውድድርውጪሊሆኑእንደቻሉይታወቃል፡፡

በፍርድቤቱውሳኔመሠረትወደፊትበሚጠራውጠቅላላጉባዔዕጩሆነውይቀርባሉተብሎይጠበቃል፡፡

ግብጻውያን መሪያቸውን እየመረጡ ነው

ግንቦት ፲፰(አስራ ስምንት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-በዲሞክራሲያዊ መንገድ ተመርጠው፣ አንድን ወገን ጥቅም ብቻ ያራምዳሉ በሚል በህዝቡ ተቃውሞና በወታደሩ ድጋፍ ከስልጣን እንዲነሱና ወደ እስር እንዲጋዙ በተደረጉት ሙሀመድ ሙርሲ ምትክ፣ ግብጻውያን አዲሱን መሪወያቸውን ለመመርጥ ዛሬ ድምጽ ሲሰጡ ውለዋል።

በቀድሞው የጦር አዛዥ በ ፊልድ ማርሻል አብዱል ፋታህ አልሲሲና በሶሻሊስት ተቀናቃኛቸው ሃምዲን ሳባሂ መካከል በሚደረገው ፉክክር ፣ አል ሲሲ በቀላሉ ያሸንፋሉ ተብሎ ይጠበቃል።

አል ሲሲ ሙሀመድ ሙርሲን በማስወገዱ በኩል ከፍተኛውን ሚና የተጫወቱ ሲሆን፣ በአብዛኛው ግብጻውያን ዘንድ ይወደዳሉ። የሙስሊም ብራዘርስ ሁድ ደጋፊዎች ደግሞእንደ አምባገነንና ጨፍጫፊ ይመለከቱዋቸዋል።

አል ሲሲ በምርጫ ለመወዳደር ወታደራዊ ስልጣናቸውን ከወራት በፊት አስረክበዋል።

በአዲስ አበባ ከሚፈርሱ ቤቶች ጋር በተያያዘ ከፍተኛ ሰብአዊ ቀውስ እየተከሰተ ነው

ግንቦት ፲፭(አስራ አምስት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-ሰሞኑን ተጠናክሮ በቀጠለው የቤት ፈረሳ በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ዜጎች በድንገት ቤቶቻቸው እየፈረሱባቸው ንብረቶቻቸውን እየተዘረፉ ሜዳ ላይ እየወደቁ ሲሆን፣ ትናንት ሌሊት በድንኳን ተጠልለው ከነበሩት ነዋሪዎች መካከል የ4 ልጆች አባት የሆኑ ግለሰብ በጅብ ተበልተው ዛሬ ከፊል አካላቸው በፖሊሶች መነሳቱን የአካባቢው ሰዎች ለኢሳት ገልጸዋል።

ፖሊሶች መረጃው እንዳይወጣ አካባቢውን ተቆጣጥረው ሰዎች እንዳይንቀሳቀሱ ሲያደርጉ የዋሉ ሲሆን፣ ቀሪው አስከሬን ከተነሳ በሁዋላ ደግሞ በማይክራፎን እየዞሩ በላስቲክ ድንኳን የተጠጉትን ሰዎች አካባቢውን ለቀው እንዲወጡ እያዘዙዋቸው ነው። ብዙዎቹ ልጆቻቸውን የት እንደሚያስጠጉዋቸው ጨንቋቸው ለኢሳት በመደውል የድረሱልን ጥሪ አቅርበዋል

የሟቹን ግልሰብ ስም ለማግኘት ጥረት ብናደርግም እስካሁን አልተሰካላንም።ፖሊስ አስፈላጊውን መረጃ እንዲሰጠን ተደጋጋሚ ሙከራ ብናድርግም አልተሰካላንም።

ቤታቸው የፈረሰባቸው ሰዎች ለኢሳት በጻፉት የጋራ ደብዳቤ ደግሞ ፣ እንደ አዲስ ሰሞኑን የሚፈርሱ ቤቶች በዓለም አቀፍ ኦሎምፒክ ኮሚቴ ተስፋ በተደረገ ፈንድ ለሚገነባው የኦሎምፒክ መንደር ፕሮጀክት ቦታ ለማዘጋጀት ሲባል በመሆኑ ኦሎምፒክ ኮሚቴው የህዝቡን ስቃይ አይቶ፣ ድጋፉን እንዲያዘገይ ጠይቀዋል።

ነዋሪዎቹ በደብዳቤያቸው “የኢትዮጵያ መንግስትና የኢትዮጵያ ኦሎምፒክ ኮሚቴ ከዓለም አቀፍ ኦሎምፒክ ኮሚቴ 2 ሚሊዩን የኢትዮጵያ ብር እንደሚሰጣቸው” ገልጸዋል።

“በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ዜጎችን ያለምንም ቅድመ ሁኔታ በሦስት ቀናት ውስጥ መኖሪያቸውን ነቅለው ከአካባቢው እንዲወጡ ጥብቅ ትዕዛዝ የተላለፈው ከዚህ ፕሮጅክት ጋር በተያያዘ መሆኑን ነዋሪዎች በደብዳቤያቸው ጠቁመዋል።

ነዋሪዎቹ እንደሚሉት ” የተሰጣቸው ማስጠንቀቂያ ከዚህ በፊት ቤታቸውን ነቅለው አካባቢውን እንዲለቁ በተደጋጋሚ እንደ ተገለጸላቸው የሚጠቁም  ቢሆንም ፣  ከዚህ በፊት ቤት ግን አንድም ቀን ነዋሪዎቹ ነቅለው እንዲነሡ እንዳልተነገራቸውና ደብዳቤም ተጽፎላቸው እንደማያውቅ” ጠቅሰዋል፡፡

በሦስት ቀናት ውስጥ ቤቶች እንዲፈርሱ የታዘዘበት ምክንያት የአዲስ አበባ ከተማ አስተዳደር ተቋማት ሁሌም እንደ ሚያደርጉት የኗሪዎችን ቤት ነቅለው በመወሰድ እንጨቶችን፣ ቆርቆሮዎችን፣ በሮችንና መስኮቶችን በወረዳ አሰተዳደር ቅጥር ግቢ እያጫረቱ በመሸጥ ቤት አፍራሾቹና አመራሩ እንዲካፈሉት ለማድረግ መሆኑን ነዋሪዎች ይገልጻሉ።

“የወረዳው ዋና ሥራ አስፈጻሚ  ከክፈለከተማው አስተዳደር የመጣ ትእዛዝ ነው ምንም ማድረግ አልችልም የሚል መልስ ለአቤቱታ አቅራቢዎች ሲሰጡ፣ የክፍለ ከተማው አስተዳዳሪ አቶ ደስታ ደግሞ አቤቱታ አቅራቢዎች ከቢሯቸው እንዲባረሩ ማስደረጋቸውን ነዋሪዎች በጽፋቸው አስፍረዋል።

ኗሪዎች በንብረታቸው ላይ ሊካሄድ የታቀደውን ዝርፍያ በመፍራት የቤቶቻቸውን ጣራና በር አንስተው ዘመድ ያለው ከዘመድ የሌላቸው ደግሞ ላስትክ ዘርግተው በተጠለሉበት ቅዳሜና እሁድ ባለማቋረጥ የዘነበውን ዝናብ በላያቸው ማሳለፋቸውን፣ አራስ እናቶች እና አዲስ የተወለዱ ሕጻናት፣  ነፍሰጡር ሴቶች  በበሽታ ላይ መውደቃቸውንም አመልከተዋል።

የኢህአደግ መንግስት በሕይወት እያለን ገድሎን በድኖቻችንን በሜዳ ላይ በትኗል የሚሉት ነዋሪዎቹ፣  በካሬ እስከ ሠላሳ ሺ ብር ድረስ የሚያጫርቱትን የአዲስ አበባ መሬት 18 ብር ብቻ ተቀብለው እንዲለቁ የታዘዙ በዙሪያችን ያሉ የኦሮሚያ አርሶ አደሮች እያለቀሱ እንደሚገኙም ገልጸዋል።

ነዋሪዎቹ በደብዳቤያቸው መጨረሻ ” የኦለምፒክ ፌዴሬሽን በዓላማውና ባለው እሴት ሰብዓዊ መብትን ከሚጋፋ ተግባር ጋር የማይተባበር ተቋም ቢሆንም በጭካኔ ከሚታወቀው የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት መተባባሩን ኮንነዋል።

” በኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ በኦሎምፒክ ኮሚቴ ስም እያረፈ ያለውን ሊረሳ የማይችል ጠባሳ በተመለከተ  በማስገንዘብ በእኛ ላይ ለሚፈጸመው ግፍ ከዓለም አቀፍ ኦሎምፒክ ኮሚቴ የሚያገኘውን ፈንድ እንዲቆምላቸው” ጠይቀዋል።

ከአለማቀፍ ኦሎምፒክ ኮሚቴው ጋር ግንኙነት ያላቸው ሰዎችም ጉዳዩን እንዲያደርሱላቸው ተማጽነዋል።

ደብዳቤውን የጻፉትን ሰዎች በስልክ አነጋግረን እንደተረዳነው፣ ደብዳቤያቸውን ከጻፉ 2 ሳምንታት ያለፈው ሲሆን፣ መንግስት የሚወሰድውን እርምጃ በመፍራት እስካሁን ይፋ ለማድረግ ሳይፈልጉ ቀርተዋል።

የኢትዮጵያመንግሥትየጋዜጣናመጽሔትአከፋፋዮችንያለንግድፈቃድበመሥራትእናታክስባለመክፈልወንጀልለመክሰስ እየተዘጋጀመሆኑተሰማ፡፡

ግንቦት ፲፭(አስራ አምስት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :የጋዜጣናመጽሔትአከፋፋዮችበተለይመንግሥትንየሚደግፉጋዜጣናመጽሔቶችንሆንብለውከገበያያስወጣሉበሚልከቅርብጊዜወዲህየተጠናከረትችትከመንግሥትባለሰልጣናትበመቅረብላይሲሆንበአቶሬድዋንሁሴንየሚመራውየመንግስትኮምኒኬሽንጽ/ቤትእያካሄደያለውንጥናትማጠናቀቁ ታውቋል።

ምንጮችእንደገለጹትየጋዜጣናመጽሔትአከፋፋዮችንበሕገወጥነጋዴነትከመክሰስጎንለጎንእነሱሲሰሩ የነበሩትንሥራበአነስተኛናጥቃቅንነጋዴዎችበማስተላለፍመንግስትበአከፋፋዮችአማካይነትይደርሳልያለውንአፈናለማስቀረትእንደሚቻልጥናቱይጠቁማል፡፡ይህየመንግሥትሃሳብገናከውጥኑተቃውሞእየቀረበበትየሚገኝ ሲሆን፣  በተለይየሕትመትስርጭቱንበተዘዋዋሪመንገድመንግስትለመቆጣጠር  ማሰቡመንግስትየፈለገውንሲያሰራጭ፣ያልፈለገውንእንዲያፍንዕድልይሰጠዋል።

በአሁኑወቅት በገዢው ፓርቲ ልሳን በሆነው ራዲዮፋናከአከፋፋዮችጋርበተያያዘከጋዜጠኞችጋርውይይትእየተካሄደሲሆንበተለይየብሮድካስትባለስልጣንየቦርድአባልየሆኑትአቶዛዲግአብርሃብዙዎቹአከፋፋዮችሕገወጦችመሆናቸውንበመጥቀስመንግስትእርምጃለመውሰድእያጠናመሆኑንበግልጽተናግረዋል፡፡

በዚሁፕሮግራምላይአከፋፋዮቹከውጪገንዘብእየተቀበሉየተወሰኑየፕሬስውጤቶችንያፍናሉየሚሉውንጀላዎችምተደምጠዋል፡፡ ከመጪው ምርጫ ጋር በተያያዘ ገዢው ፓርቲ አይደግፉኝም የሚላቸውን ጋዜጦች በተለያዩ ወንጀሎች እየከሰሰ ከገበያ ሊያወጣቸው እየሞከረ መሆኑን መዘገባችን ይታወቃል።

በሃረር በአንድ ለአምስት ያልተደራጁ የእርዳታ አጎበር እንደማያገኙ ተነገራቸው

ግንቦት ፲፭(አስራ አምስት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-የሃረር ወኪላችን እንደዘገበው ለወባ መከላከያ በሚል ከውጭ በእርዳታ ስም የተገኘውን አጎበር የመንግስት ባለስልጣናት በአንድ ለአምስት እና በአንድ ለሰላሳ ላልተደራጁት አንሰጥም በመላታቸው ፣ መደራጀት ያልቻሉ ነዋሪዎች አጎበር  ሳያገኙ ቀርተዋል።

በነጻ የሚታደለው ይህ አጎበር ከክረምቱ መግቢያ ጋር ተያይዞ የአካባቢው ህዝብ ራሱን ከወባ እንዲከላከል ተብሎ የሚሰጥ ነው። ከአለማቀፉ የወባና ኤድስ ፈንድ በነጻ እንደተገኘ በሚገለጸው እርዳታ ፣ ገዢው ፓርቲ ዜጎች የድርጀቱ አባል ካልሆኑ አጎበር አይሰጣችሁም ማለቱ ተገቢ አለመሆኑን አጎበር እንዳያገኙ የተከለከሉ ሰዎችን አነጋግሮ ዘጋቢያችን ሪፖርቱን አጠቃሏል።

በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ በቅርቡ የንግድ ድርጅቶቻቸው ለተቃጠለባቸው ሰዎች በሚሰጠው እርዳታ ላይ አድልዎ በመታየቱ ነጋዴዎች ቅሬታቸውን እየገለጹ ነው።

ዜጋን ከዜጋ የመለየቱ ተግባር ተገቢ አይደለም የሚሉት ነጋዴዎች፣ የመንግስት ሹሞች ሆን ብለው በከተማዋ ነዋሪዎች መካከል አላስፈላጊ አለመተማመን እንደፈጠርና እንዲጋጩ ለማድረግ መሆኑን ነጋዴዎች ገልጸዋል።

ከ1 ሺ በላይ ነጋዴዎች አሁንም ምንም አይነት መፍትሄ ያልተሰጣቸው ሲሆን፣ ስራ ለመጀመር ባለመቻላቸው ቤተሰቦቻቸው ችግር ላይ ወድቀዋል።

በእነ መላኩ ፋንታ ላይ ሊሰጥ የነበረው ብይን ተራዘመ

ግንቦት ፲፭(አስራ አምስት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-ከፍተኛው ፍርድ ቤት የተከሳሽ ጠበቆችና አቃቢ ህግ ያቀረቡትን የክስ መቃወሚያ ተንተርሶ ብይን ለመስጠት ቀጠሮ ይዞ የነበረ ቢሆንም፣

15ኛወንጀልችሎትበነመላኩፈንታየክስመዝገቦችክስመቃወሚያላይለዛሬብይን ለመስጠት ይዞትየነበረውን የመጨረሻ ቀጠሮዳግምያራዘመው የአቃቂ ቃሊቲ ምድብ ችሎት መንገድ ዳር በመሆኑ በስፍራው ያለው ድምጽ ችሎቱን ለመሰየም አያስችልም በሚል ምክንያት ነው።

ችሎቱ በፊት ሲደረግ እንደነበረው በልደታ ፍርድ ቤት ግንቦት22፣ 2006 ዓም እንዲካሄድ ሲወስን ጠበቆች ግን ፍርድ ቤቱ ችሎቱን ወደ ቃሊቲ ሲያዞር አስቀድሞ ሁኔታዎችን ማመቻቸት ነበረበት በሚል ተቃውሞ አሰምተዋል። ዳኞች በበኩላቸው ከቀጣዩ ጊዜ ጀምሮ እንዲህ አይነት ችግር አይፈጠርም ብለዋል።

ችሎቶችን በሰበብ አስባቡ ማራዘም እና እስረኞችን ማጉላላት በኢትዮጵያ ፍርድ ቤት የተለመደ ነገር ቢሆንም፣ ከቅርብ ጊዜ ወዲህ ኮምፒዩተር የለንም፣ ዳኛ አልተሟላም፣ ብይን አልደረሰለንም በሚሉ ሰበብ አስባቦች ችሎተ የማራዘሙ ሂደት እየጨመረ መምጣቱን ዘገቢያችን አስተያየቱን አሰፍሯል።

መድረክ የፊታችን ቅዳሜ በሚያደርገው የተቃውሞ ሰልፍ ህዝቡ በብዛት እንዲገኝ ጥሪ አቀረበ

ግንቦት ፲፬(አስራ አራት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-የመድረክ የስራ አስፈጻሚ አባል አቶ ጥላሁን እንዳሻው ለኢሳት እንደተናገሩት በመጪው ቅዳሜ በሚደረገው የተቃውሞ ሰልፍ ህዝቡ በብዛት ወጥቶ ችግሮቹን እንዲያሰማ ጠይቀዋል።

የሰልፉ ዋና አላማ በአገራችን ለሚነሱ የመብት ጥያቄዎች የሃይል ምላሽ መስጠት ይቁም የሚል መሆኑን የገለጹት አቶ ጥላሁን፣ በኦሮምያ በተማሪዎች ላይ የተወሰደውን የሃይል እርምጃ እንደሚያወግዝም ጠቁመዋል።

መድረክ ሁለት ጊዜ የተቃውሞ ሰልፍ ለማድረግ ጥያቄ አቅርቦ ቢከለከልም በመጨረሻ ግን ፈቃድ ማግኘቱን የገለጹት አቶ ጥላሁን፣ ግንቦት 16 የሚካሄደው ሰልፍ  ከጧቱ 3 ሰአት ጀምሮ እስከ 6 ሰአት ድረስ ከግንፍሌ ወንዝ ድልድይ ተነስቶ የካ ከፍለ ከተማ ወረዳ 8 ባለው ቦታ ላይ ይካሄዳል።

የአዲስ አበባ አዲሱን ማስተር ፕላን በተመለከተ መድረክ ያለህዝብ ተሳትፎ መካሄድ እንደሌለበት እንደሚያምን የገለጹት አቶ ጥላሁን፣ መንግስት በሚስጢር ይዞ የሚሰራው ስራ አሁን የታየውን ችግር መፍጠሩንና እስካሁንም ለታየው ችግር መንግስት ተጠያቂ መሆኑን ገልጸዋል

“የተቃውሞ ሰልፎችን በጋራ ለማካሄድ ለምን አልቻላችሁም፣ መድረክ የህዝብ ግንኙነት ስራ በመስራት በኩል ድክመት እንዳለበት በገሃድ ይታያል  ለዚህስ ምን ምላሽ አላችሁ ተብለው የተጠየቁት አቶ ጥላሁን፣ ከፓርቲዎች ጋር በጋራ ለመስራት ጥረት ማድረጋቸውን፣ የህዝብ ግንኑነት ስራን በተመለከተም ድክመት ቢኖርባቸውም ሌሎች ሚዲያዎችም ለመድረክ በቂ ሽፋን የማይሰጡ መሆናቸውን በማንሳት ወቀሳ አቅርበዋል። ሙሉ ቃለ መልልሱ ከመጨረሻው ዜና በሁዋላ እንደሚቀርብ ለመግለጽ እንወዳለን።

በሌላ ዜና ደግሞ ከአዲስአበባማስተርፕላን ጋር ተያይዞ  የተነሳውን  ተቃውሞለማርገብበአዲስአበባየሚገኙ የጸጥታሃይሎችበፖለቲካናበደህነትክትትልአቅማቸውንለማጎልበት በሚል ስልጠናእየተሰጣቸውነው፡፡ከፖሊስጣቢያኃላፊጀምሮእስከከፍተኛየፖሊስማዕረግያላቸውየፖሊስአባላትበኮልፌፖሊስማሰልጠኛናበሰንዳፋፖሊስማሰልጠኛከግንቦት 11 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ምጀምሮለአንድወርየሚቆይስልጠናእየተሰጣቸው እንደሚገኝ ለመረዳት ተችሎአል።

ስልጠና በገቡትኃላፊዎችምትክሌሎችየፖሊስአባላትንበመወከልየጸጥታስራውንከመረጃናደህንነትአባላትጋርበማቀናጀት  እየተከታተሉትእንደሚገኙ ታውቋል፡፡

በከተማዋበየቀኑጧት 4፡00 ሰዓት ላይ በክፍለከተማስራአስፈፃሚደረጃየከተማውጸጥታሁኔታእየተገመገመሲሆን፣ከሰዓት በሁዋላ 8፡00 ሰዓትላይደግሞየግምገማሪፖርቱለመረጃናደህንነትግብረኃይልሪፖርትእየተደረገ እንደሚገኝ ለማወቅ ተችሎአል፡፡

በጣሊያን ራሳቸውን እንዳጠፉ የተነገረላቸው ኢትዮጵያዊው ዲፕሎማት አሟሟት መንስኤ በውል አልታወቀም

ግንቦት ፲፬(አስራ አራት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-ከትናንት በስቲያ ከመደበኛ የስራ ሰአት ውጭ ከጧቱ 1 ሰአት ተኩል ላይ ወደ ቢሮአቸው በመግባት ራሳቸውን ከ2ኛ ፎቅ ወርውረው የገደሉት የ62 አመቱ ዲፕሎማት አቶ ፍሰሃ ተስፉ ስለ አሟሟታቸው መንስኤ መንግስት እስካሁን ይፋዊ መግለጫ አልሰጠም።

ክሮናካ ዲ ሮማ የተባለው የጣሊያን ጋዜጣ ዛሬ ይዞት በወጣው ሰፊ ዘገባ ዲፕሎማቱ ከመሞታቸው ከሁለት ቀናት በፊት ከስራ ተነስተው ወደ አገራቸው እንደሚመለሱ ተነግሮዋቸው እንደነበር አንዳንድ ጓደኞቻቸውን ጠቅሶ ዘግቧል። ሌሎች የስራ ባልደረቦቻቸው ግን ዲፕሎማቱ ወደ አዲስ አበባ እንዲመለስ ስለመታዘዙ እንደማያውቁ ተናግረዋል።

ጋዜጣው እንደዘገበው ዲፐሎማቱ  ራሱን ያጥፋ ወይም ሌላ ሰው ይግደለው እንደማይታወቅ ገልጾ፣ ራሱን ካጠፋ ግን አንድ መልእክት ለማስተላለፍ አስቦ ያደረገው ሊሆን እንደሚችል የፖሊስ ምንጮችን ጠቅሶ ዘግቧል።

በዲፕሎማቱ ቢሮ ውስጥ ምንም  አይነት ማስታወሻ አለመገኘቱን፣ የተዘበራረቀ ነገር አለመኖሩንም የገለጸው ጋዜጣው፣ የረጅም ጊዜ ዝግጅት የተደረገበት ነበር ብሎ ለመናገር እንደማይቻልም አትቷል።

ፖሊስ ኢምባሲውን በመዝጋት ካለፉት 2 ቀናት ጀምሮ ምርመራ በሰራተኞች ላይ እያደረገ ይገኛል።

ዲፕሎማቱን ያገኙት የኢምባሲው ሰራተኞች ሲሆኑ ከሞተ ከአንድ ሰአት በሁዋላ አምቡላንስ በቦታው ቢደርስም  የዲፕሎማቱን ህይወት ለማትረፍ እንዳልተቻለ ታውቋል።

አንዳንድ ጣሊያን ውስጥ የሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን ግለሰቡ ራሱን አጥፍቷል ብለው እንደማያምኑ እየተናገሩ ነው።

አቶ ፍስሃ ወደ ኢጣሊያ ከመዛወራቸው በፊት በአውሮፓ ህብረት ዴስክ ኦፊሰር ሆነው ከሰሩ በሁዋላ፣ የአለማቀፍ ተቋማት ጊዜያዊ ዳይሬክተር እንዲሁም የዲያስፖራ ክፍል ዳይሬክተር ጄኔራል ሆነው ሰርተዋል።

አቶ ፍስሃ የህወሃት አባል መሆናቸውን አንዳንድ ወገኖች ይገልጻሉ።

በአዲስ አበባ በህገወጥ መንገድ ተስርተዋል የተባሉ ቤቶችን የማፍረስ ሂደቱ እንደቀጠለ ነው

ግንቦት ፲፬(አስራ አራት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-በተለያዩ የአዲስ አበባ አካባቢዎች የሚገኙ ነዋሪዎች እንደገለጹት መንግስት በህወገወጥ መንገድ ተስረተዋል ያላቸውን ቤቶች ያለምንም ተተኪ ቦታና ቤት በማፍረሱ በርካታ ቤተሰቦች ሜዳ ላይ እየተበተኑ ነው።

ኮልፌ አካባቢ አንፎ ሜዳ እየተባለ በሚጠራው ሰፈር ከ2 ሺ እስከ 3 ሺ ቤቶች መፍረሳቸውን ነዋሪዎች ገልጸዋል።

በንፋስ ስልክ ላፍቶ ክፍለ ከተማ የሚኖሩ ከ570 በላይ ቤቶች ይፈርሳሉ በመባሉ ነዋሪዎች አቤቱታዎችን እያሰሙ ነው። ልማት አልሙ ተብለን ለረጅም ጊዜ ገንዘብ በማዋጣት መንገድ ማሰራታቸውን፣ ውሃ እና መብራት የመሳሰሉትን አገልግሎቶችን ማስገባታቸውን ገልጸዋል። መንግስት አሁን በደንገት ቦታው ይፈለጋል በማለቱ የነዋሪዎች ህይወት አደጋ ላይ መውደቁን የህዝቡ ወኪሎች ተናግረዋል።

የአዲስ አበባ መስተዳድር ከ15 አመታት ወዲህ የተገነቡ ቤቶችን በማፍረስ ቦታዎቹን ለባለሃብቶች በመሸጥ ላይ ይገኛል።

ደብረ ብርሃን በአንበጣ መንጋ መወረሩዋ ታወቀ

ግንቦት ፲፬(አስራ አራት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-ሰሞኑን በአዲስ አበባ የተከሰተው የአንበጣ መንጋ በደብረብርሃን ከተማ መታየቱን ነዋሪዎች ተናግረዋል።

የአንበጣ መንጋው በአካባቢው ባለ እጽዋት ላይ ያደረሰው ጉዳት ይኑር አይኑር በውል አልታወቀም።

በደቡብ ሱዳን ለተከሰተው ረሃብ የገንዘብ ድጋፍ እየተሰባሰበ ነው

ግንቦት ፲፬(አስራ አራት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-በፕሬዚዳንት ሳልቫኪርና በተቃዋሚው መሪ ሪክ ማቻር መካከል የተጀመረው ጦርነት ከ4 ሚሊዮን በላይ ዜጎችን ለረሃብ ማጋለጡን ተከትሎ በኖርዌይ በተካሄደው የእርዳታ ማሰባሰብ ስራ ከ600 ሚሊዮን ዶላር በላይ ገንዘብ ተገኝቷል።

የተባበሩት መንግስታት ድርጅት ችግሩን ለመቅረፍ ከ1 ቢሊዮን 800 ሚሊዮን ዶላር በላይ ገንዘብ እንደሚያስፈልግ እየገለጸ ነው።

በርካታ ገበሬዎች በጦርነት የተነሳ ማረስ እንዳልቻሉ እና የረሃቡም መንስኤ ጦርነቱ መሆኑን ድርጀቱ ገልጿል።

በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ደቡብ ሱዳናውያን በረሃብ የተነሳ መሞታቸውን ድርጀቱ አስታውቋል።

የሶማሊ ተማሪዎችን ከኦሮሞ ተማሪዎች ጋር ለማጋጨት ወሬዎች እየተናፈሱ ነው

ግንቦት ፲፫ (አስራ ሦስት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-በኦህዴድ -ህወሃት እንደተቀነባበረ በሚነገርለት አሉባልታ በተለያዩ ዩኒቨርስቲዎች ውስጥ የሚገኙ የሶማሊ ክልል ተወላጅ ተማሪዎችን ከኦሮሞ ተወላጅ ተማሪዎች ጋር ለማጋጨት ያለመ መሆኑን ለኢሳት ደረሰው መረጃ ያመለክታል።

የመንግስት ካድሬዎች ” የሶማሊ ተማሪዎች ከመንግስት ጎን ቆመው በኦሮሞ ተማሪዎች ዙሪያ መረጃ እየሰጡን ነው” የሚል አሉባልታ በተለያዩ ዩኒቨርስቲዎች መነዛቱ፣ የሶማሊ ተማሪዎችን ስጋት ላይ የጣላቸው ሲሆን፣ ተማሪዎቹ ከመንግስት ጎን አለመቆማቸውንና እንዲህ አይነት አሉባልታ እየተነዛ ያለው የሁለቱን ብሄር ህዝቦች ለማጋጨት መሆኑን እየተናገሩ ነው።

የተማሪዎች ወላጆች በሚነዛው ወሬ መደናገጣቸውንም ለማወቅ ተችሎአል።

ጉዳዩን በማስመልከት ጥያቄ ያቀረብንለት የሶማሊ ክልል ፕሬዚዳንት አማካሪ የነበረውና  የስዊድንን የአንቲገን ሽልማት አሸናፊ የሆነው አብዱላሂ ሁሴን ወሬው እንዲህ አይነቱ አሉባልታ በስፋት የሚሰራጨው የሁለቱን አካባቢዎች ተወላጆችን ለማጋጨት ነው ብሎአል።

ኦህዴድ /ህወሃት የተለያዩ ብሄረሰቦችን ተወላጆች ለማጋጨት እንቅስቃሴ መጀመሩን በተመለከተ ተከታታይ ዘገባዎችን ማቅረባችን ይታወሳል።

በጣሊያን የኢትዮጵያ ኢምባሲ ባለስልጣን መሞታቸው ታወቀ

 

ግንቦት ፲፫ (አስራ ሦስት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-የአባታቸው ስም ለጊዜው ያልታወቀውና በተጠባባቂ አምባሳደር ማእረግ ደረጃ ሲሰሩ የቆዩት አቶ ፍስሃ ጧት ስራ ከገቡ በሁዋላ መሞታቸው ታውቋል።

ኢሳት ስለ አሟሟታቸው ዝርዝር መረጃ ባያገኝም አንዳንድ ጣሊያን ውስጥ የሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን ግለሰቡ የሞቱት ከ3ኛ ፎቅ ላይ ራሳቸውን ወርውረው ነው ይላሉ።

ፖሊስ ወደ አካባቢው ደርሶ ምርመራ ካደረገ በሁዋላ ወደ ሆስፒታል መወሰዳቸውንና መሞታቸውን ነዋሪዎች አክለው ተናግረዋል።

ስለ አሟሟታቸው መንስኤ እስካሁን ይህ ነው የተባለ መረጃ አልተገኘም።

ባለቤታቸው ወደ ሮም መምጣታቸውን፣ ሮም የሚገኘው ኢትዮጵያ ኢምባሲ ዝግ ሆኖ መዋሉን ኢሳት አረጋግጧል። ተጨማሪ መረጃ እንደደረሰን ለህዝብ እናቀርባለን።

በቀጣይ ዓመት የሚጠናቀቀው የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት የዕድገትና የትራንስፎርሜሽን ዕቅድ በአብዛኛዎቹ ዘርፎች እንደማይሳካ ከገንዘብና ኢኮኖሚ ልማት ሚኒስቴር የተገኘ መረጃ ጠቆመ፡፡

ግንቦት ፲፫ (አስራ ሦስት)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-ከ2003 እስከ 2007 ዓ.ም ሊከናወን የታቀደው የእድገትና የትራንስፎርሜሽን ዕቅድ ከፋይናንስ አቅም ፣ከሰለጠነ የሰው ኃይል እና ከመሠረተ ልማት አለመሟላትና ከመሳሰሉ ጉዳዮች  ጋር በተያያዘ ፈተናዎች ገጥመውታል፡፡

በዕቅዱ ዓመታት  11 በመቶና ከዚያ በላይ የኢኮኖሚ ዕድገት ለማስመዝገብ የታሰበ ቢሆንም ባለፉት ሶስት የዕቅዱ ዓመታት የተመዘገበው እድገት 10 በመቶ ብቻ ነው፡፡ ከኢኮኖሚ መዋቅራዊ ለውጥ አንጻር በሚጠበቀው አቅጣጫ እና በጎላ መልኩ ለውጥ ማምጣት አለመቻሉን መረጃው ይጠቅሳል፡፡

በተለይ ባለፉት ሶስት ኣመታት ካጋጠሙ ፈተናዎች መካከል በመጀመሪያዎቹ ሁለት ዓመታት የተከሰተው የዋጋ ንረት፣ የግብርና ዘርፍ ምርታማነት ዕድገት አርኪ አለመሆን፣ ኤክስፖርት የገቢ ድርሻ ማሽቆልቆል ፣ የኢምፖርት ድርሻ በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ማደግ፣ የግብርና ዘርፍ የምርታማነት ዕድገት የተፈለገውን ያህል አለመሆን፣ ኢንዱስትሪ ዘርፍ ከመነሻው መሠረተ ጠባብ መሆን፣ የግል ባለሃብቱ ተሳትፎ ማሽቆልቆል ፣ ከምንም በላይ የማስፈጸም አቅም ማነስ እና በየደረጃው የሙስናና ብልሹ አሰራር ፣የመልካም አስተዳደር ችግሮች መንሰራፋት ይጠቀሳሉ፡፡

የመካከለኛና ትልልቅ ኢንዱስትሪዎች ልማት በውጪ ንግድ የሚመራ፣ የውጪ ምንዛሪ እጥረትን የመቅረፍና ለግብርና ልማት ምቹ ሁኔታ ለመፍጠር ከተቀመጡ ኣላማዎች አኳያ ባለፉት ሶስት የዕድገትና የትራንስፎርሜሸን ዕቅድ የትግበራ ዓመታት ክንውን ወደኃላ የቀረ መሆኑን የገንዘብና ኢኮኖሚ ልማት ሚኒስቴር መረጃ ይጠቅሳል፡፡

በፕሮጀክቶችም ደረጃ የታላቁ ህዳሴ ግድብ በአሁኑ ወቅት በመንግሥት መረጃ መጠናቀቅ የቻለው 30 በመቶ ያህል ብቻ ሲሆን በባቡር ፤ በስኳር፣ በማዳበሪያ ፋብሪካዎች ግንባታ የተያዙ ዕቅዶች ቀጣዩ የእቅዱ መጨረሻ ኣመት ድረስ የሚሳኩ አይደሉም፡፡

በዚህም ምክንያት ለመጪው ዓመት ምርጫ ድረስ የአዲስአበባ ቀላል ባቡርን ስራ ለማስጀመር ኢህአዴግ መራሹ መንግሥት የቻይና ኩባንያዎችን ጥብቅ መመሪያ የሰጠ ሲሆን ይህ ዓይነቱ የጥድፊያ አካሄድ በግንባታው ጥራት ላይ አሉታዊ ተጽዕኖ እንደሚኖረው ባለሙያዎች ከወዲሁ አስተያየታቸውን እየሰጡ ነው፡፡

የአዲስአበባ ቀላል ባቡር ግንባታ በዕድገትና የትራንስፎርሜሽን እቅዱ ውስጥ የሌለና በእነአቶ መለስ ዜናዊ ደንገተኛ ውሳኔ የተጸነሰ ዕቅድ ሲሆን ግንባታው ከፍተኛ ወጪ የወጣባቸውን የመንገድ መሰረተ ልማቶች፣ ሕንጻዎች እያፈራረስ ከመምጣቱም ባሻገር የባቡሩ መስመር ዝርጋታ ለእግረኞችና ለተሸከርካሪዎች ማቋረጫ ግምት ውስጥ ባላስገባ መልኩ እየተከናወነ መሆኑ በባለሙያዎች ጭምር ጠንካራ ትችትን አስከትሎአል፡፡

የመንግሥት የዕድገትና የትራንስፎርሜሽን እቅድ እጅግ የተለጠጠ እና በፋይናንስና በሰውኃይል አቅም ሊተገበር እንደማይችል በተለይ በአገር ውስጥ በሚገኙ ተቃዋሚ ፓርቶዎችና በውጪ አገር በሚገኙ ኢትጽያዊያን ባለሙያዎች በሰፊው ሲተች የቆየ ቢሆንም ኢህአዴግ መራሹ መንግሥት ይህ የኒዮሊበራሊስቶች አፍራሽ አስተሳሰብ ነው በሚል ሲያጣጥለው ከመቆየቱም በላይ የቀድሞ ጠ/ሚኒስትር በፓርላማ ተቃዋሚዎችን በኃላ ዕቅዱ ሲሳካ እንዳታፍሩ እስከማለት መድረሳቸው የሚዘነጋ አይደለም፡፡