By PAUL CULLEN, Political Staff
Source: Irish Times
IRISH OVERSEAS aid to Ethiopia is being used to shore up the power of the regime and marginalise its opponents, an Oireachtas committee has been told.
Money from Ireland and other donors flows through government structures in Ethiopia and is used by a highly partisan, politicised and authoritarian ruling party to jail and torture people who disagree with it, according to Ben Rawlence of Human Rights Watch.
Mr Rawlence told the Oireachtas committee on foreign affairs that international donors, including Ireland, were aware this was happening but found it hard to get independent information.
Ethiopia has been a priority country for Irish Aid since 1974 and received more than €35 million last year. None of this goes directly to the central government. Overall, according to Mr Rawlence, it is the world’s biggest recipient of aid, amounting to over €2 billion a year.
Human Rights Watch last year published a report written by Mr Rawlence which alleges that aid underwrites repression.
While the aid provided by western governments is passed on to regional and village administrations in Ethiopia, the human rights group says it has found evidence of systematic discrimination in its administration. Government supporters were favoured in the distribution of seeds and the allocation of land, and trade union members were discriminated against in schools, which were also used for the indoctrination of children with the ruling party ideology.
The group also found widespread problems with the administration of a food-for-work scheme funded by Ireland and other donors. Mr Rawlence said that in every area he visited, the programme was being used to target opponents of the regime.
He said villages were grouped into cells of five families and the leader of each cell was a member of the ruling party. People had to have a party card and pay dues to get food aid.
“All the donor agencies know this is going on. We have reams of off-the-record testimony from donor officials,” said Mr Rawlence, who was arrested and deported towards the end of his visit to Ethiopia. However, donors didn’t have monitoring mechanisms in place to capture what was happening.
Minister of State for Overseas Development Peter Power said Irish Aid’s assessment did not support Human Rights Watch’s allegation of widespread, systematic abuse of aid. However, Irish Aid was concerned about any allegation of abuse of aid at local level and had raised the claims in the report with Ethiopian ministers.
Fine Gael TD Seán Barrett called for a thorough investigation of Human Rights Watch’s allegations by the EU. Ireland couldn’t do such an investigation alone.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Ethiopian PM says EU election report is "trash"
Nov 2010 15:29:41 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Meles rejects "view of Western neo-liberals"
* Europe's observers said poll was marred
By Barry Malone
ADDIS ABABA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has dismissed as "trash that deserves to be thrown in the garbage" a European Union (EU) report that criticised his overwhelming May election victory.
Meles' ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and allied parties won 545 seats in the 547-member parliament in a vote that was also criticised by the United States.
"The report is not about our election. It is just the view of some Western neo-liberals who are unhappy about the strength of the ruling party," Meles told state television as he returned from the G20 summit late on Sunday. "Anybody who has paper and ink can scribble whatever they want."
Ethiopia is a key U.S. and European ally in the volatile Horn of Africa, where its secular government is seen as a bulwark against Islamic extremism. The country's biggest opposition coalition, the eight-party Medrek, won just a single parliamentary seat. Medrek and the smaller All Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP) demanded a rerun, alleging pre-poll intimidation and some vote rigging. The calls were rejected by the country's electoral board and Supreme Court.
OPPOSITION DISADVANTAGE
The EU observer mission's report said the poll was marred by the EPRDF's use of state resources, putting the opposition at a disadvantage, and that freedom of expression and movement was not "consistently respected".
"The electoral process fell short of international commitments for elections, notably regarding the transparency of the process and the lack of a level playing field for all contesting parties," the 87-page report said.
Europe's chief observer for the election, Thijs Berman, says he was refused a visa to present the report in Ethiopia. The government denies that.
Ethiopia's last elections in 2005 damaged its reputation and hampered investment when the opposition disputed the result and street riots erupted in capital Addis Ababa, killing 193 protestors and seven policemen.
At the time, the government accused Europe's then chief observer of being biased in favour of the opposition and of helping to incite the trouble. (Editing by Noah Barkin)
Source: Reuters
* Meles rejects "view of Western neo-liberals"
* Europe's observers said poll was marred
By Barry Malone
ADDIS ABABA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has dismissed as "trash that deserves to be thrown in the garbage" a European Union (EU) report that criticised his overwhelming May election victory.
Meles' ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and allied parties won 545 seats in the 547-member parliament in a vote that was also criticised by the United States.
"The report is not about our election. It is just the view of some Western neo-liberals who are unhappy about the strength of the ruling party," Meles told state television as he returned from the G20 summit late on Sunday. "Anybody who has paper and ink can scribble whatever they want."
Ethiopia is a key U.S. and European ally in the volatile Horn of Africa, where its secular government is seen as a bulwark against Islamic extremism. The country's biggest opposition coalition, the eight-party Medrek, won just a single parliamentary seat. Medrek and the smaller All Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP) demanded a rerun, alleging pre-poll intimidation and some vote rigging. The calls were rejected by the country's electoral board and Supreme Court.
OPPOSITION DISADVANTAGE
The EU observer mission's report said the poll was marred by the EPRDF's use of state resources, putting the opposition at a disadvantage, and that freedom of expression and movement was not "consistently respected".
"The electoral process fell short of international commitments for elections, notably regarding the transparency of the process and the lack of a level playing field for all contesting parties," the 87-page report said.
Europe's chief observer for the election, Thijs Berman, says he was refused a visa to present the report in Ethiopia. The government denies that.
Ethiopia's last elections in 2005 damaged its reputation and hampered investment when the opposition disputed the result and street riots erupted in capital Addis Ababa, killing 193 protestors and seven policemen.
At the time, the government accused Europe's then chief observer of being biased in favour of the opposition and of helping to incite the trouble. (Editing by Noah Barkin)
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Rights Report on Ethiopia Sparks Fierce Debate
A U.S.-based human rights group has raised an uproar with a report arguing that development assistance to Ethiopia may be doing more harm than good by strengthening a repressive government. The report has sparked condemnation in some quarters, praise in others.
The Human Rights Watch report issued last month accuses Ethiopia's government of using development aid to suppress political dissent. The 105-page document alleges that much of the $3 billion a year contributed by foreign donors is used to consolidate the power of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front.
Ethiopian government spokesmen did not answer repeated phone calls seeking comment on the report. The government, however, launched a scathing counterattack online. Statements posted on the foreign ministry website accuse Human Rights Watch of "unbridled arrogance" and "warped neo-colonialism."
One statement calls the allegations a "make believe" story that is part of a "vendetta" against the Ethiopian people. Another accuses the rights group of trying to bully the international aid community into halting cooperation with Addis Ababa.
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Sunday, October 31, 2010
Ethiopian journalist jailed without charge since September
New York, October 29, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls upon authorities in Ethiopia's northeastern region of Afar to release a journalist who has been held without charge since September 11.
Akram Ezedin is jailed in Asaita, the regional capital of Afar. He is 17 years old. His father is Ezedin Mohamed, the editor of Al-Quds, a privately owned Islamic weekly newspaper based in capital city of Addis Ababa.
Last year, Mohamed began serving a one-year prison sentence for a 2008 column criticizing statements made by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Mohamed told CPJ. His son, Ezedin, was left to run the paper.
On September 11, police released Mohamed from prison and arrested his son. Ezedin's imprisonment stems from articles that criticized the performance of Afar's local Islamic Council or Mejilis, which Al-Quds published in July, according to local sources.
"Jailing Akram Ezedin without charge is against the laws of Ethiopia, where the pre-trial detention of journalists is illegal under the Mass Media and Freedom of Information Proclamation. Furthermore, any case against Al-Quds, a national newspaper, belongs in federal court, not state court," said Tom Rhodes, CPJ's East Africa consultant. "We call upon authorities in Afar to adhere to national laws and release Ezedin immediately."
Ezedin has appeared in Afar's court four times but has yet to be charged, according to local sources.
With five journalists behind bars, Ethiopia is currently Africa's second-leading jailer of journalists, only trailing neighboring Eritrea, according to CPJ research.
Akram Ezedin is jailed in Asaita, the regional capital of Afar. He is 17 years old. His father is Ezedin Mohamed, the editor of Al-Quds, a privately owned Islamic weekly newspaper based in capital city of Addis Ababa.
Last year, Mohamed began serving a one-year prison sentence for a 2008 column criticizing statements made by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Mohamed told CPJ. His son, Ezedin, was left to run the paper.
On September 11, police released Mohamed from prison and arrested his son. Ezedin's imprisonment stems from articles that criticized the performance of Afar's local Islamic Council or Mejilis, which Al-Quds published in July, according to local sources.
"Jailing Akram Ezedin without charge is against the laws of Ethiopia, where the pre-trial detention of journalists is illegal under the Mass Media and Freedom of Information Proclamation. Furthermore, any case against Al-Quds, a national newspaper, belongs in federal court, not state court," said Tom Rhodes, CPJ's East Africa consultant. "We call upon authorities in Afar to adhere to national laws and release Ezedin immediately."
Ezedin has appeared in Afar's court four times but has yet to be charged, according to local sources.
With five journalists behind bars, Ethiopia is currently Africa's second-leading jailer of journalists, only trailing neighboring Eritrea, according to CPJ research.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Ethiopia using Canadian aid as a political weapon, rights group says
The Canadian government says it is “deeply concerned” by a report that its foreign aid to Ethiopia is being used as a weapon to crush political dissent and bolster the power of the ruling party.
The federal government, which provided more than $150-million to Ethiopia in 2008, is calling for a full investigation into the allegations that Ethiopia’s ruling party is routinely using aid money to reward supporters and punish those who fail to support it.
“Canada, together with other donor countries, continues to encourage the authorities in Ethiopia to investigate these allegations thoroughly and to take corrective action if required,” Scott Cantin, a spokesman for Canada’s aid agency, the Canadian International Development Agency, said in a statement.
Ethiopia is one of the world’s largest recipients of foreign aid, benefiting to the tune of more than $3-billion in 2008 alone. The country is considered a strategic ally for the United States, providing stability in the troubled Horn of Africa where the war in Somalia has spilled across borders and fuelled terrorist attacks.
Canada was the fourth-biggest donor to Ethiopia in 2008, providing about $153-million (U.S.) in aid, nearly three times the amount it gave in 2004.
Human Rights Watch, an independent monitoring group, reported on Tuesday that the Ethiopian government has withheld aid from those who desperately need it, even starving families, if they refuse to support the ruling party.
The report, based on a six-month investigation in 53 villages, concluded that Ethiopia is abusing its foreign-aid funds to consolidate the rule of a repressive one-party state. Farmers who fail to support the ruling party are denied access to the fertilizers, seeds, loans and other agricultural aid that is funded by foreign donors, the report says.
In some districts, farmers cannot get assistance unless they provide receipts to prove that they paid membership dues to the ruling party, the report states. In other cases, aid goes to supporters of the ruling party who are not poor and should not qualify for it.
“The Ethiopian government is routinely using access to aid as a weapon to control people and crush dissent,” said Rona Peligal, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “If you don’t play the ruling party’s game, you get shut out. Yet foreign donors are rewarding this behaviour with ever-larger sums of development aid.”
Canada is one of the biggest donors supporting a $398-million “capacity-building” program for Ethiopian public servants. But the government is using this program, and similar foreign-funded programs, to intimidate teachers, purge the civil service of anyone with an independent political view and indoctrinate school children in the ideology of the ruling party, Human Rights Watch says.
Responding to questions on Tuesday, Mr. Cantin said Canada’s aid to Ethiopia can be suspended if the authorities fail to meet the conditions that are attached to the aid, including a pledge that the aid must reach the targeted beneficiaries.
Surveys by CIDA suggest that its aid is reaching those who need help, he said. “CIDA takes allegations of aid politicization seriously,” he said, “and together with the international community, will participate in efforts to strengthen safeguards where necessary.”
The federal government, which provided more than $150-million to Ethiopia in 2008, is calling for a full investigation into the allegations that Ethiopia’s ruling party is routinely using aid money to reward supporters and punish those who fail to support it.
“Canada, together with other donor countries, continues to encourage the authorities in Ethiopia to investigate these allegations thoroughly and to take corrective action if required,” Scott Cantin, a spokesman for Canada’s aid agency, the Canadian International Development Agency, said in a statement.
Ethiopia is one of the world’s largest recipients of foreign aid, benefiting to the tune of more than $3-billion in 2008 alone. The country is considered a strategic ally for the United States, providing stability in the troubled Horn of Africa where the war in Somalia has spilled across borders and fuelled terrorist attacks.
Canada was the fourth-biggest donor to Ethiopia in 2008, providing about $153-million (U.S.) in aid, nearly three times the amount it gave in 2004.
Human Rights Watch, an independent monitoring group, reported on Tuesday that the Ethiopian government has withheld aid from those who desperately need it, even starving families, if they refuse to support the ruling party.
The report, based on a six-month investigation in 53 villages, concluded that Ethiopia is abusing its foreign-aid funds to consolidate the rule of a repressive one-party state. Farmers who fail to support the ruling party are denied access to the fertilizers, seeds, loans and other agricultural aid that is funded by foreign donors, the report says.
In some districts, farmers cannot get assistance unless they provide receipts to prove that they paid membership dues to the ruling party, the report states. In other cases, aid goes to supporters of the ruling party who are not poor and should not qualify for it.
“The Ethiopian government is routinely using access to aid as a weapon to control people and crush dissent,” said Rona Peligal, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “If you don’t play the ruling party’s game, you get shut out. Yet foreign donors are rewarding this behaviour with ever-larger sums of development aid.”
Canada is one of the biggest donors supporting a $398-million “capacity-building” program for Ethiopian public servants. But the government is using this program, and similar foreign-funded programs, to intimidate teachers, purge the civil service of anyone with an independent political view and indoctrinate school children in the ideology of the ruling party, Human Rights Watch says.
Responding to questions on Tuesday, Mr. Cantin said Canada’s aid to Ethiopia can be suspended if the authorities fail to meet the conditions that are attached to the aid, including a pledge that the aid must reach the targeted beneficiaries.
Surveys by CIDA suggest that its aid is reaching those who need help, he said. “CIDA takes allegations of aid politicization seriously,” he said, “and together with the international community, will participate in efforts to strengthen safeguards where necessary.”
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Ethiopia: Donor Aid Supports Repression
Contributors Should Review Development Programs, Monitor Use of Funds
October 19, 2010
(London) - The Ethiopian government is using development aid to suppress political dissent by conditioning access to essential government programs on support for the ruling party, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch urged foreign donors to ensure that their aid is used in an accountable and transparent manner and does not support political repression.
The 105-page report, "Development without Freedom: How Aid Underwrites Repression in Ethiopia," documents the ways in which the Ethiopian government uses donor-supported resources and aid as a tool to consolidate the power of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
"The Ethiopian government is routinely using access to aid as a weapon to control people and crush dissent," said Rona Peligal, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "If you don't play the ruling party's game, you get shut out. Yet foreign donors are rewarding this behavior with ever-larger sums of development aid."
Ethiopia is one of the world's largest recipients of development aid, more than US$3 billion in 2008 alone. The World Bank and donor nations provide direct support to district governments in Ethiopia for basic services such as health, education, agriculture, and water, and support a "food-for-work" program for some of the country's poorest people. The European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are the largest bilateral donor
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October 19, 2010
(London) - The Ethiopian government is using development aid to suppress political dissent by conditioning access to essential government programs on support for the ruling party, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch urged foreign donors to ensure that their aid is used in an accountable and transparent manner and does not support political repression.
The 105-page report, "Development without Freedom: How Aid Underwrites Repression in Ethiopia," documents the ways in which the Ethiopian government uses donor-supported resources and aid as a tool to consolidate the power of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
"The Ethiopian government is routinely using access to aid as a weapon to control people and crush dissent," said Rona Peligal, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "If you don't play the ruling party's game, you get shut out. Yet foreign donors are rewarding this behavior with ever-larger sums of development aid."
Ethiopia is one of the world's largest recipients of development aid, more than US$3 billion in 2008 alone. The World Bank and donor nations provide direct support to district governments in Ethiopia for basic services such as health, education, agriculture, and water, and support a "food-for-work" program for some of the country's poorest people. The European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are the largest bilateral donor
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Thursday, October 7, 2010
Ethiopia reshuffle boosts Meles power: opposition
By Barry Malone
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi appointed a new cabinet on Tuesday in a post-election reshuffle that the opposition and analysts said would further cement his position.
Meles, in power since 1991, was sworn in as prime minister by parliament on Monday after a disputed May 23 vote gave his Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and allies 545 seats in the 547-seat parliament.
A European Union observer mission criticised the election and the United States said it failed to meet international standards. Demands by opposition parties for a rerun were rejected by the Horn of Africa nation's electoral board and by its Supreme Court.
The most high-profile cabinet change was the retirement of Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin, who had been in the post for 19 years. He was replaced by former government whip and advisor to the prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, seen as a Meles loyalist. Hailemariam will also serve as Deputy Prime Minister.
"They just changed the old horses and replaced them with the same breed," Beyene Petros, spokesman for the biggest opposition party, Medrek, told Reuters. "People like Hailemariam are the 'yes people' who have not shown any independence or creativity. They just follow the party line."
Other senior ministers stepping down include Minister for Trade and Industry Girma Birru and Deputy Prime Minister Addisu Legesse.
"OMNIPRESENT POWER"
The top jobs in the finance, defence, justice, health, education, agriculture and federal affairs ministries are all unchanged. New appointees to other ministries were mostly drawn from the ranks of state ministers and senior officials.
"It seems that Meles now has more or less omnipresent power, as there seems to be no one in cabinet who has the status and experience to challenge him on policy development," Kjetil Tronvoll, Ethiopia analyst at the International Law and Policy Institute, told Reuters.
The Mines and Energy Ministry has been split in two, with Sinkenesh Ejgu heading up the new Mines Ministry in a country being explored for deposits by foreign oil and gas companies, including Africa Oil Corporation.
Diplomats say the full European Union report on the elections will be published in mid-October.
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi appointed a new cabinet on Tuesday in a post-election reshuffle that the opposition and analysts said would further cement his position.
Meles, in power since 1991, was sworn in as prime minister by parliament on Monday after a disputed May 23 vote gave his Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and allies 545 seats in the 547-seat parliament.
A European Union observer mission criticised the election and the United States said it failed to meet international standards. Demands by opposition parties for a rerun were rejected by the Horn of Africa nation's electoral board and by its Supreme Court.
The most high-profile cabinet change was the retirement of Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin, who had been in the post for 19 years. He was replaced by former government whip and advisor to the prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, seen as a Meles loyalist. Hailemariam will also serve as Deputy Prime Minister.
"They just changed the old horses and replaced them with the same breed," Beyene Petros, spokesman for the biggest opposition party, Medrek, told Reuters. "People like Hailemariam are the 'yes people' who have not shown any independence or creativity. They just follow the party line."
Other senior ministers stepping down include Minister for Trade and Industry Girma Birru and Deputy Prime Minister Addisu Legesse.
"OMNIPRESENT POWER"
The top jobs in the finance, defence, justice, health, education, agriculture and federal affairs ministries are all unchanged. New appointees to other ministries were mostly drawn from the ranks of state ministers and senior officials.
"It seems that Meles now has more or less omnipresent power, as there seems to be no one in cabinet who has the status and experience to challenge him on policy development," Kjetil Tronvoll, Ethiopia analyst at the International Law and Policy Institute, told Reuters.
The Mines and Energy Ministry has been split in two, with Sinkenesh Ejgu heading up the new Mines Ministry in a country being explored for deposits by foreign oil and gas companies, including Africa Oil Corporation.
Diplomats say the full European Union report on the elections will be published in mid-October.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Ethiopia: Birtukan’s release in perspective
By Yilma Bekele
Chairman Bertukan Mideksa has been released from Kaliti Jail after spending six hundred forty four days, one
Birtukan Mideksa
hundred forty of it in solitary confinement. We are happy she is reunited with her family and loved ones.
She was thrown in to a rat infested jail not because she committed some dastardly crime but for the simple reason of demanding justice and the rule of law in her homeland. Bertukan was what is called a ‘political prisoner.’
The fact that she was the leader of the largest political party and the country was in the process of holding general elections was a factor in her imprisonment. Her determination to participate in the election process and her overwhelming popularity with the public was a cause of concern for those in power.
They solved their dilemma by the only way they know. Bribe, blackmail, jail, exile or kill are the options the TPLF regime brings to the table. They choose jailing in Birtukan’s case.
That it was the wrong choice has been made clear during her two years stay. Her imprisonment became a ‘cause celebre’ for the Ethiopian people. Her incarceration highlighted the absence of rule of law in Ethiopia. Chairman Birtukan became a rallying point. Her plight was discussed in the US Congress, European Parliament, Noble Prize Committee, Sakharov Prize and many other international awards. What the regime did to her became the symbol of what is wrong in Ethiopia.
Her freedom should be seen as a beginning of what is to come. Birtukan is but one of the many Ethiopian citizens languishing in Woyane jail because they were deemed to be a ‘threat’ to the ethnic regime. There are thousands of nameless Ethiopians still in jail. Today, as we celebrate the release of Chairman Birtukan let us not forget those thousands left behind.
We are not thankful to the regime nor do we see it in a different light. The release of one individual does not wash off the crimes against eighty million people. We know she was released because her country people would not stop invoking her name and her cause in every gathering.
If those in power think that her release would stop the struggle for freedom they are sadly mistaken. If they think releasing one of many will change how we look at our jailers they need to go back and study history. We assure them that the quest for freedom cannot be satisfied by some symbolic act or public relations gimmick.
Welcome home Chairman Birtukan; we have a lot of unfinished business awaiting us.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Activists call on China to stop supporting rogue regime in Ethiopia
WASHINGTON, DC - Ethiopian Americans on Tuesday accused China of colluding with the rogue regime in Ethiopia "for the triumph of tyranny over liberty and democracy for the people of Ethiopia, as it is doing in much of Africa."
Representing several civic organizations in the United States, the activists circulated a strongly-worded statement which called on the Chinese government to stop supporting state-sponsored terrorism in Ethiopia.
The press statement came out ahead of a planned protest rally on August 5 in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC.
In power since 1991, the Meles Zenawi regime stands accused by human rights organizations of serious crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
Though Ethiopia is the second most populous nation in Africa after Nigeria, the country is deprived of having its own independent radio and TV. Other independent media are also jammed with the help of Chinese technology, the activists say.
Excerpts of the press statement follow:
"By providing military technology, radio and satellite television jamming technologies, the government of China has played a role in the suppression of liberty and basic human rights in Ethiopia. These technologies provided by the Chinese are being used against several independent radio stations, including the Amharic services of the Voice of America and Deutsche Welle. The latest victim of the rogue regime’s airwaves piracy is the newly launched and popular Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT)," the activists said in the statement.
"Instead of defending the Ethiopian people in their call for freedom and democracy, due to growing economic interest in Africa, China is colluding with totalitarian regimes that suppress their citizens’ rights and the quest for liberty and democracy in Africa. Instead of empowering Ethiopians in Ethiopia, China is engaged in an exploitative relationship in numerous of its projects throughout Ethiopia in a bid to quench its voracious appetite for strategic resources and cheaper labor in Africa. China is exploiting Ethiopia’s natural resources and hampering the Ethiopian people’s inalienable rights for liberty, justice, and democracy. Chinese firms have been engaged in bribing and corrupting Ethiopian officials.
"By supporting the Meles Zenawi regime, China is banking on profiting from the triumph of tyranny over liberty and democracy for the people of Ethiopia, as it is doing in much of Africa. China has a terrible human rights record at home and supports human rights violations abroad. It is time for China to stop supporting war criminals like Meles Zenawi, who has been suppressing basic liberties of the Ethiopian people. It is time for China to reassess its dealings with rogue regimes like that of Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia and other African dictators.
"We, Ethiopians and Ethiopians Americans, demand that the Chinese government immediately
1.Cease its support for Meles Zenawi’s ethnocentric regime;
2.Cease arming and supplying Meles Zenawi’s minority ethnic dominated military;
3.Cease its support for tyranny in Ethiopia/Africa
4.Cease its support to Meles Zenawi’s regime in jamming the Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, and Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT);
5.Respect the human rights of the Ethiopian people, Ethiopian workers employed in Chinese owned projects in accordance with accordance labor and environmental standards as well as the Universal Declaration of Human rights.
6.Stop bribing and corrupting Ethiopian officials to get no bid contracts from the government and dumping their low quality and often dangerous products.
A Coalition of Ethiopian American and Ethiopian Political and Civic Organizations and media groups.
Representing several civic organizations in the United States, the activists circulated a strongly-worded statement which called on the Chinese government to stop supporting state-sponsored terrorism in Ethiopia.
The press statement came out ahead of a planned protest rally on August 5 in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC.
In power since 1991, the Meles Zenawi regime stands accused by human rights organizations of serious crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
Though Ethiopia is the second most populous nation in Africa after Nigeria, the country is deprived of having its own independent radio and TV. Other independent media are also jammed with the help of Chinese technology, the activists say.
Excerpts of the press statement follow:
"By providing military technology, radio and satellite television jamming technologies, the government of China has played a role in the suppression of liberty and basic human rights in Ethiopia. These technologies provided by the Chinese are being used against several independent radio stations, including the Amharic services of the Voice of America and Deutsche Welle. The latest victim of the rogue regime’s airwaves piracy is the newly launched and popular Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT)," the activists said in the statement.
"Instead of defending the Ethiopian people in their call for freedom and democracy, due to growing economic interest in Africa, China is colluding with totalitarian regimes that suppress their citizens’ rights and the quest for liberty and democracy in Africa. Instead of empowering Ethiopians in Ethiopia, China is engaged in an exploitative relationship in numerous of its projects throughout Ethiopia in a bid to quench its voracious appetite for strategic resources and cheaper labor in Africa. China is exploiting Ethiopia’s natural resources and hampering the Ethiopian people’s inalienable rights for liberty, justice, and democracy. Chinese firms have been engaged in bribing and corrupting Ethiopian officials.
"By supporting the Meles Zenawi regime, China is banking on profiting from the triumph of tyranny over liberty and democracy for the people of Ethiopia, as it is doing in much of Africa. China has a terrible human rights record at home and supports human rights violations abroad. It is time for China to stop supporting war criminals like Meles Zenawi, who has been suppressing basic liberties of the Ethiopian people. It is time for China to reassess its dealings with rogue regimes like that of Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia and other African dictators.
"We, Ethiopians and Ethiopians Americans, demand that the Chinese government immediately
1.Cease its support for Meles Zenawi’s ethnocentric regime;
2.Cease arming and supplying Meles Zenawi’s minority ethnic dominated military;
3.Cease its support for tyranny in Ethiopia/Africa
4.Cease its support to Meles Zenawi’s regime in jamming the Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, and Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT);
5.Respect the human rights of the Ethiopian people, Ethiopian workers employed in Chinese owned projects in accordance with accordance labor and environmental standards as well as the Universal Declaration of Human rights.
6.Stop bribing and corrupting Ethiopian officials to get no bid contracts from the government and dumping their low quality and often dangerous products.
A Coalition of Ethiopian American and Ethiopian Political and Civic Organizations and media groups.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Clinton says steel vise crushing global activists
By ROBERT BURNS, AP National Security Writer Robert Burns, Ap National Security Writer – 53 mins ago
KRAKOW, Poland – Intolerant governments across the globe are "slowly crushing" activist and advocacy groups that play an essential role in the development of democracy, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday.
She cited a broad range of countries where "the walls are closing in" on civic organizations such as unions, religious groups, rights advocates and other nongovernmental organizations that press for social change and shine a light on governments' shortcomings.
Among those she named were Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia , Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Venezuela, China and Russia.
"Some of the countries engaging in these behaviors still claim to be democracies," Clinton said at an international conference on the promotion of democracy and human rights. "Democracies don't fear their own people. They recognize that citizens must be free to come together, to advocate and agitate."
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KRAKOW, Poland – Intolerant governments across the globe are "slowly crushing" activist and advocacy groups that play an essential role in the development of democracy, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday.
She cited a broad range of countries where "the walls are closing in" on civic organizations such as unions, religious groups, rights advocates and other nongovernmental organizations that press for social change and shine a light on governments' shortcomings.
Among those she named were Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia , Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Venezuela, China and Russia.
"Some of the countries engaging in these behaviors still claim to be democracies," Clinton said at an international conference on the promotion of democracy and human rights. "Democracies don't fear their own people. They recognize that citizens must be free to come together, to advocate and agitate."
Read Full Story≫
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Ethiopia expels American journalist reporting in rebel area
New York, June 18, 2010—Authorities in Ethiopia expelled an American journalist on Thursday who had been reporting near a rebel area in the east of the Horn of Africa country, according to local journalists.
Heather Murdock had been reporting with the U.S. international broadcaster Voice of America (VOA) in the eastern region of Harar, near an area where there was reported skirmishes between the army and rebels of the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), according to the same sources. The Ethiopian government has denied journalists independent access to the restive Ogaden province, which neighbors the Harar region, and attempted to censor an exclusive report on the rebels last year, according to CPJ research. Under Ethiopia’s draconian anti-terrorism law, journalists risk as many as 20 years in prison if authorities deem their reporting favorable to armed rebels and banned opposition groups.
VOA confirmed to CPJ that Murdock had left the country. Assistants to Ethiopian government spokesmen Bereket Simon and Shemelis Kemal told CPJ the officials were not available for comment. The Ethiopian government announced plans to officially jam VOA in March, after reports that there had been electronic jamming of the station’s Amharic-language shortwave broadcasts and that its Web site had been blocked in the country.
“We condemn the expulsion of Heather Murdock,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. “Ethiopian authorities have for years used the threat of expulsion to induce self-censorship among foreign journalists working in the country.”
Murdock arrived in Ethiopia last month after she was expelled from Yemen in April following a reporting trip to strongholds of Yemen’s armed separatist Southern Movement, according to news reports. In Ethiopia, she covered the country’s general election and its aftermath, among other topics.
Heather Murdock had been reporting with the U.S. international broadcaster Voice of America (VOA) in the eastern region of Harar, near an area where there was reported skirmishes between the army and rebels of the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), according to the same sources. The Ethiopian government has denied journalists independent access to the restive Ogaden province, which neighbors the Harar region, and attempted to censor an exclusive report on the rebels last year, according to CPJ research. Under Ethiopia’s draconian anti-terrorism law, journalists risk as many as 20 years in prison if authorities deem their reporting favorable to armed rebels and banned opposition groups.
VOA confirmed to CPJ that Murdock had left the country. Assistants to Ethiopian government spokesmen Bereket Simon and Shemelis Kemal told CPJ the officials were not available for comment. The Ethiopian government announced plans to officially jam VOA in March, after reports that there had been electronic jamming of the station’s Amharic-language shortwave broadcasts and that its Web site had been blocked in the country.
“We condemn the expulsion of Heather Murdock,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. “Ethiopian authorities have for years used the threat of expulsion to induce self-censorship among foreign journalists working in the country.”
Murdock arrived in Ethiopia last month after she was expelled from Yemen in April following a reporting trip to strongholds of Yemen’s armed separatist Southern Movement, according to news reports. In Ethiopia, she covered the country’s general election and its aftermath, among other topics.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Ethiopia: Boycott TPLF/Weyane businesses!
Sami Aron
This is to inform the trade organizations of WOYANE. Since you are part of this all rounded struggle, we kindly tell you not to buy whatever the product or service of the following enterprises and share this information for your friends as many as you can.
The enterprises of Woyanes are:
Company Name: – Almedan Garment Factory Established 1995, Capital 660, 000, 000, $; Headquarter Mekele, Chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.
Addis Engineering Consultancy: – established 1995, capital 10, 000, 000, $ headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Arkebe Ekubay.
Addis Pharmaceuticals Production: – established 1995; headquarter Addis Ababa; capital 53,000,000; chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.
Africa Insurance Axion Assn: – established 1995, headquarter Addis Ababa, capital 30,000,000; chairman of the Board Yohannes Ekubay.
Almeda Textile Factory: – established 1995, Capital 180,000,000 headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.
Mesob Cement Factory: – established 1995; capital 240,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the board Abadi Zemu.
Mesfin Industrial Company: – Established 1995; capital 500,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the board Arkebe Ekubay.
Sur Construction: – established 1995; capital 150,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the board Arkebe Ekubay.
Trans Ethiopia; established 1995:- capital 100,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the board Shimelis Kinde.
Tesfa Livestock: – established 1995; capital 20,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Yohannes Kidane.
Star Pharmaceuticals: – established 1995; capital 25,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Arkebe kubay.
Selam Bisline: – establishe 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Mekele: chairman of the Board Tilma.
Sheba Tannery Factory Axion Assn: – established 1995; capital 40,000,000; headquarter Wukro; chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.
Segel Construction: – established 1995; capital 10,000,000 headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Araya Zerihun.
Rahwa Yebegina Fiyel Export: – established 1995; capital 25,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Yassin Abdurahman.
Meskerem Investment: – established 1995; capital 40,000,000; headquarter Axum; chairman of the Board Tewodros Ayes Tesfaye.
Mega Net Corp: – established 1993; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Alemseged Gebreamlak.
Hiwot Agriculture Mechanization: – established 1995; capital 25,000,000; headquarter Mekele; Yohannes Kidane.
Hitech Park Axion Assn: – established 1996; capital 10,000,000 headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Shimelis Kinde.
Tana Trading House Axion Assn: – established 1994; capital 50,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa.
Sibhat Nega Global Auto Spare part: – established 1992; capital 26,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Teklebirhan Habtu.
Fana Democracy plc. – established 1995; capital 6,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Negash Sahle.
Ezana Mining Development: – established 1995; capital 55,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Tewodros Hafis Berhe.
Express Transit: – established 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Gebreselassie Gidey.
Experience Ethiopia Travel: – established 1995: capital 26,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Tony Hiki.
Ethio Rental Axion Assn.:- established 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Atkilit Kiros.
Dedebit Saving & Loan: – established 1997; capital 60,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Atkilit Kiros.
Dilate Brewery: – established 1995; capital 15,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Kahsay TewoldeTedla.
Dessalegn Caterinary: – established 1995; capital 15,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Dr, Maru Erdaw.
Berhe Chemical Axion Assn.:- established 1995; capital 25,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.
Addis Consultancy House: – established 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Sibhat Nega.
Birhane Building Construction: – established 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Bereket Mazengiya.
Thank you! I hope you will inform to me as for how many people did you send it.
This is to inform the trade organizations of WOYANE. Since you are part of this all rounded struggle, we kindly tell you not to buy whatever the product or service of the following enterprises and share this information for your friends as many as you can.
The enterprises of Woyanes are:
Company Name: – Almedan Garment Factory Established 1995, Capital 660, 000, 000, $; Headquarter Mekele, Chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.
Addis Engineering Consultancy: – established 1995, capital 10, 000, 000, $ headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Arkebe Ekubay.
Addis Pharmaceuticals Production: – established 1995; headquarter Addis Ababa; capital 53,000,000; chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.
Africa Insurance Axion Assn: – established 1995, headquarter Addis Ababa, capital 30,000,000; chairman of the Board Yohannes Ekubay.
Almeda Textile Factory: – established 1995, Capital 180,000,000 headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.
Mesob Cement Factory: – established 1995; capital 240,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the board Abadi Zemu.
Mesfin Industrial Company: – Established 1995; capital 500,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the board Arkebe Ekubay.
Sur Construction: – established 1995; capital 150,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the board Arkebe Ekubay.
Trans Ethiopia; established 1995:- capital 100,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the board Shimelis Kinde.
Tesfa Livestock: – established 1995; capital 20,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Yohannes Kidane.
Star Pharmaceuticals: – established 1995; capital 25,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Arkebe kubay.
Selam Bisline: – establishe 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Mekele: chairman of the Board Tilma.
Sheba Tannery Factory Axion Assn: – established 1995; capital 40,000,000; headquarter Wukro; chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.
Segel Construction: – established 1995; capital 10,000,000 headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Araya Zerihun.
Rahwa Yebegina Fiyel Export: – established 1995; capital 25,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Yassin Abdurahman.
Meskerem Investment: – established 1995; capital 40,000,000; headquarter Axum; chairman of the Board Tewodros Ayes Tesfaye.
Mega Net Corp: – established 1993; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Alemseged Gebreamlak.
Hiwot Agriculture Mechanization: – established 1995; capital 25,000,000; headquarter Mekele; Yohannes Kidane.
Hitech Park Axion Assn: – established 1996; capital 10,000,000 headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Shimelis Kinde.
Tana Trading House Axion Assn: – established 1994; capital 50,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa.
Sibhat Nega Global Auto Spare part: – established 1992; capital 26,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Teklebirhan Habtu.
Fana Democracy plc. – established 1995; capital 6,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Negash Sahle.
Ezana Mining Development: – established 1995; capital 55,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Tewodros Hafis Berhe.
Express Transit: – established 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Gebreselassie Gidey.
Experience Ethiopia Travel: – established 1995: capital 26,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Tony Hiki.
Ethio Rental Axion Assn.:- established 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Atkilit Kiros.
Dedebit Saving & Loan: – established 1997; capital 60,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Atkilit Kiros.
Dilate Brewery: – established 1995; capital 15,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Kahsay TewoldeTedla.
Dessalegn Caterinary: – established 1995; capital 15,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Dr, Maru Erdaw.
Berhe Chemical Axion Assn.:- established 1995; capital 25,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.
Addis Consultancy House: – established 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Sibhat Nega.
Birhane Building Construction: – established 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Bereket Mazengiya.
Thank you! I hope you will inform to me as for how many people did you send it.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
A country of grey and gold
An election in Ethiopia promises little change
May 28th 2010 | ADDIS ABABA | From The Economist online
THERE are two colours I associate with Ethiopia. Grey for the dust, the bare hills, stony soil and donkeys. Grey for the Soviet-era buildings in the towns and the fumes of ancient Lada cars. Then there is gold, in the fields at harvest time, in the sunshine at that lung-busting altitude, and the heavy jewellery worn by women. Gold especially for the churches, the icons, the luminous curls in the crosses and staves, and in the golden plumage of archangels who many Ethiopians believe overlook the inner workings of their lives.
Religion is central to life in Ethiopia, as it is in the rest of Africa. But it is of a very different type. Neighbouring Kenya became Christian just over a century ago. Its Christianity still has a stripped-down missionary flavour. The Amhara and Tigray regions of Ethiopia, by contrast, were Christian long before St Augustine of Canterbury landed in England. The Band Aid anthem to raise money for Ethiopian famine victims in 1984 was in some ways ill-judged: of course they knew it was Christmastime.
Yet Ethiopia is also a country of revolutionary zeal. It is ruled by an inner circle of former Marxist guerrillas who are not evidently religious. That sets up a tension in the country. After this week's election victory by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), I ask Ethiopians what they would like to ask their long-serving prime minister, Meles Zenawi. Most often they say they would like to quiz him about God. "I want to know if he is a believer," says my driver in Addis Ababa. Teddy—his name changed to protect his identity—is critical of the government. They have done many good things. But they like to control us." Even in heavy traffic Teddy takes his hands off the steering wheel and crosses himself when passing one of the many churches. He gently recounts his own story of last week's elections. The organisers of the taxi fleet he drives for are card-carrying members of the EPRDF. "We are not talking about many people. Maybe 20 out of a couple of hundred cabs. But they decide on a lot of things, including the renewal of licences. They told the rest of us we had to attend government rallies in a procession during the election campaign. Most of us refused. After the election they will come for us." What will he do then? Teddy shrugs. He is close to retirement, but has two small children. "A man cannot live on his knees."
Read Full Story≫
May 28th 2010 | ADDIS ABABA | From The Economist online
THERE are two colours I associate with Ethiopia. Grey for the dust, the bare hills, stony soil and donkeys. Grey for the Soviet-era buildings in the towns and the fumes of ancient Lada cars. Then there is gold, in the fields at harvest time, in the sunshine at that lung-busting altitude, and the heavy jewellery worn by women. Gold especially for the churches, the icons, the luminous curls in the crosses and staves, and in the golden plumage of archangels who many Ethiopians believe overlook the inner workings of their lives.
Religion is central to life in Ethiopia, as it is in the rest of Africa. But it is of a very different type. Neighbouring Kenya became Christian just over a century ago. Its Christianity still has a stripped-down missionary flavour. The Amhara and Tigray regions of Ethiopia, by contrast, were Christian long before St Augustine of Canterbury landed in England. The Band Aid anthem to raise money for Ethiopian famine victims in 1984 was in some ways ill-judged: of course they knew it was Christmastime.
Yet Ethiopia is also a country of revolutionary zeal. It is ruled by an inner circle of former Marxist guerrillas who are not evidently religious. That sets up a tension in the country. After this week's election victory by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), I ask Ethiopians what they would like to ask their long-serving prime minister, Meles Zenawi. Most often they say they would like to quiz him about God. "I want to know if he is a believer," says my driver in Addis Ababa. Teddy—his name changed to protect his identity—is critical of the government. They have done many good things. But they like to control us." Even in heavy traffic Teddy takes his hands off the steering wheel and crosses himself when passing one of the many churches. He gently recounts his own story of last week's elections. The organisers of the taxi fleet he drives for are card-carrying members of the EPRDF. "We are not talking about many people. Maybe 20 out of a couple of hundred cabs. But they decide on a lot of things, including the renewal of licences. They told the rest of us we had to attend government rallies in a procession during the election campaign. Most of us refused. After the election they will come for us." What will he do then? Teddy shrugs. He is close to retirement, but has two small children. "A man cannot live on his knees."
Read Full Story≫
Monday, May 31, 2010
Ethiopia: A ‘Smart’ Copycat in the 21st Century
BLOCK…BLOCK, JAM BABY JAM!
Note: This blurb here is not new, nor do I pretend it to be original, but only decent observations and reflections.
By Joseph M (PHD)
The dictators of our time live by preaching dogmas such as religious fundamentalism and fanaticism, revolutionary democracy etc interwoven with practiced kleptocracy (rampant greed & corruption), misinformation, deceptions, intimidation, scare mongering, repression, extra-judicial killings etc.
Religious fundamentalism, for example, is a fertile ground for some dictators as it is for Al-Qaida. Dictators like Meles Zenawi however come to power having as their cause (illegitimate) liberation of a single ethnic group, but then pave their way to the peak of political power using all known techniques and methods that other evil dictators have been using around the world.
There are plenty of experiences to coach; such as the methods used by J Stalin-Former Soviet Union, Mao and Hu Jintao-Communist Party of China, Milosevic -Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda’s genocide, Omar al-Bashir-Sudan, Kim Jong-il-North Korea, Than Shwe-Burma, Robert Mugabe-Zimbabwe, Ahmedin Ahmadinejad-Iran etc.
History has recorded that thousands and millions of innocent people have been killed by self-imposed ruthless dictators in order to stay in the front seat of power forever. Behind the façade of their power they hide their evil acts by using ethnic differences, deceptions and all other means.
In our time, we also witness the role information technology and media has been playing (as if it is God-given gift from heaven for their manipulations), enormously helping those dictators to pursue their objectives; to misinform, fabricate, lie, intimidate, demoralize and harass the innocent population that they rule, making them helpless creatures.
With the run-up to the Election 2010 in Ethiopia, Meles negotiated a lion-share of the radio and TV air time to dominate and defeat his “enemy” (the opposition parties). Those of us who watched the pre-recorded and so called “national election debates”, have wondered how on earth radio and TV air time was distributed on the basis of current number of seats in parliament that parties hold, while the election is for a future parliament. It begs questions as to what has been the logic behind the saga and why the debates has to be held in the caged studios of the TPLF/government owned Ethiopian Television and Radio? Why free speech and freedom of expression of ideas have been harnessed, censored, controlled etc in this way? Why TPLF needed to enact laws to restrict the media? Why the debates have been full of fear and uncertainty? Where does this type of model exist in the world in the 21st Century? Why people (the electorate), I would rather call them “enslaved voters”, are deprived of knowing the truth about TPLF/EPRDF candidates’ crimes? Why the army commander has to come out with warning to name and shame and also implicate Seye’s presentation at the debates? In all these, the Ethiopian Television and Radio Organization has been the weapon that Meles needed to have absolute monopoly on, control and kill voices of the opposition groups as he wished. Meles has also showed on the ETV his predecessor’s (Mengistu’s) crimes to refresh the memories of the enslaved voters, likening the opposition groups with Mengistu. If I may ask, is this not a criminal act that Meles has committed using the ETV, the only TV channel in the country? More…
Dr. M Joseph is an expert in Applied Distributed Programming & VSAT
The writer of this piece, M. Joseph, can be reached at sofomore@googlemail.com
Note: This blurb here is not new, nor do I pretend it to be original, but only decent observations and reflections.
By Joseph M (PHD)
The dictators of our time live by preaching dogmas such as religious fundamentalism and fanaticism, revolutionary democracy etc interwoven with practiced kleptocracy (rampant greed & corruption), misinformation, deceptions, intimidation, scare mongering, repression, extra-judicial killings etc.
Religious fundamentalism, for example, is a fertile ground for some dictators as it is for Al-Qaida. Dictators like Meles Zenawi however come to power having as their cause (illegitimate) liberation of a single ethnic group, but then pave their way to the peak of political power using all known techniques and methods that other evil dictators have been using around the world.
There are plenty of experiences to coach; such as the methods used by J Stalin-Former Soviet Union, Mao and Hu Jintao-Communist Party of China, Milosevic -Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda’s genocide, Omar al-Bashir-Sudan, Kim Jong-il-North Korea, Than Shwe-Burma, Robert Mugabe-Zimbabwe, Ahmedin Ahmadinejad-Iran etc.
History has recorded that thousands and millions of innocent people have been killed by self-imposed ruthless dictators in order to stay in the front seat of power forever. Behind the façade of their power they hide their evil acts by using ethnic differences, deceptions and all other means.
In our time, we also witness the role information technology and media has been playing (as if it is God-given gift from heaven for their manipulations), enormously helping those dictators to pursue their objectives; to misinform, fabricate, lie, intimidate, demoralize and harass the innocent population that they rule, making them helpless creatures.
With the run-up to the Election 2010 in Ethiopia, Meles negotiated a lion-share of the radio and TV air time to dominate and defeat his “enemy” (the opposition parties). Those of us who watched the pre-recorded and so called “national election debates”, have wondered how on earth radio and TV air time was distributed on the basis of current number of seats in parliament that parties hold, while the election is for a future parliament. It begs questions as to what has been the logic behind the saga and why the debates has to be held in the caged studios of the TPLF/government owned Ethiopian Television and Radio? Why free speech and freedom of expression of ideas have been harnessed, censored, controlled etc in this way? Why TPLF needed to enact laws to restrict the media? Why the debates have been full of fear and uncertainty? Where does this type of model exist in the world in the 21st Century? Why people (the electorate), I would rather call them “enslaved voters”, are deprived of knowing the truth about TPLF/EPRDF candidates’ crimes? Why the army commander has to come out with warning to name and shame and also implicate Seye’s presentation at the debates? In all these, the Ethiopian Television and Radio Organization has been the weapon that Meles needed to have absolute monopoly on, control and kill voices of the opposition groups as he wished. Meles has also showed on the ETV his predecessor’s (Mengistu’s) crimes to refresh the memories of the enslaved voters, likening the opposition groups with Mengistu. If I may ask, is this not a criminal act that Meles has committed using the ETV, the only TV channel in the country? More…
Dr. M Joseph is an expert in Applied Distributed Programming & VSAT
The writer of this piece, M. Joseph, can be reached at sofomore@googlemail.com
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
EU chief observer says Ethiopian poll was not fair
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Tens of thousands of ruling party supporters rallied Tuesday in Ethiopia's capital to celebrate victory in the national election, while the chief EU observer said the poll had been marred by an uneven playing field. A top opposition leader denounced the provisional results released by the Ethiopian elections board, but did not indicate what action his party would take.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi arrived midmorning at the main square in Addis Ababa and addressed the crowd as hundreds of blue-uniformed federal police stood guard.
"We'll not boast about our victory, but we'll add to the burden of work that we have to deliver for the next five years," said Meles, who seized power in a 1991 coup
Read Full Story≫
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi arrived midmorning at the main square in Addis Ababa and addressed the crowd as hundreds of blue-uniformed federal police stood guard.
"We'll not boast about our victory, but we'll add to the burden of work that we have to deliver for the next five years," said Meles, who seized power in a 1991 coup
Read Full Story≫
Ethiopia: Government Repression Undermines Poll
(Nairobi) - Ethiopian government and ruling party officials intimidated voters and unlawfully restricted the media ahead of the May 23, 2010 parliamentary elections, Human Rights Watch said today.
In assessing the polls, international election observers should address the repressive legal and administrative measures that the Ethiopian ruling party used to restrict freedom of expression during the election campaign, Human Rights Watch said.
"Behind an orderly façade, the government pressured, intimidated and threatened Ethiopian voters," said Rona Peligal, acting Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Whatever the results, the most salient feature of this election was the months of repression preceding it."
In the weeks leading up to the polls, Human Rights Watch documented new methods used by the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to intimidate voters in the capital, Addis Ababa, apparently because of government concerns of a low electoral turnout.
During April and May, officials and militia (known as tataqi in Amharic) from the local administration went house to house telling citizens to register to vote and to vote for the ruling party or face reprisals from local party officials such as bureaucratic harassment or even losing their homes or jobs.
The May poll was the first national parliamentary election in Ethiopia since the government violently suppressed post-election protests in 2005; almost 200 people, including several police officers, died after the 2005 poll and tens of thousands of people were arrested, including opposition leaders, journalists and civil society activists.
Read Full Story≫
In assessing the polls, international election observers should address the repressive legal and administrative measures that the Ethiopian ruling party used to restrict freedom of expression during the election campaign, Human Rights Watch said.
"Behind an orderly façade, the government pressured, intimidated and threatened Ethiopian voters," said Rona Peligal, acting Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Whatever the results, the most salient feature of this election was the months of repression preceding it."
In the weeks leading up to the polls, Human Rights Watch documented new methods used by the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to intimidate voters in the capital, Addis Ababa, apparently because of government concerns of a low electoral turnout.
During April and May, officials and militia (known as tataqi in Amharic) from the local administration went house to house telling citizens to register to vote and to vote for the ruling party or face reprisals from local party officials such as bureaucratic harassment or even losing their homes or jobs.
The May poll was the first national parliamentary election in Ethiopia since the government violently suppressed post-election protests in 2005; almost 200 people, including several police officers, died after the 2005 poll and tens of thousands of people were arrested, including opposition leaders, journalists and civil society activists.
Read Full Story≫
Monday, May 24, 2010
Ethiopia Ruling Party Leads Vote Marred by Intimidation Reports
By Jason McLure
May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling party headed for victory in the Horn of Africa nation’s first national elections since 2005 after a campaign that was marred by allegations of intimidation.
With about 7.3 million votes tallied of an estimated 29 million cast yesterday, Meles’s Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front had 6.8 million, compared with 458,242 for the opposition Medrek alliance, Mergera Bekana, chairman of the National Electoral Board, said today.
The EPRDF was ahead in 20 of 23 seats in the capital, Addis Ababa, with Medrek leading for one parliamentary seat and two constituencies not yet reporting, he said.
“In all regional states, EPRDF is leading,” Mergera said in the capital.
Government and ruling party official used a combination of harassment and arrests and withholding food aid and jobs to thwart Medrek in the weeks running up to the polls, New York- based Human Rights Watch said in a statement today. The government has denied the allegations, saying economic growth in Ethiopia of more than 7 percent annually over the past five years has bolstered its support.
About 31.9 million registered voters were eligible to cast ballots to elect 547 members of parliament and representatives to regional councils.
A former Marxist guerrilla leader who has ruled Africa’s second-most populous nation since 1991, Meles, 55, has been a key ally in the fight against Islamic militants in neighboring Somalia. Under Meles, Ethiopia, Africa’s top coffee producer, has pursued an economic model that mixes a large state role with foreign investment in roads, dams and power.
The government controls the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corp., a state-run monopoly, and owns all the land, while companies owned by the state or the ruling party dominate banking and trucking. Almost a sixth of its 85 million people depend on food aid.
Medrek is a coalition that includes jailed opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa’s Unity for Democracy and Justice party and a number of ethnic-based parties.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling party headed for victory in the Horn of Africa nation’s first national elections since 2005 after a campaign that was marred by allegations of intimidation.
With about 7.3 million votes tallied of an estimated 29 million cast yesterday, Meles’s Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front had 6.8 million, compared with 458,242 for the opposition Medrek alliance, Mergera Bekana, chairman of the National Electoral Board, said today.
The EPRDF was ahead in 20 of 23 seats in the capital, Addis Ababa, with Medrek leading for one parliamentary seat and two constituencies not yet reporting, he said.
“In all regional states, EPRDF is leading,” Mergera said in the capital.
Government and ruling party official used a combination of harassment and arrests and withholding food aid and jobs to thwart Medrek in the weeks running up to the polls, New York- based Human Rights Watch said in a statement today. The government has denied the allegations, saying economic growth in Ethiopia of more than 7 percent annually over the past five years has bolstered its support.
About 31.9 million registered voters were eligible to cast ballots to elect 547 members of parliament and representatives to regional councils.
A former Marxist guerrilla leader who has ruled Africa’s second-most populous nation since 1991, Meles, 55, has been a key ally in the fight against Islamic militants in neighboring Somalia. Under Meles, Ethiopia, Africa’s top coffee producer, has pursued an economic model that mixes a large state role with foreign investment in roads, dams and power.
The government controls the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corp., a state-run monopoly, and owns all the land, while companies owned by the state or the ruling party dominate banking and trucking. Almost a sixth of its 85 million people depend on food aid.
Medrek is a coalition that includes jailed opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa’s Unity for Democracy and Justice party and a number of ethnic-based parties.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Experts Say There Will Be No Contest in Ethiopia's Upcoming Vote
Horn of Africa experts in the United States say there will be no contest in Ethiopia's parliamentary election Sunday. They say it will be unlike the volatile vote in 2005, due to a diminished opposition and a ruling party totally in control.
The last election in Ethiopia in 2005 was fiercely contested, and when the opposition alleged there had been cheating in vote counting, riots broke out and about 200 people, most of them opposition activists, were reported killed.
Africa experts say the ruling party in Ethiopia made sure Sunday's upcoming election will not repeat that pattern.
Oberlin College International Studies Professor Eve Sandberg says the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front has made sure its message has been heard by would-be voters. "The current government has been using the media, which they control in a non-stop way to broadcast programs, which talk about how much better this regime is than the previous one and the fact that at least they have built roads, and at least they have painted some buildings, and at least people are not experiencing famine," she said.
Sandberg who recently worked as a political consultant in Ethiopia says, on the other side of the political equation, the opposition has nearly disappeared. "Their leaders are either in jail, in exile, or have resigned because they cannot see any way forward. If they show they are in opposition many of them find that police show up and they are either shot, or detained or harassed," she said.
A series of campaign-related killings in Ethiopia has raised tensions and sparked counter allegations between the government and opposition.
Examples of opposition leaders excluded from the process include Birtukan Mideksa, who heads the Unity for Democracy and Justice. She is in jail under a life sentence after an initial pardon for treason was revoked.
Berhanu Nega, who was elected as mayor of Addis Ababa in 2005, was also imprisoned during the post-election riots. He has since become a professor in the United States and was sentenced to life in prison in absentia for alleged coup plotting.
An expert on U.S.-Africa relations, who was in Ethiopia for the 2005 vote, J. Peter Pham, says major figures of the opposition remaining in the race are divided. "Hailu Shawul who led the opposition coalition the last time around is being opposed by the deputy head of the old opposition, Hailu Araya. They are facing off against each other for the same constituency," he said.
Terrence Lyons from George Mason University says he is disappointed, but not surprised by current political conditions. He says competition is still taking place within the ruling party. "Some of the folks who have been in power for almost 20 years are retiring and a younger generation, some perhaps more technocratic or more professional is coming up. There are endless speculations about what might happen when and if Prime Minister Meles Zenawi were to step down and who might be the successor. So, there are a lot of those kinds of questions that are percolating now," he said.
A former rebel leader, Mr. Meles has been prime minister since 1995. All of the experts interviewed for this report expect his party to win much more easily than in the 2005 election.
The prime minister's supporters say he has done much more than recent Ethiopian leaders in building up the country's economy, health and school system, while also keeping a vast multi-ethnic society stable, even as neighboring countries experienced repeated strife.
The last election in Ethiopia in 2005 was fiercely contested, and when the opposition alleged there had been cheating in vote counting, riots broke out and about 200 people, most of them opposition activists, were reported killed.
Africa experts say the ruling party in Ethiopia made sure Sunday's upcoming election will not repeat that pattern.
Oberlin College International Studies Professor Eve Sandberg says the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front has made sure its message has been heard by would-be voters. "The current government has been using the media, which they control in a non-stop way to broadcast programs, which talk about how much better this regime is than the previous one and the fact that at least they have built roads, and at least they have painted some buildings, and at least people are not experiencing famine," she said.
Sandberg who recently worked as a political consultant in Ethiopia says, on the other side of the political equation, the opposition has nearly disappeared. "Their leaders are either in jail, in exile, or have resigned because they cannot see any way forward. If they show they are in opposition many of them find that police show up and they are either shot, or detained or harassed," she said.
A series of campaign-related killings in Ethiopia has raised tensions and sparked counter allegations between the government and opposition.
Examples of opposition leaders excluded from the process include Birtukan Mideksa, who heads the Unity for Democracy and Justice. She is in jail under a life sentence after an initial pardon for treason was revoked.
Berhanu Nega, who was elected as mayor of Addis Ababa in 2005, was also imprisoned during the post-election riots. He has since become a professor in the United States and was sentenced to life in prison in absentia for alleged coup plotting.
An expert on U.S.-Africa relations, who was in Ethiopia for the 2005 vote, J. Peter Pham, says major figures of the opposition remaining in the race are divided. "Hailu Shawul who led the opposition coalition the last time around is being opposed by the deputy head of the old opposition, Hailu Araya. They are facing off against each other for the same constituency," he said.
Terrence Lyons from George Mason University says he is disappointed, but not surprised by current political conditions. He says competition is still taking place within the ruling party. "Some of the folks who have been in power for almost 20 years are retiring and a younger generation, some perhaps more technocratic or more professional is coming up. There are endless speculations about what might happen when and if Prime Minister Meles Zenawi were to step down and who might be the successor. So, there are a lot of those kinds of questions that are percolating now," he said.
A former rebel leader, Mr. Meles has been prime minister since 1995. All of the experts interviewed for this report expect his party to win much more easily than in the 2005 election.
The prime minister's supporters say he has done much more than recent Ethiopian leaders in building up the country's economy, health and school system, while also keeping a vast multi-ethnic society stable, even as neighboring countries experienced repeated strife.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Ethiopia Will Keep Opposition Leader in Prison Beyond Elections
May 13, 2010, 7:52 AM EDT
By Jason McLure
May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia’s government will ignore foreign and domestic pressure to free opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa from prison and keep her incarcerated beyond this month’s elections, Communications Minister Bereket Simon said.
“We are not in a position to intervene in any legal affair,” Bereket told reporters yesterday in Addis Ababa, the capital, in response to a question about the jailed leader of the Unity for Democracy and Justice party. “The government has repeatedly declared its position is not to budge to any foreign or local pressure.”
Birtukan, 35, has spent 500 days in prison since she was arrested on Dec. 29, 2008, after the government accused her of violating the terms of a pardon under which she was released in 2007. She was originally jailed on treason charges following protests after Ethiopia’s disputed 2005 elections. Her continued imprisonment comes amid claims by government critics that the May 23 vote won’t be free and fair.
“The best evidence that these elections cannot be genuine democratic elections is that this woman, who should be running, is unable to do so because she is jailed for life,” Ana Gomes, a Portuguese member of the European parliament who headed the EU’s electoral mission to Ethiopia in 2005, said in a May 11 phone interview.
Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department labeled Birtukan a political prisoner, and the United Nations Human Rights Council listed her as a victim of arbitrary detention.
Her supporters say the former federal judge was jailed because she was the opposition leader most likely to organize a successful nationwide challenge to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, which has ruled the country since 1991.
“Had she been part of the election, not only the people here but the whole country would have voted for her,” Leulseged Wubeshet, a 23-year-old Birtukan supporter, said from her home neighborhood in northern Addis Ababa. “She’s more popular than the others.”
--Editors: Paul Richardson, Philip Sanders.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.
By Jason McLure
May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia’s government will ignore foreign and domestic pressure to free opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa from prison and keep her incarcerated beyond this month’s elections, Communications Minister Bereket Simon said.
“We are not in a position to intervene in any legal affair,” Bereket told reporters yesterday in Addis Ababa, the capital, in response to a question about the jailed leader of the Unity for Democracy and Justice party. “The government has repeatedly declared its position is not to budge to any foreign or local pressure.”
Birtukan, 35, has spent 500 days in prison since she was arrested on Dec. 29, 2008, after the government accused her of violating the terms of a pardon under which she was released in 2007. She was originally jailed on treason charges following protests after Ethiopia’s disputed 2005 elections. Her continued imprisonment comes amid claims by government critics that the May 23 vote won’t be free and fair.
“The best evidence that these elections cannot be genuine democratic elections is that this woman, who should be running, is unable to do so because she is jailed for life,” Ana Gomes, a Portuguese member of the European parliament who headed the EU’s electoral mission to Ethiopia in 2005, said in a May 11 phone interview.
Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department labeled Birtukan a political prisoner, and the United Nations Human Rights Council listed her as a victim of arbitrary detention.
Her supporters say the former federal judge was jailed because she was the opposition leader most likely to organize a successful nationwide challenge to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, which has ruled the country since 1991.
“Had she been part of the election, not only the people here but the whole country would have voted for her,” Leulseged Wubeshet, a 23-year-old Birtukan supporter, said from her home neighborhood in northern Addis Ababa. “She’s more popular than the others.”
--Editors: Paul Richardson, Philip Sanders.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.
Friday, May 7, 2010
American Goes on Hunger Strike to Support Ethiopian Opposition Leader
By Alula Kebede
washington, DC
06/05/2010
American documentary filmmaker and activist Chris Flaherty is on a hunger strike at the front gates of the White House in Washington, D.C. to support Birtukan Mideksa, an Ethiopian lawyer and major opposition party leader serving a life sentence in Ethiopia.
Birtukan, leader of the largest opposition group in Ethiopia, Unity for Democracy and Justice, has been held at the Kaliti prison for the past 16 months on a treason conviction.
Flaherty became interested in Birtukan's case while doing research for his film about Ethiopian politics and the 2005 election. He is convinced that the Ethiopian government claims about her are inaccurate. He is using his strike to bring her case to the attention of the Obama administration. He is calling on the President to identify her as a prisoner of conscience.
"This is important to me as she was jailed simply because she stands by what she believes. To me that is a strong character. She believes in the same values that I believe in as far as democracy and freedom are concerned. I would hunger-strike for anyone like that," Chris said. "She shouldn't have been in jail in the first place."
Kebadu Belachew, an Ethiopian-American, took three days off from work to join Flaherty on the hunger strike in front of the White House.
Birtukan was arrested in December 2008 for allegedly violating the terms of an earlier pardon. She and several fellow opposition leaders previously served two years in prison on government charges.
Flaherty's film, Migration of Beauty, will broadcast in the United States this month.
Listen to the Amharic report on Flaherty's strike.
washington, DC
06/05/2010
American documentary filmmaker and activist Chris Flaherty is on a hunger strike at the front gates of the White House in Washington, D.C. to support Birtukan Mideksa, an Ethiopian lawyer and major opposition party leader serving a life sentence in Ethiopia.
Birtukan, leader of the largest opposition group in Ethiopia, Unity for Democracy and Justice, has been held at the Kaliti prison for the past 16 months on a treason conviction.
Flaherty became interested in Birtukan's case while doing research for his film about Ethiopian politics and the 2005 election. He is convinced that the Ethiopian government claims about her are inaccurate. He is using his strike to bring her case to the attention of the Obama administration. He is calling on the President to identify her as a prisoner of conscience.
"This is important to me as she was jailed simply because she stands by what she believes. To me that is a strong character. She believes in the same values that I believe in as far as democracy and freedom are concerned. I would hunger-strike for anyone like that," Chris said. "She shouldn't have been in jail in the first place."
Kebadu Belachew, an Ethiopian-American, took three days off from work to join Flaherty on the hunger strike in front of the White House.
Birtukan was arrested in December 2008 for allegedly violating the terms of an earlier pardon. She and several fellow opposition leaders previously served two years in prison on government charges.
Flaherty's film, Migration of Beauty, will broadcast in the United States this month.
Listen to the Amharic report on Flaherty's strike.
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