Eskinder Nega appears in court in handcuffs

Nov. 9 (ESAT News) Journalist Eskinder Nega appeared in the supreme court Tuesday to appeal the 18-year imprisonment passed against him but the case was adjourned without hearing as police had snatched away the appeals he wrote to the court.

Journalist Edkinder, who was sentenced to 18 years in jails in July appeared in handcuffs and requested the court to set another date for the hearing.

The judges asked the Kality prison chief why Eskinder’s papers were taken. The chief told the court, which is widely seen a Kangaroo court being used as instrument of oppression against dissidents and journalists, that the prison administration took the papers for examination but the inmate was not willing to surrender the papers. The papers would be returned to Eskinder once they are examined, the prison chief said.

Eskinder also told that he is ready to make his case and is eager for the hearing to begin soon enough. Despite the fact that Eskider does not have a history of violence he was escorted by for police men on top of being handcuffed. The hearing was adjourned for November 22.

Famed journalist Eskinder Nega is the 2012 winner of Pen America’s Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.

Political prisoners who are of Amhara descent have been labeled Ginbot 7 and many routinely face rights violations, according to reliable sources.

High profile prisoners tried under the case of Andualem Arage et al, are facing harassment and abuses at the hands of the prison guards and administration.

The sources also told ESAT that convicted prisoners under the case of Br. General Tefera Mamo et al have been subjected to torture, bearings and degrading treatment. Similar allegations were made previously but the abuses are reportedly getting worse. In Kality and Kilinto prisons inmates have complained about beating and degrading treatment.

Meanwhile, Mr. Andulalem Abate who was convicted of terrorism offenses appeared before the supreme court to appeal his conviction. He told the court that he could not hire a lawyer and requested the court to assign a public defender.  The hearing was adjourned for December 3.

Under the internationally condemned anti-terrorism law, hundreds of dissidents, journalists and human rights activists have been facing charges and scores have already been convicted of committing acts of terrorism. While global advocacy groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists have deplored the legislation, the U.S. government has also expressed grave concern over the misapplication of the law.

Ethiopia abusing religious freedom of Muslims: U.S. body

(Reuters) – A U.S. panel on religious freedom accused the Ethiopian government of trying to tighten control of its Muslim minority amid mass protests, saying it is risking greater destabilization of the Horn of Africa region.

Ethiopia, which has long been seen by the West as a bulwark against Muslim rebels in neighboring Somalia, says it fears militant Islam is taking root in the country.

However, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) accused the government of arresting peaceful Muslim protesters, noting that 29 of them had been charged last month with what the authorities said was “planning to commit terrorist acts”.

Ethiopian Muslims, who make up about a third of the population in the majority Christian country, accuse the government of interfering in the highest Muslim affairs body, the Ethiopia Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (EIASC). Thousands of Muslims have staged weekly mosque sit-ins and street protests in Addis Ababa over the past year.

“The arrests, terrorism charges and takeover of EIASC signify a troubling escalation in the government’s attempts to control Ethiopia’s Muslim community and provide further evidence of a decline in religious freedom in Ethiopia,” the Commission said in a statement issued on Thursday.

Ethiopian officials were unavailable for comment on the statement from the Commission, whose members are appointed by President Barack Obama and senior Congressional Democrats and Republicans.

Commission Chairwoman Katrina Lantos Swett called on the U.S. government to raise the issue with Addis Ababa.

“USCIRF has found that repressing religious communities in the name of countering extremism leads to more extremism, greater instability, and possibly violence,” she said.

“Given Ethiopia’s strategic importance in the Horn of Africa … it is vital that the Ethiopian government end its religious freedom abuses and allow Muslims to practice peacefully their faith as they see fit,” she added. “Otherwise the government’s current policies and practices will lead to greater destabilization of an already volatile region.”

Over the past six years Ethiopia has twice sent troops into Somalia to battle Islamist rebels, including al Shaabab militants, and officials say some of the protesters are bankrolled by Islamist groups in the Middle East.

The Commission backed the protesters’ complaints that the government had been trying since last year to impose the apolitical Al Ahbash sect on Ethiopian Muslims. The government has denied this but dozens of Muslims have been arrested since the demonstrations started in 2011.

Ethiopia is 63 percent Christian and 34 percent Muslim, according to official figures, with the vast majority of Muslims adhering to the moderate, Sufi version of Islam.

በላፍቶ ክፍለ ከተማ ከ17 ሺ በላይ አባወራዎች ሜዳ ላይ ተበተኑ ሁለት ህጻናትም በፖሊስ ዱላ ተገደሉ

ኢሳት ዜና:-በአዲስ አበባ ልዩ ስሙ ላፍቶ እየተባለ በሚጠራው አካባቢ ቤታቸው የፈረሰባቸው ከ17 ሺ በላይ በላይ አባዎራዎች የድረሱልን ጥሪ እያሰሙ ነው። የአትዮጵያን ሰንደቃላማና የአቶ መለስ ዜናዊ ፎ

ከ400 በላይ ነዋሪዎች ዛሬ በአንድ ላይ በመሆን ወደ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ቢሮ ሲያመሩ፣ የጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር

ጽህፈት ቤት ወደ አዲስ አበባ መስተዳደር እንዲሄዱ አዞዋቸዋል። አዲስ አበባ መስተዳድርም ሶስት ሰዎች ተወክለው እንዲገ

ቡ ፈቅዷል። ይሁን እንጅ ከንቲባው አልገቡም በሚል ስቱዲዮ እስከገባንበት ጊዜ ድረስ መልስ አልተሰጣቸውም።
ምተዋል።  የወላጆቻቸውን ቤት መፍረስ የተቃ ለኢሳት የደረሰው መረጃ እንደሚያመለክተው ከንቲባው ሰሞኑን ወደ ስራ ሲገቡና ሲወጡ አልታዩም።ቶግራፎችን በመያዝ ወደ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ቢ
ወሙ ሁለት ህጻናት በፖሊስ ዱላ ተደብድበው መገደላቸውን፣ በዛሬው እለት ደግሞ ቤቶች በሚፈርሱበት ቦታ ላይ አንዲት እናት የኤሌክትሪክ ምሰሶ ወድቆባቸው መገደላቸውን የአይን እማኞች ገልጸዋል።ሮ ቢያመሩም፣ ሰንደቃላማውንም ፎቶግራፉንም ተቀ

በመስተዳድሩ ዙሪያ የነበረውን ተቃውሞ እንደሚከተለው አጠናክረነዋል ፤፡ የመስተዳድሩን ባለስልጣናትን ለማግኘት ያደረግነው ሙከራ አልተሳካም።

Bulcha Demeksa’s Exclusive Interview

Bulcha Demeksa, in his early septuagenarian age, is still an outspoken politician besides his role as a business figure. After

Bulcha Demeksa

Serving as a deputy minister of Finance in 1960s, he joined the World Bank and UNDP and served in different African countries before he made his way back to Addis Ababa after 20 years of staying abroad.

Following the coming of EPRDF to power Bulcha had also actively participated in the political and economic life of the country that ranged from forming an opposition political party to founding the first private commercial Bank in Ethiopia- Awash International Bank.

Though he is still taking part in the politics of the country, he says he is not really active these days. So he now prefers to look from behind while working on his new book that he expects to be published soon. Bulcha sat down with Merga Yonas of The Reporter to discuss issues ranging from politics to socio-economic that the country has been facing and what remedies should be.

Excerpts:

Many people say that your have an impressive professional biography. Looking back to the start of your professional, what do you think could be the reason for your success?

Well I don’t know how well I’m liked, but I know that I have been around. That means, I worked with different organization. My first organization to work for was the Ministry of Finance. When I came back from US in 1960, I joined the ministry of finance. And in the Ministry I worked for nine and half years before I became deputy minister.

They say all roads takes you to the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Finance was at the time (time of emperor) was a very key ministry . It is key because, while the country was still poor, the emperor has expanded the government vastly. Before we had the means, the government had become very big. So we didn’t have enough money to finance this big government and everybody came to the ministry of finance. The ministry was very popular or notorious, depending on who is speaking.

In 1961, when I joined the ministry the name Bulcha was very well known. In 1970, I joined the World Bank. I went to Washington DC, where the World Bank headquarters is found as a representative of Ethiopia in addition to representing other 16 English speaking African countries. Then I stayed there for five years and the Emperor was over thrown. In 1974, I joined United Nation Development Program (UNDP) and as UNDP resident I was sent to Gambia, Nigeria, and then to Tanzania.

In 1991, when the EPRDF took power in Addis Ababa, I went back to my country. I came to Ethiopia representing a party called Ethiopian National Democratic Organization (ENDO). I was not really a member of this party; I tell you, a friend of mine who was responsible for ENDO named Derje Dheresa, begged me to come to Addis Ababa at that time. Because at that time Derje had founded a party called Ethiopian People Democratic Alliance (EPDA) the other fellow, Kifle Wodajo who founded a party called KITET.

Though they were not friends, they had merged this two party naming it ENDO. Then, as I said Dereje requested me to represent ENDO, I tell you again, I was not a member of this party, I didn’t believed in ENDO at all. My desire at that time was to come back to Addis Ababa after staying abroad for 20 years. Then representing the country, I took part in the conference during the transitional government but not leading ENDO.

So, can we conclude from this that you joined the political scene as a matter of lack, as you were more of finance and economic person the time?

Dire Dawa: Conference of Ethiopian Studies Resolution

H.E. Mr. Giorgio Napolitano,

President of the Republic of Italy,
H.E. Mr. Mario Monti,
Prime Minister of the Republic of Italy

Your Excellencies,

The 18^th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies was held in the eastern Ethiopian city of Dire Dawa from 29 October to 2 November 2012. The conference brought together three hundred scholars from twenty-six countries from all over the world. It was the latest in the series of conferences first held in Italy in 1959.

On the last day of the conference, we the participants noted with great dismay the erection in August 2012 of a monument to the Fascist war criminal Rodolfo Graziani in the town of Affile. The name of Graziani is associated with the worst atrocities of Italian Fascism in Ethiopia and, earlier, in Libya, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of Africans. He is remembered for vowing to deliver Ethiopia to Mussolini “with or without the Ethiopians”. He went on to fulfill that vow with indiscriminate use of chemical weapons and the massacre of thousands of Ethiopians. The notorious “Graziani Massacre” that followed the attempt on his life on 19 February 1937 was marked by brutal and inhuman killing of thousands of innocent Ethiopians. Targeted for liquidation in particular were a number of young educated Ethiopians. This was followed by the massacre in May of nearly three hundred monks and over twenty other Ethiopians in the medieval monastery of Debre Libanos.

Graziani was never tried for his war crimes in Africa. Had he been alive, there is no doubt that he would have been forced to face justice at the International Criminal Court. The erection with public funds of a monument for someone who has the blood of so many Africans on his hands is therefore adding insult to injury.

The participants of the conference have noted the great contribution that Italian scholars have made to Ethiopian studies as well as to the initiation of the series of conferences that have brought them together to discuss their research findings for the last fifty-three years. They are also aware of the good relations that have existed between the peoples and governments of the two countries.

But they fear that the erection of such a monument to a confirmed war criminal jeopardizes those relations. They, therefore, express their solidarity with the Italians and Ethiopians who have already expressed their strong displeasure at this act and demand either the dismantling of this shameful monument or its rededication to the tens of thousands of victims of Graziani. Further, we feel that the Italian Government should pass a law that makes it illegal to celebrate and commemorate people who have committed internationally recognized war crimes.

Respectfully,

The Participants of the 18^th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies

Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

cc.        H.E. Ato Girma Wolde Giorgis,

            President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

            H.E. Ato Haile Mariam Dessalegn,

            Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

            H.E. Mr. Renzo Rosso,

            Italian Ambassador to Ethiopia

            Italian Association of African Studies

Obama triumph reignites hope for Africa

Reuters) – Kenyans in Barack Obama’s ancestral homeland stayed up all night and danced with joy on Wednesday as America’s first black president won a second term in the White House, raising the prospects of a fresh start for his ties with Africa.

Many Africans feel Obama has not responded to their huge enthusiasm when he won the presidency four years ago with an increased U.S. commitment to the world’s poorest continent during his first term.

His re-election failed to rouse the same level of jubilation that was seen across Kenya following his 2008 election victory.

But as news of Obama’s victory came through, hundreds of people gathered in his late father’s village, and cheers and chants of “Obama, Obama, Obama!” erupted when key U.S. states fell to the east African country’s favorite adopted son.

In the tiny western hamlet of Kogelo, men waved tree branches and banged drums at the Obama family home where his grandmother Sarah lives. Women ululated and cried tears of joy, muttering prayers of thanksgiving.

Obama’s grandmother joined in the dancing and cheering outside her house after the results were declared.

“He is welcomed home,” she told reporters. “I would just like to tell him to give his best to the people who have shown their faith in him by electing him.”

Obama, who hails his African roots, visited sub-Saharan Africa only once in his first four years – a stopover of less than a day in Ghana between summits elsewhere.

President Mwai Kibaki, who declared a national holiday in Obama’s honor four years ago, this time merely sent him a message of congratulations for his victory over Republican Mitt Romney, saying he hoped Obama would deepen ties with Kenya.

FRESH START

However, in Kogelo, where Obama’s father was born and buried, they still celebrated his win with gusto.

Residents saw his victory as a boost for Kenya-U.S. relations. Some said it gave Obama another chance to provide more development aid to the continent, and many still held out hope that he would visit the country of his father’s birth.

“If I had a chance to talk to him, which hopefully I will get after he is inaugurated again, my message would be to focus on Africa,” Mustafa Obama, the president’s half brother said as he plucked weeds and tended to flowers on their father’s grave.

“If he can put more emphasis on education, health and all that matters to Africa instead of politics, that is my message to my brother,” he told Reuters.

Obama, who was born in Hawaii to a white mother from Kansas and a Kenyan father, has been idolized by many Africans in the way the Irish revered U.S. President John F. Kennedy in the 1960s – as one of their own who succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.

Macharia Munene, a lecturer on international relations at the United States International University, said Obama’s re-election gave him a chance of a fresh start with Africa.

“There is a possibility that he might want to be seen to be more concerned than he was with regards to Africa. He may say, ‘let me go and see my grandma, and say hi to Africa’. In that sense it is an opportunity to start afresh,” Munene said.

Some people in Kogelo had predicted an easy victory for Obama. Witch doctor John Dimo had tossed some shells, bones and other items to determine who would win Tuesday’s election. Pointing to a white shell on election day, he declared: “Obama is very far ahead and is definitely going to win.”

Several new-born babies at a hospital near Kogelo were named after the U.S. president.

In the spirit of bipartisanship, Millicent Awuor, 20, named her twins after both candidates. “I named the first twin Barack and the second one Mitt,” said Awuor, a housewife.

(Additional reporting and writing by James Macharia; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and

Who has the mandate in Ethiopia?

Yesterday, over 90 million Americans voted and in Texas time exactly 11:12 PM, the former one term U.S senator from the state of Illinois won his second and last term of the U.S. presidency with 303 electoral votes. Florida’s result still not in but doesn’t matter anymore because the young African American incumbent won six of the seven battle ground states such as Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, and Ohio. “We will pray for him,” said Mr. Romney in his concession speech right before Obama’s hopeful speech. To the rest of us who had been anxiously waiting to see the election result, now the snow is melted, the spring is in, the sun is rising again. Now, we all clearly know who has the mandate to lead this great nation; yes, we have a new democratically elected president. Not just democrats or the 50% who voted for Obama but the entire nation accepts the re-elected Commander in Chief. Yes, the people gave him a mandate to wage war on their behalf, to negotiate on with other nations on their behalf, to tax on their behalf, and to call himself the leader of the free world on their behalf. God bless America. “I know that political campaigns can sometimes seem small, even silly. ….but it is important,” said the president last night, and he continued, “The belief that our destiny is shared; that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations. The freedom which so many American have fought for and died for come with responsibilities as well as rights”. Yes, so many died for America, so many died for their freedom, and so many died to see a day like yesterday. It is also true that so many have died for that ancient and holy nation of Ethiopia, too.

Unfortunately, the spring doesn’t seem around the corner for the majority of Ethiopians. We don’t see any flowers yet. We don’t hear music. Rather, the people of Ethiopia are in a fog season. The sky is not clear. Yes, the snow is still thick, the water is toxic, the mood is grim, the people are subdued, and so many millions do not know where to turn and ask: Who has the mandate to lead Ethiopia? They wish to see someone come out and concede after a true election. They also wish someone to come and declare a true victory. Who is the father figure in Ethiopia now? They desperately want that leader to hear their national anthem with pride and emotion. Who is the person we Ethiopians see and get proud as a leader right now? Whose speech we anxiously wait to listen? Who is going to come out and make us feel better if something wrong happen, God forbid? Who has the mandate to take us to send individuals to battle field? Mr. Bereket? Mr. Hailemariam? Mr. Abbay? Mr. Sibhat? EPRDF? TPLF? Who? Who has the mandate to rule our Muslim brothers? Who has the mandate to administer the Orthodox Church? Who has the mandate to administer the military? Who has the mandate to dictate the economy? Who has the grace and the trust of the people to defend our boarder? I don’t know.

God save us.

MeKonnen H. Birru is a Mental Health Professor at Fortis College and Houston Community College

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ከዚህ ቀደም በእነ ጀኔራል ተፈራ ማሞ መዝገብ በመፈንቅለ መንግስት ሙከራ ተከሰው በእስር ላይ በሚገኙት ወታደራዊ መኮንኖች ላይ እጅግ ኢሰብዓዊ የሆነ አሰቃቂ ድብደባ ( ቶርች) የተፈጸመባቸው መሆኑን ኢሳት የቃሊቲ ምንጮችን በመጥቀስ ለህዝብ ይፋ አድርጎ ነበር።

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በቃሊቲና ቂሊንጦ ማረማያ ቤቶች በሚገኙ እስረኞች ላይ ከሚተገበሩት የማሰቃያ መንገዶች መካከል ድብደባ አንዱ መሆኑ ታውቋል።

ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ በሽብር ወንጀል ተከሶ ፍረደኛ የሆኑት አቶ አንዱአለም አባተ ትናንት እኩለ ቀን ላይ ይግባኝ ሰሚ ጠቅላይ ፍርድ ቤት ቀርበዋል።

አቶ አንዱአለም በግላቸው ጠበቃ ለመቅጠር እንደማይችሉ በመግለጻቸው መንግስት ጠበቃ እንዲያቆምላቸው ጠይቀዋል።

ፍርድ ቤቱም መንግስት ለእስረኛው ጠበቃ እንዲያቆምላቸው ትእዛዝ ሰጥቷል። ይግባኙን ለማየትም ለህዳር 24 ፣ 2005 ዓም የጊዜ ቀጠሮ በመስጠት ችሎቱን አጠናቋል።

Breaking News: Obama wins re-election (Obama's victory speech)

US Election 2012: Confident Obama congratulates Romney, shoots hoops

CHICAGO (AP) — Expressing confidence but leaving nothing to chance, President Barack Obama indulged his

President Barack Obama is embraced by a volunteer as he visits a campaign office the morning of the 2012 election, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

superstitions by engaging in a traditional Election Day basketball game with friends as the race that will determine his political future was finally in the hands of voters.

Obama headed for the hard court after he gave a final exhortation to his volunteers to get out the vote, voiced optimism about his chances and congratulated rival Mitt Romney on a ‘‘spirited campaign.’’

‘‘I expect that we’ll have a good night,’’ he said.

Obama gave the campaign one last push Tuesday morning by visiting a campaign office near his South Side Chicago home.

Thunderous applause from about two dozen volunteers, many with tears streaming down their faces, greeted Obama. Removing his suit coat, he sat down to make some calls to volunteers in neighboring Wisconsin. ‘‘Let’s get busy,’’ he said.

‘‘Hopefully we’ll have a good day,’’ he said on one call. ‘‘Keep working hard all the way through.’’

Speaking to reporters afterward, Obama said: ‘‘We feel confident we’ve got the votes to win but it’s going to depend ultimately on whether these votes turn out.’’

He said he knows Romney’s supporters are ‘‘just as engaged, just as enthusiastic’’ as his own and congratulated the former Massachusetts governor ‘‘for a hard-fought race.’’

Obama spent the day in his hometown, making his last appeals to voters during a round of satellite interviews with TV stations in swing states rather than a final flurry of campaign rallies.

The president headed into Election Day locked in a close race with Romney, according to national polls. But he appeared to have a slight edge in some key battlegrounds that will decide the contest, including Ohio, Iowa and Wisconsin.

There was no traditional Election Day photo of Obama voting Tuesday because he did so in Chicago last week, part of his campaign’s effort to promote early voting. First lady Michelle Obama voted by absentee ballot.

One tradition Obama kept, however, was his Election Day basketball game.

A savvy basketball fan, Obama was joined by former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen, childhood friends Mike Ramos and Marty Nesbitt, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a former captain of Harvard’s basketball team.

In 2008, Obama played basketball with aides before winning the kickoff Iowa caucuses. They decided to make the games an Election Day tradition after he lost the next contest, the New Hampshire primary, on a day when they didn’t hit the court.

‘‘We made the mistake of not playing basketball once. I can assure you we will not repeat that,’’ said Robert Gibbs, a longtime Obama aide who accompanied the president in the campaign’s waning days.

The president planned to spend part of the day at home and part at a downtown hotel, where family, friends and aides would join him in the evening to await the election returns.

He was expected to speak at his campaign’s election night party at McCormick Place convention center.

የኦህዴድ ክፍፍል ወደ ዞን ባለስልጣናትም ወረደ

ኢሳት ዜና:-የኦህዴድ ክፍፍል ወደ ዞኖች ወርዷል፣ ይህን መንግስት ተቀብለን እንቀጥላለን ወይም አንቀጥልም የሚሉ ሁለት ቡድኖች መፈጠራቸውን አባላቱ ገለጡ

ስማቸው እንዳይገለጥ ያስጠነቀቁ የኦህዴድ ባለስልጣናት ለኢሳት እንደገለጡት በኦህዴድ ከፍተኛ አመራሮች የተፈጠረው መከፋፈል ወደ ዞኖች ወርዶ በድርጅቱ ውስጥ ሁለት ቡድኖች እንዲፈጠሩ አድርጓል።

ከፍተኛ ክፍፍል በሚታይበት በሀረሪ ክልል ፣ በአንድ በኩል ይህንን ስርአት ደግፈን መጓዝ አለብን የሚሉ ኦህዴዶች ደጋፊዎችን ለማሰባሰብ ሙከራ በማድረግ ላይ ሲሆኑ፣ በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ” ብዙሀን እንዴት በአናሳ ቡድን ይገዛሉ? ” በማለት ስርአቱን አንቀበልም ያሉ ሀይሎች የራሳቸውን ደጋፊ በማሰባሰብ ቡድን እየፈጠሩ ነው።

“ብዙሀኑ በአናሳ አይገዙም ” የሚለውን ሃሳብ እያቀነቀኑ የሚገኙት የኦህዴድ አባላት ፣ የጠቅላይ ሚኒስትርነት ወይም ምክትል ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትርነት ቦታ ለኦህዴድ አለመሰጠቱ፣ “ኦህዴድ መሳሪያ ነው እንጅ ምንም ስልጣን የለውም” የሚል ስሜት እንዲያድርባቸው ማድረጉን ባለስልጣናቱ ተናግረዋል።
ክፍፍሉን ተከትሎ በተለይ በሀረሪ ፣ ክልሉን ማን ያስተዳድረው የሚለው ጥያቄ እንደገና ማገርሸቱንና የኦሮሞ ተወላጆች ጥያቄውን እየገፉበት እንደሚገኙ ለማወቅ ተችሎአል።

የኦህዴድ መከፋፈል ድርጅቱን ምን ያክል እንደሚጎዳው ለመገመት አስቸጋሪ ቢሆንም፣ አዲሱን ስርአት የሚቃወሙት አባላት ቁጥር እየጨመረ መምጣቱን ባለስልጣናቱ ይናገራሉ።



በኦህዴድ ውስጥ ያለው ክፍፍል እና ቅሬታ አዲሱ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር አቶ ሀይለማርያም ደሳለኝ እስካሁን ድረስ ካቢኔያቸውን ለመሾም እንዳላስቻላቸው መዘገቡ ይታወሳል።



በሌላ ዜና ደግሞ በሀረሪ ክልል ልዩ ስሙ ደከር በሚባል ቦታ አቶ ጀማል የተባሉትን ባለሀብት የፌደራል ፖሊሶች በምሽት በመውሰድ ከፍተኛ ድብደባ በመፈጸም አስረዋቸዋል።

ፖሊሶቹ ባለሀብቱን “ድሮ በኦነግ አሁን ደግሞ በሀይማኖት መጣህ” በማለት እየደበደቡ እንደወሰዱዋቸው አይን እማኞች ለኢሳት ገልጠዋል።

ESAT Daliy News-Amsterdam Nov. 06 2012 Ethiopia

Bureaucracy: The pillar EPRDF rusting

Public service giving practice has always been complained in our country, especially in recent time, hearing countless complains against institutions performance is not something we are unfamiliar with. In fact, it pushes me to share you my observation of the relationship between the practice of serving the society and performance of the institutions, be the cause to start an open idea sharing on the subject; hoping you, the readers, also have your own perception of the matter and will forward it.

At the time of TPLF/EPRDF’s infant stage of administration experience there use to exist some sort of rule to be followed and a body somehow committed to be abide by its own rule in delivering the service through the social institutions, it could be due to the influence of inheritance from the preceding regime. The word ’bureaucracy’ used too often referring this set of rule, to the level that tempt to take the word as an Amharic origin, to describe inflexible, rigidly applied rules, regulations and the time it took to get the service needed. Seldom heard to be discriminatory…to the great deal can be said with its inefficiency, use to treat the society ‘more’ equally without the consideration of ethnic difference or political affiliation to the ruling regime. It can just be said it was less corrupt.

The usual say of bureaucracy is out dated, as the discrimination become official, and, public services and opportunities polarized in delivery; while to party affiliates given as rewards and incentives, the ordinary society will not get the appropriate service and be part of the opportunity sharing, which contradict the basic principles of bureaucracy and it’s unique character; free of bias. In such an environment same product, services are given in no uniform manner to its users; members of the institution don’t have equal knowledge of same issue, organizational culture, routine tasks, objective, vision and goal or the ethics needed by the establishment they are working for; nor, their exist obedience to the formal hierarchy of authority due to subordinates possession of real power. The existence of bureaucracy may not assure full implementation of rules and regulation, but it is a reliable cause for the creation of strong controlling body that measure deviation from pre set standards and take corrective actions to meet the standards. It is probable for an institution, association or any form of organized body that doesn’t have strictly applied rules and regulations to cease existing.

The gradual fading of exercising strictly applied service giving and/or opportunity sharing rules and regulations/’bureaucracy’ sourced from the regimes objective; total control of power. The way it has happened took different level of stages. Elimination of government power competitors; former regime alliance rebel fighters, gradually strong political parties, influential individuals, were the first phase. Their existence could have played major role in not just for the existence of unbiased rules and regulation, but also for the improvement of the service giving practice; as their existence necessitates having a mechanism mutually used to make decisions concerning the country’s matters. That did not immediately cripple the service giving or the usual ‘bureaucracy’. At such a time where regime power is monopolized and is vulnerable to abuse civil and professional associations could have played undeniable role in exposing wrong doings and promote good governance through serving as a controlling body, yet, become critical targets of the regime; subjected to intimidation, abuse and liquidation. Having done taking care of the existing challenges of wrong doings, TPLF/EPRDF injects drops of its loyalists in every institution as an immune for possible eruption of opponents. Started to build it’s ‘seduced’ society in the form of membership to the party, gradually associating it’s belongingness, lowering its administrative scale to the members and supporters of the party…conquering and excluding itself from providing administrative security to the rest; the mass,…recruiting, assimilating out of it and intend to grow bigger from the self created minority society; ‘seduced society‘. This limits the scope and vision of the countries institutions, their decision making abilities; limiting the planning capabilities, developing alternative menses of achieving their objectives and material commitment…their by lowering their productivity.

Those drops of TPLF/EPRDF rusts the already existing bureaucracy which supports the country’s institutions like a pillar when they itch and consume the countries resource for fear of dissent, instated of advancing their capacity. The effects are what we are observing now; none existence of clearly defined set of rules and regulations that is respected by its own writers, none existence of what we use to call bureaucracy. Poor performance of public institutions; education, health, legal, economic institutions, etc… Their poorness reflected by the polarization and biases in their delivery to the end users; the society and the negative contribution to the quality of life. Institutions becoming a stage where assigned party members satisfy their ego to its last drop, quarrel on pity matters…narrowing the minds of the countries human assets, instead of being a gear that move its country to the right direction. If continue it is possible the end to be having un organized, fractured individuals forming the society…having no protection or security of possession, means of advancing it’s interests, expressing its self, marginalized, depraved, unprivileged, outcaste society…to simply say desperate situation and society.

በደጋን ወረዳ ከ100 በላይ ሰዎች ታሰሩ አካባቢው በፌደራል ፖሊስ ተከቧል

ኢሳት ዜና:-በደቡብ ወሎ ዞን በደጋን ወረዳ ከሳምንታት በፊት የተፈጠረውን ችግር ተከትሎ አካባቢው ከትናንትጀምሮ እንደገና በፌደራል ፖሊስ ቁጥጥር ስር ከዋለ በሁዋላ ከ100 በላይ ሰዎች ተይዘው መታሰራቸውን የአካባቢው ነዋሪዎች ገልጠዋል።

ወጣቶችም አካባቢውን ለቀው ወደ ወደ ገጠር በብዛት መሰሰደዳቸውን የአካባቢው ነዋሪዎች ተናግረዋል።

ከታሰሩት መካከል በከተማዋ ውስጥ በእድሜ አዛውንት የሆኑት የ90 አመቱ አቶ እንድሪስ ከማል ይገኙበታል።

ኢሳት አንዳንድ ወጣቶችን ለማናገር የቻለ ሲሆን፣ ወጣቶቹ እንደሚሉት አካባቢው በሙሉ በፌደራል ፖሊስ በመከበቡ ወደ ጎረቤት አገሮች ወይም ወደ ሌሎች የኢትዮጵያ ከተሞች ለመሸሽ አልቻሉም።

እስረኞቹን ሆስፒታል ውስጥ በማጠራቀም ወደ ተለያዩ ቦታዎች ወስደው  እያሰሩዋቸው መሆኑ ታውቋል።

ባለፈው ወር በደጋን በተነሳው ግጭት ከ4 ሰዎች ያላነሱ ሰዎች መገደላቸው ይታወሳል። የግጭቱ መንስኤ በአዲስ አበባ ከሚካሄደው የሙስሊሞች ተቃውሞ ጋር የተያያዘ ነው።

በሌላ ዜና ደግሞ የኢትዮጵያ እስልምና ጉዳዮች ጠቅላይ ምክር ቤት መቋቋሙን የመንግስት የመገናኛ ብዙሀን ይፋ አድርገዋል።

ሼክ ኪያር መሃመድ አማን የምክር ቤቱ ፕሬዝዳንት፣ ሼክ ከድር መሃመድ፣  ምክትል ፕሬዝዳንት

አቶ መሃመድ አሊ ደግሞ ጸሃፊ ሆነው ተመርጠዋል።

አወዛጋቢ የሆነው የሙስሊሞች ጥያቄ በውል ባልተቋጨበት በዚህ ጊዜ አዲስ የእሰልምና ምክር ቤት ምርጫ መደረጉ ውዝግቡ እንዲቀጥል የሚያደርገው መሆኑን ታዛቢዎች ይናገራሉ።

በአዲስ አበባና በክልል ከተሞች ሙስሊሞች ከሚያነሱዋቸው ጥያቄዎች መካከል አንዱ የሀይማኖት መሪዎቻችንን ያለመንግስት ታልቃ ገብነት በዲሞክራሲያዊ መንገድ እንምረጥ የሚል ነው

Petition to the Italian Embassy in Washington DC

Richard Pankhurst and Rita Pankhurst
Addis Ababa

We would like to add our names to the thousands of Italians, Ethiopians and others who have protested against the public honouring of one of Fascist Italy’s principal War Criminals.

We would emphasize that this is not an anti-Italian protest. On the contrary, we pay homage to Italians who resisted Mussolini, often at great cost, such as Professor Carlo Rosselli editor of Giustizia e Liberta, who was assassinated for opposing fascism. We also honour historians such as Professor Angelo del Boca, who exposed many Italian War Crimes in Libya and Ethiopia, which were assiduously concealed from the Italian public.

It is well known that, already in the 1920s Rodolfo Graziani, committed atrocities in Italian-occupied Libya, earning him the title of Hyena of Libya and Butcher of Fezzan.

He subsequently played a major role in 1935-6 as commander of the Fascist armies which invaded Ethiopia from the South. As such he was responsible for the use of Poison Gas, banned by international convention, as well as for a policy of terrorism against the so-called “native” population. He also ordered the execution without trial of Ethiopian Prisoners of War. For these and other crimes he was later to be officially listed by the Ethiopian Government as a War Criminal.

After the Fascist occupation of Addis Ababa in 1935 Graziani was appointed Italian Viceroy of Ethiopia. Two years later, following the attempt on his life on 19 February 1937, he was responsible for the infamous three-day Addis Ababa Massacre forever associated with his name.

In this Massacre innumerable innocent Ethiopian citizens including women and children, were mercilessly gunned down, beaten to death, or prevented from escaping from their homes which were then torched. In the absence of any official count, estimates of those killed varied greatly, but certainly comprised many thousands. The British Legation alone was reported to “know the names of over 2,000 Ethiopian victims”. The contemporary historian, Ian Campell, who has carried out considerable research on the matter, estimates that 10,000 citizens lost their lives in Addis Ababa during the three day Massacre.

Graziani also ordered reprisals at the Monastery of Debra Libanos, where, on 20 May, all the 297 monks and 129 deacons were murdered.

Shortly after these events Graziani gave instructions that Ethiopian nobles and army officers, who had surrendered “be shot immediately. … A better opportunity could not be found to get rid of them”. If these were not crimes, what are crimes?

***

At the close of World War II the United Nations set up a War Crimes Commission, of which Ethiopia was a member. The Ethiopian Government officially listed Graziani, as well as Pietro Badoglio, the Fascist Commander of the Ethiopian Northern Front, as Fascist Italy’s principal War Criminals. Among other crimes, they had sanctioned the use of Poison Gas during the invasion and occupation.

The voice of Ethiopia was however ignored. The British Government wanted to see Badoglio as Prime Minister of post-war Italy, while racists in various parts of the British Empire, notably South Africa, were reluctant to see Graziani – a White Man – punished for crimes committed against Natives, or Blacks. The United Nations War Crimes Commission was therefore deliberately sabotaged – with the result that not a single Italian Fascist was ever tried for the many crimes committed in Ethiopia. Graziani was indicted only for crimes committed in collaboration with the Germans in Italy.

And now, in 2012, the Mayor of Affile, the place where Graziani was born, has dedicated a mausoleum and park to his memory.

The honouring of Graziani, against which we protest, may conceivably have been carried out by persons who knew little of his actual role in history; however, the Vatican, whose representative attended the ceremony, should have known better, which makes these events all the more alarming.

The naming of a War Criminal as a Cultural Hero must not be allowed to pass unchallenged. Let us make no bones about it: Graziani is not simply to be numbered as one of the Fascist invaders who committed war crimes in Africa, not even as one of the principal ones: he was, without a doubt, the most criminal one. Those who, for one reason or another, condone his deeds, are all the more guilty.

Is it too much to demand that the Italian government and the Vatican disassociate themselves publicly from the Mayor of Affile’s preposterous action?

Richard Pankhurst and Rita Pankhurst

Ethiopian Americans Gotta Vote in 2012!

In September, I expressed my support for President Barack Obama’s re-election. I told my readers that I enthusiastically

 supported candidate Obama in 2008 but was disappointed by his Administration’s policy in Ethiopia and Africa following his election:

Did President Obama deliver on the promises he made for Africa to promote good governance, democracy and human rights? Did he deliver on human rights in Ethiopia? No. Are Ethiopian Americans disappointed over the unfulfilled promises President Obama made in Accra, Ghana in 2009 and his Administration’s support for a dictatorship in Ethiopia? Yes. We remember when President Obama talked about the need to develop robust democratic institutions, uphold the rule of law  and the necessity of maintaining open political space and protecting human rights in Africa. We all remember what he said:  “Africa does not need strong men but strong institutions.”  “Development depends on good governance.” “No nation will create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy.” Was he just saying these words or did he truly believe them?

I also argued that in all fairness there is plenty of blame to go around.  I cautioned  those of us who are quick to point an accusatory index finger at President Obama for what he has not done in Ethiopia and Africa to beware that three fingers are pointing directly at them.

Truth be told,  what the President has done or not done to promote good governance, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia is no different than what we, the vast majority of Ethiopian Americans, have done or not done  to promote the same values in Ethiopia. That is the painful truth we must face. The President’s actions or lack of actions mirror our own. Just like the President, we profess our belief in democracy, good governance and human rights in Ethiopia and elsewhere in Africa. But we have also failed to put our values in action. President Obama was constrained in his actions by factors of U.S. national security and national interest. We were constrained by factors of personal interest and personal security…

But there are other hard questions we should ask ourselves: What did we do to bring pressure on the Obama Administration to promote human rights, good governance and democracy in Africa over the past 4 years? Did we organize to have our voices heard by the Administration? Did we exercise our constitutional rights to hold the Administration accountable?

But I also gave President Obama high marks for many accomplishments over the past four years. Under his watch, over 5  million private sector jobs were created. The U.S. auto industry came roaring back even though some had urged, “Let Detroit go bankrupt!”. President Obama put his presidency on the line by spending all of his political capital in enacting the Affordable Health Care Act which offered health insurance to some 40 million Americans who had none. He established a Consumer Financial and Protection Bureau to oversee crooked financial institutions who had been ripping off consumers for years. He signed a law that secured the rights of women to equal pay for equal work. President Obama ended the war in Iraq. He has promised to end the war in Afghanistan in 2014.  He has pursued Al Qaeda relentlessly and ended the criminal career of the most infamous terrorist in a risky military operation, which had it failed, could have doomed his presidency. Last week,  Republican Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey described President Obama’s response to   “Hurricane Sandy’s” devastation of the east coast of the United States as “outstanding” and his Administration’s  handling of the relief operation as “excellent”.

President Obama has proven himself to be a resolute commander in chief and a president open, ready, willing and able to engage in bipartisanship, collaboration and cooperation to get the nation’s business done. But the road he has travelled over the past 4 years has been a hard one. He has faced stiff opposition at every turn. He has been  obstructed, blocked, thwarted, vilified and demonized by those who loath him personally than disagree with his policies.  The top leader of the Republicans in the U.S. Senate, Mitch McConnell, vowed, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president. That’s my single most important political goal, along with every active Republican in the country.” President Obama knows his work is not finished and he has a lot more to do in improving the economy. He needs another term to complete his work. He needs the support and vote of every Ethiopian American.

It is Really About the Right to Vote in America

I write this column not so much to reiterate my support for President Obama but to underscore the enormous importance of the right to vote in America. Perhaps no one knew the importance of the right to vote than the hundreds of our brothers and sisters who were  mowed down in cold blood by  by troops loyal to the ruling regime in Ethiopia in 2005, and the tens of thousands who were imprisoned for peacefully protesting their stolen votes. While I would urge Ethiopian Americans to vote for President Obama, I believe it is far more important for them to exercise their right to vote for the candidate and issues of their choice.

Those who are not students of American politics and constitutional law may not be aware of the history of struggle and the untold sacrifices and and the high price paid in lost lives  to secure, protect and defend this precious of all rights. When the American republic was forged in 1787, only white male property owners had the right to vote. When the first census was taken in 1790, there were 3,893,635 persons in the thirteen colonies and the four other districts and territories which  later  became states. There were 807,094 free white males, of which 10-16 percent met the property requirement to have the right to vote! The  1,541,263 free white females  did not have the right to vote. The 694,280 “persons”          (slaves)  did not have the right to vote. The 791,850 free white males did not have  the right to vote.

The property requirement for the right to vote was gradually dropped; and by 1850 the vast majority of white males could vote without significant obstacles.  But some states sought to exclude and suppress the voting rights of disfavored groups.  Between 1855-57, Connecticut and Massachusetts adopted a “literacy test” (a test of one’s ability to read and write) to discriminate against Irish-Catholic immigrants. After the  American Civil War  ended in 1865 and slavery was abolished  by the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Congressional enactment of various civil rights laws, the former slaves formally gained the right to vote with the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

But the states were not prepared to allow the former slaves to become their political equals by exercising  their ultimate citizenship right. Beginning with Florida in 1889, ten  states in southern United States adopted poll taxes (in order to vote, a citizen has to pay a poll tax) to keep African Americans from voting. Large numbers of impoverished  African Americans  could not afford to pay the poll taxes and were disenfran- chised by this requirement. For decades, many southern states devised various means to keep African Americans from voting.  Some used  “white primaries” (political parties excluding African Americans from party membership and closing the primaries to everyone except party members). Others complicated the voter registration process by requiring frequent re-registration, long terms of residence in a district before voting, registration at inconvenient times such the  planting season, providing inaccurate and misleading information about voting dates, etc. Still others used “gerrymandering” (creating electoral districts by manipulating geographic boundaries to dilute the electoral strength of minority groups and create protected districts) to deny African Americans representatives of their own choosing. Electoral fraud was rampant in the states which sought to restrict African American electoral participation. Ballot box stuffing, throwing out votes for disfavored candidates, deliberately miscounting votes, changing votes from one candidate to another were common. Violence, threats and intimidation of African Americans were also commonly used to keep African Americans from voting despite federal laws against such criminal acts.

Women were not considered worthy of voting rights until 1920 when the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified guaranteeing women’s suffrage. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Native Americans did not acquire full citizenship rights including the right to vote in federal elections until Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924.

Petitioning Mayor of Affile 

Never Forget Campaign

Petition by

Akkas Al-Ali

London, United Kingdom

A mausoleum and park, dedicated to the memory of Fascist Field Marshall Rodolfo Graziani, has recently been opened in the Italian town of Affile. At a cost of €127,000 to local taxpayers, the mayor Ercole Viri has expressed hope that the site will become as ‘famous and as popular as Predappio’ – the burial place of Mussolini which has become a shrine to neo-Fascists.

Graziani was notorious as Benito Mussolini’s commander in colonial wars in Ethiopia and Libya where he carried out massacres and used chemical weapons against the native populations.

In the 1920s, Graziani was commander of the Italian forces in Libya where he became known as ‘the Butcher of Fezzan’. He was directly responsible for suppressing the Senussi uprisings and the construction of concentration and labour camps. He was also directly responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Libyans including Omar Mukhtar in eastern Libya.

From 1935 to 1936, Graziani implemented the invasion of Ethiopia before becoming viceroy of Italian East Africa and governor-general of Addis Ababa in 1937. In an attempt to consolidate Italian control over the country, Graziani’s occupation army murdered up to 30,000 civilians in just three days in February 1937. Eyewitness accounts tell of how Italian soldiers doused houses with gasoline and set them on fire. Some even posed on the corpses of their victims to have their photographs taken. In the same month, Graziani ordered the massacre of the monks and pilgrims at the ancient monastery of Debre Libanos. In May, he was responsible for the assassination of up to 3,000 Ethiopian intellectuals. For these actions, Graziani earned his second title: ‘the Butcher of Ethiopia’.

As Mussolini’s minister of defence in 1943, Graziani was also responsible for putting down dissent in the Nazis’ puppet republic of Salo in Italy. He drafted a decree, which threatened any Italian who refused to serve in the army with execution and many were killed as a result.

Both the League of Nations and the United Nations failed to carry out trials against Graziani – even though the charges and evidence against him were presented to the UN War Crimes Commission, which agreed that there was a prima facie case against eight Italians including Graziani.

In 1950, an Italian military tribunal condemned Graziani to 19 years for collaborating with Nazis. He was never charged with specific war crimes. He served only four months. He was never prosecuted for specific war crimes. In the 1950s until his death, he was the head of the neo-Fascist Italian Social Movement party.

We, the undersigned, condemn unequivocally this atrocious use of public money to celebrate a war criminal and a Nazi collaborator.

Furthermore, we call upon the European Union and our own governments to use current European and international legislation to:

(1) Demand that the Italian government and the Mayor of Affile issue an apology for allowing the memory of Graziani’s victims to be desecrated in this way

(2) Demand that the Italian government and the Mayor of Affile remove all allusions to Graziani, both direct and indirect, from the memorial

(3) Demand that the Italian government and the Mayor of Affile dedicate the memorial to all those in Italy and around the world who gave their lives in the struggle against Fascism

(4) Demand that the Italian government and the Mayor of Affile install a specific memorial at the site which commemorates those Africans who died resisting Italian occupation of their countries

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