World Bank to probe links to ‘villagisation’

William Lloyd George in Addis Ababa

An independent panel has called for an investigation into a World Bank-funded project in Ethiopia following accusations from refugees that the bank is funding a programme that forced people off their land.

In a report, seen by the Guardian, the inspection panel – the World Bank’s independent accountability mechanism – calls for an investigation into complaints made by refugees from the Anuak indigenous group from Gambella, western Ethiopia, in relation to the bank’s policies and procedures.

The refugees claim the Protection of Basic Services (PBS) programme funded by the bank and the UK Department for International Development (DfID), is contributing directly to the Ethiopian government’s “villagisation” programme, introduced in 2010. The programme seeks to move people to new villages, but residents say this is done with little consultation or compensation, and that these sites lack adequate facilities.

In a letter sent to the panel in September, the refugees say some people have been forcibly relocated from their land, which is now being leased to foreign investors.

“These mass evictions have been carried out under the pretext of providing better services and improving the livelihoods of the communities,” says the letter. “However, once they moved to the new sites, they found not only infertile land, but also no schools, clinics, wells or other basic services.”

It says the government forced them to abandon their crops just before harvest, and they were not given any food assistance during the move. “Those farmers who refused to implement the programme … have been targeted with arrest, beating, torture and killing,” the letter says.

The refugees say they “have all been severely harmed by the World Bank-financed [project], which is contributing directly to the Ethiopian government’s villagisation programme in Gambella region”.

The letter says Ethiopian government workers, whose salaries are paid for through the PBS programme, have been forced to implement villagisation.

DfID has been criticised for failing to address abuse allegations in the South Omo region of Ethiopia, where residents told DfID and USAid officials of their experiences.

DfID is also embroiled in a legal action over its links to the villagisation programme. An Ethiopian farmer claims he was forcibly evicted from his farm. His lawyers, Leigh Day & Co, say DfID money is linked to these abuses through PBS funding in Gambella. DfID has said it is responding to the legal concerns and reviewing the allegations of rights abuses in Ethiopia.

In its report, the panel says that although the World Bank management denies links between villagisation and the PBS programme, the two are attempting to achieve the same things. “[Villagisation] is a programme that aims at fundamentally restructuring settlement patterns, service infrastructure and livelihoods, including farming systems, in the Gambella region, and as such constitutes a significant context in which PBS operates. In this sense from a development perspective, the two programmes depend on each other, and may mutually influence the results of the other,” says the panel report.

The panel says there are “conflicting assertions and differing views” on links between PBS and villagisation, the complaints by the refugees and the bank’s adherence to its policies and procedures, which could adequately be addressed through an investigation.

In a response to the refugees’ letter, the World Bank denied all links between the PBS and villagisation. It said it had not encountered any evidence of human rights abuses. It did admit the new sites “were not desirable”, but said the Ethiopian government had asked for assistance to improve them.

According to David Pred, founder of Inclusive Development Internationalwho helped the Anuak file their complaint, the PBS is funding the majority of government departments responsible for implementing the villagisation programme. “It provides both the means and the justification for villagisation,” said Pred.

The World Bank has been supporting the PBS programme since May 2006 with a commitment of more than $2bn. The bank’s board was scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the panel’s report, but the meeting was postponed.

Human Rights Watch says many of the communities affected by villagisation have not been properly consulted about resettlement. It has interviewed several refugees from the region who reported that government officials have responded with violence and arbitrary detention when people have not agreed to relocate.

“The World Bank’s president and board need to let the inspection panel do its job and answer the critical questions that have been raised by Ethiopians affected by this project,” said Jessica Evans, senior international financial institutions advocate at Human Rights Watch. “If the World Bank doesn’t support this investigation, its Ethiopia programme will continue to be shadowed by controversy.”

The chairman of the UK parliament’s international development committee, Sir Malcolm Bruce, said the allegations against villagisation are unsubstantiated. Bruce, who visited Ethiopia last week, said the UK programme “is delivering a very good result”.

• This article was amended on 20 March 2013. Gambella is in western Ethiopia, not eastern as we originally said

The Guardian

Obama “Moonwalking” Human Rights in Africa?

The great American poet Walt Whitman said, “Either define the moment or the moment will define you.” Will the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as president of Kenya define President Barack Obama in Africa or will President Barack Obama use the election of President Kenyatta to define his human rights policy in Africa?

Following the presidential election in late December 2007 and the Kenya Electoral Commission’s hurried declaration of incumbent President Mwai Kibaki as the winner, supporters of opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga in the Orange Democratic Movement alleged widespread electoral fraud and irregularities. For nearly two months following that election, ethnic violence and strife in Kenya raged resulting in more than 1200 deaths, 3,500 injuries, and the displacement of over 350,000 persons and destruction of over 100,000 properties.

In March 2011, Uhuru Kenyatta was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on various counts of crimes against humanity arising from the post-election violence. The details of the ICC charges against Kenyatta and other defendants are set forth in exhaustive detail in a 10-count indictment.Kenyatta allegedly conspired, planned, financed, and coordinated violence against the supporters of Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement. He allegedly “controlled the Mungiki organization” and directed the commission of murders, deportations, rapes, persecutions, and other inhumane acts against civilians in the towns of Kibera, Kisumu, Naivasha, and Nakuru. Kenyatta’s trial is scheduled to start at The Hague on July 9. Kenyatta’s election running mate and vice president-elect William Ruto as well as other top Kenyan officials are part of different ICC cases. Ruto’s trial has been postponed to May 28.

Kenyatta and Ruto are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Kenyatta’s lawyer Steven Kay claimed the ICC charges were “determined on false evidence, evidence that was concealed from the defense and the facts underlying the charges have been put utterly and fully in doubt.”

U.S. efforts to ensure free and fair elections in Kenya after 2008

The U.S. was among the first nations to recognize the validity of Kenya’s 2007 presidential election. At the time, U.S. State Department Spokesman Robert McInturff announced, “The United States congratulates the winners and is calling for calm, and for Kenyans to abide by the results declared by the election commission. We support the commission’s decision.” But U.S. validation of that election was completely unwarranted since there was substantial credible evidence of rampant electoral fraud and vote rigging in favor of Kibaki and considerable doubt about the neutrality and integrity of the Kenya Electoral Commission.

Over the past two years, the U.S. has made significant investments to promote free and fair elections in Kenya and prevent a repetition of the 2007 violence. According to the U.S. State Department, “since 2010, the U.S. Government has contributed more than $35 million to support electoral reform, civic education, and elections preparation in Kenya. In addition, since 2008, we have provided more than $90 million to support constitutional reform, conflict mitigation, civil society strengthening, and youth leadership and empowerment, all of which contribute significantly to the goal of free, fair, and peaceful elections in Kenya.”

Obama’s defining moment in Africa?

The selling of Ethiopia

By Yilma Bekele

Actually that statement might not be true. We do know our country is being sold but we have no idea if the bidding has been open or closed. We have sold almost all of Gambella, we have leased half of Afar and Oromia has been parceled out bit by bit. Our Beer factories are under new owners, our gold mines belong to the fake Ethiopian sheik, Telephone is under the Chinese and our Airlines is looking for a suitor. Have we always looked for outsiders to own us?

Not really when you consider that we celebrated the victory at the battle of Adwa a few weeks back and that was the mother of all wars that made it clear this African country is not for sale.  We might not have contributed much to the industrial revolution but we did manage to rely on our own ingenuity to follow along and do things our own way. You might not believe this but there was a time when Ethiopians actually used to be involved in making stuff from scratch. You think I am making things up don’t you? I don’t blame you because today you cannot even come up with one name that stands out as an Ethiopian entrepreneur, go getter  or  someone that shines like the north star based solely on his own sweat and blood.

The things that were accomplished by earlier Ethiopians are all around us but we don’t see them.  All the things the current government brags about have their roots in the yester years they so much condemn and brush off. I don’t know where to start but here we go. Let us start with hospitals.  Bella Haile Selassie (Bella), Leelt Tshay (armed Forces),  Paulos, Haile Selassie Hospital (Yekati 12), Balcha, Ghandi, Tikur Anbessa, Ras Desta, Minilik etc.  The vast majority of the doctors were Ethiopians, the hospitals were clean, well equipped and you don’t even have to take your own sheets and blankets.

How about Hotels? Ethiopia, Ghion, Wabi Shebele, Ras, Bekele Molla were the premier destinations. They were owned and operated by Ethiopians. When it comes to Ethiopian Airlines the Pilots were proud Ethiopians and the technicians were the envy of Africa. The Imperial government built the Airlines from scratch. Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a partner until we were able to train and staff our own and we did manage to do that.

If we talk about agriculture we did manage to establish the Sugar estates of Metehara and Wonji not to mention Setit Humera, the wheat and corn fields of Arsi, the fiber plants of Sidama and the cotton fields of Awash Valley are testimonial to our ingenuity. The sixties saw the emergence of the new educated Ethiopians that raised the bar of excellence.

The establishment of Africa Hall was how Africans showed respect to our Emperor and our old history when they choose Addis Abeba as the head quarter for the continent. The University at sadist Kilo was a gift to his people by the Emperor and it was a spectacular success. All the teachers were highly educated Ethiopians and the graduates were the pride of our country.

Why am I discussing such subject today? It is because two items reported by the media caught my eye a few days back. Both are an assault on our sovereignty and our ability to grow our own economy by Ethiopians for Ethiopians. Heineken a Dutch conglomerate is building the biggest brewery in Ethiopia and Guangdong Chuan Hui Group from China is given 41,000 Sq. meter of land to construct hotel and industrial complex. The way the story is being reported we should be jumping with joy. What could be better than those two benevolent multi nationals investing so much in our poor destitute country?

Is that how we should look at it?  Is there another aspect to this story? In order to see the pros and con of the question posed In front of us it would have been nice if there has been a nationwide discussion to see if the plan makes sense when it comes to our homeland. That is how smart decisions are made. Open and vibrant nationwide discussion regarding such important issues that impact our national economy and our people’s well-being assures a better outcome.

That usually is not the case in our country. There are no checks and balances. There is no independent legislative body and the judiciary is a government tool. A single party the TPLF controls all and everything in the country. Our political leaders have no faith in the ability of the people to know what is good for them. That is why they approach their job as being a ‘baby sitter’ and are constantly fretting about what the people hear and read. Decisions are made by a few TPLF politburo members to be approved by the rubber stamp Parliament. Anyone that questions such a decision is branded as enemy of the people and dealt with.

Let us start with our beer story. You know beer is nothing but European Tella. It is bottled fancy and costs a little bit more. How long ago do you think we acquired the idea of brewing for a larger crowd? Eighty years ago my friend! St George brewery was started in 1922. Meta Abo Brewery was founded in 1963. Meta Abo was a partnership between government and private capital and started with a base capital of 2million Birr. The military junta nationalized both and the current TPLF Woyane regime inherited them with the rest of Ethiopia. What do you think these successive regimes did with our own old industry and land? Did they build on what was started? Did they reinvest the profit to make the enterprises bigger and better? Did they run our industries, enterprises and farms in a responsible and judicious manner?

Both St. George and Meta Abo are no more Ethiopian enterprises. BGI (an internationally acclaimed Brewing Company that operates in many countries.??) bought St George in 1998 for US 10 million ‘through foreign direct investment’(??)  Meta Ambo was sold to Diego Industries-a British congalmorate for US 225 million. Heineken a Dutch multi-national acquired 18% of Bedele and Harar breweries for US 163 million in 2011.  Raya Brewery an idea that has not materialized yet but promoted by Lt. General Tsadkan W.Tensai and investors such as  Yemane (Jamaica) Kidane and other TPLF officials sold 25% interest to BGI for 650 million Br and invited Brewtech a German company as a partner.

As you can see the TPLF regime collected close to US 400 million from the sale of our home grown breweries. By all imagination that is chump change when you consider the ownership is lost and the profit for eternity belongs to the foreigners. Is this a good way to grow a national economy? Has it been done before or is this another of that failed ‘revolutionary democracy’ pipe dream?

BGI, Diego or Heineken are investing in our country to realize profit for their shareholders. What is our country getting out of this? The beer manufacturing business is a highly automated enterprise so it is not about job creation. Most if not all of the high paying managerial jobs will be occupied by the parent company. The malt, barley and other ingredients are imported and are considered a trade secret. We all know about creative accounting thus I am sure our country does not even benefit from the profit because the bookkeeping is rigged to minimize taxes.

Let us not even think of technology transfer since we cannot learn what we have already mastered. Remember we have been brewing beer since 1922. I will tell you what we got out of this unequal relationship. We as a people got royally screwed. The TPLF party officials got paid plenty for their pimping effort. The regime in its insatiable appetite for foreign currency bought a few months of respite to purchase oil, wheat, cooking oil etc. to postpone its inevitable collapse.

There are certain things we know how a growing economy with a nationalist government operates. We have seen how China, India, Malaysia, Brazil and other emerging economies handled their growth potential. They use what is known as subsidy to protect their infant industries from foreign predators. They allowed investment where technology transfer will bring benefit to their people but shielded their home grown industries from foreign competition.

Why do you think the TPLF bosses are interested in selling our sovereignty?  I doubt it is because they are anti-Ethiopian even though the late evil PM used to suffer from inferiority complex when it comes to central highlanders. I believe it is because of their ‘get rich quick’ philosophy. They are in a hurry to accumulate before their Ponzi scheme comes crashing down. According to the UN billions of dollars are leaving our country. They are buying properties in the US and Europe, sending their children to expensive schools abroad and vacationing in exotic places with the money they steal from our country.

What are we the victims doing about this rape and pillage of our resources and the degradation of our national pride?  I am afraid other than insistently talking there is nothing more most of us are doing about it. Why do you think that is so? I could think of a few things but ignorance comes to mind first and foremost. Our ignorance prevents us from connecting the dots and looking at the bigger picture. Our misplaced pride does not allow us to listen to others and learn to be able to formulate better solutions to our problems.

Today we have a population that is not familiar with its history. Sixty four percent (64%) of our people are under twenty five years old while twenty nine percent (29%) are under the age of 54 years. We have a toxic population on our hands. Those under twenty five grew up under the Woyane regime where being an Ethiopian is taken as a liability. While those under fifty four are the result of the Derge era of undermining religion, family, and stability. Ninety three (93%) of our population is a fertile ground for evil Woyane to plant shame, doubt and insecurity about being Ethiopian.

It is this population that is sitting on the side and cheering the selling of their country. For most people what bothers them is not what is lost but they spend endless energy to get a piece of the action. In Ethiopia stealing, lying, being part of a criminal enterprise is encouraged by the regime. When the recently dead Meles Zenawi said ‘even being a thief requires being smart’ he was giving a green light to his cadres and the population at large. The so called Diaspora is the number one enabler of the criminal Woyane machine. They use their new found riches to bribe Woyane so they could acquire stolen land to build their flimsy unsustainable condominiums and spend endless nights worrying if the next highest bidder will in turn take it away in broad day light.

This is exactly the reason we are having a problem forming a united front to get rid of this cancerous body in our midst. This is the reason even in exile we are unable to form a democratic, inclusive and worthy association that will benefit the many. The ninety three percent are in need of education in civic affairs and a dose of what it means to love your neighbor as you would love yourself.

May be it is the lords way of teaching us little humility and humbleness as he did with the children of Israel when he left them to wonder for forty years in the wilderness so they know what is in their heart. It is a choice we have-to be humble or perish due to pride.

Ethiopia uses Ginbot 7 pictures to plant spyware in computers

Authors: Morgan Marquis-Boire, Bill Marczak, Claudio Guarnieri, and John Scott-Railton 

March 13, 2013.

This post describes the results of a comprehensive global Internet scan for the command and control servers of FinFisher’s surveillance software. It also details the discovery of a campaign using FinFisher in Ethiopia used to target individuals linked to an opposition group. Additionally, it provides examination of a FinSpy Mobile sample found in the wild, which appears to have been used in Vietnam.

Summary of Key Findings

• We have found command and control servers for FinSpy backdoors, part of Gamma International’s FinFisher “remote monitoring solution,” in a total of 25 countries: Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, Qatar, Serbia, Singapore, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam.

• A FinSpy campaign in Ethiopia uses pictures of Ginbot 7, an Ethiopian opposition group, as bait to infect users. This continues the theme of FinSpy deployments with strong indications of politically-motivated targeting.

• There is strong evidence of a Vietnamese FinSpy Mobile Campaign. We found an Android FinSpy Mobile sample in the wild with a command & control server in Vietnam that also exfiltrates text messages to a local phone number.

• These findings call into question claims by Gamma International that previously reported servers were not part of their product line, and that previously discovered copies of their software were either stolen or demo copies.

1. Background and Introduction

FinFisher is a line of remote intrusion and surveillance software developed by Munich-based Gamma International GmbH. FinFisher products are marketed and sold exclusively to law enforcement and intelligence agencies by the UK-based Gamma Group.¹ Although touted as a “lawful interception” suite for monitoring criminals, FinFisher has gained notoriety because it has been used in targeted attacks against human rights campaigners and opposition activists in countries with questionable human rights records.²

In late July 2012, we published the results of an investigation into a suspicious e-mail campaign targeting Bahraini activists.³ We analyzed the attachments and discovered that they contained the FinSpy spyware, FinFisher’s remote monitoring product. FinSpy captures information from an infected computer, such as passwords and Skype calls, and sends the information to a FinSpy command & control (C2) server. The attachments we analyzed sent data to a command & control server inside Bahrain.

This discovery motivated researchers to search for other command & control servers to understand how widely FinFisher might be used. Claudio Guarnieri at Rapid7 (one of the authors of this report) was the first to search for these servers. He fingerprinted the Bahrain server and looked at historical Internet scanning data to identify other servers around the world that responded to the same fingerprint. Rapid7 published this list of servers, and described their fingerprinting technique. Other groups, including CrowdStrike and SpiderLabs also analyzed and published reports on FinSpy.

Immediately after publication, the servers were apparently updated to evade detection by the Rapid7 fingerprint. We devised a different fingerprinting technique and scanned portions of the internet. We confirmed Rapid7’s results, and also found several new servers, including one inside Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Communications. We published our list of servers in late August 2012, in addition to an analysis of mobile phone versions of FinSpy. FinSpy servers were apparently updated again in October 2012 to disable this newer fingerprinting technique, although it was never publicly described.

Nevertheless, via analysis of existing samples and observation of command & control servers, we managed to enumerate yet more fingerprinting methods and continue our survey of the internet for this surveillance software. We describe the results in this post.

እኛና እነሱ – የሁለት ሀገር ሰዎች ነን

ከሥርጉተ ሥላሴ 10.03.2013

እም! ብዬ እያማጥኩ ጀመርኩት።

(ፎቶ – ከኢትዮጵያ ከረንት አፊርስ ዲስከሽን ፎረም የተወሰደ)

እኛ ማነን? እኛ የተቀመምንበት ኢትዮጵያዊነት የሚያንገበግበን። ችግሯ – ችግራችን፤ ዕንባዋ – ዕንባችን፤ መከፈቷ – መከፈታችን፤ ጉስቁልናዋ – ጉስቁልናችን፤ አንገት መድፋቷ ሃዘናችን የሆነው በዬትኛውም ዓለም የምንገኝ ልጆቿ ነን። በወያኔ መዳፍ ውስጥ አሳሩን በማዬት የሚገኘው ከስሜን እስከ ደቡብ ጫፍ፤ – ከዱቡብ ጫፍ እስከ ምዕራብ ጫፍ፤ ከምዕራብ ጫፍ እስከ ምስራቅ ጫፍ የሚገኝ ህዝብ ለሀገሩ ልዩ መለዮችን የሆነው ሥጋና ደም ነን።

እነሱስ? „የደላው ገንፎ ያላምጣል“ እንዲሉ ከማህደረ – ኢትዮጵያዊነት ትንሽ ልቅላቂ ያልፈጠረላቸው፤ አለቶች … በዕንባ ላይ ይሾማሉ፤ ይሸለማሉ …. ልጆቻቸውን አንደላቅው ያሰተምራሉ፤ ሲሰኛቸው ውጬ ልከው ዶላር አፍሰው ያዝመነምናሉ።

ባይታዋሩ ወገናችን ደግሞ ዕጣ ፈንታው … ሥራ ፍለጋ በሺህዎች የሚቆጠሩ ወገኖቻችን፤ በውሃ ጥም፤ በመንገድ ጉዞ አቅም በማነስ፤ በውሃ ሙላት፤ በጾታ ጥቃት፤ በቀጣሪ ዳባ እንደተበተነ ያልቃል፤ እንዲሁም ካሰቡት ሳይደርሱ የአሞራ እራት ይሆናል። በስደቱ በእሳት የሚቀቀሉት፤ ከፎቅ ተከስከስሰው የሚሞቱት፤ በጭንቀት በሽታ አብደው አድራሻቸው ጠፍቶ የሚቀሩትንማ ስሌትም አይገታውም። እንደ ጣሊያን በመሳሰሉት ሀገሮችም መንገድ ላይ ተዳዳሪ ወገኖቻችን በሚመለከት — ቤቱ ይቁጠረው።

ሞተን እያዩ ወደ ሞት ፊት ለፊት የሚገሰግሱ፤ በልተን እንሙት ብለው ከሞት ጋር የሚፋጠጡት ሴተኛ አዳሪ እህቶቻችን ቁጥርም ከሌሎች የችግሩ ሰለባ ከሆኑት ወገኖቻችን ቁጥር

(ፎቶ – ከኢትዮጵያ ከረንት አፊርስ ሆም ፔጅ – ሰርቫይቫል ኢንተርናሽናል ከሰጠው መግለጫ ትርጉም – የተወሰደ)

ቢበልጥ እንጂ ከቶውንም አያንስም። ጧሪ ጠዋሪ አጥተው ቤት እንደ ተዘጋባቸው የሚያልፉት አዛውንታት በእርግማን ለወግ ሳናበቃቸው አፈር ራታቸው፤ ድንጋይ  ትራሳቸው ሆኗል። ሊለምኑ ያፈሩ አካሎቻችን ቁጥር የትዬለሌ ነው። ከመሬት የሚፈናቀሉ ወገኖቻችን ልጆቻቸውን ለመሸጥ ነፍሳቸው እንዲሰነብት ተሰልፈዋል …. ለመራራ ስንብት፤

የጥንተ – ጥዋቱ የአባት አደሩ ወግና ባህል ቀርቶ ዛሬ በገበሬው መንደር ሳይቀር ቡና እንኳን ብቻ – ለብቻእንደ አውሮፓ የሚጠጣበት ዘመን ተድርሷል። ለቡናውም የቡና ቁርስ አሯል። እንግዲህ እኛ የዚህ እርቃኑን – መለመላውን ያለ፤ ለዕለት ጉርስና ከፈን ያልበቃ፤ መጠለያ የሌለው ወገንተኛ ነን፤ ቀኑ እራሱ የተጋጠ የተመለመለ ነው የማረተበት!

እነሱ ደግሞ ለአንድ የምክትል ጠ/ሚኒስተር ቦታ ሶስት – ከዋናው ጋር በድምሩ አራት ሰው ይሾማሉ … አዎን! እኛ የወያኔ ሱፍ ለባሾች ወገንተኛ አይደለነም። የእነኝህ እንጂ ….

እነሱ — ያላጋጥሉ! ….

ይማግጣሉ! ….

በህዝብ የዕንባ ጥሪት ይቀብጣሉ!

በማናለብኝነት ቀፎ ሰረገላ ይዝመነማናሉ!

በፈጣሪ አምላክም ይሳላቃሉ። በሚፈርስ ገላ ላይ ሆነው ይደልቃሉ። „በሬ ሆይ! ሳሩን አዬህ እንጂ …. „ እንዲሉ። ይህም ያልፋል። የማያልፍ ነገር ያልተፈጠረብቻ ነው። በተፈጥሮ

(ፎቶ – ከከረንት ሆም ፔጅ „መሳቂያው ፓርላማ – ከአቤ ቶኪቻው መጣጥፍ የተወሰደ)

ሂደት ይጨበረባራሉ … መፈረሳቸውን ስተው — ይደንሳሉ — ሙጃ!

… እኛና እነሱ የማንገናኝ፤ ልንቀራረብም ከቶውንም የማንችል ነን። …. በዬትኛውም ዘመን በዬትኛውም ጊዜ የማንገናኝ … የሁለት ሀገር ሰዎች ነን። ምን ግዜም አዎን ምንግዜም እኛ እና እነሱ በዚህ ሚዛኑን ባልጠበቀ ተፈጥሮ፤ ሚዛኑን ባልወሰነ ውስጥነት ስለማንገናኝ እስከ ህልፈት ድረስ፤ በታሪክም የማንገናኝ ሰዎች ነን። ብንሞትም አጥንታችን ከክህደት አጥንት ጋር ከቶውንም እርቀ ሰላም የለውም።  - ኃራም!

UDJP always salutes Ethiopia’s prisoners of consciousness

The Horn Times Newsletter 11 March 2013

by Getahune Bekele, South Africa

Despite the ongoing assault on political parties, religious institutions, journalists and perceived or real members of any

Daniel Tefera

opposition group by Ethiopia’s ruling minority junta security apparatus, one of the main opposition parties, UDJP, Unity for Democracy and Justices, is still commemorating prisoners of consciousness by organizing a splendid candle light gathering on the third day of every month in Ethiopia to show the incarcerated brave souls utmost consideration and courtesy.

Since its establishment on 20 June 2008, UDJP has produced great revolutionaries who are currently languishing in jail or banished in to exile, people like the famous young patriot Andualem Arage, a man of great courage and noble spirit.

Speaking to the March issue of Finotenetsanet newspaper, the party’s chief public relations officer Ato Daniel Tefera (pictured) said the struggle to free Ethiopia from dictatorial rule by peaceful means is advancing well and his party expects a positive result.

“Arresting citizens for demanding religious freedom or other rights had been common in the past 50 years in this country. We are working to end this flagrant violation once and for all. We are steadfast in our demand for the immediate release of those jailed in relation with the freedom of worship. UDJP believes they are also prisoners of consciousness.” Daniel Tefera added.

Lamenting the extremely difficult working condition due to tight control and heavy restrictions, the articulate Daniel Tefera said the party is using its head quarters in Addis Ababa as community hall to interact with the population, encouraging them to conquer fear and stand firm on their various demands.

Asked by Finotenetsanet to comment on the current state of the nation the public relations chief of UDJP replied…

“It is very difficult to explain because citizens are labeled terrorists for demanding certain rights. For example, our Muslim brothers who were arrested and charged for simply demanding freedom of worship have been tried and convicted by the government media. Journalists are being charged with terrorism and sent to jail for writing issues close to the heart of the people. Some have already left the country…and they are still leaving…”

The price of the so called war on terror on journalists in Ethiopia is high

The case of the US vs Bradley Manning

Why have the US media shied away from covering the source of the WikiLeaks material yet gouged on his information?

Our feature takes us to Ethiopia where the US ‘war on terror’ has provided cover for laws that are being used to silence dissident journalists. Reeyot Alemu is one of those journalists – she has been sentenced to five years in jail. Foreign reporters have also been charged under anti-terrorism laws for daring to communicate with opposition groups. The Listening Post’s Nic Muirhead takes a closer look.

US Private Bradley Manning is no longer the alleged source of all those documents to WikiLeaks. According to his own

 testimony, delivered before a military court on February 28, Manning was the source – nothing alleged about it.

In a pre-trial hearing for the first time, Manning admitted that he broke the law when he released around 700,000 government documents to WikiLeaks but these lesser charges did not satisfy the United States government.

Calling more than 100 witnesses – some anonymously and in closed hearings – prosecutors will argue that Manning’s leak put national security and lives at risk by ‘aiding the enemy’.

If convicted, Manning – the traitor, could face life without parole but what of Manning – the whistleblower?