THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN ETHIOPIA CONTINUES TO WORSEN

As the United Nations Human Rights commission prepares to evaluate and assess the records of the regime in Ethiopia this same repressive regime has been busy

·        Arresting journalists;

·        Beating up bloggers;

·        Engaging in land grab activities and thereby removing farmers from their lands and forcefully resettling them elsewhere;

·        Killing students who protested peacefully;

·        Murdering people in Gondar who said No to the expropriation of their lands and houses;

·        Trafficking children in an ill-disguised scam and profitable operation called adoption;

·         Trafficking young girls to the Middle East unto domestic slavery;

·         Keeping more than 40,000 dissenters behind bars and in labor camps;

·         Repressing (Gambella,the Ogaden,etc) and engaging in ethnic cleansing of Amharas;

·         Fanning ethnic and regional conflict between the people;

·         Engaging in massive corruption involving billions;

·         Trampling on due process of law and the elementary notions of democracy;

·         Forcing citizens into exile;

·         Collaborating with Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti to harass and hurt refugees;

·         Condoning child prostitution, genital mutilation, and preteen marriages and violating the rights of women and children as a whole.

Torture is systematic and brutal. Ethnic discrimination is regime policy and choice. Dissidents are kept in notorious prisons like Kaliti, Zwai, Dedesa and Bir Sheleko not to mention secret/ghost prisons which are not accessible to foreign observers. The Addis Abeba regime has issued a decree against NGO and charity organizations making their work almost impossible. A sweeping and convenient law called a law against terrorism has been the justifying ground for the arrest and condemnation of critical journalists, writers and poets. Books are banned but not openly though effectively. Several independent journalists are in prison accused as terrorists because of their critical articles. The regime has banned opposition radios (most are jammed), blocked several web sites claiming political and security reasons and even gone as far kidnapping dissidents from neighboring countries. Several opposition organizations are deemed illegal and their leaders and members denied the chance to have legal existence in their own country. And yet the regime enjoys extensive support from the West because it is considered an ally in the so called war against Terror. In Somalia, where the regime has sent troops, it has been accused of atrocities.

The human rights record of the TPLF/EPRDF is dismal and worsening by the month. It has spent millions of dollars on lobbyists and so called human rights organizations that deny its violations and spin lies and false reports. To dupe others, it has set up its own human rights commission (the so called Inba Astebacki Committee or “Tears Wiping Away Committee” without dealing with the issue of why the people are weeping in the first place), which is a dead body by all accounts.

No freedom of the press and association. Complete totalitarian control of the civic society and the banning and dissolution of civic associations. Forcing people to make contributions to the regime’s pet projects ranging from building a dam to helping the so called Meles Zenawi Foundation. Economic injustice against the people with no wage increment for years in the face of 35% inflation, full control of the economy by State controlled companies, spreading famine and poverty. Child labor, the breakup of the health system, the ankruptcy of the education system all define the existing regime. A climate of fear and the reality of cruel repression exists. The country is on the brink of disaster in all aspects. The primary need for democratic governance and the respect of human rights is absent. The violation of human rights knows no bounds and the regime has arrogantly refused to give any explanation on the fate of the thousands of political prisoners, on that of the disappeared since 1991, on the conditions of its jails, prisons and labor camps, its routine trampling on due process and the rule of law.

The UN Commission on Human Rights should rise to the occasion and must condemn the regime for its illegality and violations.

BY SOCEPP

INJUSTICE ANYWHERE IS INJUSTICE EVERYWHERE

SOCEPP, 30 RIGA COVE, WINNIPEG,MB R2P 2Z7,CANADA

E MAIL: SOCEPP @AOL.COM

ሰበር ዜና- የዞን 9 ጦማርያን በማዕከላዊ እስር ቤት መደብደባቸውን እናበውስጥ እግራቸው ላይ ግርፋት መፈፀሙ ታወቀ

''የዞን 9 ጦማርያን ድብደባ ተፈጽሞባቸዋል
የዞን 9 ጦማርያንን የጊዜ ቀጠሮ ሊያይ ተሰየመው ችሎት ዛሬ ሌላ አሰቃቂ ዜና አብሮ ሰምቷል፡፡ ሁለቱ የዞን9 አባላት በፍቃዱ ሃይሉና አቤል ዋበላ በማእከላዊ መመታታቸውን እና ውስጥ እግራቸው ላይ ግርፋት እንደተፈጸመባቸው የገለጹ ሲሆን ፓሊስ ማስረጃ የላቸውም ሲል ተከራክሯል፡፡ ለክርክሩ ምላሽም ውስጥ እግራቸውን ለፍርድ ቤቱ ማሳየት እንደሚችሉ ተናግረዋል፡፡ ፍርድ ቤቱ ቶርቸር ህግ መንግስታዊ አይደለም ሲል "አስተያየቱን" ሰጥቷል፡፡ እነደትላትናው ሁሉ በተመሳሳይ ምክንያቶች የተነሳ ተጨማሪ የጊዜ ቀጠሮ የተጠየቀባቸው ሲሆን ፍርድ ቤቱ ተጨማሪ 10 ቀናትን ለምርመራ ፈቅዶአል፡፡
በዛሬው የፍርድ ቤት ውሎ ለተከሳሾቹ ጭብጨባ እና ፉጨት ማሰማት የተከለከለ ሲሆን ተከሳሾች ሲወጠ ባሳዩት አጋርነትም ከዛሬ በሁዋላ ካጨበጨባችሁ እነዳትገቡ እናደርጋለን የሚል ማስፈራሪያም ተሰጥቷል፡፡ ወ/ ሮ ስንታየሁ የተባሉ የሬጅስትራር ሰራተኛ ጭብጨባውን እና ፉጨቱን ለዳኛ በመንገር (በተለመደ ቋንቋ በማቃጠር) አጋርነት እያሳዩ የነበሩትን ወጣቶች ተግባር ለማስቆም ሞክረዋል፡፡
ዞን 9 በድጋሚ የዞን 9 አባላት ያወሰድዋቸው ምንም አይነት የአሸባሪነት ስልጠና እንደሌላ እያረጋገጠ በህገ መነግስቱ አንቀጽ 18 መሰረት ማንኛውም ሰው ጭካኔ የተሞላበት ኢሰብአዊ ከሆነ ክብሩን ከሚያዋርድ አያያዝ ወይም ቅጣት የመጠበቅ መብት አለው ቢልም በታሰሩ አባላቶቻችን ላይ የደረሰውን ግርፋት አጥብቆ ያወግዛል።''  ይላል ዜናው።

OUR LAND OUR BUSINESS

OUR LAND OUR BUSINESS

OAKLAND, CA (April 10) – As the spring meetings of the World Bank get underway in Washington, DC, 180 organizations, including NGOs, unions, and farmer and consumer groups from over 80 countries, demand that the World Bank end its Doing Business rankings and its support of the rampant theft of land and resources from some of the world’s poorest people -- farmers, pastoralists, and indigenous communities, many of whom are essential food producers for the entire planet.

 “The World Bank is facilitating land grabs and sowing poverty by putting the interests of foreign investors before those of locals,” said Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute. 

“Smallholder farmers are the first investors and employers in the agricultural sector in developing countries. Instead of supporting them, the World Bank encourages the looting of their resources for the benefit of foreign companies and local businessmen,” said Alnoor Ladha, Executive Director of /The Rules. 

The Bank’s “Doing Business” rankings, which score countries according to how Washington officials perceive the “ease of doing business” there, have caused many developing-country leaders to deregulate their economies in hopes of attracting foreign investment. But what the Bank considers beneficial for foreign business is very often the exact opposite for the local communities.

“The Doing Business ranking and the new Benchmarking the Business of Agriculture that the Bank is currently developing is pushing governments to give away their country to private interests. They should instead support family farms and secure their durable access to land, which is the key to the economic, social and environmental future of our countries,” said Ibrahim Coulibaly, President of the Coordination Nationale des Organisations Paysannes du Mali (CNOP) and Vice President of the network of Peasant organizations and Producers in West Africa (ROPPA).

In the agricultural sector, the rankings encourage governments to commoditize their land -- and to sell or lease it to foreign investors, regardless of environmental or social impact. Smallholder farmers, pastoralists, and the indigenous peoples are casualties of this approach, as governments and foreign corporations work hand-in-hand to dispossess them of their land -- and gain World Bank’s approval in the process.

The results have been devastating. Thanks to reforms and policies guided by the Bank, 20 percent of the arable land in Sierra Leone taken from rural populations has been leased to foreign sugar cane and palm oil producers. In Liberia, British, Malaysian, and Indonesian palm-oil giants have secured long-term leases for over 1.5 million acres of land formerly held by local communities. In the Philippines, world’s third most popular destination for foreign investment in land, 5.2 million hectares have been acquired by corporations since 2006.

"Doing Business ranking is a sword of Damocles over the heads of our leaders who wait for their next score in the ranking to gain legitimacy before the international financial institutions, those who prescribe development schemes for our countries, instead of the citizens. We want our autonomy to decide the future of our land, agricultural and food policies,“ said Amadou Kanoute, Director of CICODEV Africa.

The land-grab problem is about to get worse. Under pressure from the G8 and with funding from the Gates Foundation, the Bank is doubling down on its fetish for rankings by introducing a new program called “Benchmarking the Business of Agriculture” (BBA). The BBA’s explicit goal is to promote “the emergence of a stronger commercial agriculture sector.” 

“The BBA will limit governments' capacity to pursue their own food policy objectives, further enable the corporate takeover of land and other resources and reduce labor protection for agricultural workers who already suffer from serious decent work deficits, ” said Ron Oswald, general secretary of the global food and agricultural workers union, IUF.

“We’re standing up with farmers, herders, and indigenous peoples of the developing world who are being steamrolled by the World Bank’s pro-corporate agenda,” added Anuradha Mittal. “Initiatives like the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ rankings encourage governments to steal from the poor in order to give to the rich. That must end.”

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Kristen Thomaselli
(202) 471-4228 ext. 101
kristen@keybridge.biz

###

For more information or to schedule an interview spokespeople of the campaign please contact Kristen Thomaselli at (202) 471-4228 ext. 101 or kristen@keybridge.biz.

To read the report, Willful Blindness: How the World Bank’s Doing Business (DB) Rankings Impoverish Smallholder Farmers, as well as country fact sheets about the World Bank’s bad business in the developing world, please visit: www.ourlandourbusiness.org

For more information on the campaign, please write to ourlandourbusiness@therules.org

Ethiopia: Two Side to Ethiopia - the Plea for Press Freedom

There are two Ethiopias. Or better said there two narratives about Ethiopia.

On one side, there is the Ethiopia as celebrated by the international aid community and the European Union : a country which is growing fast and seriously fighting poverty, a country which wisely uses the considerable international assistance that it receives to channel it towards sustainable development.

On the other side there is the Ethiopia as criticized by press freedom and human rights groups. A country ruled by an authoritarian regime, the second largest jailer of journalists in Africa, a country which misuses laws on anti-terrorism and civil society regulation to chill speech and prevent journalists from doing their legitimate watchdog work.

Press freedom groups do not deny the economic and social realities of Ethiopia, but they also warn about the negative effects and features of the current model that Ethiopia’s sycophants do not want to address.

“In Ethiopia,” writes Committee to Protect Journalists Africa advocacy coordinator, Mohamed Keita, “the leadership is often credited with fast economic growth, strides in health and education, and bold policies to modernize infrastructure and agriculture. Yet, this misses a wider context… Ordinary Ethiopians face a rising cost of living, joblessness, and a stranglehold on the economy by the ruling party… ”

In fact, adds Mohamed Keita, “the international perception of Ethiopia has been distorted by the government’s tight control of information, including the banning of independent journalists and the imprisonment of prominent journalists. ”

The troubling element in the first vision is that it seems to imply that the lack of a vibrant press and civil society to some extent explains the good economic fortunes of the country. If you want to grow, shut watchdog journalism under the accusation that it is irresponsible and inflammatory, and promote lapdog media, under the argument that it is contributing to development by writing positively about the government’s policies and hiding internal tensions and disagreements.

Opposing press freedom and development is a false choice. As Rob Mahoney, deputy CPJ director writes in an essay just published in Attacks on the Press 2014, “the broader role of journalists and media organizations, as a voice for the poor and powerless, a provider of information and ideas, a forum for politics and culture, and an engine of change is acknowledged by economists and political scientist as vital to economic development and democracy.”

This equation between freedom and sustainable development is increasingly present in the international debate. The Report of the High Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda published in May 2013 underlines that in order to reach the goal of good governance, a condition of development, two conditions have to be fulfilled : “ensure that people enjoy freedom of speech, association and peaceful protest, and access to independent media and information.” The theme will be addressed by UNESCO and international press freedom groups during the World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2014.

Governments and especially democratic governments should bridge the gap between the two visions of Ethiopia. Citizens of a democratic state have the right to expect that their governments respect the values they proclaim in all and every international forum, like this week in Brussels, at the opening of the EU-Africa summit. “Realpolitik can integrate human rights,” as renowned international lawyer Eric David said. “It just requires that governments decide to do so.”

The EU in particular should be consistent with its own statements of principles : “An accountable government, built on free speech, democratic institutions, a vibrant civil society, and respect for human rights and the rule of law are crucial for peace and stability in Ethiopia », the European Commission states on its website. The EU and Ethiopia are engaged in dialogue in the framework of article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement on those important issues, aimed at building common understanding and commitment on these values.”

As a major economic partner the EU has leverage in Ethiopia, as Ana Gomes has just stated. It should use it to ask the Ethiopian government to abide by the international rules and values that they have promised to respect by signing and ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1993, by joining the Cotonou Agreement and by being a member of the Human Rights Council.

The EU should also relay the voices of these brave Ethiopians, like Reeyot Alemu, Eskinder Negan and others who adhere to universal norms of freedom and justice. They share the values that the EU is bound to defend within its own borders and in its foreign relations.

By Jean-Paul Marthoz

Jean-Paul Marthoz is the Europe representative for Committee to Protect Journalists.

Egypt mulls international arbitration over Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam

Egypt mulls international arbitration over Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam

Ethiopian water minister calls on Cairo to re-engage in talks on controversial dam project

A man walks over a bridge by the construction of Ethiopia’s Great Renaissance Dam in Guba Woreda, some 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Ethiopia’s border with Sudan, on June 28, 2013. (Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)

Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Addis Ababa confirmed on Wednesday that it is ready to open talks with Cairo on its Renaissance Dam project, following news that Egypt has formed a special legal committee to look at the possibility of securing international arbitration over the issue of Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam.

Talks between Ethiopia and Egypt broke down in January amid technical differences of opinion over the affect that the dam will have on Egypt’s share of Nile waters. Cairo claims that the construction of what will be Africa’s largest dam will have a significant effect on the flow of the Nile River, although Addis Ababa says that such fears are over-exaggerated.

Ethiopian Water Minister Alemayehu Tegenu said on Wednesday that the Addis Ababa government had “exerted utmost efforts to build trust among all riparian countries,” adding that “Egypt has continued to engage in negative campaigning against the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.”

Speaking at a ceremony held to mark three years since construction of the dam started, Tegenu criticized Cairo’s attempts to politicize the action of a panel of experts tasked with studying the dam’s potential impact on downstream states.

“Egypt is determined to delay the tripartite engagement by withdrawing from the Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt forum,” he said, adding: “We urge Egypt to re-join the engagement and work for the benefits of our countries. “

Addis Ababa’s call for Egypt to re-engage with the talks comes following news that Cairo has formed a high-level ministerial committee—including three international law experts—to determine Egypt’s legal rights to Nile waters and the possibility of securing international arbitration.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry on Monday confirmed that Cairo’s stance towards the controversial dam project remains unchanged. Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty issued a statement saying that “Egypt’s stance towards the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is clear and there is no room at all to waive or risk endangering Egypt, because the issue is considered a national security one.”

Abdelatty added that Cairo has a plan to tackle the crisis, saying it is “gradually being implemented.” That plan covers the political, legal and technical aspects of the dam, he said, adding that it aims to push for “serious negotiations” to guarantee the interests of all riparian states.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy spoke with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton about the Egyptian–Ethiopian dispute before the start of the EU–Africa summit in Brussels on Tuesday. The summit began on Wednesday, with Fahmy expected to discuss the dam project with his Ethiopian counterpart, Tedros Adhanom, during the two-day conference.

 by : Asharq Al-Awsat

Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities. Launched in London in 1978, Asharq Al-Awsat has established itself as the decisive publication on pan-Arab and international affairs, offering its readers in-depth analysis and exclusive editorials, as well as the most comprehensive coverage of the entire Arab world.

No Rush in Ethiopia to Pry Misery from the Mirage of Capitalism

No Rush in Ethiopia to Pry Misery from the Mirage of Capitalism

I visited Ethiopia for only three days, but that was enough for the cruelty of the system to burn my eyes. Once again I felt the pain within. Addis Ababa is under construction. You see green and yellow striped metal site fences everywhere. For me, there’s a big question whether these new buildings under construction reflect the taste, lifestyle, culture, and colors of the people living there.

“We are happy in our houses
living with our chickens,
touching the earth with our bare feet,
communing with nature.

“Why do they force us
to live on top of each other
inside those concrete boxes
rather than
improving the conditions of our own houses,
planning the city in accord with
our life styles, colors and our nature?“

Some people ask such questions, but others are content with the changes in Addis Ababa.

The city Addis Ababa is trying to modernize. But is it ignoring the texture, culture and habits in this city modernization? They’ve replaced cultural heritage with blue-glass-clad tall buildings; they’ve laid out boxlike characterless apartments; and they’ve surrounded this “modern” city with big shopping malls.

Are cities more modern when their streets are dressed with the same shops, same brands, same cafes, same glass and same concrete buildings we see everywhere?

Will the young people in cities be modernized when they wear Nike, watch MTV, drink espresso, eat pizza, wear Levis jeans, live inside concrete boxes on top of each other, and especially, will they be modernized when they get access to internet and carry mobile phones?

How and when does the transformation begin, from your unique lifestyle to the sameness imposed by capitalism for the sake of modernization? Who will draw the lines and when, in spite of whom, and how much will be openly discussed and for whose sake?

Just as we accept the impositions upon us, how do we relieve ourselves of the guilt? Is it by pretending to be sorry when we see those who are in worse conditions than we are? Or is it by sending donations through our mobile phones to help solve one problem because we feel truly touched?

The contradictions in Ethiopia are tangled, and no dialectic solution of any kind has developed from them. On the streets of Addis Ababa you can see people lying and sleeping in the mud, without even a piece of newspaper beneath them, while just a few steps away the flamboyant shop windows of the tall concrete shopping centers rise above them.

Everything you see makes you feel
as if you are traveling through time,
and sometimes you feel
as if you are existing in different time periods…
sometimes the present,
sometimes the past…
sometimes you feel the ground
slipping from under your feet
and you find yourself
hovering over timelessness.
Not being sure of
which period of time… 

Crude sheds made out of two to three battens or flattened-out oil tins and inside of them those who are living to survive. When it rained, it was impossible to take a single step without being covered with mud inside those sheds…

Staying there for three days is enough to understand that the biggest problem of those who live in Ethiopia is survival.

Three days becomes three years;
three centuries. Yet,
time does not
rush in Ethiopia.

Just like  time,
freedom does no rush there either.
Censorship, fear, uncertainty permeate the air.

When you breathe
you inhale the uncertainty and
insecurity mixed with oxygen.

When Ethiopians make any negative comments on the political governance of Ethiopia, they don’t want their names to be mentioned for security reasons. It’s not that difficult to learn that there are many journalists, writers and activists who are lost.

It startles you to learn that, before being put on trial, some journalists and writers received conviction letters sent to their homes by the court. It seems the people there have become inured to many things that can confuse you… in spite of everything, they are obliged to be inured to…

In Ethiopia,
just like the time and
just like the freedom,
there is also no rush to defend yourself either…
in order to protect itself,
the system has taken all the precautions in spite of you or
for the sake of you or
from time to time by destroying you.
The law is in no rush at all in those lands. 

Young people, writers, artists, activists do their best to struggle at the cost of their lives .… “When we try to find bread to live and when the majority do not have enough money to buy the only existing weekly newspapers, tell us, which freedom is left to discuss?” The number of those who think this way is quite high in Ethiopia. Feeling sorry yet still drinking from bottled water while witnessing little little children drinking the dirty water after washing their faces from the large rusty tin cans that are present in front of the sheds that they call their home…just like the times when human zoos existed…

If you haven’t been in public toilets where there are no taps or flushes but just plastic barrels placed outside with small rusty tin cans inside to take the muddy liquid to use as water, if you never had another chance but to sleep on mud inside a shed or carry the constant fear of hunger for days, then, giving advice to those people who live under such circumstances from wherever your standing point is nothing but a cruel masturbation.

If you have a bit of heart, a bit of empathy, then it is inevitable for you in Ethiopia to perceive how villainous the grinds of the capitalist system can become. You notice the MTV channel projected on the wall of a newly-constructed concrete building, and just next to it only the uncertainty visible in the eyes of children with bare feet who most probably will never have the chance to go to school…

For me Ethiopia depicts how brutally people can be tamed with hunger so that in other places, elsewhere, far far away, some who lack a conscience will become a bit richer and get the power to control.

By Meltem Arikan

Editor’s Notes: Meltem Arikan is a Turkish novelist and playwright. Her fourth novel, Yeter Tenimi Acitmayin (Stop Hurting My Flesh), was banned in early 2004 by the Committee to Protect Minors from Obscene Publications, with the accusation of “Writing about the non-existent fact of incest in Turkey and attempting to disturb the Turkish family order with a feminist approach.” The ban was lifted after two months and Arikan has been awarded the Freedom of Thought and Expression Award 2004 by the Turkish Publishers’ Association. In June 2013, Arikan went through a vicious, life-threatening campaign in her country because of her most recent play, Mi Minor, which was accused by pro-government TV news channels and newspapers of being rehearsals for the Taksim Square and Gezi Park protests. Photographs one, five, six, seven, twelve, thirteen by Julie Vaccalluzzo. Photographs two, three, four and eleven by Irene. Photographs eight, nine, ten, fourteen and fifteen by Mo2She.