By Matthew Tempest | EurActiv.com

The Ethiopian government has hit back after the international outcry over the rising death toll from protests in the country, blaming “outside forces” for fomenting the trouble.

More than 500 people have now been killed since November 2015, according to Human Rights Watch and other activist bodies, and several thousand detained – largely following protests by the Oromia and Amhara people.

It has also raised questions in the EU, where Ethiopia is one of the largest recipients of development aid, and also a beneficiary of the bloc’s new Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, aimed at mitigating migration flows from Africa.

Now Addis Ababa has hit back, admitting “bystanders” had died during the protests, and that the government had blocked internet access, but claiming “a group of people living inside and outside of the country” were behind the protests.

That seems to be a reference to the Ethiopian diaspora, concentrated in the US, who have often complained they are the subject of bugging by the government in Addis.

State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Taye Atske-Selassie admitted that “the government has accepted most of the issues of concerns that broke out in different parts of the country as consequences of bad governance, unemployment and the likes.”

And – in a rare mea culpa from the authoritarian government in Addis Ababa – the minister admitted, “The government’s response to the public concern was also very sluggish.”

The escalating death toll this week saw some 13 NGOs write an open letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council, complaining of the government’s brutal suppression of what – they say – were largely peaceful protests.

The letter – signed by Amnesty International, the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Human Rights Project, FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), Reporters Without Borders and others – state that at three separate protests in August alone, 100, 30 and 70 demonstrators were killed.

Yesterday (12 September), another Ethiopian Olympic athlete, this time the paralympic runner Tamiru Demisse, made the ‘arms crossed over the head’ gesture symbolising the Oromo people – echoing that of compatriot Feyisa Lilesa, who is now in the US, believed to be seeking political asylum.

Last week, the European Commission was pressed on whether funds from its new flagship Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, aimed at mitigating the roots causes of irregular migration, could be reviewed or even suspended in the wake of the situation.

A Commission spokesman stressed that monies from the ETF were channelled only through NGOs and aid bodies, not directly to the government in Addis Ababa.

NO EMERGENCY TRUST FUND MONEY GOES TO ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT, COMMISSION STRESSES No monies from the EU’s flagship Emergency Trust Fund (ETF) for Africa goes to the Ethiopian government or its agencies, the Commission stressed yesterday (6 September), as human rights groups say more than 400 people have been killed in clashes with the government. EurActiv.com

Taye said he had explained the government’s version of events to various foreign ambassadors in the Ethiopian capital.

However, he added that “the facts on the ground have ignited discontent and they are taken over by the subjective views and agendas of a group of people living inside and outside of the country”.

He later returned to the theme, saying “In a country like Ethiopia, where its rapid economic growth has impressed the world, the recent clashes have a negative implication to the achievements made [sic].

“In this regard, the government has to be more active and responsive to respond to the public’s demand.

But he warned, “It should not let outsider forces interfere in the internal matters of the country. In other words, the facts on the ground which resulted in public discontent should not be taken over by subjective agendas of outside forces.”

Taye confirmed he had briefed ambassadors in Ethiopia. However he rejected a call for outside, independent, investigation into the deaths.

He also described the shutting down of parts of the domestic internet within Ethiopia as a “hard choice” but “an immediate solution to protect youth from communicating with those extremist groups.”

The government in Addis Ababa – in power since it overthrew the Marxist Derg regime in 1991 – is largely comprised of the Tigray tribal grouping.

People of the Oromia and Amhara regions complain their voices are unheard by the centralised government. Protests against the forced expansion of the capital into the Oromia region forced the project to be largely dropped.

Felix Horn, Africa expert at Human Rights Watch, has previously written that expat Ethiopian groups in both Europe and the US were targeted by the government.

He said, “Ethiopians living in the UK, the US, Norway, and Switzerland are among those known to have been targeted with Addis Ababa’s spyware.

“The European Commission should lead efforts to regulate the export of such [EU-developed] technology to governments with poor human rights records.”

ESAT Daily News DC Tue 13 Sep 2016 Ethiopia

ESAT News (September 14, 2016)

The United States should use its leverage to ensure that the Ethiopian regime respect the human rights of its people, Congressman Mike Coffman said on Monday.

Salem Solomon
Tsion Girma

he Ethiopian government pardoned more than 700 prisoners in celebration of New Year’s Day on the Ethiopian calendar and the Muslim holiday Eid.

Among those released were people charged under the country’s controversial anti-terror law. Critics of the law say it is used to stifle dissent and lock up political opposition members.

Ustaz Kamil Shemsu was imprisoned in 2012 when many Muslims in Ethiopia protested what they said was government interference in their religious doctrine. He was sentenced to 22 years.

“It’s difficult to say I am happy because there are still other brothers left in prison,” he told VOA Amharic.

Prisoners were released from Kaliti, Dire Dawa, Ziway, Shewa Robit and Harer, as well as other prisons administered by the federal government in the Southern region, Tigray region and Amhara region.

Hayatel Kubera was a freshman in college in Addis Ababa when she was arrested in 2012 and taken to an Ethiopian investigation center known as Maekelawi. She said she was arrested in relation to the Muslim protest movement and was still under investigation and awaiting trial at the time of her release.

FILE – A Muslim boy attends Eid al-Fitr prayers to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, July 6, 2016.The Ethiopian government pardoned more than 700 prisoners in celebration of New Year’s Day on the Ethiopian calendar and the Muslim holiday Eid.

“The prison suddenly called us last week on Monday, along with men and one woman,” she said. “They told us that the government doesn’t want you to be imprisoned so you will be released.”

Government media announced that the president signed the pardon for Muslim groups because they expressed regret, according to Ethiopian Prosecutor-General Getachew Ambaye.

In 2012, the Muslim community in Ethiopia was introduced to new religious teachings known as Al-Ahbash. The Ethiopian government considered the teaching to be modern and began trainings in the fall of 2011. However, it encountered stiff resistance from some Muslims uncomfortable with the new teachings. Students walked out of classes in protest, and demanded a change of teachers appointed by the government.

Silent protests and sit-ins at mosques followed, and the members of a 17-person committee selected to represent students were arrested and charged with extremism.

“The claim from the committee’s side, and I think there is good enough evidence that support that, was that the Al-Ahbash movement was invited and forced upon the Muslim community, kind of like telling them what type of Islam they were supposed to be adhering to, which is a violation of the constitution,” said Terje Ostebo, director of the Center for Global Islamic Studies and an associate professor at the University of Florida.

Muslims make up of 33.9 percent of the total population of about 100 million in Ethiopia, according to the Central Intelligence Agency.

Ostebo stressed that the government has released prisoners before, and that this holiday pardon doesn’t necessarily signal a willingness to change.

“It’s kind of common in Ethiopia that New Year is the time when you show leniency and grant pardons,” he said. “I’m not sure if I could put it that strongly that they are acknowledging any mistakes.”

Yusuf Getachew, editor-in-chief of faith-based magazine Ye Muslimoch Guday, or Muslim Affairs, was one of the people released. He was arrested in July 2012.

“The government asked if we are going to accept the pardon or not, and we accepted it and that’s why we were released,” he said.

He had been sentenced to seven years.

Murithi Mutiga of the Committee to Protect Journalists said his organization was calling on Ethiopian authorities to free all prisoners of conscience.

“There is a very large number of people that have been detained within very secretive and large detention facilities that have done nothing else other than to simply do their jobs as journalists,” he said. “I think the Ethiopian authorities would do a very good thing to just let all prisoners of conscience … please let them go.”

• Salem Solomon

  Salem Solomon is a journalist and web producer at Voice of America’s Horn of Africa Service, where she reports in English,Amharic and Tigrigna. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Poynter.org, Reuters and The Tampa Bay Times. Salem researches trends in analytics and digital journalism, and her data-driven work has been featured in VOA’s special projectscollection.

The TPLF Party (ህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይ) that is in charge of Ethiopia but that mostly parades around as EPRDF is currently on an apology mode and no resource is spared in spreading the well-rehearsed lie. They have activated former leaders from retirement. Old trusted and reliable Cadres are brought out to prove their worthiness in this time of crisis for the mafia group and bloggers and social media activists are on double time.

Their task is very easy in Ethiopia. There are no dissenting voices left to tell a different version to our people. Twenty-five years of systematic attack on the free press has decimated the independent media and made the country a TPLF echo chamber.

The regime controls TV, Radio, Internet and both mobile and landline phone service. Print paper is state controlled and the few allowed are Woyane approved supposedly ‘independent’ papers and magazines run by cadres of the party. Even Social Media is such a threat it is constantly blocked or attempts made to incite hate by Party controlled hacks.

So today Woyane is using Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, Fana Broadcasting, Zami FM, Walta, The Reporter, Awramba Times, Bloggers and many more clone outlets to tell the ‘Mamo Kilo’ story they have decided would work on our people. It is easy to see Woyane has decided to project their entire approach to politics and power onto all their opponents. The Ethiopian people are watching with complete puzzlement because the whole argument does not make sense unless one is willing to suspend reality.

Let’s go over the Ethiopian reality to be able to relate to Woyane logic. For twenty-five years the TPLF Party that created the satellite organizations under the umbrella EPRDF has been in charge of all aspects of our country. The Prime Minister has always been a Tigrai. The current one who is from the Wolaita region is considered a figurehead with no political base or power. His Deputy Debretsion; a TPLF Politburo member is the man behind the throne.

All the important political, economic, military positions are held by the Tigrai ethnic group. Deputy PM, Communication and Information Minister – Debretsion Gebremariam (Tigrai), Defense- General Samora Yunis (Tigrai), Foreign Minister – Dr. Tedros (Tigrai), National Bank – Newaye Christos Gebreab (Tigrai), Security – Getachew Assefa (Tigrai), EFFORT – Berhane Kidane Mariam Yihdego (Tigrai), Ethiopian Airlines – Tewelde Gebremariam (Tigrai) Federal Affairs Minister – Abbay Tsehaye (Tigrai), Orthodox Church Patriarch – Abune Matias (Tigrai). All the above offices are the nation’s bloodlines. The power of the TPLF flows from this arrangement. Nothing happens in Ethiopia without the TPLF participation, leadership and ownership.

This is the reality our leaders gloss over and try to deflect our attention away from the core question our people are currently asking at the risk of being killed. The Party that controls all of our country’s vital systems based on its ethnic origin is now complaining about wrongly being perceived to be very narrow and cliquish by the rest of Ethiopia. They are also leveling the charge of ethnic cleansing act against the Amharas.

The Woyane party is playing victim for a variety of reasons. They want to justify their trigger-happy solutions since they came to power. This last year alone close to one thousand Ethiopians have been murdered by their own government. They want to claim they are the victims for being forced to kill our family member. They are trying to convince the world that their group is in jeopardy to justify their violent response all over Ethiopia.

Listening to Abay Tsehaye and Seyoum Mesfin is an out of this world experience. One is forced to ask do these clowns really believe what they are saying? They are sitting at Fana Broadcasting studio that is owned or controlled by their group and the two individuals moronic and insane opinions are being entertained as logical and rational. They are being asked questions fit for two years old and of course they have all the time to respond since it is their private media.

It has become a good exercise figuring out how the different TPLF officials and their designated cadres approach the current mess and offer solutions. It is a mix of some remorse, stern warnings, predictions of what is to come in their absence and their willingness to correct all that has gone wrong by sacrificing few individuals from their EPRDF stable. This of course ensures blame goes to the satellite organizations and heads will roll while TPLF lives another day to kill.

Abay Tsehaye is a weird character that falls asleep in his own press conference. That is what he did while sitting at his spitting brand new Studio of Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation that displays nightclub lighting designed to make the dead look cute. He blamed it all on OLF, Ginbot 7 and Shabia. He even claimed the two groups have never won in contested elections. What country he was talking about is not clear. He predicted the Oromo and Amhara organizations are bound to fight dividing the spoils after they win over TPLF. He actually described his enemies as blinded by their thirst for power and money. You understand why I said Woyane is projecting itself. Woyanes brain is incapable of understanding sacrifice to do the right thing. Woyanes philosophy is based on personal gain as the final prize. The last twenty-two years have proved both points to be true.

Seyoum Mesfin is one character we are familiar with. He is the one that came from Algiers with the fake agreement. He had no qualms lying to the Ethiopian people about something that could not stay hidden. The Ethiopian people first real encounter with the honorable Minister was during the 2005 debate where Dr. Yacob had him at his mercy. The then Foreign Minister was brought down from his perch and humiliated. The Ethiopian people saw the kind of individuals that were in charge and rejected them overwhelmingly.

This time Minister Seyoum Mesfin raised a very interesting point. He said let us look at the Military and Security where the Narrow –Tebab (OLF) and the Temketgna (PG7) have declared war on claiming they are under the Tigrai group and want to get rid of them. Notice Woyane always have to put label on individuals and organizations to make it easy for their cadres to identify. Why are the two declared ‘anti-peace’ and ‘ anti-Ethiopian’ groups united on smashing the two Woyane Organizations he asked and answered by showing puzzlement because it is in the Military and Security where all the different Ethiopians are actually given an opportunity and are participating fully.

Minster Mesfin forgot to mention that making the Military and Security all Tigrean would have been too obvious and not sustainable. Of course he forgot to mention all the top Generals and most officers are of Tigrean origin and the Public Security is the domain of TPLF with its own private jails. Now why do you think they need to diversify? Well the military needs foot soldiers as fodder   and the security needs an ear in every household. He was most gracious with the internal security forces. It is understandable. It is a Gestapo style ruthless outfit that routinely kidnaps people from their homes and workplaces and some disappear forever. I am not being an alarmist but all Ethiopians know it to be a fact of life in Woyanes land.

In any free public forum both gentle men would be laughed off the stage. They do not seem to grasp the mere fact that what made it possible for them to sit there and lecture to us as if we have no intelligence, memory and common sense is solely due to the fact that their ethnic group is in charge and they can do whatever they damn well want. It is called Tigrean privilege or ‘ye zemenu sew’ by the locals. It is the reason we are condemned to listen to the two midget dinosaurs.

From their non-Tigrean enablers, apologists and cheerleaders Dr. Kassu Ilala is my favorite. He will make the late great leader proud. I am grateful to the Politburo for including him to show us how low we have sunk. A mother was forced to sit on the dead body of her son by Agazi solders and it was reported all over our independent media. Those that serve the fascist system and apologize for Woyane crimes against humanity are dancing on the dead body of thousands of our people. It is a strong charge but well deserved.

The good doctor said the days where one ethnic group dominated others is long gone. We are over it he swore with a smile on his face. He condemned the current talk of Tigrai domination as useless and not true at all. Tigreans have not received any special treatment in their Kilil; furthermore he opined the Tigreans have suffered the most under the Derg and today even send their children to die in Gambella, South Omo and Somalia. It is not clear if service in the name of the Party is the same as service for Ethiopia. The Mention of Gambella and South Omo is not a slip.

I knew he will gravitate towards a central theme and he did not disappoint us. Looks like the bosses are worried about the situation in the Military because like Seyoum Mesfin he was eager to mention the diversity of the security forces. He did not bother to tell us what happened to diversity when it comes to vital sectors of the economy. I am sure the Doctor will print a retraction after he is given the diversity figures in Ethiopian Airlines, Communications and the media and all Federal offices. Of course as the intellectual among the group he went on his ‘rent collector’ rant that Berket dismissed as nonsense. Dear Dr. Kassu the premier ‘rent seeker’ in Ethiopia is the ruling TPLF party that uses its monopoly of power to pass laws favoring the few, restricts competition, create barriers and earns income without producing anything. It all boils down to the rule of law, level playing field and fair justice.

The Woyane TPLF party is beating the drums of war against non Tigrean Ethiopians. The Mafia group is hiding behind the Tigrai people that are victims as the rest of us. The last thirty years they have been fed very hateful information regarding their own cousins. Like it or not unlike the rest of Ethiopia Tigrai is a closed society. Interaction with other Ethiopians has not been well developed. It makes evil Woyanes job easy in raising fear and doubt in the population. Until the advent of TPLF the Tigrai people have moved all over Ethiopia freely and lived in peace with others. TPLF brought this division and unhealthy competition for meager resources. Today TPLF is cornered due to the failure of its policies. It is that failure it is trying to rescue by setting our people against each other.

Ethiopians warn Woyane about this loose talk about ‘ethnic cleansing’. The rest of Ethiopians ask their Tigrean cousins to speak out against this crazy policy of creating a wedge between the Amhara and Tigrai. A few Woyane bred cadres are convinced the sky will fall without Woyane. That cannot be helped. Stupidity is no excuse for recklessness.

No matter what the policy of divide and rule is laid to rest. It is nice to see in our lifetime that the spirit of being an Ethiopian is a quality we have inherit and no amount of hate and ugly talk will find a lasting audience. As I wrote earlier Woyane is projecting. Because they hate they do not understand the meaning of love. Because they steal they they do not grasp the concept of selfless act. Because they emerged from a harsh and violent past being brutal is their preferred response to any threat real or imagined.

It is sad that Woyane leaders do not try to know us the rest of their cousins. The leadership of the organization including Meles and Abay went to the University in Addis. It is sad they did not use that opportunity to appreciate the rainbow nature of our country. Instead of building on that and making it more harmonious and beautiful they wasted over thirty years tearing it apart. Today they look at their work and I am sure they wonder what went wrong. No matter what they say officially there is no escaping the hateful stare, the fear permeating every place they are, the lack of close friend and the knowledge that it can all fall apart without notice.

We have a problem in Ethiopia. The regime is not the kind to appreciate peace. Our people today are showing what they are made of with their death defying determination to be free. The economic boycott is the latest effective tool. A government cannot survive without income. If the economic activity continues revenues will dry up. Our people have found Woyanes Achilles heel.

We in the outside have to follow their example and do our share for national salvation. Boycott of all good and products from Ethiopia is a noble idea. Remember nothing happens without Woyane getting even a penny. We should resolve to deny him even a penny. We in the outside have to find ways of forcing our Ethiopian businesses not to deal with Woyane. We have to find a way of publicizing those businesses that do not deal with Woyane. We should have a hall of fame for those that stood for Freedom and Democracy. We should get our activists to go to the Airport and take video and pictures of those standing on line at Ethiopian (Woyane) Airlines and post it on our independent websites and Facebook. This is what peaceful struggle is all about and it is taking shape in Ethiopia. Let us contribute our share and make our fighter’s job a little bit easier.  Let us come up with simple effective creative ways to drive Woyane out of our life.

“Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.”       –Primo Levi

Hate, whether it is at the individual or group level, is a serious and debilitating illness. First it consumes the carrier’s emotional, psychological and spiritual being before it is peddled into the ‘other’. The notion of the ‘other’ is the primary root of this dangerous and destructive illness. Through deliberate and systemic construction of fictitious narratives, the ‘other’ is portrayed as a monster, devilish, and in an extreme case sub-human. During the Rwandan genocide Hutu extremist radio stations described Tutsi’s as ‘cockroaches,’ and ‘it’ should be exterminated. The radio station declared, “you have to kill the Tutsi; they are cockroaches.” This hateful and monstrous narrative wasn’t built overnight. It was carefully and meticulously laid brick by brick and spewed with a tone of viciousness for decades.

In Ethiopia, the dehumanization of the other is incorporated into the official and unofficial policies and narratives of the TPLF.

It is not surprising that the TPLF has a long list of ‘others’ which it hates and identifies as ‘enemies’ who the group believes must be eliminated: the Agaw, Amhara, Gambella, Oromo, Konso, Ogaden, Wolqaiet, Raya, pro-democracy activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and the list goes on. At the top of its hate and hit list, however, is the Amhara people. The TPLF’s hate for the Amhara people is deeply entrenched and viscous. The group’s history, political program, and narrative is carved out of Amhara hate and Amhara dehumanization. During the guerilla years it’s fighters sang anti-Amhara songs, and the cadres psyche up the foot soldiers by spewing anti-Amhara hate stories. As such the group launched a calculated political, military, social, and economic campaign against the Amhara, including the annexation and occupation of Amhara fertile land incorporating it into Tigray territory.

As the TPLF began to consolidate power at a national level, various groups began to question its character, policy, and legitimacy. At the same time the group’s hate list also grew rapidly. Today, it is engaged in a large scale military operation against the entire population in four corners of the country. Promising young men and women are murdered by the regime’s snipers in broad daylight. Villages are burnt, peaceful protestors are summarily executed, prisons are filled with any one who dares to question the group’s legitimacy. People are being killed by forces loyal to the regime for no other crime than belonging to a particular ethnic group. When one’s identity becomes the prime justification and rationale for being killed, it is no longer just unlawful killing. It is a precursor to genocide, a violation of international law.

During the Trojan War (in Greek mythology) the Amazonian queen, Penthesilea, was killed by the Greek hero, Achilles. After killing her he removes her helmet and sees her face and instantly falls in love with her corpse. The solider Thersites who witnessed Achilles killing Penthesilea and his romantic reaction accused him of necrophilia to which Achilles responded by killing Thersites. Necrophilia is pathological romance with death. It is the dark emotional and psychological whole in which love is replaced with death. The TPLF has been dancing with death and destruction for a very long time. It embraces everything that is contrary to love, life and human decency. It is this disturbing and twisted nature of the group which makes a political solution to the country’s problems more difficult.

The demagogues, after preaching hate and division for more than quarter of a century now, are evoking dark and painful memories of human suffering. Two of the highest priests of hate, Seyoum Mesfin, TPLF’s Ambassador to People’s Republic of China, and Abaye Tsehaye with a rotating official and unofficial title, painted a bleak scenario relative to the Rwandan Genocide and the Shoah, the extermination of six million Jews by the Nazi’s. Their audacity to lie is breathtaking. It is an open secret that the current political, economic, and social woes of the country have their roots in the belligerence and violent behaviour of the group itself. Instead of looking deep into their own soul, they once again resort to their hateful rhetoric and denial. There is an Egyptian joke related to the recent Revolution that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak. In this joke the archangel of death appears before Mubarak and tells him to bid farewell to the Egyptian people. Mubarak asks, “Why, where are they going?”

At these challenging and trying times Ethiopia desperately needs wise and even-tempered leadership. The country is at the edge of the abyss. It is the thoughtfulness and enlightened quality of the Ethiopian people that has kept relative peace in the country, so far. If it was left to the TPLF’s hate peddling and campaign of division, this ancient and proud nation would have descended into a catastrophic chaos. It is imperative that this culture of coexistence, mutual respect, peace, and harmony must continue, in spite of TPLF’s divisive and hateful policy.

The ethnic hegemony that the TPLF has imposed on the Ethiopian people for the last twenty-five years is unravelling. At the same time, the unwavering commitment of the people to establish a free, democratic, and just political order in the country is being pronounced daily in city streets, towns, and villages. While the demand of the people remains the building of a democratic society, the TPLF’s hate mongers are still resorting to their old and tired mantra of ‘revolutionary democracy’. Authoritarian demagogues, wherever they are, whatever culture they come from, are all cut from the same cloth. They don’t see what is coming. They don’t distinguish the difference between military might and people power. There is no a page in the history book that confirms people’s uprising being quashed with military might forever. In the end, it never stops the forces of freedom, truth and justice from their triumphant march.

““““Only Ethiopia’s traditional enemies benefit““““`

Aklog Birara (Dr)

The UN International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) was singed on December 2006 and became effective on December 23, 2010. This important legal instrument is part of the body of international human rights laws that mitigate state initiated and state-sponsored actors from abusing peaceful citizens. “The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations and intended to prevent forced disappearance defined in international law, crimes against humanity.” As of the end of July 2016, 96 states have signed the convention and 52 have ratified it.

What is the content of this convention? Article 2 states the purpose clearly. “For the purposes of this Convention “enforced disappearance” is considered to be the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law.”

Welcoming the Ethiopian New Year, one of the holiest seasons for Ethiopians the artist Yehunie Belay sang a moving, thrilling and patriotic song, Seken Bel (literally be serene and thoughtful) calling for the end of “brothers killing brothers.” It takes sane, collected and thoughtful people to recognize the importance of this song. It takes a world view that embraces everyone’s humanity, identity and dignity. Above all, it takes a government leadership that values human life over material possession, greed and an insatiable preoccupation to steal, plunder and remove all human obstacles in achieving and maintaining these privileges.

The purpose of this article is to argue that the TPLF is culpable (liable) not only for killings, maiming, torture and imprisonment of thousands; it is equally accountable for the “enforced disappearances” of thousands of Amhara, Oromo, Annuak, Somali, Konso and other Ethiopians. I have argued numerous times that “enforced disappearances” constitute the largest segment of ethnic cleansing and “silent genocide.” Ask yourself why the TPLF Agazi and its agents go house to house and arrest thousands of young people? Where does the TPLF take these people and what does it do with them? When a mother in the Amhara region asked the whereabouts of her only child, she was told by Agazi personnel they did not know. She was told to ask the “local authorities.” It is this kind of trickery the TPLF uses in all disappearance cases. They used the same trickery when asked about ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Amhara in the 1990s when the distinguished Professor and renowned physician Dr. Asrat Woldeyes responded and saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Amhara. In Gambella, authorities rejected accountability for the massacre of more than 400 Annuak. History recalls that Meles and his cronies blamed the CUPD for the massacres, arrests and disappearances following the flawed elections in 2005. Most recently, they refused to acknowledge that 5,000 Oromo were arrested and or “enforced to disappear.” To date, 11,000 Amhara youth have been arrested and their whereabouts is unknown. Denial is the DNA of the TPLF and its supporters.

In Bahir Dar, where the TPLF is on a witch hunt, its agents hauled thousands of young people; and when asked told parents that they were being sent to military and education camps. Forget rehabilitation and education camps. The TPLF leadership is incapable of learning and changing itself and its cohorts let alone teaching anyone anything worthwhile. It is alleged that many young people arrested in Bahir Dar were subjected to “injections.” Are these injections to calm young people as if they are lions or Rhino being sent to the zoo? No, it is to make them incapable of thinking and fighting back. It is to incapacitate them for the rest of their lives. Imagine the enormous social, economic, psychological and other costs to their parents, spouses, brothers, sisters and other relatives. Imagine the cost to Ethiopia as a country! Imagine too the intent to decapitalize the Amhara and the Oromo nationality. The TPLF builds prisons as if they are factories!
Systemic Displacement and “enforced disappearances” are institutionalized

The TPLF is systematic and deliberate in its targeted program of displacement, marginalization and disappearances. For the Amhara population, it is a matter of survival. Research shows before and after it took power, the TPLF “killed, maimed, imprisoned and “enforced disappearances” in the Wolkait-Tegede and other areas of the Gondar region. It reconfigured Gojjam diminishing its size and enabling the expanded Tigrean state to envelope and strangulate Gondar and Gojjam. Its primary objective was and still is to displace and annex lands and incorporate them into Greater Tigray extending its border to the Sudan. At this pace of annexation, there won’t be sufficient land for the Amhara population. Nor will there be a robust succeeding generation. This is among the root causes of the current popular resistance. The annexation of lands around Adds Ababa follows the same model. It displaces Oromo farmers to make room for the newly rich Tigrean elite and its cohort of supporters.

Land grab is a new and aggressive wave of subjugating powerless Amhara, Oromo and others and ensuring the supremacy and longevity of the Tigrean elite. Forget the façade of equality of nations, nationalities and peoples. The decimation of the indigenous people of the Omo valley is illustrative of greed gone mad. According to the Voice of America, TPLF forces attacked the indigenous population of the Konso, recognized by UNESCO as unique. The lands belong to them. For the past 5 days, the TPLF’s Special Forces, including the notorious Agazi, “killed many people, burned several homes and entire villages, displaced thousands and ‘enforced’ unknown numbers of disappearances.” Young men fled the scene due to fear of being killed, arrested and tortured. There is no argument that the TPLF and its champions place a premium on physical property and diminished worth on human life. For the past 25 years, the TPLF and its cohorts used Ethiopia as their private ATM, extracting billions of dollars to enrich the few while the vast majority of Ethiopians starve; and hundreds of thousands leave their homes in search of opportunities abroad. The regime is not only greedy; it is also inhumane. The regime or its agents burn prisons such as Kilinto and kill political prisoners trying to save their lives. How more cruel can a regime be? A guard at the scene said “he saw wholesale massacre.” This is crime against humanity.

The regime believes that it can solve social, political and economic crimes by killing victims rather than by overhauling the entire system that is the root cause of the problem.

It is time to ask them why victims would allow this suffocating environment to persist! The notion that the TPLF is capable of subjugating, killing, maiming, arresting and causing to enforce the disappearances of an estimated 40 million Amhara (throughout Ethiopia) and Oromo whose numbers are greater than the Amhara population is absurd. It is impossible. Equally, unless the Oromo and Amhara choose to remain divided, suspicious of one another and perceive one another as inimical rather than amical, it is no longer feasible for the TPLF to govern Ethiopia. One cannot govern people who refuse to be governed regardless of the military might one can deploy. Ethiopia is too big for that! The Ethiopian people are fiercely independent for that!

As I have suggested before numerous times, the best option is a political transition that involves all stake-holders. The TPLF must recognize that it has placed the entire Tigrean population at risk. Equally, Tigreans must come out of their cocoons and join their Oromo, Konso, Annuak, Somali, Amhara and other sisters and brothers as they struggle for freedom, justice, genuine equality and democracy.

In summary, the TPLF leadership is legally responsible and accountable for “enforced disappearances.” It behooves this clan to heed to Yehunie Belay’s incredible song that calls for “serenity,” composure and statesmanship rather than a display of the arrogance of power and of brinkmanship. Killing innocent people and “enforcing disappearances” of thousands of youth is a losing proposition!!!

Long Live Ethiopia! Long Live Unity in Diversity!

By Salem Solomon

Feyisa Lilesa, the Ethiopian silver medalist in the marathon at last month’s Rio Olympics, was in Washington this week, calling on the U.S. Congress to take action in solidarity with Ethiopians protesting their government.

“I know that Americans are peace-loving people. My people are also peace-loving people, but they have been denied peace for a very long time,” he said in his native Afaan Oromoo at a news conference Tuesday on Capitol Hill. “People are calling for the freedom, democracy that you have here. We want the same things, and I call on the U.S. government to urge the Ethiopian government to make sure that democracy prevails in Ethiopia.”

Lilesa gained worldwide attention when he crossed his wrists as a sign of protest as he approached the finish line during the Rio men’s marathon. He is Oromo and made the gesture in solidarity with Oromo protests that have occurred in Ethiopia since last November over issues including land rights and fair representation in the government.

U.S. Representatives Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican; Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat; and Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican, presented House Resolution 861, “Supporting Human Rights and Encouraging Inclusive Governance in Ethiopia,” during the news conference. The resolution calls on the government of Ethiopia to end the use of excessive force by security forces and investigate the killings and disturbances during protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions. It also urges the government to hold security forces accountable for wrongdoing through public proceedings.

FILE – Silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia crosses his writsts as he celebrates on the podium after the men’s marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 21, 2016. He had made the same gesture of protest as he approached the finish line of the race.
FILE – Silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia crosses his writsts as he celebrates on the podium after the men’s marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 21, 2016. He had made the same gesture of protest as he approached the finish line of the race.
Smith said he met with Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, in New York to discuss human rights issues in Ethiopia.

“He’s called for a major fact-finding effort where we could get to the bottom of people who are being killed, tortured, slaughtered in the streets, and then to hold the perpetrators of these crimes to account,” the lawmaker said.

Eleven civil society organizations have signed the resolution.

“It’s an effort to say to Ethiopia, ‘Yes, you’ve been friends and allies in the war on terror. You’ve got some very good things with regards to Somalia, but you are mistreating your own people and it’s time we spoke out,’ ” Smith said.

Since Lilesa made his gesture, other athletes have followed suit. Ebisa Ejigu crossed his arms in the Quebec City Marathon in Canada, and Tamiru Demisse, an Ethiopian paralympic runner, did the same as he won his silver medal in the men’s 1,500 meters for the visually impaired at the Paralympics in Rio.

Lilesa, in the U.S. on a temporary visa, said he was figuring out his future but was not seeking asylum in the U.S.

Salem Solomon is a journalist and web producer at Voice of America’s Horn of Africa Service, where she reports in English, Amharic and Tigrigna. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Poynter.org, Reuters and The Tampa Bay Times. Salem researches trends in analytics and digital journalism, and her data-driven work has been featured in VOA’s special projects collection.

Tigray region president Ato Abay Woldu on September 2, 2016 had a press conference regarding the current situation in Ethiopia. As a person who understand Tigrigna language, I found it is completely different from the Amhara and the Federal Government press release. The YouTube is about 55.29 minutes long. Only the time that is between 14 to 28 minute is translated. Just to make sure that the translation is ok, I will provide you with the link. Please take your time to verify this information.

—-Read in Amharic – Hand Written document… 

ESAT Yetshehafian Demitsoch Reeyot Alemu With Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam.

Representative Christopher Smith (R-New Jersey) has introduced a resolution “Supporting respect for human rights and encouraging inclusive governance in Ethiopia.” Four other members of Congress co-sponsored House Resolution 861: Rep. Keith Ellison [D-MN), Rep. Al Green, [D-TX), Rep. Mike Coffman, [R-CO], and Rep. Eliot Engel [D-NY]. The full text can be found at congress.gov .

A similar bill, Senate Resolution 432 “A resolution supporting respect for human rights and encouraging inclusive governance in Ethiopia,” was introduced in the Senate in June and has 19 co-sponsors.
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Ethiopian-Americans should call and write to their Senators and Representatives expressing support for these resolutions.

The resolution describes and condemns the Ethiopian government’s violations of human rights and suppression of democracy. It notes that “the democratic space in Ethiopia has steadily diminished since the general elections of 2005,” and that “the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front party claimed 100 percent of parliamentary seats” in the 2015 elections. It also states that “the 2015 Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Ethiopia cited serious human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, killings, and torture committed by security forces, restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of association, politically motivated trials, harassment, and intimidation of opposition members and journalists.”

The resolution notes the killing of peaceful protestors in Oromia and Amhara, the arrests of journalists and others. It also reports the use of the 2009 Charities and Societies Proclamation “to restrict the operation of civil society organizations in Ethiopia, especially those investigating alleged violations of human rights by governmental authorities.”

The litany of abuses by the Ethiopian government includes the illegal and inhumane “relocation of over 1,500,000 people, including indigenous Anuaks in the Gambella region.”

The resolution calls on the government of Ethiopia to stop illegally killing and detaining its citizens, release those who have been unlawfully imprisoned, and take a number of other steps to respect basic human and civil rights.

Importantly, the resolution requests that the Secretary of State “conduct a review of security assistance to Ethiopia in light of recent developments and to improve transparency with respect to the purposes of such assistance to the people of Ethiopia.” It also request the “Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to immediately lead efforts to develop a comprehensive strategy to support improved democracy and governance in Ethiopia.”

September 15, 2016

Human rights work might be compared to preparing for a long race— like a marathon— requiring long, hard, and grueling dedication to a task where the final outcome— often years in the future—remains unknown. At times along the way, the barriers to success appear so large that one can easily get off course and go through periods where the possibility of reaching the ultimate goals looks grim. In the midst of that struggle, something can suddenly emerge from what otherwise appears as darkness, which acts to bring new light, insight and a change of attitude to those who witness it.

For Ethiopians, that unexpected source of new inspiration is Feyissa Lilesa, the Ethiopian winner of the silver medal for the marathon Olympic event held in Brazil on August 21, 2016.

His actions have jumpstarted a swell of renewed hope and vigor among Ethiopians who see him as an Ethiopian for all Ethiopians. Feyissa, an Oromo, made a stand against oppression when he crossed his wrists and lifted his arms over his head as he ran across the finish line in Rio. His actions brought international attention to human rights conditions in Ethiopia.

His expression of protest was the same as that of many other Oromos who had been protesting since November 2015 regarding the land grabs and eviction of tens of thousands of Oromo from their homes and land. More recently the protests had intensified. As they demanded their rights, they symbolized that struggle by crossing their wrists, as if handcuffed, and holding their arms above their head as a sign of a peaceful, non-violent protest against injustice and oppression in general. The regime’s security forces had responded with bullets; killing thousand of protestors Oromia and Amhara regions, since November 2015. The victims included children, youth, pregnant women, and the elderly. Disturbing images of their dead bodies flooded the social media, further inciting protests and outrage. 

In response to Feyissa’s gesture of protest, he has been recognized as a hero of the Oromo people.  However, after I had the opportunity to listen to Feyissa Lilesa talk at a press conference held in Washington DC this week and to also personally meet with him, I discovered Feyissa to be clearly and decisively bigger and more complex than his ethnic identity.

His ideas break through the ideological barriers of ethnocentric thinking— views that are promoted and exploited by the current regime of the TPLF-controlled EPRDF as a tool to divide and disempower Ethiopians of differing ethnicities. Many expected him to focus only on the Oromo, while ignoring others— an approach favored by the TPLF— but, he did not.

In his responses to many questions posed by the press, he articulated viewpoints that were inclusive to all Ethiopians. He did not claim grievances as only an Oromo experience, but instead attested that the oppression being experienced in Ethiopia had no ethnic, religious or geographical limitations.

In an article appearing in The Guardian on September 13, the author quotes Feyisa’s remarks to reporters: “The Ethiopian government is killing, imprisoning and oppressing its own people. The situation in Oromia, Amhara and Gambella region is deeply concerning at the moment.

“I’m an Oromo, I grew up in Oromia, so I understand the suffering of my people very well. So far the government has opened fire on peaceful protesters who are asking for their rights and more than 1,000 people have been killed. Others have been forced into exile and been slaughtered in the deserts of Libya. Many more have become food for fish in the Mediterranean Sea.”

His words reflect my own conclusions, reached after first attempting to advocate for the rights of people of my own ethnic background, the Anuak. In December 2003, the TPLF/EPRDF and militia groups they had armed, slaughtered 424 people in less than three days and later killed many more in an ongoing effort to exploit Anuak land and resources.

It was not long before I became aware of the injustice faced by others in the country and began to recognize that systemic and widespread injustice must be addressed as a whole— without either ethnic bias towards one’s own people or ethnic-based apathy towards the human rights abuses inflicted on others within Ethiopia. Sustainable freedom and justice would only come to one’s own people when it was available for all.

This led to the establishment of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE), with the mission of advocating for the well being of all Ethiopians based on the God-given value of every life. This foundational principle is missing among those who cannot break out of their ethnic boxes. The present model of ethnic federalism feeds this viewpoint, with its blatant disregard for others and favoritism towards their own group, especially their cronies. I realized the TPLF/EPRDF’s justification for the brutal massacre of the Anuak in 2003 came out of that worldview (ideology) that devalued the human lives of the Anuak. Feyissa understands this principle and how dangerous it is to the country for Ethiopians to fall into the TPLF/EPRDF ethnic trap. 

In the same article he warns:“If this situation [widespread ethnic-based killing and ethnocentric favoritism] continues as it is, I have no doubt Ethiopia is staring into the abyss. You are going to see a great tragedy unless the international community intervenes and helps bring about change in that country. I am personally very fearful this is going to take an ethnic dimension. You are going to see a Rwanda-like scenario where ethnic groups turn on each other. It is important the international community understands the gravity of the situation and intervenes so we don’t have to go there.”

What is lacking in Ethiopia today is the inability to see the humanity of others. The fight before us is more about false ideas that people have adopted as truth. When followed, perpetual competition and disharmony with others results. Ideas matter and even good people can take on flawed ideas that can lead to mutual destruction. When those ideas are not based on God’s truth, they can lead to immoral and selfish decisions, to hate instead of love and compassion, to greed instead of fairness and generosity, to pride instead of humility, or to lies instead of honesty and integrity. When they become part of a family, community, culture, or nation, they can bring destruction.

As a member of a minority group— and there are many of us who have been marginalized, discriminated against and cut-off from the mainstream for years— it is not an easy thing to challenge the status quo. The system we have now is based on lies and deception. It fails to uphold the humanity of others. In such a system, only the power holders benefit. Morality is gone and to avoid accountability, the manipulation of truth creates an illusion. It makes it almost impossible to correct the system since those who stand for truth are crushed. It has pushed the society to the point of ethnic explosion and disintegration— to the killing of each other and to a possible genocide. Life in Ethiopia is not based on the common good for the people, but is twisted to give in to the whims and ambitions of those with power. It has pushed people to view “the other” as the enemy; again, failing to see the God-given humanity of others. 

Over the past years and months, Ethiopians have been trying to inform the world about these senseless crimes being committed across Ethiopia on almost a daily basis. The main response has come from human rights groups. This has not only been the case regarding the people of Oromia, but also that of Ethiopians from Gambella to the Somali region, from Afar to Benishangul, from the Amhara region to the people of the South and so on. It is as if the screams of the people were silent, despite efforts to raise awareness.

Yet, as Ethiopians see their family members dying at the hands of the TPLF/EPRDF, they ask; why are we being ignored? Why is our pain unnoticed as we lose our families? It is like someone having an operation without enough medication to block the pain; but yet, not enough strength to scream out so the doctor will stop. This is what Ethiopians have felt.

Since last November, day after day, many young Oromo have come out to protest, crossing their wrists and lifting their arms together, but many of them never returned home. Feyissa’s friends were among them, one of them burned in the recent prison fire. Suddenly, Feyissa’s voice broke through the silence and stunned the world.

The darkness surrounding the terror against Ethiopians was exposed in the light. The symbol he made when he crossed his wrists and raised his arms as he crossed the finish line to win a silver medal, brought many Ethiopians to tears, including me. His bravery showed the oppression of Ethiopians to the world and exposed the truth about the system of ethnic-based apartheid. His act of courage gave renewed hope. 

When he crossed the finish line and publicly said he did it for all the people of Ethiopia, not only for one group, he shook the foundation of the hate-building ethnic divisive policies of the TPLF/EPRDF. He refused to blindly accept the limitations and deceitfulness of an ethnic-based identity, seductively imposed on many of us by the TPLF/EPRDF as a means for them to stay in power. He shows himself to be a man freed from the manipulation of the TPLF. It gave me hope that this young man could play a big role to bring unity to the people, many of whom are held captive to TPLF ideology and rule. He showed he was free to embrace the humanity of others— a God-given principle.

He became a hero to almost every Ethiopian, regardless of ethnicity or other differences. Meeting him in Washington DC for the first time this week, gave me an opportunity to find out what kind of person he was and I found him to be a genuine, humble, friendly and caring man of courage, integrity and principle— a person of faith.  

He will be faced with the challenge of differing ideological viewpoints. The TPLF/EPRDF will want to force him back to their narrow definition of an Oromo in order to weaken his influence and the inspiration for the struggle he has offered. But yet, who defines him? Who defines any of us? When that definition leads to the dehumanization or disregard of others, we can know that it is not how God intends us to be.

The TPLF/EPRDF has given Ethiopians defined identifies to separate us. Those identities include the promotion of grievances that never get resolved, corrected or forgiven. For the last 25 years, people have been accepting the identities given to them without enough questioning. We must struggle against ideas that are not based on God-given truth. Perhaps Feyissa and others like him, can bridge the gap between the people. As people begin to seek resolution to their differences; it will open up new avenues to dialogue, reconciliation, cooperation and systemic justice, equality and freedom for all people.

Feyissa’s example has now been followed by others who took similar stands in races. Ebisa Ejigu crossed his arms when he was in the Quebec City Marathon in Canada. Tamiru Demissie, a visually impaired Paralympic silver medal winner in the 1,500meter run in Rio, also crossed his arms as he ran over the finish line. Another Ethiopian Kassa Yemer the martial art crossed his arms after he won the Gold in South Korea, on n September 7, 2016. These are national heroes; but even more so, they are models of courage, boldness and principle who get what it means to be a human being.

At such a time as this, Ethiopia needs more of this kind of men and women. The New Ethiopia we are seeking will require people with the moral strength to break out of the mold— people who can see all human beings as worthy of dignity and respect.

May God strengthen and inspire Feyissa, Ebisa, Kassa, Tamiru and others like them, to act as bridges and models to others, encouraging them to discard someone else’s flawed definition of their identity and nationality, pushed on them in order to keep Ethiopians under control and from seeing each other as one people.

May God free us from ideas, attitudes, and actions that are wrong, hurtful or destructive; especially those that keep us chained to oppression and block us from valuing each other.

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Please do not hesitate to email me if you have comments to: Obang@solidaritymovement.org