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State Dept releases its annual Human Rights report

Posted on , Updated on by Elias Kifle

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
Released by the Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

March 11, 2008

Human rights abuses reported during the year included: limitation on citizens’ right to change their government during the most recent elections; unlawful killings, and beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of those suspected of sympathizing with or being members of the opposition or insurgent groups; detention of thousands without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights and frequent refusal to follow the law regarding search warrants; use of excessive force by security services in an internal conflict and counter-insurgency operations; restrictions on freedom of the press; arrest, detention, and harassment of journalists for publishing articles critical of the government; restrictions on freedom of assembly; limitations on freedom of association; violence and societal discrimination against women and abuse of children; female genital mutilation (FGM); exploitation of children for economic and sexual purposes; trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against persons with disabilities and religious and ethnic minorities; and government interference in union activities, including killing and harassment of union leaders… Security forces committed politically motivated killings during the year. Security forces committed arbitrary killings during the year. For example, on January 16, two police officers beat, shot, and killed Tesfaye Taddese, who was an organizer for the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) during the 2005 parliamentary elections. An autopsy later revealed that the victim had lost several teeth and one eye from the beating before being shot. The police officers were arrested and an investigation was ongoing at year’s end… Read more >>

4 thoughts on “State Dept releases its annual Human Rights report”

  2. I don’t think woyanne surrenders by any peaceful opposition force without wide pubic outrage or violence which is almost unlikely from the history of Ethiopian people. This may be due to the wide diversity of the nation, the personalities of individuals in the opposition camp(being pro-Derg, pro-Feudalistic, pro-separationist, or pro-orthodox superiority or any ideology of passed and dead).
    I know some of us don’t like to swallow the truth. On the other side we should be happy not to see Hailu Shawel and the Derge Shaleqas and Colenels being the leader of Ethiopia. Hailu Shawel, as he gave an interview to one news paper, is clearly pro-Minilik and Haile Silasse. He never made and will never make an impresive, public-oriented or leadership-standared speech so ever. We are surprised how this traditioal person could be elected as a leader of those with much better capabilities and capacities. It was under his influence that they decided not to join the parliament and lost the A.A administration. Had they done that, they could have survived and were ready now all over the country. He couldn’t understand his public call for riot could be easily squahed from the people’s poor rsponse.
    He was grandiose and delusional that if he says something, it should be respected as an almighty order. The CUD’s reputation was due largey to the presence of the educated, logical and abilities of the other individuals who publicly debate with the woyanne officials, and not by the dictator chairman.
    Any body who can challenge me on Hailu’s ability of leadership evideced by his speech(if he has good one), I am ready to counter-reply more facts about him. Surprisingly, he is keeping on showing his incapacity of a leader as evidenced by WAMU, public raio.
    Good luck to the true democratic foces. We(majority) are with you!
    I don’t want to deal with him more than this. I am deadly sure that CUD without him and his gangs will be much more better for the new generation.

  3. USA is sharing all these crimes with the out law weyane. USA had preached ethiopians all over the world about the need of building democratic institutions when the military regime [ derg ] was on power. when USA has installed it’s puppet repressive regime in ethiopia against the wish of innocent ethiopians, USA has given it;s back and deaf ears to the showing of 80m ethiopians for democracy and freedom. time will show us how USA will continue with it’s short sighted and blind fforeign policy towards ethiopia. I am sure a stable and democratic ethiopia can play SIGNIFICANT ROLE to keep pleace and stability in Africa and USA can benefit from that.

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