Ethiopia: Arbitrary detention/torture or other ill-treatment
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
At least 15 members of the Oromo ethnic group, including those named above have been arrested in the Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and also reportedly in eastern and western parts of the Oromia region of Ethiopia, since around 30 October 2008. Most are reportedly held incommunicado in detention facilities in Addis Ababa, including Maikelawi, where torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners has been reported in the past.
1. Bekele Jirata (m), General Secretary of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) party
2. Asefa Tefera Dibaba (m), university lecturer at Addis Ababa University
3. Bekele Negeri (m), a businessman
4. Dejene Borena (m),
5. Fiqadu Jalqaba (m), college student
6. Eshetu Kitil (m), owner of the Hawi Hotel
7. Desta Kitili (m), his brother
8. Kebede Borena (m), assistant manager of the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa
9. Leslie Wodajo (f), a journalist
An unknown number of other members of the Oromo ethnic group
Some of those detained were reportedly briefly brought before a primary court, accused of financially supporting the OLF. Some were also paraded on state television on 5 November. Amnesty International believes that those detained are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
The Government of Ethiopia, including the National Anti-Terrorism Taskforce, has reportedly claimed that those detained had links to the armed opposition group, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), and a previously unknown armed group, Kawerj.
Bekele Jirata is General Secretary of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) party, a small registered political party in Ethiopia that holds seats in parliament. Others arrested include Asefa Tefera, a lecturer at Addis Ababa University, and a number of students. Leslie Wodajo is a journalist who worked for the Oromo television programme on Ethiopian state television. On 12 September, the airtime of this programme was cut, a move the OFDM and another opposition party, the Oromo National Congress, claimed was politically motivated. Sixty staff members of the Oromo television programme were also removed from their jobs, many of them placed under security surveillance while their movements in Addis Ababa were restricted.
The OFDM has strongly denied that Bekele Jirata, or the party, has had any links to the OLF. In April, the party accused the Ethiopian authorities of intimidation during local elections, the first held since the post-election violence of 2005 which killed some 187 civilians.
This wave of arrests follows on a series of suicide bombings in Hargeisa, Somaliland, one of which targeted the Ethiopian consulate, killing several Ethiopian officials and a number of Somalilanders queuing for visas.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Thousands of members of the Oromo ethnic group have been detained, and many of them tortured, in recent years on suspicion of links with the OLF. The OLF has been fighting the Ethiopian government in the eastern and western parts of the Oromia Region and other areas since 1992. Among detainees held on these grounds have been people who Amnesty International considered to be prisoners of conscience who had not used or advocated violence.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language:
– calling for formal charges to be brought against Bekele Jirata and other Oromo citizens, including those named above, who were recently arrested, or their immediate and unconditional release;
– expressing concern that those detained are being held incommunicado and are at risk of torture or ill-treatment;
– urging the authorities to bring all those detained before a court with a guarantee of fair trial, and allow them access to their families, legal counsel and medical treatment;
– expressing concern that those detained may be prisoners of conscience who have not used or advocated violence.
APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
Office of the Prime Minister
PO Box 1031, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Fax: +251 11 1552020
Salutation: Your Excellency Dedeb Woyanne
Minister of Justice Berhan Hailu
Ministry of Justice
PO Box 1370, Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Ethiopian Review will interview Ato Sileshi Tilahun, the head of organizational affairs for the Ethiopian People Patriotic Front’s International Committee, this coming Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008, at 3:00 PM Washington DC time, 8:00 PM London time.
Ato Sileshi will discuss his recent trip to Eritrea, and his visit with EPPF commanders and fighters in the field.
He will also talk about what the EPPF International Committee is currently doing to organize Ethiopians in the Diaspora.
As the political repression in Ethiopia gets worse, Ethiopians are increasingly turning their attention to organizations such as EPPF that are waging armed resistance.
EPPF’s newly reorganized International Committee is expected to play a major role in rallying Ethiopians around the world to support the anti-Woyanne resistance in Ethiopia.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Tibetan leader Dalai Lama is a role model for Ethiopia’s surrenderist opposition group named UDJ that is led by Birtukan Mideksa and Mesfin Woldemariam.
DHARAMSHALA, India (AFP) — Tibetan exiles worked Tuesday to hammer out a new strategy for their fight against Chinese rule, as Beijing warned that embracing a pro-independence policy was “doomed” to failure.
More than 500 prominent Tibetans have gathered at the government in exile’s base in northern India to debate whether to ditch the Dalai Lama’s push for “meaningful autonomy” in favour of a demand for full independence.
B. Tsering, a delegate and president of the Tibetan Women’s Association, said the week of discussions could re-define the movement.
“Everyone feels the big responsibility entrusted to us,” she said after the first sessions of debate. “And there is concern that we are trying to come up with a solid strategic plan in just a few days.
“We are working in groups of 40, hearing representatives express the opinions that they have collected.”
The association has long supported the Dalai Lama’s “middle way” autonomy policy but Tsering said it was now time to ask if a new approach was necessary.
“All of us are aware that the Dalai Lama has left no stone unturned in his work and yet he has not had any breakthrough,” she said.
“If at the end of this week the majority feel we should stick to the ‘middle way’, we have to think how we can make it work better. Maybe we have to seek alternatives.”
The Dalai Lama, who is not expected to attend the talks, said earlier this month that the “middle way” had failed and he was now asking fellow Tibetans how to proceed.
A growing number of young exiles favour a call for independence but such a policy switch would likely see a sharp drop in international support for their cause — and could split the community.
China issued a pre-emptive warning Tuesday against any shift in policy.
“Our position on Tibet is clear and resolute. Any attempt to separate Tibet from China is doomed to fail,” foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.
“The so-called Tibetan government-in-exile is not recognised by any government in the world,” Qin said.
Acharya Yeshi Phuntsok, a delegate and member in the parliament in exile, said the Dharamshala meeting, which began Monday, was also focused on the current situation in Tibet.
In March, protests against Chinese rule in the capital, Lhasa, erupted into violence that spread to other areas of western China with Tibetan populations.
Tibet’s government in exile said more than 200 Tibetans were killed in the subsequent Chinese crackdown. China has reported police as killing just one “insurgent” and blames Tibetan “rioters” for the deaths of 21 people.
Phuntsok said the Dharamshala talks had already revealed some reluctance to abandon the Dalai Lama’s moderate stance.
“The debate over the ‘middle way’ or independence has started but changing policy is not easy,” he said. “Perhaps we still have to give more energy to the present approach to see if it can work.”
Phuntsok described the meeting as “good brain-storming” that would result in a clear idea of Tibetan opinion.
The strategy session has no policy-making power — any recommendations would require the approval of the Tibetan parliament — but the prime minister in exile said the outcome would be influential.
“The atmosphere has been rather emotionally charged due to the repression in Tibet and the mixed feelings we have of fear and hope,” Samdhong Rinpoche told reporters on Tuesday.
“We are sincerely committed to democracy, and that means respecting the public opinion that is being sought in this meeting.”
The Dalai Lama was smuggled out of Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, since when thousands of his followers have also fled.
Sources close to Birtukan Mideksa’s new party, Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), have informed Ethiopian Review that some of the top leaders of the party are considering resignation. The most prominent among them are Ato Temesgen Zewdie and Dr Yacob HaileMariam. According to the sources, Birtukan herself may not return to Ethiopia after concluding her European tour, which has been a dismal failure so far. What lends further credence to such talk is that her right hand man in the UDJ, Ato Melaku Fantaye, who played a key role in convening UDJ’s founding conference and worked hard to get her elected as chairperson, has fled to Kenya and is now seeking asylum. He has also joined Ginbot 7.
The reason these UDJ officials are leaving the party is said to be the worsening political repression in the Ethiopia. There are also some serious internal disagreements that are not needed to be mentioned here for now.
In regards to Wzt. Birtukan, Ethiopian Review doubts that she will come to such a decision. First of all, it seems that she is enjoying the role of ‘loyal opposition’ — crisscrossing European capitals and attending cocktail parties in the Addis Ababa diplomatic circles. Secondly, she doesn’t think that it is possible to defeat Woyanne either through election or any other means any time soon. She has recently revealed to her closest associates that her eyes are set on elections to be held 10 to 15 years from now, and that she doesn’t care about the 2010 elections. Hence her unwillingness to speak out against the ongoing political repression in Ethiopia by the Woyanne regime.
Nevertheless, let’s assume that Birtukan has the vision and courage that are required to make such a decision — a decision that her own close confidant has just made. Imagine how the Woyanne cannibalistic regime in Ethiopia would react to such a news. It would have been another major blow to Meles & Co., and a joy to the people of Ethiopia.
Woyanne has been tormenting 70 million Ethiopians for the past 18 years because many of the opposition leaders such as Birtukan do not understand or have closed their eyes to its pure evil nature. They have failed to organize the people to fight against the Woyanne fascism politically, diplomatically, ideologically, and militarily. Even as outsiders such as European Member of Parliament Ana Gomes says there cannot be free and fair election in Ethiopia under the Meles regime, Birtukan and others talk about participating in the 2010 election.
The people are showing their disappointment with Birtukan and her surenderist group by not showing up at her recent public meetings in Europe. In some countries such as The Netherlands, once a stronghold for Kinijit in Europe, she could not find any one to invite her. Her European tour has been a dismal failure. She is losing credibility and respect as a political leader who is out of touch with the needs of the people she claims to represent.
As Woyanne’s cannibalism gets worse, however, it seems that finally genuine, promising leaders are emerging to provide strong leadership. Some who held the so-called “peaceful” struggle as a religious belief while their followers were being slaughtered right in front of their eyes have now come to the realization that the people of Ethiopia have the right to use any means available to defend themselves. Such leaders include those who have formed the Ginbot 7 Movement.
Others such as Birtukan Mideksa continue to shamelessly preach ‘peaceful’ struggle, which even her mentor, Prof. Mesfin Woldemariam recently said doesn’t exist in Ethiopia. He told a Washington DC audience that the peaceful struggle hasn’t started yet! Wzt. Birtukan, Prof. Mesfin and their surrenderist group refer to those who are forced to raise arms as “backwards.” Ironically, Prof. Mesfin calls those Ethiopians who try to defend their freedom with guns as ‘backwards’ while standing in the middle of Washington DC, the capital city of the United States, a country that protects the freedom of its citizens with thousands of nuclear arsenals.
It would have been a death nail to Woyanne if all the “loyal” opposition in Ethiopia announce that they are no longer able to operate inside the country and cease their political activities at once. It would devastate Woyanne if, for instance, Birtukan, Bulcha, Merera and others leave the country and lead their organizations from outside, as the leaders of South Africa’s African National Congress did during the struggle against the apartheid regime, or as Prof. Mesfin’s hero, the Dalai Lama, who is fighting for the freedom of Tibetans while living in exile. Such a decisive action by these leaders would completely change the course of Ethiopia’s current politics in favor of the opposition camp.
The real resistance
In the past few months, it seems a new chapter has been opened in the struggle against the Woyanne tyranny. Leaders who once stood with Birtukan, including those who were elected to parliament, have taken a different path. They have joined the real resistance. Their primary objective is to remove Woyanne before the year 2010 — not to prepare for another fake election. It is encouraging to hear that the Ginbot 7 leaders are setting that as a goal. G7’s Ato Andargachew Tsege has said in a recent interview with Ethiopian Review that Ethiopia cannot afford to remain under the destructive grip of the Woyanne junta and go through another sham election where the winner is predetermined.
People are starting to pay attention to the messages of EPPF, OLF, ONLF, TPDM, Ginbot 7 and others who have recognized the right of people to defend themselves and fight for their freedom. When these groups come together and form a transitional government in exile, put their fighters under a unified command, and make a call to the people of Ethiopia to rise up, Woyanne will crumble the same way its puppet regime in Somalia is falling apart.
Meles, Sebhat & Company are working day and night to prevent such an outcome through an aggressive multi-pronged campaign. Unfortunately, the ‘loyal opposition’ such as Birtukan and her few blind supporters are part and parcel of Woyanne’s countermeasure.
Birtukan is currently in Europe. If she is genuinely standing for the interest of the people of Ethiopia, she would not return to Addis Ababa. Instead, she would lead her followers inside Ethiopia and around the world from abroad — from such places as Asmara where she would have access to radio, tv, and other means of mass communication that she cannot access in Addis Ababa. If she goes back to Ethiopia, she would be returning into Woyanne’s jaws where she is of no use to any one other than Woyanne.
The real opposition groups need to take Ana Gomes’ advise to heart: A fair and free election in Ethiopia is possible only under a transitional government. EPPF, Ginbot 7, ONLF, OLF, TPDM and possibly other groups have the power and the means to establish such a transitional government in exile. It only requires political will and imagination on their part to achieve that. If Barack Obama, a person whom nobody knew just two years ago, can rise up to be leader of the most powerful nation in the world with his message of change, hope and ‘yes we can’ slogan, why not the leaders of OLF, G7, EPPF, ONLF and other Ethiopian opposition groups come together and liberate Ethiopia? The task for them is much easier than what Obama has been able to achieve, since their enemy, Woyanne, is the most hated regime that has ever come to power in the history of Ethiopia.
In the mean time, Birtukan and the surrenderist groups have a choice to make: continue to provide political cover for Woyanne, or stand with the people? Be in the service of fascism, or serve the cause of freedom?
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Customes and Border Protection NEWS RELEASE
Sterling, Va. – One of Customs and Border Protection’s primary missions is enforcing America’s agriculture regulations and that fact was made apparent to all 125 passengers from Ethiopia aboard Ethiopian Airways flight 500 on Friday morning, Nov. 14, at Dulles International Airport.
Dubbed Operation Addis, CBP agriculture specialists referred all of flight 500’s passengers for inspection. The inspection resulted in 12 seizures—seven meat seizures of dried beef and pork weighing a combined 40 pounds, and five plant seizures that included mangoes, bananas, oranges, apples, fresh peppers, garden eggs and fresh leaves.
While cutting up the mangoes, CBP agriculture specialists discovered two insect pests, an adult Coleoptera (beetle) and an immature Coleoptera
“Introducing non-indigenous insect species, even if accidental, may have severe consequences on our nation’s vital crops, our farming industry and our economy,” said Christopher Hess, CBP port director for the Port of Washington. “Protecting America’s agriculture is an important mission, one that our agriculture specialists take very seriously.”
CBP conducts random inspection operations on flights arriving from various nations in an effort to intercept high-risk agriculture products.
International travelers should be aware of the rules for bringing items into the country. CBP consolidates travel information on its Travel Web site. ( Travel )
“Travelers need to be aware of what items they can and can’t bring to America, and our CBP Travel Web site is a great resource to assist them,” said Hess.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
Contacts For This News Release
Steve Sapp, CBP Public Affairs Officer
Phone: (956) 289-5954
CBP Headquarters, Office of Public Affairs
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Room 3.4A
Washington, DC 20229
Things are getting darker by the day for the Woyanne cannibalistic regime in Ethiopia as alliances are being built around it. President Isayas Afeworki’s visit to Sudan opens the door for Ethiopia’s opposition groups to establish relations with the Sudanese regime. This is a good news for the people of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and every peace and freedom loving communities in the Horn of Africa region.
