We are writing to express our deep concern about the whereabouts, legal status and health of Eritrean journalists Tesfalidet Kidane Tesfazghi and Saleh Idris Gama of Eritrean state broadcaster Eri-TV. Official statements and videotape indicate that your government has been holding them incommunicado after their arrests by Kenyan authorities late last year during fighting in Somalia.
We call on you to ensure your government accounts for veteran cameraman Tesfazghi and producer Gama, to publicly disclose charges and evidence against them, and to provide confirmation of their well-being.
A three-part video, titled “The Strategy of Sowing Discord by [President] Isaias [Afewerki’s] Eritrean Clique,” and posted in April on the Ethiopian government Web site Waltainfo, suggested the journalists were involved in military activities in Somalia, according to CPJ research. While journalists in Eritrea are often conscripted into military service, the video does not present any evidence linking the journalists to military activity.
Tesfazghi and Gama had been dispatched to Mogadishu by the Eritrean government, but later went on their own toward Kenya, reaching the border, according to an Amharic-language voiceover allegedly interpreting Gama’s comments from Tigrinya. The video also introduced Gama as “a reporter for Eritrean TV” who “reports on military-related issues” and “appears on TV wearing a military uniform with insignia,” according to CPJ research. “Until 2001, I was a member of the Eritrean armed forces. After that, I was transferred to the Eritrean Ministry of Information,” he is attributed to say.
Tesfazghi and Gama have apparently been held since late last year. According to an April statement from the Eritrean Foreign Ministry, Kenyan authorities stopped them at the border and held them for three weeks before handing them over to the Ethiopian-backed Somali transitional government on January 20.
Statements from your government acknowledge that a number of detainees in Somalia were later placed in Ethiopian government custody. In April, in response to international news reports about secret detentions, your government acknowledged that 41 people of 17 nationalities “captured” in Somalia had “indeed been brought over to Ethiopia” on suspicion of “terrorism,” according to an official statement of the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry. Twenty-nine prisoners were slated for release, with the remaining 12 scheduled for an April 16 appearance “before the competent Military Court,” according to the same source. Your government’s statements do not identify the detainees by name, but the videotape on your official site appears to confirm that Tesfazghi and Gama are among those being held.
Several Ethiopian officials, including Information Minister Zemedkun Tekle, Justice Ministry spokesman Ato Alemayu, and federal police spokesperson Demsash Hailu, declined to comment in response to CPJ’s inquiries. In July, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wahid Belay told CPJ: “There is nothing new I can say on this issue. We stand by our previous statement and will issue another statement in time.”
As an organization of journalists dedicated to defending our colleagues worldwide, we call on you to use all your influence to ensure your government publicly account for the whereabouts, legal status, and health of Tesfazghi and Gama.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your reply.
Ethiopia, the oldest independent country in Africa, will celebrate its millennium Wednesday, September 12. The Ethiopian calendar falls seven to eight years behind western dates as a result of the disparities between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, concerning the date of the creation.
As part of their millennium celebrations, Ethiopians in the United States have organized a five-day extravaganza. A one-day symposium Saturday looked at the past, present and future of Ethiopia. One of the topics for the symposium was the quest for democracy in the new millennium.
Mesfin Araya, professor of African studies at the City University of New York, looked at the quest for democracy and the lessons from the 2005 election. He said the ruling party of Ethiopia is organized along ethnic lines. But Professor Araya said Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been able to stay in power because the opposition is fundamentally weak and fragmented.
“Their political history in the past has been marked by internal crisis, invariably disastrous fragmentation. And that tendency to fragment can also be seen today. De facto enhancing the longevity of the current regime. At the outset, an effort to form a broader national coalition that can critically confront Meles and his ruling party, the opposition forces decided to participate in the election at two splinter coalitions,” Araya said.
He said the opposition’s lack of consensus from within has continued to give Prime Minister Zenawi the opportunity to play the game of divide and rule.
Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic country with Amhara the predominant ethnic group. Ephrem Madebo, systems engineer for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration addressed the topic “Democratic Response to what he called the national question in Ethiopia. He proposed a decentralized federal government.
“I brought two alternatives. It could be federalism but not ethnic federalism. It could be interpreted in a way that the Ethiopian masses agree, or it could be kind of regional autonomy. Those are my two alternatives,” Madebo said.
Dima Sarbo, political science professor at the University of Tennessee addressed the topic: Challenges of balancing collective and individual rights. He said the rights of self-government and fair representation for national groups form the fundamental basis of democracy for a multi-national politic like Ethiopia.
“My argument is that if Ethiopia has to survive as a viable politic, it has to democratize and institute (a) guaranteed rights of citizenship for all its citizens irrespective of gender, ethnicity, language, religion or other differences, and (b) guaranteed national rights of autonomy and self-government through its linguistic and other national groups irrespective of their size and claims,” Sarbo said.
Getachew Metaferia, professor of political science at Morgan State University looked at Ethiopia-U.S. relations and its impact on the quest for democracy in Ethiopia. He says the U.S. has frustrated the quest for democracy by its support for unpopular governments in Ethiopia.
“The U.S. has also contributed to the dismal situation in Ethiopia by supporting and abetting an unpopular government and failing to listen to the people. Rectifying such a situation and fostering progressive, not conventional foreign policy, will cultivate Ethiopian peoples’ support for the U.S. and ensure mutually advantageous long-term U.S. national interest,” Metaferia said.
Metaferia urged the United States to assist in fulfilling the Ethiopian people’s quest for democracy. He also called on the U.S. to critically examine the effectiveness of its foreign assistance to Ethiopia because Metaferia said despite U.S. technical, military, and financial assistance, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world.
click to enlarge Kinijit leaders at their hotel in Downtown Washington DC pose for photo with Ato Aklog Lemeneh and his Kinijit North America leadership team that sponsored and financed the leaders’ USA tour. [photo by Tewodros Mekebeb]
click to enlarge Kinijit leaders at their hotel in Downtown Washington DC posing for photo with officials of the former Kinijit International Leadership. L to R Dr Berhanu Nega, Ato Gizachew Shiferraw, Ato Brook Kebede, Judge Bertukan Mideksa, Dr Hailu Araya; back L to R Ato Berhane Mewa, Dr Gebreye Wolde-Rufael, Ato Daniel Assefa, Dr Moges Gebre-Mariam[photo by Tewodros Mekebeb]
click to enlarge Kinijit leaders at their hotel in Downtown Washington DC posing for photo with officials of the Kinijit Washington DC Metro Chapter [photo by Tewodros Mekebeb]
click to enlarge Ethiopia’s lady liberty Bertukan Mideksa and Addis Ababa Mayor-elect Berhanu Nega at Dulles Airport this morning [photo by Tewodros Mekebeb]
click to enlarge Kinijit Vice President Bertukan Mideksa’s arrival at Dulles Airport [photo by Tewodros Mekebeb]
12:45 PM
Members of the Kinijit delegation that arrived in Washington are now resting in their hotel after spending some time greeting Kinijit representatives from several chapters. Ato Aklog Lemeneh, chairman of the Kinijit North America chapters and Ato Yilma Adamu, Kinijit DC Metro chapter chairman introduced the representatives to Wzt. Bertukan and the other members of the delegation. Then they posed for photos (will be posted shortly). Tonight the delegates are scheduled to attend a small dinner reception organized by members of the welcoming team Ato Tamagne Beyene, Dr Alemayehu Gebremariam, and Dr Solomon Alemu, in collaboration with Kinijit North America and Kinijit DC Metro. After holding a series of meetings with officials of Kinijit North America chapters throughout the week, the next major public appearance for the delegates will be a town hall meeting next weekend. It is expected to be the largest Ethiopian gathering ever in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. More photos and video later on…
click to enlarge Addis Ababa Mayor-elect Dr Berhanu Nega at Dulles Airport this morning [photo by Tewodros Mekebeb]
12:15 PM
Kinijit Secretary General Ato Muluneh Eyoel and his delegation have left the London Heathrow Airport and they are now on their way to their hotel accompanied by Ato Andargachew Tsige and hundreds of Ethiopians who welcomed them. The love and affection shown to the delegates is impossible to describe. It is truly a memorable experience. It is a demonstration that Kinijit has won the hearts and minds of Ethiopians of all walks of life…
click to enlarge Kinijit Secretary General Muluneh Eyoel (center) with r. to l. Dr Yacob Haile-Mariam, Ato Abayneh Berhanu, Ato Kifle Tigneh and Ato Aschalew Ketama at the London Heathrow Airport [photo by Kinijit UK]
11:30 AM EST
Ato Muluneh Eyoel and the second Kinijit delegation is now being greeted by hundreds of Ethiopian at the Heathrow Airport in London. The crowd is chanting, singing and whistling. It is an emotional scene. Ato Muluneh, Dr Yacob Hailemariam, Ato Abaineh Berhanu, Ato Kifle Tigneh and Ato Aschalew Ketema are receiving a heroes’ welcome by Ethiopians in London. The feeling being expressed by the people is just awesome…
10:50 AM EST
Kinijit Vice President Bertukan and her delegation, Dr Hailu Araya, Ato Gizachew Shiferraw, Dr Berhanu Nega and Ato Brook Kebede, are now approaching their hotel in Downtown DC. Hundreds of cars adorning Ethiopian flag are following them. When they arrive at the hotel, there will be a photo session with representatives of Kinijit from several cities, as well as Ethiopian community leaders in the Washington DC area. Dulles Airport is still crowded with Ethiopians who are now existing. Earlier it was an amazing scene — the airport was completely overtaken by Ethiopians. It was impossible to control the crowd, so the police decided to take the Kinijit leaders to their limousines through a side door. Kinijit is indeed a people’s party…
10:28 AM EST
Another delegation of Kinijit leaders headed by Secretary General Muluneh Eyoel and including Ato Abayneh Berhanu, Dr Yacob Hailemariam, Ato Kifle Tigneh and Ato Aschalew Ketema has arrived at the London Heathrow airport now. Ato Andargachew Tsige and other Kinijit officials as well as hundreds of Ethiopians are waiting to welcome them at the airport…
10:04 AM EST
Now the Kinijit leaders have entered their limousines and are heading toward their hotel in Downtown Washington DC. There is motorcade of hundreds of cars following them. Ato Aklog Lemeneh, chairman of Kinijit North America chapters, told Ethiopian Review that the leaders will not make a public appearance for a couple of days, but will have a series of meetings with representatives of Kinijit chapters through out the U.S. today and in the coming few days. They are also scheduled to meet with members of the U.S. Congress and other U.S. Government officials…
9:45 AM EST
There are now over 5,000 (by some estimate more) Ethiopians at Dulles Airport welcoming Kinijit leaders. The police and the organizers are unable to control the crowd, so the delegates had to return to the waiting area until things settle down. The crowed is too emotional and it is becoming unsafe for the leaders to pass through. The love the people are showing the Kinijit leaders is amazing. It has been a while since Ethiopia has political leaders who are loved by the people this way…
9:30 AM EST
It is an incredible scene! The Kinijit leaders are now being greeted by their supporters. There is a lot of emotion. Some are crying, others are shouting. The airport terminal is overwhelmed by the size of the crowed. Several limousines are waiting the delegates outside…
8:45 AM EST – Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia (about 90km from Downtown Washington DC) is being swamped by Ethiopians carrying flags. Right now there are already over 1,000 people. They are awaiting the arrival of Kinijit leaders. ER contributor Teddy Mekbeb has just pulled in the parking lot. He said that he has seen several cars with Ethiopian flags on the freeway heading to the airport…
8:30 AM EST – Close to a thousand Ethiopians are currently awaiting Kinijit vice president Bertukan Mideksa and her delegation of high level Kinijit leaders at the Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia. The Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying Wzt. Bertukan, Dr Hailu Araya, Ato Gizachew Shiferraw, and Ato Brook Kebede is scheduled to arrive at 8:30 AM…
Are Ethiopians behind or Europeans ahead by 7 years to celebrate 2nd Millennium?
When the 1st Millennium was celebrated exactly 1000 years ago this year Ethiopian Calendar existed but Gregorian calendar did not. Gregorian calendar was decreed by Pope Gregory XIII of Vatican in 1582. He added 7 years and 8 months to the then existing calendar and has shifted Christmas from 7th January to 25th December by dropping 13 days. At a latter date many countries one by one started to adopt Gregorian Calendar. Britain adopted it after a deal with Vatican to shift the new-year from March to January.
The shortest day in the northern hemisphere is 24th of December and since years unknown, people in Europe used to celebrate a pagan holiday on December 25th until the Catholic Priests commenced to have a mass to celebrate the birth of Christ thereby changing the name of the holiday to Christ Mass. However, the eastern churches including the Ethiopian Orthodox church preserved 7th January as the true birthday of Jesus Christ.
Be that as it may, taking the 1st Millennium celebration into account, Ethiopians are now celebrating the 2nd Millennium on 12th September exactly after 1000 years of the celebration of 1st Millennium, whereas Europeans celebrated it 7 years early.
In this situation, “Who is behind or who is ahead?”
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The author can be reached at [email protected]
Bertukan Mideksa and members of the Kinijit delegation have just boarded Ethiopian Airlines plane at
the Bole Airport in Addis Ababa.
Earlier today, before heading to the airport, the executive committee held a brief meeting to discuss outstanding issues that needed the committee’s decision.
Due to heavy security, there were few people at the airport for a send-off ceremony. But it will be a different story when they arrive in Washington DC tomorrow morning. Upto a thousand people are expected to greet Wzt. Bertukan and her delegation.
Those who need a ride can call this number: 202 299 7625… – 1:30 PM EST, Sep. 8
