Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (APA) – Over 20 millions Ethiopian muslims on Monday celebrated the 1428th Eid al-Adha Arafa colourfully here in Addis Ababa and other parts of the country.
In Addis Ababa where there is a big number of muslim community, the celebration of the day started early with prayer ceremony held at the Addis Ababa stadium and in the street in the presence of over 200,000 worshippers.
The prayer ceremony ended in solemn processions along the main streets chanting praises to Alah with great religious fervor.
Haji Umer Edris, president of the Addis Ababa Islamic Affairs Supreme Council appealed to the Muslim community to actively participate in fostering the culture of co-existence, peace and harmony and in the economic development of Ethiopia.
He also called on the Muslim community to discharge their obligatory religious duty of sharing with the needy.
The day is still being observed with various activities throughout the country.
Ethiopian Television (ETV) broadcast live the celebration ceremony from Mekka, Saudi Arabia.
There are around 25 million Ethiopian Muslims in the country, comprising about 34% of the 76 million population.
Nairobi, Kenya (HRW) – All parties in the escalating conflict in Somalia have regularly committed war crimes and other serious abuses during the past year that have contributed to the country’s humanitarian catastrophe, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch urged the United States, the European Union, and other major international actors to rethink their flawed approaches to the crisis and support efforts to ensure accountability.
The 104-page report, “So Much to Fear: War Crimes and the Devastation of Somalia,” describes how the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the Ethiopian Woyanne forces that intervened in Somalia to support it and insurgent forces have committed widespread and serious violations of the laws of war. Frequent violations include indiscriminate attacks, killings, rape, use of civilians as human shields, and looting. Since early 2007, the escalating conflict has claimed thousands of civilian lives, displaced more than a million people, and driven out most of the population of Mogadishu, the capital. Increasing attacks on aid workers in the past year have severely limited relief operations and contributed to an emerging humanitarian crisis.
“The combatants in Somalia have inflicted more harm on civilians than on each other,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “There are no quick fixes in Somalia, but foreign governments need to stop adding fuel to the fire with misguided policies that empower human rights abusers.”
Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, and a UN peacekeeping operation withdrew in failure in 1995. The years since have been violent and chaotic. In December 2006, Ethiopian Woyanne military forces intervened to back Somalia’s weak TFG against a coalition of Islamic courts that had won control of Mogadishu. In the past two years, the conflict has escalated dramatically, and internationally backed peace talks have failed to make any impact on the ground.
The report draws on interviews with more than 80 witnesses and victims of abuses, who described attacks by all the warring parties in stark detail.
Each party to the conflict has indiscriminately fired on civilian neighborhoods in Mogadishu on an almost daily basis, leveling homes without warning and killing civilians in the streets. Insurgent forces have regularly carried out ambushes and roadside bombings in markets and residential areas, and launched mortars from within densely populated neighborhoods. Ethiopian Woyanne forces have reacted to insurgent attacks with indiscriminate heavy rocket and artillery fire, with devastating impact on civilians.
TFG security forces and allied militia have tortured detainees, and killed and raped civilians and looted their homes, sometimes in the context of house-to-house joint security operations with Ethiopian troops. Ethiopian Woyanne forces, who were relatively disciplined in 2007, have been more widely implicated in acts of violent criminality this year. Insurgent forces have threatened and murdered civilians they view as unsympathetic to their cause and have forcibly recruited civilians, including children, into their ranks.
The full horror of these abuses can be captured only through the stories of Somalis who have suffered through them. Human Rights Watch interviewed teenage girls raped by TFG security forces, parents whose children were cut to pieces in their own homes by Ethiopian rockets, and people shot in the streets by insurgent fighters for acts as trivial as working as a low-paid messenger for TFG offices. One young man described watching a group of Ethiopian Woyanne soldiers rape his mother and sisters in their home. “And I was sitting there helpless,” he said. “I could not help my mother or help my sisters.”
For many, the worst of it is being caught between all three sides at once. One young man was given an ultimatum by radical Islamist Al Shabaab fighters in his neighborhood to join them or face retribution. Days later, he came home from school to find that his mother had been killed and his house destroyed in an unrelated artillery bombardment.
“The world has largely ignored the horrors unfolding in Somalia, but Somali families are still left to confront violence that grows with every passing day,” Gagnon said. “Even those who try to flee find that the violent abuses follow them.”
Hundreds of thousands of Mogadishu’s poorest residents, lacking the money to travel further, have congregated in sprawling displaced persons camps along the Mogadishu-Afgooye road, but the indiscriminate fighting they fled has followed them there.
Tens of thousands of Somali refugees have also fled the country this year. Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camps are now the largest concentration of refugees anywhere in the world, with nearly 250,000 inhabitants. But the journey itself is perilous. Human Rights Watch interviewed many refugees who had been robbed, raped, or beaten by freelance militias as they fled Somalia. Kenya’s border with Somalia is closed, leaving refugees at the mercy of abusive smugglers and corrupt Kenyan police.
Hundreds of Somalis have drowned trying to cross the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, often after being forced overboard or abandoned at sea by traffickers.
The United States, the European Union, and governments in the region have taken few positive steps to address the worsening situation in Somalia, and have too often taken actions that have made it worse.
Ethiopia Woyanne is a party to the conflict, but has done nothing to ensure accountability for abuses by its soldiers. The United States, treating Somalia primarily as a battlefield in the “global war on terror,” has pursued a policy of uncritical support for transitional government and Ethiopian Woyanne actions, and the resulting lack of accountability has fueled the worst abuses. The European Commission has advocated direct support for the transitional government’s police force without insisting on any meaningful action to improve the force and combat abuses.
In recent months, the conflict has increasingly spread into neighboring regions and countries in the form of bombings and other attacks – precisely what Ethiopia’s Woyanne’s military intervention in 2006 sought to prevent. During the latter half of 2008, there have been suicide bombings in the previously more stable semi-autonomous regions of Somaliland and Puntland, as well as rampant piracy on the high seas, and kidnappings across the border in Kenya.
“The Somali crisis is not just a nightmare for its people, it is a regional threat and a global problem,” Gagnon said. “The world cannot afford to wait any longer to find more effective ways of addressing it.”
Human Rights Watch called for a fundamental review of policy toward Somalia and the entire Horn of Africa in Washington, where the Obama administration will have an opportunity to break with the failed policies of its predecessor, and in European capitals. It also called for the establishment of a UN-sponsored Commission of Inquiry to investigate violations of international law, map the worst abuses, and lay the groundwork for accountability.
The regime in Ethiopia has imprisoned the renowned artist Tewodros Kasahun (Teddy Afro) on the pretext of a traffic accident that is supposed to have happened some 2 years ago. The vindictive regime had filed a pile of fabricated charges against the artist over a year ago that include causing a fatal accident on a pedestrian, driving without a license and for not assisting the victim at the seen of the accident… Read more
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (Reuters) – Ethiopia began inviting tourists to visit its dwindling elephant herd on Monday as part of efforts to boost income from tourism.
The Babile wildlife sanctuary near Harar, 560 km (350 miles) east of Addis Ababa, is the first in Ethiopia to offer visits specifically aimed at seeing elephants, whose numbers have been ravaged by poaching and decades of neglect.
There are around 300 in Babile, which is also home to a national symbol: the rare black-mane lion, depicted on Ethiopia’s currency.
The government has invested heavily this year in hotels, airports and other infrastructure, hoping to boost tourism earnings by 15 percent to around $200 million.
Harar was an ancient trading hub and a centre of Islamic scholarship in the Horn of Africa.
(Reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Kevin Liffey)
Thief! Thief! Catch the election thief! The Constitutional Court of Thailand caught a boatload of election thieves last week. Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat and his six-party governing coalition were convicted of theft of the December 2007 elections. They were found guilty of vote buying, vote rigging, conspiracies to defraud voters and other fraudulent electoral practices. Chat Chonlaworn, President of the Thai Constitutional Court, explained: “As the court decided to dissolve the People Power Party, therefore the leader of the party and party executives must be banned from politics for five years. The court had no other option.” That is indeed the mandate of the Thai Constitution. Chat said dissolving Somchai’s coalition government was necessary “to set a political standard and an example. Dishonest political parties undermine Thailand’s democratic system.” A total of 60 party leaders, including Somchai, and various members of parliament were sent packing by the Constitutional Court to political purgatory for 5 years.
Honor Among Thieves: “We Will Abide By the Law”
Somchai took it all in stride: “It is not a problem. My duty is over. I was not working for myself. Now I will be a full-time citizen.” Somchai had been clinging to power for months until the Constitutional Court gave him the boot. Protesters had occupied Thailand’s Government House for months forcing lawmakers to meet elsewhere; and more recently, they had shut down Bangkok’s airports to pressure Somchai’s government to resign. In the end, there was honor among Thai’s election thieves. Official spokesman Nattawut Sai-kau said the prime minister and the six-party coalition will accept the judgment of the Court: “We will abide by the law. The coalition parties will meet together to plan for its next move soon.”
Hooray for Thailand’s Independent Judiciary and Independent Election and Counter Corruption Commissions!
The supremacy of the rule of law in Thailand was not accident or a fluke. Robust enforcement of the Thai Constitution is an integral part of the architecture and design of Thailand’s democracy. Electoral integrity, constitutional mechanisms to fight official corruption and enforcement of high ethical standards for public officials represent a substantial part of the Thai Constitution. There is an entire section of the Constitution dealing with the powers and functions of an independent election commission. That commission, for instance, has the power to disqualify a candidate and call a re-vote in the constituency if it finds convincing evidence that the election or voting did not proceed in an honest and fair manner.
There are strict constitutional ethics rules for all Thai executive, legislative and judicial officers. For instance, the prime minister, his cabinet, lawmakers and judges are prohibited from holding any financial interest in an ongoing business. They must create a blind trust. They are also prohibited from intervening in matters which create a conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriety in the recruitment, appointment, transfer, promotion or removal of executive or other officials. Many ethics prohibitions cover not only the officials but also their spouses and children.
The anti-corruption provisions of the Thai Constitution are downright awesome. For instance, “A person holding a position of Prime Minister, Minister, member of the House of Representatives, senator,… who is under the circumstance of unusual wealthiness indicative of the commission of corruption, malfeasance in office, malfeasance in judicial office… [and] fails to comply with ethical standard, may be removed from office by the Senate.” (Italics added.) Public corruption is vigorously pursued by the independent National Counter Corruption Commission which investigates and assembles evidence for Senate deliberation and removal action. If the Counter Corruption Commission votes by a majority vote that there is a prima facie case (sufficient probable cause) of corruption, the corruption suspect will be suspended from his position pending Senate action. The Commission is also required to refer corruption prosecutions to the office of the Prosecutor General for criminal action. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra became a fugitive from justice after he left Thailand and sought political asylum in Britain while his corruption trial was pending. An official removed from office for corruption is barred from holding elected office or entering government service for 5 years.
Fault Not in the Stars
Shakespeare penned in Julius Ceasar: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/ But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” The destiny of nations and their citizens is not engraved by fate or determined by the wheels of fortune. Nations are made or broken by the actions and omissions of their citizens. The fate of Thailand and Ethiopia is not to be found in the location of their stars in the galaxy of nations that live in democracies and others that swelter under dictatorships, but rather in the hands of their respective peoples who are no longer content to be “underlings”. Thailand was not destined or pre-destined to be a functioning democracy, nor is Ethiopia doomed to perpetually suffer the slings and arrows of a vicious dictatorship. Indeed, Thailand has its own history of successive military dictatorships and coups dating back to the 1930s. But few of these military dictatorships survived for any length of time, including the last one that overthrew Thaskin just over a year ago. The reason simply is that the common people of Thailand, backed by a vigorous, independent and uncompromising judiciary, and independent election and counter corruption commissions, stood up to the military dictators, and demanded restoration of democratic government. Time and again, the villainous military dictators obliged and bowed before the people of Thailand. That explains why Tonkla Maksuk, a volunteer nurse at the airport protest, was moved to declare her joy upon hearing the Constitutional Court’s decision to ban Somchai and his gang of election thieves from politics: “I feel that this is still a country of laws.”
One can not help thinking about the 2005 Ethiopian elections in the context of the Thai Constitutional Court’s verdict against Somchai’s government and the vigilant investigative roles played by the Election and National Counter Corruption Commissions. Thailand, a country of 67 million people, offers a live example of a developing and evolving democracy. We can be sure from the Thai experience that democracy is not some kind of twisted intellectual game of intrigue and Machiavellian machinations, or a mind game of political tricks and illusions. Democracy is quintessentially about popular sovereignty (the people are the ultimate bosses). As Thomas Jefferson aptly put it, “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” We can humbly add, “Where there is the rule of law and an independent judiciary (with independent election and national counter corruption commissions thrown in for good measure), the people’s liberty is secure; and their government should justly feel insecure in its fear of the people.”
He is in our face. We cannot avoid his gaze. The report said that he looked serene as he left that hellhole of a room they call ‘Court House’. Does he know something we don’t? Why is he still defiant as he is led away to serve six years for a crime he did not commit? Is he shaming all of us? Is he our mirror?
It is so curious that we are more upset than the victim. Is our anger a cover for our impotence? A blanket for our indifference? I still have not met any one who is not saddened by the whole affair. That is the positive aspect of the situation. On the other hand when one is upset it is natural to take action to show grievance. Well, where is the rage?
Teddy is just another episode in our continuous tragic drama. Let us just say we are in sensitized to injustice. We reacted when the Kinijit leaders were imprisoned. For two years we kept up the heat on the regime. The bullies were forced to back down. It was temporary. The war crimes in Ogaden intensified. We kept quiet. The famine became public. The government denied the extent of the suffering. We kept quiet. They carried out a sham election. We kept quiet. The corruption is wide spread, the country is for sale and the poverty is unbearable. We shrug our shoulders.
But we were always happy to dance to Yasteserial. We understood what he meant. When he said
be asra sebat merfe betekomew kumta,
lelwet yalmertew zufan lai seweta
adis negus engi lewet meche meta
We all knew what he was talking about. Oh how much we loved him. We danced thru the night. Those in power were not amused. The dye was cast. He has to be punished as an example.
The regime is not that concerned about the Diaspora anymore. The chaos created by the demise of Kinijit succeeded in demoralizing the popular protest. The void created by the lack of leadership helped the dictatorship intensify the repression at home and intimidation abroad. Teddy Afro is the candidate chosen by the regime to teach a lesson to the rest of us.
Teddy is the voice of our bandira. In all his concerts our flag is part of the festivity. Ethiopia and Teddy are inseparable. He makes us swing in strange ways. It is just not the music. The lyrics are so vivid you can feel them enter your inner self. Teddy was Woyane’s nightmare.
Ezhe ga degmo lela tekusat,
Wegene aleke be wose bizat esat esat esat
ere aynegam wey aynegam wey letu
etyopiayee emamayee
You can feel the pain in Yasteserial. It was a song of both the past and the future. He sings our pain but he also gives us hope regarding our future.
Kerb new ayreekem yeetypia tensae
Band lai kegebane ye fikir tensae
Thus those in power are doing what they have to do to stay in power. That is their job. That is their interest. No one has relinquished power without being asked to. In the civilized West they are not left with any choice. They usually leave peacefully. Our case is much different. They dare us to force them. They put us in a nasty dilemma.
Others, when put in a situation like we are in today fought back. Freedom is won not given as a gift. Human history is testimonial to such an assertion. The fight for freedom and dignity takes many forms. There is no one and one only prescribed method. Our forefathers fought the Italians when they tried to colonize us. Weapons were used in that struggle to avoid subjugation. The Students in the 60’s used marches, pamphlets and other peaceful means to expose the inequality in our society. EPRP, TPLF, OLF and others raised arms to demand for justice.
We find ourselves back to square one. Our freedom is taken away. Our human right is violated. We are made second-class citizens in our own land. If we value freedom we have no choice but to fight back. The Ethiopian people will decide the form of struggle suitable to their circumstances. Those of us outside the country commonly referred to, as the ‘Diaspora’ will have to contribute our fair share.
The struggle waged after the 2005 general election is a proud moment in our history for freedom.
The violent response by the Government of Ato Meles Zenawi drew the wrath of the Diaspora. It erupted like a volcano. There was an angry protest held in every major City in the world. We managed to gather, find the biggest Ethiopian flag there is, hand write or print some placard and march to City Hall or a major intersection in our town. We all felt the injustice and did something about it. We told the world that the universal ‘Declaration of Human Right’ as adapted by the UN is denied to the Ethiopian people by their government.
That was three years back. The same regime is still in power. The repressive organs have been upgraded and are functioning perfectly. Both physical and spiritual needs are denied to our brethren. In other words it is more of the same.
The behavior that shows a marked difference is our indifference to the silent cry of our people. For whatever reason, we have decided to bear witness to our own humiliation. The unjust imprisnment of our dear son/brother is a wake up call. If we value human dignity we have to act. It is not up to the West or any other well-meaning organization to demand our freedom. We are the only legitimate body to make such a demand. It does not require a force of a mob to protest. Each and every one of us is a mob. Our demand is both simple and direct. We demand freedom so we can prosper and build a strong Ethiopia. We have the capacity, the know how and the means to transform our country to the 21st century.
Being outraged is not enough. Acting on the outrage is the proper response. Our rage shows that we care. We should translate our care into actions. Signing the petition for Teddy is a start. We can investigate the many Ethiopian civic organizations and offer our services to one close to our way of thinking. The “Ethiopian Freedom Act’ is bound to come for a vote in Congress, we can lobby. We can call our Representatives and remind them of the lack of freedom in our homeland. We can make an effort to support those who are working on our behalf to teach the new Obama administration regarding conditions in our country. Most of all we can try harder to stay true to Teddy’s message of love and respect for each other. We have to stop this destructive habit of tearing each other down. Teddy is our hero, cowards fear his message of peace and love.
