UPDATE (7:00 PM Addis Ababa time)
Internet is now working in Ethiopia. Broadband connection to eastern Ethiopia is still down.
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This morning Internet seems to be down all over Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Review has tried to communicate with its contacts in several cities and all of them have confirmed that they are unable to access their emails or read web sites. It is not clear who or what caused the shut down.
Banks and other organization that depend and Internet are also closed today, according to an Ethiopian Review correspondent in Addis Ababa.
Heavily armed troops and machine gun-mounted truck are patrolling the city.
Yesterday we have reported that an unknown group has sabotaged fiber optics lines to eastern Ethiopia shutting down broadband internet connection to government offices and Woyanne-affiliated companies.
Next Saturday, May 28, the ruling Woyanne junta will celebrate its 20th years of misrule. On the same day, the junta is preparing for a large rally at the Addis Ababa Stadium in support of its Nile Dam scheme. Students and government workers have been ordered to show up at the rally.
Less than 2 percent of Ethiopians have access to the Internet (see here). This was done purposely by the Meles regime to keep the people of Ethiopia in the dark age.
GLOBAL CIVIC MOVEMENT FOR CHANGE IN ETHIOPIA
A Call for Unity of Action and Purpose
RECOGNIZING the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all Ethiopians, indeed all people, regardless of ethnicity, faith, political opinion, age, gender, race or financial status, is the foundation for democracy, freedom, justice, peace and unity in Ethiopia;
NOTING with dismay that the TPLF/EPRDF government has implemented apartheid type divide and rule political programs over the past twenty years, and hence not only revoked the civil and political rights of 80 million people, but has turned the age old country into one of the sixteen failed states in the world;
NOTING with dismay that Ethiopia is at the bottom of world good governance standards, as evidenced by the World Bank, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the African Peer Review Mechanism and other similar ratings;
CONCERNED that the TPLF/EPRDF continues to administer sham elections; where in May 2005 it killed 193 unarmed protestors, wounded 800 innocent civilians and kept close to 50,000 pro-democracy activists in concentration camps; and in May 2010 it unashamedly claimed to have won 99.6% of the seats of the House of Peoples Representatives;
NOTING that Ethiopia is ranked lower than all but 4 nations in Africa in human development, access to clean water, press freedom, internet use and pervasive corruption in spite of the deceptive propaganda of double digit real economic growth reported by TPLF/EPRDF;
CONCERNED that the misguided economic policy that was implemented over the last twenty years, that was characterized by crony capitalism, opaque privatization, discrimination, an unprecedented land eviction, corruption, monopolization of the economy by party owned companies; has led to employment discrimination, hyperinflation, abject rural and urban poverty and forced migration;
CONCERNED that access to higher education and employment in public enterprises and government departments are restricted to TPLF/EPRDF members, and hence violating one of the cornerstones of civil and political rights of citizens;
CONCERNED that the education system implemented during the last ten years has not been able to prepare the youth for decent higher education, innovation, self employment and entrepreneurship, thus making the future of the youth more uncertain;
ALARMED that the perpetrators of various crimes against humanity, including but not limited to the massacres of 2005, are living with impunity, and Meles Zenawi continues to protect suspects that should most certainly face national and international justice;
DEEPLY CONCERNED that the TPLF/EPRDF continues to deny the existence of armed conflicts and clandestine political organizations, hence the absence of national dialogue and reconciliation is exacerbating the further disintegration of the country;
CONVINCED that ethno nationalist movements are increasingly becoming significant political and military forces in Ethiopia and time has vividly shown that TPLF’s bankrupt policy has not resolved the root causes of these movements, indicating that the reality on the ground requires a new vision for Ethiopia;
NOTING WITH INTEREST the ethno-nationalist movements’ recent effort to break the ethnic wall, we encourage members and supporters of ethno nationalist movements and all political and social forces to welcome the overture, and urge all to join a process that leads to building a critical mass and the required leadership that aims at the eventual replacement of the minority dictatorship with a transitional government;
COMPELLED to emphasize and underscore once again the need for nationalist and ethno-nationalist political and social forces to work towards the removal of the minority dictatorship with the clear understanding that the destiny of post-TPLF/EPRDF Ethiopia shall be determined by all the citizens of the age old nation, after an unfettered free and fair election;
KEENLY AWARE that TPLF/EPRDF’s misguided foreign policy, reckless diplomacy and gross incompetence in foreign policy have led to several scandalous international agreements, including but not limited to the stalled Algiers Agreement, the creation of a land locked country that is inhabited by 80 million people, the ceding of territories to the Sudan without the knowledge of the people of Ethiopia, the 1993 Egyptian-Ethiopian Water Agreement which has ended up in the rubbish bin, and the recent foolish-man’s game with the River Nile (Abbay), cannot lead to a sustained peace and development in the region;
AWARE of the power of mass uprisings in removing age old dictatorships, including but not limited to the 1974 revolution in Ethiopia, the 1989 revolution in Eastern Europe and now in the Middle East and North Africa;
CONSISTENT with the previous declarations of Ethiopian civic organizations, including but not limited to the CHARTER that was issued at the turn of the Ethiopian Millennium, the Chicago Resolution of the Ethiopian National Priorities Consultative Process (ENPCP), the Virginia Declaration on Good Governance, Peace and Development in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa; the various Statements of the Solidarity Movement for New Ethiopia (SMNE), the call by the Ketet network of activists, and the recently issued 8 point demands of the Oromo National Youth Movement for Freedom and Democracy, we in the Global Civic Movement for Change in Ethiopia join the chorus in demanding the removal of the minority dictatorship from the yoke of 80 million people. We have resolved to engage in peaceful resistance to end tyranny so that a broad based transitional government is established.
The primary functions of the transitional government are to prepare the country for an unfettered free and fair election, protect and defend the territorial integrity of the country, maintain law and order, and perform other duties of transitional nature. The civil resistance is a country wide action that will be spearheaded by the youth and supported by Ethiopians in the country and in the Diaspora. The Movement rejects all forms of violence and extremism. It advocates for democracy, equality, justice, peace and unity. It is against the TPLF/EPRDF cabal. It is not against ordinary members of the TPLF/EPRDF or indeed the Ethiopian Defense Forces.
RECOGNIZING the incontrovertible fact that no single opposition party, be it nationalist or ethno-nationalist, on its own can successfully lead the masses into action in the present era, and fully cognizant of the truth that Ethiopians have significantly more in common than not, we urge all to clench our many fingers that are pointing at the TPLF/EPRDF cabal, and guarantee that no one ethnic group will ever again vanquish the people of Ethiopia;
NOW THEREFORE, WE have adopted the following actionable resolutions:-
1. We demand that the regime immediately stops the twenty years of continued military campaign against the people of Ethiopia. We demand that the International Red Cross (IRC) be given immediate access to all conflict areas. At present, the IRC has been kicked out of the Ogaden region. We ask for the United Nations to carry a full, independent, and unfettered investigation of both the recent UN staff killing and the mass murder of civilians in the Ogaden. We call upon the international community to continue to put pressure on the dictatorship so that international NGOs are allowed to deliver emergency aid to conflict and drought affected areas;
2. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. We demand that especially the Maikelawi Prison (central investigation prison) and the underground prisons and concentration camps be immediately dismantled and closed for ever, and the perpetrators of all forms of human rights abuses be brought to justice;
3. We demand that the TPLF/EPRDF security forces immediately stop harassing, imprisoning and intimidating legal opposition forces and students;
4. We call for the immediate supply of basic goods such as sugar, cooking oil and bread for the people by the government at subsidized prices while the commodity market is allowed to stabilize;
5. We demand that all the so called private properties of Zenawi’s family and their close associates be administered by a branch of government until judicial enquiry about ill gotten assets is completed;
6. We demand that all the assets of the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigrai (EFFORT) be divested and distributed to the rightful owners, the Ethiopian people, through privatization by an Initial Public Offering system open to all the people of Ethiopia. The management can be restructured, by hiring professional managers and the proceeds from the sale of shares can be used for financing the construction of secure and economically, environmentally and technically feasible large and small dams, as appropriate;
7. We demand that the land grab policy that is being implemented by the TPLF/EPRDF regime be immediately stopped, and that international agreements that relate to the land grab be put on hold. All evictions of rural farmers and nomads from their ancestral lands must be stopped. We demand a judicial enquiry into the circumstances, and whether there was corruption in the sale/lease of virgin lands to foreign entities at unbelievably low prices;
8. We demand that the misguided urban land policy of TPLF/EPRDF which is creating unprecedented price bubbles and excessive speculation through credit channeling, distorted interest rates and corrupt land lease, be replaced by people centered and equitable urban development policy that will make housing more affordable and accessible to Ethiopian citizens The recent demolition of houses in cities such as Hawassa and Mekele must be stopped. We demand that those who sent the Federal Police, to prevent the protest demonstrations be brought to justice;
9. Consistent with the Virginia Declaration on Good Governance, Peace and Development in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, and the 8 point demand of the Oromo National Youth Movement for Freedom and Democracy, We in the Global Civic Movement for Change in Ethiopia, unreservedly endorse the call for the immediate resignation of Meles Zenawi and his spouse Azeb Mesfin from all State and Party powers;
10. We demand that both chambers of parliament be immediately dissolved and the TPLF/EPRDF authored constitution be suspended. We call for the establishment of a transitional government that is constituted from Civil Society, all major ethno nationalist movements and all opposition political organizations, that works towards instituting genuine democracy, freedom and unity in Ethiopia and peace and stability in the Horn of Africa;
11. We shall struggle to make the primary work of the Transitional Government to focus on preparing the country for an unfettered free and fair election, maintain the rule of law, protect all Ethiopians, protect private and public property, and defend and protect the country’s sovereignty. We shall endeavor to influence policy so that all stakeholders of the Nile River System and other resource endowments are put to the benefit of all the people of the region. We shall advocate for peace and stability in the Horn of Africa and beyond;
12. Finally we call upon all Ethiopians to rise up in unison to end dictatorship in Ethiopia. We call upon the international community to avoid using double standards. We call upon the United Nations’ Security Council to adopt a Libyan type policy against all dictators who are killing their own people. We respectfully request the United Nations’ Secretary General to take contingency measures as the ruthless dictator’s track record shows that he is more than likely to follow his peers in Libya, Syria and Yemen by brutally suppressing popular uprising against 20 years of TPLF/EPRDF tyranny.
Beka ! Geye! Bes! Yiakel! Aloni! Ditah! Wetandem!
For more information contact: [email protected]
The following organizations have also issued statements calling for a civil resistance to bring change in Ethiopia:
ALJE (pdf)
Civic Movement
EPRP (pdf)
EYM (pdf)
Ginbot 7 (pdf)
OLF (pdf)
By Yilma Bekele
It is only four weeks ago when a few of us drove down from Oakland to San Jose to attend the public meeting called by the Ethiopian regime. We don’t really recognize the current Ethiopian regime as a democratically elected representative of the people, thus one of the reasons for our trip was to peacefully protest this illegal event and at the same time teach our own people and the American citizen regarding the nature of the TPLF regime and cry loudly for the voiceless, the silenced ones.
It was a sad event. Protesting against ones own people is never easy. It feels like washing one’s dirty linen in public. But it has to be done. Silence is our number one enemy. I agree with Elie Wiesel who wrote ‘Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the {www:tormentor}, never the tormented.’ They tried to silence us by calling the police. The police told them ‘it is a free country and we can protest to our hearts content as long as we don’t {www:infringe} upon the freedom of others.’ They picked and choose who can attend and refused entry to some they defined as un-desirable. During question and answer time they decided who gets the microphone. We watched them in amazement. It was a choreographed event with no soul, no love and no life. It was a cadre convention. The blind leading the blind is what we saw.
We drove down to San Jose one more time this weekend. You can tell this trip was different. Everybody was in a festive mood. It was a bright beautiful Saturday and the gathering of all this Ethiopians to do good made it brighter. We drove fast. We shouted and we argued in good nature and San Jose got a lot closer this time around. This time we were attending a fundraising event for ESAT. Dr. Berhanu and Ato Tamagne were the invited guests. We were driving mad to help support the voice of freedom. As Dr. Berhanu said ‘our own Aljazeera.’
When people work with passion they do miracles. The mother of all Ethiopian flags was brought out and computer, projector and sound were weaved out of thin air. Ethiopians showed up on time. Some showed up early. I believe we are onto something. You can tell this meeting was different. No one was impatient. They just kept arriving. We kept adding more chairs.
And thenTamagne showed up on the stage. He does not have to do anything. His presence was enough. You can feel over three hundred brains working in harmony. They all show heightened sense of happiness and this uncontrollable urge to scream with delight. I was standing in the back and I saw them being electrified. People sat up straight. They were all smiling. To frown would have been totally rude and out of place. Tamagne exudes Ethiopia. Tamagne knows how to work that. What is fact and what is fiction gets blurred. The joke becomes a ‘Eureka’ moment and you start to see what is right in front you. He gets you totally immersed in the story the message sips in by osmosis. I told you he is good. He had the place in perfect sync. You know what? You can’t get enough of Tamagne.
I was worried. Dr. Berhanu is next and how do you follow Tamagne. That is the Ethiopian in me, always anxious. Well, it was all for nothing. Our Dr. has this rare ability to relate. Dr. Berhanu has perfected the art of reducing stuff into their simplest form. That must be the teacher in him. When he speaks he talks to you. He connects the dots and one start to see the picture. Please don’t ask him to finish it for you. He will send you to remedial class. Ask Meles he will tell you. Dr. Berhanu deals with facts not rumors. He tells you as it is not as the way you would like to see it. He does not evade question but meets it head on. You get to see why he is loved and respected by so many while he brings out the hate in some. The professor does not suffer fools gladly.
ESAT was celebrated as never before. The whole house was in such euphoric mood and the Ying and the Yang were in perfect harmony. Contributions for ESAT came like tis esat falls. It was raining money. Guess who shows up to prove the need for a free and independent press in Ethiopia? None other than our unfriendly neighborhood Woyane that is who. It was a perfect picture. The same folks that were standing outside and pointing out Ethiopians that are not allowed to attend their meeting four weeks earlier and the person that was on the podium with the TPLF officials as chairman were sitting comfortably in our festival. We were happy to see them. Not a soul asked them to leave. We saw it as a teachable moment.
Our Woyanes were in a hostile mood. They were ready for question and answer moment. They assumed we would deny them the microphone. They were taken by surprise. Our microphone was awarded on first come basis. You raise your hand first and you are the first to ask. When their turn came they were given the microphone. Their first questioner decided ‘insulting’ the house was the best strategy. Poor Abbay was the foil. Our grand father looking Woyane told the house to be thankful because in his own words ‘before Meles showed up we were not even aware of Abay’! Yes he said that and he was allowed to say it. You can feel the tension in the assembly but not a soul moved to object to such verbal aggression. He was provoking us. He was in search of chaos. We were more irritated than angry.
A few questioners later the second Woyane decided to change tactics. First he complained the way Dr. Berhanu answered his friend’s question and said ‘I found your answer condescending’ and went on and on some tirade. Since he was not asking but rather making a long statement he was asked to please hurry up since others were waiting for their turn. He was not interested in a dialogue but went on to hurl more insults in a loud manner. That was the feather that broke the camels back. Our friend was hauled out {www:unceremoniously}. His comrades tried to intervene but it was futile. The door was closed and the meeting continued as if nothing happened. TPLF cadres do not seem to understand that being allowed to ask a question is a privilege not a right.
The fact we are raising money for independent media for our motherland speaks a lot. We are not investors looking for profit. We do not have any agenda of our own that we are trying to pursue. Out two guests traveled across the continent for free. We are doing all this because independent media is not allowed in Ethiopia. Our country is only one of a handful on this planet where the government deicide what the citizen hears, watches and views. The regime controls all media. That was why we got together to raise money for ESAT. That is Ethiopian Satellite Television. ESAT is the fruit of some patriotic Ethiopians that donated their time and money to this noble cause. ESAT is not affiliated with any party or ideology but the truth.
ESAT has been under siege since birth. Meles Zenawi vowed in public to cripple ESAT. Based on his own admission his salary is not enough to wage a war against ESAT. He was vowing to use the taxpayer’s money to wage his private war. Believe me a country is a formidable enemy. Poor ESAT has been tossed around like a boat in stormy seas. First it was ArabSat but Meles and company checkmated with our beloved Sheik, then onto Thailand and AsiaSat, crap the Chinese probably launched the Satellite and the orbit requires a special gizmo on the dish. Well that is not good is it? It is like announcing ‘here Mr. Woyane look at me.’ ESAT is on the third or forth satellite. You know what ESAT is still alive because so many wish it to succeed. ESAT defines our common dream of Independence. ESAT is the voice of freedom.
Our gathering was to raise funds for ESAT. Because the Meles regime denies the citizen to be informed by independent media we are compelled to use our limited resources to combat censorship. Today we have millions of people starving, millions of kids with out vaccination, millions without adequate schools, teachers or books but the regime is spending millions to block ESAT and our independent Web sites.
The Meles regime does that because we let them. There is no victimizer without a victim. History shows victimizer will not relent without the victim demanding it. Some enable the victimizer by their silence while a few due to lack of the moral strength to stand up to bullies. Meles and a few of his friends decide the fate of eighty million people. We make all kinds of excuses for our failure to stand up for what is right. We make the argument for him to cover our fear and cowardice. We allow less than a thousand cadres lord it over eighty million souls. It is a shame.
The gelgel Woyanes that showed up at our fund raising were doing what comes naturally to cadres following orders. Their job is to show up and create chaos. Their aim is to insult, degrade and intimidate us. If it was in Ethiopia they will be armed.
ESAT will help us regain our self worth. Our Saturday afternoon festival was to enable our people get different perspective unfiltered by Woyane censors. Those that gathered that Saturday afternoon came to collect money so ESAT will do its job. There is a bright cloud of change coming to our country. That it is coming is not the question, the gist of the matter is, are we ready? I believe ESAT is one of the tools that will help create a well-informed and smart citizen. A conscious citizen is the best defense against tyrants and dictators. That is why the Ethiopian regime is hell bent in blocking ESAT and that is why we freedom lovers have vowed to make ESAT strong enough to penetrate their flimsy weak curtain. Go to http://www.ethsat.com/ and donate. Organize ESAT support group in your neighborhood and help ESAT. TPLF owns the Internet, television transmission, radio and newspaper and we got ESAT.
PRESS RELEASE
The Global Civic Movement for Change in Ethiopia welcomes the strike that has just been started by taxi drivers in Addis Ababa. We support it because it reflects the {www:grievance}s of the people of Ethiopia, and it is peaceful. It is part of the resistance against the minority regime that has been in power for 20 years through brute force and {www:fraudulent} elections.
In 1974 the Imperial regime was removed from power through the peaceful protest of all Ethiopians. During the election related crisis of 2005, taxi drivers supported the pro-democracy movement. Today, they are reminding us that change is possible. We, therefore, fully support the strike, the first of its kind since the brutal suppression of mass uprising in 2005 by Zenawi’s security forces. We call upon all Ethiopians to conquer their fear, stand together and support the demands of the taxi drivers. Their demands are as much political as they are economic.
The brutal regime has already started to suppress the peaceful protest. It has confiscated some taxis, and imprisoned drivers. We condemn this lawless act in the strongest possible terms. We call upon all sectors of Ethiopian society, –the youth, students, workers, merchants, civil servants, farmers — to stand in solidarity with the Taxi drivers, wage a sustained and all inclusive civil resistance and withdraw all forms of cooperation from the dictatorial regime of Meles Zenawi.
Freedom, Justice and Democracy for the people of Ethiopia!
Beka! Geye! Yiakel! Bass! Wetandem! Aloni, Diiteh! Gides!
Freedom, justice, equality for the People of Ethiopia! Victory to the people of Ethiopia!
For more information contact: [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
The Ethiopian Youth Movement expresses its solidarity with Ethiopian taxi drivers who went out on strike on Monday to protest the unbearable working conditions that have been imposed on them by the regime in Ethiopia.
We believe that now is the time to bring about change and democracy to our country. We are fully aware that our destiny is in our hands. We are also inspired by our peers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere.
During the 1974 revolution, Ethiopian taxi drivers played a key role in pressuring the government and soon their protest spread to other sectors of the society. Paired with mass demonstrations and general expression of dissatisfaction by the people, the taxi strike helped the Ethiopian youth to overthrow the regime. Unfortunately, the revolution was then hijacked by power hungry dictators.
This time we can and we will change the faith of our country for the better. Strikes in various sectors of Ethiopia are a necessary tool for defeating the corrupt regime and propelling the movement forward.
This time the taxi drivers of Addis Ababa are taking the lead by withholding their crucial services in the city. The Ethiopian Youth Movement fully supports the taxi drivers’ strike in Addis Ababa and we have already asked all our members in Ethiopia to support it as well.
The first massive demonstration against Meles Zenawi’s regime will be taking place on May 28th (20th anniversary of Meles Zenawi’s dictatorial rule in Ethiopia) in Addis Ababa. It will be the largest demonstration that our country has yet seen. We also call upon all Ethiopians to support the taxi drivers’ strike and begin the cascade of strikes in other sectors of our society as well.
We call upon Ethiopian students, farmers, workers, civil servants, businessmen and women, professionals, political organizations, civic organizations, religious leaders, and men and women in uniform to join the youth movement to remove the dictatorship.
In unity we shall find freedom and a brighter future for our Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Youth Movement
E-mail: [email protected]
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107472902664461
