By Alemayehu G. Mariam

Free Birtukan and All Political Prisoners in Ethiopia!

On March 2, 2009, Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia throughout the world will be taking to the streets to protest human rights violations by the ruling regime, and to demand the release of all political prisoners. The preeminent political prisoner and the undisputed symbol of democratic resistance in Ethiopia today is Birtukan Mideksa, chairperson of Andenet party (Unity for Democracy and Justice party). Over two months ago, Birtukan was strong-armed, manhandled and whisked away to the infamous Kality prison by armed thugs. Her crime (don’t laugh), “Pardon Denying.” Her “life sentence” by a kangaroo court was reinstated because she allegedly told an Ethiopian audience in Sweden that she and other political prisoners were released in July 2007 following negotiations with the ruling regime in Ethiopia. In her response to a regime ultimatum to retract the alleged pardon denial, she issued a clear public statement acknowledging receipt of a pardon: “As one of the prisoners I had indeed signed the [pardon] document, a fact which I have never denied. I have asked forgiveness through the elders by signing on the document dated June 18, 2006. This is a fact that I cannot change even if I want to.”

Back in July, 2007, all of the “king’s men” had corroborated the truth of Birtukan’s statements [1]. Prof. Issac Ephrem, head of the elders negotiation group, said Birtukan and the other Kinijit political prisoners were released as a result of skilled shuttle diplomacy by his group: “Before the courts were at all involved, the government did come to a position where they would be willing to withdraw the case. There would be no court process…. No document is acceptable to both sides. We had to shuttle back and forth to look at the document and see what words are acceptable to the government and what words are acceptable to the detainees.” Dr. Haileselassie Belay, a member of the elders group confirmed: “The wording [for the negotiated release document] was very, very difficult because what the detainees wanted the government did not want. This was a very big problem.” The ruling regime’s diplomatic representative in the U.S., Samuel Assefa, reaffirmed the negotiated release: “I am hopeful that my country now can put this issue behind us… This decision was the result of an independent process conducted in accordance with the democratic Constitution and laws of Ethiopia. It was carried out by Ethiopians, through our own national institutions, and without the need for international intervention.”

Mistreatment of (Political) Prisoners and the “Appalling Conditions Inside Ethiopian Prisons”

The prisons maintained by the ruling regime in Ethiopia are among the most inhumane, primitive and barbaric in the world. In an official report commissioned by the ruling regime on riot control entitled, “Modernizing Internal Security in Ethiopia” (July, 2008), retired British colonel Michael Dewars, vividly described the “appalling conditions inside Ethiopian prisons” [2]. After Addis Ababa police authorities took Col. Dewars to visit one of their best detention facilities in the capital city, he recounted:

I asked to go into the compound where the prisoners are kept. This consisted of a long yard with a shed to one side which provided some sort of shelter. The compound had a wall around it and a watchtower for an armed sentry overlooking it. Inside must have been 70 – 80 inmates, all in a filthy state. There was insufficient room for all these people to lie down on a mat at once. There was no lighting. The place stank of faeces and urine. There appeared to be no water or sanitation facilities within the compound. There was a small hut in an adjacent compound for women prisoners but there had been no attempt by anybody to improve the circumstances of the place. The prisoners were mostly on remand for minor crimes, in particular theft. Some had been there for months. There was one young boy among the prisoners, who appeared to me to be 12 or 13 years of age, who was weeping and pleading to speak to me so I asked him how old he was. He said 13. He certainly could not possibly have been older than 15. When I asked what the minimum age for holding prisoners in this facility was, one policeman said 18, another 15. In any event, he stayed there.

(Italics added.)

Col. Dewars concluded, “Detention conditions of prisoners are a disgrace and make the Federal Police vulnerable to the Human Rights lobby.” He “recommended that the Government should investigate this situation with the intention of improving the current appalling conditions inside Ethiopian prisons, which must brutalise prisoners and their goalers equally. It is recommended that senior Ethiopian Ministers and Police Officers visit the prison that I visited.”

Just last week, the 2008 State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (February 25, 2009) stated:

The country has three federal prisons, 117 regional prisons, and many unofficial prisons. Prison and pretrial detention center conditions remained harsh and life threatening. Severe overcrowding was a problem. In September 2007 it was reported that there were 52,000 persons in prison. Earlier in the year, prison populations decreased by 10,000 due to pardons but reportedly again increased due to increases in ethnic conflict and economic crimes. Prisoners often had less than 22 square feet of sleeping space in a room that could contain up to 200 persons, and sleeping in rotations was not uncommon in regional prisons. The daily meal budget was approximately 5 birr (50 cents) per prisoner. Many prisoners supplemented this with daily food deliveries from family members or by purchasing food from local vendors. Prison conditions were unsanitary and there was no budget for prison maintenance. Medical care was unreliable in federal prisons and almost nonexistent in regional prisons.

In detention centers, police often physically abused detainees. Authorities generally permitted visitors but sometimes arbitrarily denied them access to detainees. In some cases, family visits to political prisoners were restricted to a few per year.

While statistics were unavailable, there were some deaths in prison due to illness and poor health care. Prison officials were not forthcoming with reports of such deaths. Several pardoned political prisoners had serious health problems in detention but received little treatment at the time.

Authorities sometimes incarcerated juveniles with adults if they could not be accommodated at the juvenile remand home. Men and women prisoners were largely, but not always, segregated.

During the year the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited regional prisons only. The government continued to prevent ICRC representatives from visiting police stations and federal prisons throughout the country including those where opposition, civil society, and media leaders were held.

The same State Department report further documented the use of arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of political prisoners:

Although the constitution and law prohibit the use of torture and mistreatment, there were numerous credible reports that security officials tortured, beat, or mistreated detainees. Opposition political party leaders reported frequent and systematic abuse and intimidation of their supporters by police and regional militias, particularly in the months leading up to the local and by-elections held during the year. In Makelawi, the central police investigation headquarters in Addis Ababa, police investigators reportedly commonly used physical abuse to extract confessions. (Italics added.)

In November 2008, Manfred Nowak, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment made a special point of the barbaric use of torture in Ethiopian prisons as a major cause of physical disabilities: “Of course, torture was also a major cause of creating disabilities. Particularly destructive was the ‘Ethiopian hanging style’ where prisoners were bound like a wheel and hung up, which engendered long-lasting consequences.”

The Inquiry Commission established by the ruling regime to investigate the post-2005 election massacres by regime security forces documented that between June and November 2005, over 30,000 persons had been held incommunicado (without the means or right of communicating with others) in detention centers located throughout the country. The 2007 State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices cited other estimates of political prisoners in Ethiopia exceeding 50,000 civilians. Today, there are tens of thousands of political prisoners in Ethiopia who are held in detention without trial, including Birtukan Mideksa, and in violation of their basic right to due process under local and international law.

The Continuing Abuse of Birtukan Mideksa as a Political Prisoner

The evidence on Birtukan’s prison condition indicates that she has been held in solitary confinement following her roadside abduction by armed thugs. Birtukan recently told her mother, (the only person other than her 4 year old daughter allowed visitation), that “the ill-treatment in prison is getting beyond what she could bear as a human being”. Birtukan is denied access to her legal counsel. She is subjected to severe physical and psychological pressure. She is not allowed to have books or other reading material, or access to a radio. The regime has blocked the International Red Cross and other international human rights organizations from visiting Birtukan.

International Human Rights Law and the Rights of (Political) Prisoners

There is overwhelming evidence that conditions in prisons maintained by the ruling regime in Ethiopia are so deficient that they subject detainees and prisoners to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in flagrant violation of a slew of international human rights conventions, declarations and instruments. The established facts (as documented not only through the efforts of dissidents, ex-political prisoners and international human rights organizations, but also through regime-commissioned expert analyses and reports) are incontrovertible: The ruling regime’s prisons in Ethiopia are overcrowded and unsanitary. The vast majority of Ethiopian prisoners have little or no access to clean drinking or bathing water. As Col. Dewars documented, even the best prisons in the capital city “stank of faeces and urine. There appeared to be no water or sanitation facilities within the compound.” The prisons are vermin-infested and filthy and serve as breeding grounds for infectious diseases, and diseases of the circulatory and respiratory systems. Mental illness among prisoners is one of the least appreciated problems in the prisons. Birtukan Mideksa and thousands of other political prisoners are frequently singled out for systematic psychological intimidation and physical abuse due to their status as documented in the recent U.S. state Department report.

International law protects all prisoners, and particularly political prisoners, from inhumane and barbaric treatment. Prisoners are guaranteed basic human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 5 of the UDHR (incorporated by express reference in Art. 13 (2) of the “Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia”) prescribes that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Article 10 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (ratified by Ethiopia on June 11, 1993 and incorporated by express reference in Art. 13 (2) of the “Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia”) provides that “all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.” Article 16 of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (acceded to by Ethiopia on April 13, 1994) mandates that signatories “shall undertake to prevent . . . acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment . . . .” Article 5 of the African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ratified by Ethiopia on June 15, 1998) prohibits, “all forms of exploitation and degradation of man particularly slavery, slave trade, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment.”

The foregoing principles have been reaffirmed by the UN Human Rights Committee on numerous occasions. The U.N. has adopted a number of legal instruments to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners, including the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, and the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMRTP). These instruments establish basic rights for prisoners, which include among others, contact with the outside world, “regular visits of family members” and communication with “reputable friends at regular intervals”, sanitary conditions to “enable every prisoner to comply with the needs of nature when necessary and in a clean and decent manner”, provision of “food of nutritional value adequate for health and strength and drinking water”, medical and general health care, and “completely” prohibits “corporal punishment, punishment by placing in a dark cell, and all cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments for disciplinary offences.” The U.N. Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners provide that “all prisoners shall be treated with the respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings.” The U.N. Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons Under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment provide that “no person under any form of detention or imprisonment shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (“The Beijing Rules”), which encompass the Convention on the Rights of the Child (ratified by Ethiopia on July 22, 1987) require that juvenile detainees “be kept separate from adults and shall be detained in a separate institution”.

The ruling regime in Ethiopia has incorporated many of the provisions of the most important human rights treaties in its “constitution” and other “laws”. Article 13 (2) of the “Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia” states: “The fundamental rights and freedoms specified in this Chapter shall be interpreted in a manner conforming to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenants on Human Rights and international instruments adopted by Ethiopia.” This article incorporates international law and conventions prohibiting abusive treatment of detainees and prisoners expressly and by implication. Regardless of Ethiopia’s status on any particular human rights convention or declaration, there is no question that those who have engaged and continue to engage in cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of political and other prisoners are in violation of customary international law. Article 38 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provides that certain treaty provisions may become binding on third parties (regardless of ratification, accession or adoption) when those provisions are part of customary international law, as Ethiopia is indeed. There are no legal excuses or defenses for the ruling regime in Ethiopia for not complying with the requirements of international law in its treatment of detainees and (political) prisoners.

Birtukan, Ethiopian Political Prisoners: You Are Not Alone!

W/o Almaz, Birtukan’s mother, recently asked the celebrated Ethiopian actor, Debebe Eshetu, to remind Diaspora Ethiopians never to give up: “Keep it up! Keep it up with the help of God. I thank you for all you do [on behalf of my daughter]. May God be with you and me. May God be with the Ethiopian people.” On this day of worldwide protest against the unjust imprisonment of our heroine Birtukan, and all political prisoners in Ethiopia, let us reassure W/o Almaz we will never, never give up! Let us tell Birtukan and her fellow political prisoners that they are not alone because God is with them, and we are with them too. Let us sing to them in the lyrics of Michael Jackson:

For you are not alone,
For we are here with you,
Though we’re far apart,
You’re always in our heart,
For you are not alone……..

Birtukan, You Are Not Alone! Free Birtu-Can! Free All Ethiopian Political Prisoners!

Let’s shout joyfully at our demonstrations: “Birtu-Can! Yes, We Can!”

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) – Two people were killed and eight wounded when a bomb went off in a restaurant in a small town in western Eritrea, the foreign ministry said Saturday.

The explosion rocked the restaurant Wednesday. There have been no claims oif responsibility.

“Two people were killed and eight others seriously injured when a bomb exploded at restaurant in Haikota semi-urban center on February 25,” a statement said.

Ethiopia and Eritrea often accuse each other of staging bomb attacks in each other’s territiory.

Relations between the two have been frosty since fighting a devastating 1998-2000 border war that claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides. The dispute is yet to be resolved.

United States Department of States
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Released on February 25, 2009

Ethiopia is a federal republic led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition. The population was approximately 77 million. In the 2005 parliamentary elections, the EPRDF won a third consecutive five-year term. In local and by-elections held in April the EPRDF and allied parties won virtually all of the more than three million seats contested, severely diminishing opportunities for mainstream political opposition. Prior to the vote, ruling coalition agents and supporters used coercive tactics and manipulation of the electoral process, including intimidation of opposition candidates and supporters. Political parties were predominantly ethnically based, and opposition parties remained fractured. During the year fighting between government forces, including local militias, and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), an ethnically based, nationalist, insurgent movement operating in the Somali Region, resulted in continued allegations of human rights abuses by all parties, particularly diversion of food aid from intended beneficiaries suffering from a severe drought. Although there were fewer reports of extrajudicial killings and other similar human rights violations in the Ogaden than the previous year, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and others reported persistent abuses. While civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces, there were numerous instances in which elements within those forces acted independently of government authority.

Human rights abuses reported during the year included limitations on citizens’ right to change their government in local and by-elections; unlawful killings, torture, beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, usually with impunity; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of suspected sympathizers or members of opposition or insurgent groups; police and judicial corruption; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights including illegal searches; use of excessive force by security services in an internal conflict and counterinsurgency operations; restrictions on freedom of the press; arrest, detention, and harassment of journalists;restrictions on freedom of assembly and 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 harassment of union leaders.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:

a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life

Government forces, including militias, and armed elements of the ONLF were responsible for targeted killings in the Somali Region during the year (see section 1.g.).

Security forces committed arbitrary and politically motivated killings during the year.

In December 2007 three government militiamen abducted Welelaw Muche, a supporter of the former Coalition for Unity and Democracy in Enamrit town (West Gojjam Zone, Mecha Woreda, Amhara Region) from his home and arrested him. One of the militiamen shot him to death in a nearby forest. No arrests were made by year’s end.

On July 8, local police in Wonago town (Oromiya Region) shot and killed Aschalew Taye, a supporter of the All Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP). Officials arrested the police officers involved; at year’s end the trial was in session.

Land mines planted as a result of the 1998-2000 conflict with Eritrea and unresolved border dispute killed at least four civilians in the Tigray Region along the border with Eritrea. In addition, there were unconfirmed reports from a credible source of at least 12 killed and 50 injured in landmine blasts. The government’s demining unit, the Ethiopian Mine Action Office, continued to make progress in its survey and demining of border areas. The office defused 5,274 of an estimated two million landmines in the country, most of which were located along the border with Eritrea in the regions of Tigray and Afar. Two people were also wounded by landmines in the Ogaden Region.

Addis Ababa and other areas experienced several bombings that killed civilians and military personnel during the year. Although no one claimed responsibility, the government charged the bombings were the work of insurgent groups and or agents of Eritrea.

On March 13, a bomb exploded on a public bus in Humera (near the Eritrean border), killing eight persons and wounding at least 27. The government captured the alleged perpetrators, who testified in court to working for dissident groups supported by Eritrea. Their trial was ongoing at year’s end.

The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea and the Mine Action Coordination Centre reported 10 casualties when unexploded ordinance exploded while persons were burning paper at a school in Humera on the Ethiopian side of the Temporary Security Zone. Among the casualties were a 16-year-old girl, a 50-year-old woman, and eight men.

On April 14, bombs exploded at two commercial gas stations in Addis Ababa, killing four persons and wounding at least 16. The perpetrators remained unknown at year’s end.

On May 20, a bomb exploded on a public minibus, killing six persons and wounding at least five. The police apprehended suspects they claimed were affiliated with the insurgent Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

On May 26, bombs exploded in two hotels in Negele Borena, Oromiya Region, killing three persons and wounding five. Ethiopian soldiers were among the casualties. Investigation was ongoing at year’s end.

On September 3, a bomb exploded in the Merkato market in Addis Ababa, killing six persons and wounding 26.

On September 27, a bomb exploded outside a hotel in Jijiga, Somali Region, killing four and wounding 20. Police apprehended a suspect whom they identified as a member of Al-Ittihad al-Islamiya, an insurgent group. No trial date had been set by year’s end.

There were no developments in the following 2007 killings: Tesfaye Taddese, Degaga Gebissa, Tsegaye Ayele Yigzaw, Belachew Endale Bitew, Manaye Alamrew, Alemu Tesfaye, Tariku Yakiso, Mensur Musema, and the two students at Gue Secondary School (Gue town, Oromiya Region).

Police officer Alemu Deriba, sentenced to death for a 2006 shooting of four youths, remained on death row at year’s end.

There were no developments in any of the 2006 bombings.
Clashes between ethnic clans during the year resulted in hundreds of deaths (see section 5).

There were no developments in the following 2006 attacks: the bus attack near Bonga town (Gambela Region) by armed men; the hand grenade incident in the town of Jijiga; and the explosion in Addis Ababa.

The Federal High Court in Addis Ababa convicted and sentenced to death in absentia Mengistu Hailemariam and eight of his aides, who were charged with committing genocide and other war crimes, including extrajudicial killings, under the 1975-91 Derg regime (see section 1.e.).

b. Disappearance

There were reports of politically motivated disappearances.

According to the Ethiopian Teacher’s Association (ETA), two active members of their organization (see section 2.b.) disappeared this year. Tilahun Ayalew, chairman of the Dangila town ETA and coordinator of the program Education for All, was detained from December 2007 to March 2008. He reported that Bahir Dar regional police detained and tortured him for three to four days before transferring him to Maikalawi police station in Addis Ababa, where police reportedly tortured him also. The Federal First Instance Court then released him on a habeas corpus petition, citing the lack of formal charges against him. Shortly after seeing his family upon release, Tilahun disappeared, and his whereabouts remained unknown at year’s end.

Also, Addis Ababa police arrested Anteneh Getnet, chairman of the original ETA in Addis Ababa and an ETA coordinator, in 2006 on charges of participating in the Ethiopian Patriotic Front (EPF) an outlawed, allegedly armed group operating in the Amhara Region. The Federal High Court denied his release, but the Federal Supreme Court released him on bail. After a few additional trial appearances, he disappeared in March, and his whereabouts remained unknown at year’s end. Anteneh was first detained in 2006 for more than two months on charges of instigating violence in the 2005 elections. He alleged that he was tortured during his 2006 detention.

There were no developments in the following reported 2007 disappearances: Yohannes Woldu Girma Tesfaye Ayana, Befekadu Bulti Merri, Mulatu Gebremichel, Ismail Blatta, Daniel Worku, and Amha Yirga.

A few of the thousands of civilian protestors who were detained and held incommunicado in 2005 remained in prison at year’s end; however, most had been released by the end of 2006, and an additional 31 were released in August 2007,reportedly following an elders negotiations process in July 2007 (see section 1.d.).

c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Although the constitution and law prohibit the use of torture and mistreatment, there were numerous credible reports that security officials tortured, beat, or mistreated detainees. Opposition political party leaders reported frequent and systematic abuse and intimidation of their supporters by police and regional militias, particularly in the months leading up to the local and by-elections held during the year (see section 3). In Makelawi, the central police investigation headquarters in Addis Ababa, police investigators reportedly commonly used physical abuse to extract confessions.

In December 2007 student Ayena Cheri was arrested in Nekempt on suspicion of being a member of the OLF. The lower court dismissed his case and ordered his release, but he remained in prison until the High Court ordered his release on February 11 following a 1,000-birr ($98) bail. He alleged repeated severe beatings while in detention. On January 11, police and security forces arrested Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) member Alemayehu Seifu while he was on his way home from work in Addis Ababa. He was conveyed to Makalawi where he was allegedly tortured for eight days while his captors sought to force a confession that he was part of a plot to overthrow the government. He was released on January 21 without appearing in court.

On February 9, police and militia broke into the home of Gelaye Tadele, a resident of Arba Minch town in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), and beat him. They then took him to a detention facility in Kofele where they fractured his right leg and beat him unconscious. He was eventually taken to the local police station and later admitted to Arba Minch hospital. His mother filed a complaint but local authorities took no action by year’s end.

Of the 37 CUD members arrested and tortured in May 2006, the courts released 26 on a 5,000-birr ($488)bail in October 2007 while denying bail to nine others who remained in jail at year’s end. The other two individuals died in prison.

There were no developments in the September 2007 beating of regional parliamentarian Wegayehu Dejene (Me-ea District, Oromiya Region) and his family members.

There were no developments in the 2006 beatings of one regional parliamentarian of the Oromo Federal Democratic Movement (OFDM) and five of the Oromo National Congress (ONC). [Continued on next page]

By Alex Wynter | IFRC

Dhuko, Oromiya, Ethiopia – The numbers of livestock held by southern pastoralist families have fallen drastically over the past two decades as animals die from {www:disease} induced by climate change and the {www:severe} drought it brings, according to a new {www:report} by Ethiopian and Netherlands researchers.

In one of three areas surveyed, Borena zone of Oromiya region, the average numbers of livestock owned by pastoralist households were found to have declined from 10 to 3 oxen, 35 to 7 cows, and 33 to 6 goats.

For families entirely {www:dependent} on their animals for income and as a food {www:source}, losses on this scale would be disastrous.

Climate-change impacts increased {www:poverty} and food insecurity as livestock possession fell, according to the report, Climate Change-Induced Hazards, Impacts and Responses in Southern Ethiopia.

Unidentified diseases

The {www:research} was carried out by the Ethiopian Forum for Social Studies and the Netherlands group, Cordaid – a partner of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre in The Hague, with {www:experience} of drought management in the Horn of Africa.

Tick and skin diseases in camels, cattle, goats and sheep are common anyway during severe droughts, the study said, while even camels and goats – normally considered more resistant to drought and adopted as a “coping strategy” by pastoralists in place of cattle – are affected by newly prevalent diseases.

The distribution of diseases and pests has also changed in the study area, according to senior researcher Aklilu Amsalu. “Existing diseases… are expanding and new types are emerging,” he said, while unidentified new diseases were also causing the {www:sudden} death of camels and goats.

As their animals died, people became dependent on aid, while dry seasons triggered local “resource conflicts” over water and pasture, the study found. “About a quarter” of all households in Borena and Guji zones suffered from cattle-raiding related to {www:conflict} in the period 2004–8.

Recent press reports in Ethiopia, meanwhile, said 50 per cent of people in the country’s Somali region will remain dependent on international food-aid until at least the middle of the year. In Somali region “humanitarian access and aid remains very erratic”, said the Reporter newspaper. The International Federation in December launched an appeal for nearly US$ 100 million – one of its biggest ever for a “hidden disaster”– and with the Ethiopian Red Cross Society is planning to carry out food distributions shortly in mainly pastoralist areas.

However, donor response to date has been very limited. As things stand, only one major {www:distribution} “hub” – out of a planned four in Ethiopia – is guaranteed.

“I pray for rain”

“We’re doing the very best we can with the donor backing we’ve had,” says Roger Bracke, the Federation’s Addis Ababa-based head of operations for the Horn of Africa.

“Everyone was pleased the latest inter-agency assessment brought the Ethiopian national total of people outside the government {www:safety} net needing emergency food aid down to just under 5 million last month,” he adds. “But that’s still a very large number.”

Ute-Muda Garero knows all about rustling. He’s one of the few pastoralist herdsmen who have stayed behind in Dhuko village, Oromiya, to sit out the dry season, fearful of getting mixed up in a local conflict over water and pasture he says bedevils an area where hundreds of other men from the village have temporarily migrated, seeking better grazing.

But his animals are suffering for it. They have already deteriorated to the exact mid-point of the official yardstick of animal health: between two and three on a four-point scale, four meaning near death. “I pray for rain,” he says.

“My cattle will be ‘threes’ even if the rains start on time,” he explains, referring to the main seasonal rains due next month. “If the rains fail, they’ll die for sure.”

Apart from the women and children, only a handful of community leaders and elders are left Dhuko.

Reduced rations

It’s there and in countless thousands of settlements like it that the {www:disaster} in the Horn of Africa is hidden: difficult to see, even standing in the middle of it.

Children who look half their age from malnutrition; unnecessarily high infant-mortality statistics; “resource wars” fought between tribes who might otherwise live in {www:peace}; the gradual erosion of an ancient lifestyle –- pastoralism.

Earlier this month the World Food Programme (WFP), the Federation’s main UN partner in the Horn operation, reported a relief-funding shortfall of just over US$ 400 million for 2009.

Reduced food rations have applied since July 2008, WFP said, adding that households continue to engage in “negative coping strategies in order to meet their basic food needs [including] selling a higher number of productive assets than usual (44 per cent), reducing the number of meals… (92 per cent), and borrowing food or money (69 per cent).”

In February WFP was distributing reduced rations for cereals and oil and prioritizing blended food for beneficiaries “in hotspot areas only, including Somali region”.

(BBC) – Tens of thousands of people have reportedly fled their homes as a result of fighting between rival groups in a remote part of southern Ethiopia.

The BBC’s Elizabeth Blunt says 300 people may have been killed – mostly in a major {www:battle} on 5 February.

People are moving away to safer areas following the {www:clash} between the Borana people and the Gheri, a Somali clan.

While the fighting has now stopped, the area is still {www:tense} and some reports {www:estimate} more than 100,000 displaced.

Ethiopia’s Minister of State Responsible for Emergency and Disaster Planning Mitiku Kassa acknowledged the {www:existence} of the problem but said the figure of 100,000 was an exaggeration.

The fighting, which took place near the town of Moyale, was so severe that for a time the main road to the Kenyan border was closed.

Immediately after the peak of the clashes on 5 February, the Gheri people began moving away from the area in large numbers.

The BBC’s Elizabeth Blunt in Addis Ababa says armed conflicts, particularly over water, are not unusual in this part of southern Ethiopia.

They have been increasing in recent years because of boundary changes, and because of drought which has made control over wells and water points even more critical.

A long term observer of the area told the BBC it was tragic that something like this happens virtually every year, and is now considered almost normal.

By Tegga Lendado

This article is dedicated to the victims of the recent drought, disease, malnutrition, famine, and others who are facing premature death in Southern {www:Ethiopia}. The purpose is to induce rational, religious and humanitarian response with its readers. From the outset, I beg that it should not be construed as a sectarian or political motivation. My intention is to inform readers to pray intelligently, donors to give responsibly and the government to engage actively. It short, it is a call for environmental justice. Let it be clear that I am presenting these brute but humble thoughts as a concerned moral agent, simple-minded thinker and an international development professional as well as an environmental advocate. The article is based on brief observations and discussions with concerned individuals to whom I am grateful.

Southwestern Ethiopia used to boast of its green vegetation. Just over a century ago, 40% of the land was covered by forest. When Emperor Haile Sellasie reigned in 1930, the forest had dwindled to 10%. By the time he was deposed in 1974, it had reduced to 4%. With advent of Dirgue’s public ownership policy of the rural land, the peasants recklessly abused state forests. In 1978, the estimated amount of the forested land mass was only 3%. The current estimate is only 2%.

With desertification effect of the Sahara Desert, commonly called the Sahel and other major factors such as deforestation, Ethiopia’s climate has changed to more arid and hotter, only varied by the higher altitudes and the Danakil depression served by the monsoon wind and precipitation. The moisture content of the hot air of the bright and scorching sunlight is so thin that an elderly person may experience shortness of breath in the highlands. The heat wave may seem unbearable in the lowlands as well. The eco-system has been adversely affected due to continuous neglect and abuse of forest conservation, development and management. Apart from the recent millennium tree-panting effort, apparently there have not been any major forestry development projects in the last two decades in the region. Contrarily, hundreds of acres have been arbitrarily cleared for farming in Gamo and Kaffa. Wild fires in Bale and Arsi Zones had irreplaceably damaged sizeable natural forests in recent years.

There are also other factors that contribute to un-productivity of the farmland including over-population, over-grazing, soil degradation due to erosion and over-utilization, wild wind, improper application of commercial fertilizers, lack of land use policy such as propagating and maintaining traditional peasantry as a way of life for the rural population, in lieu of modern and mechanized farming, urbanization and industrialization. Peasantry, with its primitive means of production such as hand tools and animal traction does not permit the weak peasant to produce more than s/he or the family consumes. Except in Gamo area, terracing and irrigation are hardly known in the region. For years people have depended only on seasonal rain alone. With all these shortcomings, it is simply absurd and unethical to expect the undernourished poor peasant to produce surplus. Communal labor-intensive cultivation like the debo system used to be very effective in the past when land was plenty and powerful oxen were readily available. But now family holdings have diminished and the number of oxen per household is 0.45, according to my small short-lived sampling for estimates in Wolayita, Sidama and Kembata areas a few months ago.

Thus, recurrent drought and famine are attributed to such phenomenon as deforestation, topsoil depletion, excessive grazing, etc. Scanty and erratic rainfall is also to blame. Fast growing vegetation can mislead a tourist’s eye but not so with a native observer. Bushes may bud and the grass may grow for a short while and everything around the peasant’s garden may look green. The peasant may plant traditional crops only to harvest unripe and inconsumable products. Such was the case in Southern Ethiopia when I had visited Wolayita and Kambata in early 1992. The land was lash grassy and the plants on the fields were strikingly green. The soil was moist and muddy. But the peasants were skinny and weak. The kids had bulgy belly and blurring eyes denoting signs of malnutrition or undernourishment. One could be misled to conclude that those peasants were lazy and unproductive.

In the 1970s, the student-led revolution had “land for the tiller” as a motto. I never advocated for it then and would never do now. For the most part, the tiller was the poor peasant. Of course, I could agree on allotment of land to the few landless serfs who deserved the ownership of occupied by absentee owners. The government seems to be stuck with the communistic “land-for-the-tiller-revolution” even if communism had long proved unproductive in the era of mixed or so-called free-market economy. In Federal Democratic Ethiopia, all land is public property such that all peasants may occupy, but not own it. Peasants possess only primitive and rudimentary means of production. The little holding of the peasants are shared with their adult children through the years such that little is left to produce any thing substantial. This vicious circle is conspicuous in densely populated areas like Guraguae, Kembata, Wolayita, Timbaro, etc. Amazing techniques of mountain tilling is observed in Kembata alone. What admirable and courageous peasantry! But, we must note that the people are in the brink of famine and disease prone. Can someone “bail out” these populations before they totally collapse In light of the multifaceted chronic and recurrent problems, what should be done?

Famine is the worst form suffering leading to slow death. A couple of shoeshine boys told me, “We prefer to go to the warfront rather than dying the slow death here”. Traditionally, southern Ethiopians produced surplus food. They were content with their life and did not opt for nomadic or migrant life. Other people come from elsewhere and settle among them enjoying the kind hospitality. Interestingly, the new comers excel their hosts bringing freshness and vitality but sharing the little resource the hosts have. Such social intercourse was being promoted in the south to the extent that, whenever and wherever there was famine in other parts of the county, subsequent governments used to resettle the affected populations in regions such as Gamo, Keffa, Wolayita, Bale Arsi, Gofa, etc. This created some pressure on the peasants as the new comers scrambled for the scarce resources. Thus, famine became another misery the people had to share. In reality, the outcome of socialist Ethiopia (1974-1991) was simply a shared life of poverty and all the curses attached to it.

In Halaba, and Northeastern Hadiya areas, along the Shashemanae-Soddo Highway, the landslide is scary. Apart from the erosion of the topsoil, the ground cracks leaving crevices of about 2-3 meters wide, 4 meters deep and hundreds of meters long. The same phenomenon is observed near Lake Abaya and other Rift Valley depressions. A thorough integrated study may be needed to alleviate the condition.

Let us not forget blaming apathy and ignorance in our brief analysis of the green famine. Drought-resistant tuber crops such as enset, boyna, boye, sweet potatoes, cassava, etc., are not popular in some part of the south. Recently, I visited a farm in Tikur Wuha area of Awassa town. I spotted three species of sweet potatoes. I asked a female Guragae farmer where she got them. She told me her husband brought them from Wolayita Zone. She introduced them for the first time to her neighbors. Soon many peasants started planting that species of sweet potatoes in Sidama district.

Traditionally, Ethiopians do not consume much tuba crops, fruits and vegetable except for the people of the enset culture. Some vegetables take little time to grow and less effort to cultivate; yet, multitudes of peasant do not seem to know that. So, a concerted dietary education needs to be offered to the public to diversify consumption habits.

Peasantry and farming are two similar careers of rural life. A peasant is a small holder who produces for his/her family’s subsistence. A farmer is an entrepreneur who produces food for commercial consumption in large quantity and better quality. Apparently, we do not have peasants in USA. Here, only less than 4% of the population is engaged in commercial/industrial farming. These farmers are the ones that produce surplus for the local and international markets. They use machineries and implements, skilled labor, improved variety of seeds, scientifically and technologically advanced mechanisms, techniques and systems of input and output. Farmers own or lease a large piece of land for commercial and industrial farming employing sophisticated machinery and equipment. Ethiopian peasants do not merit the name “farmers” because they do not have all those qualities the name is attached with. However, all the rural population in Ethiopia, 85% has traditionally been called “farmer”. In the last four decades, Ethiopian peasants have been unable to feed themselves, let alone producing surplus for urban consumption.

Cash crops such as sisal, sugar cane, cotton, coffee, flower, tea, nuts, eucalyptus, tea, etc., have discouraged the production of staple foods. Some staple products such as teff, sorgham, barley, and corn are now becoming cash crops that the peasant may not afford to use for his family’s consumption. During Janhoy’s time the hundreds of acres of land along the Shashemane Awassa High Way was allotted to sisal production. Wonji and Matahara sugar plantations have occupied massive land. Dergue cleared Bebeka area in Kaffa for coffee and tea plantation. The current government introduced flower production en masse to attract foreign investment. Apart from competing and interfering with cereal production it has yielded millions of foreign currency income. However, given the fact that it may lead to soil degradation, which leads to low productivity, it might be advisable to moderate or alternate such production. Besides, would it not be wise for Ethiopia to be food self-sufficient before venturing to flower production in this persistently sluggish global economy?

Cited Problems and Pro-active Solutions

1. Environmental Justice: Climatic change associated with global warming (due to industrial pollution) and poverty (due mainly to resource misappropriation, unscrupulous exploitation, mismanagement or corruption seem to be major global problems, necessitating global attention) mineral depletion, forest decimation, wildlife exploitation, soil and water resource degradation, etc., (need regional planning). Nations that are victims of global pollution should be recompensed for the loss of life. On the contrary, nations that do not pollute the environment should be rewarded, if globalization is to be real and fair. Western industrial nations and other emerging economic powers including China, India, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Australia, New, Zealand, etc., should eliminate or radically reduce pollutant technologies for the welfare of the “global village”.

2. Population Explosion: Cultural and moral education/legislation to check irresponsible and immoral childbearing and rearing; health care and life-skills education, motivational education, etc. For example, it is immoral to produce children only to pass the responsibility to adoptive parents, agencies or public institutions. Forced under-age marriage, uncontrolled libido (distribution of plastics to kids as a way of HIV prevention and prostitution as a cope-out way of life, etc.).

3. Land Policy: The peasant should not be held hostage of his/her small unproductive land. Capable peasants should be allowed to purchase properties, develop their holding, sell and resell their land so that there is transfer or exchange of wealth. Most monetary systems such as insurances and banks base land as real asset. Peasantry should be replaced by industrial urbanization so that proper land use planning could be executed. Land for food production, cattle grazing, industrial site, forestry and wildlife reserve and development, etc. should be allocated for voluntary tillers.

4. Mode and Means of Production: Peasantry and farming should be clearly distinguished so that proper attention should be given to the rural communities such as subsidized communal farming, industrial development, cottage industrial development and structured private production of cash crops and staple foods.

5. Paradigm Shift: As such, I do believe, agriculture should be industry-led, not the other way round, for Ethiopians to “starve-no-more”. Mass production and food preservation mechanisms such as refrigeration technology, food processing, proper food handling and delivery schemes, etc, would reduce famine and dispel the stigma of starvation from Ethiopia. For this to happen, there needs to be a paradigm shift in the minds of national and regional political leadership.

6. Kind of Production: Cash crops such as sisal, sugar cane, cotton, coffee, flower, tea, nuts, eucalyptus, etc., have discouraged the production of staple foods. Some staple products such as teff and corn are now becoming cash crops that peasant may not afford to use his family’s consumption. During Janhoy’s time the hundreds of acres of land along the Shashemane Awassa Highway were allotted to sisal production. Wonji and Matahara sugar plantations have occupied massive land. Dergue cleared Bebeka area in Kaffa for coffee and tea plantation. The current government introduced flower production en masse to gain the much needed foreign currency. Apparently, the flower production is competing with cereal production despite the fact that it is yielding millions of foreign currency. It should be noted that soil degradation leading to low productivity might be caused by such cash crops besides de-incentivizing the peasant, thereby further reducing national food sufficiency.

7. The myth that southern Ethiopia is the breadbasket of Ethiopia should now be dispelled and proper attention should be given to the region’s relapsing food shortage due to unreliable rainfall. Proper regional planning should take into consideration utilizing the major rivers and lakes such as the Omo, Bilate, Abaya, etc.

8. Centralization of Industrial Sites: Many industries have been established in Addis Ababa and its vicinity in the last decades. The rural towns such as Arba Minch, Dilla and Soddo are over-populated with able-bodied and educated youngsters looking for employment. Light and heavy industries should be relocated and/or started in those rural towns in view of diversifying the economy and check undue urbanization.

Conclusion

For the sake shortening the article, let me quickly move on to my concluding remarks. We can endlessly blame the governors, the people, the facilitators, NGOs and the victims. Certainly, we have done that many times and for too long. The time has now come for the silent intelligentsia, the withdrawn Diaspora and the subdued professionals to take responsible actions and play practical roles according to the dictates of their hearts and minds. It is easy to be part of the problem by blaming others or staying aloof forever.

The Ethiopian Diaspora and other concerned entities can get involved with the local governments or non-governmental organizations (if there are any remaining in the country, owing to the perceived ordeal of the recent regulation) working in southern Ethiopia at the following levels.

Relief: Governmental, non-governmental, humanitarian, ecclesiastical, religious, non-religious, domestic or expatriate entities should collaborate in the effort of saving life. Individual donors should give whatever resource to avert famine, be it financial support, imperishable food, means of transportation, medicine, clothing, etc. Contacting persons or organizations engaged in the effort would reveal the need of the time.

Rehabilitation: Once the relief work is done, rehabilitating takes over. Without interrupting the relief effort, rehabilitating the victim can take place in light of extending to his/her short-term person-centered resettlement goals. This may involve recuperation of lost items, namely housing, health care, rationed food and other essentials, etc. to the point where the person can take care of himself/herself.

Development: If the person were rehabilitated well, he/she would want to think of his/her long-term goals. Thinking along with the person, one may provide him the necessary tools, implements, seeds and techniques. Specialized agencies may give micro-loans, etc to transform the sustenance of the victim. A benevolent giver may sponsor a family or a child through established humanitarian agencies engaged in the affected areas.

(Tegga Lendado, PhD., is a development consultant based in Atlanta, USA. He had worked for the United Nations Development Program in Southern Africa for many years. He can be reached at [email protected])