What’s dragging Ethiopia’s democratic governance?

One of the most enduring features of the political system run by the ruling party in Ethiopia is the chronic problem of good governance. The rhetoric to achieve good governance in numerous variables has failed to match the reality on the ground.
When the EPRDF regime took power in 1991, it adopted different legal reforms essential to realize good governance. These reforms included, but not limited to, the participation of opposition parties in the political discourse, the introduction of independent media, and decentralization and adoption of the federal and parliamentary system of government. Furthermore, periodic general elections have taken place for four times in the past (1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010). From formal perspectives, it seems Ethiopia is an emerging democracy and departing from its authoritarian past. Impressed by such rhetoric, many international organizations such as Freedom House and most western states (at least until recently) referred to the country as an ‘emerging democracy’.
Nevertheless, the reality on the ground remains diametrically opposed from the formal rhetoric provided under official documents. In light of major variables of good governance such as legitimacy, accountability, transparency of government activities, and respect for the rule of law, the Ethiopian governance performance stays at a dismal bottom of almost every index even by some African countries’ standard known for their authoritarianism. According to the 2013 Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, Ethiopia ranked 33rd out of the 53 African countries surveyed. Ethiopia also ranked 111th out of 177 countries in Transparency International’s 2013 corruption index.

We Need freedom and Justice!

One too many to count
The factors that are dragging the progress of good governance in the country are structural and ideological in nature. First, what could be considered as one of the major structural problems is the absence of democratic culture in the country’s political history. The considerable part of the country’s political history had undergone through traditional feudal rule that was characterized by absolute loyalty that legitimized the exploitation of the poor. And in the last four decades the repressive political culture has been manifested under the banner of promoting the rights of nations and nationalities and ensuring socio-economic advancement through communist revolutionary polices. Despite the claim by both the communist Derg and the current regime of enjoying popular support, the old patriarchal top-down power relations have been systematically and firmly maintained in a harsh manner, if not harsher than it was during the imperial period.
The second is ideological - the adoption of leftist Marxist ideology into the country’s political discourse and its undeniable implications on the policies of the powers that be. As is known globally, it is an ideology strictly attached to undemocratic practices such as extreme loyalty to party discipline, restricting rights of citizens and economic freedoms, and the enriching of a few party elites who are more powerful than formal governmental institutions. In such controlled system of governance run by the few decision making process is secretive and there is total absence of effective mechanism to hold government officials accountable. At present, the ruling party in Ethiopia is governing the country in asoviet-style system of democratic centralism that continues to seriously undermine the progress of democratic institutions.

Oromo-American Citizens Council (OACC) on Amnesty’s “Because I Am Oromo”

Oromo-American Citizens Council (OACC) is a Minnesota based, non-profit organization set up, among others, to expose human rights violations against the Oromo people and influence the policy of the U.S. towards Ethiopia. Minnesota is a state with the highest population of Oromos outside Africa.

OACC collaborated with the Advocates for Human Rights in the 96-page report issued in 2009 under the title, “Human Rights in Ethiopia: Through the Eyes of The Oromo Diaspora.” That Report documented the experiences Oromos in Diaspora faced when they lived in Ethiopia. In May 2005, theHuman Rights Watch also issued a report entitled, “Suppressing Dissent: Human rights Abuses and Political Repression in Ethiopia’s Oromia Region.” This report, for the first time, exposed the mechanisms used the Ethiopian government to control rural communities in Oromia through theGott and Garee Systems. Furthermore, the periodic U.S. State Department’s own annual reports have documented rampant human rights violations against the Oromos over the years.

Amnesty International’s report, ETHIOPIA: BECAUSE I AM OROMO: SWEEPING REPRESSION IN THE OROMIA REGION OF ETHIOPIA, is the most researched and the most comprehensive report ever conducted about human rights violation against the Oromos. The vivid descriptions of tortures conducted against Oromos, the long imprisonment without trial, the murders by security forces, the harsh actions taken against peaceful protests are all well documented with irrefutable evidences. The report further disclosed that any act of Oromo nationalism that is not controlled by the government, such as the Oromo language and the culture development movement, results in detentions and tortures. For that, we want to take this opportunity and congratulate and thank Amnesty International.

Amnesty report,,,Because i am Oromo part 7 OROMO ARTISTS AND OTHERS CELEBRATING OROMO CULTURE

Under Ethiopian and international law everyone has the right to enjoy, develop and promote
their own culture and therefore no-one may be arrested for the expression of their cultural
identity.107
Nevertheless, hundreds of people have been arrested in recent years because of their
involvement in expressions of Oromo culture. The government has exhibited hostility to
displays of Oromo cultural heritage. Oromo artists, including writers and singers, have been
harassed, arrested and tortured. In a number of incidents, the government has shown signs of
equating Oromo cultural expression with anti-government sentiment and fearing cultural
expression as a potential catalyst for political opposition to the government. A former student
told Amnesty International:
“If you talk about your rights, culture and identity as an Oromo, you
must be a supporter of OLF.”108
More than 10 people interviewed by Amnesty International said they had been arrested for
some form of cultural expression, in addition to students interviewed by Amnesty
International who were harassed or arrested for their involvement with student cultural
societies, as documented above. The organization also received information from a number of
sources about large numbers of arrests at Oromo traditional festivals and several other cases
of singers and artists arrested since 2011.

More than 200 people were reported to have been arrested at the 2012 celebration of the
traditional festival of Irreecha, celebrated in Debre Zeit (which the Oromo call Bishoftu).
Some were reportedly arrested in several locations including Guder, Ambo and Shashemene
on 29 September 2012 as they were on their way to the festival and further arrests were
reported to have taken place at the festival itself on 30 September 2012. Some of those
arrested were reportedly transferred to Maikelawi. Reported reasons for arrests included
wearing clothes in colours considered as symbols of Oromo resistance – red and green – or
alleged chanting of political slogans during the festival.
Several people reported to Amnesty International they had been arrested because of their
participation in or promotion of the Oromo traditional religion Waaqeffannaa or the traditional
governance system of Gadaa. Over 150 people were reportedly arrested on 23 August 2011,
after the ceremony in the Gadaa tradition when leadership is handed over to the next
generation. One of those arrested, a young man who had been a student at Adama University,
told Amnesty International he had been travelling around the region to document the
ceremony but was arrested on the accusation he had being trying to incite people to rebel
against the government. He was arrested and transferred to Maikelawi, along with six other
Adama University students who belonged to the same cultural society. In Maikelawi, he
encountered 20 other students from Adama University arrested over the same period of a few
days.109
In addition to those arrested for wearing green and red clothing at the 2012 celebration of
Irreechaa, other people have been arrested for wearing or selling Oromo traditional clothing:
“There was a public holiday and some students wore their traditional
clothes to express their culture. The authorities said that we were
expressing a political opinion. Eleven of us were arrested and detained
at the police station for five days, beaten and interrogated. They asked
us which political organization was behind us, who we were supporting.
They said I was opposing the government and was inciting the other
students against the government.”110
Amnesty International interviewed five Oromo artists – singers and writers – who were
subjected to harassment, arrest and torture. The organization also received information from
other sources about the cases of two other singers. Writing or singing about Oromo history,
including the perception of a history of oppression many Oromos hold, or expressing criticism
of the government’s treatment of Oromos, are met with hostility by the government as
expressions of dissent and perceived to have the intention of inciting others against the
government.

Without energy could Africa’s growth run out of steam?

Despite vast natural reserves, the average African accesses less electricity than is needed to power a 50-watt light bulb.

The transformation – and the profits – that could come from ‘powering Africa’ have caught the imagination of the donor community, private investors and African governments alike.

After all, Africa’s energy sources are many and diverse. From natural gas to coal, renewables or even diesel, there are more than sufficient local sources to meet the continent’s needs.

And as the continent experiences the kind of economic growth that G7 nations like France and Germany can only dream about, to fully realise its growth potential Africa needs energy much more of it – and the infrastructure to ensure that it is delivered affordably, safely and consistently to households as well as industry.

At the moment, however, the infrastructure is not fit-for-purpose. “Across Africa investors joke about living in a ‘bring-your-own-infrastructure’ continent,” says an article in the Economist. “Firms must provide independent generators, water purification and even sewage treatment when building a factory or hotel. Of these the costliest is often power.”

And the amount of power generated also falls woefully short of what is needed. The 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa (with a total population of 800 million) generated 90GW in 2012; that’s roughly the same amount of power as Spain, a country of 45 million. Two-thirds of the sub-Saharan population live with electricity, and the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Africa Outlook reports that “electricity consumption per capita is, on average, less than that needed to power a 50-watt light bulb continuously.”

The social and economic costs of these failures are high. Introducing its Africa report last month, IEA’s executive director, Maria van der Hoven said: “A major crisis continues within our global system; it’s an energy poverty crisis. At [its] epicentre is sub-Saharan Africa.”

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But now that may all be about to change. A 2010 report (pdf) from the African Development Bank states: “The pipeline of clean energy projects is long and growing – hydro, wind, solar, even geothermal. All sources of energy have to be tapped, doing it right of course, ensuring all safeguards, social and environmental are respected.” And in 2013, the US became the highest profile donor partner, when President Barack Obama unveiled the Power Africa project that aims to “double the number of people with access to power in sub-Saharan Africa.”

ያጣነውን መብትና ነጻነታችንን በእጃችን ለማስገባት ዛሬውኑ እንነሳ

በዳንኤል ታደሰ*

ሃገራችንና ወገኖቻችን ለኢኮኖሚና ማሕበራዊ ችግሮች ከመጋለጥ አልፈው አደገኛ አጣብቂኝ ውስጥ ናቸው፡፡ ለሕዝቡና ለሀገሪቱ ጥቅም የሚቆም ብቃት ያለው አስተዳደር የለም፡፡ ህግ አለ፣ ህገ መንግስት አለ፣ ቢባልም ተገቢ ያልሆኑና ከሕገ-መንግሥቱ ጋር የሚቃረኑ አፋኝ፣ አስደንጋጭ እና ኢሰብአዊ ሕጐችና ደንቦች በተከታታይ ይወጣሉ፡፡ እነኚህም ሕዝቡን በተደራራቢነት እያስጨነቁት ይገኛሉ፡፡ ህጐችና ደንቦች ሲወጡ ሕዝብ መወያየትና መምከር ሲገባው፣ ውይይት ሳይደረግባቸው በዘፈቀደ እና ባልሰለጠኑ የመንግስት ካድሬዎች ተግባራዊ ሲሆኑ ይታያል፡፡

የወጡና የፀደቁ ሕጐች ላይም ሆነ በአፈፃፀም ላይ ችግሮች ሲፈጠሩ ማየት የሚኖርበት ፍርድ ቤት ነበር፤ ነገር ግን በሚወጡ ሕጐች የፍ/ቤት ሥልጣን ተነጥቆ ለኤጀንሲዎችና ለባለስልጣናት እንዲሁም ለሌሎች ባልበሰሉ ካድሬዎች ለተሞሉ መስሪያ ቤቶች እንዲሰጥ ተደርጓል፡፡ ከዚህ አኳያ ስናይ ሕገ-መንግሥታዊ ሥርዓት ህዝባችን አግኝቷል ወይ? የሚል ጥያቄን አስነስቶ ከመሰላቸታችን የተነሳ በኢትዮጵያ ሕግና መንግስት እንደሌለ ለማንም ግልጽ ነው።

ባለፉት 23 ዓመታት የኦሮሞ ነፃነት ግንባር (ኦነግ) አባላት ናችሁ በሚል እጅግ በጣም ብዙ ኦሮሞዎች ታስረዋል፣ ተሰደዋል ወይም ተገድለዋል። ይህ ሁኔታ አሁንም በሰፊው ቀጥሏል። የአሁኑን ለየት የሚያደርገው ክሱ “ራሱን ኦነግ ብሎ ከሚጠራው ‘አሸባሪ’ ድርጅት ውስጥ አባል በመሆን …” ወደሚል በመቀየሩ ለነጻነታችን የምናደርገውን ትግል ሲያጣጥለው ይታያል።

ቀደም ብሎ በመሰረቱት ክሶች ደልዴሳ ዋቆ ጃርሶ፥ ገልገሎ ጉዮ ቦሩ እና ዋርዮ ጣጤሳ ጉዮ የተባሉ ግለሰቦች የኦነግ አባል በመሆናቸው ‘የሽብርተኝነት ድርጊቶችን’ ሲፈፅሙ ይዣቸዋለሁ’ በማለት የፀረ-ሽብርተኝነት ሕጉን በመጥቀስ ክስ መስርቷል። በተመሳሳይ ሁኔታ የፌደራል ዓቃቢ ሕግ ባቀረበው ‘የሽብር ወንጀል’ ክስ የድሬዳዋ ዩኒቨርስቲ ተማሪዎች የነበሩት አብዲ ከማል የሱፍና ቶፊቅ ረሽድ ዩያ ‘የአሸባሪው’ ድርጅት የኦነግ አባላት በመሆን የሽብር ተግባራትን ልትፈፅሙ ስትሉ ተይዛችኋል’ ተብለው የፀረ-ሽብርተኝነት ሕጉ አንቀፅ ተጠቅሶባቸው ክሳቸውን

ኤሌክትሪክ በየሰዓቱ ይጠፋል “የእጃችንን አገኘን” -10 ቢ.ብር ሲባክን ዝም ብለናል

15 ቢ. ብር የፈጁትን የነፋስ ተርባይኖች፤ በ5 ቢ.ብር የውሃ ግድብ መተካት ይቻላል
ከ10 ቢ. ብር በላይ ሃብት በከንቱ ባከነ፤ እንደ ዘበት በነፋስ ተወሰደ ማለት ነው
በረሃብተኛ ድሃ አገር፣ ይሄ ሁሉ ብክነት እብደት ነው? ወንጀል ነው? ወይስ ምን?
ግን፤ ወይ ነገሬ አላልነውም፤ ወይ አብረን አጨብጭበናል፤ ወይ በዝምታ ፈቅደናል
የግድብ ግንባታን የሚቃወሙ የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ቡድኖች፣ መጫወቻቸው አድርገውናል
ጠ/ሚ መለስ ዜናዊ፤ የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ቡድኖችን፤ “የድህነት ጠበቃ” ብለዋቸው ነበር

አገር    አመት    የነፋስ ተርባይኖች አቅም (ሺሜዋ)    በአመት ያመነጩት ሃይል (ሺ ጊዋሃ)    የተርባይኖቹ ብቃት
ጀርመን    2005    31    50    18%
ፈረንሳይ    2005    7.6    15    22%
ፖላንድ    2005    2.5    5.6    25%
ብሪታኒያ    2005    8.7    19    25%
ስፔን    2005    23    49    24%
ጣሊያን    2005    8    13.6    19%
አሜሪካ    2001    4    6.7    19%

በውሃ ግድብ የኤሌክትሪክ ሃይል የሚያመነጩ ጣቢያዎች ብቃትስ?    ከ40 – 50%
መንግስት ባለፈው ወር የተፈራረመውን ውል ጨምሮ፣ በነፋስ ተርባይን ኤሌክትሪክ የሚያመነጩ ሶስት ጣቢያዎችን ለማቋቋም 770 ሚሊዮን ዶላር ገደማ ሃብት አፍስሷል። ቀላል ገንዘብ አይደለም። ከ15.4 ቢሊዮን ብር በላይ ነው። የሶስቱ ጣቢያዎች ኤሌክትሪክ የማመንጨት አቅም ተደማምሮ ስንት እንደሆነ ደግሞ ተመልከቱ - 325 ሜጋዋት ብቻ ነው። በቃ፡፡ እና …ለዚህ ነው ያ ሁሉ ገንዘብ እየፈሰሰ ያለው? በገንዘብ መጫወት ይሉሃል፣ ይሄ ነው። 

ለንፅፅር ያህል የህዳሴ ግድብ፤ ከነፋስ ተርባይኖቹ ጋር የሚመጣጠን የማመንጨት “አቅም” ለመፍጠር ምን ያህል ገንዘብ እንደሚፈጅበት ማስላት እንችላለን። ከግልገል ጊቤ ጣቢያዎች ጋር፣ አልያም ከተከዜ ወይም ከጣና በለስ ግድቦች ጋርም ማነፃፀር ይቻላል። የግድቦቹ አማካይ የግንባታ ወጪ፣ ዝቅተኛ ነው፡፡ ለአንድ ሜጋዋት 1.2 ሚሊዮን ዶላር አይደርስም። በዚህ ሂሳብ፣ ባለ 325 ሜጋዋት ማመንጫ ግድብ ለመገንባት፣ ቢበዛ ቢበዛ በአማካይ 390 ሚሊዮን ዶላር ቢፈጅ ነው (ማለትም፣ ከስምንት ቢሊዮን ብር በታች)። ለነፋስ ተርባይ ሲሆን ግን፣ ከ15 ቢሊዮን ብር በላይ! 
ታዲያ፤ በአነስተኛ ወጪ፣ ከውሃ ሃይል ኤሌክትሪክ የሚያመነጩ ግድቦችንና ጣቢያዎችን መገንባት እየተቻለ፣ ያ ሁሉ ገንዘብ ለምን በነፋስ ተርባይን ይባክናል? እንዴ! ከሰባት ቢሊዮን ብር የሚበልጥ ልዩነትኮ፣ በጣም በጣም ብዙ ነው። በየእለቱና በየሰዓቱ መብራት እየተቋረጠ ስራ የሚስተጓጎለው፣ ፋብሪካዎች የሚከስሩት፣ ጨለማ ውስጥ የምናድረው፤ የኤሌክትሪክ ማሰራጫና ማከፋፈያ ተቋማት በማርጀታቸውና በማነሳቸው ነው ተብሎ የለ! በከንቱ የሚባክነውን ገንዘብ፣ ለዚህ ለዚህ ማዋል ይቻል ነበር።

የአውሮፓ ህብረት ምርጫውን እንደማይታዘብ ታወቀ

የአውሮፓ ህብረት ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎችን በምርጫው ጉዳይ አነጋገረ

• ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩንም ምሽቱን ያነጋግራል ተብሎ ይጠበቃል

• ህብረቱ ምርጫውን አይታዘብም ተብሏል

የአውሮፓ ህብረት ልዑክ ህዳር 11/2007 ዓ.ም ሶስት የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች መሪዎችን ያነጋገረ ሲሆን፣ በኢህአዴግ በኩል ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ኃይለማርያም ደሳለኝን ለማነጋገር ምሽቱን ቀጠሮ መያዙን ለማወቅ ተችሏል፡፡

በአውሮፓ ህብረት የልዑል መሪ ሻንታል ሔቤሬት የተመራው የልዑካን ቡድን የሰማያዊ ፓርቲና የ9ኙ ፓርቲዎች ትብብር ሊቀመንበር ኢንጅነር ይልቃል ጌትነትን፣ እንዲሁም የመኢአድና የመድረክን አመራሮች ማነጋገራቸው ታውቋል፡፡

የአውሮፓ ህብረት ሶስቱን ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች ያነጋገረበት ዋነኛው አላማ ከምርጫ 2007 በፊት ያሉትን ችግሮች ለማወቅ የሚል ሲሆን በተቃዋሚዎቹ በኩል ያሉትን ችግሮች ለጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ እንደሚያቀርቡ ገልፀዋል፡፡

የሰማያዊና የ9ኙ ፓርቲዎች ትብብር ሊቀመንበር ኢ/ር ይልቃል የአውሮፓ ህብረት ላቀረበው ጥያቄ በርካታ ችግሮች መኖራቸውን በማመልከት፣ ‹‹የምርጫው ችግር ከአጠቃላይ የኢትዮጵያ ችግር የመነጨ ነው፡፡ በተለይ ከ1997 ዓ.ም በኋላ ሚዲያውን፣ ሲቪክ ተቋማቱንና ተቃዋሚዎችን ለማፈን መሳሪያ የሆኑ አዋጆች የአገሪቱን ፖለቲካ አበላሽተዋል፡፡ በምርጫው ላይ የተፈጠረው ችግር የዚህ ሁሉ ድምር ነው›› በማለት መሰረታዊ የአገሪቱ ችግሮች ካልተፈቱ ምርጫው ላይ የተደቀነው ችግርም ሊፈታ እንደማይችል እንደገለጹላቸው ለነገረ ኢትዮጵያ ገልጸዋል፡፡

በሌላ በኩል ከአሁን ቀደም የተደረጉትን ምርጫዎች የታዘበውና በምርጫዎች ሂደት ነበሩ የተባሉትን ችግሮች በሪፖርቱ በማካተት የሚታወቀው የአውሮፓ ህብረት ስለ ምርጫው ሁኔታ በቅርቡ ስላወቀና ቀድሞ ስላልተጋበዘ ምርጫውን እንደማይታዘብ የተቃወቀ ሲሆን በአንጻሩ የአፍሪካ

ስለ ወያኔ ጭካኔ ነውረኝነትና አውሬነት

ሰሞኑን ስለ ሞት ፍርድ ሲወራ የክንፈ ገ/መድህን ገዳይ ሻለቃ ጸሃዬ አሟሟት የኢሕአዴግን አውሬነትTemesgen Desalegn የጻፈውን እነሆ
"...በነገራችን ላይ መረሳት የሌለበት ቁም-ነገር የጥፋት ስራው ተጠያቂ ህወሓት እንጂ ‹‹እወክለዋለው›› የሚለው የትግራይ ህዝብ አለመሆኑ ነው፡፡ አማራ-በብአዴን፣ ኦሮሞ-በኦህዴድ እንደማይገለፀው ሁሉ፣ የትግራይ ህዝብም በህወሓት ይገለፃል የሚል የጨዋታ ህግ የለም፡፡ እነዚህ ሰዎች ለስልጣናቸው እስከጠቀመ ድረስ የማይፈፅሙት ህገ-ወጥ ድርጊት አለመኖሩ ላይ መስማማት የሚኖርብን ይመስለኛል፤ የማይፈፅሙት ጭካኔም የለም፡፡ ይህንን የሚያሳይ አንድ ነገር ልንገራችሁ፡፡ ታሪኩ የቀድሞ የደህንነት ሹም የነበረው ክንፈ ገ/መድህንን በጥይት ደብድቦ ስለገደለው ሻለቃ ፀሀዬን የሚመለከት ነው፡፡ እንደሚታወቀው ሟችም ገዳይም ትግርኛ ተናጋሪዎች ቢሆኑም፣ ሻለቃው ወንጀሉን ከፈፀመ በኋላ ለብዙ ችግር ተዳርጎ ነበር፣ ያውም ከነቤተሰቡ፡፡ መጀመሪያ ባለቤቱን ከምትሰራበት ብርሃንና ሰላም ማተሚያ ቤት አባረሯት፡፡ እግር በእግርም እየተከታተሉ በኪራይ ከምትኖርበት ቤት አፈናቀሏት (በጊዜው እስክንድር ነጋ የገንዘብ ድጋፍ ያደርግላት ነበር) ሻለቃውም ለስድስት ዓመት ያህል በጨለማ ቤት ውስጥ በመታሰሩ የአይን ብርሃኑ በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ተጎዳ፡፡ ፍርድ ቤት ሲቀርብ እንዴት ለመራመድ ይቸገር እንደነበረ አስተውለናል፡፡ እኔ እያልኩ ያለሁት ያጠፋ ሰው በህግ አይጠየቅ አይደለም፤ ከህግ ውጪ ስለምን የበቀል ሰለባ ይሆናል ነው? ሰዎቹ ከየትኛውም ብሄር ተወለዱ በጠላትነት ከመዘገቧችሁ ለጭካኔያቸው ወደር የለውም፡፡ 
የሆነው ሆኖ ስርዓቱ ገደብ ላጣው ጭካኔው ‹‹ብሄር›› የተሰኘ አጥር የለውም ያስባለኝ በሻለቃው ህይወት መጨረሻ የተፈፀመው ድርጊት ነውና እሱን ልንገራችሁ፡፡
ዕለቱ የኦርቶዶክስ ክርስትና እምነት ተከታዮች ‹‹ፍልሰታ›› እያሉ የሚጠሩት የአስራ ስድስት ቀን ፆም ዋዜማ ነው-ሐምሌ 30ቀን፡፡
ሻለቃው ይህች ቀን የመጨረሻዋ መሆኗን ሊያውቅ የሚችልበት አገጣሚ አልነበረምና ጥብቅ ሀይማኖተኛ በመሆኑ ለፆሙ የመንፍስና የቁስ ዝግጅቱን አጠናቆ በደስታ እየጠበቀ ነው፡፡ የሆነው ግን በተቃራኒው ነበር፡፡ 

በፃሃፊ ብዕር ልተርክላችሁ፡፡
…ወቅቱ ክረምት ቢሆንም ፀሀይ ህቡዕ የገባች እስኪመስል ድረስ ዝናብን አግደው የያዙ የሰማይ መስኮቶች ከንጋት ጀምረው ላንቃቸውን ከፍተው ምድሪቱን እያረሰረሷት ነው፡፡ ቀኑ ተገባዶ አስር ሰዓት ላይ ደርሷል፡፡ አብዛኛው እስረኛ በየክፍሉ ከቷል፡፡ ጥቂቶቹ ደግሞ ውሽንፍሩን ተከትሎ ያረበበውን ቅዝቃዜ ይከላከልልናል በሚል ካፍቴሪያ ውስጥ ቁጭ ብለው ሻይና ቡና ደጋግመው ያዛሉ፡፡
አንዲት የደህንነት መኪና ሾፌሩን ጨምሮ አራት ሰዎች አሳፍራ ወደማረሚያ ቤቱ አስተዳደር መግባቷን ማንም አላስተዋለም፡፡ መኪናዋ የኃላፊውን ቢሮ ታካ ስትቆም የቡድኑ መሪ ቀልጠፍ ብሎ ወርዶ በቀጥታ ከፊቱ ወደአለው ቢሮ በመግባት፣ ከማረሚያ ቤቱ ኃላፊ ጋር ለጥቂት ደቂቃዎች ቆይታ ከአደረገ በኋላ በወህኒ ቤቱ ውስጥ ያልተለመደ ትዕዛዝ ተላለፈ፤ ሁሉም እስረኛ ወደ ክፍሉ እንዲገባ የሚል፡፡
እስረኞቹ በሙሉ ወደ ክፍላቸው መግባታቸው ከተረጋገጠ በኋላ የሞት ፍርድ ተፈርዶበት ቀኑን እየጠበቀ የነበረው ሻለቃ ፀሀዬ ከክፍሉ ወጥቶ ከደህንነት ቢሮ ወደመጣችው መኪና ውስጥ እንዲገባ ተደረገ፡፡ መኪናዋም በመጣችበት ፍጥነት የመልስ ጉዞ አደረገች፡፡ ይህ ሁሉ ነገር ተካሄዶ ያለቀው በአስራ አምስት ደቂቃ ውስጥ ነበር፡፡
...ጎዳናው ላይ አልፎ አልፎ እየተንገዳገደ ከሚያዘግም ሰካራም እና ከሚያላዝኑ የመንገድ ዳር ውሾች በቀር አንዳች እንቅስቃሴ አይታይም፤ ጭር ብሏል፡፡ የክረምቱ ቅዝቃዜ በድቅድቅ ጨለማ ቁጥጥር ስር ከዋለው ሌሊት ጋር ተቀላቅሎ በእጅጉ ያስፈራል፡፡ የሻለቃው ባለቤት ወ/ሮ አምሳለ የመኖሪያ ቤቷ በር ሲንኳኳ ከሶስት ልጆቿ ጋር በእንቅልፍ ዓለም ውስጥ ነበረች፡፡ ማንኳኳቱ ሳይቋረጥ ለደቂቃዎች በመቀጠሉ ድንገት ካሰጠማት እንቅልፍ አባነናት፡፡ እናም በሩን ከፈተች፡፡ ከዚህ ቀደም አይታቸው የማታውቃቸው ሁለት ሰዎች ቆመዋል፡፡ ደነገጠች፡፡ 
‹‹ምንድን ነው? ምን ፈልጋችሁ ነው?›› አከታትላ ጠየቀች፡፡ 
‹‹ፖሊሶች ነን፣ ሻለቃ ፀሀዬ በጣም ስለታመመ አምሳለን ጥሩልኝ ስላለን ነው የመጣነው›› ሲል መለሰ አንደኛው ሰውዬ፡፡
‹‹ቀን ስንቅ ስወስድለት ደህና አልነበረ እንዴ? አሁን ምን ተፈጠረ?›› 

MADDA ODUU SBO/VOL Sadaasa 20, 2014

Godina Jimmaa magaalaa Jimmaatti kan argamu Mooraan waraana wayyaanee Kutaa 12 jedhamu tarkaanfii humna hin beekamneen irratti fudhatameen barbadeeffame.

Mooraan waraana wayyaanee Dhiha biyyattii Kutaa waraanaa 12ffaa magaalaa Jimmaatti bobbaafame tarkaanfii Sadaasa 18 bara 2014 waaree booda humna hin beekmaneen irratti fudhatameen ibiddaan daareffamee jira. Tarkaanfii kanaanis qabeenyi humna diinaa, galmi waraanni wayyaanee keessa boqotu, konkolaattonni waraanaa fi meeshaaleen waraanaa adda addaa walumaagalatti qabeenyi qarshii Miiliyoonatti shallagamu ibiddaan barbadeeffameera.

Sochiin Warraqsaa Qeerroon barattootni Oromoo Godina Diha Oromiyaa keessatti bifa qindaa’een, kutannoo fi cichoominaan mootummaa wayyaanee dura dhaabbachuun mirga ummata Oromoo sarbamaa jiru kabaጅchiisuu fi bilisummaa Oromiyaa dhugoomsuuf gaggeessaa jiran dhiphuu keessa kan isa seensise sirni abbaa irree wayyaanee aangawoota mootummaa federaalaa EPRDF/TPLF/OPDO irratti xiyyeeffannoo addaa gochuun magaalaa Jimmaatti walitti qabamuu dhoksaan mari’achiisaa jira.
Ergamtichi wayyaanee Pireezdaantii Mootummaa Naannoo Oromiyaati ofiin jedhu, Muktaar Kadirii fi Kaabinoonni Siiviil Sarviisii Federaalaa wayyaanee naannolee biyyattii Sagalan irraa walitti qabaman Sadaasa 17 bara 2014 irraa eegalee walgahii ariifachiisaaf magaalaa Jimmaa kan seena yoo tahu, tarkaanfiin humna diinaa barbadeesse kun odoo isaan jiranii fudhatamuun mootummaa wayyaanee ittuu muddamaa fi yaaddee caalu keessa seensisuutu ibsame.

Wayta ammaa kana hoomaan waraana wayyaanee magaalaa Jimmaa keessa qubsiifamee jiru waan qabe gadhiisu dhabuun dhiphina guddaa fi shakkii keessa seenuutu gabaafame. Magaalaan Jimmaatis humna waraanaa guddaan marfamtee jirti.

Amnesty report,,,Because i am Oromo part 6 MEMBERS OF OPPOSITION POLITICAL PARTIES

The Constitution guarantees the right to freely hold opinions, the right to vote and to be
elected, without distinction or discrimination, and the right to join political parties. These
rights are also protected under international law.87 Any arrest based on someone’s beliefs or
the legitimate expression of political opinion is arbitrary and unlawful under international
law.88 Amnesty International categorises persons arrested on this basis as prisoners of
conscience.
Hundreds of members of Oromo opposition political parties have been arrested in Oromia and
Addis Ababa between 2011 and 2014, in large sweeps as well as in individual incidents.
Amnesty International spoke to a number of party officials from Oromo opposition parties who
reported arrests of large numbers of their members. In addition, the organization also
interviewed over 20 people who had themselves, or whose spouses had, been arrested based
on their involvement with opposition political parties. The opposition political parties report
members at the grass-roots level are particularly vulnerable to harassment and possible
arrest, though high profile members are also targeted.

In some cases, those arrested were questioned in detention about their activities with legallyregistered
opposition political parties. In some cases, security officers alleged links between
opposition political parties and the OLF and demanded information about the connection.
The pretext of OLF support is used in many of these cases to silence influential political
voices which could pose a – peaceful political – threat to the ruling political party.
The government’s intolerance and fear of dissent manifests in ongoing arrests of members
and supporters of opposition political parties but there appears to be an increase in this
pattern around elections. An OFC opposition political party official told Amnesty International
he believes the large number of opposition members arrested in sweeps in 2014 and 2011
were in part election-related. Some people interviewed by Amnesty International reported
their problems with the government stemmed from involvement with an opposition political
party at the time of the 2010 and 2005 elections. A number of cases were reported of
opposition political party members being arrested around both the 2005 and 2010 elections,
because of their peaceful and legitimate activities, and not being released until the elections
were over:
“My father was detained in Malka Wakena [military camp] from 2005
to 2010 because he supported Oromo National Congress (ONC)

ሽመልስ ከማልና ፈትያ የሱፍ በፕሬስ ድርጅት እየተወዛገቡ ነው

‹‹ችግሮች በአስቸኳይ ካልተፈቱ ለበላይ አካል እናሳውቃለን›› ፈትያ የሱፍ
‹‹ችግሮቹ ውጫዊ ናቸው›› አቶ ሽመልስ ከማል

የመንግስት ኮሚኒኬሽን ጽ/ቤት ሚኒስትር ዴኤታ አቶ ሽመልስ ከማል እና በህዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት የባህልና ቱሪዝም ቋሚ ኮሚቴ ሰብሳቢ ፈትያ የሱፍ በኢትዮጵያ ፕሬስ ድርጅት ዙሪያ እየተወዛገቡ እንደሚገኙ ምንጮች ገልጸዋል፡፡

አቶ ሽመልስ ከማል የፕሬስ ድርጅት የቦርድ ሰብሳቢ ሲሆኑ፣ ላለፉት አራት አመታት ድርጅቱ በተለያዩ ችግሮች ተዘፍቆ እያለ በቦርድ ሰብሳቢነታቸው ችግሮቹን መፍታት የነበረባቸው ቢሆንም ተደጋጋሚ ማሳሰቢያዎችን ችላ በማለት ድርጅቱ ከእነ ችግሮቹ እንዲዘልቅ አድርገዋል በማለት የባህልና ቱሪዝም ቋሚ ኮሚቴ ሰብሳቢ ፈትያ የሱፍ ተናግረዋል፡፡ ሰሞኑን የ2007 የበጀት እቅድን ለመገምገም በተገናኙበት ወቅት የፕሬስ ድርጅት ቦርድ እና አስተዳደር በበርካታ ችግሮች ዙሪያ ወቀሳ እንደደረሰበትና ችግሮቹ እንዲፈቱም ማስጠንቀቂያ እንደተሰጠ በራሱ ድርጅት እየታተመ የሚወጣው ኢትዮጵያን ሄራልድ ጋዜጣ በቅዳሜ እትሙ አስነብቧል፡፡

በድርጅቱ ውስጥ ከፍተኛ የሆነ የአስተዳደር ብልሹነት መኖሩን የተናገሩት ፈትያ የሱፍ፣ ‹‹በራሱ ድርጅት በችግር የተተበተበ ጋዜጠኛ እንደምን የሌሎችን ድርጅቶችና ግለሰቦች የአሰራር ችግሮች ሊያጋልጥ ይችላል?›› ሲሉ ጠይቀዋል፡፡ አክለውም በተደጋጋሚ ችግሮቹ ለድርጅቱ አስተዳደር በሰራተኞች ሲቀርቡለት የዝሆን ጆሮ ይስጠኝ እያለ ማለፉን የቋሚ ኮሚቴ ሰብሳቢዋ አውስተዋል፡፡

ፈትያ የሱፍ እንደሚሉት የፕሬስ ድርጅት ቦርድ እና አስተዳደር ችግሮቹን በአስቸኳይ የማይፈታ ከሆነ ወደሚመለከተው ከፍተኛ አካል ለማስተላለፍ ከውሳኔ ላይ መደረሱን አስረድተዋል፡፡

የድርጅቱ የቦርድ ሰብሳቢ የሆኑት አቶ ሽመልስ ከማል በበኩላቸው የድርጅቱ ችግሮች ውጫዊ መሆናቸውን ይናገራሉ፡፡ ድርጅቱ የበጀት ችግሮች እንዳለበት ያወሱት አቶ ሽመልስ፣ በተጨማሪ ግን በድርጅቱ ላይ መጥፎ እይታ ያላቸው እና መጠቀሚያ ለማድረግ የሚፈልጉ አካላት በሰራተኞች ስም አላማቸውን ለማስፈጸም የሚሯሯጡ ወገኖች አሉ ሲሉ ተናግረዋል፡፡

‹‹የግል እና የመንግስት ሚዲያ ይለያያሉ፤ በአመለካከት፣ በአሰራርና በጥራት ልዩነት አላቸው›› በማለትም ሰራተኞቹ ፕሬስ ድርጅት እንደ ግል ሚዲያ ሊሰራ እንደማይችል ማስጠንቀቂያ አዘል መልዕክት አስተላልፈዋል፡፡

የድርጅቱ ስራ አስኪያጅ አቶ ሰብስቤ ከበደ እና አቶ ሽመልስ ከማል ከፍተኛ የሆነ የጥቅም ትስስሮሽ እንዳላቸው የሚገልጹት ምንጮች፣ በዚህ ትስስራቸው የተነሳም የአቶ ሽመልስ ከማል ባለቤት ያለምንም ውድድር በድርጅቱ በጋዜጠኝነት ተቀጥራ ምንም ስራ ሳትሰራ ደመወዝ ትወስድ እንደነበር፣ በኋላ ግን ‹ስራውን አልቻልኩትም› በሚል ከድርጅቱ እንደወረጣች ይናገራሉ፡፡

አቶ ሰብስቤ ከበደ በሰራተኞች ዘንድ ተቀባይነት የሌላቸው እና በተለያዩ ስብሰባዎች በይፋ ‹አልቻልክም ድርጅቱን ልቀቅ› ተብለው በሰራተኞች እንደተነገራቸው ምንጮች ይናገራሉ፡፡ ሆኖም ግን ከአቶ ሽመልስ ከማል ጋር ባለቸው የጥቅም ትስስር በስልጣናቸው እስካሁን እንደሚገኙ፣

‪#‎Justice4Hanna‬ Is the shift in power balance the cause of growing gender violence in urban Ethiopia?

The shocking and shameful story of how a 16 year old Hanna Lalango who died after been gang rapped by five men should be a wake up call for Ethiopia’s male population who perpetuate gender violence either through direct participation or willful ignorance. This is not isolated criminal case committed by lawless gangsters but something that happens quite routinely.Many of you might have heard horror stories of men throwing acid and gasoline on women who rejected their advance or a husband gunned down his wife in broad daylight. In my view, what feeds into such outrageous violence is the unbelievable level of objectification of women among the rising middle class men working the bureaucracy and the private sector. let me explain.

When I was growing up, we were thought that rural society is cruel to women because it is backward. Urban men were portrayed as modern and civilized who treat women as equal. These urban men were said to cook for their women and clean the house etc. Hence, young girls often migrate to towns preferring to work as housemaids rather than housewives in rural areas. This myth of civilized urban men might have been true perhaps during the heydays of the progressive politics of the 60s and 70s. This is not the case anymore.

I saw the hole in this myth of the civilized urban man when I was a high school student in Asala and Adama in early 2000s when I observed many of these men beating their supposedly 'equal' wives.' Later on I began to realize the urbanized and educated men have a very peculiar and systemic resentment and disrespect for women. From 2005-2008 I had the opportunity to mingle with the political and business elites of the country. In these circles women were openly portrayed in such a demeaning manner as if its a normal. Many of these mid and upper class men consider verbal and physical harassment against women in buses, restaurants and streets as part of being cool. Men of power and wealth would openly talk how they groped a secretary or even their female supervisor. Hearing how Professor so and so awarded 'B' to his young student in exchange for sex is part of regular conversation. The professors, managers and business owners would laugh with pride while their exploit is discussed by their colleagues. Therefore, it should not surprise us when young thugs commit such horrendous crime against victims like Hanna. They are just imitating what’s an accepted form of violence perpetuated by the elites within closed circulate shielded by power and privilege.

We must ask why we are hearing more of such cruel often usual forms of of violence in urban areas and perpetuated by the middle class in recent years. I have a theory and I urge specialists to investigate this. I believe one factor that might explain the rise of gender violence against women in urban area is the shifting balance of power. Historically and traditionally men were the breadwinners of the household. Although we know women worked way harder than men on any given day, tradition and the economic condition has made her subordinate and dependent on the man. This hierarchy of power is being eroded in recent years. With expanded access to education and business women are no longer bound to household activities. Wives become braid-winners in some cases bringing in more income and holding higher positions than their husbands. This is antithesis to the husband-wife relation that exists in minds of most men in that country.

Now with growing empowerment of women, this mental equilibrium is being disturbed threatening to emasculate the male population. It is the fear, envy and insecurity created by such shift in power that could explain the frenzy of jealousy and rage expressed through such horrendous verbal and physical violence. Its not just the violence that should be carefully studied but also how the male population actually responds to such news which explains the situation. What can we say about several newspapers describing an acidic attack on young lady as evidence of ‘true love?’ Don’t take me wrong, I am not saying violence against women is new in Ethiopia. We know men beat their wives, young girls are forced into underage marriage, and abduction is common. However throwing acid on women with intent to deform her and gang rapping young girls seems to me a strange and a recent phenomenon

The transition of the urban middle class men from being cool to being cruel is an alarming development. The attack on Hanna should not be taken as isolated incident committed by hooligans. Its part and expression of the wider social disease that needs greater attention and systemic response.Campaign must focus on changing the mindset of men within the school system and the bureaucracy.

The Violence Against Oromo Nationals Must Be Stopped, HRLHA(Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa)

Harassment and intimidation through arbitrary arrests, indefinite detentions without trial, kidnappings and disappearances have continued unabated in Ambo and the surrounding areas against peaceful protestors since the crackdowns of April 2014, in which more than 36 Oromos were killed by members of the federal security force.

According to HRLHA correspondents in Ambo, the major target areas of this most recent government-sponsored violence includes Ambo town and the villages of Mida Qagni district in eastern Shewa zone, approximately 25km south of Ambo town. More than 20 Oromos, students, teachers and farmers from different villages were arrested beginning November 11, 2014, until the time of the compilation of this press release. According to HRLHA reporters, the arrests were made following the protest by the people of the area against the sales of their farmland by the federal Government of Ethiopia to the investors.

Although it has been difficult to identify everyone by their names, HRLHA correspondents have confirmed that the following were among the arrested:

1- Kitata Regassa – age 70 – Wenni Village, Farmer
2- Tolessa Teshome – age 15 – Balami High School, 10th grade student
3- Dirre Masho – age 15 – Balami High School, 9th grade student
4- Tarku Bulsho – age 15 – Balami High School, 10th grade student
5- Yalew Banti – Balami High School, Teacher
6- Biyansa Ibbaa – age 15 – Balami High School, 10th grade student
7- Tesfay Biyensa – age 15 – Balami High School, 10th grade student
8- Mangistu Mosisaa – Balami, Businessman

On the other hand, in order to “clear and smoothen” the road to the victory of the election, which is to be held in the coming May 2015, the TPLF/EPRDF government of Ethiopia has started the campaigns of intimidation against whom it suspects are members of the other political organizations running for the election. Extrajudicial arrests and imprisonments, particularly in the regional state of Oromia, the most populous region in the country, has begun starting from the end of October 2014.

In this most recent wave of arrests and imprisonments that has been going on since the 30th of October 2014, and has touched almost all corners of Oromia, hundreds of Oromos from all walks of life have been apprehended and sent to prison.

According to information obtained from the HRLHA reporters, many Oromos from Wollega, Jimmaa and Illu-Ababora Zones, Western Oromia Regional State, Bale and Borana Southern Oromia Regional State were arrested for being members of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), the organization operating peacefully in Oromia Regional State. These members of the opposition political organization were accused with terrorism acts, and disseminating false and hateful information against the present government of Ethiopia. Among the detainees, three members Oromo Federalist Congress – Mr. Ahjeb Shek Mohamed, Mr. Mohamed Amin Kalfa and Mr. Naziv Jemal from Jima Zone were sentenced with two years and six months in prison and the fates of the rest detainees are yet unknown.

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) expresses its deep concern over the safety and well-being of these Oromo nationals who have been arrested without any court warrant and are being held at Mida Qagni police station and other at unknown detention centers. The Ethiopian government has a well-documented record of gross and flagrant violations of human rights, including the torturing of its own citizens who were suspected of supporting, sympathizing with and/or being members of the opposition political organizations. There have been credible reports of physical and psychological abuses committed against

በኬንያ ስደተኞችን የማፈኑን ስራ የሚያስቀጥል የደህንነት ቡድን ናይሮቢ ገብቷል:

- በኬንያ ሰላም እያለች ራሷን የምታስተዋውቀው ገዳይ ሴት ተልእኮዋን አልተሳካላትም::
- በኬንያ የሚገኙ ስደተኞች በተጠንቀቅ እንዲቆሙ መረጃውን ያስተላልፉ::

በኬንያ የሚገኙ ስደተኞችን ለማፈን የሚረዳ የደህንነት ግብረሃይል ወደ ናይሮቢ መጓዙን ከኤምባሲው የደህንነት አታቼ ቅርብ የሆኑ ዲፕሎማቶች ያደረሱኝ መረጃ ይጠቁማል::አዲስ የተላከው ሃይል በናይሮቢ የከተመውን CID ብሎ ራሱን የሚጠራው የወያኔ የስለላ መዋቅር ጋር በመቀናጀት አስፈላጊ ናቸው የተባሉ ሰዎችን በማፈን ወደ ኢትዮጵያ በሰአታት ውስጥ ለመላክ የሚያስችለውን ስራዎች እንደሚሰራ ታውቋል::

የCID አባላት ታፍነው ይወሰዳሉ የተባሉትን አዋዋል ተከታትለው የጨረሱ ሲሆን እንዲሁም በቡድን የሚገናኙ ኢትዮጵያውያንን የሚገናኙበትን ጊዜ እና አከባቢ ጠብቀው ለማፈን ክትትል ላይ መሆናቸው ታውቋል:: ከኤምባሲው የደህንነት አታቼ ቢሮ የወጣው መረጃ እንደሚያመለክተው አዳዲስ ስደተኞች አንድ ላይ ሲሆኑ ለማፈስ ዝግጅት ጨርሰዋል ስልካቸውን እንዲቀይሩ እና ከሚያውኩት ሰው ውጪ ከማንም ጋር ናይሮቢ ውስጥ እንዳይደዋወሉ ሲል እየነጠሉ እንዳይወስዷቸው ሌሎቹ ያመልጡናል ብለው ስላሰቡ ለስራው የሚሆኑ ደህንነቶች ከኢትዮጵያ ገብተዋል ብሏል:: እንዲሁም አፈናው ስደተኞቹን በተዋወቁ አዛኝ መሳይ ቆነጃጅት ቀጠሮ ይፈጸማል የሚል ተጨማሪ መረጃ ተገኝቷል::

ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ በናይሮቢ ስደተኞችን እያጠመደች በተመረዘ ምግብ የምትገለው እና ራሷን ሰላ እያለች የምትጠራው ቆንጆ የተሰማራችበት ተልእኮ እንዳልተሳካ ታውቋል::በኢትዮጵያ ኤምባሲ ውስጥ እንደ ዲፕሎማት የተመዘገበቸው እና ለአምባሳደሩና ለደህንነት አታቼው ቅርብ እንደሆነች የምትታወቀው እንዲሁን ከCID አባላት ጋር በጋራ እንደምትሰራ የተደረሰባት ይህች ግለሰብ ከዚህ ቀደም በሚሊዮን ሹሩቤ ላይ የተጠቀመችውን ቃላቶች ልረዳህ እችላለሁ የፈለከው አደርግልሃለሁ ከማለት ጀምሮ ማግባት እና መውለድ ስለምፈልግ ከእንዳተ አይነት እውቀት ካለው ሰው ጋር ...አንተን ለማኖርም ሆነ ለማዝናናት እችላለሁ ና ወደ ቤቴ ልውሰድህ ...ወዘተ የሚል የማጃጃያ ዘዴ እና ውድ ግብዣዎችን በማድረግ አንድን ወጣት ለማጥመድ ያደረገችው ሙከራ ሳይሳካላት እንደቀረ የኤምባሲው ምንጮች ጠቁመዋል::ግለሰቧ ቋሚ ስልክ ቁጥር የሌላት ሲሆን በምትፈለግበት ሰአት የማትገኝ ድንገት ደውላ ለግብዣ የምታመቻች ናት::እንዲሁም በደወለችው ቁጥር ተመልሶ ቢደወል ስልኩ ዝግ መሆኑን ምንጮቹ አክለው ገልጸዋል::‪#‎ምንሊክሳልሳዊ‬

ወያኔ ማን ነው ( ሄኖክ የሺጥላ )

በዝምታ እና ምን ይሉን ይሆን ያለፍነው እና ያሳለፍነው ዘመን ይቆጨኛል ። አብሮ በመኖር ስም ፣ በረጅም ታሪክ ስም ፣ በኢትዮጵያዊነት ስም የተቀበልነውን በድል ሳስብ ይዘገንነኛል ።
ለገዢው ስርዓት ራስ እና እጅ ሆነው ፣ እያሰቡ ፣ እየገደሉ ፣ እየመረዙ ያሉት እነማን እንደሆኑ ሳስብ 23 ዓመት ሙሉ በይሉኝታ መሞቴ ይቆጨኛል ። ስለ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦች እኩልነት የሚያወራ ስርዓት ፣ የአማራን ጨቁዋኝ መደብ አንበረከኩ እያለ ያለ ምንም ሀፍረት የሚያወራ ብቻ ሳይሆን ሃውልት ላይ ቀርጾ ያስቀመጠ ስርዓት ፣ አንተም ጨቁዋኝ ፣ ካንድ ጎሳ እና ላንድ ጎሳ የበላይነት የምትሰራ ስርዓት ነህ ሲሉት ፣ አገር ይያዝልኝ ፣ ትግሬ እና ወያኔ ለይ ፣ እና ወዘተ የሚሉ መካን አስተሳሰቦችን ዛሬም ከኛው ኢትዮጵያዊ ነን ከምንል ሰዎች ስሰማ ፣ እውነትም የመቶ ዓመት የቤት ሥራ ነው የሰጡን እላለሁ ።

እኩልነትን በምን እንግለጸው ? እደግመዋለሁ የህዝቦች እኩልነትን በምን እንግለጸው ? ጎነደር ውስጥ ሐዳስ ጠጅ ቤት ፣ ክብሮም ጋራዥ ፣ ወለጋ ውስጥ ተወልደ ሻይ ቤት ፣ ናዝሬት ሸዊት ሆቴል ፣ አዲስ አበባ መቀሌ ሆቴል ፣ ትግራይ ሆቴል ፣ አክሱም ሆቴል ፣ አክሱም ወርቅ ቤት ፣ አክሱማይ ፣ ባህር ዳር ገብሩ ሆቴል እና ወዘተ ፣ ባንጻሩ ግን ትግራይ አንድም የሌላ ብሔር ሱቅም ይሁን መናፈሻ ፣ ሆቴል ይሁን ሱቅ በደረቴ ባለማየት ? እባካችሁ እኩልነትን በምን እንግለጸው ? ከለማኝ እስከ ጠቅላይ ሚንስቴር በትግሬ የተሞላ ስርዓትን በመገንባት ? የእኩልነት ምንጩ ፍርሃት ነው እንዴ ? እኩል ለመሆን አንዱ በጣም መርዘም አንዱ በጣም ማጠር አለበት ? እኩል ማለት በዳይ እና ተባዳይ ማለት ነው ፣ እኩል ምንድን ነው ? እኩል ማለት በሞት እና በሕይወት መሃከል ያለ ቀጭን መንገድ ነው እንዴ ? እኩል ማለት እኔ ልናገር አንተ ዝም በል ነው እንዴ ? አረ እኩል ማለት ምን ማለት ነው ?

ሰሞኑን በኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቪዥን ያየሁትን ልንገራችሁ ፣ አንድ በጣም የማውቀው ልጅ ፣ ከ 5 ኪሎ ዩኒቨርስቲ በኬሚካል ኢንጂነሪንግ በዲግሪ በ 1997 ወይ ( 2005) የተመረቀ ፣ የ አድዋ ልጅ ( ግን ቤተሰቦቹ ወልቃይት ጠገዴ ተወልደው ያደጉ ) ባላስልጣን ሆኖ አየሁት ፣ መግለጫ የሚሰጥ ፣ ስለ ባህል የሚናገር ፣ አረ ምኑ ቅጡ ፣ ይህንን ሰው በደንብ አውቀዋለሁ፣ እንኩዋን ስለ ኢትዮጵያ ታሪክ የራሱን ያንድ ሳምንት ውሎ በቅጡ የማያውቅ እንጭጭ ነው ፣ ግን ዋናው ነገር ትግሬ ነው ፣ ስለዚህ " ትግሬ ነህና ወደ ስልጣን ትወጣለህ " በሚለው ሕግ መሰረት ዛሬ ከፍለፊቱ ያቺን ባለ ኮከብ ባንዲራ ደንቅሮ መግለጫ ይሰጠናል ።

የትግራይ ሕዝብ ሁሉ በዚህ ስርዓት ተጠቃሚ አይደልም ለምትሉ ፣ ተጠቃሚ ያልሆነውን አንተ በግልህ የምታውቀውን ንገረኝ ። እኔ ትግሬ " ምናልባት ሙሉ ለሙሉ በሚባልበት ደረጃ " ወያኔን ሊደግፍ ይችላል እላለሁ ፣ አንተ ደሞ ተሳስተሃል የትግራይ ሕዝብ ወያኔን አይደግፍም እያልክ ነው ፣ የምትለው እውነት ከሆነ ጥሩ ነው ፣ ለስህተቴ ይቅርታ እንደጠይቅ ከፈለክ ግን እነዛ አንተ የምታቃቸው እኔ ግን የማላቃቸው " ጸረ ወያኔ ትግሬዎች ከወዴት እንደሚኖሩ ንገረኝ ?" ። እኔ ከኖርኩበት ፣ ካሳለፍኩት ታሪክ ተነስቼ ነው " የማውቀው ትግሬ ሁሉ ወያኔን ይደግፋል !" ያልኩት ። የማውቃችሁ ትግሬዎች ይሄ እውነት እንደሆነ እባካችሁ ዛሬም በዝምታችሁ መስክሩልኝ ። እኔ እንደ ፕሮፌሰር መስፍን ወልደ ማርያም እድለኛ አይደለሁም ። ማለቴ " አንድ የትግራይ ለማኝ አግኝቼ ስለሚሰማው አናግሬው አላውቅም " ፣ እኔ የማውቃቸው ትግሬዎች ፣ እስከ ምርጫ 97 ድረስ ፍጹም ወዳጆቼ ፣ ከምርጫ 97 በሁዋላ እነሱ ራሳቸው በፈቀዱት ምርጫ አፈር ስላበላሁዋቸው ያኮረፉ ከዚያም አልፎ ሊያስገድሉኝ ብዙ የጣሩ ግን፣ ጥረታቸውን ጣር አደረኩባቸው ። ፍቅሬን ማር የተለወሰ እሬት አደረገቡኝ ። እና እኔ የማወራው ስለማላቀው የትግራይ ገበሬ አይደልም ፣ እኔ የማወራልህ ስለ አዲስ አበባው የወያኔ ትግሬ ነው ፣ ይሄ የውሸት ገንዘብ ቻይና እያሳተመ ከተማይቱን ብር በብር ያረጋት ፣ ስለ ነገ የማያስበው ፣ ይሄ ግብረ ሰዶማዊነት ፣ ሽርሙጥና ፣ ሌብነት በሀገሪቱ እንዲስፋፋ ስላደረገው ይሄ በጭቃ ብይ አብሮኝ ተጫውቶ ስላደገው ዛሬ ደሞ በሰው ብይ ስለሚጫወተው ባለ ጊዜ ። እኔ የማወራልህ እነሱ እንዳወራ የሚፈልጉትን ሳይሆን ቢወራ የሚፈሩትን ነው ። ታስታውስ ከነበር በአዲስ አበባ ከምርጫ 97 ማግስት አንድ ጋዜጣ " ዕለተ እሁድ " ወጥታ ነበር ፣ ያቺ ጋዜጣ ከስርዓቱ ጋ የምያውደለድሉትን ማናቸውንም ብሔር ስለ ማስገለል ታወራ ነበር ፣ ያቺን ጋዜጣ ለቅመው አቃጠሉዋት ፣ ከዛች ጋዜጣ በሁዋላ ጠቅላያችን " እኛ ቀይ መስመር ፣ እጅ እንቆርጥለን " ምናምን ይሉ የነበሩት ፣ እኛ ዛሬ ከእግራችን ስር የተኙት ፣አዎ እሳቸው ፣ ድርጅቱ ነው ያለው ዔርምያስ ለገሰ ( ዘ ካምፓኒ እንዳለው ማይክል ስኮርፕዮ )፣ ትእዛዝ አስተላለፉ ፣ ቀጭን የዘረኛ እና የማን አለብኝ ትእዛዝ ፣ ታዲያ ያኔ እኔ የማውቀው የወያኔ ትግሬ ምን አለ መሰለህ " አርፈህ ካልተቀመጥክ እንገልሃለን " ፣ የሩቅ ሰው እንዳይመስልህ ፣ ያያቴን ሽሮ ሲልስ ያደገ ፣ እናቱ ከኛ ቤት በተበደረችው ሳፋ ነበር ሱሪውን የምታጥብለት ፣ ይሄ አብሮነት ምንም ትዝ አላለውም ፣ " ዝም በል! " ሲለኝ ያኔ ጫካ ለመግባት ወሰንኩ ፣ ቢያንስ ቢያንስ በራሱ የዘይት ጠርሙስ በልጅነቱ ጭንቅላቱን በርቅሼ የጣልኩት እኔ ነበርኩ ፣ ዘመን ጀግና እርጎት እኔን ሊያሰፈራራ እንደማይችል እሱም በደንብ ያውቀዋል ፣ " እባክህ እያነበብከው ከሆነ ምን እንዳልኩህ ንገራቸው። እኔ ልንገራቸው ፣ አዎ ያቺ ቀን ለኔ ሁሉንም ነገር ቀየረች ፣ ታክሲ ይዤ እንጦጦ ማርያም ወጣሁ ፣ ከሚኒሊክ ሃውልት አጠገብ አፈር ዘግኘ ቃምኩ ፣ ቃል ገባሁ ለራሴ " ባንዳን እስከማጠፋ ድረስ በምንም አይነት ዝም እንደማልል !!!" ምን ትላለህ አንተ ተከራካሪ ፣ አንተ " የትግሬ ጠላት የምትለኝ ፣ ግን ትግሬ ያልሆንከው ፣ የግፍ የመከራ ገፈት ቀማሹ ፣ አንተ ምን ትላለህ ወዳጄ ?"

#BecauseIAmOromo Rally in Phoenix, Arizona (Nov. 13, 2014)

Jaarmiyaan Hawaasa Oromoo Sadaasa 13, 2014 hiriira ba’uun gabaasa dhaabbatni mirga namoomaa Amnesty International Onkoloolessa 28, 2014, dalagaa faashistummaa ummata Oromoo irratti mootummaan Wayyaanee raawwatu saxiluun dhiheesuu isaatiif degerssa qabu agarsiise. Dhaabbatni mirga namoomaa Amnesty Internationalf galata guddaa qabachaa, addatti ammo mataa gabaasa kanaa Mrs. Claire Bestonf haala ulfaataa bakka mootummaan qorannoo bifa kanaa geggeessuuf hin haayyamne jalatti adeemsisu isheetif, Haawasini Oromoo Arizoona galata gudda keennef. Dalagaan ammenya fi gara jabinaa ummata Oromoo irratti raawwatama jiru kana daran ta’uu hubachiisaa, Moottumman warra dhiyaa kesuumaayyu Amariika fi Biriitish Imaammata dantaa alaa isanni akka irra deebihani ilaalanis gafatani jiru. Haawasini Oromoo Arizoona lammiilee Oromoo biyyoota ambaa keessa jiraatanf dhaamsa isaani dabarfatan: “Abbaan iyyate Ollaan dirmata” akkuma jedhamuu miidhaa Oromoo irra gahaa jiru kan saxil baasuu dandenyu yoo nuu irrati ciccinee hojjene qofa ta’uu beekne kan Amnesty International ifa godhe akka fakkenyati qabatuun sagalee ummataa tahuun mootummootaa fi dhaabbiilee adda addaatti akka iyyata ummata keenya dhiheessitan waamicha isiniif dhiheessa; nuu gama keenyan iyyana ummataa keenya mootummootaa USA dhiheefane, gara fulduratis dhaabbiilee adda addaatti akka iyyata ummata Oromoo dhiheefannu jabinnan irrati hojjechuf waada galun hiriira keenya milkin xumurane.

Jaarmiyaan Hawaasa Oromoo

Amnesty report,,,Because i am Oromo part 5 GROUPS AT RISK OF ARBITRARY ARREST IN OROMIA BASED ON ACTUAL OR SUSPECTED DISSENT

PEACEFUL PROTESTORS
The right to peacefully assemble to protest is protected in Ethiopian and international law.
The Constitution contains an expansive provision on this right which states “Everyone shall
have the freedom, in association with others, to peaceably assemble without arms, engage in
public demonstration and the right to petition.”24 The response received by Amnesty
International from the Oromia Justice Bureau noted that “appropriate regulations are put in
place in the interest of public convenience relating to the location of open-air meetings and
the route of movement of demonstrators or, for the protection of democratic rights, public
morality and peace during such a meeting or demonstration.” But, it further noted, “This
does not exempt organizers from liability under laws enacted to protect the well-being of
youth or the honour and reputation of individuals, and laws prohibiting propaganda.”25
The United Nations (UN) Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law
Enforcement Officials and the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials establish
guidelines which govern, inter alia, situations in which law enforcement officials may use
force without violating human rights, including the right to life. They state law enforcement
officials may use only such force as is necessary and proportionate to achieve legitimate aims
and may resort to the intentional lethal use of firearms only if strictly unavoidable to protect
human life.

The violent crackdown on student protests across Oromia in April and May 2014 had a
number of large and small-scale precedents in which the federal and regional authorities
aggressively and sometimes violently suppressed protests and demonstrations in Oromia.
They included large-scale incidents involving protests occurring in multiple locations and
smaller, more localised demonstrations.27
Thousands of Oromos have been arrested between 2011 and 2014 for participating in
peaceful protests on a wide range of issues. Several thousand people were reported to have
been arrested in the context of a series of protests carried out by the Muslim community in
2012-2013 against alleged government interference in Islamic affairs, and during and after
the ‘Master Plan’ protests in 2014. Several thousand people were reported to have been
arrested in relation to coordinated protests staged by farmers in 10 locations across Oromia
in 2012. Around 1000 further arrests were reported to Amnesty International as having taken
place in seven different incidents of peaceful protests.
Protests are taken as criticism of, or opposition to, the government, which is not tolerated, no
matter what issue or grievance is the subject of the demonstration. The government has
shown intolerance of protests, particularly since the disputed 2005 elections, in the
aftermath of which security services opened fire on peaceful protestors in Addis Ababa and
thousands of people were arrested around the country.28 Amnesty International is aware of
incidents in other parts of the country of the suppression of peaceful protests and the related
arrests of many people, including during the Muslim protest movement. These are regular
occurrences in Oromia.

Amnesty report,,,Because i am Oromo part 4 “THE OROMO LIBERATION FRONT (OLF)

The majority of Oromos arrested for actual or suspected dissent interviewed by Amnesty International, as well
as suspected Oromo dissidents arrested in scores of other cases reported to the organization, were accused of
supporting the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).
The OLF (and its armed wing the Oromo Liberation Army, OLA), formed in the 1970s, was one of a number of
armed groups that fought against the previous government of Mengistu Hailemariam. When Mengistu
Hailemariam was overthrown in 1991, the OLF was briefly part of a transitional government led by the
Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition. However, the OLF always had an uneasy
relationship with the TPLF – the strongest political party in the EPRDF coalition. These tensions led to the OLF
leaving the transitional government in 1992. Subsequently, thousands of OLF fighters, supporters and
suspected supporters were arrested.
Since then, the OLF has continued to wage a low-level armed struggle against the government, stating that its
fundamental objective is to exercise the Oromo peoples’ right to self-determination.
The 1994 Constitution guarantees the “right of self-determination up to secession” (Article 39). Nevertheless,

since the OLF left the transitional government, thousands of Oromos have been arrested and detained, often
without charge or trial, and sometimes for many years, on the allegation of supporting the OLF. In June 2011,
parliament proscribed the OLF as a terrorist organization.
The Constitution established Ethiopia as a multicultural federation based on ethno-national representation
and provided for nine ethnic-based regional states. However, the regional state governments are considered to be weak compared to the federal government. Further, the Oromo-based party in the ruling EPRDF coalition –
the Oromo People’s Democratic Organisation (OPDO), which was formed in 1990 – is widely known to have
been created by the TPLF, and never had the same base of popular support in the region as the OLF. The OPDO
continues to be distrusted by many Oromos. In addition, the OPDO is considered weak within the ruling
coalition.
The OLF has been riven by leadership divisions and relatively inactive in recent years. Estimates put the
number of fighters now at a few thousand. A summary of the group’s activities in 2012 (the latest available)
listed around 65 incidents, including single targeted killings, attacks on military camps, ambushes and
skirmishes. The group says it killed around 150 people during 2012 including soldiers, local and federal
police, ‘security officers’ and militia.

Amnesty report,,,Because i am Oromo part3 “The prison speaks Oromiffa”

A number of former prisoners have commented on the high proportion of Oromos among the
population of Ethiopia’s federal prisons and the federal police detention centre of Maikelawi.
Siye Abraha, former politburo member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the
most powerful group in the ruling coalition, famously said upon his release in 2007 after
more than five years’ detention on alleged corruption charges “the prison speaks Oromiffa”
(the Oromo language, also referred to as Afan Oromo). Former President of Ethiopia, Negasso
Gidada, has stated that, when he left power in 2001, there were 25,000 Oromo prisoners in
regional and federal prisons on the accusation of supporting the Oromo Liberation Front
(OLF).4
Oromia is Ethiopia’s largest region, covering more than 30% of the country’s landmass,5 and
the Oromo are the largest ethnic group in the country – comprising 35.3% of the population
according to a 2012 Inter-Censal Population Survey.6 However, this numerical size alone
does not account for the high proportion of Oromos in the country’s prisons. Oromia and the
Oromo have long been subject to repression based on an imputed opposition to the
government. Among the Oromo population inside Ethiopia and in exile, there is much
criticism of the government’s treatment of the Oromo, the historical treatment of the Oromo
by previous governments and criticism of the government’s practices in the region.

The ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is hostile to dissent
wherever and however it manifests. Since the 2005 elections, the environment for freedom of
expression and association has steadily deteriorated – members of legally-registered
opposition political parties have been jailed in large numbers, the independent media and
human rights civil society have been dismantled through a combination of harassment and
repressive legislation. But in Oromia, the government’s intolerance of dissent is particularly
potent. The government has demonstrated repeatedly that it anticipates a high level of
dissent among the Oromo. This, in conjunction with the numerical size of the Oromo and the
sense of Oromo identity and nationalism, is assumed to pose a potential political threat.
As a result, hundreds of Oromos are regularly arrested, individually and in groups, based on
their actual or suspected opposition to the government. Thousands have been arrested in the
last few years alone. Signs of dissent are sought out and suppressed. Peaceful protestors,
students, people celebrating Oromo cultural heritage and members of political opposition
parties are targeted for arbitrary arrest and detention. In addition, people from all walks of
life, including medical professionals, artists, athletes, businesspeople, teachers and many
others, are regularly arrested and detained based on their suspected political opinion.

Amnesty: Grove overgrep mot oromere i Etiopia

Etiopias største folkegruppe, oromerne, blir utsatt for systematisk forfølgelse og diskriminering. De siste fire årene har landets sikkerhetsstyrker arrestert minst 5000 oromere, hevder Amnesty International i en ny rapport. - Meget alvorlige påstander, sier statssekretær Bård Glad Pedersen.

Gunnar Zachrisen

Politiet slår ned på en protest ved universitetet i 

Dira-Dawa. Bildet er fra Amnesty-rapporten.

Oromiske etiopiere i London protesterer mot massearrestasjoner og drap etter at sikkerhetsstyrker åpnet ild mot studentaksjoner i flere byer. Hendelsene skjedde i perioden april-juni 2014. Antall drepte oppgitt i mediene varierer mellom ni og 70. Foto: NTB-Scanpix/Demotix/J.Armstead

Oromerne utgjør om lag 34 prosent av landets befolkning på 97 millioner mennesker og er landets største folkegruppe.

Rapporten beskriver omfattende undertrykkelse og enkeltskjebner.

• En student fortalte Amnesty at han ble arrestert og torturert etter at han – i forbindelse med en konkurranse - hadde laget en idéskisse til et næringslivsprosjekt. Påstanden fra politiet var at skissen var politisk motivert.
• En sanger fortalte at han ble arrestert, torturert og tvunget til bare å synge sanger som inneholdt ros av myndighetene.
• En skolejente fortalte hvordan hun ble arrestert fordi hun nektet å avgi falsk forklaring mot en annen person.

Bajonett i øyet

• En tidligere lærer viste fram merker etter slag og skader som gjorde at han ble blind på ett øye. Skadene var forårsaket av en bajonett politiet benyttet. Det skjedde etter at læreren hadde nektet å følge ordre om å undervise elevene i propaganda om regjeringspartiets framskritt.
• En ung jente fortalte hvordan hun, over tid, mistet begge foreldrene og fire brødre som følge av dødsfall under arrestasjon, fengsling eller «forsvinning». Som 16-åring endte hun opp som enslig forsørger for to mindre søsken.

Siden 2011 har myndighetene nektet Amnesty International å reise inn i Etiopia. Menneskerettighetsorganisasjonen har derfor samlet inn sitt materiale gjennom intervjuer med flyktninger i utlandet, samt e-post- og telefonsamtaler med oromere inne i landet. Mesteparten av materialet stammer fra samtaler med 176 oromere i fire ulike flyktningleirer; to leirer i Kenya, én i Somaliland og én i Uganda. Til sammen er det innhentet 240 beretninger fra oromere.

«Dusinvis av døde»

Rapporten, som ble utgitt i oktober, omtaler også demonstrasjoner i Oromia i april – mai 2014. Oromiske studenter sto i spissen for protestaksjonene, som var rettet mot myndighetenes såkalte «Integrerte masterplan». Planen tok sikte på å utvide hovedstaden Addis Abeba, inn på oromisk territorium, til fortrengsel for områdets bønder.  

«Sikkerhetsstyrker, bestående av både statlig politi og militære spesialstyrker besvarte protestene med unødvendig og overdreven maktbruk. Flere steder brukte de ekte ammunisjon mot fredelige demonstranter, og de julte opp hundrevis av fredelige demonstranter og skuelystne. Dette førte til dusinvis av døde og et stort antall skadde. I kjølvannet av protestaksjonene ble tusener av mennesker arrestert», skriver Amnesty i sin rapport.

Amnesty report,,,Because i am Oromo part2

Certain behaviour arouses suspicion, such as refusal to join the ruling political party or
movement around or in and out of the region. Some people ‘inherit’ suspicion from their
parents or other family members. Expressions of dissenting opinions within the Oromo party
in the ruling coalition – the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) – have also
been responded to with the accusation that the dissenter supports the OLF. Family members
have also been arrested in lieu of somebody else wanted for actual or suspected dissenting
behaviour, a form of collective punishment illegal under international law.

In some of these cases too, the accusation of OLF support and arrest on that basis appears to
be a pretext used to warn, control or punish signs of ‘political disobedience’ and people who
have influence over others and are not members of the ruling political party. But the constant
repetition of the allegation suggests the government continues to anticipate a level of
sympathy for the OLF amongst the Oromo population writ large. Further, the government
appears to also believe that the OLF is behind many signs of peaceful dissent in the region.
However, in numerous cases, the accusation of supporting the OLF and the resulting arrest
do not ever translate into a criminal charge. The majority of all people interviewed by
Amnesty International who had been arrested for their actual or suspected dissenting
behaviour or political opinion said that they were detained without being charged, tried or
going to court to review the legality of their detention, in some cases for months or years.
Frequently, therefore, the alleged support for the OLF remains unsubstantiated and
unproven. Often, it is merely an informal allegation made during the course of interrogation.
Further, questions asked of actual or suspected dissenters by interrogators in detention also
suggest that the exercise of certain legal rights – for example, participation in a peaceful
protest – is taken as evidence of OLF support. A number of people interviewed by Amnesty
International had been subjected to repeated arrest on the same allegation of being antigovernment
or of OLF support, without ever being charged.
Amnesty International interviewed around 150 Oromos who were targeted for actual or
suspected dissent. Of those who were arrested on these bases, the majority said they were
subjected to arbitrary detention without judicial review, charge or trial, for some or all of the
period of their detention, for periods ranging from several days to several years. In the
majority of those cases, the individual said they were arbitrarily detained for the entire
duration of their detention. In fewer cases, though still reported by a notable number of
interviewees, the detainee was held arbitrarily – without charge or being brought before a
court – during an initial period that again ranged from a number of weeks to a number of
years, before the detainee was eventually brought before a court.

Open letter to Dawuud Ibsa, chairman of OLF National Council: a call for your immediate and unconditional resignation

Dear Obbo Dawuud,

First of all, we would like to thank you for your contributions to the Oromo peoples’ struggle for freedom and democracy. You have done so much and sacrificed your entire life for our people. As many Oromos have, you were imprisoned; poisoned, tortured, and suffered an imaginable hardship for our people to achieve a meaningful existence and for that, the Oromo nation will always be grateful. However, the Oromo national liberation struggle entered a stalemate while you are at the helm of OLF. This is a concern of the overwhelming majority of Oromos, at home and abroad. Today, our enemies are committing an imaginable crime against our people and our people are left without anyone to fend off the systemic oppression. We are writing you this letter with heavy burden and with the out most concern for the state of our struggle and our bleeding nation. The Oromo people believed in OLF as a vanguard organization and that trust is eroding fast. Our struggle is at crossroads and we need to act now. We are writing you this letter to ask you for what a true patriot can, and should, do for his people in this most trying of times; for the sake of the people for whose liberty you were prepared to give the ultimate sacrifice, your very life, please resign! If you love the Oromo people and if you still wish and believe the Oromo deserve a national self-determination, the time has come for you to step-down as a leader of our struggle and hand over to someone with a clear vision, determination, and the political will and skills to move the Oromo struggle forward so that the wishes and aspirations of our people—freedom—will be realized. Resign, in the best interest of your beloved organization, OLF, for whose survival you sacrificed the best years of your youth and adult life.

Here are some of the reasons why we are asking you to gracefully step aside:

1. Under your leadership, our beloved organization has been detached from our homeland, too far away to hear the suffering of our people; too entangled in internal conflict, held hostage by a foreign government for their own self-interest, and too weak to effect any kind of change,

አቃቢ ህግ በጦማርያኑና ጋዜጠኞቹ ላይ የመሰረተውን ክስ እንዲያሻሽል ታዘዘ

ክሱ ተሻሽሎ መቅረቡን ለማየት ለህዳር 24 ቀጠሮ ተሰጥቷል

የፌደራል አቃቢ ህግ በእነ ሶልያና ሽመልስ የክስ መዝገብ በጦማርያኑና በጋዜጠኞቹ ላይ የመሰረተውን የሽብር ክስ እንዲያሻሽል የልደታ ከፍተኛ ችሎት ትዕዛዝ ሰጠ፡፡

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ፍርድ ቤቱ ዛሬ ህዳር 3/2007 ዓ.ም በዋለው ችሎት ቀደም ብሎ የተከሳሽ ጠበቆች ያቀረቡትን የክስ መቃወሚያ መርምሮ ብይን በመስጠት በንባብ አሰምቷል፡፡ በዚህ መሰረትም ፍርድ ቤቱ በክስ መቃወሚያው ላይ የቀረቡትን ዝርዝር ነጥቦች መርምሮ በተወሰኑ ነጥቦች ላይ አቃቢ ህግ ክሱን እንዲያሻሽል ትዕዛዝ ሲሰጥ፣ በሁለተኛነት ቀርቦ የነበረው የክስ ይዘት በአንደኛው የክስ ይዘት ላይ መጠቃለል ስለሚችል ሁለተኛውን የክስ ይዘት ፍርድ ቤቱ ሙሉ ለሙሉ ውድቅ አድርጎታል፡፡

በክስ ዝርዝሩ ላይ ተከሳሾቹ ‹‹ለአመጽ ማነሳሳትና መምራት›› የሚያስችል ስልጠና ወስደዋል በሚል በተጠቀሰው ላይ ስልጠናው መቼ፣ በማን እና በምን ጉዳዮች ላይ ተሰጠ የሚለው ግልጽ ስላልሆነ አቃቢ ህግ ክሱን እንዲያሻሽል ተጠይቋል፡፡
በተጨማሪም ተከሳሾቹ አመጽ ለመምራት የስራ ክፍፍል አድርገዋል በሚል የተጠቀሰባቸው የክሱ ይዘት ‹‹ምን አይነት የስራ ክፍፍል፣ ማን ምን እንዲሰራ ክፍፍሉ ተደረገ›› የሚለውን ስለማያመለክት ይህንንም መሻሻል እንዳለበት ፍርድ ቤቱ ወስኗል፡፡

በተጨማሪም በክሱ ዝርዝር ላይ ‹‹ቡድን›› እና ‹‹ድርጅት›› በሚል (ግንቦት 7፣ ኦነግ ወይስ ሌላ የሚለውን ስለማይገልጽ) በደፈናው የቀረቡት ነጥቦች ላይ በዝርዝር መቀመጥ ስላለባቸው አቃቢ ህግ ማሻሻያ እንዲያደርግ ታዝዟል፡፡

በሌላ በኩል የተከሳሽ ጠበቆች ‹‹በኢሳት ሬድዮና ቴሌቪዥን መረጃ በመስጠት›› በሚል ተከሳሾች ላይ የቀረበው የክስ ይዘት ሆን ተብሎ ወደ ሌላ አካል (ግንቦት 7) ጋር ለማገናኘት ነው በሚል ያቀረቡትን መቃወሚያ፣ ‹‹በኢሳትና በግንቦት 7 መካከል ያለው ግንኙነት ወደፊት በማስረጃ የሚታይ ነው በሚል ፍርድ ቤቱ መቃወሚያውን ውድቅ አድርጎታል፡፡

ከተከሳሽ ጠበቆች መካከል የሆኑት አቶ አምሃ መኮንን ከችሎቱ በኋላ ለጋዜጠኞች እንደተናገሩት፣ ፍርድ ቤቱ በተከሳሽ ጠበቆች ላይ የቀረበውን የክስ መቃወሚያ ጊዜ ወስዶ መርምሮ ውሳኔ እንዳሳለፈ ጠቅሰዋል፡፡ ይሻሻላሉ የተባሉት የክሱ ይዘቶች ላይ ጥያቄ የተነሳላቸው አቶ አምሃ የውሳኔው ዝርዝር በጽሑፍ ገና እንዳልደረሳቸው ጠቅሰው፣ ‹‹አቃቢ ህግ በታዘዘው መሰረት ክሱን የማያሻሽል ከሆነ ይሻሻላሉ የተባሉት የክሱ ይዘቶች ውድቅ የሚሆኑበት አሰራር አለ›› ብለዋል፡፡