Court sets prominent Oromo opposition leader Obbo Bekele Gerba free on bail

Oromo  opposition leader Bekele Gerba should have walked out of prison by now after a supreme court on Monday October 1, 2017 granted him the right to posting a bond and walk free.

Deputy Chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), Bekele still faces an uncertain future because of the serious 'criminal' charges that the state prosecutor has lodged against 

him and his comrades, most of whom are in prison.

According to Addis Standard, a federal high court "acquitted five of the 22 defendants, reduced the terrorism charge against Bekele Gerba to criminal charges, and ordered the remaining 16 to defend the terrorism charges brought by the federal prosecutors."
Bekele's release on bail has been met with mixed reactions by his family, and his daughter, Boontu Bekele, was quoted by Addis Standard as saying:
“We are relieved that the Supreme court granted my father the bail, but we are at the same time worried that he is facing serious criminal charges; we are even more worried because we know all the charges against him were politically motivated."
According to Addis Standard, Bekele Gerba, who was detained on Dec. 23 2015 for the second time since 2011, during which he was sentenced to eight years in prison suspected of allegedly belonging to the banned Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). He spent almost four of the eight years before he was freed in April 2015. In a May 2015 interview with Addis Standard, Bekele Gerba, known for his outspoken criticism of widespread injustices in Ethiopia, said prison was “not a place one appreciates to be. But I think it is also the other way of life as an Ethiopian; unfortunately it has become the fate of many of our people.”
Bekele Gerba will return to the federal high court 4th criminal bench on Monday Nov. 06 to begin defending the criminal charges against him. Currently, more than three dozens of the OFC leadership and rank and file members are in jail, including the party’s chairman Dr. Merera Gudina,

“FINISH HIM OFF”: Horrifying audio of Ethiopian security forces killing unarmed protesters in Ambo

ON Thursday, Oct. 26, Ethiopian security forces shot and killed at least 11 protesters and wounded 23 others in Ambo town, 120 kilometers west of the capital, Addis Ababa.

Ambo is no stranger to violence or expressions of dissent. The popular Oromo protests, by Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, which culminated in the declaration of a nationwide state of emergency last October, started in this town in May 2014. Security forces killed dozens of protesters on its streets in2014 and 2016 as the federal army took over the restive town to stamp out the protests.

Since the state of emergency was lifted in August, an eerie calm had prevailed in Ambo ― and in much of the restive Oromia region, the largest of Ethiopia’s nine-linguistic based federal states. But that semblance of calm ended abruptly on Thursday when the federal army returned.

Ambo is currently under siege. The U.S. embassy has expressed concerns and called on security forces to exercise restraint. However, outside of Ethiopia, the unfolding crisis has received scant media coverage.

On Oct. 27, BBC Afaan Oromo released a 30-second video from Thursday’smassacre in Ambo. The chilling video, which appears to be a collage of short clips from around Ambo, offers a raw evidence of the federal army’sindiscriminate and brutal slaughter of civilians. 

Ten seconds into the video, soldiers are seen marching down an empty street. Suddenly, someone tells a soldier in clearly audible Amharic “Betisew (በጥሰው)!” which in this context means “fire” or “let it rip.” The order was immediately followed by a gunfire blast. The firing soldier appears to be given orders by a superior or colleague and follows as commanded.

The horrific monologue is as follows:

Speaker (presumably a commanding officer): Fire!

(Soldier fires a round.)

Speaker: Belew! (The Amharic word በለው loosely means “hit it!”, a clear order to fire again.)

(Soldier fires another round).

Speaker: Belew!

(Soldier fires multiple rounds).

Wails of an injured person can be heard at a distance. We hear more rounds being fired. The speaker resumes commands: Digemew! (ድገመው), which means, “shoot (do it) again!” More blasts go off.

The commander, the only person speaking intelligibly in the video, yells the final order: “Finish him off!” (ጨርሰው!). BBC bleeped out the next statement by the officer. However, OPride has confirmed that the speaker used profanity to insult the mother of the victim. Another round was fired and this one appears to have killed the victim, who can no longer be heard.

Ethiopia parliament speaker Abadula Gemeda says 'disrespect' made him quit

In comments carried by the state-affiliated Oromia Broadcasting Network, Abadula said he was dissatisfied with the EPRDF's treatment of his people.

"I resigned because my peoples and party were disrespected," he said. "However, I will struggle to bring the necessary respect and do the best I can for Oromo people to gain their rights." Obbo Abadula Gemeda

He is one of the highest-ranking government officials to resign since the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition took power in 1991.
A former army chief of staff, Abadula is also a founder of the Oromo People's Democratic Organisation (OPDO) C, which represents the Oromos within the EPRDF
Oromos led a wave of anti-government protests that began in late 2015 and were only quelled after more than 940 deaths and the imposition of a 10-month state of emergency
On Wednesday, three people were killed and more than 30 injured at a protest in the city of Shashamene, while another protest in the town of Boke left another three dead and three more injured, spokesman for the Oromia regional state Addisu Arega

Oromos protest on stampede anniversary

An Oromo religious festival transformed on Sunday October 1st 2017 into a rare moment of open defiance to the government one year after a stampede started by police killed dozens at the gathering.
The Irreecha festival is held annually by the Oromos, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, which in late 2015 began months of anti-government protests over claims of marginalization and unfair land seizures.
Parliament declared a nationwide state of emergency aimed at quelling the unrest shortly after the bloodshed at last October’s Irreecha, but the protests at this year’s gathering show that dissatisfaction still runs deep.
“The government is trying to control us and deny our rights, lives and security,” said Sabana Bone, who was among the tens of thousands clad in traditional white clothing who gathered by a lake in a resort town of Bishoftu, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) southeast of the capital Addis Ababa.
“We are remembering what happened last year and it makes us angry. We need freedom,” Bone said.

The Oromo protests were triggered by a government plan to expand Addis Ababa’s boundaries, which community leaders denounced as an attempt to steal their land which surrounds the capital.
They later spread to other ethnic groups like the Amharas who have long felt marginalized by Ethiopia’s ruling party, which controls every seat in Parliament and wields virtually unchecked power.
The months of protest resulted in 22,000 arrests and at least 940 deaths, according to the government-linked human rights commission.
Also known as thanksgiving and meant to mark the end of the months-long rainy season and start of the harvest, last October’s Irreecha became a turning point in the unrest when police shot tear gas at people chanting protest slogans, sparking a panic that left at least 50 people dead, although activists claim a much higher toll.
The state of emergency, which was repealed in August, succeeded in stopping the demonstrations by criminalizing gatherings and allowing police to hold people without trial, provisions that scared off most protesters.
That changed at this year’s Irreecha, as hundreds of people climbed onto a stage, crossed their arms over their head in a gesture of protest and chanted “Down, down, Woyane,” a derogatory term for Ethiopia’s government.
Such actions would normally invite arrest.

Obbo ABADULA GEMEDA RESIGNS AS SPEAKER OF THE FEDERAL PARLIAMENT

Two credible sources told AS that Abadula Gemeda, speaker of the Ethiopian House of Peoples’ Representatives has resigned from his post.

According to one source, Abadula has “submitted a resignation letter to the federal government in protest over recent political developments including the federal security handling of the ongoing violence in eastern Ethiopia”, which has displaced about 150, 000 Oromos from the country’s Somali regional state.

Our source further said that in recent weeks tensions have risen to a high level between Abadula and other senior members of the ruling coalition regarding the federal security forces’ intervention in Oromia regional state.

The joint session of the federal parliament and the house of federation is expected to open on Monday Oct. 09 at 2:00 PM after the summer recess.

A veteran politician, Abadula was once the President of the Oromia regional state and the minister of defense. Many see his role as a bridge between the federal government and the increasingly assertive leadership of the Oromia regional state. Our sources said that he will remain part of the central committee of the Oromo People Democratic Organization (OPDO), the largest member of the ruling EPRDF coalition.

Federal Security Forces deployed are attacking the Oromo People in North Shewa Zone of Oromia Region.

Reports are coming in from Salalee, North Shewa Zone of Oromia National Regional State that the the Chinese owned cement factory known as Eastern Industrial Zone has deployed heavily armed police force to attack the Oromo people. The reports we are receiving from the Oromo people under attack indicates that TPLF/EPRDF security forces are removing the people from their ancestral lands to facilitate land grab for the Chinese and China owned Eastern Industrial Zone Cement Factor in Salalee.

This Chinese owned colonial style company does not contribute anything to the local economy except exploiting the limestone and other natural resources of the region. This practice of the Chinese is destroying the ecology and farm lands of the people. ALL Chinese owned companies in Oromia only pay taxes to the Federal Government. None whatsoever goes to the Oromia Regional government. The Chinese are reportedly discriminating the Oromo people following the federal government model of excluding and marginalizing the Oromo people in economic interactions including refusing to form partnerships and recruiting Oromo employees. Almost all the employees of these Chinese owned companies in Oromia are non-Oromos.

Similar to all Chinese owned companies and factories, the Chinese owned Cement Factory in North Shewa is the major cause of health and security risk for the Oromo people, their livestock, wild animals, lakes, rivers and springs and underground waters of the region.

Since the Chinese secure licenses and permits for their companies and businesses by corrupting TPLF/EPRDF top officials in Addis Ababa, none of the Chinese companies and businesses follow any health standard, environmental standards, and labor and safety standards.

As the result of these unregulated and uncontrollable poisoning of the environment by Chinese owned companies in Oromia, Oromia rivers, springs, lakes, farms and grazing lands are destroyed. People in Galaan, Adda’a, Salalee, Becho, Mogor and many other Oromo localities are dying in their thousands because of hitherto unknown diseases like cancer, tuberculosis and cholera.

The Chinese are destroying of the Eco-system, the fauna and the flora, and the environment at the fastest rate than any groups presently involved in Ethiopia in the name of economic development. Forest areas are destroyed. Farm lands, crops, grazing lands within hundred kilometers of any Chinese companies are covered with dusts and poisoned with chemicals unknown to the Oromo people. Oromo people’s livestocks are dying due to lack of grazing lands and poisoning of the animal feeds and rivers.

People are reporting that in areas within 100 kilometer radius of Chinese Cement Factory in Salale, the Oromo people are unable to even sleep in their homes. The dusts coming from the Chinese cement factory reportedly filled each home with dust both during the day and the night. New born babies are born sick. In some places they could not even hold markets as the result of the dust coming from Chinese owned cement factory and trucks they deploy in the community. People are unable to wear dust free clothes. They cannot sit under tree sheds and rest. Everywhere, the Chinese are becoming a menace to the society.

All the reports the Oromo people made to the local authorities fail on deaf ears. The Chinese will pay hefty bribes to the TPLF/EPRDF top officials who will silence the local authorities. The Chinese managers and employees don’t even want to deal and speak with the Oromo officials in Oromia at any level. They are reportedly working with the TPLF top officials and some within the EPRDF to get away with every illegal and criminal things they do to the Oromo people.

It is high time to put a check on the Chinese in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian people is not their colony. The Ethiopian land and natural resources are NOT free for their exploitation. The Oromo people, without any division along political or religious line, should resist this colonial style advances of the Chinese. It must be stopped now.

All the terms and conditions of the Chinese business in Oromia and Ethiopia should be renegotiated. The Chinese should compensate the Oromo people for the damages they caused to our people and our land, and our environment. Until new health, environment, tax, safety and labor and management standards are negotiated all Chinese operated factories causing serious damages should be stopped.

At present all companies operating in Oromia are not reporting to the Oromia region. They are all reporting to the Federal government. This practice must change and change now.

All Oromia based companies including cement factories, large scale farms, Chemical manufacturing firms, leather factories, beer factories and the like should be 1) under the direct supervision of Oromia regional government, 2) pay tax to the Oromia Region, 3) adopt Afaan Oromo as their working language, 4) hire Oromo professionals in the management of the company, 5) all medium to low level employees should be Oromo speaking residents of Oromia, and 6) all the companies should pay a certain percentage of their profit for the community development such as building schools, hospitals, community centers, transferring knowledge and skills to the local community in their field of operations.

If they don’t want to do this, they should be allowed to go elsewhere. The Oromo people can incorporate their own companies, and run their own businesses by the local entrepreneurs, other Ethiopians or other western companies.

In the meantime, we call upon the TPLF/EPRDF officials who are attacking their own people by siding with the Chinese to stop their criminal acts. The Chinese should also know that working with the Oromia Regional Government and the Oromo people is their best bet instead of trying to intimidate and attack the Oromo people using the TPLF/EPRDF top officials and security forces. I hope our Chines friends know that the route they so far followed is unsustainable.