24 May Election,,, Delays Stable, Secure and Democratic Future

undemocratic and  fake election

Almost 37 million Ethiopians had registered to cast their ballots in Ethiopia’s parliamentary and regional elections which took place on Sunday 24 May 2015. Although the results will only be announced in June, history shows that the only winner will be the long-ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), led by incumbent Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn: the party is expected to “win” nearly all – if not all – of the 547 seats in parliament and thus form the Government. Since 2005 the EPRDF has engaged in repressing any dissent and political opposition in Ethiopia, cracking down on independent media and civil society organizations, while charging government critics under harsh anti-terrorism laws. This has left the country without any viable counter voice to the ruling party and resulted in highly controlled political participation – something which according to the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Sidama Liberation Front (SLF) is reflected in Sunday’s “fake” election.

In 2010, the EPRDF won 99.6% of the parliamentary seats, with various election observation missions (EOMs), including that of the European Union, saying the election was marred by intimidations and harassment of opposition activists. Human Rights Watch stated that the victory was the “culmination of the government’s five-year strategy of systematically closing down space for political dissent and independent criticism.” Such allegations were repeated on the occasion of this year’s election, which was the first since the death of former PM Meles Zenawi, the man who transformed the EPRDF into a powerful political organisation, while completely disregarding international standards for democratic governance and respect for human rights. The government has denied any allegations of misconduct and accused the opposition, as well as its archenemy Eritrea, of plotting a disruption of the vote. Just before the elections, PM Desalegn claimed: “We remain vigilant and confident that the general election will be peaceful, free and fair, notwithstanding destabilisation attempts that may be tried by Eritrea or its local emissaries, which we will respond to with stern measures.”

The National Election Board of Ethiopia claims that the environment created for political parties this year was exceptional. However, the only international body present to monitor the electoral process was the African Union, the headquarters of which is based in Addis Abeba. The European Union and the United States, which monitored the 2005 and 2010 elections, did not participated this time, and their recommendations from the previous years remain largely ignored. It should also be noted that already before the Election Day, human rights groups claimed on Saturday 23 May that the polls could not be free or fair due to a lack of freedom of speech and participation by independent media.

According to Al Jazeera, the voting process itself was smooth but the fractured opposition has complained of irregularities in the run-up to the election and of harassment and intimidation of their supporters. Furthermore, opposition groups also complained that several of their members were detained. Despite all these allegations, on the day of the election, the African Union’s EOM stated that the electoral process was held in an “orderly manner”. The polls closed at 6 pm on Sunday, but the final results will only be released by the National Electoral Board after 22 June 2015.

In a joint statement released the day after the elections, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the Oromo Liberation Front and the Sidama Liberation Front put forth that the elections were not an expression of the democratic will of all the people, and that the preparation, the process and the final results of this election were and will be intentionally flawed. Therefore, according to international standards, the election process cannot be considered free, fair and impartial. The three liberation fronts also argue that is not an accident that the international community opted out of observing this election, and instead purposely kept away to avoid legitimising this fake exercise of democracy. 

With limited independent press, Ethiopians left voting in the dark

With limited independent press, Ethiopians left voting in the dark

On Sunday Ethiopians go to the polls in the country's fifth general election since the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front came to power more than 20 years ago. Citizens are expected to choose the right party to lead them for the next five years. To do so, they need to have a clear understanding of their country's political, social, and economic situation. They need to know which parties have the candidates and policies best suited to their own hopes and aspirations. But in a country with limited independent media, many Ethiopians struggle to find the information needed to help them make informed decisions.

A number of human right reports showed 2014 as the most dangerous year for the Ethiopian press, with government attacks on the media starting a year before the election. It appeared that government forces were purposely clearing the media out of the way. Seventeen journalists are currently in prison, most of them facing terrorism charges, and more than 30 have been forced into exile, according to CPJ research. This makes Ethiopia the second-worst jailer of journalists in Africa, after Eritrea.

Five independent magazines and one weekly newspaper were charged last year with publishing false information, inciting violence, and undermining public confidence in the government, according to CPJ research. The charges highlighted the narrowed media space, and led to the closure of several more outlets out of fear that they may face the same fate.

Ethiopia is the fourth most censored country in the world, according to CPJ. Besides state-run publications, only a handful of privately owned publications remain in the country and, according to a couple of Ethiopian journalists I spoke to, they operate under heavy self-censorship. Because of financial constraints caused by paper and printing costs, nearly all independent publications circulate only in the capital, Addis Ababa. This leaves the majority of the population dependent on the state-run TV and radio stations.

Based on my own experiences, and that of fellow journalists in Ethiopia, who asked not to be named out of security concerns, journalists work in fear of the government's reaction to what they say and write. They make sure no word they put down on paper and no word they speak will buy them a ticket to the prisons where their friends are held. Covering the election makes journalists feel even more unsafe. It exposes them to such levels of harassment that they even fear moving around the city alone, I was told.

Digital media is a new platform in Ethiopia. While Internet penetration remains under 2 per cent, according to Freedom House figures, the number of social media users has been growing rapidly. However, the arrest of the Zone 9 bloggers for their social media activity one year ago, served as a warning among the online community not to openly criticize the government, I was told.

 limited independent press

Fear dominates not only journalists but also any citizen who is unhappy with the government and wishes to criticize its policies. After the 2005 election, which was comparatively open but, according to reports, ended with violence and killings, the government appears to have little tolerance for criticism. In the 2010 election five years later, that fear appeared to linger, with few reports of anyone saying they planned to vote for the opposition. This will be a challenge for local and international journalists covering the election this weekend. It will not be easy to find anyone willing to admit publicly that they voted against the ruling party.

The African Union (AU) will be the only international body monitoring the election, according to reports. Its purpose is to observe, collect and analyze data from the lead-up to the post-election period. In a statement, the AU said its observation will be in line with AU policy and other international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and that its observers will remain independent and objective.

However, according to journalists I spoke to, the sole presence of the AU does not make Ethiopia's press feel protected. Most said they believe the AU or ambassadors will reflect only what the ruling party wants them to say. Others said they do not think they will be able to get fair and balanced comments, even from independent bodies.

The press plays an important role in the electoral process. It provides a platform for political parties and candidates to present their manifestos. The press also allows citizens to express their opinions and needs, so that they can be a part of the democratic process. When such a platform is denied, citizens are left out of the process. This is not democracy.

This is the malady from which Ethiopia suffers. People are deprived of any explanation of their country's situation, their government expects them to feed only on what they are given through state media. This makes citizens into mere spectators to the "development" about which the government proudly preaches, instead of

OLF Statement: The Ethiopian sham election serves only the dictatorial government

The Ethiopian sham election serves only the dictatorial government

The Tigray dictatorial ruling class was built on excessive military power. The regime indulged the country into extreme poverty. The corruption of the ruling class was one of the main machinery that put the country into the highest level of economic inequalities where the few members of the ruling class became the richest and the majority of the citizens are unable to even earn their daily bread. This high level of inequality resulted into absolute poverty, migration and loss of lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Today hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian people are living in hunger and insecurity in their own country. Some are cherished in Sahara desert and Mediterranean Sea while they were trying to escape from unfair and abusive government.

For the last 24 years, since the Tigray ruling class came to power, the corruption, displacement of people and human rights abuses have increased with the tremendous speed. This misery darken the political space and eradicated people’s hope for democracy. The Ethiopian people have been denied political freedom and rights of expression of their opinions. In this current regime, it is a crime to have different political opinion rather than supporting the Tigray ruling class’s party. The Ethiopian regime recorded highest level of Human rights abuses, killings, and intimidations not only in African continent but also in the world.

The Tigray ruling class came to power with military force; it has built its dictatorial regime on military power and will continue to do so. One party dictatorship rule was the vision they had from the very beginning. They proved their vision within the last 24 years. In the future, they want to rule Ethiopia under one party dictatorship rule. The Tigray ruling class never listened to the Ethiopian people, nor willing to listen in the future. The responses to peoples’ questions were imprisonments, tortures and killings.

The main priority for the Tigray ruling class is to stay on power. One of the strategy they designed to stay on power is to carry out fake election every five years. The last four elections proved that the ruling class is the most dictatorial regime on the planet. This 5th election that will take place on May 24, 2015 is not different from the previous elections. This election will not make any change to the political system and democracy in the country but it is only to renew the power of the ruling class for the next 5 years. This election is not democratic and not expected to fulfil the interest of the Ethiopian people. The election board is established by the current ruling class; the so called participating political parties are not treated fairly; the members of the opposition parties are arrested, harassed and beaten; the election process do not follow the democratic principle. Therefore, one can easily to judge the outcome of such unfair and sham election.

Qabsoo Bilisummaa Oromoo Haala Gaanfa Aafrikaa Ammaa Keessatti: Akkamitti Rakkoolee Nu Muudatan Jalaa Ba’uu Dandeenya?

 Ummata Oromoo bal’aa, HD ABO Jaal Daawud Ibsaa, Jaal Dhugaasaa Bakakkoo, Jaallan dirree lolaa jirtan, Qeerroo bilisummaa akkasumas firoottaniif deeggaroonni ummata Oromoo, dursee baga Guyyaa Gootota Oromoo kan 2015tiin sin gahen jedha. Guyyoota Oromoon ayyaaneeffatu/yaadatu keessa guuyyaan GGOn guyyaa guyyaawwan caaluuufi guyyaa kabaja olaaana qabu. Ummanni of kabajuufi mirga ofii barbaadu kamuu gootota isaas kabajee kaayyoo isaan eegalan galmaan ga’uun dirqama Oromummaati. Guuyyaa kana guyyaa olaanaafi kabajamaa kan godhe wareegama isa dhumaa, wareegama lubbuu kaffaluu gootota Oromooti. Lubbuu ofii caalaa keenaan olaanaafi kabjamaan namini nuufi ummata keenyaaf kennuu danda’u addunyaa kanarra hinjiru. Kanaaf gootota keenya niyaadanna; nimararfanna.

Otoon baay’ee hinturin matadureen irratti dubbadhu keessa galuun barbaada. Obsaan na dhaggeeffadhaa. Akkuma matadureen koo eeru, waa’ee Qabsoo Bilisummaa Oromoo Ammaantanaa Haala Gaanfa Afrikaa Ammaantanaa wajjin wal qabsiiseen irratti dubbadha. Haasaan kiyya gaaffilee armaan gadii tarraa’aniif deebilee amma danda’amu laachuu yaala.

• Oromoon yeroo amma maal keessa jira?
• Rakkoolee naannoo, idil-addunyaafi rakkoolee keessa isaa jiran keessaa umna jabaa ta’ee ba’uuf Oromoon maalfaa gochuu qabaata?
• Goonni Oromoo jaarraa 19ffaa gara duraa Madaqoon waa’ee ijaaramuufi kutannoon falmmachuu maal nu barsiisa?
• Haqa/dhugaa otoo qabinuu maaliif himachuu dhadhabine?
• Sababii gargaraan, walqooduu baalleessuun tokkummaa akkamitti cimsanna?
Yeroo amma kana ummanni Oromoo rakkoo guddaan inni keessa jiru rakkoo gabrummaa jireenya isaa gaaffii keessa galchee jiru keessa. Lafinni qotee bulaa Oromoo heekitaara miliyoonotaan umna qaweetiin irra fudhatame maqaaa invatmentiitiin abbootii qabeenyaa Habashaafi kan biyya alaatiif kennama jira. Qoteebulaan Oromoo, miliyoonotaan lakkaa’amu Oromiyaa mararratti qee’ee isaarraa maatiif waatii isaa wajjin buqqa’aa jira; barattoonni karaa nagaa seeran ala umnaan babal’acuu Finfinneetiin bara 2014 waggaa har’aa mormaa turan kumaatamaan har’ayuu hiidhaa keessa jiru, dhibbatamaan ajjeefamni, dhibbatamaan dararamaa jiru. Umnoonni loltuufi tikaa Agazii kan tarkaanfii suukaneessaa barattoota, qoteebulaa, hojjettoota fayyaa, daldaltootafi hojjettoota biroorratti fudhate ammas seeratti otoo hindhiyaatiin dhiigini nama keenya bilaashumatti dhangal’aa jira. Caalmatti, mirga sabaa keenyaaf kan dubbataaa jiru numa. Biloogaroonni fi gaazexeessitoonni Habashaa Zone9 warra jedhamaniif State Department dabalatee jarmiyaa addunyaa baay’etu falmaafi jira.
Garuu, dhibbatamaan ajjeefamnii kumaatamaan barattoota Oromoo hidhamaniif namoonni dhuunfaaf jaarmiyaaleen alaa dubbachaa jira yartuudha. Kuni kan nutti agarsiisu, tarii hojiin diplomaasiifi ijaarsi/gurmuun Oromoo laafaa ta’uusarra darbee waldhabbileen, walwaraansifi cichitummaan shorkessitoota gaanfa Afrikaatti waan baay’achaa jiruuf, mootummoonni Amerikaafi Awuroppaa waayyanee akka umna jeequmsaatti otoo hintaane akka umna nagaa eegidotaatti haal doggoraadhaan laalaa jiraachuudha. Yeroo amma jeequmsi gaanfa Afrikkaa biyyoota akka Summaaliyaa, Suudaan Kibbaafi Itoophiyummallee dabalatee deemaa jira. Jiddu-gala baa’aa keessas leelistummaan baay’achuun, biyyoonni baay’een biyya (state)diigamaa jiran ta’aa jiru. Tarsiimoon biyya alaa Ameerikaas ta’e kan, Awuroppaa, nagaa, dimokiraasfi kabajamuu mirga dhala namaa dura kan dhimmaniif tasggabbiin naannoo akka jiraatu. Biyyoonni lixaa haala kana keessatti, mootummaa Itoophiyaa akka qabsoo karaa nagaas ta’e hindhannoo akka hinkufine barbaadu.
Nuyi amma umna jabaa Lixaan filatamuu danda’u taanee hinargaminetti, Lixini warra umna qaban wajjin akkuma barame itti fufu. Haala jeeqama gurguddaa jiddugalessa ba’aa kan akka Siiriyaa, Yeeman, Ayiisis faana walbira qabamee yoo laalamu rakkoo Oromoo akk rakkoo xiqqaa xiyyafannoon hinbarbaachisneetti namoonni yaadan alarra nijuru. Rakkoon keenya guddaa ta’uu isaa umna taanee isaan kan amansiifachuu qabu nuyi. Abbaan iyyatu ollaan namaa birmata. Hatiyyuu ilma dhadhabaa hinjaallattu. Gaaffii guddaan warri biyya Lixaa qaban: “Oromoon umna yoo ta’ee as bahe, fedhii keenya nuu guutaa?” kan jedhu. Kaanf, deebii qubsaa kennuun afaaniin qofa otoo hintaane umnaanis gurmaa’uuni. Umna gudda jiru yoo moote yookiin dhadhabsiiste, sun fedhii siin firoomuu biyyoota Lixaa olkaasa.
Jaarmiyaalee addunyaafi naannoo (regional and international) kan akka Gamataa Aafrikaa (AU), Igaad, Mootumoota Walta’an (UN), mootumaa DC irree dabalatee Tigroonni malaan lixanii, seenanii fehdii ofii eegisuun gaaffiifi rakkoon Oromoo akka ukkamsamu taasisa jiru. Waa’ee Oromoo soba addunyaatti himuun Oromoon umna gadhee akka ta’e hololu. Kuni, immoo tarsiimoo adda addaafi akka itti alagaan waa’ee keenya yaadu garadabarsa. Kaayoon isaanii Oromoo addunyaarraa kutuun waa’een isaa akka hindhaga’mine gochuudha. Mootummaa ABT loobii ykn fedhii isaaf warra dubbatan doolaara miliyoona heedduu itti herreegee (baajaa baasee) kennee akka mootummaa dimokiraatawaa, misoomaafi mootummaa mirga dhala namaa eegutti bulchitoota Ameerikaa hanga Kongiresiitti sobee sobsifachaa jira. Fakkeenyaaf, dhiyoo kana Weendii Sheermaan, Isteet Dipartmentiitti Barreessituu Jalaa Dhimmoota Politikaa kan taate, Itoophiyaa deemuun filannoo Itoophiyaa bara kana ta’uuf deemu deeggarte, faarsitee dubbattee jirti. Odeeffannoon isheen argatte hundumtuu Mummucha Minsteera Aajaa Alaa Tweedroos Adnaahoomirraa dhufe. Weediin akkas jette:
• Kaayyoowwan misoomaa hudumtuu galma ga’anii jiru.
• Diingideen Itoophiyaa kan biyya Aafrikaa kamuu caalaa shaffisaan guddachaa jira.
• Itoophiyaan biyya sirna dimokiraasii hordoftuufi filannoo geggeessuuf fuulduratti deemaa jirtu.
Mootummaa Abbaairree mirgadhala namaa baay’eee dhiitaa jiru kana Weendii Sheermaan akkasitti faarsuun ishee doggora ta’uu isaa Jarmiyaaleen mirga dhala namaa muraasini Freedom House waliin walta’uun mormanii ibsa baasanii ture.
Gama biraan, dhabbileen Oromoo akka ijaaramanii akka barbaadan mirga Oromoof hinsochoone biyya keessatti uggurri seeraa: Labsii Farra Shorkeessummaa, Seera Dhabbilee Miti-Mootummaa, seera odeeffanno 2005 boodde ba’aniin sakkallamaa jiru. Ummanni Oromoo qabeenya akka hinhoranneefi diinagideen dhadhabaa akka ta’u, ABT halkanii guyyaa irratti hojjechaa as ga’e waggaa 24 darabaniif. Kanaaf, rakkoon diinagidee nuti qabinu rakkoo cimaa dabalataati.
Rakkoo ibsuurra baay’ee hinturu. Hundumti keenyayyuu rakkoo keenya nibeekina. Rakkoo furuurra rakkoo nutti himuu hojii godhatanii kana jiran jaarmiyaaleefi namtokkeeleen Oromoos heedduudha. Kuni dhabbachuu qaba. Oromoon furmaata barbaadu qaba. Rakkooleen jiran nan hinillaalatu jedhanii haaluun qabsoorraa baqachuun saba gudda miihda: haadhaafi obboleetti kee miidha, obbolessa keefi abbaa kee midha; firootafi matii kee midha; biyya miidha; Oromoiyaa miidha.

BEKELE GERBA SPEAKS!

MAY , 2015 

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Born in 1961 in West Wollega region of western Ethiopia, Bekele Gerba went to elementary school in Boji Dirmaji and completed his high school in Gimbi senior secondary school. Bekele was graduated with BA degree in foreign language and literature from the Addis Abeba University (AAU) and taught in Dembi Dolo and Nejo high schools in western Ethiopia, among others. He finished his post graduate studies in 2001 in teaching English as a foreign language at the AAU and went to Adama Teachers’ College, 98kms south of Addis Abeba, where he taught English and Afaan Oromo. Suspected of allegedly supporting students’ riot that took place a year before, Bekele was dismissed in 2005 by the college. He then came to Addis Abeba where he taught in two private universities for two years until he was employed in 2007 as a full time lecturer by the AUU where he continued teaching English. Bekele’s political career began in 2009 when he joined the opposition party, Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), as a member of the executive committee and head of the public relations department. Bekele participated and lost in the 2010 parliamentary elections in which the ruling EPRDF claimed more than 99% of the seats in parliament. A father of four, Bekele was arrested in 2011 and sentenced to eight years in prison suspected of allegedly belonging to the banned Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Upon appeal to the Supreme Court, his sentencing was reduced to three years and seven months with a right to parole. After the merger in 2012 of OFDM and Oromo Peoples’ Congress (OPC) that became known as the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) Bekele was appointed as First Deputy Chairman while he was still serving his sentence. Although he was paroled and was eligible to be free in 2014 Bekele was released in the first week of April 2015 only after he finished his sentencing. A few days after his release Bekele agreed to sit down for his first extensive interview with our Editor-in-Chief Tsedale Lemma. Excerpts:  

Addis Standard – I would like to congratulate you for being a free man at last. But what was it like to be in prison?

Bekele Gerba - Prison is 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. You will find a lot of students, youngsters, brothers and sisters, sons and fathers, husbands and wives. Especially when it comes to the Oromo, they are there in great numbers. Therefore going there or being there was a very good experience by itself because you will understand the agony and the hardship our people are facing at the moment. There are lots of problems there too, from the type of food people eat to the type of bed they sleep on. But there are a lot of things to learn from them so I think for me it has been a place of training.

What was your everyday life like and what was your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge was the first one year and two months when I was kept in maximum security in Kality prison. The room was very small and the type of people we were with are regarded as deadly criminals in this country; they fight and even the police are scared of them. Sometimes they use drugs and they fight easily with anybody. It is a very difficult place. After being there for a year and two months I was sent to Ziway. Ziway is a place where people who come from the countryside are always kept; people who are economically not well off, mainly people who are allegedly suspected of having links with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). And most of them are Oromos there.
There is this popular term that says ‘the prisons in Ethiopia speak Afaan Oromo.’ Is it what you are confirming to me now?

Exactly. If you take away the large number of thieves (the most popular crime there [in Ziway] is theft – and say may be out of 5000 or 6000 prisoners there about 3000 or 4000 thieves) and if you take away those people who are suspected of corruption, very few in number in fact, the rest you can say they are all Afaan Oromo speakers.

How did that make you feel as a politician whose party represents the Oromo and as an Oromo?

In one way I am very glad to be there because I felt myself sharing the agony of my own people. How am I different from those people? Those people went to prison because they demanded their rights; I was also there because I demanded my rights. In this country I thought that the Oromos are being excluded from the political and from the economic spheres or participation, something I always object. Therefore I am very glad to be there. I remember the first day I went to the court before my arrest just to see how the court was proceeding when about 500 or 600 Oromos were imprisoned and then taken to the court. I went there as a party member to witness and to see what was going on around. I felt very badly because I saw the prosecutors organizing false evidences; they were calling upon people and they were giving them orientations to testify against people whom they didn’t know at all, whom they have never seen before. I was sad and I called some media that day and gave a brief interview. I think it was after the airing of that interview that the government started following me in order to stop what I was doing. But since I was the spokesman of my party that was the job given to me – to give press conferences or sometimes press releases of what was going on around the party and anything related to the Oromo people. But after I went to prison I was relieved because I had to experience the agony of my people; I had to share their pain and I am glad for that.

Going by your own explanation, if living the pain and agony of your fellow countrymen brought you relief, how did that affect your other life that you stood for? You had a family, you had a political life, and you had a career that you had to leave behind.

Like anybody else, like a human being, when you miss your family of course you feel sad. But my family is no different from other peoples’ family. For example there is a family that I know, the husband was in prison and when he was released the wife was taken to prison. Their children are growing up without a father at one time and a mother at another; my children are no better than these. And if only my family, if only a group of people enjoy normal life and the great majority are not doing the same, I think your happiness or your joy cannot be complete. Of course when I first went there I thought my family would be affected very badly but they are very courageous and they were very supportive psychologically. They were very strong and thanks to many Oromos my children did not quit school and my family has not suffered as such economically.

Your daughter Bontu gave an interview to Afuraa Biyyaa radio station once and told the station you were suffering from ill health. Walk me through that. What happened? How did you maintain your health afterwards?

During the first two three days soon after I was taken to Ma’ekelawi [prison] I started having severe headache and the nurses told me that my blood pressure was high. I had never had that experience before. I was then taken to the Police Hospital and was diagnosed with the same thing; the nurses told me that I looked like a chronic hypertensive patient. I have not had that kind of medical history. Since then until I came out of the prison a few days ago, my blood pressure has been on the rise; I think may be because of the tension, I don’t know. But I am happy that after I was released I am quite okay. I haven’t taken any medication or I have not consulted any physician since my release; I feel I am healthy.

What did help you maintain your everyday sanity when you were there? Was it your interaction with other inmates? Did you have access to books?

The first year was a very difficult time and we have not had enough books and we didn’t know how to smuggle books or any magazines or anything to be read. We have not had any relations with the police; that was a very difficult time until we adjusted ourselves to the prison situations. But later on we started having some books to read that some friends brought for us. We started reading and on a small scale started writing, although it was very difficult to get it out because every three weeks or so the prison police would conduct a search and take away anything that is written; that was the difficult part of it. But after I went to the prison in Ziway I had a chance to meet senior people from the army and from the air force who were accused of staging a coup. Those are people like General Tefera and General Asamenew who were taken to Ziway together. We stayed together and they are very understanding people; they like reading, they like discussions and I enjoyed the discussions. We shared books; we read whatever books we could lay our hands on. That helped me to squeeze through all these bad times.
Moving out of your time in prison, can you tell me what it was like growing up as Bekele Gerba, an Oromo child?

Surprisingly the place I was born and raised is a typical monolingual area. All the people around, all the shop owners or

Urgent Appeal on Behalf of Oromo Refugees Stranded in Yemen

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
94 rue de Montbrillant
Geneva, Switzerland

Subject: Urgent Appeal on Behalf of Oromo Refugees Stranded in Yemen

The Oromo Community of Minnesota (OCM) is sending an urgent appeal to all governmental, non-governmental and UN humanitarian agencies, on behalf of Oromo refugees stranded in Yemen due to the ongoing fighting in that country.

The Oromo in Minnesota, the largest Oromo community outside East Africa, is following the plight of refugees in Yemen with great trepidation. Our compatriots make the difficult decision to flee from their beloved homeland due to rampant and persistent persecution by successive Ethiopian regimes. Their choices are either to stay in their country and remain silent over the daily injustices or speak up and get sent to prisons for the simple reason of asserting their inalienable rights; dare to oppose violations of human rights and face disappearance, long incarceration without trial, and extra-judicially killings simply because, to use the words of Amnesty international’s recent report,they are Oromo.

These refugees had to cross through harsh environments to get to the Gulf of Aden and then board overcrowded boats. They took these risky steps to escape more serious dangers at home. As the situation in Yemen deteriorates, most of the Yemenis have moved out to the relative safety of the countryside, while other refugees have left to other countries. The only helpless ones still stranded in urban centers are Oromo refugees. We are gravely concerned for their safety.

Our urgent appeal is for the protection of their critically endangered lives based on humanitarian grounds and their evacuation to a safer country. We humbly request that repatriation to Ethiopia not be an option as they are going to face persecution by the Ethiopian government, which is what drove them to make the excruciating choice of becoming refugees in the first place.

Therefore, the Oromo Community of Minnesota is appealing to all humanitarian agencies and all individuals of goodwill to do all things in their means to assist our brothers and sisters caught up in the present tragic situation in Yemen. Our community is ready and on standby to cooperate with humanitarian agencies in their concerted efforts to save the lives of our people.

OFC/Medrek Campaign Received by Another Huge Turnout in Dodola, Oromia

The Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC/Medrek) campaign tour has continued in small and big towns in Oromia. Most recently, the campaign train made a stop at Dodola in central Oromia; yet again, the OFC rally drew a crowd of thousands of potential voters, who braved the constant harassment and intimidation of Ethiopia’s TPLF regime to express their solidarity with OFC/Medrek. It is to be noted that Dr. Beyene Petros of the Ethiopian Social Democratic Party (ESDP/Medrek) revealed once again the ongoing abuses by the TPLF regime on Medrek voters and candidates, as reported by OMN over the weekend.