Human right commission (HRC) urges end to conflicts causing widespread rights violations in Ethiopia

 In its 3rd Annual Human Rights Situation Report, covering the period from June 2023 to June 2024, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said armed conflicts remain a significant cause of human rights violations across the country, resulting in civilian casualties and displacement. 

The report noted that internally displaced persons, particularly vulnerable groups, continue to face challenges in accessing basic necessities and services.

According to the report, a key development during the reporting period was the resolution of the two-year war in Northern Ethiopia through a peace agreement between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). While hostilities have ceased,  the report notes that the region continues to grapple with the long-term effects of the war. Civilians face ongoing challenges in accessing basic services, healthcare, and education.

In Oromia, EHRC’s report noted ongoing tensions and conflicts have led to civilian casualties and displacement. The EHRC recorded incidents in several zones, including North, South, West, Southwest, and East Shewa. The report also highlights an increase in kidnappings for ransom affecting in Oromia.

The implementation of the State of Emergency which remained in effect for ten months, had significant impacts on human rights, EHRC’s report stated, highlighting widespread issues with arbitrary detentions. 

In Addis Abeba, detainees were held in non-standard facilities, including schools, under poor conditions. The Awash Arba detention center, known for its extreme heat and remote location, faced criticism for limited access to family visits and medical care.

Restrictions on movement have affected all focus regions. Road blockades and security checkpoints have disrupted transportation, impacting economic activities and access to services.

The EHRC projects that by the next fiscal year, up to 10.8 million people could face critical food insecurity across the affected regions.  

Healthcare services have been significantly impacted, with restricted mobility, damaged infrastructure, and migration of healthcare professionals leading to declines in service quality and availability. The report pays special attention to the rights of women and children in conflict-affected areas.

The EHRC’s report concludes with a series of recommendations aimed at addressing these challenges. These include calls for the immediate release of individuals held in arbitrary detention, reform of laws and policies that adversely affect human rights, and improvements in the treatment of individuals in custody.

The commission emphasizes the need for peaceful dialogue and inclusive transitional justice processes to address the recurring cycles of conflict and widespread human rights violations across all focus regions.

የብልጸግና መንግስት የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰቶች

 በኢትዮጵያ በ2023 ከተመዘገቡ የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰቶች መካከል 70 በመቶ የሚሆኑት በመንግስት የጸጥታ ሀይሎች የተፈጸሙ ናቸው ስል የመንግስታቱ ድርጅት የሰብአዊ ጉዳዮች ከፍተኛ ኮሚሽን ገለፀ።

የተባበሩት መንግስታት ድርጅት የሰብአዊ ጉዳዮች ከፍተኛ ኮሚሽን ቢሮ በኢትዮጵያ የሰብአዊ መብት ሁኔታን አስመልክቶ ሪፖርት ይፋ አድርጓል።

ሪፖርቱ በኢትዮጵያ በተለይም በኦሮሚያ ክልል የሚፈጸሙ ሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰቶች አሳሳቢ ናቸው ብሏል።

የተባበሩት መንግስታት ድርጅት የሰብአዊ ጉዳዮች ከፍተኛ ኮሚሽን በፕሪቶርያ የተደረሰውን የሰላም ስምምነት ተከትሎ በትግራይ የነበረው የሰብአዊ መብት ሁኔታ የተሻሻለ ቢሆንም ኢትዮጵያ በ2023 ፈተና የተሞላበት ሁኔታ ውስጥ አሳልፋለች ሲል ገልጿል።

ለዚህም ዋነኛ ምክንያቱ አብዘኛዎቹ የኦሮሚያ እና የአማራ ክልል አከባቢዎች በከፍተኛ ግጭቶች እና ውጊያዎች የተሞሉ መሆናቸው ነው ብሏል።

በዘፈቀደ የዜጎችን መብት መግፈፍ፣ በፖለቲካ ምክንያት የሚደርስ የአካል ማጉደል፣ የወሲብ ጥቃት፣ የመሰብሰብ ነጻነትን መግፈፍ፣ የዘፈቀደ እስር፣ የመናገር ነጻነት መግፈፍ፣ እገታ እና መሰወር የመሳሰሉ የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰቶች በኢትዮጵያ በ2023 መመዝገባቸውን አስታውቋል።

በሀገሪቱ በተደጋጋሚ ከተጣሱ ሰብአዊ መብቶች መካከል ዋናዋናዎቹ የዘፈቀደ እስር እና የንጹሃን ግድያዎች መሆናቸውን ጠቁሟል።

የመንግስታቱ ድርጅት የሰብአዊ ጉዳዮች ከፍተኛ ኮሚሽን ቢሮ ይፋ ባደረገው 24 ገጽ ሪፖርቱ እንዳመላከተው በ2023 በኢትዮጵያ 594 የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰቶች የተፈጸሙ ሁነቶች መመዝገቡን ጠቁሟል።

በእነዚህ በተመዘገቡት የጥቃት ሁነቶችም 8ሺ 253 ኢትዮጵያውያን ተጠቂ መሆናቸውን ገልጿል።

ከቀደመው አመት ጋር ሲነጻጸር የ56 በመቶ የሚጠጋ የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰት ጭማሪ ታይቶበታል ብሏል።

የጥቃቱ 70 በመቶ ፈጻሚዎች የመንግስት የጸጥታ ሀይሎች ማለትም የሀገር መከላከያ ሰራዊት አባላት፣ የፌደራል እና ክልል ፖሊስ አባላት እና በመንግስት የሚደገፉ የሚሊሻ ታጣቂዎች ናቸው ሲል አስታውቋል።

7ሺ 103 ተጠቂዎች የነዚህ የመንግስት ጸጥታ ሀይሎች ሰለባዎች ናቸው ሲል ጠቁሟል።

በአማራ ክልል እየተፈጸመ ያለው የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰት እጅግ አሳሳቢ ነው ያለው ሪፖርቱ በ2023 ብቻ 740 ንጹሃን ሰዎች በክልሉ መንግስት ከፋኖ ሀይሎች ጋር እያደረገው ባለው ውጊያ መሞታቸው ተመዝግቧል ብሏል።

በ2023 በኦሮሚያ ክልል የመንግስት የጸጥታ ሀይሎች ከኦሮሞ ነጻነት ሰራዊት ጋር እያካሂዱት ባለው ውጊያ የ366 ንጹሃን ሞት መመዝገቡን እና ከነዚህም ውስጥ 46 የሚሆኑት ሴቶች መሆናቸውን አመላክቷል።

የመንግስታቱ ድርጅት ሪፖርት በተጨማሪ የፌደራል መንግስቱ የመከላከያ ሀይል የድሮን ጥቃት እየፈጸመ መሆኑ እንዳሳሰበው አመላክቷል።

በ2023 በአምስት ወራት ብቻ በመከላከያ ሀይል በድሮን የተፈጸሙ 18 ጥቃቶች መመዝገቡን አስታውቆ በእነዚህም ጥቃቶች 248 ሰዎች መገደላቸውን 55 ሰዎች ላይ ጉዳት መድረሱን ጠቁሟል።

የአስቸኳይ ጊዜ አዋጅ መታወጁን ተከትሎ በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ የዘፈቀደ እስር መፈፀሙንም የመንግስታቱ ድርጅት ሪፖርት ገልጿል።

በሀገሪቱ በሚገኙ 16 የማጎሪያ ማዕከላት 5ሺ የሚጠጉትን መመዝገቡን ጠቁሟል።

What is the question of Oromo in Ethiopia?

 

The question of Oromo in Ethiopia is the question of the right of self-determination, the question of language and history, the question of the land and equality, the question of peace and development, the question of identity and democracy, the question of politics and history,

The change that came in 2018 in Ethiopia is not expected to answer the questions of Oromo.

Oromo has been struggling for more than one and a half centuries to remove slavery in Ethiopia and to become a father in his own country, to get the right to decide and to bring equality, identity and democracy in the country.

Although the 2018 political reform that came to Ethiopia was brought by the blood of Oromo youths (qeroo) , even if it didn't answer the questions of Oromo.

The questions of Oromo struggle are not being answered and the struggle field is disturbing by the government of Abiy ahmed regime prosperity party "Biltsignna" and the youths are making the struggle bitter in ADWUI system to join the armed struggle.

The armed struggle that has been going on in Ethiopia for years including Oromia has reached a big point and it is witnessed by experts who investigated the conflict and the human rights organizations.

The aim and objective of Oromo struggle is to focus on the questions of economy, identity question, question of self-governance and question of the land ownership.

Oromo struggle has three objectives. The first is the question of economy. Oromo has a big economy and a well developed land. However, oromo's was not used their property/land, they were displaced from their land, killed and jailed by the regime. there for there should be a question of his economy.

"The 2nd question is a question of identity. Oromo has its own history, culture, language, identity and system, in its country, it is the question of Oromo people. Oromo is the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia but in practice the people live as a second citizen in his own land.

The question of self governance is one of the question of Oromo people.

It is the question of Oromo to have the right to govern himself without any interference from the regime.

"The question of Oromo people in Ethiopia is the question of the right to live, self-administration, ownership, use of his property, language, representation. Question of democracy and equality is the question of Oromo people .

However, the regime leader Abiy Ahmed has traveled to western Oromia last month and said that Oromo is liberated, his question is answered.

While the speech of the prime minister in west Oromia raised a lot of criticism, Oromo is not being liberated rather still struggle to get his freedom.

The question that Oromo people have been struggling with is not being answered, the question of Oromo people is the power of Oromo people, weakening the identity and nationalism of Oromo .

Since the question of Oromo people has not been answered, the Oromo people have to continue their struggle because of the question of the heroes who sacrificed for the political and economic question of Oromo people, the Oromo people will continue their struggle.

Caucus of Opposition Parties accuses National Dialogue Commission of ‘political bias’ and ‘failure to ensure inclusivity’

 The Caucus of Opposition Parties (CoP), an umbrella of eleven opposition groups in Ethiopia, has accused the National Dialogue Commission of failing to fulfill its stated purpose of facilitating an “inclusive” national dialogue, alleging that the commission has instead been “used for political purposes” by the ruling Abiy Ahmed party.

CoP indicated that the commission was formed with the purpose of working towards “justice, national unity, understanding, and reconciliation among the people of Ethiopia.”

However, CoP alleges that the commission has not met the requirements outlined in its powers and duties, which call for the preparation of “an accessible, inclusive, and equitable forum for peace talks.”

The caucus claims that the commission’s members were appointed “against the spirit of the declaration” and that the entity has been used to “improve relations with the international community to secure loans and aid,” rather than focusing on its core objectives.

The coalition of opposition political groups argues that this has led to a lack of inclusivity and transparency in the national consultation process.

Furthermore, the statement questions the government’s attempts to portray an image of lasting peace and stability by engaging in what the caucus describes as “impracticable reconciliation” with armed groups.

It asserts that the government has set conditions that “cannot lead to an agreement” with the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and has issued a “transitional justice policy” without a genuine transition.

The CoP expressed its concern, stating that the National Dialogue Commission is “moving forward without proper oversight or investigation into the process.” They argue that this lack of accountability contributes to the “ever-expanding armed conflicts, economic recession, high cost of living, and widespread social chaos” in the country.

The caucus pointed to a recent statement by U.S. Ambassador Ervin Masinga, made alongside the U.S. Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa, as “further proof” of the government’s failure to uphold human rights and facilitate genuine dialogue.

“The ruling party/government’s effort to confuse the public inquiry and the US government’s recommendation…cannot cover up the reality,” the statement asserted. It called on the government to “accept the request and the call and enter into an honest negotiation.”

Prosperity Party’s ‘National Defense Force’ has continued its Appalling Atrocities Against the Civilians.

 Prosperity Party’s ‘National Defense Force’ has continued its Appalling Atrocities

Against the Civilians.

The Prosperity Party’s commanded army that is scorching Oromia has continued its atrocious intimidation, killings and looting of helpless civilians in every corner of the region. With its publicly declared motto of ‘drying the ocean’, it purposely and systematically continued atrocious acts against the defenseless civilians and in particular the peasantry when one expects an army that presents itself as a national army to protect the civilians.

On 16 May 2024, in Sululta District of North Shewa Zone at a Kebele called Ganda Lilloo Chabeqa, the army looted 50 head of cattle and more than 20 quintals of grain from farmers who happened to be three brothers. They are:

1. Taddase Tsega

2. Abbay Tsega

3. Gaddisa Tsega

Realiable sources also indicate that several innocent civilians were kidnapped and whose whereabouts are unknown.

Likewise, in two zones of Bale, Arsi and East Shewa, the Prosperity Party’s army and party cadres ordered every peasant household to contribute 25kg of grain for the military, which was dearly running short of logistic supplies. In the same zones, the military ordered students from 5th grade to 12th to contribute 100 birr each to the army. They are intimidating and threatening the civilians who are unable and unwilling to contribute by accusing them of supporting OLA.

These are only the tip of the iceberg. There are numerous instances of such barbarism in every corner of Oromia and other regional states of the country. We thus call upon the internal and international human rights organizations and peace-loving people to stand by these agonized peasant population and stop the horrendous brutalities and make them known to the world. The lives of the peasantry are being destroyed in millions in an imaginable scale across the country in Ethiopia. We call upon the Oromo people to record all the atrocious acts being perpetrated against them.

Victory to the Masses!

Oromo Liberation Front

EHRC forced to quit investigation over the assassination of politician Obbo Bate Urgessa

 Commission ‘forced to quit’ Meki investigation into Bate Urgessa's assassination after gathering witness testimonies implicating security forces

EHRC's witness statements revealed a chilling detail of accounts, including testimonies that after Bate left the Pension he was staying in at approximately 5:30 PM on same night he was shot and killed, a vehicle pulled into the same Pension’s compound, and four security personnel “armed with weapons”, wearing security uniforms commonly called ‘Ranger’, [military camouflage] and “red bonnet” dismounted the vehicle with “two officials” who appeared to be accompanied by the security personnel. A total of six people rented bedrooms in the same Pension, the letter chronicles.

Unlike other days, around 5:45 PM on the same day, the security forces of the city started “preventing the movement of three-wheeled vehicles (Bajajs) and pedestrians.”

On the same night, at a location outside the city where Bate’s lifeless body was found, one camouflage-painted, double-cabin pick-up vehicle “sped and exited the main road” and stopped without turning off its lights at around 12: 00 midnight, according to EHRC’s accounts gathered from eyewitnesses. Four men wearing ‘Ranger’ uniforms, red bonnets, and armed with weapons got out of the vehicle, dragged one person from the back of the vehicle, shot the person repeatedly, and left, the letter revealed. On the morning of 10 April Bate’s body was found with his hand “tied behind his back, shot in the head, chest, and abdomen areas.”

EHRC’s team continued its investigation, and on 11 April tried to contact the same witnesses the team spoke to earlier to ask additional questions, but “learned that the witnesses have been arrested by the police.” The police said they had detained the witnesses “for their safety.” However, the Commission was barred from speaking to the witnesses.

EHRC’s letter further stated that although the Commission made “great efforts to ensure the safety of our witnesses” during the investigation process, the police did not only arrest the same witnesses whom the Commission’s investigators spoke to but when the Commission’s team moved around in the city of Meki to carry out the investigation, “unidentified people and vehicles followed the investigation experts and disrupted the movement…”. Furthermore, the police also detained Bate’s family members who were cooperating with EHRC’s investigation.

The OLF has condemned the “brutal murder” of Bate, describing him as “eloquent, selfless, and brave Oromo soul.” it also appealed to “all human rights organizations and peace-loving people to undertake an immediate neutral and impartial investigation.”

Several countries, including the US and the EU, issued similar calls calling for investigation into the killing.

Among the calls was a statement issued by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “The killing of Bate Urgessa on Tuesday night was shocking and upsetting. I offer my deepest condolences to the family for their loss and urge Ethiopian authorities to allow a credible, neutral international body to conduct a thorough investigation into Bate’s death,” Senator Cardin said.

ፍትህ የተነፈጋት ነብስ፤ ዛሬም የጋዲሳ ሂርጳሳ ቤተሰቦች ሰለፍትህ ይጣራሉ

 

በ1990ዎቹ በማዕከላዊ እስር ቤት ታስረው ተሰቃይተው ከሞቱ እስረኞች መካከል አንዱ የነበረው የፊንፊኔ ዩንቨርሲቲ ተማሪ ጋዲሳ ሂረጰሳ ዛሬም ድረስ ፍትህ እንዳጣ ቤተሰቦቹ ገለፁ።

ለውጡን ተከትሎ ማእከላዊ እስርቤት ለህዝብ እይታ ክፍት ሲደረግ ተማሪው በታሰረበት ክፍል ግድግዳ ላይ '‘ከእኔ እና ከከሳሾቼ ማነው ወንጀለኛ?'' በማለት የፅፎ ስሙን ከስር ያሰፈረበት መልእክት የብዙዎችን ልብ ነክቷል።

በኢህአዴግ ዘመን በማእከላዊ እስር ቤት ታስረው ከሞቱት እስረኞች መካከል ጋዲሳ ሂርጰሳ አንዱ ነው።

የማእከላዊ እስር ቤት ወደ ሙዚየምነት ይቀየራል ተብሎ ከአራት አመታት በፊት በተከፈተበት ወቅት በእስር ቤቱ ግድግዳ ላይ ተፅፎ የተነኘው ''ከእኔ እና ከከሳሾቼ ማነው ወንጀለኛ?'' የሚለው የጋዲሳ ፅሁፍ በአብዛኞች ዘንድ መነጋገሪያ ሆኖ ነበር።

በማእከላዊ እስር ቤት ውስጥ በስቃይ ላይ የነበሩ ሰዎች በቤቱ ግድግዳ ላይ የተለያዩ መልዕክቶችን ይጽፉ እንደነበር ተገልጿል።

የማካላዊ እስር ቤት በተከፈተበት በቅት በፊንፊኔ ዩኒቨርስቲ የላቀ ውጤት በማስመዝገብ የሚታወቅ ተማሪ የነበረው ጋዲሳ በ1998 ከዚህ አለም በሞት ቢለይም ስሙ ከስር ሰፍሮ በተለጠፈ የአማርኛ ጽሁፍ በማህበራዊ ድህረ ገጽ መነጋገሪያ በመሆን ህይወቱ ያለፈበትን ሁኔታ አመላክቷል።

የጋዲሳ ታላቅ ወንድም ታየ ሂርጰሳ ጋዲሳ ተማሪዎችን ለተቃውሞ አስተባብሯል በሚል መታሰሩን ለቢቢሲ ተናግሯል።

በ1997 የኦሮሚያ ክልል መቀመጫ ከፊንፊኔ ወደ አዳማ ሲዘዋወር በፊንፊኔ ዩኒቨርስቲ ተማሪዎች የተደረገውን የተቃውሞ ሰልፍ ተከትሎ ከተባረሩት 300 ተማሪዎች መካከል ጋዲሳ አንዱ መሆኑን ወንዲሙ ገልጿል።

ከዚያም ሳይቆይ ተማሪዎችን ለተቃውሞ አነሳስተሃል በሚል ወደ ማከላዊ እስር ቤት እንዲገባ መደረጉን ተናግሯል።

ያኔ በፊንፊኔ ዩኒቨርሲቲ የአምስተኛ ዓመት የቴክኖሎጂ ዲፓርትመንት ተማሪ እንደነበርና በዩንቨርሲቲው የላቀ ውጤት ካላቸው ተማሪዎች መካከል ግንባርቀደም እንደነበረ አክሎ ገልጿል።

ጋዲሳ በእስር ቤት ተመላልሶ ስጠይቀው እንደነበር የገለፀው ታላቅ ወንድሙ፣ የእስር ቤቱ ሁኔታ በጣም አስቸጋሪ እንደነበር ከሱ መረዳቱን ተናግሯል።

በኋላም በድብቅ ጨለማ ክፍል ውስጥ እንዲሰቃይ በማድረግ፣ መላ ሰውነቱ ሽባ ሆኖ እና ለተለያዩ ሌሎች በሺታዎች ተጋልጦ ህክምና ሳያገኝ በመቆየት በመጨረሻም በሽታው ስጠናበት ሆስፒታል ተወስዶ ህይወቱ ማለፉን ተናግሯል።

ጋዲሳ ከሰኔ 1996 ጀምሮ ህይወቱ እስካለፈበት 1998 ድረስ በማእካላዊ እና አለም በቃ ተብሎ በሚጠራ እስር ቤቶች መቆየቱን የገለፀው ወንዲሙ፣ ህይወቱ ስታልፍ አጠገቡ እንደነበር ተናግሯል።

በእስር ቤቱ በደረሰበት ጉዳት መላ ሰውነቱ የማይንቀሳቀስ እንደነበር በመግለፅ በጊዜው የህክምና ማስረጃ ጠይቀን የሳንባ ምች ነው ብለው እንደከለከሉት ገልጿል።

የጋዲሳ ታላቅ ወንድም አቶ ታየ ሂርጰሳ ጋዲሳ ከማእከላዊ ስወጣ ለፍርድ ቤት አቤቱታ አቅርበው እንደነበር ገልፆ ነገርግን በህመም ህይወቱ አልፏል በማለት መዝገቡን መዝጋታቸውን ተናግሯል።

ክሳቸው ያላግባብ መዘጋቱን የሚናገረው ታዬ፣ ያኔ ማዕከላዊና ቃሊቲ እስር ቤቶችን ስያስተዳድሩ የነበሩ ሰዎች በህግ መጠየቅ አለባቸው ብሏል።

በወቅቱ የቀረቡት ማስረጃዎች ተጣርተው ወንጀለኞች በህይወት አሉ እና በሰው ህይወት ላይ ወንጀል የፈፀመው አካል በህግ መጠየቅ አለበት' ሲል የጋዲሳ ወንዲም ታየ ተናግሯል።

የጋዲሳ ወላጅ እናት ወይዘሮ ጃለሊ ድሮ በበኩላቸው በእስር ቤት በደረሰበት ጉዳት ህይወቱ አልፏል ነገር ግን ወንጀሉን የፈፀሙት ሰዎች እስካሁን ለህግ አልቀረቡም ብለዋል።

ለሀገር ይሆናል ብለን ስንጠብቅ ለአፈር አደረጉብኝ በማለት በሀዘን ተናግረዋል።

በኢህአዴግ መራሹ መንግስት ዘመን ሽዎች ታስረው የከፋ ስቃይ እንዳሳለፉ፣ አያሌዎች ደብዛቸው እንደጠፋና የብዙ ቤተሰቦች ህይወት በዚህ እንደተመሰቃቀለ ነው መረጃዎች የሚያመለክቱት።

#ፍትህ #ፍትህ #ፍትህ