Nine migrants, mainly from Oromia region, die at sea, eight others missing

February 28, 2014, Djibouti (IOM)- At least nine Ethiopian migrants drowned after a boat ferrying them capsized in the Gulf of Aden, north of Obock City in Djibouti, the night of 26th February.

It is believed that 17 people were in the boat when the tragedy occurred. Preliminary investigations have shown that eight other passengers are missing. Rescue efforts have been launched to retrieve their bodies.

The boat capsized as a result of strong winds, when the engine stalled at sea between the islands called ‘‘Seven Brothers’’ and the locality of Guen. They were en route to Yemen.

Seven people, including three minors, who were travelling in a second boat, were found at the shore at Kor-angar, 45 kilometres from the Port of Obock. They were exhausted and traumatized. Eleven other migrants, who had been travelling with them, had left the site and have not been traced.

The tragedy adds to the global number of migrants who die while attempting to cross a border and find a new life. IOM has appealed for international efforts to save lives of migrants who end up in the hands of smugglers and take extraordinary risks while trying to improve their situation.

The seven survivors have been admitted at the IOM Migrant Response Centre in Obock. There they will receive medical assistance, psycho-social support, transport and, where necessary referral to Obock Hospital or Djibouti Hospital. An assessment will also be made to assess their longer term needs.

Efforts have started to trace relatives of the survivors and the deceased. IOM is also working with the Djibouti coast guard to trace the eight missing people, in coordination with the Djibouti government, the Ethiopian embassy in Djibouti and IOM Ethiopia. Voluntary returns will be organized for migrants who want to return home after they are fully recovered.

All the migrants are Ethiopian and mainly come from the Oromia region. The last major fatal accident recorded in the Gulf of Aden was on 26 December 2012, when 55 migrants perished.

Source:  International Organization for Migration

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The Violence in the Ogaden Rages On: Ethiopian Persecution, Threats and Kidnapping

By GRAHAM PEEBLES
February 28, 2014 (Counter Punch) — Hidden and isolated from the world the armed conflict raging in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia goes unnoticed. The killing and raping of innocent civilians at the hands of the military and their paramilitary partners in crime the Liyu police, the false arrests, torture and imprisonment remain largely hidden and unreported. The international media, human rights groups and most aid organisations (including the International Red Cross) have been banned from the region by the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) since 2007.
Testimonies of extreme abuse and mistreatment reported by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and diaspora agencies have come mainly from refugees who have found their way to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) administered Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya, where hundreds of men, women and children have sought safety. “I was arrested without charge in 2010 and imprisoned for two years in a military barracks, when in prison I was repeatedly beaten,” relayed Noor Sayat, a 40-year old former local government worker. Omar Abdi told me how his wife and son together with his brother had been murdered in cold blood by the military, and how he “was imprisoned for one year and two months.”
During which time he “was tortured every night…late at night we were taken to the river, a rope tied around our necks and held under the water. They pulled me out and then beat me with wooden sticks and their rifles. Sometimes they would vary the method and put a sack over my head, tie it around my throat with rope and then submerge me in the river, then beat me.” Women tell of being subjected to gang rapes in prison: “I was raped by groups of soldiers,” 27-year old Raho told me. “It used to happen around midnight. I can only remember the first three men who raped me. They would take me out and leave the baby in the room with the other women, and bring me back in the early morning… the soldiers would come every night about midnight to take some of the women out for raping.” Raho was imprisoned for two years, the first eight months of which she was pregnant. She was raped throughout with the exception of the “40 days when I gave birth and had my new born baby.” She was released after complaining of abdominal pains caused, she believes, by the relentless sexual abuse.
For many community leaders the persecution continues inside Dadaab, with life-threatening telephone calls and text messages made by members of Ethiopia’s secret service, military and Liyu police. Ogaden Online relays that “the names, family history and even the pictures of Ogaden leaders [now living in] the Kenyan refugee camps,” have been collected by Ethiopian intelligence. The plan is “to hunt, kill, maim, or intimidate” members of the Ogaden diaspora, “especially in the Kenyan refugee camps and those present in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.” The men who make up such so-called security services, in Ethiopia and elsewhere, live in a dark and ugly world; Ethiopia is besieged by social and economic problems and yet the government, shrouded in paranoia and hatred, spends its time and scant resources persecuting those seeking sanctuary.
The many claims of rape, false arrest, torture and execution of civilians by military personnel and Liyu police officers were confirmed by the statement of a former Liyu commander I spoke to in Dadaab. He told shocking stories of mutilation, murder, burying people alive, rape and systematic destruction of property. The Ethiopian government, he said, “wants to colonise the people and get rid of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF); the main target is the oil.” The Ogaden is reported to be rich in oil and natural gas; the promise of buried treasures may explain the West’s acceptance of wide-ranging human rights abuses being committed by the Ethiopian government – not just in the Ogaden, but throughout the country.
The struggle for self-determination for the region has been waged by the ONLF since its formation in 1984. The freedom fighters, or ‘dangerous terrorists’ if one accepts the government’s rhetoric, where voted into office in 1992 in regional elections. They “won 60% of seats… and formed the new [regional] government” [Human Rights Watch (HRW)] reported. Two years later they called for a referendum on self-determination. The EPRDF government’s reaction was to kill 81 unarmed civilians in the town of Wardheer; disband the regional parliament; arrest and imprison the vice-president and several other members of the parliament; instigate mass arrests and carry out indiscriminate killings. These brutal acts ignited the current struggle and drove the ONLF into the shadows.
ONLF Peace Negotiators Abducted
In January this year, peace talks planned to take place in Nairobi were sabotaged when two key ONLF negotiators were kidnapped. “Press reports from Kenya indicate that two members of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) were abducted on 27 January 2014 outside a restaurant in Nairobi… ONLF officials stated the two persons were ONLF central committee members invited by Kenyan officials to participate in peace negotiations with Ethiopian government officials.  ONLF officials further alleged that security agencies from Ethiopia and Kenya were involved in the abduction of the two ONLF negotiators.” [David Shinn former US ambassador to Ethiopia] The ONLF claim that, “a source inside Ethiopia [has] informed the ONLF that the two abducted ONLF officers were seen in a military hospital undergoing treatment for extensive wounds caused by torture.” They go on to relay how Sulub Abdi Ahmed and Ali Ahmed Hussein – “senior negotiators for the ONLF in the talks being brokered by the Kenyan government – resisted torture and the accompanying pressure to sign (under duress) a “fictitious peace agreement”. The men had participated in the second round of talks between the Ethiopian Government and ONLF last year and were in Nairobi for the planned third round of talks.
It’s hard to see how peace talks worthy of the name can be entered into whilst one of the parties is committing abductions and assassinations, and wide-ranging atrocities in the disputed region. A reasonable and I would say essential condition of any talks is the cessation of violence by both the Ethiopian military/paramilitary and the armed wing of the ONLF.
The Kenyan police force is notoriously corrupt, two of its officers were arrested for their involvement in the kidnapping, both, “have pleaded not guilty to kidnapping two Ethiopian rebels in the capital, Nairobi. Painito Bera Ng’ang’ai and James Ngaparini are alleged to have driven to the Ethiopian border and handed them [ONLF negotiators] over to Ethiopian officials.” [BBC] The kidnapping is the latest in a long line of similar incidents; the ONLF report that in “1998, the Ethiopian Army killed three members of an ONLF delegation team and abducted two members participating in bilateral negotiations with the Ethiopian government inside the Ogaden.” They go on to state that, “two years ago, the Ethiopia government assassins killed another senior leader in Nairobi.”
Talks ‘stalled’ in September 2012 when the Ethiopian team (contrary to the unconditional basis agreed for the talks by both sides that, “no preconditions shall be made to negate the inherent character and purpose of the peace negotiations”) demanded that the ONLF representatives acknowledged the Ethiopian constitution, a broadly liberal document written by the EPRDF in 1992 and largely ignored by them ever since. In its articles the Somali (or Ogaden) region is classified as a State of Ethiopia, a contentious statement implying sovereignty over the area, which the ONLF where not prepared to endorse. In a statement they made clear their position, stating that the constitution, “must reflect the will of the people and that the Somali people never exercised a referendum on the constitution.” They went on to say that, “the solution to the conflict in the Ogaden can only be achieved by accepting the principles of the [people’s] right to exercise their self-determination without any preconditions or restrictions.”
Unsurprisingly the Ethiopian government have denied any abduction took place: “the two abductees came willingly, and are kept somewhere inside Ethiopia while negotiating with the Ethiopian government, and will soon speak on Ethiopian TV.” This absurd statement was followed by another, this time from Shimelis Kemal the Minister of Government Communications Affairs Office, who claimed to have “no information about the alleged kidnapping of Ogaden officials in Nairobi”. Followed fictitiously by Dina Mufti (Foreign Ministry), who told VOA Amharic “that his government was not aware of the whereabouts of those men or any abduction.” The two men remain detained in an undisclosed location inside Ethiopia. Let us hope they are safe and that they are swiftly released.
Nationwide Violations
The human rights violations, many of which constitute crimes against humanity, taking place inside the Ogaden region are but the most acute examples of widespread government violence, abuse and suppression being meted out throughout the country. Genocide Watch “considers Ethiopia to have already reached Stage 7 [of 8], genocidal massacres, against many of its peoples, including the Anuak, Ogadeni, Oromo, and Omo tribes.” Ethiopia rarely attracts the attention of the international media and their western donors are content, it seems, to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the cries of the people, happy that their ally in what is one of the most volatile regions of the world is on the face of it stable. It is a stability however brought about through fear, security forces personnel – police, military and secret service men – instilling fear of imprisonment, torture and death, amongst the people.
Political dissent is not tolerated, freedom of assembly all but criminalised, and intimidation to garner support for the ruling party is government policy. Membership of the EPRDF brings with it work permits, a range of essential aid from food to fertiliser, a home, university places, government jobs, business opportunities such as opening a shop, a hairdressing salon or driving a taxi – only possible if you are an EPRDF card carrying devotee, one prepared to hang a photograph of their cherished leader, former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, in your Lada. Economic growth is said to be racing along at 8% per annum; however, the beneficiaries of any development dividend are those within the cosy government clique, and given that deceit and duplicity are government policy, there is considerable doubt as to the reliability of the growth claims. “It is not clear how factual Ethiopia’s economic data are. Life is intolerably expensive for Ethiopians in Addis Ababa, the capital, and its outlying towns. Some think Ethiopia’s inflation figures are fiddled” [The Economist].
Why, I was repeatedly asked by refugees from the Ogaden, “does Britain support the EPRDF regime”, why is the Department for International Development (DFID) funding the Liyu police, why do they not act for us – good question. The people of the Ogaden are suffering wide-ranging atrocities and throughout the country human rights are violated, the people are suppressed and fearful, all of which donor nations such as Britain and America are well aware. All pressure should be applied to the EPRDF regime to observe human rights, dismantle draconian laws like the internationally condemned Anti-Terrorist Proclamation and Charities and Societies Proclamation; desist from military action and withdraw troops from the Ogaden, open up the region to the international media and human rights groups and enter into substantive peace talks with the ONLF.
As witnessed in many parts of the world when the people unite change ensues, governments fall. The people of Ethiopia, in the Ogaden, Oromo, Amhara, Gambella and elsewhere, need to stand together and peacefully demand their right to freedom, to justice and to peace.
Source: Counter Punch
By GRAHAM PEEBLES
February 28, 2014 (Counter Punch) — Hidden and isolated from the world the armed conflict raging in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia goes unnoticed. The killing and raping of innocent civilians at the hands of the military and their paramilitary partners in crime the Liyu police, the false arrests, torture and imprisonment remain largely hidden and unreported. The international media, human rights groups and most aid organisations (including the International Red Cross) have been banned from the region by the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) since 2007.
Testimonies of extreme abuse and mistreatment reported by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and diaspora agencies have come mainly from refugees who have found their way to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) administered Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya, where hundreds of men, women and children have sought safety. “I was arrested without charge in 2010 and imprisoned for two years in a military barracks, when in prison I was repeatedly beaten,” relayed Noor Sayat, a 40-year old former local government worker. Omar Abdi told me how his wife and son together with his brother had been murdered in cold blood by the military, and how he “was imprisoned for one year and two months.”
During which time he “was tortured every night…late at night we were taken to the river, a rope tied around our necks and held under the water. They pulled me out and then beat me with wooden sticks and their rifles. Sometimes they would vary the method and put a sack over my head, tie it around my throat with rope and then submerge me in the river, then beat me.” Women tell of being subjected to gang rapes in prison: “I was raped by groups of soldiers,” 27-year old Raho told me. “It used to happen around midnight. I can only remember the first three men who raped me. They would take me out and leave the baby in the room with the other women, and bring me back in the early morning… the soldiers would come every night about midnight to take some of the women out for raping.” Raho was imprisoned for two years, the first eight months of which she was pregnant. She was raped throughout with the exception of the “40 days when I gave birth and had my new born baby.” She was released after complaining of abdominal pains caused, she believes, by the relentless sexual abuse.
For many community leaders the persecution continues inside Dadaab, with life-threatening telephone calls and text messages made by members of Ethiopia’s secret service, military and Liyu police. Ogaden Online relays that “the names, family history and even the pictures of Ogaden leaders [now living in] the Kenyan refugee camps,” have been collected by Ethiopian intelligence. The plan is “to hunt, kill, maim, or intimidate” members of the Ogaden diaspora, “especially in the Kenyan refugee camps and those present in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.” The men who make up such so-called security services, in Ethiopia and elsewhere, live in a dark and ugly world; Ethiopia is besieged by social and economic problems and yet the government, shrouded in paranoia and hatred, spends its time and scant resources persecuting those seeking sanctuary.
The many claims of rape, false arrest, torture and execution of civilians by military personnel and Liyu police officers were confirmed by the statement of a former Liyu commander I spoke to in Dadaab. He told shocking stories of mutilation, murder, burying people alive, rape and systematic destruction of property. The Ethiopian government, he said, “wants to colonise the people and get rid of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF); the main target is the oil.” The Ogaden is reported to be rich in oil and natural gas; the promise of buried treasures may explain the West’s acceptance of wide-ranging human rights abuses being committed by the Ethiopian government – not just in the Ogaden, but throughout the country.
The struggle for self-determination for the region has been waged by the ONLF since its formation in 1984. The freedom fighters, or ‘dangerous terrorists’ if one accepts the government’s rhetoric, where voted into office in 1992 in regional elections. They “won 60% of seats… and formed the new [regional] government” [Human Rights Watch (HRW)] reported. Two years later they called for a referendum on self-determination. The EPRDF government’s reaction was to kill 81 unarmed civilians in the town of Wardheer; disband the regional parliament; arrest and imprison the vice-president and several other members of the parliament; instigate mass arrests and carry out indiscriminate killings. These brutal acts ignited the current struggle and drove the ONLF into the shadows.
ONLF Peace Negotiators Abducted
In January this year, peace talks planned to take place in Nairobi were sabotaged when two key ONLF negotiators were kidnapped. “Press reports from Kenya indicate that two members of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) were abducted on 27 January 2014 outside a restaurant in Nairobi… ONLF officials stated the two persons were ONLF central committee members invited by Kenyan officials to participate in peace negotiations with Ethiopian government officials.  ONLF officials further alleged that security agencies from Ethiopia and Kenya were involved in the abduction of the two ONLF negotiators.” [David Shinn former US ambassador to Ethiopia] The ONLF claim that, “a source inside Ethiopia [has] informed the ONLF that the two abducted ONLF officers were seen in a military hospital undergoing treatment for extensive wounds caused by torture.” They go on to relay how Sulub Abdi Ahmed and Ali Ahmed Hussein – “senior negotiators for the ONLF in the talks being brokered by the Kenyan government – resisted torture and the accompanying pressure to sign (under duress) a “fictitious peace agreement”. The men had participated in the second round of talks between the Ethiopian Government and ONLF last year and were in Nairobi for the planned third round of talks.
It’s hard to see how peace talks worthy of the name can be entered into whilst one of the parties is committing abductions and assassinations, and wide-ranging atrocities in the disputed region. A reasonable and I would say essential condition of any talks is the cessation of violence by both the Ethiopian military/paramilitary and the armed wing of the ONLF.
The Kenyan police force is notoriously corrupt, two of its officers were arrested for their involvement in the kidnapping, both, “have pleaded not guilty to kidnapping two Ethiopian rebels in the capital, Nairobi. Painito Bera Ng’ang’ai and James Ngaparini are alleged to have driven to the Ethiopian border and handed them [ONLF negotiators] over to Ethiopian officials.” [BBC] The kidnapping is the latest in a long line of similar incidents; the ONLF report that in “1998, the Ethiopian Army killed three members of an ONLF delegation team and abducted two members participating in bilateral negotiations with the Ethiopian government inside the Ogaden.” They go on to state that, “two years ago, the Ethiopia government assassins killed another senior leader in Nairobi.”
Talks ‘stalled’ in September 2012 when the Ethiopian team (contrary to the unconditional basis agreed for the talks by both sides that, “no preconditions shall be made to negate the inherent character and purpose of the peace negotiations”) demanded that the ONLF representatives acknowledged the Ethiopian constitution, a broadly liberal document written by the EPRDF in 1992 and largely ignored by them ever since. In its articles the Somali (or Ogaden) region is classified as a State of Ethiopia, a contentious statement implying sovereignty over the area, which the ONLF where not prepared to endorse. In a statement they made clear their position, stating that the constitution, “must reflect the will of the people and that the Somali people never exercised a referendum on the constitution.” They went on to say that, “the solution to the conflict in the Ogaden can only be achieved by accepting the principles of the [people’s] right to exercise their self-determination without any preconditions or restrictions.”
Unsurprisingly the Ethiopian government have denied any abduction took place: “the two abductees came willingly, and are kept somewhere inside Ethiopia while negotiating with the Ethiopian government, and will soon speak on Ethiopian TV.” This absurd statement was followed by another, this time from Shimelis Kemal the Minister of Government Communications Affairs Office, who claimed to have “no information about the alleged kidnapping of Ogaden officials in Nairobi”. Followed fictitiously by Dina Mufti (Foreign Ministry), who told VOA Amharic “that his government was not aware of the whereabouts of those men or any abduction.” The two men remain detained in an undisclosed location inside Ethiopia. Let us hope they are safe and that they are swiftly released.
Nationwide Violations
The human rights violations, many of which constitute crimes against humanity, taking place inside the Ogaden region are but the most acute examples of widespread government violence, abuse and suppression being meted out throughout the country. Genocide Watch “considers Ethiopia to have already reached Stage 7 [of 8], genocidal massacres, against many of its peoples, including the Anuak, Ogadeni, Oromo, and Omo tribes.” Ethiopia rarely attracts the attention of the international media and their western donors are content, it seems, to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the cries of the people, happy that their ally in what is one of the most volatile regions of the world is on the face of it stable. It is a stability however brought about through fear, security forces personnel – police, military and secret service men – instilling fear of imprisonment, torture and death, amongst the people.
Political dissent is not tolerated, freedom of assembly all but criminalised, and intimidation to garner support for the ruling party is government policy. Membership of the EPRDF brings with it work permits, a range of essential aid from food to fertiliser, a home, university places, government jobs, business opportunities such as opening a shop, a hairdressing salon or driving a taxi – only possible if you are an EPRDF card carrying devotee, one prepared to hang a photograph of their cherished leader, former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, in your Lada. Economic growth is said to be racing along at 8% per annum; however, the beneficiaries of any development dividend are those within the cosy government clique, and given that deceit and duplicity are government policy, there is considerable doubt as to the reliability of the growth claims. “It is not clear how factual Ethiopia’s economic data are. Life is intolerably expensive for Ethiopians in Addis Ababa, the capital, and its outlying towns. Some think Ethiopia’s inflation figures are fiddled” [The Economist].
Why, I was repeatedly asked by refugees from the Ogaden, “does Britain support the EPRDF regime”, why is the Department for International Development (DFID) funding the Liyu police, why do they not act for us – good question. The people of the Ogaden are suffering wide-ranging atrocities and throughout the country human rights are violated, the people are suppressed and fearful, all of which donor nations such as Britain and America are well aware. All pressure should be applied to the EPRDF regime to observe human rights, dismantle draconian laws like the internationally condemned Anti-Terrorist Proclamation and Charities and Societies Proclamation; desist from military action and withdraw troops from the Ogaden, open up the region to the international media and human rights groups and enter into substantive peace talks with the ONLF.
As witnessed in many parts of the world when the people unite change ensues, governments fall. The people of Ethiopia, in the Ogaden, Oromo, Amhara, Gambella and elsewhere, need to stand together and peacefully demand their right to freedom, to justice and to peace.
Source: Counter Punch

Exceptions to the democratic rule: Sweden is not Ethiopia, but pretending that they have nothing in common does no one any favours

The Swedish journalists were released after 438 days in an Ethiopian jail [AFP]

February 27, 2014 (Ajazeera) — In 2012, after having been sentenced to 11 years in prison for “terrorism” for illegally entering Ethiopia from Somalia in the presence of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, Swedish journalists Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye took the advice of their legal council, confessed to their “crimes” and requested an official pardon. It was a pragmatic move – both journalists vehemently denied the charges and considered any confession to be a charade – taken to save their own skins.

The request was granted, and the journalists were released after 438 days in jail. Their capture, trial, imprisonment and subsequent release were, as one would expect, all big news stories in Sweden. As told in the media, the Persson/Schibbye story followed a standard trope: Backward, undemocratic Africa versus progressive, democratic Sweden. Human rights violators versus human rights defenders. And, frankly, who could argue with that framing of events? 

Persson and Schibbye, as it turns out. Upon their return to Sweden, the two reporters, while naturally critical of the Ethiopian regime, spared no words in their critique of Sweden. Schibbiye, for example, had this to say:

“Relations between Sweden and Ethiopia have never been as good as they are now. After having imprisoned two Swedish journalists for 14 months, some kind of reconciliation has taken place. We are in a new phase and H&M and Ikea will be starting up there (in Ethiopia).”

Schibbye also noted in a recent public lecture in Uppsala that he and Persson were told by Swedish officials that there was no way the Swedish government would sacrifice their relations with Ethiopia over their case, no matter how blatant the injustice (hence the suggestion that the two men falsely “confess”). And, Johan Persson made note of how treatment of journalists and whistleblowers in the supposedly “developed” world helped to justify their treatment:

“This double-standard… just look at the USA where whisteblowers are chased all over the world and threatened with life in prison. That is the problem. Ethiopia can always say, ‘We are no worse than you’.”

While their imprisonment and release garnered much attention, their critique of the relationship between Swedish diplomacy and economic interests in an authoritarian regime did not. Interestingly, and perhaps lesser-known, is the fact that the journalists were in Ethiopia to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by the Sweden-based Lundin Petrolium.

Undemocratic thuggery

The Persson/Schibbye case is one of many in recent years where international authoritarianism is viewed by media in, for example, Europe and the United States with a superior, disapproving shake of the head, while domestic or regional rights violations (or turning a blind eye to such violations in “allied” states) are often dismissed as exceptions which prove the democratic rule.

Jailing journalists for 14 months? Undemocratic thuggery. Negotiating with those same undemocratic officials to further privately-owned economic interests? Good diplomacy.

Persson’s point about Snowden – which can also be made about Chelsea Manning, Barrett Brown andJeremy Hammond- is key: The imprisonment and threatened imprisonment of individuals who have blown the whistle on perceived injustices not only undermines the credibility of the governments who pursue these people, it also calls into question the consistency of media which lament a lack of democratic values in Country X while significant violations take place, in relative media silence, in their own Backyard Y.

This is not to say that the presence of a functional Guantanamo prison – in any way – justifies the killing of 88 protesters in Ukraine. Nor does it suggest that coverage of Kiev, Gezi, Cairo or Rio is de facto inaccurate because the death penalty does not get enough critical press in the US.

But, as I noted in a piece on Turkey, those engaged in the suppression of democratic rights often point to both journalists and politicians in Europe and US and accuse them of double-standards. And we have provided them with that ammunition. Sweden is not Ethiopia, but pretending that they have nothing in common does no one any favours.

I have also made the argument that one of the problems with coverage of recent global protests has been ashort-term perspective: When the images are hot and sexy, there is attention (for a good discussion on “disaster porn” in relation to Ukraine, see the piece by Sarah Kendzior and reaction from Emily Bell), but when the far less sexy long-term process of democratisation begins, media attention fades.

This leaves us with images of Brazil, Turkey, Egypt and Ukraine as rooted in protest and violence, divorced from any semblance of progress. But there is more. These images are enhanced and solidified by an unwillingness to confront, in a comprehensive fashion, our own violent, anti-democratic tendencies – from drones to weapons exports to the death penalty.

This unwillingness allows us to take a position of righteous indignation rife with hypocrisy.

Christian Christensen is Professor of Journalism at Stockholm University, Sweden.

Source: Aljazeera

ካሁን በኋላ “ወደ ቃሊቲ የምትገባው ታስረህ ካልሆነ በቀር እነ አንዱኣለምን ለማየት ድርስ አትላትም!”

FEBRUARY 27, 2014 

አዲስ አበባ ነበርኩ። ሰኞ ጧት ፖለቲከኛ አንዷለም አራጌና ጋዜጠኛ ርእዮት አለሙ ለመጠየቅ ቃሊቲ ማረምያቤት ሄድኩኝ። ጥበቃዎቹ ወደ ማረምያቤቱ አስተዳዳሪ ወሰዱኝ። አስተዳዳሪው ምርመራ ይሁን ዛቻ በማይታወቅ መልኩ ካስፈራራኝና ከሰደበኝ በኋላ ከማረምያ ቤቱ ተባረርኩ። አስተዳዳሪው “አንተ ከትግራይ አክራሪ አማራዎችን ለመጠየቅ ስትመጣ አታፍርም?!” አለኝ። ከፈለኩ ብሄር ብመጣም የፈለኩትን ሰው የመጠየቅ መብት አለኝ። የታሰረ ሰው መጠየቅ አያሳፍርም” መለስኩለት። ካሁን በኋላ “ወደ ቃሊቲ የምትገባው ታስረህ ካልሆነ በቀር እነ አንዱኣለምን ለማየት ድርስ አትላትም!” ብሎ ፖሊሶችን እንዲያስወጡኝ አዘዘ።

ወደ ቂሊንጦ ማረምያ ቤት ተጓዝኩ፤ ኡስታዝ አቡበክር አህመድን ለመጠየቅ። “አሸባሪ ለመጠየቅ መጣ” ተብዬ ለሦስት ሰዓታት ታሰርኩ። የቂሊንጦ ማረምያቤት ዋና አስተዳዳሪ እምባዬ ህቡዕ “አሸባሪዎችን ለማበረታታት መጣህ፣ ማረምያቤቱን ለመበጥበጥ ነው የመጣኸው። እንዳውም አሁን በማረምያቤቱ ረብሻ ተነስቷል። ስለዚህ ይታሰር” ብሎ በማዘዙ ወህኒቤት ዉስጥ ቆየሁ።

ዝርዝር ጉዳዩን ለመፃፍ እሞክራለሁ። አንዱኣለም አራጌና ርእዮት አለሙን አላየኋቸውም። አቡበክር አህመድ (ና ሌሎች ጉደኞቹ) ግን አግኝቻቸዋለሁኝ። እነ አቡበክር አህመድን በማግኘቴ ደስ ብሎኛል።

ረዳት ፓይለት ሃይለመድህን በነጻ ሊለቀቅ ይችላል።

#Ethiopia #ET702 #Ethiopian702 #FreeHailemedhinAbera #Miniliksalsawi የሕወሓት መንግስት ፓይለቱ እንዲመለስለት ጠይቆ አልተሳካለትም።
የስዊዝ ጋዜጣ ሰለ ኮ ፓይለት ሃይለመድህን አበራ በኢትዮጵያኖች እንደ ጀግና ነው የሚቆጠርው በማለት ዘግቧል። አክሎም በተለያዩ አለም ላይ ያሉ ኢትዮዽያኖች በስዊዝ ኤንባሲ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ በማድረግ ደብዳበ ፅፈው እያስገቡ ነው

ሰኞ እለት አሜሪካ የሚገኘው የስዊዝ ኤምባሲ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ የወጡ ኢትዮጵያኖች ወረቀት አስገብተዋል ትላንት በጀርመንም በመጪው አርብ በስዊዝ ከተማ በርን ሰላማዊ ሰልፍም እንዳለ ገልፅዋል። ዝርዝሩን ያንብቡት ...
Aircraft hijackers for exiled Ethiopians a hero
The co-pilot, who last week kidnapped a plane, will be released. The request multiple exiled Ethiopians. He was a "hero of human rights," they argue. 



The request multiple exiled Ethiopians. He was a "hero of human rights," they argue. In Geneva on Monday of the last week has landed an aircraft that had been kidnapped by his co-pilot, the 30-year Hailemedhin Abera Tegegn. It turned out that the Ethiopians wanted to apply for asylum in Switzerland because he felt threatened in his country. The man was arrested then. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison for hostage-taking. A group of exiled Ethiopians has therefore launched a number of protests in cities around the globe to secure the release of the hijacker. On Monday, the supporters of Free Hailemedhin Abera demonstrated in front of the Swiss Embassy in Washington, on Tuesday they went to Frankfurt on the road. Next Friday they will gather in front of the Federal Palace in Bern and demonstrate against the deportation. Because in their eyes Abera is a "hero of human rights", such as "Le Matin" writes. "Must be immediately released» On the specially bridged site Abera is referred to as a human rights activist. The authors write that the co-pilot would have had plenty of opportunities to emigrate to the West. For this he would have had to kidnap no plane. But him, the aim was to make people aware of the precarious situation in Ethiopia. Also Aberas sister announced shortly after the hijacking on Twitter that behind her brother's action would put more. He loved working at Ethiopian Airlines. Aberas afraid to be in his country in danger, according to the activist group is entirely justified. "He is a victim of the Ethiopian dictatorship and must be immediately released from prison." Currently Abera is based in Switzerland in custody. The criminal case against him was taken over by the Federal Prosecutor. Ethiopia may wish to apply for a delivery. http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/romandie/st ... d-20870140
 http://ethiopianewsforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=73337

Aircraft hijackers for exiled Ethiopians a hero

The co-pilot, who last week kidnapped a plane, will be released. The request multiple exiled Ethiopians. He was a "hero of human rights," they argue. 



The request multiple exiled Ethiopians. He was a "hero of human rights," they argue. In Geneva on Monday of the last week has landed an aircraft that had been kidnapped by his co-pilot, the 30-year Hailemedhin Abera Tegegn. It turned out that the Ethiopians wanted to apply for asylum in Switzerland because he felt threatened in his country. The man was arrested then. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison for hostage-taking. A group of exiled Ethiopians has therefore launched a number of protests in cities around the globe to secure the release of the hijacker. On Monday, the supporters of Free Hailemedhin Abera demonstrated in front of the Swiss Embassy in Washington, on Tuesday they went to Frankfurt on the road. Next Friday they will gather in front of the Federal Palace in Bern and demonstrate against the deportation. Because in their eyes Abera is a "hero of human rights", such as "Le Matin" writes. "Must be immediately released» On the specially bridged site Abera is referred to as a human rights activist. The authors write that the co-pilot would have had plenty of opportunities to emigrate to the West. For this he would have had to kidnap no plane. But him, the aim was to make people aware of the precarious situation in Ethiopia. Also Aberas sister announced shortly after the hijacking on Twitter that behind her brother's action would put more. He loved working at Ethiopian Airlines. Aberas afraid to be in his country in danger, according to the activist group is entirely justified. "He is a victim of the Ethiopian dictatorship and must be immediately released from prison." Currently Abera is based in Switzerland in custody. The criminal case against him was taken over by the Federal Prosecutor. Ethiopia may wish to apply for a delivery. http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/romandie/st ... d-20870140
 http://ethiopianewsforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=73337

ጠ/ሚ ኃ/ማርያምን ጨምሮ ከፍተኛ የመንግስት ባለስልጣናት ሊከሰሱ ነው *ኢቴቪና ፌዴራል ፖሊስም ይከሰሳሉ

FEBRUARY 26, 2014

በኢትዮጵያ ሬዲዮና ቴሌቪዥን ድርጅት በቅርቡ ከተላለፈው ‘‘ጅሃዳዊ ሃራካት’’ ዘጋቢ ፊልም ጋር በተያያዘ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ኃ/ማርያም ደሳለኝን ጨምሮ ከፍተኛ የሀገሪቱ የመንግስት ባለስልጣናት ላይ የወንጀልና የፍትሃብሔር ክስ ሊመሰረት ነው። ከመንግስት ከፍተኛ ባለስልጣናት ባሻገር በኢትዮጵያ ሬዲዮና ቴሌቪዥን ድርጅት (ኢሬቴድ) እና በፌዴራል ፖሊስ ተመሳሳይ ክስ ይመሰረትባቸዋል።

ከፍተኛ የመንግስት ባለስልጣናቱ እና የተጠቀሱት ተቋማት ላይ ክስ የሚመሰረተው ሰሞኑን ‘‘ጃሃዳዊ ሃራካት’’ በሚል በኢትዮጵያ ሬዲዮና ቴሌቪዥን ደርጅት የቀረበው ዘጋቢ ፊልም በሽብርተኝነት ተጠርጥረው በሕግ ጥላ ስር ያሉትን ተጠርጣሪዎች መብት ሲጣስ መከላከል ባለመቻላቸው፣ ስልጣናቸውን ያለአግባብ በመጠቀማቸው፣ በሕዝብ ሐብት ያለአግባብ በመገልገላቸው፣ የተሰጣቸውን የሕዝብ አደራ ባለመወጣታቸውና በሃይማኖት ጣልቃ በመግባታቸው የወንጀልና የፍትሐብሔር ክስ ይመሰረትባቸዋል። ክሱን የሚመሰርቱት በአሁኑ ወቅት በሽብርተኝነት ተጠርጥረው ጉዳያቸው በሕግ እየታየ ባሉት ተጠርጣሪዎች ጠበቆች አማካኝነት ሲሆን ክሱም በሁለት ደረጃ ተከፍሎ እንደሚቀርብ ለማወቅ ተችሏል።

ክሱን እያዘጋጁ ከሚገኙት ጠበቆች አንዱ የሆኑት ጠበቃ ተማም አባቡልጉ ክሱን በማስመልከት በተለይ ለሰንደቅ ጋዜጣ እንደገለፁት ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩን ጨምሮ በመንግስት ባለስልጣናት ላይ የሚመሰረተው ክስ ጠቅላይ ፍ/ቤት ይቀርባል ብለዋል። በኢቲቪ ላይ የሚመሰረተው የፕሬስ ክስ ቀጥታ በከፍተኛው ፍርድ ቤት የሚቀርብ ሲሆን ክሱም ከሞራል ጉዳት ጋር እንደሚያያዝ ጠበቃው አስታውቀዋል።

‘‘መጀመሪያ ክርክራችን ዘጋቢ ፊልሙ እንዳይተላለፍ ነበር። ከተላለፈ በኋላ ግን ይግባኝ ማለት ሳይጠበቅብን ይሄንን ጉዳት ባደረሱ አካላት ማለትም ፊልሙን በሰሩት፣ ፖሊስና የደህንነት ኃይሎች ጨማምረን ክሱ እንመሰርታለን’’ ያሉት ጠበቃ ተማም በፕሬስ ህጉ መሰረትም ዘጋቢ ፊልሙ በተላለፈ በሦስት ወራት ውስጥ ክስ መመስረት እንደሚያስችልም አያይዘው ገልፀዋል።

በኢቲቪ በተላለፈው ዘጋቢ ፊልም ላይ በሚመሰረተው ክስ እስከ 100ሺህ ብር የሞራል ካሳ እንደሚጠየቅ በከፍተኛ የመንግስት ባለስልጣናት ክስ ደግሞ በሌላ መዝገብ በፌዴራል ጠቅላይ ፍ/ቤት በሚመሰረተው ክስ ለደንበኞቻችን የሞራል ካሳ እንዲካሱ፣ ደንበኞቻችን ይቅርታ እንዲጠየቁ፣ በተመሳሳይ የአየር ጊዜ ተሰጥቷቸው ደንበኞቻችን የራሳቸውን ኀሳብ እንዲሰጡ፣ በሃይማኖት ውስጥ በተደረገ ጣልቃ ገብነት ለደረሰው ጉዳት ኃላፊነት እንዲወስዱ የሚያደርግ ክስ ነው ብለዋል።

‘‘ክሱ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩን የማያካትትበት ምክንያት የለም። የሀገሪቱ መሪ እሳቸው ናቸው። ፖሊስም እያደረገ ላለው ነገር ለምሳሌ ተጠርጣሪዎችን ቶርች በማድረግ ጭምር እንከሳለን። የሀገሪቱ ጠቅላይ ፍርድ ቤት ፕሬዝዳንት ዘጋቢ ፊልሙ ያግዱ፣ አያግዱ የሚለውን አጣርተን የሚመለከታቸውን አካላት ለይተን ክሱን ለመመስረት ተዘጋጅተናል። ክሱን ለማዘጋጀት አስፈላጊ መረጃዎችን እየሰበሰብን ነው። በቅርቡም ክሱን እንመሰርታለን’’ ሲሉ ጠበቃ ተማም ጨምረው ገልፀዋል።

ደንበኞቻችን እራሳቸውን በማይከላከሉበት ሁኔታ ታስረው፣ መልስ እንዲሰጡ ባልተደረገበት ሁኔታ ስማቸው እንዲጠፋ መደረጉ አግባብ አለመሆኑን የጠቀሱት ጠበቃው ዘጋቢ ፊልሙ የደንበኞቻችንን መልካም ባህሪ የገደለ (Character assination) ነው ብለዋል።

መንግስት በሽብርተኝነትና ከህገ-መንግስቱ በተቃራኒ ሃይማኖታዊ መንግስት ለማቋቋም ሲያሴሩ አግኝቻቸዋለሁ፤ በሶማሊያ ከሚንቀሳቀሰውና ከአለም አቀፍ አሸባሪ ቡድን አልቃይዳ ጋር ከሚንቀሳቀሰው አል-ሻባብ ጋር ተመሳጥረው ሲሰሩ አግኝቻቸዋለሁ ባላቸው ተጠርጣሪዎች ላይ ዘጋቢ ፊልም ማቅረቡ ይታወሳል።
ፊልሙ ከመተላለፉ በፊት የኢትዮጵያ ሬዲዮና ቴሌቪዥን ድርጅት በፌዴራሉ ከፍተኛ ፍ/ቤት አራተኛ ወንጀል ችሎት የእግድ ትእዛዝ ቢያስተላልፍም ፊልሙ ለሕዝብ አይታ መቅረቡ አይዘነጋም፤ ፊልሙ ለተመልካቾች ከቀረበ በኋላም አነጋጋሪ ሁኔታ መፈጠሩም ይታወቃል።

ምንጭ፡ ሠንደቅ ጋዜጣ

ወጣቱ በቦሌ መንገድ ላይ ራሱን አጠፋ(‹‹ኑሮ መኖኛል›› ሲል ተሰምቷል)

 February 24, 2014

inhare

በሱፍቃድ በጋሻው የተባለ ዕድሜው በሃያ አራት ነው፡፡ አሁን የአዲስ አበባ ነዋሪ ሲኾን የመጣው ግን ከአማራ ክልል አካባቢ መኾኑን የቅጥር መዝገቡ ያሳያል፡፡ በቦሌ መንገድ ላይ ከአራት ጊዜ በላይ በተከታታይ ወደ ሰማይ ከተኮሰ በኋላ ራሱን አጠፋ፡፡ ቦሌ መንገድ ሚሊኒየም አዳራሽ አካባቢ በሚገኝ የሕብረት ባንክ ቅርንጫፍ በጥበቃ ሥራ ላይ የነበረው ወጣቱ በሱ ፍቃድ ለምሳ ተቀይሮ ሲገባ ከሥራ ባልደረባው ላይ የተቀበለውን የጥበቃ መሣሪያ ተቀብሎ ለጊዜው ምን እንደኾነ ያልታወቀ(እስካሁን እኔ ያላወኩት) ነገር እየተናገረ እየሮጠ ወደ ሰማይ በመተኮስ በግምት ወደ አራት ጊዜ ያህል ከተኮሰ በኋላ አገጩ ላይ አስደግፎ ወደ ጭንቅላቱ በመተኮስ ራሱን አጥፍቷል፡፡ በአሁኑ ሰዓት አስክሬኑን ሰማያዊ የሚበዛበት ዥንጉርጉር ጨርቅ ሸፍነውት መንገድ ላይ ተኝቷል፡፡ የደንብ ልብሱን እደለበሰ ሲኾን አጠገቡ በጥይቱ የተበሳ ኮፍያው ወድቋል፡፡ የጭንቅላቱ ስጋ እና አጥንቶቹ ተበታትነዋል፡፡ በሱፍቃድ አጋር የተባለው የጥበቃ ሥራ የሚሠራ ኤጀንሲ ተቀጣሪ መኾኑን እና ሕብረት ባንክ ከመጣ ሁለት ወር አካባቢ እንደኾነው የሥራ ባልደረቦቹ ነግረውኛል፡፡አሁን በተገኘ መረጃ ‹‹ኑሮ መኖኛል›› ሲል ተሰምቷል፡፡ እዛ አካባቢ ያሉ ፖሊሶች ደግሞ በምን እንዳወቁ አላውቅም ከቤተሰቡ ተጣልቶ ነው ብለዋል፡፡አሁን አስክሬኑኑን የፖሊስ መኪና አንስቶታል፡፡

ምንጭ፦ ጽዮን ግርማ

http://www.ethiotube.net/

Open letter to the President of Switzerland: Re: Ethiopian Co-Pilot…

February 24, 2014

The Swiss Confederation

C/O Embassy of Switzerland
2900 Cathedral Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20008 

February 24, 2014

Dear President Didier Burkhalter,

Re: Ethiopian Co-Pilot Hailemedhin Aberra Tegegn

It is to be recalled that on Monday, February 17th 2014, a Boeing 767 Ethiopian Airlines commercial airliner, Flight ET702, which was en route to Rome, was diverted to Geneva, where it safely landed at 6:02 am (0502 GMT). As it has been widely reported, the airliner was diverted from its official route by the Ethiopian co-pilot, Hailemedhin Abera Tegegn, who made a request for political asylum in Switzerland while hovering over Geneva.

Those of us who have gathered here today at the Swiss Embassy in Washington D.C. as well us so many others who have been unable to come due to work and other commitments, are eager to humbly appeal on behalf of our compatriot Hailemedhin Aberra Tegegn, who appears to have great faith in the fairness, judiciousness and hospitality of the people and government of Switzerland. Having first-hand experience of facing persecution in Ethiopia, we have little doubt that Mr. Tegegn was desperate not only to seek political asylum but also feel that he was evidently eager to attract global attention to the predicament and suffering of his fellow citizens in Ethiopia who are routinely being killed, jailed and tortured by the TPLF-led regime.

We would, therefore, like the government of Switzerland to consider the following facts, inter alia, in dealing with Mr. Tegegn’s case, as he clearly wanted to attract global attention to the plight and suffering of Ethiopians under the tyrannical minority regime in Ethiopia, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF/EPRDF).

1. Ethiopia under the TPLF is one of the most repressive states in the world. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Genocide Watch, UN Committee against Torture, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the U.S. State Department, the European Parliament, the United Nations Human Rights Council, among others, have repeatedly and consistently, though in vain, demanded the Ethiopian government to desist from committing crimes against humanity, gross human rights violations, extra judicial killings, mass displacement, torture and other forms of degrading mistreatment against innocent citizens.
2. The government of Ethiopia abuses its own anti-terrorism proclamation to harshly and vengefully punish dissidents, journalists, religious leaders and activists. Hundreds of dissidents, Muslim rights defenders, civil rights leaders, activists and journalists have been charged with or convicted of terrorism offences in a bid to completely suppress dissident voices. So many of our compatriots are languishing in jails just for demanding freedom and respect for their basic rights.
3. Among those convicted of terrorism offences under the Draconian law, are three internationally acclaimed award-winning journalists who are languishing in hellish jails. Eskinder Nega, Woubishet Taye and Reeyot Alemu, who is gravely ill but denied medical assistance, were convicted of trumped-up terrorism charges and are currently serving lengthy sentences. In Ethiopia, there is no freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of religion or freedom of movement under the current regime despite the fact that they were proclaimed in the ostensible Ethiopian constitution, which is violated willfully by its own authors.
4. The Ethiopian Airlines, where Mr. Tegegn was in employment, is widely known to have been undermined and crippled by unbridled corruption, nepotism and ethnic discrimination. There are reports that indicate that Mr. Tegegn was a victim of discrimination due to his unwillingness to join the ruling party and ethnic background, a requirement that has been pervasively and forcefully implemented in the public sector.
5. We are confident that the Swiss government has extensive information on the widespread human rights violations in Ethiopia, a reality which has forced so many Ethiopians to take extreme measures to leave the country including crossing perilous terrains, deserts and treacherous waters to in search of safe heavens. It should be remembered that so many of our compatriots have lost their lives in deserts, seas and oceans. This is the Ethiopia that Mr. Tegegn wanted to flee with a sense of urgency and desperation. By doing so, he has made a huge political statement and a call for attention to our suffering at a global scale.

While we acknowledge the unusual nature of Mr. Tegegn’s action and the inconvenience it created to the passengers, the airport as well as the country, it was clear that Mr. Tegegn had no intention of harming anyone. We are very grateful that he took utmost care so that nobody would be in harm’s way.

We appeal to the government of Switzerland to treat his asylum application expeditiously and the legal matters with sympathy, compassion, leniency and humanity because his fear of persecution is clear and present like so many Ethiopians face on a daily basis. We also call upon the government of Switzerland to reject any extradition bid on the part of the criminal TPLF government that tortures, kills and treats Ethiopian citizens in degrading and inhuman manners.

We call upon the people and government of Switzerland to grant political asylum and afford him a safe haven that he so desperately pleaded in your country, which is respected and known not only for its principle of neutrality but also for being an important seat for so many international organizations and UN agencies.

We look forward to a hearing positive outcome in Mr. Tegegn’s asylum case and legal matters.

With utmost regards,

Washington DC Ethiopian Joint Task Force.

Contact Person: Abebe Gellaw, Tel: +1 (650) 924-2540, Email: dcjointtaskforce@gmail.com

http://ecadforum.com/2014/02/24/open-letter-to-the-president-of-
co-pilot/

Hailemariam Desalegn’s Confused Statements

February 22, 2014

by Amanuel Biedemariam

On February 10, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia gave reporters access and conducted a press conference. The statements of Hailemariam are fraught with inconsistencies and telling that there is a serious leadership vacuum and lack of direction in Ethiopia. The statements lack principle, direction and strategy. The messages are inconsistent and contradictory to previous statements.

On an interview with Africa Confidential January edition, when asked what’s your Eritrea policy? PM Hailemariam Desalegn said,

“Our Eritrea policy is very clear. These two peoples are very friendly; the normalizing of relations, also with the governments, should come as soon as possible. We have accepted unconditionally the rulings [on the border] and so this has to implemented but with a discussion because the implementation process needs something on the ground since it is a colonial rather than a people’s boundary.” Emphasis added.

For a while, Ethiopians have been expressing anger and concern about the border issue between Ethiopia and Sudan claiming that the minority TPLF regime has unlawfully ceded huge chunks of Ethiopian territories to Sudan. The tenet of their argument is that the signatures of Meles Zenawi and Hailemariam Desaleng are unlawful, null and void based on Article 55(12) of Ethiopian constitution which demands accountability and ratification by parliament. On a recent article, “Save Ethiopia From Chopping Block”,  Dr.Alemayehu G. Mariam wrote,

“It is important to understand and underscore the fact that the “agreement” Meles and Bashir “signed”, by Meles’ own description  and admission, has nothing to do with the so-called Gwen line of 1902 (“Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1902” setting the “frontier between the Sudan and Ethiopia”). It also has nothing to do with any other agreements drafted or concluded by the imperial government prior to 1974, or the Derg regime between 1975 and 1991 for border demarcation or settlement. Meles’ “agreement”, by his own admission, deals exclusively with border matters and related issues beginning in 1996, when presumably the occupation of Sudanese land by Ethiopians took place under Meles’ personal watch.”

Citing Wikileaks, Dr. Al Mariam writes,

“Former TPLF Central Committee member and former Defense Minister Seeye Abraha told” American embassy officials in Addis Ababa that in a move to deal with “on-going tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan”, Meles had turned over land to the Sudan “which has cost the Amhara region a large chunk of territory” and that Meles’ regime had tried to “sweep the issue under the rug.”

It is unlikely that the views and efforts of the people of Ethiopia will ever see the daylight vis-à-vis the border agreements that Meles Zenawi or Hailemariam Desalegn signed or concluded since there is no question on the legitimacy of their positions by the international community. International agreements they signed will undoubtedly stand.

In response to those concerns Hailemariam responded,

“The historical border agreement between the two nations dates back to the time of Emperor Menelik II when the Sudan was under the protectorate of the British Empire. There should not be any confusion on the issue since the agreement that was signed then was evaluated and accepted by successive regimes that came after Menelik’s. The border agreements has been accepted and endorsed by the regimes and that there could not be any new matter that his administration has to deal with. “All that is left is to implement the already demarcated and delimited border agreement. So, there are no issues with the agreement: it is binding; the only thing left is to put posts on these borders.”

Hailemariam claims that Ethiopia is committed to regional peace. Why then is his regime illegally occupying internationally delimitated border with Eritrea? Why the doublespeak? The inconsistencies however are not limited to the border issues. Hailemariam’s positions and actions in Somalia and his view of Uganda’s role on the current conflict on SS are contradictory and dangerous for regional stability and progress. When he addressed Ugandan forces in SS, citing that the problem is political, Hailemariam said,

“We believe that all forces that were “invited” by different forces in that country have to withdraw phase by phase.”

The irony, on the same press conference, while addressing Somalia, Hailemariam claiming to have bilateral agreement with the government in Somalia tried to legitimize the presence of Ethiopian forces in Somalia. He said Ethiopia is in Somalia as AMISOM “based on the “request” of the Somali government.”

Ugandan forces are in S. Sudan based on the “invitation” of the legitimate government of S. Sudan. Why then is Hailemariam seeking or talking political solution for the civil war in South Sudan while interfering in Somalia militarily? Why not political solution in Somalia? Assuming that the government in Somalia is independent and free to request assistance freely as a nation, why deny the same right to the government in South Sudan? Hardly anyone believes that Ethiopian forces are welcome by the people of Somalia. AMISOM or not, Ethiopian forces are not welcome. To the contrary Ethiopia’s incursion into Somalia was not received well.

On a recent interview with the VOA, former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia David Shinn said that it is a “mistake” for Ethiopian troops to join the AMISOM force in Somalia.

Peace, security, terrorism and Al Shabab are justifications for Hailemariam to return into Somalia. The reality, however, Ethiopia’s incursions into Somalia is impediment to peace and source of great instability.

Ambassador Shinn continued, Ethiopian move could allow al-Shabab to use it as a “rallying cry to recruit new members.”

Moreover, Hailmariam’s positions are contradictory and self-serving as it regards to IGAD’s role on the current conflicts in the region. Hailemariam evoked IGAD and AU to make a case against the presence of Ugandan troops in South Sudan and ignored the role of IGAD in Somalia. Uganda is in South Sudan based on the request of the sitting government of Salva Kiir Miardet, just like Ethiopia is in Somalia based on claims of a request. Why then Hailemariam undermining IGAD’s role in Somalia?

Hailemariam Desalegn’s Compromised Stature     

By all standards Hailemariam Desalegn is on a tenuous position on many levels for many reasons.

Firstly, he is not from the region of the minority clique ruling the country. Many consider Hailemariam as a figurehead. On the 17 Feb, The Telegraph’s reporter David Blair on his report, “Ethiopian Airlines hijacking: Why co-pilot might have taken extreme steps to leave” wrote,

“Two key “push factors” lie behind this outflow: repression and poverty. Ethiopia is a de facto one-party state, dominated by small autocratic elite. Under the previous Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, elections were shamelessly rigged and the opposition simply closed down. Many Ethiopians believed that Meles favored his own Tigray-Tigrinya ethnic group, who comprise less than seven per cent of the population, for the most powerful and privileged positions in the land.”

Hence, PM Haileriam Desalegn is considered a transitional figurehead until the election of 2015 and likely to be replaced by another member of the TPLF to pursue Zenawi’s agendas.

Secondly, Hailemariam inherited a country with a diminished regional and international influence for many reasons: A) The US has accomplished much of what it intended in Somalia hence the role required from Ethiopia is diminished. B) George Bush’s Somalia war on terror agenda, which the minority regime exploited extensively seems to have shifted slightly as the government in Somalia is recognized by the international community.

Thirdly, the countries in the region have opposing positions and interests on many areas as recent developments in S. Sudan exposed. Additionally,  these countries have demonstrated ability to compete with Ethiopia on many fronts denying Ethiopia the anchor-state-status it enjoyed unchallenged for a while thus minimized Ethiopia’s exclusive role in that regard.

Fourth, International actors such as China and Russia are playing significant roles to influence events and outcomes to favor their geostrategic interests. To be effective, China and Russia need to include all and play a balanced hand with all the nations in the region further diluting Ethiopia’s once dominant role.

Hailemariam’s Diminished Regional Roles 

One of the strongest suits of Meles Zenawi was the fact that he managed to co-opt influence from the regional actors using any means necessary. That level of influence died with Meles for many reasons:

• The power transition took a long time to materialize. Between the times Meles was rumored sick, his death and the time it took to complete the transition creating vacuum.
• The transition was manipulated to appease US interests while the real power remained on the hands of few Tigrayans led by the then Information Minister Bereket Simon who is considered the power controlling Hailemariam.
• The regional actors are focusing on their own interests. One good example of this is the current conflict in S. Sudan and how it will likely affect the dynamics of the relations between South Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia regarding the Nile. Hailemariam is forced to wager Ethiopia’s interests regarding the Nile in order to pursue US agendas in South Sudan. No consensus on South Sudan could lead to lack of consensus on issues of mutual importance including the Nile. Meles Zenawi was able to garner consensus and support for Ethiopia’s positions on the Nile which is hard for Hailemariam to replicate.

Furthermore, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda have mutual interests independent from Ethiopia because all these countries depend on port of Mombasa in Kenya for their imports. This gives Kenya leverage and importance that Hailameariam cannot match.

Moreover, initially, with the help of the US, the regime was able to create alliances with countries in the region specifically to encircle and suffocate Eritrea to submission. At this stage, while Hailemariam desperately tries to pretend that Eritrea is isolated; the reality is Eritrea has turned the table. Eritrea has relations with Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, South Sudan and Egypt. At the current stage Hailemariam has no relation with Eritrea, Egypt, opposing positions with Uganda and South Sudan and Kenya has more interest independent from Ethiopia. In effect, Ethiopia is encircled further diminishing Hailmariam’s roles.

• Shifting US foreign policy. Recent statements by former US diplomats regarding Eritrea stirred frantic reaction. The TPLF went on a full-fledged PR campaign to attack the issues and the personalities demonstrating fear the minority regime has of losing its status that it depends on for its very survival. On a piece about Zenawi’s legacy “Ethiopia: Revelation of Zenawi’s vision for Tigray,” Robele Ababya wrote,

“When asked, in the aftermath of the 2005 election, what legal authority he had to by-pass the Parliament and declare a state of emergency, Zenawi responded by saying that, after all, the donors did not object to the action he took. His response is solid proof, among others, that the monstrous killer was subservient to the interests of the donors at the expense of the vital interests of poor Ethiopia.”

Without US support the regime cannot survive. Hence fighting to maintain the “special-relation” status with the US is a question of survival. That however is beyond the control of the US as more African nations are looking for partnership with China, Russia, India, Brazil and other countries that are more focused on economic issues that Africa desperately need. This diminished US control of African agendas further diminishing Hailemariam’s role in the region that the late Zenawi enjoyed unchallenged.

Hailemariam Desalegn Lame Duck Personified

In the US, a president is generally considered a lame duck at the end of his tenure or when a successor is elected. What that generally means is, during that phase, if the president is not popular his/her influence could not translate into furthering his/her agendas and naturally no coattails. In reality, however, the president’s power is intact to the point that he/she can even wage wars.

In Hailemariam’s case, however, he is a lame duck in the truest sense because in Ethiopia, power is on the hands of the few repressive Tigrayans that are vying for time until the next election. “Ethiopia is a de facto one-party state, dominated by a small autocratic elite” controlling Hailmariam’s actions and public statements.

In addition, Hailemariam has no constituency inside Ethiopia or the Diaspora. Support for Hailemariam is virtually nonexistent.

Conclusion

The situation in Ethiopia is unsustainable. Ethiopia is under extreme internal and external pressures that will ultimately explode abruptly. As demonstrated above, to further the interests of the super powers, the regime suppressed the people and took unnecessary antagonistic positions by becoming a pseudo-hegemon of the region.   

What the press conference demonstrated is that PM Hailemariam Desalegn tried to address concerns of many stakeholders and failed. He tried to address the concerns of the people of Tigray, US interests, Somalia and regional actors. He tried to address Eritrea in a manner that satisfied TPLF and all Ethiopians and failed.

Ethiopia is on a holding pattern bracing for change on the upcoming election. The questions are many. There exists no political party to challenge the TPLF. What does the US want in this transition? Can the TPLF bring a successor from Tigray and continue the “legacy” of Meles? How would the US react to that?

In the absence of clear leadership direction these questions take on a new meaning enlarging the gap between all the publics. That means PM Hailemariam Desalegn will have to await his fate to be decided by the TPLF as the rest of Ethiopia.

Awetnayu@hotmail.com

-VOA Ethiopian AMISOM Membership Scrutinized

-Ethiopia: PM’s Day With the Press Yohannes Anberbir AllAfrica February 15, 2014

-Alemayehu G. Mariam Saving Ethiopia from the Chopping Block

-The Telegraph David Blair, Ethiopian Airlines hijacking: Why co-pilot might have taken extreme steps to leave 17 Feb 2014

-Africa Confidential January edition