OROMO WOMEN NATIONAL UNION FOR LIBERATION (OWN-UL)

Introduction

Due to the harsh and increasing oppression of the Ethiopian government; the social, political and economical problems has reached an unprecedented level in the country. As a prime target and ongoing victim of genocide, the Oromo people have to double its effort in stepping up its struggle. Taking in to account the aforementioned facts; we the Oromo Women from all corners of Oromiya, have decided to stand together and deliver our responsibility in addressing the pressing human right issues of our people under the name and logo indicated above.

1. Whereas, the government act of unjustified imprisonment under terrorism law, exiling and killing of citizens demanding human right issues are intolerable;
2. Whereas, it has become important to document and expose the successive Ethiopian government horrendous crime against Oromo women;
3. Whereas, societal problems of unemployment and cost of living are unbearable and increasingly severe by the day
4. Whereas, the Oromo are left with no other option but to step up its struggle to achieve the right to self determination for the Oromiya and other nations in the country,
5. Whereas, it is necessary to work in an organized manner to build on the ongoing  contribution of Women in the Oromo struggle for self determination and freedom and to learn from other nations who achieved their goal;
6. Whereas, it is crucial to air the voice of the Oromo and other oppressed nations suffering under the brutal EPRDF government, to the international communities through medias;
7. Whereas, it has become an urgent matter to put the facts straight and counter the false propaganda of the government about the Oromo which has recently been intensified to crush the struggle of our people,
8.  Whereas, it has become necessary to stand with “National Youth Movement for Freedom And Democracy, QEERROO” and to organize the share of women in this effort
9. Whereas, the ongoing environmental destruction, displacement, imprisonment, exiling, killing and genocide against the Oromo and other oppressed nations in the country has necessitated an organized counter offensive against the oppressor.

Accordingly, to play our role in the ongoing struggle, we hereby declare the establishment of our union. By enhancing the performance of this organization and partnering with other like minded groups, we vow to struggle for our cause and declare our readiness to pay any sacrifice it may take.

We will realize our struggle and our right!!!

Victory for the Oromo!!!

Oromo Women National Union for Liberation

July11, 2013

Oromo Women National Union for Liberation                        Email:hawine342@gmail.com

=>bilisummaa

A False Sense of Glory

By Kallacha Dubbi | August 20, 2013

A false sense of glory within the Ethiopian Diaspora politics is in the rise.  This false sense of glory could be measured as a newborn emotion promoting the old Amhara-centric Ethiopian ethos by using the growing Diaspora media.  In this old ethos, ironically, Amhara-centered Ethiopia is uniquely perceived and promoted as the only answer to Ethiopia’s historic problems including Oromos and other peoples of Southern Ethiopia.  By Amhara-centered Ethiopia, we understand a country whose socio-politics and culture is dominated and represented by that of one ethnic group, the Amhara.  Since this recent political puff is strictly Diaspora based, the accompanying success on the home ground is miniscule.  The ethos is also unique in that it tolerates no discourse with opposing views, and in some sense, one can say it is an art of blowing one’s own horn for one’s own pleasure.

As mentioned above, this recent sense of false glory is geographically restricted to Diaspora, popularly limited to Amhara, and meaningfully transferred only by Internet media.  In essence it is revival of the classical Amhara colonial machinery which once many of the Ethiopian South believed was dead for good.  In fact, such assumption was the basis for many Oromo and Southern political organizations to attempt creating some sort of unity with some Amhara political organizations.  Recall the Alliance for Freedom and Democracy of 2006, created by the oppressor and the oppressed to work together towards peace and prosperity?  At the time, many analysts of the South including Oromos warned that Amhara politics has never reciprocated honesty of the South, and that intrigue-infested Northern Ethiopian politics shall never be trusted.  Today, we see a full blown version of Amhara trickery, another historic lesson for the Southern people of Ethiopia.

As examples of such trickery, one can list numerous circumstances in which pseudo TVs, websites, Paltalks, and virtual radio stations all catered for North American Amhara Diaspora saturated their mass media with anti-Oromo slogans.  One case in point is Ethiopian Satellite Television’s (ESAT) role in expanding the split within the OLF.  One of the brain child’s of Ginbot 7 (a leading Ethiopian Diaspora based opposition political organization), ESAT, had been posturing as pro-Oromo, wanting to work with Oromo institutions, and even at times posting sympathetic views to the cause championed by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).  However, when a conflict emerged within the OLF, ESAT and Ginbot 7 launched a tacit but protracted and persistent effort of expanding the split.  Mini-conferences were organized with the splinter group, personal cults were created to appease individuals of the splinter group, fundraising was posted in several cities, political high-fives were exchanged among the leadership, support for the splinter group that they perceived can be remote-controlled ensued, and another hopeful day was promised by ESAT for generous donors so that they donate even more funds.  We couldn’t believe our eyes, the good will, the preparation to work together with Oromo scholars to topple the Tigrean domination, etc. all evaporated by the heat of a simple gain of the day, forgetful that the loss of the day for Oromo is sheer temporary.  The joy of happiness for Ginbot 7 as a result of accomplishing what they thought was a lasting collapse of Oromo nationalism shined for months as Oromo nationalism posed for soul searching but in bitter grief.

It is to be recalled that the Amhara political ethos did suffer a serious political blow over the last 20 years.  This temporary Amhara political puff of the Diaspora is serving as a sign of short-term come-back, a renaissance of some sort to boost Amhara moral which could be exported back to homeland when and if possible, to conceivably gear-up for another attempt to grab Ethiopian political power during the next national elections.  So far I covered the background, but what really motivated and created this false sense of glory?

There are four reasons that contributed to the sudden emergence of the current Amhara political surge among the Abyssinian Diaspora.

1. The death of Meles, – many in the Amhara camp believed that the death of Meles will create a true political vacuum which can only be filled by Amharas, who seem second most organized in the country.  The orderliness of the power transfer within the TPLF was a bit surprising if not disappointing to the Diaspora political gang that hoped a short cut to power is coming and coming fast.  This false hope created a false victory that went as far as a concealed ownership of even Meles’ natural death.
2. The rise of Paltalk, – the free access to internet, which can gather hundreds of emotionally charged unqualified and ill-equipped politicians from across Europe, America and more, with freedom that allows excessive abuse, yet with no liability or peer pressure, no inherent discipline, and all afforded by anonymous login to Paltalk sites or commentary pages created a sense of accomplishment.  In fact the competition for the negative, towards destruction, – who can be the most Amhara, the most Ethiopian, who can post the most insult to annoy opposition, etc. characterize the sense of newfound Amhara false glory in its internet incarnation.  The net effect of this Diaspora politics is that while it continues to serve as a great forum for counseling Ethiopia’s war torn generation of the Derg era, it has become a terrible means to promote respect and peace.  The sheer volume of participants and the nature of unchecked abuses have nonetheless given a false sense of success despite what really is politically accomplished is nothing but hate and anarchy.  The role of internet in the Arab revolutions cheated Amhara Diaspora into thinking that they too can create an internet-driven revolution, with some color mimicking the Ukrainian unrest.  Unable to craft its own strategy, there is evidence that Amhara Diaspora politics attempts to write the entire new chapter of Ethiopian history strictly using “cut and paste” approach of pre-owned and extraneous techniques that don’t fit the prevailing situation in the country.  Simply put, Paltalk for Ethiopian politics is becoming matches in the hands of a child.
3. The attack on Moslem institution in Ethiopia, – classically Amhara dominated Ethiopian governments always kept control of religious leadership who were considered too important to be left alone.  Haile Sellasie regained his throne which he almost lost during the failed coup of 1960 when the Bishop excommunicated the coup followers.  Menelik waged wars with religious leaders and with a mobile church.  In fact, as recent as early 1970s, the government collected tax on behalf of and for the Orthodox Church, nothing for the Moslem Ethiopia.  Often times the church leaders were picked by the government, and the Christian followers were forced to accept.  In all such cases Ethiopian political leaders also were Christians, and the choice of Orthodox leadership was perceived as internal for the Christian Ethiopia, so much that that the Moslems didn’t interfere.  The system also allowed the Moslem population to choose its own leadership, but Moslems had limited access to Ethiopian politics.  Emperors like Yohannes simply disallowed any political leader to be a Moslem, and those who refused to change their religion to Christianity were punished by death.  The recent TPLF interference with Moslem elections should be looked at within these historic trends.  The TPLF’s action of posting Moslem leaders for the Moslem people shifted the focus of Ethiopian political discourse from primarily inter-ethnic to primarily government vs. Moslem.  The primary short-term beneficiary of this manufactured conflict is the TPLF, whereas the primary victims will be Oromos.  The long-term losers will however be all the people of Ethiopia.  Here again, the transient situation favors the Amhara who by and large sided with the government by way of religious solidarity.  The Amharas blame the TPLF for starting the fire, but they also sympathize with the Tigrean government whose religion they share.  There is a long shared sense of Ethiopian ethos by Amharas and Tigreans, that Moslem religion followers of Ethiopia are less than full Ethiopians.  This ally formation and the welcome the Amharas received from Tigrean clergy on this common and uniting agenda gave Amhara loyalists a sense of false victory.
4. The disintegration of Oromo political organizations, – the most important of all reasons seems to be the weakness of Oromo and Southern political organizations, the absence of a serious check against wild ambitions and foul plays of the Amhara as well as Tigrean politicians.  This obvious point warrants no further details.

The culmination of these four main vectors merged to create a false moral of Amhara Diaspora, a false sense of victory over Ethiopian politics, but without a shred of tangible victory.  The astray moral boosted on a fake ground became just as intolerant as the Ethiopia of the emperors which wanted to forge one language, one culture, and one people in one country.  Such intolerance was demonstrated in reaction to a recent Aljazeera interview with a young Oromo who was asked if he is an Oromo first, or an Ethiopian first.  The young Oromo answered that he is an Oromo first.  The false sense of victory reached its climax when a large number of Amhara Diaspora media converged on the young Oromo condemning him for claiming to be an Oromo ahead of being an Ethiopian.  They unleashed incredible attacks through multitude of Medias; – angry letters and petitions went to Aljazeera for airing the view.

I end my note with a sense of pleasure from knowing that this false sense of glory is sure to dry soon.  And I am Kallacha Dubbi, I am an Oromo first, an Oromo second, and an Oromo third.  I can be reached at kallachadubbi@yahoo.com.

=>ayyaantuu

በኦሮሞ ተወላጆች ላይ እየተወሰደ ያለው የግድያ እርምጃ በወያኔ አንገት ውስጥ የገባውን ገመድ የሚያጠብቅ ነው::

 በኦሮሞ ተወላጆች ላይ እየተወሰደ ያለው የግድያ እርምጃ 

በወያኔ አንገት ውስጥ የገባውን ገመድ የሚያጠብቅ ነው

አምባገነኑ የወያኔ ስርአት ርህራሄ ከሌለው እስራቱም አልፎ የኦሮሞን ልጆች እያደነ ይገኛል፡፡ ህወሀት ቅጥረኞቹን ተጠቅሞ በኦሮሞ ህዝብ ላይ የሚያደርገውን ኢሰብአዊ ድርጊት የወጣቶች ንቅናቄ (ቄሮ) በጥብቅ ያወግዘዋል፡፡ በኦሮሞ ወጣቶች ላይ የኦነግ ደጋፊዎች ናችሁ እያለ የሚፈፅመውን ግድያ እና እስራትም እንዲያቆም አጥብቀን እንጠይቃለን፡፡ በቅርቡ በምእራብ ሸዋ አምቦ ከተማ ውስጥ ወጣት ተስፋየ ጉታ የተባለ የኦሮሞ ልጅ ታደሰ በቀለ በተባለ የወያኔ ደህንነት በጥይት የተገደለ ሲሆን ይህ ስቃይ አሁንም እየተባባሰ በመምጣቱ ከ16 በላይ የሚሆኑ ኦሮሞዎች በአርሲ ዞን ኮፈሌ ወረዳ ውስጥ በወያኔ መንግስት ጦር ተገድለዋል፣ ቁጥራቸው ከ200 በላይ የሚሆኑት ደግሞ በእስር ቤት ውስጥ ታፍነው ይገኛሉ፡፡ ከእነዚህም መካከል፡-

1. አደም   ጀማል
2. ሌንጮ   ጂልቻ
3. ሀቢብ    ዋቤ
4. ጋቻኖ    ቱሴ
5. ሙሀመድ ደበል ኡሴ
6. ጀማል/አርሾ አርሲ/
7. ሙሀመድ ኢደኦ
8. አማን    ቡሊ
9. ሙሀመድ ሀሰን

10. ረሺድ    ቡርቃ

11. አቡሽ    ኢብራሂም

12. ማሙሽ   ኢብራሂም እና

13. ቱኬ በሶ የተባሉትን  ወጣቶች መንግስት ያለ አንዳች ርህራሄ በጭካኔ ገድሏቸዋል፡፡ ይህ ሁኔታ መንግስት የኦሮሞን ህዝብ ለመጨረስ የከፈተው ዘመቻ አካል በመሆኑ የወጣቶች ንቅናቄ (ቄሮ) ድርጊቱን በአፅንኦት ያወግዘዋል፡፡

የወያኔ መንግስት እየወሰደ ያለው የግድያ እርምጃ የአገዛዝ ዘመኑ እያከተመለት መሆኑን የሚያሳይ ነው፡፡ በምእራብ ወለጋ ጃርሶ ወረዳ ውስጥ የወያኔ የደህንነት ሀይሎች ኢፋ ይገዙ የተባለውን ወጣት የኦነግ አባል ነህ በማለት የገደለው ሲሆን በሌሎች 9 ወጣቶች ላይ የመብት ጥያቄ በማንሳታቸው ምክንያት እንደሚገደሉ የመጨረሻ ማስጠንቀቂያ አስተላልፎባቸዋል፡፡ እነሱም፡-

1. ወጣት ደሱ    አለማየሁ
2. ወጣት ፍቃዱ  ቱፋ
3. ወጣት ወንድሙ ጉዳ
4. ወጣት አራርሶ  ቀጀላ
5. ወጣት ገመቺስ  በንቲ
6. ወጣት ቢቂላ   እስራኤል
7. ወጣት ሁሴን   መሀመድ
8. ወጣት አባያ   ባይሳ እና
9. ወጣት ቶሎሳ አለማየሁ የተባሉት ሲሆኑ በእነዚህ ወጣቶች ላይ የወያኔ መንግስት የግድያ ማስጠንቀቂያ በመስጠት አስከፊ ድርጊቱን እየፈፀመባቸው ይገኛል፡፡ የወያኔ መንግስት እየፈፀመ ያለውን ግድያ፣ እስራት፣ ከትምህርት ገበታ ማፈናቀል እና ኢፍትሀዊ ውሳኔውን ለመጋፈጥ የኦሮሞ ህዝብ በጋራ መነሳት እንዳለበት ለነፃነት የሚታገለው ወጣት ሀይል ጥሪውን ያስተላልፋል፡፡ የወያኔ መንግስት ከመቼውም ጊዜ የከፋ ጫና በኦሮሞ ወጣቶች ላይ እያደረሰ መሆኑ ለኦሮሞ ህዝብ ነፃነት መጎናፀፊያው ወቅት እየቀረበ መሆኑን የሚያሳይ በመሆኑ የኦሮሞ ህዝብ ከመቼውም ጊዜ በተሻለ ሁኔታ እጅ ለእጅ ተያይዞ መብቱን መጠየቅ ያለበት አሁን ነው፡፡ የወጣቶች ንቅናቄ(ቄሮ) የወያኔ መንግስት በኦሮሞ ህዝብ ላይ እየወሰደ ያለውን አስከፊ እርምጃ በማውገዝ ማንኛውንም መስዋእትነት ከፍሎ የህዝቡን መብት ለማስከበር እንደሚሰራ ይገልፃል፡፡

ትግሉ ይቀጥላል!!! ድል ለኦሮሞ ህዝብ!!!

የወጣቶች ንቅናቄ(ቄሮ)

ነሀሴ/2013

=>qeerroo

No to Dr. Fikre Tolossa's Unethical Prescriptions!

By Bahru D. Bayisa*

Many pro-Ethiopian unity protagonists are utterly shameless and intellectually dishonest. They would say and write anything as far as it perpetuates the myth that the Oromo people are Ethiopians. In his dubiously esoteric letter to Dr. Beyan Asoba, the self-belittling Dr. Fikre Tolossa writes that we are all sons and daughters of Ityopp'is', and that we should, therefore, denounce our true identity our language, history, and culture and adopt that which is not ours, namely the Ethiopian identity.

His recommendations for us are in accordance with the way he himself has adopted the Ethiopian identity, consciously or subconsciously, denying who he truly is. Supposing that this guy's claim to be an Oromo by birth is valid, he seems to be worse than his masters perhaps because he is driven and energized by their expected positive appraisals and accolades as he disparages and ridicules his own people. Unfortunately (or may be fortunately), they don't seem to be pleased with him as he argues (in his other works) that the Amara are all of Cushitic origin despite their long established Semitic lineage.

In one of the interviews he gave on one of the media outlets in Amharic, the interviewing lady was apparently sarcastic about his perspective on Ethiopian history and people. She couldn't control her laughter as she questioned him on why his views are in total dissonance with that of renowned historians. His answers were far from being reasonable and were least expected from a man who claims to hold a Ph.D. It shouldn't be very surprising, however, considering that he had been educated in the former Soviet Union before he moved to the former West Germany where he did his Ph.D. in Amharic language, according to the interview he gave on ESAT television.

The most ridiculous and laughable comment he writes in the letter is that the Oromo people are suffering from identity crisis because of the political movement spearheaded by leaders like Dr. Beyan Asoba and many others. He should be kidding about this! The vast majority of Oromo people are actually far from having any identity crisis, for they have always stood up as proud Oromos in the face of ubiquitous persecutions and brutal genocides. I admit, however, that there are individuals like Dr. Fikre Tolossa himself who, by virtue of their early orientation (or disorientation) in the Ethiopian Orthodox church, have suffered identity crisis, and fell vulnerable to betray their own people. Come on Dr. Fikre! How do you blame us of identity crisis when you yourself have been ashamed of speaking in your native tongue – let alone writing it? If, as you claim, you are a genuine Oromo, how do you ally yourself with groups that made it their priority to altogether destroy our identity and impose theirs on us?

I suspect that Dr. Fikre's prescription of the Ge'eez or Ethiopic alphabet for the Oromo language is more revealing of his insatiable love affair with Ethiopia and the Amharic language than of his linguistic expertise. As a pseudo-intellectual, who retold and rewrote the baseless myths and fables that the Ethiopian debtaras invented and perpetuated for centuries, he has rarely provided any empirical evidences for his outrageous claims. One of his arguments, for example, was that our father, Ityopp'is, would be disappointed if he were to come back and see that the Oromo are using the Latin script(Qubee) in lieu of the Ge'eez alphabet which he (Ityopp'is) single-handedly crafted for us all to use. He also went on to write that it's only the poor and uncivilized people who do not have their own alphabet – who should borrow from others. According to this obnoxiously offensive argument, the Brits, the French, the Germans, the Italians, the Portuguese, … you name it, are all uncivilized poor people, while the Ethiopians, by some cosmic and divine intervention, qualify among the world's few civilized people. What a bogus and bigoted argument!

Needless to say, we have been absolutely satisfied by our choice of the Latin script to read and write Afan Oromo. According to Dr. Tilahun Gemta (1994), the Latin script was adopted unanimously by over one thousand Oromo intellectuals on November 3, 1991 due to linguistic, pedagogical, and practical reasons. He unequivocally argued that the roughly 250 Sabean characters are too unwieldy to adapt to Afan Oromo, and that the characters not only fail to indicate vowel length and gemination, but also slow down a writer's speed since each symbol, which cannot be written cursively, has to be printed. On top of that, Dr. Gemta adds, “… one of the major drawbacks of the syllabary writing is that its characters do not represent the vowels and the consonants of a language separately notwithstanding the two are distinct categories.”

If the Sabean characters were as remarkable as Dr. Fikre and his friends want us to believe, why then do the Amharic speakers, while still communicating in Amharic, use the Latin script to send us instant messages (IM), text messages, and Facebook posts? Why don't they use the Sabean characters when they chat in their now rampant Paltalk rooms? That is what we meant by practical reasons! Qubee has been so perfect for us anywhere, any time, and in all situations. It's computer friendly, easy to read and right, and readily transferable as we learn other languages of the world, mainly English, French and Spanish. Even if it doesn't have all these aforementioned linguistic and practical qualities, we are the ones who make decisions as we wish without consulting debteras!

To sum up, we are a proud people who have paid more than enough sacrifice to uphold and maintain our identity. We know who we are, and what is good for us. We do not need unethical prescriptions from Amharic language doctors and debteras, especially from someone who failed the character test of being true to himself. It will be a colossal mistake to push us too far in this regard since such insensitive and reckless diatribe will only hasten the disintegration and doom of the empire that is already on a life support.

* Bahru D. Bayisa: bbayisa@yahoo.com

=>gadaa

A Fifty Year Journey For The Love of Music and His People – Ali Birra ‘s Autobiography

By Lily Birra | August 20, 2013

Product Description (to Buy click Amazon)

The idea for this project was first suggested to Mohammed Hassen by Lily Marcos-Birra , the devoted wife and the best friend of Ali Birra probably about a year ago. What was planned at that stage was to prepare a short biographical information about the legendary Oromo singer for his Golden Jubilee anniversary celebration on musical stage. That event, which will mark Ali Birra’s 50th anniversary celebration since he started singing in 1963, will be held in Minneapolis on July 4, 2013. Although the plan for the project had a gestation period of several months, the work on the project commenced with earnestness only in May 2013. With Dr. Gemechu Megerssa’s contribution and two additional previously published articles, and two short reviews of Ali Birra’s music by Rick Sanders and Blogfoolk magazine. The project expanded beyond brief biographical information. The project now has five short chapters and two review articles. It is a very modest beginning for encouraging others to write more substantial work about Ali Birra, his long productive musical career and his huge contribution for putting Oromo music on musical map of the world. As a project which was prepared under intense pressure of time, we did not have the luxury of time for carefully proof-reading more than once all contributions. If we had an opportunity to proof-read all contributions more than once, probably we would have eliminated or reduced possible typos and other errors. We apologize if there are errors.

We are deeply indebted to Matt Knowles, Andreas Hansen and Rick Sanders for giving us the permission to include their excellent articles in this project. We express our sincere gratitude for Francis Falceto and Buda Musique for producing Ethiopiques 28. This production has truly garnered excellent reviews not only from the Oromo communities but also from the international audience. As the result of their production they put Oromo music where it rightfully deserves to be, part of the world music, ending the long neglect in which Oromo music found itself for decades. We have been very fortunate to have friends and colleagues who contributed to the completion of this project in one way or the other. We thank Catherine Jimbo Odari, a PhD student at Georgia State University, for typing the articles of Matt Knowles and Andreas Hansen. We thank our dear friend Dr. Gemechu Megerssa not only for his contribution but also for his participation in Ali Birra’s Golden Jubilee with us in Minneapolis. Dr. Gemechu Megerssa has been Ali Birra’s life-long close friend. We were deeply touched by quick responses of Taha Ali Abdi and Assefa Tefera Dibaba( a PhD student at Indiana University) for their translations of some of the lyrics of Ali Birra songs into English texts. We are indebted to Jawar Mohammed and Arfasse Gemeda of Columbia University for their help with this project. We owe big debt of gratitude to our friend, Elias Ibssa, who took the full responsibility for type-setting and printing this project and making it ready for the day of celebration. We thank all those who are involved behind the scene in organizing Ali Birra’s 50th anniversary. Finally, we owe profound debt of gratitude to our dear friend Ali Birra, who always made us laugh, while answering all our questions about his life and musical journey. Information from our long interviews with Ali Birra formed the basis for crafting chapter one. His interviews are also quoted generously in chapter two. We share the happiness with Ali Birra for celebrating his Golden Jubilee. We are looking forward to it with great excitement.

Mohammed Hassen and Lily Marcos-Birra

=>ayyaantuu

South Africa: sanctuary at a price – Report of the Oromia Support Group (OSG)

The following is a report of the Oromia Support Group (OSG), a non-political organisation which attempts to raise awareness of human rights violations in Ethiopia. The report is published in association with the Oromo Relief Association UK, and is compiled from information obtained from Oromo and Ogadeni refugees in South Africa in October and November 2012.

—————–

Summary
Fifty-eight Oromo and two Ogadeni refugees from Ethiopia were interviewed in Johannesburg, Alexandra township and Randfontein, in Guateng province, and in Kinross and Evander, Mpumalanga province, in October and November 2012. The refugees reported serious abuse in Ethiopia and hazardous journeys to South Africa.

The 60 interviewees corroborated previous reports of extraordinarily high rates of torture in places of detention in Ethiopia. 26 (43%) had been tortured – 58% of the men and 26% of the women. Of the 38 who had been detained, 68% reported being tortured. All had been severely beaten. 76% of detained men and 54% of detained women were tortured.

Reported conditions of detention in Ethiopia were atrocious. Torture was routinely practised in military camps, prisons, police stations and unofficial places of detention. Methods included arm-tying (falantis), severe enough to cause nerve damage; flaying of the soles of the feet (bastinado); mock execution; whipping; immersion of the head in water and other forms of asphyxiation; walking and running on gravel, barefoot or on knees; suspension by the wrists or ankles; stress positions; sleep deprivation by flooding cells; drenching and other exposure to cold; electrocution; suspension of weights from genitalia; and castration.

Previous reports of high mortality rates among detainees in military camps, especially Hamaresa in E. Hararge, were corroborated by former detainees. In addition to the many who were killed or died in detention, the interviewees reported 91 killings of family and friends. These included 21 summary executions, some of which were public. Interviewees also reported 18 disappearances, ten of close relatives.

Only two of 13 women former detainees were raped in custody, considerably less than the 50% in previous reports, but this probably reflects the small size of the sampled population. Another interviewee was raped in her home by a government official and then in Kakuma camp, Kenya, by an Ethiopian security agent. Three interviewees reported rape of others in Ethiopia, including the multiple gang-rape of a 14 year-old in the Ogaden, who was strangled to death after ten days by the soldiers who raped her.

Although almost all of the abuses were justified by state actors on the basis of victims’ involvement with the Oromo Liberation Front, only half of the interviewees had ever had any personal or family association with the organisation. Only three were themselves involved after the OLF left government in 1992.

Travellers to South Africa were at risk of abuse, including rape, by people-smugglers. Several deaths were witnessed during dangerous and harsh journeys lasting up to 12 months, during which migrants were often short of food and water. Detention in unsanitary, severely overcrowded conditions, especially in Zambia, Tanzania and Malawi, for up to five months, was experienced by 18 interviewees (21 episodes). Deportation and attempted deportation was reported by four.

Making a living in South Africa, although legal, is difficult and dangerous. The majority of interviewees work or have worked in township tuckshops, which are frequently subject to 2 armed robbery and xenophobic attacks. At least five Oromo died in tuckshop attacks in 2012 alone. On average, each tuckshop is robbed every 5-6 months. Several organised racist attacks against tuckshops were reported and xenophobic threats, direct and via distributed leaflets, were recorded.

Violence and robbery on the street is common. One young woman was raped on her way to work one Sunday morning, in central Johannesburg, a few days before interview.

The South African government appears unenthusiastic in tackling xenophobic violence and, at best, ambivalent in honouring its responsibilities to refugees, according to international law and its own constitution. It has failed to address the ubiquitous high level of violence. Xenophobia is fuelled by local leaders and politicians in order to bolster their popularity and power.

The refugee determination process is thoroughly corrupted and meaningless. Refugee status is virtually sold as a commodity.

Whereas refugees are able to make a living in South Africa better than elsewhere on the continent, this is at a price. The violence which is characteristic of everyday life in the country is particularly likely to impact on the poor and the immigrant.

A vibrant civil society stands in bright contrast to the ANC government and is a hopeful sign that prosperity and tolerance may eventually prevail in South Africa.

- Read the Full Report (OSG)

=>gadaa

Grooming Personalities for Worthless Head of State

By T Tolera | August 20, 2013

The Head of State, the presidential post in Ethiopia, has been a compensating excuse left to satisfy or neutralise an ethnic question for power. It has been dramatized, romanticized and traditional left for Oromo to scramble. It all started out with now a fierce critic of and prominent opposition to TPLF-led regime Dr. Negasso Gidada. Dr. Nagaso resisted a top-down command over his little constitutional power and revolted and broke away from Meles Zenawi, the late PM. Then comes Obbo Girma Woldegorgis, a personality of tabloids and popular jokes. I think Obbo Girma has exceeded the expectations of TPLF. The closest he appeared to have a power was when he wrote ‘shimigilina’ letter to the former pope of Ethiopian Orthodox Church in exile to mediate his restoration following the death of Abuno Paulo [the tyrant pop]. But then TPLF ordered him to denying he wrote the letter to VOA. Obbo Girma takes refuge in others’ idea and channels the will and orders of his masters. He proved to be a reliable partner and subordinate to TPLF through his unquestionable skill of obeying commands. I think we need to give him a credit for that. Nobody can do that good!

Why they do have to put a limit on the terms of the President anyway? You don’t need limit if there is nothing to check or balance, to misuse or abuse.  But to his displeasure, Obbo Girma has to depart from his beloved presidential palace because the constitution [article 70] does not allow third term. Well, now he owns plenty of time to walk around, sit upright and probably plant some trees in the new wave of fashionable Meles Foundation Parks.

So gossips are circulating who is being groomed to become another symbolic figure officially and constitutionally castrated only to shake the hands of Ambassadors and smile on camera. It is interesting how TPLF is moulding public opinion; how it glorifies or kills characters in to the run-up.

Increasingly frustrated on the individuals that have made the list so far, TPLF is trying to widen its alternatives through a media campaign. Recently, through its print and audio-visual media outlets, it is glorifying Professor Andreas Eshete, the former President of AAU and an advisor to the PM. We see this professor up against Adde Mulu Solomon, athlete Haile Gebrislasie, and MP Dr. Asheber Weldegergis, all among president-elect to be. It is to be recalled that Obbo Bulcha Damaksa, a retired Oromo Politian with immense popular support not only from Oromos but also many Ethiopians, is off the list as TPLF found promoting him risks its grip on power.

The famous athlete, an Olympic gold medallist and disputably the king of track race, Hiale Gebresilasie, is intending to enter politics. TPLF seems to like his move. Hiale has endorsed TPLF on several occasions. He has given moral and financial support during the 2010 election campaign. He has recently publicly praised TPLF and all the evils it does against the Muslims, the Oromos and other nations and nationalities. He is believed to be very close to the inner circle of TPLF-led regime and enjoys favouritism. He has loads of experience in business but he is not much of an academic, or even curious, who would question or think a head of TPLF’s complex set of traps. Although he is criticized for his increasingly monopolistic approach to business, he sought to tap in to his popularity to drive public support for political career.

Adde Mulu Solomon, the head of Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce, and a poet, is another widely rumoured candidate. She is an iconic figure in entrepreneurship, leadership and management who has come to be among top business personalities in Ethiopia. She is a conscious Oromo that also strives to develop Oromo art and Oromo language; she seems not to know much of Qubee herself though. She is an advocate of free market, microbusiness, and works to advance liberalization. In support to TPLF-led regime, she has kept silent as the economy is increasingly manipulated and skewed to few individuals and few companies under the colonial monopoly of small group of thugs.

The lone independent MP among the two non-EPRDF MPs in the 547 seat national parliament, Dr. Ashebir Weldegorgis, is a self-motivated contestant widely supported by the TPLF to be named the next president. He is a dentist who has found his way to politics because, he says, lack of justice and equality in the Kaffa region of his birth place has worsened. But most believe his political career may have been triggered during the row between FIFA and Ethiopian Football Federation [EFF] in 2009 where Dr. Ashebir was illegally, probably politically motivated, replaced by Ahmed Yasin as a chairman of EFF, who later in turn was dismissed from his post in election carried out at the presence of CAF and FIFA. Contrary to this, Dr. Ashebir has been rather silent in the parliament only to be a staunch supporter of TPLF.

Professor Andreas Eshete is amongst the brightest academics in Ethiopia. He has received the highest quality education and served as academics both in the USA and Ethiopia. He has led Addis Ababa University almost for 10 years in to excellence. He is an autocrat of high calibre. As an actively involved in drafting the constitution and the entire formation of government during the transitional government, he is quite a guy for the post. Although his push for constitutional court during the transitional period had put him at odds with Meles, he has come to win the late PM’s trust to become the member of the inner circle to continuity. He is very loyal to TPLF and its policies. During his time as the president of AAU, he has invited, on multiple occasions, the infamous federal police and the cruel Agazi militia to crackdown on Oromo students. Just to recount some; in January 2003, on April 23, 2007 and on May 1, 2010, Professor Endreas called the security to disperse and abduct a number of Oromo AAU students. Some of the students died, some disappeared, and others are still languishing detention without trial under inhuman conditions. Many believe this is a crime that he committed awaiting a fair trial.

What kind of qualities does TPLF look to ‘unanimously’ vote to sworn in a puppet president? The best candidate for the position, according to TPLF’s checklist, is one that has combination of: 1) an Oromo fairly detached from Oromummaa 2) leverage individual drenched in corruption and potentially crimes 3) individual of highest loyalty to TPLF and 4) financially poor, political dormant and morally dull individual.

For TPLF, it is important that the choices are widely spread both within the house and outside far from party politics. Within the house, TPLF has independent MP Dr. Ashebir; the rest of the candidates being non-MPs with no affiliation to any party. In this regard, the obvious favourite choice would be Dr. Ashebir. He is loyal to TPLF and he is believed to be involved in heinous corruption with medical equipment import for his chain of dental clinics and urban land grab. He is from relatively small nation in the southern Ethiopia, the Kaffa nation, which shares a lot with the Oromo nation in that both suffered from century long ruthless naftenya monarchy and military regimes. In the new fashionable tactics of giving power to the ‘small’ nations, TPLF would definitely play this card.

TPLF can also play the famous face card. Being the most famous face among the candidates, even though, it seems, TPLF would have some reservation on Haile’s stand on ‘Ethiopiawinet’, which appears to be fundamentally ‘Amhara-byssinian’, TPLF can definitely go with Haile as a last resort. Haile’s uncontrolled thirst for more wealth to advance his empire makes it easy for TPLF to effectively manipulate him according to its will. Yet Haile is known to deposit money oversea and TPLF can do little about that.

Slogans are heard TPLF tries to display passion to give power to women to play the ‘gender’ card. This brings in Adde Mulu Solomon. With some caution, TPLF might be happy with Adde Mulu. The dilemma ofcourse is that Adde Mulu is becoming a conscious Oromo that is going quickly up in the ladder of business and getting in the hearts of Oromos. If she continues to hear Oromos, it is likely that she will understand the repression of Oromos and that is the last thing TPLF wants to see. Just like it does to Abba Dula or Muktar, TPLF would definitely try to corrupt her in to submission.

Despite its pre-set checklist, TPLF would be very delighted to see Professor Andreas Eshete in the presidential palace. Prof. Andreas is praised to be the guardian of Federalism and an advocate of equality of nations and nationalities. Just like TPLF, he is just saying and writing on paper with no known example whatsoever. Just like TPLF, he has cited the constitution to call the military upon Oromo students and watched them beaten, killed and detained. As such, TPLF knows the professor is very much involved in party politics and many would oppose his nomination to the position. So this is a ‘high risk high reward’ card that if TPLF plays and succeeds means the Head of State and Head of the Government are both member of TPLF-EPRDF.

With Adde Mulu leading, nobody among the candidates meets the entire pre-set TPLF’s checklist; and this would only leave us for a surprise candidate who we might know little about. The election of Obbo Girma was a complete surprise indeed.

=>ayyaantuu