ግንቦት 16 የሲዳማ ህዝብ ሰማእታት ቀን 12ኛ ዓመት በልዩ ሁኔታ እየታሰበ ነው፡፡

By ለገሰ ዋንሳሞ ዋቃዮ, Hawassa, Sidama

ግንቦት 16 ቀን 1994 ዓ/ም የሲዳማ ህዝብ ህገ መንግስታዊ መብቱን ለማስከበር ህግንና ደንብን ጠብቆ  በተወካዮቹ አማካይነት በቀን 12/09/1994ዓ/ም ለሲዳማ ዞን አስተዳዳር በተጻፈ ደብዳቤ መብቱን በሠላማዊ መንገድ ለማስከበርና ያለበትን ጥያቄ ለመንግስት ለማቅረብ መነሻው ገባህላዊ ህዝብመሰብሰቢያ ከሆነው ቱሉ ቦታ በማድረግ በመስቀል አደባባይ የሚያበቃ ሠለማዊ ሰልፍ ስለሚያደረግ የአካባቢው አስተዳዳር ለሰልፉ ጥበቃእንዲያደርግ አመልክቶ ነበር፡፡

 ዜጎች መብታቸውን በሠላማዊ መንገድ መጠይቅ ይችላሉ ተብሎ በህገ መንግሰቱ ስለተደነገገ ድንጋጌው የሁሉንም ብሔር ብሔረሰቦችና ህዝቦችንበእኩል ያስከብራል ብሎ በሙሉ እምነት ተቀብሎ ሰልፍ የወጣው ህዝብ የሰልፉን ደህንነት መጠበቅ የሚገባው ከህዝብ አብራክ የወጣ ህዝብንናየሀገርን ደህንነት ለመጠበቅ ቃል ኪዳን የገባው ሠራዊት በገዛ ወገኑ ላይ በጠራራ ፀኃይ የአውቶማቲክ መሳሪያ ውርጅብኝ አወረደ፡፡

 የሠላም ተምሳለት የሆነውን ኢትዮጵያ ባንድራ በማስቀደም ቅጠል የያዘው ህዝብ ከልጅ እስከ አዛውንት በደቂቃዎች ልዩነት እንደ ቅጠል ረገፈ፡፡የተወሰኑ አስከረኖች በአይሱዙ መኪና በላይ ላይ ተደርቦ እንደ ኩንታል ተጭኖ ወደ ሲዳማ ዞን ፖሊስ መምሪያ የተጋዘ ሲሆን ሌላው በየጥሻው ተጥሎበጅብ ተበላ፡፡

 ይህን ጭፍጨፋ እጅግ ክፉ የክፉ ሁሉ ክፉ እንዲሆን ያደረገው ድርጊት ቀጥሎ መፈፀሙ በሲዳማ ህዝብ አህእምሮ የማይፋቂ የዘላላም ጠባሳ ጥሎአለፈ፡፡ እነዚህ ድርጊቶች ምን ይሁኑ

1. የሟቾችንን ቤተሰብ በሀይል በማስገደድ አስከሬኖቹን በሟቾች ላይ የተወሰደው እርምጃ አግባቢ ነው እያሉ እየፈረሙ አስከሬኑን እንዲወስዱመደረግ፣

2. በመንግስት መገናኛ ብዙሃን ቢቢሲን ጨምሮ ሰው አልተገደለም የተገደሉት ዘራፊዎችና ወሮበሎች ናቸው እያሉ ጭፍጨፋው ከተፈፀመበት ቦታ 5ኪ ሜትር ርቀት ላይ ያሉ ህንጻዎችን በኢትቪ በማሳየት አሳፋሪ ድረጊት መፈፀሙ፣

3. ገዳዮችን ለህግ ከማቅረብ ይልቅ ሹመት እየሰጡ ከሞት የተረፉትን ንጽሃን ዜጎችን ለእስራት እንግልት መዳረግ የተቀሩት የብሔሩ ምሁራን ሀገርለቀው እንዲሰደዱ የተደረገበት ድርጊቶች በሀዘን ልቡ ተሰብሮ አጽናኝ ያጣውን ህዝብ ቅስሙ ይበልጥ እንዲሰበር አድርጓል፡፡

 በዚህ የተነሳ ነው ይህ ቀን በመላው ሲዳማ ህዝብ አእምሮ ውስጥ የማይጠፋ ጠባሳ ሆኖ የታተመው፡፡ ይህ ቀን በሀገር ውስጥ ባሉና በውጭ ሀገርበሚገኙ በብሔሩ ልጆች ዘንድ ጥቁር የሀዘን ልብስ በመልበስ ሻማ በማብራት እየታሳበ ዘንድሮ 12ኛ ዓመት ላይ የደረሰ ሲሆን ሲዳማ አርነት ንቅናቄበዚህ ዓመት በሰላማዊ መንገድ መብታቸውን ለማስከበር ሲሉ ሰማእታት የሆኑት ጀግኖችን ልዩ በሆነ መንገድ በሰላማ ሰልፍ ለማሰብ ሠላማዊ ሰልፍጥያቄ ለአካባቢው አስተዳደር ያቀረበ ቢሆንም ወቅቱ ክልላዊና ብሔራዊ ፈተናዎች የሚሰጡበት በመሆኑ ለሰልፉ እውቅና አንሰጥም ተብሎከአካባቢው  አስተዳደር እውቅና በመነፈጉ ሠላማዊ ሰልፉ ወደ ሰኔ 7 ቀን 2006 ዓ/ም እንዲተላለፍ ተደርጓል፡፡

 ሲአን ይህ ቀን በሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ታስቦ እንዲውል የመረጠው መንግስት የሲዳማን የመብት ጥያቄ ለማፈን ባሰማራው ፀጥታ አስከባሪ ሰራዊትበተወሰደው እርምጃ በዜጎች ላይ የተከሰተው ጥፋት ሁለተኛ እንዳይከሰት ከመታቀብ ይልቅ በተመሳሳይ መልኩ በኦሮምያ ክልልና በሌሎች በሀገሪቱክፍሎች እየፈፀም ያለው ድርጊት እንዲቆምና ጥፋተኞችም በህግ እንዲጠየቁ ድምጽ ለማሰማት ነው፡፡

ይህ የሰማዕታት ቀን ሰልፉ ስለቀረ ሳይታሰብ ይውላል ማለት ሳይሆን የሲዳማ አርነት ንቅናቄ ከዚህ በፊት ይደረግ እንደነበረ በሁሉም ሲአን ጽ/ቤቶችጥቁር የሀዘን ልብስ በመልበስና ሻማ በማብራት ታስቦ የሚውል መሆኑን እገልጻለሁ፡፡

By ለገሰ ዋንሳሞ ዋቃዮ, Hawassa, Sidama

=>sidamanationalregionalstate

Ethiopia: Worrisome Situations in Detention Centres

HRLHA – Urgent Action

May 24, 2014

For Immediate Release

While kidnappings and/or extra-judicial arrests and detentions have continued particularly around academic institutions in different parts of the regional state of Oromia in Ethiopia, disturbing and worrisome reports are coming out of detention centres where the Oromo students arrested in the past two weeks are being held.

According to HRLHA correspondents in Nakamte, Wollega Province in western Oromia, there have been cases of tortures of varying levels as well as detainees being taken away in the middle of the night to unknown destinations for unknown reasons. Fifty (50) detainees, including thirteen females, were taken away at one time alone; and their whereabouts were not known. In relation to tortures, the reports indicate that some of the detainees are isolated from others and held in separate rooms handcuffed and legs tied together with their hands on the their backs. There were ten students subjected to this particular situation, among whom were Std. Tesfaye Tuffa (male) and Std. Bontu Hailu (female). Although not confirmed at this point, there were also eight students who were screened out in order to be transferred to a detention or investigation office at the federal level; and these include:

1. Chalaa Fekaduu Gashe (high school student),
2. Chalaa Fekaduu Raajoo (high school student),
3. Nimoonaa Kebede (Wollega University 5th year law student),
4. Moi Bon Misganuu (Wollega University, student),
5. Abdii Gaddisaa (high school student),
6. Abel Dagim (high school student),
7. Qalbessa Getachew (high school student),
8. Mulgeta Gemechu (high school student),
9. Edosa Namara Dheressa, Civil Engineering, Wallaga University

In the meantime, reports indicate that kidnappings and/or extra-judicial arrests and detentions have continued in different parts of the regional state of Oromia, particularly in Hararge/Haromaya, West Showa, and West Wollega, all in relation to the protests that have been going on in the Regional State of Oromia in opposition to the newly introduced master plan to expand the Capital City of Addis Ababa/Finfinne in all directions by displacing the local Oromo residents. The following are among the hundreds of the most recent cases of kidnappings, arrests and detentions:

1) Edosa Namara Deressa – Wollega University (Civil Engineering)
2) Walabuma Dabale -Adama University, West Showa,
3) Ebisa Dale -Adama University
4) Ganamo Kurke -Adama University
5) Liban Taressa – Adama University
6) Adam Godana -Adama University
7) Bodana (last name not obtained) – Adama University

Name of other detainees arrested May 15-17, 2014,

	Partial Detainees in Wallagga, May 16, 2014
No		Name	Gender		Occupation/Grade		Place /Town
1		Robel Qanno		M	Worker	Mandii
2		Gammachis Hambisaa		M	Employee	Mandii,
3		Bokaa Hundeessaa		M		Mandii
4		Bacaa Kebede		M		Mandi
5		Fiqiru Wadajo		M	Businessman	Mandi
6		Eyob Kumara		M	Businessman	Mandi
7		Raji Abbaya		M	10	Mandi
8		Dabaloo Tolosaa		M	10	Mandi
9		Surra Chali		M	12	Mandi
10		Ebisaa Saqqata			12	Mandi
Haromaya University
1		Nimona Chali		M	Oromo language	Haromaya
2		Magarsaa Baqqalaa		M	Oromo language	Haromaya
3		Firayad		M	Teacher	Haromaya
4		Girmaa		M		Haromaya
West Shawa, Ambo
1		Getachew Qajela		M		Ambo Town
2		Alemu Megerssa		M	8	Ambo Town
3		Debisa Birru		M	-	Ambo
4		Getacho Birruu		M	Previous  Kaliti detainee	Ambo
5		Tamire Chala		M	office worker	Ambo
Arrested on May 16, 2014					Wallagga University
1		Abbabu Tafa		M	student	Nekemt
2		Galata Kumerra		M	student	Nekemt
3		Gammachuu Butuna		M	student	Nekemt
4		Gammachuu Fikadu		M	student	Nekemt
5		Getachew Fikadu		M	student	Nekemt
6		Gutaaa Galana		M	student	Nekemt
7		Lammessa Balay		M	student	Nekemt
8		Mokonoon Abarra		M	student	Nekemt
9		Mokonon Asaffaa		M	student	Nekemt
10		Mul’isaa Tafarra		M	student	Nekemt
11		Nazib Jibril		M	student	Nekemt
12		Shimalis Chaffe		M	student	Nekemt
13		Sofia Kadir		M	student	Nekemt
Arrested on May 16, 2014, West Wallaga Gulisso District
1		Abdii Mokonon		M	10th grade	Gullisoo
2		Chalaa Raggasa		M	Bussinessman	Ayiraa
3		Damee Daddafa		M	Bussinessman	Ayiraa
4		Daawit Tola		M	Bussinessman	Gullisoo
5		Dirriba Gaja’a		M	student	Ayiraa
6		Dirriba Tasfa		M	7th grade	Gullisoo
7		Ebba Kaniiba		M	8th grade	Gullisoo
8		Efirem Qana’a		M	student	Ayiraa
9		Fikadu Gari		M	Farmer	Gullisoo
10		Gammachu Tasisa		M	Businessman	Gullisoo
11		Gammaachuu Wakjira		M	Government employee	Gullisoo
12		Getane Adaba		M	Farmer	Ayiraa
13		Getacho Oljira		M	Farmer	Ayiraa
14		Girma Mulatu		M	10th grade	Gullisoo
13		Hunduma Awetu		M	Teacher	Ayiraa
16		Jifara Busuna		M	student	Gullisoo
17		Lalisa Indale		M	9th grade	Gullisoo
18		Lijalem Immana		M	Adminstrator	Gullisoo
19		Malaku Aaga		M	Teacher	Ayiraa
20		Milkessa Samu’el		M	student	Ayiraa
21		Mulatu Cawaqa		M	Farmer	Gullisoo
22		Obsa Getane		M	10th grade	Gullisoo
23		Obsa Raggasa		M	9th grade	Gullisoo
24		Qabana Hika		M	Teacher	Ayiraa
25		Qanani Daniel		M	7th grade	Gullisoo
26		Toleraa Wakuma		M	student	Ayiraa
27		Wande Nagasa		M	Businessman	Gullisoo
28		Yaaed Dheressa		M	Teacher	Ayiraa

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) is highly concerned about the life-threatening situations in the detention centres where those young Oromos were held, and the safety and wellbeing of those who were taken to unknown destinations. Therefore, HRLHA calls upon the Ethiopian Government to abide by all international human rights instruments that it has signed, and refrain from subjecting the young detainees to such harsh situations. It also calls upon all local, regional, and international human rights organizations including UN Human Rights Council, humanitarian, and diplomatic agencies to put pressure on the Ethiopian Government so that it

1. Unconditionally releases the Oromo students who were detained in the past two and three weeks simply because the attempted to exercise some of their fundamental rights in a peaceful and absolutely non-violent manner.
2. Stop killing,  arresting and abducting Oromo nationals
3. To form an independent committee from civilians for investigation and Prosecution of the killing and torturing crimes.

=>ayyaantuu

WORLDWIDE PROTESTS ONGOING IN SUPPORT OF ETHIOPIA’S OROMO PEOPLE

May 23, 2014, Australia (Free Speech Radio News) — In Ethiopia, student-led protests related to a land dispute in the Oromia Region state are in their fourth week. The ethnic Tigrayan-­led Ethiopian government has violently cracked down on peaceful protests, killing dozens of ethnic Oromo students and injuring or imprisoning hundreds more. The unrest prompted an unprecedented response from the Oromo diaspora and human rights organizations around the world.

Demonstrators have rallied in cities in Australia, the U.S, Europe, Egypt, Uganda and Israel, calling for their respective governments to condemn the violence and raising awareness about the human rights situation for the Oromos in Ethiopia. Rachael Bongiorno reports from one such rally in Melbourne, Australia.

On a crisp Friday morning, a sea of green, red and yellow Oromo flags lines the streets of Melbourne. The city’s Oromo community is demonstrating to draw attention to human rights abuses facing Oromos back in Ethiopia. The protesters halt trams and cars, chanting and handing out fresh roses with tags quoting Martin Luther King JR’s famous words “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

The Oromo people are the largest indigenous ethnic Ethiopia but they’ve historically been marginalized and suffered discrimination by successive Ethiopian governments. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have long documented widespread discrimination, violence, and arbitrary arrests against the Oromo people. One young girl, who asks not to be identified, explains why she’s come out to protest.

“I feel like I’m standing in solidarity with the Oromo people in Melbourne and many other cities around the world,” she says, adding “We want to tell the word that people are being killed for peacefully protesting for their constitutional rights, being killed for speaking up and standing for their rights.”

The Oromo students in Ethiopia are calling for full implementation of the country’s constitution, which includes un human rights principles as well as provisions for self-determination. These guarantees extend to both Oromia state and the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. But while the capital is located in the state, it falls under the central government’s administration. And the government wants to expand its boundaries into Oromo lands.

Soreti Kadir is one the organizer’s of the on-going world-wide protests. She says, “We’re here today because the Ethiopian government has announced this plan that it’s going to be displacing up to 2 million Oromo people.” Kadir continues, “This means not only do the identities of these towns that are no longer going to exist because they will be dissolved which are predominantly Oromo. But Oromo people and farmers become displaced and don’t have a way to actually earn a proper income.”

The government’s planned expansion of Addis Ababa – known as the Master Plan – is just one of many such plans that have affected the Oromo region and forced the indigenous people from their lands. Under the Abyssinian colonial rule during the 20th Century, the Oromo language was banned and the Amharic culture was imposed. The ban was only lifted in 1991, as Toltu Tuffa explains. “This is not the first Master Plan, there have been a number of other ones, and this is the 10th installment of the master plan.”

“Even though there is recognition of Oromo provinces and regions, the fact that these areas will be transitioned away under the federal district of the Ethiopian government is essentially another form of re-colonisation,” says Tuffa, explaining the implications for language, culture, lifestyle and economic and social well being.”

According to the Minnesota Oromo Association, the Oromo diaspora has mobilized like never before. In a country where press freedom is in decline, social media has been a major tool to get information out. For 19-year-old organizer and blogger Soreti Kadir, the recent arrests of 3 journalists and 6 Oromo bloggers known as Zone 9 is just more evidence of the Ethiopian government’s suppressing dissent.

“It’s been people who are blogging, people who are using twitter, Instagram, Facebook who have really pioneered this entire movement,” says Kadir. “The Ethiopian bloggers have been arrested because the Ethiopian government’s major tactic in making sure these things don’t spread… is a suppression of freedom of speech.”

The Ethiopian Government argues the Master Plan will be a step forward for the Ethiopian people and the economy and dismisses the recent unrest, saying the protesters are being manipulated by the media inside and outside the country.

One of the largest protests in the diaspora was in Minnesota, which boasts an Oromo population of about 40,000 people.sen Hussien, Executive director of the Minnesota Oromo Association says the Ethiopian government often seeks to discredit protests in this way.

“Every time there is a protest in the country be it in the Oromia region or elsewhere in the country, the government points it’s fingers at external forces,” according to Hussien. He continues, “This has been the tradition of this regime since it came to power. Rather than looking at itself and wondering if its policies have anything to do with why people go on protests.”

Hussien says the situation is getting worse, with more crackdowns on the protests this week. “The last 5 days alone there are reports in one city there were 152 people who were wounded in the city of Najjo and also in Nekemte and another small town in Gori.,” he says, adding “And according to a report I received this morning in the town of Nekemte alone there are 600 students that are detained.”

The Australian Oromo community is planning another protest in Australia’s capital, Canberra when parliament resumes next week.

=>More at ayyaantuu

Egypt softens stance on Ethiopian dam

AUTHOR                       TRANSLATOR(S)Ayah Aman                     Kamal Fayad


CAIRO — The Egyptian government is leaning toward adopting new policies aimed at resolving its dispute with Ethiopia concerning its Renaissance Dam project. Egyptian officials and technical experts have espoused a calmer rhetoric calling for the adoption of good-faith policies and the advancement of mutual interests. This is despite the lack of actual arrangements for the holding of new political and technical negotiations between the two countries, subsequent to the collapse of the previous round of negotiations in January.

In the past few weeks, official Egyptian rhetoric concerning the Renaissance Dam crisis mutated into one calling for understanding and renewed discussions. In statements made to the press on May 11, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb said that Ethiopia’s construction of the Renaissance Dam had become a fait accompli and must be dealt with in the context of safeguarding mutual interests, thus guaranteeing that Egypt receives its water and Ethiopia generates its energy. Furthermore, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy told Al-Monitor on May 15 that Egypt would not enter into a conflict with Ethiopia as a result of the dam’s construction.

Another Egyptian government official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity: “Intensive meetings continue to be held until the end of Egypt’s presidential elections and the swearing in of a new president, to determine the country’s positions vis-a-vis the Renaissance Dam crisis. Exhaustive hearings are being held with a number of technical experts and specialists in the field of dam building, to reassess the real impact of the dam’s construction.”

The source said: “The general consensus in those hearings leans toward adopting a new policy of positive engagement with Ethiopia to solve the dam crisis. We now possess real data that reflects the dangers posed by the dam. These will be scientifically assessed to minimize those dangers through serious negotiations with Addis Ababa.”

The Egyptians have specified their exact problems with the Renaissance Dam. “The list of qualms was reduced to about 20 problems that Egypt would face once the Ethiopian dam is built. But the latter is not the only responsible party, for Sudan would also be responsible for negatively affecting Egypt’s water security, as a result of the Renaissance Dam being built on the Blue Nile, close to the Ethiopian-Sudanese border,” the government source said.

Another technical source, involved in the decision-making process relating to the Nile water dossier within the Egyptian government, explained to Al-Monitor that Ethiopia’s commitment to use the Renaissance Dam only for power generation has allayed Egyptian fears. “This is because, in this case, water cannot be stored behind the dam, but needs to flow for electricity to be generated. We are now examining ways by which to benefit from the dam, particularly those concerning increasing the rate of water flow to Egypt, as well as developing ideas to reduce any negative effects,” the technical source said.

Egypt’s conciliatory tone is Cairo’s attempt to extract whatever benefits it can from a dam that it seemingly cannot prevent from being built. Water issues expert and head of the Egyptian Water Partnership, Khaled Abu Zeid, elaborated on this point in an interview with Al-Monitor. “From the first day, when Ethiopia announced moving forward in building the Renaissance Dam at the beginning of 2011, Egypt started talking about mutual benefits and did not completely object to the building of installations on the Blue Nile, if Egypt, as a downstream country, was first consulted,” he said.

Abu Zeid said that Ethiopia has not seriously addressed overtures by Cairo to consult over the project, in particular Egypt’s proposal for a memorandum to build trust.

“The level of seriousness and transparency in talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan will determine the possibility of success in those negotiations. Egypt still has legitimate concerns about the building of the dam,” he said.

In a further sign that Egypt is resigning to accept the reality of the dam, groups of Egyptian water, environmental and agricultural experts have begun developing scientific solutions to cope with the dam’s negative effects. This comes at a time when negotiations have broken down and the Ethiopian side continues to move forward in the construction of the dam.

Al-Monitor spoke with the head of the Environmental Studies and Land Use Division at the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, Abdallah Jad. “We are examining a range of scientific solutions that will be submitted to the political leadership, for implementation to begin and Egypt’s water and food security safeguarded from the dam’s negative effects. These solutions are part of efforts to cope with perceived risks, and entail searching for nonconventional water sources, increasing wastewater use, the desalination of seawater and developing scientific research meant to exploit low-cost techniques, while hybridizing crops that would require less water to grow and satisfy the demand for main food staples,” he said.

The rhetoric of Egyptian presidential candidates concerning the Renaissance Dam crisis also seems to have taken on a conciliatory tone that moved away from conflict and escalation. Both candidates, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his opponent Hamdeen Sabahi, called for the need to find middle-of-the-road solutions to the crisis that do not harm Egyptian interests in the waters of the Nile.

The shift in Egypt’s position occurred when the Ethiopian side achieved advances on the ground and concluded approximately 32% of the dam’s foundation works. Despite Egypt’s objections, it now seems for Cairo that the time has come for a return to the negotiating table, a decision that Egypt’s executive bodies await their future president to take.

=>al-monitor

When Enough is Enough, Rise up People of Ethiopia

by GRAHAM PEEBLES

There are tentative signs that the people of Ethiopia are beginning to organise themselves and stand up against the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government, a brutal dictatorship, albeit one dressed in democratic western garb.

After 23 years of suppression at the hands of the EPRDF, simmering discontent and anger appears to finally be spilling over onto the streets. Robbed of hope, the people have had enough, enough of the wide-ranging human rights abuses. The denial of constitutional rights, the arbitrary imprisonments and torture, regime violence, the displacement of people from ancestral land, the partisan distribution of aid, and the rising cost of living.

The right to peaceful protest

Like many democratic principles, the right to protest is enshrined in Ethiopia’s constitution. Written in 1991 by the EPRDF, the legally binding document of liberal correctness is routinely ignored by the regime, whose response to public protests has been consistently violent.

Last year Addis Ababa witnessed the first mass demonstrations since 2005, when “security forces killed dozens of protesters [some estimate that up to 200 people were murdered by government forces] and arbitrarily detained thousands of people across the country.” [Human Rights Watch (HRW)] Unsurprisingly since then the streets have been quiet. Until 2013 that is, when in June thousands found the courage to march through the capital demanding the release of political prisoners, “respect for the constitution” and “Justice! Justice! Justice!” [Reuters] And again in November, when enraged demonstrators gathered outside the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Addis Ababa and cities across the world to protest the appalling abuse meted out to Ethiopian migrants in the Gulf State. Many hoped this united response was the beginning of a coordinated movement of collective action, a long overdue movement for change.

Ethiopia is young, 65% of the population are under 25, the median age is a mere 17, and like protest movements elsewhere — Egypt, Brazil, Turkey e.g., it is the young who are leading the way. They see clearly the injustices, the violations of fundamental freedoms and the duplicity of a government that presents a democratic face to its international allies and benefactors whilst brutalising its own people.

Since 25th April, students have demonstrated throughout the Oromia Regional State, protesting against the government’s sinister sounding ‘Integrated Development Master Plan’. The Oromo people constitute Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group — around 27 million people — almost a third of the population. They have been marginalised and discriminated against since the 19th century when Empress Taytu Betul (wife of Menelikk II) chose the site of Addis Ababa for the capital. As the city grew Oromos were evicted from their land and forced onto the margins — socially, economically and politically: “time and again, Oromo farmers were removed from their land under the guise of development without adequate compensation.”[Geeska Africa]. Like tyrants everywhere, the paranoid EPRDF is hostile to all forms of dissent no matter the source; however they react with greater levels of brutality to dissenting voices in Oromia than perhaps anywhere else in the country, and “scores of Oromos are regularly arrested based on their actual or suspected opposition to the government.” [Amnesty International (AI)]

The proposed ‘master plan’ would substantially expand the boundaries of Addis Ababa into areas of Oromia surrounding the capital. “Protestors claim they merely wanted to raise questions about the plan — but were answered with violence and intimidation.” [BBC] They rightly feel smallholder farmers and other groups living on government land (all land in Ethiopia is government owned) would once again be threatened, leading to large scale evictions to make way for land leasing or land sales, as has happened elsewhere in the country. In addition many Oromos see the proposed expansion as a broader threat to their regional and cultural identity and say the scheme is “in violation of the Constitutionally-guaranteed protection of the ‘special interests’ of the Oromia state.” [AI] Constitutional guarantees that mean nothing to the members of the ruling party, or a politically controlled judiciary.

Killing, beating, intimidating

University campuses have formed the beating heart of the protest movement that has now spread throughout the region. On Tuesday 29th April around 25,000 people, “including residents of Ambo town in central Oromia, participated in a city wide demonstration, in the largest show of opposition to the government’s plans to date.” [Revolution News] Somewhat predictably, security forces, consisting of the federal police and military Special Forces known as the ‘Agazi’, have “responded by shooting at and beating peaceful protesters in Ambo, Nekemte, Jimma, and other towns with unconfirmed reports from witnesses of dozens of casualties.” [Human Rights Watch (HRW)] A witness told Amnesty International that on the third day of protest in Guder town, near Ambo, the security forces were waiting for the protesters and opened fire when they arrived. “She said five people were killed in front of her. A source in Robe town, the location of Madawalabu University, reported that 11 bodies had been seen in a hospital in the town. Another witness said they had seen five bodies in Ambo [80 miles west of Addis Ababa] hospital.”

Whilst the government says that “at least nine students have died” during the protests, “a witness told the BBC that 47 were killed by the security forces” — a misleading term for government thugs, who are killing, beating and intimidating innocent civilians: Amnesty reports that children as young as 11 years of age were among the dead. In addition to killing peaceful protesters, large numbers have been beaten up during and after protests, resulting in scores of injuries, and hundreds or “several thousands”, according to the main Oromia opposition party, the Oromo Federalist Congress (AFC), have been arbitrarily arrested and are being detained incommunicado. Given the regime’s history those imprisoned face a very real risk of torture.

In many cases the arrests took place after the protesters had dispersed. “Security forces have conducted house to house searches in many locations in the region, [looking] for students and others who may have been involved. New arrests continue to be reported,” [AI] and squads of government thugs are reportedly beating local residents in a crude attempt at intimidation. Amnesty reports the case of a father whose son was shot dead during a protest, being ‘severely beaten’ by security forces, who told the bereaved parent “he should have taught his son some discipline.”

The Oromia community has often been the target of government aggression, and recent events are reminiscent of January 2004, when several Oromia students at Addis Ababa University were shot and killed when protesting for the right to stage an Oromo cultural event on campus. Many more were wounded and 494 [Oromo Support Group (OSG)] were arrested and detained without charge or trial. HRW reported how “police ordered both male and female students to run and crawl barefoot, bare-kneed, and bare-armed over sharp gravel for three-and-half hours; they were also forced to carry each other over the gravel.” The Police, HRW goes on to say, “have repeatedly employed similar methods of torture and yet are rarely held accountable for their excesses.”

The recent level of extreme violence displayed by the State is not unusual and takes place throughout Ethiopia; what is new is the response of the people. Anger at the security forces criminality has fuelled further demonstrations in Oromo as friends and family of those murdered have added their voices to the growing protest movement. This righteous stand against government brutality and injustice is heartening for the country and should be supported with condemnation and pressure from international donors and the UN more broadly. Those arrested during protests must be immediately released and investigations into killings by security personnel instigated as a matter of utmost urgency.

Tools of control

The government’s heavy-handed reaction to the Oromo protests is but the latest example of the regime’s ruthless response to criticism of its policies. Political opposition parties, when tolerated at all have been totally marginalised, dissenting independent voices are quickly silenced and a general atmosphere of fear is all pervading. Despite freedom of expression being a constitutional right virtually all media outlets are either government owned or controlled; “blogs and Internet pages critical of the Ethiopian government are regularly blocked and independent radio stations, particularly those broadcasting in Amharic and Afan Oromo, are routinely jammed.” [HRW] The EPRDF has created “one of the most repressive media environments in the world.” Reinforcing this condition, “the government on April 25th and 26th arbitrarily arrested nine bloggers and journalists in Addis Ababa. They remain in detention without charge.” [Ibid] International human rights groups (whose activities have been severely restricted by the stifling Charities and Societies Proclamation of 2009) as well as foreign journalists are not welcome, and reporters “who have attempted to reach the current demonstrations have been turned away or detained,” [Ibid] making it difficult to confirm exact numbers of those killed by government security personnel.

The UN Human Rights Council recently reviewed Ethiopia’s human rights record under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Since the first review in 2009 the human rights condition has greatly deteriorated. The EPRDF rules the country through fear and intimidation, they have introduced ambiguous, universally condemned legislation to control and intimidate: the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO law) and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation specifically. Laws of repression that together have made independent media and civil society completely ineffective. Freedom of assembly – another constitutional right – is not allowed, (or as can be seen with the Oromo protests) is dealt with in the harshest manner possible; the Internet and telecommunications are controlled and monitored by the government and phone records/recordings are easily obtained by security personnel. Arbitrary arrests and false Imprisonment of anyone criticizing the government is routine as is the use of torture on those incarcerated. In the Ogaden region the regime is committing gross human rights abuses constituting crimes against humanity and in Gambella and the Lower Omo Valley large numbers of indigenous people have been forcibly moved into government camps (Villagization Programme), as land is sold for pennies to international companies. In short, human rights are completely ignored by the Government in Ethiopia. As the people begin to come together and protest, international pressure should be applied on the regime to observe the rule of law and uphold the people’s fundamental human rights.

We are living in extraordinary times, times of opportunity and change, times of great hope. With elections due next year now is the time for the various ethnic groups and factions inside and outside Ethiopia to unite, and speaking with one voice demand their rights, to freedom and justice and to live with hope in their hearts.

Graham Peebles is director of the Create Trust. He can be reached at: graham@thecreatetrust.org

=>counterpunch

Waaqayyo/God Does not Teach Oromo People to Give up Their Father’s Land

By Wake Jio Garbi*

Wake Jio Garbi

Preliminary Remark

In this article I will reflect on the Biblical teachings in relation to the current Oromo people peaceful protest against the so called ‘Addis Ababa Integrated Master plan’. It attempts to justify the need of more actions to stop the human rights violations, extra judicial killings, and torturing engineered by the TPLF dictatorial government. Further, it urges the entire Oromo people to be more united than ever in order to enhance the revolutionary movements.

1. Perspectives from the Bible - Old Testament

In the Old Testament, the book of 1Kings 21, Naboth refused to give up his vineyard, the land that he inherited from his father and was murdered for his refusal. “…there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab the king of Samaria. Ahab said to Naboth, ‘Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it worth. But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbids that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” (1Kings 21:1-3). The account ‘give me your vineyard’ seemed to be started as a simple real estate transaction. The vineyard was near to the royal house of Ahab that he was willing to trade it or to pay for it in order to have it for luxury or superfluity. However, for Naboth this vineyard was his everything: food, water, shelter, history, and identity that he can’t trade it for anything. Therefore, Naboth’s response ‘The Lord forbids that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers’ is tantamount to saying ‘no’. The answer of Naboth to the king reflects the history of land during his time. In Israel, land was believed to be inheritance from Yahweh/Waaqayyo, parceled out to individual tribes and families according to the will of God (Leviticus 25:15, 23, 25; Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46: 18).

In Oromo culture too, land is given by God (Waaqayyoo) to a mankind. Thus it is deeply rooted in our belief that Waaqayyo gave us the land on which we reproduce and populate. As such we ought to stand for the birthplace right and that this is the will of Waaqayyoo. He gave the land to our ancestors and we inherited it from them, and this continues and the inheritance goes to the future generation. Otherwise it would mean disgracing the will of Waaqayyoo and His gift according to the Bible teaching I cited above. Giving up our own land, there is no way we can claim others land.

Coming back to the Bible teaching, Ahab brooded or sulked and refused to eat. His wife Jezebel came and asked him why he was so sullen and didn’t eat. The King answered her that Naboth refused to give him his vineyard which is near the palace. Jezebel promised Ahab that she will do whatever it takes to get him the vineyard of Naboth and encouraged the king to eat (1king 21:4-7). Thus subtly Jezebel prepared a means to murder Naboth just because he refused to give up his father’s land. She wrote letter in Ahab’s name, sealed and sent them to the elders and nobles dwelling in the city. In the letter she urged the elders to proclaim fasting, to gather people and to make Naboth sit in front of the people while two men give false witness against him (Naboth) saying “You have blasphemed against God and the King”. Then they take him out to stone him to death. The inhabitants of the city did as Jezebel ordered them to do and reported that Naboth had been stoned and died. Obviously, Ahab agreed with his wife to write and seal the letters in his name. It was a traitorous plan that the collaborative classes of Ahab in Jezreel set Naboth in a high place of decency and honor which was actually untrue and stoned him and killed him with lies from mouths of two men (1King 21:8-14).

In like manner Oromo individuals, social group leaders, supporters and members of political organizations are accused based on false allegations, tortured to death and imprisonments. In other words the Oromo nationalists who stand against the TPLF’s exploitations natural resources experience similar history of Naboth as briefly narrated above. TPLF politicizes and accuses the Oromo who speak against the exploitations and dominations by the TPLF-led dictators as narrow nationalists, anti-peace, and anti-development elements. The current peaceful protest in Oromia against the so called ‘Addis Ababa Integrated Master Plan’ is comparable to the response of Naboth to Ahab who planned to evict him from his heritage above. Of course, there have been some prodigals (the lost Oromo who implement the colonial agendas of TPLF) blindly accuse Oromo national struggles.

God shapes, rebukes, and corrects political leaders through his servants (2 Chronicles 16:9). Christians challenge tyrannical governments in order to fulfill their Waaqayyo given roles (Psalms 127: 1). Spiritual leaders in Oromia should take courage to say ‘yes’ when ‘yes’ is needed and to say ‘no’ when ‘no’ is needed to TPLF tyrannical government. As spiritual leaders and as theologians we have to be voice for the voiceless; we have to encourage and educate our people to reject slavery and to defend their Waaqayyo given right peacefully ensuring that everybody has equal dignity before Waaqayyo. It is not surprising that TPLF always labels any Oromo who say ‘no’ to the government’s systematic exploitation as member of the Oromo liberation Front/OLF and punish them. As we know, the TPLF has imprisoned over 40,000 Oromo nationalists, and has been torturing and killing thousands of Oromo with false accusation. However, this strategy of TPLF works no more, for the more this dictator government pushed down the struggle of Oromo, the more Oromo raise up. The sudden occurrences of waves of protests by the Oromo all over the World and in Oromia are indicative of the fact that there is no way to give up the land of their fathers and forefathers to any robber or conqueror.

When Ahab strived to possess the land, Waaqayyoo has sent Elijah the prophet to the king and rebuked him that he killed the innocent man (Naboth), made blood of Naboth licked by dogs and possessed his land. The prophet explicitly speaks what the king does is injustice and Waaqayyoo does not tolerate it. Thus Waaqayyoo warned the king to reexamine his deed and repent, but he was not willing to listen to the prophet. Rather Ahab attempted to attack Elijah saying that ‘you are my enemy’. In fact he continued to do evils after evils. But these evils led to the failure of his kingdom and to his own death. Not only this, his son and wife Jezebel paid for the wrongdoings of Ahab in life. Interesting enough, after Naboth died his land was not owned by Ahab or by the royal family, but it was given to heirs of Naboth (1King 21:29; 2King 9: 24-26).

For the believers, the narrative about Naboth and Ahab above warn that liars like the heavy-handed TPLF-led government to take-off their merciless yoke of exploitations and dominations from the Oromo people. The Bible warns them saying; do not evict poor farmers from their century- old places of birth and heritages; otherwise the rages of Waaqayyoo that came upon Ahab will also find you!

TPLF never hear the opposition parties and human rights activists who have been pressing the government to stop human rights violation in the Ethiopian Empire. The government showed zero tolerance to opposition parties’ leaders and their members, journalists who actually expose the injustice and freedom fighters, and continued killings after killings, cheatings after cheatings and whatever one calls crime against humanity. It is part of our spiritual call to denounce such acts in any society and to stand with the victims. Thus we cannot sit and see TPLF evict our people from their land without their willingness and exploit our resources while thousands of our people are stricken by hunger, and while this dictator kill our fathers, mothers and children, and persecute Oromo human rights activists. The word of Waaqayyo encourages us to stand with our people and struggle to promote justice, peace, democracy and freedom (Jer 22: 3, Proverb 31:9).

Moses chose to suffer with his own people rather than enjoying pleasures of sin. He couldn’t deny the problem of his people and cooperate with the Pharaoh who enslaved Israelites to whom he belongs (Exodus 5: 1ff). The book of Hebrew 11:25 tells us that Moses chose to suffer with and for his people rather than cooperating with those who intimidate, discriminate, and kill his people. For Moses, there was no popularity and privilege than liberating his people from bondage of slavery in Egypt. What about us today? The more Moses pressed Pharaoh to let Israelites free and the more his people(Israelites) got awareness to resist slavery, the more Pharaoh expressed his disapproval even with further maliciousness and tranny (Exodus 5:5-19). Moses continued to mobilize the people to promote civil disobedience by leading them. Lastly, they managed to break through the colonial yoke of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 6:6ff). Israel moved out of Egypt seeking their liberty. In like manner Oromo have no choices left to them, but seek liberty peacefully which they attempted to but denied by the oppressors who wish to control Oromia in a round about ways, like by redrawing parts of Oromia towns and farm lands under the Municipality of Finfinnee.

There was time when the people of Israel accused Moses whom God sent for them to set them free slavery in Egypt (Number 25: 5). No less than this that we also accuse our earlier political leaders saying that they are the causes for the stagnation of the struggle for freedom of Oromo. The reality is that they did the best they could. Of course as human being it may be true that they have weakness; but they still deserve our appreciations for they have brought the struggle to this level. More importantly this is not the time to go back and search for weaknesses defiling and humiliating each other. Rather it is the time for us to come together and plan the way ahead of us. It is time to put our human and natural resources together in order to achieve justice and true democracy in Oromia.

2. Perspectives from the Bible- New Testament

Jesus had great charisma of leadership, unspeakable potential of argumentations. As such the authorities of the time could have given Him high positions as well as respect in the Roman Empire of Jerusalem. Instead He identified himself with the oppressed, the poor, and the marginalized section of the society. He spoke on their behalf. He proclaimed that He came to set the oppressed free (Luke 4: 15-18). There was large number of Jewish who opposed the Roman Empire’s ruling system and were persecuted, burned alive, and killed. Jesus boldly proclaimed that He came to set these oppressed people free. His proclamations have theological and political implications. Theologically, Jesus came to this Word to free people from Demonic power and to win them for eternal life. Politically, He taught them freedom to those under oppression by tyrannical governments. It is obvious that this teaching has political implication in our current context. Waaqayyo created Oromo people free and wants us live in freedom. This should not be taken as going out of the Christian teaching. This is about understanding the fundamentals the teaching and fulfilling what it requires of us the believer.

The authorities in the Roman Empire during Jesus time were attempted to persuade Jesus not to expose their cruelty over the people under their leadership in public sphere. The Roman rulers who had been ruling over people of Israel judged Jesus on false accusation that Jesus blasphemed God and the king, Caesar. They sentenced him to death penalty though He was blameless and liberator.

Enemies of our freedom use different strategies to keep us under their rules. For instance, misusing religious philosophies, they have derailed our uninformed Oromo brothers and sisters from the path of seeking freedom. These are persons who are not cleaver enough to mark the boundaries between religion and standing against unjust treatments in the hands of the dictators (Joshua 5:13).

The Bible teaches Christians to obey the rulers as long as the governments obey the will of Waaqayyo (Rom 13:1-3). If the rulers are cruel and attempt to abandon truth and justice, Christians ought to obey Waaqayyo than rulers (Acts 5:29). For instance, Herod ordered the wise men- the Magi- to return with information regarding the whereabouts of the baby Jesus so that he can easily get where Jesus was and kill him, but they disobeyed the king Herod and returned to their country by another route (Math 2:1-12). When the government attempts to kill those who struggle to free the oppressed, it takes people to break the law made by oppressors. TPLF, on the one hand, is sending its merciless federal police and armies to occupy almost every city, school and university in Oromia; the armies and federal police have been hunting down barehanded peaceful protesters since April 26, 2014. On the other hand, it (TPLF) is sending its cabinets all over Oromia to deceive Oromo by the name of forgiveness, reconciliation, peace and unity. Oromo people should know that such false propaganda of unity, reconciliation, peace and forgiveness has nothing to do with our legitimate question of freedom from TPLF oppression. The armies of this dictator government should take off their fingers from their weapons and stop killing our people inhumanly, and then we will sit for reconciliation. On top of that, the reconciliation, unity, and forgiveness TPLF and some prodigal Oromo are trying to persuade Oromo people have nothing to do with truth and justice. Because reconciliation, forgiveness, peace and unity can be practiced only after truth is established. Oromo people have been protesting peacefully to establish such truth, yet the TPLF has been answering by killing, torturing, and putting thousands of them in jail.

Conclusion and Recommendation

The article explored that the Bible never teaches Oromo people to give up their land to oppressors. I have three points to make as a conclusion to my article:

1. The Church in Oromia and around the world should declare ‘spiritual boycotting’ against TPLF regime. What I mean by ‘spiritual boycotting’ is that the church should stop praying for the strength and success of the TPLF regime who is conducting crime against humanity by killing barehanded peaceful protesters, torturing innocent people, and imprisoning thousands by false allegation. The church should rather pray to Waaqayyo so that He would give wisdom and strength for the oppressed to cope with the catastrophic situation in Oromia and to continue peaceful protest in order to free themselves from colonial yoke of TPLF. Additionally, the church should stand with the voiceless and denounce that the regime is committing crime against human dignity which is unacceptable in the sight of Waaqayyo.
2. Call upon Oromo all over the World to hold hand in hand and continue peaceful protest and civil disobedience until we end the injustice that reigned in Oromia. We have obligations to air our voices non-stop to the international communities that TPLF-led dictatorial regime in Ethiopia has continued torturing, imprisoning, jailing and killing peaceful Oromo protester and not to implement the so called ‘Addis Ababa Integrated Master Plan’ aimed at dismantling Oromo from his ancestral land in disguises.
3. All Oromo political parties should come to the table and discuss how to form a united front to make an end to the TPLF’s colonial rule in Oromia, etc. Let me finish with the Oromo saying: “Nutu kan waliiti”. “Harreen wal dhiitti malee ilkaan wal irraa hin fixuu”

                                        Truth prevails!

Waaqayyo bless Oromia!!!

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* The author is currently studying a dual masters degree program in Theology (MA) and in Society and Global Issues at the Norwegian School of Theology and can be reached at waktheophilaw@gmail.com.


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