Photos from the OLF Unification Accord Signing in Berlin (June 28, 2014)

The following are some photos from the Berlin Accord signing between the two OLF organizations, OLF Shanee Gumii (“OLF National Council”) and OLF Qaama Ce’umsaa (“OLF Transitional Authority”), which were reunited on June 28, 2014, under the same leadership and organization of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) after more than a decade of schism.

=>gadaa

No country for Ethiopian Activists? The growing danger of illegal rendition in the region

Asylum, Citizenship and western passport seems to no longer protecting Ethiopia’s opposition leaders and human rights advocates from being illegally renditioned by regional and neighboring countries. Neighboring governments and humanitarian agencies are not doing enough to protect refugees who sought protection, while Western countries failing to stand up for those whom they  granted asylum and citizenship.

Bashir Makhtal, an Ogadeni businessman and Canadian citizen was arrested by Kenyan security and sent  to Ethiopia in 2006. Accused of membership to the Ogaden National Liberation Front, Mukhtal  was sentenced to life in prison in 2009 where he still languishes. Although Canadian authorities appealed for  his release, the Ethiopian regime has ignored it because the appeal was not back with any serious threat of economic or political sanction.

In 2007, despite having UN refugee protection mandate, Oromo refugees Tesfahun Chemeda & Mesfin Abebe were detained by Kenyan security on bogus charge of terrorism and illegally sent to Ethiopia against the order of the Kenyan court. The two were sentenced to life in prison. Tesfahun Chemeda died on August 2013  from injuries sustained during years of  torture.

Just last month Okello Akoy, former president of the Gambella region who defected from the regime and formed an opposition party  was arrested by South Sudan and extradited to Ethiopia. Mr Okello has a Norwegian citizenship. There is no information if the Norwegian government has said anything at all. Let’s not forget Norway signed a deal with the Ethiopian regime to forcefully deport thousands of  asylum seekers.

Now, Andargachew Tsige, the Secretary General of Ginbot 7 opposition group, who is a British citizen,  was detained last week by Yemeni authority while he was in transit. The Ethiopian  court had already sentenced Mr Tsige to death in absentia in 2009  for membership in diaspora based opposition. Aside implementation of this sentence,  he will be at real risk of torture if Yemeni decides to hand him over to the Ethiopian authorities.

These are just few of the high profile cases. Over the last decade governments of  Somaliland, Djibouti and Sudan have been arresting thousands of  refugees and handing over to Ethiopian securities. These refugees often made to disappear or incarcerated without due process.

This is dangerous trend and must be confronted. If sufficient pressure is not mounted, diaspora based activists and even regular people might be at risk of been whisked away any time they visited an African, Arab, Asian or even some Western countries.

Campaign should focus on:

1. Demanding Western countries to stand up for people they granted citizenship and refugee status. They must use their leverage to pressure these neighboring countries to refrain from illegal rendition.
2. Pressuring countries which grant refugee status to respect universal convention of protecting such individuals even in third country territories. Likewise, for those seeking asylum, UNHCR should be pressured to speak up  and ensure their safety against illegal renditions and abductions.
3. Protest against the neighboring countries  to protect those who seek refuge within their border and refrain from detaining and rendering people to Ethiopia.

Such campaign  should be coordinated with existing refugee advocacy organizations such as Oromo Support Group led by Dr Trevor Truman, the renowned humanitarian who has decades of experience in regional affairs.

=>gelelepost

OPDOn Oromiyaa Lafa Waloo Taasisuuf Irra Deebii’ee Waadaa Isaa Haaromsaa jira!

Baarentuu Gadaa Irraa | Waxabajjii 29, 2014

Dhaabni waggoottan 23 darbaniif wayyaanee jala fiigun ummata Oromoo saamsiisaa, hiisisaa, dararasiisaa fi ajjeechisiisaa turee fi jiru OPDOn  afaanin akka mootummaa feedaraalaa wayyaaneen gaggeeffamaa jiru keessatti bakka guddaa qabuu haa hololu malee dhaaba bakka  takkalleen hin qabne tahuun beekamaa dha. OPDOn murna hojii ergamtummaaf wayyaaneedhaan umame tahuun isaa beekamaa ta’us yeroo ammaa kana ammoo caalaatti diinummaa ummata Oromoorraa qabu ifatti mirkaneessaa jira. Akkuma beekamu waggoottan 23 darabniif hojiin ijoon miseensoonni OPDO warri garaaf bulee fi ergamuu amaleeffate hojjeechaa turan ennaa wayyaaneen Oromiyaa saamtu faana deemanii daandii saamichaa itti agarsiisuu dha. Sabboontota mirga ummata isaaniif qabsa’an akka ajjeefamaniif qabanii kennuu fi yeroo barbaadanis hojii ergamtummaa isaaniirratti amanamoo tahuu agarsiisuuf jecha dhalataa Oromoo ajjeesuu dha, dararanii dararsiisuu dha. Yakka isaan waggoottan 23 darban raawwatan dhiifnee yakkuma ajjeechaa fi hidhaa barattoota Oromoo harka duwwaa mirga abbaa biyyumaa isaanitiif falmaa jiran irratti dhiheenya kana raawwachaa turanii fi jiran yoo ilaalle ergamuttummaa isaanii bira darbee diinummaa isaanii caalaatti mirakaneessa.

Murni ergamtoota wayyaaneetiin gutame kun tibba kana ergamaa wayyaanee kan maqaaf Pireezidaantii naannoo Oromiyaa jedhamu Muktaar Kadirii sabboontotaa fi barattoota Oromoo ajjeesisuu, hiisisuu fi akka dararaman gochuu keessatti adda durummaan hiriiree jiru ofundura oofuun daawwannaa gaggeessaa tureera. Daawwannaan ergamtoota wayyaanee kun kan irratti xiyyeeffate Invastinmentii naannoo Oromiyaatti babalachaa jiruu fi bu’aa inni ummataa fide gamaggamuu kan jedhuu dha. Daawwannaa kanaaniis ergamtoonni ummata Oromoof diina innikaa tahaa jiran kun naannawa Finfinnee fi Adaamarra marsaa turan.

Marsaa kanaanis warshaalee adda addaa fi Qonnaa Habaaboo abbootii qabeenyaa Tigree, Amaaraa, Paakistaan, Arabaa, Turkii,  Chaayinaa, Hindii fi kanneen biroo magaalaa Duukam, Sulultaa, Sabbataa, Buraayyuu, Laga Xaafoo, Bishooftuu, Adaamaa fi kanneen biroo keessatti qonnaan bulaa Oromoo beenyaa malee buqqisuun dhaabbatan daawwachaa turaniiru.

Hubadhaa invastimentiin warshaalee fi qonnaa Habaaboo adda addaa kun %99 ol kan Oromootii mitii. Hunduu kanuma warra wayyaanee waliin hidhata qabanii ti.

Kan caalaattii dubbii hammeessaa jiruu fi ummata Oromoo rakkoo adda addaaf saaxilaa jiru abbootiin qabeenyaa ummata Oromoo saamanii duroomaa jiran kun Oromoo tahuu dhabuu isaanii qofaa miti. Qabeenya ummata Oromoo saamanii argatan kanaan warshaalee fi industroota ijaaran keessatti lammiilee Oromoo naannoo sanii qaxaruu diduu isaanii ti. Abbootiin qabeenyaa kun namoota kuma hedduuttii lakkaawwaman ajaja wayyaaneetiin Tigraayii fi naannoo Amaaraatirraa fidaniiti hojii humnaarraa hanga ogeessa isa olaanatti qaxaranii hojjisiisaa jiru.

Injnariin Oromoo yunivarstii bahee dhakaa kobilstonii jedhamu soqaa oola. Namni keessa hin beeknee fi dhugaa jiru gadi fageenyaan hin xinxalle warshaalee fi qonnaaleen habaaboo qannaan bulaa Oromoo buqqisuun ijaaraman kanarraa ummanni Oromoo waan fayyadamu itti fakkaachuu danda’a. Namni halaala ejjetee ilaalu yoo hojjetaa kuma hedduu warshaalee kanarraa bahaniif galan argu O! dargaggeessi fi shammarran Oromoo hedduun hojii argatan jechuu danda’a. dubbiin garuu faallaa kanaa ti.

Jilli hattootaa fi saamtootaa kun dhugaa kana dhoksuu fi ummannii Oromoo kan irraa fayyadamaa jiru fakkeessuuf Gaazeexeessitoota TV fi Raadiyoo  of jalaan deemaa ture.  Gaazeexeessitoonni bidden itti tahee rakkatan kunis invastimentiin akka naannoo Oromiyaatti babalattee fi guddatee oduu fi qophiilee adda addaatiin nuuf himaa turan. Duchumatti Naannoon Oromiyaa akka guddina invastimantii kanarraa fayyadamaa jirtu holoolaa turan. Gaafii ashuuraa ykn qaraxa abbootii qabeenyaa kanarraa sassaabbamu eenyutu fudhata? Hojjeetaan kumaataman lakkawwamu kan wasrhaalee kana keessa hojjetu eessaa gara naannoo Oromiyaa dhufee hojjechaa jira jedhuuf deebii hin qaban. Gaafii ilmaan Oromoo miliyoonaan lakkaawwaman kan baratanii hojii-dhablee ta’anii taahan osoo jiranuu maaliif dhalattoonni biraa dursa naannoo Oromiyaatti argatu jedhuuf deebiin hin jiru. Oromoo meqaatu Tigraayi Maqalee dhaqee carraa hojii saamaa jira? Oromoo meeqaatu  naannoo Amaaraa Bahaar Daari dhaqee carraa hojii qooddataa jira? Ykn argachaa jira gaafiin jedhu akka ka’u hin barbaadan. Dhalataan Oromoo hojii barbaada mitii Ispoortiifuu naannoo Amaaraa dhaqee akka eenyummaa isaatiin arrabsamee gale hunduu quba qaba.

Midiyaan wayyaanee waan fedhees jedhee holoolu Muktaar Kadir diina innikkaa saba Oromoo ta’e kan garaaf bultoota akka isaa jaleewwan wayyaanee hiriirsee daawwannaa maqaa jedhuun dhamahaa ture faayidaa Oromiyaa fi ummanni Oromoo invastimentii irraa argattu jabbeessuuf ykn cimsuuf miti.

Daandii dhalataan Oromoo caalaatti warshaalee fi industroota naannoo Oromiyaatti qonnaan bulaa Oromoo buqqisuun babalatan kanaarraa argatu jabeessuufis miti. Kaayyoon isaa lafa Oromoo ciree abbootii qabeenyaa kanatti gurguruuf haala mijeessuuf tahuun ifaa dha.

Midiyaaleen  akka TV,fi Raadiyoo Oromiyaa  akkasumas TV  wayyaanee jedhaman “Kaayyoon daawwannaa kanaa Invastimentii jajjabeessuun, fayyadama ummataa  caalaatti cimsuuf” jedhanis kaayyoon ijoon  daawwannaa Muktaar Kadirii fi  ergamtoota biroo  qonnaan bulaa Oromoo buqqisanii gaafii lafa bababalifachuu abbootiin qabeenyaa dhalattoo Tigraayi, Amaaraa, Chaayinaa Faakistaan, Hindii, saa’udii, Turkii fi kanneen biroo kaasaa jiran deebisuuf haala mijeessuu dha. Xumura daawwannaa kanarraatti walgahii/ marii / waxabajjii 21 bara 2014 abbootii qabeenyaa ummata Oromoo buqqisaa fi saamaa  turanii fi jiran kanaa fi ergamtoota wayyaanee  OPDOta gidduutti taasifameenis kan mirkanaawe kanuma.

Marii  badii saamtootaa fi ergamtootaa  Muktaar Kadirin durfaman kana gidduuttii Adaamaatti waxabajjii 21 bara 2014 taa’amee kanaan abbootiin qabeenyaa dhalattoota Tigraayii fi kanneen isaan waliin hidhata qaban lafa baballinaa gaafataniiru. Invastimentii keenya baballisuu waan barbaannuuf qonnaan bulaa buqqisaatii lafa warshaa fi qonna habaaboo itti babalifannu nuuf kennaa jedhaniiru. Kantiiboota magaalaa warra lafa hin kenninu jedhanirrattis akka tarkaanfiin hatattamaa fudhatamu Muktaarii fi ergamtoota isa waliin turaniif gaafii dhiheessaniiru.

Ergamtichi Muktaaris qaanii fi sodaa tokko malee akka qonnaan bulaa Oromoo buqqisee abbootii qabeenyaa jalee  fi waayiloota wayyaanee tahan kanaaf  kennu waadaa galeera. Kun immoo ifatti OPDOn diina innikkaa, ummata Oromoo diinaaf dabarsee kennuuf dhaabbate ta’uu isaa caalaatti muldhiseera. Diina akkanaa; diina biyya Oromiyaa jedhamtu dhabamsiisee, Oromoo biyya dhablee godhee Oromiyaa biyya waloo taasissuuf carraaqaa jiru kana ammoo ummannii Oromoo callisee laaluu hin qabu. Qabsoo isaa; FDG calqabee finiinsee itti fuufuun ergataas ergamaas mana isaa keessaa haxaayee baasuuf irree tokkoon diddaa isaa haga bilisummaatti daran finiinsuu qabaan dhaamsa keenya!

=>ayyaantuu

Free Oromo Students Documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E31gqU_fbpM&feature=youtu.be

Declaration of Unity of the OLF

June 28, 2014 (Oromo Liberation Front) — It is with great pleasure that we announce to our people and the supporters of our struggle for freedom the good news that, based on the accord they made in Kampala, Uganda, in November 2012, the two organizations of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) known as OLF Shanee Gumii (”OLF National Council”) and OLF Qaama Ce’umsaa (”OLF Transitional Authority”) have resolved our differences and agreed to combine our two leaderships, unify our members, merge our organizational structures and inaugurate a reunified OLF. Although OLF has encountered many obstacles during the last forty years, there was no time when it has stopped the struggle that it was established to lead. No one can deny the fact that the national struggle led by the OLF has scored many victories and made many significant achievements that have taken the Oromo people a long way toward the national goal of independence. Among these great achievements is the level of political awareness of our people.

At the same time, we witness that the Oromo people are being targeted for extinction more than any time before. Oppression has reached intolerable levels making our people to rise up in defiance of tyranny, protesting peacefully in all corners of Oromia. But, as witnessed in the killings of students and others in many places in Oromia, the TPLF regime is responding violently to their lawful demands. Defying enemy atrocities, imprisonment, and torture the young Oromo generation are making it known to the world that they will not tolerate humiliation and oppression anymore and that they will make the necessary sacrifices to liberate their people and homeland from alien oppressors. The OLF extends its condolences to families who lost their beloved sons daughters and expresses its admiration for the courage and bravery they have shown by the young Oromo generation to defend their people’s legitimate rights. As the vanguard of the Oromo struggle for freedom, we re-iterate our determination to continue the struggle until our people become masters of their destiny.

The re-unification of the two organizations of the OLF is a great step that will strengthen the Oromo struggle for freedom. United under one leadership, we are resolute to realize the principal objective of our struggle, namely the liberation of our people and the independence of our homeland Oromia. There is no question about the popularity of the goal of OLF-led liberation struggle among the Oromo people. Therefore, it is with determination that we pledge to make the necessary sacrifices, withstand the challenges ahead and carry through the Oromo national struggle to the ultimate goal of independence.

We are well aware that there are Oromo nationals who are organized separately under other names to advance our people’s legitimate rights. We will do all we can to coordinate our efforts with them to achieve the common goal. The OLF leadership states its decision and commitment to continue to work and conclude the ongoing talks with other forces committed to the same goal. Hence we call on all Oromo organizations that uphold our people’s right to self-determination and independence to join us in carrying out this sacred mission.

We also take this opportunity to express our solidarity with the oppressed nations, nationalities and peoples who are struggling for justice against the same tyrannical regime, and call upon them to join us in the common struggle for basic human and democratic rights.

The TPLF-led regime’s violence against the Oromo people is abetted by military, political and economic assistance from external powers. The OLF appeals again to governments, both in the West and East to strike a balance between their national interests and their international obligation of protecting human rights and stop giving economic, military and political support to a brutal regime that is evicting our people and others from their land and killing innocent civilian who are peacefully demanding their legitimate rights.

Victory to the Oromo People!

Oromo Liberation Front

June 28, 2014

=>ayyaantuu

What “the government of Ethiopia doesn’t want the world to know”

#FreeOromoStudents Social Media Campaign to begin this weekend by the International Oromo Youth Association

Kulani Jalata

On April 25, 2014, a reported 47 peacefully protesting students were gunned down by federal security forces in Ambo, Oromia region, Ethiopia.

“The government of Ethiopia doesn’t want the world to know about what has been happening with the [Oromo] student protests, that federal forces have used violence against the students, that there have been mass arrests of students, that there are allegations of beatings and brutality. The government doesn’t have any incentive to have outside forces to do an investigation. So there are certain barriers to spreading the word.”

These are the words of Amy Bergquist, a human rights attorney at Advocates for Justice, in a newly produced documentary by the International Oromo Youth Association (IOYA). During April and May of this year, Oromo[1]university studentsacross Oromia, Ethiopia, organized peaceful demonstrations against the “Integrated Development Master Plan”, a government plan to expand the capital into the state of Oromia. The capital city’s municipal expansion into Oromia would invariably result in mass evictions and the displacement of millions of poor farmers. When students decided to peacefully protest the expansion plan, they were met with bullets, as reported by BBC (video), Al Jazeera, and the Guardian. Leslie Lefkow, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Africa director stated, “Ethiopia’s heavy handed reaction to the Oromo protests is the latest example of the government’s ruthless response to any criticism of its policies. UN member countries should tell Ethiopia that responding with excessive force against protesters is unacceptable and needs to stop.” On May 6, 2014, Ethiopia was summarily grilled at the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review regarding its human rights violations against Oromo student protestors.

While it is true there have been “barriers” as Bergquist notes to documenting the protests and the Ethiopian government’s violent response because of the absence of free media in Ethiopia, diaspora Oromo communities organized worldwide protests in May and created a website to raise awareness about the Oromo student protests. Now, the International Oromo Youth Association is embarking on a social media campaign, starting this weekend, to continue advocating for the rights of the Oromo students that were not only gunned down and killed, but that were also imprisoned and are currently languishing in Ethiopian prisons known for torturing prisoners of conscience and their inhumane living conditions (BBC, U.S. Dept of State). Below is IOYA’s documentary on the Oromo protests, including eyewitness accounts from Peace Corps volunteers Jennifer Klein and Josh Cook. Jennifer and Josh had been working in Ambo on a health project when the protests began in Ambo and security forces responded: “Every few minutes, we were hearing gun shots. Sometimes we would hear what sounded like an explosion followed by a round of 30 or 40 gunshots. Sometimes there were gunshots within a block or two of our house…the gunshots were so close that it frightened both of us a lot.” Not only did Josh and Jennifer bear witness to the massacring of students that day as well as the loading up of buses and trucks of protesting students by police officers to be shipped to prisons, but they also witnessed Ethiopian police officers follow two of their neighbors into their home while the protests were taking place across town and shoot them to death. “That’s when Jen and I were very frightened,” Josh said. “We couldn’t believe that the police would enter somebody’s private home and shoot them in their home. It was awful.”

The Ethiopian government’s response to the Oromo student protestsis only the surface of the Ethiopian government’s repressive and violent approach to governance and politics. In 2005, unarmed Oromo students protesting against fraudulent election results were also met with violence and live ammunition, political imprisonment, and torture, and for years, Human Rights Watch has been reporting the government’s use of surveillance, arbitrary detention, and torture to severely restrict freedom of expression, association, and assembly.In the documentary, Josh notes that people in Ethiopia today are “not allowed to say anything” in critique of the government, otherwise risking imprisonment. “People have absolutely no voice at all.”

View Short Documentary Here 

Amane Badhasso, the current president of IOYA, says that the purpose of the IOYA campaign on the Oromo student protests is to raise global awareness and to ask for the immediate release of thousands of Oromo students currently being held in detention and very likely being tortured for simply protesting against the Integrated Development Master Plan. “We want to show the world that a government’s disregard for basic human and constitutional rights is unacceptable,” she says.

[1] The Oromo are the largest ethnonational group in Ethiopia, constituting almost 40% of the population.

=>ayyaantuu

Egypt and Ethiopia agree that tripartite dam committee will resume its work

The Egyptian foreign minister along with his Ethiopian counterpart stressed that Ethiopia will understand the importance of the Nile River to Egypt and that Egypt will understand the Ethiopian need for development

Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi talks to Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn as they arrive to attend the 23rd African Union Summit (AUS) in Malabo June 26, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

Egypt and Ethiopia will form a joint committee in the upcoming three months to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries, the foreign ministers of both countries announced in a joint statement on Friday.

The statement came after Egypt`s new president, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, met with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, after the African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea's capital Malabo.

According to the statement, the Ethiopian government is committed to avoid any potential damage that could result from the Grand Renaissance dam currently being built on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia.

Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian foreign minister, along with his Ethiopian counterpart Tedros Adhanom, stressed in the statement that Ethiopia will understand the importance of the Nile to Egypt; and that Egypt will understand the Ethiopian plans and need for development.  

The two ministers cited seven main points that El-Sisi and Desalegn discussed during the meeting, including respecting the dialogue and cooperation between the two countries, and the establishment of regional projects for the development of financial resources to meet the growing demand for water and to deal with water shortages.  

The Egyptian government is committed to constructive communication with Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian dam has been a source of concern for the Egyptian government since May last year, when images of the dam's construction stirred public anxiety about its possible effects on Egypt's share of the Nile's water.

However, Ethiopian officials insisted the dam would not harm Egypt.

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan formed a tripartite technical committee to study the possible effects of the dam.

But the committee's discussions were halted last December when Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir announced his support for the dam during a meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

Resuming the work of the tripartite technical committee and respecting international legal principles were also among the points on which both sides had reached common ground.

Egypt has demanded that Ethiopia submit the dam's construction plans for assessment by international experts.

Ethiopian Irrigation Minister Alamayo Tegno said his country was already committed to the recommendations of an international committee of experts.

=>ahram