(Ayyaantuu) #OromoProtests there has been no electricity in all of Jimma province for the last 4 days. ============ Guyyaa afran dabraniif Jimma keessa elektrikin hin jiru
#OromoProtests-(09.03.2016, #EndSlavery, Oromia)”As protests in Ethiopia over the rights of the country’s Oromo people continue, Addis Ababa-based journalist James Jeffrey considers if they are threatening the country’s unity.
The latest round of bloody protests over Oromo rights had a tragically surreal beginning. A bus filled with a wedding party taking the bride to the groom’s home was stopped at a routine checkpoint on 12 February near the southern Ethiopian town of Shashamane.
Local police told revellers to turn off the nationalistic Oromo music playing. They refused and the bus drove off.
The situation then rapidly escalated and reports indicate at least one person died and three others were injured after police fired shots.
The exact details of the incident are hard to verify, but what is clear is that days of protest followed, including armed local militia clashing with federal police, leaving seven policemen dead, the government says.”
(BBC) As protests in Ethiopia over the rights of the country's Oromo people continue, Addis Ababa-based journalist James Jeffrey considers if they are threatening the country's unity.
The latest round of bloody protests over Oromo rights had a tragically surreal beginning.
A bus filled with a wedding party taking the bride to the groom's home was stopped at a routine checkpoint on 12 February near the southern Ethiopian town of Shashamane.
Local police told revellers to turn off the nationalistic Oromo music playing. They refused and the bus drove off.
The situation then rapidly escalated and reports indicate at least one person died and three others were injured after police fired shots.
The exact details of the incident are hard to verify, but what is clear is that days of protest followed, including armed local militia clashing with federal police, leaving seven policemen dead, the government says.
Oromia at a glance:
Oromia is Ethiopia's largest region, surrounding the capital, Addis Ababa
Oromo are Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group - making up about a third of Ethiopia's 95 million people
The Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) is Oromia's largest legally registered political party, but holds no seats in parliament
Since last November, Ethiopia has seen a third phase of the recent unrest in the Oromia region which has been unprecedented in its longevity and geographical spread.
The region is the largest in Ethiopia and the Oromos, who make up a third of the population, are the biggest of the country's more than 80 ethnic groups.
Initially the protests were in reaction to a plan to expand the administrative border of the capital, Addis Ababa, which is encircled by Oromia.
But even after the region's governing party, the Oromo People's Democratic Organisation, which is part of Ethiopia's governing coalition, shelved the plan in January, protests have continued.
Historical scars
"There is a strong sense of victimhood, extending back 150 years," says Daniel Berhane, a prominent Addis Ababa-based political blogger, covering Ethiopia for the website Horn Affairs.
"People remember the history. The scars are still alive, such as how the Oromo language was suppressed until 20 years ago."
Despite there being an ethnic basis to these protests, observers say that the deeper issues behind them, frustrations over land ownership, corruption, political and economic marginalisation, are familiar to many disenchanted Ethiopians.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionThe government has disputed the numbers given for those killed in the protests by rights groups
The numbers killed since November following clashes between protesters and security forces given by international rights organisations, activists and observers range from 80 to 250.
The government has dismissed various death tolls as exaggerations, and said that a recent report on the situation by the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) was an "absolute lie".
'Organised gangs'
Ethiopian citizens had a right to question the plan to expand Addis Ababa, but the protests were hijacked by people looking to incite violence, according to government spokesman Getachew Reda.
He says the security forces have faced "organised armed gangs burning down buildings belonging to private citizens, along with government installations".
A security analyst who closely watches Ethiopia says "there could be radical elements and factions taking advantage, but you cannot define a movement by isolated events".
Despite violent incidents, the protests have been described as "largely peaceful" by HRW and observers in Ethiopia.
"There is a perception of lack of competence in governance on the ground," Mr Daniel says.
"There were easy remedies to appease initial protests, it was not hard science, but the right actions were not taken."
In its defence, the government says it heeded the call of the people when it came to concerns over the Addis Ababa plan, and observers say the government deserves credit for withdrawing it.
Image copyrightReutersImage captionOromos in the diaspora have taken part in protests in solidarity
But the same political observers add that the government must allow Ethiopians to exercise their constitutional right to protest, and handle events in a way that does not escalate violence.
The government has said that the protests and information about them have been manipulated by foreign-based opposition groups who are using social media to exaggerate what is going on for their own ends.
"The diaspora magnifies news of what is happening, yes, but no matter how much it agitates, it cannot direct [what's happening] at village level in Ethiopia," says Jawar Mohammed, executive director of one of those accused of fomenting conflict, US-based broadcaster Oromia Media Network (OMN).
"This is about dissatisfaction."
Image copyrightAFPImage captionThe ruling coalition and its allies won every single seat at the 2015 election
Mr Jawar says the imprisonment of leaders of the Oromo Federalist Congress party, Oromia's largest legally registered opposition political party, along with thousands of other Oromo political prisoners, makes it difficult to negotiate a lasting solution.
"Also what is the UK and US doing? As major donors to Ethiopia they should be taking the lead to get the government to work out an agreement."
This is a long way from the heady days of Ethiopia's new federal constitution after the overthrow of the military dictatorship in 1991.
That introduced a decentralised system of ethnic federalism, but this jars with the dominance of the governing Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which, along with its allies, holds every seat in parliament.
Federal tensions
"The ruling government is a victim of its own success," the security analyst says.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionThe Oromo make up Ethiopia's largest ethnic group
"The constitution it developed made promises and people trusted the EPRDF. Now people are demanding those rights and the government is responding with bullets and violence."
He adds that the government has expanded basic services and infrastructure, and appears to respect different cultural and ethnic identities, but it cannot reconcile this with its more authoritarian decision-making process.
The government's hitherto successful job of holding together this particularly heterogeneous federation is not about to crumble, according to observers here.
But things may get worse before they get better, unless underlying sources of friction and frustration are addressed.
(Sudantribune) March 7, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese and Ethiopian defence ministers Monday have pledged to implement the outcome of the meeting of the joint Sudanese-Ethiopian technical committee in a way that maintains sovereignty, security and stability of both nations.
Units of Sudan-Chad joint border-control force in Darfur region (AFP)
In a joint press conference at the conclusion of the 14th meeting of the technical committee Monday in Khartoum, Sudan’s defence minister Awad Ibn Ouf pointed to the strategic relations between the two nations in all domains particularly the military domain which aims to achieve security and stability along the joint border.
He underscored the depth and strength of relations between the leadership of both nations, saying “we discussed what we had agreed upon previously besides ways for promoting agreements between the two countries”.
Ibn Ouf expressed his ministry’s readiness for the joint work with Ethiopia’s defence ministry to form a joint border control force to secure and develop the border between the two countries for the benefit of the two peoples.
For his part, the Ethiopian defence minister, Siraj Fergessa, said his country is to implement the outcome of the joint committee’s meeting, saying the meeting dealt with the joint needs of both nations.
He pointed that the border between the two countries is safe due to the joint security efforts, adding they agreed to exchange military training and expertise.
Farmers from two sides of the border between Sudan and Ethiopia used to dispute the ownership of land in the Al-Fashaga area located in the south-eastern part of Sudan’s eastern state of Gedaref.
Al-Fashaga covers an area of about 250 square kilometers and it has about 600.000 acres of fertile lands. Also there are river systems flowing across the area including Atbara, Setait and Baslam rivers.
Sudan’s Gadarif and Blue Nile states border Ethiopia’s Amhara region. The borders between Sudan and Ethiopia were drawn by the British and Italian colonisers in 1908.
The two governments have agreed in the past to redraw the borders, and to promote joint projects between people from both sides for the benefit of local population.
However, the Ethiopian opposition accuses the ruling party of abandoning Ethiopian territory to Sudan.
(Reuters) Dozens of university students protested in Ethiopia's capital on Tuesday, demanding an end to police crackdowns that followed months of demonstrations over plans to requisition farmland in the country's Oromiya region late last year.
The government wanted to develop farmland around the capital, Addis Ababa, and its plan triggered some of the worst civil unrest for a decade, with rights groups and U.S.-based dissidents saying as many as 200 people may have been killed.
Officials suggest the figure is far lower but have not given a specific number.
Ethiopia has long been one of the world's poorest nations but has industrialized rapidly in the past decade and now boasts double-digit growth. However, reallocating land is a thorny issue for Ethiopians, many of whom are subsistence farmers.
Authorities scrapped the land scheme in January, but sporadic demonstrations persist and, on Tuesday, students from Addis Ababa University marched in two groups toward the embassy of the United States, a major donor, holding signs that read "We are not terrorists. Stop killing Oromo people."
Such protests are rare in a country where police are feared as heavy-handed and the government is seen as repressive.
A government spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has promised to address grievances in the Oromiya region and says he blames rebel groups for stoking violence.
Opponents blame harsh police tactics.
"The aim was to highlight the abuses carried out in the region," one student told Reuters, saying he did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals.
"We waved white cloth to indicate that we were peaceful protesters. But police started beating us up," he said.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said last month that protesters it spoke to and who had been detained after the outbreak of demonstrations in November had been subjected to severe beatings and never appeared before a judge.
The group said women suffered sexual assaults and mistreatment. It said one 18-year-old student was "given electric shocks to his feet".
Officials dismissed the report as not worthy of comment.
(Ayyaantuu) #BilisummaaOromoo– (08.03.2016, #EndSlavery, Oromiyaa) Yeroo ammaa kana barattootni university Finfinnee fuula embassy America kan finfinneetti argamuu fuulduratti hiriira mormii gocha ajiru. Mootummaan Ameerikaa sirna garboonfattuu deeggaruu akka dhaabu gaaftaa jiran. Kun kanan osoo jiruu humnooti Agaazii fi waraana wayyaanee dirmachuun barattoota bittinneessaa jiru; barattoota hedduus rebanii miidhaa irraan gahaniiru; kanneen ukkaamfamanis ni jiru. Diddaan itti fufee jira!!
#KonsoProtests- (08.03.2016, #EndSlavery, Oromia) The Konso people have been protesting over the last several months against land grab, demanding self-governing province and improvement in basic development. Last week, the regime arrested leader of their elders council. This led to eruption of protests on Saturday when farmers from various villages marched to the city. The city is currently under military control. ============== የኮንሶ ህዝብ የጀመረውን የአከላለል ጥያቄ ጋር በተያያዘ በህዝቡ ላይ በደቡብ ልዩ ኃይልና መከላከያ ሰራዊት እየደረሰ ያለው የአፈና ተግባር ተጠናክሮ ቀጥሏል፡፡ በዚሁ መሰረት በከተማው የሰፈረው ታጣቂ ከከተማዋ አጎራባች ቀበሌዎች እየዘመተ በህዝቡ የተዘጉ መንገዶችን ለማስከፈት በሚል በዜጎች ላይ በሚወስደው የኃይል እርምጃ በ- ደቤና ቀበሌ ገ/ማ አቶ ‹‹ሷይታ ጋራ ›› ህይወታቸው ያለፈ ሲሆን ወጣት ‹‹ ተስፋዬ ማሙሽ›› ከ -ከርታሌ ቀበሌ እግሩ ተሰብሮ በባህል ህክምና እየተደረገለት በካራት ከተማ የሚገኝ ሲሆን አንድ የ65 ዓመት አዛውንትም ተሰብረው ባሻ ጤና ጣቢያ ይገኛሉ፡፡
Fincilli xumura garbummaa bitootessa 8/03/2016 halkan eddaas yuunversiitii wallaggaa keessatti jabaatee itti fufee jira. Mootummaan gabroonfataan Wayyaanee akkuma amala isaa aangoosaatiin biyya bulchuu bare barattoota hidhuu, ,dararaa fi reebicha hamaa kan gara laafina hin qabne ammas baratoota yuunversiiticha keessa jiran irratti raawwachuu itti fufee jira. Halkan eddaas humni federaalaa baratoota nagaan hiriba rafaa jiran doormii cabsuudhaan tarkaanfii hamaa baratoota irratti raawwachaa buleera. Barattoota heedduunis akka malee waan miidhamaniif gara oospitaalaatti guuramaniiru. kanneen badii tokko malee mana adabaatti eeffamanii dararaan irra ga,aa jirus baayyini isaani gara hin qaban.Ganama kanas fincilli xumura garbummaa kun jabaachuun baratoonni uummanni fincilicha waliin hirmaachaa jiru . barnoonnis kaleessa ganama irraa eegaluun hanga bilisummaatti jechuun baratoonnii yeroo ammaa kana mooraa gadhiisanii ba,aa jiru.
