Garbage Dump Landslide is likely caused by resumption of dumping, indicates AP Report
Koshe, where Garbage dump landslide happened in the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Photo : The Associated Press
borkena,Ethiopian News
March 12,2017
Koshe area in the outskirts of Addis Ababa has become a scene of tragedy as garbage dump landslide killed at least fifteen residents. As many as forty other people are missing according to report by The Associated Press.
Fana Broadcasting report in Amharic indicates that the accident happened yesterday around 8 p.m local time. So far 37 people are rescued, the report added citing Nigatu Mamo, authority within Addis Ababa City Fire and Emergency services.
Addis Ababa Mayor,Diriba Kuma, confirmed that 37 people were rescued and they are receiving medical treatment in the nearby hospitals, as reported by AP. It is not,however, clear if the condition of rescued people is life threatening.
As part of the effort to continue the search for more survivors, six excavators are deployed at the site.
“My house was right inside there,…My mother and three of my sisters were there when the landslide happened. Now I don’t know the fate of all of them.” ” shaken Tebeju Asres is cited as saying by AP.
Assefa Teklehaimanot, a resident in the locality, told AP that there were about 150 people in the area when the landslide happened.
Koshe, the damping site, is like Guatemala City’s massive dump site. Poverty stricken people in the area depend on it for their livelihood.
From what one resident told AP, it seems that dumping at the site was stopped for some time and it resumed recently “after farmers in a nearby restive region where a new garbage landfill complex was being built blocked dumping in their area.”
It is believed, AP report indicated, that resumption of dumping likely caused Garbage dump landslide – may be something that the city administration will have to explain. But for now what the mayor is saying is that the city will relocate residents to other parts of the city.
The dumping area attracted residents for its affordable shanty houses, which would have been otherwise impossible for many to have roof over their heads.
Ethiopia was rattled by popular anti-government protest which caused the death of more than one thousands civilians when government forces fired at protesters and mounted house to house searches. State of emergency was declared in October which is still in effect.
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Addis Ababa garbage dump landslide site Photo : EBC
borkena,Ethiopia News
By Staff Writer
March 12,2017
State media in Ethiopia disclosed that number of people killed by garbage dump landslide in Addis Ababa rose to 46. Earlier reports that came out from different media outlets in and outside of Ethiopia a few hours ago indicated number of killed people as 15.
Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation cited the city administration to report that the number of victims increased following what appears to be an overnight rescue effort.
At this writing, the search effort does not seem to be called off as many people are still missing. Addis Ababa Fire and Emergency Services and Addis Ababa Police were leading night long rescue effort, from EBC report. However, residents were relentlessly working on site non-stop for many many hours. Search effort is still under way. However, with more than twelve hours since the landslide happened, it is questionable if it is possible to find residents alive here after.
The landslide happened yesterday in the evening around 8 pm local time in the outskirts of the city in Koshe are Kolfe Keraniyo neighborhood.
Mountain of garbage in the Koshe dump site collapsed into ramshackle residential houses that attracted people in the city who were looking for most cheapest rents.
Thirty seven people are already admitted to Alert Hospital – known for treating leprosy cases – in the neighborhood.
Residents who survived the accident say that their property is damaged and many do not know if their relatives are dead or alive yet.
Driba Kuma, mayor of Addis Ababa City reportedly said that the city administration will work to help victims of this unprecedented tragedy in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.
What is clear from what has been happening in Addis Ababa in recent years and months,however, is that many residents will find it difficult to take the words of the mayor even at face value.
Memories of cruel forceful eviction of residents of Addis Ababa, by this same administration, from their shanty houses to make way for investors is fresh in the minds of many Addis Abebans.
In fact, there are already reports that dumping at the site was disallowed for some time until the city administration allowed it again recently.
And it does not seem to be customary in Ethiopia to hold responsible authorities to account or even investigate the matters. In fact, there is no inquiry into the killings of well over one thousand Ethiopians who were killed during peaceful anti-government demonstration in different parts of the country.
The death of more than 60 people in a landslide at a vast rubbish dump on the outskirts of the Ethiopian capital over the weekend is a clear case of dereliction of duty by the Ethiopian authorities, said Amnesty International today.
Dozens are still missing since the landslide at the 36-hectare Repi municipal dumpsite in Addis Ababa on 11 March, and many families have been left homeless after their makeshift houses were buried under tonnes of waste.
“The Ethiopian government is fully responsible for this totally preventable disaster. It was aware that the landfill was full to capacity but continued to use it regardless. It also let hundreds of people continue to live in close proximity to it,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.
“These people, including many women and children, had no option but to live and work in such a hazardous environment because of the government’s failure to protect their right to adequate housing, and decent work.”
Now in its fifth decade, Repi – also known as Koshe, which means “dust” – is the oldest landfill in Addis Ababa, a city of more than 3.6 million people. More than 150 people were at the site when the landslide happened. Many of them had been scavenging items for sale while others lived there permanently, in unsafe makeshift housing.
“The government must do everything in its power to account for all those who are missing, provide survivors with adequate alternative housing, and safe and healthy working conditions,” said Muthoni Wanyeki.
“It must also ensure that a full-fledged inquiry is held to determine the specific causes of the landslide, and hold the individual officials responsible to account.”
Rhino horns worth 5 million dollars (about 170 baht in Thai currency) is seized by Thai custom authorities at Suvarnabhumi Airport (also known as known as Bangkok International Airport)
According to Bangkok Post, Thai news source, 49.4 kilograms of rhino horns was stuffed in a bag tagged with Ethiopian Airlines
Investigation by authorities established that two Thai women (identified as Thitirat Ara-i, 56 and Kansinee Anutranusart, 41) are involved in the smuggling.
The two women disappeared upon realizing that bag is sized by authorities and Thai authorities reportedly issued arrest warrant for the above-mentioned women.
It seems to be the case that not much is known about the circumstances under which the rhino horn is smuggled from Ethiopia now.
This is for the second time when Thai authorities seize smuggled rhino in about two years.
However, since it originated from Ethiopia, there is a possibility that custom authorities at Bole airport or someone with links to custom authorities in Ethiopia is/are somehow involved in by way of facilitating the smuggle from Ethiopia.
Ethiopian authorities are not responding to the situation so far.
South Sudanese gunmen killed 28 people and kidnapped 43 children in Ethiopia’s Gambella province, an Ethiopian official says.
Men from the Murle community, who crossed into Ethiopia, are being blamed.
Feuding communities on both sides of the border have been known to attack each other, often carrying away spoils.
A similar incident last April prompted Ethiopia’s army to cross into South Sudan in a hunt for kidnapped children.
The latest raids were carried out over two days – first on Sunday and then Monday – in Gambella’s Gog and Jol areas, which border South Sudan, Chol Chany, a spokesman for the Gambella region, is quoted by Reuters as saying.
“Murle bandits carried out the attack. They fled along with 43 children,” Mr Chany said.
Last year’s incidents in which 100 Ethiopian children were kidnapped was also blamed on members of the Murle community.
At that time, residents of Gambella town demonstrated, demanding justice and calling for better security.
State of Emergency in Ethiopia likely to be extended
State of Emergency | Secretariat – Siraj Fergessa Photo – Fana
borkena,Ethiopia News
March 16,2017
Nearly on its six months now, government in Ethiopia announced that it is partially lifting rights restriction imposed on Ethiopians through State of emergency legislation. Siraj Fergessa,minister of defense, is secretariat of the body – “Command Post” – instituted to implement the state of emergency legislation. He appeared on state television yesterday to announce new decision about the SoE legislation. The “Command Post” issued two regulations before in connection to it.
What is changed?
Curfew was imposed at the height of tense political situation that led of the state of emergency legislation in selected areas. Factories, infrastructures and business entities in urban centers and countryside alike were among the lists of places subjected to curfew legislation of SoE. No movement of citizens was allowed after a curfew time in those areas. Security forces were authorized to take “necessary measures” , it is implied that it may include shooting, in the event of breach of the legislation. Under the new regulation, the legislation is take “necessary measure” along with curfew is lifted.
In addition, arresting individuals without arrest warrant,searching residences at any time without court order, restricting views and freedoms of expression and press products are also lifted under the new regulation. And this is where analysts see no significance as it is not uncommon for the government in Ethiopia to arrest individuals or search houses without court order even when there is no SoE legislation.
State of emergency legislation went to the extent of regulating social media usage in Ethiopia. In fact at one point during the anti-government protest social media was entirely blocked in Ethiopia.
Legally registered opposition parties in the country told VOA Amharic that the state of emergency was not necessary in the first place.
Human Rights Groups like Amnesty international and Human Rights Watch have been accusing the government that it exploited the state of emergency legislation to crackdown on dissenting views.
More than fifty thousand Ethiopians were detained in makeshift concentration camps where they were compulsorily “trained on constitution.” However, Ethiopians released from these camps after months of detention reported wide spread physical and psychological torture.
In fact, in parts of Ethiopia like in the case of Gonder region have become intensely militarized zones after the SoE and residents have reported ruthless crackdown and government killings.
Hailemariam Desalegne Source : VOA Amharic
It could be extended
The state of emergency was initially intended for six months. However, government hinted intention to extend it beyond. Apart from “Command Post” Secretariat, Siraj, who hinted in his media appearance, Prime minister Hailemariam Desalenge was explicit in his report to the parliament that there is a need for the extension of some elements of state of emergency legislation. Reason? Government claims that 82 % of Ethiopians are in favour of extended state of emergency rule. Yet, there is no word as to where and when the poll was conducted.
The question is, if the SoE legislation restored peace and stability, as claimed by the government, how can the desire to extend the state of emergency be explained?
Andy Tsege finally gets access to a lawyer almost 1,000 days after being kidnapped by the Ethiopian authorities.
Andy Tsege has been in jail for three years. Picture: Reprieve / Sky News
By Ian Woods, Senior News Correspondent
Sky News
March 18,2017
The family of a British man imprisoned in Ethiopia have been told they can visit him for the first time since he was illegally captured nearly three years ago.
On Monday Andy Tsege will have been held for 1,000 days.
He was seized while at an international airport in Yemen, and taken to Ethiopia where he’d already been tried and sentenced to death in his absence.
The Ethiopians regard him as a terrorist, but his family say he’s simply an outspoken critic of the government.
Mr Tsege was born in Ethiopia but sought political asylum in London and was granted British citizenship.
Andy Tsege with his Children / Sky News
The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has been under pressure to lobby the Ethiopian government for his release, and he raised the case with the country’s PM during a visit to Addis Ababa on Thursday.
Mr Johnson said: “He now has a lawyer and he’s been able to see that lawyer.
“We received undertakings that there would be regular access to that lawyer and an offer for Mr Tsege’s wife and family to come out and see him, so we certainly raised those issues and made progress.”
Mr Tsege’s wife, Yemi Hailemariam, told Sky News she hoped it was a genuine offer – as she was previously warned she would be arrested if she travelled to Ethiopia.
“Although I’m very happy that he is finally able to see a lawyer after two and a half years, the coincidence surprises me that the day before the Foreign Secretary arrives in Ethiopia he suddenly gets access to a lawyer.”
Retailer Lush is supporting Mr Tsege with a bath bomb under the slogan Buy One Set One Free / Sky News
Maya Foa, from Reprieve, said Mr Johnson should have been trying to bring Mr Tsege home on his plane, but told Sky News: “I am hopeful that this visit will see a change in attitude from the Foreign Office, and that what we will see is an attempt to negotiate Andy’s release back to the UK.
“This is a man who has done nothing wrong.”
The news comes as the High Street retailer Lush stages a campaign in support of Mr Tsege.
Staff in all 102 UK stores have been briefed to discuss his case with customers and have been selling bath bombs embedded with his picture under the slogan Buy One Set One Free.
The company’s ethical director, Hilary Jones, said: “We’ve had queues at our iPads to sign up to the petition.
“We’ve had people really interested. if you tell Andy’s story it really affects people and they can see the total injustice.”
emergency landing caused by a fight on board of the plane
What looks like a fist fight between two passengers on board of Ethiopian Airlines plane caused forced emergency landing today in Lahore, capital of Punjab province of Pakistan.
Beijing bound Boeing 777 jet carrying more than 300 passengers made the emergency landing at Allama Iqbal International Airport around 10:40 am. local time, reported The Star Online.
The persons involved in the fight are reportedly arrested by Airport Security Force (ASF) upon landing and they were seen with bruises on their faces.
Identities, including nationalities, of people who were involved in the fight is not revealed in the report.
The plane will take off to its destination after clearance from airport authorities.
Killing of Ibex Ethiopian Restaurant owner in Nashville believed to be targeted
March 20,2017
Ethiopian community in different cities is recurrently affected by murder that shocks the community.
Last month, Noah Ashene was stabbed to death in a jewelry store, where he worked, in Memphis -Tennessee , in front of his toddler in what looked like a robbery killing. The 21 years old killer, Jesse Slade, is reportedly behind bars.
And yesterday, news of another killing of Ethiopian is reported in Nashville,about four hours drive from Memphis.
Gitem Demissie, owner of Ibex Ethiopian Restaurant, was shot multiples of times overnight as he was getting ready to close his restaurant overnight in what seemed to be a targeted killing, according to report by News Channel 5.
Police apparently responded to a call and he was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center but it was late as he was pronounced dead.
Not much information is available about the killer as yet. But from the report, it seems that someone was nearby when the crime was committed.
“The shooter was described as a masked gunman wearing a black long sleeve shirt and black jeans. A witness said the suspect went up to Demissie, shot him multiple times, and fled from the building. The witness added the man had light skin and a thin build, and he stood around 5’7’’ tall,” wrote News Channel 5.
Crime Stoppers would like to hear from anyone with information about the shooting at 615-742-7463
Apparently, Girum lived in Nashville for ten years owned a convenience store before started a restaurant business sometime in 2015. He was 41.
Dr. Mesfin is serves at Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Nashville and he told News Channel reporter that Gitem Demissie deserve this.
by Kaleyesus Bekele
Aviation International News
March 21, 2017
The government of Nigeria recently asked to forge a partnership with Ethiopian Airlines to re-establish its national airline, which ceased operation in 2012.
Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told AIN that the Nigerian government approached his management for the assistance during a recent visit to Nigeria. Gebremariam declined to reveal the details of the plan, explaining that the discussion remains at an early stage. However, he said that both sides have expressed interest in cooperating. “There is also the possibility that we may discuss equity investment in the future, but for the time being it is only management contract that is under discussion,” he noted.
One-time flag carrier Air Nigeria ceased operation in 2012 due to financial difficulties, leaving Africa’s largest economy without a national airline. Ten years earlier Nigeria Airways liquidated and Virgin Nigeria, a joint venture between the government of Nigeria and Virgin Atlantic, had also collapsed.
Arik Air, the largest private airline in Nigeria, has served as a de-facto national carrier since Air Nigeria’s failure. However, Arik Air has also suffered from financial difficulties and mounting debt. The Nigerian government, through the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (Amcon), on February 9 took control of Arik Air after the airline failed to pay its employees and creditors for months and grounded most of its aircraft.
Established in 2006, Arik has been serving 26 domestic, regional and international destinations including Johannesburg, London and New York with 29 aircraft, mainly Boeings. The airline operates 60 percent of Nigeria’s domestic flights.
Amcon estimated Arik’s debt profile to total more than 300 billion naira ($946 million) and accused the airline of lacking corporate governance. “Arik’s bad corporate governance, erratic operational challenges, inability to pay staff salaries and heavy debt burden among other issues led the authorities to call for the bank’s intervention,” Amcon said in a statement issued last month. The state owned bank appointed a new management team that runs the airline. The founders of Arik furiously protested the government’s decision to take over the airline. In fact, the founder of Arik Air, Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide, warned that he would sue Ethiopian Airlines if it dares to take over the management of Arik Air.
Sources close to the negotiations told AIN that an Ethiopian delegation has twice visited Lagos while a high-level Nigerian delegation came to Addis Ababa to discuss how Ethiopian Airlines might assume control of Arik Air’s management. A member of the Ethiopian delegation that went to Lagos for the negotiation added that the Nigerian authorities wanted Ethiopian to take over Arik immediately to save the airline from collapse. “But we want to take some time and assess legal issues carefully,” the senior executive said.
Meanwhile, a Nigerian media outlet recently reported that the management of Ethiopian Airlines has rejected the offer.
Gebremariam denied the news report. “The news is not true,” he told AIN. “We are still discussing and we will reactivate the negotiation very soon since there is interest on both sides.”
Ethiopian Airlines is a big player in Nigeria, serving four destinations in Africa’s top oil producing country—namely Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Enugu—from its main hub in Addis Ababa.
“Ethiopian is a pan-African airline,” Gebremariam said. “We served Nigeria for many years in good and bad times.
Ethiopian Airlines is as old as Nigeria because we started flying to Nigeria right after decolonization.”
Ethiopian has invested in ASKY Airlines in West Africa and Malawi Airlines in southern Africa and manages both under contract. The Ethiopian flag carrier also continues to negotiate with the governments of Rwanda, Uganda, DRC and Zambia to form similar partnerships.
Months after talks of possible “negotiation” between the ruling party, theoretically a coalition of four ethnic based parties but three of them are a creation of the dominant TPLF party, and opposition parties, it is now public that the process is started.
On the opposition side, 21 parties are part of the “negotiation.” Obviously, they are of different sizes and political convictions – so to speak. As things stand now, All Ethiopian Unity Party and Medrek (this is an ethnic based opposition coalition) seem to be the bigger ones in terms of membership size -among other things.
Yet, it seems the case that size does not matter as far as opposition parties are concerned in that it is not relevant for their strength of negotiating power.
Precedence
What that means is, obviously, the outcome of the “negotiation” is predictable when negotiating power of negotiating parties is not symmetrical. And there is precedence in recent times. Following the 2005 election, the regime was voted out in the ballot box. And the opposition party was formidable compared to all the parties that are now “negotiating” put together. The only thing the ruling party leaned on was its control of the security apparatus and the military.
After contesting election outcome, the regime in power, with arrangement by state actors like the US embassy in Ethiopia, started negotiation with the victorious opposition. When it reached to a point where it can not politically dictate terms of the agreement, the regime arrested the entire leadership of the then opposition CUD (coalition for unity democracy – extremely popular at the time). Finally, the outcome of the election was determined that way.
In the latest election, the regime already claimed 99.6 percent of electoral win which left no opposition seat in the parliament. The nationwide anti-government protest in which more than 1000 Ethiopians were killed last year, however, speaks of different story.
Why “negotiation” is wrong idea for many
There is something fundamentally wrong from the outset, and many analysts seem to agree about it, regarding the current “negotiation.”
Just like members of the ruling coalition are the creations of Tigray People Liberation Front – one that wields absolute military and other forms of power –, many of the 21 opposition parties that are part of the current “negotiation” with the ruling party are literally the creations of the regime in power.
Not secret that many of them are created for purposes of proxy politics to destabilize the opposition quarter. They are also, most of them, in a way, means through which the regime proves existence of multi-party system in Ethiopia.
Besides, the question as to what exactly it is that parties want to “negotiate” with a regime that has been killing thousands, whenever it feels its power is threatened, solely to maintain its power is puzzling for many politicized Ethiopians.
Disagreements
The “negotiation” process is not moving fluidly perhaps an intentional effort to make it appear like real negotiation.
Medrek has procedural objections. It wants to meet the government for negotiation on its own without joining other opposition parties.
A report by VOA Amharic indicates that Beyene Petros ( Dr), leader of Medrek , says it is impossible to be part of the negotiation where 21 opposition parties are taking part.
Medrek is threatening that it will not be part of the negotiation, if it is not having a one-to-one “negotiation” with the ruling party.
Within Medrek, the key player is Oromo Federalist Congress whose leader, Merera Gudina, is put behind bar for alleged communication with opposition forces, among other alleged indictments, outlawed by the ruling party. And Medrek does not seem to be calling for the release of Merera Gudina as a precondition for the “negotiation.”
As to the rest of the opposition parties that are party to the “negotiation”, their difference with the ruling party revolves around procedural matters.
They want a third party to the negotiation that is independent and non-partisan to lead the negotiation process.
The ruling party, however, does not see reason for a mediator. It is “proposing” that each of the 21 opposition parties could take turn to lead what is said to be is “debate” and discussion.
Although not prevalent, there are, however, speculations that the ruling party is interested in the “negotiation” as it wants to use it as tool for creating China style single party system.
With the allegations that most of the opposition parties, as indicated above, are proxies of the regime, the speculation is not something to be dismissed totally.
By Dimetros Birku. Could be reached on twitter: @Dimetros
Editors Note : Human Rights Watch published a letter written to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs in which it expressed disappointment over a statement issued on Ethiopia. It is written by EU Director of Human Rights Watch.
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs /
Vice-President of the European Commission
Rue de la Loi, Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels
Brussels, March 23, 2017
Dear High Representative Mogherini,
Human Rights Watch wishes to express our deep disappointment over the one-sided statement issued by your office during your official visit to Ethiopia last week. In the public statement of March 17, 2017, you focus only on the important European Union partnerships with Ethiopia on humanitarian assistance, migration, refugees, and economic growth, and reiterate your support for the dialogue with the political opposition currently underway.
In our view the statement was a missed opportunity to state publicly and unequivocally that Ethiopia’s repressive response to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly – illustrated by the government’s brutal crackdown on protests– is not conducive to Ethiopia’s long-term stability or the EU’s ability to partner with Ethiopia on areas of mutual interest.
As you are aware, Ethiopia’s widespread human rights violations against its citizens means that Ethiopia is a country producing refugees and asylum seekers seeking safety.
Since November 2015 state security forces have killed hundreds and arrested tens of thousands of protesters, plunging Ethiopia into a human rights crisis. A state of emergency, called in October 2016, prescribes sweeping restrictions that go far beyond what is permissible under international law, eliminating what little space there was for the peaceful expression of critical views. The government has detained over 20,000 in “rehabilitation camps” since the state of emergency was declared, according to official figures. Widespread and long-standing restrictions on media and civil society groups continue to be enforced. Opposition leaders remain in detention on politically motivated charges, including Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) leader Dr. Merera Gudina, who was arrested following his attendance at a briefing on November 9 in Brussels organized by an MEP. Just three weeks before your visit, he was charged with “outrages against the constitution” and faces up to life in imprisonment.
Since November 2015 state security forces have killed hundreds and arrested tens of thousands of protesters, plunging Ethiopia into a human rights crisis. A state of emergency, called in October 2016, prescribes sweeping restrictions that go far beyond what is permissible under international law, eliminating what little space there was for the peaceful expression of critical views. The government has detained over 20,000 in “rehabilitation camps” since the state of emergency was declared, according to official figures. Widespread and long-standing restrictions on media and civil society groups continue to be enforced. Opposition leaders remain in detention on politically motivated charges, including Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) leader Dr. Merera Gudina, who was arrested following his attendance at a briefing on November 9 in Brussels organized by an MEP. Just three weeks before your visit, he was charged with “outrages against the constitution” and faces up to life in imprisonment.
Dismantling opposition parties, imprisoning critical opposition voices, and then inviting whomever remains to engage in a dialogue is not the “right direction,” as your statement said. Nor is having such a dialogue in the shadow of a state of emergency with wide-ranging restrictions on free expression rights. Moderate, yet still critical opposition voices, including Dr. Merera, should be part of any credible dialogue with the opposition, and this should have been stressed privately and publicly to the prime minister as critical for any meaningful dialogue. Your expression of support for political dialogue without acknowledging the systematic destruction of legally registered opposition parties and the suppression of basic human rights is not constructive to the EU’s partnership with Ethiopia.
Discussing economic partnerships during the state of emergency that followed 18 months of brutality partly triggered by the government’s abusive economic development approach illustrates our concern with your recent statement. The Ethiopian government has ignored the rights of those displaced by investment projects, failing to properly consult and compensate them. It begs the question: what polices or safeguards is the EU insisting are in place to ensure that economic development occurs with professed EU commitments to human rights respected?
In this light, the EU-Ethiopia Business Forum should be postponed until the abusive provisions of the state of emergency are lifted. Moreover, the government should make progress on implementing reforms that are crucial for a rights-respecting business environment, such as the repeal or substantial amendment of the Charities and Societies Proclamation.
The contrast between recent statements by the European parliament and the European Union could not be more stark. Parliament has consistently issued strong statements about the government’s brutal crackdown, including a resolution adopted in January 2016 that stated “respect for human rights and the rule of law are crucial to the EU’s policies to promote development in Ethiopia.” The resolution also stressed that the “EU should measure its financial support according to the country’s human rights record and the degree to which the Ethiopian Government promotes reforms towards democratization.” Parliamentary subcommittee hearings on Ethiopia followed in October. European Parliament actions signaled to the Ethiopian government and its people that there are repercussions for brutality against their own citizens – brutality that undermines European priorities in the Horn of Africa.
In contrast, the EU’s tepid approach, epitomized by your recent statement merely sends the message to the Ethiopian government that its repression and brutality carries no consequences or public condemnation from its most trusted friends, donors, and partners.
As all recognize, Ethiopia is an important partner of the EU in the areas of migration, development and economic growth. But these partnerships are dependent on long-term stability in Ethiopia and, thus, should be dependent on respect for basic human rights.
A further downward spiral in the human rights situation in this country of 100 million people could lead to dramatically increased humanitarian needs and out-migration from Ethiopia, all of which would contravene European and Ethiopian interests. This is where the EU’s focus should be.
We strongly urge you to use future meetings with Ethiopia’s leadership to publicly and unequivocally call for the release of key opposition leaders such as Dr. Merera and Bekele Gerba, the lifting of abusive provisions of the state of emergency, an international investigation into the crackdown on government protests, and the repeal of longstanding restrictions on media and civil society. And as stated in the European parliament resolution, it would be beneficial to clarify what progress on human rights you expect from Ethiopia to maintain ongoing EU support. The European Union’s interests in Ethiopia are best served by taking a principled stance on the importance of human rights protections.
Kind regards,
Lotte Leicht
EU Director
Human Rights Watch
CC:
Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Ms Helga Schmid
Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs, EEAS, Mr Jean-Christophe Belliard
Deputy Secretary General for Economic and Global Issues, EEAS, Mr Christian Leffler
Chair of the EU’s Political and Security Committee, Ambassador Walter Stevens
Managing Director for Africa, EEAS, Mr Koen Vervaeke
Director, Deputy Managing Director for Africa, EEAS, Ms Birgitte Markussen
Head of Division, Horn of Africa, East Africa and Indian Ocean, EEAS, Ms Claudia Wiedey
Managing Director for Human Rights, Global and Multilateral Issues, EEAS, Ms Lotte Knudsen
Director, Deputy managing Director for Human Rights, Global and Multilateral Issues, EEAS, Mr Marc Giacomini
Head of Human Rights Division, EEAS, Ms Mercedes Garcia Perez
Chair of the Council’s Africa Working Party, Mr Riccardo Villa
Head of the EU Delegation to Ethiopia, Ambassador Chantal Hebberecht
EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Mr Stavros Lambrinidis
Head of Cabinet of the High Representative / Vice-President Mogherini, Ms Fabrizia Panzetti
Deputy Head of Cabinet of the High Representative / Vice-President Mogherini, Mr Oliver Rentschler
A cotton factory is reportedly destroyed by fire in district 7, Jackros, area of Addis Ababa yesterday. The loss is estimated at four million Ethiopian birr. Government says 40 million birr worth of property is rescued. The fire happened in the morning. Report by government sources indicate that the the cause of the accident is not yet established. No human causality is reported.
Similarly, garage that belongs to Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara in Bahir Dar caught fire yesterday in the evening. There was reported exchange of fire that rocked the city a little before the fire incident. The extent of the damage and the cause is not reported.
Fire has become common phenomena in Ethiopia so much so that it does not look like an accident. Dozens of fire incidents have been reported in just few months.
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5000 detainees still under custody and will be charged
Released detainees in Oromia region /File Source : Screenshot from EBC Video
March 29,2017
“Command Post”, a board composed of senior military officers that is overseeing state of emergency legislation, says well over 20,000 detainees Ethiopians who have been detained since the introduction of the legislation in October 2016 are released.
They were detained in connection with anti-government protest since July of last year mainly in Amhara and Oromia regions of Ethiopia.
The Board says that those who are released went through what it called “rehabilitation training” – apparently about the constitution. For many, the protest was all about asserting constitutional rights.
However, nearly 5000 Ethiopians will be charged in court according to report by state media and they are still in custody. Among the charges are alleged connections with outlawed opposition groups based outside of Ethiopia like Oromo Liberation Front.
It is to be recalled that government was accusing Egypt of meddling in the internal affairs of Ethiopia.
The State of emergency nearly lived the stated life span but government hinted possible extension of it despite claims that normalcy is restored in the country. Yet, some elements of the legislation including curfew were lifted recently.
Deadlock over the question of third party mediator for the proposed negotiation between government and opposition party ended up in split.
Parties like Kinjit,the left over of once powerful coalition that won the 2005 election – now appropriated as proxy opposition, and nine other parties agreed with the ruling party’s proposition,instruction rather, that the negotiation needs no third party negotiator.
They took a stand that the negotiation process could be chaired by negotiating parties on a rotation basis.
Whereas bigger opposition parties like All Ethiopian Unity Party, Semayawi Party, Medrek, and Ethiopian Democratic Party maintained a position that independent third party mediator is a precondition for the negotiation process.
Since the ruling party is taking a hard-line that no negotiator is needed, the parties up for the next step of the dialogue are basically proxy opposition parties and parties with no significant constituency.
Semayawi party issued a statement today,which was shared on social media, condemning the move to carry on negotiation with out an independent mediator.
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The Kuwaiti authorities are reportedly investigating a video that appears to show a woman filming her Ethiopian maid falling from a seventh-floor window without attempting to help her.
The maid can be heard screaming “hold me, hold me” just before her hand slips and she falls onto a roof below.
She was subsequently rescued by paramedics and treated in hospital for a broken arm and other injuries.
The Kuwait Society for Human Rights said the employer had a duty of rescue.
The organisation noted that emirate’s penal code decreed that anyone who deliberately refrained from coming to the aid of a person in peril was liable to be sentenced to up to three months in prison.
The Kuwait Times meanwhile cited a lawyer, Fawzia al-Sabah, as saying she would file a complaint against the employer with the public prosecutor.
The newspaper said it was believed the maid initially climbed out of the window because she was suicidal.
In the 12-second video posted online, she is seen hanging outside a block of flats in the Sabah al-Salem district of Kuwait City, with one hand gripping the window.
The woman holding the camera is then heard telling her: “Oh crazy, come back.”
The maid pleads with the woman to help her shortly before she loses her grip and she falls onto the metal roof of an adjoining one-storey building.
Another video posted online by the Alanba newspaper on Thursday appears to show the maid being helped to climb down a ladder by paramedics and a fireman.
Alanba cited the employer as saying that she had filmed the incident and shared it because she did not want to be accused of the maid’s murder if she had died.
Mamushet Amare, respected and notable opposition figure who was also leader of All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP), is reportedly arrested again this past week.
He was released from prison barely two years ago when court acquitted him. However, police repudiated court ruling and detained him in Addis Ababa police division where he was kept for weeks before he was released in 2015.
Last weekend, he was arrested along with his brother Gizachew Amare. Reports indicate that he was arrested from where he went for “tsebel” – holy water healing practice in Ethiopian Orthodox Church tradition – a few hundred kilometers in South East of Addis Ababa.
What is known at this point is that the “command post” – that is the authority presiding over state of emergency in Ethiopia which is extended by four months – ordered his arrest.
Mamushet languished in prison for years at different times.
The Ethiopian government has extended a nationwide state of emergency for four months, hailing it as successful in restoring stability after almost a year of popular protests and crackdowns that cost hundreds of lives.
Ethiopia Photo – James Jeffrey IRIN
But while parts of Amhara, one of the hotbeds of the recent unrest, may be calm on the surface, IRIN found that major grievances remain unaddressed and discontent appears to be festering: There are even widespread reports that farmers in the northern region are engaged in a new, armed rebellion.
Human rights organisations and others have voiced concern at months of draconian government measures – some 20,000 people have reportedly been detained under the state of emergency, which also led to curfews, bans on public assembly, and media and internet restrictions.
“The regime has imprisoned, tortured and abused 20,000-plus young people and killed hundreds more in order to restore a semblance of order,” said Alemante Selassie, emeritus law professor at the College of William & Mary in the US state of Virginia. “Repression is the least effective means of creating real order in any society where there is a fundamental breach of trust between people and their rulers.”
The government line is far rosier.
“There’s been no negative effects,” Zadig Abrha, Ethiopia’s state minister for government communication affairs, told IRIN shortly before the measures were extended by four months, on 30 March.
“The state of emergency enabled us to focus on repairing the economic situation, compensating investors, and further democratising the nation… [and] allowed us to normalise the situation to how it was before, by enabling us to better coordinate security and increase its effectiveness.”
Clamping down
On 7 August 2016, in the wake of protests in the neighbouring Oromia region, tens of thousands of people gathered in the centre of Bahir Dar, the capital of Amhara. They had come to express their frustration at perceived marginalisation and the annexation of part of their territory by Tigray – the region from which the dominant force in Ethiopia’s ruling coalition is drawn.
Accounts vary as to what prompted security forces to open fire on the demonstration – some say a protestor tried to replace a federal flag outside a government building with its now-banned precursor – but by the end of the day, 27 people were dead.
That toll climbed to 52 by the end of the week. In all, some 227 civilians died during weeks of unrest in the Amhara region, according to the government. Others claim the real figure is much higher.
A six-month state of emergency was declared nationally on 9 October. Military personnel, under the coordination of a new entity known as the “Command Post”, flooded into cities across the country.
“Someone will come and say they are with the Command Post and just tell you to go with them – you have no option but to obey,” explained Dawit, who works in the tourism industry in the Amhara city of Gondar. “No one has any insurance of life.”
Local people told IRIN that the Command Post also took control of the city’s courts and did away with due process. Everyday life ground to a halt as traders closed shops and businesses in a gesture of passive resistance.
In Bahir Dar and Gondar, both popular historical stop-offs, tourism, an economic mainstay, tanked.
“In 2015, Ethiopia was voted by the likes of The New York Times and National Geographic as one of the best destinations,” said Stefanos, another Gondar resident who works in the tourism sector. “Then this happened and everything collapsed.”
Lingering resentment
Before it was renewed, the state of emergency was modified, officially reinstating the requirement of search warrants and doing away with detention without trial.
Prominent blogger and Ethiopian political analyst Daniel Berhane said the state of emergency extension might maintain calm in Amhara.
It “isn’t just about security,” he said. “There is a political package with it: Since two weeks ago, the government has been conducting meetings across the region at grassroots levels to address people’s economic and administrative grievances, which are what most people are most concerned about.”
But bitterness remains.
“We have no sovereignty. The government took our land,” a bar owner in Gondar who gave his name only as Kidus explained. “That’s why we shouted Amharaneut Akbiru! Respect Amhara-ness!” during the protests, he added.
Others still feel marginalised and are angry at the government’s heavy-handed response.
“If you kill your own people, how are you a soldier? You are a terrorist,” 32-year old Tesfaye, who recently left the Ethiopian army after seven years, a large scar marking his left cheek, told IRIN in Gondar. “I became a soldier to protect my people. This government has forgotten me since I left. I’ve been trying to get a job for five months.”
A tour guide in Gondar, speaking on condition of anonymity, was also critical of the response: “The government has a chance for peace, but they don’t have the mental skills to achieve it. If protests happen again, they will be worse.”
However, some do believe the authorities have to take a tough line.
“This government has kept the country together. If they disappeared, we would be like Somalia,” said Joseph, who is half-Amharan, half-Tigrayan. “All the opposition does is protest, protest. They can’t do anything else.”
Mountain militias
Even as calm has been restored in some areas, a new form of serious opposition to the government has taken shape: Organised militia made up of local Amhara farmers have reportedly been conducting hit-and-run attacks on soldiers in the mountainous countryside.
“The topography around here is tough, but they’ve spent their lives on it and know it,” said Henok, a student nurse who took part in the protests. “They’re like snipers with their guns.”
“The government controls the urban but not the rural areas,” he said. “[The farmers] are hiding in the landscape and forests. No one knows how many there are,” he said, adding that he’d seen “dozens of soldiers at Gondar’s hospital with bullet and knife wounds.”
Young Gondar men like Henok talk passionately of Colonel Demeke Zewudud, who led Amhara activism for the restoration of [the annexed] Wolkite district until his arrest in 2016, and about Gobe Malke, allegedly a leader of the farmers’ armed struggle until his death in February – reportedly at the hands of a cousin on the government’s payroll.
“The farmers are ready to die,” a priest in Gondar told IRIN on condition of anonymity, stressing that the land is very important to them. “They have never been away from here,” he explained.
Without referring specifically to any organisation of armed farmers, Zadig, the government minister, said the state of emergency had been extended because of “agitators” still at large.
“There are still people who took part in the violence that are not in custody, and agitators and masterminds of the violence who need to be brought before the rule of law,” he said. “And there are arms in circulation that need to be controlled, and some armed groups not apprehended.”
Solutions?
Terrence Lyons, a professor at The School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University in the United States, said the government must decentralise power to achieve longer-term stability.
“Grievances haven’t been addressed by the state of emergency or by the government’s commitment to tackle corruption and boost service delivery,” Lyons told IRIN. “There needs to be a reconsideration of the relationship between an ethnic federation and a strong centralised developmental state, involving a process that is participatory and transparent – but we aren’t seeing that under the state of emergency.”
In 1995, Ethiopia adopted a federal system of government, which in theory devolves considerable power to the country’s regions. But in practice, key decisions are still taken in Addis Ababa.
“If the government wants a true and real form of stabilisation, then it should allow for a true representative form of governance so all people have the representation they need and deserve,” said Tewodros Tirfe of the Amhara Association of America.
In a report presented to a US congressional hearing in early March, Tewodros said some 500 members of the security forces had been killed in the recent clashes in the Amhara region. “Deeper resentment and anger at the government is driving young people to the armed struggle,” he told IRIN.
But Zadig and the government insisted: “The public stood by us.”
“They said no to escalating violence. In a country of more than 90 million, if they’d wanted more escalation we couldn’t have stopped them.”
Lyons warns of complacency.
“As long as dissidents and those speaking about alternatives for Ethiopia are dealt with as terrorists, the underlying grievances will remain: governance, participation, and human rights,” he told IRIN.
“The very strength of the [ruling] EPRDF is its weakness. As an ex-insurgency movement, its discipline and top-down governance enabled it to keep a difficult country together for 25 years. Now, the success of its own developmental state means Ethiopia is very different, but the EPRDF is not into consultative dialogue and discussing the merits of policy.”
The road construction project was apparently based in Gorgora
Goodgle Map : Gorgora
borkena, Ethiopia News
April 4,2017
At least three people are reportedly killed and four others wounded after Chinese construction project site came under attack in Gorgora, about sixty kilometers west of Gonder city in North Western Ethiopia. It happened yesterday overnight.
The identity of the victims is not released and government issued no statement regarding it.
Seemingly, there was an exchange of fire at the project site overnight.
The news source who shared it on social media, Asnakew Abebe, is believed to have links on the ground in the region and is known for sharing news updates from the region.
No further information is available yet and no group or entity took responsibility for the attack.
State media didn’t report about it.
Chinese companies have a huge business empire in infrastructure development and real estate development in Ethiopia. And Ethiopia’s fund for infrastructure development in part comes from Chinese banks in the form of high interest loan.
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The great Ethiopian hero Jagema Kello passed away today.
borkena, Ethiopian News
April 7,2017
One of Ethiopia’s most celebrated patriot and a hero, Lt. General Jagema Kello passed away at 96 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
He severed in the Ethiopian military during the imperial government of Emperor Haileselassie.
He was only 15 years old when he led a resistance force against fascist Italy which invaded Ethiopia in the late 1930’s.
known for his bravery and fighting skills, he inflicted heavy damage on the invading fascist Italy forces; killed and captured hundreds of the invading fascist forces.
He made appearances in radio talk show with Sheger FM a few years ago and fondly narrated the years of resistance against Italian forces in Ethiopia, among other things.
