Oromo community Oslo protest

Demonstration in front of Saudi embassy Oslo, by OROTV Oslo Norway

Sadaasa 9, Guyyaa FDG Ilaalchisee Ibsa Qeerroo Bilisummaa Oromoo

Sadaasa 11, 2013, Finfinnee,Oromiyaa

Gabaasaa Galmee Sabboontota Oromoo Kanneen Bara Tokko Keessatti Hidhaman,Ajjeefamanii fi Bakka Buuteen Isaanii Dhabamee. ( Sadaasa 2012 Irraa Hanga Sadaasa 2013)

Uummatni Oromoo sirna bittaa Wayyaaneef tole jedhee guyyaatti gabrummaa of irratti ilaale hin qabu. Uummanni Oromoo diddaa sirna cunqursaa kanaaf wareegama baroota 21 keessatti baase kan lakkaawamee dhumu miti. Oromiyaa keessatti sabboontota gaaffii mirgaa kaasan yeroo irraa yerootti mootummaa Wayyaaneen adamfamanii mana hidhaa adda addaa keessatti ugguramuun aadaa bulchiinsa EPRDF ta’uun beekama.

Bara tokkoo as Sadaasa9,2012 irraa eegalee hamma Sadaasa 9,2013 waggaa tokko keessatti sabboontotiin Oromoo FDG gaggeessaa jirtu jechuun mana hidhaatti ukkaamfaman lakkoofsaan hedduu ta’anis, gariis ajjeefamanii,gariin ammoo bakka buuteen isaanii dhabame. Walumaa gala Sadaasa 9/2012 irraa hanga sadaasa 9/2013tti FDG hedduun guutuu biyyaatti gaggeeffamaa bahe. Wayyaaneenis darara hidhaa fi ajjeechaa gaggeessaa ture. Bara kana keessa qabsoo bilisummaa Oromoof jechaa kanneen hidhaman, ajjeefaman yaadachuu fi sabni keenya adduunyaa irra jiru mirga qabsaawota kanaa bakka hundatti akka falmuuf jecha Sochiin Dargaggoota Oromoo Biyyoolessaa(Qeerroo Bilisummaa) galmee qabsaawota hidhamanii,ajjeefamanii fi bakka buuteen isaanii dhabamanii yeroo fi bakka irraa hidhaman waliin akka armaa gadiitti gabaasa. Ilmaan Oromoo Godina shawaa lixaa aanaa Ejeree keessatti gaaffiilee abbaa biyyummaa gaafattan jedhamuun hojii irraa dhorkaman ( sadaasa 11-2012)

1.Obbo Girmaa Araarsaa Gargaaraa Hakiima beeyladaa aanaa Ejeree
2.Obbo Abbabaa Giddiiraa gargaaraa Hakiima beeyladaa aanaa Ejeree
3.Obbo Dhaqqabaa Tafarraa Gargaaraa Hakiima Beeylaa

Godina Iluu abbaa Booraa aanaa aanaa Cooraa keessatti gaaffiilee mirgaa gaafataman ABO waliin tahuun kan qindeessu sidha jechuun Barsiisaa Abbabaa Takkaa mana hidhaatti wayyaaneen ukkaamsitee turte. (Sadaasa 14-2012)

Gaaffiiwwan mirgaa itti fufinsaan Yuunivarsiitii keessatti gaafatamaa tureen wal qabatee ilmaan Oromoo Yuunivarsiitii Madda walaabuu isin jibbinsa mootummaa wayyaanee qabdu jechuun Yuunivarsiitii irraa arii’amanii jiran. (Sadaasa 15-2012)

Ethiopia: Journalist’s Plight Evokes Apartheid ‘Terrorism’ Law

By Zakes Mda 

November 12, 2013 (All Africa) — The continued detention of Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega, who is serving an 18-year sentence as a convicted terrorist in Kaliti prison outside Addis Ababa, is emblematic of the systematic harassment and incarceration of independent journalists in that country.

The government in Addis would have the world believe that Eskinder is a reckless, even racist, agitator bent on violent revolution. Yet a review of the evidence against him and his writings reveals instead a thoughtful and principled man whose only crime has been to urge, peacefully and publicly, Ethiopia’s rulers to deliver on their long-broken promise of peaceful, democratic reform.

“Democracy is so important to Ethiopia. Because we need it to moderate the differences between civilization and civilization,” he declared in a 2010 interview.

“I hope the EPRDF [the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, the ruling party] will be pragmatic enough to realize reform would be the better option, even for itself,” he added. “I believe in forgiving… that we shouldn’t have any grudge against the EPRDF, despite what it has done. I believe that the best thing for the country is reconciliation. I believe in the South African experience, that model.”

In February 2011, inspired by the Egyptian military’s tolerance of pro-democracy protesters in Tahrir Square, Eskinder wrote an articlesaying that should demonstrations break out in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian soldiers should heed the Egyptian example.

The column, like most of Eskinder’s articles, appeared on a U.S.-based Ethiopian news website blocked in the country. In response, state security forces detained Eskinder, accusing him of inciting the public against the government. A senior police official threatened to kill him if he did not stop writing about the Arab Spring.

A few months later, after the government invoked a vague terrorist plot to imprison prominent journalists, lawyers, teachers, academics and other dissidents, Eskinder spoke out again: “None of the recent detainees under the terrorism charges remotely resemble the profile [of a terrorist].”

Referring to prominent actor Debebe Eshetu, he wrote: “Debebe is probably the ultimate antithesis of the fanatic, his pragmatism, his easy nature, defines him. Neither do journalists Woubshet [Taye] and Reeyot [Alemu] and opposition politician Zerihun Gebre-Egzabher fit the profile. The same goes for the calm university professor, Bekele Gerba.”

Just five days after writing those words, Eskinder was arrested again and charged under the same terrorism charges. As evidence, the prosecution submitted a video of a town hall meeting of an opposition party where Eskinder said that if repression continued, the people’s patience would run out and there could be Arab Spring protests in Ethiopia. The prosecution claimed that by making such statements he was using his constitutional right to freedom of expression as a cover to overthrow that very constitution.

Journalism has its occupational hazards the world over, but in Ethiopia it is impossible to practice it honestly and with integrity. The country’s anti-terrorism law is sweeping and harsh. It mandates a 20-year sentence for “whoever writes, edits, prints, publishes, publicizes, disseminates” statements that the government deems support terrorism. Suspects can be held for up to four months without charge, let alone a trial – perversely reminiscent of the 90-day (and later 180-day) detention laws of South Africa under apartheid.

In fact, the anti-terrorism law of today’s Ethiopia looks very much like the statutes the apartheid government enacted to suppress opposition.

Some of us remember vividly the Suppression of Communism Act of 1950 – later replaced by the Internal Security Amendment Act of 1976 – under which even anti-communist writing was banned if it opposed apartheid, and writers were charged and convicted. Ethiopia’s anti-terrorist statute is a close cousin of South Africa’s Terrorism Act of 1967, which was just as all-encompassing, turning even the mildest opponents of apartheid into “terrorists”.

Just as in South Africa, Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law has become an instrument of terror itself.

What I find untenable about the situation is that whenever such gross violations of human rights happen in Africa, there is either muted protest or utter silence on the part of African writers, intellectuals, artists and media practitioners of all sorts.

Why should these violations be Bob Geldof’s business and not ours? Surely we also care about human rights, especially because we are more directly affected than the vocal individuals and organizations based mostly in the West?

For two decades, Eskinder has been an indomitable free thinker who has refused to give in to anger, resignation or exile despite government intimidation. When his wife, Serkalem Fasil, accepted the PEN Freedom to Write Award on his behalf she said that prison has become her husband’s “home away from home.” Serkalem, herself a journalist and newspaper editor, was imprisoned for exercising her freedom of expression to the extent that her son was born in prison.

The continued arrest of Eskinder Nega, and the harassment of his family, is a travesty that all freedom-loving Africans – especially those of us who depend on freedom of expression for survival in the practice of our trade, craft and art – should protest relentlessly. An African like me who is enjoying freedom in South Africa should have long ago protested this case in the loudest of voices. My silence was complicity.

What is happening in Ethiopia is a disgrace that reverses the gains that Africa is making in the area of human rights. I hope that the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights will consider the complaint filed recently by Freedom Now and the Media Legal Defense Initiative on behalf of Eskinder Nega.

It is first and foremost out of human decency that our voices should be heard. But it is also out of self-interest as prospective victims of repression. It is important to curb the impunity with which some African governments act against the rights of their citizens. If Ethiopia can get away with it, so will your country next time, and you’ll be the victim.

---

Zakes Mda is a South African novelist, poet and playwright. He is the recipient of South African and Commonwealth writing awards and has published 21 novels and collections of plays and poetry, which have been translated into 20 languages. A version of this article has also been published by The Guardian, London.

Three Ethiopians immigrants killed in Saudi Arabia

Foreign workers gather outside Saudi immigration department as they try to get visas and legalize their work situation, on November 3, 2013 in Riyadh. (Photo: AFP – Fayez Nureldine)

November 12, 2013, Addis Ababa (AFP) — Three Ethiopians have been killed in Saudi Arabia when violence broke out between police and illegal immigrants preparing to return home, Ethiopian officials said Tuesday.

Each year, large numbers of Ethiopians move to the Middle East looking for jobs, often as domestic workers. Saudi Arabia is among the preferred destinations.

“The act of killing innocent civilians is uncalled for, we condemn that,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti told reporters, saying he had been informed of the death of three Ethiopian citizens.

Ethiopia announced last week it would repatriate its citizens illegally living in Saudi Arabia after a seven-month amnesty period allowing immigrants to gain legal status expired.

Dina said the government has called for an investigation into the deaths and said that a delegation has been sent to Saudi Arabia to help the repatriation process.

“We have asked also for an investigation into the killings,” he said, adding that Addis Ababa had dispatched a team to Saudi Arabia to take care of Ethiopians there, and either register them or bring them home.

Around 200,000 women sought work abroad in 2012, according to Ethiopia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

Many of those leaving face physical and mental abuse, poor working conditions, low pay and discrimination, the International Labour Organization reports.

Last month, the Ethiopian government said it was barring young women and men from moving to the Middle East, amid reports of widespread abuse.

With 91 million citizens, Ethiopia is Africa’s most populous country after Nigeria, but also one of the continent’s poorest, with the majority of people earning less than two dollars a day.

Around 27 percent of women and 13 percent of men are unemployed, according to the ILO.

Aiding and Abetting: UK and US Complicity in Ethiopia’s Mass Displacement

In the face of evidence, the UK and US continue to deny systematic human rights abuses are occurring in the Lower Omo as thousands are displaced for an irrigation scheme.

BY DAVID TURTON

Members of the Nyangatom, one of the communities affected by the project, loading donkeys by the river. Photograph by William Davison

November 6, 2913 (Think Africa Press) — The US-based think tank, the Oakland Institute, recentlyaccused the UK and US governments of aiding and abetting the eviction of thousands of people from their land in Ethiopia’s Lower Omo Valley.

The accusation was not new – it had been made before bySurvival International and Human Rights Watch amongst others. What was new about this report was that it made use of transcripts of interviews conducted by officials from the UK Department for International Development (DfID) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), during a field visit to the lower Omo in January 2012.

The interviews were recorded by the report’s author, Will Hurd, who accompanied the officials and acted as their interpreter. The recordings contain vivid first-hand accounts of the abuses suffered by local people at the hands of the government, the police and the army.

Hurd, an American human rights activist who speaks one of the local languages, decided to release the recordings to journalists when both agencies claimed publicly, months after their visit, that they had found no evidence of the ‘systematic’ abuse of human rights. Having spent 40 years working as an anthropologist in the area myself, I am confident of the accuracy and authenticity of the report and of the interviews on which it is based.

The abuses being carried out by the Ethiopian government in the Lower Omo are incontrovertible. Thousands of agro-pastoralists are being evicted by government fiat and without compensation from their most valuable agricultural land along the banks of the Omo in order to make way for large-scale commercial irrigation schemes. By far the largest of these schemes is being set up by the state-owned Ethiopian Sugar Corporation. The evictions are being accompanied by aresettlement or ‘villagisation’ programme which, although described by administrators as ‘voluntary’, is forced in the sense that those affected have no reasonable alternative but to comply.

This is a glaring example of how not to do river-basin development. No impact assessments, feasibility studies or resettlement plans have been published. No plans have been announced for compensation, benefit sharing or livelihood reconstruction. And no attempt has been made to give the affected people a genuine say in decision making. In short, the project appears to have been conceived as a quasi-military operation, with the police and army acting as an occupying force amongst a recalcitrant and ‘backward’ civilian population. Not surprisingly in these circumstances, there have been reports of beatings, arrests and sexual violence by military personnel.

We know from 50 years of academic research on ‘development-forced displacement and resettlement’ as well as from countless reports by NGOs and development agencies that, if the project continues in this way, it will have a devastating impact on the economic, physical, psychological and social wellbeing of the displaced population. To use an expression from Michael Cernea, formerly the World Bank’s Senior Adviser on Social Policy and Resettlement, river-basin development in the lower Omo looks like its becoming yet another “disgracing stain on development itself.”

Aiding and abetting

Ethiopia receives $3.5 billion a year from international donors, which amounts to approximately half its annual budget. In March 2011, it was announced that the UK would be giving $2 billion in development aid to Ethiopia over the following four years, making Ethiopia the biggest single recipient of British aid money. The UK is also the biggest state contributor to the World Bank’s ‘Promoting Basic Services’ (PBS) programme for Ethiopia. PBS funds provide budget support for local government expenditure on education, health, agricultural extension and road construction. Since resettlement in the Lower Omo is the responsibility of the local administration, it would be stretching credulity beyond reasonable bounds to believe DfID’s claim that no UK money is being used to finance this activity.

Over the past two years I have tried to alert both the Ethiopian government and DfID to what I believe is a disaster in the making. The Ethiopian officials I have spoken to simply denied that there was any basis for my concerns. I have learnt that critics of Ethiopian government policies are liable to be treated either as ‘enemies’ of Ethiopia or as well meaning friends in need of remedial education. DfID staff were interested in what I had to say but the official line is that the British Government takes a ‘robust stand’ on human rights and, ‘where it has concerns’ it raises them ‘at the very highest level’ – to which the only answer, if you’ve had to stand by and watch your fields and grain stores flattened by a sugar corporation bulldozer, is ‘Yeah, right’.

Whatever is going on behind closed doors, public statements made by British officials about allegations of human rights abuses in the lower Omo have been consistently supportive of the Ethiopian government. On 5 November 2012, the Minister for International Development, Justine Greening, announced in reply to a question in Parliament that DfID had not been able to “substantiate” the allegations made to it during its visit to the lower Omo in January that year. She promised that another visit to the area would be made “to examine these further.”

Another visit was indeed made, by DfID and USAID staff, a week after the Minister’s reply. But no report of this visit has been released despite a Freedom of Information request from Survival International. Meanwhile, Sir Malcolm Bruce, Chairman of the International Development Committee of the UK’s House of Commons, repeated the Minister’s line on a visit to Addis Ababa in March 2013. Speaking to a local newspaper, he said “we cannot make decisions based on allegations….what we have now is mostly allegations, many of which the government has already addressed”.

A robust stand with Ethiopia

On this showing, DfID’s proud boast that it takes a ‘robust stand’ on human rights looks like empty rhetoric – cynical, politically expedient and morally bankrupt. Nor would one have to be a great cynic oneself to at least wonder whether the allegations made to DfID and USAID staff by lower Omo residents in January 2012 would have seen the light of day if they had not been tape-recorded and published by Will Hurd.

It needs to be stressed that the allegations were not principally about rapes, arrests and beatings. These have certainly occurred, but they may or may not have been part of a systematic campaign of intimidation. What is undeniable is the forced, large-scale, ongoing and systematic eviction of whole communities from their land by their own government, without consultation and without compensation. And it is clear from the interview transcripts, published along with the Oakland Institute report, that this was the most deeply felt, vehemently expressed and frequently repeated allegation of human rights abuse made to DfID and USAID staff during their January 2012 field visit. Any “further examination” of this allegation, if indeed it is necessary, should not take long to complete.

The British government is helping to sustain, with its financial, moral and political support, a project which, if it continues without change, will lead to the needless suffering of thousands of people. This is not a technical problem. We know very well what practical steps should be taken, now, to prevent or at least mitigate the worst consequences of the project. But the UK’s politicians are not only “turning a blind eye” to the problem, as the Oakland Institute’s report puts it, but repeatedly denying it exists. We must conclude that they will only have second thoughts about this policy if they come to doubt its political expediency. Or, as a colleague of mine once put it, more colourfully, if it “comes back to bite them in the bum”.

Think Africa Press welcomes inquiries regarding the republication of its articles. If you would like to republish this or any other article for re-print, syndication or educational purposes, please contact:editor@thinkafricapress.com

Africans must speak up for journalist jailed in Ethiopia

Comment: Ethiopia today is reminiscent of apartheid South Africa, where anyone who questions the state is a terrorist.

Eskinder Mega. Photograph: Pen International

Nov 5, 2013 (The Guardian) — The award-winning Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega will turn 45 this month in Kaliti prison outside Addis Ababa whilst serving an 18-year sentence as a convicted terrorist. The government in Addis would have the world believe he is a reckless, even racist, agitator bent on violent revolution. Yet, a review of the evidence against him and his writings reveals a thoughtful and principled man whose only crime has been to urge, peacefully and publicly, Ethiopia‘s rulers to deliver on their long broken promise of peaceful, democratic reform.

“Democracy is so important to Ethiopia, because we need it to moderate the differences between civilization and civilization,” Eskinder said in a 2010 interview. “I hope the EPRDF (the ruling party) will be pragmatic enough to realise reform would be the better option, even for itself,” he added. “I believe in forgiving… that we shouldn’t have any grudge against the EPRDF, despite what it has done. I believe that the best thing for the country is reconciliation. I believe in the South African experience, that model.”

In February 2011, inspired by the Egyptian military’s tolerance of pro-democracy protesters in Tahrir Square, Eskinder wrote an article urging Ethiopian soldiers to heed their example, should demonstrations break out in Addis Ababa. The column appeared on a US-based Ethiopian news website blocked inside his country. In response, the state security detained Eskinder, accusing him of inciting the public against the government. A senior police official threatened to kill him if he did not stop writing about the Arab Spring.

A few months later, after the government invoked a vague terrorist plot to imprison prominent journalists, lawyers, teachers, academics and other dissidents, Eskinder spoke out again: “None of the recent detainees under the terrorism charges remotely resemble the profile (of a terrorist). Debebe is probably the ultimate antithesis of the fanatic, his pragmatism, his easy nature, defines him,” he wrote, referring to prominent actor Debebe Eshetu. “Neither do journalists Woubshet (Taye) and Reeyot (Alemu) and opposition politician Zerihun Gebre-Egzabher fit the profile. The same goes for the calm university professor, Bekele Gerba.”

Just five days after writing those words, Eskinder was arrested again, and charged under the same terrorism charges. As evidence, the prosecution submitted a video of a town hall meeting of an opposition party where Eskinder expressed his opinion that if repression continued, the people’s patience would run out and there could be Arab Spring protests in Ethiopia. The prosecution claimed that by making such statements he was using his constitutional right to freedom of expression as a cover to overthrow that very constitution.

Eskinder’s treatment is emblematic of the conditions facing all Ethiopians and the systematic harassment and incarceration of independent voices. Journalism has its occupational hazards the world over, but in Ethiopia it is impossible to practice the profession honestly and with integrity. The country’s anti-terrorism law is sweeping and harsh. It mandates a 20-year sentence for “whoever writes, edits, prints, publishes, publicises, disseminates” statements that the government deems support terrorism. Suspects can be held under these laws for up to four months without charge, let alone a trial – perversely reminiscent of the 90-day (and later 180-day) detention laws of South Africa under apartheid.

In fact, the anti-terrorism law of today’s Ethiopia looks very much like the statutes the apartheid government enacted to suppress opposition and maintain a system declared a crime against humanity by the international community. Some of us remember vividly the Suppression of Communism Act of 1950 – later replaced by the Internal Security Amendment Act of 1976, under which even anti-communist writing was banned if it opposed apartheid, and writers were charged and convicted. Ethiopia’s anti-terrorist statute is a close cousin of South Africa‘s Terrorism Act of 1967, which was just as all-encompassing; even the mildest opponents of apartheid became “terrorists” under this Act. Just as in South Africa, Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law has become an instrument of terror itself.

Many people and organisations around the world have spoken on behalf and in defence of Eskinder, but whenever these gross violations of human rights happen in Africa there is either muted protest or utter silence on the part of African writers, intellectuals, artists and media. Why should these violations be Bob Geldof’s business and not ours? Surely we also care about human rights because we are directly affected, even more so than those based in the west.

For two decades, Eskinder has been an indomitable free thinker who has refused to give in to anger, resignation or exile despite persistent government intimidation. When his wife, Serkalem Fasil, accepted the PEN Freedom to Write award on his behalf she said that prison had become her husband’s “home away from home”. Serkalem, herself a fellow journalist and newspaper editor, was imprisoned for exercising her freedom of expression, and their son was born in prison.

Eskinder’s continued arrest and the harassment of his family is a travesty that all freedom-loving Africans should protest against relentlessly. It is in this light that the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rightsshould consider the complaint filed recently by Freedom Now and the Media Legal Defense Initiative on Eskinder’s behalf.

What is happening in Ethiopia is a disgrace. An African like me, who is enjoying freedom in South Africa, should have long ago protested this case in the loudest of voices. My silence was complicity. It is important to curb the impunity with which some African governments act against the rights of their citizens. If Ethiopia can get away with it, so will your country next time, and you’ll be the victim. It is first and foremost out of human decency that our voices should be heard. But it is also out of self-interest as prospective victims of repression. As the saying goes, if we are silent today, when they come for us there will be no one left to speak.

Brutal dictatorship of Weyane regime

Firehiwot Guluma | Nov 5, 2013

Firehiwot Guluma

Since the EPRDF government came to power, neither the Ethiopian people, nor the Oromo in particular, have lived in peace and tranquility. The last 22 years on power, the regime has boosted itself as a guarantor of the right of nations and nationalities while it brutally imprisoned, tortured and killed those who have demanded for their legitimate right.

TPLF regime is known as Marxist Leninist League of Tigray (MLLT) in early 1970s and as Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) since late 1980s. EPRDF is a pseudo multi-ethnic political party under strict control of the regime. It is in reality the TPLF because it is neither a unitary nor a coalition of political parties. It is an instrument of ethnic political organization that totally adopted political program of the TPLF (Berhe, 2005). It is guided by principles of divide and rule system of colonial governance. The regime is known by its fake names like Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), Oromo People Democratic Organization (OPDO), South Ethiopian People`s Democratic Front (SEPDF), and etc  in Amhara, Oromia, Southern Ethiopia, and other administrations, respectively. These surrogate ethnic political organizations are nothing but they are simply representatives of the regime in other parts of Ethiopia. These fake organizations are unconstitutionally imposed on peoples of Ethiopia through the rule of gun in violation of sovereign rights of civil people, the rights to organize and elect their own political organizations freely. Thus the regime has institutionalized its brutal governance system with insignificant challenges of opposition political forces to its authority. Absolute dictatorship of the regime is demonstrated by human rights violation and provoking ethnic conflicts.

Human right violation:

TPLF regime is well experienced in carrying out rebellion. It has been employed the tool during 17 years of civil war to topple the communist military junta under dictatorial leader ship of Colonel Mangiest Haile Mari yam. Rebellion activities of the regime from 1974 to 1991 against communist junta could be justified because there has not been other alternative instrument rather than armed struggle to change brutal practices of totalitarian governance system of Ethiopia. The regime also continued its rebellion activities after 1991 to suppress non-violent political struggle of the civil people. Peaceful struggle of multi nations and nationalities of Ethiopia for justice, peace, freedom, democracy, and stability is constitutionally legitimate right of the people. However the regime has been undermining constitutional civil rights by routinely practicing human rights violation. Its rebellion activities against the civil people include extrajudicial killings, long imprisonment without independent trial, torching, rapping, etc.

Inhuman atrocity of the regime is characterized by (I) Extra-judicial killings and disappearances: 3981 extra-judicial killings and 943 disappearances of civilians suspected of supporting groups opposing the government have been documented since 1994 (OSG, 2008) ; (II) Massacring innocent civilians: Security forces of the regime has been intensively massacring innocent civilians, for example: (i) Murdering of peaceful demonstrators of 92 Oromo civilians on 25th of March 1992 in Eastern Oromia, 67 Oromo civilians on 10th of February and April 1995 in Eastern and Western Oromia, 20 Oromo students in March and April 2002 in western and central Oromia, 105 Oromo civilians in November 2005 to April 2006 in Oromia, and 19 Oromo civilians detainees in February 2007 in Eastern Oromia, 200 peaceful demonstrators following 2005 election; (ii) Murdering of peaceful demonstrators of 200 Sheko and Mezenger civilians on 10th of March 2002 and 46 Sidama civilians on 24th of May 2002 in Southern Ethiopia; (iii) Murdering of 430 Anuak civilians from December 2003 to April 2004 in Gambela; (iv) Murdering of peaceful demonstrators of 193 civilians in August and November 2005 in Addis Ababa town, and (v) Massacre of thousands of innocent Ogaden civilians in Eastern Ethiopia since 1992; (III) Detention without trial: At least 25,000 peoples were in prison in year 2001 in Oromia federal state alone; (IV) Increasing refugees: Thousands are quarterly seeking refuge in neighbouring countries and (V) Suppression of free media: Independent media totally paralyzed because most of independent journalists are languishing in prison and others were forced to escape to abroad in fear of brutal mistreatment (HRW, 2005 and UOSG, 2007).

Human rights watch (HRW) reported dozens of cases of sever abuse by Ethiopian troops in the Ogaden including gang rapes, arson and what it is called “demonstration killing” including hangings and  4 beheadings meant to terrorize the civil people (HRW, 2008a). Many of the Oromos interviewed reported family members had been killed or were missing or “disappeared” for many years under the TPLF regime (AHR, 2009). Human rights violation is one of the instruments effectively institutionalized by the regime to guard its brutal governance system through diffusion of fears into civil societies across each corners of the country.

Provoking ethnic conflicts: Conflict at local level is mainly originated from the dispute seasonally raised by shortage of grazing land and water for livestock in rural areas. The regime either orchestrated or manipulated the conflict to implement its anti-peace strategy. It has been frequently inciting ethnic conflicts between Oromo and Somali, Sidama and Oromo, Oromo and Afar, Amhara and Oromo, Tigre and Oromo, Oromo and Gurage, Gumuz and Oromo, and others to destabilize peaceful relation between different ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Hundreds of innocent civilians have been lost their life and thousands are internally displaced seasonally as a consequence of regime`s manipulation of local conflicts since 1991. Some of the recent reports include the following as example: (I) Conflict of Oromo and Somali in Southern Oromia has killed 135 and internally displaced about 100 thousands of people in August 2005; (II) Conflict of Oromo and Somali in Eastern Oromia has killed 73 and internally displaced about 85 thousands of people in August 2005; (III) Mobilization of Gumuz militia by the regime against Oromo in Western Oromia has killed 400 and internally displaced thousands of Oromo people on May 17 to 19 / 2008; (IV) Conflict of Sidama and Oromo in southern Ethiopia has killed 140 and internally displaced 30 thousands of people from April 2 to 7/2008 and on May 31/2009; and (V) Conflict of Afar and Oromo in Eastern Oromia: has killed 35 and internally displaced thousands of people on May 20 to 29 /2009 (IDMC, 2005; Sudan tribune, 2008; OLF, 2009a to 2009e; and Megalommatis, 2009).

Provoking ethnic conflicts is the second most important instrument that the regime is effectively employing to sustain its brutal governance through destabilization of peaceful and mutual coexistence between different ethnic groups of Ethiopia

Kan Keenyaaf – Nutuu Geenya!

Jiituu Lammii – Unbarsiitii Finfinnee

Bara duriiti. Allaattii risaa jedhamutu lukkuutti michee wajjin jiraachuu jalqabe jedhama. Allaattiin kun uumama isaa dagatee, uumaa isaatiin ala lukku wajjin daraa haadhaa, harca’aa funaanaa kosii keessa oolu jiruu godhate. Garuu akka jaraa irraa hinbareedu-waan uumaa isaa mitikaa.  Galgala, dhiya aduu eegee qooxii (haraatii) yaaba. Akka kanaan jireenyi isaa dhawaata lukkuudhuma fakkaachaa deeme. Ta’us garuu, darbee darbee miira addaa, kan uumaa ganamaa keessa isaatii dhaggeeffachuu hinoolle. Gaafii gaafii miirri kuun jabaatee “ …kaatee bantii samii gargar saaqxee, goobaafi golba lafaa qaari’tee, gaafa sii gamte: gaatiraa, heexoo birbirsa feetu garbii  fiixa baatee – lafa garaa kee hinqubattuu….!? Isa maaliit ati lukkuu muul’ata hinqabne waliin  daaraa haadhaa ooltee galgala haraatiitti rarraata…!? Jedhee qeequu jabeesse.  Gama biraatiinimmoo, haalli inni keessa jiraatuufi lukkuun inni wajjin jiraatu “ …. Ati isa kam wan ta’uu hindandeenyeefi uumaan siif hinhirre ta’uu abbalta!? Atoo silaa numa fakkaata; danaan kee cufti akkuma keenyaa- duuba mee akkamiin nurraa gargarbaatee samii keessa laboobuu hawwita…!? Safuudha! … mee hunduu haahafuutii… isa wajjiniin nyaannee- dhugne, jireenya waliin dabarsine… akkamiin dagatteeti nurraa gargar bahuu yaadda…!?” jechuun takka doorsisaa takammoo sossoobaa of  fakkeesanii of birattii hambisuuf sadoo jabeessan. Risaan, utuma miira masaanuu wal mormu keessa  jiraatuuti gana gaaf tokkoo otuma warri inni wajjin jiraatuu akkuma dur kosii keessatti eeganii gaaftokko lafarraa ol ka’ee balali’uu yaale. Sadoo ormaa, yaalii uumama isaa malee daaraa keessatti isa hambisuuf godhamu, fedhiifi carraaqqii warra “….of dhiisii nu fakkaadhuu jiraadhu….” Jedhanii keessaa bahee hireefi dandeettiin isaa maal akka ta’e battalumatti akeekkate. Sana booda utuma haalliifi warri inni wajjin jiraatu mormanii uumaafi uumama isaa dhaggeeffatee kossii haadhaa ooluu dhiisee samii keessa fagaatee balali’e. Ergasii  lukkuun risaa samii keessatti ol eeguu malee akka dur sobdee, sossobdee… of wajjiniin daaraa keessatti hambisuu hindandeenye jedhama.

Kabajamtoota dubbistoota barruu kanaa, Sabni Oromoo uumaa isaa lagatee, eenyummaa isaa dhiisee ormi karaa ormi baaseefi haala ormi tolche keessatti qofa of hubatee fedhiif abdiin isaa gabaabbatee, gabaabumatti waan isaaf malu cufa ormaaf dhiisee, gabaabumatti waan isaaf malu cufa ormaaf dhiisee salphatee miila isaanii jala  akka jiraatu fedhiif akeeka qaban dhugoomsuuf shira himamee hindhumne, garuummoo seenaan hindaganne hedduu raawwachaa turuu isaanii, ammallee ittijiraachuufi boruufis akeeka walfaakkaatu qabaachuu isaaniitu durdurii kana na yaadachiise.

Gara ijoo dubbii kiyyattan deebi’a. Isa dura garuu jabina dubbii koof akka tolu  jecha  akkuma dur seena darbe keessaa waa isin waliin yaaddachuun hawwe. Dubbichi akkana: Qabsoo diddaa gabrummaa, bifa haaraan dhaloonni gara  FDG (civil mass disobedience movement)itti babal’isan fuuldura dhaabachuuf Wayyaanonni tooftaa tokko qindeeffatanii ture. Toftaan kun kanuma duruu jiru ta’ee garuu, bara 2005nii eegalee  bal’inaan akka hojiirra ooluu ta’e. Akkuma kanaan, Aadde Azeeb Masfin duula kanatti ooggana duraa yoo taatuu, qondalonni basaasaafi aanga’oonni waraanaa dhalootaan Tigree ta’animmoo dabballoota OPDO of dura buusun walduraa duuban qindaayanii qajeelfama gubbaarraa darbu hojiitti hiikuuf qe’ee Oromootti bobba’an. Akeekni isaanii dargaggoota Oromoo qeensa laafeyyii ta’an (faayidaaf bitamuu danda’an), yookanimmoo warra Oromoo kessatti dhalatanii Afaaniif Aadaa sabichaa beekan filachuun aangoofi maallaqa guddaa ittikennuun  warra isaan morman hawachuu, warra jajjabina qabanimmoo hidhuu, ajjeesuufi goolii adda addaan hamlee laaffisuu ture. Aakkuma kanaan, duulli jalqabaa lafa Oromoo Finfinneetti marfatee jiru: Buraayyuu hanga Sabbataatti;  kalattii biraan ammoo Sulultaa jalqabee Laga Xaafoo – Laga Daadhii dabalatee hanga Galaaniifi  Duukam gahutti hoogana Tigree jalatti cicciramee akka gurguramu ta’e. Warri lafa kana akka bitatan jajjabeeffaman saboota Oromoo hintaanee: (Tigree, Guraagee, Amaaraa, Silxee…) ta’uun ammoo duulichi Yrymyy balleessuuf ergama qarlamee qabaachuu mirkaneessa. Haaluma kanaan, yeroo gabaabaa keessattii duulli walfakkaatu Oromiyaa hundatti akka raawwatu dabbaloota gadiif qajeelfama dabarsan. Akkakanaan, magaalonni Oromiyaa hundi harka kaabineetti galee gurgurtaan lafaa hanga dhabe. Maallaqni gurgurtaa lafa Oromoo kanarraa argamu harki guddaan karaa Aadde Azeeb aanga’oota Wayyaaneef kanqooddamu yoota’u, harcaatuu ishee kadiree OPDOtiif dhiisu. Kaabineen OPDO maqaa dhahatan akka kanaan harcaatuu funaannatan konkolaataa ammayyaa  (V-eight)bitatanii, sookkoo dheedhii qubaafi mormatti naqatanii, shuguxii ‘micro F’ mudhiitti kaawwatanii, haadha manaa shanii –jaha fudhanii, cooma murachaa Wiskii buufachaa, saggoon saggooratti margee, quufni daangaa dhabee  Oromoo dhugaaf dubbatu, sabaaf quuqamu bahaa gala dhoowwanii gariin ajjeesanii ykn. ajjeesisanii, gariin maatii facaasee yoo biyyaa bahu, gariin roorroo kana dhoowwachuuf bosonatti gale;   isa kaanimmoo akki dhibee, qe’ee dhaloota isaarratti yuuyya’ee, quucaree hafe- Seenaa hadhaawaa! Jarrii shira kana hojjatan har’a, (isiiniif margaa malee) jiruu sagaagalummaa mana bunaa keessatti dabarsaniin  gariin isaanii  dhukkuba HIV/AIDSn faalamanii ammas karaa biraatiin uummatatti balaan yoo deebi’an, gariin ammoo qabeenya isaan saba isaanirraa saaman Wayyaanonni harkaa butatanii kaanhidhaatti, gariin ammoo akkahintaane ta’aniiru.

Seenaa kana qalbiin erga yaadannee booda, faanni seenaa kaleessafi har’a, darbeemmoo boru garamitti akka aggaamu  akeekkachuuf, caalatti ammoo hojii yeroon nurraa eegutti humna guutuun fuulleffachuuf akka tolu gara taajjabbii koo torbee lamaan kanaatti haadeebinu.  Jarreen kaleessa shira olitti himame hojjataa turan har’a bubbee hamaan gola isaanii seenee dhaabbachuu dadhabanii raafamaa jiraachuu dhugaa guyyuu muul’atu ta’ullee, warra mamii qalbii keessaa qabaniif raga kaahun, wal hubachaa dhimma fuulduratti nu eeggatutti fuulleffachuuf gargaara. Kanaaf jecha, waanuma torbee lamaan kana isaan ittijiran gabaabumatti ilaaluu yaalla.

Dabballoonni OPDO tibba kana maqaa “raawwii bara darbeefi karoora bara dhufuurratti mari’anna” jedhuun bakka hundatti guyyoota kudhaniif kora taa’aa turan. Kora kanarratti yaaddoofi abdii kutannoon yoomuu argamee hinbeekamne kan muul’ate yoo ta’u, dabballoonni tokko tokko “ … duunee awwaala keessa jirra…” jechuun haalicha ibsaniiru. Haala jara kanaa hubachuuf akkasumas, egree isaanii tilmaamuuf, iccitii dhokataa barbaaduurra,  galgala yoo isaan bakka mariitii hahan  dhaabbatanii akkaataa isaanii ilaaluun qofti nama seenaa isaanii durii beekuuf dhugaa  tokko hima. Akka kanaan, hoolota hongeen ittidheerate fakkeenya mogoleen walrigaa, boquun gadi cabee mataa buusanii abdii malee yoo deeman ilaaluun waan isaan ittijiran akeekuu caalatti boru maaltu akka ta’uuf deemu tilmaamuuf nama gargaara.

Dabbaloonni kun,  haalli isaan keessa jiran  milkii akka hinqabne, abdiin irraa fagaatee egereen isaanii dukkanatti deemaa kan jiru ta’uu guyyoota kudhaniif wal harkaa fuudhanii walumatti deebisuun alatti yaaddoo isaaniif fala kaahuu hindandeenye. Dargaggoonni wal ijaaranii qabsoof qophiin godhaan jabaachaa deemuun, raayyaan waraanaa, keessumaammoo poolisoonni dhawaata qalbiin gara uummataattii dhiyaachaa dhufuun, dabbalootumti duraan amanamoo turan sirnicha dhiisuuf fala biraa barbaaddachaa jiraachuufi (karaa danda’ameen qarshii saamanii miliquun), hunda caalammoo uummataan garmalee jibbamuufi kkf. Dhimmoota yaaddoo uuman ta’uurratti walii galanillee, dargaggoota isaan nyaachuuf qophaawaa jiran faayidaa adda addaan ofitti qabuu, warra tooftaa kanaan qabamuu didanimmoo hidhaafi doorsisaan ofirraa faccisuun hanga danda’ametti lubbuu dheereffachuuf  yaaluun alatti waan “… kanatu furmaata…” jedhanii ittabdatan dhabuun keessa isaaniitti yaaddoo caalu uumeera. Dabballoon kun akka kanaan erga walitti waakkaachaa turanii booda, iccitii isaanii akka uummata bira hingeenye walkaksiisuun karaa sabaa himaalee harkaa isaanii jiruun akkuma baran waan sobaa dabarsuun uummata gowwomsuuf yaalaniiru. Karaa biraatiin, nama dugduuba dubbii kanaa qola keessaa baasee ilaaleef  qabsoon uummataa sadarkaa murteessaarra gahuu hubachiisa.

Gabaabumatti, yaaddoon kun dhimma duruu beekamuufi eegamu fakkaatullee, nama jiruu saba Oromoo jijjiiruuf qabsootti jiru tokkoof ergaa guddaa qabaata. Qabsoon Oromoo galma isaatti dhiyaachuu eera. Dubbiin dubbii lukkuufi risaa sana fakkataa. Har’a uummanni jara soba isaanii wajjin kosii keessatti dhiisee karaa isaaf malu qabatee fagaateera. Lafa lamuu jaraan walitti deebi’uu hindandeenye qaqqabeera. Kanaaf ammoo qaawwa ofii suphachaa, wiirtuu diinaa waraanuufi uummata diina harkaa bahee jiru caalatti humneessanii qabsoo galmaan gahuuf seenaan hiree seenaa qabu nu harkaan geesseetti.. Kuni bu’aa qabsoo bara dheeraati. Amma Qabsoo kanatti xumura gochuu gaafata. Kanaaf, akkuman duraan jedhe, humnaafi tooftaa yeroon gaafatu qindeeffachuun  humnafi saffisa dabalatanii fuulduratti furga’uuf amma yeroon murteessaa ta’eera. Kun dhimma keenya. Dhimma keenyaaf ammoo nutuu geenya!!

Injifannoon Uummata Oromoof!!

Attack on Indian-owned farm in Ethiopia turns spotlight on land policy

All land in Ethiopia belongs to the state, giving the government unusual leverage in its dealings with local communities

Nov 5, 2013, India (The Hindu) — A violent attack on a tea plantation leased by Indian-owned Verdanta Harvest Plc, a subsidiary of the Noida-based Lucky Group, has renewed concerns over Ethiopia’s policy of leasing out large tracts of land to international investors.

On October 20, unidentified individuals destroyed buildings and machinery worth approximately $140,000, according to Verdanta officials.

Media reported that locals set the plantation on fire “on account of destroying the rich forest resources”, a claim denied by the company.

Community leaders in Gambella did not comment on the attack, but rights groups have warned that a policy of leasing out 42 per cent of Gambella’s land and resettling over 30,000 agro-pastoral communities is the likely cause of the unrest.

In 2011, for instance, armed gunmen killed five workers on a farm developed by a Saudi Arabian company.

All land in Ethiopia belongs to the state, giving the government unusual leverage in its dealings with local communities.

Rights groups like the Oakland Institute claim Indian companies have acquired 6,28,000 hectares of agricultural land under a government programme to lease 3.6 million hectares for export-oriented agriculture.

Disagreements

More than half the land deals, worth an estimated 3,65,000 hectares, have since fallen through due to disagreements among investors, communities and the various levels of government.

Verdanta said its land was acquired by the government in the 1980s. The attack comes after nearly three years of discord with local officials and some sections of the community.

In 2010, Verdanta signed an agreement for 3,012 hectares in the hope of harvesting 500 hectares of tea by 2015. Thus far only 169 hectares have been cleared and 70 hectares planted.

“We met the local officials and found their expectations were a little too high. So we asked for another piece of land,” said Manojeet Barkataky, General Manager for Verdanta Harvests, explaining the community had demanded roads, electrification, schools and a hospital before the company began its project. “We said we will implement our CSR [corporate social responsibility] once the project begins.”

Nine months later, Mr. Barkataky said, the government claimed to have consulted the local community and urged the company to start work.

In February 2011, Ethiopian President Girma Woldegiorgis wrote to the Ministry of Agriculture, expressing concern that Verdanta had been allotted forestland, a claim denied by the government and the company.

When the federal government in Addis Ababa demarcated a plot for the company, its counterparts in Gambella issued a different map, reducing the plot by 327 hectares. An additional 80 hectares was earmarked for a cultural site revered by the community, but the federal government dismissed their claim. These competing claims over the size and scope of the project exacerbated the tension in the region.

“It is a total incompetence, inefficiency, and neglect on the part of the local government up to the federal government,” said Mr. Barkataky. “Why couldn’t the government finalise the boundary in the last three years?”

Displeasure

At a press conference last month, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn indicated his displeasure with the development of the agriculture sector. “Until now the progress is very slow,” he said. “It is not a problem with the investors, the problem is infrastructure. Our future plan is to engage heavily in infrastructure development.”

Verdanta has halted all work on its project until the government guarantees security for its operations.

Oromo Protest against the TPLF fundraising in Munich

http://www.youtube.com/v/WRDSQ9eHwO8?autohide=1&version=3&feature=share&autohide=1&attribution_tag=I9BwhRamGCjE0GLi5aeIxQ&showinfo=1&autoplay=1

Waamicha Oromoota Naannoo Toronto Qubatan Maraaf Kabajaa Yaddannoo FDG

Sadaasa/November 3, 2013 · Gadaa.com

Qabsaawaan Nikufa Qabsoon Itti Fufa

Guyyaa Yaadannoo FDG

Gyyaa kana agarsiini Aadaati fii Nyaanni Aadaatis nijira

Guyyaan: Sadaasa/November 09, 2013
Yeroon: 3:00 WB

Bakki Walgahii: 94A Kenhar Dr., Waajira Hawaasa Oromo Weston Fii Finch

Kottaa Haawaliin Gootota Keenya Yaaddanuu

Waamicha FDG Oslootti tahu haaroomsuu

Sababa : HD ABO Jaal Dawud Ibsaa irratti argamuu!!!

ABOni Kutaa Iskandinevia akkuma aadaa isaatti guyyaa FDG Sadaasa 9/ 2013 Magalaa Oslo, Norway akka kabajuu Fulbaana 16/ 2013 waamicha  dabarsuun isaa beekamaa dha. Ammas waamicha kana haaroomsun ilmaan Oromoo kutaa Iskandinevia fi Awurophaa bakka addaa addaatti argamtan akkasuma biyyoota Awuroophaa ala ta’an keessa jiraattan akka irratti argamtan kabajaan isin afeerra.  Akkuma kanan dura ibsaa bahe keessatti beeksifne qophii seminaaraa fi galgaala aadaa qabna. Seminaarri keenyas kan itti xiyyeeffatu akeeka gotooti ilmaan Oromoo qabsoo keessatti bifa addaa addaan bakka adda addaatti  irratti wareegaman fiixaan baasuuf tumsa barbaachisu gochuuf oromoo irraa maaltu akka eegamu mari’achuuf gahee keenya gumaachuu taha. Mata dureen seminaaraa akka armaan gadii ti.

1. Haala Qabsoon bilisummaa Oromoo keessa jiruu fi Oromoo irraa maaltu eegama
2. FDG tooftaa qabsoo keessaa isa tokkoo tahee, itti milkaa’uuf haalli guutamuu qaban maali?
3. Mannii hidhaa Waayyaanee afaan Oromoo dubbata, Oromoo hidhuun  oromoo jiilchee qabsoo bilisummaa dhiisisaa?
4. Qooda shamarran Oromoo qabsoo hidhannoo keessatti

Qophii FDG, 2013 kana irratti HD. ABO Jaal Dawud Ibsaa qamaan irratti argamuun ibsaa haala qabsoon ABOnni geeggefamu latu.

Akkuma aadaa turettis qophii galgala aadaa guyyaa kana ni jiraata.

Artistoota: Galagala aadaa irratti bo’aarsuuf qophii irra jiran artistoota oromoo bebbeekamoon akka armaan gadii ti

1. Ilfinesh Qannoo
2. Hayiluu Kitaabaa
3. Hawwii H. Yesuus
4. Daangaa H. Yesuus
5. Yohaannis Abaatee
6. Asaantii Hajii

Bakki walgahii Galma:
Det Chilenske kulturhus.
Veitvetvn  8, Oslo

Guyyaa: Sadasaa 09/2013.

Akkaataa bakka galmaa gahan: Oslo Center bus 31 Grorud jedhu fudhattanii bakka Veitvet jedhutti buutu.
Baabura (Metro) lakkoobsa shan Vestli jedhu- gara bahaatti (East bound) qabatanii Veitvet buutu

Yeroo Sa’aa 11:00 akka Oslootti

Koree qindeessittu.

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Oromo Demonstration in Bergen Oktober 26,2013

http://www.youtube.com/v/0fA5DMJjWkY?version=3&autohide=1&showinfo=1&autohide=1&autoplay=1&feature=share&attribution_tag=ddMpIP24V_wH9x8fA2IiOQ