Unity for Human Rights and Democracy Toronto ዩኒቲ(አንድነት)ለሰብአዊ መብትና ዲሞክራሲ ቶሮንቶ

SOCEPP Canada condemns the conviction of journalists & Leaders of the Opposition

2012-01-23T19:44:00.000-05:00

SOCEPP Canada condemns the conviction of journalists & Leaders of the Opposition
On January 19, 2012, the EPRDF/TPLF controlled Federal High Court in Ethiopia convicted three Ethiopian journalists, an opposition leader and a fifth person under the so-called an anti-terrorism law. The journalists are Wubshet Taye Abebe of the now-closed weekly newspaper – Awramba Times, Reeyot Alemu Gobebo of the weekly newspaper – Feteh, and Elias Kifle, editor of the online Ethiopian Review (tried in absentia), an opposition leader, Zerihun Gebre-Egziabher Tadesse of the Ethiopian National Democratic Party, and a woman named Hirut Kifle Woldeyesus.
SOCEPP Canada maintains that the continued incarceration and conviction of leaders of the opposition, journalists and citizens is a travesty of justice that must be condemned in the strongest possible way.
As we have repeatedly reported in the past, the TPLF/EPRDF regime has used the justice system to silence independent voices, political opponents and free media. To name a few of the many subjected to the ruling junta’s abuse of human rights include: the renowned surgeon and founder of the AAPO – Prof. Asrat Woldeyes, the former leader of the opposition UDJ – Betrukan Mideksa, the former leader of the Ethiopian Teachers’ Association – Dr Taye Woldesemayat, and Mr . Abera Yemane Ab – leadership member of COEDF.
This latest travesty only shows that even after 20 years of mockery of justice, the ruling TPLF/ EPRDF has no intention of reforming the justice system, introduce professionalism within the legal system and within its law enforcement agencies. Such behavior is unacceptable both to the Ethiopian public and the international community.
The ruling group continues to use all means at its disposal to stifle the justice system hoping this would go unnoticed. However, more and more Ethiopians are showing the willingness to pay the highest sacrifice to secure their dignity and basic human rights. As witnessed on November 11, 2011, a teacher by the name Yenesew Gebre, of Waka, Southern Ethiopia, burnt himself to death in protest. As one of the greatest leaders in Africa – Nelson Mandela once said, “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires”. That is exactly what Ethiopians have and continue to be doing the last so many years.
We would like to remind the rulers in Ethiopia that repression only begets resistance. The way forward is to respect human rights engage in a genuine reconciliation to bring a lasting peace in the country and submit to the people’s verdict. Therefore, we call upon the ruling EPRDF/TPLF regime to immediately drop the case, release the defendants and refrain from further violation.
We call upon the government of Canada and the opposition parties and other donor governments to closely review the escalating repression in Ethiopia and use their influence to bring a lasting peace in that country.
SOCEPP Canada: www.humanrightsethiopia.com

በኦሮሚያና በሶማሊ ክልሎች በመጪዎቹ ስድስት ወራት ከፍተኛ የምግብ እርዳታ ያስፈልጋል ተባለ

2012-01-21T18:41:00.000-05:00

ጥር 12 ቀን 2004 ዓ/ም

የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት በሚቀጥሉት ስድስት ወራት ከሶስት ሚሊዮን በላይ የሚሆን ህዝብ አስቸኳይ የምግብ እርዳታ ያስፈልገዋል ብሎአል። የአለማቀፍ የእርዳታ ድርጅቶች በበኩላቸው መንግስት አሁንም የተረጂዎችን ቁጥር ቀንሶ አቅርቧል ይላሉ።
የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ያወጣው ቅድመ ማስጠንቀቂያ አሀዝ እንደሚያሳየው በመጪዎቹ ስድስት ወራት ከ365 ሜትሪክ ቶን በላይ የምግብ እርዳታ የሚያስፈልግ ሲሆን፣ አብዛኛው በኦሮሚያ እና በሶማሊ ክልሎች የሚከፋፋል ነው ብሎአል።
ከተረጅዎች ውስጥ 34 በመቶው በሶማሊ ፣ 33 በመቶ ደግሞ በኦሮሚያ እንደሚገኙ ታውቋል። ከዚህ ቀደም ከፍተኛ የተረጅዎች ቁጥር በነበረው የትግራይ ክልል በአሁኑ ጊዜ ቁጥሩ በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ አሽቆልቁሎአል። በአማራ ክልል ደግሞ በፊት ከነበረው የተረጅዎች ቁጥር ጋር ሲተያይ በአሁኑ መረጃ ብዙም ለውጥ አልታየም።
የኦሮሚያ ክልል ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ በድርቅ እየተጠቃ እና የተረጅዎች ቁጥር እጨመረ መምጣቱ ከዚህ ቀደም የነበረውን የረሀብ ተጠቂ ጂኦግራፊያዊ አቀማመጥ እየቀየረው መምጣቱን የሚያመልክት መሆኑን መረጃውን ያቀበሉት የግብርና ባለሙያ ተናግረዋል።
በግብርና ምርቶች ዋጋ ጭማሪ ሲታይ ደቡብ ክልል ፣ ኦሮሚያና ሶማሊ ከአንድ እስከ ሶስት ያሉት ደረጃዎችን መያዛቸውን መረጃዎች ያሳያሉ። የምግብ ዋጋ አነስተኛ ጭማሪ የታየ ሲሆን፣ በአዲስ አበባም ጭማሪው ቢኖርም እንደ ደቡብና ኦሮሚያ የከፋ አይደለም።
ኢትዮጵያ መንግስት አዲስ ያቀረበው የተረጅዎች ቁጥር የአለማቀፍ የግብረሰናይ ድርጅቶች እንዳልተቀበሉት ተውቋል። የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት 11 በመቶ የኢኮኖሚ እድገት ፕሮፓጋንዳ የበርካታ ንጹሀን ዜጎችን ህይወት አደጋ ላይ እየጣለው ነው።
ሴቭ ዘ ችልደርንና ኦክስፋም ባወጡት መረጃ የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት በረሀብ የተጎዱ ዜጎቹን አሀዝ አሳንሶ በማቅረቡ በሺ የሚቆጠሩ ሰዎች ህይወት አልፎአል ሲሉ በዚህ ሳምንት ባወጡት መግለጫ መተቸታቸው ይታወሳል።
በኢትዮጵያ፣ ኬንያና ሶማሊ ባለፈው አመት በተከሰተው ረሀብ ከ50 እስከ 100 ሺ የሚጠጋ ህዝብ ማለቁን ድርጅቶቹ አስታውቀዋል።
የመለስ መንግስት ከአምስት አመታት በፊት ረሀብ ታሪክ ይሆናል፣ ከ17 አመታት በፊት ደግሞ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ በቀን ሶስት ጊዜ እንዲበላ እናደርገዋለን ማለቱ ይታወሳል።
ይሁን እንጅ ለኢሳት የሚደርሱት መረጃዎች እንደሚያሳ ት በደቡብ፣ በኦሮሚያና በሶማሊ አሁንም ከፍተኛ ረሀብ ገብቷል።
በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ በአለም ባንክንና በሌሎችም ለጋሽ ድርጅቶች በሚሰፈርላቸው ስንዴ ብቻ የሚኖሩ ፣ ሴፍቲኔት በሚባለው ፕሮግራም የታቀፉ 7 ሚሊዮን ዜጎች አሉ።

Ethiopia: Forced Relocations Bring Hunger, Hardship

2012-01-18T19:08:00.000-05:00

Donor Funds Should Not Facilitate Abuse of Indigenous Groups

(London) – The Ethiopian government under its “villagization” program is forcibly relocating approximately 70,000 indigenous people from the western Gambella region to new villages that lack adequate food, farmland, healthcare, and educational facilities, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. State security forces have repeatedly threatened, assaulted, and arbitrarily arrested villagers who resist the transfers.

The report, “‘Waiting Here for Death’: Forced Displacement and ‘Villagization’ in Ethiopia’s Gambella Region,” examines the first year of Gambella’s villagization program. It details the involuntary nature of the transfers, the loss of livelihoods, the deteriorating food situation, and ongoing abuses by the armed forces against the affected people. Many of the areas from which people are being moved are slated for leasing by the government for commercial agricultural development.

“The Ethiopian government’s villagization program is not improving access to services for Gambella’s indigenous people, but is instead undermining their livelihoods and food security,” said Jan Egeland, Europe director at Human Rights Watch. “The government should suspend the program until it can ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place and that people have been properly consulted and compensated for the loss of their land.”

The government says the “villagization” program is designed to provide “access to basic socioeconomic infrastructures” to the people it relocates and to bring “socioeconomic & cultural transformation of the people.” But despite pledges to provide suitable compensation, the government has provided insufficient resources to sustain people in the new villages, Human Rights Watch said.

The residents of Gambella, mainly indigenous Anuak and Nuer, have never had formal title to the land they have lived on and used. The government often claims that the areas are “uninhabited” or “under-utilized.” That claim enables the government to bypass constitutional provisions and laws that would protect these populations from being relocated.

The report is based on more than 100 interviews in Ethiopia in May and June 2011, and at the Ifo refugee camp in Dadaab and Nairobi, Kenya, where many Gambellans have fled.

“My father was beaten for refusing to go along [to the new village] with some other elders,” a former villager told Human Rights Watch. “He said, ‘I was born here – my children were born here – I am too old to move so I will stay.’ He was beaten by the army with sticks and the butt of a gun. He had to be taken to hospital. He died because of the beating – he just became weaker and weaker.”

The Villagization Program
The Ethiopian government is planning to resettle 1.5 million people by 2013 in four regions: Gambella, Afar, Somali, and Benishangul-Gumuz. Relocations started in 2010 in Gambella, and approximately 70,000 people there were scheduled to be moved by the end of 2011. Under the Gambella Peoples’ National Regional State Government Plan, 45,000 households are to be moved during the three-year program. The plan pledges to provide infrastructure for the new villages and assistance to ensure alternative livelihoods. The plan also states that the movements are to be voluntary.

Instead of improved access to government services, however, new villages often go without them altogether. The first round of forced relocations occurred at the worst possible time of year – the beginning of the harvest – and many of the areas to which people were moved are dry with poor-quality soil. The nearby land needs to be cleared, and agricultural assistance – seeds and fertilizers – has not been provided. The government failure to provide food assistance for relocated people has caused endemic hunger and cases of starvation.

Human Rights Watch’s research showed that the forced relocation policy is disrupting a delicate balance of survival for many in the region. Livelihoods and food security in Gambella are precarious. Pastoralists are being forced to abandon their cattle-based livelihoods in favor of settled cultivation. Shifting cultivators – farmers who move from one location to another over the years – are being required to grow crops in a single location, which risks depleting their soil of vital nutrients. In the absence of meaningful infrastructural support and regular supplies of food aid, the changes for both populations may have life-threatening consequences, Human Rights Watch said.

The resident of one new village told Human Rights Watch: “We expect major starvation next year because they did not clear in time. If they [the government] cleared [the land] we would have food next year but now we have no means for food.”

Commercial Land Investment
The villagization program is taking place in areas where significant land investment is planned or occurring. The Ethiopian government has consistently denied that the resettlement of people in Gambella is connected to the leasing of large areas of land for commercial agriculture, but villagers have been told by government officials that this is an underlying reason for their displacement. Former local government officials confirmed these allegations to Human Rights Watch.

One farmer told Human Rights Watch that during the government’s initial meeting with his village, government officials told them: “We will invite investors who will grow cash crops. You do not use the land well. It is lying idle.”

“We want you to be clear that the government brought us here… to die... right here,” one elder told Human Rights Watch. “We want the world to hear that government brought the Anuak people here to die. They brought us no food, they gave away our land to the foreigners so we can’t even move back. On all sides the land is given away, so we will die here in one place.”

Mass displacement to make way for commercial agriculture in the absence of a proper legal process contravenes Ethiopia’s constitution and violates the rights of indigenous peoples under international law.

From 2008 through January 2011, Ethiopia leased out at least 3.6 million hectares of land, an area the size of the Netherlands. An additional 2.1 million hectares of land is available through the federal government’s land bank for agricultural investment. In Gambella, 42 percent of the total land area is either being marketed for lease to investors or has already been awarded to investors, according to government figures. Many of the areas that have been moved for villagization are within areas slated for commercial agricultural investment.

“The villagization program is being undertaken in the exact same areas of Ethiopia that the government is leasing to foreign investors for large-scale commercial agricultural operations,” Egeland said. “This raises suspicions about the underlying motives of the villagization program.”

Role of Foreign Donors
Foreign donors to Ethiopia, including the United Kingdom, United States, World Bank, and European Union, assert that they have no direct involvement in the villagization programs. However, the multi-donor Protection of Basic Services (PBS) program subsidizes basic services – health, education, agriculture, roads, and water – and local government salaries in all districts in the country, including areas where new villages are being constructed and where the main activity of local governments is moving people.

As a result of their potential responsibilities and liabilities, donors have undertaken assessments of the villagization program in Gambella and in Benishangul-Gumuz and determined that the relocations were voluntary. Human Rights Watch’s field-based research and interviews with residents, however, indicates that the moves have been coerced.

International donors should ensure that they are not providing support for forced displacement or facilitating rights violations in the name of development, Human Rights Watch said. They should press Ethiopia to live up to its responsibilities under Ethiopian and international law, namely to provide communities with genuine consultation on the villagization process, ensure that the relocation of indigenous people is voluntary, compensate them appropriately, prevent human rights violations during and after any relocation, and prosecute those implicated in abuses. Donors should also seek to ensure that the government meets its obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill the economic and social rights of the people in new villages.

“It seems that the donor money is being used, at least indirectly, to fund the villagization program,” Egeland said. “Donors have a responsibility to ensure that their assistance does not facilitate forced displacement and associated violations.”

Selected Accounts from “Waiting Here for Death”

“We were told, ‘If somebody refuses, the government will take action’ – so the people went to the new village – by force.”
–Villager in Abobo woreda (district), May 2011

“Farmers in our woreda did not want to go. The woreda reported to the region that farmers are refusing to accept. The governor asked the woreda chairman to investigate. He did – ‘Yes, they are resisting. What shall we do?’ he asked the governor. The governor told him that five development agents should be suspended from their job, and that he would bring in the soldiers. So that is what happened.”
–Former woreda civil servant, June 2011

“The government is killing our people through starvation and hunger. It is better to attack us in one place than just waiting here together to die. If you attack us, some of us could run, and some could survive. But this, we are dying here with our children. Government workers get this salary, but we are just waiting here for death.”
–Elder in recently relocated village, Abobo woreda, May 2011

“There is a psychological impact on children. No learning is happening. There was a school in the old village, here there is none. No one is going to school now, as they are afraid. Who will protect them going to the old village? Even the children themselves are refusing to go.”
–Anuak woman from new village discussing the lack of promised school in Abobo woreda, May 2011

Canada’s aid to Ethiopia bankrolling repression, says jailed Canadian’s lawyer

2011-12-18T17:17:00.000-05:00

Toronto Star December 18, 2011
Maintaining that Canadian aid is supporting repression in Ethiopia, human rights lawyer Lorne Waldman has filed an application in Federal Court to block it.
In his application, he is asking that the Canadian government be prohibited from contributing any more development dollars to the African nation to Ethiopia, through the World Bank or the United Nations Development Program.
The application is a last-ditch effort to win the freedom of Bashir Makhtal, a Canadian sentenced in 2009 to life in prison in Ethiopia, the third largest recipient of Canadian official development assistance.
In 2009-2010 Canada provided $168.54 million in development and humanitarian aid to Ethiopia, according to the Canadian International Development Agency’s own reports.
The request for the prohibition of further aid comes on the heels of repeated efforts to win the freedom of Makhtal, a Toronto man who was rendered illegally from Kenya to Ethiopia in January, 2007, kept in prison without access to a lawyer or Canadian consular officials for 18 months, then sentenced to life in prison on terrorism charges.
Makhtal, a former Toronto businessman, had returned to Africa in 2002 to run a used clothing business out of Djibouti, a tiny country between Ethiopia and Somalia on the Horn of Africa. He has been in prison since Dec. 30, 2006, when he was stopped at the Somalia-Kenya border.
The suit states Makhtal “was wrongly accused by the Ethiopian government and was found guilty of being a member of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, an organization seeking independence from Ethiopia of the oil-rich Ogaden region.”
Makhtal has said repeatedly that he does not belong to the organization. His only tie to the organization is a familial one, he has said. His grandfather was one of the co-founders.
Both Makhtal’s family and John Baird, minister of foreign affairs, have repeatedly attested to his innocence. Baird visited Makhtal in prison in Ethiopia and told the family he hoped to win his freedom. There was talk of amnesty from the Ethiopian government, but so far Makhtal remains behind bars in an Ethiopian jail.
“We’re now approaching the 5th anniversary of Bashir’s detention,” Waldman said in an interview with the Star. “We don’t doubt the sincerity of Mr. Baird’s efforts. We had high expectations . . . . But we have no choice but to take action. There have been many times when our hopes have been raised in expectation something would happen, but at this point there is absolutely no indication of any movement on these matters.”
Waldman is arguing in the application that Canada’s assistance program to Ethiopia to fund a variety of national programs is inconsistent with section 4(1) of the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act.
That clause stipulates “official development assistance may be provided only if the competent minister is of the opinion that it (a) contributes to poverty reduction; (b) takes into account the perspectives of the poor; and (c) is consistent with international human right standards.”
Waldman told the Star in an interview that the Canadian government is in contravention of the act because the money Canada is contributing to Ethiopia is being used as “a tool of repression,” rather than uplifting Ethiopian society generally.
Ethiopia has been ruled since 1991 by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front which has been “repeatedly accused of repression and breaching international human rights,” the application said.
According to Waldman’s application, in the U.S. State Department 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on Ethiopia there is a long list of human rights abuses, including “unlawful killings, torture, beating, and abuse and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, especially special police and local militias which took aggressive or violent action with evident impunity in numerous instances.”
As well, the U.S. report points to “poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of suspected sympathizers or members of opposition or insurgent groups; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights, including illegal searches, use of excessive force by security services in counterinsurgency operations.”
Waldman’s application also cites a 2011 Human Rights Watch World Report, saying “hundreds of Ethiopians have been arbitrarily arrested and detained and sometimes subjected to torture and other ill treatments by the Government.”
In October 2010, Human Rights Watch issued a report that stated Ethiopia is using international development assistance for state repression, discrimination and violations of civil and political rights. The report pointed to “serious concerns with respect to national programs, funded by CIDA and other international donors.”
Waldman argues that Canadian official assistance, as directed through the World Bank and the UNDP to Ethiopia, is “bankrolling the Ethiopian government’s state repression, and perpetuates the politicized and discriminatory access to government services, including the judiciary.”
“My client Bashir Makhtal is a victim of the repression of this regime,” Waldman said. “In his particular case the Ethiopian judiciary played a role in his imprisonment. It is not impartial and is in the control of the ruling party of Ethiopia. Some of the money from Canada being channeled through the World Bank goes to back government services which would go back to the justice system — the instrument of repression that was used to sentence Mr. Makhtal to life in prison as a result of an unfair trial. It was a kangaroo court and all the reports of the trial support that.
“The Ethiopian government could end the lawsuit tomorrow if they release Bashir,” Waldman said.

Ethiopia: Stop Using Anti-Terror Law to Stifle Peaceful Dissent

2011-11-21T21:03:00.000-05:00

Diplomats Should Systematically Monitor Terrorism Trials

November 21, 2011

For more HRW reporting on Ethiopia

The anti-terror law itself is a huge problem. The international community, especially the European Union, United States, and United Kingdom, should ask the Ethiopian government hard questions about why it is using this law to crack down on peaceful independent voices.

Rona Peligal, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch

(Nairobi) – The Ethiopian government should cease using its overly broad anti-terrorism law against journalists and peaceful political activists, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today.

On November 23, 2011, the trial of 24 people charged with terrorism offenses on November 10 will continue. Those charged include six journalists and two members of the opposition Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party. Sixteen of the 24 are being tried in absentia. Several other terrorism trials of journalists and opposition activists are ongoing.

“The Ethiopian government is exploiting its vaguely worded anti-terror law to crush peaceful dissent,” said Rona Peligal, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

The Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of 2009 includes an overbroad and vague definition of terrorist acts and a definition of “encouragement of terrorism” that makes the publication of statements “likely to be understood as encouraging terrorist acts” punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison. These provisions mean that critics of government such as journalists and political opponents could be charged for encouraging terrorism, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said.

The organizations urged the Ethiopian government to facilitate systematic monitoring of the trials by the diplomatic community. The times and locations of hearings have been altered at the last minute at least twice during the ongoing trials. The government should ensure that key information, including location and time of hearings, is available to the public.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also urged diplomats stationed in Ethiopia to carry out systematic monitoring of the ongoing terrorism trials and the trials of members of the Oromo political opposition arrested during 2011. This is particularly important in the absence of independent human rights organizations, which the Ethiopian government has effectively banned. While diplomatic representatives have attended several remand hearings and trial sessions of terrorism cases, none were apparently present at the November 10 confirmation of charges hearing, following a last-minute change of location, nor at the subsequent hearing on November 15.

Ethiopia’s foreign partners closely followed a series of trials from 2005 to 2007, in which treason charges were brought following contested elections. The Council of the European Union appointed a full-time trial observer, although the findings of its report were never made public. EU embassy staff monitored these trials on a rotating basis, and a US embassy staff member was also present.

“Diplomats’ systematic monitoring of these trials is essential,” said Michelle Kagari, deputy director for Africa at Amnesty International. “Without the presence of local civil society, diplomats can play a vital role in witnessing whether or not the suspects’ right to a fair trial is respected.”

None of the defendants detained and charged under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation during 2011 had access to a lawyer during the pre-trial period. Three of those charged have complained in court of mistreatment in detention.

Public comments by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the government spokesman, Shimeles Kemal, have undermined the defendants’ presumption of innocence, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said. Their comments might also exert political pressure on the courts in a country where the judiciary lacks independence.

Since June 2011, the Ethiopian government has charged at least 33 people under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of 2009.

In addition, in 2011, at least 98 members of the two main Oromo political opposition parties, the Oromo Federal Democratic Movement (OFDM) and the Oromo People’s Congress (OPC), have been arrested and charged under the Criminal Code on the basis of alleged involvement with the Oromo Liberation Front, a banned rebel group.

Seven of the people charged on November 10 had previously been charged during the trials that followed the 2005 elections. All had been given presidential pardon. Three of the seven are among the defendants who are now in custody, two others fled the country after their earlier release, and two were already living in exile when they were charged in the earlier cases.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have long called for the anti-terrorism law to be amended to bring it into line with Ethiopia’s domestic and international legal obligations.

“The anti-terror law itself is a huge problem,” Peligal said. “The international community, especially the European Union, United States, and United Kingdom, should ask the Ethiopian government hard questions about why it is using this law to crack down on peaceful independent voices.”

2011-11-17T19:27:00.000-05:00

PRESS RELEASE

We, members of Unity for Human Rights and Democracy Toronto are shocked to hear of the death of Yenesew Gebre, a 29-nine year old Ethiopian teacher from southwest Ethiopia who set himself on fire on Friday, November 11, and died on Monday November 14 in the town of Dawro, Waka, Southern Ethiopia, after confronting government officials at a public meeting.

It gives heartbreaking testimony to the unbearable pain he and others have suffered under the brutal and oppressive rule of the Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front under the leadership of Meles Zenawi for the past 20 years. We strongly believe every life is a God-given gift and one life lost is one too many. As advocates of a peaceful struggle for democracy and justice, this stands for upholding the human and civil rights of all people regardless of ethnicity or other differences. When one Ethiopian is hurt, we are all hurt.

Mr. Yenesew Gebre is not just some unknown Ethiopian; he is one of us and has a name. He is the son, brother, uncle, best friend, teacher or valued colleague of others who also have names. We are sure his absence in this world will be deeply grieved by all of them and our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time. He is part of our greater Ethiopian family and together, we mourn the loss of his life. He is one of the many Ethiopians who have been deprived of his life.

The Canadian government has spent hundreds of millions of Canadian tax payers’ money supporting the regime in Ethiopia. Particularly, in the past decade millions of dollars were spent to revitalize the justice system in Ethiopia, which today is in total collapse. The regime of Meles Zenawi, uses the justice system as a tool to intimidate political opponents. Political motivated trials in the past also indicate that, the judiciary in Ethiopia is neither independent nor impartial. In the last twenty years no person accused of an offence in relation to his political activities has received a favourable ruling. Simply put, the justice system is manipulated controlled and directed by the regime.

According to Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) sources, Yenesew was very angry at the injustice the people were subjected at the hands of ruling party officials. It also appears that Yenesew had been fired from his teaching position due to his political views and unswerving stand against human rights violations, tyranny and oppression. As Canadians it hurts us a lot to see our government supporting and more, sending Canadian Tax payer’s money to a dictator that does not respect basic Human rights.

We, members of Unity for Human Rights and Democracy, demand Canada review, more clearly stop its financial support to the regime of Mr.Mels Zenaw, and raise the issue of an immediate political reform in Ethiopia.

Our condolence goes to the family and friends to Yenesew Gebre.

Yousuf Omer

President

November 18, 2011

The Regime of Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia is incarcerating opposition party leaders, and Democracy activist, using the draconian anti-terrorist law

2011-09-16T22:02:00.000-04:00

The Honorable John Baird

Minister of Foreign Affairs

125 Sussex Drive

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0G2

September, 17, 2011

Dear Minister Baird

Re: The Regime of Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia is incarcerating opposition party leaders, and Democracy activist, using the draconian anti-terrorist law. The latest Victims are Legendary Ethiopian Film actor/comedian Debebe Eshetu, Journalist Eskender Nega.

We, members of Unity for Human Rights and Democracy Toronto, would like to bring to your attention the recent unjust imprisonment of leading political figures and journalist in Ethiopia under a false pretext of terrorism. The detained include two Swedish journalists and three local journalists, three prominent leaders of the largest opposition alliance “Mederk,” the famous actor, director a human right activist and alumni of York University Debebe Eshetu, Journalist Eskender Nega, Mr. Bekele Gerba, Mr. Olbana Lelisa, Mr. Amdualem Arageie and 29 other members of opposition parties. It should be recalled as you are very aware with the case of Mr. Bashir Makthal which he is still languishing in prison.

The draconian anti-terrorist law, under which Mr Eshetu and others are held, has been proclaimed since 2009. This law was opposed by the international and local human right organizations including the government of Canada. The legislation purposely employs wide vague and misleading definitions of terrorist and terrorism and is tailored to be used against any person the government targets for any other cause. For instance the legislation criminalized “thinking of supporting” an organization which the regime deems terrorist. Save as this instance, thinking unaccompanied by any manifest action has never been used as a sole element of a criminal offence in any other jurisdiction. The nature of the law and its recent application therefore strongly indicate that, the law is lest related to terrorism and is mainly aimed at suppression of decent.

Before the recent crackdown and following the proclamation of the draconian legislation the regime has organized seminars for all levels of the judiciary. During these seminars, judges were told in no uncertain terms, that the anti-terrorist law is to be enforced stringently with no lenience shown to any one accused under it. Similarly political motivated trials in the past also indicate that, the judiciary in Ethiopia is neither independent nor impartial. In the last twenty years no person accused of an offence in relation to his political activities has received a favorable ruling. Simply put, the justice system is manipulated controlled and directed by the regime.

These and many other particulars hence constrained us to conclude, Mr Eshetu and others will not be tried on facts and laws but have already been convicted by the regime and trials will only serve to give an air of legality to the sham process. Considering the above facts and circumstances and Canada’s unwavering support for democratic reforms and rule of law in Ethiopia we implore upon you and your good office to consider taking the following majors.

To express your concern to the regime of Mr. Meles Zenawi, officials and their diplomatic missions here in Canada.

To denounce the illegal detentions and inhuman treatment of prisoners and request their unconditional release.

To condition, Canada’s assistance on a meaningful democratic reforms that includes the opposition parties, and make a serious consideration withholding the assistance if the regime refuses to address these flagrant injustices.

Sincerely,

Yousuf Omer

President

2011-09-14T22:21:00.000-04:00

ADDIS ABABA - Security men on Wednesday arrested prominent Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega and opposition party leader Andualem Aragie. They were both taken to Makelawi Prison in handcuffs at different times in the afternoon, witnessed said.Eskinder and Andualem were earlier around 8:30 am seen conversing over coffee with two other UDJ members at a cafeteria near the opposition party's headquarters, a UDJ press release reported.

Acclaimed as a widely read journalist whose weekly columns appear on Ethiomedia.com on Fridays, Eskinder has been writing articles critical of the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi whose high-handed rule has often been denounced by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, among others. Andualem, a young, charismatic opposition leader whose oratorical skills shot him to prominence in the run-up to the overwhelmingly-rigged 2010 elections, had served nearly two years in prison following the ill-fated 2005 elections in which security forces killed at least 193 protesters.
Eskinder Nega, whose courage and unbending spirit is the envy of every opposition leader who would like to beat brutal thugs hands down, was also a prison inmate during the 2005 nationwide crackdown that led to the shutting down of the independent press, including three newspapers that Eskinder used to edit. He was held in solitary confinement for several months, and bears a dislocated shoulder due to torture. He is the husband of award-winning journalist Serkalem Fassil.
The government has targetted prominent journalists and opposition leaders as a pre-emptive strike at what observers say fears of public unrest due to an economic crisis compounded by an inflation that has soared over 40 percent in recent weeks.
Earlier last week, police arrested Debebe Eshetu, a veteran actor and opposition activist, and charged him under a new anti-terror law for having alleged ties to Ginbot Sebat, an opposition group outlawed in Ethiopia. Two opposition party officials and two journalists were also arrested under the anti-terror law, which human rights groups say is a smokescreen the government uses to crush dissent.

Toronto Declaration of Unity of Purpose Organizers | May 9, 2011

2011-05-09T21:36:00.000-04:00

Unity Is Power!
Regardless of our differences in language, culture or religion, all the panelists agree the power of unity. All also see the need for a united front against Meles’s tyranny and total economic domination of Ethiopia. The panellists saw the need for putting a stop to the Woyane-driven genocide being committed in places such as the Ogaden and Oromia. Furthermore, the panelists emphasized the need for a united front against Western indifference to what the Meles regime is doing in Ethiopia.

Agreed on the need to acknowledge the past, but also the need to forgive and move forward for the sake of Ethiopia's Unity.

In order to build unity within the disparate communities in Ethiopia, the panelists believe that the unity must be based on the restoration of the inalienable right for all Ethiopians to decide their own destiny.
The panelists believe that such unity could be achieved based on trust amongst the disparate communities. Such unity must also be enhanced through constant communication amongst the groups in order to guard against mistrust and suspicious that the Meles regime would certainly create. Finally the panelists emphasize the need for pooling resources to achieve the common objectives.
While the panelists were buoyed by the large crowd that attended in today’s gathering, they believe that our differences should be viewed as strength instead of a liability that Meles’s administration has made it and exploited it to its advantage.
Sincerely,
Alo Aydahis, Jawar Mohamed, Mohamed Hassan, Abebe Belew, and Obang Metho
May 7, 2011 Toronto, Canada

ቶሮንቶ በበቃ ተጠመቀች፤ ከተለያዩ ማህበረሰብ የተወጣጡ ኢትዮጵያዊያን የተሳካ ስብሰባ አካሄዱ

2011-05-08T21:32:00.000-04:00

በተክለሚካኤል አበበ

ቅዳሜ ሜይ 7 ቀን በካናዳ የንግድ ከተማ፡ ቶሮንቶ ከተለያዩ ማህበረሰብ የተወጣጡ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ተናጋሪዎችና ተሳታፊዎች የነበሩበት የተሳካ የበቃ ንቅናቄ ስብሰባ ተካሄደ። ተጋባዥ እንግዶቹም አብሮ የመስራትና የጋራ ዓላማን የሚያሳይ የአቋም መግለጫ አወጡ። በዚህ ስብሰባ ላይ በመቶዎች የሚቆጠሩ የኦጋዴን የአፋርና የኦሮሞ ብሄረሰብ አባላትና ሌሎች ኢትዮጵያዊያንም የተገኙ ሲሆን፡ በመጨረሻም፡ ኢትዮጵያ አንድ ነች፡ አንድነታችን ግን በተለያዩ ማህበረሰቦች የተገነባ አንድነት ነው፡ እንዲሁም በዚህች ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ የሰውነት የተፈጥሮ መብታችንን አስቀድሞ ማስከበር ከምንም በላይ ቅድሚያ የሚሰጠው ነገር ነው ሲሉ የአቋም መግለጫ አውጥተዋል።

በስብሰባው የመጀመሪያው ተናጋሪ የነበሩት፡ ከታላቁ የአፋር ብሄረሰብ የወጡት አቶ አሎ አይደሂስ፡ ሕወሀት/ኢህአዴግ በማሳ ውስጥ እንደበቀልና፡ እህሎቹን እንደሚያቀጭጭ አንድ አላስፈላጊ ዛፍ ነው ሲሉ መስለውት፡ አንድ ላይ አይቀመጡም፡ አይወያዩም፡ ብሎ ያስቀመጠን ተቃዋሚዎች ዛሬ ግን ባንድ ላይ መሰብሰባችን እጅግ እንዳስደሰታቸውና ወደፊትም መቀጠል እንዳለባቸው ተናግረዋል። በመጨረሻም ይህ ዛፍ መርዘኛ ስለሆነና እህሎቹን ስላቀጨጫቸው ከስሩ ለመነቀልና በአገራችን ፍትህና ርትእ ለማስፈን አብረን መስራት እንዳለብን አሳስበው ንግራቸውን ደምድመዋል።
ሁለተኛው ተናጋሪ ከኦጋዴን ማህበረሰብ የወጡት አቶ መሀመድ ሀሰን፡ እድሜ ልካችንን በማይረቡ ነገሮች ስንጨቃጨቅ ከምንኖር ይልቅ፡ የቋንቋ አንድነት፡ የሀይማኖት አንድነት፡ የአስተሳሰብ አንድነት፡ ሰይሆን የ“የምክንያት ወይንም የአላማ አንድነት (Unity of Purpose)” አንድነት ፈጥረን፡ አገራችንን እያጠፋ ያለውን ስርአት ማስወገድ አለብን ብለዋል። ሕወሀት/ኢህአዴግ ላለፉት አመታት በተለይም በኦጋዴን አካባቢ ከፍተኛ የሆነ እልቂት ሲፈጽም ገና ለገና ተገንጣይ ቡድኖች ናቸው ብሎ በማሰብና በመፍራት፡ በውጭ የምንገኝ ኢትዮጵያዊያን በሙሉ በኦጋዴን የተፈጸመውን የዘር ማጥፋት ወንጀል ተቃውመን በአንድነት አለመውጣታችን እጅግ እንደጎዳን ገልጸው፡ አሁንም ወያኔ ለምእራባዊያን የሚሸጠውን የፈጠራ ፖለቲካ ተባብረን ካልደመሰስነው በስተቀር፡ ርስ በርሳችን ስንባላ ያቺ የምንወዳት አገር ልትጠፋ እንደምንችል አሳስቦ፡ የጋራ ዓላማ ይዘን እንድንንቀሳቀስ አሳስቧል።
ሶስተኛ ተናጋሪ የሆነው አቶ አበበ በለውም፡ አሁን የስራ ጊዜ ነው፡ ጠላቶቻችን እያንዳንዱን ሰዓት አፈናም ይሁን ዝርፊያ በስራ ያሳልፉታል፡ እኛ ግን እስካሁን ከወሬ ደረጃ እንዳላለፍን ገልጾ፡ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ያንዱ ብሄር ችግር የዚያ ብሄር ብቻ ሳይሆን የሁሉም ኢትዮጵያዊ እንደሆነ በማሳሰብ የአብሮ መስራትን አስፈላጊነት ገልጿል።
አራተኛው ተናጋሪ ወጣት ጃዋር መሀመድ ሲሆን፡ ወጣት ጃዋር፡ በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ዴሞክራሲን በማስፈን፡ የመፈረካከስ አደጋን ለማቆም ህዝቡና ተቃዋሚ ፖለቲከኞች ማድረግ ስለሚገባቸው ነገሮች ተናግሯል። ጃዋር፡ አሁን ባለው ሁኔታ ተቃዋሚ ፖለቲከኞች ህዝቡን ቀድመው መሄድና ማስተባበር ካልቻሉ፡ ህዝቡ ራሱ ቀድሞ በመተባበርና አብሮ በመስራት፡ በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ የፍትህና ስርአት ለውጥ እንዲመጣ፡ እንዲተጋ አሳስቧል። አሁን ባለው ሁኔታ ፖለቲከኞች ደጋፊ እናጣለን በሚል ፍራቻ የተነሳ ተፈራርተውና ተራርቀው እንደሚገኙ ገልጾ፡ ነገር ግን በመተማመንና በመተባበር ለመስራት፡ የአንድነትም ይሁን የነጻነት አራማጆች፡ ጽንፈኛነታቸውን ትተው ወደመሀል በመምጣት ነገሮችን አስታርቀው የመሄድ ባህል እንዲያዳብሩ ግድ እንደሚል ተናግሯል።
በመጨረሻም አቶ ኦባንግ ከራሱም ልምድና ከአገራችን ወቅታዊ ሁኔታ አንጻር ሰፊ ማብራሪያ አሰምቶ፡ ሁላችንም ነጻ ካልወጣን አንዳችንም ነጻ እንደማንወጣ፡ ከብሄራችንም በፊት ሰውነታችን መቅደም እንዳበት አሳስቦ የአብሮ መስራትን አስፈላጊነት አበክሮ ገልጿል። አቶ ኦባንግ ጠላታችን ይሄ ብሄር ወይንማ ያኛው ብሄር ሳይሆን፡ ስርአት እንደሆነ ገልጾ፡ ያንን ስርአት ለመጣል እንድንታገል አደራ ብሏል።
በመጨረሻም “አንድነት ሀይል ነው” በሚል መፈክር የተጀመረው ስብሰባ፡ አምስቱም ተናጋሪዎች በጋራ ባወጡት “አንድነት ሀይል ነው” እንዲሁም መለያየት በቃ መግለጫ ተጠናቋል። በዚህ ስብሰባ ላይ ከታየው የህዝብ ስብጥር በተጨማሪ፡ የስብሰባው አስተባባሪና የመድረክ መሪ አወያይዋ፡ ወይዘሮ ፋሲካ ወልደሰንበት አስደናቂና አስደሳች የአወያይ ሚና ተጫውታለች። ተመሳሳይ ስብሰባና የበቃ እንቅስቃሴ በሚቀጥለው ሳምንትም የሚቀጥል ሲሆን፡ ዶ/ር ወንድሙ መኮንን፡ ዶ/ር ቡሻ ታአና አቶ መስፍን ተፈራ ንግግር በቶሮንቶ እንደሚያደርጉ ታውቋል።

DEMONSTRATION AGAINST TPLF MEEETING IN TORONTO

2011-04-11T21:38:00.001-04:00

TORONTO: Ethiopians from all ethnic groups stand together in confronting the Woyanne junta.

2011-04-10T20:09:00.000-04:00

TORONTO: Ethiopians from all ethnic groups stand together in confronting the Woyanne junta.

2011-04-10T20:06:00.000-04:00

New Year Message

2010-12-30T21:18:00.000-05:00

December 30, 2010

Dear Ethiopian compatriots all over the world:

On Behalf of our members, I’m sending this New Year's message to wish a happy New Year to all.

As you all know, 2010, like all other previous years was a year of sadness for most Ethiopians. The violation of human rights continued unabated, we witnessed a sham and shameful election, the environmental degradation and land grab accelerated with a lightening speed. The Health and Education system of our people has collapsed beyond repair, and the social interaction among Ethiopians is jeopardized immensely. Yes, the release of prominent Ethiopian politician Ms. Birtukan Midekssa was a victory for all human rights activists and to all those who become voice for the voiceless.

Today more than any other time in the history of our Ethiopia, the existence of our beloved motherland is in question. Now more than ever, we should continue the struggle for Respect of Human Rights and democracy, hand and glove together as one people, regardless of our ethnic, religious and political differences.

I pray and wish the year 2011, to bring Unity, Peace and Democracy to our country and people.

Yousuf Omer

Unity for Human Rights and Democracy

Toronto Canada

HAPPY NEW YEAR

አንድነቶች በቅርቡ አንድ ሊኾኑ ይችላሉ

2010-12-22T18:45:00.000-05:00

ሰንደቅ ጋዜጣ ታማኝ ምንጮቼ ነገሩኝ ብሎ እንደጻፈው አንድነት ፓርቲ ውስጥ የተፈጠሩት አንጃዎች 99 በመቶ የእርቅ ስምምነት ላይ ደርሰዋል፡፡ በቅርቡም የእርቀ ሰላም ጠቅላላ ጉባኤ ተጠርቶ እንደ አዲስ አመራር ይመረጣል፡፡ በዚህ የእርቅ ጉባኤ ዶክተር ነጋሶ ጊዳዳ፣ አቶ ስየ አብረሃ እና አቶ አንዷለም አራጌ እንደማንኛውም አባል በመራጭነትና በተመራጭነት መሳተፍ እንደሚችሉ መግባባት ላይ እንደተደረሰ ጋዜጣው ዘግቧል፡፡ ሁኔታው እንደታሰበለት ከሄደ ህክምናቸውን በደቡብ አፍሪካ አጠናቀው ወደ አገርቤት የተመለሱትን የፓርቲውን መሥራች ወ/ት ብርቱካን ሚደቅሳን ወደ ፖለቲካ ለመመለስ ምቹ ኹኔታን እንደሚፈጥር ጋዜጣው ያለውን ግምት ገልጧል፡፡

Ethiopian Donors May Further Probe Allegations That Government Misused Aid

2010-12-20T20:24:00.000-05:00

Major donors to Ethiopia may renew a probe into claims the government has used aid to silence the opposition after Human Rights Watch called on them to investigate its allegations further.
In an October report, New York-based Human Rights Watch said the government used “donor-supported programs” to control political opponents by denying them access to land, credit, fertilizers, food aid and other resources. In an e-mailed statement on Dec. 17, the group called on donors to investigate the claims themselves.
The Development Assistance Group Ethiopia, which is based in Addis Ababa and made up of 26 donors, met recently to discuss the allegations, Sandra Baldwin, deputy director of the U.K. Department for International Development Ethiopia, said by phone on Dec. 18. Baldwin didn’t rule out field research to investigate specific claims of abuse.
The donor group “has been actively discussing the additional work to follow up on the earlier” report into the abuse allegations, Ken Ohashi, the World Bank’s country director for Ethiopia, said in an e-mailed response to questions. A government spokesman was not immediately available to comment.
The group said in an October statement it didn’t “concur with the conclusions” of Human Rights Watch’s report that alleged widespread, systematic abuse of development aid.
“Our study did not generate any evidence of systematic or widespread distortion,” said the donor group, which includes the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the U.S.
Human Rights Watch says the Horn of Africa nation, which has been ruled by former rebels since 1991, is one of the world’s largest recipients of foreign aid, getting about $3.3 billion annually from 2004 through 2008.
In May elections, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front and its allies won 545 out of 547 parliamentary seats. A European Union observation mission said the poll “did not meet certain international commitments.” The government has rejected criticism and said the process was free and fair.
To contact the reporter on this story: William Davison in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net

Ethiopia’s Spiritual warrior and Communicative Rationalist: Thinking of Birtukan Mideksa

2010-12-20T19:38:00.000-05:00

By Teodros Kiros
Gone are the days of life in the beauty of darkness and the cruelty of solitude.
During those days, I imagined her, pensive, still and determined to live; I imagined her behind rusty prison rails thinking about the millions of Ethiopians gazing at stars and praying to the transcendent; I imagined her drinking water and breathing air and thanking the loving God for keeping her alive; I imagined her extending her contagious smile to the prison guards who kept their eyes on her; I imagined her taking notes in her heart for a future masterpiece that she will present to the Ethiopian people.
I cannot stop imagining her now, now that she is in the sunlight of freedom wrapped by the adoring hands of the Ethiopian public, most particularly the members of her generation.
Birukan, the queen of justice, as I called her, when she was in prison, is now the queen of silent justice outside of prison.
I now imagine her in the company of her loving mother and joyous daughter drinking from the fountain of freedom; I imagine her waking to the sound of trees, the music of birds and the voices of the millions of Ethiopians who secretly adore her; I imagine millions of Ethiopian women admiring her defiance and her intelligence; I imagine all those parents who will one day name their children after Birtukan, the eloquent tribune of deliberative democracy.
When the dawn of genuine freedom reins in Ethiopia, Birtukan will use her spirituality, always mediated through that embracing smile, which takes in the hearts of the Ethiopian public, yearning for freedom, to guide the Ethiopian nation through the sheer force of loving-kindness. This spirituality will work in concert with her fine legal mind, and be articulated via communicative rationality and emerge as the leader of a people’s party, which I would like to call, Ethiopianity.

How honored I would be if the Transcendent would preserve me to work for Birtukan Mideska, as the new voice of Ethiopianity and the leader of the people’s party, Ethiopianity.
Teodros Kiros
Professor of Philosophy and English (Liberal Arts)
Berklee College of Music

በቶሮንቶ የሠማዕታት ቀን ተከከበረ

2010-12-20T19:23:00.002-05:00

Ethiopia: Donor Aid Supports Repression

2010-10-18T21:12:00.000-04:00

(London) - The Ethiopian government is using development aid to suppress political dissent by conditioning access to essential government programs on support for the ruling party, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch urged foreign donors to ensure that their aid is used in an accountable and transparent manner and does not support political repression.
The 105-page report, "Development without Freedom: How Aid Underwrites Repression in Ethiopia," documents the ways in which the Ethiopian government uses donor-supported resources and aid as a tool to consolidate the power of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
"The Ethiopian government is routinely using access to aid as a weapon to control people and crush dissent," said Rona Peligal, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "If you don't play the ruling party's game, you get shut out. Yet foreign donors are rewarding this behavior with ever-larger sums of development aid."

Ethiopia is one of the world's largest recipients of development aid, more than US$3 billion in 2008 alone. The World Bank and donor nations provide direct support to district governments in Ethiopia for basic services such as health, education, agriculture, and water, and support a "food-for-work" program for some of the country's poorest people. The European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are the largest bilateral donors.

Local officials routinely deny government support to opposition supporters and civil society activists, including rural residents in desperate need of food aid. Foreign aid-funded "capacity-building" programs to improve skills that would aid the country's development are used by the government to indoctrinate school children in party ideology, intimidate teachers, and purge the civil service of people with independent political views.
Political repression was particularly pronounced during the period leading up to parliamentary elections in May 2010, in which the ruling party won 99.6 percent of the seats.

Despite government restrictions that make independent research difficult, Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 200 people in 53 villages across three regions of the country during a six-month investigation in 2009. The problems Human Rights Watch found were widespread: residents reported discrimination in many locations.
Farmers described being denied access to agricultural assistance, micro-loans, seeds, and fertilizers because they did not support the ruling party. As one farmer in Amhara region told Human Rights Watch, "[Village] leaders have publicly declared that they will single out opposition members, and those identified as such will be denied ‘privileges.' By that they mean that access to fertilizers, ‘safety net' and even emergency aid will be denied."
Rural villagers reported that many families of opposition members were barred from participation in the food-for-work or "safety net" program, which supports 7 million of Ethiopia's most vulnerable citizens. Scores of opposition members who were denied services by local officials throughout the country reported the same response from ruling party and government officials when they complained: "Ask your own party for help."

Human Rights Watch also documented how high school students, teachers, and civil servants were forced to attend indoctrination sessions on ruling party ideology as part of the capacity-building program funded by foreign governments. Attendees at training sessions reported that they were intimidated and threatened if they did not join the ruling party. Superiors told teachers that ruling party membership was a condition for promotion and training opportunities. Education, especially schools and teacher training, is also heavily supported by donor funds.

"By dominating government at all levels, the ruling party controls all the aid programs," Peligal said. "Without effective, independent monitoring, international aid will continue to be abused to consolidate a repressive single-party state."
In 2005, the World Bank and other donors suspended direct budget support to the Ethiopian government following a post-election crackdown on demonstrators that left 200 people dead, 30,000 detained, and dozens of opposition leaders in jail. At the time, donors expressed fears of "political capture" of donor funds by the ruling party.
Yet aid was soon resumed under a new program, "Protection of Basic Services," that channeled money directly to district governments. These district governments, like the federal administration, are under ruling party control, yet are harder to monitor and more directly involved in day-to-day repression of the population.

During this period the Ethiopian government has steadily closed political space, harassed independent journalists and civil society activists into silence or exile, and violated the rights to freedom of association and expression. A new law on civil society activity, passed in 2009, bars nongovernmental organizations from working on issues related to human rights, good governance, and conflict resolution if they receive more than 10 percent of their funding from foreign sources.
"The few independent organizations that monitored human rights have been eviscerated by government harassment and a pernicious new civil society law," Peligal said. "But these groups are badly needed to ensure aid is not misused."
As Ethiopia's human rights situation has worsened, donors have ramped up assistance. Between 2004 and 2008, international development aid to Ethiopia doubled. According to Ethiopian government data, the country is making strong progress on reducing poverty, and donors are pleased to support Ethiopia's progress toward the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Yet the price of that progress has been high.

When Human Rights Watch presented its findings to donor officials, many privately acknowledged the worsening human rights situation and the ruling party's growing authoritarian rule. Donor officials from a dozen Western government agencies told Human Rights Watch that they were aware of allegations that donor-supported programs were being used for political repression, but they had no way of knowing the extent of such abuse. In Ethiopia, most monitoring of donor programs is a joint effort alongside Ethiopian government officials.
Yet few donors have been willing to raise their concerns publicly over the possible misuse of their taxpayers' funds. In a desk study and an official response to Human Rights Watch, the donor consortium Development Assistance Group stated that their monitoring mechanisms showed that their programs were working well and that aid was not being "distorted." But no donors have carried out credible, independent investigations into the problem.
Human Rights Watch called on donor country legislatures and audit institutions to examine development aid to Ethiopia to ensure that it is not supporting political repression.

"In their eagerness to show progress in Ethiopia, aid officials are shutting their eyes to the repression lurking behind the official statistics," Peligal said. "Donors who finance the Ethiopian state need to wake up to the fact that some of their aid is contributing to human rights abuses."
Background
Led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party is a coalition of ethnic-based groups that came to power in 1991 after ousting the military government of Mengistu Haile Mariam. The government passed a new constitution in 1994 that incorporated fundamental human rights standards, but in practice many of these freedoms have been increasingly restricted during its 19 years in power.
Although the ruling party introduced multiparty elections soon after it came to power in 1991, opposition political parties have faced serious obstruction to their efforts to establish offices, organize, and campaign in national and local elections.
Eight-five percent of Ethiopia's population live in rural areas and, each year, 10 to 20 percent rely on international food relief to survive. Foreign development assistance to Ethiopia has steadily increased since the 1990s, with a temporary plateau during the two-year border war with Eritrea (1998-2000). Ethiopia is now the largest recipient of World Bank funds and foreign aid in Africa.
In 2008, total aid was US$3.3 billion. Of that, the United States contributes around $800 million, much of it in humanitarian and food aid; the European Union contributes $400 million; and the United Kingdom provides $300 million. Ethiopia is widely considered to be making good progress toward some of the UN Millennium Development Goals on reducing poverty, but much of the data originates with the government and is not independently verified.

Canada Welcomes Release of Birtukan Mideksa

2010-10-07T19:37:00.000-04:00

(No. 326 - October 6, 2010 - 7:45 p.m. ET) The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement welcoming the release of Ethiopian opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa:

“Canada is pleased that the Government of Ethiopia has pardoned and released Birtukan Mideksa. We see this as a positive step toward greater political freedom in Ethiopia.
“Ethiopia is a richly diverse country, and this is best reflected through a vibrant political dialogue. Ms. Birtukan’s voice—and that of other political leaders—is important to Ethiopia’s democratic development. Her release is welcome, and we look forward to the Ethiopian government’s efforts to build upon this constructive measure.”
Ms. Birtukan was imprisoned following Ethiopia’s post-election violence in 2005. Although she received a pardon and was released in 2008, she was subsequently reimprisoned.
- 30 -
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Melissa Lantsman
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
613-995-1851
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874

HOOOOOOORAY Birtukan Mideksa has been freed from prison around 5 AM local time .

2010-10-06T03:42:00.000-04:00

Addis Neger Online has confirmed that the jailed opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa has been freed from prison around 5 AM local time .
-Eye witnesses told Addis Neger online that Birtukan is not seen in her family’s house at Fernsay Legasion. However, the house is decorated with small Ethiopian flags and a big poster. The colorful plastic poster depicts a big picture of Birtukan with Amharic and English welcoming statements. The statements read; “enkuan lebetish abekash” and “welcome to home”. Birtukan’s only daughter, Halley Mideksa, wore a cultural dress, which is mostly dressed during such occasions. Her mother, Almaz Gebregzihaber, is preparing fasting food for guests. Residents of the area stopover at Birtukan’s home and congratulate her mom. Journalists and supporters are waiting for Birtukan outside of the compound.
CONGRATULATION TO BIRTUKAN HER FAMILY AND TO ALL SUPPORTERS WHO STRUGGLED FOR HER RELEASE.................................WE DID IT AGAIN THIS IS THE RESULT OF OUR STRUGGLE
OCTOBER 6, 2010

Ana Gomes urges Zuma to help free Birtukan

2010-09-29T19:21:00.000-04:00

Press Release September 29, 2010

(Brussels) MEP Ana GOMES (S&D, PT) asked President Jacob Zuma of South Africa today, during a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, to help liberate Birtukan Mideksa, a young woman leader of the main opposition party in her country, Ethiopia, who has been jailed for life and whom Amnesty International considers to be a “prisoner of conscience”.

The South African Head of State admitted to not knowing the case in particular, but assured the European Parliament that “if she was jailed unfairly, South Africa would certainly be willing to use its influence” and press for her release.

Ana Gomes asked President Zuma and South Africa to show solidarity towards Ms. Mideksa, who the people of Ethiopia consider the “Ethiopian Nelson Mandela”. The Portuguese Socialist MEP evoked Nelson Mandela and his inspiring fight for freedom, stating that “he is not just a hero of South Africans, he is a hero for Mankind”, and recalled how world solidarity was important to return Nelson Mandela to freedom. “Will South Africa now show solidarity to get the release of this brave, young African woman imprisoned for life in Ethiopia, the country that hosts the headquarters of the African Union?”, directed Ana Gomes to President Zuma.

Together with MEP Marita ULVSKOG (S&D, SE), Ana Gomes proposed Birtukan Mideksa for the Sakharov Prize 2010. During the last plenary session in Strasbourg, the nomination of the Ethiopian political prisoner won the endorsement of the Socialists & Democrats Group for the European Parliament’s prestigious Human Rights annual award.

Ethiopian Birtukan Mideksa, S&D nominee for the 2010 Sakharov Prize

2010-09-27T22:08:00.000-04:00

The Group of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament will nominate Ethiopian activist Birtukan Mideksa for the 2010 Sakharov Prize next Tuesday, 5 October.

The candidacy of Ms. Mideksa, an Ethiopian prisoner of conscience, was adopted with unanimity at the S&D Group Meeting.

Ms. Mideksa is an opposition leader of the Unity for Democracy and Justice in Ethiopia and an activist for woman's rights and equality. She faces life in prison for advocating peacefully and continuously for democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law in Ethiopia.

Click here to learn more - International movement to free Ms. Mideksa : http://www.freebirtukan.org/

The vote on the candidates for the Sakharov Prize 2010 will take place - in camera and by secret ballot - on Monday, 18 October 2010 at 19.00. The prize-award ceremony will take place on December 15, during the plenary session in Strasbourg.

Victoria Martín de la Torre

victoria.martindelatorre@europarl.europa.eu

+ 32 2 284 30 18

+ 33 3 88 17 81 64

+ 32 473 23 41 73

www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu

Birtukan: What She Means to Me by Betemekeds Belachew

2010-08-29T13:04:00.001-04:00

Why do we have to lose something first to appreciate it? The question seems quite rhetorical. A few months ago, my friends locked me in a very small room with no light. I experienced a loss of things I deeply appreciated and needed. I am a member of the Freebirtukan chapter (focused on human rights) in Atlanta, GA; The organization is often misunderstood by many as a political group but its main focus is on human rights of all prisoner—political prisoners as well as apolitical prisoners.

From my experience, most Ethiopians or the African Diaspora as a whole do not want to get involved with the political system back home for many different reasons . But I hope that my big life changing experience will empower more Ethiopians and Africans writ large to become more conscious about their homelands. Regardless of one thinks about Birtukan Mideksas’ political stances, I hope that everyone takes away from this article a vital appreciation for her as a human being.
On December 27thm the Atlanta chapter remembered the one year anniversary of Birtukan, a solumn occasion that marked her one year prison anniversary. The main purpose of that day was to give people an appreciation of the daily struggles that Birtukan faces in an isolated cell. The chapter members made a small room resemble prison cell room and asked the guests to sit in that room for few minutes. At the end of the event, I got a chance to be locked in that small and dark room. I thought it was not going to be difficult; I went into the room heard the door lock. Although I knew I was in safe hands, the idea of losing control or being controlled made me uncomfortable beyond words. A minute passed and I was already edgy and started thinking that I could not be locked in.
I kept thinking that I could not continue with this for another minute. It dawned on me later that this is a small sample of what prison is like. This voluntary entrapment gave me a small sample behind the callousness of Birtukan’s situation. My few minutes in isolation are what Birtunkan faces on a daily basis for the past year. I gained a whole new appreciation and love for freedom and realized that there are things which I take for granted that others are denied on a daily basis throughout the world. My realizations might seem exaggerated but they were not: in that short amount of time, I was given a window into the hardships of others—except my hardship was controlled and temporary. In that small and dark room, my understanding of freedom came into a clearer perspective and I started to see how much one brave lady in Africa is paying for her freedom. After five minutes, I begged my friends to open the door for me, and they did.
Birtukan Mideksa was a successful judge who joined the main opposition party, Coalition for unity and Democracy (CUD), in Ethiopia. In a very short time period, Birtukan became the leading figure of that party. Around the same time, Ethiopia held an election which drew sharp rebuke from the international community in 2005 (1987 EC). During and after the election, there were a lot of protests by the opposition parties for the way the elections were conducted. The subsequent violent repression by the government led to the death and imprisonment of countless Ethiopians; Birtukan—with the rest of Kinjit party member—were imprisoned. The government believed the party and the party leaders were the main reason for the protests. Birtukan was imprisoned for a year—an imprisonment that only drew more attention to her defiance

After gaining her freedom, she started to campaign around the world for equality and freedom from political repression. What makes her story that much more remarkable is that Birtukan is a single mother of a six year old daughter named Hale. It was during that time I met Birtukan and the other opposition leaders when they came to. I remember watching her walk on the stage with her cohorts—the only woman in a midst of many men—which inspired me even more. She was sitting in the middle and when she was talked, her confidence and resolve was unshakeable. Where most people would break down from the emotional stresses of being confined for such a long time, unable to see their family and children, she was instead the personification of strength.
The first couple of minutes, I was too busy expecting her to act like she was hurt. I gave up, when she started a sentence by saying “this is just the beginning.” Maybe I was too used to hearing too many women complaining about men that I was so shocked to hear this woman standing stronger than the strongest man. As she talked, she drew respect and the attention of the crowd—listening intently to every word she said. She was equally humble as she was forceful in her conviction, a trait that is hard to combine and she was beautiful in ways that go beyond the superficial traits of beauty. I was astounded that a woman of her age and beauty would be so tenacious in fighting for what she believed in instead of worrying about immaterial things that seem to consume most of us. At the end of the event—in a bit of a foreshadowing—she mentioned to the audience that there would be more obstacles to come in the future but that she, just like the rest of us, would have to be ready for it. She somehow knew that her ordeals were far from completed; yet, instead of staying behind and preaching about political freedoms from the comforts of America, she went back to advocate for her beliefs in Ethiopia.
Ironically, not long after that, Birtukan was sentenced to life in prison upon her return to Ethiopia. She gave a speech in Sweden about her circumstances with her arrest and release from prison. The Ethiopian government said she her speech was “false” and unacceptable. It is one thing to be locked up for killing someone or for some other crime that harms people for life, but to be imprisoned for life—to lose one’s freedom—for making a speech that some disagree with is reprehensible. Birtukan has been imprisoned for almost two years and her only connection to the rest of the world is her seventy-four year old mother. Birtukan is allowed to see her daughter and her mother when they come to give her food.
Birtukan was in solitary consignment for the first 6 month. Imagine that, 6 months of living in darkness, no one to talk to, and nobody to give comfort, no sound other than one’s thought while being confined to a cell no bigger than a small bathroom. The toll that solitary confinement can take psychologically is well documented; now imagine the tolls when this is taking place in third world prisons where treatment of prisoners is rarely considered a moral obligation. These prisons are rank, dark, very crowded, and hardly any doctor visits or medical supplies at all.
Unfortunately, there are some people who think that she deserves this. I have heard it all before. Politics aside, when is the last time you heard about a woman in Ethiopia who fought for what she believes in, who stood up and gave up her life for the people? These people might exist in movies or books but not in real life. Well, that kind of person exists, her name is Birtukan. If you let go of your biases and prejudice, and irrespective of your political beliefs, I think we can all agree that no one should be locked up for life for standing up and saying what they believe. No one should be put in solitary confinement for not kowtowing the political mantra of the powers that be. For her conviction in standing up for what she believes in, Birtukan Mediksa represents hope for many people; hope for women, hope for Ethiopia and of course she is the hope for her only daughter Hale. We need people like her, people who are ready to make sacrifices, people who stand up for their beliefs while doing so peacefully.
At the end of the day, if you believed in something strongly, would you fight for it or do you expect others to fight for it? Most of us are talkers, complainers, and it surprises us when we see someone who is actually taking actions instead of talking. We hold in high regard about those throughout our history who have made a difference yet when we find one amongst us who are taking heroic stances, we do not notice. Should we wait till she is dead, until she too is in our past to start doing something?
Today, Hale wants her mom, Birtukan’s mom want her daughter. Today the women in Ethiopia, who dream of becoming politicians, want to see her freed. Africa needs courageous women like her. Ethiopia wants citizens like her. Birtukan needs her freedom. Despite what you believe in, I know that you know any human being should have the right to practice and stand up for whatever political view he/she has. Even if you disagree with her positions, I implore you to recognize that she is a symbol of our collective freedoms and rights. If she can be imprisoned for life for standing up to her beliefs peacefully, who will be the next target? I ask you to ask for her freedom by going to www.freebirtukan.org.

Remember lady liberty on Mandela Day

2010-07-19T19:49:00.000-04:00

July 18 marks the first Nelson Mandela International Day. It was last November that the United Nations General Assembly adopted a special resolution declaring July 18th an international Mandela day to be observed annually.

Mandela Day is undoubtedly a befitting tribute to a man who spent 27 years of his life in prison. The defunct Apartheid regime had given many opportunities to Mandela, who is celebrating his 92nd birthday, to renounce the struggle and walk out of jail. He never budged and resolutely chose to die in jail than kneel down to one of the most abhorrent systems history has ever known. The General Assembly underscored the fact that the longstanding dedication of Mandela, South Africa’s first post-Apartheid president and Nobel Prize peace laureate, “ to humanity, particularly in the areas of conflict resolution, race relations, human rights promotion, reconciliation and gender equality.”

The world is just trying to pay homage to a man who has contributed so much to transform South Africa from a land of injustice to a beautiful “rainbow nation.” Despite the fact that a lot remains to be done to fully heal the wounds of political and economic injustice, South Africa has managed to become a pride of Africa. The successful conclusion of this year’s World Cup, which was staged colorfully with blaring Vuvuzela horns, is testimony to the fact that South Africa has changed forever.

As South Africans have been enjoying their post-Apartheid freedom, our country Ethiopia, which boasts to be the cradle of humanity and symbol of liberty for blacks all over the world, is still groping in the darkness of injustice. Suffering under tyranny and abject poverty, all the great sacrifices of our forefathers since time immemorial has not still created a single day where all citizens of Ethiopia, regardless of their race and cultural heritage, can hold hands and sing that beautiful slave song: “Free at last, free at last…thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”

On this historic Mandela Day, where people across the world honor a great man who has lived long enough to reap the fruit of his immeasurable sacrifice, Ethiopians across the world need to remember our compatriots who have laid their lives for freedom. They are martyrs who deserve to be remembered and honored.

We also need to remember and honor our own Mandelas who have followed the footsteps of those whose exemplary lives have shone and inspired millions across the world. The heroine leader Birtukan Mideksa deserves to be honored and recognized by every freedom-loving Ethiopian. At a time when the deficit of credible leadership have made the struggle of the Ethiopian people devoid of meaning and direction, this woman of extraordinary courage and character needs to be as unifying as Mandela, whose defiance and suffering ignited and fuelled the anti-Apartheid struggle.

Some people may fail to understand the deep meaning of selfless sacrifice. Like Mandela, Birtukan is languishing in prison of the despotic regime just because she refused to kneel down to tyranny and renounce the struggle of the Ethiopian people. She was also given an opportunity to appear on national TV and deny the inconvenient truth to dignify a ruthless tyrant. She chose to die in jail than lower herself to uplift an insolent and sadistic dictator.

There are also others who think that Birtukan showed lack judgement by putting herself and her family in harms way. Yes, Birtukan could have avoided going to jail. Likewise, Mandela could also have avoided spending 27 years of his life in solitary confinement. The reason why Mandela is now considered a hero, even by those who used to chastise and question his leadership, is not for his surrender but for his unyielding defiance against Apartheid.

At a time when so many leaders, who had vowed to lead the struggle of the Ethiopian people have lost credibility, Birtukan remains unique as her vision is clear, her calls unfaltering and her stand still unwavering. During the last 19 years, many of our leaders have spent a great deal of their wisdom, energy, time and resources, fighting, bickering and undermining one another than fighting the inhuman tyranny that has revived Apartheid in our land. Today, more than ever before, the struggle needs not many but one unifying leader.

Whether we like it or not, there is no other leader in Ethiopia who has won the love, admiration and credibility of freedom-loving Ethiopians dispersed across the world. She is the only one who can unify our deeply divided nation. We don’t have to wait 27 years to recognize the fact that Birtukan’s sacrifice is as worthy as Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King Jr.

In one of her speeches, she said she was ready for sacrifice and turned to the audience to demand their resolve. “What about you?” she asked bravely. Now this question is haunting each one of us. Little has been done to mobilize people in Ethiopia and around the world to demand for her release unequivocally and persistently. As South Africans had made the release of Mandela a rallying cause during their bitter struggle, freedom-loving Ethiopians, regardless of their political, ethnic and other petty differences, should be able to recognize the importance of a sacrificial lamb as good as lady liberty.

During the 64th United Nations General Assembly plenary meeting, which adopted the resolution last November, the tyrant’s shameless representative, Mesfin Mideksa, said: “The Ethiopian Federal Constitution was firmly anchored on the principle of according genuine recognition and safeguarding the individual identities and rights, as well as ensuring the full representation and participation of all nations and nationalities in the country.” We know that this is a self-refuting lie echoing the emptiness of an unjust tyrannical regime. Though not related at all, Birtukan and Mesfin, who is paid to lie unlike the heroine, have exactly similar father’s name. But they represent completely contradictory visions. Mesfin represents a lying criminal tyranny that sucks the blood of poor Ethiopians. Birtukan, ruthlessly punished for telling the truth, represents freedom, justice and dignity.

December 28, 2008 is an important day in Ethiopian history. The tyrant ordered his security agents to re-arrest Birtukan and condemn her to spend the rest of her life in jail. He callously declared that Birtukan has a “zero chance” of being released again.

True to her words, Birtukan is Ethiopia’s Mandela! In recognition of her immeasurable sacrifice for the sake of freedom, dignity and rights, let us declare 28th December Birtukan’s day. Until she walks out of jail freely, let us rally and honor lady liberty around the world. Her defiance against tyranny symbolizes the nation’s collective desire for liberty and represents the heartbeats of the majority of Ethiopians, who have been reduced to tax-paying slaves, refugees and prisoners by a tyrannical regime that neither represents nor respects them and their history.

Happy Mandela Day! 

Famine and Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid. By Peter Gill.

2010-07-15T21:31:00.000-04:00

SO PREDICTABLE was the result of the recent general election in Ethiopia that the announcement that Meles Zenawi, the prime minister, had been returned to office seemed almost comically triumphant. His ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) won 499 out of 547 parliamentary seats—with all but two others going to EPRDF-allied parties—and all but one of 1,904 council seats in regional elections. The voter turnout was a vertiginous 93.4%. This was one-party rule with a vengeance: the triumph of repression, the squashing of dissenting voices and the shutting down of independent media.

Yet many in the West had high hopes for the clever and resourceful Mr Zenawi, who came to power nearly 20 years ago. Once a mate of Britain’s former prime minister Tony Blair, for instance, Mr Zenawi sat on Mr Blair’s Commission for Africa which in 2005 outlined a comprehensive approach to solving Africa’s many problems. Mr Zenawi was supposed to be the brightest example of a new generation of leaders who were going to combine good governance with making poverty history. In fact, as this year’s election proved, there is precious little of the former, and as Peter Gill’s well-written and accessible book shows, still an awful lot of poverty.

Despite the fact that Mr Gill almost bends over backwards to be fair to Mr Zenawi, there is no escaping the fact that Ethiopia remains almost as fragile and underdeveloped as it was when an Irish musician, Bob Geldof, set up the first global pop concert, Live Aid, to help the drought-benighted nation 25 years ago, on July 13th 1985. A country that became best known for famine, when Mr Gill first covered it as a television reporter, Ethiopia remains uncomfortably close to the brink every time the rains fail.

The core of the book covers Mr Gill’s return to the areas he had reported on during the famine a quarter of a century earlier. Depressingly, he finds few grounds for optimism. Aid has rarely helped much. In one chapter he returns to the impoverished region of South Wollo. In 2005 nearly 800,000 people had been put on a “safety net” food-for-work scheme, aimed at helping them achieve self-sufficiency. After three years barely 2% had done so. Despite billions of dollars in aid money, Ethiopia’s agricultural economy after years of Mr Zenawi’s rule is, he concludes, “in a state of almost permanent crisis”.

Mr Gill touches on the reasons for this state of affairs, even if he never marshals them into a coherent indictment of Mr Zenawi and the clique of former Marxist guerrillas who surround him. An ideological attachment to the “peasantry” means that landholdings are still far too small for people to make money from. A preference for state economic control means private enterprise is discouraged, especially in the mobile-phone sector that is booming elsewhere in Africa. The result is no jobs. Political repression discourages any constructive criticism. The most menacing problem, Ethiopia’s rapidly growing population, is almost never discussed.

Mr Gill suggests that Mr Zenawi may yet be saved by China. That would be a shame for Ethiopia. The Chinese might be building a lot of roads, but it is not at all evident that they are helping to tackle the issues of land and population. Mr Gill generously concludes that Ethiopia has made “modest but real progress” under Mr Zenawi. In fact, most of the book points to the opposite conclusion.

Press Realease

2010-06-24T22:35:00.000-04:00

Protest against Meles Zenawi’s presence at the G20 in Toronto (Canada):

Media Release

June 26, 2010

WHO WE ARE:

We are concerned Canadians of Ethiopian origin congregated here today from the greater Toronto area, Ottawa, London, other surrounding cities including the United States to be part of the protest organized by the members/supporters of the Diaspora Ethiopian human rights and political opposition groups namely: Unity for Human Rights and Democracy (Toronto), Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political prisoners-Canada (SOCEPP Canada), Supporters of the Ginbot 7 movement, and EPRP (Democratic) in collaboration with the Ethiopian Association in greater Toronto and the Surrounding Region. We are all members of the Ethiopian Diaspora community forced out of our country by this and the regime before it at different times and are particularly and gravely concerned about the human rights tragedies that has befallen our people in Ethiopia, who continue to suffer under the cruel and dictatorial rule of PM Meles Zenawi and his party – the EPRDF.

WHO/WHY/WHAT WE PROTEST AGAINST:

We are protesting AGAINST the presence of Ethiopia’s de-facto ruler: Mr. Meles Zenawi who is in town invited by PM Stephen Harper to be present at the G20 Summit here in Toronto. We also protest against PM. Stephen Harper’s decision to invite this dictator, who should instead be held criminally responsible for the crimes he committed against humanity, as to be part of the G20 Summit.

We protest against Meles Zenawi as this dictator represents himself and his one party - EPRDF’, only, not Ethiopia’s interest. He and his party came to power 20 years ago by the barrel of the gun and stayed in power through the rule of terror and repression. The May 23, 2010 fake election that fell far below international standards only crowned the group and this dictator with a contest free totalitarian rule and a fully narrowed political space similar only to that of his predecessor – Col. Mengistu H/Mariam’s and/or the late dictator - Sadam Hussein of Iraq.

What we protest against are a number of issues. To name the major few:

We reject the process leading to and the outcomes of the so-called May 23, 2010 election held in Ethiopia for it fell far below international standards, as also variously and pointedly addressed by the EU Election
Observers (with which Canadian Observers were part of ), the US State Department, Human Rights Watch and various other impartial groups and state actors.

The closing of the political space in Ethiopia under the totalitarian rule of the EPRDF where political freedom and human rights continue to vanish and political opponents of the regime like Birtukan Mideksa, Bashir Amhed Makhtal (Canadian), Abera Yemaneab and many others continue to suffer in the dungeons of the regime and the “disappeared” like Tsegaye G/Medhin, Aberash Berta and thousands of political prisoners languish in various jails, and many continue to remain an accounted for, is not acceptable to us.

The two laws enacted leading up to the fated election in May 2010 – the CSO law and the “Ant-Terrorism” law continue to play a crucial role for the incumbent as tools of repression for muzzling the free press, human rights activism and political dissent despite the mountain of opposition lodged against such laws by the world community at the last December UN Human Rights Review of Ethiopia last December in which Canada too played a crucial role. (See: UNHCHR 16^th Annual Human Rights Review in their site).

Hence, it is our undivided view and position that Meles Zenawi has become a symbol, or rather an icon of repression, who should not have been invited to be present to this prestigious Summit which should have been left only for those leaders who respect and abide by international human rights conventions and laws.

Why was Mr. Zenawi invited to the G20 Summit? : THE RATIONALE

We are informed by DFAIT who extended the invitation to Mr. Zenawi that, he was invited not because of his democratic credentials; it is because Ethiopia is the seat of the OAU, and
We are also briefed that the invitation was forwarded because Meles represented Africa at the climate change meeting in Copenhagen last year.

And we say: irrespective, is this rationale good and prudent enough when tested against the criminal records of Mr. Zenawi and his party they perpetrated against their own people during the last 20 years they have been in power. Let’s enumerate some without getting into further details:

He/they muzzled and completely decimated the free press imprisoning and/or forcied into exile over 123 Ethiopian journalists and closing over 100 independent news papers. Now there are almost none let. The last strong independent press Addis Neger’s editors and journalists were forced to exile in Dec 09.

VOA Amharic Service the DW-de Amharic service and the New Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) are regularly jammed; the Meles Zenawi openly said that he would give the order to shut independent media, and he did that.

All pro democracy Web pages are blocked and Ethiopia is second in the entire Africa for jailing journalists and No.1 for blocking web sites.

Civic societies are paralyzed – the draconian legislations such as the Charities and Association act, the media law and the anti terrorism laws have paralyzed the civic society and the political opposition.

The 2005 and the 2010 election processes and outcomes remain to be illegal and below standard and the regime continues as the de-facto ruler of Ethiopia.

The election commission is fully controlled by the ruling party. The election officers all over the country are specifically chosen for being loyal to the ruling group. The so-called code of conduct forced through the throats of the opposition that took part in the election was abrogated by none other than the regime itself when it started killing opposition members in Tigrai, Southern Ethiopia and elsewhere.

Political prisoners continue to languish in prisons including Birtukan Mideksa, Abera Yemanab, Bashir Makhtal (the Canadian) and many more. The detained and “disappeared” like Aberash Berta, Tsegaye Gebremedhen, and many others continue to remain unaccounted for.

Crimes against humanity committed in the regions of Gambella, the Ogaden and mass killings in Addis Ababa and many other cities still remain uninvestigated and unpunished and the perpetrators including this leader are still walking free amongst us as if they belong to the civilized, humane and just world.

Acknowledgements and Demands:

We are thankful of all the law makers/parliamentarians and human rights groups in Canada, the US and Europe who have listened to our appeals and stood with us to address the continued human rights and political abuses of our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia. We specially acknowledge the works of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the ICG, Genocide Watch, ICFPJ and the like for their critical and central role in exposing the crimes of Meles Zenawi to the world.

And to the less involved and ambivalent Canadian, American and European politicians We say: we hear what you tell us may make sense to a certain extent but WE ASK OF YOU TO DO MORE FOR THERE IS ONLY ONE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD: THE FULL RESPECT OF THE VARIOUS
HUMAN RIGHTS CONVENTIONS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW INCLUDING THE PRINCIPLES OF FREE & FAIR ELECTIONS irrespective of who you are dealing with! Would you not rather have a partner in democracy and justice to justify the millions of taxpayers money you invest on someone who is a terrorist himself against his own people and yet stands with you to “fight” terrorism elsewhere?

The Venue & Time of the Demonstration, Events that Follow & Contact Info:

The demonstration will be held on June 26^th starting at 9 am EST/ NYT/ Toronto time at the designated area at Queen’s Park.
Following the demo, we will have a dinner solidarity evening at 40 Donalds Street (Toronto) - Meeting Hall, located in the east end of Toronto, Near Donlands Subway Station, starting at 7 pm.

For media inquiry please contact: Mr. Yousuf Omar at (416)570-3041 Mr. Aklilu Wendaferew at (647) 223-0404

Canada and "the butchers"

2010-06-23T18:26:00.000-04:00

By Brodie Fenlon

A quick taxi ride this morning suggests the Harper government will have to mend relationships with at least some people in one of Canada’s immigrant communities after the G8/G20 summits.
My driver, an Ethiopian-Canadian whose name I didn’t get on the 10-minute ride, nearly spat with disgust when I raised the topic of the G20.
“They invite the butchers here. Why? Why they bring butchers to Canada?” he asked in heavily accented English.
He spoke with disdain of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who seized power in an armed takeover in 1991 and whose party most recently won a landslide election in May. Many observers, including Human Rights Watch, said the election was marred by government intimidation, threats and pressure on the electorate.
Mr. Zenawi is one of a half-dozen African leaders invited to the June 25 summit in Muskoka, Ont., as part of an outreach to African countries.
My cabbie recalled the last Ethiopian election in 2005, which led to angry protests and a violent crackdown by government security forces. An estimated 200 people were shot dead.
“We come here because Canada is a democratic country. Then they invite him ... Why?”

With a report from Canadian Press

The human-rights abuser on the G20 guest list

2010-06-09T18:22:00.001-04:00

Ahmed Hussen, National Post · Tuesday, Jun. 8, 2010

National Post

Later this month, leaders from Ethiopia and Malawi will be in Toronto as invited guests of the G20. While it is to be expected that the Malawian President would be invited in his capacity as the Chair of the African Union, it is more surprising to see an invitation extended to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia.

Mr. Zenawi has been a disappointment to the international community. Since coming to power, he has not lived up to his promises to democratize Ethiopia and end the abuses of the country's minorities. In fact, the opposite has occurred: Mr. Zenawi heads a government that has been accused by the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch of systematically attempting to destroy ethnic minorities in the Ogaden region and southern Ethiopia.

Mr. Zenawi's government also has a history of repressing democratic opposition groups, banning or severely restricting the activities of NGOs, manipulating food aid to reward political allies, starving opposition supporters and cracking down on free media.

After opposition parties protested peacefully against rigged 2005 general elections, Ethiopian government troops opened fire on protesters, resulting in the deaths of 193 opposition supporters. The opposition leader at the time, Birtukan Mideksa, is still in prison serving a life sentence on trumped-up charges, and her plight has been compared to that of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Ethiopian government's disregard for human rights and the rule of law has been felt beyond the country's borders. Canadians, for instance, have been alarmed by its treatment of Canadian citizen Bashir Makhtal, who has been detained in Ethiopia for more than three years after being illegally rendered to that country by Kenyan authorities. The Ethiopian government has refused to release him despite being unable to prove any wrongdoing. Federal Transport Minister John Baird recently made a trip to Ethiopia in order to lobby for the release of this Canadian citizen, but Mr. Makhtal remains in jail.

Ethiopia also has been a destabilizing force in Somalia. Despite Ethiopian troops officially withdrawing from Somalia at the end of 2008, they are still unofficially entering that country in their quest to fight a proxy war with Eritrea. This has led to gross violations of human rights by Somali groups that are funded, trained and armed by these two neighbouring countries in clear violation of the United Nations arms embargo on Somalia. Just two weeks ago, Ethiopian troops entered the relatively peaceful Somali district of Buhoodle to carry out military actions that resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians. The totality of these actions make Mr. Zenawi the wrong type of head of government to be invited to a G20 summit. This invitation sends the wrong message to Ethiopia and other African countries that are gradually backsliding on earlier promises to democratize and improve human rights.

At a minimum, Canada should stand up for one of its own by making it clear to the Ethiopian government that Mr. Zenawi would be admitted into Canada only if he immediately and unconditionally releases Canadian citizen Bashir Makhtal. Future Canadian aid to, and diplomatic engagement with, Ethiopia should be tied to a demonstrable improvement in democracy, human rights, rule of law and governance.

- Ahmed Hussen is the national president of the Canadian Somali Congress. He analyzes issues related to politics, peace, security and governance in the East African region.

Beloved, and behind bars Birtukan Mideksa, the country’s main opposition leader, has been in jail for 18 months

2010-06-03T22:55:00.001-04:00

Two months ago, Halle Mideksa celebrated her fifth birthday. For the fourth time, the bubbly little girl—dressed, to meet Maclean’s, in pink and purple, hopping on one foot, a yellow sucker gripped between her teeth—had to celebrate without her mom, Birtukan Mideksa. The 36-year-old former judge is Ethiopia’s most famous opposition politician. But she was forced to miss Ethiopia’s state elections on May 23—along with the party for her only child. Mideksa, the only female leader of a main opposition party in Africa, is being held in a two-by-two-metre cell she shares with two other prisoners. She’s been at Kaliti jail for 18 months—her second stay in the hot, crowded maze of sheet-metal shacks at the southern edge of Addis Ababa, the capital. She is accused of violating the terms of a pardon under which she was released in 2007.

Mideksa was initially jailed on treason charges after elections in 2005 in which her opposition Unity for Democracy and Justice party—widely popular in cosmopolitan Addis—fell curiously short of expectations. Many took to the streets to protest results observers deemed fraudulent; 30,000 were jailed, including hundreds of journalists and human rights activists; 200 unarmed protesters were shot dead and 70 opposition politicians were tried en masse, Mideksa among them.

The crackdown by Meles Zenawi’s government—which took 99.9 per cent of seats in last year’s local elections—hasn’t slowed. Four months ago, the newspaper Addis Neger, one of the country’s lone remaining independent voices, was shuttered after intimidation and harassment by government. Tsion Girima, one of the country’s only female political journalists, was jailed for misidentifying a judge in the high-profile trial of singer Teddy Afro, whose songs compare the government to a brutal junta. Ahead of these elections, the government jammed broadcasts from Voice of America, a move Zenawi defended by likening VOA to Radio Mille Collines: hate media that stoked Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.

All this as the West, Ottawa included, lavishes record amounts of aid on Ethiopia, subsidizing a government now ranked among Africa’s most repressive and dictatorial regimes. Surrounded by basket-case neighbours, the country is a key Western ally in the war on terror; without Zenawi, it would join the rank of anarcho-hellholes like Somalia—or so the argument goes.

In the past five years, Mideksa, a brilliant speaker with a quick, agile mind, has become a symbol for democracy and change: a female leader in a country where, outside Addis, female circumcision remains the norm, and a single mom who staunchly opposes the politics that divide Ethiopia along ethnic lines. Her sacrifice has captivated the country—terrifying its leadership. “I wish everybody hated her,” her 76-year-old mother tells Maclean’s, tears washing down her face. “The only reason she is in jail is because everyone loves her.”

Mideksa’s books, among them works by legal philosopher John Austin, Martin Luther King Jr. and Jean-Paul Sartre, and a poster of her idol, Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi, still line the walls of the family’s tidy green and white house. But hope that Mideksa might be released following Zenawi’s landslide, preordained victory was dashed by the PM. No, he announced on the campaign trail, she won’t be released—“ever. Full stop.”

Spotlight on the Struggle of Birtukan Mideksa: Ethiopian Human Rights Activist in the Global Women's Movement

2010-06-02T21:00:00.000-04:00

Zainab Salbi

Posted: June 1, 2010 09:14 AM

Today I would like to tell you the story of Birtukan Mideksa, an Ethiopian prisoner of conscience who is facing life imprisonment for speaking out against an oppressive government. Birtukan is an opposition leader of the Unity for Democracy and Justice (formerly Coalition for Unity and Democracy) party and is advocating for democracy and rule of law in Ethiopia. After years of civil unrest and war with Eritrea, Ethiopia is still struggling to overcome oppression and establish political freedom. The parliamentary elections in 2005 spurred violent protests, which led to the arbitrary arrest and detainment of hundreds of opposition leaders, journalists, human rights advocates and civilians. Birtukan was one of those arrested in 2005, and she received a life imprisonment sentence. Then, in 2007, Birtukan received a pardon and was released from prison, only to be put back into prison once more in 2008 for discussing the details of her prior arrest. Her original sentence of life imprisonment has since been reinstated.
Much of Birtukan's time in prison has been spent in solitary confinement. The only people allowed to visit Birtukan are her mother and her four-year-old daughter. Before her arrest, Birtukan was the main provider for her family, who is now suffering not only emotionally but also financially from Birtukan's imprisonment. She is not allowed to meet with any legal representation and the government refuses to listen to her needs. There are even reports that she is being denied medical treatment, despite numerous requests for a physician. The Red Cross and other humanitarian officials are being denied access to the prison, and the exact treatment of Birtukan is unknown.
When addressing the U.S. Congress in 2007, Birtukan stated that "only through dialogue and negotiation will stability and peace be guaranteed" in Ethiopia. In the context of the rampant human rights violations and other oppressive government actions, advocates for peace and freedom are desperately needed in Ethiopia. And yet, women like Birtukan are still being denied the opportunity to negotiate this peace.
Birtukan's story represents the struggle women across the world are facing to have a political voice and to stand up for human rights. Take Jameela, a Palestinian woman from Gaza, who was imprisoned in Israel for 2 years when she was 18 years old for smuggling letters for the PLO. She was tortured. She was hanged from her hands for long periods, put in solitary confinement for about 6 months, and had drops of water dripping on her forehead for hours at a time. When she was finally released from prison, her entire community wanted to abandon her because they assumed she had been sexually abused in prison and thus had her honor taken away. Only her father and her future husband stood by her side. She is now living in a half-destroyed one-room house with her entire family.
Or take Mona, a young activist from Iraq, who was continually raped by a captain during the war so that he would not kill her brothers. This captain started a habit of visiting her daily at her family home. There, he would take her to a bedroom in her house, close the door behind him (her brothers, mother and sisters are still in the living room), and rape her. He would then leave her home. "Day after day, week after week, month after month he did that and not once did my brothers or mother said anything. As a matter of fact, when I would refuse to go with him, they would scold me and urge me to go to him so he wouldn't get upset. In the beginning, this whole ordeal was to save my brothers from prison." Mona is now activist dedicated to rescuing prostituted girls and women who, no different from her, ended up in a path not because of their desires but because they were saving loved ones as she saved her brothers.
According to the UN, 90% of modern war casualties are civilians, 75% of which are women and children. That reality only addresses the death tolls created by war. Statistics have yet to capture the price women pay for wars often just for living in it and trying to survive it. On top of political and military pressure, women are often faced with another layer of community and traditional demands. Then there are the women, like Birtukan, Jameela and Mona, who are trying to take a stand against these wars and who end up facing extreme oppression and human rights violations imposed by governments and military groups.
The bravery of these women despite all odds is inspirational. Women everywhere are paying a personal price for their political reality. It is these women, and the millions of women survivors of conflict who are striving every day to carry on in the midst of astronomical challenges, who are pushing us forward in the global women's movement. It is these women who are standing up for peace and equality, finding their voices and speaking truth in the face of oppression and fear. These women deserve to have their voices heard.

March againist the Tribalist and Dictator Meles Zenawi

2010-05-30T17:47:00.000-04:00

Ethiopia Ruling Party Leads Vote Marred by Intimidation Reports

2010-05-24T18:13:00.002-04:00

By Jason McLure

May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling party headed for victory in the Horn of Africa nation’s first national elections since 2005 after a campaign that was marred by allegations of intimidation.
With about 7.3 million votes tallied of an estimated 29 million cast yesterday, Meles’s Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front had 6.8 million, compared with 458,242 for the opposition Medrek alliance, Mergera Bekana, chairman of the National Electoral Board, said today.
The EPRDF was ahead in 20 of 23 seats in the capital, Addis Ababa, with Medrek leading for one parliamentary seat and two constituencies not yet reporting, he said.
“In all regional states, EPRDF is leading,” Mergera said in the capital.
Government and ruling party official used a combination of harassment and arrests and withholding food aid and jobs to thwart Medrek in the weeks running up to the polls, New York- based Human Rights Watch said in a statement today. The government has denied the allegations, saying economic growth in Ethiopia of more than 7 percent annually over the past five years has bolstered its support.
About 31.9 million registered voters were eligible to cast ballots to elect 547 members of parliament and representatives to regional councils.
A former Marxist guerrilla leader who has ruled Africa’s second-most populous nation since 1991, Meles, 55, has been a key ally in the fight against Islamic militants in neighboring Somalia. Under Meles, Ethiopia, Africa’s top coffee producer, has pursued an economic model that mixes a large state role with foreign investment in roads, dams and power.
The government controls the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corp., a state-run monopoly, and owns all the land, while companies owned by the state or the ruling party dominate banking and trucking. Almost a sixth of its 85 million people depend on food aid.
Medrek is a coalition that includes jailed opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa’s Unity for Democracy and Justice party and a number of ethnic-based parties.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.

EU needs consistency in human rights

2010-05-12T20:12:00.001-04:00

New Europe: May 09 2010

EU's foreign policy on human rights can only be effective if linked to the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and the strengthening of civil societies. Credibility in human rights advocacy worldwide requires the EU to also pay attention at its own Member States laws and practices, in particular towards minorities, migrants and refugees. The collaboration of European governments with the "extraordinary renditions programme" of the Bush Administration badly affected the general perception on the EU commitment to international human rights law. A strategic reading of all situations and crisis in terms of human rights and democracy implications is essential for the EU, as much as policy coherence in the use of the different instruments must improve. Human rights should be the cornerstone of EU foreign policy to comply with EU principles and values, but they are often left in the shadow of other priorities. "Stability" is regularly invoked when human rights deserve mere lip service from EU officials, even if avoiding conflict means perpetuating oppression.
One particular case of inconsistency and incoherence is the EU approach towards Ethiopia, a main recipient of EU ODA, a partner bound by the Cotonou Agreement clauses on human rights, the second most populous country in Africa and the headquarters of the African Union. As Head of the 2005 EU Election Observation Mission, I witnessed the incredible hopes of the proud Ethiopian people be brutally suppressed by a ruling party which prevented international observers to watch the counting of votes in order to manipulate results, once the Addis Ababa tabulation showed a landslide in favour of the opposition. Today basic conditions for democratic elections are even worse: there are thousands of political prisoners, many arrested after the demonstrations that contested the 2005 election results and which were violently put down by governmental forces, killing more than 200 people. Birtukan Midekssa, a young mother and the leader of a main opposition party is in jail, serving a life sentence, instead of running for elections. There is no media freedom and the work of NGOs has been severely limited by a law which criminalizes human rights work. The Ethiopian government formally rejected the EU EOM 2005 report, but not even that has stopped the European Commission and EU governments from continuing "business as usual" with the totalitarian regime of Meles Zenawi - they just sent a new EU Election Observation Mission, at his request, in the hope of legitimizing the electoral farce his party is organising for the coming 23 May.
The EU - now through the voice of its High Representative Catherine Ashton - needs to be consistent, credible and bolder in condemning human rights abuses and delegitimizing human rights violators. It also must make a greater effort to match policy commitments with practice. The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights is an important tool, but its financial envelope needs to be considerably increased and better used in support of human rights defenders and in strengthening civil society in different countries - these should be the main partners of the EU in many countries all over the world.

Ana Gomes is a Portuguese Member of the European Parliament and a Member of the Human Rights Committee

Foreign aid subsidizes repression in Ethiopia

2010-05-12T18:27:00.000-04:00

Expert accuses foreign donors of subsidizing a regime 'that is rapidly becoming one of the most repressive and dictatorial on the continent'

Note from Guest Editor Ory Okolloh: This is a blog from allAfrica.com, which aggregates, produces and distributes news from across Africa. The site has given The Globe permission to reprint its staff-written articles. I chose this piece because Zenawi will be one of Africa's representatives at the G-20. His repressive regime in Ethiopia continues to be ignored by his friends in the donor community ... and then later the same people will complain about Ethiopia's lack of development years from now. An example of bad aid.

A month ahead of national elections, the Ethiopian government has come under critical Western scrutiny in an article which accuses foreign donors of "subsidizing a regime that is rapidly becoming one of the most repressive and dictatorial on the continent."

Writing in the current issue of The New York Review of Books, Helen Epstein suggests that Western aid officials "seem reluctant to admit that there are two Prime Minister Meles Zenawis.

"One is a clubbable, charming African who gives moving speeches at Davos and other elite forums about fighting poverty and terrorism. The other is a dictator whose totalitarianism dates back to cold war days."

Epstein, a specialist in public health in developing countries, declares in an extensive analysis:

"The problem with foreign aid in Ethiopia is that both the Ethiopian government and its donors see the people of this country not as individuals with distinct needs, talents, and rights but as an undifferentiated mass, to be mobilized, decentralized, vaccinated, given primary education and pit latrines, and freed from the legacy of feudalism, imperialism, and backwardness."

She says Meles' government has received U.S. $26 billion in development aid from the West in an experiment "to see whether 'the big push' approach to African development will work." In 2008 it received more aid than any other sub-Saharan country.

"The big push," writes Epstein, "has financed 15,000 village health clinics, seventeen universities, countless schools, and the beginnings of a new road network that will bring trade and services to many previously isolated rural areas."

But the aid subsidizes repression, she adds.

"On May 23, Ethiopia will hold its first parliamentary elections since 2005, but the results seem foreordained.

"Opposition groups have been prevented from opening local offices and some opposition candidates have been assaulted by [ruling party] officials or arbitrarily detained by the police.

"The government uses Chinese spy technology to bug phone lines and Internet communications, and countless journalists, editors, judges, academics, and human rights defenders have fled the country or languish behind bars, at risk of torture.

"New laws passed since 2005 have made political activity more difficult than ever."

2010-04-26T22:11:00.000-04:00

“TPLF cadre’s disgraceful visit to Toronto”

Rumors were circulating in this big city of Toronto that a high level TPLF’S (Tigray People Libration Front) delegation is shortly paying a scandalous visit. Our city has in recent past seen woyane cadres secretly meeting one ethnic group and disregarding others as part of their sinister ethno centric policy of divide and rule. It was part of their North American mission to reach out their supporters and appeal to them to play the role of actively discrediting the Diasporas opposition. Patriotic Ethiopians spared no time to organize and expose those woyane agents. A protest rally was organized by the office of Unity for Human Rights and Democracy, Ginbot 7 movement for justice democracy and Unity, with cultural groups including Ethiopians of Oromo and Ogaden origins. As is always the case everywhere, those woyane agents have planned to meet selected few individuals who are considered loyal supporters. Official invitation cards were distributed to those individuals who are beneficiaries of the corrupt system through privileged investor status or promises for land grab.
After securing license to stage a protest rally from City police, patriotic Ethiopians converged at down town Marriott where meeting was scheduled to take place. Placards were displayed to the public exposing Meles Zenawi’s human rights record. Protestors continued to echo slogans denouncing Meles's dictatorial regime. Demonstrators wearing Birtukan's T shirts expressed their determination to carry over the struggle until Birtukan and all political prisoners are set free. The privileged few current and potential investors under their opportunistic stances started arriving at Marriott and they were greeted with applauses of shame. As common greed is what has affiliated them to the system, they didn’t have the slightest courage to face patriotic Ethiopians and had to cover their faces to hide their identity and run away.
It was past 3 pm that a limo just drove by the crowd of protesters and we knew that they were those woyane agents. The protesters greeted them with the Ethiopian flag, placards and slogans with loud and clear messages that they are not welcome here. As they clearly know how determined the protesters are to voice the plight of our people in Ethiopia, they didn’t even have the gut to raise their heads up and face us. With very limited attendance of opportunist individuals, the woyane cadres had to dwell much of their discussion on the “democratic process” of the forthcoming election. However, most of the invited people in attendance didn’t show any interest in the political process and instead they voiced their frustration about it. They said they were invited to discuss investment potentials and would rather prefer the discussion focuses on areas they would participate as investors. The whole sessions appeared coordinated enough those woyane cadres deliberately continued to preach more and more on achievements of the regime and left no time for participants pose questions Most participants have clearly expressed their anger that what they expected at the meeting was not those low level cadres. They wanted to meet the likes of Abay Tsehaye and Seyoum Mesfin whom they expected they will have the opportunity to wine and dine with.
The protest rally has brought together many human rights groups actively engaged in and around the great city of Toronto. Those Ethiopian groups including representatives of Unity for Human Rights and democracy, Ginbot 7, Oromo and Ogaden communities are determined to continue their struggle for the realization of our dreams of unity, equality and democracy. They take this opportunity to invite other organizations to join the group to collectively take charge of coordinating one big protest rally against Meles Zenawi’s attendance of the G-2O meeting this June in Toronto.
Toronto April 27, 2010

Birtukan Mideksa and a challenge to the Ethiopian Diaspora

2010-04-17T18:19:00.001-04:00

I will commence a hunger strike in front of the White House to get President Obama or someone from his administration to acknowledge Birtukan Mideksa as a prisoner of conscious and to call for her immediate release from wrongful imprisonment. Fighting for democracy and freedom have always been traditional American values and I will fight for these values for my Ethiopian brothers and sisters. Please join me in the hunger strike which will commence on May 3rd 2010. We can't save the World but we can certainly do our part. – Chris Flaherty

Watch below the video of Chris Flaherty's speech at the Horn of Africa Conference in the Washington Metro Area on April 11, 2010:

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and conveniences, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

This is a quote from my biggest hero since childhood, Martin Luther King Jr. It was his movement that inspired me to make films documenting the pursuit of democracy and freedom on a World scale. My recent film, Migration of Beauty documents the historical events that led up to the tragic massacre of some 200 unarmed civilians during the 2005 Ethiopian elections. Out of this storm of tragedy rose one of the most promising leaders for Ethiopia's future, BIRTUKAN MIDEKSA. Shortly after announcing her bid to run against the ruling party in the 2010 elections she was arrested and imprisoned, effectively eliminating any possibility of the ruling party, the EPRDF to lose the election.

Birtukan Mideksa has been declared a "PRISONER OF CONSCIOUS" by Amnesty International and shares the same status as imprisoned Burmese dissident AUNG SAN SUU KYI. President Obama has made a public statement affirming Aung San Suu Kyi's status as a prisoner of conscious and called for her release. To date, President Obama or the U.S. State Department have not made any such statements concerning the plight of Birtukan Mideksa supposedly because of vested U.S. interest in the Horn of Africa. The Obama Administration is demonstrating their willingness to appease Meles Zenawi and his EPRDF ruling party for the sake fighting the war on terror, trading off the freedom of an entire nation of people.

Vanvouver advocacy for Birtukan and all political prisoners.

2010-04-11T19:40:00.001-04:00

April 10. 2010 Vancouver Canada
Meeting with MP Peter Julian(NDP) and MLA Raj Chouhan (NDP)
to strength the campaign to Free Ms. Birtukan Mideksa and discuss current human right condition in Ethiopia
Here are two Videos of very inspiring speeches by Peter and Raj
MP Peter Julian(NDP)

MLA Raj Chouhan (NDP)

Joint statement form SOCEPP Canada and Unity for Human Rights and Democracy Toronto

2010-04-02T22:21:00.000-04:00

An urgent appeal to the Government of Canada and all Parliamentarians

March 31, 2010

The Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political prisoners, (SOCEPP Canada) and Unity for Human Rights and Democracy are Toronto based Human rights groups striving for the respect of Human and Democratic rights in

Ethiopia

We are writing to request your immediate intervention to avert a serious human tragedy in Ethiopia.

The health of Birtukan Mideksa, the jailed leader of the opposition UDJ, the first and only female political party leader in the country’s history, is deteriorating fast. Reports indicate that both her physical as well as mental health is at an alarming point. Birtukan Mideksa who is clearly categorized as prisoner of conscious is jailed for speaking her mind and standing firm in her opposition to the ruling group that has been in power for the last 20 years. Birtukan Mideksa, needs to be provided with all the proper medical care that she needs. Birtukan Mideksa is a political prisoner and she needs to be released without any precondition.

The repression against the free press has intensified. Ethiopians continue to be denied of their most basic rights. The Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, in a recent interview with one of the local government media, has openly stated that his government was “testing its ability to jam” Voice of America’s Amharic service. There are fresh reports to indicate that, like many other radio transmissions and web sites before it, the VOA has now been blocked in Ethiopia. This blatant disregard of the free press and the plight of the international community is a continuation of the unabated affront against the international human rights standards.

In the run up to the May 2010 election, the government is increasing its attack on the opposition. There are numerous reports of continued attack on the members of the opposition all over the country. For example, in Jimma Zone, western Ethiopia, candidate of the opposition Medrek was attached by a knife wielding security agents and seriously injured. Another member of the opposition Medrek, Ato Aregawi Gebre Yohanes, was brutally murdered by six members of the same security forces in the northern province of Tigray. Another opposition party - AEUP has stated that a number of its members have been arrested and jailed without cause. In short, indications are that the governing TPLF/EPRDF is forcefully implementing all the means to frustrate the opposition and withdraw from the said election in May 2010.

Additionally, it has now been reported by the likes of the BBC and the party’s former functionaries that, the international humanitarian and relief aid sent from the western world during the great famine of 1984/85 was appropriated by the TPLF and used to buy arms and strengthen its fighting forces while millions of Ethiopians were flooding into the Sudan and tens of thousands were made to perish. There are similar reports to indicate that the TPLF/EPRDF has continued to misappropriate international aid even after it came to power to buy vote while close to 13 million of our people are facing once again facing starvation. It is also reported that those who are suspected of supporting the opposition are denied humanitarian aid.

In view of these harrowing past and present events, then, it is imperative that the international community take these issues seriously, heed the calls of such human rights groups as: Genocide Watch, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International and stop enabling a government that has and continues to perpetrate possible crime against humanity and possible genocide.

We specifically urge the government of Canada and all parliamentarians to:

Engage in a formal discussion regarding the situation in Ethiopia and provide a principled political leadership. A good place to start would be a hearing in the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee on the situation in Ethiopia.
Take immediate action for the respect of the basic rights of Birukan Mideksa including access to medical treatment, to visit by her family friends and international organizations such as the ICRC.
Strive for the release of Birukan Mideksa and all political prisoners including Aberash Berta and many others.
Investigate if Canadian aid was and continues to be used for political purposes by the ruling TPLF/EPRDF both in the mid 1980’s and at the present time.
Demand that the ruling party in Ethiopia respect international conventions and treaties on Human and Democratic rights including freedom of the press and assembly.
Monitor very closely the upcoming election in the country and demand that the ruling party refrain from harassment and suppression of the opposition.
Suspend all direct budgetary aid until the ruling group show full compliance for the respect of Human and Democratic rights in Ethiopia.

SOCEPP- Canada Unity for Human Rights and Democracy

socepp-can@humanrightsethiopia.com 7 Woodmount Ave. Toronto, Ontario

M4C 3X4

P. O. BOX 413, STATION E,                       www.andnettoronto.blogspot.com/
TORONTO, ONTARIO                                 www.freebirtukan.org
M6H 4E3                                                       unityforhumanrights@gmail.com

CANADA

www.humanrightsethiopia.com

Ethiopian opposition barred from seeing jailed leader

2010-03-27T19:56:00.001-04:00

(Reuters) - Ethiopian opposition politicians were barred from visiting their jailed leader, Birtukan Mideksa, Saturday after a U.S. State Department human rights report said her mental health has deteriorated.
Eight opposition politicians asked for access to Birtukan at the prison. They were met by prison head Abebe Zemichael and, after a heated argument in the street outside, were refused permission for not being family members.
Unity for Democracy and Justice party (UDJ) leader Birtukan, a 36-year-old single mother, is seen by analysts as the biggest threat to the almost 20-year-rule of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Ethiopia holds parliamentary elections on May 23.
"We are here today because we are worried about her health and we want to see for ourselves what her condition is," senior UDJ official Seye Abraha told Reuters at the entrance to Kaliti prison, 20 km from the capital Addis Ababa.
"Only her mother and her daughter have been given access to her. They bar friends, they bar party colleagues, no lawyer, no independent doctors."
Ethiopia's last elections in 2005 ended with violence after the opposition said the government fixed its victory.
About 200 protesters were killed by soldiers in riots and opposition leaders, including Birtukan, were jailed for life after Meles said they were trying to oust him.
They were pardoned and released in 2007 when they signed a letter admitting to provoking the violence. Birtukan was sent back to prison in December 2008 after she denied responsibility for the trouble and said she did not ask for a pardon.
The U.S. State Department's human rights report for 2009 said this month: "There were credible reports that Birtukan's mental health deteriorated significantly during the year."
It called her a political prisoner, echoing rights groups.
"She is severely depressed," a relative who did not want to be named told Reuters. "We need to get an independent doctor, not a prison one, to see her."
Ethiopian law permits friends and lawyers to visit prisoners.
Meles has said Birtukan was in "perfect" health, but that diplomats and journalists would not be allowed to visit her.
Analysts say Meles' Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition will win the May 23 poll.
The opposition says this is because they are harassed and jailed. The government says the opposition is trying to discredit a poll it has no chance of winning.
(Editing by Diana Abdallah)

Ethiopia: Repression Rising Ahead of May Elections

2010-03-24T16:55:00.001-04:00

Government Intimidating Opposition Supporters, Media, Activists

March 24, 2010

(Nairobi) - The Ethiopian government is waging a coordinated and sustained attack on political opponents, journalists, and rights activists ahead of the May 2010 elections, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. On May 23, 2010, Ethiopians will vote in the first parliamentary elections in Ethiopia since 2005, when the post-election period was marred by controversy and bloodshed.
The 59-page report, "‘One Hundred Ways of Putting Pressure': Violations of Freedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopia," documents the myriad ways in which the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has systematically punished opposition supporters. Since the 2005 polls, the party has used its near-total control of local and district administrations to undermine opponents' livelihoods through withholding services such as agricultural inputs, micro-credit, and job opportunities. The report also documents how recently enacted laws severely restrict the activities of civil society and the media.
"Expressing dissent is very dangerous in Ethiopia," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The ruling party and the state are becoming one, and the government is using the full weight of its power to eliminate opposition and intimidate people into silence."
Government repression has caused many civil society activists and journalists to flee the country in recent months. The most prominent independent newspaper was closed in December 2009 and the government jammed Voice of America radio broadcasts last month. Ethiopians are unable to speak freely, organize political activities, and challenge their government's policies - whether through peaceful protest, voting, or publishing their views - without fear of reprisal. In 2008, the government arbitrarily imprisoned opposition leader Birtukan Midekssa, president of the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party.
Ethiopia is heavily dependent on foreign assistance, which accounts for approximately one-third of all government expenditures. The country's principal foreign donors - the World Bank, United States, United Kingdom, and European Union - have been very timid in their criticisms of Ethiopia's deteriorating human rights situation, Human Rights Watch said.
For the report, Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 200 people during 15 weeks of research in Ethiopia, including farmers, teachers, civil servants, activists, opposition, and government officials, as well as foreign diplomats and aid officials in the capital, Addis Ababa, and in three other regions.
Since the April 2008 local elections in which the EPRDF won over 99.9 percent of the vote, the ruling party has consolidated its control over village and district administrations and ruled with an iron grip. In the districts visited by Human Rights Watch, residents told how every village was organized into cells and local government officials, and militia monitored households for signs of dissent. Local administrations withheld government services to punish those who criticized the government or did not support the ruling party.
Local government officials have considerable influence over the livelihoods of villagers: they are responsible for selecting and supervising participation in food-for-work programs, allocations of seeds and fertilizer, micro-credit loans, and for providing letters of reference for jobs, educational opportunities, and training. Opposition parties claim that their memberships have been decimated because people have no option but to join the ruling party to protect their jobs and feed their families.
The government has also put pressure on all state employees - and especially teachers - to join the ruling party, and selectively punished critical voices. It has used the draconian Charities and Societies Proclamation as well as the Anti-Terrorism law to intimidate civil society activists and journalists who have tried to report on state repression.
Human Rights Watch calls on the Ethiopian government to take urgent steps to improve the electoral environment by immediately releasing all political prisoners, including Birtukan. Human Rights Watch also calls on the government to publicly order all officials and EPRDF members to cease attacks and threats against members of the political opposition, civil society, and the media; and permit independent efforts, including by international electoral observers, to investigate and publicly report on abuses.
The European Union and the African Union are the only institutions considering sending international election observers to monitor the May elections. Restrictions in the Charities and Societies Proclamation make independent election monitoring by Ethiopian organizations practically impossible. Human Rights Watch called on all international observers to take into account the pre-election repression when assessing the freedom and fairness of the polls.
"Ethiopia's foreign backers should break their silence and condemn the climate of fear in Ethiopia," said Gagnon. "Donors should use their considerable financial leverage to press for an end to the harassment of the opposition and to oppressive laws on activists and the media."
Selected Accounts from the Report

"You have to understand that at the grassroots level, everything is organized according to the EPRDF ideology, everything is organized and controlled by cells; if you are opposition you are excluded [from village life]."

- Teacher, Amhara region

"I am a member of the EPRDF, but I do support the opposition party. Being a member does not mean anything. I am a member of EPRDF because I need relief assistance.... The list of receipts - the proof that I am paying my dues to the party - are required to get relief assistance. I am paying because I do not want to be suppressed or ignored."

- Ruling party member, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region

"There is a significant element of self-censorship, there are many stories we cannot write, many things we cannot say. We are not told the red lines, we have to guess. Their interpretation of terrorism [in the anti-terrorism law] is so broad that it is dangerous for us. For example, if they label a particular political party a terrorist organization then we cannot write about them.... Newspapers are not allowed to do polling or predict anything before the National Electoral Board has announced it."

- Journalist, Addis Ababa

2009 Human Rights Reports: Ethiopia

2010-03-11T17:19:00.000-05:00

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

March 11, 2010

Human rights abuses reported during the year included unlawful killings, torture, beating, abuse and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, often acting with evident impunity; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of suspected sympathizers or members of opposition or insurgent groups; police, administrative and judicial corruption; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; infringement on citizens' privacy rights, including illegal searches; use of excessive force by security services in an internal conflict and counterinsurgency operations; restrictions on freedom of the press; arrest, detention, and harassment of journalists; restrictions on freedom of assembly and association; violence and societal discrimination against women and abuse of children; female genital mutilation (FGM); exploitation of children for economic and sexual purposes; trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against persons with disabilities and religious and ethnic minorities; and government interference in union activities, including harassment of union leaders.

Opposition UDJ party president Birtukan Mideksa, whose pardon was revoked and life sentence reinstated in December 2008, remained in prison throughout the year. She was held in solitary confinement until June, despite a court ruling that indicated it was a violation of her constitutional rights. She was also denied access to visitors except for a few close family members, despite a court order granting visitor access without restrictions. There were credible reports that Birtukan's mental health deteriorated significantly during the year.

Canadians and Ethiopians cannot be duped to serve the cause of a repressive regime in Ethiopia

2010-03-05T21:19:00.000-05:00

The Canadian Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political Prisoners (SOCEPP CANADA) is a non-governmental and non-partisan organization that campaigns for human rights protection and good governance in Ethiopia. One of our mandates is to inform the Canadian public and civic society groups on an ongoing basis about the continued human rights abuses and political repression in that country. As professional Ethiopian Canadians, it is our duty to inform and seek the support of the Canadian public and the government on issues that affect the interests of the two peoples.

The purpose of this statement is to bring to your attention atrocities of the current government of Ethiopia and appeal to your conscience not to get entangled in a Machiavellian scheme that is bent on making you a tool of one of the most despicable dictatorships in Africa. While it is perfectly acceptable to form a voluntary friendship association of Canadians and Ethiopians, given the fact that the Ethiopian Embassy in Ottawa is pushing this agenda, we have little doubt that such an association will soon be trapped in the political whirlpool of a repressive regime the whole world has widely acknowledged especially after the UN Human Rights Review of Ethiopia in Geneva this last December. The embassy is here to do the bidding of the regime in power and has nothing to do with the interests of the people of Ethiopia at large. We say this because the regime in power is not legitimate and not democratically elected; it came to power by military force and continues to maintain a police state that employs mass murder, incarceration, disappearances and exile.

The following points define the character of the current regime in Ethiopia፡-

 The regime is one of the worst violators of human rights in Africa; mass murder in Addis Ababa, Ogaden, Gambella (See: http://www.hrw.org/….http://www.amnesty.org/)

 Total darkness and total control has set in Ethiopia; the regime has wiped out civil liberties, the independent media and exiled several journalists (ref. www: Ifj.org)

The regime in power kills, imprisons and represses political opponents (witness the incarceration of Birtukan Mideksa, the killing and imprisonment of alleged OLF and ONLF members)

The ruling clique, commonly known as TPLF (Tigrai Peoples Liberation Front) controls all three powers of government, i.e. the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. This empowers a minority elite group that comes from 6% of the country’s population to control the political, economic and social life of an entire population of 80 million. (see http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/13session/A.HRC.13.17_En.pdf)

 The main reason for the poverty and destitution of Ethiopians is the obscene concentration of wealth in the hands of TPLF elites. The ruling party controls banking, import/export, manufacturing, mining, construction, transport, communication etc. Compare the opulent lifestyle of the ruling elites and the starvation of 6 million people every year.

 More than 80% of the top military leaders of the national army are ethnic Tigrians. That explains why a small group of authoritarian politicians are able to impose their rule over an entire country.

(http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/13session/A.HRC.13.17_En.pdf)

Whatever the paragons of deceit may tell you, life under the TPLF regime for ordinary Ethiopians is hell on earth. They have neither enough to eat and nor freedom to exercise their rights. They are a nation caged up in the authoritarian prison of TPLF. Canadians are a glorious nation of compassionate people who respect the rights and liberties of all peoples without distinction. SOCEPP Canada urges all Canadians who have been invited by the Embassy to form an “Ethiopian Canadian Friendship Association” to reject the proposal presented by the agents of a repressive regime. If we need a friendship association, we assure you it can be formed in a free and unrestricted environment where interested people can come together and form it without strings attached.

FRIENDS OF ETHIOPIA STAND FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM

FRIENDS OF ETHIOPIA REJECT THE MANIPULATION OF A REPRESSIVE REGIME

Source http://humanrightsethiopia.com

2010-02-08T20:24:00.000-05:00

EMF (8 February 2010) As part of international campaign to demand the release of Birtukan Mideksa, charismatic leader of Ethiopia’s opposition UDJ, the Dutch chapter of Amnesty International held a colourful “Free Birtukan!” campaign programs on Sunday, 7 February 2010 in Abcoude, Netherlands. [Picture By meekspictures.nl, Nienke Meek]
Among the speakers at the program were Judge Welde-Michael Meshesa and Mr. Bartho Braat, a famous Dutch actor who plays as Jef Alberts in GTST.
Mr. Bartho Braat, a famous Dutch serie film actor (goede tijd slechte tijd) tells story of Pandora box, how and why Judge Wolde-Michael flee from Ethiopia. Birtukan Mideksa is serving a life sentence in Kaliti Prison in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She is Amnesty’s prisoner of conscience. AI categorized Birtukan’s imprisonment as unjust and politically motivated.
The event was opened by the orchestra music of Cecilia and Friends, followed by an impressive reading of the Dutch famous serie film actor, Mr. Bartho Braat, about the myth of Pandora box. Mr. Bartho explained why and how Judge Wolde-Michael flee his beloved country. “The Judge refused Meles Zenawi’s request to reverse the decision he and his inquiry commission made a conclusion - the security forces used excessive forces to stop the unrest that occurred in the country”.
Several questions were raised to Judge Wolde-Michael, to which he gave impressive responses.
“She spoke about her pardon at a public meeting in Sweden in November 2008 that the base for their release was the negotiation that initiated and concluded in agreement with the government by the Ethiopian elders. When she returned to back, the authorities asked her to retract the statement she made in Sweden; she refused to retract her and was rearrested in December 2008.” Judge Wolde-Michael said.
Wolde-Michael also explained about the worsening human right situation, the hunger which resulted from bad governance and the death of freedom of expression in Ethiopia. He also thanked Amnesty International for its positive contribution towards respect of human rights worldwide in general and particularly for its role in Ethiopia.

Amnesty’s Free Birtukan! campaign in Netherlands

The Cecilia and Friends orchestra added flavor to the program through its popular music of king Solomon to queen of Sheba and other musics to honor Birtukan Mideksa.
Finally the gathering signed a post card letter which addressed to European Union’s commissioner of development and Birtukan Mideksa.

Africa Policy Outlook 2010 By Africa Action and FPIF Staff, January 22, 2010

2010-01-28T16:59:00.002-05:00

Meles Zenawi has been in power as prime minister of Ethiopia since August 23, 1995. He has forged very strong military ties to the United States, and his loyalty has resulted in billions of dollars in U.S. military support and aid. Ethiopia’s controversial election five years ago resulted in a military crackdown, with over 200 deaths and thousands imprisoned or exiled. Furthermore, because the United States needed support from the government of Ethiopia to lead an invasion of Somalia, it turned a blind eye to numerous human rights violations and all but endorsed Zenawi.

In May 2010, Ethiopia is scheduled to have new elections. The incumbent party is the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) headed by Zenawi. At the beginning of November 2009, after two months of comprehensive negotiations, the ruling EPRDF and three opposition political parties signed a historic joint agreement on an electoral code of conduct and implementation guidelines. The code was designed to affirm basic constitutional rights and ensure free and fair elections in 2010. However, it excluded other leading opposition political parties.
Medrek, a forum for eight political parties, walked out of the negotiations after accusing the ruling party of imprisoning 450 of its members and candidates “to stop them [from] running as candidates in national elections.” One Medrek member in prison is Birtukan Mideksa, a charismatic young former judge. After her party won more than a third of the legislative seats in the 2005 election, government forces arrested and sentenced her to life imprisonment for “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.” A storm of international protest from human rights activists ensued, and the government pardoned her in 2007. Touted as a potent force in the 2010 vote, Birtukan was re-arrested in 2008 and remains imprisoned today.
Since September 10, 2009, security forces have arrested dozens of politicians and opposition supporters, accusing them of plotting against the government. Melaku Teferra, another prominent associate of Birtukan’s party, was among 40 people arrested and accused in October 2009 of participating in a coup plot allegedly directed by Berhanu Nega, the former mayor of Addis Ababa. On November 19, the government accused 27 additional opposition leaders of conspiring to overthrow Prime Minister Zenawi. Despite the pretense of democracy, Ethiopia remains a police state under the firm control of Meles Zenawi, not the people of Ethiopia.

Human Rights Watch Report 2010

2010-01-21T20:02:00.001-05:00

Ethiopia is on a deteriorating human rights trajectory as parliamentary elections approach in 2010. These will be the first national elections since 2005, when post-election protests resulted in the deaths of at least 200 protesters, many of them victims of excessive use of force by the police. Broad patterns of government repression have prevented the emergence of organized opposition in most of the country. In December 2008 the government re-imprisoned opposition leader Birtukan Midekssa for life after she made remarks that allegedly violated the terms of an earlier pardon.
In 2009 the government passed two pieces of legislation that codify some of the worst aspects of the slide towards deeper repression and political intolerance. A civil society law passed in January is one of the most restrictive of its kind, and its provisions will make most independent human rights work impossible. A new counter terrorism law passed in July permits the government and security forces to prosecute political protesters and non-violent expressions of dissent as acts of terrorism.
Political Repression and the 2010 Elections
As Ethiopia heads toward nationwide elections, the government continues to clamp down on the already limited space for dissent or independent political activity. Ordinary citizens who criticize government policies or officials frequently face arrest on trumped-up accusations of belonging to illegal "anti-peace" groups, including armed opposition movements. Officials sometimes bring criminal cases in a manner that appears to selectively target government critics, as when in June 2009 prominent human rights activist Abebe Worke was charged with illegal importation of radio equipment and ultimately fled the country. In the countryside government-supplied (and donor-funded) agricultural assistance and other resources are often used as leverage to punish and prevent dissent, or to compel individuals into joining the ruling party.
The opposition is in disarray, but the government has shown little willingness to tolerate potential challengers. In December 2008 the security forces re-arrested Birtukan Midekssa, leader of the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party, which had begun to build a grassroots following in the capital. The government announced that Birtukan would be jailed for life because she had made public remarks that violated the terms of an earlier pardon for alleged acts of treason surrounding the 2005 elections. The authorities stated that there was no need for a trial as the move was a mere legal technicality.
In July the Ethiopian government passed a new anti-terrorism law. The law provides broad powers to the police, and harsh criminal penalties can be applied to political protesters and others who engage in acts of nonviolent political dissent. Some of its provisions appear tailored less toward addressing terrorism and more toward allowing for a heavy-handed response to mass public unrest, like that which followed Ethiopia's 2005 elections.

Civil Society Activism and Media Freedom

The space for independent civil society activity in Ethiopia, already extremely narrow, shrank dramatically in 2009. In January the government passed a new civil society law whose provisions are among the most restrictive of any comparable law anywhere in the world. The law makes any work that touches on human rights or governance issues illegal if carried out by foreign non-governmental organizations, and labels any Ethiopian organization that receives more than 10 percent of its funding from sources outside of Ethiopia as "foreign." The law makes most independent human rights work virtually impossible, and human rights work deemed illegal under the law is punishable as a criminal offense.

Ethiopia passed a new media law in 2008 that improved upon several repressive aspects of the previous legal regime. The space for independent media activity in Ethiopia remains severely constrained, however. In August two journalists were jailed on charges derived partly from Ethiopia's old, and now defunct, press proclamation. Ethiopia's new anti-terror law contains provisions that will impact the media by making journalists and editors potential accomplices in acts of terrorism if they publish statements seen as encouraging or supporting terrorist acts, or even, simply, political protest.

Pretrial Detention and Torture

The Ethiopian government continues its longstanding practice of using lengthy periods of pretrial and pre-charge detention to punish critics and opposition activists, even where no criminal charges are ultimately pursued. Numerous prominent ethnic Oromo Ethiopians have been detained in recent years on charges of providing support to the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF); in almost none of these cases have charges been pursued, but the accused, including opposition activists, have remained in detention for long periods. Canadian national Bashir Makhtal was convicted on charges of supporting the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) in July, after a trial that was widely criticized as unfair; he was in detention for two-and-a-half years before his sentence was handed down, and he was unable to access legal counsel and consular representatives for much of that period.
Not only are periods of pretrial detention punitively long, but detainees and convicted prisoners alike face torture and other ill-treatment. Human Rights Watch and other organizations have documented consistent patterns of torture in police and military custody for many years. The Ethiopian government regularly responds that these abuses do not exist, but even the government's own Human Rights Commission acknowledged in its 2009 annual report that torture and other abuses had taken place in several detention facilities, including in Ambo and Nekemte.

Impunity for Military Abuses

The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) has committed serious abuses, in some cases amounting to war crimes or crimes against humanity, in several different conflicts in recent years. Human Rights Watch is not aware of any meaningful efforts to hold the officers or government officials most responsible for those abuses to account. The only government response to crimes against humanity and other serious abuses committed by the military during a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in Gambella in late 2003 and 2004 was an inquiry that prosecuted a handful of junior personnel for deliberate and widespread patterns of abuse. No one has been investigated or held to account for war crimes and other widespread violations of the laws of war during Ethiopia's bloody military intervention in neighboring Somalia from 2006 to 2008.
In August 2008 the Ethiopian government did purport to launch an inquiry into allegations of serious crimes in Somali Regional State, where the armed forces have been fighting a campaign against the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front for many years. The inquiry was sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, lacked independence, and concluded that no serious abuses took place. To date the government continues to restrict access of independent investigators into the area.

Relations in the Horn of Africa

In August the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission issued its final rulings on monetary damages stemming from the bloody 1998-2000 border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Nonetheless the two countries remain locked in an intractable dispute about the demarcation of the heavily militarized frontier. Eritrea continues to play a destabilizing role throughout the Horn of Africa through its efforts to undermine and attack the government of Ethiopia wherever possible. The government of President Isayas Afewerki hosts and materially supports fighters from Ethiopian rebel movements, including the Oromo Liberation Front. Eritrea has also pursued a policy of supporting armed opposition groups in Somalia as a way of undermining Ethiopia's support for the country's weak Transitional Federal Government.

Key International Actors

Ethiopia is one of the most aid-dependant countries in the world and received more than US$2 billion in 2009, but its major donors have been unwilling to confront the government over its worsening human rights record. Even as the country slides deeper into repression, the Ethiopian government uses development aid funding as leverage against the donors who provide it-many donors fear that the government would discontinue or scale back their aid programs should they speak out on human rights concerns. This trend is perhaps best exemplified by the United Kingdom, whose government has consistently chosen to remain silent in order to protect its annual £130 million worth of bilateral aid and development programs.
Donors are also fearful of jeopardizing access for humanitarian organizations to respond to the drought and worsening food crisis. Millions of Ethiopians depend on food aid, and the government has sought to minimize the scale of the crisis and restrict access for independent surveys and response.
While Ethiopia's government puts in place measures to control the elections in 2010, many donors have ignored the larger trends and focused instead on negotiating with the government to allow them to send election observers.
A significant shift in donor policy toward Ethiopia would likely have to be led by the US government, Ethiopia's largest donor and most important political ally on the world stage. But President Barack Obama's administration has yet to depart from the policies of the Bush administration, which consistently refused to speak out against abuses in Ethiopia. While the reasons may be different-the current government is not as narrowly focused on security cooperation with Ethiopia as was the Bush administration- thus far the practical results have been the same. The events described above attracted little public protest from the US government in 2009.

Ethiopia abusing leaders rights.

2010-01-15T18:51:00.005-05:00

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 15 2010 -BY AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
An Ethiopian opposition official accused the government on Friday of violating the rights of his party's jailed leader who is serving life imprisonment.

Birtukan Mideksa, head of the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party, was initially sentenced to life on treason charges in 2005 after her party accused the regime of vote rigging in that year's elections, but was pardoned two years later.

The sentence was reinstated in December 2008 however, after authorities claimed the 36-year-old had obstructed the terms of her pardon by denying that she had "expressed remorse" in political rallies held in Europe.

"The authorities are still violating her constitutional rights despite a court order. Nobody is allowed to visit her apart from her mother and daughter," Gizachew Shiferaw, a senior party official, told AFP.

"We had brought the issue of visitation rights to court which ruled in favour of us, but they are reneging on their obligations," he said.

Gizachew added that Birtukan spent 107 days in solitary confinement.

Several rallies in the United States and Europe were held earlier this month to pressure for her release, while a small-scale demonstration took place in Addis Ababa to mark one year since her imprisonment.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said last month there was "zero chance" that she would be released in time for polls on May 23, the first since 2005 when disputed results sparked violence that claimed around 200 lives.

The United States, a staunch Ethiopian ally and the country's top aid contributor, has expressed concern over the 36-year-old's re-arrest and called for more political freedom in the Horn of Africa nation.

Five other opposition leaders were sentenced to death and 33 other people to life imprisonment in December for plotting to overthrow the government.

Authorities claimed a group called "Ginbot 7" -- led by Birtukan's former ally Berhanu Nega -- had plotted to kill government officials and sabotage infrastructure.

Rights groups have accused Meles' regime of instilling a climate of fear ahead of the polls.

Jailed but not forgotten: Birtukan Mideksa,Birtukan Mideksa, Ethiopia's most famous prisoner

2010-01-11T17:00:00.004-05:00

Life sentence for Unity for Democracy and Justice leader casts shadow over May elections

Birtukan Mikdesa's mother and child
Almaz Gebregziabher and her granddaughter, Halley, hold a photograph of Halley’s mother, Birtukan Mideksa, who has been likened to Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi in her fight for democracy. Photograph: Xan Rice
At noon every Sunday an old Toyota sedan donated by supporters of Ethiopia's most famous prisoner pulls up near a jail on the outskirts of the capital. A 74-year-old woman in a white shawl and her four-year-old granddaughter – the only outsiders the prisoner is allowed to see – step out for a 30-minute visit.
Most inmates at Kaliti prison want their relatives to buy them food. But Birtukan Mideksa, the 35-year-old leader of the country's main opposition party, always asks her mother and daughter to bring books: an anthology titled The Power of Non-Violence, Bertrand Russell's Best, and the memoirs of Gandhi, Barack Obama, and Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese political prisoner to whom she has been compared.

Mideksa, a single mother and former judge, was among dozens of opposition leaders, journalists and civil society workers arrested following anti-government demonstrations after the disputed 2005 elections. Charged with treason for allegedly planning to overthrow the government – accusations rejected by independent groups such as Amnesty International – the political leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment. After spending nearly two years in jail they were pardoned, but Mideksa was rearrested in December 2008 for challenging the official version of circumstances that led to her release. Her pardon was revoked, her life sentence reinstated, and she was sent to solitary confinement for several months before being moved to a shared cell.

"My child did not do anything wrong – she had no weapon, she committed no crime," said Almaz Gebregziabher, Mideksa's mother, in her house on a hillside in Addis Ababa after visiting her daughter one recent Sunday. "I want the world to know that this is unjust."
Many Ethiopians agree. Mideksa's treatment has turned her into a local heroine, and cast a shadow over elections due in May. Opposition parties and international human rights groups say the case is clear proof of the authoritarian government's stalled progress towards democracy.
It is also evidence, they say, of the double standards of western donors when dealing with Meles Zenawi, the prime minister, a major aid recipient and ally in the "war against terror".
While Zenawi makes no attempt to hide his disdain for Mideksa – talk of her release is a "dead issue", he said last month – he denies the case is political.
But a look at her history with his regime and at her popularity particularly among young voters –shows why few people outside his party believe him.
Born into a humble family, Mideksa excelled at university and was appointed a federal judge in Addis Ababa. In 2002, she was assigned a case involving Siye Abraha, a former defence minister who had fallen out with Zenawi and was accused of corruption. Mideksa released him on bail – a rare show of judicial independence in Ethiopia – but when Abraha left court he was immediately rearrested and jailed.
"That case showed her courage, her sense of justice," said Hailu Araya, vice-chairman of Mideksa's Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party. "But the government took this an affront."
Mideksa's relatives said she then joined opposition forces before the 2005 elections and was then arrested and released in 2007.
Upon her release her status as a rising political star soon became evident.
In her home neighbourhood they were big celebrations, and supporters chipped in to buy her the Toyota. Mideksa's mother tried to persuade he to go into exile, as some other opposition leaders had done.
But she refused, according to her cousin, Eyerusalem Yilma. "Birtukan always said: 'There's no politics from a distance'."
She set about bringing together the various opposition groups from 2005, and helped found the UDJ of which she was elected chairperson. Her age and gender made this extraordinary, not just in Ethiopia, but in all Africa.
"She is charismatic, young, smart and courageous. And that makes her a threat to Meles, of course," said Bulcha Demeksa, chairman of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, an opposition party in coalition with the UDJ.
Mesfin Woldemariam, 79, the founder of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, who was jailed alongside Mideksa in 2005and wants the opposition to boycott the election if she is not released, said she had another key attribute – her lack of baggage. "Many young people feel they need a new political class, outside of the influence of this Marxist-Leninist government, and the previous Derg and Haile Selassie regimes, in which many other opposition leaders featured. They want a clean slate and Birtukan fits in with that," Woldemariam said.
In November 2008, while in Europe, Mideksa told an audience of Ethiopians in Sweden that her pardon had come as a result of negotiations rather than an official request made through legal channels. While people who were in jail with her the first time say this reflected the truth, the government said it equated to denying asking for a pardon, and sent her back to jail. Although Mideksa tries to assure her mother and daughter that she will be out soon, the strain on them is obvious. Gebregziabher says: "My eyes have almost gone blind from crying," and that Mideksa's daughter Halley asks: "Isn't this enough – why don't you come home mum?" during each weekly visit.
But there is no sympathy from the government. "She was advised to obey the rule of law," said Teferi Melese, head of public diplomacy at the foreign affairs ministry in Addis Ababa. "But she broke the conditions of her pardon, thinking her friends in the EU could get her released."
That foreign embassies, including Britain's, which have been refused permission to visit Mideksa, have barely made a public complaint about the case appears to back opposition complaints that when it comes to Ethiopia, as opposed to say Kenya or Zimbabwe,donors favour stability over democratic reforms or human rights.
One reason is Zenawi's status as a western ally in the horn of Africa, where Islamists are trying to take over neighbouring Somalia. Another reason, somewhat incongruously, is the huge amount of aid money that flows into Ethiopia and helps donor countries move closer to meeting their international aid commitments.
"The government says the more we make noise the more difficult it will be to get her [Mideksa] out," said one western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Are we going to risk our entire aid budget for one person? No."
A devisive government
Meles Zenawi came to power in 1991 when his rebel army ousted the brutal Derg regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam. Despite presiding over strong economic growth, improving health and education services, and developing a multi-party system, Meles's ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) remains hugely divisive.
The EPRDF includes four ethnically-based parties, but the strong dominance of Meles' Tigray ethnic group, who constitute only 6% of the population, over all key aspects of government is one source of great resentment, particularly among Amharas and Oromos, who together account for 60% of the country's 80m people.
Another is the ruling regime's repressive governing style. Despite official, often Orwellian, denials – "We make it very easy for journalists in this country," Hailemariam Desalegn, the government chief whip, once said in an interview – there is very little press freedom, and civil society groups have been intimidated into silence.
The public discontent was obvious in the 2005 election, when opposition groups swept the seats in the capital Addis Ababa and made gains nationwide. In anti-government demonstrations that followed police killed at least 193 civilians and tens of thousands of people were arrested. The EPRDF, which accuses opposition leaders of fomenting ethnic hatred, says it is confident that the upcoming election in May will be peaceful.

2009-12-28T17:35:00.000-05:00

What now for Ethiopia's "Aung San Suu Kyi"?

2009-12-21T21:03:00.000-05:00

The first time I interviewed Birtukan Mideksa I was struck by how careful she was not to say the wrong thing. It was 2007 and we were standing in the garden of a community centre in the part of Addis Ababa where she was raised. She had just been released from prison and the locals — many of whom struggle to feed themselves — had each given about a dollar to throw her the party-cum-political rally we had just attended and to buy her an old Toyota Corolla car to help her back on her feet again.

Such was her care when talking to me that, after less than five minutes, I discreetly switched
off my recorder knowing the interview would never make a story, and continued the conversation only out of politeness and professional interest in Ethiopian politics.

It seems her caution was well-placed. The 36-year-old opposition leader and mother of one is back behind bars, accused by the government of speaking out of turn. It has been almost exactly one year since a group of policemen snatched her as she walked to her car with political ally Mesfin Woldemariam. Mesfin — a large, grey-haired man in his 70s — was bitten by a police officer in a scuffle when he tried to intervene.

Now her supporters in the Horn of Africa country are calling her “Ethiopia’s Aung San Suu Kyi” in what analysts see as a move aimed at attracting international attention to her detention. Government officials often smirk when when what they see as an overblown comparison is made.

Party colleagues say she was jailed because the government feared her heading an opposition coalition in national elections set for May and rights group Amnesty International calls her a “prisoner of conscience”.

To her champions, Birtukan is the great hope for reconciliation in Ethiopia’s often bitter political landscape. To her detractors, she has been made a romantic figure by her jailing and doesn’t have the intellectual muscle or strategic nous to lead the huge country.

Some Ethiopians see sinister shading in the lack of international attention, claiming western powers are happy to see Prime Minister Meles Zenawi — in power for almost 20 years — stay on as long as he liberalises the country’s potentially huge economy and remains a loyal U.S. ally in a volatile neighbourhood that includes shambolic Somalia.

Others say, with some resignation, that yet another jailed politician in Africa just doesn’t make news anymore.

Opposition politicians have even started arguing amongst themselves over her jailing. A split in Birtukan’s Unity for Democracy and Justice party is being blamed by some on accusations that certain UDJ officials had policy disagreements with their leader and so are now not working hard enough for her release.

Birtukan was jailed for the first time after Ethiopia’s last elections in 2005. A coalition of parties, of which she was a leader, claimed a fix when the government declared victory. Police and soldiers then killed about 200 opposition protesters in running street battles when Meles said they were marching on state buildings to overthrow him.

She was released in 2007, along with other opposition leaders, after the government said they had accepted responsibility for orchestrating the violence and asked for a pardon. But Birtukan, a former judge, then made a speech in which she said she never asked for any such pardon.

Her defiant words riled many and ruling party members said she was trying to destablise Ethiopian politics, risking a rerun of 2005’s trouble. Meles himself — who had to fight hardliners in his party to push through the 2007 pardon deal — seemed angry and backroom negotiations aimed at forcing her to withdraw her remarks began. She refused.

Now, a year into her detention, Meles seems reluctant even to speak her name, preferring to call her “the lady” or “that woman”.

When he finally did say the word Birtukan last week at a news conference, he couldn’t have been clearer about her future.

“There will never be an agreement with anybody to release Birtukan,” he said. “Ever. Full stop. That’s a dead issue.”

The words will have chilled her family, friends and political allies.

So what next for Birtukan? Does Meles mean what he says? Or will she be pardoned again after the elections? Is she a future Prime Minister for Ethiopia? Or has she simply become a romanticised figure? Why isn’t the international community pushing harder for her release?

Does the World need another Martyr? The Case of Birtukan Mideksa

2009-12-14T21:26:00.002-05:00

On December 28 2008, Birtukan Mideksa was arrested again and imprisoned to serve a life sentence after the pardon granted to her in 2007 was revoked. Medeksa was among more than 100 people jailed for offences after allegations of fraud took hold of the Ethiopian election in 2005. The Ethiopian government claimed that her pardon was conditional on "an apology for her crimes." Today, the 36yr old court judge and mother appears to be gradually elevating to martyrdom status alone in her prison cell -- much the same way Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma has.

In May of 2005 the Ethiopian government shot and killed 193 unarmed protesters after a much contested national election. In addition, thousands around the country were rounded up and sent to prison. The press was virtually shut down and many journalists were forced to go into hiding or risk the possibility of suffering horrific consequences at the hands of government security forces. The effect on the population has been devastating. Since the government crackdown Ethiopians have been living in fear of a regime that has demonstrated it will stop at nothing to maintain power, including murdering its own citizens.

The next Ethiopian national election is rapidly approaching and will be held next May. As a filmmaker and a strong supporter of human rights and democracy, I tried my best to reveal the circumstances Ethiopians face in my current film, Migration of Beauty. The film documents in detail the election in 2005 and draws parallels between the present reality inside the country and how it affects the lives of Ethiopians in the Diaspora. I cannot help but be discouraged with all the latest developments coming out of Ethiopia. A recent Reuter’s article indicates that hundreds of opposition party members have been rounded up and sent to prison in preparation for the upcoming election. Indeed, the ruling party’s most viable opponent, Birtukan Mideksa has been in prison since December of 2008. Before her arrest she was hailed as the best possibility to beat Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and his party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front or, EPRDF. Now, Birtukan Mideksa appears to be gradually elevating to martyrdom status much the same way Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma has.

As the election gets nearer, grim news coming out of Ethiopia increases with tremendous frequency. A recent report by the Committee to Protect Journalists or CPJ reveals that Ethiopia is the second most abusive country towards journalists in the entire continent of Africa. Organizations like, Reporters Without Borders and the International Press Institute have been sounding the alarm for some time.

At a recent screening of my film in New York City, Tala Dowlatshahi, the senior adviser for the U.S. branch of Reporters Without Borders and anchor of RUTV illustrated quite clearly the horrific situation of two particular Ethiopian journalists. Serkalem Fasil and Eskinder Nega were initially jailed after the 2005 Ethiopian election. They were eventually released under a pardon agreement but now with the 2010 election approaching, the government is attempting to legally revoke the pardon and put them back in prison. Dowlatshahi further pointed out the Ethiopian governments attempt to use an anti-terrorism law to charge journalists both as individuals and the companies they work for. The law was passed earlier this year and is having the ominous effect of forcing journalists to permanently close newspapers and flee the country as charges are being drafted against them.

Recently Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi went to Copenhagen to represent Africa in the United Nations Climate Change Conference. I was personally dismayed how such an oppressive figure could be accepted to represent an entire continent. Even more astounding is the insensitivity of “the powers that be” towards the suffering of the Ethiopian people. As former New York Times reporter Doug McGill put it, “he’s being recognized and welcomed with open arms.” McGill also compared him to North Koreas Kim Jong Ill and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabee.

Journalists and filmmakers who work with REPORTERS UNCENSORED still have much work to do to inform the general public about oppressive regimes like the EPRDF and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. They will always be what they are but those who insist on lending them the credit to continue their filthy practices are the ones we need to call out.

Ethiopian family struggles to escape a lethal legacy

2009-11-20T21:34:00.003-05:00

A Canadian siblings is in jail, and the rest say they are on the run from persecution for the sins of their forefather

David Macdougall Garissa, Kenya — From Friday's Globe and Mail Published on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 10:41PM EST Last updated on Friday, Nov. 20, 2009 11:42AM EST
During the first month of her imprisonment in Ethiopia, Rukiya Ahmed Makhtal was blindfolded and beaten. “You are Makhtal's family,” she recalled her persecutor saying. “If you are Makhtal's family, that means you are one of the problems.”
Ms. Makhtal, 53, is the older sister of Ethiopian-born Bashir Ahmed Makhtal, the Canadian citizen and former Toronto information technologist who has spent the past three years in Ethiopian prisons. Convicted of terrorism-related charges, he was sentenced in August to life in prison, but is scheduled to appear before an appeal court today. His family, who maintain his innocence, say they have been persecuted because of the actions of his grandfather.
After spending 14 months in various Ethiopian prisons where she says she was bound, blindfolded and badly beaten, thrown in isolation, raped and told she would be executed, Ms. Makhtal was at last transferred to a crowded low-security prison where family scrounged for 1,000 birr (roughly $80) and paid the guards to look the other way while she walked through the prison gates and, like so many of her kin, away from Ethiopia for good.
For two days, she trudged across the Ethiopian desert, struggling from poor health and the wounds on her body, trying to blend in with a train of nomads and fearful she might be spotted before reaching the border.
During the past year, others in Bashir Makhtal's family have trickled into Hagadera, a notoriously squalid and overcrowded refugee camp at Dadaab in Kenya's North Eastern Province.
Ms. Makhtal, who is asking for resettlement in Canada as a refugee and whose case is being followed by Amnesty International, is now among 16 people sleeping in the sand under scant shelter, all of whom say they are related to Bashir Makhtal and the victims of persecution in Ethiopia.
Bashir Makhtal and his sister, Rukiya, are the grandchildren of a founding member of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, a separatist movement in the ethnic Somali region of eastern Ethiopia, though both deny having been involved in the group.
“He was my grandfather,” Ms. Makhtal says. “We didn't even know him.”
After an April, 2007, ONLF attack on a Chinese oil field at Abole in eastern Ethiopia that left 70 Chinese and Ethiopian workers dead, Ethiopia drastically stepped up a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in the region.
A 2008 Human Rights Watch report accuses Ethiopian soldiers of burning down entire villages, mass detentions and even demonstration killings, “with Ethiopian soldiers singling out relatives of suspected ONLF members,” and of conducting widespread “military attacks on civilians and villages that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Abdi Mohamed Ahmed, 29, who says Ms. Makhtal is his aunt and who denies ever being involved with the ONLF, remembers the night in late 2007 the Ethiopian National Defence Forces came for his family, circling his house before dragging out his entire family, beating them and hauling them off to different jails.
“They used to tie our eyes, torturing and beating. They used to tie our hands and legs together and they hang us up from the ceiling. And everybody was alone.”
This was when Bashir Makhtal's sister, his older brother Hassan Ahmed, and several of their children were also arrested.
Last Thursday, Hassan Ahmed Makhtal, who had been imprisoned for 22 months and was serving a life sentence, died in the Ethiopian capital after being released early to receive medical attention. A press release issued by the Ogaden Human Rights Commission claims he “died from wounds sustained during his detention,” though the cause of his death could not be independently verified.
According to several family members, two of Hassan Makhtal's children – a 27-year-old son and a 25-year-old daughter – were beaten to death in military prisons less than a month after their arrest in 2008.
“They are not targeting ONLF. Our army is very strong now,” said Abdirahman Mahdi, a central committee member of the separatist group, who spoke during a recent interview in Toronto. “What they do is they target the weak spot, the civilians, the women and children.”
“This isn't just something personal with respect to Bashir Makhtal, although he clearly is one of the figures at the centre of this drama,” said Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada, which has monitored Mr. Makhtal's case since his arrest. “It's family-based persecution, and I think that also underscores the nature and the severity of the repression the Ogadeni population is experiencing in Ethiopia.”
Mr. Makhtal was arrested by Kenyan authorities in December, 2006, as he attempted to flee the suddenly rising violence in neighbouring Somalia, where friends and family say he had travelled for business.
He was among 90 prisoners, including American, British and Kenyan nationals, who were forcibly deported, in violation of both Kenyan and international law, first to Mogadishu and then to Ethiopia. While every other Western country managed to secure the release of its citizens, Mr. Makhtal, the only Canadian arrested, alone remains in Ethiopian custody.
Said Makhtal, Mr. Makhtal's cousin in Hamilton, Ont., says he's optimistic about tomorrow's outcome, but added: “I don't know how much more I can count on the Ethiopian court system.”
In the meantime, many of Mr. Makhtal's family are left to wait in the refugee camp while Amnesty International Canada puts forward their case to the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi.
“The life of Hagadera is too difficult,” Mr. Ahmed said. “There is no life, there is no health. There is not even enough water, the air of that place is not even good.”
“And still this moment we live under fear because there may be Ethiopian security,” he added, pointing out that Kenya already delivered his uncle, Mr. Makhtal, to Ethiopian authorities.
“Obviously, Canada continues to face difficulties in ensuring the safety of Mr. Makhtal himself,” Mr. Neve said. “At least we do have the opportunity to try and ensure safety for these other family members.”
Special to The Globe and Mail

2009-11-18T16:50:00.001-05:00

Geoffrey york Addis Ababa — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Published on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 8:51PM EST Last updated on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 4:29AM EST

Six months before a crucial election, one of Ethiopia's small band of opposition MPs has a simple question: How can he campaign for votes when he cannot even hold a public meeting or meet voters freely?

Negaso Gidada, a former president of Ethiopia and now an independent MP, tried to visit his constituents in southern Ethiopia recently. It was an arduous journey.

He was not permitted to hold any meetings in public places. He was kept under surveillance, and his hosts were interrogated. Those who met him were questioned by police. He was given no coverage in the media.

“People are so intimidated that they are afraid even to speak to me on the phone,” he says. “Campaigning is totally impossible. How can it be a fair election?”

Four years ago, foreign election observers concluded that the last Ethiopian election had been rigged. Opposition supporters took to the streets, and an estimated 30,000 people were arrested in a crackdown on dissent. Nearly 200 people were killed when Ethiopia's police opened fire on the protesters. Dozens of opposition leaders and activists were jailed.

This time, with an election scheduled for May, the ruling party is taking no chances. Ethiopia is sliding deeper into authoritarian controls. Police agents and informers are keeping a close eye on the population, with harsh restrictions imposed on opposition leaders and civil society groups.

The election matters because Ethiopia is strategically important. It is the second most populous country in sub-Saharan African, and a key U.S. ally in the Horn of Africa, where Ethiopian troops have repeatedly intervened in Somalia. And it is one of the biggest recipients of Canadian foreign aid, with $90-million donated by Canada in 2007 alone.

Mr. Negaso, who was president of Ethiopia from 1995 to 2001 but later split from the ruling party of autocratic Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, has managed to hold only a few public meetings as he travelled around the country in the past year.

One meeting in August was broken up by dozens of thugs, including some whom he recognized from the ranks of the ruling party. They shouted, whistled, grabbed the microphone and prevented people from speaking. “We were chased out,” Mr. Negaso said.

In another district, he said, the police told opposition leaders that they needed a special permit if they wanted to use a megaphone.

Even his e-mail messages and phone calls are monitored, he said. But he refuses to be intimidated. “If you are afraid,” he says, “you can't do anything.”

Another opposition leader, Seeye Abraha, is a former close ally of Mr. Meles from the early 1970s when they were both young revolutionaries fighting the military junta known as the Derg, which they finally overthrew in 1991. He became the defence minister but was jailed for six years on corruption allegations after a falling out with Mr. Meles. Now he says he is under constant surveillance, his phones and e-mails monitored, his movements constantly followed by security agents.

Seeye Abraha, an opposition leader in Ethiopia, is a former defence minister and was once a close ally of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. He says he is under constant surveillance by government agents who follow him and his children.

“In restaurants, spies sit close to me, and you can't ask them to leave,” he says. “There is no private life, no private property. And there is nowhere you can complain. You can go to the police, but they will do nothing.”

In a desperate effort to communicate with voters, the opposition sometimes tries to distribute cellphones to its supporters. If it sends campaign letters to voters, the letters must be kept hidden from security agents. “Families are afraid to pass the letters from one to another,” said Bulcha Demeksa, an MP who heads an opposition party.

Earlier this year, eight of Ethiopia's opposition parties formed a coalition with Mr. Negaso and Mr. Seeye in a bid to defeat the ruling party, but the move has been little help. “If tomorrow I go to my constituency and speak to people under a tree, the police will disrupt it,” Mr. Bulcha said.

The International Crisis Group, an independent think tank based in Brussels, says the Ethiopian government is controlling its population with neighbourhood committees, informers, media controls and high-tech surveillance.

“Thanks to Chinese electronic monitoring-and-control software, the government is able to block most opposition electronic communications when it desires,” the group said in a recent report.

“Few journalists, academics, human-rights advocates and intellectuals dare to publicly criticize the government. While self-censorship existed before the 2005 elections, it has now become widespread.”

Ethiopia: A Renewed Open Plea for Bertukan’s Release

2009-10-20T19:43:00.003-04:00

October 19, 2009
By Rev. Tegga Lendado,
What bothers me most is the apathetic silence of the religious leaders more than the adamant insensitivity of Berukan’s captors. Once again, I am making this plea as, neither a political nor a humanitarian activist but a concerned servant of Christ advocating for truth, justice, peace and reconciliation. It is yet another plea to the government of Ethiopia to release Ms. Bertukan whose pardon was revoked subjecting her to re-imprisonment and solitary confinement for simply telling the naked truth in a foreign land. It might have not been ‘politically correct’ at its best, but unnerving truth to the core. My approach is not only from a Christian social ethics and practical SHIMGILINA role but also from purely apolitical compassion.
Apparently, Bertukan’s issue has been legally moot, politically undemocratic, logically absurd and morally disturbing. I do not think any democratic government claiming to be engaged in a transformational development should waste its precious time and energy in a trivial or minute matter unless it has a different motive.
Many of her friends including her former fellow defendants and prison-mates believe that Miss Burtukan was simply telling the truth, being true to her conscience. Others say neither her former arrest nor the current one is legal. Without further delving into the case, I should say the way the pardon was served and administered was unethical and fishy.
The shimaglena process should have included dialogue and reconciliation as the final objective, not simply leaving the matter in the hands of the government. The pardon only opened the door for further dialogue, rapprochement and reconciliation. It was simply a potion of the package of the shimgelena deal. That not being done, it leaves the door open for any misrepresentations such victimizing the victim. Besides, traditional shimagelena should not be construed as political, judicial and administrative mechanism per se. It is a conflict resolution involving many aspects, scenarios and parameters. Whatever the shimagelaes did to secure the so-called “pardon” was indeed commendable. The elders effectively mediated the deal off-records of the court or administrative systems. That the legal system should re-indict, reconvict, re-sentence and re-imprison her is rather disgraceful to the shimaglaes as well as the government. The fact that she asked for forgiveness should not be seen any different from that of the others. I have heard or at least understood some former co-prisoners/defendants saying almost the same thing but they are not sent back to jail. Could the young woman be the weakest link of the gang to fall prey? Why Bertukan only and now as we are fast approaching the election season. To say the least, Burtukan has become almost like the sacrificial Lamb of God (read Isaiah 53, St. John.3: 15-16) for all the culprits of 2005 massacre..
Was the ‘pardon’ meant for the alleged massacre or for her "illegal" political activities? Did she kill any one or give order to kill any one? Was she a government authority, executive, like an army member or police force to act in that capacity? If she had committed such a heinous crime and lied about it, would she return to Ethiopia after her European tour? Is she trying to win the heart of the people by suffering in the hands of her "enemies"? What is the point? Is anyone trying to make her a hero? Does a government have jurisdiction over a crime committed beyond its borders, like in Sweden, be it “deception” or otherwise? How can a government be so potent and play omni-present or omniscient, all-knowing like the Almighty God to pursue an individual's motive, intent, state and affair, not even in a good sense? If her crime is just lying, should she then not be prosecuted for that alone? Is the government using the incident for its political consumption? Is this abuse of power or service of justice for the greater good?
I also think the pardon document is misleading and so the PM, the Parliament and the President of the country need to revisit the court’s decision in the interest of primarily all concerned parties and the Ethiopian populace. Certainly, the government has a mandate to safeguard and implement the law and maintain peace. But, at times, cut-and-dry implementation of the law may not be helpful, especially when it come to making peace. In essence, for the sake of peace and democratic progress, the incumbent government should release Bertukan and other prisoners of conscience dropping all the untenable charges.
Bertukan should be freed on humanitarian consideration as she has an aging mother and a child to support at this bad economic time. Keeping her in prison serves no other purpose than escalating political upheavals and popularizing her cause. The Prime Minister’s remark that Bertukan might not be released before the end of the election seems to suggest that there is a political motive behind the imprisonment.
Novice and inexperienced Bertukan should also learn that political ‘science’, unlike law or engineering, is unfortunately, a tricky venture. Justice and political or legal dogmas seem to collide at times. That is why the PM or the President had opted for ‘pardon’ as a way forward.
For the sake of peace and in the spirit of God’s forgiveness granted to humanity and in light of this upcoming Holy Season, Christmas, it is my plea that the Ethiopian government authorities re-forgive (70x7 as per Mt.18: 21-22) Bertukan Mideksa. The Ethiopian president or prime minister should be magnanimous and fatherly enough to forgive a young, may be, the first emerging female politician for the greater good of the country. After all she is not a street criminal but a good citizen standing for justice.
Let me conclude my plea by quoting a young athelete, Bryan Steinhauer, 22, recovering from coma after suffering his friends’ beating on his head he said, “ I am not full of hate; hatred kills progress” (CNN News, April 23, 2009). Let us remember the Savior and Martyr Steven’s utterances, “Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing”. Let us be free from the shackles of our generational revenge; for, revenge begets more revenge. The fear of God and love for humanity should govern our moral conscience, not contempt or hatred. As such, I am praying to God and pleading with concerned authorities for Bertukan’s immediate and unconditional release.

God bless us all! May He bless Ethiopia! Nkosi sekelele Afrika!

Rev. Tegga Lendado, PhD.
African Community Network
Atlanta, GA, USA

Amnesty International launchs campaign for Birtukan

2009-10-16T17:25:00.011-04:00

The Dutch chapter of Amnesty International has launched a campaign for the release of Birtukan Mideksa. Members of Amnesty Netherlands are campaigning to get as many petitions as possible before the dead line (1 December 2009). Birtukan Mideksa, the charismatic leader of UDJ, is being held in solitary confinement serving a life sentence. Please sign a petition to Mr. Louis Michel European Union Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid to use all diplomatic means for the freedom of Birtukan Mideksa. His email is Louis.Michel@ec.europa.eu, download a sample letter

Ethiopians protest for jailed leader

2009-09-24T21:52:00.002-04:00

By Mark Roth

About noon today, a group of protestors against the current Ethiopian government gathered at the corner of Liberty and Fifth avenues Downtown, seeking fair elections in that country and release of an imprisoned opposition leader, Birtukan Mideksa, a 35-year-old former judge and mother of a 4-year-old child who has been sentenced to life in prison by the government of prime minister Meles Zenawi.

Mekdese Kassa, the spokesman for the group, who manages a cancer center in Baltimore, said that even though Mr. Zenawi was elected in 2000, many Ethiopians feel the results were manipulated, and even though new elections are scheduled next year, many opposition party leaders have refused to participate, believing the outcome will be rigged. They also said that Ms. Mideksa, after being pardoned by the government in 2007, was rearrested last year, allegedly for refusing to apologize for her crimes.

Another rallying cry for the group was a 2003 incident in which hundreds of Anuak tribes people were killed, allegedly with the help of government forces, during ethnic fighting. Referring to American aid to Ethiopia, Mr. Kassa said, “we are saying that U.S. money is being used to kill women and children as a form of genocide, and we want the G-20 to listen. We are focusing on human rights. Human rights violations in Ethiopia are worse than any country, you name it.”
The group of about 30 people moved up Fifth Avenue toward the Convention Center area, intending to hook up- with other similar groups protesting the Zenawi regime.

Ethiopia: Ethnic Federalism and Its Discontents

2009-09-04T17:14:00.001-04:00

Nairobi/Brussels, 4 September 2009: Ethiopia’s governing coalition must improve democratic practices or risk pre-election violence that could destabilise the region.
Ethiopia: Ethnic Federalism and Its Discontents,* the latest background report from the International Crisis Group, examines the potential for a violent eruption of conflict in Ethiopia ahead of the June 2010 elections amidst rising ethnic tensions and dissent. The international community must stop ignoring and downplaying these problems, and instead encourage more meaningful democratic governance in the country.
The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, transformed the previously centralised state into the Federal Democratic Republic in the 1990s, redefining citizenship, politics and identity on ethnic grounds. The stated intent was to create a more prosperous, just and representative state for all citizens.

“Ethnic federalism has not dampened conflict, but rather increased competition among groups fighting for land, natural resources, administrative boundaries and government budgets”, says François Grignon, Crisis Group’s Africa Program Director. “This concept has powerfully promoted ethnic self-awareness among all groups and failed to accommodate grievances”.

As numerous opposition parties gear up to challenge the EPRDF in the June 2010 elections, many fear a violent crackdown by the government, similar to the intimidation, harassment and violence experienced by opposition parties during the 2005 election.

“Continuous polarization of national politics has sharpened tensions between and within political parties and ethnic groups since the mid-1990s”, says Daniela Kroslak, Crisis Group’s Deputy Africa Program Director. “Donors must convince Ethiopia to improve current standards of governance and promote democratic reform or risk future waves of violence and new destabilization in the Horn of Africa”.

Ethiopian Canadians living in Toronto held a successful dinner gala dedicated to Birtukan Midekssa and all prisoners of conscience

2009-08-31T22:29:00.007-04:00

2009-08-20T16:55:00.000-04:00

Canadian Government is Concerned by Reports of worsening human rights abuse in Ethiopia.

2009-08-16T21:39:00.004-04:00

The promotion and protection of Human Rights, and Democracy and the rule of law is an integral part of Canadian foreign policy guiding the conduct of our bilateral relations and positions we adopt in multilateral settings. The Government of Canada is concerned by reports of a worsening human rights situations and by increasing restrictions being placed on political space. Canada is committed to the development of a strong democracy in Ethiopia and encourages the government of Ethiopia to ensure equal opportunities for all political parties taking part in elections, particularly the up cumming federal elections in 2010. With respect to Ms. Birtukan's rearrest and imprisonment, Canada has officially expressed concerns to the government of Ethiopia on several occasions, in both Ottawa and Addis Ababa, and has urged the Government of Ethiopia to seek a resolution That will enable Ms. Birtukan to resume her political duties as the leader of political party.
To read the full letter press the link above.

Open Letter to Prime Minster Stephen Harper

2009-08-06T20:43:00.002-04:00

Dear Prime Minister Stephen Harper:

I am contacting you to urge your government to take swift and urgent action regarding the recent sentencing of Bashir Ahmed Makhtal, a Canadian citizen, to life imprisonment by the Ethiopian government.

My name is Obang Metho. I am the Executive Director of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia(SMNE) a grassroots, non-violent and non-political social justice movement of diverse Ethiopians, many ofwhom are also citizens of Canada, who are seeking justice, the protection of life and liberty, reconciliation and
peace in Ethiopia as well as in the Horn of Africa because “no one is free until all are free!” I have been working with the Ogaden Human Rights Committee as well as with other human rights groups throughout Ethiopia and am well acquainted with the issues. It is outrageous that Mr. Makhtal has just received three charges related to membership in the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) despite the lack of
credible witnesses, as noted by human rights organizations following the trial. Mr. Makhtal’s main offense was “guilt by relationship,” a common offense in a country under authoritarian rule where there are thousands of political prisoners and where a perverted system of justice prevails—giving pervasive impunity to real perpetrators and harsh punishments to the innocent. It matters not a whit to this regime if the person they use is innocent if it suits their purposes. In this case,
Makhtal was a “treasure of opportunity” for them. Why? It not because of his guilt, but is because Mahtal is related to the founder of the ONLF—his grandfather! This carries a lot of weight in creating fear in the hearts of Ogadenis in Ethiopia who could capriciously be killed for only “looking” like someone who might be from
the ONLF or charged for being a family member of an ONLF member that cannot be found.
The truth is that within the Ogadeni community in Canada and abroad, it is well known that Makhtal has not been involved in politics. Instead, he was a businessman, buying and selling second-hand clothes; however, to this regime, he was a “prized tool” to use against the ONLF.

Another such person is Birtukan Mideksa, the opposition leader of the peaceful UDJ opposition party who was given a life sentence on a trumped up charge. Musician Teddy Afro was imprisoned under what most believe were false charges so as to silence the message in his music about freedom, unity and justice in Ethiopia.
As an advocate for human rights in Ethiopia, I am not alone in knowing the duplicitous nature of the Meles regime. The same Ethiopian military that brutally massacred 424 leaders from my own ethnic group in the Gambella region of southwestern Ethiopia in 2003, imprisoning many more on drummed up charges, while
denying their complicity, is unfortunately continuing to be carried out in large scale in the Ogaden.

Meles Zenawi has cleverly dubbed his own military’s well-documented (by Human Rights Watch and others)crimes against humanity, war crimes, massive atrocities, destruction of livelihood and possible genocide in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia, as “countering the insurgency.” A representative from UNHCR has in the past called it “a silent Darfur;” however, while Meles claims to be a partner with the West in the War on Terror,Ethiopians know him very well to be the most radical, “al Qaeda-like” terrorist to his own people. No wonder that so many have formed opposition groups against this government. As long as Meles calls those opposing him “terrorists,” the world seems to ignore the travesty they are carrying out. But when we Canadian Ethiopians speak of the innocent civilians who were killed, raped, tortured or imprisoned, we are not talking about numbers, we are talking about people and situations we know. One of those is Makhtal. He is not a terrorist. He is a productive Canadian citizen with a family. He has lived in Canada since he was only 11 years old. He has attended Canadian schools and has voted. Canadians should play a primary role in confronting this double-talk and demanding good governance, the respect of human rights, a free press, freedom of speech, a strong parliament, an independent judiciary, the release of the countless political prisoners and the opening up of the politicaL space. What has been hidden about the true nature of this regime is now impossible to hide. Canadians should expect far more in Ethiopia. Even the “baby steps” of past progress towards democracy have disappeared. We call on Canada to stop supporting this regime! We have all had enough of dictatorship in Ethiopia. Until our Ogadeni brothers and sisters are free, none of us is free! No longer will region, ethnicity, religion, language or culture divide us for we will “put humanity before ethnicity!”Canadian Ethiopians know best what is happening on the ground because we still have many connections there, including families. Canada should not be siding with a dictator, but should be on the side of people who are simply seeking the same rights they value in Canada. Ethiopians are not asking Canada to do the hard work, but instead they are asking you to remove those supports that continue to prop up this government. That support was intended to support genuine democracy, but democratic freedom is nowhere to be found in Ethiopia. Let Canadian taxpayer’s dollars be part of the solution, not a means to prolong a despot!

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been in power in Ethiopia for 18 years and will not give up power easily. He led an armed struggle prior to assuming power, during which he and his cronies were accused of committing many violent acts of terrorism; including kidnapping foreign humanitarian workers. Yet,because he was replacing a communist leader, he was able to win support from democratic countries because
he cleverly adopted the “democratic language” of the West, while covering up a pattern of “Stalin-like”systematic abuse against any who challenged him and the ruling party or any who would deny him access to natural resources.

During the last 18 years, he has fomented many ethnic conflicts within Ethiopia and has also become embroiled in multiple violent conflicts with neighboring countries, at times, allegedly aiding and abetting
violence between ethnic groups in other countries like Sudan, with the cooperation of Sudanese president,omar al-Bashir. His contribution to the destabilization and impoverishment of the Horn of Africa, a strategic area of geo-political importance, cannot be denied or ignored without grave consequences. Meles was one of the first to publicly defend al-Bashir and to speak out in condemnation of the warrant
issued by the ICC. He also stood with others in the African Union in joint defiance of the ICC’s indictment. Why? Most believe it is because he and his own government have also been implicated in a pattern of widespread perpetration of serious human rights atrocities throughout Ethiopia and into Somalia. On July 23, 2009, Genocide Watch requested the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights to initiate an investigation regarding the widespread incidence of gross human rights abuses in Ethiopia, including in the Ogaden as well as the massacre of the Anuak, which he said met the stringent definition of genocide.These violations must be stopped; not given the green light through financial aid from free countries like Canada.

Should not Canada defend its own citizens from known terrorist governments?
Why is the US working with the Swiss to release the three Americans in Iran; why has former President Bill Clinton worked to gain successful release of the journalists jailed in North Korea and why were the Swedes,Americans and Kenyans arrested in 2006 at the same time as Makhtal, released to their respective governments, when Makhtal is and was not?
Could Canada have not done more to gain the release of one of their own citizens? We are disappointed by this lack of action, but it is not too late to move ahead and to take a much stronger negotiating position with this corrupt government, using the multiple leverages available to exert pressure on this regime to release Makhtal
to Canadian custody.As a citizen of Canada and as the executive director of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia, I strongly urge you to re-examine Canadian support of this government. The Meles regime should be treated in the same way as Robert Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe and Omar al-Bashir of the Sudan, not catering to
terroristic governments and dictators. Can we count on you to help us?
We ask you to initiate negotiations immediately for Makhtal’s release. Additionally, we request that you and our parliamentary members call for a hearing on Ethiopia so those re-examining Canadian policies towards Ethiopia can hear from the voices of Ethiopians rather than listen to the propaganda promulgated by this regime. We Ethiopians know what is going on. I and many others would be more than happy to assist in any way possible.More specifically, we hope that these actions lead to pressing the Ethiopian government:to release Mr.Bashir Makhtal, opposition leader, Ms. Birtukan Mideska and all other prisoners of conscience within Ethiopia,to bring to a halt the perpetration of human rights violations in the Ogaden and anywhere else such abuses are being committed in Ethiopia and the Horn,
 to open up the society to basic freedom and civil rights,
 to open up political space in anticipation of the coming 2010 election,
 to hold all perpetrators of human rights crimes accountable, and
 to support national and regional reconciliation among Ethiopians and other willing parties in the Horn that could lead to genuine, sustainable and inclusive peace for “until we all are free, no one will be free.”
Thank you so very much for your hard work, dedication and commitment to the peopl of Canada.
I look forward to your response.

Sincerely yours,

Obang Metho;
Executive Director,
Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia

#4-804 Duffuren Ave, Saskatoon, SK, S7H 4Z9
Phone: (306) 933 4346 Email:obang@solidaritymovement.org. If you would be interested in further
information regarding the (SMNE) you may visit our website: www.solidarity movement.org

This letter has been cc or sent to Michael Ignatieff, Leader of the Official Opposition, Gilles Duceppe, Leader
of the Bloc Québécois, Jack Layton, Leader of the New Democratic Party, asking them to do more to gain the
release of one of their own citizen.

Statement by Minister Cannon on Bashir Makhtal Sentencing in Ethiopia

2009-08-03T17:44:00.000-04:00

The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement following the sentencing of Bashir Makhtal in Ethiopia:
“The Government of Canada is extremely disappointed by the maximum jail sentence to which Bashir Makhtal has been sentenced by the court in Ethiopia.
“Canadian officials in Ethiopia were present at Bashir Makhtal’s court appearance today, during which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Bashir Makhtal’s lawyer has stated that his client will exercise his right under Ethiopian law to appeal the conviction and the sentence.
“The Government of Canada will continue to explore all options for supporting Bashir Makhtal.
“The Government of Canada will continue to follow the case closely and to seek regular consular access to Bashir Makhtal.”

PRESS RELEASE

2009-07-30T17:39:00.001-04:00

July 29, 2009

"Injustice in Ethiopia is Injustice everywhere"

It has been reported that Mr. BASHIR AHMED MAKHTAL, a Canadian citizen is convicted of guilty verdict on charges of terrorist act. His sentencing is due shortly. It appears that the authorities in Addis Ababa are trying to justify due process of law is being followed up to convince critics who allege the whole system is a sham. Indeed, Mr. Bashir is a victim of a vindictive regime whose rebellious past and Stalinist background targets opposition leaders, academics, human rights and civic leaders, journalists and artists. We have witnessed thousands of those victims who suffered under similar trumpeted charges and gone through highly orchestrated court proceedings which determine fate in advance, even before the officials decide whom to jail next. The doctrine of “presumption of innocence” is not in the legal dictionary of the ruling party as every move is politically motivated.
Mr. Bashir Makhtal has long been condemned guilty soon after he was kidnapped at a gun point, as officials of present day Ethiopia, associate guilt to ones ethnic background or next of kin or your blood relationship. As an Ethiopian from the Ogden region and related to one former leader, Bashir’s fate was determined well before even we knew his whereabouts. Has it not been for media coverage given and appeals by different groups, officials would not even have revealed his identity. They would have murdered him somewhere in Somalia and continue to deny that he has been captured. This is not unprecedented since they came to power 18 years ago. The deaths of several civic and military leaders whom officials are denying , but whereabouts and fates unknown to date are not secrets any longer.
The conviction is not that unexpected from a judicial system which has never been independent. One cannot expect a fair trial from a government which itself is terrorizing its citizens. The Ethiopian government's record of human rights abuse, extra judicial killings and mass arrests has been well documented by different rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, European parliament, CPJ and the United States government State Departments annual country reports.
The current Ethiopian government has been in power for 18 yeas now. It is notoriously known for legislating draconian laws, such as the Press law, NGO and the recent Anti Terrorism law. The judicial system is controlled by cadres of the ruling party who are loyal to implement any orders on how to handle any case brought before the court. The police, security system and the courts are operating in tandem to ensure the leaders ultimate authority over the 80 million populations. Fabrication of charges, planting evidences, selecting and coaching potential witnesses are coordinated tasks of the judicial and security apparatus created by those leaders who are determined to continue their dictatorial authority for an indefinite time.
Currently, Ethiopia is reported being a jail house for far more political prisoners than any sub Saharan country in Africa. It is also reported that the ruling party is still running secret prisons in remote and inaccessible corners of the country which is housing former rebel commanders and opposition figures. The harsh treatment of prisoners and brutal investigative techniques has caused deaths, physical disabilities and mental anguish to several people opposed to their rule.
Unity for Human Rights and Democracy, strongly condems the guilty verdict the officials in Addis Ababa have let the courts pass on Mr. Bashir Makhtal and, we appeal to the Canadian government to immediately intervene and exert pressure on the officials in Ethiopia, for an end to this theatrical process. As the Canadian government has spent millions of tax payer’s money in an attempt to modernize the Ethiopian judicial system, it is in the interest of every Canadian that rule of law and human rights are respected in Ethiopia. We understand Canadian government' is not expecting Mr. Bashir Makhtal is guaranteed due process or freedom from court of law in Ethiopia. Rather, we urge them to review their bilateral aid policy with Ethiopia and exert diplomatic pressures on officials to secure the release of this Canadian citizen who has suffered unbearable ordeals all along since his kidnap over two years ago.
Finally, we call upon all Ethiopian Canadians to join hands together and urge Prime Minister Harper and other government officials to consider this matter as extremely urgent and save Mr. Bashir Makhtal life and ensure his freedom.

Canadian found guilty on Ethiopia terror charges

2009-07-27T19:23:00.004-04:00

(AFP) – ADDIS ABABA — An Ethiopian-born Canadian citizen was found guilty in a court in Ethiopia Monday of terror-related charges that could see him sentenced to death.

Bashir Makhtal was convicted on three charges mainly of inciting rebellion by aiding and abetting armed opposition groups in Ethiopia and being a senior member of a rebel group.

The 40-year-old man, who has denied the charges, is also accused of supporting Somalia's Islamist movement ousted by Ethiopian forces in early 2007 when they intervened in the neighbouring country to prop up its embattled transition government.

Ethiopia's high court is scheduled to hand down his sentence on August 3.

"We will definitely launch an appeal after the sentencing on Monday. We will work on it," his lawyer Gebreamlak Gebregiorgis told AFP in an interview.

Makhtal was among some 150 people detained by Kenyan forces in 2006 on the border with Somalia as they fled the Ethiopian onslaught on the Islamist insurgents.

The trial had been postponed several times this year due to prosecutors' failure to provide witnesses.

EDITORS NOTE:
Few things the Canadian government should do regarding this case:
First, The prime minister of Ethiopia Mr. Meles zenawi by himself was a rebel leader for 17 years who participated in a lot of atrocities, including bank robbery and kidnapping of foreign citizens.
TPLF the ruling party in Ethiopia, is still on the list of CIA terrorist lists.
This verdict is a joke cumming from a terrorist organization that never had an amnesty in a real court of law.
In this case the Canadian government should
1. request the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. makthal in a specific time frame.
2.Suspend all diplomatic ties with the current ruling party in Ethiopia, including suspending all visa to the officials of the current government.
3.Work with other donor countries to pressure the TPLF to be diplomatically and financially isolated, until all political prisoners are freed in Ethiopia.

Free Birtukan Mideksa

2009-07-17T20:32:00.007-04:00

Abebe Gellaw
Posted July 16, 2009 World leaders, including President Barack Obama, have called for the immediate release of Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. But how many of them have even heard of Ethiopia’s pro-democracy leader Birtukan Mideksa, the 36-year-old politician and mother who is being held in solitary confinement, condemned to life in prison without due process? Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been brutally efficient in eliminating his political rivals by killing, jailing or forcing them into exile. But because Ethiopia is seen as a “strategic ally” by the U.S., Mr. Obama failed to publicly speak out against human-rights violation by the Zenawi regime on his recent trip to Africa or even mention Ms. Mideksa’s name.
Unlike the Burmese military junta, the Zenawi regime is an ally of the U.S. and its European partners. The Bush administration used to refer to the Zenawi regime as a “linchpin” in the war on terror in the Horn of Africa. While the U.S. imposed economic sanctions against Burma in 1997, Mr. Zenawi has been enjoying a stream of financial and military aid from the U.S. and Europe since he came to power in May 1991 after a bloody power struggle with the dictator Mengistu Hailemariam. Since 2005, Mr. Zenawi has even attended all the G-8 summits and this year’s G-20 meeting in London, despite protests by Ethiopians in the diaspora and human-rights activists.
There’s a good reason why her countrymen call Ms. Mideksa the Aung San Suu Kyi of Ethiopa. In the run up to the 2005 national elections, the first contested election in the history of Ethiopia, Ms. Mideksa joined the Coalition for Unity and Democracy party (CUD). Within a few months she was elected the party’s first vice president. Her party won a landslide victory in most of the places where there were foreign election observers. In the capital, Addis Ababa, the CUD had a clean sweep. Zenawi’s party could only win one single municipal seat. All the 23 contested parliamentary seats went to Ms. Mideksa’s party.
Before the count was completed throughout the country, Mr. Zenawi ordered a state of emergency and froze the count in the remaining districts. Local election observers in remote villages were chased away despite protests by foreign observers, most notably Ana Gomes, chief of the European Election Observation Mission to Ethiopia.
Supporters of the CUD who felt that the election was stolen started protesting. In June and November 2005, the ruling party killed 193 civilians including minors and wounded over 780 others. In a space of one week in November 2005, over 40,000 civilians were rounded up and were detained in harsh military camps.
Over 100 opposition leaders, including Ms. Mideksa, were arrested that same month and charged with “genocide” and treason. They were released after 20 months in jail in July 2007 after a mediation effort by local elders.
While touring Sweden in November last year, Ms. Mideksa refuted government propaganda that its high-profile prisoners were pardoned despite their guilt. She said legally speaking the so-called pardon was null and void as none of the prisoners committed the alleged crimes and the correct procedures were not followed.
As soon as she arrived home, the government launched a vicious propaganda campaign using state-controlled media against her. She was re-arrested in December 2008. Prime Minister Zenawi declared that the pardon granted to Ms. Mideksa was revoked and accused her of banking on support from “powerful friends in powerful positions” in the West. He then announced her life sentence.
President Obama, being of African descent, is in a unique position to influence the Zenawi regime and push for the release of Ms. Mideksa. Until leaders of the Free World take a firm stand against tyranny, regardless of strategic alliances, those who demand freedom will continue to suffer. Most Ethiopians believe Mr. Obama will one day speak out and support their struggle for freedom and dignity. In the meantime, Ms. Mideksa will continue to languish behind bars.
Mr. Gellaw is a Knight / Yahoo! international journalism fellow at Stanford University.

Three Generations of Prisoners in Ethiopia Today

2009-06-16T20:27:00.000-04:00

Part I Contextual Profile On Re-imprisoned Mrs. Birtukan Mideksa of Ethiopia

Ethiopians who are in their 70’s plus today have survived through four political tsunamis the country
has undergone in the last six decades. These include the bestial but short-lived Mussolini/Fascist
invasion of the country (1936-41); the resumption of semi-feudal imperial rule by Emperor Haile
Sellassie (1941-1974); the popular mass revolution subsequently taken over by the military (Derg)
(1974-1991). The fourth regime is the current tandem occupation of the country and the severing of
Eritrea from Ethiopia by Isayass/ EPLF and the crony, the Tigrayan TPLF under Meles (1991-
present). Among other things, the most tragic and defining characteristic in the transitions and
tenures of the regimes--with the qualified exception of periods of the Haile Sellassie era—is the
cyclical rampancy of violence, oppression, death and destruction visited upon the ever enduring
Ethiopian people. There were also famines, environmental degradation as well as internal and
interstate conflicts that further exacerbated the suffering of the people.
What emerges as an explanatory paradigm for analysis of political phenomena in Ethiopia in
general revolves around what I call “the culture of violence and the violence of culture” that has
permeated and defined Ethiopia’s political history, not just for the past seven decades but for
centuries? The current tribalist regime has already used its monopoly of deadly force and absolute
political hegemony to sever Eritrea and wantonly land lock Ethiopia. It continues to use brute force to
massacre Ethiopians and obliterate Ethiopia per se. It is in the context of its words and, more
importantly, its deeds that one can at least attempt to reckon with current events such as the regime’s
capricious incarceration (again) of Mrs. Birtukan Mideksa, Chairperson of the Unity for Democracy
and Justice Party of Ethiopia.
For virtually all of its history, political leadership or right to rule in Ethiopia has not been a
matter of peoples choice or but of divine ordination. Hence, one of the several titles of Emperor Haile
Sellassie was “Elect of God.” Such a political culture does not engender or encourage political
participation by citizens be they males or even less so females—unless elected by God or by the
Gun. Indeed some emperors reached the pinnacle of power by the gun and then coerced the clergy
to confirm them as “elect” of God. Still, there were some female empresses as well by virtue of being
a king’s daughter. Empress Zewditu Menelik at the turn of the twentieth Century was one such
example.
The Modest Beginnings of Mrs. Birtukan Mideksa
Having come of age in a stifling political culture, the young, dynamic and charismatic Mrs. Birtukan
Mideksa emerged into the political spotlight in the early period of the 21st Century. She was born in
1974 in Addis Ababa. On the material side of life, hers were low income parents but she said she was
raised with so much rich love and care. She had a positive and friendly disposition towards all she
encountered. She was superior at school and eventually joined Addis Ababa University. She recalls
that she wanted to do public service and her shortlist was law or medicine. She then heard about a
lady judge who had reached the level of Justice of the High Court of Ethiopia. That inspired young
Birtukan to aspire to serve her people in the realm of law and justice. In 1989, shortly after her
graduation, she was appointed judge and served with competence and equanimity—insofar as the
system would allow--for the next six years, followed by law practice.
The Janus-faced devious regime of autocrat Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia operates with absolute
armed power at home and duplicitous propaganda abroad. It denies what it really is and does in the
country while it projects what it is not to the rest of the world. Under such circumstances a general
“election” was slated for 2005 and a number of patriotic, democratic and dedicated Ethiopians formed
parties and coalitions to peacefully contest in the “election”—even though they had serious doubts
about the regime’s trustworthiness. They were, however, encouraged in this endeavor by European
and American groups and election observers who promised to be rigorous in monitoring the voting
and counting processes and holding the ruling regime and all concerned accountable. It was at this
momentous occasion that Birtukan joined the democratic movement and she was selected to be
Deputy Chair of the Kinijit (Coalition) Democratic Party of Ethiopia.

Free Birtukan Midekssa and all Political Prisoners In Ethiopia. Ottawa, May 26,2009

2009-05-26T23:26:00.010-04:00

Unity for Human Rights and Democracy Toronto, in collaboration with other Human Rights and civic groups staged a protest rally in front of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, on May 26, 2009 from 12 Pm.to 3:30 PM.

The objective of the rally was to bring to the attention of the Canadian government the continuous repression, harassment, and imprisonment of political leaders, the media and civic organization in Ethiopia by the ruling party (EPRDF).

Most importantly to demand:
1. The Harper Government breaks its silence and speaks out against the human rights abuse in Ethiopia
2. For the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and ensure that the practice of arbitrary arrest and unfair trials shall come to an end in Ethiopia.
3. Canada takes immediate and tangible steps to ensure that the actions of the government in Ethiopia shall comply fully with The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
4. the current government in Ethiopia be held accountable and responsible for violating International Human rights Law, and ensure that any kind of Canadian aid to Ethiopia be granted subject to the recognition, promotion as well as implementation of Democratic Ideals and Civil and Political Rights.
Honorable Peter Julian NDP, MP for Burnaby/Westminster and
Honorable Paul Dewar Paul MP, for Ottawa Center addressed the crowed regarding the deteriorating human rights situation in Ethiopia, and encouraged every one to raise their voice for those who are suffering under the tyrannical regime in Ethiopia. Also, the Honorable Maria Minna Liberal, MP Beaches East York was represented by her assistant Mr. Ryan who also made a brief speech.

More info to come...

2009-05-15T17:20:00.002-04:00

SOLIDARITY MESSAGE TO THE MAY 15 INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM IN ETHIOPIA

Unity for Human Rights and Democracy Toronto, would like to express its solidarity to the International campaign to free the jailed political leaders and human rights activists in Ethiopia. As part of this international movement, we salute you all who are holding torches of freedom high up glowing city streets. We hear echoes of the bells of democracy you are ringing and songs of peace you are singing. Your march for freedom is unprecedented and the drums you beat are calling for unity of all democratic forces.
All political prisoners incarcerated in the dungeons all over the country are counting on us to remember their plights every single day. They are appealing to us for the realization of their freedom. Their voices have been taken away by the Woyane tugs and remain voiceless. They are demanding for unity amongst all democratic forces for the common good of mother Ethiopia which is endangered with perils of Melles Zenawi’s destructive policies.
The true sons and daughters of Ethiopia are converging at major city streets across the globe to denounce fascism. TPLF’s wave of terror has continued unabated both in width and depth. TPLF is waging an all out war against Ethiopians and we are at a critical historical moment. It is a reality that fascism is digging its grave deeper never to resurrect Victory is in sight around the horizon. Fascism which has reigned for last 18 years is bidding farewell as it is fast losing ground every where. Ethiopians will soon recover their hard earned unity and freedom. They rightfully gain their pride which had been looted by the fascistic leaders our country ever had throughout its history. The time to rejoice our unity has come for real and we will not fail to protect it as our forefathers did against colonialism.
Obviously, TPLF leaders might run away to those cities the looted aid money has been amassed and hoarded. Well, they might think so, but that won’t happen for real. The money they are looting belongs to the starving million children of Ethiopia.
The world is not that big any more, as they might think. Criminals cannot run, let alone hide. Prosecution for genocide is awaiting them and tears mother Ethiopia has been shedding those long years will eventually dry up. We can't wait to see that time we all have long yearned for. Justice will be finally served and we will regain our human rights, freedom, peace and equality irrespective of ones religious, ethnic, political or regional affiliation. Ethnic apartheid system of government will be history and the future generation will remember it as the darkest moment their ancestors have endured through what else we have learned from Mussolini and Graziani's cruelty against our forefathers!!!!!!
Once again, on the occasion of the May 15, international movement, we are renewing our determination to continue working together with all democratic forces. We will strengthen our lobbying tasks with the Canadian government and other opposition officials who have been championing the Ethiopian human rights issue on all forums available. We will join hands with concerned citizens and law enforcement agencies to expose those human rights abusers and looters who have made cities of Canada as their hub for retreat.

Victory to the Ethiopian People
Toronto, May 15, 2009