የጉራጌ ካድሬዎች አንገታቸውን ያስደፋ ክስተት

‹‹ያለ ኢኮኖሚ የበላይነት የፖለቲካ የበላይነት አይመጣም››
የሚለው የህውሃት ኢህአዲግ ፖለቲካ ኢኮኖሚውን ከመቆጣጠር ባለፈ ደጋፊዎቹን በኢኮኖሚ በማብቃትና በተጠቃሚነታቸውም ፖለቲካውን በመጠበቅ የበረኛነት ሚና እንዲጫወቱ በ97 ምርጫ ማግስት ከተወሰዱትርካሽ እርምጃዎች አንዱ በግምታዊ አቀማመጥ መሃከለኛ ገቢ ያላቸውን የመርካቶ ጉራጌዎች በማዳከም የህውሃትን ተጠቃሚዎች ማጠናከር ነበር::
የወቅቱ የኮሚኒኬሽን ሚኒስትር ዲኤታ ኤርሚያስ ለገሰ ይህንን ይላል
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በምርጫ 97 ማግስት አቶ መለስና በረከትን ጨምሮ ከፍተኛ የኢህአዴግ ካድሬዎች ‹‹ጉራጌ አብዮት አካሄደብን›› በማለት ይናገሩ ነበር፡፡ በኢህአዴግ ማእከል በተዘጋጀው ሰነድ ላይ የጉራጌ ብሄረሰብ ከትምክህት ጎራ ጋር በተቀላቀሉ ልጆቹ ምክንያት የሀይል አሰላለፍ ቀውስ ውስጥ በመግባት ከጥገኛ ኃሎች ጋር ተሰልፎ ወደ ዝቅጠት ገብቶ እንደነበር ይገልጻል፡፡ በመላ ሀገሪቱ የሚገኙ የብሄረሰቡ ተወላጆች(በጉራጌ ዞን ያለውን መዋቅራችንን ጨምሮ) የዜጎችን በነጻነት የማሰብና የመምረጥ መብት በመጋፋት እስከ ጎጣቸው በመሄድ ‹‹ኢህአዴግን የመረጠ ውሻ ይውለድ!›› የሚሉ ቃል ኪዳኖችን እስከ ማጥለቅና መማማል ዘልቀው ነበር በማለት ይከሳቸዋል፡፡ የጉራጌ ብሄረሰብ እንደ ሌሎች የሀገራች ጭቁን ብሄረሰቦች ህገ-መንግስታዊ መብቱ በተከበረበት፣ ራሱን በራሱ የማስተዳደር መብት በተጎናጸፈበት ሁኔታ ወደ ትምክህት ሀይል ሽግሽግ ማድረጉ ያልተጠበቀ እንደነበር ሰነዱ አመላከተ፡፡( ቅንፍ የራሴ በምርጫ ኢህአዴግን አለመምረጥ መብት ሳይሆን ትምክህተኝነት የሚባል ሃጥያት ነበር ዛሬም ነው)
በቀረበው ዶክመንት ላይ በመመስረት በየወረዳው የተካሄዱት መድረኮች አስደንጋጮች ነበሩ፡፡ የምርጫ 97 ውጤት የኢትዮጵያ ህዝቦች የትግ ውጤት መሆኑን በመካድ ‹‹ጉራጌ መራሽ አብዮት›› የሚል ስያሜ እስከ መስጠት ተደረሰ፡፡ ጣቶች በሙ ወደ ጉራጌ ብሄረሰብ በተለይም የብሄሩ ተወላጅ የኢህአዴግ ካድሬዎች ላይ ተቀሰሩ፡፡ ነጋዴው ጸረ-ኢህአዴግ እንዲሆን ከአመታት በፊት የተጠነሰሰ ሴራ እደሆነ በሰፊው ተነገረ፡፡ የጉራጌ ካድሬዎች አንገታቸውን ደፉ፡፡
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ኢኮኖሚውን የሚቆጣጠር ኃይል በሂደት ፖለቲካ ኢኮኖሚው ላይ የበላይነት ማሳረፉ ስለማይቀር ጉራጌን ከንግዱ ዓለም ማስወጣት ለጥያቄ የሚቀርብ አይደለም፡፡ ሮማን (የህወሃት ባለሃብቶችን መፍጠር አላማ አስቀጣይ የሆነች) የጉራጌ ነጋዴዎችን እንዳያሰራሩ የምትቀጣበት ምክንያት ይህ ነበር፡፡
እነ ሮማ በፈጠሩት ልዩነት ጉራማሌዋ መርካቶ ይበልጥ ተዘበራረቀች፡፡ ተመሳሳይ እቃዎች በነባሮቹና አዲሶቹ ነጋዴዎች መካከል የዋጋ ልዩነት አሳየ፡፡ የግብርና የሊዝ እፎይታ ያገኙት አዲሶቹ ነጋዴዎች ዋጋቸውን አወረዱ ሸማቹሚስጥሩ ሳይገባው ቅናሽ ወዳገኘበት አዲሶቹ ነጋዴዎች ፊቱን አዞረ፡፡ ቀስ በቀስ ነጋዴው ከገበያ ወጣ፡፡
የማፊያ ባህሪ ያላቸው አዲሶቹ ነጋዴዎች ሰው ሰራሽ እጥረት በመስከሰትም ተወዳዳሪ አልነበራቸውም፡፡ በሰአታት ውስጥ አንድ ኪሎ ጨው ዋጋ ከአንድ ብር 50 ብር የተሸጠበት አጋጣሚ ልብ ይሏል፡፡
ነባሩ ነጋዴ ከገበያ መውጣቱ እልህ የተጋቡት የጉራጌ ካድሬዎቹ እነ ሺሰማ ክትትል ማድረግ ይጀምራሉ፡፡ ከብዙ ጥረት በኋላ ሸፍጥ የሚሰራበትን ቦታ ይደርሱበታል፡፡ ሮማንና ወዳጆቿ ፋይል የሚሰርዙና የሚደልዙት፣ ግብር የሚጨምሩትና የሚቀንሱት፣ ሱቅ የሚሰጡትና የሚቀሙት አምባሳደር ፊልም ቤት የሚገኘው ካፍቴሪያ የሕገወጥነቱ ማዕከል ነበር፡፡….
ከምርጫ 97 በኋላ የጉራጌ አብዮትን ለመቀልበስ በስብሰባ ማዕከል በተጠራ የመጀመሪያው ዙር ማጠቃለያ ኮንፍረንስ ላይ ተገኝቼ ነበር፡፡ በጉባኤው የተሳተፉት ከአንድ ሺህ በላይ የጉራጌ ነጋዴዎችና ባለሃብቶች ነበሩ፡፡ ይህን ለአንድ ሳምንት የዘለቀ ጉባዔ የመራው ዶ/ር ካሱ ኢላላና ሚኒስትር መኩሪ ነበሩ፡፡ ነጋዴዎች በሲቃ ስለ ሮማንና ሉሌ የሚነሱት ወንጀል ጨጓራ የሚልጥ ነበር፡፡ በተለይ የክፍለ ከተማው የገቢዎች ኤጀንሲ ሙያተኛ የሆነ የጉራጌ ተወላጅ ስራየን ለመልቀቅ ብዙ ተሟግቻለሁ በማለት የገለጸው ታሪክ ዶ/ር ካሱ አንገቱን አቀርቅሮ አንዲቀር አድርጎታል፡፡ ከመቀመጫው ተነስቶ የኮንፈረንሱን ተሳታፊ አንባ እየተናነቀው ይቅርታ ጠይቋል፡፡
እንዲህ ነበር ያደረጉት፣
ሎሌና ሮማን ከቢሮአቸው ሳይወጡ ከአስር እጥፍ በላይ ግብር እንዲጥሉ ሙያተኞችን አስገደዱ፡፡ ከስረው ለመዘጋት አፋፍ ላይ ያሉ ነጋዴዎችን ከግብር ሕጉ በተቃራኒ ታክስ አስከፈሉ፡፡ በድርጊቱ የተበሳጨ አንድ ነጋዴ ራሱን በገመድ አንጠለጠለ፡፡ ተመሳሳይ ሱቅና የንግድ ዓይነት ያላቸውን ጎረቤት ነጋዴዎች አንዱን በዜሮ ፣ሌላውን በአስር ሺዎች ታክስ እንዲከፍል አድርገዋል፡፡ ይህ በዘር ላይ የተመሰረተ እርምጃ ቀድሞ በነጋዴዎች ዘንድ የነበረን በደጋገፍ እንዲቀር በማድረግ እርስ በራስ በጥላቻ እንዲተያዩ አድርጓል፡፡ በዚህ ምክንያት መሳሪያ የተማዘዙ፣ በገጀራ ተፈነካክተው ወህኒ የወረዱ ነጋዴዎች ይገኙበታል፡፡
(ለግምገማ ቀርባ የነበረችው ሮማን እንዳትጠየቅ አርከበ ተከላክሎ አትርፏታል)

posted by Aseged Tamene

Source: freedom4ethiopian

ከፍተኛ ቁጥር ያላቸው የሰቆጣ አርሶደአሮች በረሃብ ምክንያት ተሰደዱ

የኢሳት ወኪል እንደዘገበው በሰቆጣ አካባቢ የተከሰተውን ከፍተኛ ድርቅ ተከትሎ አርሶደአሮቹ ወደ ምእራብ ጎጃምና ሌሎች የአማራ ክልል አካባቢዎች በመሰደድ ላይ ናቸው። ተፈናቃዮቹ ከክልሉ ባለስልጣናትም ይሁን ከፌደራል መንግስቱ ምንም አይነት እርዳታ አለማግኘታቸውን ገልጸዋል። ብዙዎቹ ተፋናቃዮች ወጣት ወንዶችና ሴቶች ሲሆኑ፣ በሰፈሩባቸው አካባቢዎች ስራ ሰርተው ራሳቸውን እንዲያስተዳድሩ እየጠየቁ ነው። ተፈናቃዮቹ በዝናብ እጥረት ምክንያት ሰብላቸው ሙሉ በሙሉ መውደሙን ገልጸዋል። መንግስት በአካባቢው ስለተከሰተው ድርቅ እስካሁን የሰጠው ምንም አይነት መልስ የለም። - See more at: http://www.zehabesha.com/amharic/archives/39366#sthash.3alP4KOL.dpuf


Source: zehabesha.com

ከሃረር እስከ ጎዴ እንዲሁም ሃርጌሳ አፈሳው እና አፈናው ተጥውጡፏል

ምንሊክ ሳልሳዊ) ባለፉት ቀናቶች ውስጥ ወያኔ እና የኦጋዴን አማጺ ሃይሎች ያደረጉትን ጦርነት ተከትሎ ከግድያው በተጨማሪ ከሃረር እስከ ጎዴ ያካልለ የመንገድ ላይ አፈሳ እና የቤት ለቤት አፈና እየተካሄደ እንደሆነ ከሰራዊቱ እስጥ የሚገኙት ወታደራዊ ደህንነቶች ተናግረዋል:: በልዩ ሃይል መሪነት እና በሕወሓት ጦር ተባባሪነት እየተፈጸመ ያለው አፈሳ እና አፈና የወያኔ ጦር ባልውፉት ቀናት የደረሰበትን ሽንፈት እና ኪሳራ ለማካካስ የጀመረው ሲሆን እስካሁን የቤት እመቤቶችን ጨምሮ ከ400 ሰዎች በላይ ተይዘው መታሰራቸው ሲነገር ዋና ዋና ናቸው የተባሉ የኦጋዴን አማጺ ሃይሎች አባላት ወደ መሃል አገር መላካቸው ታውቋል::በዚህም መሰረት የስለላ ስራ ያካሂዳሉ የተባሉት አጋስ መሃመድ አብደላ እና አብዱላዚዝ አብዶ ቀሽር የተባሉ የአማጺ አባላት ይገኙበታል::አፈሳው እና አፈናው በሃረር በጎዴ በቀብሪበያህ በቀብሪ ደሃር በጅጅጋ በሃርሸክ እና በሰሜን ሱማሊያ ሃርጌሳ እየተካሄደ እንደሆነ ምንጮቹ ገልጸዋል:: በአንድ በኩል እንደራደር እያለ በአንድ በኩል በውጊያ የሚጠዛጠዘው ሰው በላው ወያኔ ምን ያህል የፖለቲካ ኪሳራ እና መበስበስ እንደሚጠቁም እና የኦጋዴንን ነዋሪዎች እያፈነ እና እያሰቃየ በየትኛው የሞላር ሚዛን ድርድር ላይ እንደሚቀመጥ እና ከነማንስ ነው የሚደራደረው የሚለው ጉዳይ ጥያቄ አስነስቷል:: ካለፈው ሳምንት ጀምሮ በኦጋዴን አማጺ ሃይሎች እና በወየኔ ጦር መካከል በኦጋዴን ደገሃቡር አከባቢ ከፍተኛ ውጊያ መካሄዱ ሲታወቅ በሰጋጋ አከባቢ የኦጋዴን አማጺ ሃይሎች ኮማንደር ተገለዋል:: የአማጺ ሃይሎች ተዋጊዎች በአከባቢው ከሚገኘው ልዩ ሃይል ተብሎ ከሚጠራው እና በወያኔ ጦር ጋር የአከባቢው ነዋሪዎች መታፈናቸውን ተከትሎ ከሃረር ከተማ 160 ኪሎሜትር ደቡብ ምስራቅ በምትገኝ በአኪርሚሽ ላስጋሎል በተባለ ቦታ መዋጋታቸውም ይታወሳል:: - See more at: http://www.zehabesha.com/amharic/archives/39373#sthash.DADORkhB.dpuf


Source: zehabesha

አዋሳ በደረሰው የእሳት ቃጠሎ የሟቾች ቁጥር ከ20 በላይ ነው ሲሉ የቃጠለው ሰለባ የሆኑ ሰዎች ገለጹ

በደቡብ ክልል ዋና ከተማ በአዋሳ የካቲት 14 ቀን 2007 ዓም በደረሰው ከፍተኛ የእሳት ቃጠሎ የሟቾች ቁጥር በመንግስት እንደተገለጸው አንድ ሳይሆን ከ20 በላይ መሆኑን ተገጂዎች ለኢሳት ገልጸዋል።

ከፍተኛ ንብረት ከወደመባቸውና እሳቱ ሲነሳ በስፍራው ከነበሩት መካከል አንዱ ለኢሳት ሲናገር፣ እርሱ የ6 ሰዎችን የተቃጠለ አስከሬን ማየቱን፣ በስፍራው የሚገኙ ጓደኞቹ ደግሞ በአጠቃላይ እስካሁን 27 አስከሬን ተፈልጎ መቀበሩን ተናገሩዋል።

አንድ ህጻነት እና አንዲት እናት ከ3 ልጆቿ ጋር ሞታ መመልከቱን፣ በማግስቱ ደግሞ ተጨማሪ ሁለት ሰዎች ሞተው ማየቱን የሚናገረው ግለሰቡ፣ የመንግስት የጸጥታ ሃይሎች አካባቢውን ከነዋሪው በመከለል ማታ ማታ የተቃጠለ አስከሬን እየፈለጉ በመቅበር ላይ ናቸው ብሎአል። እናቶች አሁንም ድረስ ልጆቻቸውን እየጠየቁ ቢሆንም፣ በከንቲባው በኩል የሚሰጠው ምላሽ አሳዛኝ መሆኑን ግለሰቡ ገልጿል። ነዋሪዎቹ በመንግስት በኩል በቂ እርዳታ እንዳልተደረገላቸው በምሬት ተናግረዋል።

መንግስት የእሳቱን መነሻ እስካሁን ይፋ አላደረገም። ነዋሪዎች እንደሚሉት ግን መስተዳድሩ ቦታውን ለመሸጥ እሳቱን ሆን ብሎ አስነስቶታል።
በጉዳዩ ዙሪያ የአዋሳን ከንቲባ ለማግኘት ያደረግነው ተደጋጋሚ ሙከራ አልተሳካም።

Source: reedom4ethiopianfreedom4ethiopian

British support for Ethiopia scheme withdrawn amid abuse allegations

Department for International Development will no longer back $4.9bn project that critics claim has funded a brutal resettlement programme

An Anuak woman at work in Abobo, a village in Ethiopia’s Gambella region. It has been claimed that UK money has funded abuses against Anuak people in the area. Photograph: Alamy

The UK has ended its financial support for a controversial development project alleged to have helped the Ethiopian government fund a brutal resettlement programme. Hundreds of people have been forced from their land as a result of the scheme, while there have also been reports of torture, rape and beatings.

Until last month, Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID) was the primary funder of the promotion of basic services (PBS) programme, a $4.9bn (£3.2bn) project run by the World Bank and designed to boost education, health and water services in Ethiopia.

On Thursday, DfID said it had ended its PBS contributions because of Ethiopia’s “growing success”, adding that financial decisions of this nature were routinely made after considering a recipient country’s “commitment to partnership principles”.

It has been alleged that programme funds have been used to bankroll the Ethiopian government’s push to move 1.5 million rural families from their land to new “model” villages across the country.

Opponents of the commune development programme (CDP) say it has been characterised by violence. One Ethiopian farmer is taking legal action against the British government, claiming UK money has funded abuses against Anuak peoplein the Gambella region. The man, an Anuak known as Mr O, says he was beaten and witnessed rapes and assaults as government soldiers cleared people off their land. DfID has always insisted it does not fund Ethiopia’s commune development programme.

A scathing draft report from the World Bank’s internal watchdog recently concluded that inadequate oversight, bad audit practices, and a failure to follow the bank’s own rules had allowed operational links to form between the PBS programme and the Ethiopian government’s resettlement scheme.

Although the bank’s inspection panel found that funds could have been diverted to implement villagisation, it did not look into whether the resettlement programme had involved human rights abuses, claiming such questions were outside its remit.

DfID, which has contributed nearly £745m of UK taxpayer money to the PBS programme, said the decision to withdraw financial support was prompted in part by Ethiopia’s “impressive progress” towards the millennium development goals.

“The UK will now evolve its approach by transitioning support towards economic development to help generate jobs, income and growth that will enable self-sufficiency and ultimately end poverty,” it said.

“This will go alongside additional funding for specific health, education and water programmes – where impressive results are already being delivered – resourced by ending support for the promotion of basic Services programme.”

A DfID spokesman said the move had nothing to do with Mr O’s ongoing legal action or the World Bank’s internal report, but added: “Changes to programmes are based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, country context, progress to date and commitment to partnership principles.”

The department said its overall financial commitment to Ethiopia, one of the largest recipients of UK aid, would remain unchanged, with almost £256m due to be spent between 2015 and 2016.

The Ethiopian government said DfID’s decision was not a matter of concern.

“They have been discussing it with pertinent government bodies,” said the communications minister, Redwan Hussien.

“What they said is that the aid that they’re giving will not be refused or stopped, it will be reorganised.”

The World Bank’s executive board met on Thursday to discuss the internal report on the PBS programme and the management response.

In a statement released on Friday, the bank said that although its inspection panel had concluded that the seizing of land and use of violence and intimidation were not consequences of PBS, it had determined that the programme “did not fully assess and mitigate the risks arising from the government’s implementation of CDP, particularly in the delivery of agricultural services to the Anuaks”.

The World Bank Group president, Jim Yong Kim, said that one of the institution’s core principles was to do no harm to the poor, adding: “In this case, while the inspection panel found no violations, it did point out areas where we could have done more to help the Anuak people. We draw important lessons from this case to better anticipate ways to protect the poor and be more effective in fighting poverty.”

Opponents of the villagisation process have been vocal in their criticisms of the bank’s role. Jessica Evans, senior international financial institutions researcher atHuman Rights Watch, said the inspection panel’s report showed the bank had “largely ignored human rights risks evident in its projects in Ethiopia” and highlighted “the perils of unaccountable budget support” in the country.

Source: theguardian

ኢህአዴግ 98ቢሊዮን ብር ነጠፈበት!!

“ታላቅ ሥራ ተሰርቷል! እናመሰግናለን!” ኦባንግ

February 28, 2015 09:21 am By Editor Leave a Comment

ኢህአዴግ በዓለም ባንክ በኩል ከእንግሊዝ የዓለምአቀፍ ልማት ተራድዖ መ/ቤት ሊለግስለት ታቅዶ የነበረው 4.9 ቢሊዮን ዶላር (98ቢሊዮን ብር) የገንዘብ ድጋፍ ነጠፈበት፡፡ አቶ ሬድዋን አልነጠፈብንም ይላሉ፡፡ ኦባንግ ሜቶ በበኩላቸው “የታላቅ ሥራ ውጤት ነው፤ እናመሰግናለን” ብለዋል፡፡

ጎልጉል የድረገጽ ጋዜጣ ጥቅምት 2፤2005 (October 12, 2012) “ኢህአዴግ በ600 ሚሊዮን ዶላር አጣብቂኝ ውስጥ ገባ!! ብያኔው ከጸና ኪሣራው በቢሊዮን ዶላር ሊደርስም ይችላል!” በሚል ርዕስ የዓለም ባንክ በኢትዮጵያ ያካሂድ ስለነበረው ፕሮግራም በዘገበበት ወቅት የሚከተለውን ዜና አትሞ ነበር፡- “ከ1998ዓም ጀምሮ የመሠረታዊ አገልግሎት ጥበቃ ፕሮግራም (Protection of Basic Services “PBS Program”) በሚል በአራት ተከታታይና ሁለት ተጨማሪ የገንዘብ ድጎማ የሚደረግባቸውን ፕሮግራሞች የዓለም ባንክ በኢትዮጵያ ሲያካሂድ ቆይቷል፡፡ ይህ መሠረታዊ የሆኑ አገልግሎቶችን ለማሟላት ተወጥኖ የሚካሄድ ፕሮጀክት በትምህርት፣ በጤና፣ በእርሻ፣ በንጹህ ውሃ አቅርቦት፣ በገጠር መንገድ ሥራ፣ ወዘተ መስኮች ላይ እንዲውል (PBS I, PBS I-AF (Additional Financing), PBS II, PBS 11-AF, PBS-Social Accountability Program and PBS III) በማለት በተለያዩ ደረጃዎች ለተከፋፈለው ኦፐሬሽን ማስፈጸሚያ የሚውለው ገንዘብ ከ13ቢሊዮን ዶላር የሚበልጥ ነው፡፡ ከዚህ ውስጥ ከፍተኛው የዓለም ባንክ ድርሻ 2ቢሊዮን ዶላር ሲሆን የተቀረው በሌሎች ለጋሽ መንግሥታት እና ድርጅቶች የሚሸፈን ነው፡፡ PBS III የተሰኘውን በሦስት ንዑሳን ፕሮግራሞች የተከፋፈለውን ፕሮጀክት ለማስፈጸም በአጠቃላይ የሚፈጀው 6.3ቢሊዮን ዶላር በላይ ነው፡፡”

ይህ ለመሠረታዊ ልማት እንዲውል በዓለም ባንክ በኩል የሚሰጠውን ገንዘብ የሚደጉሙት ምዕራባውያን አገራት ሲሆኑ አንዷ ተጠቃሽ አገር እንግሊዝ ናት፡፡ ሆኖም ኢህአዴግ ከምዕራባውያን በዓለም ባንክ በኩል የሚያገኘውን ገንዘብ ለራሱ የፖለቲካ መጠቀሚያነት እያዋለው መሆኑ ለዓለም ባንክ ተደጋጋሚ መረጃዎች ሲቀርቡ ቆይተዋል፡፡ በተለይ ሟቹ መለስ በቀጥታ በሰጡት ትዕዛዝ 424 የአኙዋክ ተወላጆች ከተገደሉ በኋላ ኢህአዴግ በቦታው ያሰማራው የመከላከያ ሠራዊት በሥፍራው የሚኖሩትን ከመኖሪያ ቀያቸው በማፈናቀል እምቢ ያሉትን በግድ በማስነሳት፣ በመግደል፣ አስገድዶ በመድፈር፣ በማሰቃየት፣ ወዘተ ግፍ ሲፈጽም መቆየቱ በተለያዩ ዓለምአቀፋዊ ዕውቅና ባገኙ ዘገባዎች ሲነገር ቆይቷል፡፡ የዓለም ባንክ ለመሠረታዊ ልማት በማለት የሚሰጠው ገንዘብ ኢህአዴግ ወታደሮቹን የግፍ ሥራ ላይ በማሰማራት ደመወዝ የሚከፍልበት መሆኑን በመጥቀስ ወደ ኬኒያ የተሰደዱ የክልሉ ነዋሪዎች አቤቱታ አቅርበው እንደነበር ጎልጉል በወቅቱ የዘገበው ዜና ነበር፡፡ ““ኢህአዴግ አንገቱን ታንቋል”፤ዓለም ባንክ ርምጃ ለመውሰድ ጫፍ ደርሷል” በሚል ርዕስ የተጻፈውን ዜና ለማንበት እዚህ ላይ ይጫኑ፡፡

ከዚሁ ጋር በተያያዘ “ሚስተር ኦ” በመባል የሚጠሩት አኙዋክ ተወላጅ ኢህአዴግ የዕርዳታ ገንዘብ ለሰብዓዊ መብት ረገጣና ለራሱ የፖለቲካ መጠቀሚያነት እንዳዋለው በመጥቀስ የእንግሊዝ መንግሥት ከግብር ከፋይ ዜጎቹ የሚያገኘውን ገንዘብ አምባገነንነት እየደገፈበት መሆኑን በተለይም የዓለምአቀፍ ልማት ተራድዖ መ/ቤቱ ተጠያቂ ስለሆነ ከዚህ እንዲታቀብ ክስ መመሥረታቸው ይታወቃል፡፡ የክሱ ሒደት እየተካሄደ ባለበት ባሁኑ ወቅት ሚስተር ኦ በተደጋሚ እንደመሰከሩት ኢህአዴግ ነዋሪዎችን በግዳጅ ከቀያቸው በማፈናቀል የሚያካሂደው የግዳጅ ሰፈራና የመንደር ምሥረታ ሕገወጥ መሆኑ በመቃወማቸው በተደጋጋሚ ከፍተኛ ድብደባ እንደረሰባቸው ተናግረዋል፡፡ ብዙዎች ለአካላዊ ሥቃይ ደርሶባቸዋል፣ ሴቶች ክብረንጽህናቸው ተደፍሯል፣ አዛውንትና ህጻናት ለአሰቃቂ መከራ ተዳርገዋል፤ ይህንንም እርሳቸው እንዳዩ ሚስተር ኦ ይመሰክራሉ፡፡

የሚስተር ኦ የፍርድቤት ጉዳይ ወደ ውሳኔ ሊደርስ ባለበት ወቅት የልማት መ/ቤቱ ይህንን ዓይነት ውሳኔ መውሰዱ ከፍርድ ቤቱ ጉዳይ ጋር የሚያያዝ እንደሆነ ጉዳዩን በቅርበት የሚከታተሉ ይናገራሉ፡፡ የልማት ተራድዖ መ/ቤቱ ቃል አቀባይ ግን የመ/ቤታቸው ውሳኔ ከሚስተር ኦ የፍርድቤት ጉዳይ ጋር ያልተያያዘ እንደሆነ መናገራቸውን የእንግሊዙ ዘጋርዲያን ጋዜጣ ዘግቧል፡፡ መ/ቤቱ ለዚህ ውሳኔ የደረሰው ኢትዮጵያ “የዕድገት ስኬት” እያስመዘገበች በመምጣቷ የመሠረታዊ ልማት አገልግሎት የገንዘብ ዕርዳታ የማያስፈልጋት በመሆኑ ነው ብለዋል፡፡

ይህ መጠኑ እጅግ ከፍተኛ የተባለውና ለኢህአዴግ ንጹህ የውጭ ምንዛሪ ምንጭ የሚያስገኝ ገንዘብ እንደነጠፈበት መሰማቱን አስመልክቶ ጋዜጣው የኢህአዴግ ፅ/ቤት ሃላፊ የሆኑትን ሬድዋን ሁሴን በጠየቃቸው ወቅት የመለሱት አልነጠፈብንም የሚል እንድምታ ያለው ነው፡፡ “እነርሱ ያሉት ዕርዳታውን አንሰጥም ወይም እናቆማለን ሳይሆን ዕርዳታ አሰጣጡ እንደገና ይዋቀራል ነው” በማለት ሬድዋን ቃላቸውን ሰጥተዋል፡፡ ሆኖም 4.9 ቢሊዮን ዶላር (98ቢሊዮን ብር) ዕርዳታ ለመስጠት ከዓለምባንክ ጋር ስምምነት የነበረው የእንግሊዝ የልማት ተራድዖ መ/ቤት “ኢትዮጵያ አድጋለች” በማለት በ2015/2016 በፓውንድ 256ሚሊዮን ብቻ (5በመቶ) ዕርዳታ ለመስጠት መወሰኑን የኢህአዴግ ጽ/ቤት ሃላፊው ሬድዋን ሁሴን አላብራሩም፡፡

ኢህአዴግ ለዕርዳታ የሚሰጠውን ገንዘብ ዜጎችን ለማሰቃየት፣ ወታደር ለመቀለብ፣ ወዘተ እንደሚጠቀምበት በተደጋጋሚ ዘገባዎች እና ማስረጃዎች ሲወጡበት የከረመ ቢሆንም ማስረጃዎቹን ተከትሎ የዓለም ባንክ በዕርዳታ አሠጣጡ ላይ አንዳች ውሳኔ እንዳያደርግ ብዙ ሲደክም ቆይቷል፡፡ በዚህም ምክንያት ጉዳዩ ውሳኔ ሳይሰጥበት እንዲስተጓጎል በማድረግ ለሁለት ዓመታት ያህል እንዲጓተት ማድረጉን ከጉዳዩ ጋር ቅርበት ያላቸው ወገኖች ይመሰክራሉ፡፡

ለአዲሲቷ ኢትዮጵያ የጋራ ንቅናቄ (አኢጋን) ዋና ዳይሬክተር የሆኑት ኦባንግ ሜቶ ጉዳዩን ገና ከጅምሩ የሚያውቁትና ድርጅታቸው ለዓመታት ሲሰራበት የነበረ እንደሆነ ይናገራሉ፡፡ በመሆኑንም ይህንን የእንግሊዝ የልማት ተራድዖ መ/ቤት ውሳኔ የጋራ ንቅናቄያቸው ከደጋፊዎቹ ጋር በመሆን ያገኘው ድል እንደሆነ በፌስቡክ ገጻቸው ባስተላለፉት መልዕክት አስታውቀዋል፡፡ “ገና ከጅምሩ ከጋራ ንቅናቄያችን ጋር በመሆን ይህንን ሥራ በመደገፍ የተባበራችሁንን ሁሉ እንኳን ደስ አላችሁ ለማለት እወዳለሁ፤ ታላቅ ሥራ ተሰርቷል፤ እናመሰግናለን” ብለዋል “ጥቁሩ ሰው” ኦባንግ ሜቶ፡፡ ከዚህ ጋር በተያያዘ አቶ ኦባንግ በተለይ ከጎልጉል ለቀረበላቸው አጭር ጥያቄ በሰጡት አስተያየት የጋራ ንቅናቄያቸው ደስታውን የገለጸው የልማት ገንዘብ በመቋረጡ ሳይሆን በልማት ስም የሚሰጠው ዕርዳታ ለሰብዓዊ መብት ረገጣ በመዋሉና ለዚህም ደግሞ ከበቂ በላይ ማስረጃ ድርጅታቸው ያለው በመሆኑ ነው፡፡ “አገር ብትለማ የሁሉም ደስታ ነው” ያሉት ኦባንግ አገርን በማልማት ሽፋን ደጋፊና ተቆርቋሪ የሌላቸውን ንጹሃን መበደልና የመኖር መብታቸውን መንፈግ ግን በየትኛውም መልኩ እርሳቸውም ሆነ አኢጋን የሚቀበለው እንዳልሆነ ተናግረዋል፡፡

ኢህአዴግ በቅርቡ አካሂዳለው ለሚለው ምርጫ እንደ ዕቁብ ዕጣ በማውጣትና በማስወጣት “አልደረሳችሁም” እያለ የተቀናቃኝ ፓርቲ አመራሮችን ከምርጫ እያስወገደ ባለበት፤ ሌሎችንም ሕጋዊ አይደላችሁም እያለ በተለጣፊ ድርጅት በማስበት ኅልውናቸውን እያሳጣ ባለበት ባሁኑ ወቅት በዜጎቹ ላይ የሚያካሂደውን መረን የለቀቀ የመብት ገፈፋ ለሥልጣን ያበቁትን ምዕራባውያንን ያስደሰተ እንዳልሆነ ይነገራል፡፡ የአውሮጳ ኅብረት ምርጫውን አልታዘብም ከማለቱ በተጨማሪ በሚዲያ ላይ የተጫነው አፈና በዓለምአቀፉ የሰብዓዊ መብት ድርጅት ይፋ ከሆነ ወዲህ ማነቆው በኢህአዴግ ላይ እየከረረ መምጣቱን ያሳያል፡፡ ኢህአዴግን ለሥልጣን ከማብቃት አልፋ ነፍጥ አንጋቢዎቹን የህወሃት መሪዎች ጸጉርና ጺም ከርክማ፤ ልብስ አልብሳ፤ ቋንቋ አስተምራ፤ የከተማ አኗኗር እንዴት እንደሆነ አሠልጥና፣ ቶሎ ባይገባቸውም ፕሮቶኮል አስተምራ፣ እስካሁንም ተንከባክባ እዚህ ድረስ ያቆየቻቸው እንግሊዝ እንዲህ ያለውን የውጭ ምንዛሪ ምንጭ ስታደርቅ “ቀጣዩስ ምን ይሆን?” የሚል ጥያቄ እንዲነሳ አድርጓል፡፡ “ምዕራባውያን መግደልም ማንሳትም ያውቁበታል” በማለት አስተያየት የሚሰጡ ወገኖች እንደሚሉት ቀጣዩ የኢህአዴግ ጉዞ በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ ለህወሃት ሲቀጥል ለኢህአዴግ አስጊ ከመሆን ባሻገር በውጭ ምንዛሪ እጥረት በየጊዜው የሚፈጠረውን ግሽበት በዕርዳታ ገንዘብ የሚያስተካክለው ኢህአዴግ እንዲህ ያለው የገንዘብ ማዕቀብ ክፉኛ ያነጥፈዋል ሲሉ ግምታቸውን ይሰጣሉ፡፡ ሙስናው መረን በለቀቀባት አገር ከሕዝብ እየተዘረፈ በተለያዩ አገራት ባንኮች በውጭ ምንዛሪ የሚከማቸውን ገንዘብ በሚካፈሉትም ላይ የድርሻ ቅነሳ የማስከተሉ ጉዳይ አብሮ የሚታይ እንደሆነ ይነገራል፡፡

ከዚህ ዜና ጋር ተያያዥነት ያለውን ጥቅምት 2፤2005 (October 12, 2012) ያተምነውን ዜና ከዚህ በታች እንደሚከተለው እንደገና አትመነዋል፡፡

ኢህአዴግ በ600 ሚሊዮን ዶላር አጣብቂኝ ውስጥ ገባ!!

ብያኔው ከጸና ኪሣራው በቢሊዮን ዶላር ሊደርስም ይችላል!

ኢህአዴግ ከዓለም ባንክ ያገኘውን 600 ሚሊዮን ዶላርና በተመሳሳይ ፕሮጀክት ወደፊት ሊያገኝ የሚችለውን ከፍተኛ ገንዘብ በተመለከተ አደጋ ውስጥ መውደቁ ተሰማ። ኢንስፔክሽን ፓናል (Inspection Panel – IP) የተሰኘ ተቋም ይፋ ያደረገው መረጃ እንደሚያመለክተው ኢህአዴግ የቀረበበት ውንጀላ ከተረጋገጠ የሚያጣው ገንዘብ በቢሊዮን ዶላር እንደሚደርስ ታውቋል። ይፋ የሆነውን መረጃ አስመልክቶ ከኢህአዴግ ወገን እስካሁን በይፋ የተሰጠ ምላሽ የለም።

ግፍ የሚፈጽሙ መንግስታትን፣ በልማት ስም የሰብዓዊ መብት ጥሰት የሚፈጽሙ ወንጀሎችን መረጃዎችን በስፍራው በመገኘትና ከመሠረቱ ዘልቆ በመግባት አደራጅቶ ተጠያቂ የሚያደርገው ኢንክሉሲቭ ዴቨሎፕመንት ኢንተርናሽናል Inclusive Development International (IDI) ከሰለባዎቹ ውክልና ተሰጥቶታል። ተቋሙም በውክልናው መሰረት ለኢንስፔክሽን ፓናል በዝርዝር የሰለባዎቹን በደል በማተት አሳውቋል።

የኢህአዴግ መከላከያ ሠራዊት የሚያደርሰውን እስራት፣ ግርፋት፣ አስገድዶ መድፈር፣ ከመኖሪያ ቦታ ማፈናቀል፣ የግዳጅ ሰፈራ ወዘተ በማምለጥ ወደ ኬንያ የተሰደዱ የጋምቤላ ነዋሪዎች ይህ ሁሉ ግፍ የሚፈጽምባቸው የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት በልማት ስም ከዓለም ባንክ በሚያገኘው የዕርዳታ ገንዘብ በመሆኑ ለባንኩ በላኩት የአቤቱታ ደብዳቤ አመልክተዋል።

አቤቱታውን መሠረት በማድረግ የሚደረገው ምርመራ ውጤት ይፋ ሲሆን፣ በሌሎች አገሮች እንደተደረገው በዕርዳታ ስም የሚገኝን ገንዘብ ኢህአዴግ ለፖለቲካ ተግባር መጠቀሙ ሲረጋገጥ፣ በመስከረም ወር መጀመሪያ አካባቢ ከዓለም ባንክ ተፈቅዶ የነበረው 600ሚሊዮን ዶላር ሊከለከል ይችላል፡፡

የዛሬ ዘጠኝ ዓመት አካባቢ በሟቹ ጠ/ሚ/ርና የጦር ኃይሎች ጠቅላይ አዛዥ መለስ ዜናዊ ቀጥተኛ ትዕዛዝ በጋምቤላ ክልል በተለይ የተማሩ ወንዶች ላይ በማተኮር 424 ንጹሐን የአኙዋክ ተወላጆች በተገደሉበት ወቅት በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩት ወደ ጎረቤት አገር ኬንያ መሰደዳቸው ይታወሳል፡፡ ከዚያን ጊዜ ጀምሮ ክልሉ ሰላም የለም፡፡ በየጊዜውም የሰብዓዊ መብት ጥሰቶች ሲካሄዱበት ቆይቷል፡፡ በተለይም ለም የሆነውን እጅግ ሰፋፊ መሬት ለውጪ ባለሃብቶች በሳንቲም በመሸጥ ላይ የሚገኘው የኢህአዴግ አገዛዝ ከቅርብ ጊዜ ወዲህ በቀድሞው የደርግ ዘመን ሲካሄድ ከነበረው ባለፈ መልኩ እጅግ በሚያሰቅቅ ሁኔታ በመንደር ምስረታና አስገድዶ የማስፈር ፖሊሲ ከመኖሪያ ቀዬ የማፈናቀል ተግባራትን እያከናወነ መሆኑን የኦክላንድ ተቋም፣ ሂውማን ራይትስ ዎች፣ … የመሳሰሉ ድርጅቶች ያወጧቸው ዘገባዎች ይጠቁማሉ፡፡

ከ1998ዓም ጀምሮ የመሠረታዊ አገልግሎት ጥበቃ ፕሮግራም (Protection of Basic Services “PBS Program”) በሚል በአራት ተከታታይና ሁለት ተጨማሪ የገንዘብ ድጎማ የሚደረግባቸውን ፕሮግራሞች የዓለም ባንክ በኢትዮጵያ ሲያካሂድ ቆይቷል፡፡ ይህ መሠረታዊ የሆኑ አገልግሎቶችን ለማሟላት ተወጥኖ የሚካሄድ ፕሮጀክት በትምህርት፣ በጤና፣ በእርሻ፣ በንጹህ ውሃ አቅርቦት፣ በገጠር መንገድ ሥራ፣ ወዘተ መስኮች ላይ እንዲውል (PBS I, PBS I-AF (Additional Financing), PBS II, PBS 11-AF, PBS-Social Accountability Program and PBS III) በማለት በተለያዩ ደረጃዎች ለተከፋፈለው ኦፐሬሽን ማስፈጸሚያ የሚውለው ገንዘብ ከ13ቢሊዮን ዶላር የሚበልጥ ነው፡፡ ከዚህ ውስጥ ከፍተኛው የዓለም ባንክ ድርሻ 2ቢሊዮን ዶላር ሲሆን የተቀረው በሌሎች ለጋሽ መንግሥታት እና ድርጅቶች የሚሸፈን ነው፡፡ PBS III የተሰኘውን በሦስት ንዑሳን ፕሮግራሞች የተከፋፈለውን ፕሮጀክት ለማስፈጸም በአጠቃላይ የሚፈጀው 6.3ቢሊዮን ዶላር በላይ ነው፡፡ ከዚህ ውስጥ የባንኩ ድርሻ የሆነውን 600ሚሊዮን ዶላር ቦርዱ መስከረም 5ቀን 2005ዓም አጽድቋል፡፡

በአስገድዶ ማስፈር፣ መንደር ምስረታና ሌሎች በርካታ የሰብዓዊ መብቶቻቸው የተጣሱባቸው በኬንያ የሚገኙ ሦስት የአኙዋክ ስደተኞች ተወካይ ድርጅቶች በሰሜን አሜሪካ ከሚገኙ ሌሎች የሰብዓዊ ድርጅቶች ጋር በመሆን ባንኩ ሊሰጥ የወሰነውን ገንዘብ ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ጥቅም ከመዋል ይልቅ ለኢህአዴግ የፖለቲካ ዓላማ ማስፈጸሚያ እየዋለ መሆኑን በመጥቀስ ለባንኩ ፕሬዚዳንት ዶ/ር ጂም ዮንግ ኪም መስከረም 6፤ 2005ዓም ደብዳቤ ልከዋል፡፡ በጥያቄያቸውም መሠረት በዓለም ባንክ በኩል ወደ ኢትዮጵያ የሚፈሰው ገንዘብ “በልማት ስም የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት በጋምቤላ ክልል ለሚያካሂደው የመንደር ምስረታ እየዋለ ነው” በማለት ይከሳል፡፡ ሲቀጥልም የአኙዋክ ሕዝብ ለዘመናት ከኖረበት መንደር በማፈናቀል “የተሻለ አገልግሎት ይሰጣችኋል” በማለት በግድ የማስፈር ተግባር እየተፈጸመ ሲሆን “የተባለው አገልግሎትም ሆነ ለእርሻ የሚሆን በቂ ቦታ እንዲሁም ለከብቶች የሚበቃ የግጦሽና የውሃ ቦታ የላቸውም” በማለት ሰፈራውን የተቃወሙ ሁሉ እጅግ ከፍተኛ የሆነ የሰብዓዊ መብት ረገጣ እየደረሰባቸው እንደሚገኝ ጠቁሟል፡፡ ይህንን ግፍ የሚፈጽሙት ደግሞ የዓለም ባንክ ለመሠረታዊ አገልግሎት ጥበቃ ፕሮግራም (Protection of Basic Services “PBS Program”) ስም ለልማት እንዲውል ከሚሰጠው የዕርዳታ ገንዘብ በመንግሥት ተቀጥረው ደመወዝ የሚከፈላቸው ሠራተኞች መሆናቸውን ገልጾዋል፡፡ ይህንን ጉዳይ ከዓለም ባንክ ጋር እንዲነጋገሩላቸው Inclusive Development International (IDI) የተባለውን ድርጅት መወከላቸውን አስታውቀዋል፡፡ (የደብዳቤው ሙሉ ቃል እዚህ ላይ ይገኛል)

ተመሳሳይ ጉዳዮችን በዓለምአቀፍ ደረጃ በመከታተልና በማስፈጸም የታወቀው IDI በመስከረም ወር አጋማሽ ላይ ጉዳዩ በቀጥታ ለሚመለከተው የመልሶ ማቋቋምና ልማት ዓለምአቀፍ ባንክና (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)) የዓለምአቀፍ ልማት ማኅበር (International Development Association (IDA)) ሥር ለሚገኘው የኢንስፔክተር ፓናል ባለ 18ገጽ ደብዳቤ ጽፏል፡፡ (የደብዳቤው ሙሉ ቃል እዚህ ላይ ይገኛል) ይህ የኢንስፔክተር ቡድን ከፍተኛ ሥልጣን ያለው መ/ቤት ሲሆን የዓለም ባንክ የሚሰጠውን ገንዘብ በትክክለኛ ቦታ ላይ አለመዋሉን በመጥቀስ ክስ የሚያቀርቡ ወገኖችን ጉዳይ በመከታተልና ቦታው ድረስ የራሱን ምርመራ በማካሄድ ውጤቱ ተግባራዊ እንዲሆን የባንኩን እጅ የማስጠምዘዝ ዓቅም ያለው እንደሆነ ከዚህ በፊት ያካሄዳቸው የምርመራ ውጤቶች ይጠቁማሉ፡፡

ይህ የመርማሪ ቡድን የቀረበለትን አቤቱታ መቀበሉንና በጉዳዩ ላይ የማንም ተጽዕኖ የማይደረግበትን የራሱን ምርመራ እንደሚያደርግ ከትላንት በስቲያ ባወጣው ባለ 8ገጽ መግለጫ ላይ አሳውቋል፡፡ ይህ የአቤቱታ ፋይል ቁጥር የተሰጠው ጉዳይ በግልባጭ ለባንኩ ፕሬዚዳንትና ለከሳሽ ተወካይ ድርጅት (IDI) እንዲደርስ ተደርጓል፡፡(የደብዳቤው ሙሉ ቃል እዚህ ላይ ይገኛል)

የጎልጉል የሰሜን አሜሪካ ዘጋቢ ባጠናከረው መረጃ መሠረት ቡድኑ ከያዝነው ዓመት የጥቅምት አጋማሽ በኋላ ወደ ምስራቅ አፍሪካ ያቀናል። ቡድኑ ስደተኞቹ የሚገኙባቸውን፣ እንዲሁም ጉዳዩን በሚመለከት አስፈላጊ የሚላቸውን ቦታዎችና ግለሰቦች ሙሉ በሙሉ ያነጋግራል። ለስራው መሳካት የሚሆነውን ሁሉ በሚፈለግበት ቦታ በመገኘት በግንባር እንደሚያከናውን ለማወቅ ተችሏል።

በተለያየ ጊዜ ኢህአዴግ የሚፈጽመውን ግፍና በደል በማደራጀት ሥርዓቱ ላይ ከትጥቅ የጠነከረ ትግል ማካሄድ እንደሚቻል አስተያየት ሰጪዎች ተናግረዋል:: አያይዘውም በመላው አገሪቱ የሚፈጸመውን የሰብአዊ መብት ረገጣና የመብት ጥሰት በማሰባሰብ የኢህአዴግን የገንዘብ ምንጭ የማድረቅ፣ ብሎም በእርዳታ ገንዘብ የሚገነባቸውን የአፈና ተቋማት ማስለል እንደሚቻል አስታውቀዋል። ይህንን ታላቅ ስራ የሰሩትን አካላት ልምዳቸውን ለሌሎች በማካፈል አስፈላጊውን ስራ ሊሰሩ እንደሚገባም አሳስበዋል። (የመግቢያው ፎቶ የተወሰደው: ዘጋርዲያን)

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Source: goolgule.com

The plight of Ethiopian migrants in Somalia

Hamza Mohamed |Aljzeera

Bossaso, Somalia - Ankles deep in brown canal water, freshly plucked green weeds in both muddy hands, Abdi Muse Kalon cannot stop grinning. He says life here has given him a second chance – a better chance.

Risking his life, Kalon walked for more than four months from Ethiopia to get to Bossaso, a port city nestled next to the Red Sea in Somalia’s northeast.

Kalon is one of at least 10,000 Ethiopian migrants who have crossed over from neighbouring Ethiopia and settled on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden in the past five years, according to local authorities.

“It was not easy to get here, not everyone makes it. People die of starvation and thirst on the way here. And even wild animals can kill you. I’m very lucky,” Kalon told Al Jazeera.

He first tried his luck to come to Bossaso in 2009. With wages low and jobs hard to come by back home, Kalon saved enough money and boarded a boat in search of greener pastures. Oman was his final destination, but soon he was picked up by authorities in the Arab sultanate and sent back.

Unhappy with what life in Ethiopia offered him and his family, he decided Somalia was his next destination.

A cold welcome

Kalon and thousands of his countrymen are leaving one of the fastest growing economies on the African continent for a country that until recently was considered a “failed state”. This part of the Horn of Africa country has been spared the worst of the two decades-long civil war, and has had relative peace for the last 10 years.

But with seven out of 10 of Somali youth unemployed, the presence of these mainly economic migrants has caused tension. Residents want them out, by force if necessary.

The local government is leading the efforts to send the Ethiopians back. New strict laws have been put in place to curb the influx of migrants.

Any driver caught bringing in foreigners risks a fine of $300 and, or, a jail term.

Every vehicle coming into this city of more than half-a-million residents is thoroughly checked by armed soldiers. Anyone caught without valid paperwork is hauled off to an overcrowded prison before being deported back to their country of origin.

Landlords have been given firm orders not to rent their homes to the unwelcome guests, forcing Ethiopians into the harsh camps for internally displaced people on the city’s outskirts.

At these camps, they are at the mercy of raids by security forces and forceful deportations.

“We cannot cope with these numbers of undocumented migrants,” the town’s mayor, Hassan Abdalle Hassan, told Al Jazeera.

“Many times before we sent them back, but they don’t want to go back to Ethiopia. Now they come by foot because we told drivers not to bring them here.”

The mayor estimated that hundreds of new arrivals reach Bossaso every week. Some board rickety boats and later head to Gulf countries, but most remain in Bossaso.

“Depending on the time of the year we see between 200 and 300 migrants every week. That is way too many for us to accommodate,” Hassan said.

Working hard and thriving

But the government’s loud threats are falling on deaf ears. The migrants have taken over a whole neighbourhood of the city that until recently used to be exclusively inhabited by Somalis.

Restaurants, laundry shops and taxi services run by the new arrivals have not only opened but are thriving.

Every evening the streets of this part of Bossaso are filled with mainly young men from Ethiopia – Africa’s second most populous country – gathering around tea stalls. The evening ocean breeze blowing in from the sea is filled with the aroma of spicy Ethiopian food and music.

Less than a kilometre from the farm where Kalon works, a dirt road snakes through a large refugee camp.

Ahmed Abdi Muse sits in the passenger seat of a beaten-up car. He has been living in Bossaso for more than a decade and is fluent in Somali. He speaks the local dialect, making everyone second-guess his nationality. For the past five years, he has been working as a driving instructor.

“There are not that many choices for us but to stay here and do our best to provide for those close to us. Ethiopia is not an option for me, and going to Arab countries is very risky. We come here and work hard. We don’t harm anyone. We are here only to support our families,” Muse said.

The migrants are trying their best to be part of the wider community and have formed community organisations.

Mohamed Abadir is the chairman of the Ethiopian community in the Puntland region of Somalia – a semi-autonomous state in the northeast part of the country.

A resident of Bossaso for the past 20 years, he now owns a farm outside the city and employs 10 Ethiopians.

“Relations between the Somali people and our people are good, but not perfect. We live side by side in peace,” Abadir told Al Jazeera.

But life here as migrants comes with its own challenges.

“Because no one wants to rent houses to us, every Ethiopian family here is housing three other families. Housing is an issue. Apart from that we have a good understanding with our hosts,” Abadir said.

Despite the migrants best attempts to be a part of the local community, locals can’t wait to see them leave – for good.

“We are not happy with their presence,” said Abdi Noor Galayr, a vocal anti-migrant campaigner in the city.

“They have brought many problems in terms of health. We don’t know what health issues they may have. They brought criminals to this town like people smugglers. They are also putting pressure on the job market.”

Galayr and those like-minded might not want the Ethiopians in their city, but Kalon said he is going nowhere.

“Somalia is not home, but for now it is home. I hope to bring my wife and children when I have saved enough money. Life is better here,” Kalon said.

Source: aljazeera.com

Spy cables reveal African Union assassination threat

Documents show S African and Ethiopian agencies in crisis, suspected Sudan, amid reported 2012 plot to kill AU chief.

Secret intelligence documents leaked to Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit reveal that spies in Addis Ababa were alerted to a plot by "an unnamed state" to kill a top African Union diplomat.

Ethiopian agents later accused Sudan of involvement in the plan to assassinate African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who had previously served as South Africa's foreign minister.

Dlamini-Zuma allegedly faced "an eminent threat" to her life in the Ethiopian capital which also hosts the headquarters of the African Union in October 2012, just days after she was appointed.

The documents show that South African and Ethiopian intelligence agencies had been unprepared for the threat, for which they blamed Sudan. The agencies admitted they did not have enough time to "neutralise the operation" or apprehend those involved.

The documents also describe how unarmed African Union (AU) bodyguards "slept in corridors for four days without food or water provided," because the AU "did not arrange accommodation and resources for food".

'An eminent threat'

On October 22, a week after Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma became AUC chairperson, the Spy Cables show that South African intelligence headquarters received information about a possible assassination attempt.

It quickly relayed the details to the embassy in Addis Ababa, and that evening, the South African ambassador briefed Dlamini-Zuma, telling her "there might be some changes in the protection arrangements".

He had expected an attack within the following two days.

South Africa's top spy in Addis Ababa then called Ethiopia's intelligence chief. He left a message, and an hour later got a call back.

Just before 10pm, Ethiopia's spy boss was informed of the threat, and the two men agreed to beef up the South African diplomat's security. Four extra bodyguards were sent to her hotel the following morning.

Crisis meeting

On the day the attack was expected, all the spies could do is watch, wait and hope that the security they had deployed could protect the life of the chairperson.

Amid the crisis, South Africa's security chiefs held an emergency meeting, also chronicled in the Spy Cables. The acting head of South African military intelligence, General T Nyembe, told his colleagues that "an unnamed state" was behind the plot, and warned that there had been "another alert which further pointed out a potential assassination plot… to be carried out at a different venue."

The South Africans discussed the need to make "an overall intervention for the security of the AUC Chair", but doing so in a diplomatic manner to "avoid creating the impression that South Africa was declaring a vote of no confidence on the handing of AUC Chairperson's security" by Ethiopia.

The day passed without any attack.

The following morning, the South Africans meet their Ethiopian counterparts and were told, for the first time, of Sudan's suspected involvement in the plot.

The Spy Cables report that the Director of Foreign Service at Ethiopia's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), Hadera Abera, explained that his service has crosschecked the names of the plotters with "all entry points especially those bordering Sudan".

They found no matches, and the Spy Cables do not reveal the names of the plotters.

Another secret document recorded Hadera saying that in his service's assessment, Sudan "would not carry out such operations" as it had "paid dearly in the attempted assassination of Egypt former President Mubarak."

There is no explanation of how Sudan had "paid dearly," but the state was linked to the attack on Mubarak that took place in Addis Ababa in 1995.

'Slept in corridors'

Hadera reassured the South Africans that "there has been never [sic] a threat that developed into a situation where a diplomat is killed in Addis Ababa with the exception of the former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak whose life was threatened in 1987."

Ethiopia uses a different calendar to most of the world, by which its 1987 corresponds to 1995.

Hadera asked for more help from South Africa and to share intelligence to help foil "terrorist activities."

However, the same document shows that AU security chief General Egziabher Mebrahtu swiftly contradicted Hadera's reassurances about diplomats' security in Addis Ababa. He "lamented" the situation for his unarmed men, who have a "poor capacity to provide and protect".

The AU security man also explained that confusion between his agency and Ethiopian intelligence, who provide security for the AUC chairperson, resulted in the situation where the "AU did not arrange accommodation and resources for food" for the bodyguards.

"The protectors slept in corridors for four days without food and water," one spy cable records. "This created a gap since they have to go out of the hotel to get food and water, leaving the Chairperson unattended, therefore vulnerable."

'Threat'

A final secret document on the Addis Ababa security crisis, dated October 29, assesses developments since the threat a few days earlier, and outlines South Africa's security arrangements in Ethiopia. It reveals that the country maintains "two 'Safe Havens' to which South Africans can be taken to in the even of any emergency situations".

It also shows just how underprepared both the South African and Ethiopian security services had been in the face of the threat.

The SSA admits it was not able to foil the plot, writing that "the available time would not allow the host service to neutralise the operation" despite treating the information "with the utmost seriousness".

"Follow-up is being done to clear all potential possibilities on the potential assassination of the Chairperson of the AUC."

"So far no new information has been received regarding the assassins," the secret spy cable concluded.

"The developments on the situation will be monitored and a close liaison with NISS on the matter will be carried out on a daily basis."

Clarification The only previously reported attempt on Mubarak's life had been in 1995. It's not clear if Hadera has mistaken the date or if there had been another, previously unreported assassination attempt in 1987. Mubarak did visit Addis Ababa in 1995 for talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Clarification (25/2/2015): An earlier version of this article said it was unclear whether, when he mentioned 1987, Hadera Abera was mistaken or talking about a previously-unreported assasination attempt on Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa. Neither seems to be the case. Hadera appears to be referencing the 1995 attempt. Ethiopia uses a different calendar to most of the world, by which its 1987 corresponds to 1995.

Source: aljazeera

World Bank dam and foreign land-grab force out Ethiopian tribes

By Karen Hardison     

World Bank and China join Ethipoia's government to relocate 200,000 villagers of the Omo River and Lake Turkana Valley, UNESCO protected "Cradle of Mankind," to replace them with super-irrigation plantations and hydroelectric plants aimed at exportation.

The Ethiopian government in partnership with the World Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will see the completion of their project to dam the Omo River in the Omo Valley when the dam goes into operation in June, 2015. The dam, Gibe III, will force the creation of a new lake behind it and will restrain Omo River waters from flowing into Lake Turkana as they have done without interruption for 4 million years. One year's worth of inflow will be lost to Lake Turkana as the water is kept back to fill the new lake behind Gibe III.

The shift in lake sites, lessening Lake Turkana and building the Gibe III lake, will swamp Omo Valley ecosystems while endangering the fragile Lake Turkana ecosystems. Also swamped will be the tribal villages and peoples of Omo Valley.

Omo Valley People

When Gibe III is activated in June, 2015, the waters will be diverted to the large-scale irrigation projects of the foreign corporations that have grabbed land of around 248,570 square miles (643,801 square kilometers). The Ethiopian government, a cooperating partner in the land-grab with an aim of modernization of rural tribal areas, is planning to hand over twice this amount again very soon.

While the dam will initially reduce the lake depth by 66 feet (20 meters), over the short run, the lake will be reduced to smaller twin lakes with exposed ground between. Over the long run, Lake Turkana will be reduced to a sliver, like the Aral Sea has been by Russia's 1960s massive irrigation projects. For the indigenous peoples of the eight tribes of the Omo Valley, the landscape and sustainable ecosystems will be forever changed.

The eight tribes comprise about 200,000 Omo Valley indigenous people, including the Mursi, who are self-sufficient, with lifestyles that evolved across the millennia to adapt to the dry desert lake area around Lake Turkana. Some are nomads who herd sheep, cattle and goats. Some, small-scale farmers using shifting cultivation. Others graze livestock and farm in the fertile Omo River floodlands. The lake creates a natural territorial boundary between tribes.

Conflict from Lake Reduction

Once the natural lake boundary is removed, the people will face hunger, enmity and conflict. The lake and river ecosystems will change, leading to depleted and restricted resources. Nomadic herders will have lessened range for herds since the dam-lake will overwhelm much of the land behind the dam (think of something like the dam scene in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)). Fertile floodland herder-farmers will have to relocate. Aquatic ecosystems will be damaged and soon decimated by changing water levels, changing salinity and changing nitrogen levels. Chemical pollutants from mass irrigation-dependent cultivation of biofuels, cotton, maize, sugar and palm oil — all planned for export to industrialized countries — will endanger supplies of drinking, cooking, domestic sanitation and bathing water.

The competition for restricted resources for food and living could become fierce, as in Darfur, leading to open conflict between tribes and internal enmity within tribes. The Ecologist quoted one Ethiopian woman as saying:

They will come and kill us and that will bring about enmity among us as we turn on each other due to hunger.

Modernization and Villagization, Plantations and Hydroelectric Power

To facilitate the greed for modernization, the Ethiopian government enacted the "villagization" program intended to sweep tribal people out of the way into "purpose built villages" to leave unimpeded the land grabbing, the large-scale irrigated plantation farming, the hydroelectrical production of electricity exportation to China and the wholesale destruction of the Omo Valley ecosystems. The Ethiopian government has furthered this with a new infrastructure of 466 miles (750 kilometers) of internal roads to support the operation of the irrigated plantations. As The Ecologist states:

Losing their land also means losing the ability to sustain themselves. As Ulijarholi, a member of the Mursi tribe, said, "If our land is taken, it is like taking our lives."

After Gibe III is operational, these eight tribes will have lost their opportunity for self-sufficient, sustainable food security, and the Omo Valley will be the next site of catastrophic global devastation, with Lake Turkana following in the path of the Aral Sea. As The Ecologist says, "short of an international outcry" before June, 2015, the future toll on human life and the ecosystems comprising the Cradle of Mankind will be fixed if not apparent in the present moment.

Source: digitaljournal

Threats and censorship against critical journalists Facts: Ethiopia and press freedom

Threats and censorship against critical journalists Facts: Ethiopia and press freedom
World to criticize the government or report on abuses in Ethiopia is highly dangerous, and the situation is getting worse. Tsedale Lemma is one of the few who openly dares to talk about the stifling of freedom of expression.








- For every leader we write we never know who is going to get angry, says Tsedale Lemma, editor of the English-language magazine Addis Standard.

According to Lemma is the law that controls the media in Ethiopia completely open to interpretation. This leads to extensive journalistic self-censorship.

- And when we do not concern ourselves with self-censorship, we lack access to information or statistics, she says.

She takes police brutality as an example. It is possible to describe in general terms, but it is impossible to review cases of killing protesters.

- That we in the newspaper even take up police brutality see people who courageously. But it also means that they have expectations of us.

The newspaper constantly get emails from people who got into trouble. It's about absurd court cases, mysterious disappearances or persons imprisoned for several years for unclear reasons.

- I want to be their voice. But I do not know what the consequences will be for me or my staff.

The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently released two reports that indicate risks for journalists, and even human rights activists.

Tsedale Lemma highlights the nine bloggers and journalists detained in April last year and accused of terrorism and the risk of life imprisonment.

In late January the United States in a statement Ethiopia to give the nine legally secure trial.

- How can you expect a fair trial when they are charged with terrorism? When everyone knows that the court is controlled by a call from the government? she asks rhetorically.

She has been threatened and left journalism for several years, but in 2011 she founded Addis Standard. Last year she reacted at a conference where the Deputy Prime Minister said that there are no problems for journalists in Ethiopia.

- I told him that it's his word against the rest of the world. It is a strange coincidence that the journalists who are detained are the ones who are most critical of the government.

TT

Press freedom in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is in place 142 of 180 in Reporters Without Borders' press Index for 2015. In the bottom there Eritrea and North Korea. Sweden is fifth.

According to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) blocks all government websites and blogs which express any criticism of the country's governance.

Ethiopia is the country in the world after Iran who has the most journalists in exile.

Since 2009, the anti-terrorist law used against journalists and political opponents, reports HRW.

The Swedish journalists Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye was sentenced in 2011 to eleven years in prison in Ethiopia for the promotion of terrorism. They were pardoned in 2012.

TT

The page has been translated by Google translate

Source: hd.se

World Bank: Address Ethiopia Findings

(Washington, DC) – The World Bank should fully address serious human rights issues raised by the bank’s internal investigation into a project in Ethiopia, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the bank’s vice president for Africa. The bank’s response to the investigation findings attempts to distance the bank from the many problems confirmed by the investigation and should be revised. The World Bank board of directors is to consider the investigation report and management’s response, which includes an Action Plan, on February 26, 2015.

The Inspection Panel, the World Bank’s independent accountability mechanism, found that the bank violated its own policies in Ethiopia. The investigation was prompted by a formal complaint brought by refugees from Ethiopia’s Gambella region concerning the Promoting Basic Services (PBS) projects funded by the World Bank, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), the African Development Bank, and several other donors.

“The Inspection Panel’s report shows that the World Bank has largely ignored human rights risks evident in its projects in Ethiopia,” said Jessica Evans, senior international financial institutions researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The bank has the opportunity and responsibility to adjust course on its Ethiopia programming and provide redress to those who were harmed. But management’s Action Plan achieves neither of these goals.”

The report, leaked to the media in January, determinedthat “there is an operational link” between the World Bank projects in Ethiopia and a government relocation program known as “villagization.” It concluded that the bank had violated its policy that is intended to protect indigenous peoples’ rights. It also found that the bank “did not carry out the required full risk analysis, nor were its mitigation measures adequate to manage the concurrent rollout of the villagisation programme.” These findings should prompt the World Bank and other donors to take all necessary measures to prevent and address links between its programs and abusive government initiatives, Human Rights Watch said.

Rather than taking on these important findings and applying lessons learned, World Bank management has drafted an Action Plan that merely reinforces its problematic current course, Human Rights Watch said. The Action Plan emphasizes the role of programs designed to mobilize communities to engage in local government’s decisions without addressing the significant risks people take in speaking critically.

The Inspection Panel also found that the bank did not take the necessary steps to mitigate the risk presented by Ethiopia’s 2009 law on civil society organizations. The law prohibits human rights organizations in Ethiopia from receiving more than 10 percent of their funding from foreign sources. As a result of the law, most independent Ethiopian civil society organizations working on human rights issues have had to discontinue their work.

The plan also pledges to enhance the capacity of local government staff to comply with the bank’s policies and to provide complaint resolution mechanisms without addressing the role of the local government in human rights abuses. This continues an approach of seeing the officials implicated in human rights abuses as a source of potential resolution, Human Rights Watch said. Management has also concluded, contrary to the Inspection Panel, that the World Bank is adequately complying with the bank’s policy to protect the rights of indigenous peoples.

Human Rights Watch research into the first year of the villagization program in the western Gambella region found that people were forced to move into the government’s new villages. Human Rights Watch found that the relocation was accompanied by serious abuses, including intimidation, assaults, and arbitrary arrests by security officials, and contributed to the loss of livelihoods for the people forced to move. While the Ethiopian government has officially finished its villagization program in Gambella, it is forcibly evicting communities in other regions, including indigenous people, ostensibly for development projects such as large-scale agriculture projects.

Donors to the Ethiopia Promoting Basic Services Program, including the World Bank and the UK, have repeatedly denied any link between their programs and problematic government programs like villagization.

Human Rights Watch has long raised concerns over inadequate monitoring and the risks of misuse of development assistance in Ethiopia. In 2010 Human Rights Watch documented the government’s use of donor-supported resources and aid to consolidate the power of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Government officials discriminated on the basis of real and perceived political opinion in distributing resources, including access to donor-supported programs, salaries, and training opportunities. Donors have never systematically investigated these risks to their programming, much less addressed them.

The Inspection Panel report is the first donor mechanism that has investigated the donor’s approach to risk assessment in Ethiopia. Although the Inspection Panel adopted a narrow view of its mandate and decided explicitly to exclude human rights violations, its findings underscore the need for donors to considerably enhance and broaden their risk assessment processes in Ethiopia. These processes are crucial for ensuring that their programs advance the social and economic rights of the people they are intended to benefit, without violating their human rights. Management’s response misrepresents the panel’s view of its mandate, erroneously concurring “with the panel’s conclusion that the harm alleged in the Request cannot be attributed to the Project” – the Inspection Panel report makes no such sweeping conclusion.

“The bank directors should send management’s response and Action Plan back and insist on a plan that addresses the Inspection Panel’s findings and the concerns of the people who sought the inquiry,” Evans said. “A meaningful Action Plan should address the program in question, bank-lending in Ethiopia more broadly, and how to apply lessons from these mistakes to all bank programing in high-risk, repressive environments around the world.”

The Action Plan should include provisions for high-level dialogue between the bank and the Ethiopian government to address key human rights issues that are obstacles to effective development, Human Rights Watch said. These issues include forced evictions and development-related displacement, restrictions on civil society, including attacks on independent groups and journalists, discriminatory practices, and violations ofindigenous peoples’ rights.

The plan should include provisions for identifying and mitigating all human rights risks and adverse impacts at the project level, and for independent monitoring to make sure these concerns are fully addressed. The plan should also include provisions for people affected by projects to be involved in projects from their conception and remedies for people negatively affected by bank projects.

Given the climate of fear and repression in Ethiopia, Gambella residents who brought the complaint to the bank and have taken refuge in South Sudan and Kenya are unlikely to feel safe returning home. In light of this, the Action Plan should address their most urgent needs abroad, including education and livelihood opportunities, Human Rights Watch said.

The Inspection Panel’s findings also have wider implications for donor programming in Ethiopia. Donors’ current appraisal methods do not consider human rights and other risks from their programs. The panel highlighted particular problems with budget support or block grants that cannot be tracked at the local level.

“The Inspection Panel report illustrates the perils of unaccountable budget support in Ethiopia,” Evans said. “Donors should implement programs that ensure that Ethiopia's neediest participate in and have access to the benefits of donor aid.” 

Source: hrw