Letter to President Obama ahead of visit to Kenya and Ethiopia

July 21, 2015

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Re: Your visit to Kenya and Ethiopia

Dear Mr. President:

As you prepare to visit Kenya and Ethiopia later this month, we, the undersigned organizations and individuals, write to share our appreciation for your engagement on some key concerns on the sub-continent, including the crucial role of governance. To this end, last summer’s US-Africa Leaders Summit was an important milestone and your upcoming trip presents an opportunity to reaffirm your administration’s commitment to addressing the core challenges faced by millions of Africans.

As key partners for the United States, both Kenya and Ethiopia present pressing human rights concerns that we hope will be at the forefront of your discussions. While both countries face real security threats, we are concerned by the way in which each government has responded, often with abusive security measures and increased efforts to stifle civil society and the media. Many of these initiatives undermine core human rights protections and the rule of law and are also counterproductive when it comes to reducing insecurity. We urge you to clearly articulate that the United States expects its partners to support an environment where independent organizations and media outlets can thrive, and security forces undertake operations that protect – rather than abuse –  their citizens.

Kenya
Your long-awaited trip to Kenya offers key opportunities to address both new and longstanding challenges with which the country continues to grapple – from security force impunity and the need for criminal justice reforms, to an increasingly restrictive environment for media and civil society, and growing pressure on Kenya’s Somali refugee population and its Muslim communities.

Accountability for Abuses by the Security Forces. As you are aware, the Kenyan police and other security forces have long committed serious human rights violations with impunity. This lack of accountability was identified as a crucial area for reform in the wake of the 2007-2008 post-election violence and remains a central challenge. More recently, credible research by a number of independent organizations has implicated the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU), along with other security forces, in serious abuses in Nairobi, on the coast and in the northeast. They have routinely responded to alleged attacks by the armed group Al-Shabab with abusive operations that appear to target specific communities – Muslims, Somali Kenyans and Somali refugees – based on their ethnicity, nationality or religion. Such actions risk further undermining confidence in the security forces, rendering them less effective, and fueling radicalization instead of countering it.

We hope you will use your visit to Kenya to press President Uhuru Kenyatta and his administration to take the necessary steps to reverse these trends. In particular, this includes the need to investigate reports of security force abuse and prosecute those responsible for serious crimes, while ensuring that independent oversight mechanisms such as the Independent Policing Oversight Authority are adequately resourced and able to effectively perform their work free from interference.

Meaningful efforts to address broader questions of impunity also entail cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and revisiting domestic efforts to investigate and prosecute serious crimes committed during the 2007-2008 post-election violence. The communal grievances that underlay that violence remain and will continue to fester if left unaddressed. In general we urge you to stress that abusive operations against Muslim and ethnic Somali communities are not only unlawful but also an ineffective response to security threats. It is critical for the national security interests of both the US and Kenya that Kenyan security force actions do not reinforce Al Shabab’s one-sided public narratives.

Restrictions on civil society. Kenya’s nongovernmental organizations have enjoyed a relatively open environment consistent with the rights to freedom of association and expression for more than a decade, but over the past year that has begun to change. The Kenyan government has increased legislative efforts to restrict both nongovernmental and media work, and government officials have repeatedly voiced hostility and suspicion of independent voices. In recent months, Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI) and Haki Africa, two human rights organizations working to document abuses in counterterrorism operations on the coast, have faced an onslaught of administrative harassment, including arbitrary searches and seizure of documents, freezing of bank accounts, suspension of insurance coverage, and de-registration, despite a court order establishing that they have no links to terrorist groups.
We appreciate the many efforts by your administration – and specifically by Ambassador Robert Godec – to support these two organizations and civil society in general. We urge you to continue sending an explicit message, both in public and in private, that the protection of civil society organizations – in line with your September 2014 Presidential Memorandum on Civil Society – is a top priority for your administration and that any new legislation should respect international standards on freedom of expression and association.

Refugees. For decades, Kenya has played a crucial role in the region by providing refuge to hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees. But unsubstantiated allegations that Somali refugees pose a security threat have increased in the wake of the Garissa University attack, as have statements that they should now all return to Somalia. To date, the authorities have produced no evidence that Somali refugees provided material support to armed militants. Over the past six years, many independent organizations have documented how refugee communities in Dadaab and Nairobi are routine targets for harassment, extortion, and mistreatment by police and other security forces. Your administration has been extremely vocal about the need for the Kenyan authorities to register and protect its refugee communities, including those from Somalia. We urge you to remind President Kenyatta of his recent pledges and obligations under both African regional and international refugee law to respect the principle of non-refoulement, ensure that refugees are protected and assisted, and consider durable long-term solutions for the refugee population.

Ethiopia
While part of your trip to Ethiopia will include a momentous visit to the African Union, we are concerned by the timing of your bilateral meetings with Ethiopia’s leadership. Particularly in the wake of that country’s recent non-competitive elections, your visit may send the message that the United States is giving short shrift to the profoundly repressive policies pursued by the government. The political environment in Ethiopia is dramatically restricted, as is the ability for Ethiopians to freely express themselves. Over the past decade, a range of measures has been adopted that sharply curtail fundamental liberties.

As you know, under Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government made economic gains and apparent improvements in socio-economic indicators. However, since the 2005 election crisis the ruling party’s political dominance, repression of political opposition parties, and restrictions on the media and civil society have increased dramatically.

Instead of providing leadership in the region on human rights, Ethiopia has regrettably become a model for draconian legislation that restricts freedom of speech and association. Its anti-terrorism law has been primarily used to target journalists and others critical of government policies. These laws are not only misused for political prosecutions in Ethiopia, they are increasingly a model for repressive legislation across the region. In addition, over the past 15 years, Ethiopia’s security forces have committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, most notably in the Somali region, without any credible investigations or prosecutions.

We urge you to make clear in all your meetings that the recent release of six journalists and bloggers is welcomed, but is only a preliminary step towards more meaningful and sustainable reforms. Scores of other journalists, political opposition leaders, and protesters who have been arbitrarily detained or wrongfully imprisoned for exercising their rights should urgently be released. The July 6 conviction of 18 Muslim journalists and activists is an especially worrying sign. Moreover, Ethiopia needs to amend the Charities and Societies Proclamation and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, both of which are core tools used to prosecute and restrict dissenting voices. These laws need to be revised to conform with international human rights standards on freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and fair trial standards.

Finally, we urge you to raise the need to address impunity by Ethiopia’s security forces for a wide range of serious human rights violations, including routine torture of political detainees, extrajudicial executions and rape by military forces in various regions, and other serious crimes. The government should reverse its reflexive denials of abuse and restrictions on independent human rights investigations and reporting.

We believe it is essential for you to highlight, along with the positive change and growth that will underpin your visit, the many challenges discussed above. As you said in your Ghana speech in 2009, “history offers a clear verdict: governments that respect the will of their own people are more prosperous, more stable, and more successful than governments that do not.” We continue to believe in this message and the need for it to be reinforced on your upcoming trip.

Thank you for your time and consideration of these important issues.

Sincerely,

Bronwyn E. Bruton
Deputy Director, Africa Center
Atlantic Council

John Campbell
Senior Fellow
Council on Foreign Relations

Brian Dooley
Director, Human Rights Defenders
Human Rights First

John Harbeson
Professor Emeritus
CUNY Graduate Center and City College of New York

Steven Hawkins
Executive Director
Amnesty International USA

David Kramer
Senior Director for Human Rights and Democracy
The McCain Institute for International Leadership

Mark Lagon
President
Freedom House

Princeton Lyman
Senior Advisor to the President
United States Institute of Peace

Sarah Margon
Washington Director
Human Rights Watch

Sarah Pray
Senior Policy Analyst
Open Society Policy Center

Jeffrey Smith
Advocacy Officer
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

David Throup
George Washington University and Johns Hopkins SAIS

Mark Yarnell
Senior Advocate
Refugees International

Amb. (Ret) William M. Bellamy
Warburg Professor of International Relations
Simmons College

Obama Should Stay Away from Ethiopia

Washington wants a stable partner in the Horn of Africa. But cozying up to the repressive regime in Addis Ababa isn’t the way to go about finding one.

by @Smith_RFKennedy  , @OPride

Later this month, President Barack Obama will become the first sitting United States president to ever visit Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, and a nation viewed by many as a bastion of stability in a region otherwise beset with civil strife. The trip — which will also include a stopover in Kenya — is being billed as part of the Obama administration’s regional efforts “to accelerate economic growth, strengthen democratic institutions, and improve security.”

These are indeed laudable goals and should be actively pursued by the U.S. government. But the timing and tenor of the visit to Addis Ababa sends a worrying signal that Washington’s priorities — not only in Ethiopia, but on the entire continent — are actually at odds with the president’s oft-repeatedrhetoric about advancing human rights and strengthening African democracy and institutions.

Let’s be clear: Ethiopia is not a model of democracy that should be rewarded with a presidential visit. The long-ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), now in power for 25 years, claimed alandslide victory in legislative polls held in May, winning all 547 parliamentary seats, which places it among the ranks of North Korea and Saddam Hussein’s Baathist Iraq in terms of the sheer efficiency of its electoral sweep. The results should not have come as a surprise: the EPRDF swept the last four elections, including in 2010, in which it took a whopping 99.6 percent of the vote. This time around, Washington and the European Union did not even bother sending election observers, knowing full well that an EPRDF victory was a foregone conclusion.

The lead up to the May 24 vote saw a widespread crackdown on journalists, human rights activists, and opposition supporters. What’s worse, Obama’s trip was announced on June 19, the same week it was revealed that threeopposition party members were murdered in the country, all under highly suspicious circumstances.

So why is President Obama visiting a country where democracy is in such a sorry state and where human rights violations remain systemic and widespread? Because, despite the obvious lack of political rights and civil liberties in Ethiopia, and its status as one of the top jailers of journalists in the world, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn is palatable to Washington and other Western donors precisely because of who he is not: a retrograde dictator in the mold of his regional counterparts, Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea or Omar al-Bashir of Sudan. The brutal and oft heavy-handed oppression exhibited by the latter two regimes is brazen, whereas Desalegn and the EPRDF work within the (regime-controlled) judicial system, giving their repression a veneer of legality.

A former academic, Desalegn’s elevation to the highest office in Ethiopia came courtesy of the sudden death in 2012 of Ethiopia’s strongman, Meles Zenawi, who had ruled the country for two decades. Zenawi was a favorite in Washington: Though he brutally crushed political opponents and implemented a series of draconian laws meant to muzzle the press and stifle dissent, he also managed to establish an image of Ethiopia as a stable and growing economy in the troubled Horn of Africa. Zenawi’s Western allies, particularly the United States, applauded the country’s modest economic growth and the regime’s willingness to endorse the so-called “War on Terror.” As a result, leaders in Washington routinely turned a blind eye to the EPRDF’s rampant human rights abuses and its ongoing suppression of civil society, the media, and political opposition.

Several key Obama advisers were close associates and personal friends of the late prime minister. Susan Rice, Obama’s national security advisor and former top diplomat at the United Nations, for instance, made no secret of her esteem for and friendship with Zenawi, whom she eulogized as “a servant leader.” Another top Obama aide, Gayle Smith — the current nominee to lead the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which provided Ethiopia nearly $500 million in 2013 — was also never shy about her admiration for Zenawi.

Desalegn, largely seen as a compromise candidate for the shaky, ethnicity-based EPRDF coalition, has continued to rule in the same mode — and Washington’s perverse need to embrace a dictator in technocrat’s clothing has continued. This March, two months before Ethiopia’s sham elections, U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman publicly praised Ethiopia’s “democracy” during a visit to the country, which a state department spokesperson further bolstered by saying “her statements fully reflect the U.S. Government’s positions.” Even a cursory glance at Ethiopia’s abysmal human rights record would turn this bogus claim on its head.

On June 25, the State Department released its annual human rights report on Ethiopia, citing widespread “restrictions on freedom of expression,” “politically motivated trials,” “harassment and intimidation of opposition members and journalists,” “alleged arbitrary killings and torture,” “limits on citizens’ ability to change their government,” and restrictions on freedom of assembly, association, and movement. Yet Ethiopia’s donors, including the United States, which provides nearly half of Ethiopia’s national budget, have continued to ignore these signs of trouble. The facade of economic growth and the West’s eagerness for a “development success story” to tout on the international stage has seemingly precluded genuine diplomatic pressure to reform.

To be sure, deeply afflicted countries surround Ethiopia. Despite recent progress, Somalia faces credible and ongoing threats from the al-Qaeda affiliated militant group, al-Shabab. South Sudan has devolved into an intractable civil war with no end in sight. Kenya has yet to fully overcome the ramifications of post-election violence in 2007–2008, not to mention its inability to ward off al-Shabab’s cross border attacks. Eritrea, dubbed by some as the North Korea of Africa, remains a highly repressive police state from which hundreds of thousands continue to flee. Further afield, Yemen is in a state of bloody lawlessness. By contrast, Ethiopia has remained largely stable.

Despite this outward veneer of stability and progress, Ethiopia’s current system is unsustainable. A one-time vocal opposition has been systematically weakened. Ethnic discontent is rife. Religious revival has beenmet with brutal state repression. Economic prosperity is not widely shared and inequality continues to rise. Nepotism and corruption plague an already bloated bureaucracy. Youth unemployment is a persistent and serious challenge. Independent media, the human rights community, and civil society writ large have been decimated. And countless citizens are being displaced from their ancestral lands under the guise of development. These factors, taken together, may ultimately sow the seeds of a tangled conflict that could reverberate across an already troubled and tense region.

In this context, Obama’s upcoming visit to Ethiopia sends the wrong message on Washington’s stated commitment to strengthening democratic institutions — not strongmen — in Africa. What is more, turning a blind eye to widespread human rights abuses for the sake of counterterrorism cooperation and so-called “regional stability” may prove to be a self-defeating strategy that is bad in the long term for the United States, as well as for citizens throughout the Horn of Africa.

If the United States wanted to help strengthen democratic institutions and stand in solidarity with Africans, who are now more than ever demanding democracy, then Nigeria would have been a much better alternative model. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and its largest economy, held landmark elections this March, in which an opposition candidate ousted an incumbent who then graciously accepted defeat. In Ethiopia, this scenario remains a pipe dream for its 96 million citizens. The EPRDF is now set to lord over the country at least until 2020, allowing the party to further entrench its repressive machinery and to extend its dominance long beyond its current mandate.

It is unlikely that Obama and his handlers will change the itinerary of his upcoming trip. However, it is not too late for the president, and for the United States government, to speak honestly to the people of Ethiopia, making it clear that the historic visit is not intended to validate or otherwise endorse the EPRDF’s autocratic dominance. Rather, Obama should be clear with EPRDF leadership, both in private and most importantly, in public that the United States appreciates the complex challenges facing the country and that repression is not an acceptable means of addressing them.

Obama and his staff should also meet openly with Ethiopia’s political opposition and civic leaders, including those based in the country and abroad in Kenya, where many have been forced to relocate due to increasing oppression at home. Obama should additionally raise the issue of the recently murdered opposition members, as well as the many cases of journalists, activists, and political prisoners who have been wrongly jailed and arbitrarily detained under a raft of draconian laws that have criminalized dissent.

In the long-term, the U.S. government should redouble its commitment to Ethiopia’s beleaguered civil society. Obama’s 2016 budget request includes more than $400 million in assistance to the country, of which less than 1 percent is allocated for democracy and human rights programming — an actual improvement from last year, when zero was devoted to this vital sector, much of the spending going towards health and humanitarian aid. A robust, reenergized, and empowered Ethiopian civil society, in which human rights groups are free to operate, is central to deepening democratic principles, not only in Ethiopia, but also throughout the East and Horn of Africa.

Overall, Obama must firmly reiterate that stability and security, and respect for basic human rights and the legitimacy of civil society, are not mutually exclusive objectives in Ethiopia, or elsewhere. Rather, he should be unequivocal — in both rhetoric and in practice — that, together, these issues help form an unshakable and long-term pillar for U.S. engagement on the African continent.

Source:http://foreignpolicy.com

President Obama’s Visit to Ethiopia is “unfathomable”!

July 2, 2015

by dula

As lame duck President,  Obama is free to do anything he likes including wining and dining with any brutal dictators. He is slated to be in Ethiopia late July according to the State Department. Ethiopia like many of the African countries brings lots of baggage of crony capitalism, anti-Gay legislation, corruption, abuse of human rights, simply absolute lack of rule of law. The Washington Post called his visit to Ethiopia “Unfathomable” in its June 25th Editorial.

For example, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and his party have been in power for the last 24 years, and their legacy is dreadful, as Ethiopia is  ranked  one of the poorest and  sickest country in the world, where over 70% of the population goes hungry on daily basis. The primary reason for the dreadful situation is government control of the economy by unseasoned tribal cadres.

A young boy waiting for his mother
A young boy waiting in front of his tukul for his mother as she arrives with a body of his 4-year old dead sister who died of malnutrition in Shashemene, Ethiopia: Source: NBC & Creeping famine-is-back-to-Ethiopia
Like North Korea, the regime controls everything, spies on everybody, at the village level as well as via the Internet, even though less than 2% of the people have  Internet access. Like North Korea, the state controls all  land, telecommunication, Internet, mining, banking, and major industries directly or through cronies.

In Ethiopia, like in North Korea,  there is no freedom of the press, freedom of assembly,  no free or fair election, no property rights, and simply no rule of law when it comes to the majority of the citizens. Although the ruling party TPLF, represents less than 6% of the population, but like the old Apartheid regime rules the rest of the country through its private and ethnic army and as well as cronies.

It would have been more natural to visit only those countries respecting and applying democratic principles. Furthermore, winning and dinning with African dictators will mean nothing unless President Obama has a concrete plan and he can make it stick.

For example, he can propose a Marshall Plan for Africa like the way Truman did for Europe.  He can prompt  African leaders to spend less on the military, because the armies are primarily used to keep the one party dictatorship, and spend more on education, technology, and economic development.  Adopt a common language, privatize the economy, end corruption, respect human and property rights, rule of law, and form a stronger economic and political union.

Raging ethnic and religious tensions are primarily fueled by lack of hope and oppression. In many cases, the primary culprit for the hopeless situation are dictators that thrive and survive with U.S. support and largesse.  Some will go by the wayside without massive Western  aid. This gives President Obama tremendous leverage  to promote democratic and economic reform in the continent.  For example,  the rabid anti-Muslim and anti-homosexual  government of Ethiopia lead by  Mr. Desalegn was forced last March by Washington to rescind an anti-homosexual legislation ( Homosexuality-non pardonable) that he orchestrated  through his  rubber-stamped parliament.

The Ethiopian regime pretended for long for things that it is not in order to earn respect and foreign aid. The Ethiopian regime spends huge sums of money  to make sure the West does not notice the cruel and evil system and to portray the regime incorrectly anti-terrorist and democratic. It co-opts high level government officials such as Susan Rice, Wendy Sherman, Gayle Smith and congressional representatives by hiring one of the largest lobby groups in the world, DLP Piper.

For example, Azusa Pacific University Board unanimously withdrew a plan to award an honorary degree to Mr. Desalegn on July 31, 2014 after they learned gross human rights violations by his regime (university-withdraws-honor).  In 2003, Texas Southern University canceled a planned event with an Ethiopian government delegation for similar reason.

President Obama can rise to the challenge if he dared too. Pushing democratic values and free market economic development strategies are critical. President Truman provided a lifeline to a devastated Europe and created strong democratic allies for the U.S. The total cost for the Marshall Plan from 1948-1952 was $13.3 billion.  President Obama has the option to embark on a similar, bold political and economic agenda for Africa, while opening a huge market three times that of Europe for American businesses without beholding to dictators if he ever has any desire to leave a lasting legacy in Africa. Nonetheless, visiting a country mired with gross human rights violations may send a wrong message and tarnish his legacy.

By Dula Abdu,  dula can be reached at dula06@gmail.com  (article was adopted from previous articles from similar topics).

Tell Obama: A Visit to Ethiopia is a Reward For Autocracy, Just Like a Visit to Kenya is a Direct Reward for Tribalism.

By Abdi 

US President Barack Obama walks to Marine One prior to departing from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, June 18, 2015. Obama will in late July become the first sitting American leader to visit Ethiopia and the headquarters of the African Union, the White House said Friday.AFP PHOTO | SAUL LOEB

In Summary:

• Yet anyone who has read the President’s memoirs will know that he has a deep attachment to Kenya. Obama first visited the country in 1988, when he spent five weeks there.
• A Presidential visit to Kenya had been put on ice while President Uhuru Kenyatta faced charges of crimes against humanity for his role in 2007-2008 post-election violence.
• Obama will meet both the Ethiopian government and AU leaders, for talks on how to “accelerate economic growth, strengthen democratic institutions and improve security.”
• Ethiopia and Kenya have both been on the frontline of the fight against Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-allied militia Shebab, and have been important security partners to Washington.

US President Barack Obama, whose father is Kenyan, has announced on his Twitter account that he will visit Kenya in July and also that he would attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi. This would be his first visit to the country since he was elected as a president in 2008. Yet anyone who has read the President’s memoirs will know that he has a deep attachment to Kenya. Obama first visited the country in 1988, when he spent five weeks there, according to his memoir Dreams from elderly Father. Then, he returned to Kenya in 1992 with Michelle, and his half-sister Auma, and again in 2006 during his first year in the US Senate. President Obama still has family living in Kenya. His visit as President is a ringing endorsement of the progress Kenya has made and the reform journey on which it has embarked.

Many Kenyans eagerly awaited Obama’s trip will honour the strong historical ties between the United States and Kenya. And also, they believe hosting President Obama and other delegates to the global forum will reinforce their reputation as a world class destination for conference tourism. In August last year, the White House hosted a huge Washington summit of African leaders and the upcoming July trip is intended to build on progress towards closer economic ties. However, Human rights groups have questioned the visit to Kenya. From that moment, a presidential visit to Kenya had been put on ice while President Uhuru Kenyatta faced charges of crimes against humanity for his role in 2007-2008 post-election violence.

The International Criminal Court has since suspended that prosecution, citing a lack of evidence and Kenya’s failure to cooperate. But also Human Right groups are asking why Obama is visiting Ethiopia so soon after a contested election. After, a White House announced that, President Barack Obama will in late July become the first sitting American leader to visit Ethiopia and the headquarters of the African Union, the White House said this month. Obama’s trip to Addis Ababa (Finffinne) will come directly after an already announced trip to Kenya, his first as president to his father’s homeland, press secretary Josh Earnest announced. 

Obama will meet both the Ethiopian government and AU leaders, for talks on how to “accelerate economic growth, strengthen democratic institutions and improve security. “The election of the United States’ first black president — and the first with an African parent — raised high hopes on the continent, but Obama has been a cautious friend. In addition to this, Obama’s decision to visit Ethiopia has surprised human rights activists and advocates for good governance both in Africa and elsewhere. Ethiopia is one of the worst human rights offenders in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In its 2014 report, Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/ethiopia” noted that Ethiopia has increasingly restricts the freedoms of assembly and expression: “… the Ethiopian authorities continue to severely restrict the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, using repressive laws to constrain civil society and independent media, and target individuals with politically motivated prosecutions. Muslim protests against perceived government interference in their religious affairs were met by security forces with arbitrary arrests and detentions, beatings, and other mistreatment throughout the year. The trial of 29 protest leaders who were arrested in July 2012 has been closed to the public, media, and family members since January. Others convicted under the country’s deeply flawed antiterrorism law—including opposition leaders and four journalists—remain in prison.”

As its widly known, one of Africa’s second most populous nation held a vote in May that was described by many independent observers as flawed. Just due to the fact that, it was not free or fair. The African Union said the elections were peaceful, but fell short of using the words “free and fair.” While noting that the elections were peaceful, the US State Department, expressed concerns on the news media, opposition parties, and independent voices and views. The governing party, which has ruled for over two decades, won a landslide, amid opposition allegations of intimidation and vote rigging.

After discussing Ethiopian elections, Freedom House observed that “Ethiopia’s elections are just an exercise in controlled political participation. The one potential dividend of these sham polls, however, is the international attention they will garner for the government’s growing political repression. The blatant disregard for internationally recognised standards for free and fair elections just might convince Ethiopia’s largest donors that it is time to rethink their relationship with an increasingly authoritarian government. “The decision by President Obama to travel to Ethiopia, which has seen three opposition party members murdered this week alone, is very troubling,” Jeffrey Smith of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights center, Smith said the timing, and the symbolism of Obama’s trip, would “further solidify the image that America stands behind Africa’s autocrats.”

Despite the troubling state of human rights in the country, Ethiopia remains a major recipient of foreign aid money and security support from the United States.https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/06/19/statement-press-secretary-president%E2%80%99s-travel-ethiopia, However, a White House Statement about the trip stressed that it frequently addresses issues of democracy and political rights with countries in the region. Obama will visit the country for bilateral meetings with the Ethiopian government as well as the leadership of the African Union as part of US efforts to “work with the countries and citizens of sub-Saharan Africa to accelerate economic growth, strengthen democratic institutions, and improve security.” The White House spokesman Eric Schultz added  “We regularly, both in public and in private, communicate our concerns about some of the issues.”

Ethiopia is also one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists,” the Washington Post noted in its editorial. The newspaper argued that Mr Obama’s planned meetings with Ethiopian officials contradicts his declaration of support for African democracies during a visit to Ghana in 2009. “Africa doesn’t need strongmen,” the US president said on that occasion. “It needs strong institutions.” So, a visit to Ethiopia will totally contradict with his word to support for African democracies.

Ethiopia and Kenya have both been on the frontline of the fight against Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-allied militia Shebab, and have been important security partners to Washington. Shebab units have been hunted by African Union troops and US drones inside Somalia — but have outflanked the Kenyan contingent in Somalia to mount a string of gruesome cross-border raids. In April last year the group attacked a university in Garissa, Kenya killing 148 people — most of them students.

Therefore, my conclusion is that, a visit to Ethiopia by the US President is a reward for autocracy, human rights abuses and dictatorship, just like a visit to Kenya is a direct reward for impunity, tribalism and corruption. It’s like all these vices don’t matter as long as American interests are at stake! They will even make a pact with the devil for their interests to be met. Obama is coming to both Kenya and Ethiopia because of the fight against Alshabaab that they highly support. They don’t give a damn if the person they are to contact is a murderer, a witch or a wizard period. To them, their interests outrides any interests that there can be.

Source:https://oproud.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/tell-obama-a-visit-to-ethiopia-is-a-reward-for-autocracy-just-like-a-visit-to-kenya-is-a-direct-reward-for-tribalism/

ለዋይት ሃውስ ይደውሉ፣ ፋክስ ይላኩ (የመጀመሪያ ዙር)

By Abebe Gelaw

ለዋይት ሃውስ ይደውሉ፣ ፋክስ ይላኩ (የመጀመሪያ ዙር)

እንደሚታወቀው የአሜሪካኑ ፕሬዚዳንት ባራክ ኦባማ በዚህ ወር መጨረሻ ለጉብኝት ወደ ኬንያ ሲሄዱ ኢትዮጵያ ጎራ የማለት እቅድ እንዳላቸው ተገልጿል። ይሁንና የፕሬዚዳንቱ ጉብኝት ለአብዛኛው ኢትዮጵያዊ ከጥቅሙ ጉዳቱ የሚያመዝን በመሆኑ ነጻነት ናፋቂ የሆነውና በአለም ዙሪያ ተበትኖ የሚገኘው ኢትዮጵያዊ ሁሉ ወደ ዋይት ሃውስ በመደወል እንዲሁም ፋክስ በማድረግ
በትህትና ፕሬዚዳንቱ ለዜጎቿ ምድራዊ ሲኦል እንድትሆን የተደረገችውን አገራችንን መጎብኘት አንባገነኖችን እንደማበረታታት ሊቆጠር ስለሚችል ድምጻችንን በስፋትና በተከታታይ እናሰማ። ከዚህ በታች ያለውን ደብዳቤ ስምና አድራሻችሁን በመጻፍ ፋክስ ብታደርጉ፣ እንዲሁም በማህበራዊ ድረገጾች በስፋት በማሰራጨት ትብብር እንድታደርጉ በትህትና እጠይቃለሁ።
ስልክ ለመደወል በስራ ሰአት በ +1 (202) 456–1414 ይደውሉ ask to talk to Denis McDonough, The President's Chief of Staff / or leave a message
ፋክስ ለማድረግ +1 202-456-2461 በመጠቀም መልእክትዎን ያድርሱ።
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Also call the U.S. State Department and ask to talk to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (phone no. 202-647-4440) Also fax: 202-647-3344
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Dear President Obama,
I am writing to express my deep concern over your planned visit to Ethiopia amidst worsening human rights violations and political repressions.

As you may know, the TPLF-led ruling junta has recently declared to have “won” 100 percent of all parliamentary and regional seats. Ironically, this cruel electoral joke that has never been seen in any democratic elections, has only revealed that they have completely hijacked the whole electoral process and installed oppression as an institution. It is another testimony to the fact that the brutal minority junta has completely shut out the majority from democratically and peacefully participating in the political process of their country.

Against the backdrop of this shameless tyrannical travesty, I fear that your visit can be counterproductive as it can be misconstrued by the TPLF-led regime as your administration's endorsement and seal of approval for the sustenance of the crimes, atrocities, abuses, extrajudicial killings, torture and corruption that they are committing with impunity.

Scores of journalists, bloggers, activists, religious, political party and civil society leaders, as well tens of thousands of ordinary citizens that have never committed any crimes, are languishing in hellish jails across the country. As a result of the land grab policy, millions of poor peasants are being displaced to give way to corrupt oligarchs and their local and foreign business partners.

A cursory look at the annual U.S. State Department human rights report can even reveal a litany of disturbing atrocities being perpetrated against defenseless civilians. “The most significant human rights problems included: restrictions on freedom of expression and association, including through arrests; detention; politically motivated trials; harassment; and intimidation of opposition members and journalists, as well as continued restrictions on print media,” the report reads.

“The government continued restrictions on activities of civil society and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) imposed by the Charities and Societies Proclamation (the CSO law)....Other human rights problems included arbitrary killings; allegations of torture, beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees by security forces; reports of harsh and, at times, life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; a weak, overburdened judiciary subject to political influence; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights, including illegal searches; allegations of abuses in the implementation of the government’s “villagization” program; restrictions on academic freedom; restrictions on freedom of assembly, association, and movement; alleged interference in religious affairs; limits on citizens’ ability to change their government; police, administrative, and judicial corruption; violence and societal discrimination against women and abuse of children; female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against persons with disabilities; clashes between ethnic minorities….”

All these disturbing facts are excerpted from the text of your government’s human rights report. If the United States is indeed sincere about reporting and documenting the disturbing crimes of the ruling elite, it beggars question why your administration is silently rewarding the terrorists with aid money and diplomatic support.

I understand that the United States is cooperating with the ruling junta in Ethiopia in the fight against terrorism. As far as Ethiopians are concerned, I can assure you that the TPLF and its surrogates are the only terrorists in Ethiopia that have total disregard to their own constitution and laws. Using the so-called anti-terrorism law to terrorize journalists, activists, dissidents and ordinary citizens that raise their voice against the regime’s oppressive and unjust practices, they have practically criminalized free expression.

Mr. President, during your visit to Ghana almost six years ago, you had declared: “Africa does not need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.” It is for this very reason that visiting Ethiopia, where strongmen are playing the devil, sends the wrong message to the remaining evil dictators and corrupt tyrants across the world.

I firmly believe that the long-term interests of the United States seriously compromised when it forges alliances with tyrants known for their wanton disregard to human rights, individual liberty and dignity.

It would, therefore, be prudent to reconsider your travel to Ethiopia, which can be misinterpreted as a blessing to the brutal regime which is committing crimes against humanity.

Mr. President, I would like to urge you to cancel your travel to Ethiopia, which has been turned into a giant prison because it will send a much better message than shaking hands with criminals whose hands are soaked with the blood of so many innocent people. If cancelling your travel is not an option for whatever reason, please help Ethiopians by delivering a strong message in support of human rights, individual liberty, justice and democracy.All political prisoners must be freed unconditionally. So many children, moms, friends and loved ones are tearfully waiting for their release.

Mr. President, stand by the oppressed people of Ethiopia. In the end, when the dictators face their inevitable fall, we are the ones who will sing your song: “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty we are free at last.”

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

I appreciate your attention.

Best regards

Time to Expose the Brutal Regime in Ethiopia

The US leadership through a wrong foreign policy is denying the over 90 million Ethiopian peoples for sake of a disguise “national interest of the USA”. It is supporting one of the most brutal regimes in the world. It is using tax payer’s money to fund the tyrant regime that stayed on power since 1991 by dominating all political parties illegally and with force and corruption. Democracy is nominally used while the journalists are jailed, killed or are forced to exile. It divided the people ethnically and putting them in constant conflict while exploiting them, evicting the people from their historical lands and birth places while selling land to foreign scavengers with low price for its benefits. While regime in Ethiopia is corrupt, brutal and dictatorial, it brands itself as fighter of terrorism while it leads a state of terror over Ethiopians.

On the other hand the Obama regime denied the Ethiopian people while supporting dictatorship and brutality. Obama actually stood against human rights in Ethiopia. Hence it time to expose the brutal regime so that the leading nation can revise its foreign policy. This can happen if all opposition forces and advocates of democracy and human rights stand together for their common cause. This is the time to show that we have a common enemy. Please stand together and expose the regime at this critical time in history.

Source:http://michaelab384