Foreign Secretary Refuses to Request Death-Row Brit’s Release

LONDON - The Foreign Secretary is refusing to request the release of a British citizen who was kidnapped and rendered to Ethiopia over nine months ago, it’s emerged.

Andargachew ‘Andy’ Tsege, a father of three from London, has been held at a secret location in Ethiopia since he was abducted in June 2014 while in transit at Sanaa airport, Yemen. A prominent critic of human rights abuses in Ethiopia, Mr Tsege faces a death sentence imposed in absentia in 2009. The Ethiopian government has refused to say whether it will carry out the sentence or not, and has refused requests to visit Mr Tsege in prison by his family, British officials, and lawyers at human rights organization Reprieve.

The Foreign Office has told lawyers from Reprieve and law firm Leigh Day – which are assisting Mr Tsege’s family – that instead of requesting his release, it will press Ethiopia to follow ‘due process’. The Foreign Secretary is also refusing to treat Mr Tsege’s ordeal as a kidnapping and torture case, though internal Foreign Office emails unearthed earlier this year noted the ‘real risk of torture’ faced by Mr Tsege in Ethiopia, and revealed that British officials believed Ethiopia’s actions to be unlawful.

Mr Tsege has not been seen since December 19 2014, when the British government was granted a brief and heavily monitored meeting. Since his disappearance, the Ethiopian state broadcaster has aired several videos of him in detention looking gaunt and tired, raising concerns that he may be being tortured. According to a 2013 report by Human Rights Watch, such mistreatment is routine in Ethiopian prisons – particularly in jails holding the government’s perceived opponents, such as Mr Tsege.

Maya Foa, head of Reprieve’s death penalty team, said: “The UK’s failure to even ask for Andy Tsege’s release over the past nine months is nothing short of a scandal. We’re talking about the illegal kidnap, rendition and possible torture of a British citizen – and a father of young children – by a government that had already sentenced him to death on trumped up, politically-motivated charges. The government of Ethiopia is supposed to be a close ally, but its refusal to reveal where Andy is being held, or how he’s being treated, shows only contempt for the UK, and for Andy’s rights. The Foreign Office must change course and demand Andy is returned to his family in London, before it’s too late.”

Source:www.commondreams.org

በመስሊሙ ማህበረሰብ ላይ ህወሃት የዘረጋውን የጥላቻና የበቀል ዘመቻ ለመከላከል የወጣ የአቋም መግለጫ

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ኢትዮጵያዊያን ሙስሊሞች የተጣሰውን ህገመንግስታዊ መብት በህግ ለማስከበር የጀመሩት ሰላማዊ ትግል ድፍን ሶስት ዓመታትን አስቆጥሯል፡፡ ይህ ትግል በመላው አለም ሰላማዊ ትግልን መታገል ለሚሹ አርአያ ከመሆኑም ባሻገር በተለያዩ አለም አቀፍ ተቋማት እውቅናን ያገኘም ነው፡፡ በነዚህ መራራ ሶስት የትግል አመታት ህዝቡ በፊርማው የመረጣቸው የመፍትሄ አፈላላጊ ኮሚቴዎች የእስር ብቻ ሳይሆን የድብደባ፣ የግርፋት፣ የማዋረድ፣ የሰብዓዊ መብትም መገፈፍ ሰለባ ሆነዋል፤ በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ሲታሰሩ፣ ሲገረፉ፣ ቁጥራቸው በውል የማይታወቅ ደግሞ ለመሰደድ በቅተዋል፡፡ሰላማዊ ዜጎች በግፍ ጥይት እየተደበደቡ ለሞት መዳረጋቸው ሊካድ የማይችል የአደባባይ ሚስጥር ነው፡፡

source:.zehabesha.com

እሥረኞቹ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች የቀድሞ መሪዎች የእምነት ክሕደት ቃል ሰጡ

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በነዘላለም ወርቅአገኘሁ የክሥ ዶሴ በሽብርተኝነት የተከሰሱት የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲ መሪዎች የእምነት ክህደት ቃላቸውን እንዲሰጡ በዳኞች ሲታዘዙ “አሸባሪዎች እኛ ሳንሆን አሸባሪው ሕወሃት-ኢህአዴግ ነው” አሉ።

የፌዴራሉ ከፍተኛ ፍርድ ቤት አሥራ ዘጠነኛ ወንጀል ችሎት ዛሬ በዋለው ችሎት ለሁሉም ተከሣሾች “ድርጊቱን አልፈፀምንም” በሚል ቃላቸውን እንደመዘገበ ገልጿል።

ፍርድ ቤቱ የአቃቤ ሕግ ምሥክሮች የሚቀርቡበትንም ቀን ቀጠሮ ሰጥቷል።

ለተጨማሪ የተያያዘውን የድምፅ ፋይል ያዳምጡ፡፡

source:amharic.voanews.com

ለብአዴን አባላት ……ከሰማችሁ …….ከሞግዚት አስተዳደር ተፋቱ! – አንበርብር ከአማራ ሳይንት

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አፄ ዮሃንስ ንጉስ ተከለ ጊዮርጊስን ድል ነስተዉ ጎጃም ሲገቡ ራስ አዳል አልተደሰቱባቸዉም ነበርና ራስ አዳል ሸሽተዉ በርሃ ገቡ፡፡ አፄዉ ለራስ ደስታ ተድላ ዘመዳቸዉን ድረዉ በጎጃም ላይ ይሾሟቸዋል፡፡ ሆኖም ግን አፄ ዮሃንስ በራስ ደስታ ተድላ ላይ ሙሉ እምነት አልነበራቸዉምና በስራቸዉ ሐጎስ የሚባል አስተዳዳሪ ሾመዋል፡፡ ራስ አዳል ግብር በዛብን ያለዉን ህዝብ አስተባብረዉ የአፄ ዮሃንስ ሰራዊት ሲያጠቁ በዉጊያዉ አፄዉ የሾሟቸዉ ራስ ደስታ እና ሞግዚቱ ሐጎስ ይገደላሉ፡፡

የሟቾችን አስክሬን ወደቀብር ሲወጣ የራስ ደስታን በእንጨት አልጋ፤ የሐጎስን በአጎበር በተከለለ አልጋ ሲወሰዱ ባለቅኔዉ የጎጃም ህዝብ

“እኔስ ምን ቸገረኝ ካንተ አልዋጋ
እስራኤሉን በእንጨት ወታደሩን ባልጋ”

እያለ ሲቀኝ እንደነበር እና የሞግዚት አስተዳደር መጨረሻዉ ዉርድት እንደሆነ ታሪክ ይነግረናል፡፡(ምንጭ፡- የንግስና ሥርዓት እና የነገስታት የዘር ሃረግ፤በጥላሁን ብርሃነ ስላሴ)

የሞግዚትነት አስተዳደር ሙሉ አስተዳደር አይደለም፡፡ የይስሙላ አስተዳደር ነዉ፡፡ ሲፈለግ የሚፀና ሳይፈለግ የሚነሳ፣ ያልፀና እና መልካም ፈቃድን ያልተከተለ አሰራር ነዉ፡፡ የሞግዚትነት አስተዳደር ህዝብን ካለማመን የሚነሳ ቢሆንም ዋና ዓላማዉ የራስን የበላይነት ጠብቆ ማቆያ ነዉ፡፡

አፄ ዮሃንስ ጎጃሜዉንና ሆነ ራስ ደስታን ስላላመኗቸዉ፣ የሐጎስ ሞግዚትነት አስፈልጓቸዋል፡፡ የሞግዚት አስተዳዳሪነት ህዝብን ካለማመን እና ከመጠራጠር መጥቶ በመጨረሻዉ ሰዓት ክብር የሚሰጠዉ ለሞግዚቱ ነዉ፡፡

ሕወሓት-ኢህአዴግ በየቦታዉ ከሚሾማቸዉ አስተዳደሪዎች ጀርባ አንድ ሞግዚት እንደሚያስቀምጥ ትንሽ እልፍ ወይም ገባ ብሎ ለመመረመረ ከነደስታ ጀርባ ሺህ ሐጎሶችን መመልከት ይችላል፡፡ በሞግዚት አስተዳደር ስር መዉደቅ ሁለት ጊዜ መሞት ነዉ፡፡ አንድ ጊዜ ተንቆ እየተደገፉ መኖር እና ነፃነትን ማጣት ሲሆን ሁለተኛዉ በህዝቡም ሆነ በገዥወቻችሁ ፊት ታማኝነት ማጣት እና በስተመጨረሻ የራስ ደስታን ዕጣ መጋራት ነዉ፡፡

የብአዴን ሰዎች እኔ ከማዉቃችሁ ሰዎች ጨምሮ ኑሯችሁ የቀንድ አዉጣ፣ አስተዳደራችሁ የሞግዚት አስተዳደር እና ከሁለት ያጣ ወገን የሆናችሁ ናችሁ፡፡ በቅርብ እየሰማነዉ እንዳለሁ ጀርባችሁ ሲፋቅ ግንቦት 7 እየተባላችሁ፣ ታማኝነታችሁን አጥታችኋል፡፡ በእነ ሓዱሽ እየገፋችሁት ያለዉ የሞግዚት አስተዳደራችሁ ወደ ሞት የሚወስዳችሁ ከመሆኑ በላይ እናንተን በእንጨት ሞግዚታችሁን በወርቅ ሲጭኗችሁ ሁለተኘዉ ሞት ነዉ፡፡

ጊዜዉ ወደ ወገን የመጠቅለያ ነዉ፡፡ ያረጁትን የብአዴን መሪዎቻችሁን እርሷቸዉ እና ከአዲሱ የአማራዉ ክልል ትዉልድ ጋር ስለህዝባችሁ ተነጋሩ፡፡ በመንግስት ላይ አሻጥር እየሰሩ ስልጣን የያዘዉን አካል ማንኮታኮት እና ማዉረድ ከእናንተ ይጠበቃል፡፡ እኔ የማምናቸዉ ብአዴን ዉስጥ ሰርገዉ የገቡ የቅርብ ሰዎች አሉኝ፡፡ ድርጅቱን በብዙ ነገር እየበከሉት ቀፎዉን ሲያስቀሩትእያየሁ ብዙ ጊዜ አብረን የድርጅቱን መፍረሻ ቀን ቆጥረናል፡፡ አሁንም አስተሳሰብ ለዉጥ ላይ እያተኮርን በየመስሪያ ቤቱ ብአዴን በሚያካሂደዉ አደረጃጀት እና ስብሰባ እየገባን ሌሎችን በአስተሳሰብ ነፃ እያወጣን ጎድጓዱን አርቀን መቆፈር እንችላለን፡፡

እንደ መዉጫ የሞግዚት አስተዳደርነት መነሻዉ ህዝብን መናቅ እና አለማመን ስለሆነ እንደ ራስ ደስታ ሁለተኛ ሞት ሳንሞት ራሳችን ከሞግዚትና ከአሳዳሪዎቻችን ነፃ እናድርግ፡፡ የብአዴን አባሎች ሕወሓት በተደጋጋሚ ጀርባቸዉን ሲፍቀዉ ግንቦት 7 ናቸዉ እያላችሁ ሳትታመኑ አብራችሁ ልትኖሩ አይገባም፡፡ ከድርጅቱ በአስተሳሰብ በልጣችሁ ሄዳችሁም አልሄዳችሁም ከመጠርጠር እና ካለመታመን ስለማትድኑ ዛሬዉን ከሞግዚት አስተዳደር ራሳችሁን አላቃችሁ ተከተሉን፡፡

source: zehabesha.com

Is violent change inevitable in Ethiopia?

By Graham Peebles

As the Ethiopian government intensifies its violent suppression of the populace in the lead up to the illusion of national elections in May, there are many within the country and in the diaspora who believe a popular armed uprising is the only way to bring about change in the country.

The people’s frustration and anger towards the government is understandable as is their bewilderment at the neglect and complicity of Ethiopia’s major donors. America, the European Union and Britain collectively give almost half of Ethiopia’s federal budget in various aid packages and are well aware of the regime’s brutal form of governance but shamefully do and say nothing.

Old habits

The ruling regime, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), came to power in 1992 when they overthrew the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE). The ideologically-driven group of freedom fighters led by Meles Zenawi ousted the military dictatorship and drew up a new liberal constitution based on democratic principles of freedom and human rights. Once enthroned in Addis Ababa, however, they swiftly followed in their predecessor’s repressive footsteps and all democratic ideals where neatly filed away, to be forgotten about.

The government has imprisoned almost all major opposition leaders, as well as large numbers of troublesome journalists. An array of repressive laws has been passed to suffocate dissent and virtually criminalise freedom of expression and assembly – all contrary to their own constitution and in violation of a plethora of international conventions which they have dutifully signed up to.

With the major opposition party leaders behind bars and the regime maintaining total control of the electoral process, the result of the forthcoming May election is a forgone conclusion. It is a hollow piece of democratic theatre, which the EU has refused to legitimise with a team of observers, a mistake in my view, but understandable given the distorted result of the past two elections which the EU observed but did not validate.

Unite and act

Given the repressive picture in the country and the regime’s total intransigence, the frustration of huge numbers of people inside and outside the country is unsurprising.

But is an armed uprising the way forward? Would it be successful in ousting the ruling regime, or would there be a tightening of repressive legislation: the “rebel group” branded as terrorists, large numbers of deaths and arrests, and perhaps a long-drawn-out civil war igniting conflicts between one ethnic group and another? Is violence and hate ever the way to counter violence and hate? Not according to Martin Luther King, who presided over a largely peaceful civil rights movement in America, against an extremely violent, not to say ignorant, adversary. “Darkness,” he said, “cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

That other giant of non-violence, Mohandas Gandhi’s civil disobedience movement, undermined the British, united the population and was crucial in bringing about independence in India. As the United Nations secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon,  has said, his His legacy is vital “in today’s world where the rights of too many people are still violated”. So is his means of achieving his goal.

As with all repressive regimes, the EPRDF follows a systematic methodology of divide and rule, so the answer to such crude means of control is unity.

We are living in unprecedented times, times of tremendous opportunity and potential change. The days are numbered for regimes like the EPRDF – it is a question of when they collapse, not if.

The people of Ethiopia, and those who make up the diaspora in Europe, America and elsewhere, need to come together, and overcome their apathy and fear, organise themselves and take responsibility for their own destiny, be creative, be heartened and learn from movements in Tunisia, Hong Kong, Egypt, Turkey, Brazil and elsewhere. They need to be inspired by the strategicactions successfully employed in the non-violent struggle led by Gandhi, and find the courage to act peacefully, to unite against what is a brutal group of men who are despised by the people and have no legitimacy to govern Ethiopia, and act with love not hate, to bring lasting change to their country.

source: mwcnews.net

This are the type parties that the TPLF considers fit to run for the upcoming election SMH

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

TPLF Election Board Bans Semayawi party chairman Engineer Yilkal Getneet

• ‹‹ምርጫ በህዝብ ፍላጎት ሳይሆን በሎተሪ ሆኗል›› ኢ/ር ይልቃል ጌትነት
አዲስ አበባ ከተማ ወረዳ 5 ለመጭው ምርጫ ለተወካዮች ምክር ቤት ሰማያዊ ፓርቲን ወክለው ሊቀርቡ የነበሩት የፓርቲው ሊቀመንበር ኢ/ር ይልቃል ጌትነት ‹‹ከቀረቡት 17 ዕጩዎች መካከል በተጣለ ዕጣ ወድቀዋል›› በመባላቸው ለመጭው ምርጫ በዕጩነት እንዳይቀርቡ መደረጋቸውን ለነገረ ኢትዮጵያ ገልጸዋል፡፡ ኢ/ር ይልቃል በዕጩነት በቀረቡበት ወረዳ 5 የምርጫ ጣቢያ ኢህአዴግ፣ የትግስቱ አንድነት፣ ቅንጅትን ጨምሮ ሌሎች ስድስት የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ተወካዮች ያለ ምንም ዕጣ አልፈዋል የተባለ ሲሆን ‹‹የሚያልፉት በዕጣ ነው›› የተባሉት ሰማያዊን ጨምሮ 11 የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ተወካዮች መካከል ሰማያዊና ሌሎች አራት የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ተወካዮች ‹‹ዕጣ አልወጣላቸውም፡፡›› ተብሏል፡፡

ስለ ጉዳዩ ያነጋገርናቸው የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ሊቀመንበር ኢ/ር ይልቃል ጌትነት ‹‹ሰማያዊ ህዝብ ውስጥ በሰፊው እየገባና እያንቀሳቀሰ ያለ ግንባር ቀደም ፓርቲ ነው፡፡ እንደ ኢህአዴግ ያሉን ጨምሮ ዕጣ ውስጥ አይገቡም፡፡ ሰማያዊ ደግሞ ይህ ነው የሚባል እንቅስቃሴ ከማያደርጉት ፓርቲዎች ጋር ዕጣ ውስጥ ገብቶ ወደቀ መባሉ ዴሞክራሲ ከጅምሩ ጀምሮ የህዝብ ድምጽ ሆኖ እያለ በእኛ አገር ሎተሪ ሆኗል ማለት ነው፡፡›› ብለዋል

ሊቀመንበሩ አክለውም ‹‹ሂደቱ ምንም ይሁን ምን አንድን ፓርቲ ወይንም ተወካይን ህዝብ ነው መምረጥ ያለበት፡፡ ህዝብ የሚፈልገውና የሚመረጥ ፓርቲ ነው ለምርጫ መቅረብ ያለበት፡፡ አሁን ግን እየተባለ ያለው በአንድ በኩል ህዝብ የማይፈልገው ያለ ዕጣ ሲገባ፣ በሌላ በኩል ህዝብ የሚፈልገው ሰማያዊን የመሰለ ፓርቲ ዕጣ ውስጥ ገብቶ አላለፈም እየተባለ ነው፡፡ በአንድ በኩል ህዝብ የተማረረባቸው ያለ ቅድመ ሁኔታ ህዝብን እንደሚያንቀሳቅስ የሚታወቀው ሰማያዊ ደግሞ ህዝብ ስፈለገው አሊያም በጥንካሬው ሳይሆን በሎተሪ ወድቀሃል ተብሏል›› ሂደቱ የተሳሳተ ነው ሲሉ ለነገረ ኢትዮጵያ ገልጸዋል፡፡


Source: mereja