Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Advocates Petition UN to Intervene on Jailed Ethiopian Bloggers’ Behalf

Advocates Petition UN to Intervene on Jailed Ethiopian Bloggers’ Behalf

February 16, 2015

Last April, nine writers were arrested and imprisoned in association with Ethiopia’s Zone 9 blogging collective. Eleven weeks later, they were charged under the nation’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. Since their arrest, Soleyana Gebremicheal and Endalk Chala, two members of the collective who now live in the United States, have advocated tirelessly for their colleagues’ release. Global Voices is honored to publish this original contribution by Soleyana and her colleague, Patrick Griffith, who are now petitioning the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to intervene on the bloggers’ behalf.

Despite early, high-level condemnation of the arrests of independent journalists and bloggers in Ethiopia nine months ago, international attention has waned as the pre-trial proceedings have dragged-on. The government’s CONTINUED detention of three independent journalists and six members of the Zone 9 blogging collective is not only an outrageous attack on the press – it is also illegal and unconscionable.Jailed Ethiopian Bloggers
After its founding in May 2012, the Zone 9 blog received widespread attention from Ethiopian activists and academics who used the site to PROMOTE political rights enshrined under both international and Ethiopian law. For a time, they managed to operate in an increasingly restrictive media environment. When access to the site was blocked inside the country, members circulated articles through social media. When authorities summoned the contributors for questioning and accused them of threatening national SECURITY in 2013, the group temporarily stopped writing about political issues. But when the activists announced that they would revive the site and focus on Ethiopia’s upcoming national elections scheduled for May 2015, the government response was swift – within days, six members of Zone 9 and three independent journalists who knew them socially were behind bars.
Eventually, the government charged ALL nine detainees with terrorism and treason.
The use of overly broad national security laws to silence peaceful activists may seem like a surprising overreaction to online activism, but in Ethiopia, politicized prosecutions have become commonplace. Since the government passed the widely-criticized 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, prosecutors have cast an ever-widening net in an attempt to silence any kind of dissent. The government has APPLIED the Proclamation to detain critical journalists, opposition activists, and religious protesters – apparently unconcerned that misusing such laws threatens to seriously undermine its credibility with security allies in a region with very real terror threats.
The condemnation of such tactics has been nearly universal. The former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and political leaders – including US Secretary of State John Kerry – have all called for an end to the imprisonment of peaceful writers and activists on terrorism charges. In the case of the imprisoned Ethiopian publisher Eskinder Nega, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention specifically found that the government violated international law when it sentenced him to 18 years in prison under the 2009 Anti-Terror Proclamation. Despite such calls, however, the prosecutions have CONTINUED.
It has now been nine months since Ethiopian authorities arrested the Zone 9 bloggers and their journalist FRIENDS. During the first three months, they were held at the notorious Maekelawi police station in Addis Ababa, where reports indicate that torture is rampant. In fact, a complaint prepared by the group for the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission indicates that authorities severely mistreated some detainees while interrogating them about their criticism of the government and their contacts with international human rights organizations. Some were beaten, gagged, deprived of food and sleep, subjected to cold temperatures, and threatened not to report the mistreatment. The women were insulted during questioning and faced harassment and intimidation based on their gender. All of them were forced to SIGN false confessions.
Although the government has held 16 preliminary hearings, the trial has yet to begin. If past cases are any indication, however, the outcome has ALREADY been determined. That is why the Ethiopian Human Rights Project and Freedom NOW have filedpetition with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which shows that the CONTINUED imprisonment of these peaceful activists violates international law. The work of these activists and journalists advocating for basic rights is clearly protected under international law and the treaties that the Ethiopian government has ratified, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. As such, the government’s imprisonment of these individuals on spurious terror charges is arbitrary and illegal.
Soleyana S. Gebremicheal heads the Ethiopian Human Rights Project and is a member of the Zone9 COLLECTIVEPatrick Griffith is an attorney with the legal advocacy organization Freedom Now.

Monday, February 16, 2015

ESAT Interview with Isaias Afwerki, President of the State of Eritrea, Feb 2015

ESAT Interview with Isaias Afwerki, President of the State of Eritrea, Feb 2015

Filed under: News & Views,Opinion & Analysis | 
ESAT Interview with Isaias Afwerki, President of the State of Eritrea, Feb 2015

esat-interview-with-isaias-afwer
- See more at: http://www.zehabesha.com/esat-interview-with-isaias-afwerki-president-of-the-state-of-eritrea-feb-2015/#sthash.6jpp5ZiR.dpuf

Ato Abay Tsehay, One of the Top TPLF Men, Said: “Nothing Will Stop the Addis Ababa Master Plan”

Filed under: News & Views |
Ato Abay Tsehay, One of the Top TPLF Men, Said: “Nothing Will Stop the Addis Ababa Master Plan”
- See more at: http://www.zehabesha.com/ato-abay-tsehay-one-of-the-top-tplf-men-said-nothing-will-stop-the-addis-ababa-master-plan/#sthash.daYC9h0k.dpuf

Monday, February 9, 2015

ግልጽ ደብዳቤ ለአቶ ኢሳይያስ አፈወርቂ!

ግልጽ ደብዳቤ ለአቶ ኢሳይያስ አፈወርቂ!

(ሠዓሊ አምሳሉ ገ/ኪዳን አርጋው)
isayas a fewerki
አቶ ኢሳይያስ እንዴት ነዎት ባያሌው? ሌሎቹ የሕዝባዊ ግንባር አመራሮችስ እንዴት ናቸው? ሕዝቡስ እንዴት ነው? አቤት! አቤት! አቤ……..ት! ለማንኛውም ድምፅዎን ማሰማትዎ መልካም ነው፡፡
በቅርቡ ለኢሳት የራዲዮና የቴሌቪዥን (የነጋሪተ-ወግና የምርዓየ-ኩነት) ጣቢያ የሰጡትን ቃለ መጠይቅ ጣቢያው ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ያደርስልዎት ዘንድ ከኢሳት ጋዜጠኞች ጋር ቃለመጠይቁን ማድረግዎን ሰማን፡፡ እግዚአብሔር ይስጥልን! እግዚአብሔር ያክብርልን! ብለናል፡፡ ግን እንዲያው እውነት ለመናገር አቶ ኢሳይያስ ከአማርኛ ይልቅ እንግሊዝኛው ቀንቶዎት ቀርቦዎት ቀሎዎት ነው ከፊሉን ቃለ ምልልስ በእንግሊዝኛ ያደረጉት? በእርግጥ አባትዎ እንዳስጠነቀቁዎት ጠንቅቀው (perfectly) በማያውቁት ቋንቋ ያውም ቃለ መጠይቅን ያህል ነገር ማድረግ ከባድ ነው፡፡ ነገር ግን እኮ አቶ ኢሳይያስ የእርስዎ አማርኛ ደኅና እና እንዲያውም ከአብዛኞቻችንም የተሻለ አልነበረም እንዴ? ምን ወሰደብዎት?
ለማለት ያህል “የጥላቻ አይደለም” ይበሉ እንጅ አማርኛ ለመናገር አለመፈለግዎ እውስጥዎ ሊሻገሩት ያቃተዎት የጥላቻ አጥር እንዳለ የሚያሳይ አይመስልዎትም? አማርኛን ጥላቻው ለምን? እናንተ እንደምትሉት የቅኝ ገዥያቹህ ቋንቋ ስለሆነ? አማርኛችንም እኛም እንኳን ቅኝ ገዥ አልነበርንም የአንድ ሀገር ሰዎች እንጅ፡፡ ባይሆን እንግሊዝኛዎት የቅኝ ገዥዎ ቋንቋ ስለሆነ በዚህ ምክንያት ጥላቻው ሊሰማዎት ከተገባ ጥላቻው ሊሰማዎት ይገባ የነበረው ለእንግሊዝኛው እንጅ ለአማርኛስ አልነበረም፡፡ ነው ወይስ ይሄ የዲፕሎማሲ (የአቅንኦተ-ግንኙነት) ነገር አይሆንልዎትም? ለነገሩ በዲፕሎማሲ (በአቅንኦተ-ግንኙነት)  ብልጠት ውስጥዎ የማያምንበትንና የማይፈልገውን ነገር አድርገው ከሚሸነግሉን እሱው ሳይሻል አይቀርም ስለሆነም ትክክል ነዎት፡፡
አቶ ኢሳይያስ እኔ እማ እልዎት! የኢሳት ጋዜጠኞች አስመራ መግባታቸውን ከዚያም ደግሞ ቃለ ምልልስ ለመስጠት እርስዎ መፍቀድዎን ወይም ኢሳት ለእርስዎ መፍቀዱን ስሰማ ከወቅታዊ ሀገራዊ ሁኔታዎች ጋር አገናዝቤ አንዳች ግራሞት (surprise) ከእርስዎ ጠብቄ “ብራቮ ኢሱ” ብየ ሽቅብ በደስታ ለመዝለል እራሴን አዘጋጅቸ ስጠባበቅ ነበር የሰነበትኩት፡፡ ነገር ግን ይገርምዎታል ይሄ እንዳልሆነ ሳውቅ እጅግ ነበር የተከፋሁት፡፡ በእጅጉም አዝናለሁ፡፡ እንግዲህ ወይ እኔ እጅግ ሲበዛ የዋህ ነኝ ወይ ደግሞ እርስዎ እጅዎ የገባውን ወርቃማ ዕድል ሊረዱ የማይችሉና ይሄንንም ያበላሹ ማስተዋል የጎደለዎት ደካማ ሰው ነዎት ማለት ነው፡፡
አቶ ኢሳይያስ አይጠራጠሩ ከሁለቱ አንደኛው እውነት ነው፡፡ አይታወቅም ሁለቱም ሊሆን ይችላል፡፡ የሚያሳዝነው እኔ እጅግ ሲበዛ የዋህ በመሆኔ ተስፋ የማይደረግን ነገር ተስፋ አድርጌ ቢሆንም እንኳ በእኔ ባሳፈረኝ የዋህነቴ ውስጥ ቁልጭ ብሎ የሚታየው እርስዎ እምነት ሊጣልብዎት የማይችሉ ሰው መሆንዎ ነው ምክንያቱም ስንት ነገር እያለ ያንን ሁሉ ትቶ በወንድማዊ ፍቅር እንዲህ ተስፈኛ ያደረገውን የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ ቅንና ንጹሕ ሰብእና በመረዳት ቅንና በጎ ምላሽ መስጠት የማይችሉ መሆንዎን ስለሚያሳይ ስለሆነም በነገሩ ትዝብት ላይ የሚወድቀው ከእኔ ከየዋሁ ይልቅ እርስዎ ነዎት፡፡ ነገሩ ግን ማናችንንም አይጠቅምም፡፡ ምክንያቱ ሁለተኛው ከሆነ ደግሞ ማለትም እርስዎ አሁን ካለው ወቅታዊ ሀገራዊ ሁኔታ አንጻር ጉዳዩን በመረዳት አርቀው በማሰብ ግራ ቀኙን በመቃኘት ከኪሳራ ትርፍን፣ ከጥል ፍቅርን፣ ከጦርነት ሰላምን፣ ከጥፋት ልማትን፣ ከቅርብ አዳሪነት ሩቅ አላሚነትን፣ ከጥፋት ጋር ከመጥፋት በንስሐ መታደስን በመምረጥ እጅዎ የገባውን ወርቃማ ዕድል በሰዓቱ በመጠቀም ለራስዎም ለሀገርዎም ለሕዝባችንም ታሪክ ይሠራሉ የሚለውን የኛን የተሳሳተና እጅግ ተስፈኝነት የተሞላ ግምትና ምኞታችንን እውን ለማድረግ ወያኔም በእርስዎ እጅ የገባውን ካርድ ነጥቆ ለራሱ ሊጠቀምበት እየነዛ ያለውን ወሬና ሌሎች ተጨባጭና ገዝፈው ያሉ ሀቆችን ተገንዝበው ተገቢውን ምላሽ ለመስጠት ባለመቻልዎ ዕድሉን ያበላሹ ደካማ ሰው ሆነው ከሆነም ይሄም የማይጠቅመውና የሚከፋበት ለእኔ ሳይሆን በተለይ ለእርስዎ ነው፡፡
ለማንኛውም አቶ ኢሳይያስ አፍሬብዎታለሁ አዝናለሁ፡፡ የሰው ጭንቅላት ላለው ሁሉ ካሳለፍነው ሕይዎት የግዳችንን ከሚያስተምሩ ብዙ ነገሮች ብዙ ተምረዋል ብየ ሳስብ ምንም ሳይማሩ ስላገኘሁዎት እጅግ እጅግ አዝኛለሁ፡፡ አቶ ኢሳይያስ ለመሆኑ 23 ዓመታት ሙሉ የት ነበሩ? በአንድ ሰው ዕድሜ ከነገሮች ለመማር ከዚያ በፊት ያለውን ትተን 23 ዓመታት እኮ እጅግ በጣም ብዙ ጊዜ እኮ ነው፡፡ ይሄንን ሁሉ ዓመት የት ምን እየሠሩ ነበሩ? ሌላ ዓለም ላይ? ከባድ እንቅልፍ ላይ? ወይስ ምን ውስጥ ገብተው ከረሙ? “ተማር ላለው በአርባ ቀኑ ይማራል አትማር ያለው ግን በአርባ ዓመቱም አይማር” ነበር የሚለው ያገሬ ሰው እርስዎ ስንት ዓመትዎ ነው? ከእነዚህ ነገሮች ሁሉ በዚህን ያህል ጊዜ ያልተማሩ ሌላ ከምን በምን ያህል ጊዜ ሊማሩ ነው? ምን ነው? ምን ነው? ምን ነው? አቶ ኢሳይያስ? በጤናዎም አይደሉ እንዴ? ይሄንን ያህል ዘመን ያሳለፍናቸው ተጨባጭ ሀቆችን እንደ ተረት ተወርቶልን ሳይሆን ኖረንባቸው፣ ተበልተንባቸው፣ ተለብልበንባቸው፣ ከስረንባቸው፣ ተቃጥለንባቸው፣ አፈር ግጠንባቸው የዳከርንባቸውን ስንክሳሮች እንዴት መገንዘብ መረዳት ከእነሱም መማር አቃተዎት? ምንድን ነው የሚጠብቁት? ምንድንስ ነው የሚመኙት? የሚያልሙትስ? እንዴት? ለምን? እኮ ለምን? በጣም ነው የማዝነው፡፡ ዝም ብየ ሳስብዎት ዕድለ ቢስ ቁማርተኛ መስለው ይታዩኛል ከአሁን አሁን ይቀናኛል እያለ ሲበላ ሲበላ መጨረሻ ላይ እርቃኑን እንደሚቀረው፡፡
አቶ ኢሳይያስ ግን እርግጠኛ ነዎት ያዋጣናል? ያ ነባሩ ዜማ ከቶውንም እንደማያዋጣ ያሳለፍነው ሁሉ ከበቂ በላይ አይናገርም? ደሞ እንደገና ሌላ ተጨማሪ የመከራ ዘመን ያስፈልገናል? እርስዎንና መሰሎችዎን ከዚህ ተጠቃሚ የሚያደርግዎት ምንድን ነው? ምንድንስ ነው የሚያስፈራዎት? መሪ ማለት ምን ማለት ነው የሚመስልዎት? ሚናው ኃላፊነቱስ? እንደ ሰው እንደ መሪም ወደፊት ታሪክ ምን ብሎ እንዲያዎሳዎት ነው የሚፈልጉት? ምን ያስደስትዎታል? ለምን? ሰው ሆኖ የማይሳሳት ይኖራል ብለው ያስባሉ? ስሕተትን አምኖ መታረም እንዴት እንደተራራ ከብዶ ሊታይዎት ቻለ? ምንድን ነው እሱ የዚህን ያህል ተስፋ ያስቆረጠዎት ነገር? እርስዎ በታረሙ ለንስሐ በበቁ እንጅ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ እኮ ስሕተትዎ የቱንም ያህል ከባድና በርካታም ቢሆን ይቅር ለማለት አንዲት ጋት እንኳን ወደ ኋላ የሚል ሕዝብ አልነበረም፡፡ ያልፈጠረበትን! ከመታረም በንስሐ ከመመለስ ይቅር ከመባባል ልናገኘው እንችል የነበረው ሰላም፣ ተድላ ድስታ፣ ፍቅር፣ አንድነት፣ እድገት፣ ብልጽግና ወዘተ. እንዴት ሊታይዎት አልቻለም? ምን ከለለብዎት? ምን ጋረደብዎት? የእውቀት ማነስ? ክፉ ሰብእና? ጠባብነት? ጎጠኝነት? ጥላቻ? ቅጥረኝነት? እልህ? ካፈርኩ አይመልሰኝ? ክፋት? ሰይጣናዊ ዓላማ? ወይስ ሌላ ምን? ከእልህና ከካፈርኩ አይመልሰኝ ምን ማትረፍ ይቻላል? እንዴት እርስዎን የሚያህል ሰው በእልህና በካፈርኩ አይመልሰኝ የደናቁርት አስተሳሰብ ይታነቃል? በእርስዎና መሰሎችዎ እንዲህ መሆን የሚሊዮኖች (የአእላፋት) ዕድል የቀጠናው ዕጣ ፋንታ መበላሸቱ እንደሰው አያሳዝንዎትም? አያሳስብዎትም? ለነገሩ “ሰው የዘራውን ያንኑ ያጭዳል” አይደል እንዴ! የሚለው መጽሐፉስ? የዘሩትን ሊያሳጭድዎት ይሆናላ እንግዲህ፡፡ እንግዲህ ልብ ይስጣቹህ እንጅ ሌላ ምን ይባላል? ጨርሻለሁ፡፡ ይብላኝላቹህ ለእርስዎና ለመሰሎቹዎ እንጅ እኛስ ከእርስዎና ከመሰሎቹዎ ያጣነውን ሁሉ በእግዚአብሔር እርዳታ በቅርቡ እንደምናገኘው እንደሚያዩትም በእግዚአብሔር ስም አረጋግጥልዎታለሁ፡፡
አቶ ኢሳይያስ ይሄንን ስልዎት ቃለ መጠይቁን አዳምጨው አይደለም ገና ተተርጉሞ አልተለቀቀምና፡፡ ነገር ግን “ዘፋኝ ካወሳወሱ ያስታውቃል” አይደል የሚባለው? አዎ! በምን በምን ጉዳይ ላይ ምን ምን እንደተናገሩ ቅምሻ ቅምሻውን ስሰማው አንዳችም አዲስ ነገር እንደሌለው ተረዳሁ፡፡ “ለምን አንዲት ቃል ትበቃዋለች” አይደል የሚለው መጽሐፉ? በየዋህነቴ ተስፋ ያደረኩትና የጠበኩት ነገር መና ሆኖ እንደቀረ ስለገባኝ ነው፡፡ ይሄ ሦስት ሰዓታት ያህል የፈጀ ቃለ መጠይቅ በእብለት በክህደትና በማስመሰል የተሞላ እንደሚሆን እገምታለሁ ምክንያቱም ለምሳሌ በእናንተ እጅ ደብዛቸው ስለጠፋ የአንድነት ከዋክብት ብርቅ ድንቅና ቆራጥ የኢትዮጵያ ልጆች ተጠይቀው ሐሰት ነው ብለው እንደመለሱና ማንኛውም ሰው መጥቶ ሊያረጋግጥ እንደሚችል መናገርዎን ሰምተናል፡፡ ጥሩ አቶ ኢሳይያስ ታዲያ እነዚያን ሳተና ወንድሞቻችንን ምኑ በላቸው? የት ደረሱ? ወይ በነበረን የተሳሳተ አመለካከት ስሕተት ሠርተናል አጥፍተናል ይቅርታ ይደረግልን ይቅር በሉንና ይሄንን የጨለማ የሞት የጥፋት መዝገብ ይቅር በመባባል ለአንዴና ለመጨረሻ ጊዜ ዘግተን ከሰጠምንበት ማጥ ከወደቅንበት ትቢያ ስለምንወጣበት ስለምንነሣበት ቁም ነገር በአንድነት እናቅድ እንምከር፣ ስለ ወደፊቱ እናስብ፣ ሕይዎታችንን እጣ ፋንታችንን እንዴት እናብጀው እናሳምረው? ስለሚለው እንወጥን ቢሉ መልካም በሆነ ነበር፡፡ እርስዎ ግን ይሄንን ሊያደርጉ አልቻሉም፡፡ እርስዎ የያዙት ባዶ የቃላት ጨዋታ ነው ያውም ሳይችሉበት፡፡ ይሄ በሆነበት ሁኔታ እኛ ታዲያ እንዴት እንመንዎት አቶ ኢሳይያስ? እዚህ ከእኛ ዘንድ እንደፈለጉ ሊያታልሉት ሊሸነግሉት የሚችሉት ሕፃን ያለ ይመስልዎታል? ይሄንን ያህል ያልበሰሉ ነዎት ማለት ነው? ይሄንን ያህል አንተዋወቅም ማለት ነው? በዚህ በዚህ ገራቹህ ከወያኔ ጋራ አንድ ናቹህ፡፡ ቆይ ግን ማንኛቹህ ነው ሌላኛቹህን ያስተማረው? አባትየው ልጅየውን ወይስ ልጅየው አባትየውን? እስኪ አንድ ጥያቄ ልጠይቅዎት ይሄንን ለኢሳት የሰጡትን ቃለ መጠይቅ ለምን ፈለጉት? ዓላማውስ ምንድን ነው?
ሠዓሊ አምሳሉ ገ/ኪዳን አርጋው
አቶ ኢሳይያስ አንድ ላሳስብዎት የምሻው ጉዳይ ቢኖር አሁንም ቢሆን ያ ወርቃማ ዕድል ከእጅዎ አልወጣም ገና አላመለጠምና ከነቁ ከባነኑ ከእጅዎ ከማምለጡ በፊት ወይም ወያኔ እየሞካከረው እንዳለው የታሪክ አጋጣሚ እጅዎ ላይ የጣለውን ዕድል ከእጅዎ ነጥቆ ለራሱ ከመጠቀሙ በፊት ሸርን፣ ሴራን፣ ተንኮልን፣ ክፋትን፣ ጥላቻን ወዘተ. ወደኋላዎ መልሰው ላያነሷቸው ጥለው ንጹሕ ልብዎን ብቻ ይዘው በመቅረብ ወርቃማውን ዕድል ቀድመው ይጠቀሙበትና በዚህ ሕዝብና በዚህች ሀገር ላይ ተጭኖ ያለውን መርገም ከላያችን አሽቀንጥረን ለመጣል እናብር፡፡ በእርግጠኝነት የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ እየፈነጠዘ ጥሪዎን በደስታ ይቀበላል ጉዳያችንንም በአንድ ጀምበር የምንቋጨው ይሆናል፡፡ ከዚያም ፀሐያችን ትወጣለች ተስፋችን ተአምር በሚባል ፍጥነት ይለመልማል፡፡ አቶ ኢሳይያስ ሕዝባችን እኮ ብዙ ቀድሞ ሄደ መሪ ከሕዝቡ ሲቀድም እንጅ በሕዝቡ ሲቀደም ደስ አይልም ብዙ ኪሳራም ያስከትላል፡፡ የምልዎ ነገር ግልጽ ነው አይደል አቶ ኢሳይያስ? እንደተረዱኝ ተስፋ አደርጋለሁ፡፡ ይመኑኝ ይሄንን ያደረጉ እንደሆነ ብቻ ነው የሁላችምን ምኞት የሚሰምረው በጎ ሕልማችን እውን የሚሆነው፡፡ መልካም ዕድል እግዚአብሔር ከእርስዎ ጋር ይሁን!!!

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DireTube News - Djibouti, Ethiopia accuse Eritrea of undermining stability
Djibouti and Ethiopia on Saturday accused neighboring Eritrea of undermining regional stability. In a joint statement, Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn called on the international community to "take serious steps against the Eritrean government to prevent it from undermining stability in the region." The Eritrean government could not be reached for a comment.Tension has been high between Eritrea and both Djibouti and Ethiopia over their border conflicts. Djibouti and Eritrea have engaged in two border conflicts. In 1996, they almost went to war after a Djiboutian official accused Eritrea of shelling the town of Ras Doumeira.DireTube is the Largest online Media in Ethiopia Since

http://www.diretube.com/diretube-news/djibouti-ethiopia-accuse-eritrea-of-undermining-stability-video_deb16850d.html

Friday, February 6, 2015

Ethiopia’s Zone 9 Bloggers Harsh Treatment

Ethiopia’s Zone 9 Bloggers Harsh Treatment

February 5, 2015

Ethiopia’s ‘Zone 9 Bloggers’ Case: Harsh Treatment of Defendant

(Freedom House) In response to reports that Abel Wabella, a defendant in the Zone 9 blogger case in Ethiopia, was kept shackled overnight and had his hearing aid removed following a February 4 court appearance, Freedom House issued the following statement:Abel Wabella, Zone 9 blogger
“The brutal treatment of Mr. Wabella by prison officials amounts to torture,” said Vukasin Petrovic, regional director for Africa. “Since their arrest in April, the Zone 9 bloggers and journalists have endured horrific treatment at the hands of the Ethiopian police and prison officials. At the very least, the court should investigate these cases of torture and hold those responsible accountable.”
Case Update:
On February 5 , the court rejected a petition submitted by the defendants to have the presiding judge removed from the case due to his alleged unbalanced handling of proceedings. The presiding judge did, however, announce that he would recuse himself of the case on his own accord. The defendants are now required to enter a plea with a new presiding judge on February 18.
Ethiopia is rated Not Free in Freedom of the World 2015, Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2014, Not Free in Freedom on the Net 2014.
Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.

ETHIOPIA : DICTATORSHIP WRESTLED BEFORE DEATH,OPPOSITION PARTY HOPES TO WIN IN THE NEXT ELECTION

Filed under: News & Views |
Addis Ababa ( DIPLOMAT.SO) – According to some Ethiopian and Eritrean websites , A Week ago, the opposition party Unity for Justice and Democracy (UDJ)- widely known by its Ethiopian name ‘Andenet‘ – was brimming with confidence that it will contend for power in the national elections in May 2015. Of course, there was an uphill battle, and that was to make sure the elections would be free and fair.
The-Unity-for-Democracy-and-Justice-Party-said-the-country-is-heading-toward-“absolute-dictatorship”-under-the-ruling-party
The Unity for Democracy and Justice Party said the country is heading toward “absolute dictatorship” under the ruling party

What Andenet’s young and charismatic leaders may not have anticipated was that the ruling party and its arm, the ‘Election Board’, would cut Andenet in two, then discard the real, authentic Andenet group off the precipice, while preparing the puppet for the election.
Andenet was not only popular but also an organization that transcended the politics of ethnicity and had drawn members from all corners of the country. And this was a threat to the ruling TPLF, a pioneer of the politics of ethnicity and hate with stand-by program for the disintegration of the country in the event TPLF loses power.
Now Andenet is history. If there is any group that claims to be ‘Andenet,’ it is the puppet hatched by the ruling party.
On Tuesday, former leaders and members of Andenet Party announced at the Semayawi Party HQs that they have officially joined Semayawi because there was little or no difference in their political programs.
TPLF committed a crime but every dark cloud has a silver lining, and that is TPLF unintentionally brought two same-minded organizations into a ‘merger.’ The struggle against tyranny continues.
For more news and stories, join us on Facebook,Twitter and Subcripe ourYoutube Channel,Or contact us through our Emails : info@diplomat.so,adv@diplomat.so,diplomatnewsdesk@gma
- See more at: http://www.zehabesha.com/ethiopia-dictatorship-wrestled-before-deathopposition-party-hopes-to-win-in-the-next-election/#sthash.FclhShvW.dpuf

ETHIOPIA : DICTATORSHIP WRESTLED BEFORE DEATH,OPPOSITION PARTY HOPES TO WIN IN THE NEXT ELECTION

Filed under: News & Views |
Addis Ababa ( DIPLOMAT.SO) – According to some Ethiopian and Eritrean websites , A Week ago, the opposition party Unity for Justice and Democracy (UDJ)- widely known by its Ethiopian name ‘Andenet‘ – was brimming with confidence that it will contend for power in the national elections in May 2015. Of course, there was an uphill battle, and that was to make sure the elections would be free and fair.
The-Unity-for-Democracy-and-Justice-Party-said-the-country-is-heading-toward-“absolute-dictatorship”-under-the-ruling-party
The Unity for Democracy and Justice Party said the country is heading toward “absolute dictatorship” under the ruling party

What Andenet’s young and charismatic leaders may not have anticipated was that the ruling party and its arm, the ‘Election Board’, would cut Andenet in two, then discard the real, authentic Andenet group off the precipice, while preparing the puppet for the election.
Andenet was not only popular but also an organization that transcended the politics of ethnicity and had drawn members from all corners of the country. And this was a threat to the ruling TPLF, a pioneer of the politics of ethnicity and hate with stand-by program for the disintegration of the country in the event TPLF loses power.
Now Andenet is history. If there is any group that claims to be ‘Andenet,’ it is the puppet hatched by the ruling party.
On Tuesday, former leaders and members of Andenet Party announced at the Semayawi Party HQs that they have officially joined Semayawi because there was little or no difference in their political programs.
TPLF committed a crime but every dark cloud has a silver lining, and that is TPLF unintentionally brought two same-minded organizations into a ‘merger.’ The struggle against tyranny continues.
For more news and stories, join us on Facebook,Twitter and Subcripe ourYoutube Channel,Or contact us through our Emails : info@diplomat.so,adv@diplomat.so,diplomatnewsdesk@gmail.com
Source- diplomat.so
- See more at: http://www.zehabesha.com/ethiopia-dictatorship-wrestled-before-deathopposition-party-hopes-to-win-in-the-next-election/#sthash.FclhShvW.dpuf