#OromoProtests Oromo athletes finally had it enough. They are opening up about the rampant ethnic discrimination within the athletic federation of the country. For decades, Oromo athletes have been the face of the country's domination in middle and long distance. Despite their success in winning races on behalf of the country, in private, the Oromo athletes always complained of ethnic based humiliation, ridicule and threat by those in control of political power. It now appears the attack has reached a level where the can no longer take it and hence began taking on the system publicly. Holder of world and olympic record for 5k, 10 k, Kenenisa Bekele who is often criticized by Oromos of being too oblivious seems to awaken to the reality and has chosen to speaking up and leading the charge against the rampant discrimination in favor of Tigreans, the 'chosen ethnicity' whose elite are trying monopolize everything Ethiopia. We owe to our athletes and NPR for exposing this.
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Monday, June 6, 2016
#OromoProtests
Jawaar Mohammed: Mootummaan Gaaffii Dhiheessineef Deebii Gahaa Kennuu Yoo Dide Tarikaanfii Itti-aanee Fudhannuun Kasaaraa Isa Mudatuuf Itti Gaatamaan Isuma
Jawaar Mohaammed
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Saturday, June 4, 2016
"OromoProtests
Ethiopia: Detainees beaten and forced to appear before court inadequately dressed
Authorities in Ethiopia should immediately stop the ill treatment of political opposition members and human rights defenders who were beaten in detention and then forced to appear before the court inadequately dressed, Amnesty International said today.
The 22 defendants, including political opposition leaders Gurmesa Ayano and Beqele Gerba, Deputy Chief of the Oromo Federalist Congress, were brought today before the court inadequately dressed. According to complaints lodged with the court by Beqele Gerba, some defendants were beaten while in detention, and prison officials confiscated all the defendant’s black suits, which they intended to wear to court. The rest of their clothes were taken by other prisoners.
The Ethiopian authorities and the Court cannot let this ill-treatment go unanswered. They must ensure a prompt credible investigations and that those responsible are held accountable
“Aside from the beatings they suffered in detention, degrading the defendants by making them attend court in their underpants is a new low in the behavior of the prison authorities and a total outrage,” said Michelle Kagari Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Africa and the Great Lakes.
“The Ethiopian authorities and the Court cannot let this ill-treatment go unanswered. They must ensure a prompt credible investigations and that those responsible are held accountable.”
The 22 defendants were charged under the Anti-terrorism Proclamation law for organising the November 2015 Oromia protest. On 26 April 2016 the court adjourned their hearing for 11 May 2016. However on 11 May 2016 the prison authorities failed to present the defendants in court. The defendants all wore black suits in mourning for those killed during the protests, which apparently caused the prison authorities to refuse to take them to court.
“Ethiopia’s long time muzzling of dissent has had a devastating effect on opposition members and human rights defenders who are completely prevented from exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” said Michelle Kagari
Beqele Gerba and the co-defendants in the case were arbitrarily arrested following the largely peaceful protests which began in November 2015 against the dispossession of land without adequate compensation in Ethiopia’s Oromo region.
In response to the protests, the authorities arbitrarily arrested thousands of people, and several hundreds of people participating in the protests have been unlawfully killed by the security services.
"OromoProtests
Ethiopia: Detainees beaten and forced to appear before court inadequately dressed
Authorities in Ethiopia should immediately stop the ill treatment of political opposition members and human rights defenders who were beaten in detention and then forced to appear before the court inadequately dressed, Amnesty International said today.
The 22 defendants, including political opposition leaders Gurmesa Ayano and Beqele Gerba, Deputy Chief of the Oromo Federalist Congress, were brought today before the court inadequately dressed. According to complaints lodged with the court by Beqele Gerba, some defendants were beaten while in detention, and prison officials confiscated all the defendant’s black suits, which they intended to wear to court. The rest of their clothes were taken by other prisoners.
The Ethiopian authorities and the Court cannot let this ill-treatment go unanswered. They must ensure a prompt credible investigations and that those responsible are held accountable
“Aside from the beatings they suffered in detention, degrading the defendants by making them attend court in their underpants is a new low in the behavior of the prison authorities and a total outrage,” said Michelle Kagari Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Africa and the Great Lakes.
“The Ethiopian authorities and the Court cannot let this ill-treatment go unanswered. They must ensure a prompt credible investigations and that those responsible are held accountable.”
The 22 defendants were charged under the Anti-terrorism Proclamation law for organising the November 2015 Oromia protest. On 26 April 2016 the court adjourned their hearing for 11 May 2016. However on 11 May 2016 the prison authorities failed to present the defendants in court. The defendants all wore black suits in mourning for those killed during the protests, which apparently caused the prison authorities to refuse to take them to court.
“Ethiopia’s long time muzzling of dissent has had a devastating effect on opposition members and human rights defenders who are completely prevented from exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” said Michelle Kagari
Beqele Gerba and the co-defendants in the case were arbitrarily arrested following the largely peaceful protests which began in November 2015 against the dispossession of land without adequate compensation in Ethiopia’s Oromo region.
In response to the protests, the authorities arbitrarily arrested thousands of people, and several hundreds of people participating in the protests have been unlawfully killed by the security services.
Thursday, June 2, 2016
#OromoProtests
EPRDF’s Options: Answer #OromoProtests or Risk Total collapse!
The Ethiopian government, i.e., the EPRDF, has two options: to either heed and answer the demands of the #OromProtests and get back the trust of the Oromo people or risk the total collapse and breakdown of the governance and trust system. It seems that the EPRDF is entering its ““Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin” moment of the Bible. (The Book of Daniel Chapter 5)
Institutions and systems of governance are established on the social contracts of trust, accountability, impartiality, the creation of values, and delivery of broader societal goods and services. Laws are enacted and supporting institutions are created to enforce these social contracts of trust, accountability, and impartiality, the creation of values, and delivery greater societal goods and services. Governments, even the most authoritarian ones, stands and only exists on these cardinal principles and values of social contracts.
The Ethiopian government has breached and violated almost all the pillars of the elements of social contracts in its dealings with the Oromo people. The Oromo people have lost trust and confidence in the Ethiopian government run institutions, policies, and practices which are almost exclusively enacted and enforced to hurt and harm the national interests of the Oromo people.
In any country, laws and orders are enforced not because of the existence of courts and police on the streets or laws in books, but because of the societies trust in the values and virtues these social contracts; trust and integrity in the institutions that are created to enforce these social contracts. The higher the societal trust in the integrity and impartiality of those institutions, the higher the society functions and operates orderly based on these social contracts of trust, accountability, impartiality, the creation of values, and delivery of social goods and services to advance orderly, prosperous, and peaceful society.
The moment the government starts violating and breaching these social contracts of trust, accountability, impartiality, the creation of values, and delivery of goods and services; and erode the integrity and impartiality of institutions created to enforce these social contracts, the governance system collapses and the society disintegrates.
In its 25 years of increasingly abusive and repressive rules, the EPRDF government has created a situation where the total collapse of the governance system and societal disintegration are inevitable. It has turned all institutions of governance and law enforcement into institutions of repression, corruption, and robbery to enrich few and impoverish the rest. It has breached and violated almost all elements of the social contracts underlying the foundation of the Ethiopian society in general and the Oromo society in particular.
Let’s look at the legal system. The EPRDF government has replaced the concept of the rule of laws with administrative discretions and legal violence of political cadres. Under the EPRDF, the law enforcement branch of the government and the court systems are operating based on the administrative discretions and violence of the political cadres, not the rule of laws.
The legislative branch, the parliament, exists to legislate laws not to advance societal goods and services and advance communal wellbeing but to limit the creation of values in a society and enhance the repressive arm of the government.
The institutions of law enforcement and court systems are not systems of justice, equality, fairness, and equity anymore. They are systems where political cadres exercise administrative discretions and violence to abuse, repress, and exercise political retribution, expropriate and dispossess the property of the poor, and reward the politically favored, all under the façade of legality.
The dispossession and impoverishment of Oromo people over the last 25 years through consciously enacted land and wealth transfer laws and policies to others whom the system favors; and the Oromo political prisoners languishing unjustly in Ethiopian prisons are primary and living examples of this policy of governance by violence and administrative discretions.
The education system is another center of this system of governance by violence and administrative discretions. The situation appears to be the same throughout the country. But, the extent of repression and brutality in Oromia based educational facilities and institutions finds no parallel anywhere in the country. As the #OromoProtests showed the entire world, Oromia based academic institutions are killing and torture fields of Oromo students. University campuses were turned into military and police camps instead of becoming centers of teaching and learning, and research and knowledge production.
In the education system, competence and intellectual curiosities are being punished while retarded and inept political loyalists are highly esteemed and rewarded. Research and knowledge productions are replaced with propaganda works and cadres who parrot these lies. Academic freedom and productive debates are criminalized while the intimidating and pervasive environment of fear and insecurity of the student population, the next generation this country rests its hopes on, are considered as a virtue and noble tools of governance by swarms of security forces.
The Ethiopian government’s refusal to heed the demands of the Oromo people to offer makeup classes and postpone the national 12th Grade University entrance examination for Oromo students due the lost months of educational time as a result the nationwide #OromoProtests; and the eventual leakage of the exams which lead to its cancellation today are just one manifestation of the Oromo people’s protest against the Ethiopian government’s policies and practices of hurting and harming the Oromo people.
The Ethiopian government must change the containment policy it currently follows on the Oromo people. The Oromo people, the people that account almost 50% of the Ethiopian population, cannot and will not be contained and exist on the political, economic and social periphery of Ethiopia. The Oromo people want to be at the center of the show, at the heart of the economic and political actions. It is important to note that in a country where the nationalism of other ethnic groups are skyrocketed, organized, and mobilized by their respective elites to scavenge on the land and natural resources of the Oromo, the Oromo people will not continue to be passive victims and bystanders. The Oromo people will fight back and defend their political and economic turfs.
Unless the EPRDF government changes its current policy of governance by violence and administrative discretion, the Oromo people will certainly resort to actively and consciously undermining these institutions and systems of violence and repression; and will collectively defend themselves from those who are encroaching on their lands and natural resources.
In short, sooner or later, the Oromo people and the disadvantaged others will take the law into their hands to survive in this world of the survival of the fittest the EPRDF government created. The Ethiopian government has two options in these scenarios. The first and the better options will be to heed and answer the demands of the #OromoProtests (the people) and renew its social contracts with the Oromo people. The second option will be to continue with the current system of governance through violence and administrative discretion and wait for the nationwide breach of trust against this corrupt, oppressive, and repressive system that will lead to the total and complete collapse of the institutions of trust and societal disintegration.
The only question that remains is whether the EPRDF government will heed the call, and reform and transform itself and avoid the handwritings on the wall that reads “Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin” or not?
#OromoProtests
Tedros Adhanom, a politburo member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that has been ruling Ethiopia for the last 25 years is in the inner circle of the regime well known for its systematic patterns of political repression and egregious human rights violations against Ethiopian citizens. The abysmal human rights record of the Ethiopian regime is very well documented by all the major international rights groups (Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Freedom House) as well as by the U.S. State Department in its annual human rights report.
In 2008, under his watch at the Federal Ministry of Health (2005-2012) there was a major cholera outbreak in Ethiopia’s Oromia Region. As a result of the deliberate inaction of Dr. Adhanom, the preventable and treatable outbreak tragically claimed many lives. Dr. Adhanom’s tenure as head of the Federal Ministry of Health was fraught with mismanagement and gross incompetence particularly as it relates to the monies (USD 1,306,035,989) granted from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM).
The audit by the Office of the Inspector General into the USD 1,306,035,989 allocated to Ethiopia found: 1) misappropriation of funds and use of donor funds for unsound and politically motivated programs, 2) substandard quality of constructed health facilities and 3) ineligible expenditures. It was the recommendation of the OIG that the Ethiopian government should refund USD 7,026,929 to the Global Fund. To this day, no action has been taken by the Ethiopian government to refund the money.
The candidate for Director General of a prestigious organization such as the WHO should not only be a person of high personal achievement but should also embody the highest adherence to internationally recognized human rights standards. Dr. Adhanom’s record as one of the leaders of the ruling party in Ethiopia and specifically his record as Minister of Health does not meet the exceedingly high standards required for a Director General of the WHO.
This petition will be delivered to:
- General Assembly of the World Health Organization
#OromoProtests
ለክቡር አቶ ሽፈራው ሽጉጤ፣ የትምህርት ሚኒስቴር ሚኒስትር
ጉዳዩ: የከፍተኛ ትምህርት ተቋማት መግቢያ ፈተና (EUEE) በተመለከተ ፍትሃዊ የሆነ የመርሃግብር ምክረ ሃሳብ (program proposal) ስለማቅረብ ይመለከታል።
የተሰረዘውን ፈተና በተመለከተ መስሪያ ቤትዎ ያወጣውን መርሀ ግብር ተመልክተነዋል። ሆኖም ግን መርሃግብሩ ከታች በተገለጹት ምክኒያቶች ሊሻሻል ይገባዋል ብለን ስለምናምን የሚከትለውን ምክረ-ሀሳብ ልናቀርብ እንወዳለን። በደንብ ሊጤን የሚገባው ነጥብ ይህንን ምክረ-ሀሳብ በማጥናቀር ሂደት ውስጥ ከ5000 በላይ ተማሪዎች በግልጽ በሶሻል ሚዲያ ሀሰባቸውን ሰጥውበታል። 123 መምህራንን ከሁሉም የኦሮሚያ ዞኖች በቀጥታ አማክረናል። ተማሪዎቹም ሆኑ መምህራን በዋናው ጉዳይ ተመሳሳይ አቋም አንጸባርቀዋል። የተማሪዎቹም ሆነ የመምህራኑ ሀሳብ የሚያመለክተው በመስሪያ ቤትዎ ለድጋሚ ፈተናው የተሰጠው የአንድ ወር ጊዜ በቂ አለመሆኑንና ጊዜውን ማራዘሙ ግዴታ ነው የሚል ነው። አብዛኛዎቹ የኦሮሚያ ተማሪዎች (80%) ያመለጥንን የ6 ወራት ትምህርት ለማካካስ እና ለፈተናው ለመዘጋጀት ቢያንስ 12 ሳምንታት ወይም 3 ወራት ያስፈልግናል ብለዋል።
እንደአዲስ የወጣው የፈተና መርሀ ግብር ከጊዜ ማጠር በተጨማሪም ሌላ ግድፈት እንደለው ከተማሪዎች እና መምህራኖች ጋር ባደርግነው ምክክር ተገንዝበናል። ይሄውም መርሃግብሩ በረሞዳን ጾም ወር መጨረሻ ላይ መሆኑ በሁለት ዋና ዋና ምክንያቶች ትክክል አንዳልሆነ ተረድተና።
1) ሳይንሱም እንደሚያረጋግጠው የሰው ጭንቅላት (brain) በፈተና ጊዜ በደንብ ለማሰብ ከፍተኛ የምግብ ሃይል አቅርቦት (high energy supply) ይጠቀማል። የጾም ወቅት ደግሞ የጿሚዎቹ ጭንቅላት ባንጻራዊ መልኩ ሃይል-አጠር (hypo) ስለሚሆን ጿሚ ተማሪዎችን በእንደዚህ ዓይነት ወቅቶች ለዛውም ሙሉ ቀን ረጃጅም ፈተናዎች ላይ እንዲቀመጡ ማድረግ አይመከርም። በተለይ ደግሞ ጉዳዩ ሃይማኖታዊ ሆኖ የሚጾሙና የማይጾሙ ተማሪዎች የሚወስዷቸውን ፈተናዎች በእንደዚህ ዓይነት ወቅቶች መስጠት ትክክል አይደለም ። ግልጽ የሆነ መድሎ (clear discrimination) የማድረግ ያህልም ሊቆጠር የሚችል፤ ማህበራዊ መተሳሰብን ብሎም ህገ-መንግስቱን የሚጥስ ነው።
2) በድጋሚ ባወጠችሁት መግለጫም ፈተናው የኢድ አልፈጥርን ቀን እንደሚዘል ገልጻችኋል። ይህ ማለት በኢድ ዋዜማ እና በማግስቱ ፈተና ይኖራል ማለት ነው። በማህበረሰባችን የበዓላት ሰሞን በግርግርና ለፈተና ትኩረት ፍጹም በማይመቹ (exam mood eroding) ማህበራዊና ቤተሰባዊ መስተጋብሮችና ፌሽታዎች የተሞላ መሆኑን ሁላችንም የምናውቀው ሃቅ ነው። ይህ ደግሞ ተረጋግቶ ለማጥናት የሚያስቸግር ከባባዊ ሁኔታ (distractive environment) በመፍጠር ተማሪዎች ለፈተናው ሙሉ ትኩረት እንዳይሰጡ ያደርጋቸዋል። እናም ፈተናን በእንደዚህ ዓይነት ትልቅ ዓመት በዓል ወቅት ማድረግ ለሃይማኖቱ ተከታይ ተማሪዎች ከፍተኛ ጉዳት እንደሚኖረው ግልጽ ግልፅ ነው።
የምናቀርበው ምክረ-ሃሳብ በተማሪዎቹ ምቾትና አስተያየት ላይ ብቻ በመመርኮዝ እንዳይሆን ሌሎች ባለ ድርሻዎችንም አማክረናል። አዲሱ ፈተና ተዘጋጅቶ፣ ታርሞ ውጤቱ እስኪታወቅ ድረስ ያለውን ሂደት ከግንዛቤ በማስገባት፣ ከዚህ በፊትና አሁንም በትምህርት ሚኒስቴር ውስጥ በፈተና ጉዳዮች ላይ የሰሩ ባለሟያዎችን አማክረናል። እንዲሁም ፈተናው የዩኒቨርሲቲዎችን የሚቀጥለውን አመት መርሀግብር ሊያውክ ስለሚችል ፕረዚደንቶችን ጨምሮ የተለያዩ የዩኒቨርሲቲ መምህራንና የአስተዳደር ዘርፍ ሰራተኞችን አማክረናል።
ስለሆነም ከዚህ በላይ ከገለጽናቸው ምክኒያቶችና ባሰባሰብናችው ሙያዊ አስተያየቶች ላይ ተመርኩዘን ከዚህ ቀጥሎ የተዘረዘሩትን የመረሃግብር ምክረ ሃሳቦችን እናቀርባለን። ለተፈጻሚነታቸውም ከእርሶ መስሪያ ቤት በኩል በጎ ምላሽ እንደሚኖር ተስፋ እናደርጋለን:
1) ለተማሪዎቹ ሁለት ወር ቢሰጣቸው እና ፈተናው ከሃምሌ 25 እስከ 28 ወይም ከዚህ ጊዜ በኋላ በሚመቻቹ ወቅት ቢሆን ፍትሃዊ ይሆናል።
2) ባሉት ሁለት ወራት ውስጥ ተማሪዎች በቂ ዝግጅት እንዲያደርጉ ከዚህ ቀደም ያስረከቧቸው መጽሃፍትና ሌሎች የጥናት መርጃ መሳሪያዎች ቢመለስላቸው ጥሩ ይሆናል።
3) በተለይም በኦሮሚያ ተማሪዎች ላልተማሯቸው ክፍለጊዜዎች መምህራኑ ማካካሻ (make up classes) እንዲሰጧቸው ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል። ክረምቱ የእረፍት ጊዜያቸው መሆኑን ከግንዛቤ በማስገባት ለመምህራኑ ማበረታቻ (incentives) የሚደረግበት መንገድ ቢዘጋጅ።
4) ጊዜው የዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎች ለእረፍት ወደ ቤታቸው የሚመለሱበት በመሆኑ እነዚ ተማሪዎችም የየኣካባቢዎቻቸውን ተፈታኝ ተማሪዎች በቱቶር ማስጠናት ወይም በሌሎች መንገዶች ለፈተናው ዝግጅት ይረዷቸው ዘንድ የማበረታቻ መንገዶች ቢመቻቹ።
5) ለክረምቱ ወደየትውልድ ቦታቸው የሚመልሱ የዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎች ለተፈታኞቹ የማስጠናት (tutorial) ድጋፍ እንዲሰጡ ትምህርት ቤቶች እና የአስተዳደር ክፍሎች ሁኔታዎችን እንዲያመቻቹ ማድረግ።
6 ) በተለይም በኦሮሚያ አካባቢ በፖሊስና በመከላከያ ሃይሎች በተማሪዎች ላይ የሚደረገው ወከባና ተጽዕኖ እንዲቆም፣ እነዚ የታጠቁ አካላት ከትምህርት ቤቶች አካባቢ እንዲርቁ፣ የታሰሩ ተማሪዎችም ተለቀው ከላይ በተጠለተው መልኩ ለፈተናው ዝግጅት እንዲጀምሩ ቢደረግ።
በመጨረሻም፣ ከዚህ በፊት የወሰድናቸው እርምጃዎችም ሆኑ አሁን ያቀረብነው ምክረሃሳብ መነሻነቱ ፍትሃዊነት፣ የእኩል እድል ተጠቃሚነት እንዲሁም የተወዳዳሪነት መርህን የተከተለ የፈተና ስርዓት በሃገሪቱ እንዲረጋገጥ ማድረግ እንደሆነም ደግመን መግለጽ እንወዳለን። ለዚህም ከኛ በኩል ያለውን መልካም ፈቃድ (good faith) ይበልጥ ለማረጋገጥ በእጃችን ያሉትን ሌሎቹን የፈተና ቡክሌቶች ሚስጥራዊነት እንደምንጥብቅና አዲስ ለምታዘጋጁት ፈተናዎች ሚስጥራዊነት መጠበቅም የበኩላችንን አስተዋጽዕ እንደምናደርግ ቃል እንገባለን። ያቀረብነውን ምክረሀሰብ በሚገባ አጢናችሁ በበኩላችሁም ጉዳዩ የሚመለከታቸውን ባለጉዳዮች አማክራችሁ ፍትሃዊ ውሳኔ ላይ እንደምትደርሱ ተስፋ እናደርጋለን። ነገር ግን አሁን ያቀረብነው ምክረሀሳብ ወደጎን ተትቶ፣ እንደክዚህ በፊቱ የኦሮሚያ ተማሪዎች እሮሮ ጆሮ ዳባ ልበስ ተብሎ ፍርደገምድል በሆነ መልኩ አሁን የተቀመጠውን የፈተና መርሃ ግብር ወደ ማስፈጸም የምትሄዱ ከሆነ በእርግጥኝነት ለሚደርሰው ዳግም ሀገርዊ ኪሳራ ተጠያቂነቱ የትምህርት ሚኒስቴር መሆኑን ከወዲሁ ልናስጠነቅቅ እንወዳለን።
ከሰላምታ ጋር!
#OromoProtests
ከሰላምታ ጋር!
#OromoProtests
ግልባጭ፡
-ለኢፌድሪ ፕረዚደንት ጽ/ቤት
- ለኢፌድሪ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ ጽ/ቤት
- ለኢፌድሪ ህዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት አፈጉባኤ ጽ/ቤት
- ለኦሮሚያ ብሄራዊ ክልላዊ መንግስት ፕረዚደንት ጽ/ቤት
- ለጨፌ ኦሮሚያ አፈ ጉባኤ ጽ/ቤት
- ለሁሉም ክልሎች ትምህርት ቢሮዎች
- ለመላው የኢትዮጲያ ህዝብ
-ለሁሉም የ 12ኛ ክፍል ተፈጣኝ ተማሪዎች
- ለሁሉም ኢትዮጵያ ተኮር ሚዲያዎች
-ለኢፌድሪ ፕረዚደንት ጽ/ቤት
- ለኢፌድሪ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ ጽ/ቤት
- ለኢፌድሪ ህዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት አፈጉባኤ ጽ/ቤት
- ለኦሮሚያ ብሄራዊ ክልላዊ መንግስት ፕረዚደንት ጽ/ቤት
- ለጨፌ ኦሮሚያ አፈ ጉባኤ ጽ/ቤት
- ለሁሉም ክልሎች ትምህርት ቢሮዎች
- ለመላው የኢትዮጲያ ህዝብ
-ለሁሉም የ 12ኛ ክፍል ተፈጣኝ ተማሪዎች
- ለሁሉም ኢትዮጵያ ተኮር ሚዲያዎች
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
#OromoProtests
Freed From Prison, Ethiopian Bloggers Still Can't Leave The Country
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Zelalem Kibret remembers the day: July 8, 2015. He was in a prison library reading a biography of Malcolm X, his own copy, when some guards called his name and handed him a piece of paper. The message: All charges against him were withdrawn. He was being released.
"I was asking why," says Zelalem, a 29-year-old lawyer and blogger. "And nobody was giving us a reason."
Zelalem, who'd been in jail for more than a year on terrorism charges related to his blog posts, suspected the reason. His release, he believes, was a "personal gift" to President Obama, then three weeks away from an official visit to Ethiopia, the first ever by a U.S. president.
The U.S. had been pushing quietly the release of Zelalem and five other members of Zone 9, his blogging crew. Zone 9 takes its name from the eight zones of the infamous Kality Prison outside Addis Ababa, where political prisoners and journalists are held. Activists joke that the 9th Zone is everything outside the prison walls — the rest of Ethiopia.
"Zone 9 is Ethiopia with relative freedom, but still you felt that you are in detention," Zelalem explains.
Zelalem and the other Zone 9 bloggers had been critical of corruption and repression by the Ethiopian government, but their blogs and Facebook posts were seen as a relatively safe space for criticism in a country with about 3 percent Internet penetration.
But the arrest of six bloggers, including Zelalem, and three other journalists in 2014sent a signal that as Facebook was becoming more popular in Ethiopia, digital reportage might now become just as censored as print journalism. Journalists are regularly imprisoned under Ethiopia's wide-ranging anti-terrorism law, which makes it a crime to have contact with any group that the Ethiopian government deems is trying to overthrow it.
At a press conference during Obama's visit, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn conceded, "We need many young journalists to come up." But, he said, "We need ethical journalism. There is also capacity limitations in journalism."
The phrase "capacity limitations" — and its cousin, "capacity building" — came out ofdevelopment lingo of the 1990s. Ethiopian officials often use "capacity" explanations to assert that journalists are jailed not because they are critical of the government — but because they are less professional, more unethical and more incendiary than Ethiopia's fledgling democracy can tolerate.
In keeping with this theme, Hailemariam nodded to Obama's traveling press corps and asked them to "help our journalists to increase their capacity."
Obama had offered an opportunity for just that, promoting his Young African Leaders Initiative, which gives scholarships for 1,000 African leaders to study in the U.S. each summer.
Zelalem, out of prison but unable to get back his university teaching job, followed Obama's advice. He applied and was accepted to the Young African Leaders Initiative. This summer, he was supposed to study civic leadership at the University of Virginia.
He won't be going. Ethiopian immigration officials confiscated his passport at Bole International Airport in November. They also took away the passports of four of his five colleagues who were released in advance of Obama's visit.
That's when Zone 9 became more than a metaphor. They were literally imprisoned in their own country.
Zelalem sees this as evidence of a new strategy. In past years, Ethiopia has been willing to let its critical citizens flee the country. (For several years, Ethiopia has ranked on or near the top of the list of countries with the most exiled journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.) Now, Zelalem says, the government may be deciding that it's better to keep critics close by.
"Especially for people like us working on social media," Zelalem says. "Whether we are here or in America or somewhere else, we may write and we can reach our audiences. Therefore, it's better to keep [us] here and silence [us]."
When I brought up Zelalem's case with Ethiopia's Minister of Communication, Getachew Redda, he said he wasn't familiar with it. But he offered a different explanation for the blogger's rough treatment at the hands of Ethiopian Immigration: Ethiopia's young institutions, he said — including its judges and immigration officials — could zealously overstep their bounds. They could even make mistakes that would take months or years to correct.
The minister's solution? "More capacity building."
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
#OromoProtests
(BBC) Oromo protesters ‘force suspension of Ethiopia university exams’
Ethiopia’s university entrance exams, due to start today, have been cancelled because one of the papers has been leaked online, reports the government-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate.
Pictures of the English exam have been widely shared on social media.
Minister of Education Shiferaw Shigute is quoted as saying: “After a cross check, we decided to terminate the whole exam since we had no evidence that the other exams were safe.”
People supporting the protests for greater rights for Ethiopia’s Oromo people are saying that they are responsible for the leak.
Photographs of some of the exam papers have been posted on one activist’s Facebook page:
The activists said they wanted Oromo students to have more time to study for the entrance exams after their high schools had been closed for several months during a wave of protests at the end of last year and the beginning of this year.
Ethiopia’s education ministry has said that a plan for new exams will be announced soon.
The Morality of Leaking Exams
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Forcing “a government of the 1%, for the 1% and by the 6%” into canceling a national exam is a heroic act of political dissent and probably the greatest political surprises of 2016. There is absolutely no moral case against the leaks but to try and concoct one is to ridicule the sorrow and anguish of Oromo students and the sacred dead of the #Oromoprotests. Those who are not visited by the loss and violence that rained down on Oromo students and their families have the moral obligation to stand with the Oromo students. If our ‘shared humanity’ and the ‘ethical universalism’ that you often invoke to dismiss the politics of the particular is nowhere to inform this claim, at least there is something to be said about the bonds of solidarity. If you can’t take the longer view of history, at least this is not too much of an inconvenience to take for a fellow student.
This government of the 6% knows well how to divide and conquer, from winning 100% of seats in parliament to manufacturing crisis in the Horn from which it reaps fruits, from manipulating food aid for political reasons to crippling and demobilizing opposition politics; from using its courts to eliminate political adversaries to conning the West into paying for its surveillance infrastructure. By producing policy driven evidence, it has managed to camouflage and obscure all of these things, with the cooperation of the West, of course. It was clear to this government what to do to convert absolute falsehoods into believable narrative facts. What to do or how to deal with the Oromo protests, however, is not. Awol Kassim Allo
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