Trondheim OMN Fundraise and demonistration.

https://www.oromiamedia.org/2016/01/26/gabaasa-hiriira-mormii-biyya-norway-magaalaa-trondahaayimitti-taasifame-amaji-252016/

Oromo Libration front Leader

https://youtu.be/hPVHUxRpGb0

Down down wayaanee

https://youtu.be/YcxrjnsJwTI

#OrompProtests#OromoRevolution

The Ethiopian government can no longer justify the continued existence of the paramilitary force called Liyu Police. There can be no legitimate reason for a country that plays an active part in regional and global peacekeeping operations to keep its own peace with a notorious paramilitary force known for its lethal ferocity.

Lemma Megersa's administration and the OPDO should demand the immediate dissolution of this criminal force. If the federal government can't grant this, they too should be allowed to set up their own special forces to keep their own people from forces the Ethiopian army was unable to protect. When the federal government abnegates its supreme responsibility to provide peace and security - the last two public goods on which it legitimized its very existence - it falls on the regional government to defend its people and the nation's borders.

This force was created with a nefarious end in mind. Since its creation, its vicious particularity has been on display for the entire world to see. If it is not dealt with soon enough, it will be a much serious threat to Oromia and the country.

#OromoProtests

JIJJIIRAMA MORMII WALIIGALAA Marsaa 3ffaa.

Mormiin manaa bahuu diduu guutuu Oromiyaatti Wiixata as deemuuf erga waamame as komiin lama ka'eera. Tokko guyyaan mormii kun hiikaa tsoomii filsataa irra oole kan jedhu yoo tahu kan lammataa ammoo guyyoonni lama dhiibbaa barbaachisaa gochuuf gahaa miti kan jedhuudha. Nutis komii kana dhaggeeffannee irratti mari'annee murtii armaan gadii irra geenyeerra.

Tsoomiin filsataa gaafa Kibxataa waan ta'eef Mormiin Roobii Hagayya 17 irraa akka eegalu

Mormiin kun guyyoota shaniif akka ta'u. Kana jechuun Roobii Hagayya 17 eegalee Dilbata Hagayya 21 raaw'ata.

Warra sooma hiikuuf ayyaana gaarii hawwina. Kaayyoon keenya qaama hawaasa keenyaa kamiiyyuu osoo hin miine mirga ummataa kabachiisuudha.

Injifannoon kan ummata Oromooti
QEERROO AMBOO

#OromoProtests

CHANGE OF DATES FOR THE STAY-AT-HOME PROTEST
=================
It was to be recalled that a nation-wide call for a two day stay-at-home protest was made for 21-22 August, 2017.
However, it has become necessary to change the date from 21-22 August to 23-27 August, going continuously non-stop.
The reasons for the change are:1) the fact that it falls on the holiday (of breaking fasts commonly known as "Filseta Tsom" among the adherents of the Orthodox Christian faith); and 2) the fact that more time is needed in order to prepare for a more effective protest.
Consequently, the stay-at-home protest shall be effective for five consecutive days starting from the 23rd of August through to the 27th of August 2017.
To the people of the faith who break their fast of the season, we wish them all a very happy and festive holiday. Our goal is to try to have our peoples' rights protected without offending any groups thereof.
Victory to our people!
(From Qeerroo of Ambo)."

#OromoProtests

ማስታወቂያ
*********

በቀጣዩ ሳምንት ሰኞ እና ማክሰኞ ማለትም ነሃሴ 15 እና 16 በመላው ኦሮሚያ ከቤት ያለመውጣት የተቃውሞ አድማ በቄሮዎች ተጠርቷል። አድማው በነጋዴው ላይ ከአቅም በላይ የተጣለው ግብር እንዲነሳ፤ መሪዎችን ጫምሮ የፖሊቲካ እስረኞች እንዲፈቱ እንዲሁም በምስራቅ ኦሮሚያ የሶማሌ ክልል ልዩ ፖሊስ በህዝቡ ላይ የሚያደርሰው ወረራ እንዲቆም ለመጠየቅ የታቀደ ነው። በዚህ አድማ ህዝቡ ከቤቱ ሳይወጣ በሰላም ተቃውሞውን ያሰማል። ሱቆች አይከፈቱም፤ የትራንስፖርት አገልግሎት አይኖርም፤ የመንግስትም ሆነ የግል ሰራተኞች ስራ አይገቡም። ስለሆነም ህዝቡ አስቀድሞ ለሁለት ቀናት ቤት ለመዋል የሚያስችለውን ዝግጅት ከወዲሁ እንዲያደርግ የየአካባቢው የቄሮ አስተባባሪዎች ጥሪ አድርገዋል። በተጠቀሱት ቀናት የጉዞ እቅድ ያላቹ ሁሉ እቅዳቹን ከወዲሁ እንድትከልሱና እንድታስተካክሉ አስተባባሪዎቹ መክረዋል።

ይህንን አድማ ጥሰው በሚንቀሳቀሱት ላይ ጥብቅ እርምጃ እንደሚወሰዱ የአድማው አስተባባሪ ቄሮዎች ቡድን አስጠንቅቋል።

#OromoProtests

#INTEL

JUNE 29, 2017 / 2:04 AM / A MONTH AGO

Politics of Death: The map maker who finds the bodies in Ethiopia's land battle

Sally Hayden

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - It was late 2015 when Endalk Chala began documenting deaths in his home country of Ethiopia, scouring Facebook, Twitter, and blogs to piece together who had died and where.

Chala comes from Ginchi, a town 72 km (45 miles) from Addis Ababa where protests began in November 2015, initially over a government plan to allocate large swathes of farmland to the capital city for urban development.

The plan would have displaced thousands of Oromo farmers, the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia.

"There were reports that people were killed in the protests and no one was reporting about it. No one cared who these people are," Chala told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

"The information was all over the internet, not well organized. I just wanted to give perspective."

While the land re-allocation project was officially scrapped by authorities, protests and conflict reignited over the continued arrest and jailing of opposition demonstrators with full-scale protests over everything from Facebook to economics.

Several hundred protesters were killed in the 11 months to October 2016 when the government declared a state of emergency and shut down communications, including the internet.

ADVERTISEMENT

More than 50 people died at a single demonstration that month, after a stampede was triggered by police use of teargas to disperse anti-government protesters at a religious festival.

Witnesses also reported security forces firing live rounds into crowds of protesters at multiple locations.

A government report presented to parliament in April acknowledged a death toll 669 people - 33 of them security personnel - although activists believe it could be much higher.

For the government shutting off the internet for periods all but ended online contact across Ethiopia, leaving it to the Ethiopian diasporas to pull together the facts.

Diaspora's Database

Enter Chala, a PhD student in Oregon, the United States, who decided to log every death he could on an interactive map, inspired by a similar Palestinian project.

"I started to collect the information from the internet: Facebook, Twitter and blogs. And I started to contact the people who had put that information out," he said.

Once word spread that Chala was collating the deaths, Ethiopian friends and activists began to send details, including photographs of those injured and killed. They contacted Chala via social media and instant messaging applications like Viber.

Chala learned that Ethiopians in rural areas were driving miles to put evidence of the killings online, but he still feared there were information black holes.

In its report of 669 deaths presented to parliament, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission - which works for the government - blamed protesters for damaging land and property.

In the report, seen by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the Commission said the disturbances had damaged public services, private property and government institutions. It also cited harm to investment and development infrastructure.

However the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, criticized the government for a lack of accountability and called for access to protest sites.

Neither the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission nor the Ethiopian government responded to requests for comment.

Facebook Leads to Jail

In a country where fear of reprisals is common place, it is easier for those living outside Ethiopia to speak out, said Felix Horne, Ethiopia researcher at Human Rights Watch.

"Any time victims of human rights abuses share information with outside groups, with journalists – either domestic or international - there's often repercussions, quite often from local security officials," he said.

Horne said Facebook was a key source of information in the early stages of the protests but this was quickly seized on by the government and security officials checked students' phones.

Last month, an opposition politician was sentenced to 6-1/2 years in prison because of comments he wrote on Facebook.

Horne, whose organization also attempted to document the deaths, agreed that numbers are important for accountability, but said a focus on the death toll alone can be dehumanizing.

"We've talked to so many people who were shot by security forces. Many of them children. Many of them students. The numbers sort of dehumanizes these individuals."

Cost of Free Thinking

Benta, a 29-year-old veterinarian and former government employee who took part in the protests, saw nine people shot.

Speaking to the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Kenya, his new home, he recalled how a soldier fired directly on a car in Aje town, West Arsi on Feb. 15 last year. Five people were shot, two died and three were wounded, he said.

Six months later, on Aug. 6, Benta was participating in another protest in Shashamane in the Oromia region, when he saw four people shot. He says he was detained and tortured for nearly two months and has now made a new life in Nairobi.

"If you're expressing your freedom, you'll be shot, and if you're asking for your rights, you'll be detained," he said.

Chala said bullet wounds were the most common injuries visible on the photos that flooded in to him from Ethiopia and the brutality he witnessed has stayed with him.

"It really hit me very hard," he said.

"People will forget. They'll bottleneck their emotions and grievances and the government will just extend and buy some time, and there will be another bubble sometime in the future. That's a vicious circle."

Reporting by Sally Hayden @sallyhayd, Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths and Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org

© 2017 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.

#OSA2017#Notocensorship

#OSA2017 #Notocensorship

The Oromo Studies Association (OSA) is a scholarly association established with the goal of promoting “studies on and relevant to the Oromo people.” Like any such collective academic enterprise, it has its weaknesses and strengths. So it is right to denounce the association for its weaknesses but to criticize it for not indulging in censorship says a lot about the person hurling those insults than it says about the association. 

As a scholarly association dedicated to “the study and documentation” of the history and culture of the Oromo people, a politically marginalized group of people that have been fighting to claim a seat at the epistemic table, its job is to provide platforms for scholars and researchers to present their research.  You can disagree with the scholarly merit of particular claims or papers but to pronounce the death of ‘the association’ just because it offered its platform to individuals or views that you disagree with, with such grotesque hyperbole, shows just how intolerant your thin skin is. It is absurd to suggest that a scholarly association will cease to exist if it didn’t censor views unpalatable to some of us.

OSA is not a political organization. It is a scholarly association. Scholarly associations are there to promote academic inquiry and defend the freedom of thought and expression, not to engage in unbridled censorship. If you are calling for the death of this association in the name of the struggle of the Oromo people for freedom and justice, just remember that your struggle is not about dismantling oppression and oppressive structures. You are looking to install your own version of the oppressive structures we now have. #OSA2017.                          By Awol Kassim Allo

#Oromo#Oromiya

አልጠግብ ባይ ሲተፋ ያድራል እንደሚባለው ወያኔ እስከዛሬ የዘረፈው አልበቃ ብሎት በነጋዴው ማህበረሰብ ላይ 10 እጥፍ የግብር ጭማሪ ለማድረግ እየሞከረ ነው። ይህ ጭማሪ ምንም አሳማኝ ምክንያት የለውም። ባለፈው አመት ሀገሪቷ በፖሊቲካ ቀውስ ስትታመስ እንደነበረች ሁሉም ያውቃል። ያ ቀውስ የንግድ እንስቃሴን ክፉኛ ጎድቷል። ተቃውሞው መንገዶችን እየዘጋ የንግድ እንክስቃሴን ያወከ ሲሆን፣ የአስቸኳይ ጊዜ አዋጁ የንግድ ቤቶች ሳይመሽ እንዲዘጉ በማድረግ እና ሁለገብ እንቅሳቅሴን በማስተጓጎል የነጋዴውን ገቢ ክፉኛ ጎድቷል። እናም የነጋዴው ገቢ በመቀነሱ ዘንድሮ ግብር ይቀንሳል ተብሎ ነበር የተጠበቀው። በብዙ እጥፍ ማሳደጉ ማንም ያልጠበቀው ምንም ኢኮኖሚያዊ አመከንዮ የሌለው ነው። እናም የነጋዴው ማህበረሰብ ይህን ምክንያታዊ ያል ሆነ ጭማሪ እምቢ የማለት ህጋዊ እና ሞራላዊ አውነት አለው። መንግስት በግድ አስከፍላለሁ ካለ ሌላውን ህብረተሰብ ያሳተፈ ከፍተኛ ተቃውሞ ይጠብቀዋል። በኦሮሚያ ተቃውሞዎች ከወዲሁ ጀምረዋል። በአምቦ፣ ጉደር እንዲሁም በምስራቅ ሀረርጌ ነጋዴዎች በቅዳሜ የገበያ ቀን ሱቆቻቸውን በመዝጋት እምቢተኝነታቸውን እየገልጹ ነው። እናም መንግስት ተብዬው ቆም ብሎ ሊያስብበት ይገባል። ዘንድሮ ነጋዴው ልክ ያአምናውን ያክል ግብር እንዲከፍል ይደረግ። የ 1% ጭማሪም ተቀባይነት የለውም።

#Oromo#for#Oromiya

Why Oromia won't give away Finfinne land to the Federal gov't of Ethiopia much like what Maryland & Virginia did in the United States of America
******

1) The true geographic size of Oromia is larger than France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium & the Netherlands combined. On the other hand, the size of Finfinne/Addis Ababa city is just 0.08% of that of Oromia [by the most exaggerated estimate].

2) This means that it isn't that difficult, land resource wise, for Oromia to give this tiny piece of land (of Finfinne) to the federal gov't of Ethiopia freely [like Maryland & Virginia gave their own pieces of land to the federal gov't of the US on which DC is established]. But Oromia won't do this for a couple of reasons:

A) Historically, Finfinne marks the first spot of the Abyssinian military attack on the Oromo where the later did start losing [Remember what happened to the Abichu, Galan & Gulale Oromo since the time of Minilik's grand pa in the 1920s]. For this reason, the Oromo do regard Finfinne as a historical land in their territory where foreign invasion as supported by modern military weapon did happen to shift the balance of power in the region. Mark this one for historical reason :)

B) Today, the most hostile adversaries of Oromo struggle for just cause are concentrated in this city. The most vocal schools of denial vis-a-vis the Oromo JUST CAUSE and their politico-religious deans are all settled in the garrison town/city of Finfinne today [but next only to the diaspora-based neftegna sons & daughters associations]. These are out right racists who dismiss the Oromo mov't as "racism"--but in their own terms.
.
.
That's why the Oromoo Qeerroo ALWAYS chant "Finfinneen kan Oromooti!"

_
Cc: ሸነግ

#FreeDrMararaGuddina#FreeBekeleGarba

#StateOfEmergency/Africa/Ethiopia/Law & Order/Protests/Terrorism Charges

NEWS: ETHIOPIA PROSECUTORS ONCE AGAIN DISMISS DR. MERERA’S SECOND OBJECTION, COURT TO GIVE ITS VERDICT

 addisstandard /  June 20, 2017/ 4.7k

Mahlet Fasil

Addis Abeba, June 20/ 2017 – Federal prosecutors have today submitted their objections against the statement from Dr. Merera Gudina. Last month, Dr. Merera’ lawyers have submitted a letter requesting for the criminal charges against him to be separated from the terrorism charges against the two foreign based media organizations OMN and ESAT, in the same file. Today, the court received the written objection from the prosecutors and adjourned the next hearing to give its verdict to July 07.

Dr. Merera, Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) has objected to the charges stating, among others, the multiple criminal charges he is facing as having nothing to do with the terrorism charges brought against OMN and ESAT, which are co-defendants in the same file.

In their response today, prosecutors have asked the court to dismiss Dr. Merera’s objection on the grounds that he has failed to include his objection along with his preliminary Objection. Prosecutors have also made a case that the charges against all defendants in the same file, including Jawar Mohammed, executive director of OMN, and Dr. Berhanu Nega, leader the Patriotic G7, a rebel group already listed as a terrorist organization, are interrelated in many ways.

Dr. Merera’s initial preliminary objection included for the charges against him to be dismissed all together or his right to a bail to be upheld. The court dismissed both and upheld prosecutors’ request. However, on June 02, the defense team of Dr. Merera submitted another objection stating the criminal charges against Dr. Merera to be separated from the terrorism charges against OMN and ESAT, listed as co-defendants in a file under his name.

Dr. Merera is facing multiple criminal charges that include an attempt to violently overthrow the constitutional order. Except for Dr. Merera, the case against all defendants is being seen in absentia.

***
In a related news, during the last hearing on June 2nd, the judges have told federal Prosecutors that the terrorism charges against OMN and ESAT lacked critical details such as the legal status of the organizations, timeline of their establishments and countries they were operating from. Today, prosecutors have submitted an improved version of the charges against the two media organizations.

However, this morning the court has declined to give copies of the improved charges to lawyers representing Dr. Merera Gudina stating that they were not representing the media organizations. The court also adjourned to give its response to the improved charges on the same date on July 07. AS

#OromoProtests

 NOVEMBER 7, 2016 5:42AM EST Australia: Protests Prompt Ethiopia Reprisals Visa for Abusive Ethiopian Official Raises Concerns (Sydney) – The Ethiopian government has arrested and detained dozens of relatives of Ethiopians who participated in a Melbourne protest in June, 2016, and is still holding many of them four months later, Human Rights Watch said today.  Ethiopian Australians protest against an Ethiopian government delegation visiting Melbourne, Australia, June 2016. © 2016 Private On June 12, members of Australia’s Ethiopian community who are from Somali Regional State protested the visit to Australia of an Ethiopian regional government delegation that included Abdi Mohamoud Omar, known as Abdi Iley, the president of Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State. They were also protesting Australia’s support for the Ethiopian government. The Ethiopian delegation did not appear, and after several hours the event was cancelled. The protesters later learned that several dozen of their relatives in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State had been arrested and detained due to their involvement in the Melbourne protest. “Abdi Mohamoud Omar and his colleagues have added collective punishment to their long list of abuses against the people of Somali Regional State,” said Felix Horne, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Australian government should raise their concerns with their Ethiopian counterparts at the highest levels.”  Relatives of Australia’s Ethiopian community, who protested against the visit of an Ethiopian regional government delegation to Australia, were arrested due to their involvement in the protest. Human Rights Watch interviewed 10 members of the Ethiopian Somali community in Australia between July and September 2016.They told Human Rights Watch that at least 32 family members had been arrested in Ethiopia. Some have since been released but most were still in detention, the relatives said. The Ethiopian government should immediately release the relatives of the Melbourne protesters, whose detention amounts to unlawful collective punishment of family members, Human Rights Watch said. Ethiopian Somali protesters in Melboune expressed particular concern over Abdi Mohamoud Omar’s visit. The Liyu police, a paramilitary unit that reports directly to Abdi Mohamoud Omar, has been responsible for numerous serious human rights abuses, including extrajudicial executions and torture. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Human Rights Watch that Abdi Mohamoud Omar’s visa application did not raise any serious concerns. The Australian government should ensure that foreign officials implicated in serious human rights abuses do not receive visas, Human Rights Watch said. Numerous Ethiopian Somali Australians said that pro-government supporters living in Australia regularly harass community members perceived as government opponents. Several protesters said that these supporters called or personally confronted them in the days following the arrests and pressed them to make a video pledging support for Abdi Mohamoud Omar in order to secure the release of their relatives. At least three members of Australia’s Ethiopian Somali community have done this. One man described pleas from his family members: “If you do not record something, they will kill us.” Threatening demands for video apologies have been a regular tactic of the Somali Regional State government, Human Rights Watch said. People from Somali Regional State who live in the United States, Canada, and northern Europe have described similar networks and tactics by pro-government supporters there. These videos are often posted to the state-run broadcaster, ESTV, and to various pro-government websites.  Shukri, a Somali-Ethiopian Australian, who protested against the visit of Ethiopia’s President of the Somali Regional State, Abdi Mohamoud Omar, to Melbourne, Australia, in June 2016. In retaliation, Ethiopian paramilitary police rounded up members of Shukri’s family in Ethiopia. © 2016 Human Rights Watch “I don’t feel safe here,” one Australian said. “I thought I was safe. When I came, [I thought] now I will be in a free country. To be in Australia and be scared all the time, it doesn’t go together.” One of the recently released detainees told his relative in Australia that security personnel hit him every night. His interrogators told him: “If you want to be released, you have to talk to [your relative] about support[ing] the government. You have to talk to people and then those people will take it to the embassy.” Arbitrary detention is commonplace in Somali Regional State, and detainees describe frequent torture and other ill-treatment in the region’s many detention sites. Australia has a strong and growing economic relationship with Ethiopia, and Australian companies are exploring opportunities in Ethiopia in mining, energy, and agriculture. In July, an Australia trade delegation from the state of Victoria visited Ethiopia. Granting a visa to Abdi Mohamoud Omar, who previously visited Australia in 2012, raises concerns about the Australian government’s vetting process of people implicated in serious rights abuses. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection is responsible for assessing visa applications and can refuse visas to people suspected of involvement in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Given the significant evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity by Ethiopian forces in the country in 2007-2008 while Abdi Mohamoud Omar was the Somali Regional State head of security, his visa application should have raised serious questions, Human Rights Watch said. However, Australian government officials told Human Rights Watch that Abdi Mohamoud Omar’s visa raised no red flags. In response to a letter from Human Rights Watch, the Australian government wrote that “all non-citizens wishing to enter Australia are assessed against relevant public interest criteria, including foreign policy interest, national security and character requirements in accordance with relevant legislation. This includes foreign officials with potential character concerns or subject to allegations of human rights abuses.”  A Somali-Ethiopian Australian who protested against the visit of Ethiopia’s President of the Somali Regional State, Abdi Mohamoud Omar, to Melbourne, Australia, in June 2016. “My mother, brother, and sister were all arrested back home. It makes me sad. I was driving a taxi, but I cannot work now. I can’t answer the phone. I cannot sleep. All my family. It’s because of me.” © 2016 Human Rights Watch “Ethiopia has severely cracked down down on protests at home, but has gone a cruel step further by trying to silence Ethiopians protesting abroad by punishing their family members,” Horne said. “These relatives are being wrongfully held and should immediately be released.” For additional information, please see below. The Melbourne Protest The generally peaceful protest on June 12 was marred by several scuffles, in which one man was injured, and the filming of protesters by government supporters. Several protesters said that a United States citizen connected to the Ethiopian ruling party, who was traveling with Abdi Mohamoud Omar, threatened protesters, saying “You will see what will happen to your relatives.” Another protester said that pro-government Ethiopian Australians threatened him at the event, saying, “You will see what happens.” Several witnesses said that Ethiopian government supporters filmed them using smartphones, which would facilitate identifying their relatives in Somali Regional State. Within hours, protesters started receiving calls from family members in Ethiopia saying that relatives – some as old as 85 – had been arrested because of the Melbourne protest. One protester said he later heard from his family: “When they [Liyu police] arrested my brothers, they told them, ‘Your brother is protesting and that’s why we are arresting you.’” Another protester said, “Around 8 p.m. I got a phone call from my uncle back home. He said, ‘Two of your uncles were taken by the security and we don’t know where they went. … [I]t’s about you as they said your nephew did this or that to President Abdi Iley [Abdi Mohamoud Omar], that’s why.’ They took them away to jail.” The 70-year-old mother of a protester was among those arrested. Before taking her to a military camp, the Liyu police asked her: “Are you the mother of [name withheld]? Your son created trouble for the [regional] president.” She was held for almost a month. She told her son that uniformed captors had beaten her in custody.  Ethiopian government delegation, led by Abdi Mohamoud Omar (center), meets with Australian government officials in Canberra, June 2016 Some other relatives of protesters, particularly the sick and the elderly, have also been released, but on the condition that their Australian relatives make a video apologizing to Abdi Mohamoud Omar for their “anti-government” behavior. Other relatives arrested following the protest remain in detention in various locations in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State. Conflict, Abuses in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State, consisting largely of ethnic Somalis, has been the site of a low-level insurgency by the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) for more than 15 years. The ethnic Somali armed movement, largely supported by members of the Ogaden clan, has sought greater political autonomy for the region. Following the insurgent group’s April 2007 attack on an oil installation in Obole, which resulted in the deaths of 70 civilians and the capture of several Chinese oil workers, the Ethiopian government carried out a major counterinsurgency campaign incurring serious human rights abuses. In 2008, Human Rights Watch found that security forces were involved in extrajudicial executions, torture, rape, and forced displacement of civilians. Human Rights Watch believes the Ethiopian National Defense Force and the insurgent group both committed war crimes between mid-2007 and early 2008, and that the military could be responsible for crimes against humanity. Abdi Mohamoud Omar was the head of security of Somali Regional State during this period. Since 2008, the paramilitary Liyu police, who report directly to Abdi Mohamoud Omar, have frequently been accused of extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, and violence against civilians accused of supporting or being sympathetic to the ONLF, including in 2012 when the Liyu police summarily executed 10 civilans. Abdi Mohamoud Omar has been the president of Somali Regional State since 2010. Since 2008, a number of victims of government abuses have told Human Rights Watch that Abdi Mohamoud Omar was present during interrogations, ordering – and in some cases directly involved in – their torture and that he was present during executions of civilians. One man detained in 2006 in a military camp told Human Rights Watch in July 2016: When Abdi Iley [Abdi Mohamoud Omar] got frustrated that they [soldiers] did not do what he wanted then he did it himself. He would tell them to hit harder or take matters into his own hands. Abdi Iley [Abdi Mohamoud Omar] would say “You must confess.” I was tortured. … We were handcuffed with our arms over our legs, with the legs pulled up. They would put a rod under our legs and hang us up so our head falls back and we hang upside down. I would be hung upside down for periods of 15 minutes and they would hit my buttocks and feet. It was very painful. They would keep us like this for 15 or 20 minutes. Abdi Iley [Abdi Mohamoud Omar] was present for some of these interrogations when we were hanging upside down. The stick was like a rubber hose with an iron bar inside. Once, Abdi Iley[Abdi Mohamoud Omar] thought the officer was not hitting hard enough [so] he took an iron bar himself. A number of people have also alleged that Abdi Mohamoud Omar threatened them on social media. Limitations on access to Ethiopia in general, and Somali Regional State specifically, have not made it possible to corroborate these claims. The Ethiopian government has never meaningfully investigated abuses by the military or Liyu police in the Somali region. International human rights groups are not permitted access to to the area. The government has used various tactics to silence the diaspora. Human Rights Watch has documented numerous examples in which family members of Ethiopians who have been vocal abroad were targeted for arrest or harassment. They have also been targeted for surveillance using European-made malware. Diaspora-based websites are often blocked inside Ethiopia, and the government regularly jams diaspora television and radio stations. Region / Country Africa Ethiopia Australia More Reading  May 26, 2017 News Release Uganda: Set Independent Inquiry in November Killings  May 26, 2017 Commentary 'Every Year, I Give Birth': Why War is Driving a Contraception Crisis in Sudan Skye Wheeler Researcher, Women's Rights Division Published In: The Guardian Source URL: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/07/australia-protests-prompt-ethiopia-reprisals Links [1] https://www.hrw.org/africa/ethiopia [2] https://www.hrw.org/view-mode/modal/296177 [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XetB4xHbZnE [4] https://www.hrw.org/asia/australia [5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XJJKs__RJk [6] https://www.hrw.org/about/people/felix-horne [7] https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/28/ethiopia-special-police-execute-10 [8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLjDLUK7tNo [9] https://www.hrw.org/view-mode/modal/296192 [10] https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/ethiopia0608_1.pdf [11] https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/annual-reports/DIBP-Annual-Report-2014-15.pdf [12] https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/supporting_resources/australia_government_response_to_hrw.pdf [13] https://www.hrw.org/view-mode/modal/296195 [14] https://www.hrw.org/view-mode/modal/296197 [15] https://www.hrw.org/news/2008/06/12/ethiopia-army-commits-executions-torture-and-rape-ogaden [16] https://www.hrw.org/report/2008/06/12/collective-punishment/war-crimes-and-crimes-against-humanity-ogaden-area-ethiopias [17] https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/03/25/ethiopia-telecom-surveillance-chills-rights [18] https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/03/25/they-know-everything-we-do/telecom-and-internet-surveillance-ethiopia [19] https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/01/21/journalism-not-crime/violations-media-freedoms-ethiopia [20] https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Australia%3A%20Protests%20Prompt%20Ethiopia%20Reprisals%20https%3A//www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/07/australia-protests-prompt-ethiopia-reprisals [21] https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A//www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/07/australia-protests-prompt-ethiopia-reprisals [22] whatsapp://send?text=Australia%3A%20Protests%20Prompt%20Ethiopia%20Reprisals%20-%20https%3A//www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/07/australia-protests-prompt-ethiopia-reprisals [23] mailto:?subject=Australia%3A%20Protests%20Prompt%20Ethiopia%20Reprisals&body=https%3A//www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/07/australia-protests-prompt-ethiopia-reprisals [24] http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A//www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/07/australia-protests-prompt-ethiopia-reprisals&title=Australia%3A%20Protests%20Prompt%20Ethiopia%20Reprisals [25] https://plus.google.com/share?url=https%3A//www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/07/australia-protests-prompt-ethiopia-reprisals [26] http://reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/07/australia-protests-prompt-ethiopia-reprisals&title=Australia: Protests Prompt Ethiopia Reprisals [27] https://telegram.me/share/url?url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/07/australia-protests-prompt-ethiopia-reprisals&text=Australia: Protests Prompt Ethiopia Reprisals