This is what the dectator of Ethiopian government want to do to stay on power

December 6, 2017 1:01AM EST

Letter to Cyberbit Solutions re Sale and Use of Cyberbit Systems in Ethiopia

Dear Mr. Dar,

Human Rights Watch is an independent international organization that monitors human rights in more than 90 countries around the world. I am writing to request your input and perspective to incorporate into Human Rights Watch’s reporting on surveillance abuses in Ethiopia. Our reporting is based on a forthcoming report by Toronto-based research group, Citizen Lab.

We have recently learned through research conducted by Citizen Lab that several Ethiopian activists and commentators based in the United States and United Kingdom, along with one of Citizen Lab’s own research fellows, were targeted with email phishing attacks that, if successful, would have infected their electronic devices with spyware. The report also identifies dozens of other successfully infected devices belonging to unidentified targets in 20 countries. Once infected, the entity that controls the spyware would have unauthorized access to information stored on the targets’ devices. Citizen Lab’s analysis of the spyware log files for these attacks links them to Cyberbit’s PC Surveillance System (PSS) product and places the spyware’s operator inside Ethiopia. The report also identified potential product demonstrations to possible clients in several other countries, including Kazakhstan. Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

The Ethiopian government has a documented history of abusing surveillance technologies, which has facilitated a range of other human rights violations. In a 2014 report, Human Rights Watch documented how the Ethiopian government misused telecommunications surveillance systems and spyware to monitor the activities of perceived political opponents and to silence dissent and intimidate critics.

[1] The report describes how Ethiopian authorities have previously used spyware products sold by two other companies, UK/Germany-based FinFisher and Italy-based Hacking Team, to similarly target journalists and government critics outside of Ethiopia. Ethiopian authorities continued to misuse Hacking Team’s system to spy on individuals abroad through at least 2015, when a widely covered breach of the company’s corporate data confirmed its business in Ethiopia.

[2]Ethiopia’s national laws lack meaningful protections for the right to privacy, and the country’s broad security and law enforcement powers are not adequately regulated to prevent arbitrary, unlawful, or disproportionate surveillance. The Ethiopian government has also long invoked national security as a pretext for clamping down on human rights. For example, in a 2015 report, we documented how the government used counterterrorism laws to target journalists and others critical of government.

[3] At least 75 journalists have fled into exile since 2010.

Given this context, we want to better understand the circumstances under which Cyberbit’s product was obtained by the Ethiopian government and the steps Cyberbit takes to address any abuse of its products and services by its governmental customers, particularly government agencies seeking lawful intercept, intelligence, or offensive capabilities. We would appreciate specific replies to the following questions. This will greatly assist our understanding of Cyberbit, the products and solutions it offers, its approach to human rights risk, and how it would respond to credible reports of illegal surveillance and other human rights abuses linked to its products and services.

What products, services, or training has Cyberbit provided to the Ethiopian government? Has Cyberbit specifically sold its PC Surveillance System (PSS), PC 360, or a similar product that enables covert information gathering from remote computers to any Ethiopian governmental agency?

 Does Cyberbit currently have any governmental clients in the other countries identified in the Citizen Lab report as locations of potential product demonstrations, including Kazakhstan, Nigeria, the Philippines, Rwanda, Serbia, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, or Zambia?

What policies and procedures does Cyberbit have in place to vet potential sales or governmental customers? To what extent does Cyberbit inquire about the end use or end users of its products and services?

 Has Cyberbit ever conducted due diligence with respect to sales to the Ethiopian government, particularly by examining the government’s human rights record and past surveillance abuses targeting journalists and activists (for example, using FinFisher or Hacking Team products)?

 Can Cyberbit elaborate on any policies or procedures it has in place to address and prevent human rights abuses linked with the use of its products or services by governmental customers?

 How does Cyberbit monitor whether governmental customers are complying with the terms of their contracts or otherwise misusing its products? What steps, if any, does Cyberbit take if it uncovers violations of company contracts or the use of its products to facilitate human rights abuses by its customers?

 We would appreciate a response by December 5, 2017 in order to reflect your response, as well as any other perspectives you may wish to share, in our reporting.

Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to your responses to our inquiries. We would also welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues with you further.

[1] Human Rights Watch, “They Know Everything We Do”: Telecom and Internet Surveillance in Ethiopia, March 25, 2014, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2014/03/25/they-know-everything-we-do.

[2] “Ethiopia: Digital Attacks Intensify,” Human Rights Watch news release, March 9, 2015, https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/03/09/ethiopia-digital-attacks-intensify; “Ethiopia: Hacking Team Lax on Evidence of Abuse,” Human Rights Watch news release, August 13, 2015, https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/08/13/ethiopia-hacking-team-lax-evidence-a....

[3] Human Rights Watch, “Journalism Is Not a Crime”: Violations of Media Freedoms in Ethiopia, January 22, 2015, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2015/01/21/journalism-not-crime.

Region / Country Ethiopia

Topic Business Free Speech Internet Freedom

https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/12/06/letter-cyberbit-solutions-re-sale-and-use-cyberbit-systems-ethiopia

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.

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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