#AbiyMustGo#Ethiopia

The Ethiopian court resumed Friday's trial of Johar Muhammad by listening to witness statements as usual behind the curtain without disclosing their identity.

The most prominent of what Johar Muhammad spoke in court today is about the judicial system quoted from his lawyer... He expressed his disappointment and stated the following:

′′ All demands or rights of popular movement must start reforming the judiciary by securing independence from politics and if the judiciary is corrupted, how do we protect people's dignity, honor, money and symptoms....

In Ethiopia, the politicization of the judiciary and the establishment of military courts to prosecute and prosecute political opponents, not the son of the moment, it is part of the corruption of the state... Even the same legal texts do not include and do not adopt any principle of immunization of the independence of the judiciary and separation of powers..

Keeping opponents for years in prison without being tried or tried military, these were the first letters of adapting the law, hacking the judiciary and re-installing the judiciary to suit his policies and subject him to the ruling authority of the country.

The real cleansing must be taken place within the judicial institution than it was in the light of the years of tyranny and corruption, so we achieve protection of rights and freedoms and social balance, as independent judiciary is an interest for the homeland and a necessary refuge for society and the whole country. The judicial crisis must also be addressed through fundamental constitutional amendments.. Johar Muhammad said that the integrity of the judiciary is a prerequisite for addressing corruption and achieving peace and stability... And by achieving it we reach a peaceful society that believes in the rule of law.. And I don't say this to push my innocence or your pleading, what is the value of the slogans of credibility and integrity and you lack it, but offend the justice system, fairness and flagrant violation of laws, sudden, waste of time and lack of appreciation for the defense authority and what They do it to push the wheel of the rule of law..... If you want, release us and if you want, kill us... It's not that important anymore.. We are more concerned for future generations about the form of the judicial system that doesn't work than Their time and not seeking justice and everything they do is providing legal cover for different power practices, especially in their accounts with opposition political forces..

What is the purpose of the judiciary if it is not to protect Ethiopian civil society and the interests and rights of people and secures proper justice?

Judicial function should not be recited according to governments change because the logic of justice stems from the logic of the judicial institution and not the disputes of individuals and authorities.

Dejene Gutema

#AbiyMustGo#Ethiopia

OMN: (September 4,2020) እኔ ምንም ዓይነት ወንጀል እንደሌለብኝ መቶ በመቶ አውቃለሁ፤ ከዚህ ቀደምም ሀሰተኛ መስካሪዎች ሀሰተኛ ስምና ማንነትነትን ተላብሰው አጠገቤ ቁጭ ብለው በሀሰት መስክረውብኝ ተፈርዶብኝ ነበር ፤ ዛሬም ያንኑን እየደገሙ ነው ሲሉ አቶ በቀለ ገርባ ለፍርድ ቤት ተናገሩ።

የአገሪቷ የፍትህ ስርዓቱ ተንኮተኩቷል፤ አቶ በቀለ ገርባ

እኔና ቤተሰቤ በአገሪቷ የፍትህ ስርዓት ክፉኛ ከተጎዱት ውስጥ አንዱ ነን፤ እኔ ደምበኛችሁ ሆኜአለሁ ያሉት በሚድያ እኛን ጭራቅ አድርጎ የማቅረብ ዘመቻ ቀጥሎበታል በማለት ተናግረዋል።

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በቀለ ገርባ በችሎት ከተናገራቸው:

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ለአገራችን ይጠቅማል ብለን ያሰብነውን ሁሉ ከመናገር ወደ ኋላ አንልም። የአገሪቷ የፍትህ ስርዓቱ ተንኮታኩአል። እኔና ቤተሰቤ በአገሪቷ የፍትህ ስርዓት ክፉኛ ከተጎዱት ውስጥ አንዱ ነን። እኔ ደምበኛችሁ ሆኜአለሁ። እውነት ነው፣ ከእኛ በፊት የኦሮሞ ትንታግ ምሁራን ከእኛ በላይ ተጎደተዋል። ግን አሁንም ያ በደል በልጆቻቸው በእኛም ላይ ቀጥሎአል።

እኔ ምንም አይነት ወንጀል እንደሌለብኝ መቶ በመቶ አውቃለሁ። ከዚህ ቀደምም ሀሰተኛ መስካሪዎች ሀሰተኛ ስምና ማንነትነትን ተላብሰው አጠገቤ ቁጭ ብለው በሀሰት መስክረውብኝ ተፈርዶብኝ ነበር። ዛሬም ያንኑን እየደገሙ ነው። አንድ ግልጽ መሆን ያለበት ነገር አለ፣ እኔ በእውነተኛ ምስክር የተረጋገጠ ጥፋት ከተገኘብኝ ለመቀጣት ዝግጁ ነኝ። ደስም ይለኛል። ግን እየተካሄደብን ያለው ነገር እንደዚያ አይደለም።

በሚድያ እኛን ጭራቅ አድርጎ የማቅረብ ዘመቻ ቀጥሎበታል። ከዚሁ ዘመቻ የተነሳ እዚህ ያላችሁ ሰዎች ጭምር ስለ እኛ ምን አይነት አመለካከት እንዳላቸሁ ስጋት አለን።ስምና ምስሎቻችን የሌሉበት የለም: ዩቲዩብ፣ የህትመት ሚድያ፣ ማህበራዊ ሚድያዎች፣ ጋዜጦች ወዘተ የሌለበት የለም።

እኛ በአገር ውስጥም ሆነ በውጭ አገር ሰርተን ጥሩ ኑሮ ለመኖር እድሉም ብቃቱም ያለን ሰዎች ነን። የአገራችን ጉዳይ ቢያሳስበን የህዝባችንን ችግር እንፍታ ብለን ነው እንጂ ወደ ትግሉ የገባን። የተከሰስንበት ወንጀሎች ሙሉ በሙሉ አልፈጸምንም። እንዲያውም እኔና ጀዋር በተቃራኒው እርቅን ለማውረድ የምንችለውን አድርገናል፤ የህዝቦች ግንኙነት ለመመለስ ብዙ ሰርተናል፤ ቤተክርስቲያንና መስጂድ የኛው ንብረቶች ናቸው፣ ጉዳት እንዳይደርስባቸው ጠብቁ ብለን አስተምረናል። ያለ በደላችን ነው የተወነጀልነው።

ከቅርብ ዓመታት ወዲህ፣ የበላይነትን ለመቀዳጀት እየተውተረተረ ያለ አካል እየታየ መጥቷል። እኛ እኩልነት ብቻ ብለን ነው እነዚህን የተቃወምናቸው። ለዚህም ከሌሎች ጭቁን ብሄሮች ጎን ቆመናል። ለምሳሌ የዎላይታ ህዝብ ህገ መንግስታዊ መብቱን በመጠየቁ ለትልቅ ጉዳት መዳረጉን ተቃውመናል። አሁንም እንዲህ አይነት ግንኘነታችን ይቀጥላል። እኩልነትና ፍትሀዊነት ብቻ ነው መፍትሄው። የበላይነትን የሚፈልግ የመንግስት መዋቅር ውስጥ የተሰገሰገው አካልን በመቃወማችን ነው ኢላማ ተደርጎብን የታሰርነው።

ሌላው ነገር፣ ደሞዝ የሚገባበት የሁሉም ቤተሰቤ የባንክ የሂሳብ ደብተር ታግዶብናል። እኛ በዘረፋ አልተከሰስንም፤ የባንክ የሂሳብ ደብተራችንን አግደውብን እያስራቡን ነው። አዝናለሁ። ቤተሰባችንን የማገድና የማንገላታት ዘመቻ ይቁምልን።

በመጨረሻም፣ ሀቀኛ ምስክር ይቅረብብንና እንቀጣለን፤ ጥፋተኞች መሆናችን በትክክል ከተረጋገጠ በሞታችንም ቢሆን ይህች አገር ሰላም ታገኝ። ሀቀኛ በሆነው ነገር ላይ ከፍርድ ቤቱና ከአቃቤ ህግ ጎን እንቆማለን።

(Source: Oromo Political Prisoners Defence Team)

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

FULBAANA 3, 2020 | SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2020 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

We would like to highlight important points that the international community should know regarding the political situation in Ethiopia after October 10th, 2020.

As is now publicly known, the political situation in Ethiopia, particularly in Oromia, is fast approaching the brink. The self-described “reformist” government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 as the result of a relentless, dedicated pro-democracy protest movement spearheaded by Oromo youth, more than five-thousand of whom were slain by Ethiopian security forces for daring to ask that their rights be respected. Abiy Ahmed’s government promised change and yet, tragically, it has instead wasted all the goodwill afforded to it by the people by choosing to prolong its time in power by any means necessary, including committing the very same mass human rights abuses that the previous regime was responsible for.

These human rights abuses have been occurring for the last two years and have been well documented by organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. However, for most of the world, it is the horrific events of the last month that exposed just how little has changed in Ethiopia in respect to the barbaric conduct of security forces, the clear bias of the justice system, and the government’s tendency to deny all wrongdoing in the face of indisputable evidence. Its misgovernance has led to immense suffering across the country.

The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), as stated in our May 30th, 2020 Statement, is engaged in continued armed struggle precisely to end the cycle of dictatorship that has plagued Oromia and Ethiopia for much too long. We observed from our early dealings with Abiy Ahmed’s regime that little had changed in regards to the government’s lack of commitment to the democratic principles enshrined in the country’s constitution.

Instead, Abiy Ahmed’s government showed itself to be particularly skillful in maintaining a positive public image through the use of a public relations network that was able to prop the Prime Minister, whose forces are responsible for a litany of human rights abuses, as someone deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Today, Abiy Ahmed has used the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to indefinitely postpone the much anticipated general elections, a transparently unconstitutional act. It is worth noting that the regime has never won a single free and fair election and, hence, even its current mandate to rule is questionable.

However, upon the advent of October 10th, 2020, it will lose all legitimacy as the Parliament’s constitutionally allotted term will end. It is in regards to this that the OLA would like to bring to the attention of international community the following critical issues:

1) As Abiy Ahmed’s regime will lose legal mandate on October 10th, 2020, in accordance to the country’s constitution, it will no longer have the authority to approve or receive any loan, grant, or credit from multinational financial institutions such as the World Bank, the AfDB, European Investment bank, etc. or from other governments. Any entity that does engage in a financial agreement with Abiy Ahmed’s regime after October 10th, 2020, must understand that the people will be legally absolved of any liability regarding the repayment of any loan or credit.

Moreover, we have legitimate concerns that the regime will use these financial resources to stifle democratic dispensations and support its massive army and security apparatus. Therefore, we strongly advise that financial institutions closely monitor the disbursement of existing loans and credits to ensure that they are used for the intended purposes as per the financing agreement signed between them and the Ethiopian government.

2) For the same reason stated above, we would like to warn local and foreign investors that any investment deal reached with Abiy Ahmed’s regime after October 10th, 2020, in particular those involving land transactions, will be illegal.

3) We advise that any humanitarian assistance, be it financial or material, should be handled by credible local and international NGOs and not through the government apparatus. We have reason to believe these resources will not reach the intended segment of the population if left to government institutions.

4) Lastly, as it is clear that the security situation of Oromia and the country as a whole will most likely further deteriorate, we strongly advise foreign nationals to refrain from traveling to Ethiopia as the soon to be illegitimate regime of Abiy Ahmed will not be able to guarantee the security of foreign nationals. Therefore, travel to Ethiopia should be very selective.

The OLA will continue in its efforts to secure peace, safety, and constitutional rule for the Oromo people and the other nations and nationalities of Ethiopia. As we have stated before, and as time has proven repeatedly, the Ethiopian government’s various political negotiations and deals that purposefully exclude the OLA have only resulted in complete failures that have further postponed the attainment of peace and stability in the country.

IUOf

OROMO LIBERATION ARMY- CENTRAL COMMAND

WARAANA BILISUMMAA OROMOO- AJAJAA OLAANAA

Oromia Media Network Oromia News Network – ONN Kush Media Network – KMN Kello Media Media Ko BBC News Afaan Oromoo BBS: Bultum Broadcasting Services

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

Human Rights Watch

Amnesty International

UN Human Rights Council

Three years ago when Bekelle Gerba walked out free from chamber of torture said that " Prison is not were one appreciates to be ....unfortunately it has become the fate of many our people. " 

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This endless tragedy has never end today. It has continued Bekelle Gerba, Jawar Mohammed ,Abdi Regassa, Lammii Beenyaa and many more Oromo freedom fighters are suffering in prison now a days for speaking their mind and being Oromo. 

#Oromo_Protests

#Free_all_political_prisoners

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

መፍረስ?

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ለመሆኑ 150 ዓመት ሙሉ አገር እየፈረሰብን፣ ሕግና ሥርዓት እየፈረሰብን፣ ዕምነትና ልማድ እየተናደብን፣ ታሪክና ማንነት እየተሻረብን፣ ቤትና ቤተሰብ እየፈረሰብን፣ ሕዝብና ማህበረሰብ እየተደረመሰብን፣ ሕይወትና አካል እየጎደለብን፣ ዕለት ዕለት እየተገደልን ለኖርን ለእኛ፣ መብት ሲጠየቅ "ትፈርሳለች" የምትባለዋ አገር እንደምን ያለች ናት? 

ወንድሜ፣ ያንተዋ ኢትዮጵያ የፈረሰችውስ፣ እኛ መብትና ፍትህ ስለጠየቅን ሳይሆን፣ የእኛን መብት በመግፋት፣ የእኛን የሕዝቦቿን ሰብዓዊ ክብር በመርገጥ፣ እኛን ለማፍረስ ተማምላ ከቤት የወጣች ዕለት ነው።

አብይና የወንጀለኛ ስብስብ የሆነው የብልጥግና 'መንግሥቱም' የፈረሱት፣ እኛን በማፍረስ "ኢትዮጵያን [ከእኛ ከሕዝቦቿ፣ በተለይ ከኦሮሞ] ለመታደግ" በሚል የእብድ መፈክር ዙሪያ መማማል የጀመረ ዕለት ነው።

እና መብት ስለተጠየቀ የሚፈርስ አገር የለም።

የመብትና የፍትህ ጥያቄ የሚያፈርሰው 'አገር' ከሆነም፣ ድሮም አገር አልነበረም ማለት ነው። የመብትና የፍትህ ጥያቄን የማይቋቋምና የማይመልስ፣ አልፎም የሚፈራ አገር፣ አገር ሊባል የተገባ አይደለምና መኖርም የለበትም።

አገር ምድር አይደለም። አገር ፖለቲካዊ ማህበረሰብ ነው። መብቶችንና ጥቅሞችን አሰባስቦ፣ አስማምቶ፣ አቻችሎ በጋራ የሚተዳደር፣ ሥርዓትና ተቋማት ያለው ነገር (entity) ነው። ለዚህ ነው "አገር ማለት ሕዝብ ነው፣ አገር ማለት ሰዉ ነው" የሚባለው።

ሰው እያፈረስክ የምትገነባውም ሆነ የምታድነው አገር የለም።

አንድ ሰው ስትገድል፣ የአንድ ዜጋን መብት አላግባብ ስትጥስ፣ አገራዊ መርሆዎችንና እሴቶችን ስታንኳስስ፣ ያኔ ነው አገር ማፍረስ የጀመርከው።

ሕዝብን ስታፈርስ፣ ወይም ለማፍረስ አቅደህ ላይ ታች እያልክ ስትንከላወስ፣ ያኔ ነው እንደ አገር የፈረስከው።

የሕዝብን ሰብዓዊ ክብር ስታዋርድ፣ ሕዝብን እንደ ሕዝብ ለመስደብ ተደራጅተህ በሚዲያ ደቦ ተቧድነህ ለፕሮፓጋንዳ የሚሆን የሥራ ክፍፍል አድርገህ ስትዘምት፣ ያኔ ነው እንደ አንድ ፖለቲካዊ ማሕበረሰብ አገራዊ ቁመናህን ያጣኸው።

That's why we say #Abiy_is_the_past, and Ethiopia is the home that never was for us. And that's why we say...

#Abiy_must_be_removed!

#ለእነ_መፍረስ_ብርቁ #ለእነ_አፍራሽ!

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

Modest Proposals ( Tsegaye Ararsa )

===============

Do you want peace? Do these simple things:

1. Release all the political prisoners.

2. Stop the house arrest on Oromo leaders.

3. Stop the protracted state terror across Oromia.

4. Stop your divisive propaganda among religions, regions, and factions.

5. Free OMN.

6. Hands off Oromo media outlets.

7. Stop hate propaganda on Government media outlets and its affiliates.

8. Stop war-mongering on Tigray just because they are conducting elections.

9. Stop inciting violence and arming local vigilantes to perpetrate hate crimes.

10. Stop arming criminals and thugs against Oromos in cities such as Finfinnee. Stop terrorizing Oromos in Finfinnee and all the (garrison) towns. In particular, expose the ኢዜማ-ባልደራስ-ብልጥግና thugs who are organizing themselves "to launch urban guerrilla war" (የፈረንሳይ ሌጋሲዮን ሽምቅ ተዋጊዎች) and hold them to account.

11. Stop weaponizing the law to attack dissidents.

12. Arrest the land theft and the protracted invasion (through illegal settlements, or in the name of building churches). 

13. Punish the assassins of #Haacaaluu_Hundeessaa, or take full responsibility for the assassination. Establish truth, render justice.

14. Remove the army from all civilian sites in Oromia.

15. Set up a provisional administration of Abbaa Gadaa Council in Oromia.

16. Address the demands of the numerous southern nations to self-rule. Stop the violence against the Wolaita people. Stop divisive politics to pit one against the other in the SNNPRS. Stop the near imperial (re)mapping procedure to cram groups into your arbitrary clusters

17. Remove senile generals who have overstayed their service long after their retirement age. (This includes the likes of Berhanu Julaa who are turning a segment of the military into a private attack squad of Abiy Ahmed.) Stop undermining the constitutional status, tasks, and responsibilities of the military by dragging them into your dirty (and insane) Bilxiginna politics.

18. Establish law and order in the ANRS. Stop the politics of banditry and brigandage.

19. Put institutional sanity to the organization, training, and operations of the police, the proliferating 'Special Forces," and other armed bodies. Secure peace and safety of the citizenry.

20. Remove Abiy Ahmed (and take him to a mental care institution to prevent self-harm as he is repeatedly vowing to commit suicide unless he has his way).

21. Launch an all-inclusive deliberation towards a comprehensive roadmap for democratic transition.

-----

Anything else, or anything less, is a joke. 

The struggle continues.

#Hanga_abbaa_biyyummaatti.

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

. "It seems more than 50% COVID report by Oromia region is from prison.

- Arsi zone, from total of 300 cases 166 were from prisons

 -Zuway dugda-133

 -Diksis-33

Even TB is becoming the other deadlier disease. In Ejere prison (west shewa), 80 prisoners screened 16 were diagnosed with TB including 1 multi drug resistance TB (MDR-TB).”

Akka maddeen qorannoo godhan ibsaa jiranitti, Oromiyaa keessatti dhibamtoota COVID19 keessaa 50% kan tahan hidhamtoota. Fakkeenyaaf Arsii keessatti namoota 300 dhibee kanaan qabaman keessaa 166 hidhamtoota mana hidhaa jiranii dha. Zuwaay Dugdaatti 133, Kana malees dhibeen sombaas (TB) hidhamtoota keessatti babal'atee jiraachuutu himama. Fakkeenyaaf Shawaa Dhihaa Mana Hidhaa Ejeree keessatti namoota dhibee kana qorataman 80 keessaa 16 dhibee kanaan qabamuun beekameera. Namoonni kun baay'inaan kutaa tokkotti hidhamu waan taheef salphaadhumatti akka dhibee walitti dabarsanis beekamaa dha. Mootummaan kun yeroo dhibeen daddarbaan hammaate kanatti fayyaa ummatootaaf yaaduu mannaa dantaa siyaasaa isaaf qofa jecha warri sodaatu hunda hidhaatti naqee dhibeedhaan ficcisiisuutti akka jiru beekamuu qaba.

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

TWO MONTHS AGO TODAY: 

WE LOST HAACAALUU HUNDEESSAA! 

On June 29th, 2020, the Oromo nation lost one of its finest musical giant, whose indomitability surpasses fear of any kind. 

He always shows up with a marvelously gifted voice and organically minted melody! Undeniably talented and bitingly expressive, he sang existence and hope into the oromo and friends of the Oromo for the last decade! 

The forms and contents of his works are phenomenal! Stellar! Revolutionary! He and his works are sealed for an imperishable eternal legacy! 

That was HAACAALUU HUNDEESSAA ! A 34 years old man- a father of three beautiful souls! An Oromo, who loved, lived and left his life for the Oromo! He gave his ALL! To the Oromo! 

The twist of fate that ended Haacaaluu’s life wasn’t just an incidentally hate-filled act of private assassination! It is one that is hegemonic, deeply embedded, unreadable, undetectable structural violence of Ethiopian State and it’s militant culture against the Oromo nation and it’s sons and daughters! 

We lost Haacaaluu to that kind of assassination! On June 29, 2020! 

One week before he was gunned down, Haacaaluu spoke to the Oromia Media Network. Live viewership of the fateful interview of Haacaaluu was one with an all time high-24k live viewers. 

In the interview, as he always do, Haacaaluu fearlessly and unflinchingly summarized the state of political perplexity and national uncertainty in Ethiopia. 

Two major problem he articulated: First, he pointed out the questionable political willingness and interest of PM Ato Abiy Ahmed in resolving Oromo demand for equality and justice; second, he unblinkingly told the OMN journalist that he “walks and lives with death everyday in the City of Finfinnee”- not knowing when he gets killed. 

In the interview, Haacaaluu characterized his enemy and the enemy of the Oromo as the repressive political system that fetches it’s ideology from the historical Neftegna system. It is the system that has its roots in the emperial System of the country known for its asymmetrical land governance and flagrant injustices. 

With the Prime Minister Ato Abiy Ahmed coming to power with a preponderant political vision of restoring Imperial Ethiopia, the system seems to have regained a considerable grace in the country’s political practice. 

Maddened with the turn of events in the country, Haacaaluu said word by word in interview: “Diinni uummata Oromoo kaleessas, har’aas, boruus nafxanyaa dha.” Meaning: “Neftegna was yesterday, today, and tomorrow the enemy of the Oromo people.” The link to his OMN interview  is available everywhere on social media and on Internet. 

Haacaaluu also told the journalist the story of an Oromo peasant called Siidaa Dabalee and how Menilik (the emperor who started the repressive Neftegna system a century ago) stole his brave Horse (Farda Siidaa Dabalee). The Oromo peasant was from the nearby sub-city of Galaan. 

Haacaaluu had referred to this historical facts in one of his mellifluent revolutionary songs in the past. 

Haacaaluu was assassinated exactly a week ago after he gave the interview. He was gunned down in Galaan area, where the Oromo historical figure Siidaa Dabalee hailed from. 

Two months into his assasination, the Oromo people are yet to see some sort of semblance of justice. No crime scene had been preserved. No autopsy was conducted. No independent investigation was set up! 

He was rushed to a burial ground by the government forces with no formal send-off! 

Would we be lucky one day to see the real killers of Haacaaluu stand justice? 

We haven’t only lost a magnificent singer and songwriter; we also lost a musical dexter and masterful, and an Oromo national character whose revolutionary songs  will continue to serve as songs  of redemption for a web of an interconnected oromo social and political consciousness! 

REST IN ETERNAL GLORY AND ETERNAL POWER! 

Henok Gabisa

New York

August 2020

#AbiyMustGo

Ethiopia falls into violence a year after leader’s Nobel peace prize win

The Observer

Ethiopia

Abiy Ahmed came to power promising radical reform, but 180 people have died amid ethnic unrest in Oromia state

Jason Burke

Sat 29 Aug 2020 20.10 BSTLast modified on Sat 29 Aug 2020 20.42 BST

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Ethiopia faces a dangerous cycle of intensifying internal political dissent, ethnic unrest and security crackdowns, observers have warned, after a series of protests in recent weeks highlighted growing discontent with the government of Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel peace prize winner.

Many western powers welcomed the new approach of Abiy, who took power in 2018 and promised a programme of radical reform after decades of repressive one-party rule, hoping for swift changes in an emerging economic power that plays a key strategic role in a region increasingly contested by Middle Eastern powers and China. He won the peace prize in 2019 for ending a conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.

The most vocal unrest was in the state of Oromia, where there have been waves of protests since the killing last month of a popular Oromo artist and activist, Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, in Addis Ababa, the capital. An estimated 180 people have died in the violence, some murdered by mobs, others shot by security forces. Houses, factories, businesses, hotels, cars and government offices were set alight or damaged and several thousand people, including opposition leaders, were arrested.

Ethiopia

Further protests last week prompted a new wave of repression and left at least 11 dead. “Oromia is still reeling from the grim weight of tragic killings this year. These grave patterns of abuse should never be allowed to continue,” said Aaron Maasho, a spokesperson for the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

The Oromo community have long felt excluded from power and the benefits of Ethiopia’s booming economy. The Oromo protest movement gained momentum from 2015 and contributed to the appointment of Abiy, an Oromo from the ruling party, who promised democracy and prosperity for all.

“We are seeing a continuation of that movement, and also signs that the government’s response will be equally forceful. Once people are shot and arrested then that becomes a rallying cry,” said William Davison, an analyst based in Addis Ababa for the International Crisis Group.

The decision to indefinitely delay elections due later this year because of coronavirus – which has caused 600 deaths in the country of 100 million so far – has also worried diplomats and other international observers.

The protests in Oromia last week began amid claims that Jawar Mohammed, an Oromo opposition politician and one of Abiy’s most outspoken critics, was being denied medical attention in prison.

Young protesters described being “hunted down, shot in the streets” in the Oromia town of Aweday.

“Soldiers shot at us so I ran as fast as I could. I witnessed people getting shot in the back as they fled,” said Kedir, who took part in a demonstration on Tuesday.

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 Haacaaluu Hundeessaa performing in Addis Ababa in July 2018. He was known for his activism and political lyrics. Photograph: EPA

Aliyyi Mohammed, a 22-year-old from Hirna, was taken to hospital after being shot in the thigh on Monday. Relatives said he had been “nowhere near” the protests when injured and now feared for his safety. “There are police waiting outside the hospital … We have heard that they want to arrest him as soon as he’s recovered. We can only pray they leave him alone,” said a member of the family who requested anonymity.

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Relatives of Farhan Ali, 22, claimed he had been killed by security forces after leaving his home in Dire Dawa to visit a neighbour. “Soldiers killed him in cold blood,” said Bahar Omar, a cousin. “He didn’t break the law. They shot him multiple times in the back. He died right there and had no chance.”

Officials have denied such claims. “There has been violence, but we are yet to confirm reports of any killings by state forces,” said Getachew Balcha of the Oromia region’s communication affairs office.

But claims of mistreatment by security forces are fuelling the cycle of unrest in Oromia. Graphic images of 21-year-old Durassa Lolo were widely shared on social media after relatives claimed he had been tortured in the town of Asasa by soldiers who had asked him for his name.

“My brother did nothing wrong. When they heard an Oromo-sounding name, his fate was sealed. They took him to a military camp and inflicted on him unbelievable savagery. [He] is fighting for his life in hospital. This is why there are protests. The government sees us as expendable,” Durassa’s brother, Abdisa Lolo, said.

The government says Haacaaluu was murdered by Oromo nationalist militants as part of a wider plot to derail its reform agenda. The ruling party has also suggested that its rival in the northern region of Tigray, the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), masterminded the conspiracy. The TPLF dominated the ruling coalition until Abiy took office. It has since joined the opposition, accusing the prime minister of planning to replace the ethnic-based federal system with a more centralised state.

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 After Haacaaluu Hundeessaa was assassinated in July, there were angry protests in towns such as Shashamene. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Both the TPLF and Oromo nationalist groups such as the Oromo Liberation Front deny involvement in either the murder or the unrest.

Government policy has also led to fallouts within the ruling party. The defence minister, Lemma Megersa, an ally turned critic of Abiy, was last week fired and placed under house arrest. State media reported Lemma’s dismissal from the ruling party being due to his “violating party discipline”.

Analysts say it was important to recognise that recent unrest has been limited to Oromia and that there was credible evidence suggesting violence over the previous months had not simply been inflicted on protesters by the security forces but also had occurred between ethnic communities.

The office of Ethiopia’s attorney general last week defended the government’s response to the unrest, saying in a statement that investigations would reflect a “commitment to human rights”.

Abel Abate Demissie, an Addis Ababa-based analyst with London’s Chatham House, said Ethiopia’s political polarisation has deep roots, with structural problems that have been insufficiently addressed under Abiy: conflicting narratives about Ethiopia’s history, an unfinished federal project and tensions over the division of power between the centre and the regions.

“Two years down the line [after his appointment], and you find every major political group is disappointed with Abiy,” he said

Source:- The Guardian

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

The path Ethiopia is on right now is a path to nowhere - a stride into darkness.

It has been two months since Haacaaluu was assassinated, and all formidable opponents of the PM were thrown into jails based on a trumped up charges. From Jawar Mohammed and Bekele Gerba to Eskinder Nega and Lidetu Ayalew, his most outspoken critics, except those in the self-governing region of Tigray, are languishing in jails for political reasons. Make no mistake - these trials are political. Once again, the law and the judicial apparatus are being weaponized by the regime to purge its political foes from the political space. What goes on before the courts in these cases is the continuation of the political battle by a legal means. The courts, rather than being independent guardians of truth and justice, are being used as mere instruments at the disposal of the gov't.

Abiy wants to make sure that he continues to live in his garishly ornate palace (which he wants Ethiopians to view it as a model for what the country would look like under his leadership) and he seems to have come to the conclusion that he needs to get brutal if he is to avoid being ousted from his obtrusively decorated palace.

But can a dictatorship endure in today's Ethiopia? Isn't this steadfast political archetype of the last two centuries on the way out everywhere? Why does this gov't think they can get the job done (whatever that is) through force and violence?

The military-run dictatorship of the Derg, one of Africa’s most brutal military dictatorships, crumbled under the relentless onslaught of liberation movements. TPLF’s dictatorship, which maintained power through a combination of violence, and the distribution of patronage through personal and ethnic networks, succumbed to the persistent protests of teeming Oromo youth. Abiy’s dictatorship, and its neo-Neftegna apparatchiks, will prove to be one of the most unstable, out of place, and untimely of dictatorships seen anywhere in the world.

Ethiopia, as a plurinational state, faces a very complex future, and it does not need a dictatorship and a return to that dejected past to chart a mutually acceptable path and a future. What is need is finding a way to work towards constitutional settlement for the nations and nationalities, and a commitment to secure that settlement in a new social contract, which hopefully lays the foundation for the state building project that has failed for so long. One way of working towards that settlement is via a process often called National Dialogue (not the one Abiy's started after jailing all his opponents)t.

The path Ethiopia is on right now is a path to nowhere, a stride into darkness.

Release all political prisoners and return to the transitional process. This gov't is not elected and it does not have a democratic mandate to impose a political settlement for the future.

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtest#Ethiopia

Haacaaluu Hundeessaa's voice still carries across the Oromia region and beyond

The night Haacaaluu assassinated, a friend sent me a WhatsApp message: “I am hearing disturbing reports about Haacaaluu being shot”. I wrote back saying: “No Way!”. I didn’t believe it. I texted another friend to check and he texted back saying: “Gudii taane, hin salphanne, Awol”. I then texted another friend asking the same question, and he texted back saying: “I don’t want to hear it. I can’t breathe.” I then texted back the first friend who broke the story to me: “Addis Standard reporting he is killed. So that is it? There is no more Haacaaluu?”

As I was texting back and forth with friends, my sister Hindiya came in. “Dhugaadhaa, Awwal?” (Is it true, Awol), she asked. Akkas jedhan. Dhugaa fakkaata (that is what everyone is saying. It seems true), I said, with a subdued voice. My sister burst into tears, wailing with such a sense of despair and loss. I can hear how tired and resigned her voice sounded, and it killed me inside, and that is before I even had the chance to start thinking about a world without Haacaaluu and what it means to mourn him. For me, Hindiya’s crying was the ultimate sound of the grief that struck every Oromo household.

Fast forward to mid-August, a friend of mine and I have been talking about Haacaaluu and tragic events that followed his murder. We covered a lot of grounds, from who killed Haacaaluu and the motivations for it to the violence that followed his death, from the appalling and morally bankrupt narrative of genocide/ethnic cleansing to the differential grievability of lives and the changing credibility economy within the Ethiopian state, from Abiy’s betrayal of the Oromo cause to the return to the old feudal neo-Neftegna ideology, and everything in between.

This friend of mine is a genius of empathy (if that means something). He is deeply empathetic, and his empathic concern transcends mere pity or emotional contagion or the ability to match the emotional state of others or being kind-hearted.

Now, why am I telling you all of this?

Well, he is very good at highlighting the deeper beauty of Haacaaluu’s legacy, at shifting the focus of our conversation from the weight of Haacaaluu’s loss to gratitude, to see his enduring legacy not just as the greatest gift of life but also as an anchor that holds us to a place, a cause, and a vision – those visions of a free, equal, diverse, and democratic society for which he died.

Haacaaluu’s assassination tore deep into the Oromo community but Haacaaluu left behind a legacy that outlasts his assassins. His memory is itched into our collective consciousness and he will live in the hearts and minds of the 50 million Oromos who live in the Horn of Africa for eternity.

An important part of honoring and respecting Haacaaluu’s legacy is demanding justice for him. Two months since his assassination, we still don’t have a convincing account of who killed him and why. If the system doesn’t deliver justice (note that no one is convicted for all the high-profile assassinations in the country so far), we can only assume that the state itself is the culprit.

Justice for Haacaaluu and for all those affected by the violence (mainly by state actors) that followed his assassination

#AbiyAhmed#OromoProtest#Ethiopia

" What goes around comes around"

Several media outlets reported the US Secretary of State's travel to the Sudan last week. It was also reported Mr. Pompeo summoned the Ethiopian Prime Minister there to Khartoum.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of State was served with a letter written and signed by US Congressmen with respect to the human rights violations in Ethiopia. The letter asked Mr. Pompeo to report the state of the human rights violations within 60 days. Coupled with this, Oromo activists who heard about Mr. Pomoeo's scheduled meeting with Abiy bombarded him with gruesome pictures of civilians' dead bodies.

Mr. Pompeo met with the Sudanese officials but only left a message that amounted to an ultimatum for the Ethiopian Prime Minister with respect to the GERD. He basically told him to accept the decision or face the consequences. Yesterday, the US announced that it would halt its financial support to the Ethiopian government citing the latter's refusal to accept the proposed agreement.

Abiy who had been well prepared for a photo opportunity to feed to his media for propaganda purposes returned empty-handed. When the west gives a cold shoulder, it is a sign that you are out of favor.

I remeber when Tony Blair appointed Meles Zenawi as a member of British Commission for Africa. Meles was a west's darling until they could no longer tolerate his brat attitude.

He mistakenly assumed that he could play China and the West against each other and do whatever he wanted. But he soon found out that he exaggerated his own political clout when he realized that he was shunned even by Tony Blair. Mr. Blair refused to shake his hand and appear in a picture with him during their last appearance at the G-8 meeting together. Meles walked around looking for a hand shake. The rich shook each other's hands and simply ignored him.

Abiy is not even close to being as influential as Meles was. He rose to power on sombody eslse's back and his downfall is betrayal of those who helped him become someone. He was nobody. In fact, he was unemployed while his family lived in a project house in Colorado surviving on a government handout. He betrayed the man (Lamma Magarsa) who gave him not just any job but his own job. This man is now under a house arrest. Abiy has done much worse than a betrayal. He has killed and arrested the very people who gave him the mandate to lead.

As the saying, "what goes around comes around" goes, we are seeing Abiy's downfall unfolding and it is a retribution for all that he has done.