Hassen Hussein:- EPRDF’s master marksman, Abay Tsehaye, misfires again
By Hassen Hussein*
(OPride) – Every revolution has its villain – some well deserved, others not so. The ongoing Oromo protests, which began in November, is gradually morphing into a revolution similar to the Arab Spring and not unlike the color revolutions that swept decades of authoritarian rule in Eastern Europe.
The budding Oromo revolution — which has engulfed Ethiopia’s vast Oromia region, home to close to half the country’s population of 100 million — has a true villain in the name of Abay Tsehaye. He is not Ethiopia’s strongman but rather the man behind the throne.
Officially, Tsehaye is Special Political Advisor to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who assumed the premiership after the death of long-time strongman, the late Meles Zenawi. The one time chairman of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the kingmakers in the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition, is known as a skilled politician and a shifty survivor of many purges and palace intrigues.
Ermias Legesse Wakjira, a recent high-profile defector from the ruling party, describes Tsehaye as a master marksman when it came to the choice and delivery of words. EPRDF officials fear Tsehaye’s fetal rebuke during the party’s gladiatorial critical evaluation sessions known as gimgema. While his sure-footed performance on such forums earned him acclaim in party circles, the aging Tigrean leader has misfired twice in as many years while commenting on the Oromo protests.
The Oromo protests were triggered by a controversial plan, which aims to incorporate vast swathes of small Oromo towns and rural farming villages into the capital Addis Ababa, displacing millions of subsistence farmers.
The unveiling of the plan in April 2014 created an uproar among the party’s own mid-rank loyalists halting its planned implementation. At least 75 were killed, scores wounded and thousands were imprisoned following weeks of protests. Tsehaye was called upon to clear the muddy waters in a meeting in the southern town of Hawasa and secure buy-in from the Oromo portion of the ruling party, the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO). In a leaked audio from the meeting, Tsehaye reportedly threatened that the Master Plan will be implemented whether some liked it or not and that the plan’s opponents will be quashed.
The arrogance of his alleged threats provoked a crescendo of widespread, vehement and righteous outrage among the Oromo. In November 2015, protesters returned to the streets when word leaked that the federal government was quietly pursuing the plan’s implementation. More than 150 protesters have been killed over the past nine weeks in the most unprecedented popular uprising the country has ever witnessed. In the process, Tsehaye has earned the dubious honor of being the chief villain.
But Tsehaye remained silent as the controversy spawned by his words swirled. On Jan. 16, when he finally broke his silence, instead of admitting that his prized asset, his lethal tongue, has irredeemably failed him, Tsehaye once again plunged himself headlong into much hotter waters.
In a curious interview with friendly and independent-sounding Horn Affairs blog, Tsehaye categorically denied ever uttering that famous phrase that inflamed and animated Oromo revolutionaries, at home and abroad: that the master plan will be implemented regardless of the public’s opposition to it and his party will mercilessly silence those who dare oppose it.
Tsehaye lost his otherwise calm demeanor when the interviewer asked him why people chose to mischaracterize or falsify his words. In a typical EPRDF-tactic of attacking the messenger, he lashed out against all manner of enemies. He accused his detractors of “ethnic hostility, hatred of Tigreans.” The long-time federal affairs minister, who ran Ethiopia’s supposedly autonomous federal states, then blamed the debacle around Oromo protests, which are threatening to spread to other parts of the country and thereby testing the ruling party’s tight grip on power as never before, on the OPDO, specifically those whom he called corrupt local administrators and businessmen and middlemen who benefited from shoddy land deals.
Although the government acknowledges that corruption and bad governance are system-wide problems, pointing fingers at the OPDO and its corruption is not new. In fact, that has been the staple sound bite of not only the foul-mouthed federal communications minister, Getachew Reda, but also TPLF-affiliated media outfits such as the local Zami FM radio hosted by Mimi Sebhatu, formerly of Voice of America and one of the most unabashed apologists for the bloodbath unleashed by the security forces in an unsuccessful bid to contain peaceful protests in Oromia, which OPDO, in a recent statement, described as a legitimate expression of popular will.
The condescending and disparaging messages from TPLF leaders and their associates did not go unnoticed by OPDO. In a recent interview with Sebhatu, Abbadula Gamada, Speaker of the House of Representatives and former president of the Oromia state, took issue with the vilification of OPDO as a den for corruption, saying the accusations were an inflammatory disinformation.
In an apparent bid to rally Tigreans to his defense, Tsehaye wondered why Oromo protesters would chant slogans critical of the TPLF when “corrupt OPDO officials and their businessmen friends are responsible for the troubles in Oromia, not only for the eviction of farmers from their farmlands without compensation, the miscarriage of justice and mal-governance but also for the killing of protesters.” Tsehaye rhetorically asked why this was the case “when the Oromo people know who their jailers and killers are.”
He is correct about one thing: The Oromo people do indeed know who their jailers and killers are. They are the army that Tsehaye helped found in Tigray 17 years before TPLF came to power. It is the same army and security forces that he leads behind the throne like a puppet master who have been jailing and killing the Oromo and other Ethiopians for asking legitimate questions, or exercising their constitutional rights for the last 25 years.
In theory, TPLF governs only far away Tigray and OPDO is Oromia’s ruling party. But protesters are chanting anti-TPLF slogans precisely because the Oromo know full well who created the OPDO and who continues to mastermind it. The Oromo know full well that 26 years later, TPLF still maintains a tight stranglehold on OPDO, which is unable to even elect its own leaders, let alone represent the Oromo. Instead of taking responsibility for the ensuing debacle, Tsehaye resorted to insulting the intelligence of the Oromo people by advising them to direct their outrage against the “corrupt local administrators” that he appointed and maintained on the backs of the Oromo people as Federal Affairs Minister, which runs the regional states as a British colonial viceroy once ran his native appointees.
His open invitation for civil war among the Oromo aside, Tsehay should have known that the Oromo have no ill will against the people of Tigray and hold malice against none. Like their Ethiopian brothers and sisters, they are and have been protesting because they are denied liberty to be governed by those they elect freely rather than cadres handpicked by Tsehaye’s secretive echo chamber. They want to exercise the genuine and full implementation of the country’s constitution, which Tsehaye willfully subverted as federal affairs minister and continue to do so as an advisor to the prime minister.
The mark of a failed leader is the failure to take responsibility and passing the buck. Even if at an old age, one would have wished that Tsehaye had learned to take responsibility. Rather than distorting it, one would have wished he reckoned with the truth. The time of reckoning is upon Tsehaye and his party, a party that promises democracy and claims 100 percent electoral victory in sham elections; a party that promises federalism and centralizes all power in the hands of a narrow clique; a party that recognizes expansive constitutional rights on paper and jails and kills people who peacefully attempt to exercise them; and a party that reports double-digit growth dislodging and dispossessing millions from their ancestral lands without due process of law or compensation and pockets the proceeds from shady land deals.
The overarching message of Oromo protesters to EPRDF is unambiguous: Your time is up. It is the same yearning for freedom that Tsehaye and his peers heeded in their youth but betrayed once assuming power. Tigrayan freedom fighters-turned-autocrats should crank up the volume and listen to it again. For the OPDO, an Oromo saying comes to mind: Waan halangeen deemtuf fardi hin walaalu, meaning a horse that did not heed the whip’s crack does not feel the whipping.
A massive purge is headed their way. For its own survival, OPDO can no longer defer facing up to its creator and asserting its autonomy, first by ridding itself of leaders answerable only to TPLF. Sure, it will face TPLF’s wrath. But should it do so, it will have the backing of 40 million Oromo.
* Hassen Hussein teaches Leadership and Management courses at the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, and can be reached at hxhuss10@smumn.edu
Reclaiming Popular Mandate for Legitimacy Crisis in Oromia
Cartoon: Reclaiming Popular Mandate for Legitimacy Crisis in Oromia
Oromia is in disorder. Protests and violence continue to rock a region of 35 million people. It has become impossible to predict the state of affairs there. What started as an objection to a Draft Integrated Master Plan between Addis Abeba and its surrounding localities has now blown up to become a popular protest against the legitimacy of regional authorities to rule with popular consent. It is now three months since the dynamics escalated to a worrisome state of volatility.
It should be disturbing to see no political road map tabled both from the regional authorities and those at the federal government to respond to the crisis in a sustainable manner. Not surprisingly, so far the response has come largely from law enforcement agencies, which apparently are becoming overstretched. The longer the volatility stays unaddressed, the more obvious the fear that the standoff will change course in due time. Last week, for instance, conflicts in Shashemene and smaller towns of Arsi Zone had alarming indications. Many people, including law enforcement officers, have died during the clashes. Never has there been such persistent resistance to authority in a given region in all the 25 years of rule by the EPRDF. There is a limit to the effectiveness of continued use of law enforcement, in the absence a lasting political response.
Of course, regional and federal authorities have not been sitting idly. In what seems to be a historic move, they responded to the protests by scrapping the Draft Integrated Master Plan. Their assumption was that the protests would recede. But they did not. Instead, they appear to have gained momentum.
As they see the protesting voices taking a new direction, way deviated from the issue of the Draft Master Plan, the authorities changed gear and reoriented their argument towards governance. Central to their thesis was that it all boils down to bad governance. Hence, they sent their veteran, experienced and influential cadres to the region to negotiate the terms of stabilization with the population. Little has come of this consultative exercise. Instead of discussing issues with the dissenters, they gathered the usual crowd, and were televised while praising their handling of the problem. But while the crowd they gathered denounced the unrests, and the alleged perpetrators, the protesters continue to swarm and block streets. Neither the revocation of the Draft Master Plan and the subsequent statements of regret, nor the “public discussions” has brought the saga to an end.
Whether they admit it or not, the ruling elite, especially the Oromo People Democratic Organisation (OPDO), a member of the ruling coalition that controls the 537-seat regional council, is faced with huge legitimacy deficit in the region. Only a year after it was proclaimed to have won a complete electoral victory, the OPDO is faced with waves of public protests questioning its legitimacy to rule. Whatever the manifestations are, the widespread, sustained and recurring protests are clear messages of a vote of no confidence by a rather young and restless segment of the population which is driven by a feeling of marginalization.
In light of the political spectrum in the nation, the conundrum OPDO is facing demonstrates limitations of the structural fundamentals of the political system the ruling EPRDFites have advocated for over two decades. By and large, the political space has increasingly narrowed, becoming uneven, non-competitive and unwelcoming. There should be little surprise to see a large section of the population disenchanted. They see legislative platforms both at regional and federal levels representing the views of one set of voters, contrary to the diversity of desires and interests in the Ethiopian society. Dissenting voices have been sidelined, exiled, jailed and neutralized. A culture of fear, patrimonialism and complacency has been incubated. Organised political ways of expressing differing opinions have been constricted.
Certainly, it all could not be attributed to the Revolutionary Democrats. Partly, the problem relates to opposition political parties that take comfort in infighting, opportunism and strategic ineptness among themselves. Even those who managed to grab historic opportunities to change the path of politics in the nation squandered and threw them away.
Yet, it would be naïve to dissociate it all from the politics of the ruling EPRDFites. After all, uncontested authority is what the ruling party sees as inherently essential to its “developmental” politics. With this comes the inclination to dominance, monopoly and suppression. These are breeding grounds for inequality and marginalization.
What is happening in Oromia, therefore, is the public way of challenging the structural setup of the political space as it currently exists. It is not a uni-dimensional problem and it cannot be justified in the older rhetorical ways. But it is a no brainer to discern that OPDO’s legitimacy to govern the region that constitutes 37.6pc of the population, is seriously challenged by the very public that entrusted the party to lead it less than a year ago.
Considering the fact that the ruling EPRDFites have tried to solve the problem through law enforcement processes, albeit with no success, there remains a logical option to stabilize the region through the constitutional electoral process. By this is meant a competitive snap election to be held in the region.
It is not unusual for countries, particularly those following parliamentary systems, to call snap elections – a form of elections called earlier than expected and not required by law. But it is used to take advantage of unique electoral opportunities or to decide pressing issues. There is indeed a political pressing issue lingering in the Oromia Regional State.
Surely, it could be argued that the protesting section of the population does not represent the entire voting public and hence, there is no crisis in legitimacy. Those perpetrating violence do not represent the core of disappointed protesters. Thus it can be deduced that the drivers are opportunists based at home and in the Diaspora, vying for popular association with every event of protest in the country. There is also a potent argument in that it is unjust to neutralize election results in which voters’ consent is expressed simply because an unknown number of people continue to protest.
But, looking at the way the protests evolved in the past three months, it is vividly clear that the numerical game has little power to hold water. Photographs and footage of the protesters circulated by the state and social media show that the age differential of people involved in the protests is varied. It is no more about students of secondary schools and higher education institutions. It constitutes members of the various strata of the population.
Thus, in a scenario where political and administrative means fail to bring governability, the ideal option is to allow democracy to define the way forward. If carrying out a snap election is thought an idea worth considering, it would not be the first to happen in this country. With the Coalition of Unity & Democracy (CUD) elected to rule Addis Abeba but unwilling to take office back in 2005, its governance was transferred to a caretaker administration before another election was held in two years. That gave the ruling EPRDF the confidence to reclaim the capital, despite shortfalls, and the process brought a modicum of continuity to the administration of Addis Abeba.
It is this same experience that can be exercised in Oromia. But a procedural election would not solve the problem. It has to be one that is competitive, involving all political agencies, based at home and abroad, that accepts the constitutional order without precondition and renounce violence as a means of political activism. For the OPDO, this may mean putting its proclaimed legitimacy to test. Since the exercise would bring the probability of losing it to its contenders, it may be uninteresting to its leaders. But it would not be worse than governing under continued challenges of its legitimacy on the streets, and live with the nightmare of recurring protests.
By way of undertaking a competitive snap election, the incumbent in Oromia could guide the public disappointment that has turned to deadly protest, towards a legal, constitutional and peaceful political process. A free, fair and competitive election would mean that the dissenting voices could find legal and peaceful platforms to make themselves heard, and their grievances attended. Hence, the playground would shift from deadly streets to a deliberative legislative council.
The risk of returning to the polls, at least in the eyes of the ruling party, may come from the precedent that a regional election would set. In the eyes of sceptical EPRDFites, this may also translate into rewarding protesters with disproportional recognition. But the perceived risks are less presumptive. If there is any precedent a snap election could set, it would be one that promotes the progression of democracy in the region and the entire nation. It would prove the predominance of democracy. Not least, it would draw the democratic line so boldly that it would be the most plausible guiding rule.
Such an election could bring landslide victory, partial victory or defeat to the incumbent. Whatever the case may be, the protesting public would get the opportunity to impart its feelings in the form of votes, hence placing confidence in a political agency that it favours. With this, democracy would get its way as a solution to the long overdue conundrum.
Needless to say, a constitutional approach to solving the problem in Oromia is way better than the alternatives, especially in view of sustainable peace. What it requires of the EPRDFites is the political courage to give democracy and the constitutional process its due.
Killings, Detention of Protesters Enter Fourth Month
(Nairobi) – Ethiopian security forces are violently suppressing the largely peaceful protests in the Oromia region that began in November 2015. Almost daily accounts of killings and arbitrary arrests have been reported to Human Rights Watch since 2016 began.
Security forces, including military personnel, have fatally shot scores of demonstrators. Thousands of people have been arrested and remain in detention without charge. While the frequency of protests appears to have decreased in the last few weeks, the crackdown continues.
Protesters in Oromia region, Ethiopia, December 2015.
“Flooding Oromia with federal security forces shows the authorities’ broad disregard for peaceful protest by students, farmers and other dissenters,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The government needs to rein in the security forces, free anyone being held wrongfully, and hold accountable soldiers and police who used excessive force.”
The Ethiopian government has said that the situation in Oromia is largely under control following the government’s retraction on January 12 of the proposed “Addis Ababa Integrated Development Master Plan.” The controversial proposal to expand the municipal boundaries of the capital, Addis Ababa, into farmland in Oromia sparked the initial demonstrations.
The plan’s cancellation did not halt the protests however, and the crackdown continued throughout Oromia. In late January 2016, Human Rights Watch interviewed approximately 60 protesters and other witnesses from various parts of the Oromia region in December and January who described human rights violations during the protests, some since mid-January. They said that security forces have shot randomly into crowds, summarily killed people during arrests, carried out mass roundups, and tortured detainees.
Women mourn during the funeral ceremony of a primary school teacher who family members said was shot dead by military forces during protests in Oromia, Ethiopia in December 2015. December 17, 2015.
While there have been some reports of violence during the protests, including the destruction of some foreign-owned farms and looting of some government buildings, most of the protests since November have been peaceful. On February 12, federal security forces fired on a bus after a wedding, killing four people, provoking further protests. A February 15 clash between federal security forces and armed men believed to be local police or militias, resulted in the deaths of seven security officers, according to the government.
On January 10, security forces threw a grenade at students at Jimma University in western Oromia, injuring dozens, eyewitnesses reported. Multiple witnesses told Human Rights Watch that security forces stormed dormitories at Jimma University on January 10 and 11, with mass arrests and beatings of Oromo students.
Security forces have arrested students, teachers, government officials, businesspeople, opposition politicians, healthcare workers, and people who provide assistance or shelter to fleeing students. Because primary and secondary school students in Oromia were among the first to protest, many of those arrested have been children, under age 18.
“They walked into the compound and shot three students at point-blank range,” one 17-year-old student said describing security force reaction to students chanting against the master plan. “They were hit in the face and were dead.”
Human Rights Watch spoke to 20 people who had been detained since the protests began on November 12, none of whom had been taken before a judge. Fourteen people said they were beaten in detention, sometimes severely. Several students said they were hung up by their wrists while they were whipped. An 18-year-old student said he was given electric shocks to his feet. All the students interviewed said that the authorities accused them of mobilizing other students to join the protests. Several women who were detained alleged that security officers sexually assaulted and otherwise mistreated them in detention.
The descriptions fit wider patterns of torture and ill-treatment of detainees that Human Rights Watch and other rights groups have documented in Oromia’s many official and secret detention facilities. Numerous witnesses and former detainees said that security forces are using businesses and government buildings in West Shewa and Borana zones as makeshift detention centers.
At time of writing, some schools and universities remain closed throughout Oromia because the authorities have arrested teachers and closed facilities to prevent further protests, or students do not attend as a form of protest or because they fear arrest. Many students said they were released from detention on the condition that they would not appear in public with more than one other individual, and several said they had to sign a document making this commitment as a condition for their release.
Human Rights Watch has not been able to verify the total numbers of people killed and arrested given restrictions on access and independent reporting in Ethiopia. Activists allege that more than 200 people have been killed since November 12, based largely on material collated from social media videos, photos, and web posts. Available information suggests that several thousand people have been arrested, many of whose whereabouts are unknown, which would be a forcible disappearance.
Human Rights Watch has documented 12 additional killings previously unreported. Most of these occurred in Arsi and Borana Zones in southern Oromia, where protests have also been taking place but have received less attention than elsewhere. This suggests that the scale of the protests and abuses across Oromia may be greater than what has been reported, Human Rights Watch said.
The Ethiopian government’s pervasive restrictions on independent civil society groups and media have meant that very little information is coming from affected areas. However, social media contains photos and videos of the protests, particularly from November and December.
The Oromia Media Network (OMN) has played a key role in disseminating information throughout Oromia during the protests. OMN is a diaspora-based television station that relays content, primarily in the Afan Oromo language, via satellite, and recently started broadcasting on shortwave radio. The Ethiopian government has reportedly jammed OMN 15 times since it began operations in 2014, in contravention of international regulations. Two business owners told Human Rights Watch they were arrested for showing OMN in their places of business. Federal police destroyed satellites dishes that were receiving OMN in many locations. Students said they were accused of providing videos for social media and of communicating information to the OMN. Arrests and fear of arrest has resulted in less information on abuses coming out of Oromia over the last month.
The Ethiopian government should end the excessive use of force by the security forces, free everyone detained arbitrarily, and conduct an independent investigation into killings and other security force abuses, Human Rights Watch said. Those responsible for serious rights violations should be appropriately prosecuted and victims of abuses should receive adequate compensation.
On January 21, the European Parliament passed a strong resolution condemning the crackdown. There has been no official statement from the United Kingdom, and the United States has not condemned the violence, instead focusing on the need for public consultation and dialogue in twostatements. Otherwise, few governments have publicly raised concerns about the government’s actions. As two of Ethiopia’s most influential partners, the United Kingdom and the United States should be doing more to halt the violent crackdown and to call for an independent investigation into the abuses, Human Rights Watch said.
“Ethiopia’s donor countries have responded tepidly, if at all, to the killing of scores of protesters in Oromia,” Lefkow said. “They should stop ignoring or downplaying this shocking brutality and call on the government to support an independent investigation into the killings and other abuses.”
For additional information and accounts from eyewitnesses and victims, please see below.
Student protests in Oromia began on November 12, 2015, in Ginchi, a small town 80 kilometers southwest of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, when authorities sought to clear a forest for an investment project. The protests soon spread throughout the Oromia region and broadened to include concerns over the proposed expansion of the Addis Ababa municipal boundary, known as the “Addis Ababa Integrated Development Master Plan.” Farmers and others joined the protest movement as the protests continued into December.
Many protesters allege that the government’s violent response and the rising death toll changed the focus of the protests to the killing and arrest of protesters and decades of historic Oromo grievances came to the forefront. Oromia is home to most of Ethiopia’s estimated 35 million Oromo, the country’s largest ethnic group. Many Oromo feel marginalized and discriminated against by successive Ethiopian governments. Ethnic Oromo who express dissent are often arrested and tortured or otherwise ill-treated in detention, accused of belonging to the Oromo Liberation Front, which has waged a limited armed struggle against the government and which parliament has designated a terrorist organization.
On December 16, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said that the government “will take merciless legitimate action against any force bent on destabilizing the area.” The same day, the government communication affairs office minister, Getachew Reda, said that “an organized and armed terrorist force aiming to create havoc and chaos has begun murdering model farmers, public leaders and other ethnic groups residing in the region.” Since that time, federal security forces, including the army and the federal police, have led the law enforcement response in Oromia.
On January 12, the ruling coalition’s Oromia affiliate, the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), announced on state television that the “Addis Ababa Master Plan” would be cancelled. While the decision was an unprecedented change of policy, people Human Rights Watch interviewed suggest that there has been confusion over the actual status of the plan and whether government will follow through with the cancellation.
After the Addis Ababa master plan had originally been announced in 2014, protests occurred throughout Oromia, which security forces dispersed using live ammunition, killing at least several dozen people. Hundreds were arrested. Many of the arrested remain in custody without charge. Most of the approximately 25 students that Human Rights Watch interviewed from the 2014 protests who had been detained alleged torture and other ill-treatment. Many formerly detained students have not been permitted to return to their universities. On December 2, 2015, five Oromo students were convicted under the counterterrorism law for their role in the 2014 protests. There has been no government investigation into the use of excessive and lethal force during the 2014 protests.
Summary Killings, Unnecessary Lethal Force In the early weeks of the 2015 protests, security forces who responded to the demonstrations were largely Oromia regional police, who used teargas against protesters, although with some incidents involving live ammunition. Many of the killings initially reported occurred after dark when security forces went house-to-house searching for protesters. They killed some students who tried to flee and others in scuffles during arrests, while the exact circumstances of many deaths are unknown.
Under international human rights standards, law enforcement officials may only use lethal force in self-defense or to prevent an imminent threat to another’s life.
After a December 16 announcement by the prime minister that the government would “take merciless legitimate action against any force bent on destabilizing the area,” witnesses said federal police and military forces were deployed in more parts of Oromia alongside the regional police. Many protesters alleged that the federal police and soldiers fired into crowds.
Wako – a 17-year-old protester from West Shewa whose name, along with others, has been changed for his protection, described the change:
During the first protest [in mid-November], the Oromia police tried to convince us to go home. We refused so they broke it up with teargas and arrested many. Several days later we had another protest. This time the [federal police] had arrived. They fired many bullets into the air. When people did not disperse they fired teargas, and then in the confusion we heard the sounds of more bullets and students started falling next to me. My friend [name withheld] was killed by a bullet. He wasn’t targeted, they were just shooting randomly into the crowd.
Gudina, a 16-year-old Grade 10 student from Arsi Negelle, described the authorities’ response to a protest in early December:
All the schools got together and took to the streets. As we protested, teargas was thrown, we kept marching and then from behind us we heard bullets, many students were hit and fell screaming. One very young student from my school I saw had been shot in throat and blood was pouring. I have dreams every night of that student.
Protesters from Arsi, West Shewa, Borana, and East Wollega zones all described similar events in which security forces, predominantly federal police, shot into crowds with live ammunition, especially since mid-December. They gave little or no warning about using teargas and live ammunition.
Three high school students from Arsi who were interviewed separately described an incident at their school. Kuma, a 17-year-old student, said:
We heard a Grade 6 student was killed in [neighboring village]. To show our solidarity we decided to protest. When the different classes came together and started marching toward the government office, security forces moved toward us. They threw teargas, and then we heard the sound of gunfire. My friend [name withheld] was shot in the chest, I saw him go down and bleeding. We ran away and I never looked back. His mother told me later he had been killed. He was 17 years old.
Security forces entered a school compound near Shashemene apparently to discourage their participation in a planned protest. Gameda, a 17-year-old Grade 9 student, said:
We had planned to protest. At 8 a.m., Oromia police came into the school compound. They arrested four students [from Grades 9-11], the rest of us were angry and started chanting against the police. Somebody threw a stone at the police and they quickly left and came back an hour later with the federal police. They walked into the compound and shot three students at point-blank range. They were hit in the face and were dead. They took the bodies away. They held us in our classrooms for the rest of the morning, and then at noon they came in and took about 20 of us including me.
Arbitrary Arrests, Detention Several dozen people told Human Rights Watch about friends and colleagues who had been arrested without a valid basis, including many whose whereabouts remain unknown. Fifteen protesters from various parts of Oromia described their own arrests. Usually in the evening following a daytime protest, security forces would go door-to-door arresting students, including many who had not participated, including an 8-year-old in the Borana zone on January 9. They primarily targeted men and boys, but many women and girls were also arrested. Those arrested were taken to police stations, military barracks, and makeshift detention centers.
Kuma, a Grade 7 student from Borana zone, was arrested in early December, held for five days in an unknown location, and beaten with a wooden stick:
They said to me “Why were you in the demonstration? This means you do not like the government. Why? We do good for you.” Then they kept saying we had relations with the OLF [Oromo Liberation Front, which the government considers to be a terrorist group]. What does demonstrating have to do with the OLF? I was released after signing a paper that I would not go in public with more than one person. Many people in our town were released after signing this paper. Several days later there was another protest, I didn’t go, but knew I would be arrested again. I sat at home hearing gunshots all day long hoping I didn’t know any of those that would be killed.
Gameda, a Grade 7 student, said he was arrested at his school compound on the day of a planned protest:
For 10 days I was held at the police station. For the first three days, they would beat me each night on the back and legs with a wooden stick and ask me about who was behind the protests and whether I was a member of the OLF. I was released and several weeks later the protests started again in our town. They arrested me again. Same beatings, same questions. My family bribed the police and I was released.
The authorities have imposed collective punishment on people deemed to have been helping protesters. Lelisa, a woman who assisted students fleeing the security forces in Arsi in early December, said:
I wasn’t at the protests but I heard gunfire all day long and into the night. Students were running away and hiding themselves. Ten students came to me and asked for help so I hid them from the police. The police were going door-to-door at night arresting students. They came to my house, arrested all the boys and I convinced them that the three girls were my daughters. Then an hour later they came back and arrested my husband. They beat him in front of me, when I begged them not to kill him they kicked me and hit me with the butt of their gun. They took him away. I have heard nothing from him since.
Negasu, an owner of a private school, said he was arrested because students at his school were involved in the protest:
I owned a private school in [location withheld]. The students protested but the police did not break it up violently, they just filmed it and then arrested many people at night. Four of the protesters were from my school. So the police came at night and arrested me and took me to a military camp [name withheld]. For five days I was held in a dark hole by myself. It was freezing and they did not feed me for two days. I was beaten each night and accused of giving money to opposition groups, to the Oromo Federalist Congress and to OLF. They also accused me of posting videos to social media and sending to OMN. They just make things up. They closed my school and froze my bank account. They took my house also. Now I have nothing and the students are either going through what I did in detention or are not able to go to school because it’s been closed.
Students who were perceived to be vocal or had family histories of opposing government were particularly at risk. Lencho, 25, said:
I was known to be vocal and was a leader among the students. My father was known to oppose the government. I did not even participate in the protests because of fear but I was identified as one of the mobilizers. I was arrested, and when I got to the police station I saw local government officials, a local Oromo artist [singer], my teacher, and all of the outspoken students of our high school. They were arresting those that they thought were influential. I don’t even think any of them were in the protests because of fear.
Prominent Oromo intellectuals, including senior members of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), a registered political party, have also been arrested. On December 23, Deputy Chairman Bekele Gerba was arrested at his home and taken to Addis Ababa’s Maekelawi prison, where torture and other ill-treatment have been documented. On January 22, he appeared in court, and prosecutors were granted an additional 28 days for investigation, suggesting he is being investigated under the abusive Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. Bekele has been a moderate voice in Oromia politics and a staunch advocate for non-violence.
In addition to those perceived to be actively involved in the protests, security forces have arrested influential people, including prominent Oromo businessman, teachers, professors, and numerous singers and artists. One teacher said:
The students protested. At night they came and arrested many of them, my students were calling me all night to tell me the police were at their door. Then I heard that most of the teachers had been arrested, too. I was away from town at the time. Then the woreda[district] administrator called and told me I was to be held responsible for my student’s behavior since I did not talk them out of it. I had already been in trouble because I did not attend a workshop at the school on the master plan and how we were to convince students it was good for them.
A well-known Oromo singer, now living in exile, said:
I released a song on Youtube [in December] that spoke about the protests and the need for students to stop the silence and speak out about the abuses our people face. I had been arrested three times previously for my songs. My songs have always focused on Oromo history and culture but I was always careful for the songs not to be seen as political in any way. But they arrest you anyway. After my third detention, I stopped censoring myself and spoke openly through my music. Hours after my song was released, I got word from the local administrator that I was to be arrested so I ran away from my home and haven’t been back.
An Ethiopian intelligence official acknowledged to Human Rights Watch in January 2016 that targeting public figures was a deliberate government policy. “It is important to target respected Oromos,” he said. “Anyone that has the ability to mobilize Oromos will be targeted, from the highest level like Bekele, to teachers, respected students, and Oromo artists.”
Human Rights Watch also interviewed a number of students who had been detained during the 2014 protests, eventually released, and then were arrested again as soon as the protests began in November 2015. Some described horrendous treatment in detention. Waysira, a then-second year university student, said:
[In 2014] I was arrested for two weeks. I was stripped to my underwear and beaten with sticks. They applied electric wires to my back. They wanted me to admit being OLF and to say where my brother was – who they suspect was OLF. Eventually they released me. I wasn’t allowed to go back to school, so I have been sitting around doing nothing ever since. I went back to my family’s village. When the protests started again in Oromia, they came to my house and arrested me again. There hadn’t been protests in that area, but there were on the campus I had been suspended from. They accused me of mobilizing students, and beat me for two days. Then I was released. They wanted to target anyone they thought might be thinking of protesting.
Torture, Ill-Treatment in Detention All of the students interviewed who had been detained said the authorities interrogated them about who was behind the protests and about their family history. They said interrogators accused them of having connections to opposition groups – typically the legally registered Oromo Federalist Congress and the banned Oromo Liberation Front. Interrogators accused some students of providing information to diaspora or international media and a number of students said their phones, Facebook accounts, and email accounts were searched during detention. These descriptions of interrogation match patterns Human Rights Watch has documented in Oromia over several years.
Tolessa, a first-year university student from Adama University, said:
It was the evening after the protest. We were recovering from the teargas and trying to find out who had been shot during the protest. Then the security forces stormed the dormitories. They blindfolded 17 of us from my floor and drove us two hours into the countryside. We were put into an unfinished building for nine days. Each night they would take us out one by one, beat us with sticks and whips, and ask us about who was behind the protests and whether we were members of the OLF. I told them I don’t even know who the OLF are but treating students this way will drive people toward the OLF. They beat me very badly for that. We would hear screams all night long. When I went to the bathroom, I saw students being hung by their wrists from the ceiling and being whipped. There was over a hundred students I saw. The interrogators were not from our area. We had to speak Amharic [the national language]. If we spoke Oromo they would get angry and beat us more.
Meti, in her 20s, was arrested in late December for selling traditional Oromo clothes the day after a protest in East Wollega:
I was arrested and spent one week at the police station. Each night they pulled me out and beat me with a dry stick and rubber whip. Then I was taken to [location withheld]. I was kept in solitary confinement. On three separate occasions I was forced to take off my clothes and parade in front of the officers while I was questioned about my link with the OLF. They threatened to kill me unless I confessed to being involved with organizing the protests. I was asked why I was selling Oromo clothes and jewelry. They told me my business symbolizes pride in being Oromo and that is why people are coming out [to protest]. At first I was by myself in a dark cell, but then I was with all the other girls that had been arrested during the protest.
A 22-year-old woman told Human Rights Watch she was arrested the night of a protest in late December and taken to what she described as a military camp in the Borana zone. She was held in solitary confinement in total darkness. She said she was raped on three occasions in her cell by unidentified men during her two-week detention. On each occasion, she believed there were two men involved. She was frequently pulled out of her cell and interrogated about her involvement in the protests and the whereabouts of her two brothers, who the interrogators suggested were mobilizing students. She was released on the condition that she would bring her two brothers to security officials for questioning.
Right to Health, Education The authorities have targeted health workers for arrest during the protests, and as a result some wounded protesters have been unable to get treatment. Demiksa, a student from Eastern Wollega, said that he was refused medical treatment in late December for his injured arm and face after he was pushed to the ground in a panic when Oromia regional police fired teargas at protesters: “[The health workers] said they couldn’t treat me. The day before security forces had arrested two of their colleagues because they were treating protesters. They were accused of providing health care to the opposition.”
Health workers said security forces harassed them and arrested some of their colleagues because they posted photos on social media showing their arms crossed in what has become a symbol of the protest movement. A health worker in East Wollega said he had been forced at gunpoint to treat a police officer’s minor injuries while student protesters with bullet wounds were left unattended. The health worker said at least one of those students died from his injuries that evening.
Many students said the local government closed schools to prevent students from mobilizing, or because teachers had been arrested. Some students said they were afraid to go to class or were refusing to go to school as a form of protest against the government. Four students who had been detained said that security officials told them that they would not be allowed to return to their university. A Grade 6 student who said she had the highest marks in her class the previous year said that the principal told her she would not be allowed to go back to school because she attended the protests. As a result, she decided to flee Ethiopia.
Human Rights Watch previously documented cases of students who were suspended after they participated in the 2014 protests, a pattern that is also emerging in the aftermath of the current protests.
The #OromoProtests struggle continues. Our families in Ethiopia are being starved and killed left to right like we are not humans. Oromo cannot give up on our families in Oromia. Oromo cannot give up on humanity. All eyes are on Oromo.
Oromos in abroad continue your support for families in Oromia. In Minnesota we have done numerous fundraising. We are not stopping we will continue supporting our Oromo families in Oromia, Ethiopia with whatever is necessary and possible.
Oromos in Minnesota we are going on a ROUND THREE #OromoProtests demonstration. The date is Monday, February 29, 2016. As the map below shows the ROUND THREE #OromoProtests include marching. The marching will start at 9am from Selby Avenue and Summit Avenue intersection in Saint Paul, Minnesota. We will march on the John Ireland BLVD to the lower mall of the Minnesota State Capitol ground. There from 10am to 2pm we will demonstrate #OromoProtests denouncing the Ethiopian government’s mistreatment of the Oromo people. Everybody in Minnesota is invited and encouraged to help in bringing your families and friends to the rally. Outside of Minnesota everybody is encouraged to organize ROUND THREE #OromoProtests in your community if it has not been done. Thank you all and we hope to see you all at the rally.
The #OromoProtests struggle continues. Our families in Ethiopia are being starved and killed left to right like we are not humans. Oromo cannot give up on our families in Oromia. Oromo cannot give up on humanity. All eyes are on Oromo
Oromos in abroad continue your support for families in Oromia. In Minnesota we have done numerous fundraising. We are not stopping we will continue supporting our Oromo families in Oromia, Ethiopia with whatever is necessary and possible.
Oromos in Minnesota we are going on a ROUND THREE #OromoProtests demonstration. The date is Monday, February 29, 2016. As the map below shows the ROUND THREE #OromoProtests include marching. The marching will start at 9am from Selby Avenue and Summit Avenue intersection in Saint Paul, Minnesota. We will march on the John Ireland BLVD to the lower mall of the Minnesota State Capitol ground. There from 10am to 2pm we will demonstrate #OromoProtests denouncing the Ethiopian government’s mistreatment of the Oromo people. Everybody in Minnesota is invited and encouraged to help in bringing your families and friends to the rally. Outside of Minnesota everybody is encouraged to organize ROUND THREE #OromoProtests in your community if it has not been done. Thank you all and we hope to see you all at the rally.
This map shows the Monday, February 29, 2016 ROUND THREE #OromoProtests marching route. We start at Summit Ave & Selby Ave on a John Ireland BLVD.
Everyone please take a day off work and stand in salidartiy with the #OromoProtests. Bring your family and friends and help those in need to get to the rally.
Thank you all for taking your time to visit the OCM website to review these details. Please spread the word on this cause. May our endeavors further advance humanity.
European Union Parliament condemns the wide range of human rights violations by the TPLF regime in Ethiopia
ESAT News (January 21, 2016)
In what is being described as the strongest resolution on Ethiopia thus far, t s far and described as the strongest resolution ption of objections by the right wing members of the parliamenthe European Union Parliament passed a resolution that condemned the ever increasing human rights violations in Ethiopia by the minority TPLF regime. The Parliament also deplores the recent use of excessive force by security forces in Ethiopia against peaceful protesters in the Oromia region.
“Parliament strongly condemns the recent use of violence by the security forces and the increased number of cases of human rights violations in Ethiopia. It calls for a credible, transparent and independent investigation into the killings of at least 140 protesters and into other alleged human rights violations in connection with the protest movement after the May 2015 federal elections in the country,” according to the news release by the EU parliament.
“It also calls on the Ethiopian authorities to stop suppressing the free flow of information, to guarantee the rights of local civil society and media and to facilitate access throughout Ethiopia for independent journalists and human rights monitors. The EU, as the single largest donor, should ensure that EU development assistance is not contributing to human rights violations in Ethiopia,” the release said.
The resolution which was passed with a majority vote, with the exception of objections by the right wing members of the parliament, has covered a wide range of violations by the minority regime in Ethiopia against peaceful citizens who only demanded for the respect of their political, human, economic and religious rights.
Following is the full text of the resolution:
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Ethiopia and in particular to its most recent plenary debate on the matter, of 20 May 2015,
– having regard to the statements by the EEAS spokesperson on 23 December 2015 and on 27 May 2015,
– having regard to the EU Council conclusions on the EU Horn of Africa Regional Action Plan 2015- 2020 on 26 October 2015,
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,
– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, to which Ethiopia acceded on 11 June 1993,
– having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of 1981, ratified by Ethiopia on 15 June 1998,
– having regard to the second revision of the Cotonou Agreement,
– having regard to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia adopted on 8 December 1994, and in particular the provisions of Chapter III on fundamental rights and freedoms, human rights and democratic rights,
– having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
Whereas Ethiopia is witnessing a wave of protests against the planned expansion of Addis Ababa’s municipal boundary,
Whereas protesters feel that this expansion will lead to displacement of farmers,
Whereas police and military forces have responded to the generally peaceful protests by killing and wounding many protesters; whereas the toll could be as high as 140 casualties and more than thousand injured people according to international human rights’ organisations,
Whereas senior Ethiopian government officials alleged the protests were connected to “foreign terrorist groups,” an apparent attempt to justify the deployment of the army and the use of lethal force to quell the protests,
Whereas terrorism related accusations are routinely used by Ethiopian authorities in order to repress opposition forces and independent journalists,
Whereas Ethiopian security forces have a record of using excessive force against peaceful protesters, including firing into the crowd,
Whereas since the protests began the government has arbitrarily arrested and detained several journalists and political opposition leaders, including the deputy chairman of the party Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), Bekele Gerba, whose whereabouts are unknown today,
Whereas the Ethiopian government has started to show signs of flexibility on the question of the “Addis Ababa Masterplan” linking its implementation to reaching a consensus after in-depth and full discussions;
Whereas the Ethiopian political environment is characterised by the presence of an ultra-dominant ruling party, a large state control on the media, restricted campaign possibilities for the opposition, a year-long clamp down on independent media outlets which has recently extended to social media, oppression of peaceful protests, a restricted space for human rights’ defenders and civil society organisations and a lack of accountability of Ethiopian authorities,
Whereas the abduction in neighbouring Eritrea of political activist and British national Andargachew Tsege led to the recommendation by the Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to the Government of Ethiopia to immediately release him,
Whereas the preferred government strategy for eliminating independent media is to file criminal charges against publishers, and to impose hefty fines and prison terms,
Whereas Ethiopia’s Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Charities law requires organisations engaged in advocacy to generate 90% of the funding for their activities from local sources leading to decrease of CSO action and to the disappearance of many organisations,
Whereas numerous individuals have been arrested and tortured for speaking to human rights organisations and the international media,
Whereas Ethiopia has adopted a national human rights action plan in 2013,
Whereas large scale development programmes and projects, such as the Gibe III dam, and wide-scale leasing of land to international investors are accompanied by resettlement programmes and the reduction of living space for local pastoralists,
Whereas in these contexts pastoralists are often relocated by force, imprisoned and killed by Ethiopian security forces;
Whereas foreign aid has widely finance such programmes and thereby indirectly contributed to human rights abused against local populations,
Whereas Article 40/5 of Ethiopia’s constitution guarantees Ethiopian pastoralists the right to free land for grazing and cultivation as well as the right not to be displaced from their own lands,
Whereas Ethiopia persecutes the Ogaden Oromo and other ethnic groups, targeting women and children; whereas rape and torture have been systematically used to spread fear, and the Ogaden region is effectively under government embargo.
Condemns the violent repression of peaceful protests and calls for the immediate release of peaceful protesters;
Urges the Ethiopian authorities to put in place an independent investigation of the events and to pursue perpetrators of violence and of human rights violations;
Urges the government to immediately invite the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly and other UN human rights experts to visit Ethiopia to report on the situation;
Urges the government to commit to genuine consultation with Oromo communities about the impact of the expansion of Addis Ababa’s municipal boundary, including potential displacement of communities and compensation for those affected;
Calls on the Ethiopian authorities to guarantee, as foreseen inter alia in the Ethiopian Constitution, a space for political debate and controversies without fear for repression;
Requests the Ethiopian authorities to stop using anti-terrorist legislation for repressing political opponents, dissidents, human rights defenders, other civil society actors and independent journalists;
Condemns the excessive restrictions placed on human rights work by the Charities and Societies Proclamation, denying human rights organisations access to essential funding, endowing the Charities and Societies Agency with excessive powers of interference in human rights organisations, further endangering victims of human rights violations by contravening principles of confidentiality;
Urges the Ethiopian authorities to allow access to prisons and all places of detention to independent monitors, and grant all detainees and prisoners access to their families and legal counsel, and provide any medical treatment they may require;
Urges the Ethiopian authorities to move any detainees currently held in unofficial places of detention to a recognised detention centre and charge all of them with a recognisable criminal offence, and try them in a timely manner in trials which meet international standards of fair trial, or immediately and unconditionally release them;
Urges them in particular to implement the Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention recommendation and to immediately release British national and political activist Andargachew Tsege, who is being held under an in absentia death sentence having been kidnapped and rendered to Ethiopia in 2014;
Calls on the government to stop suppressing the free flow of information, including by jamming media broadcasts and harassing media, and facilitate access throughout Ethiopia for independent journalists and human rights monitors;
Calls on Ethiopian authorities to remove restrictions on freedom of expression imposed on the Mass Media by the Access to Information Proclamation (2008) and the Anti-terrorism Proclamation (2009) that do not conform to rights of freedom of expression provided in international human rights law;
Welcomes the Ethiopian 2013 human rights action plan and calls for its swift and complete implementation;
Invites donors to include into their development programmes funds specifically dedicated to strengthening independent media outlets and journalists; welcomes in this context the EU approach consisting of providing assistance to local human rights and democracy groups through the Civil Society Fund;
Calls on the Ethiopian authorities to ensure that all resettlement programmes are voluntary, that affected people are consulted before moving them and to offer pastoralists alternatives to becoming sedentary;
Calls on the EU and other major donors to review programs and policies to ensure that development assistance is not contributing to human rights violations in Ethiopia, particularly programs linked to displacement of farmers and pastoralists, develop strategies to minimize any negative impact of displacement within EU funded development projects and to ensure protection and support to human rights defenders and inclusion of the Ethiopian civil society in the planning, implementation and evaluation of all development efforts;
Urges the Ethiopian authorities to stop its persecution of the Ogaden Oromo and other ethnic groups;
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government of Ethiopia, the institutions of the African Union, the United Nations Secretary-General, the United Nations General Assembly, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the PAN-African Parliament (PAP).
A think tank says Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law is used to stifle dissent
ESAT News (January 21, 2016)
The government of Ethiopia routinely uses its vague and overly broad anti-terrorism law to stifle freedom of expression and political opposition, the Oakland Institute, a policy think tank said in a report today.
“The flawed anti-terrorism law must be revised and its misuse by the government stopped,” the Institute recommended.
Ethiopia’s highly controversial anti-terrorism law, Proclamation No. 652/2009, 1 was enacted in 2009.
The report recalled that “in the course of deliberations over the law, some members of the Ethiopian parliament, as well as human rights organizations, journalists, and others, expressed grave concerns that the law contained an overly broad and vague definition of terrorism, gave the police and security services unprecedented new powers, usurped citizens’ constitutional rights, and shifted the burden of proof to the accused.”
“Those fears have proven to be well founded. During the six years since the enactment of the law, people from all walks of life have been found to be ‘terrorists’ or are awaiting trial as such. Political opponents of the administration have been kidnapped from other countries and brought to Ethiopia to stand trial under the law. Some have been charged with crimes for actions that took place before the law even took effect,”
“Many of those charged report having been tortured, and the so-called confessions that have been obtained as a result have been used against them at trial. In 2013, Human Rights Watch released the report ‘They Want a Confession’ detailing extensive evidence of torture and forced confessions in Ethiopia’s notorious Maekelawi prison. The report provides harrowing testimonies from thirty-five former detainees at Maekelawi prison (where most political prisoners are taken as they await trial) and their family members. Interrogations, isolation, arbitrary detention, dire conditions, and torture are common. The report describes detainees being tortured in order to force confessions, extract information, and obtain signatures on false documents. It notes that detainees are not always aware of what they are signing–either because documents are in Amharic, or because the detainees are not allowed to see the documents they are signing.
The Institute said in the report that, “moreover, both on its face and as applied, the law violates international human rights law, as well as modern criminal justice and due process standards. In short, the law is a tool of repression, designed and used by the Ethiopian government to stifle its critics and political opposition, and criminalize the robust discussion of matters of enormous public interest and importance.”
