Waamicha Qeerroo Marsaa 5ffaa

#FreeAllPoleticalPresionersInEthiopia

 Mr. Bekele Gerba’s Eyes Are Our Eyes!

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Update on the Overall Situation of the Oromo Political Prisoners: Medical Care, Health, and Others

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Addis Ababa/ Finfinne - 23 October 2020

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Mr. Bekele Gerba’s left eye is in a brink of permanent impairment. The Kaliti prison administration denied him access to his monthly medical appointments and a medication he used to receive once a month. This has worsened his eye condition. The prison officials claimed they didn’t receive an order from court that states he can see his private doctor.

Although the court gave an order that Bekele Gerba could get the care he needs, the prison officials only gave him access to prison clinic. Bekele refused the prison clinic, because he knows the type of care he needs is only found in two clinics in the entire country.

On the other hand, Shemsedin Teha who suffered from tortures, is in danger of losing his hearing. Washington hospital has referred his case to get further treatment from a higher clinic called Korean Hospital, located in Finfinne/Addis Ababa. Similar to Mr. Bekele, Shemsedin is also denied access to medical care after being transferred to Kaliti prison. Though the prison administration took him to a hospital for the first time this afternoon, he was not able to get his doctor.

Most of the political prisoners charged along with Jawar Mohammed’s (N-24) file, claimed that they are not getting the necessary medical care they need. For instance, a defendant named Mr. Gutu said, "we are treated like animals, they told us to get our treatment outside of the clinic on the field." He said they took him to see a doctor only once and they refused to take him to his ultrasound appointment.

Regarding the health and overall handling of prisoners, the defendents expressed that there is discrimination based on political, religous, identity backgrounds. For instance, they claimed the administration gives preferential treatment for other prisoners like prisoners from ‘Metec’ and ‘Baldras.’ On the other hand when Oromo political prisoners request to get medical care, they are often told they have not received permission from higher officials. It is self-evident that this discriminatory treatment is intentional and politically motivated.

The prison administration is not willing to address concerns of Oromo political prisoners. The prisoners and their families are expressing their discontent with the prison’s inconsistent and arbitrary decision of limiting the number of visitors to five and sometimes to two. Oromo political prisoners are treated unfairly based on their religion as well. To mention few cases, Mr. Mustaward Tamaam’s female relatives, though willing to go through the required security check, were prohibited from visiting him in prison merely because they wore niqab. Moreover, Mustawardi was also prohibited from making phone calls with his relatives living abroad, while other prisoners were allowed to have phone conversations with their relatives living abroad. Similarly, Mr. Yelemawork - one of Jawar Mohammed’s security guards - is also not allowed to have phone conversations with his family. After Jawar and et al. were transferred to Kaliti prison, most of the wall phone in prison were uninstalled.

It is obvious that the conditions of the prison is unsafe and can potentially expose prisoners to further dangerous situations. The location of the prison appears to be found on illegal grounds, built on a hidden location that looks like a slum. In other words, it seems like an unsanitary refugee camp. The construction of the jail is built without a plan, where the entrance and exit are unknown. The surrounding houses looks like temporary houses made of very thin steel, wood, mud and its electric power cords appear to be in hazardous and unsafe condition.

Finally, witnesses reported hearing a sound of gunfire in the prison around noon, today. According to members of the correctional officers, the shooting was accidental, and no other information has been known regarding injuries.

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October 23, 2020

#AbiyAhmed#MustGo#Ethiopia

 Expired, Decadent, and Violent: Abiy Ahmed has to be Removed Urgently!

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Tsegaye R Ararssa

)

After the 5th of October, Abiy Ahmed's regime has expired. Literally.

The expiry of his tenure (his legally sanctioned term of office) was only preceded by a complete loss of political support among the vast majority of the people across the country. In Oromia, Tigray, Wolaita, and in all the areas where people sought, and still serk, self-rule and democratic election, he does not just lack popular support but exudes public anger. To these people, he is--and shall remain-- anathema.

In Oromia, there has never been a person who became as famous as Abiy Ahmed so fast only to become as infamous as he is today--again--so fast. Today, he is public enemy number 1.

Surely, when all this is over, Oromia wants Abiy to account for his atrocities. The nation hopes that he will, one day--hopefully soon--stand trial for his unspeakable crimes (if at all he comes out of the palace alive).

Most certainly, he can't escape responsibility, even long after he goes into the dustbin of history (for his crimes are not barred even by a statute of limitation).

His temporally brief tenure will be remembered, above all, as the time when the dignity of public office was utterly degraded by lies, deceptions, and grand corruption. For all the bigoted religious (at times, messianic) language used to invoke morality as a way of doing politics [which in itself is wrong!], the notion of ethical-moral integrity is rendered completely alien to his regime.

There seems to be no limit to the corruption, the embezzlement, the doling out of public resources (eg., land, bank loans, investment leases, permits, etc) for buying support or 'political clients' (in an intricate system of client-patron relationship). The cover ups of crimes, political assassinations, and brutal tortures were all funded by finances whose sources 'no one knows' or are obtained from criminal 'business' embedded within the regime. The lies, deception tactics, the corruption, the bribes, and the suppression of the public's truth points to the moral decadence of Abiy and his team.

As far as integrity needed for serving in a public office is concerned, they have decomposed, and they did so way before their tenure legally expired. The expiry of the term of parliamentary tenure only made it more complete.

So was the violence. Political assassinations, terror tactics by state security forces (such as burning houses, indiscriminate shootings and massacres, tortures, political rape, killing and giving the bodies of their victims to wild beasts, mass detentions, denial of access to health to political prisoners, etc etc) had become become the hallmark of Abiy's rule way before the 5th of October.

At the time of this writing, Abiy's regime is politically despised (by the public), legally expired, morally decadent, and psycho-physically violent.

In short, it has become a perfect criminal. And its criminality is total.

It's time for responsible constitutional bodies to take urgent action in order to control, remove, and punish this group of gangsters--and restore much needed peace and stability in the country.

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

በ Henok Dejene

 በኩቡር ጃል ዳዎድ ኢብሳ ቤት የነበረን የሶስት ቀን እገታና የአንድ ቀን የፖሊስ ጣቢያ ቆይታችን!

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የኦነግ ሊቀመንበርነት ጃል ዳዎድ ኢብሳ መግለጫ በሚሰጥበት ቦታ ከ3 ከጓደኞቼ ጋር ተገኝተን ነበር። የሆነው ነገር እጅግ በጣም ያሳፍራል።መጀመሪያ የክብር ጃል ዳዎድ ኢብሳ መኖሪያ ቤት ገና እንደደረስን ካሳቸው ቤት አጠገብ  የአፍሪካ ፕሬዝዳንት መኖሪያ ግቢ አካባቢ ለጥበቃ የቆሙ የሚመስሉ የፌዴራል ፖሊሶች ተደርድረው ነበር።በቦታው አንጋፋ ሰዎችና የተለያዩ እንግዳዎች ተገኝተዋል።የሆነው ሆኖ ፕሮግራሙ ተጀመረ! ፕሮግራሙ እንደተጀመረ ሀያ ደቂቃ እንደሞላው የግቢው በር ተንኳኳ! በሩ እንደተከፈተ አራት የፌደራል ፖሊስ እና አንድ ሸሚዝ የለበሰ የደህንነት ሰው ግቢ ውስጥ ካልገባን ሲሉ ፤በሩን የከፈቱት ቄሮዎች የፍርድቤት ማዘዣ ካልያዛችሁ መግባት እንደማይችሉና ህጉም እንደማይፈቅድላቸው አስረዷቸው። ነገር ግን ቃል በቃል ወታደሮቹ የመለሱት  መልስ ሊያውም በንቀትና በአማርኛ "ውስጥ ለመግባት የፍርድ ቤት ትእዛዝ አያስፈልገንም!" በማለት መሳሪያ አቀባብሎ ዞር በል! እያሉ ወታደሮቹ ግርግር ፈርጥረው ፕሮግራሙን ሲረብሹ ክቡር ጄል ዳዎድ ኢብሳ መግለጫ መስጠቱን አቋርጠው ወጥተው ሲያናግሯቸው በአንዴ ወታደሮቹ ስክን አሉ። ባህሪያቸው ለምን በአንድ ከያዙን ልቀቁኝ ወደ መስከን እንደተቀየረ አልገባኝም።

....ንግግር ተጀመረ! ወታደሮቹ እኛ የመጣነው ጋዜጠኞቹን ፈልገን ነው። እነሱን አሶጡልን አሉ! በትዛዛቸውም መሰረት ነገሮቹን ላለማባባስ ሲባል ጋዜጠኞቹ ወጡ ተያዙ፤ ቀጠሉና ፕሮግራሙ ላይ የነበሩትን ሰዎች ስም እንመዝግብ አሉ! ፕሮግራሙ ላይ ያሉትን መዘገቡ ለግዜው ማንም ከግቢው ወጥቶ እንዳይሄድ ከላይ የተሰጠን ትዛዝ ስላለ ማንም መግባት መውጣት አይችልም። ከግቢ የምትወጡት ትዛዙ በድጋሚ ከላይ ሲሰጠን ነው ተብለን ተቀምጠን። ሰዓታት አለፉ! ጠበቅን መጠበቅን የተለየ ነገር የለም  እዛው ቤት አደርን። 

በንጋታው በጠዋት ተጨማሪ ወታደሮች የጃል ዳዎድ ኢብሳ መኖሪያ ግቢ ከበው ይገኛሉ።  እንግዶቹ አሁንም ድረስ እንደታገቱ ነው። ወደ ወስጥ ማንም አይገባም። ወደ ውጪም ማንም አይወጣም። 

ከጠዋቱ አራት ስዓት ላይ የጃል ዳዎድ ኢብሳ እንግዶች ከግቢ ወጥተው መሄድ እንደሚችሉ ትዛዝ ከበላይ መጣ ተባለ። እንግዶቹም ከወጡ በኃላ በፖሊስ መኪና ልክ ወንጀል እንደሰራ ሰው ተጭነው ወደ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ ሄዱ። በቤቱ ውስጥ የቀረነውም ላለመውጣት ወሰንን። 

የእንግዶቹ እና የጋዜጠኞቹ መታስርና ከተለያዩ ከሀገር ውስጥ ሚዲያዎች አልፎ ወደ አለም አቀፍ Human rights ተቋማት ጉዳዩ ደረሰ። የሆነው ሆኖ  በስንት ሙግት ወደ ማክሰኞ አመሻሻ ላይ ጋዜጠኞቹም የጃል ዳዎድ  እንግዳዎቹም ከእስር ተለቀቁ። በንጋታው ዕሮብ እለት ጃል ዳዎድ ቤት ውስጥ ቀርተን የነበርን ሁሉ ከሁለት ቀን  የጃል ዳዎድ ቤት እገታ በኋላ አንድ ቀን  ፖሊስ ጣቢያ አሽተው  አንገላተው ለቀቁን።

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በጃል ዳዎድ ቤት በነበርን ቆይታ አንድም እንከን ሳይገጥመን ሁሉነገር ተሟልቶልን ሳንጨናነቅ በክቡር ጄል ዳዎድ ኢብሳ መኖሪያ ቤት በማሳላፋችን እጅግ በጣም ታላቅ ክብርና ደስታ ለታላቁ አንጋፋው የኦሮሞ ህዝብ ትግል አባት ምስጋና ማቅረብ እንፈልጋለን።🙏

#AbiyMustGo#Ethiopia

A TRIBUTE TO YOUNG AWOL- BAALEE ROOBEE

The life of this Oromo young man was taken away yesterday by the security forces deployed by Abiy Ahmed. 

Awol, his name, was peacefully marching along with dozens of his friends, demanding the release of the Oromo political prisoners, who were recently jailed as part of Abiy Ahmed’s political scheme to dismiss the critical Oromo voices from the field. 

Young Awol was courageously marching unarmed, carrying banners and postures in the town of Bale Robe when heavily armed security squads belonging to Abiy Ahmed opened gunfire on them. 

This young man’s life was ripped from us in a consistently devastating act of Abiy Ahmed’s violent policy against the Oromo. 

Little does Abiy Ahmed understands the Oromo people’s undying devotion to making sure the future generation inherits a free and democratic Oromia. 

 

It’s upon the Oromo nation to turn this grief into a legacy that will forever honor the heroism this young man embodied. 

REST IN POWER YOUNG MAN!

MUST WATCH: Ethiopian security forces' atrocious acts against protesters

The main opposition Party is calling for peacefull power transition

#AbiyMustGo#Ethiopia

 

#AbiyAhmedMustGo

 https://www.ethiopia-insight.com/2020/10/03/ethiopian-court-asks-attorney-general-to-explain-comment-after-jawar-and-bekele-accuse-him-of-presuming-their-guilt/?fbclid=IwAR2hnmHOv9_WgdCpagnQwOSqpbLJPJvruJ-_UQpFhgP4LOVfxLJhSq2Dvi8

Ittiiqaa Tafarii – Galma Dhugaa New Oromo Music 2020 (Official Video)

#AbiyMustGo#Ethiopia

 

Ethiopian Forces Should Show Restraint at Upcoming Festival

Laetitia Bader

Director, Horn of Africa

Oromo Holiday Has Been a Flashpoint for Violence

Each year, massive crowds gather in the town of Bishoftu in Ethiopia’s Oromia region for the Oromo harvest festival of Irreecha. It’s one of the year’s most important cultural and religious events for millions of ethnic Oromos.

But this year’s festival, on October 3 and 4, occurs against the backdrop of escalating tensions and unrest in Oromia. On June 29, the assassination of popular Oromo singer Hachalu Hundessa triggered violence, leaving hundreds killed, some by security forces, others by civilian perpetrators, and massive property destruction and displacement.

In response, the government detained thousands, including prominent politicians it accuses of involvement in the violence. The security force presence in many towns in Oromia has increased, and recent protests have been met with a heavy-handed response.

Irreecha has already been a political flashpoint. In 2016, following a year of anti-government protests, security forces shot tear gas and discharged firearms as crowds gathered for the festival, sparking a stampede that left possibly hundreds dead.

Since March, the Ethiopian government has limited mass gatherings to slow the spread of Covid-19. With infection rates in Ethiopia remaining high, the authorities have recently further limited participation in large assemblies, most recently with the Orthodox Christian festival of Meskel, and now for this year’s Irreecha. An Oromia regional official has warned against manipulating the festival for political purposes. Federal security officials have also stated they will not tolerate any violence.

But many Oromos view the government’s attempts to limit participation in Irreecha with fear and suspicion. One 27-year-old man from West Arsi zone, Oromia, recently said: “The officials are selecting who will go, who will not, but they are not discussing with communities. You remember 2016? I fear that this year’s Irreecha festival will also face similar incidents.”

Amid a pandemic, reasonable restrictions on public gatherings may be justified. But with tensions already high, expressions of dissent and resistance to government directives may be expected. The government should show it has learned lessons from its recent responses to demonstrations and the events of 2016 by ensuring security forces exercise restraint and allowing gatherers to celebrate safely.

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests

 The Politics in the Political Trial of Jawar M and 23 Others

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I have now read the 336 pages of the indictment in full and here are my further reflections and observations.

Two preliminary points:

First: For those to whom it is intended, the indictment reads like a shocking thriller, conjuring an image of dangerous individuals who represent a mortal threat to the Ethiopian state and its PM, who is working hard to Make Ethiopia Great Again, and must be locked up and expunged from the political scene. Take for example the scene where the script writer imagines Jawar recruiting former OLF fighters and sends them to Egypt via Kenya, for training … the amount of cynicism here … basically praying on the prejudices, fears and apprehensions of the Addis Ababa elite ... A muslim Oromo, recruiting 'oneg' fighters, and sent them to Arab/Muslim Egypt, who is at a diplomatic war with Ethiopia ( note that the PM has been desperately trying to find some ways of using the enthusiasm over the GERD for internal politics, and of course his statement after Haacaaluu's assassination)

Second: For those against whom the script is written, it is likely to be perceived as a concatenation of provable falsehoods and outright lies designed to advance an oppressive political objective.

I have followed EPRDF era political trials and I have written on them extensively. I have also written on political trials elsewhere extensively. This indictment is perhaps the most blatant and egregious abuse of the legal system and the judicial space for political ends I have ever encountered.

The Trial

This trial is not a run-of-the-mill criminal trial. It is a political trial carefully choreographed and staged to put Oromo nationalism, which ushered the PM onto power, in the dock. The indictment reads as a prosecution of the aspiration of the Oromo public for a dignified and peaceful co-existence with the nations and nationalities of Ethiopia.

Indeed, some of the ridiculous evidence presented here and the sequence of events described and narrative makes it clear that this is part of a broader strategic manoeuvre by the government to depict an unpatriotic and violent image of Oromo nationalism to prepare the discursive environment for the PM's ultimate objective of dismantling multinational federation. Jawar and the 23 accused are convenient scapegoats on which to hang the stories the government wanted to filter into the court of public opinion.

At its core, this trial represents a collision of two radically contrasting visions of the future for Ethiopia: Jawar's ethnonational vision of a democratic multinational federal order, and the PM's "Make Ethiopia Great Again" vision of a highly centralised state in which he reigns supreme. And there is no symmetry between these two visions.

The established order is deploying the devices of law and justice to eliminate critical Oromo voices from the political space – a practice that is in keeping with Ethiopia's imperial origin and its anti-Oromo foundation. After all, this is a multi-ethnic empire that rendered significant parts of its population "a part of no part." The only reason people like Jawar, Eskinder, Lidetu, Bekele, Hamza and so many others are on trial is because Abiy and his neo-neftegna regime can. Abiy sees Jawar as a potent electoral threat in the short term & a mortal threat to his "Ethiopia First" vision in the long term. He is, quite simply, using the law 2 protect his personal interest.

Eskinder Nega and Others

People like Eskinder Nega and Lidetu Ayalew (both could represent a potential threat to Abiy’s electoral fortunes in Addis Ababa), are on trial because it allows the state to deny political motivation in the crackdown. They can say, look, we have arrested and detained individuals from other political formations too, not just Oromos, this is merely a matter of routine law and order operation.

What I find deeply tragic about Eskinder is how his metropolitan constituency seemed totally willing to sacrifice him. In their transactional worldview, if Abiy goes after Oromo nationalism and Oromo nationalists - forces they consider a threat to the established structure of privilege that gives them symbolic and material sustenance - Eskinder can be sacrificed.

By Awol Kasim