Ethiopians in Norway vowed to stand beside Ginbot 7 popular force and pictures

    
oct 24,2013
On 28th of September 2013, successful fundraising was conducted for Ginbot 7 Popular Force (G7pf), recently established and struggling against the woyane junta. The fundraising event, staged from 4:00 – 12:00 p.m. local time, was coordinated by a taskforce established by Democratic Change in Ethiopia Support Organization in Norway (DCESON). The event was able to attract many participants from all over Norway and other European countries. The event was one of the success stories in the history of fundraising in terms of both participation and raised amount of money.
The official announcement of the founding of the Ginbot 7 people`s force has been a positive development and was welcomed by most Ethiopians living in Norway. Ginbot 7 popular force has added a momentum to the struggle and elevated the moral and hope of many Ethiopians living in Norway. The formation of this force marks a new and decisive phase in the struggle against the racist and fascist rule of the Tigray People`s Liberation Front (TPLF) in Ethiopia. Hence, the enthusiasm, inspiration and increased degree of engagement that were witnessed during the event reflected the aspirations and commitments of the participants. Besides, it shows that the force has been able to garner an increasing and widespread support in Norway and inevitably in other parts of the Diaspora at the moment.
The DCESON has been supporting the struggle for democracy, freedom and justice in Ethiopia starting from the pre-kinijit time. The current fundraising event is purely the initiative of DCESON and it was conducted by forming a taskforce consisting of its committed members. DCESON took this mission as a national and timely one and undertook extensive planning and mobilization tasks. On the other hand, the agents of the TPLF and their supporters made futile attempts and campaigns to undermine and hamper this event. This shows that the formation of an armed Ethiopian resistance force has frightened and alarmed the TPLF camp and regime.

Ato Andargachew Tsege, the secretary of the Ginbot 7 Movement for Justice and Freedom and Democracy and Commander Assefa Maru, chief of Ginbot 7 Popular Force, were the guests of the event. The guests received a standing ovation in the event hall which was decorated with the Ethiopian flag and symbols of the popular force.
The event had a series of programs which went on as planned. After the program of the day was announced by Ato Abi Amare, leader of the PR group, opening remarks were given by preventative of the taskforce, Ato Worku Tadesse. A keynote address was given by the chairperson of the DCESON Ato Dawit Mekonnen. Representatives of the Ethiopian asylum seekers` association, w/t Sara Girma, DCESON women’s branch, w/o Guenet Worku, Chairperson of DCESON-Women’s section, W/t Lemlem Andarge, DCESON-Bergen branch, Ato Shume Werku gave speeches to the audience. In addition, W/t Kalkidan Kassahun from Steinskjer, Ato Sally Abraham from Vestness, also held speeches that focused on the significance of the event and the need for increased struggle against the TPLF rule in Ethiopia. Moreover, the representative of the Tigray People Democratic Movement (TPDM) in Norway, Ato Haile Asmamaw, addressed the event and played the audiovisual message to all Ethiopians sent from the field.
The younger members of the DCESON in fatigues were a unique addition to the event.
Ato Andargachew outlined the tasks and current activities of the force and presented footage showing the training and preparations of the force out in the field. He also mentioned the cooperation with the Tigray People`s Democratic Movement (TPDM), hardships the members of the force undergo and the sacrifices they pay.
Commander Assefa Maru spoke on his part about the objectives, tasks and missions of the force. In his speech, he explained the importance of an armed force and resistance to remove the TPLF from power and pave the way for a democratic and an all-inclusive political system in Ethiopia. He underscored the commitment of the force to achieve its goal and necessity of offering help and support to the force.
The audience learnt from the two guests that Ginbot 7 Popular Force is established by freedom-loving Ethiopians, including youngsters and intellectuals and it is working to remove TPLF by force and to create a peaceful transition period enabling establishment of non-partisan and constitutional defense, police, security, judiciary, etc. which are crucial for a healthy playground for different political parties aspiring power in the country. Among the current G7PF members are many intellectuals who joined this force abandoning their relatively comfortable living, families and professional jobs. This is one of the peculiarities of the G7PF compared to traditional armed struggles in Ethiopia where mainly farmers and other non-intellectuals comprise the main components of the foot soldiers. Presence of skillful leadership on the ground is told to highly assist G7PF members equip not only with armament but also with political, social, cultural knowledge about Ethiopia which is important to build a force that understands why and whom they are fighting for and paying sacrifices.
Food and refreshments were served during the event. Ethiopian music and live performances were staged to make the event entertaining and enjoyable. A short drama showing the atrocities of the TPLF regime in Ethiopia, written by w/t Mihret Ashine, was also presented.
The latter parts of the event were devoted to auctions meant for raising money as planned. The inspiration and enthusiasm of auction hosts, Ato Million Abebe and Ato Amsal Kasie, was the driving force for the high sum of money raised during the auction. The financial contributions of the participants and others, including attendants of the Ethiopian Current Affairs Discussion Forum (ECADF) were high and laudable.
The successful staging of the event was made possible through the cooperation and contributions of the participants as a whole. This event demonstrated what Ethiopians in the diaspora can achieve through cooperation and working together for a common goal.
The fundraising taskforce and DCESON extend their heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all the participants, contributors and huge thanks to all Ethiopians from all over Norway.
Ginbot 7 Popular Force fundraising taskforce in Norway

Gov. Source Refutes Ethiopia’s Deputy PM was Involved in Car Accident

A senior government official who was a part of a large delegation led by Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen during a visit to  Somali region in eastern Ethiopia refuted allegations that deputy Prime Minister  Demeke Mekonnen’s car was involved in a serious car crash with a motorbike in the area.However, our source said that a separate motorbike accident  by one of the entourages from the region claimed the life of one man who was sitting behind the motorbike’s rider.

A delegation of more than 250 personnel comprising of highlevel government officials, including regional presidents, local investors and artists have traveled to the region on Thursday Oct. 17th where television pictures showed them as being welcomed by regional Chief Administrator of Somali Regional State Abdi Mohammed Umer at Gode airport.

Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia

On Monday press reports quoted officials of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) claiming attacks against the delegation by ONLF fighters in Kebri Dar airport in Somali region. Soon rumors spread that Deputy PM Demeke Mekonnen’s car was involved in an accident near Kebri Dar.

According to our source, the accident happened on Friday afternoon on Oct. 18th during the drive from Jijiga town to Kebri Dar roughly 50 meters away from the motorcade accompanying the Deputy Prime Minister when the biker took a speedy U-turn and slid off the road killing the second person on impact. “It was a tragic event and members of the delegation have immediately pledged to give close to 300, 000 br. to the families of the diseased,” our source said.

The visit was organized by the federal government to showcase the region’s ongoing development programs ahead of the 8th Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Day, the most colorful events sponsored every year by the federal government to celebrate the country’s diverse ethnic groups to be held in Dec. this year in the Somali region.

Home to more than 5 million ethnic Somalis, the Ograden region is an area where separatist ONLF fighters are fighting for autonomous for the last five decades, although as of late separate peace deals were reached at different times between sections of ONLF and the central government.   The area has been sealed off since 2005 following attacks by ONLF fighters against foreign oil company workers that claimed the lives of 76 people.

Source: Addisstandard

Political Detainees Tortured says Human Rights Watch (+ audio)

For Immediate Release
***To download audio interviews:
http://multimedia.hrw.org/distribute/gqcvkweart
Ethiopia: Political Detainees Tortured
Police Abuse Journalists, Opponents to Extract Confessions
(Nairobi, October 18, 2013) – Ethiopian authorities have subjected political detainees to torture and other ill-treatment at the main detention center in Addis Ababa, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Ethiopian government should take urgent steps to curb illegal practices in the Federal Police Crime Investigation Sector, known as Maekelawi, impartially investigate allegations of abuse, and hold those responsible to account.
The 70-page report, “‘They Want a Confession’: Torture and Ill-Treatment in Ethiopia’s Maekelawi Police Station,” documents serious human rights abuses, unlawful interrogation tactics, and poor detention conditions in Maekelawi since 2010. Those detained in Maekelawi include scores of opposition politicians, journalists, protest organizers, and alleged supporters of ethnic insurgencies. Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 35 former Maekelawi detainees and their relatives who described how officials had denied their basic needs, tortured, and otherwise mistreated them to extract information and confessions, and refused them access to legal counsel and their relatives.
“Ethiopian authorities right in the heart of the capital regularly use abuse to gather information,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Beatings, torture, and coerced confessions are no way to deal with journalists or the political opposition.”
Since the disputed elections of 2005, Ethiopia has intensified its clampdown on peaceful dissent, Human Rights Watch said. Arbitrary arrest and political prosecutions, including under the country’s restrictive anti-terrorism law, have frequently been used against perceived opponents of the government who have been detained and interrogated at Maekelawi.
Maekelawi officials, primarily police investigators, have used various methods of torture and ill-treatment against those in their custody. Former detainees described to Human Rights Watch being slapped, kicked, and beaten with various objects, including sticks and gun butts, primarily during interrogations. Detainees also described being held in painful stress positions for hours upon end, hung from the wall by their wrists, often while being beaten.
A student from Oromiya described being shackled for several months in solitary confinement: “When I wanted to stand up it was hard: I had to use my head, legs, and the walls to stand up. I was still chained when I was eating. They would chain my hands in front of me while I ate and then chain them behind me again afterward.”
Detention conditions in Maekelawi’s four primary detention blocks are poor but vary considerably. In the worst block, known as “Chalama Bet” (dark house in Amharic), former detainees said their access to daylight and to a toilet were severely restricted, and some were held in solitary confinement. Those in “Tawla Bet” (wooden house) complained of limited access to the courtyard outside their cells and flea infestations. Investigators use access to basic needs and facilities to punish or reward detainees for their compliance with their demands, including by transferring them between blocks. Short of release, many yearn to be transferred to the block known as “Sheraton,” named for the international hotel, where movement is freer.
Detainees held in Chalama Bet and Tawla Bet were routinely denied access to their lawyers and relatives, particularly in the initial phase of detention. Several family members told Human Rights Watch that they had visited Maekelawi daily but that officials denied them access to their detained relative until the lengthy investigation phase was over. The absence of a lawyer during interrogations increases the likelihood of abuse, and limits the chances for documenting abuse and obtaining redress, Human Rights Watch said.
“Cutting detainees off from their lawyers and relatives not only heightens the risk of abuse but creates enormous pressure to comply with the investigators’ demands,” Lefkow said. “Those in custody in Maekelawi need lawyers at their interrogations and access to their relatives, and should be promptly charged before a judge.”
Human Rights Watch found that investigators used coercive methods, including beatings and threats of violence, to compel detainees to sign statements and confessions. These statements have sometimes been used to exert pressure on people to work with the authorities after they are released, or used as evidence in court.
Martin Schibbye, a Swedish journalist held in Maekelawi in 2011, described the pressure used to extract confessions: “For most people in Maekelawi, they keep them until they give up and confess, you can spend three weeks with no interviews, it’s just waiting for a confession, it’s all built around confession. Police say it will be sorted in court, but nothing will be sorted out in court.”
Detainees have limited channels for redress for ill-treatment, Human Rights Watch said.  Ethiopia’s courts lack independence, particularly in politically sensitive cases. Despite numerous allegations of abuse by defendants, including people held under the anti-terrorism law, the courts have taken inadequate steps to investigate these allegations or to protect defendants complaining of mistreatment from reprisals.
The courts should be more proactive in responding to complaints of mistreatment, but that can happen only if the government allows the courts to act independently and respects their decisions, Human Rights Watch said.
Ethiopia has severely restricted independent human rights investigation and reporting in recent years, hampering monitoring of detention conditions in Maekelawi. The governmental Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has visited Maekelawi three times since 2010 and publicly raised concerns about incommunicado detention. However, former detainees told Human Rights Watch that Maekelawi officials were present during those visits, preventing them from talking with commission members privately, and questioned their impact.
Improved human rights monitoring in Maekelawi and other detention facilities requires revision of two repressive laws, the Charities and Societies Proclamation and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. These laws have significantly reduced independent human rights monitoring and removed basic legal safeguards against torture and ill-treatment in detention, Human Rights Watch said.
Ethiopia’s constitution and international legal commitments require officials to protect all detainees from mistreatment, and the Ethiopian authorities at all levels have a responsibility both to end abusive practices and to prosecute those responsible, Human Rights Watch said. While the Ethiopian government has developed a three-year human rights action plan that acknowledges the need to improve the treatment of detainees, the plan does not address physical abuse and torture; it focuses on capacity building rather than on the concrete political action needed to end the routine abuse.
“More funds and capacity building alone will not end the widespread mistreatment in Maekelawi and other Ethiopian detention centers,” Lefkow said. “Real change demands action from the highest levels of government against all those responsible to root out the underlying culture of impunity.”
“‘They Want a Confession’: Torture and Ill-Treatment in Ethiopia’s Maekelawi Police Station” is available at:
http://hrw.org/node/119826
For more information on the trial and Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law, please visit:

• http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/06/27/ethiopia-terrorism-law-used-crush-free-speech
• http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/01/19/ethiopia-terrorism-verdict-quashes-free-speech
• http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/12/21/ethiopia-journalists-convicted-under-unfair-law
• http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/16/ethiopia-crackdown-dissent-intensifies
• http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/06/30/ethiopia-amend-draft-terror-law
• http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/11/02/submission-committee-against-torture-ethiopia

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Ethiopia, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/ethiopia

ወያኔ መጥቷልና ወገን ተዘጋጅ!!!!!!!!!

ወያኔን መደገፍ ማለት በወገኖችዎ ላይ የሚደርሰውን ይህን ግፍ መደገፍ መሆኑን ይገንዘቡ!!
የወያኔን የዘረፋ ጉዞ ተባብረን እንግታ!!
የወያኔ ቁንጮ የነበረው መለስ ዜናዊ ከሚስቱ ጋር በመሆን ከዘረፉት በላይ ለመዝረፍ በነደፉት የአባይ ግድብ እቅድ ሳቢያ በውጭ ሃገር ካለው ወገናችን ጉልበት በዝባዥ የሆነውን የፈረንጅ ሃገር ስራ ተጋትሮ ያገኛትን ለመመንተፍ የመለስ ውሾች የሆኑት ካድሬ ተብዬዎች ላይ ታች ሲንጠራወዙ ሁለት ዓመት ሆናቸው። ሃገር ወዳድ ኢትዮጵያዊያንም እነዚህን ተላላኪ አሽከሮች በየደረሱበት እያሳደዱ ስብሰባ ብለው የጠሩትን ሲያከሽፉ፣ እግሬ አውጭኝ ሲያስሸመጥጡ፣ የእነርሱን ባንዲራ እያነሱ እውነተኛ የኢትዮጵያ ባንዲራ ሲሰቅሉ፣ ወያኔዎቹ የተከራዩትን አራሽ ተቆጣጥረው የራሳቸውን ስብሰባ ሲያካሄዱ፣ ወዘተ ወዘተ ብዙ ገድል አይተናል። ካድሬዎቹ ውሾች ግን ወትሮም የሰውነት ክብር የላቸውምና በደረሰባቸው ተደጋጋሚ ውርደት ተሸማቀው አርፈው አልተቀመጡም።
እየተሽሎኮለኩና እያደቡ ከዳያስፖራው የውጭ ምንዛሪ ለመንጠቅ ዛሬም የሞት ሞታቸውን ያገኙትን ሁሉ ከመቧጠጥ አላረፉም። በዚህም መሰረት በመጪው ኖቬምበር 02/2013 በጀርመን ሙኒክ በአባይ ቦንድ ስም ዩሮ ለመሰብሰብ እየተጠራሩ መሆኑ ተደርሶበታል። በመሆኑም በሃገሩ ጉዳይ የሚንገበገብ ኢትዮጵያዊ ሁሉ ከቅርብም ከሩቅም ወደ ሙኒክ እንዲከትና የወያኔን ዘረፋ በተለመደው መልኩ እንዲያከሽፍ የተቃውሞ አስተባባሪ ግብረ-ኃይሉ ወገናዊ ጥሪውን ያስተላልፋል።
በእለቱ በሚደረገው ተቃውሞ የተለመደው የወያኔን የዘረፋ ተግባር ከመግታት በተጨማሪ ትናንት የወያኔ መንግስት በደል እንደፈጸመባቸው አመልክተው የስደት ተገን ያገኙና ዛሬ ከወያኔ ጎን ተሰልፈው ለወገኖቻችን ስቃይና ሞት ተባባሪ የሆኑ ለጥቅምና ለሆዳቸው ያደሩ ባንዳዎችን ፎቶ በማንሳትና ቪዲዮ በመቅረጽ ስደት ላመለከቱበት ሃገር መንግስት የማጋለጥ ስራ በሰፊው ይሰራል። ሁላችንም በ02/11/2013 ጀርመን ሙኒክ ተገናኝተን የዜግነት ግዴታችንን እንወጣ።
ወያኔን ለምን እንደምንቃወም እናውቃለን።
* በስርዓቱ ደባ እየፈራረሰች ስላለችው ሃገራችን
* በየጊዜው ስለሚጨፈጨፉ ኢትዮጵያዊ ወገኖቻችን
* መሬታቸውና እየተነጠቁ ስለሚፈናቀሉ ወገኖቻችን
* በየእስር ቤቶቹ ስቃይና መከራን እየተቀበሉ ስላሉ ወንድም እህቶቻችን
* የካድሬ መፈንጫ ስለሆኑት የሃይማኖት ተቋሞቻችን
* ታሪክ አልባ ስለተደረገው ሃገራዊ ማንነታችን
* ስለምንናፍቀውና በወያኔ ስለተዘረፈው የህዝብ የስልጣን ባለቤትነት
* ስለተረገጠው፣ ፍትህ፣ ነፃነትና እኩልነታችን ወዘተ ወያኔንና በስሙ የሚደረጉ እንቅስቃሴዎችን በሙሉ ያለማቅማማት እንድንቃወም ያስገድደናል።
ለወያኔ ያደሩ ሆድ አደር ባንዳዎችም ወያኔ ለሚያፈሰው እያንዳንዱ የደም ጠብታ አስተዋጽኦዋቸው መቼም የማይረሳ ስለሆነ ለተጠያቂነታቸውም ጠንክረን እንሰራለን!!
በሙኒክ ለተዘጋጀው የወያኔ ዘረፋ ሁኔታዎችን እያመቻቹ ያሉትን በቅርብ ቀን ፎቶዎቻቸውንና ስማቸውን ለኢትዮጵያውያን ይፋ እናደርጋ