Stop Land Grab Concert – Washington, DC. Sunday, September 21

Stop Land Grab Concert – Washington, DC. Sunday, September 21

Those in Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia. Please don’t miss “STOP AFRICA LAND GRAB CONCERT” on September 21, 2014 at WARNER THEATER in Washington, D.C. from 6PM to 10PM. Major African Music Artists from 6 countries, including our sister Hanisha Solomon is to Perform Live@Warner Theatre-DC – Washington, DC. Hanisha is a rising-star, an Ethiopian singer and human rights activist who is best known for her distinctive voice and her powerful lyrics that calls for love, unity, justice, equality, freedom and peace.

Here is the link to her new song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pWxGLOfuOIamp;list=UU30vbe4tKmcIiOCHKOUqsqg
dedicated to Africans who are suffering.

Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUjsOTsgIp4
to one of her song dedicated to the 50th anniversary celebration of the formation of the Organization of African Unity( OAU)

Please show your support by attending the concert or buying a ticket. Tickets are available at the box-office or at the door or at The Warner Theatre’s web site.http://www.livenation.com/events/390422-sep-21-2014-stop-africa-land-grab-awareness-concert

The grabbing of fertile land going on in Ethiopia and Africa is not just rhetoric, fear mongering or in one’s imagination; but instead, it is real and happening at a ferocious pace all over Africa. It will change Ethiopia and Africa forever and the major damage may be done. Unless Ethiopians and Africans act quickly to stop this, we will no longer have a country to call our own.

African Land and Natural Resource Grabs Destroy Lives and Futures of Africans. If we, the people of Ethiopia do not quickly take action, Ethiopians and African living on their ancestral land will soon be considered trespassing and the laws of a corrupted land will evict them. Ethiopia and Africa will no longer be owned by Ethiopians, but will be under the control of outsiders and a handful of elite. We will either have to leave the country or become the neo-slaves of the 21st century. This is intolerable and unacceptable.
Why in the world would a government sell off its land and natural resources, much of which will be exported, especially being a beggar nation that feeds many of its people with food grown in foreign countries? It defies common sense, which makes it all the more dangerous. In the SMNE, we cannot be silent during this abusive exploitation and move towards making Ethiopia a slave state. Our family members have been displaced while foreigners are thriving. One can see that what this ethnic-apartheid regime of the TPLF/EPRDF wants is the land and resources but not the people.

Ethiopians, whose ancestors have lived for centuries on the same land, are discovering that they no longer have any rights to it. Ethiopians, especially the most marginalized, are at risk of being evicted from their ancestral lands as it is being leased for almost nothing—and for many decades—to Ethiopian-owned and foreign-owned multi-national corporations, countries, banks and wealthy individuals. Businesses or investments owned by the ruling party, their family members and their supporting friends, both Ethiopians and non-Ethiopians, are capitalizing on this new opportunity to exploit new money-making schemes, only available to political and financial supporters of the Marxist-Leninist leaning Ethiopian government that still prohibits its own citizens from owning land.

This betrayal of the Ethiopian people is being carried out by a greedy, ethnic-apartheid group at the top, willing to exercise its military brute strength to get its way; on the other hand, the way it is being executed reveals the desperation of a tottering regime, willing to go to any means to get the necessary hard currency needed to better shore up their loosening control of the country. This is a legitimate concern on their part due to the increasing anger of the people; yet, these actions are simply fueling more anger that will require more force and money to contain.

Student Perspective: Protecting Freedom of Expression, in Ethiopia and Beyond

Posted on September 17, 2014 by ispaho

Via the International Human Rights Clinic 

Posted by Lindsay Church, J.D. ’16

In July 2012, Eskinder Nega was sentenced to 18 years in prison. In June 2011, Reeyot Alemu was arrested and convicted to 14 years of imprisonment, reduced to five on appeal.

Their crimes? Practicing journalism in Ethiopia.

Nega and Alemu are award-winning journalists who shared the prestigious Human Rights Watch Hellman-Hammett Award in 2012. For Nega, whose first child was born while he and his wife were in custody for treason , the arrest came days after publishing a column that criticized the Ethiopian government’s detainment of journalists as suspected terrorists. For Alemu, a former high school English teacher, the arrest came days after she critiqued the ruling political party in an independent newspaper later shut down by the government.

The basis for the charges against these journalists is Ethiopia’s 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, which contains overly vague provisions that have been used by the government to silence its critics. Since the Proclamation was adopted, more than 30 journalists have been convicted on terrorism-related charges.

Earlier this summer, I had the privilege of working on behalf of Nega and Alemu as a fellow with the Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI). The small London-based non-profit works directly with journalists and bloggers who have been prosecuted for exercising their protected right to freedom of expression. With the help of partner organizations, MLDI’s staff are currently working on 107 cases in 41 countries; the organization’s success rate in receiving favorable decisions hovers around 70 percent.

Because I studied journalism before coming to law school, I know the range of challenges American journalists face, from accessing information to protecting sources to the threat of civil liability. Still, it was always clear to me that the First Amendment by and large provides a greater amount of protection to journalists than any other national legal system. As my work at MLDI made clear this summer, freedom of expression is severely restricted in other countries—by censorship, regulations, state-operated monopolies, criminal liability, and physical threat, among others.

For example, on my very first day, I worked on a petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concerning the case of Le Quoc Quan, a Vietnamese human rights lawyer and blogger who was wrongfully prosecuted on trumped up charges of tax evasion. Throughout my internship, I also researched case law from regional courts on freedom of expression, helped with an amicus curiae submission before the High Court of South Africa in a case about criminal defamation, and worked on a case in defense of a blogger in Singapore who is being sued by Lee Hsien Loong, the country’s prime minister.

When Nani Jansen, MLDI’s legal director, filed a submission to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on behalf of Nega and Alemu, I had the opportunity to do preparatory work for the submission. I also helped in the filing of submissions to international and regional courts on behalf of Nega and Alemu.

At this point, their chances for release are still unknown, but the situation remains dire. In a New York Times Op-Ed, “Letter from Ethiopia’s Gulag,” Nega wrote about gruesome prison conditions, including three toilets for about 1,000 prisoners. Alemu’s health continues to deteriorate: After receiving an operation to remove a lump in her breast—without the use of anesthesia—she was immediately sent back to the prison without proper recovery time, and she has since been denied further treatment.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights remains one of the last options for these two journalists. When the Commission convenes its next session on October 22nd, I am hopeful it will recognize their case is admissible and that the Ethiopian government has used the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation to systematically violate the right to freedom of expression. Even if the Commission decides the case is admissible, a decision on the merits is far away. While the ruling on admissability will not immediately free Nega and Alemu, together with more international pressure, the Commission may eventually persuade Ethiopia that the cost of jailing journalists is too high.

Learn more about how to advocate on behalf of Nega and Alemu.

Lindsay Church, JD ‘16, will join the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy at the University of Oxford this January as a visiting research fellow. While there, she will work on a paper she began this summer, “International Influence on Freedom of Expression in Ethiopia: An Analysis of the Impact of Ethiopia’s Relations with the United States and China.”

Water still a luxury in Ethiopia (Pictures)

Thirty years after Ethiopia’s devastating famine, water is still as inaccessible as it is precious. While 52 percent of the people have access to improved water, only 10 percent have water piped into their homes. And in rural areas, this figure is as low as 1 percent. Only 24 percent have adequate sanitation.

The implications are extremely broad. In an agriculture-based country, water shortages largely affect not only the country’s economy, but also the basic life of people whose subsistence depends on each season’s crops. Often poor countries like Ethiopia, with high population growth, are the most vulnerable to water stress.

Not to mention that on a continent currently affected by major diseases, controlling outbreaks is also a question of access to water and sanitation.

There are a lot of factors contributing to the lack of access to water and sanitation, ranging from environmental degradation due to desertification and deforestation, natural disasters such as extreme drought and climate change resulting from global warming. Other factors include pollution, caused by massive congestions in urban areas. This has led to a vicious cycle: people are leaving rural areas due to poverty hoping to find better opportunities in the cities only to contribute to the depreciation of living conditions where they arrive by overpopulating the towns’ slums.

The government has expanded its social service delivery programmes; NGOs projects are improving life in some communities, but it is a long process and on the larger scale, the infrastructure handling Ethiopia’s water supply is still inadequate and the need for improved water and sanitation is still severe.

Source: Al Jazeera

UN experts urge Ethiopia to stop using anti-terrorism legislation to curb human rights

GENEVA (18 September 2014) – A group of United Nations human rights experts* today urged the Government of Ethiopia to stop misusing anti-terrorism legislation to curb freedoms of expression and association in the country, amid reports that people continue to be detained arbitrarily.

The experts’ call comes on the eve of the consideration by Ethiopia of a series of recommendations made earlier this year by members of the Human Rights Council in a process known as the Universal Periodic Review which applies equally to all 193 UN Members States. These recommendations are aimed at improving the protection and promotion of human rights in the country, including in the context of counter-terrorism measures.

“Two years after we first raised the alarm, we are still receiving numerous reports on how the anti-terrorism law is being used to target journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders and opposition politicians in Ethiopia,” the experts said. “Torture and inhuman treatment in detention are gross violations of fundamental human rights.”

“Confronting terrorism is important, but it has to be done in adherence to international human rights to be effective,” the independent experts stressed. “Anti-terrorism provisions need to be clearly defined in Ethiopian criminal law, and they must not be abused.”

The experts have repeatedly highlighted issues such as unfair trials, with defendants often having no access to a lawyer. “The right to a fair trial, the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the right to freedom of association continue to be violated by the application of the anti-terrorism law,” they warned.

“We call upon the Government of Ethiopia to free all persons detained arbitrarily under the pretext of countering terrorism,” the experts said. “Let journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents and religious leaders carry out their legitimate work without fear of intimidation and incarceration.”

The human rights experts reiterated their call on the Ethiopian authorities to respect individuals’ fundamental rights and to apply anti-terrorism legislation cautiously and in accordance with Ethiopia’s international human rights obligations.

“We also urge the Government of Ethiopia to respond positively to the outstanding request to visit by the Special Rapporteurs on freedom of peaceful assembly and association, on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and on the situation of human rights defenders,” they concluded.

Source: United Nations Human Rights

States must not ignore reality for free expression in Ethiopia

Mr. President,

ARTICLE 19 notes with appreciation that Ethiopia has accepted recommendations to implement fully its Constitutional protections for freedoms of expression, assembly and association, as well as to encourage political debate ahead of the 2015 elections. 

However, this apparent openness to cooperation is in stark contrast to the reality on the ground in Ethiopia, where an unprecedented crackdown on freedom of expression continues to escalate in advance of the coming elections.

During its UPR, Ethiopia denied that any journalists are in prison. This is not true. ARTICLE 19 has documented that the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation has been used since its enactment in 2009 to prosecute 22 journalists and bloggers. The Proclamation defines “terrorism” so broadly that it encompasses any exercise of legitimate dissent that the Government wishes to crush. The Zone 9 Bloggers, Soliana Shimelis (charged in absentia), Atnaf Berahane, Mahlet Fantahun, Natnael Feleke, Befeqadu Hailu, Zelalem Kiberet, Abel Wabela, together with 3 journalists, Edom Kassaye, Tesfalem Weldeyes and Asmamaw Hailegorgis of Addis Guday magazine, are the latest victims in this regard, charged with “terrorism” for exercising their rights to freedom of expression.

The apparatus of censorship in Ethiopia is vast, and freedom of expression cannot be guaranteed in Ethiopia until substantial reforms are made to the Criminal Code and the Freedom of the Mass Media and Access to Information Proclamation of 2009. Defamation must be decriminalised, provisions to shield public officials from criticism repealed, and restrictions to supposedly protect national security must be brought in line with international standards on freedom of expression.

The media are also stifled; there is no independence or pluralism. The Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority is appointed by and financially dependent upon the government as a consequence of the Broadcasting Service Proclamation of 2007. The Freedom of the Mass Media and Access to Information Proclamation of 2009 requires printed media to be licensed, all print media to be registered, and broad powers to impound periodicals and books. The Internet is not a safe haven; blocking websites to shut down debate is routine.

Mr President,

Civil society organisations are crucial change agents, essential for scrutinising the actions of the Ethiopian government against the international human rights commitments it has made, including here. ARTICLE 19 is therefore profoundly disappointed at the rejection of Mexico’s recommendation to eliminate all obstacles to the development of non-governmental organisations, in particular their freedom to access financial resources.

In the absence of progress to protect freedom of expression in Ethiopia since its first UPR, we call on Member States to increase international scrutiny. The rejection by Ethiopia, as a Human Rights Council Member State, of a recommendation to issue a standing invitation to all UN Special Procedures to visit the country, must be condemned and seen as emblematic of its disdain for accountability for human rights violations. There must be costs and consequences for this.

Thank you.

በህወሓት አገዛዝ በኦጋዴን ሕዝብ ላይ እየተፈጸመ ያለውን የጅምላ ግድያ በጽኑ እናወግዛለን!!!

መስከረም 7 ቀን 2007 ዓ.ም.

የአገራችን የኢትዮጵያን በትረ ሥልጣን በጠመንጃ ኃይል የተቆጣጠረው ዘረኛው የወያኔ አገዛዝ የሥልጣን እድሜውን ለማራዘም በኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ላይ እየወሰደ ያለውን እሥራትና ግድያ አጠናክሮ መቀጠሉን የሚያጋልጡ ማስረጃዎች በየጊዜው ከራሱ ከአገዛዙ እየሾለኩ በመውጣት ላይ ናቸው።

መስከረም 5 ቀን 2007 ዓም በኢትዮጵያ ሳተላይት ቴለቪዥን በምስል ተደግፎ የቀረበው በኦጋዴን ወገኖቻችን ላይ የተፈጸመው ጭፍጨፋ ከነዚህ ማስረጃዎች አንዱ ነው ።

የወያኔን አገዛዝ ይቃወማሉ የተባሉና በኦጋዴን ክልል ከሚንቀሳቀሱ ተቃዋሚዎች ጋር ንኪኪ አላቸው የተባሉ እነዚያ የጅምላ ጭፍጨፋ ሰለባ የሆኑ ምስኪን ዜጎች አስከሬን መሬት ለመሬት እየተጎተተ አንድ ቦታ እንዲከማች ሲደረግ፤ አስከሬኑን ለመሰብሰብ ከታዘዙት የአካባቢው ነዋሪዎች አንዱ የገዛ ወንድሙ አስከሬን ከሚጎተተው መሃል እንደነበረ መስማት ህሊናን የሚሰቀጥጥና የወያኔ የጭካኔ እርምጃ አቻ የሌለው ደረጃ ላይ መድረሱን የሚያመላክት ነው።

በደርግ ዘመን ቤተሰብ የተገደለበትን ሰው አስከሬን ለማግኘት የጥይት ዋጋ ለመክፈል ይገደድ ነበር በማለት ሥርዓቱን በነጋ በጠባ የሚወነጅል አገዛዝ ከሚወነጅላቸው ሥርዓት በባሰ በኦጋዴን የገደለውን ንጹህ ዜጋ አስከሬን የገዛ ወንድሙ መሬት ለመሬት እንዲጎትተው አድርጓል። በዚህም ህወሓት በሰብዓዊነት ላይ ከቀደምቶቹ ሁሉ የከፋ የሚሰቀጥጥ ወንጀል ፈጽሟል። ቀደም ሲል በበደኖ፤ በአርሲ፤ በአርባ ጉጉ፤ በሃዋሳ ፤ በጋምቤላ እና ድህረ ምርጫ 97 በአዲስ አበባና ሌሎች የአገሪቱ ከተሞች ነዋሪዎች ላይ በወያኔ ልዩ ትዕዛዝ ተመሳሳይ የጅምላ ጭፍጨፋዎች ተካሂደዋል። ይህ ሁሉ ወንጀል እየተፈጸመብን አስከዛሬ ወያኔን በጫንቃችን ተሸክመን ለመኖር የተገደድነው እነዚሁ ጥቂት ዘረኞች ሕዝባችንን በዘር፤ በቋንቋና በሃይማኖት በመከፋፈላቸው አንዱ የኅብረተሰብ ክፍል ሲጠቃ ሌላው በዝምታ የሚመለከትበት ሁኔታ በመፈጠሩ ነው።

ግንቦት 7 የፍትህ የነጻነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ ወያኔ በኦጋዴን ሕዝብ ላይ የፈጸመውን ይህንን አረመኔያዊ እርምጃ አጥብቆ ያወግዛል። ጊዜው ሲደርስ የዚህ ወንጀል ፈፃሚዎች ለፍርድ መቅረብ አለባቸው ብሎ ያምናል። ስለሆነም ወያኔ ሕዝባችንን አቅም ለማሳጣት ላለፉት 23 አመታት በኅብረተሰባችን መካከል የገነባውን የጥርጣሬና የጥላቻ ግንብ በመናድ እያንዳንዱ ኢትዮጵያዊ በኦጋዴንና በሌሎች የአገራችን ክፍሎች ወገኖቻችን ላይ እየተፈጸመ ያለውን ሰቆቃና እልቂት ለማስቆም እንዲችሉ የተቻለውን ሁሉ ያደርጋል።

ኦጋዴን ውስጥ ለፈሰሰው የንጽሃን ደምና በሰብዓዊነት ላይ እየተፈጸመ ላለው ወንጀል ተጠያቂው ሥልጣንን በኃይል የሙጥኝ በማለት በአገርና በሕዝብ ሃብት ዘረፋ ላይ የተሰማራው ጥቂት የህወሃት አመራር መሆኑ አያጠያይቅም። ይህንን ወንጀለኛ ቡድን ለፍርድ ለማቅረብ ንቅናቄዓችን ግንቦት 7 የሚያደርገውን ሁለገብ ትግል ለፍትህ ለነጻነትና ለዲሞክራሲ የቆመ ኢትዮጵያዊ ሁሉ እንዲቀላቀል በዚህ አጋጣሚ ጥሪ ቀርቦለታል።

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ!!!