Sunday, April 28, 2013

! ….. ሰበር ዜና፡ የ አስገደ ገብረስላሴ ልጅ ቶርቸር እየተፈፀመበት ነው …….!

By zenebu on

አሕፈሮም አስገደ (የኣስገደ ገብረስላሴ ልጅ) መታሰሩንና ቤተሰቦቹ እንዲያዩት እንዳልተፈቀደላቸው ፅፌ ነበር። ከሰዓታት በፊት ግን አባቱ ኣቶ አስገደ ገብረስላሴ ልጁ እንዲያሳዩት የፖሊስ ኣዛዦችን ይጠይቃል። ፖሊሱ (የቀዳማይ ወያነ ወረዳ ኣዛዥ ኮነሬል ….. ዋና ኢንስፔክተር) ልጁ ወደ ሌላ እስርቤት መዛወሩ (ከማስፈራርያ ጋር) ነግሮታል።“ወደ የትኛው እስርቤት ተዛወረ ?” ብሎ ሲጠይቅ ኣስደንጋጭ መልስ ተሰጠው፤ “ወደ ባዶ ሽዱሽተ እሰርቤት” የሚል። “ባዶ ሽዱሽተ” (06 ዜሮ ስድስት) እስርቤት የህወሓት እስርቤት ነው። ህወሓቶች ተሰቃይቶ መረጃ እንዲሰጥ የሚፈለግ ሰው ሲገኝ ወደ “ባዶ ሽዱሽተ” ይወሰዳል። ከዛ ቶርቸር ይፈፀምበታል፤ በመጨረሻም ይገደላል (ይረሸናል)። “ባዶ ሽዱሽተ” የስቃይ እስርቤት ነው። ይሄ እስርቤት ህወሓቶች ጫካ እያሉ የሚጠቀሙበት የነበረ ነው።
ko
እስካሁን ድረስ ይሄ እስርቤት መኖሩ ገርሞኛል። (ህወሓቶች ስልጣን ይዘው እያሉም …. ለምን ኣስፈለገ???) ልጁ ቤተሰቦቹና የሕግ ኣማካሪው እንዲያዩት ያልተፈቀደው በቀዳማይ ወያነ ወረዳ ማረምያ ቤት ስላልነበረ ነው። ወላጆቹ ይሉክለት የነበረው ምግብ (ካለፈው እሮብ ጀምሮ) ለልጁ ሳይሰጥ በእስርቤቱ ተበላሽቶ ይገኛል።ሰው እንዲያየው ያልተፈቀደው ያለበት እስርቤት (ባዶ ሽድሽተ) ሕጋዊ ስላልሆነ ነው። በመቀለ ከተማ የሚገኙ ሕጋዊ እስርቤቶች ሰባት ብቻ ናቸው። “ ባዶ ሽድሽተ” ግን ሕጋዊ አይደለም፤ ፍርድቤት አያውቀውም። ወደዛ የገቡ እስረኞ ች ያለፍርድ ቶርቸር (ግርፋት) ይደርሳቸዋል (በቶርቸር ህይወታቸው ሊያልፍ ይችላል)።ባጭሩ “ ባዶ ሽድሽተ” ለቶርቸር ብቻ የተዘጋጀ ሕቡእ (hidden) እስርቤት ነው። አንዳንድ ስለ እስርቤቱ (እስካሁን መኖር የሚያውቁ) የመቐለ ኗሪዎች “ቤርሙዳ” ብለው ይጠሩታል: “እዛ እስርቤት የገባ መውጭያ የለውም” ለማለት። ። ይሄን ሕቡእ፣ ንፁህ ዜጎች የሚሰቃዩበት እስርቤት (ባዶ ሽድሽተ) ሚላኖ ሆተል አከባቢ ከባሎኒ ስታዲዮም ወደ ምስራቅ 100 ሜትር ገባ ብሎ፣ ጀወርግስ ቤተክርስትያን፣ ወደ እንዳየሱስ (ኣሪድ ግቢ መቐለ ዩኒቨርስቲ) ጠጋ ብሎ በሚገኝ (ተራራና ሸለቆ የበዛበት) ጫካ ያለበት ስፍራ ሲሆን underground prison ነው።በኣሁኑ ሰዓት እየተገረፈ እንዳለ መስማቴ ኣሳዝኖኛል። ለምን underground እስርቤት? ለምን ሕጋዊ ያልሆነ እስርቤት????
አሳዛኝ ነው።
! ….በለው ! ማስፈራራት ተጀመረ …..!

ይሄው ሓሳባችንን በገለፅን ፌስቡካችንን (ኣፋችን) ለመዝጋት ተረባረቡ። ተሳካላቸው። ፌስቡካችን DISABLED ሆነ። ከዚህ የምንረዳው ነገር ቢኖር ገዢዎቻችን በፌስቡክ ፅሑፎቻችን መሸበራቸው ነው። የኔ ፌስቡክ መዝጋት መፍትሔ የሚሆን ኣይመስለኝም። (ፓስፖርቴን በመላክ በራሴ ስም እንደምጠቀም ለማስረዳት ሞክርያለሁ። እንደሚከፈትልኝ ተስፋ ኣለኝ። )

በዚሁ ኣላቆሙም። እየደወሉም …….. ማስፈራራት ተያይዘውታል።በትግራይ የሚከናወኑ የፍትሕ ችግሮችና ሙስና ባጋለጥኩበት ፅሑፌ ብዙ ማስፈራርያዎች እየደረሱኝ ነው። የትግራይ ህዝብ ተጨቁኖ ሲያበቃ ጭቆናውን እንዳይጋላጥ መታፈን ኣለበት እንዴ??? ቢቻል ቢቻል ……. ህዝብ መጨቆን ተገቢ ኣይደለም፤ መቆም ኣለበት። ካልሆነ ግን በህወሓት መጨቆናችንና መታፈናችን ሌሎች ወንድሞቻችን ቢያውቁልን ምንድነው ችግሩ???ህወሓት ድጋፍ እንዳያጣ ተብሎ እኛ እንሰቃይ? የትግራይን ህዝብ የፍትሕ ጉድለቶች ማጋለጥ ማንነት መለወጥ ኣይደለም። እንደኔ እንደኔ የህዝብ ዓፈናዎች ማጋለጥ ለህዝብ ነፃነት መቆም እንጂ የህዝብ ጠላት መሆን ኣይደለም። የህዝብን ጠላትነት የሚገለፀው ህዝብን በመጨቆን እንጂ የህዝብን በደል በማጋለጥ ኣይደለም።ማስፈራርያው ……. (ከተወሰነ ውይይት በኋላ ችግር መነሩ ኣምኖ) “ምስጢራችንን እያጋለጥክ ለጠላቶቻችን መሳርያ እየሆንክ ነው (ምሽጥርና እናቃላዕኻ ኣደዳ ፀላእትና ኣይትግበረና)።” የህዝብ ‘ጠላቶች’ መኖራቸው እርግጠኛ ኣይደለሁም (የገዢው ፓርቲ ጠላቶች ሊኖሩ ይችላሉ)።ደግሞ ቢኖሩስ??? ‘ጠላቶች’ እንዳይሰሙ፣ ገመናችን እንዳያውቁ ተብሎ ይበልጥ መታፈን ኣለብን? መሪዎቻችን እንደፈለጉ ይጫወቱብን? ጠላቶች እንዳይሰሙ ተብሎ ህወሓቶች እንደፈለጉ ይጨቁኑን??? በዚ ኣልስማማም።
ገመናቹ እንዳይጋለጥ ከፈለጋቹ ጥሩ መስራት ኣለባቹ፤ ፍትሕ ማስፈን ይጠበቅባችኋል፣ ለሰዎች ነፃነት መፍቀድ ይኖርባችኋል። ለችግሩ መፍትሔ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ስርዓት መገንባት እንጂ ዓፈናን የሚያጋልጡ መረጃዎች እንዳይወጡ ማፈን ኣይደለም። ዜጎች መጨቆን ብሎም ጭቆናውን እንዳይጋለጥ ማፈን ችግሩን ማባባስ ነው።
ጭቆናን ስላጋለጥኩ የህዝብ ጠላት ተባልኩ፤ ህዝብን የሚጨቁኑ ደግሞ የህዝብ ወዳጆች ተባሉ። እንዴት ነው ነገሩ??? ህዝብን የበለጠ ለመጨቆን (በስልጣን ለመቆየት) ድጋፍን ያሰባስባሉ። ድጋፍ ኣግኝቶ የስልጣን ዕድሜ ማራዘም የኣንድ ህዝብ የህልውና (በነፃነት የመኖር) ዋስትና ሊሆን ኣይችልም። የህዝብ ዋስትና ፍትሕ ማስፈን ነው። ፍትሕ ለማስፈን ዴሞክራሲያዊ ስርዓት መገንባት ያስፈልጋል። ነፃ፣ ገለልተኛና ጠንካራ የመንግስት የፍትሕ ተቋማት መዘርጋት ኣለባቸው።
እንደውጤቱም የህዝብ መብት ይከበራል፤ ሰው ለነፃነቱና ህልውናው ዋስትና ያገኛል። ኣሁንም ኣልመሸም። ችግሩን ማቃለል እንጂ ሓሳባቸው በነፃነት ለሚገልፁ ዜጎች ማስፈራራት ግን መፍትሔ ሊሆን ኣይችልም። እኔ ስላስፈራራቺሁኝ መፃፌን ባቆም ችግሩ ኣቆመ ማለት ኣይደለም። እኔ ባልኖር ሌሎች ይፅፉታል።
! …… የመተካካት ሙስና በህወሓት …….!

ጥያቄ“የምትፅፈው ነገር የተወሰነ እውነት ኣለው። ግን ከውጭ ሁኖ ህወሓት ለት ተቀን ከመውቀስ በህወሓት ውስጥ ሁነው ማስተካከል ኣይሻልም?” (ኣንድ የህወሓት ኣባል)።መልስኣንድህወሓት በቤተሰባዊነትና ሙስና (ኢኮኖሚያዊና ፖለቲካዊ) የተጨማለቀ ድርጅት ሆነዋል። ኣብዛኛው መዋቅሩ በስብሰዋል። በቀላሉ ሊስተካከል የሚችል ኣይደለም። የመዋቅር ሙስናው በጭቃ እንመስለው፤ ኣብዛኞቹ የህወሓት ባለስልጣናት በሙስና (በጭቃው) ተጨማልቀዋል። ይሄንን ለማስተካከል ታድያ በ’መተካካት’ ስም ኣዲስ ሰው ወደ ጭቃው በመወርወር ጭቃው ማስወገድ ኣይቻልም። የሚያስፈልገው ኣዳዲስ ሰዎች ወደ ጭቃ መክተት ሳይሆን ጭቃው ማስወገድ ነው።
ሁለት
በህወሓት ዉስጥ ግለሰዎች ድርጅቱን የማስተካከል ዕድ ል ኣያገኙም። ምክንያቱም ድርጅቱ ከተዘፈቀበት ዓዘቅት ለማስወጣት ባለ ኣዲስ ራእይ ኣዲስ ወጣቶች፣ ኣዲስ ኣመለካከትና ኣሰራር ኣስገብተው ድርጅቱን መምራት ኣለባቸው። ኣሁን ያለው የህወሓት ኣመራር ይሄንን ይፈቅዳል???
በህወሓት ኣዲስ ራእይ (የራሳቸው ራእይ) ያላቸው ወጣቶች (የፖለቲካ ዓቅም ያላቸው ባለ ራእይ ወጣቶች) የህወሓት ጠላቶች ተደርገው ይቆጠራሉ። የህወሓት ኣባል የሆነ ሰው የራሱ ራእይ ሊኖረው ኣይገባም። ምክንያቱም የራሱ ራእይ ካለው እንዴት የራሱን ትቶ የመለስን ራእይ ለመተግበር ይሯራጣል? ኣሁን የሚፈለገው ‘የመለስ ራእይ’ የሚተገብር ብቻ ነው። ሙሉ በሙሉ የመለሱን ለመተግበር የራሱ ባይኖረው ይመረጣል።
ባለፈው ጉባኤያቸው ተሳታፊዎችን ሲመለምሉ የፖለቲካ ታማኝነት (በዝምድናና ኣመለካከት) ዋነኛው መስፈርት ነበር። ታማኝነት የሚገለፀው ‘የመለስን ራእይ እንዳለ ሳይከለስ ሳይበረዝ ለማሳካት’ የተዘጋጀ ነው። የራሱ ሓሳብ ማፍለቅ የሚችል (የፖለቲካ ዓቅም ያለው) ኣባል ኣይፈለግም (በጉባኤም እንዲሳተፍ ኣልተመረጠም)፣ ሓላፊነትም ኣይሰጠውም። ብቃት ያላቸው ወጣቶች ቦታ (ሓላፊነት) ካልተሰጣቸው እንዴት ውስጥ ገብተው ማስተካከል ይችላሉ? በህወሓት ውስጥ ጥሩ ከሚሰራ ሰው ይልቅ ለኣለቆቹ ውሸት የሚያመላልስ ኣቃጣሪ የበለጠ ተጠቃሚ ነው።
እነ ኣርከበ ዕቁባይ ቡድን የተመታበት መንገድ ….. እነዚህ ሰዎች የራሳችን በራሳችን ኣካሄድ እንስራ በማለታቸው ‘የመለስን ራእይ በራሳቸው ለመቀየር ጥረት እያደረጉ ናቸው’ በሚል ነበር። ኣሁን ያሸንፈው ቡድን የራሱ የሆነ ራእይ (የኣመራር ብቃት) ስለሌለው ‘የመለስ ራእይ እናሳካለን’ እያለ የሚዘምር ነው። ‘የመለስ ራእይ’ ምንድነው የሚለውን ጥያቄ እንኳ መመለስ የማይችል ነው። ኣብዛኞቹ የኣሸናፊው ቡድን ኣባላት በመለስ ግዜ በተለይ በ 1993ቱ የክፍፍል ግዜ ከመለስ ጎን ተሰልፈው ያ ተገንጣይ ቡድን እንዲ ሸነፍ የረዱት ስለሆኑ በፖለቲካዊ መዋቅሩ በብዛት ነበሩ።
ሦስት
ህወሓት በምን መልኩ ማስተካከል ይቻላል??? በመተካካት? ኣይመስለኝም። ለመሆኑ ‘መተካካት’ ምንድነው? መስፈርቱ ምንድነው? ብቃት? ዕድሜ ? የስልጣን ሲኔሪቲ? ወይስ የትግል ቆይታ (Former Fighter vs Civil)? ህወሓቶች የመተካካት መርሁ ወይ ሂደቱ ግልፅ ለማድረግ ኣልፈለጉም። ምክንያት ኣላቸው። የመተካካት መርህ መተግበር ስላስፈራቸው ይመስለኛል። በመልስ ግዜ (ከሁለት ዓመት ተኩል በፊት በነበረ ግባኤ) መተካካት በዕድሜና በስልጣን ሲኔሪቲ እንደሚሆን ሂንት ተሰጥቶን ነበር።
ከመለስ ሞት በኋላ መተካካት በትግል ዕድሜ እንደሆነ ተነገረን (የድሮ ታጋዮች በኣዲስ ትውልድ እንዲተኩ ማድረግ)። ይህን መስፈርት በኢህኣዴግ ደረጃ እየተሰራበት ያለ ይመስላል። በህወሓት ግን ተቀባይነት ኣላገኘም። ለዚህ ነው የህወሓት ሊቀመንበርና ምክትሉ እንዲሁም ሁሉም የስራ ኣስፈፃሚ ኣባላት የድሮ ታጋዮች የተመረጡት። በማእከላዊ ኮሚቴ ኣባላትም ከ45ቱ 9 ብቻ ናቸው ሲቪል።
‘መተካካት’ መቀያየር ወይ መሸጋሸግ ሆነ። እርስበርሳቸው ይቀያየራሉ። ኣንድ በልቶ የጠገበ የድሮ ባለስልጣን በሌላ ሆዱ ያጠበ ይቀየራል። ያልበላ ይበላል። ሁሉም ግን ኣንድ ናቸው። የተለወጠ ነገር የለም። የፖለቲካዊ ኣቅጣጫ ወይ የፖሊሲ ለውጥ ኣይኖርም። ምክንያቱም ሁሉም የነበረ ነው፣ ‘የመለስ ራእይ’ ለመተግበር ተዘጋጅተዋል። (የራሳቸው ከየት ያመጣሉና!)።
ለስልጣን ሲታገሉ ራሱ ‘እኔ ብዙ ዓመት የታገልኩ ነኝ። ስለዚ ስልጣን ይገባኛል’ ይላሉ (እኛ መተካካት ስንጠብቅ)። ባጠቃላይ ግን በህወሓት ‘የመተካካት መርህ’ ከሽፈዋል። እነዚህ ከስልጣን የወረዱም ቢሆኑ ተሸንፈው እንጂ ወደው ኣይደለም ስልጣን የለቀቁ። የሚገርመው ደግሞ ታጋዮቹ ሄዱ፣ ታጋዮቹ መጡ። ወጣቶች ሳይመረጡ ቀሩ።
ኣራት
ኣሸናፊው ቡድን (የነ ኣባይ ወልዱ) ማሸነፉ፣ ባቀደው መሰረት ጉባኤው መከናወኑ የራሱ ኣባላት እየመሰከሩ ናቸው። ትናንት ማታ ብርሃነ ኪዳነማርያም (የማእከላዊ ኮሚቴ ኣባልና የጉባኤው ቃል ኣቀባይ)ና ትርፉ ኪዳነማርያም (ስራ ኣስፈፃሚ ኣባል) ከVOA ትግርኛ ጋር ቃለ መጠይቅ ባካሄዱበት ግዜ ጉባኤው ባለሙት፣ በጠበቁበት፣ በፈለጉት ‘በድል መጠናቀቁ’ ጠቁመዋል። እኔም የተለየ ሓሳብ የለኝም። ኣዎ! እነሱ ባደራጁት መሰረት ኣሸናፊ ሁነው ወጥተዋል። (ኣርከበ “ሽልማት ኣልቀበልም” ብሎ ሳይገኝ ሲቀር ኢቲቪ “ኣቶ ኣርከበ በስራ ምክንያት ሳይገኙ ቀርተዋል” ኣለን። ይገርማል።)
‘ትርፉ ኪዳነማርያም …. የባለስልጣን ሚስት (የኣባይ ወልዱ) ስለሆነች ነው የተመረጠች የሚል ነገር ኣለና እንዴት ታይዋለሽ?’ ብሎ ሲጠይቃት፣ ‘እንደዚህ ልንባል ከሆነ ታድያ ለምን ዕድሜ ልካችን ተታገልን? የተታገል’ኮ ለእኩልነት ነው።’ ኣለች። ጋዜጠኛው ኣስከትሎ ‘ብዙ ታጋይ ሴቶች ነበሩኮ በማእከላዊ ኮሚቴ የተመረጡት ግን ስምንት ብቻ ናቸው’ ኣላት። ትርፉም ‘ የትምህርት ጉዳይ ኣለ፣ የፖለቲካዊ ኣቅጣጫ ግንዛቤ ኣለ፣ የፓርቲው values ማወቅ ነገር ኣለ …. (ምናምን)’ ኣለች። ዓቅማቸው በሚፈቅድላቸው በዞን ኣስተዳደርና በፓርላማ እንደሚሳተፉም ገልፃለች።
ከዚህ የምንረዳው ነገር እነዚህ የድሮ ታጋዮች (ለምንድነው የታገልነው ታድያ? እያሉ ) ስልጣን ለወጣቱ ትውልድ ለማስረከብ ዝግጁነት እንደሚያንሳቸው ነው። ሌላው ለእኩልነት የታገሉ ሴቶች እነዚህ የባለ ስልጣን ሚስቶች ብቻ ናቸው እንዴ??? በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ሴቶች ለእኩልነት ታግለዋል። ስልጣን ለመያዝ ግን የባለስልጣን ሚስት መሆን ኣስፈላጊ ሳይሆን ኣይቀርም። (ኣዜብ የመለስ፣ ፈትለወርቅ የኣባይ ፀሃየ፣ ቅዱሳን ነጋ የፀጋይ በርሀ፣ ትርፉ የኣባይ ወልዱ፣ ሮማን ገብረስላሴ የተወልደ ዓጋመ …….) ኣብዛኞቹ ስልጣን የያዙ ሴቶች ከባለስልጣን ወንዶች ጋር የደም ወይ የጋብቻ ዝምድና ኣላቸው።
ሌላው የትምህርት ደረጃ ኣንስታለች። ከትርፉ ያነሰ የትምህርት ደረጃና የፖለቲካ እውቀት ያላት ታጋይ ሴት የምታውቁ ከሆነ ኣስረዱኝ። ይሄ ንቀት ነው ወይ ስልጣን ላለማስረከብ ተብሎ ነው። ብዙ ጎበዝ ሴቶች ኣሉ፣ ቦታ ያላገኙ።
ኣምስት
ህወሓት ብቃት ላላቸው ወጣት ሙሁራን ፈተና ነው። ደሞ ወጣቶች ገብተው ምን ሊያስተካክሉ ነው? ፖሊሲው፣ ራእዩ፣ ኣሰራሩ ምናምኑ ኣይስተካከልም ተብሏል። የመልስ ራእይ ብቻ ማስፈፀም። ስለዚ ኣይስተካከልም። በህወሓት ከተሳካልህ ልታገኘው የምትችለው ነገር ኢኮኖሚያዊ ጥቅም (በሙስና) ወይ ፖለቲካዊ ስልጣን (ከነሱ በ ደም ወይ ጋብቻ በመዛመድ) ነው። ሃብትና ስልጣን ነፃነት ሊያመጣ ኣይችልም። ነፃ ለመሆን ከሞከርክ ታገኛታለህ!!!

Ethiopia and China sign $1 billion power deal

By William Davison, Bloomberg
April 27, 2013

April 26 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia will receive funds from China for a transmission line valued at $1 billion that will bring electricity from a hydropower plant to the capital, Addis Ababa according to a government official.The 619-kilometer (385-mile) link from the 6,000-megawatt Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River will be constructed over the next three years by China Electric Power Equipment and Technology, Deputy Prime Minister of Economy and Finance Debretsion Gebremichael told reporters in Addis Ababa today.“The construction of this big transmission line will help benefit our economy and to ensure our industrial development,”he said. Funding for the two 500-kilovolt cables will come primarily from the Export-Import Bank of China, Debretsion said.
Ethiopia, which according to the World Bank has the second-highest hydropower potential in Africa after the Democratic Republic of Congo, hopes to finish the self-funded $5-billion Nile dam in 2018. The project will be the continent’s biggest power plant.--Editor: Emily Bowers

Ethiopia retracts remarks on urgent Somalia pull-out

AFP
April 27, 2013

(ADDIS ABABA) – The Ethiopian ministry of foreign affairs said that remarks made by the country’s prime minister over the pull-out of troops from Somalia was misunderstood.

The ministry has refuted a report by Reuters saying that Ethiopia is urgently withdrawing its troops from war-torn Somalia.While addressing parliament on Tuesday, Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the country is under preparing to fully withdraw its forces soon.

The premier blamed the African Union force in Somalia (AMISOM) over Ethiopia’s delayed withdrawal, accusing it of failing to keep its promise to replace Ethiopian forces.
He said it was almost a year since AMISOM pledge to replace Ethiopian troops.
Last month, Ethiopian troops made a sudden pull-out from Hudur, the capital of Bakool province in protest over AMISOM’s delay to replace the Ethiopian forces in parts of the country now under AU control.
As a result of the withdrawal al-Shabaab fighters were subsequently able to retake control of the town.
Clarifying the premier’s remarks, foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti denied Ethiopia is immediately pulling out from Somalia.
“[The prime minister] said [the] Ethiopian defence force has to be transferred to those areas where there is need for more stability. He has never said we are going to withdraw”, Mufti said.
The ministry said Ethiopia is anxious to end its military intervention in Somalia as soon as Somalian forces and AMISOM take over from Ethiopian forces.
It further said the main issue for Ethiopia is “to accelerate our complete withdrawal towards our border”.
Speaking to VOA, AMISOM spokesperson Eloi Yao, said that the mission has not received any formal statement from Ethiopia regarding its withdrawal.
Addis Ababa has called on Somalia and AMISOM to speed up their replacement of Ethiopian forces.
Ethiopia re-entered its forces into Somalia in 2011 to assist the weak Somalian government and AU forces in their battle against al-Qaeda-allied militants from al-Shabaab, which had been in control in many parts of the country.
Following the deployment of Ethiopian troops in Somalia many key towns were liberated from al-Shabaab with the East African nation seeing improved peace and stability.

Over 30,000 Horn refugees cross risky sea to Yemen this year

UNHCR News Release
April 27, 2013

Geneva — The UN refugee agency announced on Friday that its staff in Yemen have recorded the arrival by sea from the Horn of Africa of more than 30,000 refugees and migrants since the start of the year. This compares to 33,634 arrivals over the same time period in 2012.
UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists in Geneva that most of this year's arrivals were Ethiopian nationals, with the rest coming from Somalia and a very small number from other African countries. "In total, and since 2006 when UNHCR began gathering data, close to half a million people (477,000) have arrived in Yemen by taking the perilous boat journey from the Horn of Africa," he noted. Recorded arrivals in Yemen of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants have been rising in each of the past six years. Last year, 107,500 people made the journey. Somalis arriving in Yemen are automatically recognized as refugees by the authorities, while UNHCR conducts refugee status determination for other nationals.
Yemen is frequently used as a transit point by Ethiopians looking to travel to the Gulf States and beyond. Few Ethiopians decide to seek asylum. There are many reports of mistreatment, abuse, or torture among people who make the journey by smugglers boats. Hundreds have died over the years.
Conflict and instability in Yemen have limited the ability of the authorities to address trafficking, particularly along the Red Sea coast where Yemeni smugglers and traffickers are often waiting to receive new arrivals from the Horn of Africa.
However, recently the government has been active in detecting smuggler hideouts and taking action. Last week in Hajjah governorate near the Saudi border, the Yemeni authorities stormed a number of houses operated by human traffickers and freed more than 500 Ethiopian migrants, including women and children. Many of the released Africans showed signs of torture and abuse.
"Although the authorities have been conducting similar raids since 2012, incidents of extortion, exploitation, violence and sexual abuse perpetrated against refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants are on the increase in the region," Edwards said.
Many of the new arrivals are abducted or abandoned at the coast. They make their way, generally by foot, to Haradh district in the north where they often find they are unable to continue on to Saudi Arabia. Many suffer hunger and exposure.
Yemen is a historic transit hub for migrants and stands out in the region for its hospitality towards refugees. The country hosts more than 242,000 refugees, of which some 230,000 are of Somali origin.
Out of the total number of those arriving this year, 7,518 arrived in January, 10,145 in February and 1,806 in March. UNHCR is still recording arrivals for April.



An Appeal to stop crimes against African refugees & migrants in the Middle East

By IRAA Press Release
April 27, 2013

This is an appeal forwarded to all governments, international organizations and human rights organizations regarding the deplorable human rights violations being committed against Ethiopian, Eritrean, Somali and other African refugees and migrants in the Middle East.  The despicable crimes being committed particularly against the citizens of the above named three nations are horrific. Listening to and reading about the victims ordeal in Yemen, Egypt (Sinai) and Saudi Arabia is deplorable and it is hard to imagine our planet accommodates people who commit the kind of horror that the world is witnessing. We were assuming that the middle age era was over and all humans were grown to the level of the 21st century at least on the level of human consciousness. But the inhumanity being perpetuated in the Middle East against the citizens of the Horn of Africa proves us wrong.
In Egypt (Sinai) victims are required to pay to the human traffickers up to seventy thousand American dollars per head in order to get freed. When they fail to pay their organ is being sold to the wealthy who can afford to pay the amount demanded by the kidnappers. In the mean time the victims go through torch, rape, underground imprisonment and inhuman intimidation. The situation in Yemen is no different. Ethiopian Refugees there are leading a horrific life. The trauma that they are going through is unspeakable. Numbers of lives drown in the red sea through capsized raft or by being forced to get off the boats in the middle of the sea by the criminal human traffickers that own them is enormous. These criminal human traffickers are damping their victims in the red sea after collecting an exorbitant sum of money to get them to Yemen safely. Even those fortunate who make it to Yemen, are not welcome in Yemen. Robbers and bandits in Yemen take our citizens hostage for an exchange of an exorbitant sum of ransom money which the poor hostages cannot afford to pay. Hence, the fate of these Ethiopian citizens is horrendous. Death, inhumane imprisonment, brutal beating, torching, body mutilation, cutting off tong, cutting off of the male genitals, rape …etc. in the hands of these bandits is now a daily routine. But those who can make a difference are still unwilling to utter even a word let alone take action to alleviate this human tragedy.
The condition for Ethiopians in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is deteriorating fast more than ever. Many Ethiopian citizens are killed by the local people and government armed forces. Recently Selamawi Umar Hagos, Weldemariam Kidan Yohannes from the Irob region of Ethiopia were shot and killed by the KSA police force in a broad day light. Desta Tesfahanis from the same area is died in Saudi Arabian prison a month after giving a birth to a baby boy leaving the new one month old baby behind. This is just to name a few people who are known to IRAA. The number of Ethiopians killed and put in prison in the KSA without any due process is hard to quantify and the prison condition there is below standard. Moreover, the KSA is damping Ethiopians arrested in its territory to the Yemen deserts where the inhuman criminal bandits are active. By this action the Saudi government’s complicity in the here above mentioned crime by committed by the criminal gangs is evident. This horrendous crime is being perpetrated under the watchful eyes of the world. But the world powers are still very reluctant even to speak out against this heinous crime. This human horror is being ignored or it is not getting the deserved attention by the main stream media outlets. Here the role of the Ethiopia government is absent. Most of those suffering in Saudi Arabia and Yemen are our fellow Ethiopians. Hence, in a normal circumstance more would have been to be expected from the Ethiopian government. Unfortunately, the role of the Ethiopian government is absent. The government is expected to speak and speak out loud for the rights of its citizens. When any given governments fail to safeguard the rights of citizens anywhere in the world, it means a tacitly understood declaration of its own irrelevance and no question it will cease to exist over time. Hence, the Ethiopian government is well advised to take measures to stand for the rights of its citizens. The Ethiopian government must stand up for its citizens. Immigrant workers, especially those in the Middle East must be given a special attention.Hence, Irob Rights Advocacy Association (IRAA) calls upon all governments, Human rights organizations and international bodies to speak out against these inhuman actions and to use their good offices to pressure the governments of Egypt, Yemen and Saudi Arabia to fully observe the international human rights declarations in their territories. IRAA also calls upon the governments of Egypt, Yemen and Saudi Arabia to respect the rights of Ethiopian citizens and other migrants residing in their respective territories. These migrants deserve respect of their human rights and dignity. At last, and by no means least, we strongly appeal to the Ethiopian government to fulfill its duty of defending the rights of Ethiopian migrants.

Irob Rights Advocacy Association (IRAA)
Email: irobrights@gmail.com
April 20013