Call from Ethiopians and Ethio-Norwegians living in Norway

After the shameful 2010 election (99.6% in favour of Zenawi’s party), political, economical and social situations in Ethiopia are worsening. Domestic free press and media are restricted and independent international media are frequently jammed.

Aid money and the meager resource of the country is invested to crackdown the opposition. Corruption is widespread in the country and members of the regime and their associates deposit billions of Dollars in foreign banks and are becoming owners of big investments.
Fertile farming land is taken away from farmers and sold to foreign investors like, from China and India. Farmers are systematically punished, accused for supporting and voting for opposition parties. Fertilizer, seed and different social service supply to farmers is based on the sympathy to the ruling party.
University graduates are deprived of job opportunities if they fail to be member of the ruling party. Civil servants lose their jobs for the same reasons. The government enacted different restrictive laws including anti-terrorism law to crack down dissents and silence activists.
Journalists, members, and supporters of opposition parties are thrown into notorious prisons without credible charges. This is deliberate act and systematically muzzling critical voice in fear of the inevitable uprising that may spread from Northern Africa. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has repeatedly accused the Ethiopian opposition and prominent journalists for ‘engaging in terrorist activities’ as a pretext.
In March this year, 370 oppositionists have been arrested, among them 217 members of the ‘Oromo Federal Democratic Movement’ (OFDM) which is known for being critical of the government. Journalist Wobshet Taye of Awramba times and Reeyot Alemu of Feteh newspaper were detained in June 2011. In August 2011, opposition members Bekele Gerba and Olbana Lelisa were arrested, following a meeting with representatives from Amnesty International. The delegation was expelled from the country by the government shortly after the meeting.
In September the same year, journalist Sleshi Haggos, contributor to the Addis Ababa-based radio station was arrested and five days later Eskindir Nega, well Known journalist and dissent blogger.  Andualem Arage, UDJ’s Vice president and head of public relation, Nathenael Mekonnen and Asaminew Berhanu, council members of UDJ, and Zemenu Molla, general secretary of the Ethiopian National Democratic party were arrested. Debebe Eshetu, a well-known artist and spokesperson of the UDJ, has also been detained 10th of September. As torture is a routine practice in the current Ethiopian prisons, it is inevitable that these detainees may be exposed to maltreatment.
The imprisonment continues targeting young prominent political leaders and independent journalists, critical to the regime.
According to sources like CPJ, HRW and AI, in the past four months, the prime Minister Zenawi’s regime has used the ‘anti-terrorism law’ to detain independent journalists and opposition members accusing for involvement with Ginbot 7 and Oromo Liberation Front, lately considered as ‘terrorist organizations’ by his parliament.
Ethiopians are currently suffering from an unacceptable inflation and food shortage. The political repression and fear of imprisonment and intimidation is widespread. The regime terrorizes its own people and labels others as terrorist. Such a deteriorating political, economical and social situation in Ethiopia is worrying billions of Ethiopians, including us living abroad.
We members of Democratic Change in Ethiopia Support Organization-Norway therefore:

• Request donors and all members of the international community (including Norway) to re-evaluate the relationship with Ethiopian regime and put pressure on the regime to respect human rights, rule of law, and release all political prisoners.
•  Strongly condemn collaboration of e.g., Chinese and Indian governments and investors in the massive fertile land grab and deforestation programme, evicting poor farmers.
• Condemn China’s collaboration with the Ethiopian regime in jamming and blocking independent media, like Voice of America (VOA), and the Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) and denying Ethiopian people access to alternative media.
• Call up on all Ethiopians and political and civic organizations working for democratic change in Ethiopia to come together and work I unison to realize democracy and rule of law in the country.

Democratic Change in Ethiopia Support Organization-Norway

 

Activists in DC to protest October 12 against World Bank, IMF

The World Bank in Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, DC -- Activists who have been accusing the World Bank and IMF of financing tyranny in Ethiopia will protest here in front of the headquarters of the World Bank on Saturday.
Poor Ethiopian farmers as well as indigenous people are being uprooted from their ancestral lands so as to pave the way for corrupt tycoons and foreign corporations, the activists said in a press release sent to Ethiomedia. In Gambella more than 3 million hectares of Annuak land was sold to foreigners to produce food for their own people. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations claim securing land to feed their people for future. More than 70,000 Annuaks have already been removed from their land and another 150,000 will be displaced in the coming few years.

“All this eviction and ethnic cleansing is financed by World Bank. The Ethiopian dictatorial minority rule cannot do this eviction and ethnic cleansing without the support of the World Bank and IMF financing it at all levels including paying salary for those who are killing the poor people,” the press release said, adding Annuaks are now an endangered species so are the Mursi people who have been chased away from South Omo Valley hunting ground to clear the land for a sugar company run by the regime. Mursi’s who resisted are murdered in large numbers.”
We all know that the World Bank denied loan for Cambodia in summer of 2011 for the government displacing its farmers. Why should it be different for Ethiopia in 2013? We demand the World Bank to come clean by distancing itself from the crime committed by the tribal mafia and junta of TPLF. What was good for Cambodia is good for Ethiopia!! We endorsed the demand of the Human Rights Watch on its recent press release on Ethiopia for the World Bank to do its own internal investigation on the eviction issue in Ethiopia and make it public. Thousands of Ethiopians were and are evicted, many children, women and elders die during this terrifying time. The World Bank has either to condone or condemn this human rights violation and crime against humanity. “We will continue to protest until the Bank stops financing ethnic cleansing and forced eviction of indigenous people of Ethiopia,” said the activists, while demanding for an official response from the Bank immediately. We also call for the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations to give support for the thousands who were evicted, ethnically cleansed and dispersed various parts of Ethiopia.