Opposition MP says Ethiopia bottling up strife By Edmund Blair

Girma Seifu Maru, Ethiopia’s sole opposition politician in a 547-seat parliament, says the authorities risk provoking social unrest if they do not offer more political space to critical voices.

The 47-year-old economist and consultant said his party, Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), is pushing for greater openness with a petition against an anti-terror law that critics say is used to stifle dissent, and by a campaign of protests.

But it is an uphill struggle for opponents of the ruling coalition in a nation that Girma said was following China’s model in a bid to drag swathes of its 90 million people, many still subsistence farmers, out of poverty by 2025.

“The Chinese model is that economic development is the primary issue, don’t ask about human rights issues, don’t ask about your freedom, keeping silent on people’s rights so that a few politicians get the economic benefits,” he told Reuters in an interview at a modern hotel, where the imprint of China’s growing influence in Africa was evident on many of the fittings.

But he said the government risked a “violent struggle” if it continued that path until parliamentary elections in 2015.

“That will be a seed they are just giving water to at this time if they don’t change their route and give hope to peaceful activities,” he said in Addis Ababa, adding that his party was committed to change by peaceful means.

Ethiopia has won international plaudits for delivering double-digit growth for much of the past decade.

Once known for “Red Terror” purges of the 1970s and famine in the 1980s, the capital is at the heart of a building boom, while new highways are starting to connect far-flung regions.

But economists say the government’s preference for a command economy may be hurting growth prospects by squeezing out private business, while opponents say a heavy-handed state is curbing freedoms that may be bottling up ethnic and other tensions.

In 2005, a disputed election ended in violence and the killing of 200 people. Opposition candidates won 174 seats but many did not take them up, saying the vote was rigged. The government denies this and other charges about quashing dissent.

Girma was the only opponent to win a seat in 2010, saying the government used state institutions to keep out most rivals. Dressed in a tracksuit and sipping a local St George beer, he brushed off with a smile the idea he was lonely in parliament.

“I am one and they are one,” he said, referring to what critics see as the monolithic nature of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and its allies.

“SPIRIT OF FEAR”

In its bid to ease what he calls the public’s fear of speaking out in the build up to 2015, Girma’s party has launched a campaign he called “millions of voices for change.”

In the past three months, he said his party activists had launched a petition to repeal the 2009 anti-terrorism law, which rights groups say has been used to lock up opponents. Human Rights Watch says 13 journalists have been convicted since 2011. He did not say how many signatures had been collected so far.

“A spirit of fear is very dangerous,” he said. “So if individuals can become free of this fear they can bring change.”

He said the party was organizing demonstrations for freedom around the country, including one in the capital where protesters raised political and economic gripes. Witnesses said hundreds turned up, although Girma put the figure higher.

In June, witnesses said thousands of Ethiopians staged an anti-government protest that was the largest since 2005.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said last week the government was not to blame for the opposition’s poor showing.

“Shall we say to the people elect this guy or that guy?” the premier told Reuters, speaking from offices in the hill-top gardens of what was once the imperial palace of Haile Selassie. “It is the people who decide.”

Girma said his party and the other dozen or so groups in the opposition Medrek coalition only wanted a level playing field.

Girma said his party advocated a more market-led economic system that would relinquish state control of the nation’s mobile phone operator and end state banks’ dominance.

“The only way they can continue as a ruling elite is by controlling the economy,” said Girma, who was studied economics at Addis Ababa University and runs a business consultancy.

Girma also said the EPRDF, made up of four ethnic and regional parties, has entrenched ethnic rivalries rather than united the diverse nation.

“They think it is keeping the balance,” he said. “But if they lose that balance you lose everything.”

SOURCE, ABUGIDA

ስብሃት ነጋ ወንጀል ፈፀሙ፤ በአሁን ሰአት በፖሊስ እየታደኑ ነው

በአሌክሳንደሪያ ቨርጂኒያ ከአንድ ሰአት በፊት ስብሃት ነጋና አብሯቸው የነበረ ግለሰብ በአንድ ኢትዮጲያዊ ላይ ከፍተኛ ድብደባ ፈፅመው ማምለጣቸውን ማረጋገጥ ተችሏል። መስፍን የተባለው ኢትዮጲያዊ በአሁኑ ሰአት በሆስፒታል የሚገኝ ሲሆን የሲቪሊቲ ሩም ፓልቶክ አዘጋጅ አባ መላ በስልክ አግኝቶት ስለሁኔታው ያነጋገረው ሲሆን፤ መስፍን እንደገለፀው በድብደባው ጅርባው እንደተጎዳና ብዙ ደም እንደፈሰሰው ገፆዋል። እነስብሃት ድብደባውን ሲፈፅሙ በቅርብ ርቀት ቪዲዮ እየተቀረፁ እንደነበረና ይህኑን ማስረጃ ለፖሊስ መስጠታቸው ታውቋል። ድርጊቱ ከተፈፀመ በኋላ ፖሊስ በአካባቢው ፈጥኖ የደረሰ ሲሆን፣ በአሁን ሰአት እነስብሃትን ለመያዝ ፖሊስ መሰማራቱ ታውቋል።

SOURCE, THE HABESHA

Ethiopian Hydropower Dam Assessment Warns of Structural weakness

Ethiopia’s plan to build Africa’s biggest hydropower dam on the main tributary of the Nile River must address concerns that there may be flaws in the design of its foundations, a group of international experts said.

They also called for further studies on what impact the 6,000-megawatt, $4.7 billion project may have on the downstream nations of Sudan and Egypt, the International Panel of Experts said in a report e-mailed to Bloomberg News and verified by Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry. Egypt, which relies on the Nile for almost all of its water, expressed alarm about the dam when Ethiopia in May diverted the Blue Nile as part of the construction process.

“Structural measures might be needed to stabilize the foundation to achieve the required safety against sliding” of the main dam, according to the report. There are also “weak zones” in the rock that will support an auxiliary dam that need to be studied, it said.

Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is part of a government plan to spend 569 billion birr ($30 billion) on infrastructure in the five years through mid-2015. The country, Africa’s second-most populous nation, targets becoming an industrialized middle-income nation by 2025.

Ethiopia is the source of 86 percent of the water that flows into the Nile, the world’s longest river that runs 4,160 miles through 11 countries from Burundi in the south to Egypt, where it empties into the Mediterranean Sea. Ethiopia has said it will take five to six years to fill the 74 billion cubic-meter (2.6 trillion cubic-feet) reservoir created by the dam.

Regional Specialists

The panel, which held its first meeting in May last year, was formed at the suggestion of Ethiopia’s government. It comprised two specialists each from Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan and four from other nations. The report, which hasn’t been made public, was submitted to the three governments in June.

Ethiopia said the report found the project to be of international standard and won’t cause “significant harm” to downstream countries, while Egypt said it was inconclusive.

Ethiopia delivered a hydrological study to the panel that analyzed the downstream impact of the reservoir-filling period given low, average or high rainfall.

The project document concluded that Egypt faces a 6 percent reduction in the High Aswan Dam’s electricity-generating capacity and no water loss if the reservoir was filled during years of average or high rainfall. If the reservoir was filled in a dry year it would “significantly impact on water supply to Egypt and cause the loss of power generation at High Aswan Dam for extended periods,” according to the document.

A “comprehensive” additional study of the dam’s impact on water resources should be conducted, the panel said after reviewing the document. “The analysis presented is very basic, and not yet at a level of detail, sophistication and reliability that would befit a development of this magnitude, importance and with such regional impact.”

Ethiopia is working with Sudan and Egypt to enact the panel’s recommendations, Dina Mufti, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said in an interview today in the capital, Addis Ababa.

SOURCE, ABUGIDA

Justice is served for Hana Williams’ adoptive parents

A Skagit County jury thankfully pushed past the minutae of child-rearing techniques and freedom of religion and found Sedro-Wooley-area couple Larry and Carri Williams guilty of their adopted Ethiopian daughter’s death.

No one knows if the couple’s abusive treatment of two children they adopted from Ethiopia was influenced by  a child-rearing book they had in their home, To Train up a Child, by Michael and Debi Pearl. Cheered for its Bible-based parenting techniques and reviled for recommending harsh physical discipline for kids, the book has sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Since the evangelical guidebook’s original publication in 1994, child-abuse cases have cited it as possibly spurring parents’ behavior, but as a Slate article notes, formal action has never been taken against the authors.

I do not agree with the book’s parenting techniques. But it should also be made clear that the book does not advocate the kind of physical punishment endured by Hana. From a Seattle Times news story:

“Witnesses throughout the trial described the adopted children being starved, beaten and tortured. Hana spent her final months sleeping in a locked closet, showering outside with a hose, being forced to use a portable toilet behind a barn, being hit as many as 40 times a day and at times being barred from speaking to anyone.”

This New York Times story features scores of families who use the book’s techniques without crossing the legal line into abuse. The authors are clear that their book should not be used by out-of-control or overburdened parents. Ultimate responsibility for Hana’s death resides solely on her adoptive parents. The jury agreed.

Carri Williams was convicted of homicide by abuse in Hana Williams’ death. The jury could not agree on whether her husband was equally culpable and the judge declared a mistrial for that charge. Both were convicted of first-degree manslaughter in Hana’s death and first-degree assault of a child for abusing a younger boy, Immanuel, who they adopted from Ethiopia at the same time as Hana. The local Ethiopian community had taken a special interest in the case.

Debate over the book’s connection to child abuse will continue. Justice was served for Hana Williams’ death.

SOURCE, ECADF

ድሆችን ያፈናቀለው “ኢንቨስትመንት” ዕዳ ዋጠው

"እኛን የሚያሳስበን በሊዝ ያልሸጥነው መሬት ነው" መለስ

“መሬታችንን ለምን እንነጠቃለን?” በማለት የጠየቁ ተገድለዋል። ተገርፈዋል። ታስረዋል። አሁን ድረስ እስር ላይ የሚገኙ አሉ። ባዕድ እንኳን ባልሞከረው የከፋ ጭካኔ በከባድ መሳሪያ በተደገፈ የጦር ሃይል የተወለዱበትን መሬት እንዲለቁ የተገደዱ አዛውንቶች ላይ የተፈጸመው ግፍ እስከ ወዲያኛው የሚያሽር አይደለም። በሌሊት እርቃናቸውን ከሚያርፉበት ታዛ ስር ነፍጠኛ ሰራዊት እንዲከባቸው እየተደረገ የተፈጸመው አስነዋሪ ግፍ ጊዜ የሚጠብቅ እንደሆነ በየጊዜው የሚገለጽ ነው።

“የዘራሁትን ሳላነሳ በዶዘር ማሳዬን ጠረጉት፣ በዶዘር እርሻዬ ውስጥ ገብተው አረሱት፣ መሬቴን ለምን ትወስዳላችሁ? የት ልትወስዱኝ ነው? ያሸተውን በቆሎዬን መነጠሩት። ምን ላደርግ እችላለሁ። መሳሪያ የያዙ ወታደሮች ከበውኛል፣ ጠዋት ስነሳ ማሳዬ ባዶ ሆኖ አገኘሁት … ” ይህ ሁሉ የበደል ሰቆቃ ነው። በምስል ተደግፎ የቀረበ ህሊናን የሚሰብር መረጃዎች አሉ።

(Photo: IC magazine)

አንድ የአካባቢው ነዋሪ “ሰላማዊ ህዝብ፣ በቅጡ የሚለብሰው እንኳን የሌለውን ህዝብ፣ አሮጊቶችን፣ አዛውንቶችንና ህጻናትን ሲገድሉና ሲያሰቃዩ የቆዩት ለዚህ ነው? ለዚህ ኢንቨስትመንት ነው ያ ሁሉ የተፈጥሮ ደን ወድሞ ከሰል እንዲሁን የተደረገው? ገንዘብ ሳይሆን የከሰል ጆንያ ይዘው ክልሉን እንዲቀራመቱ የሚፈቅዱት ክፍሎች ስለጊዜና ስለዘመን ለምን አያስቡም?” ሲል ይጠይቃል። በማያያዝም “70 ከመቶ የሚሆኑት ባለሃብቶች የትግራይ ሰዎች መሆናቸውን እናውቃለን። መረጃውም አለን። እባካችሁ የተጨቆናችሁ የትግራይ ወንድምና እህቶች እባካችሁን በስማችሁ እየተፈጸመብን ያለውን በደል ተቃወሙ” ሲል ለጎልጉል፡ የድረገጽ ጋዜጣ አስረድቷል።

አዛውንቱ ጸሐይ ለመሞቅ ታዛ ስር ቁጭ ባሉበት (በፎቶው የሚታዩት አይደሉም) ከሙሉ ቤተሰባቸው ጋር የጥይት ራት የተደረጉበት ኢንቨስትመንት አስቀድሞ የተገለጸ ቢሆንም መጨረሻው ሌብነት እንደሆነ ኢህአዴግና ራሱ ድርጅቱ ማመናቸው ተሰማ። አቶ መለስ ሲጀነኑበት የነበረው ኢንቨስትመንት አውላላ ሜዳ ላይ የተደፋ ስለመሆኑ የተጠየቁት አቶ ኦባንግ ሜቶ “እኛን የሚያሳስበን በሊዝ ያልተሸጠው መሬት ነው” በማለት አቶ መለስ የተናገሩትን በማስታወስ “ህዝብን የማይሰማ ድርጅት ዞሮ ዞሮ ከውርደት አይድንም” የሚል ምላሽ ሰጥተዋል። የሰሙት ዜና የሚጠበቅ እንደሆነ ያመለከቱት የአዲሲቷ ኢትዮጵያ የጋራ ንቅናቄ ዋና ዳይሬክተር አቶ ኦባንግ “ሚዲያዎች በነካ እጃቸው ስለ ሰለባዎቹም ይተንፍሱ” ሲሉ ጠይቀዋል።

የሰንደቅ ዜና እንዲህ ይነበባል፡

የህንድ ካራቱሪ ኩባንያ 62 ሚሊዮን ብር የንግድ ባንክን ዕዳን መክፈል አልቻለም

• ኩባንያው የሠራተኞች ግብር፣ ጡረታ እንዲሁም የክልሉን የመሬት ግብር አልከፈለም

• ከቀረጥ ነጻ ያስገባቸውን ማሽነሪዎች በማከራየትና በመሸጥ እየተከሰሰ ነው።

• ከተረከበው 300 ሺ ሔክታር ያለማው 800 ሔክታር ብቻ ነው።

መሠረቱን በጋምቤላ ክልል ያደረገው የህንድ ካራቱሪ አግሮ ፕሮዳክት ኀ/የተ/የግ/ማህበር በተሰጠው መሬት ላይ የልማት ሥራ ማከናወን አለመቻሉን እንዲሁም የባንክ ብድርና የግብር ግዴታዎቹን እየተወጣ አለመሆኑ ተገለፀ።

አቶ ኤፍሬም መኩሪያ በኢትዮጵያ ንግድ ባንክ ተጠባባቂ የቢዝነስ ዴቭሎፕመንት የስራ ሒደት ባለቤት ስለጉዳዩ ለሰንደቅ ጋዜጣ እንዳስረዱት “ካራቱሪ ከባንኩ እ.ኤ.አ በዲሴምበር 2011 ወደ 62 ሚሊየን ብር ብድር መውሰዱን አስታውሰው ነገር ግን መክፈል በሚገባው ጊዜ ሊከፍል አለመቻሉን፣ ብድሩንም ለማስታመም የተደረጉ ተጨማሪ ጥረቶች ባለመሳካታቸው ጉዳዩ ወደህግ ክፍል መመራቱን አስታውቀዋል። ባንኩ በአሁኑ ወቅት ይህ ብድር የተበላሸ ወይንም መመለስ የማይችል ነው በሚል ጉዳዩን ይዞት ለማስመለስ ወደ ሕጋዊ እርምጃ መግባቱን” ተናግረዋል።

በተያያዘም በግብርናው ዘርፍ ለመሰማራት ከአራት ዓመት በፊት በጋምቤላ ክልል 300ሺ ሄክታር መሬት ለማልማት ከግብርና ሚኒስቴር ጋር ተዋውሎ የገባው የህንዱ ኩባንያ ካራቱሪ ባለው ደካማ ማኔጅመንት ምክንያት ሥራውን ማከናወን ባለመቻሉ በአሁኑ ወቅት ትልቅ አደጋ ላይ እንደሚገኝ ታውቋል።

አቶ አለምሰገድ አያሌው የኩባንያው የምርት መሳሪዎች ዋና ክፍል ኃላፊና የሠራተኞች ተወካይ ለሰንደቅ ጋዜጣ በስልክ እንደገለጹት ኩባንያው 300ሺ ሄክታር ለማልማት ከግብርና ሚኒስቴር መሬት ተረክቦ የነበረ ቢሆንም ባለፉት አምስት አመታት ከ800 ሄክታር በላይ ለማልማት አልቻለም።

ግብርና ሚኒስቴር ይህንኑ ደካማ አፈጻጸም በማየት ከአንድ ዓመት በፊት 200ሺ ሄክታር መሬት የነጠቃቸው መሆኑን አቶ አለምሰገድ አስታውሰው ይህንንም ማልማት ባለመቻላቸው በአሁኑ ወቅት በእጃቸው የሚገኘው መሬት 10ሺ ሄክታር ብቻ ነው ብለዋል። ይህም ሆኖ በአሁኑ ወቅት በበቆሎ ሰብል የተሸፈነው 800 ሄክታር ገደማ ብቻ ነው ሲሉ አስረድተዋል።

ድርጅቱ 150 ያህል ቋሚና ጊዜያዊ ሠራተኞች እንዳሉት ያስታወሱት አቶ አለምሰገድ የሰራተኞች ደመወዝ ክፍያ እስከ 45 ቀናት እንደሚዘገይ፣ ለጡረታና ለግብር ከሰራተኛው የሚሰበሰበው ክፍያ በአግባቡ ለሚመለከተው አካል እንደማይገባ ማረጋገጣቸውን ጠቅሰዋል።

የኩባንያው አመራሮች በውጪ ምንዛሪ የሚያስገቡዋቸውን ዘርና ማዳበሪያ በአገር ውስጥ እንደሚሸጡ፣ ከቀረጥ ነጻ ያስገቡዋቸውን ማሽነሪዎች በማከራየትና ለሶስተኛ ወገን በመሸጥ ያልተገባ ጥቅም እንደሚያጋብሱ ተናግረዋል።

ይህንኑ አቤቱታቸውን ለጋምቤላ ክልል የሚመለከታቸው መ/ቤቶች በተደጋጋሚ ማሳወቃቸውን ገልጸዋል።

የጋምቤላ ክልል ኢንቨስትመንት ቢሮ ዳይሬክተር አቶ ጆን ሾል ስለጉዳዩ ከሰንደቅ ጋዜጣ ተጠይቀው የካራቱሪ የስራ አፈጻጸም እጅግ ደካማ መሆኑን አረጋግጠዋል። ኩባንያው በተጨማሪም ለወረዳ መክፈል ያለበትን የመሬት ግብር ጭምር እንዳልከፈለ የጠቆሙት አቶ ጆን ከኢትዮጵያ ንግድ ባንክም የተበደረውን ባለመክፈሉ ባንኩ በመያዥነት የያዛቸውን ንብረቶች ወደማስከበር ስራ ፊቱን ማዞሩን ጠቁመዋል።

በቅርቡ ከፌዴራል መንግስት ባለሙያዎች ወደቦታው መጥተው ችግሩን አጥንተው መመለሳቸውን ጠቁመው በቅርቡ ኩባንያውን በተመለከተ የመጨረሻ መፍትሔ ሊገኝ እንደሚችል አስተያየታቸውን ሰጥተዋል። የካራቱሪ አግሮ ፕሮዳክት ኃ.የተ.የግ.ማኅበር (ጋምቤላ ኤሊያ አካባቢ) የሥራ ኃላፊዎችን በስልክ አግኝተን ለማነጋገር ያደረግነው ጥረት ለጊዜው አልተሳካም።

SOURCE, GOLGUL WEBSITE

ግንቦት7 በመከላከያ ሰራዊት ውስጥ መስመሩን እየዘረጋ መሆኑን አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ ተናገሩ

መስከረም ፳(ሃያ)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :- አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ይህንን የተናገሩት በኖርዌይ ከተካሄደው ደማቅ የገቢ ማሰባሰቢያ ዝግጅት በሁዋላ ነው።

የግንቦት7 ዋና ጸሀፊ የሆኑት አቶ አንዳርጋቸው  የገቢ ማሰባሰቢያ ዝግጅቱ በአንድ በኩል በግንቦት7 ህዝባዊ ሀይል አባላት ላይ ከፍተኛ መነቃቃት የሚፈጥር በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ የተጣለብን ህዝባዊ አደራ ከፍተኛ መሆኑን የሚያስታውሰን ነው ብለዋል።

በቅርቡ ከኢትዮጵያ አየር ሀይል ከድተው የሄዱት ሰዎች በጥሩ ሁኔታ እንደሚገኙ የገለጹት አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ፣ በመከላከያ ሰራዊት በእግረና፣ በአየር ሃይልና በደህንነት መስሪያ ቤት ውስጥ የመንግስት የጸጥታ ሀይሎች ሊደርሱበት በማይችሉበት መንገድ መስመር እየዘረጉ መሆኑን ገልጸዋል።

በውጭ አገራት ተመሳሳይ የገቢ ማሰባሰቢያ ዝግጅት ለማድረግ እቅድ አላችሁ ወይ ተብለው የተጠየቁት አቶ አንዳርጋቸው፣ ህዝባዊ ሀይሉ ከተግባር ጋር በተዛመደ መልኩ የገቢ መሰባሰብ ዝግጅት መርሀ ግብሩን ይፋ እስከሚያደርግ ድረስ በህዝባዊ ሀይሉ ወይም በግለሰቦች ስም ምንም አይነት የገቢ መሰባሰቢያ ዝግጅት መደረግ እንደሌለበት ገልጸዋል

በሌላ ዜና ደግሞ በርካታ ቁጥር ያላቸው በስቶክሆልም እና አካባቢዋ የሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን ከ አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ ጋር ውይይት አድርገዋል።  አቶ አንዳርጋቸው የግንቦት ሰባት ህዝባዊ ሃይልን ዓላማዎች፡ተልዕኮዎች እና ራዕይ በማስተዋወቅ ህዝባዊ ሃይሉ ከምስረታ ጀምሮ አሁን ያለበትን ደረጃ  በምስልና በጽሁፍ የተደገፈ ገለጻ ለተሰብሳቢው አቅርበዋል።

እሳቸው እና ሌሎች የአመራር አካላት እንዲሁም አባላት የተገኙበት የውትድርና ስልጠና አንዱ የበታች አንዱ የበላይ እንዳልሆነ በማስገንዘብ ይህ ህዝባዊ ሃይል  ቤተሰባቸውን፡ስራቸውን፡ ገንዘባቸውን፡ እና የተደላደለ ኑሯቸውን በመተው ከኢትዮጵያ እና ከመላው ዓለም የተውጣጡ ኢትዮጵያውያን የተዋቀረ እንደሆነ ገልጸዋል።

የግንቦት ሰባት ዓላማ በኢትዮጵያ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ስርዓትን ማስፈን ብቻ ሳይሆን ባለፉት 22 ዓመታት ኢትዮጵያውያን የተገፈፉትን ክብራቸውን ማስመለስ ጭምር መሆኑን አቶ አንዳርጋቸው አስምረውበታል ሲል ቴዎድሮስ አረጋ ከስዊድን ዘግቧል።

SOURCE, ESAT