Interview with Ato Abebe Bogale Patriotic Ginbot 7 International leadership chairman

September 19, 2015

Ato Abebe Bogale Patriotic Ginbot 7 International leadership chairman, criss-crossing Canada to gather support and mobilize Ethiopians.

Campaign to demand President Obama cancel the planned visit to Ethiopia

July 1, 2015

ለዋይት ሃውስ ይደውሉ፣ ፋክስ ይላኩ (የመጀመሪያ ዙር)

እንደሚታወቀው የአሜሪካኑ ፕሬዚዳንት ባራክ ኦባማ በዚህ ወር መጨረሻ ለጉብኝት ወደ ኬንያ ሲሄዱ ኢትዮጵያ ጎራ የማለት እቅድ እንዳላቸው ተገልጿል። ይሁንና የፕሬዚዳንቱ ጉብኝት ለአብዛኛው ኢትዮጵያዊ ከጥቅሙ ጉዳቱ የሚያመዝን በመሆኑ ነጻነት ናፋቂ የሆነውና በአለም ዙሪያ ተበትኖ የሚገኘው ኢትዮጵያዊ ሁሉ ወደ ዋይት ሃውስ በመደወል እንዲሁም ፋክስ በማድረግ

በትህትና ፕሬዚዳንቱ ለዜጎቿ ምድራዊ ሲኦል እንድትሆን የተደረገችውን አገራችንን መጎብኘት አንባገነኖችን እንደማበረታታት ሊቆጠር ስለሚችል ድምጻችንን በስፋትና በተከታታይ እናሰማ። ከዚህ በታች ያለውን ደብዳቤ ስምና አድራሻችሁን በመጻፍ ፋክስ ብታደርጉ፣ እንዲሁም በማህበራዊ ድረገጾች በስፋት በማሰራጨት ትብብር እንድታደርጉ በትህትና እጠይቃለሁ።
ስልክ ለመደወል በስራ ሰአት በ +1 (202) 456–1414 ይደውሉ ask to talk to Denis McDonough, The President’s Chief of Staff / or leave a message

ፋክስ ለማድረግ +1 202-456-2461 በመጠቀም መልእክትዎን ያድርሱ።

Also call the U.S. State Department and ask to talk to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (phone no. 202-647-4440) Also fax: 202-647-3344

Abebe Gellaw

Letter to Obama (PDF)

Letter to Obama (Word)

Fax Zero https://faxzero.com/

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Dear President Obama,

I am writing to express my deep concern over your planned visit to Ethiopia amidst worsening human rights violations and political repressions.

As you may know, the TPLF-led ruling junta has recently declared to have “won” 100 percent of all parliamentary and regional seats. Ironically, this cruel electoral joke that has never been seen in any democratic elections, has only revealed that they have completely hijacked the whole electoral process and installed oppression as an institution. It is another testimony to the fact that the brutal minority junta has completely shut out the majority from democratically and peacefully participating in the political process of their country.

Against the backdrop of this shameless tyrannical travesty, I fear that your visit can be counterproductive as it can be misconstrued by the TPLF-led regime as your administration’s endorsement and seal of approval for the sustenance of the crimes, atrocities, abuses, extrajudicial killings, torture and corruption that they are committing with impunity.

Scores of journalists, bloggers, activists, religious, political party and civil society leaders, as well tens of thousands of ordinary citizens that have never committed any crimes, are languishing in hellish jails across the country. As a result of the land grab policy, millions of poor peasants are being displaced to give way to corrupt oligarchs and their local and foreign business partners.

A cursory look at the annual U.S. State Department human rights report can even reveal a litany of disturbing atrocities being perpetrated against defenseless civilians. “The most significant human rights problems included: restrictions on freedom of expression and association, including through arrests; detention; politically motivated trials; harassment; and intimidation of opposition members and journalists, as well as continued restrictions on print media,” the report reads.

የአቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ የታፈኑበትን አንደኛ ዓመት ምክንያት በማድረግ ከዓርበኞች ግንቦት 7 ንቅናቄ የተሰጠ መግለጫ

አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ፅጌ በወያኔ የታፈኑበትን አንደኛ ዓመት ምክንያት በማድረግ ታላቅ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ በኖርዌይ፣ ኦስሎ ተካሄደ

June 23, 2015

የግንቦት 7 ዋና ፀሀፊ አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ፅጌ በየመን የፀጥታ ሃይሎች ታግተው ለዘረኛውና አፋኙ የወያኔ ቡድን ተላልፈው የተሰጡበትን አንደኛ ዓመት ምክንያት በማድረግ በዓለም አቀፍ ደረጃ የሚካሄደው ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ በኖርዌይ ደረጃ የዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጥ በኢትዮጵያ የድጋፍ ድርጅት ኖርዌይ በወጣቶች ክፍል አስተባባሪነት በጁን 23/ 2015 በእንግሊዝ ኢምባሲ ፊት ለፊት እልህና ቁጭት የተሞላበት ታላቅ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ተካሂዷል።

በሰልፉ ላይ ከተለያዩ የኖርዌይ ከተሞች የተገኙ በርካታ ሀገር ወዳድ ኢትዮጵያውያን በኖርዌጅያን የሰአት አቆጣጠር ከ13፡30 ስዓት ጀምሮ ታላቋ ብርታኒያ ለዜጋዋ አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ልዩ ትኩረት አድርጋ ከዘረኛው ወያኔ ነጻ በማውጣት ወደ ቤተሰቡ እንዲመለስ ለማሳሰብ ድምጻቸውን ከፍ አድርገው የነጻነት ታጋዩን አንዳርጋቸውን በተመለከተ የተለያዩ መፎክሮችን አሰምተዋል።

በዝግጅቱ ወቅት ከተሰሙት መፎክሮች መካከል “አንዳርጋቸው የነጻነት ታጋይ እንጂ አሸባሪ አይደለም” አንዳርጋቸው ነጻ ይወጣ ዘንድ እንግሊዝ ግፊት ታድርግ”፣ “በአንዳርጋቸው ላይ ለአንድ ዓመት ሙሉ እየደረሰበት ያለው የስቃይና የመከራ ዘመን ይብቃ”፣ እንግሊዝ ዜጋሽ የት ነው?”፣ “እንግሊዝ! ዜጋሽ አደጋ ውስጥ ነውና ደህንነትና ጥበቃ ያዝፈልገዋል፣ የህግ ከለላም እንዲሁ” “አዎ! እኛ ሁላችን አንዳርጋቸው ነን!” ነጻነት፣ ፍትህና ዲሞክራሲ ያስፈልገናል” በማለት ከፍተኛ ሀገራዊ ስሜት በተንጸባረቀበት መልኩ ጩኸታቸውን አሰምተዋል።

በመቀጠልም አርበኞች ግንቦት ሰባት አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ የታፈኑበትን አንደኛ ዓመት ምክንያት በማድረግ የተሰጠውን መግለጫ ለተሳታፊዎች በድምጽ ተነቧል። መግለጫውም የአቶ አንዳርጋቸው በወያኔ መታገት ንቅናቄው የበለጠ

እንዲጠነክርና ከሌሎች ድርጅቶች ጋር ውህደት በመፍጠር ትግሉን ወደፊት እንዲሄድ አድርጎታል እንጂ ወያኔ እንዳሰበው ትግሉ ወደ ኋላ እንዳልቀረ ይጠቅሳል።
በመግለጫው ማጠቃለያም በአቶ አንዳርጋቸው ላይ በአፈናው የተነሳ የደረሰው መከራ ስቃይ ብቻ ሳይሆን በአሁኑ ጊዜ ለፍትህ ፣ ለእኩልነትና ለነፃነት በመቆማቸው በወያኔ አረመኔዎች ቁም ስቅላቸውን የሚያዩ በርካታ ቁጥር ያላቸው ዜጎች ሰቆቃ የሚያበቃው የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ተባብሮ በሚያደርገው ሁለ ገብ ትግል በመሆኑ ማንኛችንም በአቶ አንዳርጋቸውም ሆነ በሌሎች ወገኖቻችን ላይ እየደረሰ ያለውን ጥቃት እንደራሳችን አድርገን የሚሰማን ወገኖች በሙሉ አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ፅጌ ከታፈኑበት አንድ አመት ወዲህ የተጀመረውን ተስፋ የሚሰጥ እንቅስቃሴ አጠናክረን ወደ ውጤት በማድረስ የመጪው ዘመን የህዝብ የፍትህ የእኩልነትና የነፃነት ተስፋ የሚለመልምበት የወያኔ አምባገነን ስርአት እድሜ የሚያጥርበት ዘመን እንዲሆን ሁላችንም የምንችለውን ሁሉ እንድናደርግ ወገናዊ ጥሪ አስተላልፈዋል።

በመጨረሻም በዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጥ በኢትዮጵያ ድጋፍ ድርጅት ኖርዌይ የተዘጋጀውን ደብዳቤ በተወካዮች አማካኝነት ለኢምባሲው ከተሰጠ በኋላ የተለያዩ መፈክሮችን በማሰማት ዝግጅቱ በታቀደለት ስዓት በተሳካ ሁኔታ ተጠናቋል።

የዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጥ በኢትዮጵያ የድጋፍ ድርጅት ኖርዌይ

Ethiopian Ruling Party Claims Absurd Election Victories Once Again

une 16, 2015

Ethiopian American Council | ethioamericans@gmail.com | www.eacouncil.org

San Jose CA June 12, 2015 – The ruling Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF)/ Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has once again pulled off one of the more spectacular scams on the global political scene – the Ethiopian national elections. In elections held on May 24, it has claimed landslides, near-100-percent victories, throughout the country, allowing it to seat party members in every single parliamentary seat. In the 2000 elections EPRDF allowed the opposition to occupy at least one seat in the parliament.

No Western Observers

Western nations were not invited to attend or, more probably, did not wish to be associated with what has become a delirious attempt by the TPLF/EPRDF to convince the world and the Ethiopian people that the government is loved by one and all. The African Union Election Observation Mission, the only international organization present to observe the elections, did point out some areas needing improvement, but the mission receives support money from the TPLF/EPRDF government. They observed erratic opening times and failure to display some ballot boxes. The elections were peaceful and organized, but there were reports of harassment, intimidation, and fraud.

Election Results Humanly Impossible

Democratic nations that truly ensure free speech and open elections for their citizens never deign to report landslide victories approaching 100 percent during national voting. Results like that are humanly impossible in a truly democratic society. Does the TPLF/EPRDF want the world to believe that they have perfected human governance almost to the ultimate degree, that they have won the hearts and minds of all the Ethiopian people? A column in International Business Times quoted a 28-year-old student at Addis Ababa University as saying, “This election is just so we can tell

አምባገነኑ የህወሓት አገዛዝ ለስልጣኑ መጠበቂያ ያቋቋመው መከላከያ ሠራዊት እየፈረሰ የትጥቅ ትግሉን በመቀላቀል ላይ ነው፡፡

JUNE 2, 2015 LEAVE A COMMENT

የህዝብ ጠላት የሆነው ህወሓት ከህዝብ አብራክ የተከፈለውን መከላከያ ሠራዊት በፀረ-ህዝብነት ሙሉ ለሙሉ የማሰለፉ ዓላማው ሲከሽፍ በዓይኖቹ በብረቱ በመመልከት ላይ ነው፡፡ ምክንያቱም ሰሞኑን በርካታ የመከላከያ ሠራዊት አባላት ከነሙሉ ትጥቃቸው በመኮብለል አርበኞች ግንቦት ሰባትን ተቀላቅለዋል፡፡ ህዝብን ለማጥፋት የቆመውን ህወሓትን ከድተው ለህዝብ ከቆመው አርበኞች ግንቦትት 7 ጎን ከተሰለፉት ከእነዚህ የመከላከያ ሰራዊት አባላት መካከል የአግአዚ ኮማንዶ ክፍለ ጦር አባላት ከፍተኛውን ቁጥር ይይዛሉ፡፡

ከሁሉም የታጠቁ ኃይሎች ለስርዓቱ የበለጠ ቅርብና ታማኝ ነው የሚባለው እንዲሁም ምርጫ በመጣ ቁጥር በከተሞች እየተሰማራ ህዝብ እየጨፈጨፈ አመፅ የሚያከሽፈው አግአዚ ኮማንዶ ጦር እየከዳ የነፃነት ትግሉን መቀላቀል መጀመር የህወሓት አገዛዝ ልጡ የተራሰና መቃብሩ የተማሰ ያበቃለት መሆኑን ያረጋግጣል፡፡

በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ በንግድ ስራ ላይ የተሰማሩ ባለሀብቶች ህወሃት በሚያራምደው በጎሰኝነት የተቃኘ ቅጥ ያጣ የምጣኔ ሀብት ስርዓት ምክንያትና በአገዛዙ በሚደርስባቸው ጫና እንደመከላከያ ሠራዊቱ ሁሉ እየኮበለሉ በረሃ በመግባት ላይ ናቸው፡፡ በመሆኑም በርካታ ባለሀብቶች አርበኞች ግንቦት 7ን ተቀላቅለዋል፡፡

posted by Aseged Tamene

Freedom4Ethiopian

 UN investigates Briton on death row in Ethiopia

May 22, 2015

Special rapporteur on torture asks UK and Ethiopian governments about detention of Andargachew Tsige amid claims of ill-treatment

(The Guardian) The detention of a British citizen held on death row in Ethiopia for almost a year is being investigated by the United Nations official responsible for preventing torture.

Yemi Hailemariam outside the Foreign Commonwealth Office to demand the release of her partner, Andargachew Tsege, who is being held in in Ethiopia. Photograph: Alamy

Andargachew Tsige was arrested last June while in transit through Yemen’s main airport and forcibly removed to Addis Ababa. He is the leader of an opposition party and had been condemned to death several years earlier in his absence.

Juan Mendez, the UN special rapporteur on torture, has written to the Ethiopian and UK governments saying he is investigating the treatment of Tsige. There are claims Tsige is being deprived of sleep and held in isolation.

His partner, Yemi Hailemariam, also a British national, who lives in London with their three children, said she had only spoken to him once by telephone since his abduction. “He’s in prison but we have no idea where he is being held,” she said. “He said he was OK but I’m sure the call was being listened to.

“He had been in Dubai and was flying on to Eritrea when the plane stopped over in Yemen. He hadn’t even been through immigration. We think Yemeni security took him and handed him over to the Ethiopians.

“They say there was an extradition agreement but it was so quick there was no time for any semblance of a legal hearing. Yemen and Ethiopia had close relations then. The [Ethiopian] government have put him on television three times in heavily edited interviews, saying he was revealing secrets

“He has been kept under artificial light 24 hours a day and no one [other than the UK ambassador] has had access to him. I feel angry with the Foreign Office. They know they could do more. They have political leverage they could use but have not done so.”

Tsige, 60, known as Andy, had previously been secretary general of Ginbot 7, a political opposition party that called for democracy, free elections and civil rights. He first came to the UK in 1979. The Ethiopian government has accused him of being a terrorist. In 2009, he was tried with others in his absence and sentenced to death.

No effort was made to extradite him to face the court. A US embassy cable, released through WikiLeaks, described the trial as “lacking in basic elements of due process”.

“[Andy] is a politician, not a terrorist,” said Hailemariam. “It’s just the Ethiopian government that thinks it does not need to make any space for the opposition. A delegation of British MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn, were stopped from travelling to Ethiopia in February. They are hoping to try again.”

Hailemariam’s dissatisfaction with the UK government’s response follows the release of internal Foreign Office memorandums earlier this year that appeared to show official reluctance to apply pressure on Ethiopia to obtain Tsige’s release.

The UK prime minister, David Cameron, has, however, written a letter to his Ethiopian counterpart, Hailemariam Desalegn, raising concerns about Tsige.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The foreign secretary has raised this case with the Ethiopian foreign minister on 13 separate occasions. We will continue to lobby at all levels, conveying our concern over Andargachew Tsige being detained without regular consular visits and access to a lawyer.”

Maya Foa, director of Reprieve’s death penalty team said: “Andy Tsige was illegally kidnapped and rendered to Ethiopia, where he has now been held in a secret location for nearly a year. The UN special rapporteur is right to raise concerns about torture – especially given Ethiopia’s terrible record on human rights, and their denial of any meaningful consular access.

“It is crucial that the British government now takes stronger action on this case. The way Andy has been treated is in serious violation of international law and the most basic principles of justice – the UK must push for his immediate release.”

Tsige’s lawyer, the barrister Ben Cooper of Doughty Street chambers, said: “[He] was abducted at an international airport, hooded and rendered to Ethiopia, where he has been held incommunicado under a death sentence that was passed unlawfully in his absence. He remains in isolation nearly a year later with only occasional access to the open air.

“His detention violates all minimum standards of treatment. We ask the Foreign Office to follow the lead of the UN special rapporteur on torture to demand an immediate end to Mr Tsege’s torture by seeking his return home to his family in England. This is a clear case of kidnap and should be treated as such.”

Elections are taking place in Ethiopia this weekend. Tsige’s family hopes the government will relax restrictions on the opposition once voting is over.

In a lengthy statement, the Ethiopian embassy said that Ginbot 7 had been proscribed a terrorist organisation by the country’s parliament. Tsige, as general secretary, it added, was charged with “conspiring to perpetrate terror and violence in Ethiopia by planning, training, financing, and organising terrorist recruits in Eritrea” and found guilty of “conspiring and working with and under Ginbot 7, to overthrow the legitimate government of Ethiopia through terrorist acts”.

Following conviction and sentence, the embassy continued, the government sent a formal request of assistance to those states with which Ethiopia has an extradition treaty, requesting them to transfer all sentenced individuals in the event of their presence on their territory.

“It was on the basis of this request, and the existing extradition treaty with the Republic of Yemen, that [he] was extradited to Ethiopia. Accordingly, [he] is currently in detention at the federal prison,” it said.

The statement added: “Mr Tsige was serving as a Trojan horse, assisting the Eritrean government’s repeated and ongoing attempts to wreak havoc and instability in the sub-region. Mr Tsige is well-treated and has received visits from the British ambassador to Ethiopia. He has also spoken to his family on the phone.”

Ethiopia: Onslaught on human rights ahead of elections

May 23, 2015

(Amnesty International) The run-up to Ethiopia’s elections on Sunday has been marred by gross, systematic and wide-spread violations of ordinary Ethiopians’ human rights, says Amnesty International.

“The lead-up up to the elections has seen an onslaught on the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. This onslaught undermines the right to participation in public affairs freely and without fear as the government has clamped down on all forms of legitimate dissent,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.

The Ethiopian authorities have jailed large numbers of members of legally registered opposition political parties, journalists, bloggers and protesters. They have also used a combination of harassment and repressive legislation to repress independent media and civil society.