Ethiopia’s “Odious Debt” to the Odious World Bank

February 9, 2015

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Ethiopia as “sovereign deadbeat” state due to debts incurred by the T-TPLF

In my last commentary, The World Bank and Ethiopia’s “Growth and Transformation”, I cryptically observed in passing, “… The USD$600 million is money the World Bank loaned to the Thugtatorship of the Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front (T-TPLF)  in the name of the People of Ethiopia. Future generations of Ethiopians will be asked to pay it back. Will they be legally obligated to do so!?! Umm!)” Are the people of Ethiopia responsible for the World Bank’s “odious debt” to the T-TPLF?

An “odious debt” may be defined as an “illegitimate national debt incurred by a regime for purposes that do not serve the best interests of the nation and therefore should not be enforceable against the people of the debtor nation.”

I submit the USD$600 the World Bank “loaned” to Ethiopia for the so-called “Protection of Basic Services Project” (PBS III) (and any other “loans” extended to Ethiopia by any government or international institution to be reviewed on a case by case basis) is an odious debt. I do not mean to suggest or imply that  any other “loans” provided  by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Chinese, Japanese, British Governments, the African Development Bank, or any member of the European Union are NOT “odious debts”. I believe they are highly likely to be odious, but that has to be determined on a case by case  basis. Here I want to focus on the “odiousness” of the PBS III loan because there is a mountain of clear and convincing evidence that the USD$600 million loan is unquestionably an “odious debt”.

Is Ethiopia’s “odious sovereign debt” to the odious World Bank legally enforceable? Are future generations of Ethiopians liable to the debts accumulated with the World Bank by the T-TPLF?

I shall argue in this commentary that neither this nor future generations of Ethiopians have a legal obligation to pay for the “odious debt” incurred in the implementation of PBS III by the corrupt, racketeering and benighted T-TPLF.

Ethiopia’s “Odious Sovereign Debt” to the World Bank: The BIG legal questions

The legal questions and issues related to Ethiopia’s debt to the World Bank in PBS III are myriad. I will only list just a few of them.

1) If the World Bank’s PBS III loan to Ethiopia could not be accounted for in whole or in part, or is shown to have been stolen, misappropriated, misspent, embezzled, swindled and corruptly used by those in power, their cronies and associates, are the people of Ethiopia liable for that debt under international law?

2) If the answer is in the affirmative to question 1, could it legally be argued that the loan is a private or personal debt of the T-TPLF leaders, their cronies and associates who looted and benefited from the loan in corrupt racketeering schemes?

3) If the answer to questions 1 and 2 are in the affirmative, are the T-TPLF leaders, their cronies and associates jointly and severally responsible for these debts as personal debts?

4) If the answer is in the affirmative to question 1, do the people of Ethiopia have a legal cause of action against the World Bank for lending money it knows or should reasonably have known will be used by the T-TPLF in corrupt schemes or in the furtherance of organized racketeering activities?

5) Did the World Bank commit crimes against humanity by lending money to an illegitimate regime (a regime that claims election victory by 99.6 percent) which used the loan proceeds to engage in massive human rights violations including forced resettlements of indigenous populations?

6) Is the World Bank liable as an accessory (before and after the fact), accomplice and aider and abettor in the commission of a crimes against humanity against the indigenous Anuak people of Gambella who were forcibly transferred by the T-TPLF using World Bank PBS III loan money from their ancestral lands, relocated to infertile land which is unsuitable for farming, forced to live in villages without the basic necessities of life against their will and undergoing great pain, suffering and death in the process?

7) Are the people of Ethiopia liable to the World Bank for a loan that was used in willful disregard of the terms and conditions of the loan?

8) Are the people of Ethiopia liable to the World Bank for a loan that was administered by Bank  employees in depraved indifference and flagrant violations of the Bank’s own policies, guidelines, approved business practices and established and widely accepted banking practices?

9) Are the people of Ethiopia liable to the World Bank for a loan that was used for corrupt and criminal purposes under the domestic law and constitution of Ethiopia and international law?

10) Is a successor democratic government to the T-TPLF liable for the PBS III debt?

In short, are the people of Ethiopia legally entitled to repudiate the PBS III as an odious debt?

I do not aim to answer the foregoing questions in this commentary. Here, I will only address the general issues as part of my longstanding efforts to educate the Ethiopian public. I shall defer the more technical legal issues for future litigation when the rule of law and democracy rise and shine on Ethiopia and the people manage to “transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood” and sisterhood and stand up united to defend their rights.

The legal doctrine of “odious debt”

The basic idea in the “odious debt” legal doctrine simply stated is that the people of a country should not be responsible for debts incurred fraudulently in their name by a regime or a brute band of thugs  who corruptly converted and pocketed the loan money for their personal or private use. The idea is quite commonsensical and practical. For instance, if an identity thief or an embezzler fraudulently incurs a debt, should the victims be liable for the consequences of the criminal acts perpetrated against them? Is it fair to victimize the victims twice?

Likewise, if an illegitimate regime accumulates huge debts in the name of the people but converts the debt for the personal and private use of the regime leadership and cronies, should the people be victimized twice — once through the corrupt use of the money by officials which deprives the people of vital resources, and second by repaying a debt that was used to abuse and oppress them? Should the people be legally forced to assume the debts of a regime that squandered loans given in their name?

Ethiopia’s Zone 9 Bloggers Harsh Treatment

February 5, 2015

Ethiopia’s ‘Zone 9 Bloggers’ Case: Harsh Treatment of Defendant

(Freedom House) In response to reports that Abel Wabella, a defendant in the Zone 9 blogger case in Ethiopia, was kept shackled overnight and had his hearing aid removed following a February 4 court appearance, Freedom House issued the following statement:

“The brutal treatment of Mr. Wabella by prison officials amounts to torture,” said Vukasin Petrovic, regional director for Africa. “Since their arrest in April, the Zone 9 bloggers and journalists have endured horrific treatment at the hands of the Ethiopian police and prison officials. At the very least, the court should investigate these cases of torture and hold those responsible accountable.”

Case Update:

On February 5 , the court rejected a petition submitted by the defendants to have the presiding judge removed from the case due to his alleged unbalanced handling of proceedings. The presiding judge did, however, announce that he would recuse himself of the case on his own accord. The defendants are now required to enter a plea with a new presiding judge on February 18.

Ethiopia is rated Not Free in Freedom of the World 2015, Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2014, Not Free in Freedom on the Net 2014.

Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.

ECADF

ሰበር ዜና የአንድነት አባላት በይፋ ሰማያዊ ፓርቲን ተቀላቀሉ

January 3,2015

ብሄራዊ ምርጫ ቦርድና ኢህአዴግ በወሰኑብን ፖለቲካዊ ውሳኔ ምክንያት አንድነት ለዴሞክራሲና ለፍትህ ፓርቲን ተነጥቀናል ያሉ የአንድነት ፓርቲ አባላት› በይፋ ሰማያዊ ፓርቲን መቀላቀላቸውን አስታወቁ፡፡

በእነ በላይ ፍቃዱ አመራርነት አንድነት ፓርቲን በተለያዩ የኃላፊነት ቦታዎች ሲመሩ የነበሩ አመራሮች ዛሬ ጥር 26 ቀን 2007 ዓ.ም በሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ጽ/ቤት በሰጡት ጋዜጣዊ መግለጫ እንዳስታወቁት ከቀድሞ ፓርቲያቸው አንድነት ጋር የፕሮግራምም ሆነ የስትራቴጂ ተመሳሳይነት ወዳለው ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ተቀላቅለው ሰላማዊ ትግላቸውን ለመቀጠል መወሰናቸውን ይፋ አድርገዋል፡፡

መግለጫውን የ‹ቀድሞው አንድነት ፓርቲ› አፈ ጉባዔ የነበሩት አቶ አበበ አካሉ፣ ምክትል አፈ ጉባዔው አቶ ፀጋዬ አላምረው፣ የአዲስ አበባ ምክር ቤት ሰብሳቢ አቶ ነገሰ ተፋረደኝ እንዲሁም የወጣቶች ጉዳይ ኃላፊው አቶ ስንታየሁ ቸኮል ሌሎችን በመወከል ሰጥተዋል፡፡

‹‹የምናምነው በሰላማዊ ትግል ብቻ ነው፡፡ ይህን ሰላማዊ ትግል ለመምራት ደግሞ ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ብቁ ነው ብለን በማመን ፓርቲውን ተቀላቅለናል›› ብለዋል በመግለጫው ላይ የተወከሉት አዲሶቹ የሰማያዊ አባላት፡፡ በዚህ መሰረትም በርከት ያሉ አመራሮችና አባላት በይፋ የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ የአባልነት ፎርም ሞልተዋል፡፡

ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ የአንድነት አባላት ሰማያዊ ፓርቲን መቀላቀላቸውን አስመልክቶ መግለጫ ለመስጠት ወደ ሰማያዊ ቢሮ ባቀኑበት ወቅት ፖሊስ ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ቢሮ ድረስ በመግባት ‹‹በሰማያዊ ስም መግለጫ የሚሰጡ አካላት እንዳሉ ሰለሰማን ነው›› በሚል ለፓርቲው አመራሮች ጥያቄዎችን አቅርበዋል፡፡

     DCESON

US concerned over fate of Zone 9 bloggers

UD State Dept
January 30, 2015

The Zone 9 bloggers and journalists

The United States is concerned by the Ethiopian Federal High Court’s January 28, 2015, decision to proceed with the trial of six bloggers and three independent journalists on charges under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. The decision undermines a free and open media environment—critical elements for credible and democratic elections, which Ethiopia will hold in May 2015.

We urge the Ethiopian government to ensure that the trial is fair, transparent, and in compliance with Ethiopia’s constitutional guarantees and international human rights obligations. We also urge the Ethiopian government to ensure that the trial is free of political influence and continues to be open to public observation.


The use of the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation in previous cases against journalists, activists, and opposition political figures raises serious questions about the implementation of the law and about the sanctity of Ethiopians’ constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are fundamental elements of a democratic society. We call on the government of Ethiopia to support freedom of expression and freedom of the press to demonstrate its commitment to democracy as it approaches its May 2015 national elections.

Ethiomedia

CPJ, rights groups slam Dawit Kebede over allegations

JANUARY 27, 2015

NED cancelled Awramba Times funding over concerns

by Tamru Ayele

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Oakland Institute (OI) and Survival International (SI) have strongly rejected and condemned Dawit Kebede’s recent allegations against several global advocacy groups.  The groups said such an irresponsible and unsubstantiated allegation that has no factual basis is not expected of someone who claims to a journalist committed to informing others.

Dawit Kebede, who was one of the four recipients of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award in 2010, recently appeared on the state-run ETV and accused CPJ, Oakland Institute , Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, International Rivers, Survival International and the International Crisis Group of being tools of imposing Western hegemony. “These organizations are part of an overall allegiance to control the world under one single ideology,” he had asserted.

Sue Valentine, CPJ Africa program Coordinator,said in a statement that CPJ was very disappointed with Kebede’s unwarranted attacks. “We were hurt and disappointed when we read articles summarizing a television interview with Dawit in which he was critical of CPJ.”

Sue Valentine, CPJ Africa PROGRAM Coordinator

Valentine indicated THAT CPJ had REQUESTEDKebede to clarify his allegations, but blamed it on inaccurate translation. CPJ had the 28-minute long interview translated and verified THAT the former press freedom hero had indeed tried to defame the reputable defender of press freedom with allegations that are contrary to the missions of the organization. CPJ also campaigned for the release of Kebede when he was unjustly incarcerated in 2005.

“CPJ honored Dawit Kebede based on his journalistic work prior to 2010,” Valentine noted. “Based on his recent TV interview, he appeared to have changed his views. We do not know why, but he is obviously entitled to his opinion. However, CPJ strongly rejects any suggestion that we seek to impose a ‘Western hegemony’ on other countries and continents. CPJ’s sole mandate is to defend the right of all journalist to express their views and to report the news freely,” she added.

According to Valentine, CPJ’s Africa PROGRAM defends the right of all journalists working on the continent to report news and opinion freely and independently, without pressure from governments, big business or any other interest groups.

Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute, said on her part that making unsubstantiated allegations without substantiating them with facts is not expected of a journalist. “My advice, despite all obstacles and human rights abuses in a repressive regime, stay true to your profession of journalism.  Like the Oakland Institute, whose mission is to increase public participation and PROMOTE fair debate on critical social, economic and environmental issues, do not take things for granted. Research objectively and independently, questioning the official discourse of both governments and NGOs, but seek the truth for yourself,” she advised.

Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute

“If we were controlled by Western governments, our work would not have exposed and challenged the support of the USAID and Dfid of Ethiopia’s “development” strategy and ignoring of human rights abuse. Our work and methodology speaks for itself and we cannot take seriously every allegation made by a journalist who has now made up with a regime THAT abuses its own citizens. Let us not forget THAT according to the CPJ 17 journalists are still languishing in the jails while hundreds fled and now live in exile,” she added.

Mittal pointed out that unlike Kedebe’s allegations, all of OI’s reports clearly mention the methodology used and evidence provided to substantiate the allegations of human rights abuses, forced displacement that are being CARRIED out in Ethiopia. “This work has been carried out through extensive field work in the communities impacted, often at great risk to the researchers.  We have also provided documentation such as the recordings and transcripts from investigations carried out by the donors. So this is not about our word against Mr. Kedebe’s words. This is about who has the proof,” Mittal said.

With regard to accusations that organisations like OI are attempting to impede development in Ethiopia, she said that forced displacement of communities from their lands and livelihoods cannot be justified as development. “Ethiopia’s food security is based on food aid and other development aid while it gives away its resources to foreign INVESTORS. You don’t need a rocket scientist that this is not development, but a destructive policy in action that will make the country dependent on foreign aid, destroy local communities and their livelihoods and food security, and usher in insecurity and conflicts,” the OI chief noted.

Alice Bayer, Press Officer at Survival International, explained that Survival is an international organization with supporters in about 80 countries around the world, including Ethiopia and China, and defends the rights of  tribal peoples that have developed ways of life that are largely self-sufficient and extraordinary diverse. “Our only goal is for these ways of life to be respected. Of course, this means that we stand for many different ideologies, and tribal peoples’ right to live by them. The Ethiopian government  stands guilty of imposing its aggressive ideology, on the tribes of the Omo Valley, who merely wish to be allowed to live their lives as they choose and not have ‘development’ projects violently forced upon them,” she said.

Funded by their supporters and independent funding sources, the advocacy groups never ACCEPT any funding from government agencies.

Meanwhile, the National Endowment for Democracy, which supports democratic institutions around the world, has disclosed THAT it discontinued funding Awramba Times due to concerns after supporting it between 2011 to 2014.

Jane Jacobsen, NED’s Senior Director, Public Affairs said that the Endowment funded Awramba Times to produce and disseminate content that PROMOTES good governance, transparency, rule of law, human rights and the importance of democratic institutions. “In light of concerns that Awramba Times was not meeting the above project objectives NED discontinued its funding in January 2014.”

According to its annual report, NED’s funding beneficiaries in Ethiopia include Center for International Private Enterprise ($527,008), Debebe and Temesgen Law Office ($72,000), FORUM for Social Studies, Peace and Development Center (?) , and Vision Ethiopian Congress for Democracy ($34,992).

The TPLF-led regime has repeatedly accused NED of funding groups and individuals bent on overthrowing the government. Ironically, Mimi Sebhatu, a vocal defender of tyranny in Ethiopia, was one of the recipients of NED’s money. In 2011 Kebede had fled Ethiopia and told CPJ that he had been TARGETED by pro-government media outlets and Mimi Sebhat, whom he accused of attacking him on her station, Zami FM Radio.

A few years ago, Mimi Sebhatu received $26,740 from NED while Kebede received $36,000 annually from 2011-2014, according to public records. In an ironic twist, both Mimi and Dawit are now attacking individuals and organizations, including CPJ and NED, that expose gross human rights violations in Ethiopia. They are currently funded by  the TPLF-led tyrannical regime, reliable sources say.

ECADF

በኖርዌይ ኦስሎ እንግሊዝ ኢንባሲ ፊት ለፊት በደማቅ ሁኔታ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ተካሄደ

“Andargachew is a freedom figthter, UK, were is your citizen, Free Andrgachew Tsige, Andargachew is our icon of democracy, where is your action , stop discrimination among citizens, Yes, we are all Andrgachew Tsige, Yes, Andargachew is an Ethiopian Mandela, Brtain don’t support terrirost regim in Ethiopia, ”

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                             ቀን፡ 01/26/2015
በዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጥ በኢትዮጵያ ድጋፍ ድርጅት ኖርዌ በወጣቶች ክፍል አስተባባሪነት ትናንት ሰኞ( January 26,2015) በኖርዌ ኦስሎ በእንግሊዝ ኢንባሲ ፊት ለፊት በኖርዌይ የሚኖሩ አገር ወዳድ ኢትዮጵያውያን በህብረት ሁነው ከ14፡00 _15፡00 ስዓት ታላቅ የተቃውሞ ሰላማዊ ሰልፉ በደማቅ ሁኔታ አካሄዱ።
የሰልፉ ዋና አላማ የግንቦት 7 የፍትህ የነፃነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ ዋና ፀሃፊ የነበሩትንና የሰባዊ መብት ተቆርቋሪ የሆኑትን አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ፅጌ በአረመኔው፣ ሰው በላ፣ ጨቋኙና በአንምባ ገነኑ የወያኔ ፋሺስታዊ ቡድን የአለም አቀፍ የሰባዊ መብትን ህግ በጣሰ መንገድ በሰኔ 2014 ታፍነው እስኳሁንም ድረስ ፍትህ ተነፍገው በእስር ቤት መታሰራቸውን ለመቃወም እንዲሁም የእንግሊዝ መንግስት አርበኛው የነጻነት ታጋዩ አንዳርጋቸው እየተፈጸመበት ያለውን ተፈጥሮአዊና ዲሞክራሲያዊ የመብት ጥሰት ተመልክቶ ከእስር ሊወጣበት የሚችልበትን አፋጣኝ ህጋዊ እርምጃ እንዲወስዱ ለማሳሰብ ነው።

በተጨማሪም አንዳርጋቸው ከተያዘበት ቀን ጀምሮ አገር ወዳድ ኢትዮጵያውያን በወያኔ የተፈጸመውን የውንብድና ድርጊት በመቃዎም ለእንግሊዝ መንግሥት በተለያየ መልኩ የአገሩን ዜጋ ህይወት ይታደግ ዘንድ በተደጋጋሚ ለማሳሰብ ቢሞከርም አፋጣኝ እርምጃ አለመወሰዱ ብዙዎችን አስቆጥቷል።
አንዳርጋቸው አገር ወዳድ፣ ሰላም ፈላጊ፣ ነጻነትና ፍትህ ናፋቂ፣ ለህዝብና ለአገር ክብር ተቆርቋሪ፣ ከእራሱ እና ከሚወዳቸው ቤተሰቦቹ ይልቅ ለእናት አገሩ ኢትዮጵያ ጊዜውን፣ እውቀቱንና ህይወቱን የሰዋ ብርቅዬ የኢትዮጵያ ጀግና መሆኑን በኩራት መስክረዋል። የውጭ ዜጎችም ሳይቀሩ ኢትዮጵያዊ ማንዴላ ብለው ሰይመውታል። ለዲሞክራሲ መከበር ለሚታገል አርበኛ እስርና እንግልት ኮቶ እንደማይገባ በተለይ የእንግሊዝ መንግሥት በትኩረት ሊመክርበት የሚገባ አንገብጋቢ ጉዳይ መሆኑን እና በወያኔ ላይ ግፊትና ጫና መፍጠር እንዳለበት ሁሉም ተሰላፊዎች ድምጻቸውን ከፍ አድርገው መልእክታቸውን አስተላልፈዋል።
እንዲሁም ሰልፈኞቹ የተለያዩ መፈክሮችን በመያዝ በታላቅ ድምጽና ስሜት የኖርዌይ ቅዝቃዜና በረዶ ሳይበግራቸው ለኢንባሲው አሰምተዋል። ከአሰሟቸው መፈክሮች መካከል ለአብነት ፣ “Andargachew is a freedom figthter, UK, were is your citizen, Free Andrgachew Tsige, Andargachew is our icon of democracy, where is your action , stop discrimination among citizens, Yes, we are all Andrgachew Tsige, Yes, Andargachew is an Ethiopian Mandela, Brtain don’t support terrirost regim in Ethiopia, ” የሚሉት ይገኙበታል::
እንደተለመደው በድርጅቱ የተዘጋጀውን ደብዳቤ በድርጅቱ ተወካዮች በአቶ ይበልጣል ጋሹ እና በአቶ ዮናስ ዮሴፍ አማካኝነት ለእንግሊዝ ኢምባሲ ተወካይ የአቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ ጉዳዩ ትኩረት የሚሻና ጊዜ የማይሰጠው መሆኑን በመግለጽ ህይወቱም በእጅጉ አሳሳቢ ደረጃ ላይ እንዳለ በጥብቅ በማሳሰብ ደብዳቤውን በኢምባሲው ተወካይ አማካኝነት እንዲደርሳቸው ተደርጓል።
በመጨረሻም ግፈኛው የወያኔ ቡድን በለመደው ተራ የሀሰት ወሬ በሚያወራበት ቴሌቪዥኑ ላይ ለትርጉም በሚያስቸግር መልኩ ቆራርጦና በጣጥሶ አንዳርጋቸውን ለማስወራት መሞከሩ የወያኔን ከንቱነት እና እውቀት ዓልባነቱ እንዲሁም ለህዝብና ለአገር የሚሰጠው ንቀት ይበልጥ ለዓለም መጋለጡ ለእኛ ለአገር ወዳድ ኢትዮጵያውያን ደግሞ ህብርትና አንድነት ፈጥረን በእልህ፣ በቁጭትና በቁርጠኝነት ከበፊቱ በበለጠ ትግላችንን አጠናክረን እንድንቀጥል ትልቅ በር ከፍቶልናል፤ ለትግልና ለተቃውሞም ይበልጥ አነሳስቶናል። እንደ አርበኞችና ግንቦት ሰባት የተለያዩ የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶችም ውህደት ፈጥረው በሁለገብ ትግል ዘረኛው ወያኔን  ለማስወገድ ቆርጠው እንዲነሱ የድርጅቱ ሊቀመንበር አቶ ዮሐንስ ዓለሙ መልእክታቸውን አስተላልፈዋል። በተመሳሳይም የወጣቶች ክፍል ተወካይ አቶ ይበልጣል ጋሹ ወጣቶች ለፍትህ፣ ለነጻነትና ዲሞክራሲ ለሚደረገው ትግል አስትዋጾ ማድረግ እንዳለባቸው በአጽንኦት አሳስበዋል።
ወጣት ሁሉን ነገር የመለወጥ ኃይልና አቅም አለው！አምባገነን መንግሥትን ማስወገድ እንችላለን！ ወያኔን ከኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ላይ ማስወገድ እንችላለን！
ዛሬም ነገም ሁላችንም አንዳርጋቸው ፅጌ ነን!!!
ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ!!!
የወጣቶች ክፍል

SOURCE : ZEHABESHA
http://www.zehabesha.com/amharic/?p=38409

Today January 25,2015 UDJ protest in Addis Ababa Ethiopia and its consequences.

Police unleashed brutal attacks on supporters ,members and peaceful protesters  of Ethiopia's main opposition party UDJ for trying to stage a peaceful demonstration in Addis Ababa today. Many individuals have been badly injured from the unprovoked brutal attack

http://ethsat.com/video/esat-breaking-news-jan-25-2015/#.VMUKjFkEkoM.facebook