Author Archives: advocacy4oromia
INTERVIEW: ETHIOPIA SWAMPING IN A POLITICAL RIFE
(Horn Spiegel)— Over the last 10 months, widespread protests in Oromia National Regional State, and later in Amhara National Regional State, have been unsettling the ruling party of Ethiopia- EPRDF…
…these are tough times. Tough times demand tough measures commensurate to our challenges. This campaign week, because it is holiday week, is a time of heavy economic activity in the country. The campaign’s modest goal is to hit hard on the economic activity of the week by a simple act of boycotting the wanton consumption and provision of products needed thereof.
This is done in order to weaken the regime’s economic power deployed to repress our people. It is also done to identify businesses and traders that side with the people’s just causes and those that stand in support of the regime’s imperative of killing and brutal repression. We call upon all other justice-loving people to join our people in this campaign. We will also call upon them to understand, to pay attention, to bear witness, and to respond to this appeal to conscience.
QILINTO FIRE: EYEWITNESS – “THEY WERE INDISCRIMINATELY SHOOTING AT PRISONERS”
By Mahlet Fasil
In a disturbing e-mail message received by Addis Standard, an eyewitness who said he was on guard the morning of Saturday Sep 3, says that armed prison guards were indiscriminately shooting at prisoners” most of whom were running “frantically to extinguish the fire” that broke at Ethiopia’s notorious prison ward known as Qilinto, in Aqaqi, on the outskirts south of the capital.
The government has not released the extent of the fire, not the cause of it, but several social media accounts allege the death toll reaching above 20.
Until this morning families of prisoners who want to know the safety of their loved ones are not allowed to pass the Tirunesh Beijing Hospital, located at about three km before the prison. Some families said the prison administration told them information on the safety and whereabouts of the prisoners will only be available on Wednesday this week.
In the e-mail, the person who also attached his work ID but said he wishes to remain anonymous wrote many prisoners were “kept at gun point” from approaching the area where the fire was destroying parts of the prison in the “southern end of the ward.” “I have seen about five prisoners gunned down in the spot by armed security guards from two different towers during the first 20 minutes only,” the email said. It added: “unarmed guards at the gate, including myself, were told by the prison admiration to instruct family members who were already at the gate and who came to visit their loved ones to return back.”
The maximum security prison is administered by the Addis Abeba Prison administration but since Saturday morning the “federal army has taken over the security and most of the prison guards, including myself, are not allowed inside since then.”
The fire broke at around 8:10 AM in the morning and lasted a good “two hours” before the fire brigade from the Addis Abeba Fire and Emergency Prevention and Rescue Agency arrived at the scene. The state-affiliated news portal FBC reported that three firefighters were treated at a hospital for smoke related breathing problems while it maintained only one person was killed in the accident.
However, in the email received by Addis Standard, the security guard revealed that he has helped “18 bodies being taken out of the prison in the late afternoon. As far as I know none of the dead were due to the fire. They all died of gunshot wounds.”
Abusive prison
Qilinto is known for the harsh treatment of its prisoners, many of who are prisoners of conscious including the prominent opposition leader Bekele Gerba, secretary general of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), and 21 others with him facing charges of terrorism. It is also where Yonatan Tesfaye, the young senior opposition Blue Party member, and prominent rights activist is held.
Recently Bekele Gerba and others with him were mobilizing activists from their cell by sending letters which were secretly smuggled out of the maximum security prison. One such letter called for peaceful resistance as part of the ongoing #AmharaProtests and #OromoProtests and asked supporters of the protests to shave their heads and wear black, to which supporters responded in numbers.
Three days after the tragic incident exact figures of causalities (both death and injuries, as well as property damages) are still hard to come by. The prison itself is not accessible to anyone and is being guarded by heavily armed federal police officers who are also conducting rigorous searching of residents living nearby.
Eyewitnesses say the remaining prisoners were taken on Saturday afternoon to Ziway prison, located some 200km south of the capital. However, due to the inaccessibility of the prison and unavailability of official information, Addis Standard is unable to verify both the e-mailed information and other eyewitness accounts.
Source: http://addisstandard.com/qilinto-fire-eyewitness-indiscriminately-shooting-prisoners/
Courtesy for picture: Advocacy for Oromia
Partial List of people killed by TPLF on August 6
Here is a partial list of Oromos that have been killed as a result of excessive force by Ethiopian Government armed forces during peaceful demonstration on August 6,2016, Oromia, Ethiopia .
The Newsmakers covers the Oromo Protests and resistances of discrimination and marginalisation
This picture of the Ethiopian marathon runner, Fiyesa Lilesa, at the Rio Olympics helped to draw global attention to plight of Ethiopia’s Oromo people.
The country’s biggest ethnic group says it has long faced discrimination and marginalisation at the hands of the ruling elite. Lilesa’s crossed wrists are the symbol of the Oromo protest movement, which has been growing for the last ten months.
And the government’s response has been increasingly violent – with reports of hundreds killed and thousands arrested.
Yvette McCullough reports.
Wife of Olympic protester: ‘Scared but not surprised by protest’
(Advocacy for Oromai, 26 August 2016) The family of the Ethiopian runner who is planning to seek asylum in the US after staging a protest at the Olympic Games in Rio has been speaking to the Reuters news agency from their home in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
Feyisa Lelisa’s wife and daughter sit on a sofa at their home (Reuters
Feyisa Lelisa’s wife Iftu Mulisa spoke about how she felt when her husband crossed his arms at the finish line in solidarity with protesters from the Oromo ethnic group:
I was very scared at the time but I wasn’t surprised because I know him. He was burning inside when he sees on social media all these dead bodies… people being beaten and people being arrested. So I was not surprised because I know he had a lot of anger inside.”
SOKO FEYISA speaks to the camera from inside the family home (Reuters)
His daughter Soko Feyisa had a brief message for her father, currently in Rio while lawyers prepare his US asylum request:
Baba I miss you, where are you?”
Biritu Fulasa (Reuters)
And his mother Biritu Fulasa cast doubt on the government’s assertion that her son would be treated as a hero if he returned to Ethiopia:
Do you really believe what the government is saying? I don’t believe so. He should stay there. I would have liked him to come but what can I do? I was crying too much the other day but now I am feeling better. I want him to stay there.”
What is behind Ethiopia’s wave of protests?
Crossed Arms Over Head: a symbol of solidarity that fuels Oromo freedom
By Jitu Dh
(Advocacy4Oromia, 22 August 2016) The one main thing I’ve taken from Feyisa Lelisa’s act of defiance is that at times of adversity, there are always going to be people who will arouse hope, there are always going to be people who enable us to envision a world where we can live freely without fear of prosecution, torture, rape, being silenced, institutionalised discrimination, murder and so on. His symbol of solidarity with his people adds fuel to our pre-existing need and want for, in simpler terms, freedom.
I mean, I understand that this doesn’t mean freedom is here because the struggle continues. There are more protests, and undeniably more crackdowns. But it does mean that not only is there a wider audience becoming aware of the plight of the diaspora but also lets the Oromo people know that there are people like Feyisa who use their platforms as means to project the demands and the cries of the Oromo.
He showed to the world, to the Ethiopian government that quickly attempted to silence him by shutting down the live program, and to the Oromo people who are facing the consequences of an oppressive system that the Oromo struggle is not one that will be forgotten. He showed that the Oromo cries are not unheard and that there will always be people there to project their demands when there are forces trying to silence them.
If we keep using whatever platform we have, whether be it on social media or connections with government officials, schools, television networks, popular media and/or news outlets, and raise more and more awareness to create a national uproar and outcry, a world of self-governance and a future where we can freely live on our land, speak our tongue and wave our flag with pride without fear and prosecution won’t be far away.
This is why we cannot let Feyisa become a one off, we can’t let him blow over. He has become relevant, a martyr to the plight of the diaspora. He can create a chain of reactions where we can all use our platforms, on and offline to ensure a just and prosperous future.
Feyisa Lelissa is afraid his government might kill him after Olympic protest
Feyisa Lelissa personified bravery.
ETHIOPIA’S Feyisa Lelisa marked his silver medal in the Olympic Games men’s marathon on Sunday by staging a dramatic protest against his country’s government, claiming his life could be in peril.
Lilesa, who was second to Kenyan favourite Eliud Kipchoge, crossed his arms above his head in an “X” as he finished the gruelling event as a protest against the Ethiopian government’s crackdown on political dissent.
“I have relatives in prison back home,” he said.
“If you talk about democracy they kill you. If I go back to Ethiopia maybe they will kill me, or put me in prison.
“It is very dangerous in my country. Maybe I have to go to another country. I was protesting for people everywhere who have no freedom.”
Human rights groups say that Ethiopian security forces have killed scores of people in recent weeks as authorities crack down on a wave of anti-government unrest in two key regions, central-western Oromia and Amhara in the north.
BBC World TV presenter Piers Edwards called the protest an “extraordinary moment”, while the Washington Post’s Kevin Sieff said on Twitter it was “the bravest act of the 2016 Olympics”. Plenty of others took to social media to praise the Ethiopian.
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Piers Edwards ✔ @piers_e
Extraordinary moment. Feyisa Lilesa: “If not kill me, they will put me in prison. Maybe I will move country” #ETH http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-37150673 …
8:22 AM – 22 Aug 2016
14 14 Retweets 8 8 likes
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Kevin Sieff ✔ @ksieff
This is the equivalent of the 1968 Black Power salute in Mexico City, but riskier. If he returns to Ethiopia, Lilesa could be jailed.
2:56 AM – 22 Aug 2016
329 329 Retweets 197 197 likes
9h
Mohammed Ademo ✔ @OPride
His name will be mentioned next to historied US athletes Tommie Smith & John Carlos who displayed the Black Power Salute at the 968 Olympics
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Mohammed Ademo ✔ @OPride
#FeyisaLilesa used the biggest stage of his life to express a muzzled generational cry for freedom. He spoke without words. #courage
5:45 AM – 22 Aug 2016
88 88 Retweets 71 71 likes
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
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Zecharias Zelalem @ZekuZelalem
Staunchly defiant to the end. Feyisa Lilesa at the #Rio2016 press conference, explaining his #OromoProtests gesture.
2:39 AM – 22 Aug 2016
41 41 Retweets 39 39 likes
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
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Solome @Solitti
Feyisa Lilesa just made the biggest sacrifice by showing the sign of resistance. Our Hero. #OromoProtests
1:24 AM – 22 Aug 2016 · Takoma Park, MD, United States
177 177 Retweets 159 159 likes
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Selamawit Adugna @selseladu
Someone hug Feyisa Lilesa for me. Who took #OromoProtests #EthiopiaProtests to Rio? #Rio2016 #mensmarathon
12:48 AM – 22 Aug 2016
8 8 Retweets 16 16 likes
14h
Fisseha Tegegn @total_433
A fantastic SILVER medal for Feyisa Lilesa of #Ethiopia. The Ethiopian finishes in second place at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. #Rio2016 #ETH
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Fisseha Tegegn @total_433
Feyisa Lilesa has celebrated his silver medal by showing the resistance sign. RESPECT!!! #Rio2016
12:42 AM – 22 Aug 2016
40 40 Retweets 62 62 likes
Lilesa finished the marathon in a time of two hours, nine minutes and 54 seconds, but after the race, had no interest in talking about his sensational performance.
The 26-year-old is Oromo, making him part of the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. Protests have broken out in recent months over the government’s plan to expand the capital of Addis Ababa and reallocate land in Oromo, which would displace much of the population.
“The Ethiopian government is killing the Oromo people and taking their land and resources so the Oromo people are protesting and I support the protest as I am Oromo,” Lilesa told the press.
“Oromo is my tribe … Oromo people now protest what is right, for peace, for a place.
“In the last nine months, more than 1,000 people died.
“And others charged with treason. It’s a very dangerous situation among Oromo people in Ethiopia.”
According to the Washington Post, Ethiopia’s state broadcaster did not air footage of Lilesa finishing the marathon.
Oromo marathoner makes political protest at finish line
(Advocacy4Oromia) With the eyes of the world upon him, Oromo marathoner Feyisa Lilesa used the stage of Sunday’s Olympic marathon to daringly protest his own government back home.
As he neared the finish line and a silver medal, Lilesa raised his arms to form an “X.” The gesture is a peaceful protest made by the Oromo people, the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and one that is facing a brutal response to widespread protests that began late last year.
Human Rights Watch estimated in June that 400 people have been killed and thousands more injured as the government attempted to stop the estimated 500 protests that the Oromo people staged to draw attention to systemic persecution by the government.
Lilesa is from Oromia, which is home to a large majority of the country’s 35 million Oromo. He didn’t back down from the protest after the race either, flashing the sign for cameras at a press conference and pledging to do it again during Sunday night’s closing ceremony.
Rule 50 of the Olympic charter bans political displays or protests, and the American duo of Tommie Smith and John Carlos was famously suspended by the USOC after the pair flashed the black power salute on the medal stand at the 1968 Summer Games.
Lilesa, however, has bigger things to worry about than the IOC response as such dissent puts his life in real danger if he returns to Ethiopia. He told reporters afterward that he would seek a visa to stay in Brazil or possibly come to the United States. He also said that his wife and two children are still back in Ethiopia.
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ethiopian-marathoner-makes-political-protest-at-finish-line-170100498.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=fb
OLF is the immune system of the Oromo nations
Nobody has right to tell us about peace because we Oromo people are nation of peace, nation of democratic rule, nation of justice and equality. We are always against all injustices and we are ready to defend all kinds of violations.Nobody has right to tell us about generosity, because we are nation of love. We have helped and supporting innocent nations of Amhara’s, tiger’s when they come to our country to collect coffee or to work in the agriculture sector, we have treating them when they were sick, we have respected them as equal human being despite their social status, we are loving them us our families not as strangers.
Nobody has right to tell us about patriotism because we have nation of heroes, for century long there is no Ethiopian colonial rule survive without the patriotic act of Oromo sons and daughters. But our price was humiliation and death “when it comes to power and money Oromo’s are the last to touch the desk and when it comes to the human-right and equality Oromo’s are the first to be victim of the system”.
Now, when we say it is enough and it is time to build my country Oromia and regain my right as human being, individuals or groups with colonial system and mind have to setback and respect the demand of oppressed nations. Refusing this fact and try to create all kinds of analysis, tactics and strategies will leads the Ethiopian Empire, horn of Africa and world in general to the hell of 21st century.
Press briefing notes on Ethiopia and Thailand
Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Ravina Shamdasani
Location: Geneva
Date: 19 August 2016
(1) Ethiopia
Given the extremely alarming reports that emerged earlier this month about serious human rights violations in the Oromia and Amhara regions of Ethiopia, the High Commissioner reached out to the Ethiopian Government, seeking access for independent observers to the country to assess the human rights situation. We have now received a reply from the Government, indicating that they will launch an independent investigation into the events.
We welcome the decision to launch an independent investigation, and we urge the Government to ensure that the investigation has a mandate to cover allegations of human rights violations since the unrest in Oromia began in November 2015, that it is indeed independent, transparent, thorough and effective, with a view to establishing whether the use of excessive force occurred and with a view to bringing to justice the perpetrators of any human rights violations.
We stand ready to assist in ensuring that the investigation is undertaken in line with international human rights standards. We also reiterate our request for access to the affected areas, as the situation on the ground makes it very challenging for independent civil society actors to operate, particularly given the tense situation in parts of the Oromia and Amhara regions, where a large security presence has reportedly been deployed, and there are reports of ongoing arbitrary arrests, intimidation and harassment of people in the regions.
We call on the Government to ensure that the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression are protected and that those detained for exercising these rights are promptly released. Protests must be handled by security forces with full respect for international human rights laws and standards on the use of force.
We also call on the Government to work towards opening up the political and democratic space. This should include a comprehensive reform of the security sector, as well as legislative and institutional reforms.
(2) Thailand
We are very concerned about the continued, mounting constraints on the democratic space in Thailand, and call for a prompt return to civilian rule. Following the military coup in May 2014, severe restrictions on freedoms of expression and opinion and assembly have been in place through the use of criminal and military laws and orders. Leading up to this month’s Constitutional Referendum, these measures actually increased. Overall, at least 1,300 people have been summoned, arrested or charged, and 1,629 civilians have been tried before the military courts.
Since June, at least 115 people have been arrested or charged under military orders, criminal codes and the Constitution Referendum Act for expressing their opinion on the draft constitution or reporting human rights violations, including torture. Twelve individuals arrested in Chiang Mai Province in late July and a student activist who was arrested on 6 August remain in detention. The remaining have been released, but remain under investigation or have been charged.
We urge Thailand to immediately drop all charges against political activists and human rights defenders, and to release those jailed for voicing dissent on the draft charter in the run-up to the referendum. We also call on the authorities to suspend the use of military courts and military orders in cases involving civilians. These measures are now urgently needed as Thailand moves towards an election in 2017 aimed at restoring democracy, as proposed in the military government’s roadmap.
The election next year represents an opportunity for Thailand to meet the commitment it made at the UN Human Rights Council during its Universal Periodic Review in May 2016 to fully respect the freedom of expression, and therefore guarantee a more inclusive and participatory process that involves all political parties, civil society and the media in an open and non-threatening environment.
ENDS
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Advocacy for Oromia 