Category Archives: Information

Ethiopia’s security forces accused of torture, evictions and killings – report

(A4O, 29 May 2020, Oromia) Prime minister Abiy Ahmed has been lauded for his democratic reforms. But Amnesty International are now urging him to investigate allegations of serious human rights abuses

A man waves an Oromo flag
 A man waves an Oromo flag as people from the community gather in Addis Ababa in October 2019, on the eve of Irreecha, their thanksgiving festival. Photograph: Yonas Tadesse/AFP

Ethiopia’s Nobel peace prize-winning prime minister Abiy Ahmed has been urged to investigate allegations that state security forces have committed a raft of serious human rights abuses including torture and unlawful killings since he came to power in 2018.

According to a report by Amnesty International, published on Friday, Ethiopia’s military and police in its two most populous regions arbitrarily detained more than 10,000 people, summarily evicted whole families from their homes – some of which were burnt and destroyed – and in some cases were complicit in inter-communal violence targeting minorities.

Federal authorities have not responded to the report, which focuses on the period between January and December 2019 in the regions of Amhara and Oromia.

“Given the gravity and the duration [of the period in which abuses were reported] I cannot believe top officials are not aware of what was happening,” the report’s author, Fisseha Tekle, told the Guardian. “And if they are not then it is a dereliction of duty.”

In Oromia, security forces are waging a counter-insurgency campaign against rebels from the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), an armed guerrilla movement demanding more autonomy for Oromos, which returned from exile in 2018 after Abiy removed it from Ethiopia’s list of terrorist organisations.

The move was part of a package of democratic reforms which won the prime minister widespread acclaim and, along with making peace with neighbouring Eritrea, secured him the Nobel peace prize last year. Shortly after becoming prime minister Abiy also confessed that security officials had in the past committed torture, and promised to ensure the sector was fully accountable in the future.

But the OLA has since returned to armed conflict, and accuses the government of failing to deliver its promises of more democracy and self-rule for Oromos.

Fighting in western and southern parts of Oromia has involved targeted killings of local officials and community leaders and what the UN has described as “serious human rights violations”. In Oromia’s Guji district the unrest had driven 80,000 people from their homes by the start of this year.

Amnesty said it had a list of 39 people suspected of supporting the OLA who had been unlawfully executed in two parts of Guji since January 2019. It also said that on a single day in December 2018, soldiers from the federal military killed 13 people in the town of Finchawa in West Guji. One of those killed was an old woman selling milk on the street, according to an eyewitness who spoke to Amnesty.

Security forces are estimated to have detained more than 10,000 men and women suspected of supporting or working for the OLA, among other abuses documented by the organisation.

Many were detained for several months without being charged, in violation of both national and international human rights laws, under conditions which at times amounted to torture, the report found. Detainees were made to undergo two months of “training” in subjects such as constitutionalism, the rule of law and the history of the Oromo people’s struggle.

In Amhara, according to the report, regional police, militia and local vigilante groups engaged in targeted attacks on ethnic Qemant, a minority group demanding more autonomy, in inter-communal violence which resulted in at least 130 deaths last year. In January 2019, at least 58 people were reportedly killed in less than 24 hours and buried in mass graves.

Nobody has yet been held accountable for the atrocity.

Amnesty said it had sought responses to its findings from nine government offices including the defence ministry and the attorney-general’s office but had only received a response from Amhara’s regional security bureau, which denied that state security forces had been involved in any atrocities.

The rights group called on the government to carry out full investigations into human rights violations and to order security forces to stop carrying out unlawful executions, arbitrary arrests and detention, as well as forced evictions and destruction of property belonging to people suspected of supporting opposition political parties or armed groups.

In February last year the former head of the Ethiopian army said it had embarked on “deep institutional reform” as part of the democratic changes sweeping the nation.

The head of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Daniel Bekele, told the Guardian: “While the Amnesty findings and ongoing reports of killings and arrests in parts of Oromia region should be taken seriously and fully investigated, it is also important to understand the complex nature of the security operations where armed groups are seriously destabilising the affected areas.”

The prime minister’s office said it would put the Guardian’s request for official comment to the peace ministry, which did not respond in time for publication.

Source: The Guardian 

Oromia: Arbitrary Arrests and Extra-Judicial Killings of Political Dissents Continued in Ethiopia

(A4O, 26 May 2020, Oromia) Arbitrary arrests and extra-judicial killings of political dissents continued in Ethiopia amid the looming danger of Covid-19 over the Country.

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According to HRLHA’s Urgent Appeal, no progress to arrest of political dissents in Oromia. “Arbitrary arrest and forced disappearance of political dissents have been escalating throughout Oromia region compared to other regions of the country at this critical moment when the danger of Corona virus is highly threatening the country.”

HRLHA also revealed the details of many innocent citizens, supporters and members of the two vanguard oppositions namely Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) and Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)
who have been languishing in different known and unknown detention centers for several months.

“Hundreds have been mercilessly killed and even some of them were denied burial and eaten by hyena,” says the appeal.

According to the HRLHA’s argent appeal, journalists of Sagalee Qeerroo Bilisummaa Oromoo (Voice of Oromo Youth for Freedom) among others, Adugna Kesso and Gada Bulti; as well as Oromia News Network (ONN) journalists Dasu Dula and Wako Nole were arbitrarily arrested, denied safeguards of due process of law and remain suffering behind the Bar.

It also added that top OLF leadership and senior members such as Kayyo Fufa, Yaasoo Kabada, Dandi Gabroshe, Efrem Geleta, Mo’a Abdisa, Tariku Abdisa, Bayana Ruda (Prof), Aliyi Yusuf, Abdi Ragassa, Batire File, Gada Gabisa, Blisumma Ararsa, Olika Chali etc have been languishing in known and unknown prisons for several months without charge.

This Urgent Appeal addresses recent detailed arbitrary arrests, extra judicial killings and physical assaults where each cases are substantiated by photograph and important facts of the violations.

For further detail here is the link of the PDF format of the appeal: 1-May 25, 2020- HRLHA Urgent Appeal

“Fayyaa fi Nagaan adda hin bahu!” Dr Kuwee Kumsaa

ከትብብር ለሕብረብሔር ዴሞክራሳዊ ፌደራሊዝም (ትብብር ) የቀረበ ፖለቲካዊ የመፍትሔ ሀሳብ

በኮቪድ-19 ምክንያት የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ የገጠመውን ሕገ-መንግሥዊ ቀውስ (አጣብቂኝ) ለማሻገር ከትብብር ለሕብረብሔር ዴሞክራሳዊ ፌደራሊዝም (ትብብር ) የቀረበ ፖለቲካዊ የመፍትሔ ሀሳብ

መግቢያ፡
የደርግ አገዛዝ በ1983 ካከተመ በኋላ ኢሕአዴግ የሚመራዉ መንግሥት ለ27 ዓመታት የመንግሥትን ስልጣን፣ ሕግ አዉጪዉ፣ የሕግ አስፈጻሚዉንና የፍትሕ ተቋሙን ሙሉ በሙሉ በመቆጣጠር በአንድ ፓርቲ አገዛዝ ሥር ሀገሪቷ እንድትወድቅ አድርጓታል። በዚሁ ኢሀአድግ የበላይነት በሰፈነበት አምባገነናዊ አገዛዝ ይህ ነዉ የማይባል የሰብዓዊ መብት ጥሰትና በጥቂቶች ከፍተኛ የኢኮኖሚ ምዝበራ በኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች ላይ ተፈጽሞዋል። ይሄን አስከፊ የሆነ አምባገነናዊ ሥርዓት ላለመቀበል የተለያዩ የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶች ከፍሎቹ በትጥቅ ትግል፡ በጋራም ሆነ በተናጠል ፣ የተለያዩ ሕዝባዊ አመጾች በተለያዩ የሀገሪቷ ክፍሎች ሲያደርጉ ቆይተው ሕዳር 2007 በኦሮሞ ወጣቶች በኦሮሚያ የተቀሰቀሰዉ ሕዝባዊ አመጽ ወደመላዉ የሀገሪቷ ክፍሎች ተስፋፍቶ በታህሳስ ወር 2010 ኢሕአዴግ እራሱን በጥልቅ ተሃድሶ ማሻሻል እንዳለበት አምኖ እንዲቀበል ማስገደዱ ይታወሳል። የዚህ ሕዝባዊ አመጽ በኢሕአዴግ ዉስጥ ለዉጥ ፈላጊ ኃይል ታክሎበት መጋቢት 24 ቀን 2010 ዶ/ር አቢይ አህመድ ወደ ጠ/ሚንስቴርነት እንዲመጡ አድርጓቸዋል።
በጠ/ሚንስቴር ዶ/ር አቢይ አህመድ አመራር ሥልጣኑን የያዘዉ ኃይል ኢትዮጵያ ከአምባገነናዊ አገዛዝ ወደ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሥርዓት እንደሚያሸጋግር ቃል ገብቶ ክፍተኛ ተስፋና እምነት ተጥሎበት ነበር። ለዚሁም ጠቅላላ ምርጫ ከመድረሱ በፊት የሚያስፈልጉ ሪፎርሞችና የህግ ማሻሻያ ዝግጅቶች ተደርገዉ በምርጫ 2012 ዴሞክራሲያዊ የሆነ ምርጫ ተካሄዶ ሕዝብን የሚወክል መንግሥት እንደሚመሠረት በተስፋ ሲጠበቅ ነበር። ሌሎች በርካታ ተግዳሮቶች ባሉበት ሁኔታ በተጨማሪ በጠቅላላ ምርጫው ዋዜማ ዓለም-አቀፋዊ የሆነ ወረርሺኝ የኮቪድ-19 በሽታ መከሰቱ ምርጫዉ በታቀደለት ጊዜ እንዳይከናወን በማድረግ በእንቅርት ላይ ጆሮ ደግፍ አድርጎታል። ከዚህ የተነሳ በሕገ-መንግሥቱ የምርጫ ድንጋጌ አጣብቂኝ/ቀውስ ወስጥ መግባቱ እጅግ አሳሳቢ ሆኗል። ለዚሁም የችግሩ ተቋዳሽ በመሆን በበኩላችን ከዚህ አጣብቂኝ ለመዉጣት ይረዳል ብለን የሚናምንበትን የመፍትሔ ሀሳብ ይዘን ቀርበናል። ለመፍትሔ ሀሳቡ መነሻ ይሆን ዘንድ ከመጋቢት ወር 2010 ጀምሮ ሀገሪቷ ያሳለፈችዉ ፖለቲካዊና ማሕበራዊ ሂደቱን መዳሰስ እጅግ አስፈላጊ ነዉ ብለን እናምናለን። ለዚሁም የለዉጡን ሂደት ከመጋቢት ወር 2010 ጀምሮ ያጋጠሙትን ችግሮች በመገምገም አሁን ሀገሪቷ ያለችበትን ተጨባጭ ሁኔታ በማጤን ለተጋረጠብን ሕገ-መንግሥታዊ ቀዉስ የመፍትሔ ሀሳብ ማቅረቡ ይበጃል ብለን እናምናለን።
1. የለዉጥ ኃይሉ (Reformist Group) የወሰዳቸዉ ተስፋ ሰጪ እርምጃዎች
በዶ/ር አቢይ አህመድ የሚመራዉ የለዉጥ ኃይል የሚከተሉትን ተስፋ ሰጪ ዉሳኔዎችና እርምጃዎችን ማስተላለፉና መዉሰዱ ይታወሳል። እነሱም፡
1. የፖለቲካ እስረኞችን መፍታት
2. የአስቸኳይ ጊዜ አዋጅ ማንሳት
3. የተለያዩ የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶች (ትጥቅ ትግል ሲያካሄዱ የነበሩትንም ጨምሮ) ወደ ሀገር ተመልሰው ህጋዊ በሆነ መልኩ የቆሙለትን ዓላማ እንዲያራምዱ ሁኔታዎችን ማመቻቸት
4. በሀገሪቷ ዉስጥ የዴሞክራሲን መሠረት ለመጣል ማነቆ ሁነዉ የነበሩትን የሽብርተኝነት፣ የሚዲያና የሲቭል ድርጅቶችን አዋጅ ማሻሻል
5. የኢትዮጵያ ምርጫ ቦርድን አወቃቀር በአዲስ መልክ ማደረጀትና የቦርዱ ኃላፊዎችን መለወጥ
6. በአጠቃላይ አቃቤ ሕግ ሥር የሕግና ፍትሕ አማካሪ ም/ቤትን ማቋቋም
7. የማዕከላዊ እሥር ቤትን መዝጋት
8. ከሀገር ዉጪ ሆነው ሲሰሩ የነበሩትን የመገናኛ ብዙሃን ወደ ሀገር ቤት ገብተው እንዲሠሩ ማድረግና ታግደዉ የነበሩትን ድህረ-ገጾች ለተጠቃሚዎች ክፍት እንዲሆኑ ማድረግ
9. በኢትዮጵያና በኤርትራ መካከል የነበረዉን የፀጥታ ችግር በእርቅ መፍታትና የመሳሰሉት ናቸዉ።
2. የለዉጥ ሂደቱን ያጋጠሙት ችግሮች
የለዉጡን ሂደት የገጠሙት ችግሮች በሁለት ከፍሎ ማየት ይቻላል። እነሱም፡ አጠቃላይ እና በተለይ ደግሞ ኢሕአዴግ/ብልጽግና ፓርቲን እንደ ገዢ ፓርቲነቱ ያጋጠሙት ተግዳሮቶች ማለት ይቻላል።
አጠቃላይ ችግሮች፡
በሀገሪቱ የሚገኙ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች በመሠረታዊ ጉዳዮች ላይ ተቀራራቢ አመለካከት አለመኖራቸውና መቻቻል ባለመኖሩ መንግሥታዊ አወቃቀር (State-Structure and Nation-Building) ላይ ብሔራዊ መግባባት አለመቻሉ፣ እንዲሁም የብሔር ብሔረሰቦች ብሔረተኝነት እና የኢትዮጵያዊ ዜግነትን አዋህዶና አጣጥሞ መሄድ ካለመቻል የተነሳ አብሮ ከመሥራት ይልቅ ርስ-በርስ የመጣራጠር ስሜቶች መጉላታቸዉ፣ በተለይ ደግሞ በረዥም የሕዝቦች ትግል የተገኘዉንና ተጨቁነናል ብለው የሚያምኑ ሕዝቦችን በተወሰነ ደረጃ ጥያቄያቸዉን የመለሰዉንና ህገ-መንግሥታዊ እዉቅናም ያገኘዉን ህብረ-ብሔራዊ ፌዴራሊዝምን አፍርሶ ወደኋላ በመመለስ በአሮጌዉ መንግሥታዊ ሥርዓትና አወቃቀር ለመተካት የሚደረግ ጥረት ትልቅ ልዩነት በመፍጠሩ ያለዉን አቅምና ዕዉቀት በአንድ ላይ ከማምጣት ፈንታ መጠላለፍ ካሉት ተግዳሮቶች ኣንዱ ሆኗል።
ኢሕአዴግ/ብልጽግና እንደ ፖለቲካ ፓርቲ እና መንግስት፡
የሚከተሉት ችግሮች ኢሕአዴግ/ብልጽግና ፓርቲን እየገጠሙ መሄዳቸዉ የአጠቃላይ ችግሮች አካል ነዉ። እነሱም፡
• ዉስጣዊ የሥልጣን ሽኩቻ (Internal power struggles within the EPRDF)
• ይህ ችግር የኢሕአዴግ አባል ድርጅቶች በመካከላቸዉና እያንዳንዳቸዉም በዉስጣቸዉ ያላቸዉ ችግር መሆኑና ይህ ችግር በሂደት ትሕነግ/TPLF ሙሉ በሙሉ ከሌሎች ኢሀአድግ አባል ድርጅቶች በኋላ ከብፓ/PP እራሱን እስከማግለል ኣድርሶታል። በኢሕአዴግ/በብልጽግና ፓርቲና በመንግሥት መካከል ልዩነት እንዳልነበረ በመንግሥት ሥራ አፈጻጸም ላይ ይንጸባረቅ ነበር።
• የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ጥሰት፡
• ባጠቃላይ አሁንም ድረስ በተላያዩ የሀገሪቱ አከባቢዎች የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ኣለመከበር በስፋት ይታያሉ። በሰላማዊ ዜጎች ላይ በሚካሄዱ እስራትና ግድያዎች በርካታ መሆናቸዉ፣ የበርካቶች ተፎካካሪ ፖርቲዎች አባላትና ደጋፊዎች እንዲሁም የአመራር አባላት ታስረው እስካሁን እስር ቤት ዉስጥ የሚግኙ መሆናቸዉ፣ ለአብነት፡ የኦብነግ፣ የአገዉ ብሔራዊ ሸንጎ፣ የኦነግ፣ የቅማንት ዴሞክራሲያዊ ድርጅት፣ ፣ የኦፌኮ፣ የሲዳማ፣ የጋምቤላ፣ የአብን …ወዘተ። በተጨማሪም የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶች ከቦታ ቦታ ተንቀሳቅሰው መስራት አለመቻል በተለይም የታችኛው የገዢ ፓርቲ መቀቅርና የመንግስት አካላት በፓርቲዎች ላይ የሚያደርሱት ወከባ መበራከት አሳሳቢ ጉዳይ መሆኑ።
• በተለያዩ ሕዝቦች መካከል የሚፈጠሩ ግጭቶች
• በኦሮሚያ፣ በደቡብ፣ በአማራ፣ በቤንሻንጉል-ጉሙዝ እና በሶማሌ ክልሎች ኣንዲሁም በሌሎች አከባቢዎች ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ ሰላም መታጣት
• የወጣቶች ሥራ አጥነትን ማቃለል ኣለመቻሉ፣ በአንፃሩ የለዉጡ ዋነኛ ኃይል የነበረዉ ይህ ሥራ-ኣጥ ወጣት በመንግሥት ላይ የነበረዉ ከፍተኛ ተስፋ መመናመኑ።
• የኢኮኖሚ ዕድገት ማሽቆልቆል፣ መህበራዊ ቀውሶች ከግዜ ወድ ግዜ መበራከት፣ የአከባቢ ጥበቃና የተፈጥሮ ሀብቶች ውድመት አሳሳቢ ደረጃ ላይ መሆናቸው
• በትግል ላይ የነበረዉን የሰዉ ኃይል በአግባቡ በሥርዓቱ ዉስጥ ማቀፍ ኣለምቻሉ፣ ((Reintegration of armed (combatants) lack of proper demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration processes.
• ለ2012ቱ የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ምርጫ ዝግጅት እያደረገ ባለበት የኖቬል ኮሮና ቫይረስ (COVID-19) በሽታ መከሰቱ፣
3. ኮቪድ-19 ፣ የ2012ቱ የኢትዮጵያ ጠቅላላ ምርጫ እና ህገ-መንግሥታዊ ተግዳሮቱ (challenges of the constitution/Constitutional crises)
የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ምርጫ ቦርድ በኮቪድ-19 ምክንያት ለነሐሴ መጋቢት 22 ቀን 2012 ለነሓሴ 23 ቀን 2012 6ኛ ጠቅላላ ምርጫ በታቀደለት የጊዜ ሰሌዳ ማካሄድ አልቻልኩም ስል ወስኖ የሕዝብ ተወካዮች ም/ቤት መፍትሔ እንድፈለግለት ለምክር በቱ ማስተላለፉም ይታወሳል።
ስለዚህ የሕዝብ ተወካዮች ም/ቤት በህገ-መንግሥቱ መሠረት የተመረጠበትን አምሥት ዓመት የጊዜ ገደብ በህገ-መንግሥቱ መሠረት ምርጫ ተካሂዶ ሥልጣኑን ለሚመረጠው አድሱ ም/ቤት ለማስተላለፍ በተፈጠረዉ ችግር ምክንያት የማይቻል በመሆኑ ህገ-መንግሥታዊ ቀዉስ ዉስጥ ልገባ ስለሆነ የተፈጠረዉን ሁኔታ በመገምገም የመፍትሔ ሀሳብ ማመንጨትና ማቅረብ እንደ ፖለቲካ ድርጅት አስፈላጊ ሆኖ ተገኝቷል።
3.1 በህገ-መንግሥቱ ዉስጥ ካሉት አንቀጾች መካከል በምርጫ መራዘሙ ምክንያት ለጥሰት የተጋለጡ አንቀጾች
በመሰረቱ ከህገ-መንግሥቱ አንቀጾች አንዱንም መጣስ ህገ መንግስታዊ አይደለም። ባሁኑ ሁኔታ ይህ ጠቅላላ ምርጫ በተቀመጠለት የጊዜ ገደብ ዉስጥ ካልተደረገ ከሀገሪቱ ህገ-መንግሥት አንቀጾች ዉስጥ ልጣሱ ነው የሚንላቸዉን ወሳኞቹ አንቀጾች የሚከተሉት ናቸዉ፡
• አንቀጽ 1: የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት ስያሜ ራሱ እንደሚያመለክተዉ “ይህ ሕገ መንግሥት ፌዴራላዊና ዴሞክራሲያዊ የመንግሥት አወቃቀር ይደነግጋል፡፡ በዚህ መሰረት የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ በሚል ስም ይጠራል፡፡” ይህ ዴሞክራሲያዊ የመንግሥት ምሥረታ ልኖር የሚችለዉ ቢያንስ ወቅታዊ ምርጫ በየጊዜዉ በማድረግ ዜጎች የሚወክላቸዉን ሲመርጡ ነው።
• አንቀጽ 54. 1. “የሕዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት አባላት፤ ሁሉ አቀፍ፣ ነጻ ፣ ቀጥተኛ፣ ትክክለኛ በሆነና ድምጽ በሚስጥር በሚሰጥበት ሥርዓት በየአምስት ዓመቱ በሕዝብ ይመረጣሉ፡፡” ይህ አለመሆኑ ሕዝቡን የሚወክል የተወካዮች ም/ቤት አለመኖርን ያመላክታል። በዚሁ መሠረት አሁን ያለዉ የም/ቤቱ የሥራ ዘመን ካለቀ በኋላ የሚወጡት አዋጆችና ድንቦች ህጋዊነት አይኖራቸዉም።
• አንቀጽ 58.3 የሕዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት የሚመረጠው ለአምስት ዓመታት ነው፤ የሥራ ዘመኑ ከማብቃቱ ከአንድ ወር በፊት አዲስ ምርጫ ተካሂዶ ይጠናቀቃል፡፡ ይህ አንቀጽ እንደሚደነግገዉ የአምስት ዓመት ጊዜዉን የማራዘም ፍንጭ ኣያሳይም።
• አንቀጽ 61. 3 የፌዴሬሽን ምክር ቤት አባላት በክልል ምክር ቤቶች ይመረጣሉ፤ የክልል ምክር ቤቶች በራሳቸው ወይም በቀጥታ በሕዝብ እንዲመረጡ በማድረግ የፌዴሬሽን ምክር ቤት አባል እንዲወከሉ ያደርጋሉ፡፡ የክልሎች ም/ቤት አባላት ምርጫም ባለመከናወኑ ምክንያትም የፌዴሬሽኑ ም/ቤት መቋቋም አይቻልም ማለት ነዉ።
• አንቀጽ 67. 2 የፌዴሬሽኑ ምክር ቤት የሥራ ዘመን አምስት ዓመት ይሆናል፡፡ ይህም አንቀጽ እንደሚደነግገዉ የአምስት ዓመት ጊዜዉን የማራዘም ፍንጭ ኣያሳይም።
• አንቀጽ 72. 2 ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩና የሚኒስትሮች ምክር ቤት ለሕዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት ተጠሪዎች ናቸው፡፡ የሚኒስትሮች ምክር ቤት አባላት በመንግሥት ተግባራቸው በጋራ ለሚሰጡት ውሳኔ የጋራ ኃላፊነት አለባቸው፡፡ የተወካዮች ም/ቤት ህጋዊ እስካልሆነበት ጊዜ ድረስ በአንቀጹ ዉስጥ የተጠቀሱት አካላት ተጠሪነታቸዉ ለማን እንደሚሆን አጠያያቂ ነዉ።
• አንቀጽ 72. 3 በዚህ ሕገ መንግሥት መሰረት በሌላ አኳኊን ካልተወሰነ በስተቀር የጠቅላይሚኒስትሩ የሥራ ዘመን የሕዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት የሥራ ዘመን ነው፡፡ ይህም አንቀጽ እንደሚደነግገዉ የጠ/ሚንስቴሩ የሥራ ዘመን ከአምስት ዓመት በላይ ልሆን እንደማይችል ይደነግጋል።
• አዋጅ ቁጥር 1162/2011 አንቀጽ 7.1 ጠቅላላ ምርጫ በየአምስት ዓመቱ የሚካሄድ የህዝብ ተወካዮች እና የክልል ምክር ቤቶች አባላት ምርጫ ነዉ።
ይህ በኮቪ-19 ምክንያት ባለመከናወኑ በዴሞክራሲያዊ መንግሥት አመሠራረት ላይ ተመርኩዞ የወጣዉን አዋጅ አለመተግበሩ ለአጠቃላይ ህገ-መንግሥታዊ ቀዉስ ሀገሪቷን ይዳርጋታል።
3.2 የመንግሥትን የሥልጣን ዘመን ለማራዘም ዕድል የሚሰጥ የህገ-መንግሥት አንቀጽ አለመኖሩ
ሀ) የአስቸኳይ ጊዜ አዋጅ
አንቀጽ 93. 1. ለ) የተፈጥሮ አደጋ ሲያጋጥም ወይም የሕዝብን ደህንነት አደጋ ላይ የሚጥል በሽታ ሲከሰት የክልል መስተዳድሮች በክልላቸው የአስቸኳይ ጊዜ አዋጅ ሊያውጁ ይችላሉ፡፡ዝርዝሩ ክልሎች ይህን ሕገ መንግሥት መሰረት በማድረግ በሚያወጧቸው ሕገመንግሥቶች ይወሰናል፡፡ ይህ ሁኔታ በም/ቤቶቹ የሥልጣን ጊዜ ገደብ (አምስቱ ዓመት) ዉስጥ ለሚከሰት እንጂ የጊዜ ገደቡን ለማራዘም አያገለግልም።
ለ) ም/ቤቱን ማፍረስ/መበተን
አንቀጽ 60. 1 ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ የሥልጣን ዘመኑ ከማለቁ በፊት አዲስ ምርጫ ለማካሄድ በምክር ቤቱ ፈቃድ ምክር ቤቱ እንዲበተን ለማድረግ ይችላል፡፡
ይህም ሊሆን የሚችለዉ በተቅላይ ሚንስትሩና በም/ቤቱ የሥልጣን ዘመን ዉስጥ እንጂ ጊዜዉን ለማራዘም ፈጽሞ ኣያገለግልም። በህገ መንግስቱ አንቀጽ 60 የተደነገገው ከመደበኝ ምርጫ በፊት አዲስ ምርጫ ለማካሄድ እንጂ መደበኛውን ምርርጫ ለማራዘም የተደነገገ እንዳልሆነ ግልጽ ነው።
ሐ) የሕገ-መንግሥት ማሻሻያን ማድረግ
አንቀጽ 104 የሕገ መንግሥት ማሻሻያ ሐሳብን ስለማመንጨት
አንድ የሕገ መንግሥት ማሻሻያ ሐሳብ የሕዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት በሁለት ሦስተኛ ድምጽ የደገፈው፣ የፌዴሬሽኑ ምክር ቤት በሁለት ሦስተኛ ድምጽ የደገፈው ወይም ከፌዴሬሽኑ አባል ክልሎች ውስጥ አንድ ሦስተኛው የክልል ምክር ቤቶች በድምጽ ብልጫየደገፉት ከሆነ ለውይይትና ለውሳኔ ለመላው ሕዝብና የሕገ መንግሥቱ መሻሻል ለሚመለከታቸው ክፍሎች ይቀርባል፡፡
አንቀጽ 105 ሕገ መንግሥቱን ስለማሻሻል
አንቀጽ 105. 1 በዚህ ሕገ መንግሥት ምዕራፍ ሦስት የተዘረዘሩት መብቶችና ነጻነቶች በሙሉ፣ይህ አንቀጽ፣ እንዲሁም አንቀጽ 104 ሊሻሻሉ የሚችሉት በሚከተለው አኳን ብቻ ይሆናል፡፡
ሀ/ ሁሉም የክልል ምክር ቤቶች የቀረበውን ማሻሻያ በድምጽ ብልጫ ሲያጸድቁት፣
ለ/ የፌዴራሉ መንግሥት የሕዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት በሁለት ሦስተኛ ድምጽ የቀረበውን ማሻሻያ ሲያጸድቀው፣ እና
ሐ/ የፌዴሬሽኑ ምክር ቤት በሁለት ሦስተኛ ድምጽ ማሻሻያውን ሲያጸድቀው ነው፡፡
አንቀጽ 105. 2 በዚህ አንቀጽ ንዑስ አንቀጽ 1 ከተዘረዘሩት ውጭ ያሉት የሕገ መንግሥቱ ድንጋጌዎች ሊሻሻሉ የሚችሉት በሚከተለው አኳን ብቻ ይሆናል፤
ሀ/ የሕዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤትና የፌዴሬሽኑ ምክር ቤት በጋራ ስብሰባ በሁለት ሦስተኛ ድምጽ የቀረበውን ማሻሻያ ሲያጸድቁት፣ እና
ለ/ ከፌዴሬሽኑ አባል ክልሎቸ ምክር ቤቶች ውስጥ የሁለት ሦስተኛ ክልሎች ምክር ቤቶች በድምጽ ብልጫ የቀረበውን ማሻሻያ ሲያጸድቁት ነው፡፡
ለሕገ-መንግሥቱ የማሻሻያ ሀሳብ ለማቅረብ የሚያስፈልጉ ሌሎች ቅድመ-ሁኔታዎቹ ልሟሉ የሚችሉ እንኳ ቢሆን “ለውይይትና ለውሳኔ ለመላው ሕዝብና የሕገ መንግሥቱ መሻሻል ለሚመለከታቸው ክፍሎች ይቀርባል፡፡” የሚለዉን ቅድመ-ግዴታ ለማሟላት በ ኮቪድ-19 ምክንያት ስለማይቻል በዚህ በኩል ያለዉም ዕድል በሩ የተዘጋ ነዉ።
መ) ሕገ-መንግሥቱን ስለመተርጎም
አንቀጽ 83. 1 የሕገ መንግሥታዊ ክርክር ጉዳይ ሲነሳ በፌዴሬሽኑ ምክር ቤት ውሳኔ ያገኛል፡፡
አንቀጽ 83. 2 የፌዴሬሽን ምክር ቤት፣ የሕገ መንግሥት ጉዳዮች አጣሪ ጉባኤ በሚያቀርብለት ሕገ መንግሥታዊ ጉዳይ ላይ በሠላሣ ቀናት ውስጥ ውሳኔ ይሰጣል፡፡
ይህ ህገ-መንግሥቱን የመተርጎም ስርዓትም በመሠረቱ የሚመለከተዉ ክርክር ያለባቸው ወይም አወዛጋቢ የሆኑ አንቀጾች በተለያዩ አካላት ለአጣሪ ጉብዔ ስቀርቡ እንጂ ከመሬት ተነስተው አንቀጾችን በመተርጎም ሊሆን አይችልም። የህገ-መንግስቱን አንቀጽ 9 እና አንቀጽ 54ን ማስታረቅም የሚቻልበት መንገድ ኣይታይም።
3.3 ህገ-መንግሥታዊ የመፍትሔ ዳሰሳዉ አጠቃላይ ጭብጥ
ማጠቃለያ፡
1) በኮቪድ-19 ምክንያት ምርጫዉን ማራዘም ግድ ሆኖዋል።
2) ህገ-መንግሥቱን ተከትሎ ምርጫዉን ለማራዘም የሚያስችል አማራጭ ከህገ-መንግሥቱ ዉስጥ ማግኘት አይቻልም። ካሁን በፊት ኢሕአዴግ ለሕዝብ ዉይይትና ዉሳኔ ሳያቀርብ ህገ-መንግሥቱ ላይ ማሻሻያ አድርጎ ነበር የሚለዉ ተሞክሮም (precedence) ተቀባይነት የለዉም።
3) በህገ-መንግሥቱ አንቀጽ 9. 2 ላይ እንደተደነገገዉ “ማንኛውም ዜጋ፣ የመንግሥት አካላት፣ የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶች፣ ሌሎች ማኅበራት እንዲሁም ባለሥልጣኖቻቸው፣ ሕገ መንግሥቱን የማስከበርና ለሕገ መንግሥቱ ተገዢ የመሆን ኃላፊነት አለባቸው፡፡” ይላል። ስለዚህ፣ መፍትሔዉ ለሀገርና ለሕዝቦች ሰላምና መግባባት ሲባል አገርን በሚጠቅም መልኩ በጥንቃቄና በስምምነት ከዉሳኔ የሚደረስበት ልሆን ይገባል።
3.4 ከህገ-መንግሥቱ ዉጪ ሥልጣንን ማራዘም የሚያመጣዉ ችግር
ህገ-መንግሥቱን ባልተከተለ መንገድ በመንግሥት በራሱ ዉሳኔ የሥልጣን ጊዜዉን የሚያራዝም ከሆነ፡
አንቀጽ 9. 3 (በዚህ ሕገ መንግሥት ከተደነገገው ውጭ በማናቸውም አኳን የመንግሥት ሥልጣን መያዝ የተከለከለ ነው፡፡) የሚለዉን መተላለፍ መሆኑና ይህም በሌላ በኩል የሀገሪቱን ህገ-መንግሥት ብቻም ሳይሆን በህገ-መንግሥቱ ዉስጥ በአንቀጽ 9. 4 ላይ የተካተቱትን ዓለም-አቀፋዊ ስምምነቶችንም (9.4 ኢትዮጵያ ያጸደቀቻቸው ዓለም አቀፍ ስምምነቶች የሀገሪቱ ሕግ አካል ናቸው፡፡) መጣስ ይሆናል። ይህም ለምሳሌ፡
በአፍሪካ አንድነት ቻርተር ዉስጥ፥“Chapter 8 Sanctions in Cases of Unconstitutional Changes of Government
Article 23.5 Any amendment or revision of the constitution or legal instruments, which is an infringement on the principles of democratic change of government.”
እንዲሁም፣
“Universal Declaration of Human Rights፥ The Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948
Article 21 .1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
Article 21.3 The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”
4. የመፍትሔ ሀሳብ
በየአምስት ዓመቱ የሚደረግ ጠቅላላ ምርጫን በማራዘም የህዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት የስራ ዘመን ማራዘም የሚያስችል የህገ-መንግሥት ድንጋጌ ባለመኖሩ አሁን ያለዉ የመንግሥት የሥራ አስፈጻሚዉ አካል የተወሰነ የጊዜ ገደብ ተሰጥቶት በሥልጣን እንድቀጥል ተደርጎ በዚህ ግዜ ውስጥ፡ ስልጣን ላይ ያለው አስፈጻሚው አካል የእለት ተእለት የመንግስት ስራ ከማከናወንና ምርጫን ለማካሄድ ከማገዝ ውጪ ህግ ወይም አዋጅ ማውጣት፣ ማሻሻል ወይም ያሉትን ህጎች መሻር እና አዳድስ አደረጃጀትና አወቃቀሮችን መዝርጋት የለበትም፡ ብለን እናምናለን። ይህም ማለት ህገ-መንግስቱ እንዳለ ሆኖ ወይም ሳይነካ አሁን ላጋጠመን አድስና ያልተለመደ ፈተና በሁሉም ወገኖች የጋራ ስምምነት (consensus) አድስና ያልተለመደ ፖለቲካዊ መፍትሔ/Political settlement ልበጅለት ያስፈልጋል ማለታችን ነዉ። በዚህም መሠረት ያለንን ፖለቲካዊ የመፍትሔ ሀሳብ/አማራጭ እንደሚከተለዉ በዝርዝር እናቀርባለን።
ይህ የመፍትሔ ሀሳብ/አማራጭ የተመሠረተባቸዉን መሠረታዊ ምክንያቶችን መጀመሪያ ግልጽ ለማድረግ፡
 ኮቪድ-19 የ2012 ጠቅላላ ምርጫ በታቀደለት ጊዜ ዉስጥ እንዲካሄድ የማያስችል መሆኑን ስለሚናምንበት፣
 በህገመንግሥቱ አንቀጽ 9.2 ላይ በማያሻማ መልኩ እንደተቀመጠዉ፡ “ማንኛውም ዜጋ፣ የመንግሥት አካላት፣ የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶች፣ ሌሎች ማኅበራት እንዲሁም ባለሥልጣኖቻቸው፣ ሕገ መንግሥቱን የማስከበርና ለሕገ መንግሥቱ ተገዢ የመሆን ኃላፊነት አለባቸው፡፡” ይላል። በዚህ እናምናለን። ላለፉት ዓመታት መሠረታዊ የመቀራረቢያ ሰነድ ሆኖ ወደ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሥርዓት እንደ መሸጋገሪያ ድልድይ እንዲያገለግል ተስፋ የተጣለበት ይሄዉ ህገ-መንግሥት ስለሆነ እሱ ከመሠረቱ ሳይነካ ይች እንደ አገር ሆና እንዳትቀጥል ጥያቄ ዉስጥ በማይገባበት ሁኔታ ምርጫዉን ለማራዘም፣
 የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦችን የጋራ ጥቅምና ሀገራዊ ህልውና የሚያስከብርና የሚያራምድ የዉጭ ግንኙነት ፖሊሲ ጥያቄ ዉስጥ እንዳይገባ፣
 ኢትዮጵያ በዲፕሎማሲዉ መስክ፡ በኢጋድ/IGAD, በአፍሪካ ህብረት/AU እና በተባበሩት መንግሥታት/ UN ዉስጥ ያላት ድርሻ እንዳይታገድና ይህ አሻጋሪዉ መንግሥት ህጋዊነቱ ላይ የጋራ ስምምነት እንድኖረን፣
 ሀገራዊ ህልውና አደጋ ላይ የሚጥል ሁኔታ ሲፈጠር በፍጥነት ሀገራዊ ሰላምን የሚከላከል መንግሥት እንድኖር፣
 አሁን ሀገር እየመራ ያለዉ ፓርቲ በለዉጡ መጀመሪያ አከባቢ የገባዉን ቃል በመሸርሸር ህግና ህገ-መንግሥት አስከባሪ አካላትን ለራሱ ፖለቲካዊ ጥቅም በመጠቀም የተፎካካሪ ፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎችን አባላትና ደጋፊዎችን (የአመራር አባላትን ጨምሮ) በእስር ቤቶች በማጎሩ የተጣለበት ተስፋና እምነት እንደተጠበቀ አለመሆኑን ከግንዛቤ በማስገባት፣
 ባጠቃላይ አሁን ሀገሪቱን ያጋጠመዉ ፊተና መፍትሔዉ ከህገ-መንግሥቱ ዉስጥ ተፈልጎ ልገኝለት የማይችልና አድስ እንደመሆኑ በአድስ አቀራረብ በአድስና ፖለቲካዊ መፍትሔ ብቻ ልንወጣዉ የሚንችል ነዉ ብለን ስለምናምን ነዉ።
ከላይ የተዘረዘሩት ነጥቦችን በመመርኮዝ አሁን ያለዉ መንግሥት የሥራ አስፈጻሚዉ አካል (Executive body of the current Government) ለአንድ ዓመት ሥልጣኑ እንዲራዘም ሆኖ ጠቅላላ ምርጫው በግንቦት ወር 2013 ተጠናቆ አዲስ የሚመረጠው የህዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት ቀደም ስል በተለመደው ግዜ ስራውን እንድጀምር ማድረግ። ይህ እንዳለ ሆኖ ያሉት ተፎካካሪ የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶች በሚከተሉት ሀገራዊ ጉዳዮች ዉስጥ በቀጥታ ተሳትፎና ድርሻ ኖሮዋቸዉ ለሚፈለገዉ የዴሞክራሲ ግምባታም ሆነ ለሀገር ሰላምና ህልዉና ይረዳ ዘንድ ወጥ የሆነ መፍትሔ “Political conventions” መቅረጹ የግድ ይላል።
እነሱም፡
1. በዉጭ ግንኙነት አካል ዉስጥ (Council of Foreign Relation)
 To inspire domestic trust and gain international legitimacy.
2. በብሔራዊ ደህንነት (Coordinated National security council or Committee for Monitoring the Implementation of the Security Arrangements )
 ሀገር ደህንነትና ሰላም ጉዳዮች አካል ዉስጥ (በሀገር ደህንነት፣ መከላከያ፣ ፖሊስ፣) ከፖለቲካዊ ወገንተኝነት ነፃ በሆነ መንገድ ማገልገላቸዉን ለመከታተልና ብሎም በሀገር ህልውና ላይ የሚቃጣ አደጋ ቢያጋጥም የጋራ ሀላፍነት ለመዉሰድ እንዲያግዝ
 To balance the need for bureaucratic, technocratic, security and judicial expertise against the aim to limit the influence of the previous regime. To create civil order and end violence, while ensuring that all security and intelligence forces would be subject to control by the new civilian authorities.
3. የዴሞክራሲ ሥርዓት ግንባታ ተቋማት (Democratic Institutions building) ዉስጥ ተሳታፊነት
 የሕዝቦች ዴሞክራሲያዊ መብቶች ዋስትና የሆኑት ተቋማት ዉስጥ የተፎካካሪ ፓርቲዎችን ተሳትፎ በማሳደግ ሂደቱንና አሠራሩን የሚቆጣጠር ሥርዓት መፍጠር። (Procedural limits how the government can act, in order to prevent arbitrariness, corruption, oppression, discrimination, and the misuse of public office for personal gain)
 የባለሥልጣናትን ሥልጣን ኣለግባብ መጠቀም የሚከታተልና የሚቆጣጠር ነፃና ገለልተኛ የዳኝነት ሥርዓትና የሚዲያ ተቋማት መኖራቸዉን ለመከታተልና ለማረጋገጥ የሚረዳ አሠራር ማበጀት (To establish or protect the autonomy and authority of independent judiciaries and independent media that could hold national executives and others accountable)
4. ሀገራዊ መግባባትን ለመፍጠር የሚረዳ ኮሚሽን
 ሀገራዊ መግባባትን ለመፍጠር የሚረዳ የጋራ አካል በጋራ መፍጠር
5. የተራዘመዉን የጊዜ ገደብ አግባብ ባልሆነ መልኩ በመጠቀም ለሌላ ችግር እንዳይዳርገን የሚቆጣጠር ኮሚቴ
 To limit Unrealistic deadlines and attempts to move forward with the political settlement process
የእነዚህን አካላት ተጠሪነትና የአሠራር ሥርዓት በዝርዝር አዘጋጅተን የሚናቀርብ ይሆናል።
በመጨረሻም አሁን ስልጣን ላይ ያለው የፌዴራል መንግስት፣ የክልል መንግስታት፣ ተፎካካሪ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች፣ ሲቪክ ማህበራት እና ከሁሉም በላይ ደግሞ የአገርጡ ህዝቦች ከላይ የደረስነበትን የፖልቲካ ውሳኔ የምርጫ ህግን በሚመለከት ህግ መንግስቱን ካጋጠመው ቀውስ ሊያሻግረን እንደሚችል ስለምገነዘቡ ውሳኔያችንን ይጋራሉ ብለን ተስፋ እናደርጋለን።
ትብብር ለህብረ-ብሔር ዲሞክራሲያዊ ፈደራልዝም(ትብብር)
ሚያዚያ ቀን 2012 ዓም
አድስ አበባ
ከዚህ በላይ በትብብር ለህብረ ብሔር ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፌዴራሊዝም የቀረበው የመፍትሔ ሃሳብ ሰነድ አይተውት ለውይይት እንዲያቀርቡ ለዶ/ር ዐብይ አህመድ የኢፌዲሪ ጠቅላይ ሚንስትር የተላከ ሲሆን
ለኢፌዲሪ ጠቅላይ ፍርድ ቤት ሰብሳቢ
ለኢፌዲሪ ጠቅላይ ዐቃቤ ህግ
ለህዝብ ተውካዮች ምክር ቤት አፈ ጉባዔ
ለፌዴሬሽን ምክር ቤት አፈ ጉባዔ
ለኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ምርጫ ቦርድ ሰብሳቢ ግልባጭ ተደርጎላቸዋል

Opposition parties statement on election postponement

(A4O, May 4, 2020) The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia has announced that it will be unable to conduct the 2020 national elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, the House of Peoples’ Representatives approved the election postponement. According to the constitution, the term of office of government is five years, which means that the current government’s constitutional mandate will come to an end on 10 October 2020. With that in mind, the government has tabled four proposals as potential remedies to manage the power vacuum that would occur when its current term expires on October 10. After a careful and considered review of the proposed alternatives, we, the undersigned parties, issue the following statement.

  1. The constitution makes it clear that power should be acquired only through a periodic election conducted every five years, and the term of office of a government is strictly five years. The electoral board has announced that it will not be able to conduct the election before the current government’s term of office expires. And there is no legal basis that will allow the government to legitimately remain in power past 10 October, even for a single day.
  2. We have carefully reviewed the four possible solutions proposed by the government to manage what would ultimately become a constitutional crisis. We have concluded that none of the presented options provide a legal basis to extend the mandate of the current government beyond its five-year term limit in the event that the national elections, albeit due to understandable reasons, are not held on time. The constitution does not allow for the declaration of a state of emergency specifically to postpone an election or extend a government’s term. The dissolution of parliament pursuant to Article 60 only allows for an election to be held prior to the expiry of the five-year term. This article cannot be invoked to allow term extensions beyond five years. Undertaking a constitutional amendment in order to add an article or clause that would allow the postponement of an election and/or the extension of term of office does not only negate the spirit of the constitution, it is a complex process that requires public debate and deliberation that cannot be undertaken during a pandemic in any meaningful way.
  3. The fourth option, constitutional interpretation, which is favored by the government, is not a legal and legitimate reason to postpone the election or extend the incumbent’s term. Although the House of Federation has the power to interpret the constitution, it can only do so on disputed issues contained within the constitution. Unfortunately, the constitution does not stipulate a mechanism for the postponement of elections or extension of terms of office. Furthermore, constitutional interpretation by a legislative body overwhelmingly controlled by a single party, whose members were elected through an election that we know was rigged, amounts to imposition of the will of a single party. Hence, if anything, this option erodes the legitimacy of this government even more, rather than lending it credence.
  4. It is our view that, in order to collectively and effectively combat the pandemic while preparing for the election, the best and only option is to seek a national consensus among political parties in order to legitimately fill the looming power vacuum.
  5. We would like to strongly stress that extending the term of government by any other means lacks political or legal legitimacy and could lead to a political as well as a security crisis, which the country cannot afford at a time where it needs a unified front to overcome the multifaceted challenges posed by the pandemic.

In order to find a legitimate solution for the impasse through achieving a national consensus, we believe these principles should be put into practice:

  1. The deliberation and negotiation should involve all political parties that are registered and qualified to participate in the 2020 election.
  2. The deliberation and negotiation should be facilitated by entities who do not have direct involvement in electoral affairs and do not have a vested interest in the outcome.
  3. The final agreement reached by the parties should be binding.

After years of struggle and sacrifice by the Ethiopian people, it was two years ago that we embarked on a transition that we all hoped would usher in a new era of democracy. Unfortunately, negotiations and deliberations which would be vital for a successful transition were not undertaken. Consequently, as we get closer to the election, tension has begun to rise and the political space has further narrowed, dashing the hopes for a successful transition to a democratic order through a free and fair election.

The postponement of the election due to the pandemic can be used as another opportunity to seriously deliberate, correct mistakes made over the last two years, and put the transition back on track. Therefore, we call upon all parties to seize this opportunity and sit for a roundtable deliberation to seek a legitimate political consensus on how to manage the constitutional crisis the country is facing. To this effect, we have prepared a detailed proposal and action plan in line with this recommendation, which we will present at the negotiation forum once it is convened upon acceptance.

Co-signing members of the Coalition of Democratic Federalism:

  • Oromo Liberation Front
  • Ogaden National Liberation Front
  • Oromo Federalist Congress
  • Agaw National Congress
  • Mocha Democratic Party
  • Kaffa Green Party
  • Arena Tigray for Democracy and Sovereignty

Peace, Freedom & Democracy for All Peoples!

POLITICALLY PROVOKED MASS ARREST BY THE ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT WORSENING THE CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RISK IN ETHIOPIA

By Adane W. Shana

(Oromia, April 25, 2020) The Human Rights Watch and The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) expressed their deep concern over the potential outbreak of a notorious deadly disease, Coronavirus (COVID-19) at Ethiopian prisons.

Several political prisoners are confined in Federal concentration camps and police stations in different parts of the country including the Capital and surroundings, Ambo, NekemteKelem in Western, ChirogalamsoDeder and Boset in the EasternGondor in NorthernEthiopia. Moreover, Elzabeth Kebede attorney at law and journalists including Desu Dula, Wako Nole and YayesewShimelis were detained from the capital city, Addis Ababa. CPJ and the Amnesty International condemned the arrest of the journalists in the country and requested for immediate release of all political detainees.

At this moment, when the whole world is fighting against the common enemy, COVID-19, politically motivated mass arrests, kidnappings and harassment of members and supporters of Oposition Political Organizations, civic society members and journalists by the Ethiopian government military must be condemned by the World Health Organization, UN Human Rights Council and the world at large. Because of the overcrowded and squalid prisons at the detention centers, the spread of COVID-19 in the detonators and make the control of the disease difficult later on.

As whole know, infectious diseases in prisons are a serious public health problem, inmates are crammed into small prison cells with many others, particularly in Ethiopia. Even in facilities that aren’t deemed overcrowded, there is inadequate nutrition, and poor sanitation where detainees in concentration camps suffer from health problems, putting them at particular risk of the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to inform this situation, the Ethiopian Diaspora community condemned through serious demonstrations all over the world. Among them, the Diaspora community of Canada condemned the situation in the country and shown solidarity by organized large demonstration in the capital city of Canada, Ottawa on February 16, 2020.

Therefore, this is to impose to stop brutalities being perpetrated by the government security force against the civil society, members and supporters of political opposition partiesIn addition, we insist on unconditionally release of all arbitrarily detained journalists, officials, members and supporters of opposition political parties to stop the potential spread of this pandemic COVID-19.

WIFE SHEDS LIGHT ON HUSBAND’S ORDEAL IN SECURITY CRACK DOWN

Image may contain: 1 person, standing

The handcuffed picture of Abdo Abajobir caused a social media uproar yesterday

(Oromia, April 25/2020) – The wife of a man whose handcuffed picture provoked the ire of many on Ethiopian social media spoke to the BBC Afaan Oromo that “he was beaten” before being escorted to a police station.

The picture of Abdo Abajobir, an employee of Oromia education Bureau in Jimma Zone, Cherkosa Wereda, surrounded by heavily armed special forces of the regional state caused a social media uproar yesterday, with prominent Oromo politician/activist Jawar Mohammed calling it security forces’ attempt of “restoration of fear through terror.” The picture was taken last Wednesday.

According to his wife Jamila Abaraya, the armed security forces “surrounded our residence at around 5:30 PM, breached the door and went in. They then handcuffed him and took him away while beating him.”

“It is hard to describe what has taken place; it looked like they were there to film a movie not to arrest one individual; our compound was flooded with the police,” said Jamila. The police have also searched the house of Abdo Abajobir, a father of three and a resident of the same wereda. According to his wife, he belongs to no political party. “If someone is not following the political line of the wereda, he is considered as belonging to the opposition,” she said.

Other residents of the werea also told the BBC Afaan Oromo that more houses were searched and more people were arrested on the same day. Arabu Khalifa, another resident, said. “We are not members of any of the political parties. We are proud of our identities; we sympathize for people but they accuse us of having relations with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Arabu said.

The security forces have said that they were searching for “various weapons and a roadmap to kill people inside Abdo Abajobir,” his wife said. “They told him there were weapons in our residence and that they will not leave without taking them. He told them they can ‘demolish the house if you wish to and search; you will not find anything,’” Jamila quoted her husband as saying.

Security forces have found no weapons but plastic toy guns the kids were playing with and one history book, which they took with them, according to her. “They could have summoned him with an invitation letter, but instead they handcuffed him like a bandit and took him to a detention facility where there are many people,” she said and expressed her fears that her husband could be exposed to the COVID-19.

She said that since his arrest yesterday, her husband has not been given chances to speak to the police. The BBC Afaan Oromo said its attempts to speak with the wereda administration and wereda scrutiny officials and were to no avail. AS

Ergaa ummata waanti narratti ta’e ifa sinii hin taaneef

Barreeffamni armaan gadii kun Birhanemeskel Abebe sagni kaleessa Afaan Amaaraatiin fuula Facebook isaanirratti gadhisame. Anis ergaa kana namni lammii Oromoo ta’e martuu akka beekuuf jedheen, hamma danda’ame gabaabsee afaan Oromootti hiikuuf yaaleera. Dubbisa Gaarii! Hunde Tilahun

I/ KAAYYOO PIROPOGANDAA SOBAA
1.Dhihoo kana warri bulchiinsa sirna durii leellisaniifi jijjiirama kana booda warri dhalatan kanneen akka itiyoo 360 namoota adda addaatti fayyadamuun anaafi ummata Oromoo irratti duulli isaan banan itti fufee jira.

2.Kayyoon maqa balleessi kanaas maqaa gaariin ani qabu irratti dhoqqee dibuun lammilee itophiyaa birratti, keessattuu warra afaan amaaraa dubbatan birratti summii dibuun,gaaffii ummata Oromoo galagalchuun akka waan nuti itophiyaa jigsinee biyya biraa ijaaruuf deemnutti oddeessun,Zaranyaaf abba dabaree maqaa jedhu kennuun warreen afaan amaaraa dubbatan biratti shakkii uumuun fudhatama dhabsiisuuf shira hin milkoofne gochuudha.

3.Dana’oon,Zaranyaafi warri shiraan beekamu kun kana duras namoota akka koo biyya isaanii jaalataniifi walqixxummaa leellisan irratti duula sobaa banuun gaaffii ummatni Ertiraa Federeeshina gaafatan “nuti lafa malee ummata isaa hin barbaannu ” jechuudhaan ummata dhiibanii Itophiyaa qarqara bishaanii akka isheen hin qabaanne godhaniiru.
Ummata Tigraay jibbanii TPLF uumaniiru,Ummata Oromoof barumsi afaan amaaraatiin kennamu qaba jechuun Jeneraal Taaddasaa Birruufi gaggeesitoota Macaaf Tuulamaa ajjeesuun ABO dhalaniiru. Tokkummaafi walqixxummaa ummata Itophiyaaf qabsooftuu jechuunis kaneen akka Hayilee Fidaa fi Sannaay Likefaa nyaatanii Dargii uumaniiru. Ogadeen,Sidaamaaf Gaambeellafi bakka adda addaatti yakkaaf badii hojjataniin tokkummaa biyyaa irratti waan hin irraanfatamne dalaganiiru.

4. Gaggeessummaa ummata Oromootiin jijjiramni Itophiyaa keessatti gaaffiin walqixummaafi haqaa deebii argachuu yoo baate haala amma jirtuun gara waraana wal waliinitti yoo galte Itophiyaan akka diigamtu lammiileen hunduu ni beeku.
Ani jijjiirama kana kanan deegaruufi namni biraas akka deegaru kanin gorsuuf balaa kana hambisuun biyya hundaaf taatu ijaaruufi.

5.Faallaa kanaan bara Dargiif TPLF Awurooppafi Ameerikaa warri turanifi leellistoota sirna bulchiinsa durii kan ta’an Itophiyaa dimokraatawaa taate osoo hin taane sirna Hayilasilasee boolla kaasuun ummata Itophiyaa 80% afaan amaaraa hin dubbanne dirqiin afaan tokko aadaa tokko deebisanii ijaaruudha.

6.Warri shiraaf Zaranyummaa isaaniin beekaman kun abjuu isaanii milkeessuuf kaardii Amaaraaf Itophiyaa wal jala jijjiruun taphatu. Karaa tokkoon abukaatoo ummata amaaraa fakkachuun ummata Itophiyaa kaanirra keessattu ummata Oromoo irra adda baasuun Amaarri dhiitameera sirba jettu sirbaa,naannoo Amaaraatti maqaa,hojiifi sirbi isaanii kanuma.

7.karaa biraatiin Oromiyaa(Finfinnee)gaafa dhufan immo tokkummaa Itophiyaatti kan amanan fakkaachuun lammiilee afaan amaaraa dubbatan goyyomsuuf Itophiyaa ykn du’a jechuun boo’u.
Kanarra darbuunis amala gaararra isaanii dhoksuuf Finfinnee dabalatee Harariifi kibba Itophiyaatti maqaalee adda addaa fayyadamuun akka kottee duudaa itti duuluun qabeenya isaanii nyaachuun ummata Itophiyaa kaan waliin akka inni walii hin galle gochuun itti fayyadamu.

9. Kanaafidha Afaan Oromoo akkuma Afaan Amaaraa afaan hojii federaalaa hata’u,walqixxummaan sabaaf sablammii haakabajamu waan jennuuf lammiilee Oromoo Itophiyaa warra abba dabaree,Zaranyaa jechuun maqaa isaanii isa sirrii nuuf kennuuf kan fiigan.

10. Yeroo ammaas duulli jibbaafi maqa baleessiin anaratti baname Kaayoon isaa namoota ilaalcha akka koo qaban miidhuu,biyya afaan tokko aadaa tokko amantii tokko qabdu(Assimilationist) ijaarra jechuun abjuu biraa keessa galaniiru.

11.Ani ummata Oromoo birattis ta’e lammiilee Itophiyaa kaan biratti maqaa gaariin ani qabu kan ijaarame waggoota bayeef tokkummaas gaaffii haqa Oromoo karaa ifaafi dhugaa ta’een ibsaa waanin tureefi.

12.Maqaa koo inni gaariin maalaqa ummata ykn dhiiga namaatiin kan laaqame miti

II/ Modeela lola fi karaa ittiin mo’iinsa isaanii

13.Waan 3 jedheen barreeffama koo xumura.
Namoonni shiraan beekaman kun Itophiyaa keessatti walqixxummaa fi haqni akka hin jiraanne waraana karaa sadiin gaggeessaa akka jiran beekuun barbaachisaadha.

14. Keessattuu waraana kana keessatti diinni inni guddaan ummata Oromoo waan ta’eef waranoota sadan armaan gadii mo’uuf sabaaf sablammii walqixxummaan amanan ijaaruun Itophiyaa haaraa ijaruuf qopha’uu qaba.

15. Namoonni kun biyya aadaa,afaan,amantii tokko qabdu ijaaruuf ifatti waraanni isaan banan isaan kana.

15.1. Inni jalqabaa lammiilee Itophiyaa walqixxummatti amanan,gaggeesitoota jijjiiramaa,aktivistootafi abbootii qabeenyaa keessattuu ummata Oromoof sidaamaa kallattiin miidhuu (direct violence ) karaa isa jalqabaaf filatamaadha. Duulli anarratti banames qaama waraana isa kanaati.kayoo3Kanaaf akka isaan gargaaru miidiyaalee maqa baleessiif sobaa 100 ol banataniiru.
Duuti naannoo Oromiyaa,Amaaraaf sidaamaatti ta’es qaama karoora kanaati.

15.2. Waraanni inni lammaffaa tokkumaaf walqixxummaa Itophiyaa irratti kan hojjatan keessattuu Oromoo, Somaalee fi Sidaamaa fi kkf irratti lola ijaarsa (structural war ) banuudha.
Ummanni Itophiyaa keessattu ummatni jijjirama kana fide ummatni Oromoo waanti baruu qabu Dargiif TPLF dhufanii haadeeman malee birookrasiin,ijaarsi magaalaa,ijaarsi dhabbilee amantii,ijaarsi ikoonomii,ijaarsi aadaa,ijaarsi miidiyaalee ammas kan yero Hayilesillaaseeti.
Jijjiirama kana booda jarri kun yeroo Dargiif TPLF jiru bakka itti dhokatanii ka’aa jiru. Humna biyyaafi biyya alaa jiru walitti fiduun ijaarsa sirna Hayilasilasee ACTIVE gochuuf (structural war ) bananiiru.

15.3 waraanni inni sadaffaan lammiilee Itophiyaa tokkummaaf walqixxummaa leellisuun (progressive) ta’an irratti waraana aadaa banuudha (Cultural war).
Fakkeenyaaf namni afaan amaaraa dubbatu lammii Itophiyaaf ammaya’a akka ta’e kaan immoo kan afaan oromoo ykn afaan saba biraa dubbatu zaranyaaf boodatti hafaa akka ta’e godhanii sammuu irratti hojjachuu.

CUUNFAA
16. Torban tokkoof kaan immoo waggoottan lamaan darbaniif duulli narratti baname rakko dhuunfaa narraa qabatanii miti. Isaan kun qaxaramtootafi loltoota jara kanaa waan ta’aniifi, duulli kunis anaratti qofa osoo hin taane qamoolee tokkumaafi walqixxummaa leellisan hundarattidha.

Qe’ee Oromoo Gaddaa fi Boohicha keessaa baasuuf qabsoo keenya haa jabeessinu!

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Obbo Abarraa Tolasaa waan Oromoo ta’aniif hidhaman; reebaman; reebicha mana hidhaa keessatti waraanni mootummaa isaan irraan ga’e dandamachuu dadhabuun dhiyeenya kana lubbuun isaanii darbe.

Ilmi isaanii Henok Abarraa baruma kana yeroo adda addaatti hidhamaa ture; ammas kaleessa magaalaa Buraayyuutti qabamee eessa akka jiru hin beekamu.

Ammas mucaa isaanii Liidiyaa Abarraa erga kaleessa obboleeshishee qabamee isheenis eessa akka jirtu hin beekamu. Liidiyaan Yuunversiitii Amboorraa barnoota fayyaa barataa turte. Liidiyaan utuu barattuu dhiibbaa mootummaan irraan ga’u ulfaachaa waan deemeef barnoota addaan kutte.

Har’a Oromoon Maatiidhaan gidiraa argaa jira. Waraanni mootummaa Abiy roorroo Oromoo irraan ga’u daran hammeessee jira. Roorroon mootummaa Abiys ulfaataa waan ta’eef qe’een Oromoo boohichatti deebi’ee jira. Maatiin Ob Abarraas sababuma kanaan qe’ee isaanii gadhiisan.

Roorroon kun itti fufa kaleessaa ta’uun mamii hin qabu. Biyyi Oromoo waggooat 150f harka alagaa jira. Yeroo sanaa kaasee Oromoo nagaa fi bilisummaa dhabee jira. Oromoon garuu qabsoo hin dhiifne. Oromoon hedduun aangomeera; Oromoon hedduun mirga isaa beekeera; Oromoon hedduun falmaatti seeneera; hidhaa fi ajjeechaansi daranii jabaatee jira.

Oromummaan har’a yakka guddaa ta’eera. Waanti jabaan Oromoon of harkaa qabu immoo sabboonummaa Oromoo ti. Sababa kanaa har’a Oromoon maatiidhaan wareegama ulfaataa baasaa jira. Oromoon gidiraa ulfaataa kana keessaa bahuu qaba. Haga gidiraan kun hin dhaabbannetti, gaddii fi boohich qe’ee ob Abarraa fa’aa seene kun, qe’ee Oromoota maraa hin hanqatu.

Dhugaadha, bilisummaan Oromoo furmaata Oromoo ti. Bilisummaan Oromoo kanaan booda dhufu lubbuu Ob Abarraa fa’aa hin deebisu. Garuu, Bilisummaan Oromoo kanaan booda dhufu, qe’een Oromoota miliyoonaan lakkaayamanii akka qe’ee gaddaa fi boohichaa hin taaneef FURMAATA waaraa ti. Qe’ee Oromoo Gaddaa fi Boohicha keessaa baasuuf qabsoo keenya haa jabeessinu!

Who is Who in the Oromo Resistance Struggle?

Demissie Kebede Serda

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Obb. Demissie Kebede Serda, is the son of Ade’a Oromo, born in Ade’a Berga around Holota, some 40 km away in the rural area of Oromia.

His resistance struggle for the Oromo people stems from the protest his grandfather, his father and his uncles played against the Netegna system.

During the reign of Menilk II when Oromo was defeated by the Abyssinian kingdom of Shewa, Oromo land was confiscated and settlers were appointed in every village. Mr. Serda who was very conscious of this injustice represented his community as a lawyer in Menilik court and protested against the confiscation.   Because of his aggressive move, he was banned from entering Menilk palace.

During the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in 1936, there was a serious dispute in the community whether to support the Neftegna to fight the Italians or to abstain. Serda, though aged, was, serious that they rather should fight the Neftegna who were worse than the Italians and he organized a group that would fight the Neftegnas who reduced the Oromo to serfdom. However, he was ambushed by betrayers.

As a consequence more than 30 people died from both (Serda side and his opponents). Later the grudge between Seda’s relatives and his opponents was intensified and three of Seda’s sons including Demissie’s father were ambushed on another incident and buried in same grave on a single day. The widow of Kebede, Demissies’ mom, the cousin of Feyisa Ejeta, was forced to flee her husband’s place with her children, including Demisse. She moved to Badii, her birth area around Sheger and reared her children under serious difficulties.

Demisse went to an elementary school in Holota. Then he moved to Finfinne and completed a high school.

While he was in the high school he frequently attended Macca and Tulamaa gatherings and he was groomed with Oromo self-consciousness as a result. When the government cracked down on Macca and Tulama Association, Oromo youth of those days who saw there was no alternative for the Oromo people than a political solution, formed an OLF and Demissie is one of the founders of OLF.

Demissie joined the industrial sector as a worker and became the chairperson of Ethiopian Agricultural and Industrial Labour Union, which had 150,000 members.

When the Ethiopian Trade Union was formed Demissie became vice president of the Union. He was still organizing a clandestine OLF in the Trade Union, chairing one of the cell committees in the trade sector.

However, he and his comrades were identified by the Derg secretive services and jailed in January 1980. Demissie was tortured in prison, languished for almost 12 years in jail and released in 1991 when the Derg regime collapsed. After, his release he went back to Oromo political business from day one of his release, without even visiting his aging mom. He was one of OLF representatives during the Transitional Charter Conference.

Demisse became a member of the transitional Parliament and OLF CC member during that period. When OLF withdrew from the Transitional government Demisse was abroad for medical treatment because of the complexities he sustained as a result of torture. He moved to Canada from the Netherlands and he has devoted all his life to Oromo struggle up to now. He is one of the icons who is in the forefront for Oromo refugees and Oromo issues in the community in North America.