EPRDF regime's self image of ethnically Balkanized Ethiopia, established by late Dictator Melese Zenawie. Freedom of Press is Dead in ethnocracy based irridentism. Fertile land is grabbed by foreign speculators, over 5 million are starving. 500'000 kids are on the streets. Millions are displaced by force. The regime is arming proxy warriors. Dams are built wantonly risking the existence of millions of indigenous people. Eritreans Moles are Ruling even after seceding in 1991.
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የጋምቤላ ፕሬዘዳንት, እ አ ዘ አ በ 2003ቱ የጎሣ ፍጅት እጃቸው እንዳለበት ማመናቸው ከተዘገበ በኋላ, ከፓርቲያቸው አመራር ተነስተዋል | ዜና | Amharic
የቪኦኤው Peter Heinlein ከአዲስ አበባ እንደዘገበው፥ የደቡብ ጋምቤላ አመራሮች በሙስና ተዘፍቀዋል፥ የሕግ የበላይነትን አያከብሩም ተብለው ጥብቅ ክትትል ሲደረግባቸው ቆይቷል
የጋምቤላ ክልል ፕሬዘዳንት Omod Obang Olum ከሚመሩት «ከጋምቤላ ሕዝቦች ዲሞክራሲያዊ ንቅናቄ» (ጋሕዴን) ሊቀ መንበርነታቸው መነሳታቸውን ሁለት የኢትዮጵያ የግል ጋዜጦች ዘግበውበታል። «የጋምቤላ ሕዝቦች ዴሞክራሲያዊ ንቅናቄ» (ጋሕዴን) የገዢው «የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች አብዮታዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር» (ኢሕአዴግ) አባል መሆኑ ይታወቃል።
Omod Obang Olum በክልሉ ፕሬዘዳንትነታቸው የመቀጠል አለመቀጠላቸው ጉዳይ ገና ግልጽ አልሆነም። በለየለት የሀገሪቱ የአንድ ብቻ ፓርቲ አሠራር ግን፥ ከመንግሥት ሥልጣን ይልቅ የፓርቲ ሥልጣን ይበልጥ ጠቃሚ ነው።
ሌሎች በርካታ የጋምቤላ ሕዝቦች ዴሞክራሲያዊ ንቅናቄ» (ጋሕዴን) የሥራ አስፈጻሚ ኰሚቴ አባላትም ከሥራ ተባረዋል ተብሏል።
የፓርቲው ባለሥልጣናት ከኃላፊነታቸው እንዲነሱ የተወሰነው፥ ለአንድ ሳምንት በዘለቀው የመንግሥቱ የሥራ አፈጻጸም ግምገማ ላይ ሲሆን ከተነሱ ጉዳዮች መካከል፥ ሙስና፥ ግዙፍ የእርሻ መሬቶችን ለባዕዳን ኢንቬስተሮች በኪራይ መልክ ስለሚሰጠው አጨቃጫቂው አሠራርና፥ እ አ ዘ አ በ 2003 ዓም ከ 400 በላይ የሚሆኑ የአኝዋክ ማህበረሰብ አባላት ስለተገደሉበት ድንገት ይገኙበታል።
የቪኦኤ አማርኛው ቋንቋ አገልግሎት ያነጋገራቸው የጋምቤላ ምንጮች እንደገለጹት፥ ለወትሮው በሚስጥር በሚካሄደው የግምገማ ሂደት ላይ የተሰጡ የምሥክርነት ቃሎች፥ በድብቅ በቴፕ ተቀርጸው ለሕዝብ ይፋ ከተደረጉ በኋላ ሁካታ ተፈጥሯል። በግምገማው ወቅት በሚስጥር በተቀዳው በዚያ ቴፕ ላይ፥ የክልሉ ፕሬዘዳንት Omod Obang Olum በአኝዋኰች የጅምላ ፍጅት ሚና እንደነበራቸው ሲያምኑ፥ በግድያው ወንጀል የሚጠየቁ ከሆነ ግን፥ ጉዳዩ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር መለስ ዜናዊንም ይመለከታል በማለት ሲከራከሩ ይሰማሉ። በ 2003 የተገደሉትን አኝዋኮች የስም ዝርዝር ይዘው ከወታደራዊው ከፍተኛ አዛዥ ጋር ስለተገኙ፥ በፍጅቱ ይጠየቃሉ ተብለው በገምጋሚዎች በተጠየቁ ጊዜም፥ አምነዋል ይላሉ ለደህንነታቸው በመስጋት ሙሉ ስማቸው እንዳይገለጽ የጠየቁት አቶ Othow።
« አዎን ጊዜ ስጡኝና ለጥያቄአችሁ ነገ መልስ እሰጣለሁ አሉ። በማግስቱ ሲመለሱ በእርግጥ የስም ዝርዝሩን ሰጥቻለሁ። ነገር ግን ሰዎቹን እኔ አልገደልኩም። እኔ የስም ዝርዝሩን ሰጠሁ። ገዳዩ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር መለስ ዜናዊ ናቸው። ምክንያቱም አኝዋኰች እንዲገደሉ ትዕዛዙን የሰጡና የወሰኑት እርሣቸው ናቸውና። ስለዚህ እኔ በጉዳዩ የምጠየቅ ከሆነ እርሣቸውም መጠየቅ አለባቸው»
አቶ Otho በተጨማሪም፥ ይህን ወንጀል ለመደበቅ ሳይሆን አይቀርም፥Omod Obang Olum ለሌላ ስድስት ወራት በሥልጣን ላይ እንዲቆየዩ የተደረገው ብለዋል።
ሙስናውን በተመለከተ ሲናገሩ ደግሞ፥ ፕሬዘዳንቱ በጋምቤላ ብቸኛው ከፍተኛ ቱጃርና፥ በአዲስ አበባ ከተማም በርሳቸውና በወንድማቸው ስም ብዙ ገንዘብ በባንክ ያስቀመጡ ባለ ብዙ ቤቶችና መኪኖች ባለቤት ናቸው። ይህ ሁሉ ከሙስና ጋር የተያያዘ ነው ብለዋል። አክለውም - - - -
«አዎን ጉቦ ሲቀበሉ ቆይተዋል። የአንድ መንደር ነዋሪዎች የተፈናቀሉት በዚሁ ምክንያት ነው። ባለፈው ወር ለምሳሌ በካራቱሪ ኩባንያና በመንደርተኞቹ መካከል ውዝግብ ተነስቶ ነበር። የካራቱሪ ተወካይ በዚያን ወቅት ሲናገር፥ የመሬቱ ባለቤት እኔ ነኝ፥ በፈለግሁ ጊዜ ላስነሳችሁ መብት አለኝ። ሌላ ማንም ሥልጣን የለውም አለ። ገበሬዎቹ ሲመልሱ - እርሻ ለማስፋፋት መጣን ካላችሁ በኋላ እያካሄዳችሁ ያላችሁት መሬት ነጠቃ ነው ሲሉ ተከራክረዋል። ይህን ዓይነቱ ውዝግብ የተፈጠረው፥ Omod Obang መሬቱን ለካራቱሪ አስቀድሞ ስለሰጠ ነው»
Omod ከሌላ ሩቺን ከተባለ የሕንድ ኩባንያም በጐን ገንዘብ ይሰጠዋል። ኩባንያው፥ የመናፈሻውን ሥፍራ አጥሮ በመከለል ላይ ላለ Obang ለሚባል አስተዳዳሪ በቼክ ሳይሆን ሁለት ሚሊዮን ብር በጥሬው ቆጥሮ ሰጥቷል ይላሉ። «ኦባንግም ስልክ ለፕሬዘዳንቱ ደውሎ ምንድነው ይህን ያህል ገንዘብ የሚሰጠኝ ለምንድነው ብሎ ጠየቀ። ፕሬዘዳንቱም ዝም ብለህ ተቀበል። ካልተቀበልክ የራስህ ጉዳይ ነው - ገንዘቡን መውሰድ ካልፈለግህ አምጣው አሉት»
Human Rights Watch እ አ ዘ አ በ 2005 ዓም ያወጣው ሪፖርት፥ የኢትዮጵያ ወታደሮች በነሐሴ 2003 ያውሮፓውያኑ ዓመት በጋምቤላ አኝዋኮች ላይ ስፋት ያለው የግድያ፥ ሴቶችን አስገድዶ የመድፈርና የሰቆቃ ወንጀሎች ፈጽመዋል ሲል ከሷል። ያን ክስ ተከትሎ በመንግሥቱ የተካሄደ ምርመራ ግን፥ ባብዛኛው ወታደሮቹን ከመጥፎ ተግባር ነፃ ያወጣል።
እንዳጋጣሚ ሆኖ ደግሞ Human Rights Watch ጋምቤላን የተመለከተ ሌላ ሪፖርት በዛሬው እለት ይፋ አድርጓል። ይህኛው ሪፖርት «የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት አስገዳጅ የሠፈራ ፖሊሲ በመከተል፥ ዜጐችን ለዘመናት ከኖሩበት ቀዬአቸው እያፈናቀለ መሬታቸውን ለንግድ እርሻ ያከራያል» ሲል ይከሳል። በ 70 ሺህ የሚገመቱት በዚህ መልክ ወደ ሌላ ሥፍራ ተወስደው እንዲሰፍሩ የተደረጉትም የአኝዋክ ከብት አርቢዎች ናቸው ይላል ሪፖርቱ።
ቪኦኤ ከ Human Rights Watch ተመራማሪው Ben Rawlence ጋር በቴሌፎን ባደረገው ቃለ ምልልስ፥ የክልሉ ፕሬዘዳንት Omod Obang Olum በግምገማው ወቅት ሰጡ የተባለው የእምነት ቃል፥ የኢትዮጵያ ወታደሮች እ አ ዘ አ በ 2003 ዓም በአኝዋኮች ላይ ፈጽመዋል የተባለው ፍጅት ምርመራ ጉዳይ እንደገና እንዲከፈት ማስቻል አለበት ብለዋል።
« በዚያ ጉዳይ ላይ ምርመራ እንዲደረግ በወቅቱ ጥሪ አስተላልፈናል። ስለዚህ ፕሬዘዳንቱ ባሁኑ ጊዜ የሚናገሩት ስለ እርሣቸውን ሚና ከሆነ፥ ያኔ በትክክል ምን እንደተፈጸመና በኃላፊነት የሚያስጠይቃቸው ሌሎች ካሉም ምርመራ ለማካሄድ እድል ይሰጣል ብዬ ተስፋ አደርጋለሁ»
የመንግሥት ኰሚኒኬሽን ጉዳዮች ሚኒስትሩ አቶ በረከት ስምዖን አሁን ቅርብ ጊዜ በሰጡት ምላሽ - - -
«ይሄ የፈጠራ ወሬ ነው። Human Rights Watch የያዘውን የስም ማጉደፍ ዘመቻ ለማጠናከር የታቀደ ነው። ከስምንት ዓመታት በፊት በአኝዋኰችና ደገኞች መካከል ግጭት ተፈጥሮ ነበር። መንግሥት ጣልቃ በመግባት ላንዴና ለመጨረሻ ጊዜ ድምዳሜ አግኝቷል። ሁለቱ ወገኖች ዛሬ አብረው በሰላም ይኖራሉ»
እንደገና በሌላ አጋጣሚ፥ በኢትዮጵያ የዩናይትድ ስቴትስ አምባሳደር Donald Booth ባለሥልጣናት «ከታቀደ የከረመ» ሲሉ የገለጹትን የሁለት ቀናት የጋምቤላ ጉብኝት ባለፈው ሳምንት ውስጥ አድርገዋል። አምባሳደር Booth በጉብኝታቸው ወቅት፥ ከክልሉ ፕሬዘዳንት Omod Obang Olum ጋር ስለ ክልሉ ልማትና በኪራይ መልክ ስለሚሰጡ የንግድ እርሻ መሬቶች ጉድይ መነጋገራቸውን ከኤምባሲው የወጣ ጋዜጣዊ መግለጫ ያስረዳል። አምባሰደር Donald Booth በተጨማሪም ከተባበሩት መንግሥታት ድርጅት የስደተኞች ጉዳይ ከፍተኛ ኰሚሽነር /UNHCR/ ያካባቢው ተጠሪዎች ጋር መወያየታቸውን የኤምባሲው መግለጫ አብራርቷል።
Ethiopian airlines dismisses Lebanese claim - The AfricaNews articles of Zebera
According to the CEO Mr. Tewolde the final report issued by the Lebanese authorities was biased, lacking evidence, incomplete and did not present the full account of the accident.
He noted that the report contained numerous factual inaccuracies, internal contradictions and hypothetical statements that are not supported by evidence. He further stated that the investigative authority denied the recovery of the wreckage and ignored crucial information such as security footage, autopsy and taxo-logical records, baggage screening X-ray records, terminal CCTV records, full CVR recovery and read out, victims’ bodies were buried without medical examination and also declined to provide a detailed profile of passengers.
“ATC officers and other airlines’ pilots have witnessed a ball of fire on the aircraft in the air. All recordings of the Digital Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder stopped at 1300 ft. and the aircraft disappeared from radar screen at the same time.
The last cockpit voice recording was also a loud noise which sounds like an explosion. All these facts clearly indicate that the aircraft disintegrated in the air due to explosion, which could have been caused by a shoot-down, sabotage, or lightening strike.” Capt. Desta Zeru, VP Flight Operations of Ethiopian Airlines said:
“Although the final report wrongly alleges that the captain’s actions, statements and degraded performance during that period were as a result of spatial disorientation and loss of situational awareness; the fact of the matter is the CVR and DFDR clearly show that the pilot was making appropriate inputs in an effort to control the aircraft.
This contradicts the investigation assertion that the captain was under subtle incapacitation while he was making every effort to control the aircraft even under heavy gravity force. Moreover, both pilots were properly trained and qualified. The captain had over 20 years of experience with a total time of 10,233 hours and the crew pairing was in accordance with approved policy.
The crew duty and rest time was in accordance with the regulation. Any characterization of our pilots contrary to the foregoing is pure fabrication that cannot stand any scrutiny,’ EAL CEO Mr Tewolde said
Lebanese Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi told AFP news agency it was "clear" that "there were errors on the part of the pilot and co-pilot who are entirely responsible for the plane crash".
According to AFP, the Lebanese report says the pilot and co-pilot had been working non-stop for 51 days and were exhausted.
Mr Aridi said the plane was sound and transcripts of the exchanges between the crew and air traffic control on takeoff had not indicated any problem.
Ethiopia: Gambella Regional Chief Fired
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
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Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Ethiopia: Local company signs petroleum exploration deal [50178796] | African news, analysis and opinion – The Africa Report.com
Ethiopia: Local company signs petroleum exploration deal
South West Energy (SWE) on Monday signed a Petroleum Development and Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) to explore oil and gas reserves in the Gambella basin, making it the first Ethiopian company to sign a petroleum exploration accord with the government.
Petroleum and gas exploration deals have so far been the preserve of foreign companies, with the Chinese making a mark in the sector.
The agreement, signed by Sinkenesh Ejigu - Ethiopian Minister of Mines and Tewodros Ashenafi, CEO of South West, will see the company developing oil and gas reserves.
Ethiopia's council of ministers in November approved the project, paving the way for the agreement between the two sides.
SWE, which was established in 2004 and already owns oil exploration areas in the Ogaden Basin and around Jimma town, says it will invest US$7.5 million for the first phase of development.
In 2005 SWE became the first Ethiopian company to win oil and gas exploration rights in Degehabur Zone, in the Somali Regional State in the Ogaden Basin covering an area of 29,000 square kilometres.
The Gambella block was initially awarded to Petronas, a Malaysian exploration company, which has been involved in oil exploration in the neighbouring Sudan since 1996, in 2003. Petronas committed approximately US$100 million to explore the Gambella Basin.
But in 2008, Petronas relinquished the block after aeromagnetic and seismic surveys, which led them to drill two wildcat wells (3500m) in Jigaw and Jacaranda localities close to the Sudanese border, which were deemed commercially unviable.
Three years ago, a rebel group in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, killed 9 Chinese and 65 Ethiopian oil workers.
The rebel group, Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which claims to be fighting for the independence of the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, is opposed to any petroleum exploration in the Somali region of Ethiopia.
However, companies involved in oil exploration in the area are currently undertaking their operations under tight security from the government.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Ethiopia’s secessionist group that is hunted in Kenya-The Standard |
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By Boniface Ongeri
It is hard to find the leaders of Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), the rebel group fighting Ethiopian government for southeastern Ethiopia’s self determination, to talk to.
They are paranoid fearing that anyone seeking them is part of the Ethiopian intelligence network that they claim is hunting them down in Kenya.
But when they are certain that one is not an agent of the Ethiopian government, they open up.
Ogaden region is a no go zone for media, human rights activists and aid agencies. But from Kenya, the organisation’s leaders have managed to sneak journalists into Ethiopia where they try to justify their rebellion to the outside world.
Journalists’ ordeal
Indeed, two Swedish journalists were recently jailed for 11 years for illegally entering the country and associating with a terror group, the ONLF. It is claimed that they passed through Kenya on their way to the Ogaden region.
At face value the ONLF fighters looks like another rug tug group with their unkempt hair and overgrown beards.
But this group, said to have more than 30,000 armed youths scattered over the Ogaden region in south eastern Ethiopia, is said to be one of the well armed and organised group with commanders.
ONLF was founded in 1984. Led by Admiral Mohammed Omar Osman who is the current Chairman of the movement, ONLF went on a recruitment spree.
ONLF is a home-grown movement formed by Ethiopian Somalis who have grown disillusioned with the central government for alleged marginalisation of the area.
"We are bitter with the Ethiopian government and from here we will fight for our rights and if need be we will die for self determination," ONLF Foreign Affairs Secretary General Abdirahaman Mahdi says.
Fierce fighting in the region has persisted for over 20 years. The war coupled with hunger and diseases has left tens of thousands killed and thousands of others forced to flee from their homes to Kenya, Djibouti and of all places, Somalia.
The ONLF have on numerous occasions attacked oil fields explored by Chinese in Ethiopia leaving more than 70 people killed. The attacks trigger the government to unleash its forces on the residents.
Peace talks
The ONLF claims the Ethiopian Somalis in the region have been marginalised by the central government.
They have on several occasions sat with the government for round table peace talks, but each time the meetings have ended in stalemate.
The government wants the rebel group to disarm before engaging in meaningful talks. There have been numerous reports of a section of the ONLF surrendering to the Ethiopian government in an effort to slow down the violence in the Ogaden region.
The high profile surrenders and some seeking amnesty lead to claims that ONLF is divided.
However, each time this happens ONLF leadership comes out to deny any division in the movement.
"Those deals where ONLF members are claimed to surrender and seek amnesty are stage-managed and those who claim to lay down the arms were not ONLF members," Mahdi says.
"The deals are inconsequential. ONLF is still united and we will soldier on," he says.
From their bases, ONLF has infuriated the Ethiopian government by launching a series of hit and run attacks against government installations and even raided oil exploration by Chinese companies in the region.
Direct confrontations
The ONLF has also had direct confrontation with the government forces inflicting and suffering casualties in the process.
It has good relations with the villagers who provide it with shelter, food and intelligence and above all, a stream of willing young men ready to join the fighting.
The group occasionally attack trucks and kidnaps people suspected of being government agents. During such raids, it has been criticized for bringing villagers into the line of fire from Ethiopian forces who accuse them of harbouring the ONLF. This has caused many residents of the region to seek refuge outside Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian government has branded ONLF a terrorist group and accuses Eritrea, its historically bitter foe, of supporting it by supplying it with arms.
The government also says that some Ethiopians in the Diaspora fund the group.
ONLF leadership was reluctant to disclose its source of arms supply that includes tanks, anti aircraft missiles and landmines.
Other guerillas
The ONLF is only one of the guerilla groups rebelling against Ethiopian government.
The other group, that is equally vicious, is the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) that is based on the southern tip of Ethiopia bordering Kenya’s Counties of Wajir, Moyale and Marsabit.
ONLF senior leadership is scattered all over Europe where they fled fearing assassination.
"We have been asking for democracy and equal rights. Is that too much to ask for?" Mahdi poses.
Ethiopia: Army retires hundreds in major military shakeup - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
January 3, 2012 (ADDIS ABABA) - The Ethiopian military has retired over 300 long serving senior military officers, according to country’s Ministry of Defense.
The army has cut-back a total of 316 senior military officials, including 13 Generals, as part of the plans set out in the army’s leadership succession plan.
This it the first major restructuring since 1991, a year which saw the brutal communist Derg regime overthrown by a coalition of rebel forces, who now make up the current ruling party, Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
Speaking to a local newspaper, The Capital, the minister of National Defense, Siraj Fegisa, said that the shake-up was well planned to avoid risking a leadership gap.
“The question that there could be a leadership gap has been long addressed; we are implementing this succession plan after extensive preparation,” he said.
The Ethiopian military is planning to retire a total of 561 senior military posts in three phases during their current financial year.
The minister further stated that his ministry is working on restructuring, succession and the recruitment of personnel, to ensure that all of the country’s nationalities were well represented. In the past the national defense has been dominated by ethnic Tigraians, many of whom were prominent in the revolution against the Derg regime.
ERITREA
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, but soon after this, between 1998 - 2000, they engaged in a bloody border war with their larger neighbour. Addis Ababa accused the Red Sea nation of continuously attempting to destabilise the country and the Horn of Africa region as a whole.
Ethiopia argues that Eritrea is no longer ’on the road to peace’ but also says that military action should be the last option.
According to its defense ministry, Ethiopia has forces on standby at its borders with Eritrea and Somalia to deter any security threats from al-Qaeda linked Somali militant group al-Shabaab, who Eritrea are accused of supporting.
Ethiopian forces are currently estimated to comprise of around 200,000 troops, which is less than half the amount it had when the war with Eritrea ended, but their army is still one of the largest military forces on the continent.