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Monday, January 22, 2018

TPLF Security forces open fire at festival goers in Weldiya, killing at least five -Etenesh Abera

Etenesh Abera
Addis Abeba, January 21/2018 – “At least five people were killed” yesterday and several others wounded when security forces opened fire at festival goers in Weldiya, some 510 km north of the capital Addis Ababa, in Amhara regional state, according to Alemayehu Yemiru, a resident of the town; but Alemayehu said he believes the number of causalities could be “much higher.” “It is hard to know the exact figure at this point before this chaos has subsided.” And according to a nurse in Weldia General Hospital, at least 18 people were also admitted to the hospital after sustaining “wounds from gun shots”; seven of them have sustained “serious injuries.”
The killing occurred in the second day of the annual celebrations of Timket, (Epiphany), an outdoor festival involving several activities by followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Twahido church throughout the country. “After sending off the St. Michael Tabot (The replica of Tablet of the Law) to its Church in early afternoon, the youth have continued singing and dancing while marching through the town; at some point the songs have changed into anti-government protest songs,” said Alemayehu in a phone interview with Addis Standard. 
According to another source who wants to remain anonymous, there were “heavy security presence, including members of the federal army and the region’s police forces” throughout the festival since last Friday. “The only ones that were not armed were the city police forces,” said our interviewee, adding “I don’t understand why the security forces needed to open fire at the young people who were doing nothing but singing protest songs and marching through the city.”
Nigussu Tilahun, head of the communication bureau of the Amhara regional state, confirmed the news on his Facebook post   written in Amharic. He said that “people’s lives were lost” in a “conflict” between security forces and the youth in Weldiya town. He didn’t mention the number causalities but he said that after thorough investigations, the government would bring those responsible for “instigating the violence” and causing the death of “innocent civilians.”
According to Alemayehu Yemiru, members of the federal army and the Amhara regional state special security forces “have not left the town since the first week of December 2017 and hundreds of heavily armed security forces were dispatched to the festival areas including the church premises, which is very disturbing to see.” He said he also heard that there were causalities among the unarmed city police members, “but I can’t confirm that information.”
On December 03, 2017, a football match planned to happen between Mekelle city and Woldiya city was cancelled after protests have erupted in the city the previous day resulting in damages to several properties including some owned by businesses from Tigray regional state. A week later Tigrayan students from the Woldiya University have briefly left their campus for fear of ethnic clashes. They were quickly returned following interventions from local elders.
Alemayehu says further crackdown may follow today as protests were happening in various parts of the town denouncing yesterday’s killings. The internet has been cut off since yesterday afternoon, making obtaining pictures of the scene hard. AS 


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TPLF Security forces open fire at festival goers in Weldiya, killing at least five -Etenesh Abera

Etenesh Abera
Addis Abeba, January 21/2018 – “At least five people were killed” yesterday and several others wounded when security forces opened fire at festival goers in Weldiya, some 510 km north of the capital Addis Ababa, in Amhara regional state, according to Alemayehu Yemiru, a resident of the town; but Alemayehu said he believes the number of causalities could be “much higher.” “It is hard to know the exact figure at this point before this chaos has subsided.” And according to a nurse in Weldia General Hospital, at least 18 people were also admitted to the hospital after sustaining “wounds from gun shots”; seven of them have sustained “serious injuries.”
The killing occurred in the second day of the annual celebrations of Timket, (Epiphany), an outdoor festival involving several activities by followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Twahido church throughout the country. “After sending off the St. Michael Tabot (The replica of Tablet of the Law) to its Church in early afternoon, the youth have continued singing and dancing while marching through the town; at some point the songs have changed into anti-government protest songs,” said Alemayehu in a phone interview with Addis Standard. 
According to another source who wants to remain anonymous, there were “heavy security presence, including members of the federal army and the region’s police forces” throughout the festival since last Friday. “The only ones that were not armed were the city police forces,” said our interviewee, adding “I don’t understand why the security forces needed to open fire at the young people who were doing nothing but singing protest songs and marching through the city.”
Nigussu Tilahun, head of the communication bureau of the Amhara regional state, confirmed the news on his Facebook post   written in Amharic. He said that “people’s lives were lost” in a “conflict” between security forces and the youth in Weldiya town. He didn’t mention the number causalities but he said that after thorough investigations, the government would bring those responsible for “instigating the violence” and causing the death of “innocent civilians.”
According to Alemayehu Yemiru, members of the federal army and the Amhara regional state special security forces “have not left the town since the first week of December 2017 and hundreds of heavily armed security forces were dispatched to the festival areas including the church premises, which is very disturbing to see.” He said he also heard that there were causalities among the unarmed city police members, “but I can’t confirm that information.”
On December 03, 2017, a football match planned to happen between Mekelle city and Woldiya city was cancelled after protests have erupted in the city the previous day resulting in damages to several properties including some owned by businesses from Tigray regional state. A week later Tigrayan students from the Woldiya University have briefly left their campus for fear of ethnic clashes. They were quickly returned following interventions from local elders.
Alemayehu says further crackdown may follow today as protests were happening in various parts of the town denouncing yesterday’s killings. The internet has been cut off since yesterday afternoon, making obtaining pictures of the scene hard. AS 


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Thursday, January 18, 2018

Merera Gudina, Ethiopia opposition leader, freed - BBC News






Ethio
Image captionHuge crowds welcomed Mr Merera home


Jailed Ethiopian opposition leader Merera Gudina has been freed after more than a year in detention.
The leader of the Oromo Federalist Congress was released on Wednesday morning and allowed to go home, where he was welcomed by thousands of people.
He has been in prison since December 2016 and was facing charges, including association with terrorist groups.
The Ethiopian government announced on Monday that it would drop charges against more than 500 suspects.
Human rights groups have long accused Ethiopia of refusing to allow opposition groups to operate freely.
The government has denied holding any political prisoners but says the releases will foster national debate and "widen the political sphere".
Those being freed will first undergo two days of "rehabilitation training", the government says.
At the beginning of January, Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn announced the government would close Maekelawi - a detention facility in the capital, Addis Ababa, allegedly used as a torture chamber.

Why was Mr Merera arrested?

Mr Merera was arrested in November 2016 at the airport in the capital, Addis Ababa, after he flew in from Brussels.
He had violated Ethiopia's state of emergency by having contact with "terrorist" and "anti-peace" groups, state-linked media reported at the time.
That month, Mr Merera had criticised the state of emergency in an address to the European parliament.
The government imposed it in October 2016 to end an unprecedented wave of protests against its 25-year rule.


Map of protests and violence in Ethiopia in 2016


More than 11,000 people were arrested, mostly in the Oromia and Amhara regions, which were at the forefront of anti-government protests.
Many in the two regions complain of political and economic marginalisation.

Who else will be freed?

It is still not clear which other politicians will be released.
Ethiopia says it will not free anyone convicted of using force to overthrow the government, destroying infrastructure, murder or causing physical disability.
However, it says it will pardon some of those convicted under the anti-terrorism law.
Critics and human rights groups have accused the government in the past of labelling its opponents, and some journalists, as terrorists.
Rights group Amnesty International says the release of Mr Merera and other prisoners should not be the last.
"Hundreds of prisoners of conscience continue to languish in jail, accused or prosecuted for legitimate exercise of their freedom of expression or simply for standing up for human rights," Amnesty's Netsanet Belay said.


Presentational grey line


Five more high-profile Ethiopian prisoners:

Bekele Gerbadeputy chairman of the OFC - arrested together with Dejene Fita Geleta, secretary-general of OFC, and 20 others in connection with the 2015 Oromo protests that resulted in the death of hundreds of protesters.
Andargachew Tsegeleader of Ginbot 7 (designated a terrorist group by Ethiopia) - arrested in 2014 while on transit in Yemen and taken to Ethiopia, where he faces the death penalty after being convicted in absentia. A British national, human rights groups have been pushing for his release.
Andualem Aragievice-president of the Unity for Democracy and Justice party - imprisoned since 2011, and now serving a life sentence on terrorism charges.
Eskinder Negajournalist and blogger - imprisoned since 2011 after criticising the use of anti-terror laws to silence the press. He was subsequently sentenced to 18 years in jail.
Woubshet Taye, journalist and editor - imprisoned since 2011 and sentenced the next year to 14 years in prison for terror-related offences.

Eritrea











Ethio
Image captionHuge crowds welcomed Mr Merera home




Jailed Ethiopian opposition leader Merera Gudina has been freed after more than a year in detention.
The leader of the Oromo Federalist Congress was released on Wednesday morning and allowed to go home, where he was welcomed by thousands of people.
He has been in prison since December 2016 and was facing charges, including association with terrorist groups.
The Ethiopian government announced on Monday that it would drop charges against more than 500 suspects.
Human rights groups have long accused Ethiopia of refusing to allow opposition groups to operate freely.
The government has denied holding any political prisoners but says the releases will foster national debate and "widen the political sphere".
Those being freed will first undergo two days of "rehabilitation training", the government says.
At the beginning of January, Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn announced the government would close Maekelawi - a detention facility in the capital, Addis Ababa, allegedly used as a torture chamber.

Why was Mr Merera arrested?

Mr Merera was arrested in November 2016 at the airport in the capital, Addis Ababa, after he flew in from Brussels.
He had violated Ethiopia's state of emergency by having contact with "terrorist" and "anti-peace" groups, state-linked media reported at the time.
That month, Mr Merera had criticised the state of emergency in an address to the European parliament.
The government imposed it in October 2016 to end an unprecedented wave of protests against its 25-year rule.






Map of protests and violence in Ethiopia in 2016




More than 11,000 people were arrested, mostly in the Oromia and Amhara regions, which were at the forefront of anti-government protests.
Many in the two regions complain of political and economic marginalisation.

Who else will be freed?

It is still not clear which other politicians will be released.
Ethiopia says it will not free anyone convicted of using force to overthrow the government, destroying infrastructure, murder or causing physical disability.
However, it says it will pardon some of those convicted under the anti-terrorism law.
Critics and human rights groups have accused the government in the past of labelling its opponents, and some journalists, as terrorists.
Rights group Amnesty International says the release of Mr Merera and other prisoners should not be the last.
"Hundreds of prisoners of conscience continue to languish in jail, accused or prosecuted for legitimate exercise of their freedom of expression or simply for standing up for human rights," Amnesty's Netsanet Belay said.






Presentational grey line




Five more high-profile Ethiopian prisoners:

Bekele Gerbadeputy chairman of the OFC - arrested together with Dejene Fita Geleta, secretary-general of OFC, and 20 others in connection with the 2015 Oromo protests that resulted in the death of hundreds of protesters.
Andargachew Tsegeleader of Ginbot 7 (designated a terrorist group by Ethiopia) - arrested in 2014 while on transit in Yemen and taken to Ethiopia, where he faces the death penalty after being convicted in absentia. A British national, human rights groups have been pushing for his release.
Andualem Aragievice-president of the Unity for Democracy and Justice party - imprisoned since 2011, and now serving a life sentence on terrorism charges.
Eskinder Negajournalist and blogger - imprisoned since 2011 after criticising the use of anti-terror laws to silence the press. He was subsequently sentenced to 18 years in jail.
Woubshet Taye, journalist and editor - imprisoned since 2011 and sentenced the next year to 14 years in prison for terror-related offences.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Ethiopian dissidents jailed for singing in court


Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | An Ethiopian court has sentenced prominent dissident Bekele Gerba and three other opposition figures to six months in jail for singing a protest song in court, a defence lawyer told AFP on Friday.
The four, all members of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), have been in pre-trial custody since their arrest in late 2015 when a wave of anti-government protests broke out.
Bekele, the deputy OFC chairman, and the three other party officials broke into song on Thursday after the judges ruled against his request to summon Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and other high-ranking government officials as defence witnesses, their attorney Ameha Mekonnen said.
“They were furious, they were saying things that really undermined the judiciary,” Ameha said.
“After they made many complaints and … then they continued to sing their songs.”
Three other prisoners in the courtroom for an unrelated case were also sentenced to three months in jail for clapping to the song, which criticised government land seizures.
Though the OFC officials have been imprisoned for more than two years, that jail time won’t count for the six month term for contempt of court, Ameha said.
Bekele has become a cause celebre for protesters from the country’s largest ethnic group, the Oromos, who started rallying more than two years ago over government policies they feared would deprive them of their land.
The protests left hundreds dead and prompted parliament to declare a 10-month state of emergency in 2016.
Originally charged under the country’s terrorism law, the court last July downgraded Bekele’s charges to “provocation” under Ethiopia’s criminal code.
Speculation that Bekele would be released began earlier this month after Hailemariam told reporters that the government would free some jailed politicians “in order to improve the national consensus and widen the democratic platform.”
But the prime minister provided no details, and none of the many politicians jailed in Ethiopia have been freed since the announcement.