Friday, November 29, 2013

Ethiopia most restrictive Sub Saharan Country, Freedom House reports 2013

Ethiopia most restrictive Sub Saharan Country, Freedom House reports 2013

NOV 29,2013
Ethiopia has one of the lowest rates of internet and mobile telephone penetration in the world, as meager infrastructure, a government monopoly over the telecom sector, and obstructive telecom policies have notably hindered the growth of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the country. Despite low access, the government maintains a strict system of controls over digital media, making Ethiopia the only country in Sub-Saharan Africa to implement nationwide internet filtering. Such a system is made possible by the state’s monopoly over the country’s only telecom company, Ethio Telecom, which returned to government control after a two-year management contract with France Telecom expired in December 2012. In addition, the government’s implementation of deep-packet inspection technology for censorship was indicated when the Tor network, which helps people communicate anonymously online, was blocked in mid- 2012.

Internet Freedom

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who ruled Ethiopia for over 20 years, died in August 2012 while seeking treatment for an undisclosed illness. Before his death was officially confirmed on August 20th, widespread media speculation about Zenawi’s whereabouts and the state of his health prompted the authorities to intensify its censorship of online content. A series of Muslim protests against religious discrimination in July 2012 also sparked increased efforts to control ICTs, with social media pages and news websites disseminating information about the demonstrations targeted for blocking. Moreover, internet and text messaging speeds were reported to be extremely slow, leading to unconfirmed suspicions that the authorities had deliberately obstructed telecom services as part of a wider crackdown on the Ethiopian Muslim press for its coverage of the demonstrations.

In 2012, legal restrictions on the use and provision of ICTs increased with the enactment of the Telecom Fraud Offences law in September,1 which toughened a ban on certain advanced internet applications and worryingly extended the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation and 2004 CriminalCode to electronic communications.2 Furthermore, the government’s ability to monitor online activity and intercept digital communications became more sophisticated with assistance from the Chinese government, while the commercial spyware toolkit FinFisher was discovered in Ethiopia in August 2012.

Repression against bloggers, internet users and mobile phone users continued during the coverage period of this report, with at least two prosecutions reported. After a long trial and months of international advocacy on behalf of the prominent dissident blogger, Eskinder Nega, who was charged with supporting a terrorist group, Nega was found guilty in July 2012 and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Read Freedom House reports 2013, Full report about Ethiopia


Source: http://www.freedomhouse.org/

Monday, November 18, 2013

Ethiopians demonstrate outside Saudi embassy in London

BBC - There's been growing anger among Ethiopians in and outside the country, about the way that some of their compatriots have been treated in Saudi Arabia.

Things came to a head following an ultimatum for illegal migrant workers to leave the country.

And there were clashes in Riyadh which led to several deaths last week.



On Monday, there have been demonstrations at Saudi embassies around the world. 

Friday, November 15, 2013

አዲስ አበባ ላይ በሳዑድ አረቢያ ኤምባሲ አጠገብ ሊካሄድ የነበረ የተቃዉሞ ሰልፍ በፖሊስ ተበተነ። ፖሊስ በመቶዎች የሚቆጠሩን ሰልፈኞች ለመበታተን ኃይል ተጠቅሟል!

የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት ከሳውዲ አረቢያ መንግሥት ጐን በመቆም ዋና ተባባሪ መሆኑን በዛሬው እለት አስመስክሯል



ሳውዲ ኤንባሲ ፊት ለፊት ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ሊያረጉ የነበሩት ያገሬ ልጆች በፈደራል ፖሊስ እደዚ ነበር የተበተኑት አስኪ ፈረዱ!


የሳውዲ መንግስትና ኢህአዴግ በተለያየ መንገድ ኢትዮጵያዊያንን ማጥቃት የቀጠሉ ቢሆንም በዛሬው እለት በየት/ቤቱ የታዩት ነገሮች ከሌላው ጊዜ በጣም የተለየ ነበር፡፡ ብዙ ተማሪዎች ጥቁር ልብስ በመልበስና በእረፍት ሰዓት ደግሞ ጧፍ በማብራት ሳውዲ በወገን ላይ እያደረሰ ያለው ስቃይና የመንግስትን ቸልተኝነት አውግዘዋል፡፡ከነዚህም ት/ቤቶች ውስጥ መድሀኒያለም ፣ባልቻ አባነፍሶ፣ኮልፌ እንዲሁም ሌሎች የመንግስትና የግል ት/ቤቶች በስፋት በዛሬው የጥቁር መልበስና የጧፍ ማብራት ስነ-ስርአት አድርገው ሀዘኛቸውን ገልጸዋል፡፡ሰኞና ከዛም በኋላ ባሉት ቀናት ተማሪዎቹ ከወገናቸው ጎን መቆም እንደሚቀጥሉ ይጠበቃል፡፡
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የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት ከሳውዲ አረቢያ መንግሥት ጐን በመቆም ዋና ተባባሪ መሆኑን በዛሬው እለት አስመስክሯል!
በሳውዲ አረቢያ በሚገኙ ዜጎቻችን ላይ እየደረሰ ያለው በደል እና ስቃይ መጠኑ ከመጨመር አልፎ ሕይወትን እስከማሳጣት መድረሱ የሚታወቅ ነው፡፡ ይህን በደል እና ስቃይ ለመቃወም እና ሀዘናችንን ለመግለፅ በዛሬው ዕለት ማለትም ህድር 6 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም አዲስ አበባ በሚገኘው በሳውዲ አረቢያ ኢምባሲ ፊት ለፊት ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ የተጠራ ቢሆንም በመንግሥት ታጣቂዎች በተወሰደ በአሰቃቂ እርምጃ ሰልፉ ሊካሄድ አልቻለም፡፡
እኛ ኢትዮጵያን በውጭ በሚገኙ ዜጐቻችን ላይ የሚደርሰው በደልና ግፍ እንዲቆም፣ ይህንንም ድርጊት የፈፀሙት ለሕግ እንዲቀርቡና የተጐዱ ዜጐች ተገቢውን ካሳ እንዲያገኙ፤ የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥትም በዜጐቹ ላይ ያሳየውን ቸልተኝነት በአስቸኳይ በማቆም ተገቢ የሆነውን የመንግሥት ኃላፊነት እንዲወጣ ቢጠየቅም፤ ሰልፉ በተቃራኒው በመንግሥት ታጣቂዎች በተወሰደ አሰቃቂ እርምጃ ተጠናቋል፡፡
በሳውዲ እየተፈፀመ ያለውን በደል በመቃወም በዓለም አቀፍ ደረጃ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ድምፃቸውን በማሰማት ላይ ቢሆኑም እኛ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ግን በገዛ ሀገራችን ድምፃችንን እንኳን እንዳናሰማ ታፍነናል፡፡ በዚህም እንቅስቃሴ ላይ የተሳተፉ የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ አመራሮች፣ አባላት፣ ደጋፊዎችና ሌሎች የኅብረተሰብ ክፍሎች ከፍተኛ ድብደባ፣ እንግልትና እስር ተፈፅሞባቸዋል፡፡
የመንግሥት ፖሊሶች የራሳቸውን ዜጋ በመደብደብና በማሰቃየት ብሎም በማሰር በሳውዲ በሚገኙ ኢትዮጵያዊ ወገኖቻችን ላይ የተፈፀመውን በደል ሀገር ውስጥ በሚገኙ ንፁሐን ወገኖቻቸው ላይ ደግመውታል፡፡
ይህ በውሸት ዲሞክራሲ ስም የተደበቀው አምባገነን መንግሥት ሕዝብን ለማሸማቀቅ የወሰደውን እርምጃ ወደ ጐን በመተው የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ቅድም አያቶቹን በማስታወስ ያስረከቡትን ክብር ከማስመለስ ወደ ኋላ እንደማይል እርግጠኛ መሆናችንን እንገልፃለን፡

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

BeraKing News(Ethiopia arrests 2 Journalists from independent paper.

<>   Ethiopia arrests 2 Journalists from independent paper
<> More than 75 publications have been forced to close under government pressure since 1993

Getachew Worku is being held without charge.
Ethiopian police have arrested without charge two editors of the leading independent Amharic weekly Ethio-Mihdar, according to local journalists.
Police in the town of Legetafo, north east of the capital Finfinne, (Addis Ababa), on Monday arrested Getachew Worku in connection a story published in October alleging corruption in the town administration, according to Muluken Tesfaw, a reporter with the paper, who spoke to Getachew shortly after his arrest. Getachew has not been charged, he said.
On Saturday, police arrested Million Degnew, the general manager of the newspaper, and Muna Ahmedin, a secretary, said Muluken and local journalists. Muna was released the same day but Million remains in custody without charge, Muluken said.
"A free and inquisitive media is a cornerstone of development that should benefit all Ethiopians," said CPJ's Africa Program Coordinator Sue Valentine. "Repeatedly detaining journalists without charge is an intimidation tactic that must end. We urge the authorities to release Million Degnew and Getachew Worku immediately."
The government has harassed Ethio-Mihdar in the past for its independent coverage, according to CPJ research. Million and Getachew have been sued for defamation by the public Hawassa University, according to local journalists and news reports. University officials are seeking 300,000 birr (US$15,000) and the closure of the newspaper over a report alleging corruption in the school's administration, according to local journalists.
In May, Muluken was detained for 10 days while reporting on evictions of Oromo & Gambela farmers from their land in north west Ethiopia. He was released without charge.
Ethiopia trails only Eritrea as Africa's worst jailer of journalists, according to CPJ's annual prison census. More than 75 publications have been forced to close under government pressure since 1993, CPJ research shows.

Ethiopia police 'torture and abuse' political prisoners

Ethiopia police 'torture and abuse' political prisoners

Protests earlier this year called for the release of political prisoners
Ethiopian authorities are torturing and mistreating political detainees to extract confessions, Human Rights Watch says.
The US-based group says former prisoners at the main detention centre in Addis Ababa described being beaten and kicked during interrogation.
It accuses Ethiopia of using anti-terrorism laws to stifle dissent.
The government has dismissed the report as biased and lacking credible evidence, according to AFP news agency.
The report by HRWsays police investigators at Maekelawi prison use illegal interrogation methods, keep inmates in poor detention conditions, and routinely deny them access to a lawyer.
Former detainees reported "being held in painful stress positions for hours upon end, hung from the wall by their wrists, often while being beaten", it said.
'Culture of impunity'
"Ethiopian authorities right in the heart of the capital regularly use abuse to gather information," said Leslie Lefkow, HRW's deputy Africa director.
"Beatings, torture, and coerced confessions are no way to deal with journalists or the political opposition."
Swedish journalist Martin Schibbye spent more than 400 days in an Ethiopian jail
She called on the Ethiopian government to "root out the underlying culture of impunity".
But Ethiopian authorities said the report was "extremely biased and ideologically marred".
"They haven't come up with any proof," government spokesman Shimeles Kemal told AFP. He criticised the study for basing its findings on testimonials from 35 former inmates and their families, rather than an on-sight investigation.
Among the former inmates interviewed was Martin Schibbye, a Swedish journalist convicted of entering the country illegally and supporting a rebel group.
Protesters took to the streets in the Ethiopian capital in June to demand the release of jailed journalists and activists.
It was the first major demonstration in Addis Ababa since 2005 when hundreds of protesters were killed in violence.
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn took office in September 2012 following the death of Meles Zenawi.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says the country is close to replacing Eritrea as the African country with the most journalists behind bars.http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24576942

Friday, November 1, 2013

ህወሓት አይድንም፤ እያቃሰተ ነው!!!



በጌታቸዉ አረጋዊ የህ.ወ.ሓ.ት ኣባልና የድምፅ ወያነ ጋዜጠኛ «ውራይና » የሚል በትግርኛ ቋንቋ የተዘጋጀ ለአራተኛ ጊዜ በነሃሴ ወር 2005 ዓ/ም የታተመ መፅሄት ስብሓት ነጋ የህ.ወ.ሓ.ት ፈላስፋ ቃለ መጠይቅ ያደረገበት መፅሄት በፅሞና ኣነበብኩት። የመፅሄቱ ዋና ይዘት ‹‹ህ.ወ.ሓ.ት እናድናት›› ነዉ የሚለዉ ስብሓት ነጋ በመፅሄቱ የተካተቱ ብዙ ስንክሳራዊ ሃተታ ተናግሯል ።
አሁን ማለት የፈለግኩት በመፅሄቱ የተካተቱ በሙሉ መልስ ለመስጠት አይደለም፡፡ ምክንያቱም የስብሓትን ስንክሳር መልስ ለመስጠት ከፈለኩ ግዜ አይገኝም መፅሃፍም ሊሆን የሚችል ነዉ። በመሆኑም አለፍ አለፍ በማለት የስብሓትን አንኳር አንኳር ነጥቦች መልስ ለመስጠት እሞክራለሁ።

ሌላ ይህ ፅሁፍ መልስ ለመስጠት የተገደድኩት የ ህ.ወ.ሓ.ት መሪዎች ለትግርኛ ቋንቋ ማዳበርን በትግርኛ ስነ-ፅሁፍ ለማስፋት ብለዉ በፅሁፍ ቢናገሩ እጅጉን የሚደገፍና የትግራይ ህዝብ መስዋእት ነበር። ይህ ደግሞ ማንም ኢትዮጵያዊ ይድግፈዋል፤፤

የ ህ.ወ.ሓ.ት መሪዎች ግን ከረጅም ጊዜ ጀምረዉ ለትግራይ ህዝብ በጠባብነት ለመነሳሳት ሲፈልጉ ወይ መምቻ ሃይል ሊጠቀሙበት ሲፈልጉ የሚናገሩት የሚፅፉበት ኢትዮጵያዊ አጀንዳ እያለና ያለ ትግራይ ህዝብ የሚነገር የሁሉም ኢትዮጵያዊ ጉዳይ አድርገዉ እንደመናገር ፈንታ በድብቅ ይናገራሉ።

ስብሓት ነጋም በአሁኑ ጊዜ በኢትዮጵያ ሃገራችን ብዙ ደንቃራ ሁኔታዎች ተደቅነውባትና ህዝቡ በብዙ ኢኮኖሚያዊና ማህበራዊ ፖለቲካዊ ችግሮች አጋጥመውት እያሉ ለትግራይ ለአንድ ክልል ከ4-5 ሚሊዮን ህዝብ ያላት ለብቻዋ የሚወከል ህ.ወ.ሓ.ት ትንሳኤ መተንበይ ሌላዉ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብና ክልሎች … በሂወት ካሉት በታች ከሞቱት በላይ የሆኑ ህዝቦችና ክልሎች እንደማሰብ ትግራይን ጨምሮ ማለት ነዉ። ለትግራይ ብቻ ማሰብ ለስብሓት ነጋ ጠባብ ሊያስብላቸዉ የሚችል ይመስለኛል።

በሌላ በኩል የስብሓት ነጋ ትንሳኤ ሙዉታን ሲለን የህ.ወ.ሃ.ት ትንሳኤ ሙታን ለመመለስና የህ.ወ.ሃ.ት መሪዎች ከመሰነጣጠቅና ከመክሰም እንዴት እናድነዉ ጭንቀቱ እንጂ የትግራይ ህዝብ ባጠቃላይ የሃገራችን ህዝቦች ብሄር ብሄረሰቦች ከዲሞክራሲና ሰብኣዊ መብቶች ነፃነትና አፈና አስተዳደር እንዴት እናድናት አይደለም ጭንቀቱ፤፤ ይህ ካልኩ በኃላ ወደ መፅሄቱ ላይ የሰፈረዉ አንዳንድ መልስ ለማስቀመጥ እሞክራለሁ።

ስብሓት ነጋ በአሁኑ ጊዜ ያለዉ የህ.ወ.ሓ.ት አመራር ለነዚህ ለአመታት እያጠራቀማቸዉ የቆየ ችግርን በፍፁም ነፃነት በፍፁም አባታዊነት በትክክል ከተረዳቸዉ መረዳትም ያለበት ነዉ።‹‹የ ህ.ወ.ሓ.ት ትንሳኤ ጊዜ ይወስዳል እንጂ ድላችን የማይቀር ነዉ።›› ይላል ውራይና መፅሄት ነሃሴ 2005 ገፅ 4 ሶስተኛ አምድ አዲስ መስመር ሁለት

ስብሃት ነጋ ከእንግዲህ ወዲህ የምናውቀዉ ህ.ወ.ሓ.ት ከነበሩበት ብዙ ችግሮች ሲያሳየዉ የነበረ መገላበጥ የተሳሳቱ ሃገራዊና አህጉራዊ አቋሞች በተለይ ደግሞ በሃገር ሉኣላዊነት የሚመለከት ሃገራዊ ሃላፊነት የጎደለዉ ብዙ ስህተትና ጥቁር ነጥብ ቢሰራ በፀረ-ደርግ የነበረዉ አቋም የኃላ ኃላ ለስልጣኑና የግዛቱን ማስፋፋት ሲል ያመጣዉ አገር አቀፍ አመለካከት ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ለጊዜዉ ከፋሽስታዊ ደርግ አፈና አድኖታል። ተነፃፃሪ ሰላም ያመጣ ይመሰል ነበር ሆኖም ግን የህ.ወ.ሓ.ት አመራርና እሱን እሚመስሉ እሱ የፈጠራቸዉ የህ.ዋ.ሓ.ት ስሪት ፓርቲዎች ልክ ደርግ መጀመሪያ ወደ ስልጣን ሲመጣ ኢትዮጵያ ትቅደም ያለ ምንም ደም እንዳለና ቀስ በቀስ ወታደራዊ ባህሪዉ አገርሽቶበት ፍፁም ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ፋሽስትና ፀረ ህዝብ የሆነዉ የህ.ዋ ሕ.ት መሪዎች የትግራይ ህዝብና ልጆቹ በሃገር ደረጃ ደርግ ከተደመሰሰ ብቻ ነዉ ሰላም፣ ፍትህ፣ ዲሞክራሲ፣ ነፃነት፣ የህግ የበላይነት ይመጣል እያለ በመቶ ሺዎች ዜጎች የሰጡትን ደርግን አስወግዶ ወንበሩን ከተቆናጠጠ በኃላ ትላንትና ሽሮ አለ መረቅ አለ እያለ ወደ እሳት እየማገደዉ የመጣ ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ የተከዳ የትግራይ ህዝብ ነበር። ውጤቱ ደግሞ የትግራይ ህዝብ ሳይሆን መላዉ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ በአሁኑ ጊዜ አግኝቶት ያለ ምንድነዉ ?