Monday, April 30, 2012

Ethiopian transitional council formation underway

April 30th, 2012 |


PRESS RELEASE
The Organizing Committee of Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC) held a press conference on Saturday, April 28, 2012, to deliver progress report and announce new initiatives. Several members of the media and over 84 participants had attended the press conference online.
Progress Report The first part of the press conference focused on progress report. Representative of the Organizing Committee, Dr Fisseha Eshetu, announced that the conference to form the transitional council will be held on June 29 and 30, 2012. Two cities are competing to host the conference — Dallas and Washington DC. The Organizing Committee will select the host city this week, according to Dr Fisseha. He reported that local chapters are currently being formed in over 35 cities. During the past 10 days alone, chapters were formed in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Sacramento and London, UK. The primary responsibility of the chapters are to elect delegates to the June 29-30 conference. The chapters will play a critical role in making sure that every sector of the Ethiopian society is well-represented in the conference that is intended to be a people’s congress (Hizbawi Shengo).New Initiatives Dr Fisseha announced that the ENTC Organizing Committee fully endorses the call by 12 Ethiopian media organizations for boycott of enterprises that are controlled by the TPLF regime. He added that the ENTC is forming its own special task force that will coordinate the boycott campaign, and among it first targets are injera, beer and other items that are exported from Ethiopia by TPLF-affiliated companies. In the case of exporting injera, it is causing the tef prices to rise hurting the people in Ethiopia, Dr Fisseha explained. The other project the ENTC OC has initiated is exploring possible charges of war crimes against the TPLF regime with the help of the International Tribunal Court (ICC). A legal task forces is being formed to carry out the task, Dr Fisseha reported. The legal task force will also look into the U.S. law named FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act (22 U.S.C. § 611) that prohibits foreign spies from spying on citizens and residents of the United States to find out if the law applies to TPLF regime agents who are spying on Ethiopians and American-Ethiopians. Regarding the participation of Ethiopian civil, political and other types of organization in the formation of the transitional council, Dr Fisseha explained that no one will be left out. He reported that progress is being made in several fronts as far as getting all stakeholders involved in the process. - END - For further information or to inquire how to support the formation of the Ethiopian National Transitional Council, please write to: entc.pr@gmail.comSponsor ETHIOPIAN REVIEW | Email This Post 

Sunday, April 29, 2012


Bangladeshi computer whizz kid eyes record books

Wasik farhan-Roopkotha Wasik's parents hope government funding will help him achieve his computing dreams

Related Stories

A six-year-old boy from Bangladesh is hoping to become the world's youngest computer expert after becoming obsessed with his mother's PC at the age of two.
Wasik Farhan-Roopkotha, who turned six in January, is hoping his skills will be recognised by Microsoft and Guinness World Records.
As a toddler, Wasik started to show an aptitude for computers and before long he had mastered several popular video games, including Modern Warfare and Metal Gear Solid.
He began typing in Microsoft Word as a three year-old and knew how to programme and download game emulators at the age of four.
His mother Cynthia Farhan-Risha said: "I knew he was very different since his birth. I couldn't believe my eyes when he began computing when he was just seven months old.
"Wasik started to play and master many complicated games and started installing them just after he turned two and also started typing in MS Word from around the same time."
By the time he was of school age, Wasik was not integrating at his local primary and so his parents decided it was best for him to be taught at home.
According to his mum, Wasik's English is still fairly limited. But he did have a few words to say in Bengali.
"I really enjoy playing on the computer and learning new skills," he told the BBC.
"My ambition is to be a computer expert and to work for a big computer firm in the future."
Wasik - who comes across as a very quiet young boy - has now been working with computers for more than four years, but he still enjoys mixing with other children of his age, playing football and listening to music.

Start Quote

If Wasik receives the right support here in Bangladesh and from the best colleges and universities in the world then who knows what he will go on to achieve”
Cynthia Farhan-Risha Wasik's mum
However, computers are his main passion and his parents are determined that their son will not let his talents go to waste. They are hoping to get some government funding to help him fulfil his potential.
'Fantastic career' "If Wasik receives the right support here in Bangladesh and from the best colleges and universities in the world then who knows what he will go on to achieve. I think he is in on the right track at this stage of his development," Ms Farhan-Risha says.
"My son has achieved so much already without any computer training or guidance. He has already gained some knowledge of C++, which is one of the most popular programming languages. He is also able to write sentences on a keyboard efficiently and swiftly without having to look at the keyboard.
"As a mother, I dream that in the future he will go on to become a great computer scientist and help to introduce a new episode in the cyber world," she added.
Wasik has already received extensive media coverage in Bangladesh.
"He has visited several IT institutions in and around Dhaka, who have all said positive things about his talent," his mum says.
"Although he is still very young, everyone that I have met believes Wasik can certainly go on to have a fantastic career in the world of computer programming."
'Discipline and focus' Ms Farhan-Risha says she also hopes to get Wasik mentioned in Guinness World Records "because currently they do not have anyone listed as the youngest computer programmer in the world".
"But we will have to wait and see and as long as Wasik continues to progress then the world can become his oyster," she says.
Guinness World Records said: "We do not monitor such a record in our database at the moment, but Wasik's family is welcome to make a claim on our website."
Like many parents with gifted children, Wasik's parents say they have struggled to rein in Wasik's behaviour. He can sometimes show signs of stubbornness, but his parents hope to keep his feet firmly on the ground.
Ms Farhan-Risha explained: "Since he was very young, Wasik has tried to get his own way. For example, he wouldn't have his meals without us letting him go on the computer.
"It was awkward for us to find the right balance, but we realise that every child needs discipline and focus.
"We hope to keep him grounded and as he grows older let him know that he has been blessed with a gift which he shouldn't take for granted."

More on This Story

Related Stories

Saturday, April 28, 2012

ጋዜጠኛ ሰርካለም ፋሲል የባለቤቷን ሽልማት ልትቀበል ነው

ሚያዚያ ፳ (ሃያ) ቀን ፳፻፬ ዓ/ም
ኢሳት ዜና:-የ2012  የፔን ባርባራ ጎልድ ስሚዝ ሀሳብን በነፃነት የመግለፅ መብት አሸናፊ በሆነው  በጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋ ሽልማት  ሥነ-ስርዓት ላይ ባለቤቱ ጋዜጠኛ ሰርካለም ፋሲል እንደምትገኝ  ምንጮቹን በመጥቀስ የዘገበው አዲስ ቪው ነው።
ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋ  ሀሳቡን በነፃነት በመግለጹ ሳቢያ በፈጠራ የሽብርተኝነት ተከሶ ጉዳዩን በፍርድ ቤት እየተከታተለ ባለበት  በአሁኑ ወቅት “ፔን ፍሪደም አዋርድ” የተባለውንና ለጀግና ጋዜጠኞች የሚሰጠውን  ዓለም አቀፍ ሽልማት አግኝቷል።
 ፔን አሜሪካን ሴንተር የተባለው ዓለማቀፍ ድርጅት ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ለሰራቸው ስራዎች እውቅና በመስጠት ፤26ኛው የድርጅቱ ሽልማት ለጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋ እንዲሆን  ከቀናት በፊት መወሰኑ ይታወሳል።
ይኸው “ፔን አሜሪካን ሴንተር”የተሰኘው ድርጅት  በሚያዘጋጀው እና እንደ ፈረንጆቹ አቆጣጠር የፊታችን  ሜይ 1 ቀን 2012 በኒውዮርክ ሲቲ በሚገኘው  በ “አሜሪካን ሙዚየም ኦፍ ናቹራል ሂስትሪ’  በሚካሄደው የሽልማት ፕሮግራም ላይ፤ ጋዜጠኛ ሰርካለም  ፋሲል በተጋባዥነት በመገኘት የባለቤቷን ሽልማት ትቀበላለች ተብሎ ይጠበቃል።
ጋዜጠኛ ሰርካለም ፋሲል የዓለማቀፉ የጋዜጠኞች መብት ተንከባካቢ ድርጅት በምህፃረ-ቃሉ  የሲ.ፒ.ጄ የ 2007 ሀሳብን በነፃነት የመግለጽ መብት ዓለማቀፍ ሽልማት አሸናፊ መሆኗ ይታወቃል።
የእስክንድር እና የሰርካለም ብቸኛ ልጃቸው ህፃን ናፍቆት እስክንድር፤ አባቱ እና እናቱ የ1997ቱን ምርጫ ተከትሎ ከቅንጅት አመራሮችና ከሌሎች ጋዜጠኞች ጋር ለሁለት ዓመታት በታሰሩበት ወቅት በቃሊቲ እስር ቤት መወለዱ ይታወቃል።
የዛሬ ዓመት አካባቢ ፖሊሶች ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድርን ዳግም እያዋከቡ ወስደው ያሠሩት፤ መንገድ ላይ ሲያጫውተው ከነበረው ከህፃን ልጁ ከናፍቆት ነጥለው እንደነበር ይታወቃል።
ህፃን ናፍቆት ፖሊሶች አባቱን እያዋከቡ ሲወስዱበት ፦”አባባ!አባባ!>>” እያለ ስቅስቅ ብሎ እንዳለቀሰ መዘገቡ አይዘነጋም።
Five killed as Ethiopian Muslim protests continue
By Yuunus Hajji Mul’ataa | April 28, 2012


ADDIS ABABA - Police on Friday killed five protesters, including an elderly scholar, in Assasa town in central Ethiopia in the ongoing Ethiopian Muslim "anti-Ahbashism" protests that have spanned 13 weeks. In the Ethiopian capital on Friday, the major mosques of Addis Ababa and the streets were taken by a wave of protesters that chanted “We want our rights! Stop Ahbashism campaign! Allahu Akbar!!”
The protestors strongly denounced the continued government interference in the religious affairs and said “We must elect our religious leaders by ourselves. The current leaders of council of Islamic Affairs should be brought to justice for what they were doing on the Muslim society”. The Ahbashism campaign was aimed at enforcing the Muslims to accept the belief of a new sect called “Ahbash”. Sources also confirmed the death of at least five Muslims in Assasa town of Arsi province in central Ethiopia. An elderly scholar was among the dead.

Massive Protests

The number Muslims protesting against the government orchestrated Ahbashism campaign is increasing from time to time. The small protest started at “Aweliya Mosque” three months ago has spread beyond Addis Ababa and reached towns like Dessie, Dire Dawa, Harar, Shashemene, Assela, Gondar, Alaba, Baddessa, Assasa, Chagni etc. Haji Abdurahman Sadiq and Mr. Kemal Nuri, two community leaders living in Addis Ababa, say “All what you see is a result of a long time oppression of Ethiopian Muslims. The government proclaimed in its constitution that it has no right to intervene in our religious affairs. At start, it has allowed Muslims to preach freely, to publish Islamic books, to build Islamic schools etc. We were hopeful then and thought that we were beginning a new era. But as time elapsed, the government started to oppress our people brutally. We face a big bureaucratic challenge whenever we demand to build our mosques. Our children couldn’t express their faith freely in government owned colleges and universities. Muslim charity organizations are falsely accused of expanding ‘Wahhabism’ and closed down. The leadership of the Majlis didn’t say anything when these illegal measures were hurting the Muslim society” pointing to the Higher Council of Islamic Affairs in Ethiopia.
All parts of the Muslim society, including women and children, have participated in the Friday protests. Viewers say the recent speech made by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi had aggravated the tension between Ethiopian Muslims and the government. The rigid stance of the government was highly criticized by Muslim members of the ruling EPRDF party when they gathered for a training on religious tolerance and development. However, the government authorities said the critiques came from misconceptions and they launched more training programs in rural districts.

Five Muslims Killed in Assasa town, Arsi Province

Meanwhile, five Muslims are reportedly killed on Friday by Federal Police Security Forces in Assasa town in Arsi province of Oromiya regional state. The incident happened when the security forces surrounded a mosque and tried to arrest Sheikh Su’ud Aman, a well-respected Muslim scholar of the town on accusations of promoting terrorist ideology. When all people in the area opposed the arrest of Sheikh Su’ud, the securities opened fire and killed five people. Sources add that many others are wounded. An old man called Sheikh Kedir is among the dead.
The religious leaders of the town say “What wrong did we do? How dare they open fire in our mosque? Isn’t this disrespecting our faith? They killed five innocent civilians and wounded many others. Sheikh Su’ud was a well-respected scholar of our town. He was serving the community for many years and taught hundreds of people. Nobody can suspect him of teaching terrorism ideology. He only refused to participate on the training arranged by Ahbash faction in Shashemene town last week. That may be the reason for which he was accused as ‘teacher of terrorist ideology’”.
The tragic news has spread to the whole of the country and caused a huge rage. The leading religious scholars of Ethiopia are planning to meet Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to discuss a country wide prosecution of Muslims.
In his recent speech to the Ethiopian Parliament, Meles was heard saying “We caught an Al-Qaida cell in the provinces of Arsi and Bale. All of those whom we caught are adherents of Salafi School. This can justify that at least some Salfis of our country are promoting an Al-Qaida type ideology and work to topple the state by force. However, we can’t say all Ethiopian Salfis are members of Al-Qaida”.
However, many scholars and commentators say Meles fabricated this claim in order to silence the Muslims and all others who demand their right. They add “Ethiopian Muslims have asked to only to give their right to elect the leadership of their Majlis and to stop imposing the ideology of the Ahbash on the mass. Nobody has asked a political power. No one was heard promoting an establishment of a state lead by Shari’a law. The government should stop terrorizing Muslims by bringing a nightmare of Al-Qaida to our country”.

Why Do Ethiopian Muslims Protest?

Witnesses says that the current protests are part of an ongoing resistance movement of Ethiopian Muslims who react against a plan of the government to indoctrinate them with the ideology of Ahbash faction. Founded by an Ethiopian born Lebanese scholar Sheikh Abdullah Al-Harari Al-Habashi in 1983, Ahbash preaches that the “Wahhabi” are non-Muslims and must be combated. Thus, the western nations see Ahbash as their friendly ally than the so called “Militant Wahhabi” school. The faction is represented by an organization called “Association of Islamic Charitable Project”. The Ethiopian origin of the founding scholar of the faction gave it the name “Ahbash” (the “Abyssinians”, derived from “Habasha”- the Arabic name of Ethiopia)
Ahbash claims to follow the Shafi’i school of law, one of the four canonically accepted schools in Sunni Islam. It sees itself as the propagator of the true creed of “Ahlu Sunna” (Sunni Islam) which was canonized according to the teaching of Imam Abul Hassan Al-Ash’ari (9-10th Century). However, the claim of Ahbash was rejected by well-known Islamic institutions including Al-Azhar University, the most celebrated school in the Sunni world. Further, both Sunni and Shi’a religious leaders have warned against Ahbash mainly due to its “takfir” (apostasy) edicts and extreme alliance with the west.
The Ethiopian government put the “Majlis” (Higher Council of Islamic Affairs) under the leadership of Ahbash scholars three years ago. In July 2011, the two parties together started a massive campaign of training and promoting the Ahbash ideology through government owned media. To lead the trainings, more than 200 Ahbash scholars were brought from Beirut, Lebanon, where the headquarter of the faction was located. The campaign was called “Ahbashism” by the mass of Ethiopian Muslims. Some of the trainees say that the Ahbash scholars have went to an extent of ordering them to submit to Islam in a new form. The trainees add the Ahbash scholars was justifying that practice by saying “Since the beliefs of Ethiopian Muslims was being spoiled by “Wahhabi ideology” in the last three decades, it is too hard for them to say ‘I am a Muslim’ unless they reject Wahhabism”.
Haji Abdurahman and Mr. Nuri, the aforementioned community leaders, say “Beginning from the heartbreaking repression measure taken on Muslims in 1995 when they denounced a pro-government Majlis leadership of that time, we were enduring high oppression. But we faced the ugliest of all oppressions in this year. We are asked to accept the beliefs of Ahbash or face prosecution. Our imams are being arrested for refusing to accept the Ahbash ideology. The problem is very serious in rural areas where the media can’t reach. The government has already broken the rule of the law”.
The claim of these community leaders is supported by many viewers. They say that the government has gone against the constitution of the country by favoring one faction and alienating the majority. They add also that both Ethiopian Muslims and Christians have never been accused of religious extremism although the successive governments were highly oppressing the Muslims. This view is rejected by Dr. Shiferaw Teklemariam, the Ethiopian Minister for Federal Affairs, who recently spoke in government owned TV and Radio that all those who accuse the government of oppressing Muslims are the “Wahhabis” who have no tolerance to live with the Sufi Muslims and Christians. He said “We support the Majlis while it was training Muslim scholars on the constitution of the country. We work together with Majlis to eradicate religious extremism from the country. But that doesn’t mean interference in religions.”
Haji Abdurahman and Mr. Nuri say the government’s claim is false. They say “This is their usual propaganda. None of us opposes the government if it were truly seeking to teach about the constitution. It was the Minister of the Federal Affairs who officially inaugurated the Ahbashism campaign nine months ago. He said on the spot that the government has allocated over 11,000,000 Ethiopian Birr in support of the campaign. In all of his media appearances, he praises the Ahbash philosophy and condemns the ‘Wahhabi’ ideology. In one of the stages, he told us that the government officially recorded ‘Wahhabiya’ as an extremist sect and works to eradicate it from the country. Few years ago, they were terrifying us in the name of Khawarija. Now they echo about ‘Wahhabiyya”.

The Future Way

Many Ethiopian Muslim scholars say the government is taking the country to a very troublesome situation. “The Ahbash faction”, they explain “is a well-known extremist group in the Muslim world. There is no peace where this deviant sect has reached. Its pro-west stance doesn’t mean it can tolerate other religious groups. In addition to its deviance, it teaches that stealing and looting of the properties of non-Muslims are lawful practices. If it is left on the leadership of the Majlis, we fear it may create a big tension between Ethiopian Christian and Muslim peoples. We ask the government to hear our voice urgently”.
The Muslim scholars’ fear is also shared by many political commentators who say “The government of EPRDF has planned to leap the country to a developed nation. But it can’t go too far by neglecting the voice of the mass. Religious extremism has never been the problem of our country. It is only some shortsighted advisers of the government who proposed the importation of a controversial faction of Ahbash to combat what they called ‘Wahhabism’. So it is highly essential for the government if it thinks for a while and revises its ill planned Ahbashism Campaign”.


Ethiomedia.com - An African-American news and views website.
Copyright 2012 Ethiomedia.com.
Email: editor@ethiomedia.com

Friday, April 27, 2012

Beboere måtte hoppe fra tredje etasje

14 personer ble husløse da bygningen i Sjøveien 50 i Lødingen brant ned til grunnen fredag morgen. (Bilde/video: Tor Ribe og Hans-Mikal Jensen)
Totalt er elleve personer sendt til sykehus etter en brann i en bygning tilhørende asylmottaket i Lødingen.
15 personer ble husløse da en bygningen i Sjøveien 50 i Lødingen i Nordland brant ned til grunnen fredag morgen.
Politiet meldte at det var full fyr i bygningen like etter halv seks i natt. Mannskaper fra alle nødetatene ble sendt til stedet.
Hans-Mikal Jensen bor i nabohuset og han fikk filmet brannen.
– Jeg er nabo til brannstedet og våknet av at hunden min gjødde og varslet at noe skjedde på utsiden. Da kom det røk ut fra et av vinduene i første etasje. Jeg meldte fra til brannvesenet klokka 05.38 og dette klippet er filmet klokke 05.51. Det beviser hvor raskt en brann kan spre seg, sier han.

Til sykeshus med bruddskader

Alle beboerne som befant seg i bygningen ble evakuert. Fire av dem er fraktet til Harstad sykehus med bruddskader.
– Fire av beboerne måtte hoppe ut av bygningen og har fått bruddskader i armer og bein, sier operasjonsleder Dagfinn Johansen.
Sykehuset opplyser at skadene på de fire variere fra lettere til moderate. Tilstanden er stabil for samtlige. I tillegg er syv stykker på vei til sykehuset for sjekk etter mindre røykskader.

– Våknet av brannen

Brann i Lødingen (Foto: Tor Ribe)Alle beboerne som befant seg i bygningen ble evakuert. Fire av dem er fraktet til Harstad sykehus.
Foto: Tor Ribe

Ifølge en beboer Bladet Vesterålen har snakket med var det tilløp til panikk da folk skulle ta seg ut av bygningen.
– Jeg vet ikke når det begynte å brenne. Bygningen var full av flammer da jeg våknet. Folk lå og sov. For å komme seg ut var det flere som måtte hoppe fra vinduene i andre og tredje etasje. Noen av de er skadet, sier beboeren.
Bygningen som brant, disponeres av Lødingen mottakssenter. Ansatte derfra har i morgentimene gjort hva de kan for å ta vare på asylsøkerne.

– Veldig dramatisk

– Beboerne har blitt fraktet til et hotell vi leier. Der har alle blitt undersøkt av lege og flere har blitt fraktet til sykehuset for lungerøntgen, sier mottaksleder Tom Helge Birkestrand.
Han er glad for at ingen ser ut til å ha blitt alvorlig skadet.
– Det har vært veldig dramatisk og det er flaks at alle kom seg raskt ut, for bygget brant ned veldig fort.

Har kontroll

Brannvesenet har nå kontroll over brannen i den eldre bygningen med fem etasjer. Brannen startet i en av de nedre etasjene, opplyser politiet.
– Etter de opplysningene jeg har er bygningen fullstendig utbrent, sier Johansen.

Kart

Sjøveien 50, Lødingen

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Detentions display UN's impotence in Ethiopia

Ethiopia's government has held one United Nations employee in jail without charges for well over a year, while another is facing prosecution under a notorious anti-terrorism law.

By William Davison, Correspondent / April 25, 2012
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ethiopia's government, a favored and oft-praised Western partner, has held one United Nations employee in jail without charges for well over a year, while another is facing prosecution under a notorious anti-terrorism law.
The detentions are a stark indicator of the UN's predicament in the illiberal Horn of Africa nation.
The 27 UN agencies in Ethiopia largely work harmoniously with the government in areas such as funding HIV/AIDS programs, helping care for a quarter of a million refugees, or supporting female education campaigns. UN cash, for example, has helped provide antiretroviral therapy to 249,000 HIV-sufferers from 743 facilities – there were only 3 clinics offering the treatment in 2005. A high level delegation representing six UN agencies visited Ethiopia this month, and praised the country for its progress toward meeting five out of the eight Millennium Development Goals, rapid economic growth, and heavy investment in social services. Few would disagree that advances are being made in providing healthcare, education, and infrastructure for over 80 million Ethiopians.
The dignitaries, however, made no mention of Ethiopian national and UN Local Security Assistant Yusuf Mohammed, who has been languishing in a remote regional jail – without charges – since December 2010. Human rights activists say Ethiopia may use Mr. Mohammed as a bargaining chip in gaining custody of his brother, wanted for bankrolling a rebel group from Denmark.
A colleague of Mohammed's in the UN Department of Safety and Security, Abdirahman Sheikh Hassan, is being prosecuted for links with the same designated terrorist group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front. The group operates in Ethiopia's Somali region, which is inside Ethiopia but is majority Somali ethnic. Mr. Hassan's arrest in July came shortly after he negotiated the release of two abducted UN World Food Program workers with leaders of the ethnic-Somali insurgents.
While Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's two-decade-old government welcomes international assistance as it strives to haul Africa's second-most populous nation out of poverty, there is no doubt about who's in charge.
"The UN and any other member of the international community are caught between a rock and a hard place," says an aid worker with years of experience in the Somali region, who asked not to be named. "While there is clearly some great work going on in many key sectors, if anybody were to push their agenda beyond a limit considered acceptable by Ethiopia's notoriously strong and rigid government, then they would risk being expelled from the country." Or, he says, if you are Ethiopian; imprisoned.
Confidentially – public protestations may jeopardize career advancement – UN staff tell of regular harassment by the Ethiopian authorities: equipment is impounded at customs, UN workers' spouses are denied work permits, and vehicles are searched in contravention of the government's 53-year-old agreement with the organization.

Wall Street Speculators Out Of Africa: Protest in NY!

by Tedla Asfaw
On A chilly spring Tuesday April 24 more than 1,000 pages of leaflet were distributed in front of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, New York for the passers as well as for the the three day conference participants who were willing to hear the other side of the story for free in contrast paying $3,000 not to miss the “Giant Africa Cake” to be cut at the end of their conference today.
More pictures below
Wall Street Speculators Out Of Africa: Protest in NY!
“Hedging on Hunger” a one page leaflet written on both sides reads, I quote, “It is neither just nor sustainable for farmland to be taken away from communities in this way nor for food to be exported when there is hunger on the doorstep. Local people will not stand for this abuse-and neither should we. “Kofi Annan former UN Secretary General, June 2011. This was the core of our rally organized by various groups what I call “The Coalition of African Small Farmers Voice” against the speculators which we exposed on our ten foot banner among many other placards, “Wall Street Speculators Out of Africa” that is also the title for this piece.
The reaction of speculators was not unexpected. A woman claiming to be a farmer from North Dakota “challenged” us pointing to one of our slogans which says, “Agro Fuel Does Not Feed People”. She said she is doing it both for agro fuel as well as feeding humans/animals. She might be right in America but we told her that in Africa is different by giving the example of Ethiopia. The regime publicly advertise cheap land for sale it took by force from farmers and indigneous people to foreign buyers for anyone to do whatever they like similar to our rallying cry “buy one hectare get the other hecatre for free” as long as it pays the rent/year which on average a dollar per hectare. Mind you Ethiopia needs foreign help to feed its 8.5 million people until 2015 according to recent World Bank report.
Land and water in Ethiopia is sold to generate foreign currency. The Ethiopian regime lied about job creation resulting
Wall Street Speculators Out Of Africa: Protest in NY!
Ethiopian Woman protesting against African land grab in front of Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, New York
from selling farm land. According to them daily and unskilled laborers, dubbed as Ethiopian”middle class” can support their families by buying imported food on market. What a joke! Foreign Commercial Farmers as job creators in country like Ethiopia where 80 percent of people support their family in a plot of land that is less than one hectare is a miracle that is only happening on 51St Park Avenue !!!. Self sufficiency in food nor paying Living Wage for the host countries has never been and will never be the interest of foreign commercial farming around the world. It is all about making Money.
It is only by empowering small farmers like what China and India did two decades ago Africans can be self sufficient in food. Few of the speculators like the woman from North Dakota who accused us for distorting the truthdoes does not get it, just a Money Talk !!! One person/speculator “informed” us about a new study supported by the Bill Gates and another foundation that will come out shortly on the “miracle of investment” on land and water in Africa. We will watch the “movie” when it is out but we have already sen it in black and white.
We were not “against investment in Africa” as some angry speculators claimed. We were for open, transparent investment that includes the largest share holder of such investment the small farmers of Africa. The speculators that includes pension funds, university and foundation endowments, private equity firms, and hedge funds representative however in their “expensive” conference ignored the voice of small farmers by colluding with African dictators…
The speculators are doing business with unaccountable African dictators like Meles Zenawi. For African dictators what matters is foreign currency. Their agents are exchanging information on why “their land and water” is better than another African country. The speculators/buyers will invest on African land and water where “stability” is on the highest scale where regime like Ethiopia try to put down rebellions by farmers and locals in Gambella and Afar the major victims of land grab in Ethiopia.
That is why we accused the participants as crookes and thieves and be held accountable for the crime committed by African dictators to realize a high return for their investment, between 20-40%, by spilling African blood. It is good to remind all in business of Land Grab in Africa to learn from the experience of South Korea in Madagascar in 2008. I can assure all that Ethiopian farmers and indigenous people have learnt a good lesson and declaring war on land grabbers. It is up to India and Saudi Arabia major land buyers to get out of land grab like South Korea. For the speculators we made it clear that they are part of the problem not a solution to empower small farmers in Africa.
The huge Ethiopian flag and Amharic posters we carried gbrought Mr. Haddis Tilahun an Ethiopian by birth for side ealk “debate”. It was a good opportunity to inform him what his government is doing to Ethiopian small farmers he wanted to ignore was not aware of. The general public was informed and was asked to join the battle against the Wall Street Speculators and their African allies, corrupt and unaccountable regimes. Millions of Small Farmers and indigenous people in Africa are made landless. As of now in Ethiopia alone more than 1.5 million people are displaced to give land for foreign buyers for a long lease up to 99 years. In Tanzania 160,000 small holder farmers will be displaced by the U.S. investors land deal in 2012.
As Kofi Annan warned local people will not stand such abuse on their land. Gambella and Afar is a war zone. The new landlords Karuturi i and Saudi Star are now ploughing “their land” with heavy machine gun protection. Young people are killed being accused of anti-Development/Limate. The same is happening in Afar region. The Afar made it clear that they will die for their ancestral land.
We need many voices like Mr. Kofi Annan. I heard similar opinion from Ambassador Jendayi Frazer but she has to bring such discussion in the university she is teaching now. Professor Jeffrey Sachs on Leonate Lopate NYC Pubic Radio this year declared that he is against Land Grab. Professor Joseph Stieglitz of Columbia recently on The Responsible Endowment Fund raising told us in private discussion that he assumed the Ethiopian regime is giving barren land for investors which we told him not true. I hope he will stand with the African small farmers like he did with the middle class working people in America by exposing Wall Street in his books and speeches. Joe We need You!
The 10 and half our rally ended by “occupying Walrof Astoria” from Air. At 8:30pm in Night Rage the light display started on the walls of Walfof Astoria facing Park Avenue. We all went to that side to watch live Light Power on the Night of Rage. Passers by watching Waldrof Astroia wall reading messages. “Walforf Astoria is hosting Crooks and thieves”. “More than 1.5 milion Ethiopians are displaced”, “More than 2 million hectare in Ethiopia alone is already sold for foreign land grabbers”. The hotel management tried to stop the Light Show as soon as it started but NYPD officers ignored her request.
I am proud of all who came yesterday to join the Day/Night rage under the “Coalition of the Voice of Small farmers in Africa”. Even if most of us were from NY Tri state area some came from distance like California. We all agreed Universities activists will take this battle in the coming fall season and will force their universities endowment to be out of land investment in Africa like Harvard did recently. We will also take the petition that has been posted on www.oaklandinstiute.org or soldiaritymovement.org since January of this year and still open to sign to Washington DC, USAID the facilitator of land grab and Indian and Saudi Embassies the major land grabbers in Africa. We are coming!
I thank BBC African Service and Dutch Broadcasting Corporation for coming and covering the rally. Appreciate if they share with us their coverage. Many thanks to the Oakland Institute for their research in exposing the land grab phenomenon on world medias.
The NY area public radios need to be educated to get involved on Land grab issue which affects all of us. Our money is invested on unethical basis which we all have to question. We do not want Wall Street destruction of the middle class in 2008 to repeat on small farmers in Rural Africa!

ተቃውሞ ለማድረግ የሞከሩ የስድስት ኪሎ ዩኒቨርስቲ ተማሪዎች በፖሊስ ተበተኑ

ESAT Amsterdam at Ethiopian Satellite Television - ESAT - 1 hour ago
ሚያዚያ ፲፯ (አስራ ሰባት) ቀን ፳፻፬ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና:-በትላንትናው እለት በአዲስ አበባ ከተማ ጊዮርጊስ አደባባይ እራሱን በቤንዚን ያቃጠለው ጎልማሳ ሁኔታና ምክንያት ይጣራ ሲሉ የጠየቁ የአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርስቲ የስድስት ኪሎ ካምፓስ ተማሪዎች በፖሊስ ተበትነዋል፡፡ የተወሰኑ የዩኒቨርስቲው ተማሪዎችም ተጎጂው በትላንትናው እለት ለህክምና ተኝቶበታል በተባለው የካቲት 12 ሆስፒታል ተሰብስበው ለመግባት ያደረጉት ሙከራም በፖሊስ ተበትኗል ። ዘጋቢያችን በዛሬው [...]

Tuesday, April 24, 2012


የግልገል ጊቤ አደጋ የሙስና ውጤት መሆኑን ጥናቶች አመለከቱ

ሚያዚያ ፲፮ (አስራ ስድስት) ቀን ፳፻፬ ዓ/ም
ኢሳት ዜና:-የግልገል ጊቤ አንድ በደለል የመሞላት ዜና ይፋ ከመደረጉ በፊት፣  አደጋ ሊፈጠር እንደሚችል በመንግስት እና መንግስታዊ ባልሆኑ ደርጅቶች የተጠኑ ጥናቶች ማመላከታቸውን መረጃዎች አሳይተዋል።
በግድቡ ዙሪያ የተጠኑ ጥናቶች እንደሚያሳዩት ግድቡ ስራ ከመጀመሩ በፊት የኢትዮጵያ መብራት ሀይል በደለል ዙሪያ ያካሄደው ጥናት ግድቡ ለመጪዎቹ 50 አመታት አገልግሎት እንደሚሰጥ ይሁን እንጅ የአካባቢ እንክብካቤ ከተደረገ ለ70 አመታትም አገልግሎት እንደሚሰጥ ያመለክታል።
የኢትዮጵያ መብራት ሀይል ያስጠናው ጥናት በገለልተኛ ወገን እንዲመረመር ሳይደረግ መንግስት ስራው እንዲጀመር ትእዛዝን ማስተላለፉ ታውቋል። ይህ 40 ሜትር ከፍታ ያለው እና 180 ሜጋ ዋት ሀይል የሚያመነጨው ግድብ ከአለም ባንክ ፣ ከአውሮፓ ህብረት፣ ከኦስትሪያ መንግስትና ከኢትዮጵያ መንግስት በተገኘ ገንዘብ ወጪው እንዲሸፈን ተደርጓል። ግልገል ጊቤ አንድን ለመገንባት በአጠቃላይ የወጣው ወጪ 280 የአሜሪካን ዶላር ሲሆን፣ ግድቡን ያለምንም ጫረታ የሰራው ደግሞ የጣሊያን ኩብንያ የሆነው ሳሊኒ ኮንስትራክሽን ነው።
10ሺ ቤተሰቦች ያለምንም በቂ ካሳ እንዲፈናቀሉ የተደረገበት ፕሮጀክት በአፈር ደለል በመሞላት በሚቀጥሉት አመታት የሀይል ማመንጫው ሙሉ በሙሉ ሊቆም እንደሚችል በጅማ ዩኒቨርስቲ የሚሰሩ ምሁራን እና የውጭ አገር ምሁራን ጥናታዊ ወረቀቶችን አቅርበው ነበር። ይሁን እንጅ መንግስት እነዚህን ጥናቶች ከግምት ሳያስገባ ሁለተኛው የግልገል ጊቤ ፕሮጅክት እንዲጀመር አድርጓል።
26 ኪሎሜትር በሚደርስ ረጅም የውሀ ማስተላለፊያ ቦይ ተሰርቶለት የተገነባው ግልገል ጊቤ ሁለት ውሀውን የሚያገኘው ከግልገል ጊቤ አንድ በመሆኑ የግልገል ጊቤ አንድ ችግር በግልገል ጊቤ ላይም አደጋ ማስከተሉ አይቀሬ መሆኑን ጥናቶች ያመለክታሉ። ፒ ኤች ኢ ኢትዮጵያ ከጅማ ዩኒቭረስቲ ጋር በጋራ በመሆን በ2012 ባዘጋጀው ወርክሺፕ ላይ ጥናታቸውን ያቀረቡ ምሁራን በመጨረሻ ባወጡት መግለጫ ” ግልገል ጊቤ አንድ ለተደቀነበት አደጋ የማስተከከያ እርምጃ በአፋጣኝ ካልተወሰደ በስተቀር ይህ ጠቃሚ እና ታላቅ ፕሮጀክት በአጭር ጊዜ ውስጥ ከጥቅም ውጭ ይሆናል።” ሲሉ አስታውቀዋል።
የግልገል ጊቤ አንድ ፕሮጀክት በደለል የመሞላት አደጋ አንዣቦበት እያለ መንግስት 490 ሚሊዮን ዶላር በማውጣት ለምን የግልገል ጊቤ ቁጥር እንዲጀመር አደረገ ለሚለው ጥያቄ፣ የተለያዩ ጥናታዊ ወረቀቶች ችግሩን ወደ ጣሊያናዊው ኩባንያና ወደ ኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ያዞሩታል። ጣሊያን አገር በሚገኘው ” ሲአርቢኤም እና ቼክ አገር በሚገኘው ሲኢኢ ባንክ ወች ኔት ወርክ” ዘ ግልገል ጊቤ አፌር ወይም የግልገል ጊቤ ጉዳይ በሚል የተጠና ጥናት በግልገል ጊቤ ዙሪያ የጣሊያን መንግስት ከኢትዮጵአ መንግስት ጋር በመመሳጠር የፈጸመው ታላቅ ሙስና በምርመራ ላይ እያለ ተዳፍኖ መቅረቱን ይፋ አድርጓል።
በዚሁ ጥናት መሰረት የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት የግልገል ጊቤ ሁለትን ግንባታ  ያለምንም አለማቀፍ ጫረታ በድጋሜ ለሳሊኒ ኮንስትራክሽን እንዲሰጠጥ ሲያደርግ፣ አብዛኛው የግንባታ ወጪ የጣሊያን መንግስት ለኢትዮጵያ በሰጠው ብድር እንዲሸፈን ተደርጓል። የጣሊያን መንግስት ለግድቡ ግንባታ የሰጠው 220 ሚሊዮን ዶላር አገሪቱ እስከ ዛሬ ለውጭ ኢንቨስትመንት ካበደረችው ገንዘብ ሁሉ የሚበልጥ በመሆኑና የብድር ስርአቱ ግልጽነት የጎደለው በመሆኑ፣ የጣሊያን ፓርላማ አባላት የሆኑት ካሊዚዮ ላ ኢዮ እና ስፒኒ  በኖቬምበር 2005  ጥያቄ በማንሳታቸው ምክትል ዋና ጸሀፊ የሆኑት ሉጊይ ማንቲካ የተሸፋፈነ መልስ በመስጠት አልፈውታል። በ2006 ደግሞ ሌቪን፣ ማርቶኒ፣ ቶኒኒ እና ሌሎችም የፓርላማ አባላት ጉዳዩ እንዲመረመር በድጋሜ ጥያቄ አቅርበዋል። በማርች 2006 የሮም አቃቢ ህግ በግልገል ጊቤ ብድር አሰጣጥ ዙሪያ ተፈጸመ ያለው ወነጀል እንዲመረመር ፋይል ከፍቷል። ጉዳዩ በሚስጢር የተያዘ በመሆኑ እስካሁን ድረስ የምርመራ ውጤቱ ለህዝብ ይፋ አልሆነም። የጣሊያን መንግስትለግድቡ ግንባታ የሰጠው ብድር ግልጽነት የጎደለው መሆንና ብድሩ ኢትዮጵያን በእዳ አሁን ካለችበት ደረጃ ወደ ባሰ ደረጃ የሚያወርዳት ይሆናል የሚል ተቃውሞ ሲቀርብበት የ300 ሚሊዮን ዶላር የእዳ ስረዛ አድርጓል።
በግልገል ጊቤ አንድና ሁለት መካከል ያለው ውዝግብ ሳይቋጭ መንግስት አወዛጋቢውን የግልገል ጊቤ ሶስት መጀመሩ ይታወቃል። 
ሳሊኒ ከኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ጋር በተዋዋለው ውል መሰረት በግድቡ ዙሪያ በሚፈጠር ተፈጥሮአዊ ክስተት ወይም ግድቡ በደለል ቢሞላ ምንም አይነት ካሳ እንዳይከፍል የሚያደርገው ነው። በዚህም መሰረት  በግድቡ ዙሪያ የተደቀነው አደጋ አፋጣኝ መፍትሄ ሳይሰጠው ከቀረ ኢትዮጵያ ለዘመናት ከፍላ በማትጨርሰው እዳ መዘፈቅ ብቻ ሳይሆን ግድቡ ሰው ሰራሹ ሀይቅ በአካባቢው ህዝብ ላይ የሚያደርሰው ጉዳት በገንዘብ ሊተመን የማይችል ይሆናል ሲሉ ምሁራን አስጠንቅቀዋል። ይሁን እንጅ ምሁራን እንደሚሉት ግድቡን በደለል ከመሞላት ለመታደግ ስራው ቀደም ብሎ መጀመር ነበረበት ይላሉ። የአካባቢው ሰዎች ከግድቡ ክልል እርቀው ከብቶቻቸውን እንዲያረቡ፣ የእርሻ ስራም እንዲሰሩ የመፍትሄ ሀሳብ ምሁራን ያቀረቡ  ቢሆንም፣ የተፈናቀሉት የአካባቢው ነዋሪዎች ግን ከብቶቻቸውን የሚያሰማሩበት ቦታ በማጣታቸው በግድቡ አካባቢ ከብቶቻቸውን ማሰማራት እና የእርሻ ስራ መስራታቸውን ቀጥለዋል። አሁን እየተከማቸ የመጣውን ደለል ለመጥረግ ወጪው የሚቻል አለመሆኑንም ባለሙያዎች ይናገራሉ።
የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ለፖለቲካ ፍጆታ ሲባል ያለመንም በቂ ጥናት የጀመራቸው የሀይል ፕሮጀክቶች ለአገሪቱ ትልቅ አደጋ እንደደቀኑ ይነገራል። የአባይ ግድብም ተመሳሳይ አደጋ ይዞ እንደሚመጣ ባለሙያዎች ያስጠነቅቃሉ። “ግልገል ጊቤ አንድ በደለል ሳቢያ ቢዘጋ፣ ግልገል ጊቤ ሁለት እና ሶስትም ላይ ተመሳሳይ አደጋ ይፈጠራል፣ እነዚህን ግድቦች ለመስራት መንግስት ከ1 ቢሊዮን ዶላር በላይ ተበድሯል ፣ ይህን ገንዘብ ማን ይሆን የሚከፍለው ፣ እስከ ዛሬ ለደረሰው ጉዳትና ለሚደረስው ጉዳትስ ሃላፊነቱን የሚወስደው ማን ነው?” በማለት ምሁራን ጥያቄዎችን ያቀርባሉ።
ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ እንደ አማራ እና ትግራይ ክልሎች ሁሉ አዲስ አበባ መስተዳደርም ለአባይ ግድብ ግንባታ እያንዳንዱ ነዋሪ ቦንድ እንዲገዛ  ሊያስገድድ መሆኑ ተስምቷል። ህዝቡ ለግድቡ ግንባታ ያለው ተነሳሽነት ከመቼውም ጊዜ በላይ በቀነሰበት በአሁኑ ወቅት፣ ከኑሮው ውድነት ጋር ተያይዞ ማህበራዊ ቀውሱን ያባብሰዋል ተብሎ ተስግቷል።

በአዲስ አበባ አንድ ወጣት እራሱን ማቃጠሉ ተሰማ

ሚያዚያ ፲፮ (አስራ ስድስት) ቀን ፳፻፬ ዓ/ም
ኢሳት ዜና:-አንድ ጎልማሳ ኢትዮጵያዊ ዛሬ ከቀኑ 11፡00 ሰዓት ላይ በመሐል አዲስ አበባ ጊዮርጊስ ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ሃውልት ፊት- ለፊት በሚገኘው የአውቶብስ መቆሚያ ጎዳና ፤ አዲስ ምሩቅ ተማሪዎች የሥራ ማስታወቂያ የሚመለከቱበት ቦታ ላይ ራሱን በላስቲክ የውሃ መያዣ በያዘው ቤንዚን አቃጠለ፡፡
በሥፍራው የነበሩ ሰዎች በውሃ እና ለፍራፍሬ ንግድ ከለላ የተደረገ ህንፃ ሲሰራ እንደ ከለላ የሚጠቀሙበት ሸራ መሰል ነገር፤ በማንሳትና በማራገፍ እሳቱን ሊያጠፉለት ቢሞክሩም ግለሰቡ ተውኝ መሞት መፈለጌን ህዝብና መንግሥት እንዲያውቅልኝ እፈልጋለሁ ብሏል ሲሉ የዐይን እማኞች ተናግረዋል፡፡
እንደ እማኞች ገለፃ ግለሰቡ ከወገቡ በላይ ሙሉ በሙሉ ተቃጥሎ ቆዳው የተኮማተረ ሲሆን ጀርባው በእሳቱ በእጅጉ የተጎዳ ሲሆን፣ ጸጉሩም መርገፍ ጀምሮ አይኑ ብቻ ከጉዳት ተርፏል፡፡
ዘጋቢያችን 11፡ 30 ሰዓት ላይ ከሥፍራው ሲደርስ ራሱን ያቃጠለው ግለሰብ የለበሰው ጃኬት እንደ ወረቀት አሮ ወዳድቆ፣ ወይን ጠጅ ነጠብጣብ ያለው የተቃጠለ ሸሚዝ ቁርጥራጭ ወዳድቆ የተመለከተ ሲሆን ግለሰቡን ፌዴራል ፖሊስ በፓትሮል መኪና መወሰዱን እማኞች ነግረውት የቀይ መስቀል አምፑላን መጥቶ ፖሊስ ወስዶታል ተብሎ ባዶውን ሲመለስ ከሥፍራው ታዝቧል፡፡
ዘጋቢያችን ከሥፍራው በእቡእ እማኞችን ለማናገር የሞከረ ሲሆን ሁኔታውን እየሰቀጠጣቸው የተመለከቱ በአካባቢው የጋዜጣ፣ የመጽሔት ንግድ ላይ የነበሩ እማኞች ሰውየው ከታክሲ መውረዱንና በወቅቱ በአኳ ላስቲክ የያዘው ቤንዚን ሳይሆን ውሃ እንደመሰላቸውና ንግግርም ሲያደርግ ትኩረት እንዳልሰጡት ገልጸዋል፡፡
ቤንዚኑን ራሱ ላይ በመላ አካላቱ እያፈሰሰ ሁለት ጊዜ ክብሪት ሲጭር እምቢ ብሎት በሦስተኛው ቦግ ብሎ መንደድ እንደጀመረና እየሮጠ ወደ አውቶብስ ተጠጋ በማለት የገለጹት እማኞች፣ የአውቶብስ ሹፌር በሮቹን ዘግቶበት ተመልሶ የማስታወቂያ መመልከቻው ቦታ ላይ ተዝለፍልፎ በመውደቁ ሰዎች እየተሯሯጡ ውሃ በማፍሰስ እና በሸራ በመጠቅለል ሊያጠፉለት ቢሞክሩም እስትንፋሱ ሙሉ ለሙሉ ባይጠፋም ጉዳቱ ከፍተኛ ሆኗልብለዋል፡፡
የፌዴራል ፖሊስም ወደ ሥፍራው በፍጥነት በመምጣት ሰዎችን በትኖ የሚያጣጥረውን ግለሰብ በፓትሮል መኪና በመውሰድ በአካባቢው በቅርብ የተመለከቱ ሰዎችን ሰብስቦ እዚያው አካባቢ የሚገኝ አንድ ቅጥር ጊቢ ሰብስቦ የሞባይል ስልካቸውን በመንጠቅና በማስፈራራት ጊቢውን ዘግቶ አግቷቸዋል ብለዋል፡፡
በአካባቢው የሥራ ማስታወቂያ ስትመለከት የነበረች አንዲት ግለሰብ ጎልማሳው በሰውነቱ ደህና የሚባል ሰው ሲሆን ጸአዳ ስኒከር ጫማ ግሬይ ጅንስ ሱሪና ወይን ጠጅ ሸሚዝ ከጃኬት ጋር መልበሱን በእድሜውም ከ25 እስከ 35 ሊደርስ እንደሚችል ለዘጋቢያችን ገልፃ ከታክሲ ወይም ከባስ መውረዱን ያዩት ሰዎች ነግረውኛል እኔ ግን ሲቃጠል ብቻ ነው የተመለከትኩት ስትል እንባ እየተተናነቃት ለዘጋቢያችን ገልጻለች፡፡
ዘጋቢያችን በቦታው ባደረገው ቅኝት ግለሰቡ ወደቀ የተባለበት ሥፍራው ላይ የልብሶቹ ቁርጥራጮችን፣ እሳቱን ሊያጠፉበት የሞከሩትን ሸራ መሳይ ላይለን፣ በውሃ የረጠበ ሥፍራ ተመልክቷል፤ የፌዴራል ፖሊስም ሰዎችን አግቶ እና አንድ ግለሰብን ደግሞ (እማኞች በሞባይል ለመቅረጽ ሞክሮ ነበር ብለዋል) አንበርክከው ሲመቱት ተመልክቷል፡፡
የኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቭዥን ሪፖርተርና የካሜራ ጋዜጠኛ በሥፍራው ተገኝተው ቦታውን ቀርጸው ሁኔታውን የተመለከቱ ሴት እማኞችን ቃለ መጠይቅ ያደረጉ ሲሆን የደህንነት ሰዎች መጥተው እንዳይቀርጹ ሲከለክሏቸው እኛ ኢቲቪዎች ነን ሥራችንን እንስራበት በማለት ቀረፃቸውንና ቃለ- መጠይቃቸውን የቀጠሉ ሲሆን የደህንነት ሠራተኞቹም ለዘብ ብለው ሰዎችን ወደ መበተኑና ወደ መጠጋጋቱ ሲያመሩ ዘጋቢያችን አስተውሏል፡፡

Monday, April 23, 2012

Is Walmart bribing Ethiopian officials?

April 23rd, 2012 |

Editor’s Note:

Is Walmart working with corrupt Ethiopian officials?  According to the New York Times, giant US retailer has been caught bribing Mexican officials to the tune of $24 million dollars. Bribery and partnership with ruling party-owned businesses is a must for doing business in Ethiopia.  What is Walmart doing in one of the poorest countries in the world?  We call on Walmart to come clean and disclose its dealings in Ethiopia.

Walmart might be coming to Ethiopia

By Tigrai Online
Walmart, the US multinational retailer corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores, and the Ethiopian government are conducting negotiating on the question of the former entering the Ethiopian market, it was learnt. According to sources, an Ethiopian delegation was in Washington DC last week to discuss the matter with officials of Walmart.
The negotiations started while Walmart got the go-ahead with its 2.2 billion dollars purchase of a controlling share in a South African chain, Massmart, earlier this month.
The move to invite Walmart came as a result of last year’s squabble between the government and local wholesalers and retailers following unprecedented commodity prices’ surge in the market. At the time the government blamed the wholesalers for artificially creating a price hike and took the populist yet controversial price cap measure.
Furthermore, the government issued a three-stage ultimatum of which one is inviting foreign companies into the market. After the lifting of the cap, the government undertook a measure to directly intervene in the market. However, the third option, which is inviting foreign companies, was considered by many to be highly unlikely and would not materialize.
Walmart, which was founded by Sam Walton, is the world’s 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000 list, and the largest public corporation when ranked by revenue. It is also the biggest private employer in the world with over two million employees, and is the largest. The company is controlled by the Walton family, one of the richest families in the world, whose combined wealth is estimated to be close to 100 billion dollars. The family owns a 48 percent stake in Walmart.
Sponsor ETHIOPIAN REVIEW | Email This Post



Related Posts

  1. Ethiopian businessman pleads guilty to bribing DC officials
  2. Rights group accuses Ethiopian officials of war crimes
  3. U.S. to seize properties of corrupt African officials
  4. Woyanne regime seeks death for Ethiopian opposition officials, journalists
  5. Ethiopia: Officials removed from city govt over land scandal

Leave a Comment


To write your comment in Amharic click here. አስተያየትዎን በአማርኛ ለመጻፍ እዚህ ይጫኑ:: ጽፈው ከጨረሱ በኋላ የጻፉትን ኮፒ አድርገው ወደዚህ ተመልሰው አስተያየት መስጫ ቦክስ ውስጥ ፔስት ያድርጉ::

Ethiopia: Green Justice or Ethnic Injustice?

by Alemayehu G. Mariam
Ethiopia: Green Justice or Ethnic Injustice?
Alemayehu G. Mariam, born in Ethiopia
Alemayehu G. Mariam
Last week, dictator Meles Zenawi hectored his rubbers tamp parliament in Ethiopia about the forced expulsion (or as some have described it “ethnic cleansing”) of Amharas from southern Ethiopia and zapped his critics for their irresponsibility in reporting and publicizing it. Zenawi denied any expulsion had taken place, but explained that some squatters (he described them as “sefaris from North Gojam”) had  to be removed from their homesteads in the south purely out of environmental conservation concerns for the area’s forestlands. In a broadside against organizations “that promote the view that our collective identity is Ethiopianity,” Zenawi harangued:
… By coincidence of history, over the past ten years numerous people — some 30,000 sefaris (squatters) from North Gojam – have settled in Benji Maji (BM) zone [in Southern Ethiopia]. In Gura Ferda, there are some 24,000 sefaris. Because the area is forested, not too many people live there. For all intents and purposes, Gura Ferda is little North Gojam complete with squatters’ local administration. That is not a problem: There is land to farm [in BM zone], and there are people who want to farm it. Everybody wins, no one loses. There is only one problem: The squatters did it in a disorganized way. The squatters settled individually and haphazardly and in an environmentally destructive way. The settlement was not based on a sound environmental impact study on the destruction of the forest. The pristine forest in the area must be protected. The squatters want land that can be easily developed and cultivated. They don’t care if it is a forest or not. They cut the forest and used the wood to make charcoal to aid in their settlement. As a result massive environmental destruction has occurred…. Settlers cannot move into the area and destroy the forest for settlement. It is illegal and must stop. Those who try to distort this fact are irresponsible. It is necessary to filter the truth. The rights of all Ethiopians must be protected on equal footing. Those who allege persecution and displacement of Amharas are engaged in irresponsible agitation which is not useful to anyone…
Stated more simply, the “sefaris of North Gojam” are environmental criminals who deserved forcible expulsion; and they should thank they lucky stars they are not prosecuted criminally.
Africa’s C.E.O.  
When it comes to defending the African environment, no person has more expertise or passion than Zenawi who, after all, is the anointed C.E.O. (Chief Environmental Officer) of Africa. In 2009, Zenawi headed a delegation of African negotiators to the Copenhagen Summit (2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen) to morally and financially hold accountable the wayward West for its environmental destruction, climate change, global warming and all the rest. In the run up to the Summit, Zenawi threatened to bring down the Summit if the West did not do right by Africa and cough up $40bs:
We will use our numbers to de-legitimise any agreement that is not consistent with our minimal position… If needs be we are prepared to walk out of any negotiations that threaten to be another rape of our continent… Africa’s interest and position will not be muffled as has usually been the case… Africa will field a single negotiating team empowered to negotiate on behalf of all member states of the African Union…. The key thing for me is that Africa be compensated for the damage caused by global warming. Many institutions have tried to quantify that and they have come up with different figures. The sort of median figure would be in the range of 40 billion USD a year.
A day into the Summit, Zenawi was ready to cut a deal with “Africa’s rapists” for a cool $10bs. He told his African brethren cold cash is better than talking trash:
I know my proposal today will disappoint those Africans who from the point of view of justice have asked for full compensation for the damage done to our development prospects. My proposal dramatically scales back our expectation with regards to the level of funding in return for more reliable funding and a seat at the table in the management of such funds.
In October 2011, in a speech before the African Economic Conference, Zenawi lectured:
Much of our land has been cleared of tree cover resulting in massive land degradation, soil erosion and vulnerability to both flooding and drought. As a result of the global warming that has already happened we have become more exposed to strange combinations of drought and flooding.  The resource base of our agriculture is very seriously threatened.
In other words, we need to go back to the Western rapists and squeeze some more cash out them.
Zenawi’s Stewardship of the Environment in Ethiopia
Zenawi is manifestly the go-to expert on the impact of climate change and global warming on Africa. But does he have a clue about the environmental destruction, and particularly, the deforestation of Ethiopia? By 2020,  Ethiopia is expected to lose all of its forest resources according to the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute (the foremost agricultural research institute in the country):
Ethiopia’s forest coverage by the turn of the last century was 40%. By 1987, under the military government, it went down to 5.5%. In 2003, it dropped down to 0.2%. The Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute says Ethiopia loses up to 200,000 hectares of forest every year. Between 1990 and 2005, Ethiopia lost 14.0% of its forest cover (2,114,000 hectares) and 3.6% of its forest and woodland habitat. If the trend continues, it is expected that Ethiopia could lose all of its forest resources in 11 years, by the year 2020.
According to a 2004 study, Ethiopia has some 60 million hectares of land covered by woody vegetation of which nearly 7 percent is forestland. Some 63 percent of the forestland is located in Oromiya, followed by   Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples region [SNNP] (19%) and Gambella (9%). It is remarkable that Zenawi decided to draw the line on deforestation in Benji Maji/Gura Ferda in 2012 given the worsening nature of the problem in that region as a result of uncontrolled foreign commercial export agriculture. It is equally remarkable that he chose ethnic removal as a tool of reforestation and land reclamation.
But is Zenawi’s claim of environmental concern and forest protection for the expulsion of the “North Gojam sefaris” supported by evidence? Or is he using an environmental subterfuge to evade controversy and withering criticism?  Over the past five years, Zenawi has “leased” (sold) some of the most fertile land (much of it forestland) in the country to the Saudis, the Shiekdoms, the Indians, the Chinese and Koreans (SSICKs) and anyone else sporting a crisp dollar bill. According to the respected Oakland Institute [OI], beginning in 2008, Zenawi’s regime has
transferred at least 3,619,509 hectares of land to foreign investors although the actual number may be higher… The Ethiopian government insists that for all land deals consultation is being carried out, no farmers are displaced, and the land being granted is “unused.” However, the OI team did not find a single incidence of community consultation… There are no limits on water use, no Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), and no environmental controls. It is alarming that investors are free to use water with no restrictions. Investors informed the OI team of the ease with which they planned to dam a local river and of the virtual lack of control and regulations over environmental issues. Despite assurances that EIAs are performed, no government official could produce a completed EIA, no investor had evidence of a completed one, and no community had ever seen one…. Displacement from farmland is widespread, and the vast majority of locals receive no compensation…. Displaced farmers are forced to find farmland elsewhere, increasing competition and tension with other farmers over access to land and resources.
The bottom line is that the SSICKs who slash and burn pristine forests for large-scale commercial export agriculture are called investors. Ethiopians who clear small plots of land to feed themselves and their families are called “sefaris” (squatters).  The SSICKs are  given 99-year leases to millions of hectares to “develop”.  Ethiopians are forcibly ejected from their ancestral lands and tiny homesteads to make way for the SSICKs. The SSICKs are allowed to grab as much land as they want for pennies; Ethiopians are grabbed and thrown off the land and lose every hard earnerd penny they have invested. The SSICKs are welcomed with open arms at sunrise; Ethiopians are kicked in the rear end and told to get out of town before sundown. The SSICKs have property rights in land; Ethiopians do not have a right to own land. The SSICKs are treated like royalty; Ethiopians are given the shaft. The shame of it all: Ethiopians are “hunted down like animals where they are constantly asked if they support these [SSICK] plantations” according to the Oakland Institute study.
Welcome to SSICKistan.
Are there Environmental Laws the “North Gojam Sefaris” Could Follow?
Zenawi claims that the expulsion was necessary because many of the “North Gojam sefaris” engaged in a pattern and practice of settlement that is disorganized, haphazard and environmentally destructive. But does Zenawi’s regime have policies that would facilitate an orderly, systematic and organized settlement of rural areas or ensure sound forest conservation practices?  For instance, the seminal law on the subject, the “Rural Lands Administration and Use Proclamation No.456/2005”, authorizes free access to rural lands for all who intend to engage in farming activities; but it provides no clear direction on how settlements are to be established or administered. It leaves implementation of the Proclamation entirely to the “regional authorities” who often do not have the expertise or capacity to implement it. To be sure, Proclamation No. 456 is virtually silent on the use, conservation or management of forestlands. In fact, it makes only three passing references to “forestry”, “forest degradation” and “forest land.”
The Revised SNNPRS Determination of Executive Organs’ Powers and Responsibilities Proclamation No. 106/2007 [Southern Nations, Nationalities' and Peoples' Regional State], purportedly aims to implement Proclamation No. 456, but the region has no environmental protection agency. The task of implementing Proclamation 456 is apparently given to the region’s Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development which purportedly has oversight authority over conservation of natural resources and wild life, but no specific responsibility to undertake forest conservation or management. Land use restrictions under SNNPRS Rural Land Administration and Use Regulation No 66/2007 does not deal with forestlands at all; it is principally concerned with the use of wetlands and sloping lands. Simply stated, there is no regional law that deals with deforestation or clearing of forests for settlements or farming. What are the “sefaris” to do?
Similarly, the “federal” “Forest Development, Conservation, and Utilization Proclamation No.542/2007” is so vague and general as to be nothing more than a statement of policy orientation. The Proclamation recognizes “government” and “private” forests, but provides no indication on how the forests can be developed or where individuals could apply to get authorizations. Incredibly, the Proclamation catalogues the obligations of private forest developers without enumerating any of their rights. The bulk of the Proclamation is not law but aspirational policy statements about what ought to be done in the future.
Zenawi secondary argument is that the Amhara “sefaris” settled in Benji Maji/Gura Ferda without the required environmental impact assessment (EIA) presumably pursuant to Proclamation No. 299/2002 (“Environmental Impact Assessment Proclamation” [EIAP]). That Proclamation requires an assessment to “identify and evaluate in advance any effect which results from the implementation of a proposed project or public instrument”. As a technical legal matter, the “sefari’s” pattern of homesteading falls outside of the EIAP’s statutory definition of “proposed project” or “public instrument”. In other words, under the present language and definitions in Proclamation No. 299, the “sefaris” would be exempt from performing an environmental impact assessment. Rather, they would be subject to Proclamation No. 456 (Rural Lands Administration and Use ).
But all of the technical legal analysis and arguments aside, the fact of the matter is that a tiny percentage of all private sector projects are subject to the EIAP because of exemption loopholes and political decisions that override the technical merits of such reports. As the OI report has shown “despite assurances that environmental impact assessments [EIAs] are performed, no government official could produce a completed EIA, no investor had evidence of a completed one, and no community had ever seen one….” The regime’s “environmental impact assessment” on Gibe III Dam demonstrates the pro forma nature of such undertakings when it is politically expedient.
Ethnic Cleansing or Forest Conservation?
There is no question that tens of thousands of Amharas have been forcibly removed from Benj Maji/Gura Ferda in southern Ethiopia, and not just from “North Gojam”. Numerous interviews of victims by the Voice of America provide substantial evidence of forced expulsion.  So we must face the unavoidable question: Is the forced expulsion of the “sefaris” a form of ethnic cleansing or the consequence of the unintended effects of routine ecological remediation? The evidence on this question from the two individuals who are in the best position to know is rather curious to say the least. Zenawi says the “North Gojam sefaris” were evicted solely because they were destroying the forest in their haphazard settlement patterns. But in  his written order, Shiferaw Shigute, President of SNNP, does not not mention a single word about deforestation or harm to the environment in the expulsion of the Amhara “sefaris”. Goodness gracious, who to believe?
“Ethnic cleansing” does not have a specific formal legal definition. A 1993 United Nations Commission defined the phrase as, “the planned deliberate removal from a specific territory, persons of a particular ethnic group, by force or intimidation, in order to render that area ethnically homogenous.” A UN Commission of Experts established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 780 held that the practices associated with ethnic cleansing “constitute crimes against humanity”. Others have defined “ethnic cleansing as the expulsion of an ‘undesirable’ population from a given territory due to religious or ethnic discrimination, political, strategic or ideological considerations, or a combination of these.” Article 7 (d) of the Rome Statute declares that “deportation or forcible transfer of population”, (defined as “forced displacement by expulsion or other coercive acts from the area in which they are lawfully present, without grounds without grounds permitted under international law”) is a “crime against humanity”. Whether the expulsion of the Amhara “sefaris” is part of a deliberate and systematic policy of “ethnic federalism” in which ethnic purges of a civilian population are undertaken to ensure the ethnic homogeneity of the southern part of the country to the detriment of other Ethiopians of a different ethnic stripe will bear significantly on the question of ethnic cleansing.
Be fair to the people!
Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:
http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic and
http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24