Ethiopia's jailing journalists, statement of fear: Keita

Press TV has conducted an interview with Mohamed Keita, Africa advocacy coordinator for Committee to Protect Journalists, from New York, about Ethiopia cracking down on freedom of press and independent journalism critical of the Ethiopian government.

The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.

Press TV: How would you characterize the government’s relationship with journalists in Ethiopia at the moment?

How concerned are you about individuals like Eskinder Nega who is serving an 18 year term; Woubshet Taye, 14 years; a very famous case of Reeyot Alemu – 1,000 days and counting, in prison; and then of course as mentioned in the report Somali journalist Mohamed Aweys Mudey sentenced to 27 years in prison – starting that sentence in February.

Keita: Yes we are extremely pre-occupied by the health especially of Reeyot Alemu and Woubshet Taye. Their health has deteriorated in custody and they have been denied adequate medical attention.

Authorities have also conducted reprisals against them hardening or harshening the detention conditions; or moving them from prison to prison; or denying family visits.

And we are extremely pre-occupied because unfortunately Ethiopia has already a precedent where back in 1998 a journalist dies after being denied adequate medical attention while in jail. That journalist was also in jail for writing articles. So there is a very sad precedent.  

   

Press TV: Ethiopia is not the only country that jails journalists of course. Why do you think these particular journalists have been imprisoned? There are many others who operate in the country and who haven’t caught the attention of the authorities?

Keita: Yes, these journalists are some of the most prominent in Ethiopia and we believe they were jailed in order to silence others.

Press TV: What was wrong with what they wrote though – in terms of their journalism? Because this is the critical factor isn’t it – when the government notices you then it’s something you’ve written that they disagree with. What was wrong with what they wrote?

Keita: There is absolutely nothing wrong with anything they wrote. Anyone can consult and read the articles they have written. Eskinder’s articles are available in English his words are very clear. They wrote about the issues of the day-to-day Ethiopians face: lack of democracy; the corruption; the ruling power’s abuse of power.

Issues that everybody knows, they just articulated those issues in a very public way. They did not have secret meetings – We look at the evidence presented by government prosecutors in all these cases and they amount to articles they wrote.

And none of these journalists called for violence; none of them called for people to get on the streets.

In the case of Eskinder, he wrote about the implications of the Arab Spring in Ethiopia for Ethiopia’s pro-democracy movement and basically he stated that if the government does not do democratic reform it is increasing the likelihood of popular protests.   

     

Press TV: Is one of the problems for these journalistic organizations in Ethiopia campaigning for press freedom – and their funding and support often comes from outside from organizations such as yours – the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), so the Ethiopian government can then say, oh look, you’re serving a foreign interest, a foreign agenda instead of supporting a government?

Keita: First of all I want to correct that. CPJ does not fund any press organization around the world.

Press TV: Not you, but there are organizations which do support journalistic organizations or bodies within Ethiopia and elsewhere in Africa.

Keita: That is a false argument given the fact that the Ethiopian government relies on extensive external support to fund its own operation and to feed its people. That is just selective outrage and that is a non-issue, really, that is an excuse. 

As far as most of the other press unions existing in Ethiopia they are all funded and controlled by the government underhanded. So, they’re not really independent press unions; they are not really campaigning to free the journalists or defending press freedom in the country; they are in fact echoing the government’s own rhetoric around this.

The government has been very good at spreading confusion here and there and they do not have the moral high standard to lecture anybody on journalism given the fact that the state media and the pro-government media regularly prints editorials and columns with naked slander branding independent journalists as terrorists, as traitors, as individuals involved in activities with al-Shabab.The level of propaganda and smear campaigns by state media is absolutely disgusting.

And so it’s hypocritical of them to point the finger at the private press and say the private press is unethical and not reporting truths.      

Press TV: What do you think the next step is then because these journalists aren’t getting out of jail anytime soon despite the pressure you and other international organizations put on Addis Ababa (capital)?

Keita: Well, I think the solution is in the hands of the Ethiopian government. They know what they should be doing and it’s sad that it’s going to take longer for them to really realize that they are against history because the trend is towards freedom, it’s a natural impulse.

And even China, which the Ethiopian government is copying – even in China, China is trending towards more freedom because the Chinese leaders are understanding that in order to full economic development they need to relax a little bit.

So, hopefully the Ethiopian government will get it, but in the meantime the longer they keep these journalists the louder the voices for their release will grow.

Jailing journalists is really a statement of fear. We understand that. The Ethiopian government was fearful when the Arab spring begun and that this was in reaction to it fearing that they would face an uprising.

So it’s really a message that they should relax and with all the power that they enjoy already.       

SC/AB

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በኖርዌ የወያኔን የስለላ መረብ በመቃወም ታላቅ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ተደረገ!

በ11-4-2014 በኖርዌ ያሉ ኢትዮዽያውያን የወያኔን የስለላ መረብና ኖርዌ በስደተኛው ላይ ያላትን 
ፖሊሲ በመቃወም የተቃውሞ ሰልፍ አረጉ። 23 ዓመት እራሱ መራጭ እራሱ ተመራጭ ሆኖ በጠመንጃ 
አፈሙዝ ህዝቡን እያንቀጠቀጠ የኖረው ወያኔ አንድ ቀን ሕዝብ በቃኝ ብሎ አንቅሮ እንደሚተፋውና ንብ 
ሆኖ ለነፃነቱ እንደሚነሳ ማወቅ ነበረበት። 

ግን አልሆነም ዜጎች እንደዜጋ በሐገራቸው መኖር ቀርቶ በስደትም ሰላማቸውን ማግኘት አልቻሉም። 

 እስርና እንግልት፣ረሐብና ሰቆቃ፣ስደት የእያንዳንዱ እጣ ፋንታ ሆነ፤በወያኔ ዘመን ሰው ብቻ አይደለም 
መሬትም መሰደድ ጀምሮ የግል ጥቅሙን ለማስጠበቅ ሲል የኢትዮዽያን ለም መሬት ለሱዳን በመሸጥ ላይ 
ይገኛል ኢትዮዽያንና ኢትዽያዊነትን ያሉ ሁሉ አሸባሪ እየተባሉ በየእስርቤቱ ታጉረው እጣ ፈንታቸው 
እስርና እንግልት ሆነ ሐገራቸውን ጥለው በባሕርና በየብስ አቆራርጠው የሞተው ሞቶ የተረፈው በአለም 
ዙሪያ ተበትኖ ጥገኝነት በመጠየቅ ይኖራል:: 

 በዚሕም የተሳካላቸው ጥቂቶች ሲሆኑ ባብዛኛው ወያኔ ለውጩ አለማት በሚያሳየው ሁለተኛው ፊቱ 
ምክንያትና ምእራባውያን ከሐገሪቱ ከሚያገኙት ጥቅም የተነሳ ሐገርህ ዲምክራሲ ነው እየተባለ ፍትሀዊ 
ያልሆነ መልስ እየተሰጠው በመጉላላት ላይ ይገኛል። 

ያም ሆኖ የሐገሩ ጉዳይ በደም ስሩ ሰርጎ የገባው ኢትዮዽያዊ ሁሉ ጠዋት ማታ ኢትዮዽያዬ እያለ ይጮሀል።

ይህ የህዝብ ቁጣ ያስፈራው ወያኔ ያለ የሌለ የሐገሪቱን ኢኮኖሚ እየመዘበረ ዜጎችን ይሰልላል ያሰልላል፣

አልፎ ተርፎም ዜጎችን ከመሰሎቹ ጎረቤት ሐገሮች ድረስ በመሄድ ጎትተው እስርቤት ያስገባሉ። 

 ይህንን ለመቃወምና ለማውገዝ ነበር የኢትዮዽያ ስደትኞች ማህበር በኖርዌ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ አዘጋጅቶ 

ኢትዮዽያውይኑ ዛሬም ስለ ሐገራቸው ሊጮሁ የወጡት፤ ሰልፈኞቹ ድምፃቸውን እንዲህ በማለት ነበር 

ድምፃቸውን ያሰሙት እኛ ስደተኞች እንጅ ወንጀለኛ አይደለንም፣ኖርዌ ለማፊያው ወያኔ የምታደርጊውን 

እርዳታ አቁመሽ ከኢትዮዽያ ሕዝብ ጋር ቁሚ፣ወያኔ የሚያደርገውን ተግባር እናወግዛለን፣ሼም ኦን ዩ ሳውዝ 

ሱዳን ኦኬሎን አሳልፈሽ የሰጠሽ፣ወያኔ አሸባሪ ነው፣ለውጥ እንፈልጋለን፣ኖርዌ የዩኤንን ህግ ታክብር 

የሚሉትን የመሳሰሉ ሲሆን በሰልፉ ላይ የተለያዩ የፖለቲካ ድርጅት ተወካዮች መልክታቸውን ያስተላለፉ 

ሲሆን የኢትዮዽያ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጥ ድጋፍ ድርጅት ኖርዌ ተወካይ አቶ ዳንኤል የወያኔን ጀሌዎች 

የማጋለጡ ስራ በሚገባ እየተሰራበት መሆኑን ሲገልጡ ሰልፈኛው በጭብጨባ የተቀበላቸው ሲሆን የስደተኛ 

ማህበሩም ተወካይ ኖርዌ ነፃ እንድታወጣን ሳይሆን ለወያኔ የምትሰጠውን እርዳታ አቁማ ድጋፍ 

እንድትሰጠን ነው፤ በተጨማሪም ኖርዌ አቶ ኦኬሎን ታስለቅቅ በማለት ተጠይቃለች። በሰልፉ ላይ 

የኖርዌ ሊብራል ፓርቲ ተወካይ ከሰልፈኛው ደብዳቤ ተቀብለው መልክታቸውን ያስተላለፉ ሲሆን 

የኖዋስ ፣አንቲረሲስት ተወካዮችም እንዲሁ ይዘውት የመጡትን መልክት ለሰልፈኛው አስተላልፈዋል። 

 ከዚያ በቀጥታ ወደሶፊን በርግ ሎካል አዳራሽ ሰልፈኛው አምርቶ ምሳ ከተበላ በሁዋላ ኮሚቴው ካባላቱ 

ጋር ሰፊ ዉይይት ያደረገ ሲሆን የ፫ወር የስራ ሪፖርትም አቅርቦአል። 

 የኢትዮዽያ ስደትኞች ማህበር በኖርዌ 

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Ethiopia detains ARTICLE 19 staff

Ethiopian immigration officials detained a member of staff from ARTICLE 19’s East Africa office on 3 April for 29 hours without any access to legal advice or consular support. Fortunately, Patrick Mutahi, a trainer in protection, reacted according to strict ARTICLE 19 security protocols, notifying Ethiopian contacts of his detainment before his mobile phone was confiscated.

Following a rapid campaign for his release, Mutahi was deported back to Kenya on 4 April, and was warned that he would face jail if he returned.

ARTICLE 19 is one of the last remaining international human rights organisations working in Ethiopia and providing independent information to the UN Human Rights Council, and we are therefore concerned that the situation will only deteriorate further.

We urge the government to publicly withdraw their threat to jail Patrick Mutahi, and to respect fundamental human rights, including the right to freedom of expression.

We also call upon the UN to address increasing threats towards human rights defenders who provide a source of independent information without which the UN cannot fulfil their mandate, specifically by urgently establishing the mechanism agreed in Human Rights Council Resolution 24/24.

“Patrick’s detention is a chilling indictment of the state of freedom of expression in Ethiopia. Over the past five years we’ve witnessed growing hostility towards journalists, civil society groups and political opposition. That hostility is now being extended to those that support these groups’ exercise of their right to freedom of expression,” said Henry Maina, Director of ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa.

“We have worked in Ethiopia to provide support to journalists, so that that they can continue to professionally conduct their important work to keep people informed and facilitate open debate about matters of public importance. Restricting our work shows the utter contempt the Ethiopian authorities hold for free speech, press freedom and fundamental human rights.”

DENIAL OF ENTRY, DETENTION AND DEPORTATION

On 3 April 2014, Patrick Mutahi flew from Nairobi, Kenya to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he was due to deliver a security and safety training for journalists and media workers. Upon landing in Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport at 12pm, he was detained by immigration officials, who confiscated his passport and mobile telephone and told him that he would not be permitted to enter the country. Security officials stated that ARTICLE 19 had not sought permission from the Ethiopian government to conduct trainings of journalists.

Officials told Patrick that he was not allowed to speak to anyone and was refused legal advice. Mutahi had however already anticipated the potential risk and following ARTICLE 19 security protocol, had notified Ethiopian contacts that he was being held.

During the period of detention, it became apparent that the authorities were familiar with Patrick’s movements during previous trips to the country. Security officials made clear they knew details about who he had met with, as well as where and when those meetings had taken place.

At approximately 2pm on 4 April, 26 hours after being detained and as a result of a global reaction for his release, Patrick was told he would be deported and warned that he would face jail if he returned. At 5pm the same day, Patrick’s passport was stamped “deported” and he was placed on a flight back to Kenya.

AN ATTEMPT TO UNDERMINE THE UNITED NATIONS

We are also concerned that this response by the Ethiopian government is an attempt to stop ARTICLE 19 from continuing to provide an independent source of information about human rights violations in Ethiopia to the United Nations.

As well as training journalists, Patrick was due to work with Ethiopian civil society to provide information to the UN’s Universal Periodic Review, a four-yearly assessment of the human rights situation in every country, conducted in front of all UN member states in Geneva.

ARTICLE 19 routinely works with civil society in countries worldwide to give detailed and independent information and recommendations about the state of freedom of expression in countries under review.

Unfortunately, there is a growing trend for governments to harass civil society to stop them passing information to the UN and its various mechanisms. The UN’s Human Rights Council adopted a resolution recently in September 2013, committing states to prevent “intimidation or reprisals against individuals and groups who cooperate or have cooperated with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights.” The resolution calls upon the UN Secretary General to create a senior focal point within the UN to coordinate an international response on the issues of reprisals, to increase protections for human rights defenders, and to ensure perpetrators of attacks against defenders are held accountable.

Ethiopia, a member of the Council, abstained in the resolution’s September vote and in December, the African Group of States at the UN General Assembly voted to delay the appointment of the senior focal point on reprisals.

“Detaining Patrick, a human rights defender, obstructs civil society’s ability to communicate human rights abuses to the UN and other international bodies responsible for holding states accountable for their human rights violations, such as the Universal Periodic Review,” added Maina.

- See more at: http://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37517/en/ethiopia-detains-article-19-staff#sthash.w1dQGaUe.dpuf

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የአንድነት ለዲሞክራሲና ለፍትህ ፓርቲ የእሪታ ቀን ሰልፉን ከሶስት ሳምንታት በኋላ ለማድረግ ወሰነ !

መጋቢት 28 ቀን ይደረጋል ተብሎ የተጠበቀዉ የአንድነት የእሪታ ቀን ሰልፉ ፣ «ሰልፍ እንዲደረግ በታሰበበት ቀን፣ ሌሎች ዝግጅቶች ስላሉ በቂ ጥበቃ ልናሰማራ አንችልም» በሚል እውቅና ባለመስጠቱ ለሚያዚያ 5 ቀን መተላለፉ ይታወቃል።

የሚያዚያ አምስቱን ሰልፍ በተመለከተ ምላሽ የሰጠው የአዲስ አበባ አስተዳደር፣ በሚያዚያ 5 ቀን ፣ ሩጫ ስለሚኖር ሰልፉ ለቅዳሜ ሚያዚይ 4 ቀን እንዲደረግ የሚጠይቅ ደብዳቤ ለአንድነት ፓርቲ የላከ ሲሆን፣ የሚያዚያ አራቱን ቀን ፣ ቅዳሜ በመሆኑና ግማሽ ቀን ሥራ የሚኖራቸው በርካታ ዜጎችን ስለሚኖሩ፣ አስተዳደሩ በጠየቀው ቀን ሰልፉን ለማድረግ ፍቃደኛ እንዳልሆነም የደረሰን ዘገባ ያመለክታል።
የአንድነት ከፍተኛ አመራሮች በጉዳዩ ላይ መክረዉበት ፣ የሚቀጥሉት ሁለት እሁዶች የባህል ቀናት እንደመሆናቸው፣ ከሶስት ሳምንታት በኋላ ሰልፉን ለማድረግ ማሰባቸውን ያነጋገርናቸው ከፍተኛ የአንድነት አመራር አባል ገልጸዉልናል።

ያንን በተመለከተ አስፈላጊዉን የማሳወቅ ደብዳቤ ለአስተዳደሩ የሚያስገቡ ሲሆን፣ በዚህ ሂደት፣ የተለያዩ ሩጫዎችን ለማስተናገድ ሲባል፣ መንገዶች ሲዘጉ፣ የትራፊክ መጨናነቅና የልማት ሥራ መደናቀፍ ሲፈጠር፣ ያላሳሰበው፣ የአዲስ አበባ አስተዳደሩ፣ ሕዝቡ ሕግ መንግስታዊ መብቱን ተጠቅሞ ድምጹን ለማሰማት ሲዘጋጅ ይጨናነቃል፣ «የልማቱ ሥራ ይደናቀፋል፣ የትራፊክ መጨናነቅ ይኖራል» እያለ እውቅና አለመስጠቱ አሳዛኝ እንደሆነ የሚናገሩት የአመራር አባሉ ፣ «የኛን ሞራል ሞራል ለማዳከም የሚያደርጉት አሳዛኝ እንቅስቃሴ፣ ዉጤት እንዳመጣላቸው፣ ይልቅስ የበለጠ በቁርጠኝነት እንድንነሳ የሚያደርግ መሆኑን አውቀው፣ ከሶስት ሳምንት በኋላ አስፈላጊዉን ትብብር ያደርጋሉ የሚል ተስፋ አለኝ» ሲሉ በፓርቲያቸው ዘንድ ያለውን ቁርጠኝነት አሳይተዋል።

የአንድነት ፓርቲ መጋቢት 28 ቀን በደሴ ከተማ እጅግ ታልቅ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ማድረጉ ይታወቃል። ፓርቲዉ ከደሴና ከአዲስ አበባ በተጨማሪ በአዋሳ፣ ድረዳዋ፣ አዳማ በመሳሰሉት ወደ 14 በሚጠጉ ከተሞች ሕዝባዊ እንቅስቃሴዎች ለማድረግ እየተዘጋጀ እንደሆነም በስፋት ተዘግቧል።

አቡጊዳ 

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Why Europeans should care about Ethiopia’s repression of journalists

by Alison Bethel McKenzie

Alison Bethel McKenzie is executive director of the International Press Institute in Vienna.

With European elections looming and a host of crises here at home dominating the political debate, there is the risk that challenges abroad – including Ethiopia’s disturbing treatment of journalists – will be swept under the carpet. It is vitally important that the current Parliament and Commission not let that happen as their mandates wind down, writes Alison Bethel McKenzie.

When nominations for the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought were announced last autumn, it was heartening to see that two imprisoned journalists in one of Africa’s most oppressed countries had made the list with the support of more than 40 lawmakers.

Although the award ultimately went to the Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, the nomination of Ethiopian journalists Reeyot Alemu and Eskinder Nega marked important recognition of the appalling conditions that these brave people have faced since they were convicted on terrorism charges in 2011.

Yet today, there seems to be no end to the Ethiopian government’s assault on independent journalism. In February, an Addis Ababa court sentenced Somali journalist Mohamed Aweys Mudey to 27 years in prison for allegedly having information about a Somali al-Shabab terrorist cell operating inside Ethiopia. Several colleagues of Alemu and Nega are already serving sentences under anti-terror law.

Two Swedish journalists know all too well the consequences of being a journalist in Ethiopia, Africa’s second largest country and a leading recipient of EU aid. In December 2011, reporter Martin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson were sentenced to 11 years in prison for “rendering support to terrorism” by interviewing people in the conflict-prone Ogaden region. Luckily for them, concerted international campaigns and diplomatic pressure helped win their freedom a year later.

The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, or EPRDF, has always maintained a tight grip on the news media since taking power in 1991. Yet it strengthened its hand in 2009 by adopting the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation that gives virtually unchecked powers to the authorities to arrest and prosecute those they deem fall under an overly broad definition of terrorism.

Under the law, a journalist who interviews and reports on a suspected terrorist could be accused of distributing anti-government information. Eskinder Nega was convicted for allegedly supporting an “Arab Spring” in Ethiopia by writing about those who were inspired by democratic movements in North Africa. Reeyot Alemu, a school teacher by profession who spent her free time writing for a newspaper, was convicted for publishing a photo bearing the Amharic word bäqa (enough!) – a slogan for opposition groups.

The EPRDF has tried to weaken civil society groups as well. The Proclamation to Provide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies (CSP), also adopted in 2009, restricts the operations and financing of independent human rights and civil society organisations. Together, the anti-terror and CSP laws have a profound effect on the ability of watchdogs to monitor and critique government policies, as well as provide early warnings of troubles in this disaster-prone Horn of Africa nation.

The government has not shied from using the laws to bludgeon opposition figures and journalists. Dozens of journalists have fled the country, including Abiye Teklemariam and Mesfin Negash, two newspaper editors who were charged with plotting anti-government activities and sentenced in absentia. Wubset Taye, Yusuf Getachew and Solomon Kebede, the latter two who ran the Ye Muslimach Guday (Muslim Affairs) magazine that reported on Ethiopia’s large Islamic community, are serving sentences along with Alemu and Nega under the anti-terror law.

My colleagues and I at the International Press Institute (IPI) in Vienna and from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) in Paris were barred from seeing these journalists at the Kaliti prison – a notoriously crowded detention facility that has housed many prisoners of conscience – when we visited Addis Ababa in early November. Colleagues and lawyers for the families told us that the state prison administration routinely deny visitors the right to see prisoners. In the case of Reeyot Alemu, who has been treated for breast cancer, this has restricted her access to outside medical help.

Why should Europeans care – and why should European leaders do more than propose prizes for Ethiopia’s terrified journalists, no matter how well meaning these honours?

Because Europe has a major investment in the wellbeing of Ethiopia and its people. The country is the fifth largest recipient of development aid from EU donors, amounting to a record 690 million euros in 2011 and 557 million euros in 2012, figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development show. Ethiopia is also one of the main recipients of EU humanitarian aid, with the European Commission alone providing 130 million euros over the past three years to help support millions of Ethiopians and refugees from regional conflict areas in need of basic food, water and health assistance.

It would be foolish to suggest that Ethiopia’s needy should be denied aid because of the notorious policies of their rulers. But that does not absolve the EU from using its influence to pressure the EPRDF élite, which has traditionally enjoyed a chummy relationship with western leaders.

The EU is committed through its three-year-old Agenda for Change development policy to foster democratic governance in Ethiopia and other aid recipients. The 2013 “Joint Co-operation Strategy” aimed at fostering a stable and democratic Ethiopia acknowledges that “fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of association and expression, face increasing restrictions”, but those who dole out money in Brussels and the 28 EU capitals have shown little outward sign of pressuring the prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, to reform laws that inhibit fundamental rights.

With European elections looming and a host of crises here at home dominating the political debate, there is the risk that challenges abroad – including Ethiopia’s disturbing treatment of journalists – will be swept under the carpet. It is vitally important that the current Parliament and Commission not let that happen as their mandates wind down.

Their successors, moreover, will need to insist that the EPRDF reform if it is to be a worthy partner of Europe. The EU should be prepared to get tough, through travel and economic sanctions on senior party officials if they fail to pardon the journalists and other prisoners of conscience – and begin the process of revamping their anti-terror and civil society laws to allow for legitimate dissent and independent news reporting.

European citizens who every year provide millions of euros in aid and support to Ethiopia deserve no less. So do the imprisoned journalists, and their many colleagues who live in fear of ending up like Reeyot Alemu and Eskinder Nega.

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ቤተ-መንግስት ስር የሚኖሩ ቤት አልባዎች በጅብ መንጋ ልንበላ ነው አሉ

ቦታው ለልማት ይፈለጋል ተብሎ ቤት ሲፈርስ፣መጠለያ አጥተው ቤተ-መንግስት ስር መኖር የጀመሩት  48 ቤት አልባዎች፤ሰሞኑን “በጅብ መንጋ ልንበላ ነው” ሲሉ ምሬትና አቤቱታቸውን ገለፁ፡፡ ከጅቦቹ ይከላከሉናል ብለን የሰበሰብናቸው ውሾችም በወረዳው ባለስልጣናት በመርዝ ስለተገደሉብን ከፍተኛ ስጋት ላይ ነን ብለዋል – ቅሬታ አቅራቢዎቹ።

የወረዳ ስምንት ዋና ሥራ አስፈፃሚ አቶ ደሳለኝ ደበሌ ስለጉዳዩ ጠይቀናቸው ሲመልሱ፤በወረዳው ሸራተንና ፓርላማ በመባል የሚታወቁ ሁለት ፕሮጀክቶች እንዳሉ ገልፀው፤ በሸራተን ፕሮጀክት ለመልሶ ማልማት 1319 ቤቶች ሲፈርሱ፣ምትክና ካሳ እየሰጠን መመሪያው የሚፈቅድላቸውን አስተናግደናል ብለዋል፡፡ በወረዳው ረጅም ዓመት ለኖሩ ምንም መረጃ የሌላቸው ከ60 በላይ ሰዎችም አስተናግደናል ይላሉ- ሥራ አስፈፃሚው፡፡ በሸራተን ዙሪያ በጥገኝነትና በተከራይነት ከ15-23 ዓመት እንደኖሩና የቀበሌ መታወቂያ እንዳላቸው የነገሩን  ቤት አልባዎች የወረዳ ኃላፊዎቹን ይወቅሳሉ፡፡ “ከዛሬ ነገ ቤት ይሰራላችኋል፤መጠለያ ተፈልጎ ትገባላችሁ” ሲሉን ቢቆዩም እስካሁም መፍትሄ አላገኘንም ይላሉ፡፡ አሁን ከቤቱም በላይ ሃሳብ የሆነባቸው የጅቦቹ ጉዳይ ነው፡፡ ጅቦች ከነጋ በኋላም እየመጡብን ከፍተኛ ስጋት ፈጥረውብናል ብለዋል – ነዋሪዎቹ፡፡

“ወረዳው ቀደም ሲል በእኛው ጉዳይ ከአዲስ አድማስ ጥያቄ ቀርቦለት ‘ከክፍለ ከተማው ጋር ተመካክረን የመጠለያ ቦታ አፈላልገን አግኝተናል’ የሚል ምላሽ ቢሰጥም እኛ ግን እስካሁን መፍትሄ አላገኘንም” ያሉት ስማቸውን መግለፅ ያልፈለጉ የአምስት ልጆች አባት፤ በላስቲክ ቤት ውስጥ መኖራቸውን በመቀጠላቸው  ጅቦች ስጋት እንደፈጠሩባቸው ጠቁመው፣ “ዜጎች እንደመሆናችን መንግስት መፍትሄ ይፈልግልን” ሲሉ ተማፅነዋል፡፡

የወረዳ ስምንት ዋና ስራ አስፈፃሚ አቶ ደሳለኝ በበኩላቸው፣ “ከዚህ በፊት ጉዳዩን እየተመለከትን በወረዳው እንደመኖራቸው መንግስት የእነዚህን ዜጎች ችግር የመፍታት አቅም ይኖረዋል አይኖረውም የሚለውን ለክ/ከተማው አቅርበናል” ካሉ በኋላ በክፍለ ከተማው ወረዳ 14 ባለወልድ ጀርባ የቆርቆሮ መጠለያ እንደነበረና መጠለያው ከተቃጠለ በኋላ ቦታው ባዶ መሆኑን በማስረዳት፣ እዚያ ቦታ ላይ የቆርቆሮ መጠለያ እንዲሰራ አመልክተን ነበር ይላሉ፡፡  “በወቅቱ የነበሩት የክ/ከተማው ዋና ስራ አስፈፃሚ፣ ከካቢኔ አባላት ጋር ተመካክረው ምን ያህል በጀት እንደሚፈጅ ሰርተን እንድናቀርብ ገልፀው ነበር” ያሉት ስራ አስፈፃሚው፣ በዚህ መሰረት የወረዳው ኮንስትራክሽንና ቤቶች ልማት ባለሙያዎች ምን ምን እንደሚያስፈልግ ሰርተው፣ ለክ/ከተማው አቅርበው ነበር ይላሉ፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ በ2005 ዓ.ም በተካሄደው ምርጫ የመዋቅር ለውጥ በመደረጉና የቀድሞው የክ/ከተማው ስራ አስፈፃሚ ከቦታው በመነሳታቸው፣ የእነዚህ ዜጎች ጉዳይ ሊቀጥል እንዳልቻለ አቶ ደሳለኝ አስረድተዋል፡፡

“በሸራተን ፕሮጀክት ውስጥ ቤት የሚጠይቁት ቤት የማግኘት መብት ኖሯቸው ሳይሆን በወረዳው ብዙ ጊዜ ስለቆዩ የሚቻል ነገር ካለ ብለን የጀመርነው ነበር” ያሉት ዋና ስራ አስፈፃሚው፣ ነገር ግን ገና ለገና ቤት እናገኛለን በሚል ከጎዳና ላይ እየገቡ ላስቲክ ቤት እየሰሩ እንደሚቀመጡና ረጅም አመት የኖሩትን ለመለየት በተደረገው ማጣሪያ 31 አባወራዎች መኖራቸውን፣እነዚህንም ከነቤተሰቦቻቸው በፎቶ አስደግፈው መያዛቸውን ተናግረዋል፡፡ የጅቦቹን ጉዳይ በተመለከተ፣ ኮተቤና በአካባቢው ለመንገድ ስራ ጫካ ሲነካ እየሸሹ የሚመጡ መሆኑን ገልፀው፣ በሸራተን ፕሮጀክት ብቻ ሳይሆን በባለወልድ አካባቢ ለነዋሪዎች ስጋት በመሆናቸው ወረዳው ከደንና የዱር እንስሳት ልማትና ጥበቃ ጋር በመመካከር፣መፍትሄ በመፈለግ ላይ እንደሆኑ ሥራ አስፈፃሚው ተናግረዋል፡፡
“ወደፊት በወረዳው ኮንዶሚኒየም ቤት ደርሷቸው የሚለቀቁ ቤቶች ሲኖሩ ቅድሚያ ይሰጣቸዋል” ያሉት ስራ አስፈፃሚው፤ በዚህ ጊዜ እንዲህ እናደርግላቸዋለን ለማለት እንደሚቸገሩና ለክ/ከተማው ሲወስን ጉዳያቸው እንደሚታይ ተናገረዋል፡፡

ሐምሌ 27 ቀን 2005 ዓ.ም ለንባብ በበቃው አዲስ አድማስ ጋዜጣ “ትራሳቸውን ቤተ-መንግስት ግርጌያቸውን ሸራተን ያደረጉ ቤት አልባዎች” በሚል ርዕስ ስለእነዚሁ 48 ቤት አልባ አባወራዎች መዘገባችን የሚታወስ ሲሆን በወቅቱ የወረዳ ስምንት ዋና ስራ አስፈፃሚ ከክ/ከተማው ጋር በመነጋገር፤ ለቤት አልባዎች የቆርቆሮ መጠለያ ለመስራት ቦታ በመፈለግ ላይ እንደሆኑ ገልፀውልን ነበር፡፡

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የግብጹ እጩ ፕሬዘዳንት ከኢትዮጵያ ጋር ጦርነት የማይቀር መሆኑን አሳወቁ!

በግብፅ በቅርቡ ይካሄዳል ተብሎ ለሚጠበቀው ፕሬዚዳንታዊ ምርጫ ራሳቸውን በዕጩነት ያቀረቡት የሕግ ባለሙያው ሞርታዳ ማንሱር፣ ‹‹ኢትዮጵያ የህዳሴውን ግድብ ግንባታ ካላቆመች ወታደራዊ ኃይል እጠቀማለሁ፤›› በማለት አስጠነቀቁ፡፡

አወዛጋቢና ስሜታዊ እንደሆኑ በይፋ የሚታወቁት የሕግ ባለሙያና ከሳምንት በፊት ደግም ዛማሌክ ለተባለው ታዋቂ የግብፅ እግር ኳስ ቡድን ሊቀመንበር ሆነው የተመረጡት ማንሱር፣ ማስጠንቀቂያውን ያስተላለፉት ባለፈው እሑድ ፕሬዚዳንታዊ ውድድርን አስመልክቶ በሰጡት ማብራሪያ ነው፡፡ በኢትዮጵያ ላይ ጦነርት በመክፈት የግብፅ ሕዝብን ጥቅም እንደሚያስከብሩም ተናግረዋል፡፡ የዓባይ ወንዝን በተመለከተ እ.ኤ.አ. በ1929 እና በ1959 የተፈረሙ ዓለም አቀፍ ስምምነቶች መኖራቸውን ያስታወሱት ማንሱር፣ ኢትዮጵያ ይህንን ስምምነት ወደጎን ብላ ግንባታውን መቀጠሏን ተቃውመዋል፡፡

‹‹ኢትዮጵያና ግብፅን ከማግባባት የተቆጠቡ ዓለም አቀፍ ተቋማት አሉ፡፡ በዚህም ምክንያት ኢትዮጵያ በአቋሟ ፀንታ ግድቡን መገንባት ቀጥላለች፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ ወታደራዊ አቅም እንዳላት በመግለጽ ግብፅን እያስፈራራች ነው፡፡ ነገር ግን ግብፅም ወታደራዊ አቅም አላት፤›› ብለዋል፡፡

Mortada Mansour

ከኢትዮጵያ ጀርባ እስራኤል እንዳለች የተናገሩት ማንሱር፣ ይህ ቢሆንም የግብፅን የውኃ ድርሻ ለመገደብ የሚደረግ ጥረት ለግብፃውያን የሞትና ሽረት ጉዳይ ነው ሲሉ አስታውቀዋል፡፡

‹‹ወደ ግድቡ የጦር ጄኔራሎቻቸውን ወስደው እየፎከሩ ግብፅ ከመጣች የሚሉ ከሆነ ግብፅም ጄኔራሎችና ተዋጊ ጄቶች እንዳላት ይወቁ፡፡ ግብፅ ጠብታ ውኃ እንዲጎድልባት አትፈቅድም፡፡ በዚህ ጉዳይ አንደራደርም፡፡ ይህ ለግብፃውያን ሞትና ሽረት ነው፤›› ብለዋል፡፡ ለግብፅ ፕሬዚዳንትነት ራሳቸውን በዕጩነት ያቀረቡት ማንሱር ገና ወደ ውድድር ለመግባት የግብፅ ፕሬዚዳንታዊ ምርጫ ኮሚሽንን ይሁንታ ማግኘት እንደሚጠበቅባቸው የአገሪቱ ሚዲያዎች ዘግበዋል፡፡

የሕግ ባለሙያው ማንሱር የኮሚሽኑን ይሁንታ እንኳን ማግኘት ቢችሉ የሚወዳደሩት በቅርቡ ከግብፅ መከላከያ ሚኒስትርነትና ጠቅላይ ኤታ ማዦር ሹምነት ከለቀቁት ፊልድ ማርሻል አልሲሲ ጋር መሆኑን የጠቆሙት መገናኛ ብዙኃን፣ በፕሬዚዳንትነት የመመረጥ ተስፋ እንደሌላቸው የተለያዩ ምክንያቶችን አስቀምጠዋል፡፡

በግብፅ እ.ኤ.አ. በ2012 በተካሄደው ምርጫ ላይ ለመሳተፍ ማንሱር ራሳቸውን በዕጩነት አቅርበው የነበረ ቢሆንም፣ በፕሬዚዳንታዊ ምርጫ ኮሚሽኑ ተቀባይነት አለማግኘታቸው አንዱ ነው፡፡ እ.ኤ.አ. ከ1990 ጀምሮ አራት ጊዜ ለፓርላማ ቢወዳደሩም ማሸነፍ የቻሉት ግን አንድ ጊዜ መሆኑን፣ እንዲሁም ሰውየው በጣም ስሜታዊና ግልፍተኛ መሆናቸው በቴሌቪዥን ቃለ ምልልስ ጭምር መረጋገጡ በምክንያትነት የተጠቀሱት ናቸው፡፡

ማንሱር ግልፍተኛና ስሜታዊ ቢሆኑም፣ በርካቶች የግብፅ አመራሮች በግልጽ አያወጡትም እንጂ በዓባይ ጉዳይ ተመሳሳይ አቋም እንዳላቸው በተደጋጋሚ የሚነገር ከመሆኑም ባሻገር፣ ከዓመት በፊት የግብፅ ፕሬዚዳንት በነበሩት መሐመድ ሙርሲ ጊዜ በግብፅ በቀጥታ ቴሌቪዥን እንዲህ ዓይነቱ ማስጠንቀቂያ መተላለፉ ይታወሳል፡፡

የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት ባለሥልጣናት ግን ከግብፅ በኩል በቀጥታ ጥቃት ይሰነዘራል ብለው አይገምቱም፡፡ የመከላከያ ሚኒስትሩ አቶ ሲራጅ ፈጌሳ ባለፈው ሳምንት በዚህ ጉዳይ ላይ በፓርላማው ተጠይቀው የሰጡት ምላሽ ተመሳሳይ ነው፡፡ ለዚህ የጠቀሷቸው ምክንያቶች ኢትዮጵያ የግድቡን ግንባታ እያካሄደች የምትገኘው ከዓለም ተደብቃ አለመሆኑንና የተለያዩ የአውሮፓ አገሮች ዜጎች በግድቡ ግንባታ ላይ እየተሳተፉ መሆናቸው ዋነኞቹ ናቸው፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ የኢትዮጵያ ሠራዊት ማንኛውንም ጥቃት የመመከት ዝግጁነት እንዳለው ግን አረጋግጠዋል፡፡

የማንሱርን ንግግር በተለያዩ ድረ ገጾች የተከታተሉ ግብፃውያንና ኢትዮጵያውያን ስሜቶቻቸውን በድረ ገጾቹ ላይ አስፍረዋል፡፡ ‹‹ጥሩ ፕሬዚዳንት የሚለካው በመደራደር አቅሙ፣ ትዕግሥቱና ዕውቀቱ ነው፡፡ ኃይል የመጨረሻ አማራጭ ነው፡፡ በአሁኑ ወቅት ከኢትዮጵያ ግድብ በላይ የሚያስጨንቀን የውስጥ ጉዳይ አለ፤›› የሚሉ የግብፃውያን አስተያየት አዘል ሙግቶች በግለሰቡ ላይ ተሰንዝረዋል፡፡

በኢትዮጵያውያን አንባቢያን በኩል እልህ የተጋቡ የሚመስሉ አስተያየቶች የተሰነዘሩ ቢሆንም፣ በሌላ በኩል ኢትዮጵያና ግብፅ ቢተባበሩ ሁለቱም ይጠቀማሉ፣ ነገር ግን ግብፅ እንደ ማንሱር ከወሰነች ሁሉቱ አገሮች ይጎዳሉ ብለዋል፡፡ ግብፅ በግድቡ ምክንያት የውኃ አቅርቦት እንደማይስተጓጐልባት ይልቁንም ከዚህ ግድብ በሚመነጭ የኤሌክትሪክ ኃይል ተጠቃሚ እንደምትሆን የገለጹ አሉ፡፡

የግብፅ ባለሥልጣናት፣ ፖለቲከኞችና ሚዲያዎች ተለዋዋጭ አቋም በየጊዜው እየተንፀባረቀ ሲሆን፣ ባለፈው ሳምንት የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትሩ ከግድቡ ቦንድ በመግዛት የግድቡ ግንባታ ማኔጅመንት ላይ ለመሳተፍ ጥያቄ አቅርበው ነበር፡፡ በኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት በኩል የተሰጠው ምላሽ የግድቡ ባለቤት ኢትዮጵያ ስለሆነች ይልቁንም ግብፅ ወደ ድርድሩ መመለስ ይሻላታል ነበር የተባለው፡፡

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