‹‹የፍርድ ሂደቱ ድራማ ነበር›› ከወይንሸት ሞላ ጋር ቃለ ምልልስ

የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ አመራር አባል የሆነችው ወይንሸት ሞላ፤ የሙስሊሙን እንቅስቃሴ ለመከታተል አንዋር መስጊድ ሄዳ በነበረበት ወቅት በደህንነት ታፍና፤ በአሰቃቂ ሁኔታ እየተደበደበች መወሰዷን በድረ ገጻችን ላይ ገልጸን ነበር። ከዚያም ሰውነቷ ተጎድቶ እና ደክሞ ፍርድ ቤት ትመላለስ የነበረ መሆኑን በመጨረሻም በዋስ መፈታቷን በወቅቱ ገልጸናል። ከ”ነገረ ኢትዮጵያ” መጽሄት ጋር ያደረገችው ቃለ ምልልስ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ እንዳይታተም በመደረጉ ምክንያት አዘጋጆቹ ቃለ ምልልሱን በማህበራዊ ድረ ገጾች ላይ ለቀውታል። እኛም ይህንኑ ቃለ ምልልስ ለናንተ ልናጋራቹህ ወደድን። ከዚህ በታች አቅርበነዋል።

‹‹የሙስሊሙን እንቅስሴ ተገኝቼ በመታዘቤ ኮርቻለሁ›› ወ/ት ወይንሸት ሞላ፣ የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ብሔራዊ ም/ቤት አባል

ወ/ት ወይንሸት ሞላ የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ብሔራዊ ምክር ቤት አባል ስትሆን ፓርቲው በሚያደርጋቸው የፖለቲካ እንቅስቃሴዎች ላይ ንቁ ተሳታፊ ከሆኑት መካከል እንደሆነች ይነገርላታል፡፡ ወጣቷ ፖለቲከኛ ወይንሸት ሞላ ሐምሌ 11 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም ለዓመታት የዘለቀው የሙስሊሙ ማህበረሰብ የመብት ጥያቄ አካል የሆነውንና በዕለቱ በአኑዋር መስጊድ የተደረገውን የተቃውሞ ሁኔታ ለማየት በቦታው ተገኝታ እንደነበር ትናገራለች፡፡ ወ/ት ወይንሸት በዕለቱ በፖሊስ ቁጥጥር ስር ውላ ለ29 ቀናት በእስር ቆይታ በዋስ ተለቅቃለች፤ ጋዜጠኛ ጌታቸው ሺፈራው ስለጉዳዩ አነጋግሯታል፡፡

ነገረ ኢትዮጵያ፡- አንዋር መስጊድ አካባቢ ተይዘሽ ከታሰርሽ በኋላ ለምን መስጊድ ሄደች የሚሉ አካላት ነበሩ፡፡ ለመሆኑ እንዴትና ለምን ነበር የሄድሽው?

ወይንሸት፡- የሄድኩበት ምክንያት ግልጽ ነው፡፡ በእርግጥ እኔ የሄድኩበትን ብቻ ሳይሆን በተለይ በገዥው ፓርቲ በኩል የሙስሊሙን ማህበረሰብ እንቅስቃሴም ባልሆነ መንገድ ትርጉም እየተሰጠው ነው የሚገኘው፡፡ የሙስሊሙን እንቅስቃሴ እስላማዊ መንግስት ለመመስረት የሚደረግ እንደሆነ አድርገው በተሳሳተ መንገድ ያቀርቡታል፡፡ የእኔንም ከዚህ በተለየ ሁኔታ አይደለም ያቀረቡት፡፡ ምን አልባት የእኔ ይለያል ከተባለ ፖለቲከኛ በመሆኔ ሊሆን ይችል ይሆናል፡፡ ሆኖም እኔም የሄድኩት እንቅስቃሴውን ለማየት ነው፡፡ ይህን ለማየት የሄድኩበት ምክንያት አንደኛ ገዥው ፓርቲ ሙስሊሙ ማህበረሰብ የሚያደርገውን እንቅስቃሴ ሰላማዊ አይደለም ብሎ ስለሚፈርጅ ነው፡፡ ሙስሊሞች ደግሞ እንቅስቃሴው ሰላማዊ እንደሆነ ይናገራሉ፡፡ ለህዝብ እንደቆመ እንደ አንድ የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲ አባልነቴም ሆነ መሪ ለመሆን እንደምትፈልግ አንዲት ሴት ቦታው ላይ ተገኝቼ ነገሮችን ማረጋገጥ ስለነበረብኝ ቦታው ላይ ተገኝቻለሁ፡፡

ነገረ ኢትዮጵያ፡- የተያዝሽበት ሁኔታስ ምን ይመስላል?

ወይንሸት፡- መስጊዱ ፊት ለፊት ባለ አንድ ህንጻ ላይ ሆኜ እንቅስቃሴውን ስከታተል ነው የያዙኝ፡፡ በተለይ ከያዙኝ በኋላ የወሰዱት እርምጃ በጣም ዘግናኝ ነበር፡፡ በድብደባ ከፍተኛ ጉዳት አድርሰውብኛል፡፡ አጸያፊ የሆነ ስድብ ይሳደቡ ነበር፡፡ መንግስት ነኝ ከሚል አካል የመጣ ሰው እንዲህ ይሳደባል ብሎ ለማመን እስኪከብድ ድረስ ነው የሚሳደቡት፡፡ ለሴት ልጅ ምንም አይነት ክብር የላቸውም፡፡ ሲሳደቡ ኢትዮጵያዊ አይመስሉም ነበር፡፡ የህዝቡን ስነ ልቦና ለመስለብም ይሁን ለሌላ ጉዳይ ግፉ ምን ያህል ጫፍ እንደደረሰ የሚያሳይ ነበር፡፡ ድብደባ የፈጸሙብኝ ደህንነቶች ተደብቀውና እኔን ከተያዙት ሌሎች ሰዎች ለይተው ነበር የሚደበድቡኝ፡፡ እንዳይታዩ መስገጃ ተከናንበው ነበር ይደበድቡኝ የነበረው፡፡ ከሌላው ለይተው ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ መጥቶ ያድንሽ እያሉ ነበር ከበው የደበደቡኝ፡፡ ይህ ፍርሃታቸውን ነው የሚያሳየው፡፡ በሚደበድቡኝ ወቅት ሞባይሌን ይጎረጉሩ ነበር፡፡ በድንገት የአባይ ግድብን ፎቶ አግኝተውት ‹‹ደግሞ አባይ ግድብንም ልታፈነዱ ነው?›› ይሉኝ ነበር፡፡ ሌላስ ተልዕኮሽ ምንድን ነው እያሉ ከፍተኛ ደብደባ አድርሰውብኛል፡፡ የመጣው ሁሉ የሌለ ጥያቄ እየጠየቀ ይሳደባል፡፡ ይደባደባል፡፡

በምርመራ ወቅት መረዳት እንደቻልኩትም እኔን ሙስሊሞቹ የደበደቡኝ ለማስመሰል ነው የፈለጉት፡፡ በደህንነት አካላት ተደበደበች የሚሉትን ነገር ማመን አልፈለጉም፡፡ በዱላና አናቴን ደግሞ በእርግጫ ከደበደቡኝ በኋላ ጥለውኝ ሄዱ፡፡ ደም በጣም ይፈሰኝ ነበር፡፡ ፊቴ ሁሉ በደም ታጥቦ ነበር፡፡ ከዚህም በኋላ ወደ አራተኛ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ ወሰዱኝ፡፡ እዛ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ ቤቱ መቆሚያ መቀመጫ እስኪያጣ ድረስ በተጎጅዎች ተሞልቷል፡፡ እኔ ህክምና ያስፈልገኛል ስላቸው አንዲት ነርስ መጥታ አየችኝና ‹‹ከአቅሜ በላይ ነው ቁስሉ መሰፋት አለባት›› ስትል ደህንነቶቹ ግን ‹‹ይህ የአገር ጉዳይ ነው፡፡ አይሆንም›› ብለው ወደ ሶስተኛ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ ወሰዱኝ፡፡ ከቀኑ ሰባት ሰዓት አካባቢ ድብደባ የደረሰብኝ እስከ ምሽቱ አራት ሰዓት አካባቢ ደሜ እየፈሰሰ ነበር፡፡ እስከዛ ሰዓት ድረስ ቁስሉ አልተሰፋም ነበር፡፡ እኔ ብቻ ሳልሆን በርካታ ሰዎች ተመሳሳይ በደል ተፈጽሞባቸዋል፡፡ በፖለቲከኛ ደረጃ እኔ ብቻ ብሆንም እንፈልጋቸዋለን ያሏቸውን ሰዎች ምንም ህክምና ሳይደረግላቸው ወደ ሶስተኛ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ ነበር የሚልኳቸው፡፡ የራሳቸውንም ሰዎች ሰርጎ ገቦች ናቸው እያሉ የፖሊስ መታወቂያ ስለያዙ ብቻ ተመሳሳይ በደል ተፈጽሞባቸው አብረው ልከዋቸዋል፡፡

ለረዥም ጊዜ ህክምና ባለማግኘቴ እራሴን እየሳትኩ ሄድኩ፡፡ ከምሽቱ አራት ሰዓት በኋላ ወደ ራስ ደስታ ሆስፒታል ወሰዱኝ፡፡ ራስ ደስታ ሆስፒታል ላይ የፈጸሙብኝም በጣም የሚያሳዝን ጭካኔ ነበር፡፡ ሐኪሞቹ ቁስሌን ሲያዩ ‹‹ይህ የተፈነከተ ሳይሆን በጩቤ የተወጋ ነው›› እስከማለት ደርሰው ነበር፡፡ ነገር ግን ያንን ያህል ጉዳት ልተኛባቸው ስልሆንኩ ነው መሰለኝ ያለማደንዘዣ ነው የሰፉት፡፡ ውሃ እንኳን የሚሰጠኝ ላገኝ አልቻልኩም፡፡ ጉዳትክን እያዩ ሁሉም ጸጥ ብለው ነው የሚያልፉት፡፡ ቤተሰቦቼ የተሻለ ሐኪም ቤት ይወስዱኛል ብላቸው ሊሰሙኝ አልቻሉም፡፡ ያለ ማደንዘዥ ሲሰፉኝ በጣም እጮህ ነበር፡፡

ወይንሸት ሞላ

ነገረ ኢትዮጵያ፡- እንደነገርሽኝ እንደ አንድ ፖለቲከኛ የኢትዮጵያውያን ሙስሊሞች ጉዳይ ያገባኛል ብለሽ ነው የሄሽው፤ በወቅቱ ምን ታዘብሽ?

ወይንሸት፡- ሙስሊሙ ማህበረሰብ የፈጠረው ችግር የለም፡፡ ሁላችንም እንደሰማነው በእምነታቸው ላይ በሚፈጸምባቸው ጣልቃ ገብነት ትልቅ የተቃውሞ ፕሮግራም አዘጋጅተው ነበር፡፡ ሙስሊሞቹም ያንን ነገር ለመታደም ነው የሄዱት፡፡ በወቅቱ ሙስሊሞቹ ያደረጉት ነገር የለም፡፡ ድንጋይ ወርዋሪዎቹ ደህንነት ነን የሚሉት አካላት ናቸው፡፡ ዘግናኝ ድብደባ ይፈጽሙ የነበሩትም ራሳቸው የደህንነት አካላት ናቸው፡፡ ቀርበህ ስትጠይቃቸው የሚገልጹትም በሙስሊምነታቸው እንደታሰሩ እንጂ ወንጀል ፈጽመው እንዳልሆነ ነው፡፡

በድብደባው በኩል ያለው በጣም ዘግናኝ ነው፡፡ ጦር ሜዳ ነበር የሚመስለው፡፡ ከሰባት ሰዓት ጀምሮ እስከ ምሽቱ 12 ሰዓት መስጊዱ አካባቢ ደብደባ ነበር፡፡ ወደቁ፣ የተፈነከቱና የደሙ እናቶችን፣ ነፍሰ ጥሩዎችን ታያለህ፡፡ ቦታው ላይ ከ2000 በላይ ሰው ተይዟል፡፡ ይህ የተያዘ ሰው ወደ አራተኛ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ ተወሰደ፡፡ አብዛኛው ለመደብደብ እንዲያመች ወደሚኖርበት አካባቢ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ ነው የተወሰደው፡፡ ከፍተኛ ድብደባ የሚያደርሱባቸውን ሰዎች የሚለዩት የእንቅስቃሴው ደጋፊ ነኝ ብለው በመናገራቸውና በአለባበሳቸው ነው፡፡

መጀመሪያ በተለይ ጦር ኃይሎች አካባቢ ወደሚገኝ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ (መደብደቢያ) የተወሰዱት በጣም የሚያሳዝን ግፍ ተፈጽሞባቸዋል፡፡ አራተኛ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ ላይ ጊዜያዊ ህክምና ከሰጡ በኋላ በኒቃብ፣ በሂጃብና በሌሎች ሀይማኖታዊ አለባበሳቸው እየነጠሉ ወደ ጦር ኃይሎች አካባቢ ወደሚገኘው መደብደቢያ ወሰዷቸው፡፡ ሞባይላቸውንና ሌሎች ንብረታቸውን ተቀምተዋል፡፡ ንብረታቸውን መዝግበው አልነበረም የሚቀበሏቸውና ማንም ንብረቱን ያገኘ የለም፡፡ በጣም በሚያሳዝንና በሚያሳፍር ሁኔታ ኒቃባቸውንና ሌሎች ሙስሊሞች በተለይም ሴቶቹ የሚለብሱትን ልብሶችቻውን እያስወለቁ ነበር የሚደበድቧቸው፡፡ መቼም ሙስሊም ሴቶች እምነቱ በሚፈቅደው መሰረት የሚለብሱትን ልብስ ሲያወልቁ ከውስጥ ምን ሊቀር እንደሚችል መገመት ቀላል ነው፡፡ አብዛኛዎቹ እንዲህ ራቁታቸውን ሆነው ወንድ አይቷቸው የማያዉቁ ለጋ ወጣቶች ናቸው፡፡ ይህ ሁሉ በደል ከተፈጸመባቸው በኋላ ንብረታቸውን ሳይመልሱላቸው ከሌሊቱ 9 ሰዓት ላይ ለቀቁዋቸው፡፡ ንብረታቸው አይመዘገብም፡፡ በዛና ሰዓት ሴቶቹ ወደየት ሊሄዱ ይችላሉ?

ነገረ ኢትዮጵያ፡- ለብቻሽ ተለይተሸ ከተደበደብሽ ምርመራ ላይም የተለየ ትኩረት ሊኖር እንደሚችል መገመት ይቻላል፡፡ ምርመራው እንዴት ነበር?

ወይንሸት፡- ዋነኛው የምርመራ አካል ‹‹ተልዕኮ አለሽ ይህን ተልዕኮ ንገሪን›› የሚል ነው፡፡ እንደዛ ጉዳት ደርሶብኝና ቁስሌን ያለ ማደንዘዣ ሰፍተው እስከ ሌሊቱ 9ና 10 ሰዓት ገደማ ምርመራ ላይ ነበርኩ፡፡ እኔ ደግሞ ተልዕኮ እንደሌለኝና ሁኔታውን ለመታዘብ እንደሄድኩ ነበር የምናገረው፡፡ ያው እነሱ ይሳለቃሉ፣ ይዘባበታሉ፡፡ ሶስተኛ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ ውስጥ ድብደባ አልነበረም፡፡ ከዛም በኋላ ቤቴን ፈትሸው መጽሃፍቶችና የዘፈን ሲዲዎችን አግኝተዋል፡፡ ሊፈትሹ የሄዱት ግን ከፍርድ ቤት ፈቃድ አውጥተው የጦር መሳሪያ፣ በራሪ ወረቀቶችና ሁከትና ብጥብጥን የሚያስነሱ ቁሳቁሶች ይገኛል ብለው ነው፡፡ ቤት ያገኙትን ወረቀት መስመር በመስመር እያነበቡ የፈለጉትን ለማግኘት ጥረው ነበር፡፡ ነገር ግን ምንም ሊያገኙ አልቻሉም፡፡ የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ መታወቂያና የዘፈን ሲዲዎችን ብቻ ነው የወሰዱት፡፡

ነገረ ኢትዮጵያ፡- በተለይ ወደመጀመሪያው አካባቢ ማንም ታዛቢ ፍርድ ቤት መግባት ባለመቻሉ መከታተል አልተቻለምና የፍርዱ ሂደቱስ እንዴት ነበር?

ወይንሸት፡- የፍርድ ቤቱ ሂደቱ ድራማ ነበር፡፡ ሌላ ምንም መገለጫ የለውም፡፡ በማይመለከተን ነገር ክሱን ወደ ግድያ ለመቀየር ብዙ ብዙ ጥረዋል፡፡ ክሱ ሁከትና ብጥብጥ አስነስተዋል ነው የሚለው፡፡ በህግ መሰረት ሁከትና ብጥብጥ የዋስትና መብት አያስነጥቅም፡፡ እኛም ለፍርድ ቤቱ የዋስትና መብታችንን ጠይቀናል፡፡ ይህን ስንል ‹‹በእለቱ ዕለት ከፍተኛ አደጋ የደረሰባቸው ሁለት ፖሊሶች አሉ፡፡ የእነዚህ ፖሊሶች የህክምና ውጤት እስኪረጋገጥ ድረስ እነዚህ ልጆች መለቀቅ የለባቸውም›› ብለው ነበር መርማሪዎቹ የሚከራከሩት፡፡ ፍርድ ቤት የቀረብነው 17 ሰዎች የመጣንበትን ምክንያት ተናግረናል፣ የየራሳችን መከራከሪያም አቅርበናል፡፡ መርማሪዎቹ ግን ይከራከሩ የነበሩት ግድያ እንደፈጸምን ነው፡፡ የሞተ ሰው አለ፣ ጥቁር አንበሳ የተኛ ሰው አለ እየተባለ በየ ሳምንቱ የእሱ ውጤት ነበር በመርማሪዎቹ በኩል በመከራከሪያነት ይቀርብና የጊዜ ቀጠሮ ይጠየቅበት የነበረው፡፡ ነገር ግን ሄደው አይጠይቁም፡፡ የሞተ ሰው ኖረም አልኖረም ቦታው ላይ ፖሊስ የከፈለው መስዋዕትነት ይሆናል እንጂ 17ቱም ታሳሪዎች አንድ ጠጠር እስካልወረወርን ድረስ ጥፋተኛ የምንሆንበት አንድም ምክንያት የለም፡፡ ግን ሰው ገድላችኋል ብለው የሚጠይቁት እኛን ነበር፡፡

በተለይ በፖሊስ በኩል የመጨነቅ ስሜት ይታይ ነበር፡፡ በራሳቸው ፈልገው ያደረጉት ነገር እንዳልሆነ ፊታቸው ይናገር ነበር፡፡ እነሱም ህሊናቸው ያውቀዋል፡፡ እንዲያውም እረፍት አጣን እያሉ ያማርሩ ነበር፡፡ በጣም በሚገርም ሁኔታ የአንድ መስጊድ አስተማሪ ኡስታዝ ጭምር ነው የታሰረው፡፡ የጋዜጠኛዋ አዚዛ መሃመድም ቢሆን ተመሳሳይ ነው፡፡ እነሱም እኛን ተከራክረው ጥፋተኛ ለማሰኘት የሚያስችል ምክንያቱም ተነሳሽነቱም አልነበራቸውም፡፡ በዚህም ምክንያት ከፍተኛ ጭንቀት ይታይባቸው ነበር፡፡ የዋስትና መብቱም የሚያሳየው ይህንኑ ነው፡፡ እንድንለቀቅ ተወስኖ አምስትና አስር ደቂቃ ሳይሞላ ነው ወደ ይግባኝ ሰሚ ፍርድ ቤት ሄደን ዋስትናችን የታገደው፡፡ እነሱ ሳይሄዱ እዛው ላይ ሆነው ጨርሰውታል ማለት ነው፡፡

በወቅቱ ተመሳሳይ ምክንያት ነበር የሚያቀርቡት፡፡ ሊሞት የተቃረበ ፖሊስ አለ ነበር የሚሉት፡፡ ያው በግድያ ወንጀል ለመክሰስ ነው፡፡ የግድያ ወንጀል ደግሞ የዋስ መብትን አያስፈቅድም፡፡ የዋስ መብታችን ያገደው የይግባኝ ፍርድ ቤት ቀጠሮውን ለአንድ ሳምንት ሲያራዝም መርማሪዎቹ ጉዳት ደርሶበታል የሚሉትን ፖሊስ የህክምና ምርመራ እንዲያመጡ ቢጠይቅም እነሱ ግን ሊያመጡ አልቻሉም፡፡ በሂደቱ መረዳት እንደቻልኩት ፖሊስም ሆነ ፍርድ ቤት በራሳቸው የሚወስኑት ነገር እንደሌለ ነው፡፡ እንዲያው ዳኛው ላይ የተሻለ ነገር ማየት ችያለሁ፡፡ የተወሰነም ቢሆን ትንሽ ነገር ደፍሮ በራሱ ወስኗል፡፡ ፖሊሶቹ ላይ ግን ሙሉ በሙሉ ጭንቀት ይታያል፡፡

በዋስ ይፈቱ ከተባልን በኋላ እስር ቤት ውስጥ ቆይተናል፡፡ ከዚህም የተረዳሁት መንግስት እኛን ማንገላታትና የእስር ጊዜያችን ማስረዘም እንደሚፈልግ ነው፡፡ የመንግስት እጅ ነበረበት፡፡ ፖሊስም ሆነ ዳኛ በራሳቸው መወሰን አልቻሉም፡፡ አስር አይነት ምክንያት ይዘረዝራሉ፡፡

ነገረ ኢትዮጵያ፡- የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ አባል በመሆንሽ የደረሰብሽ የተለየ ነገር ምንድን ነው?

ወይንሸት፡- ከሌሎች በተለየ በተደጋጋሚ ከምርመራ እጠራ ነበር፡፡ አሰልቺና ተደጋጋሚ የሆኑ ነገሮችን ነው የሚጠይቁኝ፡፡ በምርመራው ወቅት የሶስተኛ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ አባል ያልሆኑ ማንነታቸው የማላውቃቸው ሰዎች ነበር የሚመረምሩኝ፡፡ ከመጠን በላይ ተደጋጋሚ ጥያቄ ይጠይቁኝ ነበር፡፡ ካሜራ እየተቀረጽኩ ነበር የሚያናግሩኝ፡፡ ምርመራው ከተከሰስኩበት ነገር ጋር የሚገናኝ አልነበረም፡፡ እኔ የተከስስኩት በሁከትና ብጥብጥ ነው፡፡ እነሱ የሚጠይቁኝ ግን ስለ ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ነው፡፡ አንዴ ከፓርቲው እንድወጣ ይመክሩኛል፡፡ ለኢህአዴግ እንድሰልልም ሊያግባቡኝ ይሞክራሉ፡፡ መሰደድ የምፍለግ ከሆነ እንደሚመቻችልኝ፣ ከፖለቲካው ወጥቼ በተለይም ከኢህአዴግ ጋር መስራት ከቻልኩ ሀብታም እንደምሆን ሊመክሩኝ ይጥራሉ፡፡ ምርመራውና ክሱ ምንም አይነት ግንኙነት አልነበራቸውም፡፡

ነገረ ኢትዮጵያ፡- የሙስሊሙን ጉዳይ ለመከታተል ስትሄጂ ከገመትሽው በላይ ያልጠበቅሽው ሆኖ ያገኘሽው ነገር ምንድን ነው?

ወይንሸት፡- ሁሉም ነገር ያልጠበኩት ነው፡፡ በወቅቱ ጉዳዩን ለመታዘብ ስሄድ እንደዛ አይነት ችግር ይፈጠራል ብዬ አልገመትኩም፡፡ መንግስትን ተቃውሞው አስፈርቶታል፡፡ ይህ ግልጽ ነው፡፡ ቦታው ላይ የነበረው አድማ በታኝ ፖሊስ፣ በአካባቢው ከነበረው የሙስሊሙ ማህበረሰብ ይበልጥ ነበር፡፡ ያደረሱባቸው ነገርም ያልጠበኩትና አሰቃቂ ነገር ነው፡፡ የሰው ልጅ እንደዛ ይደበደባል ብሎ ለማሰብ ይከብዳል፡፡ የሙስሊሙን ማህበረሰብ እንቅስቃሴ ሌላ መልክ ለመስጠት እዛው ላይ ድራማ ሲሰሩ ታያለህ፡፡ ለምሳሌ ያህል በጣም ትልቅ ገጀራ ነገር ነው፣ በጨርቅ ነገር ተጠቅልሏል፡፡ የሙስሊሙ ማህበረሰብ ለብጥብጥ ይዞት የመጣ ለማስመስል ሲሞክሩ በርቀት እመለከት ነበር፡፡ በጣም በርካቶች ሙስሊም በመሆናቸው ብቻ ተደብድበዋል፡፡ በሙስሊም ስም መጠራት ህመም እስኪሆን ድረስ ማለት ነው፡፡ ሆን ተብሎ ጥይት ተነጣጥሮ የተተኮሰባቸው ሰዎች ነበሩ፡፡ ለምሳሌ ያህል ከ17 የሙስሊሙ የመፍትሄ አፈላላጊ ኮሚቴ አባላት መካከል አንዱ የሆነው የያሲን ኑሩ ታናሽ ወንድም ፋኢዝ ኑሩን መጥቀስ ይቻላል፡፡ ፋኢዝ ኑሩ ስግደት ላይ እያለ ጥይት ተተኩሶበት እንደተመታ አብረን ታስረን በነበርንበት ወቅት ለማረጋገጥ ችያለሁ፡፡ እሱ ምንም የሚያውቀው ነገር የለም፡፡ እነሱ ደግሞ የሚጠይቁት ስለወንድሙ ነው፡፡ እየሰገደ ስለነበር ከተመታ በኋላ ነው ያየው፡፡ ህክምናም ልክ እንደ እኔ ‹‹የአገር ጉዳይ ነው›› ተብሎ አልታከመም፡፡ ጥይቷ እስኪፈታ ድረስ አልወጣችም ነበር፡፡ ይህን ያህል ርህራሄ በጎደለው መንገድ ነው አገር እየገዙ የሚገኙት፡፡

አብዛኛዎቹ ሴቶች መስጊድ ውስጥ ነው የነበሩት፡፡ ወንዶቹ ናቸው ውጭ ላይ ይሰግዱ የነበሩት፡፡ በእስልምና እምነት መሰረት በሴቶች መስገጃ ወንድ አይገባም፡፡ መስጊድ ውስጥ የሚገኝን ሰው አውጥቶ መደብደብ ይቅርና መግባት አይፈቀድም፡፡ ነገር ግን አድማ በታኞች ከእነ ጫማቸው ሴቶች የሚሰግዱበት ውስጥ ገብተው ተደባድበዋል፡፡ ሁኔታውን አብረውኝ የታሰሩት ሴቶች እያለቀሱ ነበር የነገሩኝ፡፡ ይህ ዘግናኝና እነሱ እምነት አላቸው ወይ? ብለህ እንድትጠይቅ የሚያስገድድ ነው፡፡ አድማ በታኝ ሴቶች መስገጃ ድረስ ገብቶ ህጻናትን፣ እናቶችንና ነፍሰ ጡሮችን በጭካኔ ሲደበድብ በጣም ያሳዝናል፡፡ ሙስሊሙ ማህበረሰብ በጣም አዝኗል፡፡

ነገረ ኢትዮጵያ፡- እንደገለጽሽልኝ ከተያዝሽበት ጊዜ ጀምሮ በደል ደርሶብሻል፡፡ ለ29 ቀናትም እስር ቤት ቆይተሻል፡፡ ባልሄድኩ ብለሽ ይጸጽትሻል?

ወይንሸት፡- ጉዳዩን ተገኝቼ በማየቴ በጣም ደስተኛ ነኝ፡፡ ለማየት ነው የሄድኩት፡፡ ተይዤ የእስር ቤት አያያዙን ጨምሮ በርካታ ነገሮችን መታዘብ ችያለሁ፡፡ በሙስሊሙ ማህበረሰብ ላይ የሚፈጸምበትን ግፍና በደል በአካል ተገኝቼ ማየት ችያለሁ፡፡ ደህንነቶቹ በምርመራ ወቅት የሚያደርጉትን ነገር መታዘብ ችያለሁ፡፡ በአስተሳሰብም ደረጃ ጉዳዩን በአንድ ደረጃ ከፍ ብየ እንዳየው ያደረገኝ በመሆኑ ተገኝቼ የሙስሊሙን እንቅስቃሴ በመታዘቤ ምንም አልጸጸተኝም፡፡ እንዲያውም በመገኘቴ ኮርቻለሁ፡፡

ነገረ ኢትዮጵያ፡- አመሰግናለሁ ወይንሸት!

ወይንሸት፡- እኔም አመሰግናለሁ!

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Ethiopia: A Generation at Risk, Plight of Oromo Students

HRLHA Urgent Action

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                

September 06, 2014

The human rights abuses against Oromo Students in different universities have continued unabated over the past six months- more than a hundred Oromo students were extra-judicially wounded or killed, while thousands were jailed by a special squad: the “Agazi” force

This harsh crackdown against the Oromo students, which resulted in deaths, arrests, detentions and disappearances, happened following a peaceful protest by the Oromo students and the Oromo people  in April -  May  2014 against  the so-called  “Integrated Master Plan of Addis Ababa”. This plan was targeted at the annexation of many small towns of Oromia to the capital Addis Ababa. It would have meant the eviction of around six million Oromos from their lands and long-time livelihoods without being consulted or giving consent. The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) has repeatedly expressed its deep concern about such human rights violations against the Oromo nation by the EPRDF government[1]

The HRLHA reporter in Addis Ababa confirmed that in connection with the April-May, 2014 peaceful protests among the many students picked from different universities and other places in the regional State of Oromia and  detained in Maikelawi /”the Ethiopian Guantanamo bay Detention camp” ,the following nine students and another four, Abdi Kamal, TofiK Kamal and Abdusamad   business men from Eastern Hararge Dirre Dawa town and Chaltu Duguma (F) an employee of Wallaga Universty    are in critical condition due to the continuous severe torture inflicted upon them in the past five months.

No	Name	Gender	Occupation
1	Lenjisa Alamayo	M	Student	Jimma University
2	Tamire Bekele	M	Student	Jima University
3	Gemechu Bekele	M	Student	Jima University
4	Nimona Chali	M	Student	Haromaya University
5	Magarsa Bekele	M	Student	Haromaya university
6	Abebe Urgessa	M	Student	Haromaya University
7	Bilisuma Gonfa	M	Student	Haromaya University
8	Adugna Kesso	M	Student	Adama University
9	Bilisuma Damana	M	Student	Adama University

The current ongoing arrests and detention of Oromo students started when the students were forced to attend a “political training” said to be a government plan to indoctrinate the students with the political agenda of EPRDF for two weeks before the regular classes started in mid- September 2014. Before the training started, students demanded that the government release the students who were imprisoned during the peaceful protests of April-May 2014.  Instead of giving a positive answer to the students’ legitimate questions, the federal government deployed its military forces to Ambo and Wallaga University campuses to silence their voices; many students were severely beaten and hundreds were taken to prison from August 20-29, 2014. Through the brutality of the federal government’s military “Agazi”, students from Ambo University,  Hinaafu Lammaa, Kuma Fayisa, Tarreessaa  Waaqummaa Mulugeta, Sukkaaraa Cimidi, Leensa Hailu Bedhane (F) and Elizabeth Legesse (lost her two tooth) were among those harshly beaten in their dormitories and then thrown outside naked in the open air.

The HRLHA reporter documented the following names among hundreds of students taken to different detention centers from both Ambo and Wallaga Universities on August 28 &29, 2014.

No	Name	Gender	Occupation
1	Hunde Firisa Warku	M	Student	Wallaga University
2	Mitiku Anbese	M	student	Wallega Univrsity
3	Gemechu Bely mekonen	M	Student	Wallega University
4	Anbessa Ayele	M	Student	Adama University
5	Zerun Yewalun wandimu	M	student	Dilla University
6	Nagara Fiqadu	M	Student	AA University
7	Gurmessa Wondimu Iticha	M	Student	Mada Walabu University
8	Temesgen Shiferaw	M	Student	Wallaga University
9	Gaddisa Damana	M	Student	Adama University
l10	Endale Irranaa	M	Student	Wallaga University
11	Alamayyo Sori	M	Student	Samara University
12	Fikiru Rafisa	M	Student	Mekele University
13	Firaol Bekele	M	Student	Mekele University
14	Birhanu Niguse	M	Student	Adigrat University
15	Chali Anugna	M	Student
16	Firaol Kelbessa	M	Student
17	Habtamu Wirtu	M	Student
18	Gizacho Marga	M	Student
19	Abdi Tesfaye	M	Student

Among many Wallaga University students, those who were severely beaten on 28/08/2014- Markos Taye, Ganati Desta and Mosisa fufa- were first taken to Nekemte Hospital and later transferred to Tikur Anbasa, a hospital in the capital city more than 300km away for further treatment. They remain there  in critical condition.

The most recent report (Sept 03,2014) received by HRLHA from Ambo town indicates that more than 250 students released from Senkele detention center have been taken back to their villages so that their parents of guardians can sign documents stating that their children are responsible for the conflict created between the students and the federal military. The parents of the students rejected the attempt of the government to make their children guilty by supporting, instead, the demands of the students “Free our friends, bring the killers of the students to court”

By killing, torturing and detaining non-violent protesters, the government of Ethiopia is breaching:

1. The 1995 constitution of the Ethiopia, articles 29 and 30, which grant basic democratic rights to all Ethiopian citizens^[2].
2.  All international and regional human rights instruments that Ethiopia signed and the UN Human Rights council 19^th[3] and 25^th[4] sessions resolutions that call upon states, with regard to peaceful protests, to  promote and protect all human rights and  to prevent all human rights violations during peaceful protests.

Therefore, the HRLHA calls upon the Ethiopian Government to refrain from systematically eliminating the young generation of Oromo nationals and respect all international human rights standards, and all civil and political rights of citizens it has signed off in particular.

HRLHA also calls upon governments of the West, all local, regional and international human rights agencies to join hands and demand an immediate halt to such kinds of extra-judicial actions against one’s own citizens. Detainees should be released without any preconditions and the murderers should brought to justice. .

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to the Ethiopian Government and its appropriate government ministries and/or officials as swiftly as possible, both in English and Ahmaric, or in your own language:

• Expressing concerns regarding the apprehension and possible torture of citizens who are being held in different detention centers including the infamous Ma’ikelawi Central Investigation Office, and calling for their immediate and unconditional release;
• Request that the government refrain from detaining, harassing, discriminating against Oromo Nationals
• Urging the Ethiopian authorities to ensure that detainees are treated in accordance with the regional and international standards regarding the treatment of prisoners
• Also send your concerns to diplomatic representatives in Ethiopia who are accredited to your country.

Mailed To:

• Office of Prime Minister of Ethiopia 
P.O.Box – 1031 , Addis Ababa
Telephone – +251 155 20 44; +251 111 32 41
Fax – +251 155 20 30 , +251 1552020

• Office of Oromiya National Regional State President Office  
Telephone –   0115510455

• Office of the Ministry  of Justice of Ethiopia
PO Box 1370,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Fax: +251 11 5517775;
+251 11 5520874
Email: ministry-justice@telecom.net.et

• UNESCO Headquarters Paris.
7, place de Fontenoy 75352 Paris 07 SP France
1, rue Miollis 75732 Paris Cedex 15 France
General phone: +33 (0)1 45 68 10 00
www.unesco.org

• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)- Africa Department
7 place Fontenoy 75352
Paris 07 SP
France
General phone: +33 (0)1 45 68 10 00
Website: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/africa-department/

• UNESCO AFRICA RIGIONAL OFFICE
MR.JOSEPH NGU
Director

• UNESCO Office in Abuja
Mail: j.ngu(at)unesco.org
Tel: +251 11 5445284
Fax: +251 11 5514936

• Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Fax: + 41 22 917 9022 (particularly for
Urgent matters) E-mail: tb-petitions@ohchr.org this e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Office of the UNHCR
Telephone: 41 22 739 8111
Fax: 41 22 739 7377
Po Box: 2500
Geneva, Switzerland

• African Commission on Human and Peoples‘ Rights (ACHPR)
48 Kairaba Avenue, P.O.Box 673, Banjul, the Gambia.
Tel: (220) 4392 962 , 4372070, 4377721 – 23
Fax: (220) 4390 764
E-mail: achpr@achpr.org

• Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights
• Council of Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, FRANCE
+ 33 (0)3 88 41 34 21
+ 33 (0)3 90 21 50 53
Contact us by email

• U.S. Department of State 
Laura Hruby
Ethiopia Desk Officer
U.S. State Department
HrubyLP@state.gov
Tel: (202) 647-6473

• Amnesty International – London
Claire Beston
“Claire Beston” <Claire.Beston@amnesty.org>

• Human Rights Watch
Felix Hor
“Felix Horne” <hornef@hrw.org>,

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Suppression of the Innocent Inside Ethiopia

Imprisoning, Killing, Spying

by GRAHAM PEEBLES

Wrapped in dishonesty, arrogance and paranoia, Ethiopia’s ruling regime is following a nationwide policy of violent suppression and constitutional vandalism.

It was the 24th June – midsummer’s day – in the adopted homeland of Andargachew Tsige, when he was detained by ‘Yemeni officials’ (State heavies in suits) whilst transiting through Sana’a to Eritrea. The British citizen and leading Ethiopian political activist was quickly and quietly extradited to Addis Ababa where he was imprisoned on spurious charges of treason or some such trumped up, paranoid twaddle. He had been unfairly tried in absentia in 2009, when Amnesty report he was “sentenced to death for an alleged coup attempt. He was prosecuted in absentia again in 2012 on terrorism charges, alongside other prisoners of conscience, and sentenced to life imprisonment.”

Incarcerated he remains, hidden, abused and tortured by Ethiopian military thugs; his “detention in Ethiopia means that his life and physical integrity are in great danger…his incommunicado detention in an unknown location increases this risk.” says MEP Anna Gomez in a letter to British Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond. In keeping with Britain’s consistent abdication of donor duty in the face of the Ethiopian government’s unbridled abuse of its people, the new Secretary of State at the FCO and his lieutenants have done nothing of substance to support Andargachew.

The false arrest, imprisonment and mis-treatment of Andargachew Tsige is but the most high profile recent example of a strategic policy of control and suppression enforced by the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A range of weapons are employed by the regime to stifle dissent and create an atmosphere of fear, including extrajudicial executions, arrest, imprisonment and torture. HRW state the government “regularly use abuse to gather information…. Ethiopian authorities have subjected political detainees to torture and other ill treatment at the main detention center [Maekelawi Police Station] in Addis Ababa.” Journalists who challenge the government are intimidated (so too their families) and silenced. Many have been arrested, and as the Committee to Protect Journalists reports, “are languishing in Ethiopia’s prisons on trumped-up terrorism charges for doing their jobs.” In their thorough report “They Want A Confession”, Human Rights Watch (HRW) documents “serious rights abuses, unlawful interrogation tactics, and poor detention conditions in Maekelawi since 2010. Those detained …include scores of opposition politicians, journalists, protest organizers, and alleged supporters of ethnic insurgencies.” Public assembly, whilst not being outwardly criminalized is effectively banned, despite the fact that it is a right enshrined like all such liberal freedoms in the legally binding constitution. A dusty document which has no influence over the ruling party, or indeed the judiciary, which functions as a docile enforcer of government criminality.

The Guilty Trust Nobody

For a country beset with acute poverty, where it is conservatively estimated 30% of the population (World Bank figures) are living below the ‘official poverty line’ (that’s income of $2 a day), the government somehow manages to administer and fund (to the tune of $340 millions) the largest standing army in Sub-Saharan Africa. They boast 560 tanks, over 80 warplanes, and out of a population numbering 92 million, Global Fire Power reveals, 25 million are armed and ‘fit for service’, with a further 10 million standing by. The men in uniform are kept busy by their political masters – there is a whole nation to suppress and control, including the people of Oromia (who are calling for self-determination) and Amhara. There is the Ogaden region to occupy and forcibly govern, innocent men and women – who seek nothing more threatening than autonomy, their constitutional right – to murder, terrorise and rape. There is Gambella in the far south west and the Lower Omo Valley where women are raped by soldiers, men beaten, indigenous people (who have lived on ancestral land for generations) herded into government camps (the notorious Villagisation project – part funded by Britain and the World Bank) as vast tracts of lands are sold for pennies to international corporations. There is torture to be administered, assassinations to plan and execute, rapes to be performed and surveillance of dissenting voices to be carried out. And spying from villages to cyberspace to keep the EPRDF military men active night and day; duplicitous, disingenuous and corrupt, they trust nobody.

In their detailed study of government surveillance in Ethiopia, “They Know Everything We Do”, HRW found the ruling party “is using foreign technology to bolster its widespread telecom surveillance of opposition activists and journalists both in Ethiopia and abroad,” and unsurprisingly there are no judicial or legislative mechanisms in place to protect privacy. The Chinese multinational ZTE is the primary supplier of telecommunication technology, but HRW discovered that Britain (a major donor, whose unfathomable support of the regime could be said to make Britain complicit in some of the regime’s wide-ranging human rights violations) and Germany have also provided surveillance software and know-how.

The government owns the country’s sole telecommunication company (Ethio Telecommunication); awash with paranoia they control and monitor mobile phone use and Internet access (coverage of which, at around 0.5% is the second lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa) throughout the country. These “surveillance practices violate the rights to freedom of expression, association, and access to information,” HRW state. Security personnel have unfettered access to call records of all telephone users – particular attention is given to foreign numbers. Calls are recorded without legal process or oversight, and replayed “during abusive interrogations in which people who have been arbitrarily detained are accused of belonging to banned organizations.” [Ibid] A former Oromo opposition party member told HRW, that “one day they arrested me and they showed me everything. They showed me a list of all my phone calls and they played a conversation I had with my brother.” He was arrested for the heinous act of discussing “politics on the phone,” – a criminal activity in this supposedly democratic African nation.

Access to websites that offer independent critical analysis of political events, including opposition party sites, media and bloggers is denied by government controls. The Ethiopian people, both inside the country and within the diaspora are extremely fearful; as a result a great deal of ‘self-censorship’ takes place. People are afraid to call or receive phone calls from abroad (where many have family working), they are reluctant to publicly criticize the government and refrain from discussing a variety of topics openly or during ‘private’ telephone calls. The “main mode of government control is through extensive networks of informants and a grassroots system of surveillance,” HRW report. And in a society where secrecy and mistrust of one another is common, silent suppression and distrust of others is fostered. And where unity is needed – for if there is to be change within the country, the people must come together – community, ethnic and tribal divisions are strengthened. All of course by EPRDF design.

Legalizing Suppression

The legislative weapon of choice used to gag and imprison is the universally condemned 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (ATP), which when introduced HRW described as “a potent instrument to crack down on political dissent, including peaceful political demonstrations and public criticisms of government policy”; it allows for “long-term imprisonment and even the death penalty for “crimes” that bear no resemblance, under any credible definition, to terrorism.” Since the ATP was written into law, “the independent media have been decimated by politically motivated prosecutions … The government has systematically thwarted attempts by journalists to establish new publications. Blogs and Internet pages critical of the government are regularly blocked, and in 2012 printing houses came under threat for printing publications that criticized the authorities.”

The EPRDF has used this and other repressive laws to decimate civil society organizations and independent media and target individuals with politically motivated prosecutions. It is a paranoid, cruel and violent regime that ignores human rights law, violates its own constitution and is causing extreme suffering amongst its people. And donor countries ¬– America, Britain and the European Union primarily, appear content to ignore wide ranging atrocities (some of which deep inside the Ogaden region for example constitute crimes against humanity), in exchange for what – for the illusion of stability in the centre of a region dominated by failed states and warring fanatics? There is not stability and harmony within Ethiopia, but cruel suppression, terror and simmering anger. Whilst the responsibility for bringing lasting change rests firmly with the people acting in unity, there is no excuse for allowing indeed supporting a regime that throws a dark dank shroud of fear over the country. Responsible allegiance entails holding regimes accountable and supporting the people of the nation state, not the state dictators, defending human rights, insisting on justice and the implementation of federal and international law.

The impunity and arrogance of the EPRDF was blatantly displayed in April this year when, just days before American Secretary of State John Kerry visited the country, “six bloggers for Zone 9, an Amharic-language website whose writers have criticized the government, and three freelance journalists were arrested,” reported the New York Times.

In addition to donor indifference, the wide-ranging human rights violations taking place daily within Ethiopia go virtually unreported. The Ethiopian people repeatedly ask why their plight is not reported, why do donors not act, or use what is assumed to be their considerable influence on the EPRDF leadership. Why, for example, isn’t British citizen Andergachew free? Is it because he is Black, poor, a migrant to Britain born in Ethiopia. They rightly ask why the state terrorism taking place within Oromia, Gambella, the beautiful Lower Omo Valley, and, perhaps worst of all, in the Ogaden region – where murder of the innocent is routine, where men and women are imprisoned without trial, tortured, the women violently mass raped – is allowed to go unchallenged. Legitimate questions passionately asked by a people violently suppressed, living in fear in a corner of Africa, suffering and desperate.

Graham Peebles is director of the Create Trust. He can be reached at: graham@thecreatetrust.org

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መልዕክት ከእስክንድር ነጋ፣ ጥቁሩን ሳምንት ተቀላቀሉ

እንደሰማሁት ከሆነ ጥቁር ሳምንት በሚል የተጀመረው ዘመቻ ጥሩ ዘመቻ ነው፡፡ በማህራዊ ሚዲያው ሲንቀሳቀሱ የነበሩትም ሆነ ጋዜጠኞች በመታሰራቸው እንቅስቃሴው አለመዳከሙ ያስደስታል፡፡ መጭው ዘመን የነጻነት ይሆን ዘንድ ኢትዮጵያውያን ይህን የመሰሉ እንቅስቃሴዎችን መደገፍ፣ ማበረታታትና መቀላቀል አለባቸው፡፡ በተለይ በአሁኑ ዘመን ማህበራዊ ሚዲያው ትልቅ ለውጥ እያመጣ ነው፡፡ በግብጽና ቱኒዚያ ማህበራዊ ሚዲያው ቀላል የማይባል ለውጥ አምጥቷል፡፡ ህወሓትና ሌሎችም ታጣቂ ኃይሎች ከቻይና እና ከቬትናም ልምድ ቀስመዋል፡፡ ያ ሌላ ዘመኑ ነበር፡፡ አሁን ዘመኑ ተለውጧል፡፡ ዘመኑ የሰጠንን አጋጣሚ ተጠቅመን ለነጻነታችን በሰላማዊ መንገድ መታገል አለብን፡፡ ጥቁር ሳምንት በሚል የተጀመረውን ዘመቻ በርትታችሁ መቀጠል አለባችሁ፡፡ ወጣቱ፣ ዳያስፖራው፣ ጋዜጠኛው በእንደዚህ አይት ዘመቻዎች፣ በሰላማዊ ሰልፎች፣ ማህበራትን በማቋቋማ፣ በውይይቶች መሳተፍ አለበት፡፡

አንዳንዶች ፌስ ቡክ ምንም ለውጥ እንደማያመጣ ሊገምቱ ይችላሉ፡፡ ከፌስ ቡክ አልፎ በአሁኑ ወቅት ያለው እንቅስቃሴ ለውጥ አያመጣም ብለው የሚገምቱ ይኖራሉ፡፡ ግን ያለ ጥርጥር ለውጥ ያመጣል፡፡ ውሃ በ99ንኛው ዲግሪ ሴንቲግሬድ ነው የሚፈላው፡፡ እስከዛ ድረስ ምንም አይነት ለውጥ አይታይበትም፡፡ ውሃ የሚያፈላ ሰው 99 እስኪደርስ ድረስ ማህል ላይ ተስፋ ቆርጦ ሊተውው ይችላል፡፡ ግን 99 ዲግሪ እስኪደርስ ድረስ የራሱ የሆነ የማይታይ ለውጥ ያደርጋል፡፡ ተስፋ ያልቆረጠ በአንድ ዲግሪ ለውጡን ያየዋል፡፡ በፌስ ቡክ የሚደረጉትና ሌሎች እንቅስቃሴዎችም ከዚህ አንጻር ነው መታየት ያለባቸው፡፡ ለውጥ የሚመጣው በእያንዳንዱ እንቅስቃሴ ድምር ውጤት ነው፡፡ 99 ዲግሪ እስኪደርስ ለውጡ ላይታይ ይችላል፡፡ ጥቁር ሳምንትን የመሳሰሉት ተደማምረው ነው የሰላማዊ ትግሉን 99 ዲግሪ የሚያደርሱት፡፡ ተስፋ መቁረጥ የለብንም፡፡

በጥቁር ሳምንት የታሰርነውንና ሌሎች ችግር እየደረሰባቸው የሚገኙትን ኢትዮጵያውያንን በማስታወሳችሁ በግሌ ማመስገን እወዳለሁ፡፡ ኮርቼባችኋለሁ፡፡ የእኛን መታሰር ብቻ ማንሳቱ አሊያም መጨነቁ በቂ አይደለም፡፡ እንደዚህ በተግባር ንቅናቄ መጀመር አለበት፡፡ ውጤት እናመጣለን፡፡ የሰላማዊ ትግሉ ዲግሪ ሴንቲግሬድ 99 የሚደርስበት ጊዜ ሩቅ አይደለም፡፡

መልዕክት ለዳያስፖራው

የእኛ አገር ፖለቲካ አንድ ችግር የገንዘብ አቅም ነው፡፡ በሰላማዊ መንገድ የሚንቀሳቀሱ ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች አባላትን ለማደራጀት፣ ቢሮ ለመክፈት፣ ሰላማዊ ሰልፎችን ለማካሄድ፣ ውይይቶችን ለማድረግ፣ ልሳንና በራሪ ወረቀት ለማሳተም ገንዘብ ያጥራቸዋል፡፡ የፖለቲካው አንቀሳቃሽ ኃይል ቢሆኑም በገንዘብ ችግር ምክንያት አጀንዳ ማንሳት ይሳናቸዋል፡፡ በቂ አባላት አያገኙም፡፡ ህዝብ ውስጥ ለመግባትም ይቸገራሉ፡፡ ገንዘብ ከሌለ ምንም ሊሰሩ አይችሉም፡፡ ይህ በእኛ አገር ብቻ የሚደረግ አይደለም፡፡ የአሜሪካ ፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች መካከል የሚደረገው ትግል የገንዘብ ነው፡፡ በምርጫም ሆነ በሌሎች አጋጣሚዎች ፓርቲዎቹ ከተለያዩ አካላት በሚያገኙት ገንዘብ ነው ውጤታማ እንቅስቃሴ የሚያደርጉት፡፡

የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ በድህነት ውስጥ የሚኖር እንደመሆኑ የእኛ አገር የፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች ከአባላቸው አሊያም አገር ውስጥ ከሚገኘው ህዝብ ሰብስበው የተሳካ ስራ ሊሰሩ አይችሉም፡፡ በመሆኑም አማራጭ ሊሆን የሚችለው በዳያስፖራው ነው፡፡ ዳያስፖራው ማህበረሰብ በአገሩ ለውጥ እንዲመጣ ይፈልጋል፡፡ በለውጡ ግን ቀጥተኛ ተሳታፊ አይደለም፡፡ ለዚህም አገር ውስጥ ለሚገኙትና በሰላማዊ መንገድ ለሚንቀሳቀሱትና ለሚደግፋቸው ፓርቲዎች የገንዘብ ድጋፍ ማድረግ ይጠበቅበታል፡፡ ይህ ካልሆነ ለውጥ ሊመጣ አይችልም፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ሆነው መስዋዕትነት የሚከፍሉትን መደገፍ ካልተቻለ ለውጥ ሊመጣ አይችልም፡፡

<<ራዕያችን የማይደረስበት አይደለም>>

ከ50ና 60 አመታት በፊት ኢትዮጵያ ከቅኝ ግዛት ነጻ እንዲወጡ ትልቅ እገዛ ያደረገችላቸው አገራት አሁን ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሆነዋል፡፡ ጋና፣ ማላዊና ቤኒንን መጥቀስ ይቻላል፡፡ በእነዚህ አገራት ዴሞክራሲ ሲሰፍን እኛ ወደኋላ ተመልሰናል፡፡ ነጻ ፕሬስ አላቸው፡፡ ነጻ ምርጫ ያካሂዳሉ፡፡ ህዝባቸው በነጻነትና በመረጠው መንግስት መተዳደር ጀምሯል፡፡ በተቃራኒው እኛ በአፈና ውስጥ ገብተናል፡፡ እኛ የምንጠይቀው እንደነዚህ አገራት ህዝቦች ነጻ ሆኖ ለመኖር ነው፡፡ የእንግሊዝንና የአሜሪካን ያህል ባይሆንም የእነዚህን አገራት ያህል ዴሞክራሲ ማስፈን ከቻልን ራዕያችን ተሳካ ማለት ነው፡፡ ስለሆነም የጠየቅነው ነገር ትንሽ ነው፡፡ ይህን ያህል የተለጠጠና የማይደረስበት አይደለም፡፡ ነጻ ያወጣናቸውን አገራት ያህል ዴሞክራሲ ለመገንባት መነሳት ትንሽ ነገር ነው፡፡ በመሆኑም በቀላሉ ልናሳካው የምንችለው ጉዳይ ነው፡፡

#ጥቁርሳምንት #ለውጥ
#blackweek #change

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“For thee” an article by Zelalem Kibert, one of the members of the detained Zone 9 bloggers sent from the gulag

Prison Journal Part I

Nuanced translation

Darling; how are you? Has the idea of going back to snail mail ever crossed your mind? But that is what happened. You know darling I am missing you a lot. I have started to be envious of persons who have a luxury of choosing how to communicate with people. Such people are fortunate enough to choose the way they communicate; I remember they have an old adage

“A letter is inept of breathing words; no matter how you write it,

So,I would rather prefer to meet and tell you all”

Look at their adage; how lucky they are. They have a luxury of choosing how to communicate. They can write letters but if they wish they can arrange a meet up as well. For me both ways of communications are lavish choices at this particular time. I am not sure if this letter can get to you or even I might get restricted to have a sight of you. I will return to the details of why this could happen but prior to that let me make my confessions for you and for people who might read this letter.

According to Madam Sylvia Pankhurst, who loved Ethiopia as her homeland, when Duce Mussolini invaded Ethiopia he enforced his unwritten law of outlawing the use of the word Ethiopia in writings. This is one of the reasons why Ethiopian writers and singers commonly used the phrase ‘for thee; for thee’ as a covert personification of Ethiopia. Since then this phrase has become a regular insertion in a popular romance songs of Ethiopia. But in the songs the phrase ‘for thee; for thee’ secretly refers to Ethiopia. But in this letter have I used this open secret phrase to refer to Ethiopia as my predecessor writers? Absolutely no! Why would I do that when my rights of freedom of expression is respected in Ethiopian constitution (sarcastic). Well, the travesty can wait for now but I have to make a confession in this letter the phrase ‘for thee’ is not referring to Ethiopia (sarcastic again). You, my habibati; my darling. In this letter I will recount what has happened in my life as a prisoner. I know my deeds either will make you smile (you have such an infectious smile) or will make you grief (my sincere condolences to you)

The Right to Write this Letter

Before I go to details I have to ask a question “do I have a right to correspond with the outside world?” The reason I am asking this question is because I am a prisoner. I was put under arrest, and accused of an attempt of reducing the constitutional order into rubble. On the twenty third day of my arrest suspicions turn out to be crimes and crimes produce other crimes such as inciting violence, public strife and acts of terrorism. Hence, the police suspected me of attempting to destroy the Ethiopian constitution like Israelites destroyed the wall of Jericho. Darling, I am telling you all theses not because you have not heard of it but it will help me explain the question I have asked “Do I have a right to communicate with the outside world”

Well, I don’t deserve to be in such kind of situation. I have to refer to the law whenever I speak about my rights because the law is a ‘shield and provides a protection for me’. What does the law say about prisoners’ rights of communication using correspondence? According to Regulation Number 138/2008 which was passed by Council of Ministers in 2008; prisoners whether they are sentenced or suspects have a right to correspondence however the with intention of protecting the safety of the penitentiary the letters will be regulated. Consequently; you and I are allowed to correspond, hallelujah!. I am sure you will not make mockery of my sincere trust in the rule of law. You will not label my trust in the rule of law as a fool man’s mantra. Comrade Lenin had written the draft and explanation of a program for the social-democratic party during his prison time in Petersburg. In doing that he created a new chapter of history by writing using an Invisible Ink. There you go; yesterday’s revolutionary Leninists but today’s incarcerators have respected my rights ofcorrespondence and I am dashing on the white paper like our renaissance train passes through its railway.

25TH OF APRIL, 2014

Darling, have you heard of Wolde Giyorgis Wolde Yohannes? He was an important government Minister during the reign of Haile Selassie. He served as a Minister of Pen from 1934 to 1948. But Haile Selassie and Wolde Giyorgis’ companionship did not endure for more than 14 years. They got quarreled. Let me remember a quote from Zewdie Reta’s book on this. Zewdie wrote:

“For Wolde Giyorgis 25th of April 1948 was the brilliant day but the glow of the day only lasted until mid-day. That day turned into gloom when he was summoned to be informed about his demotion”. (I don’t have the book at my hand now so I could not cite the precise page of this excerpt)

The reason to demote Wolde Giyorgis from his ministerial position was because he was accused of deposing King Haile Selassie. I recited the story of Wolde Giyorgis here because I have a comparable story with him. What a coincidence! I will narrate the unfortunate date of April 25 as Zewdie Reta did for Wolde Giyorgis.

My April 25th went like this

It was a sunny Friday and the day begun in a little strange manner. At Ambo University I was rushing to have the last class of the semester but students were having a peaceful demonstration in the campus. Their reason for a peaceful protest was that they claim the master plan which was prepared to expand Addis Ababa to the adjacent towns of Oromia Regional State is unconstitutional. The students have placards showing their protest. Luckily for the day the students’ protest was concluded in a peaceful manner. And I have re-scheduled to carry out a makeup class for the missed class for the next day. But later that day as the saying goes ‘Man proposes; God giggles’ in a similar manner with Wolde Giyorgis I was told by about 9 security agents that I am under arrest for conspiring to overthrow the Ethiopian government by inciting violence. But I am not that surprised but a little bit irked that they could simply summoned me at Maeklawi saying Mr. Zelalem you are required to come to Maeklawi tomorrow morning at 9:00am. I would have gone but I would have probably asked them to let me finish the class I have been teaching for a semester. I would have saved them a lot of energy . But I am grateful for my government that they have shown me a great respect by sending a lot of security agents with two vehicles.

Darling, I hope you are reading this letter. The phrase you are under arrest has always been making me smile. Right after my detention I heard this phrase a couple of times from a middle aged looking person, who appeared to be a coordinator of the security agents that came all the way from Addis Ababa to arrest me. He called to someone (I wish I know to whom he ringed) higher in the command and told him that they have just arrested the suspect who conspired to incite public strife. I smiled, but that is how I was arrested from my work place. From 25th of April 2014 until 17th of July 2014 for 84 days life was a static and banal. Before I bore you with a lot of details let me write you five essential events. Ahead of that I want to give you a brief description of my 84 days in prison.

I spent the first 75 days in a 5m by 4 m room at Ethiopia’s crime investigation center called Maeklawi. I was made to stay in an extremely controlled room called Siberia. There were just five mattresses in the room. The room does not have any opening for sunlight. There was continuous electric bulb light but when electricity supply interrupted they replace it with diesel generator. At times when the generator runs out of the diesel we are forced to stay in a complete darkness. No one is allowed to lighten the room using a candle or a torch. They sometimes let us out of the small room for about 10 minutes in the morning. Moreover, they also let us see the outside world for about 15 minutes on daily basis but generally we are locked in the little room for more than 23 hours of the day. No one is allowed neither to talk nor to chant audibly. If one is found guilty of speaking loudly they will face the harsh consequence.

Within 75 days of my time at Maeklawi I made a lot of friends who are branded as terrorists. I have also realized that Ethiopian government suspects and even arrests minors as young as 14 or 15 years of age. These young people are suspects of terrorism. They are accused of working with various political organizations such as ONLF, Al-Shebab, OLF, Benishangul Gumuz People Liberation Front, and Akida ( new organization). It is good to experience a bit of a privation. Have I told you that I have experienced a solitary confinement for two days? Yes I was ‘lucky enough’ to experience it. Perhaps, during those two days I was not alone, you were with me in my thoughts

Apologies, if I bored you with a lot of details. Let me cut the details of my privation and get back to the five events that I was telling you a while ago. I believe these events will better explain the events that happened on me.

1. I am grateful that they are concerned for the well-being of my students and arrested me before I spoil my students

After I was put under arrest in the afternoon I was being driven with a compact family car from Ambo to Addis Ababa. It was about 8:00 pm in the evening. One of a young looking security agent called me by my name.

“Zelalem; you teach law at University? Is that right? I responded to him yes.

Then he said “You should have helped your country to generate lawyers and judges. But it is shame that you found yourself engaged in such kind of destructive activities with the evil intention of preventing our development. In any case it is good you are put under arrest before you make a lot of damages to the students. Let me ask you how many foreigners cajoled you for this? You know we don’t let anyone to mess around with our development.” As I was reflecting on the number of students I have ‘spoiled’ during my four teaching years at the University I arrived at Maeklawi at about 9:50 pm.

2. What is your objective

Darling, the Ethiopian government has accused us conspiring of inciting violence. Government determinedly says that they have solid evidence which could proof their accusation. But I am telling you they have either tried to entice or intimidate us to admit our crime. They never have neither the evidence nor the slightest information to proof their accusations. Apparently that is why during the interrogation in Maeklawi their police officers repeatedly tired us with “What is your intention” &“What is your objective?“I suffered a lot with theses boring questions. Some of the questions during my interrogation went like this:

The police officer: What are your objectives as Zone9?

Me: Our objective is clearly stated on our blog. Anyone who can read our blog can understand it. To put it shortly; it is to entertain different narratives in the country. We intended to engage the public with discussions

The police officer: That is a cover. Tell me your real intentions.

Me: Well, we don’t have any intention other than this.

The police officer always wanted me to tell him something his bosses needed us to confess. He always wanted me to tell him that our intention by saying “Yes our intention is to remove this government and liberate Ethiopians from the yoke of oppression using violence” He wanted me to say that. I always told him our real intention and he finally understood that he will not get what he wanted from me. But he always encouraged me to think over it whenever he signed off his daily interrogation.

3. My Interrogation

Darling, had they asked me my personal life goal; I would have told them that you are my personal goal. You know that I don’t have anything else other than you. You are such a panic striking creature. The investigation continued and I had two interrogators taking turns to investigate me

The Police Officer: Whom have you met from world leaders?

Me: I have never met anyone.

The Police Officer: We have evidence. You better confess before you get mortified

Me: If you can please remind me then I can tell you whom we met and what we have discussed. Perhaps during the commemorative event for Nelson Mandela organized here in the headquarter of African Union. I met Prime Minster Haielmariam Desalegn. But I don’t remember meeting any other leader

The Police Officer: Hmm. But are you not among the three who is selected to make a speech in front of President Barack Obama. But who hell is America to meddle in Africa’s internal affairs and gather and train young leaders and blah blah blah

Me: Seriously, am I selected to make speech in front of President Obama? I told him mockingly that I might got selected after my incarceration. Did you just say who the hell is America to meddle in Africa’s internal affair. But I don’t see a problem if America has helped Africa to empower its young people. In fact America has always been supportive during our famines and drought. I don’t think it is proper to say what you just said.

The Police Officer: What are you talking about? We are an era of growth and development. You should not talk about famine and drought. Just leave it.

You know there is a saying which says a coward sweats even inside the cold water. Our government is such a coward being that they don’t trust their shoulders while they run on the track alone. When I reflect back on my interrogation I have regrets. When I was asked to tell whom I met from leaders I should have told them that I met the Sri Lankan President and traveled to Peru and visited Machu Pichu. I am sure they might have included this in our charge sheet. They might have written the charge sheet like this “With the financial and material support he got from Sri Lankan government he traveled all the way to Peru and took part in training at Machu Pichu on how to dismantle the Ethiopian constitutional order. They might attach the pictures of Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s pictures they have found in my laptop as an evidence to support their allegation. Damn it, I should have done that.

4. Gebrehiwot Baykedagn the terrorist and the issue of auctioning Ethiopia for sell

Darling, I know I have tired you but I am almost there; finishing. My love, bear with me. I also want you to correct the Paulian masculine reference to love to feminine reference. Please let’s refer to love as she and say love is patient. During my interrogation one question which bore me to death was my ‘neoliberal’ claims that development and democracy can go hand in hand.

The police officers took turns to’ explain’ and ‘persuade’ me the validity of EPRDF’s policy.“Government has provided everything for you. What did you lack? Why did you become white man’s worshiper? You and your friends are so envious. Why your eyes turned into red with anger and jealousy when this country is started to have a glimmer of hope? Please tell us? What makes you such an evil creature? You and your friends want to sell this country which our fathers preserved for us with their blood and prayers. You and your generation betrayed your country and start to negotiate with foreigners who desired this beautiful country .You want to sell this country to foreigners” I was accused of these crimes. But to make you smile I will quote something humorous from an old book titled “You & Me” written by Tadesse.

“Ethiopia is such a beautiful country….it is a country that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. …Ethiopia is like a rose flower….” Incredible!

The perception of beauty is subjective. As the saying goes beauty is in the eyes of the beholder but these police officers who are intoxicated with such vulgar nationalism have accused me and my generation of selling this country for foreign people. Is it not astonishing? Saying democracy and development can and should go hand in hand made us criminals. Believing in democracy and development has become a treasonous act.

The distinguished Ethiopian scholar Gebrehiwot Baykedagn wrote “If we build rail road and construct roads without enlightening a society, it even further impoverishes the society because the underlying conditions of the society does not change”. He further said infrastructural progress without societal enlightenment is worthless. Had Gebrehiwot been a member of my generation I am sure he would have been accused of denying Ethiopia’s development and agitate the public to dismantle the rail road and other treasonous act.

5. Dear Darling

I did not have a paper and a pen to write you the diary of my hardship at length because it was a serious crime to have a paper and pen. Besides I don’t want to bore you with a lot of details but let me tell you some issues broadly

• In those awful days I make a habit of sleeping as early as at 6:00pm and I found it helpful because it helped me not to hear the sounds my friends or cellmates make after they came from abusive interrogation such as floggings and beatings
• In 2012 it was reported that the Federal Police set up a ‘Cyber Crime Laboratory’ and I remember I was saying cyber criminals you are all doomed but they said that our data is immense and the Federal Police has only just one personal computer which they find it difficult to process our data. It is not a joke that I was even asked to install anti-virus on their computer. So I ask when do they use their Cyber Crime Laboratory’ if they don’t use it to investigate crimes as serious as terrorism.
• In a day which I can not exactly remember the month a middle aged person entered into our small room and started asking a series of questions for all of us. He started with one of my friend from Haromaya University.

“You, where have you come from?”

“I came from Haromaya University”

“Aha, you are the culprit”

He continued

“How about you? where have you come from?”

“I came from Wellega University”

“You, what is your problem if Oromia gets developed?”

Then he asked me

“Okay how about you? Where have you come from?”

“I came from Ambo University”

“Ah, You are the ones who have incited public for the recent the violence and you are responsible for that bloodshed”

“No, I was arrested before the violence has happened”

“If that is the case you are lucky history would not have remembered you favorably had get arrested when you protest the development of Oromia”

We all have waited until the man leaves the room to burst into laughter. Ethiopia is a country where everything has become a comic story.

In all those days I was looking for a person who can tell me the real reason of my incarceration. I am neither shocked nor dejected because of my arrest. In fact I always look for happiness wherever I go. Luckily happiness never left me as well. For a long period of time I have had Aristotelian philosophy of life which says the purpose of life is to know but now I have mingled this life philosophy of happiness. So the purpose of life is both to know and to be happy. Hence; I am enjoying my life while I strive to know.

‘‘Thanks to you …. For you exist’

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