Ethiopian Migrants Victimized in Saudi Arabia by GRAHAM PEEBLES

Racism and Hate Running Through the Streets

In the last 10 days persecution of Ethiopian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia has escalated. Men and women are forced from their homes by mobs of civilians and dragged through the streets of Riyadh and Jeddah. Distressing videos of Ethiopian men being mercilessly beaten, kicked and punched have circulated the Internet and triggered worldwide protests by members of the Ethiopian diaspora as well as outraged civilians in Ethiopia. Women report being raped, many repeatedly, by vigilantes and Saudi police. Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT), has received reports of fifty deaths and states that thousands living with or without visas have been detained awaiting repatriation. Imprisoned, many relay experiences of torture and violent beatings.

Earlier this year the Saudi authorities announced plans to purge the kingdom of illegal migrants. In July, King Abdullah extended the deadline for them to “regularize their residency and employment status [from 3 rd July] to November 4th. Obtain the correct visa documentation, or risk arrest, imprisonment and/or repatriation. On 6th November, Inter Press Service (IPS) reports, Saudi police, “rounded up more than 4,000 illegal foreign workers at the start of a nationwide crackdown,“ undertaken in an attempt (the authorities say), to reduce the 12% unemployment rate “creating more jobs for locals”.

Leading up to the “crackdown” many visa-less migrants left the country: nearly a million Bangladeshis, Indians, Filipinos, Nepalis, Pakistanis and Yemenis are estimated to have left the country in the past three months. More than 30,000 Yemenis have reportedly crossed to their home country in the past two weeks,” and around 23,000 Ethiopian men and women have “surrendered to Saudi authorities” [BBC].

The police and civilian vigilante gangs are victimizing Ethiopian migrants, residing with and without visas; the “crackdown” has provided the police and certain sectors of the civilian population with an excuse to attack Ethiopians. Press TV reports that “Saudi police killed three Ethiopian migrant workers in the impoverished neighborhood of Manfuhah in the capital, Riyadh, where thousands of African workers, mostly Ethiopians, were waiting for buses to take them to deportation centers.” Hundreds have been arrested and report being tortured: “we are kept in a concentration camp, we do not get enough food and drink, when we defend our sisters from being raped, they beat and kill us,” a migrant named Kedir, told ESAT TV. Women seeking refuge within the Ethiopian consulate tell of being abducted from the building by Saudi men and raped. ESAT, reports that several thousand migrants have been transported by trucks to unknown destinations outside the cities.

Whilst the repatriation of illegal migrants is lawful, the Saudi authorities do not have the right to act violently; beating, torturing and raping vulnerable, frightened people: people, who wish simply to work in order to support their families. The abuse that has overflowed from the homes where domestic workers are employed onto the streets of the capital reflects the wide-ranging abuse suffered by migrant workers of all nationalities in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Gulf States.

Trail of Abuse

This explosion of state sponsored violence against Ethiopians highlights the plight of thousands of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. They tell of physical, sexual and psychological abuse at the hands of employers, agents and family members. The draconian Kafala sponsorship system, (which grants ownership of migrants to their sponsor), together with poor or non-existent labour laws, endemic racism and gender prejudice, creates an environment in which extreme mistreatment has become commonplace in the oil-rich kingdom.

There are over nine million migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, that’s 30% of the population. They come from poor backgrounds in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia and Ethiopia and make up “more than half the work force. The country would grind to an embarrassing stand still without their daily toil. “Many suffer multiple abuses and labor exploitation [including withholding of wages, excessive working hours and confinement], sometimes amounting to slavery-like conditions”, Human Rights Watch (HRW) states.

The level of abuse of domestic workers is hard to judge: their isolation combined with total control exerted by employers, together with government indifference, means the vast majority of cases go unreported. Until August this year there was no law covering domestic abuse. Legislation has been passed: however, the authorities, HRW reports “are yet to make clear which agencies will police the new law…without effective mechanisms to punish domestic abuse, this law is merely ink on paper.” All pressure needs to be exerted on the rulers of Saudi Arabia to ensure the law is implemented and enforced so victims of domestic violence feel it is safe to come forward.

Ethiopian Governments Negligence

Whilst thousands of its nationals are detained, beaten, killed and raped, the Ethiopian government hangs its negligent head in silence in Addis Ababa, does not act to protect or swiftly repatriate their nationals, and criminalises those protesting in Addis Ababa against the Saudi actions.

Although freedom to protest is enshrined within the Ethiopian constitution (a liberal minded, largely ignored document written by the incumbent party), dissent and public demonstrations, if not publicly outlawed, are actively discouraged by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) regime. In response to the brutal treatment meted out by the Saudi police and gangs of vigilantes in Riyadh and Jeddah, outraged civilians in Addis Ababa staged a protest outside the Saudi Embassy, only to be confronted by their own police force, wielding batons and beating demonstrators. Al Jazeera reports that police “arrested dozens of people outside the Saudi embassy [in Addis Ababa] in a crackdown on demonstrators protesting against targeted attacks on Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia.” A senior member of The Blue Party, Getaneh Balcha was one of over 100 people arrested for peacefully protesting.

The government’s justification, rolled out to defend yet another suppressive response to a democratic display, was to assert that the protest “was an illegal demonstration, they had not got a permit from the appropriate office”: petty bureaucratic nonsense, hiding the undemocratic truth that the government does not want public protests of any kind on the streets of its cities: effectively, freedom of assembly is banned in Ethiopia. The protestors, he said, “were fomenting anti-Arab sentiments here among Ethiopians.” Given the brutal treatment of Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia, anger and anti-Saudi sentiment (not anti Arab) is, one would imagine understandable, and should be shared by the Ethiopian government.

The people of Ethiopia are living under a duplicitous highly repressive regime. The EPRDF consistently demonstrates it’s total indifference to the needs and human rights of the people. Freedom of expression, political dissent and public assembly is denied by a regime that is committing a plethora f human rights violations in various parts of the country, atrocities constituting in certain regions crimes against humanity. In fact, according to Genocide Watch, the Ethiopian government is committing genocide in the Somali region, as well as on the “Anuak, Oromo and Omo” ethnic groups (or tribes).Freedom of expression, political dissent and public assembly is denied by a regime that is committing a plethora f human rights violations in various parts of the country, atrocities constituting in certain regions crimes against humanity.

The recent appalling events in Saudi Arabia have brought thousands of impassioned Ethiopians living inside the country and overseas onto the streets. This powerful worldwide action presents a tremendous opportunity for the people to unite, to demand their rights through peaceful demonstrations and to call with one voice for change within their beloved country. The time to act is now, as a wise man has rightly said, “nothing happens by itself, man must act and implement his will”.

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

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Saudi Arabia: The kingdom of shame

By Tedla Asfaw 

The largest crowd in recent years, New York City Ethiopian protest rally, estimated in few hundreds shouted in a mild Monday, Nov.18., " Shame on King Abdullah, Shame on Saudi Arabia", the cry on First Avenue in front of the Saudi Arabia Mission to UN at 809 Plaza echoed from 3pm to 5pm.

In the morning the mission was contacted by phone to send their representatives down to our rally. The office told us that the Ambassador had received a letter that was handed to him on Nov.13 and his government has taken the "appropriate action" as was demanded on two letters for King Abdullah and the Saudi Ambassador, to stop the killing, raping, beating of Ethiopians.

We know for sure that the attack against Ethiopians has not stopped. Deaths are still reported. The crowd wanted to send that warning loud and clear to the Saudi Mission and chanted, "Stop the raping. the killing ,the beating and looting of Ethiopians".

The Saudi Embassies all over the world has a Public Relation problem in addressing protests. May be they are not accustomed to it. In the last week or today alone I am not sure if they ever sent their representatives to talk to protesters. New York was not different.

"Saudi is a Terrorist", "How comes you forget the Fir
st Hijrah", "Was it not Ethiopia that received the persecuted Prophet Mohammed followers ", "Shame on Saudi Arabia, Shame, Shame, Shame".

College students of the City of New York who called the protest on Facebook most of them women were very emotional on what happened to fellow Ethiopian sisters and brothers. They took the microphone one after another to say slogans that they deeply care.

They said, "Where is human rights", "We demand justice", "Shame on Western medias" for downplaying the humanitarian crisis in the Ethiopian Community in Saudi as a "Immigration crackdown".
It was not an ordinary "Crackdown". It was deportation by rape, killing and looting targeting Ethiopian neighborhood in Saudi Arabia. Our community now is segregated in a camp similar to concentration camp.
Due to Diaspora pressure and the protest back home the Governor of Riyadh was forced to visit one of those camps to repair the damage. Damage has already been done. The protesters demanded " Send Ethiopians home to their families immediately".

Poems and letter from one of the organizers Weizero Zewdetu addressed to the Ambassador was read. Religious leader brought the story Ethiopian King Kaleb who went to war into Arabia to fight another Christian King who was persecuting Muslims. He said the King of Saudi Arabia in our time is allowing the sons and daughters of that benevolent king to be murdered and raped on his soil. Shame on King Abdullah !!!! Shame on him !!!
Fellow New Yorkers have indeed stood with fellow Ethiopians who have been in harms way for almost two weeks in Saudi Arabia like fellow Ethiopians all over the world. They promised to keep the pressure on Saudi Regime to protect all Ethiopians who are now treated as enemy in Saudi soil. Each life lost they will pay for it dearly. Allah has sent the first punishment by heavy rain and flooding few days ago in Saudi Arabia. The cry of our people was heard by God !!!
Make no mistake this is not about being legal or illegal immigrant issue like the Saudi and the Western media is playing. The issue is being Habesha/Ethiopian is a crime. We are worried for the safety of our people especially the house maids who are abused by their employers. The Arab news is full of stories of Ethiopians maids as "dangerous". The truth is that they are living in danger with no one protecting them.
The Woyane regime that shipped these women as "commodity" do not care about them.The regime is on the side of the abusers. Many countries are checking on their citizens in Saudi Arabia. Woyane Regime is the reason why our people are targeted for vicious attack for the last two weeks alone. Saudis know that Woyane is their strong ally.

The Last Friday rally organized by the Blue Party in Addis Ababa in front of the Saudi Embassy was dispersed by the Woyane security once again to prove that "solidarity with Saudi". Another rally was not even allowed to start last Sunday organized by MEDREK.

The slogan in Addis Ababa in front of the Saudi Embassy said it loud and clear "Saudi companies should leave Ethiopia". We added another slogan on to that, "Saudi Citizens to leave Ethiopia immediately". Saudi Arabia citizens should not enjoy the good weather of our country. No more harvesting a single crop.No more fresh tomatoes and vegetables every Wednesday.Say No to Saudi Arabia in Ethiopia. The Woyane regime can not guarantee any safety for them. Ethiopians are Very Angry. We want the Shameful Kingdom to get the message and Get out of Ethiopia !!!!

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New York-based activist Tedla Asfaw can be reached at tedla.asfaw@gmail.com

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Global Alliance for the Rights of Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Global Coalition, Global Alliance for the Rights of Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia, has been formed to coordinate efforts to stop violence against Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia On Tuesday, November 12, 2013, concerned Ethiopians and Ethiopian Americans held a conference to deliberate on effective strategies to respond to the recent Saudi government’s deadly crackdown on and inhuman treatment of immigrants from Ethiopia and formed a Global Alliance to coordinate efforts.

The following prominent activists were elected to lead the Global Alliance:

1. Activist Abebe Gellaw

2. Activist Berhanu Damte (Abamela)

3. Activist Tamagn Beyene

Ethiopians all over the globe have been following the shocking inhumane violence committed against Ethiopian immigrants by the Saudi, Police Security Forces, and government backed youth vigilante. We have followed the events that were unfolding in Saudi Arabia with great sorrow, horror, and anger. The atrocities committed by the Saudi Police and youth backed has now reached intolerable heights. The random killings, gang rape, and severe beatings of defenseless Ethiopians underscore the urgent need for action.

At this time and age, killing unarmed civilians is an act of moral depravity. The act of Saudi Security forces and the youth vigilante against Ethiopian immigrants can simply be characterized as among one of the gravest human rights violations in the world. It is also a crime absolutely prohibited by international law, including the UN Convention against Torture.
The video reports and eye witness testimonies confirm Saudi Arabia employed an extensive use of torture and savagery. These acts affirm the need for an immediate action and condemnation by the international community. These acts of gross human and civil rights violations calls for United Nations investigation and inquiry into the full extent of the crime against humanity committed by the Saudis. Presently, Ethiopian immigrants in Saudi have been subjected to extra-judicial killings, gang rape, torture, and mass arrests. The continued killings, rape, and arrests serves as an irrefutable evidence of the Saudi government’s brutality, utter disregard for the rule of law, and humanity.

Many Ethiopians have also been expressing their anger over the Ethiopian government not only for its failure to respond to the crisis situation on a timely manner, but also for making the country hostile to its own citizens. It is a well known fact that most young Ethiopians, besides facing high rate of unemployment, are subject to some of the most serious rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, incommunicado detention, arbitrary arrest, torture, and inhumane prison conditions. As a result, each year thousands of Ethiopians flee their home country in search of a better life.

Using social media and other channels Ethiopians allover the world have launched campaigns to expose the atrocities and demand the Saudi government to immediately stop the violence against Ethiopians. A series of public meetings and street demonstrations have also been scheduled in many big cities to call upon the international community denounce these brutal acts and initiate formal investigation to bring those culprits to justice without delay.

The Global Alliance is formed in response to the call from members of the Ethiopian Diaspora, disturbed by the cruelty, inhumanity, and degrading treatment of Ethiopians in the hands of the Saudi government Security forces.

The Global Alliance, therefore, seeks to bring awareness about the savage crime committed against Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia to the international community. The Global Alliance shall employ all means at its disposal to alert the international courts, civic and human rights organizations, civil rights advocates, donor nations, individuals and groups to join in the effort to prevent yet another global crisis or genocide of Ethiopians from taking place in Saudi. The Global Alliance is sincerely concerned the events unfolding in Saudi Arabia eerily bares resemblance of the Nazis actions against the Jews prior to WW II.

This Global Alliance shall summon the support of attorneys, legal professionals, and experts in international human rights violations and work diligently to bring charges of crimes against humanity against the Kingdome of Saudi Arabia, and make an effort to assist the victims obtain justice. The Global Alliance may send fact finding mission to Saudi Arabia to gather information and detail ways of reaching for the victimized Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia.

The Global Alliance calls upon all Ethiopians and members of civilized society to join us in condemning the killings, rape, and torture. We further call upon all to support our efforts to bring those responsible, for authorizing the use of cruel and inhuman treatment of Ethiopian immigrants, to be held accountable for their actions. We, also, ask all Ethiopians and human rights advocates to join the Global Alliance and provide information, share ideas and expertise as well as donate resources, in advancing the causes of saving lives and stopping the massacre of innocent Ethiopians by the Saudis.

All Lives Have Equal Value!!!
ሁሉም ህይወት እኩል ዋጋ አለው!!!

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በሳውዲ አረቢያ በሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ላይ የሚደርሰው ሰቆቃ አሁኑኑ ይቁም!!! ግንቦት 7: የፍትህ፣ የነፃነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ

በሳውዲ አረቢያ በሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ላይ የሚደርሰው መከራ መስማት ህሊና መሸከም ከሚችለው በላይ ሆኗል። ኢትዮጵያዊን እህቶቻችን ወንድሞቻችን በአሰቃቂ ሁኔታ እየተገደሉ፤ አካሎቻቸው በስለት እየተቆራረጠ፤ እየተደበደቡና እየተደፈሩ ነው።

ይህ ሁሉ የሚፈፀው በሪያድ፣ ጂዳና አዲስ አበባ የሚገኙ የወያኔ ዲፕሎማቶች መልካም ፈቃድና ሙሉ ተባባሪነት መሆኑ ደግሞ ይበልጥ የሚያንገበግብ ነው። ወያኔ ለአረብ ሀብታም ሸሪኮቹ ለም መሬቶቻችንን ሰጥቶ ኢትዮጵያዊ በአገሩ ሠርቶ የእለት ጉርሱን መሸፈን የማይችልበት ደረጃ ላይ እንዲደርስ አደረገው። ቀጥሎ ደግሞ በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ልጃገረዶችና ወጣት ኢትዮጵያንን እየደለለ ከባርነት ላልተሻለ ግርድና አሳልፎ ሰጣቸው። ይህ ሁሉ ግፍ አልበቃ ብሎ “በሏቸው፤ ቀጥቅጧቸው፤ ህገወጦች ናቸው” እያለ በወገኖቻችን ላይ የሚደርሰውን ሰቆቃ በአጋፋሪነት እያስተናገደ ነው።

በኩየት በሚገኙ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ላይ ተመሳሳይ ሰቆቃ ሊደርስ የሚችል መሆኑ ምልክቶች እየታዩ ነው። በኩዌት ያለአንዳች ምክንያት ቁጥራቸው በአንድ ሺህ በላይ የሆኑ ኢትዮጵያዊያን በድንገት ከሥራ ተባረዋል። እዚህም የወያኔ እኩይ እጆች እንዳሉት መረጃዎች አሉ። በሌሎች የመካከለኛው ምሥራቅ አገሮች የሚገኙ ኢትዮጵያዊያንም ሕይወታቸው በዘወትር ስጋት ላይ ወድቋል።

የኢትዮጵያዊያን እጣ ፈንታ በአገር ውስጥም ከአገር ውጭም ሰቆቃና እንግልት መሆኑ የሚያሳዝን ብቻ ሳይሆን የሚያስቆጭ፤ ለመራራ ትግል የሚያነሳሳም ነው። ለአገሩ ሕዝብ የሚቆረቆር መንግሥት ኑሮን ቢሆን ኖሮ ሕይታችን እንዲህ የተመሰቃቀሰ ባልሆነም ነበር።

ግንቦት 7: የፍትህ፣ የነፃነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ የሳውዲ አረቢያ እና ሌሎችም የመካከለኛ ምሥራቅ አገራት መንግሥታት ለኢትዮጵያዊያን እህቶቻንና ወንድሞቻችን ሰብዓዊ ክብር እንዲሰጡ አበክረን እናሳስባለን። ሰብዓዊ መብቶችን መድፈር ዓለም ዓቀፍ ወንጀል መሆኑን ልንነግራቸው እንፈልጋለን። በወገኖቻችን ላይ የሚደርሰው ሰቆቃ አሁኑኑ ይቁም!!! ሰቆቃ ፈፃሚዎች ለፍርድ ይቅረቡ!!!

በተቻለው ፍጥነትና ባገኘነው እድል ሁሉ ተጠቅመን ሕይወታቸው አደጋ ላይ ላሉት ወገኖቻችን እንድንደርስ ግንቦት 7 ለመላው የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ጥሪ ያደርጋል።

በኢትዮጵያዊያን ላይ የሚደርሰው ሰቆቃ በዘላቂነት የሚወገደው ወያኔ ከሥልጣን ተባሮ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ የመረጠው መንግሥት ሲያስተዳድር በመሆኑ ለዚህ ታላቅ ግብ በኅብረት እንነሳ።

በወገኖቻችን ላይ የሚደርሰው ሰቆቃ ይቁም!!

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ!!!

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Ethiopia: The “liberty of movement” by prof. alemayehu G. mariam

“Government announces temporary ban on traveling abroad for work”

Last week the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs” of the ruling regime in Ethiopia announced:

In an effort to curb the rising tide of abuse and exploitation of Ethiopian migrants, [there will be]  a temporary freeze on citizens traveling abroad for employment. The temporary ban has been issued to prevent abuse and even killings of many Ethiopians who have travelled abroad for work. The ban is intended to remain in force until legal, administrative and institutional gaps in foreign employment have been addressed. These measures had become necessary because previous efforts by the Government to ensure the rights of Ethiopian workers abroad had failed to achieve their aim. Ensuring safe working remains one of the priority areas of the government. The temporary freeze on foreign employment travel and suspension of foreign employment agencies is expected to speed up improvement of working conditions for Ethiopians working overseas.

Is the “temporary freeze on foreign employment travel” constitutional? Does the regime have the constitutional power to suspend the “liberty of movement” of Ethiopian citizens for the purpose of “prevent[ing] abuse and even killings of many Ethiopians who have traveled abroad for work”? The answer to both questions is a resounding NO!

I am compelled to write this commentary on the constitutional “liberty of movement” of Ethiopian citizens for  two reasons. First, for quite some time I have been concerned about and very critical of the regime’s policy of forced displacement or internal deportation (that is, the forced expulsion of Ethiopian citizens from locations they have chosen to establish residence and engage in employment and sending them back to their so called “kilils” [“autonomous regional states”] or “homelands”). In April of this year, Prof. Yacob Hailemariam, a prominent Ethiopian opposition leader and a former senior Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda commented that the expulsion of members of the Amhara ethnic group  from Benishangul-Gumuz (one of the nine “kililistans” in Ethiopia) was a de facto ethnic cleansing. “The forceful deportation of people because they speak a certain language could destabilize a region, and if reported with tangible evidence, the UN Security Council could order the International Criminal Court to begin to examine the crimes.”

There is substantial and compelling eyewitness and victim testimony to show the flagitious nature of the regime’s policy of internal deportation from various regions including Gambella, Benishangul-Gumuz, Oromiya, Somali and the Ogaden and   Benji Maji/Gura Ferda area in Southern Ethiopia, among others.  I have previously addressed the internal deportation of the so-called “sefaris of North Godjam Amharas” by the late leader of the regime from the Benji Maji/Gura Ferda area. On the issue of the regime’s culpability under Article 7(1)(d) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“Deportation or forcible transfer of population”), I opined: “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.”

Second, I was puzzled by the regime’s manifestly willful ignorance and/or willful indifference to its constitutional limitations when it recently imposed a “ban on travel abroad for work”. Due to space limitations (yes, I have heard it whispered that my commentaries are too long; but though “brevity is the soul of wit” as Shakespeare commended, it would be witless of me to sacrifice substance for the sake of brevity), I will address the second  issue here and defer my discussion of forced internal deportation and ethnic cleansing for another time.

Ethiopians’ constitutional right to freedom of movement and travel

Article 32 (“Freedom of Movement”) guarantees Ethiopian citizens an untrammeled freedom of movement: “(1) Any Ethiopian or foreign national lawfully in Ethiopia has, within the national territory, the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence, as well as the  freedom to leave the country at any time he wishes to.”  This “liberty of movement” is further secured and reinforced in two binding international conventions to which Ethiopia is a signatory. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which is explicitly incorporated into the Ethiopian Constitution under Article 13(2) provides, “The fundamental rights and freedoms specified in this Chapter shall be interpreted in a manner conforming to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenants on Human Rights and International instruments adopted by Ethiopia.” Article 13 of the UDHR similarly provides, “1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.” Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights incorporates the identical language of the UDHR, except in subsection 3 makes certain exceptions for national security and public order.

Article 9 of the Ethiopian Constitution (“Supremacy of the Constitution”) provides, “(1) The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Any law, customary practice or a decision of an organ of state or a public official which contravenes this Constitution shall be of no effect.”

Can the regime impose a “temporary freeze on foreign employment travel” on Ethiopian citizens without flagrantly violating Article 32 of the Ethiopian Constitution and other international conventions?

The language of Article 32 is clear and unambiguous. No special interpretive aid or analytical method is needed to understand the plain meaning of the words. Article 32 is sweeping and comprehensive in its  guarantee of complete freedom of movement. “Any Ethiopian has the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence, as well as the freedom to leave the country at any time he wishes to.” There are absolutely no preconditions that a citizen must meet before “choosing his residence”, moving from one part of the country to another or in deciding to “leave the country”. The only precondition, if there is one, is that the citizen “wishes” to travel or exercise his/her freedom of movement.

Article 32 also requires no additional legislative act to effectuate its purpose  with such conditional operative clauses as “in a manner to be prescribed by law”. Article 32 is self-executing, which means it fully operative by virtue of its constitutional declaration. It cannot be changed, altered, modified or suspended by legislation or executive fiat.

The regime’s “temporary ban on travel” reviewed within the mandatory language of the supremacy clause of Article 9 (“any decision of an organ of state or a public official which contravenes this Constitution shall be of no effect”), is manifestly offensive and flagrantly repugnant to the sweeping guarantees of Articles 32. The right of law abiding Ethiopian citizens who “wish” to travel cannot be “frozen”, “suspended temporarily” or otherwise  subjected to encroachment. The regime’s travel ban should be roundly condemned and legally declared null and void. (I will not waste ink or time writing about why proper constitutional adjudication of this issue is impossible in the regime’s kangaroo courts or its make-believe “Council of Constitutional Inquiry” under Article 82.)

The plight of Ethiopian domestic workers abroad

There is no question that over the last few years many young Ethiopian women who have voluntarily traveled to or have been  trafficked into various Middle Eastern countries as domestic workers have suffered and continue to suffer horrific abuse and inhumane treatment. I commented on the subject and expressed my outrage over the maltreatment of these  workers nearly three years ago in my commentary “From the International Slave Trade to the International Maid Trade”. Even today, countless Ethiopian domestic workers throughout the Middle East suffer forcible detention by their employers, sexual violence, denial of wages and economic exploitation, demonization in the host countries as criminals and other unspeakable abuse. Their situation is not only heart aching, it is heartbreaking!

However, trashing the unfettered liberty of movement of citizens will not alleviate the suffering of Ethiopian domestic workers in the Middle East nor prevent their abuse or exploitation. The policy rationale that because “previous efforts have failed to ensure the rights of Ethiopian workers abroad” a  “temporary freeze on travel is expected to speed up improvement of working conditions for Ethiopians working overseas” is a nonsensical non sequitur (does not logically follow). To argue that  “Freezing (stopping) employment travel” in its tracks domestically “will speed up improved working conditions overseas” is like saying standing water will cause a flood. The policy justification makes very little sense because the Ethiopians being “exploited and abused” are already in the various countries suffering exploitation and abuse.

It is true that the regime has been the target of intense criticism for its years of depraved and callous indifference to the suffering of these workers. The regime’s “embassies” in that part of the world have turned a deaf ear, blind eyes and muted lips to Ethiopians who have sought their help and support.

Will a “temporary freeze” materially improve the abject conditions of those Ethiopian domestic workers already suffering abuse and exploitation? It will not! Will it facilitate the prosecution of the abusive employers? It will not! Will the “freeze” prevent human trafficking in “forced labor” by criminal elements and their official protectors inside Ethiopia and in the host countries? It will not! Is the “freeze” much of a bargaining chip in negotiations with host governments that allow such abuse and continue to deny basic and minimal legal protections to such workers? It is not! At best, the “freeze” is a last-ditch public relations stunt by the regime to cover up its years of depraved indifference towards the plight of these workers. It is a clever ploy to distract attention from the fact that the regime has done diddly-squat in the face of daily reports and revelations of suicides, homicides and abusive treatment of these workers throughout the Middle East.

The need for special protection of Ethiopian domestic workers abroad  

I believe the exploitation and abuse of migrant domestic workers is among the most important human rights issues of the Twenty First Century. The estimated 150 thousand Ethiopian domestic workers scattered throughout the Middle East and elsewhere are part of the millions of migrant domestic workers facing human rights abuses throughout the world. However, in contrast to the indifference and inaction of the regime in Ethiopia, other legitimately elected governments facing similar problems have taken affirmative action to deal with the problem.

If the regime in Ethiopia is serious about its claims of  “curbing the rising tide of abuse and exploitation of Ethiopian migrants workers”, it must go beyond window dressing and take actions commensurate with the professed concern. First, the regime should accede to  the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) “Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97). That Convention provides a comprehensive framework for the implementation of legislation which provides robust protections to such workers including a “system of supervision of contracts of employment between an employer, or a person acting on his behalf, and a migrant for employment”. Second, the regime should also accede to the United Nations International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. That convention provides, among other things, “No migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The elements of this Convention should be incorporated by reference or included by enumeration in any agreements the regime enters with host countries with migrant domestic workers programs.

Third, the regime should take advantage of available opportunities to learn from the experiences, policies and laws of other countries with large numbers of migrant workers deployed abroad. Here I use the word “learn” advisedly. By “learning”, I do not mean cutting and pasting the laws and policies of other countries mindlessly and robotically and rubberstamping them.  To this day, I cringe with embarrassment and shame when I recall the braggadocio of the late leader of the regime in February 2012 explaining to his parliament how he had crafted a “flawless” “anti-terrorism law” by plagiarizing and cannibalizing the laws and policies of other countries: “In drafting our anti-terrorism law, we copied word-for-word the very best anti-terrorism laws in the world. We took from America, England and the European model anti-terrorism laws. …Because they have experience, there is no shame  if we learn or take from them. Learning from a good teacher is useful not harmful. Nothing embarrassing about it. The [antiterrorism] proclamation in every respect is flawless. It is better than the best anti-terrorism laws [in the world] but not less than any one of them in any way…” Of course, there was no “drafting” of an “anti-terrorism law”. It was all “copied word for word” (plagiarized) from the laws of other countries. It was a shameless cut and paste job. Today, thousands are imprisoned on the authority of a “law” mindlessly pieced together by ignoramuses who believe laws and policies are mere random words strung together in sentences and paragraphs.

My simple suggestion here is that the regime should carefully study the policies of those governments that have taken effective action to protect the rights of their migrant workers. I believe there is much to be learned from the laws and policies of the Government of the Philippine (GoP) designed to protect the human and economic rights of their migrant workers. In 1982, the GoP established the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The central aim of the POEA is to promote and monitor the overseas employment of Filipino workers. In 1995, the GoP enacted The Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 with the aim of expanding “overseas employment and establish[ing] a higher standard of protection and promotion of the welfare of migrant workers, their families and overseas Filipinos in distress”. This Act was amended in 2009 by  REPUBLIC ACT No. 10022  reaffirming the GoP’s intent to “deploy overseas Filipino workers only in countries where the rights of Filipino migrant workers are protected.” To ensure the rights of these workers are respected, the GoP requires host countries to adopt  “labor and social laws protecting the rights of migrant workers”, ratify or accede to “multilateral conventions, declarations or resolutions relating to the protection of migrant workers” and take “concrete measures to protect the rights of migrant workers.” In 2011, pursuant to the Republic Act No. 10022,  POEA issued a list of countries where Filipino workers may not be deployed owing to the failure of host countries in adopting domestic laws that protect migrant workers. Among the countries where Filipino workers may not be deployed or deployment to be reconsidered include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Republic Act No. 10022 provides for a comprehensive scheme of detection, surveillance, investigation, apprehension and prosecution of “illegal recruiters” and human traffickers in forced labor. It also provides services for reintegration of returning overseas Filipino workers, legal support for Filipino migrant workers who may need assistance in the enforcement of contractual employment obligations by agencies or employers and victims of illegal recruitment, compulsory insurance for migrant workers at no cost to the workers and establishes a legal assistance fund for the migrant workers.

The significance of the “liberty of movement”

Let me briefly return to the subject of “liberty of movement”, a topic near and dear to my heart. Having practiced  immigration law and represented or consulted with individuals seeking asylum in the U.S. or facing deportation, I understand and empathize  with those persons who have “voted with their feet” to escape some of the most ruthless and wicked regimes in the world. The “liberty of movement” has special significance and meaning for me. It is at the core of what I consider makes a human being free; it quintessentially defines the free man/woman from those who are not free. Prisoners (including political prisoners) have no liberty of movement. They are confined within the prison walls; often political prisoners in countries like Ethiopia are placed in solitary confinement for long periods. Ultimately, the deprivation of the liberty of movement is the essence of the deprivation of liberty. The wages of crime is deprivation of the liberty of movement.

Indeed, liberty of movement transcends the narrow confines of the prison walls. A free citizen is free to roam about the cities and the countryside of his/her country and establish residence, seek gainful employment or earn a legitimate living without fear of official harassment, expulsion or displacement. A free citizen cannot be forced to move from his/her choice of residential or employment location by any official without due process of law.

The liberty of movement occupies a central position in the history of liberties of the most advanced societies in the world today. Over 2000 years ago, Plato wrote of the liberty of the Athenian who “does not like us when he has become of age and has seen the ways of the city, and made our acquaintance, [to] go where he pleases and take his goods with him. None of our laws will forbid him or interfere with him.”  The greatest scholars and seminal thinkers of international law including Hugo Grotious and Emmerich de Vattel  have defended the individual’s liberty of movement. Vattel argued, “Every man is born free; and the son of a citizen, when come to the years of discretion, may examine whether it be convenient for him to join the society for which he was destined by his birth. If he does not find it advantageous to remain in it, he is at liberty to quit it…”  William Blackstone, arguably the most influential commentator on the development of  English law and whose work profoundly shaped the American legal system defined the essence of “personal liberty” “consist[ing] in the power of locomotion, of changing situation, of removing one’s person to whatever place one’s inclination may direct, without imprisonment or restraint, unless by due course of law.”

America, the great Land of Immigrants is founded on the very idea of liberty of movement. Thomas Jefferson wrote, “[O]ur ancestors, before their emigration to America, were the free inhabitants of the British dominions in Europe, and possessed a right, which nature has given to all men, of departing from the country in which chance, not choice, has placed them, of going in quest of new habitations, and of there establishing new societies, under such laws and regulations as, to them, shall seem most likely to promote public happiness.” Today we find that poem familiar to all Americans inscribed on a bronze plaque inside the Statue of Liberty, “… Give me your tired, your poor,/ Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,/ The wretched refuse of your teeming shore./ Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!/…”

I perceive one of the gravest threats to human rights emanating from attacks on the liberty of movement. The greatest weapon of control and subjugation in apartheid South Africa was the creation of a pernicious system of movement control which deprived black  south Africans the liberty of movement. Indeed, apartheid (policy of “separate development of blacks and whites”) was based on an ideology of keeping black South Africans confined to the “homelands” and townships. For decades, black South Africans were virtual prisoners in their own country. The apartheid regime incapacitated them by restricting their liberty of movement in a variety of ways. They were forcibly corralled in bantustans (“homelands”) like cattle. They were legally prevented and sanctioned severely if they relocated from their “homeland” to another part of their country. They were forced to carry passes (internal passports of sorts) just to have the privilege of moving from one part of their country to another to work. They were subjected  to curfews and random stops. They were arrested and jailed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The apartheid regime incapacitated the leadership of the African National Congress and other organizations by declaring them “banned persons”, which meant house arrest, no association with more than one person at a time or communicating with any group.

Black South Africans had no right to travel outside of South Africa and were ineligible to receive  a passport under the apartheid regime. If they wanted to get a passport and travel, they had to first become “citizens” of one of the four “independent homelands”, renounce their South African citizenship or accept the revocation of South African citizenship imposed upon them by the apartheid regime. Only then would they receive the passports” of their “independent homelands”. In 1962, after arrangements were made for Nelson Mandela to enter Ethiopia for military training, H.I.M. Haile Selassie granted him an  Ethiopian passport under the name “David Motsamayi”. Mandela later fondly remembered, “Ethiopia has always held a special place in my own imagination and the prospect of visiting [it] attracted me more strongly than a trip to France, England and America combined. I felt I would be visiting my own genesis, unearthing the roots of what made me an African. Meeting the emperor himself would be like shaking hands with history.” Today, for millions of Ethiopians Ethiopia is not a “special place” and so they uproot themselves and seek refuge in France, England, America, the Middle East… Such is the irony of history!

“Free to come and go as one wishes”: Hope springs eternal

I have often criticized the ruling regime in Ethiopia for its willful ignorance of its own Constitution, willful indifference and oversight of its duties under the “supreme law of the land” and flagrant disregard of its obligations under international law. For more years than I care to remember, I have hectored and “sermonized” them  on the sanctity of the rule of law and the inviolability of the supreme law of the land. Needless to say, I harbor no illusion that they will ever pay any attention to my admonitory exhortations, moralizing discourses or constitutional edifications. Nor do I labor under any fantasy that they have the political will, technical sophistication or administrative competence to deal with the enormous problems facing Ethiopian migrant workers in the Middle East. I have long concluded that “evangelizing” the “gospel” of the rule and supremacy of law to the benighted and misbegotten is like preaching Scripture to a gathering of heathen or pouring water over a slab of granite. However futile, vain and bootless my efforts may be, I shall continue to “sermonize” for I believe “Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always to be blest…”, to quote a verse from Alexander Pope. I also believe in the essential truth of an old Chinese saying, “Dripping water penetrates the stone.” One must cherish the hope that it is possible to save those lost in the wilderness of tyranny, trapped in a wasteland of brutality and cruelty and adrift on a sea of crimes against humanity.

Is it not wonderful to be a utopian Ethiopian? 

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.

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Time to hold Ethiopia’s corrupt leaders accountable: SMNE

The Government of Ethiopia is broadly soliciting for development aid, foreign-based business partnerships and financial investors; yet, the unpopular ruling party has been accused of abuse of state power, misuse of donor funds, widespread party-run business monopolies, illicit financial practices and endemic corruption. It is time to demand accountability from all involved and concerned.

The Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE) is a non-political and non-violent social justice movement of diverse people that advocates for freedom, justice, good governance and upholding the civil, human and economic rights of the people of Ethiopia, without regard to ethnicity, religion, political affiliation or other differences. The SMNE believes a more open, transparent and competitive market economy, supported by viable institutions and reasonable protections, which provides equal opportunity, will result in greater prosperity to the people rather than keeping it in the hands of a few political elites.

We strongly contend that Ethiopia will not emerge as a dependable global economic partner until the corrupt and illegal practices of the current one-party regime’s monopoly end and existing blocks of entry to non-party members are lifted. We also believe the global business community as well as donors to Ethiopia can contribute by coming alongside Ethiopians in the push for meaningful reforms. Such reforms would include greater transparency and an opening up of economic space to the private sector, without which growth and development—beyond the benefit of the ruling party’s affiliates—will never be realized.

In light of this, the SMNE urges the international community, donor nations, charitable organizations, and the international financial and business community to make demands on the Government of Ethiopia (GOE) for compliance with national and international laws. This must include holding companies affiliated or owned by members of the ruling party, including those businesses associated with their business conglomerate, Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray, (EFFORT), accountable. Additionally, measures should also strongly support restoring autonomy to independent institutions, the judiciary, and the Media and upholding the human and economic rights of the people.

Until these measures are taken, the SMNE urges these stakeholders in the international community to withhold investments, development financing and other forms of partnering with the regime and its cronies.

The ruling TPLF/EPRDF party has misused its state power and expenditures of foreign aid to corner the market through its companies and affiliates in all sectors of the economy. Illegal expropriation of land and public resources, corruption, illicit capital leakage and dubious allegiances riddle these secretive deals, putting prospective partners at high risk for future liability or other uncertain consequences.

The Oakland Institute in its July 17, 2013 press release: “Development Aid to Ethiopia: Overlooking Violence, Marginalization, and Political Repression,” warned the international community on the dangers of unwitting complicity in creating this illegal monopoly of business and civil society that provides the Ethiopian regime development aid amounting to “an average [of] $3.5 billion a year, equivalent to 50 to 60% of Ethiopia’s national budget.”

Likewise, the international community and investors have largely ignored or, knowingly or unknowingly, become complicit with the pervasive corrupt practices of many of the 100’s of companies owned and operated by the Tigrayan Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) that dominates the ruling coalition government of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Democratic Republic Front (EPDRF). “Companies under the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray, known as EFFORT, alone account for roughly half of the country’s modern economy”, according to an IPS report titled “Examining the Depths of Ethiopia’s Corruption.” The wife of the late Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, headed up the organization until only recently.

Bloomberg News, in its October 27, 2009 edition, reported “Guna Trading House Plc, owned by Ethiopia’s ruling party, said it plans to become one of the nation’s biggest coffee exporters, raising concern among industry observers that private industry may get crowded out.
The report quotes the late prime minister regarding the company’s plans to expand in the industry. ‘We are intending to export to Europe, the U.S. and China,’ he said. Guna is among at least four other companies owned by the state or Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling party.”
Coffee Plantation Development Enterprise, Dinsho Trading P.L.C and Ambasel Trading House P.L.C. are among coffee exporters under the ownership of the ruling party that has been able to obtain favored treatment from public agencies and enterprises due to the regime’s control of these government agencies that should otherwise be holding them accountable. Companies that fall out of line can suddenly fall under the scrutiny of these agencies. As a result, those associated with the ruling party are able to dominate key industries, including the export of commodities. See some of the more visible companies and less visible, like Wogagen Bank, Sheba Tannery P.L.C., Ambasel Trading House P.L.C., and many more companies owned by the ruling party.
Another company within EFFORT’s group is Almeda Textile Factory. According to the company, it is the biggest textile factory in Ethiopia. It is one of the major exporters of textile products to the US market. The company has had help in achieving this position through assistance from US government agencies, made available through the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Additionally, according to the United States Agency for International Development‘s News, they report giving technical assistance to Almeda Textile Factory through the USAID East Africa Competitiveness and Trade Expansion Program (COMPETE). They also sponsored the company in an exhibit at the MAGIC Apparel Trade Show in August 2009.

Essentially, the US government agency admittedly supported this Ethiopian ruling party-owned company in its exports into the US market, also allowing Almeda AGOA’s duty free import privilege, something that was intended for independent businesses. This is in direct violation of US anti-corruption laws.

Another ruling party-owned company, Addis Pharmaceutical Factory, which dominates the local market, claims to be the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Ethiopia. According to the company, it manufactures “analgesics, anti-acids, antibiotics, anti-malarias, anti-asthmatics, amoebicides, anthelmenics, cough syrups and vitamin preparations.” Addis Pharmaceutical allegedly benefits from the expenditure of health funding from development agencies.

The international community, including development agencies, charitable organizations and investors, often have ignored the implication of associating with the ruling party’s owned companies. This is contrary to the public interest and is in violation of international laws and regulations against corruption.

For example, in a press release on the appointment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s first official representative in Ethiopia, the co-chair, Melinda Gates, said, “We invest more than half of our resources in Africa, and we want to build closer and more effective relationships with valued partners on the ground.”

According to the Foundation, “Ethiopia is an important focus country for the foundation, which currently provides more than USD $265 million in funding to partner organizations that are operating health and development programs across the nation.”

In Ethiopia, ruling party controlled organizations and businesses are nearly the only partners possible, creating an oligarchy similar to what has happened in Russia and other countries in Africa where totalitarian governments and their cronies pillage the economy and resources to their own advantage and without regard to the people.

What appears to be negligence and a lack of doing due diligence on the part of the foreign aid community and investors, including the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, among many other agencies and investors, unfortunately contributes to making it possible for the ruling party and its affiliated companies to involve themselves in all kinds of shadow businesses while eroding the prospects for viable independent businesses to emerge and survive.

As a result, in the last decade the number of parallel shadow business enterprises associated with the ruling party and affiliates have mushroomed in every sector of the economy while at the same time the international community has poured in billions of dollars in development aid and investment without appearing to question the ruling party’s extensive involvement in business and trade.

Global Advice Network on its Business Anti-Corruption portal concludes in the profile on Ethiopia: “The [Ethiopian] government strategy is clearly top-down, dominating anti-corruption institutions, the anti-corruption debate, and the formulation of anti-corruption policy. Despite the introduction of anti-corruption initiatives in previous years, including the Federal Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (FEACC) in 2001, corruption remains widespread at many levels of government administration in the country.”

In the findings of the Bertelsmann Foundation 2012 Report , they assert: “Ethiopian society’s deeply ingrained clientelism does not foster a culture of accountability and transparency, has fostered cover-ups and non-enforcement of laws”. For example, they report: “Competition laws aimed at preventing monopolistic structures and conduct exist within some sectors, but are enforced inconsistently. A Competition Commission was established in 2006, and by the end of 2007 had reviewed some 23 cases. Although informally provided, the strongest complaints are against the government’s preferences for party-affiliated businesses; [however], only trade-related issues were investigated. The transportation sector, for example, is to a large extent in the hands of business people belonging to the para-party sector. There are a number of companies close to the government and the ruling party, which leads to a lack of transparency and [high levels of] corruption.”

A World Bank 2012 report on Ethiopia reinforces the same, saying that “high-level corruption is widespread within the construction sector, and that it is dominated by the ruling party affiliated companies.”

Reports alone cannot fully capture the enormity of the ruling party’s affiliated companies’ extensive involvement in all sectors of the economy due to the ruling party’s control of:

1. Public agencies such as: Ethiopian Rural Land Management Agency, Privatization Agency, Investment Commission, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Agriculture Transformation Agency, Ethiopian Grain Trade Enterprise, Development Bank of Ethiopia, The Federal Ethics and Corruption Commission, Information and Communication Technology Agency and others;
2. Trade institutions such as: Chambers of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association and farmers and trade union and associations;
3. Licensing and regulating of charitable organizations, which includes: The Ethiopian Charities & Civil Societies Agency (ECCA) and legislations severely limiting the kinds of activities—civic engagement important to healthy societies—that organizations are allowed to carry out if they receive more than 10% of their financing through foreign sources, rather than through government funding under the Charities and Societies Proclamation; resulting in the ruling regime’s operation of hundreds of charitable organizations, including the Tigray Development Association (TDA);
4. Public Media infrastructures, including Ethiotelecom, (the only internet provider in the country) ‎ and Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority (the only shortwave Radio and Television broadcasters in the country), The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology http://www.mcit.gov.et/

The UNDP commissioned Global Financial Integrity Report: ‘Illicit Financial Flows from the Least Developed Countries: 1990-2008’, revealed that “approximately US$197 billion flowed out of the 48 poorest developing countries and into mainly developed countries, on a net basis over the period 1990-2008. Trade mispricing—when imports are overpriced and exports underpriced on custom documents—accounts for 65 percent of illicit financial flows.”

The report ranked Ethiopia among the top ten worst countries out of the forty-eight. As a recipient of the largest development aid in Sub-Sahara Africa, the international community has the obligation to hold the GOE and the ruling party owned business conglomerate and facilitating organization primarily responsible and accountable.

In light of these concerns, the SMNE calls on the international community, donor countries and organizations and financial institutions, investors or business partners, either prospective or established, to not ignore the overwhelming evidences of endemic corruption but to take strong measures to ameliorate the problem to the best of their ability through exposure, denial of services, investigations, criminal proceedings and remedial actions. Some of these actions should include:

• Demand that the ruling party disclose and dissolve all its business holdings built on public resources and foreign aid
• Demand that the ruling party affiliated charitable organizations’ including EFFORT Group, disclose their financial holdings to the public and cease operating charitable organizations
• Call for an independent investigation of the regime’s business and charitable activities
• Call for the immediate restoration of the independent Media, including allowing the international Media to operate freely in the country with full access to the public records
• Demand public disclosure of all records on foreign investment, including land contracts for the purpose of commercial farming as well as real-estate, mining and manufacturing

The SMNE urges the international community, donor nations and organizations, Ethiopian political parties, civic and religious organizations and the Media, at home and abroad, to pressure the international community to:

• Not provide a blank check and diplomatic cover for the Government, the ruling party and its affiliated companies
• Require meaningful conditions be met as part of receiving development aid and diplomatic support
• Closely monitor the misuse of military and security assistance they or others have provided that has helped the ruling party gain control of the ways and means of the economy
• Open an investigation on crimes of corruption and money laundering on the part of the ruling party’s affiliated companies, officials, and family members residing inside or outside of the country, in their respective jurisdictions abroad
• Close any access for the ruling party affiliated companies that do business in the international markets until compliance with international and national laws are followed.
The SMNE and partners advise all concerned organizations to use established laws, agreements and protocols, where possible, to compel the ruling party to abide by international and regional conventions and protocols as well as to follow all applicable laws and regulations on corruption both nationally and internationally.
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For media enquiries contact:
SMNE Media & Public Relations
910- 17th St. NW, Suite 419
Washington, DC 20006 USA
E-mail: media@solidaritymovement.org
Website: http://www.solidaritymovement.org

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የማዕድን ሙስና በኢትዮጵያ _ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም

ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሀገሬ

በዚህ ዓመት በኢትዮጵያ ሙስናን አስመልክቶ ይሀ ለሰባተኛ ጊዜ ያቀረብኩት ትችት በማዕድኑ ዘርፍ ላይ ያተኮረ ነው፡፡ በሙስና ላይ ያቀረብኳቸውን ሌሎችን ትችቶች “Al Mariam’s Commentaries” የሚለውን ድረ ገጽ በማየት ግንዛቤ መውሰድ ይቻላል፡፡

የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ መዋቅራዊ ባህሪ እየያዘ በመጣው ዘርፈ ብዙ ሙስና ላይ ልዩ ትኩረት በመስጠት ነቅቶ እንዲጠብቅ ለማስቻል በጉዳዩ ላይ አሁንም ትችቶቼን ቀጣይነት ባለው መልኩ አቀርባለሁ፡፡ ባለፉት ጥቂት ወራት ገዥው አስተዳደር የሕዝብ ትኩረትንና አድናቆትን ለማግኘት ሲል ጥቂት የገቢዎችና ጉምሩክ ባለስልጣኖችና ከዚሁ ጋር በተያያዘ ንክኪ አላቸው ባላቸው ጥቂት የንግዱ ማህበረሰብ አባላት ላይ የሙስና ክስ በመመስረት የጸረ ሙስና ትግሉን በይፋ እንድታይለት ሰብስቦ በእስር ቤት አጉሮአቸዋል፡፡ እነዚህ በሙስና ተጠርጥረው በይስሙላው ፍርድ ቤት ጉዳያቸው ቀርቦ እየተሰራ ያለው ድራማ ዓለም አቀፍ አበዳሪዎችና ለጋሽ ድርጅቶች ከቅርብ ጊዜ ወዲህ መንግስት ግልጽነትና ተጣያቂነት ያለው ስርዓትን እንዲያሰፍን እያደረጉት ባለው ተጽዕኖ ምክንያት ለታይታ ያህል መንግስት የሚተገብረው የፖለቲካ ትወና ነው፡፡ ለአገር ውስጥ ህዝብ ፍጆታ ተብሎ ገዥው አስተዳደር እየተውነ ያለው ይህ የሙስና ድራማ ጥልቅና ስር ሰድዶ በከፍተኛ የመንግስት ባለስልጣናት ተዋናይነት ተንሰራፍቶ ያለውን ከፍተኛ የህግ ልዕልና ሂደትን የሚጠይቀውን ያገጠጠና ያፈጠጠ ሙስና አሳንሶ በማቅረብ፤ የማታለል ዘዴ በመጠቀም እርባና የለሽና የጮሌነት ጭንብል በማጥለቅ ዋነኞቹን የሙስና ተዋናዮች ለመደበቅ የተዘየደ ተውኔት ነው፡፡

እውነታው ሲታይ ግን በኢትዮጵያ ተንሰራፍቶ ያለው ሙስና እንዲህ በቀላሉ በጥቂት ታማኝ ያልሆኑና ህገወጥ በሆኑ ባለስልጣናት ጓደኞችና ተባባሪዎቻቸው አማካይነት ከውጭ ወደ ሀገር ውስጥ የጉምሩክ ቀረጥ ሳይከፈልባቸው በሚገቡ ዕቃዎችና አገልግሎቶች ላይ በሚደረግ የሙስና መሞዳሞድ ላይ ብቻ የሚወሰን አይደለም፡፡ በኢትዮጵያ ያለው ሙስና መዋቅራዊ ሲሆን፤ በመላ አገሪቱ የፖለቲካ ሰውነት ላይ በስፋት ተሰራጭቶ የሚገኝ ነቀርሳ ነው፡፡ በመሆኑም የዓለም ባንከ ያዘጋጀውን ትልቅ ሪፖርት  “በኢትዮጵያ ሙስናን መመርመር“ የሚል ርዕስ መስጠቱ የሚያስደንቅ አይደለም፡፡ ይልቁንም እንዲህ በሚል ሊነበብ ይገባዋል “በኢትዮጵያ በስፋት እየተሰራጨ ያለውን የሙስና ነቀርሳ መመርመር“::

ባለፉት ተከታታይ ትችቶቼ በግልጽ እንዳስቀመጥኩት በኢትዮጵያ ተንሰራፍቶ የሚገኘው መዋቅራዊ ሙስና እራሱን በተለያዩ መንገዶች ይገልጻል:: ለምሳሌም “መንግስት አቀፍና“ (አድራጊ ፈጣሪና ሀብታም ግለሰቦች፤ ቡድኖች፣ የአገዛዙ ስርዓት  ዘመዶች፤ ተባባሪዎችና ደጋፊዎች፤ የውስጥና የውጭ አጧዦች፣ ህግ አጣማሚዎችና በራዦች፤ የቁጥጥርና አስተዳደራዊ ስርዓቱን ለእራሳቸው ጥቅም የሚያውሉ) የሚያካትት ሲሆን፤ “አስተዳደራዊ ሙስና“ (በቢሮክራሲው ልዩ ዘዴንና ስልጣኖቻቸውን በመጠቀም በገፍ የመንግስት ኃላፊዎችና የበታቾቻቸው፤ ያሉትን ህጎች፤ መመሪያዎች፤ ደንቦችና አሰራሮች በማጣመምና ለእራሳቸው ጥቅም እንዲውሉ በማድረግ)  ናቸው፡፡

ኢትዮጵያ በአሁኑ ጊዜ በሙስና አገዛዝ (የፖለቲካ ስርዓቱን በመቆጣጠር ጥቂት ቡድኖች በህዝብ ስቃይ እራሳቸውን ለማበልጸግ በስልጣን ኮርቻ ላይ እንደ መዥገር በተጣበቁ ደም መጣጮች) የምትገዛ አገር ሆናለች፡፡ የዓለም ባንክ ባቀረበው ዘገባና በተለመደው ዓለም አቀፍ ድርጅቶች ቢሮክራሲያዊ ዘወር ያለ አቀራረብ “ሙስና በኢትዮጵያ በማዕድኑ ዘርፍ እንደ መሬት፤ ትምህርት፤ ቴሌኮሙኒኬሽን፤ ኮንስትራክሽን እና ሌሎች ዘርፎች ሁሉ በፈጣንና ተዛማች ነቀርሳ የተወረረ ነው“ በማለት በግልጽ አስቀምጦታል፡፡

እንደ ዓለም ባንክ ዘገባ “በኢትዮጵያ የማዕድን ዘርፉ የለማ አይደለም፤ ነገር ግን አገሪቱ በተፈጥሮ የማዕድን ሀብቷ የበለጸገች ናት” ይላል፡፡  በቅርብ ጊዜ ከታመኑ ምንጮች የወጣ ዘገባ እንደሚያስረዳው “የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት በያዝነው የበጀት ዓመት በመጀመሪያዎቹ 11 ወራት በባህላዊ የማዕድን አምራቾች ተመርቶ ወደ ውጭ ከተላከው የማዕድን ሀብት ውስጥ 419 ሚሊዮን የአሜሪካ ዶላር ተገኝቷል፡፡ በዚሁ በጀት ዓመት ወደ ውጭ ከተላኩት የማዕድን ሀብቶች ውስጥ ወርቅ ትልቁን ድርሻ በመያዝ 409.1 ሚሊዮን የአሜሪካ ዶላር የውጭ ምንዛሬ ያስገኘ ሲሆን ጌምስቶን (የጌጣጌጥ ድንጋይ) እና ታንታለም እንደ የቅደም ተከተላቸው 9.3 እና 1.6 ሚሊዮን ዶላር የውጭ ምንዛሬ አስገኝተዋል፡፡ ይህ ገቢ የተገኘው 7878.3 ኪ/ግ ወርቅ፣ 20126.3 ኪ/ግ ጌምስቶን እና 32.95 ቶን ታንታለም ወደ ውጭ በመላክ ነው… ሚድሮክ የወርቅ ማውጣት ኩባንያ በአገሪቱ ውስጥ በወርቅ ማውጣት የስራ ዘርፍ ብቸኛው ኩባንያ ነው፡፡” ሌሎች መረጃዎች እንደሚጠቁሙት “ወደ ውጭ የሚላከው የማዕድን ሀብት የውጭ ምንዛሬን በማስገኘት ረገድ በአገሪቱ የሁለተኛነት ደረጃን ሲይዝ በጠቅላላ አገሪቱ ወደ ውጭ ከምትልካቸው ወጭ ምርቶች ውስጥ 23 በመቶውን ይሸፍናል፡፡”

የዓለም ባንክ “በኢትዮጵያ የማዕድን ዘርፍ” ውስጥ “ሰባት ዓይነት የሙስና አደጋዎችን” ነቅሶ ያወጣ ሲሆን ከእነዚህም ውስጥ “ሶስቱ ዋነኛ አደጋዎች” ተብለው የቀረቡት “ፈቃድ በማውጣት፤ በፈቃድ አያያዝ ላይ በሚደረጉ ስምምነቶች እና በማዕድን ገቢዎች ላይ የሚደረገው ነው፡፡” ሌላው አሳሳቢው የሙስና ዓይነት “ከካሳ ክፍያዎችና ከአካባቢ ነዋሪዎች ግዴታ፤ ኮንትራክተሮችና አምራቾች: ከማዕድን ካምፓኒዎች ጋር ከሚያደርጓቸው የስምምነት ውሎች፤ ከካምፓኒዎች ምርቶች ጥራት መዝቀጥ እና የማዕድን ምርቶችንና መሳሪያዎችን ከመዝረፍ” አንጻር የሚደረጉ የሙስና ዓይነቶች ናቸው፡፡

የዓለም ባንክ በግልጽ እንዳስቀመጠው “ፈቃድ በማውጣት ሂደት ጊዜ”  “ባለስልጣኖች ፈቃድ ለማውጣትና ለመስጠት፤ ፈቃድ በቶሎ አውጥቶ ለመስጠት ወይም ደግሞ ብዙ ጉዳት የማያመጡ የፈቃድ ሁኔታዎችን ለመስጠት ከማዕድን ካምፓኒዎች ህጋዊ ባልሆነ መንገድ ገንዘብ ይወስዳሉ ወይም ጉቦ ይቀበላሉ፡፡”  ሌላው ተመሳሳይ አደጋ “ባለስልጣኖች ፈቃድ በሚሰጡበት ወቅት ፈቃድ ከሚሰጡት ካምፓኒ ጋር በስውር ድርሻ እንዲኖራቸው ስምምነት ያደርጋሉ፤ ፈቃድ ለመስጠት የመሬት ባለቤትነትን ሊያገኙ ይችላሉ፤ የተወሰነ ድርሻ በአክሲዮን መልክ ወይም ከትርፍ የተወሰነ ድርሻን ይጠይቃሉ፤ ለእራሳቸው ወይም ለጓደኞቻቸው ቅድሚያ ምዝገባ እንዲያደርጉላቸው ከፈቃድ አውጭዎች ጋር ይሞዳሞዳሉ፡፡” በፈቃድ ስምምነት አያያዝ ጊዜ የማዕድን ካምፓኒ ባለቤቶች ሆን ብለው የማዕድን ስምምነቶችን (ለምሳሌ ያህል የአካባቢ፤ የጤና እና የደህንነት ህጎችን እንዲሁም በአካባቢው የማዕድን ካምፓኒው በኃላፊነት የመጠየቅ ደረጃና ሁኔታን ያካትታል) በስራ አንዳይዉሉ ያጨናግፋሉ::

በማዕድን ገቢ አሰባሰብ ጊዜ የማዕድን ካምፓኒ ባለቤቶች ለመሬት መጠቀሚያና ለታክስ የሚያደርጓቸውን ወጭዎች ለመቀነስ ሲባል ሆን ብለው ያመረቱትን ምርት መጠንና ትርፋቸውን በማሳነስ ወጭዎችን ከፍ ያደርጋሉ፡፡ ገዥው አሰተዳደር ከማዕድን ካምፓኒዎች የሚገኘውን ገቢ በትክክል ለማወቅ ነጻ የሆነ የማረጋገጫ አካል የለውም፡፡ ለመሬት መጠቀሚያና የገቢ ግብር መጠን በአጠቃላይ የሚወሰነው የማዕድን ካምፓኒዎች በአመኑት የምርት መጠንና ትርፍ ላይ ተመስርቶ ነው፡፡ ምክንያቱም በፌዴራል፤ በክልልና በከተሞች አስተዳደር ያሉ የፈቃድ ሰጭ ባለስልጣኖች በካምፓኒዎች ስላለው ሀብት የሚገልጽ ዝርዝርና ተጨባጭ መረጃ ስለማይገኝ ነው፡፡ ከዚህ የተነሳ የማዕድን ካምፓኒዎች ካፒታላቸውንና የስራ ማስኬጃ ወጫቸውን ከፍ ሲያደርጉ ምርቶቻቸውንና የሚገኘውን ትርፍ ደግሞ ዝቅ ያደርጋሉ፡፡ የማዕድን ፈቃድ አሰጣጥና የገቢ ማጭበርበር ክስተት መኖሩ ሲረጋገጥ የማዕድን ካምፓኒ ባለቤቶች በመንግስት አካላት እርምጃ እንዳይወሰድባቸውና የሚመለከታቸው አይተው እንዳላዩ እንዲያልፏቸው ኃላፊነቱ ላላቸው ባለስልጣኖች ጉቦ ይሰጣሉ፡፡

በማዕድን ዘርፉ እስከ አሁን በተጨባጭ በተግባር የታዩና የተመዘገቡ የሙስና ዓይነቶች የሚከተሉትን ያካተታሉ፡- ጉቦ መቀበል፤ የሀሰት መረጃ መስጠት፤ በህገወጥ መንገድ ከማዕድን ካምፓኒዎች ገንዘብ መውሰድና ነጻነታቸውን ዝቅ አድርጎ ማየት፤ እና የውስጥ ህገወጥ መረጃዎችን በመጠቀምና ነጻነት የሌላቸወን ካምፓኒዎች በማጭበርበር ለአካባቢው ነዋሪዎች የተመደበውን ካሳ መስረቅ ሲሆኑ ሰፋ ባለ መልክ በማዕድን ዘርፉ የሚካሄዱ የሙስና ዓይነቶችንና ይዘታቸውን እንደሚከተለው እንመልከት፤

አንድ የማዕድን ካምፓኒ የስራ ፈቃድ ለማውጣት ከፍ ያለ ገንዝብ መክፈል ይጠበቅበታል፡፡ ታላላቅ ባለስልጣኖችና የካምፓኒ ባለቤቶች ይህንን ገንዝብ በሚስጥር ይይዙና ገንዘቡ በውጭ ባንክ አካውንት ለባለስልጣኖች እንዲደርስ ይደረጋል፡፡
አንድ ባለስልጣን የማዕድን ካምፓኒ ባለቤቱን የስራ ፈቃዱ በቶሎ እንዲወጣለት ከፈለገ ለለጋሽ ድርጅት በርከት ያለ ገንዘብ መስጠት እንደሚጠበቅበት ይነግረዋል፡፡ ለጋሽ ድርጅቱ ሀቀኛ መስሎ ቢታይም ለባለስልጣኖች ለግል ወይም ደግሞ ለቤተሰቦቻቸው ጥቅም ከመዋል ወይም ለፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ክፍያ ሊውል ይችላል፡፡
የማዕድን ካምፓኒ የስራ ፈቃድ ለማውጣት እንዲችል ካለው አሰራር አንጻር የጤናና የደህንነት ዕቅድ እንዲያቀርብ ሊጠየቅ ይችላል፤ ነገር ግን ባለስልጣኑ ለካምፓኒ ባለቤቱ ጉቦ ካልከፈለ በስተቀር ተጨማሪና አላስፈላጊ የጤናና የደህንነት ግዴታዎች እንደሚጫንበት ይነግረዋል፡፡
የማዕድን ካምፓኒ የስራ ፈቃድ ለማውጣት የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ዕቅድ እንዲያቀርብ ሊጠየቅ ይችላል፤ ይህም የሚያቀርበው ዕቅድ የአካባቢውን የውኃ አቅርቦት ከመርዛማ ኬሚካሎች በአስተማማኝ ሁኔታ ላያስወግድ ይችላል፡፡ አስተማማኝ የመርዛማ ኬሚካሎች ቁጥጥር ለማድረግ ወጭው ከፍተኛ ሊሆን ይችላል፡፡ ሰለዚህ የተጓደለውን የቁጥጥር ስርዓት በመከተል ካምፓኒው ብዙ ወጭ ላለማውጣትና በተጓደለው ሁኔታ ለመስራት እንዲችል የስራ ፈቃዱን ለሚሰጠው ባለስልጣን ጉቦ ይሰጣል፡፡
ባለስልጣኖች ከማዕድን ካምፓኒው ትርፍ ድርሻ እንዲኖራቸው ሊጠይቁ ይችላሉ፡፡ የማዕድን ካምፓኒው ባለቤት የስራ ፈቃድ በባለስልጣኑ ውሳኔ መሰረት አገኛለሁ በሚል እምነት ለባለስልጣኑ ዘመድ ከማዕድን ፕሮጀክቱ ነጻ የትርፍ ድርሻ ሊሰጠው ይችላል፡፡
ባለስልጣኖች በድብቅ በእራሳቸው ለተያዙ ካምፓኒዎች የስራ ፈቃድ ሊሰጡ ይችላሉ፡፡ ባለስልጣኖች የስራ ፈቃድ ሊጠየቅበት የሚችል መሬት በድብቅ ያገኛሉ፡፡
አንድ ባለስልጣን የአንድ የማዕድን ቦታ የስራ ፈቃድ ይወጣበታል የሚል ግንዛቤ ካለው ባለስልጣኑ የስራ ፈቃዱ ከመውጣቱ በፊት መሬቱን ቅድሚያ ሊያከራየው ይችላል፡፡ የስራ ፈቃዱ ከተሰጠ በኋላ ግን የመሬቱ ዋጋ ሊጨምር ይችላል፡፡ በዚህም መሰረት ባለስልጣኑ ወይም ባለስልጣኗ በመሬቱ ላይ ያለውን ወይም ያላትን የመሬት ባለቤትነት መብት በመጠቀም ለመሸጥ ወይም ለካምፓኒው የስራ ፈቃድ በመስጠት ለማከራት ይችላሉ፡፡
ካምፓኒዎች የተሰጣቸውን የስራ ፈቃድ ሊሸጡ ይችላሉ፡፡ ባለስልጣኖች የስራ ፈቃድ የምዝገባ ስራን ማጭበርበር ሊፈጽሙ ይችላሉ፡፡
አንድ በመንግስት መ/ቤት መምሪያ የማዕድን ስራ ፈቃድ ለማውጣት የሚያስችል ባለስልጣን አንድ ካምፓኒ የስራ ፈቃድ ማውጣት እንደሚፈልግ አስቀድሞ ሊያውቅ ይችላል፡፡ በመሆኑም ባለስልጣኑ ካለው ግንኙነት አንጻር የቢዝነሱ ሰው በዚያ ቦታ ላይ በፍጥነት የስራ ፈቃድ ማውጣት እንዲችል ሊያሳስበው ይችላል፡፡ ባለስልጣኑ ለቢዝነሱ ሰው የስራ ፈቃዱን ሊሰጠው ይችላል፡፡ ከዚያም የማዕድን ካምፓኒው ከቢዝነሱ ሰው ጋ የስራ ፈቃዱን ይገዛውና የቢዝነሱ ሰው ከባለስልጣኑ ጋር ትርፍ ሊጋራ ይችላል፡፡
አንድ አሳሽ ማዕድን ያለበትን ቦታ ሊያገኝ ይችላል፡፡ በቦታውም ላይ ምልክት በማድረግ ጉዳዩ ወደሚመለከተው የስራ ፈቃድ ሰጭ አካል ጋ በመቅረብ የባለቤትነት ሰርቲፊኬት ማግኘት እንዲችል ሊያመለክት ይችላል፡፡ ሙሰኛ ባለስልጣን ግን ይህንን ግኝት ተቀብሎ አስሶ ባገኘው ስም አይመዘግብም፤ ይልቁንም የቢዝነስ ጓደኛ በመፈለግ በቢዝነስ ጓደኛው ስም እንዲመዘገብ ያደርጋል፡፡ ይኸ ሙሰኛ ባለስልጣን በመጀመሪያ አስሶ ያገኘውን ሰው ሀሰት በመንገር የማዕድኑን ሀብት ከእርሱ በፊት ሌላ እንዳገኘው ይነግረዋል፡፡
ባለስልጣኖች ዘመዶቻቸው የኮንትራት ስምምነት በመፈራረም ተጠቃሚ እንዲሆኑ ህገወጥ በሆነ መልኩ ከማዕድን ካምፓኒ ባለቤቶች ጋር እንዲፈራረሙ ያደርጋሉ፡፡ ፈቃድ ሰጭው አካል ኮንትራቱን ከመስጠት አንጻር ወይም ማህበረሰባዊ የልማት ዕቅድን ከማምጣት አኳያ በካምፓኒው ሙሉ ወጭ ብዙ የመሰረተ ልማት ስራዎችን መስራት እንደሚጠበቅበት ለካምፓኒው ይነግረዋል፡፡ ለምሳሌ ካምፓኒው መንገድ፤ ትምህርት ቤት ወይም ሆስፒታል እንዲገነባ ወይም አንዲጠግን ሊገደድ ይችላል፡፡ በዚህ መሰረት የመንግስት ባለስልጣኑ አንዱን ወይም ከዚያ በላይ የሆኑትን የመሰረተ ልማት ስራዎች ኮንትራት በድብቅ ለባለስልጣኑ ዘመድ በኮንተራት እንዲሰጥ ይነገረዋል፡፡
ባለስልጣኖችና የአካባቢ ማህበረሰብ መሪዎች ለአካባቢው ማህበረሰብ አባላት መድረስ ያለባቸውን ካሳዎች ይበላሉ፡፡ የማዕድን ስራ ካምፓኒዎች ለማህበረሰቡ የሚሰጡ ካሳዎች ዋጋ ከትክክለኛው ግምት በታች ዝቅ እንዲል ለባለስልጣኖች ጉቦ ይሰጣሉ፡፡
የአካባቢ ኗሪ ማህበረሰብ አባላት በመሬት የስራ ፈቃዱ መሰረት በሀሰት መሬቱን እንዳገኙ ይናገራሉ፡፡ ኮንትራክተሮችና አምራቾች በተጭበረበሩ የጨረታ፣ ይዞታዎችና ችግር ያለባቸውን ስራዎች በመደበቅና በማጽደቅ ይሰማራሉ፡፡
የማዕድን ካምፓኒዎች ስለማዕድኖች ዓይነትና ጥራት ወይም ደግሞ ለአጽዳቂዎች ጉቦ በመስጠት የተሳሳተ መረጃ በመስጠት ሙስና ይሰራሉ፡፡ በአሁኑ ጊዙ ይህ ዓይነቱን ሙስና በሚመለከት በኢትዮጵያ ላይ ከፍተኛ ጥናት በመካሄድ ላይ ይገኛል፡፡

የዓለም ባንክ ዘገባ በኢትዮጵያ የማዕድን ዘርፍ ላይ የሚታየውን የገዥውን አስተዳደር ከፊል ችግሮች በመጥቀስ ብቃት የለሽነት ማለትም በማሰባሰብ፤ በማሰማራትና የባለሙያውንና የቴክኒካዊ የሰው ኃይሉን፤ የመመሪያዎችን ቁጥጥርና የአስተዳደራዊ ስርዓቱን ደካማነት አጉልቶ አሳይቷል፡፡ ገዥው ስርዓት ከፈቃድ አሰጣጥ ሁኔታዎች ጋር በተያያዙ ውስብስብ ሁኔታዎች አንጻርና የፈቃድ ጥያቄዎች እየበዙ ከመምጣት አኳያ ጥያቄውን በተገቢው ሁኔታ ለመመለስ የሚያስችል በብቃት የሰለጠነ ፈቃድ የሚሰጥ የሰራተኛ ኃይል የለውም፡፡ ፈቃድ ከመስጠት አኳያና ገቢን ከማስላት አንጻር የማዕድን ስራውን ሂደት የሚገመግሙና በፈቃድ ስምምነት ሁኔታዎች ላይ ክትትል የሚያደርጉ እንዲሁም ካምፓኒዎች በትክክል ለመሬት ኪራይ የሚከፈለውንና በምርትና በትርፍ ላይ የሚጣለውን የገቢ ግብር የሚገመግሙና ቁጥጥር የሚያደርጉ ባለሙያዎች በጣም ጥቂት ናቸው፡፡ አካባቢን፤ ጤናንና ደህንነትን እንዲሁም ማህበራዊ ሁኔታዎችን የሚያስቃኙ የስራ ፈቃድ ከመስጠት ጋር በተያያዘ መልኩ የተዘጋጁ ዝርዝር መመሪያዎች የሉም፡፡ የዝርዝር መመሪያዎች አለመኖር በፈቃድ አሰጣጥና ክትትል ወቅት እርግጠኛ አለመሆንን በማስከተል ለሙስና በር ይከፍታል፡፡

የሀገሪቱን የውጭ ምንዛሬ ግኝት በሁለተኛነት ደረጃ የሚይዘው እንዲሁም ዘርፉን በበላይነት የሚቆጣጠረውና የሚያስተዳድረው የማዕድን ሚኒስቴር በጠቅላላ ቁጥጥር የስራ ክፍሉ ውስጥ 13 ብቻ ሰራተኞችና በመላ ሀገሪቱ ተሰራጭተው የሚገኙትን 160 የፌዴራል የስራ ፈቃዶች የሚቆጣጠሩ 3 የአካባቢ ተቆጣጣሪዎች ብቻ መኖራቸው ለማመን የሚያስቸግር እንደሆነ ያመለክታል፡፡

የጸረ-ሙስና ጦርነት ወይም የይስሙላ ሙስና?

ገዥው ስርዓት በወረቀት ላይ ሙስናን በውል ለመለየት፤ ለመከላከል፤ በህግ ለመዳኘትና ቅጣት መቅጣት የሚያስችሉ ህጎች አሉት፡፡ “የፌዴራል ስነ ምግባርና ጸረ-ሙስና ኮሚሽን በአዋጅ ቁጥር 235/2001 እና A33/2005” ሲቋቋም የወንጀለኛ ህግ መቅጫ በሙስና እና ከሙስና ጋ ተያያዥነት ባላቸው ጉዳዮች በሚፈጸሙ የማጭበርበር ድርጊቶች ላይ ከፍተኛ ቅጣትን ጥሏል፡፡ እነዚህ ህጎች ግን የተጻፉበትን ወረቀት ያህል ዋጋ የላቸውም፡፡ ህጎቹ እየተመረጡ የገዥው ስርዓት ባለስልጣናት የፖለቲካ ተቀናቃኞቻቸውን ለማጥቂያነት እየተጠቀሙባቸው ይገኛሉ፡፡ በቅርቡ በህይወት የተለዩት የገዥው ስርዓት ቁንጮ የጸረ ሙስና ህጎችን የፓርቲው የመጀመሪያ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር የነበረሩትን (ታምራት ላይኔ)፤ የመከላከያ ሚኒስትር የነበሩትን (ስዬ አብርሀ) እና ሌሎች በስርዓቱ የተጠሉትን ሰራተኞች ለማጥቂያነት በዘዴ  ተጠቅመውባቸዋል፡፡ በቅርቡ በሙስና በቁጥጥር ስር ውለው ጉዳያቸው በፍርድ ቤት እየታየ ያለው ቡድን በድርጅቱ ውስጥ የተፈጠረው ቡድናዊ ያለመግባባት ትግል መገለጫ እንጅ በእውነትና የጸረ-ሙስና ህጉን በጽናት ለመተርጎም ታስቦ እንዳልሆነ ግልጽ ነው፡፡ እነዚህን በቁጥጥር ስር ማዋል ደግሞ ዋና መልዕክቱ ገዥውን ስርዓት ወደፊት ይቃወማሉ ብለው ለሚጠረጥሯቸው ተቃዋሚ ኃይሎች ማስፈራሪያና አፍ ማስያዣ ነው፡፡

የሙስና የፍርድ ሂደት ለገዥው ስርዓት ጠንካራ አርጩሜና በአገሪቱ ያሉ የተቃዋሚ ፖለቲካ አባላትንና የንግዱን ማህበረሰብ አንገት በሸምቀቆ ለማስገባት የተዘየደ ነው፡፡ እውነታው ግን በአሁኑ ጊዜ በሙስና ተጠርጥረው በእስር ላይ የሚገኙት የገቢዎችና የጉምሩክ ባለስልጣን ኃላፊዎች በእርግጥ ጥፋተኞች ናቸው ከተባሉ የእነርሱ አሳሪዎችም ከእነርሱ እኩል የወይም በለጠ ጥፋተኞች ናቸው፡፡ ቀደም ሲል በአንክሮ እንደተመለከትኩት ወደ ኋላ መለስ ብለን የኢትዮጵያን አባባል በመጥቀስ “ከዝንጀሮ ቆንጆ ምኗን ይመርርጧል” የሚለውን አባባል እንድናስታውስ እንገደዳለን፡፡

የዓለም ባንከ የ2008 ዓመታዊ የስነምግባርና የጸረ- ሙስና ኮሚሽን የስራ ሪፖርት መሰረት በማድረግ የገዥውን ስርዓት በጠራራ ፀሐይ በሚሊዮኖች የሚያወጣ አስደንጋጭ የወርቅ ዘረፋ አስመልከቶ የሚከተለውን አስፍሯል፡፡

በበጀት ዓመቱ በብሔራዊ ባንክ የተፈጸመ ሌላም ታላቅ ቅሌት ተስተናግዷል፡፡ ይህም ክስተት በብዙዎች ዘንድ “የዓመቱ ታላቁ ቅሌት” የሚል ቅጽል ስም ተሰጥቶታል፡፡ ማጭበርበሩ እንዲህ ተከስቷል፤ ብሔራዊ ባንክ ወርቅ ማስቀመጥና መግዛት በአዋጅ የተሰጠው ስልጣን ነው፡፡ ለብሔራዊ ባንክ ወርቅ እንዲያቀርቡ የተፈቀደላቸው ጥቂት የንግዱ ማህበረሰብ አባላት ወርቅ በማቅረብ ፈንታ ብዙ ኪሎ ግራም የሚመዝን የተጠፈጠፈ ብረት ወርቅ ቀለም ቀብተው አቀረቡ፡፡ በዚህ አደገኛና አስቀያሚ ቅሌት ውስጥ የባንኩ ጥቂት ሰራተኞች፤ የንግዱ ማህበረሰብ አባላት፤ ማኔጀሮችና ሌሎች የመንግስት ሰራተኞች ተሳትፎ እንዳለበት ተጠቁሟል፡፡ በዚህ ታማኝነት በጎደለው የወርቅ ማጭበርበር ቅሌት ምክንያት መንግስት 16 ሚሊዮን የአሜሪካ ዶላር እንዲያጣ ተደርጓልል፡፡

አገዛዙ ሙስናን ለመዋጋት የሚያደርጋቸውን የይስሙላ እንቅስቃሴዎች መንግስት እራሱ የሚያወጣቸው ሪፖርቶች እውነታውን ይናገራሉ፡፡ ከመንግስት በተገኙ ዘገባዎች መሰረት በጠቅላላ በፌዴራል ደረጃ 422 ሙስና ጉዳዮች ፋይል ተከፍቶላቸው: ከእነዚህ ውስጥ 57ቱ ወይም 13.5 በመቶው የጥፋተኝነት ውሳኔ ተላልፎባቸዋል፡፡ አገዛዙ በስነ ምግባርና በጸረ-ሙስና ኮሚሽን የስራ እንቅስቃሴ ላይ ጣልቃገብነት ስለሚያደርግ የኮሚሽኑ ግኝቶችና ዕቅዶች ብዙ ጊዜ በተግባር ላይ ሲውሉ አይታዩም፡፡ የአገዛዙ የሚጠበቀው ምላሽ በሙስና የተጠረጠሩበትን ሁኔታ መካድና  የቀረቡትን ትችቶች ባልሰለጠነ መልኩ መልሶ መተቸት ነው፡፡ እውነታው ግን የጸረ-ሙስና ትግሉ እየተባለ የሚደሰኮረው ዓለም አቀፍ አበዳሪዎችንና ለጋሽ ድርጅቶችን ለማታለልና እውነተኛ ትግል በማስመሰል እርዳታ ለማግኘት የተቀነባበረ የመድረክ ትወና ነው፡፡ የበርቴልስማን ፋውንዴሽን የ2012 የኢትዮጵያ አገራዊ ሪፖርት የአገዛዙን የጸረ-ሙስና ጦርነት ባዶነት በግልጽ ያስረዳል፡-

የኢትዮጵያ የስነ ምግባርና ጸረ-ሙስና ኮሚሽን በመንግስት ተመስርቶ እስከ አሁንም ድረስ በመንግስት ቁጥጥር ስር ያለ ተቋም ነው፡፡ ቀልጣፋነቱ ትልቅ ነው የሚባል ተቋምም አይደለም፡፡ ህጉን የሚጥሱትና የሙስና ድረጊቶችን የሚፈጽሙ የመንግስት ባለስልጣናት ጉዳይ ለህግ አይቀርብም፤ አንዳንድ ጊዜ ግን ለመንግስት ታማኝ ያልሆኑ የመንግስት ሰራተኞችን በሙስና ሰበብ በመያዝ ለብዙሀን መገናኛ ፍጆታ ያውሉታል፡፡ የመንግስት ባለስልጣናት የሚፈጽሙት ሙስና በውል እንዲመረመር አይፈለግም፤ ወይም በማንኛውም ደረጃ ጉዳያቸው በፍርድ እንዲታይ አይደረግም፡፡ ጥቂት የኢህአዴግ አባላትና ቤተሰቦቻቸው በህገወጥ መንገድና በሙስና አማካይነት ሀብት አካብተዋል፡፡ ግልጽነት የጎደላቸውና በሙስና የተዘፈቁ ሆኖም ግን ለመንግስትና ለገዥው ፓርቲ ቅርብ የሆኑ በርካታ ካምፓኒዎች አሉ፡፡ የጸረ-ሙስና ፖሊሲው በምንም መልኩ ስኬታማ ሊሆን አልቻለም፡፡ የቁጥጥርና ሚዛኑን ስልት ፍጹም በሆነ መልክ አጥፍቶ የሚዋቀር የፖለቲካ ስርዓት በምንም ዓይነት መልኩ የፖለቲካ መቻቻልንና ፍትሀዊነትን የተላበሰ ባህል ሊያጎናጽፍ አይችልም፡፡ የሕወሀትና የኢህአዴግ አራቱ ተጣማሪ ፓርቲዎች አመለካከት በታማኝነት እሴት ባህል የተሞላና ጊዜው ባለፈበት የጦርነት የአስተሳሰብ ባህል የተዘጋ ነው፡፡

እነሱ ዎርቅ ያፍሳሉ፣ ኢትዮጵያውያን አፈር    

አቅም በሌለው አገዛዝ መሪነትና የሰለጠነ የሰው ኃይል እጥረት እንዲሁም አምራች ድርጅቶች በቅልጥፍና በማይሰሩና ጠንካራ የአስተዳደር ስርዓት ዝርጋታ በሌለበት ሁኔታ የማዕድን ዘርፉ በቀላሉ ለሙስና ዒላማ የተጋለጠ ይሆናል፡፡ ይህ ቢባልም ማንም ሊስተው የማይችለው እውነታ ግን የአገዛዙ አቅመቢስ መሆን በበቂ የሰለጠነ የሰው ኃይል የተጠናከረ አለመሆን የማዕድን ዘርፉ ተጠያቂነትና ክትትል የማይደረግበት ውስብስብ እና የተሰላ ስልት ነው፡፡ በቀጥታም ሆነ በተዘዋዋሪ መንገድ የአገዛዙ ባለስልጣኖችና ተባባሪዎቻቸው በሙስና መረብ ውስጥ አስካሉ ድረስ ሙስናን ለመለየት፤ በሙስና የተዘፈቁትን ባለስልጣኖችና ተባባሪዎቻቸውን እንዲሁም በማዕድን ዘርፉ የተሰማሩትን የውጭ ተወካዮችን ይዞ ሙሰኞቹን በህግ ለመጠየቅና ቅጣት ለመስጠት ፈጽሞ የሚቻል አይሆንም፡፡

ማጭበርበር፤ በህገወጥ መንገድ ወይም ሀይልን በመጠቀም ጥቅም ለማግኘት መሞከር፤ በሙስና ገንዘብ ማግኘት፤ እምነተ ቢስ መሆን፣ ሁለት ምላስ መጠቀም፤ በማስፈራራት ገንዘብ መውሰድ፤ ማዋረድ እና የመሳሰሉት በማዕድን ዘርፉ በዝቅተኛ ከፍታ ላይ የተንጠለጠሉ የሙስና ፍራፍሬዎች ናቸው፡፡ የዓለም ባንክ ዘገባ እንደሚያሳየው በማዕድን ዘርፉ ተሳትፎ ያላቸው የአገዛዙ ባለስልጣኖች በፈቃድ አሰጣጥ ላይ፤ ስምምነት በመዋዋልና ገቢን በማረጋገጥ ሂደት ላይ የተፈጠሩትን ድክመቶች በመጠቀም ለሙስና ምቹ ሁኔታን ይፈጥራሉ፡፡ በአጠቃላይ አገዛዙ ተጠያቂነት በሌለውና ድብቅ በሆነ መልኩ የሚሰራ ስለሆነ የትክክለኛ ሪፖርት መቅረብ ጥየቄዎችን ያስነሳል፡፡ ለምሳሌ ከማዕድን ዘርፉ ወደውጭ ተልኮ የተገኘው 419 ሚሊዮን ዶላር ከማዕድን ዘርፉ የተገኘ መሆን አለመሆኑን በእርግጠኝነት የሚያረጋግጥ የለም፡፡ የዚህን መጠን እጥፍ ወይም 3 ጊዜ ሊሆን ይችላል፡፡ ምክንያቱም ቁጥሩ ለህዝብ ከመገለጹ በፊት ከላይ ያሉ ባለስልጣኖች የራሳቸውን ድርሻ ይቆርጣሉ፡፡ አገዛዙ ነጻ የሆነ ኦዲተር ስማይታገስ ከማዕድን ዘርፉ የሚገኘው ገቢ አስተማማኝ መሆኑን ለማረጋገጥ ነጻ በሆነ ኦዲተር መረጋገጥ አለበት፡፡ ለማስተዋስ ያህል   በእ.አ.አ 2006 የቀድሞው ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ዋናው ኦዲተር 4.8 ቢሊዮን ብር በፌዴራል መንግስቱ በጀት ድልድል  ውስጥ ያልተካተተ ነው ብለው ሪፖርት ሲያቀርቡ ከሰራ ተባረዋል፡፡ በበእ.አ.አ 2009 ተተኪው ዋና ኦዲተር የመንግስትን በከፍተኛ ደረጃ መበደር እና አየጨመረ በመጣው የዋጋ ግሽበት ላይ ትችት በማቅረባቸው እንዲባረሩ ተደርጓል፡፡

በበእ.አ.አ 2011 ላይ ግሎባል ፋይናንሻል ኢንቴግሪቴ የተባለው ድርጅት ባዘጋጀው ሪፖርት ኢትየጵያ 11.7 ቢሊዮን ዶላር በ2000 እና በ2009 ባሉት ዓመታት መካከል በህገወጥ መልክ ከሀገር ውጭ ሄዷል ብሎ አትቷል፡፡ ሪፖርቱ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ተዘርፏል በማለት አጠቃሏል፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ ከከፋና ከከረፋ የድህነት አረንቋ ለመውጣት ጥረት እያደረገች ቢሆንም በህገወጥ የካፒታል መውጣት እየዋኘች ትገኛለች፡፡ ይህንን ጉዳይ አስመልክቶ ቀደም ሲል “ኢትዮጵያ እየተዘረፈች ያለች ሀገር“  በሚል ርዕስ ትችት ማቅረቤ ይታወሳል፡፡

የቀድሞው የኢትዮጵያ ፕሬዚዳንት ዶ/ር ነጋሶ ጊዳዳ በ2001 በግልጽ እንዳስቀመጡት የሙስናው ደረጃ በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ ተባብሶ የመንግስት ድርጅቶችን እያጠቃ እንደሚገኝ ጠቅሰው መንግስት በአሁኑ ወቅት የአገሪቱ ብቸኛ መለያ እየሆነ የመጣውን ሙስናና ሕገወጥ የገንዘብ ዝውውር ለማስቆም በርትቶ መስራት እንዳለበት አስረግጠው ተናግረዋል፡፡ በ2013 የሙስናው እንቅስቃሴ በኢትዮጵያ ከፍተኛ ደረጃ የደረሰበት ወቅት ሲሆን መንግስት ለስለስ ባለ መልኩ እየተከላከለው ይገኛል፡፡

አገዛዙ ጥቂት የንግዱን ማህበረሰብ አባላትና የገቢዎችና ጉምሩክ ባለስልጣናትን በማጥመድ የጸረ-ሙስና ትግሉን እያጠናከረ መሆኑን ለህዝብ ለማሳየት ሞክሯል፡፡ አገዛዙ ለሙስና ምንም ዓይነት ትዕግስት እንደሌለው ለማሳየት መሞከር አለበት፡፡ ይህም ማለት መንግስት የተቀነባበር የሙስና ማስወገጃ ዘዴዎችን (ህጎችን፤ ደንቦችን እና መመሪያዎችን) ግልጽነት ባለው ሁኔታ በማውጣት፤ ጠንካራ የምርመራ ስርዓትን በመጠቀምና የፍርድ ሂደቱን በማጠናከር እንዲሁም የሲቪሉን ማህበረሰብ ተሳትፎ በማሳደግና የቁጥጥርና ክትትል ስርዓቱን በማጎልበት የባለስልጣናቱን ሙስና ማጋለጥ አለበት፡፡ ይህም ሆኖ በሙስና በምትዳክረው ሪፑብሊክ ኢትዮጵያ: ሙስና በቅርብ ጊዜ የመጥፋቱ ሁኔታ በጣም አጠራጣሪ ነው፡፡ የፕሬዚዳንትነት ስልጣኑን የተቆጣጠረችው የመጀመሬዋ ሴት የህንድ ፕሬዚዳንት ፕራቲብሃ ፓቲል በግልጽ እንዳስቀመጠችው “ሙስና የመልካም አስተዳደርና የልማት ጸር ነው፤ መወገድ አለበት፤ መንግስትና በአጠቀላይም ህዝቡ በአንድ ላይ ተባብሮ ሙስናን የማስወገዱን አገር አቀፋዊ ዓላማ ማሳካት ይኖርበታል“ በማለት ሀሳቧን አጠቃላለች፡፡ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ሙስናን ለማስወገድ ፍላጎቱም፤ ችሎታውም፤ ዝግጁነቱም አለው፡፡ ነገር ግን ስራውን በብቃት ለማከናወን ብቃት ያለው መንግስት ያስፈለገዋል፡፡

በኢትዮጵያ የሙስናን ማዕድን ለማውጣት የለገደንቢን ብጫ የወርቅ መንገድ ተከተል!

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