No easy way to democratize Ethiopia?

 Response to Tagel Getahun 

By Andualem Tefera (Eskemeche) 

November 1, 2013

When I read Tagel Getahun’s article - Ethiopia: No Easy Way to Democratize Ethiopia, on one of the Ethiopian websites, I was shocked. Then I went to find out the original source of the article. Alas! – it was the REPORTER.

Taking it seriously, I figured this is not written by any lawyer ( Tagel Getahun Is a Lawyer. He Can Be Contacted At Tagelgbekele@yahoo.com ) or any one individual but by TPLF leaders, the governing body of the country. It is carefully planned, written, rewritten, reviewed, and collectively agreed upon by committee. The purpose of the article is to lay out the political calculation of TPLF leaders and tell Ethiopians where they stand. I understand you can read what is written and what is between the lines but I am going to give a reply with the understanding that it is an official TPLF article.


It starts with an unequivocal statement and continues:


“Ethiopia must not indulge in democracy until it accomplishes good governance.”

“That is why I am afraid of the rush to democracy. It could end in turning the nation to a place of chaos and a battle ground of various conflicting interests.”

“Though the majority of the business community wishes the demise of the incumbent urgently, I believe the Revolutionary Democrats ought to remain on power as they need to get enough time to fully realize their vision.”


The reason given is:


“There still are problems of competence, diligence, character, dedication and integrity of the civil service that need to be attended.”

“ . . . I believe the Revolutionary Democrats ought to remain on power as they need to get enough time to fully realize their vision.”

“Given the pragmatic nature of the Revolutionary Democrats, sooner or later, they would take the right measures to alleviate the unregulated business sphere.”

“At least, the undergoing development projects must not be interrupted due to unnecessary and fruitless change of government.”

The first thing that came to my mind was: do they know what democracy means? Or do they think we are so dumb we do not understand this? Are concepts and meanings their domain too? Are they asking Ethiopians not to throw them out?

So democracy is not in the best interest of the people! Change of government is unnecessary! Revolutionary Democrats (TPLF) will take measures to correct the wrong if more time is given to them! WHO HAS NOT HEARD THIS BEFORE?


Here is a clear message of what TPLF wants to do:


“The business sphere and the powerhouse of the visionless Ethiopian oppositions must be corrected before it gets beyond repair.”

Who are they afraid of? Who is it targeting? In general it is the opposition and in particular it is:

“This is the simplest issue we need to sort out before judging the political choices that avail themselves on the national political scene.”

 “It is hard to say there is an opposition in the Ethiopian politics as the existing one is more of political speculators.”

“Though the majority of the opposition political figures are intellectuals, . . .”

“ . . . electoral resurgence of 2005, especially in Addis Abeba. Else, the only two interests they managed to represent are businessmen who love to lead the market place through oligopoly and the . . . urbanites that are opposed to the self-governance rights of every Ethiopian ethnic group.”


Why are business owners targeted?


“But the businessmen were doing every wrong in order to collect as much wealth as they could, using every means possible. Regrettably, instead of investing their returns on the manufacturing sector and expanding the local production of goods, they expatriated it.”

Life in Ethiopia is very expensive and many Ethiopians are hungry! So the people are angry! TPLF wants to direct the anger of the people on the business community. As a matter of fact the biggest business owner is TPLF. If people are to find who to be angry with; well here is what TPLF is saying – the business owner!

They are afraid the opposition is getting strong. They are afraid they will do very poorly in the next election. They want to act NOW so that the next election does not kick them out.  They want to make it look that the people outside the party ensemble are asking them to act now. They wrote the opposition is incompetent, visionless and political speculators. Then why are they writing that if TPLF goes, the country will be in shambles? When there is no strong opposition, who is kicking them out? The simple truth is they are afraid. When a group rules with fear, it is not only the ruled that live in fear; it is the very rulers who are in total fear all the time.


Surprise! Surprise!


“On the other hand, the opposition and its supporters have penetrated every public and private institution in order to gather information about the day to day activities of the ruling party, rather than developing their own capacity. They also welcome every force as long as it lends support to them, irrespective its nature.”

Ooops! Now the opposition is everywhere! They are forming alliances with who TPLF does not like!


What is TPLF afraid of?


If this government is elected out at this very moment in time, power will certainly fall, directly or indirectly, in the hands of the greedy business tycoons who care little for the national interest, except their own personal interests. Then, they will rule the nation, whose significant population is living under severe poverty.

What and who created the significant population that lives under severe poverty? Who is responsible for the country? I am definitely sure the opposition is not at the helm. Whether it is the business community or the poor people in the streets, it is TPLF that is responsible. Creating the condition for the business community or the dispossessed to be where they are now is the responsibility of TPLF. They had more than 20 years! And still we are told to give them time so they could correct it!

“ . . . tags the EPRDF as ethnically biased, even if it is known for having a political program that advocates the equality of all the existing nationalities.”

I see this from two angles. Let me accept their claim that TPLF has a political program. My first angle is how many ethnic based organizations are included in EPRDF? As far as I know it is only TPLF, OPDO, SPDM, and ANDM. Let me accept too their claim that the organizations that are included in EPRDF really represent who they say they represent. What happens to the Afar, Somali, Benshangul, and the rest who are not represented in EPRDF. They will never have a chance to be near the helm. It is only TPLF OPDO, SPDM, or ANDM who will rule. That is if I accepted their claim.

My second angle is who is who in Ethiopian politics. When there are not Ethiopians but Tigres, Amaras, Oromos, Debuds, and the uncounted rest; then there is no Ethiopian voter or an Ethiopian voted for. You can tell who rules. The country does not belong to Ethiopians but to the four big organizations. And TPLF wants to keep it that way. ( Could it be the other three are extensions of TPLF? – Just asking. ) That is the political program TPLF has that advocates the equality of all the existing nationalities! Let us see another point the article raised.

“How come the one that has the political view for equality and freedom for all Ethiopian ethnic groups is tagged as biased, whilst the other that contends a single ethnic group must retain its past dominance is viewed otherwise”

Why do they put forward what is not said and then oppose it? What is the message here? Is it, TPLF does not know what the people are asking and thus it creates a bizarre issue and hit it hard? Who wants a single ethnic group to retain its past (Aha! Mekeregna Amara!) dominance?

Here lays their effort in torturing the Amara population (Their nightmare) – cleansing in what they considered a non-Amara residential area and even where it used to be an Amara enclave – Wag, Tselemt, Wolqait, Tegedie – pretty soon Ras Dejen.

YES I GOT YOUR MESSAGE! Democracy is not good for ETOPIANS! Only the rulers know best! What have we seen in the past two regimes? Did they not say the same thing? The Emperor and the Chairman of Everything?

--

Ethiopia: Infrastructure success or demise?

By Tamrat Abomsa
November 2, 2013

 It was a recent trip that I made to Addis, triggered the production of this paper. Perhaps if you have traveled to Addis after several years, you might be puzzled by the infrastructure ‘boom’ in and around the city. Construction of new rail road, industrial facilities, highways/roads, dams, energy facilities and other economic development components are not hidden from the eyes of visitors. Having seen, it’s possible that you might be proud of the work that have been undertaken or criticized how purely planned and executed. Regardless of these two contradictory thoughts, I decided to air my view on the situation as it is crucial moment in the development history of the country.

Ethiopia is developing country, in urgent need of massive infrastructure for economic development to feed its population growing at alarming rate. However, the country can’t afford capital intensive mega infrastructures such as dams, airports and highways that are key to economic activities. So it has to partly depend on the foreign financing entities. The current infrastructures under construction or planned to be, are mostly financed by Chinese Communist government owned banks.

About $500 million USD cost of the Gilel Gibe III dam is financed by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the turbines and associated electrical equipment of the Grand Ethiopian Renascence Dam hydropower plants costing about $1.8 billion USD are reportedly financed by Chinese banks. Keep on going, the Chinese Import and Export (EXIM) Bank is to finance the stylish Meskel Square-Bole (Africa Avenue) road upgrading project. Other similar projects constructed or either planned in the country are going to be financed by Western banks or Chinese lenders. The question that puzzles most citizens is the surprise and the speed at which these projects emerge from ground without public knowledge. Most citizens don’t have idea when, why and how most developments comes to existence and question the quality. Vividly roads constructed in Addis are deteriorating within few years of service and left without maintenance because of luck of money or poor planning.

Successful regional infrastructure planning and implementation is not as easy and simple as seen on the streets of Ethiopia cities and townships. It requires years and years of proper planning effort that involves key stockholders and extensive analyses. Such required analyses are; cost/benefit, local economic implication, life time cost, social impact, future demand, environmental and ecological impact … etc. Above all, providing alternative analysis to justify why particulate project was chosen is a core element for the ‘success’ and ‘sustainability’ of any economic development. All these, along with other fundamental infrastructure planning and implementation approaches, have never been done or hidden from the general public. Projects financed by China Development Bank (CDB) and its descendent lenders such as EXIM Bank, has never be seen with such comprehensive planning analysis let alone in Ethiopia but in their homeland.

Looking at the execution of major projects, mostly they are undertaken by Chinese contractors. This means money that provided as loan goes back to China. The involvement of endemic private contractors and consultants are very limited. Since nobody has seen economic analysis report stating the benefit and impact of the project on the local community and the country at large, it is really difficult to assess and predict where the country is heading.

Centrally planned economic system, culturally doesn’t involve the end users or the ultimate burden bearers, the society. Regardless of critics or applaud from the society, it is planned at the top level by the government planners and decision makers and subsequently be simply implemented. The best example is Chinese Communist government. In contrary, decentralized democratic States, like Ethiopia, are in principle demand involvement of society in conception/implementation of economic development plan such as infrastructures. As argued by modern age political economist, decentralized economic development system has been the most efficient and sustainable system. The case of the United States and Euro Zones are living examples. It is terrific how these countries have developed infrastructure hundred years ago and still serving community with expected level of service without major rehabilitation. The key secrete is obviously, proper planning.

Therefore, I strongly argue that the current approach assumed by Ethiopian government will most likely lead to economic stagnation or even lead to failure. At the end of the game, the debt has to be paid back to lenders with heavy interest rate. The bearer of this debt is nobody but Ethiopians. As this moment in time, what is happening is very critical for us and future generation - proper planning is very important more than ever. One alternative will be to facilitate the engagement of many professionals who have fled the country in the process of current development. Tapping the brain of Ethiopian intellectuals who have tangible experience in a proven developed system is of a paramount. I am optimist that these intellectuals will assume ownership and dedication as it’s their mother land. With this, Ethiopians would have reached way far of an opportunity to see economic revolution with genuine growth not sham reports.

--

Ethiopian opposition alleges beatings, killings

 November 1, 2013

Dr Negasso Gidada



Dr. Negasso Gidada Addis Ababa (AFP) - A leading Ethiopian opposition party said in a report Thursday that scores of its members and supporters had been killed, abused or jailed over the past two years.

"The report has information on human rights violations on members of UDJ, on supporters and other political party members and leaders... in different parts of Ethiopia," said Unity for Democratic Justice (UDJ) leader Negasso Gidada.

Negasso said seven party supporters had been killed in southern Ethiopia and around 150 supporters had faced intimidation, arrest without charge, abuse, abduction and confiscation of property by police and security forces across Ethiopia
.
The Ethiopian government said it had not seen a copy of the report, but accused the party of routinely coming up with "concoctions and spurious accusations", Information Minister Redwan Hussein told AFP.
UDJ is among a handful of opposition parties in Ethiopia, where only one out of 547 seats in parliament is occupied by an an opposition member.

Negasso, the former president of Ethiopia, said the report will be submitted to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and that he hopes the document will send a strong message to the government.
“We want the government to stop human rights violations and we are asking the government to bring those people concerned to justice,” he said, adding that his party had not lost any strength as a result of the violations documented in the report.

"The intimidation, the threats has not discouraged our members and we will continue our struggle," Negasso said.

Last year, a leading member of the UDJ, Andualem Arage, was sentenced to life in prison on terror-related offenses.

UDJ has staged a series of demonstrations across Ethiopia this year, calling for the release of opposition members and journalists charged under Ethiopia's anti-terrorism legislation.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has issued stark messages to protesters in recent months, warning them that they will face harsh consequences if the break the law.
Rights groups have said the 2009 anti-terrorism law is vague and used to stifle peaceful dissent.

Let the People go! Travel ban does not solve the problem

By Temesgen Zewdie

October 29, 2013


The Honorable Temesgen Zewde is foreign relations chief of UDJP (Andenet)


The recent decision by the government of Ethiopia to ban domestic workers from traveling to the Middle East and Arab countries is myopic at best and stone-age governance at worst. Any sensible government would define the alleged problem and seek solutions without subjecting innocent people to lose their Constitutional and Universal Rights to travel to their places of choice. This type of draconian government decision can only                                                                         happen in a one-party totalitarian state.


Any rational government would ask itself why its citizens choose to travel to another country by hundreds of thousands instead of staying put in their own country. Most people need income to live on, and support their families; and hence they need to work to earn money. The stagnant Ethiopian Economy does not create jobs; and when it does, you have to belong to a corrupt ethnic net-work Ruling party circle to secure employment. For the majority of the population who do not belong to this corrupt circle of thieves, the choice is to travel to an equally unenlightened savage environment to earn a living or starve.

 There are many Ethiopian domestic workers who have lost their lives and some seriously injured because of abuse by their employers during their stay in the Middle East, and Arab Countries. The fact of the matter is, domestic workers do not have much of a choice; it is either to stay in their homeland Ethiopia and starve, or flee the country to a lawless foreign land and a hostile environment; where human rights of workers are grossly neglected, or most of the time abused.

Any responsible government would investigate the cause of injustice, death, and injuries sustained by its citizens in a foreign land through its diplomatic mission in host countries; and seek diplomatic and legal solutions to mitigate the crisis; or better yet, make an honest and vigorous effort to accelerate the economic development of the Country to create conditions of employment available to all citizens without bias to ethnic favoritism, corruption, and nepotism which is rampant under the current administration. The people at the helm of power in our Country seem to have no clue, nor do they care about the right of the individual to work and support himself/herself and their family in any place of his/her choice as long as they meet the legal requirements of the host country. What is one supposed to do if not work and earn a livening?

I have argued both as a member of parliament (2005-2010), and as a member of the Opposition since then, that the double digit GDP economic growth propaganda of the Ruling elite is an illusion sometimes supported by International money lenders to systematically loot the country for their mutual benefit, while allowing the narrow ethnic Ruling cliques continue its misrule and pillage of the resources of the country to satisfy its insatiable desire for money, power, and ethnic chauvinism.


In Ethiopia, almost 70 percent of the urban youth is unemployed. To make matters worse, 20 percent of the rural population is flocking to the urban area in search of employment. Those who are capable of escaping the miserable economic deprivation and lack of freedom in their homeland flee the Country by tens of thousands endangering their lives; by any means necessary, legally or illegally.


 In 2009 alone over a hundred thousand Ethiopians have illegally crossed over to Yemen with the hope of reaching Saudi Arabia. An equal number of Ethiopians have also migrated to Sudan and Kenya in search of a better life. It would be an understatement to say that any responsible government would be alarmed by the mass migration, and the loss of life in the process. The Ruling Party just walk-up to this monumental national problem and the first step it took to mitigate the crisis was a travel ban to the Middle East and Arab Countries, without due consideration to the Natural, Constitutional, and Universal Rights of its subjects.


While unemployment is a source of despair for many Ethiopians, an equal number of urban consumers are stretched to the limit to meet their daily expenses because of the high cost of living instigated by the upward spiraling inflation. While the government purports inflation to be in the single digit using its mouth piece propaganda media machine, it is actually in the double digits which is attested by the escalating prices in the local markets for goods and services which have quadrupled in the past few years especially for agricultural commodities such as Teff, Corn, wheat, cooking oil, sugar, coffee etc….commonly consumed by the people of Ethiopia.

The purchasing power of the local currency (birr) has depreciated almost 60 percent within the past four years, making life impossible for people with fixed income such as government employees, and retirees. This is a Country where 90 percent of the population earns less than two dollars a day; and where 5 to 8 million people are exposed to food insecurity at any given year.

While the cost of living is extremely high because of the ravaging inflation, the Regime is busy flooding the economy with printed money, while at the same time widening the budget deficit, making an already bad situation worst. The Ruling Party refuses to use conventional macroeconomic tools to bring inflation under control for fear of deflating its shattered political image.


 The external debt of the country has ballooned to 15 billion dollars; without taking into account the 6 billion dollar international debt cancellations the government received in 2006 from Western Countries. In addition, the country suffers from shortages of foreign exchange, which has forced the current account deficit and the balance of payment to widen, which in turn has forced the government to reserve just enough money to cover a one month of imports
.
 The Ruling Party has the distinction of running a continuous trade deficit with all its trading partners; not having a single instance of trade surplus with any international trading partner in the last 23 years of its dictatorial misrule of the Country. Who among us would not wish to flee from a country mired in social, political, and economic problems to last generations to come? Not only the domestic workers flee their country to the Middle East, and Arab Countries; the rest of us, living in various western countries, are proof to the atrocious social, economic, and political conditions in our country.

No government has the right to hold its citizens hostage by declaring a travel ban; the decision by the government to ban travel has fortunately pointed to the glaring inadequacy of the government in managing the social, political, and macro-economic governance of the Country. It is illegal to ban travel to any Country short of a military hostility between two countries. In a democratic society the right of a citizen to work and earn a living is legally guaranteed, and cannot be abridged by the whims of dictators.


In conclusion, I would like to suggest, what in my opinion, would be a common sense solution to the problem.


a) The source of the conflict between employer and employee should be researched, so that the government has facts and figures to base its future decisions.

b) Hostilities between employer and employees could be reduced if entrepreneurs in Ethiopia are encouraged to open training schools for migrant workers to learn the language, culture, tradition of host countries.

c) Trained government diplomats (courses in 101 International Relations would help), sensitive enough to seek legal and diplomatic solution to the conflict.

d) Networking with international Human Rights Organizations to highlight the problems in host counties.

Travel ban is not a solution. The underground movement to smuggle people out of the Country would begin in earnest because of your callous decision. The sooner you learn from your monumental mistakes the better for all of us.

The writer, Temesgen Zewde, is chairman of Foreign Relations Committee of the UDJP (Andenet). He was also member of parliament.

Racism in Ethiopia

By Fikru Helebo and Ephrem Madebo

Obang Metho of the Anuak Justice Council recently asked a rhetorical question: "Is there racism in Ethiopia?" Yes, there is racism in Ethiopia, no doubt about it. What may be debated is in what forms is racism manifested in Ethiopia and the degree to which that racism affects one’s social life. 

It would not be far from the truth to suggest that there is some form of racism in every country around the world -- Ethiopia is not an exception. Sadly, one of the worst kinds of racism, slavery, existed in Ethiopia until about three generations ago.

Slavery was officially abolished in Ethiopia only in 1942! It was even used by the Italians as a justification for their invasion in 1935. Unfortunately, the vestiges of the ugly legacy of slavery are still with us today. This legacy is primarily manifested in the form of prejudice towards our compatriots who come from the peripheral regions in the southern and western parts of the country. Ethiopians, as a people, should be ashamed for allowing this kind of racism to continue unabated in the dawn of the 21st century.

By the way, what is racism? When we think of racism, we mostly think of the institutionalized form of racism that we see in the West which is directed mostly towards people of African descent. In reality, however, racism is a phenomenon that exists anywhere between groups of people when one discriminates against the other based on any inborn physical attributes and considers their group to be superior. 

Ethiopian racism is based on the tone of skin color and physical traits such as facial features and hair texture. For the purpose of this article, racism is discriminating against or denigrating a fellow Ethiopian or human being based on skin color and/or physical characteristics. 

Mind you, though racism in Ethiopia has its roots in our ethnic differences, it should not be confused with discrimination based on ethnic affiliation or economic status. This is true because in Ethiopia ethnic slurs are different from racial slurs, and no matter what one’s economic status is, he/she might not be free from racial abuses.

 Some ethnic groups might be bombarded with bone piercing ethnic slurs, but not necessarily with racial slurs, whereas some other ethnic groups, especially from western and southern Ethiopia, face both ethnic and racial abuses. 

Even today, social contacts (for example, marriage) with Ethiopians of Nilotic origin are considered a taboo. We all know that any Ethiopian whose physical characteristics has resemblance to Nilotic or Bantu people faces daily verbal abuses and is showered with ugly and discriminatory nick names such as baria, mesheto, wefcho-lash, etc…

The other strange face of Ethiopian racism is that it is not limited to within Ethiopia or between Ethiopians. When we travel abroad, our racist attitude travels with us. Here in the United States, Ethiopians display splendid respect for white Americans, but do not accord the same respect to black Americans. Some of us even use the derisive Amharic word baria to refer to darker-skinned black Americans. 

In whatever foreign country we are, when we see a black person with straight nose, large eyes, and zoma hair, we tend to say “he/she looks like an Ethiopian”, knowing that the person is not an Ethiopian. On the other hand, our heart does not accept a darker skin, a flat nose or a kinky hair person as an Ethiopian. 

Basically, in Ethiopia or outside Ethiopia, we Ethiopians have certain physical characteristics and features that we ascribe for ourselves, and anyone outside that artificial provenance is subject for abuse or ridicule.

In the last 35 years many Ethiopian expatriates have lived in places like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Djibouti, and Somalia (pre-1991). Some oral and written accounts and many real life experiences in these and other African countries have indicated that many Ethiopian refugees displayed superficial cultural and racial superiority, and in many cases bombarded the natives with racial slurs. 

However, the cultural superiority and the racial slurs were non-existent among Ethiopian refugees who lived in Somalia and Arab countries. The reader can easily guess why! I [Ephrem] very well remember my personal experience when I was a refugee in Kenya. 

I had a Kenyan girl friend from Machakos who has to endure daily mocking and racial slanders [monkey, baria] from almost all of my Ethiopian friends [male, female]. To some Ethiopians, racism might look like a simple joke among equals, this is not true because when racism is expressed in the form of joke, the joke is always one directional and it is based on one side always taking pride in its superiority.

Racism is a broad topic and probably as old as humanity itself. We recognize that racism in the Ethiopian context has its own unique characteristics and should be addressed with care and sensitivity. We also recognize that there are some cultural preferences that are exhibited by some Ethiopians that could unfairly be labeled as racist in some quarters.

 Be that as it may, Ethiopians must rid ourselves of any kind of prejudice towards any one based on his/her skin color or physical characteristics. If and when anyone of us exhibits such foolish and backward racist behavior, as was clearly the case when the AigaForum web site attempted to denigrate the tireless human rights campaigner Obang Metho, we have a moral responsibility to confront the perpetrators and unequivocally condemn their behavior.

 Not only must we condemn such racist behavior, we should also put the perpetrators to public shame. If we fail to do this and turn a blind eye to racism, then we are just as guilty as the offending party.

Obang has made an eloquent call for Ethiopians to address the issue of racism in Ethiopia. We concur. We believe that the time is now for us, as Ethiopian people, to acknowledge that racism in Ethiopia is a real problem that must be confronted sooner than later.

 Trying to deny, hide, or downplay this very sensitive and agonizing problem will only compound our existing political divide. We do not see any valid and over-riding reason to delay this issue from being discussed at this point in time. 

Fighting racism is as important a human rights issue as any and by proactively and responsibly addressing this very important issue at this time head on (lest we regret not heeding this call), we will only help ensure that our struggle for human rights and democracy will be a more complete one

Ethiopians in Norway vowed to stand beside Ginbot 7 popular force

On 28^th of September 2013, successful fundraising was conducted for Ginbot 7 Popular Force (G7pf), recently established and struggling against the woyane junta. The fundraising event, staged from 4:00 – 12:00 p.m. local time, was coordinated by a taskforce established by Democratic Change in Ethiopia Support Organization in Norway (DCESON). The event was able to attract many participants from all over Norway and other European countries. The event was one of the success stories in the history of fundraising in terms of both participation and raised amount of money.

The official announcement of the founding of the Ginbot 7 people`s force has been a positive development and was welcomed by most Ethiopians living in Norway. Ginbot 7 popular force has added a momentum to the struggle and elevated the moral and hope of many Ethiopians living in Norway. The formation of this force marks a new and decisive phase in the struggle against the racist and fascist rule of the Tigray People`s Liberation Front (TPLF) in Ethiopia. Hence, the enthusiasm, inspiration and increased degree of engagement that were witnessed during the event reflected the aspirations and commitments of the participants. Besides, it shows that the force has been able to garner an increasing and widespread support in Norway and inevitably in other parts of the Diaspora at the moment.

Ato Dawit Mekonnen.

The DCESON has been supporting the struggle for democracy, freedom and justice in Ethiopia starting from the pre-kinijit time. The current fundraising event is purely the initiative of DCESON and it was conducted by forming a taskforce consisting of its committed members. DCESON took this mission as a national and timely one and undertook extensive planning and mobilization tasks. On the other hand, the agents of the TPLF and their supporters made futile attempts and campaigns to undermine and hamper this event. This shows that the formation of an armed Ethiopian resistance force has frightened and alarmed the TPLF camp and regime.

Ato Andargachew Tsege

Ato Andargachew Tsege, the secretary of the Ginbot 7 Movement for Justice and Freedom and Democracy and Commander Assefa Maru, chief of Ginbot 7 Popular Force, were the guests of the event. The guests received a standing ovation in the event hall which was decorated with the Ethiopian flag and symbols of the popular force.

Ato Abi Amare

The event had a series of programs which went on as planned. After the program of the day was announced by Ato Abi Amare, leader of the PR group, opening remarks were given by preventative of the taskforce, Ato Worku Tadesse. A keynote address was given by the chairperson of the DCESON Ato Dawit Mekonnen. Representatives of the Ethiopian asylum seekers` association, w/t Sara Girma, DCESON women’s branch, w/o Guenet Worku, Chairperson of DCESON-Women’s section, W/t Lemlem Andarge, DCESON-Bergen branch, Ato Shume Werku gave speeches to the audience. In addition, W/t Kalkidan Kassahun from Steinskjer, Ato Sally Abraham from Vestness, also held speeches that focused on the significance of the event and the need for increased struggle against the TPLF rule in Ethiopia.  Moreover, the representative of the Tigray People Democratic Movement (TPDM) in Norway, Ato Haile Asmamaw, addressed the event and played the audiovisual message to all Ethiopians sent from the field.

The younger members of the DCESON in fatigues were a unique addition to the event.

Ato Andargachew outlined the tasks and current activities of the force and presented footage showing the training and preparations of the force out in the field. He also mentioned the cooperation with the Tigray People`s Democratic Movement (TPDM), hardships the members of the force undergo and the sacrifices they pay.

Commander Assefa Maru

Commander Assefa Maru spoke on his part about the objectives, tasks and missions of the force. In his speech, he explained the importance of an armed force and resistance to remove the TPLF from power and pave the way for a democratic and an all-inclusive political system in Ethiopia. He underscored the commitment of the force to achieve its goal and necessity of offering help and support to the force.

The audience learnt from the two guests that Ginbot 7 Popular Force is established by freedom-loving Ethiopians, including youngsters and intellectuals and it is working to remove TPLF by force and to create a peaceful transition period enabling establishment of non-partisan and constitutional defense, police, security, judiciary, etc. which are crucial for a healthy playground for different political parties aspiring power in the country. Among the current G7PF members are many intellectuals who joined this force abandoning their relatively comfortable living, families and professional jobs. This is one of the peculiarities of the G7PF compared to traditional armed struggles in Ethiopia where mainly farmers and other non-intellectuals comprise the main components of the foot soldiers. Presence of skillful leadership on the ground is told to highly assist G7PF members equip not only with armament but also with political, social, cultural knowledge about Ethiopia which is important to build a force that understands why and whom they are fighting for and paying sacrifices.

Food and refreshments were served during the event. Ethiopian music and live performances were staged to make the event entertaining and enjoyable. A short drama showing the atrocities of the TPLF regime in Ethiopia, written by w/t Mihret Ashine, was also presented.

The latter parts of the event were devoted to auctions meant for raising money as planned. The inspiration and enthusiasm of auction hosts, Ato Million Abebe and Ato Amsal Kasie, was the driving force for the high sum of money raised during the auction. The financial contributions of the participants and others, including attendants of the Ethiopian Current Affairs Discussion Forum (ECADF) were high and laudable.

The successful staging of the event was made possible through the cooperation and contributions of the participants as a whole. This event demonstrated what Ethiopians in the diaspora can achieve through cooperation and working together for a common goal.

The fundraising taskforce and DCESON extend their heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all the participants, contributors and huge thanks to all Ethiopians from all over Norway.

Ginbot 7 Popular Force fundraising taskforce in Norway

October 22, 2013

To what threats are Ethiopian refugees and dissidents in Norway exposed to?

By Samson Seifu, 2nd November 2012

Arrest of a Sudanese Refugee Spy: a defining historic moment

The Police Security Service (PSS) locally known as PST has arrested a Sudanese man accusing him of refugee espionage in Norway. PST said the man, on several occasions, secretly collected information about Sudanese in Norway, and sent the information to the authorities in Sudan. Among his own countrymen, he has been considered to be a refugee, but PST believes he has always spied on them.

A number of Ethiopians in Trondheim, Norway have also claimed to have been approached and spiedby the accused spy according to adressavisen.no.

According to PST this is the first arrest for refugee espionage in Norway since the 1970s. and the man is charged under Norwegian Penal Code 91a.

PST’s definition of refugee espionage in Norway

PST’s definition of refugee espionage is a foreign intelligence activities directed against foreigners in Norway. The aim of this type of activity is to undermine, neutralize or eliminate political opposition through monitoring, controlling, and threatening dissidents in exile in different ways. Several countries are spying on their own citizens who traveled to Norway, and among others Eritrea and Ethiopia are in the police spotlight.

The Ethiopian Refugee Espionage in Norway: Both systematic and comprehensive

Rune Berglund Steen is a communications officer at the Anti-Racist Center in Norway and author of the book ‘’ The Black Book of Norwegian Asylum Policy’’. Rune Berglund Steen has also worked on the Ethiopian spying in Norway issue for many years.

According to Rune Steen, representatives of the Ethiopian dictatorship run a systematic monitoring of Ethiopian refugees in Norway. At least 50 Ethiopians in Norway have experienced direct threats from the so-called refugee spies since 2005, according to Steen.

Based on the information he has collected since 2004/2005, it appears that the Ethiopian refugee espionage is both systematic and comprehensive. It is simply shameless and extensive, says Berglund Steen to Nrk.no (Norwegian National Media). He says the spies must be punished, this has been going fairly overtly long and that regime loyal Ethiopians allow themselves this because it has not been linked with consequences for them here in Norway. This must change, says Steen. Activities such as this must simply get consequences. It must be shown that one can’t with impunity behave like a dictator’s thugs on Norwegian soil. It should be a basis for several criminal cases against them here in Norway, says Berglund Steen.

It is also understood that some who have been granted stay permit based on false information, are regime loyal who have cheated to be opposition, and that when they get stay permit continue their works for the regime. If this is the case, it is an obvious ground for withdrawing their stay permits, he adds.

To what threats are Ethiopian refugees and dissidents in Norway exposed to?

Threats can be about what will happen when they return to Ethiopia, or it may be directed toward family members in Ethiopia, including death threats, says Steen. The spies, according to Steen, are active with taking pictures of peoples taking part in demonstrations and threatening of oppositions on the street, via e-mail and anonymous phones. There are also attempts at infiltration of opposition groups and parties. Dissidents have told Rune Steen that they suspect hacking. In several cases, it has also lead to street fighting, for example, when the opposition was trying to stop taking of photographs of demonstrations.

Former guerrilla soldiers

According to Berglund Steen, the Ethiopian dictatorship maintains power through systematic persecution of dissidents in Ethiopia and this systematic persecution is also set in the system beyond Ethiopia’s borders. Several documents which have been leaked from Ethiopian embassies show this, says Steen.

Several of those who have central position in monitoring in Norway have background as guerrilla soldiers at the time the current Ethiopian regime was still a guerrilla movement.

This is all about ensuring that the ethnic group that controls the country to retain power. Since this group – Tigreans constitute only about 6 percent of the population, and this is only possible through systematic oppression. Control in Ethiopia is extensive, where the regime has generally very good control. The regime seems concerned, therefore, is what kind of resistance that may emerge, he concludes.

Woyanne -TPLF informants in Norway cry foul: my conclusive perspective

TPLF’s cyber propaganda Medias like ‘’aigaforum.com’’, ‘’abesha.no’’ and ‘’Tigray tegaru paltalk rom’’ were crying foul attempting to divert the current important and promising issue which the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) is taking seriously.

The renowned Ethiopian refugee cases expert Mr. Rune Berglund Steen has excellently elaborated the issue. On the contrary the Woyanne-TPLF informants called the commentaries by Mr. Steen ‘’a recipe for genocide’’ in their discussion forum as well as in their articles posted on aigaforum.com and abesha.no websites. In fact, Mr. Steen’s mention of the ‘’Tigrean People’’ in his commentaries is to make clear to the Norwegian public and authorities that the Tigrean people which the liberation movement TPLF claims to have liberated and assumed power constitute only 6% of the Ethiopian people.

One may not be surprised given their background as the informants of the TPLF regime if they try to turn and twist the genuine claim by hundreds of Ethiopian refugees in Norway by trying to link it as they claim with ‘’genocide incitement’’. They know to the bottom of their hearts that the issue at hand actually refers to them and that is why they cry foul.

-