Ethiopia: Getachew K. Reda – Statement on the current situation in Tigray (12.05.2021)

Dear friends, just to let you know that I am back, sort of. As Mark Twain once quipped, the news about my death/s (too many of them apparently!) was a bit exaggerated!
The history of Tigray is replete with stories of heroism and glory; of people steeped in the tradition of fighting injustice against a constellation of enemies often all at once; of steadfastness in the face of adversity. The people of Tigray have over the centuries faced disparate challenges-natural or man made- only to come out victorious. Giving up has never been part of the historical lexicon of Tigray. No matter how difficult the odds, Tigray has always ultimately prevailed over its adversaries, wherever they come from or whatever their size.
The people of Tigray have once again been subjected to all kinds of calamities in the hands of their enemies. In light of the enormity of the challenges we faced throughout history, Abiy and Isaias are, despite the untold misery and suffering they have caused on our people, mere midgets in the face of the Tigraian Resistance.
It is little wonder then that the anti-Tigray coalition of stone age enthusiasts is crumbling fast in the face of the Tigray resistance. Tigray is once again proving to be its enemies’ graveyard. Tigray will not just prevail against a constellation of reactionaries in the battlefield; but more importantly will rise from the ashes and rebuild itself on solid foundations and soon!

Ethiopia: The Global Society of Tigray Scholars and Professionals (GSTS) letter to the President of G-7 Leaders’ Summit Prime Minister Boris Johnson – Abiy Ahmed Ali is a Force of Instability and Disintegration (11.05.2021)

Ethiopia: Oromia Global Forum – Statement on the Upcoming Sham Election in Ethiopia (09.05.2021)

Date: May 9, 2021

To: The Oromo People

All Oromo Communities in the Diaspora

All Oromo Media Outlets

All Oromo Activists

All Friends of the Oromo people

Dhagahii dhageessisi, Iyyii iyya dabarsi

We, members of Oromia Global Forum (OGF) – a global coalition of Oromo Civic, Professional and Faith-based organizations, strongly advise our Oromo people to boycott Ethiopia’s upcoming sham election.

The Oromo people have paid a heavy price in the uprising that propelled Abiy Ahmed to the premiership in 2018. Abiy promised to facilitate a transition that could lead to free and fair elections. However, instead of transition to democracy, Abiy gave you tensions, conflicts, political arrests, deaths, rapes, displacements, destruction of property and exile. Particularly, he targeted the Oromo nation and carried the brunt of his cruel, neo-neftegna fascistic policies that have no room for reconciliation and redress of past injustices.

In the name of making peace through opening the political space, Abiy lured the Oromo Liberation Front into the country, poisoned its ex-fighters, imprisoned its leaders including Abdi Ragassa, Col. Gemechu Ayana, Mikael Boran, Kenesa Ayana and many more. Likewise, Abiy imprisoned leaders of the Oromo Federalist Congress including Jawar Mohammed, Bekele Garba, Dejene Tafa, Hamza Adane and others. He closed the offices of these parties all over the country, completely impaired their freedom of movement and disrupted their interactions with their constituents. All independent Oromo Media are closed. Their properties are illegally robbed. Their journalists, management and administrative staff members either imprisoned, or forced to exile.

For over three years, Oromia is suffering under the cruel martial rule (military rule), where Oromians are indiscriminately killed without due process of the law. Basic democratic rights such as freedom of expression, association and movement are severely curtailed. Free movement of people is completely impeded in Oromia, even between neighbors, let alone between villages, districts or zones. The Oromo have no right to express their views, nor do they have a party that represents them in the upcoming sham election.

THEREFORE, we members of Oromia Global Forum (OGF) call upon our people, NOT to take part in, and boycott the upcoming sham elections, because:

Abiy Ahmed has never addressed the fundamental questions that our children, the Qeerroo and Qarree, have died for in the years of protests before he came to power. You demanded equality, dignity, self-rule and control over your resources. Abiy promised to address all these and transition to a democratic process. Instead, during his three years in office, Abiy has imposed military command post on your cities and villages; converted historic sites and schools to prisons and military camps; declared war on you and your children; abused your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, brothers, husbands; and destroyed you livelihood, cattle and crops. He has condemned you to deaths and sufferings of historic proportion, unseen under any of his repressive predecessors, even excelled his mentors – the TPLF, who tormented you for the 27-years

Knowing that he would lose election in Oromia, Abiy Ahmed harassed, jailed and killed members of your parties, the OLF and OFC, which truly represent you and sacrificing their lives to protect you. He closed their offices and cut off their communications with you. This means that you have no representative parties to vote for in this election. This is not democratic election; it is a shameless effort where one man wants to crown himself and benefit his cronies. But you have the right and opportunity to reject it by dissociating your self from his senseless cruelty.

Abiy Ahmed and his neftegna lackeys killed, imprisoned and exiled your representatives and they are shamelessly asking you to vote for them, in complete absence (imprisonment) of your own representatives. For you, this is adding insult to an injury.

By participating in the sham election, you would give legitimacy to Abiy’s illegitimate party, the Prosperity Party, and its lackeys like Ezema, Baldaras, ABN and several other smaller parties to claim false victory in Oromia and enable them to continue to kill you.

Be warned, that all these neftegna parties aspire to restore, reimpose and instill Amhara supremacy and nafxanya interests as their parents and grandparents did in the past.

Given the opportunity, Abiy Ahmed and his neftagna supporters are aiming to dismantle Oromia and destroy Oromummaa and roll back the nafxanya-gabbar system that condemned your fathers and forefathers to landlessness and servitude.

The consequences of fake election and false victory by any neftegna party in Ethiopia would be most devastating for the Oromo people, because:

8.1 It poses an existential threat to the Oromo nation and Oromummaa as given to you by your Creator.

8.2 Using the fake elections and false victories, all neftegna parties would immediately declare genocidal war on the Oromo nation, take control over Oromia, take away your land and give it to settlers whom they will encourage to migrate to Oromia and kill you.

8.3 Most importantly, they will destroy the fundamentals of your identity (Oromummaa) including the use of your language and practice of your culture.

8.4 If these neftegna parties control the federal government, their new federal parliament would immediately convene and take the following measures, that would destroy your identity and threaten your very existence as a nation, at its core:

8.4.1 Remove the current multinational constitution, and replace it with pro-monarchy, system of one man rule

8.4.2 Abolish the federal structure by destroying Oromia and regional states of other nations

8.4.3 Declare the supremacy and domination of one ethnic group (the Amhara) and declare

Amharic as the national language of the empire, outlawing the use of Afaan Oromo for

official and educational purposes in Oromia.

Finally, we would like to request the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union, the Arab League, the United States and all other governments to seriously consider their stand regarding the sham election in Ethiopia, and urgently act to stop Abiy Ahmed’s clique from taking the country down to the path of violent disintegration and civil war, which shall have tremendous regional and international security and humanitarian consequences.

Reject this sham election outrightly and stay away from it. Voting in this

election is suicidal!

Sincerely,

Oromia Global Forum

Ethiopia: Auditor General – Press Release Issued on the Proscription of ‘TPLF’ and ‘Shene’ as Terrorist Organization (11.05.2021)

Ethiopia: Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) & Freedom and Equality Party (FEP) – Press Release (10.05.2021)

We as friends of DDS (ONLF, FEP & Independent Candidates) after we saw the decision that the election committee of JDFI (NEBE) responded to the complaints of the political and independent candidates. The process and process of registering the election of the Somali region.
Although it is a good step that has been taken before, we prove that NEBE responded to our complaints that we are not satisfied with the reasons below:
1 The answer that NEBE gave does not represent the amount of problems that happened in the registration of the Somali region.
2 As clear as NEBE news we have given evidence including stolen cards, videos and photos from the polling booth that I believe could be full witnesses.
3 NEBE’s answer is summary of certain election places where we have submitted violations against the election rule that took place in all DDS.
4 The process of answering the complaints we have submitted to and the rest of the election shows that we can’t reach a quick solution.
So we are calling on the JDFI Electoral Commission (NEBE)
Considering the reasons above and short time that they will take a decision on the postponed registration in DDS and cancelled all the stolen registration cards.
If there is nothing to do about that issue, we will inform NEBE that we will take a decision that will reflect the interest of our people during this week because there is no situation to compete with the DDS election process.
ONLF, FEP and Banana Head Candidates.

Ethiopia: National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) – Re: Response to letter by United States Senators to the Special Envoy to the Horn of Afria Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman (09.05.2021)

Ethiopia: Patriarch Abune Mathias I is house-arrested for addressing the Tigray conflict

It is today confirmed the Patriarch of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) his Holiness Abune Mathias I is put under house-arrest. That comes as he earlier this week was able to smuggle out a video addressing the Tripartite Alliance warfare in the Tigray Region. This have hurt the pride of the rulers in Addis Ababa. That’s why his been put under house-arrest and lost his liberty. Because, he dared to speak out on the injustice happening on the watch of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali. He dared to question the Prosperity Party and their allies. Their efforts to undermine and destroy the Tigray region. Those selected words was clearly enough and he now has to face the face the consequences for it.

Here is his words of wisdom:

God will have his own judgment in responding to these atrocities, but people are dying; women are being raped; in fact the men who died are better off than the women who are enduring a life time scar… I truly don’t know how this could be stopped” (…) “Stop this free reign of killing… This kind of cruelty has never been heard before, especially the suffering the women are going through. Is it really necessary to do this kind of dirty deed without the fear of God?” (…) “Churches around the world to see this and do their share to help stop, even by being a voice to this grotesque deed which is unseen and unheard around the world and which we can’t even dare to speak about… .there is no time I rested; my conscious is distraught. If my voice is heard, will it help? I want all of you to think about it. To the people of Tigray around the world and in the country, this may pass; may God give you the strength, there is nothing that shall not pass… don’t be overrun by fear and anxiety. Pray to your God” – Holiness Abune Mathias I the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) – (Addis Standard – ‘Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarch Says War in Tigray ‘Barbarism’ and ‘Attempt to Erase Tigrayans’; Says His Repeated Pleas ‘Censored’ 08.05.2021).

These words are tough to read. The ones watching the clip, which was released much be even harder. To see a man of such stature and office say these things. When has to come out and state the dire facts. Than you know the Republic is in trouble. When he has to pay a price for even saying it. That says even more about the rulers.

When the reformists and the supposed men of peace in Addis Ababa is making him a criminal and a prisoner in his own home. When the state is limiting his space, his movement and his voice. Just because he dared to speak out. You just know the situation is dangerous and the ones in-charge doesn’t value liberty, justice or freedom of speech. No, they are just concerned with their egos and realms of power.

Prime Minister Abiy and his men cannot save themselves anymore. They have gone after political opponents… and activists. Now they are going after anyone who dares to oppose them. They are even shielding and arresting clergy. That says more about Abiy than it says about Holiness Abune Mathias I. He just spoke his peace… and said what needed to be said. That shouldn’t be a crime, but clearly is now seen as violation in Ethiopia.

This is showing the failures of the state and how oppressive it is. Also, that it got to have some truths in it. If it wasn’t truthful or taken seriously. He wouldn’t be a prisoner in his own home. Peace.

Ethiopia: Press Release from Tigray National Political Parties Forum – Anti-terrorism law: Another tool for Genocide in Tigray (09.05.2021)

Ethiopia: The Global Society of Tigray Scholars and Professionals (GSTS) letter to OCHCR – A call for transparency as regards the work of United Nations particularly the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights in the civil wars in Ethiopia (04.05.2021)

Ethiopia: Office of the Prime Minister – Situation Update on Tigray (08.05.2021)