Ethiopia: 3 billion birr to be wasted on the ‘useless’ Ministry of Peace

On the 16th October 2018 the Prosperity Party and Prime Minister Ahmed Ali Abiy established the Ministry of Peace and appointed Muferiat Kamil to be the Minister of it. The intention and the mandate is fine and dandy. Which was to sustain the reforms and perform peace-building measures within the Federal Republic. However, what has happened ever since has been less of peace.

The state has sent the army, the police and all its authorities to silence dissidents and all opposition. That is why the state has such a vast amount of political prisoners and arrests of activists across the Republic. The mass amounts of deaths in Amhara, Oromia and in Ogaden is all a result of the extra judicial killings supported by the Central Government.

The House of Federation haven’t tried to work in peace with the ones its representing. Neither is the Prime Minister working in the interests of dialogue. He first made peace with them, but later betrayed them all. By going even further than previous Prime Minister’s. That being arresting civilians, killing protesters and using COVID-19 as a reason to postpone elections.

This is why the government is illegitimate and unconstitutional for the very moment. They have an illegal 6th Year of the HoF. The Prosperity Party doesn’t have a mandate to be a legitimate government at the moment.

However, the PM and the PP act like they can do whatever and get away with it. It can order soldiers to the provinces, it can destroy villages, burn houses and use schools as prisons. That is what happening and is done at a grand scale.

The PM isn’t a man of peace. That was only done to make an impression internationally. However, at home is burning bridges. The PM is destroying families and misusing his power. A unelected man is acting as a emperor.

That is why he has established an Ministry, which is pointless. When there are gatherings of political prisoners. The main opposition is behind bars. The journalists and the activists daring to speak out. Will eventually get caught up with the law too. There is assassinations and arbitrary arrests.

If the government really worked for peace. It wouldn’t put shackles on their opposition and forge charges on them. If the government believed in the mandate of the Ministry of Peace. It wouldn’t use soldiers against peaceful civilians. All of that is a mockery of common sense.

The PM wants the praise and the glory. However, the true story is much more bleak than the stories the state is telling. The murders, the deaths and the ones lingering in the jails. Are not a sign of peace, but of war against their own. Instead of using your ears to listen to the ones oppressed. The state is using their mouth to be a voice-over the ones suffering. Not willing to listen, but instead screaming over the needs of the public.

The PM prefers shallow PR exercises that makes him look like a saint, while part of him is the angel of death. If he believed in peace and in dialogue. He wouldn’t act like this and accept the aggression against his own. However, that is what he does.

This is why the state is using 3 billion birrs this upcoming budget year on a wasted Ministry. It would be better to burn the bank-notes in front of the statute at Menelik II Square in Addis Ababa. At least it would give a little heat and make a spectacle. Because, at this very moment. Every coin is wasted and could have been used to help the general public.

Since, the Ministry of Peace is useless. It has nothing to give. When the PP and PM is using force against their own. There will be no peace, when you are ordering soldiers to peoples homes and villages. Peace.

Ethiopia: Vision Ethiopia – Press Release on National Movement of Amhara (NaMA) – (27.10.2020)

Ethiopia: A new generation of desert locusts, flooding and COVID-19 threaten food security in Ethiopia (28.10.2020)

The Afar region has faced an unprecedented locust invasion since August this year.

AFAR, Ethiopia, October 28, 2020 – Mohammed Ali, 30, a pastoralist, is visibly tired, but relentlessly searching for pasture for his cattle under scorching sunshine. He leads over 400 head of cattle from Ewa to Asayta Woreda in the Afar region. Although pastoralists like Mohammed are accustomed to making the annual 200 km trek in January when the rains stop, they were compelled to make the journey in October – three months early.

“Desert locusts destroyed all the natural pasture including green vegetation cover. Our livestock would starve to death if we did not move,” he said.

According to Ayalew Shumet, the Afar region’s coordinator of desert locust operations, about 10 million head of livestock in the region are currently affected by the scarcity of natural pasture. Because pastoralists rely on the weather and environment to secure livestock feed for their livestock, they are heavily impacted by the damage desert locusts have caused on pasture.

Desert locusts have also destroyed entire crop fields leaving farmers, and local authorities worried. Hussein Hundolpe vividly remembers the day locusts invaded his six-hectare maize field in Afambo Woreda with sadness.

“My family and I worked hard to clear the field. I bought an irrigation pump and fuel and ensured that my maize crop received enough water. When the plants were about one meter tall, locusts devoured everything in a few hours”, he said.

Recounting the incident, Ahmed’s neighbor, Fatouma, said a large swarm covered their village’s sky.

“We threw objects at them, but nothing helped. Although the government moved swiftly to spray the swarm, the damage was already done. Every single farmer in our village lost all their maize and sorghum crop”, she said.

The Afar region has faced an unprecedented locust invasion since August this year. Despite ongoing control efforts, numerous hopper bands have caused immense damage in 33 out of 34 Woredas of the region.

“Farmers need urgent support to re-plant their crops and pastoralists require emergency feed supply otherwise, the food security in the region is at risk,” said Wogris Hafa, the Head of the Livestock, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Office of Chifra Woreda.

Ethiopia has been battling locusts since June 2019. Up to October 21, 2020, over 607 000 hectares of land had been sprayed through aerial and ground operations. Despite these efforts, the desert locust threat prevails due to cross-border movements and prevailing conducive breeding conditions in the country. Numerous immature adult groups and swarms are still moving in the Amhara/Tigray highlands and Somali region (Desert Locust situation update: 19 October 2020).

Floods exacerbate the risk

Between June and September 2020, heavy and prolonged rains led to flooding in the Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Gambella, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNP)’, Sidama, and Somali regions, affecting over one million people, with about 350 000 displaced.

In Aysaqita Woreda in the Afar region, Medina Solea recounts how floodwaters overflowing from the Awash River washed away all her household property, livestock, and crops.

“We ran to the mountains from where we were rescued by a helicopter.”

Now living in an Internally Displaced Persons Camp with her family of 10, Madina says, “We have nothing to start with.”

Although the Awash River frequently floods in August/September following heavy rains in the eastern highland and escarpment areas, this year’s flooding is unmatched, according to Aydahis Yasin, the Early Warning and Emergency Response Director, Afar Region.

“Over 46 000 hectares of cropland and 26 000 hectares of pasture in Afar were destroyed by floods, “he said.

Food security at stake

According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, about 6.7 million people (in seven regions) are expected to be highly food insecure, in Crisis (IPC Phase 3), or worse between October and December 2020.

However, the new wave of desert locusts, exacerbated by economic hardships resulting from COVID-19 restrictions, and flooding will likely amplify food insecurity unless urgent action is taken, to assist the affected communities.

FAO’s response

Alongside efforts to control desert locusts, FAO is implementing a programme to safeguard productive assets and livelihoods of the affected population in Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Somalia, SNNP, and Tigray regions. The Organization is supporting over 70 000 households with agricultural inputs (seeds, tools, livestock feed, and veterinary drugs), cash transfers, training, and extension support. These interventions were informed by the May-December 2020 funding Appeal of $79 million, which is now 60 percent funded.

“With the growing humanitarian needs, we require more funds to support additional households”, said Fatouma Seid, the FAO Representative in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia: TPLF President Debretsion Gebremichael letter to the International Community (26.10.2020)

Ethiopia: Oromia Liberation Front (OLF) – Press Release – The Recent Targeted Oromo Youths killings are a Manifestation of the continued lack of peace and security in Oromia (25.10.2020)

While the Oromo people’s uncertainty about their well-being and safety in Oromia is so high and the Horn of Africa as a whole is under a cloud of fears and insecurity, targeted killings of the Oromo Youths will rather aggravate the situation than calming it down. When political parties like the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) are proposing a resolution for the current crises, such an inhuman way of killing innocent citizens rather worsen the situation.

Simply putting, it’s immoral and inhuman to kill these innocent youths. It is also against the law of the land as well as international law. Whoever committed this heinous killing, OLF condemns with a strong word possible such extrajudicial killing. These youths are the hopes of our freedom and our future and nation’s fate lies in their hand.

The various massacres that recently took place in South-Eastern Oromia in Bale Robe, Eastern Oromia in Awaday and Machahara, and Western Oromia in Nekemte clearly indicate the lack of peace and security in Oromia. We believe that such murdering of the Oromia youths on street, in their homes, and basically everywhere is orchestrated by those who used to be in government structure but are an anti-Oromo struggle.

Therefore, the Oromo people and the citizens of Oromia as a whole must realize these facts and act in unity to defend themselves from such genocidal killings.

Those who are currently working in security and police forces, and military personnel born of Oromia citizens, have Oromia citizens relatives or friends, and are residing in Oromia should refrain from committing such extrajudicial killings on Oromo youth.

We call upon you to rather stand up and protect your family, relatives, friend, and the citizens with whom you live from criminals. Remember, you took an oath to protect the people and nation, but not the interest of government or politicians.

To curve the current looming crises in Oromia, the OLF has called for the establishment of the National Transitional Government of Oromia. Taking this opportunity, we would like to remind all political parties, Oromo human rights Organizations, civic institutes, Oromo professionals/elites, non-governmental and private organizations, and the overall Oromia citizens, to own your responsibilities in supporting and working toward the realization of the Oromia National Transitional Government.

Lastly, these targeted killings on Oromo youth across Oromia is being committed by those few individuals or groups within the government structure. OLF would like to reaffirm that people’s struggle for freedom, peace, and democracy will never be reversed with such inhuman action, and those who have committed and are still committing such heinous killing will never escape from accountability, be it history or legal.

This politically motivated killing and harassment of citizens in Oromia only come to an end by establishing the Oromia National transitional government that can be trusted by the people. We should strengthen our struggle in all aspects to protect ourselves and defend our nation and interest.

Extrajudicial killings and intimidations across Oromia have been taking place on Oromo youths for over two years and still, there is no glimpse of hope that this will stop. In fact, such unjustifiable killings increase the concerns and anxiety of our people about their overall safety and security.

We as people should realize these real concerns and work toward bringing an end to it by establishing Oromia National transitional government.

Victor to the masses

Oromo Liberation front

October 25, 2020

Ethiopia: The Prime Minister’s use of ‘Medemer’ is out of a tyrants play-book

It has been revealed that the Oromia Education Bureau are spending 3.4m birrs buying the book of Primer Minister Ahmed Ali Abiy. This is the ‘Medemer, however, that’s not all. The same Bureau of Oromia is spending more 5,6m birrs on teaching it too.

What this is the old-school method of indoctrinating your ideals, your words and your political ideology on children. There is reports that this money spent by the Education Bureau is footing the bill of making the book into a audio-book.

There is also reports that the book is being read on public radio for the whole public to listen too. This so weird from a so called “progressive” and a “reformer”. Unless, his faking it into his making it. Because this is the means of leaders, which the likes of him isn’t supposed to associated with.

Maybe, the ideal leader and reformer for the Ethiopian PM is to be like Chairman Mao. As he indoctrinated the Chinese people with his Little Red Book. Alas, also the Libyan dictator Gaddafi’s Green Book. Both of these fella’s used their books insert their message to everyone.

This is surely not a sign of a man whose there for greatness. When the Prime Minister using his office to sell his book and spell-out his message this way. The PM is acting as a dictator with this one. Proving that his “reforming” ways isn’t so real. Because, if they we’re it wouldn’t be that self-serving.

The Prime Minister seemingly see this as a good idea, maybe even a profitable one for him too. Since, he will get the royalties for the publishing of the book and enrich himself. While the citizens and the children has to learn his teachings without any hesitation.

This indoctrinating a dogma, a idea and a message without even clarifying the purpose. If there ever was a move of a dictator and ta totalitarian state. This one is like the fashionable idea of a tyrant, who has to both spew the same message through your ear, in print and at primary education.

If Abiy wants to be a dictator, this is a clear message. At least to people like me. Than, I believe the dark ages will return and there will be less will to reform. As everything will revolve around him and his whims. That’s not a sign of reform, but a one-party state. Which was my worry, when the EPRDF consolidated into the Prosperity Party.

This sort of action is an act of that. A tyrant would be proud of Abiy for doing this. Therefore, I ask myself, is that the message Abiy want to send to the world? If so, he can be proud and if not he should scrap these sort of things as soon as possible. Unless, his so far up his own ass, that he cannot see the issues with this. I anticipate the last, because someone who does this got an ego higher than Mount Everest. Peace.

Ethiopia: Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) – Press Release (30.05.2020)

Ethiopia: Will Abiy use this State of Emergency to crack-down on others?

I tend to support ‘State of Emergency’ measures put forward by a state or a government, when it will be done to battle insurgency or against epidemic. I understand them both. The Prosperity Party and Prime Minister Ali Ahmed Abiy is issuing his first one. It is not new with “State of Emergency” in Ethiopia. Therefore, I am sceptical and hesitant.

Even if this State of Emergency is issued for 5 months. The plan is to be delegated and controlled by the Council of Ministers, instead of the Command Post. Because of the history of Command Post. Just like people doesn’t trust the Liyu Police in the Ogaden Region. It is reasons for that, the violence, the crack-down and misuse of power towards the citizens. The same is the worry of the soldiers stationed in Amhara beating on supports of FANO. Just like the soldiers going against the querro in Oromia and so fourth. This sort of State of Emergency usually tends to be like that.

Even if this State of Emergency is placed because of the COVID-19 or Coronavirus. I have a feeling it will be used to get people more submissive to the Prosperity Party and the leadership of Addis Ababa. Expect Gondar, Jigjiba, Dire Dawa and Bahir Dar to be hit in these times. I wouldn’t be shocked to see leaked viral clips of assaulting soldiers to innocent civilians. Even reports of arrests and burning houses. Because, that is how these things to spiral out.

I’m awaiting blocked phone-lines, expect social media black-out and internet blockage, which the state has used rampantly in the Oromia region. Therefore, now that they have a legal basis. Have orders from the Central Government, the PP can act like the EPRDF did in the past and can shield information will suppressing the voices of the various regions. While using the COVID-19 as a excuse to do it. It is the perfect storm. The way of preparing the violence before the postponed elections and ensure supremacy. Without having to battle the alliances elsewhere.

The social distancing, the washing hands and the closure of state has happen elsewhere. The world is under a near global lockdown and states has issued similar means. However, the PP and its predecessor EPRDF has misused this in the past and that is not in ancient times. But it was done in the last decade and lots of systemic violence to stop the eruption of protest against the regime. Therefore, with the knowledge of that. I am worried. That is done to dismantle the voices against the government and not stop the spread of the virus itself.

The pictures of soldiers walking in the streets of Amhara, the voices of concern from Ogaden and the arrests of OLF leaders in Oromia. Shows the reasons for fear and worry. If your not, your ignorant to the way the leadership in Addis Ababa has controlled the Republic.

I hope I am wrong, because this COVID-19 is no joke. It is dangerous and contagious. It spreads so quickly and kills. While we have no direct cure or have vaccine for it. Therefore, there is a need to drastic measures to await the possible cure. However, the state who uses lockdown measures has to do it transparently and do it in the open. So the public can trust and live with it in hope, that the government act for their best interests.

Well, in this regard, I am worrying. I hope I am wrong. Because, that would have been nice. However, history teaches us things and the way people operate. Leadership can do reforms, but the reoccurent theme is that only goes skin-deep and is in rhetoric. Not in actual change of protocol nor actions. This is why I fear things. The TPLF is maybe out of the PP. However, the PP is still more of the same and they might strike with vengeance. Now that they have the opportunity. Peace.

International Oromo Lawyers Association: Open letter to the Ethiopian Prime Minster – The Population in Western Oromia Deserves Freedom of Information (20.03.2020)

Ethiopia: OPM – Government Support to Displaced Gedeo (16.03.2019)