Ethiopia: Seb-Hidri civil society Tigray strongly condems the Ethnic cleansing, WAR CRIMES, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, INCLUDING GENOCIDE committed by the Amhara Regional State in Western Tigray (17.05.2021)

Ethiopia: Baytona Leader Sibhat arrested in Addis

Again and again, the state is picking-up and arresting opposition leaders. Today the newest victim of this is Baytona leader Kibrom Sibhat. He was arrested and taken away by federal security officers. The Federal Police took him away and he haven’t been seen. Neither is there any clear report where his detained and what charges he has.

We don’t know what “crime” he has done. Neither what reason there is for his arrest. The only reason it seems… is that his a leader of an opposition party and part of the Tigray National Political Parties Forum, which Baytona is a part off. Which have issued stern press releases and information about the warfare in the Tigray region since early November 2020.

This is political persecution and taking away their liberty, freedom and justice because of their association. The state have done this to other parties too and this is nothing new. However, this is a continuation and is the modus operandi of the regime in Addis Ababa.

This is the reform Abiy have delivered to the Nation and must be his most valuable asset ahead of the election. Since that cannot be dialogue, reforms or even policies worth a damn. I am saying that.. because he rather arrest, detain and keep his political enemies behind bars. Than actually meet them in a free and fair election. His worried he cannot win or have the ability to overcome his opponents.

That’s why its easier to use the monopoly of violence the state has and issues orders of their demise. Therefore, Sibhat of Baytona is just a part of a long list of political prisoners. Who is just happening to be in the opposition. That is just the way it is and the state continues to use it machinery to get its foes behind bars. Peace.

Ethiopia: Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Press statement on the unfair and unwarrented accusations leveld against Ethiopia (17.05.2021)

Ethiopia: Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) – OLA High Command – Press Release (15.05.2021)

Ethiopia: Security and Justice for Tigreans in Ethiopia (SJTE) – Reject the terrorist designation of the TPLF by Mr. Abiy Ahmed (14.05.2021)

Excellencies,

The Security and Justice for Tigreans in Ethiopia (SJTE) wishes to extend its appreciation for the attention the UNSC has given to the war in Tigray and to the atrocities that are being committed there. In our previous letters addressed to this respected body, we detailed the need for a strong and impactful action by the UNSC to stop the war which has become one of the most destructive.

The UNSC instead issued a weak statement that has emboldened Mr. Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister of Ethiopia, and Mr. Isaias Afewerki, the president of Eritrea, to continue their atrocities at a much greater intensity. Just a few days ago, Mr. Abiy asked the Ethiopian parliament to designate his political foes including the TPLF and the people of Tigray as terrorists and parliament complied almost instantly. But this designation has no merit whatsoever. Any government that worked with the TPLF as part of the former ruling coalition in Ethiopia knows that it led a government that fought terrorism and contributed to world peace immensely. The legacy of its effort in peace keeping is evident in the peace keeping missions around Africa today. The designation by Mr. Abiy is rather a sinister political maneuver to continue detaining, torturing, and killing Tigrayans at will. His evil action, like all actions he has taken in the past, is irresponsible, dangerous, and potentially eliminates any hope for a peaceful resolution of the war and will only escalate the ongoing violence, detention, extrajudicial killings, and extermination of the people of Tigray.

The people of Tigray and TPLF are peace-loving. They are not committing terrorism. They are rather the recipients of a dangerous and ugly form of terrorism – state-sponsored terrorism. The government of Mr. Abiy Ahmed in close collaboration with Mr. Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea has been committing widespread extrajudicial killings and massacres over the people of Tigray for six months. Tigrayans throughout Ethiopia also live in fear because they have been the targets of detention and disappearances. If anybody in Tigray or Ethiopia deserves terrorist designations, the governments of Mr. Abiy and Mr. Isaias should be the ones to receive such designation. The people of Tigray, TPLF, or any other organization in Tigray have not done anything that resembles terrorism. To us, the bogus proclamation by the expired Ethiopian parliament is meant to legitimize the governments’ terrorist acts on the people of Tigray and to take away Tigrayan-owned properties and continue incarcerating them without due process.

It behooves the UNSC to ponder whether a regional government elected by more than 80% of eligible Tigray voters can even be designated terrorist. Furthermore, the designation was made by an illegitimate parliament whose term expired seven months ago and does not have a single representative from Tigray.

The designation of Tigray’s TPLF and Oromia’s OLA as terrorist entities is a clear demonstration of Mr. Abiy’s intent to continue the path of violence to silence his political challengers.

Excellencies,

We appreciate the UNSC’s expression of serious concern about the increasingly dire situation in Tigray. But as you are aware, concern alone will not help the people of Tigray. The UNSC must take strong actions similar to that of the former Yugoslavia. It is our belief that the UNSC and the international community have the legal and moral obligation to take a swift action to save the people of Tigray from total annihilation and Ethiopia from total disintegration.

SJTE respectfully demands that the UNSC:

Rejects and condemns the designation of TPLF as a terrorist organization and pressures Mr. Abiy Ahmed to come to the negotiating table.

Takes required actions to remove the Eritrean Army and the Amhara militia from Tigray.

Pressures Mr. Abiy’s government to allow humanitarian aid reach the more than 5 million needy Tigrayans without any restriction.

Demands that Mr. Abiy releases the tens of thousands of Tigrayans detained in different parts of the country including in concentration camps for their political beliefs or for no reason at all.

SJTE urges the UNSC to be actively engaged in resolving this crisis that has the potential to spread throughout the horn of Africa. Ultimately, this crisis can only be solved if the UNSC takes a decisive action commensurate with the problem. Without such action, the crisis will deteriorate and may reach a point of no return, causing a complete collapse of the country and cascading detrimental effects which will destabilize the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea Region.

We thank you and SJTE remains ready to provide additional information. We also would appreciate an acknowledgement of the receipt of this letter.

Respectfully,

SJTE

CC: The European Union

The African Union

Secretary of State

UNSC member states

Mr. Jeffrey Feltman

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.