Ethiopia’s economy neither a sprint nor a marathon – The economist

Africa’s most impressive economic managers suffer from excessive caution

May 30th 2015 | ADDIS ABABA |economist From the print edition

NOWHERE in Africa is modern China more of a lodestar than in Ethiopia, which on May 24th held an uneventful election with a predetermined outcome: another term in office for the long-standing ruling party. The continent’s second most populous country and fastest-growing big economy has close intellectual links with China’s Communists and often sends officials to their party school in Beijing. There Ethiopians imbibe the gospel of industrialisation overseen by a strong state that exerts tight control over an ethnically diverse population with a history of strife.

But all is not well in the relationship. When a new Chinese ambassador arrived in Addis Ababa in February, he presented an unexpectedly awkward message to his hosts. La Yifan told the ruling elite—behind firmly closed doors—that it must discard the isolationism of the past and open up an economy in which the flow of money and information is still restricted. Banking and telecoms are almost antediluvian (see chart). Investors are frustrated. Trade lags expectations. After years of praising the government, the Chinese are now singing from the same hymn sheet as Ethiopia’s Western critics.

The problem is a lack of courage. Many in the Ethiopian government, ruling party and security apparatus acknowledge that only further reforms can sustain the goals of economic growth and political stability. But they are slow to enact them.

The government’s main priority is industrialisation. But endless red tape and restrictions on finance deter investors. Officials point to Huajian, a Chinese shoemaker that has gone from employing 600 locals to 3,500 in a few years. But Ethiopia needs a hundred Huajians. Without faster growth of industry, the country will struggle to absorb labour it hopes to free up from modernising subsistence farms that provide a living to 80% of its people.

The government is trying to help industry by building roads, railways, power stations and dams—following the Chinese playbook. These efforts have kept the official GDP growth rate above 10%, although outside experts reckon a more realistic tally is 7-8%. Inflation has dropped to single digits. But no progress has been made towards joining the World Trade Organisation in the past three years. And the prospects for attracting desperately needed foreign equity capital remain dim.

The fear of being overthrown looms behind the elite’s reluctance to reform. In some ways it is a victim of its own success. Discipline and administrative sophistication have given the elite access to coercive tools that many counterparts on the continent can only dream of. But now it finds it hard to imagine life without them.

The situation has become worse not better since the death in 2012 of Meles Zenawi, the prime minister and architect of the country’s resurrection after a bloody civil war between 1974 and 1991. By force of personality, intellect and ties forged in battle he could on occasion shift the system forward. Admittedly, he hated the private sector and civil society. But at least he removed logjams. After his death the government pulled off a peaceful transition of power. The deputy prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, took over as planned.

The new leadership is much more collective. The prime minister is no Meles, whose legacy as it turns out included masking how divided the regime has always been. Before ministers make decisions now they often need to seek the consent of the old guard. And ethnic Tigrayans, of whom Meles was one, still control the army, security services, telecoms and foreign affairs. It will take at least another decade for them to retire or die.

The new prime minister is a reasonable and, to some extent, reform-minded man. But he is a relatively weak figure. He is probably going to be confirmed as party leader at a congress of the ruling EPRDF in September, but his tenure is not assured. Few have forgotten why Meles chose him: as a political leader from the ethnically fragmented south of the country he is no threat to the more dominant groups.

One senior member of the Chinese community in Ethiopia describes, with some frustration, what he sees as the country’s big problem: that in China the central government dominates the regions but in Ethiopia everything is federal. Business parks are built by regional rota, for example, not in the best locations. Furthermore, Mao’s maxim that “the party controls the gun” is neglected; the securocrats are a law unto themselves.

And lastly, although the senior leadership in Ethiopia is very capable, the country lacks China’s talented mid-level administrators. Overall, many Chinese see a country that is dotted with too many powerful barons.

What the Chinese won’t say but many Western observers do is that political repression also weakens the system. Young people are angry and jobless. Outlets for their frustration are quickly shut off. Sensible opposition leaders are pushed into exile or prison, ceding the field to hotheads. Universities have grown more than tenfold but there are insufficient jobs for all these bright new graduates.

Ethiopia is stuck thanks to its paranoid elite. The country will be able to limp on for a while, given its impressive growth rates. It may even get further boosts from new infrastructure like hydropower. But Ethiopia is missing out on becoming something far more impressive.

ፊታችንን ከምርጫ ፓለቲካ ወደ ሁለገብ ትግል እናዙር！የአርበኞች ግንቦት 7

ምርጫ 2007 ተጠናቆ ተወዳዳሪም አወዳዳሪም የሆነው ህወሓት ይፋ ውጤት እስኪገልጽ እየተጠበቀ ነው። ሁሉ በእጁ ነውና ባለሥልጣኖቹ ምን ዓይነት ውጤት እንደሚስማማቸው እስከሚነግሩን ጥቂት ቀናት ይወስዱ ይሆናል። ከፈለጉ ሁሉን የፓርላማ ወንበሮች ሊወስዷቸው ይችላሉ፤ ካሻቸው ደግሞ ጥቂቱን ለተቃዋሚዎች ሊሰጡ ይችላሉ። ወሳኞቹ እነሱ ናቸው። በዚህ የፓርላማ ወንበሮች እደላ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ድምጽ አንዳችንም ሚና የለውም።

ምርጫ የሕዝብ የሥልጣን ባላቤትነት ማረጋገጫ ከሆኑ አቢይ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ተቋማት አንዱ መሆኑ የታወቀ ነው። ሆኖም ግን ነፃ ተቋማት በሌሉበት፤ በአምባገነኖች አስፈፃሚነት የሚደረግ ምርጫ የመራጮች ነፃ ፍላጎት መግለጫ በመሆን ፋንታ የገዢዎች ሥልጣን ማረጋገጫ መሣሪያ ይሆናል፤ ከአገራችን እየሆነ ያለውም ይህ ነው።

የዘንድሮው ምርጫ 2007 ከዚህ በፊት ከነበሩ በባሰ ለአፈና የተጋለጠ የነበረ መሆኑ ከጅምሩ በግልጽ የታየ ጉዳይ ነበር። በአንድነትና በመኢአድ ፓርቲዎች ላይ አገዛዙ የወሰደው የግፍ እርምጃ የዚሁ የምርጫ ዘረፋ ስትራቴጂ አካል ነበር። ከዚያ በተጨማሪም መራጮች እውነተኛ ፍላጎታቸውን በነፃነት መግለጽ እንይችሉ ዘርፈ ብዙ ጫናዎች ሲደረግባቸው ቆይቷል። የተወዳዳሪ ፓርቲዎች አባላት እንደተፎካካሪ ሳይሆን እንደጠላት ሲሳደዱ፣ ሲታሰሩ፣ ሲደበደቡና ሲገደሉ ሰንብቷል። በምርጫው ሰሞንና በዕለቱ በተለይ ከተሞች በባዕድ ጦር የተወረሩ መስለው ነበር። ይህ ሁሉ ስነልቦናዊና አካላዊ ተጽዕኖ ታልፎ የተሰጠው ድምጽ ቆጣሪው ራሱ “ተወዳዳሪ ነኝ” ባዩ ህወሓት ነው።

በእንዲህ ዓይነት ምርጫ መሳተፍ ትርፉ “በሕዝብ ድምጽ ተመረጥኩ የማለትን እድል ለአምባገኑ ህወሓት መስጠት ነው”፤ “ለዓለም ዓቀፍ ማኅበረሰብም የተምታታ መልዕክት ማስተላለፍ ነው”፤ ”ለህወሓት ተጨማሪ ገንዘብ ማግኛና የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ መከራ ማራዘሚያ ነው“ በሚል በዚህ ምርጫ ላይ ማዕቀብ እንዲደረግ አርበኞች ግንቦት 7 ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ጥሪ ማድረጉ ይታወቃል። በርካታ ወገኖቻችን የምርጫ ካርድ ቢያወጡም የደረሰባቸውን ጫና ተቋቁመው በምርጫው ባለመሳተፍ ላሳዩት ጽናት አርበኞች ግንቦት 7 አድናቆቱን ይገልፃል።

ህወሓት በስልጣን ላይ እስካለ ድረስ የምርጫ ጉዳይ እና የምርጫ ፓለቲካ ግንቦት 7 ቀን 1997 ዓም የተጠናቀቀ ቢሆንም እንኳን ተጨማሪ ማስረጃ ለሚፈልጉ ግንቦት 16 ቀን 2007 መጥቶላቸዋል። አሁን ከፊታችን የተደቀነው ጥያቄ የሚከተለው ነው – አገራችን ከህወሓት አፈና ነፃ ለማውጣት ያለን አማራጭ መንገድ ምንድነው？

አርበኞች ግንቦት 7: የአንድነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ ህወሓት ከኢትዮጵያዊያን ጫንቃ የሚወርደው ሕዝባዊ እምቢተኝነትና ሕዝባዊ አመጽን ባቀናጀ ሁሉገብ ትግል ነው ብሎ ያምናል። በዚህም መሠረት ለሁለቱም የትግል ዘርፎች ተስማሚ የሆኑ አደረጃጀቶችን አዘጋጅቷል።

ሕዝባዊ እምቢተኝነት፣ ታጋዩ ከመኖርያ ወይም ከሥራ ቦታው ሳይለቅ በህቡዕ የሚከናወን ትግል ነው። ሕዝባዊ አመጽ ደግሞ ከመኖሪያና ሥራ ቦታ ለቆ መንቀሳቀስን ይጠይቃል። ሁለቱም የትግል ዘዴዎች የህወሓትን ህጎች በመቃወም የሚደረጉ ናቸው። ሁለቱም የትግል ዘዴዎች ድርጅት፣ ዲሲሊንና ጽናትን ይጠይቃሉ። ለድላችን ሁለቱም የትግል ዘርፎች እኩል ዋጋ አላቸው። እናም ከዛሬ ጀምሮ እያንዳንዱ ኢትዮጵያዊ እንደዝንባለውና አቅሙ በሚመቸው የትግል ዘርፍ ይሳተፍ። ሕዝባዊ ኃይልን መቀላቀል የቻለ ይቀላቀል፤ ያልቻለው በያለበት ተደራጅቶ በሕዝባዊ እምቢተኝነት ይታገል።

በየመኖሪያ ሠፈሩና በሥራ ቦታዎች የሚቋቋሙ የአርበኞች ግንቦት 7 ማኅበራት በርካታ ሥራዎች አሏቸው። ከሁሉ አስቀድሞ ድርጅትን ማጠናከር የሁላችንም ድርሻ መሆኑ ሊዘነጋ አይገባም፤ እናም ትኩረታችን እዚያ ላይ እናድርግ። እያንዳንዳችን ከሚመስሉንና ከምናምናቸው ጋር ተነጋግረን እንደራጅ፤ ወያኔ የሸረሸረብንን በራስ መተማመን እና የእርስ በርስ መተማመንን መልሰን እንገንባ። ውስጥ ውስጡን ጠንካራ አገራዊ ኅብረት እንፍጠር፤ የዕለት ተዕለት ተግባሮቻችን ደግሞ አካባቢያዊ ይሁኑ። ድርጅታችንን እያጠናከርን ወያኔን ከሁሉም አቅጣጫ እንሸርሽረው እንገዝግዘው። በዚህ መንገድ በሚደረግ ሕዝባዊ ትግል የሚገኝ ድል ፈጣን ከመሆኑን በላይ የድሉ ሕዝባዊነት ጥያቄ ውስጥ የማይገባ ይሆናል።

ስለሆነም እያንዳንዱ ለውጥ ፈላጊ ኢትዮጵያዊ ታጥቆ እንዲነሳ፤ ወደ ተግባራዊ ትግል ፊቱን እንዲያዞር አርበኞች ግንቦት 7 ጥሪ ያቀርባል።

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ!!!

የአርበኞች ግንቦት 7 መግለጫ

On The Scene: In Ethiopia, ‘Are You a Journalist?’ Is a Loaded Question

May 28, 2015

(VOA NEWS) ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — Are you a journalist?” the young man asks me as we board the elevator.

In Ethiopia, this is a loaded question.  It earned me an extra 45-minute wait at airport immigration as officials thumbed through my passport, pawed through my luggage and asked me what my intentions were.

Several international human rights groups have documented the systematic repression of Ethiopian journalists who were openly critical of the ruling party.  About a dozen journalists and bloggers are in Ethiopian prison, accused of terrorism.  Many more have fled into exile and are covering this year’s election from afar.

“Yes,” I sigh.

“I’m not happy with this election,” he blurts out.  “There is no democracy in Ethiopia.”

Bold, I think admiringly.  This is new – when I was assigned to Ethiopia eight years ago, in the aftermath of the government’s violent reaction to an opposition gains in the 2005 election, those sentiments were rarely spoken aloud – and certainly not to random journalists.

Is he trying to bait me? I wonder.

“Oh?” I say, cautiously. “Yes, I’ve heard people say that.”

I get off at my floor, rattled.

On the campaign trail, the nation’s newest opposition party winds its way through Addis Ababa.  Crowds emerge to watch the procession.

People take part in a Blue Party election rally in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, May 21, 2015.

“Please, I am journalist from America,” I say in Amharic at every stop, waving at my camera theatrically.  “Do you have opinion on the election please?  Will you give interview?”

No one volunteers.  One man covers his face when he sees me filming the street.  The guy next to him takes his phone out and points it in my direction.  I remove my sunglasses and stare at him.

Opposition members say they’re confident of getting support at the polling booth.  Blue Party spokesman Yonatan Tesfaye even predicts the various opposition parties will grab as many as 100 parliamentary seats, out of more than 500.  This would indeed be a triumph: in 2010, the opposition won just a single seat.

One opposition candidate, Yidinakachaw Addis, tells me he was arrested while trying to take food to his imprisoned friends, also opposition supporters.

“I know it’s very difficult to participate in politics, especially in our country,” he says.  “I know, even I will be in prison one day.  So I am happy, even if I will join my friends in prison, I will be happy for that.  I think I did something best for my country.”

Later, the internet has failed in my hotel room, sending me frantically down to the lobby to try to transmit a TV story on the opposition campaign.

Another young man on the elevator.  I gesture to my laptop, explain in Amharic, “There is no internet in my house.” (I don’t know the word for hotel room.)

“It’s the government,” he responds, to my surprise.  “There’s an election coming and they want to stop the internet.”

Overcome, I show him a snippet of my story.  “If you don’t follow them and if you don’t join them and if you don’t do what they need, you can’t do what you need,” says Abdurahim Jemal Araya, a self-described political refugee living in South Africa.  “And you need to follow them, each and every thing they are telling you, because there is no democracy at all in our country.”

The young man nods.

“That is my feeling too,” he says grimly.

Election day starts before dawn.  People line up at a typical Addis Ababa polling station.  It is calm, orderly, polite.  I go from station to station, and at all but one of them my election badge allows me easy access.

“What are you doing here?” asks a burly dude in a leather jacket at that one station.

I’m tempted to tell him I’m on vacation, and just thought it might be fun to, you know, drop by a polling station at 6 a.m. with a video camera.  But more burly dudes come over.  They tell me to wait, order me to point my camera at the ground.

Finally an election official comes out and scrutinizes my badge.

After a long wait, he tells me, “It’s okay, you are allowed.”

“I know,” I say tartly.

I have little trouble finding ruling party voters.  They are, after all, the majority.  But I approach voter after voter in an attempt to get a variety of views.  Several actually run away from me.

The next day, I meet someone who knows one of the nine jailed bloggers and journalists.  He asks not to be identified for fear of reprisal.  He says he fears that talking to me so soon after the election could make things worse for the group.

I grill the poor man.  “Is it possible,” I ask, “that any one of the nine could have links to actual groups trying to overthrow the Ethiopian government?”  That’s the ostensible reason for their imprisonment.  Could his friend, who he swears is innocent, have been accidentally pulled in over her head?

He shakes his head and notes that the prosecution hasn’t presented any evidence of terrorism.

“I think it’s a fear of the future rather than a crime of their past that they were arrested for,” he says, explaining that the longtime ruling EPRDF party fears reprisals if they ever lose power.

There’s no obvious sign of this repression he’s talking about.  As we sit and talk in a cafe, we both look nervously at a succession of lone men who fill up the tables near us, studying their phones.

I later drop in to see a local business owner, who tells me that three of his workers called in to say they were too afraid to come to work.  They refused, he says, to say more.

We talk about rampant rumors that the ruling party has won 100 percent of the vote this time, and I stress that only official results count.

He raises an eyebrow at me, as if to say, “Really?”

As journalists, we are limited to the attributed, the concrete, the verifiable, and the achievable.  And so, my stories from this election show orderly polling stations, happy voters, and government supporters.

They also include mild endorsement from the only foreign observer mission, the African Union, which said the election was peaceful and credible, although they not use the words “free and fair.”

But my stories on this election are largely missing a silent, and silenced, group. I have no idea how big this group really is, as many won’t speak to me once the video camera or voice recorder come out.

Those who told me they didn’t bother to vote insisted that information was off the record.  The blogger-journalist group tried to vote, the friend says, as they have not been convicted of anything and therefore are still eligible.  But prison authorities told them there was no nearby polling station.

Opposition campaigner Ephraim Sahle Selassie says he believes that free expression is unstoppable, with the growth of technology and social media.

But for now, in Ethiopia, free expression is just a dream for the future.

ኢህአዴግ ሆይ ነቄ ነን ተቀየስ! (ርዕዮት አለሙ – ከቃልቲ እስርቤት)

ርዕዮት አለሙ – ከቃሊቲ እስርቤት

አራት ሆነን ወደምንኖርበት የአሁኑ የማግለያ ክፍል ከመግባቴ በፊት በርካታ እስረኞች በተለምዶ የአራድኛ ቃላት የሚባሉትን በመጠቀም ሲነጋገሩ የመስማት እድል ነበረኝ፡፡ ለርዕሴ የመረጥኳቸው ቃላትንም ያገኘሁት ከነሱው መሆኑን መግለፅ ይኖርብኛል፡፡ ነገሩ እንዲህ ነው፤

አንዳንድ እስረኞች የሚፈልጉትን አንዳች ነገር ለማግኘት በጉልበታቸው ወይም ጤፍ በሚቆላ ምላሳቸው ይጠቀማሉ፡፡ ሀይልን በመጠቀም ያስገድዳሉ ወይም ያታልላሉ ማለት ነው፡፡ እንዲህ አይነቶቹ እስረኞች እንደለመዱት ለማድረግ ሲሞክሩ አንዳንዴ ደፋርና የማይታለሉ እስረኞች ላይ ይወድቃሉ፡፡ እናም ለማታለል ወይ ለማስገደድ የሞከረች ባለጌ የሚጠብቃት መልስ “ነቄ ነን እባክሽ! ተቀየሽ! ንኪው!”የሚል ይሆናል፡፡ እኛን ማታለልም ሆነ ማስፈራራት ስለማትችይ ይቅርብሽ፡፡ ዞርበይልን እንደማለት ነው፡፡

ኢህአዴግም እያደረጋቸው ያለው የማታለል ሙከራዎችና ተገቢ ያልሆኑ የሀይል እርምጃዎች ተመሳሳይ ምላሽ ሊያሰጡት እንደሚገባ አምናለሁ፡፡ የዘንድሮውን ምርጫ ለማለፍ ከወትሮው በከፋ ሁኔታ እየሄደባቸው ያሉት እነዚህ ሁለት ጠማማ መንገዶች መጨረሻቸው አውዳሚ ነው፡፡ በመሆኑም “ኢህአዴግ ሆይ ነቄ ነን ተቀየስ!” በማለት እኛና ሀገራችንን ይዞ ወደጥፋት እያደረገ ያለውን ግስጋሴ መግታት ይገባል፡፡

ጠማማ መንገድ አንድ

የፈሪ ዱላውን የመዘዘው ኢህአዴግ

ኢህአዴግ የተቃዉሞ ድምፆችን በሰማበት አቅጣጫ ሁሉ ዱላውን ይዞ የሚሮጥና ያለሀሳብ የፈሪ ምቱን የሚያሳርፍ ደንባራ መሆኑን በተደጋጋሚ በተግባር አይተናል፡፡ በሰሜን አፍሪካ አመፅ ተቀሰቀሰ ሲባል ለአመፅ ምክንያት የሚሆኑ ድክመቶቹንና ጥፋቶቹን ከማስወገድ ይልቅ ነቅተው ሊያነቁብኝ ይችላሉ ብሎ የጠረጠረንን ጋዜጠኞችንና የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲ መሪዎችን ለእስር መዳረጉ ከቅርብ ጊዜ ተዝታዎቻችን ውስጥ ይጠቀሳል፡፡ የሩቁን ብንተወው እንኳ ማለት ነው፡፡

በሀይማኖት ተቋማት ውስጥ እንኳ ሳይቀር ገብቶ ያለአግባብ ያሰራቸው የሙስሊም ሀይማኖት መሪዎችና አማኞች የማደናበሩ ማሳያዎች ናቸው፡፡ ካለፈው አመት ጀምሮ የምርጫውን ዝግጅት ማድረግ የጀመረው እንደለመደው ከሱ የተለየ ሀሳብ የሚያንፀባርቁ ጋዜጦችንና መፅሔቶችን በመዝጋትና፣ ጋዜጠኞችንና ፖለቲከኞችን በማሰርና በመደብደብ ነበር፡፡ በምሳሌነት የዞን ዘጠኝ ጦማሪያንና የሶስቱን ጋዜጠኞች ጉዳይ ማንሳት ይቻላል፡፡

ዘንድሮ ደግሞ ኢህአዴግን በድፍረት በመሄስ የሚታወቀውን ጋዜጠኛ ተመስገን ደሳለኝን ጨምሮ ምርጫ ቦርድን በመጠቀም ያለአግባብ ከፓርቲያቸው እንዲገለሉ ያደረጋቸውን የአንድነት ፓርቲ አባላትን በግፍ ማሰሩን ተያይዞታል፡፡ በተመሰረቱ በአጭር ጊዜ ውስጥ ለኢህአዴግ ፈተና የሆኑበት ደፋሮቹ የሰማያዊ ወጣቶችም የኢህአዴግ ሰለባ እየሆኑ ነው፡፡ የየትኛውም ፓርቲ አባላት ያልሆኑና ቅሬታቸውን በተለያዩ መድረኮች ያሰሙ በርካታ ግለሰቦችም ተመሳሳይ እጣ ገጥሟቸዋል፡፡

ኢህአዴግ ይሄን ሁሉ የፈሪ ዱላውን እያዘነበ የሚገኘው በሚወስዳቸው እርምጃዎች ከተቃዉሞ ድምፆችና እንቅስቃሴ የሚገላገል እየመሰለው ነው፡፡ እንደተሳሳተ ማን ቢነግረው ይሻል ይሆን? የራሱን ዜጎች ማክበር ስለማይሆንለት የአሜሪካ ምክትል የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር እንድትነግርልን ብናደርግ ሳይሻል አይቀርም፡፡ ለማንኛውም የሚኒስትሯን ጉዳይ ለጊዜው እንተወውና በሀገራችን ዴሞክራሲ ሰፍኖ ለማየት የቆረጥን እኛ ግን ከትግላችን ለሰከንድም ቢሆን እንደማናፈገፍግና በዚህም ምክንያት የሚደርስብንን ሁሉ ለመቀበል ፍቃደኞች እንደሆንን ልንነግረው ያስፈልጋል፡፡ “ኢህአዴግ ሆይ እየበዛኸው ያለኸው ግፍና በደል ይበልጥ ጠንካሮች ያደርገናል እንጂ አንተ እንደፈለከው አያንበረክከንም ነቄ ነን ተቀየስ” ልንለውና ጥንካሬያችንንም በተግባር ልናሳየው ይገባል ፡፡

ጠማማ መንገድ ሁለት

“አይናችሁን ጨፍኑ ላሞኛቹ” ማለትን የሚወደው ኢህአዴግ

ኢህአዴግ እንደጠቀስኳቸው አይነቶችና ሌሎች የሀይል እርምጃዎችን በአብዛኛው የሚወስደው ሊያሞኛቸው እንደማይችል በተረዳው በነቁ ሰዎች ላይ ነው፡፡ እንዳልነቅ የገመታቸውን ደግሞ እንደጨለመባቸው እንዲቀሩ የሚያደርግ የሚመስለውን የሀሰት ፕሮፓጋንዳ ያዘጋጅላቸዋል፡፡ አንዳንድ ጊዜ ታዲያ ይሄ ግምቱ ግቡን መምታቱ ይቀርና እንደሚያታልላቸው እርግጠኛ በሆነባቸው ዘንድ ሳይቀር መሳቂያ ሲያደርገው ይስተዋላል፡፡ ሌሎቹን ትቼ ለምርጫው ካዘጋጃቸው ማታለያዎቹ ውስጥ እጅግ በጣም ጥቂቶቹን ላንሳ፡፡

2.1 ተቃዋሚዎች አማራጭ የላቸውም፡፡

በተለይ በዘንድሮው ምርጫ ጆሮአችን እስኪያንገሸግሸው ድረስ ኢህአዴግ ሊግተን ከሞከራቸው ሀሳቦች ውስጥ “ተቃዋሚዎች አማራጭ የላቸውም” የሚለው ዋነኛው ነው፡፡ ገዢው ፓርቲ በእውነተኛና ጠንካራ ተቃዋሚዎች ላይ እየፈፀመ ያለውን ደባ የሚያውቅ ሁሉ ይሄ ሀሳብ በውስጡ በርካታ ሴራዎችን የያዘ መሆኑን ይረዳል፡፡ እንዴት ማለት ጥሩ! ኢህአዴግ ሰራኋቸው ብሎ የሚመፃደቅባቸውን ስራዎች በሙሉ ከነድክመቶቻቸውም ቢሆን መስራት የጀመረው ባለፉት አስርት አመታት መሆኑ ይታወቃል፡፡ ዕድሜ ለ1997ዓ.ም የተቃዋሚዎች ድንቅ አማራጭና እንቅስቃሴ! ከዚያ በፊትማ ጥልቅ እንቅልፍ ውስጥ ነበር፡፡ በዚያ የምርጫ ወቅት ከተቃዋሚዎች ጋር ባደገረው ክርክሮች ባዶነቱ የታየበት ኢህአዴግ ራቁቱን ከመሸፈን ይልቅ ተቃዋሚዎችን መግፈፍ መፍትሔ አድርጎ ወሰደ፡፡ ያለፉትን አስር አመታት ሙሉ ጠንካራ አማራጭ ያላቸውንና በሀሳብ የተገዳደሩትን ፓርቲዎች በአንድም ሆነ በሌላ መንገድ የማፍረስ፣መሪዎችን የማሰርና የማሳደድ እርምጃዉን ገፋበት፡፡ በዚህ ድርጊቱም በርካታ ጠንካራ ፖለቲከኞችን ከጫዋታ ዉጪ አደረጋቸው፡፡ ባደረሰባቸው ከባድ ኩርኩም ተቃዋሚዎችን ድንክ እንዳደረጋቸው እርግጠኝነት የተሰማው ገዢው ፓርቲ “ተቃዋሚዎች አማራጭ የላቸውም” ብሎ ለመፎከር በቃ፡፡ ድሮስ በራሱ የማይተማመን ሰው ሁሌም ትልቅ ለመምሰል የሚሞክረው ጠንካሮችን በማስወገድና በደካሞች ራሱን በመክበብ አይደል? የተቃዉሞው ሰፈር በየቀኑ ከኢህአዴግ በሚሰነዘርበት የሀይል ጥቃት ከፍተኛ ጉዳት እንደደረሰበት አያጠያይቅም፡፡ ሆኖም ዛሬም ቢሆን የኢህአዴግ ባለስልጣናት ጉንጫቸው እስኪቀላ ድረስ የሚገዳደሩና መልስ የሚያሳጡ ሰዎች አላጣንም፡፡ የሞኝ ለቅሶ መልሶ መላልሶ እንዲሉ ኢህአዴጎች ግን “ተቃዋሚዎች አማራጭ የላቸውም” የሚለዉን ነጠላ ዜማቸውን ለማቆም አልፈለጉም፡፡ ጠንካራ አማራጭ ያላቸውን ከጎዳናው ላይ በማስወገድ ብቸኛ ባለአማራጭ ሆነው ለመታየት በተግባር የሚያደርጉትን ሙከራ ማጀቢያ ሙዚቃ መሆኑ ነው፡፡ በመሆኑም “ኢህአዴጎች ሆይ ነቄ ነን ተቀነሱ!” ብለን ልናስቆማቸው ይገባል፡፡

2.2 በዕውቀት ላይ የተመሰረተ ምርጫ

ይሄ ምርጫ አልፎ ከመስማት ልገላገላቸው ከምፈልገው ሸፍጥ የተሞላባቸው የኢህአዴግ ፕሮፓጋንዳዎች አንዱ “የምርጫ ቅስቀሳውና ክርክሩ በዕውቀት ላይ የተመሰረተ ምርጫ ለማካሄድ እንደረዳቸው የእንትን ከተማ ነዋሪዎች ገለፁ” የሚለው ይገኝበታል፡፡ አስቀድሜ እንደገለፅኩት ገዢው ፓርቲ ተቃዋሚዎች አማራጭ እንደሌላቸው ደጋግሞ ነግሮናል፡፡ እንግዲህ በዚህ ስሌት መሰረት ከሄድን እየተፎካከሩ ያሉት ባለአማራጭ ኢህአዴግና አማራጭ የሌላቸው ተቃዋሚዎች ናቸው ማለት ነው፡፡ ከውድድሩ ሜዳ ላይ ሊገዳደሩት የሚችሉትን ሁሉ ለማስወገድ የሞከረው ኢህአዴግ በሱ ቤት ብቸኛና ምርጥ ቀስቃሽ የሆነ መስሎታል፡፡ “በዕውቀት ላይ የተመሰረተ ምርጫ” እያለ የሚያደረቁረንም ለዚህ ነው፡፡

አይ ኢህአዴግ! በዕውቀት ላይ የተመሰረተ ምርጫ እንዲካሄድ እንደማይፈልግ ተግባሩ እንደሚመሰከርበት እንኳ አይታየውም፡፡ አንድ ምሳሌ ልጥቀስ፡፡ በገዢው ፓርቲ የሚሽከረከሩ የሚዲያ ተቋማት የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎችን የምርጫ ቅስቀሳ ሳያስተናግዱ የቀሩባቸው ግዜያት ነበሩ፡፡ ህገመንግስቱ ገለልተኛ መሆናቸውን የገለፀውን ተቋማት ገለልተኝነት ጥያቄ ውስጥ ያስገባ ይዘት ያለው ቅስቀሳ ነው በሚል፡ አሳዛኝና አስቂኝ ምክንያት! እንደምርጫ ቦርድ፣ ፍርድቤትና የመሳሰሉት ያሉትን ገለልተኛ መሆን የሚገባቸውና በተግባር ግን ሆነው ያልተገኙ ተቋማትን መሞገት እንኳን የማይችል ተቃዋሚ መፈለግ ምን የሚሉት አምባገነንነት ነው? ሁሉም ነገር በአንድ በእርሱ የተበላሸ መስመር እንዲሄድ የሚፈልግና የተለዩ ሀሳቦችን ለማስተናገድ ያልፈቀደ ፓርቲ የሚያካሂደው ምን አይነት በዕውቀት ላይ የተመሰረተ ምርጫ እንደሚሆን አይገባኝም፡፡

ፅድቁ ቀርቶ በወጉ በኮነነኝ እንዲሉ በመጀመሪያ ደረጃ ለውጥ የምንፈልግበት ምክንያት በዋናነት ያን ያህል ምሁራዊ ንድፈሀሳቦችን የሚጠይቅና የተወሳሰበም አይደለም፡፡ ኢህአዴግ ሆይ አይደለህም እንጂ ጎበዝ ተከራካሪ ብትሆን እንኳ እንደሰውና እንደዜጋ የመኖር መብታችንን የገፈፍክ አምባገነን ሆነህ ሳለ አፈጮሌ ስለሆንክ ብቻ እንድታስተዳድር የምንፈልግ ጅሎች መስለንህ ከሆነ ተሳስተሀል፡፡ ነቄ ነን አልንህ እኮ!

2.3 ከ “የህዝቡን ድምፅ መቀበል” እስከ “አስፈላጊው እርምጃ”

የምርጫውን መቅረብ ተከትሎ ኢህአዴግ እየነገረን ያለው ሌላው ጉዳይ የህዝቡን ድምፅ መቀበል እንደሚገባ ነው፡፡ ድምፄ ይከበርልኝ ብሎ አደባባይ የወጣን ህዝብ በመግደል ስልጣኑን በደም ያራዘመው ኢህአዴግ ይሄን ለማለት ምን የሞራል መሰረት አለው? ፈፅሞ ሊኖረው አይችልም፡፡ ነገሩ ወዲህ ነው፡፡ ኢህአዴግ አጭበርብሮም ሆነ በስልጣን ለመሰንበት ማንኛቸውንም ጉዳይ ፈፅሞ ካበቃ በኋላ በምርጫ ቦርድ “አሸናፊነቱ” ሲታወጅለት የህዝቡ ድምፅ እንደሆነ ተቆጥሮ እንዲወሰድለት ይፈልጋል፡፡ ስቴድየም “ድሉን” ምክንያት በማድረግ በሚያዘጋጀው ዝግጅት ላይም “መሾምና መሻር ለሚችለው የህዝቡ ሉአላዊ ስልጣን ” እጅ ለመንሳትም በእጅጉ ቋምጧል፡፡ የአሁኑ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሪያችን እንደ ቀድሞው ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ኮፍያቸውን አንስተውና ከወገባቸው ዝቅ ብለው ላልመረጣቸው ህዝብ “የእንኳን መረጥከን” ምስጋና ሲያቀርቡ እንደምናይ ለመገመት እደፍራለሁ፡፡ ይሄንን ድርጊት ለማሰናከል የሞከረ ሰው ደግሞ “አስፈላጊዉ እርምጃ” እንደሚወሰድበት አንዴ ኮሚሽነር፣ ሌላ ጊዜ ምክትል ኮሚሽነር ሲያሻው ደግሞ በርካታ ኮማንደሮችን ዋቢ እያደረገ ሰሞኑን ኢብኮ ሊያስጠነቅቀን ሞክሯል፡፡

ከፍተኛ መኮንኖቹም በቂ ትጥቅ እንዳሟሉና ከ2006ዓ.ም ጀምሮ ዝግጅት ሲያደርጉ እንደከረሙ በኩራት ሊነግሩን ሞክረዋል፡፡ ዝግጅታቸው ለእውነተኛ የሀገር ጠላትና አሸባሪ ቢሆን ኖሮ ኩራታቸው ኩራታችን ይሆን ነበር፡፡ ግን ዝግጅታቸው ለኢህአዴግ ተቀናቃኞች መሆኑን በሚገባ ስለምናውቅ ስሜታቸውን ልንጋራቸው አልቻልንም፡፡ ኢብኮ ከመኮንኖቹ ንግግር መሀል እያስገባ ሲያሳየን የነበረው የታጣቂና የትጥቅ ብዛትም የ “አርፋቹ ተቀመጡ” መልዕክትን ያዘለ ነው፡፡ በእኔ በኩል ለውጥ ያለፅናት ሊታሰብ እንደማይችልና ቦግ ድርግም በሚል አይነት ትግል ድል እንደማይገኝ ስለማምን ሁሌም በመስመሬ ላይ ነኝ፡፡ በትግሉ ውስጥ ያሉትን ሁሉ የምመክረውም ይሄንኑ ነው፡፡ ይሄ አቋማችን ህይወታችንን እስከመስጠት የሚያደርስ መስዕዋትነት ሊጠይቀን እንደሚችል አሳምሬ አውቃለሁ፡፡

ለሀገራችንና ለህዝቡ መልካም ለውጥ ለማምጣት እስከሆነ ድረስ ይሁን፡፡ ነገር ግን በትግሉ ውስጥ ያላችሁትን ሁሉ ትግሉን ወደፊት ሊያራምድ ከማይችልና ኢህአዴግን የበለጠ ስልጣን ላይ እንዲደላደል ከሚያደርግ አጉል መስዕዋትነት እንድትቆጠቡ አደራ እላለሁ፡፡ የምታደርጉት እንቅስቃሴ የተጠና፣ የለውጥ ሀይሎችን በሙሉ በአንድነት ያሰባሰበ፣ ቀጣይነት ያለውና በተቻለ መጠን አደጋን የሚቀንስ እንዲሆን ያስፈልጋል፡፡ ይሄንን በማድረግ ትግሉን ሊያስቆም ወይም ደግሞ የጅምላ እስርን ሊፈፅምና ሀገራችንን በደም አበላ ሊነክር የተዘጋጀውን ኢህአዴግ የትኛውም ፍላጎቱ ቢሆን እንዲሳካ ባለመፍቀድ “ነቄ ነን ተቀየስ! ” ልትሉት ይገባል፡፡

በመጨረሻም

ኢህአዴግን “ነቄ ነን ተቀየስ” ልንልባቸው የሚገቡንና ሌሎችንም እንዲነቁበት ማድረግ የሚገባን በርካታ ጉዳዮች ቢኖሩም ያለሁበት ሁኔታ ብዙ ለመፃፍም ሆነ እናንተጋ እንዲደርስ ለማድረግ ፈፅሞ አመቺ አይደለም፡፡ አሁን አሁንማ የምርጫውን መቃረብ አስመልክቶ የሚፈትሹኝ፣ የሚያጅቡኝ ሆነ ቤተሰብ የሚያገናኙኝ በሙሉ የህወሓት ሰዎች ብቻ እንዲሆኑ ተደርጓል፡፡ ራሱን የብሔረሰቦች መብት አስከባሪ አድርጎ የሚያቀርበው ገዢው ፓርቲ ምነው እኔን ለመፈተሽና ለመጠበቅ እንኳ ሌሎቹን ብሔረሰቦች ማመን አቃተው?የፖለቲካ እስረኛ የሆኑ ወገኖችም ላይ ተመሳሳይ ሁኔታ እንደሚፈፀም ይገባኛል፡፡ ኢህአዴግ እንዲህ ከሚያደርግበት በርካታ ምክንያቶች አንዱ ሌላው የህብረተሰብ ክፍል የትግራይ ወገኖቹ ላይ ጥርጣሬና ጥላቻ እንዲያድርበት ለማድረግ እንደሆነ እገነዘባለሁ፡፡ የትግራይ ህዝብ ሌላው ብሔረሰብ በጥሩ አይን አያየኝም የሚል የተሳሳተ ግንዛቤ እንዲኖረውና ሳይወድ በግዱ የህወሓት ባርያ ሆኖ እንዲቀር መሆኑ ነው፡፡ አይ ኢህአዴግ! ፓርቲና ህዝብ መለየት የምንችል ነቄዎች መሆናችንን ረሳኸው እንዴ? የትግራይ ልጆችም ቢሆኑ ሴራህ ገብቷቸው አብረውን እየታገሉህ በመሆናቸውና ያልነቁትንም እያነቁ በመሆናቸው የሚሳካልህ አይመስለኝም፡፡

እንደው እንደው ግን እናንተዬ ከላይ የጠቀስኩት ከፋፋይ ባህርይው ብቻ እንኳን ኢህአዴግን ለመታገል ከበቂም በላይ ምክንያት አይሆንም? ይሆናል እንደምትሉኝ አውቃለሁ፡፡ በመሆኑም ይሄን በዜጎች መሀከል ጥላቻን ለመዝራት የሚሞክር መርዘኛ መንግስት ከትከሻችን ላይ አሽቀንጥሮ ለመጣልና ነፃነታችንን ለማወጅ በአንድ ላይ እንቆም ዘንድ ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ጥሪዬን አቀርባለሁ፡፡

ርዕዮት አለሙ ከቃሊቲ እስርቤት

Democratic Deficit Pushes Ethiopia to Dictatorship

In the good old days, it used to be the tradition of dictators to sit at home and never show their faces in the capitals or in most parts of their own countries. They respected the self-imposed isolation in the grand palace prison they constructed and did not pretend to love or be loved.

It was a very refreshing condition for their subjects. They listened to the pronouncements of the dictator on the radio, watched the dictator cutting some ribbon surrounded by his security force on television or read about him in the local rag that passed itself as a newspaper.

Modern dictatorships rely on repression and control of the economy, military, media and culture. They also develop nationalistic ideologies and they create groups and mass organisations that build links within the elite and with the masses.

The dictator himself embodies the regime as a whole, inspiring fear and confidence, pride and hope. He must be tough, self-confident and decisive, daring but balanced.

Whether as a vigorous young revolutionary or as a respected and wise elder, he must be capable of imposing his will on others. He must awe the masses to command respect but also needs to appear as one of them to work his populist magic. The purpose of my rule, he tells his people, is to elevate you.

Dictators seek power and glory rather than wealth, but unlimited control can turn the modern dictator into a megalomaniac. Kim II Sung, former Communist leader of North Korea, had a fifty-six-storey tower built to mark his seventieth birthday, with one piece of granite for each day of his life.

North Korean literature is largely devoted to his worship. He made his son the imminent political heir. Kim II Sung’s version of Marxism, juche, studied mandatorily in after-work classes, stresses national self-reliance and is more reminiscent of Third World ideology than of Moscovite orthodoxy.

There is no unemployment, no private cars, and no freedom. People are even marched out of their workplaces in formation at the end of the day.

Most modern dictators prefer to keep their cult of personality under some control. Syria’s Bashir Al-Assad does not drink, has only one wife, and gave up chain-smoking overnight for health reasons. Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran ordered his photo removed from mosques and asked the media to reduce the space devoted to him. But the dictator must also be a public figure, the country’s leading celebrity and rock star.

A country built on struggle reverses the proprieties of a long-established stable society. Moderate forces tend to be at a disadvantage, since they are thought to be more willing to compromise with the old system of traditional dictatorship or colonialism.

Similarly, lack of acceptance by the West is a badge of honor, and the opposite can cause shame and suspicion. Politicians find peasant origins an advantage; time in prison is a source of pride. What is deemed moral and proper by the West is often seen as part of an exploitative system, and terrorism often is rationalised by various arguments.

All non-democratic governments supply public goods such as roads, police, public schools and sanitation. But their regimes are characterised by the size of the group controlling power relative to the population.

Both are extremes – dictatorship, rule by a single individual; and ideal democracy, where the entire citizenry shares power. While the extremes are seldom observed in practice, the terms dictatorship and democracy are used as convenient labels to describe less versus more inclusive regimes.

The link between political regimes and public goods provision has a straightforward intuition. In a dictatorship, where political influence is concentrated, a rational government leader will spend the public budget mainly on transfers targeted to politically influential groups. Spending on a nonexclusive public good is unwise because much of a public good’s benefit would spill over to less influential outsiders.

In a democracy, where control of the government requires satisfying a large fraction of the population, direct transfers are relatively unattractive because the large size of the group whose support must be won, dilutes the benefit each member receives. Spending heavily on the public good makes sense in this circumstance, due to the economies of scale inherent in supplying a public good to a larger population.

Ethiopia, a country marred with serious governance shortfalls, is one of the 20 countries with the lowest Human Development Index (HDI) in the world. Some 25 million people in Ethiopia are still living below the poverty line even though billions of dollars have been frequently granted by the wealthiest countries of the world.

Regardless of what is proclaimed by Ethiopia’s ruling elite, the basic purpose of development is to enlarge people’s choices. In principle, these choices can be infinite and can change over time.

People often value achievements that do not show up, or not immediately, in income or growth figures: greater access to knowledge, better nutrition and health services, more secure livelihoods, security against crime and physical violence, satisfying leisure hours, political and cultural freedoms and a sense of participation in community activities. The objective of development is to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives.

Humanitarian involvement of independent civil society organisations (CSOs), in the struggle against poverty is required in the poorest countries, like Ethiopia, as it is vital to achieve the goal of poverty reduction. There are three major dimensions of struggle against poverty: social, economic, and political development.

Respect for human rights and quality governance are the two major elements of political struggle to defeat poverty. Thus, the multidimensional humanitarian operation of independent organisations is one of the positive instruments that, in the long-term, may gain potentiality to peacefully shift a dictatorial regime to a democratic system of governance.

However, independent concern to reduce poverty is against the political interest of the ruling party because poverty is employed as a tool by the regime to protect its anti-democratic system of governance. For me, this is the main reason why we, Ethiopians, have remained in the most wretched poverty, though the ruling party has received a sum of 31 billion dollars in development aid from Western donors since 1991.

Rights groups said elections in Ethiopia, would not be free or fair

(AP) Rights groups said elections on Sunday in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, would not be free or fair due to a clampdown on freedom of speech.

Ethiopia on Sunday holds its first general election since the death of long-time strongman Meles Zenawi whose successor, Hailemariam Desalegn, is almost certain to stay in office.

Over 36.8 million Ethiopians have registered to vote in what is seen by the international community as a key test of the state’s commitment to bringing greater democracy to the Horn of Africa nation.

Rights groups routinely accuse Ethiopia of clamping down on opposition supporters and journalists and using anti-terrorism laws to silence dissent and jail critics.

“Citizens are expected to choose the right party to lead them for the next five years. To do so, they need to have a clear understanding of their country’s political, social, and economic situation,” the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists said, with ranks Ethiopia as the “fourth most censored country” in the world.

“But in a country with limited independent media, many Ethiopians struggle to find the information needed to help them make informed decisions.”

The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has been in power for over two decades and is confident of a win, but insists the result will be decided on its economic record alone.

Ethiopia is now one of Africa’s top performing economies and a magnet for foreign investment. The EPRDF won 545 of the 547 seats in parliament during the last elections in 2010.

This time, the only opposition MP has chosen not to run again, while polls in the constituency of the one independent MP seeking reelection were postponed Friday, after he complained there had not been “enough time and space” for campaigning.

“The lead-up to the elections has seen an onslaught on the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

“This onslaught undermines the right to participation in public affairs freely and without fear as the government has clamped down on all forms of legitimate dissent.”

The government routinely dismisses such critics, and government spokesman Redwan Hussein told AFP that voters would choose the representatives based on their performance.

“If they want to give us another chance they will vote for us,” he said. “If they have a grudge, they will not give their vote to EPRDF.”

Ethiopia: Onslaught on human rights ahead of elections

(Amnesty International) The run-up to Ethiopia’s elections on Sunday has been marred by gross, systematic and wide-spread violations of ordinary Ethiopians’ human rights, says Amnesty International.

“The lead-up up to the elections has seen an onslaught on the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. This onslaught undermines the right to participation in public affairs freely and without fear as the government has clamped down on all forms of legitimate dissent,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.

The Ethiopian authorities have jailed large numbers of members of legally registered opposition political parties, journalists, bloggers and protesters. They have also used a combination of harassment and repressive legislation to repress independent media and civil society.

In the run-up to Sunday’s elections, opposition political party members report increased restrictions on their activities. The Semayawi (Blue) Party informed Amnesty International that more than half of their candidates had their registration cancelled by the National Electoral Board. Out of 400 candidates registered for the House of Peoples Representatives, only 139 will be able to stand in the elections.

On 19 May, Bekele Gerba and other members of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC)-Medrek were campaigning in Oromia Region when police and local security officers beat, arrested and detained them for a couple of hours.

On 12 May, security officers arrested two campaigners and three supporters of the Blue Party who were putting up campaign posters in the capital Addis Ababa. They were released on bail after four days in detention.

In March, three armed security officers in Tigray Region severely beat Koshi Hiluf Kahisay, a member of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (EFDUD) Arena-Medrek. Koshi Hiluf Kahisay had previously received several verbal warnings from security officials to leave the party or face the consequences.

In January, the police violently dispersed peaceful protesters in Addis Ababa during an event organized by the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJ). Police beat demonstrators with batons, sticks and iron rods on the head, face, hands and legs, seriously injuring more than 20 of them.

At least 17 journalists, including Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu and Wubishet Taye, have been arrested and charged under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (ATP), and sentenced to between three and 18 years in prison. Many journalists have fled to neighboring countries because they are afraid of intimidation, harassment and attracting politically motivated criminal charges.

Civil society’s ability to participate in election observation has been restricted under the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSP) to only Ethiopian mass based organizations aligned with the ruling political party.

Amnesty International calls on the Africa Union Election Observation Mission (AU EOM) currently in Ethiopia to assess and speak to the broader human rights context around the elections in both their public and private reporting. It also calls on the AU EOM to provide concrete recommendations to address the gross, systematic and widespread nature of violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly which have undermined the right to participate in public affairs freely and without fear.

“The African Union’s election observers have a responsibility to pay attention to human rights violations specific to the elections as well as more broadly,” said Wanyeki. “The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights protects the right of Ethiopians to freely participate in their government. This right has been seriously undermined by violations of other civil and political rights in the lead-up to the elections.”

Background

Amnesty International has been monitoring, documenting and reporting on the human rights situation in Ethiopia for more than four decades.

Since the country’s last elections in 2010, the organization has documented arbitrary and politically motivated arrests and detentions, torture and other ill-treatment, as well as gross, systematic and wide-spread violations of the rights to freedom of expression and association.

UN investigates Briton on death row in Ethiopia

Special rapporteur on torture asks UK and Ethiopian governments about detention of Andargachew Tsige amid claims of ill-treatment

(The Guardian) The detention of a British citizen held on death row in Ethiopia for almost a year is being investigated by the United Nations official responsible for preventing torture.

Yemi Hailemariam outside the Foreign Commonwealth Office to demand the release of her partner, Andargachew Tsege, who is being held in in Ethiopia. Photograph: Alamy

Andargachew Tsige was arrested last June while in transit through Yemen’s main airport and forcibly removed to Addis Ababa. He is the leader of an opposition party and had been condemned to death several years earlier in his absence.

Juan Mendez, the UN special rapporteur on torture, has written to the Ethiopian and UK governments saying he is investigating the treatment of Tsige. There are claims Tsige is being deprived of sleep and held in isolation.

His partner, Yemi Hailemariam, also a British national, who lives in London with their three children, said she had only spoken to him once by telephone since his abduction. “He’s in prison but we have no idea where he is being held,” she said. “He said he was OK but I’m sure the call was being listened to.

“He had been in Dubai and was flying on to Eritrea when the plane stopped over in Yemen. He hadn’t even been through immigration. We think Yemeni security took him and handed him over to the Ethiopians.

“They say there was an extradition agreement but it was so quick there was no time for any semblance of a legal hearing. Yemen and Ethiopia had close relations then. The [Ethiopian] government have put him on television three times in heavily edited interviews, saying he was revealing secrets

“He has been kept under artificial light 24 hours a day and no one [other than the UK ambassador] has had access to him. I feel angry with the Foreign Office. They know they could do more. They have political leverage they could use but have not done so.”

Tsige, 60, known as Andy, had previously been secretary general of Ginbot 7, a political opposition party that called for democracy, free elections and civil rights. He first came to the UK in 1979. The Ethiopian government has accused him of being a terrorist. In 2009, he was tried with others in his absence and sentenced to death.

No effort was made to extradite him to face the court. A US embassy cable, released through WikiLeaks, described the trial as “lacking in basic elements of due process”.

“[Andy] is a politician, not a terrorist,” said Hailemariam. “It’s just the Ethiopian government that thinks it does not need to make any space for the opposition. A delegation of British MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn, were stopped from travelling to Ethiopia in February. They are hoping to try again.”

Hailemariam’s dissatisfaction with the UK government’s response follows the release of internal Foreign Office memorandums earlier this year that appeared to show official reluctance to apply pressure on Ethiopia to obtain Tsige’s release.

The UK prime minister, David Cameron, has, however, written a letter to his Ethiopian counterpart, Hailemariam Desalegn, raising concerns about Tsige.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The foreign secretary has raised this case with the Ethiopian foreign minister on 13 separate occasions. We will continue to lobby at all levels, conveying our concern over Andargachew Tsige being detained without regular consular visits and access to a lawyer.”

Maya Foa, director of Reprieve’s death penalty team said: “Andy Tsige was illegally kidnapped and rendered to Ethiopia, where he has now been held in a secret location for nearly a year. The UN special rapporteur is right to raise concerns about torture – especially given Ethiopia’s terrible record on human rights, and their denial of any meaningful consular access.

“It is crucial that the British government now takes stronger action on this case. The way Andy has been treated is in serious violation of international law and the most basic principles of justice – the UK must push for his immediate release.”

Tsige’s lawyer, the barrister Ben Cooper of Doughty Street chambers, said: “[He] was abducted at an international airport, hooded and rendered to Ethiopia, where he has been held incommunicado under a death sentence that was passed unlawfully in his absence. He remains in isolation nearly a year later with only occasional access to the open air.

“His detention violates all minimum standards of treatment. We ask the Foreign Office to follow the lead of the UN special rapporteur on torture to demand an immediate end to Mr Tsege’s torture by seeking his return home to his family in England. This is a clear case of kidnap and should be treated as such.”

Elections are taking place in Ethiopia this weekend. Tsige’s family hopes the government will relax restrictions on the opposition once voting is over.

In a lengthy statement, the Ethiopian embassy said that Ginbot 7 had been proscribed a terrorist organisation by the country’s parliament. Tsige, as general secretary, it added, was charged with “conspiring to perpetrate terror and violence in Ethiopia by planning, training, financing, and organising terrorist recruits in Eritrea” and found guilty of “conspiring and working with and under Ginbot 7, to overthrow the legitimate government of Ethiopia through terrorist acts”.

Following conviction and sentence, the embassy continued, the government sent a formal request of assistance to those states with which Ethiopia has an extradition treaty, requesting them to transfer all sentenced individuals in the event of their presence on their territory.

“It was on the basis of this request, and the existing extradition treaty with the Republic of Yemen, that [he] was extradited to Ethiopia. Accordingly, [he] is currently in detention at the federal prison,” it said.

The statement added: “Mr Tsige was serving as a Trojan horse, assisting the Eritrean government’s repeated and ongoing attempts to wreak havoc and instability in the sub-region. Mr Tsige is well-treated and has received visits from the British ambassador to Ethiopia. He has also spoken to his family on the phone.”

Ethiopian Election: “The political space has been closed” Yilekal Getinet

Yilekal Getinet, leader of Semayawi

Addis Ababa (AFP) – Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous country, holds general elections Sunday, the first since the death of long-time strongman Meles Zenawi whose successor Hailemariam Desalegn is seen as all but certain to stay in office.

Over 36.8 million Ethiopians have registered for the polls, considered by the international community as a key test of the state’s commitment to bring greater democracy to the Horn of Africa nation.

Rights groups routinely accuse Ethiopia of clamping down on opposition supporters and journalists and using anti-terrorism laws to silence dissent and jail critics.

The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has been in power for over two decades and is confident of a win, but insists the result will be decided on its economic record alone. Ethiopia is now one of Africa’s top performing economies and a magnet for foreign investment.

“There’s been improvement and people have seen that,” government spokesman Redwan Hussein told AFP.

“If they want to give us another chance they will vote for us. If they have a grudge, they will not give their vote to EPRDF. We will see the figures — but I don’t think we will lose many of the seats.”

Ethiopia, whose 1984 famine triggered a major global fundraising effort, has seen economic growth of more than 10 percent each year for the last five years, according to the World Bank.

Former Marxist rebel-turned-leader Meles, who died in 2012, was succeeded by Prime Minister Hailemariam, who has said he is committed to opening up the country’s political system to allow more space for opposition parties.

“It is an existential issue. If we do not have a proper multiparty democracy in this country, this country will end up like Somalia,” Hailemariam said late last year.

But the premier has also justified lawsuits taken against opposition leaders he accused of “links with terrorist organisations”.

‘Exceptional’ democracy?

The opposition accuses the government of using authoritarian tactics to ensure a poll victory.

“The political space has been closed,” said Yilekal Getinet, leader of Semayawi, the “Blue Party” in Ethiopia’s Amharic language and one of the main opposition parties.

“Many journalists, political activists, civil society leaders have been sent to jail or forced to leave the country,” he declared.

At Semayawi’s headquarters, activists claimed widespread intimidation by the ruling party.

“Our people are detained, harassed by EPRDF members and uniformed police. We asked the municipality frequently to make demonstrations, rallies, meetings and they denied us every time,” party activist Solomon Tessama said.

“The main problem is that the government and the party are not separate. The media, the security, the finances are under their control. On the ground, there are no free and fair elections.”

A official from the Agaw Democratic Party claimed that some of its activists in the northern towns of Bahir Dar and Gondar had been arrested or beaten.

Such complaints are dismissed as “baseless” by the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE).

“The situation is better than previous years. The environment created for political parties this year is exceptional,” NEBE president Merga Bekana said.

The Election Commission will deploy some 40,000 observers at 45,795 polling stations.

The only foreign election observers are from the African Union, which has sent a team of 59. The European Union and the US-based Carter Center, which monitored 2005 and 2010 elections, were not invited back this time.

Candidates from 58 parties are running for office, but each must go through a system of drawing lots organized by the NEBE to limit to 12 the number of candidates per constituency.

Critics say the system is designed to hamper the main challengers — Semayawi, for example, had 456 applicants, but only 139 were allowed.

The 2010 election was won by the ruling EPRDF in a landslide. The party and its allies took all but one of the 547 seats in the House of People’s Representatives.

The main opposition parties rejected the results, claiming fraud, but their appeals were turned down by the electoral board and the supreme court.

Those polls were peaceful, unlike in 2005, when the opposition’s accusations of irregularities sparked violence that left 200 people dead. The opposition won 172 seats in that vote.

Upcoming Ethiopian polls carry lessons from past for journalists now

Covering Ethiopia isn’t easy for any journalist working in the Horn of Africa country. For years it has been ranked as one of the worst offenders for press freedom in the world and in April the Committee to Protect Journalists placed it fourth on their annual list of the 10-most censored countries, right after Eritrea, North Korea and Saudi Arabia.

With general elections coming on May 24, Western and local media in country are remaining vigil. Many of the country’s most notable and prominent journalists have been locked up on what human-rights supporters have called fabricated terrorism and treason charges, with the government using a 2009 anti-terror law to intimidate the press. Others have fled the country, changing the landscape of how large-scale events like national elections are covered in Ethiopia.

The disputed 2005 elections, marred by the deaths of 193 people at the hands of state security forces, and the arrests of tens of thousands of citizens cast a dark shadow over Ethiopia. By the 2010 polls, the ruling political party – Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) – consolidated their power to win 99.6 percent of the vote, which the Geneva-based Human Rights Watch(HRW) said was marked by a government that “pressured, intimidated and threatened Ethiopian voters.”

Only one opposition member won a seat in parliament in 2010.

Ethiopian elections: free and fair?

Simegnish Lily Yekoye, a veteran Ethiopian reporter who has written for several international publications, is in the U.S. working for the Washington, D.C.-basedNational Endowment for Democracy after being forced to flee her country last July.

“In 2005, there were long lines – people waiting for hours to cast their vote because they thought a real change might happen,” Yekoye said by telephone on Friday from New York. “There was a lot of optimism then. But in the 2010 elections, there was no optimism. Everything was quiet and there were no long lines to vote.”

She doesn’t think 2015 will be different from 2010.

Fresh reports in the last two weeks that opposition representatives are being harassed are not helping the outlook for journalists. William Davison, an English reporter who lives in and reports from Ethiopia for Bloomberg News primarily, said the election will favor the EPRDF.

“I think the EPRDF’s control of all tiers of administration and the evidence and suspicion of a lack of autonomy among key government institutions … makes life tough for the opposition,” Davison, who has lived in Ethiopia since 2008, said by Facebook from Addis Ababa on Saturday. “It’s apparent that the EPRDF’s hold over government workers allows it to mobilize efficiently … The opposition also seems short of ideas, energy, personalities, organizational skills, and resources, so it looks like it’s going to be a very one-sided election.”

Sue Valentine, Africa Program Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said the government’s influence on the media has a direct impact on the elections.

“It is difficult to imagine how Ethiopian citizens will be able to make an informed choice … when they have been unable to access and engage with news and opinions from a variety of critical and independent sources,” she told IJNet on Monday via email from New York.

Covering the 2015 polls

Ethiopia is the second-most populated country on the African continent, with roughly 94 million people, according to the World Bank (2013 figures). There are a lot of things to consider when trying to get out and cover an election that big on your own or with a team.

Keeping in mind who you approach is key and Ethiopians are notoriously reserved when they’re asked for a statement or remark.

“I will try to get comments from those who vote for and against the ruling party [and] why they did so,” one Ethiopian reporter, who has worked for more than a decade as a journalist in his country and also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said on Monday. “The problem is it will be difficult to get someone who vote[d] for [the] opposition and [will be] willing to comment [to the] media [without] fearing the ruling party supporters’ direct or indirect attack … afterwards, sooner or later.”

Getting out of the capital is important, as reporters can’t let it be the gauge for the rest of the country, according to Davison, who echoed some of what the Ethiopian reporters said.

“My idea for the election is to speak to as many non-politicians as possible,” he said. “I am fairly familiar with the mantras of the EPRDF and the opposition, however, you can always learn more from the citizens. Addis is hugely important, but also completely unrepresentative of the country, so I don’t feel like I’m doing a thorough job unless I get out of the capital as much as I can,” he added.

Technologies available

Smartphones, apps and social media are all reported to be popular among journalists in Addis Ababa. Androids and iPhones are prevalent. Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp are also used by the media.

“Both Facebook and Twitter seem to be a relatively ‘free’ space in Ethiopia – meaning that Ethiopians seem somewhat liberated to speak their minds more frequently on those platforms,” Davison also said.

In the past, Ethiopia has blocked some websites, including opposition proxy or diaspora sites. However, social media sites appear to be accessible to anyone at Internet cafes through the state-run telecom Internet system, Davison and the Ethiopian reporters confirmed.

“The best Internet network in Addis right now is 3G, which you can get on mobile or through USB dongle,” Davison said. “It’s quick, but still not up to international standards, as it’s very expensive and you have a restrictive download limit per month on the pre-paid option.”

Two Ethiopian journalists told IJNet they would not be using social media at all during the elections for fear of being singled out by the government.

Advice for covering Ethiopia

What should you expect if you are traveling to Ethiopia for the elections?

“Covering Ethiopia regularly involves keeping an open-mind and continuing to batter away doggedly at issues, and people of interest,” Davison said. “Logistics, like the telecoms and bureaucracy, are tricky, so expect to be frustrated frequently.”

Consider other things, recommended the Ethiopian journalist with more than a decade’s experience under his belt: “When it comes to events like elections … it will be very risky to try moving alone for reporting.”

And finally, Ethiopia’s global status on censure does precede itself.

As one Ethiopian reporter, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity and has been a journalist since 2010 put it, the country doesn’t “have a good reputation regarding media activity and political activity. So if anyone want[s] to come to Ethiopia for media business, [they] should be aware of the history and the existing fact of the country’s political situation.”