Hopes that Ethiopia’s government would ease its crackdown on dissent ahead of the May 2015 elections were dashed in 2014.
Instead the government continued to use arbitrary arrests and prosecutions to silence journalists, bloggers, protesters, and supporters of opposition political parties; police responded to peaceful protests with excessive force; and there was no indication of any government willingness to amend repressive legislation that was increasingly condemned for violating international standards, including at Ethiopia’s Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The Ethiopian government during 2014 intensified its campaign of
arrests, prosecutions, and unlawful force to silence criticism, Human
Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2015.
The government responded to peaceful protests with harassment, threats,
and arbitrary detention, and used draconian laws to further repress
journalists, opposition activists, and critics.
“The Ethiopian government fell back on tried and true measures to muzzle any perceived dissent in 2014,” said Leslie Lefkow,
deputy Africa director. “Journalists and dissenters suffered most,
snuffing out any hope that the government would widen political space
ahead of the May 2015 elections.”
January 28, 2015 | By Dorii Abbaa Fugug Globalization is a phenomenon that has been metamorphosing from
negative imperialistic connotation background to more positive,
progressive and cherished representation. However, it is still suffering
from cynicism and prejudice as some group of nations continuously
prospering on the expense of others mortification. Long before the
existence of the term globalization and when the concept of
globalization is not as comprehensive as today people were fighting over
the dominance and some of them with the only rudimentary awareness of
the glob and aspired to dominate the world mainly to maximize their
sphere of influence or revenues. Others had mainly focused in strongly
defending their territory and live in peace and tranquility for many
centuries. The Oromo people were among those strong, democratic and
peaceful nations in the region.
January 27, 2015 | Taken from Face Book of Young Oromo political analyst Jawar Mohammed
Apologists of #TPLFbarbarism
are back with their shameless effort to justify the cruel act
committed in Salale. Predictably they are trying to spin the story
saying the region is not known for rebellion, the victims were bandits
and the perpetrators were members of the public. Contrary to this
claim, Salale was always known as the epicenter of rebellion against
oppressive regimes.
Ob. Jawar Mohammed (Facebook): “Some might doubt such a
barbaric action actually happened in the present day. But it did. This
picture was taken on December 9, 2014, in Oromia, Salale province, Darra
district, Goro Maskala town. The government soldiers killed Katama Wubatuand his comrade
whole rebelled due to harassment, dragged their body through the town
and displayed it like this as way of terrorizing the public.
Imaammanni diinagdee Itoophiyaa bara 1991 kaasee ADLI (Agricultural
Development Led Industrialisation) akka ta'e ni beekkama. Akka imaammata
kanaatti "misooma qonnaa babaldhisuudhaan oomisha qonnaa
guddisuu-achiin duuba oomisha san export gochuudhaan mallaqa isarraa
argataniin suuta suutaan gara industry babaldhisuu " kan jedhu ture. Tarsiimoon guddinnaa kun biyyoota biraatti milkaa'us nu biratti garuu hin milkoofne.
Good to know that Abyssinians started asking them selves questions about things they were blindly crying for and even forcing others to claim. This is another sign of the disintegration of an Old Brutal Ethiopian empire. More to come !!!
Ethiopia's systematic repression and harassment of independent journalists has created a bleak media landscape ahead of the May 2015 elections, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released on Wednesday.
“Muzzling independent voices through trumped-up criminal charges and harassment is making Ethiopia one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at the HRW. “Ethiopia’s media should be playing a crucial role in the May elections, but instead many journalists fear that their next article could get them thrown in jail.”
2014 was a particularly difficult year for Ethiopia’s media. At least 22 journalists, bloggers and publishers were criminally charged for doing their jobs while more than 30 journalists were forced into exile, according to the New York-based rights organization. At least 60 others were exiled since 2010.
January 22, 2015 | Human Rights Watch (HRW)
================================================================================ This 76-page report details how the Ethiopian government has curtailed
independent reporting since 2010. Human Rights Watch interviewed more
than 70 current and exiled journalists between May 2013 and December
2014, and found patterns of government abuses against journalists that
resulted in 19 being imprisoned for exercising their right to free
expression, and that have forced at least 60 others into exile since
2010.
================================================================================
Summary
Ever since the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary
Democratic Front (EPRDF) won 99.6 percent of parliamentary seats in the 2010
elections, the government of Ethiopia has escalated its repression of the
independent media, limiting the rights to freedom of expression and access to
information. At least 60 journalists have fled their country since 2010 while at
least another 19 languish in prison. The government has shut down dozens of
publications and controls most television and most radio outlets, leaving few
options for Ethiopians to acquire independent information and analysis on
domestic political issues. With elections scheduled for May 2015, the media could
be playing a key role educating and informing the public on the issues, and providing
public forums for debate. But the ruling party has treated the private media as
a threat to its hegemony, and is using various techniques to decimate private
media, independent reporting, and critical analysis, with drastic results.
The Western Australian Oromo Community says any individual or/and
group of individuals who may take part in meeting with the Ethiopian
government do not represent the Oromo Community in Western Australia. This is in reference to telephone conversation and written request
made by Ethiopian Embassy in Canberra, Australia to meet with Oromo
diaspora by high level of delegate from Oromia Regional State led by
Vice President. Thank you for your invitation.
As Oromo Community in Western Australia, we held a series of meeting
and discussion about your request and made the following official
statement to your request. We would like to inform you that we are not
only unable to participate in any formal or informal discussion or
dialog with the current Ethiopian Government body or it’s
representative, but also we strongly and firmly oppose such gathering in
its any form.
Leaked World Bank report rejects claims from the Bank’s management that
no link existed between their programme and villagisation
A traditional
homestead in Gambela, Ethiopia. The country's government denies driving
indigenous people from their homes in order to make way for commercial
projects. Photograph: Ariadne Van Zandbergen / Alamy/Alamy
A major UK- and World Bank-funded development programme in Ethiopia
may have contributed to the violent resettlement of a minority ethnic
group, a leaked report reveals.
This article was reported by the International Consortium of
Investigative Journalists, a Washington DC-based global network of 185
reporters in 65 countries who collaborate on transnational
investigations.
Internal watchdog finds link between World Bank financing and Ethiopian government's mass resettlement of indigenous group
The
World Bank repeatedly violated its own rules while funding a
development initiative in Ethiopia that has been dogged by complaints
that it sponsored forced evictions of thousands of indigenous people,
according to a leaked report by a watchdog panel at the bank.
According to a close source, five Oromo refugees have reportedly died
and other wounded after they just crossed the border into Libya. The
report did not identify the exact date and time of the accident, but
confirmed that it happened over the last week.
More than half a dozen Oromo refugees were carried on the back of an
old Toyota pickup owned by human traffickers when the accident happened.
The car was heading from Khartoum to Tripoli, crossing the dangerous
Sahara Desert with the haphazard fast speed.
Alisee Fira Aynagee from Oromo people organized demonstration
in Steinkjer Thursday.
Ethiopians in Steinkjer with demonstration against the government in their home country. Thursday could hear slogans chanted throughout the square in Steinkjer. The reason was that a group of Ethiopians demonstrated against what they perceive as a dictatorial regime in their homeland.
Being persecuted
- We belong to the Oromo people, who are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, with around 40 percent of the population. The Government of Ethiopia has expired from a minioritet at around 6 percent of the people. Oromo being pursued by this government - including set journalists and politicians from our group of people in jail, telling Alisee Fira Aynagee, who organized the demonstration.
With the help of the then three colonial powers, Minilik, the
Abyssinian king managed to break and conquer the Oromo Country and
beyond in the last two decades of the nineteenth century. Following this
war of conquest, the invading Abyssinian colonial army not only
committed genocide on the entire Oromo, Walita, Sidama, and other
people, but also, committed cultural, historical, social, economical
genocides in this new frontiers by imposing Abyssinian culture,
language, way of life, administrations, and religion. These crimes were
committed by presenting anything Abyssinian as superior to the
languages, cultures, system of governance of the new colonies, as
Europeans did practice when they conquered vast territories in Africa,
Asia, and Latin America.
A delegation of British MPs will visit Ethiopia next month in a bid
to secure the release of Andargachew "Andy" Tsege, a British father of
three who is under a death sentence.
Mr Tsege, 59, a leading critic of the Ethiopian government who came
to Britain as a political refugee more than 30 years ago, has been held
in solitary confinement for the past six months.
Ethiopian opposition parties say they are facing roadblocks in their
efforts to register for the May elections. The parties say the National
Election Board is complicating procedures for no good reason, and
raising doubt that the elections will be free or fair.
The Unity for Democracy and Justice party has the only opposition
member in Ethiopia's 547-seat parliament. But it is unclear if the party
will be allowed to participate in the May elections, as the National
Election Board has rejected UDJ logos.
Wondimu Golla of the National Election Board said it was not about the logos, but about procedural rules.
Kenyans near world’s largest desert lake predict conflict, hunger and
cultural devastation when hydroelectric project is completed
People living near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya have little
understanding that the fresh water essential to their development is
likely to dry up when a huge hydoelectric dam in neighbouring Ethiopia is completed. Fishermen, farmers, teachers and others living near the world’s
largest desert lake say Turkana’s volume has reduced significantly over
the past 30 years because of higher temperatures and changing weather
patterns.
But few of the 100 people interviewed by a Kenyan researcher for International Rivers watchdog
said they had been consulted or warned what could happen when the
reservoir of the Gibe III dam, one of Africa’s largest hydropower
projects, is completely filled in about three years’ time. The $1.8bn
construction project, which is 90% complete, will start limited power
generation in June.
Egypt's irrigation ministry says the current capacity of the Renaissance Dam will negatively affect its water share
Egypt has objected to the storage capacity of Ethiopia's Grand
Renaissance Dam, currently under construction, which it fears will
negatively affect its Nile water share.
Alaa Yassin, spokesperson on the Ethiopia dam issue for Egypt's
irrigation ministry, called for decreasing the dam's capacity, currently
set at 74 billion cubic metres, saying this will have an adverse effect
on Egypt’s water supply.
Ethiopia's year-on-year inflation rose to 7.1 percent in December from 5.9 percent in the previous month, the statistics office said on Friday.
The Central Statistics Agency attributed the jump to higher prices of food and non-food items. Prices for such items as sugar, vegetables and fruit increased 6.5 percent last month, up from 4.8 percent in November.
Ethiopia is being hailed as a shining example of African economic
growth. Principle donors and devotees of the International Monetary
Fund/World Bank development model (an imposed ideological vision which
measures all things in terms of a nations GDP) see the country as an
island of potential prosperity and stability within a region of failed
states and violent conflict. “Economic performance in recent years has
been strong, with economic growth averaging in double-digits since
2004,”states the IMF country report. The economic model (a hybrid of
western capitalism and Chinese control) adopted by the Ethiopian
People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government is a
centralised system that denies democracy – consultation and
participation in “development plans” is unheard of – ignores and
violates human rights.
The construction of a huge dam in Ethiopia and the introduction of
large-scale agricultural businesses has been controversial - finding out
what local people think can be hard, but with the help of a bottle of
rum nothing is impossible.
After waiting several weeks for letters of permission from various
Ethiopian ministries, I begin my road trip into the country's southern
lowlands.
I want to investigate the government's controversial plan to
take over vast swathes of ancestral land, home to around 100,000
indigenous pastoralists, and turn it into a major centre for commercial
agriculture, where foreign agribusinesses and government plantations
would raise cash crops such as sugar and palm oil.
It is undeniable fact that the Oromo had their own land and governance for may-many centuries. They called this land Biyya Oromoo or Lafa Oromoo and their administration as Bulchinsa Gadaa (Gada
Government). Whereas some Oromos who lived in low lands were
pastoralists, the highlanders were farming for many centuries. The crops
they adapted, rock carvings, artifacts and many other archaeological
evidences confirm these facts today. In fact, there were more lands
occupied by the Oromo in earlier days than today. Generally, the Oromo
settled between Part of Gojam, Gonder and Tigray in the North, Afar and
Somali in the East, Sudan in the west and northern Kenya in south. With
all the push and pull factors, the central homeland of the Oromo has
been the present heart land of Oromia.
Sanaa -
Yemen has witnessed a considerable increase in the number of
African migrants and asylum-seekers arriving in 2014 despite growing
insecurity in the country, UN officials have said.
"[In 2014], over 82,000
people have reached Yemen's shores from the Horn of Africa, compared to
65,000 in 2013," Nick Stanton, a communications officer with the UN
Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Yemen, told Al Jazeera.
The drowning of 24 Ethiopian
migrants off Yemen's western coast on Monday highlighted the plight
African migrants are facing in Yemen. In a similar incident one month
ago, a boat loaded with migrants shipwrecked off the same area, the
country's coastguard said.
Commercial farming, with its vast tracts of land, is running into
problems in Ethiopia’s Gambella region – and local communities are
reaping few benefits
As dusk envelops the grasslands of Gambella in western Ethiopia,
a weary Jakob Pouch sits on a jerry can, resting his chest against a
wooden staff. The 45-year-old evangelical preacher from the Nuer
community has just made the three-hour walk from the banks of the Baro
river, where he tends to his large family’s small plot of corn. His
daughters are preparing cabbage and cobs to be cooked on an open fire.
January 02, 2015 | Notice From The Organizing Committee
This is to inform you that the “International Qeerroo (youth) Support
Group” has officially established in Washington DC, USA as nonprofit
and nonpolitical organization and completed preparations to reach out to
you. The founders kindly request all Oromo people and the supporters of
the purpose of the organization to work with them. The organizing committee
For
energizing and unifying the Oromo public both at home and in the
Diaspora, for keeping the beacon of liberty from being extinguished, for
selfless sacrifice to advance Oromo rights and for bringing
international media attention to the plight of Oromo people, Oromo Student Protesters are OPride’s Oromo Person of the Year.
The Master Plan
In March 2014, the Addis Ababa and Surrounding Oromia Special Zone Integrated Development Plan Project Office organized a workshop for
journalists and civil servants in Adama, 90 kms east of Ethiopia's
capital, Addis Ababa. The training, conducted by officials from the
Oromia regional state and representatives of the Addis Ababa city
administration, continued through mid-April. It was intended to generate
momentum before “a joint master plan,” which would ostensibly
facilitate efficient resource use, eliminate existing contradictions and link the city’s developmental activities with the Oromia Special Zone, is unveiled.
This is a summary of an important debate in the House of Lords last
night, which was held at a critical moment. Critical for three reasons:
የቀድሞ የኦሮሞ ነጻነት ግንባር (ኦነግ) አመራር አባል የነበሩትና አሁን የኦሮሞ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር መሪ አቶ
ሌንጮለታ፤ ትግላቸውን በሃገር ውስጥ በሰላማዊ መንገድ ለማከናወን ወደ አዲስ አበባ በቅርብ ጊዜ እንደሚጓዙ
አስታወቁ።
Fincillii magaalaa Garbagurraachaa barattootaan guyyaa ar'aa Amajjii 27, 2015 ka'ee magaalatti raasaa jiraa..jpg)
Ob. Jawar Mohammed (Facebook): “Some might doubt such a
barbaric action actually happened in the present day. But it did. This
picture was taken on December 9, 2014, in Oromia, Salale province, Darra
district, Goro Maskala town. The government soldiers killed Katama Wubatu and his comrade
whole rebelled due to harassment, dragged their body through the town
and displayed it like this as way of terrorizing the public.
Imaammanni diinagdee Itoophiyaa bara 1991 kaasee ADLI (Agricultural
Development Led Industrialisation) akka ta'e ni beekkama. Akka imaammata
kanaatti "misooma qonnaa babaldhisuudhaan oomisha qonnaa
guddisuu-achiin duuba oomisha san export gochuudhaan mallaqa isarraa
argataniin suuta suutaan gara industry babaldhisuu " kan jedhu ture. Tarsiimoon guddinnaa kun biyyoota biraatti milkaa'us nu biratti garuu hin milkoofne.
Ummanni Oromoo baroota 23 darban dararaa fi cunqursaan sirna bittaa
mootummaa Wayyaanee jalatti irra gahe seenaa jireenya isaa keessatti
takkaa argee kan hin beekne, hidhaa, ajjeechaa, arihamuu, biyyaa fi qabeenya
saamamuu irra darbee qaamaa qalbiin manca’ee jira.
Ethiopia's systematic repression and harassment of independent journalists has created a bleak media landscape ahead of the May 2015 elections, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released on Wednesday.
Mootummaan Naannoo Oromiyaa
Artistota shaniif qarshii 200,000
hanga 300,000 guyyaa har'aa
The Western Australian Oromo Community says any individual or/and
group of individuals who may take part in meeting with the Ethiopian
government do not represent the Oromo Community in Western Australia.
A delegation of British MPs will visit Ethiopia next month in a bid
to secure the release of Andargachew "Andy" Tsege, a British father of
three who is under a death sentence. 
Ethiopian opposition parties say they are facing roadblocks in their
efforts to register for the May elections. The parties say the National
Election Board is complicating procedures for no good reason, and
raising doubt that the elections will be free or fair.
People living near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya have little
understanding that the fresh water essential to their development is
likely to dry up when a huge hydoelectric dam in neighbouring Ethiopia is completed. 
Egypt has objected to the storage capacity of Ethiopia's Grand
Renaissance Dam, currently under construction, which it fears will
negatively affect its Nile water share.
Yeroo ammaa haalli hamaan ummanni keenya biyya isaa Oromiyaa
keessatti mudachaa jiru himamee kan hin dhumne tahuus haala sukaneessa
akka tahe beekamaa dha. Ummanni Oromoo biyya isaa keessatti mirga abbaa
biyyummaa dhaabee, lafaa fi qabeenyi isaa akka malee saamamee, badii
takkan maletti hidhamaa fi ajjeefamaa jira. Ajjeechaan jumulaa ummata
Oromoo irratti mootummaa TPLF (EPDRF)n tooftaa dhoksaan raawatamaa jira.
Barattoonni Oromoo waan gaaffii mirgaa gaafataniif, mana barnoota
sadarkaa adda addaatti fi universitooata keeysatti rasaasan ajeefamaa fi
hidhamanii gochaan garajabinaa ilma namaarratti hin raawwatamne irratti
hojjatamaa jira.
.jpg)
Ethiopia is being hailed as a shining example of African economic
growth. Principle donors and devotees of the International Monetary
Fund/World Bank development model (an imposed ideological vision which
measures all things in terms of a nations GDP) see the country as an
island of potential prosperity and stability within a region of failed
states and violent conflict. “Economic performance in recent years has
been strong, with economic growth averaging in double-digits since
2004,”states the IMF country report. The economic model (a hybrid of
western capitalism and Chinese control) adopted by the Ethiopian
People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government is a
centralised system that denies democracy – consultation and
participation in “development plans” is unheard of – ignores and
violates human rights.
After waiting several weeks for letters of permission from various
Ethiopian ministries, I begin my road trip into the country's southern
lowlands. 
Kabajamtoota lammiilee Oromiyaa, biyya keessaa fii alaa, kabajamtoota
hogganootaafii humna waraana ULFO, kabajamtoota hogganootaafii
miseensota dhaabbiilee siyaasa Oromo, dhaamsi keenya kan bara haaraa, bara
2015 bakka jirtanitti isin haa gayu.
It is undeniable fact that the Oromo had their own land and governance for may-many centuries. They called this land Biyya Oromoo or Lafa Oromoo and their administration as Bulchinsa Gadaa (Gada
Government). Whereas some Oromos who lived in low lands were
pastoralists, the highlanders were farming for many centuries. The crops
they adapted, rock carvings, artifacts and many other archaeological
evidences confirm these facts today. In fact, there were more lands
occupied by the Oromo in earlier days than today. Generally, the Oromo
settled between Part of Gojam, Gonder and Tigray in the North, Afar and
Somali in the East, Sudan in the west and northern Kenya in south. With
all the push and pull factors, the central homeland of the Oromo has
been the present heart land of Oromia.
Jarmayaan “Dhaabbata Deggersa Qeerroo Idil-aduunyaa- International
Qeerroo (Youth) Support Group dhabbatuu isaa fi seeraan galmaawee akka
socho’u beeksisa bahe yeroo arginu gammachuu guddan nutti dhagahame.
Ummanni Oromoo ummatoota gaanfa Afrikaa keessatti bilisummaan
jiraataa turee keessaa ummata tokkoo. Ummanni kuni ummata sirna
woliqixxummaa fi bilisummaa ilmaan namaa fi uumaaa (sirna Gadaa)
bu’urse. Ummanni Oromoo sirna gadaa sirna waan hundaa of keessaa
(hawasummaa, waraana, Dinagdee, siyaasaa fi qunnaamiti) qabu ijaaruun
ummata boonee mirga isaa eegsifatee gaanfa Afrikaa irratti jiraataa
ture.
“Dhaabbata Deeggarsa Qeerroo Idil-aduunyaa” biyyaa Amerikaa Magaalaa
Guddoo Washington DC keessatti seeraan bu’aa fi siyaasaa irraa walaba
ta’uun hundaa’ee hojii eegaluuf haal-duree xumuree jiraachuu isaa
gammachuun isiniif ibsina. Kaayyoo hundeeffama isaa qabatnee uummata
Oromoo fi deeggartoota kaayyoo kanaa kan taatan mara yeroo dhihoo
keessatti isin bira waan geenyuuf qophiidhaan akka nu eegdan kabajaan
isin beeksifna.
Amajjii 01, 2015 
For
energizing and unifying the Oromo public both at home and in the
Diaspora, for keeping the beacon of liberty from being extinguished, for
selfless sacrifice to advance Oromo rights and for bringing
international media attention to the plight of Oromo people, Oromo Student Protesters are OPride’s Oromo Person of the Year.