By Salem Solomon | VOA

Somaliland, a semi-autonomous region in the Horn of Africa, has displaced thousands of ethnic Oromos, according to Negeri Lencho, Ethiopia’s information minister.

The forced relocations are the latest fallout of simmering conflict along the border between Ethiopia’s Oromia and Somali regions. Those tensions have boiled over in recent weeks, resulting in hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of displacements, Lencho told reporters at a press conference on Monday.

The conflicts are the latest in a series of clashes that have ebbed and flowed for over 25 years. Some of the root causes remain unchanged, but new dynamics, including increased militia activity in the region and escalating tensions make solutions more elusive.

Close relations, longstanding tension

Oromia and Somali share Ethiopia’s longest interior border, a meandering line from Moyale in the south to Mulu in the east. Parts of the border follow the Ganale Doria River, but the regional boundary mostly stretches between the Oromia grasslands and Somali desert.
A common way of life has long connected Oromo and Somali people. The Oromia and Somali regions share language, religion and culture. In fact, some groups who speak the Oromo language identify as Somalis, and vice versa.

Despite these close relations, the two ethnic groups have experienced intermittent conflicts over resources, including land and water, over the past 25 years.

The tensions date back to the formation of Ethiopia’s unique brand of ethnic federalism. In 1991, politicians divided the country’s population — nearly 50 million people at the time — into nine regional states based, in large measure, on ethnicity.
Disagreements over exactly where the Oromia-Somali border should lie have resulted in several referenda, but full demarcation has never occurred, contributing to ongoing strains.

The border has great symbolic power: More than just an administrative boundary, it’s tied to identity — a political and ethnic differentiator between Ethiopia’s two largest regions.

Suspicions, accusations

Frictions along the border have been longstanding, but recent conflicts have taken a new, more ominous turn, experts on the region, including Human Rights Watch, say.

Exactly who’s behind the recent killings and displacements isn’t clear, however, even from within the country. Spokespeople from each regional government blame armed groups from the other side.

“We here in Ethiopia are also confused. It’s not easy to understand what’s going on with this long border,” said Fekadu Adugna, an assistant professor of social anthropology at Addis Ababa University.

Much of the confusion stems from the complex assortment of federal, regional, paramilitary and rebel groups engaged in armed conflict across Ethiopia. The Liyu police, a special police force based in Somali, have been accused of killing people in the Oromo ethnic group. But the Liyu have also fought the Ogaden National Liberation Front, a separatist faction that seeks self-rule for Somalis.

Limited access to the conflict zones makes it difficult to prove accusations of who is behind the current attacks.

“A number of people have lost their lives,” Adugna said. But, in many cases, the exact circumstances of their deaths remain unclear.
Ethiopia’s powerful federal government, rather than controlling the conflict, has only fanned the flames of the ethnic division, according to some observers.

Felix Horne, a researcher with Human Rights Watch focused on the Horn of Africa, said Ethiopians interviewed by HRW have long felt bullied by the federal government.

“The vast majority tell us, ‘Look, it’s always been this way. There is always arbitrary arrest, you know,” said Horne. “There’s always abuse by police, but things have just gotten a little bit more intense in terms of the amount of arbitrary arrests.’”

Protests across Ethiopia roiled the country in 2016, resulting in a 10-month state of emergency and a concerted government crackdown that began last October.

The protests began when the government proposed expanding the boundaries of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, into Oromia. Hundreds died as unrest swept across the Oromia and Amhara regions.

Horne said the state of emergency silenced protesters without addressing their true concerns about land rights, political representation and freedom of expression, setting the stage for the most recent violence.

“What we found is that [the government] largely redefined the protesters’ grievances in terms that met their needs. They talked about corruption. They talked about the need for job creation; about improving good governance,” he said. “And these are all important things, obviously, but crucially these are not things that protesters routinely [were] raising on the streets.”

The state of emergency did stop protests and associated violence, said Margaux Pinaud, a researcher on political violence in Africa with the Armed Conflict Location and Event Dataset, a body that produces real-time data for disaggregated conflict analysis and mapping.

At the same time, however, militant activity increased across the country, she said, particularly in regions most affected by the protests, including Oromia.

“The activity by ethnic militias in Ethiopia is the highest that it’s been since 1997,” Pinauld added. “And then activity by political militias, though usually it’s unidentified armed groups — but doing attacks against civilians or engaging in clashes with state forces — they’re also really, really high compared to the rest of the data that we look at.”

Increases in militant activity could suggest an escalation of the people’s movement, she said. That movement has increasingly become an armed struggle over grievances with the federal government, which many Ethiopians say doesn’t represent their interests.

Protesters previously committed to nonviolent resistance haven’t produced results, Horne said. “There’s lots of discussions about different options, which is obviously really, really worrying,” he added.

Border Depoliticization, de-ethnicization

Professor Adugna said the root of the conflict lies in a volatile combination: the symbolic meaning given the Oromia-Somali border, and its lack of an official demarcation.

The solution includes two parts, he said: Physically demarcate the border as soon as possible, and de-emphasize its significance.
For Adugna, that means focusing on the administrative functions of the border. The government “should depoliticize the border,” he said. “They should de-ethnicize the border.”

For this to work, he said people must be allowed to move freely from one side of the border to the other. Pastoral movement, in particular, should not be hindered since nomadic societies occupy both regions, particularly on the Somali side.

Equally important, Adugna said, people impacted by conflict, especially historically disenfranchised groups, should be consulted in the demarcation process.

Those groups include the Oromo who, despite being the country’s largest ethnic group, have enjoyed little political power under Ethiopia’s form of ethnic federalism. Religious leaders, not politicians, should guide the process, he said.

In the end, he said people want to live in peace. That in turn will enable a solution to the decades-old tensions that reached new heights in recent weeks.

“Bring the people together, the elders, the religious leaders and so on without the interference of the politicians,” Adugna said. “People can tell you how to solve it, how to demarcate the border. … When it is depoliticized, people can live in a friendly environment. The people do not want the conflict because they are the major losers.”

By The Ethiopian American Council

The House is set to vote next week on HR 128 (2017), a resolution supporting respect for human rights and encouraging inclusive governance in Ethiopia. We, the Ethiopian American Council, would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey for authoring this critical resolution. We also would like to thank the 68 co-sponsors.

The Ethiopian government is heavily lobbying Congressman Chris Smith to delay the vote on the resolution. The Ethiopian government claims that it is currently negotiating with the Ethiopian opposition groups and that HR 128 might impede that progress. The Ethiopian government’s position is bogus and designed to stall HR 128. If the Ethiopian government is sincere in its desire to start political negotiation with the opposition groups, it has to meet the following calls outlined in HR 128:

• end the use of excessive force by security forces;
• investigate the killings and excessive use of force that took place as a result of protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions;
• release dissidents, activists, and journalists who have been imprisoned for exercising their constitutional rights;
• respect the right to peaceful assembly and guarantee freedom of the press;
• engage in open consultations with citizens regarding its development strategy;
• allow a United Nations rapporteur to conduct an independent examination of the state of human rights in Ethiopia;
• address the grievances brought forward by representatives of registered opposition parties;
• hold accountable those responsible for killing, torturing, and detaining innocent civilians who exercised their constitutional rights; and
• investigate and report on the circumstances surrounding the September 3, 2016 shootings and fire at Qilinto Prison, the deaths of persons in attendance at the annual Irreecha festivities at Lake Hora near Bishoftu on October 2, 2016, and the ongoing killings of civilians over several years in the Somali Regional State by police.

The Ethiopian American Council calls on such government to repeal proclamations that:

• can be used to harass or prohibit funding for organizations that investigate human rights violations, engage in peaceful political dissent, or advocate for greater political freedoms;
• prohibit those displaced from their land from seeking judicial redress;
• permit the detention of peaceful protesters and political opponents who legally exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association; and
• Limit peaceful nonprofit operations in Ethiopia.
• A genuine political negotiation between the government of Ethiopia and the opposition groups cannot take place under the current repressive political environment.

Ethiopian-Americans Must Help

Though House Resolution 128 is not a law, it would inform American politicians, the rest of the U.S. population, and the entire world, how the U.S. Congress perceives the plight of the Ethiopian people and the action it would recommend to correct the present human rights and inclusive government shortcomings.

All Ethiopian-American who are registered to vote are urged to contact their congressional representatives and strongly suggest that they support this significant house resolution.

The passage of HR 128 will send a clear message to the Ethiopian government that the United States Congress wants to see real political reforms in Ethiopia. Therefore, we urge all Ethiopian Americans to call your congressional representative to vote yes on HR 128.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-resolution/128

By Kebour Ghenna

As a nation, Ethiopia today is divided in pieces, the way the victorious liberation lads wanted it. Their vision was, I assume, to create a Switzerland styled federal state but with something extra…chuzpah!

They, of course did not take into account all the rivalries among Ethiopia’s diverse peoples and regions. They did not realize that the devolution of power to the regions will strengthen the dominant nationality in each. They did not realize they lacked the necessary wisdom and experience to lead a complex nation like Ethiopia. So here we are today with an Ethiopia, beleaguered by ethnic nationalism and dissatisfied youth.

Now, people often ask “what else could they have done?”

It may have been challenging to find a solution to the enormous problems Ethiopia was facing at the time. But the option imposed by the victorious powers in 1991 was absolutely not in the interest of Ethiopia. The three main problems of the 20th century Ethiopia were poverty, inequality and lack of political representation. The partitioning of the country along ethnic lines was therefore a price the country has to pay to TPLF to win its ‘wholeness’. It was presented as the only possible path to peaceful development and ‘stronger unity’, when in fact it was a precursor to its disintegration.

If we want to look at history for lessons, we know that dividing Ethiopia up is not the solution; it would in fact only help to kick-start another long-term human tragedy, with Ethiopia’s population paying the cost. Knowing all this, if these proposed solution are not in the Ethiopians’ favor, who would then be the true beneficiary of a “new Ethiopia” segmented and splintered along ethnic lines?

Figuratively speaking imagine someone taking a person’s brain apart and lay out the neurons, vessels, white matter, etc. side by side on a very large table, and expect the disassembled brain (parts) to be greater than the whole brain. Actually, as parts, nerve cells can’t do much of anything….If you know what I mean!

Today ‘new’ national questions are reemerging in their most extreme forms (secession, irredentism, or the expulsion of minorities) at a time when the federal government’ remains unable to reform the country. Unfortunately, once these disruptive positions continue to solidify, their proponents could not abandon their commitment to their particular solution, making the pursuit of peace and prosperous stability unattainable.

Indeed, the massacres of innocent lives and the resulting ethnic cleansing that we witnessed in the last weeks are just strong manifestations of political disintegration. There is nothing ancient or indigenous about sectarian and ethnic conflict in Ethiopia. The killings of a particular group of people i.e. Somali, Oromo, Amhara etc. is the result of relatively recent conditions created by corrupt governance and the destruction of much of the fabric of Ethiopia’s national society. This government has created the conditions for our societal failures. It has, deliberately or not, allowed systematic actions and in-actions that has led and is leading to the callous massacre of ETHIOPIANS.

Who is responsible?

Confronted to the tragedy, the Prime Minister tried to suggest, that this was a border crisis between Oromos and Somalis and to present itself as a peace maker, I find it height of hypocrisy. For God’s sake what we have witnessed in South-East Ethiopia is a civil war, Ethiopians killing Ethiopians!!

We’re heading towards an abyss… and no one cares. Certainly, we don’t care. People get what they deserve.

How long can this go on?

We don’t know for sure. But we know at some point, though, the gods stop laughing… and tomorrow comes. So stop on relying on verbal attacks on this and that group in general, stop using selective repression on the most radical nationalists, and stop introducing the deterrent effect of the specter of military interventions. Those will simply not be enough.

A crisis is an opportunity.

The government and the party may control many things… but not everything… A national inclusive and transparent political renewal is in order.

Wake up, before it’s too late!

Oromo people stage a protest against the government near the Hora Lake at Debre Zeyit. Photograph: Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images



By Africa News

The United States Embassy in Ethiopia has issued a security message for its citizens with respect to Sunday, October 1 Irreecha festival in the Oromia region.

The September 29, 2017 statement titled ‘Security Message for U.S. citizens: Security Awareness in Oromia Region,’ cited the deadly chaos of last year as a key reason for its latest alert.

Millions of people – ethnic Oromos from across the country, around the world and tourists – are expected in the town of Bishoftu – located about 45km from Addis Ababa for the annual thanksgiving ceremony.

The chaos of last year is a major concern for rights groups and political watchers in the region. The Oromo regional authorities a week ago announced that there will be no armed personnel deployed for this year’s session.

The U.S. has in recent past issued alerts for the Oromia region but more to do with supposed ethnic clashes between people in the region and the adjoining Somali region.

The full statement from the embassy read:

“The U.S. Embassy informs U.S. citizens that, beginning on October 1 and concluding on or around October 8, the Oromia region will celebrate its annual Irreecha. Millions of attendees are expected to gather on this occasion at Lake Arsede, Bishoftu (Debre Zeit), and surrounding areas.

“Noting that at last year’s Irreecha a tragic stampede resulted in numerous deaths, and given the ongoing potential for civil unrest, the Embassy advises U.S. citizens to postpone travel to Bishoftu (Debre Zeit) and its surrounding areas until after the celebration has concluded.

“Review your personal security plans, remain aware of your surroundings, including local events, and monitor local news stations for updates. Be vigilant and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security,” it concluded.

By ESAT

American writer Dr. Helen Epstein, known among many Ethiopians for her hard-hitting article, “Cruel Ethiopia”, which detailed the brutal rule of Meles Zenawi and the TPLF, says that the United States should reconsider promoting fake democracy in countries like Ethiopia. She said the tyrannical TPLF regime is a roadblock to democratization and progress. She noted cannot be reformed and called upon the U.S. to stop supporting the TPLF regime and its corruption and tyranny.

Dr. Epsten, who recently published a new book, Another Fine Mess, talked to ESAT on a range of issues related politics in the Great Lake region and Ethiopia.

Latest News in Ethiopia (Oct. 1)

By Daniel Teferra (PhD)*

Last week, tragic killings took place between the Somali and Oromo in southeastern Ethiopia. The leaders of the two groups are blaming each other. The TPLF regime in Addis Ababa says it is investigating. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that the root cause of all this is the government’s ethnic-based policy.

The policy may have benefited the rulers and their associates, but it is pitting one group against the other. For example, the regime has included the northwestern territory of Gondar with Tigre in guise of linguistic identity.

That has led to a dangerous confrontation between Tigre and Gondar in the north. Now the Somali and Oromo are fighting over territory in the south. These are precursors to a brutal civil war.

The people of Ethiopia had lived in relative peace and tranquility, divided into provinces. The problem at that time was a repressive, central government. That could have been resolved by allowing provincial autonomy within a federal structure.

What are the possibilities presently for introducing such a system before it is too late to save Ethiopia?

First, it was unwise of the TPLF regime to annex the northwestern territory of Gondar. The regime cannot win this fight. It will only get Tirgreans alienated further.

Tigreans have lived in Gondar and the rest of Ethiopia as equal citizens for centuries. Why does the regime want to change that now? It needs to be mentioned that people are united by economy, not by language or ethnic identity per se.

Second, the TPLF rule has revived the age-old Tigre-Amhara rivalry. The ethnic-based policy has not resolved the inter- and intra-ethnic grievances in the historical empire of Gondar, Tigre, Wello, Gojjam and Shawa. In fact, the rise of Tigre has united the Amhara regions against Tigre, isolating the latter further.

Third, there is the “Oromia” puzzle. The Oromo as well as the Sidama regions occupy fertile agricultural lands, surrounded by regions less endowed. Thus, others could attack them for their rich resources.

The Oromo cannot be safer on their own than as a member of a larger Ethiopian community. For instance, Gojjam (Amhara-majority) and Wellega (Oromo-majority) have intermingled and lived as good neighbors for centuries. One cannot, however, ignore past injustices and inequities that had existed between the Tigre/Amhara, on the one hand, and the non-Tigre/Amhara, on the other.

Historically, the Ethiopian State has been controlled by the Tigre/Amhara. The non-Tigre/Amhara groups have long been excluded from political power although they occupy the economic heartland of the country. Thus, the Oromo can easily leverage their resource advantage to force a system of provincial autonomy within a federal structure so that one group alone cannot dominate a government.

Fourth, most of the political organizations inside the country are ethnic-based because that was required by the government in order to acquire legal status. However, organizations outside the country do not have to abide by such a requirement. Yet, they have embraced, out of self-interest or lack of knowledge, the TPLF constitution that divides the country into ethnic territories.

Furthermore, they espouse identity politics. For instance, they call for an alliance between the Oromo and Amhara to oust the Tigre. However, that cannot resolve the very real problem of a centralized, repressive form of government. It will simply replace it with the same predatory form of government.

Finally, the TPLF regime is an ally of the West, especially the United States of America. Governments everywhere pursue their own self-interests. If the foregoing is accepted, one cannot expect the West or the United States of America to save Ethiopia.

The responsibility to save Ethiopia lies on the people of Ethiopia, in general, and the intellectual community, in particular. Ethiopia is the only one of the ancient and medieval empires in Africa that has survived. The others were dismembered by internal feuding and external intrusions.

Therefore, it has to be recognized by all that only provincial autonomy within a federal structure can resolve the problem of a centralized, repressive form of government and save Ethiopia. The government’s ethnic-based policy will only pit one group against the other, and thereby hasten the dismemberment of the country.

*Emeritus Professor of Economics

By MAGGIE MICHAEL, ASSOCIATED PRESS

CAIRO — Oct 2, 2017

The only reason Egypt has even existed from ancient times until today is because of the Nile River, which provides a thin, richly fertile stretch of green through the desert. For the first time, the country fears a potential threat to that lifeline, and it seems to have no idea what to do about it.

Ethiopia is finalizing construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, its first major dam on the Blue Nile, and then will eventually start filling the giant reservoir behind it to power the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa.

Egypt fears that will cut into its water supply, destroying parts of its precious farmland, hampering its large desert reclamation projects and squeezing its bourgeoning population of 93 million people, who already face water shortages.

Dam construction on international rivers often causes disputes over the downstream impact. But the Nile is different: few nations rely so completely on a single river as much as Egypt does. The Nile provides over 90 percent of Egypt’s water supply. Almost the entire population lives cramped in the sliver of the Nile Valley. Around 60 percent of Egypt’s Nile water originates in Ethiopia from the Blue Nile, one of two main tributaries.

Egypt barely gets by with the water it does have. Because of its population, it has one of the lowest per capita shares of water in the world, some 660 cubic meters a person. The strain is further worsened by widespread inefficiency and waste. With the population on a path to double in 50 years, shortages are predicted to become severe even sooner, by 2025.

That is despite the fact that Egypt already receives the lion’s share of Nile waters: more than 55 billion of the around 88 billion cubic meters of water that flow down the river each year. It is promised that amount under agreements from 1929 and 1959 that other Nile nations say are unfair and ignore the needs of their own large populations.

Complicating the issue, no one has a clear idea what impact Ethiopia’s dam will actually have. Addis Ababa says it will not cause significant harm to Egypt or Sudan downstream.

Much depends on management of the flow and how fast Ethiopia fills its reservoir, which can hold 74 billion cubic meters of water. A faster fill means blocking more water at once, while doing it slowly would mean less reduction downstream.

Once the fill is completed, the flow would in theory return to its previous levels, but the fear in Egypt is that the damage from the fill years could be long-lasting or that Ethiopia could build more dams and hold Egypt hostage by continuing to reduce the flow.

One study by a Cairo University agriculture professor estimated Egypt would lose a staggering 51 percent of its farmland if the fill is done in three years. A somewhat slower fill over six years would cost Egypt 17 percent of its cultivated land, the study claimed — still a catastrophic scenario that would hit the food supply and put tens of thousands out of work in a country where a quarter of the work force is employed in agriculture.

Internal government studies estimate that for every reduction of 1 billion cubic meters of water in Egypt’s supply, 200,000 acres of farmland will be lost and livelihoods of 1 million people would be affected, given that an average of five people live off each acre, a senior Irrigation Ministry official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the figures.

Other experts say the impact will be far smaller, even minimal.

They say Egypt could suffer no damage at all if it and Ethiopia work together and exchange information during the filling of the reservoir, adjusting the rate to ensure that Egypt’s own massive reservoir on the Nile, Lake Nasser, stays full enough to meet Egypt’s needs during the years of the fill.

Unfortunately, that isn’t happening between the two countries, whose ties have often been deeply strained.

“To my knowledge, this situation is unique, particularly at this scale,” said Kevin Wheeler at the Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute. “I just can’t think of another case that has two large reservoirs in series without a plan on how to operate them together.”

Construction on the dam is around 60 percent complete and is likely to be finished this year or early next. Ethiopia has given little information on when it will start the fill or at what rate. It is pushing ahead with construction without waiting for an independent study on the impact that it, Egypt and Sudan agreed to under a 2015 Declaration of Principles agreement.

“We have taken into account (the dam’s) probable effects on countries like Egypt and Sudan,” Ethiopia’s water, irrigation and electricity minister, Sileshi Bekele, told reporters in Addis Ababa. He added that plans for the filling process could be adjusted but did not elaborate.

A joint Ethiopian-Egyptian-Sudanese committee has met 15 times over the past two years, most recently this month, trying to implement the Declaration of Principles. Under that deal, they committed to abide by the impact study and agree on a plan for filling the reservoir and operating the dam. But though the deadline to complete it has passed, the study has hardly begun, held up by differences over information sharing and transparency.

In public, Egyptian officials have said both governments are cooperating.

But the frustration is starting to show.

In June, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri spoke of “difficult talks” and complained of delays in the impact study. He warned that unless Ethiopia addresses Egyptian concerns, Egypt will search for an alternative path, though he did not elaborate. The irrigation official said that Egypt is trying to build international pressure on Ethiopia.

A high-ranking government official acknowledged there’s little Egypt can do. “We can’t stop it and in all cases, it will be harmful to Egypt,” he said.

A senior diplomat involved in the negotiations only shrugged. “We can only wait and see,” he muttered. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are still ongoing.

Egyptian leaders in the past have rumbled about military action to stop any dam. Recently, Ethiopia accused Egypt of supporting rebels caught trying to sabotage the dam, and there are also accusations that Egypt is setting up a military base in Eritrea to carry out an attack — all claims denied by both Egypt and Eritrea.

A military option seems less likely after the 2015 accord in which Egypt agreed to cooperation.

International law also provides little recourse. International charters spell out broad principles on managing rivers, saying waters should be shared in an equitable way and one country’s projects on a river must not cause “significant harm” to another.

But it is largely left to the riparian countries — those along the river — to work out the details. The 2015 accord committed Egypt to resolve differences in negotiations, and while it can seek outside mediation, all parties would have to consent.

Originating in Ethiopia, the Blue Nile flows into Sudan, where it joins with the White Nile, whose source is Lake Victoria in east Africa. From there it flows north through Egypt to the Mediterranean.

For Ethiopia, the $5 billion dam is the realization of a long-delayed dream. Ethiopia’s infrastructure is among the least developed in the world, leaving the vast majority of its 95 million people without access to electricity. The dam’s hydroelectric plant is to have a capacity to generate over 6,400 Megawatts, a massive boost to the country’s current production of 4,000 Megawatts.

The longer it takes to fill the reservoir, the longer Ethiopia has to wait for the benefits, meaning lost growth.

“If everybody is working together, if there is trust, it is possible to have win-win,” said Kenneth M. Strzepek, professor of water resources engineering and economics at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

He believes that even in the worst case scenario, damage to Egypt’s economy will not be huge.

“But you will hurt people,” he said. “If you reduce the flow, you hurt the farmers.” Over 80 percent of Egypt’s water goes to agriculture.

Any blow could resonate hard in Egypt. The country is already undertaking a painful reform program of austerity measures that have hiked inflation in a bid to rebuild an economy deeply damaged by years of turmoil.

At the same time, Egypt uses its water with chronic inefficiency. Nearly a third of the around 9 billion cubic meters of drinking water is wasted each year because of old, dilapidated pipes and distribution networks, according to the official statistics agency.

Farmers irrigate their fields by flooding, increasing water loss. The government has been reluctant to incorporate more efficient sprinkler or irrigation systems into the national water plan because of the cost.

Among Egyptians, there are bitter accusations that Ethiopia is acting unilaterally.

“Ethiopia wants full control over the Nile. It doesn’t want to abide by any deals,” said Hani Raslan, a Cairo-based expert in African affairs.

“Egypt is fed up,” he said. “When the fill-in starts, there will be grave dangers.”

But some critics say Egypt only has itself to blame because of its own high-handedness in the past.

Egypt and Sudan, which also gets a large share of the Nile waters under past accords, traditionally rejected pressure by other nations to get a fairer distribution of the water.

In 1999, the countries established the Nile Basin Initiative as a forum on the river’s use. Egypt and Sudan walked out of the talks, demanding their “historic rights” be recognized.

The boycott backfired. The other nations went ahead, creating their own Cooperative Framework Agreement in 2010 and throwing support behind Ethiopia’s dam. Sudan and Egypt remained hold-outs.

After coming to office in 2014, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi took a new approach, visiting Sudan, Ethiopia and other upstream nations and talking of diplomatic solutions.

Egypt then signed the 2015 Declaration of Principles. For the first time, it made no mention of its past water shares. Critics said it had gone too far in the other direction and had surrendered its rights.

Salman Salman, a Sudanese water expert, said Egypt ignored past opportunities to work together with Ethiopia. “There is this arrogance (in Egypt) and the feeling that this is our river and no one can touch it,” he said.

Now Egypt is isolated, and Ethiopia is dragging its feet over cooperation — just as Egypt did in the past.

“Egypt is no longer the dominant force along the Nile,” Salman said. “Ethiopia is replacing it.”

Republic of Korea government’s disciplinary board decided to dismiss Ambassador Kim Moon-hwan over sexual harassment allegations and notified the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of its decision.

By Yonhap

SEOUL, South Korea (Yonhap)―South Korea’s top envoy to Ethiopia will be dismissed from his post over sexual harassment allegations, the foreign ministry here said Wednesday.

The government’s disciplinary board decided to relieve Ambassador Kim Moon-hwan in mid-September and notified the ministry of its decision on Tuesday, 26th September 2017, according to official sources.

The ministry conducted its own probe in July into allegations that Kim had sexually harassed several female staff members. Currently, prosecutors are investigating the case.

Kim is accused of making inappropriate physical contact with a female embassy employee and having drinks with female volunteers from a ministry-affiliated agency in an “improper” manner. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The allegations were revealed in the process of looking into a separate case involving another diplomat at the embassy, who was later sacked after he was found to have sexually assaulted a female staff member.

By Alemayehu G. Mariam

Donald Trump
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Re: REQUEST FOR SANCTIONS AGAINST PERSONS AND ENTITIES INVOLVED IN THE IRRECHA MASSACRES ON OCTOBER 2, 2016 AND OTHER CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY COMMITTED IN ETHIOPIA

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing this letter for two purposes. First, I wish to thank you for imposing sanctions[1] on certain senior current and former South Sudan government officials and South Sudanese companies responsible for undermining peace, security and stability in that violence-wracked country.

Second, I am writing to request imposition of similar sanctions against members of the ruling regime in Ethiopia self-styled as the “Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front” led and dominated by the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), an entity listed as a terrorist organization in the Global Terrorism Database[2] (GTD).

The last act of terrorism committed by the TPLF, according to the GTD, was on August 16, 2016[3].

I believe it is fair and proper to give credit where credit is due. While some have claimed the sanctions imposed on South Sudan’s leaders and their accomplices are meager and inadequate[4], I believe the action sends a clear and unambiguous message to all Africans in positions of power that protection of human rights is a central component of an America-first U.S. foreign policy in Africa, a fact that has been underscored by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson[5].

I am especially elated to learn the U.S. Treasury Department “will forcefully respond to the atrocities ongoing in South Sudan by targeting those who abuse human rights, seek to derail the peace process, and obstruct reconciliation in South Sudan.” Such a resolute statement goes a long way in reassuring not only the people of South Sudan but also all Africans that the U.S. will not merely talk the talk about being on the “right side of history” but also walk the talk by acting decisively and selectively against individuals and entities engaged in gross human rights violations.

I wish to point out for the record that the sanctions you have imposed in South Sudan are in stark contrast to the Obama administration’s lifting of sanctions against the Sudan in its last week in office.

During his presidential candidacy in 2007, Barack Obama said[6], the “genocide in Darfur [Sudan] is a stain on our souls… As a president of the United States I don’t intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter.”

In the final week of his presidency, on January 13, 2017, Mr. Obama turned a blind eye to the genocidal Sudanese regime and stood on the “wrong side of history” when he rescinded sanctions authorized pursuant to Executive Order 13067[7] of November 3, 1997 and Executive Order 13412[8] of October 13, 2006 related to the policies and actions of the Government of Sudan.

In issuing his rescission of Executive Order 13761[9], Mr. Obama whitewashed the bloody genocidal crimes of the Sudanese regime by speciously claiming that regime has shown “positive actions over the past 6 months”. The “actions” allegedly included maintaining cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in the Sudan, improving humanitarian access and counterterrorism cooperation.

It is said, “one swallow does not make a summer.” It is incomprehensible to me how Mr. Obama could gloss over and excuse atrocities committed over a period exceeding two decades on mere gestures of good behavior over six months.

What is even more appalling is Mr. Obama’s duplicity and hypocrisy in completely ignoring Sudan’s close ties with North Korea and purchase of weapons from that rogue regime for use in the commission of human rights violations and atrocities. In lifting sanctions against the Sudan, Mr. Obama also conveniently ignored the fact that Sudan has been on the list[10] of state sponsors of terrorism since 1993 and had provided a haven to Osama bin Laden.

Perhaps one should not be surprised by Mr. Obama’s stratagems and sophistry in exculpating those on the “wrong side of history”, as he used to call them. When Mr. Obama visited Ethiopia in July 2015, he unabashedly declared the TPLF regime, which claimed electoral victory by capturing 100 percent of the “parliamentary” seats, as “democratically elected[11].”

In light of Mr. Obama’s double-speak and duplicity on human rights in Africa, I find your recent targeted sanctions against South Sudan and the tenor of your administration’s emerging human rights policy forthright, refreshing and encouraging.

I believe selective and targeted sanctions such as the one imposed against South Sudanese leaders and companies can serve as effective tools of an America-first foreign policy in advancing the cause of human rights globally, and particularly in Africa. Targeted sanctions selectively and purposefully focus on leaders, their family members and supporters, political elites and segments of society known to be directly responsible for human rights violations or in aiding, abetting and giving material support in the commission of such violations. Blanket sanctions are more likely to inflict greater hardship and suffering on the general population, and often those engaged in gross human rights violations find ways to circumvent them. It has been observed that “targeted sanctions” or “smart sanctions” are like “smart bombs”, considerably reducing collateral damage on civilian populations.

I believe in the old saying, “What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.” What is good for South Sudan is good for Ethiopia.

I am requesting that you follow up with targeted sanctions against current and senior members of the “Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front” led and dominated by the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front and other entities aiding and abetting that regime in the commission of human rights violations in Ethiopia. The evidence of human rights violations supporting targeted sanctions against the TPLF regime is overwhelming, incontrovertible, substantial and compelling.

The Irreecha Massacres of October 2, 2016

On October 2, 2016, troops loyal to the ruling Tigrean Peoples’ Liberation Front opened fire indiscriminately on crowds at a religious festival known as “Irreecha” attended by an “estimated 2 million people”[12] in the town of Bishoftu, some 45 miles southeast of the capital Addis Ababa.

The TPLF regime reported 52 dead from what it said was crowd “stampede[13] caused by anti-government elements”. In a televised address, the regime’s prime minster blamed the victims for provoking troops into using indiscriminate deadly force.

On October 3, 2016, Freedom House issued a statement[14] on the Irreecha Massacres demanding an independent investigation: “The deaths in Bishoftu occurred because security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition at a crowd of over a million people celebrating a religious occasion. The government of Ethiopia should allow a truly independent body to investigate the tragedy at Bishoftu as well as security forces’ well-documented record of using excessive force against peaceful gatherings.”

Eyewitness reports including statements by accredited Voice of America Amharic Service program journalists revealed that heavily armed regime troops had taken tactical positions behind the VIP grandstand hidden from direct view of the crowd and suddenly opened live fire on the unarmed and peacefully protesting crowd after the official program could not proceed due to crowd demands and chants against the regime.

On October 8, the TPLF regime declared a “state of emergency” suspending the constitution and instituting martial law under an entity called “Command Post[15]”.

On November 12, 2016, the regime officially reported[16] arresting “11,607 people, including 347 women”. The U.S. State Department in its 2016 human rights report[17] stated, “Many [of the thousands arrested] were never brought before a court, provided access to legal counsel, or formally charged with a crime.” The actual number of persons arrested was significantly higher than officially reported. In March 2017, the Command Post “announced that 4,996 of the 26,130 people detained for allegedly taking part in protests would be brought to court.”

An “investigative report” on the Irreecha Massacres released by the regime’s human rights organization in April 2016 rubberstamped the regime’s original position: “The violence happened because the protesters were using guns and so security forces had no other option.”

In its June 2016 report entitled “Such a Brutal Crackdown’: Killings and Arrests in Response to Ethiopia’s Oromo Protest”, Human Rights Watch stated, “security forces in Ethiopia have used excessive and lethal force against largely peaceful protests that have swept through Oromia, the country’s largest region, since November 2015.”

On September 19, 2017, Human Rights Watch in its 33-page report entitled “Fuel on the Fire’: Security Force Response to the 2016 Irreecha Cultural Festival” provided details on the regime’s “use of force in response to restive crowds at 2016’s Irreecha.” The report “found evidence that security force personnel not only triggered the stampede that caused many deaths but subsequently shot and killed some members of the crowd.”

Over the past year, the TPLF regime has committed unspeakable atrocities in Northern Ethiopia including Gonder, Wolkait, Bahr Dar and other locations.

The Irreecha Massacres are only the latest in the 26-year sordid history of gross and egregious human rights violation by the TPLF regime in Ethiopia.

On May 16, 2005, one day after the general election, the late leader of the TPLF regime, Meles Zenawi, also declared a state of emergency, outlawed all public gatherings and placed under his direct personal command and control all police, security and military forces in the country. Zenawi personally authorized the use of deadly force against any protesters in the post-election period. As a result, nearly a thousand people were either killed or severely wounded by regime troops. Zenawi subsequently set up an Inquiry Commission. That Commission was forced to go into exile following harassment and threats by the TPLF regime to falsify its findings. In November 2006, that Commission shared[18] its findings with members of the Africa Subcommittee in the House of Representatives. The Inquiry Commission laid the entire blame at the feet of the TPLF regime and rejected their spurious claims and justifications for use of deadly force.

A partial list of the names of the victims of the Meles Massacres is publicly available.

A list of names of those security, military and police officials directly involved in the post-2005 election massacres is also available. The TPLF regime to date has taken no action against these officials.

In May 2014, troops loyal to the TPLF regime massacred at least 47 university and high school students in the town of Ambo 80 miles west of the capital Addis Ababa. Eyewitnesses reported significantly higher casualties and fatalities than officially reported. Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement[19] condemning the “shooting at and beating [of] peaceful protesters in Ambo, Nekemte, Jimma, and other towns”. According to HRW, the student “protests erupted over the release of the proposed Addis Ababa Integrated Development Master Plan” which would “expand Addis Ababa’s municipal boundary to include more than 15 communities in Oromia” and displace Oromo farmers and residents.

In December 2003, the TPLF massacred hundreds of Anuak people in Gambella in Western Ethiopia. Human Rights Watch documented that TPLF troops “subjected Anuak communities throughout the region to widespread and systematic acts of murder, rape, torture, arbitrary imprisonment and the destruction of entire villages.” Genocide Watch sent a fact-finding team in Gambella and secured[21] authentic documents “proving that the Gambella massacres were planned at the highest levels of the Ethiopian government, and even given the code name “Operation Sunny Mountain”. A report[20] by the Harvard Law School Human Rights Program on the Anuak Massacre concluded, “From December 2004 to at least January 2006, the ENDF (Ethiopian National Defense Forces) attacked and abused Anuak civilians in Gambella region – wantonly killing, raping, beating, torturing, and harassing civilians.”

In 2007, the TPLF regime massacred hundreds of people in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. Human Rights Watch in its June 2008 report[22] entitled “Collective Punishment: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia’s Somali Region” documented, “Ethiopian troops have forcibly displaced entire rural communities, ordering villagers to leave their homes within a few days or witness their houses being burnt down and their possessions destroyed and risk death.”

The TPLF regime has refused to undertake meaningful and credible investigations into these crimes against humanity despite requests by human rights groups and even the U.N. The TPLF regime has refused entry to all UN special rapporteurs since 2007 to investigate human rights violations in Ethiopia.

The TPLF regime has dismissed and ignored all calls for an independent investigation of the Irreecha Massacres by United Nations top human rights official[23], the African Commission[24], the European parliament[25], and members of United States Congress[26].

The difference between the South Sudanese regime and the TPLF regime on human rights is the difference between Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Both regimes are peas in a pod. Thus, what is good enough for the South Sudanese regime is good enough for the TPLF regime.

I believe an America-first human rights policy which employs targeted sanctions to promote human rights, democracy and peace in Africa is not only necessary but also likely to produce outcomes that are consistent with the values and principles of American taxpayers.

Millions of refugees are leaving Africa to come go to Europe and North America because life is hell for them in Africa under brutal and bloodthirsty dictatorships, not merely to seek better economic opportunities. The U.S. can effectively deal with this problem by addressing the root cause of migration out of Africa, namely, brutal and oppressive dictatorships that treat their citizens as slaves and their countries’ treasuries and resources as their private estates. Selective and targeted sanctions aimed at the financial and logistical incapacitation of leaders, political elites and segments of society known to be directly responsible for human rights violations or engaged in aiding, abetting and giving material support in the commission of such violations in Africa is the proverbial two-by-four that will quickly get their attention.

For well over a decade, I have argued without pause that the best way to help Africa is to let Africa help itself. Africa can never be free until African leaders are held to account and forced to abandon the culture of panhandling, which have perfected as an art form. The U.S. must end its aid welfare program to African dictators who siphon off much of that aid and deposit it in their private offshore bank accounts. Your transition team hit the nail on the head when it demndaed answers from the State Department to the following question: “With so much corruption in Africa, how much of our funding is stolen?”

I wish I could definitively answer that question for you. But I can say definitively that to begin the effort to find out “how much of our funding is stolen” in Africa, we must make targeted sanctions a central part of the America-first foreign policy in Africa.

Mr. President, what I am asking is not anything extraordinary. I am merely requesting that you impose the same targeted sanctions you imposed on the leaders, supporters and business entities in South Sudan to the leaders, supporters and business entities responsible for human rights violations in Ethiopia. What is good enough for South Sudan is good enough for Ethiopia.

Mr. President, when Mr. Obama visited Ghana in his first trip to Africa in July 2009, he said, “Now, make no mistake: History is on the side of these brave Africans, not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.”

The people of Ethiopia and the people of Africa are on tenterhooks to find out if you are going to stand with African dictators or the common people yearning to breathe free.

I am betting my bottom dollar that you will stand with the people of Africa and not the dictators who lord over them, as did Mr. Obama.

I will guarantee that you will have 100 million fans in Ethiopia if you institute targeted sanctions against members of the TPLF regime and its cronies involved in gross human rights violations, and win more than a 1.2 billion Africans if you make targeted sanctions a core part of your America-first policy in Africa.

I guarantee it!

Sincerely,

Alemayehu (Al) G. Mariam, M.A., Ph.D., J.D.
Professor and Attorney at Law

Cc: Hon. Rex Tillerson, U.S. Secretary of State
Hon. Steven T. Mnuchin, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Hon. Nimrata “Nikki” Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

==========================
[1] https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/sm0152.aspx

[2] http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/Results.aspx?perpetrator=2127

[3] http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=201608260003

[4] http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/09/06/u-s-sanctions-south-sudanese-leaders/

[5] https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2017/05/270620.htm

[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEd583-fA8M

[7] https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Documents/13067.pdf

[8] https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Documents/13412.pdf

[9] https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/DCPD-201700026/pdf/DCPD-201700026.pdf

[10] https://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/c14151.htm

[11] https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/world/africa/obama-calls-ethiopian-government-democratically-elected.html

[12] http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/03/africa/ethiopia-oromo-deaths/index.html

[13] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/ethiopia-stampede-violent-clashes-death-toll-oromia-disaster-bishoftu-protest-more-than-100-a7342951.html

[14] https://freedomhouse.org/article/ethiopia-more-150-dead-after-security-forces-fire-crowd

[15] http://www.ena.gov.et/en/index.php/politics/item/2067-command-post-established-to-oversee-implementation-of-emergency-rule

[16] http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/11/ethiopia-state-emergency-arrests-top-11000-161112191919319.html

[17] https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/#wrapper

[18] http://www.ethiomedia.com/addfile/ethiopian_inquiry_commission_briefs_congress.html

[19] https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/05/ethiopia-brutal-crackdown-protests

[20] http://hrp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Ethiopia_2006_Report.pdf

[21] http://www.genocidewatch.org/ethiopia.html

[22] https://www.hrw.org/report/2008/06/12/collective-punishment/war-crimes-and-crimes-against-humanity-ogaden-area-ethiopias

[23] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-violence-un-idUSKCN10L1SY

[24] http://www.achpr.org/sessions/59th/resolutions/356/

[25] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2016-0023+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN

[26] https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/hres128/BILLS-115hres128ih.pdf

By Tewelde Tesfagabir | VOA

Two Eritrean TV journalists who spent more than a decade imprisoned in Ethiopia have been released, according to family members and Eritrean press freedom advocates.

The sources told VOA's Horn of Africa service that Tesfaldet Kidane and Salih Gama were released over the weekend. A family member of Kidane said Gama has already left for Eritrea, while Kidane is still in Ethiopia.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Gama, a show host for Eritrea's state broadcaster, and Kidane, a cameraman, were arrested in December 2006 on the Kenya-Somalia border during Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia.

CPJ says that in April 2007, Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry presented them on state television as part of a group of 41 captured terrorism suspects. But the two were never formally charged or put on trial.

There have been no official statements on their release from the Ethiopian or Eritrean governments.

The two governments have little tolerance for perceived dissent or criticism, and usually rank near the bottom on indexes of press freedom. CPJ says that as of 2016, Ethiopia was holding 16 journalists behind bars, while Eritrea was holding 17, some of whom have been in prison since 2001.

Latest News in Ethiopia (Oct. 2)

Placards outside the Foreign Office in London, April 2015. Photograph: Alamy


By Owen Bowcott

Boris Johnson has been urged by the heads of both branches of the legal profession to call for the release of a Briton who was abducted in Yemen and is now on death row in Ethiopia.

The president of the Law Society, Joe Egan, and the chair of the Bar Council, Andrew Langdon QC, have written to the foreign secretary to ask him to intervene more forcefully in the case of Andargachew Tsege.

Johnson has said he will “not interfere in the legal systems of other countries” and that calling for his release would not “be helpful at this stage”.

Tsege, known as Andy, was kidnapped in 2014 and forcibly flown to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and is an opponent of the regime. He holds British citizenship. His partner, Yemi Hailemariam, and their three children are also British and live in the UK. She has not spoken to him for nearly three years.

Tsege, 63, had previously been secretary general of Ginbot 7, a political opposition party that called for democracy, free elections and civil rights in Ethiopia. He first came to the UK in 1979.

Tesge was travelling from Dubai to Eritrea in June 2014 when his flight stopped over in Yemen. It is believed Yemeni security staff handed him over to the Ethiopians.

The letter to Johnson from Egan and Langdon says they are very concerned about the situation of Tsege, who is “unlawfully detained on death row”. It points out that he was tried in absentia, without notice and sentenced to death in 2009.

“He was hooded, shackled and rendered at night to Ethiopia where he was held incommunicado for over 50 days and has been detained ever since,” the letter continues. “We understand that, in three years, he has been permitted a single phone call to his wife and children, and that the UK government has yet to secure effective consular access. Mr Tsege has now been unlawfully held on Ethiopia’s death row for over 1,000 days.”

Egan and Langdon say that Tsege’s conviction violates international law standards. Their letter to Johnson concludes: “We are deeply concerned about these flagrant violations of a UK citizen’s rights and hope you will make representations to the Ethiopian authorities to ensure that [they] … release Mr Tsege without delay and enable him to return to the United Kingdom.”

Hailemariam told the Guardian: “The foreign secretary is saying we should accept kidnapping. It’s illogical and it’s heart-breaking. The Ethiopian government refuses to let me travel to see him.”

Hailemariam had a meeting with Johnson at the Foreign Office earlier this year. “The British government needs to do more,” she said. “The last thing that Boris told me was that I had left him ‘with a lot to think about’. But I don’t know what that means. There’s no political will and that’s really the problem.”

Maya Foa, the director of Reprieve, which is campaigning for Tsege’s freedom, said: “[He] has suffered extreme abuses at the hands of the Ethiopian government, from kidnap to torture to an unlawful death sentence imposed for his political views while he was living with his family in London.

“By failing to secure Andy’s return to his partner and three children in the the UK, Boris Johnson is failing to stand up for British values and the rights of a vulnerable British citizen.”

In a public letter to the foreign secretary earlier this year, two former justice secretaries and a former DPP – Dominic Grieve QC, Lord Falconer QC and Lord Macdonald QC – also urged Johnson to call for Tsege’s “immediate release” in “the light of the international law violations”.

In an open letter published in August on the Foreign Office website, Johnson said he had raised Tsege’s case with the Ethiopian government on numerous occasions.

He added: “Britain does not interfere in the legal systems of other countries by challenging convictions any more than we would accept interference in our judicial system.

“We do, however, lobby strongly and consistently against the application of the death penalty … Neither calling for his release nor reducing our commitment to the Ethiopian people would be helpful at this stage. It could, in fact, damage the progress we have made in this case, including consular access to Mr Tsege.”

Investigators from the Animal Crimes Unit Investigators in Maricopa County, Arizona seized 16 neglected animals, attended by three Ethiopian teens, from a youth rehabilitation facility in New River


By KPNX

NEW RIVER, Ariz. (KPNX)―Investigators from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Animal Crimes Unit have seized 16 neglected animals from a youth rehabilitation facility in New River.

MCSO seized eight horses, one foal, one miniature donkey, five adult dogs and one puppy. All are in emergency veterinarian care.

According to the sheriff’s office, one of the animals, a mini horse, had to be euthanized when it was removed from the property.

Remington turned the animals over after neighbors made complaints to MCSO, saying they had observed the animals in terrible conditions without food and water.

Investigators said Remington told detectives he didn’t have money for a veterinarian to treat the animals and signed over ownership to the sheriff’s office.

Three teenage boys, believed to be from Ethiopia, appeared to be working the property and attending to the animals, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies said the three showed no signs of physical abuse.

Investigators said there are unanswered questions as to how the Ethiopian teens came to live at the ranch, which is not licensed with the state of Arizona.

MCSO contacted the Arizona Department of Child Safety, which will open an inquiry into the welfare of the children.

The investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made.

By ESAT

Displacement of Oromos and Somalis in Eastern Ethiopia continued despite statement by authorities that they had put an end to the crises that was sparked by land dispute between the two ethnic groups.

The number of Oromos displaced from the Somali region and Somaliland has reached 70,000. But the numbers of Somalis displaced from the Oromo region remains unknown.

The national defense forces were seen accompanying Somalis leaving the Oromo region, according to reports by local media.

Rayis Abamecha, an Oromo displaced from Jijiga said he left behind a hotel that he owns and Jijiga was the only place he knew. The father of four said his money and valuables were looted. He said the looting and displacement was happening while members of the defense forces looked on.

Close observers of the crises blame security forces of the regime for having a hand in instigating clashes between the two ethnic groups.

By VOA

The protocol chief of the Ethiopian prime minister, Baye Tadesse Teferi, has decided to seek political asylum in the United States.

Baye Tadesse, who served for more than two years in the state, has shared with VOA the cause of his decision to quit in the United States.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn attended the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York, which was attended by Mr. Baye Tadesse.

By ESAT

There has been no effort by the regime to return home tens of thousands of Oromos and Somalis who were displaced due to recent ethnic clashes.

According to sources who closely follow developments in Eastern Ethiopia, the regime, that stands accused of instigating the violence, has done nothing to return home the over 70,000 thousand Oromos sheltered in camps or the unknown number of Somalis displaced from the Oromo region. Neither is there any plan to help and compensate the displaced.

Observers of the development say the two regional governments were setting a bad precedent in letting the crises to go out of hand.

Ethnic violence sparked by dispute over resources and land between the two communities has resulted in the displacement of thousands of people and scores of deaths in the last few weeks alone.

A vegetable seller at Dessie market in northern Ethiopia. About 80% of the country’s workforce is employed in smallholder agriculture. Photograph: Ivoha/Alamy


By William Davison | TheGuardian