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By Tedla Asfaw

On the 122nd Anniversary of Adwa, Yekatit 23 or March 2, 2018 behind the jubilation on Addis Ababa street something unbelievable was going on the  parliament floor. The news on FBC (Fana Broadcasting Corporate S.C.) a government media it said by the vote of 346 in favor 88 opposed  7 abstain out of 490 member of parliament from 547 the State of Emergency Decree was Approved. Quickly that was corrected to 395 in favor.

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By Abdisa Aga

The pro-democracy protests in Ethiopia  began in Oromia and spread to other parts of the country. Despite the huge human life sacrifices paid especially by the Oromo, international media coverage is low to none and sympathy for the struggle is invisible. Here is why

Its been three years since the Oromo revolted and The Amhara in the north followed. The regime has killed more than a thousand lives and tens of thousands of people have been arrested.  Several dramatic events have happened, including the resignation of the prime minster and here we are. Still the true rulers of the country, the rebel veterans of Tigre liberation front remain in charge and the killings have continued in another state of emergency. Whats more devastating, international attention and media coverage is very very low. This has prolonged the tyranny and the sacrifices especially for the Oromo.

Before I go deep into the piece, I want to make a few things clear about myself in this highly polarized ethnic politics.  I consider myself as an urban Oromo and even once I was a member of the OPDO ( the ruling party in the Oromo region). I’m a federalist and even more believe everyone born in the Oromo region is an Oromo. I’m as young as a man born and raised after the TPLF takeover of Addis Ababa in 1991.

now, after all this bloodshed, the pro-democracy struggle is getting very little international attention. And when it got one, its been demonized. Its not been used for the better of the struggle. Sadly, its the Oromo with Oromo names thats diminishing it, undermining it on the face of an international audience. So the international community continues to recognize TPLF’s naked military dictatorship as the legitimate government of Ethiopia trying to quell some internal ethnic matters but not as a brutal totalitarian one party dictatorship that killed democracy for 27 years and continues to do so. And for the international community’s delight, Addis Ababa, the capital is calm and shiny.

The self proclaimed Oromo fighters of facebook and twitter worked so hard that they deserve the few appearances they’re getting on these one or two international language broadcasts. But when one gets on an international language media and tells the world that Amhara was king before 1991 and now Tigre is the king  after 1991, so Oromo is revolting to replace them. How would the world perceive this? isn’t this foolish? Not only that, its also very dangerous for the Qeero ( The Oromo youth) shedding their blood on the streets Ambo or Naqamte.

These self proclaimed spokespersons of the Oromo youth in Ethiopia are depicting the Oromo struggle merely as an ages old boring African ethnic clash. So nobody has the appetite to give attention or dares to play a role. Its a real disaster how these fame seeking individuals and demonizing us, diminishing our cause. You can say to a fellow Ethiopian that before 1991, the king was Amhara, the government was Amhara, the language was Amhara, the church was Amhara, the mosque was Amhara and after 1991, everything is Tigre. But if you say this to an international audience, you’re not only distracting the attention on the current issue but you’re also getting yourself ridiculed for misusing or wasting a very precious very short international media coverage. Yes I understand the fight among the facebook or twitter heroes on a non existing power in the Oromo. One tries to pretend as a better Oromo nationalist than the other. So we see these all tongue twisting and I am a better Oromo messages.

The Oromo has always had a just cause. But because it lacked clever politicians, its miserable life has continued and prisons in Ethiopia speak Afaan Oromo. The atrocities against the Oromo has always been recorded. Because we are the big, we always suffer the big. There is no specific attack toward us. I’m simply here to remind concerned oromos how the few self proclaimed social media heros are demonizing the pro-democracy struggle of the oromo of Ethiopia for their own personal fame. These poorly educated and tempered people are diminishing the struggle as a simple ethnic clash so that the international community ignores it.

As leenco lata once said the Oromo struggle has always been a sensitive matter for the international community. It needs well trained and smart people to communicate it. They’re are too far from the heat, the fires and the blood cuz they’re only on facebook and twitter. They dont mind if the bloodshed dont come to an end. As long as it remains like this, they remain famous and “important”. So it seems they want it to continue. Just like an enemy from with in, they benefit from the sufferings of our people.

For the international community, the Oromo has its own region governed by Oromos with afaan Oromo with a local Oromo media and with a regional security force commanded by Oromos. And at the national level, Oromo is the president, Oromo is the foreign secretary, Oromo is the house speaker, Oromo is the deputy commander in chief of the national armed forces.

Its completely different the way we speak to an international audience and to a local one. To a local Ethiopian, you can argue as much as you want how the king was an Amhara until 1991 and now the Tigre after 1991. but to an international audience, thats only diminishing the Oromo and its great history

We need new, better and smart people to tell our stories to the international community so that we can get international support and sympathy, not these greedy dumb men who depict us as an inferior group in Ethiopia and as if we’re fighting to dominate Ethiopia.

This is ridiculous and it needs to stop!!! Our story is simple and simple. We the Oromo as the other Ethiopians are fighting to rule ourselves, to be ruled by the people we elect, to be ruled by the kind of system we vote on and share our deserved place in the center of Ethiopia. And these are very simple fundamental democratic questions. They can be supported by anybody else. And our martyrs get the deserved sympathy in the international community. They’re not about regional territories or they’re not about Tigre or Amhara, they’re universal democratic questions. But because our media platforms are hijacked by these people, Addis ababa youth don’t raise our cause and protest under the eyes of the international community, They keep to demonize us so these all killings as business as usual for the international community and they only remain “ concerned” as they have always been for the last 27 years.

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ESAT Radio Sat 03 Mar 2018

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Africa News) — The European Union (E.U.) must start being tough with the Ethiopian regime especially given the current political climate, a Member of the European Parliament has said.

MEP Ana Gomes has thus requested that the parliament summons the E.U. Commission vice-president and top diplomat to explain the body’s most recent statement on the Ethiopian crisis.

According to her, the statement was weak and failed to send a strong signal to the regime especially relating to the reinstatement of a state of emergency (SoE) – the second measure in the last two years.

And the statement made by the European Union is a shame compared namely by the one that was put out by the Americans condemning the reinstatement of the state of emergency.

“I have asked this moment to ask you to raise with the High Representative Mogherini, the situation in Ethiopia. Brutal repression is going on, the Prime Minister has resigned (and) there has been a state of emergency reimposed.

“And the statement made by the European Union is a shame compared namely by the one that was put out by the Americans condemning the reinstatement of the state of emergency.

“I ask you to bring this up with the (European Union) Commission and the High Representative, so that the European Union, indeed, has a position that respects our values and meets the interest of democracy that has to be inclusive in Ethiopia and the establishment of the rule of law and the respect for human rights,” she said in a session on March 1.

Gomes is a Portuguese politician who doubles as a Socialist Member of the European parliament.
She is currently a member of the political committee of the socialist party, is known to be someone who frequently speaks on Ethiopia politics.

She was part of efforts calling on the government to disclose charges against Oromo leader Merera Gudina after his in 2016. She is on record to have slammed the government after his release stating that he did not have to be arrested in the first place.

What did the E.U. statement say in February 19, 2018 statement

The resignation by Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn opens a period of uncertainty in Ethiopia. It will be important for the new government to have the full capacity to pursue the positive reforms initiated by the Prime Minister to address the grievances of the population.

Only a constructive dialogue among all stakeholders – authorities, opposition, media, civil society – will allow for a peaceful and durable resolution of the crisis.

The announced reinstatement of the State of Emergency risks undermining this very objective. It is therefore of the utmost importance that it should be as limited in time as possible and respectful of human rights and fundamental freedoms, notably those enshrined in the Ethiopian Constitution. Violence should also be avoided.

As a committed partner of Ethiopia and of the Ethiopian people, the EU will continue to encourage all actors to work constructively towards a democratic and stable Ethiopia.

What the U.S embassy said in its Feb. 17 2018 statement

We strongly disagree with the Ethiopian government’s decision to impose a state of emergency that includes restrictions on fundamental rights such as assembly and expression.

We recognize and share concerns expressed by the government about incidents of violence and loss of life, but firmly believe that the answer is greater freedom, not less.

The challenges facing Ethiopia, whether to democratic reform, economic growth, or lasting stability, are best addressed through inclusive discourse and political processes, rather than through the imposition of restrictions.

The declaration of a state of emergency undermines recent positive steps toward creating a more inclusive political space, including the release of thousands of prisoners. Restrictions on the ability of the Ethiopian people to express themselves peacefully sends a message that they are not being heard.

We strongly urge the government to rethink this approach and identify other means to protect lives and property while preserving, and indeed expanding, the space for meaningful dialogue and political participation that can pave the way to a lasting democracy.

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History of Amhara People of Ethiopia by Tedla Melaku

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By Paul Schemm

ADDIS ABABA, Ethi­o­pia — It was while he was in prison that Ethiopian opposition politician Bekele Gerba first sensed change happening in the world outside. The television news from his native Oromia region had broken from the official line and was suddenly reporting on the unrest flaring around the country.

Soon after, he was released along with more than 6,000 others, most of them imprisoned for political activity, in what the government said was an effort “to establish a national consensus and widen the political sphere.”

Within days of Gerba’s rapturous welcome home on Feb. 13, however, the prime minister resigned and a state of emergency was declared to restore “law and order.” Now Ethiopia appears to be on the brink of the biggest political crisis since the communist regime was overthrown in 1991.

“There is a huge change in this country, especially the region we live in, the Oromia state,” said Gerba, from his home city of Adama, where people kept stopping him to pose for selfies. “We feel that some kind of air of freedom is here, but this is regarded by the federal government as a threat.”

On Friday, Parliament ratified the state of emergency. Although the ruling coalition controls all 547 seats, an unprecedented 88 deputies voted against the measure. By comparison, the state of emergency declared in October 2016 passed with a unanimous vote.

Ethiopian opposition politician Bekele Gerba was released from prison in February. (Chris Stein/AFP/Getty Images)

The opposition disputed those totals after footage from the parliamentary session appeared to show the parliamentary speaker stating a lower vote count, according to a Reuters report. In response to the video, the speaker said the higher number of votes was correct.

Hirut Zemene, a senior Foreign Ministry official, told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday that the state of emergency is necessary if “wide-ranging political and democratic reform” is to continue.

But Ethiopia’s Western allies have condemned the decision. The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa said it strongly disagreed with it, adding that it “undermines recent positive steps.”

The move is likely to be on the agenda when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visits Ethi­o­pia this week.

Turmoil in Ethi­o­pia couldn’t come at a worse time for East Africa, which includes strife-torn South Sudan and Somalia. With 100 million people, the country is easily the biggest in the region, and given its sizable military, the main guarantor of stability.

If Ethi­o­pia collapses, “it will take down the region’s economy,” said Hallelujah Lulie, a political analyst. “Security will also be threatened.”

Ethiopia is divided into ethnically based states in a federal system ruled by a coalition of four parties — known as the Ethio­pian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front — that is dominated by the Tigrayan minority. It was a Tigrayan rebel group that overthrew the communist Derg regime in 1991.

Over the past few years, as rural unrest over economic and political marginalization has grown, the junior members of the coalition, the parties from ­Amhara and Oromo states, have started standing up to the Tigrayans and publicly challenging official policy.

Despite making up just 6 percent of the population, the Tigrayans are perceived to dominate not just the security services, but the economy, as well.

Now, more than two weeks after Prime Minister Hailemariam ­Desalegn submitted his resignation, the coalition still has not chosen his successor, apparently deadlocked over which ethnic group gets the nod.

“At least at this point, there isn’t a willingness from the establishment to negotiate a new formula for political decision-making, a new formula for power and economic dispensation,” Lulie said. “So we are at a stalemate.”

Yet Ethiopia’s crisis is not just about elites scrabbling for a larger piece of the pie. Outside the capital lies the vast Oromia region, which has been seething with resentment for the past three years about land seizures and a lack of jobs and, more recently, democratic reforms. The Oromos, who make up 35 percent of the population, have been joined by the Amharas to the north, who make up another 27 percent.

Nearly every day comes news of a clash between young protesters and security services, often resulting in casualties.

René Lefort, an expert on Ethiopia who has been visiting the country since the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, said the Tigrayan establishment does have a strong faction that is interested in reform but does not want to appear weak.

“As with any ruler of Ethiopia, it is very difficult for them to reform under pressure — they accept to reform only if they can properly, step by step, manage the reforms by themselves,” he said. “That’s the reason why, in my view, the reform process is now blocked.”

While the government sees the state of emergency — the second in two years — as necessary to restore the order required for any reform, critics see it as a way of perpetuating the status quo.

[In bid for dialogue, Ethi­o­pia announces major prisoner release]

After his release, Gerba, the jailed Oromo opposition politician, toured local towns to meet with the young protesters — who call themselves Qeerroo, or “youth” in the Oromo language.

He hopes to revive his political party, most of whose leaders were jailed over the past two years, by merging it with the Qeerroo and getting them into politics, instead of just protesting. In October 2016, anger over deaths at an Oromo religious festival led to attacks on foreign-owned businesses across the region.

“I was advising the youth especially not to be emotional, to abide by the nonviolent struggle,” said Gerba, who describes himself as a student of Martin Luther King Jr.’s teachings. “The idea is to bring the Qeerroo to power, the good Qeerroo, the educated Qeerroo. This old generation must go,” he said, referring to himself and other party leaders.

On Feb. 24, however, federal police stopped Gerba’s convoy outside the western Oromia town of Nekemte, saying that under the state of emergency, he could not hold a planned rally. The standoff lasted all night before Gerba and his supporters withdrew, but afterward the town erupted into violence, with clashes between youth and police that left at least one protester dead.

Ayele Adamu, a young Qeerroo activist, said the protesters want an end to repression of their people and recognition of “the need for bread, for work and lowering unemployment.”

What many analysts fear is that the Qeerroo and other disaffected youths elsewhere in the country will step up their protests and provoke a crackdown that could spiral out of the control of even the Ethiopian military.

Turmoil in Ethi­o­pia has also historically been accompanied by increased violence among its many ethnic groups.

But Lefort, the longtime observer of Ethiopia, said there is a glimmer of hope. So far, he said, the Qeerroo and others have not engaged in wholesale violence, and the parties of the ruling coalition still appear to be ready to work together and hash out some kind of new system — probably one not much more democratic than it is now but that will at least address the different groups’ grievances.

“I think a rosy scenario is a little more possible than a black scenario,” he said.

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Footage of an Ethiopian parliamentary session posted online on Saturday appeared to contradict official reports of the number of votes cast to validate the state of emergency, though government officials dismissed the discrepancy as a mistake.

ADDIS ABABA: Footage of an Ethiopian parliamentary session posted online on Saturday appeared to contradict official reports of the number of votes cast to validate the state of emergency, though government officials dismissed the discrepancy as a mistake.

On Friday, the House of People’s Representatives held an emergency session on state of emergency legislation imposed on Feb. 16, a day after Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s surprise resignation.

The state-run Ethiopian News Agency said on Friday that 395 lawmakers voted in favour of the bill, putting the government comfortably within the two-thirds majority needed to validate the state of emergency, which bans demonstrations and restricts publications that could incite violence.

But footage made public by the privately-owned Addis Standard news website showed parliamentary speaker Abadula Gemeda stating at the end of the session that 346 parliamentarians had voted in favour.

Abadula also appeared to have made a mathematical mistake, saying 339 was the required two-thirds of 539 seats.

In fact, a vote of 346 would be below the threshold needed if the two-thirds rule applied to the total number of seats, rather than the number of parliamentarians present. It was not clear from the constitution how the two-thirds rule was meant to be applied.

The discrepancies sparked claims of vote fraud from the opposition.

“It is nothing less than rigging – another example of the workings of the ruling party,” Beyene Petros, an opposition party leader and former parliamentarian, told Reuters.

Speaking to state-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation late on Saturday, parliamentary speaker Abadula said 395 was the correct number of votes in favour of the legislation.

The dispute could become yet another battleground in a country where unrest was triggered over land rights, before broadening into protests over marginalisation.

After years of anti-government protests, diplomats are closely watching developments in Ethiopia, a Western ally in the fight against Islamist militancy, the region’s biggest and fastest growing economy, and Africa’s second most-populous nation.

The government has struggled to placate simmering anger among the country’s two largest ethnic groups, the Oromo and Amhara, who complain that they are under-represented in the country’s corridors of power.

The prime minister’s resignation followed two years of anti-government protests in which security forces killed hundreds of people in Oromiya province, the country’s most populous region.

The ruling EPRDF’s council is expected to announce Hailemariam’s successor next week following a vote, with many analysts expecting an Oromo to take the reins.

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Russian Politics & Diplomacy

Lavrov expressed hope the visit “will be a useful input in development of the time-tested relations between the countries”

MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during the coming visit to Ethiopia will discuss organization of a nuclear sciences center in that country.

“Our plans include organization of Ethiopia’s center for nuclear sciences and technologies, based on the Russian research reactor,” he said in an interview with The Reporter Ethiopia.

The foreign minister continued by saying that during the upcoming talks with the Ethiopian counterpart Workneh Gebeyehu he plans “discussing in detail ways to develop further the bilateral cooperation with the focus on its trade, economic and investment components, implementation of joint projects, including in the energy, and nuclear energy”.

Source – http://tass.com/politics/992623

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ByStaff Writer
AP

Ethiopia has signed an agreement with DP World and the Somaliland Port Authority which will see it acquire a 19% stake the Port of Berbera as well as committing to developing the Berbera Corridor as a trade gateway for the inland country.

Under the terms of the deal, Ethiopia will have close to a fifth of stake in the hub, while DP World will hold a 51% stake in the project and Somaliland 30%. In a media release announcing the deal, DP World said there are also plans to construct an additional berth at the Port of Berbera, in line with the Berbera master plan while adding new equipment to further improve efficiencies and productivity. The first cranes are scheduled to arrive later this year.

“I am so excited about the prospects of working with the Ethiopian government. Ethiopia is home to approximately 110 million people. The ports of Berbera and Doraleh will provide significant capacity to the region,” said DP World Group chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem. “Both these ports and more capacity will be needed to serve the region’s growth potential in the future. Having the Government of Ethiopia as a partner will enable DP World to support the Government in achieving its impressive development plans. This development and the strengthening of our partnership demonstrates our commitment to the people of Somaliland and Ethiopia and we look forward to working together.”

“After a year of serious negotiations, Ethiopia has concluded an agreement with the Somaliland Ports Authority and DP World that will give the Government of Ethiopia 19% stake in the joint venture developing the Port of Berbera,” said Ethiopian transport minister Ahmed Shide. “The agreement will help Ethiopia secure an additional logistical gateway for its ever increasing import and export trade driven by its growing population and economy. In addition, Ethiopian participation in the development of port of Berbera and the Berbera Corridor will help bring increased economic development and opportunity to the people of Somaliland. Ethiopia will continue to further invest in and develop the Djibouti corridor and further consolidate the use of existing ports in Djibouti. It will also look for other opportunities to develop additional ports and logistics corridors in the region.”

He added: “The economies of the region are growing at a pace that needs the development of Berbera supplementing Djibouti and additional gateways in the future.”

Republic of Somaliland Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Dr. Saad Al Shire, said the project will address some of the problems facing Somaliland concerning employment and investment: “It is a welcome development that will benefit the region as a whole. The economies of the region are growing at a pace that necessitates the development of multiple ports and outlets. The extension of the port will increase capacity of the region to accommodate the increase in trade.”

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Daniel Mumbere

The government of Somalia has rejected the agreement signed between Ethiopia, Somaliland and United Arab Emirates (UAE) logistics company DP World.

In a statement declaring the agreement ‘null and void’, government said the agreement violated the unity of Somalia and the constitution.

Earlier, Ethiopian media had reported the acquisition of a 19% stake in the Port of Berbera, saying an agreement was reached with the Somaliland Port Authority and DP World.

According to the agreement, DP World is the major shareholder with 51% while Somaliland takes the remaining 30%.

The port of Berbera is located in Somaliland which is internationally recognised as an autonomous state of Somalia.

Ethiopia, which has no coastline, plans to invest in infrastructure to develop the Berbera Corridor as a trade gateway.

When news of the agreement was received on Thursday, the prime minister of Somalia, Hassan Ali was in the UAE and many wondered whether the government of Somalia could have endorsed the deal.

Harun Maruf

@HarunMaruf

Ethiopia acquires 19% in Berbera Port becoming a strategic shareholder; UAE’s DP World has 51% while Somaliland gets 30% following agreement signed. The Prime Minister of Somalia Hassan Ali Khaire is also (coincidently?) in UAE.

7:38 AM – Mar 1, 2018

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But when Ali returned from the UAE, he told journalists that the Somali government was neither consulted nor involved in the Berbera Port Agreement.

He added that while the government welcomes foreign investment, all those seeking to acquire ports and similar resources must deal with the federal government.

Somaliland’s minister of information, Abdirahman Guri – Barwaqo responded to the premier’s rejection insisting that Somaliland has the right to enter agreements.

About Somaliland

Somaliland declared unilateral independence from Somalia on May 18, 1991. It has been under pressure to hold talks with Somalia which have so far been futile.

Somaliland can boast of an army, its own currency and legal system. The territory has been experiencing stability and economic prosperity and has been influential in the fight against piracy and terrorism in the Horn of Africa.

26 years of diplomatic isolation has made it difficult for Somaliland to have access to loans from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

It is regarded as the autonomous region of Somalia and not a sovereign state.

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March 4, 2018 (JUBA) – South Sudan rebels have rubbished claims they have recruited civilians in the refugee camp in the neighbouring Gambella region of Ethiopia, stressing the claims was a mere propaganda.

South Sudanese refugees in Gambela, Ethiopia (Photo: South Sudan Consul, Gambela)

Lt Gen James Koang Chuol SPLA-IO Deputy Chief of General Staffs (DCOG) for Administration and Finance told Sudan Tribune on Sunday he was accused with several other senior commanders of recruiting refugees in order to compromise the group’s relationship with the Ethiopian government.

“They want to implicate me with Ethiopian government while they are on the offensive on our forces in Maiwut and Nasir. The latest claim by the so-called (SPLM-IO Taban Deng Gai faction) Dickson Gatluak Joak is not true and contrary to the cessation of hostilities agreement which is not being respected by their government,” he said.

Last week, SPLM-IO faction loyal to First Vice President Taban Deng, alleged that rebel commanders from the SOLM-Io faction led by Riek Machar have mobilized refugees in Ethiopia to join them and attack Pagak, a town at the border between Ethiopia and South Sudan.

However, Chuol has described the claim against their group by the government as a “dangerous accusation and unfounded allegations”.

“It has not happened to us to go and recruit refugees in the refugee camps in another country. But the government thought it was smart enough to resort to propaganda in order to blindfold the region and international community,” he added.

In a statement released on Sunday, Taban’s faction said the forces loyal to the former First Vice President Machar are now in Buoth of Northern Upper Nile, preparing for attacks on several areas in the Upper Nile region including Nasir, Bentiu and Pagak.

The statement further said the Troika countries, which facilitate the peace process, should now that the opposition groups are not willing to reach a negotiated settlement but seek a “regime change”.

“We are well informed that they (rebels) receive moral and material support- weapons and ammunition from their allies in the region and beyond,” further claimed the statement.

The warring parties in South Sudan signed a cessation of hostilities agreement on 21 December 2017, but the confidence measure has not been observed. Also, threats of sanctions didn’t dissuade them from carrying out attacks.

(ST)

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Addis Standard
Etenesh Abera & Liyat Fekade

Addis Abeba, March 05/2018 – Following the news of the state of emergency, which the speaker of the house of people’s representatives (Ethiopian parliament) said was approved by the majority in the house, albeit a “mathematical error” which led top the speaker to apologize, protests have flared up in various cities across Oromia against the news, leading to the death of at least seven people so far.

In addition to the death, more than 20 were also wounded, most of them by bullet, while some were severely beaten according to various information obtained by Addis Standard and other other media reports. However, not all causalities were related to protests as is the case for Kelbessa Mokonnen, 24, who was “shot from the back” in Gimbi, western Ethiopia, on Sunday “on his way to see a doctor for a headache he was experiencing,” according to Abdi, a relative who wants to be identified by his first name only. Kelbessa died on the spot,” Abdi told Addis Standard, adding “There was no protest in the city when Kelbessa was killed.”  He was raised by Likitu Haile, a single mom who is working as a waitress in a restaurant in the town, Abdi said. Four other people, including, Israel Deresu, Kelbessa’s friend who was accompanying him to the hospital we also wounded. “He is now admitted at Gimbi Adventist Hospital.” over the weekend, a graphic picture of showing Kelbessa’s disfigured face was making rounds in the Ethiopian social media space. Abdi confirmed the picture was indeed that of the victim.

And in Chiro, west Hararge zone of the Oromia regional state in eastern Ethiopia, one person, Ibrahim Abdella, was killed by security forces, according to Mustafa kadir, a relative who spoke to Addis Standard by phone. “He was killed from a close range on his way to work; there was no protest in the city and we were all going about our daily lives,” Mustafa said. Ibrahim’s body was taken to Chiro hospital before it was discharged to his family this afternoon. Addis Standard’s attempts to talk to the city police were to no avail.

Other cities affected by protests include Ambo, Ginchi, Guder as well as Qellem Wollega, where the deaths of six people were reported on Saturday and Sunday. According to DWAmharic, three people were killed yesterday in Ginchi town, 81 km west of Addis Abeba. And on Saturday another three people were killed in Ambo, 125 km west of Addis Abeba. Both places are where the 2015 Oromo protests began. 

Quoting doctors at hospitals in the Nekemte, Gimbi, Ambo and Dambi Dolo Bloomberg  news said “on Sunday they’ve handled 18 casualties with bullet wounds since the government suspended the constitution on Feb. 16. Ambo General Hospital documented two deaths on arrival and 13 casualties on Saturday, according to Garoma Shure, a doctor at the facility.”

The incident in Gimbi was also confirmed by the VOAAmharic news.

And on Saturday, Taressa Digafe (pictured) and his father Digafe Dandana were both killed by security forces in Guder town, about 12 km west of Ambo, Arega Huliso, a relative, confirmed to Addis Standard.  “Both of the were together when they were killed not far from their house. The whole community is devastated,” a sobbing Arega said by phone.

On February 27, amidst continued anti-governments protests and reports of causalities, including death, in parts of the Oromia regional state, particularly in Dembi Dolo and Nekemt, in western Ethiopia, the Command post established to oversee the reinstated state of emergency said its patience against what it called ant-peace elements has run out and it no longer tolerates any form of disruptions of public peace; it said it instructed security forces “to take necessary measures to restore peace.”

Three days boycott, again

Three days strike called by online activists to protest the state of emergency has also began in Oromia region today; scores of businesses, civil service offices and schools have been shut since early this morning. Transport services top and from the capital Addis Abeba are also affected.

View image on Twitter

Addis Standard@addisstandard

#Ethiopia– Addisu Arega, head of the communc’n bureau of #Oromia region, conformed that lives are lost, properties are damaged & ongoing road blockages & other forms of protests are happening in the region. He called on the public to ask their questions while continuing to work

12:14 AM – Mar 5, 2018

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Addisu Arega, head of the communication bureau of the Oromia regional state, conformed that lives are lost, properties are damaged & ongoing road blockages & other forms of protests are happening in the region. He called on the public to ask their questions while continuing to work.

And according to the state run television EBC, there were no activities in cities within Oromia regional state, including Ambo, Gimbi, Hirna, and Jimma. The boycotts strikes are happening despite the prohibition from command post enforcing State of emergency. This morning, the command post led by Siraj Fegessa urged “the society to carry out their normal day-to-day activities by ignoring information being circulated via social media to incite violence.”

According to implementation direction of the state of emergency text, which was released today, activities such as boycotting markets, missing from work places without reason, disrupting transport activities, unlicensed public gatherings, and protesting in educational facilities among others are prohibited.

Mohammed Ademo

@OPride

#Ethiopia‘s sweeping state of emergency basically bans EVERYTHING: being absent from work, disappearing from work, strike and intentional underperformance . Posting on social media. Exchanging an SMS, emails, printing or holding signs without license. Unauthorized rallies.

5:33 AM – Mar 5, 2018

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One of the cities affected by today’s boycott is Boshoftu, 45 km south of the capital Addis Abeba, where “there were no businesses, schools and government offices opened,” according to Alemayehu Huriso, a resident of the city. “We just woke up to an empty city; it looks like a ghost town.” AS

The post MORE THAN A DOZEN KILLED BY SECURITY FORCES IN ETHIOPIA’S OROMIA; REGION HIT BY YET ANOTHER BOYCOTT appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News|Breaking News: Your right to know!.

By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam

The United States will stay the course in Ethiopia, and I hope I can count on each of you [Ethiopians] to do the same.” — U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Michael Raynor, in his Facebook outreach message message of February 13, 2018.

I write this open memorandum on the occasion of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit to Ethiopia and to publicly acknowledge the extraordinary human rights advocacy U.S. Ambassador Michael Raynor has been doing in Ethiopia since his appointment in July 2017.

I recognized Ambassador Raynor’s outstanding contributions to human rights improvements in Ethiopia in my October commentary, “Thanking the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia for Standing and Walking on the Right Side of History”.

I have chosen the “memorandum” style for this commentary in its original Latin semantic signification, “memorandum est” [It must be remembered (that)…).

It must be remembered that Ambassador Michael Raynor’s strong stand on human rights has helped strengthened the resolve of the Ethiopian people in their  struggle for freedom, democracy and human rights.

It must be remembered that Secretary Tillerson’s strong stand on human rights, aid accountability and sanctions against gross human rights violators under the Magnitsky Act has contributed to a significant paradigm shift in U.S. human rights policy in Africa.

I aim to address four topics in this open memorandum.

First, I wish to commend Ambassador Raynor  for standing his ground for American values given the current “state of emergency “and massive human rights violations in Ethiopia by the regime of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a regime listed as a terrorist organization by the Global Terrorism Database.

Second, I aim to offer my reflection on the world of difference between the Obama and Trump administrations in U.S. human rights policy in Ethiopia and Africa especially in light of an alleged derogatory statement made by President Trump. That is important because so many well-informed Africans, distracted by media circuses, have been blinded to the fact that significant positive human rights policy changes affecting Africa have occurred under the Trump administration.

Third, I aim to name and shame certain Western countries and the African Union for their pusillanimous and spineless responses to the TPLF’s state of emergency, cowardly indifference and hollow diplomatic palaver about the suffering and oppression of the Ethiopian people.  In the past few days, irrefutable proof has been presented showing the ruling TPLF regime rigged the votes in its parliament to pass its “state of emergency decree”. Only the U.S. has publicly expressed strong disagreement with that so-called state of emergency decree as other countries have tip-toed around it.

Fourth, in light of Secretary Tillerson visit to Ethiopia in the next few days, I aim to offer my personal views on how to move forward given the increasingly deteriorating situation in Ethiopia.

Commending Ambassador Michael Raynor for doing an outstanding job standing up for American Values First in Ethiopia and Secretary Tillerson for placing human rights as a central elements of “America First” U.S. foreign policy

Even though I have previously recognized Ambassador Raynor’s outstanding job standing for American values in Ethiopia, I want to publicly recognize and commend him again for living up to the promise he made during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In his Statement  Ambassador Raynor said, “If confirmed, I will advocate for full respect of the rights guaranteed under Ethiopia’s constitution, as well as for reforms that strengthen democratic institutions.”

It must be remembered that for the past eight months, Ambassador Raynor has been vigorously advocating respect for human rights and promoting the establishment of strong democratic institution in Ethiopia.

Barely eight months into the job, Ambassador Raynor has done exactly what he pledged to do.

I like a man of straight talk. I respect highly a man of his word. I like a man who says what he means and means what he says. If action speaks louder than words, Ambassador Raynor’s words are powerful action that have strengthened the spirit of the Ethiopian people in their struggle for peaceful change, truth and reconciliation.

It is a fact that Ambassador Raynor, Secretary Tillerson and the Trump administration have done more to promote and defend human rights in Ethiopia in eight monthsthan the Obama and his administration in eight years. I challenge anyone to disprove me in this assertion!

There is a saying that “An ambassador is an honest gentleman sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.” In Ambassador Raynor, America has an honest gentleman sent to Ethiopia for the good of his country who proudly stands up for American Values First.

I should like to specifically commend Ambassador Raynor by acknowledging his extraordinarily hopeful Facebook outreach message of February 13, 2018 to all Ethiopians. That message is poignant, powerful, inspiring and forward-looking. It must be remembered that Ambassador Raynor stood up for the democratic rights of the Ethiopian people to the extent maximally possible within the parameters of diplomatic decorum.

In his message, Ambassador Raynor made it crystal clear that he is going to stand for American Values First in Ethiopia, not merely mouth off lofty rhetoric about freedom and democracy.

He said “there are certain principles that we stand for, and in light of recent events [in Ethiopia] I want to reiterate those now.” Among the principles he  mentioned included the right of “people to be free to express themselves peacefully, and to be confident that they can do so.”

Ambassador Raynor underscored the vital need for “constructive political engagement through strengthening institutions rather than destroying them”. He emphasized the “need for accountability through legal mechanisms and constitutional processes.”

Ambassador Raynor talked about his “goal” of “playing a constructive role in Ethiopia” specifically by “supporting the aspirations of those who seek a better future”. He urged extreme care in the use of “lethal force” and “to protect the safety of the public, even in the face of violent protests, must always be a last resort.” He assured the people of Ethiopia, “The United States will stay the course in Ethiopia, and I hope I can count on each of you to do the same.”

No U.S. ambassador in the history of Ethiopian-U.S. relations, spanning over a century, has stood for American Values so publicly and so proudly in Ethiopia!

In May 2017, Secretary Tillerson said the U.S. will make human rights a center piece of America First foreign policy. He told State Department employees: “Guiding all of our foreign policy actions are our fundamental values: our values around freedom, human dignity, the way people are treated. These are our values… not our policies…   Policies change… our values never change.”

When others doubted and dismissed Secretary Tillerson’s statements on human rights as political rhetoric and demonized him as the “destroyer” of the State Department, I believed he meant what he said and said what he meant about human rights as core American values. That is why I fully supported Secretary Tillerson’s “house cleaning” at the State Department.

I believe Secretary Tillerson to be a man of principle who follows an American Values First U.S. foreign policy.

Contrasting the human rights policies of the Obama and Trump administrations in Ethiopia and Africa

It must be remembered that President Barack Obama loved talking about “standing on the right side of history” in Africa.

In July 2009, in Accra, Ghana, Obama hectored Africa’s dictators: “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.”

In August 2014, Obama stood shoulder to shoulder with the African “strongmen” who used coups, stolen elections, mass arrests, torture and subverted their constitutions to cling to power, including Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe (Ethiopia), Paul Biya (Cameroon), Blaise Compaoré (Burkina Faso), Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (Equatorial Guniea), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Joseph Kabila Kabange (DR Congo), Idris Deby (Chad), King Mswati III (Swaziland), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Denis Sassou-Nguesso (Rep. of Congo) and many others.

U.S. ambassadors are regarded as the “the U.S. President’s representative to the host country.” Ambassador Raynor is the “personal representative” of President Donald Trump in Ethiopia.

Ambassador Raynor has been in his post since July 2017.

It must be remembered that in eight months, Ambassador Raynor, President Trump,’s personal representative in Ethiopia, has demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt that he is on the right side of history by standing shoulder to shoulder with the Ethiopian people and assuring them that the U.S. will stay the course and strongly urging them to do the same. . He has stood with the “brave Ethiopians” time and again in their struggle to be free, and not with those strongmen in Ethiopia who trash their constitution, steal elections, abuse their power and declare illegal states of emergency to cling to power.

When President Barack Obama was president of the United States, I was ashamed of U.S. policy in Ethiopia.

When Donald Trump is president of the United States, I am proud of U.S. policy in Ethiopia.

How on earth (or in the solar system) is that possible?

Well…!!

President Donald Trump is vilified for allegedly using the phrase “s**t hole countries” referring to African and other countries.

Senator Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) testified in the court of public opinion (a/k/a CNN) that Trump made a statement using the particular phrase. The White House and other Senators present at the meeting have cast doubt about Durbin’s claims.

Many of my longtime readers have asked me why I did not react to the reported statement.

While I make no excuses for President Trump, I don’t know exactly what he said or did not say.  There is no audio or video recording or clip of what Trump said at that meeting. Since the controversy is centered on a single phrase, it is necessary to know exactly what Trump said, in his own words in full context, and not extracted words or phrases reported in public possibly to even political scores. It is true that candidate and President Trump has used intemperate words and phrases in his political communication. I have roundly condemned such expression in my previous commentaries. The question here is what evidence exists other than the “testimony” of Senator Durbin to CNN.

Trial lawyers know all too well how unreliable eyewitness (and “earwitness”) testimony can be in a court of law. But in the court of public opinion soundbites appear seductively truthful.

If Trump indeed used the alleged phrase, I would imagine he was using it to refer to “s**t hole African regimes” that make life so miserable for ordinary Africans they are forced into exile and become refugee problems in America and elsewhere.

Certainly, that appears to be the clear understanding of the alleged phrase by President Museveni of Uganda.

But I submit President Obama said something a thousand times worse than what President Trump allegedly said!

It must be remembered that when Obama visited Ethiopia in July 2015, he unashamedly and unapologetically declared the Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front is “democratically elected”. He said that barely two months after the T-TPLF declared it had won 100 percent of the seats in its rubber stamp parliament.

Obama said:

I don’t bite my tongue too much when it comes to these issues. We are opposed to any group that is promoting the violent overthrow of a government, including the government of Ethiopia, that has been democratically elected. We are very mindful of Ethiopia’s history – the hardships that this country has gone through. It has been relatively recently in which the constitution that was formed and the elections put forward a democratically elected government. (Emphasis added.)

Blunt and plain talk don’t bother me much.

As a staunch defender of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, I believe people have the rights to say whatever they think even if I totally disagree with me.

In my career, I have defended the rights of those with loathsome views. I believe in the maxim, “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”

What bothers the hell out of me is hypocrisy and duplicity.

When Barack Obama publicly declared twice at the press conference that the T-TPLF is “democratically elected”, he knew without a doubt it was a lie, a bold-faced lie. But he stood before 100 million Ethiopians and insulted their intelligence by telling them they live under a “democratically elected government”.

Barak Obama, of course, knew better.

It must be remembered that Obama was a constitutional and civil rights lawyer before he became president. He knew all too well about election fraud and irregularities. He was among the lawyers who successfully sued Chicago in the early 1990s to redraw ward boundaries to ensure fair elections districts.

For heaven’s sake, Obama made his home in Chicago, the epicenter of the Democratic machine politics, the city famous for its dear departed voting from the grave and “stealing” the 1960 election for John F. Kennedy. Gov. In 2011, Governor Rod Blagojevich from Chicago tried to sell Obama’s Senate seat and got 14 years in prison.

Obama knows stolen elections. Yet, Obama stood up and told the Ethiopian people and the entire world that the TPLF regime is “democratically elected”. Perhaps Obama was so jetlagged, he thought he was talking about elections in Chicago.

I would take blunt talk any day than intentional, malicious hypocrisy and duplicity.

Contrasting the U.S. Response to human rights abuses and state of emergency decree in Ethiopia with other Western countries and the African Union

It must be remembered that on February 17, 2018, after the TPLF regime declared a state of emergency, the U.S. Embassy issued a statement making clear its “strong disagreement with the Ethiopian government’s decision to impose a state of emergency that includes restrictions on fundamental rights such as assembly and expression.”

That statement further asserted, despite regime claims of “incidents of violence” justifying the state of emergency, the U.S. “firmly believes that the answer is greater freedom, not less.” The statement reiterated the U.S.’s position that “expanding the space for meaningful dialogue and political participation can pave the way to a lasting democracy” and not the “imposition of restrictions will not promote democratic reform, economic growth, or lasting stability. Restrictions on the ability of the Ethiopian people to express themselves peacefully sends a message that they are not being heard.”

If anyone wants to know what standing for American Values First means, they only need to read Ambassador Raynor’s statements.

True to form, the TPLF regime sought to generate disinformation to the effect that Ambassador Raynor had retracted his statement of “strong disagreement” when he met with TPLF officials. According to TPLF disinformation, Ambassador Raynor told TPLF officials he “did not mean to cause any harm and he will commit to closely work with the government in the future.”

The U.S. Embassy categorically dismissed the TPLF disinformation.

It must be remembered that no U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia has ever made such a strong statement of solidarity with the Ethiopian people and taken a bold stand on human rights. None.

Ethiopians must show their gratitude and appreciation for the extraordinary solidarity Ambassador Raynor and the Trump administration have shown to them.

A recently released video of the vote tally on the state of emergency decree on March 2, 2018, in “parliament” by the “Speaker of the House” shows beyond a shadow of doubt that the decree indeed failed to pass.

In tallying the vote on the decree, “Speaker” Abadula reported:

Out of the members of parliament we have, eight are not available in their duty due to death and other reasons. The total number of members of parliament we have is therefore 539. Of these 539, according to the proclamation, two-third of it will be 339. The vote we have got in support of is 346 [for]; against is 88; and 7 have abstained.

Doing the arithmetic produces a different sum: The total votes cast and abstention include: 346 for + 88 against + 7 abstain = 441.

95 (88+7) members either voted against or abstained from voting on the decree.

539-441= 98 members who voted against or abstained.

Assuming 441 votes constitutes a quorum (Art. 58 of the constitution), passage by 2/3 of those present and voting in favor= 0.667 (2/3) x 441= 294 votes.

Did the decree pass by 294 or 346 votes (52 vote difference)?

Did 95 or 98 members of “parliament” vote against/abstain?

The Speaker subsequently said he had reported the vote tally erroneously.  But he completely avoided explanation of exactly how he committed the most elementary arithmetic error.

But is the “Speaker’s” claim of tabulation/calculation error credible?

It must be remembered that “Speaker” Abadula made a big deal about his “resignation” from his speakership in October 2017 alleging disrespect by the TPLF, only to return to his post in December 2017.

Did Abadula have an axe to grind when he reported the vote tally?

It must also be remembered that “Speaker” Abadula presided over sessions in two previous emergency decrees without make any tabulation/calculation errors.

On October 20, 2016, the “House of Peoples’ Representatives” unanimously endorsed the State of Emergency Declaration of October 15, 2016. There were no tabulation/calculation errors at that time.

On March 30, 2016, “the House unanimously voted to extend the state of emergency” by four months.” “Speaker” Abadula made no calculation errors at that time.

On March 2, 2018, “Speaker” Abadula claimed to have made a mysterious tabulation/calculation error.

Does that mean the TPLF “Speaker” can add and subtract only if the vote is unanimous?

According to a credible report, “Speaker” Abadula holds a graduate degree from “American Century University” and a “BSc degree from ‘Chinese Defense University’ in military leadership”. He obtained these “degrees” after “dropping out of school at 8th grade” and “joining the Derg’s army as a private over three decades ago.”

It is remarkable that a man of such impressive intellectual accomplishments should find simple tabulation/calculation of votes over a highly controversial matter so challenging!

Of course, Abadula did not mis-tabulate or miscalculate. He called it right the first time. He has been used to unanimous votes on everything for so long, he merely assumed the vote on the latest emergency decree would also be unanimous. When he found out the decree had failed to pass, he was stunned and rigged the vote count and declared a tabulation/calculation error.

Stealing votes and election is nothing new for the TPLF.

The TPLF lost the 2005 election and instead of conceding defeat, it jailed nearly all the opposition leaders, leading journalists, civic society leaders and human rights advocates.

The TPLF returned with a vengeance and claimed it had “won” the 2010 election by 99.6 percent and the 2015 election by 100 percent.

That is why I called the TPLF, “The Lords of Living Lies in Ethiopia”.

But unlike the United States which “strongly disagred” with the emergency decree, various Western governments and the African Union were tiptoeing around the issue.

The British Government expressed “concern and disappointment by the decision to impose a new State of Emergency” because it “sends a discouraging signal to the international community and foreign investors.” Casually, the British Government “urged the Government of Ethiopia to ensure that human rights and the constitution are respected.”

The German government also expressed “concern about recent domestic developments  and state of emergency proclamation” and “hoped the government will be extremely cautious in exercising its powers.”

The foreign minister of Norway further expressed “concern” and offered the TPLF regime good friendly advice as a strategic partner to “respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms” and stay the course on its “commitment to ongoing reform processes, including multiparty dialogue, release of prisoners and the dialogue with civil society.”

Unlike the U.S. which expressed strong disagreement, the U.K., Norway and Germany expressed hollow “hope” and inconsequential “concern”.

None of them took a stand on principle.

As a matter of fact, these countries were manifestly following the Obama administration’s policy of “concern” over election thefts and human rights violation in Ethiopia. “Concern” has been the hallmark of the  Obama administration’s human rights policy in Ethiopia.

In 2010 when the TPLF regime declared victory by “winning” 99.6 percent of the seats in parliament, Obama’s White House released a statement which said, “We are concerned that international observers found that the elections fell short of international commitments.” Mere concern over an election stolen by 99.6 percent!

Truth be told, I never understood why the Obama administration was ever “concerned” about the TPLF’s 99.6 victory. Obama himself had no concerns when he said the TPLF was “democratically elected” by winning 100 percent of the seats in “parliament”. Obviously, Obama must have been concerned about the 4/10 of 100 percent the TPLF missed.

The European Union’s statement is laughable. It noted the “opening of a period of uncertainty after the resignation by Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn” and urged “constructive dialogue among all stakeholders”. It advised the “state of emergency [should] be limited in time as possible”.

Ana Gomes, a member of the European Parliament described the EU statement with contempt. “The statement made by the European Union is a shame compared namely by the one that was put out by the Americans condemning the reinstatement of the state of emergency.”

The African Union statement is simply embarrassing and hypocritical.  The AU chairperson lauded the “remarkable progress made in the socio-economic development of Ethiopia” and “welcomed the steps taken by the Ethiopian authorities to widen the political and democratic space.” He encouraged “all concerned stakeholders to display a spirit of responsibility and refrain from any acts likely to undermine peace and stability.”

The AU statement made no mention of human rights violations or the state of emergency.

It must be remembered who stood by the Ethiopian people and worked hard to lift the boots of tyranny from their necks.

Shame on the Governments of the U.K, Germany and Norway!

Shame of the EU!

Shame on the African Union!

Personal reflection: Why I believe the Trump administration by standing for America First Values is standing on the right side of history in Ethiopia/Africa

In my December 18, 2016 commentary, “Trump Out of Africa”, I made certain hard and fast predictions about what the Trump administration will do in Africa in general and in Ethiopia in particular. I predicted Trump will be just another Obama pushing the age-old aid welfare mentality in Africa.

I confess I was among those who blindly condemned Trump confident in my conclusion that he will be just another Obama clone on Africa policy. I proclaimed I will eat crow if Trump did not follow in Obama’s footsteps in Africa. Suffice it to say that I have been feasting on crow (vegan style) for the past year.

In August 2014, I wrote a commentary entitled, “What is the Value of American Values in Africa?” reflecting on the meaning and value of American values in

It must be remembered that President Obama loved talking about American values. Talk. Just talk.

In his book, “The Audacity of Hope”, then-Senator Obama wrote:

We hang on to our values, even if they seem at times tarnished and worn; even if, as a nation and in our own lives, we have betrayed them more often that we care to remember. What else is there to guide us? Those values are our inheritance, what makes us who we are as a people. If we aren’t willing to pay a price for our values, if we aren’t willing to make some sacrifices in order to realize them, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.” (Emphasis added.)

Condemning Bush-era torture interrogation techniques , Obama  said, “The character of our country has to be measured in part, not by what we do when things are easy, but what we do when things are hard.”

After he became president, Obama invited to the White House the “finest” practitioners of torture, corruption experts and master criminals against humanity from Africa to talk business and American investments (not human rights or American values).

Incredibly, Obama called these murderous African criminals against humanity America’s “partners”.

If we measure the character of our country by the thing is does when things are hard, how do we “measure the character” of a U.S. President? By the lofty words and catchy phrases or his inactions “when things are hard”?  If the old saying that “one can judge a man by the quality of friends he keeps” is true, does it necessarily follow that one can also judge a man by the quality of the “partners” he keeps?

President Trump has been criticized for his “America First” foreign policy.

Trump’s critics say his “America First” has been harmful because it is isolationist and allows Russia and China to take a greater international role while diminishing U.S. global stature. They say he runs an “ill-defined and sometimes chaotic U.S. foreign policy broadcast by tweets.” They say he has made America “strikingly unpopular in many nations” resulting in “a significant drop in support for U.S. leadership in the world”. They claim he has “weakened America’s role and moral standing”.

Trump’s critics complain he has “downgraded such traditional U.S. priorities as promoting human rights, democracy and international development.”  They have accused Secretary Tillerson of destroying the state department.

The fact of the matter is that there is nothing wrong with an “America First” foreign policy.

Focusing on Africa, without aiming broadly at other global issues, “America First” foreign policy has meant accountability, resistance to human rights violations globally and no more business as usual.

Let us look at the record:

In February 2018, the Trump administration imposed an arms embargo on South Sudan reflecting “growing frustration over that nation’s grinding civil war.”

On December 21, 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order 13818 extending the targeted sanctions provision of the Magnitsky Act to all nations. The order contained the unprecedented declaration that “serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world” threaten the “national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States.”

In December 2017, the United States announced it was “suspending food and fuel aid for most of Somalia’s armed forces over corruption concerns” and because Somalia “failed to meet the standards for accountability for U.S. assistance.”

In November 2017, Secretary Tillerson condemned the persecution of Rohingya minority in Myanmar as “ethnic cleansing”.

In October 2017, the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia issued an extraordinary statementdeclaring “peaceful demonstrations as a legitimate means of expression and political participation,” and “encouraging all Ethiopians to continue to express their views peacefully.”

In September 2017, the U.S. imposed sanctions 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.

In August 2017, the United States notified Egypt that $95.7 million in military and economic aid will be withheld, and $195 million in additional military aid released only after Egypt “makes progress in its human rights record.”

Americans have many great cultural values that I value highly and “truly believe in”.  A strong work ethic, altruism and giving a hand up to those who are down are definitely signature American values. Americans place a high value on individual freedom and individualism, which simply means they believe in the uniqueness and paramountcy of the individual person. They value highly individual initiative, individual expression and individual privacy. They value equality and an open society. They value science and technology. They believe in competition (they have a “USA #1 mentality”). They value and practice volunteerism and philanthropy. They believe in pragmatism and are achievement-oriented.  They are frank, open, and direct in their dealings.

However, there are other American values I believe in even more and am “willing to make some sacrifices in order to realize them.” The most important one is the rule of law. It simply means that law should govern a nation, not politicians, dictators or thugs. To paraphrase President Dwight D. Eisenhower, “The clearest way to show what the rule of law means to Americans in everyday life is to recall what is happening in much of Africa today where there is no rule of law.”

I became a constitutional lawyer because I have an unshakable belief in the rule of law.

I truly believe in due process, the principle that before government takes a person’s life, liberty or property, it must comply with fair procedures and be guided by fundamental American values of fairness.

I am proud to say that I have stood up and defended one of the greatest of all American values: the right against self-incrimination in the California Supreme Court.

In People v. Peevy (1998) 17 Cal.4th 1184, the California Supreme Court warned that the practice of “outside Miranda interrogation” practice becomes widespread or pursuant to an official police department practice, a new exclusionary rule may be developed to resolve the problem.

The Peevy case opened the door to stopping police interrogation abuse with additional incentive of the threat of civil rights liability in 1999. Today, all of the police training sources for California law enforcement officers advise officers that they should no longer violate Miranda intentionally.

In Dickerson v. U.S. (2000), the U.S. Supreme Court held, “Miranda announced a constitutional rule that Congress may not supersede legislatively.” In Dickerson, the Court rejected the core claim of those practicing outside Miranda interrogation that the Miranda rule is a non-constitutional judge made rule.

In 2004, in Missouri v. Seibert, the U.S. Supreme Court expressly disapproved of outside-Miranda interrogation tactics to obtain admission from suspects. The court held that allowing the police to achieve an “end run” around Miranda would encourage Miranda violations and diminish Miranda’s role in protecting the privilege against self-incrimination.

I believe in “American Values First” and I am comforted by the fact that what Ambassador Raynor is doing by standing for American values in Ethiopia is not much different than what I am doing standing for American values in America.

Back to the future: What should be the trajectory of U.S. foreign policy in Ethiopia under the Trump administration

As Secretary Tillerson visits Ethiopia, I wish to share with him the “prophetic” words of Ambassador, now Assistant Secretary of African Affairs, Donald Yamamoto.

It must be remembered that in June 2009, Ambassador Yamamoto, assessing the political and human rights situation in Ethiopia gave insightful advice and counselDeputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew.

I believe that advice and counsel is as fresh and relevant today for Secretary Tillerson as it was for Jacob Lew in 2009.

Ambassador Yamamoto advised:

Your visit to Ethiopia comes at a time when the Ethiopian Government’s (GoE) growing authoritarianism, intolerance of dissent, and ideological dominance over the economy since 2005 poses a serious threat to domestic stability and U.S. interests.

The GoE has come to believe its own anxieties about a fundamental shift in U.S. policy against it. This self-induced crisis of confidence has exacerbated the GoE’s natural tendency of government control over politics, the economy and personal freedoms.

To pre-empt retaliation, the GoE has increasingly purged ethnic Oromos, Amharas, and others perceived as not supporting the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) from the military, civil service, and security services. Such moves only add to the already growing deep public frustration and have led to a vicious cycle. The public is increasingly upset over double-digit inflation, anxiety over their economic future, the GoE’s denial of the drought, growing public inability to feed their families, and narrowing of political space highlighted by the prominent arrest of opposition leader, Birtukan Midekssa.

Without significant policy reform to liberalize the economy and allow mounting political dissent to be vented, the national elections in 2010, another season of failed rains, increasing inflation, or a terrorist attack could spark major civil unrest.

The United States can induce such a change, but we must act decisively, laying out explicitly our concerns and urging swift action. Because the GoE has enjoyed only growing international assistance and recognition despite its recent record, it currently has no incentive to veer from the current trajectory to which the EPRDF is so committed. If we are to move the GoE, we must be willing to use USG resources (diplomatic, development, and public recognition) to shift the EPRDF’s incentives away from the status quo trajectory.

Your Role in Ethiopia. For USG leadership in moving the GoE to be successful

We need to deliver an explicit and direct (yet private) message that does not glad-hand them. We must convey forcefully that we are not convinced by their rhetoric, but rather that we see their actions for what they are, and that we see their actions as potentially destabilizing and undercutting Ethiopia’s own interests.

We should then explicitly allay their anxiety by affirming that we value what they have done in terms of economic growth and institution building since 1991 in turning Ethiopia around, that we are not trying to promote regime change, and that we are delivering a similarly explicit message of the need for change to opposition groups.

As one of the most senior U.S. officials in the new administration to visit Addis Ababa, Prime Minister Meles and his senior officials are anxious to hear what you have to say, and they will scrutinize your every word for indicators of any change in U.S. policy toward Ethiopia…

Understanding Ethiopia’s domestic political and economic actions, and developing a strategy for moving the ruling party forward democratically and developmentally, requires understanding the ruling Tigrean People’s Liberation Front’s (TPLF) prevailing political ideology: Revolutionary Democracy. Hard-line TPLF politburo ideologues explain the concept in antiquated Marxist terms reminiscent of the TPLF’s precursor Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray. Western-leaning TPLF members and more distant central committee members from non-TPLF parties within the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition generally shed the Marxist rhetoric of the hard-liners…

To the ruling party, development is their gift to Ethiopia, and their first priority. While they accept assistance from the international community, they resent attempts by donors to tell them how development should be done. The leadership believes that only they can know what is best for Ethiopia, and if given enough time, Ethiopia will transform itself into a developed nation. (Emphasis added.)

I urge Secretary Tillerson to heed Ambassador Yamamoto’s insightful advice and counsel on Ethiopia to Jacob Lew.

Ambassador Yamamoto knows all about the TPLF and their wicked ways.

Ambassador Yamamoto recently said the U.S. will be “very aggressive” on human rights in Africa.

Secretary Tillerson told State Department employees: “Guiding all of our foreign policy actions are our fundamental values: our values around freedom, human dignity, the way people are treated. These are our values… not our policies…   Policies change… our values never change.”

I support Secretary Tillerson, Asst. Sec. Yamamoto and Ambassador Raynor 100 percent in being very aggressive in Ethiopia on American values around freedom, human dignity, the way people are treated.

Memorandum est!

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ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s ruling coalition is expected to meet this week to choose a new prime minister, most likely from the populous Oromo ethnic group to try and dampen the discontent behind recent anti-government demonstrations.

Members of parliament attend an extraordinary meeting on the state of emergency in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 2, 2018. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

The change in leadership follows the surprise resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn last month. He is the first ruler in modern Ethiopian history to step down; previous leaders have died in office or been overthrown. He said he wanted to clear the way for reforms.

The international community is closely watching the developments in Africa’s second most-populous nation which has a booming economy and is a staunch Western ally in the fight against Islamist militancy.

The coalition is made up of four region-based parties but is dominated by the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front. The Tigrayans are a much smaller ethnic group than the Oromo who are from Ethiopia’s most populous Oromiya region and have long complained of being sidelined from political power.

Their criticism of a government development plan for the capital Addis Ababa in 2015 sparked wider anti-government protests that spilled over into attacks on foreign-owned businesses in 2016. This plunged the country into an crisis and there are still sporadic protests.

“Our people should take a leadership role because this is a moral question. Our people want this. We want this,” Lemma Megersa, the Oromiya region’s president, said in a speech last month.

Global strategy companies including Teneo Intelligence and Eurasia Group have been predicting an Oromo prime minister as the most likely candidate because it would help tamp down protests.

The government has declared two states of emergencies as it tries to calm the political unrest. Since the first one ended in August, it has introduced a series of conciliatory steps, including the release of more than 6,000 prisoners this year.

The government declared a second state of emergency the day after Hailemariam’s resignation in February and protests started up again. On Friday, parliament voted to ratify the state of emergency, although 88 legislators rejected it. The previous state of emergency passed unanimously.

    One frontrunner for the leadership of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is Abiye Ahmed, according to the Eurasia Group. He was chosen last week to lead the Oromo People’s Democratic Organisation – one of the coalition parties.

The multilingual official holds a doctorate in peace and security from Addis Ababa University and served in the military. He set up a government intelligence agency that increased online surveillance before serving as cabinet minister for science and technology, government media outlets have reported.

Diplomats will be watching closely.

“The government needs to continue to release detainees and open the political system by allowing more room for civil society and a freer press,” said David Shinn, a former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia.

MORE REFORMS NEEDED

Opposition leaders say they want more than prisoner releases. They want the government to reform the strict laws that sent them to jail in the first place.

Those include laws passed in 2008 and 2009, including an anti-terror law with a vague definition of offences and another that limited foreign funding for pro-democracy groups. Human Rights Watch has said the legislation was being used to criminalize free expression and peaceful dissent.

“There are laws that the government uses to stifle peaceful activity,” said Bekele Gerba, a former Addis Ababa University lecturer and opposition party leader who was among the thousands of prisoners freed this year.

Bekele, who suffered a stroke during his incarceration, told Reuters that he spent two years confined in a small windowless cell with no bed.

“Usually in this country, the tradition is that opposition parties are regarded as against the government. Whatever the opposition parties do, they are regarded as unlawful,” he said.

    There are no opposition lawmakers in Ethiopia’s 547-seat parliament.

ETHNIC TENSIONS

Since toppling military leader Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991, the ruling EPRDF coalition has been dominated by the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front. Tigrayans account for about six percent of the population. Oromos make up 36 percent.

    Overseas-based activists have complained for years that Tigrayans secured business contracts without competition and dominated the security sector, said Daniel Berhane, an Addis Ababa-based political analyst.

Tigrayan government officials reject the claims.

This resentment contributed to the anger behind the protests, Daniel said.

    “There are legitimate public discontents that fuelled the protests. But these protests were … at times accompanied by ethnic attacks, which ranges from physical attacks to arson to eviction,” said Daniel.

The government needs to quell the discontent to avoid further protests that could fan ethnic tensions, said Abdul Mohammed, a political analyst and former government advisor.

“Today, our political discussions are conducted almost entirely in the language of ethnic identity: which group benefits, and which doesn’t,” he wrote in a commentary sent to Reuters.

Former ambassador Shinn said making sure everyone benefits from Ethiopia’s boom would go a long way toward defusing protests.

“The current government deserves high marks for its economic progress,” he said. “But the time has come to ensure this progress improves all parts of society.”

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IAAF

Britain’s Laura Muir has revealed she does not speak to rival Genzebe Dibaba over the Ethiopian’s links to a coach arrested as part of an anti-doping investigation.

Dibaba beat Muir to gold in both the 1500m and 3,000m events at the World Indoor Athletics Championships.

Her coach Jama Aden denies any doping offences, while Dibaba has always maintained she is clean.

But Muir’s coach says the relationship is “not healthy for the sport”.

Aden was arrested in June 2016 as part of a joint anti-doping operation by Catalan police, world athletics’ governing body the IAAF and the Spanish anti-doping agency.

Dibaba has never failed a drug test and says she would ditch her coach if he were ever found guilty of doping-related offences.

But Muir, who won 3,000m bronze and 1500m silver in Birmingham last week, said she did not have a relationship with Dibaba and racing against her was “difficult”.

“It can be difficult but I think I’ve always said that no matter who’s on the start line, I’ll race against them. The reason I’m in this sport is because I enjoy it and nobody is going to stop me from enjoying it,” she added.

“It is what it is. All I can do is concentrate on my performances.”

The Scot’s coach, Andy Young, added: “[Dibaba’s] association with a certain coach is not particularly healthy for the sport.”

Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan, who won 3,000m silver and 1500m bronze, refused to smile on the podium in Birmingham, which was interpreted as a sign of how she also felt about Dibaba.

“We saw Hassan at the stairs, she was lovely, it was all great. I don’t think she was expressing disappointment [on the podium]. I think she was expressing her contempt for the gold medallist and her associations,” said Young.

When asked about Young’s statements, Dibaba’s agent Juan Pineda said Muir’s coach was a “bad loser”.

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A group that supports women’s rights using music influenced by Ethiopian heritage is thriving – despite losing UK aid funding. A group that supports women’s rights using music influenced by Ethiopian heritage is thriving – despite losing UK aid funding

In the grounds of a school in Bahir Dar, a city in north-west Ethiopia, thousands of young fans have gathered to catch a glimpse of the country’s hottest girl band.

Behind billowing white sheets in a makeshift green room, the four women collectively known as Yegna prepare to take the stage. As the harsh lunchtime sunshine beats down, curious schoolchildren press up against the material to get a glimpse of their idols, who have been dubbed Ethiopia’s Spice Girls by the British press.

More than just a band, Yegna, which means “ours” in Amharic, use music and drama to raise awareness of child marriage, sexual harassment, violence and the importance of education. And it’s making a difference. An estimated 8.5 million people have heard the band’s messages.

Bilen, 14, is at the concert with her sister. “Yegna taught us the motto ‘Yes we can,’” she says. “As we grow up, I think people think less of girls, and that’s what we used to think too. But our perspective has been changed by Yegna.”

But last year, Yegna’s work came under threat when the UK’s Department for International Development, which helped create the band in 2012, abruptly announced it was cutting funding following media criticism. DfID said it took the decision to end its partnership with Girl Effect, which oversees Yegna, after a review of the programme.

A spokesperson said: “There are more effective ways to invest UK aid and to deliver even better results for the world’s poorest and value for taxpayers’ money.”

Girl Effect had received an initial DfID grant of £4m for Yegna, covering the period from 2011 to 2015. They were later given a further £5.2m for 2015-18, although the premature conclusion to the partnership meant not all these funds were drawn down.

The Daily Mail hailed DfID’s decision, but the announcement drew criticism from women’s rights campaigners.

Ripples from the decision ran from Ethiopia to the UK. Yegna drew support from Lemn Sissay, the British poet and broadcaster of Ethiopian heritage, who has performed with the band and chose one of their tracks, Taitu, when he appeared on Desert Island Discs.

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“It was a total misrepresentation of what was happening here,” says Gayathri Butler, Girl Effect Ethiopia’s country director. “And also a reduction of what we actually do. The representation of the Spice Girls, it was just taking what they had seen as a reduction of the brand, because that was what’s facing the international audience. We’re a brand created by Ethiopians and for Ethiopians.”

Butler also confirms that payments to the band reported in the Daily Mail were wildly inaccurate, and that Yegna band members are paid the market rate for performers in Ethiopia.

But Girl Effect were not to be beaten. They replaced the DfiD money with funding from several philanthropic foundations, who choose to remain anonymous. The change forced the organisation to accelerate plans to ensure its sustainability, and Girl Effect are now exploring brand sponsorships, advertising revenue during radio shows, and music sales.

“We’re a youth brand trying to break [down] barriers for girls in a very inclusive way. That includes boys, includes adults in the conversation. It’s obvious [girls] are being left behind and we should do something about it,” says brand director Bemnet Yemesgen.

Yegna consists of five “archetypal” young female characters (one is currently on maternity leave) who use storylines and song lyrics to explore social mores and controversial issues. The platforms come together to tackle one issue at a time, with the radio show theme reflected in the lyrics of the latest song.

“The music calls in the heritage of Ethiopia. The lyrics are well thought through but also we have gender teams who look at it to make sure they are meaningful without being preachy,” says Butler.

Boys also feature in the stories, to show the young fanbase that men and women can be friends as well as partners.

“We have created music that people want to buy, so we’re considering commercialising some of the products we own,” explains Yemesgen.

Butler says the audience remained blissfully unaware of the behind-the-scenes funding drama. But the decision to cease funding, she says, was short-sighted: “What we’re trying to do requires a sustained effort for change in the long term. We’re in it for the long term. We’re already seeing impact, we want to see it at scale over time and that requires commitment. It’s never been more important.”

Ethiopia is considered one of the fastest growing regions in eastern Africa. Over the past decade, Ethiopia’s economy has experienced strong growth. But with 70% of the population aged under 30, big challenges face girls growing up there.

Nearly one in five girls marries before the age of 15. The Amhara region, where the Yegna project operates, has the highest rate of child marriage, with nearly 45% of girls tying the knot before the age of 18. Social isolation, particularly in rural areas, is also a problem, with 20% of girls saying they have no friends.

Girl Effect says Yegna reach 8.5 million people, or 50% of the population in Addis Ababa and the Amhara region.

Despite the funding setback, Girl Effect are expanding the operation, which they hope to take nationwide.

Yegna members Lemlem Hailemichael, Teref Kassahun, Eyerusalem Kelemework, Zebiba Girma and Rahel Getusee see themselves as teachers – and the voice of the children of Ethiopia – rather than singers. Their enthusiasm is clear. Describing a tour of the Amhara region, Girma says: “There were over 10,000 spectators, it was amazing. Some women, who looked like us, came to the back of the stage and told us their life stories.”

When asked about the project in January 2018, Penny Mordant, who succeeded Priti Patel as development secretary, said the “Spice Girls” are still in Ethiopia doing great things without UK money.

Girl Effect are proud of the project’s resilience. Butler tells of how she was approached at a Yenga concert by a woman who married young: “She’d never really reflected on whether it had created complications in her life. It made her think about her situation and how difficult it had been. She had four daughters at home and this was the first time she realised she had to go home and have an open conversation with them.”

Back in Bahir Dar, the children, polite and restrained during the performance, cheer and clap wildly as the concert draws to a close. At the end of the gig, there’s a stage invasion. Unfazed, the band simply carry on singing with the children.

Habtamu, 19, is full of praise for the project. “It helps girls be confident,” he says. “Teaching a young girl is changing a whole community.”

A decade from now, Yemesgen’s ideal vision is a “euphoric state” where Girl Effect does not exist, because the project has succeeded and given all girls in Ethiopia a voice and agency. But he is realistic. “We know there is a lot of work to be done to get to that stage. In 10 years, I want to look back and see there has been a change.”

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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Monday that Russia had suggested a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Ethiopia this week, the RIA news agency reported.

05 Mar 2018 

Source: Reuters
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/russia-suggests-tillerson-lavrov-meeting-in-ethiopia-this-week—ria-10014994

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Bloomberg
By Nizar Manek

Strikes protesting Ethiopia’s state of emergency spread across the restive Oromia region ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s arrival for talks with the Horn of Africa nation’s embattled government.

The closing of shops and roads by members of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group is the latest sign of discontent in Oromia state, where unrest has prompted the country’s second state of emergency in two years. Tillerson is due in Ethiopia this week as part of his first government visit to sub-Saharan Africa, less than a month after Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned.

More than two years of protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions have left hundreds of people dead, while recent conflict between the Oromia and Somali regions has forced more than 900,000 people from their homes. Combined, they pose the largest challenge to Ethiopia’s ruling coalition since it took power a quarter-century ago.

Youth in the sprawling Oromia territory, which surrounds the capital, Addis Ababa, announced three days of strikes Monday to protest the emergency measures that Ethiopia’s parliament ratified without meeting a required two-thirds quorum, said Bekane Tadese, a lecturer at Addis Ababa University.

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 Jeff Bezos

CEO and Founder, Amazon.com

REAL TIME NET WORTH — as of 3/6/18

$127.3 B 

2018 BILLIONAIRES NET WORTH — as of 3/6/18

$112 B

• Amazon’s chief Jeff Bezos is the first person to top $100 billion as number one on the Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires.
• He owns 16% of e-commerce colossus Amazon, which he founded in a

 

The List

• 2018 Ranking

	Rank	Name	Net Worth	Age	Source	Country of Citizenship
	#1	Jeff Bezos	$112 B	54	Amazon	United States
	#2	Bill Gates	$90 B	62	Microsoft	United States
	#3	Warren Buffett	$84 B	87	Berkshire Hathaway	United States
	#4	Bernard Arnault	$72 B	69	LVMH	France
	#5	Mark Zuckerberg	$71 B	33	Facebook	United States
	#6	Amancio Ortega	$70 B	81	Zara	Spain
	#7	Carlos Slim Helu	$67.1 B	78	telecom	Mexico
	#8	Charles Koch	$60 B	82	Koch Industries	United States
	#8	David Koch	$60 B	77	Koch Industries	United States
	#10	Larry Ellison	$58.5 B	73	software	United States

	#11	Michael Bloomberg	$50 B	76	Bloomberg LP	United States
	#12	Larry Page	$48.8 B	44	Google	United States
	#13	Sergey Brin	$47.5 B	44	Google	United States
	#14	Jim Walton	$46.4 B	69	Walmart	United States
	#15	S. Robson Walton	$46.2 B	73	Walmart	United States
	#16	Alice Walton	$46 B	68	Walmart	United States
	#17	Ma Huateng	$45.3 B	46	internet media	China
	#18	Francoise Bettencourt Meyers	$42.2 B	64	L’Oreal	France
	#19	Mukesh Ambani	$40.1 B	60	petrochemicals, oil & gas	India
	#20	Jack Ma	$39 B	53	e-commerce	China

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