ESAT News (September 29, 2016)

There is ample evidence that the Ethiopian regime uses food aid as a political tool, Anuradha Mittal, founder and executive director of the Oakland Institute said on Thursday.

ESAT Radio 30 min Sep 29 2016

Dr. Berhanu Nega’s Speech at TPDM conference in Asmera

Meet the First Ethiopian Fashion Designer – Emama Tsion Michael Andom

As I promised in my latest article entitled “Giving Negotiation a Fair Chance”, this article provides a glimpse into the plausible alternative futures of Ethiopia. My latest article got both positive and negative feedbacks. Some people misunderstood my suggestion and considered it as an effort to extend the ethnic apartheid rule of TPLF. This is regardless of a clear statement in the article that hinted the kind of negotiation I was talking about. I wrote in that article, “Rather than admitting defeat, saying sorry for their mistakes, and coming to the negotiation table for a win-win concession including giving the governing power to the people peacefully, they are attempting to scam the people of Ethiopia one more time.” TPLF lost credibility long time ago. What is more? In recent months, it also lost governing ability. It has become apparent to the people of Ethiopia, TPLF and its supporters (unless they are pretending otherwise) and the whole world that it can’t rule the country without using force. This cannot go on forever. No one could be able to salvage TPLF without it making fundamental changes that could satisfy the majority Ethiopians. The negotiation I was talking about should result in transferring governing power to the people of Ethiopia without further bloodshed. It should also lead to national reconciliation and consensus, which I suggested in the interview I had with Voice of America on September 2, 2016.

If TPLF leaders come to the negotiation table, stop killing immediately, and willing to allow the people of Ethiopia elect their own leaders in a free and fair election (on purpose, I’m not talking here how the transition should be setup, we have time to deal with that once there is agreement to settle the issue via negotiation), they should be given amnesty and some other limited privileges including living inside the country like everybody else. We Ethiopians deep inside are spiritual and forgiveness is not new to our culture. We have elderly people who can lead a win-win negotiation. If necessary, we have great African, American, and European friends of Ethiopia who are well respected by our community. They may join our elders and force a few TPLF leaders, and those in the opposition camp to reach a win-win deal.

I’m sure that many may cry out and say that we cannot forgive criminals who ordered and also killed innocent people. It is sad that some ruthless criminals have killed our people but we cannot bring them back by continuing to fight. More people are going to die and still we are not sure whether we could bring a lasting and sustainable change through violence. But, at least, their sacrifices won’t be in vain if we could be able to stop further killings and bring lasting change in our country through a win-win negotiation. If we forget the rest of the world, within Africa itself, there are a couple of cases where dictators who had killed and looted the treasures of their countries were forgiven because they negotiated and relinquished power peacefully. The South Africans’ peaceful transition from Apartheid to democracy is also a good example. We don’t need to copy and past. We could customize them to fit the objective conditions in Ethiopia.

Once I clarified the kind of negotiation I’m talking about, let me use a tool and show you the four possible alternative futures of Ethiopia. However, I’ve a very quick disclaimer: The foresight tool I’m going to use works best when a reasonable number of key stakeholders are present during the brainstorming session. Hence, this article doesn’t endeavor to predict the most probable future. It doesn’t also pretend that the assessments and suggestions in this article are accurate and comprehensive. I’m trying to show case the importance of anticipating alternative futures, trying our best to create the future we all dream of, and preparing ahead if in case our most preferred future doesn’t come to pass. The father of modern Management, Peter Drucker said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Unfortunately, many communal cultures like ours are past-oriented. They don’t project into the future to shape their future. There are many cultural, religious, and traditional factors that discourage such an exercise. This is my hope that you may read this article with an open mind before you dismiss it. The main purpose of this article is to provoke your thought and challenge your perspective if in case you have been thinking that we are going to have your one future. The end goal is to encourage alternative democratic forces to think, strategize, develop their capacity, and shape the future we all dream about.

Before we proceed, I would like to share with you a relevant story to illustrate how many of us don’t sit down and analyze things. It demonstrates how we are prone to believe anything as far as it aligns with that one future we’ve in mind. This weakness has been costing us direly. Rather than being proactive to shape our future, analyze trends, project into the future, we wait to see if what we dreamed about comes to pass. Here is a simple example. A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine emailed me a link. On the subject, it says, TPLF is retreating. I didn’t believe the news for a second but I was curious; and thus, checked out the link. Guess what? It was reported that TPLF is withdrawing from Addis to Tigray with tail between legs. A picture that shows large military trucks lined up accompanies the breaking news. Still, I wasn’t convinced not because I don’t want to see TPLF is gone but the scenario was unlikely. Coincidently, I had a business call from someone later that afternoon. The person who called me sounded like hundred percent sure that TPLF is evacuating. I asked him whether his conclusion came just because he saw a report online. He said no and assured me that he has latest insider info. You don’t have many options when someone argues that he/she has insider info except to wait and verify if that was true. We waited, and what happened? Nothing! I’m sure that many people who read that breaking news might have taken it at face value. On the other hand, I don’t think that I’m the only one who doesn’t buy into this kind of too good to be true news. Why? It’s simple. At this point, TPLF has its military, security, and the federal police intact. They still control the media, and enjoy some local, regional, and international backing from some key regional and international allies. Why then should they run away? Who is chasing them? Besides, how on earth do they think that Tigray is going to be a save heaven? There are also many other reasons that should have caused us to question whether we are going to see this kind of scenario at all. The question is why many people get easily swayed and believe in such unlikely scenario? It could be because they have been waiting to see the end of this brutal government’s demise so long that they are vulnerable to believe anything that aligns with their deeply held wish. Or, it could be because they don’t take time to analyze things and be clear about the possible scenarios that could happen.

When we deal with the future, we should put aside our emotion, and be practical. We should also project into the future and anticipate multiple possible futures that could happen and prepare for the most probable future. But still, be ready in making quick adjustments if another future comes to pass. Let me ask you. What do you think is going to happen, let’s say, in 6 months or 1 year or 10 years from now? What should we be doing NOW to shape our future, a future that we dream about? If we don’t act proactively and shape our future, we make ourselves vulnerable and let ourselves under the mercy of chance. This weakness predisposed us to get the same results again and again. Twice, our struggles to bring democracy, justice, and equality were kidnapped by a few and we have been in miserable state for the past more than four decades. When do we learn to stop and strategize, plan, and be proactive to protect the outcome of our struggle? Unless we change our approach this time, there is no guarantee that we would have a better Ethiopia than that has been ruled by two brutal, socialistic, and unworthy leaders of this historic country and its beautiful, heroic, and generous people.

Let me use a tool that I’ve been using when I facilitate strategic planning sessions. The purpose of this exercise is to encourage leaders in the opposition camp consider employing this tool to come up with a long-term strategic plan. This latest and powerful tool has been used by some successful organizations worldwide. This foresight tool is called Scenario Planning. It enables us to make sense of the uncertain future by creating scenarios (narrative stories) that offer contexts for decision makers to make the right decisions. Strategies based on these decisions most likely succeed compared to decisions and strategies based on sole predictions. I don’t take your time by explaining the process and how it works in detail. In short, key knowledgeable players should come in one room for a strategic session to scan the environment and brainstorm to identify drivers of change that influence their organization in the future. After thorough discussion and examination of major trends (social, economic, political, regional and international geopolitical trends, etc.) that may take a couple of days, the group decides two critical uncertainties that are most uncertain and at the same time most critical that will have impact on the organization. They then build the scenario matrix with four future worlds. They then come up with scenarios (stories) to describe each future. The next step is developing strategies and coming up with approaches to develop the competency of the organization to realize the most probable future. The group also asks what happens if this future doesn’t come to pass? Accordingly, they come up with contingency plans for the remaining three plausible alternative futures.

The main thesis behind this approach is that we cannot accurately predict the future. Do you remember some outrageous predications that were made in the past like the year and date the world ends? What happens when you have depended on a predication that doesn’t come to pass? You find yourself disappointed and stranded. You haven’t prepared for the other possible futures. We Ethiopians have predicted the fall of TPLF so many times and got disappointed multiple times. We never prepared proactively to shape the preferred future we desired desperately. When the future we anticipated tend to slip away, we didn’t know how to react. We looked like a deer caught in the headlights. This must change this time. Don’t you think? We must stop gambling on our future, the future of the coming generations, the lives of thousands of people, and our limited resources because we don’t want to be proactive and identify the preferable future we all agree, and work toward realizing this FUTURE.

Let me quickly put forward the four possible futures for the sake of understanding. Remember, this is an example. The process has to be done properly with the participation of decision makers and a skillful facilitator to be successful. In our case, going forward, we are not certain whether the struggle keeps its momentum or some how gets bogged down and wanes (X-axis). Likewise, we are uncertain whether TPLF keeps outlasting the resistances it is going to face around the country or weakens (Y-axis). When we intersect these two uncertainties, we find four futures that could come to pass in the future (Please refer the graph below). Future 1 (Quadrant 1, Q1) could be one possibility where TPLF may remain strong and at the same time the struggle continues to maintain its momentum. Future 2 (Q2) could be another alternative future where TPLF may remain strong while the struggle weans. Future 3 (Q3) could be the third alternative future where both sides may experience stagnation. Future 4 (Q4) could be another alternative future where the struggle keeps growing while the ability of TPLF to survive weakens.

So far, TPLF has been lucky since it has survived a couple of touch challenges and came out a winner. This time will it get lucky? What happens if the future that comes to pass would be Q4? TPLF won’t have the leverage, and therefore, we know what is going to happen if that future arrives. Likewise, the people of Ethiopia have been experiencing setback after setback. Will we, this time, come out victorious? But, what if the future that comes true is Q2, this time too? Obviously, the struggle won’t have any strong leverage and therefore, we don’t get any benefit we would have got right now if we negotiate. Since both have some kinds of leverages right now, this is the right time to find a sustainable solution for our country by coming to the negotiation table for a win-win solution.

As you can see from the above graph, the best scenario for TPLF is Q2 while Q4 is the most preferred future for the struggle toward freedom, democracy, and equality. As I indicated earlier, both sides are focused on their preferred future. It’s important to notice that even if one of the two futures comes to pass, that doesn’t mean they are the best for the corresponding camp. Even if, for whatever reason, Q2 is that future, that doesn’t mean that TPLF will have hay days forever. The struggle may be weakened for a while and in its dormant state. This temporary victory may not last. The popular movement may be boiling under the surface and one day it may explode to overwhelm TPLF and bring into picture Q4. Likewise, the realization of Q4 doesn’t mean the people of Ethiopia will get what we want and deserve. The opposition camp is not well organized, and thus, there would be power vacuum. We Ethiopians, though we have come together in the fight against TPLF, we have not reached consensus about the kind of Ethiopia we want to build in the post TPLF era. Don’t take this scenario lightly. Don’t just say that we can come together and reach consensus once TPLF is gone. That cannot happen considering our political culture. In this future (Q4), the people of Ethiopia, like in the past, may not have the say. This situation makes us susceptible to coup d’état from within TPLF itself or the overthrowing of TPLF by armed forces out side of TPLF. From our history, both scenarios didn’t end well. These kinds of groups feel entitled. They may not relinquish power and give it to a civilian government.

Okay, both sides may say, I’ll wait and see. I’ve 50% chance in getting my preferred future than entering into a negotiation at this point. I wouldn’t bet my destiny for a 50% chance. I’d prefer to negotiate and get a better deal than to wait and allow chance to dictate my destiny. What is worst in this case is that there are four plausible alternative futures, and the chance to get what you want has a 25% chance. Think about it. The question is what happens, if that future doesn’t come true? What happens if both sides become strong or weak at the same time? What happens if either Q1 or Q3 comes to pass? Either case, no one wins, and therefore, we may be in trouble as a society. Right now, I don’t think that either side anticipates the coming picture of either of these two alternative futures. For instance, if Q1 is the world that we are going to face in the future, there could be civil war and/or genocide plus so many unpredictable things may happen. Ethiopia may disintegrate and we won’t have a country to look forward to in the post TPLF era. Q3 is also a possibility where both sides are weakened. In this future, our country is going to drag herself into a chronic and protracted conflicts and instabilities in the different parts of the country which in turn may result in financial hardships, famine, epidemics, and so on.

Of course, the future may not stay in one quadrant for a very long time. It may change lane and find itself from those two quadrants both parties aren’t prepared (Q 1 & 3) into one of the other quadrants. For example, if TPLF outsmarts oppositions during either of the two worlds (Q 1 & 3) and able to win back the public by making fundamental changes, the future may change from Q1 or Q3 into TPLF’s favorable world- Q2. Or, the struggle may rejuvenate and outmaneuver TPLF and rally the public, and thus, the world may change from Q1 or Q3 into Q 4. What I’m saying is that none of us could be able to predict the future. That is why we should think harder while it still matters. This is the time to establish a very powerful lesson to this and the coming generations. Let’s come to the negotiation table and develop a win-win solution that satisfies all sides, and transition our country into democracy.

Nevertheless, I’m not naïve. Negotiation cannot be possible until leaders of the ruling party are ready to come to the negotiation table for a win-win solution, and most importantly, unless they are ready to make serious concessions. We don’t have control over that. That means negotiation may not be possible with the current regime. In that case, the alternative democratic forces should come together, create a coalition, be a little bit organized and project into the future and work toward creating the future that we the people of Ethiopia prefer- Q4. However, you shouldn’t stop there. You should develop your capacities and put in place contingences if in case one of the other three alternative futures comes to pass. You shouldn’t find yourselves disappointed and stranded if in case the one future you anticipated doesn’t come true. You should prepare for the long haul fight by crafting both short and long-term strategic plans that prepare you in advance for whichever future comes to pass. Good luck!

[1] Dr. Assegid Habtewold is a leadership expert at Success Pathways, LLC. Assegid can be reached at ahabtewold@yahoo.com

Published: 30 September 2016

• Oljira Kenea 
• Meshesha Balkew,
• Habte Tekie,
• Teshome Gebre-Michael,
• Wakgari Deressa,
• Eskindir Loha,
• Bernt Lindtjørn and
• Hans J. Overgaard

Abstract

Background

Indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) are the key malaria vector control interventions in Ethiopia. The success of these interventions rely on their efficacy to repel or kill indoor feeding and resting mosquitoes. This study was undertaken to monitor human-biting patterns of Anophelesspecies in south-central Ethiopia.

Methods

Human-biting patterns of anophelines were monitored for 40 nights in three houses using human landing catches (HLC) both indoors and outdoors between July and November 2014, in Edo Kontola village, south-central Ethiopia. This time coincides with the major malaria transmission season in Ethiopia, which is usually between September and November. Adult mosquitoes were collected from 19:00 to 06:00 h and identified to species. Comparisons of HLC data were done using incidence rate ratio (IRR) calculated by negative binomial regression. The nocturnal biting activities of each Anopheles species was expressed as mean number of mosquitoes landing per person per hour. To assess malaria infections in Anopheles mosquitoes the presence of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax circumsporozoite proteins (CSP) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results

Altogether 3,408 adult female anophelines were collected, 2,610 (76.6 %) outdoors and 798 (23.4 %) indoors.Anopheles zeimanni was the predominant species (66.5 %) followed by An. arabiensis (24.8 %), An. pharoensis (6.8 %) and An. funestus (s.l.) (1.8 %).

The overall mean anopheline density was 3.3 times higher outdoors than indoors (65.3 vs19.9/person/night, IRR: 3.3, 95 % CI: 1.1–5.1, P = 0.001). The mean density of An. zeimanni, An. pharoensisand An. funestus (s.l.) collected outdoors was significantly higher than indoors for each species (P < 0.05). However, the mean An. arabiensis density outdoors was similar to that indoors (11.8 vs 9.4/person/night, IRR: 1.3, 95 % CI: 0.8–1.9, P = 0.335). The mean hourly human-biting density of An. arabiensis was greater outdoors than indoors and peaked between 21:00 and 22:00 h. However, An. arabiensis parous population showed high indoor man biting activities during bedtimes (22:00 to 05:00 h) when the local people were indoor and potentially protected by IRS and LLINs. All mosquito samples tested for CSP antigen were found negative to malaria parasites.

Conclusions

Results show much greater mosquito human-biting activities occurring outdoors than indoors and during early parts of the night, implying higher outdoor malaria transmission potential in the area. However, high bedtime (22:00 to 05:00 h) indoor biting activities of parous An. arabiensis suggest high potential intervention impact of IRS and LLINs on indoor malaria transmission.

Keywords

Malaria Anopheles arabiensis Endophagy Exophagy Ethiopia

Background

Malaria is the leading cause of death in wide parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) [1]. Current malaria vector control in SSA relies heavily on indoor insecticidal interventions using indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) [1, 2, 3]. The scale up of IRS and LLINs during the last decade has substantially reduced malaria incidence in many parts of SSA [4, 5]. These interventions reduce the density, feeding frequency and longevity of malaria vectors by killing the vectors with insecticides or blocking their contact with humans [6, 7] and primarily target malaria vectors that feed indoors and at night on sleeping humans [2].

However, following the adoption and scale-up of IRS and LLINs in SSA, a shift in mosquito behaviors has been observed, where mosquitoes more often bite humans outdoors and earlier in the evening, thereby avoiding insecticide treated surfaces and threatening the effectiveness of the interventions [8, 9, 10, 11]. This behavioral change has been observed in Tanzania with An. arabiensis [8, 11]. On Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, high levels of outdoor biting by An. gambiae (s.s.) was observed throughout the night, including during early evening and morning hours when human hosts are often outdoors [9]. In Benin and Senegal, An. funestus has showed a behavioural change in biting activity after introduction of LLINs, remaining anthropophilic and endophilic, while adopting diurnal feeding when local people are not protected by IRS and LLINs [12, 13].

Nevertheless, in some countries in Africa, the principal vectors have shown consistent biting patterns and remain amenable to the effective IRS and LLINs interventions [14, 15]. For example, in Kenya, Bayoh et al. [15] found no evidence of behavioral shift of An. gambiae (s.s.), An. arabiensis and An. funestusfrom the well-known pattern of late night, indoor biting characteristics of these typically highly anthropophilic species. Based on these results, it was recommended that malaria control interventions such as LLINs should continue to be prioritized [15].

In Ethiopia, An. arabiensis, a member of An. gambiae species complex, is the sole primary vector of malaria [16]. Other Anopheles species such as An. nili, An. funestus and An. pharoensis are considered secondary vectors in the country [16]. Some evidence revealed that An. arabiensis and An. funestus were mainly endophagic and endophilic as compared to other Anopheles species such as An. pharoensis, An. welcomi,An. zeimanni and An. nili, which were mainly exophagic and exophilic [16, 17, 18]. Anopheles arabiensiswere reported to bite indoors and outdoors throughout the night with peak activities at early part of the night before the inhabitants retire to bed [19, 20, 21, 22]. This vector bites mainly on human and bovine hosts [16, 22, 23, 24, 25]. Outdoor biting, early biting and biting on non-human hosts compromise the effectiveness of malaria vector interventions particularly IRS and LLINs that target endophagic, anthropophagic and nocturnal biting mosquitoes and worth to be monitored for evidence-based vector control interventions.

IRS has been used for more than four decades in Ethiopia [16, 26, 27]. Insecticide treated nets (ITNs) were introduced in 1997/1998 in selected malarious areas and the distribution of LLINs started in 2005 [27]. The most recent malaria strategic plan of the country is to achieve 100 % LLIN ownership per sleeping space, and 90 % IRS coverage by the end of 2015 [26]. Recently, malaria cases and deaths in Ethiopian hospitals have declined in conjunction with scale-up of malaria interventions with IRS, LLINs and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) [27, 28]. Based on these successful interventions, Ethiopia is currently planning to eliminate malaria by 2020 and in light of this national target, monitoring the biting behaviour ofAnopheles mosquitoes is crucial with respect to the efficacy of vector control interventions.

A cluster randomized trial investigating the effect of IRS and LLIN interventions combined or separate on disease outcomes has been carried out in Adami Tullu Jiddo Kombolcha district [29]. As part of this trial, the present study was undertaken to provide baseline data by monitoring local Anopheles species biting humans (anthropophagic anophelines) and their biting patterns in a village included in the trial.

Methods

The study area

This study was done in Edo Kontola village, Adami Tullu Jiddo Kombolcha district, south- central Ethiopia (Fig. 1). Edo Kontola is situated along Lake Zeway on the main road from Addis Ababa to Hawassa between Abosa and Batu towns. This village was selected based on past entomological studies [16] and recent pilot surveys [30] to study variations in biting patterns of anopheline species in the same locality and under similar environmental settings. The village is part of a cluster-randomized trial studying the effect of IRS and LLIN interventions during September 2014 and December 2016 [29]. The main environmental feature of the area is Lake Zeway which covers about 434 km²area with average depth of 4 m [16]. The lake supports irrigation farms and fishing, the main economic activities in the district. The people usually cultivate rain-fed maize and other cereal crops during the rainy season (June to October) and mainly vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, potatoes, and green pepper by irrigation during the dry season (November to May) and the wet season as well. Many of the inhabitants of the village live in traditional African grass-thatched house locally known as ‘mana chita’ and some live in houses with corrugated iron roofs.

The lake area maintains malaria transmission by creating and sustaining potential mosquito breeding sites specifically at the lake shoreline [31]. Mosquito abundance increases as the lake fills and extends to the nearby villages during June to October and declines as the lake volume recedes during the following dry months. The area is semi-arid causing rain-fed surface pools in the uphill villages to dry up within a short time period. As a result, mosquito breeding sites are almost limited to the lake area even during the rainy season.

Malaria transmission is seasonal and driven by seasonal precipitation. The major malaria transmission season in Ethiopia is usually September to November. The most recent study in the district indicates that of 349 blood samples taken from febrile patients, 39 (11.2 %) slides were microscopically confirmed positive for malaria infection. The overall average malaria incidence was 4.6 per 10,000 person-weeks of observation. Higher malaria incidence was observed among children < 14 years compared to older people and in villages near the lake shore than those distantly located from the lake [30]. The major malaria vector in the area is An. arabiensis whereas An. pharoensis plays a secondary role [16]. The recent pilot study results showed that An. arabiensis was susceptible to propoxur (carbamate), but resistant to pyrethroids. However, An. pharoensis was susceptible to all pyrethroids and carbamates tested [30]. The vectors transmit mainly Plasmodium vivax (85 %) followed by P. falciparum (15 %) [30]. Malaria vector control relies on LLINs and IRS. In 2012, before the trial started, 27.3 % of the households owned at least one LLINs and IRS was carried out in 91.7 % of households in the district [30]. There is one health post in the village staffed by two health extension workers. The study village has approximately 35 households with 182 people inhabiting 17,500 square meters.

Mosquito collections

The nocturnal biting habits of Anopheles species were monitored for 40 nights using human landing catches (HLC) indoors and outdoors during July to November 2014, coinciding with the major malaria transmission season. The HLC, where human volunteers catch mosquitoes that land on their exposed body parts, was used because it is the gold standard method for monitoring mosquitoes that bite humans (anthropophagic mosquitoes) and the number of mosquitoes caught by HLC can directly provide an estimate of mosquito human-biting activities [32, 33].

Three houses close to the lakeshore were selected having similar size and design and with house owners agreeing to participate in the study. The houses were of traditional style with thatched conical-shaped roofs, circular floors and plastered walls. All houses had similar potential mosquito entry and exit points each having one door, eaves, and cracks in walls, but none of them had windows.

Each house in the village including the selected houses was located close to irrigation fields and within walking distance (≤ 1 km) from the lakeshore. It was also arranged in such way that the selected houses for HLC were free of cattle and human occupants on all collection nights. In addition, the houses were enrolled in the control arm of the trial and neither treated by IRS nor received LLINs during the study period [29].

The three houses were selected to reduce position bias driven by potential variations in indoor micro-climate such as indoor temperature, differences in mosquito entry points, mosquito density and proximity to animal shelter(s). Mosquito collections were performed in one house per night alternating each house for three consecutive nights per week. The collectors were rotated through the collection houses to compensate for any differences in attractiveness to mosquitoes and collecting abilities. Collections started in late July and ended in late November 2014 with intermittent collections in August and September. Mosquito collections were conducted by volunteers who were selected from the local people and who gave their written consent. Mosquitoes were collected from 19:00 to 06:00 h for 50 min each hour with 10 min rest for the volunteers. There were two collection shifts: one team of collectors worked from 19:00 to 24:00 h followed by the second team from 24:00 to 06:00 h. Every hour, two volunteers rotated between indoor and outdoor positions and carried out the work to reduce position bias. Outdoor collectors were positioned within 10 m from each study house. Each volunteer sat on a chair with the legs exposed from foot to knee and captured mosquitoes as soon as they land on the exposed legs before they commence feeding using a flashlight and mouth aspirator. Each hour’s collection was kept separately in labeled paper cups. Supervisors were assigned to coordinate collection activities and watch volunteers not to fall sleep and bitten by mosquitoes over the study nights. The next morning, mosquitoes were identified to species by morphological characteristics using the standard identification key [34], and stored on silica gel for further analysis.

Molecular identification of sibling species was not done in this study; however, An. arabiensis was confirmed as the only member of An. gambiae species complex from previous studies and from our pilot study carried out from June to October, 2013 in the area [16, 30]. From the hourly collections, fresh and unfed An. arabiensis (n = 343) were selected for ovary dissection and determination of parity based on changes in the tracheoles of the ovaries under a microscope [35].

In order to determine the Plasmodium infection rate, the head and thorax of each mosquito (n = 2,560) were carefully separated from the abdomen and tested for the presence of P. falciparum and P. vivaxcircumsporozoite proteins (CSP) by the direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) [36].

Estimation of entomological parameters

Human-biting rates (HBRs) for each Anopheles species were calculated as mean number of mosquitoes collected by HLC per person per night (m/p/n) separately for indoor and outdoor venues, i.e. HBR = no. of mosquitoes collected/no. of nights/no. of collectors [37]. The degree of endophagy was calculated as indoor HBR_{19:00→06:00 h}/(indoor HBR_{19:00→06:00 h} + outdoor HBR_{19:00→06:00 h}) while exophagy was calculated as outdoor HBR_{19:00→06:00 h}/(outdoor HBR_{19:00→06:00 h} + indoor HBR_{19:00→06:00 h}) [38].

The density of nocturnal biting was calculated as density of HBR during peak sleeping hours (hours starting 22:00 to 05:00) as follows [38]: (indoor HBR_{22:00→05:00 h} + outdoor HBR_{22:00→05:00 h})/(indoor HBR_{19:00→06:00 h} + outdoor HBR_{19:00→06:00 h}). The nocturnal biting activities of each Anopheles species was expressed as mean number of each Anopheles species landing per person per hour separated by indoor and outdoor venues. Indoor and outdoor exposure to mosquito bites that took place early evening (19:00 to 22:00 h), during night 22:00–05:00 h) and early in the morning (05:00–06:00 h) were estimated as the number of mosquito catches by HLC either indoors or outdoors divided by number of indoor and outdoor combined catches by each species multiplied by 100. Parous rate was calculated as the total number of parous females for each species divided by the total number of mosquitoes dissected multiplied by 100. The man biting proportions of parous An. arabiensis that took place during the early evening, during the night, and during the early morning (assessed by HLC) were compared based on field observations and available literature.

The ethical considerations for this study is described in more detail in the published protocol [29] and in the Declarations section below. In brief, to avoid the adverse effects of being bitten, mosquito collectors were trained to collect mosquitoes as soon the mosquitoes landed and before they bite. In order to minimize the risks, data collectors for the human landing catches were provided with an appropriate prophylactic drug (Malarone) before the commencement of sampling. To our knowledge, there are no reports on Malarone-resistant Plasmodium parasites in Ethiopia. The project provided blood examination and treatment of malaria free of charge for any study participant or householder who fell ill or wished to check himself. Fortunately, none of the mosquito collectors or householders were found parasite-positive during the study period.

Meteorological data

Meteorological data of the study area were obtained from the Meteorological Service Agency of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.

Data analysis

Comparisons of indoor and outdoor HLC data were done by Generalized Linear Models (GLM) with negative binomial distribution. The impact of the collection venues on mean anopheline biting density were therefore estimated by exponentiation of negative binomial regression coefficient, i.e. Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR). Results were considered significant at P < 0.05. Data were analyzed using the program SPSS version 20.0 (SPSS, Chicago, USA).

Results

Species composition and abundance of Anopheles mosquitoes

During the 40 nights of human landing collections, a total of 3,408 adult female anopheline mosquitoes were captured (Table 1). Anopheles zeimanni was the predominant species (66.5 %), followed by An. arabiensis (24.8 %), An. pharoensis (6.8 %) and An. funestus (s.l.) (1.8 %). Overall, 76.6 % (2,610) of the mosquitoes were captured outdoors and 24.4 % (798) indoors.

Species	Indoor	Outdoor	Total
	n (%)	n (%)	n (%)
An. zeimanni	351 (15.5)	1,916 (84.5)	2,267 (66.5)
An. arabiensis	375 (44.4)	470 (55.6)	845 (24.8)
An. pharoensis	50 (21.5)	183 (78.5)	233 (6.8)
An. funestus (s.l.)	22 (34.9)	41 (65.1)	63 (1.8)
Overall	798 (23.4)	2,610 (76.6)	3,408 (100)

Human-biting rates

The overall (indoor and outdoor combined) mean human-biting rate (HBR) of Anopheles mosquitoes was 85.2 mosquitoes/person/night (m/p/n). The total (indoor and outdoor combined) mean HBRs for An. zeimanni was 56.7, An. arabiensis 21.1, An. pharoensis 5.8, and for An. funestus (s.l.) it was 1.6 m/p/n.

The overall mean outdoor anopheline human-biting density (HBR) was 3.3 times higher than indoor (65.3 vs19.9 m/p/n, (IRR: 3.3, 95 % CI: 1.1–5.1, P < 0.001). The mean HBRs of An. zeimanni, An. pharoensis and An. funestus (s.l.) collected outdoors were significantly higher than indoors for each species (P < 0.05, Fig. 2). However, the mean outdoor HBR of An. arabiensis was similar to that indoors (11.8 vs 9.4 m/p/n, IRR: 1.3, 95 % CI: 0.8–1.9, P = 0.335).

The mean HBR of An. zeimanni peaked in July and declined steeply until November (Fig. 3). However, mean HBR of An. arabiensis peaked in October and declined thereafter. HBRs of both An. pharoensis and An. funestus (s.l.) were low over the study months. Monthly precipitation in the area peaked in July, and fell to its lowest in November.

Biting behaviours: endophagy, exophagy and nocturnality

The degree of endophagy and exophagy (indoor and outdoor feeding) is given in Table 2. Overall, the majority of anophelines (76.6 %) exhibited exophagic (proportion of HBR outdoor) behaviour. The majority of An. zeimanni (84.5 %), An. pharoensis (79.3 %) and An. funestus (s.l.) (62.5 %) were captured outdoors and were clearly exophagic. For An. arabiensis, 55.7 % and 44.3 % of its population showed exophagic and endophagic behaviours, respectively.

Biting activities	An. arabiensis	An. pharoensis	An. zeimanni	An. funestus (s.l.)	Total
Indoor HBR (19:00–06:00)	9.4 (7.9–11.0)	1.2 (0.8–1.7)	8.8 (6.1–11.6)	0.6 (0.1–1.1)	20.0
Outdoor HBR (19:00–06:00)	11.8 (9.8–14.1)	4.6 (3.6–5.6)	47.9 (38.4–56.9)	1.0 (0.6–1.5)	65.3
Nocturnal HBR (22:00–05:00)	11.2 (9.5–13.1)	2.5 (1.9–3.1)	26.5 (19.9–34.2)	0.9 (0.5–1.5)	41.1
Endophagy (%)a	44.3 (43.8–44.6)	20.7 (18.2–23.3)	15.5 (13.7–16.9)	37.5 (14.3–42.3)	23.4
Exophagy (%)b	55.7 (55.4–56.2)	79.3 (76.7–81.8)	84.5 (83.1–86.3)	62.5 (57.7–85.7)	76.6
Nocturnality (%)c	52.8 (44.6–53.5)	43.1 (42.4–43.7)	46.7 (44.7–49.9)	56.3 (47.6–71.4)	48.2

^aProportion of indoor HBR between 19:00 and 06:00 h

^bProportion of outdoor HBR between 19:00 and 06:00 h

^cProportion of HBR between 22:00 and 05:00 h (during sleeping hours)

With respect to nocturnality, overall, 48.2 % of anopheline biting occurred during peak sleeping hours (22:00 to 05:00 h) as compared to when people were most likely awake (51.8 %). None of the Anopheles species showed marked peak nocturnality (high nocturnal biting activities during peak sleeping hours). Similar proportion of An. arabiensis, An. pharoensis and An. funestus (s.l.) populations exhibited maximum human-biting activities during sleeping hours (50.0 %) when local people were potentially protected by LLINs and IRS as well as during non-sleeping hours (50.0 %) when the local people were not protected (Table 2).

Human-biting patterns of anophelines and potential exposure to malaria mosquitoes

The human-biting activity of An. arabiensis was from dawn to dusk both outdoors and indoors with a single peak before midnight (21:00 to 22:00 h) outdoors followed by a general decline during the rest of the night. The indoor biting activity however showed two smaller peaks, one before midnight (20:00 to 21:00 h) and a second peak around midnight (24:00 to 01:00 h) (Fig. 4a).

All the other anophelines were also active throughout the night, but with differing peak periods of biting activities both outdoors and indoors. The outdoor biting activities of both An. pharoensis and An. zeimaniwere generally higher than indoors and both exhibited a pronounced unimodal biting activities early in the evening (19:00 to 20:00 h) which declined progressively during the rest of the night (Fig. 4b, c), while both species also followed the same pattern indoors, but with greatly reduced biting activities. On the other handAn. funestus (s.l.) appeared to show three peaks of biting activities outdoors of which two were the major ones: one before midnight (21:00 to 22:00 h) and another one early in the morning (5:00 to 6:00 h) between which was a smaller peak just after midnight (01:00 to 2:00 h) (Fig. 4d). The indoor biting activity on the other was bimodal with an early and smaller peak at 20:00 to 21:00 h and a major peak just before midnight (23:00 to 24:00 h). Human-biting activities of the main malaria vectors; An. arabiensis and An. pharoensispeaked early in the evening (before 22:00 h) before local people retire to bed and were generally higher outdoors than indoors (Fig. 4a, b).

Altogether, 27.6 % of the major malaria vector, An. arabiensis bites took place during bedtime (22:00 to 05:00 h) and might be potentially prevented by LLINs alone whereas 44.4 % of this vector bites could be prevented by LLINs + IRS during the study period (Table 3). However, only 7.6 % of the potential secondary vectors, i.e. An. pharoensis, An. zeimanni and An. funestus (s.l.), bites occurred during bed time (22:00 to 05:00 h) and might be prevented by LLINs alone. Likewise, only 16.5 % of these species bites might be prevented by IRS and LLINs combined interventions.

Anopheles species	Venue	Early evening (19:00–22:00 h) n (%)	Night (22:00–05:00 h) n (%)	Early morning (05:00–06:00 h) n (%)	Whole night (19:00–06:00 h) n (%)
Primary vector	Indoor	122 (14.4)	233 (27.6)	20 (2.4)	375 (44.4)
	Outdoor	227 (26.8)	216 (25.6)	27 (3.2)	470 (55.6)
Secondary vectors	Indoor	208 (8.1)	196 (7.6)	19 (0.7)	423 (16.5)
	Outdoor	1,014 (39.6)	996 (38.8)	130 (5.1)	2,140 (83.5)

Percentages were calculated as the number of mosquito catches by HLC, either indoor or outdoor, divided by the number of indoor and outdoor combined catches

Human-biting patterns of parous An. arabiensis population

In total 343 An. arabiensis were dissected to determine parity rates and man biting patterns of the parous population. The overall indoor parous rate of An. arabiensis was 70.6 % and the corresponding outdoor parous rate was 67.5 % (Table 4). The proportion of parous An. arabiensis population that showed indoor man biting activities during bedtimes (22:00 to 05:00 h) when the local people were indoors and potentially protected by IRS and LLINs was 72.4 %. Likewise 69.2 % of parous An. arabiensis were collected while attempting to bite man before bedtimes (before 22:00 h). The proportion of parous An. arabiensis (50.0 %) caught biting people during early morning (05:00 to 6:00 h) was low compared to either before bedtime or during bedtime. The overall indoor parous rate of An. arabiensis was high (76.1 %) in October and low (54.5 %) in November. The corresponding outdoor parous rate was high (75.0 %) in September and low (45.7 %) in November. No ovarial dissection was carried out in July and August due to low mosquito density.

Month	Venue	Time			Total
		Early evening (19:00–22:00)	Night (22:00–05:00)	Early morning (05:00–06:00)	Whole night (19:00–06:00)
September	Indoor	58.3 (7/12)	69.2 (9/13)	0 (0/0)	72.7 (16/22)
	Outdoor	40.0 (2/5)	84.6 (11/13)	100.0 (2/2)	75.0 (15/20)
October	Indoor	77.8 (28/36)	76.0 (38/50)	50.0 (1/2)	76.1 (67/88)
	Outdoor	71.8 (56/78)	73.3 (44/60)	57.1 (4/7)	71.7 (104/145)
November	Indoor	50.0 (10/20)	61.5 (8/13)	0 (0/0)	54.5 (18/33)
	Outdoor	62.5 (10/16)	33.3 (6/18)	0 (0/1)	45.7 (16/35)
Total	Indoor	69.2 (45/65)	72.4 (55/76)	50.0 (1/2)	70.6 (101/143)
	Outdoor	68.7 (68/99)	67.0 (61/91)	60.0 (6/10)	67.5 (135/200)

Malaria infection

A total of 1,500 An. zeimanni, 800 An. arabiensis, 200 An. pharoensis and 60 An. funestus (s.l.) were tested for the presence of CSP of P. falciparum and P. vivax. However, none was found positive. For this reason, the entomological inoculation rate (EIR) could not be determined.

Discussion

Anopheles zeimanni, An. arabiensis, An. pharoensis and An. funestus (s.l.) were found to be the four human-biting anopheline species occurring indoors and outdoors in the study area. This finding is similar to a recent pilot study [30] and previous entomological collections in the same area [16]. These results also showed that An. zeimanni (member of the An. coustani species complex) was the most predominant species and outnumbered the primary malaria vector, An. arabiensis which was once the most abundant species [16]. Furthermore, An. arabiensis was the only member of An. gambiae complex [16, 30]. More recently, Bekele et al. [39] reported that An. zeimanni was among the most abundant anopheline species in three villages near the study village. The abundance of An. zeimanni observed in the present study agrees with the earliest reports by Krafsur [17] who recorded that this species was the predominant species biting man near swamp margins in Gambela Region, western Ethiopia.

The abundance of An. zeimanni over An. arabiensis could be attributed to difference in their breeding site preferences. The present study village, Edo Kontola is located along Lake Zeway on the margin of swamp associated with aquatic vegetation that might have favored abundance of An. zeimanni that typically breed in vegetative swamps. Anopheles zeimanni has been found to be closely associated with aquatic vegetation [17] whereas An. arabiensis typically breeds in small, sunlit temporary water pools [31]. Another potential reason could be inter species differences in feeding behaviours between An. zeimanni and An. arabiensis. Results showed that man-biting densities of An. zeimanni were significantly higher outdoor than indoor and exhibited more exophagic than endophagic behaviour unlike An. arabiensis which was a more endophagic species. This finding is consistent with previous reports in the country [16, 17]. Because An. zeimanni was more exophagic than An. arabiensis, it appears to have less chance to come in contact with LLINs and IRS. This might have favored An. zeimanni, while An. arabiensis population was affected by IRS and LLINs interventions. Although An. zeimanni has not been incriminated as a malaria vector in Ethiopia so far, it is a locally important vector in Cameroon [40]. In Ethiopia, a single malaria-infected An. zeimanni was observed in the western part of the country [41]. Its higher abundance and human-biting activities observed in the current study also imply that it has a potential role in malaria transmission. More studies are required on the infectivity, vectorial capacity and competence, ecology, and bionomics of An. zeimanni.

The present results also revealed that the Anopheles mosquitoes, in general, bite more frequently outdoors than indoors. Because, both IRS and LLINs are indoor-based, high outdoor human-biting rates indicate possible outdoor malaria transmission potential in the area. These findings might compromise the efficacy and effectiveness of LLINs and IRS and point to the necessity of outdoor vector interventions. The results show evidence for the occurrence of residual malaria transmission potential but the magnitude and impact of such transmission warrants further investigation in the area and elsewhere in the country. Anopheles pharoensis exhibited more exophagic behaviour than endophagic behaviour. These results would be expected because, An. pharoensis is an exophagic species in Ethiopia [16, 17, 18] and elsewhere in Africa [42].

Unlike the other anopheline species, there were no significant differences in outdoor and indoor human-biting rates of An. arabiensis. This indicates a high flexibility and plasticity of the vector with respect to indoor and outdoor feeding and potential host preferences. Previous studies show that An. arabiensis bite both indoors and outdoors [16, 17, 18]. With respect to host preference, An. arabiensis has shown opportunistic feeding behaviour in Ethiopia [25], exhibiting either anthropophagic [23, 30, 43] or zoophagic behaviour [24]. This study did not look for host preferences because mosquito collections were done by HLC alone, which is an unsuitable method for blood meal source analysis.

Analysis of the biting patterns showed early-evening biting behaviour of An. arabiensis with the highest peak occurring before 22:00 h indoors and outdoors at times when the local people are not protected by LLINs. We have observed that villagers, both children and adults, spend time outdoors performing various activities such as fishing, looking after their cattle and typically retire to bed after 22:00 h. Previous reports also indicated that the people retire to bed after 22:00 h [16]. These human activities can increase exposure to mosquito bites. Previous studies in the same study area [16, 20] and elsewhere in the country [21, 22] have also recorded early biting behaviour of An. arabiensis. In contrast to the present results, some findings documented peak An. arabiensis man-biting activities after 23:00 h [18]. In short, the previous and the present results suggest that An. arabiensis‘s behaviour is flexible and potentially opportunistic in terms of host preference, and feeding and resting habits [16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25].

These flexible behaviours remain a key challenge for malaria control and elimination because the vector may be less vulnerable to IRS and LLINs, and as a result, may sustain malaria transmission. Although these behaviours are believed to be a consequence of long-term exposure to IRS and LLINs interventions in Ethiopia [21, 23], evidence is still lacking. Sufficient historical and up-to-date evidence about the impact of insecticidal interventions on An. arabiensis population and behaviour is needed to suggest that the vector is showing behavioural adaptation or has consistent biting patterns in the country. These issues need special attention for malaria control and elimination efforts in the country.

The peak indoor and outdoor man-biting activities of An. pharoensis and An. zeimanni occurred during early hours of the evening and there has been no evidence of behavioural modifications or shifts. These results are in agreement with other studies undertaken in this area [16]. Anopheles funestus (s.l.) did not show clear indoor and outdoor human-biting patterns due to small numbers collected.

The overall indoor parity rate for An. arabiensis was 70.6 % and is similar to earlier reports from the same area by Rishikesh [44] who recorded a constant parity rate ranging from 65–70 % for An. gambiae (s.l.) presumably An. arabiensis. With this parity rate, An. arabiensis lived long enough to maintain indoor malaria transmission. Results show that indoor parity rates of An. arabiensis were high at times when local people generally are asleep indoors and potentially under LLINs [16]. This implies that IRS and LLINs have high potential intervention impact on indoor malaria transmission.

Results also show that all mosquito samples tested by ELISA (n = 2,560) were negative for P. falciparum andP. vivax circumsporozoite protein infection. It is not uncommon to find sporozoite negative mosquito samples in areas with seasonal malaria transmission such as in this study area [16]. Low sporozoite infection rates have been repeatedly reported from the study area, for example, Rishikesh [44] found nine sporozoite-positive mosquitoes (0.2 %) out of 4,513 An. gambiae (s.l.) (An. arabiensis) dissected for salivary gland examination. Kibretet al. [20] also found 0.6 % and 1.2 % P. falciparum sporozoite rates among 509An. pharoensis and 424 An. arabiensis, respectively, collected by CDC light traps and tested by ELISA in an irrigated village in the proximity of Zeway Lake. In contrast, no sporozoite-positive mosquitoes were detected in a non-irrigated village located relatively far from the lake [20]. The current malaria decline coinciding with the scale-up of vector interventions and malaria treatment measures in the country [28, 45] might have reduced malaria parasites in the mosquito population. Furthermore, it can be suggested that lack of large numbers of mosquito specimens due to low mosquito density in the area and lack of access to more sensitive sporozoite testing methods than ELISA (such as quantitative real-time PCR) to detect infective mosquitoes could be potential factors for the negative results.

Conclusions

Anopheles zeimanni, An. arabiensis, An. pharoensis and An. funestus (s.l.) were found to be the human-biting species in the area, all with outdoor biting behaviours. A high proportion of parous An. arabiensiswere collected during night times, when the local people are usually indoors and potentially protected by IRS and LLINs. These results suggest that: (i) early and outdoor biting behaviour of An. arabiensis could compromise the effectiveness of IRS and LLINs and point to the need for complementary interventions, and (ii) IRS and LLINs still have an impact on indoor malaria transmission suggesting that application and adherence to these interventions need to be strengthened.

Abbreviations

HLC: 

Human landing catches of mosquitoes arriving to feed at humans

IRS: 

Indoor residual spraying of household walls with insecticides

LLINs: 

Long-lasting insecticide treated nets.

Declarations

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all of the human volunteers for their assistance in collecting mosquitoes by landing catches. We thank Mr. Wossen Sisay for technical assistance with field mosquito collection and processing.

Funding

This study was financially supported by grants from the Research Council of Norway (RCN) (Project number: 220554).

Availability of data and material

The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Author’s contributions

OK, MB, HT, TGM, WD, EL, BL and HJO conceived and designed the study. All involved in proposal writing and participated in field coordination, data collection, supervision and overall implementation of the study. OK analysed the data and drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the College of Health Sciences at Addis Ababa University, the Ministry of Science and Technology in Ethiopia (Ref: 3.10/446/06), and the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics, (Ref: 2013/986/REK Vest) Western Norway. The protocol for the trial was registered at the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry under the registration number PACTR201411000882128.

Verbal and written informed consent to take part in the study was obtained prior to the commencement of this study, from volunteers for landing catches who were older than 18 years of age and house owners using the local Afan Oromo language. For the human landing catches, a separate written informed consent describing the potential risks and benefits of the study was obtained from the volunteers. These volunteers were selected from the study village. The participants were instructed that involvement in the study was voluntary, and that they had the right to withdraw at any time regardless of reason. Assurance was also given that a refusal to participate in this study would not affect their access to services at the health posts in the study villages in the community.

Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

Published on September 30, 2016
by J. David Thompson

U.S. Representatives push for legislation targeting Ethiopia after Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch document human rights abuses.

A bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives has proposed legislation targeted at the government of Ethiopia, after Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch documented hundreds of cases of alleged human rights abuses. House Resolution 861, titled “Supporting respect for human rights and encouraging inclusive governance in Ethiopia,” was introduced by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Al Green (D-TX), Mike Coffman (R-CO), and Eliot Engel (D-NY).

“It is an abomination when any country tortures its own citizens,” said Rep. Smith, at a September 13th press conference on Capitol Hill. The human rights abuses, waged primarily against the Oromo and Amhara populations, have come to light despite Ethiopian authorities efforts preventing independent screeners from conducting transparent investigations.

The Resolution condemns the killing of peaceful protesters, the arrest and detention of students, journalists, and political leaders, and the stifling of political dissent under the guise of “counterterrorism.”

Ethiopia is a strategic ally of the United States. The country headquarters the 54 nation African Union, and, critical to U.S. interests, assists in counterterrorism efforts against al-Shabab, an Al-Qaeda aligned jihadi terrorist group based in Somalia. Ethiopia is also host to a staggering 750,000 refugeesfrom the war torn region.

In a press statement Rep. Ellison said, “While Ethiopia is an important ally for the United States, continuing to let the Ethiopian government oppress its own people will only further destabilize the region. We must do all we can to ensure that the human rights of all Ethiopians are respected.” Rep. Smith added, “A valuable contributor to global peacekeeping missions, growing unrest in Ethiopia in reaction to human rights violations by the government threaten to destabilize a nation counted on to continue its role on the international scene”.

Resolutions, like the one proposed, tend to be more of an opinion that often do little in themselves because they lack the political leverage to prompt much action. They often fail to hold allied nations to a standard of conduct, as countries and international organizations are hesitant to regulate how other nations behave within their own borders.

The bill expressly calls on the government of Ethiopia to end the use of excessive force by security forces; hold security forces accountable after a full, credible, transparent investigation; release dissidents, activists, and journalists who have been imprisoned for exercising constitutional rights; respect freedom of assembly and freedom of the press; engage with citizens on development; allow theUnited Nations to conduct independent examinations; repeal certain proclamations limiting inclusive growth; and investigate shootings and a fire on September 3, that killed 23 people at a prison housing high-profile politicians.

Noteworthy, is that the bill also seeks to apply financial and other pressure towards the government, by calling for the Secretary of State to “conduct a review of security assistance to Ethiopia” and “improve transparency” with respect to such assistance, and to “improve oversight and accountability of United States assistance to Ethiopia”.

Despite the good intention of the bill, critics highlight that it doesn’t go far enough. Henok Gabisa, a visiting Academic Fellow and faculty member at Washington and Lee University School of Law, stated in a personal interview:

“H.RES.861 is generally a good gesture from the United States Congress. It is very specific in a sense that it points out the consistent and constant patterns of corrosion of civil and economic liberties in the country. It also seems to give scrupulous attention to the marginalized groups who remain on the receiving end of the pain. That is really great. Nonetheless, owing to the mammoth financial aid transported to Ethiopian government by the U.S. under their bilateral security partnership, H. RES. 861 failed to deploy the political leverage of the [United States Government], and as a result it is nowhere nearer to fulfilling the goal it promises. In fact, Resolutions by merit are just declaratory statements or positions of a government. They may not be considered law in a positivist school of law. Yet again, H.RES.861 has no teeth to bite those who fail to comply the soft obligations it enumerated under the last sections 3-6.”

Experts give the bill a 32% chance of getting past the Foreign Affairs Committee and a 29% chance of being agreed to completely. Comparatively, from 2013-2015, 46% of simple resolutions made it past committee.

In a country of over 86 million, Oromos and Amharas constitute the two largest ethnic groups, combining for over 61% of the population. Yet, they are the most politically marginalized andeconomically disenfranchised. In 2015 Ethiopia’s ruling party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, won every seat in parliament despite little ethnic diversity. The EPRDF has remained in power since the overthrow of Ethiopia’s military government in 1991.

Lima Charlie News, by J. David Thompson

J David Thompson (US Army) is a Juris Doctor candidate at Washington & Lee University School of Law focusing on International Human Rights Law. He is a Veterans in Global Leadership Fellow, and brings experience on human rights, international relations, strengthening civil society, refugee issues, interagency collaboration, and countering violent extremism. Prior to Washington & Lee, he served in the US Army as a Military Police officer and Special Operations Civil Affairs with multiple deployments to Afghanistan and one to Jordan—receiving a Bronze Star amongst other decorations. In Jordan, David worked at the US Embassy in countering violent extremism, strengthening civil society, and refugee response with other United States Government organizations, the United Nations, and various non-governmental organizations.

Follow David on Twitter | @JDThompsonLC

Lima Charlie provides global news, insight & analysis by military veterans and service members Worldwide.

Voice of Amara Radio – 01 October 2016

Several people have been killed in a stampede in Ethiopia’s Oromia region after police fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse a protest.

Thousands had gathered for a religious festival in Bishoftu, 40km (25 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa.

Officials responded after anti-government protesters threw stones and bottles, reports said. There was panic and some people fell into a ditch.

There have been months of deadly clashes in Ethiopia recently.

People in the Oromia and Amhara regions have complained about political and economic marginalisation.

Crowds at Sunday’s Oromo festival chanted “We need freedom” and “We need justice”, witnesses said.

Some participants crossed their wrists above their heads, a gesture that has become a symbol of Oromo protests.

At least 50 people were killed, the opposition said, a number that has not been officially confirmed.

Ethiopia’s government said in a statement that “lives were lost”, adding: “Those responsible will face justice”.

The unrest was sparked last November by a plan to expand the capital into Oromia. This led to fears that farmers from the Oromo ethnic group, the largest in Ethiopia, would be displaced.

The plan was later dropped but protests continued, highlighting issues such as marginalisation and human rights.

Opposition party says stampede kills at least 50 people in chaotic scenes in restive Oromiya region

Police in Ethiopia’s Oromiya region fired teargas and warning shots to disperse anti-government protesters at a religious festival, triggering a stampede the opposition party said killed at least 50 people.

The government did not give a precise death toll resulting from chaotic scenes on Sunday during the annual festival, where some people chanted slogans against the government and waved a rebel flag. But it said “lives were lost” and that several were injured.
Sporadic protests have erupted in Oromiya in the last two years, initially sparked by a land row but increasingly turning more broadly against the government. Since late 2015, scores of protesters have been killed in clashes with police.
These developments highlight tensions in the country where the government has delivered stellar economic growth rates but faced criticism from opponents and rights group that it has trampled on political freedoms.

Thousands of people had gathered for the annual Irreecha festival of thanksgiving in the town of Bishoftu, about 25 miles (40km) south of the capital, Addis Ababa.

Crowds chanted “we need freedom” and “we need justice”, preventing community elders, deemed close to the government, from delivering speeches at the festival. Some protesters waved the red, green and yellow flag of the Oromo Liberation Front, a rebel group branded a terrorist organisation by the government, witnesses said.

When police fired teargas and guns into the air, crowds fled and created a stampede, some of them plunging into a ditch, according to witnesses.

The witnesses said they saw people dragging out a dozen or more victims, showing no obvious sign of life. Half a dozen people, also motionless, were seen being taken by pick-up truck to a hospital, one witness said.

“As a result of the chaos, lives were lost and several of the injured were taken to hospital,” the government communications office said in a statement. “Those responsible will face justice.”

Merera Gudina, the chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, told Reuters at least 50 people were killed, saying his group had been talking to families of the victims. He said the government tried to use the event to show Oromiya was calm. “But residents still protested,” he said.

The government blames rebel groups and dissidents abroad for stirring up the protests and provoking violence. It dismisses charges that it clamps down on free speech or its opponents.

Protesters had chanted slogans against Oromo People’s Democratic Organisation, one of the four regional parties that make up the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, which has ruled the country for quarter of a century.

In a 2015 parliamentary election, opposition parties failed to win a single seat – down from just one in the previous parliament. Opponents accused the government of rigging the vote, a charge government officials dismissed.

Protests in Oromiya province initially flared in 2014 over a development plan for the capital that would have expanded its boundaries, a move seen as threatening farmland.

Scores of people have been killed since late in 2015 and this year as protests gathered pace, although the government shelved the boundary plan earlier this year.

BBN TV Breaking News, Ethiopian || October 2, 2016

The oromo holiest religious cermonny at bishoftu turns into “mass death

Dozens have been killed and injured in Ethiopia’s Oromia region after security forces confronted protesters at a festival, witnesses say.

Some people died in a panicked stampede after police employed tear gas and baton charges, they said.

Thousands had gathered for a religious festival in Bishoftu, 40km (25 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa.
Some reports said police responded after anti-government protesters threw stones and bottles.
Others said demonstrators were entirely peaceful.
Ethiopia’s government said in a statement that “lives were lost”, adding: “Those responsible will face justice”.
An Oromo activist, Jawar Mohamed, is quoted as saying nearly 300 people were killed and many more injured. He said troops and a helicopter gunship had opened fire, driving people off a cliff and into a lake.
There has been no independent confirmation of this.

Image copyrightREUTERS

Image copyrightREUTERS

There have been months of deadly clashes in Ethiopia recently.

People in the Oromia and Amhara regions have complained about political and economic marginalisation.

The US has expressed concern about what it termed the excessive use of force against protesters.

Crowds at Sunday’s Oromo festival, which AP news agency said had attracted two million people, chanted “We need freedom” and “We need justice”, witnesses said.

Some participants crossed their wrists above their heads, a gesture that has become a symbol of Oromo protests.

The unrest was sparked last November by a plan to expand the capital into Oromia. This led to fears that farmers from the Oromo ethnic group, the largest in Ethiopia, would be displaced.

The plan was later dropped but protests continued, highlighting issues such a

ESAT breaking news Ambo Protest follow up story October 02,2016

Pictures, today’s killing picture and how the soldier armed to attack the innocent people.!!

Very sad video – Killing own People

OromoProtests – Security forces firing at large crowd during Irreecha Celebration in Bishoftu

OromoProtests – Security forces firing at large crowd during Irreecha Celebration in Bishoftu

style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ allowTransparency=”true” allowFullScreen=”true”>

style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ allowTransparency=”true” allowFullScreen=”true”>

Another T-TPLF disinformation campaign: This time against American NGOs

Over the past three weeks, I have been writing about the T-TPLF’s sneaky and crude disinformation campaigns of mass distraction to discredit the current massive uprising against its oppressive rule in Ethiopia.

This week I address the T-TPLF’s disinformation campaign that American NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are to blame for the current uprising in Ethiopia.

The latest disinformation campaign against American NGOs comes through the person of the T-TPLF puppet prime minister (PPT) (or is it crime minister?) Hailemariam Desalegn.

Last week, the PPM was frothing at the mouth reading the riot act to American nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) by lecturing and hectoring their supposed Ethiopian partners, lackeys and flunkeys in Ethiopia.

The T-TPLF passed its so-called Charities and Societies Proclamation in 2009 to “regulate” foreign NGOs operating in the country.

In 2011, the T-TPLF published a 91-page “Users’ Manual for the Charities and Societies Law”. It should have been more appropriately titled, “Red Tape and Hoops-to-Jump-Through  Charities and Societies Law Manual.”

What a waste of paper! They could have summarized the whole 91-page manual in six simple words. “No civic societies and NGOs allowed in Ethiopia!” (At least not those that are not in the back pocket of the T-TPLF.)

NGOs are part of what are commonly referred to as civil society organizations. Such organizations include charities, community associations and groups, women’s and youth organizations, religious organizations, professional associations, trade unions, business associations and a variety of other self-help and advocacy groups. The NGO movement began to expand in the mid-1980s in response to social injustice and inequality issues in repressive states, including the former communist countries. NGOs often promote ideas and practices of local empowerment, political participation and increased democratization in society. They help the poor and dispossessed gain influence in the policy process. I do not consider these activities to be crimes, but the T-TPLF criminals do.

The T-TPLF today is intensifying its war on American NGOs as part of a broader strategy to discredit and undermine the credibility of the widespread uprising against its corrupt rule in Ethiopia.

The T-TPLF first blamed “Shabya” (Eritrea) as inciters of the current uprising.

Then they added Middle Eastern interests (particularly Egypt) as the invisible hands behind the uprising .

Then they pointed an accusatory finger at the Ethiopian Diaspora (particularly those in the United States) and international human rights organizations as the trouble makers.

Now, the T-TPLF is training its big guns on the already decimated American NGO’s.

Blame the American NGOs for all the turmoil and unrest in Ethiopia blabbed the PPM in his usual underhanded way.

The PPM accused the American NGOs of every conceivable wrongdoing.

He virtually called them “The Illuminati” of Africa– evil foreign secretive societies conspiring to push a hidden agenda of regime change, regime destabilization and regime replacement in Ethiopia (and Africa) by fomenting unrest, anarchy and chaos.

Of course, the PPM did not have the evidence (I did not say the guts)  to come out publicly and accuse the American NGO’s of criminal wrongdoing directly.

He chose to send his scurrilous message to them by innuendo, hints, allegations, insinuation and allusions and by lecturing, hectoring, badgering, baiting and browbeating  Ethiopians working with the American NGOs.

To understand the PPM’s direct message to the NGOs and indirect message to the American government, one has to carefully deconstruct and dissect his coded message.

The PPT depicted NGOs as agents of American imperialism lurking in the shadows masterminding conspiracies and intrigues to overthrow the T-TPLF and install their own puppet regime.

The PPT said the American NGO’s operating in Ethiopia are rich and throw their money around to control and manipulate Ethiopian politics.

The PPT charged the American NGOs were the fifth column (enemy moles and Trojan horses) muddling in, stirring up and muddying Ethiopian politics. They must be stopped at all costs.

The PPT declared American NGOs make him feel like he wants to vomit. (He literally said that!)

The PPT warned American NGOs to steer clear of Ethiopian politics or else.

The PPT even invoked the warrior spirit of the “forefathers” to threaten the American NGOs that they will suffer the same ignominious fate the Italian colonial invaders suffered in the last two centuries.

Ethiopian politics is only for Ethiopians, blathered the PPM.

The PPT threw everything, including the kitchen sink, at the American NGOs.

But what sins or crimes did the American NGOs commit to deserve such a public trashing and thrashing?

Why is the PPM making the American NGOs his whipping boys today?

I do not believe American NGOs are the saviors of Africa or the guardians of Ethiopia.

I certainly do not believe they are the evil, malicious, wicked and malevolent organizations the PPM depicted them to be.

I know personally a whole lot of them who do good work in Ethiopia. They just want to do their work within the law and without interference and pressure from the T-TPLF.

The fact of the matter is that the TPLF which is today suppressing and decimating NGOs in Ethiopia today was sucking at the tits of the American NGOs in the mid-1980s when they were running around in the bush playing soldiers.

In 1984, when normal delivery of emergency humanitarian aid to the Tigrai region was made impossible by Derg (junta) bombardment, the TPLF worked hand in glove with various American NGOs to find alternate routes to deliver relief aid to famine victims in rebel-controlled areas. That is when the TPLF set up a scam called the “Relief Society of Tigrai” (REST) to skim and launder American NGO money for  the TPLF leadership. REST was organized as a small group of  “grain merchants” to rip-off the American NGOs. REST became EFFORT (Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigrai) in 1995 and is now a monopoly with a chokehold on Ethiopia’s economy.

What is important to realize it the fact that the T-TPLF today is the very creation of American NGOs. But for American NGOs money and political support, there would have been no TPLF today.

Gayle E. Smith, Obama’s current USAID Chief was an employee of REST. Need I say more?

According to a May 1991 Christian Science Monitor report: “One of the few Westerners who speaks the Tigre language and has had many contacts with Zenawi over a nine-year period, is Gayle Smith, an American who worked for Tigre’s relief agency, REST, during the 1985-6 drought.” (Emphasis added.)

You can read all about it in my May 2011 Huffington Post commentary (complete with a photo of TPLF leaders counting pile-high greenbacks [American dollars]) “Licensed to Steal” and June 2015 commentary, “Does Africa Need Gayle Smith?”.

Now the holier-than-thou PPM wants to lecture American NGOs on how bad and evil they are. A dog should never bite the hand that feeds it!

What is even more amazing is the fact that the PPM threatened to visit death and destruction on the American NGOs in the same manner the “forefathers” did to the Italian colonial aggressors in 1896 at the Battle of Adwa and in 1935.

This is the same PPM and his T-TPLF who have claimed over the past 25 years that Ethiopia’s history is just one hundred years old and its flag a “piece of rag”. They have demonized and vilified  Ethiopia’s past imperial leaders who kept the country free from colonial domination. The T-TPLF used Emperor Menelik II as a strawman in its divide and rule strategy for a quarter century, but now they want to be the warrior descendants of Emperor Menelik against white American NGOs.

I know for a fact that the PPM and his T-TPLF believe that the Ethiopian people are damned fools. But Ethiopians are not fools.

But the PPM is free to lead the T-TPLF parade of fools over the cliff twirling a baton.

I strongly disagree with the PPM’s view that American NGOs are some sort of radical agitators hellbent on sedition, dissent, insurrection, insurgency, uprisings and revolution in Ethiopia.

There is no evidence whatsoever to support the PPM’s mindless and reckless allegations that American NGOs operate in Ethiopia with the singular purpose of destabilizing Ethiopia and controlling its political process.

It is said that for the man walking around with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

For a man who has been walking around with a hammer smashing opposition political parties and trashing the free press in Ethiopia, lashing out at American NGOs is just another nail to hammer.

The PPM’s view on American NGOs operating in Ethiopia is absolutely ridiculous. He should be ashamed of himself for maliciously and unfairly tarring and feathering American NGOs in Ethiopia who have historically done a pretty good job of helping and empowering the ordinary people in a variety of areas.

So the million dollar question is, “Why is the PPM spreading malicious disinformation on American NGOs?”

Has the PPM just gone whack?

What is the PPM’s evidence supporting his reckless, mindless and devil-may-care allegations and justifying his disgraceful condemnation and denunciation of American NGOs?

The PPM unloaded:

The second and the issue most people don’t agree on is that political mobilization should be for the mobilization of the Ethiopian people. That is the fundamental principle we follow in our struggle. One of the issues that has created considerable controversy is that which says you must generate ten percent (of the revenue to operate an NGO from outside) inside the country. That’s the law. Nothing new there.

If (the notion is that) new in-country structures (NGOs) must work in politics to get experience, they can only get ten percent outside. Our thinking is that the outsiders who give money are rich. Therefore, we believe our Ethiopian politics must be conducted by its citizens. Just because an American organization gave money (and think) they can stir Ethiopian politics, it’s is not possible.

By the way, here is all that stuff about Adwa and this and that. It comes here and makes us want to vomit. It cannot be. We Ethiopians ourselves must do our own politics. You will not be able to play the game that you have been playing on other Africans on us. You can’t do it.

When you want regime change, it is not the Ethiopian people that make regime change but those with money (NGOs) who organize a particular group. They go out to color revolutionary square and say the government that squeezed surrenders its hands and in the end announce the government has given up type of situation. You will not see that situation in Ethiopia. Our forefathers have not done such things. And we will not give up either. It is only Ethiopians who must play Ethiopian politics.

There is no politics that a foreign power can spin in Ethiopia. This is not something likable. Clearly, this is not likable. If they could, they will not hesitate and dismantle the government. But how could they? We are not going to look at those who play this kind of game quietly.

So, you (Ethiopians who want to work with NGOs) will only get ten percent. You can call it experience. Gather up ninety percent by yourself. Why? The Ethiopian Orthodox Church was able to build such beautiful buildings. It is not with foreign money; architecturally and in terms of the amount of money, it is built with the money of the faithful who have faith. If you want to do politics, convince the people. Just like people with faith who build churches, convince people to give you money.

There is no shortage of money in Ethiopia. There is a shortage of faith. If it was a shortage of money, in every city, this many churches, these kinds of beautiful churches, expensive churches will not be built. These are the people you want to advance in politics. So if you ask these people for money, they will give you money if they believe in the politics. If they believe.

There is no way to go on Fereji (White people) people’s road. It’s OK. Take ten percent from Ferenjis. There are problems. Shortage of dollars. Take ten percent. But you can’t go beyond that. That’s the law.

This has damaged the private interests of many people. It has prevented a lot of money that could have come to people benefiting them. It has cut the hands of those people who want to stick their hands and stir our politics. If you go into social media, you will find all that. You will find information which says Ethiopian  law is stifling. The law called charities and societies is oppressive. It is suffocating. It’s everywhere. We have not surrendered up to right now.

It is not suffocating. Try, try. Try to do the politics in the country. That is the situation. To conduct our country’s politics in our country. Once we trust each other. You need to bring alternatives which show we can do that without outside involvement. If such an alternative is brought, we are ready to talk. However, after bringing 90 percent of the money from Americans, if you are going to say you are going to establish a local NGO that works in politics we will not accept that. End of case.

My initial reaction to the PPM’s tirade against American NGOs

The last time I heard a T-TPLF leader spewing so much rhetorical venom against an American institution was in 2010 when the late leader of the T-TPLF, thugmaster Meles Zenawi (TMZ) lashed out at the Voice of America- Amharic Program and accused them of promoting genocide in Ethiopia. TMZ said:

We have been convinced for many years, that in many respects, the VOA Amharic Service has copied the worst practices of radio stations such as Radio Mille Collines of Rwanda in engaging in destabilising propaganda.

TMZ must have gone completely whack when he recklessly made that allegation. (I did not say he was high on k’hat.) Is it possible for any sane person, let alone a “leader”,  to publicly allege that a civilian agency of the American government which provides news and information to 190 million people worldwide every week in 45 languages would single out, select and plot to promote genocide in Ethiopia?!

PPM Hailemariam today says:

When you want regime change, it is not the Ethiopian people that make regime change but those with money (NGOs) who organize a particular group. Just because an American organization gave money (and think) they can stir Ethiopian politics, it’s is not possible. There is no politics that a foreign power can spin in Ethiopia. There is no way to go on Fereji (White people) people’s road. It’s OK. Take ten percent from Ferenjis. You will not see that situation in Ethiopia. Our forefathers have not done such things. After bringing 90 percent of the money from Americans, if you are going to say you are going to establish a local NGO that works in politics we will not accept that. End of case.

Was PPM Hailemariam on k’hat when he made his wild allegations about American Ferenji NGOs  (White Americans) trying to take over Ethiopian politics?

This is not the first time the PPM has gone completely whack.

Back in 2013, the PPM was madder than a wet hen running around the African Union jabbering something about “race hunting” during the International Criminal Court (PPM) trial of prime crime against humanity suspect Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya. The case against Kenyatta and his vice president William Ruto was an open and shut case. (See my commentary, Kenyatta at the ICC: Is Justice Deferred, Justice Denied?)

The PPM said he “objects” to the ICC proceedings against Kenyatta because the ICC has “degenerated into some kind of race-hunting”. He effectively argued that white judges sitting in The Hague are “hunting” African leaders like African game. Sheer rubbish.

The PPM’s allegations were patently false. The chief ICC prosecutor prosecuting Kenyatta and Ruto was Fantou Besouda,  a black African woman lawyer from The Gambia. Out of the 18 ICC judges (and one ad litem), 4 are from Africa, 4 from Latin America, 3 from Asia, and 8 from European countries. Seven of the ICC  judges are women.

The PPM produced not a shred of evidence to support his claim of ICC degeneracy into race hunting. But he  thought he could pull the race card and scare off “white folks” from talking about his brotherhood of criminals against humanity. The PPM thought that he could shame the “white judges ” into backing down by pulling out the race card. Ironically, in the end Kenyatta flipped the bird at the ICC and walked out with a help of a few friends in very high places. (I did not say white friends.)

I am proud to say that I did not let him get away with it. In successive commentaries, I demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt that the PPM was simply playing the race card. (See e.g. my October 2013 commentary, “Saving African Dictators From the ICC” and my September 2013 commentary, “The International Criminal Court on an African Safari?”)

Of course, I knew what was eating the PPM when he so vociferously objected to the ICC prosecution of Kenyatta. The PPM could read the handwriting on the wall. After Kenyatta and Ruto, who? There is an old Ethiopian saying, “When they talk about the other person, listen attentively as though they are speaking  about you.”

It is no different now. The PPM is imagining White American NGOs “race hunting” him and his TPLF thugs right out of power.

Is this a simple case of thugs gone wild? Whack?

The old saying is that “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” But for the T-TPLF and their PPM, when the going gets tough, they pull out the race card and shout “race hunting” and ethnic card and whine “genocide is about to take place”.

But what’s really eating the PPM with the American NGO attack?

Does he seriously believe that white Americans who run the various NGOs in Ethiopia (or who want to operate in the country) are interested in overthrowing the T-TPLF and install their own indigenous puppet regime? I am asking this question of the PPM because I do not believe there is a more qualified person on the planet to answer a question on puppetry than the PPM himself.

But I have a hunch.

Could it be that the Obama Administration is leaning heavily on the PPM and his T-TPLF, telling them to cool it with the massacres and all?

Is the hatchet job on the American NGOs an indirect means of sending a defiant message to the Obama Administration?

I don’t know for sure, but I would not be surprised if the Obama Administration is telling the PPM and the T-TPLF to take it easy: “Chill, boys. You are making us look bad with all the killing!”

It is no secret that the American government has been pressuring the T-TPLF  to stop its indiscriminate massacres and wholesale arrests and detentions.

A couple of weeks ago, Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, expressed “grave concerns”  about the “excessive use of force against protesters in Ethiopia.” Power described the T-TPLF “violence” as “extremely serious” and called for a transparent and independent investigation. Power said “the U.S. has asked the government to allow people to protest peacefully.” That is diplomatic-speak telling the T-TPLF to cut it out. No more massacres.

In August, Tom Malinowski, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and Obama’s  global messenger of democracy and human rights declared the T-TPLF’s “tactics in response to protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions of the country are ‘self-defeating’”.  That’s diplomatic-speak for, “If the T-TPLF does not stop the massacres, it should prepare for a boomerang.” That is a return to the Hammurabic Code of “an eye for an eye”.

The continuing T-TPLF war on NGOs and civil society organizations in Ethiopia

A July 2016 Freedom House report  warned that “civil society is under renewed attack” in Ethiopia.

Freedom House reported:

In June [2016], the Charities and Societies Agency, the government body that regulates nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), announced that it had shut down more than 200 NGOs in the last nine months. The announcement followed the agency issuing a directive that seeks to impose penalties for noncompliance with the CSP. By issuing this directive, the agency effectively gave itself quasi-judicial powers in criminal proceedings. By paving the way for increased imposition of penalties, the Charities and Societies Agency will further undermine civil society’s ability to operate independently.

While the government continues to take measures that undermine civil society, popular support for civil society remains strong. According to a recent online survey conducted by Freedom House, two-thirds of those polled believe that civil society organizations should engage in human rights and democracy promotion. The survey also found that Ethiopians are unaware of the significant challenges facing civil society and of the crippling effects of the CSP. The survey findings underscore how a blackout of information from independent sources and constrained civic space curtail citizens’ ability to organize and participate in matters that affect their daily lives.

Years of government attacks, relentless smear campaigns, and extremely cumbersome rules and regulatory frameworks have crippled Ethiopia’s civil society. NGOs are denied access to resources and the ability to network with each other and mobilize support. As demand for democratic reforms in Ethiopia gains momentum, a vibrant civil society will be essential.

In 2008, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned the T-TPLF “law” would decimate NGOs in Ethiopia. HRW concluded  the T-TPLF charities “law” would make “illegal campaigning for gender equality, children’s rights, disabled persons’ rights, conflict resolution and judicial and law enforcement capacity-building.”  It aims to “intimidate and dismantle the country’s already-beleaguered civil society actors and criminalize human rights-related work carried out by international organizations.”

There is actually nothing new in the renewed T-TPLF attack on NGOs operating in Ethiopia. For the past seven years, NGOs have been under the T-TPLF gun in Ethiopia.

Prior to 2009, there were reportedly some 3,822 registered civil society organizations in Ethiopia, but in 2013  there were no more than 1,500.

According to one list, today there are less than one hundred active NGOs operating in Ethiopia.

A comprehensive study on NGOs and civil society organizations by Abiy Chelkeba Worku and  the impact of the T-TPLF charities law demonstrated that the T-TPLF “law” has made  the establishment and registration of  civil society and  non-governmental organizations in Ethiopia “much harder”, and has significantly and adversely impacted their service deliveries.

I am not a stranger to the NGO issue.

In 2008, I came to the defense of NGO’s operating in Ethiopia. In my October 2008commentary entitled, “Biting the Hands That Feed Millions”, I challenged TMZ to produce evidence to support his allegations that American NGOs are sinister, mischievous, malevolent forces visiting ruin and destruction on Ethiopian politics.

TMZ  could not produce a smidgen of  evidence to support his genocide allegations against the Voice of America.

The PPM today could not produce a smidgen of  evidence to support his allegations against NGOs operating in Ethiopia.

In my view, the T-TPLF’s objection to the American NGOs is that these organizations refuse to be T-TPLF flunkeys, lackeys, mouthpieces and tools at the grassroots levels and in the international media.

If the NGOs were at the beck and call of the T-TPLF and sing the T-TPLF’s praises, they would be lionized and glorified.  If the NGOs took their marching orders and played the T-TPLF’s games make-believe democracy and helped the T-TPLF  avoid and evade domestic and international accountability, they would have had free rein.

I am no fan of USAID. My regular readers know that I have been a relentless and implacable critic of that agency for years. But there is one thing I am willing to credit USAID.

USAID indeed “emphasizes support for civil-society organizations whose advocacy efforts give voice to citizens and increase their influence on the political process” because it believes “democratic political culture requires a vibrant civil-society sector and an independent media to ensure that citizens are well informed about the actions and performance of government institutions and officials, and that citizens have the means to freely influence public policies.”

In April 2015, Barack Obama at the Civil Society Forum said:

So civil society is the conscience of our countries.  It’s the catalyst of change.  It’s why strong nations don’t fear active citizens.  Strong nations embrace and support and empower active citizens.

And, increasingly, civil society is a source of ideas — about everything from promoting transparency and free expression, to reversing inequality and rescuing our environment.  And that’s why, as part of our Stand with Civil Society Initiative, we’ve joined with people around the world to push back on those who deny your right to be heard.  I’ve made it a mission of our government not only to protect civil society groups, but to partner with you and empower you with the knowledge and the technology and the resources to put your ideas into action.

So let me just say, when the United States sees space closing for civil society, we will work to open it.  When efforts are made to wall you off from the world, we’ll try to connect you with each other.  When you are silenced, we’ll try to speak out alongside you.  And when you’re suppressed, we want to help strengthen you.  As you work for change, the United States will stand up alongside you every step of the way.  We are respectful of the difference among our countries.  The days in which our agenda in this hemisphere so often presumed that the United States could meddle with impunity, those days are past. (Emphasis added.)

In July 2015, Obama visited Ethiopia and 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.)

The day after Obama said he does not “bite his tongue”, he stood before the African Union and said  African leaders could only “have democracy in name” so long as “journalists are put behind bars for doing their jobs, or activists are threatened as governments crack down on civil society.”

Why do snakes have forked tongues?

Some afterthoughts…

The T-TPLF continues to commit crimes against humanity and has decimated the free press and civic society institutions in Ethiopia with the material and moral support of Barack Hussein Obama.

After the T-TPLF declared it had won all 547 seats in its rubber stamp parliament, Barack Obama traveled to Ethiopia and declared the T-TPLF regime is democratic.

After the T-TPLF massacred thousands of Ethiopians over the past year, Barack Obama’s stony silence has been deafening.

On September 28, 2016, Barack Obama’s Treasury Department slapped sanctions on “two individuals for threatening the stability and undermining the democratic process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” by “suppressing  political opposition in the country, often through violent means.”

Yet, the hypocrite Barack Obama has imposed no sanctions and in fact  turned deaf ears, blind eyes and muted lips as the T-TPLF massacres and slaughters Ethiopians by the tens of thousands.

Where are Obama’s sanctions on the top T-TPLF syndicate members including Debretsion Gebremichael, Samora Yunis, Sebhat Nega, Tedros Adhanom, Seyoum Mesfin,  Arkebe Oqubay, Abay Tsehaye, Abadi Zemo, Tsegay Berhe, Azeb Mesfin, Haftom Abraha, Redwan Hussien,  Hailemariam Desalegn…. ?

Barack Obama has not met an African dictator he did not like. He has been telling the people of Africa that he is on the right side of history.

But Barack Obama has been standing tall on the side of practically every bloodthirsty African dictator and thugtator throughout his presidency.

The blood of innocent Ethiopians who have been T-TPLF massacre victims is on Obama’s hands too. He cannot say like Pontius Pilate, “I am innocent of the blood of the innocents.”

Ethiopians believe the blood of innocent Ethiopians who have been massacred by the T-TPLF is on Obama’s hands.

There may be Obama Care, but I am damn sure Obama cares not for Africa.

I can imagine some people will have a difficult time handling the truth about the first African American president who couldn’t care less about Africans. All I can say is, “Deal with it!”

During the concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Kanye West expressing the popular frustration over the federal government’s failure to help storm victims on live TV declared, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people!”

I do not know if West’s statement about George Bush is true or false.

But I can sure as hell say that George Bush cared about African people. “At more than $5 billion a year in humanitarian aid to Africa, President Bush has given more assistance to the continent than any other president. His administration’s aid was largely targeted to fight the major global health issues facing the continent, HIV/AIDS and malaria.”

Get a load of the facts about what Barack Obama has (not) done for Africa here .

The bottom line is money talks and … walks.

As Obama walks out of the presidency, I do not wonder if he cares about African people!

Not at all!

By ANGIRA ZADOCK

Kenyan police have arrested 40 members of the Oromo, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, for holding an illegal meeting in the capital Nairobi.

Nairobi County Police Commander Japheth Koome said the Oromos were arrested on Sunday evening as they were planning to protest against the Ethiopian government.

“The 40 Oromos had assembled at the City Park in Nairobi without notifying the police. We are interrogating them,” Koome said Monday, adding that they would be charged in court for illegal assembly.

The police said some of those arrested were in the country illegally and could be deported by court after the scrutiny of their documents.

The arrest came hours after a celebration in Ethiopia turned into a stampede that reportedly left at least 50 people dead as police dispersed a crowd at an annual cultural festival of the Oromo people.

It took place in one of Ethiopia’s most sensitive regions, Oromia, which has seen several months of protests by Oromos demanding wider freedoms. The protests were initially sparked by a land row and have been turning more broadly against the government.