Month: December 2016
- #StateOfEmergency
Memoirs of my detention at Awash 7: tales of indoctrination, of laughter and the unknown
BefeQadu Z. Hailu for Addis Standard Wakoma Tafa was planning to get married on Sunday, Oct.10, 2016. But just three days before his wedding he was arbitrarily detained around Alem Gena, 25k west of Addis Abeba, a city within the special zone of the Oromia Regional State. On the day set for his wedding, Wakoma was taken to Awash 7…
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News: Dr. Merera Gudina of the opposition OFC facing potential charges of terrorism
Addis Abeba Dec 29/2016 – The federal high court Arada branch has today granted the police additional 28 days to remand and investigate prominent opposition leader, Dr. Merera Gudina, chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC). The police have told the court that they were investigating Dr. Merera for “potential offenses related to terrorism,” indicating that the opposition leader, who…
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Yadessa Bojia: On art and activism -“Where there is pain there is a loud noise”
Yadessa Bojia is a Seattle based Graphic Designer, Fine Arts painter and the Designer of the African Union (AU) Flag. Describing himself as a husband, parent and a brother, Yadessa uses his art as a “tool to create attentions around causes I consider worthy or lack a highlight.” Yadessa is best known for his relentless work of activism especially for…
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News: Federal High Court found Kedir Mohammed Yusuf et.al guilty of terrorism, violating penal code
Addis Abeba Dec. 21/2016 – The federal High Court 19th criminal bench has today found 20 defendants, including two journalists, guilty of terrorism related charges and violating the country’s penal code. The court has adjourned the sentencing until 3 January 2017. The accused under the file name of the first defendant Kedir Moahmmed Yusuf were charged with several articles of…
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The human cost of Ethiopia’s sweeping State of Emergency: “I never wanted to see tomorrow”
Addis Abeba Dec. 19/2016 – On Saturday Dec. 17, Siraj Fegessa, Ethiopia’s minister of defense and the secretariat of the command post tasked to implement the country’s sweeping six-month state of emergency (SOE), had news that should have come as a relief to tens of thousands of Ethiopians. Minister Siraj, a civilian, told journalists mostly drawn from state-controlled and state-affiliated…
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News: Body of a Kenyan tech engineer who died in Ethiopia jail arrives home
Addis Abeba Dec 12/2016 – The body of a Kenyan engineer who died while in an Ethiopian prison has arrived home on Thursday Dec. 11th. Zak Muriuki, a father of two girls (pictured) and a tech engineer by profession, arrived in Ethiopia nearly two years ago on January 9, 2015, according to information obtained by Addis Standard. He was…
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Ethiopia: A new Human Rights Action Plan as country plunges in opposite direction
Addis Abeba Dec. 09/2016 – When the government unveiled a draft of its second National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP II) before the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR) in early November, lawmakers were told that the objective was to improve the human rights condition in the country. Chiefly, NHRAP II would develop a comprehensive and structured mechanism to advance the…
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News: Africa squandering its potential, IFAD president tells House of Lords
Addis Abeba Dec 08/2016 – Africa is a world leader in poverty and hunger due to a lack of committed leadership and rampant corruption, said Dr Kanayo F. Nwanze, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in his address at the House of Lords yesterday. Although rich in minerals, gas and oil, and with abundant sunshine and fertile…
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Ethiopia: A leadership in crisis unveiled by protests
Opinion Hamaa Loolaa Addis Abeba Dec. 07/2016 – It is now more than a year since the Oromo Protest for justice and democracy began in Ethiopia. It reverberated throughout Oromia and exposed the regime’s use of brutality to suppress and silence dissenting voices. But instead of waning, the struggle gained momentum when the Amhara youth in Gondar and Bahir Dar…
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News: Ethiopia security detain prominent opposition party leader Dr. Merera Gudina
Addis Abeba Dec. 1/2016 – Security forces implementing Ethiopia’s six-month State of Emergency have last night detained prominent opposition party leader Dr. Merera Gudina, Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), upon his arrival at Bole International Airport. Details of what transpired at the airport are sketchy, but sources told Addis Standard that Dr. Merera was first taken by…
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