Declaration of Unity of the OLF

June 28, 2014 (Oromo Liberation Front) — It is with great pleasure that we announce to our people and the supporters of our struggle for freedom the good news that, based on the accord they made in Kampala, Uganda, in November 2012, the two organizations of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) known as OLF Shanee Gumii (”OLF National Council”) and OLF Qaama Ce’umsaa (”OLF Transitional Authority”) have resolved our differences and agreed to combine our two leaderships, unify our members, merge our organizational structures and inaugurate a reunified OLF. Although OLF has encountered many obstacles during the last forty years, there was no time when it has stopped the struggle that it was established to lead. No one can deny the fact that the national struggle led by the OLF has scored many victories and made many significant achievements that have taken the Oromo people a long way toward the national goal of independence. Among these great achievements is the level of political awareness of our people.

17 ORTO journalists are fired

17 journalists of Oromia Radio and Television Organization (ORTO) have been fired. The journalists say they received no prior notice and learned of their fate this morning when security prevented them from entering the station's compound located in Adama. Members of the management informed the journalists that they cannot help them as decision terminate their employment and the list of names came from the federal government. This firing follows a 20 day reindoctrination seminar given to journalists and reporters of the ORTO and workers of the region's communication bureau.Main agenda's for the seminar were the ongoing ‪#‎OromoProtests‬ and the upcoming election. Speakers at the seminar included Bereket Simon, Waldu Yemasel ( Director of Fana broadcasting), Abreham Nuguse Woldehana and Zelalem Jemaneh.

source:via Riyad Ebrahim

Ethiopian Security Forces Arrest Dozens of Civilians in Degahbur

By Ahmed Abdi 

Ethiopian Security Forces arrested dozens of civilians in Dehehbur, about 135 kilometers southeast of the regional Capital city of Jigjiga on Wednesday, following after ONLF insurgency killed 10 Ethiopian Security forces and regional administrators on Monday. Local sources said that the Ethiopian-appointed regional President Abdi Mohamoud Omar better known as Abdi Iley ordered the arrest and killing of anyone suspected of aiding ONLF in part of security swoop.

Abdi Iley reappointed infamous Omar Gamble as the Police commissioner immediately after the administration had been sustained heavy assaults by the ONLF in a bid to strike the town residents with an iron fist.

“I have seen at least 50 people that the security forces arrested and loaded on pickup trucks,” said an eyewitness who asked not to be identified.

The source added that 20 civilians that have been transferred to Guna’gado another town near Degehbur, went missing since yesterday and their fate remains unknown.’

ONLF has been fighting against Ethiopian regimes since 1984 and wants its oil and gas-rich Ogaden region to gain full Independence from Ethiopian highlanders. Peace-talk between ONLF and Ethiopia stalled in Oct 17, 2012, after the ONLF refused to accept Ethiopian constitution which it says it says the Ethiopian constitution does not concern the Somalis in Ogaden.

Sudan death row woman Meriam Ibrahim 're-arrested'

A Sudanese woman freed from death row on Monday has been arrested with her family at Khartoum airport, sources have told the BBC.

Meriam Ibrahim was sentenced to hang in May for renouncing Islam, sparking widespread outrage at home and abroad.

About 40 security agents detained Mrs Ibrahim - along with her husband, Daniel Wani and two children - at the airport, the sources said.

On Monday, Mr Wani said the family intended to leave for the US.

Mrs Ibrahim was released from prison after an appeal court annulled the death sentence imposed on her.

She was arrested in February, and gave birth to a daughter in prison not long after being sentenced.

The family has been taken to the headquarters of one of Sudan's security agencies, the sources said.

Before she was rearrested, Western countries had welcomed the decision to rescind the death penalty.

Source: BBC

Aid donors announce investigation into tribal evictions in Ethiopia

Bulldozers clearing Mursi land in Mago National Park, where communities are being
evicted from their land to make way for sugar plantations

June 24, 2014 (Survival International) — Representatives of some of Ethiopia’s biggest aid donors have announced that they will send a team to the southwest of the country to investigate persistent reports of human rights abuses amongst the tribes living there.

The Simplest Step Ethiopians Can Take to Protect Themselves From Excessive Gov’t Surveillance

By Jessica McKenzie

June 24, 2014 (Tech President) — The Ethiopian government has at their disposal a formidable collection of surveillance technologies, and can intrusively monitor writers and activists at home and abroad. In late April the government arrested six independent bloggers and a journalist. More than 50 days later they are still being held in custody, and yet no formal charges have been filed. In March Human Rights Watch published a lengthy and detailed report warning that surveillance in Ethiopia could get even worse if the government gains the human capacity necessary to fully leverage the available technologies.

የሱዳን መንግስት መርያምን በነፃ አስናበተ ....

እኔ ክርስትያን ነኝ ብላ ዳኛውን ያስቆጣችው መርያም ከሙስሊም ሱዳናዊ እና ከክርስትያን ኢትዮጵያዊ የተወለደች ሲሆን ወላጅ አባቷ ሲለይ በክርስትያን እናቷ የክርስትናን ሃይማኖት እየተከተለች ያደገች ነበረች :: መርያም በፕሊስ ቁጥጥር በዋለችበት ወቅት የ8 ወር ነፍሰ ጡርም ነበረች :: ባለቤቷ የክርስትና ሃይማኖት ተከታይ በመሆኑ እርግዝናዋ ከትዳር ውጭ በማለት (አንድ ሰው ባባቱ ሙስሊም ከሆነ የ እስልማና ሃይማኖት ተከታይ ነው የሚሆነው ይህ ደግሞ የሱዳን መንግስት የሽርያ ህግ ነው) ፍርድ ቤቱ ጋብቻዋን ውድቅ በማድረግ 100 ጅራፍ እንድትገረፍና ዳኛ ፊት ቀርባ ክርስትያን ነኝ ብላ በመከራከሯ ደግሞ በድንጋይ ተቀትቅጣ እንድትሞት የተፈረደባት መሆኑንም ተዘግቦ ነበር ::

አንድ ሚልየን የሚየን የሚጠጋ የፊርማ የተሰበሰበላት መርያም ዛሬ በነፃ ተለቃ ባለቤቷንና ልጆችዋን ተቀላቅላለች :: የአለም ሕዝብን ልብ የሰረቀችው መርያም ለቤቷ ያበቃት እግዚያብሔርም ምስጋና ይግባው ::
አሜን !!

ሁሌም መልካም ስሩ !!

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WORLD REFUGEE DAY

World Refugee Day highlights the world wide crisis of the presence of millions of refugees exposed to cruel mistreatment, denial of asylum rights and even death at the shores of callous ports. The plight of Ethiopian refugees is deplorable and worse than the year before.

In the Sudan, Ethiopian refugees are being harasses and deported. A so called campaign to register refugees to obtain yet another new ID is the cover for police harassment, mistreatment and deportation of refugees. In Kenya, the so called campaign against Al Shabab has led to the violations of the rights of not only Somali but also Ethiopian refugees. Numerous Ethiopian refugees have died trying to get into Yemen and inside Yemen too, with women raped, all beaten and forced to pay ransom money and the like. The trek to Lampadusa from Libya, where refugees suffer immeasurably, has led to death more than often. Ethiopian refugees face denial of rights and deportation from European countries too. The claim by some European countries that Ethiopia is a safe country, meaning a democratic country, is ridiculed by the reality of tyranny that exists all over the land. The human rights record of the regime in Addis Abeba is beyond horrible. The known and secret prisons, as well as the camps of suffering like Zwai are overflowing. Torture is cruel and wide spread. A so called anti terror law, conveniently ambiguous and controversial, is used by the regime to repress dissent, jail independent journalists and to criminalize peaceful protest. The regime practices ethnic discrimination, ethnic cleansing and massacres as a matter of routine. By all accounts, Ethiopia has become a hell hole for most of its citizens. And fleeing for safety is more than justified.

SOCEPP calls on the UNHCR and other concerned agencies to come to the aid of Ethiopian refugees in Africa, the Middle East and beyond. It is to be noted that the mostly foreign sponsored wars in Africa have aggravated the refugee crisis all over. The people’s yearning for democracy and human rights is stifled. The conditions that cause the problem of the refugees are more than present.

Asylum rights for all refugees!
Human rights for all refugees!

INJUSTICE ANYWHERE IS INJUSTICE EVERYWHERE
SOCEPP, POSTFACH 51213, BERLIN 13372,GERMANY
E MAIL: SOCEPP @AOL.COM

Jen & Josh witnessed Ambo protests

breaking news Flare-Up in Ethiopia’s Oromia Region

Added by Admin on June 13, 2014.

Our statistical risk assessments continue to identify Ethiopia as one of the world’s countries at greatest risk of state-led mass killing, and recent reports of violent repression in Ethiopia’s Oromia region suggest one pathway by which that dismal but still unlikely outcome could happen.

Ethiopia’s Oromia Region

In mid-May, Amnesty International issued a public statement calling out the use of deadly force by Ethiopian security forces against a series of nonviolent protests in Oromia that began in late April. The protesters are objecting to the part of a new development plan that envisions the expansion of the national capital region into parts of Oromia. The central government claims this change will help bring city services to remote areas, but many Oromos fear it will only lead to land grabs and evictions. According to Amnesty,