Ethiopia: Release protestors, stop crushing political opposition (Amnesty International)

December 11, 2014

(Amnesty International) On 5 and 6 December, security services in Addis Ababa arrested an estimated 90 people during attempts to stage a demonstration by a coalition of nine opposition political parties. The arrests are the latest manifestation of the authorities’ hostility towards the political opposition ahead of the general election scheduled for May 2015. The Ethiopian authorities must ensure the immediate and unconditional release of those arrested for peaceful participation in, or the organization of, the demonstration, and all others imprisoned in Ethiopia for the peaceful expression of their political opinion.

Ethiopia’s Internet Status Remain “Not Free”: Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2014

December 7, 2014

• Telecom services worsened, characterized by frequently dropped phone calls, prolonged internet service interruptions, and slow response times to service failures
• Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, and CNN were inaccessible for 12 hours in July 2013, while the number of permanently blocked webpages also increased
• A law enacted in November 2013 gives the Information Network Security Agency (INSA) carte blanche to inspect private online activities without oversight
• The government launched sophisticated surveillance malware against several online journalists in the Ethiopian diaspora and dissidents in exile
• Six bloggers of the prominent Zone9 blogging collective were arrested in April 2014 on charges of terrorism

Click here for Full Freedom on the Net 2014 Report

Ethiopia continues to have one of the lowest rates of internet and mobile phone connectivity in the world, as meager infrastructure, government monopoly over the telecommunications sector,

Human Rights in Polarized Ethiopia: the need for collaboration

Aklog Birara, PhD

December 4, 2014

Presentation at the SHENGO DC Forum on Human Rights

Aklog Birara (DR), November 30, 2014 (Part one of three)

Remark

This series is intended for the benefit of those who did not attend the forum.

Why are human rights essential?

If we respect ourselves as people and want the world community to respect us and support our causes, we must face up to the demanding responsibility of owning and leading the struggle for human dignity, rights, the rule of law and representative governance ourselves. No one will do it for us. In terms of justice, rights, fair distribution of incomes and access to opportunities, sustainable and equitable development and the like the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) controlled and led government of Ethiopia has failed. This is one part of the story. The other is what the rest of us are doing to redress the situation. Blaming others, including the repressive regime is easy. Offering a compelling alternative is hard.

Roundtable Discussion held on Human Rights issues for Ethiopian migrant workers in the Middle East

December 8, 2014

by Berhane Tadese

The Round Table Discussion on Ethiopians migrant human rights issues was held on December 6, 2014, of the State office building in New York City. The discussion was organized by the Humanitarian Organization for Ethiopians in Need of NY & NJ and the Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association of New York (ECMAA). The Humanitarian Organization for Ethiopian in Need was has been doing an advocacy for the migrant workers’ rights of Ethiopians in Middle East countries. On the other hand, ECMAA is serving Ethiopian residents living in metro NY, NJ, and CT who need help in the area of Education/Information, Emergency, out reaches services, networking / partnering etc.

The discussion was moderated by Ms. Makda Amare the Chairperson of Human

Who Polices the Police in America?

December 8, 2014

by Alemayehu G. Mariam*

Our government… teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis

The tip of the iceberg: Not isolated cases

On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, a 43 year-old African American, was approached by at least four New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers who suspected him of  selling contraband (“loosies”) cigarettes outside of a store. In a cell phone video of the incident, Garner denies doing anything wrong and that he is constantly harassed by police. He protests to the officer:

The Great Ethiopian Famine of 1984 Remembered (by Alemayehu G. Mariam)

October 27, 2014

by Alemayehu G. Mariam*

There is famine in Ethiopia in 2014, but it is known by other fancy names

Famine in Ethiopia is a topic that horrifies me. Over the years, I have written long commentaries on the subject often challenging with incontrovertible facts the fabricated and false claims of the Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front and its late leader Meles Zenawi that there has been no famine in Ethiopia since they took power in 1991. Of course, there has been famine in Ethiopia every year since 1991. They just don’t call famine, famine. They have fancy names for it like “extreme malnutrition”, “severe under-nutrition”, “extreme food shortage”, “catastrophic food shortages” and other clever misnomers. However, famine in Ethiopia sugarcoated with fancy words and phrases is still famine!