It is time to change our strategy regarding Andargachew Tsige

June 20, 2015

by Densa

Considering the many blunders the policy of Great Britain politicians have done to harm the Ethiopian people why not we take our case to the voting population directly? This time around the best means of struggle from our vantage point need to be educate activists and the general public about the British government’s wrong policy. I believe had there been adequate publicity the case of Andargachew Tsige could have been a national embarrassment to the British government. After all, the circumstances surrounding his arrest has all the telltale signs that can implicates the British government.

Why do we keep courting the politicians while we know they have close

Gayle Smith condemned by an Ethiopian activist during a US Senate confirmation hearing

June 19, 2015

ESAT News (June 18, 2015)

Mekonnen Getachew, an Ethiopian activist, loudly condemned Gayle Smith while on a confirmation hearing as USAID administrator nominee at Senate Building in Washington DC, on Wednesday June 17, 2015. Smith was interrupted when she was giving a speech on human rights, development, and good governance in Africa.

Mr. Mekonnen, DC metro area Taskforce member for Human Rights and Democracy, told ESAT that Smith has been supporting Tigray people’s Liberation Front a for quarter of a century. “Instead of working for ordinary people in Ethiopia, Smith has been cooperating with a dictatorial and corrupt government officials that oppress the Ethiopian people,” Mekonnen told ESAT.

Ethiopian General Election: An Insult to the People and Democracy

June 19, 2015

by Graham Peebles

Every five years the Ethiopian people are invited by the ruling party to take part in a democratic pantomime called ‘General Elections’. Sunday 24th May saw the latest production take to the national stage.

With most opposition party leaders either in prison or abroad, the populace living under a suffocating blanket of fear, and the ruling party having total control over the media, the election result was a foregone conclusion. The European Union, which had observed the 2005 and 2010 elections, refused to send a delegation this time, maintaining their presence would legitimise the farce, and give credibility to the government.

UN report promotes encryption as fundamental and protected right

A meeting of the UN Human Rights Council
in Geneva. Special Rapporteur on freedom of
 opinion and expression David Kaye is due to
present his report on encryption there
on June 17. (Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

June 18, 2015

by Geoffrey King (CPJ)

On Wednesday, Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye will present his report on international legal protection for encryption and anonymity to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The report is an important contribution to the security conversation at a time when some Western leaders are calling for ill-informed and impossible loopholes in technology–a trend that facilitates surveillance and tends to enable states that openly seek to repress journalists.

Ethiopia, which aggressively prosecuted a group known as the “Zone 9″ bloggers for participating in email encryption training is one such state. Authorities there jail more journalists than any other country in Africa, other than Eritrea, and it is the fourth most censored country in the world, according to CPJ research. The Ethiopian government is suspected of conducting widespread surveillance inside the county and ofhacking the computers of journalists living overseas.

Exclusive: Andargachew Tsege reportedly said he sees no reason to stay alive

June 17, 2015

(The Independent) – Fears are growing for the state of mind of a British father of three who has languished in a secret jail in Ethiopia for almost a year.

Andargachew “Andy” Tsege, who has been sentenced to death, reportedly told the British ambassador during a rare visit: “Seriously, I am happy to go – it would be preferable and more humane.”

Next week marks the first anniversary of Mr Tsege, a leading opponent of the Ethiopian regime, being imprisoned during a trip to Africa.

Amid growing concerns for the 60-year-old Briton’s well-being, he was visited by ambassador Greg Dorey on in April.

A report of the ambassador’s visit was sent to Mr Tsege’s partner, Yemi Hailemariam, the mother of their three children.

Ethiopia Opposition Candidate Dies After Attack in Northwest

Samuel Awoke (PHOTO: NegereEthiopia)

June 17, 2015

(Bloomberg) – An Ethiopian parliamentary candidate for the opposition Blue Party died after being assaulted in Debre Markos, a town in the country’s northwest, the group said.

Two people attacked Samuel Awoke, 29, with a club and knife as he returned home alone from a night out with friends, spokesman Yonatan Tesfaye said by phone Tuesday from the capital, Addis Ababa.

“We are trying to figure out who are the killers and the reasons,” he said, citing suspicions it was politically motivated. Ethiopian Communications Minister Redwan Hussien said in a text message that a suspect has been apprehended and the attack may have stemmed from a legal dispute.

Samuel reported previous death threats and a beating during campaigning for the polls that were held May 24, Yonatan said. The lawyer had been active in challenging election procedures and results in the Amhara region town, 295 kilometers (183 miles) northwest of the capital, he said