Philip Hammond warns Ethiopia over treatment of Briton on death row

Foreign secretary condemns detention of Andargachew Tsige in solitary confinement with no access to consular help or right to appeal

Placards demand the immediate release of UK citizen Andargachew Tsige, also sometimes spelled Tsege, who was given a death sentence in his absence. Photograph: Alamy
The treatment of a Briton on death row in Ethiopia is threatening to undermine the country’s relationship with the UK, the foreign secretary has warned.
In an unusually blunt statement, Philip Hammond has called for rapid progress in the case of Andargachew Tsige, who is being held in solitary confinement in an unknown location in Ethiopia.
The foreign secretary’s comments, released a year after Tsige was abducted while transiting through Yemen, is a clear sign of official disapproval of the approach taken by the regime in Addis Abbaba. The Foreign Office is escalating the case beyond confidential diplomatic exchanges.

Andy Tsige pictured with his family. Photograph: Yemi Hailemariam/Family

On Wednesday, Hammond spoke to the Ethiopian foreign minister, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, about the case on the phone. His statement said: “I am deeply concerned that, a year after he was first detained, British national Andargachew Tsige remains in solitary confinement in Ethiopia without a legal process to challenge his detention.
“I am also concerned for his welfare and disappointed that our repeated requests for regular consular access have not been granted, despite promises made.
“I spoke to foreign minister Tedros and made clear that Ethiopia’s failure to grant our repeated and basic requests is not acceptable. I informed Dr Tedros that the lack of progress risks undermining the UK’s much valued bilateral relationship with Ethiopia.

UN investigates Briton on death row in Ethiopia

“I asked Dr Tedros once again to permit immediate regular consular access and for our concerns regarding Mr Tsige’s welfare to be addressed. I have also asked that the Ethiopian authorities facilitate a visit by Mr Tsige’s family. Foreign Office officials will continue to provide consular support both to Mr Tsige and to his family during this difficult time.”
Tsige’s partner, Yemi Hailemariam, also a British national, lives in London with their three children. She has spoken to him only once by phone since his abduction.
“He’s in prison but we have no idea where he is being held,” she told the Guardian last month. “He said he was okay, but I’m sure the call was being listened to. He had been in Dubai and was flying on to Eritrea when the plane stopped over in Yemen. He hadn’t even been through immigration. We think Yemeni security took him and handed him over to the Ethiopians.
Yemi Hailemariam outside the Foreign Commonwealth Office in April Photograph: Alamy

“They say there was an extradition agreement, but it was so quick there was no time for any semblance of a legal hearing. Yemen and Ethiopia had close relations then. The [Ethiopian] government have put him on television three times in heavily edited interviews, saying he was revealing secrets.
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“He has been kept under artificial light 24 hours a day and no one [other than the UK ambassador] has had access to him.”
Tsige, 60 – known as Andy – had previously been secretary general of Ginbot 7, a political opposition party that called for democracy, free elections and civil rights. He first came to the UK in 1979.
The Ethiopian government has accused him of being a terrorist. In 2009, he was tried with others in his absence and sentenced to death. The latest reports suggest that his health is deteriorating.
His lawyer, Ben Cooper, of Doughty Street Chambers, said: “We welcome the Foreign Secretary condemning the illegality of Andy Tsige’s detention, confirming the fact of his solitary confinement and demanding consular visits. But we have a simple ask: please request Andy Tsige’s return home to his family in London. Mr Tsige was kidnapped by Ethiopia at an international airport and the only remedy for kidnap is release. Why has Mr Hammond not yet asked Ethiopia to release Andy so he can return home to England?”
Juan Méndez, the UN special rapporteur on torture, has written to the Ethiopian and UK governments saying he is investigating Tsige’s treatment.

Who is Andargachew Tsige?
Andargachew, or Andy, Tsige fled Addis Abbaba in the 1970s following threats against his life from the military regime, the Derg, which then controlled Ethiopia.
A student activist, he had attracted the attention of the authorities. His younger brother was killed by the security forces. Tsige escaped into the mountains to join opposition groups.
In 1979, after falling out with fellow rebels, he sought asylum in the UK. He studied at the University of Greenwich and obtained full UK citizenship.
Tsige returned to Ethiopia after the Derg was overthrown but moved back to the UK in the early 1990s where he became active in opposition politics.
In 2005, he returned to Addis Abbaba again. He took part in that year’s election and was briefly imprisoned. after being freed, he founded a new political movement, Ginbot 7, from his exile in London.
The organisation was alleged by the Ethiopian government to have launched a failed coup in 2009. Tsige was condemned to death in his absence.
In June 2014, he had flown to the Gulf to give lectures. An unexpected change to his return route saw him fly back via Yemen where he changed planes. At Sana’a airport, he was arrested by guards and put on a plane to Ethiopia on the grounds that there was an extradition agreement between the two countries.
Supporters say that had he been born white and in the UK, the Foreign Office would have taken a more forceful line in campaigning for his release from death row in east Africa.
His partner, Yemisrach Hailemariam, and their three children live in London. She has campaigned actively for his freedom.
In February a delegation of MPs, led by Jeremy Corbyn, his local member, was scheduled to visit Ethiopia in an attempt to secure his release. The trip was abandoned following a meeting with the Ethiopian ambassador.


Source: Theguardian

የአቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ የታፈኑበትን አንደኛ ዓመት ምክንያት በማድረግ ከዓርበኞች ግንቦት 7 ንቅናቄ የተሰጠ መግለጫ

አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ በወያኔ ከሰነዓ አለም አቀፍ አውሮፓላን ጣቢያ ታፍነው ከተወሰዱ በዛሬው ዕለት ሰኔ 16 ቀን 2007 ዓ. ም፣ አንድ ዓመት ይሞላቸዋል። የወያኔ አረመኔዎች ይህን ዓይነት የውንብድና ተግባር ሲፈጽሙ በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ያሰሉት፣ አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌን በማፈን፣ ንቅናቄው ብሎም ሕዝቡ፣ ለዕኩልነት፣ ለፍትህና ለነጻነት፣ የሚያደርገውን ትግል ለማዳከምና ከተቻለም ደግሞ ለማጥፋት እንደሆነ፣ ምንም የማያጠራጥር ጉዳይ ነው።
ለመሆኑ የወያኔዎች ስሌት በምን ያህል ትክክል ነበር ?

ባለፈው አንድ አመት ውስጥ፣ ወያኔ በአቶ አንዳርጋቸው ላይ የፈጸመው የውንብድና አፈና ተግባር፣ ንቅናቄያችን ከመቼውም ጊዜ ይልቅ በሐገር ውስጥም ሆነ በውጭ ባለው ሕዝብ ልብ ውስጥ እንዲገባ አድርጎታል። ሌላው ቀርቶ ከአፈናው በፊት በተለያዩ ምክንያቶች ንቅናቄያችንን በጥርጣሬ የሚመለከቱ ወገኖች በአደባባይ ወጥተው፣ ” እኔም አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ ነኝ” በማለት አቶ አንዳርጋቸውና ንቅናቄው ለሚታገሉለት ሕዝባዊና ሐገራዊ ዓላማ መቆማቸውን በግልጽ አሳይተዋል። እጅግ ከፍተኛ ቁጥር ያላቸው ዜጎች በሐገር ውስጥ፣ በምድር ላይና በውጭ ሐገር የሚገኘውን የንቅናቄያችንን አካላት ተቀላቅለዋል። ቀደም ሲል በንቅናቄያችን በተለያዩ ደረጃዎች ይሰሩ የነበሩ ዓባላቶች ከአፈናው በኋላ ለትግሉ ያላቸውን ቁርጠኝነት በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ጨምረዋል።

የአቶ አንዳርጋቸውን አፈና ተከትሎ፣ የንቅናቄው አመራር መሰረታዊ የትግል እንቅስቃሴዎቹን በስፋትና በጥልቀት በመፈተሽ አስፈላጊውን ማሻሻያዎችና ማስተካካያዎችን አድርጓል። ንቅናቄያችን አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ለረጅም ጊዜ የደከሙለትን ከሌሎች ድርጅቶች ጋር በጋራ የመታገለን ጥረት አሳክቶ፣ ከኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ዓርበኞች ግንባር ጋር ሙሉ ለሙሉ ተዋህዷል። ከዚህም በተጨማሪ የትግራይ ሕዝብ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ንቅናቄን ጨምሮ፣ ከሌሎች አምስት በምድር ላይ ከሚንቀሳቀሱ ድርጅቶች ጋራ በጥምረት ለመስራት ስምምነት ላይ ደርሷል።

በሌላ በኩል ያለፈው አንድ አመት የወያኔ የዘረኛ ዓምባገነን ቡድን ከመቼውም ጊዜ ይልቅ በሕዝብ ላይ የሚፈጽመውን የአፈና፣ የግድያ፣ የዕስርና የድብደባ ውንብድና ተግባር አጠናክሮ የቀጠለበት ዓመት ነበር ። ለዚህም ጸረ ሕዝብ ተግባሩ፣ በባህርዳር ከተማ ሰላማዊ ሰዎች ላይ ያደረሰውን ግድያ፣ በሰላም እንታገላለን ብለው ይንቀሳቀሱ የነበሩትን የአንድነትና የመኢሀድ ድርጅቶች ማፍረስ ብቻ ሳይሆን፣ ዓባሎቻቸው ላይ ያደረሰውን ከፍተኛ የድብደባና የዕስር ወንጀል መጥቀስ ይቻላል። ከዚህም በተጨማሪ በኦሮምያ፤ በአፋር፤ በጋምቤላ፤ በኦጋዴን፤ በትግራይና በደቡብ ክልሎች ይህ ነው የማይባል አፈና፤ ግድያና የሕዝብ መፈናቀል በሰፊው አከናውኗል:: ከምርጫው ጋር ተያይዞም በአደረበት ስጋት የተነሳ በርካታ፣ በተለይ ወጣቶች ላይ፣ የመደብደብ፣የማዋከብ የዕስርና የግድያ ተግባር የፈጸመው በዚሁ አቶ አንዳርጋቸውን ከአፈነበት ቀን ጀምሮ በተቆጠረው የአንድ አመት ጊዜ ውስጥ ነበር። በጣም የሚገርመው ለራሱ አመቻችቶ ያዘጋጅውን ምርጫ እንኳን ሙሉ በሙሉ አሸነፍኩ ብሎ ከአወጀም በኋላም፣ ከምርጫው በፊት በሕዝብ ላይ እየፈጸመ ያለውን ወንጀል አጠናክሮ መቀጠሉ ያለበትን የስጋትና ጭንቀት ደረጃ የሚያሳይ መረጃ ነው ።

የወያኔ በራስ የመተማመን ደረጃ ከመቼውም ወቅት ይልቅ እጅግ አሽቆልቁሎ የታየውም ባለፈው አንድ አመት ጊዜ ውስጥ ነበር። በሐገር ውስጥ ይነሳብኛል ብሎ በሚያስበው የተቃውሞ እንቅስቃሴ ስጋት ምክንያት ይህን ስጋት ለመቀነስ በአንድ መንገድም ይሁን በሌላ ይረዱኛል ብሎ ያሰባቸውን በአካባቢው የራሳቸው ጥቅምና ፍላጎት ያላቸውን ቀደም ሲል ወቀሳ ቢጤ እንደመሰንዘርም ዕልህም እንደመጋባትም ይዳዳቸው የነበሩትን መንግስታት ባለሥልጣኖች በመማጸንና ሐገር ውስጥ በመጋበዝ ማንነቱን አበጥሮ ለሚያውቀው የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ በአደባባይ ወጥተው ወያኔ ያልሆነውን ነው ብለው ምስክርነት እንዲሰጡለት ማድረጉ የወያኔ ስጋት የደረሰበትን ከፍተኛ ደረጃ የሚያሳይ ሌላው መረጃ ነው።

በዚህ አጋጣሚ ንቅናቄያችን አቶ አንዳርጋቸውን አፍነው ለወያኔ የሸጡትን የየመን ባለሥልጣኖች ድርጊት በሚመለከት በጊዜው በሰጠው መግለጫ ላይ በግልጽ እንዳስቀመጠው፣ “ጊዚያዊ ጥቅምን በማየት የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ለዕኩልነት፣ ለፍትህና ለነጻነት የሚያደርገውን ትግል ከወያኔ ጋር በቀጥታም ሆን በተዘዋዋሪ በመተባበር ለማፋን መሞከር፣ ታሪካዊ ስህተት መስራት ነው!” እንዳለው ሁሉ፣ ዛሬም የሌሎች መንግስታት ባለ ሥልጣኖች እንደ ትላንትናዎቹ የየመን ባለሥልጣኖች ጊዚያዊ ጥቅምን ብቻ በማየት ሌላ ታሪካዊ ስህተት እንዳይደግሙ ከወዲሁ ለማሳሰብ ይወዳል።

በንቅናቂያችን እምነት ከዚህ በላይ በጥቂቱም ቢሆን ለማሳየት እንደተሞከረው ያለፈው አንድ ዓመት ያሉት መረጃዎች በሙሉ የሚያሳዩት ወያኔ አቶ አንዳርጋቸውን በማፈን ለማዳከም ያሰበው ትግል ይበልጥ ተጠናክሮና ተቀጣጥሎ በርካታ አንዳርጋቸውዎችን ከማፍራቱም በላይ ብዙዎች ለነጻነታቸው መተኪያ የሌላትን ህይወታቸውን እስከመስጠት የሚያደርስ ዕልህ ውስጥ ገብተዋል። ወያኔ እንዳሰበውና እንዳሰላው ትግሉ መዳከም ሳይሆን መሬት እያያዘና እየተጠናከረ በመምጣቱ የወያኔ ስጋት ከመቼውም ጊዜ ይልቅ እየጨመረ ሄዷል። ይህም ሁኔታ የዛሬ አንድ ዓመት በፊት ወያኔ አቶ አንዳርጋቸውን ሲያፍን ያሰላው ስሌት እጅጉኑ የተሳሳተ እንደነበረ በግልጽ አረጋግጧል። የወያኔ የአፈና ተስፋ ገና በአፈናው ማግስት እንደ ጧዋት ጤዛ ተኗል። ከአለፈው አንድ ዓመት ወዲህ በመላው ሀገሪቷ ተጠናክሮ የምናያቸው የወያኔ የጭካኔ እርምጃዎች የሚያመለክቱት ይህንኑ ስጋትና ጭንቀት ነው። የወያኔ የቅዥትና የስጋት የዛፍ ላይ እንቅልፍ፣ ወደ ከፍተኛ ደረጃ ተሸጋግሮና ተጠናክሮ ቀጥሏል።

ንቅናቄያችን፣ አርበኞች ግንቦት 7፣ ለዕኩልነት ለፍትህና ነጻነት የሚደረግ ትግል፣ በተለይ እንደወያኔ ባለ ዘረኛ አምባገነን ቡድን በበላይነት በሚዘወር ሐገራዊ ሁኔታ ውስጥ፣ ምን ያህል ዋጋ የሚያስከፍል መሆኑን አስቀድሞ ጠንቅቆ ያውቃል። ይህም ሆኖ ግን ባለፈው አንድ ዓመት፣ የትግል ጓዳችን የሆኑት አቶ አንዳርጋቸው በወያኔ እጅ ከወደቁበት ጊዜ ጀምሮ እየደረሰባቸው ያለውን መከራና ስቃይ እንዲሁም ይህ ሁኔታ በቅርብ ቤተሰቦቻቸው ላይ ያስጀመረውን የጭንቀት ዘመን፣ ለአንድ ሴኮንድም ቢሆን መዘንጋት አይችልም።

ንቅናቄያችን አርበኞች ግንቦት 7 በአቶ አንዳርጋቸው ላይ በአፈናው የተነሳ የደረሰው መከራና ስቃይ ብቻ ሳይሆን በአሁኑ ጊዜ ለፍትህ ለዕኩልነትና ለነጻነት በመቆማቸው በወያኔ አረመኔዎች ቁም ስቅላቸውን የሚያዩት በርካታ ቁጥር ያላቸው ዜጎች ሰቆቃ የሚያበቃው፣ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ተባብሮ በሚያደርገው ሁለ ገብ ትግል በመሆኑ ማንኛችንም በአቶ አንዳርጋቸውም ሆነ በሌሎች ወገኖቻችን ላይ እየደረሰ ያለው ጥቃት እንደራሳችን ጥቃት አድርገን የሚሰማን ወገኖች በሙሉ አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ ከታፈኑበት አንድ አመት ወዲህ የተጀመረውን ተስፋ የሚሰጥ እንቅስቃሴ አጠናክረን ወደ ውጤት ደረጃ በማድረስ መጭው ዘመን የሕዝብ የፍትህ የእኩልነትና የነጻነት ተስፋ የሚለመልምበት ፣ የወያኔ አምባገነን ሥርዓት እድሜ የሚያጥርበት ዘመን እንዲሆን የምንችለውን ሁሉ እንድናደርግ ንቅናቄያን ወገናዊ ጥሪውን ያቀርባል።

ክብር ለፍትህ ለእኩልነትና ነጻነት መስዋትዕነት ለከፈሉና እየከፈሉ ላሉ ታጋዮች!

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ!

አርበኞች ግንቦት7 ለአንድነትና ዴሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ
ሰኔ 16 ቀን 2007 ዓ.ም.

Ethiopian General Election: An Insult to the People and Democracy (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 legitimize the farce, and give credibility to the government.
With most ballots counted, the National Election Board of Ethiopia announced the incumbent party to have ‘won’ all “442 seats declared [from a total of 547], leaving the opposition empty-handed…the remaining 105 seats are yet to be announced.” ‘Won’ is not really an accurate description of the election result; as the chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress, Merera Gudina, put it, this “was not an election, it was an organised armed robbery”.
The days leading up to the election saw a regimented display of state arrogance and paranoia, as the government deployed huge numbers of camouflaged security personnel and tanks onto the streets of Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar. For months beforehand anyone suspected of political dissent had been arrested and imprisoned; fabricated charges drawn up with extreme sentencing for the courts, which operate as an extension of the government, to dutifully enforce.
Despite the ruling party’s claims to the contrary, this was not a democratic election and Ethiopia is not, nor has it ever been, a democracy.
The country is governed by a brutal dictatorship in the form of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) that has been in power since 1991, when they violently overthrew the repressive Derg regime. The EPRDF speaks generously of democracy and freedom, but they act in violation of democratic principles, trample on universal human rights, ignore international law, and violently control the people.
Independent international bodies and financial donors, from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to the European Union and the US State Department, are well aware of the nature and methods of the EPRDF, which is one of the most repressive regimes in Africa. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that Ethiopia is “the fourth most heavily censored country in the World”, with more journalists forced to leave the country last year than anywhere except Iran.
In the lead up to the recent election, CPJ found that, “the state systematically cracked down on the country’s remaining independent publications through the arrests of journalists and intimidation of printing and distribution companies. Filing lawsuits against editors and forcing publishers to cease production.” Various draconian laws are used to gag the media and stifle dissent, the Anti Terrorist Proclamation being the most common weapon deployed against anyone who dares speak out against the government, which rules through fear, and yet, riddled with guilt as they must surely be, seem themselves fearful.

Democracy and Development

The government proudly talks a great deal about economic development, which it believes to be more important than democracy, human rights and the rule of law, all of which are absent in the country. And, yes, during the past decade the country has seen economic development, with between 4% and 9% (depending on who you believe) GDP growth per annum achieved, the CIA states “through government-led infrastructure expansion and commercial agriculture development.” It is growth, however, that depends, the Oakland Institute make clear, on “state force and the denial of human and civil rights.”
GDP figures are only one indicator of a country’s progress, and a very narrow one at that. The broader Ethiopian picture, beyond the debatable statistics, paints a less rosy image:
Around 50% of Ethiopia’s federal budget is met by various aid packages, totaling $3.5 billion annually. Making it “the world’s second-largest recipient of total external assistance, after Indonesia” (excluding war torn nations, Afghanistan and Iraq), Human Rights Watch states. The country remains 173rd (of 187 countries) in the UN Human Development Index and is one of the poorest nations in the world, with, the CIA says, over 39% of the population living below the low poverty line of $1.25 a day (the World Bank worldwide poverty line is $2 a day) – many Ethiopians question this figure and would put the number in dire need much higher.
Per capita income is among the lowest in the world and less than half the rest of sub-Sahara Africa, averaging, according to the World Bank, “$470 (£287)”. This statistic is also questionable, as Dr. Daniel Teferra (Professor of Economics, Emeritus at Ferris State University,) explains, “In 2008-2011 income per capita (after inflation), was only $131,” contrary to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) 2013 report, which put the figure at $320.
The cost of living has risen sharply (current inflation is around 8%) and, as The Guardian reports, “growing economic inequality threatens to undermine the political stability and popular legitimacy that a developmental state acutely needs. Who benefits from economic growth is a much-contested issue in contemporary Ethiopia.” Not amongst the majority of Ethiopians it isn’t: they know very well who the winners are. As ever it is the 1%, who sit in the seats of power, and have the education and the funds to capitalize on foreign investment and development opportunities.
Some of those suffering as a result of the government’s development policies are the 1.5 million threatened with ‘relocation’ as their land is taken – or ‘grabbed’ from them. Leveled and turned into industrial-sized farms by foreign multinationals which grow crops, not for local people, but for consumers in their home countries – India or China for example.
Indigenous people cleared from their land are violently herded into camps under the government’s universally criticised “Villagization” program, which is causing the erosion of ancient lifestyles, “increased food insecurity, destruction of livelihoods, and the loss of cultural heritage”, relates the Oakland Institute. Any resistance is met with a wooden baton or the butt or bullet of a rifle; reports of beatings, torture and rape by security forces are widespread. No compensation is paid to the affected people, who are abandoned in camps with no essential services, such as water, health care and education facilities – all of which are promised by the EPRDF in their hollow development rhetoric.

An Insult to the People

Economic development is not democracy, and whilst development is clearly essential to address the dire levels of poverty in Ethiopia, it needs to be democratic, sustainable development. First and foremost human rights must be observed, and there must be participation, and consultation, which – despite the Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s duplicitous comments to Al Jazeera that, “we make our people to be part and parcel of all the [developmental] engagements,” – never happens.
The Prime Minister describes Ethiopia as a “fledgling democracy”, and says the government is “on the right track in democratizing the country”. Nonsense. Democracy is rooted in the observation of human rights, freedom of expression, the rule of law and social participation. None of these values are currently to be found in Ethiopia.
Not only is the EPRDF universally denying the people their fundamental human rights, in many areas they are committing acts of state terrorism (one thinks of the abuses taking place in the Ogaden region and the atrocities being committed against the Oromo people, for example, that amount to crimes against humanity.
The recent election was an insult to the people of Ethiopia, who are being intimidated, abused and suppressed by a brutal, arrogant regime that talks the democratic talk, but acts in violation of all democratic ideals.

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Graham is Director of The Create Trust, a UK registered charity supporting fundamental social change and the human rights of individuals in acute need. He can be reached at: graham@thecreatetrust.org.

Popular Opposition Party Semayawi Leadership Beaten and Stabbed to Death by Ethiopia's TPLF Security Operatives

A young, fearless, intelligent, and peaceful man that hails from the small town of Debre Markos in The Amhara Regional State, has been beaten to death by the ruling junta (TPLF) security operatives. Even though Samuel was taken to a nearby hospital, he was determined dead on site during the beating. 

Semayawi Party officials told ESAT Radio on an interview that he was beaten and stabbed to death near his house by the main bus station in Debre Markos city around 7PM on Monday June, 15, 2015. His face was horribly mutilated by beating and stabbing and he lost a lot of blood. He was determined dead before he was even reached the nearby hospital. The Washington based ESAT Radio also replayed the audio of Samuel's interview before the election last month stating that he was taken to the woods by TPLF security agents. He said "two of the men pointed pistols at me and took me to the jungle and I was severely beaten and warned that I will be killed if I won't stop my political activity." His picture after the beating went viral on Facebook. 

Samuel was buried today at a church's graveyard at another small town. However, the mourners were intercepted by police before they reached the town of Debre Markos and were handed over to militias. Up until this report was prepared, their vehicle driver's license was taken and they were surrounded by the militias and prevented to enter the town of Debre Markos. 

Samuel was the co-founder and council member of the popular Semayawi Party. He was a respected Lawyer by profession.
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1250281

ለነጻነት ትግሉ የሴቶች ተሳትፎ (ኤልሳቤጥ ግርማ -ኖርዌይ）

ነጻነትን በተለያየ መልኩ ትርጓሜ መስጠት ይቻላል። ለምሳሌ፦ ተፈጥሯዊ፣ ሰባዊና ዲሞክራሲያዊ እንዲሁም ሀይማኖታዊ፣ ፖለቲካዊ እና ማህበራዊ ነጻነት በማለት መተንተን ይቻላል። ነጻነት የሚለው ቃል በቀላል አገላለጽ ሲገለጽ ከማነኛውም ተጽኖዎች መውጣት፤ ከግዞት ወይም ከባርነት መውጣት እና በራስ መወሰን ማለት ነው፡፡ ይህ ማለት የጾታ፣ የእድሜና የአካል ልዩነት ሳይገድብ ወይም ማንም ሌላ አካል ሳያስገድደን እና የማንንም መብት ሳንነፍግ በነገሮች ላይ በራስ ወይም በጋራ መወሰን መቻል ነው፡፡ በትክክል ከተረዱት ዲሞክራሲም ሊባል ይችላል፡፡

 በአንድ ሀገር ውስጥ ነጻነትን ለማስፈን የሁሉም ህብረተሰብ አስተዋጾ ወሳኝ ነው። ለምሳሌ ለበለጸጉ ሀገሮች ነጻነት፣ ፍትህ እና ዲሞክራሲ መስፈን የሴቶች ድርሻ በቀላሉ ሊታይ የማይችል ነው። ዛሬም በፖለቲካዊ፣ ማህበራዊና በምጣኔ ሃብታዊ መስክ የሴቶች አስተዋጾ  ከፍተኛ ነው። ካለ ሴቶች አስተዋጾ የሀገር ለውጥ በታሪክ አጋጣሚ ተዘግቦ የተቀመጠ አላየሁም። ምናልባትም የሴቶችን ድርሻች አጉልቶ ካለማሳየት የመጣ ካልሆነ በስተቀር።  የብዙ ሴቶችን ቀጥተኛ ተሳትፎ ብንተወው እንኳ በእናትነት፣ በእህትነትና በሚስትነት ለነጻነት ትግሉ ትልቅ አስተዋጾ አድርገዋል፤ እያደረጉም ይገኛሉ።

በማነኛውም መስክ ውጤታማ ለመሆን በጥሩ ሥነ ምግባር አንጻ፣ ተንከባክባና አስፈላጊውን ድጋፍ ልታደርግ የምትችል እናት፣ አይዞህ የምትል እህት እና ስነ ልቦናዊም ሆነ አካላዊ ብቃት የምትገነባ፣ የደስታ ምንጭ የሆነችና እና ጥበበኛ ሚስት ያስፈልጋል። ሴቶች ትውልድን የመግደልም ሆነ የማዳን ችሎታውና እድሉ አላቸው። እኛ ሴቶች ሁኔታዎች ከተመቻቹልን ሀገርን ሊጠቅም የሚችል ትውልድ ማፍራት እንችላለን፤ ነጻነትና ፍትህን የማስፈን ብቃቱና ችሎታው ያንሰናል ብዬ አላምንም። ይህን ያደረጉ እናቶቻችን በታሪክ ተዘግበው እናገኛቸዋለን። ለአብነት ያክልም ኢትዮጵያውያንን እትጌ ጣይቱን እና ንግሥተ ሳባን ማንሳት ይቻላል።

እትጌ ጣይቱ በነበረችበት ዘመን የወንድ የበላይነት በእጅጉ የነገሠበት ቢሆንም የነበረው ሕግና ባህል ሳይገድባት በፖለቲካው መስክ የነበራት ተሳትፎ ቀላል አልነበረም። ታሪክ እንደሚያስረዳን እቴጌ ጣይቱ በዘመኑ በነበረው ባህልና ወግ መሰረት የአጼ ምኒሊክ ታማኝ ሚስትና የቤት እመቤት መሆኗ ወደ ኋላ ሳያስቀራት የወታደር መሪ፣ የጦርነት ስልት ቀያሽ፣ ታላቅ ሥልጣን የነበራት እና የሴቶችን እኩልነት በተግባር ያሳየች እናትና ወታደር እንዲሁም ባለስልጣንና አስተዋይ መሪ ነበረች። ኢትዮጵያ ሀገራችን በቅኝ እንዳትገዛ አፄ ምንሊክ የውጫሌን ውል በመቅደድ/በመሰረዝ  ሀገሪቱ በጣልያን ላይ ጦርነት እንዲታወጅና ድልን እንድትቀዳጅ ጠንካራ አቋም እንዲወሰዱ ያደረገች ጀግናዋ ጣይቱ ስለመሆኗ ታሪክ ህያው ምስክር ነው።  እቴጌ  ሁሉም ኢትዮጵያዊ ለመብቱ፣ ለነፃነቱና ለክብሩ የጣሊያንን ወረራ መመከት እንደሚገባው በአጽንኦት አሳስባለች፡፡ በጦርነቱ ወቅትም ጣይቱ በርካታ ወታደር በብቃት መምራቷ፣ አስተማማኝ የሆነ ወታደራዊ ስልት በመንደፍ እና ለጣሊያን የውኃ ምንጭ የነበረውን የውኃ ግድብ በወታደር አስከብባ ጣሊያን እንዲዳከም ማድረጓ፣ ከዚያም ኢትዮጵያውያን ሴቶች በተዋጊነትና በጦርነቱ የተጎዱትን ወታደሮች የህክምና እርዳታ እንዲሰጡ በማድረግ የሴቶች ድርሻ ከፍተኛ እንዲሆን አድርጋለች። በተጨማሪም ኢትዮጵያ ሀገራችንን በዓለም ከአስጠሩ ነገሥታት መካከል ንግሥተ ሳባ በእንስትነት ቀዳሚውን ቦታ በመያዝ በታሪክ መዘክር ለዘላለም ስትወሳ ትኖራለች።  

አገራችን ኢትዮጵያ የሴቶችን ፖለቲካዊ እና ማህበራዊ ተሳትፎ ዋስትና ለመሰጠት የሚደረጉ ዓለም አቀፍ ስምምነቶችን ለመፈረም ብዙ ችግር የለባትም። በተጨማሪም የሚሊኒየም ግብ እንፈጽማለን ከሚሉ ሀገሮች መካከል እንደሆነች በወረቀት ደረጃ ለማስመሰል እየሞከረች ነው። አገራችን የጾታ መድሎን ለማስቀረት እና የጾታ እኩልነትን ለማስፈን በተለያዩ ብሔራዊና ክልላዊ ፖሊሲዎች ውስጥ የሴቶችን ጉዳይ እንዲካተት ማድረጓ ባልከፋ ነበር፡፡ ነገር ግን አድሎው፣ ጭቆናው፣ የጾታ ጥቃቱ እና ከባድ ማኅበራዊ ኃላፊነት መሸከሙ እንዲሁም ማህበራዊ፣ ፖለቲካዊና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ተጽኖዎች በዘመናዊ መልክ ተጠናክሮ ከመቀጠል ባሻገር ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ በተግባር የሴቶችን ዋስትና ማረጋገጥ አልተቻለም። ሴቶች በአደባባይ ሲደፈሩ፣ ሲዋረዱ፣ በስደት ማንነታቸው ሲገፈፍ እና ተቃውሞ ለመግለጽ ሲሞከር ሕጉ ከለላ ሊሰጠን አልቻለም። በሕገ መንግሥቱ የተቀመጠው የሴቶችና የሕጻናት መብት፣ የቤተሰብና የወንጀል ሕጉ የሴቶችን ፖለቲካዊ ተሳትፎ ለማረጋገጥ ተስፋ ሰጪ አልሆነም።

ፖለቲካዊ ተሳትፎ ማለት ገዥውን ፓርቲ ብቻ መደገፍ፣ ለወያኔ መላላክ፣ ለወያኔ አሽከር መሆንና ለባለ ሥልጣን ሚስት፣ እናትና እህት መሆን ሳይሆን በሀገሪቱ ጉዳይ ላይ የመወሰን፣ በሙሉ ነጻነት የመምራት፣ ሃሳብን በነጻ የመግለጽ፣ የመደራጀት እና የመቃዎም መብት ሲከበር ብቻ ነው። ፖለቲካ ማለት መደገፍ ብቻ ሳይሆን መቃዎምም ነው። ፖለቲካ  ማለት በሀገር ጉዳይ ያገባኛል፣ ይመለከተኛል ማለት ነው። ፖለቲካ ማለት ነጻነት፣ፍትህና ዲሞክራሲ እንዲሰፍን መታገል ማለት ነው እንጂ እንደ  ወያኔ ለስልጣን ብሎ ህዝብን ማሰቃየት፣ ሀገርን መሸጥ፣ በብሄር፣ በቋንቋ ከፋፍሎ መግዛት እና የሀገርን ሀብት ንብረት ጠቅልሎ  መያዝ ማለት አይደልም።

ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ነጻነት፣ ፍትህ፣ የሰባዊ መብት መከበርና ዲሞክራሲ የሚባል ነገር ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ እያሽቆለቆለ መጥቷል። ሴት፣ ወንድ፣ወጣት፣ አዛውንት፣ የተማረ፣ ያልተማረ እና ንጹሃን ዜጎች ሳይባል እስር፣ እንግልት፣ ስደትና ሞት በይፋ እና በስውር በወያኔ ባለስልጣናት ይደርስባቸዋል። በሀገራችን ላይ የሰባዊ መብት ጥሰቶች፣ በዜጎች ላይ የሚፈጸመው ግፍና ጭቆና ከሚባለው በላይ ጨምሯል። የሴቶች መደፈርና የወሲብ ንግዱም በእጅጉ ተባብሶ  ቀጥሏል። አለም ዓቀፍ ድርጅቶች ይህንን በገሀድ እየገለጹ ይገኛሉ። ሆኖም ግን የህወሓትን ማፍያ ቡድን ተቋቁመው ብዙዎች በብዙ ስቃይና መከራ ለነጻነት ዋጋ እየከፈሉ ነው። ሴት እህቶቻችንም በዚህ እውነተኛ ትግል ውስጥ ሰማዕትነትን እየተቀበሉ ይገኛሉ። ብዙ እህቶቻችን በእስር ቤት ውስጥ ስቃይ፣ መከራና ጾታዊ ጥቃት ያስተናግዳሉ። ርዮት ዓለሙን በምሳሌነት መጥቀስ ይቻላል። እነ ማህሌት ፋንታሁን፣ ወይንሸት አስፋውን እና ሌሎች በእስር ቤት ለነጻነት ሲሉ ስቃይና መከራ የሚቀበሉ እንስት እህቶቾን ሳላወሳ ማለፍ አልፈልግም።

ነጻነት፣ ፍትህና ዲሞክራሲ በሃገራችን ለማስፈን፣ ሰባዊ መብትን ለማስከበር እና ዘላቂ ልማትን ለማረጋገጥ የእኛ የሴቶች ተሳትፎ ወሳኝ ነው። ተፈጥሮና ባህል ለሴትም ለወንድም የተለያየ ኃላፊነቶችን ሰጥተውናል፡፡ በዚህም መሰረት ሴት ልጅ በተፈጥሮ ልጅ በሆዷ ዘጠኝ ወር ተሸክማ መውለድ እና የማጥባት ስራ የሷ ብቻ ነው፡፡ ይህን ምንም ልናደርገው የማንችለው ተፈጥሮ የለገሰችን ጸጋና ኃላፊነት ነው።ነገር ግን በተፈጥሮ የተሰጠን ጾታ እና ማንነት ከትግል ሊበግረን አይገባም። በይበልጥም እኛ ሴቶች በማህበራዊ፣ ኢኮኖሚያዊና ፖለቲካዊ ጉዳዮች ላይ እኩል እንደወንዶች የመወሰን እና የመምራት ኃላፊነት ቢኖረን በተሻለ መልኩ ሀገርን መለወጥና ትውልድን መቅረጽ እንችላለን። ስለሰባዊ መብት መከበርም ተግተን እንሰራለን፤ ምክንያቱም ርህራሄና ሰባዊነት ተፈጥሮ በለገሰችን በእናትነት አማካኝነት እንዲሁም አመራርንና ማስተዳደርን በማህበራዊ ህይወታችን በሚገባ እናውቃለንና።

ስለዚህ ፖለቲካዊ ተሳትፎ፣ ለነጻነትና ለዲሞክራሲ መታገል በተፈጥሮ ለወንድ ብቻ የተሰጠ አይደለም። እኛም ሴቶች የሀገር ጉዳይ ያገባናል። በትዳር ደስተኛ ሁኖ ለመኖር፣ ልጆቻችን ስደትን ከመናፈቅ ይልቅ በሰላም በሀገራቸው ታሪክና ባህል ይኮሩ ዘንድ፣ ዜጎች በእኩልነት ተከባብረው ይኖሩ ዘንድ እና ወጣት እህቶቻችን የወሲብ ንግድ እንዳይፈጸምባቸው ለማድረግ በመጀመርያ እኛ ሴቶች ለነጻነት ትግሉ በምንችለው አቅም አስተዋጾ ማበርከት ይጠበቅብናል። ዝናር ታጥቀው፣ ብረት አንግበውና ጋሻ አንስተው ነጻነት ፍለጋ በርሃ የወረዱ እህቶቻችን ቆራጥነትና የዓላማ ጽናታቸውን እኛም ልንላበሰው ይገባል። በእያለንበት ትግሉ ወደፊት ይሄድ ዘንድ እና ትውልድ ሁሉ በነጻነት በሀገሩ ይኖር ዘንድ የድርሻችንን እንወጣ።  ወንድ አደባባይ ሴት ወደ ቤት የሚለውን የማይጠቅም ኋላ ቀር ብሂል ወደ ጎን ትተን በአንድነት፣ በመደራጀትና ዘመናዊ ስልት በመንደፍ ከፋፋይና ዘረኛ ወያኔን ከህዝብ ትክሻ ላይ ለማስወገድ እንትጋ። እኛ ሴቶች ለነጻነት ትግሉ ከፍተኛ አስተዋጾ ማድረግ እንደምንችል በተግባር ማሳየት አለብን። ምክንያቱም ለነጻነት ትግሉ የሴቶች ተሳትፎ ወሳኝ ነውና።

ፍትህና ነጻነት ለታሰሩ ወገኖቻችን! ፍትህ ለርዮት፣ ለማህሌት፣ ለወይንሸት!!!