SUMMARYof
PRESS RELEASE |
Human Rights Abuses in Ethiopia Also related past items...[Index of Previous OSG Press Releases] [Various Campaigns for Oromo Victims...] |
Arbitrary detention, disappearance and extra-judicial killing continue to be used by the Ethiopian government to suppress political dissent and criticism. In the past the abuses have been concentrated in areas away from the capital, Addis Ababa. Until last year, there was a viable opposition press in Addis Ababa, despite frequent fines and detentions of journalists. Recently, there has been an increase in the incidence of violations being openly perpetrated in the capital. Oromo human rights defenders, journalists, professionals, and businessmen and women have born the brunt of these abuses in the capital, but none of the peoples or social strata of Ethiopia are immune. In the last twelve months, the Ethiopian government has succeeded in almost entirely eliminating the free press and has detained large numbers of political opponents and human rights activists. With international support and finance, a conference on establishing an independent human rights commission and ombudsman took place in Addis Ababa in May. Holding such a conference while the Ethiopian government is detaining human rights defenders and political prisoners has escaped public comment by western diplomats, whose governments give essential moral and financial support to Ethiopia. Despite increasing difficulties and delays in reporting human rights violations, especially from rural areas, the following accounts were received by the Oromia Support Group between 5 May and 30 June. They are fully referenced in Press Release No. 23, available from OSG. Extra-judicial killings The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPF) issued the following statement from New York on 10 June. 'On 7 June 1998, at approximately 8.30 pm, Tesfaye Tadesse, the owner and editor of the magazine Mestawit and the newspaper Lubar (both presently out of circulation), was murdered in front of his residence. He was stabbed and hacked to death by two unidentified individuals using a knife and a machete. The attackers escaped the scene of the crime in a DX Toyota. CPJ sources believe that Tesfaye's murder may be politically motivated. Tesfaye, a lawyer by training, was also an activist and a member of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO). He was previously jailed by Meles Zenawi's Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) when Gebre Igziabher, a member of the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Party, was murdered in Addis Ababa in mid 1993.' Killings have also continued in other areas. In Eastern Hararge, 26 year old Kadir Youya, a student from Kebele 2, Ganda Qoree in Haromaya, was shot dead by security forces on 4 January, while on his way home from Dire Dawa. He had been a refugee in Djibouti before returning home in December 1997. In the west, Samuel Tekola was killed by government forces in Badessa Mismara, near the town of Mendi, in Wallega province, on 25 February. In the south, Sayida Dawodi and 32 year old farmer and father of four, Imamu Ahmed, were killed on the day they were taken to Chole prison in Arsi province, 7 November 1997. Disappearances Benti Gudeta, a lawyer living in Woreda 10, Addis Ababa, was arrested and disappeared on 5 January this year. Abdurazak Yusuf Omer, a 28 year old businessman and father of three, disappeared while he was staying at the Belay Hotel in Addis Ababa on 18 May, three days after being released from illegal detention in Dire Dawa, Eastern Hararge. He was arrested in February 1997 and held without trial until mid-May 1998, latterly in Dire Dawa civil prison. On 18 May, his home in Eastern Hararge was searched by security forces. On that day he disappeared from his hotel in the capital. Hitria Haji Bushra, a 33 year old businesswoman and mother of three, disappeared following security forces searching her home in Dire Dawa, Eastern Hararge, on 24 April. She had been supporting her brother-in-law, who is detained without trial, and had been accused of being an agent for the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), assigned to help political prisoners. Imprisonments On 5 February, 105 Oromo were arbitrarily detained in Addis Ababa and taken to Adama (Nazareth), 100 km to the south, and detained for 30 days. The group included 25 university graduates and six students. They were accused of supporting the OLF, interrogated, intimidated, and indoctrinated. They had their photographs and finger prints taken and were forced to sign forms issued by the Special Investigation Centre at Maikelawi in Addis Ababa. They were warned to be loyal to government parties, not to attend meetings of the Matcha-Tulama Association (an Oromo self help organisation) and were even warned against singing Oromo songs. They were told that they would be legitimate targets for extra-judicial killing if they supported the OLF in the future. Most were released after 30 days. Fifteen were still in detention in House 280, Kebele 2, Woreda 1, Adama, at least until April, when the report was sent. On 13 March, eight Oromo, including Rev. Tolosa Hundie and the administrator of Aira hospital, Tesfaye Deressu, were detained in Aira Guliso, Wallega province. One of the eight, Wakshuma Tolassa, was shot and is in Aira hospital under custody. On 27 March, Leta Bedesso, the President of the Ethiopian Adventist College, 250 km south of Addis Ababa, was taken from the college campus to the Special Investigation Centre at Maikelawi. He has since been transferred to the less notorious Karchale Prison in the capital, but has not appeared in court. There appears to be no reason for his detention apart from his being a prominent Oromo. On 10 April, 46 Oromo were taken from their homes and work places in Addis Ababa without warrant and detained for 24 hours. Like the 105 taken in February, they also had their finger prints and photographs taken and received warnings about supporting the OLF. On 1 May, Wansamo Waqayo, from near Hagere-Selam in Sidama (now part of the Southern Peoples Administrative Region), farmer and father of four, was abducted from his home at 5.00 am. He had been accused of supporting the Sidama Liberation Movement. Press Release No. 23 includes reports of detainees held without trial in Dembi Dollo, Wallega province, for over twelve months. In Assella, Arsi province, 132 named individuals have been held for two years or more. Amnesty International reports ‘thousands’ of political prisoners. Human Rights League members and others held on conspiracy charges On 8 April, two days before 46 Oromo were detained and questioned in the capital (see above), the office of the Human Rights League, a non-political organisation committed to human rights education and standard raising, was closed by government forces and all its equipment and files removed. Amnesty International has reported that the ‘number of people imprisoned and charged with armed conspiracy in relation to their alleged links with the OLF now totals 65, including eight founding members of the Human Rights League. The charges carry penalties of between five years' imprisonment and death. . . . The 65 include 31 people who were arrested in October and November 1997, among them three journalists of the URJII newspaper. The additional 34 individuals were arrested in March 1998. Among them are [Dr] Gizaw Irana and [Nursing Sister] Zawditu Deressa who were also arrested in 1996 when the police raided the 'Gate of Life' private clinic looking for an OLF fighter allegedly being treated there. One of the original 31 defendents, Tsige Kebede, also a nurse at the clinic, had been arrested along with them. . . . Amnesty International considers the Human Rights League officials and URJII journalists to be prisoners of conscience who have not used or advocated violence, and believes that some of the other defendents, such as the three health professionals, may also be prisoners of conscience.’ Oromo in exile do not escape abuses Detention and beating of Oromo refugees by Djibouti authorities continues. The victims of refoulement from Djibouti have disappeared since their return to Ethiopia in January. Refugees report the difficulties of obtaining UNHCR protection in Djibouti and Kenya. Immigrant visas to the West from these countries, especially Djibouti, are almost impossible to obtain. Even after getting to the West, there are difficulties obtaining leave to remain. In Germany, Oromo refugees are still being threatened with forced repatriation, although there have been no more reports of this being carried out in the last two months. |
The Oromia Support Group is a non-political organisation which attempts to raise awareness of human rights abuses in Ethiopia. OSG has now reported 2,406 extra-judicial killings and 658 disappearances of civilians suspected of supporting groups opposing the government. Most of these have been Oromo people. Scores of thousands of civilians have been imprisoned. Torture and rape of prisoners is commonplace, especially in secret detention centres, whose existence is denied by the government. |
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The USA and the EU have both urged the OLF to join the political process in Ethiopia and stand for the year 2000 national elections. The Ethiopian government is maintained by the moral and financial support it obtains from the USA and the European Union (EU). The Oromia Support Group believes that the USA and the EU could bring much more pressure to bear on the Ethiopian government to improve its performance on human rights. The Oromia Support Group therefore requests that readers write to the US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, and European Commissioner for Africa, Prof. J. D. Pinheiro. Please write politely and concisely, explaining your background and present situation. Draw attention to human rights abuses documented by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch/Africa and other NGOs. If you have first hand knowledge of violations, report your experiences briefly. The whole letter should fit on one side of paper. Please point out that:
Addresses and salutations: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (Dear Madam Secretary) Prof. J. D. Pinheiro (Dear Commissioner) |
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