Conference on Land Policy in Ethiopia and a statement of oakland Institute

Conference on Land Policy in Ethiopia and a statement of oakland Institute

November 13, 2014 (HUMAN Rights Horn of Afrique) —  The Conference on Land Policy in Africa STARTStoday, November 12, 2014, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  Government officials, representatives from INTERNATIONAL institutions, aid agencies, and civil society organizations have gathered around the theme “ensuring agricultural development and inclusive growth.”

Given the recent explosion of LAND grabs across the African continent, this international conference seems pertinent and TIMELY, especially for the millions of smallholder farmers and citizens across the continent. But let’s not allow some key facts to be drowned by the enthusiasm expressed from those attending.

We need to consider the venue and the host country, Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government is not only offering a facility for the conference, but has also played a key role as a member of the Steering Committee for the gathering. The same country is arguably one of the worst offenders when it comes to forced displacement resulting from land grabs.

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Cooperation with the Regime Hostile to the Peoples’ of Ethiopia is Against the Principles of International Law

Cooperation with the Regime Hostile to the Peoples’ of Ethiopia is Against the Principles of International Law

A Statment by Oromo Liberation Front in SUPPORT of Report of Amnesty Intrnational on Human Rights Violation Against the Oromo PEOPLE

Afaan Oromoo version - PDF

November 10, 2014 (Oromoliberationfront.org) –In the history of shocking tortures of dictatorial regimes against the peoples ruled under thier iron fist the Ethiopian government cruelity is unparalleled. Since its ascension to power by force in 1991, the Ethiopian government’s records of human rights violation through extraordinary killings, forced disapearance, massive imprisonment, displacement and other means of suppresion against the Oromo people is incalculable. The world has repeatedly witnessed that the incumbent regime of Ethiopia is a government that adopted a policy of ruling by violence and commit harsh and cruel actions flagrantly.

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Land Wars: Ethiopia Accused of Massacring Civilians to Clear Way for Foreign Farms

Land Wars: Ethiopia Accused of Massacring Civilians to Clear Way for Foreign Farms

WARNING: This article contains disturbing images

An image said to show corpses piled up following the alleged MARKETmassacre

November 10, 2014 (Vice News) — Ethiopia, one of the world’s hungriest countries, is selling off vast chunks of its land to foreign INVESTORS who are growing food products for export — and those who get in the government’s way are being killed or silenced, according to a new investigation.

Under the country’s controversial “villagization” scheme, huge populations of farming communities are being moved out of their homes on land eyed for development and into new settlements built by the government. Residents not lured out by promises of better infrastructure and SERVICES are often forced to go against their will, and resistance often brings violence or intimidation into acquiescence or exile, US-based rights group the Oakland Institute says in a report due for release on Monday.

Now, for the first TIME, pictures obtained exclusively by VICE News appear to show evidence of the widespread atrocities and abuses being reported by farming communities and minority groups across the country.

The pictures were sent to the Institute in April 2012, and are said to depict a massacre carried out by government officials and members of the ethnic Dizi group on behalf of the Ethiopian state against the Suri, one of Ethiopia’s many ethnic indigenous farming groups, in the MARKET town of Maji in February that year.

 Gootota Baratoota Oromoon, Jalabultiin Yaadatnoo FDG Sadaasi 9 Mooraa Yuuniversitii Jimmaa Keessatti Bifa Howwaa Taheen Kabajamaa Bule
Guyyaan Yaadannoo FDG Sadasni 9 marsaan 9ffaa gootota Qeerroo barattoota Oromoo Yuunibarsiitii Jimmaan jalbultii isaa irraa eegaluun haala ho’aa ta’een kabajamaa jira.
Goototni Qeerroon dargaggootni baratootni Oromoo Yuunivarsiitii Jimmaa mooraa arfan main Campus, Agriculture, Sayinsii fi Teekinooloojii, Economics and Bussiness fi Kolleejjii barsiisota Jimmaan haala ajaa’ibsiisaa ta’een kanbajamuu egalee jira. Goototni Qeerroon barattootni Oromoo sagalee faaruu goototaa dhageesisuun gootota ilmaan Oromoo bilisummaa saba isaaniif jecha wareegama lubbuu baasan farfachuun namoota dhuunfaa, akka walitti dhufeenyaa fi caasaa ijaarsaa fi miseensotni Qeerroo barattoota Oromoo addaatti bifa qinda’een Sadaasa 9 yaadannoo FDG marsaa 9ffaan bifa adda ta’een kabajamuu eegalee jira.
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Building Momentum in Geneva with the Oromo Diaspora

Building Momentum in Geneva with the Oromo Diaspora

H.E. Mr. Minelik Alemu Getahun (left), Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the United Nations Office in Geneva

November 6, 2014 (The Advocates Post) — This fall was a busy time for advocacy at the United Nations on human rights in Ethiopia. It was also a great time to see The Advocates for Human Rights’ new toolkit, Paving Pathways for Justice and Accountability: Human Rights Tools for Diaspora Communities, in action.

Universal Periodic Review Concludes with Some Fireworks
In a one-hour session on September 19, the UN Human Rights Council adopted the outcome of its second Universal Periodic Review of Ethiopia. You can watch the video of the session here.

I’ve blogged about the UPR of Ethiopia before, and the adoption of the outcome is the LAST step in the process. The adoption of the outcome is also the only opportunity civil society organizations have to speak during the UPR process.

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Ethiopia torturing ‘opposition’ ethnic group Posted On : October 28th, 2014 | Updated On : October 29th, 2014 Addis Ababa – Ethiopia has “ruthlessly targeted” and tortured its largest ethnic group for perceived opposition to the government, Amnesty International said in a damning report Tuesday. Thousands of people from the Oromo ethnic group have been “regularly subjected to arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention without charge, enforced disappearance, repeated torture and unlawful state killings,” read the report based on over 200 testimonies. “Dozens of actual or suspected dissenters have been killed.” At least 5 000 Oromos have been arrested since 2011 often for the “most tenuous of reasons”, for their opposition – real or simply assumed – to the government, the report added. Many are accused of supporting the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Electric shocks Former detainees, who have fled the country and were interviewed by Amnesty in neighbouring Kenya, Somaliland and UGANDA, described torture “including beatings, electric shocks, mock execution, burning with heated metal or molten plastic and rape, including gang rape,” the report read. One young girl said hot coals were dropped on her stomach because her father was suspected of supporting the OLF, while a teacher described how he was stabbed in the eye with a bayonet after he refused to teach “propaganda about the ruling party” to students. There was no immediate response from the government, which has previously dismissed such reports and denied any accusation of torture or arbitrary arrests. “The Ethiopian government’s relentless crackdown on real or imagined dissent among the Oromo is sweeping in its scale and often shocking in its brutality,” Amnesty researcher Claire Beston said. “This is apparently intended to warn, control or silence all signs of ‘political disobedience’ in the region,” she added, describing how those she interviewed bore the signs of torture, including scars and burns, as well as missing fingers, ears and teeth. Student protesters With nearly 27 million people, Oromia is the most populated of the country’s federal states and has its own language, Oromo, distinct from Ethiopia’s official Amharic language. Some of those who spoke to Amnesty said people had been arrested for organising a student cultural group. Another said they were arrested because they delivered the baby of the wife of a suspected OLF member. “Frequently, it’s because they refused to join the ruling party,” Beston added, warning that many were fearful attacks would increase ahead of general elections slated for May 2015. In April and May, security forces shot dead student protesters in Oromia. At the time, the government said eight were killed, but groups including Human Rights Watch said the toll was believed to be far higher. Amnesty said that “dozens” were killed in the protests.

NASA Confirms Earth Will Experience 6 Days of Total Darkness in December 2014!

WORLDWIDE - NASA has confirmed that the Earth will experience 6 days of almost complete darkness and will happen from THE DATES Tuesday the 16 – Monday the 22 in December. The world will remain, during these three days, without sunlight due to a solar storm, which will cause dust and space debris to become plentiful and thus, block 90% sunlight.

This is the head of NASA Charles Bolden who made the announcement and asked everyone to remain calm. This will be the product of a solar storm, the largest in the last 250 years for a PERIOD of 216 hours total. Reporters interviewed a few people to hear what they had to say about the situation with Michael Hearns responding “We gonna be purgin my n*gga, six days of darkness means six days of turnin up fam”.

Despite the six days of darkness soon to come, officials say that the earth will not experience any major problems, since six days of darkness is nowhere near enough to cause major damage to anything. “We will solely rely on artificial light for the six days, which is not a problem at all”, says NASA scientist Earl Godoy. VISIT our website daily for more shocking news!

What do you plan to do during these six days of darkness? Tweet ‘#6DaysOfDarkness‘ including your plan for these six days!

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