Ethiopia’s women vow to turn tide of violence, rape and murder

The Guardian

Ethiopia’s women vow to turn tide of violence, rape and murder

The low social STATUS of Ethiopian women lies at the root of violence against them and the tragic cases of two teenagers have galvanised female activists in their efforts to tackle it

William Davison, January 27

Tejnesh Leweg’neh, a 15-year-old from Ethiopia’s mountainous northern Shoa region, was abducted by three men on her way to market in October. They tried to force her to agree TO MARRY one ofthem. She refused, and, a day later, they pushed her off a cliff. Now Tejnesh is paralysed from the waist down.
THAT same month, 16-year-old Hanna Lalango, from Ethiopia’s cosmopolitan capital, Addis Ababa, was abducted by a group of men from a minibus on the outskirts of the city. She was raped over several days and died in hospital about a month later from her injuries. Five men have been convicted and are awaiting sentence for the attack. Hanna reportedly identified her assailants before she died.

Both these crimes were brought to light by an energised network of mostly female Ethiopian activists trying to advance women’s rights and reduce sexual harassment in the Horn of Africa country.

“What united us is we believe this is our problem, it’s our responsibility to change this,” says one of them, Selam Mussie. “We all are Hannas – this could have been any of us.”

Mussie, an administrator at the International Community School in Addis Ababa, is part of the Justice for Hanna campaign.

Activists view these violent attacks as a consequence of a culture THATplaces women in subordinate positions to men, which often manifests itself in the form of the frequent petty harassment they endure on the capital’s streets.

“There are certain places that most of us are terrified of passing through because there are tens of men sitting around to purposely make a woman passerby uncomfortable,” says Mussie, 24. “It STARTS from common catcalls, to dissing, to a physical level where they could follow to grab or touch private parts.”

Liya Hailemariam, a 24-year-old activist who works in PR, says she frequently suffers attention on public TRANSPORT. “And it’s not just words – people somehow just slide in their hands,” she says. “We sort of consider it normal, we pass it off as this stupid guy, this pervert.”

Using the momentum created by the outrage at Hanna’s death, activists WANT TO encourage women to speak out against the routine harassment they suffer in the belief it will reduce serious abuse. “If you fail to stop the little things, you’re literally encouraging people to do this,” said Hilina Berhanu, 22, who is part of the Yellow Movement fighting for women’s rights at Addis Ababa University and president of another group, Women for Change.

There is uncertainty over the rates of abuse against women in Ethiopia due to inadequate data collection and under-reporting. A 2013 government report said 50-60% of all women had experienced domestic violence. It found “the underlying cause is the low level of STATUS given to women in society coupled with the dominant position of men further justified by culture and religion”.

The activists say the government’s attitude towards violence against women is mixed. Although the state has made strides in empowering women economically and reducing harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation, police and judges remain largely unresponsive. “Rape is not taken seriously by the police,” Ruth Bekele, another activist, says. “I was going to report one case and was told ‘we have 1,000 rape cases this week’. It’s like they don’t care.”

She also believes violence against women needs to be more severely punished. “When someone slaps a woman they should get a big sentence, but here they will probably tell you not to do it again,” she says. “Today’s a slap andtomorrow’s a murder – I think that is what’s allowing people to go out and do worse.”

The Yellow Movement was STARTED by a law lecturer and students following the case of Aberash Hailay, a flight attendant who had her eyes gouged out by her jealous former husband in 2011. The group regularly discusses rights and sexuality with students at the university and is working to promote girls’ education by fundraising to provide sanitary items and stationery for girls who can’t afford them. “When you WANT TO fight violence you have to empower people,” Berhanu says. “It’s not just about negative issues.”

Women for Change, which began in September 2013, holds events where successful businesswomen talk about their path to the top. Bekele, who is part of the group, is also talking to a GALLERY about holding an exhibition to “fight violence through art”.

Every Saturday, the Justice for Hanna campaigners visit a state school to give language lessons to poor-performing children, discuss women’s rights issues with them and develop a club to discuss gender equality.

But it is going to take more to change ingrained attitudes on the streets from some men who still think rape is a woman’s fault.

“Women are most RESPONSIBLE for rapes as they ask for it,” says Tadele Tagota, a married 42-year-old grocer in Addis. Provocative dressing and promiscuous behaviour from teenage girls leads to controversial sexual encounters, he believes.

Some men have questioned whether Hanna had A RELATIONSHIP with one of her rapists. “Now it’s been blown up, but if she hadn’t died, it would not have been a big issue,” says Zacharias Haile, a 30-year-old civil servant.

A young off-duty police officer, who asked to remain anonymous because of the nature of his work, says under-reporting adds to the problem. He says families can hide or punish young teenagers to avoid shame when they report sexual assault by relatives. “Even if you get evidence, everyone is protecting each other as they don’t want to lose social standing,” he says.

Attitudes like these show “how weak society’s awareness about gender-based violence is and its consequences”, says Mussie. “Victim blaming is very COMMON.”

Tejnesh is now living in Addis with her aunt. Three men are now in custody for her attack. Campaigners have raised £980 for medical treatment, and a wheelchair has been purchased from the US, where they are cheaper. The Justice for Hanna group gave her a mattress so she could sit more comfortably.

The challenge for activists now is to keep up the momentum for action. Bouts of national soul-searching following previous horrific incidents – such as that of Hailay – fizzled out quickly. This time will be different, they vow. “We all made a commitment. We said we are not going to QUIT,” Hailemariam says

http://ethioforum.org/ethiopias-women-vow-to-turn-tide-of-violence-rape-and-murder/

Police Brutally Attack Peaceful Protesters in Addis Ababa ahead of National Election

By Betre Yacob

Police brutally attacked and dispersed peaceful demonstrators in the capital Addis Ababa on Sunday as they try to protest against the ongoing government repression on opposition political parties and dissents in run-up to the countries general election..

Political activists say the Sunday’s attack against the peaceful demonstrators is further evidence of the authorities’ determination to clamp down the activities of opposition political parties ahead the election.

In this latest brutal attack against peaceful protesters, dozens of members and supporters of Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJ) were seriously injured. The incident is the most blatant and massive case of lethal police brutality in Ethiopia.

According to reports, demonstrators were brutally beaten with baton, stick and iron rod in the head, face, hands, and legs. One of the victims is said to have been a pregnant woman. Reports show the victims were taken to hospital right away, and some of them are still receiving medical treatment.

Among seriously injured was Sileshi Hagose, the member of the general assembly of the party and editor in chief of a weekly newspaper. Recently released photographs show THAT he was wounded in the face and head, and his both hands were seriously broken.

UDJ is the main opposition political party struggling in the narrowing political landscape in Ethiopia and is one of the few parties working at national level with an inclusive structure by bringing different ethnic groups all together.

Reports show in the past few weeks the party has been struggling with the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) over the case of an internal faction that is accusing the party of violating its laws.

The party claims that the faction is consisted of double agents working for the ruling party, and accuses the NEBE of fuelling the PROBLEM and using the allegation of the faction as a tactic to tackle the party in favor of the government. And one of the objectives of Sunday’s demonstration was to protest against this what the party calls “government plot.”

The Sunday’s brutal attack is the LATEST in a serious of similar measures against peaceful demonstrators in Ethiopia. For instance, on 6 December 2014 several people were beaten during attempts to stage a demonstration called by a coalition of nine opposition political parties.

Amnesty international reported THATthe demonstration had been part of a series of activities of nine-party coalition calling for a free and fair election.”

Reports show holding an election rally or demonstration is now totally impossible in Ethiopia as government CONTINUE to reject applications for such events and keep its brutal attack against those trying to held.

Escalating Crackdown

According to the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), the election will be held on May 23 across the COUNTRY. Yet, as the election approaches, the ruling party is intensifying its crackdown on opposition political parties and dissents.

In 2014 only, several opposition leaders, Journalists, bloggers, and Human Right activists were arrested with numerous publications of the free press CLOSED. More than 30 journalists were also forced to flee the country. The arrest is part of a long trend of arrests and harassment of political opponents, human rights defenders, and journalists.

Activists said at least 12 key and outspoken opposition political leaders, 6 journalists, 6 bloggers, and 2 political activists had been jailed in the capital Addis Ababa only under fabricated terrorism charges.

The ongoing crackdown has included independent civic associations that could play an important role in the upcoming election. Reports shows in 2014 two civic associations were TARGETED in orchestrated false accusations.

This wide array of measure, which is getting increasingly worrying, is said by oppositions to be calculated to deter challenges and eliminate the scope for the mildest expressions of opposition.

The Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has been on power since 1991, and 4 general elections have been held in the past 23 years. Yet, all those elections were abused, and failed to meet the international standards.

http://ethioforum.org/police-brutally-attack-peaceful-protesters-in-addis-ababa-ahead-of-national-election/#

Ethiopia’s first modern hotel, Taitu Hotel burnt

January 11, 2015 | Filed under: News,News Feature | Posted by: Zehabesha

• 134

   
  EmailShare
• SHAREBAR

Ethiopia’s first modern hotel Itegue Taitu Hotel, which was built in 1898 (Ethiopian Calendar) in Piazza, Addis Abeba by Empress Taitu Betul, the wife of Emperor Menelek II, has suffered significant damage due to fire, whose cause has not been known yet.

http://www.zehabesha.com/ethiopias-first-modern-hotel-taitu-hotel-burnt/

CPJ “hero” Dawit Kebede says group is tool for Western hegemony

By Tamiru Ayele

The managing editor of Awramba Times and former CPJ “press freedom hero” has accused the Committee to Protect Journalists of being one of the tools of imposing “Western hegemonic ambition” and a single ideology on targeted countries like Ethiopia and China.

Dawit Kebede, who was one of the four recipients of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award in 2010, launched the scathing attack against CPJ and leading international human rights groups in a recent interview with ETV, the state-run propaganda outlet. He claimed that organizations such as CPJ, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Oakland Institute and the International Crisis Group are tools of advancing Western hegemony. “These organizations are part of an overall allegiance to control the world under one single ideology,” he said.

“I do not endorse or reject these organizations 100 percent. But whether we like it or not, they have their own agenda,” he said. He alleged that these advocacy groups exaggerate small incidents and try to put enormous pressure on countries where there are ideological deviations and political economic differences with the United States.

The ruling TPLF regime routinely uses the same line of argument in a bid to discredit international human rights groups that expose atrocities and gross human rights violations in Ethiopia. Contrary to the preposterous claim, TPLF abandoned its Albanian communist ideology over two decades ago. The regime has no tangible ideological differences with Western governments that pump billions of dollars to Ethiopia in the form of foreign aid.

According to the former “press freedom hero”, CPJ and other human rights organizations and their reports are tainted with ideological prejudice. “These institutions have their own agenda and it is intimately related with their survival. As I said earlier, it is related with the desire to impose Western hegemonic ambition on the rest of the world by attacking those countries that do not follow their ideological lines,” he said.

He also asserted that the annual U.S. State Department report on human rights is nothing but a summary of reports published by these Western think tanks and human rights groups that have vested ideological interests. He mentioned Survival International, which defends the rights of endangered indigenous ethnic groups, as an example of overreaching Western interference and alleged that the group tries to impede development and investment in areas like the Southern Omo as if it was more concerned for these indigenous groups than the government.

But Dawit further stated that the reports published by these international advocacy groups have little impact except being used for the benefit of those who tend to use them for propaganda outputs. When Dawit Kebede was jailed in the aftermath of the 2005 election turmoil, CPJ, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, among others, took the lead in campaigning for his release at a global level.

The online publication Awramba Times is widely criticised among Ethiopian activists for changing into a copycat of the worst state-run propaganda outlets. A Washington DC-based activist says that Dawit is just contradicting himself and the reality on the ground in his effort to please the TPLF regime he had once condemned as oppressive.

“It is a well known fact that the situation in Ethiopia is worsening. Despite the fact that he is now opportunistically attacking those who have honored and defended him, he is still receiving funds from the same Western organizations in the name of promoting press freedom,” he noted.

“We all know that Dawit Kebede has made up with his former tormentors. That is why this is a typical case of an opportunist biting the fingers that fed him,” he said. According to the activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Dawit has received a substantial amount of money from CPJ, Freedom House and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) just within the last few years.

“It is public knowledge that he is still receiving over 40,000 US dollars annually from NED in the name of promoting press freedom. If these organizations have demonic and destructive ideological interests, as he alleges, why is he taking their money under false pretenses?” he asked.

In his acceptance speech at the CPJ press freedom awarding ceremony held in New York in 2010, Dawit had vowed that he would give his whole life for press freedom and would never be intimidated by dictators or their agents.

“My country receives millions of American taxpayer dollars to fight terrorism in the Horn of Africa, but under our anti-terrorism law, I risk 25 years in prison if I interview certain opposition politicians,” Dawit had told the CPJ gathering in New York.

CPJ, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, among others, factually insist that Ethiopia under the TPLF is one of the worst repressive countries in the world where journalists, dissidents and activists face trumped up terrorism offenses, torture and vicious attacks. Dawit’s former colleague, Woubishet Taye, who was the deputy editor of the defunct Awramba Times newspaper, is languishing in jail sentenced to 14 years behind bars for being a “terrorist”.
Dawit, who had fled Ethiopia in November 2011 after closing down his newspaper, completed a full circle when he returned home within two years, expressed his happiness for being able to work more freely as a journalist in Ethiopia. He said he had felt a thousand times more oppressed among the Ethiopian Diaspora that largely oppose TPLF’s ethnic-based brutal dictatorship ruling Ethiopia.

According to CPJ, 2014 is one of the worst years for Ethiopian journalists. “A state crackdown on independent publications and bloggers in Ethiopia this year more than doubled the number of journalists imprisoned to 17 from seven the previous year, and prompted several journalists to flee into exile,” CPJ says in its latest report. In the last few months alone, a dozen of journalists have been jailed and nearly 30 Ethiopian journalists were forced into exile after the regime filed terrorism charges against them and the publications they worked for.

Meanwhile, in his latest online posting, Dawit posted celebratory reports from Dedebit, a place where the ruling TPLF junta launched its violent insurretion forty years ago to secede Tigray from the rest of Ethiopia. After it toppled Mengistu’s military junta, TPLF is widely condemned for imposing a brutally oppressive and exploitative ethnic-based Apartheid on the majority of Ethiopians.

“I am now exceedingly happy with what I do more than I can express it in words,” Dawit told ETV, now renamed Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC). Dawit says regardless of what his critics say, he is only practising journalism in an “impartial and professional” manner.
—–
Watch Dawit Kebede’s interview with ETV

——
Excerpts: Dawit Kebede Interview with ETV / EBC in Amharic
(Translation by K. Bekele, Seattle)

ETV: CPJ has awarded you a press freedom award. What does that mean?

Dawit: The category of award given to me was not done through soliciting votes or online campaigns. The awarding body has its own criteria and based on those criteria you are told to go and collect the award. On the basis of that I went to New York to receive the award.

With regard to these institutions, I have one clear position. I do not endorse or reject these organizations 100 percent. But whether we like it or not, they have their own agenda. These organizations that you mentioned, be it CPJ, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, [International] Crisis Group, Oakland Institute or Freedom House, whether we like it or not, these organizations are part of an overall allegiance to control the world under one single ideology

Whether we like it, they have their own agenda. They defend press freedom. The evidence they present are partially things in existence. When they report a journalist is jailed, the government may have its own reasons and may present its own evidence, but there could be journalists in jail. At the same time, they may also report as if a journalist that did not flee his country went into exile.

In countries where they believe are countries that do not take their ideological lines, it is observed that they exaggerate small events. In these cases, they exaggerate the situation and put significant pressure on these countries. For instance, you mentioned a report that cites China and Ethiopia who have an ideological and political differences. If you look at the majority of these countries, they are the ones that have ideological and political economic differences with the United States. Sometimes there is an issue that is raised frequently. For example, the Ethiopian government works with the US on anti-terrorism, and peace and security matters. Many people get a bit confused when these organizations issue such reports even if Ethiopia is a U.S. ally.

The Americans work with others in areas where they agree, they use these institution where there are differences in ideological and political economic strategies that may not suit them. In spite of the fact in areas where they don’t agree with the ideology and political and economic path Ethiopia is following, America works with Ethiopia on terrorism issues but they use these institutions to put pressure in annual reports. Whether we like it or not, these institutions have their own agenda and it is intimately related with their survival. As I said earlier, it is related with the desire to impose Western hegemonic ambition on the rest of the world by attacking those countries that do not follow their ideological lines. At the same time, there are journalists they defend.

ETV: Let us discuss organizations such as Survival International and Oakland Institute with regard to what you just said. As you know, the government is saying that Ethiopia is making great strides in agriculture. The government in Ethiopia is working hard to duplicate the success in agriculture in the industrial areas also since these two sectors feed each other. There are many arable agricultural land in Ethiopia as well as the availability of cheap labor in abundance. These two are important factors to attract foreign direct (FDI). When Ethiopia is trying to sell this fertile investment opportunities on a global scale, organizations like Survival International, Oakland Institute, Human Rights Watch and various international organizations speak against Ethiopia claiming human rights abuses due to the uprooting of the indigenous people exaggerating the actual situation on the ground on purpose. As you said they exploit a minor problems in order to paint a more gloomy picture of the situation. When IMF claims a rapid economic progress in Ethiopia, Survival International and Oakland Institute issue reports that tarnish and degrade the country. Do you think this is consistent with what you mentioned earlier which is an example of how these organizations are being used as a tool to impose Western Hegemony in Ethiopia?

Dawit: Yes, it is. By the way, there are so many of the numerous organizations. A stream of reports always come out by these different organizations. All the organizations you mentioned such Survival International and International Rivers, Oakland Institute, think tanks, rights advocacy groups and press freedom defenders are set up as civic organizations. At the end of the day, their allegiance is the same. They always issue reports. We have seen the CPJ report. After two or three months, the [U.S.] State Department report will be released. Actually, the US State Department report is nothing but a summary of reports copied from CPJ, Human Rights Watch and reports by the others. Then it becomes a report reflecting the the (the State Department’s] positions. Such reports continue to be issued. But the organizations you mentioned like Survival International, for example, in China, India, and in our own country like Southern Omo, there are indigenous ethnic groups that have unique life style. It defends for the rights of these indigenous groups.They believe that these groups should keep their culture and identity and any development and investment `activists jeopardize their survival. There is a government in any country which is accountable to its own people as it survives on the will of the people. It is ironic that when the government is about to implement policies and strategies that benefit the people, these organizations say that it is going to harm these indigenous groups. As I told you earlier, these organizations are also tools to enforce the kind of policies I mentioned earlier.

By the way, these institutions have a long arm. They have the capacity to stop funding the Ethiopian government may get. For example, they have succeeded in stopping the funding ,around 200 million Euros, from the European Bank which was allocated for the Gibe Dam III. Their claim of trying to protect the culture of the indigenous people is not convincing. It is just a smokescreen. I want to say more on the reports these organizations are pumping out. What is the impact of these reports? These kinds of reports may serve as propaganda input to some extent for those that want to use them to that end. But it has no significant impact beyond that.

http://ethioforum.org/cpj-hero-dawit-kebede-says-group-is-tool-for-western-hegemony/

HaileMariam Desalegn called on African countries to withdraw from

 Written by NAN

THE Ethiopian Prime Minister, HaileMariam Desalegn, has called on African countries to withdraw their membership from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the organisation is only serving the interests of Western nations.

The Prime Minister made the remarks while receiving the Sudanese State Minister for Information, Yasser Yusuf, who concluded a three-day visit to Addis Ababa on Monday.

Desalegn said that he totally agreed with the call on African countries to pull out of the ICC.

The prime minister had noted that the ICC had become a tool that serves the interest of the countries who, ironically, refused to be members of the court.

He expressed happiness that Ethiopia was not member of the court, because “the court is not the place for justice as all permanent members of the UN Security Council have stayed away from the court, but still use it to implement their political will’’.

He called for the need to revitalise the cooperation and exchange of programmes, information and news between Ethiopia and Sudan.

Desalegn urged the media to play a major role in reflecting the development and concerns of the people in the two countries.

He underscored the need to reflect on what was common and promote the economic, political or developmental interests of the two nations.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Sudanese minister had signed various agreements with the Ethiopian Government, including a news exchange between the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) and the Sudan News Agency (SUNA).

The two nations also agreed on exchanges between the countries television and radio stations as well as sharing experiences on various cultural, technical and professional fields.

The Sudanese minister was hosted by his Ethiopian counterpart, Ridhwan Hussein, who took the Sudanese delegation on tour to various information and media institutions in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Capital. (NAN)

http://ethioforum.org/hailemariam-desalegn-called-on-african-countries-to-withdraw-from-icc/