Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Ethiopia - Land for Sale

As the economy thrives, we examine the plight of Ethiopians forced from their land to make way for foreign investors.


Just a few decades ago, Ethiopia was a country defined by its famines, particularly between 1983-1985 when in excess of half a million people starved to death as a consequence of drought, crop failure and a brutal civil war.
Against this backdrop, it is impressive that in recent years, Ethiopia has been experiencing stellar economic growth. The headline statistics are certainly remarkable: the country is creating millionaires faster than any other in Africa; output from farming, Ethiopia’s dominant industry, has tripled in a decade; the capital Addis Ababa is experiencing a massive construction boom; and the last six years have seen the nation’s GDP grow by a staggering 108 percent.
But it is not all positive news, because for all the good figures there are still plenty of bad ones.
Around 90 percent of the population of 87 million still suffers from numerous deprivations, ranging from insufficient access to education to inadequate health care; average incomes are still well below $1500 a year; and more than 30 million people still face chronic food shortages.
And while there are a number of positive and genuine reasons for the growth spurt - business and legislative reforms, more professional governance, the achievements of a thriving service sector - many critics say that the growth seen in agriculture, which accounts for almost half of Ethiopia’s economic activity and a great deal of its recent success, is actually being driven by an out of control ‘land grab', as  multinational companies and private speculators vie to lease millions of acres of the country’s most fertile territory from the government at bargain basement prices. 
At the ministry of agriculture in Addis Ababa, this land-lease programme is often described as a "win-win" because it brings in new technologies and employment and, supposedly, makes it easier to improve health care, education and other services in rural areas. 
"Ethiopia needs to develop to fight poverty, increase food supplies and improve livelihoods and is doing so in a sustainable way," said one official.
But according to a host of NGO’s and policy advocates, including Oxfam, Human Rights Watch and the Oakland Institute, the true consequences of the land grabs are almost all negative. They say that in order to make such huge areas available for foreign investors to grow foodstuffs and bio-fuels for export - and in direct contravention of Ethiopia’s obligations under international law - the authorities are displacing hundreds of thousands of indigenous peoples, abusing their human rights, destroying their traditions, trashing the environment, and making them more dependent on food aid  than ever before.
"The benefits for the local populations are very little," said renowned Ethiopian sociologist Dessalegn Rahmato. "They’ve taken away their land. They’ve taken away their natural resource, because these investors are clearing the land, destroying the forest, cutting down the trees. The government claims that one of the aims of this investment was to enable local areas to benefit by investing in infrastructure, social services … but these benefits are not included in the contract. It's only left up to the magnanimity of the investor."
And those investors, he continued, are simply not interested in anything other than serving their own needs: "They can grow any crop they want, when they want it, they can sell in any market they want, whether it’s a global market or a local market. In fact most of them are not interested in the local markets.” 
He cited as an example a massive Saudi-owned plantation in the fertile Gambella region of south west Ethiopia, a prime target area for investors: "They have 10,000 hectares and they are producing rice. This rice is going to be exported to the Middle East, to Saudi Arabia and other places. The local people in that area don’t eat rice."
But the most controversial element of the government’s programme is known as 'villagisation' - the displacement of people from land they have occupied for generations and their subsequent resettlement in artificial communities.
In Gambella, where two ethnic groups, the Anuaks and the Nuers, predominate, it has meant tens of thousands of people have been forced to abandon a traditional way of life. One such is Moot, an Anuak farmer who now lives in a government village far from his home.
"When investors showed up, we were told to pack up our things and to go to the village. If we had decided not to go, they would have destroyed our crops, our houses and our belongings. We couldn't even claim compensation because the government decided that those lands belonged to the investors. We were scared … if you get upset and say that someone stole your land, you are put in prison. If you complain about being arrested, they will kill you. It's not our land anymore; we have been deprived of our rights."
Despite growing internal opposition and international criticism, the Ethiopian government shows no sign of scaling the programme back. According to the Oakland Institute, since 2008, an area the size of France has already been handed over to foreign corporations. Over the next few years an area twice that size is thought to be earmarked for leasing to investors.
So what does all this mean for the people on the ground? In Ethiopia – Land for Sale, filmmakers Veronique Mauduy and Romain Pelleray try and find out.

Source:
Al Jazeera

Friday, January 17, 2014

Secret Wikileaks Cable Reveals Recent Bombings in Addis Ababa the Work of Meles Zenawi's regime

SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: RECENT BOMBINGS BLAMED ON OROMOS POSSIBLY THE WORK OF GOE


Classified By: CHARGE VICKI HUDDLESTON FOR REASONS 1.4(b)AND(d).

¶1. (S) SUMMARY A series of explosions were reported in Addis Ababa on September 16, killing three individuals. The GoE announced that the bombs went off while being assembled, and that the three dead were terrorists from the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) with links to the Oromo National Congress (ONC). 

An embassy source, as well as clandestine reporting, suggests that the bombing may have in fact been the work of GoE security forces. END SUMMARY

¶2. (U) On September 16, three bomb explosions were reported in the Kara Kore area of Addis Ababa. The explosions were heard at 4:45 a.m., 7:00 a.m., and 10:00 a.m. The National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), together with the Federal Police Anti-terror Task Force later reported that the bombs were "part of a coordinated terror attack by the OLF and Sha’abiya (Eritrea) aimed at disrupting democratic
development.” The NISS said that the intended terror plot had failed and the bombs had mistakenly gone off while the suspects were preparing them while hiding out at an illegally built house. 


Two of the suspects died immediately, while another died on the way to the hospital. One other is in critical condition. The police task force reported having others in custody related to the plot and that evidence shows
the terrorists had ties to Oromo groups – the Mecha and Tulema Association (MTA) and the ONC. They also said that the bombs used contained parts sourced from Eritrea and were consistent with bombs used in previous terrorist attacks.

¶3. (S) On September 20, Dr. Merera Gudina (strictly protect), the former leader of the ONC (and a typically reliable information source), contacted Post to report that the deceased had not died not while constructing a bomb, but rather at the hands of GoE cadres. Dr. Merera said that the men had been picked up by police a week prior, kept in detention and tortured. He said police then left the men in a house and detonated explosives nearby, killing 3 of them. He did not indicate whether the men were ONC or OLF affiliated.

¶4. (S) Clandestine reporting indicates that the bombs did not explode inside the structure, but rather appear to have been placed outside and detonated. 


[Ambassador Vicki] HUDDLESTON

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

አርቲስት ነዋይ ደበበ በተወዛገበ ሁኔታ ውስጥ እንደሚገኝ የሙያ ጓደኞቹ ገለጹ




ከዓመታት በፊት በዋሽግተን ዲሲ ለሚታተመው ባውዛ ጋዜጣ “በ2001 ዓ.ም ወደ ሃገሬ እገባለሁ” በሚል ድምፃዊ ነዋይ ደበበ ሲናገር የቅርብ ወዳጅ አርቲስቶቹ “ሃገርህ መግባቱንስ ግባ፤ ግን ከሌሎቹ አርቲስቶች ተማር፤ አንተም ሃገርህ መግባትህን ግባ ግን ስለፖለቲካው ለየትኛውም የመንግስት ሚድያ አትናገር” የሚል ምክር ተሰጥቶት ነበር። ነዋይ ሲፈጥረው ግልጽ ሰው በመሆኑ የሚጠቅመውን እና የሚጎዳውን የሚያውቅ ሰው አይደለም እንደ ሙያ አጋሮቹ ገለጻ።
ይህ አርቲስት ለትዳሩ ፍቺ ያበቃውም ይኸው ግልጽነቱ ነው ይላሉ እነዚሁ ምንጮች። ለኮንሰርት ሌላ ሃገር ሄዶ ከአድናቂዎቹ ጋር ለሚስት የማይነገር ነገር ቢፈጽም እንኳ ለባለቤቱ ከመናገር አይደብቅም። “ሀመር መኪናዬን ይዤ ኢትዮጵያ ገባሁ” ብሎ ለሃገር ቤት ሚድያዎች ያወራውም ይኸው የሚነገር እና የማይነገር ነገርን ካለማወቁ የተነሳ ነው
ነዋይን በተለያዩ የአሜሪካ ግዛቶች ተዘዋውሮ የሙዚቃ ኮንሰርቶች እንዲሰራ ካደረጉት ሰዎች ውስጥ አንዳንዶቹ ለዚህ ዜና ዘጋቢ እንደተናገሩት “ድምጻዊውን ለራሱ የማያውቅ” ሲሉ ይገልጹታል ከሌላ አርቲስቶች ጋር በማነጻጸር። ይኸው ድምፃዊ ኮንሰርት ተጠርቶ ከፕሮሞተሮች ከሰርን የሚል ምክንያት ሲቀርብለት ገንዘብ እንደማይጠይቅም ይነገርለታል። ሌሎቹ ስለመዝፈናቸው እንጂ ፕሮሞተሩ ከሰረ አለከሰረ ግድ እንደሌላቸው ያገናዝቧል። በዚህ ሁኔታ ነዋይ በኪሳራ ውስጥ ወደቀ፤ ሚስቱንም በትዳሩ ላይ ስለሚፈጽመው ነገር ስለማይደብቅ ሕይወቱ ተመሳቀለ። በዚህ ሁኔታ ወደ ሃገሬ በ2001 እገባለሁ ሲል ሲናገር በሙያ አጋሮቹ ተመከረ። “እባክህ ሃገርህ መግባትህን ግባ ግን በመንግስት ሚድያዎች ቀርበህ ባከበረህ ሕዝብ ፊት እንዳትዋርድ”
ነዋይ ሃገር ቤት ገና ከመግባቱ አዲስ አበባን ሳያያት ኤርፖርት ላይ ተቀበሉት።
እነ ራድዮ ፋና “ሃገሪቷን እንዴት አየሃት?” ሲሉ ጠየቁት
ሃገሪቱን ተዘዋውሮ ያላየውና ገና ከአውሮፕላን እንደወረደ የተናገረው ነዋይ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ በልማት ውስጥ እንደሚገኝ፤ ሃገሪቱም እንደተለወጠች ተናገረ። ልብ በሉ ገና ከኤርፖርት ወርዶ አላየም።
ነዋይ ድሮ ሃገሩን እንዳልወደደና በሕዝብ እንዳልተፈቀረ ይህን ከተናገረ በኋላ በጣም ተናቀ። ከአሜሪካ በሚስቱ አማካኝነት ይዞት የነበረው ገንዘብ አለቀና አላሙዲንን ፍለጋ ሮጠ። በሸራተን ጋዝ ላይት የሚያመሹ የአላሙዲ ተላላኪዎች ነዋይ “አላሙዲንን አገናኙኝ” እያለ ሲለምመጥ እነሱ ይስቁበት ‘አላሙዲ አሁን በዚ አለፈ፤ በዚያ ሄደ” እያሉ ይስቁበት፤ ያቁለጨልጩት ጀመር። በሕዝብ የተከበረ ዘፋኝ በአላሙዲ ተላላኪዎች መሳለቂያ ሆነ።
ነዋይ ኢትዮጵያ ገብቶ በተቸገረበት ወቅት ራድዮኖች እየደወሉ ፕራንክ ኮል እያደረጉ ይሳለቁበት ገባ። በወያኔ መንግስት ፈቃድ ተሰጥቷቸው እየሰሩ የሚገኙ ራድዮኖች ነዋይን ፕራንክ እያደርጉ ሲሳለቁበት እንዴት ያሳቅቅ። ድሮ ይቃወምባቸው የነበሩ ወያኔዎች በሳቅቅቅ፣ ነዋይ ግን ስቅቅ። ነዋይ ግን አልገባውም። እንደውም ተወዛግቦ ራድዮኖቹ ለሱ ያዘኑ እየመሰለው ያለ የሌለውን ይቀባጥራል። “ሙዚቃ የሚያቀናብርልኝ አጣሁ” እያለም በግልጽ ፕራንክ ላደረጉት ራድዮኖች መጠላቱን ተናገረ። ይኸው ምስክርነቱ የነሰይፉ መሳቂያ ሲሆን፦
ነዋይ ምስኪን ነው። ሰው ሲስቅበት አያውቅም። ወያኔዎች እየተጠጉ “ጥሩ ሥራ ሰራህ you did good” ሲሉት ጥሩ እየመሰለው አቶ መለስን ሲቃወም እንዳልነበር ነጠላ ዜማም ሰራላቸው። የአቶ መለስ ሞት ሰሞን በወያኔ ደጋፊዎች ዘንድ የተሰጠው ሙገሳ ልቡን ነፍቶት እንደነበር የሙያ አጋሮቹ ይናገራሉ። ሆኖም ግን ነዋይ ኢትዮጵያ ሄዶ ባለማወቅም ይሁን በማወቅ የሰራውን ስህተት ወደ ዋሽንግተን ዲሲ በመጣበት ጊዜ በደረሰበት ተቃውሞ ተደናግጦ “እኔ እኮ ለአቶ መለስ የዘፈንኩት ሰዎች አሳስተውኝ ነው” ሲል ተናገረ።
ነዋይ በነዋይ ይሳሳታል – ይህን አይተናል – ከአላሙዲ ፍራንክ ሲቀበል። ነዋይ በሴት ይታለላል – ለሚስቱ ተናገሮ ፈታዋለች። አላሙዲ ሊያስታርቁ ሲዊድን ድረስ ጠርተዋቸው የሆነውን ነገር ወደፊት እንጽፈዋለን። – ነዋይ በውዝግብ ላይ እንዳለ ደግሞ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ ሲሄድ ከተመከረው ምክር፤ እዛ ከሄደ በኋላ ባለማወቅ በሰራው ስህተት፤ መለስ ከሞቱ በኋላ በተሸወደው ሽወዳ (እሱ እንዳለው) አይተናል።
ግን አሁንስ?
ያኔ ሁለት ጣቱን ለቅንጅት በመቀሰሩ የተነሳ የመንግስት ጋዜጠኞች ባገኙት ቁጥር ካሁን ካሁን ታሰርኩ ብሎ የሚበረግገው ነዋይ ደበበ፤ ለመለስ ብትዘፍን ያዋጣኻል – “እሺ”፤ ለአባይ ቦንድ ግዢ ኮንሰርት ዱባይ ሂድ “እሺ”… “እሺ” ባይ አርቲስት ሆኖ ቀረ። ሚስቱ የክሊኒክ ማናጀር አድርጋ አሜሪካ አስቀምጣው እንዳልነበር በርሷ ላይ ሲቀማጠል ተራ ሆኖ አረፈው። አሁን ከሰሞኑ ደግሞ በገና በዓል ዝግጅት ላይ አገራችን በዴሞክራሲ መመንጠቋንና የዘንድሮውን ገና በደርግ ዘመን ከነበረው ልዩ የሚያደርገው የአሁኑ በዴሞክራሲያዊ ስርዓት መታጀቡ ስለመሆኑ ሲናገር እያየን ነው። አይ ነዋይ የአርቲስት ምሁርi እነ በቀለ ገርባ፣ እነ እስክንድር ነጋ፣ እነ አንዷለም አራጌ፣ ላሊሴ ኦልባና፣ ርዕዮት አለሙ የታሰሩት ዴሞክራሲ ስላለ ነው? ለነገሩ ነዋይ ካሳሳተው ነዋይ ምን ይጠበቃል?
እንደ ሙያ አጋሮቹ ገለጻ ከሆነ ነዋይን ወሰድ መለስ የሚያደርገው የአእምሮ መወዛገብ ከፍርሃት፣ ከፍቺና የሚጠብቅን ዝና ካለማግኘት ጋር የተይያዘው የአእምሮ ጭንቀት ነው።