By Mekonnen Workineh
Ever since it came to power over 21 years ago, there was no facet of an Ethiopian citizen’s life that has not been affected by the brutal and dictatorial regime. There remains no stone left unturned by the regime in order on power forever. Let alone respect democratic rights and freedom of its citizens. Ethiopia is signatory of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was adopted and proclaimed by the UN General Assembly – resolution 217 A (III) of 10thDecember, 1948. Though the regime incorporated the Declaration into its own crafted “constitution”, however, never abided or stood by it. Rather used it as a means to face-lift its image thereby deceiving the international community.
The government in Ethiopia lead by the Ethiopian People Democratic Revolutionary Front (EPDRF/TPLF) is a tyrant, despotic, dictatorial and undemocratic regime responsible for the massacre, disappearance and imprisonment of tens of thousands members of opposition and their supporters, journalists, religious leaders and those the regime believes that are their color of eyes is different. Ethiopia for the last 21 years was and still is a hell on earth. The State Department of the USA on its 2010 report noted that “the government is engaged in killings, tortures, arbitrary arrest and restriction of freedom of movement assembly and mistreatment of detainees”. The Human rights Watch on its December 17, 2010 issue also noted, “… the government of Ethiopia uses development aid for state repression by way of routinely discriminating against people viewed as political opposition supporter.” Although the head of the dictatorial regime Mr. Meles Zenawi passed away over four months ago, however, the new Prime Minister Mr. Hailemariam Dessalegn vowed to continue Mr. Zenawi’ legacy. The repression, killings and imprisoning continues.
In order to avoid imprisonment and or death due to their political opposition, citizen were forced to flee their country Those Ethiopians who flee from Ethiopia and seek refugee, to say the least, are the luckiest to stay alive, because they precisely know that, had they stayed in Ethiopia, they could definitively be imprisoned if they are lucky, and if not, join those whose where about is untraceable. No fair minded person will flee from his country and seek refuge in another country.
As such, the regime is above the law of the land and its own constitution to prolong its stay in power, at any cost. The people are hopeless, defenseless and are still under an iron fist. As per Dr. Gregory Stanton, the founding President of Genocide Watchnoted that the regime in Ethiopia has committed genocide and compared it to that Syria where the Alawait minority government has been unleashing against the majority to stay in power.
To that effect, EPDRF/TPLF regime will in the future be brought to International Criminal Court (ICC) to face justice for the crimes committed: To mention a few:
•For the massacre of over 70 Sidamas in Sidamo in early 2001.
•For the genocide of over 720 Anuaks in 2003.
•For the massacre of 193 innocent Citizens after 2005 general election.
•For burning alive of thousands of Ogaden Somali Ethiopians.
•For the killing, torture and disappearance of thousands of Oromos, Amharas, Sidamas, Afars and Ogaden Somalis
•For forced off land farmers without compensation in order to lease to Arabs, Indians, Pakistani, Chinese etc nationals on the pretext of development.
•For the death by starvation of citizens of Ethiopia for the last 21 years, last but not least
•For the death and imprisonment of religious leaders, last but not least;
Notwithstanding the above mentioned atrocities committed by the dictatorial government in Addis Ababa, it became a day-to-day occurrence that the people of Ethiopia are subjected to, and not limited to a few of the following:
Educators, human right activists, opposition political leaders and members, journalists, students, farmers and spiritual leaders are subjected to extreme sufferings in the form of torture, imprisonment, harassment and disappearance over-night.
The regime drafted and implemented a vague but misuse able the “so-called anti-terrorist law” in order to penalize dissent, to curb freedom of speech, freedom of media and freedom of assembly in order to crack down journalists and opposition leaders and their supporters.
A few months ago, the regime passed a law to clamp down internet, social media and skype users. Any citizen, if caught using the said means of communication will face up to 15 years jail term.
Farmers who happen to support and work with the opposition parties or who are suspected of doing so are systematically abused and punished by being denied access to fertilizer, improved seeds, humanitarian aid and other social services.
The regime continued leasing and selling farm lands to foreigners by forcedly evicting thousands of farmers from their ancestral and inherited land without compensation what-so-ever, to make way for commercial farm and vague development.
The regime regularly capitalizes on ethnic and religious differences to commit atrocities such as: massacres, genocide, denying international donated food to certain ethnic groups to “starve them out” to foment ethnic conflicts, among and between different communities and religion.
A few months ago, the regime killed 7 Ethiopian Muslims in their mosque and arrested 17 leaders because they asked the government not to involve in electing their spiritual leaders because on one hand the State and Religion are separate and on the other their democratic rights to choose their leaders respected.
Ethiopians in tens of thousands continue to flee from their country in every possible direction, due to never ending killings, repression and imprisonment by the regime. Of those who fled some died on Sahara desert, and hundreds died in Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Those whose life is spared are camped in various countries in refugee camps. Add insult to injury, those refugees who were forcibly repatriated from the Sudan and Djibouti to Ethiopia are consistently disappearing without a trace while they were in prison under the regime’s custody.
The above being the true deeds of the dictatorial regime in Addis Ababa, the despotic and brutal Meles Zenawi legacy continues so also the suffering of the people of Ethiopia, living in hell on earth.
Long live Ethiopia
Contact by: Mekonnen_32@yahoo.com