Ethnic cleansing of Tigrayans may prolong Ethiopia’s civil war

Thursday, 21 April 2022 09:12 Written by Eritrea Hub

APRIL 20, 2022 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

Evidence emerges of war crimes by forces allied to Abiy Ahmed’s government

Apr 13th 2022

ADDIS ABABA

The lucky ones were frogmarched onto buses and driven across the river. The less fortunate were slung into detention camps and left there to rot. Others were murdered in the streets or hacked to death as they cowered in their homes. “We don’t need a single one of them any more,” a militiaman told a foreign researcher last year. “They cannot be trusted.”

Since the start of Ethiopia’s bloody civil war 18 months ago, there have been frequent allegations of ethnic cleansing targeting people from the northern region of Tigray. Antony Blinken, America’s secretary of state, first levelled this charge more than a year ago, infuriating the government of Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s prime minister, which strongly denied it. Because the government has imposed a tight blockade of the region, it has been hard to assess the claims of atrocities. But some horrifying hints have emerged, such as the corpses with their hands bound that have washed up on river banks in Sudan.

Now a thorough investigation by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, two pressure groups, leaves little doubt of the enormities committed by government forces and their allies. The joint report, published on April 6th, concludes that authorities from the Amhara region have systematically killed or evicted hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tigrayans from territory seized from Tigray since the start of the war. The campaign, carried out with the connivance of federal authorities, was as methodical as it was brutal. Notices ordering Tigrayans to leave were pinned around towns. Freshly appointed Amhara officials handed out title deeds for plots of stolen land. Identification cards were given to new Amhara arrivals, but denied to Tigrayans, who were prevented from receiving aid and government services. The new authorities even granted permits for shipments of looted sesame, a lucrative cash crop at the heart of the territorial dispute between the two regions.

This matters not only because of the frightful human toll. The contested area, known officially as Western Tigray before the war, is now arguably the biggest obstacle to ending the conflict. “It’s definitely the thorniest issue,” says a senior official of the ruling party. Both sides have long claimed this land. Both are hardening their stances. Just days before the report was published Amhara investigators announced the discovery of mass graves, which they allege contain the remains of Amharas murdered decades ago by the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (tplf), the party-cum-militia that runs Tigray.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Tigrayans are starving. A “humanitarian truce” that started on March 24th is already teetering. The government has allowed just one aid convoy to enter Tigray (the first since mid-December) and has been withholding permission for more until the tplf withdraws to Tigray. The tplf wants aid to flow freely before it pulls back entirely, ideally in tandem with the withdrawal of Amhara forces from Western Tigray. Without a breakthrough to ease the blockade, the horror of ethnic cleansing will be matched by an equally grotesque abuse: deliberate, mass starvation.

Has diplomacy run out of cards to play to end the Nile dam dispute?

Wednesday, 20 April 2022 23:34 Written by Martin Plaut

APRIL 8, 2021 MARTIN PLAUT ETHIOPIA, NEWS

Source: Al-Monitor

The round of negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia end in Kinshasa, Congo, with no resolution in sight.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi is warning Ethiopia against any unilateral measures to fill the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Here, Mahdi talks with an AFP journalist on Jan. 3, 2016, in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, when she was in the opposition.

Ayah Aman

Water Issues

April 7, 2021

CAIRO — The round of negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam between the Egyptian, Sudanese and Ethiopian ministers of water and irrigation concluded April 6 without agreement in Kinshasa, Congo. No consensus was even reached to continue the diplomatic process to settle the unresolved disputes over the filling and operation of the dam.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said in a press statement after the meetings ended, “The meeting has not achieved any progress and will not result in an agreement on relaunching the negotiations. Ethiopia refused the Egyptian and Sudanese proposal to form an international quartet led by the Democratic Republic of Congo as mediator between the three countries.” He also said, “Ethiopia also refused a proposition that Egypt made during the closing session and Sudan supported to resume negotiations under the wing of the Congolese president and with the participation of observers.”

He added, “The Ethiopian stance once again proves the lack of Ethiopia’s well-intentioned political willingness to negotiate. It is stalling and procrastinating, and it is clinging to a formal and ineffective negotiation mechanism.”

The round of talks was held in Congo because the country now heads the African Union Commission. The three-day talks between the ministers of water and irrigation of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia began April 4 after Ethiopia insisted on proceeding with the second stage of filling the dam reservoir during the flood season in July and retaining around 13.5 billion cubic meters of water.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs blamed Sudan and Egypt for the failure of the talks and seeking to “undermine the AU-led process and take the matter out of the African platform,” adding that the scheduled second filling of the dam will proceed as scheduled.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi released statements that directly threatened and warned against any measures that infringe upon Egyptian interests in Nile water.

The talks aimed at determining the approach, process and timing of negotiations, in addition to mechanisms ensuring commitment to them to secure constructive negotiations and overcome the stalemate that has cast a shadow over the talks since the sponsorship of the African Union began in June 2020. The objective was to reach a comprehensive and legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam in a way that would ensure the interests of the three countries and maintain the rights of the two downstream countries, avoiding the creation of risks or damages for Egypt and Sudan when the dam stores water.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said during the first session of the Kinshasa talks April 4 that the negotiations “are the last chance to reach an agreement on the operation and filling of the dam before the next flood season.”

An Egyptian technical source who participated in the Kinshasa meetings told Al-Monitor, “The Egyptian delegation attended the Kinshasa meetings based on instructions from the political leadership to offer several alternative solutions to the remaining points of contention through serious dialogue and diplomatic means. The Egyptian suggestions were backed by Sudan and observers participating in the meetings.”

The source added on condition of anonymity, “A detailed report about the meetings and their outcomes will be presented, and the situation will be assessed, given the failure to reach an agreement and the Egyptian political leadership’s halt of negotiations. Moving forward, Egypt has several scenarios to deter any attempts to impose a fait accompli and sabotage the Nile water.”

During the talks, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi had warned against unilateral measures that Ethiopia might take in filling the dam reservoir. In statements cited by the Sudan News Agency, she said Ethiopia’s first filling of the dam “unilaterally resulted in a week of thirst, and it negatively affected irrigation and the animal wealth needs. By proceeding with the second filling despite Sudan’s warnings, Ethiopia would be achieving short-term political gains.” She said, “Sudan refuses any unilateral filling of the dam because a conflict over resources would mean an unwanted future for Africa.”

Mohamed Nasreddin Allam, a former Egyptian minister of water resources, told Al-Monitor, “If Ethiopia proceeds with the second filling without Egypt and Sudan’s approval, it would be somewhat declaring war.”

Hani Raslan, an expert at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor, “Ethiopia has made its own bed by proceeding with the second filling in any case. Egypt is unlikely to accept that another state controls the fate and lives of 100 million Egyptians. The Ethiopian leadership is responsible for dragging the region into an unjustified conflict.”

Raslan said, “There were many opportunities to reach consensual solutions to cooperate in the eastern Nile and achieve the interests of all parties by generating electricity to Ethiopia and not harming the water supplies of Egypt and Sudan, thus avoiding a conflict that would be costly for all. However, Ethiopia has dealt with the GERD issue as a zero-sum game, without caring about peaceful coexistence with its neighbors.” The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is also known by its initials, GERD.

He said any decision to launch a military attack on the dam could strengthen Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration “amid the conflicts and divisions inside Ethiopia, particularly with the nearing elections.”

With the failure of the negotiations, international law expert Musaed Abdel Aty told Al-Monitor, “Egypt and Sudan have a legal commitment to return to the Security Council, under Article 7, and brief it by giving a unified speech that includes a legal and technical narration of what happened during the negotiation rounds under African Union auspices. Their briefing must describe the current situation in the region and Ethiopia’s clear and direct threats to peace and security, and it must urge the council to fulfill its role and issue a decision to stop the second filling until a satisfactory agreement that guarantees the interests and rights of the downstream countries is reached.”

He added, “The Kinshasa talks revealed the Ethiopian recklessness and foiling of any chance at peaceful settlement of the conflict by refusing international mediation. This is a violation of the rules of international law.”

Before the meetings, Sisi had addressed the Congolese president in a letter in which he said Egypt was striving for an agreement to be reached fairly quickly, before the flood season.

Abdel Aty said, “Sisi’s discourse carried several connotations about Egypt’s respect for the African Union’s efforts and quest to solve the dispute through diplomatic and peaceful means.”

Coincidentally with the meetings of the ministers of water and irrigation in Kinshasa, the chief of staff of Egypt’s armed forces, Mohamed Hegazi, was in Sudan attending the end of air maneuvers of the Nile Eagles 2 exercise, in which top Egyptian fighter jets participated, at Merowe air base. The exercise follows the Nile Eagles 1 maneuvers held in November. Hegazi said, “Egypt stands by the Sudanese army. We are in the same boat, and we look forward to a promising and secure future.”

Britain’s fallacy: Rwanda can solve the refugee problem

Sunday, 17 April 2022 07:32 Written by Habte Hagos

APRIL 16, 2022 ERITREA HUB ERITREA FOCUS, NEWS

By Habte Hagos

In February 2018, demonstrations were held by Jewish and African activists around the world, including one in front of the Rwandan High Commission in London to protest against the deportation of African refugees from Israel to Rwanda.

At the London demonstration, the Rwandan High Commission issued a statement stating[1] “Rwanda’s position on migrants, wherever they may originate from, was informed and shaped by a sentiment of compassion towards African brothers and sisters who are today perishing at high seas, sold in the market like cattle or expelled from the countries in which they sought shelter. Rwanda is happy to help in a limited way it could by welcoming anyone arriving at its borders in need of a home, voluntarily and without any constraints.” The letter dated 7 February 2018 adds “ .. Rwanda’s policy vis-à-vis Africans in need for a home, temporary or permanent, within the country’s means, remains open.”

It is surprising that the UK now plans, and indeed signed an agreement with the Rwandan authorities, to send refugees to the country in breach of international law. This is particularly true given the UK Government’s condemnations of Rwandan human rights record at the UN and other forums.

The UNHCR has expressed “strong opposition and concerns about the United Kingdom’s plan.” In the words of the Rwandan High Commission such act would be tantamount to people being “sold in the market like cattle”.

Putting ethics aside, one asks whether UK paying Rwanda an initial sum of £120m [with an estimated £30,000 per deportee once the scheme is up and running] delivers value for money for the tax payer, especially coming at a time when the living standard for people in Britain is in freefall. The true cost will be “eyewatering” according to Conservative MP, Andrew Mitchell.

The UK, a country renown for decades as a shining example for its rule of law and adherence to international norms, is sadly now seen as a country led by a government that repeatedly flouts, not only its domestic laws, but international laws too.

No wonder some 160 civic societies and others have so far raised concerns about the UK/Rwanda unhealthy alliance over vulnerable refugees. I have no doubt the campaign against the plan will accelerate over the coming days and weeks. In the end the UK citizens humanity, fair play, underpinned by the rule of law, will triumph and this government will eventually back down on its unworkable plan.

Habte Hagos is chair of Eritrea Focus

[1] Statement from Rwanda on Israeli deportations of African refugees | Eritrea Focus (eritrea-focus.org)

PRESS RELEASE BY THE EPDP OFFICE OF SOCIAL AFFAIRS ADMINISTRATION.

Wednesday, 13 April 2022 09:55 Written by EPDP SOCIAL AFFAIRS OFFICE

In its meeting of March 5, 2022 the social affairs administration discussed in depth the conditions and or progresses achieved in the branches under the main office of the social affairs administration. Summary of the evaluations and decisions made in the meeting were as following:

According to reports from Wedsherifey school management, members of the meeting understood that this 37 year old school is still fulfilling its academic obligations (teaching) from year to year despite the many shortcomings it encounters every time. Putting these problems into account, the meeting decided first to show its appreciation and gratitude to the non-profit organizations and Eritrean donors who have been giving a hand of help to the needy school. Furthermore, the meeting called upon the generous donors if, possible, to increase their donations one tiny step up. In the meantime, the social affairs administration agreed to elevate its activities anew. To those who are not familiar with Wedsherifey school: it is 37 years old located near Kassala Sudan; about 800 Eritrean refugees are enrolled in the school where they get their education from 1^st to 8^th grade. Since its founding, ELF-RC then and now EPDP play an important role in ensuring its continuity.

Considering the shortfalls facing the program of foster parenting, the administration office discussed and hinted solutions for its revival. Likewise the office administration, in conjunction with the board of the association for the disabled veterans, called for the support to continue.

When the global pandemic (Covid 19) threatened the world the advanced countries created their own vaccines and have been fighting to eliminate the virus or at least to slow it down. Now, some of these countries offered vaccines, though not sufficient, to third world countries. Only Isaias declined the offer because he is dead set to depopulate and weaken Eritrea. Eritreans are furiously horrified by his negligence and cruelty against the very people he claims is their leader. In this regard the administration office of social affairs reminded the world community to find ways of reaching the abandoned people of Eritrea for they are also part of the global community.
Administration committee discussed in detail about the Eritrean refugees in general and particularly about those who were caught off guard in the inexplicable savagery being committed on Tigray by Isaias and his evil company of Aby Ahmed and Formagio of Somalia. In the end the committee put its observations and evaluation as follows:

After the hostilities against Tigray flared up the two camps of Shemeleba and Hitseatse that used to house Eritrean refugees were totally blown off. Some of them died at the hands of the Eritrean army, some others were arrested and allegedly taken back to Eritrea or most likely executed and the rest were scattered away in search of safety.
Other refugees who used to live in the 2 camps of Maiaini and Adi Harish were also very insecure because they were in the middle of the war region of Ethiopia. Apparently they only moved some to the new camp near Dabat right under the nose of the notorious militia known as Fanno. This is like putting the fox in the hen - hole in order to protect the chicks! Nonetheless, due to lack of security, communication and transportation, employees of the High Commission for refugees could not shift to the new camp. Dabat is about 80 km North of Gondar.
When TDF and Afar soldiers started fighting each other in the Afar region, Eritrean refugees in Abala and Ashaita camps became the immediate victims of the war. As is always the case some were killed, and those who could escape the two camps alive took refuge in Samera, the capital city of Afar region.
Due to destructions or closures of the refugee camps in Northern Ethiopia, Eritrean refugees flocked to Addis Ababa but to no avail. The office that used to handle refugee issues in Addis is nowhere to be found. Those who come in and the ones who wanted to leave are all stuck in the unfriendly streets of Addis Ababa.
with no one to offer them food and shelter. At this point it is estimated that there are 80,000 Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia.

Ethiopian government and the other relevant international human rights organizations have been almost all times short in giving adequate assistance to Eritrean refugees. Observing the dilemma of our refugees, the office of social affairs administration urged the human rights organizations to give more attention and assistance as soon as conditions permit.

Respect the rights of Refugees.

Office of Social affairs EPDP.

A new offensive in Tigray: “all sides appear prepared”

Tuesday, 12 April 2022 21:20 Written by Prof Kjetil Tronvoll

APRIL 12, 2022 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

Source: Kjetil Tronvoll Tweets

Will a new major military offensive be launched in Ethiopiasoon? All sides: the federal government, Amhara and Afar regional governments; Eritrea and Tigray appear prepared for it.

Over the past couple of weeks, information about new large-scale troops deployment on Tigray ’s borders in the north by Eritrea and in south by Ethiopia have emerged.

Eritrean reinforcements are allegedly deployed on the Zalambessa, Rama, Badme and Humera fronts along Tigray border, while reportedly new ENDF recruits and regional special forces are dispatched to Amhara and Afar fronts.

The so-called declaration of truce by Ethiopia has not met its stated objective, as the federal and Afar governments continue to block much needed humanitarian aid to the famine struck population of Tigray. Only 22 trucks reached Mekelle since the truce was announcement.

Ethiopian government declaration of a truce is either a) a ploy to once again buy time to prepare for new offensive; or b) shows how incapacitated and powerless PM Abiy Ahmed is to negotiate a peace with Tigray, since he relies on political fractions advocating war to stay in power.

Tigray regional government cannot sit idle for much longer, watching their famine struck population starve to death in their thousands. They must either surrender or break the Ethiopia siege before their army, the TDF, is rendered incapable of fighting by starvation.

As all international attention is on Russia’s war on Ukraine, Western diplomatic interest and capacity to address Ethiopia war is waning. The new international relations are also relevant here, as Ethiopia is supporting Russia, further alienating Western powers from Ethiopia.

Finally, we should keep in mind that the key traditional “season of war” in Ethiopia follows Easter holiday and before rains start in June. If all the above are adequate indications, a new major military offensive on Tigray by Ethiopia and Eritrea will soon be launched…

Putin’s Exploitation of Africa Could Help Him Evade Sanctions

Sunday, 10 April 2022 09:21 Written by Martin Plaut

Date: 09/04/2022Author: Martin Plaut

Source: Time

Putin’s Exploitation of Africa Could Help Him Evade Sanctions

By George Clooney, Justyna Gudzowska, and John Prendergast
April 8, 2022 9:00 AM EDT

Since the invasion of Ukraine, an extraordinary coalition of allies is
working together to isolate Russia economically, imposing sanctions
and cutting off access to the global financial system. This campaign
has shown success in degrading Russia’s economy. The Kremlin, however,
may find a financial lifeline in an unlikely place—Africa. The more
successful the economic war on Russia is, the more the Kremlin will
rely on plundered African resources as a means of evading sanctions
and keeping the Russian war machine going. To understand this danger,
it is important to grasp the manner in which Moscow has planned for a
moment like this.

Over the last few years, Vladimir Putin and his cronies have sought to
project Russian power in corrupt but resource-rich African countries,
exerting their influence through a shadowy mercenary force known as
the Wagner Group. While this murderous outfit has itself been
sanctioned by the U.S., the E.U., and the U.K., its membership and
tactics remains shrouded in secrecy. What we do know is that Russia
has used Wagner operatives to provide a security shield for African
despots in exchange for access to precious natural resources.

Financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, sometimes called “Putin’s Chef” because
he rose to power after running a catering company favored by the
Kremlin, the Wagner Group first appeared on the scene in 2014 in
Ukraine. “Putin’s shadow army” is estimated to have as many as 5,000
members and has acted as a mercenary force fighting on behalf of
Russia, but in a way that allows Moscow a measure of deniability. The
group has deployed to other hot spots around the world, including
Libya, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Madagascar, Mozambique,
Mali, and Syria (where Wagner mercenaries fought a bloody battle with
U.S. special forces in 2018).

In Sudan, where the fall of Omar al-Bashir in 2019 could have left
Russia without a corrupt partner, the Wagner Group found a friend in
Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (aka Hemedti)—Sudan’s second in command and
leader of the genocidal militia the Rapid Support Forces, previously
known as the Janjaweed. Hemedti had made his own fortune running a
shadow economy dominated by gold exports. He also helped Russia secure
access to gold mines.

In fact, even as Russia was initiating its bombing of Ukraine,
Hemedti’s Twitter account posted pictures of his meeting with Russia’s
foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. Hemedti had been in Moscow to discuss
ways of deepening economic ties between Sudan and Russia. More notable
than Hemedti’s public show of allegiance to Russia during this moment
of international opprobrium was that Lavrov actually made time for
Hemedti at such a critical juncture. Russia hopes to set up a Red Sea
naval base in the country, projecting its naval power into a strategic
transport corridor.

In the Central African Republic, where the Wagner Group has an
outsized role and a Wagner operative serves as the president’s
security advisor, a joint investigation by The Sentry and CNN
established that mercenaries from the group have engaged in atrocities
including murder, rape, and torture to capture areas that are rich in
gold, diamonds, and other minerals. Wagner has also initiated a
process to change the mining code to create a monopoly for itself in
the country’s gold and diamond mining sector.

By using the Wagner Group to burrow into these resource-rich countries
and secure lucrative mining concessions, Russia has been trying to
future-proof itself against the kinds of sanctions now being imposed
by the U.S. and its allies. Russia’s Africa strategy is clear: through
the private military proxy, it sets up shop in countries with unstable
political and security environments and high levels of corruption; it
forges opportunistic relationships with powerbrokers in the government
or security services; it provides training to state security forces
and non-state armed groups alike; it carries out missions marked by
atrocities; and it maintains strong, if quiet, links to the Kremlin,
conducting operations that directly support Putin’s geopolitical
objectives.

To be sure, the robust steps taken in recent weeks by the U.S. and
allies to sever Russia’s connections to the international economy are
critical. But however surprised Putin may be by the swift and
multilateral imposition of sanctions in response to the invasion,
Russia’s Africa strategy suggests that the Kremlin has been doing some
quiet contingency planning for this sort of scenario. Denying Russia
long-term access to resources in Africa is therefore essential to
ensuring that these sanctions are truly effective. Gold and diamonds
are attractive assets for international pariahs because they can be
sold and exchanged while avoiding the regulated banking sector, and
this playbook has been used in the past by both Iran and Venezuela.
Steps must be taken to ensure that Russia doesn’t continue to have
access to new sources of gold, diamonds, and other natural resources.

But how does one go about that? The impulse might be to force African
leaders to choose between Russia and the West. But rather than
imposing this outdated Cold War choice, Washington and its allies
should instead focus on expanding their efforts to counter the
creeping spread of kleptocracy on the continent.

Africa might seem remote from the current war in Ukraine; worse yet,
some may disregard Africa as a strategic priority for the U.S. But
make no mistake: Putin and his allies favor kleptocracy. They thrive
on corruption. In the end, their only real ideology is graft, and when
they are able to spread it, they create new zones in which they can
exert their influence. Corrupt leaders in places like Sudan, CAR, and
Mali welcome Moscow’s mercenaries under the guise of law and order,
but in reality they use the hired guns to maintain their own power. In
exchange, they barter away precious national resources to Russia.

Last year, President Joe Biden wisely deemed the fight against
corruption a core national security interest. As Russia is further
isolated and looks for allies and resources in Africa, it’s time to
earnestly take up that fight by focusing on dismantling the key
networks that enable kleptocracy deploying smarter financial pressure,
renewed diplomacy, and robust private sector engagement. The choice
for African countries should not be between the West and Russia.
Rather, it should be good governance, development, democracy,
responsible investment, and human rights versus cycles of corruption
and atrocities that only benefit authoritarian regimes and their
enablers.

Clooney is Co-Founder of the Clooney Foundation for Justice and
Co-Founder of The Sentry. Prendergast is Co-Founder of The Sentry.
Gudzowska is Director of Illicit Finance Policy at The Sentry.

https://time.com/6165246/putin-africa-evade-sanctions/

Six US former diplomats to Ethiopia call for urgent negotiations to end Tigray war and for Eritrean troops to withdraw

Thursday, 07 April 2022 00:12 Written by Martin Plaut

Date: 06/04/2022Author: Martin Plaut

Ethiopian Statement

We, former U.S. ambassadors and charges d’affaires to Ethiopia, were heartened by the humanitarian truce announced by the Ethiopian Federal Government and subsequently accepted by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). We also recognize the incredible human pain and suffering this conflict has caused, including documented gross human rights violations committed by all armed parties against innocent civilians. While recognizing the intense emotional distress and hostilities—including ethnic hatred—created by the war and accompanying atrocities, we nevertheless urge all sides to implement the humanitarian cease fire and enter an ongoing process of dialogue to address the outstanding issues which contributed to the conflict. If this opportunity is lost, and if the conflict is resumed, we see no advantage to be gained by any of the combatants and the only result would be more death, destruction, and suffering.

We believe it is equally imperative for armed groups—including Eritrean armed forces—to expeditiously return to their home territories. While the situation in Tigray may require the most urgent attention, there are serious humanitarian and human rights issues in Afar, Amhara, Oromia, and Benishangul regions that also need consideration and assistance from the Ethiopian Government and the international community. Our hopes and prayers are with all the peoples of Ethiopia that the country will resume its path towards peace, unity, prosperity, and strengthened democracy.

April 4, 2022

Ambassador (Rtd) Donald Booth

Ambassador (Rtd) Aurelia Brazeal

Ambassador (Rtd) Patricia Haslach

Ambassador (Rtd) Vicki Huddleston

Ambassador (Rtd) Tibor Nagy

Ambassador (Rtd) David Shinn

Ethiopia must address impunity for human rights abuses by security forces

Wednesday, 06 April 2022 11:17 Written by Martin Plaut

Date: 06/04/2022Author: Martin Plaut

The extent and nature of human rights violations by security forces in Ethiopia is appalling. The Ethiopian government must assertively defend the democratic order from regression, counter the authoritarian behavior of the police and security agencies, and take drastic measures to ensure accountability for human rights violations.

Source: Ethiopia Insight

5 April, 2022

by Alemayehu B. Hordofa

Independent oversight and legal reforms are needed to address extrajudicial killings.

The EPRDF government that ruled Ethiopia from 1991 to 2019 was infamous for using the country’s legal system and institutions for its political interests.

For instance, in response to the Oromo protest movement that began in 2014, Ethiopia’s police and security agencies employed unconstitutional investigation techniques and brutalized protesters to suppress dissent, including by using lethal force.

In 2020, the Ethiopian government publicly acknowledged the veracity of such accusations, including those made in the UN’s 2010 Committee against Torture report. Prior to this, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s parliamentary briefing in 2018 noted that government security forces had committed atrocities on prisoners, while police and prison authorities were complicit in torture committed in secret detention facilities.

After coming to power in 2018, Abiy undertook sweeping political and economic liberalization measures. The government initiated a series of legal and administrative reforms based on a promise to change the authoritarian tendencies of government institutions.

To this end, the government amended the draconian civil society statute, made significant amendments to the repressive anti-terrorism proclamation, amended the federal prison proclamation to bring its standards in compliance with international protocols, continued to release political prisoners, publicly apologized for gross human rights violations, and conducted ‘selected prosecution’ for human rights abuse and corruption crimes.

The government also took the audacious step to reform its security and military apparatus, even though doing so provoked opposition from some senior personnel of the affected institutions. In time, law-enforcement authorities were among those that exhibited promise by implementing reforms.

EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS

Despite the promises and achievements, the democratic reform process is currently encountering challenges with regard to the rule of law due to recurring illegal actions of security forces across the country.

The most recent example of such abuses came after a footage went viral on social media showing a gruesome instance of security forces burning an individual alive. The video was reportedly shot in the Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz region. In the video, we also see the burned bodies of other victims.

On 13 March, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) released its findings on this incident. In its media briefing, the national human rights body called for the Ethiopian government to ensure accountability for this heinous crime and promise redress for the victims’ families.

Extrajudicial killings by Ethiopia’s security forces: rule or exception?

by Ermias Tasfaye

The horrific immolation in Benishangul-Gumuz was not the first time that the Ethiopian public witnessed brutal killings at the hands of federal and regional security forces.

Recently, the Oromia regional security forces ruthlessly killed the religious and customary leaders of Kereyu Geda Michile, one of the Oromo clans widely known as “Guardians of Oromo cultural heritage” for their unique role in preserving Oromo’s traditional and cultural values such as the Gadaa system.

According to witness testimonies received by the EHRC, the security forces perpetrated this ruthless act based on the belief that these community leaders provided moral support for insurgents operating in the area.

Amid blackout, western Oromia plunges deeper into chaos and confusion

by Ermias Tasfaye

In May 2021, Oromia security forces summarily executed Amanuel Wendimu in the town of Dembi Dollo after parading him in public and forcing him to make self-incriminating statements.

The Dembi Dollo Communication Office justified this cruel act of summary execution by citing the victim’s alleged participation in Abba Torbe, a clandestine assassin group in Oromia.

Similarly, credible media reports condemned Ethiopian security forces for taking prisoners out of their cells, particularly in Oromia, and executing them. There have also been times when security forces passively condoned gross human rights violations perpetrated through mob ‘justice’, thereby participating in the crime through omission.

INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT

These and other horrendous violations demonstrate the entrenched nature of the security forces’ human rights abuses and indicate that their repressive attitude has not withered away.

The investigations into these and other similar allegations of violence by security forces remain largely obscure. For example, the federal and regional police commissions have failed to publicize data concerning the number of complaints they have received from individuals alleging police acts of human rights abuse, the number of perpetrators that were held accountable, and cases that were rejected without further consideration.

Ethiopia has an international obligation to conduct an effective investigation into human rights abuses committed by its security forces. International jurisprudence requires that an investigation into complaints of police violence must be conducted impartially by ensuring the personal, structural, and institutional independence of the investigating entity.

Accountability for atrocities—why Ethiopia should join the ICC

by Kassahun Molla Yilma

To be effective, this type of investigation should be promptly and thoroughly conducted by experts who are not implicated in the commission of the offense, and with full guarantees of participation by victims and their families in the investigation process.

To properly investigate such crimes, there is a need to establish an independent domestic body with nationwide jurisdiction. Such an institution is needed because there is a high probability of bias when police are tasked with investigating the crimes of fellow officers. The possibility for officers’ to shield or protect their fellows from accountability through refusal to investigate or suboptimal investigation is high.

Moreover, victims alleging police violence overwhelmingly refrain from filing a complaint to the same institution and police stations where they had previously been subjected to human rights abuses, due to fear of retribution and being victimized a second time.

Our ‘protectors’ in blue: Police brutality and misconduct in Ethiopia

by Ayele Woubshet

Furthermore, the thematic questions to be addressed by the investigating body would need to go beyond the individual responsibility of the offending police officers. Because the abuses committed by security officers are allegedly so pervasive, there would also need to be an investigation concerning broader institutional responsibility.

Thus, at least as a matter of public perception, assigning an investigatory mandate to the same institution implicated in committing the offense—and that as a result has a stake in the outcome of the case—would compromise the independence of the investigation.

LEGAL GAP

The legal gap is another factor contributing to the security forces’ horrendous brutalities.

Ethiopia lacks consolidated and comprehensive laws that regulate police use of force. The limited provisions on the matter scattered in the 2004 Criminal Code and other criminal statutes remain inadequate and below international standards.

Independent voices have criticized security personnel for using unnecessary and excessive force. Such criticism has increased due to the security personnel’s use of unchecked violence in some regions, arguably to control crime in areas where insurgents are fighting with government forces.

Judicial reform in Ethiopia: Inching towards justice

by Leul Estifanos

In these areas, the Ethiopian public has witnessed patterns of summary executions, extrajudicial killings, and police defiance of court orders.

The Ethiopian government promised that it would finalize the drafting process of the consolidated law on the use of force in 2019. However, the country has thus far failed to deliver on its promises.

Furthermore, the current Criminal Procedure Code lacks special rules that guarantee the effectiveness of investigations into alleged human rights crimes committed by security forces.

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The substantive criminal law has dedicated some sections to crimes that police and members of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) might commit. However, the investigation of crimes committed by people in uniform is governed by the same Criminal Procedure Code that regulates the investigation of other crimes, and this code does not contain rules that ensure the practical independence of investigators.

There is no separate institution authorized to conduct an investigation when police brutality and ill-treatment are alleged. Due to this institutional gap, the same police institutions and officers or their associates are entrusted to investigate crimes committed by the police or security officials.

PRACTICAL CHALLENGES

According to Article 6 (3) of the Attorney General Establishment Proclamation, the Federal Attorney General’s Office (now the Ministry of Justice) is tasked to lead the criminal investigation process.

Article 2 (c) of the recently adopted Definition of Powers and Duties of the Executive Organs Proclamation 1263/2021 empowers the Ministry of Justice to “oversee, follow up and coordinate the criminal investigation function of the Federal Police investigation division and require that a report be submitted to it.”

The Ethiopian Human Rights Roadmap: a feeble bulwark against atrocity crimes

by Yohannes Eneyew Ayalew

However, the role of public prosecutors to ensure the independence of the investigation process has been marred and effectively negated by practical challenges.

The police force has been given an extensive role in investigating human rights crimes committed by its members. There have been various credible reports concerning police rejecting instructions from the prosecution office without accountability and police rebuffing court orders.

The investigation wing of the police institution is accountable to their respective federal, regional, or city administrations’ police commissions. Neither the Ministry of Justice nor Regional State Justice Bureaus have a mandate to hire, fire, or take administrative action against police investigators.

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Even when taking criminal action against offending investigators, prosecutors have to rely on the police to investigate.

The Attorney General Establishment Proclamation authorizes public prosecutors to lead criminal investigations, but the prosecution office lacks a clear legal mandate to conduct a solo investigation. The role of public prosecutors in criminal investigation is merely supervision in practice and hence insufficient to guarantee the independence of investigations into human rights abuses.

INQUIRY COMMISSIONS

Ethiopia has experience with establishing independent commissions of inquiry to investigate crimes committed by police, security personnel, and military forces—even though the de facto independence of such commissions was questionable.

Ethiopia established an ‘independent’ inquiry commission after the conflict in Gambella, and another inquiry commission to investigate political disorder in Addis Abeba following the contested May 2005 elections that descended into street violence.

An Independent Inquiry Commission can ease Ethiopian impunity

by Brook Kebede

Recently, Ethiopia established an Inter-Ministerial Taskforce to investigate crimes and human rights violations committed during the conflict in Tigray that later expanded to the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions.

The two inquiry commissions were established by proclamations and their role was only to conduct a fact-finding exercise; they didn’t have the authority to prosecute alleged offenders.

STRUCTURAL DEFICITS

The extent and nature of human rights violations by security forces in Ethiopia is appalling.

The Ethiopian government must assertively defend the democratic order from regression, counter the authoritarian behavior of the police and security agencies, and take drastic measures to ensure accountability for human rights violations.

Reducing impunity in Ethiopia via the United Nations

by Yigedebal Abay

One such measure would be adopting a comprehensive law to address the absence of a legal framework regulating police use of force and adopting procedural rules that warrant full independence for the investigation of police crimes.

Addressing the structural defects and institutional gaps in relation to criminal investigations into alleged police or security forces’ human rights crimes is another measure that the government should take to eliminate the conditions that are serving as the breeding ground for impunity.

If the Ethiopian government is sincere in its public declaration to end impunity, it is high time for it to defend the democratic transition from regression. It should do so by establishing a genuinely independent body, with perpetual existence, with a mandate to conduct thorough investigations into human rights crimes committed by its agents.

Disclaimer: Although the author is a prosecutor at the Ministry of Justice, he wrote this article in his personal capacity by using publicly available information. Opinions expressed here are his and not of the Ministry.

A rare joint Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International report on crimes in western Tigray

Wednesday, 06 April 2022 11:14 Written by Eritrea Hub

APRIL 6, 2022 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

Ethiopia: Crimes Against Humanity in Western Tigray Zone

(Nairobi) – Amhara regional security forces and civilian authorities in Ethiopia’s Western Tigray Zone have committed widespread abuses against Tigrayans since November 2020 that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Ethiopian authorities have severely restricted access and independent scrutiny of the region, keeping the campaign of ethnic cleansing largely hidden.

The report, “‘We Will Erase You From This Land’: Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing in Ethiopia’s Western Tigray Zone,” documents how newly-appointed officials in Western Tigray and security forces from the neighbouring Amhara region, with the acquiescence and possible participation of Ethiopian federal forces, systematically expelled several hundred thousand Tigrayan civilians from their homes using threats, unlawful killings, sexual violence, mass arbitrary detention, pillage, forcible transfer, and the denial of humanitarian assistance. These widespread and systematic attacks against the Tigrayan civilian population amount to crimes against humanity as well as war crimes.

“Since November 2020, Amhara officials and security forces have engaged in a relentless campaign of ethnic cleansing to force Tigrayans in Western Tigray from their homes,” said Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch. “Ethiopian authorities have steadfastly denied the shocking breadth of the crimes that have unfolded and have egregiously failed to address them.”

The Ethiopian government should ensure immediate and sustained access to the region for humanitarian agencies, release all those arbitrarily detained, and investigate and appropriately prosecute those responsible for abuses. Any consensual agreement reached by the parties to the armed conflict should include the deployment of an AU-led international peacekeeping force to the Western Tigray Zone to ensure the protection of all communities from abuses.

“The response of Ethiopia’s international and regional partners has failed to reflect the gravity of the crimes that continue to unfold in Western Tigray,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General at Amnesty International. “Concerned governments need to help bring an end to the ethnic cleansing campaign, ensure that Tigrayans are able to safely and voluntarily return home, and make a concerted effort to obtain justice for these heinous crimes.”

Western Tigray Zone is a fertile administrative area in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Claims over Western Tigray have been the source of heightened boundary and identity disputes since 1992. Western Tigray came under the control of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and allied forces and militias from the Amhara region within two weeks of the outbreak of conflict in Tigray in November 2020.

During the initial offensives, Ethiopian federal and allied forces carried out war crimes against Tigrayan communities, including indiscriminate shelling of towns and extrajudicial executions, forcing tens of thousands to flee to neighbouring Sudan and to other parts of Tigray. Tigrayan militias and local residents also carried out war crimes against Amhara residents and visiting labourers during a massacre in Mai Kadra town on November 9, the first publicly reported large-scale massacre of this conflict.

In the ensuing months, newly-appointed administrators in Western Tigray and Amhara Special Forces – a regional paramilitary force – undertook a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Tigrayan residents of the area.

Over 15 months, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed more than 400 people, including in-person interviews of Tigrayan refugees in Sudan, and remote interviews of Tigrayan and Amhara residents of Western Tigray and the Amhara region who suffered or witnessed abuses. Researchers also consulted medical and forensic reports, court documents, satellite imagery, and photographic and video evidence that corroborated accounts of grave abuses.

Campaign of ethnic cleansing

Amhara regional security forces, militias, and newly appointed authorities carried out a coordinated campaign of ethnically targeted persecution beginning in late 2020.

In several towns in Western Tigray, signs were displayed demanding that Tigrayans leave, and pamphlets distributed issuing Tigrayans a 24-hour or 72-hour ultimatum to leave or be killed. © 2022 John Holmes for Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International

In several towns across Western Tigray, signs were displayed ordering Tigrayans to leave, and local administrators discussed their plans to remove Tigrayans in open meetings. A Tigrayan woman from Baeker town described threats she faced by Fanos, an irregular Amhara militia: “They kept saying every night, ‘We will kill you … Go out of the area.’” Pamphlets appeared giving Tigrayans 24-hour or 72-hour ultimatums to leave or be killed.

The authorities rounded up thousands of Tigrayans for long-term detention and abuse in overcrowded facilities. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch believe thousands of Tigrayans are still held in life-threatening conditions.

Security forces also used gang rape, accompanied by verbal and physical abuse, abduction, and sexual slavery. A 27-year-old Tigrayan woman said that a militia member told her as the men raped her: “You Tigrayans should disappear from the land west of [the Tekeze River]. You are evil and we are purifying your blood.”

Authorities in Western Tigray also imposed restrictions on movement, humanitarian assistance, speaking the Tigrinya language, and access to farmland to coerce Tigrayans to leave. Amhara security forces, and in some places Eritrean forces present in Western Tigray, looted crops, livestock, and equipment, depriving Tigrayans of their means of survival. A 63-year-old farmer from Division village watched as a group of men destroyed his home. One of the men told him: “This is not your land. You have nothing to claim here.”

Many Tigrayan communities, facing starvation and intimidation, felt they had no choice but to leave. In other instances, local authorities provided trucks or buses to expel tens of thousands of Tigrayans, sending them east, toward central Tigray.

This coordinated campaign continued for months. Tens of thousands of Tigrayans had fled or been expelled by March 2021. Abuses and expulsions escalated again in November 2021, when tens of thousands of older and sick Tigrayans, young mothers, and children were expelled, while Amhara forces arrested and detained thousands of adult men, shooting at those who tried to flee.

Tekeze River bridge massacre

On January 17, 2021, Amhara militias, known as Fanos, and local residents rounded up and detained dozens of male Tigrayan residents of the town of Adi Goshu.

Members of the Amhara Special Forces rounded up and summarily executed about 60 Tigrayan men by the Tekeze River. Witnesses and the few men who survived believed the killings were a revenge attack after the Amhara forces suffered heavy losses during fighting with Tigrayan forces the previous night.

Mesfin, one of the men rounded up, said: “They took us… somewhere around the bridge, a kind of field, but we were on the ground. … We were facing a hill.” © 2022 John Holmes for Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International

“When they shot at us, I fell first and then I saw also when the others in front of me were shot and fell,” said a 74-year-old survivor. “And the people behind me fell on me and covered me … After that, they said, ‘The Tigrayans don’t die easily, shoot again.’”

The massacre prompted a mass exodus of Tigrayans from Adi Goshu.

Deaths in detention sites

Former detainees held in sites across Tigray said many people died in detention sites run by the Amhara forces and Fano militias. Some died as a result of torture, denial of medical care, and lack of food and water; guards killed others. A 72-year-old farmer said: “They [Amhara militia guards] kept telling us that Tigrayans deserve to be starved … to death.”

Both Ethiopian federal forces and Amhara authorities have denied allegations of ethnic cleansing in Western Tigray. On February 25, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch wrote to Ethiopian federal and Amhara and Tigrayan regional authorities concerning the organizations’ findings. At time of writing, only the Amhara regional government had responded.

In armed conflict, all parties are obligated to respect international humanitarian law, the laws of war. Amhara regional forces and forces aligned with the Ethiopian government in the Western Tigray Zone committed the war crimes of murder, torture, rape, deportation and forcible transfer, and enforced disappearance. Such violations committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population in furtherance of a state or organizational policy constitute crimes against humanity.

The Ethiopian federal government and its international and regional partners should take concrete steps to protect all communities in Western Tigray, including by immediately releasing Tigrayans arbitrarily detained there, and allowing protection monitoring. On March 24, the government announced a humanitarian truce. Regardless of any truce or ceasefire, Ethiopia’s federal and regional authorities should allow unhindered, independent, and sustained humanitarian assistance.

The government should also demobilize and disarm all abusive militia forces in Western Tigray, and vet Amhara Special Forces and Ethiopian federal forces, and remove those implicated in serious abuses, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said. Civilian officials, including interim authorities in Western Tigray, and security force personnel implicated in serious abuses should be suspended pending investigations.

Any consensual agreement by all parties should include the urgent deployment of an AU-led international peacekeeping force with a robust civilian protection mandate to Western Tigray. This is crucial to promote human rights, to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid, and to help protect at-risk communities in Tigray. Ethiopia’s international and regional partners should support these calls.