He said: "This is the second time the Customs and Revenue officials at the Airport have troubled Ghanaian Journalists who come here on official duties."
Mr Quartey, who was speaking to Ghana News Agency in an interview over the issue said: "the officials behaved the same way towards the Media when President John Evans Atta Mills" came here recently on an official duty."
He said he would write to the Director of the Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Ministry to protest against what he described as "unfair treatment they often mete out to our media and other officials who visit
On Wednesday May 25, seven Ghanaian Journalists who were in
Although the Journalists from Ghana News Agency, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation Radio and Television, TV3 and Crystal Clear Lens, explained that they were part of the advanced team of Vice President John Mahama, the officials did not budge.
The intervention of the Embassy officials did not convince the Customs officers who went ahead to seize the cameras and subsequently made them to pay penalties the next day.
Published on 19/05/2011
Ally Jamah
An alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old-girl in Moyale has paralysed the town and set off deadly clashes between two communities, sparking fears of the conflict spinning out of control.
The girl, who hails from the Borana community, was allegedly assaulted on Saturday afternoon by four men from the Burji community, who were together with two women colleagues.
Reports indicated that her private parts were violated with blunt objects, before she was left for dead. All suspects are now being held at Moyale Police Station.
On Thursday, business premises belonging to the Burjis remained closed in Moyale while their lorries laden with goods were barred from entering the town by Borana youth manning the main road leading to the town.
Most of the lorries camped at Turbi, about 50km away. Some drivers had wounds sustained from attacks at the "checkpoints".
"We have been stuck here for the past five days without food and water. All roads are blocked. How can this happen when we are supposed to have a functioning government?" lamented a victim Haji Shanqo.
Attempts by the media to enter Moyale town to cover the story were blocked by hundreds of people who had camped at the Airstrip.
The crowds sought to lynch a Burji activist and politicians who were on the same plane with journalists. The plane was forced to make a quick ‘U-turn’ to Nairobi. Tension has remained high in the town.
It was an emotional moment Thursday when another plane carrying the assaulted girl arrived at Nairobi’s Wilson Airport accompanied by Moyale MP Mohammud Ali, who is also the Assistant Minister for Special Programmes.
Hundreds of incensed community members were at the airport to receive the girl while others waited at the Nairobi Women’s Hospital, where she was booked for treatment.
Since Sunday, business activities in the busy Moyale border town have largely been halted. Police and military personnel have been patrolling the area. So far one person has lost his life in the clashes. The Burjis, who are a minority, have been restricted to their homes in Manyatta Burji, Moyale.
The two communities harbour political and economic rivalries, with most of the businesses in Moyale being owned by Burjis.
Chairman of the Moyale County Council Goliche Galgalo accused the police of being compromised to cover up the crime by charging the suspects with common assault instead of rape.
"This conflict would not have come if the police had done their work. They only arrested the suspects when they saw matters were going out of hand," he said
Councillor Galgalo accused elders of the Burji community of not showing interest in resolving the matter amicably.
"They should have approached us and expressed remorse. But until now, no one has attempted to contact us. That is a big insult," he added.
Hassan Ali, an NGO official in Moyale expressed concern that evidence of the rape may have been compromised due to delay in securing proper treatment in Nairobi.
Moyale OCPD Willy Lugusa said they were still working to bring the elders of the two communities together.
"We urge political leaders to end the incitement of their communities and work towards restoring normalcy in the town and allow the courts and police to do their work," he said
Capital FM Kenya
UNHCR (press release)During or after their failed attempt to reach Italy by boat, 63 of the 72 people on board died agonizing deaths while passing vessels and helicopters allegedly failed to stop and rescue the boat people. And Bayisa is now back in North Africa.
The ethnic Oromo, gaunt-faced and extremely thin, spoke with his two friends to UNHCR on Thursday in the Choucha Camp that was set up near Tunisia's border with Libya to provide shelter for tens of thousands of migrant workers and refugees fleeing the civil war that erupted in Libya in mid-February.
Although the Oromo are Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, they have suffered persecution at the hands of successive governments for decades. Bayisa said he fled to Sudan after his village was torched in 2007 by police, who accused his family of shepherds of helping anti-government rebels....read more
related
By Ibsaa GuutamaYeroo qabsoon bilisummaa fi ofiinbulmaata keenyaa didhamu baanee balaa irra marsaa jiru faccisuun dirqama sabboonotatti Kanneen qara qabsoott ka’an yeroof mataa gad qabatan malee hin coollibne. Ammayyuu dhaloota haaraaf waa’ee ergamsa qabsoo bilisummaa Oromoo ABOn hogganamuu iyya’uuf dirqama qabu. Waan hardha ta’aa jiruun ababbaruu irra kan darbanin walbira qabanii ilaaluu yaaluun barumsa taha. Rakkinni qabsaawota ganama manaa yaase hardha ittuu caalee muldhata. Fallisaa kan qaban gad dhiisanii kan yaalamee fashale irra deebi’uu utuu hin ta’in kan qabaniti cichanii eenyummaa ofii mirkaneessuu dha. Ilaalcha dhaaboti maqaa Oromo qaban akka filmaataataat tarreessuun daaraa fi daakuu walbira qabu akka hin taane eeggachuu dha...read more
When our struggle for liberty and independence is challenged it is the duty of nationalists to go out and defend it from hovering catastrophe. It will be a mistake to distract the struggle from its rightful course for sake of millions of youth whose dreams have been the liberation of Oromiyaa since they started to dream. Pioneers of the struggle are duty bound to keep them informed about OLF, its mission, the achievements, failures and distortions of struggle. Rather than panicking with present world events, better to examine problems that came dragging from the past. Problems that caused activists leave their homes initially are still there with greater force. The solution is not quitting what you have and retrying what has already failed but to hold fast on what you had and assert your identity. To present list of names of organizations with Oromo names as alternatives can seem comparing apple to orange....read more
HRLHA Urgent Action and AppealPublic 11 May, 2011.
Although there has been no single section of societies that the Ethiopian TPLF/EPRDF regime has spared in the past 18 years, students have been among the prime targets of attacks. The Oromos in general, and the Oromo students in particular, have obviously been the first in the line of victimization when it comes down to ethnicity and regional lines.
The most recent crackdown against Oromo students, which has been going on since April 14, 2011, has hit all universities and colleges in different regional states, and has sent hundreds of students to prisons without any idea as to when they would be released. All that could be said in this regard, based on past experiences, is that anything between immediate releases (although we haven’t seen any yet) and indefinite incarcerations could happen to those students.
Student Dame Olana
For example, from among hundreds of Oromo students who were arrested and detained exactly in the same manner in 2006, only a few were released while hundreds of them had died in prison, and some are still languishing in prison without verdict.
Following the issuance of its Urgent Action, PUBLIC 12 April, 2011 on this same case of violence against students, HRLHA has been monitoring the situation through its local agents for further details and updates; and, accordingly, it has been able to obtain the names of the following detained students:
| No | Student Name | Institute | Date Detained |
| 1 | Tariku Bekele | Haromaya University | April 11, 2011 |
| 2 | Megersa Bekele | Haromaya University | April 11, 2011 |
| 3 | Fituma Tadesse Biya | Haromaya University | April 11, 2011 |
| 4 | Tolessa Faraja | Jimma University | April 11, 2011 |
| 5 | Tufa Bacha | Jimma Universty | April 11, 2011 |
| 6 | Miressa Qanani | Clinical Pharmacy | April 11, 2011 |
| 7 | Dame Olana | Clinical Pharmacy | April 11, 2011 |
| 8 | Tadesse Tekalegn | Addis Ababba University, | April 13, 2011 |
| 9 | Sanbata Dame | Haromaya University | April 13, 2011 |
| 10 | Dandii Bekele | Haromaya University | April 13, 2011 |
| 11 | Alemayehu Garumma | Gotera Campus (Lecturer) | April 13, 2011 |
| 12 | Fayisa Alemneh | Gotera Campus (Lecturer) | April 13, 2011 |
| 13 | Dachassa Magarssa | Gotera Campus(Lecturer) | April 13, 2011 |
| 14 | Sena Marara | Arbaminchi University | April 14, 2011 |
| 15 | Saya | Arbaminchi University | April 14, 2011 |
| 16 | Dagim Gizaw | Arbaminch Universty | April 14, 2011 |
| 17 | Wariyo Banti | Arbaminch University | April 18, 2011 |
| 18 | Tafese Motora | Wallaga University (Tortured) | |
| 19 | Biqila Abshalo | Arbaminch University | April 18, 2011 |
| 20 | Duguma Jabessa | Arbaminch University | April 18, 2011 |
| 21 | Jamara Tolessa | Arbaminch University | April 18, 2011 |
| 22 | Biqila Tesfaye | Arbaminch University | April 18, 2011 |
| 23 | Tilahun Fufa Gutu | A.Ababa University | April 24, 2011 |
| 24 | Takele Arega Garoma | A.Ababa University | April 24, 2011 |
| 25 | Duguma Beyene | A.Ababa University | April 24, 2011 |
| 26 | Damara Gamada Qana’a | A.Ababa University | April 24, 2011 |
| 27 | Ketema Dhinsa Yadeta | University | April 24, 2011 |
| 28 | Desalegn Dobbi M | Wallaga Univesity (Tortured) | |
| 29 | Tolessa Jabana | Jimma University | |
| 30 | Dereje Gutu | Jimma University |
As it was the case in the previous similar crackdowns on Oromo students, this most recent violence by a government against its own citizens was started in Mizan Tepi University with students of Tigrean origin deliberately provoking Oromo students and inciting clashes, with armed security forces waiting standby in the backyard. The worst aspect of these kinds of extra-judicial and politically motivated acts against students is that the victimized students, not only receive punishments that they don’t deserve, but also miss classes, exams, and other types of assessments; and, consequently, their graduations are delayed, or maybe denied. In general, their academic lives would be disrupted, and their future lives ruined. Intimidation and harassment, as they are their negative impacts and discouragements on students who are likely to join colleges and universities in the future, are also enormous. Given that these acts of violence by a government in charge of responsibly ruling a country have singled out the Oromo students only, it is obvious that they are purely racial and discriminatory even to that extent apartheid action against Oromo students.
HRLHA would like to once again express its deep concerns regarding the whereabouts as well as safety of the students who have been taken to custody over the past three and four years. It is also recalled that a lot of students have received injuries of varying degrees from brutal attacks by the security forces on the first day of the violence.
HRLHA calls up on the Ethiopian Government to immediately stop racial and discriminatory violence, and unconditionally release the detained students and facilitate the resumption of normal classes. A thorough investigation of the overall situation is also expected from a responsible government so that the culprits would be held accountable for their wrongdoings. HRLHA also calls up on regional and international diplomatic, democratic, and human rights agencies to challenge the Ethiopian TPLF/EPRDF regime on its persistent brutal, dictatorial, and suppressive actions against innocent and unarmed civilians who attempt to exercise their “said-to-have-been-granted” democratic rights.
Waa’ee qabsoo Oromo yeroo kaafnu hanga tokkoo gara duubaati deebinee kan laalluu muuxannoon kaleessaa hardhaaf dhimma baasinnaa jenneetu. Mootummaan Hayila Sillaasee kan kufe warraaqsa aarii ummataan dhoo’eeni. Dargiin mooticha bakka bu’uuf humnoota adda addaa naannaa sagantaa gadjalaa (minimum) tokkooti qindeeffate. Akkasiti humnoota sabhedduu akeeka sooshaaliismiin gaggeeffamna jedhan waliti fiduu danda’e. Garba gamaas qooda fudhachuuf hedduutu it didiche. Akka irbuu seenanitt karaa Baalee galuu isaan oolche. Kan walitti dufan qabsoon gitaa rakkina sabaawummaa empayeritii keessa jiru furuu dandaha jedhanii dhaadatan. Sabboonotis hin geessineen male luuxanii dhimma itt bahuu yaalanii turan...read more
April 19 (Opride) - Last year we broke a story about bullying and harassment claim by Oromo students at St Cloud State University. The controversy surrounded the exclusion of Oromo students from the annual African Night celebration. The University acknowledged the issue and stated, the matter was resolved to both parties’ satisfaction. Oromo students disagreed alleging the school did little to address their concerns.Two weeks ago, the Oromia Student Organization (OSO), a student group at St Cloud State University, put up a separate and well attended event. The event, dubbed VIVA:OROMIA, was OSO’s effort to raise awareness, and share the beauty and diversity of Oromo culture with the St Cloud community.
Winnipeg Free PressFewaz Hargaaya, 26, was arrested earlier this month on a visit to the country he fled as a five-year-old with his family.
He was arrested for having walkie-talkies and held because he is Oromo, an ethnic group struggling for self-determination. After his arrest, police found sponsorship documents he brought from Canada that are critical of the Ethiopian government's treatment of its people. His sister, Iftu, who lives in Winnipeg, said the government has accused him of being involved with the Oromo Liberation Front.
The man's family hasn't been able to contact him since he was locked up in Dire Dawa in one of Ethiopia's notorious prisons.
The Canadian government is trying to help.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Affairs is aware of the detention of a Canadian citizen in Ethiopia," said spokesman Claude Rochon in Ottawa. "Consular officials in Addis Ababa and in Ottawa are providing consular assistance to the family."...Read more
RELATED:
University n Mizaan Teeppii dhigaa fi himimmaan, hidhaa fi iyyaan guutamte, barattoonni Oromoos rasaasaan reebamanPolice Clamp Down on Student Protest at Mizan-Tepi University- Starting on the evening of April 6, 2011 up to the morning of April 7, 2011, the Woyane Ethiopian Federal police have been firing live ammunition on about 400 unarmed and peaceful Oromo students of Mizan-Tepi University injuring several students and arresting several others, a report we received on April 08, 2011 revealed.
Read More »»»
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OROMO LIBERATION FRONT
Date: 07/12/2010
His Excellency The Honourable Mwai Kibaki, C.G.H., M.P.
President of the Republic of Kenya
Office of the President
Harambee House
Harambee Avenue
P.O.Box 62345 - 00200
Nairobi
Kenya
Your Excellency,
We the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) are alarmed to learn the recent full-fledged military campaign by Kenyan armed forces against our organisation. We are particularly concerned that Kenyan forces joined the occupying Ethiopian forces fighting against the OLF.
Whilst we recognise that Kenya has the right to enforce peace and security within its territory, we are unable to understand the reasons why Kenyan armed forces are engaged in a military campaign against our forces. Although Kenyan authorities have been repeatedly quoted by the media, saying the objective of their military campaign is “flashing the OLF from the country�, as a justification for their aggression against us, we would like to reassure you that we have no bases on Kenyan soil and fully respect the territorial integrity of Kenya.
We believe that military confrontation between Kenya and the OLF is not in the best interest of either of our countries. In fact, the actions of the Kenyan forces are uncalled for and can destabilise the region that is already troubled by a number of long standing conflicts. We do not understand why Kenya should involve itself in the struggle between Oromia and Ethiopia and we hope that this is not your policy. We hope that your government will respect the rights of the Oromo people to free themselves from the brutal Ethiopian colonial system. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which your country is a signatory, reaffirms the right to self-determination.
The peoples of Oromia and Kenya share a longstanding cordial relationship. In particular, Kenya, as a democratic and stable country, continues providing safety for a significant number of Oromo refugees fleeing from persecution by the Ethiopian state. However, we are also gravely concerned that recently a large number of Oromo refugees have been handed over to the Ethiopian authorities by the Kenyan authorities. These refugees are sent back to inhumane torture and certain death in the hands of the Ethiopian security agents.
We believe Kenya could play a positive and constructive role in supporting a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Oromia and Ethiopia and that would make Kenya a legitimate player in the international arena.
We respectfully urge you to appraise the situation and reconsider your policy and assure supporting the just cause of the oppressed Oromo people rather than assisting the bloodthirsty regime in Ethiopia.
Yours respectfully,
Mulugeta Mosissa
Mulugeta Mosissa
Head of Diplomatic Division of the OLF
cc: Hon. Raila Amollo Odinga, E.G.H., M.P. Prime Minster of the Republic of Kenya
P.O.Box 21762, Washington DC, 20009, USA Tel: (202)-521-5653 E-mail: waajjira@oromoliberationfront.info
www.oromoliberationfront.info
