HOA News

Somalia: No great expectations

British Prime Minister David Cameron’s grand conference will bring together many parties but no one is forecasting a breakthrough

February 23, 2012 (Africa Confidential) – After two decades of political mayhem, Somalis and more perspicacious foreign diplomats are intensely sceptical about high-level conferences. Many approach the London Conference on Somalia on 23 February with muted hopes of any political advance and say that its most important contribution will be to raise the profile of Somalia’s internal political and social crisis, plagued by intermittent conflict and chronic food shortage. British Prime Minister David Cameron and his Foreign Secretary William Hague have evidently succeeded on the promotion front. Thanks to the Foreign Office’s invitations to Arab countries, it is the first big Somalia meeting in which several Muslim states are seriously involved.

The challenge to the London conference will be to go beyond the recent International Contact Group (ICG) on Somalia or the United Nations Security Council. Both those meetings endorsed policies decided elsewhere and seemed unable to assess why those policies are not working. Delegates in London could start the search for a strategy. Announced by Cameron in late November 2011, the London Conference was supposed to offer fresh thinking on Somalia’s current political dynamics. It promised to broaden the international representation in efforts to tackle Somalia’s crisis and to strengthen the role of the UN there. Central to that is Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG), veteran Tanzanian diplomat Augustine Philip Mahiga. Read more…

Malicious and Completely False Statement about the Oromo Community in Oslo by Ethiomedia

By Saketa Etafa and Daniel Gemtessa | February 23, 2012

We, the Oromo participants in the task force opposing the Norwegian and Ethiopian governments’ agreement to involuntarily repatriate asylum seekers to Ethiopia (Saketa Etafa and Daniel Gemtessa), read with utter amazement the gibberish entitled “We are moving in the right direction” posted on Ethiomedia on 20 February by a group calling itself Concerned Ethiopians. We categorically reject ever making any of the statements attributed to us by the useless drivel. We participate in the task force only to achieve the single aim of opposing and hopefully averting the involuntary repatriation of asylum seekers from Ethiopia currently residing in Norway. We have repeatedly made this crystal clear to the other participants in the joint task force contrary to the stand attributed to us by the so-called Concerned Ethiopians.   Furthermore, the task force has at no time dealt with the issue of addressing the “tense political differences among Ethiopian opposition parties,” as the group calling itself Concerned Ethiopians claims. Addressing such issues is clearly beyond our mandate as members of the Oromo Community in Oslo since it is not only a non-political body but also embraces members subscribing to different political stands and supporting diverse political groups. For the same reason, the Oromo Community in Oslo is in no position to support or oppose any faction of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), contrary to what the group calling itself Concerned Ethiopians alleges. Read more…

Beauty and solidarity: Exhibit and presentation celebrate strength and culture of Oromo women

By Sheila Regan

February 22, 2012 (Twin Cities Daily Planet) – A new photography exhibit and cultural presentation at Augsburg College’s Foss Center on February 24 and 25 aims to show the strength, beauty and endurance of Ethiopian women who have joined in solidarity and peace despite many obstacles. Through photographs and talks by the artist and two Oromo women from Ethiopia, the presentation will shine light on both the deep challenges and strength of women in East Africa.

The event is sponsored by Augsburg College’s Women’s Resource Center and Resources for the Enrichment of African Lives (REAL), a nonprofit organization that aims to promote education for girls and young women in Ethiopia and the United States, helping them to break out of the cycle of poverty, according to their website. The organization sponsors 135 girls in Ethiopia, as well as girls and young women in the Twin Cities, where 12 girls are being mentored. Read more…

Ethiopian tanks advance on key Somali town

February 22, 2012, MOGADISHU (AFP) — Ethiopian soldiers and Somali government forces closed in on the major Shebab-held stronghold of Baidoa Wednesday, as insurgents fled several positions in the area, officials and witnesses said.

Witnesses in Berdale, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baidoa, said the Al-Qaeda allied Shebab withdrew from there late Tuesday, with Ethiopian and Somali forces now moving in to take control.

“Berdale is completely empty this morning, Al-Shebab fighters fled the area and the Ethiopian tanks are very close now, they are in the outskirts,” said Suleiman Mohamed, a resident in Berdale.

“I think there will not be fighting here, as we cannot see any resisting power now.”

Ethiopian troops, who moved into southern and western Somalia in November, began a major push Tuesday towards the southern town of Baidoa, which hosted the transitional parliament before Islamist rebels seized the town in 2009.

Somali fighters battling the Shebab said they had taken Berdale. Read more…

Survival uncovers shocking human rights abuses in Ethiopia

Two Karo by Ethiopia's Omo River. It is crucial to their way of life.

February 22, 2012 (Survival International) – Survival has uncovered shocking new evidence of human rights abuses against tribes in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, as government efforts to develop lucrative sugar cane plantations in the region intensify.

Bulldozers are flattening land near a UNESCO World Heritage Site, destroying villages and forcing local communities to give up their pastoral way of life.

Fear is growing as violence becomes commonplace and reports of beatings, rapes and arrests spread among tribes close to the Omo River.

As recently as January 2012, Survival received reports of three Bodi men being beaten to death in an Ethiopian jail.

The government is also ordering families to sell their livestock. One man told Survival, ‘My money is my cattle. My bank account is my cattle.’ Read more…

FINCILA DIDDAA GABRUMMAA (Walaloo)

Fincila Diddaa Gabrummaa

Falmadhu mirga kee, ka’ii wal dammaqsii,

Iyyii iyya labsii, yaamicha dabarsii.

Namaa gadi taanee biyya teenya irrattii,

Cunqursaa mudannee abbaa irraa ilmatti.

Irreedhaan nu hin caallee warri diina keenyaa,

Lukkeetu meeshaa taheef jallaan nama keenyaa.

Akkanaan salphannee yartuun nutti taphattee,

Deega nutti haqattee, keessa nu qabatte.

Iyyii iyya labsii, waamicha dabarsii,

Dargaggoo fi shamarran ka’ii wal dammaqsii,

Dhiichisii, geerarii, diddaa roorroo labsi.

Asitti haa dhaabsifnuu sirna abbootii irree,

Akka lamuu hin kaanetti hidda isaanii cirree.

Gootummaa dhaalchisnaa, lubbuun du’a hin ooltuu,

Akka dhalli borii seenaa keenyaan boontu.

Barsiisi obbolaa kee warra diinaaf loluu,

Ragaa seenaa itti himi booddeen isaanii hin toluu.

Uu’uuu ………. jedhii iyyi, iyya bilisummaa,

Mormii kee finiinsii mancaasi gabrummaa.

Murteeffadhu hiree kee, bu’uursi hegeree kee,

Atis seenaa hojjedhuu barsiisi eenyummaa kee,

Akka si kabaju addunyaan si beekee !!!

Malkaa Caffee irraa

Ethiopian Opposition Figure Injured in Qalitti Prison Cell Attack

VOA News (Feb. 20) An Ethiopian politician standing trial for terrorism is said to be injured and in fear for his life after being attacked in his prison cell by a convicted murderer. The leader of the largest opposition party is appealing to Ethiopia’s human rights body to intervene in the case.

Former Ethiopian president Negasso Gidada sent an urgent appeal to Human Rights Commission chief Teruneh Zenna Monday asking protection for opposition leaders being held at Addis Ababa’s Kaliti prison. Read more…

Four U.S. servicemen die in Djibouti

UPI (Feb. 20, 2012) The U.S. Department of Defense announced that four U.S. servicemen died in the crash of a U-28 aircraft in Djibouti.

The crash occurred approximately 8 p.m., Saturday, roughly 6 miles from the Djibouti International Airport near Camp Lemonnier. All four U.S. Air Force servicemen were from the Hurlburt Field in Florida, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a release Monday.

Three of the victims — two captains and a first lieutenant — were with the Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt. The other was a senior airman with the 25th Intelligence Squadron. Read more…

“Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence”: The West is Putting Pressure on Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia

February 21, 2012 (ayyaantuu.com) – A two days conference was held on February 15-16, 2012 at American University Washington College of Law (WCL). The conference was organized by the university, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims with support from the European Commission.

The main objective of the conference was, ” Stakeholders across the globe have participated in this conference to enhance the use of forensic evidence to expose torture. The conference concludes a three-year global project to strengthen the collaboration of practitioners in the use of medical expertise for strategic litigation cases and the fight against torture. Topics include survivors’ perspectives, national and international best practices, challenges, and emerging developments. American University WCL has developed numerous initiatives to help contribute to the realization of the objectives of the Convention against Torture (CAT) including conferences on the prevention of torture, reparation for torture victims, and strengthening visits to places of detention, as well as special programs on the study and research of the prevention of torture including the United Nations Committee against Torture Project.” Read more…

In ‘failed state’ Somalia, instability is lucrative for some

February 21, 2012, MOGADISHU/NAIROBI (Reuters) – Life got easier for trader Siad Hussein when Somali Islamist militants pulled out the capital. He no longer pays a Jihad taxnor does he have to watch mortars kill his customers.

Small mercies, Hussein said in Mogadishu’s frenetic Bakara market, under government control since al Shabaab withdrew its fighters from the city in August under pressure from African troops, ending the almost daily artillery fire.

But the recent security gains in Mogadishu, where vines crawl out of blown out houses and famine victims squat under once majestic colonial facades, have not been matched by political progress, a headache for foreign powers and regional allies.

On a trip this month to the coastal city, British Foreign Secretary William Hague described Somalia as the “world’s most failed state” as he drummed up interest ahead of a London conference on February 23 to tackle Somalia’s festering turmoil. Read more…

Ethiopian Government to resettle 1.5 – million People

Mesenazeria – Amharic weekly (February 21) Government to resettle 1.5 – million people residing in four regions.  Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report criticizing the villagization program undertaken in Gambella region.  According to HRW, in Gambella until December 2011 government resettled 45-thousand people. HRW says the resettlement site lacks basic infrastructures.  HRW report indicated that government has plans to resettle 1.5 – million people in Afar, Beneshangul Gumuz and Somali regions next year.

11 Found Dead in Ethiopian Container

February 21, 2012 (The Africa Report) – At least 11 people were found dead in a container trucker in Ethiopia on Sunday and are suspected to be victims of human trafficking.

The container was reportedly on its way to Djibouti but police suspect Saudi Arabia was the final destination. According to police, the truck driver was part of a syndicate of human traffickers.

Police said the driver allegedly loaded 75 people in a single container-with no windows after demanding $400 from each person. They were supposed to travel to various destinations through Arab countries including Yemen and Somalia.

Police who got a tip off followed the lorry and intercepted it before it entered Djibouti. But the driver of the lorry, suspecting that he was being followed by police, stopped the vehicle and ran away.

Police expressed shock when they found the 11 people including a woman already dead. Read more…

How Long Can a Patient Stay in the Intensive Care Unit?

By Kiflu Hussain

February 20, 2012 (All Africa) – One of the protagonists portrayed as a pathologist in Arthur Hailey’s book, titled, The Final Diagnosis, observed that ‘the remarkable thing about the human body is not what kills us but what we can have wrong inside us and still go on living.’

Accordingly, a person may live normally while carrying a cause that is harmful to health for a long time before succumbing to any form of illness.

I even heard real medical practitioners talk about insidious cancer in real life. And so I have a fair idea as to how a person after being admitted as a patient can stay in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for quite some time. Yet, that is an exception rather than the rule. In most cases, either the condition of the patient improves or deteriorates whereby they get discharged from the hospital to resume normal life or the mortal remain gets relegated to the morgue and eventually burial. Now that is in a human being over which I have neither the intention nor the capacity to dwell upon. Read more…

Oromia: “I did not withdraw from the Oromo people’s struggle for national liberation”

February 20, 2012 (gadaa.com) – I hereby confirm the story that has recently become the subject of considerable discussion that on February 13, 2012, I submitted my letter of resignation from the National Council of the OLF to the concerned OLF leader. I decided to resign in order to independently contribute to the Oromo people’s struggle for liberation.

Due to the overwhelming reaction triggered by the story of my decision, both from Comrades, other fellow Oromos and others, I am compelled to issue this brief Press Release.

The reasons for my resignation are submitted to the appropriate Leadership of the OLF, and I see no need to publicize them. I would like all interested to know that I did not withdraw from the Oromo people’s struggle.

I am humbled by the expressed confidence of fellow Oromos in me. I would like to take this opportunity to assure the concerned fellow Oromos that I will continue participation in the struggle, and will continue struggling for and defending the Oromo people’s aspiration for liberation, self-determination, equality, justice, human dignity and progress.

Beyan H. Asoba

Oromiyaa Irraa: Waamichaa Tokkummaa Barattoota Oromoo Yuniversiitota 15 (TBOY15)

February 19, 2012 | Dhaamsa TBOY15 Oromiyaa irraa

Nuti barattoonni oromoo dhaabbile barnootaa adda addaa keeessa jirru haala qabatamaa ummanni keenya keessa jiru ilaalchisee yeroo yerootti bifa qindaa’een marii taasisaa turree jirra. Keessattuu egeree ummata keenyaa kan murtaa’u waan amma godhamaa jiruun waan ta’eef qaamot gurguddoo kana keessatti ga’ee qaban jennee waan amannuuuf dhaamsa gababaa kan bifa iyyataan dhiyeessinee jirra.

I. DHAABBILEE SIYAASAA OROMOO:

Akkuma bekamu sabni tokko ulfinaa fi kabajaa isaaf malu goonfatuu kan danda’u yoo gurmaa’e qofaa dha.Oromoonis bifa adda addaan ijaaramaa akka ture ni beekama. Kan keessattis dhaabbileen siyaasaa oromoo ga’ee guddaa akka qaban ifaadha.Haata’uumalee bara dhiyoo asi qabsoon dhaabbileen kunnin taasisaa jiran gara caalu wal gidduuti akka ta’aa jiru hubatama dha. Kunis rincicuu qabsoo keenyaaf sababa guddaadha jennee amannna. Keessattuu bara jaarraa 21ffaa kana, jaldeessii fi roobootiin hojii namaa hojjataa jiran, namni kaayyoo tokkoof manaa ba’ee fi afaan tokko dubbatu dubbatee walii galuu dhabuun OROMOON BARA DUKKANAA KEESSA JIRAACHUU AGARSIISA. waan ta’eef: Read more…