OSG PRESS RELEASE No 14 - October/November 1996

The Oromia Support Group has now reported 1,256 extra-judicial killings and 492 disappearances of civilians suspected of supporting groups opposing the government. Most of these have been Oromo people. Tens of thousands of civilians have been imprisoned. Torture and rape of prisoners is commonplace, especially in secret detention centres, whose existence is denied by the government. The EPRDF government's security forces are making it increasingly difficult for information on human rights violations to be gathered within the country and for this information to be sent abroad.

Sources of Information

1. Urji Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 3.9.96

2. Urgent Communication, Clandestine Human Rights Group B, Addis Ababa, 1.9.96

3. Clandestine Human Rights Group A, Bulletin 27, Addis Ababa, October 1996

4. Letter from a friend of the victims, living in a refugee camp in Kenya, 30.9.96

5. Extract from Indian Ocean Newsletter, 22.6.96, reproduced in Horn of Africa Bulletin, Life and Peace Institute, Uppsala, Sweden, Vol 8, No 4, July-August, 1996.

6. Urji Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 20.8.96

7. Urji Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 27.8.96

8. Letter from detainees at Harar Central Prison, Hararge, 13.8.96

9. Guardian newspaper, London, 7.10.96

10. Urji Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 10.9.96

11. Information given to Georg Haneke, Sociologist, University of Bielefeld, Germany, while doing research in Borana, September 1995

12. Ogaden Human Rights Committee Report, Porrentruy, Switzerland, 12.9.96

13. Africa Confidential, London, 20.9.96

14. Amnesty International, Further Information to Urgent Action 211/96, 17.9.96

ADDIS ABABA AND CENTRAL OROMIA/ETHIOPIA

Killings

Oromo nationalist singer Ebbisa Addunya and his friend Tana Wayessa were shot dead by government gunmen on August 30th. They were at Ebbisa's home in the Shiromeda area, No 094, Higher 13, Kebele 01, north of the American Embassy in Addis Ababa, when gunmen burst in. Eyewitnesses claim the bodies were dragged from the house and put in a Land Rover with a government licence plate. The security men who carried out the murders first cleared the street. Residents who looked out of their houses after the gunfire were told to get back indoors. The bodies were recovered next day from the morgue at Menelik II hospital.

Following the incident, Ebbisa Addunya's uncle was called to see the Chief Security Officer of Addis Ababa. He was told that Ebbisa's killing had been a mistake and that the target had been Tana Wayessa. (1,2,3).

Asirat Itana, a youngster from House No 990, Kebele 44, Woreda 3, Addis Ababa, was killed on July 3rd.

Waqjira Fullaas Ayyansaa is reported to have died as a result of torture in Ambo prison, W.Showa, on October 3rd.

On August 14th, an unknown man was reportedly seen to be speaking to Tigrean-speaking soldiers in Kebele 20, Woreda 09, Addis Ababa. They surrounded him, beat him to death and took his body away in a car with licence plate no. 02-53725. (3).

Disappearances

A previously unreported case and further details of three reported cases of disappearance have been sent to OSG.

Takale Oljira, born in 1967 in Dagam village, Lemu district, E.Wollega, graduated in History from Addis Ababa University in 1988 and was working in the Visa and Immigration Department in the capital. While he and a friend were walking in the area near "Teklehaymanot" in November 1992, he was abducted by government intelligence men. A journalist detained in 1994 believes he saw Takale in the Kasa Inchis secret detention centre in Addis Ababa (see August 1995 press release, p.13). Efforts to locate him before and after this possible sighting have failed.

The disappearance of Jirenya Ayana and Temesgen Adaba, from Addis Ababa, was reported in the October 1995 press release to have taken place in August of that year. Jirenya was a well known singer and member of the Gada Theatre and Music Club. He had recordings published and had performed on radio. He was born in Arbi village, Limu district, E.Wollega.

Temesgen had completed 12th grade when detained in Didessa camp from 1992 to March 1993. Born in Dimma village, Limu district, E,Wollega, he had been living in Addis from 1994. In July 1995, Jirenya and Temesgen were abducted by government security men when walking near "Urael Church" in Addis. According to eye-witnesses they were first taken to a place called "horse house" behind the 1st Police Station, near to Menelik II hospital. After a month there, they were taken for a few days to the criminal investigation centre. Since then, they have been untraceable.

Dachasa Bayana's disappearance was reported in the October 1995 press release. At the time of his first arrest in 1992, he was a pensioned ex-Lieutenant living with his parents. He was taken to Didessa camp, released in March 1993 and rearrested on his return to his parents' house in the capital. Thereafter, he spent a further 3 months in Didessa and his pension was stopped. He developed tuberculosis in Didessa and had just finished treatment in Addis Ababa when he was abducted by government security men around "Mesalemiya", near to the City Hotel, in September 1995. He was driven away after his hands had been tied behind him with plastic rope. According to friends and co-operative policemen, he was taken to the criminal investigation centre and tortured repeatedly. He was taken from there to a secret underground prison at Menelik II Palace. Since then, persistent attempts to discover his whereabouts have failed. He was born in 1966 in Karsa village, Gida Kiramu district, E.Wollega. (4).

According to the Indian Ocean Newsletter (5), in May, "six students (including one named Biresaw Chane) from the University of Addis Ababa, all from the Gojjam region..., were arrested in their dormitories by men of the state security sevice, and are reported missing". Army personnel who were arrested at the same time are also missing and named as Captains Adis Bayleyegn, Chanyalew Tale and Moges Assefa, and Lieutenant Mihret Abebe. They are suspected of "having links" with armed opposition groups.

Betera Andhebu, prominent elder/businessman of Ambo/Guder, W. Showa, was detained with others at Ambo in June (see imprisonments below). Unlike the others, who were transferred to Addis Ababa, the location of Mr Andhebu is unknown. (1).

Haji Ahmed Amin and

Shaile Hassan, both of Kebele 35, Woreda 08, Addis Ababa are reported to have "disappeared" on August 15th and 16th respectively. (3).

Imprisonments etc

Arrested on suspicion of supporting opposition groups are Kegnazmatch Solomon, Gebretsadik and Ms. Emahoy Zewditu. Ms Zewditu is an elderly lady who is a director of an orphans' home and was accused of "having hidden 'launchers' inside boxes of clothing received from abroad for the orphans". (5).

In Arsi region 310 civilians were reported on 20th August to have been imprisoned for allegedly supporting the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). 120 were imprisoned in the Sedika area, 40 in Bejina, 90 in Endato and 60 in Robe (in the adjacent Bale region). (6)

Mrs Radiash Sheko was detained on August 18th at Adama (Nazareth) prison, E.Showa, and questioned on the location of her husband, Workneh Waqo. He is director of the Revenue Section, Finance Bureau, E.Showa, and fled after being warned that he faced arrest. The reason for his being sought is not known. (1).

The following prominent elders and businessmen from Ambo and Guder, W.Showa, were arrested in June and detained at the Hirmata ammunition factory in Ambo before being transferred to Maikelawi Special Investigation Branch in Addis Ababa. Some have been arrested several times before and Dandana Gurmu's abduction in February 1995 was reported in the March 1995 press release.

Dandana Gurmu Daniel Dandana (son of D. Gurmu)

Dhaba Merga Merga Megenta

Abera Gebremariam Mr Daqa (1,3).

Three men from Shogale, Kebele 35, Woreda 08, Addis Ababa, are reported to have been detained for over 8 months without charge. They are named:-

Masfin Tubo Mr Phawulos

Mr Banti (3)

The following coffee and petrol traders from Addis Ababa have been detained without charge and taken to Dembi Dollo in Wollega, 700 km from the capital. Government soldiers and police were involved in the arrests:-

Boka Dhinsa, taken 4.9.96, and his son

Dawit Boka, taken 6.9.96, of Kebele 02, Woreda 08, Addis Ababa, and

Hagi Abdurahman, taken 4.9.96. (3).

EASTERN OROMIA/ETHIOPIA

Killings

Among those taken out at night from detention centres in Deder district, Hararge, and killed recently are:-

Shekim Ahmed Dawid Mohamed Haji Ahmed

Awel Mohamed Jafar Ahmed

Hamza Mohamed Aliyyi Mussa

Ahmed Abdullahi Mrs Hanna Hunde

Ahmed Adem Gamechu Iticha (teacher)

Dr Makonnen Baye Miss Dita Mume

Aliyyi Mume Abdurazak Ahmed Mume (7).

Siyoum Gonfa, a youngster from Badessa town, Hararge, was killed on 11.8.96, and

Ahmed Ibrahim, also from Badessa, was killed in the same month.

Haji Ibrahim Hussein is reported to have died as a result of torture in prison in Robe, Bale, on September 12th. (3).

Information from Harar Central Prison, dated 13th August, names the following three persons shot dead by government soldiers:-

Adam Abdule Ibro

Musxafa Gora

Abduwasi Ibraahim (8).

Disappearances

In the raid by government troops on Wal-Tahii village, Ginir sub-district, Bale, in September (see imprisonments below) some civilians were taken to an unknown destination. It is not clear from the report whether the following injured persons were among those "disappeared":-

Mr Damiru and his wife, "severely beaten", and their son

Hussein Darimu, "loss of balance, has become paralysed"

Ms Asha, who "lost one of her ears from beating" (3).

Imprisonments etc

Hidden detention centres are reported at 23 locations in Deder district, Hararge. Each is said to hold 500-700 Oromo suspected of supporting the OLF. Torture is widespread in these centres. "Every night from each prison 2-3 prisoners are taken out and killed". (See above). (7).

According to a statement written on August 13th and smuggled out from Harar Central Prison, Hararge, over 300 prisoners are being held there. The names and district of origin of 185 of these are given below. They are mostly farmers and have been transferred to the Central Prison after being held in surrounding military camps and police stations. They state that they are being tortured and appeal to Amnesty International for help.

From Jarsoo district:-

Abbaas Usmaan Haro, Abdusamadi Hussein Gosi, Mohamed Aliyi Musa, Kamaal Amee Mumad, Aduusi Amee Hassan, Hisaaqi Aliyi Abduraman, Abdulla Aliyi Almaan, Umar Alee Ammadi, Ammadi Nur Mume Umar, Mohamed Hassan Waday, Abraahim Abdulee Umar, Abdalaa Umar Yuusuf, Abdala Yuuyaa Ammad, Jamaal Adami Bakar, Amiin Muusee Hassan, Mohamed Mume Hassan, Musxafa Hassan Waday, Abdulla Abbas Amad, Mohamed Bakar Aliyi, Abdi Adam Allshoo, Abdulla Ammadi Jiloo, Mohamed Aliyi Alman, Mohamed Usman Haro, Yuusuf Hussein Adami, Abdulee Umar Adami, Yuusuf Abdulee Iboo, Mohamed Abdi Adami, Ammadi Umar Hassan, Xaahir Umar Hassan, Abraahim Amee Mumad, Jamal Umar Amadi, Yuusuf Abdulla Amadi, Abraahim Umar Amad, Jamal Umar Hassan, Aliyi Amiboo Libaan, Zakariya Amadi Liyu, Abdi Alii Amadi, Amadi Mume Umar, Bakar Batoshi Musa, Kadir Abdoo Umar, Abdurazaqii Amin Abdulla, Abraahim Ammadi Abdi, Umar Alsho Hayyuu, Awwal Hassan, Abdulla Amin Alii, Hasoo Ali Musa, Yoonisi Amadi Ume, Rashiidi Sheki Amadi, Haji Usman Ali, Haadi Yuusuf Abdi, Abraahim Abdinyaroo, Aliyi Daawee Abdulla, Mohamed Hassan Wadayi, Abdulle Ibroo Babile, Abdi Amadee Xara'oo, Mohamed Abraahim Usman, Abdurahiman Musa Abdulla, Amee Alshoo, Xaahir Usman Abdooshi, Ibraahim Usman Abdooshi, Aliyi Haarun Meelaa, Umar Mohamed Ali.

From Goro Gutu district:-

Musxafa Umar, Abdulaziz Abdulee, Abdurahiman Mumadi, Abdurahiman Aliyi, Amadi Umar Ali, Mohamed Shame Amadi, Abdulla Ammadi Buraalee, Mohamed Amin Sharbaa, Amin Mumad, Aliyi Buttaa, Yuusuf Kabiiraa, Musa Adami Isaa, Shadiin Mumadi, Ibraahim Abdurahiman, Mohamed Ibroo Bulee, Amad Abdulla, Abraahim Mume, Abdurahiman Adami, Jamal Abdurahiman, Jamal Abdulla.

From Haromayo district:-

Jamal Aliyi Musa, Harun Ali Tarree, Bakar Usmail Ali, Abdi Sheki Asraaf, Abdu Naasri Amad, Adam Yuusuf Hassan, Jundii Amee, Naasri Hassan, Mohamed Amad, Abdulla Yuusuf, Musxafa Mohamed, Jamal Bakari, Abraahim Bakari, Saalii Usman, Fu'aadi, Abraahim Ammadee, Ibraahim Usman Waday, Jamal Ibraahim, Usmail Yuuyaa, Siraali Hassoo, Adami Abdulahe, Amadiin Ali, Barudin Mohamed Yuuyaa, Jamal Musa, Abdi Hussein, Mohamed Yuune, Yuusuf Qaasim, Jamal Yuusuf Qaasim, Saanii Daawee, Mohamed Bakar, Taajir Mume, Kadir Hassoo, Sufyaan Abdurahiman, Saali Usman, Yuusuf Musa, Yuusuf Umar, Abdu Salaam Bakar, Musxafa Yuunee, Ms Badirya Amad, Mohamed Amad, Ibraahim Usmail, Mohamed Abdulak Sadiq, Aliyi Mohamed Ali, Ahmad Bakar,Saani Usman, Muktar Ahmed, Zakariya Baasoo, Jaabri Mohamed, Amin Umar, Mume Amad Ali, Abdulla Adam, Ahmad Haji.

From Kombolcha district:-

Musa Abdu Karim, Usmail Abdulee, Shariif Abdulahi, Amad Saanii, Mohamed Adam Amboo, Mohamed Idris, Margaa Alsaa Gammachu, Olana Disaasa Gammachu (trader), Hassan Mume, Anasi Abdulahi, Yuusuf Ibraahim Ali, Turee Shakee, Idris Ibraahim, Aliyi Ahmad Husee, Ibraahim Abdulla Umar, Aliyi Ahmad Shaboo, Abroo Musa.

From Bedeno district:-

Ahmad Mohamed Sadiq, Mi'aayii Barento, Asladin Ahmad Ali, Siraaci Mohamed Ammado, Nasradin Mohamed Ibro, Jaabri Ibraahim Abdulla, Ahmad Mohamed Amad, Abdulla Yuusuf Hamido, Adam Abdulla Jerso, Qasmi Abdoo Ali, Mohamed Abdulla, Mohamed Ame Usman, Musxafa Ahmad Mumad, Mohamed Kato Roba, Abaadir Ibroo Hassan, Abdulla Mume Umar, Shaamil Jibra'il Mume, Abdulla Yuusuf Mume, Badri Abraahim Jabal, Dachasi Hassan Sulee, Mohamed Imam, Shimalis Getachu Lama, Fiqadu Galata, Alamayo Itticha, Aliyi Mohamed Umar, Abdulla Mohamed Amade, Gadisa Malka, Mohamed Sani Umar, Usmail Mohamed Hassan.

Yibalxaal Alamayu Balaxa, a teacher from Dire Dawa, and Naasri Yuuyaa Dalaal, from Gurssum.

The same report names Abdumalik Musa as being shot four times and hidden by a sheet of corrugated iron in the back of a truck when taken to prison in Kombolcha. (8).

The following were reported on August 20th to have been imprisoned in the Gasera district, Bale, and were said to be at risk of torture:-

Jaylen Haji Ibrahim Kedir Beke Jenje

Hussein Aman Keber Tolla

Muktar Siraj Mr Dhufera

Juhar Ibrahim (in Gasera on a business trip)

200 civilians are "crammed" in Gasera district police station. (6).

The town police station in Dembel, Bale, was reported on 20.8.96 to be holding the following for alleged support of the OLF:-

Omer Hussein Muktar Abdulkadir

Alemayehu Abba Mogge Muktar Ahmed

Mr Jeylu (6).

In September, government soldiers arrested a number of people in the village of Wal-Tahii, Ginir sub-district, Bale. Some have disappeared (see above). Among those held at Ginir are:-

Kadir Shei Aman Kamar Hassan

Haji Adam Aliyi Haji Abdu Adam

Kalifa Sherika Abdu Haji Mohamed

Mohamed Haji Hussein Hassan Aliyi

Mustafa Haji Aman Abdulkadir Hussein

Mame Kadir Umar Hussein

Ahmed Hussein Ahmed Mohamed

Gobi Rari Sheik Aliyi Kabir Abdullahi

Haji Sulti Umar Bakaro Kabir Mohamed

Abdu Abdusalam Kadu Ahmed

Alo Aman Sado Muhaz

Umar Abdurahman Ibro Haji Kadir

Fuad Ahmed Aseba Haji Umar Yuna

Mohamed Sheik Arilatif Kasim Kabir Ahmed

Tamam Kabir Ahmed Mama Haji

Beka Issa (3).

The following are reported (October 1996) to be held without charge at Gasera prison, Bale:-

Sheik Tamam Kabir Ms Maria Aba Hose

The same report names the following to have been held in Gasera since August:-

Muktar Siraj Kadir Bakar

Juhar Ibrahim Kabir Tola

Mr Dhufeera Hussein Aman

Jailan Haji Ibrahim

The preceeding 7 named were detained when houses were being searched for arms. If arms are not found, a fee is demanded (1,000 -1,500 Birr) instead (see statement by Abdul Bahar Abdurahiman, p.4, August/September press release). (3).

The Guardian newspaper, in an article headed "Briton Jailed in Ethiopia", reported on 7.10.96 that "A British student has been put in a military jail in war-torn Ethiopia". Ibrahim Said, a 24 year old from Cardiff, Wales, was imprisoned when travelling home after visiting relatives in Somalia. Ethiopian soldiers at the border "mistook him for a guerilla fighter and arrested him at gunpoint". "Foreign Office officials have ordered the British Embassy in Addis Ababa to investigate." (9)

WESTERN OROMIA/ETHIOPIA

Killings

Gurmessa Ale of Kolli village, Anfilo district, W.Wollega, is reported to have been killed on 1st September. EPRDF armed men broke into his house and shot him 12 times. Villagers surrounded the EPRDF men and escorted them to Mugi town police station but the TPLF officials there released them immediately. However, witnesses of the killing were arrested and held at the police station. (3).

Yadessa Lencha is reported to have died as a result of torture in Gimbi prison, W.Wollega, in July (3).

Disappearances

Baissa Hunkusso, (named Magarsa Yadata in source 3.), a 25 yr old businessman from Bila 01 Kebele, Bojji Dirmejji, W.Wollega, was abducted by government forces on August 9th. He was travelling by bus from Addis Ababa to Wollega and was apprehended at Bakko town. He was carrying cash and a 60,000 Birr cheque. Relatives reported that he was taken in the direction of Addis Ababa by men in civilian clothes in a car with a government licence plate. His present location is unknown. (6).

Imprisonments etc

Mr Tasfaye lives in a refugee camp in Sudan. The following is a translation of a video recorded interview taken in May 1996.

"I am an Oromo. I have lived in the Ethiopian Empire all my life. During this time, I have experience of the Dergue regime. Now living under the current EPRDF administration I was accused of supporting the OLF and I was questioned and interrogated for a long time. I was questioned about matters I knew nothing about. I was accused of giving food to the OLF, and of showing them directions. Because of this I was imprisoned and tortured. As a result of the beating I am now deaf. I have been to the hospital and I am told my ear drum is broken.

As a result of the beating, my back was broken, and even worse, they tied my genitals with wire and dragged me on the ground. This must have gone on for an hour, after which I lost consciousness.

It is because I cannot show my private parts, otherwise you would see that something terrible has happened to me. I do not know how long I was unconscious for.

Every night at 3 am I was taken for interrogation. During these three months in prison I was beaten constantly. To escape this horror I had to abandon my family. I am the head of a family of six. With difficulty I managed to escape to the Sudan."

In the Asosa/Benishangul (Gumuz) district west of Wollega the following civil servants were recently detained for allegedly supporting the OLF:-

Bedhassa Tessema Fikru Negari

Kebede Sadeta Ayele Jirata

Abera Caqa Ashebir Fita

Fikadu Dibaba (7).

Faruq Abba Bulgu, is reported to have been transferred from Hararge to Afeta secret detention centre, Mana district, Jimma. Afeta is reported to hold "highly suspected" individuals and those who are injured following torture. (10).

The following are reported to have been held since July in Gimbi prison, Wollega:-

Daraje Mangasha, farmer from Chalia Amanuel Taye, teacher, Chalia Elementary School

Amante Likasa, driver, Chalia Dagafa Dhina, butcher and head of large family, Chalia

Lencha Enoro, farmer, Chalia Bulti Jambare, farmer, Chalia

Ephraim Zewudie, teacher, Aira Guliso Mulugeta Abdissa

Mulugeta Yadata (taken 11.9.96) Tarafu Dhibisa (taken 11.9.96)

Mr Imiru Mr Indiriyas

Mr Indarge Mr Adunya

Mr Berhanu (3).

SOUTHERN OROMIA/ETHIOPIA

Imprisonments etc

Mr Wariyo lives in Nairobi, where he is a refugee. The following is a translation of a video recorded interview taken in May 1996. He was held at Awassa, Sidamo (now Southern Administrative Region), transferred to Bilate detention camp, Sidamo, and finally taken to Hurso camp, E.Hararge.

"I would like to apologise for I cannot remember everything. My memory is scrambled as a result of what happened. However I will try to explain. They arrested me on the 5th of November 1992. They took me to a place they call 4th Brigade Headquarters. There they tied my legs and beat me up, using sticks and other weapons. I have no words to explain what they did to me. I became very ill and was not taken to hospital. When the Red Cross Society came to visit us, the soldiers took us away in the middle of the night. They hid us in a place called Arba Minch. We were about seventy casualties hidden there and the Red Cross could not find us.

I was tortured with electric shocks. They used to take me out in the middle of the night and plunge me in a well full of water. After I was released I went back to my family. My legs were numb from so many beatings. They are covered with scars. This wouldn't have mattered but in the end I became paralysed."

The following civilians of Liche village, Mega district, Borana, were detained in March 1995 for allegedly supporting the OLF. They were still being held when the information was collected in September 1995.

Godana Ajeja Jaarsoo Bulee

Kotola Galma Nyuke Boru

Dima Babbo Godana Boru

Malicha Sora Liban Sora

Adan Wariyo Alake Jaldessa

Mr Gufu Dima Anna

The following from Showabari, Moyale district, Borana, were arrested on 21.4.95 and were still being held in September 1995:-

Guyo Dida Tuka Wako

Guyo Huka Guyo Sama (reported previously)

Also detained from April to at least September 1995 were:-

Huka Bakala, from Kebele 01, Moyale Rari Aga, Meleb village, Moyale

Ali Dido, Sogda village, Mega district (11).

OGADEN

Killings

On August 8th, EPRDF militia rounded up civilians in Toon-Celay, Qorrahay, and killed them. Among the dead were:-

Ahmed Sanay Farah Hassan Ahmed Sagal

Ahmed Good Abdi Ahmed Sangaab

Four civilians in Gabagabo, Qorrahay, were killed on the same day.

Ten civilians in Kebre Dahar were killed by Ethiopian government troops in mid-August. Among them were Sareeya Seerar Mohamed and her newborn baby.

Mass graves have been discovered close to military detention camps in Kebre Dahar and Garbo. (12).

Disappearances

Four civilians of Toon-Celay, Qorrahay, were taken away to unknown destinations at the time of the killings there (see above). (12).

Imprisonments etc

Many civilians had their property looted and were detained illegally at Nus-Dariiq in August. They are being held incommunicado and include:-

Siyad Ahmed Abdi Yare Mohamed

Buurani Ali

The Members of Parliament and businessman Farah Sheikh Bihi, reported previously to have disappeared, and MP's thought to be being held in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa (see August/September Press Release), are now known to be being held incommunicado at Jigjiga. (12).

DJIBOUTI

Muhyadin Maftah Kedir, Deputy Secretary General of the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (ARDUF), was arrested while receiving medical treatment in Djibouti on August 23rd. He is now under interrogation in Ethiopia, and according to Amnesty International has "disappeared". Previous visits to Djibouti for medical treatment had been uneventful. ARDUF had avoided involvement in the recent conflict between the Djibouti government and Afar rebels. (13,14).

Gimray Moges Newaye-Mariam, a defector from the TPLF who had been in Djibouti since 1991, was sent back to Ethiopia in August. His whereabouts in Ethiopia are unknown. He was a United Nations-registered refugee in Djibouti. (13,14).

Aydrus Hussein, a former member of the Somali Regional Assembly in Ethiopia and a former regional commissioner in Degabur town, was arrested in Djibouti with six Ethiopian Somali businessmen on 1st September 1996. After about a week in detention, they were reportedly handed over to the Ethiopian authorities and have since "disappeared" while in secret detention in Ethiopia. (14).

SOMALILAND

Former Member of Parliament for Wardheer, Ogaden, and supporter of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), Mohamed Abdullahi Ismail "Sandoon", was killed while lying in a hospital bed in Galkayo, Somaliland, on August 29th. With other civil servants and businessmen he had been detained without charge in Wardheer in April. He had been severely tortured while in detention and was in Galkayo hospital for treatment of injuries thus received. Ethiopian government soldiers, who had crossed the border, carried out the killing. (12,13).

Three ONLF Central Committee members were detained in Hargeisa by militia loyal to Somaliland President, Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, on 31.7.96. The three, Ahmed Mohamed, Abdullahi Qaji and Abdullahi Haliye, were visiting relatives in the area when they were taken. The Ethiopian government has sent delegations to Hargeisa and is believed to be exerting pressure on President Egal to have the men extradited to Ethiopia where, according to the Ogaden Human Rights Committee, they would face execution. (12,13).

AHMED MOHAMED RELEASED ALIVE

Amnesty International, in a communication released on October 17th, reported the release from detention and "disappearance" of Ahmed Mohamed, the Oromo Relief Association Field Co-ordinator in Dire Dawa, E.Hararge. His whereabouts were unknown after he reported to army offices in Dire Dawa on February 15th. He was released at the beginning of October without being charged or brought to court. Amnesty International thanked those who they believed had secured his safety and release by sending appeals to government authorities. The Ethiopian government did not reply to these appeals, nor did it acknowledge or explain Ahmed's "disappearance".

TPLF CONTROL OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE IN ETHIOPIA

The Indian Ocean Newsletter, 19.10.96, reported the following.

" Five years in power, and Tigray People's Liberation Front, hard-core of the ruling EPRDF in Addis Ababa, has put in place a whole web of trading companies which guarantee the Front an economic monopoly in Tigre Region. Several of the firms have stretched their tentacles as far as the capital and other regions. Using funds accumulated during the long fight against the former regime of ex-President Mengistu Haile Mariam or through financing received via official NGOs such as Tigray Development Association, a new class of Tigrean businessman has sprung up and is getting ready to make the most of the spate of privatizations in Ethiopia, by way of joint ventures with either local investors or foreign firms. The Tigrean new capitalists are former military or political bosses of TPLF recently swung over to the joys of trading. It's the case with top officials of Endowment Fund of Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFORT), a holding group which includes companies such as Mesfin Industrial Engineering (named after a now-dead TPLF

veteran), Beruh Chemicals, Mesebo Building Materials, Trans Ethiopia, Hiwot Agricultural Mechanization, and Almeda Textile. EFORT's CEO is ex-defence minister Seye Abraha (whose family is also present on the staff of Fitsumzeab Asdegom's media company The Monitor plc), its head of services is TPLF former chairman Sebhat Nega, and the heads of the mining and construction sectors are Thewodros Hagos and Arkebe Ekubay Mitiku.

Berhan Building Construction Enterprise (with Bereket Mzengiya as chairman), Meskerem Investment (which set up Africa Insurance with two other Tigrean companies) and Shala Advertising Enterprise (headed by Assefa Mamo, who was EPRDF information centre coordinator) are also close to the reins of power. Thanks to such proximity, companies like Selam Bus Line (where TDA is the principal shareholder) and Sur Construction Ltd have extended their sectorial activity throughout Ethiopia.

The new business ententes sometimes take on the appearance of a spider's web: Ethio Rental House Ltd was set up by TDA, Sur Construction, Mesebo Building Materials, and Mesfin Industrial Engineering, whilst Mesfin joined Tesfa Livestock Development to establish a veterinary products company. There are others. Under Ethiopia's privatization programme, Mega-Net Corporation took over the publishing firm Kuraz at the end of 1995 and owns several companies in the printing, press, and audiovisual sector including Mega Studio Enterprise (founded thanks to installations recovered from Admas Production, which used to come under the central committee of the former government party). Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's wife Azeb, better known as Lemlem, who was responsible for audiovisual operations during the fight against Mengistu, is believed to hold an important post in Mega-Net although her name does not appear among the list of shareholders. The Sofcam group can also run before the wind after taking over Coca-Cola's plants in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa for US$ 10 million in partnership with Eritrean businessman Bereket (Mobil Ethiopia's general manager). Sofcam was set up in 1993 by Munir Duri (the son of ex-planning and economic development minister Mohamed Duri, now Ethiopia's permanent representative to the United Nations in New York), Alula Araya Grebu (an old TPLF loyalist), Negussie Haile Abera and Hussein Abdella Kassim (Hussein and his brother Wisam are relatives of a woman reported to have close relations with Tamrat Layne, the present defence minister and deputy prime minister)."

EXILED ARTIST TAMAGNE BEYENE - ACCOUNT OF TORTURE

The following is a translation of an interview with Ato Tamagne Beyene published in the Amharic magazine, Tobia (#31, 28.6.96).

"I went to watch a soccer match, the final Youth Match between Ethiopia and Uganda, on June 24, 1996. Next to me sat an individual dressed in civil attire. As we watched the soccer matches, I saw an official from the stadium talk to the plainclothes man beside me. Subsequently, the coordinator of the security police of the stadium talked to the plainclothes man next to me. Since I did not feel good about the goings on next to me, I left the stadium at half time... The plainclothes man followed me and ordered me:

"Stop, don't move". I asked him, "Why?". "You are wanted", he said. When I started to inquire who wanted me and why I was wanted, the security coodinator was at my back. He ordered "Go straight to the car without seeing left or right. I will shoot you in your forehead if you give signs to any one."

As ordered, I went straight to a police Merecedes truck... I sat in the parked truck until the end of the games. Shortly thereafter, they brought different individuals from separate directions...(T)hat security coordinator ordered me "Make yourself inconspicuous and sit in the middle of the crowd. If you are noticed by anyone I will shoot you in the forehead."

Then armed policement surrounded us and put us in canvas covered police vehicles and drove off. We did not know where we were going. We arrived at a house with a big yard where we were interrogated. The man who was interrogating us seemed to me to be the chief officer of the police. When he asked, "Your profession?" I answered "Artist", which caused him to comment to the guy beside him, "As this reminds me of a man I was told about, please go and phone and confirm." The guy left, made the call and returned to tell him, "He is called Tamagne Beyene", at which point I was ordered "Get out", He asked for my ethnic origin. When I did not respond he slapped me. The I told him the place of my birth. When they inquired, "Are you afraid to tell us your ethnic origin", I responded, "I don't know." They said, "You shall be made to know."

Thereafter, the torture inflicted on us was indescribable. We were asked to run the muddy field. We were pushed and rolled in the mud. When we tried to stand up we were flogged and pushed back in the mud. After roughtly one hour and 40 minutes of such torture, I told them that I was physically unable to continue. I was then given to the care of another policeman.

This policeman had received yet another new letter and he beat me up to his satisfaction, and delivered me to the coordinator of the security police. This officer asked me to place my feet on a chair and my hands on the ground. I was so weak and my body was shaking as that officer jumped on my back and he threw me to the ground. "Are you the one that criticized Tamrat Layne? We have arrived at the conclusion that three years ago you had organized people and have called him a thief. What did Tamrat do to you?" was what he said to me. After that I told him that I was weak and unable to respond and pleaded to him in the name of Saint Mary and Jesus to kill me if he can. "That is not befitting you", he said and picked up another stick and hit me until it was broken to pieces. All such torture lasted about 3 hours. Our bodies were covered with mud and we were wet.

"The torture will continue. We have been patient with you for five years and since democracy is unfit for you the torture will continue," he told us. And as he walked away, he ordered "Take them in and interrogate them further." Shortly after we entered into the hall, I was ordered not mingle with anyone but sit alone.

He gave orders to others, "Let no one talk to him."

The hall was cemented on the floor, the walls, and the ceiling. Since our clothes were muddy and wet, we had to dry them and sleep naked on the floor. At about midnight, other prisoners placed their hands on me to warm me up and to stop me from shivering. This continued until about 4:00 am when heavy rains began to pour. We couldn't stand the cold. We had nothing to wear...

(Next day), (t)hey restarted their torturous routine of making us run in the field and beating us up. We were on the field by 4:45 am. A new torture master was assigned to deal with us. All kinds of sport like activities of running, sitting, jumping in the mud were experimented on us. Throughout these activities, special orders were given to beat me up at every turn. This torture was halted at about 7:30 am...

Two youngsters and I were selected and were ordered to carry on our necks like oxen, a piece of metal that was about 10 meters long and weighed 20 kilograms. We were asked to run in the field as we were flogged from behind. Then we were asked to sit, run, sit and run again. When I was physically incapable to continue and sat down, the others let go of the metal piece while they were standing so that the metal hit me on the back of my neck and I fell flat.

"Why did you fall" was the question asked of me by a policeman who beat me up until he got tired and summoned another policemena to take over the beating. Words cannot explain the torture I went through. They were beating me up for whatever reason. When I fell in the mud, they were kicking me with their military boots, including on my head.

Since his arrival, the boss said many things as a politican and as a representative of the regime. He insulted and admonished me for about forty minutes. He said that I revolted against the peole's democracy, that I

organized people to rebuke Tamrat Layne, that he was patient with me over the last five years, and that his patience had run out. Although the boss gave me all kinds of names, I respected him for not beating me up."

COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS REPORT

Josh Friedman, who used to report for Newsday from Ethiopia in the 1980's and Kakuna Kerina, Committee to Protect Journalists Africa Program Co-ordinator, visited Ethiopia for two weeks in May. They interviewed "scores of journalists, government officials, and diplomats in Addis Ababa" and compiled a 27 page report which OSG obtained from Internet (http://www.cpj.org) The following is extracted directly from their report.

"From 1993 to 1995, Ethiopia imprisoned more journalists than any other country in Africa, jailing more than 50, of whom 31 were behind bars at the end of last year.

Independent journalism still flourishes in Addis Ababa, although government repression of distribution stops most papers at the city's edge.

Optimistic journalists who had responded exuberantly to the promised freedoms are disillusioned, confused, and prone to censor themselves. The Ethiopian government, having belatedly realized the implications of a free press, which it had promised in order to please potential Western donors, has instituted a powerful and unpredictably enforced new press law--sometimes waiting more than half a year to prosecute journalists. Many new publications have been driven out of business by large fines and bond requirements.

The United States, captivated by the new government's pledge to counter the spread of militant Islam from neighboring Sudan, has done little more than emit a few ritual clucking sounds at the repression of journalists, while continuing to give Ethiopia the second highest amount of U.S. aid allocated to sub-Saharan Africa.

What does Ethiopia offer the United States to induce it to ignore the lack of a free press its own journalists enjoy? One clue was a visit by CIA Director John Deutsch, who had preceded us by just days, presumably with matters other than press freedom on his mind. Ethiopia belongs to a small club of countries whose strategic location on the edge of the Middle East attracts U.S. patronage and support--although the end of the Cold War has diminished their leverage. (One of those countries, Turkey, is among the few nations to jail more journalists than Ethiopia.) Located in what one State Department official calls "a bad neighborhood," the Horn of Africa, a pro-U.S. Ethiopia gives Washington a window on Sudan and Somalia, and proximity to strategic routes between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Prime Minister Meles, Parliament Speaker Dawit Yohannes, and Justice Minister Mahteme Solomon, who gave lengthy interviews to the CPJ mission, depicted themselves as beset not only by legitimate journalists but by political opponents hiding behind the press. Westerners could not understand that such publications were deliberately printing erroneous and provocative stories to drive the country into Rwanda-style ethnic anarchy, they suggested. In what would probably come as a shock to Bill Clinton, Meles called the Addis independent press "the most critical" in the world.

In October 1992, the Meles government came up with an ingenious solution that allows it to continue to claim to the West that there is no prepublication censorship in Ethiopia, while retaining the power to jail journalists it does not like. It devised a truly arbitrary press law under which scores of editors, publishers, and reporters have been hauled into jail for periods ranging from a few days of questioning to more than a year behind bars.

The law gives wide latitude to police, prosecutors, and judges to jail journalists on charges of encouraging ethnic strife or violence, or insulting the military or leaders of the country. One particularly clever Catch-22 clause of the law criminalizes erroneous stories, despite the refusal of government agencies to provide information or interviews to independent reporters, or to permit them to attend government press conferences or travel in the provinces.

CPJ labored mightily to figure out how the law is implemented. But how and why people are thrown into jail remains a somewhat mysterious process. The result is clear, however. Many journalists are driven out of business by having to pay prohibitively expensive bonds to stay out of jail. The very vagueness of the law induces self-censorship.

Sections of the law that were intended to privatize the press remain unimplemented, giving the government further control. Parliament has not nominated members of the semi-autonomous boards that are supposed to take over government-controlled radio, television, newspapers, and the national news agency. But it is expected to do so when it reconvenes in October 1996, government officials insist. Implementation of a law authorizing private broadcasting, however, is likely to take at least two more years.

One could make a case that the Ethiopian government is inadvertently repelling potential support for its newly freed press by demanding too much control of foreign help--or that it is doing so deliberately. And one could make a case that Western governments, especially Washington, are inadvertently failing to push for a free press in Ethiopia out of ignorance or inefficiency--or that they are doing so deliberately because the desire for influence in the Horn of Africa exceeds their belief that others should have the same rights their own citizens enjoy.

Ethiopia cannot claim to be a genuine democracy, nor should it be treated as one by Western donors such as the United States, unless the Meles government ceases its practice of subjecting independent journalists to repeated arrests, detention without trial, and excessive fines.

Ethiopia’s independent journalists currently work under threat of prosecution from three separate areas of government: a poorly trained police force that sometimes operates independently of the public prosecutor’s office; an inexperienced, partisan judiciary operating in a severely backlogged court system; and overly sensitive government officials who are offended by public criticism of their actions. Journalists are often arrested in an arbitrary manner, either on the initiative of police, or when charges have been filed by the public prosecutor. In many cases, police officers decide independently that publications have acted illegally, and they arrest journalists before gathering evidence or filing charges in the courts.

In interviews with CPJ, a number of attorneys who represent journalists said that even if the court adhered strictly to existing laws and the constitution, the judiciary is not independent, and therefore could not be expected to reach objective decisions. These attorneys pointed out that the dismissal of the majority of Ethiopia’s experienced judiciary in May 1996 landed the country squarely in a crisis. Today the court system is so severely backlogged that many defendants may spend more time in prison awaiting trial than they would if convicted of the charges against them.

The private press is also barred from attending government-sponsored press conferences, including those held by the diplomatic community in conjunction with the Ethiopian government. By complying with this restriction on the private press, the international community has sent mixed messages to the Ethiopian government, quite possibly undermining its own efforts on behalf of independent journalists.

The role that private radio will play in the development of the media in Ethiopia is a significant one, especially for the large segments of the population that have little or no access to news of the country outside their own regions. Radio remains the medium that is most effective at reaching a geographically dispersed and linguistically diverse population. Until licenses are granted to private broadcasters, the state monopoly of the dissemination of information will continue to restrict Ethiopian citizens' ability to make informed decisions.

CPJ's questions to top government officials about the state monopoly of broadcasting yielded unsatisfactory responses.

CPJ is encouraged that, while at the end of last year 31 journalists were in prison in Ethiopia, only nine journalists remain in detention as this report is going to press. Of those nine journalists, one is nearing completion of an 18-month prison term, and the rest were remanded to custody because they were unable to present personal guarantors for prohibitive bail amounts ranging from 8,000 birr (US$1,300) to 30,000 birr (US$4,800).

There is almost no distribution of private publications outside of Addis Ababa. When asked about this, government officials claimed that the private press has been granted equal access to regional distribution markets. But members of the independent press complain that their publications are effectively banned in the provinces, because of harassment of their vendors and confiscation of their newspapers by police. In April 1996, for instance, police detained Bekele Dissassa, a distributor of independent publications in the town of Nekemte, the capital of the west central province of Welega. Bekele was released without charge in June."

The final part of the report is a detailed account of activities taken by the Ethiopian government against the press. The report lists 115 instances of arrest and imprisonment of journalists and the disappearance of four others (including at least one believed to be in exile), since February, 1993.

When interviewed on Voice of America Radio, on October 7th, Josh Friedman said "One of the major problems is caused not by the people who took over Ethiopia, but by the American Government and the Clinton administration. This new group that came in was very much beholden to the United States. But when the leaders became fearful that free press threatened their control, they instituted this 1992 Press Proclamation that enables them to control the press without seeming to. The State Department and the Clinton administration didn't do anything".

ETHIOPIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL - TENTH REPORT

According to the Addis Tribune newspaper, October 11th, the five year old Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) has filed lawsuits against the government for refusing to register it as an NGO and for freezing its account at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. The legal actions are delayed because of the "restructuring of the courts in Addis Ababa and the dismissal of the judges".

Over 2,900 reports of extra-judicial killings, disappearance, torture, illegal imprisonment, confiscation of property and other human rights violations were received by EHRCO between September 1995 and August 1996.

EHRCO's Tenth Report states "The administration of justice, which was weakened by the summary dismissal of the judges in 1992 has been totally paralysed by the second round of dismissals in 1996".

Specific violations reported in the newspaper article include the beating and interrogation of Ato Suleiman Sied Abdella, Motuma Lemecha and Wogene Geda. Ato Suleiman Sied Abdella was taken by policeman when on his way to North Gondar, accused of being a member of the All Amhara People's Organisation (AAPO), beaten and questioned about the activities of AAPO and the Ethiopian Teachers' Association.

Motuma Lemecha, a farmer in W.Showa, was accused of supporting the OLF, beaten and fined 600 Birr. He was told the fine was a "political decision".

Wogene Geda was similarly treated and fined 4,000 Birr. Receipts for the fines were not given "in accordance with a political decision".

Six disappearances were reported. One was from Gondar. The others, including that of W/t Aberash Berta on 23.5.93, were from Addis Ababa.