OSG PRESS RELEASE No. 15 - January/February 1997

The Oromia Support Group has, as of this Press Release, reported 1,660 extra-judicial killings and 525 disappearances of civilians suspected of supporting groups opposing the government. Most of these have been Oromo people. Scores 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. Ethiopian Human Rights Council, Tenth Report, The Human Rights Situation in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, September 1996

2. Sagalee Bilisummaa Oromoo, Voice of Oromo Liberation Radio, Bulletin 12, Berlin, December 1996

3. Urji Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 3.12.96

4. Urji Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 5.11.96

5. Urji Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 12.11.96

6. Correspondent from W.Showa, Ethiopia, 23.10.96

7. Urji Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 15.10.96

8. Urji Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 26.11.96

9. Urji Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 17.9.96

10. Correspondent from Bale, Ethiopia, 2.11.96

11. Information from Hararge smuggled to correspondent in Horn of Africa, 21.12.96

12. Correspondent from East Oromia/Ethiopia, 10.11.96

13. Urji Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 24.9.96

14. Correspondent from Addis Ababa,1.10.96

15. Letter from murder victim, 4-6 weeks before he was killed on April 11th 1996

16. Report to UN Centre for Human Rights, Geneva, by brother of victim, 15.11.96

17. Urji Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 12.12.96

18. Ogaden Relief Association Nederland, Amstelveen, Holland, Report, November 1996

19. Amnesty International Urgent Action, London, 23.9.96

20. Amnesty International Urgent Action, London, 22.10.96

21. Amnesty International Urgent Action, London, 2.12.96

22. Addis Tribune Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 6.12.96

23. Addis Tribune Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 13.12.96

24. Addis Tribune Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 20.12.96

25. Addis Tribune Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 3.1.97

26. Addis Tribune Newspaper, Addis Ababa, 10.1.97

Translations of Urji Newspaper were made by the Montreal Oromo Group.

ADDIS ABABA AND CENTRAL OROMIA/ETHIOPIA

Killings

Binyam Bekele, 20 yrs old, Kebele 01, Woreda 01, Addis Ababa, was shot dead by a policeman at 4.00pm, 11th July, 1995.

Tesfahun Workneh (Chefaw), a youth of Kebele 09, Woreda 02, Nazareth (Adama), Showa, was killed by soldiers at 6.00pm, August 5th, 1995.

Tewodros Fekade, House 777, Kebele 24, Woreda 17, Addis Ababa, was shot dead by a Woreda policeman at 6.00am, October 12th, 1995. His mother had to pay 27 Birr to collect the body from Menelik II Hospital.

Sebsibe Gezahegne, 22 yrs old, a 12th grade student at Bole Senior Secondary School, Kebele 17, Woreda 17, Addis Ababa, used to work part time to support his parents. He was preparing a large meal at 11.30pm, 18.2.96, when shot in the chest and killed by a TPLF soldier.

The death of Haile Gelelcha, Siba Qetchema, Meta Robi Woreda, W.Showa, was mentioned in the August/September Press Release and said to be "reported 16.7.96". It is now known that he was shot dead in the town of Goro Mako on April 12th 1996. The Head of the Woreda OPDO branch and the Deputy Administrator of the Woreda are reported to have killed him. (1).

Eight people from Arba Gugu, Arsi, are reported killed by government forces between March 13th and May 30th, 1996.

From Golgolcha district:

Jarro Galmo Haro Jilo

Sheko Doni Useen Kado

Awwal Sani Kaliil Shaza, and

Mohamed Abdulkadir, from Seeru, Burqaa and

Mohamed Fara, from Challe, Warqe.

In the same period 3 men from Kurkurru, Arsi, were also killed:

Hussein Roba and

Jamal Mohamed of Hallo, Obbo and

Aliyi Mohamed, of Laga Hidda district. (2).

Kuma Tolosa, a farmer from Lemen town, Qondaltiti district, W.Showa, was shot dead by police in a bar on November 14th. (3).

Disappearances

The following disappearances reported by the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, have not been published previously by OSG:-

Hagos G/Igziabher Berhe, former Head of the Worker's Party of Ethiopia Department of Discipline and Inspection in Tigray, disappeared when the city of Desse was overran by the EPRDF forces on May 18th 1991

W/t Aberash Berta, Kebele 54, Woreda 19, Addis Ababa, 20.5.93

Endesirrachew Admasse, Gonder town, 19.6.94

Teshome Bimrew, Kebele 08, Woreda 13, Addis Ababa, 12.11.95

Lt. Adis Bayileyegne, Kebele 08, Woreda 16, Addis Ababa, 15.3.96

Adimew Tessema, Kebele 08, Woreda 01, Addis Ababa, 14.8.96

Alebachew Worku, Kebele 10, Woreda 2, Addis Ababa, 14.8.96. (1).

Dhaba Geleta, ran a small business between Dire Dawa and Addis Ababa. He lived in the Mesalemia area of the capital and did not return after going out on October 11th, 1996. He was once detained for eight months in Hurso camp/detention centre for "supporting the OLF" and had been detained briefly twice by government officers in Dire Dawa. Present location is unknown. (4).

Desalegne Abdena Jafe and

Mr Meseret were two youths from Dengoro district, Horro Gudru, E.Wollega, who were visiting Addis Ababa on business. They were reported on November 12th to have been abducted by government security forces and taken to the Fourth Army Division camp in Addis Ababa. Relatives claim that reliable sources report their presence in that camp, but have no official confirmation. (5).

Imprisonments etc

Six of the 15 government employees who were among the 79 arrested following the spontaneous demonstration at the funeral of Deraaraa Kefana on 6.9.94, in Ambo, W.Showa, have not been re-instated. They and their families are reported to be destitute. (6).

Abera Chewaqa, a pensioner, W/ro Gu-ay Kebede and Sgt Geletie Negatu, of Kebele 09, Woreda 24, Addis Ababa, were beaten by four armed policemen on 6.2.96. Abera Chewaqa was stopped by a policeman from Kolfe Police Training Centre about 40 metres from his home and beaten with a stick. His wife, Gu-ay, and neighbour, Sgt. Geletie, came in response to his cries for help, and were similarly beaten.

Tolosa Kishe, a farmer in Begajo Buyema, Meta Robi Woreda, W.Showa, was taken from his home at 2.00pm, 19.2.96, to the Goro forest, by a policeman and ten soldiers. They accused him of supporting the OLF, feeding rebels and hiding weapons. They tied his hands with nylon rope, lay him prone and repeatedly beat him with a stick. He was stabbed in the leg several times with a bayonet and seriously injured. Next day he was taken to Qetqetto and kept in the office of Wolinsu Service Co-operative until 9.4.96.

Private Geletu Abe, ex-policeman of Kebele 03, Dugda Woreda, Meqi town, was getting off a horse-drawn cart at 2.00pm on 6.3.96, when he was shot in the chest and wounded at a place called Melka Oda. He was shot by a member of the "Defence Force". He had complained of unfair dismissal from the police.

Dereje Tegenaw, a farmer of Konbolsh and Qitchetch, Siya Debr, Wayu Woreda, N.Showa, was arrested for alleged support of the All Amhara Peoples Organisation (AAPO) on 26.6.96. During interrogation he was tortured by stick and whip, and now has impaired vision in his right eye.

Eshete Worku, a youth from House 207, Kebele 33, Woreda 15, Addis Ababa, was taken on 14.7.96 at 5.00pm by three policemen to Woreda 15 Police Station, where he "was tied and beaten until he was seriously injured".

Suleiman Seid Abdella was travelling to North Gondar on 21.7.96 to visit his family. He was taken to Bichena Police Station by plain-clothed police and thence to Debre Markos Second Police Station next day. On 23.7.96 at 4.30pm, he was taken to the military camp of a unit of the 20th Mechanised Division located at Gimja Bet. He was accused of being a member of the AAPO, his hands tied with electric wire and he was whipped. On 26.7.96 he was moved to the headquarters of the 20th Mechanised Division. There, four soldiers took him to a large room, tied his hands and lay him prone on a large table. A large metal pipe was held across the nape of his neck and cloth stuffed into his mouth. His interrogation continued with repeated whipping of his back and legs with electric wire.

Tezera Zewde, employee of Yeki Woreda Malaria Control Office, was wrongly detained by three Woreda policemen for the theft of a microscope on 21.10.96. He was stripped, tied with nylon rope, dragged along the ground and injured by beating with a stick and piece of rubber, to make him confess, before his innocence became apparent. (1).

Two employees of Zeway Municipality, E.Showa, were reported in October to have been detained. They are Hussen Wakeyo and Tesfaye Idao. Both were initially accused of sympathy with the OLF, although Hussen's charge is now that of misshandling accounts. Their arrests were not supported by court or police order, but by order of a "selected committee", for which there is no role in the constitution. (7).

The names of four of six illegal detainees, who were being held secretly in the Fourth Army Division camp in Addis Ababa and who have been transferred to the main prison, were reported on 26.11.96:-

Salah Hassen, from Harar, Hararge

Haji Mohamed Amin Ahmed, Harar, said to have been severely tortured

Abadir Sheik Hassen Bekerage, 16 yrs, Dire Dawa, E.Hararge

Mr Tamirat, Nazareth/Adama, Showa. (8).

Forty civil servants, named by the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, have been dismissed without good reason.

(1).

Widespread confiscation of property by local police, soldiers and administrators continues, according to the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, who list instances in their Tenth Report. (1).

EASTERN OROMIA/ETHIOPIA

Killings

Anwar Negash, a youth of Kebele 14, Woreda 02, Harar city, was shot dead by a TPLF soldier and Lieutenant at 4.30pm, 11.6.95. The killers "have not been brought to justice". (1).

Ms Kadija Milo, Malka Ball'o district, Abadir locality, Hararge, was battered to death by TPLF soldiers on April 8th 1996. Relatives were prevented from burying her remains until 100 of them paid 10 Birr each. She had been suspected of supporting the OLF.

Aliyi Batcha "was battered and pulled into Kurkurru prison in Bale" on May 4th 1996.

Nine men were taken from prison in Abadir locality, Hararge, and executed, and four men in the Bojji locality, Hararge, "were hacked to death by the army" around March-May 1996.

The following, from Malka Ball'o district, Oborra, Hararge, were murdered by government forces between January and March, 1996:-

Mohamed Saniho Mohamed Ahmed

Ahmed Adam Abdalla Umara

Taddasa Gammada Shamsadin Yusuf Turi

Muyadin Hassan Ibro Abdulle Mohamed Roba

Abdullahi Aliyi Mohamed Aliyi

Ahmed Chiro Ibrahim Sayid Haji

Yusuf Hassan Mohamed Abdo

Abdulmalik Habinbee Mohamed Dawe

Hassan Mohamed Alishoo Mohamed

Yaqub Abdalla Ismael Adam

Ibrahim Mohamed Ahmed Aliyi

Mohamed Adam (Kottisa County) Ibrahim Mohamed

Mohamed Adam (Masala County) Jamal Sheka

Abdalla Mohamed Adam (Dirre Jibri) Mikalif Yusuf.

The following, from Booke, Dadar and Masala districts, Habro, Hararge, were killed by government forces between January and March, 1996:-

Dassa'a Sheik Ibrahim Aliyi Roba

Mohamed Ibro Ahmed Ibrahim

Dimee Hassan Ibro Mohamed Adam (Dima, Dadar)

Mohamed Adam Ali (Dibale, Dadar) Kibiru Dajane

Ibrahim Mammed Mammad Ahmed Garbi

Kerrudin Musa Taha Mohamed Abdalla

Abdalla Nure Abdusabur Mohamed

Ibrahim Musa Aliyi Mohamed Godana

Tukash Qasim Kerradin Hussein Abdalla

Abdalla Mohamed,

From Gaara Mul'ata, Hararge,:-

Sharif Yusuf, of Ganammi, Burqa,

Abdulsabur Abubakar, of Masala, Abadir, Carcar, and

Mohamed Adam Bor, of Dagaga, Roqa, Carcar, were killed in the same period.

The following, from Oborra, Hararge, were murdered between March 3rd and 10th, 1996.

From Malka Ball'o district:

Mohamed Adab Galab Jamal Sheik Hassan

Abdu Karim Ismael Mohamed Tano

Mohamed Ahmade Abdul Sabur Rashid

Mohamed Yuya Sabira

From Burqaa District:

Ahmad Aliyi Goli Mohamed Adam Golobi

Kadija Amino Kusse Adam Mumme Usman.

Between March 13 and May 16th, 1996, the following are reported killed:

Abba Chaffee, Masala district, Carcar, Hararge, and the following from Habro, Hararge,

From Daaro district:

Abdulmannam Ali Jilo Mohamed Galamo

Hassan Haji

From Baddessa district, Sokali county:

Mohamed Hussen Sani Sute Waday

Hussein Abdo Adam Abdarraman Abdo Abdulatif

From Dagaga district, Hallo county:

Mohamed Adam Boru Ibrahim Bonsa

Aliyi Mohamed.

Six people were killed in Waabee, Bale, between March 27th and May 18th, 1996:

Nasir Yunee Yusuf Mohamed Kamal Kabira

Muktar Mohamed Sani and Abrahim Kase, from Daro Labu, and

Adam Haji Hullo and Habibo Galato, from Gadullo.

More murders from Oborra, Hararge, are reported to have occurred in May 1996.

From Malka Ball'o district:

Mohamed Tahir Ahmed Abdul Wahib Taha

Ahmed Qote Mohamed Abdalla

From Mito district:

Abdi Yuya Hasso Abrahim Mummad

Ibrahim Aliyi Tahir Usmael Mumme Wadayi

From Dadar district:

Jafar Alisho Mazuz Nasro

Tamam Mohamed

From Gooro district:

Sayid Umar Abdi Mohamed Kabira

Abdalla Ibro Borana Mohamed Hassen Siyyo.

Four people from Gindhir district, Waabee, Bale, were reported killed between July 7th and 18th, 1996:

Ibrahim Badhaso Shano Siraj Hussein Badhaso

Ahmad Dabballe Hassan Ahmad (son of Ahmad Dabballe)

(2).

Further details about two killings in Baddessa, Quni district, W.Hararge, were published in Urji Newspaper on 17.9.96. The deaths of Siyoum Gonfa and Ahmed Ibrahim were briefly reported in the October/November Press Release. The deaths were said to have occurred in August.

Siyoum Gonfa was a young Oromo carpenter who had been detained for 6 months. He was singled out from other prisoners at 8.00pm on 10.9.96 "because he had refused to show where he had hidden armaments". He was taken a short distance from the town, shot eight times and left for dead. He had not been killed and managed to walk to his sister's house. With the assistance of neighbours he was taken to the police station to seek help. The officer on duty said "this individual was handing over armaments to the OLF. That is why we shot him...You can not take him to hospital". The officer took Siyoum, who was bleeding heavily, and locked him in a toilet. Local elders begged for his release. They were told that he should die suffering because he supported the OLF. He died on 11.9.96. The authorities refused to hand over the body for burial, but disposed of it secretly.

Ahmed Ibrahim was an Oromo qat merchant who had been imprisoned several times on suspicion of supporting the OLF. At 8.00pm one evening in September he was taken to the police station for questioning. Thence he was taken from prison and ordered to find hidden arms. He was beaten and stabbed in the region of his head by high ranking officers. He was then locked in a small room. Next morning, other prisoners saw his condition and sent a message to his family. Ahmed's mother appealed to the officers and was told to take her "OLF supporter son" to hospital. He died on admission to the nearby Asebe Teferi hospital.

More details on the death following torture of Haji Ibrahim Hussen have emerged since the October/November Press Release. Haji Ibrahim was the owner of the Awraris Hotel in Robe town, Bale. He was held for four months and became "mentally disturbed due to excessive torture". He was denied treatment and died on September 12th. Government officials refused appeals from his family and the community for his body to be handed over for burial. (9).

The following was reported in early November.

"A 7 month pregnant woman in Robe, Bale, was arrested and beaten because her husband had escaped from TPLF soldiers who came for him. She miscarried and later died in custody." Further details of events which followed her death are given below. See "Imprisonments etc". (10).

The following extra-judicial killings took place in Hararge Province in the the latter part of 1996, mostly in November. "Most of them had been killed by tying a rope around their neck and waist in order to hamper breathing, and by cutting their neck with a sword."

Aliyyi Yuddoo Adam, Gola Xiqqo village, Mayyu district, Gaara Mul'ata, on 18.11.96,

Abdulayi Xayil Suleman, Gola Xiqqo village, Mayyu district, Gaara Mul'ata, on 18.11.96,

Abrahim Tuqoo, Gabiba, Mayyu district, Gaara Mul'ata, on 18.11.96,

Adam Mohamed Ismael, Guguyi, Mayyu district, Gaara Mul'ata, on 26.11.96,

Arif Aliyyi Ahmed, Aliso Mayyu district, Gaara Mul'ata, on 26.11.96,

Ahmed Arab, Mojo, Burqaa district, Gaara Mul'ata on 26.11.96,

Alisho Mohamed Gudda, Gabiba 34, Baddessa, on 27.7.96,

Abduraman Tusho Ali, Gabiba 34, Baddessa, on 16.8.96,

Abrahim Abdalla, Gabiba 33, Baddessa, on 10.9.96,

Ahmed Ibrahim Waqo, Gabiba 34, Baddessa, on 5.9.96,

Ahmed Xayib Mohamed, Gabiba 33, Baddessa, on 3.9.96,

Ahmed Aliyi Abdalla, Gabiba 33, Baddessa, on 13.9.96,

Ahmed Ibrahim. Gabiba 33, Baddessa, on 13.9.96,

Abduraman Yuya, Goro Abbu, Gaara Mul'ata, on 13.9.96,

Bakir Abdalla Hasan, Rakko, Gurawa, Gaara Mul'ata, on 26.11.96,

Bakir Abdalla, Mojo, Burqaa, Gaara Mul'ata, on 30.11.96,

Faraha Negawo, Rata Hare, Mayyu, Gaara Mul'ata, on 26.11.96,

Husen Xahir Bune, Gabiba 34, Baddessa, on 11.8.96,

Harshi Abdo, Hameyi, Laga Dhare, Bale, on 28.10.96,

Ibrahim Usman Ahmed, Jilcha, Gurama, Gaara Mul'ata, on 26.11.96,

Ibrahim Usman, Rakko, Dobu, Gaara Mul'ata, on 30.11.96,

Ibrosa Ahmed Ture, Gabiba 33, Baddessa, on 13.9.96,

Jamal Adam Ulo, Gabiba 33, Mayyu, Gaara Mul'ata, on 26.11.96,

Johar Sa'id, Huxxee, Malka Bal'o, Obora, on 25.5.96,

Mohamed Tutto, Gabiba 33, Mayyu, Gaara Mul'ata, on 26.11.96,

Muhuyi Suleman, Gabiba 33, Mayyu, Gaara Mul'ata, on 26.11.96,

Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Mojo, Burqaa, Gaara Mul'ata, on 26.11.96,

Mohamed Musa Sa'id, Gabiba 34, Baddessa, on 11.8.96,

Mohamed Adam Baro, Gabiba 34, Baddessa, on 5.9.96,

Mohamed Umar Dadhi, Gabiba 33, Baddessa, on 13.9.96,

Mohamed Sa'id Ibro, Goro Abu, Burqaa, Gaara Mul'ata, on 15.9.96,

Muktar Jibril, Daraba, Kurkuru, 28.10.96,

Nahawi Mohamed, Gabiba 33, Baddessa, on 5.7.96,

Shamil Ibro Ahmed, Gola Xiqqo, Mayyu, Gaara Mul'ata, on 18.11.96,

Umar Ismael, Gabiba 33, Mayyu, Gaara Mul'ata, on 26.11.96,

Usman Amado, Goro Abu, Daraba, Kurkuru, on 28.10.96 and

Usne Gitacha, Goro Abu, Daraba, Kurkuru, on 28.10.96. (11).

Disappearances

Since the October/November Press Release it has been confirmed that Mr Darimu, of Wal-Tahii village, Ginir sub-district, Bale, has disappeared. In a September raid on the village, government troops abducted about forty residents, beat Mr Hussen Darimu and his son, Mohamed Hussen, unconscious, and beat one Mrs Aysha so that she lost one ear. Mohamed Hussen's life was "spared by the intervention of the community". His father was taken by stretcher to Dalo Sebro and his whereabouts are now not known. The chairman of the local peasants association protested about the force used on Mohamed Hussen, and was himself imprisoned because of doing so. (9).

It was reported in October that Elias Mohamed Ibro, father of six and family head, had been abducted and disappeared. He was an administration employee who had worked in various offices in the Burka district of E.Hararge since 1993. He had previously been detained in Jigjiga for three months. (7).

Abdurazak Abdo and

Hussen Abdo, both sons of Haji Abdo Wade, of Robe, Bale, were imprisoned , along with relatives Jeyban Kasim and Awel Kemer, four years ago. They were taken to and later moved from Awassa prison but have been untraceable since. See Haji Abdo Wade, Imprisonments, below. (4).

It was reported in late December that the husbands of two women from Husse village, Gurawa, Gaara Mul'ata, Hararge, who were gang raped by EPRDF soldiers (see below), were kidnapped by the EPRDF. Mr Abdulkarim (husband of Zenaba Yuya) and Mr Adam (husband of Halima Mohamed) are being held in unknown locations. (11).

Imprisonments etc

Usman Yusouf Umer, a farmer from Hara Deneba, Bedeno Woreda, E.Hararge, was taken from his home on 12.4.96 to Hara Deneba Primary School compound, where is the military camp of the 3rd Force of the 12th Battalion. His hands were tied and "he was beaten mercilessly". (1).

In Wolaabu, Bale, lives a wife of the famous Oromo nationalist, Gutu Waaqoo (or Waaqoo Gutu). Eighteen of her camels were stolen in August and appeared at the markets in Bidire and Massloo. "For weeks the elderly lady appealed to the EPRDF authorities in Massloo for her camels to be returned...The EPRDF fighters were the one who brought (sic) the camels...Unfortunately, no-one wanted to buy the camels for even 70 Birr; they normally cost 800-1000 Birr...One thing is impressive - that our people are conscious of the enemy's strategy."

(12).

Ibso Hussein Aliyi, believed to be from Kurkurru area, Bale, had his genitals lacerated by TPLF militia, in front of his family, before being thrown into gaol in May 1996. (2).

In addition to the five named in the October/November Press Release, the following from the Kebeles of Denbel Misra and Koloba, Gasira district, Bale, were imprisoned at the end of August in the Denbel police station. They are accused of supporting the OLF:-

Biru Ahmed Hussen Geredo

Genedi Kebir Kelil Jemal Ibrahim

Shozeli Hussen Abduljelil Alo

Kediro Ahmed Mohamed Alo Gobena

Beyan Kediro Aman Kedir

Beyan Haji Kedir (reportedly critically ill due to torture)

Temam Haji Kedir Hassen Kedir

Mussa Omar Temam Hussen

Residents of Denbel Misra and Koloba are fleeing in large numbers, to avoid detention. (13).

In addition to the 31 imprisoned in the September raid on Wal-Tahii, Ginir, Bale (see October/November Press Release and Disappearances, above), the following three were reported in September to have been held for three months in Ginir prison and to have been tortured:-

Abduselam Kebir Mohamed

Sabel Kassim and

Hussen Mohamed Feto.

Some of the prisoners in Ginir have been transferred to Goba, the zonal capital. (9).

Mohamed Hussen, a teacher at Gasera Secondary School, was detained on 28.9.96 without a court order. He had previously been held by EPRDF officers without court order for thirteen months, because of alleged involvement with the OLF in 1993. His current "offence" was his refusal to accept proposed membership of the EPRDF. He is now in Goba prison. (7).

The following was reported in early November.

"A 7 month pregnant woman in Robe, Bale, was arrested and beaten because her husband had escaped from TPLF soldiers who came for him. She miscarried and later died in custody. When relatives went to claim her body, they were told to replace the remains with a living relative. When asked to explain, the TPLF soldiers said "She died with OLF objectives still stuck in her brain and we couldn't get what we wanted from her". The people of Robe refused to denounce compatriots when they were forced to attend self-criticism meetings and expose those who had rallied behind the OLF when and shortly after it was a legal political party.

When people refused to expose one and another, many were shouted at and beaten. Some were tortured by having large containers fixed to their testicles. The containers were then filled with water.

They even tortured an 80 year old man, Haji Abdo Wade, who was in prison with four of his sons" [reported in November to have been detained with him for five months, and named Abubaker, Muktar, Abduraf (13 yrs) and Riad Abdo (12 yrs), (4)].

"Civil servants are being interrogated about things they don't know. Anyone named Mohamed is accused of being an OLF member. If the name is Kabada, he is considered an Amhara.

Some people, who themselves were mistreating and torturing our people, are now in prison. Some of them have turned against each other, especially the former OPDO Representative for Bale Region, Girma Tulu, and the Secretary of Bale Administrative Region, Mr Bookii. Both were in prison with the people they were mistreating previously, and they are suffering. Another example is the man who claims to have been the one to imprison Shabee Sheko.

Girma Tulu was the sort to beat you, man or woman, if you so much as strayed in front of his car. He has done a lot of bad things against the people of Sinana district, which cannot be forgotten. He is now afraid to go out of his house. The police even take his urine out.

Some people who were previously detained in Adaba have been detained again. Hundreds of Oromos have been detained in Goba Central Prison and are suffering lack of sanitation, malnutrition and infection.

A few weeks ago, about 140 Oromo prisoners were transferred from Robe Central Prison, to Goba Central Prison. All are accused of supporting the OLF." (10).

Haji Abdo Wade's imprisonment is corroborated from another source. He is in fragile health following surgery prior to imprisonment. According to Urji newspaper, he is being questioned about the whereabouts of two of his 37 children. The authorities want to know the location of Abdurazak and Hussen Abdo. Both sons were imprisoned in Awassa by the present government, along with relatives Jeyban Kasim and Awel Kemer, four years ago. They were known to have been moved from Awassa prison but have been untraceable since. (4)

"There are over 2,000 prisoners in the Goba main prison centres. Among these, 90% are OLF suspects.

Two medical doctors and tens of peasants are imprisoned in old Ethiopian Workers Party building - now the EPRDF's Military Centre - Goba, opposite the Goba Ras (Shabelle) Hotel.

In the district of Massloo, south of Goba, there are 200 prisoners, 95% are OLF suspected groups. Obbo Abdulwahas Jilloo Habbe is a typical example. This person was in prison since almost 1992. But without a single evidence of any crime...

Almost every Peasant Association (Kebele) has a prison...In Dadar Aanaa and Mummicha, 25 km SE of Dadar, ...tens of peasants are collected in a simple house without any protection, medical care or food supply. The reason was some sort of connection with the OLF...Any person who is not in agreement with the peasant autocrats is sure to be in prison the next day. There is no police station, just endless prison."

(12).

The following were reported arrested in October, 1996:-

Sheik Ahmed Aman Tilmo and

Abdulbeset Sheik Abdurjefar, from Denbel Kebele, Gasera district, Bale, and

Abdiyo Aman, farmer,

Kedir Jemasi, farmer, and

Kebir Hussen Aman, teacher of religious education, from Gerenba Dima Kebele, Dinsho district, Bale.

All are charged with supporting Moslem extremists. Local people deny the existence of religious extremism in the area and say the move is merely another way of harassing Oromos. (4).

It was reported on the 21st December that two mothers from Husse village, Gurawa, Gaara Mul'ata, Hararge, were taken from their homes by EPRDF soldiers, and after repeated torture and beatings were gang raped by soldiers. One has developed a uterine prolapse because of this. Their names are Zenaba Yuya and Halima Mohamed. (11).

WESTERN OROMIA/ETHIOPIA

Killings

Abdi Merga, a teenager attending secondary school in Nekemte, Wollega, wrote to OSG in February or early March, 1996. The letter contained pro-Oromo sentiments but was hardly seditious. He was discovered by EPRDF forces, carrying a draft copy of this letter, and was killed because of this, on 11.4.96.

The most inflammatory part of his letter was "no-one but the Oromo Liberation Front wins our hearts...To be honest, we all hoped to win peacefully, but this inhuman government of the EPRDF saw it would gain no votes and so ruined the charter...Many died in prison but our struggle is not interrupted and we are fighting courageously. The time for our dream to become truth has come." (14,15).

Fekadu Ofga'a, a 45 yr old farmer and father of 21, was taken from his home in Haro Gaba Jimata Kebele, Mana Sibu district, W.Wollega, on 7.6.96. He was taken to Chamo Dabus. He died of wounds sustained under torture on 9.6.96. His death, without information on torture, was reported (as Bafikadu Ofgaha, Mendi) in the August/September Press Release. (13).

Abdisa Feyisa, from Jardega Kebele, Jarte district, Horro Gudru, E.Wollega, was reported on 26.11.96 to have died of wounds received from torture. He was held and tortured in several places before transfer to prison in Addis Ababa. In all, he spent nine months in prison before his release (after payment of 1,000 Birr) and death from torture wounds. (8).

Imprisonments etc

The Ethiopian Human Rights Council reports the torture of three early Benishangul Peoples Liberation Movement members. Ismael Yesouf Almerdi, Reshdu Ahmed and Almamu Mustafa were on their way to Asosa from Komosha to gather support for the new Benishangul and Western Ethiopian Peoples Democratic Party. They were stopped and taken to Tsore Military Camp on 9.9.94. Their hands were tied together with their feet. They were laid on their fronts and lifted "off the ground with wooden poles inserted between their legs and hands and swung to and fro like a pendulum for three hours". Ismael Yesouf Almerdi was detained at the camp for three and a half months without medical care or sufficient food. He has an atrophied right hand following torture. (1).

More detail on the arbitrary detention of Amanuel Taye (see October/November Press Release) has been submitted by his brother to the United Nations Centre for Human Rights. Amanuel is a 28 year old teacher at Yubdo Elementary School, Chalia, near Gimbi, W.Wollega. He was arrested without court order or warrant, in April 1996. Family applications for habeas corpus have been refused "because he is a political prisoner". He is accused along with thirteen others of being involved in a politically motivated killing. He was held at Guliso prison from April to June. The Guliso administration found no evidence to support the allegation nor to support further investigations. Their decision to release him was overturned and he was transferred to Gimbi prison, where he remains. Amanuel's support of the OLF was limited to the period when they were a legal political party in 1991 and 1992. This is the fourth time he has been imprisoned since 1992. He has never been charged with any offence. Conditions at Gimbi prison are bad (see October/November Press Release). Amanuel is not allowed visitors. Malnutrition and infectious diseases like TB, dysentery and typhus are rife at the prison. (16).

Abaynesh Kabeta was a final year student nurse when she was jailed in July 1996. She had never left her home area of Mendi, W.Wollega, but was accused of being an OLF fighter. She was being held in Nekemte prison at least up to mid-October. (7).

Urji Newspaper has written a report on the prisons and their conditions in Jimma Zone, in December 1996. The newspaper estimates there are 35-40,000 political prisoners in Oromia, of whom only 3,000 have "budget for a ration". It reports disputes within the prison system because of overcrowding and underfunding.

From "concrete evidence" including eye-witness reports, the newspaper states that there are more than 2,000 political prisoners in Jimma. The report includes the names, professions, dates of detention and alleged crimes of 126 detainees in Jimma Prison, Jimma Police Station and Jimma Zonal Police Headquarters. It gives similar information on 16 detainees in Agaro Prison and Agaro Police Station. Prisoners are also being held in large and small military camps around Jimma town, rural offices of Kebele Associations and Co-operatives and even kindergartens.

Detainees have been held for two months to two years and the majority are peasant farmers. The remainder are mainly traders and include old and young, even nursing mothers. Most are alleged supporters of the OLF and the others are alleged to support the IFLO (Islamic Front for the Liberation of Oromia). The majority have not been charged. A few have appeared in court, as many as five times, to be turned away for lack of documents. Some are alleged to have committed crimes such as murder, but "no-one clarifies who was killed, where and how". Many are being held far away from their home.

If a sentence is passed, it is passed by a local assembly of villagers under pressure from the authorities. A victim reported that one gathering was called upon to pass the death sentence on him.

Prison conditions are disturbing. Detailed information was obtained about Jimma Prison and Police Station. Because of overcrowding, detainees sleep with heads on neighbour's legs. "It is impossible for them to even squat on the floor." No mattresses or bed clothing are allowed. The prison floors were made of cement screed during the Dergue time. They have been deliberately damaged "to make sleeping on them impossible". Detainees have been denied the opportunity to buy drinking water. They were told that they were in prison to suffer.

Contagious diseases are rife in the prisons. 80% of the detainees in Sigimo and Gattira districts have Tuberculosis. Details of the 142 detainees in Jimma and Agaro are available from OSG. (17).

SOUTHERN OROMIA/ETHIOPIA

Killings

The following persons from Borana were killed by armed members of the OPDO, because they were believed to be supporters of the OLF:-

Jara Udessa, Dada Buji Peasants Association (PA), Hagere Mariam, 12.1.96

Lt. Robe Ganale, Burjii PA, Hagere Mariam, 15.2.96

Gayo Galano, Burjii PA, Hagere Mariam, 15.2.96

Katelo Waji, Galena PA, Hagere Mariam, 19.2.96

Jenge Shano, Barguda PA, 23.2.96

Shagula Elema, Burjii PA, Hagere Mariam, 23.2.96

W/ro Alemnesh Fantu, Melka Sodo PA, Hagere Mariam, 25.2.96

Hotessa Analo, Burjii PA, Hagere Mariam, 11.3.96 (1).

Imprisonments etc

Three traders, Demisse Abadiga, Abebe Gindo and Teshome G/Tsadik of Gimbo Woreda, Kaficho zone, were wrongfully arrested on 27.6.95 for the theft of corrugated iron sheets from the roof of Tepbuti Kebele producer's co-operative. The deputy chairman of the Woreda council and three Woreda policemen took the traders from the police station to the Woreda Council's meeting hall, ordered the three to strip and flogged them to force them to confess theft of the iron sheets. (1).

OGADEN

Killings

TPLF militia are reported to have burnt nine men and one girl to death, in Qabridaharre on September 2nd.

They included:-

Ali Abdi Hirsi Abdi Osman Farah

Mohamed Diriye Shide Abdirahman Jiis

Abshir Abdi Tarey

Miss Fadumo Addow. (18).

Mrs Fadumo Mohamed, the wife of Commander Alifleh, from Shaygosh, was hacked to death by TPLF men on October 5th. Her children were taken to the barracks. (18).

Disappearances

These two elders of Guna-Gado have not been seen since their detention on August 18th:-

Sayid Ahmed Anshur and Buraaleh Mohamed Askar

The following shopkeepers and a restauranteur from Garbo, were called for questioning by the militia on August 23rd and have subsequently disappeared:-

Hassan-nur Abdullahi Dool Ibrahim Alaki

Aden Ali Barre Abdi Aden

Shafi'i Mohamed Shugri Ahmed Dhogor

Mrs Asmo Sh. Mohamed and her baby. (18).

Imprisonments etc

The names of three Ogadeni Members of Parliament who were arrested in Dire Dawa in July 1996 and held in Jigjiga, were published in the October/November Press Release. In September, Amnesty International named nine others, all members of the ONLF,:-

Ahmed Makahil Hussein, arrested in Jigjiga, 1.9.95, former President of Region Five

Ali Bashe Sheikh Abdi, arrested in Jigjiga, 2.8.96, Member of Regional Assembly

Riyale Hamud Ahmed, arrested in Jigjiga, 2.8.96, Member of Regional Assembly, previously detained without charge or trial from July 1995 to May 1996

Ibrahim Aden Mahamud "Dolal", arrested in Jigjiga, 10.7.96, since transferred to Addis Ababa,

Member of Regional Assembly

Abdirashid Ahmed Khalif, arrested in Jigjiga, July 1996, former Member of Regional Assembly

Mohamed Sheikh Hassan, arrested in Jigjiga, July 1996, Member of Regional Assembly

Mohamed Sheikh Abdi Ahmed, arrested in Jigjiga, July 1996, Member of Regional Assembly

Hanood Banday, arrested in Jigjiga, July 1996, former Member of Regional Assembly.

Amnesty International "fears that they might be subjected to torture or ill-treatment, as they are mostly held incommunicado and the whereabouts of several of the detainees are not known. There have been reliable reports of torture and extra-judicial executions of suspected ONLF supporters in the Ogaden."

(19).

The following businessmen were detained at Nus-Dariiqa on 18.8.96:-

Abdiqadir Mohamed Aden (Fatul) Muse Mohamed Isse (Faroole)

Dayib Mohamed Shaah-qaboojiye Ahmed Sh. Ali Dhagood

Sheikh Abdinasir Mukhtar Ali Kurweyne

Yusuf Dheere

These businessmen and woman were detained in Dhagahbur in August:-

Abdullahi Ahmed Fidhin Rashid Ahmed Fidhin

Abdi Ahmed Khalif Mrs Salin Sheikh Ahmed (18).

TORTURE AND KILLING

"One torture method used in a TPLF military camp in Ginnir, Bale region, was locking up prisoners in an empty steel barrel and tormenting with heat in the tropical sun during the day and with cold at night. Another torture method practised around Golgolcha locality in Arsi region was putting a prisoner in a pit and making fire on top of him/her. As a result of suffocation and heat, the prisoner is made to confess to whatever crimes the agonizer names. One of the victims of such a torture method was a 75 year old man, whose property was claimed to belong to the OLF and thus confiscated. In a similar incident, on July 7, 1996, TPLF militias invaded the home of 80 years old Mr Ibrahim Badhaso, killed him by cutting his throat, and threw his body into the bush. He was suspected of supporting the OLF." (2).

The killing of Mr Badhaso was not included in the main body of this Press Release because the location is not given.

FORCED REPATRIATIONS

Amnesty International has continued to highlight the mistreatment of individuals detained in Djibouti and Somaliland and returned to Ethiopia against their will.

Girmay Moges Newaye-Mariam, aged 38, defected from the TPLF in 1981 and was a registered refugee in Djibouti when he was arrested on 17.8.96. He was handed over to Ethiopia (see October/November Press Release). He was taken to court on several occasions in September and October, in Mekelle, Tigray. He has not been charged nor allowed access to family or lawyer. In December, it was reported that he is permanently kept in handcuffs.

Muyhadin Muftah, the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front leader, whose detention in Djibouti and transfer to Ethiopia was reported in the October/November Press Release, is reported to be detained secretly and incommunicado in Tigray. He was described as "disappeared" in December.

Hussein Ahmed Aydrus (named Aydrus Hussein in October/November Press Release) and other members of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), who were arrested in Djibouti on September 1st and forcibly returned to Ethiopia, are "disappeared" in custody in Ethiopia. They include Yusuf Hersi Ollow, Elmi Ahmed, Abdiqadir Dahir and Abdikarim Hussein Hassan. Hussein Ahmed Aydrus was reported in December to be held in an unknown place in Addis Ababa and to be suffering effects of torture. He was unable to stand or walk and was being denied medical treatment.

Three other ONLF members, Ahmed Mohamed, Abdullahi Haliye and Abdullahi Qaji, whose arrest in Hargeisa in Somaliland on August 17th was reported in the October/November Press Release, were forcibly returned to Ethiopia on October 20th. Abdullahi Haliye was reported in December to be held at the "military headquarters" in Addis Ababa and to be suffering effects of torture, including fractures of both legs. He was being denied medical treatment. (18,20,21).

HUSSEIN SORA - INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM OF THE TPLF

The death of the young Kenyan Oromo lawyer, Hussein Sora, was reported by OSG in August/September 1996. He had compiled a report on Ethiopian incursions into Kenya and a copy of this report has been sent to OSG. It was completed in March 1996, and copies were sent to the Minister of Internal Security, Director of Security Intelligence, Director of Criminal Intelligence, Commissioner of Police, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eastern Provincial Commissioner, Provincial Police and CID Officers, and head of Eastern Province Security Intelligence.

Shortly afterwards in March, Hussein Sora died. He was found unconscious outside his residence in Nairobi and died without regaining consciousness. He was very active in supporting Oromo with immigration problems. It is suspected that he was poisoned by agents of the Ethiopian government. He accuses the Ethiopian government of international terrorism after repeated incursions into Kenya. Extracts of his report follow:-

(4)he forays into Kenya by the Ethiopian security forces are not isolated incidents. They are numerous and started...since 1991/2...

The incidents of TPLF/EPRDF escapades in Kenya since 1992 are as follows.

2nd July 1992. Assassination of Jatani Ali, a Borana refugee in Nairobi, by TPLF agents.

9th October 1992. A house belonging to the sister to Butiye Councillor Golicha Galgalo was bombed and two occupants seriously injured..Liban Galma and Jillo Gamachu.

Two civil servants working at Moyale district hospital were abducted by TPLF/EPRDF forces and were initially detained at Moyale, Ethiopia. They were subsequently transferred to Boku Luboma about 80 kms from Moyale...only released after intervention by Kenyan government.

28th April 1994. Halakhe Kinni, a Kenyan, was shot at by TPLF/EPRDF soldiers while in his shamba at Annona within Sololo division. He escaped with his life and reported the matter to Sololo police station.

Early September, 1994. Molu Boru Liban, a Kenyan cattle herder was abducted by TPLF/EPRDF forces at Dambala Fachana from his cattle boma. He was sick with malaria at the time. He was never heard of or seen since then.

9th September 1994. Two Kenyan charcoal burners were killed at Godh Hadheesa in Oda, sublocation of Moyale division by TPLF/EPRDF forces.

21st September 1994. A heavily armed contingent of TPLF/EPRDF soldiers attacked a manyatta at Damba Fachana in Kenya. Twelve people were killed. 21 were injured, including Taro Sora, Assistant Chief of Moodo Adi, and four policemen.

1995. The home of Assistant Chief, Bori Sub-location, Osma Guyo Jatani was attacked by TPLF/EPRDF forces...

1995. Two elders from Bori were abducted and subsequently released.

13th July 1995. Galma Kalicha Godo was abducted from his shamba at Annona in Sololo. He was taken to Idilola were he was held for 68 days...

December 1995. The home of Assistant Chief Abakame of Uran Sub-location was bombed by TPLF/EPRDF after members of his family were asked to move out...(Animals), the house and the entire household goods were destroyed.

11th January 1996. Two (more) Kenyan charcoal burners were killed at Oda, Moyale, named Tulicha Kiya and Huka Bagaja.

4th February 1996. In broad daylight in Moyale township and about 300 metres from Moyale Police Station, two Kenyans, Mohamed Ali and Hussein Salim, were shot and seriously injured.

8th February 1996. The home of Assistant Chief Tara Sora of Modo Adi Sub-location, Sololo division was bombed by forces of the TPLF/EPRDF. The Assistant Chief, his wife and a relative were killed instantly. (His) two young children and brother were seriously injured...

27th February 1996. Giuyo Miyo was shot and killed near Moyale hospital by TPLF/EPRDF forces in broad daylight at about 1.00pm.

5th March 1996. TPLF/EPRDF forces invaded Moyale town at about 10.00pm and started shooting at the NCCK compound. A Kenyan Secondary School teacher was killed. Kenyan Security Forces engaged the TPLF soldiers in a firefight and killed one of them...

12th March 1996. Kalicha Dima, a businessman and two Assistant Chiefs, one named Ali Godana, were arrested by TPLF soldiers and are being held at unknown places in Ethiopia.

PRESS

Taye Belachew, Editor, and

Anteneh Merid, Deputy Editor of the Amharic monthly and weekly "Tobiya", were arrested on 22nd and 25th November, respectively, and are being held in the Central Investigation Office at Maikelawi in Addis Ababa. This is the third time that Taye Belachew has been held without warrant or charge. For Anteneh Merid, this is his second arrest. He was charged and held without trial previously for over one month for publishing an article on non-violent resistance.

Goshu Moges took over the management of "Tobiya" and was himself taken from his home early on 12.12.96 and is being held at Maikelawi.

Arega Woldekirkos stepped in as Editor in Chief and was taken from his office on 6th January and held in Maikelawi. AKPAC, the firm which publishes "Tobiya", announced on January 9th that weekly "Tobiya" was to cease publication because AKPAC did not want to put forward more people "for sacrifice".

Dawit Kebede, Publisher of Amharic weekly "Fyameta", and

Daniel Derash, Editor of Amharic weekly "Kitab", were both apprehended on 11.12.96.

Abinet Tamirat, Editor of Dagmawi, was released after 54 weeks detention without conviction, on 13.11.96.

Girmayeneh Mammo, former Editor of Tomar, was released on 7.11.96, after 13 months detention.

Tesfaye Deressa, former Editor, and

Guruma Bekele, General Manager/Deputy Editor of the weekly "Urji", were fined in December the sum of 4,000 Birr each for publishing information about the Oromo Liberation Front. Guruma was also called to Region 14 Police Commission for questioning on about December 27th. He was released on bail but

Solomon Nemera, acting Editor, who was called for questioning on the same day, remains in detention.

The Ethiopian Free Press Journalists' Association claimed that 12 journalists remain in prison, 10 without trial. One has disappeared and another is in hiding. (22,23,24,25,26).

RESIGNATIONS

Non-Tigrean staff of Embassies of Ethiopia in America, France, Britain and Sweden have testified to the chauvinist Tigrean posture taken by Embassies. OSG has obtained statements from five embassy staff members who have resigned and requested asylum in the West. The latest were written by two of the three who recently left the embassy in Stockholm. The press statement issued by the Number Two at the embassy, Adnew Wakjira, appears in full overleaf. Extracts from the statement by Counsellor Negussu Tamrat follow.

Press Statement by resigning Counsellor Adnew Wakjira, Ethiopian Embassy, Stockholm, Sweden, November 5th, 1996

I have decided to terminate my service as a diplomat for the Ethiopian Government. The reason for my decision is of course well known to anyone who views the Ethiopian political scene with a modicum (of) objectivity.

When the dictatorship of the military government was brought to an end in 1991, we all hoped that the long suffering peoples of Ethiopia were at long last on the threshold of a democratic era for the first time in their history.

But that was not to be. As subsequent events were to demonstrate, the party in power, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), chose to install itself as a one party mono-ethnic dictatorship rather than open the way for (a) genuine democratic process. All the sham elections since held have only helped the EPRDF to acquire absolute monopoly over political power in Ethiopia.

The EPRDF government has restructured the country in a manner that would enable it to exercise absolute political control and domination and plunder its vast resources.

Ethiopia is now slipping back into the cycle of violence, oppression, resistance, etc. that is reminiscent of the days of the military dictatorship, even worse in many respects.

Arbitrary detentions, political killings and the general lack of respect for human rights have become the rule rather than the exception in today's Ethiopia.

The brunt of these human rights violations and systematic political persecution has fallen on the Oromo people, who constitute the largest nationality group in Ethiopia. In spite of their democratic preponderance and immense economic potential, the Oromos have always been denied their due place in the Ethiopian polity.

The Oromo people are challenging the status quo that has relegated them to a secondary position. As a result Oromos - young and old, women and children, including pregnant women, intellectuals and farmers - have all become today targets of indiscriminate gross human rights violation by the Tigrean dominated EPRDF government. They are incarcerated, killed, or simply "disappeared" merely because they are Oromos. What is going on is a sheer campaign of hate and hysteria directed against a particular national group.

It is not difficult to see the explosive situation developing in Ethiopia as a result of the myopic policies of the EPRDF government. The international community should act now before Ethiopia explodes into the likes of Burundi or Rwanda.

The true friends of the country have the duty and the responsibility to refrain from doing business with the present regime as if everything were normal. The policy of cooperation has not only prolonged the reign of tyranny in Ethiopia, but could also harm the long term interests of the West and the search for lasting peace in the country.

The most dangerous trend observable is the tendency, on the part of the governments in the West, to apply double standards when dealing with the Ethiopian regime and neglect observation of universally accepted democratic principles. The regime has failed the democratic test and thus deserves not the support but the sanction of the international community.

Adnew Wakjira

Press Statement by resigning Counsellor Negussu Tamrat, Ethiopian Embassy, Stockholm, Sweden, November 8th, 1996

I have been one of the two counsellors of the Ethiopian Embassy in Scandinavian countries, headquartered in Stockholm, for the last several years, but I am now relinquishing, freely, all my services to the current tribalistic EPRDF regime of Ethiopia, since in good conscience, I can no longer stand the deplorable nadir of misrule of my country, that persists, despite all my efforts to rectify the situation from within. At the Ethiopian Embassy, in Stockholm, we had been five diplomats. Very recently, however, two of my colleagues left the embassy with disgust, for good reasons. With my departure now, the cadre-ambassador, so appointed because he belongs to the Tigre ethnic group, shall be left with only one other junior diplomat, of his own ethnic group...

From the outset, the EPRDF has been and still is an undemocratic political clique...that represents only its ever-dwindling members...

Massive violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms have become routine in Ethiopia...(A)n array of international instruments on human rights are going through the motion of formal adoption...(E)very article of the said treaties are being constantly and deliberately violated...(A) plethora of the violations of the regime, are not being reported by the news media, as if there is an international conspiracy to hide the oppression, plight and suffering of the Ethiopian people...(T)he EPRDF regime has been and still is violating the human rights of the people, through false imprisonment...commando assassins...involuntary disappearances...

(T)he EPRDF regime had long reached a political decision to deprive its known opponents, especially all members of the Free Press, their right to freedom of expression...The law that had been concocted especially for the Press was carefully designed to muffle hostile journalists...

The EPRDF regime...wants to abuse the human rights and democratic freedoms of the people of Ethiopia, rig elections, balkanise the country into ethnic pieces and exploit the bulk of the economic wealth of the country for the sole benefit of a tiny ethnic group, of Tigray or its cadres, at the shameless exclusion of the population of the entire country!...

Negussu Tamrat

The three defectors are seeking asylum in the USA.