Letter

Dear: The Honourable Mona Fortie , MP -Ottawa-Vanier, 

President of the Treasury Board of Canada. 

My name is HABTAMU NINI ABINO and I am one of your constituents in Ottawa-Vanier Riding area, I am writing to you regarding the increasingly dire situation for Oromo Civilians throughout the Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia, particularly in light of recent drone attack and attacks against civilians perpetrated by  Amhara Militia.

There have recently been reports of an escalation of violent attacks being carried out by the Amhara militia group Known as Fano throughout Western Oromia,Angergutin and Kiramu districts of East Wollega Zone, the East Shewa Zone, and in Horo-Guduru wollega zone,where a video showing several members of Fano Speaking in front of the decapitated heads of individuals from Jardega Jarte began circulating online.

On December 3 ,2022, Jawar Mohammed the Executive committee member of the Oromo Federalist Congress party(the leading Oromo Opposition party),tweeted that 350 people had massacred  and 4ooK

Had been displaced in the past 48 hours due to this violence.

Over the past few weeks, there have been also multiple reports of drone attacks throughout Western Oromia Regional State. These drone attacks have been reported most frequently in the West Wollega,,West Shewa and North Shewa Zones, leading to the death of Civilians. In one of these attacks which took place on November 2,2022, a witness told AP News that dozens of people had been killed and hundreds were Injured in the District of Bila, Western  Wollega zone. Most recently, I have heard reports of drone attack in the Wora- Jarso district of   North Shewa Zone on December 2nd, leading to the death of 80 civilians and airstrikes  in Sassiga,East Wollega Zone on December  4th. Social media reports have been circulating about airstrike in the districts of Begi,Gidami and Togo  in West Wollega and Kellem Wollega Zones on December 5th.

Background of Oromo struggle: 

Taking into account the history of oppression of the Oromo in Ethiopia and numerous reports by rights groups of attacks against the community – is that the violence in Oromia is mainly driven by the federal government and its agents.

The Oromo Liberation Army is responding to state terrorism and gross human rights violations. Oromo voices are not represented in the Ethiopian government, the global system or the media. The federal government and its allies, particularly Amhara elites and forces, blame the Oromo movement for the violence.

This is a strategy to delegitimise the Oromo struggle for self-determination. The Oromo consider themselves a nation. They are estimated to make up between 35% and 50% of Ethiopia’s 115 million people. An exact figure is difficult to come by as the government doesn’t provide this data.

Ethiopia has about 80 ethnonational groups. The Amhara make up about 27% of the population. Their language, culture, history and religion have dominated other ethno-national groups. Their warlords and leaders have dominated Ethiopia’s political economy for almost 150 years.

Despite their numbers, the Oromo consider themselves colonial subjects. This is because, like other subjugated ethno-national groups, they have been denied access to their country’s political, economic and cultural resources. Habasha (Amhara-Tigray) warlords colonised Oromia.

The region was then incorporated into Abyssinia (the Ethiopian Empire) in the late 19th century. Menelik II, the Ethiopian emperor, established a form of colonialism that settled Amhara, Tigrayan and other ethnic soldiers in Oromia. Most Oromos were reduced to serfs, providing free labour and tax revenue.

The colonial government claimed about three-quarters of Oromo lands for its officials and soldiers. It granted the remaining quarter to Oromo collaborators. In the 1970s, to oppose political, economic and cultural marginalisation, Oromo nationalists created the Oromo Liberation Front.

Its military wing is the Oromo Liberation Army. They wanted national democracy and self-determination, and participated in the failed revolutions of 1974, 1991 and 2018.

The Ethiopian state has continued to subject the Oromo people to violence and human rights violations. Successive Ethiopian governments have caused deep social, political, cultural and economic crises in Oromo society.

The government and the Oromo Liberation Front have blamed each other for the latest outbreak of violence in Oromia, particularly in Wallaga. A sub-group of the Oromo, the Macha, live in Wallaga. They have been targets of the Ethiopian government and expansionist Amharas, who claim to be the original owners of the region.

During the famine of the 1970s, desperate Tigrayans, Amharas and Oromos from elsewhere settled in Wallaga. Amhara expansionists began to call all these people Amharas to justify their claim to the territory. Prime Minister Ahmed has taken the side of Amhara expansionists.

Ahmed came to power in 2018 mainly because of the Oromo struggle but later turned against the movement. His vision is of a centralised state rather than self-determination for Ethiopia’s different groups.

The state’s ideology of “Ethiopianism” has been used to justify the subordination of the Oromo and other colonised peoples. It has empowered the class that dominates the bureaucracy, army, culture, Orthodox Christianity and Ethiopian colonial-political economy.

The Oromo Liberation Army, which has been outlawed and labelled a terror group, asserts that the government has created a clandestine security structure that masquerades as the Oromo army. It says this structure is responsible for the latest attack and those before it.

Between December 2018 and December 2019, in southern Oromia, government soldiers displaced 80 000 Oromos and detained more than 10000. An Amnesty International report found that state soldiers executed 52 people over this period on suspicion that they supported the Oromo Liberation Army.

The government additionally took incarcerated Oromos through mandatory training for several months. These detainees were trained on the constitution and the history of the Oromo people. These “lessons” were intended to get the detainees to abandon the quest for nationalism.

A July 2022 Human Rights Watch report termed the government’s actions in western Oromia “abusive”. It documented communication shutdowns, executions and arbitrary detentions. The global community must pressure the Ethiopian government to reach peace with the Oromo Liberation Army. However, this will only be successful if a neutral body mediates on behalf of the UN.

Ahmed’s government is willing to negotiate with the Tigrayan defence forces mainly because of the pressure from global powers. However, it refuses to reconcile with the Oromo Liberation Front and is determined to solve a political problem militarily.

Ethiopia cannot be at peace without an independent reconciliation body that solves the Oromo political problem fairly and democratically

I know that the Canadian government, the Right Honorable prime Minister Justin Trudeau has communicated and Urged in Calling the Ethiopian government to peacefully resolve Conflicts in the Northern Ethiopia. But in my Opinion, failure by international community including our government to Condemn drone attacks and other attacks against Oromo Civilians will only Serve to heighten conflict and tension throughout the country,

Therefore, I respectfully urge you and the Canadian Government to publicly condemn attacks against Oromo Civilians in recent weeks, by all parties. I also ask you that call on Ethiopian government to seek peaceful means to address conflicts throughout Ethiopia, as it has done with the TPLF in Northern Ethiopia.

The issue is very important to me, and I thank you for your Consideration.

Sincerely,

HABTAMU NINI ABINO

OTTAWA- VANIER Constituency.

 

First Tigray, now violence escalates in Oromia

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been under increasing global pressure to negotiate with Tigrayan officials to stop the carnage in the region, says the writer. Picture: Eduardo Soteras/AFP

Published Jul 23, 2022

 

Written by: The Conversation

 By :Asafa Jalata

In November 2020 an outbreak of violence in Ethiopia’s Tigray region captured worldwide attention. The conflict was between Tigrayan forces and the forces of the Ethiopian government and its allies.

Since then, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been under increasing global pressure to negotiate with Tigrayan officials to stop the carnage in the region. Even before fighting broke out in Tigray, though, the government had established military command posts in Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest state. Oromo people were protesting and calling for self-determination.

In Oromia’s latest wave of violence in June, Al Jazeera, the New York Times and Reuters reported that hundreds of people were killed by the Oromo Liberation Army in Wallaga. These news reports labelled all the victims Amharas, members of Ethiopia’s second-largest ethno-national group. The Oromo are the largest.

As a scholar of Ethiopian politics and society, I’ve researched and written extensively on the Oromo movement and identified the historical forces that have shaped its current politics. My understanding – taking into account the history of oppression of the Oromo in Ethiopia and numerous reports by rights groups of attacks against the community – is that the violence in Oromia is mainly driven by the federal government and its agents.

The Oromo Liberation Army is responding to state terrorism and gross human rights violations. Oromo voices are not represented in the Ethiopian government, the global system or the media. The federal government and its allies, particularly Amhara elites and forces, blame the Oromo movement for the violence.

This is a strategy to delegitimise the Oromo struggle for self-determination. The Oromo consider themselves a nation. They are estimated to make up between 35% and 50% of Ethiopia’s 115 million people. An exact figure is difficult to come by as the government doesn’t provide this data.

Ethiopia has about 80 ethnonational groups. The Amhara make up about 27% of the population. Their language, culture, history and religion have dominated other ethno-national groups. Their warlords and leaders have dominated Ethiopia’s political economy for almost 150 years.

Despite their numbers, the Oromo consider themselves colonial subjects. This is because, like other subjugated ethno-national groups, they have been denied access to their country’s political, economic and cultural resources. Habasha (Amhara-Tigray) warlords colonised Oromia.

The region was then incorporated into Abyssinia (the Ethiopian Empire) in the late 19th century. Menelik II, the Ethiopian emperor, established a form of colonialism that settled Amhara, Tigrayan and other ethnic soldiers in Oromia. Most Oromos were reduced to serfs, providing free labour and tax revenue.

The colonial government claimed about three-quarters of Oromo lands for its officials and soldiers. It granted the remaining quarter to Oromo collaborators. In the 1970s, to oppose political, economic and cultural marginalisation, Oromo nationalists created the Oromo Liberation Front.

Its military wing is the Oromo Liberation Army. They wanted national democracy and self-determination, and participated in the failed revolutions of 1974, 1991 and 2018.

The Ethiopian state has continued to subject the Oromo people to violence and human rights violations. Successive Ethiopian governments have caused deep social, political, cultural and economic crises in Oromo society.

The government and the Oromo Liberation Front have blamed each other for the latest outbreak of violence in Oromia, particularly in Wallaga. A sub-group of the Oromo, the Macha, live in Wallaga. They have been targets of the Ethiopian government and expansionist Amharas, who claim to be the original owners of the region.

During the famine of the 1970s, desperate Tigrayans, Amharas and Oromos from elsewhere settled in Wallaga. Amhara expansionists began to call all these people Amharas to justify their claim to the territory. Prime Minister Ahmed has taken the side of Amhara expansionists.

Ahmed came to power in 2018 mainly because of the Oromo struggle but later turned against the movement. His vision is of a centralised state rather than self-determination for Ethiopia’s different groups.

The state’s ideology of “Ethiopianism” has been used to justify the subordination of the Oromo and other colonised peoples. It has empowered the class that dominates the bureaucracy, army, culture, Orthodox Christianity and Ethiopian colonial-political economy.

The Oromo Liberation Army, which has been outlawed and labelled a terror group, asserts that the government has created a clandestine security structure that masquerades as the Oromo army. It says this structure is responsible for the latest attack and those before it.

Between December 2018 and December 2019, in southern Oromia, government soldiers displaced 80 000 Oromos and detained more than 10000. An Amnesty International report found that state soldiers executed 52 people over this period on suspicion that they supported the Oromo Liberation Army.

The government additionally took incarcerated Oromos through mandatory training for several months. These detainees were trained on the constitution and the history of the Oromo people. These “lessons” were intended to get the detainees to abandon the quest for nationalism.

A July 2022 Human Rights Watch report termed the government’s actions in western Oromia “abusive”. It documented communication shutdowns, executions and arbitrary detentions. The global community must pressure the Ethiopian government to reach peace with the Oromo Liberation Army. However, this will only be successful if a neutral body mediates on behalf of the UN.

Ahmed’s government is willing to negotiate with the Tigrayan defence forces mainly because of the pressure from global powers. However, it refuses to reconcile with the Oromo Liberation Front and is determined to solve a political problem militarily.

Ethiopia cannot be at peace without an independent reconciliation body that solves the Oromo political problem fairly and democratically.

* Jalata is professor of sociology and global and Africana studies at the University of Tennessee.

The article was first published in The Conversation.

 

Letter

Battle of Embabo

Battle of Embabo

The Battle of Embabo was fought 6 June 1882, between the Shewan forces of Negus Menelik and the Gojjame forces of Negus Tekle Haymanot. The forces fought to gain control over the Oromo areas south of the Gibe River.

 The Gojjame forces under Tekle Haymanot were defeated. This is one of the three battles (along with Chelenqo and Adwa) which Donald Donham lists that led to Shewan supremacy over the rest of Ethiopia.

Battle of Embabo
Image of Abyssinian cavalry, essential in Menelik's victory at Embabo.
Date 6 June 1882 Location Embabo, Ethiopia 9.733°N 37.566°E Result Shewan victory
Belligerents
Shewa	Gojjam
Commanders and leaders
Negus Menelik Ras Gobana	Negus Tekle Haymanot Ras Darasu
Casualties and losses
913 killed and 1,648 wounded	929 killed and 1,738 wounded 4000 prisoners and 6 cannons captured

Background 

Shewa

Gojjam. 

South of Gojjam, across the Abay River, and southwest of Shewa, lay the fertile Gibe region and the gold deposits beyond. Both polities craved control of these resources in order to assert dominance over the rest of Ethiopia. Of the two, the Gojjame had the earlier start and better position: as early as 1810, a large volume of luxury trade passed North through Gojjam (and its major market at Boso) to the coast of the Red Sea, far more than passed east through Shewa to the coast. Negus Bofo of Limmu-Ennarea maintained good relations with the contemporary governor of Gojjam.

 A letter survives from his son Abba Bagibo to Dejazmach Goshu Zewde, seeking an alliance against a mutual foe.

The armies of Shewa and Gojjam had clashed earlier in 1882. The Shewan was led by Ras Gobana Dacche, and the Gojjame by Ras Darrasu, a deputy of Negus Tekle Haymanot; Ras Gobana had forced his opponent to surrender the tribute he was bringing back to Tekle Haymanot. Humiliated, Tekle Haymanot exchanged angry words with his peer, Menelik II, which resulted with the two potentates leading their armies to face one another at Embabo near the Guder River.

Battle

The battle began at 10:00 am with the Gojjame cannons firing at the enemy. The guns of both sides did little damage, and soon were inoperable. After a volley of rifle fire, soldiers on both sides charged and engaged their opponents in what Harold G. Marcus describes as "a fierce day-long battle of hand-to-hand combat, with both kings participating as ordinary soldiers".

Late in the afternoon the Gojjame center collapsed, and Tekle Haymanot was wounded then captured. The troops under his son, Ras Bezzabbeh, surrendered and were taken prisoner. Although Ras Darrasu continued to fight, a cavalry charge led by Ras Gobana on his flank ended their resistance, and the battle was over. More than half the Gojjame force was lost during the battle. The Shewans suffered 913 killed and 1,648 wounded.

Aftermath

"In victory Menelik was prepared to be magnanimous", Marcus states. Menelik allowed the common soldiers to return to their farms and plough their lands before the rainy season.

For his vital role in the conflict, Menelik awarded Ras Gobana the governorship of the Gibe region. 

However, there was one exception to Menelik's magnanimity. According to Oromo tradition, Tekle Haymanot had been captured by a slave named Sambato, who did not know the identity of his prisoner. Ras Mangasha Atikam did recognize Sambato's prisoner, bought his captive for ten Maria Theresa thalers, and led him to Ras Gobana's tent. Gobana, on seeing the Negus, called to him in Amharic, "Gojjame, bring me the plate!" – responding to a boast Tekle Haymanot had made before the two armies had clashed: "After the battle, Ras Gobana will carry my mitad [baking tray] back to Gojjam." Sambato also received his freedom and was made a fitawrari for capturing the enemy negus.

However, Emperor Yohannes IV, their overlord, was outraged at his two vassals openly at war with each other and marched to Were Ilu, just inside Menelik's borders, where he demanded the release of Tekle Haymanot and his family. There the Emperor hammered out a compromise: Yohannes would take Agawmeder from Negus Tekle Haymanot and Wollo from Negus Menelik; Menelik would surrender the arms he captured to Yohannes's lieutenant Ras Alula Engida; and a peace was cemented with several dynastic marriages, including Negus Menelik to the daughter of a noble family from the Emperor's own domain, Taitu Betul.

War lords of our era 

Reference. :

•  Shine, David Hamilton, Ofcansky, Thomas P., and Prouty, Chris (2004). Historical dictionary of Ethiopia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 633. ISBN 0-8108-4910-0.

ኦሮሞነቴን ያላከበረች ኢትዮጵያ ፈጽሞ ህልም ናት።

"እኛ ኦሮሞዎች በአማርኛ ቋንቋ በመናገር ተባርከናል።  እኛ ግን የአፍ መፍቻ ቋንቋችንን አፋን ኦሮሞን ለማዳከም የሚደረገውን ማንኛውንም ሙከራ እንከላከላለን።  ይህ መልእክት ለአንዳርጋቸው እና ለመንጋው የተላለፈ ነው።"

************

አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ "ኦሮሞ በላቲን የሚጠቀምበት ፊደል በግእዝ ሊሆን ይገባል" ያለው ቅ*ር*ሻ*ት ይህንን እውነታ አስታወሰኝ።

"ለኢትዮጵያ አንድነት ሲባል የኦሮሞን ማንነት ማጥፋት."

ይህን ከላይ ያለውን ሀሳብ ለአጼ ሀይለስላሴ ያቀረበው በ1933 ከቤልጅየም አገር በማህበራዊ ሳይንስ በሁለተኛ ድግሪ ተመርቆ የመጣው አቶ ተድላ ኃይሌ ከውጪ ሀገር ትምህርቱ መልስ የትምህርቱ ዋና ጭብጥ አድርጎ ለኃይለስላሴ መንግስት ያቀረበው ምክረ ሀሳብ ነው።

.

አቶ ተድላ ኃይሌ በዘመኑ የኢትዮጵያ የትምህርት ሚኒስቴር ሚኒስትር የነበሩ በአቶ ሳህሌ ፀዳሉ እንዲሁም በጠቅላይ ሚንስትሩ አክሊሉ ሀብተወልድ በኩል ዓላማውን በስራ ላይ ለማዋል ተጠቅመዋል።

.

ምን ነበር ዓላማው?

ፕሮፌሰር ባህሩ ዘውዴ "Pioneer of change in Ethiopia." በሚለው መጽሀፋቸው እንዳስቀመጡት እንደወረደ ተቀራራቢ ትርጉሙ እነሆ:-

"የኢትዮጵያ ነገስታት ኦሮሞዎችን በተመለከተ ሶስት ዓማራጮች አሏቸው:- 

1ኛ ሁሉንም ኦሮሞ ሀብት አልባ ባሮች ማድረግ

2ኛ ኦሮሞን ወደ አማራነት በመቀየር (Assimilation) ማንነቱን ማጥፋት

3ኛ እኛ በምንመድበውና ለእኛ ዓላማ የሚሰሩ ኦሮሞዎችን መርጠን በመሾም በእጅ አዙር እናስተዳድራቸው የሚል ሲሆን አንደኛውንና ሶስተኛውን አማራጮች መጠቀም ለአውሮፓ ቅኝ ገዢዎች ጠቃሚ ቢሆንም በእኛ ሁኔታ ጠቃሚ አይደለም። 

ስለሆነም የእኛ ዋና ዓላማ ሁለተኛው ምርጫ የኦሮሞን ማንነት ወደ አማራነት መቀየር (Assimilate) ማድረግ ይሁን "እንዴት ሆኖ ስራ ላይ ይውላል ለተባለው ጥያቄ የአቶ ተድላ መልስ

1ኛ በስርዓተ ትምህርት በኩል የአማርኛ ቋንቋና የአማራ ባህል ኣንዲስፋፋ ማድረግ።

2ኛ አማርኛ የሚናገሩ ወታደሮችን በኦሮሞዎች ውስጥ ማስፈርና ከኦሮሞዎች ውስጥ የሚመለመሉ ወታደሮችም አማርኛ ብቻ እንዲናገሩ ማድረግ።

3ኛ በኦሮሞ ምድር የሰፈሩ ወታደሮች የኦሮሞ ሴቶችን እንዲያገቡና አማርኛ መናገር እንዲያስተምሩ ማድረግ ሲሆን ከዚህም ጋር ማናቸውም የመንግስት መስሪያ ቤቶች ማለትም የአስተዳደር ፣ የዳኝነት፣ የምጣኔ ሀብት ድርጅቶች ሁሉ የኦሮሞን ማንነትን በማጥፋት ላይ እንዲያተኩሩ ማድረግ፣ ጠቅላይ ግዛቶች ወይም የአስተዳደር ክፍሎችም ለዚህ ማንነት የማጥፋት ዘመቻ በሚያመች መንገድ እንደገና እንዲሸነሸኑ ይደረግ ከዚህም በተጨማሪ የኦሮሞዎችን ብዛት ለመበረዝ አማራዎችን በተለያዩ የኦሮሞ ክፍሎች ውስጥ  እነሱንም ማስፈር ያስፈልጋል።

.

" ኦሮሞነትን ማጥፋት ዘመቻ በምንም ምክንያት የማይታለፍ (imperative) የመጀመሪያው አጀንዳችን ካልሆነና ማንነታቸውን ይዘው እንዲቆዩ ከተፈቀደ

አማራና ኦሮሞ ወደፊት ሁለት የተለያዩና የሚቀናቀኑ መንግስቶች ሊመሰርቱ ይችላሉ"ካሉ ቦሀላ አቶ ተድላ በመቀጠል "ኦሮሞዎችን ዘመናዊ ትምህርትና የውጪ ቋንቋ ማስተማር የኦሮሞን ብሄረኝነት ስለሚያሳድግ ኦሮሞዎች እንግሊዘኛ ፣ ጣሊያንኛ ወይም ፈረንሳይኛ እንዳይማሩ ጥንቃቄ ያስፈልጋል"

.

የአቶ ተድላ ኃይሌ ምክር በምን መልኩ ወደ ተግባር ተቀየረ አቶ ተድላ ኃይሌ እንዲህ ይላል "ይህንን የኦሮሞ ማንነት (Assimilate) መለወጥ ደግሞ ንጉሳችን ዳግማዊ ምንሊክ ለእነ ራስ ጎበና፣ ለእነ ፊታውራሪ ኃብተጊዮር ስና ....ለእነ ደጃዝማች ገ/ እግዜብሔር ሞሮዳ ስልጣን በመስጠትና ኦሮሞነታቸውን በመለወጥ አሳይተውናል"

.

ከፕሮፌሰር ባህሩ ዘውዴ ጋር እንቀጥላለን

"Entrusting the education of the Oromo to the English, the Italian or the French could therefore only end up in nurturing Oromo nationalism."

2005 :page 132-140

.

በአቶ ተድላ ምሁራዊ ምክር :- የተጠናከሩት በዘመኑ የኢትዮጵያ የትምህርት ሚኒስቴር የነበሩት የአቶ ሳህሌ ፀዳሉ ደግሞ በ1933 የሚኒስተርነት ስልጣናቸውን ተጠቅመው የሚከተለውን ፀረ- ሰው ልጅ መብት ገፋፊ አዋጅ አወጁ

" ያገር ጉልበት አንድነት ነው አንድነትንም የሚወልደው ቋንቋ ልማድና ሃይማኖት ነው። ስለዚህ ኢትዮጵያ ቀዳማዊ መሆኗን ለማስመስከር አንድነቷንም ለማፅናት እስከ አሁን በቆየው ልማዳችን ተማሪ ቤቶቻችንን አስፍተን ቋንቋችንንና ሃይማኖታችንን በመላው በኢትዮጵያ ግዛት በአዋጅ እንዘርጋው ይህ ካልሆነ እስከመቼውም ድረስ አንድነት አይገኝም" 

በመላው በኢትዮጵያ ግዛት ለስጋዊና ለመንፈሳዊ ስራ ያማርኛና የግዕዝ ቋንቋ ብቻ በህግ ፀንተው እንዲኖሩ ሌላው ማናቸውም የአረማውያን ቋንቋ ( የኦሮምኛን ጨምሮ 84 ብሄረሰቦችን ቋንቋ መሆኑ ነው) ሁሉ እንዲደመሰስ ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል" በማለት አቶ ሳህሌ ፀዳሉ በመቀጠል " ሚሲዎኖች ትምህርት ቤቶች እና ሆስፒታሎችንም ቢሆን እንዳይከፍቱ መከልከል ያስፈልጋል ከከፈቱም የውጭ ቋንቋ መማርም ቢሆን እድሉ ለኢትዮጵያዊያን መሰጠት አለበት"ይላሉ። (ልብ እንበል ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ የሚከፈት ትምህርት ቤት ተለይቶ ለኢትዮጵያዊያን መሰጠት አለበት ይላሉ እነዚህ ኢትዮጵያዊያን እነማን ናቸው?)

. 

እንግዲህ ይቺ ናት" ኢትዮጵያዊነት" እየተባለ ቀን ከሌት እንደበቀቀን የሚዘመርላት። 

የአክሊሉ ሀብተወልድን ህልም ለማሳካት እየተንደፋደፈ ያለው አብይ አህመድም በእኛ ትውልድ ፈጽሞ አይሳካለትም።

ኦሮሞነቴን ያላከበረች ኢትዮጵያ ፈጽሞ ህልም ናት።

Gumaa Oromtichaa page.

EEPA Situation Report, Horn of Africa, No. 320- 29 November, 2022

Date: 29/11/2022

Author: Martin Plaut

Peace negotiations (per 29 November)

• Observers state that intense travelling of Eritrean officials to Somalia and Ethiopia could be indicative of an attempt at creating a regional “defensive alliance”. This could be aimed at attempting to provide a rationale for keeping Eritrean troops inside of Ethiopia.
• Yemane Gebremeskel, Eritrean minister of information, reacted to US calls to withdraw from Tigray by stating that the “Defense architectures between sovereign African States is not subject to prior endorsement, or veto by extraneous powers”.
• Sources state the president of the Amhara regional state has visited Asmara, Eritrea, for multiple days, reportedly without the federal Ethiopian government being informed of this visit.
• The Institute for Security Studies writes that the success of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in the long term rests on the ability of signatories to install a “peace coalition” in the Afar, Amhara and Tigray region and Ethiopia as a whole.
• They state that the question of disputed land ownership must be resolved; the constitution states this can be achieved by referendum.

Situation in Tigray (per 29 November)

• Tghat Media, a Tigrayan media outlet, cites sources that had escaped Eritrean-controlled Tigray who report that Eritrean forces are abducting youth to Eritrea for forced labour and sexual exploitation.
• OCHA reports that the aid reaching Tigray is still not enough to meet the needs. 30% of Tigray children are suffering acute malnutrition and 5 million people remain in need of food aid.
• Ethiopia’s Minister for Innovation and Technology, Belete Molla, told the Washington Post on 29 November that there is “no timeline” for the restoration of services in Tigray

Situation in Ethiopia (per 29 November)

• Sources state OLA forces are conducting operations in and on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. They also stated to have conducted raids on homes of perceived loyalists of PM Abiy and offices 15km from Addis.
• The Oromia regional state government called on Oromos that joined the OLA to “return to peace”.
• The regional state government ruled out a negotiated peace agreement, stating that the fragmentation of the OLA is too fragmented and lacks leadership. The OLA disputes this.
• Sources state that the Central Council and Executive Committee members of the Prosperity Party from PM Abiy have been summoned on 3 December for a meeting on systemic corruption within government. It is likely the CoH Agreement will be on the agenda as well.
• According to Addis Standard China has provided the Ethiopian police forces with 600.000 USD worth of equipment and currency. The donation includes bullet proof vehicles and communications equipment.

Situation in Eritrea (per 29 November)

• A conference organised by Eritrea Focus took place from 22-24 November in London, with the focus of charting a way towards democracy for Eritrea.
• Mebrahtu Atewberhan, member of Eritrea Focus, stated that “Eritrea has become a prison state” and that the Eritreans are ready for change – but are lacking the leadership.

Regional Situation (per 29 November)

• Demeke Mekonnen, Ethiopian Deputy PM and Foreign Minister, arrived in Khartoum on 29 November to participate in the 48^th meeting of IGAD Council of Ministers, which will address the peace and security situation in the Horn of Africa
• The BBC says that Somali security forces brought an end to the 20-hour siege of a hotel in Mogadishu that resulted in the death of 14 including 8 civilians after it was captured by Al Shabaab militants. The hotel is a popular meeting place for government officials. One minister was injured.
• Chairperson of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, Yasmin Sooka, called for justice of victims of sexual violence in South Sudan. She stated: “it is not enough, now and again, to try a handful of junior officers without holding those in command responsible.”
• President of Jubaland regional State in Somalia, Ahmed  Madobe, announced that the regional state’s security forces were mobilising to participate in Somalia’s “total war” against Al Shabaab.
• OCHA warns that humanitarian groups are already forced to make “impossible choices” in Horn of Africa countries impacted by drought, as the 6th rainy season in a row is set to fail.
• It states that “immediate action is required to prevent famine in the Horn of Africa as the most prolonged drought in recent history continues to deepen.”

International Situation (per 29 November)

• US President Biden signed a presidential memorandum on 27 November that seeks to combat the use of rape by both foreign governments and individuals as a weapon of war, says AP News.

Links of interest

Twitter: Yemane G. Meskel Defense architectures between sovereign African States

The Ethiopia-Tigray Question of Accountability for International Crimes

Ethiopia needs a peace coalition to underpin its new accord

Twitter: Tghat ትግሃት Sources who escaped from Eritrean-controlled Tigray

Daily Noon Briefing Highlights: Ethiopia and Ukraine

Ethiopia offers no date for end to blackout in Tigray region

China provides Ethiopian Federal Police equipment worth above US$600, 000

Oromia region calls on youth who join armed group to return, rules out peace talks

Eritreans across the world come together to chart a way towards democracy

Ethiopian DPM, FM arrives in Khartoum

Somalia Villa Rays attack: Siege ends leaving eight civilians dead

UN experts call on South Sudan to investigate top government officials for their role in sexual violence

Jubbaland President says regional troops will open new front against Al Shabaab

Horn of Africa Drought: Regional Humanitarian Overview & Call to Action

Biden boosts US effort to stem sexual violence in war zones

Justice critical to fighting sexual violence in conflict

Disclaimer: All information in this Situation Report is presented as a fluid update report, as to the best knowledge and understanding of the authors at the moment of publication. EEPA does not claim that the information is correct but verifies to the best of ability within the circumstances. Publication is weighed on the basis of interest to understand potential impacts of events (or perceptions of these) on the situation. Check all information against updates and other media. EEPA does not take responsibility for the use of the information or impact thereof. All information reported originates from third parties and the content of all reported and linked information remains the sole responsibility of these third parties. Report to info@eepa.be any additional information and corrections.

EEPA Situation Report, Horn of Africa, No. 321- 30 November, 2022

Date: 30/11/2022

Author: Martin Plaut

Peace negotiations (per 30 November)

• Libération states that the federal government is slow to fulfil its obligations per the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. Disarmament of the TDF is also slow and fighting continues in Tigray against the Eritrean Defense Forces.
• Libération condemns the Forum for Internet Governance taking place in Addis Ababa whilst the Ethiopian government is failing to restore internet services in Tigray.
• Sources state that connectivity to Shire was briefly switched on as part of a demonstration at the Internet Governance Forum currently taking place in Addis Ababa, but was switched off afterwards.
• Tekehaymanot G. Weldemichel, postdoctoral research fellow at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, criticises the UN for tacitly co-signing the media blackout of Tigray by the Ethiopian government by hosting the United Nations’ Internet Governance Forum in Addis Ababa.
• He sees the failure to address and condemn the continued absence of access to internet for Tigrayans as “complicity in the Tigray Genocide”.
• On 28 November the Biden administration called for the government of Ethiopia to restore telecommunications to Tigray.

Situation in Tigray(per 30 November)

• Tghat Media, a Tigray based media, states that in the last two weeks over 600 people were killed by Eritrean troops in Mai Abai.
• The report states that 1.300 were killed in the central area of Adiabo and at least a further 1.000 civilians were killed in Asgede Tsimbla. 2.500 houses were burned in Adi Dairo and surrounding areas.
• Gebreyohannes Woldegebriel, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Mekelle Branch, said that Mekelle Alula Abanega airport is ready for service, reports Tigrai Television.
• According to the branch CEO, Mekelle airport only needs resumption of communications with the headquarter in Addis Ababa to resume service.
• The interim regional CEO of Ethio-Telecom, Tesfahun Guesh, told Tigray regional media that they are waiting for directions from Addis Ababa to resume telecommunication services in the Tigray region.
• Ethiopian Electric Power announced that it completed major maintenance of power transmitting lines in Humera, Shire, Axum and Adwa and will restore power soon, says Ethiopian Herald.
• An Ethiopian Electric Power manager said that electricity supply will resume next week in Shire and within the next three weeks in Aksum and Adwa.

Situation in Ethiopia (per 30 November)

• The WHO has donated hardware and supplies and is deploying personnel to assist in the reconstruction of the medical sector in conflict-affected  areas in Ethiopia.
• Odaa Tarbii, spokesperson for the Oromo Liberation Army, stated that “The regime’s new lie to justify perpetual war is to claim the OLA is fractured & leaderless”.
• The Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission stated that armed groups can only join the national dialogue scheduled to take place in 5 to 6 months once they put their arms down.
• This statement appears to target the OLA after the Oromia regional state ruled out the possibility of negotiations, says Addis Standard.
• In a press release from 29 November the High Command of the OLA Front stated that the continued use of force by the Ethiopian federal government as an attempt to contain and defeat the OLA stems from the fact that “(Abiy) perceives any negotiated concession in Oromia as the loss of everything, or, at the very least, as a beginning to his end”.
• The OLA states that Abiy holds this conviction due to “Oromia’s unmatched role in determining the regime’s ability to hold on to 4-kilo. Oromia being the major source of political and economic power of the Ethiopian state”. 4-kilo refers to the seat of the federal government.

Regional Situation (per 30 November)

• While famine has yet to be declared in Somalia, Paul Healy, Somalia country director for Trócaire, states: “if you’re arguing about whether it’s famine or not, you’re already too late and people are dying”.
• The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that 80.000 Somalis have fled to Kenyan camps due to the drought. The Kenyan government has now instituted a ban on the registration of refugees from Somalia. Aid agencies warn the influx is straining their capacity to help, says Voice of America.
• Agenzia Fides warns that the Sudanese food crisis is aggravated by tribal violence, as conflicts lead to population displacement and destruction of property. This has been particularly prevalent in Wad El Mahi in the region of the Blue Nile and at Lagawa in West Kordofan, says Agenzia Fides.

International Situation (per 30 November)

• 114 refugees arrived in Italy from Libya as part of an agreement between Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs, UNHCR, the Community of Sant’Egidio, the Federation of Evangelical Churches and the Waldensian Council. A total of 1.000 are expected to benefit from this agreement, says The Libya Update.

Links of interest

Guerre au Tigré : dans l’ombre des espoirs de paix, de nouvelles exactions signalées

Tigray Airline Service

Regional CEO speaks to Tigrai Television about restoration communication in Tigray

EEP to finalize power restoration in Adwa, Aksum, Shire soon

Twitter: Tghat ትግሃት Eritrean Troops Keep committing atrocities against civilians

World Health Organization (WHO) Ethiopia scales up interventions to respond to gender-based violence

The Internet Governance Forum: a spectacle of the United Nations’ complicity in the Tigray Genocide

Twitter: Odaa Tarbii The regime’s new lie to justify perpetual war is to claim the OLA is fractured

Commission rules out participation of armed groups in planned inclusive national dialogue

Twitter: Odaa Tarbii OLF-OLA High Command Statement

Somalia on the brink of another brutal famine, with children bearing the brunt

Thousands Flee Drought and Hunger in Somalia for Kenya

AFRICA/SUDAN – Tribal conflicts aggravate the state of emergency

114 refugees to leave Libya for Italy tomorrow

Ambassador at Large Fick’s Travel to Ethiopia

Disclaimer: All information in this Situation Report is presented as a fluid update report, as to the best knowledge and understanding of the authors at the moment of publication. EEPA does not claim that the information is correct but verifies to the best of ability within the circumstances. Publication is weighed on the basis of interest to understand potential impacts of events (or perceptions of these) on the situation. Check all information against updates and other media. EEPA does not take responsibility for the use of the information or impact thereof. All information reported originates from third parties and the content of all reported and linked information remains the sole responsibility of these third parties. Report to info@eepa.be any additional information and corrections.

Additional 

Via The Global Society of Tigrai Scholars and Professionals (GSTS) 

GSTS Calls for the Urgent Delivery of Humanitarian Aid and Resumption of All Basic Services in Tigray...

Public interest theory.

November 28,2022 

Ottawa, ON

Public interest theory. 

The public interest theory of regulation claims that government regulation acts to protect and benefit the public.

The public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. Regulation in this context means the employment of legal instruments (laws and rules) for the implementation of policy objectives.

Public interest theory competes for acceptance with public choice and regulatory capture in explaining regulation and its effects on public welfare.

Markets and regulation

In modern economies, resource are allocated mainly by markets. In theory, this allocation is optimal, but the conditions necessary to achieve that opimum are frequently not present. In that case resource allocation is suboptimal, creating the possibility that some intervention could improve things. One such intervention is government regulation. Others include taxes/subsidies and improvements to education/infrastructure.

Public interest theory claims that government regulation can improve markets, compensating for imperfect competition, unbalanced market operation, missing markets and undesirable market outcomes. Regulation can facilitate, maintain, or imitate markets. 

Public interest theory is a part of welfare economics. It emphasizes that regulation should maximize social welfare and that regulation should follow a cost/benefit analysis to determine whether the increased social welfare outweighs the regulatory cost.

The following costs can be distinguished:

Formulation and implementation costs

Maintenance/enforcement costs

Compliance costs

Dead weight costs 

History

Public interest theory developed from classical conceptions of representative democracy and the role of government. It presumes confidence in the civil service. According to Max Weber civil servants are to carry out their particular role or task within a strictly ordered and specialized hierarchy.

The combination of merit and tenure with unambiguous norms of impartiality support rational decision making. Individual decisions must either be subsumed under norms or balance means and ends.

In this conception, regulatory administration neither adds to nor subtracts from the policy adopted by lawmakers. The public interest may be served, but it must be served exactly as prescribed by lawmakers. Bureaucracy must not usurp the public interest, nor does it protect against its usurpation by particular interests seeing regulation as a vehicle for their own concerns.

It states that regulation pursues some conception of the general good

While there is no pointed origin or categorical articulation of public interest theory, its notions can be traced back to Pigou;related to his analysis of externalities and welfare economics. This theory was prevalent, especially during the New Deal era.

Starting in the 1960s, economists of the Chicago school began critiquing the assumption of benevolent regulators, proposing counter theories, like public choice theory, which asserts that instead of pursuing the public interest, regulators act to protect their own positions. The theory of regulatory capture asserts that regulated entities influence regulators to benefit themselves, particularly at the expense of less sophisticated competitors, who are less able to influence the regulators.

Regulation, according to public interest theory, is assumed to benefit society as a whole rather than particular vested interests.

 The regulators are considered to represent society's interest rather than the private interests of regulators or particular regulated entities.

Example

One application of public Interest theory can be seen in an investigation in Sweden and the energy market:

We test the public interest and regulatory capture hypotheses, in the context of the Swedish electricity market, by studying the factors influencing the Swedish Energy Agency's decision to replace decision-makers it employs to hear customer complaints against utilities.

We test if the regulator’s decision to retain, or replace, the decision-maker, following a sequence of decisions, can be explained by whether the customer or utility is being favored by the civil servant. Based on whether the regulator replaces the decision maker that it has the power to appoint, we draw inferences about what theory can best explain the behavior of the regulator. The regulator can choose to favor the customer. To do so would be consistent with the fact that the primary objective of the electricity market reform in 1996 was to put the onus on the Swedish Energy Agency to provide stronger consumer protection against market abuse by the electricity utilities. On the other hand, the regulator might be captured because the utilities have more financial and legal resources and they have a well-established lobby organization which the customers do not have. It is not clear, therefore, whether customers or utilities have benefited most during the post-reform regulation. 

Criticism

The most critiqued aspects of public interest theory are its ambiguity, and its inability to recognize/address imperfections in the regulatory regime. Further, it provides no framework for assessing when and if the public interest has been served.

Another issue is whether the integrity of the regulatory function is maintainable over time. When a regulatory regime is established, typically during a period of regulatory reform, the regulatory body is subject to close scrutiny from the government and the public. With the passage of time, attention turns to other issues. Without this scrutiny the body becomes more susceptible to regulatory capture and or the contradictions exposed by public choice theory.

References 

 Hantke-Domas, Michael (March 2003). "The Public Interest Theory of Regulation: Non-Existence or Misinterpretation?". European Journal of Law and Economics. 15 (2): 165–194. doi:10.1023/a:1021814416688. ISSN 0929-1261. S2CID 153838670.

 "Public interest", Random House Dictionary.

 Hertog, Johan den (2012). "Economic Theories of Regulation".

 Grønnegaard Christensen, Jørgen. "Public Interest regulation reconsidered" (PDF). S2CID 31420855. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-06-12.

 Dialnet, Universidad de La Rioja (2002-06-30). "Dialnet (Servicio de Difusión de Alertas en la Red)". Contextos Educativos. Revista de Educación (5): 276. doi:10.18172/con.519. ISSN 1695-5714.

 Pigou, A. C. (1932) The Economics of Welfare. London: Macmillan and Co.

 Deegan, C., Unerman, J. (2011) Financial Accounting Theory. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education.

 Richard A. Posner, Theories of Economic Regulation, The Bell Journal of Economics and Management Science, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Autumn, 1974), pp. 335-358

 Smyth, Russell; Söderberg, Magnus (December 2010). "Public interest versus regulatory capture in the Swedish electricity market". Journal of Regulatory Economics. 38 (3): 292–312. doi:10.1007/s11149-010-9129-9. ISSN 0922-680X. S2CID 154923316.

Last edited 3 months ago by Graeme Bartlett

RELATED ARTICLES

Regulation

General term for rules, including delegated legislation and self-regulation

Regulatory agency

Type of government institution inside the executive branch

Utility ratemaking

Formal regulatory process of setting prices for public utilities

Top-secret internal communication by DERG regarding the population of Welkait and Tsegede

Date: 27/11/2022

Author: Martin Plaut

Top-secret internal communication by DERG regarding the population of Welkait and Tsegede (Western Tigray, Ethiopia), 1984 (Version 1) [Archive].

Source and context: Zenodo

Summary: During the civil war in Ethiopia between the military “Derg” regime and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) the Dejena mountain range in Welkait became, around 1980, the main base for Tigray resistance against the Derg regime that was in power at the time.

In the Ethiopian federal state, after 1991, Welkait became part of Tigray, Western Tigray zone, which is contested by the core Ethiopian Amhara elites.

A rare communication document between Derg’s military command and the Ministry of Defense, dating back to 1984 has been retrieved, where they lament that the population of the Welkait and the adjacent Tselemti districts supports the TPLF, because the people are Tigrinya speakers.

Up to now, the archive is top-secret, and photos of the document were furtively taken.

This typical document from the 1980s, prepared on carbon copy paper using a ge’ez font type writing machine, was shown to a well-informed Ethiopian analyst, who confirmed its authenticity.

---

Derg regime on Welkait

A top-secret correspondence among DERG administrators in 1984 complaining that TPLF was freely moving in Welkait and Tsegede, because the people are Tigrinya speakers

https://www.quora.com/What-region-of-Ethiopia-does-the-area-called-Western-Tigray-rightfully-belong

TRANSLATION

Very urgent

Top secret

From: Transitional Military Government, North Western Command First command

To: Ministry of Defense, Addis Ababa

Date: 04/16/1984

The first sentence reads as follows:

“1.2. People

Because the TPLF has been freely roaming in Welkait and Tsegede weredas for the last five years and the people are Tigrinya speakers, the TPLF has found it easy to put them under pressure with its propaganda.”