Thanks to TV4 for exposing H&M shameful Business partnership with Sheik Al Amodi

We Ethiopians in Sweden, who support the ongoing struggle back home against the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) injustice and for a democratic change, would like to express our gratitude for your excellent Land grabbing coverage that exposes H&M shameful Business partnership with Sheik Al Amodi in Ethiopia.


Thanks for your coverage; the Swedish People are now much more aware about the land grabbing issue in gambela region in particular and the injustice in the whole Ethiopia in general.


As is well known Ethiopia is a melting pot of various culture with thousand years of independent nationhood. In spite of our long independent nationhood and our great culture of coexistence among our mosaic people, our people aspiration and longtime struggle to establish a western like democratic system has been hindered from being realized by undemocratic regime for many years.


The incumbent TPLF regime, which took power from the military junta 23 years ago promised to establish a democratic system and many Ethiopians who dreamed of democratic change gave it the benefit of the doubt, irrespective of its Stalinist background.


Contrary to all its promises of justice, equality and democratization, TPLF showed it’s true nature by directly getting engaged not only in executing it’s Stalinist ideology but also in laying the foundation of an apartheid divide and rule system to prolong it’s minority rule.


As part and parcel of its divide and rule strategy, TPLF has among many other evil things even been engaged in with Land grabbing (which also includes water resource grabbing), and have been leasing our ancestral land for the coming 100 years to transnational companies in a business deal that we Ethiopians are not at all aware of.


The most beneficiary of such a land grabbing business deal is obviously Sheik Alamodi and the top leaders of TPLF who have no shame whatsoever to live in limitless luxury on the expense of the Ethiopians who have been forced to be homeless and go to exile to south Sudan.


This shameful act of Land and water resource grabbing which has devastated the livelihood of millions of Ethiopians in the country side has been going on for many years despite continuous protest against it by Ethiopians and International human right activists.


As the Swedish Government and the Swedish People alike are well aware of, we Ethiopians in Sweden have been for many years protesting against the injustice of the land grabbing in Gambela as well as against the overall injustice i.e. the harassing, the jailing, the killing and mass murdering of every Ethiopians in the country.


All our effort in our protest is and has been to create awareness about the ongoing injustice in Ethiopia and thereby to gather the desperately needed diplomatic support from the Swedish Government and the Swedish People to stop the injustice and to bring a democratic change instead.


In spite of such a noble cause we have been engaged with for many years, the support we have been getting from the Swedish government, Swedish non-governmental organizations, and the Swedish Media has been very much under our expectation.


Nevertheless, we believe that we need to give credit where credit is due. So even if we don’t need to mention names, we say thank you to all of you. Our gratitude is in general for those Swedish politicians, Swedish non-governmental organizations and for those Swedish Journalists whom we know have always stood with us in our struggle against the apartheid TPLF regime in Ethiopia and for democratic change.


Interestingly the extent of such support has recently increased both in magnitude and scope, case in point is the recent decision of the Swedish outgoing government to establish a Task Force to seek justice for the martyrs and victims of the TPLF agazi forces random killing during 2005 Election fraud.


Amid such encouraging changes, it’s very discouraging and hard to apprehend seeing a very reputable worldwide Swedish retailer aligning itself with the Sheik Alamodi and the Apartheid Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) regime which among many things is also engaged in with Land grabbing in all its disastrous forms.


Had it not been for TV4’s investigating report that expose the devastating consequences of Landgrabbing and H&M’s connection with it, We Ethiopians know taht H&M would not have at all even admitted it’s involvement. Thanks to TV4, now the Swedish People and the world at large know with whom H&M’s have business deal with.


Sheik Alamodi with whom H&M has established a direct business partnership with is a TPLF member, who in spite of his Saudi Citizenship, is openly involved in taking part in the Ethiopian politics, in its destructive aligning itself with the apartheid TPLF regime.


So for us Ethiopians in diaspora and all Ethiopians back home, it’s very controversial how H&M to begin with ended up in such unholy partnership with Sheik Alamodi.


As is clearly stated in H&M’s corporate business Code of Conduct of, it’s suppliers, their subcontractors and other business partners must abide by its code of conduct which among other things encompasses WORKERS’ RIGHTS, Young Workers right, Transparency and Co-operation, ENVIRONMENT Friendliness, etc.


It is public secret that neither Sheik Alamodi nor the apartheid TPLF regime that he belongs to have any respect of the human right aspects that are stated in H&M Code of Conduct. So how come H&M get involved with such partners?


While confronted by TV4 investigative reporter , Per Hermarud, whether a risk analysis was carried out prior to engaging in business with Sheik Alamodi companies, H&M response was yes, and yet they did not want to show to the reporter the content of the risk analysis they claim to have carried out.


There is for sure skeletons in the closet, otherwise what is H&M afraid of ?


As a matter of fact, Sheik Alamodi is one of the hardliners of the regime who endorsed the assassination of the 200 innocent Ethiopians by TPLF forces during the vote rigging of the 2005 national election.


So the question worth asking here in this context is, what has changed since 2005 national election fraud regarding respecting basic Human right in Ethiopia that made H& M to decide to joining partnership with Sheik Alamodi and the TPLF apartheid regime, contrary to its principle embedded in its corporate code of conduct.


We Ethiopians in Sweden hope to get answer for our justified questions. As far as we know, the repression and injustice in Ethiopia as has been reported by Human rights watch, Amnesty International, Red Cross, etc has only been intensified for every year that goes.


It is against the backdrop of such intensified human right abuse that H&M decided to joining partnership with the Sheik Alamodi and its backer the TPLF apartheid regime.


To make matter worse H&M still claim that it cares about human right even after TV4’s investigating reported the opposite. So, for us Ethiopians hearing the continuation of H&M’s claim while staying in partnership with Sheik Alamodi is painful.


It just does not make sense, the right decision that H&M needs to make from now on is to reverse its unholy and controversial alliance with Sheik Alamodi and the TPLF apartheid regime, rather than trying to buy time with insignificant changes and keep business as usual.


Once again, We Ethiopians in Sweden are very grateful to TV4 media as a whole and to the TV4 investigating reporter, Per Hermarud, in particular.


It’s our hope that TV4 will continue with such professional investigating report in the area of land grabbing as well as in other areas of injustice in favor of nothing but the truth.


If it continues this way, TV4 as a media will set a good example to other Swedish Medias. The participation of other Swedish Medias in TV’s path will have a meaningful synergy effect. The Synergy effect will undoubtedly provide a positive contribution to the ongoing struggle in Ethiopia against TPLF tyranny and also contribute its share to bring about a democratic change, where the next Ethiopian government will be elected by the Ethiopian people and serve the Ethiopian people.


EthioSweden Taskforce in Sweden