The 4th criminal bench of the federal high court in Addis Ababa on Thursday denied bail to a prominent Ethiopian opposition leader while the 2nd bench gave additional time to police investigating the cases of individuals accused of corruption.
Bekele Gerba, first secretary general of the Oromo Federalist Congress was initially accused of terrorism but the charges were later reduced to criminal offences. As soon as the charges were reduced, Gerba’s lawyers requested bail for their client. The court in today’s session rejected the request saying Gerba “could incite violence” if released. Gerba, among other charges, was accused of igniting the unrest in the Oromo region last year.
Gerba responded to the court saying he expected no justice from the court and that he was not surprised at all. Gerba said that was not the first time an Ethiopian court made such a decision.
Bekele Gerba a linguist who taught at the Addis Ababa University for nearly three decades is also a vocal opposition figure in Ethiopia. Gerba had previously served 4 years on trumped up charges of terrorism. No sooner had he been released upon serving his four years sentence than he was arrested again in December 2016.
Meanwhile the 2nd bench of the court gave police additional 14 days in the case 16 individuals recently detained on suspicion of high level corruption. The individuals, including the former bosses of the Addis Ababa Roads Authority, were arrested a week ago as part of the crackdown against corruption by the regime. Critics say the campaign has left untouched high level officials who are accused of squandering billions of dollars.
An American economist and civil resistance expert has accused the TPLF of copying the policies of the defunct apartheid regime in South Africa to oppress and exploit the poor people of Ethiopia.
In an exclusive interview with ESAT, David Steinman, who advises pro-democracy movements around the world, said the minority regime is draining all the economic resources away from the majority.
He claims that there is a good reason to conclude that Zenawi embezzled over $3 billion during his reign of terror. He mentioned Celebrity Net Worth as a pretty accurate source that uses financial investigative methods before arriving at such a conclusion.
According to him, there is ample evidence that shows that the TPLF regime has embezzled over 30 billion US dollars. The Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT) is a major force in the massive scale looting of Ethiopia, according to Steinman.
According to Steinman, the structure of apartheid was deliberately revised and imposed in Ethiopia. “This doesn’t appear coincidence to me,” he said.
“In South Africa apartheid was used to justify the exploitation of the majority by minority whites. I don’t think it is a coincidence that you see in Ethiopia the exact same dynamic. You have a small ethnic minority that is pushing on other people this ethnic tribalism,” he said.
He noted that there is already a history going back the last 26 years of ethnicity being disastrous for Ethiopia. “The signs are that it is not going to get any better. I think Africa has already experienced the struggle to get rid of one apartheid regime. Another apartheid regime does not strike me as exactly one that Africa needs at this point in history.”
He also claimed that the economic development that the TPLF is trying to promote is fake as the major beneficiaries of any economic gains are corrupt TPLF officials and their cronies. He argued that there is a direct connection between economic development and enabling political environments such as respect for human rights, rule of law and human rights.
“Ethiopian can only prosper by the efforts of millions of Ethiopians aspiring to improve their own life. The power of the individual must be unleashed in Ethiopia.”
Steiman further pointed out that the domination of the economy and political space by the TPLF is dangerous that will only end up in disaster. He blamed former tyrant Meles Zenawi for instituting such a corrupt and oppressive regime after promises to bring about justice, rule of law and democracy.
Steinman urged Ethiopians to unify against the TPLF regime which is using ethnicity as a tool of implementing its divide and rule policy.
IOM staff tend to the remains of a deceased migrant on a beach in Yemen. Photo: UN Migration Agency (IOM) 2017
ESAT News
Another 180 migrants were forced from a boat today, a day after 50 Somalis and Ethiopians were drowned by smugglers off the coast of Yemen, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement Thursday.
“Up to 180 migrants are reported to have been forced from a boat by smugglers off the coast of Yemen. Five bodies have been recovered so far and around 50 are reported missing. This latest incident comes barely 24 hours after smugglers forced more than 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into the sea as they approached the coast of Shabwa, a Yemeni Governorate along the Arabian Sea resulting in the drowning of around 50 migrants,” said the statement from the IOM
The migrants had been hoping to reach countries in the Gulf via war-torn Yemen, the IOM further said.
The staff from the IOM also found shallow graves of 29 migrants on a beach in Shabwa, during a routine patrol. The dead had been quickly buried by those who survived the smuggler’s deadly actions, according to the Organization.
The approximate average age of the passengers on the boat was 16.
“The survivors told our colleagues on the beach that the smuggler pushed them to the sea, when he saw some ‘authority types’ near the coast,” explained Laurent de Boeck, the IOM Yemen Chief of Mission. “They also told us that the smuggler has already returned to Somalia to continue his business and pick up more migrants to bring to Yemen on the same route. This is shocking and inhumane. The suffering of migrants on this migration route is enormous. Too many young people pay smugglers with the false hope of a better future,” de Boeck further said.
Since January 2017 to date, the IOM estimated that around 55,000 migrants left the Horn of Africa to come to Yemen, most with the aim of trying to find better opportunities in the Gulf countries. More than 30,000 of those migrants are under the age of 18 from Somalia and Ethiopia, while a third are estimated to be female.
Advocacy group demand British prosecutors to drop charges against Ethiopian pro-democracy activist
Dr. Tadesse Biru Kersmo
ESAT News (August 9, 2017)
The Ethiopian Advocacy Network (EAN) demand British prosecutors to drop what it called politically motivated charges against Dr. Tadesse Biru Kersmo, well-known dissident and pro-democracy activist who was briefly detained by UK authorities on terrorism charges.
“Dr. Kersmo, a scholar, researcher, and God-fearing Christian believes only a genuine democratic system will bring peace and stability in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. Dr. Kersmo is a passionate defender of human rights and a dedicated advocate for social justice. His well-known activism has made him an implacable enemy and a prime target of the Ethiopian regime,” said EAN in an open letter to Alison Saunders, Director Public Prosecution with Crown Prosecution Service.
Last month Dr. Kersmo, a leading voice of dissent against the Ethiopian tyrannical regime who lives in exile in U.K. was granted bail after Scotland Yard charged him with terrorism offenses. Released on bail, his case was declared not suitable for a magistrate and was sent to a jury trial.
British authorities found articles about security, intelligence and urban guerrilla tactics on the computer of Dr. Kersmo, who is a researcher and frequent media analyst on the issues. He argues those articles were solely for research purposes.
A judge concluded the case not suitable for trial before a magistrate and sent it to a jury trial.
Tadesse Biru Kersmo is a pro-democracy advocate who writes and speaks against the Ethiopian brutal regime and teaches his people about how to stand up against tyranny. His computer was found to have been hacked by the Ethiopian regime, which led to a legal case against a regime known for using spyware, wiretapping and surveillance against pro-democracy activists and critical journalists.
“We strongly believe that the charges brought against Dr. Kersmo by UK government, a very strong supporter and major financier of the Ethiopian regime, is a politically motivated witch hunt that charts a frightening future for freedom of speech and privacy in the UK,” said EAN
Kersmo escaped persecution by the Ethiopian regime and has lived in U.K. since 2009.
The Network also used the opportunity to “urge the UK to use its leverage to pressure the Ethiopian regime to open the political space, respect universally guaranteed human rights and release all political prisoners including Mr. Andargachew Tsege, a British citizen who was secretly kidnapped in Yemen and renditioned to Ethiopia where he had been sentenced to death, in absentia, in 2009.”
There has been reports of fighting in the area between the cities of Harar and Babile on the way to the country’s eastern commercial town of Jijiga. The highway connecting the capital Addis Ababa to Jijiga has been blocked, according a security alert by the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa.
Bloggers close officials in Addis Ababa said the fighting took place on the border between the Oromo and Somali regions, hinting that the fighting could be a continuation of conflict between the two ethnic groups. There has been no official statement from the government or the state run media in Addis Ababa.
The alert from the U.S. Embassy said regime’s army have already arrived in the area.
Clashes between the two ethnic groups early this year had turned deadly with the Oromos accusing that raids by the Somlais were backed by the regional special forces and have resulted in the death of several people, raiding of cattle and abduction of women and children.
