Suffering of the political prisoners is getting worse and worse. Journalist Eskinder Nega and CUD council member Andualem Arage are taken to Kerche where they are confined to a narrow 3x3 cell without light. They are allowed to have 30 minutes a day for sanitation. They aren't allowed to go to the toilet even when they are sick forcing them to use the cell for sanitation as well. Both of them weren't told why they are put in such disgusting cell. The court which heard the complaint of both on the Friday decided to have a two months recess without making a ruling on the complaint.
Required action:
Call or write to shimeles Kemal, the chief prosecutor and tell him to stop the injustice against the political prisoners. Leave a message in case you can't contact him. Be very polite in your communication. The objective is to make him feel what he is doing is inhumane and degrading.
Mobile phone no: 0911238410
Fixed Line: 0115515099/0115514750 / 0115159287
e-mail:shekemal@yahoo.com
Sunday, August 06, 2006
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15 comments:
EZ,
I called Shimeles today and was able to get thru. I tried to be very nice, but i found him not so nice. He asked about my full name and tried to threat me. He finally hung up. What a coward. He must be very angree. It is too bad I am out of reach where he cannot impreson or have me killed. Anyway, just want to inform you how my a half a minute conversation with him went.
Keep up the good job. Ye Ethiopia amilak yitebikih!
I chose to send him an email. Honestly, I could not stand hearing his voice even for onemoment. I admit, it is a naive message. All the same, here it is:
To: Shimelis Kemal,
I presume in the middle of your busy schedule you will not find time to read books. So I thought one of Aesop's fables might be an intersting reading for you. Here it goes:
Wolf, meeting with a lamb astray from the fold, resolved not to lay violent hands on him, but to find some plea to justify to the lamb the wolf's right to eat him. He thus addressed him:
"Sirrah, last year you grossly insulted me." "Indeed," bleated the lamb in a mounful tone of voice, "I was not then born."
Then said the wolf, "You feed in my pasture." "No, good sir, " replied the lamb, "I have not yet tasted grass."
Again said the wolf, "You drink of my well." "No," exclaimed the lamb, "I never yet drank water, for as yet my mother's milk is both food and drink to me."
Upon which the wolf seized him and ate him up, saying, "Well! I won't remain supperless, even though you refute every one of my imputations."
The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.
Indeed.
There is no doubt that you are going to win your case.
However powerful you may feel at the moment, don't foregt that you are on the wrong side of justice and thus on the wrong side of history.
May God help you:
"to keep peace with your soul in the noisy confusion of life."
Blog Forum Rules:
recently, I have been witnessing what seem to me deliberate orchestrated attempts to gang up discussions in this forum. I consider this blog as an alternative forum where the voices and the information that aren't given a place in the TPLF controlled media(private and state) are given their due place. What is more, I am not an unbiased blogger. I can't be unbiased when people get killed and jailed when they dissent, exercise their natural rights. I stand with them and against those who try to silence and stifle them. Thus It is unacceptable for me to be ganged up and derailed by the same people who have a monopoly of the main stream media in Ethiopia.
from now on, I will clean up postings which I deem are intended to derail discussions in this forum. The holders of such opinions have aigaforum, ETV, Ethiopian Radio, Walta, Hambasha Commentary, ENA, FMs 97.1 and 96.3.. to air their views.
Dendir,
You would save yourself a lot of heartache if you keep your mouse pointed at all those sites Zagol has mentioned to you. You see you don't have a different perspective from us, you have diametrically opposed views from the rest of us.
Most things in life are negotiable Ityopiawinet is not! And you will never understand it if you live two
life times. Those of us who visit this blog will never ever go to Aiga forum or all those cess pool
woyane sites, why do you come here?
Who the hell do you think will want to read the poison that emanates from your twisted mind.
Woyane, go away!
Dear Zagol:
I am very glad you are about to clean up postings which you deem are intended to derail discussions in the forum.
I am from Addis.I have been seriously following your blog for long now.And i posted comments a couple of times that someone deliberately doing wrong.I support people struggling for the rest.sometimes when i wake in the middle of the night I begin to think about our leaders and i feel ashamed of being,i feel down and took a little longer to go asleep again.I feel weak that i cannot do anything to help them.
Any way I love you and keep up the struggle.
Certaily, Allah(God) is with the steadfast.
Dear Anon above,
Do not feel ashamed and do not feel weak. Get out of bed and take simple actions, such as that to which EZ called us to. Call Ato Shimeles, from a payphone if you want. It has impact!
I called. He didn't pick up his cellphone. A woman -- presumably the secretary -- picked up the landline. I only got as far as confirming whether this was the office of Shimeles Kemal, and she already hung up on me. They must be getting sufficient number of phone calls to get so anxious already at the beginning of a phone conversation that they hang up as soon as they know it's from a stranger, even a polite one.
I encourage you all to make a call, this adds up! I also encourage all commenters to stay focused on *actions* and not get derailed by commenters like dendir that are trying hard to be subtle by occasionally showing faux sympathy for the movement. They also try to change the subject and provoke you into reacting to them. They hope this will distract from that which they fear most: Citizens Taking Action. So everyone: Get out of your methaphorical beds and make a call!
Dendir,
The issue of joining parliament has been discussed ad nauseam, and we all know there are pros and cons to both sides of the argument, and that there are people of good faith who disagreed on the issue.
The point is that charging people with treason and genocide simply because they did not enter parliament, which is their right!, is a gross human rights violation that can only occur in a most repressive dictatorship.
Is engaging in personal or public dialogue today equivalent to having entered parliament yesterday? No. Not entering parliament was a form of protest and an attempt to magnify the EPRDF's retrenchment of dictatorial rule. It was not a closing off of dialogue!!
In hindsight, should CUD have officially joined parliament? Sure, there's an argument to be made there, but that's hindsight for you.
Let's not forget that the EPRDF, since May 15, went into full retrenchment mode. They pulled out the ethnic card right away with the re-re-shuffle of the Oromia capital, they emasculated parliament, took away money from Addis, engaged in a full-out hate propaganda campaign against different ethnic groups, stole more seats in 're-elections', arrested thousands of opposition supporters, kill some, and closed opposition offices, etc.
Much of this before June 8, and all before November 1.
How would things have turned out if CUD capitulated and joined parliament? Maybe better, we might think, but we don't really know, do we. No hindsight to help us.
EZ,
Good job, Shemles ain't picking up his phone anymore.
you missed out dinder. Clean him up real good.
Your supporter
Dendir ,
Thank you for noting my civility. I always take the view that we ethiopians should be able to exchange differing views without accusing each other of being pro EPRDF or against the national interest.
I noted some contradictions,with respect, in your assertion. On one hand you state that this chap who i suspect, you do not know personnaly, is a brain drain on ethiopia on the other hand you assert with evegelancal certainty this chap will end as a gas attendant in the USA. There are many, i know, who went to the USA and lead sucessful lives even by American standards.
Furthermore i fail to comprehend why you are so fatalistic about the fate of ethiopia. It is one thing to support this regime or to be indifferent but if you oppose it and i assume you do for the simple reason that as someone living in the diaspora ( i assume you are) your conscience must be troubled by the hundred of our compatriots being detained in inhumane conditions for expressing their support for anti EPRDF views. If you start from this premise then how is that you beleive doing nothing is an option.
You may well be right there might not be one document that would destroy this regime. However i beleive if we persuade the electorate in the western countries in sufficent numbers we can bring pressure to bear on this regime and very offical's defection can be an additional armour in this effort to pressure the western countries. I know it takes time but we will prevail. The EPRDF did the same thing in Europe and USA when in opposition, and they succeeded, they do not have abilities that we do not have. We can talk about our differences once we establish a semblance of democracy in ethiopia. Th tragedy to me is that the last electins gave us hope and as i read what our leaders were requesting at the time, it was not the earth and could and should have been accomodated by the ruling regime. As for entering Parliament, we learn from history that those who appease oppressors end up being eated alive, see those who thought they can work with the dergue. I think you need to be fair on KINJIT and understand theur predicament as they were put in an impossible position by the EPRDF. I am not suggesting for a minutes that they did not commit strategic mistake but overall they were right and they did not deserve to be cajed, it is utterly deplorable.
Let me give two examples of where longterm sustain actions may bear fruit, ethio living in the UK played an important role (no one is suggeting they were the sole reason), in the UK government's decision to cut its aid to the ethiopian regime. it shows the western countries unlike the current regime in our country are responsive to public opinion. The other example is the work the South Africans living in the diaspora ( i knew some of them)dutifully did and carried out doing for many years and which, i am sure you agree, brought against all odds the democratisation of South Africa which is a beacon in Africa.
I genuinely want to understand how you can assert that this chap should have stayed in ethiopia to bring an incremental change in ethiopia, what incremental change?, he was asked to bring charges against our leaders, he either does it or faces the consequences, i really hope you are not suggesting he should have made himself available to be cajed.
I trust it was a Freudian slip but i noted your interest your comment when you said"Let us say you find a letter written by our PM ", i am sorry he is NOT my PM because he was not elected just as his predecessors were not my leaders.
Desalegn you are being naive to think that if our leaders joined parliament the problems would have been averted, i am not sure i share your sitting on the fence position. They would have boosted this regime's so called credentials in the eyes of the western world in way that would have been difficult challenge instead although i accept at unacceptably immense prize, they exposed what this regime is at its core and never again this regime can even pretend to have an ounce of democratic value in it. All the west is waiting is for a united and coherently present opposition party which in their eyes is not anathema to their interests and they may change side, history teach us this.
By the way i called shimeles and as soon as she realised what i would say she hang up the phone i also emailed him but no reply
Long live agere
Dendir,
May i say that i found your ambivalence in the face of overwhelming incontrevertible evidence that this regime is engaged in the most appalling human rights violations, breathtaking.
I live in the diaspora like you but not in the USA. I come back to the point of what is it you would have done differently given the stark choices,this chap and many officials who fled, were presented with, i ask you again i hope you are not asking that they should remain in the country and avail themselves to being imprisoned by this regime.
I have to say you seem to be engaged in a very theoritical argument when the reality on the ground is immensely troubling. The issue is what do we need to do to pressure this regime to respect the will of the people.
I think you are being unfair when you seeem to insinuate that the kiiling in Gambella did not feature highly in the conscience of those who currently protest agaist those you call, to my chagrin,"addis abebabian elite". I was among many who protested against the massacres you listed above. I think calling KINJIT leaders, when they were democratically elected and managed to command huge respect and unprecendeted admiration of the populace, " addis abebabian elite" is uncalled for and betrays a degree of hostility towards them.
As for mistakes, look ,no one is perfect and i am sure if our leaders were released and were writing their memoirs they would confess to some mistakes but that is not the issue, neither you, I or anyone sitting in the comfort of their proverbial fence can blame these courageous men and women who paid the ultimate price and you should respect that. You seem to insinuate that they brought onto themselves. That is utter nonsense. I recall my teacher many years ago who said that if you stand by ,when other people human rights are being violated no one would come to your aid when your human rights violations. Pause and think about that.
Let me share a story wiht you. I used to have an acquaintance from Eritrea and he used to enjoy telling me how he thought Prof Asrat et al deserve to be detained and i repeated what my teacher said to me which i set out above. when his family were deported after the 1998 war, he came to me holding his head in shame agreeing to what i told him many years ago. Forgive me but i think if any of your immediate family were arrested you would have a different perspective, don't wait till then to act.
So i say you should join the struggle to free this country from this tyranny. As for your somewhat misplaced admiration re: the construction of the airport, it is not EPRDF's money it is the ethiopian people's money, Dergue use to construct a lot of things it does not alter the fact that it was a ruthless regime.
Stop pontificating and join the struggle to bring about a lasting peace, the irony is that a regime you seem to imply is not malign would not have allowed you to express your "different perspective" you so adeptly post here.
Long live agere
EZ,
A suggestion: we should expose anyone and everyone who is instrumental to the suffering of our people... one way to do this is to post their pictures with some description of their role and phone number permanently on popular sites. This site will be the best venue for that... I'm imagine... on left hand side a scrollable frame with passport size photos of the ANIMALS and the HODAMS, that will be a good heading, hyper-linked to their sins page. Hmm... I wish can help you setting that up.
We may be rubbing shoulders with these evils in DC restaurants with out know it. I think it important for everyone to associate the deeds with the person. This will help to isolate them from the society which will have a big impact.
God bless.
Nice idea!!! However, perhaps Ethiomedia, Ethioforum, etc. would be more suited for that, since uploading big-file pictures would be easier for them. It would be great if you were to contact them with this idea, and encourage others to do so as well, so that they understand there may be a lot of demand for this.
what an idea!!! u call urself selamawi, and u say God bless, and u preach outcasting, isolation. al in the name of Selam and God. what a contradiction!
for those of u who wants to contact alex:
Ato Alemayehu Zemedkun; Head.
Ministry of Justice
P.O.Box: 1370; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel. No. 251 1 152513
Fax: 251 1 520875
E-mail: justice@telecom.net.et
We need to pray for the ordeal of all Ethiopians all over the country;and continue to expose the government's mis-deeds ,and in humane tretment of our citizins.This people have been already under custody years :they have to go under forced confession of the supposed allegations.Truly,God won't look the other way over this ;he will balance the book.
His word is re assuring on this.
"Because sentence against an evil work is not EXCUTED SPIDILLY,therefore the HEART of the sons of MEN IS FULLY SET IN THEM TO DO EVIL"(ecc)8:11.Just because the judgment of GOD lingers that does'nt prove that he scorns at sin.It may be,on the conterray that his judgment is un fatomable for us.
"Oh the deapth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and,his ways past finding out"(Ro.11:33)
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