Friday, May 1, 2009

Nothing but the truth














Repression and poverty have demoralized Ethiopians and made them subjects to dictators. The people seem to accept the brutality of the TPLF/EPRDF (the ruling party - a regime which is terrorizing the people). The current regime is preparing to rule the country for life. 18 years have passed since the regime came to power and it has become more and more dominant. The TPLF/EPRDF still rules today with its divisive politics and wants to victimize the Ethiopian people.

The TPLF/EPRDF jails its citizens simply because they have different political views or because they criticize the regime. Ms. Bertukan, a peaceful opposition leader was jailed for not saying sorry for a statement she made about the controversial pardon that was facilitated by the local elders.

All prisoners of conscience including Ms. Bertukan Mideksa could have bowed to the demands of the TPLF/EPRDF. She could have abandoned her party and supporters and joined the regime. She could have simply gone home to her mother and her daughter Hale but chose to stand up for her rights.

To give in would be exactly what the regime wants which is to continue to humiliate any opposition to its rule by forcing others to join their repressive group, the TPLF/EPRDF.

By imprisoning Ms. Bertukan and others like her, it shows that the regime uses force on its citizens instead of cherishing and protecting them.

Free Bertukan and all prisoners of conscience! NOW!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Bertukan Mideksa

A former judge who was charged with treason and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005, is just one of many people jailed for exercising their fundamental rights, in this case the freedom of speech.










Why No-One Speaks Out: Politics and Human Rights in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has no independent judiciary, no free press, no civil society, and individual liberties have been severely curtailed, so why isn’t Meles Zenawi a persona non grata in the international community, asks human rights activist Mitmita. Birtukan Mideksa, a former judge who was charged with treason and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005, is just one of many people jailed for exercising their fundamental rights, in this case the freedom of speech, says Mitmita.

Mideksa is in solitary confinement in Kaliti Prison for allegedly violating the terms of a government pardon granted to her in 2007. The accusations are based on her failure to retract statements made in a speech that she was released from prison through a politically negotiated settlement rather than a formal legal pardon. Western failure to condemn abuses by Zenawi’s government for the sake of their own strategic interests, says Mitmita, comes at the expense of the rights of ordinary Ethiopians.


Thursday, January 8, 2009

New Law Ratchets up Repression















Government Outlaws Most Human Rights Work, Imprisons Opposition Leaders
January 8, 2009

In the space of just eight days, the Ethiopian government has outlawed independent human rights work and jailed one of the country's most prominent opposition leaders for life.

New Law Ratchets up Repression