SOCEPP (01 July 2020) – EHIOPIAN ASYLUM SEEKERS DESERVE FULL ASYLUM RIGHTS –

It is not at all new but over so many years, Ethiopian refugees and asylum seekers have been victims of cruel real politick and subjected to immense suffering, to deportations back to Ethiopian and subsequent disappearance of death. Such was/is the fate of Azanaw Demile (Sudan 1993), Shitaye Kebede Djibouti 1995), Abbas Ahmed (Somaliland 1998), Belete Chane (Kenya 2003) and many others.

We have now comeback to the sad reality of the past when the repressive, totalitarian and ethnic discriminatory Tigrean regime (TPLF) was the darling of many Western and other powers and centers. The present regime in Addis Abeba came to power after and with much American orchestrated fanfare, accompanied with blatant and cruel falsehoods, with a Colonel who loyally served the Tigrean regime for 27 years in leadership positions sold off as a reformer. The lies were aplenty. They affirmed that change has come but the main new thing was that the Tigrean dominated regime was pushed aside to its region and an Oromo ethnic nationalist group took power.

They declared that political prisoners were releases but in reality of the more than 45,000 political prisoners only a quarter or so (and most from the Colonel’s ethnic group) were released. Most of the disappeared including dozens of veterans and leaders of the EPRP continued as disappeared. By the way many human rights organizations have for years refused to deal with the case of the disappeared EPRP members. Politics!

They said anti people proclamations and laws have been changed. Another white lie as we say in Ethiopia. The divisive constitution and many of the proclamations (against NGOs, against dissent , against press freedom, etc) are still in place. Torture , arbitrary arrest, state control of the judiciary are the reality. Propaganda measures (like naming women ministers a la Kagame) have not succeeded to hide the fact the rights of women and children are trampled upon as before. Populist pretension have not been able to hide the grim fact that the Colonel, who seriously claims he has a prophesy to be the next king, has progressively turned into a cruel and demagogic dictator. He has also meddled and muddied religion and politics and the Ethiopian Coptic Church and its followers have been hounded, priests murdered and many churches burnt. There has been a persistent onslaught against minorities with close to 3 million displaced from Gedeo and other areas, Afars victimized by government forces and the Issa militia of Djibouti, Anuaks left to the mercy of armed groups from South Sudan. The ones to be subjected to ethnic cleansing and demographic genocide are of course the Amharas who have in the past been seen as enemies by the Tigrean chauvinist regime too.

The Colonel gave legitimacy and invited in as guests group in exile long known for their anti Amhara hate propaganda, for their public calling of the beheading of “Amharas and Christians”. Some of these groups are instruments of Salafists and Wahabists and have formed hate groups called Queros (Al Shabab) and immediately taken murderous actions against the people in Burayu, Legetafo,Ataye, Shashemene, Awasa, Beni Shangul etc. Hundreds, if not thousands, have been slaughtered savagely as they launched their ethnic cleansing in earnest, International silence remains deafening. Rare and sanitized comments from certain quarters are as before facades to cover up what could be called collusion. Amhara civil servants have been fired and replaced by loyalists of the Colonel’s group. The army and security apparatus continues to be purged and displacement of Amharas, the demolition of their dwellings in Addis Abeba, the handing over of their houses and properties to Oromo settlers brought from Arsi and Bale provinces continues in earnest and proves the anti Amhara vision and mission of the Colonel in power. The fanned violence against civilians has led to the breakdown of law and order, to political killings, daylight robberies and unexplained murders of dissenters by so called “unidentified people”. The assassination of a singer and the orchestrated and prepared murder and mayhem against Amharas and others is a case in point. The increasing deterioration of the situation has added to the fear and apprehension of the people (Amharas, the young, dissenters, etc),the increase also in poverty and suffering and is leading to flights as refugees. WE had in the past cautioned that the ethnic discriminatory regime which the West supports will lead to the increase of refugees and the destabilization of the troubled region .

The human rights situation in Ethiopia is so bad that any claim of of it being a safe country makes the claim extremely ridiculous.

Ethiopian refugees and asylum seekers deserve to get their asylum rights protected by international law.

Support the struggle of Ethiopians for their basic human rights!