27 March 2008
Addis Ababa — Some 1300 Eritrean soldiers crossed the borders to Ethiopia over the past 6 months in defiance to massive oppression and ill-military policies they face at home, Sudan Tribune rported on Tuesday citing the Administration of refugees and returnee Affairs.
The report said the 1300 soldiers were among the 3000 Eritreans who crossed the border in to Ethiopia over the said period.
"Over 3000 Eritreans have fled to Ethiopia over the past 6 months in protest to the heavy -handed treatments of the government in Asmara,"Law and protection department head under the administration Haileslasie Gebremariam was quoted as saying.
"Among the fled 1300 of them are Eritrean soldiers while the rest are students, social workers and various members of the community" he added.
In his addresse to the Parliament last wek, Prime Minister Meles zenawi said he did not see any point in going to war with Eritrea when a number of Eritrean soldiers were "coming to us every day." Human rights defenders routinely label Eritrea one of Africa's worst offenders, accusing it of using torture, killing and illegal imprisonment inside the country.
Relations between Washington and Asmara have soured as Eritrea accuses the United States of siding with Ethiopia in a border dispute. Asmara and Addis Ababa fought a 1998-2000 war over their 1000-km (620-mile) frontier.
The U.S. State Department said in its 2007 world human rights report that Eritrea continued to commit "numerous serious abuses".
It said President Isaias Afwerki's government used the border stalemate with Ethiopia to clamp down on dissent and keep much of the nation's youth in the military. Eritrea denies that.
The Report said an average of 300 Eritreans fled to Ethiopia on monthly basis during last year.
This figure has more than doubled since the turn of the new Ethiopian millennium, it added.
Currently over 20,000 Eritrean are sheltered at shimelba refugee camp in northern Ethiopia, which according to the report was more than the camp's accommodation capacity.
A new refugee camp is under preparation to be constructed before the situation at shimelba goes out of control.
Immigrants have been receiving necessary treatment from the day of their arrival, including transferring them to USA, Canada and to various European nations. So far some 3400 Eritreans are resettled in to those countries, the Sudanese newspaper said on its website published on Tuesday.
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GERRIRLIJAM,ETHIOPIA IS GOING TO OPEN THREE REFUGEE CAMPS IN TIGRAY AND AFAR REGIONS.SHEMELBA IS OCCUPIED BY 25000 ERTRIANS .IT SHOULD TAKE CARE OF HUNGRY AND DEPRIVED ERTRIANS. ACCORDING TO UN ,EVERY MONTH AN AVERAGE OF 300-500 PEOPLE ARE ENTERING ETHIOPIA. DO YOU KNOW WHAT AN ERTRIAN SAID:- "I am ashamed of being Eritrean,my own eritrean ppl keep on dreaming about gold deposit & other nonsences. This ain't the way 2 b like singapore. It's sad 2 c my ppl like this. When r we gone stop ofering others the oxygen mask while we r gasping 4 air?When r we gone admit our own mistakes?When r we gone stop the war tune that we have never been good at? When r we gone help 2/3 of our famine stranded ppl? if isayas's against the west,it's ppl who'll suffer.the meal at isayas palace never change! "
Man's crime likely to lead to deportation to Ethiopia
By Kristin Owens Special to the Tribune Article Last Updated: 03/28/2008 01:38:57 AM MDT
A former Utah Valley State College student was sentenced Thursday to serve one more month in jail and three years of probation for felony theft. The 20-year-old will likely be deported to Ethiopia before he finishes that sentence, attorneys said. Kidus Chane Yohannes was convicted in February of third-degree felony possession of his roommate's credit card. Two additional felony charges of buying guns with a false identification number were dropped in December. Judge Gary Stott denied a motion by attorney Richard Gale to reduce the felony charge to a class A misdemeanor. Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander said reducing the charge might have allowed Yohannes to avoid penalties associated with a felony conviction, like deportation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a hold on Yohannes, which means federal authorities likely are planning to begin deportation proceedings, Grunander said. Yohannes is in the United States on political asylum from Ethiopia, which could complicate deportation, Grunander said. Yohannes is purportedly "consumed with violent depictions of the death of United States military servicemen, as well as human execution by gunfire," according to 4th District Court documents. He also allegedly made statements about killing a police officer, according to court documents. Those statements contributed to the Utah County Attorney's Office's determination to get a felony conviction, which ensures that Yohannes can never again legally possess a gun in the United States, Grunander said. Stott sentenced him to serve 120 days in jail, with credit for time served since his June arrest.
Ethiopia: Two Prisoners of Conscience Freed Amnesty International
PRESS RELEASE 28 March 2008 Posted to the web 28 March 2008
Amnesty International today welcomed the release of human rights activists Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie, who had been detained in Ethiopia since November 2005, but said the two prisoners of conscience should be compensated for the time they spent in prison.
The two men were released today, having received a presidential pardon after they signed a letter “acknowledging mistakes” committed in relation to the 2005 elections. It is not yet clear if the pardon is unconditional. “These two men did not commit any acts for which they need to seek pardon,” said Erwin van der Borght, Director of Amnesty International’s Africa Programme.
“They were prisoners of conscience, detained and convicted solely for their peaceful work as human rights defenders. They should have their convictions unconditionally pardoned, and should receive compensation for the period they were unfairly imprisoned.” Daniel Bekele is the policy manager of ActionAid in Ethiopia. Netsanet Demissie is the founder and director of the Organization for Social Justice in Ethiopia. Both are prominent human rights lawyers.
Both men chose to enter a defence, unlike other co-accused, during a trial that ran for over two years. In December 2007, they were convicted by a majority verdict of the Ethiopian Federal High Court of provoking and preparing “outrages against the Constitution” and were sentenced to 30 months imprisonment.
According to Amnesty International, the prosecution failed to present evidence that either Daniel Bekele or Netsanet Demissie incited violence and the judges convicted them on the basis of the testimonies of two witnesses whose credibility was doubtful and strongly contested by the defence. The Ethiopian government barred representatives from Amnesty International from observing the trial in July 2007.