Tomorrow in Nairobi, the World Condemns 'Ethiopian' Crimes against Humanity - Invite J. Frazer!

By: Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
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[ Posted On: 2008-06-12 ]

The extensive and malignant practices of the dictatorial Abyssinian regime and the Tigray dictator Zenawi get exposed tomorrow at a press conference organized by the Human Rights Watch. Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch, will present the report's findings and recommendations as regards Ogaden.

One can understand what the international impact would have been, had the leading Human Rights NGO organized a press conference focusing not only on Ogaden but also on Oromia, Afar Land, Sidama Land, Shekacho Land, Kaffa Land, Anuak Land, Kambata Land, Gumuz and other illegally occupied territories where a dozen of nations have been subjugated, tyrannized and exposed to taciturn genocides that the unrepresentative Amhara and Tigray Abyssinian diplomats (representing only 18% of the country's population, namely the heretic, Monophysitic Abyssinians) spoil the country's resources (i.e. the stolen property of their victims) to misinform the World Community.

It would be highly recommendable that an invitation be extended to the highly partial and substantially catastrophic for US interests in Africa, Ass. Secretary Jendayi Frazer. In tomorrow's press conference, Frazer would be highly educated, and then constrained to denounce the criminal lies said to her by the Abyssinian tyrant Zenawi, the unrepresentative Abyssinian ambassadors and diplomats, and the members of the mistakenly tolerated and allowed to function in America Kinijit party, the rising dictatorial threat for all the subjugated nations of Abyssinia.

We republish the invitation as made public amongst others in http://www.ogaden.com/hrw120608.htm. We will also publish the section About HRW from the HRW website, and at the end we ill add an important document published in their website, namely the recently posted (6 June) Statement on Human Rights Situations that Require the Council's Attention, which was submitted to the President of Human Rights Council.

We urge you to monitor their website's page with extensive, groundbreaking and absolutely revelatory reports on Africa (http://www.hrw.org/doc/?t=africa).

Even more particularly, we urge all readers originating from lands belonging to subjugated nations that are currently tyrannized by the criminal elite of Abyssinia (fallaciously re-baptized 'Ethiopia') to contact the HRW and analytically describe to them all the cases of Human Rights violations occurred to them and their relatives and friends. At the end of the article, one can find the entire list of HRW contacts.

Do not let the slightest act perpetrated against you be unreported and thus remain unknown!

Your power is greater than the criminal administrative machine of the Abyssinian tyranny!

Write in your language, if English is difficult; there are translators!

News Conference Invitation

Ethiopia: Collective Punishment in Ethiopia's Somali Region
Thursday the 12th of June, 2008

When: 10:00 a.m., Thursday, June 12, 2008

Where: Fiesta Restaurant, 3rd Floor, Chester House, Koinange Street, Nairobi

Who: Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch, will present the report's findings and recommendations

Human Rights Watch is pleased to invite you to a news conference on the release of its new report on Ethiopia, "Collective Punishment: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia's Somali Region."

About the report: Tens of thousands of ethnic Somalis in Ethiopia's eastern Somali Regional State have suffered serious abuses in the context of a little-known conflict between a rebel movement – the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) – and the Ethiopian government. Thousands of people have fled since mid-2007, seeking refuge in neighboring Somalia and Kenya from widespread Ethiopian military attacks on civilians and villages that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Based on more than 100 eyewitness accounts and additional research conducted in five countries, "Collective Punishment" presents the first in-depth description of the patterns of abuses committed in the region.

Note to journalists: The report is embargoed until after the news conference. Copies of the entire report will be available at the news conference.

For more information or to schedule interviews, please contact:

In Nairobi, Daniel Ooko: +254 (0) 736-779657
In London, Urmi Shah: +44-20-7713- 2788

About Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world.

• We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice.

• We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable.

• We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law.

• We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all.

Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly.

Statement on Human Rights Situations that Require the Council's Attention

Human Rights Watch's Statement to the Human Rights Council

June 6, 2008

Thank you Mr. President,

Somalia

Somalia's civilian population continues to bear the brunt of the country's protracted and worsening armed conflict. In April alone, Médecins Sans Frontières treated 160 war-wounded people in just one hospital outside of Mogadishu; 65 percent of those victims were women and children. More than 42,000 civilians have fled war-torn Mogadishu since March, bringing to at least 800,000 the number of people who have fled the city since the beginning of 2007.

Just this week the International Committee of the Red Cross called Somalia "the worst tragedy of the past decade." The tragedy of Somalia can be measured not only in the rising toll of civilian deaths, injuries and suffering, but in international neglect. Serious violations of international humanitarian law continue unabated and there has been no effort to establish accountability for past abuses, many of which amount to war crimes. The resulting culture of impunity has continued to fuel widespread abuses by all parties to the conflict— including extrajudicial killings, torture and extortion carried out by militias and security personnel Linked to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG); indiscriminate killings of civilians by the Ethiopian armed forces; and targeted killings of civilians and civilian government officials attributed to insurgent forces. Human Rights Watch urges member states to underscore the need to end impunity by calling for the establishment of an international commission of inquiry into recent crimes in violation of international law.

Many humanitarian workers worry that a "perfect storm" is building through a confluence of drought; rising food prices fueled both by global trends and by rampant local money counterfeiting; ineffective TFG governance; and severely restricted humanitarian access due to the violent chaos that pervades the country. The results could be catastrophic for Somalia's civilian population, more than one million of whom are currently displaced.

Recognizing the needs in Somalia, during its last session the Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the Independent Expert. Human Rights Watch welcomes this decision and the High Commissioner's announcement that an assessment mission will be made in Somalia. Given the gravity of the situation and the HRC's commitment to Somalia, we believe that it would be appropriate for the HRC to hold a special session on Somalia in September when the Independent Expert and OHCHR could report back on their missions to the country and their findings.

Ethiopia

Human Rights Watch is also extremely concerned by the pattern of serious violations of international humanitarian law that we have documented in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia's Somali Regional State. In 2007, in the course of their counterinsurgency campaign against the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front, Ethiopian troops forcibly relocated thousands of rural villagers and destroyed their homes, executed dozens of civilians, sometimes in demonstration killings, and are responsible for the arbitrary detention, torture and rape of hundreds of civilians in military custody. We urge the Human Rights Council to examine this situation and call for an end to the violence.

Zimbabwe

Human Rights Watch is gravely concerned by the ongoing violations of human rights in Zimbabwe in the aftermath of general elections that took place on March 29, 2008. We have documented horrific acts of politically motivated violence and torture against opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists and perceived opposition supporters by ruling party supporters working closely with state authorities including the army and police. According to scores of victims and eyewitnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch in Zimbabwe, supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF and "war veterans" are drawing up lists of opposition activists who are then systematically targeted for abuse. Since the March elections,Human Rights Watch has confirmed at least 36 politically motivated killings, and almost 2000 victims of beatings and torture.

Government security forces, and ZANU-PF and its allies are using a network of informal detention centers to beat, torture, and intimidate opposition activists and ordinary Zimbabweans. They are also forcing people to attend abusive "re-education" meetings to swear allegiance to ZANU-PF and denounce those supporting the MDC.

Human Rights Watch has documented a pattern of increasing violence by ZANU-PF and its allies and the military, both in the number of incidents recorded and the brutality used. [nb this below seems to be too much detail for these UN statements and, if nothing else, is out of whack with our other sections, which don't go into individual cases. I would just say: Atrocities reported include torture by mutilation, public beatings of people with sticks, sometimes fatally, and efforts to prevent victims from getting medical care. Cut: For example, one MDC supporter from Uzumba, Mashonaland East province, told Human Rights Watch that ZANU-PF militia members had cut off his ear. Another man from Mudzi, also in Mashonaland East told Human Rights Watch that he received severe wounds to his buttocks after being beaten with logs. His attackers told him that if he went to the hospital for treatment, they would come back and kill him. The man reported to Human Rights Watch that by the time he reached medical treatment in Harare, his flesh had begun to rot. ]
Human Rights Watch has strong evidence that military forces are providing arms and trucks to so-called "war veterans" who have been implicated in numerous acts of torture and other violence against opposition MDC members and supporters. The authorities in Zimbabwe rarely investigate allegations of politically motivated crimes and no recent cases of abuse documented by Human Rights Watch have been investigated by the authorities.

The recent collapse in Zimbabwe's food production has caused a serious food deficit, affecting 4.1 million people (more than one-third of the population). On May 29, President Robert Mugabe announced that Zimbabwe had had to import 600,000 tons of maize to ease food shortages; at the same time decisions to put food aid in numerous regions under the ruling party's control were taken and announced. Hundreds of thousands of people in rural areas are entirely dependent on food assistance carried out by international agencies. Human Rights Watch has received independent reports that a number of aid agencies have been forced to halt their operations, indicating that the government is imposing its control over food aid country-wide. There are increased reports that food distribution is being used to affect the election outcome.

At the NGO Forum of the 43rd session of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights held in May, African NGOs called for the Human Rights Council to take action on Zimbabwe and urged members of the council to organize a Special Session to prevent further violations. Human Rights Watch supports their call and urges the HRC to look beyond political agendas to the human rights issues at hand. The HRC must act swiftly condemn the violations of human rights in Zimbabwe.

China

Human Rights Watch expresses its condolences to the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. Since last addressing the Council about the Chinese government's use of excessive force in response to the March protests in Tibet, we have seen dozens of Tibetans tried with no due process, and a denial of access to that region by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and special rapporteurs. Prominent civil rights lawyers have been stripped of their licenses as a result of their offer to defend Tibetans. Foreign journalists continue to be subject to abuses ranging from death threats to arbitrary detention despite new regulations granting them greater freedoms to report, and the relevant government agencies have done little or nothing to halt these abuses. In the months before the Beijing Olympics, the government continues to violate international and domestic law by expelling from Beijing those it considers "undesirable," as well as returning refugees from North Korea and elsewhere. Despite the tragedy of the earthquake, this Council must remain seized of the rampant violations of human rights for which the Chinese government is responsible and has not addressed.

HRW Contact Information

New York

Address:

350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor
New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
Tel: +1-212-290-4700
Fax: +1-212-736-1300
Email: hrwnyc@hrw.org

Berlin

Address:

Poststraße 4-5
10178 Berlin, Germany
Tel: +49-30-259306-10
Fax: +49-30-259306-29
Email: berlin@hrw.org

Brussels

Address:

Avenue des Gaulois, 7
1040 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32-2-732-2009
Fax: +32-2-732-0471
Email: hrwbe@hrw.org

Chicago

Address:

325 W. Huron, Suite 304
Chicago, IL 60610 USA
Tel: +1-312-573-2450
Fax: +1-312-573-2454
E-mail: chicago@hrw.org
Website:

Geneva

Address:

64-66, rue de Lausanne
1202 Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: +41-22-738-0481
Fax: +41-22-738-1791
E-mail: hrwgva@hrw.org
Website:

Johannesburg

Address:

1st fl, Wilds View
Isle of Houghton
Boundary Road (at Carse O'Gowrie)
Parktown, 2198 South Africa
Tel: +27-11-484-2640
Fax: +27-11-484-2641

London

Address:

2nd Floor, 2-12 Pentonville Road
London N1 9HF, UK
Tel: +44-20-7713-1995
Fax: +44-20-7713-1800
E-mail: hrwuk@hrw.org
Website:

Los Angeles

Address:

11500 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 441
Los Angeles, CA 90064 USA
Tel: +1-310-477-5540
Fax: +1-310-477-4622
E-mail: hrwlasb@hrw.org
Website:

Paris

Address:

27 rue de Lisbonne
75008 Paris, France
Tel: +33-1-43-59-55-35
Fax: +33-1-43-59-55-222
E-mail: paris@hrw.org
Website:

San Francisco

Address:

100 Bush Street, Suite 1812
San Francisco, CA 94104 USA
Tel: +1-415-362-3250
Fax: +1-415-362-3255
E-mail: hrwsf@hrw.org
Website:

Toronto

Address:

55 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 403
Toronto, Ontario M4P 1G8 Canada
Tel: +1-416-322-8448
Fax: +1-416-322-3246
E-mail: toronto@hrw.org
Website:

Washington, DC

Address:

1630 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel: +1-202-612-4321
Fax:+1-202-612-4333
E-mail: hrwdc@hrw.org

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

About The Author: Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis - is Orientalist, Assyriologist, Egyptologist, Iranologist, Islamologist, Historian and Political Scientist. Dr. Megalommatis, 51, is the author of 12 books, dozens of scholarly articles, hundreds of encyclopedia entries, and thousands of articles. He speaks, reads and writes more than 15, modern and ancient, languages.

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