PRESS RELEASE: IEWO Condemns the Violation of Ethiopias’ Territorail Integrity
The International Ethiopian
Women’s Organization (IEWO) strongly opposes and condemns EPRDF's act of conceding Ethiopia’s
territory to the neighboring Sudan.
We are gravely concerned by the recent
news not only that 1600 km land of Ethiopia is given away to Sudan but also the fact that the Sudanese army has occupied the
north west Ethiopian territory and is engaged in killing, kidnapping, imprisoning and dismantling the community from their
home and land.
Whereas the border demarcation between
the two countries is well known, people were killed and several injured in a conflict at the Ethio-Sudanese border.
According to the report the conflict started on February 12 between Ethiopians and Sudanese nationals in Assira town, North
Gondar. Sudanese nationals came over and settled in the area crossing the border.
Considering this unjust situation
where lives have been lost and a large number of people have been displaced, we condemn Sudan's recent incursion and the subsequent
occupation of territories within Ethiopia's Borders. We demand the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all of Sudan's
forces from Ethiopia, aggressed neighboring country. The outrageous and contemptible acts against unarmed families have affected
areas and villages along the entire length of the border.
The Ethiopian people who live in the
region have voiced their concern and express the consequences and danger of such a reckless and illegal action by the authorities
of both countries. The people in the border regions are now sandwiched by Sudanese army who is looting and displacing
people on one side and by the EPRDF/Woyane forces on the other side and exposing them for severe danger and leaving the people
with no defense and protection. We are cognizant of the dictatorial and anti
Ethiopia nature and behaviors of Meles Zenawi as it was demonstrated in the past 17 years, however this recent action calls
for an alarm, this may be a major precursor to accomplishing the final mission of dismembering and compromising the integrity
and the sovereignty of the Ethiopian nation. The unbearable plight of our people for the past two decades with the increase
in poverty and starvation diseases and premature death; the unpopular and anti Ethiopian ethnic politics which compromised
the sovereignty of our nation starting with the cessation of Eritrea. The EPRDF engaged not only in gross violations of human
rights repression, imprisonment, political terrorism and violence all over the country but also engaged in the war that Meles
Zenawi declared on Somalia and the brutality, and human rights aggression and massive killings of the people of Somalia
which further destabilizing security and peace in the region.
We, Ethiopian women, believe
that today Ethiopia is not represented by a government that has the nation’s and the peoples’ interest at heart.
Therefore until Ethiopians that put the interest and well being of the nation and the people first govern Ethiopia, any international
agreement and treaties or resolving border disputes between neighboring countries during the rule of the EPRDF/Woyane,
shall not be legal binding. Therefore we call upon the Sudanese government to
withdraw its occupation immediately and respect Ethiopia’s national integrity for the secret treaty with EPRDF/Woyane
is not recognized by the people as their government for their actions has proved to be anti Ethiopia and against her
people. It is a well established fact that the EPRDF/Woyane has lost the popular vote in 2005 election therefore we
demand that the voice of the people be honored by forming their own legitimate people’s government immediately.
We also call upon the international
community to stand by and support the Ethiopian people and condemn such acts and atrocities committed on Ethiopians by both
the EPRDF/Woyane and the Sudanese government.
Let it be known to all that Ethiopians
do not honor or recognize any treaties made with woyane, for they do not represent Ethiopia and the Ethiopian People
We the Ethiopian women, will defend
our people and fight for their inalienable rights; the violation of Ethiopia’s territorial integrity and the oppression
and repression of our people is unacceptable and we are putting you on watch.
Ethiopia Shall Prevails!!!
IEWO
Attention to all Ethiopians
that are concerned to the issues of Ethiopian refugees around the world.
The Libyan Embassy in Washington
D.C. recognized and responded to the request of
Ethiopian Women for Peace and Democracy in regard to the Ethiopian refugees in Libya.
God is big, with his help and our prayer everything is possible.
Yeharewerk Gashaw
Human rights activist
Ethiopia releases protest leaders
Ethiopia releases protest leaders |
The group had reportedly confessed and asked for a pardon | Thirty Ethiopian opposition leaders have been pardoned and freed from prison just days after being given
life sentences over election protests.
Three minibuses left the prison, while the group's supporters whistled and shouted for joy outside.
The group always said the trial was political and refused to enter a plea, leading to the men's conviction.
Ethiopia came under strong international pressure over the trial, and some donors cut aid.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the right to vote and contest elections would be restored to those pardoned.
But he said the MPs had boycotted parliament for two years and so may be unable to reclaim their seats.
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PROTEST SENTENCES
In court:
Life in jail: 30 opposition leaders
15-18 years: 6 young men for rioting
1-3 years: 2 journalists
In absentia:
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Among those freed are Coalition for Unity and Democracy leader Hailu Shawel, the mayor-elect of the Addis Ababa Berhanu
Nega and several other MPs and local councillors from the capital.
Mr Meles denied that he was following US orders to free the 30 CUD leaders and eight others convicted over the protests.
Five others were convicted in absentia.
"The Ethiopian government isn't willing and is unable to be run like a banana republic from Capitol Hill. Some individuals
appear to be entertaining such illusions," he said.
He also said that some of the international pressure on his government had been "shameful".
'Orange revolution'
The prime minister said the pardon showed the government had "no sense of revenge".
"We believe that the sorry saga of the orange revolution is fully behind us," Mr Meles said.
Most of those who died were protesters | The government said
the 30 had confessed to their crimes and had asked President Girma Woldegiorgis for a pardon.
The head of the European Union 2005 election observers in Ethiopia had condemned the life sentences as "farcical" and "inhumane".
After the state prosecutor called for the death penalty, the US urged the government to "promote reconciliation" in the
final sentence.
The government always said it could not interfere in the case until the legal process had finished.
Some 193 people died after thousands of people protested against the election results.
Most of those were protesters, killed by the security forces.
Tens of thousands of people were arrested.
The government denied charges of ballot-rigging and points out that it introduced multi-party elections to Ethiopia. |
BBC NEWS
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International Ethiopian Women's Organization
P.O. Box 56729, Washington DC, 20040
Telephone: (240) 691- 4370, WWW.EWOinternational.org
Open Letter to Saudi Arabia Government
May
22, 2007
Royal
Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601
NEW Hampshire Ave., NW
Washingto
D.C. 20037
Telphone:
(202) 337-4088
Fax:
(202) 342-0271
Dear
Mr. Ambassador,
We, Ethiopians in the Dispora are deeply saddened when
we heared the beheading of three defensless Ethiopians, one woman Khadija Ibrahim Moussa and two men, Ali Mohammed Ali and Adel Adam Aman, by your
governmnet. They were allegedly accused of killing an Egyptian and a Saudi Arbia men respectively and were sentenced
to a brutal and cruel death this month in Saudi Arabia. It is reported that these
Ethiopians did not get a fair trail, and were subjected to unjust and cruel living condition as many Ethiopians are experiencing
in your country.
Like many Ethiopians who travel
abroad to earn a living, these Ethiopians were working to escape the unbearable poverty and destitute found in their homeland
Ethiopia. In fact, many are not only escaping poverty but also the cruel and dictotrial rule of Melese Zenawi. Unfortunately, repeated stories have been told by many Ethiopians and other Africans about the notorious
treatment and violation of basic human rights by the Saudi Arabia government. Ethiopian women have faced dehumanizing conditions
ranging from loosing their identity, disappearance, being beaten, burned, raped and murdered. For some women committing suicide
has become the only way out to end the cruelty, mistreatment and the oppressive conditions that they are facing in thier host
country.
Ethiopian women and men living
and working in your country do not have the protection of their own governments, they therefore are left at the mercy of the
host country. Thus, we ask respectfully that your governmnet stops the beheading
of defensless Ethiopians and respects basic human rights of working immigrants. We also demand that the working conditions
which has been identified as modern day slavery, must be stopped and an international workers law be applied to all Ethiopians
working in your country.
Current affairs, News and Press Release
 Washington, DC – A Mexican journalist who travels with guards because of ongoing threats to her life, a group of
women reporters who every day risk their lives to cover the war in Iraq and an Ethiopian publisher who gave birth to a son
while confined to a vermin-infested jail cell for her work are the recipients of this year’s International Women’s
Media Foundation Courage in Journalism Awards.
Peta Thornycroft of Zimbabwe is Lifetime Achievement Winner.
“These women have shown dedication and bravery in reporting and in their commitment to journalism,” said Judy
Woodruff, chair of the IWMF Courage in Journalism Awards. “They tell tough stories that need to be told, and in doing
so, help defend freedom of the press.”
Winners of the 2007 Courage in Journalism Awards are:
- Serkalem Fasil, 26, of Ethiopia . The former co-owner and publisher of the weekly newspapers Asqual, Menilik and Satenaw,
Fasil was one of 14 editors and reporters of independent and privately-owned newspapers arrested after publishing articles
critical of the government’s actions during the May 2005 parliamentary elections. The journalists were accused of genocide
and treason, charges that could bring life imprisonment or the death penalty. While in jail, Fasil gave birth to and cared
for a son, who was premature and underweight due to inhumane conditions and lack of proper medical attention. She was released
from prison in April 2007.
- Lydia Cacho, 43, correspondent for CIMAC news agency and feature writer for Dia Siete magazine in Mexico . Cacho, a journalist
for more than two decades, has endured numerous death threats because of her work reporting on domestic violence, organized
crime and political corruption. In 2004, Cacho published The Devils of Eden, a book based on her research on child pornography
among Mexican politicians and businessmen. A year later, she was arrested on libel charges and driven to a jail 20 hours from
her home in Cancun , with officers hinting that there was a plan to rape her. In recent years, she has written extensively
about pedophiles. In February 2006, a tape recording of a conversation between a businessman and a Mexican governor discussing
a plan to have her arrested and raped was obtained by the media. Several years earlier, in 1998, Cacho was raped and beaten
in the bathroom of a bus station. She doesn’t know if the attack was related to her work. On May 8, while Cacho was
testifying at the trial of a pedophile she has written about, her car was sabotaged. Cacho is also a human rights advocate;
she is the founder and director of the Centro Integral de Atencion a las Mujeres in Cancun , a crisis center and shelter for
victims of sex crimes, gender-based violence and trafficking.
- Six Iraqi women journalists of McClatchy’s Baghdad bureau: Shatha al Awsy, Zaineb Obeid, Huda Ahmed, Ban Adil Sarhan,
Alaa Majeed and Sahar Issa. Constantly under duress, these women dodge gun battles and tiptoe around car bombs to do their
jobs in the most dangerous country in the world for journalists. They are targeted for their work, and so are their families.
Their homes have been destroyed and they’ve lost family members and friends. Each day they risk their lives just to
get to work. They are driven by the desire to report accurately the situation in Iraq , to tell others what is happening in
a world that is dissolving around them.
The IWMF also announced that it will present its Lifetime Achievement Award to Peta Thornycroft, 62, of Zimbabwe . Thornycroft
has been a journalist for 35 years. One of the few remaining independent journalists in Zimbabwe, she reports on human rights
abuses, farm occupation, the state of the country as commodities become scarce and inflation rises, and government repression.
A foreign correspondent for British, American and South African news media, she renounced her British citizenship and became
a citizen of Zimbabwe after the government ruled that all journalists working in Zimbabwe had to be citizens of the country.
Thornycroft has been accused of terrorism and barred from court proceedings, and in 2002 she was arrested while investigating
reports of a campaign against members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. At the same time, she has led journalism
training initiatives benefiting thousands of southern African journalists.
Created in 1990, the IWMF Courage in Journalism Awards honor women journalists who have shown extraordinary strength of
character and integrity while reporting the news under dangerous or difficult circumstances. This year’s awards will
be presented at ceremonies in New York on October 23 and in Los Angeles on October 30.
The International Women’s Media Foundation was launched in 1990 with a mission to strengthen the role of women in
the news media worldwide. The IWMF network includes women and men in the media in more than 130 countries worldwide.
For more information about the winners or about the Courage in Journalism Awards, visit the IWMF website at www.iwmf.org.
Saudi Arabia displays bodies of two Ethiopians beheaded
Published Date: May 17, 2007
RIYADH: Saudi authorities yesterday beheaded two Ethiopians convicted of killing a Saudi national in an armed robbery and
displayed their bodies in public after the execution, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The statement, carried by
the official Saudi Press Agency, said Ali Mohammed Ali and Adel Adam Aman were found guilty of fatally shooting and robbing
Khaled bin Karim bin Bakhash, the owner of a private telephone services center. ... A court ordered their bodies be displayed
in a public place after the execution ....
Executions are usually carried out in public in Saudi Arabia, which applies a strict form of sharia, or Islamic law. Rape,
murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking can all carry the death penalty. - Agencies
_______________________________________________________________________
INTERNATIONAL
ETHIOPIAN WOMEN’S ORGANIZATION CONDEMNS THE BEHEADING OF AN ETHIOPIAN WOMAN BY SAUDI ARBIA
International Ethiopian Women’s Organization (IEWO) strongly condemns the beheading
of an Ethiopian woman, Khadija Bint Ibrahim Moussa. She was allegedly accused of killing an Egyptian man and was sentenced
to a brutal and cruel death last week in Saudi Arabia. It is reported that Khadija did not get a fair
trail. Like many other Ethiopian women who travel to Middle-East countries, Khadija Moussa was in Saudi Arabia
working to escape the unbearable poverty and destitute in her homeland Ethiopia. Click here to read more
PRESS STATEMENT
The IEWO has successfully held its founding congress on March,
3-4, 2007 and passed the following resolutions:
After discussing on the current situation in Ethiopia, the Congress
has
click here to read more
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