Ethiopian Regime Detained Opposition Party Leader, Terrorized Semayawi Party Members

March 24, 2014

Mr. Yilkal Getnet

Ethiopian American Council (EAC)

Silver Spring, Maryland, March 23 – Just before boarding time last Friday night, airport personnel told Mr. Yilkal Getnet that he was to report to a Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) officer at Bole Airport, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mr. Getnet, chairperson of the rising Ethiopian opposition Semayawi Party, was leaving Ethiopia to attend a Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) fellowship program in the United States.

Mr. Getnet’s luggage was removed from the plane and he had to endure three hours of intense questioning by some TPLF so-called “security agents” which caused him to miss his flight. Mr. Getnet, educated as a civil engineer, returned to his home around 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

The TPLF government insists that it is a democratic nation concerned with only the best interests of the Ethiopian people. Yet the current regime has no qualms about denying a basic human right – the liberty for a citizen to freely move about and travel to any country he or she desires. Perhaps America is secretly forbidden to young Ethiopian leaders by the ruling government, fearful that these young people may learn too much about democracy and a free citizenry.

YALI was initiated by American President Barack Obama in 2010. He wanted a program, set up through the U.S. State Department, to strengthen young African leaders as they “spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa.” Because of the TPLF actions that stopped Mr. Getnet’s travel, these high goals must be troublesome to the corrupt ruling regime.

The ruling powers in Ethiopia can still claim the U.S. as an ally. But, the present regime should be wary about preventing a young Ethiopian from visiting American shores to learn about economic growth, commercial prosperity, and human rights. President Obama set up this program himself. Surely he and his state department, along with American citizens in general, will finally see the farce in this alliance with a dictatorial regime that tramples the rights of its citizens. As of yet, no comment has come from either President Obama or the U.S. State Department regarding Mr. Getnet’s detention.

This is not the first incident in 2014 that marks the repression and terror the current regime has visited on Semayawi Party members and their supporters. In early February, 14 were arrested in the city of  Gondar as they planned a peaceful demonstration to take place in the city’s Mesqel Square. Four executive leaders were among them: Getaneh Balcha (Organization Affairs), Yidenkachew Kebede (Legal Affairs), Berhanu Tekeleyared (Public Relations), Yonatan Tesefaye (Youth Affairs). Two drivers and a camera man were also arrested. Cameras and laptop computers were confiscated.

More recently, Semayawi Party members were arrested and some badly beaten during a protest at a 5k Women’s Great Run event. The women runners used the event to protest the strangle-hold the ruling regime has on the liberties of the Ethiopian people. As is standard with terrorist organizations, the regime’s goons took the women away in the night for interrogation and threatened them with guns held to their heads.

Other parties in opposition to the current regime’s tyranny exist, such as the Andinet and the All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP). The Semayawi Party is distinguished by its youthfulness. Most members are under the age of 35 and seem somewhat fearless in the face of state police brutality and the regime’s terrorizing of its own citizens.

The Semayawi Party, also known as the Blue Party, became part of the opposition front during June of last year when a huge rally formed in Addis Ababa. Demonstrators were protesting the unlawful jailing of journalists, and religious and political leaders..

When a regime bans or restricts social media and confiscated cell phones, that is evidence that the regime is restricting or banning the rights of its populace to free speech and other civil expression.

Among other crimes, the current regime is evicting people from their heritage lands and leasing thousands of acres to foreign  corporations – regime cronies pocket the monetary reward. Corruption and poverty presently are endemic in this ancient land and the populace at large deeply resents the ruling regime. The Semayawi Party hopes to forge a unity with other opposition parties, and the Ethiopian populace, to bring about the necessary political change that will allow a truly democratic government to prevail and serve the Ethiopian people.

Last summer, Mr. Getnet vowed that if social and economic issues such as unemployment and inflation were not dealt with soon, that his party would organize more protests. “It is the beginning of our struggle,” he said.

Ethiopian Americans Council (EAC)
1659-D West San Carlos st San Jose, Ca 95128 USA
e-mail: EthioAmericans@gmail.com