Awramba Times

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ጋዜጣዊ መግለጫ

የአውራምባ ታይምስ ም/ዋና አዘጋጅ የሆነው ጋዜጠኛ ውብሸት ታዬ ትናንት (ዕሁድ) ከቀኑ 9፡00 ሰዓት አካባቢ በርካታ ቁጥር ባላቸው የጸጥታ ኃይሎች ተይዞ ከመኖሪያ ቤቱ መታሰሩን አውራምባ ታይምስ ከቤተሰቦቹ አረጋግጧል፡፡

ጋዜጠኛ ውብሸት ታዬ

ጋዜጠኛው በቁጥጥር ስር ሲውል መኖሪያ ቤቱ ተበርብሮ የተለያዩ ሰነዶች፣ ሲዲዎች፣ ካሜራዎች፣ የአውራምባ ታይምስ የተለያዩ ዕትሞች መወሰዳቸውንም ለማረጋገጥ ተችሏል፡፡

የአውራምባ ታይምስ ጋዜጣ ዝግጅት ክፍል ጋዜጠኛ ውብሸት የታሰረበትን ምክንያት እንዲገለጽለት ለሚመለከታቸው የመንግስት የጸጥታ ተቋማት ጥያቄ አቅርቦ በዛሬው ዕለት ባገኘው ምላሽ ‹‹ጉዳዩ ከጋዜጣዋ ጋርም ሆነ ከሙያው ጋር ተያያዥነት የለውም›› የሚል ምላሽ አግኝቷል፡፡ ሆኖም የታሰረበት ምክንያት በተጨባጭ ይህ ነው ተብሎ አለመገለጹ እጅግ አሳስቦናል፡፡

የም/ዋና አዘጋጁ መታሰር በተቀሩት የጋዜጣዋ ባልደረቦች ስነልቦና ላይ መረበሽን ፈጥሯል፡፡ ስለሆነም በህገ መንግስቱ የተረጋገጠውን ሀሳብን በነጻነት የመግለጽ መብት ከግምት በማስገባት ጋዜጠኛው ለእስር የተዳረገበት ምክንያት እንዲሁም የሚገኝበትን ሁኔታ መንግስት እንዲያሳውቀን የአውራምባ ታይምስ ጋዜጣ ዝግጅት ክፍል ይጠይቃል፡፡

የአውራምባ ታይምስ ጋዜጣ ዝግጅት ክፍል

ሰኔ 13 ቀን 2003 ዓ.ም

አዲስ አበባ

አውራምባ ታይምስ፡ (አዲስ አበባ) ዛሬ ጧት የተሰበሰበው የኢትዮጵያ ፓርላማ ግንቦት 7 የዴሞክራሲ የፍትህና የነጻነት ንቅናቄን ጨምሮ ኦነግ፣ ኦብነግ፣ አልቃይዳና አልሸባብ አሸባሪ ቡድኖች ናቸው ሲል የውሳኔ ሀሳብ አስተላለፈ፡፡

ባለፈው ዓመት የጸደቀው የጸረ ሽብር ህግ አንድ ግለሰብ ወይም ተቋም በሽብርተኝነት እንዲከሰስ በቅድሚያ ፓርላማው ‹‹አሸባሪ ነው›› ብሎ የውሳኔ ሀሳብ ማስተላለፍ አለበት ሲል የደነገገ ሲሆን በዚህ መሰረት ፓርላማው በዛሬው ዕለት ከላይ የተጠቀሱ ድርጅቶችን ሙሉ ለሙሉ በሽብርተኝነት ፈርጇል፡፡ በዚህ መሰረት ስለ እነዚህ ድርጅቶች ምንም አይነት የዜና ሽፋን የሚሰጥ የሚዲያ ተቋም ‹‹ሽብርተኝነትን ማበረታታት›› በሚል የአዋጁ ንዑስ አንቀጽ ስር ከ20 ዓመት እስከ እድሜ ልክ በሚደርስ ጽኑ እስራት ይቀጣል፡፡

ኢህአዴግ 99.6 በመቶ በተቆጣጠረው ፓርላማ ውስጥ ብቸኛ ተቃዋሚ የሆኑት አቶ ግርማ ሰይፉ የውሳኔ ሀሳቡን የተቃወሙ ሲሆን ‹‹ቡድኖቹ ወደ እንደዚህ አይነት መንገድ የገቡት ገዢው ፓርቲ የፖለቲካ ምህዳሩን በማጥበብ ሁሉንም በብቸኝነት ልቆጣጠር በማለቱ አማራጭ አጥተውና ተገደው ነው›› ሲሉ ለአውራምባ ታይምስ አስተያየት ሰጥተዋል፡፡ የውሳኔ ሀሳቡ ለብሄራዊ መግባባት በር የዘጋ ነው ያሉት አቶ ግርማ ‹‹የ2002ቱ ምርጫ ውጤት በራሱ ዜጎች በሰላማዊ ትግል ተስፋ እንዲቆርጡ ምክንያት ሆኗል›› በማለት መንግስት ከወረቀት ባለፈ ለፓርቲዎች አመቺ ሁኔታ መፍጠር አለበት ብለዋል፡፡

አውራምባ ታይምስ፡ (አዲስ አበባ) ለሁለት ቀናት ዲፕሎማሲያዊ ጉብኝት ለማድረግ ዛሬ ከሰዓት በኋላ አዲስ አበባ የገቡት የአሜሪካ የውጭ ጉዳይ ሴክረታሪ ሂላሪ ክሊንተን ከሰዓታት ቆይታ በኋላ ‹‹ግልጽ ባልሆነ›› ምክንያት ዛሬ ማመሻው ላይ ተመልሰው ወደ ዋሺንግተን ዲ.ሲ በረሩ፡፡ ከቀኑ 7፡40 ሰዓት ላይ አዲስ አበባ አለም አቀፍ አየር ማረፊያ የደረሱት ሂላሪ ክሊንተን 11፡00 ሰዓት በአፍሪካ ህብረት ጽ/ቤት ተገኝተው ንግግር ካደረጉ በኋላ ማምሻው ላይ ደግሞ በጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ ቢሮ ከአቶ መለስ ጋር የጋራ መግለጫ ለመስጠት ፕሮግራም ተይዞላቸው የአገር ውስጥና አለም አቀፍ ሚዲያዎች መግለጫውን በጉጉት እየጠበቁ ነው (በተለይ የኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቭዥንን ጨምሮ በርካታ አለም አቀፍ ሚዲያዎች መግለጫውን በቀጥታ ስርጭት ለማስተላለፍ መግለጫ በሚሰጥበት የጠ/ሚኒስትሩ እጅግ ያሸበረቀ መድረክ ላይ ካሜራዎቻቸውን አጥምደው እየተጠባበቁ ነው) ሰዓቱ ሲደርስ ሂላሪም ከጓሮ ታጅበው ወጡ ጋዜጠኞቹም ካሜራዎቻቸውን ወደ ባለስልጣኗ አነጣጠሩ ሂላሪ ግን ትንሽ ራመድ ብለው ወደ መድረኩ ከመምጣት ይልቅ አቅጣጫ ቀይረው ወደተዘጋጀላቸው መኪና በመግባት ግቢውን ለቀው ወጡ፡፡

የአሜሪካ የውጭ ጉዳይ ሴክረታሪ ሂላሪ ክሊንተን

 በስፍራው የነበረው የአውራምባ ታይምስ ዘጋቢ ጉዳዩን አስመልክቶ ያነጋገራቸው አንድ የአሜሪካ ኢምባሲ ከፍተኛ የስራ ሀላፊ ‹‹ጅቡቲ ላይ በተፈጠረው የእሳተ ጎመራ ፍንዳታ ምክንያት ፕሮግራማቸውን ሰርዘው ወደ አውሮፕላን ማረፊያ አቅንተዋል›› ሲሉ አስተያየት ሰጥተዋል፡፡ በነገው እለት በርካታ ተቋማትን እንደሚጎበኙ ቀደም ተብሎ ፕሮግራም ተይዞ የነበረ ሲሆን ይህ ግን ሳይሆን ቀርቶ በአፍሪካ ህብረት ብቻ ንግግር አድርገው ዛሬ ምሽት ለመብረር ተገደዋል፡፡ ሂላሪ በአፍካ ህብረት ባደረጉት ንግግር ‹‹ስለ ዴሞክራሲ ደጋግመው እየሰበኩ ነገር ግን የስልጣን መንበራቸውን እስከወዲያኛው ላለመልቀቅ የሙጥኝ የሚሉ የአፍሪካ መሪዎች ጸሐይ ጠልቃባቸዋለች›› ሲሉ ንግግር ያደረጉ ሲሆን እንዲህ የሚል ንግግር በሚያደርጉበት ሰዓት በድንገት መብራት ተቋርጦ ለ30 ደቂቃ ያህል አዳራሹ በጨለማ መዋጡ በስፍራው የነበሩ የውጭ ጋዜጠኞችን አስገርሟል፡፡

አውራምባ ታይምስ (አዲስ አበባ) ላለፉት 20 ዓመታት መኖሪያውን በሰሜን አሜሪካ አድርጎ የቆየውና በተለያዩ የኮሜዲ ስራዎቹ የሚታወቀው ኮሜዲያን መስከረም በቀለ ከሁለት አስርት አመታት በኋላ ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ ወደ አገሩ ሲገባ ከአዲስ አበባ ኤርፖርት ተይዞ መታሰሩ ተገለፀ።

Meskerem Bekele, Comedian

ቤተሰቦቹን ለመጠየቅና ለአንድ ሳምንት ያህል በአገሩ ለማሳለፍ ከትናንት በስቲያ ከዋሽንግተን ዲሲ አዲስ አበባ የገባው ኮሜዲያን መስከረም ሐሙስ ዕለት ቦሌ አለም አቀፍ አየር ማረፊያ ሲደርስ በስፍራው የነበሩ የብሔራዊ መረጃና ደህንነት ኦፊሰሮች ለጥያቄ እንደሚፈለግ ከገለፁለት በኋላ ይዘውት መሄዳቸውን ቤተሰቦቹ ለዝግጅት ክፍላችን ገልፀዋል።

ኮሜዲያን መስከረም የአሜሪካ ዜግነት ያለው በመሆኑ በቁጥጥር ስር መዋሉ ከተሰማ በኋላ ቤተሰቦቹ አዲስ አበባ ለሚገኘው የአሜሪካን ኤምባሲ ሪፖርት እንዳቀረቡ ለማወቅ ተችሏል።

በጉዳዩ ላይ አስተያየት እንዲሰጡ አውራምባ ታይምስ ያነጋገራቸው የኢምባሲው ቃል አቀባይ ዳያን ብራንት ‹‹ኢምባሲው ስለጉዳዩ በቂ መረጃ አለው›› ካሉ በኋላ  ‹‹ነገር ግን የአሜሪካ ዜጎችን በሚያካትት መሰል ጉዳይ ላይ ኢምባሲው አስተያየት አይሰጥም›› ብለዋል።

ጋዜጣችን ወደ ህትመት እስከገባችበት ትናንት ምሽት ድረስም ኮሚዲያኑ እንዳልተለቀቀ የደረሰን መረጃ ያሳያል። ስለ ጉዳዩ ዝርዝር መረጃ ለማግኘት የቦሌ ኤርፖርት የኢሚግሬሽን ቢሮ ኃላፊዎችን ለማግኘት ጥረት ብናደርግም ጉዳዩ ይመለከታቸው የተባሉ ሃላፊ ሰብሰባ ላይ እንደሆኑ ስለተነገረን ምላሻቸውን ማካተት አልቻልንም።

ADDIS ABABA Jan 14 (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s annual inflation jumped to 14.5 percent last month from 10.2 percent in November after a steep rise in food and non-food prices caused in part by two currency devaluations in less than 12 months.

The Central Statistics Agency (CSA) said non-food inflation in Africa’s most populous nation after Nigeria rose to 22.9 percent last month from 16.7 percent the month before. Food prices rose 8.9 percent from 5.8 percent previously.

After soaring in 2008 and 2009, Ethiopian inflation plummeted from July 2009 to October 2009 after the government stopped state borrowing and increased bank reserves.

The Horn of Africa nation devalued the birr currency ETB= by 16.7 percent in September and is targeting annual inflation of 6 percent over the next five years.

However, analysts say inflation is likely to continue to rise after the devaluation, the fourth sharp drop in the currency’s value since the start of 2009.

Charts suggest the birr, which is now around 16.6 to the dollar, is due another devaluation in a month or so.

ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) — More than 40 African migrants trying to reach Yemen by boat have drowned in heavy seas off the coast and a second boat with as many as 40 people aboard is missing, Yemeni and United Nations officials said Monday.

Yemen’s Interior Ministry said on its Web site that three Somalis had been rescued after a vessel carrying 46 people, most of them from Ethiopia, capsized. The ministry also said that a second boat carrying Ethiopians had been missing.

“It’s not known in which direction the wind took them and their fate is unknown,” the Yemeni Coast Guard said, according to the Interior Ministry’s Web site. The missing vessel was said to be carrying 35 to 40 Ethiopians, including women and children.

The United Nations refugee agency said the boat that had capsized had 46 Ethiopian and Somali passengers, of whom five survived.

Witnesses said the boat’s engine had become caught in some of the vessel’s fishing nets about three hours after it had left Djibouti.

“This caused panic among the passengers who began to move around, causing the boat to capsize,” said Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the refugee agency, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

She said that two Yemeni men who were helping to take the Africans to Yemen jumped off the boat. “It is not known whether they survived,” she said.

Committee to Protect Journalists (New York) Outstanding journalists at the forefront of the battle for press freedom in Ethiopia, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela were honored Tuesday evening at the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 20th Annual International Press Freedom Awards benefit dinner.

The event raised a record of nearly $1.5 million for CPJ’s work exposing press freedom violations, providing assistance to targeted journalists, and advocating for solutions to guarantee the right to independent and critical reporting.

Celebrating at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria, 900 guests paid tribute to the courage shown by Dawit Kebede (Awramba Times, Ethiopia), Nadira Isayeva (Chernovik, Russia), and Laureano Márquez (Tal Cual, Venezuela) in reporting the news and keeping citizens informed. A fourth award winner, Mohammad Davari, (Saham News, Iran), remains imprisoned in Iran for having reported on alleged rape, torture, and abuse at the now-closed Kahrizak Detention Center. The Burton Benjamin Memorial Award, honoring a lifetime of work to advance press freedom, was presented to Aryeh Neier, president of the Open Society Institute.

“These journalists embody the struggle to report the news without fear of reprisal. Their work defies censorship,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “Their courage is a shield for many journalists asking questions and exposing uncomfortable truths, even at personal risk.”

The awards dinner was chaired by Sir Howard Stringer, chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation, and hosted by CPJ board member and former “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw, replacing current NBC anchor Brian Williams, who was originally scheduled to host the evening.

With a view toward the future, Paul Steiger, CPJ chairman and editor-in-chief of ProPublica, reflected on strides made in advancing press freedom and outlined recurrent challenges that require the perseverance of organizations such as CPJ.

The awards to Márquez and Kebede were presented by Victor Navasky, chairman of the Columbia Journalism Review, and Robert Thomson, editor-in-chief of Dow Jones and managing editor of The Wall Street Journal. Isayeva’s award was presented by author, journalist, and human rights defender Kati Marton. CPJ co-founder Michael Massing presented the award to Aryeh Neier. Christiane Amanpour, host of ABC News’ “This Week,” introduced award winner Davari and urged dinner guests to sign a petition addressed to Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, as part of CPJ efforts to help release Davari. The petition will also be promoted online in the lead up to International Human Rights Day on December 10.

J.S. Tissainayagam, a formerly imprisoned Sri Lankan journalist who was given a CPJ International Press Freedom Award in 2009, received his award in person on Tuesday, presented by Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent for “The PBS NewsHour.”

The event included the premiere of a short documentary commemorating the anniversary of the massacre in Maguindanao province, Philippines, in which 57 people were ambushed in a shocking act of political violence. Thirty-two of those killed were journalists and media workers. CPJ is working with local journalist groups to advocate for justice, and is providing financial assistance to victims’ families as part of its Global Campaign Against Impunity, which is supported by the John. S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

During his acceptance speech, Laureano Márquez pointed to the role of humor in conquering fear, saying, “Fear is not only a concern for citizens of countries enduring authoritarianism. Fear transcends borders and finds complicit silence in other countries and in international organizations that should speak up and take a position, but don’t.”

Dawit Kebede referred to the innate curiosity that led him to become a journalist and talked about the irony of a particular law in his native Ethiopia: “My country receives millions of American taxpayer dollars to fight terrorism in the Horn of Africa, but under our anti-terrorism law, I risk 25 years in prison if I interview certain opposition politicians.”

Nadira Isayeva faces the possibility of eight years in prison but in addressing the audience, she spoke of what would be worse to her than jail: “What frightens me more is the possibility that some day in the future, a reader of my newspaper might say to me: ‘When people were kidnapped, tortured, and executed without trial, you were silent.’ “

Victims reported to be 18 or younger were shot in front of hundreds of residents in Beledweyne, near border with Ethiopia

By Xan Rice

guardian.co.uk,

An Islamist militia in Somalia has publicly shot dead two teenage girls by firing squad after accusing them of spying for the government, it emerged today.

Islamist militants in Somalia. The al-Shabaab rebel movement has shot dead two young girls in the country after accusing them of spying for the government. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

The victims – reported to be 18 or younger – were killed in front of hundreds of residents in Beledweyne, near the border with Ethiopia.

The town is controlled by the hardline al-Shabaab rebel movement, which has become notorious for its extreme form of punishment, including stonings and cross-amputations, for various crimes, usually adultery and theft.

The killings, which happened on Wednesday, are believed to the first instance of any females in Somalia being executed for spying. The girls’ relatives denied they were guilty of the charge.

According to eyewitnesses accounts, a Shabaab “judge” sentenced the girls to death shortly before they were executed. No evidence was presented, and the two were not allowed legal representation.

Militiamen then used pickup tricks with loudspeakers on the back to summon residents to attend the ceremony at the Islamists’ headquarters. They were warned not to take mobile phone pictures.

The girls – named by the Associated Press as Ayan Mohamed Jama, 18, and Huriyo Ibrahim, 15 – were brought to the site blindfolded, with their hands bound. They were made to sit on the ground. About 10 masked men then shot them.

“Two very young girls were shot … and no one could help,” Dahir Casowe, a local elder, said.

After the execution, the local Shabaab commander, Sheikh Yusuf Ali Ugas, told the crowd that Islamist fighters had arrested the girls last week. He claimed hey had confessed to the crime, and said dozens of other people in custody faced a similar fate.

The girls reportedly came from poor families, and had not been attending school due to a lack of funds.

Ayan’s father, Mohamed Jama, confirmed that his daughter had been in custody for a week, and said he had been refused permission to visit her.

“Al-Shabaab officials … told me that she was captured during fighting between the militants and the government soldiers outside the town and that she would be brought before court,” he said. “As I waited for good news, she was killed on Wednesday. I am shocked and cannot say more.”

The public punishments have a duel purpose for the Shabaab – to restore security in areas under their control by deterring would-be criminals, and to create a climate of fear so locals are too terrified to show dissent or offer support to the government.

Together with another Ismalist militia, Hizbul Islam, Shabaab fighters are trying to overthrow President Sheik Sharif Ahmed’s weak administration, which is protected in Mogadishu by 8,000 African Union peacekeepers.

Infighting among ministers and the inability to provide even basic services on the ground has lost the government the sympathy of most Somalis and allowed insurgents to take over much of south and central Somalia since early 2009.

But the Islamists’ extreme version of the their religion, which runs counter to Somali tradition, has seen their own support whittled away.

In a statement condemning the executions, Somalia’s information ministry said: “This act of killing innocent children does not have Islamic and humanitarian justifications.”