DOCSLIB.ORG

6. Oromo Liberation Front

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
6. Oromo Liberation Front Country Information and Policy Note Ethiopia: Opposition to the government Version 1.0 December 2016 Preface This note provides country of origin information (COI) and policy guidance to Home Office decision makers on handling particular types of protection and human rights claims. This includes whether claims are likely to justify the granting of asylum, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave and whether – in the event of a claim being refused – it is likely to be certifiable as ‘clearly unfounded’ under s94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. Decision makers must consider claims on an individual basis, taking into account the case specific facts and all relevant evidence, including: the policy guidance contained with this note; the available COI; any applicable caselaw; and the Home Office casework guidance in relation to relevant policies. Country Information The COI within this note has been compiled from a wide range of external information sources (usually) published in English. Consideration has been given to the relevance, reliability, accuracy, objectivity, currency, transparency and traceability of the information and wherever possible attempts have been made to corroborate the information used across independent sources, to ensure accuracy. All sources cited have been referenced in footnotes. It has been researched and presented with reference to the Common EU [European Union] Guidelines for Processing Country of Origin Information (COI), dated April 2008, and the European Asylum Support Office’s research guidelines, Country of Origin Information report methodology, dated July 2012. Feedback Our goal is to continuously improve our material. Therefore, if you would like to comment on this note, please email the Country Policy and Information Team. Independent Advisory Group on Country Information The Independent Advisory Group on Country Information (IAGCI) was set up in March 2009 by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration to make recommendations to him about the content of the Home Office‘s COI material. The IAGCI welcomes feedback on the Home Office‘s COI material. It is not the function of the IAGCI to endorse any Home Office material, procedures or policy. IAGCI may be contacted at: Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, 5th Floor, Globe House, 89 Eccleston Square, London, SW1V 1PN. Email: [email protected] Information about the IAGCI‘s work and a list of the COI documents which have been reviewed by the IAGCI can be found on the Independent Chief Inspector‘s website at http://icinspector.independent.gov.uk/country-information-reviews/ Page 2 of 40 Contents Policy guidance ........................................................................................................ 5 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Basis of claim ........................................................................................... 5 2. Consideration of Issues ................................................................................... 5 2.1 Credibility .................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Exclusion .................................................................................................. 5 2.3 Assessment of risk ................................................................................... 6 a) The political system .................................................................................. 6 b) Designated terrorist groups ...................................................................... 6 c) Non-armed opposition groups .................................................................. 7 2.4 Protection ................................................................................................. 7 2.5 Internal relocation ..................................................................................... 8 2.6 Certification .............................................................................................. 8 3. Policy summary ............................................................................................... 8 Country information ............................................................................................... 10 4. The political system ....................................................................................... 10 4.1 Overview ................................................................................................ 10 4.2 Participation in the political process ....................................................... 11 4.3 Ruling party - Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front ........ 11 5. Armed opposition groups ............................................................................... 12 5.1 Designated terrorist organisations .......................................................... 12 6. Oromo Liberation Front .................................................................................. 14 6.1 History .................................................................................................... 14 6.2 Founders and leaders ............................................................................ 15 6.3 Aims ....................................................................................................... 15 6.4 Size, membership and leadership .......................................................... 16 6.5 Areas of influence ................................................................................... 18 6.6 Funding .................................................................................................. 19 6.7 Splinter groups ....................................................................................... 19 6.8 Incidents: 2014 - 2016 ............................................................................ 21 7. Ogaden National Liberation Front .................................................................. 22 8. Ginbot 7 (G7) ................................................................................................. 23 9. Non-armed opposition groups ....................................................................... 25 9.1 Main opposition parties........................................................................... 25 9.2 Forum for Democratic Dialogue in Ethiopia (Medrek) ............................. 27 Page 3 of 40 9.3 Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ).................................................. 27 9.4 Ethiopian Democratic Party .................................................................... 28 9.5 All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP) ............................................................ 28 9.6 Semayawi (Blue) Party ........................................................................... 29 10. Treatment of opposition groups ..................................................................... 29 10.1 Freedom of expression and assembly .................................................... 30 10.2 Media...................................................................................................... 31 10.3 Discrimination and harassment .............................................................. 33 10.4 Arbitrary arrest, detention and abuse ..................................................... 34 10.5 Designated terrorist organisations .......................................................... 38 Version control and contacts ................................................................................ 40 Page 4 of 40 Policy guidance Updated: 5 December 2016 1. Introduction 1.1 Basis of claim 1.1.1 Fear of persecution or serious harm by the state because of a person’s actual or perceived support for a political party in opposition to the government. Back to Contents 2. Consideration of Issues 2.1 Credibility 2.1.1 For further information and guidance on assessing credibility, see the Asylum Instruction on Assessing Credibility and Refugee Status. 2.1.2 Decision makers must also check if there has been a previous application for a UK visa or another form of leave. Asylum applications matched to visas should be investigated prior to the asylum interview: see the Asylum Instruction on Visa Matches, Asylum Claims from UK Visa Applicants. 2.1.3 Decision makers should also consider the need to conduct language analysis testing see the Asylum Instruction on Language Analysis. Back to Contents 2.2 Exclusion 2.2.1 In June 2011, the Ethiopian government designated three opposition groups as terrorist organisations: the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF); the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF); and Ginbot 7 (see Opposition groups - designated terrorist organisations). 2.2.2 Although neither the United Kingdom, the European Union nor the United States have similarly designated these groups as terrorist organisations, they are known to have armed wings or at least not to renounce violence. The OLF has been documented as having been responsible for human rights violations – see the country guidance case of MB (OLF and MTA – risk) Ethiopia CG [2007] UKAIT 00030 (29 March 2007), in which the Upper Tribunal accepted that decision makers should consider whether OLF members and sympathisers should be excluded from recognition as refugees or from humanitarian protection (paragraph 66). 2.2.3 If it is accepted that the person has been involved in terrorist activities or actively supports the violent overthrow
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Lange Is Also Active in Politics and Has Run for Congress Four Times As an Independent Candidate
    BIOGRaphies 289 research, especially on the cultivation of ensete. During this trip he met Adolf Ellegard Jensen, Eike Haberland, Helmut Straube and Elisabeth Pauli, with whom he collaborated and conducted joint research. He habilitated in 1958 with a study on the cultur- al geography of the southern Ethiopian lake region. In 1963 he took up a professorship at the Department of Geology in Bonn, where he continued his agricultural geographic studies in south- ern Ethiopia. He was consultant and chairman of the geograph- ical evaluation team of the German Research Foundation before he retired in 1985. He died in 2002 in Bonn. LANGE, WERNER JÜRGEN (*1946) Werner Jürgen Lange’s interest in Ethiopia began when he was studying for his MA in anthropology and psychology at the Ohio State University, from which he graduated with a thesis on the political systems of southwest Ethiopia. He subsequently joined the Frobenius Institute as Eike Haberland’s PhD student. He took part in the sixth and last research expedition to Ethio- pia. Funded by the German Research Foundation he carried out research among the Kafa and Sheka in 1972 and 1973. He afterwards received two further years funding from the same foundation to finish his dissertation at the Frobenius Institute. He also worked on an inventory of photographs taken during the expedition and of the 300 ethnographic objects collected. In 1975, having received his PhD from Frankfurt University for his dissertation Gimira. Remnants of a vanishing culture, he left Germa- ny for the USA. Apart from his interest in the ethnography of Ethiopia, Lange’s publications in anthropology are mainly concerned with the Afro-American anthropologist W.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Rights Abuses and Political Repression in Ethiopia's Oromia
    Human Rights Watch May 2005 Vol. 17, No. 7 (A) Suppressing Dissent Human Rights Abuses and Political Repression in Ethiopia’s Oromia Region Summary......................................................................................................................................... 1 Recommendations......................................................................................................................... 3 To the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Regional Government of Oromia State ................................................................................ 3 To International Election Observers..................................................................................... 4 To Donor Governments ......................................................................................................... 4 To the World Bank and United Nations Agencies Involved in Development in Ethiopia.................................................................................................................................. 5 Introduction................................................................................................................................... 6 Political Competition in Oromia ................................................................................................ 7 Historical Background.............................................................................................................. 7 Ethiopia and Oromia under EPRDF Rule ..........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Ethiopia, the TPLF and Roots of the 2001 Political Tremor Paulos Milkias Marianopolis College/Concordia University
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarWorks at WMU Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU International Conference on African Development Center for African Development Policy Research Archives 8-2001 Ethiopia, The TPLF and Roots of the 2001 Political Tremor Paulos Milkias Marianopolis College/Concordia University Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/africancenter_icad_archive Part of the African Studies Commons, and the Economics Commons WMU ScholarWorks Citation Milkias, Paulos, "Ethiopia, The TPLF nda Roots of the 2001 Political Tremor" (2001). International Conference on African Development Archives. Paper 4. http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/africancenter_icad_archive/4 This Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for African Development Policy Research at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Conference on African Development Archives by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ETHIOPIA, TPLF AND ROOTS OF THE 2001 * POLITICAL TREMOR ** Paulos Milkias Ph.D. ©2001 Marianopolis College/Concordia University he TPLF has its roots in Marxist oriented Tigray University Students' movement organized at Haile Selassie University in 1974 under the name “Mahber Gesgesti Behere Tigray,” [generally T known by its acronym – MAGEBT, which stands for ‘Progressive Tigray Peoples' Movement’.] 1 The founders claim that even though the movement was tactically designed to be nationalistic it was, strategically, pan-Ethiopian. 2 The primary structural document the movement produced in the late 70’s, however, shows it to be Tigrayan nationalist and not Ethiopian oriented in its content.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Rights Violations in Ethiopia
    / w / %w '* v *')( /)( )% +6/& $FOUFSGPS*OUFSOBUJPOBM)VNBO3JHIUT-BX"EWPDBDZ 6OJWFSTJUZPG8ZPNJOH$PMMFHFPG-BX ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report was prepared by University of Wyoming College of Law students participating in the Fall 2017 Human Rights Practicum: Jennie Boulerice, Catherine Di Santo, Emily Madden, Brie Richardson, and Gabriela Sala. The students were supervised and the report was edited by Professor Noah Novogrodsky, Carl M. Williams Professor of Law and Ethics and Director the Center for Human Rights Law & Advocacy (CIHRLA), and Adam Severson, Robert J. Golten Fellow of International Human Rights. The team gives special thanks to Julia Brower and Mark Clifford of Covington & Burling LLP for drafting the section of the report addressing LGBT rights, and for their valuable comments and edits to other sections. We also thank human rights experts from Human Rights Watch, the United States Department of State, and the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office for sharing their time and expertise. Finally, we are grateful to Ethiopian human rights advocates inside and outside Ethiopia for sharing their knowledge and experience, and for the courage with which they continue to document and challenge human rights abuses in Ethiopia. 1 DIVIDE, DEVELOP, AND RULE: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN ETHIOPIA CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW & ADVOCACY UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING COLLEGE OF LAW 1. PURPOSE, SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY 3 2. INTRODUCTION 3 3. POLITICAL DISSENTERS 7 3.1. CIVIC AND POLITICAL SPACE 7 3.1.1. Elections 8 3.1.2. Laws Targeting Dissent 14 3.1.2.1. Charities and Society Proclamation 14 3.1.2.2. Anti-Terrorism Proclamation 17 3.1.2.3.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethiopia and Eritrea: Border War Sandra F
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Richmond University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Political Science Faculty Publications Political Science 2000 Ethiopia and Eritrea: Border War Sandra F. Joireman University of Richmond, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/polisci-faculty-publications Part of the African Studies Commons, and the International Relations Commons Recommended Citation Joireman, Sandra F. "Ethiopia and Eritrea: Border War." In History Behind the Headlines: The Origins of Conflicts Worldwide, edited by Sonia G. Benson, Nancy Matuszak, and Meghan Appel O'Meara, 1-11. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. This Book Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by the Political Science at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Political Science Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ethiopia and Eritrea: Border War History Behind the Headlines, 2001 The Conflict The war between Ethiopia and Eritrea—two of the poorest countries in the world— began in 1998. Eritrea was once part of the Ethiopian empire, but it was colonized by Italy from 1869 to 1941. Following Italy's defeat in World War II, the United Nations determined that Eritrea would become part of Ethiopia, though Eritrea would maintain a great deal of autonomy. In 1961 Ethiopia removed Eritrea's independence, and Eritrea became just another Ethiopian province. In 1991 following a revolution in Ethiopia, Eritrea gained its independence. However, the borders between Ethiopia and Eritrea had never been clearly marked.
    [Show full text]
  • Dismantling Dissent Intensified Crackdown on Free Speech in Ethiopia
    DISMANTLING DISSENT INTENSIFIED CRACKDOWN ON FREE SPEECH IN ETHIOPIA Amnesty International Publications First published in 2011 by Amnesty International Publications International Secretariat Peter Benenson House 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW United Kingdom www.amnesty.org © Amnesty International Publications 2011 Index: AFR 25/011/2011 Original Language: English Printed by Amnesty International, International Secretariat, United Kingdom All rights reserved. This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for advocacy, campaigning and teaching purposes, but not for resale. The copyright holders request that all such use be registered with them for impact assessment purposes. For copying in any other circumstances, or for reuse in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publishers, and a fee may be payable. To request permission, or for any other inquiries, please contact [email protected] Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. CONTENTS Summary ..........................................................................................................................5
    [Show full text]
  • Confict Resolution
    AFRICAN JOURNAL ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION Volume 16, Number 2, 2016 Efficacy of top-down approaches to post-conflict social coexistence and community building: Experiences from Zimbabwe ‘There’s no thing as a whole story’: Storytelling and the healing of sexual violence survivors among women and girls in Acholiland, northern Uganda Volume 16, Number 2, 2016 Number 2, 2016 16, Volume Competing orders and conflicts at the margins of the State: Inter-group conflicts along the Ethiopia-Kenya border Indigenous institutions as an alternative conflict resolution mechanism in eastern Ethiopia: The case of the Ittu Oromo and Issa Somali clans African Journal on Conflict Resolution Volume 16, Number 2, 2016 The African Journal on Conflict Resolution is a peer-reviewed journal published by the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) for the multidisciplinary subject field of conflict resolution. There are two regular issues per year, and occasionally also a special issue on a particular theme. It appears on the list of journals accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training. ACCORD is a non-governmental, non-aligned conflict resolution organisation based in Durban, South Africa. ACCORD is constituted as an education trust. The journal seeks to publish articles and book reviews on subjects relating to conflict, its management and resolution, as well as peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding in Africa. It aims to be a conduit between theory and practice. Views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of ACCORD. While every attempt is made to ensure that the information published here is accurate, no responsibility is accepted for any loss or damage that may arise out of the reliance of any person upon any of the information this journal contains.
    [Show full text]
  • State Terrorism and Globalization: the Cases of Ethiopia and Sudan
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Sociology Publications and Other Works Sociology January 2005 State Terrorism and Globalization: The Cases of Ethiopia and Sudan Asafa Jalata University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_socopubs Part of the African Studies Commons, Other International and Area Studies Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, and the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Jalata, Asafa, "State Terrorism and Globalization: The Cases of Ethiopia and Sudan" (2005). Sociology Publications and Other Works. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_socopubs/86 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Sociology at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sociology Publications and Other Works by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 05_jalata_054471 (jk-t) 17/6/05 11:47 am Page 79 State Terrorism and Globalization The Cases of Ethiopia and Sudan Asafa Jalata* ABSTRACT This article compares the essence and effects of Ethiopian and Sudanese state terrorism by focusing on the commonalities between the two states. These peripheral African states have used global and regional connections and state terrorism as political tools for creating and maintaining the confluence of identity, religion, and political power. Ethiopia primarily depends on the West, and Sudan on the Middle East, since Christianity and Islam are the dominant religions in these African states respectively. While the Ethiopian state was formed by the alliance of Abyssinian (Amhara-Tigray) colonialism and European imperialism, the Sudanese state was created by British colonialism known as the Anglo- Egyptian condominium.
    [Show full text]
  • Democracy Deficiency and Conflict in the Horn of Africa Making Sense of Ethiopia’S December 2006 War in Somalia
    Democracy Deficiency and Conflict in the Horn of Africa Making Sense of Ethiopia’s December 2006 War in Somalia Solomon Gashaw Tadese Master’s Program in Peace and Conflict Studies (PECOS) Department of Political Science UNIVERSITY OF OSLO Spring 2012 ii Democracy Deficiency and Conflict in the Horn of Africa Making Sense of Ethiopia’s December 2006 War in Somalia Solomon Gashaw Tadese A Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Philosophy in Peace and Conflict Studies Master’s Program in Peace and Conflict Studies (PECOS) Department of Political Science UNIVERSITY OF OSLO Spring 2012 iii © Solomon Gashaw Tadese 2012 Democracy Deficiency and Conflict in the Horn of Africa: Making Sense of Ethiopia’s December 2006 War in Somalia http://www.duo.uio.no/ Trykk: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo iv Abstract Ethiopia, situated at the heart of the volatile Horn of Africa, has long found itself in various conflicts that have ravaged the region. Among them is its 2006 war with the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) inside Somalia in support of the country’s weak Transitional Federal Government (TFG). It was a major projection of power by an African state in another country that ended up with Ethiopia’s ‘occupation’ of Somalia for the next two years. Nonetheless, the nature of the threat, the scale of the military operation, the justifications given to it and the context in which it was conducted show that it would have been unlikely to fight the war had Ethiopia been a democracy. Despite the conduct of periodic elections since the current EPRDF regime militarily took power in 1991, its rule has been characterized as authoritarian.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethiopia: Ethnic Federalism and Its Discontents
    ETHIOPIA: ETHNIC FEDERALISM AND ITS DISCONTENTS Africa Report N°153 – 4 September 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... i I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 II. FEDERALISING THE POLITY..................................................................................... 2 A. THE IMPERIAL PERIOD (-1974) ....................................................................................................2 B. THE DERG (1974-1991)...............................................................................................................3 C. FROM THE TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT TO THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC (1991-1994)...............................................................................................................4 III. STATE-LED DEMOCRATISATION............................................................................. 5 A. AUTHORITARIAN LEGACIES .........................................................................................................6 B. EVOLUTION OF MULTIPARTY POLITICS ........................................................................................7 1. Elections without competition .....................................................................................................7 2. The 2005 elections .......................................................................................................................8
    [Show full text]
  • Ethiopia COI Compilation
    BEREICH | EVENTL. ABTEILUNG | WWW.ROTESKREUZ.AT ACCORD - Austrian Centre for Country of Origin & Asylum Research and Documentation Ethiopia: COI Compilation November 2019 This report serves the specific purpose of collating legally relevant information on conditions in countries of origin pertinent to the assessment of claims for asylum. It is not intended to be a general report on human rights conditions. The report is prepared within a specified time frame on the basis of publicly available documents as well as information provided by experts. All sources are cited and fully referenced. This report is not, and does not purport to be, either exhaustive with regard to conditions in the country surveyed, or conclusive as to the merits of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Every effort has been made to compile information from reliable sources; users should refer to the full text of documents cited and assess the credibility, relevance and timeliness of source material with reference to the specific research concerns arising from individual applications. © Austrian Red Cross/ACCORD An electronic version of this report is available on www.ecoi.net. Austrian Red Cross/ACCORD Wiedner Hauptstraße 32 A- 1040 Vienna, Austria Phone: +43 1 58 900 – 582 E-Mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.redcross.at/accord This report was commissioned by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Division of International Protection. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it endorse, its content. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of abbreviations ........................................................................................................................ 4 1 Background information ......................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Geographical information .................................................................................................... 6 1.1.1 Map of Ethiopia ...........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Ethiopian Democracy Comes of Age
    1 ETHIOPIAN DEMOCRACY COMES OF AGE Ezana Sehay 3/28/2015 Twenty years ago, Ethiopians went to the polls to elect their representative legislators and so was born the country’s democratic parliamentary governance. With the country going to the polls in less than two months, it is as good a time to reflect on what has been achieved so far in the democratization process and what lessons are learned to meet the challenges. Ethiopia’s venture in to democracy is relatively young [four elections old]. The previous elections have been anything but smooth, yet each has become a turning point in the voyage towards democratic society. Today though there is strong evidence that the country’s democratization process is entering in to the formative stage. Why Democratic Election Matters? Democracy, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, “is a form of government in which the power resides in the people and is exercised by them either directly or by means of elected representatives” In the history of democracy there are three major turning points: Direct democracy, Representative democracy, and Mass democracy. Direct or Participatory democracy was born in Athens in 500 B.C. In that era of kings and empires, the Athenians’ idea that the average, citizens should decide policy rather than the elites is one of the most important revolutionary innovations in the history of government. However, direct democracy on the Athenians model had one major flaw: once you get beyond certain size, it is not possible to put all your citizens atop a hill or around campfire. The British solved that problem by the next invention of governance - a Representative legislation; citizens wouldn’t decide issues individually, as in Athens, but they would elect representatives to do so on their behalf.
    [Show full text]