የአወልያው ተቃውሞ ወደ አንዋር መስኪድ ተዘዋወረ።

 በአወሊያ ትምህርት ቤት ከሁለት ወራት ላላነሰ ጊዜ ተቃውሞዋቸውን ሲያሰሙ የነበሩት የሙስሊሙ ማሕበረሰብ አባላት አርብ ሚያዚያ 5 ቀን በታላቁ አንዋር መስኪድ መንግስትን እና ከመንግስት ጋር ቅርበት ያላቸው የመጅሊስ አመራሮች ላይ ተቃውሞ አደረጉ።  “አህባሸን አስተምህሮት ለማስፋፋት ጥረት እያደረጉ ነው” ባሏቸው የመጅሊስ አመራሮች ላይ ከፍተኛ ተቃውሞ ሲያሰሙ ውለዋል።

ከአዲስ አበባ ተገኙ መረጃዎ እንደሚስረዱት በአወሊያ ተጀመረው ተቃውሞ በመጠናከር በአንዋር መስኪድ መቀጠሉን የተመለከተው መንግስት ተቃውሞው እንዳይስፋፋ ሙስሊሙን ማህበረሰብ ለማግባባት ብሎም ለማስፈራራት ቢሞክርም ተቃውሞው ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ እጠነከረ መምቱን እነዚሁ መረጃዎች ስረዳሉ።

ከሙስሊሞቹ ጥያቄ ጋር በተያያዘ ተቃውሞውን ያስተባብራሉ ባላቸው ግለሰቦች ላይ መንግስት ከፍተኛ ክትትል እደረገ መሆኑን ውስጥ ምንጮች ገልፃሉ። በሙስሊሙ ማህበረሰብ እና በመጅሊስ አመራሮች መሃል ያለው አለመግባባት ያሰጋው መንግስት ሙስሊሞቹን ጥያቄ በተለየ መንገድ ለማፈን ሲሞክር ተስተውሏል። “ለጋዜጠኞች እና ለፖለቲከኞች ሲጠቀምበት ነበረውን ሽብርተኝነት ወደ ሙስሊሙ ማሕበረሰብ አዙሯል” ሲሉ ለጉዳዩ ቅርበት ያላቸው ሰዎች ይናገራሉ። ሰሞኑን በሽብርተኝነት የተከሰሱት የሙስሊም ማሕበረሰብ አባላት የዚህ ጉልህ ማሳያ እንደሆኑ እነዚሁ ወገኖች ይገልጻሉ።

NEW Teddy Afro Tikur Sew 2012

Two Kenyan journalists threatened for their reporting

New York, April 13, 2012-Kenyan authorities must investigate threats made against two journalists who covered a police raid on a supermarket, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. One of the journalists was also threatened in relation to another story he published.

On April 5, Osinde Obare, a reporter for the private daily The Standard, and David Musindi, a journalist for Radio Citizen, ran stories on a police raid on a market in the western Kenyan town of Kitale, the journalists told CPJ. The market had allegedly been selling fake maize seeds, according to news reports.

Obare's article cited members of the public saying that the market owner, Mahindra Khetia, was protected by the police and therefore avoided arrest, local journalists told CPJ. The day the stories ran, Luca Ogara, the police chief in Kitale, called Obare, asking him why he wrote a negative story on the supermarket and the police, Obare told CPJ. The official also told Obare there would be repercussions, the journalist said. Ogara told CPJ that he did not threaten Obare, but said that he had asked him for his sources.

On April 8, Obare received an anonymous call warning him to "never set foot in Kitale," he told CPJ. He had temporarily left the town to attend a workshop in Nairobi, but had returned to Kitale this week, he said.

Musindi told CPJ he had been threatened by Khetia while covering the raid on April 4. When Musindi attempted to interview Khetia, the supermarket owner "snubbed him and threatened to ensure the journalist was removed from Kitale" if he aired the story, a report released today by The Standard said. Musindi was able to record the threat, which he gave to The Standard, the journalist told CPJ. The story was broadcast on Radio Citizen on April 5, Musindi said.

Messages left at the supermarket for Khetia were not returned.

Both journalists told CPJ that unidentified men had been following them since they covered the story, which had forced them to hide in an undisclosed location. They said they had filed complaints with the police.

Obare told CPJ he had also been threatened in relation to another story he had published. The journalist ran a story in The Standard last monthalleging that District Commissioner Nyamongo Nyabero had stolen relief food meant for hunger victims in Pokot South District in western Kenya, and had resold it in a market. On April 5, Nyabero allegedly threatened Obare over the phone, saying he would "make sure you die while seated," the journalist said. Obare reported the threat to Kitale police station, he said. Nyabero was arraigned in court on Tuesday and charged with theft, news reports said. Repeated calls by CPJ to Nyabero were not returned.

"Journalists in western Kenya are repeatedly targeted by local officials for their corruption coverage," said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. "Kenyan authorities must end this practice, and they should start by immediately investigating these threats against Osinde Obare and David Musindi."

In January 2009, assailants brutally murdered Weekly Citizen journalist Francis Nyaruri shortly after his coverage of a police housing scandal in western Kenya. 

ክብርት አና ጎሜዝ የስዊድን ጋዜጠኞች እንዳይፈቱ እንቅፋት ሆነዋል ተባለ

ሚያዚያ ፭ (አምስት) ቀን ፳፻፬ ዓ/ም

ኢሳት ዜና:-የስዊድን ጋዜጠኞችን ለማስፈታት የአውሮፓ ህብረት ወደ ኢትዮጵያ የላካቸው ሉዊስ ሚሸል፣ መለስ ዜናዊ ጋዜጠኞችን የማይፈታቸው በክብርት አና ጎሜዝ የተነሳ መሆኑን ለስራ ባልደረቦቻቸው መናገራቸውን ታማኝ የዲፕሎማቲክ ምንጮች ለኢሳት ገልጠዋል። መለስ ዜናዊ ጋዜጠኞችን ለመፍታት ይፈልጋል፣ ነገር ግን በውይይታችን ወቅት ደጋግሞ የሚያነሳው ስለ ወ/ሮ አና ጎሜዝ ነው፤ እንደተረዳሁት ለጋዜጠኞቹ መፈታት እንቅፋት የሆነችው አና ጎሜዝ ናት በማለት መናገራቸው ታውቋል።

የመለስ ወዳጅ እንደሆኑ የሚነገርላቸው የአውሮፓ ፓርላማ አባሉ ሉዊስ ሚቸል ፣ ከሁለት ወራት በፊት ወደ ኢትዮጵያ በመሄድ ከመለስ ዜናዊ ጋር መነጋገራቸው እንዲሁም በቃሊቲ የሚገኙ ጋዜጠኞችን መጎብኘታቸው የሚታወስ ሲሆን፣ ከጉብኝታቸው በሁዋላም ጋዜጠኞቹ በሳምንታት ውስጥ በይቅርታ እንደሚፈቱ ገልጠዋል። ይሁን እንጅ የእርሳቸው መግለጫ በተሰጠ በማግስቱ አቶ በረከት ጋዜጠኞቹ እንደማይፈቱ ግልጽ ማድረጋቸው ይታወሳል። ሉዊስ ሚቸል ለጋዜጠኞች አለመፈታት ምክንያቱ መለስ ራሳቸው ናቸው ከማለት አና ጎሜዝ ናቸው ማለታቸው ብዙ ዲፐሎማቶችን ማስገረሙም ታውቛል። የስዊድን መንግስት በሉዊስ ሚቸል የዲፐሎማሲ እንቅስቃሴ ላይ ከፍተኛ የሆነ አመኔታ ጥሎ እንደነበር ታውቋል።

የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት በየወሩ 45ሺህ የቤት ሠራተኞችን ወደ ሳዑዲ እንደሚልክ ተገለፀ

ሚያዚያ ፭ (አምስት) ቀን ፳፻፬ ዓ/ም

ኢሳት ዜና:-በሳዑዲ አረቢያ/ ጄዳ  የኢትዮጵያ ኤምባሲ  የሚገኝ የዉስጥ አዋቂ ምንጭን በመጥቀስ በቀረበዉ በዚሁ መረጃ መሰረት ኢትዮጵያ ሠራተኞቹን ለመላክ የሚያስችሏትን መሰናዶዎች በማድረግ ላይ እንደምትገኝ ተገልጿል።

አሻ-አርክ አል አዉሳት ጋዜጣ እንደገለፀዉ የሳዑዲ አረቢያ መንግስት ኬንያን ጨምሮ ከአራት መንግስታት ጋር የቤት ሰራተኞችን ለመመልመል የጀመረዉ ስምምነት አጥጋቢ ባለመሆኑ ዉለታዉን ካቋረጠ በሁዋላ ኢትዮጵያዉያን የቤት ሰራተኞችን ለመቅጠር ያለዉ ፍላጎት በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ጨምሯል።  

የሳዑዲ የኢኮኖሚክ ጉዳዮች የጄዳ ምክትል ካዉንስለር መ/ቤታቸዉና የኢትዮጵያ የሠራተኛ ሚኒስቴር የኮሚቴ አባላት የቤት ሰራተኞቹ በኢትዮጵያ በቂ ስልጠና ከወሰዱ በሁዋላ ወደ ሳዑዲ አረቢያ የሚጓጓዙበትን ሁኔታ ለማመቻቸት በርካታ ግንኙነቶች ማድረጋቸዉን ገልፀዋል።  የሳዑዲ ቤተሰቦች ኢትዮጵያዉያን ሰራተኞችን ለመቅጠር ያላቸዉን እየጨመረ የመጣ ፍላጎት በመረዳት 1200 ለሚሆኑ ተጓዦች አስፈላጊዉ የተጠናቀቀ ሲሆን በሳዑዲ ልማድና ባህል መሰረት ኢትዮጵያዉያኑ ተገቢ ስልጠና መዉሰዳቸዉ ከስራቸዉ የሚጠፉ ያላቸዉን አሃዝ ዝቅ እንደሚያደርገዉ አስረድተዋል። 

ኢትዮጵያዉያን የቤት ሰራተኞች የበለጠ ክፍያ ከግል ኩባንያዎችና ደላሎች ለማግኘት ከስራ ገበታቸዉ እንዳያመልጡ ጥናትና ዉይይት የተደረገበት ሲሆን ይህን በሚያደርጉት ላይ ቅጣት እንደሚኖር የገለፁት ምክትል ካዉንስለር ሰራተኞቹ ከቤተሰባቸዉና ከኤምባሲዉ ጋር እንዲገናኙ ተንቀሳቃሽ ስልክ እንዲጠቀሙ የሚያስችል ስምምነት በስራ ኮንትራታቸዉ ላይ እንዲቀመጥ የኢትዮጵያ የሰራተኛ ሚኒስቴር እንደሚፈልግ አልሸሸጉም።  

ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ በኩዌት አንዲት ኢትዮጵያዊ የቤት ሰራተኛ ጃህራ በተባለዉ በረሃማ አካባቢ እንደተጠለፈችና የአስገድዶ መድፈር ወንጀል እንደተፈፀመባት እንዲሁም  የያዘችዉ ገንዘብ የተዘረፈባት መሆኑን አረብ ታይምስ የመረጃ ምንጭ ገልጿል።  የኩዌት የአገር ዉስጥ ጉዳይ ሚኒስቴር በደረሰዉ መረጃ መሰረት ወንጀሉን የፈፀመዉን ግለሰብ ለመያዝ ጥረት በማድረግ ላይ መሆኑ ታዉቋል።  

ይኸዉ የመረጃ ምንጭ በሌላ በኩል  በኩዌት ሳባህ አል ሳልም ነዋሪ የሆነች አንዲት ሴት ዕድሜያቸዉ ስድስትና ሰባት የሆነ ሁለት የልጅ ልጆቻቸዉ የኤች አይ ቪ ኤድስ በሽተኞች እንደሆኑ በመግለፅ ህፃናቱ የበሽታዉ ተጠቂ የሆኑት ከሁለት አመት በፊት ቀጥረዉ ያሰሯት ከነበረችዉ ኢትዮጵያዊት የተላለፈ ሊሆን እንደሚችል መግለፃቸዉን አስታዉቋል። 

ይህን የደረሱበት አንድ የሳዑዲ ሰዉ ወደ አገሯ ሊመልሳት በመዘጋጀት ላይ መሆኑን በመረዳት ከቤቱ የጠፋቸዉ ኢትዮጵያዊ የቤት ሰራተኛ የኤች አይ ቪ ኤድስ በሽተኛ እንደሆነችና ሰዎች እንዳይቀጥሯት በማስጠንቀቅ  ከነፎቶግራፏ በኢንተርኔት ያሰራጨዉን መረጃ በማየታቸዉ መሆኑ ተገልጿል።

ኢትዮጵያዉያን የቤት ሰራተኞች በአረብ አገራት የሚደርስባቸዉን ግፍና መከራ በተመለከተ ነዋሪነታቸዉ በኖርዌይ ድራመን ከተማ የሆነ ወ/ሮ አይሪን ካርል-ሰን “ እንዴት ኢትዮጵያዉያን ሴቶችና ልጃገረዶች በራሳቸዉ መንግሰት ለባርነት ይሸጣሉ? ይህ የመለስ ዜናዊ መንግሰት አዲስ ዘግናኝ ድርጊት ነዉ።” በማለት ገልፀዉታል።

በደባርቅ ወረዳ የስራ ማቆም አድማ ያደረጉ 9 መምህራን ደሞዛቸውን ተቀጡ

ሚያዚያ ፬ (አራት) ቀን ፳፻፬ ዓ/ም

ኢሳት ዜና:-ስማቸው እንዳይጠቀስ የፈለጉ መምህራን እንደተናገሩት መንግስት የደሞዝ ጭማሪ እንዲያደርግ ለማስገደድ የስራ ማቆም አድማ አድርገው እንደነበረ አስታውሰው፣ ይሁን እንጅ  ከዚያን ጊዜ ጀምሮ መንግስት የበቀል እርምጃ እየወሰደባቸው ነው። እርምጃ ከተወሰደባቸው መካከል መምህርት ሀያት ሙሀመድ፣ መምህር ግርማ ሀይሌ፣ ደገፋው ዘላለም፣ አገር በለው ፣ ደስታ ገብረ እግዚአብሄር፣ አየለ መልካሙ እና ሌሎች ሶስት መምህራን የወር ደሞዛቸውን ተቀጥተዋል።

ሰሞኑን የወረዳው ባለስልጣናት መምህራንን ሰብስበው የተደረገው የደሞዝ ጭማሪ  ያረካል አያረካም በማለት ቢጠይቁም መምህራን ግን ምላሽ ከመስጠት ተቆጥበዋል። መምህር ደስታው ገብረ እግዚአብሄር ብቻ ” እኛ ተናግረን ያተረፍነው ነገር ምንድነው? እኛ የጠየቅነው የመብት ጥያቄ ሆኖ እያለ ደሞዛችንን ተቀጣን። ስለዚህ ብንናገር ባንናገር ትርፉ ራስን መጉዳት ነው በማለት።” ተናግረዋል።

ከፍተኛ ውጥረት በታየበት ስብሰባ አንዲት የኢህአዴግ ካድሬ መምህር ” የተደረገው የደሞዝ ጭማሪ አርኪ በመሆኑ ጭማሪው ለአባይ ግድብ ማሰሪያ ይዋልልን በማለት በመናገሩዋ።” ከፍተኛ ተቃውሞ ገጥሟታል። በደሞዝ ጭማሪው ላይ አስተያየት አንሰጥም ያሉት መምህራን ጥያቄያቸውን ወደ ዋልድባ ገዳም አዙረው እንደነበር ታውቋል።

በአዲስ አበባ የሚገኙ መምህራን አሁንም ተቃውሞአቸውን ለማሰማት ውስጥ ለውስጥ በመነጋገር ላይ መሆናቸውን ለኢሳት የደረሰው መረጃ ያመለክታል። መምህራን መንግስት ያደረገው የደሞዝ ጭማሪ ፤ በመምህሩ የስራ ሞራል ላይ ከፍተና ውድቀት እንዳስከተለም መምህራን በመናገር ላይ ናቸው።

Mengistu’s future uncertain in Zimbabwe

Former Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam, who oversaw the murder of several thousands of his countrymen during  the “Red Terror” campaign could be living on the edge in Zimbabwe as his future after the demise of his friend President Mugabe is uncertain.

Mengitsu also known as “Butcher of Addis” has lived in the Southern Africa country for the past two decades as a special guest of his close friend -Mugabe.

He fled his country in 1991 to settle in Harare as the Tigre People’s Liberation Front and the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front surrounded Addis Ababa.

At the time, the United States asked Mugabe to accept Mengistu to end the bloodshed.

A few years ago Mengistu was relocated from his Harare villa to a prime farm seized by Zanu (PF) in the rich Mazowe Valley.

His public appearances have been next to nil.

In 2006, the then opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) angered Zanu PF when it hinted that it would withdraw the protection afforded by Mugabe’s government and extradite him to Ethiopia. Nelson Chamisa, who was MDC’s chief spokesman said the ex leader’s extradition to Ethiopia would be “high on the agenda” of the new administration.
Mengistu, 74, has had his fair share of troubles in Zimbabwe.

It is claimed that he once advised Mugabe on security matters and according to reports, he proposed the idea of clearing slums, which was implemented as Operation Murambatsvina  or Operation Get rid of the filth in 2005, and chaired meetings at which the operation was planned.

Also read: Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe on deathbed?

Mengitsu is said to have warned Mugabe that the swelling slum and backyard population in Zimbabwe was creating a fertile ground for a mass uprising.

The United Nations later estimated that more than 700 000 people had been left homeless in the move.

And while Mugabe’s then administration had made light attempts to squash the reports giving credence that Megistu played a key role, diplomatic relations between the man who toppled Mengistu- Meles Zenawi and the coalition administration is not clear.
Now Mugabe is in poor health and speculation is that if he dies Mengistu could be in trouble.

However, Zimbabwe media has over the years widely reported on arrest and torture of Ethiopian refugees passing through the country on their way to South Africa.

An official and the Foreign Affairs ministry told The Africa Report that Mengistu and his government played a pivotal role during and after the liberation struggle and extraditing him “would be a betrayal”.

But civic society has a firm view on Mengistu, they want him out of Zimbabwe dead or alive.

“The nature of his departure, whether dead or alive is not critical. He should just leave Zimbabwe” Albertina Moyo said.

He added that apart from liberation history, little is known of the two countries in terms of bilateral trade.

Darlington Musanu said “If it was a collective decision, he may continue to be in Zimbabwe but if it was an individual one by Mugabe which is very likely he may go as soon as the man dies”.

He added another dimension: If a Zanu PF member takes over as president chances of him (Mengistu) being deported are slim.

Zanu PF people tend to follow set procedures.

But if a new leader is from MDC-T certainly they will send him straight to The Hague.

Journalist Eskinder Nega wins 2012 PEN Freedom Award

New York City, April 12, 2012—PEN American Center today named Eskinder Nega, a journalist and dissident blogger in Ethiopia, as the recipient of its 2012 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. Nega, a leading advocate for press freedom and freedom of expression in Ethiopia, was arrested on September 14, 2011, and is currently being tried under the country’s sweeping anti-terror legislation, which criminalizes any reporting deemed to “encourage” or “provide moral support” to groups and causes which the government considers to be “terrorist.” He could face the death penalty if convicted.

The award, which honors international writers who have been persecuted or imprisoned for exercising or defending the right to freedom of expression, will be presented at PEN’s Annual Gala on May 1, 2012, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

“The Ethiopian writer Eskinder Nega is that bravest and most admirable of writers, one who picked up his pen to write things that he knew would surely put him at grave risk,” said Peter Godwin, president of PEN American Center. “Yet he did so nonetheless. And indeed he fell victim to exactly the measures he was highlighting, Ethiopia's draconian ‘'anti terrorism’ laws that criminalize critical commentary. This is at least the seventh time that the government of Meles Zenawi has detained Eskinder Nega in an effort to muzzle him. Yet Nega has continued his spirited pursuit of freedom of expression. Such humbling courage makes Nega a hugely deserving recipient of the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.” 

Eskinder Nega has been publishing articles critical of the government since 1993, when he opened his first newspaper, Ethiopis, which was soon shut down by authorities. He was the general manager of Serkalem Publishing House, which published the newspapers Asqual, Satenaw, and Menelik, all of which are now banned in Ethiopia. He has also been a columnist for the monthly magazine Changeand for the U.S.-based news forum EthioMedia, which are also banned. He has been detained at least seven times under Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, including in 2005, when he and his journalist wife Serkalem Fasil were imprisoned for 17 months on treason charges for their critical reporting on the government’s violent crackdown of protests following disputed elections, and briefly in February 2011 for “attempts to incite Egyptian and Tunisian-like protests in Ethiopia” after he published articles on the Arab Spring. Their newspapers have been shut down and Nega has been denied a license to practice journalism since 2005, yet he has continued to publish columns critical of the government’s human rights record and calling for an end to political repression and corruption.

Nega was again arrested on September 14, 2011, after he published a column questioning the government’s claim that a number of journalists it had detained were suspected terrorists, and for criticizing the arrest of well-known Ethiopian actor and government critic Debebe Eshetu on terror charges earlier that week. Shortly after his arrest, Nega was charged with affiliation with the banned political party Ginbot 7, which the Ethiopian government considers a terrorist organization. On November 10, Nega was charged and further accused of plotting with and receiving weapons and explosives from neighboring Eritrea to carry out terrorist attacks in Ethiopia. State television portrayed Nega and other political prisoners as “spies for foreign forces.” He is currently being held in Maekelawi Prison in Addis Ababa, where detainees are reportedly often ill-treated and tortured.

PEN, Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and many other international organizations have long been concerned about Ethiopia’s use of anti-terrorism legislation to justify the jailing of journalists and members of the political opposition. Eskinder Nega’s trial on charges under the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, which covers the “planning preparation, conspiracy, incitement, and attempt” of terrorist acts, illustrates this trend. During his trial, which opened on March 6, 2012, the prosecution has presented evidence that consisted of nearly inaudible recordings of telephone conversations and other comments and a video of a town hall meeting in which Nega discusses the differences between Arab countries and Ethiopia. Nega took the stand on March 28 and denied all charges against him, saying he has never conspired to overthrow the government through violence and admitting only to reporting on the Arab Spring and speculating on whether a similar movement could take place in Ethiopia. Serkalem Fasil, who was the recipient of the 2007 Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation, maintained that her husband is “a journalist, not a member of a political party.”

In announcing the award today in New York, Freedom to Write Program Director Larry Siems praised Eskinder Nega’s “courageous use of the written word to advocate on behalf of his fellow journalists and citizens.”

“Nega’s critiques of the Zenawi government go back two decades, and in recent years he has written fearlessly about the need for peaceful democratic transition and about the fate of other journalists unjustly silenced under the pretense of fighting terrorism,” Siems said. “Now as he faces the same fate, in no small part because he spoke out on their behalf, he continues to press for freedom of expression from behind bars. He is truly an extraordinary individual and we are proud to be able to award him this honor.” 

Siems joined Godwin in urging the Obama administration to press Ethiopian authorities to halt the use of anti-terror legislation to target journalists for their legitimate work and release Eskinder Nega, one of the most visible symbols of the Ethiopian government’s persistent press freedom violations, and all other journalists jailed under national security laws in violation of their right to freedom of expression.

Writer, historian and PEN Member Barbara Goldsmith underwrites the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. This is the 26th year the award has honored an international literary figure who has been persecuted or imprisoned for exercising or defending the right to freedom of expression. Candidates are nominated by PEN International and any of its 145 constituent PEN centers around the world, and screened by PEN American Center and an Advisory Board comprising some of the most distinguished experts in the field. The Advisory Board for the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award includes Carroll Bogert, Deputy Executive Director for External Relations at Human Rights Watch; Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Corporation; Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, International Vice President of PEN International and PEN American Center Trustee; Aryeh Neier, former president of the Open Society Foundation; and Joel Simon, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. 

The Freedom to Write Award is an extension of PEN’s year-round advocacy on behalf of the more than 900 writers and journalists who are currently threatened or in prison. Forty-six women and men have received the award since 1987; 33 of the 37 honorees who were in prison at the time they were honored were subsequently released.


PEN American Center is the largest of the 145 centers of PEN International, the world’s oldest human rights organization and the oldest international literary organization. The Freedom to Write Program of PEN American Center works to protect the freedom of the written word wherever it is imperiled. It defends writers and journalists from all over the world who are imprisoned, threatened, persecuted, or attacked in the course of carrying out their profession. For more information on PEN’s work, please visit www.pen.org

 

ታላቁ ሠዓሊ የዓለም ሎሬት ሜትር አርቲስት አፈወርቅ ተክሌ አረፉ

እጅግ የተከበሩ የዓለም ሎሬት ሜትር አርቲስት አፈወርቅ ተክሌ ማክሰኞ ሚያዝያ 2 ቀን 2004 ዓ.ም. ሌሊት በካዲስኮ ሆስፒታል በ80 ዓመታቸው አረፉ፡፡

በኢትዮጵያ ዘመናዊ ሥነ ጥበብ ታሪክ ፋና ወጊ የሆኑት ሜትር አርቲስት አፈወርቅ ባደረባቸው ሕመም ምክንያት ሆስፒታል የገቡት ባለፈው እሑድ እንደነበረ የቅርብ ምንጮች ለሪፖርተር ገልጸዋል፡፡

ሥርዓተ ቀብራቸውን በተመለከተ ጸሐፌ ተውኔት አያልነህ ሙላቱ ያሉበት ኮሚቴ እየመከረ መሆኑን ለማወቅ ተችሏል፡፡ የሕይወት ታሪካቸው እንደሚያመለክተው፣ ሜትር አርቲስት አፈወርቅ ተክሌ ቅዳሜ ጥቅምት 12 ቀን 1925 ዓ.ም. በታሪካዊቷ አንኮበር ከተማ የተወለዱ ሲሆን፣ በ1940 ዓ.ም. ወደ እንግሊዝ በመጓዝ ከፍተኛ ትምህርታቸውን ተከታትለዋል፡፡

ለስድስት አሠርት አቅራቢያ ያህል በሥነ ጥበብ ሥራዎቻቸው ገናና የነበሩት ሎሬት አፈወርቅ ከቀዳማዊ ኃይለ ሥላሴ ሽልማት ድርጅት በ1956 ዓ.ም. በሥነ ጥበብ የተሸለሙትን ጨምሮ በርካታ ዓለም አቀፍ ሽልማቶችን ተቀዳጅተዋል፡፡