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Foreign aid underwrites repression in Ethiopia – HRW

Human Rights Watch has released a 111-page report that discusses how the $3 billion Ethiopia’s dictatorship receives annual from foreign donors is fueling the Meles regime’s machinery of repression while contributing little or nothing for the country’s development. HRW writes:

Led by the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the government has used donor-supported programs, salaries, and training opportunities as political weapons to control the population, punish dissent, and undermine political opponents—both real and perceived. Local officials deny these people access to seeds and fertilizer, agricultural land, credit, food aid, and other resources for development.

… But development agencies have turned a blind eye to the Ethiopian government’s repression of civil and political rights, even though they recognize these rights to be central to sustainable socioeconomic development.

Read the full report here.

While the conclusion HRW has reached about the devastating effect of foreign aid on Ethiopia is not new, the facts and figures that are included in the report make the case for holding the donor agencies directly accountable for the atrocities that are being committed by the Meles brutal dictatorship. The Obama Administration, in particular, is a major disappointment since President Obama gave hope that he would not support “those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent.” Despite his promise, he is currently giving the Meles genocidal dictatorship over $1 billion per year.

The solution for Ethiopians is within us. We must not depend on any one to remove the Woyanne cancer. Let’s identify Woyanne’s soft targets and start hitting.

9 thoughts on “Foreign aid underwrites repression in Ethiopia – HRW

  1. Not a surprise; we have been trying to tell the donors all this time but they don’t want to listen. Do you know the NGOs and their employees take more than half of the total aid in their expensive salary, allowance, cars, houses and other things. They know 100 % that the government is using the aid money for politics and for their own use but they dare not say because they have hands in it too.
    The only solution would be for a responsible government to kick the NGO’s out prepare short term development projects in agriculture, intrustructure, health care and education and ask the donors to fund those projects………then make a plan to be free of any aid especially food aid in short period of time.

    Do we really want to teach our kids how to be donor recipient ? shouldn’t we teach them how to develop self reliance and gain respect for your country.

  2. By the way the NGO’s are not run only by foreigners. There are lots of Ethiopians most from the Hilesselase’s era high officials kids who kisses the behind of weyane who own NGO.We need to know who is who and expose them.They act like nothing is happening back home because weyane returns their parents property to make them (lolee).This lolees are doing what weyane wants them to do ,get rich party travel to Europ ,USA and Addis also flash their life style.

  3. you’re right. we can’t depend on any one, especially on Obama. he is not with the oppressed people of Ethiopia, he is still supporting the tribal junta. Obama is a big disappointment to Ethiopians. let’s unite any get rid of the criminal ethnic junta.

  4. it is and has been obvious that the neo colonial europians and the west who never wanted ethiopia and africa to develop – supporting these slave mentality dictators has always been their intention – time will come thses powers will melt away since they are wrotten and corrupted from inside

  5. Elias do you know that all these AID isn’t to support Reprssion of Ethiopian People.
    Do you remember when Meles speaking to Obama by Telephone and Nicolas Sarkozy at the Copenhagen conference .This was the deal Meles shall Sell Africa and would recieve Huge money as comission.This is what meles is recieving now irrespective of repression .
    I am really touched with what is happening we are reciving at the expense of other Africa countries selling.
    We have to stop the selling of Africa together,by disclosing the trouth to everyone.meles is now trying to decieve African Leader by introducing Jung words and decieving ideas at the conference criticizing rich countries Leadership crisis ooooo…..Come on Africa We have to fight who is selling US.

  6. woyannes are crying now becouse the world knows how they useing forien aid for their own ethniccenter polotics. thank you HRW. still it is not late to reveal the other truth.

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