Ginbot 7’s Response to EPRDF’s Request for “Negotiation”

The authoritarian system that has been built by the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is in crisis. There are ample evidences that the anxiety within EPRDF has increased due to the ultimate demise of their leader, the enhancement of the multifaceted popular movements and the fact that the next national election is fast approaching. Recent Ethiopian political history shows that whenever EPRDF finds itself in a difficult situation, it uses negotiation as a stress-alleviation tactical tool. We believe that the current call, through various messengers, for “negotiation” is aimed at serving the same purpose. Ginbot 7: Movement for Justice, Freedom and Democracy (Ginbot 7) has repeatedly affirmed its strong allegiance to democratic changes in Ethiopia thorough peaceful negotiation. It is EPRDF’s stubbornness and arrogance that has pushed Ginbot 7 to adopt complex strategy. The Executive Committee of Ginbot 7 has thoroughly discussed the call for “negotiation”. The committee has reached to a conclusion that this issue concerns the Ethiopian people as a whole, not Ginbot 7 in particular. It has direct impact on the struggle and sacrifices the Ethiopian people pay for democracy. Therefore, the committee decided to use the opportunity to pronounce Ginbot 7’s stance on negotiation with EPRDF. On negotiated change As we have repeatedly made it clear to the Ethiopian people, it is our primary preference that democratic changes in Ethiopia are brought through peaceful negotiations. We are forced to consider other strategies due to EPRDF’s arrogance. We have made it clear that if we were given a choice between leaving in slavery and serfdom on the one hand, and death with freedom and dignity, on the other hand, we will choose the second hand. We deeply believe in this stance; and it is the fundamental principle that attracts our members in Ethiopia and all over the world. Our principal standpoint on negotiations has two aspects. The first is process. It shows that we are always open for negotiation. The second is the expected outcome. The outcome of the negotiations should lead to genuine democracy at lower cost. Ginbot 7 is not interested in negotiations that will jeopardise the aspiration of the people for justice and democracy. We welcome negotiations that can insure the sovereign power of the Ethiopian people. We cannot negotiate against our principles and the will of the Ethiopian people. Therefore: Full recognition of the sovereign power of the Ethiopian people and laying foundation for democratic political system should be the ultimate the outcome of negotiations. This being the major goal, there might be several other minor goals such as immediate release of all political prisoners. However, any number of minor goals cannot substitute the major goal. Supremacy of the will of the Ethiopian people is not negotiable. Ginbot 7 will never negotiate with EPRDF unless it respects the will of the Ethiopian people. Such negotiations should be conducted not only between EPRDF and Ginbot 7; other political and civic organisations also have stake. EPRDF’s preference to negotiate with individual organisation emanates from tactical calculation; it does not show that it seeks long term sustainable solution to our country. There is no democracy that is good for one organisation only. All efforts to establish democratic order should incorporate other political and civic organisations in Ethiopia. Deciding who should run the country, or who should get how much power should not be the objective of negotiation. The negotiation should be how to empower people to elect their own leaders. The issue should not be power grab but instilling an acceptable, just and democratic system of governance. As explained above, this is a national issue and cannot be conducted behind closed doors. There is no reason why it should be kept secret from the Ethiopian people. Actions to be taken in order to avoid negation errors committed in past Base on our past experience in negating with EPRDF, which were insincere from EPRDF’s part, negotiations should take the opponent’s behaviours into account. Negotiating with a trustworthy individual and with untrustworthy individual are different types of negotiations. Whenever we have to negotiate with a subject we do not trust, we need to assure ourselves that effective system of verification and implementation mechanism are put in place. Otherwise, that negotiation should not be taken seriously. This is not the first time that EPRDF seek negotiation. So far, we do not know single instance when EPRDF restrained itself to the agreements reached at negotiations. Rather, we have observed time and again when it cherishes violating negotiations as bravery and mastery. Nothing is more important to EPRDF than clinching on power. It is not willing to sacrifice even a fraction of its power for the long-term benefits of the country. We, people in Ginbot 7, do have first-hand experience with EPRDF’s bogus negotiations. We cannot allow this to happen again. Therefore, we need to make sure that the following actions are taken in order to get some assurance that the call is serious and genuine. All political prisoners, journalists, human right activists should be released. This should include those who are detained in secrete prisons. Intimidating people, especially members of the opposition political parties should stop immediately. The rights of every Ethiopian should be respected and protected. All politically motivated verdicts of the Kangaroo court should be nullified. Files that are on process should be dropped. All repressive laws that are aimed at terrorising and silencing people should be terminated. Negotiations should be conducted in the presence of third party mediators. All the process should be filed and kept in hands of the independent mediators. The negotiation place itself should be negotiated. The whole process should be open to the Ethiopian people. If EPRDF is not willing to take these actions, we would not believe that it has any genuine interests in any negotiated settlement. Until then, Ginbot 7 and other democratic forces will continue their struggle in line with their respective strategies. Ginbot 7 will not be distracted by phony negotiation proposal. December 2, 2013. The Executive Committee Ginbot7: Movement for Justice, Freedom and Democracy.

Just see what the so-called ethiopian prime minister says ....

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ኢህአዴግ ለግንቦት7 የድርድር ጥያቄ አቀረበ

-ለጉዳዩ ቅርበት ያላቸው ሰዎች እንደገለጹት ኢህአዴግ የእንደራደር ጥያቄውን በሁሉት ወር ጊዜ ውስጥ ለ3ኛ ጊዜ ማቅረቡ ነው። ግንቦት 7 የፍትህ፣ የነፃነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ ኢሳት ላቀረበው ጥያቄ በሰጠው የጽሁፍ መልስ “የእንደራደር” ጥያቄ እንደቀረበለት አምኖ፣ “ይሁን እንጅ ንቅናቄው በዋናነት ወያኔ እንደለመደው ድርድርን ለውጥረት ማስተንፈሻነት ለመጠቀም” ያደረገው ነው ብሎአል። የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ የሚመኘውም ሆነ ግንቦት 7 የሚፈልገው ዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጥ በሰላማዊ መንገድ በሚደረግ ትግልና በጠረጴዛ ዙሪያ በሚደረጉ ዉይይቶች ቢመጣ መሆኑን ጠቅሶ ንቅናቄውን ሁለገብ ትግል ውስጥ እንዲገባ ያስገደደው የወያኔ እምቢተኝነትና እብሪት ብቻ ነው ብሎአል። የድርድር ሂደትን በሚመለከት ሁሌም ለድርድር ክፍት መሆኑን የገለጸው ግንቦት7፣ ይህ የድርድር ሂደት እንዲያው ለለበጣ የሚደረግ ሳይሆን ወደሚፈለገው ነጻነት በአነስተኛ መስዕዋትነት ሊያደርስ ይችል ከሆነ በሩን ላለመዝጋት እንጂ፣ በምንም አይነት ኢትዮጵያን እውነተኛ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሀገር ማድረግን፤ የሚቀይር ወይንም ከዚያ ያነሰ ውጤትን ለመቀበል መፍቀድን ፈጽሞ የማያመለክት ነው ሲል አቋሙን ገልጿል። የግንቦት 7 ሥራ አስፈጻሚ ኮሚቴ የእንደራደር መልዕክት እንደደረሰው በጉዳዩ ዙሪያ በሰፊው እንደተወያየመበት በመጥቀስ የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ ባጠቃላይ እንጂ ግንቦት 7ን ብቻ የሚመለከት ጉዳይ እንዳልሆነ ከድምዳሜ ላይ መድረሱንም በመግለጫው አመልክቷል። ንቅናቄው አክሎም ኢህአዴግ የ “እንደራደር” ጥያቄውን ከዚህ በፊት እንዳደረገው ለገባበት የፖለቲካ ውጥረት ማስተንፈሻ፣ ለውሸት ፕሮፓጋንዳው መጠቀሚያ፤ ለጊዜያዊ የፖለቲካ ትርፍ መሰብሰቢያ፤ የዴሞክራሲ ታጋዮችን ትጥቅ ማስፈቺያና ወኔ መስለቢያ አድርጎ እንዲጠቀምበት እንደማይፈቅድለት ገልጿል። ምንም ዓይነት ድርድር ከመደረጉ በፊት መንግስት ጉዳዩን ከምር የወሰደው መሆኑን የሚያሳዩ “የመተማመኛ” እርምጃዎች መውሰድ ተገቢ መሆኑን የገለጸው ድርጅቱ ከእነዚህም መተማመኛዎች መካከል ሁሉንም የፖለቲካ እስረኞች፤ ጋዜጠኞች፤ የሰብአዊ መብት ተሟጋቾች ፣ በግልጽ የሚታወቁ እስረኞችን ብቻ ሳይሆን በድብቅ የተቋቋሙ ማጎሪያና ማሰቃያ ቤቶች ያሉትን ሁሉ ያለምንም ቅድመ ሁኔታ መፍታት ፣ በሕዝብ በተለይ በተቃዎሚ ኃይሎች ላይ በየቀኑ እያካሄደ ያለውን ወከባና እንግልት ባስቸኳይ ማቆም፣ ሰብዓዊና የዜግነት መብታቸውን ማክበር ፣ በፖለቲካ ምክንያት ከዚህ በፊት የተወሰዱ ሁሉም ዓይነት ፍርድ ተብየ ውሳኔዎች እንዲሻሩ ማድረግ፤ በሂደት ላይ ያሉ ከፖለቲካ ጋር የተያያዙ ምንም አይነት ክሶችን ማቋረጥ ፣ ሕዝብን በፍርሃትና በስጋት ለማቆየት ሆነ ተብለው የወጡ አፋኝ ህጎችን በአስቸኳይ ማንሳት፣ ማንኛውም ድርድር ገለልተኛ የሆኑ ሶስተኛ ወገኖች ባሉበት፤ የድርድሩ ሂደት በምስልና በድምጽ ተቀርጾ በገለልተኛ ወገኖች እጅ ብቻ የሚቀመጥ፣ የድርድሩ ቦታም የተደራዳሪ ወገኖች በጋራ በሚስማሙበት ቦታ መሆኑን መቀበልና ይህንንም በግልጽ ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ማሳወቅ የሚሉት ተጠቅሰዋል። ” ወያኔ እነዚህን እርምጃዎች ለመውሰድ ቁርጠኝነት ሳይኖረው ለእውነተኛ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሥርዓት መመስረት የሚደረግ ድርድር ላይ ከምር ይሳተፋል ብለን ማመን በፍጹም አንችልም የሚለው ግንቦት7 ፣ እስከዚያው ድረስ ግን ግንቦት 7ም ሆነ ሌሎች ለዴሞክራሲያዊ ሥርዓት መመስረት በቁርጠኝነት የሚታገሉ ኃይሎች፣ ወያኔ እነኝህን የመተማመኛ እርምጃዎች እስኪወስድና ቀደም ብለው በተቀመጡት መርሆች መሠረት በሚደረግ ድርድር በተግባር ሊመነዘር የሚችል ስምምነት፣ አልፎም ለምንም አይነት ማጭበርበርና መንሸራተት እድል የማይሰጥ ጠንካራ መጠበቂያዎች መኖራቸው እስኪረጋገጥ ድረስ፣ የጀመሩትን ትግል አጠንክረው እንዲገፉበት ጠይቋል። ግንቦት7 የድርድሩ ውጤት የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ የሥልጣን ባለቤትነት ያረጋገጠ የዴሞክራሲያዊ ሥርዓትን በአስቸኳይ እውን ማድረግ መሆኑን ገልጾ፣ በሥልጣን ላይ ባለው ኃይል በኩል ወደዚህ ግብ ለመድረስ ቁርጠኝነቱ በሌለበት ሁኔታ በሚደረግ ማንኛውም አይነት ድርድር ውስጥ ግንቦት 7 አይሳተፍም ሲል አቋሙን አንጸባርቋል። ድርጅቶችን በተናጠል እየለያዩ “እንደራደር” ማለት በራሱ ጊዜያዊ የፖለቲካ ጥቅም ስሌትን የያዘ እሳቤ እንጂ፣ በዘላቂነት አገሪቱን እውነተኛ ዴሞክራሲያዊ አገር ለማድረግ መፈለግን አያመለክትም በማለት የሚገልጸው ንቅናቄው፣ ለአንድ ድርጅት ለብቻው የሚመጣ ወይም የሚጠቅም ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሥርዓት ባለመኖሩ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሥርዓት የመፍጠር ፍላጎት ያለው ድርድር በአገሪቱ ያሉትን የተለያዩ የፖለቲካም ሆነ የሲቪክ ኃይሎችን ያካተተና ያመኑበት መሆን ይኖርበታል ብሎአል። “የሚደረገው ድርድር ማን በስልጣን ላይ ይውጣ ወይንም የፖለቲካ ስልጣንን ባሉት ኃይሎች መሀከል እንዴት እናከፋፍለው የሚል የስልጣን ቅርምት ድርድር ሳይሆን፤ ሕጋዊና የሕዝቡን የሥልጣን ሉዓላዊነት ባረጋገጠ ሁኔታ የፖለቲካ ስልጣን እንዴት እንደሚያዝ ፍትሀዊ የሆነ ሂደትን ለማስጀመር የሚደረግ ድርድር መሆን አለበት” ሲል በድርድር ዙሪያ ያለውን መርህ አስቀምጧል። ኢሳት ዜና :

ወደ ቂሊንጦ እስር ቤት የተደረገ ጽናታዊ ጉዞ፣ በሺዎች የሚቆጥሩ ተሳትፈዉበታል

የህወሃትን ማስፈራራትና ማፈራራት ችላ በማለት በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ኢትዮጵያዉያን ሙስሊሞች ዛሬ ገና ጎሕ ሳይቀድ ወደ ቂሊንጦ ወህኒ ቤት ተመሙ። የታሰሩትን የሙስሊም የመፍትሔ አፈላላጊ ኮሚቴዎችንና ሌሎችን የሕሊና እስረኞችን በመጠየቅ ህዝባዊ እንቢተኝነትንም አሳዩ። Ethiopian Muslims on the way to Kilinto prison ህወሃት መራሹ የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት በሙስሊም የመፍትሔ አፈላላጊ ኮሚቴዎች ላይ በካንጋሮ ፍርድ ቤቱ ሊፈርድባቸዉ እያቅማማ ቢሆንም ዛሬ በነቂስ የወጣው ህዝብ “ዋ!.. በነርሱ ላይ መፍረድ በኛ ላይ መፍረድ ማለት ነዉ” በማለት ሰላማዊ ማስጠንቀቂያ ሰጥቶታል። ህወሃት በነዚህ የሰላም አንባሳደሮች ላይ የረከሰ ፖለቲካዊ ፍርዱን በይኖ ለተለመደዉ የይቅርታ ፍጆታዉ ከዲያስፖራ ሰዎችን በመመልመል ቢኳትንም እራሱ በድሎ በስዉር ሽምግልና ይቅርታ ለማስጠይቅ የሚያደርገዉ ሙከራ በገሃድ ሲከሽፍበት ተስተዉሏል በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ዛሬ የድምጻችን ይሰማን ትእዛዝ ተከትለዉ “ዋ” ብለዉታልና! በሚሊዮኖች የሚቆጠሩ ኢትዮጵያዉያን ምን ይላሉ? “ጽናት ከደማችን የተቀላቀለ የማንነታችን ምስክር ነው!…ጽናት እኮ የማነነታችን ነጸብራቅ እንደሆነ ላለፉት ሁለት አመታት አሳይተናል።ለበደል ለጭቆናዉ ናዳ ናዳ በህብረ ድምጽ በቃልኪዳናዊ ቅላፄ በአንድ አምላካዊ ጎዳና ወደ ነፃነት እየተጓዝን “አሃዱን አሃድ” እንላለን ።ስቃይንም መከራንም ልክ እንደ ዉዱ የሐበሻ ልጅ ቢላል እንችላለን! ከስቃይንና መከራም በሗላም በስኬት ተምሳሊትነት እንደተዘከሩት የብርቅ ስብእና ባለቤቶች እንዘከራለን። እናንት ከንቱ አንባገነናዉያን ሆይ!…ግድ የለም…አንባገነናዊ ክንዳቹ እስኪዝለፈለፍ ድረስ አሰቃዩን…መግረፍ፣መደብደብ፣ማሰርና መግደል ሲያቅታቹ እዉር ድንብራዊ መፈርጠጥን ትፈረጥጣላቹ። ዛሬ በቂልንጦ የጽናት ድምጽን አስተዉላችሗልን?ጽናታዊ ጉዞአችን ይቀጥላል…ልክ እንደቢላል ሁሉ “አሃዱን አሃድ!” የሚል ድምጽ ከአጽናፍ እስከ አጽናፍ እያስተጋባ ነዉ እኮ!..ዋ!” ይላሉ ሚሊዮኖች ይህ የናንተዉ የኛዉ ድምጽ የሆነዉ ቢቢኤን ነዉ ሊንኩን በመጫን ፕሮግራሙን ያዳምጡ ለሌሎችም ያስተላልፉ።ልብ ያለዉ ልብ ይበል! http://goo.gl/q22LR2

Saudi Arabia: Labor Crackdown Violence

(Beirut) – Ethiopian migrant workers have been the victims of physical assaults, some of them fatal, in Saudi Arabia following a government crackdown on foreign workers. Many workers seeking to return home are being held in makeshift detention centers without adequate food or shelter. Human Rights Watch spoke to five Ethiopian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. Four Ethiopians in Riyadh told Human Rights Watch that the attacks began after November 4, 2013, when authorities resumed a campaign to arrest foreign workers who they claim are violating labor laws. Security forces have arrested or deported tens of thousands of workers. Saudi officials and state-controlled media have said that migrant workers have also been responsible for violence, including attacks on Saudi citizens, in the wake of the crackdown. “Saudi authorities have spent months branding foreign workers as criminals in the media, and stirring up anti-migrant sentiment to justify the labor crackdown,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director. “Now the Saudi government needs to rein in Saudi citizens who are attacking foreign workers.” Saudi authorities should immediately investigate assaults on Ethiopian and other migrant workers by security forces and Saudi citizens, and hold those responsible for violent crimes to account, Human Rights Watch said. Saudi and Ethiopian authorities should work to speedily repatriate undocumented foreign workers waiting in makeshift holding centers, if they have no fear of returning home, and ensure that they get adequate food, shelter, and medical care. The most violent attacks occurred on the evening of November 9 in areas around the Manfouha neighborhood of southern Riyadh, where Ethiopian residents make up a majority of residents, according to local activists. Two Ethiopian migrant workers told Human Rights Watch that they saw groups of people they assumed to be Saudi citizens armed with sticks, swords, machetes, and firearms, attack foreign workers. One of the Ethiopians, a 30-year-old supervisor at a private company, said he heard shouts and screams from the street, and left his home near Manfouha to see what was happening. When he arrived near Bank Rajahi on the road to the Yamama neighborhood, west of Manfouha, he saw a large group of Ethiopians crying and shouting around the dead bodies of three Ethiopians, one of whom he said had been shot, and two others who had been beaten to death. He said six others appeared to be badly injured. He said he saw Saudis whom he called shabab (“young men” in Arabic), and uniformed security forces attack the Ethiopians who had gathered. The shabab were using swords and machetes, while some of the uniformed officers were beating the migrants with metal police truncheons, and other officers were firing bullets into the air to disperse the crowd. He said that he narrowly escaped serious injury when a Saudi man swung a sword at his head. It missed, but hit his arm, requiring stitches to close the wound. The other Ethiopian witness, a 26-year-old undocumented day laborer who lives in Manfouha, told Human Rights Watch that he was sitting among a group of 23 Ethiopians in a private home on Street 20 on the evening of November 9 when a group of 20 shabab with machetes and pistols broke down the door and attacked the people inside. He and five other Ethiopians escaped by climbing to the roof, but he does not know what happened to the other 17 men. Another Ethiopian worker who lives nearby, but who did not witness the violence, told Human Rights Watch that on the afternoon of November 9, he was sitting inside the Ethiopian community center and school compound five kilometers from Manfouha when 35 Ethiopian men came to the center. The Ethiopian men said that groups of armed men were forcing their way into homes in Manfouha, removing the men, and holding the women inside. The person who spoke with Human Rights Watch said that the men showed him as proof a mobile phone video they said they surreptitiously filmed from a distance that appeared to show a Saudi man raping one of the Ethiopian men’s wives. He said the group told him that 10 other women were missing. Since the evening of November 9, Ethiopian activists have circulated dozens of YouTube videos and other photos purporting to show Saudi men in civilian clothes and security forces attacking Ethiopian workers in Manfouha. Human Rights Watch cannot confirm the authenticity of these videos, though the incidents they purport to show largely match the witness accounts. Saudi authorities should ensure that all incidents of apparent use of violence and abuse in Manfouha are swiftly and transparently investigated, and that anyone who committed a crime is brought to justice, including members of the security forces, Human Rights Watch said. The authorities should both address any unnecessary and unlawful use of force by security forces and take steps to prevent ordinary citizens from harassing or molesting migrants based on suspicions that they are violating labor laws. Some Saudi sources blame the migrants for instigating the violence. Arab News, a local English-language newspaper, said that Saudi security forces entered Manfouha on the evening of November 9 to restore the peace after a group of Ethiopian men “went on a rampage in anger at the Kingdom’s ongoing campaign against illegal foreign workers.” It stated that one Saudi man died after “rioters” hit him with rocks, and that the 65 injured were “mostly Saudis and legal residents.” The Sabq news website reported on November 14 that Ethiopian migrants had stabbed to death a 14-year-old Saudi boy in Manfouha, reportedly asking him, “Are you Saudi?” before attacking him. The five Ethiopian migrant workers who spoke to Human Rights Watch said that many undocumented Ethiopian workers in Manfouha have turned themselves in to the authorities since November 9, fearing violence from police and groups of Saudi citizens. One worker described the atmosphere in Manfouha as a “battleground.” The Ethiopian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Muhammed Hassan Kabiera, toldArab News on November 13 that at least 23,000 Ethiopians, many from the Manfouha area, had surrendered to Saudi authorities for repatriation. The Ethiopian workers said that authorities transported the Ethiopians to makeshift holding facilities across the area, including a large wedding hall and the campus of Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University. One man told Human Rights Watch that he visited the wedding hall and saw thousands of foreign workers detained there, men in one area, and women and children in another, both inside and outside the building. He said that Saudi guards give the detainees only one small meal of rice per day, and provide no access to medical attention. He said that other Ethiopians in the neighborhood are trying to help the detainees by bringing food, and that many at the hall had been left without shelter during recent heavy rainfall in Riyadh. One Ethiopian in Riyadh said he escaped from the wedding hall after officials held him in an area outside the building for 10 days, failing to supply the detainees with sufficient food, which forced them to buy food from Saudi guards. Two Ethiopians in Riyadh told Human Rights Watch that people they knew who turned themselves in had not known that authorities would hold them in makeshift detention centers. They said that Saudi officials told them they would take them directly to Ethiopia. Saudi police officials say that the kingdom is spending one million Saudi Riyals (US$267,000) per day to house and feed thousands of detained Ethiopians. On November 19, the Ethiopian foreign minister, Dr. Tedros Adhanom, announced that the government is doing “everything possible to repatriate citizens from Saudi Arabia within 14 to 25 days.” “Saudi authorities say they are carrying out a crackdown on migrant workers humanely, but keeping thousands of people in makeshift centers without adequate food, shelter, or medical attention could lead to humanitarian disaster,” Stork said. “Saudi officials should release the detainees or send them home immediately.” Migrant Worker Campaign Background Over nine million migrant workers in Saudi Arabia–more than half the work force–ill manual, clerical, and service jobs. Many suffer multiple abuses and labor exploitation, sometimes amounting to forced labor, Human Rights Watch said. Saudi officials say that the ongoing labor crackdown against foreign workers, which includes road checkpoints and raids on businesses, is part of Saudi Arabia’s effort to combat high levels of unemployment among Saudi citizens by opening jobs previously filled by undocumented workers. Those targeted include workers who do not have the proper residency or work permits, and workers who are caught working for an employer who is not their legal sponsor. According to local media outlets, authorities have arrested and deported thousands of workers since November 4. The violence between Saudis and Ethiopians follows months of local press reports blaming Ethiopian female domestic workers for brutal attacks against Saudi employers. In July, Saudi officials claimed that over 200 Ethiopian women had been detained in two months for “psychological problems,” leading the labor ministry to temporarily ban the recruitment of Ethiopian workers to the country. In October, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in turn, stopped processing applications for Ethiopians to travel to Saudi Arabia, citing concerns over poor labor conditions for Ethiopian migrants. Human Rights Watch has repeatedly called on the Saudi government to abolish aspects of the kafala or “sponsorship” system that create conditions for abuse, including rules requiring a worker to obtain permission from his or her employer to change jobs or leave the country. These rules leave foreign workers with little option for redress in cases of abuse or labor violations and force them into under-the-table work.