By Aklog Birara, Ph.D.
It will be an understatement to state that, regardless of ethnic, religious, gender, age or ideological {www:affinity}, Ethiopians and people of Ethiopian origin discuss their country of origin with passion and genuine interest. Broadly, they share a common set of principles. This is the good news. However, there is another side to the story that generates animated conversation within and outside the country. This short article reflects my own {www:assessment} and conclusions with regard to the two schools of thought that have more or less raged for more than forty years.
What is the area of consensus?
All of us wish to see good governance based on the rule of law, equality and justice, commitment to human rights and human dignity, freedom and political pluralism otherwise known as democracy. Clearly and by any socioeconomic and political measurement, the world in which ordinary Ethiopians live is as inhospitable as anyone could imagine. It is this in- hospitability that drives those of us who hope for a better tomorrow for all Ethiopians that dictate these generally shared values. They are fundamental and critical enough to force each activist to soul search so that we can contribute to the realization of the hopes, dreams and aspirations of the Ethiopian people as individuals and as communities.
What then is the hurdle or problem?
For more than forty years, political parties, groups and their supporters focused less on the commonalities that bind them as people and drove their thinking and their actions through the prism of ‘{www:irreconcilable} differences.’ This is a trap implanted by the current governing party. The experiences of people across the globe in general and the recent people-anchored revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East inform that there is no contradiction between the essence and meaning of one or unified Ethiopia that embraces all of its citizens, and freedom and democracy. Divisions along ethnic, religious or rigid ideological lines and the contention that Ethiopia is an artificial creation of the ‘colonial type’ continue to act as barriers in pursuing and achieving the hopes and aspirations of all of the Ethiopian people. What best describes Ethiopia and Ethiopians is that they are the sole creators of a mosaic of nations and nationalities that defended the national independence and territorial integrity of the country for thousands of years. This Ethiopian made multi-nation building was not imposed by colonial powers. At various times in history, all Ethiopians contributed to the formation of this mosaic. I suggest that no single nationality group has {www:preponderance} over this, recognizably, tumultuous history through which other countries had to pass. Ethiopia deserves the same treatment as other countries that have gone through rough waters in which an untold millions were killed in what most experts believe is the natural evolution of both homogenous and heterogeneous or multi-ethnic nations. Belaboring the agony of the past that comes from each successive system of governance detracts from singular focus on the future.
I should like to illustrate the enormous economic, social, political and security costs for all members of Ethiopian society of past and current preoccupation with ‘irreconcilable types of differences’ by citing five examples:
• The so-called developmental state led by the TPLF/EPRDF has induced one of the worst income inequalities in the world. The gap between the small super rich whose incomes, wealth and assets originate directly or indirectly from a discriminatory and exclusive system has reached a dangerous level. This pronounced inequality in wealth and assets deprives better livelihood for the vast majority of the Ethiopian people. It undermines fairness and equity and retards the development process. Inequality takes a toll on the national economy in that those with low incomes and the poor cannot afford to purchase even domestically produced goods and services. In the end, inequality that comes from discriminatory and exclusionary policies and programs will threaten the very fabric of the society and will lead it to instability and fragility. The regime is able to get away with gross inequality because there is no political competition. It is not accountable to the public but to itself. Opponents can and should mobilize and work in unison to bring gross inequality to the attention of the world community.
• In a succession of reactions to poor and repressive governance, my generation opposed and revolted against the Imperial regime, the Socialist Military Dictatorship and now the TPLF/EPRDF dictatorship without a clear vision of the future and the alternative political and socioeconomic order that will govern the country.
• Ethiopia and its diverse population lost their legitimate access to the sea. Therefore, the Ethiopian and Eritrean people that share a great deal in common lost economic and comparative advantages that would benefit both. Political elites in both regions who exploit divisions and tensions have put them at risk.
• The TPLF/EPRDF exploited the void in unified political and civic opposition and granted millions of hectares of Ethiopian fertile farmlands and waters to more than 1,000 licensees from 36 countries, and to favored supporters of the regime. Yemeret neteka ena kirimit affects sovereignty, dignity, citizenship, security and wellbeing, long-term national interest, the environment and ordinary lives of people.
• The same void in political wisdom, organization and national leadership within the opposition exposes individuals and groups within the country for constant and relentless assault by the governing party and state. The Failed States Index for 2011 and Wiki leaks reveal shocking information concerning the brutality of the one party state on Ethiopian society: group grievances not addressed, human flight in thousands, uneven development and income emanating from discrimination, economic decline and relentless inflation, increasing de-legitimization of the state and gross human rights violations almost on a daily basis. The regime has compromised the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Wiki leaks reveal that the governing party cost Ethiopia “a large chunk of territory” that the regime transferred to the Sudan in a secret deal. The single party state is “the judge, jury and executioner” with no end in sight.
All of these and more present a dire picture that cannot be resolved unless all opposition parties, groups and civil society close ranks and place the interests of all of the Ethiopian people at the center of their struggle,
What then is the alternative?
In my assessment, a firm and determined commitment for the unity of the Ethiopian people and for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country is the surest path to freedom and political pluralism. I have no doubt in my mind that unfettered unity will lead the Ethiopian people to freedom and political pluralism. The country is large and potentially rich enough to accommodate the hopes and aspirations of all of its diverse population. The ills, misinterpretations of history, ‘brutalities’ and other transgressions of the past can and should be addressed by a democratically elected government rather than used as a precondition for transformation. In Australia, South Africa and other democratic countries, legitimate representatives of the people set-up institutional mechanisms to investigate and address past grievances. Ethiopia can achieve the same goal.
I believe that we can draw a critical lesson of what not to do from our own recent political history that division along ethnic lines rather than genuine commitment for the pursuit of freedom for all Ethiopians is a losing proposition. For example, I would hate to imagine that ethnic and other divisions would subject Ethiopians to perpetual civil war in order to satisfy the narrow interests of foreign powers or the needs of political elites. The regime’s relentless attack on individuals and groups in the country is a prime indicator that it will not tolerate any form of dissent. This is the reason why I argued in several articles that the regime is more like Libya, Syria and Yemen than Egypt or Tunisia. This attribute should compel all to work in tandem and energize all Ethiopians within the country to rise against repression and oppression.
The incontestably able and dedicated Ethiopian humanist and political activist Obang Metho, Executive Director of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia captures the essence of what I am saying in two themes: “Humanity before Ethnicity” and “No One Will be Free Until All are Free.” Division and fragmentation go exactly in the opposite direction from realizing freedom and political pluralism for each and all. If the ultimate objective is to dislodge the TPLF/EPRDF oppressive system of governance and replace it with a government of national reconciliation, peace, unity in diversity, freedom and equality, justice and equitable participation in social and economic life, human rights and the rule of law, then all aspirants must join forces and aim for the same goal. This is the reason why I suggest that the unity of all of the Ethiopian people is the surest path in achieving freedom and democracy in the country we love. Imagine if all Ethiopian rise against oppression. Who in the world can stop them? There is no force that can.
In my view, the hopes and aspirations of Ethiopia’s 90 million people are constrained by an enormous gap in national political organization and wise leadership. It is response to and filling this gap that will enable them to achieve genuine freedom, political pluralism and participatory and equitable economic and social opportunities. Ultimately, it is realization of this noble goal—that can only come from a unity of national purpose–that will create the foundation to conquer abject poverty, hunger and famine, dependency, unemployment, diseases, corruption and gross income inequality and illegal outflow of billions of dollars from one of the poorest and hungriest countries in the world.
Lack of unity of purpose and recognition that Ethiopians share common values and aspire for a common destiny will prolong the agony of the Ethiopian people. If we defer accepting the principles of Ethiopian sovereignty and territorial integrity and the unity of its diverse population, it will be difficult if not impossible to achieve the kinds of transformative, grassroots and youth-led popular revolutions we are witnessing in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria and Yemen. In none of these countries is the principle of national unity and the unity of people at risk. The tragedy of not forging ahead with a unity of purpose that comes from accepting these fundamental principles that will serve all Ethiopians in the long-run is that Ethiopia’s economy will be in shambles. Instability and gross violations of human rights will persist. We see evidence of this in hyperinflation, gross inequality and selected and indiscriminate killing, persecutions and jailing of innocent people by the governing party. The regime explains these and other anomalies as the price of growth and development; and ‘anti-terrorism.’ The terror comes from the one party state itself.
Where do we start and where do we end-up?
At the end of the day, political and social actors must believe in and trust the Ethiopian people to do the right thing. I do. The long-term interests of the country and its entire people must guide political and social action. I have no doubt in my mind that peaceful, country anchored and youth led transformation is possible. The rest of us in the Diaspora have a moral obligation to contribute to the democratization process through collaboration rather than division.
Preoccupation with differences rather than genuine focus on commonalities will continue to pose risks for the country; will postpone the democratization process indefinitely; will deny current youth the possibility of closing ranks and standing solidly for freedom and political pluralism in unison; will undermine the noble tradition of the Ethiopian people to live side by side; and will prolong the life of a divisive, oppressive and brutal regime. If the situation continues for too long, the country will continue on a path of fragility and greater ethnic based fragmentation. This will not serve anyone
38 thoughts on “What do Ethiopia and being Ethiopian mean to us?”
TIP:
After a huge upset over the GTP promo tour, Melese met with all delegation folks and he instructed MOF to send over agents across north america, europe and australia to spy on and diffuse opposition activties as a longterm plan. Denver, KC, MO were chosen as a central control places!
it means nameless country with old rugged name with Oromo majority, Amhara 2nd majority and the rest of tribes with their own distinct culture and way of living like any other African countries.
‘This short article reflects my own assessment and conclusions with regard to the two schools of thought that have more or less raged for more than forty years.This is a trap implanted by the current governing party’.
Have they been in power for forty years?
Shut down our embassy in Washington Dc.
The woyane’S STRATEGY TO EXPOLIT AND LOOT ETHIOPIA was through the instrument of ethnic politics. One would recall that the Tigre People Liberation Front TPLF, came to power on the back of a slogan which downgrades ‘Ethiopiawimnet’ as a sign of slavery, colonialism and repression. As soon as it took power the TPLF then declared itself as the champion of ethnicism, nations and nationalities who suffered under ‘Ethiopian rule’.
The one force of Ethiopiawinet that held the people together was being dismantled one by one by the TPLF and exposed us to TPLF attack.
Meles even went to the extent of saying ”what has Axum got to do with Gambella” thus clearly stating that his divisive policy. If we donot care about the suffering of the oromo or the amhara because we happen to be from somali of guraghie then we have lost our responsibility for each other and will only pave the way for the repression of the TPLF to continue. This is what the TPLF want and to a point they have got it.
Those who believed the the TPLF would free them or their ethnic group were taken for a ride by the TPLF and made to pay for believing the lie of the TPLF.
TPLF have now attacked almost every single ethnic gruop in Ethiopia in turn. When they have finished with the amhara, they turn to the oromo, when theY finish with the oromo they turn to the sOmali, the guraghie, the gambella etc . We have all been divided and conqured by the barbaric and uncivilised TPLF ethno-centric mafia.
We have gone full circle. Are we to continue to believe the TPLF and its rethoric of ethno nationalism or should we turn to our Ethiopiawinet , our collective identity and stand together and organise our fight for freedom, democracy and justice for all of us as Ethiopians.
To me, the common man, born from well-respected Ethiopian Christian family whose ancestors defeated the Jihadist Gragn Muhammad and Fascist Mussolini at some point in time in two different battlefields, Ethiopia means naturally, historically, culturally, and spiritually rich and amazing country – amazing not only to me but to the whole world that saw, and heard about, Ethiopia.
Being an Ethiopian Christian and growing up in a beautiful Christian country makes me extremely proud, happy, vivacious, and confident wherever I happened to be by choice or force, or simple luck. Exceptionally, what makes me the happiest person in the whole world is that my Christian country, Ethiopia, is not like Saudi Arabia that limits the freedom of its citizens, prohibits Jews and Christians from spreading their believes to the Saudi citizens, and treats the Ethiopian maids who work there like domestic animals.
Dr. Aklog who believes there are two schools of opposing thought in Ethiopia has, perhaps purposely, refrained from naming each one of them. To tell the truth, there has been only one school of thought in Ethiopia for centuries, and to this one school of thought I am proud of belong millions of Ethiopians who have kept the unity of Ethiopia until the present day. And the precious name of this one school of thought, one school alone, is the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. This magnificent Church of ours has been the defender and the only school of thought for Christians, Muslims, Jews, and for many other religious and secular organizations. This ancient Christian Church has been for many years the only school of justice, freedom, and equality for all men and women.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, as the only school of thought, has produced several well-educated Ethiopian Christian kings and queens besides millions of learned Ethiopian clergies, deacons, popes, archbishops, patriarchs, clerks, chroniclers, composers, poets, musicians, historians, and saints. It is this undivided, unaltered, undiluted, and untainted one school of thought that has created in the hearts of many Ethiopians the sense of belongingness to one Ethiopia, to one Church, to one flag, to one language, and to one Christian kingdom.
The other school of thought Dr. Aklog didn’t mention by name is the OLF Movement that has created divisions among the ones who have come from the prestigious one school of thought – the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church.
The OLF school of thought instructs some innocent Oromos that they do not belong to Ethiopia, that the Amhara kings had colonized them, enslaved them, taken their lands, and appropriated their properties; therefore, Oromia, according to this school of thought, must secede and declare its own independence. Politely I would say to the author of the article who attests, “This is a trap implanted by the current governing party,” it is the OLF school of thought that ingrained the idea of Amhara colonizers in the hearts of some Oromos who still believe the Amharas had colonized them. I totally agree with the author that “This Ethiopian made multination building was not imposed by colonial powers.” Ethiopian provinces, except Eritrea, had never been colonized, and yet the OLF firmly believes the Amharas had colonized the Oromo people.
For almost forty years, the OLF school of thought has poisoned the minds of many Ethiopians by creating a feeling of hatred among the Oromos against the other Ethiopian tribes, especially against the Amharas whom they call “Neftenga.” This peculiar school of thought does not have the real Ethiopian spirits; it is governed by the spirits of the Egyptian Muslims, the formidable enemies of the Ethiopian people. The main teaching of the OLF school of thought is to dismantle the ancient history of the Ethiopian Christian kingdom, create confusion among the Ethiopian people, and expose Christian Ethiopia to any Islamic invasions any time. By creating internal conflicts in this Christian country of Ethiopia, the OLF school of thought renders Ethiopia vulnerable in all directions to any ruthless foreign power. To see the continuity of the Ethiopian Christian kingdom, it is absolutely essential all Ethiopians must be united to totally demolish the OLF school of thought before this school of evil thought supplants the real and the unifying thought of school – the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. As far as the OLF school of thought exists either in Ethiopia or London or Washington or in the bush somewhere in Oromia, there will never be a consensus as how to bring democracy to Ethiopia.
Having analyzed fully or partially the existing problems of Ethiopia and having lived thousands of miles away from his home land, Dr. Aklog Birara uses a strong word to describe Ethiopia, and that strong word is “inhospitable.” Is it true Ethiopia, a friendly country, a country of which the Greek historian Herodotus described as a country of hospitality is an inhospitable, barren, hostile, and unfriendly country? Or is the author talking about another country, another planet that some astronomers describe as an inhospitable planet where life is impossible to exist? Of course, there is a problem in Ethiopia as in many other countries and even in America, but there is still life in Ethiopia that supports over 80 million Ethiopian souls. In fact, Dr. Aklog does not deny the reality about the abundant resources of Ethiopia when he proudly states: “The country is large and potentially rich enough to accommodate the hopes and aspirations of all of its diverse population.” The persecution, the imprisonment, the intimidation, and the ethnically based discrimination should not impede us from going back to our naturally rich country and from sharing the daily lives of our Ethiopian parents and friends there.
We cannot address past grievances as Dr. Aklog suggests because they are too many and time consuming. The Oromos have grievances, the Ogaden Somalis have grievances, the 40 million Ethiopian Muslims have grievances, the Felashas have grievances, and even the Evangelical and Pentecostal Churches have grievances. The best way to solve all the grievances is to forget them all as if they had never happened and continue to work hard for the future of Ethiopia.
Finally, the two schools of thought differ in their understanding of freedom: the OLF school of thought understands freedom in the context of Oromia only. For the OLF school of thought, Oromia comes first, and then the other Ethiopian tribes come last. The product of the Protestant Church, Obang Metho, always advocates about the oppression of his Anak people, but never about the Amhara people. All the Oromia elites, including Obang Metho, have the same agenda – to liberate Oromia, to rewrite the Ethiopian history, to demote the Amharic language, and to drive out the few Amharas who live in the Oromia zones. For the time being, members of the OLF are able to persuade Ginbot 7 and other Ethiopian opposition parties to join them to accomplish their wicked plans – to liberate Oromia and then to wage war against the Amharas whom they believe have been their colonizers. It seems to me Dr. Aklog is blown away by one of the Oromo elites, the persuasive speaker, Obang Metho. One cannot trust the Oromo elites who demonize Menelik II, try to change the name of Addis Ababa to Finfinne, and who refuse to change the name OLF to something else that represents all Ethiopians. Dr. Aklog, I advise you not to be contaminated by the Oromo selfish elites.
If it is so good to be an Ethiopian, howcome the Eritreans are not fighting to rejoin the country they left. Get a grip,no amount of intellectual dishonesty can change the reality that Ethiopia has been dominated by two northern ethnic group and there is no way to get around this fact. The solution is only to confront this evil.Unfotunately the perpetrators of these crimes are trying to convince us that they are the angles of change.
Dr.Aklog, thank you for writing this timely and urgently needed piece. This issue addresses the central problem that all opposition organizations failed to consider thus far. If the object of the opposition is the
Removal of weyane clique, then the unity of Ethiopia must be embraced by all organizations as potent strategic weapon to topple the regime. When we consider the past and the role individuals, from various ethnic groups, played in the national politics we see these individuals played their political role as an Ethiopian. Although these persons were aware of the localities they sprang, they were also highly conscious of being Ethiopians in the role they played in the national politics. Clearly such appear to be the case during the era of the princes when the sit government was in Gondar. The many Oromo and Tigrian Ras’s of that era who were at the center of national politics acted as Ethiopians, some even signed treaties in the name of Ethiopia.
Another factor that worth mentioning is the national the role Athletes and singers play in the national politcs.These too when they make their debue in international appearances they are highly conscious that they are representing Ethiopia,inspite of the fact they are aware of their own particular localities. Unfortunately, some organizations have gazed too long on our differences that in turn make it hard to see a common ground between our societies. There is no excuse at all, for many of us, for ignoring what is the obvious. As the author reminds us we must trust the people of Ethiopia and need to be willing to give peace one more chance to work for the benefit of our people.mm
Dear Dr. Aklog,
Thanks for your timely article for dialogue and common understanding that haunting us ALL to come to our own sense how to built a tolerant society capabile to resolve our internal problems at our own table without exposing our selves to the international community (UN to mention for its greediness) Or to avoid the help of any outsiders. As our diversity is our strength, if properly managed we will make a difference to ensure the true Unity of the people rather than territorial unity the so- called empire ideology.
True, Ethiopia is an empire as the prison of nations and nationalities by the suffering of its citizens for unacceptable reasons. Always referred as one nation and one culture, of course by the Ahmara supremacy over others for the last 100 years and the last 20 years it became the Trade Mark for the Tigray minority groups to loot the matterial resources to built their own great Tigray when Oromos and Ahmaras mistrust each other. In trueth Oromos and Ahmaras can live together if the rule of law and democratical principles will exist than any others. Ironically, Mr. Assta B. Gettu speaks the TPLF language as a move to gain a more mistrust than Unity of perpuse which helps the Woyane regime.
In any case la lotta continua against the TPLF regime either in a coordinated forces or in any way to libirate our own regions. Remember true Unity based on common respect and benefit for all regardless the ethiniciy real politic as we do observe what the Tigreans enjoy when the majority of our nation on their own land mariginalised.Is that what it means Ethiopia for Ethiopians? OR Ethiopia for Tigreans ?, when in reality Tireans are always a Tigreans rather than Ethiopians for their Identity matter. Who fools who?, If Ethiopia used for the interested group, I would prefer separation like Croatians or a Union of Nations of the Horn. In our political culture, we hardily see and accep different opinions rather than the song of Unity. Certain our political elites used to sing the song of Ethiopian Unity OR Death, the result?.Blaming OLF, TPLF, EPLF and ONLF will not take us nowhere . They born out of the national pain as an alert to find the remedy for the sick empire.
The Author rimined me the interesting article written by Serbian opinionst Zolan M. in 1990th” Cosa voldire Yugoslavia per Yugoslavi? ( in Italian, Yugoslavia what it means for Yugoslaves?)”. Interestingly, except for Serbians for all nations and nationalities it meant an imposed supremacy over others and the result? See the new map of Balcans. The other is an interesting article as recently posted on Gadaa. com ” Ethiopia, their Ethiopia” by Boruu Barraqaa where all in all opinionsts expressed the same as the topic to provoke for further dialogue and awareness if considered as a common home. Hence our socio- political affairs needs a break through OR a break away, for our possible co-existence we should learn tolerance and mutual respect for our common interest as our OLF, Ginbot 7 and ONLF took the initiatives.
Dear Garo #6,
Yes, it is always good to confront the reality, and the reality is the northerners have helped the southerners to live a civilized way of life and to abandon their former life – paganism – that requires too much from them such as human sacrifices, plundering and burning their neighbors’ properties. The northerners knew the southerners did this out of their ignorance, and to stop this kind of ignorance, the northerners came in and liberated the southerners from their backwardness.
The way you have used the word “domination” connotes subjugation and enslavement, but that has never been the main purpose of the northerners who have always wanted to protect the boundaries of their country from all directions. The northerners have never used the word “domination”; instead, they have used words such as modernization, cultivation, innovation, instillation, and admiration when they dealt with the southerners.
Your last sentence, “Unfortunately the perpetrators of these crimes are trying to convince us that they are the angles of change.” Can you be specific who these people whom you call “perpetrators” are? Your sentence suggests the northerners are the criminals for helping the southerners, which is totally unfair to describe them as criminals or perpetrators instead of admiring and glorifying them for helping out the southerners and uniting them with their Ethiopian brothers and sisters. The northerners have always been the harbingers of enlightenment to the southerners and to many other Ethiopian citizens.
What is standing in the way the OLf and ONLF, they allow this inequality to thrive under TPLF. When will we hear from the OLF and ONLF of this inequality as supposed to keep talking about the past? What could destroy Ethiopia is this division, the Liberation Fronts are definitely brainwashed and working for the wish of outsiders especially Shaebia to be able unless they disintegrate Ethiopia which they are creating their own doing of no peace, they are doing their own doing of allowing inequality, they are doing their own doing by dividing people and creating war, etc. the Ethiopian people are naturally peaceful people. So in reality their anger should be directed towards the leadership and to struggle to bring democracy and equality so that is why i say to bring the unconquered nation Ethiopia to her knees there is no one but outsiders full support of these liberation fronts. For example, they believe that Eritrea now lives in peaceful manner, the liberation fronts are envying Eritrea, really? someone need to question them about this, why is Eritrea still creating war with Ethiopia let us disregard what TPlf doing? Why they used the economic resources of Ethiopia if they believe they can live as a separate entity from Ethiopia, we want to ask them that, so their twisted, delusional mind should tell them they will be creating years of instability with the HOrn or Africa. So, let them proove to us why Menilik realized an ingenious idea like any other nation bringing peace among ethnic groups and making it into one country. Although, we know now, back then is under feudalism today, we know we could bring democracy to Ethiopia. So, what is stopping these liberation fronts from bringing democracy to Ethiopia by working with others instead of for 40 years didn’t do anything except using tax payers money particularly OLF instigating hate wiithin Ethiopia. Is this what education means? Why do they fell they have to follow the footsteps of TPLF and Shaebia fro that matter? Knowing what they know now their idelogy pro ethnic ruling is not working?
Yebbo,
I could not have said it better. All the Liberation Fronts under their claim of past oppression are very much demonstrating to us what they would. The best example is TPLF. It is actually waiting it turns Tigray into Singapore (I have no problem with that providing they don’t have ill wish to others) which was the dream of Shaebia, turning Eritrea into Singapore:-)TPLF knew they will be suspected soon what their goal was in Ethiopia so, quickly its slogan turned to the “oppressed ethnic groups” this means it will bring doubt into vulnerable group of people who could easily be persuaded so there you go, while every one is fighting Amara, TPLF is comfortably looting and even helped Shaebia to loot, became strengthened military so that no one can challenge them. Well said. The next plan is then to call other Liberation Fronts such as OLF and ONLF to take their respective region. TPLF wants to keep the ball rolling if not, it knows that the people are going turn against them eat them alive. Therefore, now they want to bring in other Liberation Fronts and Shaeiba to pick up the pieces so that while the majority of Ethiopians are fighting the Liberation Fronts and Shaebia, they will quickly exit meaning they may reconcile with Shaebia and link Tigray with Eritrea and no one actually can challenge that since they have over 20 years of strong military together and in addition together they have increased population trained militaritly very well. The only groups they might fear is from OLF and ONLF but, that won’t be a problem because they are buddies of Shaeiba and their dream of secession will come which means, ONLF and OLF will not challenge Shaebia or TPLF because they have now their respective region. They are on the way of working this out people. Liberation Fronts may disagree but they will agree because it is what each want. Their only hurdle is convincing Eritreans to unite with Tigray but since it is a matter of survival, they will agree. The other is the rest of Ethiopia. The rest is very weak, no military, hungry, disunited so easy for Liberation Fronts. The other hurdle they may face is what to do with Amara region, it might be easy to annex them with Tigray but not all of them of course there will be out of balance with more Amara population. So most likely Gonder and Gojam will be part of their land because it has fertile land and Nile, maybe part of Wollo. The rest can easily be annexed with Oromia as the Amaras in Wollo and Shoa are in small numbers and will not threaten OLF and in addtion the Amaras and Oromos in this region have lived in peaceful manner for centuries. As this is happeneing, since the majority of Oromos are rather Muslims, then Sharia Law will be installed in all of Oromia region including of course Wollo and Addis, etc. so the christians which the OLF controls in Souther region will be the minority in relgion, like the Orthodox copts in Egypt and also the protestants that would not be a problem since most non muslims are Protestants. ONLF of course will have its region with no problem and will cut deal with the West for their oil. This could be very much doable people. TPLF’s challenge now is Shaebia if it is true how to convince them. In that case, let us say if this hypothesis is true then perhaps Elias’s strategy and some Ethipoians supporting Issayas maybe the right thing to do. Although there is no guarantee. Wey Guuuuud.
What does this mean? The biblical Ethiopia will never exist and this means the devil one against the wish of god. By the way if the above is to occur, there is no one to blame but us. Look at the West, any suspicion, one shred of “could be” they would dismantle. For us, like Hitler being appeased by other nations and they started to act when he came right at their door, for us, it is our fault we appeased on dangerous groups for 20 years. Perhaps they had the upper hand the minute they took over and we would not have won fighting because Shaebia and OLF was protecting TPLF until TPLF is comfortably settled within Ethiopia. Still, our strength was within 5 years of their control. Of course TPLF and Shaebia would commit human right abuse if we resisted and they could not hide the atrocities. Although they are very good at hiding their crimes. The day Meles said he was born from the golden peple of Tigray, which is divisive message, the day Meles and Issayas said they will give Ethiopia 100 years misery which is starting right now, the day Meles said it is a piece of cloth the Ethiopian flag, the day he gave Assab, the day he said Axum is nothing to Gambella, the day he had many Ethiopian soldiers killed and his army killed Ethiopian soldiers fighting Shaebia and to take over in 1998 war, etc. all these are very dangerous signs coming from such leadership we should have sacrificed to dismantle TPLF by any means necessary within and outside of Ethiopia. Well he had ample time to convince Kenya, Sudan, Somalia against any Ethiopian groups fighting TPLF. Our opposition military EPPF is very very weak and on top of that it is within an enemy land. What a joke. The only chance is to bring change then within. The ideal will be to get help from outside military forces like EPPF incase TPLF commits crime. So unless we take this opportunity of the Arab Spring and rise up, I don’t see any future prospect people. They are ready and they are just waiting to use up the rest of Ethiopia as much as possible. Why did they gave the land to outsiers to India and Saudi, it is because the OLf and TPLF relationship is maybe stressed that in case OLF changes its mind of no longer supporting TPLF, then OLF will now have another enemy on its own land, and that is neocolonization. That is exactly why TPLF gave the land in Southern region and sold it with dirt cheap.
Assta! you can’t give what you don’t have. your north was more backward than the south in many aspect and certainly was more impoverished than the south.They came to the south to escape from hunger and desease. Unfortunatley they also had guns which was a game changer. Mind you they didn’t make those guns like the Europians did they had to use some slave trade to get them. I am sure some small minds like yours’ will still be proud of it.That is just you being you wich is nothing.
Assta B. Gettu ,
Don’t ever think this is written by OLF member or an Oromo for that matter. No I am a supporter of Ethiopian opposition for democracy
Now you are found, you are not shooting at Ethiopians in hidden. You are one of those weyanes who are paid to divide the Ethiopian opposition so that it can remain weak. You seem to me some one stationed in the North East U.S perhaps mingling with members of the opposition yet come to these forums with your divisive politcs.To be frank with you no Amhara gives any Fricke place to your out dated comments. What is this obsession about Oromos? Almost any time someone from Oromo comments in any topic, in this forum you feel obligated to lecture Ethiopians how your barbarian TPLF contributed in the life of the Southerners.
Here is the evidence that suggests that you are a sleeping TPLF agent within the opposition.
a) Once before Dr.Aklog posted a piece concerning the Arab spring and its relationship to Ethiopia. There you argued that peaceful uprising is not important in the case of Ethiopia. In addition, you try to miss represent what the author said about the uprising, and you try to argue that the uprising will endanger the life of the “Tegarus”.
Bear in mind the article discuss whether the likes of the North African popular uprising will be an option in the case of Ethiopia. He was not saying there uprising need to be called without adequate preparation.But, you to twist the discussion and miss understood the spirit of the writing altogether.
b) You pretend you are opposition supporters, yet, most of your comments are anti peace and divisive. Beside you don’t comment consistently on issues you pick and choose topics. For instance, this past week the government of weyane has made many arrests against peaceful opposition party officials, ordinary Ethiopians and journalists. Thise event is unsettling for many Ethiopians, yet Mr.Assta B. Gettu’s comment is not anywhere to be seen.
You can cry foul over this, you are not fooling any one. Stop insulting Ethiopians in the name of Amhara.If there is any savage in this day and age it is you and not the Oromos of the past era.
The time to send the weyane your weyane hooligans is already here. The Ethiopian masses are about to send you packing to where you come from. Stop coming in sheep’s cloth, as an Amhara, you a weyane hidden agent.
Gudataa #9
The OLF whom you depend on created the mistrust between the Amharas and the Oromos when the OLF members betrayed the 17 Amhara Freedom Fighters and sent them to their untimely deaths. Do you think the Amhara people will forget the blood of those innocent Amharas? We will always remember them as martyrs who gave their lives for the freedom of the Ethiopian people. The OLF has been fighting over 40 years to free just one province – the Oromo region, but they will never free Oromia, and they will end up in Qaliti jail after their sinister wishes have been evaporated into the air like the valley mist after the morning sun rise.
One cannot expect the liberation of Oromia by the self-styled and bigot OLF; if one believes the liberation of Oromia rests on the shoulders of the dying OLF, one will be disappointed at the end when OLF succumbs to its self afflicted wound. The OLF has tried to stifle the unity of Ethiopia in various ways, but it has failed because its main goal is not to bring down the Woyanne regime but to send the Amhara people to their graves as they did for the young 17 Amhara Freedom Fighters.
How many times I have asked members of the OLF to erase their name and replace it with a meaningful name that could represent the entire country, not just Oromia, but they refused to do so for they have a selfish motive – to split Oromia from Ethiopia.
You say I speak the TPLF language, and, for this reason, you assume, I have created more mistrust between the Amharas and the Oromos. You are absolutely wrong, and you do not know what you are talking about. According to your analogy, if someone speaks Galligna, you think he is going to create confusion among the Galligna speakers.
My whole point in posting my comment is to spare the innocent Amharas and others not to be deceived by the OLF propaganda that encourages some Oromos to drive out the Amhara neftegna from Oromia, and that is I what the OLF is doing now in the Oromia region in Ethiopia. I am hundred percent sure the Oromo people will be much, much better off without the OLF that has widened the gap between the Amharas and the Oromos.
Whether you like it or not, the Oromos will never trust the OLF, and Oromia will never survive without the help of the mother country, Ethiopia. Knowing this fundamental fact, most Oromos hate the OLF and work hard for the unity of Ethiopia. The only people who want separation from Ethiopia are some of the Oromo elites so that they could enslave the rest of the Oromo people. Am I talking to you now in the language of TPLF or in the language of OLF? To tell you the truth, the language of TPLF makes more sense than the language of OLF. The language of OLF is about separation, division, conflict, and Islamization of the entire country. The language of TPLF is about persecuting, jailing, abusing, mutilating, and, some times, killing its enemies; therefore, I am not talking either in theTPLF Language or in the Oromo Language: I am simply talking in the language of millions of other innocent Ethiopians who work hard to guard the unity of Ethiopia.
Mr.elias why you supress my comments?
Super Man #16,
Why do you always complain your garbage comments are not posted on this super web site – the only web site that does not discriminate any person from commenting as far as his/her comment follows the rules and the regulations of this web site? You can post your cheap comments on that substandard web site – the Jimma Times.
Garo #13,
What does the South have the North doesn’t have? Can you show me any historical sites the South has? If you believe the North has guns, why doesn’t the South have guns, too? How did the North get those guns, and what has prevented the South from getting those guns?
Your ancestors sold their own sons and daughters to get those guns but failed to use them because no body showed them how to handle them.
You claim you have a mind bigger than any other human being, but I don’t see you are using it because someone from the North has to come and teach you how to use your abnormal mind; indeed, without the North, the South does not function; therefore, by any means, the backward South needs the advanced North, the source of ancient civilization and modern technology.
Abi Adi #14,
Who cares whether it is written by one of the dormant members of the terrorist OLF or by an Oromo, the slave of the desperate OLF. No one has ever asked you to confess you are member of the opposition party. What a waste of words and times and confessions!
The Ethiopian opposition party was strong under Birtukan Mideksa, but since the evil OLF muddled with that great organization, the opposition party has become more innervated than ever before, and the OLF must be accountable for the dismantlement of Birtukan’s opposition party, and this OLF is now going to weaken the Ginbot 7 organization as it has destroyed the Ethiopian Freedom Fighters in Asmara.
Yes, I have commented several times on Oromia, for I consider Oromia is one of the most important Ethiopian regions, and as such, I cannot simply sit down while the criminal OLF has been working for 40 years to destroy the unity of Oromia with her mother land, Ethiopia. I must fight hard day and night to drive out the greedy OLF from the face of this earth. The Islamic movement of OLF has so far succeeded in burning Christian Churches and in confiscating Christian properties in the Oromia regions, and this could have been prevented if the Woyanne government had deracinated everything that belonged to the terrorist groups of the OLF from its inception somewhere in the south or in the Islamic capital city of Egypt.
You have not read my comments and comprehended them adequately, and if I have misquoted or misinterpreted Dr. Aklog’s scholarly written articles, let him respond to my comments as he did before. No one has appointed you to be a spoke’s person for Dr. Aklog; he can defend himself intelligently if he has the time like you do. As an author, he may not have time to respond to any nonsense issues like yours. For example, you wrote: “For instance, this past week the government of weyane has made many arrests against peaceful opposition party officials, ordinary Ethiopians and journalists. Thise [This] event is unsettling for many Ethiopians, yet Mr.Assta B. Gettu’s comment is not anywhere to be seen.” Do you want me to comment on any criminal issues committed by the Woyanne regime over 20 years – thousands of them if not millions? I don’t have enough time to comment on all the issue; I have a busy schedule, and yet I have commented on several issues regarding the arrest of Ethiopian journalists.
Read the following comment I wrote several weeks ago, and this is just out of a thousand comments or more I have written about the sufferings of my Ethiopian people:
When Reeyot Alemu, a high school teacher, was picked up at her high school, while, perhaps, teaching her students her favorite subject, English, her students who witnessed their teacher’s unjustified arrest without a warrant must be dismayed, shocked, and frightened to the extent some of them who were terrorized by the incident in their classroom might have indeed left their school and never returned to their classroom. I don’t blame them for not going back to their school where no one would guarantee for their safety and for the safety of their other teachers unless those other teachers are from Tigray.
Before Meles’ death squads entered Alemu’s classroom, I am sure, they did not first knock at her door gently as some normal people always used to do. As we all know, the use of force is frequently utilized by Meles’ death squads whenever they arrest a person at any time and at any place. This time when they arrested a young Ethiopian teacher could not be the exception: they might have kicked hard with their booted feet repeatedly at her classroom door until the door finally gave up and was opened widely, exposing the teacher, the students, and everything in the classroom. The kicking of the door is nothing else except to terrorize the students and their teacher. Some of the frightened students might have tried to jump out of the window and run away from those frightening Meles’ death squads, messengers of death. The rest of the students, the courageous ones, might have tried to protect their teacher from being arrested and taken away from them, but Meles’ merciless death squads would kick each one of them with the butts of their guns, leaving each one of the students crying and moaning and soothing their bruises.
They bent her head down as they forced her into their death squad car, shut the door behind her, and drove her away to Maekelawi Prison to join the fates of the other Ethiopian inmates there. This young Ethiopian lady is not just a high school teacher; she is also very active in providing the Independent Weekly Feteh her controversial articles that criticizes the ways EPRDF handles its dirty job. Who is responsible for her uncalled for arrest? No body! Mr. Bereket Simon, the spoken person for the Woyanne regime, has made it clear that he is not willing to comment on her unlawful and arbitrary arrest, and other Woyanne authorities have not come forward and explained why this young lady was picked up from her classroom in front of your young students and thrown into jail.
According to the blind Woyanne’s anti-terrorist law, the innocent young teacher will spend at least a month in a preventive detention. I have no clues what this preventive detention is all about. It must be a detention to prevent a terrorist from striking at a government building, at a Church, at a Mosque, at a Synagogue or at the Menelik Palace ahead of time, but this young lady is not a terrorist: she is a simple teacher, and, on her spare time, she writes her opinion on Weekly Feteh. That is what she does for a living! I think Meles Seitanawi wants to send her as a maid to the Arab states and work there as a prostitute and send money back to him. He doesn’t want her to work in her country; she is too smart and knows too much about the corruptions of the Woyanne regime.
I don’t see any difference at all between the Woyanne’s anti-terrorist law and Pakistan’s penal code that sends to jail or to death any person who criticizes or blasphemes Islam. Any Ethiopian or any foreigner who writes against the corruptions committed by the Woyanne regime will be picked up from his home as he is having dinner with his family, from his school as he is teaching his students, from his Church as he is administrating the Holy Communion to his congregations, from his hospital as he is operating a heart surgery on one of his patients. Whatever job, dangerous or normal, a person is performing, and no matter what, he will still be picked up by the Meles’ death squad and sent to jail.
Because of Meles’ unethical and illogical anti-terrorist law, Alemu was picked up at her high school; her house was searched without her presence, and no one knows how many valuable articles she might have lost during the search. What is important now is not her valuable property but the person herself, and as the investigation continues, no doubt, the Woyanne people will come up with concocted serious crimes that would land her in Qaliti jail for a number of years. Then she will be one of the 7th or the 8th Ethiopian journalists who are still in jail without any crime that they have committed.
Meles Seitanawi wants to rule a voiceless, a spiritless, and a blind Ethiopia for a long time to come. Journalists are the voices, the spirits, and the eyes of the Ethiopian people, and without them, there is no way of understanding what is going on in the country; of course, in their absences, Meles Seitanawi (Zenawi) and his wife Jezebel (Azeb) will commit more crimes and loot more money without any fear that they will be reported.
Ms. Reeyot Alemu’s students are now without an English teacher; her absence may have affected most of them. In America when a teacher is absent from her classroom, there is always a substitute teacher who takes her place until the regular teacher comes back. Is there a substitute teacher in Ethiopia? When I was there, I had never seen a substitute teacher; most of the time, Ethiopian teachers never got absent – they loved their jobs. That was then when a teacher was never picked up from his classroom and sent to jail without any reason.
Does the Woyanne government care about those students who do not have an English teacher because their teacher was picked up from her classroom and put in jail? Has the principal of the high school where Alemu used to work sent a counselor to Ms. Alemu’s classroom to counsel her students who might have been traumatized by the arrest of their teacher? I don’t think anyone knows the answer to these valid questions.
Any way, it is a curse to be a student or a teacher in Ethiopia at this time where the learning or the teaching environment is not propitious for both the learner and the teacher. The student doesn’t know when he will be picked up and sent to jail; the teacher doesn’t know when he/she will be picked up from his/her classroom and sent to jail; the principal doesn’t know when he/she will be picked up from his/her office and sent to jail. We know Meles owns the whole Ethiopia, so let us see what the Holy Scripture says, “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back–whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn” (Mark 13:35).
If you want to see more about my comments, you may ask Mr. Elias Kifle, the Editor in Chief. He will guide you to the archive where my comments may have been stored there to rest.
Assta B. Gettu
To Assta B. Getu and his entourage!!!
It is too late for you neftegnas to have all in status quo. My gallant freedom fighters have already liberate more 75% of Oromiya. It is on the way to become a mint fresh new nation in 2014. That is at the beginning of 2014. With your current government falling apart, I may push that independence day up by a year. I have been giving you all enough warning for almost a year now. And I will tell you again. You should pack up leave my Oromiya now. Not next year, month or next week. Today!!! Out!!!! On the double!!!! Leave my house now. And remember to take along all the Merrars, Demeksas and Aba Dulas with you including this Birara thing. They are a disgrace to my Oromiya people. You hear me!!! Out!!!! dégagé!!!
Oromiya is coming!!!! Oromiya is coming!!!! Oromiya will be independent in 2014 or sooner!!!!!!
To: Asta and your cousins
We Oromo’s are not fighting only with a flesh wearer like Asta/blood thirsty,war mogerer, awkward,a man of sin,deciver etc/ who filled with trillions of devils but also editors of different habesha websites including Ethiopian review who encourage a commenter which writes the same as their rotten thinking. Particularly Ethiopian review editors either have been deleteting or reshuffling the chronologyof comments of mine since I started commenting on their websites. What is their difference with weyane?????? Would you tell me Mr. Elias???? Why you did like that? Anyways from now onwards I can not distinguish you from Lucifer asta. One day you will be liable for what you are doing. What are your standards/parameters one comment should fulfill to be posted? But you are encouraging Lucifer like asta etal to insult and wedge war on Oromo people. Is that fair ? If enemy comes with pen we must act with our pen with equivalent tone of comment. So many times you deleted my coment that is why I used to post my coments on jima times website under unrelated article. Once again Mr.elias is that fair?? If you are trying to re build the dead existence and morals of abysinians “ mengedun cherq yadirgilachihu dirowunum amara sinager inji sifesa aytaweqewum. My buddy! asta etal all your articles and comments are not different from the garbage of qoshe sefer.The likely hood to dismantle OLF through internet is -1000. Just let say you were successful as you thought. What then? I am telling you frankly as so long as I am on planet earth your rotten thinking will never , ever, ever and ever. I am not barking like you but “muya belib new”. By the way I beg mr. elias if you help me to post 19 page article “ ethiopian Christian and Ethiopian felasha” in which Lucifer asta insulted and curse our lord Jesus Christ.I make ready /scanned all/ to be sent via email for this website and others. After reading this article the readers can get clear picture of Lucifer asta. Selam tena yistilign Kalehubet.
Assta B. Gettu,
I read your reply and I noticed that this time your response does not have any insult, I commend you for this. Directly commenting on your respond and why I feel you play a divisive role, we know that weyane uses religion and ethnic differences to incite hatred and division among Ethiopians. Very often it seems to me you are drawn to topics that are controversial, such as the one I mentioned. I tend to believe that Ethiopians, in spite of religion and ethnic differences have lived side by side for many years. And that using disparaging remarks against certain segments of our people have negative ramification to the unity the Ethiopian opposition wants to form. I mad e my comments above in this light. When I follow up comments I detect a pattern of behavior about your comments.Perhaps, many will take you as supporter of Ethiopian opposition, however, on close examination this may not hold true. For one thing, you don’t criticize as many do the regime by commenting about its abuses. Beside, you seem to be drawn to issues that deal only about religion and ethnic differences.Beside, you have a tendency to change the essence of the subject by introducing something completely different from the issue at hand. This irregularity and erratic nature puts your sincerity your opposition against the government of weyane in question. I do believe we need to tolerate people to express their views, and need not to be threatened by it.But, I see in you intolerant attitude towards religion and Oromos and southerners. Think about this, if weyane continue to frighten Ethiopians it is because those who oppose it have no high morale value to stand tall against it. We need to develop tolerant attitude towards all our people regardless of political differences. This is the only proven way to lasting peace.
Ordofaa,
Aka cyber OLF commander located in the purly vertual red zone within arm reach from your lap top,and deep behind the enemy line.How is the tssk of your remot command taking shape as you try to push Ethiopians out from their home?
Aka armchair revolutionary for life,geting no where but always pretending.Are you not tired of living on day dream?
To tell you the truth,You and some nickle heads within OLF are insulting the intellegence of the vast majority of the Oromo people by insisting for separation. When it comes to the question of separtion there is huge problem acknowledged by all.You know it too,but want to evade this truth.What the overwhelming Ethiopians on each side like to see Ethiopia become a truely democratic nation,even become an emblem to the contenent.Where we can see some Ethiopian loving Oromo can run to the nation’s highst office.
I believe the only requrment,under a truly democratic Ethiopia for the highest officeshould look like this-Love Ethiopia,defend her interest, serve the poor,be upright and resposible citizen.
Ordofa #20,
How is business at your gas station? I forgot the high way number. How much do you charge for a gallon of gas? Do you treat your employees fairly and pay their salaries on time?
I hear what you are saying, but the problem is you cannot function without the presence of the Amhara people. If the Amharas get out of Oromia, then immediately the slave traders, the Arabs, will come in and start their lucrative business. Do you see my point? The Amharas are your protectors, and you need them badly if you want to live freely under their protection. As a slave and the son of a slave, you must behave; other wise, we will resettle you, not sell you, somewhere in the Ogaden desert.
You cannot order your master to get out of Oromia; it is the master who can give the order to his servant to disappear from his master’s face. All the Merraras, the Demeksas, the Aba Dulas, and the Biraras are your eternal masters and you cannot tell them to get out of Oromia because Oromia belongs to all of them. We will think about your freedom when the jubilee comes; in the mean time, obey your masters and do what they tell you to do, and that is my advice to you.
Abiy Adi #22,
There is a season to curse or to insult, and there is a season to bless or to glorify according to the Book of the Preacher.
You are very lucky because you have only one enemy you attack day in and day out, and that enemy of yours is the Woyanne regime. Unfortunately, I have three ruthless enemies that I fight with all my energy I can master to defeat them all. My number one enemy is the spread of Islam in my Christian country; my second enemy is Meles Seitanawi (Zenawi), and my third enemy is that murderer OLF. I believe Islam is more dangerous to my Christian country than Meles the Dictator and OLF the traitor. Sooner or later, Meles can be removed from his power voluntarily or unwillingly; however, Islam cannot be easily removed before it has completely destroyed Christian Ethiopia. Islam has destroyed many Christian countries in the past: it has destroyed Egypt; it has destroyed Syria; it has destroyed Turkey, and it is going to destroy Ethiopia in the near future.
I don’t care about worldly governments, whether they collapse or continue to exist, with all their injustices, corruption, discrimination, bigotries, avarices, cults, and endless ruthlessness. What I care the most is about the heavenly kingdom that lasts forever and ever; I want everybody to be part of God’s kingdom through his begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the only savior of the world. Islam is the enemy of all human beings that has prevented billions of people from accepting Jesus Christ as their creator and true friend of all beings.
You may have seen me commenting about the many conflicts Islam has created among millions of its followers and its infidels. Islam continues to deceive men and women by promising them a false paradise and virgin girls for men. Ethiopian Christians should not be deceived by the common deceiving words such as “Ethiopian Christians and Ethiopians Muslims have lived together in harmony for centuries.” We should not be deceived by such superficial phrases that most Ethiopian Muslims use as their weapons to deceive the Ethiopian Christians whose number is dwindling every day. I always want to expose the wickedness of Islam to the whole world, and when the right time comes, the world may disdain Islam and completely outlaw it. And that day is not far away for the liberation of the world from the bondage of Islam.
There is no such a thing as a lasting peace in this world of ours: only the fools would say if we are tolerant to other people’s opinions, there will be a lasting peace. The Ethiopian Christians have been tolerant toward the Ethiopian Muslims, but the result they get from these Ethiopian Muslims has always been an insult against the Ethiopian Christian kings, Christian cultures, and Christian ways of living. Defending this ancient Ethiopian Christian culture, Christian faith, Christian teaching, and Christian kingdom, I must fight hard, with the help of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, to completely remove the memory of Islam from the heart of all Ethiopian citizens.
Abi Adi,
I think you should be cyber detector or change your name Assta detector.
I did follow that pattern. My diagonosis is he a freelancer or he is just killing his retirement time comfortably laughing at some garbage cyber comment foragers.
Don’t count Assta. He is against Meles. He is against nonchristians. He is against non Amharas. He never mentiones Esayas. He is not a supporter of any oppostion. He is just a symbolica writer of nostalgic old Ethiopian Aristocracy. I doubt if he is a politician because he denounces OLF which is currently assisted by Eritrea which he admitedly should have known if he is a pro Essayas.
At any rate, Assta is a confused personality except that he believes/ or wants to rule us.
Elias,
Please block this guy Assta asap. We don’t another headache because he is insulting the peaceful Oromos and mobilizing the extreme Oromos. I for one I am peaceful, moderate Oromos but the arrogance of Assta, as he is very well trained to divide Oromos and Amaras, he is doing very good job. It doesn’t matter even if he is not Weyane or Shaebia, get rid of him whether he is pretending to be whatever he wants to be. This is another step back inciting violence and anger against us. For a long time now, his writing has been very negative and provocative and it is really working very well. This guy could even be the Egyptian professor Shamssadin who has extensive research on Ethiopia’s issue that we don’t even know about Ethiopia what he knows because he has done many research to break Ethiopia apart to benefit Egypt. So I beg of you, stop making our blood boil. Personally I don’t get persuaded that way but there are many sensitive, oppressed in the past and paresent, and extreme ORomos. What ever his belief, get rid of him.
We know that the minority weyane or TPLF uses religion and ethnic differences as its latent weapon to divide the Ethiopian opposition.
Assta B. Gettu, is such a sleeping agent within Diaspora who monitors these sites to make use of them in accomplishing the purpose of weyane.As I have pointed out erlier, he pretends he is opposition supporter but in reality he is not. For instance he does not consistently comment on many of the issues that are out instead he comments on those issues that appear to be detrimental to the existence of weyane.
For example, this past week the TPLF regime has arrested members of peaceful opposition parties, jornalists and ordinary citizens under pretence of what it calls “terrorist activities”. In addition, wiki like during the same time reviled many secret weyane activities including the sail of Ethiopian fertile land to the Sudan. In all this, no where can anyone see Assta B. Gettu’s comment. This is not an accident but speaks something about Assta B. Gettu’s hidden mission.
Note the above topic it appeals to all of us regardless of ethinc, religion, gender differences about the need to unite against the racist rule of weyane.Yet, here you see Assta B. Gettu has already commented 8 times.That is not all on many of his messages he comments something completely different from the subject at hand .Beside, he uses an acceptable language to insult those who hold different view than the line of his weyane party.
I completely agree with Love, that Assta B. Gettu is with a mission; he is specially drawn to such topics ethinic and religion.Inadtion, without regard to the topic he has a tendency to take the participants out of the subject by lecturing us about his version of Orthodox religion and his pseudo ethnic group. This is why I think he is a weyane agent and not Amhara or Christian. If he was a sincere Christian he could have been be reverent to GOD, but he uses religion for mere political purpose: weyane trained agent.
What can we do about this? I think Elias need to require a forum rule from his gusts: there has to be honor to forum code. I believe we need to be required to comment on the topic and not go outside the topic to draw the participants away from it. We need also be required to use none inflammatory languages, respect to different ethnic and religions. Freedom of expression does not advocate anarchy. There has to be some forum rules to be respected hope Elias see in to this and use your own judgment to make this forum accessible to all Ethiopians.Some times I feel sory for this country that we call Ethiopia. Thank you very much.
Love #27
Out of your desperation, dismay, and last resort, you wrote the following clumsy and meaningless sentence: “We don’t another headache…. And your weak sentence was followed by another lifeless sentence: “I for one I am peaceful….” With such broken English, unqualified thought, and murky or misty imagination of yours, you try to persuade Elias Kifle, one of the distinguished Ethiopian journalists, to bar me from speaking out against those Oromos who are driving out some of the Amharas from the Oromia region because they are Christian neftegna. As an Oromo person who follows the exact footsteps of the OLF movement, you do not have an iota of authority to tell Elias Kifle to muzzle my mouth and ban me for ever from the Ethiopian Review web site.
Whether I am an Egyptian professor or an Oromo farmer, a coffee grower, a slave trader, a gold-mine digger, a coin-collector or simply a rich man’s house-keeper, or a taxi-driver, I will continue posting my comments, destabilizing the OLF terrorist organization, defaming Islam and its messengers wherever they are, and if your blood is boiling and burning you because of my comments, your severe headaches, stop reading them, and I don’t want you to die before you see their end results – the destruction of OLF, the outlaw of Islam, and the overthrow of the Meles regime.
Gragn Ahmed #26,
Nowadays, you rarely appear on the Ethiopian web site, and then, suddenly, you disappear. What is the mater with you, my friend? The day after yesterday, you posted the following comment that created havoc among the nazret.com commentators:
“Comment from: Gragn Ahmed [Visitor]
Look at this amazing man (Mohammed Aman) win amazing race. Now, this is what I am talking about. The courageous man is the symbol of Ethiopian Muslims. The christian Ethiopia who is nannied by the West has dominated the Lion Muslims like slave for almost a century. Now is time to shine and beyond that to disaapoint the lunatic Assta and Tekele Hagos and Fetawrari who are disillusioned christians and more is to come soon. We have been too cowardly to be slaves to this barbaric urinating christians.
Down with Meles and Mahber Kidusann and its Zionist helpers like the Harvard economic and columbia professors. Samuel Huntington.”
Your harshest and yet very reasonable detractor was her highness the Amhara Princess, and she beat you hard, and that might be one of the reasons you ran away from nazret.com web site and have come to Ethiopian Review for cover or shelter just like those families of Muhammad the prophet who came to Ethiopia in the 7th century, seeking shelter, protection, and a peaceful living in the Axumite Christian kingdom when they were persecuted by the citizens of Mecca for accepting Islam. Do you think the Ethiopian Review web site is a safe haven for people like you who call the Ethiopian Christians “barbaric and urinating”?
If you go to nazret.com, the Amhara princess is waiting for you there to humiliate and beat you up, and if you come to the Ethiopian Review web site, Assta B. Gettu is waiting for you to teach you a lesson. The Prophet Ezekiel once said: “”Outside is the sword, inside are plague and famine; those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague” (Ezekiel 7:15).
My dear Gragn Ahmad, where do you go from here? You are surrounded by hostile commentators who are willing to treat you harshly because of your raw and savor comments.
Abity Adi #28,
For the time being, there are no real oppositions to support and depend upon: all of them are fake oppositions like OLF. The only true and reliable fighter at the front line is Elias Kifle, Editor in Chief, who once visited the Ethiopian Freedom Fighters in the Asmara jangles and encouraged each one of them to fight the Woyanne regime and liberate Ethiopia.
I feel sorry for the two friends – Abiy Adi and Love – for wasting their times, investigating my identity, party affiliation, and religious association instead of commenting on some of the real issues vital for the sufferings of the Ethiopian people. These two peculiar and odd individuals earnestly want to know my mission, my religion, and my nationality as if knowing such things would help hasten the liberation of Ethiopia.
Several times on this web site and on others, I have made my mission known to the entire world. I have no other missions except three: to destroy Islam, to disqualify the OLF organization, and to bring down the Meles Regime. To accomplish those three missions, I may have used several methods, and those methods I have used, no doubt, have put many people into suspicion that I am a Woyanne supporter, that I am a hidden agent, that I am a foreigner, not an Ethiopian, that I am a Shavian, that I am the enemy of God, and that I am a selfish individual who incites Muslims and Christians to wage war against each other. The techniques I have been using so far are not far from the Holy Scriptures: “When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ” (1st Corinthians 9:21). This doesn’t mean I have physically eaten, drunk, danced, and jogged with some of the Woyanne cadres. What it means is that I may have commented in favor of the Woyanne regime to penetrate their circles and get what I wanted and use it against them, but I have never approved their leaderships as legitimate and a democratic one.
Elias Kifle knows how to hundle this forum and I don’t think he needs our divisive and timid advices to stifle the freedom of others who would like to express their negative or positive views on this web site.
First Assta, you are not that important and the only time I see your name glorified is through your own words. Second I am not a person that a small girl can intimidate me. Third when I appeared on this hate filled chrisitian swarmed website, I had one mission to teach you the beauty of Islam, its purity and the dignified stand of Muslims of Ethiopia. Despite your objection and your cronies such as stone that Peter, John john and Dallas, I accomplished my mission partly as we now see the Arab Spring in Middle East and Africa, the begining. Now, will be Ethiopia and no wonder you supporters who hated Arabs are now taking lesson and courage and inspiration to topple their own christian Empire albiet this will not happen thanks to the childrem of Ethiopian Muslims who now control the new Ethiopian future. Unlike our past mistakes we are now ready to battle any akrari christians with axe and stone to protect our future if we are forced to.
It is sad that most muslims don’t visit these two sites who are as we know opposed to each other but work as one against any thing Islam_ Nazret and Ethiopian Review. So to suggest that I come here to seek refuge is to remind me of the saying of Jesus who did not know he will be killed by his own disciples.
I did not expect such childish coments from you insulting my prophet.
As I said I am working to change the christian Kingdom and reinstate the pure form of Islam that came to Ethiopia first. I know most Muslims of Ethiopia don’t support my ideas but as Arab Spring comes nearer they will thank me.
Amhara Princess is such an idiot whose analysis is not far from his “afencha”. or her “afencha”, she may be a home like the author of King James Bible.
I know this comment will not be posted but if it does it will keep you quite for good.
Assta,I am anonymous.
Assta,
Time, time! I am sure you have fear as we all Ethiopians do because of what is going on. I think Aby is right your concern seems more of OLF than the TPLF regime that is causing havoc in Ethiopia right now. Supposedly, I would discuss against all Liberation Fronts and how funny you rarely speak about Shaebia as well all I have to say is hmmmmmmmmm. The issue is not about my English grammar and if it makes you happy I admit you are much better than I am. That is not the issue. Your goal seems also to be to defend your argument as if we are in court. Let us say hypotheically that is your wish, fine let it be but your approach is really extreme rather than uniting Ethiopia, it is dividng Ethiopia. For instance, I have seen your comments many times branding all Oromos together as OLF which does not help for the struggle at all, rather you are dividng as any Oromos being condescending as your are will start to shift towards OLF rather than to Ethiopia. You have done it over and over again. This is not about winning argument as you want to put it and apparently at a critical moment if Elisa/ER is not really affiliated with you, you would be given warning (negotiaton 101)and if you do it again you should be banned. Again, this has nothing to do being and having “right” on this blog but the number on, primary reason should be how to form in unison with Ethiopia with all ethnic groups to bring Ethiopia to peace and development. To me, lecturing us how Amara has been great and king, etc… while Rome is burning because of ethnic issue is a recipie for disaster. Rather you have to be moderate to bring everyone inclusive. I am suspecting you are one of the Liberation Fronts (TPLF, OLF and more towards Shaebia). I do believe ONLF has honor and their argument has always been sound. What doesn’t make sense is also at a time where Amara has been very vulnerable, you talking the bravado also not believable. I suspect you may be in kahoots with ER/Elias as well as you I have never seen you condemn Shaebia/Issayas as well in the past or present. Again, I understand, you have to sleep with the enemy against the enemy within. I mean knowing how we were prior 20 years ago even under Mengistu, technically we (all Ethiopian ethnic groups and Eritrea ) did not even think about being enemies, it is the few fragmented Liberation Fronts that have now power that were/are the enemies and not the people. Unfortunately they also affected our own population to create mistrust and doubt one another that lead to us being enemies of our own population. How twisted is that huh? We the people played in the hands of Liberation Front leadership but in fact the only people who are benefiting are the ones in power and that is the Liberation Fronts not the people of Ethiopia nor Eritrea. Liberation Fronts once again made us look like as if we have been colonized, an African nation that have slave mentality that is brainwashed therefore we are acting like one. The problem is, Ethiopia has never been colonized and Liberation Fronts made us look and think like one. That is why after over 50 years of Libertion from colonizations, Africans never recovered from it because the the effect of slavery is hurting one another. Haile Selassie did awesome thing by allowing Eritreans to economically prosper neglecting Ethiopians so that they can get out of this slavery mentality, so it was believed when they became highly affluent society in Ethiopia and yet they didn’t forget their salvery mentality and like other African nations that never recovered from their colonization, Eritrea started to dsplaying its ugly slavery mentality on Ethiopian people. Time will tell if their dream will accomplish, they chose to be enemies of Ethiopia rather than reaching to some solution to their past colonization what is more blamed the Ethiopian people by forming Liberation Fronts. Of course, they are not just to blame, they are/were very much supported by outside interests also. Today Africa is on its way to be neo colonized never recovering from they past colonization because of their dictator leadership. Africa has a lot to learn in understanding its own people before talking about democracy that is Western style, first of all not all nations are one side fit all for democracy. Ghanna was able to still respect its Chieftan rule that allowed the people to live in peace for centuries and at the same time Ghana was able to adapt the Western democracy that is fit to its own kind of people. African must learn to respect one another through our differences in ethnicty, language, religion, tribalism only then can we live in peace and bring democracy. We should first of all learn courses 101 on conflict and resolution, conflict transformation, cross cultural differences, understanding our own ethnic groups from all spectrum, etc. First foremost though putting the very capapble leaders in power with experience of course not based on race, religion, etc but based on competency. Then provide training for those from all groups of leadership so that they take over. It is not like today, TPLF regime acting like the guardian of ethnic groups who is not qualified at all, have put himself and the illiterate in power as if they are fair and balanced. Training is required to be in power not because you are from this group, religion, etc..
Long live Ethiopia!
Love #34,
Your comment, substantially and grammatically, is fair, fairer than your previous ones, which means you are a quick learner; you are not like someone who has lived in the United States for a number of years, and yet he doesn’t know who is running the United States of America, the people or the President.
You and many other Ethiopians may have multitude of fears: some of your fears may be economic, social, cultural, ethnical, and political; however, my fear is one, and it is not the fear of the Woyanne government, nor is it the fear of those who continuously make a lot of noises on the Internet. I saw it is coming and knocking at the door of every Ethiopian, and no one so far has recognized it even though it has given every Ethiopian a warning sign.
When Emperor Haile Selassie was running the country, I had never had fear of hunger, fear of insecurity, fear of disease, fear of discrimination, fear of loneliness, and fear of exile. Since then, time has changed for the worst, and I know many Ethiopians are entreating God to give them a leader like His Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie, and that is not my fear if God accepts the prayers of the Ethiopian people and fulfills their wishes and give them a king to rule them for several generations. There are still some Ethiopians who fear Ethiopia may have another theocratic government since most Ethiopians are used to, and comfortable with, such form of a government.
My great fear is, however, different from most of you all because many of you agree my fear is not your fear or the fear of Meles Seitanawi (Zenawi) or the fear of the oppositions. You may think, if I reveal to you what my great fear is, that is a fear that affects only me, but not the entire nation of Ethiopia. How much I would like to uncover what my fear is, but I cannot do it. If I do, Elias Kifle will not post this particular comment; therefore, I will leave it for you, Love, to discover it and to tell me what my fear is. I am not acting like king Nebuchadnezzar, who had a dream but lost it; however, he summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, astrologers and many other wise men of Babylon to tell him his dream and its interpretation. I know what my great fear is but I don’t want to reveal its name here, for Elias Kifle will be disappointed when he hears the name of my fear. Please, Love, tell me what my great fear is
Assta,
Thank you for being sincere. It is becoming interesting and now trying to reveal the riddle. Obviously you never give the clue hahaa. For obvious reason, I was going to say your fear is the OLF taking over and breaking Ethiopia apart and storing Oromo-style rule. Actually the Gadaa system should be really applied, as Ghanna is using the system of Chieftans. But then from your writing, I am surprised unusually I didn’t see Oromo in your comment. That is great step. Of course you can write about Oromo but write Oromo in synanymous of peace, love, Gadaa, milk, better, hero, etc.:-) Of course, I am not talking about OLF here that is why we really have to becareful not branding Oromo and OLF. That being said, is OLF evil? I don’t think so but they are easily lead, emotional, haven’t had anything they came up with that is inclusive of all Ethiopians as they have to act like leaders but the fact that their name is OLF that makes them itself they are only leaders for their own groups unfortunately. Look at me, me being obsessed on OLF myself. Perhaps we are all afraid of the boogieman, how many of us really sat down and discussed with the OLF although their website is not that welcoming of Ethiopians, except the G7 which they did great think that took steps in understanding, knowing of OLF and ONLF. Of course, I am hoping they are not like TPLF who are really hard to know even after 20 years of leadership from them, they are still slippery. Anyways, your comment is getting interesting to me. I can’t keep on guessing, providing that you are sincere about this of course.
I am also surpised that this fear only involves you after for the longest you were obsessed on discussing on issues such as Amara, Oromo, OLF, etc.? Not even Ethiopia? Are we getting out of the topic here?:-)What is missing from what I mentioned above is of course Shaebia, I was going to say could it be the unification of Ethiopia with Eritrea is your greatest fear? Are you Pres. Issayas hahaha!
Aha, you could be after all Meles? OR Egyptian or…. oh, oh, you are Mengue! I give up. You also talked as it your fear is “it”. Anyway, I understand you can’t reveal and that would be not bright to do that isn’t it? I have a feeling you might know Elias too as if you are talking about him as if you are close.
Anyways, be well, and the greatest fear is “fear” itself. Although I am not expert, I think let us have faith, be close to our spiritual path no matter what religion we follow, the goal is what humanity work we have done in this world at the end and what we accomplished to transform ourselves and others to be good, conscious to be harmonious with others. Violence is a cycle it will never end until people like MLK, Mandela, Ghandi and many more we don’t hear about appear in our lives.
Mr. Elias where are my comments and scanned documents?
Love #36,
You have diligently searched to find out what my great fear for my country and yours is, and the fear you have been looking for had been the fear of the ancient Egyptians, Syrians, Turks, and Palestinians. Another clue is your last paragraph, when you discover it, you may say, like the other Ethiopians that such a thing will never happen to Ethiopia, but it will happen because it had happened to those countries I mentioned above. This time, I am sure, you are going to unveil the great fear I have had for a long time, and let me know when you find it out.