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መለስ የቆፈሩት ጉድጓድ…

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

By Goolgule.com
May 20, 2013

ይህንን ቃለምልልስ ያደረግነው ለበርካታ ዓመታት ለኢህአዴግ ሲሰራ ከነበረና በአሁኑ ወቅት ለከፍተኛ ትምህርት ውጪ አገር ከሚገኝ ኢትዮጵያዊ ጋር ነው፡፡ ለደኅንነት ሲባል ስሙን ከመጥቀስ ተቆጥበናል፡፡

ጎልጉል ፦ የጠ/ሚኒስትር መለስ መታመም ድንገተኛ ነው የሚሉ አሉ፤ አሟሟታቸውም ድንገት ነው የሚሉ አሉ፤ በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ አጋጣሚው መልካም እንደሆነ የሚጠቁሙ አሉ አንተ ከየትኛው ወገን ነህ?
መልስ፦ ቅድሚያ አቶ መለስ ድንገት አልታመሙም። በሽታቸው የቆየ እንደሆነ ይታወቃል። ምስጢርም አይደለም። ለዚሁ እኮ ነው ቤተ መንግስት ውስጥ በአዋጅ የተፈቀደላቸውን ቤት አሰርተው በቅርብ ርቀት እየተቆጣጠሩ ለመኖር ቅድመ ዝግጅት ሲያደርጉ የነበረው። በዚህ ቢስተካከል ለማለት ነው። መለስ ለኢህአዴግ አጋር ድርጅቶች ሁሉ የጋራ ነጠብ ናቸው። በድልድይም ይመሰላሉ። በኢህአዴግ አባል ድርጅቶች፣ በተለይም ዋናዎቹ አራት ፓርቲዎች በውስጣቸው የያዙት 21 ዓመትና ከዚያም በላይ የታመቀ ቁርሾ አለ። የመለስ ማለፍ በየድርጅቱ ታፍኖ የኖረውን ቁርሾ ማፈንዳቱ አይቀርም። ከዚህ አንጻር ሳየው የመለስ ሞት አጋጣሚው መልካም የሚሆንበት አግባብ ከምን እንደሆነ ልረዳው አልችልም።

ጎልጉል፦ አዲስ ስርዓት ለመገንባት የሚያስችል አጋጣሚ ይሆናል ነው የሚሉት፤
መልስ፦ ምን አይነት አዲስ ስርዓት? አሁን እኮ ሁሉም ነገር “ባለበት፣ በነበረበት፣ በቀድሞው መልክ ይቀጥላል” እየተባለ ነው። እነሱም ባይናገሩ ህወሃት ወደ እርቅና ድርድር የመመለስ ፍላጎት ይኖረዋል ብዬ ለሰኮንድ አላስብም። ህወሃቶች አንገት ለአንገት ተናንቀው ትግል የሚያደርጉት ተቃዋሚ ከሌለ ብቻ ነው። ለህወሃት መኖር ፈተና የሚሆን ተቃዋሚ ካለ ህወሃቶችም ሆኑ በትግራይ ውስጥ መሰረት ያላቸው ተቃዋሚዎች ልዩነት አያሳዩም። ይህ ሳይታበል የተፈታ እውነት ነው። በ1997 ምርጫ ወቅት የታሰሩት የቅንጅት አመራሮች ሲፈቱ ደስተኛ አልነበሩም። እንዴት እንደተፈቱና ሂደቱ በህወሃት ውስጥ የፈጠረው ውዝግብ የሚረሳ አይመስለኝም። ሌላው ቀርቶ በወቅቱ የምርጫውን ውጤት ቅንጅት ማሸነፉ ሲታወቅ ህወሃት ያገለላቸው እንኳን ሳይቀሩ አንድ ላይ በመሆን አስፈላጊውን ሁሉ ለማድረግ ተማምለው ነበር። ታጥቀውም ነበር። ከዚህም በላይ…

ጎልጉል፦ ግምት አይመስልም? ምን ማስረጃ አለ? ኢትዮጵያዊ የሆኑና ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎችን ተቀላቅለው የሚሰሩ ….
መልስ፦ ላቋርጥህ፤ ኢትዮጵያዊ ቀለም የተቀቡ የህወሃት የቀድሞ ባለስልጣኖች በህወሃት ህልውና ላይ የሚፈረድበት የመጨረሻ ቀን ቢመጣ የመጀመሪያዎቹ ተቃዋሚዎች እነሱ እንደሚሆኑ እምነቴ ነው። መቃወም ብቻ አይደለም ህወሃትን ወዲያው ተቀላቅለው የህወሃትን ባንዲራ እንደሚለብሱ አልጠራጠርም። እነዚህ ሰዎች የወደፊቱ አደጋ የታያቸው ናቸው። ህወሃት ሳይቀበር፣ ኃይሉም ሳይመናመን እርቅ እንዲወርድ ግን ይፈልጋሉ። ልክ እንደ አቶ መለስ እነሱም ለክፉ ቀን ድልድይ ለመሆን ራሳቸውን ያዘጋጁ ናቸው፤

ጎልጉል፦ አይታመኑም እያልክ ነው?
መልስ፦ ከህወሃት ባህሪ አንጻር ሁሉንም ነገር በጥንቃቄ ማየት አይከፋም። የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች የጓዳቸውን ቁልፍ እያባዙ ማንንም ሳይመርጡ ይሰጣሉ። ለማን ሰጥተው ለማን እንደሚከለክሉ አልተረዱም። ህወሃት ውስጥ ሆነው ሙሉ መረጃ የማያገኙ አጫፋሪዎች አሉ። እዚህ ደግሞ ተቃራኒ ነው። ህወሃት ለወለዳቸው አገልጋዮቹ መረጃ ይደብቃል። ተቃዋሚዎች ግን ምስጢር መደበቁ ቀርቶ በራቸውን እንኳ ገርበብ አያደርጉም።

ጎልጉል፦ በመጠራጠር ብቻ ማግለል ትግሉን ሲጎዳ የኖረ አብይ የትግል ስህተት እንደሆነ የሚናገሩ አሉ፤
መልስ፦ እንግዲህ ይህ የኔ አስተያየት ነው። ይህንን አስተያየት ስሰጥ ተቃውሞ ሊነሳ እንደሚችል አውቃለሁ። ቅር የሚሰኙ ክፍሎችም ይኖራሉ። የ97 ምርጫ ብዙ ትምህርት የሰጠን ይመስለኛል። በፖለቲካ ቁርጠኝነት ማነስና አርቆ ማሰብ ባለመቻሉ አጋጣሚው፣ ያ አሳዛኝ የህዝብ ተነሳሽነት፣ አገሪቱን ሙሉ ያነቃነቀው የለውጥ ማዕበል መጨረሻው አንገት የሚያስደፋ ሆኗል። ከዛ ግን አሁን ድረስ መማር አልቻሉም። በወቅቱ ፍርሀት ነግሶባቸው የነበሩት ክፍሎች ያለ ልዩነት ተደራጅተው መመሪያ ይጠብቁ ነበር። ሌላው ወገን ደግሞ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ለመጥራትና ያዘዘው ሰላማዊ ተቃውሞ እንዳይደረግ እየፈራ አቋም ይቀይር ነበር። ፖለቲካኛ መሆንና አገር ወዳድ መሆን አንዳንዴ ይለያያሉ። አንድ ግምገማ ላይ እነዚህኑ ሰዎች ጥሩ አባቶች እንጂ ፖለቲከኞች አይደሉም ብለው ተርተውባቸዋል። እውነት ነው። መንግስት የሚፈራው ልደቱን ነበር። ልደቱ የገባው ፖለቲከኛ ነው። የዛሬን አያድርገው ማለቴ ነው።

ጎልጉል፦ ምን ለማድረግ ነበር የተደራጁት?
መልስ፦ ሌላ ጥያቄ የለህም?

ጎልጉል፦ ወደ ድልድዩ ምሳሌ እንመለስ፤
መልስ፦ አቶ መለስ ብቃት አላቸው በሚል በሁሉም የኢህአዴግ ፓርቲዎች ይታመናል። ስለዚህ ለሁሉም ፓርቲዎች እሳቸው የጋራ ነጥብ ናቸው። ድልድይ ናቸው። እሳቸው አመራር ላይ ከሌሉ ይህ ድልድይ ተሰበረ ማለት ነው። ድልድዩ ከተሰበረ ግንኙነት የለም ማለት ነው፡፡ኢህአዴግ የጋራ ነጠብ ከሌለው ምን ሊሆን እንደሚችል ለማወቅ ብዙ ምርምር አያስፈልግም።

ጎልጉል፦ እስከዛሬ እኮ አብረው እየሰሩ ነው፤ ድርጅት አለ፤ መዋቅር አለ፤ ችግር የለም እያሉ ነው፤
መልስ፦ ህወሃት ከኦህዴድ ወይም ከብአዴን ወይም ከደህዴን ጋር ፊት ለፊት ተወያይቶ ወይም ባንድ ጉዳይ ላይ በጋራ ተሟግቶ አያውቅም። መለስ ናቸው መሃል ላይ ሆነው የሚያገናኙዋቸው። ግንኙነቱም የተገነባው ለመለስ ስብዕና አምኖ በመገዛትና ትዕዛዝ በመቀበል እንጂ በሌላ መልኩ አይደለም። ይህ መለስ ላይ የተቸከለ ግንኙነት በእኩል ተሰሚነትና ፖለቲካዊ ሚና ላይ ያተኮረ ስላልነበር ጤነኛ አይደለም። በዚህ መነሻ አባል ድርጅቶቹ የሎሌነት ተግባር ሲያከናውኑ ኖረዋል። ይህንን እውነት ሁሉም ወገኖች ያውቁታል። አቶ መለስም በደንብ ጠንቅቀው ያውቁታል። የድራማው ተዋናይ እሳቸው ስለሆኑ በልዩነት ውስጥ የጋራ ነጥብ ሆነው ሁሉም “መለስ ከሌለ ህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ ባዶ ነው” እያሉ 21 ዓመታት ዘልቀዋል። ህወሃቶች በአጋር ፓርቲዎች እንደማይወደዱ ስለሚያውቁ ሁሌም ዝግጁ ናቸው። ሌላው ትልቁ ነጥብ ደግሞ በእነዚህ ድርጅቶች ውስጥ ያሉት ሎሌዎች ሰው መሆናቸውና ትልቁ ፍርድ ቤት የሚባለው ህሊናቸው ላለፉት ሃያ አንድ ዓመታት በግል “ተታለሃል፣ እስከመቼ መጫወቻ ትሆናለህ” እያለ ሲሞግታቸው ነው የኖረው። ለዚህ ነው የመለስ ከስልጣን መለየት የሚያመጣው ጣጣ ቀላል የማይሆነው። አማራው ላይ የተፈጸመው፣ ኦሮሞዎች ላይ የተካሄደውና የህወሃት ሰዎች “ለመግዛት የተፈጠርን ነን” በሚል የሚያሳዩዋቸው ንቀት ቀን የሚጠብቅ ነው። በዚህ ላይ ደግሞ …

ጎልጉል፦ በአሁኑ ሰዓት እኮ “ሰው ቢሄድ ስርአትና ተቋም ባለበት ይቀጥላል” የሚል አቋም እየተንጸባረቀ ነው ያለው፤
መልስ፦ አቶ ስብሃት (the kingmaker) ለአሜሪካ ሬዲዮ ይህንን ሲናገሩ ሰምቻለሁ። ጥያቄው ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ተቋም አለ ወይ የሚለው ነው። ተቋም የለም። ሁሉም ነገር አቶ መለስን ማዕከል ያደረገ ነው። መለስ መሞታቸው ይፋ ከሆነበት ቀን ጀምሮ የምንሰማው ምስክርነት ስለ መለስ ብቻ ነው። ባለስልጣኖችና አንጋፋ የፖለቲካው ፊታውራሪዎች ፋይዳ እንዳልነበራቸው ባደባባይ በተደጋጋሚ ባንደበታቸው እየተናገሩ ነው። ወደፊትም ይናገራሉ። አያያዛቸው የሚያቆም አይመስልም። ስለዚህ የኔ አስተያየት አያስፈልግም። የኢህአዴግ የፕሮፖጋንዳ ሰለባ የሆነው ህዝብና የበታች ካድሬ ለቅሶ ደራሽና ደረት ደቂ የሆኑት ወደው ሳይሆን በመለስ ስብእና ላይ የተመሰረተው ቅስቀሳና ትምህርት ሰለባ መሆናቸውን የሚያሳይ ነው። ለኔ ይህ ትልቅ አደጋ ነው። በብዙ መልኩ አደጋ አለ የሚባለውም ለዚህ ነው። ተቋም ቢኖር ኖሮ ምንም ስጋት የለም። ሁሉም ነገር ስርዓቱን ጠብቆ ይሄዳል። የአቶ መለስ መሞትም ስጋት ባልሆነም ነበር። ሌላው ትልቁ ስጋት አገሪቱ ውስጥ የተቋቋሙ፣ ህዝብ ላይ ንግድ ቤት የከፈቱ የስርዓቱ ውጤቶች ናቸው።…

ጎልጉል፦ እንዴት?
መልስ፦ ባለኝ መረጃ መሰረት የኔ ስጋት እነዚህ ያለቀረጥ የሚነግዱ፣ ገንዘብ የሚያቀባብሉ፣ የገንዘብ ዝውውር ላይ የተሰማሩ፣ ድርጅት ያላቸው፣ በቅጽበት ተመንጥቀው ባለሚሊዮኖች የሆኑ፣ የባንክ ብቸኛ ተጠቃሚዎች፣ ሸቃጮችና አወራራጆች ከትንሽ እስከትልቅ ስራውን የሚሰሩት ከባለስልጣናት ጋር ነው። ከመከላከያ አመራሮች ጋር ነው። ከደህንነትና ከዋናው የስልጣን እርከን ጋር በመመሳጠር ነው። እነዚህ ሁሉ የራሳቸው ትናንሽና ተንቀሳቃሽ መንግስታት አላቸው። አቶ መለስ በህይወት እያሉ ይህንን ጠንቅቀው ያውቁታል። ግን ልንካው ቢሉ ህይወታቸው አደጋ ውስጥ ይወድቃል። “ገምተናል” ሲሉ አስቀድመው የተናገሩት ይህንኑ ነው። እና ተቋም የለም። አቶ ስብሃትና አብረዋቸው ያሉ በትምክህት የሚያስቡት ከአሁን በኋላ ያለችውን ኢትዮጵያን ለመግዛት የተፈጠሩ፤ አቅሙና ችሎታው ያላቸው እነሱ ብቻ እንደሆኑ ነው። ግን አውነታው እነሱም ድርጅታቸውም ፍልስፍናቸውም መበስበሱ ነው። የመበስበሳቸው ምልክቶች ሞልተው ፈሰዋል። ሁሉም በዝርፊያ ባህር ውስጥ እየዋኙ ነው። የሚገርመው እንደዚህ በስብሰው አገርና ህዝብ ለመምራት በየቀኑ መገዘታቸው ነው፤

ጎልጉል፦ ባለሃብቶች የወደፊቷ ኢትዮጵያ እድል ፈንታ ላይ አሉታዊ ሚና አላቸው እያልክ ነው?
መልስ፦ ምን ጥርጥር አለው። ስርዓት ሲበሰብስ ልዩ ምልክቱ ትናንሽ መንግስታት ማቆጥቆጣቸው ነው። በኢህአዴግ መበስበስ አቶ መለስን ጨምሮ በርካቶች ይስማማሉ። ኢህአዴግ መዓዛውን አልቀየረም የሚሉት በአገሪቱ ድፍን ቆዳ ላይ የራሳቸውን መንግስት የተከሉ ተጠቃሚዎች ብቻ ናቸው። እነሱ ክሬሙን እየላሱ ስለሆነ የመበስበስ አደጋ አይታያቸውም። ስለመበስበስ ለማሰብም ጊዜ የላቸውም። የበሰበሰው ነገር ሲናድ የሚበላው ግን አስቀድሞ እነሱን ነው። ምክንያቱም አቶ መለስ የቆፈሩት ጉድጓድ በጣም ትልቅ ነው። እስካሁን የገባበት የለም። አፉን ከፍቶ የሚጠብቀው። ጉድጓዱ የሚውጠውን አሰፍስፎ እየጠበቀ ነው። በስብሶ ማበስበስ የመለስ ፍልስፍና ውጤቱ አፉን የከፈተውን ትልቅ ጉድጓድ መሙላት ነው። በነገራችን ላይ እነዚህ ሃብታሞች ናቸው ስርዓቱን በስለላና የተቃዋሚ ወዳጆችን በማባበል መረጃ በማሰባሰብ የሚያገለግሉት። የኪነት ሰዎችን በኮንሰርትና በበዓላት እያሳበቡ ኢህአዴግ ጉያ ውስጥ በመክተት ህዝብ የሚወዳቸውን ሰዎችና ባለሙያዎች የሚያዋርዱት። ታዋቂ ሰዎችና የሚወደዱ ባለሙያዎች የበሰበሰውን ሰፈር ሲቀላቀሉ ህዝብ ተስፋ ይቆርጣል። ሌላም ብዙ ስራ አላቸው።

ጎልጉል፦ ስለዚህ የተለየ ምንም አጋጣሚ የለም እያልክ ነው?
መልስ፦ እውነቱን መነጋገር የሚበጅ ይመስለኛል። በመጀመሪያ ደረጃ ህወሃት አናሳ ቁጥር ያላቸውን ይዞ፣ ከዚያም ወርዶ በጎጥና በቀበሌ ደረጃ የሚርመጠመጥ ድርጅት ነው። ሰፊ ቁጥር ያላቸውን ሁሉ በሃይል እየገዛ ያለው በነጻ አውጪ ስም ተሰይሞ መሆኑ ደግሞ ይገርማል። መንግስትም ሆኖ ነጻ አውጪ ነው። ነጻ አውጪ የት አገር ነው መንግስት የሚሆነው። ራሱ መንግስት ከሆነ ከማን ነው ነጻ የሚወጣው? የሚጨቆኑና ነጻ የሚሆኑ ዜጎች እንዳሉ በማስመሰል ህገመንግስታዊ ዋስትና ይዞ የሚጠባበቀው ለምንድነው? ከአንቀጽ 39 ጋር ቅበሩኝ የሚለው ለምንድነው? የፖለቲካው መክረርና የፖለቲካው ጨዋታ ዞሮ ዞሮ እዚህ ነጥብ ላይ ነው። በፍርሃትና በዚህ መልኩ መቀጠል ስለማይቻል “እነሱ ከሌሉ አገር ይፈርሳል” እያልን እንድንገዛ የተቀመጠልን ቀልድ ነው። ከትግራይ በላይ በርካታ አማራጭ ያላት ኤርትራ እንኳ የገባችበትን ጣጣ እያዩ … ለሁሉም መድሃኒቱ የተለየና ለአገራችንና ለሁሉም ወገኖች የሚበጅ የሰላምና የጨዋ ፖለቲከኞች ስምምነት ወሳኝ ነው። እንደ አማራጭ የሚቀርበው ታላቅ ጉዳይም እርቅና እርቅ ነው። ግን ህወሃት እርቅ ይቀበላል? አይመስለኝም። ከድርድር በኋላ ምን እንደሚከተል እኮ ያውቃሉ። እርቅ ሲፈጠር ተቋማት ይፈርሱና እንደገና ይዋቀራሉ። የግል ፋይል ይበረበራል። ነጻ ፍርድ ቤቶች ይቋቋማሉ። ጳጳሱ፣ ካድሬው፣ የፖለቲካው አስፈጻሚዎች፣ ኢህአዴግ ያፈራቸው ባለሃብቶች፣ ተጠቃሚዎች… አድርጉ የተባልነውን ስናደርግ ኖረን እንዴት እርቅ ትላላችሁ በሚል ተቃውሞ ያሰማሉ። አቶ መለስ እንዳሉትና እኔም እንደማምንበት ድርጅቱ ስለበሰበሰ የበሰበሰ ሞት አይፈራም አይነት አማራጭ የሚመርጡ ይመስለኛል። በሁሉም አቅጣጫ በወንጀልና ከሰው ህይወት ጋር በተያያዘ ያልተነካካ የለም። እንደዚህ ገምተው እንዴት እርቅ ይቀበላሉ? እስከሚችሉት ይሄዳሉ፤ ሆኖም ግን ዴዝሞንድ ቱቱ “ያለይቅርታ የወደፊት የሚባል ነገር የለም” እንዳሉት እኔም ምንም እንኳን ሁኔታው ከባድ ቢመስልም ለአዲሲቷ ኢትዮጵያ ምስረታ ዕርቅ መሞከር ያለበት አማራጭ ነው ብዬ ለማመን እፈልጋሁ፡፡

ጎልጉል፦ ቅድም “ጉድጓዱ የራቀ ነው” ስትል አቶ መለስን እያደነቅህ ነው? አይተኩም እያልክ ነው? ወይስ…
መልስ፦ በመጀመሪያ አቶ መለስን አድንቄ አላውቅም። በብዙ ጉዳዮች የምቃወማቸውና እንደ መሪ የማልቀበላቸው ሰው ናቸው። ተዘርዝሮ የማያልቅ ታሪካዊና ሰብአዊ በደል በሚመሩት ህዝብ ላይ የፈጸሙ ሰው ናቸው። ኢትዮጵያን አሳንሰው ወደብ አልባ በማድረግ ታሪካዊ ንብረቷን በግፍ አስነጥቀዋል። ከዚህ አንጻር በህይወት ቆይተው በህግ ቢዳኙና ፍርድ ቢሰጣቸው እያልኩ የምመኝ ሰው ነኝ። ስለእርሳቸው ሳስብ ውስጤ ይቆጣል። ግን የኢህአዴግንና የአመራሮቹን ሙሉ እውቅናና “ይችላል” የሚል ማዕረግ እንዳላቸው መዘንጋት አይቻልም። ለመልካም ቢጠቀሙበት የምመኘው እውቀት እንዳላቸውም እቀበላለሁ። ግን መሪ ለመሆን የማያበቃቸው በርካታ ምክንያቶች አሉ። ርዕሱ ሰፊ ነው። ዋናው ጉዳይ ያለው ይህ የአቶ መለስ እውቅና ከየት መጣ? የሚለው ነው?

ጎልጉል፦ አላደንቃቸውም ግን አይተኩም እያልክ ነው?
መልስ፦ አይደለም። አቶ መለስ ኢህአዴግ ውስጥ ሙሉ ተቀባይነት አላቸው። ይህን ተቀባይነት የፈጠሩት ራዕይ ያላቸውና አገር ወዳድ መሪ ሆነው አይደለም። ገድሎ በማዳን ነው። ገሎ በማዳን ፍልስፍናና ስልት ተክነዋል…

ጎልጉል፦ ገሎ ማዳን ምንድነው ?
መልስ፦ መለስ ስልታቸው ከገደሉ በኋላ “ላድንህ” በማለት የሚጫወቱት ጨዋታ ነው። ታምራት ላይኔ በወንጀልና በሙስና የታጠበ ሰው ነበር። ይህ ሲሆን አስቀድመው ማስቆም እየቻሉ ዝም ያሉት አውቀው ነው። መጨረሻ ላይ ግን ፓርላማ ፊት ደጋፊዎቹንና ወዳጆቹን እስኪያሳፍር ድረስ ራሱን አዋርዶ ወደቀ። ላድንህ የሚለው የመለስ ስልት ቅድመ ሁኔታው “ራስህን አዋርድና አድንሃለው” የሚል ነው ፤ አቶ ታምራት በስኳር አስመስሎ ራሱን አዋረደ። ራሱን ባደባባይ ገደለ። ከዛ ተወረወረ። የበደለውን ህዝብ ይቅርታ እንዲል ሲጠየቅ እንኳ አልቀበልም የሚለው ላድንህ ሲባል በገባው ቃል መሰረት ነው። ይህ ያለፈ ታሪክ ነው። ግን ነጻ ሆኖ እንኳ መናገር እንዳይችል የሚጫወትበትን ድንበር ሳይቀር አበጅተውለታል። ጭንቅላቱን ቦርቡረውታል። ልክ እንደ ታምራት ሁሉ በ“ላድንህ” ጨዋታ ሁሉም ባለስልጣን በበሰበሰው ስርዓት ውስጥ አብረው እንዲጨማለቁ ተደርገዋል። በነገራችን ላይ ኢህአዴግ በሰበሰ ስንል ሰዎቹን እንጂ ሌላ ግዑዝ ነገር ባለመሆኑ በመበስበስ ባህር ውስጥ እየዋኙ አሉ። ከዚህ ባህር መውጣት አይችሉም። ልክ እንደ እውነተኛው አሳ እነዚህ ሰዎች ከበሰበሱበት ባህር ውስጥ ከወጡ ስለሚሞቱ ባህሩን ከማስፋት ውጪ ሌላ አማራጭ የላቸውም። የበስብሶ ማበስበሱ ዋና አላማ በበሰበሱበት መጠን አሽከር በመሆን የታዘዙትን ሁሉ ያለማቅማማት እንዲያከናውኑ ማድረግ ነው። ግደሉ ሲባሉ ይገላሉ። ቤተሰብህን አሳልፈህ ስጥ ሲባሉ ይስማማሉ። ከሰውነት ባህሪያቸው አርቀዋቸው እቃ አድርገዋቸዋል። ትንሽ ካፈነገጡና ሰላምታቸውን እንኳ ከቀየሩ ፋይላቸው ይከፈትና ራሳቸውን አዋርደው ይጣላሉ ወይም ይሰወራሉ። ራሳቸውን በድርጅት ግምገማ አባላትና ከፍተኛ አመራሮች ፊት “እኔ ጸረ ህዝብ ነኝ” ብለው ይረግማሉ። የሚገርመው…

ጎልጉል፦ መለስ ራሳቸው የዘረጉት ስልት ተጎጂ ያደርጋቸዋል የሚሉ ወገኖችም አሉ፤
መልስ፦ መለስ ከትግራይም ወርደው አድዋ፣ ከአድዋም ወርደው በሰፈርና በስጋ ዝምድና ወደማመን ደረጃ ላይ ደርሰዋል። በሙስና እያበሰበሱ ለመምታት የዘረጉት መዋቅር የእያንዳንዱን ባለስልጣን መረጃ ያቀብላቸዋል። ግን ርምጃ አይወስዱም። እንዲያውም አስፈጻሚዎች ርምጃ ለመውስድ ሲዘጋጁ “እረፉ” የሚል መልስ ነው የሚሰጡት። እንግዲህ በሙስና መረብ ውስጥ የተሳሰሩ ቀላል የማይባል ሃብት እንዲሰበስቡ ተመቻችቷል። በቅጽበት ከባዶ ተነስተው ባለ ሚሊዮኖች የሆኑት የገነቡት ቡድንና የፈጠሩት መረብ እንዲሁ በቀላሉ መለስ ሊጫወቱበት የሚችሉት ሃይል አልሆነም። ደግሞም…

ጎልጉል ፦ ላቋርጥህና በግልጽ መለስ ችግር ውስጥ ነበሩ?
መልስ፦ ራሱን ባመመው ቁጥር ፓናዶል መዋጥ የለመደ ሰው ያለ ፓናዶል ጤና አይሰማውም። ፓናዶል ከሌለ ራሱን ያመዋል። ፓናዶል በአገሪቱ ከጠፋ ችግሩ ይባባሳል። አቶ መለስ ለህዝብ ሳይሆን እሳቸው በፈጠሩት የበሰበሰ ባህር ውስጥ ላሉት ሁሉ እንደ ፓናዶል ይመሰላሉ። መለስ አንድ ነገር ከሆኑ ወይም መለስ አናት ላይ በቀድሞው ሃይላቸው መቀመጥ ካልቻሉ የሚታመሙ ብዙ ናቸው። ይህ አደጋ መተራመስ ይፈጥራል። እርስ በርስ እንተዋወቃለን። አሁን እንግዲህ ሁሉም ነገር አብቅቷል። መለስ አልፈዋል። ተቀብረዋል። አሁን የምናወራው ስለቀጣዩ ነው። መለስ አደጋ ውስጥ የመቆየታቸው ጉዳይ አብቅቶለታል።

ጎልጉል፦ ስለዚህ?
መልስ፦ ግልጽ እኮ ነው። መለስ ሁለት ወይም ከዚያ በላይ መልክ ያላቸውን ሰዎች በልዩነት ውስጥ ይዘው ኖረዋል። ተጠቃሚ የሆኑት ክፍሎች ሃብታቸው እየገፋቸው ሳያስቡት የራሳቸውን መንግስትና አቅም ገንብተዋል። ህግና ደንብ አይመለከተንም የሚሉ ሆነዋል። ሚኒስትርና ከፍተኛ የደህንነት ሰዎችንና የጸጥታ አመራሮችን ሳይቀር እንዳሻቸው የማዘዝና የማሰማራት ደረጃ ደርሰዋል። እነዚህን ክፍሎች አክብሮና እየተንከባከቡ ከመኖር ውጪ አማራጭ የለም። መለስ ሲመሩት የነበረው ኢህአዴግ አባላቱ ሁሉ የሚያወሩት ይህንኑ ነው። ደቡብ ችግር አለ። ሙስና አለ። ፕሬዚዳንቱና ሌሎች ባለስልጣናት እስከ ቀበሌ በወረደ መዋቅር ንግድ ውስጥ ገብተዋል። ይህ ያደባባይ ሚስጥር ነው። የደቡብን ፕሬዚዳንት ለመንካት ሲታሰብ “ሲዳማ ያምጻል” ይባልና ይሸፋፈናል። ህዝብ የሚዘርፈውን መሪ አይወድም። ዝርፊያው በሰንሰለት ስለሆነ … አንዱ ጋር ከተነካ ተጓቶ፣ ተተልትሎ፣ ተስፋፍቶ መለስ ጉያ ውስጥ ይገባል። ስለዚህ ማን ማንን ይነካል። የበታች ካድሬው ይህን ያውቃል። በየግምገማው ያነሳ ነበር። ሰፊ ጉዳይ ቢሆንም መለስ ሁሌም በጉድጓዱ ጠርዝ ላይ ናቸው። ጋምቤላ፣ አማራ፣ ኦሮምያ፣ ቤኒሻንጉል… ሌብነት አለ። ትግራይ ሙስና ሰፈር አለ። ሀረሪ የውሃ ቱቦ ዘርግተናል ብለው ቦይ አስቆፍረው ቧንቧ ሳይቀብሩ አፈር መልሰው ፓርላማ “ህዝቡን ንጹህ ውሃ ልናጠጣ ነው” እያሉ ሪፖርት ያቀርቡ ነበር። ከዚህ በላይ መበስበስ ምን አለ? ስርዓቱ ስለበሰበሰ እድሜውም የመሻገቱን ያህል ነው። ሙስናውና ንግዱ አንድ ላይ ተሳስመው መጓዛቸው የስርዓቱን ፖለቲካዊ ጉልበት አሽመድምዶታል። ይህ ሁሉ መለስ ያውቁታል። በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ መለስ የገፏቸው ዋና የህወሃት ሰዎች በተለያየ ደረጃ ደጋፊዎቻቸው አሉ። የከፋውና የመረረው ህዝብም አለ…

ጎልጉል፦ ህወሃቶች ችግር ካለ አይጣሉም ብለኸኝ ነበር፤
መልስ፦ አዎ! ዝርዝር ማቅረብ አያስፈልግም። በሌላ በኩል ግን መለስ አመራሩ ላይ ስለሌሉ ያ የጋራ ነጥብ የሚባለው ነገር አይኖርም። የጋራ ነጥብ ሊሆን የሚችል የሚታመንበት ሰውም አልተዘጋጀም። ትርምሱ የሚነሳው እዚህ ላይ ነው። ፖለቲካ የሚዛን ጨዋታ ነው። አቶ ስዬ ያላቸው ተሰሚነት ቀላል አይደለም። ሌሎች በውስጥም ሆነ በውጭ ያሉ ንቅናቄውን አጡዘው ለውጥ እንዲመጣ ማድረግ የሚችሉ አሉ። አርከበ ህወሃት ሊቀመንበር እንዲሆኑ የመረጣቸው ሰው ናቸው። እሳቸው ቢያፈነግጥ ሊንዱት ይችላል። አርከበ አዲስ አበባ “ለምን ፎቶህን ሰቀልክ” ተብለው ከህዝብ እንዲደበቁና የገነቡት ስም ሙሉ በሙሉ እንዲቆሽሽ ዘመቻ የተፈጸመባቸው ሰው ናቸው። ውጪ ያሉት የውህዳኖቹ ጥላ አለ። ይህ መላምት ከመሰለ ባጭሩ የምናገረው መለስ ሃላፊነቱን ስፍራ ላይ ስለሌሉ ስለሚሆነው ነው። ምንም ሆነ ምን ውስጥ ያሉትም ሆነ ውጭ ያሉት ህወሃቶች በመለስ መወገድ እንጂ በህወሃት መቀበር የተለያየ አቋም አላቸው ብሎ ማሰብ የዋህነት ይመስለኛል። ከህወሃት ጋር ጸብ የላቸውም። ጸባቸው የህወሃትን መነሻ አሰናክለው የትግራይ ህዝብ በሌሎች ዘንድ እንደ ጠላት እንዲታይ አድርገዋል ከተባሉት አቶ መለስ ጋር ነው። በየትኛውም መስፈርት ለውጥ የሚካሄድ ከሆነ በትግራይ ሰዎች ፈቃድና የበላይነት እንዲሆን የሚፈለግና እየተሰራበት ያለ ይመስለኛል። አሁንም መላምት ካልተባለ ማብራሪያ ማቅረብ ይቻላል።

ጎልጉል፦ መለስ ከሌሉ አቻ ፓርቲዎች የመሪነት ወንበር የመያዝ የቆየ ቂማቸውን ይፋ በማውጣት ይጠይቃሉ ብለኸኝ ነበር፤
መልስ፦ አዎ። ጥያቄው መነሳቱ አይቀርም። ካድሬውና የበታች አመራሩ ድሮም ጀምሮ ሃሳቡ አለው። ግምገማ እየተባለ በሰርጎ ገቦች እየተሰለሉ እየተወገዱ እንጂ እስከዛሬም አይቆይም ነበር። ያም ሆነ ይህ መለስ ስለሌሉ የወንበር ቡቅሻው የማይቀር ነው። በየድርጅቱ አመራሮች ዘንድ የሌባና ፖሊስ፣ የሃይል ሚዛንና ቅኝት፣ አሰላለፍን የማሳመር ሰልፍ እየታየ ነው። አሁን በዝርዝር የማልናገረው አንዳንድ የመናድ ምልክቶችም አሉ። ይህ ሁሉ እንዳለ ሆኖ ግን ህወሃቶች የሃይል ሚዛናቸው ባለበት እንዲቀጥል የሚቻላቸውን እያደረጉ ነው። የመከላከያና የደህንነት አቅማቸውም ይህንኑ ለማድረግ ስለሚያግዛቸው የወንበር ጥያቄው እንዲሁ በዋዛ የሚከናወን አይሆንም።

ጎልጉል፦ አቶ መለስ ልማታዊ ስለሚሏቸው ባለሃብቶች አንስተን ብንጨርስ?
መልስ፦ መጀመሪያ ስለ ባለስልጣኖች ላክል። አቶ ታምራት ለምን የሚያውቀውን ምስጢር አይናገርም? አቶ ስዬ ይምልለት ስለነበረው ስርዓትና ሲመራው ስለነበረው ኤፈርት ለምን አይተነፍስም? አቶ ገብሩ አስራት የህወሃትን ጸረ ህዝብነት ለምን ይፋ አያደርግም? በረሃ እያሉ በየዋህነት ከድርጅቱ የወጡ ወይም እነሱ እንደሚሉት “መለስን በመናቅ” ከተሸወዱት በስተቀር ስለ መለስ የሚናገሩ የሉም። ቢናገሩም ሁሉም የሚያውቀውን ተራና ጥልቅ ያልሆነ ነገር ነው። ባለስልጣናት ጥይት የማይበሳው መስኮት ያለው ቤት አስገንብተው በዶላር እያከራዩ ገንዘብ ሲሰበስቡ … ስለ ባለሃብቶች ጫናና አደገኛነት በግልጽ የሚታይ ስለሆነ በዝርዝር መናገሩ አይጠቅምም። አንድ ጄኔራል ባደባባይ ነጋዴ ሆኖ፣ ኢንቬስተር ሆኖ፣ … ሩቅ ሳንሄድ ደንበል ህንጻ የተገነባው ያለ አንዳች ማስያዣ ወይም ዋስትና በወቅቱ የልማት ባንክ ቦርድ ሰብሳቢ በነበሩት አቶ ግርማ ብሩ ትዕዛዝ በተወሰደ ከ300 ሚሊዮን ብር በላይ ብድር ነው። ጉዳዩ በጥቆማ የኢኮኖሚ ደህንነቶች ጋር ደረሰና በቁጥጥር ስር እንዲውሉ ተወሰነ። ፖሊሶች በቁጥጥር ስር ሊያደርጓቸው ሲመጡ አሁን የማልገልጸው ቦታ ሰውየው ተደበቀው ራሳቸውን ቀይረው በፖሊሶች ፊት አመለጡና ያጋጠማቸውን ለወዳጃቸው አስታወቁ። በማግስቱ ህንጻቸውን ቆመው ማስገንባት ቀጠሉ። ቆይተው ብድራቸውን መክፈል አልቻሉም ተብሎ ህንጻው በጨረታ ሊሸጥ ቀናቶች ሲቀሩ የኢትዮጵያ መንገዶች ባለስልጣን በአንድ ቀን ውስጥ የ900 ሚሊዮንና የ600 ሚሊዮን የመንገድ ስራ ውል አጸደቀላቸው። በጋዜጦች ላይ ደንበል በጨረታ ሊሸጥ ነው እየተባለ፤ በጎን ጨረታ አሸነፉ ይባላል። ሌላው ከፍተኛ የግብር እዳ ያለባቸው አውራ ባለሃብት የግብር እዳቸውን የሚገልጽ ሰነድ እያሰረቁ፣ የሚጠሉትን ባለስልጣን እያስነሱ፣ የሚፈልጉትን እያሾሙ፣ የፈለጉትን እያሳሰሩ፣ ጥቅም ያለበትን የህዝብ ሃብትና ድርጅት ወደ ግላቸው እንዲዞር እያስደረጉ፣ የውጭ ባለሃብት ፊትለፊት እያቆሙ ያገራቸውን ባንክ የሚያዘርፉ፣ … ብዙ ማለት ይቻላል። ዞሮ ዞሮ ሁሉም ባለሃብቶች ማለት ይቻላል መለስ እንደሚሉት ሳይሆን በብስባሽ ላይ እንደሚበቅል ተክል ናቸው። ለራሳቸው እንጂ ለአገር የሚጠቅሙ አይደሉም። ያላቸው አማራጭ በመለስ ስም እየማሉ አስመስሎ የመንፈስና የይታይ ይታይ ግብር እያስገቡ ከመኖር የዘለለ አማራጭ የላቸውም። ችግር ከመጣ ያ አፉን የከፈተው ጉድጓድ እነሱን አይጠየፍም።

ጎልጉል፦ ህዝብ ለመለስ አክብሮቱን በለቅሶና በተሰበረ ሃዘን ሲገልጽ ሰንብቷል። ባለሃብቶች፣ የኪነት ባለሙያዎችና የኪነት ሰዎች… ሃዘናቸውን ገልጸዋል። የአፍሪካ መሪዎች፣ አሜሪካና የአውሮፓ ህብረት መለስን አወድሰዋል። ምን አስተያየት አለህ?
መልስ፦ መለስ በርካታ ስራዎች ሰርተዋል። ኢትዮጵያን የግለሰቦች መብት ሳይሸራረፍ የተከበረባት ዲሞክራሲያዊና የሰብአዊ መብት የማይጣስባት አገር አድርገው ሊመሩዋት ይችሉ ነበር። ነጻ ፕሬስ የሌለበት፣ መሰብሰብና መሰለፍ የማይቻልበት፣ የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች በነጻነት የማይንቀሳቀሱበት፣ ጋዜጠኞችና የፖለቲካ መሪዎችና ደጋፊዎች የሚታሰሩበት፣ አማራጭ የሚባል ነገር የከለከሉ ሰው ነበሩ። አትሰብሰብ፣ አትናገር፣ አትቃወም፣ በዘር ካልሆነ አትደራጅ፣ የተባለና የታፈነ ህዝብ እንዴት ሃዘን ይቀመጣል? ታሪካዊና የአፋር ክልል አካል የሆነው ወደቡ የተነጠቀበት ህዝብ እንዴት እምባው ይፈሳል? በአንድ ብሄር አባላት የስለላና የወታደራዊ አፈና መዋቅር እየተረገጠ ያለ ህዝብ፣ ማዳበሪያና የርሃብ ማስታገሻ ስንዴ ለፖለቲካ መጠቀሚያ ተደርጎ በጠኔ ለሚሞቱና አንዱ መለስን ደግፎ ጠግቦ ሲያድር፣ እሳቸውን የማይደግፍ በረሃብ እየሞተ እንዴት ያለ ሃዘን ነው? የአንድ ብሄር የበላይነት ነግሶ ዜጎች በተወለዱበት ቀዬያቸው ተሸማቀው የሚኖሩት በማን መሪነትና ማን በነደፈው የአፈና መዋቅር ነው? የአሜሪካና የአውሮፓን መንግስታት በታማኝነት ማገልገል ቀዳሚ መርሃቸውና ከሽፍትነት ወደ ቤተመንግስት የተዛወሩበት ስልትም በመሆኑ ቢያወድሷቸው አይገርምም።

አንድ ጥያቄ ላንሳና ልጨርስ ነፈጠኛ፣ ጨቋኝ፣ አድሃሪ፣ አስነዋሪ ተግባር የፈጸመ እየተባለ ላለፉት 21 ዓመታት የተሰደበው የአማራ ህዝብ፣ ለም መሬቱን ተነጠቆ ከትውልዱ የተፈናቀለ ህዝብ፣ ከየክልሉ ነፍጥ አንግቶ ለማስገበር የመጣ ወራሪ እየተባለ የሚፈናቀለው የአማራ ህዝብ አቶ መለስ ምኑ ስለሆኑ ደረት ይመታል? ስለምን ለመለስ ያለቅሳል? “አማራው ይደራጅ” በሚል ትግል ውስጥ ገብተው ህይወታቸው ያለፈው ፕሮፌሰር አስራት እንዲታሰሩ ለፈረደ መሪ የመንዝ ህዝብ አንድ ዘለላ እንባ እንዴት ይወጣዋል? ወልቃይትንና መተማን (ሁመራን) የተዘረፈው የአማራ ሕዝብ ሙሾ የሚያወርደው ለማን ነው? መሬት ኦነግ እየተባለ የተጨፈጨፈና አሁን ድረስ አስር ላይ የሚገኙ ዜጎች እንዴት ለአቶ መለስ ደረታቸውን ይመታሉ? ወደቡን በግፍ ሲወሰድበት ድምጹን እንኳን እንዳያሰማ የታፈነ ሕዝብ እንዴት እምባ ይወጣዋል? በጋምቤላ በአቶ መለስ ቀጥተኛ ትዕዛዝ የተገደሉትና መሬታቸው የተነጠቀው አኙዋኮች እስካሁን ድረስም ልጆቻቸው እየተገደሉባቸው ያሉ እናቶች እንዴት ነው የሚያለቅሱት? ከተለያዩ ዩኒቨርሲቲዎችና ኮሌጆች የታሰሩ፣ የተገረፉ፣ የተገደሉ… በአገራቸው ጉዳይ “አያገባችሁም” ተብለው የተባረሩ ምሁራኖች ምን ተፈጠረ ብለው ነው ለቅሶ የሚቀመጡት? ስለተባረሩ ነው? “ከእናንተ የእኛ ካድሬዎች ይሻላሉ” ተብለው ስለተሰደቡና ስለተንቋሸሹ ነው የሚያለቅሱት? በ1997 ምርጫ ወቅት አልሞ ተኳሾች አሁንም ከአቶ መለስ በተሰጠ ቀጥተኛ ትዕዛዝ ግንባርና ደረት እየመረጡ ልጆቻቸውንና ቤተሰቦቻቸውን የደፉባቸው ሰዎች እንዴት ለቅሶ ይቀመጣሉ? አቶ መለስ የጦር ኃይሎች ጠቅላይ አዛዥ እንደመሆናቸው በእርሳቸው ትዕዛዝ የተላከው ጦር ሠራዊት በኦጋዴን ከጨፈጨፉት ወገኖቻችን በተጨማሪ አዛውንት እናቶችንና እርጉዝ ሴቶችን እንዲሁም ጨቅላ ወንዶችንም ሳይቀር አስገድደው በመድፈር አሰቃቂ ወንጀል የተፈጸመበት ህዝብ እንዴት ነው ለአቶ መለስ “ዋይ” ብሎ የሚያለቅሰው? ይህንን ጥያቄ መመለስ አግባብ ነው። ሃዘኑ በድርጅታዊ ስራ፣ ደስታው በድርጅታዊ ስራ፣ ስልጣኑ በሞኖፖል፣ የሚነግደው በውሱንና ምርጥ ዘር፣ የሚበደረው ለራሳቸው ሰው፣ የሚገነቡና የሚዝናኑ እነሱ… ሃዘኑ ግን የሁላችን!!

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ENTC Sweden chapter public meeting preparation finalized

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

The Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC) will host town hall meeting in Stockholm, Sweden on May 26 2013, to discuss the process of forming an all-inclusive transitional government in Ethiopia. The meeting is part of the series of meetings throughout the world over the next months to discuss the need for removing the dictatorship in Ethiopia and replacing it with an all-inclusive transitional government. The original date was changed due to an overlap with an event organized by our Muslim brothers and sisters which fell on the same day. ENTC Sweden chapter wishes to give our Muslim brothers and sisters in Stockholm to participate in both events without scheduling conflicts.

Details here (pdf)

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Bahr Dar and the wonderful art of silence.

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013

Bahr Dar and the wonderful art of silence. By Yilma Bekele
Last Sunday May 12 a Federal police officer opened fire and murdered twelve or eighteen people depending on who is doing the counting in the City of Bahr Dar by the shores of Lake Tana. It was a random killing and the only reason he stooped shooting was because he run out of bullets. What makes this crime unique is that it was committed by some one that is trained to protect and serve. At least in most places that is what we think of the armed officers that move around with loaded guns amongst us. I said in most places, our Ethiopia is not such a place.
The Federal Police serve the TPLF party that is in charge of our country. Meles Zenawi set up the Federal Police to be accountable to him and his party and used this force to quell down any kind of native unrest against his group. The Federal Police is the most fearsome weapon of the TPLF party. Like everything else concocted by the late criminal the Federal Police is a uniquely Ethiopian force supposedly created to resemble other Federal institutions in the developed West. The name is the same but the purpose and mission is different.
In Ethiopia the TPLF party’s Federal Police is an instrument of terror. Their motto is shoot first, ask questions later. You will not find a single Ethiopian that would not be engulfed with fear when the Federal Police is mentioned. The force was purposely designed to instill fear. From what I know of the Federal system here in the US the FBI does not involve itself in local matters. The local Police that are answerable to the Mayor or elected official is the first line of response. The State Police is under the elected Governor who is accountable to the citizen. There is a clear line of jurisdiction built into the system.
Meles Zenawi’s Ethiopia is different. The Federal Police force under him is the ultimate arbitrator of justice or injustice in this case. The Different Kililis or Bantustans have no power or authority on this rogue force. No sane Kilil head will challenge the power of the Federal Police. I can safely say that regarding all Killis except the Sovereign State of Tigrai. Abay Woldu would not allow a Kenbata, Oromo, Amhara or Somali Federal Police to roam around in his State with immunity.
When the late dictator copied the Kilil system from Mussolini with upgrades from the South African Bantustan system he made a few improvements of his own. Bahr Dar is the capital city of the Amhara Kilil. What in the world is a Federal Police doing in the streets of Bahr Dar with a loaded is gun is one of the peculiarities of the Ethiopian scene. That practice is one copied from Apartheid system. Why the local Police are not enough to keep the citizens of Bahr Dar safe is not clear at all.
Thus on the evening May 12 a certain Federal Police officer opened fire and killed all he can find in his aim of fire. No one confronted the individual and once he run out of bullets in his high capacity gun he left the area. Things got more interesting after that. First there was a lot of argument regarding the numbers killed. Apparently counting dead bodies lying on the street is not an easy task. Before the blood was dry on the highway Awramba a new and obscure Website here in the US that seems to be on the know felt it was important to label the ethnic origin of the killer as if that will make the heinous act more palatable or clear.
This childish attempt to misinform was followed by the TPLF party in a more bizarre press release that defiantly can only happen in a country where there is no independent press to raise questions and demand answers or by a government that does not have an iota of respect for its citizens.

According to the Ethiopian government the above is the picture of individual that committed the crime. His dead body was fished out of a river. They did not bother to name the river. A body left in the water for a day or two will show all the symptoms of death by drowning. Our killer shows none of the effects of being in the water dead. His shoes are polished, his uniform is crisp and the blood on his face is not of someone left in water for any length of time. Do you think the rope tied around his feet is how he was dragged out? It is just curious he did not get dirty and with all that blood on his face no fish bothered to nibble. It is a miracle.
The story did not end there. While the Federal Police was displaying his dead body the Kilil administrator was issuing press release regarding the ongoing search to look for the criminal. It is just two versions of the same lie. The newly minted Prime Minter whose force murdered fourteen people did not even bother to go to the scene and console the victims’ families. He choose to send a high sounding message promising further investigation. What is the death of fourteen citizens when you can stay in the palace and play host to some Arab delegation? To add insult to injury several high ranking officers of the Federal Police in full uniform showed up at the funeral location the next day. I can see the whole drama from here with the officers arriving in their four wheel Range Rovers accompanied by zillions of security while descending on the poor folks sitting in a tent trying to console each other.
A week later the Federal Police put out a press release that they have detained ten members of their force for ‘neglecting and failing to act’. Do you mean to tell us there were armed police around while he was shooting randomly and they just watched, or did they know he was intending to do just that and they kept quiet which one is it my dear Workeneh?
No matter how you look at it the whole story is bizarre. Starting with the action of the insane individual to the conflicting press reports by the officials and the reporting by ETV that doesn’t even ask why the criminal’s clothes don’t show any signs of being in the water – it is vintage Woyane drama.
The report by the Diaspora press was something to behold too. We were told the citizens of Bahr Dar were fuming. They were showing signs of anger and were seating ready to let of steam. No adjective was spared to describe the mental and physical anguish of Bahr Darians. Thus I waited to see how this criminal act of an invading force was going to manifest itself by the citizen reacting back. Pictures of Palestinian citizens under the watchful eyes of the Israeli Army burying their dead clad in their beloved flag and defiant in their tone passed thru my head. I remembered the scene from Cairo where the citizens carried the dead bodies of their martyrs shot by the Mubarak’s police during the Arab spring as it flashed vividly in front of my eyes.
Nothing like that happened. Someone once said we Ethiopians have even lost our capacity to be angry. The best explanation that comes to mind is what was said by our Holy Father Abune Melkesedek explaining the silence of his people a while back as ‘Bechelema Gelmecha’. That is what took place in the city of Bahr Dar ‘Bechelema Gelmecha’. It must be very satisfying to the individuals but no one saw it. What is the point is a good question to ask. How is the evil doer going to understand the hurt inflicted on those families and the entire city? Is a simple defiant procession to protest and let the regime know the citizens feeling much to expect? Isn’t there one brave soul in the whole of Bahr Dar that is not afraid to respond in kind?
Well to settle the matter once and for all the Woyane government brought in ‘Special Forces’ unit to Bahr Dar to even control the thought of defiance let alone the act. I still do not understand the presence of all this armed groups in such an idyllic location. Bahr Dar is far from any border and currently there is no one threating the peace and harmony of the city. I just don’t understand why our cities are military camps during a peaceful time. I also don’t understand why we have so many people serving the military while so many of our schools are starving for teachers and books, our hospitals and clinics are poorly stocked and our children and grandparents are fed once a day if lucky. I guess it is all about priorities. The regimes first order is to protect itself from the people and it is perfectly understandable budget allocation favors security over anything else. As for the citizens of Bahr Dar I say to you no one can save you from yourself you just have to figure a way out of the current dilemma of occupation by an outside force of course in collaboration with you present day bandas. It has been done before and I have no reason to think you will not rise up to the challenge. We can echo your scream from afar but there is just no one like you to do the job. Good Luck!

Tags: Bahr Dar Ethiopia, Ethiopia Corruption, Ethiopia Human Rights, Ethiopian Federal Police, Meles Zenawi, TPLF, Workeneh Gebeyehu, yilma bekele
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የህወሃት ማበስበሱ ቁማርና የደኅንነቱ ሚና

Monday, May 20th, 2013

የቀዩ መስመር ሰላባዎች?

By Goolgule.com

May 20, 2013

መለስ ህይወታቸው እንዳለፈ ከተሰጡት አስተያየቶችና ትንቢቶች መካከል ቀዳሚው የመለስ ሞት ለህወሃት ጊዜውን ጠብቆ የሚፈነዳ ፈንጂ መሆኑ ነበር። በዚሁ በጎልጉል የድረገጽ ጋዜጣ በስልጣን ላይ ያሉ የኢህአዴግ ዲፕሎማት “መለስ የቆፈሩት ጉድጓድ” በሚል ርዕስ በሰጡት ቃለ ምልልስ ይህ እንደሚከሰት ቁልጭ አድርገው ተናግረው ነበር።

መለስ አፍነው የያዟቸው የፖለቲካ ችግሮች ጊዜያቸውን እየጠበቁ የሚፈነዱና በመጨረሻም ፓርቲውን እንደሚፈረካክሰው የተገለጸው በየደረጃ የሚፈነዱት ችግሮች እየበረከቱ በመሄዳቸው ነበር። መለስ አፍነው የያዟቸው ችግሮች የእርስ በርስ መበላላት ደረጃ እንደሚያደርሱ በርካታ ወገኖችና መገናኛዎች ጎልጉልን ጨምሮ አመላክተዋል። አሁን አሁን ትንቢቱ የፍጻሜው ጅማሬ ላይ እንደሚገኝ የሚናገሩም አሉ።

የፖለቲካ አቋም ልዩነት ሳይኖር የአስተሳሰብ ልዩነት ማራመድ በህወሃት ዘንድ አይቻልም። ከተሞከረም ክህደት ነው፤ መፈንቅለ መንግስት የማካሄድ ያህል ነው። የርዕዮተ ዓለም ለውጥ የማቀጣጠል ያህል ያስፈርጃል። ሽብርተኛ ያስብላል። ከቶውንም ተቀባይነት ስለሌለው ድንበር ተበጅቶለታል። ድንበሩም “ቀይ መስመር” በመባል ይታወቃል። የ”ቀይ መስመር” ሃሳብ አመንጪና ደራሲ አቶ መለስ ናቸው። “በጠቅላይ ሚኒስትርነት ማዕረግ የቀድሞው ፕሬዚዳንት ዶ/ር ነጋሶ ጊዳዳ” በሚል የምጸት ስም የሚጠሩት አቶ ሃይለማርያም ደሳለኝም ይህንን የቀይ መስመር ጽንሰ ሃሳብ ለንግግር ያህል ይጠቀሙበታል።

ቀይ መስመር የሚሰመርበት በውል ተለይቶ የተቀመጠ ውስን ጊዜ የለውም። መስመሩ ሁሌም አለ። ሁሉም ቆመውበታል። ከልምድ እንደሚታየው በህወሃት ህመም ኢህአዴግ ሲያተኩሰው በድንገት መስመሩ በደማቁ እንዲቀባ ይደረጋል። መስመሩ የሚቀባበት ደማቅ ቀለም የሚቀዳው አቶ መለስ አፈር ሳይልሱ “በስብሰናል” ሲሉ ከሰየሙት የኢህአዴግ የ”ማበስበሻ” ባህር ውስጥ ነው።

በኢህአዴግ የ”ማበስበሻ” ባህር ውስጥ ያልተነከረ የለም። በዚህ ባህር ውስጥ ሆነው የሚንቦጫረቁት ተቆጥረው አይሰፈሩም። አዲስ አበባ በአራቱም ማዕዘን፣ በክልልና በክልል ዋና ዋና ከተሞች፣ እንዲሁም በተለያዩ አገራት የሚሰነፍጠው የባህሩ “ግልማት” የዜጎችን የመኖር ህልውና ከተፈታተነ ቆይቷል።

በባህሩ ውስጥ በመርከብ ሆነው በጀልባ የሚቀዝፉትን የሚመለከቱ አሉ። ጀልባ የሚቀዝፉት ጌቶቻቸውንና “ልዕልቷን” እያዩ ሽታውን በለመዱት ባህር ውስጥ ይምነሸነሻሉ። በዛው ባህር ውስጥ በደረታቸው እየዋኙና እየተንቦጫረቁ ግብር የሚያስገቡ አሉ። “ዲጂታል” የሚባሉትና “ምስለኔዎቹ” ደሞ የማበስበሻውን “መረቅ የማቅለሚያ ማዕድን” ይዘው አራት ኪሎ የባህሩ አናትና ማማ ላይ ሆነው ሁሉንም ይመራሉ። የባህሩን የመጫወቻ ህግ የሚበላቸውና ከበሰበሰው ባህር ወደ እቶን የሚወረወሩት “የቀይ መስመር ሰለባዎች ” ይለያሉ። ለይተው ሲጨርሱ ለባህሩ ካፒቴን የፌዴራል የስነ ምግባርና ጸረ ሙስና ኮሚሽን ያቀብሉታል። በዚሁ ሂደት ይቀጥላል። አዲስ ነገር የለም። ሊኖርም አይችልም። ይህ መነሻ ነው። ወደ ጉዳዩ እናምራ።

የሰሞኑ ወግ – ኢህአዴግ አመረረ ወይስ ቀለደ?

ሰሞኑን ኢህአዴግ “ሙስና ላይ ዘመትኩ። በህዝብ ጥቆማና ትብበር ሙስና የተንሰራፋበትን ተቋም አበራየሁት። የህዝብ ትብብር አይለየኝ …” በማለት የፍርድ ቤት አሰራርና ህጋዊ የፍርድ አካሄድ እያስኮመኮመ የሚያውጀው አዋጅ ያስገረማቸው ክፍሎች “እንዴት እንመን? እንዴት እንቀበል? ማን ያልተነካካ አለ?” እያሉ ነው። ከተለያዩ አቅጣጫ “ኢህአዴግ አመረረ ወይስ ቀለደ” በሚል ክርክርም እያስነሳ ነው።

የፌዴራል ስነ ምግባርና ጸረ ሙስና ኮሚሽን ኮሚሽነር አሊ ሱሌማን ፓርላማ ቀርበው “ጥናቱ የተጀመረው በአቶ መለስ ትዕዛዝ ከዓመት ከአስር ወር በፊት ነበር” በማለት ምስክርነታቸውን የሰጡበት ዘመቻ አቶ መለስ በህይወት እያሉ ያልተጠናቀቀው በድንገት በመታመማቸው፣ ከዛም በመሞታቸው፣ ከዛም በላይ የሽግግር ወቅት በመሆኑ እንደሆነ አስረድተዋል። መለስ ሲሞቱ ሃይለማርያም ሙስና ላይ ዘመቱ በሚል ስባሪ ታሪክ እንዳያተርፉ፣ ከዚያም አልፎ ዘመቻው የፖለቲካ ልዩነቱ የፈጠረው “የአራግፍ፣ የመንጥር ዘመቻ” እንዳይመስል አቶ አሊ መለስን የዘመቻው “አባትና ባለታሪክ” አድርገው እንዲያቀርቡ መታዘዛቸው ዘመቻው የተለመደው የኢህአዴግ ቀልድ እንደሆነ አመላካች ስለመሆኑ በስፋት አስተያየት የሚሰነዘርበት ጉዳይ ነው።

ምንም ሆነ ምንም ኢህአዴግ ለጀመረው የሙስና ዘመቻ ሊመሰገን ይገባዋል የሚሉ ወገኖች ዘመቻው እንደ ሰደድ እሳት ተያይዞ የሚነድ ስለመሆኑ ሲናገሩ ይሰማል። የኢህአዴግ ደቀ መዝሙር በመሆን የሚታወቁ ድርጅታቸው “የመለስ ቦናፓርቲ” የተሃድሶ ዘመን ተመልሶ እንደመጣ፣ የዚህ ተሃድሶ ፊት አውራሪ ደግሞ እጩ ጠ/ሚኒስትሩ ዶ/ር ደብረጽዮን ገ/ሚካኤል እንደሆኑ በኩራት እየተናገሩ ነው።

ከደህንነቱ ራዳር የተሰወረ አለ?

በብሔራዊ መረጃና ደህንነት አገልግሎት የማናቸውም ባለሃብቶችና ባለስልጣናት እለታዊና አጠቃላይ የክትትል መረጃ ተመዝግቦ የተቀመጠ ነው። ዋናው ደህንነት የማበስበሻው ባህር ቁልፍ እጁ ላይ ነው። ሲፈለግ ከዋናው ባህር መዝገብ የሚፈልጋቸው ነቅሶ በስሩ ላላው የኢኮኖሚ ደህንነት ዘርፍ ያቀብላል። ለስራው ቅርብ የነበሩና በቅርቡ አገር ለቀው ናይሮቢ የሚገኙ እንዳሉት በዚሁ አሰራር መሰረት አሁን የታሰሩት ሰዎች ሪፖርት ተጠናቆ የቀረበው የዛሬ አምስት ወር ግድም ነው።

ደህንነቱ ማን ከማን ጋር እንደሚሰራ፣ የትኞቹ ባለስልጣናት ከየትኛው “ባለሃብት” ጋር አብረው እንደሚሰሩ፣ በየትኛው ወገኖቻቸውና ዘመዶቻቸው ስም እንደሚነግዱ፣ የኤክስፖርትና ኢምፖርት ስራ እንደሚሰሩ፣ ያለ ማስያዣ ብድር እንደሚፈቅዱና እንዲፈቀድ መመሪያ የሚሰጡ፣ ወዘተ ሙሉ መረጃ እንዳለው የሚጠቁሙት እኚሁ ሰው “ሙስና ከግል፣ ከድርጅትና ከተቋማት አልፎ በመንግስት ደረጃ የተዘረጋ ነውና ማን ማንን ይወነጅላል?” የሚል ጥያቄ ያነሳሉ። አያይዘውም “አገራችን ውስጥ ሙስና በግለሰብ ደረጃ ሳይሆን በመንግስት ደረጃ የተቋቋመ ነው” ብለዋል።

ሌሎችም እንደሚሉት ሙስናው ሊደበቅ በማይችል ደረጃ አገሪቱን እንደ ወባ ወረርሽኝ ሲያጥለቀልቃት፣ በየአቅጣጫው ሙስናና የመልካም አስተዳደር ችግር ህዝብን ሲያንገሸግሸው ለምን ዝምታ ተመረጠ? የሚለው አንኳር ጉዳይ ብዙ ከመላምትነት የዘለሉ ምክንያቶች እየቀረቡበት ነው። በተለያዩ ደረጃ የኢህአዴግን የመበስበስና የእድገት ደረጃ የማሟጠጥ ጉዳይ አንተርሰው አስተያየት የሚሰጡ ቅድሚያ አጀንዳ የሚያደርጓቸው አቶ መለስን ነው።

መለስ ዝምታን ለምን መረጡ?

እርሳቸው ምን ያህል ተዋናይ እንደሆኑ አሃዝ ጠቅሶ መናገር ባይቻልም አቶ መለስ አገሪቱ በሙስና መንቀዟን እያወቁ ዝም ማለታቸው ከተባባሪነት እንደማያሸሻቸው ስምምነት አለ። በፓርላማ፤ ከነጋዴዎችና ከኢንቨስትመንት ማህበረሰብ ጋርና ከተለያዩ አካላት ጋር ሲነጋገሩ ሙስናን አስመልክቶ አስገራሚ ዲስኩር ሲያሰሙ ኖረው ያለፉት አቶ መለስ፣ ሙስናን ተሸክመው የኖሩት በፍርሃቻ እንደሆነ የአብዛኞች ማጠቃለያ ነው። አቶ መለስ ሙስናን እንደ ስልት በመጠቀም በዙሪያቸው ያሉትን “በማበስበስ” እንዳሻቸው ይነዱዋቸዋል።

በሙስና የተጨማለቁና በሙስናው ባህር ውስጥ የሚዋኙትን ባለስልጣናት፣ ካድሬዎች፣ ባለሃብቶች፣ የጊዜው ሰዎችና ዘመዶቻቸው ቢታወቁም አቶ መለስ በመፈክር አብረዋቸው ለመኖር የወሰኑትና በዚያው ይህችን ዓለም ባላሰቡበት መንገድ የተለዩት በጡረታና “ያለህን ብላ” በሚል አካባቢያቸውን ለማጽዳት የሞከሩት ሙስናው ውስን አድራሻና መንደር ስለሌለው ነው። ዛሬ ምን አዲስ ነገር ተገኘና መለስ የፈሩት ሙስና እንዴት ተደፈረ?

መለስ በህይወት እያሉ ሙስናውን ዝም አሉ የሚሉትን ክፍሎች አጥብቀው የሚቃወሙ ቡድኖች ደግሞ “አቶ መለስ የሙስናው አውራ ናቸው። በመንግስት ደረጃ ለተገነባው የሙስና መንደር ፊታውራሪና ይለፍ ሰጪ ናቸው” ሲሉ ይከራከራሉ። የሙስናውን አዝመራ የዘሩ፣ ኮትኩተው ያለመለሙት፣ መጨረሻ ላይም ባህር አዘጋጅተው የማበስበሻ አረንቋ የተከሉት አቶ መለስ በመሆናቸው ርምጃ ለመውሰድ እንደማይቻላቸው፣ ርምጃ ልውሰድ ቢሉም ሁሉም ስለተበከሉ “በአገሪቱ የጦር አዛዥ፣ የፖሊስ አለቃ፣ የደህንነት ሹም፣ የሚኒስትሮች ምክር ቤት፣ ፓርላማ፣ ቀበሌ፣ ክፍለ ከተማ፣ ከንቲባ፣ መሃንዲስ፣ ሆስፒታል … የሚቀር ስለማይኖር በቅድሚያ በአገሪቱ የአስቸኳይ ጊዜ አዋጅ ሊታወጅ ይገባል” ሲሉ የሙስናውን አደገኛነትና መንግስታዊ መዋቅር ያለው ስለመሆኑ ይከራከራሉ።

ለማስረጃ ከሚያነሱት መከራከሪያ መካከል “ዋናው የሙስና ሻርክ” በሚል ስያሜ የሚጠሩት ባለሃብትና በሳቸው መዋቅር ውስጥ ሆነው ከተራ ወንጀል እስከ አገር አቀፍና ድንበር ዘለል ዝርፊያ የሚፈጽሙ “ማፍያዎች”፣ በፌስታል ብር የሚያቀባብሉ ምስለኔዎች፣ የባለስልጣናትን ሚስቶችና ዘመዶች በንግድ ተቋሞቻቸው በመሰግሰግ የአገሪቱን ህግና ህገመንግስት እንዳሻቸው የሚጋልቡ ማጅራት መቺዎች፣ የአገሪቱን ባንኮችና የንግድ ስርዓት በማዛባት ሰርተው የሚበሉ ዜጎችን አሟምተው የጨረሱ፣ የራሳቸው ፖሊስና የደኅንነት ሃይል በመገንባት እንደ መንግስት ያቆጠቆጡ ወዘተ በህዝብ ይታወቃሉ። እኒህ ክፍሎች የአቶ መለስን ኮሪዶርና ማረፊያ ቤት ሲመላለሱበት መለስ ዝም ማለታቸው ከምን የመነጨ ሊሆን ይችላል? የሚል ጥያቄ ለሚያነሱ መልሱ አንድ ነው። እሳቸውም፣ ባለቤታቸውም፣ ዘመዶቻቸውም፣ ወገኖቻቸውም፣ የትልቁ “የማበስበሻው ባህር” አባል በመሆናቸው ነው። ከዚያም በላይ ደግሞ ልንካው ካሉ የመገንደስ አደጋ ስለሚከተል ነው። በሌላ አነጋገር ከስር እስከ አናት በተለያየ ደረጃ በህገወጥ የበለጸጉና የትንንሽ መንግስታት መሪዎች የሆኑ ስለበዙ አቶ መለስም ሆኑ እሳቸው የሚመሩት ህወሃት መራሹ አስተዳደር የመከልበስ አደጋ እንዳያጋጥመው በመፍራት እንደሆነ ከውስጥም ከውጪም በስፋት የሚታመንበት እውነታ ነው።

ደብረጽዮን “የጎበዝ አለቃ”!!

መለስ ሲያልፉ ሃላፊነቱን ጠቅልለው የተረከቡት መለስ በመተካካት ሰበብ ያዘጋጇቸው ሰዎች ናቸው። ከነዚህ አዲስ አመራሮች መካከል ዶ/ር ደብረጽዮን ዋናው መሃንዲስ ናቸው። መለስ የፈሩትን ጉድ እሳቸው እንዴት ደፈሩት ለሚለው የሰሞኑ ጥያቄ ምላሽ የሚሰጡ ለጉዳዩ ቅርበት ያላቸው ክፍሎች ዶ/ር ደብረጽዮንን ከፊት ለፊት ያስቀምጣሉ።

ከደህንነት መዋቅር ቁንጮ ላይ እንዳሉና መለስ ከሞቱ በኋላ ህወሃት ፊትለፊት ያወጣቸው ደብረጽዮን ከዋናው ስራቸው በተጨማሪ በምክትል ጠ/ሚኒስትር ማዕረግ የኢኮኖሚና የፋይናንስ ክላስተር የሚመሩ ናቸው። ጉዳዩን የሚከታተሉ እንደሚሉት እንደ እሳቸው ፍላጎት ቢሆን አሁን የተወሰደው ርምጃ ከአምስት ወር በፊት መከናወን የነበረበት ጉዳይ ነበር።

አሁን በቁጥጥር ስር የነበሩት ሰዎች ከአምስት ወር በፊት በቁጥጥር ስር እንደሚውሉ ይታወቅ እንደነበር የሚናገሩት የደህንነት ሰዎች “ከመለስ ህልፈት በኋላ በተፈጠረው የሃይል ክፍፍል አሸናፊ ሆነው የወጡት ክፍሎች ቅርንጫፍ መቆራረጥ ጀመሩ እንጂ ርምጃው የጸረ ሙስና ዘመቻ አይደለም” ባይ ናቸው። የእነ በረከት ስምዓንና የወ/ሮ አዜብን ቡድን በመጻረር በመለስ ሞት ማግስት ዘመቻ የጀመሩት ቡድኖች ከሙስናው ባህር ውስጥ ተጨልፈው ወደ እቶን ውስጥ እንዲጣሉ ሲወሰን ደረጃ ተዘጋጅቶ እንደሆነ አንዳንድ መረጃዎች ያመለክታሉ።

መለስ አፍነው የያዙት የህወሃት “የመበስበስ” ችግር ገሃድ ከሆነ በኋላ አቶ ስብሃት ነጋ ግንባር ሆነው የወጡ ቢሆንም ለምን ታለፉ? የሚል ጥያቄ ስለመነሳቱ አስተያየታቸውን የሚሰጡት እኒሁ የደህንነት ሰዎች እንደሚሉት “አሁን የተጀመረው ኦፕሬሽን አሸናፊዎቹ ሃይሎች ጉልበታቸውን የሚያሳዩበትና የተጻራሪውን ቅርንጫፍ በመቆራረጥ ዋናውን ግንዶች ማድረቅና ለማገዶ የማዘጋጀት የታሰበ ነው” ዘመቻው በቀጣይነት በጡረታ ስም የሚያስወግዳቸው አውራ ሃይሎች እንዳሉት የሚናገሩት ክፍሎች አቶ አርከበ እቁባይና አምባሳደር ብርሃነ ገ/ ክርስቶስ በዚህ የማጥራት ቀመር ውስጥ እንዳሉበት ይጠቁማሉ።

ወ/ሮ አዜብ መስፍንና አቶ በረከት ስምዖን ላይ ያነጣጠረ ዘመቻ ጀምረው የነበሩት አቶ ስብሃት ነጋ ምንም ዓይነት ርምጃ እንደማይወሰድባቸው ያመለከቱት ውስጥ አዋቂዎች “ስብሃት ግን ቅርንጫፎቻቸው በሙሉ ተመልምለው ብቻቸውን ይቀራሉ። በመጨረሻም እንዲደርቁ ይደረጋል” ሲሉ ስለ ስሌቱ የሚያውቁትን ይናገራሉ።

“አቶ ስብሃት ላይ ርምጃ ከተወሰደ የባህሩ ዋና ተዋናዮች በሙሉ ርቃናቸውን ይቀራሉ። ሁሉም መረጃዎች ከወጡ ህወሃት ራሱ ባሰመረው የሞት መስመር ላይ ግንባር ቀደም ተሰላፊ እንዲሆን ያደርገዋል” የሚሉት የመረጃው ሰዎች፣ ለጊዜው አሸናፊ የሆኑት ክፍሎች የተነፈሱ ቢመስላቸውም ውስጥ ውስጡን የጋመ ጉዳይ ስለመኖሩም አመልክተዋል።

የሙስና ፋይል!! የህወሃት ፓናዶል!!

የፌዴራል የስነ ምግባርና የጸረ ሙስና ኮሚሽን ከበቂ በላይ ጥቆማ እንደሚደርሰው፣ በሚደርሰው ጥቆማ መሰረት የማጣራት ስራ ባከናወነባቸው ተቋማት ላይ ርምጃ ለመውሰድ ሲጠይቅ ማዕቀብ እንደሚደረግበት ሰራተኞቹ ውስጥ ውስጡን የሚነጋገሩበት ጉዳይ ነው። ከደህንነት ጋር በቁርኝት የሚሰራው ይህ ተቋም ሳንጃ የሚሰጠው ህወሃት ሲታመም ነው። ኢህአዴግ ውስጥ ግለት ሲጨምር ሳንጃው ድንበር ተበጅቶ ይታዘዛል። ሰሞኑን የሆነውና ከዚህ ቀደም የተደረጉት ሁሉ የዚሁ አሰራር ነጻብራቆች ናቸው።

“ቴሌ በሙስና ገልምቷል” ከተባለና ዋናው ተፈላጊዎች እንዲሸሹ ከተደረገ ከአራት ዓመት በኋላ ኮሚሽኑ “ሳንጃህን ካፎቱ አውጣው ተባለ” መባሉን የሚያስታውሱ ክፍሎች፣ በህወሃት ክፍፍል ወቅት በአንድ ጀንበር የተሰራውን የማራገፍ ድራማ ያጣቅሳሉ። አሁን በቅርቡ ኦህዴድ ውስጥ የህወሃትን የበላይነት ለመሸርሸር በተነሱ ወጣት አመራሮች ላይ ሙስናን ተንተርሶ የተወሰደውን የማጥራት ዘመቻ ያክላሉ። አሁንም በተመሳሳይ ሰሞኑን የተወሰደውን ርምጃ ከዚሁ ከኖረው የህወሃት “የመበላላት” ታሪክ ጋር የሚያገናኙት ክፍሎች፣ በግልጽ አሁን አሸናፊ ሆኖ ከወጣው ቡድን ቁንጮና “ልዕልት” ጋር አብረው የሚሰሩ ግለሰብና፣ ባለስልጣን መታሰራቸው ቢድበሰበስም የክስ ሂደቱ እየጠና ሲሄድ ምን ሊፈጠር እንደሚችል አሁን ለመገመት የሚችግር እንደሚሆን ይናገራሉ።

ህወሃት በተለይም ተሹለክልከው መሪ የሆኑት አቶ መለስ ከበረሃ ጀምሮ ተቀናቃኞችን እንዴት ይበሉዋቸው እንደነበር ያጋለጡት የቀድሞው የህወሃት የገንዘብ ቤት ኃላፊ አቶ ገ/መድህን አርአያ የሃሳብ ልዩነት አስመልክቶ ውይይት ተደርጎ መስማማት ባለመቻሉ በጣም ሲመሽ “አሁን እንረፍ፣ እንተኛ” ከተባለ በኋላ በተኙበት በዛው እንዲቀሩ የተደረጉ ስለመኖራቸው ተናገረው እንደነበር በማስታወስ “የአሁኑ ህወሃት ውሳኔውን ተቋማዊ ለማስመሰል። ተቋሙም በህግ፣ በፍርድ ቤት ችሎት፣ በዳኞችና ራሱ መርማሪ፣ ራሱ ከሳሽ በሆነው የፌዴራል የጸረ ሙስና ኮሚሽን የሚመራ በማስመሰል መበላላቱን “ዲጂታል” አድርጎ እየሰራበት ይገኛል።

ለማጠቃለል

የድሃ ልጆች ቦዘኔ ተብለው ሲታሰሩ አገሪቱ ውስጥ የተዛባ ነገር አልነበረም። በፖለቲካ አመለካከታቸው ዜጎች እስር ቤት ሲጣሉ ህግ የተከበረ ነበር። ንጹሃኖች በፈጠራ ወንጀል ሲገረፉና በስቃይ ሲዘለዘሉ ፍትህ አልጎደለም ነበር። እናት በችግር ልጇን ለገበያ ዝሙት ስትልክ ሃፍረት አልነበረም። በዝርፊያ ገንዘብ አዲስ አበባ በህንጻ ስታብድ አግባብነት አይታይም ነበር። ህዝብ በኑሮ ግለት ሌማቱ ሲደርቅና ገንዳ ላይ ምግብ ፍለጋ ህጻናት ሲባትቱ ችግር ሆኖ አይቆጠርም ነበር። አለፍርድ ቤት ትዕዛዝ ሰዎች እንደ ከብት በየአቅጣጫው ሲታጎሩ የፍትህ ስርዓቱ አልተዛባም ነበር … ሰሞኑን እስር ቤት የተወረወሩት አቶ ገብረዋህድ ፍርድ ቤት ቀርበው ስለ ባለቤታቸውና ልጃቸው ሲናገሩ “አገሪቱ ምን እየሆነች ነው” አሉ። ከኮብራ ወርደው ወህኒ ቤት ሲገቡ የአገሪቱ የፍትህ ስርዓትና የህግ የበላይነት እንደ ደቀቀ ታያቸው። የባለቤታቸው ከስርዓት ውጪ መታሰር አንገበገባቸው። የልጃቸው መታሰር አቃጠላቸው። ሌሎች ምን ይበሉ? የፕሮፌሰር አስራት ቤተሰቦችና ወዳጆች ምን ይበሉ? የእስክንድር ነጋ ልጅና ባለቤት ምን ይናገሩ? የነበቀለ ገርባ፣ የነ ኦልባና ለሊሳ፣ የነ ሌሊሴ ወዳጆ በኦሮሞነታቸው ብቻ ለስቃይ የተዳረጉና የመከራው ተካፋይ የሆኑት ቤተሰቦቻቸው ይህን ያህል ዓመት ችግሩን እንዴት ተሸከሙት?

የአቶ መለስ ባለቤት ወ/ሮ አዜብ መስፍን የቅርብ ባልደረባና የስራ አጋር የሆኑት የአቶ ገ/ዋህድ ባለቤትና ልጃቸው መታሰር ጥፋት ከሌለባቸው የሚደገፍ ባይሆንም ለሌሎች ባለስልጣናትና የህወሃት አለቅላቂዎች ታላቅ ትምህርት የሚሰጥ እንደሆነ በተለያዩ የማህበራዊ ድረአውዶች መነጋገሪያ ሆኗል።

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Ethiopia: The Corruption Game

Monday, May 20th, 2013

House cleaning or window dressing?

Are they playing us like a cheap fiddle again? For a while, it was all about the Meles Dam and how to collect nickels and dimes to build it. That kind of played itself out. (Not to worry. That circus will be back in town. The public has the attention span of a gold fish. So they think.) It’s time to change the flavor of the month. Time for a new game, a new hype. How about “corruption”? It’s a chic topic. The World Bank is talking about it. Everybody is talking about it. Even the corrupt are talking about corruption. Imagine kleptocrats calling corruptocrats corrupt? Or the pot calling the kettle black?

I have been talking and writing about corruption in Ethiopia for years. After dozens of commentaries on some aspect of corruption in Ethiopia, I am still drumbeating anti-corruption. I have been “lasing” corruption in my commentaries in 2013. I was flabbergasted by the World Bank’s 448-page report, “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia”. I am still reeling from the shocking findings in that report. In my commentary last week, “Educorruption and Miseducation in Ethiopia”, I focused on corruption in the education sector. It is one thing to steal an election or pull off a gold heist at the national bank, but robbing millions of Ethiopian youth of their future by imprisoning them in the bowels of a corrupt educational system is harrowing, downright criminal. Aarrgghh!

“The Administration of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn made the full might of its power known last Friday, after ordering the arrest of 10 high and medium ranking officials of the Ethiopian Revenues & Customs Authority (ERCA), along with six businessmen, some of whom are well known… Hailemariam wants to prove that there are no holy-cows…” tooted the opening sentence of an online media outlet. My initial reaction was a bemused, “You don’t say!?” (To be perfectly frank, I exclaimed, “Holy cows? Holy _ _ _ t!!”)

The two dozen “corruption” suspects nabbed in the “investigation” include ERCA “director general” with the “rank of minister”, his deputies and the “chief prosecutor” along with other customs officials. A number of prominent businessmen and some of their family members were also snagged in the dragnet. “Ethiopia’s top anti-corruption official” Ali Sulaiman told the Voice of America Amharic program last week “the suspects had been under surveillance for over two years.”

The anti-corruption crusaders put on quite a show-and-tell on their television service. They put up dramatic footage of wads and stashes of greenbacks and Eurodollars in suitcases allegedly seized at a suspect’s residence. They displayed allegedly fraudulent land records from another suspect and gave interviews on how the suspects engaged in their corrupt practices. (The show-and-tell was reminiscent of the “terrorist” suspects they paraded in “Akeldama” and “Jihadawi Harakat” with caches of guns and explosives. For the “corruption” suspects, it was stashes of cash.)

The regime’s public relations machine kicked into overdrive. Comments by unnamed “Ethiopian activists praising efforts by the government to crackdown on corruption in the East African country” were reported. One anonymous activists declared, “Ethiopia is pushing forward on efforts to help end the rampant corruption within government and business in the country…. We need to clean up our government…” Other anonymous commentators were quoted proclaiming moral victory on corruption. “The arrests are the beginning of a new Ethiopia free from the politics and past craziness and greed that had been part of the country for far too long.”

Divergent viewpoints on the “investigation” and arrest of the suspects were bandied in the Ethiopian Diaspora. Some offered muted praise for “Hailemariam’s government” for launching a “war” on “corruption”. They said the bagging of the two dozen or so suspects represents a shot across the bow for all “corruptitioners” (a neologism to describe professional practitioners of corruption). Others were convinced the suspects were guilty “because everybody knows they are corrupt. They shakedown every businessman importing goods into the country…” They were glad to see these “bad guys” bagged. There were many who dismissed the whole investigation as a sham, a public relations charade. It is political theater staged for the World Bank, the IMF and other donors who are demanding anti-corruption action as a precondition for handouts.

Some even suggested it was a special show staged for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who is expected to visit Ethiopia to attend an African Union summit. The regime bosses can bob and weave against any Kerry punches on human rights and the jailing of dissidents, journalists and opposition leaders by touting their “anti-corruption” efforts. Others viewed the arrests as a fallout of the post-Meles power struggle that is raging among ruling party factions. For the suspects to be arrested, their protector “god fathers” must have been vanquished or purged out in the power play. Still others said the arrest of these particular suspects is the low hanging fruit of corruption in Ethiopia. Going after officials of the customs authority, an agency historically stained with corruption, provides the regime an aura of credibility and magnifies its purported anti-corruption efforts.

I see the whole things with a jaded eye. I am convinced the cunning regime power players are gaming corruption. They are showboating and grandstanding. They are trying to kill two birds with one stone. Nail their opponents and get public relations credit and international handouts at the same time. They are desperately trying to catch some positive publicity buzz in a media environment where they are being hammered and battered everyday by human rights organizations, NGOs, international media outlets and others. It is a public relations stunt and political theatre without much substance or seriousness of purpose. It is standard operating window dressing procedure for the regime. It is red meat for the local population to make themselves look good and drum up support. It is a calculated strategy to reinvent “Hailemariam’s government” with smoke and mirrors. After repeated public cathartic confessions that he is the handmaiden of Meles, Hailemariam now wants to show the world he is Mr. Clean, not Mr. Clone (of Meles). He is no longer part of the corrupt-to-the-core ancien regime of Meles. Mr. Clean is going to clean house and he has already bagged his first “Dirty 2 Dozen”. (Reminds one of Pinocchio telling Geppetto he dreams of becoming a real boy. Hailemariam, a real prime minister?!) What better agitprop to mobilize and capitalize on the infamy of a long reviled and hated agency. If they can’t hoodwink and drum up public support by talking ad nauseam about the Meles Dam, perhaps they can pull it off with a “corruption investigation” of the customs authority. It is sleazy investigating greasy and cheesy.

To say the corrupt Meles regime has no credibility with me is an understatement. The anti-corruption crusaders want us to believe only their side of their story and their silly show-and-tell. But every story has two sides or more. In telling a story, credibility is everything. The regime convicted Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu, Woubshet Taye and so many others on lies, fabrications and tall tales. They have no credibility.

I believe those corruptoids are interested in clinging to power, not good governance or stamping out corruption. The only reason they are able to remain in power is because corruption courses in their bloodstream. Corruption is the hemoglobin that delivers life-sustaining oxygen to their nerve center. Without corruption, the tyrannical regime will simply wither away.

I take a dim view of the regime’s “anti-corruption” efforts” not because I am its relentless critic or because I will not miss an opportunity to ding them or make them look bad. I make no apologies for my trenchant criticisms. But the truth of the matter is that if I believed in the slightest that they were serious and genuine about rooting (instead of tooting) out “corruption”, I would be the first to raise my pen and lavish them with praise. I would be rooting and tooting for them.

As I have often remarked, corruption is the malignant cancer that has metastasized throughout Ethiopia’s body politic. That’s why the World Bank’s voluminous report was aptly titled, “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia.” It is a “clinical” diagnosis which has determined the cancer cells of corruption are not confined to one organ of state (customs authority) which can be surgically removed and treated with the penal equivalent of chemotherapy and radiation. The corruption cancer has spread throughout all organs of state.

The chemotherapy for the cancer of corruption in Ethiopia is a free press that can aggressively and doggedly investigate and report corrupt officials and practices for public scrutiny. The radiation therapy for the cancer of corruption is an independent prosecutorial office that could catch not only the small winnows in the pond but most importantly the big whales and sharks swimming at the highest levels of government. An independent judiciary that is capable of adjudicating corruption cases with due process of law is also very much needed. The preventive care for the cancer of corruption involves vigilant civil society institutions which can work freely at the grassroots levels and provide anti-corruption awareness, education, training and monitoring. It also involves a genuinely competitive multiparty system that can hold the ruling party and its officials accountable.

None of these “medicines” exist in Ethiopia today. That is why I believe the cancer of “corruption” in due course will destroy the regime though it is the very source of its survival now. More on my views on the “anti-corruption efforts” of the regime later; but a word or two about due process, the rule of law and the “corruption” suspects.

Due process and the rights of the accused

As I was drafting this commentary, I was advised by some learned colleagues that any statement I make that seems remotely sympathetic to the suspects accused of “corruption” could send the wrong message and create the misimpression that I would stoop low to defend even the manifestly corrupt just to make political points against the regime. I was told not to bother because “everybody knows the suspects are corrupt…” One of my feisty friends in a moment of rhetorical impetuosity was compelled to ask, “Why should you care if these S.O.B’s get a fair trial? Everyone knows they are guilty. Let them hang!”

That is where I part ways with my learned friends. The last time I parted ways with them was when I defended Meles Zenawi’s right to speak at Columbia University in September 2010. At the time, I was roundly criticized by friends and some of my regular readers. “How could you defend the ‘monster’ who had denied millions of Ethiopians the right to speak and even breath?” I insisted I was not defending a “monster” but the principle of free expression. My defense was simple, “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” My position is no different now. If we don’t believe in a fair trial for those we despise as corrupt, then we do not believe in fair trial at all.

I believe in fairness and justice. I do not believe in revenge or retribution. I take no position on the factual guilt or innocence of those accused of “corruption”. If they did the crime, they have to do the time. However, I believe they have a constitutional right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial. In other words, I make no exceptions or compromises when it comes to taking a position in defending the principle and practice of due process of law and respect for fundamental human rights. Those accused of “corruption” now (and those who will certainly face accusations of crimes against humanity and other crimes in the future) are entitled to full due process of law, which includes not only the presumption of innocence and the right against self-incrimination but also the rights to counsel, adequate notice of charges, an impartial and neutral fact-finder, speedy trial and adjudication by the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.

My deep concern over the arbitrary administration of justice or denial of fair trial to anyone accused of “corruption”, “terrorism”, “treason”, etc., is rooted in the manifest absence of the rule of law in Ethiopia and the harsh realities of Meles’ officialdom. Any petty “law enforcement” official of the regime has the power to arrest and jail an innocent citizen. As I argued in my February 2012 commentary, “The Prototype African Police State”, a local police chief in Addis Ababa felt so arrogantly secure in his arbitrary powers that he threatened to arrest a Voice of America reporter stationed in Washington, D.C. simply because that reporter asked him for his full name during a telephone interview. “I don’t care if you live in Washington or in Heaven. I don’t give a damn! But I will arrest you and take you. You should know that!!”, barked police chief Zemedkun. If a flaky policeman can exercise such absolute power, is it unreasonable to imagine those at the apex of power have the power to do anything they want with impunity. The regime in Ethiopia is living proof that power corrupts and an absolute power corrupts absolutely.

In my view, denial of due process (fair trial) is the highest form of “corruption” imaginable because its denial results in the arbitrary deprivation of a person’s life, liberty and property. I am unapologetic in my insistence that the suspects accused of “corruption” are entitled to full due process of law under the country’s Constitution and international human rights conventions. The question is: Could they get a fair trial in the regime’s kangaroo courts? Do these “corruption” suspects have the same chance of getting a fair trial today as those accused of “treason”, “terrorism”, “subversion” yesterday?

Article 20 (3) Ethiopian Constitution provides, “During proceedings accused persons have the right to be presumed innocent.” The same right is secured under the Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 14(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 7(b) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR). Disrespect for the presumption of innocence has been the hallmark of the Meles regime. To be accused of a crime by the Meles regime is to be convicted and sentenced to a long prison term. That is why I have often caricatured the Meles’ judicial system as kangaroo court justice. The courts are corrupted through political manipulation, intimidation and domination. The 2012 U.S. State Department Human Rights report concluded, “The law provides for an independent judiciary. Although the civil courts operated with a large degree of independence, the criminal courtsremained weak, overburdened, andsubject to political influence.” One of the “corruption” suspects during his first court appearance complained of prejudicial pretrial publicity because “state television showed his house being searched.”

There is a long and predictable pattern and practice of disregard for the constitutional right to presumption of innocence and wholesale abuse and denial of a panoply of constitutional rights to those accused of political crimes in Ethiopia. Following the 2005 election, Meles publicly declared that “The CUD (Kinijit) leaders are engaged in insurrection — that is an act of treason under Ethiopian law. They will be charged and they will appear in court.” They were charged, appeared in “court” and were convicted. In December 2008, Meles railroaded Birtukan Midekssa, the first female political party leader in Ethiopian history, without so much as a hearing let alone a trial. He sent her straight from the street into solitary confinement and later declared: “There will never be an agreement with anybody to release Birtukan. Ever. Full stop. That’s a dead issue.” In 2009, Meles’ right hand man labeled 40 defendants awaiting trial as “desperadoes” who planned to “assassinate high ranking government officials and destroying telecommunication services and electricity utilities and create conducive conditions for large scale chaos and havoc.” They were all “convicted” and given long prison sentences.

Meles proclaimed the guilt of freelance Swedish journalists Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye on charges of “terrorism” while they were being tried and he was visiting Norway in 2011. He emphatically declared the duo “are, at the very least, messenger boys of a terrorist organization. They are not journalists.” Persson and Schibbye were “convicted” and sentenced to long prison terms.

Violations of the constitutional rights of those accused of crimes by the regime are not limited to disregard for the presumption of innocence. Internationally-celebrated Ethiopian journalists including Reeyot Alemu, Woubshet Taye and many others were denied access to legal counsel for months. Ethiopian Muslim activists who demanded an end to religious interference were jailed on “terrorism” charges and denied access to counsel. They were mistreated and abused in pretrial detention. Scores of journalists, opposition members and activists arrested and prosecuted (persecuted) under the so-called anti-terrorism proclamation were also denied counsel and speedy trials and languished in prison for long periods.

Article 20 (2) provides, “Any person in custody or a convicted prisoner shall have the right to communicate with and be visited by spouse(s), close relatives and friends, medical attendants, religious and legal counselors. In an interview given to the Voice of America Amharic program last week, a lawyer for one of the suspects complained that he and a bunch of other lawyers were denied access to their clients accused of “corruption” after waiting for five hours. They were told to return the following day because the “suspects were undergoing interrogation.” Yet, Article 19 (5) provides, “Everyone shall have the right not to be forced to make any confessions or admissions of any evidence that may be brought against him during the trial.”

Article 19 (1) provides, “Anyone arrested on criminal charges shall have the right to be informed promptly and in detail… the nature and cause of the charge against him… Article 20 (2) provides, “Everyone charged with an offence shall be adequately informed in writing of the charges brought against him. The “corruption” suspects have yet to be “informed promptly and in detail the charges against them”. “Ethiopia’s top anti-corruption official” Ali Sulaiman told Voice of America Amharic last week that the “suspects have been under surveillance for two years”. Yet at the suspect’s first court appearance, the prosecutors requested a 14-day continuance to gather more evidence. The “court” ruled the suspects can be held in custody “until the Federal Ethics & Anti-”corruption” Commission (FEACC) could collect additional evidence to bring charges against them.”

If it took them 2 years to investigate the case, but couldn’t wait another 14 days to gather the last pieces of vital evidence before arresting and publicly parading the suspects? This is a trick they have used before. It is called arrest and jest. Put the suspects in jail, crucify them in the press and laugh at them as they languish in prison for months on end. There will be endless delays and continuances “to collect more evidence” and the “court” will allow it because the “court” does what it is told by their political bosses.

There is no judicial system in the world where suspects are arrested of committing crimes after being investigated for 2 years and then the prosecution asks for two more weeks to gather additional evidence. The regime’s trial by publicity and demonization will go on. They will keep pumping out unrebutted damaging information in flagrant disregard of the suspects’ constitutional rights to create hostile pretrial publicity. They talk with a loose tongue about the suspects crimes of “tampering with loan-sharking investigations”, “illegal trading and tax evasion”, “improprieties especially involving imports of steel”, etc. Such is the sad fact of corruptoid justice in the regime’s kangaroo courts. Arrest persons presumed to be innocent and go out and look for evidence of their guilt! What a crock of _ _ _ t!

Fall guys or grand fall

There is something strange about the regime’s current “corruption” narrative; and I must say it reflects very badly on Meles himself. According to reports, the “director general” (the alleged kingpin of the “corruption” ring) was appointed by Meles in 2008. He is a “senior cabinet member”. He is credited for “overseeing several tax reforms including widening the tax base, by requiring businesses to install cash registration machines and to become registered for Value Added Tax (VAT).” According to one report, “Under [the “director general”], the amount of revenues the federal government mobilized has reached 71 billion Br in 2011/12, a dramatic increase from the 19 billion Br collected before he took the position.”

Something is not right with that picture. Was Meles so blind and incompetent to select such a “corrupt man” to take the helm of his money making machine? Did Meles select him to oversee his corrupt empire because he knew the “director general” was the just right man for the job? Is it possible that the “director general” is a victim in a political power play? In any case, the arrest of the “director general” and the smear on his character and reputation reflects very poorly on Meles judgment, common sense and integrity. In my view, if the “director general” is truly the corruption ringleader, then he cannot possibly be the capo di tutti capi (boss of all bosses), perhaps an underboss or a consigliere.

The anticorruption warriors should be mindful of the law of unintended consequences. If they succeed in their corruption crusade, Meles’ legacy may be at extreme risk. When it came to corruption, Meles had a double standard. For instance, when 10,000 tons of coffee vanished from the warehouses, Meles forgave the coffee thieves and others “because we all have our hands in it”. He threatened to cut the hands of coffee thieves if they steal again. Meles was content to rail against “government thieves” without doing much more. Now Hailemariam wants a single standardof corruption applicable to all. For someone who worships Meles, Hailemariam’s move is downright heresy!

It is noteworthy that the last time Meles mounted a “corruption” investigation was over a decade ago when he rounded up some of his former comrades and their business associates and charged them with “corruption” and railroaded them to prison. Back in the mid-1990s, he jailed the “prime minister” of the “transitional government” on charges of corruption. That “prime minister” ate 12 years in Meles’ prisons. Hailemariam now, without warning, wants to go after all corruptitioners and cut off their hands? Is it going to be the legacy of corruption of Mr. Crook against the promise of good governance by anti-corruption crusader Mr. Clean?

Going after corruption, inc. (unlimited) — the real “holy cows” of “corruption”

In 2011, Meles publicly stated that 10,000 tons of coffee earmarked for exports had simply vanished from the warehouses. He called a meeting of commodities traders and in a videotaped statementtold them that he will forgive them this time because “we all have our hands in the disappearance of the coffee”. He threatened to “cut off their hands” if they should steal coffee in the future. In 2011, a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) commissioned report from Global Financial Integrity (GFI) on “illicit financial flows” (money stolen by government officials and their cronies and stashed away in foreign banks) from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) revealed the theft of US$8.4 billion from Ethiopia. In 2009, over US $3 billion illicitly left Ethiopia. “The vast majority of the rise in illicit financial flows is a result of increased corruption, kickbacks, and bribery while the remainder stems from trade mispricing.”

In 2008 “USD16 million dollars” worth of gold bars simply walked out of the bank in broad daylight never to be seen again. According to a Wikileaks cablegram, the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the current ruling party in Ethiopia, “Upon taking power in 1991… liquidated non-military assets to found a series of companies whose profits would be used as venture capital to rehabilitate the war-torn Tigray region’s economy…[with] roughly US $100 million… Throughout the 1990s…, no new EFFORT [Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray owned and operated by TPLF] ventures have been established despite significant profits, lending credibility to the popular perception that the ruling party and its members are drawing on endowment resources to fund their own interests or for personal gain.” According to the World Bank, roughly half of the Ethiopian national economy is accounted for by companies held by a business group called the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT) cloasely allied with the ruling EPDRF party. EFFORT’s freight transport, construction, pharmaceutical, and cement firms receive lucrative foreign aid contracts and highly favorable terms on loans from government banks. “Generals” and other military leaders have managed to accumulate properties worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Last year, a regime general told Voice of America Amharic that he was able to build a number of multistory buildings worth tens of millions of dollars because he was “given bank loans”.

There is an old Ethiopian saying which roughly translates as follows: “There is no beauty contest among monkeys.” A pig with lipstick at the end of the day is still a pig as the old saying goes. There are no good corruptoids. In any power struggle, it is not uncommon for one group of power players to accuse another of being corrupt. Bo Xilai (once touted to be the successor to President Hu Jintao in China) Liu Zhijun and other high level Chinese communist cadres are facing criminal and political sanctions for alleged abuses of power and accepting bribes. Mikhail Khodorkovsky (once considered the “wealthiest man in Russia”) was jacked up on “corruption” charges and given a long prison sentence. Corruption show trials are a powerful weapon in the arsenal of dictators who seek to neutralize their opponents. As I argued in my commentary “Africorruption”, Inc.”, the business of African “governments” including the Ethiopian regime in the main is corruption. Those who seized political power in Ethiopia in 1991 may have believed they were fighting for freedom and democracy, but once they got absolute power, they became absolutely corrupt. They began to function as sophisticated criminal enterprises with the principal aim of looting the national treasury and operating government as a criminal syndicate and a racket. If the regime is serious about corruption, it should go after the real “holy cows” of corruption, not just the unholy cows that have been forced to become scapegoats.

Scapegoating or “anti-corruption”?

The so-called “corruption investigation” appears to be a case of scapegoating. Tradition has it that on the day of atonement a goat would be selected by the high priest and loaded with the sins of the community and driven out into the wilderness as an affirmative act of symbolic cleansing. It made the people feel purged of evil and guiltless. The “corruption” suspects were supporters, defenders and handmaidens of the regime. Now they are made out to be loathsome villains. The sins and crimes of the regime are placed upon their heads and they are driven out into the wilderness. The high priests of the regimes are telling the people they have been cleansed and the community is free from evil. In this narrative, the regime “anti-corruption warriors” become the white knights in shining armor. But no amount of scapegoating can divert attention from the real situation. It is wise for those who live in glass houses not to throw stones.

How to deal with “horruption”

I am compelled to invent a new word to describe the horrible “corruption” in the ruling regime in Ethiopia. That word is, “horruption” (horrible corruption). The extended definition of this word is found in the World Bank’s corruption report on Ethiopia referenced above.

What is the best way to deal with horruption in Ethiopia? Simple. Line up the right social forces to fight corruption. Allow the free press to flourish so that it can aggressively and doggedly investigate and report corrupt officials and practices for public scrutiny. Establish an independent prosecutorial office properly budgeted and staffed (supported by certified international anti-corruption experts) to go after not only the small winnows but most importantly the big whales and sharks splish splashing in a sea of corruption. Take comprehensive measures to increase the transparency of all public institution and translate into action the mandate of Article 12 of the Ethiopian Constitution (Functions and Accountability of Government). Reduce the regime’s involvement in the economy. Allow the functioning of an independent judiciary that is capable of adjudicating corruption cases with full due process of law. Let civil society institutions flourish so that they can maintain ongoing vigilance and work at the grassroots levels to provide anti-corruption awareness, education, training and monitoring. Let there be a genuinely competitive multiparty system that can hold the ruling party and its officials accountable. In short, institutionalize the rule of law. Then we can act against “horruption” instead of talking about corruption.

The regime thinks they can distract attention by talking about “corruption” and selectively arresting a few of their own members and supporters and putting them on show trials. That is nice political theater but it will not solve the problem of horruption unless one believes, to paraphrase H.L. Mencken, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the Ethiopian people.”

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.

Previous commentaries by the author are available at:

http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/

www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/

Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:

http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic

http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24

Tags: 2012 ethiopia U.S. State Department Human Rights report, africorruption, alemayehu mariam, Bo Xilai corruption, Endowment Fund For The Rehabilitation Of Tigray, ethiopia akeldama, Ethiopia article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Ethiopia Article 14 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Ethiopia Article 7 African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, Ethiopia constitution Article 12, Ethiopia constitution Article 19, ethiopia constitution article 20, Ethiopia Corruption, Ethiopia corruption ERCA, Ethiopia corruption Global Financial Integrity, Ethiopia corruption scapegoating, Ethiopia corruptitioners, Ethiopia due process, Ethiopia EFFORT, Ethiopia FEACC, Ethiopia Federal Ethics Anti-corruption Commission, Ethiopia gold corruption, Ethiopia horruption, Ethiopia Jihadawi Harakat, Ethiopia Johan Persson Martin Schibbye, Ethiopia John Kerry, ethiopia police state, ethiopia rule of law, Ethiopia World Bank Diagnosing Corruption, Ethiopian Revenues & Customs Authority corruption, H.L. Mencken intelligence, Hailemariam desalegn Ethiopia corruption, Liu Zhijun corruption, Meles Zenawi Columbia University, Mikhail Khodorkovsky corruption
Posted in Africa, Analysis, Ethiopia, Featured, News | No Comments »

ENTC supports peaceful demonstration called by Semayawi Party

Monday, May 20th, 2013

ENTC issued a statement supporting the peaceful demonstration called by Semayawi Party in Ethiopia. In its statement, it urged all Ethiopians to support the move and voice their questions and concerns using the platform.

Read the statement here (pdf)

Posted in Ethiopia | No Comments »

Keep your eyes on the prize.

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013

Keep your eyes on the prize. By Yilma Bekele

We are witnessing a flurry of news from the TPLF party that calls itself the Ethiopian government. Why is the Woyane party so busy and why is the party pushing its cadres to be super active is a good question. That is what piqued my interest and I was forced to look around to figure out what exactly is happening both in Ethiopia and the Diaspora community to make the illegal regime work overtime.

I did not have to look far to see why the government is acting very nervous. It looks like for a change the progressive forces are on the attack and the reactionary regime is on the defense. Believe me this is a rare occurrence and shows the realignment of forces in our country. I will try to explain why later on but let us look at what is causing this shift. A few weeks back the regime carried out its ‘ethnic cleansing’ activity in the Beneshangul Gumuz Kilil. It was not the first time the TPLF led regime has done this criminal act but what was different this time around was our collective indignation. We were able to carry out a sustained and well organized push back from around the world. The opposition in Ethiopia cooperated by boldly demanding action and tried to collect evidence from the affected areas.

First the hapless regime paraded its toy PM and made him give some half ass explanation and dumped the crimes on their Kilil dog. The fact that the previous ‘ethnic cleansing’ activity was carried out in the South Kilil where the PM originated from was not lost on us. This rehearsed mea culpa did not impress anyone. It was back to the drawing board for the regime. Next In the clueless regime tried to divert our attention by planting rumors about the death of that other tyrant in Zimbabwe. We did not bite. After the failure of that story they again tried to engage us by removing the monument dedicated to our Holy Father Abune Petros. Again we showed our unhappiness but did not take our eyes of the ‘ethnic cleansing’ crime. We were focused and relentless. We were just simply not crying but talking about taking the matter to the International Court of Justice and the UN.

After lots and lots of postponements and dragging the regime brought our political prisoners and decided to hand down their useless justice. We were supposed to drop all other activity and concentrate on Eskinder Nega and Andulalem’s miscarriage of justice. Something odd happened here. We did not follow the script. For the first time we were able to connect the dots and see the whole picture. The progressive forces decided to link ethnic cleansing, Abune Petros and our Political prisoners’ situation as one.

I was waiting for the next drama with heightened anticipation. What would they try now was a common question asked by students of Woyane theatre. Invading Somalia was out of the question since they have already learned their lesson. The demonization of Eritrea was becoming stale. Playing the ethnic card is what brought about the problem in the first place so that was a no go zone. What would the ‘great visionary’ leader do under the circumstances was in the mind of all TPLF cadres in leadership position. They dug deep, traveled back in their criminally ladened history and came up with ‘cannibalism’ as the way out.

So with great fanfare they went about arresting anything anybody they could find. The injustice Minister was hauled away. The guy with dark glasses that sat behind the tyrant in Parliament was arrested. The Revenue and Customs guys were escorted to their won prison with a few selected business people to add flavor to the drama.

I guess all this activity is supposed to impress us. A criminal arresting another criminal is meant to fill our soul with hope for the future. They are so clueless they don’t even know that the news is taken with such amusement that a soccer game between Buna and Giorgis garners more anticipation than their cheap drama. Why would anyone think that Melaku Fenta that spineless individual sitting under Gebrewhaid Giorgis is capable of making any decision let alone steal big? Like most sycophants that are serving as the face of their departments Melaku was just another mannequin for show while the TPLF boss under him runs the outfit. That game is played all over Ethiopia and in the Embassy’s outside. I bet you cannot find any worthwhile governmental body without a TPLF deputy in charge.

This new drama is meant to keep us guessing what in the world is going on inside the TPLF party. We are supposed to guess which faction is up and who is down. The disinformation campaign by Debretsion keeps manufacturing different versions of their supposedly internal turmoil and some of us love nothing more than being instant experts in the inner workings of the mafia group. To hear some of our people go on the minute details of the party is mind boggling and a testimonial to the hopelessness of a few of our family and friends. They might have their own differences but do you really think that will stop them from their common goal of staying in power no matter what? Do you for second think they will not close ranks when threatened? Then why in the world are you wasting time and energy whether Azeb is fighting with Berket and if Sebhat is is not in good terms with Seyoum? Now if they really want our attention the best way to do it will be arrest Azeb or Abay Woldu not Sebhat or Seyoum since they already are near death.

The biggest joke of all is the claim that Hailemariam Desalgne was cleaning house. Let us see the PM that was handpicked by the dead tyrant and schooled in the art of servitude to TPLF, the PM that does not have a power base, the same PM that cannot even pick the guards outside his office is exercising authority on TPLF officials? Who would swallow such Mamo Kilo bed time story is a good question. Yes there are a few especially here in the Diaspora that are trying to put some lipstick on this pig of a story.

Some opined ‘EPDRF supporters speaking out’ while others declared ‘EPDRF undergoing profound changes.’ Well, well let see us what is giving these Woyane coddlers new life? What is different today that was not there yesterday is a good question. I read their writings very closely and tried to see what they were basing their new found euphoria on. I wanted to know what arguments they were bringing to the table to see if there was any validity to their conclusions. I couldn’t find any. It is all wishful thinking, self fulfilling prophesy and confused theories that is trying hard to fit a square peg in a round hole. The ones that are trying to see light at the end of the tunnel are the same people that advised wait and see attitude when Woyane conquered our capital and were willing and ready to serve the criminal organization. Their last miscalculation caused twenty years of misery to our people and country and here they are again advising us the presence of a non entity called EPDRF that is supposed to usher a new era of peace and prosperity. Give it a rest gentlemen and do not waste our time with your unfounded optimism. Why peddle a worn out theory this late in the game?

I am emboldened by three factors that have been added to the equation of fighting injustice in our dear country. The first and very significant addition to our arsenal of fighting for freedom and democracy is no other than our beloved ESAT. It has given voice to the voice less and opened our eyes to the reality that is what is ailing us. ESAT is the main reason Woyane misinformation campaign is falling on deaf ears. ESAT is the main reason the cry of our people in Ethiopia is getting a hearing. No matter what no sane Ethiopian can ignore the voice of our people coming thru the airwaves loud and clear. The tenacity and diligent reporting by ESAT that refused to fall for Woyane diversion kept the ‘ethnic cleansing’ criminal act in focus and thwarted their attempt to derail us.

The second factor is the gallantry of our Moslem citizens that have against all odds persevered for over a year their quest for freedom and independence. The many attempts to divide and splinter them by the illegal Woyane regime has been repulsed and the Moslem community is still standing together with one voice and one aim of protecting their right to run their religion free of government interference. It is a lesson to the rest of us to keep our eyes on the prize and not to let our organizations be the play ground of Woyane operatives.

The third factor that is emerging from Ethiopia is the beautiful new voice of Semayawi Party that is clear, clean and void of any clutter of the past that has been hindering our forward movement. From what I can observe from afar Semayawi is not encumbered by our past failures, weighed down by unnecessary dogma and geared to act and try newer stuff. That is what the doctor ordered. Why use beige and gray to paint when you can use bright blue and bring warmth to the canvas. The call by Semayawi Party to dress in black and show the discontent of our people during African Unions 50th anniversary is a bold and timely call. That is all peaceful resistance is about. It is our duty to follow the advice of the Party and tell our family and friends to cooperate in showing their grief by dressing in black. Those of us that believe in peaceful resistance this is our chance to practice what we preach.

As times go by it is becoming clear that the regime is feeling the loss of the evil person in charge. For over thirty years the prince of darkness Meles Ashebari Zenawi has been the brain and body of the mafia outfit that has been masquerading as a political party. I am willing to give him the credit as the personification of Satan on earth. He has earned the title. His death has left the TPLF party void of someone to fill his shoes no matter how small it is. It is not the absence of idiots or sycophants that is lacking in their midst but they just seem to suffer from the mistrust the evil one has left them with. That deficiency coupled with the emergence of new and daring Ethiopians schooled in the art of confronting the regime head on is what is causing headaches to the downgraded TPLF.

Life is beautiful. Our new found unity and purposeful march to the future is a hard won victory. The fact that it is Woyane in disarray and we are becoming hip to their many attempts to distract us is testimonial to our ability to learn and apply the lesson. There are still many voices that are constantly trying to derail our movement but the fact that we have matured and are able to separate the chaff from the wheat is our new found strength. We are not there yet but with all those strong and tested groups and individuals joining our movement there is no reason to doubt we are bringing the dark days to an end and new bright sun will rise up over our mountains and valleys. A luta continua-the struggle continues.

Tags: Dictator Meles Zenawi, Eskinder Nega, Ethiopia Democracy, Ethiopia Human Rights, ethiopian diaspora, TPLF, Woyanne, yilma bekele
Posted in Africa, Analysis, Ethiopia | No Comments »

በኢንቨስትመንት ስም የሚፈጸም የመሬት ነጠቃ በኢትዮጵያ

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013

የኦክላንድ ተቋምና ለአዲሲቷ ኢትዮጵያ የጋራ ንቅናቄ

ለአዲሲቷ ኢትዮጵያ የጋራ ንቅናቄ

May 14, 2013

በኢንቨስትመንት ስም የአገር ሃብትና ትውልድን እየበላ ስላለው የመሬት ነጠቃ አስመልክቶ የኦክላንድ ተቋምና ድርጅታችን ለአዲሲቷ ኢትዮጵያ የጋራ ንቅናቄ በጋራ ያዘጋጁት ጥናታዊ ዘገባ ይፋ ሆነ። የጋራ ንቅናቄያችን ዋና ዳይሬክተር ጥናቱ በትክክለኛ ጭብጥ ላይ ተመስርቶ እንዲዘጋጅ ለህይወታቸው ሳይሳሱ መረጃ በመስጠት ለተባበሩ ዜጎች “ታላቅ ክብር ይሁንላችሁ። አሁን አትታወቁም። ግን ከቶውንም አትረሱም። ክብር ለማትታወቁት ግን ለማትረሱት የአገር ጀግኖች” በማለት ምስጋና አቅርበዋል።

ኢህአዴግን በደፈናው መቃወምን ዓላማው ያላደረገው ይህ ጥናታዊ ዘገባ ዜጎችን ካደጉበት፣ ከኖሩበት፣ ከቀያቸው፣ ከህልውናቸው፣ ከርስታቸው፣ ወዘተ ያለ አንዳች ውይይት፣ ምክክርና ንግግር በማፈናቀል ለውጪ ኩባንያዎችና ለራሱ ለባለጠመንጃው አገዛዝ ሰዎችና ባለሟሎች መሬት ማከፋፈሉን በማስረጃ ያሳያል። የራሱ የኢህአዴግ አካላትም በሪፖርቱ ውስጥ በአግባቡ ድምጻቸው ተካትቷል። የሚጠቀሙባቸው አዋጆችና ህጎችም አልተዘለሉም።

“የውጪ ባለሃብቶችና ኩባንያዎች ወደ አገር ውስጥ መግባታቸው ለቴክኖሎጂ ዝውውር፣ በአገሪቱ ያለውን የምግብ እጥረት ለማስወገድ ይረዳል” የሚሉ ምክንያቶች እያቀረበ ያለው ኢህአዴግ በተግባር ሲፈተሽ ተግባሩና ዓላማው ምን እንደሆነ የሚያመለክተው ጥናቱ የስርዓቱ ሰለባዎች፣ የኢህአዴግ ባለስልጣናት፣ ኢንቨስተሮች፣ ጉዳዩ የሚመለከታቸው ክፍሎች፣ የቅርብ ምስክሮች፣ የተለያዩ ከዓለምአቀፍ ተቋማት የተገኙ መረጃዎች፣ አገዛዙ ራሱ ይፋ ያደረጋቸው መረጃዎችና ለጥናቱ አስፈላጊ የተባሉ አኻዞች የተካተቱበት በመሆኑ እውነታውን ህዝብና ማናቸውም ወገኖች እውነቱን ለመረዳት ያስችላቸዋል ተብሎ በጉልህ ታምኖበታል።

በምሳሌ ለማሳያነት የተጠቀሰው የሳዑዲ ስታር ኩባንያ የሚያመርተውን ሩዝ ደብረዘይት በገነባው ተቋሙ አማካይነት ሩዙን የመለየትና ለኤክስፖርት የማዘጋጀት ስራ ይሰራል። የተመረጠውና መለኪያውን የሚያሟላው ሩዝ ኤክስፖርት የሚደረግ ሲሆን፣ ደቃቃውና በሚሊሜትር ተለክቶ ለኤክስፖርት ደረጃ የማይበቃው አገር ቤት እንዲቀር ይደረጋል። ከዚህ አንጻር እንኳ ቢታይ የመሬት ኢንቨስትመንት የተባለው ዓለም ጠንቅቆ ለሚያውቀው የአገራችን የምግብ እጥረት ችግር መፍትሄ ሊሆን አይችልም። በጥናቱ ዝርዝር ጉዳዩ አለ።

ኢህአዴግ በፖለቲካው ውድማ ላይ ቆሞ የሚያወራውና በተግባር የሚሆነውን እውነት ከሰለባዎቹ አንደበት በመቅዳት ሊስተባበል በማይችልበት ደረጃ ያቀረበው ጥናት፣ ዜጎች ከቀያቸው ከመፈናቀላቸው በፊት ምክክርና የስነልቦና ዘግጅት እንዲደረግ ጊዜ እንደሚሰጥ በህግ የተደነገገ ስለመሆኑ፣ ነግር ግን እውነታው የተገላቢጦሽ መሆኑንን ጥናቱ በማስረጃ ያትታል። ዜጎች ነገ ስለሚሆነው እንኳ ሊያውቁ በማይችሉበት ደረጃ ማለዳ ካረፉበት ሲነቁ ዶዘር ማሳቸውን፣ የጓሮ አትክልታቸውን፣ የኑሯቸው መሰረት የሆነውን ደናቸውን፣ ቤታቸውን ሲጠርግ እንደሚያዩ እነዚሁ መከረኞች ለህይወታቸው ሳይሳሱ መናገራቸውን ጥናቱ ትኩረት ሰጥቶ አቅርቦታል።

የመሬት ካሳ እንኳ ባግባቡ የማያገኙት ወገኖች በራሳቸው አንደበት፣ በግብር የደረሰባቸውንና ከፊት ለፊታቸው ያለውን አደጋ አስመልክቶ በዝርዝር ሚዛናዊ በማድረግ ያቀረበው ጥናት ኢህአዴግ ለማስተባበል ከፈለገ በዜናና በተራ ጩኸት ሳይሆን በመረጃ የተደገፈ፣ ሁሉንም ወገኖች ያካተተ ሚዛናዊ ሪፖርት ካቀረበ ብቻ ለአዲሲቷ ኢትዮጵያ የጋራ ንቅናቄ (አኢጋን) በማስተባበያነት እንደሚቀበለው አስቀድሞ ለመግለጽ ይወዳል።

በአገርና በግለሰብ ደረጃ መረጃ ለማዳረስ፣ በተመሳሳይ ኢህአዴግ የሚያሰራጨውን የሃሰት ፕሮፓጋንዳ ማጋለጥ፣ የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰቱን ማሳየት፣ የተሳሳተውን ፖሊሲ ማስቀየር ዋናው የጥናቱ ዓላማ ነው። በጥናቱ በቀረበው ጭብጥ መሰረት የዓለም ባንክ፣ ወዳጅ አገሮች፣ አበዳሪ አገሮች ፖሊሲ አውጪዎች ወዘተ አካሄዳቸውን እንዲመረምሩ ለማስቻል ሰፊ ስራ የተሰራ መሆኑንን በዚህ አጋጣሚ እንጠቁማለን። በተለያዩ አጋጣሚዎች የተለያዩ የውጪና የአገር ውስጥ ሚዲያዎች እንደዘገቡት ሰፊ ስራ የተሰራ ቢሆንም፣ በዋናነት የጉዳዩ ባለቤት የሆነው የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ምን እየተሰራ እንደሆነ ሲረዳ ትግሉን ማቅለል፤ ውጤቱንም ማቅረብ ይቻላል የሚል እምነት አለን።

በዚህና በሌሎችም ተዛማጅ ምክንያቶች በከፍተኛ የሃላፊነት ስሜት፣ ረዥም ጊዜ ተወስዶ የተሰራው የትርጉም ሰራ ሰውን የሚያክል ክቡር ፍጥረት ከማደሪያው እንዲወጣ ተደርጎ እንዴት ወደ ጉድጓድ እንደሚወረወር ለመጪው ትውልድ በታሪክነት፣ አሁን ላለነው በመረጃነት፣ ከሁሉም በላይ ከጩኸትና ከመረጃ አልባ ክስ የምናገኘው ጥቅም አለመኖሩን በመረዳት አቋቋምን ለማስተካከል ይረዳል፣ ታላቅ ምሳሌም ይሆናል ብለን እናምናለን።

ጥናቱን በማሰራጨትና ዜጎች እጅ እንዲደርስ በማድረጉ በኩል የሁሉም ወገኖች ያልተቆጠበ ጥረት እጅግ አስፈላጊ እንደሆነ ለመግለጽ እንወዳለን። በዚህ አጋጣሚ እናወጣዋለን ብለን ካሰብንበት ጊዜ በማለፍ ተጨማሪ ሳምንታት በማዘግየታችን ታላቅ ይቅርታ እንጠይቃለን፡፡ በአገራችን ካለው የመረጃ አፈና አኳያ የጥናቱ መጠን ሰብሰብና አጠር ባለ መጠን በኢሜይል እንደሚሰራጭ ሆኖ በአዲስ መልክ ሲቀናበር ተጨማሪ ሳምንታትን መውሰዱ የግድ ሆኗል፡፡

የጋራ ንቅናቄያችን ጽሁፉን የማሰራጨቱ ስራ በጨዋነት፣ ለጽሁፉ ባለቤቶች (ለእንግሊዝኛው የኦክላንድ ተቋም ለአማርኛው ደግሞ አኢጋን) አስፈላጊውን እውቅና በመስጠት እንዲሆን በዚህ አጋጣሚ አበክረን እንሳስባለን። ከመሬት ነጠቃ በላይ የከፋ ወንጀል የለም። ዜጎችን በምድራቸው ወደ ባርነት የሚያሸጋግረው የመሬት ነጠቃ የአገሪቱን ሃብትና ንብረት እየበላ ነው። ይህንን ወደር የሌለው ወንጀል ለማጋለጥ፣ ለመታገል፣ ለመቃወምም ሆነ ተዛማጅነት ያላቸው ተግባራት ለማከናወን ለሚፈልጉ ተቋማት፣ ግለሰቦችና ሚዲያዎች ይረዳ ዘንድ (Land Grab – http://landgrabsmne.wordpress.com) የሚባል ብሎግ እንዲሁም በፌስቡክ Land Grab/መሬት ነጠቃ መከፈቱን ለማሳወቅ እንወዳለን። በቅርቡ የሚሻሻለው ይህ ብሎግና የፌስቡክ ገጽ ከመሬት ወረራ ጋር በተያያዘ ሁሉም ዓይነት ማስረጃዎች የሚታተሙበት ስለሚሆን መረጃ ለሚፈልጉ ወገኖች ሁሉ መልካም አጋጣሚ ይሆናል። ጥናታዊ ዘገባውን ከድረገጻችን ላይ ለማግኘት እዚህ ላይ ይጫኑ፡፡ በኢሜይል ለማግኘት የሚፈልጉ በሙሉ በሚከተለው አድራሻ (media@solidaritymovement.org) ቢጠይቁን በቀጥታ የምንልክ መሆናችንን እናሳውቃለን፡፡

በመጨረሻም የጋራ ንቅናቄያችን ዋና ዳይሬክተር ለተርጓሚው ከሁሉም በላይ ግን የስርዓቱ ላንቃ ስር ሆነው የህይወት ዋጋ በመክፈል መረጃ ለሰጡት ወገኖች የአክብሮት ምስጋና አቅርበዋል። አቶ ኦባንግ በመልዕክታቸው “በቦታው ላይ ሆናችሁ ለህይወታችሁ ሳትፈሩ ይህንን መረጃ የሰጣችሁ ሁሉ የአገር ጀግኖች ናችሁ፤ አሁን አትታወቁም። አሁን ልንገልጻችሁ አንችልም። ጊዜና ወቅት ጀግንነታችሁን እስኪገልጹት ግን አትረሱም። ልትረሱም አትችሉም። ብዙ ባይነገርላችሁና ባይዘመርላችሁም ታላቅ ስራ ሰርታችሁዋልና ክብር ይሁንላችሁ” ብለዋል፡፡

ለአዲሲቷ ኢትዮጵያ የጋራ ንቅናቄ

የሚዲያና ሕዝብ ግንኙነት ግብረኃይል

የ ሙሉውን ጥናት ትርጉም በአማርኛ ለማንበብ እዚህ ይጫኑ Understanding Land Investment Deals in Africa (Ethiopia)

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ለዚህ ደብዳቤ ምላሽም ሆነ ለተጨማሪ መረጃ ዋና ዳይሬክተሩን ለሚዲያ ክፍሉ (media@solidaritymovement.org) በመጻፍ ወይም ድረገጻችንን (www.solidaritymovement.org) በመጎብኘት ለመረዳት ይችላሉ፡፡

Posted in Africa, Ethiopia | No Comments »

Edu-corruption and Mis-education in Ethiopia

Monday, May 13th, 2013

educ Educorruption and the miseducation of Ethiopian youth

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” said Nelson Mandela. For the late Meles Zenawi and his apostles (the Melesistas) in Ethiopia, the reverse is true: Ignorance is the most powerful weapon you can use to prevent change and cling to power. They have long adopted the motto of George Orwell’s Oceania: “Ignorance is Strength”. Indeed, ignorance is a powerful weapon to manipulate, emasculate and subjugate the masses. Keep ‘em ignorant and impoverished and they won’t give you any trouble.

For the Melesistas education is indoctrination. They feed the youth a propaganda diet rich in misinformation, disinformation, distortions, misguided opinions, worn out slogans and sterile dogmas from a bygone era. Long ago, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, “Father of African-American History”, warned against such indoctrination and miseducation of the oppressed: “When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his proper place and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary.” The rulers in Ethiopia continue to use higher educational institutions not as places of learning, inquiry and research but as diploma mills for a new breed of party hacks and zombie ideologues doomed to blind and unquestioning servility. “Zombie go… zombie stop… zombie turn… zombie think…,” sang the great African musician Fela Kuti. I’d say, “zombie teach… zombie learn… zombie read… zombie dumb… zombie dumber.”

For over two decades, Meles and his gang have tried to keep Ethiopians in a state of blissful ignorance where the people are forced at gunpoint to speak no evil, see no evil and hear no evil. Meles and his posse have spent a king’s ransom to jam international radio and satellite transmissions to prevent the free flow of information to the people. They have blocked internet access to alternative and critical sources of information and views. According to a 2012 report of Freedom House, the highly respected nongovernmental research and advocacy organization established in 1941, “Ethiopia has one of the lowest rates of internet and mobile telephone penetration on the continent. Despite low access, the government maintains a strict system of controls and is the only country in Sub-Saharan Africa to implement nationwide internet filtering.” They have shuttered independent newspapers, jailed reporters, editors and bloggers and exiled dozens of journalists in a futile attempt to conceal their horrific crimes against humanity and vampiric corruption. They have succeeded in transforming Ethiopia from the “Land of 13 Months of Sunshine” to the “Land of Perpetual Darkness”.

But my commentary here is not about the Benighted Kingdom of Ethiopia where ignoramuses are kings, queens, princes and princesses. I am concerned about the systemic and rampant corruption in Ethiopia’s “education sector”. The most destructive and pernicious form of corruption occurs in education. Educorruption steals the future of youth. It permanently cripples them intellectually by denying them opportunities to acquire knowledge and transform their lives and take control of the destiny of their nation. As Malcom X perceptively observed, “Without education, you are not going anywhere in this world.” Could Ethiopia’s youth go anywhere in this world trapped and chained deep in the belly of a corrupt educational system?

I will admit that in the hundreds of weekly commentaries I have written over the last half dozen or so years, I have not given education in Ethiopia the critical attention it deserved. I have no excuse for not engaging the issue more intensely. In my own defense, I can only say that when an entire generation of Ethiopian scholars, academics, professors and learned elites stands silent as a bronze statute witnessing the tyranny of ignorance in action, the burden on the few who try to become the voices of the voiceless on every issue is enormous.

I have previously commented on the lack of academic freedom in Ethiopian higher education and the politicization of education in Ethiopia. In my February 2008 commentary “Tyranny in the Academy”, I called attention to the lack of academic freedom at Mekelle Law School. I defended Abigail Salisbury who was a visiting professor at that law school when she was summarily fired by Meles after she published an academic commentary on her experiences at that law school:

…I was absolutely shocked, then, when I started reading my students’ work. Out of the hundred third-year students I teach, probably forty of them had inserted a special section, right after the cover page, warning me of what might happen to them were their paper to leave my hands. A number of students wrote that they would never give their real opinions to an Ethiopian professor because they fear being turned in to the government and punished. Others begged me to take their work back to America with me so that people would know what was going on…

In my September 2010 commentary, “Indoctri-Nation”, I criticized the Meles regime for politicizing education. The “Ministry of Education” (reminds one of Orwell’s “Ministry of Truth” (Ignorance)) at the time had issued a “directive” effectively outlawing distance learning (education programs that are not delivered in the traditional university classroom or campus) throughout the country. The regime had also sought to corner the disciplines of law and teaching for state-controlled universities, creating a monopoly and pipeline for the training of party hacks to swarm the teaching and legal professions. I demonstrated that “directive” was in flagrant violation and in willful disregard of the procedural safeguards of the Higher Education Proclamation No. 650/2009. It did not faze them. (It was time to mint a new legal maxim: “The ignorant are entitled to ignore their own law and invoke ignorance of their own law as a defense.”)

The “directive” was at odds with the recommendations of the World Bank (which has been assisting the regime in improving education administration and delivery of services) for increased emphasis on the creation of a network of “tertiary educational” institutions (e.g. distance learning centers, private colleges, vocational training services, etc.,) to help support the “production of the higher-order capacity” necessary for Ethiopia’s development. In its 2003 sector study “Higher Education Development for Ethiopia”, the World Bank had recommended “a near term goal [of] doubl[ing] the share of private enrollments from the current 21% to 40% by 2010.” By 2010, the Meles regime had decided to reduce private tertiary institutions, particularly the burgeoning distance learning sector, to zero!

In my October 2010 commentary, “Ethiopia: Education Unbanned!”, I was pleasantly surprised but unconvinced by the Meles regime’s apparent change of strategy to abandon its decision to impose a blanket ban on distance learning and reach a negotiated resolution of instructional quality issues with distance learning providers. I pointed out a few lessons Meles and his crew could learn from the bureaucratic fiasco. (Is it really possible for the closed- and narrow-minded to learn?)

I focus on educational corruption in Ethiopia in this commentary for four reasons: 1) I was appalled by the corruption findings in the recent World Bank 448-page report “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia”. That report, with bureaucratic delicacy and hesitancy, demonstrates the cancer of corruption which afflicts the Ethiopian body politic has metastasized into the educational sector putting the nation’s youth at grave risk. 2) There is widespread acknowledgement that education in Ethiopia at all levels is in a pitiful condition. For instance, a 2010 Newsweek “study of health, education, economy, and politics” showed Ethiopia with a population of 88 million had a literacy rate of 43.3 percent, and ranked 98 out of 100 countries on education. 3) Few Ethiopian educators and scholars are examining the issue of educational corruption and its implications for the future of the country and its youth. Hopefully, this commentary could spur some of them to investigate corruption in education (and other areas) and conduct related policy research and analysis. 4) I had promised in my first weekly commentary of 2013 to pay special attention to youth issues in Ethiopia during the year. Nothing is more important to Ethiopia’s youth than education. Youth without education are youth without a future and without hope. Youth without education are emblematic of a nation in despair.

World Bank findings on corruption in the Ethiopian education sector

The WB report on the education sector alludes to an Ethiopian proverb in assessing the culture of corruption and impunity: “Sishom Yalbela Sishar Ykochewal” — roughly translates into English as follows: “One who does not exploit to the full his position when he is promoted will lament when he no longer has the opportunity.”

Ethiopia’s education sector has become a haven and a refuge for prebendalist (where those affiliated with the ruling regime feel entitled to receive a share of the loot) party hacks and a bottomless barrel of patronage. The Meles regime has used jobs, procurement and other opportunities in the education sector to reward and sustain loyalty in its support base. They have been handing out teaching jobs to their supporters like candy and procurement opportunities to their cronies like cake. “In Ethiopia’s decentralized yet authoritarian system,considerable powers exist among senior officials at the federal, regional, and woreda levels. Of particular relevance to this study is the discretion exercised by politically appointed officials at the woreda level, directly affecting the management of teachers.”

In “mapping corruption in the education sector in Ethiopia”, “the World Bank report cautions that “corruption in education can be multifaceted, ranging from large distortions in resource allocation and significant procurement-related fraud to smaller amounts garnered through daily opportunities for petty corruption and nontransparent financial management.” Corruption in the education sector is quadri-dimensional “affecting the selection of teachers for training, recruitment, skills upgrading, or promotion; falsification of documents to obtain qualifications, jobs, or promotions and fraud and related bribery in examinations and conflict of interest in procurement.”

The “selection of candidates for technical training colleges (TTCs)” is the fountainhead of educational corruption in Ethiopia. According to the WB report, “students do not generally choose to become teachers but are centrally selected from a pool of those who have failed to achieve high grades.” In other words, the regime’s policy is to populate the teaching profession with, for lack of a better word, the “dumber” students. Such students also make the most servile party hacks. But it is a spectacular revelation that the future of Ethiopia’s youth — the future of Ethiopia itself — is in the hands of “those who have failed to achieve high grades”. Ignorant teachers and ignorant students= Ignorance is strength. Could a greater crime be committed against Ethiopia’s youth and Ethiopia?

To add insult to injury, the selection of underachieving students to pursue teacher training institutes is itself infected by “bribery, favoritism and nepotism.” The most flagrant corrupt practices include “manipulation of the points system for selection of students to higher education.” The “allocate[on] of higher percentage points for results from transcripts and national exams than for entrance exams” has “enabled a large number of inadequately qualified students to join the affected institutes, sometimes with forged transcripts. This practice has affected the quality of students gaining entry to higher education and eroded the quality of the training program.” In other words, even among underachievers seeking to become teachers, it is the washouts, the duds and flops that are likely to become teachers!

Fraud and related corrupt practices in matriculation are commonplace. According to the WB report, there is

a significant risk of corruption in examinations…The types of fraudulent practices in examinations include forged admission cards enable students to pay other students to sit exams for them, collusion allowing both individual and group cheating in examinations, assistance from invigilators (exam monitors) and school and local officials (during exams), higher-level interference [in which] regional officials overturned the disqualification of cheaters, fraudulent overscoring of examination papers [by] teachers are bribed by parents and students, fraudulent certification of transcripts and certificates to help students graduate.

Although there are public officials who have considered reporting corrupt practices, they have refrained from doing so because there was “a strong sense that there is no protection to guard against possible reprisals directed at those who report malpractice.” There is no place for whistle blowers in Ethiopia’s edu-corruptocracy.

Recruitment and management of teachers is a separate universe of corrupt practices. “In Ethiopia, the overwhelming bulk of expenditure in education is taken up by salaries of teachers” and there is a “high risk of bribery, extortion, favoritism, or nepotism in selecting teachers for promotion, upgrading, or grants.” The WB report found “nepotism and favoritism in recruitment were broad and frequent—namely that, in some woredas, the recruitment of teachers (and other community-based workers) is based on political affiliation, including paid-up membership of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).”

What is shocking is not only the culture of corruption in education but also the culture of impunity — the belief that there are no consequences for practicing corruption. The WB report shows not only the “prevalence of fraud and falsification of teaching qualifications and other documents, reflecting weak controls, poor-quality documents (that are easily falsified), [but also] the widespread belief that such a practice would not be detected… For such falsification to go unnoticed, there is a related risk of the officials supporting or approving the application being implicated in the corrupt practice.”

The types of corrupt practices that occur at the management level are stunning. Managers manipulate access to “program of enhancing teacher qualifications through in-service training during holiday periods by using their positions to influence the selection of candidates. Hidden relationships are used in teacher upgrading, with officials at the zonal or woreda level taking the first option on upgradation programs.” The appointment of local education officials is not “competitive” but “politically assigned”. Collusion between local managers and teachers over noncompliance with curriculum, academic calendar, and similar practices is a relatively common practice and “reduces the provision of educational services.” This situation is made worse by “teacher absenteeism [which] is tolerated by head teachers, within the context of staff perceiving a need to supplement their income through private tutoring or other forms of income generation.” Poorly paid teachers supplement their incomes by “private tutoring [which] is widespread, with 40 percent of school officials reporting it as a practice.” Corruption also extends to “teachers paying bribes or kickbacks to management, mostly school directors, to allocate shorter work hours in schools so that they can use the freed-up time to earn fees as teachers in private schools.” The payola is hierarchically distributed: “Bribes received are likely to be shared first with superiors, then with a political party, and then with colleagues, in that order.”

Falsification of documents including forged transcripts and certificates occurs on an “industrial” scale and is “most prevalent in the provision of certification for completing the primary or secondary school cycles” and in generating bogus “documents in support of applications for promotion”.

Procurement (official purchases of goods and services from private sources) is the low hanging fruit. “In the education sector, a number of public actors maybe involved [in procurement], depending on the size and type of the task. These include national and local government politicians and managers.” Some people have a lock on the procurement system. Successful “tendering companies” are likely to have “family or other connections with officials responsible for procurement”. Procurement corruption also takes the forms of “uncompetitive practices” “including the formation of a cartel, obstruction of potential new entrants to the market, or other forms of uncompetitive practices that may or may not include a conspiratorial role on the part of those responsible for procurement.” Other procurement related corruption includes “favoritism, nepotism, or bribery in the short-listing of consultants or contractors or the provision of tender information.” There are some “favored contractors and consultants” who have a “dominant market position” and are “awarded contracts for which they were not eligible to bid.” Corruption also occurs in the form of defective construction, substandard materials and overclaims of quantities.

Construction quality issues are considered a significant problem in the construction of educational facilities, particularly in the case of small, remote facilities where high standards of construction supervision can be difficult to achieve. For example, a toilet block in a school collapsed a month after completion. The contractor responsible for building the facility was not required to make the work good or repay the amount paid, nor was the contractor sanctioned. The matter was not investigated. Such problems are a significant indicator of corrupt practices, particularly when the contractor is not ultimately held to account for its failures…

There is corruption in the “purchase of substandard or defective supplies or equipment. For this to go unchallenged by those responsible for procurement strongly suggests either a lack of capacity, corrupt practices, or both.” According to an example cited in the WB report, “a large fleet of buses purchased by the MOE [“Ministry of Education”] using Teacher Development Program funds and distributed to TTCs were found to be defective. The TTCs complained that the MOE had dumped the buses on them. The MOE subsequently sent auditors to determine whether the complaint was genuine.”

The amazing fact is that the regime reflexively decided to investigate those who filed the complaint, and not the reported crooks. They automatically assumed the technical training colleges were lying and sent their auditors to investigate them for possible false reporting of defective buses!! (Orwelliana: The criminals are the victims and the victims are the criminals.) There is evidence of theft and resale of school supplies or equipment. “One such indication relates to the alleged illegal sale of education facilities, with related allegations of nepotism. A city education office is alleged to have sold valuable heritage buildings in a secondary school to a private developer and then to have requested land to rebuild the school facilities.”

Changing the culture of corruption and impunity

The culture of corruption and impunity in Ethiopia must be changed. The WB report observes,

In Ethiopia, the pattern of perception suggests that outright bribery is perceived to be more corrupt than, for example, favoritism or the falsification of documentation. There is also a sense that some practices, such as expressing gratitude to a client through the giving of a small gift, are normal business practice and not necessarily corrupt. Finally, there is an underlying acceptance among many that the state has the right to intervene in the market if that is considered to be in the national interest, and there is little sense that such interventions could be at variance with ongoing efforts to promote the level playing field needed for effective privatization of service provision, including in the education sector.

It is unlikely that a corrupt regime has the will, capacity or interest to change its own modus operandi. As I have argued elsewhere, having the “Federal Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission” (FEAC) investigate the architects and beneficiaries of corruption in Ethiopia is like having Tweedle Dee investigate Tweedle Dum. It is an exercise in futility and an absurdity. FEAC is a toothless, clawless and feckless make-believe do-nothing bureaucratic shell incapable of investigating corruption in its own offices let alone systemic corruption in the country.

Pressures for accountability and transparency could come from domestic civil society institutions, but as the WB report points out, a 2009 “civil societies law” has decimated such institutions. The only practical and effective mechanism for accountability and transparency in the education sector is the institutionalization of an independent and energetic teachers’ union. But the regime has destroyed the real teachers’ union. According to the WB report,

Teachers in Ethiopia have historically been represented by the Ethiopian Teachers’ Association (ETA), founded in 1949. Following a long legal battle, a 2008 court ruling took away the right of the ETA to its name and all of its assets, creating a different organization with an identical name. Most teachers are now members of this replacement organization, for which dues are deducted from teachers’ salaries. The original ETA, now reorganized as the National Teachers Association (NTA), considers the new ETA to be unduly influenced by the government and has complained of discrimination against its members. Such concerns have in turn been expressed internationally through a range of bodies including the International Labour Organization (ILO 2009).

The mis-edcuation of Ethiopia’s youth and stolen futures

Education of Ethiopia’s youth is a human rights issue for me and not just a matter of professional concern as an educator. Corruption in the education sector is so severe that the future of Ethiopia’s youth is at grave risk. As Transparency International admonishes,

Stolen resources from education budgets mean overcrowded classrooms and crumbling schools, or no schools at all. Books and supplies are sometimes sold instead of being given out freely. Schools and universities also ‘sell’ school places or charge unauthorised fees, forcing students (usually girls) to drop out. Teachers and lecturers are appointed through family connections, without qualifications. Grades can be bought, while teachers force students to pay for tuition outside of class. In higher education, undue government and private sector influence can skew research agendas.

It is true “ignorance is strength”. The Meles regime seeks to create an army of ignorant youth zombie clones who will march lockstep and follow their orders: “Zombie go, zombie stop, zombie think… zombie learn… zombie dumb… zombie dumber…” If ignorance is strength, then knowledge is power. When “ignorant” youth gain knowledge, they become an unstoppable force.

It may not be manifest to many but Ethiopia’s mis-educated youth are on the rise. A quiet riot is raging among the youth debilitated by overwhelming despair and anguish. The youth look at themselves and their lost futures under a corrupt tyranny. They know things are not going to get better. For now the despair simmers but it will reach a boiling point. Mohamed Bouazizi was a 26 year old Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire in December 2010. Dictator Ben Ali did not see it coming, but the fire that consumed Bouazizi also consumed and transformed not only Tunisia but also led to an Arab Spring. Moamar Gadhafi, the great “Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya” died at the hands of youth he miseducated for 42 years. Informed, enlightened and interconnected Egyptian youth brought down the Mubarak regime in less than two weeks!

Ethiopia’s youth will rise because there is no force that can keep them down. The only question is when not if. That is the immutable of law of history. In the end, I believe Ethiopia’s youth will remember not the deeds and misdeeds of those who miseducated them and robbed them of their futures, but the silence of the scholars, intellectuals, academics, professors and learned men and women who watched the tyranny of ignorance like bronze statutes. I am confident in my conviction that there will come a time when Ethiopia’s youth will stand up collectively, and each one pointing an index finger, shout out, “J’accuse!”

Ignorance is strength but knowledge is power! Fight the tyranny of ignorance. Educate yourself!

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.

Previous commentaries by the author are available at:

http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/

www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/

Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:

http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic

http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24

Tags: abigail salisbury ethiopia, academic freedom ethiopia, carter g. woodson miseducation, corruption ethiopia education, diagnosing corruption ethiopia, distance learning ethiopia, Ethiopia Corruption, Ethiopia Dictatorship, ethiopia educorruption, ethiopia false documents, ethiopia internet, ethiopia ministry education, ethiopia miseducation, ethiopia students, ethiopia teachers, ethiopia world bank corruption, Ethiopia Youth, freedom house ethiopia, george orwell oceania, ignorance is strength, malcom x education, mekelle law school, Meles Zenawi, melesistas, nelson mandela education, politics, teachers union ethiopia, zombie ethiopia, zombie fela kuti
Posted in Africa, Analysis, Ethiopia, Featured, News | No Comments »

Abune Petros in our heart.

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

Abune Petros in our heart. By Yilma Bekele

On July 29th. 1936 Abune Petros was executed by the Italian fascist that were trying to colonize our country for his refusal to submit. On May 2nd. 2013 the monument that was built to commemorate our Holy Father was removed by the order of the TPLF party that is currently ruling our country. Our Holy Father died for the first time. The murder by a firing squad was an honor and showed his deep love for his people and country. The fascist killed his body but he made his home in every Ethiopian soul for ever and ever. We all carry Abune Petros in our heart. ‘Abune Petros Adebabaye’, ‘Abune Petros Hawelt’ is not just a location but the symbol of our pride and the true meaning of sacrifice for a higher cause.

The order to Kill Abune Petros was given by the fascist Viceroy Graziani but the trigger was pulled by solders from the North that were faithfully serving the fascist invader. The order to remove our monument to our beloved father was given by the TPLF party but the backhoe and flatbed truck was driven by modern day Banda’s.
They claim the removal is temporary. That is not the issue. Was it necessary is our question. Could it have been avoided is our point. Aren’t there some things considered priceless is our contention. The same people that moved heaven and earth to bring back our stolen Obelisk and erect it in its rightful place felt no qualms about dispatching daily laborers to bring our hero down and place him in a warehouse. We rejoiced when our obelisk was returned because it is the symbol of our glorious past. Although their leader dismissed our joy and happiness and tried to claim it as his peoples private history we bit our tongue and dismissed his rudeness for immaturity.

I agree it is difficult to personally relate to a stone like an obelisk. Nevertheless it is the product of our ancestors and a symbol of their ingenuity for that period in our past. But Abune Petros is a living symbol every one of us would have no problem claiming, admiring and silently thinking ‘would I have courage to act like him?’
Abune Petros is what I always thought we Ethiopians were like. I was raised at a time when being an Ethiopian was something special. There was not enough adjective to describe our country and people. Yes I am aware that we had lots of problems to resolve after all forging a nation is not a cake walk. There were many that were left behind and quite a few that did not get a fair share of what was on the table. We are still trying to come to terms with that.
That still should not dampen our glorious past. Abune Petros was one of those bigger than life Ethiopians that added a positive value to our experience. He defined patriotism, resolve, love, spiritual guidance and commitment to the truth. He accompanied our Emperor and the civilian army to Maichew and confronted the fascist army. He witnessed the gallantry of his people and the savageness of the European invaders. They came with modern weapons and poison gas to scare us to submission. We lost the battle but it only made us realize defeat was not an option. Surrender was not the language of the Ethiopian at that time. Yes times do change. A visitor would have a hard time believing the current generation descended from those that even washed the shoes of the foreigners least they take our soil with them.

Abune Petros continued to fight the way he knew. His religion and his love for his country were his weapons. From the monastery of Debre Libanos to far away churches he continued to rally his people to stand up straight and took the cry ‘By any means necessary!’ to drive the invader out of our cherished land. During his interrogation this is what he told the fascist authority when asked to accept Italy’s sovereignty over Ethiopia or face death.

“The cry of my countrymen who died due to your nerve-gas and terror machinery will never allow my conscious to accept your ultimatum. How can I see my God if I give a blind eye to such a crime?”
His last words before the bullets tore our bishop and Holy Father were:
“My fellow Ethiopians, do not believe the Fascists if they tell you that the patriots are bandits, the patriots are people who yearn for freedom from the terrors of fascism. Bandits are the soldiers who are standing in front of me and you, who came from far away to violently occupy a weak and peaceful country. May God give the people of Ethiopia the strength to resist and never bow to the Fascist army and its violence. May the Ethiopian earth never accept the invading army’s rule.”

His defiance and heroism became the battle cry of our patriotic army thru out the land and it echoed in our valleys and mountains from north to south east to west and the invader never saw a day of peace until they were driven out.
This was the man and his memory our new Bandas were trying to extinguish that day a week ago. They thought removing a statue would erase history. They tried to cover their mis-deeds with talk of progress. We are not against progress. We in the Diaspora contribute more than our share to help our country and people. As a matter of fact there would be no tall buildings, no dinner on the table and no profitable Ethiopian Airlines and no TPLF millionaire without remittance from the Diaspora. We just know that there are some things more important than others and our heritage, our history and our patriots cannot be kicked around wantonly. We are also well aware of TPLF’s habit of using wedge issues to divide us and hiding behind nation building while using a wrecking ball to destroy our history.

It is a sad sign of the times that our dear father’s memorial statue was removed without much protest. Those that preach about waging a ‘peaceful struggle’ against the new Bandas were nowhere to be seen holding a vigil. They were given an opportunity to unite and galvanize their people and use this Woyane insult against our history as a ‘teachable’ moment. Yes a little sacrifice is what is required to fight injustice. Yes there is imprisonment, injury even death in the struggle for freedom and dignity. People like Eskinder, Reyot, Andualem, Bekele Gerba , Abubeker and Woubeshet are behind bars because they choose not to submit to injustice and heed Abune Petros’s call to stand their ground. I am sure what gives them such determination is his everlasting pray “May God give the people of Ethiopia the strength to resist and never bow to the Fascist army and its violence.” We shall overcome.

For further Info please go to:

http://www.ethiopianorthodox.org/gallery/todaysphoto/abunepetros/index.htm

http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/28504

Tags: Abune Petros, dictatorship, Eskinder Nega, Ethiopia, Ethiopia Political Prisoners, woyane, yilma bekele
Posted in Ethiopia | No Comments »

ENTC responds to Teodros Adhanom’s allegations

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013

Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC) leadership issued an open letter in response to Teodros Adhanom’s allegations that the organization’s demand to investigate the legality of the regime’s bond sales abroad constitutes an anti-Ethiopia sentiment.

Read the response – Amharic (pdf)

Read the response – English (pdf)

Posted in Ethiopia | No Comments »

Ethiopia: Shadowboxing Smoke and Mirrors

Monday, May 6th, 2013

shadow Meles Zenawi when he was alive and his apostles today (“Melesistas”) keep playing us in the Diaspora like a cheap fiddle. They make us screech, shriek, scream and shout by simply showing their mugs in our cities. How do they do it? Every now and then, the Melesistas suit up a few of their bumbling and bungling zombies from central casting and unleash them into the Ethiopian Diaspora to “sell bonds” for the “Grand Meles Dam” to be built over the Blue Nile. Anytime these zombies show up to panhandle chump change from their supporters, a welcoming committee of defiant and patriotic Ethiopian activists show up to chase them out of town like campers at a national park chasing coyotes scrounging at the trash bin. For the past several weeks, Diaspora activists have been routing these imposters across European and American cities; but incredibly, these brazen con artists show up in the next city like snake oil salesmen at a carnival. That really piqued my curiosity. Why do these scammers show up in city after city knowing that they will be confronted and chased out by young patriotic Ethiopians? Are they really fundraising by “selling bonds” in the Diaspora or are they using “fundraising” as a cover for something altogether different? Ummm!!!

First, the irrefutable facts about the Meles Dam hogwash. As I demonstrated in my March 11 commentary, “Rumors of Water War on the Nile?”, the Meles Dam on the Blue Nile (Abay River) was the exquisite figment of Meles’ imagination, and now the phantasmic idol of worship for his discombobulated apostles. Anyone who bothers to study the facts of this so-called dam project will readily conclude that it is pie in the sky. It is “self-funded” because the multilateral lending institutions and private investors who normally bankroll such major infrastructure projects wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole standing a mile away. They have determined it is a white elephant. Egypt has also used its leverage to block funding sources. Egypt has contingency military plans to undam the dam if it ever comes on line.

The fact of the matter is that it is impossible for the bumbling regime in Ethiopia, which sustains itself through international panhandling, to raise the USD$6-10bn needed from the people of the second poorest country in the world. The regime does not even have sufficient foreign reserves to cover the cost of imports for three months. Its foreign debt exceeds USD$12bn; and despite windbagging about an 11 percent annual growth, the “fifth fastest growing economy in the world”, yada, yada, unemployment, inflation, mismanagement and corruption have put on life support an economy addicted to international handouts. The idea that nickels and dimes collected from Ethiopians in the country by staging “musical concerts, a lottery and an SMS campaign” and a buck or two from Diaspora Ethiopians could build such a project is simply nutty. Because the dam builders live in a fool’s paradise, they think Diaspora Ethiopians are all “fools and idiots” who will buy fantasy dam bonds. (Just as an aside, those who are buying Meles Dam junk bonds should first consider buying the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.) Anyway, the Diaspora “bond sales” effort has been a total failure. The regime recently announced that it had collected $43,160 from its latest bond sales in San Diego, CA. Yeah! Right!

For domestic public relations purposes, the Melesistas’ strategic objective in pushing the Meles Dam hoax is to create patriotic fervor and galvanize the entire population around an object of national pride while deifying Meles and generating political support for themselves to prolong their lease on political power. The Meles Dam would at once be a hydrological temple to worship “Meles the Great Leader and Visionary” and a symbolic object of national unity that could rally massive support for the regime. The Melesistas have convinced themselves that by talking about the Meles Dam 24/7, 365 days, they can convince the people that the dam is actually under construction. They blather about building the “largest dam in Africa” and Ethiopia becoming a middle income country and a formidable regional economic power in just a few years. They talk about their “visionary leader” and how they will blindly follow his vision to the end of the rainbow where they will collect their pot of gold in the form of Meles Dam bonds. They march on chanting their mantra: “We will follow Meles’ vision without doubt or question.”

They must really think the people are “fools and idiots” (to borrow a phrase from Susan Rice) to be fooled by their silly dog and pony show and talk of pie in the sky. The Ethiopian people may not know about a “pie in the sky”, but they certainly know about the “cow they have in the sky whose milk they never see.” But careful analysis shows the Melesistas have pulled this one right out of Joseph Goebbel’s bag of tricks: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” Isn’t this exactly what the Melesistas are doing in Ethiopia now – repeat the dam lie, development lie and repress dissent and persecute journalist who tell the truth?

The Melesistas think they are so smart that they can hoodwink not only Ethiopians in the country but also those in the Diaspora. They put on a dam “bond selling” show to convince Diasporans that the Meles Dam is real and that it is the panacea to Ethiopia’s economic woes. “Buy dam bonds! Ethiopia will be rafting on a river of milk and honey once the Blue Nile is dammed.” But only a damned fool would believe that. According to the World Bank, Ethiopia’s “power sector alone would require $3.3 billion per year to develop” in the next decade. Currently, power tariffs are so underpriced that they range between “$0.04-0.08 per kilowatt-hour” and are “low by regional standards and recover only 46 percent of the costs of the utility.” For every dollar they spend supplying power, they lose 54 cents! In other words, these guys hawking the Meles Dam junk bonds and promising billions in profits are losing their shirts on the power they are selling right now! Why would anyone trust and buy dam bonds from those who can’t even make a damn profit from existing dams? Why would anyone buy dam junk bonds when the outlook for the energy sector in Ethiopia is so damn bleak? The Melesistas fantasize that they can pay off bondholders by selling power from the dam to the Sudan, Egypt and the Arabian peninsula. Why the hell would Egypt or the Sudan buy power from a dam that damns them by effectively reducing their water supply for agriculture and their own production of power?

The real aim of the Meles Dam is not the construction of a dam over the Blue Nile but to use the specter of the construction of a gargantuan dam on the Nile to inspire fear, loathing and dread of an imminent regional water war. Simply stated, the dam idea is an extortion scheme to scam the international community and downstream countries for more aid and loans as a price for continued regional stability, avoidance of conflict and maintenance of the status quo. Suffice it to say, one has to be a damned “fool and an idiot” to believe the Meles Dam will ever be built or buy Meles Dam junk bonds and expect a return. (Buying the Brooklyn Bridge is a much better investment.)

Shadowboxing Smoke and Mirrors

So, why do the Melsistas send zombies into the Diaspora on a fool’s errand? They know they will be shamed and disgraced and chased out of every American and European city like stray dogs at a bazaar. They know they will be lucky to squeeze a few hundred dollars at a Diaspora “bond selling” event. Do they do it because they are professional beggars and panhandlers?

There is a deceptively simple method to their madness. They send their zombies in the Diaspora to make us shadowbox smoke and mirrors. They are playing a simple but clever psychological game.

The Melesistas are getting hammered everyday by bad publicity. Hardly a day passes without some report by an international human rights, press or research organization documenting their monumental crimes against humanity. Just in the past few months, there have been numerous reports and press releases by Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists and a host of newspaper and television outlets, including Al Jazeera and CNN, on massive human rights violations, land grabs, ethnic cleansing, suppression of religious freedom and other issues in Ethiopia. Recently, the World Bank made public a 448-page corruption report on Ethiopia. A couple of weeks ago, the U.S. State Department released its annual Human Rights Report on Ethiopia documenting the regime’s “arbitrary killings, torture, beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees by security forces, harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, arbitrary arrests and detentions, detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention, illegal searches, “villagization” (pillagization) program, restrictions on freedom of assembly, association, and movement, interference in religious affairs…” This past week, they got clobbered in the international press for a kangaroo appellate court affirmance of the 18-year sentences of the internationally-acclaimed journalist Eskinder Nega and dynamic opposition leader Andualem Aragie.

The Melesistas have become international pariahs and desperately want to change the topic from Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu, Woubshet Taye, Andualem Aragie…, corruption, ethnic cleansing, land giveaways, suppression of religious freedom and interference in religious affairs and critical human rights reports. They want to take control of the international public relations agenda. They want to shed off their international image as corrupt thugs who trample on human rights and steal elections. They want to reinvent themselves as anti-poverty warriors and statesmen of economic development. They want to be seen as the new “new breed of African leaders” toiling indefatigably to eradicate poverty and promote economic development and democracy.

In a Machiavellian maneuver, they have, to some extent, succeeded in getting Diaspora Ethiopians, particularly the activists, to promote their “dam development” agenda for them in America, Europe and elsewhere. Every time Diaspora activists confront the zombie junk bond dealers and brokers, they are seen talking (but saying nothing) about development, growth, infrastructure projects and how the Meles Dam will transform Ethiopia into an economic powerhouse. (They never mention the massive foreign debt, the USD$12bn that has left the country illegally since 2001, the massive youth unemployment, accelerating population growth, etc.). They always sheath their bloody hands in the glove of development talk. When activists protest and confront these zombies, they appear to be anti-development obstructionist agitators. That’s is the exquisite trick of the Melesistas. They want the world to see Diaspora Ethiopians as a bunch of rowdy, wild, disorderly, loudmouthed, raucous, uncivil and intolerant bunch who will not even allow civil discussions of “development”. They aim to create and nurture the image of a few combative “Diaspora extremists” and an overwhelming number of silent (as a church mouse) regime supporters who are afraid to come forward (or attend their “bond selling” events) and show their support for fear of attack by the “extremists.” In the mix are the hapless Diasporans who have to go back and forth to Ethiopia to secure their property and business interests. Those guys are toast; either they pay protection money (buy dam bonds) or get jacked up on some trumped up charge and lose their properties or worse.

The Melesistas’ strategy to counter bad publicity and capture the domestic and international public relations commanding heights is based on three principles: Distract, distract and distract some more. Distract Ethiopians inside the country from critical political, social and economic issues by bombarding them with inane development propaganda. State television (which is watched by virtually no one in the country) is filled with ceaseless barrages of nauseating and mind numbing amateur development propaganda. It is vintage police state propaganda aimed at convincing a largely illiterate population that famine is plenty, decline is development, poverty is wealth, dictatorship is democracy and the man who destroyed the country is its savior.

The second strategy is to distract Diaspora Ethiopians from vigorously pursuing an agenda that promotes democracy freedom and human rights. They unleash a few smooth-talking empty suits with empty heads and let them wander from one city to another in the U.S. and Europe just to get Ethiopian activists emotionally worked up about a fantasy dam and lose their focus on issues of human rights violations, abuse of political prisoners, ethnic cleansing, suppression of religious freedoms, and myriad economic problems. Some Diaspora activists react vigorously whenever they see these hapless empty suits at “bond selling” events believing they are confronting the master criminals. Therein lies the trick. The Melesistas are so clever that they have succeeded in making some of us believe that the puppets are actually the puppet masters. We need to be aware that the empty suits they send into the Diaspora to sell the dam bonds are just schmucks and buffoons who do what they are told; or “zombies” as the great African musician Fela Kuti would have called them (“Zombie go… zombie stop…zombie turn…zombie think…” ) They are bait and are offered as scapegoats to the Diaspora. By chasing the puppets out of town, some of us feel we have chased out the puppet masters. But the puppet masters laugh at us because our victory is the victory of the shadow boxer who knocked out the shadow.

The third strategy of the Melesistas is to distract donors and human rights organizations from criticizing them on their atrocious human rights record. They want to justify and convince them that the masses of ordinary Ethiopians are interested in the politics of the belly and not the politics of the ballot. Meles declared, “My view is that there is no direct relationship between economic growth and democracy historically or theoretically.” They want to convince donors and human rights organizations that the masses do not care about human rights or democracy; they are concerned only about filling their bellies. To them, the masses of poor, illiterate, hungry and sick Ethiopians are too dumb and too damn needy to appreciate “political democracy.”

Legacy of the great manipulator

Manipulation of the Diaspora is one of the chief legacies of Meles. Wikileaks cablegrams portray Meles as a slick, scheming, crafty and cunning hombre. He could have achieved greatness but undid himself because he was unable to tame his voracious appetite for extreme vindictiveness and revenge and could not bridle his bottomless capacity for maliciousness, viciousness and obduracy. Those who claim to know Meles say he knew his opposition better than the opposition knew itself. Distraction, diversion, misdirection, hoodwinking, chicanery, paralogy and sophistry were the hallmarks of Meles’ strategy. The cunning dictator was able to shroud his corrupt empire for two decades by pursuing a propaganda policy of mass distraction and by staging one farcical political theatre after another. As I have long maintained, Meles’ “attitude was that he can outwit, outthink, outsmart, outplay, outfox and outmaneuver boatloads of Ph.Ds., M.Ds., J.Ds. Ed.Ds or whatever alphabet soup of degrees exist out there any day of the week. He seemed to think that like the opposition leaders, Ethiopian intellectuals are dysfunctional, shiftless and inconsequential, and will never be able to pose a real challenge to his power.” In a rare moment of candor responding to a journalist’s question about Diaspora Ethiopians protesting his overseas visits, Meles confessed, “We may be at fault in some way. I am sorry. That maybe we didn’t communicate well enough to those Ethiopians living abroad what is happening, what we are doing here.” Meles’ apostles keep making the same mistake. Like shepherd, like sheep! Like Meles, like Melesistas!

Criminal violations in selling unregistered securities in the U.S.

There have been questions raised about the legality of the sale of Meles Dam bonds as “securities” in the U.S. Under federal and most state laws, a “security” is broadly defined and includes stocks, bonds, debt and equity securities, notes, investment contracts, etc. Unless exempted, all securities must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and/or relevant state agencies prior to selling or offering for sale to the public. A security which does not have an effective registration statement on file with the SEC and/or the relevant state agency is considered an unregistered security. Buying or selling unregistered securities is a crime under federal and state laws. The SEC can prosecute issuers and sellers of unregistered securities under section 20(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 (which regulates original issuers) and seek injunctions if the Securities Act has been violated, or if a violation is imminent. Section 8A also allows the SEC to issue orders to issuers of unregistered securities to cease and desist and seek civil penalties under Section 20(d) if an issuer violated the Securities Act, an SEC rule, or a cease-and-desist order.

Like most states, California Corporations Code sections 25110-25118 set strict guidelines for any securities sold in that state. Any person or entity who willfully sells or transports unregistered securities through interstate commerce or buys such securities could face serious criminal liabilities under California Corporations Code section 25540, subd. (a) with penalties of incarceration for up to three years and a fine up to $1 million. California prosecutors, like their federal counterparts, could also seek injunctive relief and civil penalties.

There are a few limited exemptions to the registration requirement. One of them is an exemption “for certain foreign government securities brokers or dealers”. Pursuant to 17 CFR 401.9, “A government securities broker or dealer (excluding a branch or agency of a foreign bank) that is a non-U.S. resident shall be exempt from the provisions of sections 15C(a), (b), and (d) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78o–5(a), (b) and (d)) and the regulations of this subchapter provided it complies with the provisions of 17 CFR 240.15a–6…” In other words, the bond “brokers and dealers” sent to the U.S. to sell the Meles Dam bonds must meet the multifarious requirements of federal securities law and other regulatory requirements including full disclosure, proof of maintenance of required books and records relating to the bond issues and written consent to service of process for any civil action arising from disputes in bond related transactions. It is highly unlikely that the “brokers and dealers” selling the Meles Dam bonds in the United States qualify under 17 CFR 240.15a–6 and 15 U.S.C. 78o–5(a).

Fight the Power, not the smoke and image in the mirror

Diaspora activists should keep their eyes on the prize, not on the smoke and mirrors of the Melesista Road Show, Carnival and Circus.

Ethiopian Americans are fortunate to live under a Constitution that guarantees our right to free expression and peaceful protest. As citizens, it is our moral duty to exercise our constitutional rights. We have recently seen Americans using their right to protest by launching the “Occupy” protest movement. Historically, the civil rights movement relied on sit-ins, sit downs, teach-ins, rallies and marches as a form of direct nonviolent action to bring about change. Nonviolent mass protests eventually led to passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which ended racial segregation, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which removed barriers to voting. The anti-war and free speech movements relied on non-violent protests to defend expressive freedoms and end the war in Vietnam. Nonviolent protests were also used in the anti-Apartheid movement in the U.S. resulting in boycotts, divestments in corporations and spurring legislative and diplomatic action which hastened the end of Apartheid.

The main point is that Diaspora Ethiopians should be laser-focused on the prize and make sure that democracy will in the end triumph over dictatorship in Ethiopia; human rights are vindicated and human rights abusers are held accountable and any government in Ethiopia shall fear the people and the people shall never fear their government. We should not be distracted by empty suits with empty heads lurking in and out of town to scrounge up chicken feed. We should not be angry at programmed zombies at “bond selling” events because they are just wretched flunkies and bootlickers, who given the opportunity will make a beeline to the immigration office to file for political asylum. We should not mistake the puppets for the puppet masters. We should not confuse shadow for reality.

We should be aware not only when we are being abused but also used. We should never let them make us do their dirty jobs because they can cleverly manipulate our psychological disposition to righteous indignation. We should never react because that allows them to take control of our emotions and reactions. We should always act and never react. Most importantly, we should engage in proactive activism instead of reactive activism. When we are proactive, we plan things out carefully and strategically. Nonviolent protest is a highly disciplined effort. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. taught, “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action.” We should educate and train ourselves in the ways of nonviolent protest. When confronting the zombies, we should maintain a high degree of composure and display self-dignity in our expressions of defiance. At dam “bond selling ” events, protesters should adequately prepare pre-event publicity. Serious attention should given to the development of press kits and talking points. Press and law enforcement liaisons should be trained and designated. Well informed and articulate spokespersons should be selected to give press interviews. Adequate attention should be given to post-event follow up activities.

It is a great disservice to oneself and to our great cause to engage in nonviolent protest without reading and understanding Gene Sharp’s extraordinary work, “From Dictatorship to Democracy”available online for free. An Amharic translation of Gene Sharp’s book is also available online free of charge (here) for anyone to download or print. Ignorance cannot drive out ignorance, only knowledge can. We must educate ourselves in the ways of peaceful protest, or our efforts will produce few results. We are less likely to be manipulated if we keep ourselves informed and develop critical analysis skills that cut through the blather of our adversaries.

While those of us in the older generation (“Hippos”) wallow in self-pity and cynicism, it is inspiring to see young patriotic Diaspora Ethiopians (“Cheetahs”) using their right to peaceful protest to resist the zombies of tyranny. Just as the task of building a fantasy dam belongs to the Melesistas, the construction of the new Ethiopia is a task reserved for the young Cheetahs. It is painful to admit that we Hippos have not been much of a role model for the Cheetahs. We have unkindly criticized the Cheetahs for their lack of engagement, apathy and single-minded pursuit of flash and cash. We grumble that the Cheetah generation is the lost generation and there is no one to save Ethiopia (but it has been a long time since we Hippos looked into the mirror without smoke).

I am afraid there is little that Ethiopian Cheetahs could learn from Ethiopian Hippos. Perhaps Ethiopian Cheetahs can get inspiration from other Cheetahs. In the past 2 years, we have seen inexperienced youth using social media bring down dictators or force them to make radical changes in governance in North Africa and the Middle East. The key to their success was their ability to get in tune and on the same wavelength with each other, and to be able to speak the same beautiful language of peaceful change and protest. As always, I believe Ethiopian youth united — across ethnic, religious, linguistic, gender, and regional lines — can never be defeated!

“Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, don’t give up the fight.” Bob Marley

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.

Previous commentaries by the author are available at:

http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/

www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/

Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:

http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic

http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24

Tags: (b) (d), 15 u.s.c. 78o–5(a), 17 cfr 401.9, california corporations code section 25540, california corporations code sections 25110-25118, Eskinder Nega, ethiopia blue nile dam, Ethiopia Committee to Protect Journalists, ethiopia dams, Ethiopia Human Rights, Ethiopia Human Rights Watch, ethiopia power production, ethiopia selling unregistered securities, ethiopia villagization, Ethiopia World Bank, ethiopia world bank corruption, ethiopia zombies, ethiopian diaspora, ethiopian diaspora activists, fela kuti zombie, gene from dictatorship democracy, grand meles dam, melesistas meles, politics, reeyot alemu, section 20(b) securities act 1933, section 20(d) securities act 1933, section 8a securities act 1933, subd. (a), Water War Egypt Ethiopia, woubshet taye
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Arbitrary arrests, torture and killings common in Ethiopia – US State Department

Sunday, May 5th, 2013

U.S. State Department 2012 Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Ethiopia is a federal republic. On August 20, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died. The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) elected then deputy prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn to take Meles’s place as chairman of the party. The EPRDF subsequently nominated him for the post of prime minister. On September 21, parliament elected Hailemariam as prime minister. In national parliamentary elections in 2010, the EPRDF and affiliated parties won 545 of 547 seats to remain in power for a fourth consecutive five-year term. Although the relatively few international officials allowed to observe the elections concluded technical aspects of the vote were handled competently, some also noted that an environment conducive to free and fair elections was not in place prior to the election.

Security forces generally reported to civilian authorities; however, there were instances in which special police and local militias acted independently of civilian control.

The most significant human rights problems included restrictions on freedom of expression and association through politically motivated trials and convictions of opposition political figures, activists, journalists, and bloggers, as well as increased restrictions on print media. In July security forces used force against and arrested Muslims who protested against alleged government interference in religious affairs. The government continued restrictions on civil society and nongovernmental organization (NGO) activities imposed by the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO).

Other human rights problems included arbitrary killings; allegations of torture, beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees by security forces; reports of harsh and at times life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; a weak, overburdened judiciary subject to political influence; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights, including illegal searches; allegations of abuses in the implementation of the government’s “villagization” program; restrictions on academic freedom; restrictions on freedom of assembly, association, and movement; alleged interference in religious affairs; limits on citizens’ ability to change their government; police, administrative, and judicial corruption; violence and societal discrimination against women and abuse of children; female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); exploitation of children for economic and sexual purposes; trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against persons with disabilities; clashes between ethnic minorities; discrimination against persons based on their sexual orientation and against persons with HIV/AIDS; limits on worker rights; forced labor; and child labor, including forced child labor.

Impunity was a problem. The government, with some reported exceptions, generally did not take steps to prosecute or otherwise punish officials who committed abuses other than corruption.

Factions of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), an ethnically based, violent, and fragmented separatist group operating in the Somali Region, were responsible for abuses. Members of the separatist Afar Revolutionary Democratic Union Front (ARDUF) claimed responsibility for a January attack on a group of foreign tourists in the Afar Region.

Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:

a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life

Members of the security forces committed killings and used lethal force to quell protests (see section 2.b.). During the year, scattered fighting continued between government forces, primarily regional government-backed militia, and residual elements of the ONLF. Also, clashes between ethnic groups during the year resulted in 100 to 150 deaths (see section 6).

Ethiopian security forces reportedly killed as many as six persons in retaliation for an April 28 attack by armed gunmen that killed at least five persons and injured numerous others at the Saudi Star compound in the Gambella Region.

On February 12, members of the Somali Region Special Police allegedly opened fire on a local assembly in the Ogaden area of the Somali Region, killing 20 persons. The villagers reportedly were gathered to discuss the murder of a village elder the previous day. Many others were detained during the same incident.

Members of the ARDUF claimed responsibility for a January 18 attack on a group of foreign tourists in the Afar Region. The attack resulted in the deaths of five Europeans and the kidnapping of two Europeans and two Ethiopians. The kidnapped Europeans later were released; the whereabouts and well-being of the Ethiopian hostages remained unknown at year’s end.

b. Disappearance

There was a reported case of a politically motivated disappearance of two persons in which security officials detained opposition activists and held them temporarily incommunicado.

On June 15, in the North Gondar area of the Amhara Region, federal police reportedly arrested Meles Ashire, deputy chairman of the opposition All Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP) for the Chilga District, and Tadlo Tefera, an AEUP executive member for the North Gondar zone. Following their arrest, Meles and Tadlo’s whereabouts were reportedly unknown; however, authorities released them in August.

c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, there were numerous reports security officials tortured and otherwise abused detainees.

Authorities reportedly tortured Ahmedin Jebel, an editor and a columnist with Muslim Affairs magazine (see section 2.a.).

In 2010 the UN Committee Against Torture reported it was “deeply concerned” about “numerous, ongoing, and consistent allegations” concerning “the routine use of torture” by police, prison officers, and other members of the security forces–including the military–against political dissidents and opposition party members, students, alleged terrorists, and alleged supporters of violent separatist groups like the ONLF and the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). The committee reported that such acts frequently occurred with the participation of, at the instigation of, or with the consent of commanding officers in police stations, detention centers, federal prisons, military bases, and unofficial or secret places of detention. Some reports of such abuses continued during the year.

Sources widely believed police investigators often used physical abuse to extract confessions in Maekelawi, the central police investigation headquarters in Addis Ababa. Authorities continued to restrict access by diplomats and NGOs to Maekelawi.

According to a Human Rights Watch report, soldiers arbitrarily arrested and raped persons following the April 28 attack by armed gunmen at the Saudi Star compound in the Gambella Region (see section 1.a). There was no additional reporting to corroborate the report of rape.

Prison and Detention Center Conditions

Prison and pretrial detention center conditions remained harsh and in some cases life threatening. There were numerous reports of authorities beating prisoners. Medical attention following beatings reportedly was insufficient in some cases.

Physical Conditions: As of September there were 70,000-80,000 persons in prison, of whom approximately 2,500 were women and nearly 600 were children incarcerated with their mothers. Juveniles sometimes were incarcerated with adults, and small children were sometimes incarcerated with their mothers. Male and female prisoners generally were separated.

Severe overcrowding was common, especially in sleeping quarters. The government provided approximately eight birr ($0.44) per prisoner per day for food, water, and health care. Many prisoners supplemented this amount with daily food deliveries from family members or by purchasing food from local vendors, although there were reports of some prisoners being prevented from receiving supplemental food from their families. Medical care was unreliable in federal prisons and almost nonexistent in regional prisons. Prisoners had limited access to potable water, as did many in the country. Also, water shortages caused unhygienic conditions, and most prisons lacked appropriate sanitary facilities. Many prisoners had serious health problems in detention but received little treatment. Information released by the Ministry of Health during the year reportedly stated nearly 62 percent of inmates in various jails across the country suffered from mental health problems as a result of solitary confinement, overcrowding, and lack of adequate health care facilities and services.

The country has six federal and 120 regional prisons. There also are many unofficial detention centers throughout the country, including in Dedessa, Bir Sheleko, Tolay, Hormat, Blate, Tatek, Jijiga, Holeta, and Senkele. Most are located at military camps.

Pretrial detention often takes place in police station detention facilities, where the conditions varied widely. Reports regarding pretrial detention in police stations indicated poor hygiene, lack of access to visitors (including family members and legal counsel), and police abuse of detainees.

Administration: It was difficult to determine if recordkeeping was adequate due to the lack of transparency regarding incarceration. Authorities did not employ alternative sentencing for nonviolent offenders. Prisons did not have ombudspersons to respond to complaints. Legal aid clinics existed in some prisons for the benefit of prisoners. Authorities generally permitted visitors. In some cases family visits to prisoners were restricted to a few per year. Family members of prisoners charged with terrorist activity alleged instances of blocked access to the prisoners; there were also reports those charged with terrorist activity were denied visits with their lawyers or representatives of the political parties to which they belonged. Prisoners generally were permitted religious observance, but this varied by prison, and even by section within a prison, at the discretion of prison management. There were some allegations that while in custody, detainees were denied adequate locations in which to pray. Prisoners were permitted to voice complaints about prison conditions or treatment to the presiding judge during the trial.

Monitoring: During the year the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited regional prisons throughout the country. The visits occurred after a general assessment by the government reopened the path to regular ICRC access; the government had limited such access since 2004.

Regional authorities allowed government and NGO representatives to meet regularly with prisoners without third parties present. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) monitored federal and regional detention centers and interviewed prison officials and prisoners in response to allegations of widespread human rights abuses. The domestic NGO Justice For All-Prison Fellowship Ethiopia (JFA-PFE) was granted access to various prison and detention facilities.

Improvements: The government and prison authorities generally cooperated with efforts of the JFA-PFE to improve prison conditions. The JFA-PFE ran model prisons in Adama and Mekele, with significantly better conditions than those found in other prisons. The government undertook renovations to prisons in the Tigray, Amhara, and Oromia regions and in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region (SNNPR) during the year.

d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention

Although the constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, the government often ignored these provisions in practice. There were multiple reports of arbitrary arrest and detention by police and security forces.

Civilians, international NGOs, and other aid organizations operating in the Somali Region reported government security forces, local militias, and the ONLF committed abuses such as arbitrary arrest.

Role of the Police and Security Apparatus

The Federal Police reports to the Ministry of Federal Affairs, which is subject to parliamentary oversight. The oversight was loose in practice. Each of the country’s nine regions has a state or special police force that reports to the regional civilian authorities. Local militias operated across the country in loose coordination with regional and federal police and the military, with the degree of coordination varying by region. In many cases these militias functioned as extensions of local EPRDF political bosses.

Security forces were effective, but impunity remained a serious problem. The mechanisms used to investigate abuses by the federal police were not known. Numerous complaints of human rights abuses were lodged against the Somali Region Special Police. Several of its members reportedly were arrested for acts of indiscipline. The government rarely publicly disclosed the results of investigations into abuses by local security forces, such as arbitrary detention and beatings of civilians.

The government continued its efforts to provide human rights training for police and army recruits. During the year the government continued to accept assistance from the JFA-PFE and the EHRC to improve and professionalize its human rights training and curriculum by including more material on the constitution and international human rights treaties and conventions. The JFA-PFE and the EHRC conducted human rights training for police commissioners, prosecutors, judges, prison administrators, and militia in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Afar, SNNPR, Gambella, and Addis Ababa.

Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention

Although the constitution and law require detainees be brought to court and charged within 48 hours of arrest, sometimes this requirement was not respected in practice. With court approval, persons suspected of serious offenses can be detained for 14 days without being charged and for additional 14-day periods if an investigation continues. Under the antiterrorism proclamation, police may request to hold persons without charge for 28-day periods, up to a maximum of four months, while an investigation is conducted. The law prohibits detention in any facility other than an official detention center; however, local militias and other formal and informal law enforcement entities used dozens of unofficial local detention centers.

A functioning bail system was in place. Bail was not available for murder, treason, and corruption. In one high-profile case, a judge denied bail for Feteh editor in chief Temesgen Dessalegn due to concerns the defendant might continue to write articles offending the government if he was released. The judge also based the denial on concerns he posed a flight risk, although he had been free for more than a month during the pretrial phase. Authorities dropped the charges against him on August 28 (see section 2.a.); they reopened the case in December, and it continued at year’s end. In most cases authorities set bail between 500 and 10,000 birr ($28 and $550), which was not affordable for most citizens. Police officials did not always respect court orders to release suspects on bail. The government provided public defenders for detainees unable to afford private legal counsel, but only when their cases went to court. While detainees were in pretrial detention, authorities sometimes allowed them little or no contact with legal counsel, did not provide full information on their health status, and did not provide for family visits.

Arbitrary Arrest: Authorities regularly detained persons without warrants and denied access to counsel and in some cases to family members, particularly in outlying regions.

Pretrial Detention: Some detainees reported being held for several years without being charged and without trial. Trial delays were most often caused by lengthy legal procedures, the large numbers of detainees, judicial inefficiency, and staffing shortages.

Amnesty: On September 11, in keeping with a long-standing tradition of issuing pardons at the Ethiopian New Year, the federal government pardoned 1,993 prisoners. Regional governments also pardoned persons during the year. For example, the SNNPR regional government pardoned 5,395 prisoners, the Oromia regional government pardoned 4,700 prisoners, and the Amhara regional government pardoned 2,607 prisoners.

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The law provides for an independent judiciary. Although the civil courts operated with a large degree of independence, the criminal courts remained weak, overburdened, and subject to political influence. The constitution recognizes both religious and traditional or customary courts.

Trial Procedures

By law accused persons have the right to a fair public trial by a court of law within a “reasonable time,” a presumption of innocence, the right to be represented by legal counsel of their choice, and the right to appeal. The law gives defendants the right to present witnesses and evidence in their defense, cross-examine prosecution witnesses, and access government-held evidence. In practice the government did not always allow defendants the right of access to evidence it held. The court system does not use jury trials. Judicial inefficiency and lack of qualified staff often resulted in serious delays in trial proceedings and made the application of the law unpredictable. The government continued to train lower court judges and prosecutors and made effective judicial administration the primary focus of this training. Defendants were often unaware of the specific charges against them until the commencement of the trial; this also caused defense attorneys to be unprepared to provide adequate defense.

The Public Defender’s Office provided legal counsel to indigent defendants, although its scope and quality of service remained limited due to the shortage of attorneys. Numerous free legal aid clinics around the country, based primarily at universities, provided advice to clients. In certain areas of the country regional legislative bodies passed laws allowing volunteers, such as law students and professors, to represent clients in court on a pro bono basis.

During the year the government concluded trials against 31 persons who had been charged with terrorist activities under the antiterrorism proclamation. These trials included cases against12 journalists, opposition political figures, and activists based in the country, as well as an Ethiopian employee of the UN. All were found guilty. Eighteen persons living abroad were convicted in absentia. The government also invoked the antiterrorism proclamation in charging 28 Muslims identified with protests and one Muslim accused of accepting funds illegally from a foreign embassy. Several international human rights organizations and foreign diplomatic missions raised concerns over the conduct of the trials. Observers found the evidence presented at trials to be either open to interpretation or indicative of acts of a political nature rather than linked to terrorism. Human rights groups also noted the law’s broad definition of terrorism, as well as its severe penalties, its broad rules of evidence, and the discretionary powers afforded police and security forces.

In some sensitive cases deemed to involve matters of national security, notably the high-profile trials of activists in the Muslim community, detainees stated authorities initially denied them the right to see attorneys. The trial of the 28 Muslims identified with protests and one Muslim accused of accepting funds illegally from a foreign embassy was not fully open to family and supporters, although it was initially open to the press and diplomats. The trial of 11 persons (including six persons in absentia) charged on May 19 with being members of the terrorist organizations al-Qa’ida and al-Shabaab was not open to the public.

Many citizens residing in rural areas generally had little access to formal judicial systems and relied on traditional mechanisms of resolving conflict. By law all parties to a dispute must agree to use a traditional or religious court before such a court may hear a case, and either party can appeal to a regular court at any time. Sharia (Islamic law) courts may hear religious and family cases involving Muslims. Sharia courts received some funding from the government and adjudicated the majority of cases in the Somali and Afar regions, which are predominantly Muslim. In addition other traditional systems of justice, such as councils of elders, continued to function. Some women stated they lacked access to free and fair hearings in the traditional justice system because they were excluded by custom from participation in councils of elders and because there was strong gender discrimination in rural areas.

Political Prisoners and Detainees

Estimates by human rights groups and diplomatic missions regarding the number of political prisoners varied. Domestic and international NGOs estimated there were up to 400 political prisoners and detainees at year’s end. The government did not permit access by international human rights organizations.

Twelve of the journalists, opposition members, and activists convicted under the antiterrorism proclamation during the year remained in prison. Several international human rights organizations and foreign diplomatic missions raised concerns about the conduct of the trials.

On January 19, a court convicted journalists Woubishet Taye and Reyot Alemu and opposition figure Zerihun Gebre-Egziabher Tadesse on terrorism charges. It also convicted Hirut Kifle Woldeyesus, who denied the prosecution’s claim she was an opposition political figure. Journalist and blogger Elias Kifle was tried and convicted in absentia in the same case. On January 26, Woubishet and Reyot were each sentenced to 14 years in prison, while the other two defendants present received sentences of 17 and 19 years. Reyot appealed her case to the Supreme Court, which later overturned two of the three charges and reduced her sentence to five years. She subsequently appealed the Supreme Court’s decision to the Court of Cassation, arguing a fundamental error of law had been made in her trial. The other defendants chose not to appeal.

On June 27, the Federal High Court found journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega, vice chairman of the opposition front Medrek Andualem Arage, and Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJ) official Natnael Mekonnen guilty on all counts of terrorism and treason. On July 13, Eskinder and Natnael were each sentenced to 18 years in prison, while Andualem received a life sentence. Eskinder and Andualem appealed their conviction to the Supreme Court; the case remained ongoing at year’s end. In September the government announced it had asked the Federal High Court to freeze the assets of Eskinder and Andualem while investigating whether their assets had been used in conjunction with the commission of the crimes for which they were convicted. Court proceedings regarding the assets also remained ongoing at year’s end.

Bekele Gerba and Olbana Lelisa, two well-known political opposition figures from the Oromo ethnic group, as well as seven other individuals, were convicted under the criminal code of conspiracy to overthrow the government and incite unrest. Bekele was sentenced to eight years in prison; Olbana was sentenced to 13 years. A separate trial of 69 members of Oromo political opposition parties, charged in 2011 under the criminal code with “attacking the political or territorial integrity of the state,” remained ongoing at year’s end.

Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies

The law provides citizens the right to appeal human rights violations in civil court; No such cases were filed during the year.

f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence

The law requires authorities to obtain judicial warrants to search private property; in practice police often ignored the law, and there were no records of courts excluding evidence found without warrants. Opposition political party leaders reported suspicions of telephone tapping and other electronic eavesdropping.

The government reportedly used a widespread system of paid informants to report on the activities of particular individuals. During the year opposition members reported ruling party operatives and militia members made intimidating and unwelcome visits to their homes.

Security forces continued to detain family members of persons sought for questioning by the government. There were reports unemployed youths who were not affiliated with the ruling coalition sometimes had trouble receiving the “support letters” from their kebeles (neighborhoods or wards) necessary to get jobs.

The government interfered with citizens’ family rights. Medical abuses to facilitate international adoption were documented. This included the diagnosis of new mothers as mentally unfit by unqualified medical professionals and the subsequent forced relinquishment of children.

The national government and regional governments continued to put in place “villagization” plans in the Afar, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, SNNPR, and Somali regions. These plans involved the relocation of scattered rural populations from arid or semiarid lands vulnerable to recurring droughts into designated clusters by regional governments. The stated purposes of villagization are to improve the provision of government services (i.e., health care, education, and clean water), protect vulnerable communities from natural disasters and attacks, and change environmentally destructive patterns of shifting cultivation. Some observers stated the purpose was to enable the large-scale leasing of land for commercial agriculture, a claim the government denied. The government described the villagization program as strictly voluntary.

Assessments by international donors continued to find no systematic evidence of human rights violations in this program. They did find problems such as delays in establishing promised infrastructure from rushed program implementation. Communities and individual families appeared to have agreed to move based on assurances from authorities of food aid, services, and land, although in some instances communities moved before adequate basic services and shelter were in place in the new locations. For example, an early August visit to a site in South Omo in the SNNPR suggested the process was voluntary but found that promised infrastructure, such as access to water, education, and healthcare, were not in place by the time persons moved. A subsequent October visit to the same site revealed improved conditions, including installation of a water pump, a newly built school, and a health services tent stocked by UNICEF. A January Human Rights Watch report that drew upon information gathered in 2011 characterized the process as “far from voluntary.” The report described a process in which security forces and local militia attended meetings with those communities that initially had indicated they did not want to move and later went with villagers to the new locations, where they oversaw the construction of tukuls (traditional huts) by the villagers. According to the report, security forces beat (sometimes to death), threatened, arrested without charge, and detained persons who were critical of the planned villagization of their communities. Additional Human Rights Watch reporting stated the government harassed, mistreated, and arbitrarily arrested persons in South Omo in order to clear or prepare land for commercial agriculture; development partners did not find evidence to support this claim during visits.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

a. Freedom of Speech and Press

Status of Freedom of Speech and Press

The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and press; however, authorities arrested, detained, and convicted journalists and other persons whom they perceived as critical of the government.

Freedom of Speech: Authorities arrested and harassed persons for criticizing the government. The government attempted to impede criticism through various forms of intimidation, including detention of journalists and opposition activists and monitoring and interference in the activities of political opposition groups. Some villagers continued to report local authorities threatened retaliation against anyone who reported abuses by security forces.

In July authorities charged Jemal Kedir with “fomenting dissent, arousing hatred, and stirring up acts of political, racial, or religious disturbances” for sending text messages on his cell phone stating “Allahu Akbar, seventeen times our voice should be heard and prisoners who are in jail should be released.” He was also charged with sending messages claiming police had prevented Muslims from entering the Grand Anwar Mosque in Addis Ababa, calling for additional protests, and calling for a boycott of the elections to the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (EIASC) until detainees were released. On September 13, a court found him guilty. The judge referred to the crime as “rumor mongering with his cell phone,” and sentenced him to one year in prison.

In October police arrested seven individuals after they gave radio interviews regarding reported land grabs in Lega Tofo in the Oromia Region. The individuals stated they were forced off their land without adequate compensation. The police later released them.

Freedom of Press: Ethio-Channel, Negadras, Feteh, and two Muslim newspapers closed due to government pressure. The remaining 15 newspapers had a combined weekly circulation in Addis Ababa of more than 100,000, down from 150,000 in 2011. Most newspapers were printed on a weekly or biweekly basis, with the exception of the state-owned Amharic and English dailies.

The government controlled the only television station that broadcast nationally, which, along with radio, was the primary source of news for much of the population. Three private FM radio stations broadcast in the capital city, and at least 13 community radio stations broadcast in the regions. State-run Ethiopian Radio has the largest reach in the country, followed by Fana Radio, which is affiliated with the ruling party.

Government-controlled media closely reflected the views of the government and the ruling EPRDF. The government periodically jammed foreign broadcasts, including after the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The broadcasting law prohibits political and religious organizations and foreigners from owning broadcast stations. The investment law also prohibits foreigners from owning broadcast stations.

Violence and Harassment: The government continued to arrest, harass, and prosecute journalists. Several UN special rapporteurs and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern about the government’s use of the antiterrorism proclamation against journalists and opposition members.

On August 9, the Ministry of Justice filed three charges against Feteh editor in chief Temesgen Dessalegn. These charges included inciting and agitating the country’s youth to engage in violence, defamation of government, and destabilizing the public by spreading false reports, based on articles published between December 2011 and August. Temesgen was detained on August 23, but the charges were dropped on August 28 and he was released the same day. The government reopened its case against Temesgen on December 11, and the case remained ongoing at year’s end.

On July 20, authorities arrested Muslim Affairs editor Yusuf Getachew and Muslim Affairs columnist Ahmedin Jebel. Ahmedin Jebel reportedly was tortured. At year’s end, they remained imprisoned along with 27 other Muslim activists accused of terrorist activity.

Also in July two editors from Muslim Affairs, Akmel Negash and Yishak Eshetu, left the country, citing fear of arrest. After these arrests and departures, the publication ceased operation.

Courts found journalists Woubishet Taye, Reyot Alemu, and Eskinder Nega, who were arrested in 2011, as well as six journalists/bloggers tried in absentia, guilty of charges under the antiterrorism proclamation in separate cases (see section 1.e.).

Censorship or Content Restrictions: Government harassment of journalists caused them to avoid reporting on sensitive topics. Many private newspapers reported informal editorial control by the government through article placement requests and calls from government officials concerning articles perceived as critical of the government. Private sector and government journalists routinely practiced self-censorship.

In April the state-run Berhanena Selam Printing Press, which accounted for approximately 90 percent of newspaper printing in the country, instituted a new standard printing contract with its private publisher clients. The contract stipulated the printing press had the right to refuse to print newspapers containing material deemed “illegal.” Editors of privately owned newspapers refused to sign the contract, deeming it censorship and in violation of the constitutional protection of press freedom. Berhanena Selam stopped printing publications that did not sign the updated contract.

On July 20, the Ministry of Justice banned the distribution of that week’s issue of the Feteh newspaper via court order. Reports indicated the ban was based on the issue’s contents–which authorities deemed objectionable and sensitive–which dealt with the late prime minister’s health and the ongoing protests by some members of the Muslim community. Although the Ministry of Justice issued no further injunctions, Berhanena Selam refused to print subsequent issues of Feteh.

Berhanena Selam refused to print the August 31 edition of Finote Netsanet, the newspaper of the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party, one of the largest opposition political parties, citing complaints filed against the newspaper by the public related to coverage of the death of the prime minister in the previous issue. In September Berhanena Selam refused to print the UDJ newspaper, claiming the printer was too busy to do the work. The newspaper resumed publication in October after reaching an agreement with a private publisher, but ceased publication by November.

Libel Laws/National Security: The government used the antiterrorism proclamation to suppress criticism. Journalists feared covering five groups designated by parliament in June 2011 as terrorist organizations (Ginbot 7, the ONLF, the OLF, al-Qaida, and al-Shabaab), citing ambiguity on whether reporting on these groups might be punishable under the law. Several journalists, both local and foreign correspondents, reported an increase in self-censorship.

In September the government pardoned Swedish freelancers Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye. In December 2011 a court convicted them of rendering support to a terrorist organization and illegally entering the country.

The government used libel laws during the year to suppress criticism.

Internet Freedom

The government restricted access to the Internet and blocked several Web sites, including blogs, opposition Web sites, and Web sites of Ginbot 7, the OLF, and the ONLF. The government also temporarily blocked news sites such as the Washington Post, the Economist, and Al Jazeera, and temporarily blocked links to foreign government reporting on human rights conditions in the country. Several news blogs and Web sites run by opposition diaspora groups were not accessible. These included Addis Neger, Nazret, Ethiopian Review, CyberEthiopia, Quatero Amharic Magazine, Tensae Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian Media Forum. A foreign government news Web site was only available periodically, although users could generally access it via proxy sites. Authorities took steps to block access to Virtual Private Network (VPN) providers that let users circumvent government screening of Internet browsing and email. According to the government, 4 percent of individuals subscribed to Internet access.

Academic Freedom and Cultural Events

The government restricted academic freedom, including through decisions on student enrollment, teachers’ appointments, and the curriculum. Speech, expression, and assembly frequently were restricted on university and high school campuses.

According to sources, the ruling party, via the Ministry of Education, continued to give preference to students loyal to the party in assignments to postgraduate programs. While party membership was not as common at the undergraduate level, some university staff members commented priority for employment after graduation in all fields was given to students who joined the party.

The government also restricted academic freedom in other ways. Authorities limited teachers’ ability to deviate from official lesson plans. Numerous anecdotal reports suggested non-EPRDF members were more likely to be transferred to undesirable posts and bypassed for promotions. There were some reports of teachers not affiliated with the EPRDF being summarily dismissed for failure to attend nonscheduled meetings. There continued to be a lack of transparency in academic staffing decisions, with numerous complaints from individuals in the academic community alleging bias based on party membership, ethnicity, or religion.

According to multiple credible sources, teachers and high school students in grade 10 and above were required to attend training on the concepts of revolutionary democracy and EPRDF party ideology.

There were no changes to the 2010 Ministry of Education directive prohibiting private universities from offering degree programs in law and teacher education. The directive also requires public universities to align their curriculum offerings with the previously announced policy of a 70-to-30 ratio between science and social science academic programs. As a result the number of students studying social sciences and the humanities continued to decrease and private universities focused heavily on the social sciences. Ministry officials originally cited a need to maintain quality standards as the reason for the directive.

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Freedom of Assembly

The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly; however, the government restricted this right. On several occasions during the year, authorities injured and arrested protesters who reportedly were demonstrating without a permit. Security forces used lethal force against civilians (see section 1.a.).

Organizers of large public meetings or demonstrations must notify the government 48 hours in advance and obtain a permit. Local government officials, almost all of whom were affiliated with the EPRDF, controlled access to municipal halls, and there were many complaints from opposition parties local officials denied or otherwise obstructed the scheduling of opposition parties’ use of halls for lawful political rallies. There were numerous credible reports of owners of hotels and other large facilities citing unspecified internal rules forbidding political parties from utilizing their space for gatherings, for example, claiming that hotel meeting space could only be used for weddings.

Regional governments, including the Addis Ababa regional administration, were reluctant to grant permits or provide security for large meetings.

Beginning in late 2011 and continuing throughout much of the year, some members of the Muslim community, alleging government interference in religious affairs, held peaceful protests following Friday prayers at several of Addis Ababa’s largest mosques, the Aweliya Islamic Center in Addis Ababa, and at other locations throughout the country. Most demonstrations occurred without incident, although some were met with arrests and alleged use of unnecessary force by police.

In late July authorities arrested as many as 1,000 Muslim demonstrators, including members of a self-appointed committee claiming to represent the interests of the Muslim community, for protesting alleged government interference in religious affairs. The majority of the protesters subsequently were released without charge. On October 29, authorities charged 29 individuals under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation; 28 of the individuals were identified with the protest movement, while one was accused of accepting funds illegally from a foreign embassy.

On October 21, in the South Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, police and protesters clashed during a gathering during elections for the local Islamic council. Accounts of the event differed. One report indicated protesters threw stones at the houses of Muslims who participated in the election. In response to the stone throwing, police arrested the protest organizer. A crowd then marched on the police station, demanding his release. Protesters reportedly entered the police station by force, killing one police officer and seriously injuring another. Police reportedly killed two protesters, including the detained protest organizer.

Freedom of Association

Although the law provides for freedom of association and the right to engage in unrestricted peaceful political activity, the government limited this right in practice.

In accordance with the CSO law, anonymous donations to NGOs are not permitted. All potential donors were therefore aware their names would be public knowledge. The same was true concerning all donations made to political parties.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs screens registration applications from international NGOs and submits a recommendation on whether to approve or deny registration.

c. Freedom of Religion

See the Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.

d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons

Although the law provides for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, the government restricted some of these rights in practice.

The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.

In-country Movement: The government continued to relax but did not completely remove restrictions on the movement of persons into and within the Ogaden area of the Somali Region, continuing to argue the ONLF posed a security threat (see section 2.d., Internally Displaced Persons). Deliveries of food and medicine were halted temporarily in the limited areas affected by fighting due to security concerns.

The government expanded an out-of-camp policy allowing Eritrean refugees to live outside of a camp to all refugees. According to the Administration for Returnees and Refugee Affairs (ARRA), which managed the out-of-camp program, 3,412 refugees lived outside of the camps during the year, compared with 1,294 in 2011 and 723 in 2010. Prior to this policy, such permission was given primarily to attend higher education institutions, undergo medical treatment, or avoid security threats at the camps.

Exile: Several citizens sought political asylum in other countries or remained abroad in self-imposed exile (see section 2.a.).

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

The total number of IDPs in the country during the year was not known. Many persons who had been displaced due to conflict in the Gambella, Oromia, SNNPR, and Somali regions remained displaced. Drought also caused displacements during the year.

A land rights dispute in the Bench Maji Zone of the SNNPR spurred ethnic conflict, causing the displacement of 463 ethnic Amharas in March. These IDPs were sent to Addis Ababa, where the government provided them with food and essential items. Shortly after their arrival, the regional government informed the IDPs they should return to their areas of origin–referring not to where they had been living before being displaced, but to the Amhara Region, which their families had left during the time of the Derg (1974-91). The regional government later decided to relocate most of the IDPs to Tsegede in North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region.

Temporary displacements due to flooding were reported from parts of Amhara, Oromia, and SNNPR between mid-July and August. Most of those displaced later returned to their homes.

In July communal conflict in the Moyale area in the south of the country displaced tens of thousands of persons. Following an initial response by the Federal Disaster Risk Management and Food Security Sector (DRMFSS), Moyale town was put under federal control while the conflict was mediated, leading to deployment of a team from the Ministry of Federal Affairs to help coordinate the humanitarian response. According to the results of a joint assessment conducted by the DRMFSS and development partners, most of those displaced returned home by early September, although some 1,000 households remained without shelter. Some 58,000 persons required food assistance due to the impact of the conflict, and more than 78,000 required provision of potable water.

During the year, drought caused displacements in the Somali Region, a situation exacerbated in some cases by the continuing conflict.

The government at the federal level did not recognize IDPs as a distinct group, and there was no specialized office charged with managing matters such as IDP protection, return, resettlement, or durable solutions. The government did not maintain data on IDPs. The DRMFSS, under the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, is the main government agency responsible for emergencies, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Water and Energy, and has responsibility for coordinating the provision of humanitarian assistance to displaced persons.

Restrictions limiting the access of human rights organizations, the media, humanitarian agencies, and diplomatic missions to conflict-affected areas continued, particularly with regard to the Somali Region conflict zones of Fik, Degahbur, Korahe, and parts of Warder. The partial relaxation of those restrictions that began the previous year continued, with humanitarian access in the Somali Region improving in particular. Journalists were required to register before entering conflict regions. The government lacked a clear policy on NGO access to sensitive areas, leading regional government officials and military officials frequently to refer requests for access to the federal government. There were isolated reports of regional police or local militias blocking NGOs’ access to particular locations on particular days, citing security concerns.

Protection of Refugees

Access to Asylum: The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a system for providing protection to refugees.

According to the UNHCR, the country hosted 376,410 refugees at year’s end. The majority of refugees were from Somalia (223,243), with others coming from Sudan and South Sudan (66,177, in addition to an estimated 20,000 unregistered refugees residing along the South Sudan-Ethiopia border), Eritrea (62,996), and other nations (3,994), particularly Kenya. New arrivals from Somalia numbered approximately 50,000 for the year, a significant decrease from 100,000 in 2011.

The UNHCR, the government, and humanitarian agencies continued to care for Sudanese arrivals fleeing from conflict in Sudan’s Blue Nile State.

Eritrean asylum seekers continued to arrive at the rate of approximately 700 new arrivals per month, according to the UNHCR. Hundreds of Eritrean refugees reportedly departed monthly on secondary migration through Egypt and Sudan to go to Israel, Europe, and other final destinations. The UNHCR and ARRA assisted in the reception and transportation back to My Ayni or Adi Harush camps of approximately 700 Eritrean refugees in 2011 and 952 during the year who had been detained in Egypt and deported by the Egyptian authorities. The UNHCR reported the population of unaccompanied minors who fled Eritrea into the country was 1,200 at year’s end. Unaccompanied minors in the 15- to17-year-old age group represented more than 75 percent of the total population of such minors.

Employment: The government does not grant refugees work permits.

Access to Basic Services: Refugees in camps were provided with schooling and health services. For those outside of camps, there were no reports of discrimination in access to public services.

Durable Solutions: The government granted refugee status to asylum seekers from Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan. The government welcomed refugees to settle permanently in the country, but did not offer a path to citizenship. During the year approximately 5,543 refugees departed the country for resettlement.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government

The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their government peacefully. In practice the ruling party’s electoral advantages limited this right.

Elections and Political Participation

Recent Elections: On August 20, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died. The ruling EPRDF elected Hailemariam Desalegn, the deputy prime minister, to take Meles’s place as chairman of the party and subsequently nominated him for the post of prime minister. On September 21, parliament elected Hailemariam as prime minister.

In the 2010 national parliamentary elections, the EPRDF and affiliated parties won 545 of 547 seats to remain in power for a fourth consecutive five-year term. Independent observation of the vote was severely limited due to government restrictions. Although the relatively few international officials allowed to observe the elections concluded technical aspects of the vote were handled competently, some also noted an environment conducive to free and fair elections was not in place prior to election day. Several laws, regulations, and procedures implemented since the 2005 national elections created a clear advantage for the EPRDF throughout the electoral process. There was ample evidence unfair government tactics, including intimidation of opposition candidates and supporters, influenced the extent of the EPRDF victory. In addition, voter education was limited to information about technical voting procedures and was done only by the National Electoral Board just days before voting began.

The African Union, whose observers arrived one week before the vote, deemed the elections to be free and fair. The European Union, some of whose observers arrived a few months before the vote, concluded the elections fell short of international standards for transparency and failed to provide a level playing field for opposition parties. The EU observed a “climate of apprehension and insecurity,” noting the volume and consistency of complaints of harassment and intimidation by opposition parties was “a matter of concern” and had to be taken into consideration “in the overall assessment of the electoral process.”

Political Parties: Political parties were predominantly ethnically based. EPRDF constituent parties conferred advantages upon their members; the parties directly owned many businesses and were broadly perceived to award jobs and business contracts to loyal supporters. Several opposition political parties reported difficulty in renting homes or buildings in which to open offices, citing visits by EPRDF members to the landlords to persuade or threaten them not to rent property to these parties.

During the year, there were credible reports teachers and other government workers had their employment terminated if they belonged to opposition political parties. According to Oromo opposition groups, the Oromia regional government continued to threaten to dismiss opposition party members, particularly teachers, from their jobs. Government officials made allegations many members of legitimate Oromo opposition political parties were secretly OLF members and more broadly that members of many opposition parties had ties to Ginbot 7. At the university level members of Medrek and its constituent parties were able to teach.

Registered political parties must receive permission from regional governments to open and occupy local offices.

In early 2010 a system of public campaign finance was announced. Under this system parties are to receive public funds from the National Electoral Board based in part on the number of parliamentary seats they hold. In 2011 the EPRDF decided to redistribute its share of the funds, which accounted for approximately 75 percent based on its dominance of the parliament and regional councils, to other political parties that were members of the Joint Council of Political Parties, whether or not they had seats in parliament. Because of an ongoing dispute with the EPRDF, Medrek, the largest opposition front, remained outside the Joint Council. Despite this Medrek was offered a small amount of funds, which it refused to accept.

Participation of Women and Minorities: No laws or cultural or traditional practices prevented women or minorities from voting or participating in political life on the same basis as men or nonminority citizens. The Tigray Regional Council held the highest proportion of women nationwide, at 48.5 percent.

The government policy of ethnic federalism led to the creation of individual constituencies to provide for representation of all major ethnic groups in the House of People’s Representatives. There were more than 80 ethnic groups, and small groups lacked representation in the legislature. There were 24 nationality groups in six regional states (Tigray, Amhara, Beneshangul-Gumuz, SNNPR, Gambella, and Harar) that did not have a sufficient population to qualify for constituency seats based on the 2007 census result; however, in the 2010 elections, individuals from these nationality groups competed for 24 special seats in the House of People’s Representatives. Additionally, these 24 nationality groups have one seat each in the House of Federation.

Section 4. Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government

The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; despite the government’s prosecution of numerous officials for corruption, some officials continued to engage in corrupt practices. Corruption, especially the solicitation of bribes, remained a problem among low-level bureaucrats. Police and judicial corruption also continued to be problems. Some government officials appeared to manipulate the privatization process, and state- and party-owned businesses received preferential access to land leases and credit.

The Ministry of Justice has primary responsibility for combating corruption, largely through the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (FEACC).

On September 5, five members of the Dire Dawa City Administration Council were sentenced in connection with corruption charges filed by the FEACC. The council members, found guilty of crimes including illegally giving away government land, manipulating tender processes, and accepting bribes, received prison sentences ranging from one to seven years.

The law requires that all government officials and employees officially register their wealth and personal property. The president, prime minister, and all cabinet-level ministers had registered their assets. By year’s end a total of 32,297 federal government officials had registered their assets, according to the FEACC.

The law provides for public access to government information, but access was largely restricted in practice. The law includes freedom of information provisions.

The government publishes its laws and regulations in the national gazette prior to their taking effect. The Government Communications Affairs Office managed contacts between the government, the press, and the public; the private press reported the government rarely responded to its queries.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights

A few domestic human rights groups operated, but with significant government restrictions. The government was generally distrustful and wary of domestic human rights groups and international observers. State controlled media were critical of international human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch. The government strongly criticized Human Rights Watch on several occasions during the year for what it described as biased and inaccurate reporting. The government also criticized an International Crisis Group (ICG) report that analyzed the impact of the death of Prime Minister Meles, claiming the ICG applied “very questionable standards” and did not reflect the reality on the ground.

The CSO law prohibits charities, societies, and associations (NGOs or CSOs) that receive more than 10 percent of their funding from foreign sources from engaging in activities that advance human and democratic rights or promote equality of nations, nationalities, peoples, genders, and religions; the rights of children and persons with disabilities; conflict resolution or reconciliation; or the efficiency of justice and law enforcement services. There were 3,522 organizations registered before the CSO law was adopted, although not all were active. Upon enactment of the CSO law, all charities were required to reregister with the government’s Charities and Societies Agency (ChSA). The implementation of the law continued to result in the severe curtailment of NGO activities related to human rights. In July the UN high commissioner for human rights expressed concern that civil society space “has rapidly shrunk” since the CSO law came into existence.

As of October 2,852 CSOs, both old and new, had been registered under the law. Of these, 389 were foreign charities, 491 were “resident” charities, 1,865 were “local” charities, 60 were adoption agencies, and 47 were consortia. The government maintained that the majority of organizations that did not reregister were not functional organizations prior to the passage of the law. Some human rights defender organizations adjusted to the law by registering either as local charities, meaning they could not raise more than 10 percent of their funds from foreign donors but could act in the specified areas, or as resident charities, which allowed foreign donations above 10 percent but prohibited activities in those areas.

One of several sets of implementing regulations under the law, the so-called 70/30 rule, caps administrative spending at 30 percent of an organization’s operating budget. The regulations define training of teachers, agricultural and health extension workers, and other government officials as an “administrative” cost, contending the training does not directly affect beneficiaries, thus limiting the number of training programs that can be provided by development assistance partners who prefer to employ train-the-trainer models to reach more persons. After discussions with development assistance partners, the government agreed to address application of this regulation on a case-by-case basis. A Civil Society Sector Working Group cochaired by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and a representative of the donor community convenes periodically to monitor and discuss challenges that arise as the law is implemented.

In October the ChSA announced it had closed 10 CSOs over the past two years because of improper payment of taxes and lack of adherence to the CSO law and related regulations. The agency also reportedly issued warnings to an additional 476 CSOs.

On October 19, the Supreme Court upheld the ChSA’s 2010 freezing of funds received by the Human Rights Council (HRCO) and the Ethiopian Women Lawyers’ Association (EWLA) from foreign sources.

The government denied NGOs access to federal prisons, police stations, and political prisoners, with the exception of JFA-PFE, one of only three organizations granted an exemption enabling them to raise unlimited funds from foreign sources and engage in human rights advocacy. JFA-PFE was permitted to visit prisoners and played a positive role in improving prisoners’ chances for clemency.

Restrictions that limited the access of human rights organizations, the media, humanitarian agencies, and diplomatic missions to conflict-affected areas continued, particularly with regard to the Somali Region conflict zones of Fik, Degahbur, Korahe, and parts of Warder. The partial relaxation of those restrictions that began in the previous year continued, with humanitarian access in the Somali Region improving in particular. Journalists were required to register before entering conflict regions. The government lacked a clear policy on NGO access to sensitive areas, leading regional government officials and military officials frequently to refer requests for access to the federal government. There were isolated reports of regional police or local militias blocking NGOs’ access to particular locations on particular days, citing security concerns.

There were credible reports security officials intimidated or detained local individuals to prevent them from meeting with NGOs and foreign government officials who were investigating allegations of abuse.

Government Human Rights Bodies: The government-established EHRC, which is funded by the parliament and subject to parliamentary review, is a semiautonomous body that investigates human rights complaints and produces annual and thematic reports. The commission operated 112 legal aid centers in collaboration with 17 universities and two civil society organizations, the EWLA and the Ethiopian Christian Lawyers Fellowship. The commission also completed the preparatory measures to sign collaborative agreements with two additional universities. The EHRC reported its Addis Ababa headquarters resolved 90 percent of the 952 complaints submitted to it during the year.

The Office of the Ombudsman has authority to receive and investigate complaints with respect to administrative mismanagement by executive branch offices. The office received 2,094 complaints in Addis Ababa from September 2011 to September 2012. Of these, the ombudsman opened investigations into 784, and the office reported it resolved the remaining cases through alternative means. The majority of complaints dealt with social security, labor, housing, and property disputes. The Office of the Ombudsman did not compile nationwide statistics. The Ombudsman’s Office opened five new offices around the country during the year.

In May the government completed drafting of a National Human Rights Action Plan, with an implementation coordinating office to be housed at the Ministry of Justice.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons

The constitution provides all persons equal protection without discrimination based on race, nation, nationality or other social origin, color, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, property, birth, or status. However, in practice the government did not fully promote and protect these rights.

Women

Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes rape and provides for penalties of five to 20 years’ imprisonment, depending on the severity of the case; however, the law does not expressly address spousal rape. The government did not fully enforce the law, partially due to widespread underreporting. Recent statistics on the number of abusers prosecuted, convicted, or punished were not available. Anecdotal evidence suggested reporting of rapes had increased since the 2004 revision of the criminal code but the justice system was unable to keep up with the number of cases.

Domestic violence, including spousal abuse, was a pervasive social problem. The government’s 2011 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) found that 68.4 percent of women believe wife beating was justified. The previous survey, conducted in 2005, found 81 percent approval, showing a downward trend. The 2011 DHS revealed 45 percent of men felt that wife beating was justified, down from 52 percent found in the 2005 DHS data.

Although women had recourse to the police and the courts, societal norms and limited infrastructure prevented many women from seeking legal redress, particularly in rural areas. The government prosecuted offenders on a limited scale. Domestic violence is illegal, but government enforcement of laws against rape and domestic violence was inconsistent. Depending on the severity of damage inflicted, legal penalties range from small fines to imprisonment for up to 10 to 15 years.

Domestic violence and rape cases often were delayed significantly and given low priority. In the context of gender-based violence, significant gender gaps in the justice system remained, due to poor documentation and inadequate investigation. During the year, “child friendly” benches were established specifically to hear cases involving violence against children and women. Police officers were required to receive domestic violence training from domestic NGOs and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. There was a commissioner for women’s and children’s affairs in the EHRC.

Women and girls experienced gender-based violence, but it was underreported due to cultural acceptance, shame, fear, or a victim’s ignorance of legal protections.

The government established a National Commission for Children’s and Women’s Affairs in 2005, as part of the EHRC, to investigate alleged human rights violations against women and children.

Harmful Traditional Practices: The most prevalent harmful traditional practices, besides FGM/C, were uvulectomy (cutting or removal the uvula, the piece of flesh that hangs down at the rear of the mouth), tonsillectomy (cutting or removal of the tonsils), and marriage by abduction.

Marriage by abduction is illegal, although it continued in some regions, including Amhara, Oromia, and SNNPR, despite the government’s attempts to combat the practice. Forced sexual relationships accompanied most marriages by abduction, and women often experienced physical abuse during the abduction. Abductions led to conflicts among families, communities, and ethnic groups. In cases of marriage by abduction, the perpetrator did not face punishment if the victim agreed to marry the perpetrator.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): One of the most prevalent harmful traditional practices, FGM/C, is illegal, but the government did not actively enforce this prohibition or punish those who practiced it. The practice was still widespread; however, according to a 2010 Population Council survey the rates continued to fall. Eighty percent of women ages 40 to 49 reported they were subjected to FGM/C, while 58 percent of girls and women ages 15 to 19 reported the same. The prevalence of FGM/C was highest in the Afar, SNNPR, and Oromia regions.

Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment was widespread. The penal code prescribes penalties of 18 to 24 months’ imprisonment; however, authorities generally did not enforce harassment laws.

Reproductive Rights: Individuals have the right to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of children and to have the information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. The 2011 DHS indicated a contraceptive prevalence of 29 percent nationwide among married women, a twofold increase from the survey done six years earlier. The 2011 DHS indicated the maternal mortality rate was 676 per 100,000 live births as compared with 673 per 100,000 reported in the 2005 DHS. Principle causes of maternal mortality included excessive bleeding, infection, hypertensive complications, and obstructed labor, with the underlying cause being the prevalence of home births. Only 9 percent of women reported delivering in a health facility or with a skilled birth attendant. According to the Federal Minister of Health, a government program known as the Health Development Army resulted in this figure reaching approximately 50 percent in the Tigray Region.

Discrimination: Discrimination against women was most acute in rural areas, where an estimated 85 percent of the population lives. The law contains discriminatory regulations, such as the recognition of the husband as the legal head of the family and the sole guardian of children more than five years old. Courts generally did not consider domestic violence by itself a justification for granting a divorce. Irrespective of the number of years the marriage existed, the number of children raised, and joint property, the law entitled women to only three months’ financial support if a relationship ended. There was limited legal recognition of common-law marriage. A common-law husband had no obligation to provide financial assistance to his family, and as a result, women and children sometimes faced abandonment. Notwithstanding progressive provisions in the formal law, traditional courts continued to apply customary law in economic and social relationships.

According to the constitution all land belongs to the government. Both men and women have land-use rights, which they can pass on as an inheritance. Land law varies among regions. All federal and regional land laws empower women to access government land. Inheritance laws also enable widowed women to inherit joint property they acquired during marriage.

In urban areas women had fewer employment opportunities than men, and the jobs available did not provide equal pay for equal work. Women’s access to gainful employment, credit, and the opportunity to own or manage a business was further limited by their generally lower level of education and training and by traditional attitudes.

The Ministry of Education reported female participation in undergraduate and postgraduate programs increased to 144,286 during the 2011-12 academic year, compared with 123,706 in 2010-11, continuing the trend of increasing female participation in higher education.

Children

Birth registration: Citizenship is derived from one’s parents. The law requires that all children be registered at birth. In practice children born in hospitals were registered while most children born outside of hospitals were not. The overwhelming majority of children, particularly in rural areas, were born at home.

Education: As a policy, primary education was universal and tuition-free; however, there were not enough schools to accommodate the country’s youth, particularly in rural areas. The cost of school supplies was prohibitive for many families, and there was no legislation to enforce compulsory primary education. The number of students enrolled in schools expanded faster than trained teachers could be deployed.

Child Abuse: Child abuse was widespread. In March a YouTube video of a young girl being repeatedly abused by a female caretaker went viral, spurring the establishment of a Facebook group called Ethiopians Against Child Abuse. A 2009 study conducted by the African Child Policy Forum revealed prosecuting offenders for sexual violence against children was difficult due to inconsistent interpretation of laws among legal bodies and the offender’s right to bail, which often resulted in the offender fleeing or coercing the victim or the victim’s family to drop the charges. During the year, “child friendly” benches were established specifically to hear cases involving violence against children and women.

Child Marriage: The law sets the legal marriage age for girls and boys at 18; however, this law was not enforced uniformly, and rural families were sometimes unaware of this provision. In several regions it was customary for older men to marry young girls, although this traditional practice continued to face greater scrutiny and criticism.

According to the 2011 DHS the median age of first marriage among women surveyed between the ages of 20 and 49 was 17.1 years. The age of first marriage appeared to be rising. In 2005 the median age of marriage for women surveyed between 20 and 24 was 16.5 years, and while 39 percent of women between 45 and 49 reported being married by age 15, only 8 percent of young women between 15 and 19 reported being or having been married.

In the Amhara and Tigray regions, girls were married routinely as early as age seven. Child marriage was the most prevalent in the Amhara Region, where the median first marriage age was 15.1 years per the 2011 DHS, compared with 14.7 years in 2005. Regional governments in Amhara and, to a lesser extent, Tigray offered programs to educate young women on issues associated with early marriage.

Harmful Traditional Practices: Societal abuse of young girls continued to be a problem. Harmful practices included FGM/C, early marriage, marriage by abduction, and food and work prohibitions. A 2006 African Child Policy Forum retrospective survey indicated 68.5 percent of girls surveyed in the country had been abused sexually and 84 percent had been abused physically.

The majority of girls in the country had undergone some form of FGM/C. FGM/C was much less common in urban areas, where only 15 percent of the population lived. Girls typically experienced clitoridectomies seven days after birth (consisting of an excision of the clitoris, often with partial labial excision) and faced infibulation (the most extreme and dangerous form of FGM/C) at the onset of puberty. A 2008 study funded by Save the Children Norway reported a 24 percent national reduction in FGM/C cases over the previous 10 years, due in part to a strong anti-FGM/C campaign. The campaign continued to have an effect in the SNNPR and Afar regions during the year, although reliable sources in SNNPR reported infibulation still was administered on most girls. The penal code criminalizes practitioners of clitoridectomy, with imprisonment of at least three months or a fine of at least 500 birr ($28). Infibulation of the genitals is punishable with imprisonment of five to 10 years. However, no criminal charges have ever been brought for FGM/C. The government discouraged the practice of FGM/C through education in public schools, the Health Extension Program, and broader mass media campaigns.

Sexual Exploitation of Children: The minimum age for consensual sex is 18 years, but this law was not enforced. The law provides for three to 15 years in prison for sexual intercourse with a minor. The law provides for one year in prison and a fine of 10,000 birr ($550) for trafficking in indecent material displaying sexual intercourse by minors. The law prohibits profiting from the prostitution of minors and inducing minors to engage in prostitution; however, commercial sexual exploitation of children continued, particularly in urban areas. Girls as young as age 11 reportedly were recruited to work in brothels. Customers often sought these girls because they believed them to be free of sexually transmitted diseases. Young girls were trafficked from rural to urban areas. They also were exploited as prostitutes in hotels, bars, resort towns, and rural truck stops. Reports indicated family members forced some young girls into prostitution.

Infanticide: Ritual and superstition-based infanticide continued in remote tribal areas, particularly the South Omo Valley. Local governments worked to educate communities against the practice.

Displaced Children: According to a 2010 report by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, approximately 150,000 children lived on the streets, of whom 60,000 were in the capital. The ministry’s report stated families’ inability to support children due to parental illness or insufficient household income exacerbated the problem. These children begged, sometimes as part of a gang, or worked in the informal sector.

A 2010 Population Council Young Adult Survey found that 82.3 percent of boys who lived or worked on the streets had been to or had enrolled in school, 26.4 percent had lost one parent, and 47.2 percent had lost both parents. Among these boys, 72 percent had worked for pay at some point in their lives. Government and privately run orphanages were unable to handle the number of street children.

Institutionalized Children: There were an estimated 5.4 million orphans in the country, according to a 2010 report by the Central Statistics Authority. The vast majority lived with extended family members. Government orphanages were overcrowded, and conditions were often unsanitary. Due to severe resource constraints, hospitals and orphanages often overlooked or neglected abandoned infants. Institutionalized children did not receive adequate health care, and several infants in SNNPR died due to lack of adequate medical attention.

International Child Abductions: The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Anti-Semitism

The Jewish community numbered approximately 2,000; there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

Trafficking in Persons

See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.

Persons with Disabilities

The constitution does not mandate equal rights for persons with disabilities. However, two laws prohibit discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment and mandate access to buildings. It is illegal for deaf persons to drive.

The Right to Employment of Persons with Disabilities Proclamation prohibits employment discrimination based on disability. It also makes employers responsible for providing appropriate working or training conditions and materials to persons with disabilities. The law specifically recognizes the additional burden on women with disabilities. The government took limited measures to enforce the law, for example, by assigning interpreters for hearing-impaired civil service employees.

The Building Proclamation mandates building accessibility and accessible toilet facilities for persons with physical disabilities, although specific regulations that define the accessibility standards have not been adopted. Buildings and toilet facilities were usually not accessible. Landlords are required to give persons with disabilities preference for ground-floor apartments, and this was respected in practice.

Women with disabilities were more disadvantaged than men with disabilities in education and employment. An Addis Ababa University study from 2008 showed that female students with disabilities were subjected to a heavier burden of domestic work than their male peers. The 2010 Population Council Young Adult Survey found young persons with disabilities were less likely to have ever attended school than young persons without disabilities. The survey indicated girls with disabilities were less likely than boys with disabilities to be in school; 23 percent of girls with disabilities were in school, compared to 48 percent of girls without disabilities and 55 percent of boys without disabilities. Overall, 47.8 percent of young persons with disabilities surveyed reported not going to school due to their disability. Girls with disabilities also were much more likely to suffer physical and sexual abuse than girls without disabilities. Thirty-three percent of sexually experienced disabled girls reported having experienced forced sex. According to the same survey, some 6 percent of boys with disabilities had been beaten in the three months prior to the survey, compared to 2 percent of boys without disabilities.

There were several schools for hearing and visually impaired persons and several training centers for children and young persons with intellectual disabilities. There was a network of prosthetic and orthopedic centers in five of the nine regional states.

Several domestic associations, such as the Ethiopian National Association of the Blind, Ethiopian National Association of the Deaf, and Ethiopian National Association of the Physically Handicapped, like other civil society organizations, continued to be affected negatively by the CSO law.

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

The country has more than 80 ethnic groups, of which the Oromo, at approximately 35 percent of the population, is the largest. The federal system drew boundaries roughly along major ethnic group lines. Most political parties remained primarily ethnically based.

Clashes between ethnic groups during the year resulted in 100 to 150 deaths and the displacement of persons. Water shortages contributed to interethnic conflict.

On March 12, armed gunmen ambushed a passenger bus in Bonga, near the capital of the Gambella Region. After stopping the vehicle, the gunmen forced passengers off the bus and divided “highlanders” from locals (the term “highlanders” generally referred to persons from the Tigray or Amhara regions, although in Gambella the term also was applied more broadly to refer to those from outside the region). The gunmen opened fire on the highlanders, killing 21 persons and wounding nine.

Early in the year, around Moyale town, on the country’s border with Kenya, long-standing ethnic tensions erupted into large-scale violence as rival groups vied for resources. A series of retaliatory attacks on the Kenyan side of the border forced thousands of ethnic Borena (Borana) and Gebre (Gabbra) to flee into Ethiopia. In July rival Borena, Gebre, and Garre groups clashed on the Ethiopian side of the border, leading to as many as 85 deaths and displacing tens of thousands before federal forces contained the fighting.

Other Societal Violence or Discrimination

Societal stigma and discrimination against persons living with or affected by HIV/AIDS continued in the areas of education, employment, and community integration. Despite the abundance of anecdotal information, there were no statistics on the scale of the problem.

Section 7. Worker Rights

a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining

The constitution and the law provide workers, except for certain categories of workers, with the right to form and join unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively; however, such rights are severely restricted or excessively regulated by other laws. The 2003 Labor Proclamation specifically excludes managerial employees, teachers, and civil servants (including judges, prosecutors, and security service workers) from organizing unions. The International Labor Organization (ILO) Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations noted that the CSO law gives the government power to interfere in workers’ right to organize, including through the registration, internal administration, and dissolution of organizations.

A minimum of 10 workers is required to form a union. While the law provides all unions with the right to register, the government may refuse to register trade unions that do not meet its registration requirements. The law stipulates a trade union organization may not act in an overtly political manner. The law allows administrative authorities to appeal to the courts to cancel union registration for engaging in prohibited activities, such as political action. Seasonal and part-time agricultural workers cannot organize into labor unions. While the law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers and provides for reinstatement for workers fired for union activity, it does not prevent an employer from creating or supporting a workers’ organization for the purpose of controlling it.

While the law recognizes the right of collective bargaining, this right is severely restricted. Negotiations aimed at amending or replacing a collective agreement must be completed within three months of its expiration, or the provisions on wages and other benefits cease to apply. Civil servants, including public school teachers, have the right to establish and join professional associations, but are not allowed to negotiate for better wages or working conditions. Furthermore, the arbitration procedures in the public sector are more restrictive than those in the private sector.

Although the constitution and law provide workers with the right to strike to protect their interests, it contains detailed provisions prescribing excessively complex and time-consuming formalities that make legal strike actions difficult to carry out. A minimum of 30 days’ advance notice must be given before striking when the case is referred to a court or a labor relations board. The law requires aggrieved workers to attempt reconciliation with employers before striking and includes a lengthy dispute settlement process. These provisions applied equally to an employer’s right to lock workers out. Two-thirds of the workers involved must support a strike for it to occur. If a case has not already been referred to a court or labor relations board, workers retain the right to strike without resorting to either of these options, provided they give at least 10 days’ notice to the other party and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and make efforts at reconciliation.

The law also prohibits strikes by workers who provide essential services, including air transport and urban bus service workers, electric power suppliers, gas station personnel, hospital and pharmacy personnel, firefighters, telecommunications personnel, and urban sanitary workers. Such a discretionary list of essential services exceeds the ILO definition of essential services. The law prohibits retribution against strikers, but also provides for excessive civil or penal sanctions for unions and workers involved in nonauthorized strike actions. Unions can be dissolved for carrying out strikes in “essential services.”

The informal labor sector, including domestic workers, is not unionized and is not protected by labor laws. Lack of adequate staffing prevented the government from effectively enforcing applicable laws during the year. Court procedures were subject to lengthy delays and appeals.

Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were not respected in practice. Although the government permits unions, the major trade unions were government-established and -controlled entities. The government continued to use its authority to refuse to register the National Teachers’ Association (NTA) during the year on the grounds a national teacher association already existed. According to the Education International report to the ILO in 2011, members of the NTA were subjected to surveillance and harassment by government security agents, with the goal of intimidating teachers to abandon the NTA and forcing them to give up their long-standing demand for the formation of an independent union. In November the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association expressed its concern with regard to serious violations of the NTA’s trade union rights, including continuous interference in its internal organization that prevented it from functioning normally and interference by way of threats, dismissals, arrest, detention, and mistreatment of NTA members. The committee urged the government to register the NTA without delay; to ensure the CSO law was not applicable to workers’ and employers’ organizations; and to undertake civil service reform to fully ensure the right of civil servants to establish and join organizations of their own choosing.

While the government allowed citizens to exercise the right of collective bargaining freely, representatives negotiated wages only at the plant level. It was common for employers to refuse to bargain. Unions in the formal industrial sector made some efforts to enforce labor regulations.

Despite the law prohibiting antiunion discrimination, unions reported that employers frequently fired union activists. For example local government backed management at Balcha Hospital, Addis Ababa, that reportedly made efforts to establish a “yellow union” or employer-controlled union and to force workers to join it with the purpose of weakening the existing union. The chairperson of the factory workers’ union at a sugar factory in East Wellega in the Oromia Region was reportedly dismissed due to his union activities. There were reports most Chinese employers generally did not allow workers to form unions and often transferred or fired union leaders, as well as intimidated and pressured members to leave unions. Lawsuits alleging unlawful dismissal often take years to resolve because of case backlogs in the courts. Employers found guilty of antiunion discrimination were required to reinstate workers fired for union activities and generally did so in practice. While the law prohibits retribution against strikers, most workers were not convinced the government would enforce this protection. Labor officials reported that, due to high unemployment and long delays in the hearing of labor cases, some workers were afraid to participate in strikes or other labor actions.

b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The law prohibits most forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, the law also permits courts to order forced labor as a punitive measure. The government did not effectively enforce the forced labor prohibition, and forced labor occurred in practice. Both adults and children were forced to engage in street vending, begging, traditional weaving, or agricultural work. Children also worked in forced domestic labor. Situations of debt bondage also occurred in traditional weaving, pottery, cattle herding, and other agricultural activities, mostly in rural areas.

Also see the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.

c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment

By law the minimum age for wage or salary employment is 14 years. The minimum age provisions, however, only apply to contractual labor and do not apply to self-employed children or children who perform unpaid work. Special provisions cover children between the ages of 14 and 18, including the prohibition of hazardous or night work. The law defines hazardous work as work in factories or involving machinery with moving parts or any work that could jeopardize a child’s health. Prohibited work sectors include passenger transport, electric generation plants, underground work, street cleaning, and many other sectors. The lack of labor inspectors and controls prevented the government from enforcing the law, leading to increasing numbers of children working in these sectors, particularly construction. The law expressly excludes children under age 16 attending vocational schools from legal protection with regard to the prohibition of young workers from performing hazardous work. The law does not permit children between the ages of 14 and 18 to work more than seven hours per day or between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., on public holidays or rest days, or overtime.

The government did not effectively enforce these laws in practice. The resources for inspections and the implementation of penalties were extremely limited. Despite the introduction of labor inspector training at Gondar University in 2011, insufficient numbers of labor inspectors and inspections resulted in lax enforcement of occupational safety and health measures and prohibitions against child labor.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) covers child labor issues, with support from the Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs. Cooperation, information sharing, and coordination between the ministries improved during the year. The National Action Plan (NAP) to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor was signed at the end of the year. The government conducted activities to raise awareness regarding child labor and piloted a child labor-free zone.

To underscore the importance of attending school, joint NGO and government-led community-based awareness raising activities targeted communities where children were heavily engaged in agricultural work. During the year the government invested in modernizing agricultural practices and constructing schools to combat the problem of children in agricultural sectors.

Child labor remained a serious problem, in both urban and rural areas. In both rural and urban areas, children often began working at young ages. Child labor was particularly pervasive in subsistence agricultural production, traditional weaving, fishing, and domestic work. A growing number of children worked in construction. Children in rural areas, especially boys, engaged in activities such as cattle herding, petty trading, plowing, harvesting, and weeding, while other children, mostly girls, collected firewood and fetched water. Children in urban areas, including orphans, worked in domestic service, often working long hours, which prevented many from attending school regularly. They also worked in manufacturing, shining shoes, making clothes, portering, directing customers to taxis, parking, public transport, petty trading, and occasionally herding animals. Some children worked long hours in dangerous environments for little or no wages and without occupational safety protection. Child laborers often faced physical, sexual, and emotional abuse at the hands of their employers.

Also see the Department of Labor’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

d. Acceptable Conditions of Work

There is no national minimum wage. Some government institutions and public enterprises set their own minimum wages. Public sector employees, the largest group of wage earners, earned a monthly minimum wage of approximately 420 birr ($23); employees in the banking and insurance sector had a minimum monthly wage of 336 birr ($18). The official estimate for the poverty income level is approximately 315 birr ($17) per month.

Only a small percentage of the population, concentrated in urban areas, was involved in wage-labor employment. Wages in the informal sector generally were below subsistence levels.

The law provides for a 48-hour maximum legal workweek with a 24-hour rest period, premium pay for overtime, and prohibition of excessive compulsory overtime. The country has 13 paid public holidays per year. The law entitles employees in public enterprise and government financial institutions to overtime pay; civil servants receive compensatory time for overtime work. The government, industries, and unions negotiated occupational safety and health standards. Workers specifically excluded by law from unionizing, including domestic workers and seasonal and part-time agricultural workers, generally did not benefit from health and safety regulations in the workplace.

The MOLSA’s inspection department was responsible for enforcement of these standards. The country had 380 labor inspectors. However, due to lack of resources, these standards were not enforced effectively. The MOLSA’s severely limited administrative capacity; lack of an effective mechanism for receiving, investigating, and tracking allegations of violations; and lack of detailed, sector-specific health and safety guidelines hampered effective enforcement of these standards. In addition penalties were not sufficient to deter violations.

Compensation, benefits, and working conditions of seasonal agricultural workers were far below those of unionized permanent agricultural employees. Although the government did little to enforce the law, in practice most employees in the formal sector worked a 39-hour workweek. However, many foreign, migrant, and informal sector workers worked more than 48 hours per week.

Workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous situations without jeopardizing their employment. Despite this law most workers feared losing their jobs if they were to do so. Hazardous working conditions existed in the agricultural sector, which was the primary base of the country’s economy. There were also reports of hazardous and exploitative working conditions in the construction and fledgling industrial sectors.

http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204120#wrapper

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ENTC Dallas Chapter Press Release

Friday, May 3rd, 2013

The Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC) Dallas chapter has issued the following press release following its successful public meeting on April 27 2013.

Read the full Press Release here (pdf)

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ENTC Germany Public meeting report

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

The Ethiopian National Transitional Council’s (ENTC) Germany Chapter hosted a successful town hall meeting in Frankfurt on April 27 2013 to discuss the process of forming an all-inclusive transitional government in Ethiopia.

ሪፖርቱን ለማንበብ እዚህ ይጫኑ

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Mengistu Hailemariam and our moral compass

Wednesday, May 1st, 2013

Mengistu Hailemariam and our moral compass. By Yilma Bekele.
Today I felt like crawling under the blanket and just hide. I know that is what children do. They think hiding under the blanket makes them invisible. It give them a feeling of security and that what I was looking for. Some place to hide and feel secure from my clueless people. Clueless is what we are and I guess I just have to live with it. Predictable like the season is how we function and I have to accept it.
What has gotten me down is the talk of the dead not yet dead news regarding the former dictator of my country. It looks like the despicable individual is not going to disappear from our radar no matter how far removed and how long ago we have parted company. Like a nightmare he keeps showing up in the most awkward and inopportune moments. His appearance this time around was not his doing but nevertheless he was used as weapon to clobber us with.
I am not really concerned about the hapless dictator it is us I worry about. You would think that after over twenty years of contemplating the total ramifications of what his involvement in our country’s history has meant to us that we have come to a few conclusions. We have looked at the situation and drawn a few lessons so we can keep it in the back of our brain for future reference good and bad. That is all experience is all about isn’t it?
Life is a learning experience. We succeed some fail a few but we draw conclusion so we know what works and what to avoid. That is how we move forward. Those that learn from past experience, analyze then adapt what works avoid that did not produce the intended result get to reap the benefits. Those that ignore the lessons of history end up digging their own grave.
That is what we are doing today, digging our own grave. The fact that we have not put the criminal dictator in perspective is very alarming and not so good news regarding our future. How could we be trusted with the future when we do not have a clear picture of our past? How do we know what we want tomorrow when we have not really sat down and looked at yesterday to see what went right and what exactly went wrong and why?
Two things happened simultaneously this last week. The ethnic based regime’s blunder aroused the ire of our people and exposed them to charges of criminal activity. To divert attention and blunt the impact they were able to concoct a ruse pointing away from their evil deeds. It was a simple ploy one plays on children and it worked. It worked because we did not take the last twenty years to learn, analyze and grow. It looks like we did not take the idea of raising a conscious, smart and morally upright citizen to heart in order to be able to lay a solid foundation to build the future Ethiopia. We did not invest time and energy to produce an intelligent, motivated and smart generation that is able to avoid the mistakes done by the past generation.
The last two weeks the major news coming out of our country was the plight of our Amara citizens being uprooted from their homes. It was not a pleasant sight. Simple farmers that make their living by sheer determination and constant struggle against nature using primitive tools were deemed to be unworthy of basic human respect and dignity and were ordered to move from their villages at a moment’s notice. It was very distressing to see fellow humans being treated like that in their own country. It became the focus of attention and revealed the nature of the illegal and corrupt regime in Ethiopia. It was not a welcome attention and the government rightly felt the heat.
There was attempt made by the opposition to investigate and gather evidence to bring the matter to the attention of all that are empowered to look at situations like this. It was not easy but they tried under the difficult circumstances presented by the regional Bantustans and the Federal government. Their representatives were jailed, abused and given a few hours to leave the region. Thanks to technology the whole world in general and the Diaspora Ethiopians were able to follow the news and keep in touch with their people.
The government first tried to deny that ‘ethnic cleansing’ is being carried out. They also attempted to blame the regional administration for the problem and finally were compelled to admit there was some truth to the allegations and were forced to ask the deportees to return. In a matter of a week the news was bringing clarity regarding the illegal and criminal nature of the regime in power. It was opening the eyes of many individuals to see the regime in a different light. The news was gathering momentum and the regime was entering a state of panic. The opposition and the Diaspora activists were even talking about appealing to the International Court of Justice and the United Nations.
Someone somewhere figured the weakness and clueless nature of the Ethiopian. They figured give them another bone to chew and they will drop everything and jump at the opportunity. They did not have to look far. They found an old discarded bone and tossed it in the middle of the unruly pack. Thus they put out a press release announcing the death of the tyrant that has been holed in Zimbabwe for the last twenty years. That is all it took for the frenzy to start, the earth to move and the heavens to open.
Are we that transparent? Are we that easy to fool? Fifty four percent of the Ethiopian population is under twenty five years of age. They have not witnessed the madness of the Derge era. To them Mengistu is a distant history. The history of Ethiopia including the Derg period is a self-serving tale as told by Woyane and their apologists. Neftegna, Monarchist, Dergist is an interchangeable term Woyane uses to ruin people’s lives. The fifty four percent cannot be relied upon regarding their knowledge of our past. Meles and his disciples’ main agenda was to discredit our past so they could build their distorted vision on a shaky ground. According to Woyane and their followers there is nothing good or redeemable about Ethiopia before their appearance.
It is a very difficult story to take to heart. Especially when life under Woyane is nothing but hell on hearth for the vast majority of our people. That is why the fifty four percent are all waiting their turn to leave by foot, boat, plane and any which way out. What got me a little concerned and a lot despondent is the failure of those aged 25-54 years and compromise twenty nine percent of the population. The ones that are politically involved and run our independent media outlets. They picked this disinformation campaign and run with it. I am not saying we should have ignored the story on the other hand it is our responsibility to tell the story with a certain amount of perspective thrown in to give the listener and reader some point of reference. Every time we mention the criminal dictator we should remind our people the role he played in the destruction of our country and people. That is the legacy he left behind and that is how he should be remembered. This idiotic idea of misplaced ‘Ethiopian chewanet’ is what works against us and blinds us from standing up against abusers and ill-mannered individuals. The kind of ways the news was reported was both embarrassing and self-defeating to say the least.
Dear editors of our independent media what are we supposed to make of your screaming headline announcing the ‘good health’ of a tyrant in exile that has not even acknowledged his criminal role and responsibility when he was the de facto head of state? Some of you even went the extra mile and called his house and talked to his wife while others relied on their reporters to find out the latest ‘breaking news’. Did you really think the sympathetic, feel good close to the heart story was appropriate regarding a criminal in exile? One of the headlines screamed “Former Ethiopian President Colonel Mengistu is alive and well…” I dove for cover.
Mengistu Hailemariam was a ruthless dictator, a cruel and horrible individual that will be remembered as a black mark in our country’s history. The fact that the one who came after him was a ruthless psychopath does not make the former any less of a criminal. Our independent medias’ reporting was journalism at its worst and an affront to truth and insensitive to the victims.
Where exactly did we go wrong? What exactly happened to our moral compass? It looks like we got a long way to go to differentiate bad from evil, truth from fiction and show some empathy towards those that were victimized by Mengistu and his accomplices. Mengistu which even writing his name brings pain and agony to my soul was the cause of much anguish to our country and people. This is not even past history but it happened yesterday in our life time. Many of those fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters that lost their beloved ones are still among us. The memory has not even faded from our collective mind.
To refresh your memory the ongoing exodus out of mother Ethiopia started under Mengistu. The first time in our countries history her children started running away from home. Ethiopia began losing its youngest and brightest and has not recovered ever since. The whole country became a killing field. The lawlessness nature of the regime brought about the degeneration of societal norms and the gradual destruction of culture. His regime rode rough on all that we hold dear and that has taken us long to build. His lack of basic leadership skills and ruthless evil nature decimated all that were educated, able and showed potential. He exposed our country to dangerous minds that used the opportunity to wrestle power cunningly. He is a military leader that left his troops in battle to save his dirty ass. He is wanted by the Ethiopian military to be court marshaled and is definitely a candidate for a firing squad. This is the individual you so zealously displayed and published letters written by Woyane and their sympathizers lauding his good side. Shame on you all!!!
Every one of us got something good and commendable within us. Something positive could even be said about evil individuals. I am sure Hitler was a German Nationalist that loved his country, Meles Zenawi was probably a good family man, Mussolini was probably a devout Catholic but that does not define the totality of the person. All three of them have their dark side that outweighs their positive nature. The evil one lurking behind the smiling face is what affects us.
Dear country people please remember choosing one abuser over another is not a virtue. Demanding no abuse is the way to go. Why in the world do we compare and contrast the crimes of our leaders instead of resolving for such never to happen to us again? Isn’t that the lesson to draw from the experience of the last forty years? How could I trust you with my future when some of you think of life as a pissing match and are busy picking the lessor of two evils instead on no evil? Is that where we find ourselves today that we are willing to accept a little less criminal than Meles instead of someone that respects the rule of law, the sanctity of life especially human life and love for mother Ethiopia?

Tags: Ethiopia, Ethiopia Democracy, Ethiopia dictatorship. Ethiopia Derg, Ethiopia Human Rights, Ethiopia TPLF, Ethiopia Woyane, Meles Zenawi, Mengistu Haile Mariam, yilma bekele
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Watching American Diplocrisy in Ethiopia

Monday, April 29th, 2013

Hypocrisy America is Watching!?

Diplomacy by hypocrisy is “diplocrisy”.

Edmund Burke, the British statesman and philosopher, said “Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing.” We’ve heard many promises on human rights in Africa from President Obama and his Administration over the past four years. “We will work diligently with Ethiopia to ensure that strengthened democratic institutions and open political dialogue become a reality for the Ethiopian people… We will work for the release of jailed scholars, activists, and opposition party leaders… We align ourselves with men and women around the world who struggle for the right to speak their minds, to choose their leaders, and to be treated with dignity and respect…. Africa’s future belongs to its young people… We’re going to keep helping empower African youth… Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions. We support strong and sustainable democratic governments…. America will be more responsible in extending our hand. Aid is not an end in itself… [Dictatorship] is not democracy, [it] is tyranny, and now is the time for it to end… America is watching…” All empty promises and cheap talk.

Last week, the U.S. State Department released its annual Human Rights Report for 2013. In his remarks launching that report, Secretary of State John Kerry announced

…[These] reports show brave citizens around the world and those who would abuse them that America is watching…

So anywhere that human rights are under threat, the United States will proudly stand up, unabashedly, and continue to promote greater freedom, greater openness, and greater opportunity for all people. And that means speaking up when those rights are imperiled. It means providing support and training to those who are risking their lives every day so that their children can enjoy more freedom. It means engaging governments at the highest levels and pushing them to live up to their obligations to do right by their people…

Is America really “watching” and “standing up”?

I am always curious when someone is watching. Big Brother is watching! Aargh!!

When Kerry tells “brave citizens” in Ethiopia like Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu, Wobshet Taye, Sertkalem Fasil, Bekele Gerba, Olbana Lelisa, Abubekar Ahmed, Ahmedin Jebel, Ahmed Mustafa and so many others “America is watching”, what does he mean? Does he mean America is watching them rot in Meles Zenawi Prison #1 in Kality and/or #2 in Zewai? Does he mean America is watching Ethiopia like birdwatchers watch birds? Or like amateur astronomers watching the starry night sky? Perhaps like daydreaming tourists at the beach watching the waves crash and the summer clouds slowly drifting inland?

Is “watching” a good or a bad thing? If we believe Albert Einstein, watching is no good. “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” (Silent watchers, watch out!) Like Nero Claudius Caesar who watched Rome burn from the hilltops singing and playing his lyre. Or, (I hate to say it but it would be hypocritical of me not to) like Susan Rice who watched Rwanda burn. Her only question was, “If we use the word ‘genocide’ and are seen as doing nothing, what will be the effect on the November [Congressional] election?”

I like it when Human Rights Watch (HRW) watches because when they watch they witness. They saw the genocide and crimes against humanity in the Ogaden and Gambella and they have witnesses. They watched independent journalists jacked up in kangaroo court and railroaded to Meles Prison #1 or #2. (Sounds like the equivalent of a hotel chain? Well, they do put chain and ball on innocent people at the Meles Zenawi Hilton.)

I like watching watchdogs watch crooks, criminals and outlaws. I mean “watchdog journalists” like Eskinder, Reeyot, Serkalem, Woubshet and many others. These journalists used to watch power abusers and alert citizens of the crimes they were watching. Now the criminals are watching them in solitary at the Meles Zenawi Hilton.

I also like the way the watchdogs’ watchdog watch those who dog the watchdogs. I am referring to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The CPJ guys are like McGruff, the crime watchdog, always tracking to “take bites out of crimes” committed against journalists. Not long ago, they watched and sounded the alarm that Reeyot Alemu was heading to solitary confinement just because she complained about inhumane and inhuman treatment in Meles Zenawi Prison. Last week, the CPJ watched Woubshet Taye being hauled from the Meles Zenawi Prison #1 to Meles Zenawi Prison #2. (They think he will be forgotten by the world lost in the armpits of Meles Zenawi Prison #2.)

I pity those who just watch. Like the “foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear” or those who may “indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand.” I have no idea what the Obama Administration is watching, perceiving or seeing in Ethiopia? I would like to believe they are watching human rights abuses and abusers and the criminals against humanity. But how is it possible to watch with arms folded, ears plugged and wearing welding goggles? I wonder: Could they be watching the tragicomedy, “The Trials and Tribulations of the Apostles of Meles”? Perhaps they are watching kangaroo courts stomping all over justice and decency? I am certain they are not watching the political prisoners. Perhaps they are watching the horror movie, “Dystopia in Ethiopia”? Sure, it’s a scary movie but it really isn’t real. But if it is real, what’s the big deal? The same horror film has been playing all over Africa since before independence. Get over it!

From where I am watching, the Obama Administration seems to be watching Ethiopia peekaboo style; you know, cover your face with the palms of your hand and “watch” between the fingers. “I seee yooou!” That is, stealing elections, sucking the national treasury dry, handing over the best land in the country to bloodsucking multinationals, jailing journalists and ripping off the people.

Doesn’t “America is watching,” sound like Orwellian doublespeak. You know, “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” Dictatorship is democracy. Watching is turning a blind eye.

When America is watching, those being watched in Ethiopia are watching America watching them. They watch America waffling and shuffling, double-talking, flip-flopping and dithering, equivocating, pretending, hemming and hawing and hedging and dodging. But those chaps in Ethiopia watch like George Orwell’s Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four) who watched everybody and everything in Oceania. Well, Big Brother Meles is gone from Ethiopiana but the “Little Brothers of the Party of Meles” keep on watching and yodeling:

…The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from the oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know what no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to understand me.

Oceania Ethiopiana!

I have been watching America watching Ethiopia for a very long time. I have been watching the Obama Administration watching and coddling the criminals against humanity in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda. I must confess that I enjoy watching and re-watching President Obama’s speeches in Accra, Cairo, Istanbul and elsewhere. “History is on the side of brave Africans…” (whatever that means).

I liked watching former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton declare moral victory on the Chinese and capture the commanding moral heights. “We don’t want to see a new colonialism in Africa… It is easy to come in, take out natural resources, pay off leaders and leave… and not leave much behind for the people who are there.” Right on! Power to the people of Africa! Down with colonialism! (I think that may be a bit passé.)

Sometimes I feel bad watching. When I watch hard earned American tax dollars bankrolling ruthless African dictators who laugh straight to the bank to deposit their American tax dollars, I really get bummed out. I am peeved when I watch the American people being flimflammed into believing their tax dollars are supporting democracy, human rights and American values in Africa. But when I watch those miserable panhandlers “enfolded in the purple of Emperors” bashing and trashing America on their way back from depositing their foreign aid welfare checks, I just plain get pissed off!!

“America is watching,” but is America watching where its tax dollars are going? It is NOT. According to an audit report by the Office of the Inspector General of US AID in March 2010 (p. 1), there is no way to determine the fraud, waste and abuse of American tax dollars in Ethiopia:

The audit was unable to determine whether the results reported in USAID/Ethiopia’s Performance Plan and Report were valid because agricultural program staff could neither explain how the results were derived nor provide support for those results. Indeed, when the audit team attempted to validate the reported results by tracing from the summary amounts to the supporting detail, it was unable to do so at either the mission or its implementing partners… In the absence of a complete and current performance management plan, USAID/Ethiopia is lacking an important tool for monitoring and managing the implementation of its agricultural program.

Watching diplocrisy in Technicolor

There is nothing more mind-bending and funny than watching hypocrisy in Technicolor. Earlier this month, in an act of shameless diplocrisy, Secretary Kerry expressed grave reservations about the legitimacy of the election of Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela. Maduro won the election by a razor thin margin of 50.66 percent of the votes. Opposition leader Henrique Capriles rejected the results alleging irregularities and demanding a recount of all votes.

Kerry supported Capriles’ demand for a recount. “We think there ought to be a recount… Obviously, if there are huge irregularities, we are going to have serious questions about the viability of that [Maduro] government.” White House spokesman Jay Carney also issued a statement calling for a recount of all the votes.

… Given the tightness of the result — around 1 percent of the votes cast separate the candidates – the opposition candidate and at least one member of the electoral council have called for a 100 percent audit of the results. And this appears an important, prudent and necessary step to ensure that all Venezuelans have confidence in these results. In our view, rushing to a decision in these circumstances would be inconsistent with the expectations of Venezuelans for a clear and democratic outcome.

In May 2010 when the late Meles Zenawi claimed 99.6 percent victory in the parliamentary elections and leaders from Medrek, the largest opposition coalition, and the smaller All Ethiopia Unity Party alleged glaring election fraud, vote rigging and denial of American food aid to poor farmers unless they voted for the ruling party, the U.S. response was “see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.” White House National Security Spokesman Mike Hammer could only express polite “concern” and muted “disappointment”:

We acknowledge the conclusion of Ethiopia’s parliamentary elections on May 23, 2010…

We are concerned that international observers found that the elections fell short of international commitments. We are disappointed that U.S. Embassy officials were denied accreditation and the opportunity to travel outside of the capital on Election Day to observe the voting. The limitation of independent observation and the harassment of independent media representatives are deeply troubling.

An environment conducive to free and fair elections was not in place even before Election Day. In recent years, the Ethiopian government has taken steps to restrict political space for the opposition through intimidation and harassment, tighten its control over civil society, and curtail the activities of independent media. We are concerned that these actions have restricted freedom of expression and association and are inconsistent with the Ethiopian government’s human rights obligations.

…We urge the Ethiopian government to ensure that its citizens are able to enjoy their fundamental rights. We will work diligently with Ethiopia to ensure that strengthened democratic institutions and open political dialogue become a reality for the Ethiopian people.

Victory by 50.66 percent is irrefutable evidence of election fraud in Venezuela but “all Ethiopians should have confidence” in the 99.6 percent election victory of Meles Zenawi? Sounds like election certification in Oceania. Rigged elections are free and fair elections!

Watching “fools, idiots” and sanctimonious diplocrites

If Susan Rice is to be believed, critics of Meles Zenawi and his regime (and by implication critics of U.S. policy that supports the regime) are “fools and idiots”. I guess if one must choose between being a “fool/idiot” and a hypocrite/diplocrite, one is well-advised to choose the former. A fool does or does not do the right thing because s/he lacks intelligence and understanding. S/he has the potential to learn and make right choices. But the cunning diplocrite does the wrong thing with full knowledge and understanding of the wrongfulness of his/her acts. S/he is unteachable and incorrigible. No one knows more about the difference between right and wrong than diplocrites, yet they do wrong because they don’t give a _ _ _ _!

The U.S. has been practicing diplocrisy in Ethiopia for the past two decades. It has propped up the regime of Meles Zenawi with billions of dollars of “development” and “humanitarian” aid while filling the stomachs of starving Ethiopians with empty words and emptier promises. Since 1991, the West in general has provided Meles’ regime nearly $30 billion in aid. In 2008 alone, $3 billion in international aid was delivered on a silver platter to Meles, more than any other nation in sub-Saharan Africa. In March 2011, Howard Taylor, head of the British aid program declared Ethiopia will receive $2 billion in British development assistance. In 2010, the EU delivered £152m to Meles Zenawi.

In December 2010, Human Rights Watch called on the Development Assistance Group (DAG), a coordinating body of 26 foreign donor institutions for Ethiopia to “independently investigate allegations that the Ethiopian government is using development aid for state repression.” In July 2010, a DAG-commissioned study issued a whitewash denying all allegations of improper use of aid. In August 2011, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the BBC reported the “Ethiopian government is using millions of pounds of international aid to punish their political opponents.” The report presented compelling evidence of how “aid is being used as a weapon of oppression propping up the government of Meles Zenawi.” Despite numerous documented reports of aid abuse and misuse, Western leaders and governments continue to hide behind a policy of plausible deniability and the massaged and embellished reports of swarms faceless international poverty-mongers creeping invisibly in Ethiopia.

The Center for Global Development in its comprehensive 2012 report cautioned, “The United States could be making a dangerous long-term bet with its assistance dollars by placing so little emphasis on governance in Ethiopia”, and US policymakers should temper their expectations for future development prospects in Ethiopia under the current regime. Sorry, no one is listening at the U.S. State Department, only watching.

Watching truth on the scaffold and wrong on the throne

“America is watching.” But is anybody watching America? The people of Ethiopia are watching America asking, “Is America watching? Watching what?”

The powerful don’t believe the powerless are watching them because they equate powerlessness with blindness. The powerless do watch because that is all they can do. They watch boots pressing down on their necks. They watch crimes committed against them as they sit helplessly with empty stomachs and hearts filled with terror. When Kerry says, “America is watching”, he should be mindful that Ethiopia’s poor and powerless are watching America with outrage on their faces, sorrow in their hearts and resentment in their minds.

I have watched Ethiopia’s “best and brightest” fall silent, deaf and mute watching truth on the scaffold and wrong on the throne. They have been watching the scaffold and throne like bystanders watching a crime scene — horrified, terrified and petrified. Perhaps they should heed Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s counsel, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

But if Robert Lowell is right, it does not matter who is watching silently, watching peekaboo style, watching by turning a blind eye, watching for the sake of watching or not watching at all, because there is One who standing within the shadow watches the watchers, the watched and the unwatched:

Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne,— Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own.

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.

Previous commentaries by the author are available at:

http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/

www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/

Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:

http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic

http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24

Tags: american diplocracy, committee to protect journalists reeyot alemu, committee to protect journalists woubshet taye, dietrich bonhoeffer silence evil, edmund burke hypocrisy, Eskinder Nega, ethiopia 2010 election, ethiopia abubekar ahmed, ethiopia ahmed mustafa, ethiopia ahmedin jebel, ethiopia bekele gerba, Ethiopia Committee to Protect Journalists, Ethiopia Development Assistance Group, ethiopia fools idiots, Ethiopia Human Rights Watch, ethiopia international aid, ethiopia olbana lelisa, george orwell big brother, george orwell oceana, human rights watch ogaden gambella, john kerry human rights, john kerry nicolás maduro election, meles zenawi prison kality, meles zenawi prison zewai, misuse american aid ethiopia, nero rome burn, obama accra speech, Obama Ethiopia, office of the inspector general usaid ethiopia audit, politics, reeyot alemu, robert lowell truth scaffold, sertkalem fasil, susan rice ethiopia, susan rice rwanda, u.s. state department human rights report 2013 ethiopia, white house statement venezuela election, wobshet taye
Posted in Africa, Analysis, Ethiopia, Featured, News | No Comments »

ESAT and messengers of peace in Jose, Ca.

Wednesday, April 24th, 2013

ESAT and messengers of peace in Jose, Ca. By Yilma Bekele

Tamagne was here. I wrote that and felt I have said enough. Well since you asked I guess I will tell you the rest of the story. I thought by now you would know If Tamagne was here something big and important regarding Ethiopia happened. You know Tamagne; he does not do things little. He does not think of neighborhood, not even a region Tamagne goes the whole nine yards and dreams of a nation. Tamagne does not fly to Atlanta or Houstinn from his base in DC, our Tamagne crosses a continent all the way to California to spend an evening with his people. I am afraid he is outgrowing even that. Now we see Tamagne in New Zealand or Norway. I don’t need a fortune teller to predict we might hear from Tamagne from outer space. I will just sigh and mumble he must have found a lost Habesha that just don’t know when to stop and settle.

He has developed a new habit too. He does not travel light no more. As if the one man army is not enough he is accompanied by some heavy guns all around him. I am not talking about a bazooka or tank. No Tamagne has found the ultimate weapon disarm his enemies. He is accompanied with the messengers of love, brotherhood and tolerance. How I envy Weizero Mamita and Grazmach Beyene because they have given us such a precious gift. May God bless them.
I am sorry about my sloppy writing but you can’t blame me. Right now I am levitating and I am afraid it will take a while to bring me down to earth. I am floating with joy, happiness and hope and it is all due to Tamagne and his associates. I also noticed most of the folks I spent the evening with were a little delirious and as the evening went on the love and peace was infectious with Ethiopians spontaneously clapping, laughing and hugging without abandon. I told you, you should have been there.

Messengers of peace and unity.
What were all these people doing on a beautiful Saturday afternoon is a good question? The only explanation I could give you is to say they are committed, they care and they just acted on it. Lots of people worked hard to make the event a success it was. They all have one thing in common, they were all Ethiopians. What brought them together is their love and concern for their homeland.
First were the organizers of the event. It took time and effort to find a good safe location. They have to arrange transportation and accommodation for their guests. Flyers and pamphlets have to be printed to advertise the event. The posters have to be distributed in the community, published on our Web sites and the tickets have to be sold door to door. Without them there is no event. Thank you my beautiful young friends. I am happy your effort was gladly embraced by your community.
Then there were our guests that have to travel far and close to spend a precious day with their people. They are all busy and successful people that are willing to share their views and stick their neck out for all of us to dissect and parse. They were chosen to sit on the podium because they have earned the respect of their community by their work and deeds and we all want to hear from them, meet them and share our views with them.
The most crucial element in this gathering are the guests. Their presence is what makes all that effort worthwhile. I always think it is beautiful to have plenty of people but even the attendance of a single individual to me is a success. We have to show respect and do what has to be done. Coming to an event is not easy. It requires planning commitment and energy. We have to juggle so many responsibilities in our daily life and spending a whole afternoon and evening attending an event is not an easy matter. There is work, family responsibility and other commitments to take into consideration, not to mention paying for the ticket, arranging transportation etc. etc.
All three actors in this important function have something in common that makes them special. They all love their country in a positive way. They value the importance of getting together and trying to find a common solution to make their ancient country a better place. They are not just talkers but doers that go the extra mile to make things happen. It is what is called a symbiotic relationship. One cannot survive without the other. One needs the other to grow and thrive.

Our guests made all of us proud. They said many important things and it is beyond this little presentation to do it justice. There were so many standing ovations, plenty of laughter and the evening went so fast our poor organizers were forced to rearrange their program to fit the occasion. The two young people assigned to lead the ceremony were consummate professionals that made it look so easy I even thought I could do that. Dressed in the splendor of our national colors they set the tone in a positive manner. The sound and video was perfect showing the organizers commitment to excellence.

Abatachen his Holiness Abune Melkesedek General Secretary of the Holy Synod-in Exile, Archbishop of Medhane Alem Cathedral in Oakland was sitting in the middle. That sight by itself was enough to make ones heart swell with pride and joy. He started the assembly with a prayer. I don’t know about you but I knew things were going to get better and better. How could anything go wrong when Abatachen gives his blessings?

I hope you don’t mind me paraphrase and put their speech in my own words. Abatachen spoke about the importance of faith and responsibility in our daily life. He gave us perspective regarding our ancient history and the crucial role religion has played in the making of our country. He thought us how respect for each other’s religion and tolerance of our differences has played an important role in forming the Ethiopia we know now. Then he looked at us and asked a crucial question. What makes us different from animals? He said we are born, we grow up we have family and we all die. He explained we humans are different because we determine road we travel. If you take an animal far from where he was born and give it the comfort he/she needs they will not leave but stay put. It will form a family take care of its offspring and die. But we humans are different. There should be more. We think about the future. What we leave behind for our offspring is a very important consideration of being a human. Life is not about a simple comfort for oneself and one’s family but thinking of the greater family is a crucial aspect of living a successful and whole life. Something to think about, what do you think?

My dear brother Sheik Imam Khalid is not a complicated person. He speaks clearly, forcefully and in sharp short sentences. He does not leave much for ambiguity. In this time of misinformation, propaganda and rumors it is a relief to listen to someone that does not beat around the bush and states his case in a clear manner. His love for his country and religion just oozes out of him. He laid to rest the fact that our Muslim brothers struggle is for the rights of their religious independence despite the many insane ideas being thrown around by the illegal regime in power. In simple words he wants the government to stop meddling in his religion. I loved the way he started his speech. His observation was regarding the duality of our personality. There is the family you, the work place you, the you that is routinely presented among friends and the Mosque or Church you. Why so many faces? That he said is the central problem. We have to resolve that issue within ourselves and come out clean. It is not complicated is it?
We also heard from our local Mosque religious leader and he spoke about the importance of working together, the culture of unity of purpose our people have developed thru out the years and that spirit that is still leading our struggle forward. Shamble was the person that gave color to the event. With his Masinko and beautiful voice he took us back and you can see the audience mesmerized with everyone going home in a mental trip. Thank you Shambel may be next year we will meet in Addis. As the Jewish saying goes “Lashanah haba’ah biy’rushalem’ I say to you ‘ ýememetaw amet biáddis abeba’

Our hosts had a surprise guest for us too. I told you they were firing with all eight cylinders. They brought us none other than the dragon slayer himself. My friend Abebe Gelaw in person. The assembly went wild. Who else to elevate our spirit and remind us of the importance of sticking out for our people when the time requires it. He defines the meaning of seize the time.

It was time for Tamagne to come to the podium. You can hear a pin drop. The anticipation was overwhelming. As I have said before Tamagne don’t have to do anything to paint smile and joy on our faces. He has this ability to channel our energy and magnify it back at us. Some shout, some clap the men whistle and the women ululate. Pandemonium in the house is what it felt like. The fire alarm was triggered by the noise, the earth shook and the security showed up in force. I am exaggerating a little aren’t I? Well I don’t have a video and this is the best I can do. You get my meaning.

I will not even try to tell you what Tamagne presented. I don’t really know for how long but whatever it was it was short. Time has a tendency to flee when he is on stage. His simplicity is what makes the situation complicated. He disarms you with the strength of his presentation. It is audio, video and god knows what else. My suggestion is do not at all challenge Tamagne, he carries this thumb drives full of facts and figures. For a person with a death sentence hanging around his neck he seems to be relaxed. If only Ato Meles has allowed him to present his defense when accused of being a terrorist I am sure the court would have thrown the dictator into Kality. Poor Meles he died knowing Tamagne has another date to clear his name in a real court of law. You know me I will be in that jury.
So what did we accomplish? A lot my friend. We showed we cared. We proved Abatachen right by working together to leave something behind for our country and children. We rose up to the occasion when called for. The idea of the gathering was to raise money so ESAT can continue the job of being the independent ‘eyes and ears’ of our people. From something like three hundred people we raised over thirty thousand dollars. The investment we made was not to realize profit. Our reward comes when ESAT uses the fund to do the job we have entrusted them with-faithfully and truthfully inform our people. I am absolutely sure they will do that with determination professionalism and purpose. If not we all are here to watch and speak out when both things go right or wrong.

As I said it was a festive afternoon and evening. It was nice to see Ethiopians gathered to show concern and love for country and each other. I said many good things about our guests. I put them up on a pedestal. It is not about hero worship or excessive adulation of individuals. To me it is all about giving credit where credit is due. The tone set by the late dictator was constant put down of our country, people and culture. He wanted to shine all by himself. That is not good. We have plenty of good things going for us. We are blessed with ancient culture that is built on love and tolerance as a foundation. We have lived for eons as a nation state due to that. To me our guests were building on that tradition. If we don’t put them up on a pedestal who would? If we don’t celebrate their accomplishments , if we don’t appreciate their sacrifice who then? None were paid to be there, no one made a penny of the event and no one was compelled to come. That is all commitment is about. May God and Allah bless them all and protect them and shield them from harm for they are our national treasure.

I am sure my cousin Fekreye will ask me “why do you make it so long’ I thought I should be faithful to such an important gathering of honorable people and it just kept coming out. Take your time and read it please, won’t you I worked hard on it.

By the way the next day Tamagne presided on another gathering in Seattle and you know folks of Seattle are a show off and they collected close to sixty thousand dollars. Seattle congratulations, we will meet again and we will be ready. We accept the challenge, we got work to do. Finally look at the picture below and see Tamagne at work-the power of love!

Tags: Abebe Gelaw, esat, Ethiopia, Ethiopia Democracy, Ethiopia Human Rights, ethiopian diaspora, Shambel, Sheik Imama Khalid Omar, Tamagne, TPLF, yilma bekele
Posted in Ethiopia | No Comments »

ENTC Dallas and Houston Public meetings – April 27 and 28

Monday, April 22nd, 2013

The Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC) will host town hall meetings in Dallas and Houston, Texas, on April 27 and 28 2013 respectively, to discuss the process of forming an all-inclusive transitional government in Ethiopia. These meetings are part of the series of meetings throughout the world over the next 4 months to discuss the need for removing the dictatorship in Ethiopia and replacing it with a transitional government. Details: PDF

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The Audacity of Evil in Ethiopia

Monday, April 22nd, 2013

Reeyot Alemu Ethiopian Political Prisoner Triumph of Evil?

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”, said Edmund Burke. But what happens when evil triumphs over a good young woman journalist named Reeyot Alemu in Ethiopia? Do good men and women turn a blind eye, plug their ears, turn their backs and stand in silence with pursed lips?

In an extraordinary letter dated April 10, 2013, the Committee to Protect Journalists pled with Berhan Hailu, “Minister of Justice” in Ethiopia, on behalf of the imprisoned 32-year old journalist urging that she be provided urgent medical care and spared punishment in solitary confinement at the filthy Meles Zenawi Prison in Kality just outside the capital Addis Ababa.

Prison authorities have threatened Reeyot with solitary confinement for two months as punishment for alleged bad behavior toward them and threatening to publicize human rights violations by prison guards, according to sources close to the journalist who spoke to the International Women’s Media Foundation on condition of anonymity.CPJ has independently verified the information. Reeyot has also been denied access to adequate medical treatment after she was diagnosed with a tumor in her breast…

Last week Reeyot was declared winner of the “UNESCO / Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2013.” That award recognizes “a person, organization or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of danger.” The $25,000 prize will be awarded on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2013.

In May 2012, Reeyot received the prestigious International Women’s Media Foundation “2012 Courage in Journalism Award for “her commitment to work for independent media when the prospect of doing so became increasingly dangerous, her refusal to self-censor in a place where that practice is standard, and her unwillingness to apologize for truth-telling, even though contrition could win her freedom.”

In December 2012, Reeyot, along with three other courageous independent journalists, received Human Rights Watch’s prestigious Hellman/Hammett Award for 2012 “in recognition of their efforts to promote free expression in Ethiopia, one of the world’s most restricted media environments.”

Reeyout Alemu is Ethiopia’s press freedom heroine

In May 2012, when Reeyot received the IWMF’s award, I wrote a commentary entitled, “Reeyot Alemu: Young Heroine of Ethiopian Press Freedom” recounting some of Reeyot’s courageous acts of journalism and denouncing the abuse she received at the hands of those in power in Ethiopia. In June 2011, Reeyot and her co-defendant journalist Woubshet Taye were arrested on trumped up charges of “terrorism” and held incommunicado in the infamous Meles Zenawi Prison. Reeyot’s arrest occurred just after she had written a column in a weekly paper criticizing the late Meles Zenawi’s harebrained fundraising campaign for the so-called Grand Renaissance Dam over the Blue Nile. That column seemed to have angered the cantankerous and irascible Meles. Reeyot also skewered Meles’ sacred cow, the half-baked “five-year growth and transformation plan” (which I critiqued in “The Fakeonomics of Meles Zenawi in June 2011) . In September 2012, Reeyot and Woubshet were charged with “conspiracy to commit terrorist acts and participation in a terrorist organization” under Meles Zenawi’s cut-and-paste anti-terrorism law.

Reeyot’s trial in Meles’ kangaroo court was a template for miscarriage of justice. She was held in detention for three months with no access to legal counsel. She was denied counsel during interrogation. The kangaroo court refused to investigate her allegations of torture, mistreatment and denial of medical care in pre-trial detention. The evidence of “conspiracy” consisted of intercepted emails and wiretapped telephone conversations she had about peaceful protests and change with other journalists abroad. Her articles posted on various opposition websites were “introduced” as “evidence” of conspiracy.

Human Rights Watch was confounded by the idiocy of the terrorism charges: “According to the charge sheet, the evidence consisted primarily of online articles critical of the government and telephone discussions notably regarding peaceful protest actions that do not amount to acts of terrorism. Furthermore, the descriptions of the charges in the initial charge sheet did not contain even the basic elements of the crimes of which the defendants are accused….”

Amnesty International denounced the judgment of the kangaroo court: “There is no evidence that [Reeyot and the other independent journalists] are guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. We believe that they are prisoners of conscience, prosecuted because of their legitimate criticism of the government. They must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

PEN American Center “protested the harsh punishment handed down to” Reeyot and Woubshet and demanded their “immediate and unconditional release.” PEN asserted the two journalists “have been sentenced solely in relation to their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression, in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, to which Ethiopia is a signatory.”

The International Women’s Media Foundation saw the kangaroo court trial as an intimidation tactic against all independent women journalists: “The fact that the Ethiopian Government pursues and persecutes courageous, brave and professional women journalists does not bode well particularly for young women who may be interested in journalism. As a result, women’s voices (as reporters, editors, journalists, decision-making chambers) are rarely heard and women’s issues are often relegated to secondary position.”

Following Reeyot’s kangaroo court conviction, her father told an interviewer his daughter will not apologize, seek a pardon or apply for clemency. “As a father, would you rather not advise your daughter to apologize?”

This is perhaps one of the most difficult questions a parent can face. As any one of us who are parents would readily admit, there is an innate biological chord that attaches us to our kids. We wish nothing but the best for them. We try as much as humanly possible to keep them from harm…. Whether or not to beg for clemency is her right and her decision. I would honor and respect whatever decision she makes… To answer your specific question regarding my position on the issue by the fact of being her father, I would rather have her not plead for clemency, for she has not committed any crime.

Meles offered Reeyot her freedom if she agreed to snitch on her colleagues and help railroad them to prison. She turned him down flat and got herself railroaded into solitary confinement. Even in prison, Reeyot remained defiant as she informed IWMF: “I believe that I must contribute something to bring a better future. Since there are a lot of injustices and oppressions in Ethiopia, I must reveal and oppose them in my articles.”

The problem of evil in Ethiopia

Over the hundreds of uninterrupted weekly commentaries I have written over the years, I have rarely strayed much from my professional fields of law and politics. I make an exception in this commentary by indulging in philosophical musings on evil, a subject that has puzzled me for the longest time (and one I expect to ruminate over from time to time in the future) but one I never considered opining about in my public commentaries. I am mindful that there is the risk of sounding pedantic when one reflects on “Big Questions”, but pedantry is not intended here.

My simple definition of evil is any human act or omission that harms human beings. For instance, convicting an innocent young journalist on trumped up “terrorism” charges, sentencing her to a long prison term and throwing her into solitary confinement is evil because such acts cause great physical and psychological pain and suffering. Ordering the cold-blooded massacre of hundreds of unarmed demonstrators is evil because that act arbitrarily deprives innocent people of their God-given right to life. Forcibly displacing indigenous populations from their ancestral homes and selling their land to outsiders is evil because that act destroys not only the livelihood of those people but also their history and social fabric. Trashing the rights of individuals secured in the law of nations is evil because it is a crime against humanity and an affront to human decency and all norms of civilization. Discriminating against a person based on ethnicity, language and religion is evil because it deprives the victims of a fundamental right of citizenship. Albert Camus argued evil is anything that prevents solidarity between people and disables them from recognizing the rights or values of other human beings. Stealing elections in broad daylight and trying to deceive the world that one won an election by 99.6 percent is evil because such an act is an unconscionable lie and theft of the voice of the people. Stealing billions from a poor country’s treasury is evil because such theft deprives poor citizens vital resources necessary for their survival.

The evil I struggle to “understand” is that evil viciously committed by ordinary or sub-ordinarypeople in positions of political power. Such persons believe they can cheat, rob, steal and kill with absolute impunity because they believe there is no force on earth that can hold them accountable.

I am also concerned about the evil of passive complicity by ordinary and extraordinary people who stand silent in the face of evil. What is it that paralyzes those “good men and women” who can stand up, resist and defend against evil to cower and hide? Why do they pretend and rationalize to themselves that there really is no evil but in the eye of the beholder? What evil binds the blind, silent and deaf majority? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught, “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

I should clarify my use of the word “understand” in the context of evil. One can never understand evil. The Holocaust and the Rwanda Genocide are evils beyond human understanding and reason. To “understand” the deaths of millions or hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings is to implicitly justify it and somehow diminish its enormity. To “understand” the deliberate and premeditated murder of 193 unarmed protesters is beyond understanding because there could never be adequate reason, explanation or argumentation to justify it. “Understanding” such evil is tantamount to suggesting that there are or could be justifications for its occurrence.

When I use the word “understand”, I mean to suggest only that I am trying to get some insight, a glimpse of the moral makeup of people who live in a completely different moral universe than myself. It is impossible for me to see the world through the eyes of those in power who perpetrate evil in Ethiopia. When I speak of the triumph of evil in Ethiopia, I realize that there is nothing I can say by way of reasoned argument or presentation of evidence to persuade those in power to forsake their evil ways and deeds. I have concluded that those in power in Ethiopia live on a planet shielded by the equivalent of a moral Van Allen radiation belt that keeps out all cosmic rays of virtue, decency and goodness.

Let me also clarify what I mean when I speak of the audacity of evil in Ethiopia. The evil I am talking about is not the evil that Aquinas’ wrestled with in Questions 48 and 49 of Summa Theologica. Nor I am concerned about the evil Spinoza determined originates in the mind that lacks understanding because it is overwrought by fickle emotions. Neither am I concerned with evil that, for most of us, is associated with the Devil and his lesser intermediaries. I am not concerned about inanimate non-moral evil which manifests itself in the form of famine, pestilence and plague. I am also not referring to that evil lurking deep in the nihilistic being of those soulless, heartless and mindless psychopaths who are so disconnected from the rest of humanity that they feel justified in slaughtering innocent people at a sports event.

I am concerned about the evils of ordinary human wickedness and bestial human behavior that Aristotle alluded to in Nicomachean Ethics. I am concerned about gratuitous evil (pointless evil from which no greater good can be derived) committed by ordinary and sub-ordinary wicked people whose intellect is corrupted, and their bestial counterparts who are lacking in intellectual discernment. Such evil is cultivated in the soil of arrogance, ignorance, narcissism, desire for domination, self-aggrandizement and hubris. Those who commit gratuitous evil do so audaciously, willfully, recklessly and impulsively because they feel omnipotent; because they fear no retribution; because they anticipate no consequences for their evil deeds. They know they are committing evil and inflicting unspeakable and horrific pain and suffering on their victims but nonetheless go about doing evil with calculation and premeditation because they believe they are beyond morality, legality, responsibility and accountability. Hubristically relying on their power, they have exempted themselves from all rules of civilized society. They believe that their stranglehold on power gives them a license to commit evil at their pleasure and therefore make a habit of doing evil for evil’s sake. They are incapable of remorse or regrets because they have made evil their guiding “moral” principle.

My musings on the audacity of evil in Ethiopia are not intended to be abstract philosophical reflections but observations with practical value for victims of evil. I have an unshakeable belief that there will come a time in Ethiopia when the demands of punishment, blame and justice would have to be weighed against the greater good of peace, harmony and reconciliation. There will come a time when the open wounds of ethnic division, hatred and sectarianism must be healed and safeguards put into place to prevent their future recurrence. I believe insight into the nature of gratuitous evil is an important step in the healing process. By “understanding” (gaining insight) why individuals and groups in power commit gratuitous evil, it may be possible for Ethiopians to develop the courage, perseverance, fortitude and spiritual strength to move towards a reconciled and peaceful society. That is exactly what the South Africans did by instituting their Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) after Apartheid ended. Perpetrators of gratuitous evil were given the option to come to a public hearing and confess the evils they have committed and seek not only amnesty and immunity from civil and criminal prosecution but also forgiveness from their victims and the survivors of their victims. The Commission largely succeeded in that mission. The Rwandan “Gacaca courts” (traditional grassroots village courts composed of well-respected elders) which were established to administer justice to those alleged to have committed genocidal acts similarly sought to achieve “reconciliation of all Rwandans and building their unity” by putting justice partially into the hands of the surviving victims or victims’ families who are given the opportunity to confront and challenge the perpetrators in the open. The Rwandans also achieved a measure of success.

What has been learned from the TRC of South Africa and Rwanda’s Gacaca courts is that the act of forgiving can be an activity that victims of evil can find enormously helpful and beneficial. By publicly confronting the perpetrators, victims gain a sense of psychological satisfaction, moral vindication and physical well-being. The victims are no longer tormented by the desire for revenge and retribution. Coming to terms with the enormity of gratuitous evil makes it easier for a society to reconcile and prevent the recurrence of such evil.

Touched by evil

The Socratic thesis is that no one does evil intentionally. In other words, men and women commit evil out of ignorance which blinds them from doing right and good and deprives them of the practical wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong and good and evil. Evil doers are morally blind and unable to value other human beings while overestimating their own value and worth.

Why do those in power in Ethiopia commit the gratuitous evil of throwing into solitary confinement an innocent young woman who has been internationally honored and celebrated for her journalistic courage? Could it be the evil of misogyny that makes powerful men derive sadistic pleasure from the humiliation, degradation, dehumanization, depersonalization, demoralization, brutalization and incapacitation of strong-willed, intelligent, defiant, principled and irrepressible women who oppose them?

The gratuitous evil that is inflicted on Reeyot by those in power in Ethiopia is only the latest example. The exact same evil was inflicted on Birtukan Midekssa, the first woman political party leader in Ethiopian history, who was thrown into solitary confinement for months at Meles Zenawi Prison because she stood up and opposed him. The same evil in different form was inflicted on Serkalem Fasil, another world-renowned female Ethiopian journalist who was imprisoned and forced to give birth in prison. The common denominator between these three women is that they are strong, self-confident, determined and principled and risked their lives to stand up to a brutal dictatorship. Because they refused to back down, they suffered the most inhumane treatment at the hands of powerful men.

Solitary confinement in Meles Zenawi Prison is used as a psychological weapon to drive the victims mad. By depriving victims of all human contact and by denying them access to any information about the outside world, the aim is to make them feel lost and forgotten. Solitary confinement for women is a particularly insidious from psychological torture intended to humiliate and breakdown their physical, psychological, spiritual and moral integrity. Those in solitary confinement in Meles Zenawi Prison are not allowed to visit with friends. They are denied access to books. They are not allowed to meet their legal counsel. Family visits are interrupted even before smiles are exchanged; and even hugs and kisses with family members are forbidden. Solitary confinement is a dirty psychological game played by those in power to plunge the victims into the depths of despair, sorrow and confusion and make them feel completely helpless and hopeless.

When Meles threw Birtukan into solitary confinement, he just did not want her to suffer. That would be too easy. He wanted to humiliate and dehumanize her. When she was in solitary confinement, he used a cruel metaphor describing her as a “silly chicken who did herself in”. While in solitary confinement, he mocked and took cheap shots at her telling the press that that she is “in perfect condition” but “may have gained a few kilos”. He wanted her to suffer so much that he told reporters, “there will never be an agreement with anybody to release Birtukan. Ever. Full stop. That’s a dead issue.” He wanted Birtukan to be the living dead in solitary confinement. Providence had a different plan.

The gratuitous evil perpetrated against Serkalem Fasil is beyond human comprehension. In their letter to President Lee C. Bollinger of Columbia University opposing Meles Zenawi’s appearance to speak at that institution, Serkalem and her husband the world-renowned journalist Eskinder Nega wrote:

We are banned Ethiopian journalists who were charged with treason by the government of PM Meles Zenawi subsequent to disputed election results in 2005, incarcerated under deplorable circumstances, only to be acquitted sixteen months later; after Serkalem Fasil prematurely gave birth in prison.Severely underweight at birth because Serkalem’s physical and psychological privation in one of Africa’s worst prisons, an incubator was deemed life-saving to the new-born child by prison doctors; which was, in an act of incomprehensible vindictiveness, denied by the authorities. (The child nevertheless survived miraculously. Thanks to God.)

Do those who slammed Reeyot and Birtukan in solitary confinement and forced Serkalem to give birth in one of the filthiest prisons in the world realize what they are doing is evil? Do they care about the suffering of these young women?

Birtukan has survived and continues to thrive. Serkalem struggles to survive every day as she agonizes over the unjust imprisonment of her husband Eskinder. Reeyot, I believe, will survive in solitary confinement because she is a strong woman of faith and conviction. Solitary confinement to persons of faith and conviction is like fire to steel. It brings out the best in them. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years; but is there a man alive who is more compassionate, humane, kindhearted and forgiving than Mandela?

Sigmund Freud wrote about the kind of sadistic gratuitous evil driven by deep-seated hatred and aggression against women. Other psychologists see the root of gratuitous evil in personality “fragmentation” caused by feelings of rejection and inferiority. They say those who commit gratuitous evil seek to “defragment and hold themselves together” by degrading and feeling superior to their victims. Others have argued that beneath the gratuitous evil that perpetrators commit lies a profound emptiness filled by sadistic rage, anger, and hatred.

I believe those in power in Ethiopia commit gratuitous evil to obtain absolute obedience and respect. As Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiments (and in other aspects the Zimbardo (Stanford) experiments) have shown, those in authority seek to secure obedience by establishing social models of compliance. In other words, those in power aim to teach by harsh example. If you are an independent journalist and do your job, you will be jacked up on bogus terrorism charges, held in detention, thrown in solitary confinement and tortured. If you challenge a stolen election and protest in the street, you will be shot in the streets like a rabid dog. By using extreme violence, those in power in Ethiopia seek to create not only an atmosphere of fear but also a culture of terror. The experiments have also shown that resistance can also be taught by example. Reeyot, Serkalem, Birtukan, Eskinder, Woubshet, Andualem are social models of resistance.

Hanna Arendt observed Adolf Eichmann, one of the major organizers of the Holocaust, at his trial in Jerusalem and found him to be “medium-sized, slender, middle-aged, with receding hair, ill-fitting teeth, and nearsighted eyes, who throughout the trial keeps craning his scraggy neck toward the bench.” He appeared to be a common man incapable of monstrous crimes. The banality of evil is the capacity of ordinary people to commit monstrous crimes. The audacity of evil is the capacity of ordinary and sub-ordinary people to commit evil not out of necessity, obedience to authority or even adherence to ideology; it is evil committed by those who are absolutely convinced that they will never be held accountable for their crimes.

Doing evil, doing good

I have many unanswered questions. Are the individuals in positions of power in Ethiopia evil by nature? Was evil thrust upon them by a demonic power? Were they victims of evil themselves and now seek to avenge the actual or perceived evil done to them and ended up being evil themselves? Did they become the very monster they slew? Are there persons who are innately incapable of doing good because they are bad seed and are born with a natural disposition to do only wrong and evil? Is gratuitous evil a psychological illness, an incurable sickness of the soul?

My questions do not end there. No one is immune from evil. Those of us who rise up in self-righteous indignation and denounce evil should look at ourselves and ask: If we were shown “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor”, would we succumb to that offer and choose the path of evil? Nietzsche said, “When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks into you.” When we raise our lances at the windmills, do we really see monsters? Let us not forget that “He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster.” Are we also brutes, like those we criticize, costumed in a veneer of civilization and morality untested and unseduced by the corrupting power of power? Are human beings innately good, and evil people merely mutations of good ones?

The evil that men do lives after them

The late Meles Zenawi has left a dark and bleak legacy of gratuitous evil in Ethiopia. The evil he has done shall continue to live in the prisons he built, the justice system he corrupted and the lives of young good Ethiopians he destroyed like Reeyot, Eskinder, Serkalem, Birtukan, Woubshet, Andualem and countless others. In Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar, Antony speaks: “The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones. So let it be with Ceasar.”

When I speak of Meles, I speak not of the man but of the wretched legacy he left and of the pious devotion of his disciples to that legacy. His disciples today speak of his great achievements and his great vision with Scriptural certitude and apostolic zeal. Their mantra is, “We will follow Meles’ vision without doubt or question.” One must speak out against pre-programmed robots; but raging against the machine should not be mistaken for raging against the man.

I remain optimistic that in the end good shall triumph over evil because the ultimate battle between good and evil in Ethiopia will not be waged on a battlefield with “crashing guns and rattling musketry”; nor will it be fought and won in the voting booths, the parliaments, the courts or bureaucracies. The battle for good and evil will be fought, won or lost, in the hearts and minds of ordinary Ethiopian men and women who have the courage to rise up and do extraordinary good.

Elie Wiesel, a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald concentration camps, and Nobel peace laureate said “indifference is the epitome of evil” and

“swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.

I have taken the side of Reeyot Alemu, Eskinder Nega, Serkalem Fasil, Birtukan Midekssa, Woubshet Taye, Andualem Aragie…. and made them the “center of my universe”.

(to be continued….)

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.

Previous commentaries by the author are available at:

http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/

www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/

Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:

http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic

http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24

Tags: albert camus evil, alemayehu mariam, andualem aragie, aristotle nicomachean ethics, Birtukan Midekssa, Eskinder Nega, ethiopia berhan hailu, ethiopia committee protect journalists, ethiopia grand renaissance dam, evil edmund burke, holocaust, martin luther king evil, Meles Zenawi, meles zenawi prison kality, pen american center reeyot alemu, politics, questions 48 summa theologica, reeyot alemu, reeyot alemu amnesty international, reeyot alemu courage journalism, reeyot alemu international women media foundation, reeyot alemu unesco guillermo cano world press freedom prize 2013, rwanda genocide, rwandan gacaca courts, Serkalem Fasil, south africa truth and reconciliation commission, van allen radiation belt, woubshet taye
Posted in Analysis, Ethiopia, Featured, News | No Comments »

I am an Amara.

Sunday, April 21st, 2013

I am an Amara. “ene Amara negne.”- By Yilma Bekele
“Ich bin ein Berliner.” – “I am a Berliner” Those words were spoken by President John F. Kennedy on June 26, 1963 in West Berlin. He said that to show solidarity with the people of Berlin after the East Germans with the approval of the Soviet Union erected the Berlin Wall to prevent their captive citizens from fleeing to the west.
The passage I like the most is when he said “Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis romanus sum ["I am a Roman citizen"]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is “Ich bin ein Berliner!”… All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words “Ich bin ein Berliner!”
Today it feels me with so much pride to say all Ethiopians where ever we live say in unison “ene Amara negene” Injustice against any of Ethiopia’s children is injustice to all of her children. We feel each other’s pain. When one Ethiopian is marginalized, when a single Ethiopian is put in harm’s way it is an affront to each one of us and we all suffer. It was none other than Martin Luther King Jr. who took injustice to heart when he declared “he who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

Tell me my fellow Ethiopian. What do you see in the picture above? It is a picture of people huddled together. It must be night time, what are they doing outside in the cold? Why are they sad? There is no mistaking that they are our people. I can tell that Ethiopian face from a mile away. Look at that slender chiseled face, kind eyes and welcome demeanor. They are our sisters, brothers, mothers or fathers sitting on bare soil, with no chairs and it is difficult to tell whether it is outdoors or inside. There is no question they seem to be confused, tired, and sad. Notices the young girl on the left with barefoot and looking resigned and observe the father on top right holding his chin and just seeming to wonder about the dire situation. I want you to see the child on his mother’s lap looking sad and his mother looking straight at the photographer not for pity but seems to be saying ‘take a good look, don’t forget my ace!’ I cried because I am human, I hurt because I cannot be there to hold their hand, rub their shoulders and ‘whisper it is ok, I am here to help.’ Oh my God the pain is killing me; it is tearing my soul apart. Why is this happening to my people? Why am I witnessing this suffering?
They are not just numbers. They are not statistics we refer to from some paper. They are living, breathing human beings. There is no Ethiopia without them. A house cannot stand without a foundation and a country does not exist without people. The people you see above are Amaras from the region referred to as Beneshangul/Gumuzl Kilil in Western Ethiopian that were deported from their own land to places they don’t even know. They are the homeless Ethiopians. They are stateless people within a country called Ethiopia. They are the surplus Ethiopians. How does such calamity happen? Was there an invasion by a foreign forcer? Was there some kind of natural disaster? Was there a civil war?
No they are the victims of a policy carried out by a rogue regime gone wild. Their plight is a calculated and thought out policy put in place by the regime in power. They are the recipient of a plan drawn by Meles Zenawi and his friends to keep our country in perpetual conflict and destroy Ethiopia from within. This is not an isolated event or an opportunistic move on the spur of the moment. No this is a plan drawn over thirty years ago same as Adolf Hitler’s plan of what he called to as the ‘Final Solution’ to annihilate the Jewish people. This is Meles Zenawi, Sebhat Nega, Seyoum Mesfin, and Abbay Tshaye’s and company nefarious plan directed at a single ethnic group. The ‘Final Solution’ against the Amara people.
Fascist Mussolini in his own evil ways knew that he cannot conquer Ethiopia without partitioning us. Thus he divided our country into six units as follows: 1) Eritrea to include Tigrai – capital Asmara 2) Amhara to include Begemeder, Gojjam, Wello and northern Shoa – capital Gonder 3) Galla and Sidamo –capital Jimma 4) Addis Abeba 5) Harar 6) Somalia-capital Mogadishu. Meles Zenawi and his Woyane party went further and created what we today call nine Kilils. He called it Federalism but in actuality it was South Africa’s Apartheid system in East Africa.
Musoloni and the Italians were in charge of the six units they created. The white minority government in South Africa was the boss of all the Bantustans. In Ethiopia Meles Zenawi with his Tigrai ethnic based Woyane party ushered a new era of abuse, conflict, civil war and the beginning of the destruction of our ancient land.
All Tigray’s are not Woyane. On the other hand there is no reason to shy away from stating the obvious-most Tigrais are the beneficiary of the system set up by Woyane warlords. They are the number one Ethiopians standing heads high above all others. This is not hate. This is not a figment of my imagination. Nothing happens in Ethiopia without the knowledge and consent of the Woyane party. This is a very painful statement to write down but why hide from the truth.
It is also true that Woyane agents and provocateurs planted among us are posing as Amara/Oromo among others and making ugly and hateful statements directed at our brothers and sisters from Tigrai ethnic group. This is the Way Woyane operates and we are all familiar with that mentality. We should also be aware of the fact that Woyane has been systematically attacking Ethiopian history, Ethiopian heritage and the concept of being an Ethiopian in order to carry out their goal of setting us against each other. They have convinced a few gullible people, uneducated and lumpen individuals that our country is not worth saving and separation and going your own way is an option.
We should all try harder not to allow any kind of hateful speech; any put down of each other based on ethnicity and should at no time and place tolerate such ugly and backward behavior. It is commendable to be proud of one’s ethnicity and heritage but it is not a license to attack and degenerate someone from another group. We do not have choice what ethnic group to belong to when born, we are what we are. No one decide ahead to be white or black, to be Chinese or Indian, to be short of tall or be female or male. That is all in the hands of a higher authority. Ignorance and pettiness is what makes us stressed and lash out against those we are not familiar with.
Then some evil people like our Woyane warlords use our weakness to divide us, to be suspicious of each other and plant the seeds of hatred in our society. It is a struggle not to be taken by such propaganda that is intended to make us feel better even with an empty stomach. Let alone our old and poor backward country even the industrialized and educated countries have not been able to tackle this cancer in their body politic.
But we Ethiopians are resilient people. The fact of the matter is over twenty years of hate filled propaganda by Woyane has not been able to accomplish their goal of setting us against each other. Proof in point being during Woyanes deportation of our Eritrean citizens it was heartwarming to see our ordinary people crying and being distressed following the buses that was hauling our brethren, it was a display of true Ethiopian love to see the citizens of Gurafereda washing their hands of Shiferaw Shigute’s ugly deed and today we are sure that our citizens of Bena Shangul do not agree with this current nightmare visited on them by the new Woyane warlords in Arat Kilo.
Do you really think puppet Shiferaw Shigute of Southern Region, do you for a second believe puppet Ahmed Naser Ahmed Of Beneshangul/Gumuz Kilil will carry out such ugly deed without the approval and consent of Meles Zenawi then and Debretsion Gebremichael today? No sir, this kind activity is carried out with the direction of the highest body of the party that is run by Debretsion and company.
It does not do us any good to speculate why they are doing this criminal act. Why would a government declare war on its own people is a question history always tries to answer. It is nothing new. It has happened before we have witnessed it unfold all around us. Rwanda was yesterday, Bosnia is still fresh in our mind and Gurafereda and Beneshangul are close to our heart. No matter how you put it in Ethiopia under the leadership of the Woyane Tigrai based TPLF party our country is turning into hell on Earth. Our Gambellan citizens are uprooted from their ancestral land, Sidama citizens are hunted like wild animals and the Amaras are the favorite target of these disturbed and sick individuals in charge.
Of course we can fight their hatred based criminal act with more hate. I believe MLK Jr. said it better when he wrote ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.’ I do not hate Woyane. I do not want to be like them. Again I will quote you MLK when he said “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too much a burden to bear.” My heart aches when I think of the dead Meles Zenawi, I cringe when I see the picture of Bereket Semeone, Debretsion Gebremichael, Sebhat Nega or Abbay Tshaye’s. They must carry such a burden with them how do they ever sleep at night? How do they function among the company of people with such overwhelming evilness engulfing the depth of their soul?
We all have responsibilities in our daily life. We are fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, cousins, neighbors and workers interacting with other fellow human beings. Sometimes our duties and expectations from those around us is a source of stress and uneasiness. Fathers and mothers worry about the welfare of their family, children are under constant pressure to perform better and our work place puts up so much demand on us we are driven to the edge. It is all because we all want to be loved, needed and do better for those around us. The ultimate satisfaction is when a job done comes out perfect and those around us appreciate the effort. That is the reward that feeds the ego.
Our leaders do not seem to understand that. Given the chance to lead and make a better world for their fellow citizens that put so much trust and faith in them they callously throw away the opportunity to excel. They choose the path of hate, divide and rule and the road of destruction. Instead of sharing the bounty that comes from all working together and lift everybody higher they choose to hoard little crumbs for themselves and those around them. They play with words to fool themselves. They try to manipulate reality to fit their myopic vision. They think calling famine nutrition deficiency changes the pain, naming their terror squad internal security wipes the blood of their hands or doctoring the book balances the account for real. It is a sickness with no cure.
I wrote down I cried and felt broken heart when I saw the picture of my people from Beneshangul then I thought about it. Yes it is human to feel their pain but that is not the answer to our problem. I went back to MLK to see what he tells me about mending a broken heart. How did the great leader deal with such ugliness in the world. This is what he said “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” It is true my response should be what am I going to do about this situation that is keep me up all night?
I am going to be proactive. I will not sit down and observe and take this abuse silently. I am in the USA. I will do my best to discuss with my people so we can find a solution that is sustainable. I will write and talk every chance I get to develop a culture of inclusiveness based on equality, respect and justice. I will support all those forces that are struggling to overcome this force of darkness by any means necessary. I will strive harder to learn from this negative experience and turn it into a positive experience so we can together build a better and just society. I will organize my fellow exiles to contact their Senators, Representatives, locally elected officials so they can pressure the US government to stop coddling such a criminal enterprise masquerading as a government.
I am also heartened by political parties, civic organizations and groups that are currently working under harsh conditions in Ethiopia to gather information, proof and documents regarding the ethnic cleansing situation. I also believe upon getting our documents in order we could be able to do a citizen’s arrest of all the mentioned criminals when they show up outside the country. We can as victims of government atrocity hold these despicable individuals and hand them to our local police. Armed with our documents we have every right as human beings to ask that they be brought to justice since they are breaking international law which our country is signatory of. It is just but another arsenal in our fight against injustice. Finally since information is power I give my word of honor that I do my at most best to strengthen and make ESAT the most powerful media in my beautiful homeland. I ask my fellow Ethiopians to sit down and think hard because indifference has not brought us any amount of measurable respite from this from this never ending atrocity by a regime one wild.

Tags: Amhara, Beneshangul/Gumuz, Debretsion Gebremichael, Dictator Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia Human Rights, ethnic cleansing ethiopia, Woyane crime, Woyanne, yilma bekele
Posted in Africa, Ethiopia | No Comments »

State Criminality in Ethiopia’s Ogaden — Graham Peebles

Saturday, April 20th, 2013

Under Darkness in the Somali Region of Ethiopia

By Graham Peebles | Counterpunch.org

April 19, 2013

No matter how tightly truth is tied down, confined and suffocated, she slowly escapes. Seeping out through cracks and openings large and small, illuminating all, revealing the grime and shame, that cowers in the shadows.

The arid Somali (or Ogaden) region of Ethiopia, home to some 5 million ethnic Somalis has been isolated from the world since 2005, when the government imposed a ban on all international media and most humanitarian groups from operating in the area. Human Rights Watch (HRW), report that the government, “has tried to stem the flow of information from the region. Some foreign journalists who have attempted to conduct independent investigations have been arrested and residents and witnesses have been threatened and detained in order to prevent them from speaking out“. Aid workers with the United Nations (UN), Medecines Sans Frontiers (MSF) and the International Committee of The Red Cross, plus journalists from a range of western papers, including The New York Times have all had staff expelled and/or detained, by the Ethiopian regime, which speaks of democracy yet does act not in accordance with its own liberal constitution and consistently violates international law, with total impunity.

Under the cover of media darkness together with donor country indifference, the Ethiopian government according to a host of human rights organisations, is committing wide-ranging human rights abuses that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Serious accusations based on accounts relayed by refugees and interviews with Ogaden Somalis on the ground, thatgive, one fears, a hint only of the level of state criminality taking place in the troubled, largely ignored region. HRW, make clear the seriousness of the situation, stating that, “tens of thousands of ethnic Somali civilians living in eastern Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State are experiencing serious abuses… Ethiopian troops have forcibly displaced entire rural communities, ordering villagers to leave their homes within a few days or witness their houses being burnt down and possessions destroyed—and risk death.”

The African Rights Monitor (ARM) in their detailed study, conservatively titled ‘Concerns Over the Ogaden Territory’, found, “that the Ethiopian government has systematically and repeatedly arbitrarily detained, tortured and inhumanly degraded the Ogaden people.” Women and children they report, “are raped, sexually assaulted, and killed”. The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) they found, “systematically attacks the women and children as they are the weakest in a civil society” and are unable to defend themselves. Documenting a series of specific cases of violence, HRW (28/05/2012) report, “an Ethiopian government-backed paramilitary force [the Liyuu Police] summarily executed 10 men during a March 2012 operation”, HRW “interviewed witnesses and relatives of the victims who described witnessing at least 10 summary executions…. The actual number may be higher.” Such accounts as these clearly warrant investigation by independent agencies, and yet they are resolutely ignored. Supporters of the regime know well what is occurring throughout the Ogaden, and yet they remain silent. America – the single biggest donor to the country, with military bases inside Ethiopia from where their deadly drones are launched into Somalia and Yemen – and Britain are close allies – of the Ethiopian government it seems, but not of the Ethiopian people it seems.

A Regime of Abuse

Page after page could be filled with detailed accounts of abuse from refugees who have fled the region, human rights groups and members of the Ogaden diaspora. Atrocities meted out to innocent civilians suspected of supporting the ONLF, which Genocide Watch (GW) find, amount to “war crimes and crimes against humanity”. Beaten to death, hanged from a tree, tied with wire and held over burning chilies, raped, repeatedly and falsely imprisoned; brutal, unjustifiable acts, justified by the government as part of a ‘counter insurgency operation’, against the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), predictably branded terrorists.

Documented reports of human rights violations amounting to state terrorism are dismissed by the EPRDF government, a regime with a notoriously dismal human rights record – who suggest that such accounts are reports of military personnel simply carrying out their duty to safeguard the Ethiopian people by routing out terrorist gangs. A scripted rhetoric of righteousness drafted in Washington after 9/11, translated worldwide distorted and espoused by totalitarian governments East and West, North and South to legitimise methods of control and acts of aggression.

Given the media restrictions, we cannot vouchsafe the governments view, but “if the Ethiopian government doesn’t have anything to hide, why don’t they allow independent investigators and journalists into the region”, Leslie Lefkow, HRW deputy director of Africa, poses the question on the tip of our tongues that cannot be asked too often. There is, she says with understatement, “ a lot of concern about the human rights situation on the Ogaden”. GW are more blunt, claiming unequivocally that Ethiopia is committing genocide in the Somali region, as well as to the “Anuak, Oromo and Omo” ethnic groups (or tribes). And they call on the EPRDF regime to “cease all attacks on the Ogaden Somali” people and “immediately release all prisoners”, urging them to “adhere to it’s own constitution and allow its provinces the legal autonomy they are guaranteed.”

A Captains Story

In 2005, delivery of the Ethiopian government’s violent policy of suppression in the Ogaden shifted from the Military to the newly-formed paramilitary group, the Liyuu Police. Not a recognisable police force at all, as Faysal Mohamoud Abdi Wali a defected 38-year-old former Captain in the Intelligence unit of the Liyuu makes clear, but “an extension of the military”, which operates under a cloak of impunity, lacking all accountability. Faysal Mohammoud served in the Liyuu from its inception eight years ago, when it was called the ‘Liyuu Xayi’ until he defected in 2012. His testimony is of particular interest, especially given the media ban.

The former Liyuu officer from regiment nine “stationed in the Duhun districy”, was interviewd by Swedish journalists, Amnesty International and myself. He related how young men are forced to join the force and arrested should they refuse. Confirming findings by HRW that forced recruitment takes place amongst tribal groups, who are ordered Faysal says tribal elders are ordered “to bring at least 80 fighters for every single tribe. If any of these [recruited fighters] escaped from the Militia they seek and capture [them, the truant is] then forced to kill one of his relatives or kinship”.

He recounts mass killing, in “Hamaro, Sagag, and Dhuhun of Fiq provinces”, where he says “large number of civilians accused of being ONLF sympathizers” where massacred. “These people are mostly killed by hanging from trees and girls are gang-raped and then murdered.” He goes on to say “the youth in Dhuhun, the young men and the young women in Hamaro, the young men slaughtered in Degeh-bur and teens summarily executed [in] Denan and Dakhato”. Extra judicial executions, intimidation and “forceful methods; strangling and rape of females aged 15 – 25,” are used as weapons of terror, “based on the advice we received from the regional president Abdi Mohamud Omar who said ‘indoctrinate the women with the male phallus and the men with guns’. Omar was largely responsible for the creation of the Liyuu, which evolved out of the Ethiopian army, and was embraced by the former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

The Captain states he was an “eye-witness for unaccountable massacres” by Liyuu Police who, after killing villagers “burned the entire village to the ground”. They forcefully remove them [villagers] from the land and slaughter their livestock. In remote villages, they sometimes massacre them all. For example, they forcefully removed many villagers from Gudhis, massacring 125 members from that village and burned the village, in 2007.”

Soldiers are rewarded he says, for killing civilians, for the “good job they have done”. Nomads who have the misfortune to see the Liyuu on operations, are killed, “in order to make sure that their information is not received by the ONLF rebels“. Summary executions, he reports are commonplace, as “in Dakhato in June 2010… {Where] 43 nomads were killed”. Faysal Mohammedd estimates the number of civilians murdered by the Liyuu since 2005 “to be in excess of 30, 000 people”.

Urgent Action Required

The Somali region, poor and desolate, is potentially the richest part of Ethiopia. Natural Gas and oil have been discovered to be lying under the harsh surface and various contracts for exploration have been granted to international companies, (without consultation with local, indigenous people, needless to say). The current round of violence is to many people linked to the discovery of these natural treasures: GW relay how, “immediately after oil and gas were discovered in the Ogaden, Ethiopian government forces evicted large numbers of Ogaden Somalis from their ancestral grazing lands”. According to Faysal Mohamoud the federal government “has strategic economic and land acquisition aim in the Ogaden region, intended to exploit the natural resources of the region.” These are strategic aims that they are seeking to realise through the silencing of the indigenous local people.

Whilst some numbers, dates and locations from these and other accounts may be debated, the weight of claims of human rights violations and state criminality, is, it would appear beyond dispute – to the extent that GW have, “called upon the United Nations Security Council to refer the situation in Ethiopia to the International Criminal Court”. This required measure together with a range of others (including; the immediate release of all so called political prisoners, the correct distribution of all humanitarian aid to the needy, journalists granted open and unrestricted access, and a thorough investigation by independent observers) would be the right and proper course of action in the region. Action that should be undertaken, at the insistence of Ethiopia’s main donors – America, Britain and the European Union and with all due urgency.

Graham Peebles is director of the Create Trust. He can be reached at: graham@thecreatetrust.org

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Land grab destroys lives: Obang Metho at congressional briefing

Friday, April 19th, 2013

African Land and Natural Resource Grabs Destroy Lives and Futures of Africans

Mr. Obang Metho, Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE), warns of the impact on people at the U.S. Congressional Briefing on Land Grabs in Africa

April 15, 2013

I would like to thank Congressman Christopher Smith, Chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations and members of the subcommittees for making this briefing on land grabs in Africa possible.

I am honored to be among those invited to talk about the impact of these land and resource grabs on the people of Africa. It is a vitally important issue that needs to be confronted. To me, this is not just about land grabs, but it is inherently about life grabs. In Africa, as well as in many other places, when you take someone’s land, you take away the means to an entire family’s livelihood, wellbeing and future. I am thrilled that the World Bank is also addressing this issue and hope it will soon lead to concrete action that saves lives.

To me and the organization I lead, the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE), the problem of land grabs is not new. We have been actively working to expose and find solutions to these land grabs since they began in 2008 and partnered with the Oakland Institute in 2011 in a comprehensive in-country study on: Understanding Land Investment Deals in Africa: Ethiopia.[1] What is going on today is an immoral and predatory practice by African strongmen and their powerful partners that is targeting the most vulnerable people on the continent.

When I speak today, my testimony will not be as an outsider, but as a witness. When I talk about the people being displaced from the land grabs, in many cases I am speaking about people whose names I know. They include my uncle, my cousins, my nephews, my extended family, my community and my people—the people of Gambella, the people of Ethiopia, the people of Africa and the people of the world. We the people of Africa must be able to feed ourselves, but when the powerful take the food and land we have to sustain ourselves, leaving little behind for the indigenous, it is unconscionable and should be challenged. I welcome the opportunity we have to talk about this today. I request that my statement be submitted into the record in its entirety.

Introduction:

When the global food crisis of 2008 struck, with its food shortages, sky-rocketing food prices and widespread riots, it sounded an alarm that began the global race for fertile agricultural land, particularly land with access to water. Asian countries in the global south, like India, China, and South Korea, simply did not have enough unused, suitable land to meet the increasing need for food for their people. Some European countries were in the same position. Arid countries in the Middle East, like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, may have wealth from oil, but they were large importers of food and have little or diminishing arable land. Underground water aquifers were already being depleted in efforts to irrigate existing food crops.

Soaring populations, decreasing available land, environmental degradation and lessening confidence in access to adequate imports caused many governments to search beyond their borders for new ways to ensure a supply of food for the future. At the same time, speculators, investors and multinational agri-businesses began to see food as a high-profit commodity which could be profitable like oil, minerals and other natural resources.

So began the second scramble for African land that has led to massive land grabs of land already occupied by the people of Africa. For most of those affected, it has led to widespread displacement and to greater, rather than less, food insecurity. This abuse of land rights has happened most easily in nations where authoritarian regimes maintain their control over the people through suppression of basic freedoms, human rights abuses, fraudulent elections, corruption and military power. Unfortunately, many of these foreign investors become complicit as they partner with Africa’s strongmen.

World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim said at their annual meeting last week, “Usable land is in short supply, and there are too many instances of speculators and unscrupulous investors exploiting smallholder farmers, herders, and others who lack the power to stand up for their rights. This is particularly true in countries with weak land governance systems.”[2]

In many countries in Africa freedom does not exist. Freedom House in their Freedom in the World Study for 2012 ranked Sub-Saharan Africa as 82% un-free or only partially free. People who dare to demand their rights or who expose the dark side of those in power, do so at risk to their lives and futures. Those in power do not represent the best interests of their people, but instead represent their own interests. With the search for agricultural land, authoritarian governments with weak adherence to laws and few protections for the people are making secretive deals to lease both small and large swathes of some of the prime agricultural land to foreign and crony investors for negligible amounts (e.g. $1.19 per hectare in parts of Ethiopia) for up to 99 years. Equivalent land reportedly brings $350 per hectare in places like Indonesia and Malaysia and thousands in the farm belt of the US.

Much of the food is destined for export or wherever it can bring the highest price. Most Africans are small farmers; though poor, they have been able to sustain themselves because of their land; however, the displaced will no longer be able to be self-reliant and may easily end up hungry or in need of food aid. Although some of the food produced will end up locally, food prices may well be beyond their ability to pay. The displaced are mostly in the rural regions where education and training have been lacking, leaving most ill-equipped to find other jobs. Institutions, meant to strengthen civil society, often do not exist or are under government control. Because there is little accountability or transparency, it has opened the doors to high-level corruption, crony favoritism and illicit transactions as secretive deals, with vague contracts, are negotiated by regime power-holders.

A Focus on the Gambella region of Ethiopia, my birthplace and the epicenter of land grabs in Africa:

Ethiopia is one of the leading examples on the continent where large scale land grabs are going on. Gambella region, considered to have the potential for becoming the breadbasket of Ethiopia or the Horn of Africa, may now fail to feed its own. The region has some of the richest, most fertile land and abundant water in the country. My own ethnic group, the Anuak—as well as other indigenous groups like the Nuer, the Mazengir, the Komo and the Opo—consider Gambella their ancestral home, but little investment has been directed towards this marginalized and undeveloped region. Now, Gambella is the region most significantly targeted for land grabs.

In 2003, related to natural resources, the current government of Ethiopia massacred 424 Anuak leaders within three days and went on to commit many more crimes against humanity directed towards this one ethnic group in the following three years. It was related to natural resources at the time and now, their land is being grabbed.

It is happening in other regions as well. Already, an estimated 200,000 small farmers and pastoralists in the rural areas have been displaced from their land in order to free it up for investors. Recently, thousands of people of Amhara ethnicity were forcibly evicted from the region of Benishangul. A year ago, 70,000 other Amhara were evicted from land in the Southern Nation’s region. In 2011-2012, 70,000 small farmers from the Gambella region were forced off their land. Many more will be moved to resettlement areas in the next year. In Gambella, a region with a total population of about 300,000, this means nearly three-quarters of the people will be affected.

In the vague contracts, previously made available on the government’s website, investors are promised land “free of impediments.” Impediments, a description which refers to the people now living on the land, are citizens of Ethiopia, but instead of their own government protecting their rights, they are seen as obstacles to be “cleared from their land” as if they were squatters or intruders in their own homes. Even though the government claims the local people are choosing to leave voluntarily in order to access better services, resistance is met with human rights abuses.

This is most often occurring in rural areas among indigenous people who have no established land rights even though they and their families or communities have lived on the land for generations. Neither do they have the power to resist the regime’s security forces as many are forcibly evicted from their land and moved to resettlement areas where they are promised improved access to services; however, most often, those services do not exist and the land is inferior with less access to water sources. Some end up homeless, in refugee camps in neighboring countries or working for slave wages on land they used to own. In most cases those affected have neither been consulted nor compensated for their losses, in contradiction to national and international laws.

The government claims there is no relationship between the resettlements and land leases; however, as soon as they are pushed off their land, the investors or agricultural companies move in to clear the land. For example, land grabs from small farmers have opened up 100,000 hectares—nearly 250,000 acres—for large agricultural farms like Karuturi Global Limited of India. Karuturi has been promised a total of 300,000 hectares—nearly 750,000 acres, which will require the expropriation of the vast majority of the best agricultural land in Gambella. Water for irrigation from this Upper Nile region is not being regulated and could greatly impact water availability elsewhere, including down river in other parts of Gambella, as well as in South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt.

Another agricultural company, Saudi Star, owned by the second richest man in Africa, multi-billionaire Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi has been given 10,000 hectares to lease in Gambella. As part of his Derba Group, he plans to lease another 290,000 hectares in the same region. He also allegedly has intentions to lease 300,000 hectares in Benishangul, another marginalized region, north of Gambella, and recently purchased three other farms in the country. There has been violent conflict related to Saudi Star. Within Gambella, smaller sized sections of land have been leased to regime cronies. In fact, it is estimated that nearly 70% of the domestic lessees of land in Gambella are either regime supporters or members of the ruling party’s own ethnic group.

Some real life stories from the ground:

Case Study #1: Mr. Okok Ojulu: Okok is an Anuak smallholder farmer who was educated in the UK in sustainable development. In 2002, he led the World Bank’s project in the Gambella region. His work was very effective in utilizing the bank’s development funds to build schools, clinics and to dig water wells for the region. The funds were given to all other regions in Ethiopia as well. After the World Bank assessed the outcomes, Okok was given an award of excellence for how the funds were used and how the services were implemented. One of the rewards received from the bank was a car for his work. Shortly thereafter he was imprisoned for several years in Addis Ababa by the federal government because he had become a threat to the government, having become so popular and influential in the community. In 2007 he was released and returned to his family and region.

Shortly after his release and prior to the land rush in the Gambella, Okok, a man of considerable vision and ability, began plans to form an agricultural cooperative that would benefit the community. He began to grow food himself and when he had grown enough food to make a profit, he began hiring local people. He also began negotiating for the purchase of a tractor that could be leased out during planting and harvesting. Those using it would help pay for the cost of the tractor with their crops when they were successfully harvested. The cooperative would then market the produce to the local people.

The initial success of the venture inspired the young people to see farming as a viable opportunity for their future livelihoods. It was also seen as a way to eradicate poverty and to become more self-reliant; however, the TPLF/EPRDF saw it as a threat, in direct opposition to the foreign investment model they were selling to the people. They intimidated him and after finding out he was again going to be arrested, he had to flee the country. He had been supporting his own children’s school fees as well as fees of other relatives, which he could no longer do. His vision was killed and the people he had hired no longer had jobs. In doing this, the regime further disempowered the small holder farmers, the backbone of solving food insecurity.

The farmland he had used in this project was instead given to Saudi Star. When we talk about local small farmers being pushed off their land and impoverished by it, we have names for you of many more examples. Mr. Okok is now in Kenya as a refugee because it is no longer safe for him to live in Ethiopia.

Case Study #2: WorOwar: A second case example is a local business man, WorOwar, who invested all the money he had from his business to lease agricultural land when he noted how foreigners were coming to take the land. However, because he was not a government supporter, a regime crony nor a TPLF/ERPDF party member, the government authorities ended up harassing, threatening, and torturing him. He lost the land to the government who made it so difficult for him and his family that they were forced to flee the country for safety in 2010. Some regime crony now has possession of his land.

Case Study #3: Gambellans in the Diaspora: There are Anuak, now living in the Diaspora, who took the initiative to attempt to lease land in the Abobo District of Gambella. They had heard that the area where they had grown up and where family members still lived was on the list to be leased. This was an effort to ensure that these family members would not be displaced and that the land would continue to be theirs; however, the regime authorities refused to lease it to them. Instead, an Indian company took over the land.

Case Study #4: Mazenger community leaders: In 2011, community leaders of the Mazenger people took the initiative to go to Ethiopian President Girma Woldegiorgis to seek help to stop the clearing of their virgin forests for an Indian company to grow spices.

The president agreed with the local people and advocated on their behalf by writing a letter to the Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture, the former Prime Minister, and the Minister of Environment, saying it would hurt rather than help the country in the long run; but his efforts were ignored. Instead, those community leaders who initiated this ended up losing their jobs and some were even put in jail. This is impact of the land grab investment on the people even while the government denies it all. This is why I call it not only a land grab, but a life and future grab from these innocent people. There are too many other examples to tell; not only in Gambella, Ethiopia or Africa but throughout the world

What Undergirds Land Grabbing?

Lack of freedom:

Out of five countries in the world showing the greatest aggregate declines in freedom from 2007-2011, Ethiopia was fifth according to the previously mentioned 2012 study by Freedom House. In the case of Ethiopia, it is well known within the country that the ethnic-based Tigrayan Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) not only controls the ruling party, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), but it also controls every sector of society and every facet of life from the federal level to the kebele (neighborhood levels). This includes the parliament, civil service, the judiciary, the military, security forces, civic institutions, religious institutions, the economic system, the educational system and the administration of developmental aid; including the dispensation of food aid, fertilizers, seed and other developmental aid.

Lack of justice and equality

Most benefits are directed to the TPLF’s own region or supporters. For example, in their own region of Tigray, there are five hospitals and four universities whereas in a region like Gambella, there are no universities and only one hospital without running water. Party membership is necessary to get into schools, to get jobs and to access most any opportunities. If you are not part of the inner circle, you stand no chance of moving ahead. Conversely, if you challenge the system, you could face harassment, higher taxes, loss of property, intimidation or rights violations. The judiciary and the land appeal process are not independent but are controlled by the top regime power-holders. The number one interest of the regime is the resources but not the people whose freedom they must restrict in order to have free reign of benefiting from the nation’s resources.

Lack of political space:

Opposition groups are threatened and undermined and opposition leaders and activists are imprisoned on charges of terrorism. There is only one opposition member in Parliament out of 547 members. He is only given 3 minutes to speak at any session.

Lack of freedom of religion:

The TPLF/ERPDF interferes in the religious affairs of both Christians and Muslims, for example, forcing regime-selected, pro-government religious leaders into top positions to undermine their influence on society. It has caused church divisions among Christians and caused thousands of Muslims to peacefully protest against religious control. Muslim leaders have been arrested and are in prison despite committing no crimes.

Lack of independent institutions:

Civic institutions, which are crucial in healthy societies, are under the control of the regime. Even the laws undermine civil society by prohibiting significant parts of their work, with criminal penalties for infractions, if they receive more than 10% of their funding from foreign sources. For example, human rights organizations have had to close and instead, the government has created their own.

Lack of Communication and technology

Communication and technology, on every level, is controlled. Here are some examples:

Telecommunication: the government is the only provider and most Ethiopians have limited access; for example, the rate of mobile phone usage in Ethiopia (5%) is one of the lowest in Africa; the rate of fixed land phones is only 1%; again, among the lowest. Ethiopia has invested in sophisticated spyware equipment to monitor users.
Internet: the government is the only provider; they actively control opposition websites and closely monitor use[3] through various techniques, including spyware. Access to the Internet is one of the lowest rates in the world at 0.5%, seven times behind the African average.
There is only one government-run television station and radio station. Voice of America (VOA) and Deustche Welle (DW) have both been jammed in the past. Newspapers are self-censoring or government –controlled. Journalists and editors have been imprisoned as terrorists or have fled the country. Printing shops have been threatened not to print any material that reflects poorly on the TPLF/ERPDF.
The government disseminates propaganda internally and internationally; for example, claiming that resettlement is voluntary, by denying human rights abuses, by denying personal gain by regime power-holders, and by using democratic, developmental and war on terror rhetoric to dupe outsiders and to gain political, financial and military support.

Lack of land tenure undergirds poverty and land grabs:

In Ethiopia, all land is owned by the state; essentially banning private ownership. This has made it impossible for farmers, who use their land as collateral, to buy and sell land. It also gives them uncertain rights to that land since the government has reserved the their own right to redistribute the land if they see fit to do so.

In regards to how this creates or mitigates food insecurity, the SMNE worked with the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota on the completion of a study, Land Reform in Ethiopia: Recommendations for Reform, focusing on the role of land tenure policy and poverty in Ethiopia. That report will be released this week and will be available on our website. http://www.solidaritymovement.org/

The team of researchers found evidence that a lack of land tenure contributes to the vulnerability of the people; particularly in regions where they have no certificates giving the people individual or customary/community rights to utilize the land. Small and marginalized tribes have the fewest rights. The TPLF/ERPDF uses the lack of certification to redistribute land on whim.

Only four regions now have partial certification: Amhara, Oromia, Tigray and parts of Southern Nations. No one is safe, but those with certification are safer. Lack of mapping boundaries of properties also exacerbates the problem.

City dwellers also are at risk. Even though many hold certificates; urban certificates are inviolable only as long as no one wants the land underneath your home, condominium or business. If it is strategically located or sought after by an investor or someone from the inner circle of regime, the land can be expropriated. New laws are on the books that can demand eviction from urban land sites if the lessees fail to build a two or three story structure on the site. Many find it financially impossible to do so and end up on the streets, homeless.

The study found that land appeals are oftentimes heard by the same people and authorities who made the decisions on the expropriation of the land involved. There is obviously an inherent conflict of interest. [More information on Ethiopia’s certification program can also be found from the World Bank’s document: the Land Governance Assessment Framework: Identifying and Monitoring Good Practice in the Land Sector.][4]

Some observations:

High rates of rural landlessness and land poverty already exist; challenging the government’s argument that there is abundant excess land. Much of that land is less arable than what is being forcibly vacated. Forty three percent of rural Ethiopians have no access to land and fully 60% lack sufficient land to grow enough food for a family of five. (Please see Humphrey Institute’s Executive Summary).
Land grabs can be linked to increasing corruption, but not to decreasing hunger.
Land grabs, which are resulting in increased food insecurity and dispossessing the small farmers of their livelihoods, are exactly contrary to goals expressed by the World Bank, the IMF, USAID, development groups like the Gates foundation and others who say they want to support smallholder farmers.
Most every voluntary guideline of the FAO is not being followed in Ethiopia.[5] [Please see: Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security for further information].

Some conclusions regarding the TPLF/EPRDF’s Control of Ethiopia:

Government ownership of land is equivalent to TPLF ownership of land, to be used as they choose. The TPLF strategic plan for hegemony of all of Ethiopia, including exploiting its resources for its own interests, will actively war against reversing poverty and conflict in the country. [Please see the link here http://www.enufforethiopia.net/pdf/Revolutionary_Democracy_EthRev_96.pdf to: TPLF/ERFDF’s Strategies for Establishing its Hegemony & Perpetuating its Rule.[6]]

This is a disturbing plan for one, ethnic-based party, the TPLF, to gain permanent control of Ethiopia and its resources that few insiders and even fewer outsiders have seen. A government that in and of itself has a policy that views any outside its party as enemies or people to be exploited, has egregiously failed to perform its duty to protect the rights of the people and must be reformed.

A regime that actively promotes division, controls religious expression, criminalizes dissent and perpetrates robbery and violence against its own people has egregiously failed to perform its basic duties and should not be supported by international groups.
A regime that lacks accountability and transparency and where corruption is rampant should not be supported by the international donors, the World Bank, the IMF, USAID, development groups like the Gates foundation. Ethiopia lost US11.7 billion in illegal capital flight from 2000-2009 and in the year following the beginning of the land leasing program in Ethiopia, the Task Force for Financial Integrity and Economic Development [7] (FTFP) reported that the amount doubled to $3.26 million (USD)—with the majority of that increase coming from corruption, kickbacks and bribery.
International Developmental organizations, like World Bank, the IMF, USAID, development groups like the Gates foundation, report success in helping small farmers in Ethiopia, but the majority of that aid is directed by the TPLF/ERPDF to one region—the TPLF’s own region of Tigray. Financial support to institutions, economic enhancement programs and democracy-building are directed to pseudo-institutions run by the TPFL/ERPDF.
Military support received from donor countries is believed to have been used to perpetrate human rights crimes. This autocratic regime, with a documented history of human rights crimes, should not be the recipient of such support until a full and independent investigation is conducted.

Solutions:

The solution to this burgeoning problems of land and natural resource grabs is to have a government where the law can protect the people and where the law is not only limited to the elite, its cronies and partners. For positive change to come, citizens must be able to claim their rights—human, civil, land and religious. Until there is such a government to protect the rights of the people, which upholds democratic principles of free speech, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, freedom in the media, an independent judiciary and institutions, an independent appeal process, a non-politicalized military and similar aspects of free and open societies, the people will be seen as impediments to whatever the government wants for its own interests. No one is safe in such a political climate. This is where donor countries like the US can become involved in pressuring these governments to be accountable to the people; not supporting autocratic regimes that are creating poverty by pushing people off their land. Africans who used to feed themselves from farming their own land are now hungry and needing food aid. Some who have been hired to work on these agricultural farms, are often working for wages below the World Bank’s minimum wage standards.

Overall, the donor countries, like the US, should try to side with the people, supporting them in having the freedom to elect their own government. If land grabs, human rights abuses and increased resulting food insecurity continue, it could create conflict, displacement and instability. This is not just about a land grab but is a life-grab which will affect the lives of Africans for generations to come. The multi-dimensional impacts are broad, long-lasting and difficult to measure. Environmental impacts are frighteningly inadequate. Sometimes the environmental assessments have not been done or when done, are voluntary or simply not enforced. Few controls are put on users of water and few, if any, studies have been done on the impact of water use on the lives of people in the surrounding areas or downstream. This is about human rights and human freedom. The donors and investors should look into this and take it seriously. The donors should think beyond themselves and about the people to whom the land belongs.

The following recommendations are for the US and other donor countries:

Put pressure on the Ethiopian government to recognize human rights and provide social and environmental safeguards in land investment practices. Ethiopia is dependent on international aid and as such, donors are in a powerful position to demand that Ethiopia lives up to its international obligations and implements the above recommendations. Aid flows should be restricted if Ethiopia is not living up to international human rights, good governance, and indigenous rights standards.
Ensure that not aid monies are going into any project that will be involved in land investment in its present form. Aid monies should not be funnelled towards projects that will make it easier for land investment in its present form to continue to take place.
Aid flows be considered to aid and assist Ethiopian government in achieving the above goals. Many of the above recommendations will more easily be implemented if the financial support is available to support them.

In conclusion:

By 2025, nine billion people are expected to be in the world and these people will need food. The search for this food has fueled the land grabs in Africa. The exploration for suitable agricultural land and water sources has gone to where the most vulnerable people live and these are the people who are the victims. The weakest and most vulnerable populations of the world, already deprived of their rights and freedom are like these people in Africa. The focus has gone to the places where there is no rule of law, where people are not valued and where there is no participation in the decision-making by the people.

Africans lack human freedom. They live on one of the poorest and most hungry continents, but not because they do not have arable land or water. What they lack are governments and strong institutions that protect the people. This is why unscrupulous investors are robbing the weak and the vulnerable. The need for food, water and shelter is not only critical to the more developed nations or the powerful, but the same needs exist for the weak and the vulnerable in Africa.

You do not see it happening in the most agriculturally productive countries in the world, like in Saskatchewan, Canada, America’s Midwest or other free countries because there is a rule of law that is followed, but you can see it in a place like Ethiopia and in other parts of Africa. This is what I call robbing the innocent. It is a daylight robbery and must stop. We are not against investment but it is immoral and wrong to rob the most vulnerable in our global society. It demands that free, conscience-minded people speak up. For some of the more powerful and wealthy to unjustly take the resources from these people will create conflict and instability in our global world.

As World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim states, “Securing access to land is critical for millions of poor people. Modern, efficient, and transparent policies on land rights are vital to reducing poverty and promoting growth, agriculture production, better nutrition, and sustainable development.” But he also presents one of the most crucial challenges as he warns, “Additional efforts must be made to build capacity and safeguards related to land rights – and to empower civil society to hold governments accountable.”

The core principles of the SMNE are about sharing and caring about others. What this means to us is that humanity should be valued above our diverse identity factors—putting humanity before ethnicity.

The dehumanization of others precedes most every act of injustice and evil; meaning that lasting peace and the prosperity of others can only come to our world if we care about the freedom, justice and well being of others for “no one is free until all are free.” Our humanity has no ethnic, national, gender, political or religious boundaries.

Until Africans are free; the world will not be free. We can build a better, more humane, more just and more harmonious world than this by simply recognizing the face of our Creator in every one of our global brothers and sisters! Will you not be a bystander and help create a better world for all of us?
Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Please do not hesitate to e-mail your comments to Mr. Obang Metho, Executive Director of the SMNE at: Obang@solidaritymovement.org.

[1] http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/understanding-land-investment-deals-africa-ethiopia

[2] http://farmlandgrab.org/post/view/21922

[3] http://www.freedomhouse.org/images/File/FotN/Ethiopia2011.pdf; Freedom on the Net

[4] https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/2376/657430PUB0EPI1065724B09780821387580.pdf?sequence=1

[5] http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i2801e/i2801e.pdf

[6] http://www.enufforethiopia.net/pdf/Revolutionary_Democracy_EthRev_96.pdf

[7] http://www.financialtaskforce.org/2011/12/05/illicit-financial-outflows-from-ethiopia-nearly-doubled-in-2009-to-us3-26-billion-reveals-new-global-financial-integrity-report/

Posted in Africa, Ethiopia | No Comments »

አማራንና አማርኛን ማጥፋት የህወሃት ፕሮግራም ነው

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

By Goolgule.com

April 15, 20013

አማርኛ ተናጋሪዎችን የማመናመን፣ የማደህየት፣ የማራቆትና ክልላቸውን እያሳነሱ የማጥፋት እቅድ በህወሃት መርሃግብር ውስጥ የተካተተ ዋና ተግባር እንደሆነ ተገለጸ። አማርኛ ቋንቋንም ማሽመድመድ የዚሁ እቅድ አካል መሆኑ ተዘግቧል።

አቶ ገ/መድህን አርአያ ከኢሳት ሬዲዮ ጋር ባካሄዱት ቃለ ምልልስ በህወሃት ፕሮግራም ገጽ 18 አካባቢ “አማራ የትግራይና የኤርትራ ህዝብ ጠላት እንደሆነ ተመልክቷል” ብለዋል፡፡ አያይዘውም አማራ ማጥፋት የቅስቀሳው ዋና መሳሪያ ቢሆንም የትግራይ ህዝብ አልተቀበለም ብለዋል። ቅስቀሳውን አንቀበልም ያሉ “የትግራይ ሸዋ” ተብለው መገደላቸውን ይፋ አድርገዋል።

በተለይ የድርጊቱ ዋና አስተባባሪ በማለት የጠቀሷቸው አቶ መለስ ዜናዊ፣ አቶ ስብሃት፣ አቶ ስዩም መስፍን፣ አቶ አባይ ጸሐዬን የጠቀሱት አቶ ገ/መድህን፣ በ1972 በሰሜን ጎንደር የዘር ማጥፋት ወንጀል መፈጸሙን አጋልጠዋል። በወቅቱ የተካሄደው ጭፍጨፋ ከፍተኛ የዘር ማጥፋት ወንጀል እንደሆነም አመልክተዋል። “በሰላም እጃቸውን የሚሰጡ ወታደሮች እንኳ አማርኛ የሚናገሩ ከሆነ ይረሸኑ ነበር” ሲሉ እነ መለስ ያለቸውን በዘር ላይ የተመሰረተ ቆሻሻ አመለካከት አጋልጠዋል።

“ኢትዮጵያ የምትበተነው አማራ ሲጠፋ ነው” በሚለው የነመለስ ሃሳብ መተግበር የጀመረው ህወሃት አዲስ አበባ ከገባበት ጊዜ ጀምሮ መሆኑንን ያወሱት አቶ ገ/መድህን፣ ህወሃት ያሰማራቸው ከ350ሺህ በላይ ካድሬዎች ቁጥራቸው በውል የማይታወቅ አማራዎች በተለያዩ ምክንያቶች እንዲጨፈጨፉ ማድረጋቸውን አመልክተዋል።

ብአዴንን “አማራን ለማጥፋት የተፈጠረ፣ ጸረ አማራ ድርጀት” ሲሉ የሰየሙት አቶ ገ/መድህን፣ አመራሮቹ የኤርትራና የትግራይ ተወላጆች መሆናቸውን በርግጠኛነት ተናግረዋል። የትግራይ ህዝብ የተወከለው “በባንዳ ልጆችና የኤርትራ ተወላጆች ነው” ሲሉም ህዝቡ አደጋ ላይ እንደሚገኝ ጠቁመዋል። የክልሉ ፕሬዚዳንት አቶ አባይ ወልዱን “የባሻ ወልዱ ልጅ ነው” በማለት የትግራይ ህዝብ በባንዳ ኤርትራዊ ልጅ እንደሚመራ ያመለከቱት አቶ ገ/መድህን፤ ብርሀነ ገብረክርስቶስ፣ ቴድሮስ ሃጎስ፣ ቴድሮስ አድሃኖም፣ በማለት በመዘርዘር የባንዳ ልጆች መሆናቸውን ይፋ አድርገዋል።

“አማራው የሚኖርበትን መሬት በመውሰድ መሬቱን ያጠቡበታል፣ ከሌላው ክልል በማባረር የሚኖርበትን ክልል ያጠቡታል” ያሉት አቶ ገ/መድህን፣ ይህ የሚደረገው ከመጀመሪያው እንዲጠፋ የተወሰነበትን ህዝብ አጥብቦ በማፈን በችግር ለመግረፍና ለመቆጣጠር ተብሎ እንደሆነ ገልጸዋል።

ዘር የማጥራት የህወሃት የቀደመ ድርጅታዊ መዋቅር እንደሆነ በማመልከት መለስን የጠቀሱት አቶ ገ/መድህን፣ “አማራውን ዝም ካልነው አያስቀምጠንም” የሚለው የመለስ መፈክር አካል የሆነው የቤኒሻንጉል ክልል ርምጃ የህወሃት ቤት ስራ እንደሆነ አረጋግጠዋል። አማራውን ፋታ ማሳጣት፣ ማንገላታት፣ ስነልቦናውን መግፈፍ ህወሃት በፕሮግራም ደረጃ የያዘው እቅድ ስለሆነ ወደፊትም እንደሚቀጥል አቶ ገ/መድህን ተናግረዋል።

“ሞት መፍራት አያስፈልግም። የተቀደሰ ሞት መሞት ክብር ነው” ሲሉ በቃለ ምልልሳቸው መጨረሻ የተናገሩት የቀድሞው የህወሃት የፋይናንስ ሃላፊ ህዝቡ ተባብሮ ህወሃትን ማስወገድ ካልቻለ ማፈናቀሉና መሰደዱ ተጠናክሮ እንደሚቀጥል አስጠንቅቀዋል።

Posted in Africa, Ethiopia | No Comments »

UNESCO Awards Reeyot Alemu Press Freedom Prize

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu wins 2013 UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize

By UnescoPress
April 16, 2013

Reeyot Alemu

Imprisoned Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu is the winner of the 2013 UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Ms Alemu was recommended by an independent international jury of media professionals in recognition of her “exceptional courage, resistance and commitment to freedom of expression.”

The Jury took note of Reeyot Alemu’s contribution to numerous and independent publications. She wrote critically about political and social issues, focusing on the root causes of poverty, and gender equality. She worked for several independent media. In 2010 she founded her own publishing house and a monthly magazine called Change, both of which were subsequently closed. In June 2011, while working as a regular columnist for Feteh, a national weekly newspaper, Ms Alemu was arrested. She is currently serving a five year sentence in Kality prison.

The UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize was created in 1997 by UNESCO’s Executive Board. It is awarded annually during the celebration of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, which will take place this year in Costa Rica.

The Prize honours the work of an individual or an organization which has made a notable contribution to the defence and /or promotion of freedom of expression anywhere in the world, especially if risks have been involved. Candidates are proposed by UNESCO Member States, and regional or international organizations active in the fields of journalism and freedom of expression. Laureates are chosen by a jury whose members are appointed for a once renewable three-year term by the Director-General of UNESCO.

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Archive for the ‘Ethiopia’ Category

የቀዩ መስመር ሰላባዎች?

የሰሞኑ ወግ – ኢህአዴግ አመረረ ወይስ ቀለደ?

ከደህንነቱ ራዳር የተሰወረ አለ?

መለስ ዝምታን ለምን መረጡ?

ደብረጽዮን “የጎበዝ አለቃ”!!

የሙስና ፋይል!! የህወሃት ፓናዶል!!

ለማጠቃለል

የኦክላንድ ተቋምና ለአዲሲቷ ኢትዮጵያ የጋራ ንቅናቄ

የ ሙሉውን ጥናት ትርጉም በአማርኛ ለማንበብ እዚህ ይጫኑ Understanding Land Investment Deals in Africa (Ethiopia)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:

a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life

b. Disappearance

c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Prison and Detention Center Conditions

d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention

Role of the Police and Security Apparatus

Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

Trial Procedures

Political Prisoners and Detainees

Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies

f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

a. Freedom of Speech and Press

Status of Freedom of Speech and Press

Internet Freedom

Academic Freedom and Cultural Events

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Freedom of Assembly

Freedom of Association

c. Freedom of Religion

d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

Protection of Refugees

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government

Elections and Political Participation

Section 4. Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons

Women

Children

Anti-Semitism

Trafficking in Persons

Persons with Disabilities

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Other Societal Violence or Discrimination

Section 7. Worker Rights

a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining

b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment

d. Acceptable Conditions of Work

Under Darkness in the Somali Region of Ethiopia

African Land and Natural Resource Grabs Destroy Lives and Futures of Africans

Mr. Obang Metho, Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE), warns of the impact on people at the U.S. Congressional Briefing on Land Grabs in Africa

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