Blog Archives

A Glimpse into the Amhara Awakening – Messay Kebede

Let me begin by sharing my surprise at the dazzling nature of Amhara open resistance and determination in the fight against the government and the repressive forces of the TPLF. Of course, the wide but subdued discontent of the Amhara …

Posted in Ethiopia News

A Reply to Gen. Tsadkan’s Reply: Narrowing the Gap Messay Kebede

Below is my response to Gen. Tsadkan’s reply to my review of his article. The reply is posted at: http://www.ethiomedia.com/1012pieces/5863.html

Dear Lt. General Tsadkan Gebre Tensay:

I thank you for sending me your reactions to my review of your article …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Review of Lt. General Tsadkan Gebre Tensay’s Article Messay Kebede

I read with great attention and interest a recently posted article [see http://www.ethiomedia.com/1012pieces/ethiopia_political_challenges_and_proposed_solutions.pdf] in which Lt. General Tsadkan Gebre Tensay analyzes with a sharp critical eye the ruling government and party of present-day Ethiopia and gives us a blueprint …

Posted in Ethiopia News

About the Report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea – Messay Kebede

I post this short memo to explain why I did not sign the petition protesting against the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in which it is stated, among other things, that “crimes against humanity have …

Posted in Ethiopia News

የኢትዮጵያ ዘውጋዊ ክፍፍሎችና የመፍትሄ ሃሳብ መሳይ ከበደ

ይህ ጽሁፍ በቅርቡ ቪዥን ኢትዮጵያ ከኢሳት ቴሌቪዥን ጋር በመተባበር ባዘጋጀው ጉባኤ ላይ ያቀረብኩት ነው።

የኢትዮጵያ ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች አሁን በስልጣን ላይ ያለውን መንግስት በሰላም ወይም በሃይል ከስልጣን ለማውረድ  ቢችሉም እንኳን፤ ባለፉት 24 አመታት የተዘረጋውን ዘውጋዊ ክፍፍል ለማብረድና ብሄራዊ አንድነትን መልሶ ለመገንባት …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopia at the Eleventh Hour of Peaceful Change – Messay Kebede

Logically, one would hope that the Oromo uprising and the undeniable general discontent and frustration in the country call for a serious movement toward a reformist dissent within the TPLF and perhaps the army. In whichever way the present situation …

Posted in Ethiopia, Ethiopia News

Then and Now: A Rejoinder to my Critics – Messay Kebede

In the last article I posted, titled “Unity Overrides Everything,” I urged the Amhara to join the ongoing Oromo protests even if their reluctance is understandable in the face of the protests being confined to ethnic issues. Some of my …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Unity Overrides Everything! – Messay Kebede

Those who closely follow current events in Ethiopia, especially those who honestly wonder, like me, why other ethnic groups, especially the Amhara who are the number one target and victim of the TPLF since it seized power in 1992, are …

Posted in Ethiopia News

TPLF in Disarray and the Remaking of National Unity Messay Kebede

That in less than six months after announcing a 100 percent electoral victory in national elections the TPLF faces a formidable uprising in Oromo regions and in a lesser scale in some parts of Ethiopia constitutes the mother of all …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Oromo Uprising: Danger and Opportunity – Messay Kebede

Regarding the present situation of unrest in Oromo towns and villages, many activists and observers repeatedly ask the question of knowing why other regions of Ethiopia where the discontent is no less general, especially the Amhara region, are not joining …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Dictatorship and its Evolution, Chapter II: Contrasting Burma with Ethiopia Messay Kebede

The news that Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, in addition to wining a majority in Burma’s recent parliamentary elections, has enough seats to elect its own candidate to the presidency, is both a remarkable triumph of democracy and a …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The Impasse of Fear in Ethiopia and the Necessity of Comprehensive Struggle Messay Kebede

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Roosevelt

An ounce of action is worth more than tons of preaching

 Mahatma Gandhi

 

The consensus is that dictatorial regimes stay in power mostly by fear rather than by their …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Making Sense of an Electoral Score of 100 Percent Messay Kebede

According to the National Election Board of Ethiopia, the result of last week’s national election is that the EPRDF has achieved a complete victory by grabbing all the parliamentary seats. The same board and the Woyanne government qualified the result …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Is the TPLF Unintentionally Preparing the Ground for a Military Takeover? Messay Kebede

Readers may remember that I was recently involved in a dispute with Tecola Hagos over his article unjustly criticizing the conference on the Horn of Africa, organized by ESAT (see http://www.ethiomedia.com/100leads/4867). In addition to criticizing his assessment of the conference, …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Boycotting Ethiopian National Elections: Damn if You Do, Damn if You Don’t! Messay Kebede

I maintain that the upcoming elections will be a turning point for Ethiopia, not because they will result in a major change of policy subsequent to a renovation of the ruling elite but because the absence of change will compel …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The Invention of Ethnic Politics Messay Kebede

Take a random group of Ethiopians as you find them in any public place. You will never hear them defining themselves by a single characteristic. If you ask one of them how a person is defined, he/she will say that …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The Twilight of Non-Violent Change in Ethiopia and the Slippery Ground of TPLF’s Power Strategy Messay Kebede

The rationale for the TPLF’s current stepping up of repression, obviously triggered by the coming elections, is hard to comprehend. Ranging from constant harassments and severe beatings to torture and long-term imprisonments, the repression particularly targets journalists and young leaders …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Disengaging from the False Dilemma of Armed or Peaceful Struggle – Messay Kebede To Andargachew Tsege

The consecutive rise of two dictatorial and sectarian regimes has convinced a great number of Ethiopians that peaceful rather than armed struggle gives the best opportunity for the democratization of Ethiopia. The experience of armed insurgents instituting sectarian and repressive …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Tigrean Opposition to the TPLF

Despite the TPLF’s view of itself as the model of representation of ethnic interests and well-being, the growth of disenchantment is perceptible in Tigray. The proof is that non-violent Tigrean opposition to the TPLF is no longer negligible. Despite a …

Posted in Ethiopia News

My Takes on the Ethiopian Dam and the Addis Ababa Master Plan Messay Kebede

The issue of the so-called “Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam” has proven very tricky for all those Ethiopians who oppose the present regime. On the one hand, no Ethiopian wants to see Ethiopia’s right to use the waters of Nile for …

Posted in Ethiopia News

MEDREK or the End of a Political Masquerade? Messay Kebede

It is now abundantly clear that the project of creating a strong multiparty opposition by uniting unitary parties and ethnic parties is anything but feasible. The inability of MEDREK to achieve unity despite numerous attempts as well as Dr. Negaso …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The Hypocrisy of the West Messay Kebede

The West is deploring the referendum in Crimea and threatening to apply economic sanctions against Russia, believed to be the instigator of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis. Some Western politicians even go the extent of advocating direct military aid so that …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Democracy and its Trade-off: Ethiopia’s Path to National Reconciliation

In many of my previous articles, even as Meles Zenawi was in absolute control of the country, I have defined the creation of a government of national reconciliation as the best roadmap both for the easing of some of Ethiopia’s …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethnic Politics and Individual Rights: An Alternative Vision for Ethiopia Messay Kebede

“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain government.” Patrick Henry

The prevailing assumption, which originates from the ideologues of ethnic politics, is that identity politics …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopia’s Fragmented Elites: Origins and Syndromes

By Messay Kebede

One question that regularly and intensely consumes the mind of many Ethiopians is the question of knowing why Ethiopian elites are unable to work together. Especially those opposing the TPLF regime, even though they are well aware …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Medrek’s Path to Unity and Charisma

By Messay Kebede

Since the fall of the Derg and the capture of state power by the EPRDF, there has been a consensus on the need for a strong opposition party to counter the hegemony of the ruling party. The …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The conditional nature of TPLF’s Ethiopiawinet

By Messay Kebede

A friend recently sent me a video presenting Sebhat Nega’s defense of the TPLF constitution. My friend was rightly amazed at the dismissive and arrogant nature of the defense. My reaction wandered a bit in the direction …

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Posted in Ethiopia News

Stop predicting and start working for the fall of the Meles regime

By Messay Kebede

What I have grown to dislike is the reading of articles predicting the imminent collapse of Meles and his regime. Often written by people who sound serious, the articles affirm, with a nauseating regularity, that the regime …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Unity in Diversity versus Diversity in Unity

By Messay Kebede

In an article titled “The Question of Unity: Do Words Matter?,” Maimire Mennasemay exposed the poison wrapped in the TPLF’s catchphrase “unity in diversity.” His insightful analysis reveals that the slogan is “diversity-centric,” in that …

Posted in Ethiopia News

On the Democratization Process

By Messay Kebede

This is not a response to the numerous reactions generated by my previous article titled “The fallacy of TPLF’s developmental state” Some of the reactions raised serious and legitimate questions; others emanated from misunderstandings of …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Way forward for Ethiopia’s opposition

By Messay Kebede

It is now totally clear that the form of opposition based on the goal of winning parliamentary elections is a dead-end, obvious as it is that the leadership of the TPLF has never contemplated the prospect of …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The Faking of Tigrean Nationalism

By Messay Kebede

I have read with great interest Jawar’s well thought and skillfully articulated piece on Tigrean nationalism. It has inspired me to present my own view, not so much to contradict Jawar as to present an alternative …

Posted in Ethiopia News

What do you expect from the coming elections in Ethiopia?

By Messay Kebede

Articles fulminating against Hailu Shawel’s signing of the code of conduct proliferate on Ethiopian websites. For these articles, the unilateral and hasty agreement with Meles while other opposition groups, such as Medrek, are still in contention about …

Posted in Ethiopia News