Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Building Democratic Institutions on the grave of Woyane is the way forward

July 31, 2013

Woyane can no longer lie, jail, torture, kill, extort and rob its stay in power. And, Ethiopians can no longer continue to protest as hyphenated victims and extend the life of the regime. Whether we like it or not the solution is a united democratic front that will bring down tyranny on its knees. Civic societies and the independent Medias’ concerted effort to help build democratic institutions and follow-up on the criminal operatives of the ruling regime will go a long way to bring down tyranny for a lasting freedom and democratic rule.
by Teshome Debalke
From the outset it is worrying to see there are some people that still believe the self-declared minority ethnic regime can If you are afraid to speak against tyranny then you are already a slavelie, jail, torture, kill, extorts and rob its stay in power. At this moment in history we shouldn’t be wasting our time arguing over what is obvious for one-and-all; the regime that pretends to be the government of Ethiopia is anything but a government. Call it mafia, mercenary, gang or simply a collection of warlords that divided the nation by ethnic territory; the chapter Woyane can be considered a government is closed and done with. What to do next with the ‘criminal enterprise’ is the question before Ethiopians?
Therefore, if there was disagreement among Ethiopians over the criminality of the ruling party we haven’t heard anyone, including the regime’s apologist claiming it is innocent of any of the crimes it is accused of committed. Nor we heard anyone calling for independent investigation to prove otherwise. In fact, the enormities of the crimes are so much so the regime and its apologist hoping against all hope is to cover-up the crimes and wishing some miracle to happen to prevent accountability and its demise. The apologists’ complete silence on the crimes of Woyane speaks louder than anything we can think of and validates their conspiracy to be part of the criminal enterprise.
On the other hand, Ethiopians can’t continue to protest as hyphenated victims our way out of ethnic tyranny.  Nor we can afford to claim we belong to our chosen hyphenated group or whatever Woyane designated for us and expect to be free from hyphenated ethnic tyranny. We defiantly can’t wish to bring about democratic rule as hyphenated Ethiopians.  As much as Woyane is stuck in its hyphenated ethnic criminality we can’t afford to be stuck as hyphenated victims and open more doors for the ‘minority’ regime and opportunists. It would be wise to understand; there is no hyphenated freedom or democracy but freedom and democracy period.
Therefore, until we join the democratic movement as united Ethiopians and begin building the necessary democratic institution we will be catering for tyranny without even knowing it. We must be part of the movement that wouldn’t settle for anything less than democratic rule. Otherwise, we will continue to go in circle with hyphenated ethnic tyranny or self appointed hyphenated opportunist to nowhere.
For example, we should look at the persistent movement of our people of the Muslim faith as part of the democratic struggle not as hyphenated (religious) freedom but freedom period. And, there should be no negotiation with tyranny on freedom but demand its surrender for the rule of law; as the movement repeatedly and without ambiguity has been communicating to the world. Nor we should open the door for tyranny and opportunists by hyphenating the struggle as we witnesses when scavengers want to take advantage of the movement.
Unity and ethnic tyranny
Historically, Unity has always been a nightmare and division a currency for tyranny.  No one entity proved to the truthiness of that reality than the self-declared minority ethnic ruling party of Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF). The regime has a vested interest against Unity to remain relevant and sustain its illegitimate rule when it came up with the formula of Ethnic Federalism to sustain rule as long as it can. If anyone cares to observe, Woyane or any other political force that present itself as hyphenated Ethiopian or non Ethiopian only currency is anti unity thus, anti democracy.
There is a big difference between demanding our rights as hyphenated victims of tyranny or as united democratic force. The former guarantee us to bargain our freedom the later empower us to demand the surrender of tyranny to achieve our long awaited freedom. The sooner we understand the difference and begin uniting to build democratic institutions the sooner we the people will be free from the institution of tyranny period.   Until then, we will be negotiating with tyranny in one form or another for the foreseeable future to nowhere.
Building democratic institutions on the ashes of tyranny
Often we confuse hyphenated political parties and interest groups with the democratic movements, to the contrary. The very hyphenation of the struggle contradicts democracy to the benefit of tyranny and undemocratic forces. Historically, no hyphenated political parties or groups contributed anything worthy in building democratic institutions. Therefore, it isn’t wise to relay on hyphenated political parties and interest groups to advance the cause of the democratic struggle or to build the necessary democratic institutions. In fact, it is not in the interest of hyphenated political parties or interest groups to build democratic institution but to take power or negotiate their ‘interest’ from the power to be.
Democracy is building democratic institutions to be governed by the rule of law, noting more to it. It is the primary job of independent civic societies and Medias that have no interest in the outcome beyond instituting the rule of laws. As the pillars of democracy with no interest to negotiate the public interest for petty interest they demand all parties to submit for the rule of law. Without civic institutions and the Media there is no freedom or democracy but tyranny.
The cost of the absence of civic society and the elites
The unwillingness of Ethiopian elites to form viable and independent civic institutions and Medias in all sectors to help advance the democratic movement left the field wide open for opportunist and kept the people of Ethiopia victims of the adventure of tyranny and all kinds of interest groups.
More need to be said and done with our contemporary intellectual elites in general and ethnic elites that surrender their soul for ethnic tyranny on the expenses of freedom and democracy.  Therefore, they became hazard for society surrendering for interest groups and pimping for ethnic tyranny at the expenses.
To illustrate how the people of Ethiopia are left under the mercy of ethnic tyranny the ethnic elites in public institution tells half the story. In another hand, the rest of the elites’ complicity or conspiracy not to establish civic institutions and independent Medias to free public institutions from the stranglehold of ethnic tyranny tells the other side of the story.
After 17 years of the brutal rule of the Derg regime and 22 years of the atrocious and corrupt rule of Woyane regime we are still struggling to setup viable civic institutions and Medias to challenge an atrocious and corrupt rule of tyranny or interest groups of all kinds.  Thus, there remain unprecedented crimes being committed against Ethiopians where no one take responsibility or faced justice yet.
Therefore, once again the best the ruling tyranny and its apologist can come up with isn’t the innocence of the regime but claiming it is the lesser evil than the previous and the future alternatives. In fact, Woyane goes as far back in history to dig dirt on others to justify its crime now and manufacture accusation against the present alternatives.  Unfortunately, absence of civic institutions and Medias allowed Woyane bank on is pointing figure on others to remain in power and escape responsibility for long list of its crimes.
Behind the irrational mindset of the present ethnic tyranny and its crimes against the people of Ethiopia there are untold story of building Ethnic Empire out of the ashes of Ethiopia. In that regard, the self declared Tigray elites are the instrument of the grand crimes and as much responsible as the offending regime itself. As tragic as it is some of the ethnic elites that make a living on the blood of Ethiopians aren’t ashamed to show their face in public to divert the people’s attention from the criminality of their regime.   In fact, they honestly believe they can outsmart and outwit Ethiopians doing the bidding of ethnic tyranny.
The Moral bankruptcy of the Woyane elites and the apathy of the rest
Much has been said about the moral bankruptcy of the Woyane’s elites. But, what is unique about their behavior one can’t rationalize is their conspiracy to lend a hand the organized criminality of Woyane in laundering public money on the back of poor Ethiopians. Their moral compass is way off to the point of reducing themselves as common criminals than rational and honest citizens that would reject criminality to protect the public from corrupt ethnic tyranny.
What could possibly go wrong to rationalize their behavior is the raging debate among Ethiopian across the world. Absence of explanation collective insanity as syndicates of organized crime became the consensus.  The collective silence of seeing the criminal enterprises of Woyane going amok, better yet the elaborate cover-up isn’t a small matter to be ignore.  Again, sadly to say- faced with overwhelming evidence; they continued to consider the criminality of the regime and their part in it as progress and innovation with elaborate cover up and diversion.
At the same time, one thing we Ethiopians collectively are weak is catching thieves. When it comes to the grand theft of all time, beyond talking about it behind close doors we couldn’t do much about it. It is partly because we failed to organize to follow up on the crimes and continue to be distracted by Woyane.
Take the Abay Bond sale Woyane instigate to pick our pockets and divert us from the struggle. Not a single civic institution exist to follow up the bond sale, where and through who the money is handled, who may be the beneficiary of the expenditures, the legal bases the bond is sold, and contract is awarded, responsible parties to oversee the project expenditure and implementation…
Likewise, as we speak there is there is no a single institution dedicated to dismantle the criminal network of Woyane and catch the thieves to face justice and recover the stolen money. And, surprisingly most of the ring leaders that facilitate the criminal network of Woyane operate out of Western countries where 100s of thousands of Ethiopians in Diaspora reside.  More amazing is there are 100s of Ethiopians trained in various fields that couldn’t be able to put together institutions in every sector to follow-up on the activities of the regime’s operatives.
After two decade of criminality of the most sophisticated corrupt system of robbery and entitlement ever device the best the ethnic elites that congregated around Woyane can tell us is roads and dams are being built to compensate for its criminality. On the other hand, the best the rest of Ethiopians can do is protest the crimes instead of proactively dismantle the networks of the criminal enterprises. As sad as it sounds on both sides, the good news is average Ethiopians are beginning to say no more we can seat and watch the crime of Woyane and the do-noting elites of our time.
Once again, failure to establish civic institutions in all sectors open the door for Woyane to run amok on the expenses of the people of Ethiopia.
Parliament Verses the money laundering system (Revolutionary Democracy and Development State)
Legitimizing criminality is the standard way of doing business for every tyranny that lived on the face of earth. But, ethnic tyranny with an ambition of ethnic empire building with stolen public money gets nastier and dangerously complicate matters further. When Woyane declared itself a minority ethnic tyranny against the majority it signed its own death wish and forced its ethnic associates no place to go but stick with the regime as designed by the mastermind of Ethnic Federalism.
For sure, no genuine Ethiopian would design such a system and live to see it unless s/he is doing the bidding of foreign entity. Nor, a rational human being reduces her/him-self to associate with a corrupt ethnic tyranny and claim it can be trustworthy in the public affairs. Therefore, all the bluff we see and hear coming out of Woyane and its apologist doesn’t worth the paper it is written on.
To understand Woyane the drama in the front Parliament (Revolutionary Democracy) and the money laundering scheme (Developmental State) backed by the propaganda machine (Government Communication Affair Office) faking legitimacy is sufficient to figure out the entire scum. Why we look elsewhere to chase the ‘goose’ is as puzzling as asking Woyane to restrain from killing and robbing the people of Ethiopia. After all, how else ethnic tyrannies suppose to survive but to kill and robe?
Therefore, the front Parliament where Woyane justify its political legitimacy, the money laundering it devised to finance its criminality in the name of development and the propaganda machine that covers up the crimes is where it began and will ends. If there is one place every Ethiopian should look to do something about tyranny that is where it should be. The rest are simply supporting the three institutions of political illegitimacy, robbery and cover-up or to use the buzz words of Woyane; Revolutionary Democracy, Development State and Government Communication Affairs.  Indecently, there is no a single civic institution to follow up governance, corruption and propaganda.
The drama played between the seating duck Parliament(http://www.hofethiopia.gov.et/web/guest) and the money laundering center where Woyane have a complete stranglehold on the economy led by Wogagen Bank, (http://www.wogagenbank.com) are run by TPLF’s operatives in North America where the whole thing is cooked and served for the people of Ethiopia by the Government Communication Affair Office (Woyane propaganda machine) while everybody is looking elsewhere.
The collection of dummies that filled the House of Parliament to legitimize TPLF rule and robbery no more than what they are paid to perform as designed. None of them understand what legitimacy means and their legal responsibility to the people if they are fed in the mouth.  Nor they understand their conspiracy to commit crimes on the people of Ethiopia. Likewise, the collection of corrupt operatives paused as businessmen, civic society, association…are noting more than men empowered to take advantage of the people in partnership with ruling ethnic tyranny.
The future of the criminal enterprise of Woyane and Associates
There is no telling which direction the criminal enterprise of Woyane is going. But, like any criminal entity we can say with certainty it is going to continue its hide-and-seek game as long as it is allowed to fake legitimacy through the seating duck Parliament and laundering money through its Money Centers led by Wogagen Bank and backed by its propaganda machinery led by GCAO. Therefore, the one and only way Woyane could continue to survive is because of the three institutions it uses in a make-believe government and development.
Unless and until the seating duck Parliament led by armed TPLF agents behind the seen is put out of commission along the front puppet parties rendered useless it will continue its trickery for the foreseeable future. Therefore, when the armed assassins forced they can no longer play hide-and seek and close down the fake parliament to declare the self declared minority ethnic tyranny is in charge of the government the drama of ‘legitimacy’ will continue.
At the mean time, unless and until the money laundering scheme that finance the fake Developmental State run by TPLF operatives and led by Wogagen Bank (EFFORT owned) render useless it will continue channeling public money to legitimize TPLF robbery and corruption for the foreseeable future.  Therefore, until the ‘armed agents’ that guard the economic of corruption are forced they no longer can play hide-and-seek to close down the fake money centers to  declare the self declared the minority ethnic tyranny is in charge of the economy; running racketeering the fake Development State and the drama of Growth and Transformation will continue.
Finally, unless and until the propaganda machine that propagates falsehood led by the Government Communication Affair Office is render useless it will continue pushing propaganda of political and development legitimacy. Therefore, until‘ the TPLF operatives’ that put out propaganda all these years forced they no longer play hide-and-seek to close down the fake Media toy declare the self- declare minority regime is in charge of the flow of information and the Media, the drama of free press will contnue.   In that regard, the good news is Ethiopian Satellite Television/radio (ESAT) rendered the propaganda machine of Woyane useless to earn it the # 1 enemy of ethnic tyranny.
Ethiopia's minority regime propaganda machine
With all the above drama played on the lives and freedom of Ethiopians Woyane is frantically going back-and-forth between its fake political legitimacy and fake economic development backed up by fake Medias disseminating fake information. The stars of the drama are Kassa Teklebrhan G/Hiwot Speaker of the House of Federation representing the fake Parliament, Araya G/Egizhaber, CEO of Wogagen Bank representing the financial center and Berket Simon, representing the fake Government Communication Affair.
Note: According to Addis Fortune the President of Wogagen Bank salary is 20,000 Birr/ Month, an equivalent of about 1000 US dollar. Like the late Prime Minster salary, TPLF propaganda machine is at work in the make-believe legitimacy of TPLF operatives as regular citizens making an honest living.  The same propaganda outlet wouldn’t dare to touch the legitimacy of TPLF running a ‘privet’ bank or any other businesses while it is the sole party that make policy, control the means of production, the security force, the public enterprises…
What Ethiopians can do to put the institutions of ethnic tyranny out of commission?
Understandably, the Woyane ethnic tyranny does what it does to extend its rule and robbery. But, no one can explain why many of ‘oppositions’ follow its leads to do the same.  The fact no one raise the issue of defining what ‘opposition’ means vis-à-vis freedom and democracy is saddening. In reality, we can observe no more than half a dozen parties out of the 100s in existence raise the issue of democracy and rule of law to qualify as oppositions let alone to advance the struggle for freedom and democracy. The most they have been doing was detract Ethiopians from focusing on the important issue of freedom and democracy.
At the meantime, absence of independent civic institutions and Medias to evaluate political parties and civic institutions on the issue of freedom and democracy left the field wide open for ruling ethnic tyranny and opportunists posing as one interest group or another to take advantage of the vacuum. The day has come independent civic institutions and Medias to demand one and  all to be transparent with the public. Just having a website doesn’t qualify one to be a political party and civic organization until it present itself to the public its program and the credential of its leasers and how they advance freedom and democracy of Ethiopians.
The solution to freedom isn’t more political parties but more independent civic institutions to evaluate one and all parties on behalf of the people of Ethiopia.  The day Ethiopians collectively demand building democratic institutions is more important than more hyphenated groups and political parties will be the day tyranny will end and opportunist will run for dear life and freedom and democracy will be the rule.
We can no longer hide behind the ruling tyranny from doing what is proven to end tyranny and opportunism.
Note: The domain name of Wogagen Bank is registered by Infinite Dimensions Software Development PLC with local server it runs (Habisha.com) and IDSD also administer the Bank’s website. The domain was registered by Yemisraknesh Solomon. The same person is associated with additional 23 domain name, according to Webboar. The same outfit also administers the government owned Ethiopian Radio an Television Agency, according toNetwork Solution. The local server habisha.com run by IDSD is believed to be run by TPLF operatives in North America that administer many of the Ethiopian government’s Ministries and Agencies websites.   

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Ethiopia — Rape, Torture, Jail

Sunday, 28 July 2013

Ethiopia — Rape, Torture, Jail

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Africa: A Continent for Sale

Ethiopia — Rape, Torture, Jail

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Saudi Star’s 60-year, 10,000-ha lease came free of land rent. This cost incentive fueled the company’s planned acquisition of 500,000 ha of land in Gambella and other states to grow a projected one million tons of rice, as well as maize, teff, sugarcane and oilseed. Marred in conflict and human rights abuses after documented cases of arbitrary arrests, beatings, rape and torture, Saudi Star remains one of the most watched land deals. As locals tell of no prior consent about the land deal as well as of being forced off their land by the government, conflict has escalated and a shooting took place on the Saudi Star compound which left five Saudi Star employees dead in June 2012. In retaliation, the Ethiopian government has been indulging in arbitrary arrests, beatings, rape and torture. 

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Who is investing?

Indian firms, including Karuturi Globa and Ruchi Soya, among others, claim to have acquired over 600,000 ha of fertile land to grow edible oils, crops and cotton for export in Ethiopia, the fifth ‘hungriest’ nation in the world.

News coverage to date has emphasized the role of countries like China and Gulf States in the acceleration of land acquisitions in Africa. Our research showed that Indian firms are extremely active in countries like Ethiopia; it highlighted the major role of western firms, wealthy US and European individuals, and investment funds with ties to major banks such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

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Your land is my land

Those promoting land investments as the new development paradigm claim that their initiatives target unused and unproductive land while providing employment and growth opportunities to local populations. In Ethiopia, the current ‘villagization’ process, impacting nearly 1.5 million indigenous people, is taking place in the very same areas targeted for land investment by large-scale investors.
    Major African rivers — the Nile, Zambezi and Niger — are tapped by these land grabs. As an investor said, ‘Internally, we call our land fund — water fund’

Water and food — unlimited buffet

Foreign corporations are treating Africa’s water like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Many of the deals give developers free rein to take as much water as they want, dams and irrigation schemes are built, and groundwater is used with no analysis of the devastating impacts this will cause. As a result, local residents, especially women, have to travel much farther than before to find water, try to get into plantations to access their old water sources, or purchase it at inflated prices.

African rivers are lifelines for the people who depend on them for water and irrigation, but, now, major rivers are being drained so fast that they could be facing extinction. For example, the Niger river is decreasing by 10 per cent every decade and the problem is getting worse as more and more water-intensive agrofuel plantations emerge. In Ethiopia, the construction of a large dam on the Omo River and the irrigation of adjacent sugar plantations will result in Kenya’s Lake Turkana, the world’s largest desert lake, to drop by two metres in the first year, increasing salinity levels, adversely impacting fish stocksand invaluable grazing areas on the banks and condemning the lake to a not-so-slow death.

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The Oakland Institute research found little assurance that large-scale agricultural investments can improve food security, despite claims made by governments and investors. In many cases, local food farms are sold off in order to make room for export commodities, including biofuels and export crops.

read more.... http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2013/04/5880?page=show

House of Commons - Dr Wondimu Mekonnen

The Gravest Fears that Ethiopians Must Defeat Once and For All


July 28, 2013
by T.Goshu
“Fear can break the ice jam and open us up to feel such emotions as hope, relief, and gratitude.”
Harold Kushner, Conquering Fear, 2009
That is exactly what we are currently witnessing in our country after eight- years of fear and silence. Yes, the fear and silence imposed by the late mastermind of the ruling party, Ato Meles Zenawi was challenged by Semayawi Party on June 2nd, 2013. And the very peaceful and legitimate demonstrations in Gonder and Dessie organized by Andint (UDJ) on July 7th, 2013 are very clear evidences of how our real and legitimate fear is paving the way for “hope, relief and gratitude.” Yes, it is beyond any doubt that the ongoing preparations by various opposition political forces such as UDJ,Meles Zenawi was challenged by Semayawi Party on June 2nd, 2013 Semayawi, Medrek and all other genuinely concerned groups is to use the fear we fear as a great opportunity to prevent the gravely dangerous fear, the fear of getting the country’s survival at risk, and the fear of not continuing as a people who have lived together for thousands of years. Yes, we presently are witnessing the very encouraging movement of reawakening; the movement that is determined to deal with the fear we fear in an appropriate manner, not running away from the fear we fear. Are we late compared to the huge and serious problem that hit us hard for the last two decades? Yes, we have to admit that we are late. Was and is our pace of moving forward unacceptably slow? Absolutely yes! Now, the question is:  Have we learnt a great deal of lesson and decisively ready to move forward and make a difference, or  step back and continue suffering from the fear/terror imposed by the ruling circle? I hope the reawakening we are witnessing will move forward irreversibly until the political system we genuinely aspire is met!!
My intention is not either to talk about the fear that is part and parcel of our nature, or the fear we normally have to deal with any given situation we live in. The very purpose of this piece of writing of mine is to reflect the view that the fear we fear as part of our nature or otherwise should serve our legitimate cause; to fight the fear that is caused by a bunch of ruling elites who use fear as their political weapon.   It is this kind of fear that should be fought and defeated before it totally and dangerously enslaves us. There is no doubt that one of the most notorious means used by all dictatorial regimes is nothing, but reign of fear and terror.
That is exactly what the ruling circle of TPLF/EPRDF draws its notorious fear/terror card whenever it faces the challenge from the people who have come across the devastating experience for the last two decades. It goes without saying that the tyrannical ruling elites have told and keep telling the people that they (mindless ruling elites) have a well-crafted political agenda as well as plan to perpetuate their power by making the state machine much more brutal and deadly. That should be the gravest fear we really have to deal with.
Yes, there is no doubt that we as human beings are fearful of being intimidated, harassed, arrested/detained, tortured, convicted of  being anti-constitution and being punished based on fake and dramatized witnesses, sentenced to life-time/prolonged imprisonment, and being killed/executed because of our demand for political freedom, rule of law, human dignity and socio-economic justice. Yes, we as human beings are fearful of being starved, getting ill and no help, facing man-made or natural disaster, being victims of ignorance. What we have to fear most is not of symptoms; but the root cause of all the untold sufferings we are experiencing, the dirty and deadly political game.
Yes, the people of Ethiopia are fearful of that a bunch of politicians who want to stay in power and satisfy their wildly voracious self-interests at the very expense of their (people’s) lives. The seriousness of the fear and damage the ruling party (TPLF/EPRDF) did to Ethiopia as a country and her people for the last two decades is beyond the magnitude of acceptability.
Let us reiterate some of the gravest fears we have gone through and we continue going through:
  • The territorial integrity of the country has been and is being severely compromised. Think about what happened to her (Ethiopian) sea outlet, Asab. Adding salt to the severe injury , the Ethiopian people were both deceived and forced to pay a huge sacrifice (material, finance and lives) for the war that ended up with not only nothing but giving away part of their  territory (Badme and other large tract of lands ) . What was more disturbing was when the Ethiopian people were badly fooled, and told to get to the streets of Addis and dance with those ruling elites who had and still have no any sense of honesty.
  • I am sure all concerned Ethiopians remember what the late Ato Melses Zenawi responded to the question of the territorial integrity of our country bordering the Sudan. It was extremely outrageous to see and hear the late ato Meles Zenawi presenting himself as a negotiator of the Sudanese government to the extent of saying   that the Ethiopian people cannot claim the wide and long tract of land that belonged to the Sudanese. He defended the Sudanese government by referring the arbitrary boarder line proposed by a military officer (general) of the colonial power, the Great Britain.
  • We had to be extremely fearful when the late Ato Meles Zenawi responded to the question posed by the then MP of the opposition party about the number of Ethiopian daughters and sons (soldiers) killed in Somalia in the 2006 incursion. He unleashed his arrogance and contempt to the parliament by saying that he did not believe that he is obliged to be answerable to these kinds of questions from any MP. I do not think it would be a mere judgment to say that what Ato Meles wanted to tell us was that soldiers perished in Somalia belonged to his party , not to the people of Ethiopia. Was that not extremely scary and shocking, not simply fearful?
  • What happened to the Agnuwak ethnic group in the Gambella region with the full knowledge and order of the ruling party (led by Ato Meles) was a horrible politically motivated genocide. What was and is extremely disturbing to witness the ruling party’s effort to justify the genocide it committed. It is this and many other similar devastating political games we have to fear and decisively fight against.
  • How many innocent Oromos have become victims of a deadly political agenda and practice under the pretext of supporting the OLF? How many innocent Ethiopian Somalis have suffered and continue suffering under the pretext of supporting ONLF? How many innocent Ethiopians from various ethnic groups have gone through and continue going through an incredible level of misery for the simple reason they have tried to exercise their basic political freedom and human dignity? It is all these and so many other extremely fearful situations we need to deal with seriously.
  • How many innocent citizens who tried to express their concerns about getting their votes stolen by the ruling party in the 2005 election had been intimidated, harassed, and beaten up/tortured, jailed and killed? The people have been forced to live under a state-terror that was declared by the late Ato Meles Zenawi on the same day of the election. It is this kind of political madness that made the people to live under horrible fear for the last eight years. And that is why the current reawakening movements by genuinely concerned opposition political parties and human rights groups are signs of “hope, relief and gratitude” that emanated from a reasonable fear.
  • Think about the untold sufferings of thousands of innocent Ethiopians including journalists, opposition political party members and supporters, people who represent the people who cried out for religious freedom (particularly Muslim Ethiopians) in the hands of the suppressing machines of the ruling party. I do not know what else we have to fear if all these and other evil-driven political dramas do not make us worried and fearful.
  • Imagine how the inner ruling elites of TPLF/EPRDF who declare day and night that they are determined to continue the legacy of their late “great leader”,Ato Meles Zenawi do keep making a very dangerous political  madness. They wrote and made a very stupid film/drama of “Jihadi Harakat” on those members of the committee whose cases have been said to be court cases. Now, they are working hard to come up with another senseless and idiotic drama on the peaceful demand for religious freedom by Ethiopian Muslims that has already entered its second year. Is this not a very dangerous fear that has to be defeated with a well-coordinated and determined struggle? I strongly believe it has to be defeated!
  • Those brain- children of the late Ato Meles Zenawi have shown their determination of carrying on his legacy by forcing (horrible deportation) thousands of innocent Ethiopians from regions they lived for so many years as responsible citizens. What is deeply troubling about this very ugly and criminal step is evicting Ethiopians from their own country based on the language either they speak or they used to speak. Is this not a tragedy to the people who are truly pride of their country? Is this not a very dreadful fear that has to be dealt with a very powerful popular protest and civil disobediences? Absolutely it has to be tackled and defeated before it goes out of control!
  • The “great legacy” of the dirty political drama has now opened a new campaign against the very encouraging movement of reawakening since June 2nd 2013. Of course, the methods being applied in this nasty campaign are neither surprising nor unusual. The only thing that sounds different is the absence of the most notorious mastermind of those ugly games, and consequently the serious state of desperation of the ruling circle. It must be underlined that this state of madness of the ruling party is the most dangerous fear that we need to encounter and defeate it before it is too late.
  • The tyrannical ruling circle tries hard to fool the people with their cheap propaganda of “developmental state/government” as if their self- enrichment through their corrupt political game is good for the people whose life styles are becoming unbearably miserable day-out and day-in. Carne Ross ( The Leaderless Revolution –How Ordinary People Will Take Power and Change Politics in the 21st century,2011)  is absolutely right when he argues, “The issue of political rights segues into whether economic rights have any vitality in Africa South of the Sahara. The fundamental question raised, however, is whether the question of human rights is even a consideration in Africa. The answer is exceedingly disturbing.”
Let me sum up my point of view by saying that unless we move forward with a  well- thought, well- planned, well-coordinated,  and firm political action ; there is no doubt that we will be defeated by the fear we fear and there is a danger to be enslaved by the evil- driven political agenda of the ruling party. I am reasonably optimistic that we will fight and defeat the gravest fear before it is too late!



Thursday, July 25, 2013

Human Rights Groups: Donor Countries Fuel Abuse in Ethiopia

Human Rights Groups: Donor Countries Fuel Abuse in Ethiopia

LONDON — Two new reports published this month say sustainable development in Ethiopia is impossible without a specific focus on human rights. The reports say donor countries should bear responsibility for ensuring their aid money is not used to fuel abuse.

Ethiopia receives billions of dollars in international aid every year. It is money that is used to help improve basic services like access to health and education.
But human-rights campaigners say there also is widespread abuse that takes place in Africa’s second most populous country. And they say donors need to face up to what role their aid money might play in fueling that abuse.
Leslie Lefkow, the deputy director for Human Rights Watch’s Africa Division, said, “The Ethiopian government is resettling large numbers of pastoralists and semi-pastoralist communities in the name of better services. But often this resettlement process is accompanied by very serious abuses.”
Human rights groups say so-called “villagization” has been marred by violence, including rapes and beatings, and people are often forced to leave their homes against their will. They also say the new villages lack adequate food, farmland, healthcare and education facilities.
Lefkow said the World Bank is turning a blind eye. “In Ethiopia you have several years’ worth of rising concerns of human rights and yet you do not really see that being absorbed in the monitoring and in the practice of donors across the spectrum, so not just the World Bank,” she said.
The World Bank is the world’s top aid donor, with a $30 billion annual budget.
Right now the World Bank is undergoing a review of its safeguard policies, a process that began last year.
Human Rights Watch, a New York-based campaign group, says now is the time for it to commit to respecting and protecting human rights.
“Unlike some of the other international financial institutions, the European development bank and the African development bank, for example, is looking at reviewing some of its policies and explicitly committing to human rights, but the World Bank does not have that, even on paper.”
Another group, the U.S.-based Oakland Institute, published a report last week highlighting donor countries’ roles in alleged Ethiopian abuse.
It said Britain and the United States have ignored abuses taking place in the Omo Valley as the government forces tens of thousands of people from their land.
Executive Director Anuradha Mittal of the Oakland Institute, an independent policy think tank, says forced evictions are taking place in order to make way for commercial farming and a major new dam. She says money from donor countries supports the new projects.
“There is also support for infrastructure projects such as power lines and the rest, which are linked to the large dams that have been built, for instance, the dam in Lower Omo, which has been built to provide irrigation and electricity to the investors,” she said.
The Ethiopian government says sugar plantations in the region and the new dam, which will be Africa’s largest, are key to bringing energy and development to the country. VOA contacted the government for a reaction on the Oakland Institute report, but did not get a response.
Britain’s Department for International Development says its assistance in Ethiopia helps millions.
Source: VOA

Eskinder Nega’s Letter on The New York Times

Eskinder Nega’s Letter on The New York Times

July 24, 2013
The New York Times
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — I AM jailed, with around 200 other inmates, in a wide hall that looks like a warehouse. For all of us, there are only three toilets. Most of the inmates sleep on the floor, which has never been swept. About 1,000 prisoners share the small open space here at Kaliti Prison. One can guess our fate if a communicable disease breaks out.Journalism is Not Terrorism free Eskinder Nega
I was arrested in September 2011 and detained for nine months before I was found guilty in June 2012 under Ethiopia’s overly broad Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, which ostensibly covers the “planning, preparation, conspiracy, incitement and attempt” of terrorist acts. In reality, the law has been used as a pretext to detain journalists who criticize the government. Last July, I was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
I’ve never conspired to overthrow the government; all I did was report on the Arab Spring and suggest that something similar might happen in Ethiopia if the authoritarian regime didn’t reform. The state’s main evidence against me was a YouTube video of me, saying this at a public meeting. I also dared to question the government’s ludicrous claim that jailed journalists were terrorists.
Under the previous regime of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, I was detained. So was my wife, Serkalem Fasil. She gave birth to our son in prison in 2005. (She was released in 2007.) Our newspapers were shut down under laws that claim to fight terrorism but really just muzzle the press.
We need the United States to speak out. In the long march of history, at least two poles of attraction and antagonism have been the norm in world politics. Rarely has only one nation carried the burden of leadership. The unipolar world of the 21st century, dominated for the past two decades by the United States, is a historical anomaly. And given America’s role, it bears a responsibility to defend democracy and speak out against those nations that trample it.
I distinctly remember the vivacious optimism that inundated the United States when the Soviet Union imploded in the early 1990s. This was not glee generated by the doom of an implacable enemy, but thrill germinated by the real possibilities that the future held for freedom.
And nothing encapsulated the spirit of the times better than the idea of “no democracy, no aid.” Democracy would no longer be the esoteric virtue of Westerners but the ubiquitous expression of our common humanity.
But sadly America’s actions have fallen far short of its words. Suspending aid, as many diplomats are apt to point out, is no panacea for all the ills of the world. Nor are sanctions. But that’s a poor excuse for the cynicism that dominates conventional foreign policy. There is space for transformative vision in diplomacy.
Sanctions tipped the balance against apartheid in South Africa, minority rule in Zimbabwe, and military dictatorship in Myanmar. Sanctions also buttressed peaceful transitions in these countries. Without the hope of peaceful resolution embedded in the sanctions, a descent to violence would have been inevitable.
Now that large swaths of Africa have become safely democratic, ancient and fragile Ethiopia, where a precarious dictatorship holds sway, is dangerously out of sync with the times.
In May, America’s secretary of state, John Kerry, visited Ethiopia and lauded the country’s economic growth. His words showed how little attention he paid to reality. The State Department’s annual report on human-rights conditions has been critical of Ethiopia’s government since 2005. I’d like to think that report represents the real stance of America’s government, rather than Mr. Kerry’s praise for our authoritarian leaders.
Not much has changed since our last dictator, Mr. Meles, died last August. There have been no major policy changes. The draconian press and antiterrorism laws are still there. There has been no improvement when it comes to press freedom.
With a population fast approaching 100 million, Ethiopia, unlike Somalia, is simply too big to ignore or contain with America’s regional proxies.
As Ethiopia goes, so goes the whole Horn of Africa — a region where instability can have major security and humanitarian implications for the United States and Europe. Al Qaeda has a presence here, and hundreds of millions of aid dollars flow into the region while millions of emigrants flow out.
In other words, Ethiopia must not be allowed to implode. And it would be irresponsible for the world’s lone superpower to stand by and do nothing.
It is time for the United States to live up to its historical pledge by taking action against Ethiopia, whose reckless government has, since 2005, been the world’s star backslider on democracy.
I propose that the United States impose economic sanctions on Ethiopia (while continuing to extend humanitarian aid without precondition) and impose travel bans on Ethiopian officials implicated in human rights violations.
Tyranny is increasingly unsustainable in this post-cold-war era. It is doomed to failure. But it must be prodded to exit the stage with a whimper — not the bang that extremists long for.
I am confident that America will eventually do the right thing. After all, the new century is the age of democracy primarily because of the United States.
Here in the Ethiopian gulag, this alone is reason enough to pay homage to the land of the brave.
Eskinder Nega, an Ethiopian journalist and the recipient of the 2012 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, has been imprisoned since September 2011.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

ከአቤ ቶክቻው


የሽነጉ ምሁር አዲስ የትግል ስትራቴጄ ይፋ አደረጉ!

ከአቤ ቶክቻው

tradtional wedding dress
አስቲ በዚህ መልኩ እንናገር፤ ይህንን ዘገባ የገባው ያልገባው ያስረዳ ዘንድ አደራ ተጥሏል!
ተጀመረ፤
በሽሮሜዳ ውስጥ በርካታ ኢትዮጵያዊነታቸውን የሚንከባከቡ እና ከሌላው ኢትዮጵያዊ ጋር አብሮ መኖር የማንደራደርበት ነው የሚሉ የመኖራቸውን ያህል፤ የሽሮሜዳ ነጻነት ግንባር (ሽነግ) አባላት ደግሞ ሽሮሜዳ ራሷን የቻለች ሀገር ናት ኢትዮጵያዊነት በግድ የተጫነብን ነው ሲሉ ለበርካታ አመታት ሲታገሉ መኖራቸው ይታወቃል፡፡
ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ፤
በመላው ኢትዮጵያ ጥበበኞች መብታችን ተገፈፈ፣ መንግስት ከጥበባችን ላይ እጁን ያንሳ እያሉ ጥበብ የተሞላበት ተቃውሞ ሲያሰሙ በርካታ ጊዜ አስቆጠረዋል መንግስት ግን በጆሮው ላይ ባለበት ከባድ ህመም የተነሳ ለጊዜው ሳይሆን በቋሚነት ማንንም መስማት አልተቻለውምና ተቃውሞው መፍትሄ አላመጣም፡፡ ጥበበኞቹ ግን ነጋ ጠባ አቤቱታቸውን ከማሰማት አልደከሙም፡፡ በአሁኑ ሰዓት በመላው ኢትዮጵያ ያሉ ፖለቲከኞች እና የተለያዩ የህብረተሰብ ክፍሎችም ከኢትዮጵያ ጥበበኞች ጎን በመቆም በደሉ እንዲቆም አጥብቀው እየጠየቁ ይገኛሉ፡፡
ይሄ ግን ለሽነጉ ምሁድ ደስ አላሰኛቸውም፤ “በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ካለው ጥበበኛ መካከል ሰማኒያ በመቶው የሚኖረው ሽሮሜዳ ነው፡፡ ስለዚህ የጥበበኞች ትግል ከሽሮሜዳ ትግል ተነጥሎ መታየት የለበትም፡፡ በኮልፌም ይሁን በአስኮ የሚኖረው ጥበበኛ የሽነግን ትግል ያግዝ፡፡ ከዛ ነፃ ሽሮሜዳ እንድትኖረን ያድርግ ከዛ እኛ ሰፈር የሚኖር ጥበብ አልባ ሁላ ቀና ሲል በሜንጫ አንገቱን ብለን እንቆርጠዋለን፡፡”  ሲሉ ተናገረዋል፡፡
ንግግራቸውን የተከታተሉ ከተለያዩ የሀገሪቱ ክፍል የተሰባሰቡ ጥበበኞች የሽነጉን ምሁር በትዝብት አይን ሲመለከቷቸው የነበረ ቢሆንም አንድ የኮተቤ ጥበበኛ ግን ምሁሩን ደግፈው ይሄ ሲምፕል ካልኩሌሽን ነው የኢትዮጵያ ጥበበኞች ትግል እና የሽሮሜዳ ትግል ተለያይተው አይታዩም ብለዋል፡፡
የሆነው ሆኖ፤ የሽነግ ምሁር አዲስ ስትራቴጂ ነድፈው ይፋ አድርገዋል፡፡ ስልቱም በኢትዮጵያ ከሚኖረው ጥበበኛ የበዛው ሽሮሜዳ ስለሚኖር ከሽሮሜዳ የማይወለዱ ጥበበኞች በሙሉ ለጥበበኝነታቸው ከሚታገሉ ይልቅ ለሽሮሜዳ ነፃነት ይታገሉ ከዛ ሽሮሜዳ ነፃ ስትወጣ በመላው ኢትዮጵያ የሚገኝ ጥበበኛ ነፃ ይወጣል ብለዋል፡፡
ሽሮሜዳ ተሳክቶላት ከኢትዮጵያ ብትገነጠል በኮተቤ እና በአስኮ የሚገኝ ጥበበኛ ሽሮሜዳ ተዘዋውሮ እንዲኖር ይደረጋል ወይስ ጥበበኞች ያሉበት አካባቢ በሙሉ የሽሮሜዳ አካል ሆኖ በሽሮሜዳ መንግስት ይተዳደራል የሚለውን ጥያቄ ምሁሩም ደጋፊዎቻቸውም አልመለሱም፡፡
እደግመዋለሁ ይሄንን ዘገባ የገባው ላልገባው ያስረዳ!

Fingerprints of International Aid on Forced Relocation,

Fingerprints of International Aid on Forced Relocation, Repression, and Human Rights Abuse in Ethiopia

July 17, 2013

Press Release
Ignoring Abuse in Ethiopia: DFID and USAID in the Lower Omo Valley
OAKLAND, CA — Two new reports from the Oakland Institute, Development Aid to Ethiopia: Overlooking Violence, Marginalization, and Political Repression and Ignoring Abuse in Ethiopia: DFID and USAID in the Lower Omo Valley, show how Western development assistance is supporting forced evictions and massive violations of human rights in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian government’s controversial “villagization” resettlement program to clear vast areas for large-scale land investments is funded largely by international development organizations. The first report, Development Aid to Ethiopia, establishes direct links between development aid–an average $3.5 billion a year, equivalent to 50 to 60% of Ethiopia’s national budget–and industrial projects that violate the human rights of people in the way of their implementation.
The report also shows how indirect support in the form of funding for infrastructure, such as dams for irrigation and electricity for planned plantations, plays a role in repressing local communities by making the projects viable.
Ethiopia is one of the largest recipients of US development aid in Africa, receiving an average of $800 million annually–even though the US State Department is well aware of widespread repression and civil rights violations. A strategically located military partner seen as a leader in the “African Renaissance,” Ethiopia is gently described as having a “democratic deficit” by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Yet this phrase does not begin to describe or justify the kind of routine violence and coercion taking place on the ground and documented in the Oakland Institute’s new report, Ignoring Abuse in Ethiopia: DFID and USAID in the Lower Omo Valley.
The massive resettlement of 260,000 people of many different ethnic groups in the Lower Omo Valley has been fraught with controversy and has set off an alarm among international human rights groups. Information around forced evictions, beatings, killings, rapes, imprisonment, intimidation and political coercion, has been shared, and these tactics have been documented as tools used in the resettlement process.
In response to allegations, DFID and USAID launched a joint investigation in January of 2012. After completing their visit, they came to the puzzling conclusion that allegations of human rights abuses were “unsubstantiated.” The contents of this new report, which include first-person accounts via transcripts of interviews that took place during the aid investigations last year, overwhelmingly contradict that finding and question the integrity of the inquiry.
The interviews paint a very different story from what DFID and USAID reportedly saw and witnessed, and for the first time are made available to the public here.
“[The soldiers] went all over the place, and they took the wives of the Bodi and raped them, raped them, raped them, raped them. Then they came and they raped our wives, here,” said one Mursi man interviewed during the investigation. Another man added: “the Ethiopian government is saying they are going to collect us all and put us in a resettlement site in the forest. We are going to have to stay there. What are the cattle going to eat there? They are our cattle, which we live from. They are our ancestor’s cattle, which we live from. If we stay out there in the forest, what are they going to eat?”
It is worrisome that aid agencies rubber stamp development projects that are violating human rights. Worse, they have chosen to ignore the results of their own investigations.
“Bottom line, our research shows unequivocally that current violent and controversial forced resettlement programs of mostly minority groups in Ethiopia have US and UK aid fingerprints all over them,” said Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute. “It’s up to the officials involved to swiftly reexamine their role and determine how to better monitor funding if they are indeed not in favor of violence and repression as suitable relocation techniques for the development industry,” she continued.
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The Oakland Institute is an independent policy think tank working to increase public participation and promote fair debate on critical social, economic, and environmental issues. Starting 2011, the Institute has unveiled land investment deals in Africa that reveal a disturbing pattern of a lack of transparency, fairness, and accountability. The dynamic relationship between research, advocacy, and international media coverage has resulted in a string of successes and organizing in the US and abroad.