ከባዶ ጭንቅላት ባዶ እግር ይሻላል!!!

የባህርዳር እና አካባቢው ሕዝብ ከባዶ ጭንቅላት ባዶ እግር ሺህ ጊዜ እንደሚሻል አካሉን ብቻ ሳይሆን ህሊናውንም ለትግራዩ ነፃ አውጪ ህወሓት ባርነት ላስገዛው “የብሔረ አማራ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ንቅናቄ (ብአዴን)” እያለ እራሱን ለሚጠራው ድርጅት መሪዎች ተናገረ።

ባርነት ክፉ ነው። በባርነት ላይ የጭንቅላት ባዶነት ሲታከልበት ደግሞ አለምነው መኮንንን የመሰሉ የብአዴን መሪዎችን ይፈጥራል። የብአዴን መሪዎች ለጌታቸው ህወሓት ያላቸውን ታማኝነት ለማሳየት ራሳቸውን ማዋረዳቸው ሳያንስ እንወክለዋለን የሚሉትን ሕዝብ በጅምላ መስደባቸው ብአዴን እንደ ድርጅት የሚገኝበት የተዋረደ ደረጃ ያሳያል።

ህሊና ያለው ባርያ ዛሬ ነፃ ባይሆንም ወደፊት ነፃ የመውጣት ህልም አለው። ዛሬ በጉልበተኛ የባርያ አሳዳሪ ነፃነቱን ቢያጣም የህሊና ነፃነቱን ያላስደፈረ ባርያ ለነፃነት መታገሉ የማይቀር ነው። እንደ ብአዴን መሪዎች በታማኝ ባርያነቱ እየፈነጠዘ ያለ ባርያ ግን ነፃ ሰው የመሆን ህልሙንም ጭምር አጥቷል። እንዲህ ዓይነቱ ባርያ በአካልም፤ በመንፈስም ባሪያ ነው። ነፃ ሰው የመሆን እድል የለውም።

የአማራ ሕዝብ ብአዴንን የመሰለ አሳፋሪ ድርጅት በታሪኩ ገጥሞት አያውቅም። በፋሽስት ጣልያን ወረራ ጊዜ ለጠላት ያደሩ ባንዶች እንኳን ከዛሬዎቹ ብአዴኖች የተሻለ ክብር ነበራቸው። እነሱም ከዛሬዎቹም በተሻለ በጌቶቻቸው ጣሊያኖች ይሰሙ ነበር። በገዢዎቹ ለመወደድ የራሱን ሕዝብ የሚዘልፍ፣ የሚሰድብና የሚያዋርድ እንደ ብአዴን ያለ አዋራጅ ድርጅት በአማራ ምድር አልታየም።

ለዚህም ነው የባህርዳር እና አካባቢው ሕዝብ የብአዴንና የወያኔን አፈናዎችን በጣጥሶ የካቲት 16 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም. ቁጣውን በባዶ እግሩ አደባባይ በመውጣት የገለፀው። እግር ባዶ መሆኑ ጭንቅላት ባዶ የመሆኑ ያህል የሚያሳፍር አይደለም። ድህነት ወንጀል አይደለም። ነፃ አዕምሮና የሕዝብ ይሁንታ ያገኘ አስተዳደር ካለ ድህነትን ማሸነፍ ይቻላል።

ግንቦት 7: የፍትህ፣ የነፃነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ፣ ፈታኝ ሁኔታዎችን ተቋቁመው የየካቲት 16 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ምን ሕዝባዊ ተቃውሞ ላደራጁና በተቃውሞውም ለተካፈሉ ሁሉ ያለውን አክብሮት ይገልፃል። ሕዝብ ብሶቱን የሚገልጽበት ሕዝባዊ ተቃውሞ ማደራጀትና መምራት መቻል ትልቅ ነገር ነው። ሕዝባዊ ተቃውሞዎች ወደ ሕዝባዊ እምቢተኝነት የማደግ እድል አላቸው። ስለሆነም ግንቦት 7 ለባህርዳሩ ሕዝባዊ ተቃውሞ አደራጆችና ተሳታፉዎች “እንኳን ደስ ያላችሁ” በማለት የትግል አጋርነቱን መግለጽ ይሻል።

ግንቦት 7፣ ብአዴንን ከአባላቱ ለይቶ ማየት ይሻል። ከዚህም በተጨማሪ የብአዴንን ከፍተኛ አመራር ከሌላው ለይቶ ይመለከታል። ብአዴን ነፍሳቸውን ሳይቀር ለወያኔ በሸጡ ሰዎች የሚመራ፤ ነፃ የመውጣት ተስፋ የሌለው ራሱ ባርያ የሆነ ድርጅት ነው። አባላቱ ግን ከዚህ የተለዩ ሊሆኑ እንደሚችሉ ግንቦት 7 ያውቃል።

ግንቦት 7፡ የፍትህ፣ የነፃነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ ከዚህም በፊትም ደጋግሞ እንደገለጸው፤ በተለያዩ ጊዜያት ራሳቸውን ከወያኔ ባርነት ነፃ ለማውጣት በወሰዱት እርምጃ መስዋእትነት የከፈሉ የብአዴን አባላት መኖራቸውን ያውቃል። ግንቦት 7 ለእነዚህ ቆራጦች ትልቅ አክብሮት አለው። ዛሬም ህሊናቸውን ሙሉ በሙሉ ያልሸጡ የብአዴን አባላት አሉ ብሎ ያምናል። እነዚህ ወገኖቻችን ራሳቸውን ነፃ ለማውጣት የግል፣ የወገንና የአገር ግዴታ አለባቸው ብሎ ያምናል።

ስለሆነም ዛሬም ይህንን አጋጣሚ ተጠቅመን ጥሪዓችንን እናድሳለን።

የብአዴን አባላት ሆይ!!! የገዛ ራሳችሁን፣ የአማራን ሕዝብ እና ኢትዮጵያን እያዋረደ ካለው ብአዴን ተላቀቁ፤ አሊያም እውስጡ ሆናችሁ ድርጅቱን ግደሉት። የብአዴን መኖር ለወያኔ ካልሆነ በስተቀር ለማንም አይበጅም። ነፃነት ካለ ድህነትን በሥራ ማሸነፍ ይቻላል። ሰው ባርያ ሆኖ በሀብት ቢንበሸበሽ ምን ይፈይድለታል?

የብአዴን አባላት ሆይ!!! ወደ ህሊችሁ ተመለሱ። ራሳችሁንም የበደላችሁትን ሕዝብ የመካስ እድል አድል አላችሁ ተጠቀሙበት። ይህንን ባታደርጉ ግን ለገዛ ራሳችሁ ፀፀት፤ ለልጆቻችሁ ሀፍረትን የምታወርሱ መሆኑን አትዘንጉ። ወያኔ መሸነፉ በጭራሽ የማይቀር መሆኑን እያወቃቸው በድህረ ጣልያን ወረራ ባንዶች ያገኙትን ምህረት እናገኛለን ብላችሁ አታስቡ።

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ!!

የፈራ ይመለስ! ከጋዜጠኛ ተመስገን ደሳለኝ

በ2004 ዓ.ም የካቲት 23 ቀን በታተመችው ‹‹ፍትሕ›› ጋዜጣ ላይ፣ ‹‹የፈራ ይመለስ!›› በሚል ተመሳሳይ ርዕስ፣ ከሰላማዊ አብዮት ውጪ አማራጭ ካለመኖሩም ባለፈ፣ ኢህአዴግ ቢያንስ ሕገ-መንግስታዊ ጥበቃ ላላቸው ሕዝባዊ ጥያቄዎች ምላሽ የመስጠት አቅምም ፍላጎትም እንደሌለውለመሞገት ሞክሬ ነበር፡፡ ግና፣ አገዛዙ ለእንዲህ ያሉ ግዴታዎች የተዘጋጀ ባለመሆኑ ከማድመጥ-መዳ–መጥን፤ ከመመከር-መከራን፤ ከማሰብ-ቃሊቲ መሰብሰብን፤ ከመሻሻል-ከሀገር ማሸሽን፤ ከማመን-መርገጥን… በመምረጡ፤ ዛሬም ድረስ ነፃነት ናፋቂው ዘመነኛ ትውልድ፣ በፀጥታ አርምሞ ወደተዋጡት አደባባዮች ከማማተር ያለፈ አማራጭ እንዳያገኝ ገፊ-ምክንያት ሆኖ ቀጥሏል፡፡ ያንን ጽሑፉም ከዓመት ከስድስት ወር በላይ ፍርድ ቤት ከምመላለስባቸው ክሶች የአንዱ መወንጀያ አድርጎ በተከበረችዋ ፍትሕ እየተሳለቀባት ነው፡፡ በርግጥ ጉዳዩ ገና እልባት ያላገኘ በመሆኑ፣ በዚህ ተጠየቅ አናነሳውም፡፡
ያ ጽሑፍ የታተመባት ‹‹ፍትሕ›› ጋዜጣ የስርዓቱ ቅጥ ያጣ አፈና ሰለባ የመሆኗን ጉዳይ ግን ሁሌም ስናወሳው እንኖራለን፤ ምክንያቱም የ‹‹ቅድመ-ምርመራ›› (ሳንሱር) ግብአተ-መሬት በግላጭ በሕገ-መንግስቱ ሳይቀር ከታወጀ ሃያ ዓመት ባስቆጠረበት ኢህአዴጋዊ ዘመን የተፈፀመ ታላቅ መብት ረገጣ ነውና፤ ያውም ተራ የወሮበሎች ረገጣ መሆኑን ፍንትው አድርጎ የሚያሳይ፡፡ በመንግስታዊው ብርሃንና ሰላም ማተሚያ ቤት ለዚሁ ሕገ-ወጥ ተግባር አድፍጠው እንዲጠብቁ የተመደቡ ‹ግልገል› ካድሬዎች ጋዜጣዋ የምትታተምበትን ሐሙስ ቀንን በዝምታ አሳልፈው ነገር ግን ድንገት በዕለተ አርብ ማለዳ ‹‹ይህንን ዜና ማውጣት አትችሉም! ቆርጣችሁ አውጡ›› ማለታቸው ነው፤ ምን ዋጋ አለው ትዕዛዛቸው ተቀባይነት ባለማግኘቱ፣ በመቶ ሺህ የሚቆጠር ገንዘብ ውጪ የተደረገበትን፣ 30 ሺህ የጋዜጣዋ ህትመት እንዲቃጠል በፍርድ ቤቱ አማካኝነት በጭካኔ በየኑ፤ ‹‹ፍትሕ››ንም በሕገ-ወጥ መንገድ ዳግም እንዳትታተም አገዱ፤ ይህ ሁሉ ከሆነ እነሆ ሃያ ወራት ተቆጥሯል፡፡ ግና፣ የተከፈለው ሁሉ ስለነገ የተሻለች ኢትዮጵያ ሲባል ነውና ባለፈ ጉዳይ ማለቃቀሱን እዚሁ ገታ አድርገን፣ ኩነቱንም ከነጋዴነት ለተሻገሩ ታሪክ ጸሐፊዎች ትተን፣ በአዲስ መስመር ወደ አጀንዳችን እንለፍ፡፡

የፈራ ይመለስ!
አዎ፣ ይመለስ!! ፍርሃቱን ‹‹አሜን›› ብሎ ተቀብሎ ለመመለስ ከወሰነ በመረጠው የጭቆና ቀንበር እየተቀጠቀጠ ማደር መብቱ ነው፤ ግና፣ አንዳንድ ፈሪዎች፣ አንዳንድ መሀል ሰፋሪዎች በስመ ‹‹ጸሐፊነት›› ጥያቄውን በማጣጣል ለውጡን ለማራዘም (ለማደናቀፍ) የሚያደርጉት ሙከራ ከንቱ እንደሆነ በቅድሚያ ላስገነዝብ እወዳለሁ፡፡ ደግሞም እነኚህ የጭቆና ዘመን አራዛሚዎች እያገለገሉት ያለው ስርዓት የሚያከፋፍለው ብሔራዊ ዳቦ እየተመናመነ መምጣቱን፣ ገዥዎቹ ራሳቸው የፓርቲያቸው ችግር (7 ሚሊዮን የሚደርሱ ካድሬዎችን ከማግበስበሱ አኳያ) ‹‹የጥቅመኞች መብዛት›› እንደሆነ በይፋ አምነው ከተቀበሉት ጋር ስንገምደው የነገ ቀናቸው ‹‹ከኢህአዴግ ጋር ብሩህ›› እንዳልሆነ እግረ መንገዴንም ልጠቁማቸው እፈልጋለሁ፡፡ በአንፃሩ እነዚያ ሀገሪቷን እያሰመጠ ያለውን የመከራ ረግረግ ተረድተው አብዮቱን ተስፋ ያደረጉ ጎበዛዝት እና ወይዛዝርት ደግሞ ይበልጥ እንዲነቁ፣ ይበልጥ እንዲበረቱ… የጊዜውን መቃረብ ላስታውሳቸው እወዳለሁ፡፡ ምክንያቱም በቁጣ አደባባይ ለመውጣት እንቅፋት የሆነው ብሔራዊ ፍርሃት ይሰበር ዘንድ ለመስበክ፣ የዛሬይቱ ኢትዮጵያ በነፃነቷ ትበጽህ ዘንድ ካስረገጠው ከዚህ መቶ አስራ ስምንተኛው የዐድዋ ድል ዋዜማ የበለጠ ምቹ ጊዜ የለምና (ይህ ድል በነፃነት የሚያምን የሰው ልጅ ሁሉ፣ ያለቀለም ልዩነት ሊዘክረው የሚገባ ስለመሆኑ ለእነርሱም ጭምር መመስክር ግዴታ ይመስለኛል)
እንዲህ በጽሑፍ ሲገለፅ በእጅጉ የሚቀለው የዐድዋ ገድል፣ እልፍ አእላፍ የሀገሬ ሰዎች መተኪያ አልባ ህይወታቸውን የገበሩበት በመሆኑ፣ በየዓመቱ ደግመን ደጋግመን የመዘከርና አደራውን የመቀበል ታሪካዊ ግዴታ ውስጥ ጥሎን ማለፉ እውነት ነው፡፡ ‹‹የተሰጠኝ ህይወት ዛሬ በነፃነት፣ ሰው ተከፍሎበታል ከደምና ከአጥንት›› እንድትል እጅጋየሁ ሽባባው (ጂጂ)፤ እኒያ ሰማዕታት ከዳር እስከዳር ነቅለው ‹‹…ሀገር የሞተ እንደሁ ወዴት ይደረሳል?›› በሚል መታመን ተቀስቅሰው፣ ባሕር አቋርጦ፣ አድማስ ተሻግሮ የመጣውን ወራሪ ሀፍረት አልብሰው፣ ሀፍረት አስታጥቀው፣ ሀፍረት አጉርሰው… የመመለሳቸው ብርታት ባለዕዳዎች መሆናችንን ዘመን ሊሽረው አይችልም፡፡ ያ ጣፋጭ ድል ኢትዮጵያችንን በዓለም ፊት ‹ነፃ ሀገር› የተሰኘ የታሪክ ሜዳሊያ አጥልቃ ትኮራ ዘንድ ካባ ማጎናፀፉም ዓመታዊ ዝክሩ መቼም ቢሆን በቸልታ እንዳይታለፍ አድርጎታል፡፡ እናም እነዛን ባለውለታዎች ከታላቅ የክብር ሰላምታ ጋር እንዲህ ስል ላወድሳቸው እገደዳለሁ፡-

ዘላለማዊ ክብር ለዐድዋ ጀግኖች!!!
የፈራ ይመለስ!
እንግዲህ ጀግኖች አባቶቻችን በዚህ መልኩ ላለፉት ሶስት ሺህ ዘመናት ለነፃነታችን ሲዋደቁ ኖረዋል፡፡ በውጤቱም ነፃ ሀገር አስረክበውናል፡፡ ይሁንና ዛሬም እኛ ዘመነኛ ትውልድ ‹‹ነፃነት›› እያለን የምንጮኽለት ይህ ክቡር ጉዳይ ገና ምላሽ ላገኘም፡፡ በርግጥ ጥያቄው ከባዕድ ወረራና ተወራሪ ጋር የሚጋመድ አይደለም፤ ከሀገር ልጆች ጭቆና እንጂ፡፡ እንዲህ ‹ነፃነታችንን!› እያልን የምንጮኽለት መንፈስም፣ ወራሪውን ጣሊያን ያሸነፉ ቀዳሚ አባቶች ያላቆዩልን፣ ግን ደግሞ በጥያቄው ስም ጥተው፣ መልሰው መንፈሱን የጨፈለቁት ገዥዎቻችን የነጠቁንን መብት የሚወክል ነው፡፡ በአናቱም የትግሉ መንገድ በቅኝ ግዛት ለማሳደር በቀቢፀ-ተስፋ ተሞልቶ ወሰን የተጋፋው ጣሊያን ተሸንፎ ከተባረረበት ጋር ዝምድና የሌለው መሆኑን መረዳት ያሻል፡፡ ምክንያቱም ዘመነኛው የነፃነት ጥያቄ፣ እንደ ዐድዋው መድፍ አጓርቶ፤ መትረየስ የሳት-ላንቃውን ከፍቶ ሞት እየረጨ ሊፈታው አይችልምና ነው፡፡ ይህ አይነቱ የፋኖ መንገድ አንድም ጊዜው ያለፈበት ሲሆን፤ ሁለትም ህወሓት-ኢህአዴግን ለአራት ኪሎው ቤተ-መንግስት ቢያበቃውም፣ የታየው ለውጥ መለዮ ለባሽ ወታደርን፣ ገና ዝላዩን ባልጨረሰ የተማሪ አምባገነን ከመተካት አለመዝለሉ የአደባባይ ምስጢር ነው፡፡
ስለሆነም ዛሬ ጭቆናን የማሸነፊያ ብቸኛ መንገድ የፍርሃት ሰንሰለትን ሰባብሮ፣ በጨቋኞች ፍቃድ ለቆመው ስርዓትም ሆነ በድምፀ-አልባ ተወካዮቹ አጃቢነት ለፀደቁት ሕግጋት አለመታዘዝ ላይ የተመሰረተ ብቻ ነው፡፡ በእምቢተኝነት ደም-አልባ ሰላማዊ አመፅ የገዥዎችን ሰፈር ማራድ፤ እኩይ አላማዎቻቸውን የሚያስፈፅሙ ተቋማትን ጥርስ አልባ ማድረግ፤ አደባባዮችን በሰው ጎርፍ ማጥለቅለቅ፤ የትኛውንም አይነት ተቋማዊ ትብብርን መንፈግ፤ ኤፈርትና መሰሎቹን የንግድ ድርጅቶቻቸውን ማግለል፤ ሁሉም ፖለቲካዊ ፍላጎቶቻችን በኢትዮጵያዊ ዜግነት ስር እንደሚፈቱ ከልብ በማመን-ነገን ማለም፤ ለጥያቄው እስኪንበረከኩ ድረስ በሰላማዊው ተቃውሞ ፀንቶ መቆምንና መሰል ስልቶችን መተግበር ብቸኛ አማራጭ ነው፡፡ ይህ ይፈፀም ዘንድም በራስ ጉያ ፀለምት ለብሶ የተሸሸገ ፍርሃትን የተሻገሩ ጎበዛዝትና ወይዛዝርት ሊፈተኑበት፤ ከሽፈው የቀሩት ደግሞ ጥያቄውን በማጥላላትም ሆነ የተራራ ያህል በማግዘፍ ፍርሃትን አንብረው የአገዛዙን ዕድሜ ለማራዘም ደፋ-ቀና ከማለት ይታቀቡ ዘንድ የሚገደዱበት ዕለት ከደጅ መድረሱን ለመተንበይ ነብይ መሆንን አይጠይቅም፤ አይኖች-ያያሉ፤ ጆሮዎችም- ይሰማሉና፡፡
ግና፣ ይቺም ኑሮ ሆና እንዲህ የትውልድ ተጋሪዬ ጭሮ ግሮ ለማደር (አነስተኛና ጥቃቅንን ልብ ይሏል) በፖለቲካ አቋም እና በዘውግ ማንነት ተፈትኖ ማለፍ ግድ በሆነበት የሀገሬ ምድር፣ እውነት መመስከርን ስለምን በጀብደኝነት አንድምታ ታቃልለዋለህ? የተጠናወተህን ገደብ አልባ ፍርሃት፣ ለውጥ የሚጠይቁ ድምፆችን በማጣጣል ለመሸፋፈን መዳከር የት ያደርስሀል? የወላዋይ ብዕርህን ‹‹የለሁበትም!!›› ቅኔ ለበስ አቤቱታ እና ‹እውነት ለመናገር ጊዜና ቦታ አለው› የሚል ፍርሃታዊ ማምለጫህንስ ስለምን ለታናናሾችህ ለመጋት ትደክማለህ? በአገዛዙ መዝገበ-ቃላት ‹‹ፅንፈኛ፣ ጀብደኛ…›› ብለህ ማምታታትስ ባለፈ ዘመን ላይ መከተር አይደለምን? እውነት እውነት እልሀለሁም፡- በሰላማዊ መንገድ የስርዓት ለውጥን መጠየቅ፣ በ‹አትነሳም ወይ!› የሀገር ባለቤትነት ከፍታ ለአደባባይ ተቃውሞ ዘመነኞችን በእሪታ መጣራት፣ በየትኛውም የታሪክ ስፍር ጀብደኝነት ሆኖ አያውቅም፤ ለሕሊና መታመን እንጂ፡፡
በግልባጩ ነፃነትን ያህል ውድ ነገር የሚጠይቀውን ክቡድ መንፈስ ለማራከስ መሽቀዳደም፣ በንፁሀን ደም ከተጨማለቀው ጨቋኝ ገዥ የታማኝ ባለሟልነትን ማዕረግ ለማግኘት መባተል፣ ከዘመን መንፈስ ቀልባሽነት፣ በሞቀበት ከሚዘፍን ሆድ- አዳሪነት… ከቶስ ቢሆን በምን ይለያል? እመነኝ ‹ከአንድ እጅ ጣት በላይ የሚቆጠሩ ሀገራዊ የለውጥ ዕድሎች ስለምን ባከኑ ?› ብለህ ብታንሰላስል፤ ተጠያቂው የአገዛዙ አፈ-ሙዝ ብቻ አለመሆኑ ይገባሀል፤ ይልቁንም ሕዝብን በ‹ጎልያድ›፣ መንግስትን በ‹ዳዊት› መስለው የሚሰብኩ ሃሳዊያን ጻሐፍት ያነበሩት ታላቅ ፍርሃትም ድርሻ እንዳለው ትረዳለህና፡፡ ግና፣ ይህ ሁሉ ሆኖም አንድ ነገር እውነት ነው፤ ከገዘፈ የአመድ ተራራ ስር ፍንጥርጣሪ የጋሉ ፍሞችን የሚያገላብጥ ትውልድ እየመጣ ነው፡፡ ያን ጊዜም አንተን ዘንግቶ የትውልዱ መንፈስ ወካዮችን ብራና ላይ በክብር ይከትባል፡፡ ለነገሩ ቢዘገይም ታሪክ ከእውነት እንጂ ከፍርሃት ውል ኖሯት አያውቅም፡፡
የፈራ ይመለስ!

ጥቂት ጉልበታሞች ለሚንደላቀ ጥቂት ጉልበታሞች ለሚንደላቀቁበት፣ ዘጠና ሚሊዮን ሕዝብ ለምን ይሰቃያል? ጭቆናን በዚህ ደረጃ ታግሶ መሸከምስ ከግዑዝነት በምን ይለያል? የወፍን ያህል የራስ ጎጆ መመኘት እንኳ እንደ ህብስተ መና በራቀበት ምድር፣ ግብር-ነጠቃን ባስከነዳበት ሀገር፣ ዜጎች በምርኮኛ ሕግ ተቀፍድደው ውለው በሚያድሩበት ክልል፣ መማር ድንጋይ ከመፍለጥ በማያሻግርበት ዘመን፣ የመኖርና ያለመኖር ግድግዳ ተደርምሶ ሁሉም ነገር ትርጉም የለሽ በሆነባት፣ ፍዘት፣ ቁዘማ ባረበበባት ኢትዮጵያ… ዝምታ ስንት ዘመን ይፈጃል? ኢህአዴግ እንዲህ በክፋት ጎዳና እየተመላለሰ፣ በጭካኔ በትር እያስገበረ፣ ፍትሕን የ‹አመፃ ድምፅ ማፈኛ›› አርጩሜ አድርጎ እያሴሰናት… ከሁለት አስርት በላይ ተደላድሎ እንዲቀመጥ ያደረገው የቀደሙት ትውልዶች ርግማን አይምሰልህ፤ አገር-ለበስ ፍርሃት እና ቸልተኝነት እንጂ፡፡ በአናቱም ስደት የስርዓቱ ማስተንፈሻ እንጂ የለውጥ ኃይል ሆኖ አያውቅምና ሲገፉህ- አትንደርደር፤ ሲያስሩህ-አትሸበር፤ ሲከሱህ-አትደንብር፤ ሲወነጅሉህ-አትሸማቀቅ፤ ሲያስፈራሩህ-አትደንግጥ፣ ሲያባራሩህ- አትሩጥ… ምክንያቱም ፍርሃትን የመስበሪያ ፅኑ አለት ይህ ብቻ ነውና፡፡ በተቀረ እነርሱ የሚለፍፉለት ‹‹ምርጫ›› ከአንድም አራቴ ሲያፋፍሩበት በመታየቱ ካለፈው ለውጥ ይኖረዋል ብለህ አትሞኝ፤ ከዚህ በኋላ ለውጥ ሊያመጣ የሚችለው ሰላማዊ እምቢተኝነት አንጂ፣ አባዱላ ገመዳን ተሸክሞት እስከመሮጥ ያደረሰው ያ የይስሙላ ኮሮጆ አይደለም፡፡ የኢኮኖሚ ዕድገትም ብቻውን የፖለቲካ ለውጥ አያመጣም፡፡ ዳሩ፣ ሲጀመርስ ዕድገቱ የት አለና?! ኢህአዴግ በነቢብ ‹መካከለኛ ገቢ ካላቸው ሀገራት ተርታ ለማሰለፍ አፋፍ ደርሻለሁ› በሚል ፕሮፓጋንዳ ቢያሰለቸንም፤ በገቢር አዳዲስ ምሬቶችን እያቆረ ስለመሆኑ በርካታ ማሳያዎችን መጥቀስ ይቻላል፡፡ ‹‹አደህይቶ ማዳከም!›› እንዲሉ ፕሮፌሰር መስፍን፣ ድህነትን የሚፈለፍሉ ኩሬዎችን በየመንደሩ ከመቆፈር ቸል ብሎ አያውቅም፡፡ ይሁንና የፍትህ መዛባት፣ ስራ-አጥነት፣ የመኖሪያ ቤት ችግር፣ መቆጣጠር የተሳነው የዋጋ ግሽበት፣ ማቆሚያ ያጣው የነዳጅ ዋጋ ጭማሪ፣ ባልተጠና እቅድ ተቆፋፍረው ከአገልግሎት ውጪ የሆኑ መንገዶች፣ አመቺ የስራ ቦታን በድርጅት የድጋፍና ተቃውሞ ሚዛን ማከፋፈል፣ አድሎአዊ አሰራር…
ብሶት የሚወልዳቸውን ነፃነት አብሳሪ አናብስት ጋላቢ ጀግኖችን ማበራከቱ አይቀሬ ነው፡፡ በአንድ ወቅት ዶ/ር መረራ ጉዲና ‹‹የራበው ሕዝብ መሪዎቹን ይበላል›› የሚል ቅድመ-ትንቢያ ቢነግረንም፣ ሰሞኑን የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ አውሮፕላንን ጠልፎ ከመድረሻው ውጪ ያሳረፈው የኃይለመድህን አበራ ክስተት ደግሞ በአንፃሩ ርሃብን ያሸነፈው የማህበረሰብ ክፍልም ሰዋዊ ነፃነቱን ለማስረገጥ ሲል መሪዎችን ሊባላ እንደሚችል የሚያመላክት ነው፡፡ ይህ ሰው ማህበራዊ አክብሮትን በሚያጎናፅፍ ሙያ የተሰማራ ከመሆኑም በላይ፣ በኢትዮጵያ የሲቪል ሰርቪስ እርከን እጅግ ከፍተኛ ሊባል የሚችል ደሞዝ ተከፋይ ነው፡፡ ከዚህ አኳያም በአስከፊ ደረጃ የተንሰራፋውን የኑሮ ውድነት ለመቋቋም ብዙም እንደማይቸገር በድፍረት መናገር ይቻላል፡፡ ሀገር ቤት መኖር ካልፈለገም፣ ወደበለፀጉት ሀገራት ተሻግሮ ስራ ማግኘት እንደማይሳነው ያውቃል ተብሎ ይታሰባል፡፡ ግና፣ ይህ ሁሉ እውነት ቢሆንም የመረጠው መንገድ በራስ ላይ ቀድሞ ሊገመት
የማይችል አደጋ የሚጋብዝን ነው፡፡ እንግዲህ ከእነዚህ ተጨባጭ እውነቶች ተነስተን (እርሱ ራሱ ድርጊቱን የፈፀመበት ምክንያት ለስዊዘርላንድ ፍርድ ቤት እስኪናገር መጠበቁን ታሳቢ አድርገን) መላ-ምቶችን ማስቀመጥ እንችላለን ብዬ አስባለሁ፡፡ ለድርጊቱ በዋናነት መግፍኤ ተደርጎ ሊወሰድ የሚችለው አየር መንገዱ የገባበት ችግር ነው፤ ምክንያቱም ድርጅቱ በሂደት ህልፈቱን ወደሚያውጅበት መስቀል (ችንካር) እንዲያዘግም ገፊ ከሆኑ ጉዳዮች አስተዳደራዊ በደል የአንበሳውን ድርሻ ይይዛልና፡፡ አገዛዙ አንዳንድ የድርጅቱን ሰራተኞች በመዓት አይኑ ወደሚመመለከትበት ጠርዝ ያደረሰው ከዚህ ቀደም ‹በአውሮፕላኖቹ ላይ ባለኮከቡን ባንዲራ አትማለሁ› በሚል የፈጠረው አንጃ-ግራንጃ፣ በተወሰኑ ነባርና በጣም ወሳኝ ሰራተኞች ፊት-አውራሪነት በተቀሰቀሰ ተቃውሞ የተስተጓጎለበት ደረቅ እውነታ አንዱ ተደርጎ ይጠቀሳል፤ ሌላው ደግሞ ጠንካራና በሚገባ የተደራጃ የነበረውን የሰራተኛ ማህበር ለመቆጣጠር ያደረገውን ሙከራ ተከትሎ የገጠመው ተግዳሮት ነው (ዛሬ ማህበሩን ማስገበር መቻሉ ሳይዘነጋ)፡፡ እንዲህ አይነት ሕገ-መንግስታዊ ድፍረቶችን የስርዓቱ ኤጲስ-ቆጶሳት በቸልታ የሚያልፏቸው ባለመሆኑ፣ የተወሰዱት የማባረርና ከቦታ ዝቅ የማድረግ ፖለቲካዊ እርምጃዎች አየር መንገዱ ዛሬ ለደረሰበት ውድቀት መንገድ ከመጥረጉም በላይ፣ ተማራሪ ሰራተኞች እንዲበዙ አድርጓል፡፡ በአመክንዮ ድርጅቱ ከባለሙያ እጥረት (አቅም ማነስ) ጋር ብቻ ተያይዞ እየደረሰበት ያለውን ችግር ለመረዳት በስምንት ወር ውስጥ ብቻ ያጋጠመውን አራት ትላልቅ አደጋዎች ልጥቀስ፡- ካርጎ (Cargo MD-11F) አውሮፕላን ልምድ ያላቸው ኦፕሬተሮች በመባረራቸው፣ አዳዲሶቹ አበባ ለመጫን ሲሞክሩ በቆመበት ቦታ በቂጡ ወድቆ ጉዳት ደርሶበታል፤ ቦይንግ 767 (Boing 767) ከሞተር ጋር በተያያዘ ችግር ሮም ላይ ተገዶ አርፏል (በኋላ በተደረገለት ምርመራም ጥቂት ደቂቃዎች በአየር ላይ ቢቆይ ኖሮ ሊጋይ ይችል እንደነበረ ታውቋል)፤ ፎከር (Foker) አውሮፕላን ሞተሩ ተቃጥሎ ካርቱም ላይ አርፏል (ይህም ጥቂት ደቂቃ ቢዘገይ ኖሮ ተመሳሳይ አደጋ ይደርስበት እንደነበር ተነግሯል)፤ ቦይንግ 767-383 ኢ.አር (Boing 767-383 ER) ታንዛኒያ ውስጥ ማረፍ የነበረበትን ቦታ ስቶ፣ ትናንሽ አውሮፕላኖች የሚያርፉበት አሩሻ አየር ማረፊያ ለማረፍ ባደረገው ሙከራ በርካታ ኪሎ ሜትሮችን ተጉዞ ትልቅ የእርሻ ማሳ ውስጥ ሊቀረቀር ችሏል፡፡ እነዚህና መሰል ችግሮች ከኃይለመድህን አበራ እርምጃ ጋር ሲደማመሩ አየር መንገዱ ያለበትን ወቅታዊ ሁኔታ ለመረዳት ያስችላሉ፡፡
በአናቱም የጄኔቫው ክስተት የመሪዎቻችንን ውሸታምነት ከመቼውም በላይ የከፋ ደረጃ መድረሱን አሳይቶ አልፏል፡፡ ይኸውም የኮሙኒኬሽን ጉዳዮች ጽ/ቤትን በሚኒስትር ማዕረግ የሚመራው አቶ ሬድዋን ሁሴን፣ ጠለፋው በተሰማበት ሰዓታት ውስጥ ለሮይተር በሰጠው ቃለ-መጠይቅ ‹‹ድርጊቱን የፈፀሙት ካርቱም ላይ የተሳፈሩ አሸባሪዎች ናቸው›› ከማለቱ ጋር ይያዛል፡፡ ይህ ንግግር እንደቀላል ስህተት መታየት ያለበት አይመስለኝም፡፡ ምክንያቱም መንግስት በሀሰት ንፁሀንን ለማሰር ሲያሴር የሚሰጠው ሰበብ እንዲህ አይነት ፈጠራ መሆኑን ያስረግጥልናልና (ይህንን ጽሑፍ እያዘጋጀሁ ሳለሁ እንኳ በኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቭዥን የሰማሁት ዜና ሀገር ውስጥ ያሉ የተወሰኑ የግል ሚዲያዎችን ሁለት ኢምባሲዎች እንደሚያሽከረክሯቸው የሚወነጅል መሆኑ ተጨማሪ ማሳያ ይመስለኛል)፡፡ በርግጥ ስርዓቱ በከረባት ታንቀው የሀሰት ወሬዎችን ሚዲያ ፊት ቀርበው የሚያወሩ ደፋር ሚኒስትሮችን በብዛት መሰብሰቡ እውነት ቢሆንም፣ ከሬደዋን ሁሴን በፊት አቶ በረከት ስምኦን እንዲህ አይነት እጅና እግር የሌላቸውን ነጭ ውሸቶች ራሱ ከመጋፈጥ ይልቅ ብዙ ጊዜ በምክትሉ አቶ ሽመልስ ከማል በኩል ያስነግር እንደነበር ይታወሳል፡፡ ይሁንና በረከት ቦታውን ለሬድዋን ካስተላለፈ በኋላ በሬድዋንና ሽመልስ መካከል ያለው የፖለቲካ ጉልበት ያን ያህል የሚበላለጥ ባለመሆኑ፣ እንደቀድሞ ሁሉ ሬድዋን፣ በምክትሉ ለመጠቀም አስቸጋሪ እንደሆነበት ሰምቻለሁ (በነገራችን ላይ የአቶ ኃይለማሪያም ደሳለኝም ‹አለቃ እኔ ነኝ› የሚለው የሰሞኑ መከራከሪያ፣ እነበረከት-ደብረፅዮንን ከጣራ በላይ ሳያስቃቸው የሚቀር አይመስለኝም)
የሆነው ሆኖ ከላይ የተጠቀሱት ክስተቶች ከፍተኛ ደሞዝ የሚከፍል ድርጅት ሰራተኞችንም ያሳተፈ መሆኑን፤ በአምስት መቶ ብር አምስት ቤተሰብ ለማስተዳደር ከሚባትለው ኢትዮጵያዊ ጋር ካጋመድነው ሀገሪቱ ያለችበትን የፖለቲካ ክስረት፣ የኑሮ ውድነት ያነበረው ምሬት፣. አድሎአዊ አስተዳደር፣ መንግስታዊ ሙስና የደረሰበት አስከፊ ገፅታ፣ ተጠያቂነት ያሌለባቸው የፀጥታ ሰራተኞች የሚፈፅሙት ሕገ-ወጥ ተግባር፣ የአጠቃላይ መብት ጭፍለቃ… ተደማምረው መነሻና መድረሻው የታወቀውን የለውጥ ንቅናቄ መቀላቀልን ብቸኛ አማራጭ ያደርገዋል ብዬ አስባለሁ፡፡
የፈራ ይመለስ!
የስርዓቱ ልዝብ ተቃዋሚዎች ቀጣይ የሀገሪቱ ዕድል አብዮት ስለመሆኑ በተነሳ ቁጥር በግርድፍ ትንታኔ ሊነግሩን የሚሞክሩት ‹ኢትዮጵያ በ40 ዓመት ውስጥ ሶስት አብዮት ማስተናገድ አትችልም› የሚል ነው፡፡ ይሁንና ሙግታቸው ሁለት ግድፈቶችን ያዘለ ይመስለኛል፡፡ የመጀመሪያው የብሉይ አብዮትን መሰረታዊ ባህሪ ካለመረዳት ይነሳል፤ ዛሬም ድረስ የ66ቱን አብዮት አስመልክቶ የሚነሳው ተዋስኦ፣ ክስተቱ ብሉይ ማህበራዊ አብዮቶች ከሚባሉት መካከል እንደሚያስመድበው የሚያስረግጥ ነው፡፡ ይህ ስሌትም ብሉይ አብዮቶች ራሳቸውን በተለያዩ የዘመን ወቅቶች የመደጋገም ተጨባጭ ባህሪ እንዳላቸው ያመላክታል፡፡ እናም የሙግቱ ጥራዝ ነጠቅ አቀንቃኞች በዚህ ማዕቀፍ ውስጥ ከሚመደቡት መካከል ሩሲያና ፈረንሳይ በሁለትና ሶስት አብዮቶች ከመናጣቸው አኳያ ‹ኢትዮጵያንስ ምን ያህል የተለየች ሊያደርጋት ይችላል?› ለሚለው ጥያቄ በቂ መልስ የሚኖራቸው አይመስለኝም፡፡ በ66ቱ ከተነሱት ሁለት ዋነኛ (የመሬትና የብሔር) ጥያቄዎች፣ በ83ቱ ማህበረ- ፖለቲካዊ ሽግግርም ተነስተው አለመመለሳቸውን፣ ያሳለፍናቸው ሃያ ሁለት ዓመታት በበቂ ሁኔታ አስረጅ ናቸው፡፡ ይህ እውነታም ነው ሀገሬ ሶስተኛውን አብዮት ከማስተናገድ ውጪ የተሻለ ምርጫ እንዳይኖራት ያስገደደው፡፡
ሁለተኛው ጭብጥ በኢህአዴግ ስር ያዘገመችው ኢትዮጵያ ለአብዮት መነቃቃት የሚያበቁ ስርዓታዊ ክሽፈቶች መኖራቸውን ክዶ ከማለፍ ጋር የሚያያዝ ይሆናል፡፡ ለከተማ አብዮት መፈንዳት ወሳኝ ሆነው ከሚጠቀሱ ጭብጦች ብዙዎቹን የእኛይቷም ምድር እንደምታሟላ ከዚህ በፊትም ለማስታወስ ሞክሬያለሁ፡፡ በተለይም ሥራ-አጥ የተማሩ ከተሜ ወጣቶች አለቅጥ መብዛት እና ወጣቶች ከአጠቃላዩ ሕዝብ ወደ 37% የሚጠጉ መሆናቸውን ከአረቡ ፀደይ መንፈስ አኳያ ስንቃኘው አብዮቱን አይቀሬ ያደርገዋል፡፡ በአናቱም የሁለቱ ኃይማኖት ተከታዮች በመንግስት ላይ የያዙት የቅራኔ ልክ፣ የተቋጠረ የምሬት ፅንስ ስለመኖሩ በድፍረት ለመናገር ያስችላል፡፡ ለሁለት ዓመታት የዘለቀው የሙስሊሙ ጥያቄም፣ ከቅርብ ጊዜ ወዲህ የለዘበ ቢመስልም በሂደት እንደገና መቀስቀሱ አይቀሬ ነው፡፡ ምክንያቱም የእምነቱ ተከታዮች መሰረታዊ ጥያቄ የኃይማኖቱን ሙሉ ነፃነት መከወን ከመሆኑ ላይ ተነስተን፣ የተሰጠው መልስ መዋቅራዊ እንደነበረ ካስተዋልን ‹‹እንቅስቃሴው መለዘብ አለበት›› ያሉ ልሂቃንም ሳይቀሩ የነፃነቱ ጥያቄ በድጋሚ ተነስቶ መጅሊሱን እንዲነቀንቅ መፈለጋቸውን አምነን እንድንቀበል ያስገድደናል፡፡
ሌላው ጉዳይ የኦርቶዶክስ ኃይማኖት ተከታዮች ጉርምርምታ እና ማህበረ ቅዱሳን ላይ በሲኖዶሱ በኩል የሚካሄደው መንግስታዊ ጉንተላ፣ ምን ይዞ እንደሚመጣ ለመገመት የግድ ነገ ላይ መቆምን የማይጠይቅ መሆኑ ነው፡፡ በተጨማሪ ዛሬም5 እየተነሱ ካሉት የማንነት ጥያቄዎች አልፎ፣ በቅርምቱ ከአያቶቻቸው መሬት ከተፈናቀሉ ወጣቶች ምሬት ጋር የኢኮኖሚውን ድቀት አዛምደን ስንመለከት፣ ፍርሃትን አቸንፈው ወደኋላ ላለመመለስ የደፈሩ ወጣቶች ስርዓቱን እንደሚንዱት ለመመልከት ጥቂት ወራትን ብቻ መታገስ ይበቃል፡፡ ‹‹አብዮት የወይን ዘለላ ነው፤ እስኪበስል እንጂ መሬት እስኪወድቅ አትታገሰውም›› እንዲል ቼ ጉቬራ፤ ያረገዘውን አብዮት ከማዋለድ ያለፈ ምርጫ የለም፡፡
በድጋሚ ክብር ለዐድዋ ጀግኖች!!!

ከአውሮፕላኑ ጠለፋ በኋላ የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ ም/ሥራ አስኪያጅ ካፒቴን ደስታ ዘሩ ለቀቁ
በአንድ ጎሳ እና ቋንቋ አመራር ስር ወድቋል በሚልና በዘረኝነት ሰራተኞቹን ፍዳቸውን እያሳየ ነው በሚል የሚተቸው የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ ምክትል ስራ አስኪያጅ እና የበረራ ክፍል ሃላፊ የሆኑት ካፒቴን ደስታ ዘሩ ስልጣናቸውን መልቀቃቸውን የኢትዮጵያ የሽግግር ምክር ቤት ምንጮቹን ጠቅሶ ለዘ-ሐበሻ በላከው መረጃ አስታወቀ። እንደ ሽግግር ምክርቤቱ ዘገባ የስልጣን መልቀቂያው ጉዳይ ግልጽ ምን እንደሆነ አይታወቅም።
ሌሎች ምንጮች የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ አውሮፕላን ተጠልፎ ወደ ስዊዘርላንድ በረዳት ካፒቴን ሃይለመድህን አበራ ካረፈ በኋላ በአየር መንገዱ ውስጥ በተነሳው አለመግባባት ሊሆን ይችላል የሚሉ አስተያየቶችን እየሰጡ ይገኛሉ።
ምንጮቹ የአየር መንገዱ አብራሪዎች በቂ እውቀት እና ችሎታ እያላቸው ከውጪ አብራሪዎችን በማስመጣት ለኢትዮጵያውያኑ እድገት እና የበረራ ፍቃድ መከልከል እንዲሁም አላስፈላጊ የሆነ መንግስታዊ የደህንነት ወከባ እና የአይነ ቁራኛ ጥበቃ በአብራሪዎች ላይ ከመደረጉም በላይ የስራ መብቶቻቸው እና የሰብአዊ መብቶቻቸው በዘረኝነት ላይ የተመረኮዘው የአየር መንገዱ ማንጅመንት እንደማያከብርላቸው እነዚሁ ምንጮቹ አክለው የሚገልጹ ሲሆን፤ በወያኔ ፈጠራ ረዳት አብራሪው ሃይለመድህን አበራን “የአእምሮ በሽተኛ ነው” በሚል የተወራው ወሬም በአየር መንገዱ የሚበሩ ሰዎች ቁጥር እንዲቀንስ ምክንያት እየሆነው እንደሆነም ምንጮች ይናገራሉ።
Source ze-Habesh

ከባዶ ጭንቅላት ባዶ እግር ይሻላል!!!

ከባዶ ጭንቅላት ባዶ እግር ይሻላል!!!

የባህርዳር እና አካባቢው ሕዝብ ከባዶ ጭንቅላት ባዶ እግር ሺህ ጊዜ እንደሚሻል አካሉን ብቻ ሳይሆን ህሊናውንም ለትግራዩ ነፃ አውጪ ህወሓት ባርነት ላስገዛው “የብሔረ አማራ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ንቅናቄ (ብአዴን)” እያለ እራሱን ለሚጠራው ድርጅት መሪዎች ተናገረ።
ባርነት ክፉ ነው። በባርነት ላይ የጭንቅላት ባዶነት ሲታከልበት ደግሞ አለምነው መኮንንን የመሰሉ የብአዴን መሪዎችን ይፈጥራል። የብአዴን መሪዎች ለጌታቸው ህወሓት ያላቸውን ታማኝነት ለማሳየት ራሳቸውን ማዋረዳቸው ሳያንስ እንወክለዋለን የሚሉትን ሕዝብ በጅምላ መስደባቸው ብአዴን እንደ ድርጅት የሚገኝበት የተዋረደ ደረጃ ያሳያል።
ህሊና ያለው ባርያ ዛሬ ነፃ ባይሆንም ወደፊት ነፃ የመውጣት ህልም አለው። ዛሬ በጉልበተኛ የባርያ አሳዳሪ ነፃነቱን ቢያጣም የህሊና ነፃነቱን ያላስደፈረ ባርያ ለነፃነት መታገሉ የማይቀር ነው። እንደ ብአዴን መሪዎች በታማኝ ባርያነቱ እየፈነጠዘ ያለ ባርያ ግን ነፃ ሰው የመሆን ህልሙንም ጭምር አጥቷል። እንዲህ ዓይነቱ ባርያ በአካልም፤ በመንፈስም ባሪያ ነው። ነፃ ሰው የመሆን እድል የለውም።
የአማራ ሕዝብ ብአዴንን የመሰለ አሳፋሪ ድርጅት በታሪኩ ገጥሞት አያውቅም። በፋሽስት ጣልያን ወረራ ጊዜ ለጠላት ያደሩ ባንዶች እንኳን ከዛሬዎቹ ብአዴኖች የተሻለ ክብር ነበራቸው። እነሱም ከዛሬዎቹም በተሻለ በጌቶቻቸው ጣሊያኖች ይሰሙ ነበር። በገዢዎቹ ለመወደድ የራሱን ሕዝብ የሚዘልፍ፣ የሚሰድብና የሚያዋርድ እንደ ብአዴን ያለ አዋራጅ ድርጅት በአማራ ምድር አልታየም።
ለዚህም ነው የባህርዳር እና አካባቢው ሕዝብ የብአዴንና የወያኔን አፈናዎችን በጣጥሶ የካቲት 16 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም. ቁጣውን በባዶ እግሩ አደባባይ በመውጣት የገለፀው። እግር ባዶ መሆኑ ጭንቅላት ባዶ የመሆኑ ያህል የሚያሳፍር አይደለም። ድህነት ወንጀል አይደለም። ነፃ አዕምሮና የሕዝብ ይሁንታ ያገኘ አስተዳደር ካለ ድህነትን ማሸነፍ ይቻላል።
ግንቦት 7: የፍትህ፣ የነፃነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ፣ ፈታኝ ሁኔታዎችን ተቋቁመው የየካቲት 16 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ምን ሕዝባዊ ተቃውሞ ላደራጁና በተቃውሞውም ለተካፈሉ ሁሉ ያለውን አክብሮት ይገልፃል። ሕዝብ ብሶቱን የሚገልጽበት ሕዝባዊ ተቃውሞ ማደራጀትና መምራት መቻል ትልቅ ነገር ነው። ሕዝባዊ ተቃውሞዎች ወደ ሕዝባዊ እምቢተኝነት የማደግ እድል አላቸው። ስለሆነም ግንቦት 7 ለባህርዳሩ ሕዝባዊ ተቃውሞ አደራጆችና ተሳታፉዎች “እንኳን ደስ ያላችሁ” በማለት የትግል አጋርነቱን መግለጽ ይሻል።
ግንቦት 7፣ ብአዴንን ከአባላቱ ለይቶ ማየት ይሻል። ከዚህም በተጨማሪ የብአዴንን ከፍተኛ አመራር ከሌላው ለይቶ ይመለከታል። ብአዴን ነፍሳቸውን ሳይቀር ለወያኔ በሸጡ ሰዎች የሚመራ፤ ነፃ የመውጣት ተስፋ የሌለው ራሱ ባርያ የሆነ ድርጅት ነው። አባላቱ ግን ከዚህ የተለዩ ሊሆኑ እንደሚችሉ ግንቦት 7 ያውቃል።
ግንቦት 7፡ የፍትህ፣ የነፃነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ ከዚህም በፊትም ደጋግሞ እንደገለጸው፤ በተለያዩ ጊዜያት ራሳቸውን ከወያኔ ባርነት ነፃ ለማውጣት በወሰዱት እርምጃ መስዋእትነት የከፈሉ የብአዴን አባላት መኖራቸውን ያውቃል። ግንቦት 7 ለእነዚህ ቆራጦች ትልቅ አክብሮት አለው። ዛሬም ህሊናቸውን ሙሉ በሙሉ ያልሸጡ የብአዴን አባላት አሉ ብሎ ያምናል። እነዚህ ወገኖቻችን ራሳቸውን ነፃ ለማውጣት የግል፣ የወገንና የአገር ግዴታ አለባቸው ብሎ ያምናል።
ስለሆነም ዛሬም ይህንን አጋጣሚ ተጠቅመን ጥሪዓችንን እናድሳለን።
የብአዴን አባላት ሆይ!!! የገዛ ራሳችሁን፣ የአማራን ሕዝብ እና ኢትዮጵያን እያዋረደ ካለው ብአዴን ተላቀቁ፤ አሊያም እውስጡ ሆናችሁ ድርጅቱን ግደሉት። የብአዴን መኖር ለወያኔ ካልሆነ በስተቀር ለማንም አይበጅም። ነፃነት ካለ ድህነትን በሥራ ማሸነፍ ይቻላል። ሰው ባርያ ሆኖ በሀብት ቢንበሸበሽ ምን ይፈይድለታል?
የብአዴን አባላት ሆይ!!! ወደ ህሊችሁ ተመለሱ። ራሳችሁንም የበደላችሁትን ሕዝብ የመካስ እድል አድል አላችሁ ተጠቀሙበት። ይህንን ባታደርጉ ግን ለገዛ ራሳችሁ ፀፀት፤ ለልጆቻችሁ ሀፍረትን የምታወርሱ መሆኑን አትዘንጉ። ወያኔ መሸነፉ በጭራሽ የማይቀር መሆኑን እያወቃቸው በድህረ ጣልያን ወረራ ባንዶች ያገኙትን ምህረት እናገኛለን ብላችሁ አታስቡ።

The Battle of Adwa Changed Ethiopia and the World

The Battle of Adwa Changed Ethiopia and the World

Abebe Hailu, Special to The Washington Informer
Ethiopia, Yesterday and Today
Ethiopia has a significant history reaching over 3,000 years into the past. The word “Ethiopia” has become a term for the idea of African solidarity and freedom, not just the name of a nation or a region. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus noted the region of Ethiopia as home to “people with burnt faces.” During the Greek and Roman eras, everything south of the Sahara Desert in Africa was generally referred to as Ethiopia or Abysinnia.

“The Battle of Adwa” (Courtesy of A. Davey via Wikipedia)
Biblical references also label Ethiopia as Cush, Kesh, Ekosh and Shewa (Sheba) in the Hebrew language. These were the names used in Solomon’s courts when he received a visit from the Ethiopian Queen of Sheba. The biblical “Song of Solomon” praises her physical beauty. In modern times, especially since the battle of Adwa, Ethiopia has been seen as a de facto model of freedom for all black cultures sand societies world-wide.
This held true up until the time the current political regime came to power. At least this is a homegrown terror and not a conquering white European army. This renegade regime has been busy throwing fellow citizens off of their ancestral lands and leasing them to international corporations. Freedom of the press is nonexistent and journalists are jailed regularly. The current corrupt politicians have even set about the process of changing history by denying the importance of the Battle of Adwa, and mocking the reign of Menelik and Taytu.
Commemorating the Victory at Adwa
In an effort to head off the rewriting of history, Ethiopian-Americans and other members of the African diaspora will commemorate the Victory at Adwa at Veterans Plaza in the Silver Spring Civic Building in Maryland. Historians will be on hand to offer their take on the importance of the battle – and its global impact – at the gathering that will take place on Sunday, March 2, 2014. All citizens of the D.C. Metro area are encouraged to attend.
European Might is Turned Back at Adwa
King Menelik exposed the treachery and would have none of the treaty. The Italians, claiming that Menelik knew what he was signing, decided to use military power to force compliance. The Italians had about 18,000 men armed with around 56 pieces of artillery. King Menelik II was able to organize and structure an army within a very short period of time. Though the Ethiopian forces out-numbered the invaders, they lacked the technological advantage held by the Italians.
Command of the Ethiopian forces was split between Menelik, the Empress Taytu, and a number of other leaders. These forces positioned themselves on the hills overlooking the Italian-occupied Adwa Valley. By noon on March 1, 1896, the Italian army was in full retreat with a considerable number of casualties. The Italians left most of their military equipment while they fled and this allowed the forces of Menelik and Taytu to increase their armories considerably.
Taytu, an Empress at War and a Wily Politician
Before the battle, the Empress Taytu had held a hard line against the Italians at the Ethiopian Imperial Court. When talks over the spurious treaty broke down, Italy assembled a force to invade Ethiopia. Empress Taytu joined her husband.
Among Taytu’s army was a force of cannoneers that rained fire down onto the Italians in the valley of Adwa. After their kingdom was secured, during their reign the king played the good and beloved king. The empress played the strict monarch. This good cop/bad cop division of duties and politics helped ensure their long reign.
Adwa Affected America
The unexpected victory at Adwa spurred the birth of a Pan-African solidarity that was evident in America. The African-American Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois was a major spokesman for freedom for Black Africans. He also edited the “Crisis” magazine, the voice for the NAACP. He devoted a whole chapter of his book, “The World and Africa,” to a history of Ethiopia as a state, while promulgating Ethiopia as an idea of global African unity.
In 1936 there were some so-called black riots in Harlem. These were really just demonstrations against the treatment of Ethiopia by the Western powers. No property damage or casualties were declared. John Hope Franklin wrote a book, “From Slavery to Freedom,” that helped Black Americans to become more worldly in their politics. African-American communities adopted the words “Ethiopia” or “Abyssinia” to rename their churches to push the idea of black global unity.
“… Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands …”
These words are from the biblical Psalm 68:31 and seem to reflect the modern global rise of a Pan-African vision of freedom. After the success of Ethiopia against colonial rule, some began to think of forming a United States of Africa. Others broadened their political views to include black societies throughout the world, as well as members of the African diaspora. A racial Pan-Africanism began to grow around the globe.
Ethiopia, as an idea of black solidarity, did indeed stretch forth her hands. Pan-African conferences were called in America and England during the early 1900s. Ethiopia grew in esteem among the global community upon her admittance to the League of Nations in 1923. This also thwarted any future movement by Europeans to colonize the nation, and shattered the centuries old negative myths that Africans were no better than “savages.”
The victory at Adwa helped produce a new phase of Pan-Africanism. It planted the seed of unity and cooperation of blacks throughout the world. It helped to break the yoke of colonialism in a united way. The African-American abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, summed up the forces unleashed by the victory at Adwa, and could have used his famous quote to fit the Ethiopian struggle: “It’s better to die free, than live as a slave.”

Letter: To all human beings who are human, By Journalist Wubushet Taye (Zeway Prison)

Letter: To all human beings who are human, By Journalist Wubushet Taye (Zeway Prison)

Journalist Woubshet Taye is incarcerated in Ethiopia over his works

“Discussing these types of issues is forbidden,” said the warder rudely and added, “You are only allowed to discuss family matters”. You might suspect that these words were spoken by one of our beloved mother Ethiopia’s prison officers. However, they are actually taken from Maxim Gorky’s 1906 story Mother (page 102). The story was written 108 years ago – so very long ago! But it doesn’t seem so long to us – why? Because what we are living through now is even worse. And it is worrying how fast things are deteriorating.
Prison is now where everything leads. Every day we are told by the media that what is needed is “strong measures; measures to ensure it won’t happen again; measures to remove etc”. These words are not legal principles but are spoken in hate. These statements, which are only a fraction away from a declaration of systematic state terror, are especially damaging for those of us who are held in Ethiopia’s prisons.
Following programmes which have been broadcast about ‘revolutionary measures’ on ETV, horrible things – which could upset so many families if I listed them here – are being carried out in a calculated manner. Let’s take a look at some of them. We are denied permission to be placed in prisons close to our relatives. Zeway is the Ethiopian version of a Siberian prison. After travelling across the lowlands to reach our ‘Siberia’, our families have to undergo a tiresome and intrusive search before they can eventually see the prisoner. When they do so, officials are listening in, even to talk about family matters. We hug and kiss our children even when the prison officers look disapproving. Even though the insults and intimidation that follow these displays of affection are not too bad, our children get scared. Our fear comes across to them. They always go back home feeling upset.
Even though the time allocated for visits is clearly specified, we are often told “Enough! Wind it up soon”, just as we’ve started talking. Since the aim is clearly to torment us, intimidate us and punish us, we are not allowed to have more than 100 birr (about $5 US), even if we need more to buy toiletries, spices, tea and coffee, underwear, water purifiers etc. This only happens in Zeway prison. This is how our human rights are violated.
I graduated from high school in Zeway. I have many friends and relatives here but local people are only allowed to visit us once a week (on Wednesdays). Over time, they [friends from the town] stop visiting, scared off by the intimidating questions: ‘Where did you meet him? How do you know him? Why are you always visiting him?’
The town is very hot. Nevertheless, 150 prisoners are held in one room here. As a result, it is unbelievable how easily insects and fleas move from person to person, reproducing fast. It doesn’t make me feel good to talk about this; but it isn’t a film, it’s a true story that is happening to the sons of mother Ethiopia. We can only pray that the worst does not happen.
In fact, the worst is already here. They give us tasteless food. There is a water shortage despite the fact that the prison is right by Zeway Lake. It is like a prison within a prison. All of us, including the Generals and other military officers [who are jailed there], are held in a dark room. It might be possible to tolerate all of this patiently. But we are speaking out because every Ethiopian, everyone who has a religion, everyone who fears God, everyone who cares about the respect of basic human rights, must know what is being done to us. We’re being pushed towards our deaths.
Just a month ago, Nathnael Mekonnen, the young Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party member, was sent to Kality for medical treatment. He was sent back to Zeway the same day at 11:00pm without having received any treatment. The Ethiopian National Unity Party (ENUP) member, Zerihun G.Egziabher, was also referred to a hospital but hasn’t yet been treated, though he is suffering as a result of his illness. My kidney problems, which I have mentioned before, are now making it hard for me to sit or stand; if the authorities had found enough humanity to let me get treatment rather than rush me back to Zeway, it could have given me relief and them contentment.
Other people have died. Among the children of mother Ethiopia who have been denied medical attention and have passed away are Colonel Tesfaye Hailu and engineer, Kifle Sinshaw, both of whom were being held with the Generals and military officials [in jail], Ahmed Nejashi, a member of the Oromo People’s Congress (OPC) party led by Mererra Gudhina, Tesfahun Chemeda, who was held in same the dark room, and an old man from the Benishangul Gumuz region. How can people be denied medical attention!? Where did these individuals, who have themselves struggled against oppression in their lives but are now in power, learn to be happy because others are in pain? What would the Ethiopian people say? What would all human beings who are human say? God Bless Ethiopia!

The Race to Save Ethiopians Damned by the Dam

The Race to Save Ethiopians Damned by the Dam

by Alemayehu G. Mariam
People of Omo River Basin sold down the river
Exactly two years ago to the month, I wrote a commentary entitled, “The Dam and the Damned: Gilgel Gibe III Ethiopia” focusing on the impact of   “development” in the Omo River Basin (ORB) in southern Ethiopia. In that commentary, I echoed the deep concerns voiced by various international human rights and environmental organizations over the ecological impact and cost of that dam on the lives of indigenous populations.
I also made it a special point to express gratitude and appreciation to “the great international human rights organization that have created so much international awareness on the precarious environmental situation in the Omo River Basin.” I am even more profoundly grateful to International Rivers, Human Rights Watch, the Oakland Institute, Survival International and the Africa Resources Working Group two years later for the extraordinary work they continue to do to save the environment and the indigenous people in the ORB. For years, these organizations have been in the forefront of the race to save Ethiopians damned by the Gilgel Gibe III hydroelectric dam.
The various international organizations have done invaluable work by raising public awareness and undertaking advocacy campaigns to bring international attention to the ecological disaster taking place in the ORB. Over the years, they have all issued meticulously prepared field reports, research and policy analyses and other scientific and statistical reports documenting the effect of the “development programs” of the regime in power in Ethiopia on the lives and livelihoods of the people of the ORB. They have all sought to advocate and mobilize international public opinion to bring sanity to the madness of Gibe III dam, the flagitious leasing of tribal lands in the Basin for sugar and rice plantations for the export sector and to stop the forced resettlement (“villagization”) of indigenous communities.
In my 2012 commentary, I also publicly lamented the fact that Ethiopians, particularly those of us in the Diaspora, have been standing on the sidelines with arms folded as the various international human rights and environmental organizations groups were running a steep uphill race to save Ethiopians in the ORB. We have been silently watching them doing all of the heavy lifting for us.  At the time, I pleaded with all Ethiopians to “join and help international human and environmental rights organizations help us, and engage in vigorous environmental activism of our own.” I appealed for the “creation of our own environmental civil society organizations, particularly in the Diaspora, to ensure that Ethiopia’s rich and diverse ecosystem is preserved and protected today and for future generations.” I also warned, “If we fail to do that, we will all find ourselves in the same position as the people of the Omo River Basin who are damned by the dam.”
It is painful for me (frankly, I am ashamed) to admit that two years after I wrote that commentary, we are still on the sidelines watching while the international human rights and environmental organizations are still doing all of the heavy lifting for us and keeping up the race to save our people. I find myself asking the same questions over and over, without answers: Is it fair to have the international human rights and environmental organizations do all of the heavy lifting for us in the ORB? When these organizations show so much care and concern for our people and our country, why are we so manifestly unconcerned? Why is that we do not join and support the organizations speaking up for our people? Why is it that we do not come to the aid of these organizations and defend them against the slings and arrows of a vicious regime which slanders them and scandalizes their good works?  Would we be as passive and silent if the same environmental crimes and crimes against humanity were being committed in the name of “development” in other parts of Ethiopia? Are we manifestly unconcerned about the people of the ORB because they are marginalized ethnic minorities? Could it be that we are ashamed of the people of the ORB because they do not look “modern” like the rest of us, or are a “backward civilization” as the late Meles Zenawi once called them? How can we justify to future generations that they owe their legacy of environmental conservation and protection of the indigenous peoples of the ORB to the tireless efforts of international organizations? I ask my readers to think about these questions.
I think it is only fair that we should at least financially help those organizations who are helping us. There is no reason why we cannot demonstrate our support to them as they fight for the rights of our people in the ORB. We should be standing with them and not standing on the sidelines watching them.
The clear and present danger posed by the Gilgel Gibe III dam to the people of the ORB
The Gibe III dam poses a clear and present danger to the lives of hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians in the ORB including the Bodi, Karo, Muguji, Mursi, Nyangatom and Dasanech , among others, who have survived for millennia practicing what is called “flood retreat agriculture”. At the end of the rainy season, the flooded land near the river banks provides rich silt for raising a variety of crops including sorghum, maize and beans. The very existence of these Ethiopians depends on the cyclical flooding season. The Gibe III dam will fundamentally disrupt the natural downstream flow by damming the river upstream for electricity production for export. Experts have convincingly argued that the water volume on the Omo River will be permanently reduced as a result of diversion of water for the dam reservoir and irrigation of sugar plantations. This will make flood retreat agriculture virtually impossible for the people living in the Basin. In August 2012, the world renowned conservationist and paleoanthropologist Dr. Richard Leakey challenged the self-serving Gibe III “scientific” studies minimizing the ecological effects of the dam and predicted, “the dam will produce a broad range of negative effects, some of which would be catastrophic to both the environment and the indigenous communities living downstream.”
“Developing” the Omo River Basin
In late January 2011, Meles Zenawi gave a speech in Jinka, South Omo. It was vintage Meles– bombastic, bitter and full of bluster. He promised the sun and moon to the people trapped in the “backward civilization” of the ORB. He pledged to take them out of the stone age and into the modern age by making the region “an example of rapid development.” He assured them that the “dam on the Omo River [will] eliminate flood, create a huge irrigation system and give pastoralists a sustainable income and a modern life.”
With a vengeance, Meles demonized and lashed out at the environmental and human rights organizations urging care and caution in the construction of the Gibe III dam and protection of the way of life of the indigenous people. He characterized them as naysayers and doomsayers “who want to block our freedom to use our rivers, and to save our people from poverty.” He called them malicious obstructionists. “They are creating huge propaganda… They are blocking us from getting financial loans from abroad to finish the project.” He ridiculed them as “best friends of backwardness and poverty… who don’t actually do anything tangible.” He virtually called them self-absorbed racists because “all they want is keep the pastoralists as a tourist attraction” and keep the people of the ORB “a case study of ancient living for scientists and researchers.”
Meles and his henchmen have gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal the environmental devastation that has occurred and continues to occur in the construction of the Gibe III dam and the “development” of the Basin. In July 2008, two years after construction began on the dam and international human rights and environmental organizations began sounding the alarm, Meles directed his “Environmental Protection Authority” to issue the Gibe III Environmental Social Impact Assessment. That report was a shameless whitewash which rubber-stamped Meles’ pigheaded decision to forge ahead with the project. It was full of boldfaced lies. It unabashedly concluded that the reservoir area for Gibe III is unfit for human habitation because it is infested by deadly mosquitoes and tsetse flies (which cause “sleeping sickness”). It claimed, “There is no settlement in the future reservoir area and settlements are concentrated on the highland in areas outside the valley…  There is very little farming activity around the Omo valley bottom lands. … The population living within the proposed dam and the reservoir areas are not in close proximity to the UNESCO designated heritage site. No visible archaeological remains, which have scientific, cultural, public, economic, ethnic and historic significances, have been observed in the area and dam sites.”
Meles’ way of “modernizing” the “backward” people of the ORB was to turn over the Basin to Saudi Arabian and other foreign investors and his buddies.  Meles announced in his speech that his “government is planning, and working hard to establish, a 150,000 hectare sugarcane development in this area starting this year.” Sure enough, according to IC Magazine, “A Saudi Arabian tycoon Al-Moudi, with close links to the top-level Ethiopian leadership [was] allotted 10,000 hectares for a rice plantation. His massive project has done considerable damage to the local environment, which includes a national park and wildlife habitat, and local communities that have lived in their homelands for many generations.”
Meles announced that five sugar factories will be built in the ORB by the Omo Kuraz Sugar Development project. According to “Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency”, “Mesfin Industrial Engineering (MIE) signed ETB 3 billion ($162.2 million) worth contracts with state-owned enterprises to deliver machineries for the Tana Beles Integrated Sugar Development Project and the Kuraz Sugar development projects in the Amhara region and the Omo Valley…” MIE is “also producing railroad tracks for the Dire Dawa-Addis Ababa railway project and finalizing preparations to deliver the same for the Djibouti through Afar to Northern Ethiopia railway line.”
In June 2011, UNESCO concluded that “GIBE III dam is likely to significantly alter Lake Turkana’s fragile hydrological regime, and threaten its aquatic species and associated biological systems” and “urged the State Party of Ethiopia to immediately halt all construction on the GIBE III dam [and not] damage directly or indirectly the cultural and natural heritage located on the territory of another State Party.”
In Meles “development” plans, the impoverished and defenseless people of the ORB get the shaft while his filthy rich friends became super-filthy rich. According to one environmental study published in January 2014, “Construction of the Kuraz Sugar plantations (projected to cover 161,285 hectares) and accompanying infrastructure, including sugar processing factories and resettlement villages, has started in advance of completion of the Gibe III. The Kuraz Sugar plantations, plus additional area identified as suitable for cultivation (47,370 hectares), could eventually require over 50% of the Omo River inflow, depending on irrigation efficiency.”
Meles Zenawi’s “modernization” of the ORB was a windfall for his buddies, but it literally left the people of the Omo River Basin high and dry. Meles’ vision for the ORB and its people was, “what’s good for the ‘Saudi Arabian tycoon Al-Moudi’ and ‘Mesfin Industrial Engineering’ is good enough for the people of the Omo River Basin.” That is how Ethiopians in the Omo River Basin got sold down the river!
The continuing race to save the Omo River and indigenous people
Last week, International Rivers released a video on the environmental risks to the Omo River valley and severe and irreversible damage that could result to the people and ecosystem of the valley if the dam and thoughtless “development” projects concocted by the regime in power in Ethiopia continue unrestrained. It is a video worth watching as it clearly explains the clear and present danger facing the ORB.
There is little scientific doubt that Gibe III dam and the irrigation diverting water on the Omo River poses a clear and present danger to the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of indigenous people in Southern Ethiopia and Northern Kenya. Studies have shown that by ending the river’s natural flood cycle, harvests, grazing lands, river banks and fisheries extending to Lake Turkana, the world’s largest desert lake, would be destroyed. The dam will devastate the unique culture and ecosystems of the Lower Omo Valley and Lake Turkana, both recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Experts fear that “Gibe III could destroy the fragile ecosystem for an additional 300,000 people downstream in Lake Turkana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site  which gets up to 90% of its water from the Omo River.”
It is particularly important for Ethiopians to understand the scope of the environmental damage and the human cost of the dam in the ORB. I specially urge my Ethiopian readers to view the Amharic version of the International Rivers video by clicking  HERE or on the picture below.
USAID and Donors Assistance Group in Ethiopia (a/k/a those who “see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil” in the race to save the people of the Omo River Basin)
The official position of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Development Assistance Group’s (DAG) (a consortium of 26 donors) in Ethiopia has been to stonewall any questions of human rights abuses in the ORB. Stated bluntly, their official response could best be characterized as: “We see no evil, hear no evil and say no evil about human rights violations in the Omo River Basin.”
In October 2010, a few days after Human Right Watch released its report on the abuses of aid in Ethiopia, USAID and DAG issued a statement denying the “widespread, systematic abuse of development aid in Ethiopia. Our study did not generate any evidence of systematic or widespread distortion.” In 2012, USAID reported that it “did not find evidence to support claims [of human right violations] during its visit to South Omo.” In a letter dated January 17, 2014, Dennis Weller USAID, current Mission Director in Ethiopia stated that his agency and “other donors have been monitoring the situation in South Omo” and that “the main finding from these trips is that there are no reports of widespread or systematic human rights abuses. Our observations do not support assertions… that the resettlement processes are accompanied by systematic and widespread human rights abuses.”
Interestingly, Weller’s comments brushing off human rights abuses in the ORB are in stark contrast to his predecessor Thomas Staal’s. In an interview Stall gave before his reassignment to Bagdad in October 2010, he made the stunning admission that “with respect to political participation, we have not done a good job. Specifically, with respect to the election that took place two years ago, we have not done much to promote democracy… This is a hard situation that causes us to despair.” No reason for Weller to “despair” over human rights abuses in the ORB!
The official position of  USAID and DAG with respect to human rights abuses in the ORB could be reduced to two basic propositions: 1) The reports by international human rights and environmental organizations concerning forced evictions, villagization, resettlement, denial of access to subsistence land, beatings, killings, rapes, imprisonment, intimidation, political coercion, and the denial of government assistance are all fabrications and lies. 2) Even if the reports are accurate, they document anecdotal and isolated incidents which do amount to “systematic and widespread human rights abuses”.
USAID’s denial of “systematic and widespread human rights abuses” in Ethiopia should not surprise anyone. For years, USAID has taken shelter behind the empty phrase “systematic and widespread human rights abuses”. When Meles Zenawi declared in 2010 that his party had won the parliamentary elections by 99.6 percent, USAID found no “systematic and widespread human rights abuses”. When the Meles regime was committing crimes against humanity in Gambella and Ogaden regions, USAID transformed itself into USA In Denial. When hundreds of top opposition political figures, activists, civil society leaders, journalists, dissidents, bloggers, human rights advocates were jailed, USAID’s response was, “No systematic and widespread human rights abuses”. Nope! Nyet! Nien!  Pray tell, what exactly is “massive and systematic human rights violations”? Does USAID mean, “A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic”? Perhaps for USAID a single human rights violation in the ORB is a tragedy but the wholesale violation of the human rights of the people in the Omo River Basin is a statistic?!
The fact of the matter is that USAID and others who visited the Omo region in January 2012 were provided compelling “audio recordings of the interviews conducted in several Lower Omo communities.” These recording “leave no room for doubt that the donor agencies were given highly credible first-hand accounts of serious human rights violations during the field investigation [undertaken by USAID and the Development Assessment Group] and that they have chosen to steadfastly ignore these accounts.”
U.S. Congress joins the race to save the people of the Omo River Basin
In July 2013, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) included language in Senate Bill 1372 imposing certain certification requirements in the administration of U.S. aid in Ethiopia. The Leahy language was adopted in the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014” which passed both houses on January 3, 2014. Section 7042(d) of the Act requires the U.S. Secretary of State to “certify to the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of Ethiopia is implementing policies to — (i) protect judicial independence; freedom of expression, association, assembly, and religion; the right of political opposition parties, civil society organizations, and journalists to operate without harassment or interference; and due process of law; and (ii) permit access to human rights and humanitarian organizations to the Somali region of Ethiopia.” It further requires that U.S. ‘‘Development Assistance’ and ‘Economic Support Fund’ that are available for assistance in the lower Omo and Gambella regions of Ethiopia shall— (A) not be used to support activities that directly or indirectly involve forced evictions; (B) support initiatives of local communities to improve their livelihoods; and (C) be subject to prior consultation with affected populations.” The law requires the “Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States executive director of each international financial institution to oppose financing for any activities that directly or indirectly involve forced evictions in Ethiopia.” It seems the international human rights and environmental organizations that have been campaigning to protect the ORB and Gambella ecosystems and indigenous peoples have been right all along!!
Where are Ethiopians in the race to save the ORB and the indigenous people?
The titular prime minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, is said to be knowledgeable about water development and sanitation. He reportedly held a “graduate assistantship” at Arba Minch Water Technology Institute. He is also said to come from “an Omotic community which forms the principal population group in Ethiopia’s Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region.” It is reasonable to suppose that Hailemariam would take both personal and professional interest in the environmental destruction and human cost of “development” in the ORB. Unfortunately, Hailemariam has repeatedly declared the he “will strive to carry on Meles’ vision to transform the country”, and by the same token oversee the destruction of the ORB ecosystem and the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in the Basin.
I admit it is a complete exercise in futility, but I urge Hailemariam and his regime to learn from the tragedy of Lake Oroumieh in Iran. That lake has shrunk by 80 percent in 10 years as a result of damning rivers and irrigation projects. The response of the Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, to the environmental disaster was “to form a team and to invite scholars to help find solutions.”
I have no reason to believe that Hailemariam and his crew care much about Lake Turkana in which the Omo River empties or the environmental damage in the ORB. I know that a regime afflicted by the arrogance of ignorance will not invite scholars and experts in the field to seek long-term solutions. I expect the regime leaders will repeat like a broken record their Pollyannish rhetoric about the ORB and demonizing condemnation of all who urge caution and care. Regardless, I find it a historical imperative to register the fact that Hailemariam and Co., have a legal duty to mitigate the environmental disaster and human catastrophe in the ORB. After all, they must understand that “Truth will not remain forever on the scaffold, nor wrong forever remain on the throne.”
What about Diaspora Ethiopians? Will they join the race to save their fellow Ethiopians damned by the Gibe III dam? Will they stand up and speak up for the voiceless, defenseless, powerless and helpless people of the ORB? Will they stand up and be counted with the people of the ORB or abandon them because they are a “backward civilization” as Meles Zenawi called them? Will they join International River, Human Rights Watch, Survival International and the Africa Resources Working Group in the heavy lifting and uphill fighting to save the Omo River Basin and its indigenous people? I do not know the answer to these questions, but I will be doing what I always do: Carry water (though not from the Omo River) for those doing the heavy lifting and uphill fighting! 
“Indigenous peoples have the right to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as individuals, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights/3 and international human rights law.” United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 61/295.
Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.