One thing is sure: the uncertainty cannot go on indefinitely and nothing can be done to improve the political climate and the economic conditions of the country without some reforms. This is to say that change is inevitable and that it will come sooner or later. The question is: which direction is the change likely to take? For my part, I have no desire to play the game of predictions. Instead, I want to present some possible scenarios and invite political leaders and activists who care about Ethiopia to reflect on them so as to be ready for various eventualities instead of being fixated on the outcome that they long for.

Given the amplifying state of frustration of the county, the only way of avoiding ominous developments is not only that the prime minister really exercises power, but that he uses this power to correct some of the glaring derailments of Meles, especially by easing the repressive policy adopted by him. Meles effected the reversal of democratization because he could count on the complete obedience of the repressive machine of the state. Haile Mariam does not have the same control and cannot have it without further empowering the very men who command the repressive apparatuses. In other words, failure to promote reform is for Haile Mariam to give more power to the TPLF instead of reducing it. By contrast, the political choice of easing repression, better still, of initiating reforms reduces the importance of the repressive forces and creates momentum toward the gathering of the popular support and legitimacy that Haile Mariam needs to prevail over Meles’s old clique.

The dilemma of the prime minister is thus clear enough: in order to assert himself, he has to correct Meles’s policy, but in so doing he runs the risk of antagonizing the TPLF and hence of losing his position altogether. Conversely, if he upholds the policy of his predecessor, he simply feeds on the image of a puppet of the TPLF, which image underlines his irrelevance, thereby instigating his removal. Surely, since the longer the policy of Meles continues, the more repressive the state must become, the TPLF will be better off to do the job on its own than to use the cumbersome mediation of a puppet. The dilemma shows that Haile Mariam’s best bet is to go in the direction of easing repression, which at least promises the prospect of him becoming his own man.

The huge unknown is whether Haile Mariam has the right political ambition to want to stand by himself and the political skill to outmaneuver the TPLF and other challengers. I must admit that I have no a ready answer for this question. I also confess my pessimism, even though I recognize that more time is needed before one makes a final judgment. True, I am encouraged by his open condemnation of the displacement of the Amhara settlers, but remain skeptical because of the lack of any practical follow-up to correct the injustice. Moreover, the appalling dismissal of the appeals of Eskinder Nega, Andualem Arage, and other political prisoners by the higher court did nothing to reduce my skepticism. To sum up my position, in light of the time needed for consolidation, I say that Haile Mariam still deserves the benefit of the doubt even if the performances of his government are not, so far, promising.

In case Haile Mariam remains submerged by the TPLF, the scenario of an increasingly repressive government that could only further aggrieve the Ethiopian masses presents itself. My contention is that unless the TPLF takes the rightful place of being a party among others within the coalition of the EPRDF, it cannot maintain the hegemonic role it has played so far without pushing repression to a point far exceeding that of Meles. By force of habit and because of his political shrewdness, Meles was able to rise as the unquestioned leader of the EPRDF. After successive purges of all those who could threaten him, none among the remaining leaders of the TPLF has the stature or even the capacity to command the same authority. Various competitors both within the TPLF and the EPRDF are likely to emerge with the consequence that only through increased repression can one of them prevail.

Needless to say, the pursuit and continuation of the hegemony of the TPLF can only exasperate popular frustration and multiply opposition. Though arrogance inspires the TPLF to think that repression is enough to protect its supremacy, the history of all countries teaches us that a time comes when people rise and confront what repressive them, regardless of the apparent strength of the repressive state. Ethiopia is not going to be an exception to the rule. Hence, my belief that the continuation of the hegemony of the TPLF will inevitably lead to an uprising. The burning question is: will the uprising take the form of a revolution or of an outright civil war?

All those Ethiopians who still hope that Ethiopia will be galvanized by the Arab spring have in mind an uprising leading to revolution, which would essentially consist in the overthrow of the TPLF state and the dismantling of its repressive apparatuses. This outcome appears even more likely in light of the fact that Ethiopia has already gone through a similar process in 1974. For many activists, revolution is the best prospect for Ethiopia and its people, with the hope that this time the mistakes of the 70s will not be committed and the revolution will establish a democratic state.

Here I hasten to express my reservation, which originates from the simple observation that the situation in 1974 was quite different from what Ethiopia is facing today. Indeed, if a reference to the Arab spring is of some use, I will say that what lies ahead is a development that is similar neither to Egypt nor Tunisia. The model we should refer to is that of Libya or, even more correctly, that of Syria. In other words, the likely outcome of a total uprising in Ethiopia is civil war rather than revolution.

What this means is that conflicts and violent clashes will develop, not between a dictatorial state and everybody else, but between a majority and a dictatorial state identifying with the interests of a minority ethnic group. For one of the detrimental results of the ethnicization of the Ethiopian society and the creation of ethnic regions is the clear divide between ethnic groups and the subsequent subsumption of these groups to the privileges and special treatments of local elites. In a situation of wide uprising, the point is easily reached when it becomes difficult to distinguish between the elites and the ethnic groups, which is then a recipe for ethnic confrontations, that is, for civil war.

Though I never endorse the idea that similar conditions entail similar historical outcomes, it would be foolish to think that regularities in history do not operate in some degree. Among the Arab countries that went through a political turmoil, Syria is the one that comes close to the situation of Ethiopia under the TPLF. The bloody conflict in Syria is between the Alawi minority, which controls economic and military apparatuses, and a frustrated majority that is politically and economically marginalized by a dictatorial state serving the interests of the minority. The uprising against Assad and the state failed to be revolution and turned into a civil war because of the fear of the minority that the overthrow of Assad will mean the loss of its political and economic upper hand, not to mention the fear of physical victimization. Even if many in the minority resent the dictatorial rule of Assad, they prefer to stick with him to avoid the likelihood of revengeful treatments.

No one can honestly say that Ethiopia under the TPLF does not show a deepening rift between the majority and the minority ethnic group allegedly represented by the existing regime. Doubtless, some supporters of the regime will argue that the EPRDF is a coalition of different ethnic groups so that Ethiopia is not under a minority rule. But the image of the EPRDF as a coalition of equals fools no one anymore and members of the EPRDF know perfectly well that they are clients of the TPLF, not to say hired mercenaries. The TPLF federation is a smoke screen: not only the major economic assets and the governments of ethnic regions are controlled by the TPLF, but most importantly, the repressive apparatuses, including the higher echelons of the army, are entirely dominated by officers of Tigrean origin.

One condition for a popular uprising to avoid a descent into a civil war is when the army is either paralyzed by divisions or stays neutral. This precipitates the fall of the regime and hence precludes the transformation of revolution into civil war. This was clearly the case in Egypt and Tunisia. But when the army supports the regime against the people in order to perpetuate ethnic domination, the fight is prolonged with the risk of turning into a civil war. In the case of Ethiopia, to maintain that the army will remain neutral if an uprising occurs is little credible. In the 1974 revolution, the regime was overthrown easily because the army did not support it. It was a multiethnic army and as such was not committed to the defense of any particular ethnic group. What Ethiopia has now is not so much a national as an ethnic army, which is then most likely to defend the ruling ethnic elite, thereby pushing the uprising toward a civil war.

While agreeing that the worst outcome would be the beginning of a civil war, most Ethiopians comfort themselves by believing that it is very unlikely. But who said that the worst scenario is unlikely to happen? Accordingly, what we need is realism, that is, a clear and unbiased assessment of the situation so that we can work toward making the worst scenario improbable. Stated otherwise, we should develop a policy of prevention, which is none other than the framing of a government of national reconciliation. Such a government requires crucial concessions from those who control power as well as from those who oppose them. When a country is beset with political problems that are deep and potentially liable to degenerate into armed confrontations, the solution cannot come from the organization of democratic elections. The latter require some degree of consensus and a minimum of impartial arbitration that are inexistent in ethnically polarized countries.

As shown by elections since 2005, the minimum conditions for a democratically elected government do not exist in Ethiopia and are not likely to appear any time soon. The ruling party will do everything to win, including the use of violence and fraudulent manipulations of votes; the opposition will continue to complain without any notable change. Let us admit it, in countries deeply polarized by ethnic or religious issues, where therefore the rule of the minority abiding by the verdict of the majority is not recognized, elections are just powerless to bring about political change.

This does not mean that democratic elections should be abandoned altogether. It simply means that a transitional period, during which mutual confidence, consensus, and healing can be worked out, is necessary. The purpose of a government of national reconciliation is to create the conditions for the establishment of a political system emanating from democratic elections. As a precondition for democracy, such a government is not itself ruled by democratic principles. Rather, its ruling principle is pragmatism: it takes measures from the sole perspective of reconstructing national harmony and consensus, without being disturbed by questions of principles and morality. Its main goal is the provision of incentives for political opponents to come together and establish consensus on some basic issues.

Such reconciliation is based on the premise that a civil war would benefit nobody. From this shared agreement follows the need to take decisive actions to avoid what everybody wants to avoid, the whole purpose being to reach a working mechanism assuring a win-win solution for everybody. Concessions from all competing parties are the ingredients driving the whole process. As such, the process abhors extremisms of all kinds so as to bring about the rule of moderation. Just as the ruling party agrees to share power with the opponents, so too the opponents give up all political vendetta and victimization. This is an important provision: since what prevents members of the ruling party from playing by the rule of democracy is the fear of reprisal against their person and their economic assets, offering an amnesty and a guarantee against economic dispossession is alone liable to institute confidence and reciprocity. For those who argue, in the name of justice, that crimes must be exposed and punished, my answer is that forgiveness and amnesty are morally justified if they allow us to reach the greater good of reconciliation, national unity, and peace.

Some such process of transition could be undertaken under the leadership of Prime Minister Haile Mariam. His weak political position, combined with the lack of extremism and the fact that he represents a minority ethnic group that can serve as a buffer between larger competing groups, gives him a strategic political role. It is to this go-between role that he owes his position as prime minister. To complete his mediating role, which is then his calling, he must now call upon the opposition and place himself between the EPRDF and the opposition and promote the idea of a government of national reconciliation. In so doing, he turns his strategic importance into the legitimacy of a nation-builder.
May wisdom fall on all Ethiopians!

They cannot claim to govern with legitimacy in a federation of ethnic equality, if one of the groups within the state inherently refuses to identify it’s self ethnically, but rather with equality of the national state. Much has been said and asked of the reasons to why, this regimes actions towards Amhara people, and the hate they continuously display towards this ethnicity. There are two elements I will pinpoint, the first an ideological manifest, at the heart of this government from its inception and the other practical domination discernible of this government. First the hate of the Amhara/Ethiopiawinet and second the need to hold onto power at all cost.

Abraham Lincoln anticipating the direction of the cliff his nation was heading he stated, “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free”. In Ethiopia we have 1% slave owner, 99% slaves, kept in silence, ignorance and constant fear through the barrel of a gun. Yet, the pillars of the Nation are holding strong, collapse is imminent if we do not realize the damages and act with urgency. National identity is a column of incessant strength of a free state, internally and externally. This pillar is and has been held together by the instinctive believe and love of the nation of Ethiopia by the Amahara people. In opposition to all that has been done for the last two decades, it is in the Amhara DNA, to say, “I am Ethiopian first, Amhara second”, where other ethnicities have been manipulated into thinking the opposite.

Ethnic Identity

The ethnic identity of the Stalin doctrine, decisions made by one mind; implemented through the controlling class by unelected bureaucrats controlling state matters with farce elections, without real consequence and consent of the governed. In this structure ethnic differences keep the other ethnicities silent, giving the governing minority freedom to rule, through manipulation, fear and misinformation. National resolutions are solely the concern of the governing, the governed ethnicities/states/ minorities are to only compete amongst one another for their share, They are not to think at all on matter which have to do with National identity for that is shaking the foundations for the same political pillars on which the Nation is being controlled.

Power and greed

Uncontainable hunger for power and sickness for greed will shake the foundation but there are builders with in, who will move quickly to insure the culprits are no more. The governing class must expand and feed itself, to keep every member satisfied, saying “enough” or asking for a limit is out of the question. Individual powers protected by the state can be guaranteed on allegiance and cooperation.

Give them ethnic federalism

Governance through ethnicity has created more division than unity in any state. Ethnic federalism is the predecessor of the divide and conquer mentality of old, to govern already existing ethnicities within a national boundary. Offering the masses the illusion of national cohesion, while cementing a divided police state in which all ethnic groups are manipulated and encouraged to function on ethnic identity and not national interests. National interests are for the ruling entity, inherent from inability to share power. Inequality and social concerns and fundamental needs are second to total control of the state. Maintaining a dysfunctional, feeble, segregated ethnic groups unable to challenge the ruling elite.

Better the thief you know!
To maintain the state as status quo, the state must payoff, give a blind eye and push personal interests ahead of ethnic or national concerns. As much as it has to do with ethnic hatred it is also about greed and survival. The land taken from Amhara landowners (Ethiopians) is sold to multinational organizations, which can offer more money the corrupt administration. The idea of villagization would not have worked on these them, so forcefully evict them using the same ethnic theory to which they swore was intended to give equality to all citizens. . It is a centralized government structure as a monarchy state, which has regional representations without legislative power similar to a prince’ who would act as head figure for a region without a say on National issues and limited freedom on local decisions.

The Amhara and the Nation of Ethiopia
Another week, and another stellar story on this administration’s, position on the Amhara people. For this government, the mindset and existence of the Amhara, has halted its strategy of ethnic and religious fractionalization, mobilization of the citizens for the benefit of the governing and its legitimacy internationally. This regime from its days as a rebel movement has seen, Amahara as its challenger and the mind state has not changed today. It is their believe by destroying the Amhara Identity, they are destroying Ethiopiawinet. It is here, where they will will falter.

The problem is in their mind. It is how they think!

In a state of ethnic federalism, no entity can declare to be nationalist individually or as a group… Amhara is Ethiopian first! Ethnically based citizenships, nonexistent political representation on the national stage, decision-making and self-determination are prohibited, because the Amhara doctrine and blood of generations of Amhara (Ethiopians) will not allow today’s Amhara to accept a divided Ethiopia, there by allowing the house to collapse. Even if he fights under an Amahra decree, it is to once more unify the nation and not ethnic supremacy or separation from the state.
Not all but most ethically administered federal nations are centrally controlled to ease the work of untrustworthy regional leaders, if the Amahra is living, thinking and exisiting across the Nation, it makes it difficult to manipulate them because they will not support the giving of fertile Ethiopian land to foreign entities, so you remove them from the location entirely. Amhara from it’s name, has stood to defend and protect an identity of Ethiopia this administration has been unable to strip of their hearts. No other ethnic group overwhelmingly stands true to Ethiopia and the state as a united nation.

Do not think like them.

The Amhara people will lose the fight and lose our identity when we begin to think like them. To prevail we must continue to think Ethiopia, even when they attack us as Amhara’s. A house divided, systematically damaged and in need of structural adjustment is “ethnic federalism” by definition. The divided states are put in place to insure the entire political structure can not collapse, too busy holding on to the supporting columns they are unable to challenge the center. It is with this political philosophy, ethnic leaders keep everyone afraid of one another, “you let your column go and, and surely it will collapse on you, and the others are waiting to for that to happen to you”.

This regime is incapable of changing or adapting so it is critical we not follow in their narrow ethnic minded strategy towards national sovereignty, governance, social order and the struggle to change the system. The rise to unity must not begin with the preaching of ethnic independence or freedom but National sovereignty. The fight,today is about a freedom of a Nation, against a political agenda of self loathing burocratas. ethiopia needs the Amhara people, way of thinking and the conquering spirit of our ancestors reborn in us. As it always stood, the Amhara will stand to free Ethiopia, and the victory lead by the same people will be the victory of Ethiopia.

NOTE:
This article is not intended to diminish or degrade the contributions of other ethnicities with in Ethiopia. Many have fought and died, standing side by side in defense of this great Nation. These are the times we are living in, and our challenges are a reflection of us as a people and Nation. The persecution, displacement and targeted attacks on the Amhara people should be a concern to all. Tomorrow, they will come for you.

Author: Menyelek dagmawimenyelek@gmail.com

George was honored by ringing the bell on the floor of Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, the first of its kind in Africa according to BBC. These “economic miracles” and similar “owned” by the very few minority ethnicity are what the BBC Headlines declared the fastest growing economy of Ethiopia. Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn who was interviewed on the program was boasting of converting Ethiopia to manufacturing or industrialized country in the coming decade.However, China will not be happy mentioning Taiwan as one of the models for Ethiopia. Hailemariam is not as sharp as the late Meles Zenawi. Is Ethiopia doing business with both Taiwan and China ?

George’s AU Show in the coming day or days will cover the roads and buildings in Addis Ababa to support the march to industrialization. If he travels to the outskirts of Addis Ababa flower farms which is bringing in hard currency for the ruling mafia are replacing food producing farm lands. If he goes far he will see the mechanized farm of Sheik Al Amoudi and similar huge tracts of land under the control of the foreign landlords and the government. All these “growth” are at the expense of small farmers and indigenous people. The British development agency and USAID are financing the land grab. Europe has its flower and America has its security, period !!!!

George invited two students from university, two street dancers and one female architect to his show at AU Studio this morning. The street was very quiet looked like the Green Zone of America in Baghdad. We did not see the security forces but I can assure you that George Show was well protected not from ” terrorists” but from the wider public.If George wants to talk to the young people he could have gone to schools and colleges, why did he ask the school and college to come to him ? He went to Ethiopian Commodity Exchange floor why not go to the universities ? The truth is this. He is in total control by his hosts, the government cadres, because Ethiopia is run by armed group of minority clique which bans free assembly and speech throughout the country. Speech and Assembly are only allowed under the eye of security thugs or government picked paid agents.

The women Architect who informed us that she wants to stay in Ethiopia because construction is booming. If George goes around freely which he might not will find hundreds if not thousands of doctors leaving hospitals not because of lack of job but because of lack of basic freedom in Ethiopia. I challenge George to take his show to the people not bringing selected people to his studio at AU and feeding us tons of propaganda which the Ethiopian people are tired of.

The one minute talk about human rights with Hailemariam Desalegn is very shameful. For BBC what matters is “Food/growth” not Freedom. I want to give tip to George before he finished his AU Show most likely at the end of this week to Visit the Anwar Mosque and Kaliti Jail in Addis. If you are Muslim you can pray if not wait and follow the prayer. Talk to the young female and male and ask them what “growth” means to them. The journalists and political leaders locked up at Kaliti will not be allowed to talk, some were shipped out not to spoil the AU Show, but why not try to talk to family members, mothers,fathers, wives,husbands and children, who are coming daily for year or years to see their loved ones

Last but not least I want George to cover the peaceful rally of May 25 organized by the newly formed Blue Party/Semayawi of Ethiopia (Blue). They will try to come out right where George is , BBC AU studio. I do not want to give you their Web address because it is blocked. One thing George should not forget to report in few days he enjoys life in Addis is the “growth” in Internet blocking. Ethiopia is the worst abuser of all but BBC does not matter much because its correspondents are blocking themselves. Go Blue Go !!!!!

Much is going on in Ethiopia if just one considers events taking place in these last two weeks. As usual I stay glued to my set watching Ethiopian news and documentation on ETV. Even with my built-in reservations on this state run TV, I still remain captivated by the ETV news and documentation portraying dramatic change that is taking place in the new Ethiopian administration, a reality that seems to elude the scrutiny of very many Diaspora Ethiopians. It is tragic to read essays of people who should know better still writing as if Meles Zenawi is alive and there is no change taking place in the new Hailemariam Desalegn’s administration. In saying thus, I am not blinded by may own overwhelming desire to see Ethiopia progress in all aspects of human endeavors and as a result only see pieces of my own imagination for the reality out there in Ethiopia.

The arrest of high officials and prominent businessmen, the visit of high level delegation from wealthy Arab States, the trade delegation from Egypt of industrialists, Hailemariam’s State visit to Kuwait, the business tours of World Bank and African Development Bank executives to Addis Ababa et cetera are very serious and quite impressive events. But more so for me, I observed very subtle but profound changes in the ETV presentation of the Kilil TV programs, where the national image is now foremost superseding Kilil identities. The national Ethiopian Flag is hoisted often by itself prominently without the irritating in your-face “State” Flags and symbols displayed in Kilil programs. These forms of promotion of the national image of Ethiopia are not small steps, but major displays of the consolidation of nationalist forces, which in a way validates and reinforces further Hailemariam Desalegn’s statements of a few weeks ago on the shift of policy on the Constitutional rights of Ethiopian Citizens’ freedom of movement and freedom of choice of abode and work place of settlement.

As far as I am concerned such events are excellent indicators of a solid starting point for a new government trying to have some traction on such slippery and volatile political and economic conditions left behind by Meles Zenawi. Nevertheless, my cup would have overflowed with joy and admiration if the new Ethiopian Administration had released Eskinder Nega, Andualem Aragie, and several other prominent Ethiopian journalists and political leaders. As long as these courageous Ethiopians continue to be in prison, their incarceration would continue to undermine all political and economic positive efforts of the new Hailemariam administration.

One must take into account the possibility that the Ethiopian Government is afraid of the impact of such courageous Ethiopians on the population if it frees them. However, there are other less inhumane solutions to such predicament than imprisonment on trumped-up charges. If such is the case, in my desperation I suggest to the new Ethiopian leaders a more humane way of solving the impasse by repudiating the criminal convictions of Eskinder and Andualem and by ostracizing them into exile to countries outside of Ethiopia. The ancient Greeks used to have a practice when an individual becomes too powerful for the society even though such individual has not committed any crime, they used to send such an individual in to exile to a foreign country. To a limited extent our past rulers had used similar process, for example, Emperor Haile Selassie exiled Yohannes Eyassu, the son of Lij Eyassu Mikael, for no reason except for fear of possible challenge to his Throne. Yohannes Eyassu was a patriot leader who fought the Italian occupiers for five years winning the admiration and respect of tens of thousands of Ethiopian Patriots and ordinary people while the Emperor went on exile to England. “A possible measure to protect democracy would be to exile the man who was too influential, but although a very common way to protect the city from rivalries, this was a harsh measure that was only taken by the community as a whole.”* My only interest is to get such good men out of Hellhole.

II. Haste Makes Waste

There is much truth to the idiomatic expression that haste makes waste. I witnessed two monumental changes taking place in Ethiopia in 1974 and in 1991. Sadly in each of those changes I also witnessed serious flaws that affected the course of the two regimes formed after each social convulsion. In both monumental changes, there was hastiness that blinded very many Ethiopians into supporting and enabling narcissistic individuals to climb up types of political structures that lead directly into the coming into form of tyrannical political strong men. How did such changes take place in a traditional social and political structure? I had argued for years that the problem started way back in time with the breakup of the traditional courtiers’ power to elect the kings and emperors of Ethiopia due to the infusion of massive slavery into the system and the courtiers losing their grip on power.

In our/my own time, Emperor Haile Selassie, despite the fact of his outstanding effort in the modernization of Ethiopia, contributed “inadvertently” to the political turmoil that caused his own downfall and the overthrow of the aristocracy and the atrocities that followed. By creating the modern school system he created a cocoon of elites who had no true connection with the society and thereby he destroyed the remnant of the traditional power structure. The prolific writer and astute observer of Ethiopian life, Professor Messay Kebede,** in books and articles has exhaustively expounded similar points. Emperor Haile Selassie, in addition to the modern education system, also created a national military undermining the traditional military structure of separate armies headed by Rases and provincial governors. Thus both the student movement of the 1960s and the military rebellion of the 1970s were anti-traditional forms of change. Especially the student leaders brought in untested alien concepts that are still creating havoc to our Ethiopian ethos even after forty years.

The artificial cocoon atmosphere created by the modern school system was a disaster. Parents that usually are responsible to guide the moral and social skill development of their children were afraid of their modern-school-attendee-children who were incased in the cocoon of artificial modern schools. There was no real connection between such students and society who grew up in no man’s land to be come Marxist/Leninist revolutionaries. The current dissonance in between Ethiopians is one clear result of such artificial cocoon mentality that persisted and is inherited by generations of students down to the current generation of Ethiopians. In fact such now old former students that we find currently in all kinds of political organizations are holding us all hostages with their pseudo Marxist/Leninist organizations and shallow rhetoric and manipulation. Because of such generational alienations, I believe a number of Ethiopians in the Diaspora are paralyzed with fear from working out their own individual political and economic reality. For Ethiopians in the Diaspora, the best way to help Ethiopia is to be successful in one’s own life any where in the World.

III. Better Light a Candle…

It is never late for any one of us to start out fresh in life fixing past misdeeds, wrongs that we made et cetera. The title of this article is a Chinese/Korean proverb on pragmatism. At times, I feel that it is not even age-appropriate to dive into the discussion of such obvious lack of practicality in living one’s own life successfully. For far too long it seems to me that a number of Ethiopians in the Diaspora have been entertaining unrealistic political ambition that they could effect political change by debating in hotel halls and demonstrating in major western capitals. At times I find positions of some of the leaders of such political organizations quite childish, for they aspire to overthrow the Ethiopian Government through mass organization conducted from foreign capitals. This type of thinking is absurd and stupid, for it has not worked at anytime in our recent history.

It is far better to think small and start helping out the many destitute Ethiopians right here in the West than to dream of becoming leaders of a new Ethiopian government in the distance. At any rate political alliance cannot be of much substance if it is just a result of meetings in hotel auditoriums. The way to build a solid political base anywhere is to run locally placed social institutions, such as clinics, schools, self help cooperatives et cetera for fellow Ethiopians. In my decades of exile here in the United States, I have not witnessed anyone (including myself) establishing scholarship fund for Ethiopian students here where we have our lives. It seems to me that we talk and write well, but when it comes to practical helpful work, we are no where to be found. True, the building and establishment of a good number of churches and civic centers for Ethiopians by Ethiopians is quite commendable activities, but it very limited taking into account how much more we are capable of doing..

It is important that Diaspora Ethiopians create first a strong network of interdependency before focusing on playing political power game against the current Government leadership in Ethiopia. Some individuals in the Diaspora have expressed in very strongly worded statements that they will not settle for any change in Ethiopia except a revolutionary one. There is tremendous risk of social breakdown and the disintegration of Ethiopia to gamble with revolutionary changes, for revolutions are unpredictable and the social upheaval can easily get out of control or reach critical mass that it becomes totally volatile and unstable. Compromise is an effective key to harmonious social life and the bedrock of the democratic process and its basic form of government.

IV. Why I am Optimistic

I have solid reasons for my optimism about the future of Ethiopia. I believe Hailemariam Desalign is moving cautiously and constructively shaping Ethiopia as a democratic country. Just two days ago the Auditor General of the Federal Government presented his Report and there was an open discussion in Parliament. In watching the House debates as reported on ETV, it is the first time I felt the presence of a real government wherein the executive is being put to task by parliamentary representatives. The House Representatives were confronting head long the many Ministries that have not properly accounted for budgetary millions of birr, which included such powerful Ministries such as the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs et cetera. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aba Dula Gemeda, expressed that the outcome of such failure of proper accounting will result in none approval of budgetary allocations of funds to those Ministries that failed to make proper accounting. I was very much reminded of the yearly confrontations between Congress and President Obama on the American Government Budget. Such bold parliamentary activities were unthinkable a year ago.

It seems to me that the Ethiopian Government is heading in the right direction at this point in time. I do not expect the current Ethiopian Government to remedy or fix all of the errors of the last twenty years all at once. It is important that the new Ethiopian government need be taking baby-steps to gain some foothold in the complex structure of the government and its functionaries left behind by Meles Zenawi. Take for instance the Constitution, we all know that it is seriously flawed. However, one cannot start fixing the several errors by throwing out that Constitution right away, to do so would be to lose the minimum base of law and order and minimal rights. I have read in essays and chats people urging the people in leadership to abrogate the Constitution. I too have written repeatedly on such topic, but I prefer now the establishment of a commission first to pinpoint the many flaws of the Constitution and open a forum to the public for debate and discourse. It will be an astute political move by Hailemariam to start such political ball rolling.

This open criticism and identification of lack of proper accounting by the Auditor General, and where the Ethiopian public is fully informed has the added advantage of raising the expectations of the population for much higher standard of governance. Such development in itself is the manifest softening of the political stranglehold of the EPRDF. All good social, political, and economic changes require changes in the mental strength of the Ethiopian people. I just hope that such ray of light of democracy will not be short lived and that the Ethiopian Government will not plunge back into byzantine labyrinth of intrigues and arbitrary arrests and detentions and lawlessness in general.

Conclusion

Recently a very successful and very generous friend of mine told me that I have wasted my life in the West, meaning that I should have stayed back in Ethiopia where I could have contributed greatly to the success of our beloved nation. I can imagine how much pain it must have caused him to tell me to my face how far I have failed in my primary duty. I know that comment comes from a person who has great expectations of my “talent” and who otherwise heaps accolades on me and yet burning with positive concern for a brother that seems not to make much headway in wealth or in political life. True, my fifteen years of academic fellowship and teaching of college students, or writing numerous articles et cetera would not tilt the scale against a single year of serving in Ethiopia. Thus, I swear to myself that I will always be truthful to my Ethiopia/people and not carry any other hidden agenda than the single agenda to see Ethiopia realize its true potential in great glory, and no matter how unpopular my views may be at any particular time. I apologize to all of my close friends and in general to all who knew of me for not living up to their expectations.

Individuals of the young Ethiopian generation, such as Aman who asked of me to write a book after reading my recent article that he identified as “tebta mar,” are cause enough for me to continue my writing and sharing my ideas. “I read your piece with great interest and calm. I think you need to be congratulated on this watershed piece that put our current predicament into its proper context. I call it ‘tebta mar.’ I recommend you expand this writing of yours into a book, so we the current generation and the future ones have something concrete to refer to.” [emphasis mine]

In my earlier essay I invited fellow Ethiopians to enter into some form of discourse on the subject of the current political situation in Ethiopia. From some of the postings and also responses, I am able to gleam that there are some who are willing to enter into constructive discourse, while there are others who seem to be trapped in the past unable to see changes and new possibilities in the current Ethiopian Leader Hailemariam Desalegn. I do not see why we have to be hasty in condemning this leader or dismissive in our judgment at a time like this where caution is most appropriate. I am open to changing my mined, but would like to keep a positive and open mind in trying to convince my fellow Ethiopians in the Diaspora and those at home that we need to engage the current Ethiopian Leaders positively. Let us continue our discourse. God Bless Us All.

Tecola W. Hagos

Endnotes:
* http://www.livius.org/on-oz/ostracism/ostracism.html. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on May 7, 2013.
**Messay Kebede, IDEOLOGY AND ELITE CONFLICTS: AUTOPSY OF THE ETHIOPIAN REVOLUTION, Lexington Books, 2011; – RADICALISM AND CULTURAL DISLOCATION IN ETHIOPIA, 1960 – 1974, Rochester, NY: Rochester University Press, 2008.

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

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

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

The two dozen “corruption” suspects nabbed in the “investigation” include ERCA “director general” with the “rank of minister”, his deputies and the “chief prosecutor” along with other customs officials. A number of prominent businessmen and some of their family members were also snagged in the dragnet. “Ethiopia’s top anti-corruption official” Ali Sulaiman told the Voice of America Amharic program last week “the suspects had been under surveillance for over two years.”
The anti-corruption crusaders put on quite a show-and-tell on their television service. They put up dramatic footage of wads and stashes of greenbacks and Eurodollars in suitcases allegedly seized at a suspect’s residence. They displayed allegedly fraudulent land records from another suspect and gave interviews on how the suspects engaged in their corrupt practices. (The show-and-tell was reminiscent of the “terrorist” suspects they paraded in “Akeldama” and “Jihadawi Harakat” with caches of guns and explosives. For the “corruption” suspects, it was stashes of cash.)
The regime’s public relations machine kicked into overdrive. Comments by unnamed “Ethiopian activists praising efforts by the government to crackdown on corruption in the East African country” were reported. One anonymous activists declared, “Ethiopia is pushing forward on efforts to help end the rampant corruption within government and business in the country…. We need to clean up our government…” Other anonymous commentators were quoted proclaiming moral victory on corruption. “The arrests are the beginning of a new Ethiopia free from the politics and past craziness and greed that had been part of the country for far too long.”

Divergent viewpoints on the “investigation” and arrest of the suspects were bandied in the Ethiopian Diaspora. Some offered muted praise for “Hailemariam’s government” for launching a “war” on “corruption”. They said the bagging of the two dozen or so suspects represents a shot across the bow for all “corruptitioners” (a neologism to describe professional practitioners of corruption). Others were convinced the suspects were guilty “because everybody knows they are corrupt. They shakedown every businessman importing goods into the country…” They were glad to see these “bad guys” bagged. There were many who dismissed the whole investigation as a sham, a public relations charade. It is political theater staged for the World Bank, the IMF and other donors who are demanding anti-corruption action as a precondition for handouts.
Some even suggested it was a special show staged for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who is expected to visit Ethiopia to attend an African Union summit. The regime bosses can bob and weave against any Kerry punches on human rights and the jailing of dissidents, journalists and opposition leaders by touting their “anti-corruption” efforts. Others viewed the arrests as a fallout of the post-Meles power struggle that is raging among ruling party factions. For the suspects to be arrested, their protector “god fathers” must have been vanquished or purged out in the power play. Still others said the arrest of these particular suspects is the low hanging fruit of corruption in Ethiopia. Going after officials of the customs authority, an agency historically stained with corruption, provides the regime an aura of credibility and magnifies its purported anti-corruption efforts.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Due process and the rights of the accused

As I was drafting this commentary, I was advised by some learned colleagues that any statement I make that seems remotely sympathetic to the suspects accused of “corruption” could send the wrong message and create the misimpression that I would stoop low to defend even the manifestly corrupt just to make political points against the regime. I was told not to bother because “everybody knows the suspects are corrupt…” One of my feisty friends in a moment of rhetorical impetuosity was compelled to ask, “Why should you care if these S.O.B’s get a fair trial? Everyone knows they are guilty. Let them hang!”
That is where I part ways with my learned friends. The last time I parted ways with them was when I defended Meles Zenawi’s right to speak at Columbia University in September 2010. At the time, I was roundly criticized by friends and some of my regular readers. “How could you defend the ‘monster’ who had denied millions of Ethiopians the right to speak and even breath?” I insisted I was not defending a “monster” but the principle of free expression. My defense was simple, “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” My position is no different now. If we don’t believe in a fair trial for those we despise as corrupt, then we do not believe in fair trial at all.

I believe in fairness and justice. I do not believe in revenge or retribution. I take no position on the factual guilt or innocence of those accused of “corruption”. If they did the crime, they have to do the time. However, I believe they have a constitutional right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial. In other words, I make no exceptions or compromises when it comes to taking a position in defending the principle and practice of due process of law and respect for fundamental human rights. Those accused of “corruption” now (and those who will certainly face accusations of crimes against humanity and other crimes in the future) are entitled to full due process of law, which includes not only the presumption of innocence and the right against self-incrimination but also the rights to counsel, adequate notice of charges, an impartial and neutral fact-finder, speedy trial and adjudication by the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.
My deep concern over the arbitrary administration of justice or denial of fair trial to anyone accused of “corruption”, “terrorism”, “treason”, etc., is rooted in the manifest absence of the rule of law in Ethiopia and the harsh realities of Meles’ officialdom. Any petty “law enforcement” official of the regime has the power to arrest and jail an innocent citizen. As I argued in my February 2012 commentary, “The Prototype African Police State”, a local police chief in Addis Ababa felt so arrogantly secure in his arbitrary powers that he threatened to arrest a Voice of America reporter stationed in Washington, D.C. simply because that reporter asked him for his full name during a telephone interview. “I don’t care if you live in Washington or in Heaven. I don’t give a damn! But I will arrest you and take you. You should know that!!”, barked police chief Zemedkun. If a flaky policeman can exercise such absolute power, is it unreasonable to imagine those at the apex of power have the power to do anything they want with impunity. The regime in Ethiopia is living proof that power corrupts and an absolute power corrupts absolutely.

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

Article 20 (3) Ethiopian Constitution provides, “During proceedings accused persons have the right to be presumed innocent.” The same right is secured under the Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 14(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 7(b) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR). Disrespect for the presumption of innocence has been the hallmark of the Meles regime. To be accused of a crime by the Meles regime is to be convicted and sentenced to a long prison term. That is why I have often caricatured the Meles’ judicial system as kangaroo court justice. The courts are corrupted through political manipulation, intimidation and domination. The 2012 U.S. State Department Human Rights report concluded, “The law provides for an independent judiciary. Although the civil courts operated with a large degree of independence, the criminal courts remained weak, overburdened, andsubject to political influence.” One of the “corruption” suspects during his first court appearance complained of prejudicial pretrial publicity because “state television showed his house being searched.”
There is a long and predictable pattern and practice of disregard for the constitutional right to presumption of innocence and wholesale abuse and denial of a panoply of constitutional rights to those accused of political crimes in Ethiopia. Following the 2005 election, Meles publicly declared that “The CUD (Kinijit) leaders are engaged in insurrection — that is an act of treason under Ethiopian law. They will be charged and they will appear in court.” They were charged, appeared in “court” and were convicted. In December 2008, Meles railroaded Birtukan Midekssa, the first female political party leader in Ethiopian history, without so much as a hearing let alone a trial. He sent her straight from the street into solitary confinement and later declared: “There will never be an agreement with anybody to release Birtukan. Ever. Full stop. That’s a dead issue.” In 2009, Meles’ right hand man labeled 40 defendants awaiting trial as “desperadoes” who planned to “assassinate high ranking government officials and destroying telecommunication services and electricity utilities and create conducive conditions for large scale chaos and havoc.” They were all “convicted” and given long prison sentences.

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

Violations of the constitutional rights of those accused of crimes by the regime are not limited to disregard for the presumption of innocence. Internationally-celebrated Ethiopian journalists including Reeyot Alemu, Woubshet Taye and many others were denied access to legal counsel for months. Ethiopian Muslim activists who demanded an end to religious interference were jailed on “terrorism” charges and denied access to counsel. They were mistreated and abused in pretrial detention. Scores of journalists, opposition members and activists arrested and prosecuted (persecuted) under the so-called anti-terrorism proclamation were also denied counsel and speedy trials and languished in prison for long periods.
Article 20 (2) provides, “Any person in custody or a convicted prisoner shall have the right to communicate with and be visited by spouse(s), close relatives and friends, medical attendants, religious and legal counselors. In an interview given to the Voice of America Amharic program last week, a lawyer for one of the suspects complained that he and a bunch of other lawyers were denied access to their clients accused of “corruption” after waiting for five hours. They were told to return the following day because the “suspects were undergoing interrogation.” Yet, Article 19 (5) provides, “Everyone shall have the right not to be forced to make any confessions or admissions of any evidence that may be brought against him during the trial.”

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

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

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

Fall guys or grand fall

There is something strange about the regime’s current “corruption” narrative; and I must say it reflects very badly on Meles himself. According to reports, the “director general” (the alleged kingpin of the “corruption” ring) was appointed by Meles in 2008. He is a “senior cabinet member”. He is credited for “overseeing several tax reforms including widening the tax base, by requiring businesses to install cash registration machines and to become registered for Value Added Tax (VAT).” According to one report, “Under [the “director general”], the amount of revenues the federal government mobilized has reached 71 billion Br in 2011/12, a dramatic increase from the 19 billion Br collected before he took the position.”
Something is not right with that picture. Was Meles so blind and incompetent to select such a “corrupt man” to take the helm of his money making machine? Did Meles select him to oversee his corrupt empire because he knew the “director general” was the just right man for the job? Is it possible that the “director general” is a victim in a political power play? In any case, the arrest of the “director general” and the smear on his character and reputation reflects very poorly on Meles judgment, common sense and integrity. In my view, if the “director general” is truly the corruption ringleader, then he cannot possibly be the capo di tutti capi (boss of all bosses), perhaps an underboss or a consigliere.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scapegoating or “anti-corruption”?

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

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

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

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

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

One of the alternatives, the very handy one, is the use of election; the second one is the use of uprising. And the third one is, assuming that whoever is doing it is part and parcel of the society, the use of coup d’état. All of them require meticulous and intensive preparation, specifically on the part of the opposition forces in the field. The society, as always, as they have shown in election 2005 and 2010, are ready to actively participate if and when provided leadership. The society never failed to discharge its share of responsibility. Given these ripe political and social environment, it is totally wrong particularly on the part of the political parties in the field to agitate for not to participate in the coming 2015 election. To agitate for not participating in the coming general election is, particularly where, a) the TPLF leadership and the regime in general is in political crisis, and b) where there is an opportunity for politically perceptive political leadership, to indirectly campaigning in favor of the survival of the regime. It is, directly or indirectly facilitating the regime’s survival conspiracy while damaging the society‘s interests, which are, to begin with, food, shelter and clothing. Therefore, the right thing to do, and the timely thing to do, is to vigorously campaign for the election to take place. At the same time, however, this is an important component of the campaign, to vigorously rouse the society to come out in mass as they did before and elect the opposition political parties, for which I will offer specific suggestions. As I was strongly in favor of 2005 and 2010 elections, here too, I am strongly suggesting to participate in the general election of 2015. Hence the topic, “Lessons from May 15, 2005 Election.”

The campaign has to start seriously with the exposure of what is vividly stated in TPLF’s political program, the revolutionary democracy. It must be uncompromisingly exposed to the people of Ethiopia, and to the governmental and non governmental international organization. Let them know the games TPLF leadership is preparing to play in the coming general election. They have to be told to actively involve themselves that the coming general election of 2015 is properly and fairly conducted. They are the ones who built this regime to reach to the level it has reached today, both politically and economically. Here is what, the TPLF program states: …. only by winning the elections successively and holding power without let up can we securely establish the hegemony of Revolutionary Democracy. If we lose in the elections even once, we will encounter a great danger. So, in order to permanently establish this hegemony, we should win in the initial elections …. In the subsequent elections, too, we should be able to win without interruption. The stealing of the election results of both 2005 and 2010 are embedded in it. This kind of built in mind-set must be attacked vehemently from the start. To let it take its destructive course unchallenged is wrong and unforgivable. It is tantamount to encouraging the TPLF leadership to implement it again.

One can boldly say that the divisive Meles Zenwi, who was the brain and the mouth of TPLF and the regime, composed this particular content of the program. Whether the current TPLF leadership, which is in political crisis, in the absence of Meles Zenawi, would follow this to the letter or not remains to be seen during the process of the campaign, and, how the opposition political parties would be dealing with it. The bottom line is, irrespective of what the TPLF leadership would do or not do, this dictatorial position indicated above aught to be exposed fast and now, and dismantled by the opposition political parties who are preparing to participate in the election of 2015. In my opinion it is the key to winning or losing the election. It is not a simple issue to let it go unnoticed.

Therefore, the political parties in the field have to challenge it vehemently and meet the need of the current demand of the society by systematically planning with an equally ruthless and decisive activities where the society at every level would be fully involved. The society is ready. The effect of the intensive campaign done during the elections of 2005 and 2010 is still intact. Teachers and students, elements widely distributed from corner to corner of the country, could be decisively effective instruments to retool the society with the current political situations. It is just retooling. The potential is there. To suggest useful methods to be applied, and to boost the preparation of the opposition parties in the field for the 2015 election I will point out three lessons, here after called activities, to be implemented from the election of May 15, 2005, namely: a) formation of a coalition (Kinijit), b) disciplined organizational activities, and c) disciplined participation of the society.

What are the Lessons to be Replicated?

By systematically implementing the three activities that would be discussed below, the then opposition political organization were able to bring out over 26 million people to use their ballots that completely destroyed Meles Zenawi and his regime. Mass participation is very critical. I will offer the edited version of the three activities from my article of September 17, 2008, WHY THE STRUGGLE FAILED. The three activities were successful up to the date of May 15, 2005, the election day. My humble suggestion to the opposition political organizations in the field is to replicate the three activities in the coming general election of 2015. In addition to prepare itself to challenge the regime if and when it stole the election results again. This part of the process, the challenging part, if and when needed, is going beyond the finishing line. It is stepping across the marked line.

1. Forming a coalition (Kinijit)

In 2005, the formation of the coalition undoubtedly stream lined and put in motion the process of the struggle for the victory of May 15, 2005. The four political parties formed a coalition strictly based on the strategy to beat Meles Zenawi and guarantee the coalition to win at every level of the contest. Here is part of the strategy, that can be replicated by the current opposition political parties in the field, that was established before going into the election. The four parties, namely AEUP, EDP-Medhin, Kestedemena and EDL, formed a coalition called Kinijit. They decided to field only one representative against Melese’s one representative at each election Kebele. Instead of two or more representatives of the opposition parties competing against one of Meles’s, they decided to choose from among themselves the strongest one that is capable to beat Meles’s representative, to represent Kinijit. Hence the distinguishing names, AEUP/Kinijit, EDP-Medhin/Kinijit, Kestedemena/ Kinijit and EDL/Kinijit. Note that Kinijit is the common denominator. This was the strategy that effectively dealt a blow on Meles Zenawi. Without this strategic setup, the election of May 15, 2005 might have not been successful. In my opinion, this is an experimentally proven model to be replicated in the coming general election of 2015 by the political parties in the field.

2. Well disciplined organizational activities of each member organization.

These disciplined organizational activities, that were already in the process of becoming visible, is the sum of: a) a strong, dedicated and disciplined leadership; b) strong, dedicated and well disciplined cadres or member-activists; c) well and effective in organizing their time, their energy, and their resources; d) an extensive reach out that effectively produced numerous offices and supportive Kebele community in the network. This aspect of the preparation is an extremely important component for the election of May 15, 2005 to succeed. And, e) well established organizational structure, that showed the command and solid hierarchical structure. For the current opposition political parties in the field to succeed in the coming general election of 2015, they are encouraged as much as possible, in fact it is a must, to adopt what was done before and during the election of May 15, 2005 by the then opposition political parties.

That was exactly what the opposition political parties did in the election of May 23, 2010 too. Except in here, in my opinion, it was a process that showed political maturity on the part of the opposition political parties. They went through negotiations and compromises that gave the chance to open up a crack. A window of opportunity to field their armies, the society. The opposition political parties effectively utilized this window of opportunity, the crack. Once the people got the chance to use their ballots, it was a forgone conclusion for Meles and his regime to be beaten. That was exactly what took place. The people did their job. But Meles stole the election again. It implemented what it stated in its political program. Now too, in the coming general election of 2015, it is guaranteed, that, with an intensive agitation and campaign, the people will come out in mass and beat the regime again. The people will do its share. But unfortunately, every time the election was held the leadership of the opposition political parties do not persist to pass the finishing line and grab the victory. Passing the finishing line is the point where the transference of power from the regime to the people takes place. Unfortunately, they turned their back and left the field, before crossing the finishing line, while the people were openly demanding for their right to be protected and defended. They cried, for no avail, for not letting their votes to be stolen. Here is a very sad consequence of their actions. The turning back by the leadership without completing the race exposed those progressive and aggressive activists and cadres who did their best to motivate the society to come out and vote, to be harassed, to be denied the social services they were entitled to, to be banished, and to be tortured by the regime‘s cadres. It was a very shameful act on the part of the opposition political leaderships. They did have an input for such horrible treatments the cadres and the activists received in the hands of Meles‘s cadres. They should have apologized for what they did to the activists. I sincerely hope the current opposition political parties in the field will stand on its two feet to resist and challenge the regime and defend and protect the democratic rights of the society. The people, as always, are there to line up behind them.

3. Well disciplined participation of the society.

To have a turn out of about 26 million of absolutely determined voters by resisting adverse natural elements, by heroically and effectively resisting banishment, torture, even after witnessing the killing of compatriots by Meles Zenawi’s ruthless security forces is simply phenomenal. The Ethiopian people have clearly demonstrated how inherently disciplined and determined they are, inherent characteristics that can be harnessed, if and when, determined and disciplined leadership showed up. There are two points to be observed here. One of them is the dedication, and, the effectively hands-on involvement of the then opposition political parties particularly at the grass roots level. These superior efforts on the part of the leadership and the activists in the field of the opposition political organizations cannot be denied, which was the first phase of the election. The second phase is what they did when the election was stolen. The second point to be observed is the built in resiliency and the perceptiveness of the people of Ethiopia. But, unfortunately, they were repeatedly abandoned by the leaders of the opposition political leaders, after investing so much time and energy, right after the day of the election of May 15, 2005 which is the second phase of the election. It is a very important lesson that the existing opposition political leaders in the field should take note of. It appears that a culture of non persistence and not finishing the race type of attitude, laziness, if you will, are being cultivated in the Ethiopian political system of struggle. It is dangerous. It should be exposed, condemned, pulled out and removed from its root for good. I think it is not a simple issue to be ignored.

I strongly argue that, it is absolutely a must to apply the above three activities to win the coming general election of 2015. If those in the field participate in the coming general election 2015 by implementing the above three activities indicated, they will win. There is no question about it. The question is, will the current political leaders leave the harvest in the field as it was done by previous political leaders or complete the process by empowering the people at any cost? Note that this is the second phase of the election which is very critical. Therefore, the follow up question to be answered is, that, what if the leadership of TPLF refuses to accept the result of the election as it did in the election of May 15, 2005, as well as in election 2010? It can steal the votes and boldly declare that it is the winner as it exactly did with the election results of May 15, 2005. Here is an internationally recognized confirmation of its stealing, to show its propensity to steal, if needed:

“No pragmatic strategy can justify the United States backing a regime that STOLE the last election and has brutalized their own people and will, at some point, disintegrate from its own corruption and incompetent ways.” Honorable Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) March 14, 2006. (It appears the prophesy of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) is in the process of being fulfilled.)

I will adopt here the analysis I used in my article of May 29, 2010, What if Meles Rejects the Results of the Election? Here is the adoption: The defining question for the current political parties in the field is then, a) given the inevitability of winning this coming general election of 2015 by the people of Ethiopia, and, b) assuming the determination of the regime to reject the result of the coming general election of 2015, are the competing opposition parties prepared and determined to challenge it by applying democratic means, say uprising, until the regime accepts its lose and submit to the democratic reality? Given the existence of ripe environment for winning the election, to postpone or boycott the general election of 2015, instead of determining to win and prepare oneself for it, at any cost, is tantamount to committing a crime of historic proportion against the people of Ethiopia. The beginning and the end of the election should not be measured on the basis of the lack of the gut and the lack of determination on the part of the opposition political parties in the field. Nor should it be measured on ones organizational internal weakness. It should be measured on the basis of whether the people are ready, all the way, to defend its right provided it gets gutsy and determined leaders to lead it. For a cut throat type of struggle the people of Ethiopian are engaged in, any available crack, small or big, should be latched on to it and taken advantage of. Therefore it is a must for the leadership of the opposition political leadership to organize and prepare itself to fit into the mold of the people. Amazingly the reverse is taking place in Ethiopia. It is not the political leaders who are providing the mold it is the people who is providing it. When people come out in mass and vote; when people demand for its democratic right, its vote, to be protected, then it is providing the mold to be fitted by the political parties.

Here comes a thought provoking opinion of mine which I believe will help the system of political struggle in Ethiopia. I want to link this general election of 2015 in particular, in fact, any future comprehensive political activities in general to simple, and humble, human to human relationship based activities, in addition to emotional and organic attachment. I want to weave this strictly based on human to human, with no hierarchical relationship attached to it, into the political system of struggle. That is, activities are organized and implemented humanely. Not from a position of authority, a kind of an already established top-down process. Not from a position of here I am to teach you kind of thing. That is, humans talking to humans on equal basis. Not political leaders or activists or cadres talking to human beings as political leaders or activists or cadres. Considering that both are on the same level where one would not think about ones political leadership; where one would

not think about ones political status; where one would not think, primarily, about ones organizational interests or powers. Almost always, at least subliminally, this last one is the driving force of political organizations, or political leaders, or, cadres. They completely forget or ignore the interests of the people so routinely talked about in meetings, in press releases, and in political commentaries. When the primary concern is the interests and aspirations of the people, when one succeeds on this laid down fundamental principle, the interests of the political organizations, which is political power, will be fulfilled by the people whose interests are also fulfilled in the process. It is automatic. So, I want to link these basic human being tendencies to the coming general election of 2015. Based on this premise then, I would like to put forward a challenging question, Do People Matter Any More and weave it into the present and the future political activities to be applied by the opposition political parties and the civic organizations?

So Do People Matter any More?

The challenge is, are we emotionally and organically attached and linked to the people that we talk about routinely? How is this organic and emotional linkage manifested in our daily political activities? Are we thinkers of people first, no matter what? Are the press releases made, the political commentaries made, the public meetings organized, made in complete commitment to, and, the people in mind? Or, are these political activities simply and routinely made, because they have to be done to manifest our existence? That is to say, we are alive and kicking. The question is to those structurally organized groups, be they civic organizations or political parties, be they in Diaspora or inside Ethiopia. If people matter, that is, if the concern is what happened to them, what is happening to them right now, and what will happen to them in the near future, then, given the current political opportunity, negotiation and compromise should be the key to open up the window of opportunity, a crack, to be used. In such favorable political environment any size of a crack should be taken advantage of. That is disarming and humbling oneself for the sake of eradicating poverty, for the good of the society, and for the sake of economic security for the current generations and the generations to come.

Do people matter to the leadership of TPLF?

The answer is no. Let alone the people, it hates the name Ethiopia itself. The hatred would be intense when Ethiopia is attached to anything. For example the Ethiopian people. The Ethiopian flag. The leadership of TPLF have tried to diminish the honored symbolic representation of the flag including defacing it. For how long did the leadership of TPLF refused to say the word Ethiopia? These are the people who robbed churches, killed priests, sold human bodies for profit, capitalized on famine to make money, all these done on the people of Tigry. They considered the Tigry people something else not human beings. Even though they are trying their level best to make up for it, history will not, cannot forget it. It is the legacy of Meles Zenawi and his group. Let them be aware of it.

So it is not surprising for the TPLF leadership not to consider the people of Ethiopia as human beings. It so vehemently detested the people it is supposed to provide full services, it considers them animals, particularly as donkeys that cannot think or rationalize. Donkeys are extremely submissive animals bred to carry loads whenever one wished and wherever one wanted the load to be moved to. It does what its owner wants it to do. The leadership of TPLF believes that it owns the people of Ethiopia as dedicated servants. In fact with full confidence. The people are there to satisfy its voracious political and economic hunger. It was to that effect that Meles Zenawi, from the outset, with his gang, formulated a policy to enslave the Ethiopian people. Implemented it to the letter until his death. It is an undeniable truth. This openly manifested motives of the leadership of TPLF has to be removed surgically. Here the bottom line argument is that people did not matter then before the death of Meles, and, it does not matter now after the death of Meles Zenawi. The mystified word (slogan), development (LIMAT) that one reads and hears all over the government information dissemination means, that one reads on T-shirts and caps are covers systematically used to hypnotize the people, without even scratching the existing abject poverty that the people are suffering from. The people are occupied with this empty hypnotic slogan being regurgitated everywhere.

Some Indicators of People do not Mater Anymore

People do not matter any more means they are no more considered as leaving breathing human beings. They are considered animals. I argue that had the leadership of TPLF considered the people of Ethiopia as human beings, hence due concern for its peace and unity–for these two are essential for economic development–at least for its basic shelter, food, clothing and health, it would have not, even thought about it, let alone dividing it along its ethnic and language lines and solidify it by introducing article 39. Which indicates a very hateful and vengeful attitude towards the Ethiopian people. By so doing it created a charged up environment. Instead, it would have totally focused on the poverty issue and how to eradicate it.

The second indicators are, the judicial system, the educational system, the health services, the intelligence (security), the military, the media and the economic policies would have been, from the outset, structured and geared toward fulfilling the interests and aspirations of the society at large. No, the people of Ethiopia are taken by the leadership of TPLF as animals, not human beings capable of thinking and rationalization, it is simply there to serve it. To satisfy its political and economic needs. To effectively and efficiently handle its business empire established, and, embedded in the so called economic system of the country, hence a state within a state, it has to capitalize on this nonhuman being categorization, devoid of feelings and compassion.

The third indicator is the eviction. The eviction of thousands of people with deliberately calculated move shows the non existence of human to human relationship hence the nonexistence of feelings and compassion. Because, the other side is not considered as human beings. Once the premise is established on “not human but animals categorization,” it follows then, what happens to the sick, the elderly, the pregnant, the babies being carried by their mothers, the children, to those who are being uprooted would not be of any concern to the TPLF leadership. The bottom line that one can learn from this eviction process being manifested in Ethiopia, is, that, these human sufferings did not affect an iota the TPLF leadership because the people are considered as animals. Those ethnic parties who are branches of the regime are simply followers who, perhaps still are, with short leashes on their necks. Certainly they were with short leashes before the death of Meles. They were under hypnotic control of Meles Zenawi. His death might have liberated them to a certain extent. Perhaps it is simply a wish on my part.

The fourth indicator is the selling of fertile lands. The rampant selling of the fertile lands to foreign governments under the cover of leasing, a very lucrative money making business, also reflects the lack of human based relationship that should have existed between the people of Ethiopia and the leadership of TPLF, and, by extension, here I want to introduce another factor into the picture, between the civic organizations and the political parties. Because of this relationship the leadership of TPLF could not see the future harmful impact of selling the land on the generations to come. As long as the deal satisfies its immediate political and economic needs it does not care about what would happen to the coming generations and what it would do. The youths of Ethiopia must note this divisive prescription.

Do the Opposition Political and Civic Organizations have Input for the
Development of this Characteristics of the TPLF Leadership?

Yes they do. I think it is an important point to note. I strongly argue that, by extension, these destructive deeds and beliefs that took place in Ethiopia by TPLF leadership cover the opposition forcers both inside Ethiopia and outside of Ethiopia. I argue that, simply put, the opposition political parties and the civic organizations were and are considered animals hence donkeys. Why? For one thing they are part and parcel of the society considered animals. Secondly, because they did not show any type of hands on aggressive resistance by standing on the side of the people treated as animals. They were and still are as submissive as the donkeys. The TPLF leadership, knows and feels about it and right now it can do anything it wishes to do and get away with it under the nose of the opposition political and civic organizations. Isn’t this a fact?

Even though this characterization applies to both who are inside as well as out side of Ethiopia, it more characterizes those inside of Ethiopia for they are there where the action was, and , is still taking place. For example, to cite the most recent one, they did not have the gut to stand on the side of the evicted Ethiopians, a concrete and undeniable issue, by using hands on aggressive and continuous resistance. For example repeated demonstrations at any cost until the issue is settled in favor of the evicted. International organizations, both governmental and not governmental, see this inaction, call it laziness, if you will, on the part of the opposition parties in the field, as a deliberate approval of what the TPLF leadership is doing. The opposition forces, in fact, both inside and outside of Ethiopia would not be free from the condemnation by history.

So, believe it or not, accept it or not, this is the exact relationship between the people of Ethiopia and the leadership of TPLF, on one hand, and between the leadership of TPLF and the leadership of the opposition forces, be they civic organizations or political parties.

If people mattered, that is, the attachment and the link is organic, hence the concern will always be there day and night, then, given the poverty situation of the society, given the degradation of the education system, given the degradation of the health services in the country, the civic organizations and the political parties, both inside and outside of Ethiopia are responsible to do things at its disposal to come to the rescue of the society by crafting effective means and situations. Right now, the opportunity is there to change the course of history. It is undeniable. Please note that, poverty, the degradation of the education system, and, the degradation of the health services will have untold impact on the generations to come. They will, directly or indirectly, stunt and arrest the proper functioning and development, particularly of the children in schools. Imagine a hungry, and unhealthy child in a classroom and the impact of these situations on the mental and psychological development of the child. What picture do you see? If people matter it is also the responsibility of the current young generations, the current youths, for these dysfunctional conditions hovering over the society of Ethiopia to be removed completely.

The TPLF regime was catapulted to power armed to the teeth with modern weapons of war provided by Gaddafi coupled with supply of intelligence about the military movements of the Derg regime, which the western powers wanted to revenge for its ideological leaning to the left and its anti-USA stance – all due to the political immaturity of Mengistu breaking at a public rally bottles filled with red liquid condemning imperialism. The US and UK governments in revenge to Mengistu’s bluff kept the TPLF warlords in power by direct financial and security support. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs portfolio has been under the monopoly of TPLF regime for the last 22 years in order to make sure that the interests of the two Western powers are served through instructions whispered to the Minister with whom they frequently meet at various international forums and domestically through their resident envoys.

However, it is encouraging to hear the statement by the acting deputy State department spokesman Patrick Ventrell that “The US was “deeply disappointed” that Ethiopia’s federal supreme court upheld the men’s “conviction and harsh sentencing,” adding that “Today’s decision further reinforces our serious concern about Ethiopia’s politicized prosecution of those critical of the government and ruling party, including under the anti-terrorism proclamation.” Mr.Ventrell went on to stress that “the Universal Declaration of Human Rights gives everyone “a right to freedom of opinion and expression, and that this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference.”

The USA looks set to lock horns with the monster regime, which it created and supported for the last 22 years. Nevertheless, the onus is on us Ethiopians to restore our dignity as human beings and work hard to usher in freedom, justice, liberty, equality and democracy thriving in a prosperous and compassionate society under the rule of law – so that the rampant heart-rending agony symbolized by the young Ethiopian lady in the picture below will end after the demise of the EPRDF regime.

The irony of Zenawi’s Foundation

I have been compiling and updating the following irrefutably ugly record inherited from Zenawi by the EPRDF regime:
“The tyrant finally died leaving Ethiopians with the legacy of: sellout of Ethiopia’s vital national interests such as active support for the separation of Eritrea; grisly heinous crimes including genocide, victims of torture, incarceration of peaceful protesters en masse; extra judiciary execution of peaceful protesters, the wailing of mothers, the agony of bereaved families, filthy jails in which hundreds of political prisoners are cruelly kept, toiling peasants in serfdom, interethnic hatred, daylight robbery of votes, pervasive corrupt practices, culture of pathological lies, demised free media, government monopoly of all pillars of democracy, blocked freedom of expression, poor educational standard, forbidden academic freedom in tertiary institutions, a land-locked country, fertile farmland ceded to the Sudan; leasing large chunks of fertile farmlands to unscrupulous foreign investors at tiny price; massive unemployment largely affecting the youth; demoralized youth addicted to psycho-thermal drugs; abject poverty; embezzlement of national treasure and diverting donor fund; rampant breach of the constitution; regional instability et al” – to which I have referred a couple of times in my previous articles.

All in all it was a tragedy that befell Ethiopia bringing her to the precipice of catastrophe that will require divine guidance, visionary leadership and hard work in a democratic environment in order to nullify the gruesome legacy of tyrant Zenawi.

Therefore in view of his above atrocious records the establishment of Zenawi’s Foundation with the approval of the rubber stamp Parliament is an irony in contempt of the intelligence of the Ethiopian people.

The saga of the sharing of Nile waters

A study was completed during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie for constructing electric power dams over the Blue Nile River (BNR) but was withheld only due to lack of funds. I recall that the Imperial regime circulated flyers promising to construct irrigation dams to divert attention in the 1974 revolution but that propaganda did not save the fall of the regime. The same fate awaits the EPRDF.

In 1977 Mengistu Hailemariam vowed at a meeting to make Egypt pay for every barrel of the water it is getting from the BNR. That was at a time when the Siade Barre forces made deep penetration into the Ethiopian territory in several fronts. This writer said that it was impractical to provoke Egypt which enjoys the support of the Arab world and Western powers at that time when we have alienated the latter due to our leftist ideology. This intervention made sense to him and was greeted with a sigh of relief by worried participants.

This writer was entangled in an incident in 1978 over his remarks that Ethiopia was not a party to any treaty on the sharing of the BNR waters and therefore she has the right to keep a fair share of the waters within her territories. The representative of the Sudan fumed but lost in the debate. He also recalls that in the 1980s suggesting, in his private capacity at a reception in the Egyptian Embassy in Addis Ababa, that amicable cooperation and collaboration among Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt will go a long way in creating a regional power under the umbrella of the OAU. I still do!
So this writer’s present stand over the sharing of BNR waters is not for the purpose of political opposition to the TPLF/EPRDF regime. It is out of deep concern based on five cardinal reasons: (1) negative environmental impact of the Mega Renaissance Dam (MRD); (2) the MRD is a white elephant that will never recover the investment if built at all; (3) its (MRD’s) intended size raises an intolerable security concern to Sudan and Egypt leading to regional instability or even war; (4) MRD project is politically motivated without conducting a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis; (5) no international financial institutions or governments would invest in the project as seen in the past under the previous regimes

In view of the epic importance of the issue, this writer has the audacity to quote the following passage from the article by Professor Al Mariam titled “Shadowboxing Smoke and Mirrors” dated 06 May 2013:-

Quote According to the World Bank, Ethiopia’s “power sector alone would require $3.3 billion per year to develop” in the next decade. Currently, power tariffs are so underpriced that they range between “$0.04-0.08 per kilowatt-hour” and are “low by regional standards and recover only 46 percent of the costs of the utility.” For every dollar they spend supplying power, they lose 54 cents! In other words, these guys hawking the Meles Dam junk bonds and promising billions in profits are losing their shirts on the power they are selling right now! Why would anyone trust and buy dam bonds from those who can’t even make a damn profit from existing dams? Why would anyone buy dam junk bonds when the outlook for the energy sector in Ethiopia is so damn bleak? The Melesistas fantasize that they can pay off bondholders by selling power from the dam to the Sudan, Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula. Why the hell would Egypt or the Sudan buy power from a dam that damns them by effectively reducing their water supply for agriculture and their own production of power?

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

The impeccable article as a whole is supported by facts; in the above passage of the article it is succinctly argued and convincingly quantified that Meles Dam is a waste of national resources in addition to becoming a cause for unleashing regional instability. Therefore there is nothing unpatriotic in providing credible information to fellow Ethiopians at home and in the Diaspora to reinforce their motto “Human rights first before the Mega Renaissance Dam”. Instilling, as the TPLF propaganda machine does, false hope in the minds of the ordinary people especially the youth is irresponsible.

This writer would like to reiterate his stand that Ethiopia can construct as many dams as found economically and environmentally feasible along the BNR and its tributaries in Ethiopia to assert her sovereignty over her rivers while complying with international treaty, if any, to which she has been a signatory party.

Self-reliance, emulating the Kenyan example

This writer watched the vetting of nominees to the Kenyan Cabinet submitted to the Parliament by President Uhuru Kenyatta. Honorable Charity Kaluki Ngilu, among the six female appointees – unprecedented number of women (six out of 18) – impressed this writer the most. Her impressive CV includes: Minister of Water, Irrigation “where under her leadership increased the number of people accessing safe clean water from 17 million to 24 million in 5 years”; Minister of Health, “where under her leadership patients living with AIDS accessed drugs, reduced malaria infection, reduced infant and maternal mortality”. She told interviewers, that she succeeded in several projects by employing Kenyan experts where Chinese experts failed for doing shoddy works; she vowed that she would continue with this policy in her new capacity as Cabinet secretary for Land, Housing and Urban Development.

In sharp contrast, as reported on the Ginbot-7 radio broadcast of 14 May 2013, Chinese companies are looting animal hides and precious mineral resources of Ethiopia in collusion with high ranking EPRDF party officials and Generals. This writer has been informed by a close friend that streams of lorries loaded with precious minerals mined in Gindeberet pass through his hometown of Ambo on their way to Addis Ababa. The G-7 radio also reported that a Chinese company was recently caught red-handed while attempting to smuggle two containers fully packed with hides.

The clever Chinese give nothing for free; they reclaim their ‘gift’ through devious means. It would be foolhardy to believe that the AU Headquarters building is a ‘gift’ of China to Africa.

Self-reliance was Ethiopia’s priority and motto of the Imperial and the Derg regimes. Several construction projects were carried out by all-Ethiopian engineers and experts. For example, this writer was involved as one of the key professionals – among others from the: Civil Aviation Authority (clientele), Ethiopian Air Force, Ethiopian Highway Authority (contractor), and Ethiopian Airlines – that were associated with the design, construction, supervision and commission of the Bahr Dar Airport capable of handling modern jet transport airplanes. The Imperial regime should take credit for the development of critical manpower to meet the needs of the country. But the TPLF regime alienated and pushed several professionals into exile including university professors, medical doctors, engineers, et al.

The TPLF warlords are importing foreign experts and laborers having chased out Ethiopians of better caliber capable to do the job. It is a shameful irony that the Meles Zenawi Foundation has been established against this atrocious backdrop – more so when unemployment especially among the youth is rampant.

Burden on the conscience ; the million dollar question; all-out uprising to save Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Youth National Movement (EYNM) has unequivocally expressed its solidarity with the Blue Party’s call for protest demonstration in front of the AU Headquarters on May 25, 2013. Other youth groups are either in the battle field or on the way to joining it in droves to save their motherland inherited from their heroic ancestors. The question is what is the silent majority of elites going to do? This writer’s conscience dictates that he must keep his own long held pledge to engage in an all-out uprising against the TPLF/EPRDF regime, to demand change to a genuine democratic order.

The ongoing crackdown on rampant corruption is a tip of the iceberg; the war on distortion of history, ethnic cleansing of the Amharas and rampant breach of the constitution must continue. The phrase “ጎሐፍ ጽረጉለይ” (clean the filth) coined by the late dictator Zenawi should be applied to: (a) dismantle the Zenawi Foundation; (b) erase Melesist thoughts; (c) tear down his statutes and remove his photograph from all public places and government offices; (d) wipe out from office all corrupt TPLF warlords, including the notorious liar Azeb Mesfin, and bring them to justice.

Demand the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience including Andualem Aragie, Eskinder Nega, Bekele Gerba, Reeyot Alemu, Leaders of the Ethiopian Muslims et al!

LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA!!!
rababya@gmail.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I have previously commented on the lack of academic freedom in Ethiopian higher education and the politicization of education in Ethiopia. In my February 2008 commentary “Tyranny in the Academy”, I called attention to the lack of academic freedom at Mekelle Law School. I defended Abigail Salisbury who was a visiting professor at that law school when she was summarily fired by Meles after she published an academic commentary on her experiences at that law school:
…I was absolutely shocked, then, when I started reading my students’ work. Out of the hundred third-year students I teach, probably forty of them had inserted a special section, right after the cover page, warning me of what might happen to them were their paper to leave my hands. A number of students wrote that they would never give their real opinions to an Ethiopian professor because they fear being turned in to the government and punished. Others begged me to take their work back to America with me so that people would know what was going on…

In my September 2010 commentary, “Indoctri-Nation”, I criticized the Meles regime for politicizing education. The “Ministry of Education” (reminds one of Orwell’s “Ministry of Truth” (Ignorance)) at the time had issued a “directive” effectively outlawing distance learning (education programs that are not delivered in the traditional university classroom or campus) throughout the country. The regime had also sought to corner the disciplines of law and teaching for state-controlled universities, creating a monopoly and pipeline for the training of party hacks to swarm the teaching and legal professions. I demonstrated that “directive” was in flagrant violation and in willful disregard of the procedural safeguards of the Higher Education Proclamation No. 650/2009. It did not faze them. (It was time to mint a new legal maxim: “The ignorant are entitled to ignore their own law and invoke ignorance of their own law as a defense.”)
The “directive” was at odds with the recommendations of the World Bank (which has been assisting the regime in improving education administration and delivery of services) for increased emphasis on the creation of a network of “tertiary educational” institutions (e.g. distance learning centers, private colleges, vocational training services, etc.,) to help support the “production of the higher-order capacity” necessary for Ethiopia’s development. In its 2003 sector study “Higher Education Development for Ethiopia”, the World Bank had recommended “a near term goal [of] doubl[ing] the share of private enrollments from the current 21% to 40% by 2010.” By 2010, the Meles regime had decided to reduce private tertiary institutions, particularly the burgeoning distance learning sector, to zero!

In my October 2010 commentary, “Ethiopia: Education Unbanned!”, I was pleasantly surprised but unconvinced by the Meles regime’s apparent change of strategy to abandon its decision to impose a blanket ban on distance learning and reach a negotiated resolution of instructional quality issues with distance learning providers. I pointed out a few lessons Meles and his crew could learn from the bureaucratic fiasco. (Is it really possible for the closed- and narrow-minded to learn?)
I focus on educational corruption in Ethiopia in this commentary for four reasons: 1) I was appalled by the corruption findings in the recent World Bank 448-page report “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia”. That report, with bureaucratic delicacy and hesitancy, demonstrates the cancer of corruption which afflicts the Ethiopian body politic has metastasized into the educational sector putting the nation’s youth at grave risk. 2) There is widespread acknowledgement that education in Ethiopia at all levels is in a pitiful condition. For instance, a 2010 Newsweek “study of health, education, economy, and politics” showed Ethiopia with a population of 88 million had a literacy rate of 43.3 percent, and ranked 98 out of 100 countries on education. 3) Few Ethiopian educators and scholars are examining the issue of educational corruption and its implications for the future of the country and its youth. Hopefully, this commentary could spur some of them to investigate corruption in education (and other areas) and conduct related policy research and analysis. 4) I had promised in my first weekly commentary of 2013 to pay special attention to youth issues in Ethiopia during the year. Nothing is more important to Ethiopia’s youth than education. Youth without education are youth without a future and without hope. Youth without education are emblematic of a nation in despair.

World Bank findings on corruption in the Ethiopian education sector

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Changing the culture of corruption and impunity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I watched on ETV with great fascination the recent presentations by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to the Ethiopian House of Representatives, especially the question and answer session wherein a representative asked the Prime Minister to expound on the hot issue of ethnic cleansing against the Amhara in the Benshangul Killil. I also read snippets of the report on that same subject by the lucid Redwan Hussien of the EPRDF‘s Secretariat. What both leaders stated without any equivocation was that removing Ethiopian “peoples” from an area based on their ethnic identity is an act by anti-people groups; the phrase they used was ፀረ ሕዝብ, and they emphasized the fact that every Ethiopian has a Constitutional right to work freely anywhere in Ethiopia. Both political leaders are from SEPDM (Southern Ethiopian Peoples’ Democratic Movement) the Former is its Chairman and the later Member of its Central Committee.* In referring to the citizens of Ethiopia, I reject the pseudo Leninist-Stalinist designation “peoples” that the EPRDF and its constitutive members use as their political mantra. The term “peoples” is passé and anachronistic.

What Hailemariam stated was a direct repudiation of Meles Zenawi’s core policy and work of twenty years of ethnic cleansing and Killilization (bantustanization) of Ethiopia. Such question to come from the floor let alone getting unequivocal and clear response were unthinkable a few months back. This is one clear instance that the Ethiopian Government after the death of Meles Zenawi is facing clear challenges on its past activities and undergoing profound changes. In fact, during the 9th Conference of the EPRDF held in Bahredar, there was a clear indication of malcontent (despite the exaggerated accolade and cult-worship of Meles Zenawi) of the policies and governmental actions of the EPRDF lead Ethiopian Government. One very honest and disconcerting address that I remember clearly because of its directness and clarity in delivery was made by ANDM’s Representative Ambassador Hilawi where in short of directly naming Meles Zenawi as a failed leader, nevertheless, insisted that time for cover-up and docility is over and that they must muster some courage in facing up to the many serious errors of policy and operation by the leaders of the EPRDF of the last twenty years.

The main reason for that type of open challenge within the hitherto regimented party organizational leadership is the fact that the overwhelming presence of Meles Zenawi is no longer the millstone that crushed anyone and everyone within the TPLF, or the EPRDF, or in the opposition. I argued repeatedly that the Ethiopian opposition leaders both in the Diaspora and back at home within Ethiopia must look at the profoundly changed circumstance [rebus sic stantibus] with a fresh mind and not just as a simple empirical extension of the Meles era. The present post–Meles era has been in dialectical fermentation for almost a year now that has progressed or developed in to qualitatively different political brew. We have now a chance to be involved in real Politick.

II. The New Era with Hailemariam Desalegn

The current political situation in Ethiopia offers us with very many possibilities. For a game to be played well, the ground rules for the game must be clearly understood. Real Politick requires adroitness without being opportunistic, subtlety rather than vulgarity, fact-based knowledge rather than rumor or wild-inferences et cetera. I read very many essays by passionate defenders of Ethiopian unity. And the essays of indefatigable authors promoting the respect and safe-guard of human rights in Ethiopia are no less. In addition, the views of highly learned economists insisting on economic development with a human face are always inspiring. These are all worthy causes, but writing and speaking of such subjects is also a route mined with explosive inner conflicting issues. For example, in defending and promoting some community interest leads to abrogating or crushing individual rights. This is where “subtlety” of approach matters.

I believe what we have now in SEPDM is a game-changer political organization that is also the best miniature representative of Ethiopia due to the fact that it is a multi-ethnic organization. Moreover, there seems to be no other agenda in the politicks or the ethos of that multi-ethnic aggregation other than the fact of “Ethiopiawinet”. I am much more comfortable in the leadership of such organization leaders due to the fact that they are already functioning quite well in a multi-ethnic oriented structure fully aware of the reality of Ethiopia’s historic constituents. The former APDM (the current ANDM) would have evolved in that same dynamic change had it not been forced to adopt an ethnic identity by Meles Zenawi and his TPLF supporters when it associated itself with the TPLF by breaking away from the EPRP. You can still see some of its lost features in its Central Committee members, such as Bereket Simon who is born of an Eritrean family who chose to fight for Ethiopia as a whole as a member of the EPRP when he could have easily joined the EPLF. In fact, that is why I still have grudging respect for that political choice he made at such a young age in the 1970s. Nevertheless, almost all of the people of Ethiopia, with very few exceptions do understand the destructiveness of ethnic based politics.

I believe it is wise for us that we take fresh look at the current political situation in Ethiopia. Statesmanship after all is the art of making the impossible dream of political freedom and economic development possible. There is no question this period in Ethiopian history is one of those numerous crossroads that we have crossed and come through not so very successfully. However, all those crucial moments in our long history should not be considered only as points of failure, but also as new starting points for new era. Let us all be serious, wise, and magnanimous and talk with each other with sincerity.

My suggestion is to engage the new Ethiopian leaders in some form of dialogue rather than condemn them in toto as a group. Let us start with factual recognition that Hailemariam Desalegn and Redwan Hussien are very different personalities than Meles Zenawi and his entourage. They did not grow up in a hierarchical male dominated households or communities. Their formative years was spent in the hub of a multiethnic and diverse people. Moreover they have proven that they are very intelligent individuals who survived the untamed power and antiques of Meles Zenawi and his entourage. That is no small fete.

III. The Abay (Blue Nile) Dam Project

The idea of building dams on the Abay River is a very old concept. Having dreams is different from realizing such dream in reality. The issue of dam building on the Abay River is no easy matter. Even among friends, Ethiopian Diaspora is divided into supporters and detractors. I see the issue of building dams in ones own rivers as an attribute of sovereign power and issue of national security no different in having coastal territories with ports and naval establishments. In case of the current Abay Dam building it has also the added economic development dimension. We should not dismiss it on the ground that our building of dam on our own river to be subjected to the exclusive prerogatives of riparian states. I am aware of the complexity of the issues dealing with international rivers, but complexity does not negate the basic sovereign rights of Ethiopia on its rivers. Most importantly as long as our intentions are development of our rivers and with consideration of the welfare of people in the region, we should not be deterred by any fear of any one state attacking us in our legitimate pursuit of developing our rivers.

I believe it is a great disservice to all of us not to consider carefully and discuss intelligently the scope of our sovereignty on our natural resources including our rivers. Whether the project is started by Meles Zenawi is irrelevant, he could not role up any of the other constructions either and take them with him. When he was buried he was laid in a seven feet by four feet ground/crypt. Moreover, building the Abay Dam is not an original idea of Meles , Emperor Haile Selassie I had actually commissioned dam construction companies for extensive studies on the Abay river, and had tried for years to acquire international funding for such dams.

I do not mean to belittle the learned individuals who have addressed the issue of the Abay dam in their several essays. In fact, I understand their concern very well. And I respect their patriotic zeal. Nevertheless, I would like to point out the question of benefiting from a criminal or a crime has been a moral issue for thousands of years. We find this moral dilemma being played out over and over through out human history. All the great religions of the world and belief systems did entertain similar heart wrenching paradox of morality.

In our recent past, for example, there were many people who did not want anything to do with Nazi inventions after the end of the Second World War because of the horrendous atrocities committed by the Nazis in research projects that produced many of the modern technology advancements, such as the jet engine, the rocket system, the electronic devices, refined combustion engines et cetera. Are we not using the full benefit of such Nazi innovations? Are not some of our great Churches, Mosques, Temples, Museums, et cetera built with slave-labor? For example, should the Church or the Temple, or the Mosque accept/reject gifts from criminals and criminal activities? It will be absurd if we frame our perception of human limitations in such a narrow contingency and necessity, and that we end up confining ourselves to primeval existence. Let us not forget the cardinal truth that almost all technological advancement is tainted with unethical or immoral activities.

IV. The Cases of Eskinder Nega, Andualem Aragie, et al

The human rights abuse of the last EPRDF led Government of Meles Zenawi has continued casting long shadows of its horrendous violation of the human rights of far too many Ethiopians even after almost a year of a new government. The current Ethiopian Government led by Hailemariam Desalegn has inherited a truly shameful tradition of the violation of basic and fundamental rights of Ethiopian citizens. The recent Court decision rejecting the appeals of Eskinder Nega, Andualem Aragie and several other journalists and political leaders is a political blunder and a serious violation of fundamental human rights.

It is never late to remedy an injustice. In the case of Eskinder, Andualem et cetera the injustice of their continued imprisonment would only hurt the reputation and image of the current Ethiopian leaders and undermine all development effort in Ethiopia. The immediate release of all political prisoners especially Eskinder, Andualem et cetera is most urgent. It is important that we continue discussing the human rights violations in Ethiopia and bring about tangible results.

Conclusion

I am not offering any conclusion at this point, for this essay is simply an invitation for discourse on issues/subjects already itemized above. I am very hopeful that reason will prevail over political opportunism. I am encouraged by obvious signs of change taking place in Ethiopia that the future for Ethiopia is bright and full of opportunities for profound political and economic development. Long Live Ethiopia and All.

Tecola W. Hagos

*The 36 seat EPRDF Executive Committee is elected by the Executive Committees of its four members parties – namely, SEPDM (Southern Ethiopian Peoples’ Democratic movement), ANDM (Amhara Nation Democratic Movement), TPLF (Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front) and OPDO (Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organization).

“The recent sentencing of 20 Ethiopians, including prominent blogger Eskinder Nega, journalists and opposition figures, under the vague anti-terrorism law has brought into stark focus the precarious situation of journalists, human rights defenders and Government critics in the country. The very harsh sentences handed down to journalists and other Government critics in recent months, coupled with excessive restrictions placed on human rights NGOs in the country have had the effect of stifling dissent and seriously undermining the freedom of opinion and expression in Ethiopia” [1]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay

“The United States is deeply disappointed that Ethiopia’s Federal Supreme Court upheld the conviction and harsh sentencing of journalist Eskinder Nega and opposition politician Andualem Arage under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation and the Penal Code. Today’s decision further reinforces our serious concern about Ethiopia’s politicized prosecution of those critical of the government and ruling party, including under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation…The United States believes that upholding freedoms of expression, association, and other human rights is essential if Ethiopia is to realize its stated goal of being a democratic state. We continue to urge the release of those who have been imprisoned in Ethiopia for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms.”[2]

US acting deputy State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell)

“In response to your government’s use of the 2009 Anti-Terror Proclamation against journalists and opposition leaders, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and five United Nations Special Rapporteurs—including the Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights—have all expressed alarm at this worrying trend. As some have noted, the use of vague anti-terror legislation to silence legitimate expression threatens to seriously undermine the credibility of efforts to address real security threats to the region….You now have the unique opportunity to lead Ethiopia forward on human rights and bring the country fully within the community of nations. As such, we urge you to take all measures within your power to facilitate the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Nega.” [3]

18 MPs of EU Parliament, in a letter written to Hailemariam Desalegn.

“The EU attaches great importance to human rights (i.e. in Ethiopia). Success of socio-economic developments depends on the participation of a strong and open society and on the respect of fundamental freedoms”
The President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy

“Ultimately economic growth (i.e. in Ethiopia) can only be sustained if it is achieved in an open society respectful of fundamental rights and also freedom, from freedom of expression to freedom of the press.”
José Manuel Durão Barroso, the European Commission President.

“The journalists who have been detained and convicted have one thing in common – they were all exercising their right to freedom of expression, a right guaranteed by the Ethiopian constitution and international law … As a recently appointed member of the UN’s Human Rights Council, Ethiopia should take swift steps to improve the media environment in the country … These include immediately releasing all journalists imprisoned under the anti-terrorism law, amending the law’s worst provisions, and ending the harassment of what little independent media remains in the country.” [4]

Deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch, Leslie Lefkow

“This is a dark day for justice in Ethiopia, where freedom of expression is being systematically destroyed by a government targeting any dissenting voice. We believe that Eskinder, Andualem and Nathnael are prisoners of conscience — convicted solely for their legitimate and peaceful activities. They should be released immediately and unconditionally.” [5]

Claire Beston, Amnesty International’s Ethiopia researcher.

“This ruling trivializes the serious crime of terrorism, upholds a politically motivated travesty of justice, and lessens Ethiopia’s international standing…As a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council; Ethiopia should comply with its obligations under international law and its own constitution and release Eskinder unconditionally. The persecution of Eskinder and other journalists is the hallmark of a regime fearful of the opinions of its citizens.” By upholding the sentence, the Ethiopian government has missed yet another opportunity to respect its freely undertaken obligations under international law,”

CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita

“The Ethiopian government cannot continue to use anti-terrorism legislation to muzzle the work of independent journalists, even when it does not like what is being reported. The targeting of journalists by resorting to overly broad anti-terror laws is a violation of the internationally protected right to free expression and undermines international efforts to address real security threats.”[6]

Freedom Now Executive Director Maran Turner.

“By misusing anti-terror legislation to stifle the peaceful work of journalists like Mr. Nega and his colleagues Reeyot Alemu and Woubshet Taye, the government has, unfortunately, demonstrated that it is willing to disregard the legitimate rights of the Ethiopian people and undermine the credibility of international efforts to address real security threats in the region, all in an attempt to silence critical voices in the country. It is time for the international community to make it clear to the government in Addis Ababa that such violations will no longer be tolerated.”

Group that consists of Freedom Now, Amnesty International, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation Committee to Free Eskinder Nega, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, Electronic Frontier Foundation, English PEN, The International Press Institute, The International Women’s Media Foundation, Media Legal Defense Initiative, The National Press Club, PEN American Center, PEN Canada, The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers

________________________________________
[1] http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12365&LangID=E
[2] http://nazret.com/blog/index.php/2013/05/02/state-department-briefing-united-states-slams-political-persecution-of-critics
[3] http://www.freedom-now.org/news/for-immediate-release-16-members-of-the-european-parliament-call-for-the-release-of-imprisoned-ethiopian-journalist-eskinder-nega/

[4] http://nazret.com/blog/index.php/2013/05/05/ethiopia-terrorism-law-decimates-media

[5] http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/news-item/ethiopia-conviction-of-government-opponents-a-dark-day-for-freedom-of-expression

[6] http://ethioforum.org/outrage-as-ethiopia-lays-down-jail-term-for-eskinder-nega/

What has gotten me down is the talk of the dead not yet dead news regarding the former dictator of my country. It looks like the despicable individual is not going to disappear from our radar no matter how far removed and how long ago we have parted company. Like a nightmare he keeps showing up in the most awkward and inopportune moments. His appearance this time around was not his doing but nevertheless he was used as weapon to clobber us with.

I am not really concerned about the hapless dictator it is us I worry about. You would think that after over twenty years of contemplating the total ramifications of what his involvement in our country’s history has meant to us that we have come to a few conclusions. We have looked at the situation and drawn a few lessons so we can keep it in the back of our brain for future reference good and bad. That is all experience is all about isn’t it?

Life is a learning experience. We succeed some fail a few but we draw conclusion so we know what works and what to avoid. That is how we move forward. Those that learn from past experience, analyze then adapt what works avoid that did not produce the intended result get to reap the benefits. Those that ignore the lessons of history end up digging their own grave.

That is what we are doing today, digging our own grave. The fact that we have not put the criminal dictator in perspective is very alarming and not so good news regarding our future. How could we be trusted with the future when we do not have a clear picture of our past? How do we know what we want tomorrow when we have not really sat down and looked at yesterday to see what went right and what exactly went wrong and why?

Two things happened simultaneously this last week. The ethnic based regime’s blunder aroused the ire of our people and exposed them to charges of criminal activity. To divert attention and blunt the impact they were able to concoct a ruse pointing away from their evil deeds. It was a simple ploy one plays on children and it worked. It worked because we did not take the last twenty years to learn, analyze and grow. It looks like we did not take the idea of raising a conscious, smart and morally upright citizen to heart in order to be able to lay a solid foundation to build the future Ethiopia. We did not invest time and energy to produce an intelligent, motivated and smart generation that is able to avoid the mistakes done by the past generation.

The last two weeks the major news coming out of our country was the plight of our Amara citizens being uprooted from their homes. It was not a pleasant sight. Simple farmers that make their living by sheer determination and constant struggle against nature using primitive tools were deemed to be unworthy of basic human respect and dignity and were ordered to move from their villages at a moment’s notice. It was very distressing to see fellow humans being treated like that in their own country. It became the focus of attention and revealed the nature of the illegal and corrupt regime in Ethiopia. It was not a welcome attention and the government rightly felt the heat.

There was attempt made by the opposition to investigate and gather evidence to bring the matter to the attention of all that are empowered to look at situations like this. It was not easy but they tried under the difficult circumstances presented by the regional Bantustans and the Federal government. Their representatives were jailed, abused and given a few hours to leave the region. Thanks to technology the whole world in general and the Diaspora Ethiopians were able to follow the news and keep in touch with their people.

The government first tried to deny that ‘ethnic cleansing’ is being carried out. They also attempted to blame the regional administration for the problem and finally were compelled to admit there was some truth to the allegations and were forced to ask the deportees to return. In a matter of a week the news was bringing clarity regarding the illegal and criminal nature of the regime in power. It was opening the eyes of many individuals to see the regime in a different light. The news was gathering momentum and the regime was entering a state of panic. The opposition and the Diaspora activists were even talking about appealing to the International Court of Justice and the United Nations.

Someone somewhere figured the weakness and clueless nature of the Ethiopian. They figured give them another bone to chew and they will drop everything and jump at the opportunity. They did not have to look far. They found an old discarded bone and tossed it in the middle of the unruly pack. Thus they put out a press release announcing the death of the tyrant that has been holed in Zimbabwe for the last twenty years. That is all it took for the frenzy to start, the earth to move and the heavens to open.

Are we that transparent? Are we that easy to fool? Fifty four percent of the Ethiopian population is under twenty five years of age. They have not witnessed the madness of the Derge era. To them Mengistu is a distant history. The history of Ethiopia including the Derg period is a self-serving tale as told by Woyane and their apologists. Neftegna, Monarchist, Dergist is an interchangeable term Woyane uses to ruin people’s lives. The fifty four percent cannot be relied upon regarding their knowledge of our past. Meles and his disciples’ main agenda was to discredit our past so they could build their distorted vision on a shaky ground. According to Woyane and their followers there is nothing good or redeemable about Ethiopia before their appearance.

It is a very difficult story to take to heart. Especially when life under Woyane is nothing but hell on hearth for the vast majority of our people. That is why the fifty four percent are all waiting their turn to leave by foot, boat, plane and any which way out. What got me a little concerned and a lot despondent is the failure of those aged 25-54 years and compromise twenty nine percent of the population. The ones that are politically involved and run our independent media outlets. They picked this disinformation campaign and run with it. I am not saying we should have ignored the story on the other hand it is our responsibility to tell the story with a certain amount of perspective thrown in to give the listener and reader some point of reference. Every time we mention the criminal dictator we should remind our people the role he played in the destruction of our country and people. That is the legacy he left behind and that is how he should be remembered. This idiotic idea of misplaced ‘Ethiopian chewanet’ is what works against us and blinds us from standing up against abusers and ill-mannered individuals. The kind of ways the news was reported was both embarrassing and self-defeating to say the least.

Dear editors of our independent media what are we supposed to make of your screaming headline announcing the ‘good health’ of a tyrant in exile that has not even acknowledged his criminal role and responsibility when he was the de facto head of state? Some of you even went the extra mile and called his house and talked to his wife while others relied on their reporters to find out the latest ‘breaking news’. Did you really think the sympathetic, feel good close to the heart story was appropriate regarding a criminal in exile? One of the headlines screamed “Former Ethiopian President Colonel Mengistu is alive and well…” I dove for cover.

Mengistu Hailemariam was a ruthless dictator, a cruel and horrible individual that will be remembered as a black mark in our country’s history. The fact that the one who came after him was a ruthless psychopath does not make the former any less of a criminal. Our independent medias’ reporting was journalism at its worst and an affront to truth and insensitive to the victims.

Where exactly did we go wrong? What exactly happened to our moral compass? It looks like we got a long way to go to differentiate bad from evil, truth from fiction and show some empathy towards those that were victimized by Mengistu and his accomplices. Mengistu which even writing his name brings pain and agony to my soul was the cause of much anguish to our country and people. This is not even past history but it happened yesterday in our life time. Many of those fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters that lost their beloved ones are still among us. The memory has not even faded from our collective mind.

To refresh your memory the ongoing exodus out of mother Ethiopia started under Mengistu. The first time in our countries history her children started running away from home. Ethiopia began losing its youngest and brightest and has not recovered ever since. The whole country became a killing field. The lawlessness nature of the regime brought about the degeneration of societal norms and the gradual destruction of culture. His regime rode rough on all that we hold dear and that has taken us long to build. His lack of basic leadership skills and ruthless evil nature decimated all that were educated, able and showed potential. He exposed our country to dangerous minds that used the opportunity to wrestle power cunningly. He is a military leader that left his troops in battle to save his dirty ass. He is wanted by the Ethiopian military to be court marshaled and is definitely a candidate for a firing squad. This is the individual you so zealously displayed and published letters written by Woyane and their sympathizers lauding his good side. Shame on you all!!!

Every one of us got something good and commendable within us. Something positive could even be said about evil individuals. I am sure Hitler was a German Nationalist that loved his country, Meles Zenawi was probably a good family man, Mussolini was probably a devout Catholic but that does not define the totality of the person. All three of them have their dark side that outweighs their positive nature. The evil one lurking behind the smiling face is what affects us.

Dear country people please remember choosing one abuser over another is not a virtue. Demanding no abuse is the way to go. Why in the world do we compare and contrast the crimes of our leaders instead of resolving for such never to happen to us again? Isn’t that the lesson to draw from the experience of the last forty years? How could I trust you with my future when some of you think of life as a pissing match and are busy picking the lessor of two evils instead on no evil? Is that where we find ourselves today that we are willing to accept a little less criminal than Meles instead of someone that respects the rule of law, the sanctity of life especially human life and love for mother Ethiopia?

We may not have a direct contribution to the incarceration of prisoners. We may not be supporters of the regime. However, our silence is the reason these brothers and sisters of ours, are still in jail. Our silence is providing ammunition to tyrants. Eskinder and others are in jail not because the EPRDF is strong; but because we are weak, selfish, and silent.

EPRDF leaders that are currently in charge are ruthless, void of compassion and interested only in staying in power. They will not be satisfied, unless their opponents are completely disseminated or humiliated. For them, having a dialog and finding a win-win solution is a defeat. For them tolerating those who oppose them is a weakness.

Many of us wanted to reach out to authorities hoping that they would open up the political space and be ready for peace and reconciliation. Particularly, at the advent of Meles’ death, we expected to see some positive changes. We tried to engage the regime to the extent of being labeled as “weyane sympathizers” by some from the oppositions who are emotional and lacking political maturity.

However, it seems hardcore and hateful elements of the EPRDF may be gaining more power. There is a strong determination by those in charge, to continue the status quo, of arresting civilians, expelling people from their land and confiscating properties in the name of development, creating a sense of fear and despair among Ethiopians and humiliating our people. As Stalin was worse that Lenin, the post Meles era may be worse than the Meles era.

A comment given by one top EPRDF leader, in a debate at the council of ministers, is a good illustration of the mind set of those who are ruling the country. “Meles arrested him as dangerous. Let him rot in prison” said this official referring to Eskinder Nega. WAWWW!!

By the way, though hardcore elements are currently in charge, we must keep note that there are still good men and women within the party that may want to see changes. These moderates might emerge as powerful peaceful, moderate and accommodating forces. Therefore, we must continue engaging the regime. The chance is slim; but we will lose nothing by always opening the door for dialog and peace, regardless.

However it would be naïve to put our breads into one basket, do nothing, and only hope for lights to come out from the chambers of authorities. Regardless of what the regime may do and say, we must shape up and be mobilized to play our role. We must refuse to accept the status quo and force changes in Ethiopia in a peaceful, non-violent , organized , united and effective struggle, should the regime persists in its arrogance. Let the current shameful decision of the kangaroo court, against reporters and peaceful activists, be an impetus, to end once and for all tyranny in Ethiopia.

The Great American President Franklin D. Roosevelt said “First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. The only power, hateful elements of the EPRDF leaders have at their disposal, is their ability to create fear among us. They, effectively use FEAR to crush the will of the people, for fear cripples the energy of mankind.

It is time to be free from the bondage of fear and ignorance. A man who is chained by fear, only thinks of himself, forgets where he came from, and choose silence when his brother is suffering, is a man who is spiritually poor and sick. Let us show that we are a people that care for one another. Let us be voice for the voiceless. Let tyrants of Ethiopia know that there are millions of Eskinder Negas, Adwalem Arages, and Reyot Alemus …

This is not to say “No” to development. We support any efforts that may help bring the Ethiopian people out from poverty. That is why many of us are supportive of the Nile Dam Project. As matter of fact, contrary to what regime cadres are trying to say, the majority of Ethiopians at home as well as in the Diaspora, support the God Given right of using our Nile waters. We are all for development that can be sustained and benefit everyone.

However, there cannot be true development in the absence of respect of human rights and utter disregard of the law. By violating the rights and freedom of the people, it is the regime itself that is putting at risk, the long term and lasting development of Ethiopia. Therefore, the cheap talk of “development” must not mislead us from taking actions against tyranny. IF WE CARE FOR DEVELOPMENT THEN LET US STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE RULE OF LAW.

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, why do the Melsistas send zombies into the Diaspora on a fool’s errand? They know they will be shamed and disgraced and chased out of every American and European city like stray dogs at a bazaar. They know they will be lucky to squeeze a few hundred dollars at a Diaspora “bond selling” event. Do they do it because they are professional beggars and panhandlers?
There is a deceptively simple method to their madness. They send their zombies in the Diaspora to make us shadowbox smoke and mirrors. They are playing a simple but clever psychological game.

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

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

In a Machiavellian maneuver, they have, to some extent, succeeded in getting Diaspora Ethiopians, particularly the activists, to promote their “dam development” agenda for them in America, Europe and elsewhere. Every time Diaspora activists confront the zombie junk bond dealers and brokers, they are seen talking (but saying nothing) about development, growth, infrastructure projects and how the Meles Dam will transform Ethiopia into an economic powerhouse. (They never mention the massive foreign debt, the USD$12bn that has left the country illegally since 2001, the massive youth unemployment, accelerating population growth, etc.). They always sheath their bloody hands in the glove of development talk. When activists protest and confront these zombies, they appear to be anti-development obstructionist agitators.

That’s is the exquisite trick of the Melesistas. They want the world to see Diaspora Ethiopians as a bunch of rowdy, wild, disorderly, loudmouthed, raucous, uncivil and intolerant bunch who will not even allow civil discussions of “development”. They aim to create and nurture the image of a few combative “Diaspora extremists” and an overwhelming number of silent (as a church mouse) regime supporters who are afraid to come forward (or attend their “bond selling” events) and show their support for fear of attack by the “extremists.” In the mix are the hapless Diasporans who have to go back and forth to Ethiopia to secure their property and business interests. Those guys are toast; either they pay protection money (buy dam bonds) or get jacked up on some trumped up charge and lose their properties or worse.

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

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

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

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

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

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

There are a few limited exemptions to the registration requirement. One of them is an exemption “for certain foreign government securities brokers or dealers”. Pursuant to 17 CFR 401.9, “A government securities broker or dealer (excluding a branch or agency of a foreign bank) that is a non-U.S. resident shall be exempt from the provisions of sections 15C(a), (b), and (d) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78o–5(a), (b) and (d)) and the regulations of this subchapter provided it complies with the provisions of 17 CFR 240.15a–6…” In other words, the bond “brokers and dealers” sent to the U.S. to sell the Meles Dam bonds must meet the multifarious requirements of federal securities law and other regulatory requirements including full disclosure, proof of maintenance of required books and records relating to the bond issues and written consent to service of process for any civil action arising from disputes in bond related transactions. It is highly unlikely that the “brokers and dealers” selling the Meles Dam bonds in the United States qualify under 17 CFR 240.15a–6 and 15 U.S.C. 78o–5(a).
Fight the Power, not the smoke and image in the mirror

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

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

The main point is that Diaspora Ethiopians should be laser-focused on the prize and make sure that democracy will in the end triumph over dictatorship in Ethiopia; human rights are vindicated and human rights abusers are held accountable and any government in Ethiopia shall fear the people and the people shall never fear their government. We should not be distracted by empty suits with empty heads lurking in and out of town to scrounge up chicken feed. We should not be angry at programmed zombies at “bond selling” events because they are just wretched flunkies and bootlickers, who given the opportunity will make a beeline to the immigration office to file for political asylum. We should not mistake the puppets for the puppet masters. We should not confuse shadow for reality.
We should be aware not only when we are being abused but also used. We should never let them make us do their dirty jobs because they can cleverly manipulate our psychological disposition to righteous indignation. We should never react because that allows them to take control of our emotions and reactions. We should always act and never react. Most importantly, we should engage in proactive activism instead of reactive activism. When we are proactive, we plan things out carefully and strategically. Nonviolent protest is a highly disciplined effort. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. taught, “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action.” We should educate and train ourselves in the ways of nonviolent protest. When confronting the zombies, we should maintain a high degree of composure and display self-dignity in our expressions of defiance. At dam “bond selling ” events, protesters should adequately prepare pre-event publicity. Serious attention should given to the development of press kits and talking points. Press and law enforcement liaisons should be trained and designated. Well informed and articulate spokespersons should be selected to give press interviews. Adequate attention should be given to post-event follow up activities.
It is a great disservice to oneself and to our great cause to engage in nonviolent protest without reading and understanding Gene Sharp’s extraordinary work, “From Dictatorship to Democracy” available online for free. An Amharic translation of Gene Sharp’s book is also available online free of charge (here) for anyone to download or print. Ignorance cannot drive out ignorance, only knowledge can. We must educate ourselves in the ways of peaceful protest, or our efforts will produce few results. We are less likely to be manipulated if we keep ourselves informed and develop critical analysis skills that cut through the blather of our adversaries.
While those of us in the older generation (“Hippos”) wallow in self-pity and cynicism, it is inspiring to see young patriotic Diaspora Ethiopians (“Cheetahs”) using their right to peaceful protest to resist the zombies of tyranny. Just as the task of building a fantasy dam belongs to the Melesistas, the construction of the new Ethiopia is a task reserved for the young Cheetahs. It is painful to admit that we Hippos have not been much of a role model for the Cheetahs. We have unkindly criticized the Cheetahs for their lack of engagement, apathy and single-minded pursuit of flash and cash. We grumble that the Cheetah generation is the lost generation and there is no one to save Ethiopia (but it has been a long time since we Hippos looked into the mirror without smoke).
I am afraid there is little that Ethiopians Cheetahs could learn from Ethiopian Hippos. Perhaps Ethiopian Cheetahs can get inspiration from other Cheetahs. In the past 2 years, we have seen inexperienced youth using social media bring down dictators or force them to make radical changes in governance in North Africa and the Middle East. The key to their success was their ability to get in tune and on the same wavelength with each other, and to be able to speak the same beautiful language of peaceful change and protest. As always, I believe Ethiopian youth united — across ethnic, religious, linguistic, gender, and regional lines — can never be defeated!
“Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, don’t give up the fight.” Bob Marley

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

In court documents filed Saturday, his lawyers and supporters said Robel Phillipos is a conscientious and civic-minded young man and that the authorities’ allegations that he gave conflicting accounts to them is “refutable.” He has a detention hearing Monday in US District Court in Boston.

“This case is about a frightened and confused 19-year-old who was subjected to intense questioning and interrogation, without the benefit of counsel, and in the context of one of the worst attacks against the nation,” lawyers Derege B. Demissie and Susan B. Church of Cambridge said in court documents.

“The weight of the federal government under such circumstances can have a devastatingly crushing effect on the ability of an adolescent to withstand the enormous pressure and respond rationally.”

Federal investigators charged Phillipos on Wednesday in US District Court in Boston, saying he gave conflicting versions of events until he admitted that he and two friends went to the dorm room of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving suspected bomber, the night of April 18, three days after the Marathon bombings killed three people and injured 264 others.

The two friends, Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, 19-year-old students from Kazakhstan, were also charged Wednesday with conspiring to obstruct justice for allegedly taking a backpack, empty fireworks, and other items from Tsarnaev’s dorm room that night. The three friends then returned to the Kazakh men’s off-campus apartment in New Bedford.

According to authorities, Phillipos said the Kazakh men then realized from a CNN report that Tsarnaev was one of the suspected bombers and “started to freak out.” Phillipos, according to court records, told authorities that Kadyrbayev asked if he should throw away the backpack. Authorities said Phillipos said, “Do what you have to do.”

Of the three friends, Phillipos is facing the longest possible incarceration — up to eight years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov are facing up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine; their lawyers have said they had nothing to do with the bombing.

On Saturday, Phillipos’s lawyers said in court records that Phillipos was at UMass Dartmouth — where all four men had studied — only by coincidence on April 18. At that time, the lawyers said, Phillipos had not had contact with Tsarnaev or the other two men for more than two months.

“By sheer coincidence and bad luck, he was invited to attend a seminar on campus on April 18,” the night the three friends allegedly went to Tsarnaev’s dorm room, according to the court records. “As such, he did not have much to offer the authorities regarding the investigation of the suspect.”

Phillipos enrolled at UMass Dartmouth in 2011 with Tsarnaev, majoring in marketing, but took a leave of absence in December. He was seeking an internship at the time of his arrest, according to court records.

To support the request for bail, lawyers filed multiple affidavits from friends and relatives of Phillipos, including a Wellesley College art professor, the owner of a limousine business, and a Harvard Kennedy School program administrator.

In the affidavits, supporters described Phillipos as a considerate, thoughtful and friendly young man, the son of a single mother who immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia.

Phillipos is bilingual in Amharic and English and proud of his Ethiopian heritage, they said, but he was born and raised in Massachusetts and well-integrated into American life. He attended school, played in soccer and basketball leagues, and idolized Lakers star Kobe Bryant. He loves American history and literature.

He is the only son of Genet Bekele, a domestic violence specialist who moved to Massachusetts in 1981 and raised him while working two jobs. She earned three college degrees: an associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northeastern University, and a master’s degree in social work from Boston University.

She became a naturalized US citizen in 1996 and has helped many other immigrants and refugees adjust to the United States.

In an affidavit on behalf of her son, Bekele said she was deeply involved in his life despite her work schedule. She said she attended all teacher conferences, chaperoned field trips, and made sure he did his homework every night.

In return, she said, her son helped her. He washed dishes, did the laundry, and went grocery shopping.

“With every opportunity he had, Robel has always tried to make things easier on me,” she said in the affidavit. “He was very cognizant of the hard work that I had to put in being a single parent.”

She said Phillipos was an honor student in his first two years at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, graduating in 2011 with Tsarnaev, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union who also grew up in Cambridge.

Phillipos served on the Cambridge Mayor’s Program, tutoring younger students, and on the Cambridge Kids’ Council as recently as 2010. On his resume, he said he lobbied to pass a bill that would lower the voting age to 17 in Massachusetts.

His mother said Phillipos wants nothing more than to clear his name. As US citizens of Ethiopian descent, she said, they look forward to the Marathon every year. The bombings, she said, were “devastating.”

This year’s male winner was Lelisa Desisa, 23, of Ethiopia.

To the TPLF warlords that are grandchildren of loyal servants of Mussolini, the Amharas and the Oromos are targets to be systematically uprooted from the field of politics to remove bad apples – just as planned by Italian Fascists in Rome for execution by Marshall Graziani in Ethiopia. The warlords have added the Guraghes to their blacklist; I bet Kambattas and others will follow, the former for the gallant role of their ancestors in the war with the Fascists at Maichew. Tigreans will be served carrot and stick to enforce their loyalty, but in vain.
This short piece is meant to expound my rationale for solidarity with the plight of the Amharas and its consequences on our multicultural society in the following paragraphs.

Historical and anecdotal evidence

I recall having studied in my history class in my boyhood that Amharic was the official language of communication in Ethiopia and with foreign governments during the reign of Emperor Yohannes IV from His Palace in Makelle. Asked by some of His disgruntled influential supporters why the Emperor was not using His own Tigrean language, the Monarch responded by reminding them that Amharic was the official language of Akumite Emperors and therefore it is unnecessary and inappropriate to change it.

Elderly people living in Axum confirm hearing the anecdote transmitted from their ancestors that Aksumites were Amharas and that the kings used Amharic as their official language. As a regular traveler to various places in the Tigray region, I have been to Aksum to supervise an engineering project and so I can confirm the anecdote.
Nothing can change a true history upheld by Emperor Yohannes IV and I exalt the Monarch for that as a true Christian that He was.

Aksum civilization at its height and the EOTC

The Ethiopia Orthodox Tewhedo Christian (EOTC) Church was split in three during the reign of Emperor Yohannes IV. The Monarch organized a debate that took place at Boru Meda in Wallo region and invited the protagonists in the split to state their case with evidence. Advocates of the EOTC faith presented irrefutable evidence while the other two failed to produce any. The Monarch reaffirmed the EOTC faith and declared it as the only official religion of Ethiopia.

It is exceedingly paramount to note that Aksum in the 3rd century dominated states on the Arabian Peninsula across the Red Sea, making them pay a regular tribute and that it had begun minting its own currency “and was named by Mani as one of the four great powers of his time along with Persia, Rome and China.” That at it converted to Christianity in 325 or 328 AD under King Ezana and was the first state ever to use the image of the cross on its coins. By 350 AD Aksum conquered the Kingdom of Kush and controlled northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, northern Sudan, southern Egypt, Djibouti, Western Yemen and southern Saudi Arabia – totaling 1.25 million square kilometers. Source: Google

The message to the TPLF Banda warlords is that their distortion of history is suicidal for these misfits do not represent the gallant Tigrean people at all. The tarnished image of the Amharas will be restored with gratitude by the emerging democratic society equal to each and every of its citizens under the supreme rule of law.
Hereditary, shared values & sentimental attachment
The first language spoken to me at birth by my beloved mother was Oromiffa, until she died. Strangely the conversation with my sister and two brothers was always in Amharic and I was the only lucky one who was sent to school.

In my article titled “TPLF hitting Amharas & Oromos as did Mussolini” dated 12 March 2012, I wrote:

1.“The Italian Fascist military garrison and observation post at Deneba in north Shoa is an indelible symbol of famous patriots and their followers comprising the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups. My upbringing near this garrison, dominated by the two ethnic groups living in enviable harmony, had formed my character as a child and the memory of that experience refuses to go away until now. The purpose of this writing is to stress that the Zenawi regime is emulating the Italian example to hit the Amharas & Oromos and that naïve Ethiopians are falling prey to its secret design to destroy their country.” This sentiment is enduring today!

2.“It was normal to speak in Oromiffa or Amharic under the same roof switching from one to another swiftly. All of my playmates, the children in our village including me, were bilingual in that we all spoke both languages fluently.”

3.“We as children relished the freedom our forebears had bequeathed to us by paying the ultimate sacrifice fighting the Italian Fascist invaders. In my small world in Deneba as a child, I thought Ethiopia was the home of only Amharas and Oromos (Galas) because these two were the only ethnic groups that lived there. However I was to learn more in Addis Ababa about the reality of Ethiopia’s cultural and ethnic diversity.”

I am happily married for just over 50 years to my wife; I was to know much later in life that her parents were Amharas from north Shoa. It was love at first sight that knows no boundary that kept us in harmony for so long producing children and adoring our grandchildren. A member of the family is at least a bilingual in the combination of Amharic, Oromiffa, English, German, Russian, French, Swahili, and Luganda. Amharic and English languages are spoken by all in my family, indicative of the trend that the English language will be increasingly predominant in the 21st century as some studies suggest. I think this is true for most families in our multi-cultural Ethiopia.

Reminiscences

I recall that Ethiopians in Uganda formed a bastion of united opposition to TPLF traitors, but that unity is no more discernible. I recall that on the day that Eritreans were celebrating their independence declared on 27 April 1993 as a result of the referendum by 99.83% announced by my once workmate Dr. Amare Tekle, Ethiopians in Kampala coincidentally threw a big party at the Sheraton Hotel with magnificent portraits of Emperors: Theodros II, Yohannes IV, Menilik II, and Haile Selassie the 1st displayed on the walls of the ballroom in recognition of their roles as true sons of Ethiopia and modern leaders with national interests at heart. Zenawi’s legacy is one of humiliating betrayal unprecedented in the history of Ethiopia. Those TPLF warlords vowing to promote his legacy are misfits among the proud people of Tigray.

Conclusion

Axum and Adwa belong to all Ethiopians of this generation in that their ancestors have: (a) participated in the civilization of the former and (b) shed their blood and sacrificed their lives in the war arena with Italy twice.
Ethiopia has every right to build on her glorious past and develop; live in harmony with the global community of the 21st century and beyond; her citizens have the noble duty to prevent encroachment by outsiders on their God-given territory. The notion of Ethiopia becoming a failed state and as such a playground for neo-colonials and old colonial masters should be rendered a pipedream of her traditional enemies and the new ones with insatiable desires to gain a foothold in her strategic location, comprising the AU Headquarters and a large number of foreign missions and institutions, for political control and exploiting the vast natural resources of the African continent and its environ.

I subscribe to the calls of an all-inclusive action against the corrupt TPLF warlords – starting with massive and coordinated occupation of the streets and public squares in Ethiopia and dictating terms for change to a democratic dispensation that will benefit all and sundry under the supreme rule of law.

I am shocked and incensed by the quashing of the appeal by Andualem Aragie, Eskinder Nega, et al. The struggle for the release of all political prisoners in Ethiopia must continue relentlessly

This quote by Karl Marx is for the mother of corruption Azeb Mesfin and the TPLF warlords: “Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all the dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the living.”

LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA!!!
rababya@gmail.com

Neither woyane nor its supporters seem to understand the consequence of ethnic politics. The propaganda woyane is spreading among its supporters wrongly paints Tigre’s hegemony is everlasting by subjugating other ethnic groups through economic and political means. That view is very shortsighted at best and destructive at worst. As one of the minority ethnic groups, Tigres should otherwise be very concerned about ethnic politics in Ethiopia. Whatever economic, social, and political benefit Tigres are enjoying at present is transient and will last only if the balance of power remains heavily tilted to woyane’s side for long.

Two stratagems, in tandem, have been working in favor of woyane. The first one is divide and rule and the second is a growing trend of self-subjugation. Many writers in various forums have addressed the former stratagem but the latter stratagem has not been addressed adequately. For careful observer, self-subjugation in the current Ethiopian politics becomes quiet evident as a sad consequence of the unprecedented oppression the people of Ethiopia and the opposition parties are forced to endure. The opposition parties themselves have unconsciously played an active role of self-subjugation and undermined their own role as a prime fighter against the dictatorial rule of EPRDF and ethnic hegemony.
The current Ethiopia is formed not with ethnic equality but with notions of inequality and discrimination favoring the hegemony of Tigre. The term “ethnic equality” in woyane’s government has turned to the operative term of folly of subconscious disdain fulfilled by a discriminatory action on the work place, interaction among ethnic groups, in courthouses, and higher education institutions. Self-subjugation stems from learned response to these discriminatory actions of government institutions. The subdivisions of Ethiopia to different ethnic kilils have reinforced prejudices and discrimination and produced self-subjugated generation and culture.

After woyane lost the election in 2005, it has recruited over five million people to join EPRDF. All these new recruits are willingly or otherwise joining EPRDF primarily to get access to economic opportunity and get promotion in work place. There is unwritten rule that any of rank and files Tigre have an upper hand over all of other ethnic groups in all of the political apparatus within the organization of EPRDF. The individuals have to demonstrate their loyalty to any Tigre in the structure by subjugating themselves to the perceived higher social rank of Tigres.

Not only in the rank and files, the higher officials including the PM Hailemariam Desalegn has to demonstrate their loyalty to Tigre hegemony more than their loyalty to Ethiopia. The continuous reaffirmation in various communiqués before and after Hailemariam assumes the PM position that he will unequivocally keep alive the deceased PM Meles Zenawi’s legacy is a manifest of self-subjugation. He has been stating exaggerated praise to Melse not to convince Ethiopians but to let the Tigre king makers know that he will serve woyane very well and with no opposition. The judges presiding to rule in political prosecutions of journalists and opposition leaders may not necessarily subscribe to woynae politics, but they convey another manifest of a self-subjugation trait. These judges almost always rule in favor of the government ridiculous litigation against defendants who exercised their right within the boundary of the law. The case of Supreme Court recently upheld the sentence of journalist such as Eskinder Nega and Anduale Arage of the opposition parties is ruled by none other than self-subjugated judges.

The trait of self-subjugation can be observed in the opposition parties as well. In the case of opposition parties, self-subjugation manifests when political actions are limited to actions only the dictatorial woynae approves or tolerates. Oppositions have acquired an amazing skill of self-subjugating to not anger woyane by underperforming their political actions to not be visible to attract attention of the general public. Holding candle light vigils in the compound of their offices or occasional visit of politically accused and wrongly sentenced members of their party or leaders rather than mobilizing the population and taking the streets are cases of self-subjugations, not to cross the red line drawen by woyane. By doing so, the opposition parties might manage to live to the next day but it allows woynae to build on its success of spreading the trait of self-subjugation among communities.

The defensive responses of Girma Seifu of MEDREK (the largest opposition coalitions) in town hall meeting in Washington DC and other cities in USA is a vivid example. His responses to pertinent questions such as, why there is no active resistance of the opposition parties by utilizing the rights the constitution granted to them? In his responses, Girma has been attempting to reproach the questioners by implying that the Diaspora Ethiopians were insensitive to the danger of prosecution and ultimate imprisonment members of opposition parties are facing.

This mental sentiment of the constitutional rights is only applied when EPRDF bureaucracy permits is what self-subjugation is all about. Girma’s answer is totally contradictory to what the opposition parties should stand for. The job of opposition parties is to oppose and make it publicly known when government violates its own rule. The oppositions actions should be independent of the government permission. It is ridiculous to expect the violator of their right, woyane, permits the oppositions political actions.

That is what the opposition parties such as MEDREK which Girma Seifu is member of the leadership consciously underperforms or totally neglects to do in Ethiopia. Consequently, there is no progress in the democratization process of Ethiopia but only regress when the very opposition parties are enforcing the repressing actions of EPRDF and Tigre hegemony by mere self-subjugation of not doing what the constitution granted. Ethiopians in Diaspora are not insensitive as implied by Grima but advocates for oppositions to take incremental actions to result small changes.

The dissemination of bigotry and discrimination by woyane elitists through cultural, political and socioeconomic means mustn’t be seen lightly. Because, its impact is widespread and it increases the existing conflicts or creates one where there is none. Woyane fostered a society that marginalizes all other ethnic groups but primarily Amara and Oromo. The recent eviction campaign of Amara from the land they have been farming for many years in Benishangul-Gumuz and Guraferda is the direct consequence of ethnic policy.

First and foremost, woyane ethnic demagogues such as Sebehat Nega and the his likes may wholeheartedly would like to believe that they are not racist. Still, due to the manner in which a high level of racialism has been encouraged to permeate in every corner of the “Kilil” and federal administrative structures, one cannot be sure that ethnic resentment and disdain has not been infiltrated by eviction of one ethnic groups from land and work place or forced villegization and land grab.

Almost all citizens know this mental conditioning of self-subjugation to be true. To state it differently, individuals in all other ethnic groups have been duped into believing that, without woyane approval they are not worthy to enjoy the same achievements and pleasures any Tigres so openly display to occupy any high offices as their entitlement benefit. What makes self-subjugation a significant mindset to keep oppressor woyane in power is because it is instrumental to have the same oppressed ethnic groups propagate the prejudicial and racialist notions that have kept their ancestors from collecting the confidence in themselves, as a community, as a people, to reach the upper echelons of social achievement and effect change in Ethiopia.

You can reach the author at ethio_nation@yahoo.co

An Ethiopian court dismissed the appeals of blogger Eskinder Nega and opposition leader Andualem Arage, jailed last year for terror-related offenses.

Eskinder was given an 18-year sentence, while Andualem was jailed for life.

The US was “deeply disappointed” that Ethiopia’s federal supreme court upheld the men’s “conviction and harsh sentencing,” acting deputy State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said.

“Today’s decision further reinforces our serious concern about Ethiopia’s politicized prosecution of those critical of the government and ruling party, including under the anti-terrorism proclamation.”

Ventrell stressed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights gives everyone “a right to freedom of opinion and expression, and that this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference.”

Upholding such freedoms “is essential if Ethiopia is to realize its stated goal of being a democratic state,” he added.

However, he could not say if the court’s decision would impact a planned trip to Ethiopia by US Secretary of State John Kerry at the end of May.

Although no dates have been announced, Kerry told US lawmakers last month that he planned to attend celebrations to mark the African Union’s 50th anniversary in Addis Ababa.

“We travel, and we continue our relationship with countries… where we have human rights concern,” Ventrell said.

Eleven journalists have been convicted and sentenced since 2011 under Ethiopia’s repressive anti-terrorism law, including six in absentia. Three of the eleven are currently in prison. Two other journalists are currently on trial under the anti-terrorism law. Another journalist, Temesgen Desalegn, the editor of the now defunct independent magazine Feteh, is on trial for three offenses under the criminal code.

“Ethiopia’s journalists shouldn’t be spending World Press Freedom Day in jail on trumped-up terrorism charges,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Freeing these journalists would be an important step toward improving Ethiopia’s deteriorating record on press freedom.”

Since Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law was adopted in 2009, the independent media have been decimated by politically motivated prosecutions under the law. The government has systematically thwarted attempts by journalists to establish new publications. Blogs and Internet pages critical of the government are regularly blocked, and in 2012 printing houses came under threat for printing publications that criticized the authorities. Mastewal Birhanu, the manager of Mastewal Publishing, for example, was charged under the criminal code for printing the editions of Feteh that were the basis for the charges against Temesgen.

Human Rights Watch has repeatedly raised concerns about the anti-terrorism law’s overly broad definition of “terrorist acts.” The law’s provisions on support for terrorism contain a vague prohibition on “moral support” under which only journalists have been convicted.

One of the three journalists sentenced under the law who remain in prison is Eskinder Nega Fenta, a veteran Ethiopian journalist. He had been detained numerous times, and was sentenced in July 2012 to 18 years in prison for conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, as well as participation in a terrorist organization. Eskinder’s sentence was upheld on appeal on May 2, 2013. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, a panel of independent experts, concluded in November that Eskinder’s imprisonment was arbitrary and “a result of his peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression.”

Woubshet Taye Abebe, who is serving a 14-year sentence under the anti-terrorism law, was a winner of the 2012 Hellman-Hammett Award, administered by Human Rights Watch. Woubshet was the deputy editor of the Awramba Times prior to his arrest in 2011.He alleged in court that he was tortured in pretrial detention, as have other defendants detained on terrorism charges. The court did not investigate his complaint.

Reeyot Alemu Gobebo, a journalist for Feteh, was convicted on three counts under the terrorism law for her writings. Her sentence was reduced from 14 years to 5 years on appeal, and she remains in prison. Reeyot was recently awarded the prestigious 2013 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. She will miss the May 3 award ceremony in Costa Rica.

Members of the international media have also been charged under the anti-terrorism law. In December 2009, two Swedish journalists, Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson, were convicted for “rendering support to terrorism” and entering the country illegally “to commit an act that is a threat to the well-being of the people of Ethiopia.” They had entered the country without a visa and were arrested while investigating the situation in Ethiopia’s eastern Somali region, site of a longstanding insurgency. They were pardoned and released in September 2012 after more than a year in prison.

“The journalists who have been detained and convicted have one thing in common – they were all exercising their right to freedom of expression, a right guaranteed by the Ethiopian constitution and international law,” Lefkow said.

In 2012 Hailemariam Desalegn became Ethiopia’s prime minister following the death of Meles Zenawi, under whose leadership the country experienced a sharp decline in civil and political rights – including freedom of expression. Hopes that Hailemariam’s government would improve Ethiopia’s record on free expression have been dashed by ongoingarbitrary arrests and detentions of journalists and others.

Since January 2012, members of Ethiopia’s Muslim community have held regular protests in the capital, Addis Ababa, and other towns over alleged government interference in religious affairs. The government has harassed and detained journalists who have reported on these protests. Yusuf Getachew, former editor of the now-defunct Islamic magazine Yemuslimoch Guday, was charged under the anti-terrorism law and is on trial, though the trial is closed to the public. Solomon Kebede, Getachew’s successor at the magazine, was arrested on January 17 and has also been charged under the anti-terrorism law. Prior to charges being bought, Solomon spent more than two months in pre-trial detention at Maekelawi prison in Addis Ababa, which is notorious for torture, without access to legal counsel.

The right to freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Ethiopian constitution, and in numerous African and international conventions, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which Ethiopia has ratified. In November, Ethiopia was appointed to the United Nations Human Rights Council and as such has made a commitment to uphold “the highest standards of human rights as enshrined in the constitution of the country and in the international and regional human rights treaties that Ethiopia has ratified” – including rights to freedom of expression.

“As a recently appointed member of the UN’s Human Rights Council, Ethiopia should take swift steps to improve the media environment in the country,” Lefkow said. “These include immediately releasing all journalists imprisoned under the anti-terrorism law, amending the law’s worst provisions, and ending the harassment of what little independent media remains in the country.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Human Rights Watch was confounded by the idiocy of the terrorism charges: “According to the charge sheet, the evidence consisted primarily of online articles critical of the government and telephone discussions notably regarding peaceful protest actions that do not amount to acts of terrorism. Furthermore, the descriptions of the charges in the initial charge sheet did not contain even the basic elements of the crimes of which the defendants are accused….”
Amnesty International denounced the judgment of the kangaroo court: “There is no evidence that [Reeyot and the other independent journalists] are guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. We believe that they are prisoners of conscience, prosecuted because of their legitimate criticism of the government. They must be released immediately and unconditionally.”
PEN American Center “protested the harsh punishment handed down to” Reeyot and Woubshet and demanded their “immediate and unconditional release.” PEN asserted the two journalists “have been sentenced solely in relation to their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression, in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, to which Ethiopia is a signatory.”
The International Women’s Media Foundation saw the kangaroo court trial as an intimidation tactic against all independent women journalists: “The fact that the Ethiopian Government pursues and persecutes courageous, brave and professional women journalists does not bode well particularly for young women who may be interested in journalism. As a result, women’s voices (as reporters, editors, journalists, decision-making chambers) are rarely heard and women’s issues are often relegated to secondary position.”

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

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

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

The problem of evil in Ethiopia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Touched by evil

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

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

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

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

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

The gratuitous evil perpetrated against Serkalem Fasil is beyond human comprehension. In their letter to President Lee C. Bollinger of Columbia University opposing Meles Zenawi’s appearance to speak at that institution, Serkalem and her husband the world-renowned journalist Eskinder Nega wrote:
We are banned Ethiopian journalists who were charged with treason by the government of PM Meles Zenawi subsequent to disputed election results in 2005, incarcerated under deplorable circumstances, only to be acquitted sixteen months later; after Serkalem Fasil prematurely gave birth in prison.Severely underweight at birth because Serkalem’s physical and psychological privation in one of Africa’s worst prisons, an incubator was deemed life-saving to the new-born child by prison doctors; which was, in an act of incomprehensible vindictiveness, denied by the authorities. (The child nevertheless survived miraculously. Thanks to God.)

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

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

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

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

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

Doing evil, doing good

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

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

The evil that men do lives after them

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

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

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

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

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

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

(to be continued….)

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

The passage I like the most is when he said “Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis romanus sum ["I am a Roman citizen"]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is “Ich bin ein Berliner!”… All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words “Ich bin ein Berliner!”
Today it feels me with so much pride to say all Ethiopians where ever we live say in unison “ene Amara negene” Injustice against any of Ethiopia’s children is injustice to all of her children. We feel each other’s pain. When one Ethiopian is marginalized, when a single Ethiopian is put in harm’s way it is an affront to each one of us and we all suffer. It was none other than Martin Luther King Jr. who took injustice to heart when he declared “he who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

Tell me my fellow Ethiopian. What do you see in the picture above? It is a picture of people huddled together. It must be night time, what are they doing outside in the cold? Why are they sad? There is no mistaking that they are our people. I can tell that Ethiopian face from a mile away. Look at that slender chiseled face, kind eyes and welcome demeanor. They are our sisters, brothers, mothers or fathers sitting on bare soil, with no chairs and it is difficult to tell whether it is outdoors or inside. There is no question they seem to be confused, tired, and sad. Notices the young girl on the left with barefoot and looking resigned and observe the father on top right holding his chin and just seeming to wonder about the dire situation. I want you to see the child on his mother’s lap looking sad and his mother looking straight at the photographer not for pity but seems to be saying ‘take a good look, don’t forget my ace!’ I cried because I am human, I hurt because I cannot be there to hold their hand, rub their shoulders and ‘whisper it is ok, I am here to help.’ Oh my God the pain is killing me; it is tearing my soul apart. Why is this happening to my people? Why am I witnessing this suffering?

They are not just numbers. They are not statistics we refer to from some paper. They are living, breathing human beings. There is no Ethiopia without them. A house cannot stand without a foundation and a country does not exist without people. The people you see above are Amaras from the region referred to as Beneshangul/Gumuzl Kilil in Western Ethiopian that were deported from their own land to places they don’t even know. They are the homeless Ethiopians. They are stateless people within a country called Ethiopia. They are the surplus Ethiopians. How does such calamity happen? Was there an invasion by a foreign forcer? Was there some kind of natural disaster? Was there a civil war?

No they are the victims of a policy carried out by a rogue regime gone wild. Their plight is a calculated and thought out policy put in place by the regime in power. They are the recipient of a plan drawn by Meles Zenawi and his friends to keep our country in perpetual conflict and destroy Ethiopia from within. This is not an isolated event or an opportunistic move on the spur of the moment. No this is a plan drawn over thirty years ago same as Adolf Hitler’s plan of what he called to as the ‘Final Solution’ to annihilate the Jewish people. This is Meles Zenawi, Sebhat Nega, Seyoum Mesfin, and Abbay Tshaye’s and company nefarious plan directed at a single ethnic group. The ‘Final Solution’ against the Amara people.

Fascist Mussolini in his own evil ways knew that he cannot conquer Ethiopia without partitioning us. Thus he divided our country into six units as follows: 1) Eritrea to include Tigrai – capital Asmara 2) Amhara to include Begemeder, Gojjam, Wello and northern Shoa – capital Gonder 3) Galla and Sidamo –capital Jimma 4) Addis Abeba 5) Harar 6) Somalia-capital Mogadishu. Meles Zenawi and his Woyane party went further and created what we today call nine Kilils. He called it Federalism but in actuality it was South Africa’s Apartheid system in East Africa.

Musoloni and the Italians were in charge of the six units they created. The white minority government in South Africa was the boss of all the Bantustans. In Ethiopia Meles Zenawi with his Tigrai ethnic based Woyane party ushered a new era of abuse, conflict, civil war and the beginning of the destruction of our ancient land.

All Tigray’s are not Woyane. On the other hand there is no reason to shy away from stating the obvious-most Tigrais are the beneficiary of the system set up by Woyane warlords. They are the number one Ethiopians standing heads high above all others. This is not hate. This is not a figment of my imagination. Nothing happens in Ethiopia without the knowledge and consent of the Woyane party. This is a very painful statement to write down but why hide from the truth.

It is also true that Woyane agents and provocateurs planted among us are posing as Amara/Oromo among others and making ugly and hateful statements directed at our brothers and sisters from Tigrai ethnic group. This is the Way Woyane operates and we are all familiar with that mentality. We should also be aware of the fact that Woyane has been systematically attacking Ethiopian history, Ethiopian heritage and the concept of being an Ethiopian in order to carry out their goal of setting us against each other. They have convinced a few gullible people, uneducated and lumpen individuals that our country is not worth saving and separation and going your own way is an option.

We should all try harder not to allow any kind of hateful speech; any put down of each other based on ethnicity and should at no time and place tolerate such ugly and backward behavior. It is commendable to be proud of one’s ethnicity and heritage but it is not a license to attack and degenerate someone from another group. We do not have choice what ethnic group to belong to when born, we are what we are. No one decide ahead to be white or black, to be Chinese or Indian, to be short of tall or be female or male. That is all in the hands of a higher authority. Ignorance and pettiness is what makes us stressed and lash out against those we are not familiar with.

Then some evil people like our Woyane warlords use our weakness to divide us, to be suspicious of each other and plant the seeds of hatred in our society. It is a struggle not to be taken by such propaganda that is intended to make us feel better even with an empty stomach. Let alone our old and poor backward country even the industrialized and educated countries have not been able to tackle this cancer in their body politic.

But we Ethiopians are resilient people. The fact of the matter is over twenty years of hate filled propaganda by Woyane has not been able to accomplish their goal of setting us against each other. Proof in point being during Woyanes deportation of our Eritrean citizens it was heartwarming to see our ordinary people crying and being distressed following the buses that was hauling our brethren, it was a display of true Ethiopian love to see the citizens of Gurafereda washing their hands of Shiferaw Shigute’s ugly deed and today we are sure that our citizens of Bena Shangul do not agree with this current nightmare visited on them by the new Woyane warlords in Arat Kilo.

Do you really think puppet Shiferaw Shigute of Southern Region, do you for a second believe puppet Ahmed Naser Ahmed Of Beneshangul/Gumuz Kilil will carry out such ugly deed without the approval and consent of Meles Zenawi then and Debretsion Gebremichael today? No sir, this kind activity is carried out with the direction of the highest body of the party that is run by Debretsion and company.

It does not do us any good to speculate why they are doing this criminal act. Why would a government declare war on its own people is a question history always tries to answer. It is nothing new. It has happened before we have witnessed it unfold all around us. Rwanda was yesterday, Bosnia is still fresh in our mind and Gurafereda and Beneshangul are close to our heart. No matter how you put it in Ethiopia under the leadership of the Woyane Tigrai based TPLF party our country is turning into hell on Earth. Our Gambellan citizens are uprooted from their ancestral land, Sidama citizens are hunted like wild animals and the Amaras are the favorite target of these disturbed and sick individuals in charge.

Of course we can fight their hatred based criminal act with more hate. I believe MLK Jr. said it better when he wrote ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.’ I do not hate Woyane. I do not want to be like them. Again I will quote you MLK when he said “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too much a burden to bear.” My heart aches when I think of the dead Meles Zenawi, I cringe when I see the picture of Bereket Semeone, Debretsion Gebremichael, Sebhat Nega or Abbay Tshaye’s. They must carry such a burden with them how do they ever sleep at night? How do they function among the company of people with such overwhelming evilness engulfing the depth of their soul?

We all have responsibilities in our daily life. We are fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, cousins, neighbors and workers interacting with other fellow human beings. Sometimes our duties and expectations from those around us is a source of stress and uneasiness. Fathers and mothers worry about the welfare of their family, children are under constant pressure to perform better and our work place puts up so much demand on us we are driven to the edge. It is all because we all want to be loved, needed and do better for those around us. The ultimate satisfaction is when a job done comes out perfect and those around us appreciate the effort. That is the reward that feeds the ego.

Our leaders do not seem to understand that. Given the chance to lead and make a better world for their fellow citizens that put so much trust and faith in them they callously throw away the opportunity to excel. They choose the path of hate, divide and rule and the road of destruction. Instead of sharing the bounty that comes from all working together and lift everybody higher they choose to hoard little crumbs for themselves and those around them. They play with words to fool themselves. They try to manipulate reality to fit their myopic vision. They think calling famine nutrition deficiency changes the pain, naming their terror squad internal security wipes the blood of their hands or doctoring the book balances the account for real. It is a sickness with no cure.

I wrote down I cried and felt broken heart when I saw the picture of my people from Beneshangul then I thought about it. Yes it is human to feel their pain but that is not the answer to our problem. I went back to MLK to see what he tells me about mending a broken heart. How did the great leader deal with such ugliness in the world. This is what he said “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” It is true my response should be what am I going to do about this situation that is keep me up all night?

I am going to be proactive. I will not sit down and observe and take this abuse silently. I am in the USA. I will do my best to discuss with my people so we can find a solution that is sustainable. I will write and talk every chance I get to develop a culture of inclusiveness based on equality, respect and justice. I will support all those forces that are struggling to overcome this force of darkness by any means necessary. I will strive harder to learn from this negative experience and turn it into a positive experience so we can together build a better and just society. I will organize my fellow exiles to contact their Senators, Representatives, locally elected officials so they can pressure the US government to stop coddling such a criminal enterprise masquerading as a government.

I am also heartened by political parties, civic organizations and groups that are currently working under harsh conditions in Ethiopia to gather information, proof and documents regarding the ethnic cleansing situation. I also believe upon getting our documents in order we could be able to do a citizen’s arrest of all the mentioned criminals when they show up outside the country. We can as victims of government atrocity hold these despicable individuals and hand them to our local police. Armed with our documents we have every right as human beings to ask that they be brought to justice since they are breaking international law which our country is signatory of. It is just but another arsenal in our fight against injustice. Finally since information is power I give my word of honor that I do my at most best to strengthen and make ESAT the most powerful media in my beautiful homeland. I ask my fellow Ethiopians to sit down and think hard because indifference has not brought us any amount of measurable respite from this from this never ending atrocity by a regime one wild.

Men in power are blind to the lives of the condemned Ethiopian poors, young, middle aged, old, men, women, boys and girls swimming in the murky waters of poverty, political darkness and civil boredom. The Ethiopian youth are marred in a vicious cycle of poverty, which the “ revolutionary democracy” of EPRDF, twenty years ago promised to eradicate; and ten years ago revolutionary democracy devolved in to the living nightmare of Tyrannical/oligarchy framed by ethnocracy. The promise of eradicating poverty is now replaced by acceptable levels of unemployment of Ethiopian youth.

The naked reality, which glares to the Prime Minister’s palace in, clearly summarized below,

Over half of Ethiopia’s population consists of young people between the ages of 15-24 years. Many of the youth face diverse problems and live with constant life challenges. Especially in urban centers of the country, the number of delinquent juveniles is increasing. In Addis Ababa alone it is believed that there are over 100,000 people living on the streets, and more than half of these are young people. This number is increasing every day due to poverty and migration of people from the rural to urban areas in search of a better life.

It is also due to children losing parents to AIDS and other causes. These young people are often involved in socially undesirable practices, such as frequenting brothels and drug and alcohol abuse. Many youth commit crimes such as robbery
and other offenses. According to police reports more than half of all the arrested criminals are young people. Other available evidence also indicates that young people commit most criminal offences including drug abuse and other harmful practices in Ethiopia.

The mushrooming of foreign videocassettes and films in the country is also believed to negatively affect the personality of today’s youth in particular. Being left with low or no access to recreational centers or to leisure time activities, a number of youths are flooding to video shows most of which are full of violent, immoral and pornographic acts. What is still worse is that these films make the youths develop negative attitude towards their own culture, country and people.
These young people seem to know nothing good about their homeland except that they despise it by comparing it with that of affluent societies. As a result it is not uncommon to observe immoral acts they often emulate from the film-shows. Since they spend much of their time on watching films and practicing other socially undesirable activities, they fail to regularly attend their classes and acquire proper knowledge, which determines their future.

One of the major factors that seriously aggravate the problems of the youth is the absence of sufficient employment opportunities. A lot of school dropouts and those who complete high school education but with no opportunity to join
higher learning institutes could not but remain dependent on their parents or guardians meager resources. Unfortunately a considerable number of them spend almost half of their time in such a state. As a result, those youths who particularly come from low income parents often become hopeless and involved in prostitution and end up contracting HIV/AIDS. Frustrated by the challenges of getting reliable means of subsistence, some young people seem to have lost faith and a vision of tomorrow’s world. The situation calls for an immediate attention to assist in curbing the present trend of the young in Ethiopia. It is with this understanding and a sense of responsibility to serve God and people that Youth Impact came to existence.

Top
Copyright © 2008 Youth Impact Ethiopia

This is the reality in the ground, which will soon wake up the Prime Minister from the slumbers of his deep sleep. The time bomb is ticking as the regime is still sleeping long hours, thinking that the intimidated Ethiopian poors are
going to resign to their deplorable condition.

Our youth are appealing to our consciences. For them, everything is subject to doubt except for the reality of pain, hopelessness and anguish.

Teodros Kiros
Professor of Philosophy and English (Liberal Arts)
Berklee College of Music

Self-defense at this critical time in the history of Ethiopia threatened by divisive ethnic policy being perpetrated by TPLF’s warlords is a natural right. The Amharas subjected to ethnic cleansing and indeed the living under tyranny in abject poverty seek practical solutions to their multiple miseries quickly before it is too late to avert civil disorder of far reaching consequences to Ethiopia and the region of the Horn of Africa. The parochial EPRDF warlords in their airtight cage care less about peace and tranquility in Ethiopia and states in the region. The warlords are strange cage-fellows mistrustful of one another and devoid of constructive ideas.

Writings and quotes deemed relevant to this piece

In order to make a reasoned argument, I starved for knowledge and sought respite in the writings of fellow citizens as well as remarkable quotes of stalwart Pan Africanists:-

Ambassador Berhanu Dinke (ABD)

1.The Imperial regime had faced several rebellions and outright challenges to its policies, and rampant but silent disagreements among officials of the His Majesty’s administration. The Emperor was above the Constitution, which He said He granted it to the people of His own free will. He breached it in terms of devolution of power. This breach led to a serious quarrel between the Monarch and the renowned dissident Ambassador ABD – His Majesty’s trusted, visionary, effective, incorruptible official. DK sought political asylum in the USA where he had to contend with several threats on his life for his incessant and incisive criticism of the Imperial regime. Failure to devolve power to the Prime Minister in accordance with Article 73 of the Constitution was the main cause of the irreversible split between the principled BK and the Monarch that ruled in accordance with the precept of the divine right of kings.

2.I read BK’s two books written in Amharic each 69 pages long bound in one cover with the titles “Qaisar ena Abiot” printed on one side and “Albo Zemed” on the other. Each book in my opinion is as big as any in terms of its substance underlining the need to build democracy on solid foundation. He quite rightly characterized the elites of the Ethiopian revolution as rebels in an empty house devoid of the timeless fundamental values rooted in Ethiopian history. I agree with him entirely.

3.According to ABD’s eye witness account as a young boy: Dejazmatch Balcha Abanebso from his abode in Wolliso mobilized a small force to march on Addis Ababa to fight the Italian Fascist invaders. The Italians upon getting the news deployed one thousand soldiers supported by tanks, artillery and fighter airplanes to engage the veteran warrior with only 200 militias at his command. In a day long fighting, the Fascists suffered 100 casualties versus only 15 on the militia but with several men wounded. Several days later the Fascists made a surprise attack on a camp near his birth place and killed the veteran hero. He paid the ultimate sacrifice.

4.Balcha’s death motivated the likes of Abebe Aregay et al in Shoa; Mengesha Jembere and Belay Zeleke in Gojjam; Gebrehiot and Abay in Tigray; Geresu Dukey and Bekele Woya in the south. These illustrious heroes were part and parcel of the first guerrilla organization in the world. Incidentally, one of the Dejazmatch Abay’s sons was my friend in Addis Ababa; he tutored me a lot about power struggle within Tigray which I found to be similar to those in other parts of Ethiopia.

5.According to ABD poetry, literary works and philosophy in Ethiopia have independently developed to the level of European achievement in Ethiopia. This is true!

Gebremedhin Araya (GA)

5.I knew Gebremedhin in those days in Uganda when refugees were on hot pursuit. My better half was a close friend of his wife and did her best to assist the GA and his spouse when the couple was victims of nabbing by TPLF security operatives led by General Tsadkan and Hayelom. GA is one true son of Ethiopia with unrelenting courage and patriotism to this very date exposing the renegades within the TPLF top echelon in his capacity as a former member. I thank him for his article in Amharic titled እነ ማን ነበሩ? አሁንስ ማን ናቸው? posted on various social media.

6.I extol GA in all sincerity for his confirming that the Imperial regime was all-inclusive and that Tigreans held top positions in that regime. I know this to be true in my capacity in key positions; it is a matter of record that the Monarchy gave the highest priority to the development of Tigray and Eritrea in spite of meager national resources.

Jomo Kenyatta quote

7.“When the Missionaries arrived, the Africans had the land and the Missionaries had the Bible. They taught how to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we had the Bible.” In contrast the EPRDF regime is welcoming the old and new colonizers by leasing large chunk of fertile land to the latter in the face of serfdom bleeding Ethiopian peasants.

Nelson Mandela quote

8.“Ethiopia has always held a special place in my own imagination and the prospect of visiting attracted me more strongly than a trip to France, England and America combined. I felt I would be visiting my own genesis, unearthing the roots of what made me an African. Meeting the emperor himself would be like shaking hands with history”. The country so much admired is now Balkanized – the very concept the Great Statesman paid so dearly to eradicate.

President Uhuru Kenyatta

9.“… Let us all be clear – supporting devolution is not a choice, as some claim it to be – it is a duty. A constitutional duty. One that I have sworn to uphold. Our constitution does not suggest devolution, it demands it. I urge all Kenyans to be persistent, pragmatic, patient and non-partisan, as we pursue the promise of devolved governance.” This is in sharp contrast to the partisan divisive ethnic policy of EPRDF in the absence of no real devolution of power.

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam

10.“Ethiopians united — pulling together — can never be defeated by the bloody hands of tyrants!”, from his inspiring analysis titled Liberating a “Prison Nation” posted on Ethiomedia on 15 April 20113. I say Amen to this quote wholeheartedly.

Failures in political leadership & consequences

1.Dictator Mengistu Hailemariam has unashamedly shifted the blame of his failure in leadership to his close confidants and subordinates. His incompetence as Commander-in-Chief of the Ethiopian Armed Force led to the disintegration of one of the largest fighting force in Africa.

2.This coward spent time building his personality cult and finally fled the country leaving the army in the lurch and the door wide open for invasion by the TPLF regime. He must be held accountable for high treason. In all fairness, however, he neither falsified the history of Ethiopia nor compromised the unity and territorial integrity of the country – which could have constituted a more treasonous crime.

3.The EPRDF regime has been unwilling or incapable of resolving colossal issues inherited from Zenawi. These require the collaboration of all Ethiopians in a democratic environment, which does not exist now. The mega dam project is a time bomb that will explode at the convenience of Egyptian authorities. Any Ethiopian opposition political entity would be right to link up with progressive forces in Egypt in fostering regional democracy and prosperity.

4.Endemic corruption is certain to destabilize the regime. Moreover, the pledge by the EPRDF Prime Minister to continue with the destructive legacy of the late tyrant Zenawi will lead to the eventual downfall of the regime sooner than later.

5.The longer the TPLF warlords stay in their tribal hermetic cocoon, the more they will become stupid and isolated from the rapidly changing outside world in the sphere of politics, economic growth and social development. This intransigence will not augur well for the stability of Ethiopia and the region of the Horn of Africa.

Slow pace towards unity

Unity still seems a blurred dream. After decades in the wilderness some Oromo elites are still unable to shed off their tribal garb to change their wrong premise and make a paradigm shift to embrace the spirit of Ethiopianism and Pan Africanism under the umbrella of the African Union. I ask the OLF liberation from whom? How can it be possible to dialogue on any national or AU agenda with a biased mind towards ones’ tribe? Under ethnic federalism, would it be possible for meritorious candidates from minority groups to hold electoral offices at the national level? I think NOT!

EPRDF warlords are locked in their airtight cage with their parochial views. The government is dysfunctional at this material time. This is the moment for the Ethiopian people to inundate public squares and streets and appoint an all-inclusive transitional caretaker government.

The fate of those movements with tribal mentality will be decided by the people forming the transitional government. Those concerned are well-advised to read the signs on the wall and do so recalling election 2005 where Ethiopians, regardless of ethnic origin or creed, dealt a heavy blow to TPLF at the polls.

I pin my hope on this quote by Kwame Nkrumah : “The forces that unite us are intrinsic and greater than the superimposed influences that keep us apart” to be optimistic that the slow pace for strong unity will pick up speed.

Summary

Zenawi’s ill-conceived vision, mission, and strategy to destroy Ethiopia are well articulated by Gebremedhin Araya. Full support for his call for a coordinated civil uprising as broadcast in his interviews with ETSAT and G-7 radios is justified; his assertion that the Imperial regime was all-inclusive is correct; it is true that Tigreans held more than their share of top positions in government.

Ethnic cleansing is an intolerable vicious crime against humanity; no baby is born to parents of its choice and therefore the ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Amhara race constitutes a heinous crime against humanity. The descendants of the loyal servants of Fascist Italy holding top position in TPLF/EPRDF must brought to justice.

The Ethiopian young generation should: pay tribute to the illustrious heroes (mentioned at paragraph 4 on page1) and multitudes of others for their heroic contributions, as Ethiopians regardless of their ethnic origin, to the first guerrilla organization in the world; emulate their example to eradicate racism being perpetrated by Bandas within the TPLF top hierarchy; stop rebelling “in an empty house” devoid of the timeless fundamental values rooted in Ethiopian history; act in unison to “defeat tyranny” and liberate the “Prison Nation”, vide paragraph 10 on page 2 above.

As George Ayittey said “Back in the 1960s Africa not only fed itself, it also exported food. Not anymore.” Ethiopia was on the verge of take-off in economic growth led by the agricultural sector, but no more – due to economic mismanagement by the TPLF regime. The next pro-Ethiopia regime will no doubt: restore the principle of self-reliance; reclaim Ethiopian lands from unscrupulous investors and distribute to citizen private property owners!

God always does his part leaving to us what we can do!

Release all political prisoners in Ethiopia and Muslim leaders demanding peacefully for their constitutional rights!

LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA!!!

Would you please listen to these verses, Emama Ethiopia?

“My country, Ethiopia
You are fool, deceivable
You feed your murderers
While you starve your martyrs!”

No single spot exists in the mountains, plains, low lands, deserts, jungles, rivers and lakes, where Amharas did not spill their blood to protect the national integrity and sovereignty of Ethiopia. A lot has been said about the battle of Maqdala, Adwa, Mychew, and The Five-Year War with Facist where Amharas gave their chest for bullets and their whole body for mustard gas in order to transfer a proud and free country to us. Let’s just gaze at the very near past. It was the Amhara peasants who broke the back bone of invader Siad Barre. It was the Amhara militia who protected our natural sea ports until mama Ethiopia’s neck and breasts were butchered by her traitor children. What is the gladiator Amhara getting in return now? Systematic discrimination, frequent eviction, endless displacement, repeated ethnic cleansing, chronic crime against humanity, and genocide?

One of the leading Ethiopian online news papers on Ethiopian affairs, Ethiomedia, covered on its March 17, 2013 front page, that 59 uprooted Amharas were killed by car accident in Benishngul Gumuz, western Ethiopia while they were forcefully evicted after their property was confiscated. [1] Similarly the Ethiopian Satellite Television, an independent news outlet, reported that more than 3, 000 people were evicted from Benishangul area. [2] These crimes were also discussed in the Voice of America Amharic program. [3] The evicted people and the deaths include children and pregnant women. Mind you, the victims only crime was being born Amhara. Dr. Yakob Hailemariam, one of the Lawyers who investigated the Rwandan Genocide, call this act of the TPLF lead government ethnic cleansing. [4]

In this 21st century human traits such as age, gender, and ethnicity are protected human characters. In civilized societies (at least in theories), discriminating based on these protected traits is illegal and immoral. However, concepts such as legality and morality are not found in the dictionaries of the barbaric tribal rulers of Ethiopia. Unfortunately, the ruling party’s fundamental policy in Ethiopia dictates cadres to organize people based on ethnicity and the language they speak. Furthermore, this backward policy (The Wild-animals’ law as the distinguished scholar professor Mesfin woldemariam calls it)promotes the different ethnic groups to discriminate each other based on human nature such as race, language, religion and so on. The Amharas, who are mainly against this uncivilized jungle law, have been the prime victims of this brutal and retarded policy since the racist Tigrai People Libration Front (TPLF) took power through a Trojan horse- the Ethiopian Democratic Libration Front (EPRDF).

The Amharas are the second largest ethnic group in the country. Some, in fact, argue that Amhara could be the largest group in the nation if counted in unbiased manner. Ancient and modern history teaches that this population group existed with other ethnic groups in Ethiopia and the surrounding East African countries since humans started to live as society on this earth. However, the Amharas have never claimed certain regions of Ethiopia as their own sole state. Unfortunately, TPLF created a segregated area called Amhara killil (Killil -a local term for segregation) for these groups of people.

Many including former members of TPLF have stated that TPLF leaders have been labeling the Amharic speaking people as their enemies since they organized themselves as communist Guerilla fighters in the early 70’s. [5] The crimes committed against Amharic speaking people since this rebel group (formerly labeled as terrorist group by USA) took power are the practical applications of this former communist Guerilla fighters’ racist-jungle manifesto.

As mentioned above, systematic discrimination of Amhara has been on the making for more than two decades. As soon as the TPLF took power in 1991, it cleansed more than 42 intellectuals (almost all of them Amharas) from the teaching positions at Addis Ababa University. [6] It established a unique and effective contraception programs in the Amhara communities to reduce the number of births. No sane Amharic Speaking individual with viable conscience is allowed to take key positions in the government. Those individuals who claim to represent the Amharas in the government are either non-Amharas or Amharas who sell out their soul and conscience to money and other ephemeral advantages.

About two years after the TPLF took power, thousands of Amharic speaking people including women and children were massacred in the eastern part of the country called Bedeno. [7] It needs an outstanding historical film maker to document how these unfortunate people were thrown away from the top of the cliff as high as 100 meters. It takes Schindler’s List film director to document the suffering of the children of these victims. It takes the skill of a horror film maker to produce how women were repeatedly raped in front of their husbands during this crime against humanity. Similar crimes have been committed against Amharic speaking people in Central, Southern, Western and Northern Ethiopia. Such kinds of atrocities were relatively abated by the formation of the All Amhara People Organization. Unfortunately, this organization’s leader, Professor Asrat (the first surgeon in the country), was incarcerated and died because he was denied access to medical care by TPLF lead government.

As a continuation of “cleanse the Amharas motto”, thousands of Amharic speaking people were forced to leave from Gura Ferda (southern Ethiopia) in 2012. [8] These unfortunate people were forced to leave their houses and other property behind and no one really knows who exactly has robbed their possessions. Many have suffered and died during this disgraceful ethnic cleansing. Only God and the victims know about what happen to the cleansed victims who are not dead at this point. The officials who systematically conducted theses dreadful crimes still hold higher positions in the States and Federal Government. Such is the case in the current Ethiopia-you commit wicked crime, you get promotion.

Besides being forcefully evicted from their homes at the different regions of the country, Amharas also roam to different parts of the world even to the failed state Somalia to escape the systematic discrimination and ethnic cleansing. During this mass migration, Amharas die every day in hundreds from various causes such as flood, wild animals, hunger, diseases, etc. Still among those who are able to escape and live in the foreign land, many die of slavery and suicide.

In summary, Amharas were not born Amharas by choice. Their ethnicity or language is their protected identity. Above all, the evicted Amharas fathers’ and forefathers’ have spilled their blood in every corner of Ethiopia to defend the sovereignty and pride of our nation. The land currently cultivated by Indian, Chines and Arab traders is enriched with Amhara’s blood and flesh. Despite this glorious history of their ancestors, Amharas have been discriminated and cleansed by TPLF lead government which is composed of disloyal and treacherous individuals who sold out our sea access and fertile land. This act of the narrow-minded TPLF government is not just totally immoral but absolute crime that should not happen in 6000 BC let alone in 21st century. If the TPLF lead rulers continue the ethnic cleansing of Amharic speaking people with this rate, Amharas will be endangered species in the near future. Therefore, those people who have direct or indirect participation in systematic discrimination, evicting, and ethnic cleansing of the Amharas or any other ethnic group should face justice as soon as possible. Lawyers and Judges (especially of Ethiopian origin) have professional, moral, ethical, historical and national responsibility to force these horrendous criminals face justice.

End Notes

1. Ethiomedia : http://www.ethiomedia.com/addis/5775.html
2.Ethiopian Satellite Television http://ethsat.com/2013/03/30/government-officials-are-intimidating-us-evictees-from-benishangul/
3.Eneman Neberu, http://www.ethiomedia.com/abc_text/tplf_eneman_neberu.pdf
4.Scholar accuses Ethiopian authorities of “ethnic cleansing, Ethiomedia, http://www.ethiomedia.com/addis/5775.html
5.Ethiopian Review:http://www.ethiopianreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=46935&p=269039
6.Ethiopia; Status of Amharas: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/ins/ethiopia_amharas_93.html
7.The Bedeno – EthioLion; www.ethiolion.com/Pdf/021309_Tamirat_Layne.pdf
8.Ethiopian Review: www.ethiopianreview.net/index/?p=67503

Only the Ethiopian government media thinks it is hiding this horrific story. Embassies of Ethiopia’s donor countries in Addis Ababa, who tirelessly tell us how they care for civilization and human rights, have also chosen to look the other way. This barbarism is theirs too as they are underwriting it in so many ways. That may partly explain their silence. The only silver lining I found in this whole sad story is that the local, indigenous tribes and ethnic groups have not joined the officials in this crime. Many, we even heard, were sympathetic to the victims. We all need to be proud of them. They have not lost their senses even as their chiefs lost theirs.

But here is the major point. Many Ethiopians seem to miss the root cause of this crime and get outraged at the chaffs. The root cause of this ethnic cleansing and the factor that created it is embedded in the vision set out for Ethiopia by its rulers, the TPLF/EPRDF, as soon as they took power. The officials of the Benishangul-Gumuz state and those in Guraferda, Bench Maji Zone, in the Southern Ethiopia Regional State, were executing a Grand Vision imbedded in the creation of the ethnic homeland – the Killil. That is why some officials seem to be surprised by our surprise and were giving incoherent responses to some media interviews. In a way, you can argue that the local officials who are doing this crime are also victims of the Grand Vision which they were told was a good official policy.

The Benishangul officials somehow failed to learn from their comrades in the Southern Regional State in Guraferda Bench Maji who as we speak are doing the same thing. Had they done it a few victims at a time, the outcry would have been easily muted. In the Guraferda case, they seem to get smarter after doing a massive eviction when they started out last year. Now they are doing it on “a smaller group of victims at a time” basis. They seem to have learnt that the larger their victims the louder the visibility and outrage. Other than that, the local officials are doing their job prescribed in the Grand Vision.

When Meles Zenawi said, “what is Axum to the Wolayita and the Castles of Gondar to the Oromo”, he may have spilled the beans quite early in his tenure, but he was not saying it out of ignorance or saying anything outside of what he believed. The suggestion was to create a psychology among people that anybody born outside of your ethnic homeland does not belong with you – that Ethiopia’s numerous ethnic groups are mechanically joined units that share very little among one another. The Grand Vision stipulates that the best way to divide and rule Ethiopia, and fight age-old and powerful Ethiopian nationalism that stood on their way, was to reduce it to divided units and inward-looking ethnic nationalism. Of course, this was not an innovation by Meles or TPLF. It was first invented by the Italians who twice invaded Ethiopia and, to their unforgettable surprise, found out that Ethiopian nationalism is more powerful to tear down, and that it is hard to divide Ethiopians along their ethnicity and conquer their country. A version of the current ethnic map is first made by Italian strategists and visionaries, if you can call them that.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am all for the rights of ethnic groups to promote their cultures, languages, etc., and believe that any attempt at democratizing Ethiopia should do its best to do away with ethnic inequality in the country. I also know it is a challenge for any government trying to address it. I have monkeyed with Marxism- Leninism when I was a collage kid. When I began to see and understanding my country fully, I found out that any solution for Ethiopia’s ills can only be based by studying and understanding Ethiopia and its complexities and devising indigenous solutions and not by importing European ideas. I believe we can find our own solutions.

Anybody who thinks that the motive behind the manufacturing of the “killil state” by the TPLF/EPRDF was to empower ethnic groups and help them promote their language, culture etc, and do away with ethnic inequality, was apparently taken for a ride or has not paid attention to the philosophy embedded in the formation of ethnic homelands – the killil. The fact is you don’t necessarily need the ethnic killil to make ethnic groups or so called “nations” and “nationalities” and “peoples” equal. In fact, for ethnic groups to be equal citizens in the country, you don’t necessarily have put them inside a geographic enclave. I am a student of geography. I can make you digital maps of ideal federal states that can be optimally used to help avoid inequality between ethnic groups, fight poverty, and strengthen the Ethiopian union, all at the same time, by crunching hundreds of variables on a computer. It is even possible to avoid the current ridiculous hierarchical classification of ethnic groups into “nations”, “nationalities” and “peoples” which inherently perpetuates inequality.

The current practice only exposes the regime that it does not have even a slight commitment to the rights of ethnic groups. I know many have come to this conclusion by looking at what the regime is doing to the Agnuak in Gambella. According to current practice in Ethiopia, you will lose your citizenship rights, if you are a citizen at all, as soon as you move from your designated ethnic homeland and move to another. Think about it. In the country where I currently live, the son of a Kenyan immigrant is the President of the country. When I think of it, it painfully reminds me of how far in the past my beautiful Ethiopia still lives in. My children and grand children can become presidents or senators in the country that gave me refuge. My relatives who live outside of their ethnic homeland in their own country are not allowed to run and hold even a “kebele” office. It is simply unconscionable that this is happening in the twenty first century. Has anybody wondered why individuals of mixed ethnicity, which probably number more than thirty million, are forced to choose between their father’s and mother’s ethnicity when they are issued ID cards? Isn’t this a crime against an entire people?
So please don’t tell me that the ethnic homeland states of Ethiopia are set up with the good intention of helping ethnic groups achieve equality. Ato Meles Zenawi and those who shared his Marxist- Leninist views very well know that there cannot be a sustainable oppression of one group of people by another without an economic basis. The only economic basis with which the ruling classes in Ethiopia in the past, be it Amahara or a multiethnic class, was able to oppress another group for a long period of time was because of unequal land ownership. But the dergue, Mengistu Hailemariam’s government, has done away with that seventeen years before the TPLF took over. The dergue also targeted Amharas and killed many.In the absence of an economic basis to point to as the basis of oppression, TPLF leaders have to manufacture some tool.The only tool they found in their tool box was linguistic differences and the hatred of the “other”.People were encouraged to hate one another and feel their differences with others more than what they share in common.That was why they dismissed Ethiopia’s long recorded history, the very thing that joins us in pride as Ethiopians as “Teret” (folk tale). I see many countries use even mythologies to help them promote their union. In Ethiopia we are asked to despise even the facts on our record.

It appears that this hate is bearing bigger fruits with time and that is exactly what we are seeing in Benishangul Gumuz and Guraferda now. What we are reaping is what has been sawn, and I am afraid this is not going to be the end of it and may not stop at the Amhara. We are hearing that some of the Benishangul deportees are now allowed to return. Most probably this is due to the need to mute the worldwide outcry and appease some donors but not out of the realization of the wrong they did. The damage is already done. I have no idea how this traumatized people would live a normal and secure life even if they are returned. Some who are very traumatized are even saying they will better die on a street anywhere than return back.

If Ato Meles Zenawi was alive today, I am sure he would pull all his word-craft to justify the crime in Benishangul-Gumuz. He already did justify the deportation from Guraferda in front of the “parliament” last year by saying that the Amhara “settlers” were destroying forests and doing unplanned use of land. He didn’t even care his justification run in violation of the constitution. You see, in civilized communities across the world, the constitution is meant to protect the people from government excesses and the power government holds over people. In Ethiopia it is only quoted when there is a need to protect the government from the people and often to intimidate and throw critics and opponents into the kaliti dungeon.

The whole idea and talk about oppression of nations and nationalities, as they call them, was propagated only to patronize the ethnic elites and facilitate their cooperation in the Bantustanization of Ethiopia and reduce the country to units manageable to rule. That was how you could manufacture surrogate ethnic parties. This was the reason the multiethnic Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (EPDM) was forced to become an ethnic Amhara party overnight, though it is obvious that none of it looks like a party created to help Amharas.

Folks, whether you like it or not, this is the vision that will definitely challenge Ethiopia’s survival as a nation in the future. And this is the vision that all of Ethiopia’s officialdom and party cadres are swearing to preserve. Be afraid not only for the Amhara, this poison embedded in the philosophy of our government’s ethnic policy can destroy Ethiopia if left unreformed. This fire will catch more forests. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, as my American friends would say.
Yes, we are witnessing a painful tragedy in progress and I understand why many of you are crying. I myself did shade some tears when listening to the voices of the unfortunate.But don’t let your tears cloud you from seeing the real reason. There is a need for a huge change in Ethiopia.

Fekadeshewakena@yahoo.com

It is evident that as Derg came to power in 1974, they ruled the whole country in terror and brutality. Derg’s regime was faced with resistance and gravely weakened and finally defeated by TPLF/EPRDF and Eritrea Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF) guerrilla warfare. TPLF/EPRDF guerrilla movement transformed to large scale by recruiting fighters partly by intimidation of the Tigeran peasants, and finally able to mobilized thousands of fighters. They disseminated in their fighters propaganda of hatred to other ethnic and continuing to exhibit parochialism even after they assumption of power. Before TPLF enter Addis Ababa they quickly formed EPRDF to get a cover as an Ethiopian force. The TPLF claims in its propaganda that they fought Derg dictatorship for the pursuit of liberty or ideals of democracy has been revealed as carefully crafted deceptions. It is not too surprising that it is done to stay in power by coercion enforced by viscous Agaiz private armies that are recruited from one minority ethnic and secret police organization to continue their tyrannical rule.

As we briefly look back why the Weyane’s/TPLF revolt started we found that primarily reason was a conflict with the local authority to protect economic interest within Ethiopia. However, in mid-1970’s the Weyane intelligesta has shifted from the regional problem to call secession from the centralized Ethiopia state. For this reason, since the guerrilla years the Tigrian identity and historical heritage to Ethiopia has been deliberately and systematically reinvented by their leaders to mislead others. The rich and long Ethiopians history and nationalism has been distorted.

Their leaders have no love for Ethiopia or compassion for people except for their interest that is driven in creating non-viable ethnic states and provoking ethnic conflicts.

It is well to remind ourselves, their supreme leader Meles Zenawi made statements in public that Ethiopia flag is a piece of rug, proud to be pure gold ethnic, has done treachery acts about Assab, the Algerian agreement etc. all these originated from dogmatic ethnic political beliefs.

Furthermore, as TPLF/EPRDF’s seized the power, they implemented the divide and rule strategy under disguise of ethnic rights ideology. It quickly adopted a new constitution “the right of ethnic/nationalities Rights” under Article 39, 46 and 47. Of course, these articles objective are to divide and rule at same time to erode the eighty nationalities unity and diversity that coexisted side by side for generations. Even though active social interaction and intermarriage among nationalities is always a given fact.

The recent forceful eviction of members of the Amhara people from Benishangul-Gumuz area is indeed a direct implementation of the TPLF/EPRDF’s ethnic policy. They have a wrong belief that creating ethnic conflict is the foundation of their strength to stay in power. As demonstrated with above few facts, they are deliberately creating ethnic conflict as one of the tactics to stay in power.

We cannot afford to remain as onlookers where ethnic cleansing encouraged by regime. As stated by many scholars the international laws is applicable for this type of crime, and TPLF/EPRDF leaders can be charge by ethnic cleansing. This cannot be seen as a long shot. The role of Ethiopians, at least in USA, has to demand through available avenues such email/letters/on line petition, etc. to our senators, congressmen/women to expose the ongoing ethnic cleansing act. We should always keep in mind that the Opposition political groups, independents journalist, other concerned citizens risked all they had, their families, friends, homes, etc. all these sacrifice is for glimmering hope of a better life for all Ethiopians.

We should support them by intensifying campaign in exposing their ethnic cleansing that blow our minds, and put in its own coffin as seen in past world history. Ethnic cleansing is barbarous and heartless. As it said in the past, if you care about Ethiopia do not remain idle, get involved and make your voice be heard. It will take a massive effort, discourse, dialogue, and to get Ethiopia back on its feet and to make it home again for all Ethiopians.

Ewnetu Sime

Hundreds of runners who had expected to leave Boston on Tuesday morning with a sense of triumph after a night of celebration left instead with heavy hearts after at least three people were killed and more than 140 were injured, some of them having lost limbs and suffered grievous wounds.

Among the dead was an 8-year-old boy, identified by The Boston Globe as Martin Richard of Dorchester. Friends and family gathered Monday night at a restaurant to mourn him; he had been watching the marathon with his family, and his mother and a sister were badly injured. The names of the other victims have not been made public.

Late Monday night, law enforcement officials descended on an apartment building in the suburb of Revere, about five miles north of downtown Boston. They were seen entering the Water’s Edge apartment complex at 364 Ocean Ave., but officials provided no details of what local news accounts reported was a search. The authorities have not announced any arrests, and so far, no one has claimed responsibility as the police conduct what they said was “a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation.”

Among those injured were two brothers who had been watching the race. Both lost a leg from the knee down in the explosion. The men, ages 31 and 33, were taken to different hospitals and had lost track of each other until their frantic mother and other family members found them. Their names were not made public.

Downtown streets that normally would be clogged at rush hour were largely deserted Tuesday except for a cold wind and a few runners out for a morning jog. “It’s very surreal,” said Mary Ollinger, 32, who works at Wentworth Institute of Technology. “The streets are empty and the Common is filled with media trucks.”

Hundreds if not thousands of office workers avoided downtown on Tuesday because of closures. Maria Luna, 38, who lives in Watertown and usually commutes by bus to her job as an investment analyst at John Hancock, said she was staying home. “My manager told me it would be very limited access,” she said by phone. The emergency protocol in her office was activated, she said, meaning that essential workers, like those who must move cash on a time-sensitive basis, could report to an off-site disaster recovery station in Portsmouth, N.H., where the company has computers.

She said she felt a combination of sadness and terror. “Right now I have a big ball in the pit of my stomach,” she said.

While many area colleges were open on Tuesday, Emerson College said it canceled classes “for healing and reflection.”

Pat Cramer, 44, of Moorestown, N.J., who ran the race Monday, said he and a friend would try to see some of Boston, agreeing that they did not want the bombings to change their lives. “If you change your life, they win,” he said, a common refrain after the Sept. 11 attacks although in this case, no one knows yet who “they” are.

White House officials said that President Obama received updates overnight about the investigation from Lisa Monaco, his chief counterterrorism and homeland security adviser. “The president made clear that he expects to be kept up to date on any developments and directed his team to make sure that all federal resources that can support these efforts, including the investigation being led by the FBI, be made available,” a White House official said. Mr. Obama is to be briefed again later this morning by Ms. Monaco and the director of the F.B.I., Robert Mueller.

In Boston, law enforcement officials expect to brief the media at 9:30.

Almost three-quarters of the 23,000 runners who participated in the race had already crossed the finish line when a bomb that had apparently been placed in a garbage can exploded around 2:50 p.m. in a haze of smoke amid a crowd of spectators on Boylston Street, just off Copley Square in the heart of the city. Thirteen seconds later, another bomb exploded several hundred feet away.

Pandemonium erupted as panicked runners and spectators scattered, and rescue workers rushed in to care for the dozens of maimed and injured, some of whom lost legs in the blast, witnesses said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation took the lead role on Monday night, and Richard DesLauriers, the special agent in charge of the bureau’s Boston office, described the inquiry at a news conference as “a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation.”

The reverberations were felt far outside the city, with officials in New York and Washington stepping up security at important locations. Near the White House, the Secret Service cordoned off Pennsylvania Avenue out of what one official described as “an abundance of caution.”

President Obama, speaking at the White House, vowed to bring those responsible for the blasts to justice. “We will get to the bottom of this,” the president said. “We will find who did this, and we will find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.”

Mr. Obama did not refer to the attacks as an act of terrorism, and he cautioned people from “jumping to conclusions” based on incomplete information. But a White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity afterward, said, “Any event with multiple explosive devices — as this appears to be — is clearly an act of terror, and will be approached as an act of terror.”

“However,” the official added, “we don’t yet know who carried out this attack, and a thorough investigation will have to determine whether it was planned and carried out by a terrorist group, foreign or domestic.”

Some runners were approaching the end of the 26.2-mile race when the two blasts, in rapid succession, sent them running away from the finish line.

“The first one went off, I thought it was a big celebratory thing, and I just kept going,” recalled Jarrett Sylvester, 26, a runner from East Boston, who said it had sounded like a cannon blast. “And then the second one went off, and I saw debris fly in the air. And I realized it was a bomb at that point. And I just took off and ran in the complete opposite direction.”

There were conflicting reports about how many devices there were. One law enforcement official said there had been four: the two that exploded at the marathon and two others that were disabled by the police. The official said that the devices appeared to have been made with black powder and ball bearings, but that investigators were unsure how the two that exploded had been set off.

It was unclear Monday evening who might be responsible for the blast. Although investigators said that they were speaking to a Saudi citizen who was injured in the blast, several law enforcement officials took pains to note that no one was in custody.

Some law enforcement officials noted that the blasts came at the start of a week that has sometimes been seen as significant for radical American antigovernment groups: it was the April 15 deadline for filing taxes, and Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts, the start of a week that has seen violence in the past. April 19 is the anniversary of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

The explosive devices used in the attacks on Monday were similar in size to the device used in the 1996 attack at the Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta but were not nearly as large as the one used in Oklahoma City. In the Atlanta attack, a pipe bomb was detonated near pedestrians, killing 2 and injuring more than 100 — similar numbers to Monday’s attack.

The attack in Oklahoma City was far larger because the perpetrator used a truck packed with thousands of pounds of explosives. The device killed more than 150 people.

The attack on Monday occurred in areas that had been largely cleared of vehicles for the marathon. Without vehicles to pack explosives into, the perpetrators would have been forced to rely on much smaller devices.

Officials stressed that they had no suspects in the attack. The Saudi man, who was interviewed at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, had been seen running from the scene of the first explosion, a person briefed on preliminary developments in the investigation said on Monday afternoon. A law enforcement official said later Monday that the man, was in the United States on a student visa and came under scrutiny because of his injuries, his proximity to the blasts and his nationality — but added that he was not known to federal authorities and that his role in the attack, if any, was unclear.

The explosions brought life in Boston to a halt. Police officials effectively closed a large part of the Back Bay neighborhood, which surrounds the blast site; some transit stops were closed; planes were briefly grounded at Boston Logan International Airport and the Boston Symphony Orchestra canceled its Monday night concert. A Boston Celtics game scheduled for Tuesday was also canceled.

Boston was bracing for a heightened law enforcement presence on Tuesday, with its transit riders subject to random checks of their backpacks and bags, and many streets in the center of the city likely to be closed to traffic as the investigation continues. Gov. Deval Patrick said Monday night that “the city of Boston is open and will be open tomorrow, but it will not be business as usual.”

Boston’s police commissioner, Ed Davis, urged people to stay off the streets. “We’re recommending to people that they stay home, that if they’re in hotels in the area that they return to their rooms, and that they don’t go any place and congregate in large crowds,” he said at an afternoon news conference.

It had begun as a perfect day for the Boston Marathon, one of running’s most storied events, with blue skies and temperatures just shy of 50 degrees. The race typically draws half a million spectators. And long after the world-class runners had finished — the men’s race was won by Lelisa Desisa Benti of Ethiopia, who finished it in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 22 seconds — the sidewalks of Back Bay were still thick with spectators cheering on friends and relatives as they loped, exhausted, toward the finish line.

Dr. Natalie Stavas, a pediatric resident at Boston Children’s Hospital, was running in the marathon with her father and was nearing the finish line when the explosions shook the street.

“The police were trying to keep us back, but I told them that I was a physician and they let me through,” she recalled in an interview.

First she performed CPR on one woman. “She was on the ground, she wasn’t breathing, her legs were pretty much gone,” she said, adding that she feared that the woman had not survived.

Then she tried to help a woman with an injury in her groin area, and a man who had lost his foot. Dr. Stavas said she had applied a tourniquet to the man’s leg with someone’s belt. “He was likely in shock,” she said. “He was saying, ‘I’m O.K., doctor, I’m O.K.’ ”

“Then ambulances started coming in by the dozen,” she said.

The blast was so powerful that it blew out shop windows and damaged a window on the third floor of the Central Library in Copley Square, which was closed to the public for Patriots’ Day.

A number of people were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, said Dr. Alasdair Conn, the hospital’s chief of emergency services — and several had lost their legs.

“This is like a bomb explosion we hear about in Baghdad or Israel or other tragic points in the world,” Dr. Conn said.

Several children were among the 10 patients who were brought to Boston Children’s Hospital, including a 2-year-old boy with a head injury who was admitted to the medical/surgical intensive care unit.

The police faced another problem as they tried to secure the blast scene: many spectators dropped their backpacks and bags as they scattered to safety, and investigators had to treat each abandoned bag as a potential bomb. There were bomb scares at area hotels. At one point in the afternoon, Boston police officials said that they feared that a fire at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum could have been related to the marathon bombs, but they later said it seemed to be unrelated.

The Boston police said that they were getting numerous reports of suspicious packages. Asked if they had found all the explosive devices, Mr. Davis, the police commissioner, urged citizens to remain alert and said he was “not prepared to say we’re at ease at this time.”

John Eligon reported from Boston, and Michael Cooper from New York. Reporting was contributed by Steve Eder, Ashley Parker, William K. Rashbaum, Katharine Q. Seelye and Mary Pilon from New York, Mark Landler, Michael S. Schmidt, Eric Schmitt and Abby Goodnough from Washington, and Joel Elliott, Dina Kraft, Tim Rohan and Brent McDonald from Boston.

The ODF is a “new movement” launched by “pioneers of the Oromo nationalist struggle” who “have mapped out a new path that embraces the struggle of all oppressed Ethiopians for social justice and democracy.” Central to the collective struggle to bust the walls and crash the gates of “prison nation” Ethiopia is a commitment to constitutional democracy based on principles of “shared and separate political institutions as the more promising and enduring uniting factor” and robust protections for civil liberties and civil rights. Shared governance and the rule of law provide the glue “that will bind the diverse nations into a united political community” and return to the people their government which has been privatized and corporatized by the ruling regime “to advance and serve their partisan and sectarian interests.”

The Declaration foresees genuine federalism as the basis for freedom, justice and equality in Ethiopia. It argues that the ruling Tigriyan Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) hijacked the federalism, which was originally birthed by the “mounting pressures of the struggles for self-determination by the Oromo and other oppressed nations”, and subsequently corrupted it into a political scheme that serves the “present ruling elite’s aspiration of emerging and permanently remaining as a new dominant group by simply stepping into the shoes of those that it replaced.” The ODF “aspire[s] to build on the positive aspects of Ethiopia’s current federal set-up” by “remov[ing] the procedural and substantive shortcomings that stand in the way of democracy and federalism.”

The Declaration finds traditional notions of unity inadequate. “Invoking a common history, culture or language has not guaranteed unity. We similarly reject the present ruling party’s presumption that it serves as the sole embodiment and defender of the so-called ‘revolutionary democratic unity.’” It also rejects “the ruling party’s illusory expectation that the promotion of economic development would serve as an alternative source of unity in the absence of democratic participation.” The Declaration incorporates principles of constitutional accountability, separation of powers and check balances and enumerates “bundles” of participatory, social and cultural rights secured in international human rights conventions. It proposes “overhauling” the civil service system and restructuring of the military and intelligence institutions to serve the society instead of functioning as the private protective services of the ruling party and elites. The Declaration broadly commits to economic and social justice and condemns the mistreatment and “eviction from ancestral lands of indigenous populations, and environmental degradation.”

Significance of the Declaration

The world is constantly changing and we must change with it. Henry David Thoreau correctly observed, “Things do not change; we change.” We change by discarding old and tired ideas and by embracing new and energetic ones. The old ideas which demonize other ethnic groups as mortal enemies are no longer tenable and are simply counterproductive. In a poor country like Ethiopia, the vast majority of the people of all ethnic groups get the shaft while the political and economic elites create ethnic tensions and conflict to cling to power and line their pockets. We change by casting away self-deception and facing the truth. The truth is that “united we stand, divided we fall”. When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, Benjamin Franklin said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” For the past 21 years, we have been falling like a pack of dominoes. They have been hanging us separately on the hooks of “ethnic federalism”.

We must be prepared to change our minds as objective conditions change. As George Bernard Shaw said, “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” We must change our ideas, beliefs, attitudes and perspectives to keep up with the times. The alternative is becoming irrelevant. No organization can achieve unanimity in making change because change makes some in the organization uncomfortable, uneasy and uncertain. However, change is necessary and unavoidable. In line with George Ayittey’s metaphor, we can change and remain viable and relevant like the Cheetahs or suffer the fate of the hopeless Hippos.

It is refreshing and inspiring to see a transformative and forward-looking declaration forged by some of the important founding members and leaders of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) emphatically affirming the common destiny of all Ethiopians and underscoring the urgency for consolidating a common cause in waging a struggle for freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia. These leaders show great courage and conviction of conscience in changing their minds with the changing political realities. The reality today is that the “economic and security interests of the Oromo people are intertwined with that of other peoples in Ethiopia. In addition, their geographic location, demography, democratic heritage and bond forged with all peoples over the years make it incumbent upon the Oromo to play a uniting and democratizing role.” It must have taken a staggering amount of effort to overcome internal discord and issue such a bold and positively affirmative Declaration signaling a fundamental change in position. These leaders deserve commendation for an extraordinary achievement.

I believe the Declaration is immensely important not only for the principles it upholds and articulates but most importantly for the fact that it represents a genuine paradigmatic shift in political strategy and tactics by the founders of the OLF. The Declaration signals a tectonic shift in long held views, ideology and political strategy. It represents a profound change in the perception and understanding of politics, change and society not only in Ethiopia but also in the continent and globally. By emphasizing inclusiveness and common struggle, the Declaration rejects the destructive politics of ethnicity and identity (the bane of Africa) for politics based on issues of social, political and economic justice. By embracing a common struggle for freedom, democracy and human rights, the Declaration rejects ethnocentrism (the arrogant philosophy of narrow-minded African dictators) and fully accepts federalism as a basis for political power and shared governance.

What are we to make of the Declaration? Is it merely an aspirational statement, an invitation to dialogue, a call to action or all of the above? It appears the Declaration is not merely a statement of principles but also an invitation to dialogue and a call to action. It affirms the universal truth that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” and acknowledges that “struggling for justice for oneself alone without advocating justice for all could ultimately prove futile”. It urges Oromo groups to stop “trivial political wrangling” and “join hands with us in strengthening our camp to intensify our legitimate struggle and put an end to sufferings of our people.” It counsels the “ruling regime to reconsider its ultimately counterproductive policy of aspiring to indefinitely stay in power by fanning inter communal and interreligious suspicion and tension.” It proposes a “country-wide movement sharing” a common “vision, principles and policies” to “propel Ethiopia forward and ending the current political paralysis.” It pleads with the “international community to stand with us in implementing our vision and proposal of transforming the Ethiopian state to bring peace and sustainable stability in Ethiopia and Horn of Africa.”

Dialoguing over “Federalism” or the futility of putting lipstick on “bogus federalism”

It is the privilege of the human rights advocate and defender to speak his/her mind on all matters of human rights. I should like to exercise that privilege by raising an important issue in the Declaration and respectfully taking exception to it. The Declaration states:

We aspire to build on the positive aspects of Ethiopia’s current federal set-up. However, to make the simultaneous exercise of self-rule and shared-rule possible it is necessary to remove the procedural and substantive shortcomings that stand in the way of democracy and federalism… [which] can be accomplished by [allowing] subject nations, in due course, freely elect delegates to their respective state and central constitutional assemblies. When this process is completed, the present “holding together” type of bogus federalism will be transformed into a genuine ‘coming together’ variety.

I consider myself a hardcore federalist who believes in a clear division of power between a national and sub-national (local, state) governments. In fact, I consider the “Federalist Papers” written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution as unsurpassed works of political genius on the theory and practice of federalism. Having said that, I do not believe there is an alchemy that can transmute “bogus federalism” into “genuine federalism”. Just as there is no such thing as being a “little bit pregnant”, there is also no such thing as building upon “bogus federalism”. Either it is genuine federalism or it is bogus federalism.

As I argued in my May 2010 commentary “Putting Lipstick on a Pig, Ethiopian Style”, discussing the elections, “You can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig. You can jazz up a bogus election in a one-man, one-party dictatorship with a ‘Code of Conduct’, but to all the world it is still a bogus election under a one-man, one-party dictatorship… They want us to believe that a pig with lipstick is actually a swan floating on a placid lake, or a butterfly fluttering in the rose garden or even a lamb frolicking in the meadows. They think lipstick will make everything look pretty.” You can put lipstick on “ethnic federalism” and call it “federalism”, but it is still bogus federalism.

As I have often argued, the late Meles Zenawi, the chief architect of “ethnic federalism” in Ethiopia was driven by a “vision of ethnic division. His warped idea of ‘ethnic federalism’ is merely a kinder and gentler reincarnation of Apartheid in Ethiopia. For nearly two decades, Meles toiled ceaselessly to shred the very fabric of Ethiopian society, and sculpt a landscape balkanized into tribal, ethnic, linguistic and regional enclaves.” He crafted a constitution based entirely on ethnicity and tribal affiliation as the basis for political organization. He wrote in Article 46 (2) of the Constitution: “States shall be structured on the basis of settlement patterns, language, identity and consent of the people.” In other words, “states”, (and the people who live in them) shall be corralled like cattle in tribal homelands in much the same way as the 10 Bantustans (black homelands) of Apartheid South Africa. Ethiopia’s tribal homelands are officially called “kilils” (enclaves or distinct enclosed and effectively isolated geographic areas within a seemingly integrated national territory). Like the Bantustans, Ethiopia’s 9 killilistans ultimately aim to create homogeneous and autonomous ethnic states in Ethiopia, effectively scrubbing out any meaningful notion of Ethiopian national citizenship. You can put lipstick on bantustans and call them “ethnic federalism” but at the end of the day a Killilistan with lipstick is a Bantustan without lipstick.

Before committing to “build up on the positive aspects of Ethiopia’s current federal set-up”, I urge the ODF and all others interested in institutionalizing genuine federalism in Ethiopia to carefully study and consider the long line of Apartheid laws creating and maintaining bantustans in South Africa. I commend a couple of illustrative examples of such laws to those interested. The Bantu Authorities Act, 1951(“Black Authorities Act, 1951”) created the legal basis for the deportation of blacks into designated homeland reserve areas and established tribal, regional and territorial authorities. This Act was subsequently augmented by the Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act, 1970 (“Black States Citizenship Act & National States Citizenship Act, 1970) which sought to change the legal status of the inhabitants of the bantustans by effectively denaturalizing them from enjoying citizenship rights as South Africans. These laws imposed draconian restrictions on the freedom of movement of black South Africans. These laws further sought to ensure that white South Africans would represent the majority of the de jure population of South Africa with the right to vote and monopolize control of the state machinery. The Group Areas Act of 1950 (as re-enacted in the Group Areas Act of 1966), divided South Africa into separate areas for whites and blacks and gave the government the power to forcibly remove people from areas not designated for their particular tribal and racial group. Under this Act, anyone living in the “wrong” area was deported to his/her tribal group homeland. The law also denied Africans the right to own land anywhere in South Africa and stripped them of all political rights. The lives of over 3.5 million people were destroyed by this law as they were forcibly deported and corralled like cattle in their tribal group bantustans.

Recently, Prof. Yacob Hailemariam, a prominent Ethiopian opposition leader and a former senior Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda commented that the forceful eviction of members of the Amhara ethnic group from Benishangul-Gumuz (one of the nine kililistans) was a de facto ethnic cleansing. “The forceful deportation of people because they speak a certain language could destabilize a region, and if reported with tangible evidence, the UN Security Council could order the International Criminal Court to begin to examine the crimes.” A year ago to the month Meles Zenawi justified the forced expulsion of tens of thousands of Amharas from Southern Ethiopia stating, “… By coincidence of history, over the past ten years numerous people — some 30,000 sefaris (squatters) from North Gojam – have settled in Benji Maji (BM) zone [in Southern Ethiopia]. In Gura Ferda, there are some 24,000 sefaris.” Meles approved the de facto ethnic cleansing of Amharas from the “wrong” areas and repatriation back to their kililistan Amhara homelands. Through “villagization” programs, indigenous populations have been forced of their ancestral lands in Gambella, Benishangul and the Oromo River Valley and their land auctioned off to voracious multinational agribusinesses. The undeniable fact of the matter is that over the past two decades the Meles regime has implemented a kinder and gentler version of Bantustanism in Ethiopia.

The perils and untenability of Meles’ “bogus federalism” have been documented in the International Crises Group’s report “Ethiopia: Ethnic Federalism and Its Discontents”. That report points out the glaring deficiencies and problems engendered by “ethnic federalism” in “redefine[ing] citizenship, politics and identity on ethnic grounds.” The study argues that “ethnic federalism” has resulted in “an asymmetrical federation that combines populous regional states like Oromiya and Amhara in the central highlands with sparsely populated and underdeveloped ones like Gambella and Somali.” Moreover, “ethnic federalism” has created “weak regional states”, “empowered some groups” and failed to resolve the “national question”. Aggravating the underlying situation has been the Meles dictatorship’s failure to promote “dialogue and reconciliation” among groups in Ethiopian society, further fueling “growing discontent with the EPRDF’s ethnically defined state and rigid grip on power and fears of continued inter-ethnic conflict.”

“Ethnic federalism” is indefensible in theory or practice. While intrinsically nonsensical as public policy, “ethnic federalism” in the hands of the Meles regime has become a dangerous weapon of divide and rule, divide and control and divide and destroy. Those in power entertain themselves watching the pitiful drama of kililistans compete and fight with each other for crumbs and preoccupying themselves with historical grievances. The ICG report makes it clear that in the long term “ethnic federalism” could trigger an implosion and disintegration of the Ethiopian nation.

Meles used to boast that his “ethnic federalism” policy had saved the “country [which] was on the brink of total disintegration.” He argued that “Every analyst worth his salt was suggesting that Ethiopia will go the way of Yugoslavia or the Soviet Union. What we have now is a going-concern.”

The truth of the matter is that ethnic balkanization, fragmentation, segregation and polarization are the tools of trade used by the Meles regime to cling to power while lining their pockets. In a genuine federalism, the national government is the creature of the subnational governments. In Ethiopia, the “kilil” (regional) “governments” are creatures and handmaidens of the national “government”. In a genuine federalism, the national government is entrusted with limited and enumerated powers for the purpose effectuating the common purposes of the subnational “governments”. In Ethiopia, the powers of the national “government” are vast and unlimited; and there are no barriers to its usurpatory powers which it exercises at will. There are no safeguards against encroachment on the rights and liberties of the people by the national or subnational “governments”. Simply stated, “ethnic federalism” as practiced in Ethiopia today is not only a recipe for tyranny by the national “government” but also the creed for secessionists in the name of self-determination. “Ethnic federalism” is an idea whose time has passed and should be consigned to the dustbin of history along with its author. “Well, back to the old drawing board!”

The Curse of Meles

According to those in the know, the late Meles Zenawi used to say “Diaspora Ethiopians can start things but never manage to finish them.” Regardless of the veracity of the attribution, there is a ring of truth to the proposition. Since 2005, we have read lofty declarations and heard announcements on the establishment of political and advocacy groups and organizations. We have welcomed them with fanfare but they have come and gone like the seasons.

I do not believe those who drafted the Declaration of the Congress of the Oromo Democratic Front will be visited by the Curse of Meles. The Declaration seems to be the product of an enormous amount of organizational soul-searching, discussion, debate, introspection and contemplation. The ODF has come up with an honest, practical, bold and hopeful declaration. I have some questions as do others; but the fact that questions are being raised is proof that the Declaration has considerable appeal, credibility and traction. I ask questions to engage in dialogue and discussion, not to undermine or cause doubt about the worth or value of the Declaration. To be sure, I raise questions about the Declaration in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King’s counsel: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” My questions originate from the question: “What does the Declaration do for all of our people? With sustained effort and the good will and cooperation of all stakeholders, there is no reason why new alliances cannot be created and old ones reinvigorated to move forward the struggle for freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia. I am inspired by the Declaration’s commitment to wage a united struggle: “We will exert all efforts in order to pull together as many advocates and promoters of the interests of diverse social sectors as possible in order to popularize and refine the principles and processes that would transform Ethiopia into a genuinely democratic multinational federation.”

I understand “to pull together” means to stop pushing, shoving, ripping, picking and tearing each other apart. That is why I have an unshakeable faith in the proposition that “Ethiopians united — pulling together — can never be defeated by the bloody hands of tyrants!”

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

I do not know the names of these students. I do not know their parents nor where they came from. Maybe they could have been the only child of their parents. What I know is this … these Ethiopians were killed by Ethiopians.

I remember it was the morning of June 8, 2005, the image of a 16 years old young girl was at the front page of some of independent Amharic newspapers, I bought that morning. Shiberre Dessalegn was her name. She was shot dead, around Kotobe (western part of Addis Ababa). In 2005 , including Shibere, more than 200 Ethiopians were massacred by Ethiopians.

If we write more stories from Gambella, Gode, Hausen, Assossa, Bedeno, Ambo, Ginchi, Borena, Azezo time will not suffice to list down all the horrors and atrocities committed by Ethiopians against Ethiopians. The number of Ethiopians killed by Ethiopians may be 5 to 10 times larger that the number of those killed by foreign invaders (Italians, Siad Barre forces, Egyptians, Turks …).

Were these not enough?

In today’s Ethiopia, situations have not improved. Still Ethiopians are suffering at the hands of Ethiopians. Civilians are expelled from their home because they happened to be from one ethnic group. Reporters , political leaders and human right activists are being jailed, because they happened to disagree with authorities. While we show hospitality and care for foreigners (mostly Chinese, Indians and Arabs), we have continued humiliating and oppressing Ethiopians, and are showing no compassion, love and respect towards our brothers and sisters. Let Eskinder Nega and Andwalem Arague be testimony for these. Let Reyot Alemu and Bekele Gerba speak and confirm these. All these atrocities, intolerance and cruelties we are seeing in our country are indicative that we have serious problems as a nation, and that we need to change.

For how long, will we be using our fingers to pull a trigger on our fellow brothers and sisters? For how long will we use our hands to write hate and division articles against one another? For how long will we use our fist to beat down and torture another Ethiopian? For how long will we be unwilling to embrace one another? When do we put a brake on the cycle of bloodshed and violence? When do we stop expelling civilians from their homes because they happened to be from one ethnic group? When do we stop mercilessly and barbarically arresting innocent people with tramped up terrorist charges because they happened to disagree with us? When do we transition from mob mentality and the politics of the jungle towards a civilized politics of tolerance and maturity? When do we focus on empowering one another, holding hands together and working with big commitment to build a united, democratic and prosperous Ethiopia, where all its children are equal regardless of their age, class, ethnic group, religion and political ideology?

If we want to be a country of the 21st century and be counted among the civilized countries, we have to change as a Nation. Change must quickly come from Arat Kilo. It’s been now 9 months since Meles Zenawi was not in charge. Many of us expected positive changes from the new Administration of Haile Mariam Desalegn. Unfortunately we have seen nothing so far. In fact it’s getting worse. Calls for dialog and reconciliation have been ignored. No single step was taken towards moderation and democratic reform. Elections are about to be held with no contenders. Independent newspapers are closed. People are arrested. Judges are threatened. THIS IS NOT GOOD. I AM RAIZING A RED FLAG and plead authorities to change and do the right thing, before it is too late.

This cruel art was perfected by the old Soviet Union and taken to new heights by regimes such as East Germany. The Woyane regime in Ethiopia and the dictatorship in North Korean are the new practitioners of this inhuman method of turning a whole nation into one big concentration camp. How do they do that?

The North Koreans use communism in tandem with a home grown philosophy called Juche to reengineer the human brain. Individualism is substituted by collectivism, self- reliance and independence is not tolerated thus vertical collectivism meaning hierarchical form of structure is deemed to be the norm. With the old Soviet and China using it as a buffer for their own interest N. Korea has managed to survive for over fifty years as a pitiful example of man’s inhumanity to man. The demise of the Soviet Union and the slow pace of China’s crawl towards freedom is what is unnerving the N. Korean dictatorship.

The Ethiopian situation is a little different. Our old tradition steeled in isolation is a fertile ground for any and all usurpers’ that want to use our good nature for ulterior means. The fall of the benevolent Imperial regime opened the flood gates to all sorts of undesirable and unhinged individuals to come to power. The Mengistu regime was a perfect example of an experiment gone wrong. The little Colonel was obviously out of his depth as a leader of a nation when he was not even experienced or competent enough to lead a unit. His motto was kill’em all before they kill you and it worked.

Meles Zenawi and his rag tag TPLF army was served our country on a silver platter and inherited a demoralized and confused nation on the verge of total melt down. The coward Mengistu’s only interest was to save his criminal behind and left our country in the middle of the night with the door wide open. That is what we have been dealing with the last twenty years or so, another experiment gone totally wrong.

Meles Zenawi was a street smart, definitely a mentally deranged individual with enough intelligence to hide his antisocial behavior. Here is a definition of psychopathic type in Cleckley’s book the ‘Mask of sanity’

‘Primary symptoms of the antisocial personality are amorality (lack of ethical standards and consistent moral judgment) and impulsiveness. They typically have a hunger for stimulation and a lack of responsiveness to social controls. The sociopath will commit the same crimes or antisocial behavior repeatedly, even if caught and punished. When caught red-handed, a sociopath makes charming apologies and talks of how life will be different from now on. But he or she is likely to slide back into the same bad patterns. There is little effort to conceal wrongdoing; if caught, the sociopath freely confesses and tries to make everything all right with personal charm. But a sociopath has no real regrets over hurting people or breaking rules; the apologies come almost too readily because they are totally insincere, a means of minimizing the consequences of being caught rather than expressing true regrets.’

What do you think? Doesn’t this personality trait describe our recently departed bully? This was the person that was left in charge upon the other sociopath’s departure. This is what our poor nation has been dealing with the last forty years. The next question is what is it about us that attracts such abusers and mentally disturbed individuals to positions of power and authority? To answer that question we have to look at our rankings in such fields as education, health, technology and general quality of life of our homeland. How we interact with each other, how we interact with our leaders and how we view life in general is based on how much knowledge and sophistication we have achieved in our everyday life. It is not based on wish but on existing reality that is definable, measurable and real. Here is a general description of where we stand as a nation and people on important qualities that makes us who we are.

Item Percent Comparison to world
Urbanization 17%
Life expectancy 56 yrs. 196
Drinking water source unimproved 56%
Sanitation unimproved 79%
Children under 5 under weight 29%
Literacy (can read and write) 42.7%
Unemployment 15-24 age 24.9% 33
Education expense 4.7% GDP 89
Health expenditure 4.9% GDP 143
Population below poverty line 29.2%
Debt external 9.6 Billion US 94

What this chart shows us is that we are mostly rural, we have a very low life expectancy, we don’t have clean water to drink, we lack basic sanitation facility, our children are semi starved a condition that will affect them thru their adult life, more than half of our population is illiterate, we spend minuscule amount on education and health care and we owe our creditors more money that our grandchildren are left with to pay. We are a failed state. When we discuss changing our country, when we talk about bringing freedom and democracy to our ancient land, when we contemplate what we should do tomorrow it is always good to know what exactly we have on the table so we can make smart and real plans based on reality.

Thus when we despair about what the TPLF mafia is doing to our people and country it is always good to understand why they are succeeding with such bizarre acts and behavior when we look at it from afar. What is it that we in the Diaspora have that the Ethiopian people lack? It is true the diaspora in general is a little bit educated than those at home, we are a more exposed to newer ways of doing things and most of us have managed to conquer fear. All true but the most important factor in this equation is that we have more information to work with that our brethren at home. Information is power. Information gives the individual choice. Information opens the eye and creates that eureka moment we all dream about.

The power of TPLF comes from denying information to our people. That is why they work over time; spend millions of Bir to deny information from reaching our people. That is why in most library’s’ what is written prominently in bold is ‘ýe shall know the truth and the truth can make ye free.’ The truth is what our government is most afraid of. That is why my tile says whipped nation. They keep our people in the dark and whip them psychologically with falsehood, make believe stories and fairy tales that no one can contest. I will give you some examples from news that took place the last few days all beyond logic but told on Eth TV and media as rational and true.

1)I will start with the dead PM’s wife Azeb Gola Mesfin’s declaration that her husband used to make US $240 a month on government payroll. It is said ‘nothing else shows lack of conscience better than bold face lying.’ I guess the lady learnt from the best. We know that Ato Meles never worked for wages before he became PM, never have a bank account, never even paid rent, never paid bills of any kind and according to her didn’t even know how to drive a car. On the other hand the same Meles used to wear suit that cost close to ten thousand dollars- now how did that happen? There is no such thing as national medical insurance but Ato Meles used to travel to Brussels for regular checkup and died there after a lengthy and expensive treatment in a private room-do tell us how that was paid? Did we pay for that? Is that part of his employment package? How much did it cost the Ethiopian tax payer?

Furthermore a Spanish newspaper a while back reported that Weizero Azeb spent 1.2 Million Euros shopping for cloth. Is that money she earned all by herself or was it their combined money as husband and wife? You know why this is not known to our people? It is because there is no independent media to report is the reason. No one to call out her bold lie.

2)It was declared by the current guy who claims to be the PM that the regime has established Meles Zenawi Foundation (MZF) According to Walta ‘The Foundation would serve as a living center of ideas and programs to further advance the works and legacy of the great leader Meles Zenawi.’ Only in Ethiopia could such farce take place. I am sure you have heard of the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation or the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. What makes the MZF different from the above? Those Foundations were established by the individuals so they could share their good fortune with the rest of humanity instead of just willing it to their family. They wanted to share the success they earned by their hard work and use their wealth to good use.

On the other hand the MZF puts that concept on its head. The MZF is established in a ‘proclamation passed by the House of Peoples Representatives’ thus making the tax payer funder of the tyrant’s legacy. To add insult to injury the dictator’s family is in charge of the foundation with his wife and relatives assigned the majority of the board seats. Dictator Meles has all of Ethiopian public media at his beck and call since he assumed power to share his half-baked ideas and infantile musings and now we gona get more of that even from afterlife. Alive he was always quick to dismiss our green, yellow and red symbol therefore it is odd to see his foundation symbol wrapped with our colors minus his silly star in the middle. That is why I said whipped nation. No one to call out their dishonest plans played on our people.

3)The ethnic cleansing against the Amhara people shows no sign of slowing down. It was only last year that with the blessing of the late dictator his agents such as Shiferaw Shigute felt free to drive our people from their homes to faraway places. We protested a little but forgot about it within a short time. It is déjà vu time again. This time the TPLF appointed folks of BeneShangul region felt no shame when they decided to deport the Amhars from their homes. As usual this bizarre behavior of displacing people within their own country has become an Ethiopian past time. Of course some of us show indignation but unfortunately refuse to connect the dots that connect such behavior with our practice. Let me ask you when you buy your beautiful condominium how do you think Azeb Kuma, Arkebe and other TPLF folks acquired the property? Where do you think the peasants of Sebeta and Akai went after being uprooted from their family land and home? The acts of Gura fereda and bena Sahngul is just the same immoral and ugly deed but in a bigger scale.

All are clear signs of a regime gone rogue. How exactly are we responding to this blatant abuse of power and unimaginable atrocity against our people? What new ways have we devised to overcome this debilitating sickness that is slowly but surely killing our country? What exactly have we prescribed to ourselves so we can overcome this disease that is destroying our country, people and the Ethiopia we know?

I am afraid we excel at talking, condemning and always waiting for the next abuse so we could do more of our talking and condemning in a new spirit. Nothing more, nothing less is what I have witnessed if asked to testify. Why do you think that is so? In my humble opinion what we lack is a leader to inspire us, to take us to new heights and gather our people to believe. I am afraid that is not something one can buy from a supermarket order on Amazon.com. What we lack is an organization that will respond in kind to the actions and deeds of the TPLF mafia in power. In our country Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion that states ‘for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction’ doesn’t seem to work. Woyane kills we play dead. Woyane abuses we cry like a baby. Woyane ‘ethnic cleanse’ we talk about it and move on. Where is the equal and opposite reaction?

Fortunate for us I am happy to point out we have one area of responding in kind covered. Of course I am talking about ESAT. It is the first and glorious response we have devised to level the playing field. ESAT is an empowerment tool we have at our disposal. ESAT is the expression of our collective will born from amongst us, nurtured by us and serving the ordinary Ethiopian in a new kind of way. ESAT is fair, ESAT is balanced and ESAT don’t need to lie, tell tall stories and ESAT self corrects when wrong. ESAT is the proto type of the new Ethiopia we are capable of building when given the chance. It is the duty of all patriotic Ethiopians to support ESAT, to protect ESAT, to promote ESAT and safeguard ESAT from all and any naysayers that try to nick pick and slander our baby.

I also propose we start a new equal and opposite reaction’ to the current idiotic idea of white washing the legacy of the Woyane warlord. We have to nip this farce in the bud. They have established the Meles Zenawi Foundation and it is fitting we establish The Meles Zenawi Criminal Enterprise Data Base. I call all Ethiopians educated in the field of Library science, data base compilation, achieving, and media to help us preserve the twenty years of atrocity by the architect and his TPLF comrades. We have enough material to fill the library of Congress. We don’t even need a government proclamation nor a handout from dictators. Let us get to work!

So what did you think when you saw the title of my article. I am sure you most of us know what being whipped means but where the hell is FDRE? That is the official name of your country. Not only did TPLF folks come up with a new flag and the Kilil system which they copied from good old Mussolini but they changed our name too. I bet most of us don’t even know our national anthem, do you?

http://www.intropsych.com/ch12_abnormal/antisocial_personality.html

http://www.abc.es/20110120/internacional/abci-primeras-damas-derrochan-201101201613.html

http://www.waltainfo.com/index.php?id=7876:meles-zenawi-foundation-established-today-&option=com_content&catid=71:editors-pick&Itemid=396

I do want to express my solidarity with the entire content of the special release by G-7 dated 31 March 2013 under the title “በአማራ ህዝብ ላይ እየተፈጸመ ያለው ግፍ በኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ላይ እየተፈጸመ ያለው ግፍ አካል ነዉ!”(The tyranny being inflicted on the Amhara people is part of the same being done on the Ethiopian people). I have a duty as a citizen to condemn ongoing tyranny in Ethiopia in the strongest possible terms without fear or favor as long as the EPRDF regime continues with its flagrant violation of universal human rights, inter alia: ethnic cleansing of the Amaras; holding prisoners of conscience most of them Oromos; imprisonment of Muslim leaders demanding for their constitutional rights of electing their leaders.

In the face of tyranny and racism

The 1974 revolution saw racism as detrimental to progress. For example, young men and women of the former Imperial Ethiopian Air Force produced the revolutionary song Tenesa Teramed (Stand up and stride) that was short-lived but a popular revolutionary; it was broadcast all over Ethiopia with the enthusiastic approval of the Derg regime. The rallying song: condemns differences based on race or creed; stresses the need for robust defense establishment; laments the wastage of our rivers and natural resources and; calls for economic development. It was taken of the air by the Derg because it was too nationalistic to the influential ideologists of the time. But the current inhuman tragedy afflicting the Amara people of Ethiopia has vindicated the validity of the song; I am glad that the revival of its spirit is being felt everywhere in the war against tyranny. Ethiopians need to be nationalists with global outlook, as it were act local and think global.

The civil rights movement conceived and spearheaded by Martin Luther King took place and succeeded in a democratic society open to listen to genuine grievances and sympathize with on either legal or moral grounds not to mention the support of political leaders like President John F. Kennedy. The Ethiopian revolution of 1974 was at first peaceful because of the decision of Emperor Haile Selassie not to counter it with force; the Ethiopian election of 2005 held a glimmer of hope of ushering in an era of democracy but was hijacked by the lawless ruling regime of thugs without moral standards or respect for their own constitution. So should one stay put in the face of tyranny and racism? The answer is NO! The only remedial action is to rise up in unison to defeat the EPRDF regime and do so in the spirit of “One country, Ethiopia; one person, one vote!”

Highlights from history pertinent to this piece

The set of values for which wars have been fought and revolutions have been sparked can be derived from history and our own experience garnered up to this age of abundant information. The Age of Enlightenment (1700 – 1800) preceding the French Revolution (1789 – 1799) no doubt provided the forums to debate on social issues, principles and governance best suited to humanity.

“Rousseau, for example, began to question the idea of the divine right of Kings. In The Social Contract, he wrote that the King does not, in fact, receive his power from God, but rather from the general will of the people. This, of course, implies that “the people” can also take away that power! The Enlightenment thinkers also discussed other ideas that are the founding principles of any democracy—the idea of the importance of the individual who can reason for himself, the idea of equality under the law, and the idea of natural rights. The Enlightenment was a period of profound optimism, a sense that with science and reason—and the consequent shedding of old superstitions—human beings and human society would improve.”

I is interesting to note that “The Enlightenment encouraged criticism of the corruption of the monarchy” including King Louis XVI and the aristocracy. “Enlightenment thinkers condemned Rococo art for being immoral and indecent, and called for a new kind of art that would be moral instead of immoral, and teach people right and wrong”. Is the Prime Minister (PM) of Ethiopia listening? Is he prepared to clampdown on endemic corruption and pervasive moral decay on his watch?

I find the EPRDF totally bankrupt in terms of cardinal principles or parameters below, followed by my comments:-

1.“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains” Jacques Rousseau (1712—1778): This is vindicated by the exodus of Ethiopians seeking refuge and thereby encountering gruesome human sufferings;

2.The all men are created equal assertion by John Adams enshrined in the preamble of the USA Constitution: This a pipedream for the suffering masses of Ethiopia living in serfdom and slavery

3.The all-inclusive principle of Liberty, fraternity, and equality enshrined in the French Revolution: Same as #2 above

4.Freedoms of expression, association, assembly and religion are inviolable natural rights: The EPRDF regime has completely barred these freedoms

5.Respect for human rights takes precedence over economic development: The EPRDF is one of the top human rights violators in the world

6.Equitable distribution of wealth is central to social justice: But land belongs to the EPRF regime; powerful government posts and all lucrative business enterprises are under the monopoly of minority ethnic groups. Thanks to the data provided by G7

7.Private land and property ownership enhances sustainable development and guarantees dignity, freedom and democracy: The ruling regime denies this vowing to adopt the China communist party model of development

8.Man does not live by bread alone – Matthew 4:4: The Stalinist proponents of Revolutionary Democracy dismiss this as nonsense

9.The all-inclusive Ten Commandments in the oldest book, the Holy Bible: There is no standard of morality in Revolutionary Democracy

10.The regime is promoting rampant corruption: This will lead to the downfall of the regime in disgrace, vide to the fate that befell Luis XVI, his wife Marie Antoinette and the aristocracy during the French Revolution.

The Age of Enlightenment led to the French Revolution that laid down the cornerstone of the democratic culture entrenched in modern French society without a single prisoner of conscience in contrast to Ethiopia forced to become a giant dungeon in the 21st century.

Resistance to free debate demolished the Imperial and the Derg regimes; the same fate is awaiting the brutal ERPDF regime provided that the opposition political entities and civil societies act in unison by setting their minor differences aside with a covenant to solve them through a civilized debate at a later time following the downfall of the misruling regime. Effectiveness should transcend selfishness at this hour of extreme emergency much like at the outset of Italian invasion where our ancestors organized into a guerrilla force, by the way the first of its kind in Africa, if not the world, that gave hell to the uncivilized soldiers of Marshal Graziani – labeled by the international community as the” butcher of Ethiopia”.

Rousseau said: “I prefer liberty with danger than peace with slavery.” But the reality in Ethiopia is slavery without peace. And I therefore strongly believe that Ethiopia’s problems should be seen and resolved within the framework of the above principles or parameters.

Laudable “Election 2013” in Kenya; Inaugural ceremony on 09 April 2013

I was spellbound with my eyes glued to the television listening to the electrifying speech President Uhuru Kenyatta to a jubilant capacity crowd of more than 60,000 in which he, among many other achievements, expressed his pride of the level of political maturity Kenyans have reached in just 20 years of entering into a multi-party democracy. He: reassured his fellow Kenyans that there will be no place for divisive ethnic politics and that political pluralism will be there to stay irreversibly; promised self-sufficiency in food security by developing agriculture; pledged transparency and accountability of his administration to the people; praised the local media for their maturity and integrity; praised to bank on his predecessor’s rich legacy and forge ahead to score double-digit growth; pledged work with all contestants in election 2013 s in the development of Kenya for common good as a President of all its citizens.

The outgoing President Mwai Kibaki, beaming with pleasing smile all the time, also made a moving speech underlining the unity of democratic Kenya and outlining the enormous economic growth of Kenya now self-sufficient to finance development schemes. He branded his successor President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Deputy President William Ruto as new breed of leaders that can elevate the phenomenal economic growth of the last ten years to a new height.

It was a retirement with honor for President Kibaki. Kenyans should be proud for setting a shining example for Africa. The motto “One country, Kenya; one person, one vote” has worked for Kenyans in that “Kenya election 2013” has paid a rich reward for the costly and bloody election of 2007. I am optimistic the motto will work for Ethiopia too!

I would like to close this section by witnessing that I had the honor to see, at close range under the same roof, the celebrated Founding Father of Kenya twice; the first time at the National Theatre in Addis Ababa where he and his colleagues enlightened the enthusiastic audience with the Harrambe song from the stage while he was still the fiery leader of guerilla warriors for freedom and independence; and the second time (during official visit as Head of State ) at a luncheon at the Debre Zeit Air Force Base after a brilliant air show of which he spoke admiringly. I am proud of my country’s leading role in the struggle for independence in Africa right from the Emperor Menilik’s famous victory at Adwa that became the beacon of hope for the black people.

In my view

1.Freedoms of expression, association, assembly and religion are inviolable natural rights given by the Almighty God; claim these rights through massive inundation of public squares and streets throughout the country; demand the immediate stoppage to ethnic cleansing in general and that of the Amhara people going on at present in particular; demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners; dictate terms for change to democratic governance; condemn government for its adamant refusal to accept the legitimate demand of Muslims’s constitutional rights; stop flagrant involvement in religious affairs as in the fake election of Aba Matias as Patriarch

2.All round assistance by the Diaspora to home-based political parties is critical to the success of popular uprising in Ethiopia; I stand committed

3.Good relationships with democratic forces in Egypt and the Sudan are paramount in view of the share of the waters of the Blue Nile River. Ethiopian democrats should welcome democratic Kenya as a partner in building democracy and prosperity in the region; should thank Ugandans and their leadership for being a hospitable host to the Ethiopian refugees for the last 22 years in the spirit of Pan Africanism. Those patriotic political refugees resettled elsewhere that were once in Uganda will testify to the said hospitality

4.It would be prudent to hold an urgent consultative meeting with the aim of organizing a national conference at a convenient venue in Africa in which opposition political parties/entities at home and in the Diaspora participate under the facilitation of the African Union; expeditious action is critical to stem the unmaking of Ethiopia’s history by the repressive EPRDF regime

5.Ethiopia has sunk to the abyss of corruption perpetrated by the EPRDF regime. Governance is at its worst in the country. Replace the regime by new leadership committed to the tenets that serve the Ethiopian people best. The mother of corruption Azeb and the other EPRDF/TPLF warlords must face justice. Imagine the fate of Marie Antoinette haunting the paranoid Azeb – a habitual liar that said her late genocidal husband had never negotiated away an iota of Ethiopia’s interest!

LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA!!!
rababya@gmail.com

Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega is a special kind of hero who fights with nothing more than ideas and the truth. He slays falsehoods with the sword of truth. He chases bad ideas with good ones. Armed only with a pen, Eskinder fights despair with hope; fear with courage; anger with reason; arrogance with humility; ignorance with knowledge; intolerance with forbearance; oppression with perseverance; doubt with trust and cruelty with compassion. Above all, Eskinder speaks truth to power and to those who abuse, misuse, overuse and are corrupted by power.

Now almost a year since I wrote my tribute, I remember my great friend and brother Eskinder Nega as he languishes in Meles Zenawi Prison. But I do not remember him in sadness or with heartache. No! No! I remember Eskinder in the hopeful, faith-filled and resolute words of American poet James Russell Lowell (“The Present Crisis”): “When a deed is done for Freedom, through the broad earth’s aching breast…/ Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide…/ In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side… For Humanity sweeps onward: where to-day the martyr stands…/ Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne…/

Eskinder and his wife Serkalem did the right deed to defend the right of press freedom in Ethiopia. They spoke truth to falsehood in their newspapers and never backed down. They spoke right to wrong in kangaroo court. The man who tried for 20 years to right the wrongs of tyranny, today, like Lowell’s Truth, hangs on the scaffold in the belly of Meles Zenawi Prison, a place of “wrath and tears where the horror of the shade looms”, with his head bloodied but UNBOWED!
Last week, Birtukan Mideksa wrote an opinion piece for Al Jazeera urging the release of Eskinder Nega and other journalists including Reeyot Alemu (winner of the International Women’s Media Foundation 2012 Courage in Journalism Award) and Woubshet Taye (2012 Hellman/Hammett Grant Award) and all political prisoners in Ethiopia. Birtukan is the first female political party (Unity for Democracy and Justice) leader in Ethiopian history. Birtukan, like Eskinder, was the personal political prisoner of the late dictator Meles Zenawi. Meles personally ordered Birtukan’s arrest and on December 29, 2008, a year and half after he “pardoned” and released her from prison, he threw her back in jail without even the usual song and dance of kangaroo court. On January 9, 2010, Meles sent chills down the spines of reporters when he declared sadistically that “there will never be an agreement with anybody to release Birtukan. Ever. Full stop. That’s a dead issue.” On January 15, 2010, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention adopted an opinion finding that Birtukan Midekksa is a political prisoner.

It is heartwarming to read Birtukan’s moving and robustly principled defense of Eskinder Nega and the other Ethiopian journalists and political prisoners. It is also ironic that Eskinder should replace Birtukan as the foremost political prisoner in Ethiopia today.

Few can speak more authoritatively on the plight of Eskinder and all Ethiopian political prisoners than my great sister Birtukan who also spent years in in the belly of Meles Zenawi Prison, a substantial part of it in solitary confinement. In her Al Jazeera commentary she wrote:

My journey to become a political prisoner in Ethiopia began as a federal judge fighting to uphold the rule of law. Despite institutional challenges and even death threats, I hoped to use constitutional principles to ensure respect for basic rights… [Ethiopian] authorities have detained my friend Eskinder Nega eight times over his 20-year career as a journalist and publisher. After the 2005 elections, Eskinder and his wife – Serkalem Fasil – spent 17 months in prison. Pregnant at the time, Serkalem gave birth to a son despite her confinement and almost no pre-natal care. Banned from publishing after his release in 2007, Eskinder continued to write online. In early 2011, he began focusing particularly on the protest movements then sweeping North Africa and the Middle East. Eskinder, who does not belong to any political party because of a commitment to maintain his independence, offered a unique and incisive take on what those movements meant for the future of Ethiopia. Committed to the principle of non-violence, Eskinder repeatedly emphasised that any similar movements in Ethiopia would have to remain peaceful. Despite this, police briefly detained him and warned him that his writings had crossed the line and he could face prosecution. Then in September [14], 2011, the government made good on that threat. Authorities arrested Eskinder just days after he publicly criticised the use of anti-terror laws to stifle dissent. They held him without charge or access to an attorney for nearly two months. The government eventually charged Eskinder with terrorism and treason, sentencing him to 18 years in prison after a political trial. Unfortunately, Eskinder is not alone; independent journalists Woubshet Taye and Reeyot Alemu also face long prison terms on terrorism charges.

Eskinder is a hero to the world but a villain to Meles Zenawi and his disciples
Who really is Eskinder Nega? In Meles Zenawi’s kangaroo court, Eskinder has been judged a “terrorist”, a “public enemy”. In the court of world public opinion, Eskinder is celebrated as the undisputed champion and defender of press freedom.
When speaking of my brother Eskinder, I could be accused of exaggerating his virtues, hyperbolizing his singular contributions to press freedom in Ethiopia and overstating his importance to the cause of free expression throughout the world. Perhaps I am biased because I hold this great man in such high respect, honor and admiration. If I am guilty of bias, it is because seemingly in Ethiopia they have stopped making genuine heroes like Eskinder Nega, Woubeshet Taye, Anudalem Aragie, Temesgen Desalegn… and heroines like Birtukan Midekssa, Serkalem Fasil, Reeyot Alemu….
Let others more qualified and more eloquent than I speak of Eskinder Nega’s heroism, courage, fortitude, audacity and tenacity in the defense of press freedom.

On December 3, 2012, when Carl Bernstein (one of the two investigative journalists who exposed the Watergate scandal leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon) read at a public forum Eskinder’s last blog before he was arrested, he said:

… No honor can be greater than to read Eskinder Nega’s words. He is more than a symbol. He is the embodiment of the greatness of truth, of writing and reporting real truth, of persisting in truth and resisting the oppression of untruth… So let us marvel at and celebrate Eskinder Nega. For who among us could write what I am about to read [a blog of Eskinder’s] spirit unbound, faith in freedom and the power of the word untrammeled…

When Eskinder was named as the recipient of the prestigious 2012 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, Peter Godwin, president of PEN American Center said, “The Ethiopian writer Eskinder Nega is that bravest and most admirable of writers, one who picked up his pen to write things that he knew would surely put him at grave risk…”

Larry Siems, director of PEN Freedom to Write Award, at the award ceremonies groped for words trying to describe Eskinder Nega. “…[This year] one [journalist] really stood out, and that is Eskinder Nega. So tonight we recognize one of the world’s most courageous, most intrepid, most creative advocates of press freedom that I have ever seen…”
In awarding its prestigious Hellman/Hammett Award for 2012, Human Rights Watch described Eskinder and the other journalists as “exemplifying the courage and dire situation of independent journalism in Ethiopia today. Their ordeals illustrate the price of speaking freely in a country where free speech is no longer tolerated.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists declared, “The charges against Eskinder are baseless and politically motivated in reprisal for his writings. His conviction reiterates that Ethiopia will not hesitate to punish a probing press by imprisoning journalists or pushing them into exile in misusing the law to silence critical and independent reporting.”
Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the American civil rights heroine and former CNN Johannesburg bureau chief defended Eskinder and travelled to Ethiopia to plead for his release:

The specific charge against Eskinder was that he conspired with a banned opposition party called Ginbot 7 to overthrow the government. At his trial, government prosecutors showed as evidence a fuzzy video, available on YouTube, of Eskinder at a public town-hall meeting, discussing the potential of an Arab Spring-type uprising in Ethiopia. State television labeled Eskinder and the other journalists as “spies for foreign forces.” There were also allegations that he had accepted a terrorist mission—what the mission involved was never specified.

United States Senator Patrick Leahy read a lenghty statement into the Congressional Record informing his colleagues that “7,000 miles from Washington, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia… a journalist named Eskinder Nega stands accused of supporting terrorism simply for refusing to remain silent about the Ethiopian government’s increasingly authoritarian drift…”
The U.S. State Department has condemned the imprisonment of Eskinder and the other journalists:

The United States remains deeply concerned about the trial, conviction, and sentencing of Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega, as well as seven political opposition figures, under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. The sentences handed down today, including 18 years for Eskinder and life imprisonment for the opposition leader Andualem Arage, are extremely harsh and reinforce our serious questions about the politicized use of Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law in this and other cases.

Eskinder is a hero to the heroes of international journalism. In April 2012, twenty international journalists who have been recognised as “World Press Freedom Heroes” by the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) stood by Eskinder’s side, condemned his unjust imprisonment on trumped up terrorism charges and demanded his release and the release of other journalists. These press freedom heroes minced no words in telling Meles Zenawi of their “extremely strong condemnation of the Ethiopian government’s decision to jail journalist Eskinder Nega on terrorism charges.”
On November 21, 2012, the U.N. Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a 9-page legal Opinion concluding:

“The deprivation of liberty of Eskinder Nega is arbitrary in violation of articles 9, 10, 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 9, 14, and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights… The Working Group requests the Government to take the necessary steps to remedy the situation, which include the immediate release of Mr. Nega and adequate reparation to him.”

In December 2012, 16 member of the European parliament demanded the release of Eskinder Nega and journalists Reeyot Alemu and Woubshet Taye.

Who is (are) the real terrorist(s) in Ethiopia?

Meles said Eskinder and all of the journalists he jailed are “terrorists”. If Eskinder Nega is a terrorist, then speaking truth to power is an act of terrorism. If Eskinder Nega is a terrorist, then advocacy of peaceful change is terrorism; thinking is terrorism; dissent is terrorism; having a conscience is terrorism; refusing to sell out one’s soul is terrorism; standing up for democracy and human rights is terrorism; defending the rule of law is terrorism and peaceful resistance of state terrorism is terrorism. If Eskinder Nega is a terrorist today, then Nelson Mandela was a terrorist then. The same goes for all of the other jailed journalists and opposition leaders jailed by Meles Zenawi.

But the real terrorists know who they are. When Meles and his horde of guerilla fighters challenged military dictator Mengistu Hailemariam, they were officially branded as terrorists, bandits, mercenaries, criminals, thugs, murderers, marauders, public enemies, subversives, rebels, assassins, malcontents, invaders, traitors, saboteurs and other names. Were they?

Let the evidence speak for itself. In an interview Meles Zenawi gave to an Eritrean magazine called Hiwot (which was translated into Amharic and published by Etiop newspaper, (Vol. 5 Issue No. 52), he presented himself as the Willie Sutton of Tigray pulling bank jobs all over the palce. Meles spoke proudly of the banks he and his comrade-in-arms robbed or attempted to rob to finance their guerilla war. Meles boasted of his “victorious” robberies in Shire and Adwa while regretting botched jobs in Axum. Today they own the banks!

The current ruling party, “Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Movement” (TPLF), is listed today in the Global Terrorism Database as a terrorist organization. Documented acts of terrorism by the TPLF include armed robberies, assaults, hostage taking and kidnapping of foreign nationals and journalists and local leaders, hijacking of truck convoys, extortion of business owners and merchants, nongovernmental organizations, local leaders and private citizens and intimidation of religious leaders and journalists.

An official Inquiry Commission established by Meles Zenawi to investigate the deaths that occurred in the post-2005 election period determined that security forces under the personal control and command of Meles Zenawi massacred 193 unarmed protesters in the streets and severely wounded another 763. The Commission concluded the “shots fired by government forces were intended not to disperse the crowd of protesters but to kill by targeting the head and chest of the protesters.” On November 1, 2005, security forces in the Meles Zenawi Prison in Kality gunned down 65 inmates while confined in their cells. No one has ever been brought to justice for these crimes against humanity.

In September 2011, the world learned that “Ethiopian security forces (had) planted 3 bombs that went off in the Ethiopian capital on September 16, 2006 and then blamed Eritrea and the Oromo resistance for the blasts in a case that raised serious questions about the claims made about the bombing attempt against the African Union summit earlier this year in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.” Following its own investigation and “clandestine reporting”, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa fingered “GoE (Government of Ethiopia) security forces” for this criminal act. If all other acts of state terrorism committed against Ethiopian civilians were to be included, the body count would be in the hundreds of thousands.
Who are the real terrorists and criminals in Ethiopia today?

Tale of the Good Wolf and Evil Wolf

The late Meles Zenawi and his apostles remind me of an old Cherokee (Native American) tale of two wolves: A grandfather tells his young grandson that everyone has a Good Wolf and an Evil Wolf inside of them fighting with each other every day. The Good Wolf thrives on peace, love, truth, generosity, humility and kindness. The Evil Wolf feeds on hatred, anger, greed, lies and arrogance. “Which wolf will win, grandfather?” asked the boy. “Whichever one you feed,” replied the grandfather.

Meles and his disciples have been feeding the Evil Wolf for decades, and now the Evil Wolf sits triumphantly crowned on the Throne of Hatred and Falsehood. They have fattened the Evil Wolf with a lavish diet of inhumanity, barbarity, brutality, ignobility, immorality, depravity, duplicity, incivility, criminality, ethnocentricity, mediocrity, corruptibility and pomposity.

Eskinder, Reeyot, Woubshet, Andualem. Temesgen and the rest have managed to tame the Good Wolf and have followed the path of peace, love and truth. Their wolf thrives on a simple diet of humanity, unity, integrity, authenticity, civility, morality, incorruptibility, dignity, affability, humility, nobility, creativity, intellectuality and audacity.
It is hard for the reasonable mind to fathom why Meles and his disciples chose to embrace and follow the path of the Evil Wolf. Indeed, the Evil Wolf has been very good to them. The Evil Wolf has made it possible for them to accumulate great wealth and amass enormous power. They have unleashed the Evil Wolf to divide and rule the country along ethnic, religious, linguistic and regional lines. They have used the Evil Wolf to destroy not only the lives and futures of young professionals like Eskinder, Birtukan, Reeyot, Woubshet, Temesgen and Andualem but also the future of the younger generation. They have used the Evil Wolf to sell off the country’s most fertile lands for pennies and plunder its natural resources. They have used the Evil Wolf to convict the innocent in kangaroo courts. They have used the Evil Wolf to strike fear and loathing in the hearts and minds or ordinary citizens.

They have given new meaning to the ancient Roman playwright Paluatus’ aphorism homo homini lupus est (“man is a wolf to his fellow man”). They have used the Evil Wolf to create war from peace; strife from harmony; wrong from right; vice from virtue; division from unity; shame from honor; immorality from decency; poverty from wealth; hatred from love; ignorance from knowledge; corruption from blessing; bondage from freedom and dictatorship from democracy. In 21 years, Meles and his disciples have managed to jam a whole nation between the jaws of a snarling, gnarling and howling Evil Wolf.
How long before the Good Wolf wins over the Evil Wolf?

The great Nelson Mandela wondered when Apartheid would end. He told those who had unleashed the Evil Wolf of Apartheid, “You may succeed in delaying, but never in preventing the transition of South Africa to a democracy.”
My friend Eskinder Nega warned the overlords of the Evil Wolf in Ethiopia, “Freedom is partial to no race. Freedom has no religion. Freedom favors no ethnicity. Freedom discriminates not between rich and poor countries. Inevitably freedom will overwhelm Ethiopia.”

But how long before freedom overwhelms Ethiopia? How long before Ethiopia transitions to democracy? How long before “truth crushed to earth rises again” in Ethiopia? How long before all Ethiopian political prisoners are set free? Before Eskinder is released and joins his wife Sekalem and their son Nafkot? How long before Reeyot, Woubshet, Andualem… rejoin their families? How long before the Good Wolf wins over the Evil Wolf?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. agonized over similar questions during the darkest days of the struggle for civil rights in America. His answer to the question, “How long?” was “Not long!”.

I know you are asking today, “How long will it take?” Somebody’s asking, “How long will prejudice blind the visions of men…?”
Somebody’s asking, “When will wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Selma and Birmingham… be lifted from this dust of shame…? … How long will justice be crucified, and truth bear it?”

I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because “truth crushed to earth will rise again.”
How long? Not long, because “no lie can live forever.”
How long? Not long, because “you shall reap what you sow.”
How long before the Good Wolf wins over the Evil Wolf? Not long, because “once to every man and nation comes the moment” to decide between Good and Evil.

How long before wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Addis Ababa, Mekele, Adama, Gondar, Awassa, Jimma… is lifted from the dust of shame? Not long, “because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
How long before truth and right crushed to earth rise up again in Ethiopia? Not long, because truth and right will not remain forever on the scaffold nor wrong and falsehood nest forever on the throne!
I have no greater honor than to stand up, speak up and defend my friends, brothers and sisters Eskinder Nega, Serkalem Fasil, Reeyot Alemu, Woubshet Taye, Temesgen Desalegn, Andualem Aragie and all political prisoners held in Meles Zenawi Prison!

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

The New Party in direct contrast to the Tyrannical/oligarchic party that we must peacefully rebuild will be guided by a radically different vision of the Ethiopian person.

The new party will begin with the premise that the Ethiopian person, if given ample time, compassionate attention, material resources, and most importantly respect- can govern herself with the leader as a guide, a friend and a fellow traveler. This new leader is a not a commander, but a listener and a mindful participant in a dialogical context of giving and taking, directing and getting directed, leading and getting led.

The atmosphere that the new party must patiently build is that of deliberation and participation, thinking and acting.

The new party must dismantle the existing federal system, which diffuses power to tribes and ethnicities as a method of controlling political space as well as pacifying the population by delegating power to ethnic leaders whose class
interests do not have anything to do with the interests of their ethnic groups.

Infact these ethnic lords only advance their own material interests by living in expensive houses, by sending their children to expensive schools, by driving expensive cars, are not particularly competent, but are superb at passively
taking orders and voting passively. The existing leaders of the regime are waiters and not representatives, herds as opposed to vigilant voices of the groups that they are meant to serve. This is the core of the corruption that
the new party must relentlessly overthrow by any means necessary.

Furthermore, the new basis for the recruitment of party leaders must be the national idea of Ethiopianity, expressed as the living activity of Ethiopians who consider themselves as individuals born to the Ethiopian homeland and who speak their own local languages in addition to the existing national language as a medium of communication. The corrosive DDT of Ethnicity, tribalism and class interests must be replaced by the national idea of Ethiopianity, universality and people’s interests.

This new culture will take time to build, but we must begin organizing the population by diffusing these ideas directly to the people’s ears so that they can hear them, weigh them and discuss them at home, at work places, even in prison cells, so that when we come to demand change, we will have a working vision for the new regime.

The new party will not approach the people with a blue print of the future but instead appeal to their intelligences, passions and experiences and give them forum to articulate what they want, and how they intend to achieve them. When
we do so, we are extending respect and recognition of their capacities to think and govern themselves.

The new party listens, conducts meetings by involving the people to speak for themselves. The people will collectively decide the future of the nation in systematically held meetings, and then choose among themselves those representatives who will stand for them, speak for them, to the best of their abilities.

It is at these dialogical meeting that decisions will be made about delegating power on national issues, since we cannot all execute decisons at the same time. We must divide power among those who can discuss, legislate, judge and execute. The necessary details of dividing power will be collectively decided at the appropriate time and place by the people themselves.

Our motto should always be how the people should be governed is the activity of the people themselves

–
Teodros Kiros
Professor of Philosophy and English (Liberal Arts)
Berklee College of Music

Consequently, once again the inadequacy of food and water in many parts of Ethiopia for the next three months, i.e., June 2013, as determined by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS.NET) in March 2013, is increasingly becoming cause for concern. Drought is now evident in many places due to the lateness of belg rains and shortage of food and water.

The start of the Belg rains was already delayed by a month. A population once smitten by one drought sells all assets and has nothing else to withstand the next one. These people cannot recover for several years. When the lean seasons come one after the other it makes life for a perennial struggle for food and water, as ActionAid observed.

Citing a new report, Africa Review last week reported that an estimated 12.9 million in Eastern Africa face stressed to crisis levels of food insecurity through to June. The initial estimate was 14.9 million people about three months ago.

The countries affected by this lastet round of drought and hunger are Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and Rwanda. It is also reported that the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) would soon undertake a new, faster and more precise way of measuring hunger and food insecurity in four pilot countries in Africa — Angola, Ethiopia, Malawi and Niger.

What this project known as “Voices of the Hungry” would do is to gather actual information from the hungry people themselves on the severity of their hunger, instead of relying on numbers governments provide. If this approach is found reliable, it would lead to the establishment of a new FAO-certified standard for food security monitoring, according to Africa Review.

In the coming three months, the scenario that went into FEWS.NET assumptions speak of the following key findings in the Ethiopian context:

◙ The February to May Belg rains started during the second week of March, which is earlier than last year. However, in most receiving areas, the rains were still between three and four weeks late. The subsequent late planting of Belg crops is likely to delay the harvest by a few weeks from its normal June start, which would extend the typical April to June lean season.
◙ In the sweet potato-producing areas of Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), the sweet potato harvest is below normal. Sweet potatoes are an important bridge crop from March to June. Households without sweet potatoes may face food consumption gaps or need to employ coping strategies during the April to June lean season, which may extend by few weeks due to late Belg planting, keeping these areas in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) through June.

◙ In the Belg-receiving areas, poor and very poor households usually address their food needs through purchase from April to June. As many of these areas had poor Meher harvests from October to January, purchases began as early as January. Food access through markets is likely to be constrained across the country as already elevated food prices are anticipated to further increase as local market and households stocks are exhausted in Belg-receiving areas from April to June.

Furthermore, FEWS:NET foresees the following scenarios in Ethiopia:

◙ AFAR AMHARA, OGADEN, OROMIA, SNNPR & TIGRAY:

In most Belg-dependent areas in SNNPR, northeastern parts Amhara, eastern and southern parts of Tigray, and East and West Hararghe Zones in Oromia Region, the poor household stocks from the 2012 Belg and Meher harvests are nearly exhausted, so households have turned to markets, expected to have rising prices between now and June as demand increases.

The latest rainfall forecasts indicate that Belg rains for April and May are expected to strengthen from their current levels However, the Belg rains started late, and the amount so far has been below normal with uneven temporal and spatial distribution, particularly in the northern and central lowlands of the SNNPR, northeastern Amhara, eastern and southern parts of Tigray, and East and West Hararghe Zones in Oromia Region. With a below average seasonal outlook due to the late start, staple food prices may increase further.

Facing continued high and likely to be soon rising food prices, poor households will try to expand their incomes through urban labor, sales of firewood and charcoal, and small ruminant sales. However, despite some income from these sources, their food access is likely to deteriorate between April and June. Emergency food assistance requested to meet the plans in the 2013 Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD) is expected to reach about 2.4 million people, many of them in the Belg-producing areas. Now that resources from the Productive Safety Nets Program (PSNP) are reaching the regions, some additional contingency resources from PSNP have already been released in Amhara and they may cover additional beneficiaries in some areas in SNNPR and Tigray Region.

However, poor and very poor households in the root crop and Belg-dependent areas of SNNPR, the northeastern parts of Amhara, eastern andsouthern parts of Tigray, and East and West Hararghe Zones, and the Bale lowlands in Oromia Region will not be able to meet minimum food needs without accelerated depletion of their assets. Poor and very poor households in the above mentioned areas will be classified at Crisis (IPC Phase 3) until June.
With near normal to below normal March to May Sugum/Gu rains anticipated this year, the situation is not expected to improve to its normal level and therefore the poor and very poor households found in Afar and Somali Regions will likely be in food Crisis (IPC Phase 3) level of food insecurity from April to June. On the other hand, the expected normal March to May Genna rain in Borena and Guji Zones of Oromia Region will help poor and very poor households meet their minimal food requirements, and therefore they will remain Stressed (IPC Phase 2) through June.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS.NET) is a USAID-funded activity that collaborates with international, regional and national partners. It provides time and rigorous early warning and vulnerability information on emerging and evolving food security issues.

FEWS NET also focuses its efforts on strengthening early warning and food security networks. Activities in this area include developing capacity, building and strengthening networks, developing policy-useful information, and building consensus around food security problems and solutions.

The Ethiopia Observatory

When we try to understand what happened to Ethiopia and, by extension, to Eritrea, since the overthrow of the imperial regime, we are invariably overtaken by a mounting perplexity. Unlike the imperial regime, which never declared its intention to empower the people, the political movements that opposed the regime emphatically and without exception asserted their primary and unique goal to be the liberation and empowerment of the people. The EPRP, MEISON, the Derg, the OLF, the TPLF, and the EPLF, to name the most important ones, all claimed to fight for the cause of the people. Yet, none of the movements that succeeded to seize power and implement their programs came anywhere near to fulfilling the promise of liberation and empowerment. On the contrary, all ended in similar types of abject dictatorial and sectarian rules.

The dominant explanation attributes the failures to accidental derailments. It argues that the initial intention and corresponding organizations were fully committed to the goal of liberation until they were derailed by the rise to the leadership position of unfit or fraudulent individuals, who used their position to institute a dictatorial rule and surround themselves by cynical and self-serving groups. Mengistu Haile Mariam, Meles Zenawi, and Isiyas Afeworki negatively altered, so it is said, the original good intention of the movements that brought them to power.

The trouble with the explanation is that the notion of derailment presupposes what needs to be explained. How could individuals, however smart, determined, and cunning they may be, succeed in overturning movements that were often able to overcome very challenging situations. Even if it was short-lived, the triumph of the Derg over so many opponents remains an exploit. Equally remarkable is the defeat that the EPLF and the TPLF inflicted on the military machine of the Derg. It just begs the question to assert that one or several individuals were able to misdirect movements with such proven strength.
Hence the need for a change of paradigm: instead of taking for granted an initial good intention, what if the devil was already in the intention? Rather than derailment, such an explanation sees continuity between departure and arrival, despite contrary appearances. What happened and is happening are already contained in the initial intention, which therefore was itself vicious. In other words, though the movements promised liberation and empowerment, the real and hidden goal was self-promotion and exclusive control of power. Ideologies advocating the liberation of the masses by revolutionary elites, such as Leninism, Maoism, and ethnonationalism, came in handy and quickly spread like a bushfire.

It must not be made to seem that the adoption of these ideologies by the revolutionary elites was a deliberate deception. The tragedy is that they honestly believed in these ideologies and honestly thought that they were working for the empowerment of the people. The fault was and still is in their mind, in the mistaken understanding of what liberation and empowerment mean. The misunderstanding can be traced to their colonial attitude toward their own people, itself being a resultant of the colonial education they received and thank to which they earned their elite status. The education convinced them that they are the native heirs to the civilizing mission of the colonizer, that the measure of their own modernity is the extent to which they see themselves as tutors and agents of change.

At first look, being agent of change is rather positive and expected from educated people. The problem, however, was that it was conceived in the colonial fashion: it was perceived as an imposition from above and deliberately excluded the active participation of the people. Modernity was not what people bring about through their active engagement and creativity; it was a dictate flowing from the enlightened ones and as such demanding passive compliance. The relationship that exists between elites and the masses is not one of answerability, but of elites fashioning their people according to an idea of modernity that defines them as domesticators, thereby entitling them to absolute power. Whether you call the goal socialism, revolutionary democracy, national liberation movement, it always amounts to a dictatorial rule lining up a whole people in the name of a self-serving idea of modernity.

Ethiopians who are familiar with my books on Ethiopia know that I have developed this flawed idea of modernity and its toxic implications from various angels. The happy surprise for me was that the idea has now crossed into Eritrea’s intellectual space, as witnessed by Yosief Ghebrehiwet’s article titled “Eritrea’s Drive for Modernity: In Search of Asmara” posted on Asmarino. Not only is the article witty and very perceptive, but it also proposes a paradigm change in our understanding of what happened both in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Thus, in analyzing the Eritrean case, Yosief barely refers to the usual motive for the uprising, namely, the national oppression by the Amhara. Instead he focusses on the impact of Italian colonization, which created “a generation that imitated the Italians in every gesture without having any understanding of the beauty of the Italian culture . . . a generation that contemptuously gave its back to the Habesha culture.” The imitation induced an abstract idea of modernity, that is, a conception of modernity “devoid of human factor” and hence intrinsically totalitarian. The modernity of the uprooted is paradoxical: though it speaks of national liberation and empowerment, it is nothing but a replica of colonization by foreign natives. Yosief courageously writes: “the structure of Shaebia’s army that marched to Asmara looked like a colonial army, with the urban elite replacing the Italian positions at the top and the peasants accorded their old place of askaris at the bottom – this was how they came to colonize Asmara.”

The reason for Eritrean uprising is thus obvious: it was a renewed scramble for Ethiopia, a reconstitution of the Italian invasion by natives. This applies to the secessionist movements in Ogadan and Oromia as well, since they aspire to dismantle the conquest by which Menilik defeated the colonial design on Ethiopia. In construing the return to a pre-Menilik political situation as decolonization of Oromia, Ogaden, etc., these movements draw, as elsewhere in Africa, the entitlement to rule from being enlightened natives pushing out alien colonizers. In other words, the ideology of Amhara colonization is how elites invent an ascriptive legitimacy to rule based on ethnic belonging. Without the ideology, the elites would have to justify their entitlement to rule by the implementation of socioeconomic progress, that is, by actual achievement and merit rather than by natural relatedness.

Needless to say, the creation of an ascriptive right to rule through the denunciation of Amhara colonization is little prone to democratic competition and accountability. Accordingly, the so-called national liberation movements are not so much liberation as elite conflicts for the control of territories resulting from the dismantling of Ethiopia. Speaking of the Eritrean war of liberation, Yoseif rightly says, “it was a war fought between Addis Ababa and Asmara elite. In between, the peasants of both Ethiopia and Eritrea perished fighting the respective urban elite’s causes.”

Elite conflicts accurately sum up the Ethiopian revolution and the ethnonationalist assaults on Ethiopia subsequent to that revolution. The reason for the radicalization of the Ethiopian educated elite through the adoption of Leninism in the 60s and 70s was the need to dislodge the old aristocracy with its bureaucracy and military apparatus from power and the control of resources. Class struggle furnished the ideology necessary to mobilize the working people against the old state apparatus and the church, not so much to liberate them as to empower elites defining themselves as “revolutionaries.” In the meantime, ethnonationalist elites were preparing the ground for another round of elite conflicts, this time by creating a form of exclusion based on ethnic belonging, which resulted in the defeat of the Ethiopian Revolution by ethnonationalist forces.

What should be underlined is that the class struggle and the ethnonationalist forms of exclusion find their common source in the colonial understanding of modernity, that is, of modernity as an imposition from above and whose main purpose is to benefit the few. Not only this form of modernization does not tolerate grass-root movements (autonomous civil societies, professional organizations, and unions), independent political parties, and a liberal economic system, but the narrowness of its goal stemming from the colonial model of modernization reserves economic benefits for the few. Such a restricted development further divides elite and unleashes a violent struggle for the control of scarce resources.

As a result, the country moves in a vicious circle: the empowerment of the few at the expense of the majority curtails economic development, which curtailment exasperates elite conflicts for the control of scarce resources. No more than overseas colonizers, internal or native colonizers can allow the enlargement of social wealth and distribution under pain of losing the absolute control of power that their faulty idea of modernity justifies. The opposite, that is, grass-roots modernization is anathema to them because it pushes for the democratization of all forms of social life and for the accountability to the people. By definition, colonizers, those who “civilize,” be they external or internal, cannot but target absolute power.

The EPRDF regime is killing, arbitrarily arresting and encouraging ethnic cleansing; therefore an all-inclusive struggle in self-defense is morally and legally justified. The Amharas and Oromos are the main victims of such heinous crimes and must rely on their combined overwhelming majority and join other progressive democratic forces in order to dislodge the TPLF minority warlords from power and save Ethiopia from disintegration. In this regard, the call for justice, freedom and democracy is irresistible!

I would like to elaborate my point starting with the following Abraham Lincoln’s quote in August 22, 1862. I do so in order to stress the supreme importance of Ethiopian unity and territorial integrity under the umbrella of the African as the theme of this piece.

Quote My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause Unquote.

It is my understanding that the Great Statesman Abraham Lincoln gave top priority to saving the Union from the southern slave owner separatist States because their success in the American Civil War would have been worse for the slaves. The defeat of the separatists heralded the illegality of slavery although it took a long time and hard struggle for African Americans to earn their right to vote. There is still racial discrimination in the USA but a lot of progress has been made in securing their rights.

In view of the above I strongly believe that the unity of Ethiopia is paramount and must be secured at all costs so that all grievances including violation of human rights can be resolved.

The 9th EPRDF Congress

The gathering at Bar Dar was dull and pathetic in that no substantive change was made to the reckless policy of the late Tyrant Meles Zenawi. His design of replacing top cadres by lower cadres did not materialize. The Prime Minister made the ludicrous blame on the opposition forces for not making an iota of contribution to the developmental state. Is he right in making this shameful remark given that his party holds 99.6% of parliamentary seats by dint of stolen votes and heavily rigged election process by the ruling corrupt thugs?

One surprising drama was Azeb Mesfin’s non-procedural intervention to disclose how poor her late husband was supporting his family at a monthly salary of US$ 250 – according to her the only lowest paid leader on payroll in the world, which fact the US government knows it too. I mention this to highlight the kind of ignorant gang of thugs that have been ruling Ethiopia since 1991 with generous support of the Western donors. The mother of corruption Azeb has underestimated the intelligence of the international community and displayed her arrogant contempt to the Ethiopian people. She took the floor to speak on a matter outside the agenda in her desperate attempt to forestall accountability for her huge wealth, luxurious life-style and spending spree. She now stands as a credible witness of her own corrupt practices and abuse of power. Some say she must be mentally deranged to make such a self-damaging statement at the fake Congress of the illegitimate regime. The popular idiom “የጊዮረጊስን መገበሪያ የሰረቀ እድሜ ልኩን እንደ ለፈለፈ ይኖራል” (One that stole from offerings to Saint George lives talking about it unprovoked until death) that I heard on ESAT Radio is an apt description of Azeb’s worried state of mind scared of accountability for plundering state property. She stands tall among the illiterate thugs that have been ruling Ethiopia for more than 21 years.

Zenawi’s destructive policy

In general, the policy of the late tyrant Zenawi was disastrous and his betrayal of vital national interests qualifies him as a traitor unprecedented in the history of Ethiopia. His divisive ethnic policy inherited by the EPRDF will spread like bush fire across the African continent making it a fertile ground for neocolonialists, including communist China, to be locked in competition for its abundant resources to the detriment of its population. Ethnic cleansing has been going on for the last 21 years; the regime is hell-bent on pitting Muslims against Christians. The ethnic-based federal system of government, which is the brainchild of Zenawi, is proving to be a time bomb ready to explode unless checked in time. Tribalism is a cancer that must not be allowed to spread to the rest of African states. This process of contagious malaise of tribal feud leading to disintegration into unsustainable mini-states cannot be checked without the African states being involved to face the menace in unison.

At the time of this writing the disgusting news from Ethiopia is that ethnic cleansing is in full swing, the Amharas being the chief victim; the Oromos are victims of arbitrary arrest in a country whose citizens in larger prison because freedom of expression is completely denied by the brutal regime in tight control of all pillars of democracy. These two major ethnic groups were chief targets of Fascist Italy to exclude them out of political participation in Ethiopia; the TPLFites are doing the same thing. The reason for this exclusion policy is that the duo comprises two-thirds of the Ethiopian population and own overwhelmingly vast natural resources including fertile farm lands in a country acknowledged as one of the first areas in the world to develop agriculture in this order: Ethiopia, China, and Asia in about 3000 BC. Egypt borrowed it from Ethiopia.

Before the famine caused by drought in 1973 Ethiopian farmers took agriculture to a new height and the country earned the accolade of “bread-basket” of the Middle East. But this has been no longer the case for over the last 21 years due to gross mismanagement of fertile lands such as leasing them to foreigners at cheap price by evicting locals, which could produce better and export the surplus. In a nutshell, the TPLF surrogates of Graziani threw away to the gutter the spirit of self-reliance thus impoverishing the people of Ethiopia morally and materially.

What the repressive EPRDF regime is now doing is contrary to what the truly Pan Africanist advocate, President Yoweri Kagutta Museveni of Uganda, said 20 years or so ago. I heard His Excellency say that the present artificial boundaries between states were marked by colonial masters and that the ordinary people are ignoring those boundaries and cross over to the territories of neighboring states to do business and return to their homes. He added that it is the political leaders that complicate issues and retard the process of realizing the Unity of Africa. Indeed Uganda is a haven for refugees because of the foresight of the President and political maturity of Ugandans.

Ethiopians today are not able to move freely in their own country to do business; they have to stay within their tribal land prescribed by the TPLF/EPRDF regime like in the days of Apartheid in South Africa under the White rulers. This horrific plight of citizens is no longer bearable; the struggle for justice, freedom and democracy must continue until the convincing victory of 2005 by the opposition is reclaimed.

Appeal to the AU

In my open letter to Her Excellency the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) dated 07 February 2013 posted on Zehabesha website I wrote: -

“The young generation has lost trust in the AU Leadership for all the reasons stated in the foregoing paragraphs. Arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings of peaceful protesters, state-monopoly of all pillars of democracy, rampant corruption, high unemployment and wastage of money on security forces as in the case of Ethiopia as one of the worst examples have dashed the hope of young generation to live in a prosperous and democratic continent endowed with enormous natural resources. The scramble by external powers for these resources is too obvious to state. The pervasive influence of neo-colonialism is being felt, but leaders have not prepared our citizens to counter it. With all due respect, the fault lies with the AU Leadership for failing to promote democratic culture and expedite the advent of a strong collaborative union in the best interest of all the citizens of the AU member States.“ I implored Her Excellency to provide daring leadership to rectify the grave shortcomings of the AU.”

The EPRDF’s ethnic policy imperils the strategic goal of AU! This policy will ignite catastrophe unless the AU acts quickly to engage the EPRDF regime and persuade it to: reverse its ruinous and contagious ethnic policy; respect its constitution of non-interference with religious affairs; curtail the controversial land leasing to external investors; stop dislocation of citizens against their will; stop unfair criticism of home-based opposition political parties; revisit the Renaissance Dam project for the sake of obviating regional instability and environmental degradation. Above all the regime must respect its own constitution and lift all restrictions on freedom of expression.

I request that the Chairperson will extol and promote the Kenyan election and constitution as a model for Africa to emulate in the interest of standardization as much as possible as we move towards unity. The constitution defuses tribal pollution by requiring that a presidential candidate must garner 25% of the votes in at least 50% of the constituencies in order to be declared the winner.

Conclusion

So far the adage that “every nation gets the government it deserves” has proved to be true in Ethiopia. This is due to lack of unity among the elites in the opposition camp exacerbated by mushrooming political parties with tribal names. What a shame!

Kenya has emerged as a role model for Africa in view of its enviable successful election, proving that democracy works in Africa. Ancient Ethiopia lost the golden chance in the 2005 election because the TPLF regime stole votes in broad daylight in full view of the Western powers that continue to support the brutal regime. It is another shame that Stalinist thugs are keeping prominent political prisoners behind bars despite repeated calls by the international community for their unconditional release.

Finally I wish to appeal to the political parties, movements and civic organizations in the Diaspora to set their differences aside and act in unison to expedite the burial of the dying EPRDF regime by bolstering through giving all round support to home-based opposition forces including Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (MEDREK), All Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP), Blue Party, et al.

The call for
LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA!!!
rababya@gmail.com

Recently, the World Bank released its 448-page World Bank (WB) report, “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia” with evidence galore showing that Ethiopia under the absolute dictatorship of the Meles Zenawi regime has become a full-fledged corruptocracy (a regime controlled and operated by a small clique of corrupt-to-the-core vampiric kleptocrats who cling to power to enrich themselves at public expense). Perhaps the report’s findings should not come as surprise to anyone since “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

Over the past several weeks, I have made a number of cursory remarks on the shocking findings of the WB report. I have also discreetly appealed to a segment of Ethiopia’s “beautiful minds” (its teachers, professors, economists, political and social scientists, lawyers, and other members of the learned professions) to critically examine the report and inform their compatriots on the devastating impact of corruption on the future of their poor country and make some recommendations on how to deal with it. I even challenged the political opposition to issue a “white paper” and make crystal clear their position on accountability and transparency and make some concrete proposals to remedy the endemic corruption that has metastasized in the Ethiopian body politic.

I have yet to see any substantive analysis or commentary on the WB’s “diagnosis of corruption” in Ethiopia in the popular media or in the scholarly journals; nor have I seen any proposals on how to sever the vampiric tentacles of corruption sucking the lifeblood from the Ethiopian people. Could it be that Ethiopia’s “beautiful minds” can’t handle ugly truths? Or do Ethiopia’s “beautiful minds” turn faint-hearted when it comes to speaking ugly truths to power?

Few can tell the ugly truth about corruption in Ethiopia more bluntly thanGlobal Financial Integrity (GFI), the renowned organization that reports on “illicit financial flows” (illegal capital flight, mispricing, bulk cash movements, hawala transactions, smuggling, etc.) out of developing countries. In 2011, GFI told the world, “The people of Ethiopia are being bled dry. No matter how hard they try to fight their way out of absolute destitution and poverty, they will be swimming upstream against the current of illicit capital leakage.”

When the late dictator Meles Zenawi was asked in July 2011 about his feelings concerning the use of the word “famine” synonymously with Ethiopia by the Oxford Dictionary, he said, “… Like any citizen, I am very sad. I am ashamed. It is degrading. A society that built the Lalibela churches… Axum obelisks… some thousand years ago is unable to cultivate the land and feed itself…. That is very sad. It is very shameful. Of all the things, to go out begging for one’s daily bread, to be a beggar nation is dehumanizing. Therefore, I feel great shame.” I too feel great shame that Ethiopia has become not only a “beggar nation” over the past 21 years, but also that she has now become synonymous with the word “corruption”. It is unbearable that the land of “13 months of sunshine” has become the land of 13 months of the darkness of corruption.

Speaking the ugly truth to power

Given the icy silence of Ethiopia’s “beautiful minds”, it is my humble duty and unenviable job to continue to speak the ugly truth about corruption to the powers that be in Ethiopia. For years, I have written numerous commentaries on corruption in Ethiopia as a serious human rights violation. I agree with Peter Eigen, founder and chairman of Transparency International (Corruption Index) that “corruption leads to a violation of human rights in at least three respects: corruption perpetuates discrimination, corruption prevents the full realisation of economic, social, and cultural rights, and corruption leads to the infringement of numerous civil and political rights.” I also believe corruption undermines good governance, cripples the rule of law and destroys citizens’ trust in political leaders, public officials and political institutions.

In 2007 when Ethiopia’s auditor general, Lema Aregaw, reported that Birr 600 million of state funds were missing from the regional government coffers, Meles fired Lema and publicly defended the regional administrations’ “right to burn money.” In my December 2008 commentary “The Bleeping Business of Corruption in Ethiopia,” I argued that “corruption in Ethiopia is an evil with a thousand faces. It is woven into the fabric of the political culture.” Corruption is the modus operandi of the regime in power in Ethiopia today. Former president Dr. Negasso Gidada clearly understood the gravity of the situation when he declared in 2001 that “corruption has riddled state enterprises to the core,” adding that the government would show “an iron fist against corruption and graft as the illicit practices had now become endemic”. In 2013, the business of corruption is the biggest business in Ethiopia.

In my November 2009 commentary, “Africorruption, Inc.”, I described the tip of the iceberg of the web of corruption in Ethiopia by synthesizing some of the eye popping anecdotal evidence. Dr. Negasso documented corruption in the misuse and abuse of political power for partisan electoral advantage. Coincidentally, in 2009, U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelley announced that the U.S. is investigating allegations that “$850 million in food and anti-poverty aid from the U.S. is being distributed on the basis of political favoritism by the current prime minister’s party.” (For reasons unknown, but not difficult to guess, the U.S. State Department has never released the findings of its investigation.)

The ruling regime’s “Federal Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission” (FEAC) in 2008 documented the fact that “USD$16 million dollars” worth of gold bars simply walked out of the country’s principal bank. FEAC described the heist as a “huge scandal that took place in the Country’s National Bank and took many Ethiopians by surprise… The corruptors dared to steal lots of pure gold bars that belonged to the Ethiopian people replacing them with gilded irons… Some employees of the Bank, business people, managers and other government employees were allegedly involved in this disastrous and disgracing scandal.”

FEAC also reported that “there was another big corruption case at the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation that took many Ethiopians by surprise” which involved the “competitive tendering for the supply of telecommunication equipment.” FEAC “found out that nearly 200 million USD has been lost to corruption through the entire fraudulent and corrupt process…. In another case involving a telecommunications deal with the Chinese, a high level regime official was secretly tape recorded trying to extort kickbacks for himself and other regime officials.” (Even though high level bank officials were fingered in the gold heist, there is no evidence that any one of them has ever been prosecuted.)

In my November 2011 commentary “To Catch Africa’s Biggest Thieves Hiding in America!”, I called attention to a Wikileaks cablegram which confirmed long held suspicions about massive corruption in the current ruling party in Ethiopia, the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF): “Upon taking power in 1991… [the TPLF] liquidated non-military assets to found a series of companies whose profits would be used as venture capital to rehabilitate the war-torn Tigray region’s economy…[with] roughly US $100 million… Throughout the 1990s…, no new EFFORT [Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray owned and operated by TPLF] ventures have been established despite significant profits, lending credibility to the popular perception that the ruling party and its members are drawing on endowment resources to fund their own interests or for personal gain.” According to the World Bank, “roughly half of the Ethiopian national economy is accounted for by companies held by an EPRDF-affiliated business group called the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT)… EFFORT’s freight transport, construction, pharmaceutical, and cement firms receive lucrative foreign aid contracts and highly favorable terms on loans from government banks.”

When 10,000 tons of coffee earmarked for exports had simply vanished (not unlike the gold bars that walked out of the National Bank) from the warehouses in 2011, Meles Zenawi called a meeting of commodities traders and threatened to “cut off their hands” if they should steal coffee in the future. In a videotaped statement, Meles told the traders he will forgive them this time because “we all have our hands in the disappearance of the coffee”.

In my December 2011 commentary “The Art of Bleeding a Country Dry”, I argued, “No one knows corruption — the economics of kleptocracy — better than [Meles] Zenawi. The facts of Zenawi’s corruptonomics are plain for all to see: The [Ethiopian] economy is in the stranglehold of businesses owned or dominated by Zenawi family members, cronies, supporters or hangers-on.”

“Diagnosing Corruption in (in the land of) Ethiopia”

Transparency International (Corruption Index) broadly defines corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”. Corruption manifests itself in grand and petty ways. “Grand corruption consists of acts committed at a high level of government that distort policies or the central functioning of the state, enabling leaders to benefit at the expense of the public good.” Grand corruption often involves political corruption in which political decision makers manipulate “policies, institutions and rules of procedure in the allocation of resources and financing by political decision makers, who abuse their position to sustain their power, status and wealth.” Petty corruption often occurs when the law enforcement officials or bureaucratic functionaries exact payments from “ordinary citizens, who often are trying to access basic goods or services in places like hospitals, schools, police departments and other agencies” .

Corruption in Ethiopia is no longer a question of disparate anecdotal evidence or an issue of intellectual debate. Corruption has become the loathsome disease of the Ethiopian body politic. That is why the World Bank carefully titled its report, “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia”. Diagnosis refers to the clinical process of identifying a disease. The 448-page World Bank report has diagnosed corruption as the metastasizing cancer of the Ethiopian body politic.

Corruption in land is the root of all corruption in Ethiopia! Grand corruption in land originates from the upper circles of power in the public and private sector. The powerful political and economic elites in Ethiopia exploit the anarchic, arbitrary, secretive, unaccountable and confused governance of the ruling regime to weave their tangled webs of corruption. The World Bank report states that “the land sector [in Ethiopia] is particularly susceptible to corruption and rent seeking [using social or political institutions to redistribute wealth among different groups without creating new wealth (profit seeking)].” Corruption in land in Ethiopia is inherent (as the old communist ideologues used to say, “part and parcel of”) in “the way policy and legislation are formulated and enforced.”

The World Bank report explains that corruption in the land sector in Ethiopia occurs in several ways. First and foremost, “elite and senior officials” snatch the most desirable lands in the country for themselves. These fat cats manipulate the “weak policy and legal framework and poor systems to implement existing policies and laws” to their advantage. They engage in “fraudulent actions to allocate land to themselves in both urban and rural areas and to housing associations and developers in urban areas.” These “influential and well-connected individuals are able to have land allocated to them often in violation of existing laws and regulations.”

In the capital Addis Ababa, it is “nearly impossible to a get a plot of land without bribing city administration officials.” These officials not only demand huge bribes but have also “conspired with land speculators” and facilitated bogus “housing cooperatives [to become] vehicles for a massive land grab. It is estimated that about 15,000 forged titles have been issued in Addis Ababa in the past five years.”

Management of rural land is similarly deeply infected with corruption. “In rural areas, officials have distorted the definition of ‘public land’ to mean ‘government land’”. Officials define “public purpose” in applying expropriation which is believed to be a leading cause of “landlessness”. Officials have also “engaged in land grabbing to grant land to functionaries” and this is “happening at the woreda (district) level and is being copied by the elected committee members at kebele (subdistrict) level.” According to the World Bank report, “Almost all transactions involving land most often incorporate corruption because there is no clear policy or transparent regulation concerning land.”

It is stunning to learn from the report that the ruling regime does not even have the most elementary system of land management in place. “Rural areas have no maps of registered holdings… In urban areas, there is little mapping of registered property. Encumbrances and restrictions are not recorded in the registers, and the encumbrances, if registered, are listed in a separate document. Land use restrictions are not recorded in the register. There is no inventory of public land, which affects the efficient management of public land and creates opportunities for the illegal allocation of public land to private parties.” Because existing institutions and laws are evaded, ignored and manipulated for private gain, the system of land management is a total failure making it impossible to hold officials in power legally accountable for their corrupt practices.

A variety of methods are used to perpetuate corruption in land in Ethiopia. One “key method” of land corruption involves the illegal allocation of municipal land “to housing cooperatives controlled by developers who then sell off the land informally.” Often “buyers were unaware of the legal status of the land they were buying” and end up in court before judges who are “aligned (in cahoots) with the corrupt officials”. Another “method” is official falsification of documents. “With limited systems in place to record rights, particularly in urban areas, and limited oversight, officials have plenty of opportunities to falsify documents. It is not uncommon for parcels of land to be allocated to many different parties, sometimes to as many as different parties, from whom officials and intermediaries collect multiple transaction and service fees.” Blatant conflict of interest of board members who oversee the lease award process, the absence of a compliance monitoring process for lease allocations and payments and the absence of land use regulations have served to accelerate the metastasizing corruption in land in Ethiopia.

State ownership of all land in Ethiopia is the fountainhead of land corruption. Wealthy elites and influential groups seize the land of the poor and marginalized through forced, but “legal” evictions and eminent domain actions. Nowhere is this type of land grab corruption more conspicuous than in the regime’s land giveaways to foreign “investors”. The World Bank report states that “a substantial proportion of expropriated land is transferred to private interests”, but not to smallholders. “The expropriation and relocation of smallholders has been to the advantage of extensive commercial farming, including flower farms, biofuel, and other commodities.” It is also documented that the Ethiopian “government is forcing the Indigenous Peoples of the southwest off their ancestral lands and leasing these lands to foreign companies.” This expropriation has been achieved through a bogus program of “villagization” in which 1.5 million people have been “resettled” from the regions of Gambella, Benishangul-Gumuz, Somali, and Afar and their ancestral lands handed over to domestic and international “investors”.

As I documented in my March 2011 commentary, “Ethiopia: Country for Sale”, the Indian agribusiness giant Karuturi Global today owns a 1,000 sq. miles, “an area the size of Dorset, England”, of virgin Ethiopian land for “£150 a week (USD$245)” for “50 years”. As Karuturi Project Manager in Ethiopia Karmjeet Sekhon euphorically explained to Guardian reporter John Vidal, “We never saw the land. They gave it to us and we took it. Seriously, we did. We did not even see the land. They offered it. That’s all.” The Karuturi guys would like us to believe they got something for nothing. The regime wheeler-dealers would like us to believe they gave a 1,000 square miles of virgin land to one of the richest agribusinesses in the world for nothing. Suffice it to say that they may also believe we were born yesterday; but surely, we were not born last night!

Prognosis on corruption in Ethiopia

Corruption in Ethiopia is the principal business of the State. Corruption has metastasized in the Ethiopian body politic because the political and economic elites that have total control over the country’s land resources benefit enormously. They use tailor-made legislative opportunities to secure, sell and speculate in land rights. Because the state is the sole owner of land, those who own the state alone have the power to privatize land, expropriate, lease, zone or approve construction plans or negotiate large-scale land giveaways. Those who control the land in Ethiopia control not only the political and economic process but also the digestive process (stomachs) of 90 million Ethiopians!

The culture of corruption must be changed before the tangled webs of corruption spun by the political and economic elites in Ethiopia are shattered. The major problem with changing the culture of political corruption is, as Peter Eigen observed, “in many parts of the world, the local people are resigned to the fact that there is corruption. They think there is nothing they can do about it. Therefore they more or less try to accommodate themselves, pay bribes themselves.”

Most Ethiopians are unaware of the regime’s “anti-corruption” efforts and those who are aware view the whole effort with a jaded eye. The simple fact of the matter is that having the “anti-corruption” agency (FEAC) to oversee, monitor, investigate and prosecute the architects and beneficiaries of corruption in Ethiopia is like having Tweedle Dee monitor, investigate and prosecute Tweedle Dum. To invoke an old Ethiopian saying, “It is difficult to get a conviction when the son is the robber and the father is the judge.”

Effective anti-corruption efforts require an active democratic culture based on the rule of law and a vigilant citizenry empowered to confront and fight corruption in daily life. Genuine anti-corruption efforts must necessarily begin by empowering ordinary people to fight back, not by creating a make-believe anti-corruption bureaucracy.

There have been some successful experiments in grassroots anti-corruption efforts where ordinary people have been given the tools to fight back corruption. In India, for instance, they have successfully organized local “vigilance commissions” in many towns and brought together the vulnerable and interested groups to probe into corruption. These commissions have put a significant dent in corruption. In Bangalore, “hub for India’s information technology sector”, residents have been involved in rating the quality of all major service providers in the city. The results were used to put pressure on government officials and service providers to become more accountable to citizens. The Central Vigilance Commission of India also runs Project VIGEYE (Vigilance Eye) which is “a citizen-centric initiative” in which “citizens join hands with the Central Vigilance Commission in fighting corruption in India.” VIGEYE provides citizens given multiple channels of engagement in the fight against corruption. In parts of Brazil, citizens are empowered to fight corruption through “participatory budgeting.” By including citizens from various backgrounds in the process of budget allocation, Brazil has been able to decrease levels of corruption and clientelism (exchange of goods and services for political support).

Ethiopia can learn much from Botswana, regarded to be the least corrupt country in Africa. The “Botswana Model” uses the strategy of “name and shame” to educate and accentuate public awareness of corruption. Using the free press as a tool, Botswanans name and shame corrupt officials by publishing their photographs on the front pages with the headline: “Is this man corrupt?” Botswana’s top political leaders are said to maintain high levels of public integrity and teach by example. Peter Eigen credits Botswana’s success to the “Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime in Botswana [which] has processed thousands of [corruption] cases since 1994 and has made great strides against corruption.” In 2012, Botswana ranked an extraordinary 30/174 countries on the Corruption Index. These examples point to the fact that citizen involvement and monitoring are very effective in reducing corruption and increasing public integrity. Creating a bloated, toothless and self-perpetuating anti-corruption bureaucracy such as FEAC is mere window dressing for international donors and loaners.

The other remedy for corruption lies in vigorous and well-publicized criminal prosecutions of corrupt officials, asset forfeitures (divestment of corruptly obtained wealth) and imposition of tough prison sentences on convicted corrupt officials. FEAC’s own data show that corruption prosecutions and convictions in Ethiopia are negligible.

Absent some dramatic treatment for the cancer of corruption in Ethiopia’s land sector, there is no doubt that Ethiopia will be bankrupted in the foreseeable future. This is a country whose foreign reserve today could barely cover two months of its import bills, has accumulated over USD$12 billion in foreign debt; and over the past decade Ethiopia has lost USD$11.7 billion dollars in illicit financial flows. Ethiopia’s “beautiful minds” and the opposition elements need to do a better job of addressing the issue of corruption. Passing references to “corruption” that “plagues the infrastructure sector”, “corruption that has never been seen before in the history of” Ethiopia and pleas to “arrest corruption that is rampant in the country” are simply not adequate.

I like to ask naïve questions. When it comes to governance, I ask not why Ethiopia’s rulers have chosen the “China Model” but rather why they have not chosen the “Ghanaian Model?” When it comes to corruption control, I simply ask why Ethiopia’s rulers have chosen not to follow the “Botswana Model”?

At the end of the day, “if Ethiopia is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds,” its “beautifully minded” scholars, professors, researchers, policy analysts, lawyers and other members of the learned professions must renounce their vows of silence and loudly speak truth to black-hearted dictators! Silence may be golden but when we see the gold walking out of the National Bank in broad daylight, we had better scream, shout and holler like hell!!!

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

My journey to become a political prisoner in Ethiopia began as a federal judge fighting to uphold the rule of law. Despite institutional challenges and even death threats, I hoped to use constitutional principles to ensure respect for basic rights.

But, having witnessed firsthand the government disregard for fundamental constitutional rules, I joined the opposition and became the first woman to hold a high-level position in an Ethiopian political party.

Our party – the Coalition for Unity and Democracy – contested the 2005 elections with a multiethnic platform based on economic liberalism and respect for individual rights. As momentum gathered, many hoped change had finally arrived in Ethiopia.

But after early reports showed our party ahead in the polls, the government dashed our optimism by throwing me and my colleagues behind bars and declaring a victory for the ruling party.

When I emerged after 21 months in prison, our party was outlawed and the political landscape had grown increasingly repressive. But we forged ahead, forming the new Unity for Democracy and Justice Party and continuing to advocate for dialogue and non-violent political reform in Ethiopia.

Authorities arrested me again in 2008, claiming that I had mischaracterised the circumstances of my release. But peaceful political activities are not the only way to become a prisoner of conscience in Ethiopia.

Independent journalists face the very real threat of imprisonment in response to their work. Authorities have detained my friend Eskinder Nega eight times over his 20-year career as a journalist and publisher.

After the 2005 elections, Eskinder and his wife – Serkalem Fasil – spent 17 months in prison. Pregnant at the time, Serkalem gave birth to a son despite her confinement and almost no pre-natal care.

Banned from publishing after his release in 2007, Eskinder continued to write online. In early 2011, he began focusing particularly on the protest movements then sweeping North Africa and the Middle East.

Eskinder, who does not belong to any political party because of a commitment to maintain his independence, offered a unique and incisive take on what those movements meant for the future of Ethiopia.

Committed to the principle of non-violence, Eskinder repeatedly emphasised that any similar movements in Ethiopia would have to remain peaceful. Despite this, police briefly detained him and warned him that his writings had crossed the line and he could face prosecution.

Then in September 2011, the government made good on that threat. Authorities arrested Eskinder just days after he publicly criticised the use of anti-terror laws to stifle dissent. They held him without charge or access to an attorney for nearly two months.

The government eventually charged Eskinder with terrorism and treason, sentencing him to 18 years in prison after a political trial. Unfortunately, Eskinder is not alone; independent journalists Woubshet Taye and Reeyot Alemu also face long prison terms on terrorism charges.

The legal advocacy organisation Freedom Now, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention – a five-person panel of experts from around the world that consider individual cases – found Eskinder’s continued detention illegal under international law and called for his immediate release.

The UN specifically found that the government prosecuted Eskinder using overly broad terrorism charges because he exercised his internationally protected right to freedom of expression. It also held that procedural violations, such as denying Eskinder access to an attorney for nearly two months, violated his due process rights.

With this unequivocal finding by the UN, the international community can, and must, do more to help Eskinder and his imprisoned colleagues. In particular, the US, which has a close relationship with government in Addis Ababa, must speak out at every opportunity for those who cannot speak out for themselves from behind the prison walls.

Birtukan Mideksa is a fellow at Harvard University’s WEB Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research and a former prisoner of conscience in Ethiopia.

Follow her on Twitter: @Birtukanmideksa

Center for the Rights of Ethiopian Women (CREW), a non-profit, non-government, peace and human rights organization dedicated to promoting the rights of Ethiopian women worldwide through advocacy and education, was established as an outcome of a successful international conference on Ethiopian women that was held last year in March 2012. CREW held the Second Annual International Conference of Ethiopian Women in the Diaspora on March 23 and 24, 2013. The theme of the conference was “Ending Violence Against Ethiopian Women”

The Conference was opened with a welcoming address by Dr. Maigenet Shifferraw, President of CREW. Dr. Maigenet gave a brief statement about the one year work that CREW had done. Among the achievements that she spoke about was the work that was done on behalf of Shewaye Molla, the domestic worker that was the victim of abuse by the family of Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. Dr. Maigenet also highlighted the various advocacy and awareness work that was done by CREW members on behalf of Ethiopian sisters who are working in the Middle East.
Ethiopian Sport Federation in North America (ESFNA), sponsor of the Second Annual Conference of Ethiopian Women in the Diaspora, had sent its Vice-President, Mr. Teddy Tamiru, to address the participants of the Conference. Mr. Teddy Tamiru congratulated CREW on its work and announced that the 30th year anniversary of ESFNA, which will be held in Washington DC from June 30-July 6, will have “Celebrating Ethiopian Women” as its theme. In addition, Mr. Teddy Tamiru stated the commitment of ESFNA in supporting and collaborating with CREW in all its work. He also announced that ESFNA will offer CREW its total support at the July event to promote its work. As a representative of a sport federation dominated by men, his speech connoted the unity of women and men in fighting injustices against Ethiopian women around the world. CREW underscores with great appreciation the generosity of ESFNA.

The first day, March 23, covered numerous topics that addressed the violence that Ethiopian women are facing in Ethiopia and outside of Ethiopia.

The session was opened with the Keynote address by Ms. Frances E Ashe-Goins, Deputy Director, Health Science Administrator, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women Health.

Dr. Kesslyn A Brade Stennis from Bowie State University was a featured speaker who highlighted important strategies to combat domestic violence and provided numerous resources that victims of domestic violence can use.
Ms. Peggy Araya and Ms Tanya Araya, the mother and daughter team, made a presentation on “The New Violence Against Women Act.” Ms. Aleme Feyissa, a social worker who works closely with the Ethiopian immigrant community in the Washington D.C. area, made a presentation on the prevalence of Domestic Violence among the Ethiopian immigrant community

Mr. Obang Metho, Executive Director of Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia, spoke on forced internal migration of the Ethiopian people due to land grab and the potential negative consequences that is waiting if not halted in time.

Ms. Selamawit Tesfaye made a presentation on, “The plight of Ethopian domestic workers in the Middle East.” She discussed how thousands of Ethiopian women leave their country and go the Middle Eastern Arab countries to find jobs. However, once they reach their destination countries, they are prone to various forms of human rights abuses.

Ms. Amsale Aberra, the young scholar, who is a graduate student at the University of Washington in Seattle and CREW’s first scholarship recipient to attend the annual conference, made a notable presentation on “Forced Migration and the ugly truth of human trafficking.” She underlined the immense challenges in tackling the trafficking problem in countries like Ethiopia because it is a multi-million dollar industry.

Ms. Birtawit Girmaye Kassa facilitated a session with Ethiopian grassroots activists from Saudia Arabia and Lebanon via video and skype about the work they are doing to help mitigate the violence against Ethiopian domestic workers.

The presentations were followed by in-depth discussions with participants of the conference on the causes, scale of the violence against Ethiopian women and strategies to ending it. Particular focus and discussion was made on the plight, the horrifying abuse and sexual exploitation of Ethiopian women in the Middle East. The tragic story of their misery was shared by heroic Ethiopian women from Saudi Arabia who are working relentlessly to save the Ethiopian women domestic workers when they have nowhere to turn to. Poems and Videos, depicting the gravity of the atrocity befalling Ethiopian women were shown.

The second day, March 24, was a closed meeting for CREW members and potential members. The meeting was designed for organizational development. The first session was a workshop on “Conflict Resolutions” by Dr. Berhanu Mengistu. The training session was incredibly educational and stimulating. Dr. Berhanu’s presentation highlighted that differences may arise among individuals and organizations that are bound to work together or share a common goal; however, if the problems articulated in a clear and respectful manner they will be resolved.

Ms Hamrawit Tesfa, a young author and a social worker, made a presentation on “Empowering ourselves.” Ms.Hamrawit spoke about the necessity and importance of being strong within ourselves and taking care of ourselves to be able to help others.

Finally, members held a frank and earnest discussions around short and long term activities of CREW for the coming year. In general, the conference brought many men and women of different age groups, ethnic and professional backgrounds. Solidarity message from Shengo, and Ethiopian National Transitional Council was read. The participants vowed to work hard towards ending the oppression of Ethiopian women. The incredible love, empathy and spirit of voluntarism demonstrated by participants were promises of a better tomorrow for our mothers and daughters around the world.

የኢትዮጵያ ሴቶች መብት ማዕከል
Center for the Rights of Ethiopian Women

Contact as at:
ethiowomen@gmail.com
www.centerforethiopian.org

I applaud the emphasis given to development. The objectives to seeing Ethiopia prosperous and getting rid of poverty are indeed noble objectives.

However, I would like to challenge EPRDF leaders, by asking what benefits, waging an intense campaign of incarcerating peaceful civilians can bring to the developmental efforts. How could they be able to achieve their noble objectives, by undermining at the same time the basic foundations that are necessary for the anti-poverty campaign? How does incarcerating anti poverty advocates, democratic, peaceful and honorable citizens, like Eskinder Nega, Andwalem Arague, Bekele Gerba, Reyot Alemu help the war against poverty?

Key ingredients needed for economic developments are stability and the rule of law. For investors to invest more there need to be confidence in the political system as well as the Judiciary.

Currently there may be many investors who took risk and started businesses in Ethiopia. However, the moment these investors start seeing clouds of political instability and uncertainties, they will surely take action to safeguard their investments by relocating to other countries, ultimately leaving many buildings and factories in Ethiopia empty. Development without good governance, the rule of law and respect of human rights are not real developments but mock developments that are not lasting and benefits only the very few.

By incarcerating peaceful political leaders and reporters, by closing down newspapers, by blocking peaceful opposition’s protests, by unraveling medieval and cheap propagandas on government media against citizens, officials may think that they would create a stable atmosphere for development. They may think that the God-given inherit needs and demands Ethiopians have for freedom and democracy may die. They may think that they are untouchables.

However, such sense of security is false and illusionary. The wrongly perceived weaknesses of the oppositions are only temporary and cosmetic. As Dr Martin Luther King said: “unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. The temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”

Unless we come together and reconcile our differences today, no one will be safe tomorrow. As Frederick Douglas stated: “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”

The supreme court of Ethiopia is expected to make a decision on April 8 2013 on the case of Eskinder Nega, Andwalem Arage and other prisoner of conscious. Per the Ethiopian constitution, the Judiciary is supposed to be independent. However, there are reports that one of the judge was summoned to the council of Ministers to discuss what decision he needs to make. Therefore whatever decision we will hear that day, it shall be the decision of the Council of Ministers.

I think the EPRDF officials have a choice to make here. They can either build up on some of their visible accomplishments they had and make peace with the people; or they can decide to continue being on the opposite side of the majority. They can either be part of the solution or be obstacles for Peace and Democracy. They can either earn an honorable place in history or they can be despised and vilified for generations. They can achieve their noble developmental goals by lining behind those who politically oppose them as well; or they can let constructions of buildings and infrastructures start but not end.

I therefore, respectfully call for Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, W/r Azeb Mesfin and others, to make the right and godly choices and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscious. (UDJ leaders, prisoners from OFC, reporters, human right activists …). By doing so, they will show a clear gesture to all Ethiopians, that the EPRDF, contrary to what it has been perceived, has clear commitment to developing peaceful, democratic political system in Ethiopia.

I highly recommend also that they start genuine dialog with opposition groups within Ethiopia as well as groups like Oromo Democratic Front, a group that has recently led out a its own peaceful vision to solving the political impass , and showed willingness to have dialog with the ruling party.

It is my hope and prayer that the leadership of the EPRDF will heed the call of many reasonable people from among themselves as well, look beyond the horizon and above their individual prides, and take historic steps at this historic moment, in this historic country of ours. Let democratic reforms start by releasing Eskinder Nega and others. Let dialog with the oppositions start.

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools” said Dr Martin Luther King. Let us choose hope over despair, peace over war, love over hate, dialogue over confrontation, so that we can be able to live in dignity in that great land of ours, ETHIOPIA.

Muziky68@yahoo.com

Although Kenyan law does not allow forming political parties along ethnic lines, Kenyan politics is highly ethnicity-charged. The voting patterns in the last election and the vitriolic social media exchanges among members of different ethnic groups over the last couple of weeks demonstrate that. The voting patterns tell you that voters’ decision is determined by the ethnic background of their favourite candidate. In the last election, you can easily discern that Uhuru Kenyatta obtained 98 % votes in Kikuyu areas whereas Raila Odinga got only less than 2% in those areas. The reverse is true at Raila’s strongholds. Voters follow their ethnic candidate.

I was fortunate to observe the 2002 election before president Daniel Arap Moi left power. The then amateur Uhuru Kenyatta was defeated by the veteran politician Mwai Kibaki at that time. Raila ganged up with Kibaki in the famous Rainbow Coalition, a CUD like coalition formed by various political parties to defeat Moi’s hand-picked candidate, Uhuru Kenyatta. Raila endorsed Kibaki for president in 2002. Raila was given a heroes’ welcome when he went to Kikuyu area after the victory. The coalition did not last long and after winning the presidency, Kibaki and Raila parted their ways.

At the 2007 election, Raila and Kibaki came out being rivals. The election commission declared Kibaki a winner of the election, but Raila refused to accept the result. Serious ethnic clashes broke out following the announcement of the result and over 1000 people were killed. Although Kibaki was declared president, he had to share power with Raila in a grand coalition formed after Kofi Annan’s brokered peace deal. The last five years were full of tension, bickering and infightings between the two principals and their followers.

The March 4, 2013 reminded me of the second fascinating thing about Kenyan politics. Kenyan politicians do not hold grudges. They are flexible. A few months before the March 4 election, I read on one of Kenya’s newspaper that the current vice-president, Kalonzo Musyoka and Raila Odinga formed a coalition. I was puzzled by what I read. Kalonzo was Raila’s arch enemy in the 2007 election and over the following four years. Kalonzo ganged up with Kibaki after the 2007 election and mounted a surmountable challenge to Raila’s political powers. They remained rivals for four years and all of a sudden they emerged as allies for the March 2013 election. The coalition between Kalonzo and Raila is a marker of the degree of flexibility pragmatisms in Kenyan politics. We Ethiopians need the flexibility, pragmatism and forgiveness of Kenyan politics.

Be that as it may, after a week of counting and recounting of the votes, the Independent Election and Boundary Commission of Kenya (IEBC), the Kenyan counterpart of Ethiopian National Election Commission, declared Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of the first president of Kenya, the winner of the election. Raila Odinga, the son of the other famous freedom-fighter and politician, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, did not concede defeat. He lodged his petition to the Supreme Court of Kenya (SCK) last Saturday. According to the Kenyan dailies, Raila argues in his petition that the registration of voters, the conduct of elections as well as the transmission and tallying of votes was flawed and was in breach of the constitution. Hence he asks the SCK to declare that the result is null and void. The SCK commences hearing the case Monday. If the court holds that the election was fair and transparent, the swearing in ceremony of the president elect will proceed and Uhuru Kenyatta will be the 4th Kenya president. We don’t know the other possibility yet.

Kenya is a second home for hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians. Many Ethiopians are indebted to Kenya because it gave them sanctuary when they fled their country. Although we all faced difficulties when we were in Kenya, such as police harassment, the hardships we experienced there do not reduce our indebtedness to Kenya. I have been detained in about seven Nairobi jails. I was beaten by Kenyan police. However, every time I think of Kenya, I think of Njery and Mama Mambo, who used to feed me when I was hungry. Njoroge and Kamau, who tolerated me when I did not have money to pay my rent in time. I think of those ordinary Kenyans who have never complained about the presence of refugees in their backyards, competing in the markets and taking over their jobs and businesses. I love Kenya and Kenyans.

Based on my four years stay in Kenya and my daily updates, I don’t believe whoever becomes president will change the lives of ordinary Kenyans. However, I always pray and keep my fingers crossed that God save Kenyans from the repeat of any chaos and massacre of civilians. I hope the SCK will make an impartial, fair, and informed decision as it has promised. I also hope that the candidates and their followers will abide by the final decision of the SCK. Whoever loses at court should be thankful because in Kenya there is at least an independent court they can turn to when they are aggrieved. That is not the case in Ethiopia; where ethnic federalism is the basis of the constitution and people or political parties do not have an independent reliable court to appeal whether to protest an election or to get remedy for other political wrongs.

According to the World Bank 70% of world citizens who earn less than 2 dollars a day are located in the Sub-Saharan region. This region is an area where extreme poverty is highly concentrated and consequently where world combined force works to pull residents out from under the reign of multidimensional poverty. The saddening fact however is that this region is now the 70% victim of land and water grabbing practices.

Never forget that in the Sub-Saharan region and others among the most under-developed regions in the world more than 80 percent of the population constitutes farmers. For these groups of people in particular, to break free from the grasp of poverty, of course agriculture plays a vital role. The land and water of these poor nations are the potentials in hand of its poor majority populations to achieve the eradication of poverty in alignment with MDG.

We have learnt from the development history of today’s most developed nation’s their initial and turning points in the process of development is agriculture. More than anything else for poor nations to eradicate poverty and to develop their countries they have no other choice than to utilize their agricultural potentials. Furthermore, under-developed countries have to choose agriculture first because agriculture is the preferred model for their capacity. Since education and technology is deficient in less developed areas the easiest way to move to wealth is by exploiting agriculture resources.

Land grabbing was born in the era of MDG and within a decade it spread very fast. It seems to have spread faster than the world race toward MDG accomplishment. The head of economic justice for Oxfam, Ms. Kelly Dent, says the following of the spread of land grabbing practices.

“Over the last 10 years, poor countries have lost a soccer oval worth of land to foreign investors every second”

In addition, Oxfam’s “Working Together to End Poverty and Injustice”,
Reports the following about the scale of the scramble to land grab.

“In developing countries as many as 560 million acres of land, an area greater than the size of California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming combined, have been sold, leased or licensed in large-scale land deals since 2001.”

Imagine how fast and how aggressively the trend to land and water grab has spread. Land grabbing movement has become an over-consumptive movement. It was born out of the recent global recession when seeing the future as gloomy companies ran to grab land and water from the world’s poorest countries. It seems the calculations were not farsighted, however. How could they sustain their profit for long? Since there is no mutual respect and benefit it cannot self-sustain but rather it brings about other unexpected problems. Instability, hatred and war might result from such human rights violated business practices.

How does land and water grabbing differ from other kinds of investments?

Land grab is different from other investments in its nature. One of its unusual characteristics lies within its risk taking measures. Under normal circumstances when people invest their money they evaluate risks by assessing the rule of law, political stability and peace among other things. Investors are generally sensitive to investing their money when risks are substantial. Land grabbing on the contrary especially in Ethiopia, takes huge risks. These potential risks constitute the following dilemmas.

The quest for land tenor is an unresolved question.

In Ethiopia in the 1970s one of the hottest political issues was the land tenor question. University students paid a huge personal price for rehashing this hot political issue. When the DERG regime came to power after taking possession of land from large scale land owners, instead of releasing the land to its tenors with full rights the government lotted it out for farming and could not resolve the land ownership quest. Then after the DERG regime fell Ethiopians were hoping that the EPRDF, the current ruling party, would resolve this question. However, this land is still owned by the government. This issue of land privatization is still an important question in the minds of Ethiopian elites and students. One of the indicators of this reality is that, except for ruling EPRDF party supporters all opposition parties believe that land should be possessed by citizens. Interestingly, this reality indicates that any governmental change is risky for land grabber security. Moreover, since there is no reliable doubt that sooner or later these ownerships will be privatized and repatriated by citizens, the situation actually put land grabbers in opposition to the same majority of Ethiopians whose lands they employ. The potential problem for land grabbers in Ethiopia is that when the time comes for change there will be a huge reorganization of Ethiopian land policy. Since land has remained in the control of government the possession transfer can and is expected to be a somewhat radicalized one.

Ethiopia has unutilized land but this does not mean that Ethiopia has surplus land. There is huge demographic pressure in some parts of the country while there is unutilized land in other disparate areas. In the high land areas for example farmers on average hold a little less than one hectare with 6 average family sizes. Due to bad policy citizens cannot fully exploit their own lands while man power is unrealized on sparse plots. So again, during that period of projected change those densely populate areas will have citizenship rights to claim unutilized areas. Remember that Saudi Arabian and Indian land and water grabbers in Ethiopia took this risk regardless.

Another risk not only impacts Ethiopia but also other countries where citizens have lost their access to land and as a result have experienced instability. People are resisting and protesting while land grabbers plague the land by employing government soldiers to guard and protect their interests.

Land and water grabbing is equivalent to a violation of the sovereignty of one’s country. Citizens have emotional attachments to their surrounding land and water environments. When they see their vast lands sold for 99 years at a time they feel frustrated and irritated because land is one of the manifestations of sovereignty.

In every country when the land is sold for a period of time that extends past the life of generations then individuals can begin to feel unsuccessful. People start to blame the government who gave away their land and they start to seek administrative change. In this case the sale of land becomes a stimulant for political change. This is a huge risk for grabbers. The recent years witness a good example of these risks.

In Madagascar an irresponsible government was dealt to sell half of the countries arable land to one Korean company. The Madagascar people protested and eventually this resulted in the downfall of the president Marc Ravalomanana.

Another risk of land grab is that it violates international human rights protections. While ultimately large scale investment cannot go far without the support of the international community.

Land and water grab is characterized by another dealing that differ it from other investments. The transactions of land grabbing are highly confidential. Why is land grab deals are not conducted in the public arena? In less developed countries the act of attracting investment is big news where gain is often even exaggerated; investment is usually publicized and often even politicized. When it comes to instances of land grab, however, deals are kept secret and are carried out by high level government officials and investors working privately.

In fact is land grabbing not kept confidential for the reason that it violates constitutional rights of nations and international human rights laws in the first place? Land grabbing is by all means illegal because it breaks the law by infringing on citizen rights. It has no legal fortitude or developmental base. The dilemma of secrecy exposes the crime of land grab and explains why it is carried out behind closed doors out of the arena of public scrutiny. This dilemma characterizes land grab and stigmatizes it apart from other investments.

In Ethiopia a land and water grab deal is always hidden from journalists, opposition leaders and the people. This creates distrust and frustration among citizens. The government continues to lease large areas of arable land but citizens have no right to know about the agreements or how their revenues will be spent. Land farmed for generations by one family can overnight become leased to foreign investors for up to 99 years.

Why do leaders do this? What is their profit?

The answer is easy. There are two major calculated profits. The first is to prolong or maintain seats of leadership and, or positions of power. Most governments who are accused of bad governance or dictatorial style leadership and those which have no public support will by nature cling to supports which enable them to retain their control, positions or power. One of the calculations of such is that by giving away their citizens land they can for all intents and purposes “buy” supporters. Land grabbers know that if there is political change, if there is democracy then there secret dealings will no longer be profitable to them. This bad business creates a conundrum where land grabbers may support bad government as much as they can at the expense of citizen benefits. This climate consequently will breed suspect and fear from the opposition that land grabbers play a negative role in their struggle for democracy, justice and even good governance.

The other negative impact of bad business practices such as land grabbing can be seen in the glitz economy. Glitz style of growth is a term proposed by Dr. Aklog Birara used to express the superficiality of growth when it does not impact citizen lives. Governments may get money from land deals of palm oil, flowers or bio fuel for agribusiness. This exchange is not expected to be proportional to the value of the land but it is used to build tall buildings and luxury hotels to give the outward appearance of prosperity and wealth. Meanwhile people are starving, out of work, desperate and isolated from the economic elite enjoying the benefits if the glitz economy.

Land and water grabbing activity not only takes the above mentioned risks but also undermines social responsibility.

God Bless!

geletawzeleke@gmail.com

References,

http://www.theafricareport.com/East-Horn-Africa/ethiopia-to-lease-out-land-to-investors-despite-land-grab-concerns.html

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/pressreleases/modern-day-land- rush-forcing-thousands-into-greater-poverty/?searchterm=global size of land grab

It seems the Eagle has finally taken a good look at the sidewinding Dragon eating its lunch in Africa. The U.S. is in stiff competition not only in Africa but also in the “world’s least explored” country. Clinton minced no words in telling the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “We are in a competition for influence with China; let’s put aside the moral, humanitarian, do-good side of what we believe in, and let’s just talk straight realpolitik… Take Papua New Guinea: huge energy find … ExxonMobil is producing it. China is in there every day in every way, trying to figure out how it’s going to come in behind us, come under us.”

For the past decade, the U.S. has been nonchalant and complacent about China’s “invasion” and lightning-fast penetration of Africa. It was a complacency born of a combination of underestimation, miscalculation, hubris and dismissive thinking that often comes with being a superpower. But the U.S. is finally reading the memo.

Meanwhile, China is zooming along the African highway of “opportunism” with steely resolve and an iron fist sheathed in velvet gloves lined with loans, aid and expensive gifts. In July 2012, Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Opening Ceremony of the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation proudly proclaimed his country’s economic prowess in Africa. “China’s trade with and investment in Africa have been expanding. In 2011, our two-way trade reached 166.3 billion U.S. dollars, three times the figure in 2006. Cumulative Chinese direct investment in Africa has exceeded 15 billion U.S. dollars, with investment projects covering 50 countries.” He added, “China and Africa have set up 29 Confucius Institutes or Classrooms in 22 African countries. Twenty pairs of leading Chinese and African universities have entered into cooperation under the 20+20 Cooperation Plan for Chinese and African Institutions of Higher Education.”
In 1980, China’s total economic investment in Africa hovered around $USD1 billion; and 20 years later rose only to $USD10 billion. In 2010, China and Ghana signed infrastructure-related loans, credits and made other arrangements valued at about $15 billion. In 2009, China signed a $6 billion loan agreement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo for infrastructure projects. In 2010, Chinese banks extended nearly $9 billion in loans and other types of financing to Angola for various projects. The Angolan government in turn used its oil credit line to commission the State-owned China International Trust and Investment Corporation to build a ghost town outside of the capital at a cost of $USD3.5 billion. (To see the video of the Angolan ghost town click here.) In 2011, Chinese firms accounted for 40% of the corporate contracts in Africa compared to only 2 percent for U.S. firms. According to a report issued by the South African Institute of International Affairs, between 2003-2009, there were between 583,050–820,050 Chinese living, working and doing business in 43 African countries. Today China is Africa’s largest trading partner as the U.S. recedes fast in the rear view mirror.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, is it a duck?

China’s official policy statement on its trade and aid relationship with Africa derives from the first of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. China “respects African countries’ choice in political system and development path suited to their own national conditions, does not interfere in internal affairs of African countries, and supports them in their just struggles for safeguarding their independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.” China rejects accusations of neocolonial ambitions in Africa. President Hu Jintao explained that Africa and China are building a “new type of China-Africa strategic partnership… China and Africa have deepened practical economic cooperation featuring mutual benefit.”
But many critics are quick to point out that China’s assertion of a “strategic partnership” cleverly camouflages its calculated strategic ambition to suck out African natural resources on a long-term basis, cultivate African markets as dumping grounds for its cheap manufactured goods and gradually impose its hegemony over the continent. The policy of “noninterference” is said to be an elaborate and shameless ploy used by China to pacify and anesthetize witless African dictators and secure lucrative long-term contracts for raw materials.

Kwame Nkrumah coined the term “neo-colonialism”, the eponymous title to his book, to describe the socio-economic and political control exercised by the old colonial countries and others to perpetuate their economic dominance in the former colonies through their multinational corporations and other cultural institutions. He wrote, “Neo-colonialism is also the worst form of imperialism. For those who practise it, it means power without responsibility and for those who suffer from it, it means exploitation without redress. In the days of old-fashioned colonialism, the imperial power had at least to explain and justify at home the actions it was taking abroad. In the colony those who served the ruling imperial power could at least look to its protection against any violent move by their opponents. With neo-colonialism neither is the case…”

Is there Chinese “neocolonialism” in Africa? Is China exercising “power without responsibility” in Africa “causing exploitation without redress” for Africans?

China is in Africa in full force with traders, investors, lenders, builders, developers, laborers and others. But gnawing questions linger. For instance, is China’s “gift” of the $USD200 million African Union (AU) building in Addis Ababa in 2011 a public demonstration of its good faith, good will and good works in Africa or a subtle hint of its neocolonial ambitions and hegemonic designs? Is China’s aid for the construction of roads, rail lines, bridges, dams and other public works projects evidence of an altruistic commitment to improve communication and commerce within Africa or a calculated strategy to further facilitate China’s deep penetration into the African hinterlands for raw materials (not unlike the European colonialists who built rail lines and ports to export Africa’s mineral wealth)? Is China fully supporting corrupt-to-the-core African dictators because it does not want to “interfere” in local politics or is “noninterference” its way of maintaining a chokehold on African dictators to protect its long-term interests in Africa? Does China want to do business in Africa in the short term and control its destiny in the long term?

In my column, “The Dragon’s Dance with Hyenas”, I suggested that Africa’s dictators could not be more happy with their “new strategic partnership” with China. They claim that China is not only a good friend but also the great rescuer of Africa from the ravenous and crushing jaws of neocolonialists, imperialists, neoliberals and other such nasty creatures. AU president in 2011, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the ruthless and corrupt dictator of Equatorial Guinea since 1979, even saw “a reflection of the new Africa, and the future we want for Africa” in the Chinese-built 20-story AU glass tower. The late Meles Zenawi saw China leading Africa on a long march out of the winter of despair and desperation in to the spring of hope and renaissance. He proclaimed China brings to Africa a “message of optimism, a message that is out of the decades of hopelessness and imprisonment a new era of hope is dawning, and that Africa is being unshackled and freed…”
I disagreed with Meles Zenawi when he said he saw the “rise of Africa” and an “African Renaissance” reflected in the glass tower. I peeked behind the façade of that shiny edifice and saw standing “a giggling gang of beggars with cupped palms, outstretched hands, forlorn eyes and shuffling legs looking simultaneously cute and hungry and begging” and unable to pony up the chump change needed to put up a building that is to become their world stage.

The “China Model” and China as an ideal(less) partner for African dictators

African dictators talk about the “China Model” as a solution to Africa’s economic problems in much the same way as African sorcerers invoke voodoo incantations to heal those possessed by evil spirits. But the Chinese reject the notion of a “China Model”. Liu Guijin, China’s special representative on African affairs offered an official disclaimer. “What we are doing is sharing our experiences. Believe me, China doesn’t want to export our ideology, our governance, our model. We don’t regard it as a mature model.”

No African dictator has gone beyond phrase mongering to explain how the “China Model” applies to Africa. But the general idea in championing the “China Model” (“Beijing Consensus”) is that Africa can be successful without following the “Washington Consensus” (a set of ten policies supported by the U.S. and the international lending institutions including “fiscal discipline (limiting budget deficits), increasing foreign direct investments, privatization, deregulation, diminished role for the state, etc.). China presumably became a global economic power in just a few decades by pursuing state controlled capitalism instead of free market capitalism, avoiding political liberalization, giving a commanding role for the ruling political party in the economy and society, heavily investing in infrastructure projects, engaging in trial and error economic experimentation, etc.

African dictators believe they can achieve a comparable level of economic development by copycatting China. For Meles Zenawi and his disciples, the “China Model” is the magic carpet that will transport Ethiopia from abysmal underdevelopment and poverty to stratospheric economic growth and industrialization. African dictators are particularly enamored with the “China Model” because China achieved its economic “miracles” in a one-party system that has a chokehold on all state institutions including the civil service and the armed and security forces and by instituting a vast system of controls and censorship that keeps the people from challenging the government or learning about alternatives.

In reality, the “China Model” for African dictators demonstrates not so much the success of authoritarian state capitalism but the triumph of praetorian klepto-capitalism — a form of militarized kleptocratic capitalism in which African dictators and their cronies control the state apparatus and the economy using the military and security forces. African dictators in Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, etc. rule by coercion and their coercive power derives almost exclusively from their control and manipulation of the military, police, and security forces, party apparatuses and bloated bureaucracies which they use for political patronage. They have successfully eliminated rival political parties, civil society institutions and the independent press.

The “China Model” is the ultimate smokescreen for African Dictators, Inc. It provides a plausible justification for avoiding transparent and accountable governance, competitive, free and fair elections and suppression of free speech and the press. Simply stated, the “China Model” in Africa is a huge hoax perpetrated on the people with the aim of imposing absolute control and exacting total political obedience while justifying brutal suppression of all dissent and maximizing the ruling class’ kleptocratic monopoly over the economy.

Could the “China Model” work in Africa?

Stripped off its hype, the “China Model” in Africa is the same old one-man, one-party pony that has been around since the early days of African independence in the 1960s. Time was when Zenawi, Museveni and Kagame were crowned the “new breed of African leaders” (by neoliberal imperators Bill Clinton and Tony Blair) and given a free pass to suck at the teats of neoliberal cash cows such as the World Bank and the IMF. Today these dictators heap contempt on “neoliberalism” as a “band-aid” approach to development, criticize the “gunboat diplomacy” of the U.S. (whose hard working taxpayers have shelled out tens of billions of dollars to shore up these dictatorships in the last decade) and tongue-lash “extremist neo-liberal” human rights defenders and advocates for slamming them on their atrocious human rights record and mindboggling corruption. If neoliberalism did not work in Africa, why should the “China Model” work?

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but flattery does not get you anywhere in economic development. The great absurdity of all African dictators is that they believe they can copycat “word-for-word” ideas and practices from different countries, systems and cultures and make it work in Africa. For instance, in February 2012, Meles Zenawi literally believed he had the most perfect antiterrorism law in the entire world. He told his rubberstamp parliament with great pride and gusto, “In drafting our anti-terrorism law, we copied word-for-word the very best anti-terrorism laws in the world. We took from America, England and the European model anti-terrorism laws. It is from these three sources that we have drafted our anti-terrorism law. From these, we have chosen the better ones.”

One cannot pirate, copycat or cut-and-paste an economic model in the same way as one would make knockoffs of famous fashion accessories, popular brands of electronics or machine parts. But African dictators believe they can cut-and-paste the “China Model” in Africa and create economic miracles. But what they have succeeded in creating is the optical illusion of economic development by constructing shiny glass buildings and fancy roadways that go nowhere while sucking their national economies bone dry. As Global Financial Integrity concluded, “The people of Ethiopia are being bled dry. No matter how hard they try to fight their way out of absolute destitution and poverty, they will be swimming upstream against the current of illicit capital leakage.” That is what the “China Model” means in Ethiopia, and for that matter in much of Africa where it is followed.
Fightin’ Eagle in Africa?

So far we have heard a screaming Eagle grousing about the unfair advantage, immorality, amorality, opportunism and new colonialism of the Dragon. But will we ever see a fightin’ Eagle standing up to a fire-breathin’ Dragon in Africa and “win”?

The U.S. “battle plan”, other than the “moral, humanitarian, do good” human rights rhetoric, is to do too little too late. In 2000, the U.S. enacted The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) followed by the Africa Investment Incentive Act of 2006 to substantially expand preferential access for imports into the U.S. from designated Sub-Saharan African countries. These laws were intended to be substitutes for a Free Trade Agreement and enable reforming African countries the most liberal access to the U.S. market. By creating effective partnerships with U.S. firms and encouraging African governments to reform their economic and commercial regimes, the U.S. hoped to change and improve its long-term trade relations with Africa and open vast opportunities for Africans. As of 2011, U.S. trade with sub-Saharan Africa accounts for about 3 percent of total U.S. imports and 1 percent of U.S. exports. Oil makes up more than 90 percent of the $44 billion generated by U.S. imports from the AGOA countries. These laws have produced little success in achieving their aims.
Earlier this month, U.S. Senator Chris Coons, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs released a report (“Embracing Africa’s Economic Potential”) which underscored the “clear and pressing need for increased U.S. economic engagement in sub-Saharan Africa.” The Report argued that “increased trade facilitates growth for U.S. businesses as well as our African partners, simultaneously strengthening our own economy and Africa’s emerging markets.” It made several recommendations urging the development of a comprehensive strategy for increased U.S. investment in Sub-Saharan Africa, reauthorization and strengthening of the AGOA, removal of economic barriers and engagement of the African diaspora community in the United States. It will be hard to fight a Dragon with Eagle feathers!
How about an “Africa Model”?

I like to ask naïve questions. For instance, I ask not why China built the African Union Hall but why 53 plus African countries could not chip in or borrow the chump change needed to build the most symbolic building on the continent representing the independence, unity and hope of all African peoples? By the same token, I do not ask why an increasing number of African countries choose to follow the “China Model” but rather why they avoid following an African model such as the “Ghana’s Model”?

I am a big fan of Ghana. In July, 2009, in one of my weekly commentaries I asked one of my naïve questions: “What is it the Ghanaians got, we ain’t got?”. I argued that present day Ghana offers a reasonably good, certainly not perfect, template of governance for the rest of Africa. Ironically, it is to Ghana, the cradle of the one-man, one-party rule in Sub-Saharan Africa, that the rest of Africa must now turn to find a model of constitutional multiparty democracy.
Ghana today has a functioning, competitive, multiparty political system guided by its 1992 Constitution. Political parties have the constitutional right to freely organize and “disseminate information on political ideas, social and economic programs of a national character”. Tribal and ethnic parties are illegal in Ghana under Article 55 (4). That is the secret of Ghana’s political success. The Ghanaians also have an independent electoral commission (Art. 46) which is “not subject to the direction or control of any person or authority” and has proven its mettle time and again by ensuring the integrity of the electoral process.

Ghanaians enjoy a panoply of political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights. There are more than 133 private newspapers, 110 FM radio stations and two state-owned dailies in Ghana. Ghanaians express their opinions without fear of government retaliation. The rule of law is upheld and the government follows and respects the Constitution. Ghana has a fiercely independent judiciary, which is vital to the observance of the rule of law and protection of civil liberties. Political leaders and public officials abide by the rulings and decisions of the courts and other fact-finding inquiry commissions.

It is possible to do business with China without following the “China Model.” Ghana has done billions of dollars worth of business with China without using the “China Model”. In 2012, Ghana snagged a loan from China for a cool USD$3 billion. In 2010, Ghana signed deals with China for various infrastructure projects valued at about $15 billion. Ghana is proof positive that Africa can do business with China without becoming “Western” China. Ghana is certainly not a utopia, but she is living proof that multiparty constitutional democracy can help salvage African countries like Ethiopia from political and economic dystopia. Why not adopt the “Ghanaian Model” continent wide?

“Let’s put aside the moral… and just talk straight realpolitik”

As Secretary Clinton rhetorically urged, “Let’s just talk straight realpolitik.” In international politics, there are no moral standards. The rule is might and self-interest makes right. That principle of international amorality has been taught since the ancient Greek historian Thucydides described relations between nations as anarchic and immoral. The world is driven by competitive self-interest. Machiavelli and Hobbes warned against mixing morality in the relations between nations as did Hans Morgenthau in the mid-20th Century. He wrote, “Universal moral principles cannot be applied to the actions of states in their abstract universal formulation, but that they must be filtered through the concrete circumstances of time and place.” International amorality has its own virtues. Zeng Huacheng, a counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia says, “It’s not China versus America. It’s whatever helps the Ethiopians. If we don’t help, Africans will suffer.” So also said the fox guarding the hens in the henhouse, “I am here only to protect and serve you.”

There is an old African saying that when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. What could happen when the Dragon and the Eagle fight in Africa? Who is likely to win? Not to worry. There will be no fight as there was no fight at the Berlin Conference in 1884; only a gentlemen’s agreement.

I believe there will be a great struggle for the destiny of Africa – a destiny that beckons Africa to take the low road of developmental thralldom and another that summons Africa to rise up and follow the high road to freedom. That struggle will be decided in a contest between the powers of “greedom” and the powers of freedom.

Will Africa’s destiny be determined by the Dragon, the laughing-to-the-bank hyenas, the Eagle or the people of Africa? The dragon is symbol of power and strength. The Emperor of China used the image of the dragon to project his imperial ambitions and domination. The Eagle represents freedom. The Eagle can freely sweep into the valleys below or fly upward into in to the boundless sky. The hyena thrives on carrion. But the African people have the power of freedom in their hands and in their souls.

Speaking truth to power means speaking truthfully to power and letting the chips fall where they may. I see great similarity in what the Chinese and the U.S. are doing in Africa. China gives money, loans, aid and gifts to corrupt-to-the core African governments. Doesn’t the U.S.? The only difference is that China is honest about it. China does not speak with forked tongue. It does not talk our ears off about human rights violations and crimes against humanity and turn around and reward the criminals with billions of dollars in aid and loans. For China, there is no human rights, it’s all strictly business. Aah! But isn’t U.S. talk of human rights in Africa as beautiful as the sight of the Bald Eagle in flight against the background of snow-capped mountains and the deep blue sky? But the U.S. first minds its business before minding African human rights. I am afraid human rights in Africa for both countries is a simple issue of mind over matter. They mind their businesses, don’t mind African dictators and the human rights of Africans don’t matter!

Perhaps the answer to the question of Africa’s destiny was given long ago by the man elected as the “Father of African Unity” at the 1972 Ninth Heads of States and Governments meeting of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). H.I.M. Haile Selassie at the 1963 inaugural O.A.U. Summit told his fellow African heads of state:
… Africa was a physical resource to be exploited and Africans were chattels to be purchased bodily or, at best, peoples to be reduced to vassalage and lackeyhood. Africa was the market for the produce of other nations and the source of the raw materials with which their factories were fed…

…The answers [to the continent’s problems] are within our power to dictate. The challenges and opportunities which open before us today are greater than those presented at any time in Africa’s millennia of history. The risks and the dangers which confront us are no less great. The immense responsibilities which history and circumstance have thrust upon us demand balanced and sober reflection. If we succeed in the tasks which lie before us, our names will be remembered and our deeds recalled by those who follow us. If we fail, history will puzzle at our failure and mourn what was lost… May [we]… be granted the wisdom, the judgment, and the inspiration which will enable us to maintain our faith with the peoples and the nations which have entrusted their fate to our hands.

Thus spoke the African Lion!

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

The Ethiopian and Italian entanglement goes very far back in history. The period known as ’the scramble for Africa’ from 1870 to 1914 is a good place to start. It was a time the European powers were invading, colonizing, occupying and abusing Africans all over the continent. After the scrooge of slavery this was another century where being black was not a desirable existence, not that it is any different now. To avoid warring each other the Europeans decided to sit around a table and carve out the continent into outright ownership of people and country and spheres of influence. Italy already had Libya and decided to include Ethiopia in its portfolio.

Unfortunate for the Italians the Ethiopians found the idea absurd to say the least. The battle of Adwa settled the matter and dealt the Europeans their one and only defeat in Africa. The victory at Adwa will forever define what it means to be an Ethiopian. Generations will use this colossal event to shape and mold their children to grow up with pride and determination to guard what is their own and not to covet what belongs to others.

The Italians never forgave us for the humiliation at Adwa. After waiting for forty years they came back in 1935 to avenge their defeat. They came back better prepared. They used superior weapons including poison gas trying to overwhelm our barefoot army on horseback. They occupied most of our sacred land. They won a few battles but were unable to win the war. Our grandparents never gave the invading army a single day of respite. The concept of guerilla warfare that has become the mainstay of all oppressed peoples response to overwhelming force was brilliantly utilized by our ancestors. You can say they wrote the book on mobile war using a few to harass and demoralize the enemy while recovering national strength.

This brings us to the infamous General Rodolfo Graziani Governor of Italian East Africa. His ghost is what is waking us up from where we having been lying down comfortably numb for over forty years. Graziani tried to do what Meles Zenawi was able to accomplish. I know harsh words but deservingly so. Let me tell you what Graziani did to us in 1936. The day was Friday February nineteenth. Viceroy Graziani decided to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Naples in Addis Abeba at the ‘Genete Leul palace.’ Abreha Deboch and Moges Asgedom two of the most beautiful Ethiopians our country has ever produced threw ten grenades at the fascist pig and his accomplices during the celebration.

What happened next will forever live in our heart and mind as the price paid when sovereignty is lost. The Federal Secretary Guido Cortese gave the following order to his solders:
“Comrades, today is the day when we should show our devotion to our Viceroy by reacting and destroying the Ethiopians for three days. For three days I give you carte blanche to destroy and kill and do what you want to the Ethiopians.”
Ethiopians were hunted down like pray animals and killed. Over thirty thousand (30,000) of our people died in revenge. No one was spared. They burnt the town down and murdered everything that moved. Graziani earned the name “butcher of Ethiopia.” I doubt there is anyone amongst us that has not lost a distant relative in this bloodbath. Darkness fell on our country and we were given a taste of what it means to be under the mercy of an occupying force.

On the other hand Graziani’s animalistic and criminal behavior aroused the righteous anger of any and all red blooded Ethiopians. The fascist pigs never knew peace in the land of the habeshas until they were driven out the second time hopefully never to return again. This little note is by no means an adequate exposition of our fearless and gallant ancestors but it would be unforgivable not to mention Lij Haile Mariam Mamo-the first árbegna’, Dejazmacj Abarra Kasa from the north-west, Dejazmach balcha Aba Nebso from the south-west, Ras Abebe Argay leader of the band, Shaleka Mesfin Seleshi, Ras Desta Damtew from the south, Ato Belay Zeleke and host of other notables that stood a head above others and gave the enemy a taste of Ethiopian indignation.

As I said before the ghost of this evil specimen of a human being is with us again. In 2012 his town of Affile built a mausoleum in memory the fascist pig. Yes the same Graziani that ordered the killing of over thirty thousand people in a three days period, the same criminal that used mustard gas throughout our homeland killing in the hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians was honored as a patriot and a hero by his people. They felt they could do that because they knew there would be no one to stop them. What they saw was a country divided into nine Bantustans, a country in the process of degrading its past, a country willing to sacrifice its youth pushing, encouraging them to go where harm awaits them. Yes the citizens of Affile felt no shame because they knew no one will call them out.

We might be down but we are not dead yet. As there were ‘wust arebenoch’ during the occupation, there are still plenty of patriots that keep the flame of freedom alive. The shameful act of the people of Affile was too much to take. Patriotic Ethiopians decided to protest this fascist spit on our honor and insult to the memory of our people by marching and showing their righteous indignation in our homeland. You would think any government that is the recipient of this unjust provocation will lead the charge on behalf of its citizens. That it will use its moral power to unite its citizens and humanity at large and put the unrepentant Italians on notice that this kind of act is not acceptable, is counterproductive and unnecessarily brings buried memories to the forefront.

This is not unique to us. The Germans were made to accept responsibility for the crimes of Hitler, the Japanese were held liable for their atrocities in China and South East Asia, and the US showed its profound sorrow for slavery and so on. In the scheme of human history some shameful acts were committed and since no one can turn time back the responsibility of the current generation is to look back at the horror and shame and take responsibility and do what is necessary to teach its citizens so there would be no chance today or in the future for history to repeat itself.

No need to travel to Germany or Japan when we can just walk over to our neighbor in the south. The Kenyans have sued the British government for imprisonment and torture during the Mau Mau uprising for independence and their case is being heard in London. As far as I know the Kenyan government has not jailed any of its citizens for requesting accountability.

Needless to say we do not have a legitimate government that reflects the aspirations of the citizen. Thus our patriotic protesters that dared express their views on the matter were beaten by Woyane police and hauled to prison. Their protest was seen as a criminal act. The odd situation here is that a few Italians that felt this miscarriage of justice did protest in Italy but no one beat them up and none were imprisoned for peacefully making their objections known.

We are one unique people aren’t we? No one will believe this unfolding story taking place in our ancient land. No one with a fertile imagination will come up with this kind of scenario even for as fiction. When we think we have seen enough our Woyane masters idiocy they seem to have this bottomless pit where they pull out a new and more bizarre behavior to confound our senses.

At the beginning I compared Graziani to the recently departed Meles Zenawi the Woyane warlord. Some of you probably thought I have gone too far. Some of you judged me unfair and filled with hate. I understand. I felt the same way when I wrote it down. I almost took it out. Then I slept on it. Further reflection made me realize I am not really off the mark. I will state my point, you my brethren be the judge.

Graziani was avenging his people’s humiliation at Adwa. He came back with a purpose. What exactly did he do to make sure Ethiopia will never rise again? Wanton killing was one. Selective murder was another. The use of mustard gas, burning of villages and the Addis massacre are examples of wanton killing. The May 19th murder of 297 monks and 23 laymen of Debre Libanos Monastery is a calculated act of terror to discredit our ancient religion. Furthermore the liquidation of the young Ethiopian intellectuals and their organization ‘The Black Lions’ was another assault on what is dear to us. Other than those that left the country with the Emperor and the lucky ones that found their way to Sudan and Kenya all were executed. This I will file under selective murder.

The Italians also redrew the map of our country to create separate Bantustans. They divided our country into six units as follows: 1) Eritrea to include Tigrai – capital Asmara 2) Amhara to include Begemeder, Gojjam, Wello and northern Shoa – capital Gonder 3) Galla and Sidamo –capital Jimma 4) Addis Abeba 5) Harar 6) Somalia-capital Mogadishu
Well, well, well, where do you think the great mind of Meles came up with his kilil solution? Now you know what he has been reading while holed down in his cave in the mountains of Tigrai. History will also show that his first target was none other than Haile Selassie University in search of intellectuals to liquidate, imprison or exile. Meles and Graziani- two peas in a pod. I rest my case.

The period from 1935 to 1941 is referred to as the time of Italian ‘occupation.’ It is not known as Italian ‘colonization.’ That is so because our resistance did not give the Italians the legitimacy they so desired. Our patriots never allowed the Italian flag to fly unchallenged. Our Emperor was gallantly going to every capital in Europe and the League of Nations keeping the flame of freedom alive while our patriots at home were waging a successful guerrilla war keeping the fascist army in a state of fear and uncertainty.

We their children have failed our forefathers. We are unable to resist a home grown fascist dominating us using an old user’s manual. There are groups fighting the regime but unfortunately no one has managed to break out and claim the vanguard role. We are working on that. Where there is oppression there is resistance and we are not different. It is obvious we’re fighting an uphill battle. Our people are not educated, our communication system is rudimentary and our enemy is very cunning with plenty of resource. The young and able that are open to new ideas are being systematically marginalized using cheap drug to numb the mind and encouraged to leave the homeland. No matter, the planes and advanced weapons did not deter our ancestors and surely illiterate and not more than a thousand Woyane diehards are not going to make us flinch from our destiny of making sure our country take its deserved place as the leader of all Black people.
Finally here is a beautiful and timely poem from a play written by Ato Yoftahe Negus while in exile in the Sudan as quoted by Ato Berhanu Zewde. You will find information on Ato Berhanu’s book at the end of this article.

Bahru Zewde-The Ethiopian Intelegencia and the Italio Ethiopian War, 1935-1941 (The International journal of African Historical Studious, vol. 26, No. 2(1993.)
Richard Pankhurst –The Ethiopians- A History. (Blackwell Publishers USA 1998, pp238-239)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yekatit_12#cite_ref-7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodolfo_Graziani

At the time, I had no idea that Achebe was inches away from death. Also my hunch tells me that I must have been the last to have the honor of quoting this immortal African oracle before he enjoyed his last breath on this planet.

I bid him farewell paraphrasing from his own poignant words employed during a great funeral of a noble warrior called Ezeudu in “Things Fall Apart”pg 86.

So I say, “Achebe! If you had been like those mundane African “scholars” in your last life, I would have asked you to be an extra-ordinary scholar when you come back again. But you were already extra-ordinary. If you had been a coward like those selfish African “intellectuals” who would rather stick to the status quo and live off their “ignorant” people, I would have asked you to bring the courage of conviction in your scholarship. But you were already a fearless scholar. If you had died young, I would have asked you to get a life. But you not only lived long but immortalized yourself through your monumental works. So I shall ask you to come again the way you came before. If your bodily death was the death of nature, go in peace. But if a man caused it, do not allow him a moment’s rest.”

An Ethiopian social and political commentator
Email;kiflukam@yahoo.com

In past several years many authors have begun to write about EPRP’s struggle against Derg. Ms. Hiwot who spent several years in 1974 movement and speaking out is very essential to understand the failure of Ethiopian revolution. She takes the reader in emotional and very sentimental roller coaster ride behind to the secret movement. This book can be seen as an eye opener to current college young generation dormancy in politics and lack of political ideology.

Ms. Hiwot Teferra grew up in Harar and went at Medhane Alem high school. Her political activity started in grade eleven as elected class representative to the Student Council. She was the only female representative in the Council. The author tells us, in those early years, she had access to variety of reading materials outside the school system, and she also often went to movies on weekends. This outside of school exposure might have enlightened her to the segment of progressive group of Ethiopian society. Although her health was in very terrible shape since her childhood, she managed to join Haile Selassie University in 1972 at age eighteen. During her college year, she was recruited to secret political study group formed by former Mechanical Engineering university student and later Shimeles Habte High School teacher Getachew Maru. Getachew was the main organizer of study circles in the cities and provinces. Ultimate this study circle became large network and changed to clandestine political organization called itself Abyot. Finally Abyot merged with other radical organization Democracia group later known as EPRP. The official organ of the EPRP has been “Democracia,” and that of Abyot,” Abyot. The Secretary General of the EPRP was Berhanemeskel Redda. He was a well known and respected leader in Haile Selassie University Student movement since the sixties. The aim both organizations were to establish Socialist System within Ethiopia.

As an active participant in Abyot organization study circle, Hiwot developed her revolutionary awareness to Marxism-Leninism, Mao theories as guiding ideology to change the world social order. She was caught between the dream of these theories and reality of the existing Ethiopian political situation. Her romantic encounter with 1974 Ethiopia Revolution and the idealization and love of EPRP bring her story in special way, to say the least; it is a human will and endurance. For several years the EPRP underground movement leader’s names largely hidden from the most of its own members. The method of struggle/tactics of the Party’s became unquestionable. Members had to accept the clandestine Party order without asking critical questions. The reason for this is the rule and the regulation of the party, top—down order, not participatory, etc.. According the her account, the two founders of the party Berhanemeskale Redda and Getachew Maru raised several political issues against the party stands. She stated they were against the main EPRP’s policy of conducting urban guerrilla warfare and not accepting the Derg call for a united front. In addition they did not favor EPRP’s position calling for establishment of a provisional people’s government. This caused them to be expelled from the party. She states that “The “Yebelay Akalat” came to our meeting a few days later…….The talk centered on the Party’s new policy: the need staging urban armed struggle… The justification was that the “objective conditions” of the country had changed and that the party had to defend itself…They said that Ha and Le (i.e. Berhanemeskale and Getacheu) were expelled for disciplinary reasons (p205-206)”. Berhanemeskael left the city to begin rural armed struggle in northern Shoa later captured by Derg and killed. Getachew Maru was detained by EPRP’s defense squad in the city of Addis Ababa.

The author also brings out in length why the two expelled comrades choose those stands, and how the Derg subsequently crushed out EPRP’s urban structures. During this decisive hour, she said “Thirteen houses were raid last night. One of them was the house comrade (i.e. Getachew) has been detained in. When the comrades heard the soldiers knocking at the gate, Getachew told the squad leader they should escape. The squad leader refused….Getachew hit the comrade’s arm with karate and when the pistol fell on the floor, he jumped out of the window. The squad leader picked up the pistol and followed him shot him dead” (page 268). The book continues on other account on the same subject. It states “Squad member…and his colleagues gave a statement during interrogation saying that Getachew was not shot dead. They beat him to death with club….We beat a comrade like Getachew Maru to death. We didn’t even have respect to a founding member such as him” (Page 275). It was shocking account. Dependent for the most part on secondary sources, I assume her notes add some true story to his unfortunate death by EPRP hand not by Derg, nor is it entirely free of factual errors is remain as question mark.

The author wrote in detail particularly on Getachew Maru’s role pre and during 1974 revolution period. She loved him dearly as her boyfriend and comrade. She described him as genuine revolutionary, very serious and disciplined, believe in open free discussion to resolve political issues. He was valedictorian student prior joining the university and he continued to be outstanding student in the University. He was well read on communist and socialist theories. Although through out the book, the author shows extreme caution not to fault EPRP, probably due to her love of the party. Reading this book, tells clearly that the political turmoil that created a faction within the EPRP, the debilitating conflict with Mesion and other radical organizations was tragic for young Ethiopians revolutionaries. The harsh methods used to quash dissent within the party, the party major setbacks, and unsuccessful regrouping efforts in cities are also described in this book. The author attempts to uncover her defiance against the military government, and unimaginable price paid by Ethiopian people, and a commitment to serve her party is clearly stated. The author’s observation to some extent is similar to others. Urban armed struggle was intended to conduct as a limited self-defense in the cities but it spontaneously changed to urban style war to defeat the Derg. Hiwot has made an important contribution to the history of unfinished Ethiopian politics. Enjoy the reading!
Ewnetu Sime

President Ernest Bai of Sierra Leone, President Macky Sall of Senegal, President Joyce Banda of Malawi and Prime Minister José Maria Pereira Neves of Cape Verde are set to attend the meeting March 28.

“The United States has strong partnerships with these countries based on shared democratic values and shared interests,” Carney said in a statement. “The five leaders will discuss strengthening democratic institutions across sub-Saharan Africa, and building on Africa’s democratic progress to generate increased economic opportunities and expanded trade and investment.

“The visit of these four leaders underscores the strategic importance the President places on building partnerships and substantive engagement with sub-Saharan Africa, and our commitment to working with strong and emerging African democracies.”

Following the presidential election in late December 2007 and the Kenya Electoral Commission’s hurried declaration of incumbent President Mwai Kibaki as the winner, supporters of opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga in the Orange Democratic Movement alleged widespread electoral fraud and irregularities. For nearly two months following that election, ethnic violence and strife in Kenya raged resulting in more than 1200 deaths, 3,500 injuries, and the displacement of over 350,000 persons and destruction of over 100,000 properties.

In March 2011, Uhuru Kenyatta was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on various counts of crimes against humanity arising from the post-election violence. The details of the ICC charges against Kenyatta and other defendants are set forth in exhaustive detail in a 10-count indictment.Kenyatta allegedly conspired, planned, financed, and coordinated violence against the supporters of Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement. He allegedly “controlled the Mungiki organization” and directed the commission of murders, deportations, rapes, persecutions, and other inhumane acts against civilians in the towns of Kibera, Kisumu, Naivasha, and Nakuru. Kenyatta’s trial is scheduled to start at The Hague on July 9. Kenyatta’s election running mate and vice president-elect William Ruto as well as other top Kenyan officials are part of different ICC cases. Ruto’s trial has been postponed to May 28.

Kenyatta and Ruto are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Kenyatta’s lawyer Steven Kay claimed the ICC charges were “determined on false evidence, evidence that was concealed from the defense and the facts underlying the charges have been put utterly and fully in doubt.”

U.S. efforts to ensure free and fair elections in Kenya after 2008

The U.S. was among the first nations to recognize the validity of Kenya’s 2007 presidential election. At the time, U.S. State Department Spokesman Robert McInturff announced, “The United States congratulates the winners and is calling for calm, and for Kenyans to abide by the results declared by the election commission. We support the commission’s decision.” But U.S. validation of that election was completely unwarranted since there was substantial credible evidence of rampant electoral fraud and vote rigging in favor of Kibaki and considerable doubt about the neutrality and integrity of the Kenya Electoral Commission.

Over the past two years, the U.S. has made significant investments to promote free and fair elections in Kenya and prevent a repetition of the 2007 violence. According to the U.S. State Department, “since 2010, the U.S. Government has contributed more than $35 million to support electoral reform, civic education, and elections preparation in Kenya. In addition, since 2008, we have provided more than $90 million to support constitutional reform, conflict mitigation, civil society strengthening, and youth leadership and empowerment, all of which contribute significantly to the goal of free, fair, and peaceful elections in Kenya.”

Obama’s defining moment in Africa?

The March 2013 presidential election in which Kenyatta won by a razor thin margin of 50.7 percent is not entirely free of controversy. Raila Odinga, who received about 43 percent of the votes, has rejected the outcome of the election and filed action in court alleging collusion between the Kenyatta and the electoral commission, not unlike what happened in 2007. This time around, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry offered only half-hearted congratulations and assurances to the people of Kenya and applauded the fortitude of those who counted the ballots. But his congratulatory statement belied an apparent disappointment as manifested in his omission of the names of the election victors. “On behalf of the United States of America, I want to congratulate the people of Kenya for voting peacefully on March 4 and all those elected to office… I am inspired by the overwhelming desire of Kenyans to peacefully make their voices heard… We … will continue to be a strong friend and ally of the Kenyan people.”

Prior to the election, it seemed President Obama and his top African policy man Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson were playing a bit of the old “good cop, bad cop” routine. President Obama in a special video message to the people of Kenya said that though he is proud of his Kenyan heritage “the choice of who will lead Kenya is up to the Kenyan people. The United States does not endorse any candidate for office…” He assured Kenyans that they “will continue to have a strong friend and partner in the United States of America.” But Johnnie Carson who was also a former U.S. ambassador to Kenya, was more blunt in hinting to Kenyans that their “choices have consequences”. Carson hectored Kenyans that they “should be thoughtful about those they choose to be leaders, the impact their choices would have on their country, region or global community.” Does that mean electing ICC suspects in crimes against humanity could bring about crippling sanctions?

What is good for the goose is good for the gander?

Now that Kenyatta and Ruto are elected, will the U.S. do what it did with Omar al-Bashir of the Sudan, another notorious suspect indicted by the ICC? Or will Kenyatta and his government receive special dispensation from sanctions and other penalties?

Carson argued that Kenya and the Sudan are two different situations. “I don’t want to make a comparison with Sudan in its totality because Sudan is a special case in many ways.” What makes Bashir and Sudan different, according to Carson, is the fact that Sudan is on the list of countries that support terrorism and Bashir and his co-defendants are under indictment for the genocide in Darfur. Since “none of that applies to Kenya,” according to Carson, it appears the U.S. will follow a different policy.

U.S. Secretary of State Kerry seemed to provide a more direct response in his “congratulatory” statement in explaining why Kenya will get special treatment. “Kenya has been one of America’s strongest and most enduring partners in Africa… and [the U.S] will continue to be a strong friend and ally of the Kenyan people.” That is diplomatese for “we will continue with business as usual in Kenya” come hell or high water at the ICC. Carson’s predecessor, Jendayi Frazer, cut to the chase: “Kenyatta knows that he needs the United States, and the United States knows it needs Kenya… And so I suspect that while it might be awkward, there won’t be a significant change in our policy stances toward Kenya or theirs toward us.”

A double standard of U.S. human rights policy in Africa?

It seems the U.S. has a double standard of human rights policy in Africa. One for those the U.S. does not like such as Bashir and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, and another for those it likes like the late Meles Zenawi, Paul Kagame, Yuweri Museveni and now Uhuru Kenyatta.

Following Bashir’s ICC indictment in 2009, Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, demanded his arrest and prosecution: “The people of Sudan have suffered too much for too long, and an end to their anguish will not come easily. Those who committed atrocities in Sudan, including genocide, should be brought to justice.” Just before her resignation last month, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton urged: “Governments and individuals who either conduct or condone atrocities of any kind, as we have seen year after year in Sudan, have to be held accountable.” The U.S. has frozen the assets of individuals and businesses allegedly controlled by Mugabe’s henchmen because the “Mugabe regime rules through politically motivated violence and intimidation and has triggered the collapse of the rule of law in Zimbabwe.”

Legend has it that President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said of Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza that “Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch.” Despite lofty rhetoric in support of the advancement of democracy and protection of human rights in Africa, the United States continues to subsidize and coddle African dictatorships that are as bad as or even worse than Mugabe’s. The U.S. currently provides substantial economic aid, loans, technical and security assistance to the repressive regimes in Ethiopia, Congo (DRC), Uganda, Rwanda and others. None of these countries hold free elections, allow the operation of an independent press or free expression or abide by the rule of law. All of them are corrupt to the core, keep thousands of political prisoners, use torture and ruthlessly persecute their opposition.

No case of double standard in U.S. human rights policy in Africa is more instructive than Equatorial Guinea where Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been in power since 1979. Teodoro Obiang is said to make Robert Mugabe “seem stable and benign”. The U.S. maintains excellent relations with Teodoro Obiang because of vast oil reserves in Equatorial Guinea. But all of the oil revenues are looted by Obiang and his cronies. In 2011, the U.S. brought legal action in federal court against Teodoro Obiang’s son Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue to seize corruptly obtained assets including a $40 million estate in Malibu, California overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a luxury plane and super-sports cars worth millions of dollars. In describing the seizure action, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer crowed, “We are sending the message loud and clear: the United States will not be a hiding place for the ill-gotten riches of the world’s corrupt leaders.” (Ironically, U.S. law requires the U.S. to return any assets or proceeds from an asset forfeiture court action to the government from which it was stolen. In other words, the assets or proceeds from the forfeiture action against son Teodoro Nguema Obiang will eventually be returned to father Teodoro Obiang Nguema!!!)

But the U.S. has not touched any of the other African Ali Babas and their forty dozen thieving cronies who have stolen billions and stashed their cash in U.S. and other banks. For instance, Global Financial Integrity reported in 2011 reported that “Ethiopia, which has a per-capita GDP of just US$365, lost US$11.7 billion to illicit financial outflows between 2000 and 2009. In 2009, illicit money leaving the economy totaled US$3.26 billion, which is double the amount in each of the two previous years…” Is there really any one wonder who in Ethiopia has the ability to amass such wealth or “illicitly” ship it out of the country and where much of that cash is stashed? Suffice it to say that the dictators in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda… may be kleptocrats, criminals against humanity, genociders, election thieves, torturers, abusers of power… , but they are OUR kleptocrats, criminals against humanity…”

Does the Obama Administration have a (African) human rights policy?

If anyone is searching for the Obama Administration’s global or African human rights policy, s/he may (or may not) find it in the recent statements of Michael Posner, the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the United States. Posner said American human rights policy is based on “principled engagement”: “We are going to go to the United Nations and join the Human Rights Council and we’re going to be part of iteven though we recognize it doesn’t work… We’re going to engage with governments that are allies but we are also going to engage with governments with tough relationships and human rights are going to be part of those discussions.” Second, the U.S. will follow “a single standard for human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and it applies to all including ourselves…” Third, consistent with President “Obama’s personality”, the Administration believes “change occurs from within and so a lot of the emphasis… [will be] on how we can help local actors, change agents, civil society, labor activists, religious leaders trying to change their societies from within and amplify their own voices and give them the support they need…” But does “engagement” of African dictators mean sharing a cozy bed with them so that they can suck at the teats of American taxpayers to satisfy their insatiable aid addiction?

Since 2008, the U.S. Government has spent $125 million to support electoral reform, civic education, constitutional reform, conflict mitigation, civil society strengthening, and youth leadership and empowerment for free democratic elections in Kenya. But just north of the Kenyan border in Ethiopia, how much has the U.S. invested to support electoral reform, civic education, civil society strengthening, etc., has the U.S. invested? (That is actually a trick question. Civil society institutions are illegal in Ethiopia and no electoral reform is needed where the ruling party wins elections by 99.6 percent.)

In May 2010 after Meles Zenawi’s party won 99.6 percent of the seats in parliament, the White House issued a Statement expressing “concern that international observers found that the elections fell short of international commitments”; but the statement unambiguously affirmed that “we will work diligently with Ethiopia to ensure that strengthened democratic institutions and open political dialogue become a reality for the Ethiopian people.” To paraphrase William Buckley, “I won’t insult the intelligence of the White House by suggesting that they really do believe the statement they had issued.”

“There’s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain…”

There is a great moral irony in the Obama Administration’s human rights policy in Africa. The President seems to believe that he is moving the African human rights agenda forward while appearing to be backsliding metaphorically similar to Michael Jackson’s “Moonwalk” dance. My humble personal view, (with all due respect to President Obama and his office and mindful of my own full support for his election in 2008 and re-election in 2012), is that President Obama needs to straight walk his human rights talk, not “moonwalk” it. I feel he does not have the confidence in the power of American ideals that I have as a naïve academician and lawyer. He is in an extraordinary historical position in world history as a person of color to advance American ideals in convincing and creative ways. But it seems to me that he has chosen to stand his ground on expediency with little demonstrated faith in American ideals. He now finds himself on a tightrope of moral ambiguity, which impels his hand to choose expediency over consistency of ideals and principles every time he deals with African dictators. He has chosen the creed of realpolitik at a time in global history when the common man and woman stand their ground on principle and ideals of human dignity.

In the “Arab Spring”, ordinary Tunisians, Egyptians, Syrians, Yemeni’s and others who have always faced privation, oppression, corruption and destitution rose up and stood their ground on the principle of human dignity and the rights of Man and Woman. They wanted basic human dignity more than loaves of bread. It is true that one cannot eat dignity like bread nor drink it like milk. But dignity is like oxygen. It is the essence of human existence. If one cannot breathe, one can neither eat nor drink. Human beings without dignity merely exist like the beasts of the wilderness — aimless, purposeless, meaningless, desultory, fearful and permanently insecure.

It seems to me President Obama has crossed over from the strength of American ideals to the weakness of political expediency. He has chosen to overlook and thereby excuse the cruelty and inhumanity of Africa’s ruthless dictators, their bottomless corruption and their endless crimes against humanity. He says he will “engage” African dictators on human rights. Some “engagement” it is to wine, dine and lionize them as America’s trade partners and “partners on the war on terror”! But the real terror is committed by these dictators on their own people every day as they smash and trash religious liberties, steal elections, jail journalists, shutter newspapers, fill their jails with political prisoners and so on. “Engagement” of African dictators for the sake of the war on terror and oil has created a monstrous moral complacency which tolerates and justifies the ends of evil for the illusion of good.

In his first inaugural speech, President Obama served notice to the world’s dictators: “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” In July 2009, in Ghana, President Obama told Africa’s “strongmen” they are on the wrong side of history: “History offers a clear verdict: governments that respect the will of their own people are more prosperous, more stable, and more successful than governments that do not…. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny, and now is the time for it to end… Make no mistake: history is on the side of these brave Africans [citizens and their communities driving change], and not with those who use coups or change Constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.”

Senator Obama before becoming president said: “[Reinhold Niebuhr] is one of my favorite philosophers. I take away [from his works] the compelling idea that there’s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn’t use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away … the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard.”

Perhaps President Obama has forgotten his philosophical roots. But Niebuhr’s philosophy has special relevance in dealing with not only the evils of communist totalitarianism but also the evils of dictatorships, criminals against humanity, kleptocrats, abusers of power and genociders in Africa today. I wish to remind President Obama of his words in his first inauguration speech: “Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake.”

If I had a chance to have a word or two with President Obama, I would ask him eight naïve questions:

1) On which “side of history” are you?

2) If “Africa does not need strongmen”, why does America need them?

3) Why does America support governments that “do not respect the will of their own people” and as a direct result have made their countries failed states (not “prosperous, successful and stable ones”)?

4) Why can’t you help ordinary Africans “end tyranny” in the continent?

5) When will you stop “moonwalking” your human rights talk and actually straight walk your eloquent talk in Africa?

6) What are you prepared to do in the next four years about the “serious evil” of dictatorship, corruption and abuse of power in Africa and stop using the war on terror and oil as an excuse for “cynicism and inaction” ?

7) Do you think the people of Africa will render a “verdict” in your favor (assuming you care)?

8) When will you start living up to the “ideals that light up the world” and give up “expedience”?

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

Not really when you consider that we celebrated the victory at the battle of Adwa a few weeks back and that was the mother of all wars that made it clear this African country is not for sale. We might not have contributed much to the industrial revolution but we did manage to rely on our own ingenuity to follow along and do things our own way. You might not believe this but there was a time when Ethiopians actually used to be involved in making stuff from scratch. You think I am making things up don’t you? I don’t blame you because today you cannot even come up with one name that stands out as an Ethiopian entrepreneur, go getter or someone that shines like the north star based solely on his own sweat and blood.

The things that were accomplished by earlier Ethiopians are all around us but we don’t see them. All the things the current government brags about have their roots in the yester years they so much condemn and brush off. I don’t know where to start but here we go. Let us start with hospitals. Bella Haile Selassie (Bella), Leelt Tshay (armed Forces), Paulos, Haile Selassie Hospital (Yekati 12), Balcha, Ghandi, Tikur Anbessa, Ras Desta, Minilik etc. The vast majority of the doctors were Ethiopians, the hospitals were clean, well equipped and you don’t even have to take your own sheets and blankets.

How about Hotels? Ethiopia, Ghion, Wabi Shebele, Ras, Bekele Molla were the premier destinations. They were owned and operated by Ethiopians. When it comes to Ethiopian Airlines the Pilots were proud Ethiopians and the technicians were the envy of Africa. The Imperial government built the Airlines from scratch. Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a partner until we were able to train and staff our own and we did manage to do that.

If we talk about agriculture we did manage to establish the Sugar estates of Metehara and Wonji not to mention Setit Humera, the wheat and corn fields of Arsi, the fiber plants of Sidama and the cotton fields of Awash Valley are testimonial to our ingenuity. The sixties saw the emergence of the new educated Ethiopians that raised the bar of excellence.

The establishment of Africa Hall was how Africans showed respect to our Emperor and our old history when they choose Addis Abeba as the head quarter for the continent. The University at sadist Kilo was a gift to his people by the Emperor and it was a spectacular success. All the teachers were highly educated Ethiopians and the graduates were the pride of our country.

Why am I discussing such subject today? It is because two items reported by the media caught my eye a few days back. Both are an assault on our sovereignty and our ability to grow our own economy by Ethiopians for Ethiopians. Heineken a Dutch conglomerate is building the biggest brewery in Ethiopia and Guangdong Chuan Hui Group from China is given 41,000 Sq. meter of land to construct hotel and industrial complex. The way the story is being reported we should be jumping with joy. What could be better than those two benevolent multi nationals investing so much in our poor destitute country?

Is that how we should look at it? Is there another aspect to this story? In order to see the pros and con of the question posed In front of us it would have been nice if there has been a nationwide discussion to see if the plan makes sense when it comes to our homeland. That is how smart decisions are made. Open and vibrant nationwide discussion regarding such important issues that impact our national economy and our people’s well-being assures a better outcome.

That usually is not the case in our country. There are no checks and balances. There is no independent legislative body and the judiciary is a government tool. A single party the TPLF controls all and everything in the country. Our political leaders have no faith in the ability of the people to know what is good for them. That is why they approach their job as being a ‘baby sitter’ and are constantly fretting about what the people hear and read. Decisions are made by a few TPLF politburo members to be approved by the rubber stamp Parliament. Anyone that questions such a decision is branded as enemy of the people and dealt with.

Let us start with our beer story. You know beer is nothing but European Tella. It is bottled fancy and costs a little bit more. How long ago do you think we acquired the idea of brewing for a larger crowd? Eighty years ago my friend! St George brewery was started in 1922. Meta Abo Brewery was founded in 1963. Meta Abo was a partnership between government and private capital and started with a base capital of 2million Birr. The military junta nationalized both and the current TPLF Woyane regime inherited them with the rest of Ethiopia. What do you think these successive regimes did with our own old industry and land? Did they build on what was started? Did they reinvest the profit to make the enterprises bigger and better? Did they run our industries, enterprises and farms in a responsible and judicious manner?

Both St. George and Meta Abo are no more Ethiopian enterprises. BGI (an internationally acclaimed Brewing Company that operates in many countries.??) bought St George in 1998 for US 10 million ‘through foreign direct investment’(??) Meta Ambo was sold to Diego Industries-a British congalmorate for US 225 million. Heineken a Dutch multi-national acquired 18% of Bedele and Harar breweries for US 163 million in 2011. Raya Brewery an idea that has not materialized yet but promoted by Lt. General Tsadkan W.Tensai and investors such as Yemane (Jamaica) Kidane and other TPLF officials sold 25% interest to BGI for 650 million Br and invited Brewtech a German company as a partner.

As you can see the TPLF regime collected close to US 400 million from the sale of our home grown breweries. By all imagination that is chump change when you consider the ownership is lost and the profit for eternity belongs to the foreigners. Is this a good way to grow a national economy? Has it been done before or is this another of that failed ‘revolutionary democracy’ pipe dream?

BGI, Diego or Heineken are investing in our country to realize profit for their shareholders. What is our country getting out of this? The beer manufacturing business is a highly automated enterprise so it is not about job creation. Most if not all of the high paying managerial jobs will be occupied by the parent company. The malt, barley and other ingredients are imported and are considered a trade secret. We all know about creative accounting thus I am sure our country does not even benefit from the profit because the bookkeeping is rigged to minimize taxes.

Let us not even think of technology transfer since we cannot learn what we have already mastered. Remember we have been brewing beer since 1922. I will tell you what we got out of this unequal relationship. We as a people got royally screwed. The TPLF party officials got paid plenty for their pimping effort. The regime in its insatiable appetite for foreign currency bought a few months of respite to purchase oil, wheat, cooking oil etc. to postpone its inevitable collapse.
There are certain things we know how a growing economy with a nationalist government operates. We have seen how China, India, Malaysia, Brazil and other emerging economies handled their growth potential. They use what is known as subsidy to protect their infant industries from foreign predators. They allowed investment where technology transfer will bring benefit to their people but shielded their home grown industries from foreign competition.

Why do you think the TPLF bosses are interested in selling our sovereignty? I doubt it is because they are anti-Ethiopian even though the late evil PM used to suffer from inferiority complex when it comes to central highlanders. I believe it is because of their ‘get rich quick’ philosophy. They are in a hurry to accumulate before their Ponzi scheme comes crashing down. According to the UN billions of dollars are leaving our country. They are buying properties in the US and Europe, sending their children to expensive schools abroad and vacationing in exotic places with the money they steal from our country.

What are we the victims doing about this rape and pillage of our resources and the degradation of our national pride? I am afraid other than insistently talking there is nothing more most of us are doing about it. Why do you think that is so? I could think of a few things but ignorance comes to mind first and foremost. Our ignorance prevents us from connecting the dots and looking at the bigger picture. Our misplaced pride does not allow us to listen to others and learn to be able to formulate better solutions to our problems.

Today we have a population that is not familiar with its history. Sixty four percent (64%) of our people are under twenty five years old while twenty nine percent (29%) are under the age of 54 years. We have a toxic population on our hands. Those under twenty five grew up under the Woyane regime where being an Ethiopian is taken as a liability. While those under fifty four are the result of the Derge era of undermining religion, family, and stability. Ninety three (93%) of our population is a fertile ground for evil Woyane to plant shame, doubt and insecurity about being Ethiopian.

It is this population that is sitting on the side and cheering the selling of their country. For most people what bothers them is not what is lost but they spend endless energy to get a piece of the action. In Ethiopia stealing, lying, being part of a criminal enterprise is encouraged by the regime. When the recently dead Meles Zenawi said ‘even being a thief requires being smart’ he was giving a green light to his cadres and the population at large. The so called Diaspora is the number one enabler of the criminal Woyane machine. They use their new found riches to bribe Woyane so they could acquire stolen land to build their flimsy unsustainable condominiums and spend endless nights worrying if the next highest bidder will in turn take it away in broad day light.

This is exactly the reason we are having a problem forming a united front to get rid of this cancerous body in our midst. This is the reason even in exile we are unable to form a democratic, inclusive and worthy association that will benefit the many. The ninety three percent are in need of education in civic affairs and a dose of what it means to love your neighbor as you would love yourself.

May be it is the lords way of teaching us little humility and humbleness as he did with the children of Israel when he left them to wonder for forty years in the wilderness so they know what is in their heart. It is a choice we have-to be humble or perish due to pride.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201107051138.html?page=2

http://www.diageo.com/en-ie/newsmedia/pages/resource.aspx?resourceid=1168

http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2013/03/07/heineken-to-build-ethiopias-biggest-beer-factory/#axzz2MxqCwlH1

http://allafrica.com/stories/201107051138.html

The specificity of this claim is not intended to take away the importance of other international initiatives of the post-Cold War World, such as environmental protection and sustainable development, which started with the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). In June 2012, its successor platform the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development is guiding national international actions.

One can boldly say that the developing world, which has been promised the rewards and dividends of a world without the Cold War and was thus anticipatory got the MDG through its successful negotiations with its partners. This has become an important compact between the technology and financial rich north, which pledged to provide increased international aid. The resource rich south committed itself to focus on building its human and institutional capacities with the goal of improving the lives of its people as part of the global measures required for the building a peaceful and prosperous world.

Competitive spirit MDG has unleashed and the way forward

As a matter of fact, the MDGs have sparked competitive spirit among developing countries. This has created favorable conditions for realization of their objectives. The June 2012 report to the Secretary-General by the UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda acknowledges the MDG as having “brought an inspirational vision together with set of concrete and time-bound goals and targets that could be monitored by statistically robust indicators.”

In other words, these have facilitated achievement of important social goals such as poverty reduction, expanding schools, fighting infant mortality and making sanitation and drinking water a reality for sizable populations around the world.

In assessing the gains made on annual basis by the MDG agenda, as required by a decision of the General Assembly, in his 2012 report UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underlined the achievement of several milestones. He elaborated that by pointing out:

“The target of reducing extreme poverty by half has been reached five years ahead of the 2015 deadline, as has the target of halving the proportion of people who lack dependable access to improved sources of drinking water. Conditions for more than 200 million people living in slums have been ameliorated—double the 2020 target. Primary school enrolment of girls equalled that of boys, and we have seen accelerating progress in reducing child and maternal mortality.”
As important as these successes are, however, they do not represent the end of the road. While with the remaining few years, more targets still need to be achieved, already the report stresses the need to see beyond 2015. A few of the indicates to that are the remaining tasks and challenges ahead in such areas as:

(a) Vulnerable employment has decreased only marginally over twenty years,
(b) Decreases in maternal mortality are far from the 2015 target,
(c) Use of improved sources of water remains lower in rural areas,
(d) Hunger remains a global challenge,
(e) The number of people living in slums continues to grow, and
(f) Gender equality and women’s empowerment are key
As to the successor agenda, i.e., after 2015, the above mentioned report submitted by the team of the Secretary-General proposes the new agenda to have four key dimensions:

◙ Inclusive social development;

◙ Inclusive economic development;

◙ Environmental sustainability; and

◙ Peace and security

This is justified by the need to tightly link the three fundamental principles of – human rights, equality and sustainability – with the key goals of environmental sustainability, inclusive social development, inclusive economic development and peace and security to the notion of “freedom from want” for present and future generations. This is expected to build on the three existing pillars of the sustainable development concept – economic, social and environmental.

The debates and consultations

The conversations on the post 2015 successor arrangement have started in earnest by the initiative taken by the Secretary-General, making available the Task Team’s report to the international community and civil societies. There have also been consultations and debates within government circles and civil society groups.

While there is no doubt that the current approach must continue, perhaps the major haggling point could be what some consider either have not been adequately emphasized or are totally lacking in the present MDG agenda. In other words, what would be included or taken out of the current MDG is a point of the negotiations, when they begin in earnest.

For now, for instance, the November 23, 2012 debate by the members of the Lords in British parliament has brought out some of the concerns and those issues they want to see included.

Accordingly, there were some members who strongly felt that development must mean more than simply reducing poverty. In that regard, there was call for conflict prevention to precede development in any country as the essential condition for peace. The view that sees the MDG as having created “global awareness of the interrelated and multi-dimensional nature of poverty” seems to want to see the post-2015 mechanism “to be grounded in human rights, reducing inequality and ensuring environmental sustainability, and the process has to be inclusive. It must be drawn up after a rigorous process of consultation and commitment to the concept of genuine partnership.”

On the other hand, there was also the view advocating the fight against corruption, support for political and civil liberties, “especially but not only for women, and access to public health for all-health that enfolds all diseases” to be highlighted.

While different views were aired, in the end the government spokesperson in the debate summed up to the members, assuring them of the UK’s commitment to do everything “to deliver a bold, useful and realistic post-2015 framework that will drive poverty reduction and deliver real improvements in the lives of generations to come.”

Similarly, many civil society groups, including Beyond 2015, which coalesces 570 civil society organisations in over 95 countries, are also interested in seeing the integration of the various outcomes of international conferences, in particular the Rio + 20 and its sustainable development goals into the post-2015 successor vision. For them, its importance lies in highlighting the nexus between environment and poverty and the protection of human rights.

As in the case of many civil society groups in different countries, Kepa, the civil society coalition in Finland also shares the view that the preparation of the goals for the post-2015 vision should be “fair, equitable and iclusive manner at UN and national levels.”

Kepa also stressed the need for inclusion of environmental, human rights and corporate responsibility issues in the new goals.

It further has called for correction in the hitherto MDG course. In that regard, it urged the new development goals to offer solutions to the structural problems of the global economy, the climate crisis and on the inequality front. In that respect, it stated:

“The post-MDG goals involve plenty of open questions. A fundamental question is whether we should formulate realistic goals or a general declaration which does not oblige governments to take concrete action and may therefore remain as mere rhetoric within the UN corridors. Secondly, we must decide whether the agreement should be based on unanimity or whether it is also possible to include themes that are not endorsed by everyone. A third key question is how to promote sustainable use of the environment and socially sustainable development in such a way that neither one will be overshadowed by the other.”
While the Finnish government position is not yet out, in a statement which appeared on the WIDERAngle in February 2013, Minister of International Development Cooperation Heidi Hautala stressed that the new set of goals would need to be built built both on the strengths and weaknesses of the present MDGs.

She also emphasized her preference to see problems addressed not “in separate silos, but as questions that are irreversibly interconnected.”

Much in the same manner as others, the Finnish minister made reference to the global conversations on the inclusion of a fourth pillar to the international development agenda: peace and security, without giving any indication whether she is in favor of it.

In terms of position, she indicated that she would like to see in the MDG successor arrangement the inclusion of the good governance, democracy, and rule of law goals, issues very close to her heart.

Africa & the MDG consultations

From the few papers I have scanned so far, there are consultations within Africa about the post-2015 agenda. The AU has indicated that to date two sub-regional consultative meetings have taken place, one in Mombasa last October and the other in December in Dakar. The priority issues identified by these meetings are to be reviewed at a subsequent regional consultation planned for this month. It is on that basis, the final outcome document is finalized Africa’s Common Position on the post 2015 development agenda.

There already are criticisms by some African observers of the consultation processes and whether they were productive. One observer considered it unfocussed. Early on, the AU, through NEPAD, has expressed the view that serious concerns still remain in attaining the MDGs, indicating that this is due to the region having the highest proportion of people living in extreme poverty and many of the failed states that have hardly registered any progress in implementing the MDGs.

CAUTION: What agendas & safeguards in their implementation?

Overall, there is strong convergence of views on the need for post-2015 agenda. Whether this would crystallize the concrete issues with strong political support, some of which have already been broached by different parties is to be seen. Rightly, the UN Task Team rightly points out that the immediate challenge is reaching consensus on the contours of an agenda.

Extensive consultations and negotiations could be foreseen regarding the peace and security dimension. There would be some need for clarity of views and a number of safeguards. Certainly, there cannot be development without peace nor peace without development.

The moment the peace and security agenda becomes one of the major pillars or separate cluster, or goal, it would tempt some members of the international community to give it the highest priority. Authoritarian countries also get the opportunity to hijack the process to facilitate their unaccountable governance. The result is that the development aspect would face the risk of being accorded secondary importance, or ordinary people would have no voice in how their life should be transformed.

Why is it important to raise such concern? Especially, those countries that want human rights, the rule of law, democratic governance, the fight against corruption to become important elements of the post-MDG agenda would surprise themselves in seeing again how much authoritarian regimes would prove crafty in undermining them.

The peace and security agenda designed to prevent internal conflicts, ward off terrorism and extremism could be exploited to silence domestic opposition and muzzle the media, if Ethiopia’s experience is to offer any useful lessons.

Exploiting the situation, the Ethiopian regime elaborated its anti-terrorism and anti civil society laws. In its hands, they proved potent weapons, with the law as cover to unlawful acts. That enabled the regime to close newspapers, imprison independent journalists and silence members of the legally constituted domestic opposition. It enabled it to unleash a reign of terror on the nation. This has met huge international disapproval.

Every time delegations from the major donor countries visit Ethiopia, this blot has become a point of unproductive conversations, which could not find definitive conclusion. In the meantime, those imprisoned under these laws continue to suffer, as the nation is also continually subjected to the one truth only – the regime’s wishes and its propaganda.

In other words, the international community’s interest in fighting terrorism and extremism could be open for abuses by such regimes. In the end, such an approach that lacks adequate safeguards would once again dampen popular aspirations for equality, freedom, respect for fundamental human rights, with the prospects of democratic governance and the rule of law in those countries becoming increasingly remote.

In its report to the Secretary-General, the UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda has made reference to human rights 25 times. Nowhere in this report has it provided the safeguards, the relevance of present experiences. The question, with this linkages to human rights, what is to be done when the next dictator(s) hijack the development processes, reducing them to top down, instead of bottom up this new agenda should envision.

TE – Transforming Ethiopia

A spokesman for the regime in power in Ethiopia sought to minimize the importance of the Prince’s statement by suggesting that the Saudi Ambassador in Addis Ababa had disavowed the Prince’s statement as official policy or a position endorsed by the Saudi government. The alleged disavowal of the statement of a member of the Saudi royal family and top defense official seems curiously disingenuous after the fact. But that is understandable since “an ambassador is an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.” The regime spokesman also insinuated in fuzzy diplomatese that such inflammatory statements could result in war between Arab countries and African countries in the Nile basin.

The real possibility of a water war between countries of the upper Nile basin, and in particular Ethiopia, and Egypt and Sudan over the so-called Grand Renaissance Dam is the (white) elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about openly and earnestly at this stage. But in November 2010, the late dictator Meles Zenawi in an interview with Reuters seemed to defiantly relish the possibility of war with Egypt. With taunting, dismissive and contemptuous arrogance, Meles not only insulted the Egyptian people as hopelessly backward but bragged that he will swiftly vanquish any invading Egyptian army. “I am not worried that the Egyptians will suddenly invade Ethiopia. Nobody who has tried that has lived to tell the story. I don’t think the Egyptians will be any different and I think they know that…The Egyptians have yet to make up their minds as to whether they want to live in the 21st or the 19th century.” Meles also accused Egypt of trying to destabilize Ethiopia by supporting unnamed rebel groups which he promised to crush. Meles served the Egyptians an ultimatum to engage in “civil dialogue”: “If we address the issues around which the rebel groups are mobilized then we can neutralize them and therefore make it impossible for the Egyptians to fish in troubled waters because there won’t be any… Hopefully that should convince the Egyptians that, as direct conflict will not work, and as the indirect approach is not as effective as it used to be, the only sane option will be civil dialogue.”

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit denied Meles’ allegations and expressed amusement and amazement over Meles’ braggadocio. “I’m amazed … by the language that was used. We are not seeking war and there will not be war… The charges that Egypt… is exploiting rebel groups against the ruling regime in Ethiopia are completely devoid of truth.” Gheit may have been diplomatically deescalating the war of words, but his statement belies statements by a long line of top Egyptian leaders over the decades. President Anwar Sadat in 1978 declared, “We depend upon the Nile100 per cent in our life, so if anyone, at any moment, thinks of depriving us of our life we shall never hesitate to go to war.” Boutros Boutros Gahali, when he was the Egyptian Foreign State Minister (later U.N. Secretary General), confirmed the same sentiment when he asserted “the next war in our region will be over the water of the Nile, not politics.”

“If it comes to a crisis, we will send a jet to bomb the dam and come back in one day, simple as that.”

What will Egypt will do if Meles’ “Grand Renaissance Dam” is in fact built? “Simple.” They will use dam busters to smash and trash it.

An email from the American private security organization Stratfor released by Wikileaks citing its source as “high-level Egyptian security/intel in regular direct contact with Mubarak and Suleiman”, “If it comes to a crisis, we will send a jet to bomb the dam and come back in one day, simple as that. Or we can send our special forces in to block/sabotage the dam. But we aren’t going for the military option now. This is just contingency planning. Look back to an operation Egypt did in the mid-late 1970s, I think 1976, when Ethiopia was trying to build a large dam. We blew up the equipment while it was traveling by sea to Ethiopia. A useful case study…”

The same source further indicated that Egypt is “discussing military cooperation with Sudan” and has “a strategic pact with the Sudanese since in any crisis over the Nile, Sudan gets hit first then us.” That military cooperation includes stationing Egyptian “commandos in the Sudan for ‘worst case’ scenario on the Nile issue. Sudanese president Umar al-Bashir has agreed to allow the Egyptians to build a small airbase in Kusti to accommodate Egyptian commandos who might be sent to Ethiopia to destroy water facilities on the Blue Nile…The military option is not one that the Egyptians favor. It will be their option if everything else fails.” So far Egypt has successfully lobbied the multilateral development and other investment banks and donors to deny or cut funding for the dam and to apply political and diplomatic pressure on Ethiopia and the other upstream Nile countries. The World Bank has publicly stated it will not to fund any new projects on the Nile without Egypt’s approval.

The Grand Renaissance Dam or the grand dam (de)illusion?

All African dictators like to build big projects because it is part of the kleptocratic African “Big Man” syndrome. By undertaking “white elephant” projects (wasteful vanity projects), African dictators seek to attain greatness and amass great fortunes in life and immortality in death. Kwame Nkrumah built the Akosombo Dam on the Volta River, at the time dubbed the “largest single investment in the economic development plans of Ghana”. Mobutu sought to outdo Nkrumah by building the largest dam in Africa on the Inga Dams in western Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire) on the largest waterfalls in the world (Inga Falls). In the Ivory Coast, Félix Houphouët-Boigny built the largest church in the world, The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro, at a cost of USD$300 million. It stands empty today. Self-appointed Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa of the Central African Republic built a 500-room Hotel Intercontinental at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars while millions of his people starved. Moamar Gadhafi launched the Great Man-Made River in Libya, dubbed the world’s largest irrigation project, and proclaimed it the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Gamal Abdel Nasser built the Aswan High Dam which could be affected significantly if upstream Nile countries build new dams. Ugandan dictator Yuweri Museveni built the Bujagali dam which was completed in 2012. The backflow from that dam has submerged a huge area of cultivable and settled land forcing migration and resettlement of large numbers of people.

Meles Zenawi hoped to build the “Grand Renaissance Dam” as the mother of all dams on the African continent to outdo Nkrumah, Mobutu and Gadhafi. Like all of the African white elephants, this Dam is a vanity make-believe project partly intended to glorify Meles and magnify his international prestige while diverting attention from the endemic corruption that has consumed his regime as recently documented in a 448-page World Bank report. Meles sought to cover his bloody hands and clothe his naked dictatorships with megaprojects and veneers of progress and development. The “Grand Renaissance Dam” is the temporary name for the “Grand Meles Memorial Dam”. Meles wanted to be immortalized in that largest cement monument in the history of the African continent. To be sure, he had a “dry run” on immortality when he commissioned the construction of Gilgel Gibe III Dam on the Omo River in southern Ethiopia which has been dubbed the “largest hydroelectric plant in Africa with a power output of about 1870 Megawatt.”

The Dam and the damned

There is little doubt that IF the “Grand Renaissance Dam” is completed, it will have a significant long term impact on water supply and availability to the Sudan and Egypt. The general view among the experts is that if the dam is constructed as specified by the regime in Ethiopia, it could result in significant reduction in cultivable agricultural lands and water shortages throughout Egypt. According to Mohamed Nasr El Din Allam, the former Egyptian minster of water and irrigation, if the dam is built “Millions of people would go hungry. There would be water shortages everywhere. It’s huge.”
The regime in Ethiopia claims the depth of the Dam will be 150 meters and the water reservoir behind the Dam could be used to irrigate more than 500,000 hectares of new agricultural lands. Experts suggest that the water reservoir behind the dam could hold as much as 62bn cubic meters of water; and depending upon seasonal rainfall and the rate at which the reservoir is filled, there could be significant reductions in the flow of water to Egypt and Sudan. The environmental impact of the Dam in Ethiopia will be catastrophic.Experts believe such a dam if built will “flood 1,680 square kilometers of forest in northwest Ethiopia, near the Sudan border, and create a reservoir that is nearly twice as large as Lake Tana, Ethiopia’s largest natural lake….” The so-called tripartite committee of international experts is expected to issue its report on the potential environmental impacts of the Dam in May 2013.

The legal dimensions of the Nile water dispute

The are many knotty legal issues surrounding the treaties and agreements concluded between Britain as a colonial power and the countries in the Nile basin (Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Sudan, and Egypt) on the use of Nile water. Beginning in 1891, Britain concluded at least seven agreements on the use and control of the Nile. In the major treaties, the British included language which effectively prevented Ethiopia and other upstream countries from “construct[ing] any irrigation or other works which might sensibly modify its flow into the Nile” or its “tributaries.” For instance, the May 15, 1902 Treaty regarding the Frontiers between the Anglo- Egyptian Sudan, Ethiopia and British Eritrea, restrained “His Majesty the Emperor Menelik II, King of kings of Ethiopia” from “construct[ing] or allow[ing] to be constructed, any works across the Blue Nile, Lake Tsana or the Sobat,… except in agreement with his Britannic Majesty’s Government and the Government of the Sudan”.
The current legal and political controversy over the Nile water revolves around the 1929 Nile Waters Agreement (which guarantees disproportionately high volumes of Nile water (85 percent) to Egypt and gave Egypt the right to monitor the Nile flow in the upstream countries and veto powers on all Nile projects upstream) and the 1959 agreement between Britain and Egypt in regards to the use of waters of the River Nile for irrigation purposes which recognized “Egypt’s natural and historic rights in the waters of the Nile and its requirements of agricultural extension…”

A number of the upper-riparian states including Ethiopia, Tanzania and Burundi have rejected the validity of the 1929 Treaty and believe that they have the right to do whatever they choose with the water that flows through their boundaries (“Harmon Doctrine”). In 1964, the Government of Tanganyika openly disavowed the 1929 agreement (“Nyerere Doctrine” which asserts that a newly independent state has the right to “opt in” or selectively succeed to colonial treaties): “The Government of Tanganyika has come to the conclusion that the provisions of the 1929 Agreement purporting to apply to the countries ‘under British Administration’ are not binding on Tanganyika.” On similar grounds, Uganda and Kenya subsequently rejected that agreement. Even Sudan has challenged the allocation ratio of the water it got under that agreement.

Ethiopia’s legal position on the various colonial treaties is explored in full in Gebre Tasadik Degefu’s authoritative work, The Nile: Historical, Legal and Developmental Perspectives (2003). Gebre Tasadik challenges the validity of the treaties on the grounds that “while Ethiopia’s natural rights in a certain share of the waters in its own territory are undeniable…, no treaty has ever mentioned them. This fact would be sufficient for invalidating the binding force of those agreements, which have no counterpart in favor of Ethiopia.” He also points out significant technical issues in the treaties. He suggests that the “English version of the 1902 agreement obliged Ethiopia to seek prior accord with the united kingdom before initiating any works that might affect the discharge of the Blue Nile… The Amharic version does not oblige Ethiopia to request permission from the British Government…”

Others have argued that Ethiopia is not bound by the 1902 treaty with Britain because the “treaty never came into force as Britain did not ratify it and the Ethiopian government had rejected it in the 1950s”. Even if that treaty were valid, Britain is said to have violated its terms by “supporting and recognizing the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in violation of Article 60 of the 1902 agreement”. Technical interpretation of the relevant clauses of the 1902 treaty are also said to favor Ethiopia since that treaty “does not prohibit use of the Nile” but obliges Ethiopia “not to arrest of the Nile, which is interpreted to mean total blockage.”

The 1959 Nile Waters Agreement between Egypt and Sudan sought to give the two countries full control and utilization of Nile water by modifying certain aspects of the 1929 agreement. But that agreement completely ignored the interests of any of the upstream countries, particularly Ethiopia.

Egypt has refused to renegotiate the 84-year-old treaty and insist on the perpetual binding authority of the colonial era treaties as legal formalizations of Egypt’s historical and natural rights over the Nile water. They also insist that the international law of state succession makes the treaties made by colonial Britain binding on successor post-independence African states.

The general consensus among informed commentators is that the Nile treaties are not binding in perpetuity. They point to the inequitable elements of the various agreements on upper riparian states and the radical change in the scope of obligations under the agreements over the past eight decades to challenge the validity of the colonial era treaties.

The paramount question is not whether the Nile water dispute can be resolved in an international court of law or other tribunal but what political accommodations can be made by the basin states to equitably benefit their nations and strengthen their bonds of friendship. Equitable sharing of Nile water is necessary not only for regional stability and amity but also to meet the growing energy and food production needs of the populations of all Nile basin countries in the coming decades. There is no shortage of predictions of doom and gloom over the looming water scarcity worldwide. Over a decade ago, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan warned, “Fierce competition for fresh water may well become a source of conflict and wars in the future.” Insisting on the eternal validity and binding nature of the Nile water treaties is untenable and unreasonable.

The Nile Basin Initiative was established in 1999 to develop a scheme for the equitable distribution of water among the Nile basin countries. Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya have signed the Agreement on the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework (Entebbe Agreement). This agreement allows construction of projects that do not “significantly” affect the Nile water flow. Egypt has rejected the Agreement because it necessitates renegotiation of its share of the Nile water and surrender of its veto power guaranteed under the old agreements.

Water, water everywhere… and Meles’ “damplomacy” of brinksmanship

Whether there will be an actual “Grand Renaissance Dam” is the $5bn dollar question of the century. Because Egypt has been successful in pressuring multilateral development and investment banks not to fund the project, the regime in Ethiopia has defiantly forged ahead to fund the project itself. But is self-funding of the mother of all African dams a realistic possibility?

The regime has kept much of the details of the Dam behind smoke and mirrors. The regime claims that the dam is 14 percent complete (whatever that means) and will reach 26 percent completion by the end of 2013. When it comes online in 2015 as scheduled, the regime claims the dam will have the power generating capacity of nearly 6,000MW, much of it to be exported to the Sudan, Egypt and the Arabian peninsula.

But the whole “Grand Renaissance Dam” project is being staged in the theatre of the absurd. Is it possible to raise USD$5bn by 2015 from the people of the second poorest country in the world, the vast majority of whom live on less than USD$1? The dam is said to cost as much as the country’s total annual budget of USD$5bn. Is the largest recipient of international aid in Africa capable of raising multiple billions of dollars from its citizens for the Dam? Can a country which “lost US$11.7 billion to illicit financial outflows between 2000 and 2009” be able to undertake construction of a USD$5bn dam (unadjusted for cost overruns) on its own? According to the World Bank, Ethiopia’s “power sector alone would require $3.3 billion per year to develop” in the next decade. Can the regime in Ethiopia be able to build the largest dam in Africa and other energy projects resorting to such “desperate measures” as “musical concerts, a lottery and an SMS campaign to raise funds”? Can a country which the IMF describes as having “foreign reserves [that] have declined to under two months of import coverage” as of June 2012really be able to build the largest dam in African history? Can a country whose external debt in 2012 exceeded USD$12bn be able to build a $5bn dollar project?

The regime has forged ahead to build the “Grand Renaissance Dam” by “selling bonds” domestically and in the Ethiopian Diaspora. The regime claims to have collected USD$500 million from bond sales and “contributions” of ordinary citizens. Business and institutions have been forced to buy bonds. The regime’s Diaspora bond sales effort has been a total failure. Most Ethiopians in the Diaspora have been unwilling to bet on imaginary and speculative future earnings from operations of the dam because of the regime’s morbid secrecy and lack of transparency. They have little confidence in the regime’s capacity to guarantee their bond investments. For instance, current underpricing in power tariffs which have ranged between “$0.04-0.08 per kilowatt-hour are low by regional standards and recover only 46 percent of the costs of the utility.” That does not bode well for long term bond holders.

The regime in Ethiopia also has serious problems of cost overruns and poor project management in dam construction. For instance, the Tekeze hydroelectric dam on the Tekeze River, a Nile tributary, in northern Ethiopia was initially estimated to cost USD$224 million, but when it was completed seven years later in 2008, its cost skyrocketed to USD$360 million. How much the “Grand Renaissance Dam” will eventually cost, if built, is anybody’s guess. Regime ineptitude and mismanagement of Gilgel Gibe II on the Omo River in February 2010 resulted in a “tunnel collapse [which] closed the largest hydropower plant operating in Ethiopia, only 10 days after its inauguration.”

To add insult to injury, the Meles regime has the gall to say that it intends to sell the power from the “Grand Renaissance Dam” to the Sudan, Egypt and the Arabian peninsula once construction is complete. That is not only nonsensical but downright insane! Why would Egypt or the Sudan buy power from a dam that damns them by effectively reducing their water supply for agriculture and their own production of power?

Meles and his disciples have always known that they do not have the financial capacity to complete the Dam. They also know that actually completing the constructing the dam will be dangerous for their own survival as a regime should regional war break out. But Meles has always been a peerless grandmaster of intrigue, machination, duplicity, one-upmanship and diplomatic gamesmanship. With this Dam, he was merely pushing the envelope to the outer limits. His real aim was not the construction of dam but to use the specter of the construction of a gargantuan dam on the Nile to fabricate fear of an imminent regional water war. His price for continued regional stability, avoidance of conflict and maintenance of the status quo would be billions in loans, aid and other concessions from the international community and downstream countries.

Meles’ diplomatic strategy shrouded a clever deterrent military strategy: If Egypt goes for broke and attacks the “Grand Renaissance Dam”, Ethiopia could retaliate by attacking the Aswan dam. Meles likely believed the threat of mutual assured destruction will prevent an actual war while maintaining extremely high levels of regional tensions. By playing a game of chicken with Egypt and the Sudan, Meles hoped to strong-arm donor and development banks and wealthy countries in the region into giving him financial, political and diplomatic support. There is no question Meles would have driven on a collision course with Egypt only to swerve at the last second to avoid a fatal crash had he been in power today. It is unlikely that Meles’ disciples have the intellectual candlepower (“megawattage”) or the sheer cunning and artfulness of their master to play a game of chicken with Egypt to skillfully extract concessions.

For love of white elephants and war of the damned

Water is a source of life. War is a source of death. The water of the Nile has given life to Ethiopians, Egyptians and the people of the Nile basin countries since time immemorial. If Meles prepared for war by building his dam, his disciples shall surely inherit war. But Meles should have reflected on the words of Ethiopia’s poet laureate Tsegaye Gebremedhin before embarking on his “Grand Renaissance Dam” project: “O Nile, you are the music that restores the rhythm of existence…/ You are the irrigator that cultivate peace…/ …From my Ethiopia sacred mountains of the sun…”

Meles’ legacy could indeed be a water war of death and destruction on the Nile, but he will never have a cement monument built on the Nile to celebrate his life. Meles’ disciples would be wise to remember an old prophesy as they march headlong to build their doomsday dam on the Nile: “God gave Noah the Rainbow Sign: No more water. The fire next time!”

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

In her recent commentary in the New York Times Book Review, “Obama: Failing the African Spring?”, Dr. Helen Epstein questioned the Obama Administration for turning a blind eye to human rights violations in Africa, and particularly the persecution of Muslims in Ethiopia. She argued that “After more than four years in office… Obama has done little to advance the idealistic goals of his Ghana speech.” In fact, she finds the Administration playing peekaboo with Paul Kagame, the Rwandan dictator and puppet master of M23 (the rebel group led by Bosco Ntganda under indictment by the International Criminal Court) which has been wreaking havoc in Goma, (city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Youweri Museveni, the overlord of the corruptocracy in Uganda. Dr. Epstein is perplexed by President Obama’s lofty rhetoric and his paralysis when it comes to walking the talk in Ethiopia:

Perhaps most worrying of all is the unwillingness of Obama and other Western leaders to say or do anything to support the hundreds of thousands of Muslim Ethiopians who have been demonstrating peacefully against government interference in their religious affairs for more than a year. (The Ethiopian government claims the country has a Christian majority, but Muslims may account for up to one half of the population.) You’d think a nonviolent Islamic movement would be just the kind of thing the Obama administration would want to showcase to the world. It has no hint of terrorist influence, and its leaders are calling for a secular government under the slogan ‘We have a cause worth dying for, but not worth killing for.’ Indeed, the Ethiopian protesters may be leading Africa’s most promising and important nonviolent human rights campaign since the anti-apartheid struggle.

Is Dr. Epstein correct in her profound observation that the Ethiopian Muslim “protesters may be leading Africa’s most promising and important nonviolent human rights campaign since the anti-apartheid struggle.” Are the Muslim protests that have been going on for nearly two years the moral equivalent of an anti-Apartheid movement in Ethiopia? Is Obama failing an Ethiopian Spring?

The importance of religious freedom to Americans and in U.S. foreign policy

Religious freedom is arguably the most important cornerstone of all American liberties. Promoting religious freedom worldwide is so important that the U.S. Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA)affirming religious freedom enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and in various international instruments, including Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Obama Administration’s record on international religious freedom in general has been deplorable. In 2010, Leonard Leo, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Commission openly complained that the Administration is ignoring religious persecution throughout the world to the potential detriment of U.S. national security. “We’re completely neglecting religious freedom in countries that tend to be Petri dishes for extremism. This invariably leads to trouble for us… Regrettably, this point seems to shrink year after year for the White House and State Department.”

The Obama Administration’s disregard for religious freedom and tolerance of religious intolerance and persecution throughout the world is incomprehensible given the centrality of religious freedom and separation of religion and government in the scheme of American liberties. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the foundation of all American liberties, first and foremost prohibits government involvement in religion in sweeping and uncompromising language: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” The “establishment” clause guarantees government neutrality by preventing government establishment of religious institutions or support for religion in general. The “free exercise” clause protects against religious persecution by government.

In the 1796 “Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary”, the U.S. formally affirmed to the world the sanctity of religious freedom in America without regard to doctrine or denomination: “As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion, — as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen, — and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.” (Art. 11.)

Many of the American Founding Fathers including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin were deeply suspicious of government involvement in religion, which they believed corrupted religion itself. George Washington championed separation of religion and state when he wrote, “I beg you be persuaded that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny, and every species of religious persecution.” Thomas Jefferson believed religion was a personal matter which invited no government involvement and argued for the “building a wall of separation between Church & State”. Jefferson wrote, “Among the most inestimable of our blessings is that … of liberty to worship our Creator… a liberty deemed in other countries incompatible with good government and yet proved by our experience to be its best support.” James Madison, the “father of the U.S. Constitution” was a staunch defender of religious diversity: “Freedom arises from the multiplicity of sects, which pervades America and which is the best and only security for religious liberty in any society.” President John Adams minced no words when he wrote, “Nothing is more dreaded than the national government meddling with religion.”

President Barack Obama himself made it crystal clear that he personally disapproves of government’s involvement in religion or government imposition of religious orthodoxy on citizens. “I am suspicious of using government to impose anybody’s religious beliefs -including my own- on nonbelievers.” In his first inauguration speech, President Obama declared, “Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake.”

The right of freedom of religion is the quintessential “rights of man” and an “ideal that still lights the world”. Yet, neither President Obama personally nor his Administration collectively have made any statements or taken any action concerning religious persecution in Ethiopia. It seems President Obama has given up the “ideal” of religious freedom for “expedience’s sake”. Such facile expedience is difficult to comprehend because President Obama was a constitutional lawyer before he became president.

It seems the President Obama now prefers a foreign policy based not on principle and the ideals of the Constitution but rather one based on expediency. It is more expedient for President Obama to have drone bases in Ethiopia than to have bastions of religious freedom. It is more expedient to sacrifice human rights at the altar of realpolitik than to uphold the right of Ethiopians to worship at the altar of their faiths. It is more expedient to chase after terrorists in the name of counterterrorism while sharing a bed with state terrorists. It is more expedient to tolerate dictatorship than to uphold the fundamental rights of citizenship. It is more expedient to support a benighted police state that to use American “ideals that still light the world” to enlighten it.

Why is the Obama Administration tone-deaf and bat-blind about religious freedom in Ethiopia given the established fact that the ruling regime in that country has engaged in egregious religious persecution with reckless abandon. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent body constituted by the Congress and the President of the United States to monitor religious freedom worldwide, recently reported:

Since July 2011, the Ethiopian government has sought to impose the al-Ahbash Islamic sect on the country’s Muslim community, a community that traditionally has practiced the Sufi form of Islam. The government also has manipulated the election of the new leaders of the Ethiopia Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (EIASC). Previously viewed as an independent body, EIASC is now viewed as a government-controlled institution. The arrests, terrorism charges and takeover of EIASC signify a troubling escalation in the government’s attempts to control Ethiopia’s Muslim community and provide further evidence of a decline in religious freedom in Ethiopia. Muslims throughout Ethiopia have been arrested during peaceful protests: On October 29, the Ethiopia government charged 29 protestors with terrorism and attempting to establish an Islamic state.

U.S. foreign policy of expediency in Africa

Expediency has been a guiding principle in American foreign policy in Africa for quite a while. “Expediency” emphasizes “pragmatism” or “realpolitik” over principles and ideals. It is an approach that dictates consideration of each case in light of prevailing circumstances. Expediency subordinates values, ideals and principles to particular political or strategic objectives. Expediency justifies full support for blood thirsty African thugs just to advance the national interest in global “war on terror”. Expediency sacrifices principles and ideals on the altar of hypocrisy. Expediency has allowed the Obama Administration to pump billions of America taxpayer dollars to strengthen the iron fist of Meles Zenawi and his cronies in the name of fighting the so-called war on terror while preaching a hollow sermon of human rights to ordinary Africans.

What is most disconcerting is the fact that President Obama speaks with forked tongue. In Accra and Cairo, he hectored African dictators and made promises and affirmations to the people of Africa: “Development depends on good governance… We must support strong and sustainable democratic governments… Repression can take many forms, and too many nations, even those that have elections, are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty… That is not democracy, that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there…” He spoke of a “new partnership” with Africa, but his Watusi dance partners were Kagame, Museveni, Zenawi and their ilk.

As a strong supporter of President Obama and one who sought to exhort and mobilize Ethiopian Americans to support his election and re-election, I feel pangs of conscience when I say the President has been a poor advocate of American ideals in U.S. foreign policy in Africa. He has hectored ordinary Africans and African dictators about the need to be “on the right side of history”. For four years, President Obama has talked a good talk to Africans that America symbolizes freedom, liberty and democracy. But when it comes to walking the talk, we see him sitting in a wooden wheel chair that ain’t going nowhere fast. This paralysis has created a monumental crises of credibility for the President personally. Few Africans believe he is on their side and even fewer believe he is on the right side of history. But they do see him standing side by side with African dictators.

But could there really be expediency in dealing with blood thirsty African dictators? President Obama knows Ethiopia is a virtual police state. He knows elections are stolen there in broad daylight as those in power claim victory by a margin of 99.6 percent. He knows thousands of political prisoners languish in Ethiopian jails considered by international human rights organizations to be among the most inhumane in the world. He knows civil society institutions in that country have been wiped out of existence. He knows opposition parties, the press and dissidents have been crushed. He knows of the crimes against humanity that have been and continue to be committed in the Ogaden region, in Gambella, the Omo region and many other parts of the country. He knows about religious persecution. President Obama personally knows that 193 unarmed protesters were massacred and 763 wounded following the 2005 elections and that no one has been brought to justice for those crimes against humanity. That crime against humanity is on par with the Sharpeville Massacre of March 21, 1960 in South Africa in which South African police slaughtered 69 unarmed black protesters in the township of Sharpeville and wounded 180.

It is said that politics makes for strange bedfellows. But must the Obama Administration get in bed with those who have committed the most heinous crimes against humanity in the 21st Century? Is it worth sacrificing American ideals to coddle and consort with brutal African dictators just to get drone bases?

Can Ethiopian Americans hold the Obama Administration accountable?

Yes, we can! The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-292) [IRFA] was enacted to promote religious freedom as a foreign policy of the United States, and to advocate on behalf of persons and groups facing religious persecution throughout the world. Very few people are aware that IFRA came into being as a result of the religious persecution of a Christian Ethiopian man named Getanah Metafriah who was “imprisoned and tortured by the Communist rulers of Ethiopia for talking about Jesus.” Getanah’s cause “manage[d] to help start a grassroots movement to publicize religious persecution abroad” eventually leading to the passage of IRFA.

IFRA requires that the United States designate as “country of particular concern” (CPC) those countries whose governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic and egregious and “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” and prescribes sanctions against such countries. IRFA provides the President 15 options ( 22 U.S.C. § 6445(a)(1)-(15)) to consider against states violating religious freedom including demarches (diplomatic protest) , private or public condemnation, denial, delay or cancellation of scientific or cultural exchanges, cancellation of a state visit, withdrawal or limitation of humanitarian or security assistance, restriction of credit or loans from United States and multilateral organizations, denial of licenses to export goods or technologies, prohibition against the U.S. government entering into any agreement to procure goods or services from that country, or “any other action authorized by law” so long as it “is commensurate in effect to the action substituted.” Once a state is designated a CPC, the President is required by law to conduct an annual review, no later than September 1 of each year, and to take one or more of the actions specified in IRFA.

Based on the USCRIF (a body auhtorized by IFRA) report cited above, there is no question that the regime in Ethiopia meets the IRFA criteria of engaging in “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” violations of the religious liberty of Ethiopian Muslims. It is noteworthy that the 2012 Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom March 2012 (covering April 1, 2011 – February 29, 2012)) documenting serious abuses of freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief around the world does not include religious persecution of Muslims in Ethiopia (which was reported by USCRIF in Novemeber 2012).

The first action Ethiopian Americans who believe in religious freedom in Ethiopia should take in an organized and collective manner is to file a request, (and if necessary a demand) that USCRIF amend or append to its 2012 report religious persecution and government interference in the profession and practice of the Islamic and Christian faiths in Ethiopia and make recommendations to the Secretary of State (SoS) for sanctions or alternative actions. In the alternative, they should insure that the violation is reported in the 2012-2013 USCRIF report with recommendations to the SoS for appropriate action. The SoS is required by IRFA to take “into consideration the recommendations of the Commission [USCRIF]” in formulating subsequent action.

By having USCRIF amend or append to its report and submit appropriate recommendations, Ethiopian Americans concerned about religious freedom in Ethiopia will have a legal basis to demand that the President “take all appropriate and feasible actions authorized by law to obtain the cessation of violations” (22 U.S.C. § 6445(a)(1)-(15)) or make Presidential certification and issue a waiver. In other words, the President would be in a position to take action or not to take action because taking action would be against U.S. “national security”. Either way, the Obama Administration could be held accountable under IFRA. No doubt, any such organized effort by Ethiopian Americans will stir the hornet’s nest of the K Street lobbyists who will rub their palms with glee and grin ear to ear as they come to feast at the trough of poor Ethiopian taxpayers.

The second action Ethiopian Americans who believe in religious freedom in Ethiopia should take is to establish an interfaith council to work on broader issues of religious freedom in Ethiopia. In my July 2012 commentary “Unity in Divinity”, I argued that a threat to the religious liberty of Muslims is a threat to the religious freedom of Christians. I urged Ethiopian “Christian and Muslim religious leaders [to] play a critical role in preventing conflict and in building bridges of understanding, mutual respect and collaborative working relations…” I suggested the establishment of “interfaith councils” patterned after those in the U.S. “These [interfaith] councils bring diverse faith communities to work together to foster greater understanding and respect among people of different faiths and to address basic needs in the community. Many such councils go beyond dialogue and reflection to cooperative work in social services and implementing projects to meet community needs. They stand together to protect religious freedom by opposing discrimination and condemning debasement of religious institutions and faiths. There is no reason why Ethiopians could not establish interfaith councils of their own.”

I reiterate my call for interfaith councils to bring together members of the two faith communities in the United States, and possibly elsewhere, for collective action. Religious freedom in Ethiopia is not an issue that concerns only Muslims. It is of equal concern and importance for Christian Ethiopians who have undergone similar egregious interference in the selection of their religious leadership just recently.

What is needed is sincere and open dialogue and interaction between Ethiopian Americans who are Christians and Muslims to advance the cause of religious liberty and equality for all in unity. Members of these two faith communities must come together in a historic meeting and develop a joint agenda to guarantee and safeguard their religious freedom, overcome any traces of sectarianism and reaffirm their long coexistence, diversity and harmony in a unified country based on the rule of law. They must jointly develop principles of cooperation and coordination. They must develop solidarity which can withstand narrow sectarian interests and the whims and personalities of those in leadership positions. They must relate with each other in the spirit of mutual respect, trust and co-operation and find ways to deepen and strengthen their relations.

Perhaps such dialogue may not come so easily in the absence of existing institutions. It may be necessary for leaders of both faiths to join together and establish a task force to study the issues and make recommendations for the broadest possible dialogue between Ethiopian American Muslims and Christians in America. Christian and Islamic spiritual authorities and laymen should be encouraged to work together not only to defend each other on matters of religious liberty but also to propose long term solutions to reduce the dangers of sectarianism, fanaticism, conflict and misunderstanding and institute a permanent dialogue between members of both faiths. There is no reason why an interfaith council cannot organize joint conferences, meetings, workshops, seminars, press conferences and informational campaigns in the media in both faith communities. The Ethiopia of tomorrow can be built on a strong foundation of dialogue of Muslims and Christians today. Dialogue is a precursor to national reconciliation.

From expediency to consistency

The Obama Administration must do a lot more to improve human rights in Africa. President Obama must not only talk a good talk, he must also walk the talk. But with religious liberty, he must walk the talk and follow the letter and spirit of IFRA. If he does not, he would have betrayed not only the ideals of the Founding Fathers and the Constitution but also disregarded the law he is sworn to uphold. There is no reason why the Obama Administration cannot find a harmonious convergence of national security and human rights in Africa. When America cannot lead by ideals it will be forced to follow up by exacting ordeals.

Are the Ethiopian Muslim protesters leading Africa’s most promising and important nonviolent human rights campaign since the anti-apartheid struggle. Yes, they are!!!

The article by Ato Yilma articulates the abyss into which our invaluable asset of civility and decorum has sunk since the outbreak of the Ethiopian revolution in 1974 at the same time shaming us the majority for failure to respond effectively and timeously while the image of our country is being routinely eroded.

The striking similarity of the repugnant scenes at the two Churches begs providing the following information to esteemed fellow citizens so that they can appreciate that the ongoing disruptions at the EOTC churches around the world are centrally planned to destroy the influence of the Orthodox Tewahedo faith and the Amhara people as admitted by Sebhat Nega – the founder and patriarch of the MLLT later renamed TPLF.

I thought that the information below witnessed or gathered in person during my frequent visits to Kampala would help in formulating coordinated action in self-defense by all concerned.

The EOTC Kampala Mekane Selam Medhanealem Church in Uganda

The Church in caption was officially inaugurated in 2000 in the presence of the Mayor of Kampala as Guest of Honor, His Holiness Archbishop Melketsedeke in His capacity as the Secretary General of the Holy Synod in Exile, His Holiness Archbishop Elias in His capacity as the Archbishop for Europe and East Africa Dioceses, Metropolitan Luwanga in His capacity as Archbishop of the Uganda Orthodox Church, dignitaries, invited guests, and Ethiopians most of them genuine political refugee victims of hot pursuit by the TPLF, distinct from the new ones that are overwhelmingly state-sponsored imposters.

The fund for purchasing land on which the Church was built and buildings were erected was raised in 1997 by Ethiopians; it included contributions from friends of Ethiopia. The Church has its Constitution based on the Dogma and canon of the EOTC.
The Constitution was approved by Archbishop Elias and registered with the government of Uganda, which has been a hospitable home for Ethiopians living in Uganda.

Archbishop Elias came all the way from Sweden and blessed the Church land, laid down the foundation stone and brought the Ark and held the first Mas pending official inauguration. Metropolitan Luwanga visited the sight several times and gave His blessings and unforgettable support at times of critical need .including facilitating entry of Archbishop to Uganda. Most of His entire predecessor Metropolitan Theodore will be eternally remembered for initiating the project and constructively criticizing the EOTC for not spreading its wings across Africa and draw believers to its fold.

So far so good. The future pregnant with intrigues, self-interests, hatred, began to show gradually and increasingly getting worse. The first climax made its debut in the aftermath of the first election of the Church Executive Committee according to the Constitution. Those badly defeated at the polls took their case to the High Court of Uganda in grave violation of the Church Constitution which according to its Article 29 it is the Archbishop in whom the final authority is vested in settling all church-related internal disputes. The plaintiffs breached 1st Corinthians 6:1-8 by engaging in a lengthy and costly suit, which they lost.

It would be appropriate at this juncture to mention that it was the above plaintiffs that warned the Archbishop that He would be pelted with rotten eggs, tomatoes and stones on His arrival in Uganda. Nevertheless, His Holiness ignored the warning stressing that an evangelist should not be afraid of death in discharging his missionary duties. His Holiness came to Uganda in September 1999 from his abode in Sweden and led mass within the unfinished Church building and blessed the congregation.

The second shocking climax of shame reared its ugly head at a meeting held on 27 June 2011. A large and well-rehearsed group, not registered with the Church, hijacked the meeting. They dictated their demand to dethrone the Executive Committee right away and replace it with what the group called “Ad hoc Committee” contrary to the law and normally understood function of an ad hoc committee. These new-comers as ‘political’ refugees’ began to hurl insults at veteran members of the Church that participated in the development of the Church project by making generous contributions financially and in kind unconditionally with no selfish motives other than pray. Most of the trouble-makers have not contributed a cent.

The leader of the rowdy group bloated by the whistling, ululation, foot-thumbing, table-beating and clapping of his supporters took to the floor and arrogantly but falsely stated that as founder of the Church he intends to ‘tell’ the government of Uganda and place the management of the Church under a new administration. He said that he is free to do so by removing the Archbishop Aba Elias from leadership through the vote of his crowd. But the truth is that neither this big liar nor his unruly supporters were in Uganda at the time of the commencement of the Church project in 1996. He had no shame when he was told this bitter truth.

Prepare for another shock. It was on a Sunday morning during Church service. The Church was fully packed. All of a sudden without invitation of the Priest from the pulpit in accordance with standing procedure, the members of the Choir took to the floor and began singing and abruptly took off their uniforms, laid down the drum and other musical instruments and staged a walk out holding their uniforms in their hands – to the surprise of the large congregation. They treated the Holy ground like a factory floor from where workers laying down their tools and leave to express grievance(s). This repugnant act of rudeness by some bully members of the Choir has been continuing for over a year in various forms up to now. Any effort by the Church including reporting them to law enforcement officers to stop the unholy act did not succeed.

As if adding salt to wound, the leader of the rowdy hooligans filed a civil suit No. 15/2012 with the Uganda High Court in January 2012 pleading injunction to stop outright the functioning of the lawfully elected Executive Committee Church. The Honorable Judge of the High Court refused to grant the injunction. And the suit is pending resolution.

The lawless villains forced cancellation of the General Assembly meeting called by the Executive Committee of the Church. For, the Police Commissioner of the district in which the Church is located advised the Executive Committee to cancel the General Assembly (GA) meeting at the last minute on 17 December 2011 citing information he had received to the effect that an organized force will disrupt the GA meeting scheduled for 18 December 2011.

Prepare for another shock. The renowned Evangelist Dr. Andualem Gobena arrived from the United States of America, gratefully at his own expense, in Kampala at the invitation of the Church to conduct Bible Conference. The leader of the rowdy group sent a detachment with instruction to threaten the Evangelist to abort his mission, but the indomitable Evangelist refused admonishing the messenger that nothing will prevent him from spreading the word of God. The one-week Conference ended peacefully with enthusiastic mammoth congregation unseen in the history of the Church in attendance. The elated crowd unanimously requested that the Conference of this kind be held regularly, at least twice a year and pledged to foot the expenses.

The same shameful act of thuggish behavior was repeated to disrupt the mission of a second Conference that was slated to be conducted by the renowned Dr. Aba Gebreselassie who came all the way from the USA at his own cost. The villains did not succeed and the Conference was concluded was epic success.

The desperate thugs are still continuing with their disruption of Church services while the suit filed with the High Court by their leader is sub judice.

The leader of the thugs, belatedly sensing that his supporters are abandoning him in droves and that he will lose in the unsubstantiated plaint, has sent ‘mediators’ to the Executive Committee of the Church to settle the matter out of court through reconciliation. The EC has rejected the mediation.

What is strange is that among the late-comer ‘mediators’ are designated representatives of opposition political entities in the Diaspora. I do not think that their employers know about this.

Conclusion

The land title on which the Church is built and all original documents related to the implementation of the project thereof have been submitted to His Holiness Archbishop Abune Elias in His capacity as Trustee and Supreme Head of the Church administration as stipulated in Article-6 and His indisputable authority in resolving all Church-related internal disputes among the registered members of the congregation in accordance with Article-29 of the Constitution of the Church in question.

More than 30 Ethiopians most of them refugees have been buried within the Church premises at a site set aside as a sacred ground.

In my opinion there are no other EOTC churches in the Diaspora that have suffered the same degree of ordeals as those of the Kampala Mekaneselam Medhanealem and the London Debretsion churches.

It is my ardent hope and fervent prayer that the Church congregation will reaffirm their exemplary support for the legitimate EOTC Holy Synod in Exile knowing that the founder of the Kampala Mekaneselam Medhanealem Church and its sole owner is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Release all political prisoners in Ethiopia including Andualem Aragie, Eskinder Nega, Bekele Gerba, Reeyot Alemu, Leaders of the Ethiopian Muslims et al!

LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA!!!
rababya@gmail.com

Abune Matias, currently serving as Archbishop of the church in Jerusalem, accepted the appointment.

The election comes amid disputes surrounding the leadership of the powerful church, which boasts of some 40 million adherents, and a long history of conflict with the central government.

The Ethiopian church was under the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. In 1959 it broke away to be independent and started appointing its leaders.

Menelik was born in 1844 and was Emperor from 1889-1913. He was the greatest military general to emerge from Africa since Hannibal (247-183 B.C.) of Carthege (a place now in modern Tunisia) The Carthegian military commander moved over the Alps with elephants, conquered Rome and occupied it for 15 years until he was recalled back to Africa. Menelik at 52 was a decade older than Hannibal when he marched to Adwa. Not only Ethiopians but the whole world associates Adwa with Menelik and not with the inhabitants who lived there at the time (much less with those who are living there now.) This is how history is born and no amount of back peddling or attempt at rewriting of history could ever change that! What makes Menelik great, besides his other considerable accomplishments, is his towering achievement at the victory of Adwa, which place name will forever be associated with him. He was a soldier’s soldier, instinctively brave, fearless and lion-heated. He was also a brilliant field commander and a military tactician. As an outstanding general he was able to evoke the absolute devotion and loyalty of his army. He did this by example. His move from Addis Ababa to Adwa hundreds of kilometers away is a journey of epic proportions. His army travelled by foot and the provisions of the army were carried by thousands of pack animals – mules horses and donkeys. Animal fodder has to be provisioned and secured, watering holes have to be identified beforehand, and food for the army has to be supplied endlessly.

Menelik was leading a multiethnic army which in most cases do not speak the same language but were tied together by their fervent belief in their overarching Ethiopian identity and above all, in their absolute confidence that Menelik was their God appointed leader to whom they bestowed their total love and devotion. Watching the vast army of Menelik on the move is like witnessing the whole movement of a town being created and dismantled overnight, a feat which is impossible to imagine even now. It is also like the movement of a huge meandering river from a distance. There were thousands of pack animals like donkeys and sturdy mules that carry food and drink, tents and firewood. Then there were the horses and mules for the leaders and commanders of the army. Menelik had thirty well bred horses and mules at the ready for his personal use and he transferred himself from one tired horse or mule to a fresh one without breaking a stride. Another army was led by his wife itege Taitu and a smaller army led by his young and enthusiastic daughter Zewditu, the future Empress, a heroine of the war in her own right. Much has been told about Itege Taitu but almost nothing about Weizero Zewditu who was beside her step mother every step of the way during the heat of battle. It is sad that in order to glorify Emperor Haile Selassie her contributions even during her reign was totally eclipsed, the same way as that of Lij Eyasu where even his resting place is still unknown. During Eyasu’s reign it was said

በ ኢያሱ ዳቦ ነው ትራሱ በዘውዲቱ ተደፋ ሌማቱ በተፈሪ ጠፋ ፍርፋሪ (during Eyasu’s time bread became a pillow; during Zewditu’ time the charger was overturned; during Teferi’s time not even crumps of bread were left)
Even recent writers continue to belittle the reign of Empress Zewditu. Suffice it to say that Ethiopia joined the League of Nations during her reign and she was an active partner of Ras Tafari in the modernization of Ethiopia. After all she was the daughter of Menelik the greatest modernizer of them all, who has inspired all his followers. The wisdom of Menelik is his ability to revive the ancient polity of multi-ethnic Ethiopia which was lost during the dark days of Zemene Mesafint. Atse Tewodros, his mentor and imprisoner, has tried but failed and Atse Yohannes has partly abandoned the quest. Menelik chose leaders by their ability and quality of character and NOT by their pedigree OR tribal origin. Menelik was a Shewan Amara and an Orthodox Christian. His trusted generals were also Muslims and non Amaras. Menelik was born in the beautiful village of Angolela and his most illustrious Oromo general, Ras Gobena was born in Mendida a few miles away at the edge of the escarpment. He used to be a loyal follower of King Haile Melekot, the father of Menelik. Menelik has the uncanny ability to identify talent early and nurture it. Among the army commanders who went to Adwa there was a small army commanded by the young Ato Habtegiorgis, who many years later became a Fitawrari and War Minister and close confident of Menelik. So also was Dejach Balcha who grew up in Menilik’s court who later became an illustrious warrior and there were many, many more from all parts of Ethiopia. Berkley in his excellent book The Campaign of Adowa and the Rise of Menelik (1902) written shortly after battle of Adwa, has a map of battle zones where he puts Ato Habtegiorgis and his troops to left of the Emperor’s army. The Emperor had a secret informant or a spy in the name of the enterprising Awalom who had penetrated the command post of General Baratrieri, the Italian commander and brought valuable information to Menelik. The families Awalom fled from their village when the Italian army retuned to Ethiopia following the same route 40 years later. The Fascists had avowed to exact a revenge on the remnants of the family. During this war, to crown their achievements, the Fascist built a gigantic bust of Mussolini at Adwa at the very spot where they were defeated – a bust which was said could be seen from miles away. This bust has been reproduced in some books written at the time (I have seen the pictures even though I could not remember which book) Five years later it was said that the British artillery unit blew it to pieces. This is how history marches through time.

The battle of Adwa ended with a decisive victory for Ethiopia, and due to the exhaustion of the army and dwindling of provisions Menelik did not push the Italians across the seas. Hundreds of Italian war prisoners were dispatched post haste to Addis Ababa before him. In a celebration of the victory of Adwa at Jan Meda, the prisoners were paraded before him and the conquering army. They were, however, humanely treated, and returned to Italy after an impassioned appeal by the Vatican. Menelik was humane, magnanimous and generous to a fault. We may recall that JAN MEA (or Janhoy Meda meaning “the Emperors field”) was the first open space which Menelik designated for the new Addis Ababa. Sadly more than a century later it remains as the ONLY public space in Addis Ababa. The city singularly lacks competent city planners and engineers. A succession of so called “engineers” had completely cut down the gigantic trees of the city (shoals, zigbas, girars shrubs etc) which had given it an endearing beauty and which even we knew at a young age) and left it completely bare even affecting the famous mild climate. They have also built roads with absolutely no sidewalks to speak of, and this in a city where 90% of the inhabitants have no car! A case of supreme ignorance which is even manifested to this day. The Addis-Djibouti railway was also was the ONLY one in the country for a hundred years until it was permanently derailed and abandoned during the time of the Derg In 1986 an estimated one thousand Ethiopians perished when the trained went into a ravine at Awash .This the greatest train disaster in Africa until this day. The insanely criminal and illiterate Derg forbade any news of the accident to leak out or any relatives to travel to the accident place. The brutal Derg controlled the news and only tidbits of it travelled by word of mouth. The incident came close to me when my neighbor’s son who was in the train during the accident was lucky to survive but lost part of his left leg.

The victory of Adwa had immediate repercussions around the World, beginning at the citadel of the Italian Army, Rome. There were spontaneous demonstration carrying placards which red VIVA MENELIK and DOWN WITH CRISPI (the Prime Minister of Italy at the time.) The most spectacular was what happened in far away Brazil which has the largest Black population outside Africa. The only black newspaper immediately changed its name to MENELIK. In distant South Africa the new Ethiopiawinnet movement was born. Later spin offs were the Abyssinian church in Harlem, US and the Ras Tafarian movement in Jamaica. Menelik went into battle with a) the Ethiopian tri colored flag b) a quote from the Bible written on an emblem of the monarch which portrayed a crowned lion carrying the Ethiopian flag and read : THE LION OF JUDAH HAS PREVALED (which in the Bible is a reference to Christ) It is not the later adulteration of this phrase which became :“Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah.” And c) Menelik had also another emblem with the famous quotation from the Bible, a phrase which has given comfort to Christian Ethiopians throughout the ages and it read: “ETHIOPIA STRETCHES HER HANDS UNTO GOD” With these three standards he marched onward to victory. The only monument erected for Menelik by his grateful daughter was the equestrian statue at Arada in Addis Ababa It is the FIRST equestrian statue of its kind. The legs of the horse had a connection with the pedestal. (the second statue of its type is that of Simon Bolivar) It was dismantled and buried by Italian Fascists in the dead of night. They were afraid about the reaction of the Ethiopian people. The place of burial was later identified dug out and put in its original By contrast the current Fascists, the t TPLF leaders who have a visceral hatred of Menelik and what he represents want to destroy it forever. Memories live forever, statues can be rebuilt. They may melt this statue and make it into ornaments for themselves and their family thinking that they have got rid of Menelik forever. However, history never dies. No other monument exists for the heroes of Adwa. The only structure, an internationally famous hotel in Arada named after Itegue Taitu, called ITEGUE HOTEL was given another name by the ignorant Derg but when they realized that it was named after Itegue Taitu and NOT itegue Menen, the renamed it the mundane name “Taitu Hotel”. The original name has to be restored to its glorious past as ITEGUE HOTEL and not Taitu which can mean anything without the title. But this hotel as well as Menilik’s palace are in state of ruin. The palace has leaking ceilings and creaking stairs and floors and may collapse any day. Neither its former tenant Mengistu who desecrated the place repeatedly or the late Meles ever cared about Menelik’s palace except for its symbolism. Mengistu in particular has a strange affinity to Menelik. Strange because no two people could be so further apart. He also used the palace as a prison (I was imprisoned there.)

Menelik’s mausoleum is in the Church of Be”ata. There, within the church compound, Mengistu and his partner in crime in the Derg, the notorious henchman Captain Mengistu Gemechu, had two adjacent villas built for them. – another sacrileges desecration of our church by the godless criminals. Why they did so is only known to them and their close associates. To say the least it was bizarre. The victory of the battle of Adwa had prompted one anonymous person to write a prophetic couplet which captures what would have happened had Ethiopia lost the war, and here it is:

ምኒልክ ተወልዶ ባያነሳ ጋሻ ግብሩ እንቁላል ነበር ይህን ጊዜ አበሻ