17. August 2010 by Assimba.

Call me by my role: AADWA III  - By Obo Arada Shawl

August 13, 2010

• Emperor Haile Sellasie was dethroned for his inability to separate the state and religion

• Menghistu was forced to run away due to his inability to separate military from civilian rule

• Issais is losing popularity due to his inability to distinguish concepts of Harnet from Naznet

• Meles is hated for knowing the price of everything but the value of nothing (cynicism)

• EPRP is known for its inability to separate Business from Personal matters

Introduction

A model, according to dictionaries, is a pattern, a plan, a representation or description designed to show the main object or working of an object, system, or concept.

A model in this and subsequent articles is about representation of a concept, a place and a process. The concept is liberation for self-determination, the place is a village/mountain and the process is about democratization to be known as AADWA III.

First of all, what makes an Ethiopian identity? An Eritrean identity? Does Eathiopianism evolve? Yes, it does; otherwise, we have solutions without a problem.

I have been attempting to write about the fate of DEBTERAW in the hope that we all benefit in telling the TRUTH. So far, I don’t believe that I have succeeded.

If I have, the criteria for measuring success or failure should be based against the stated objectives and goals of the following four organizations. Or alternatively measuring the opinions of the “E or Fifth” category of “unarmed/unorganized” individuals and groups should be re-examined.

Where are we now? Have we reached where we should reach? That is, do we have an Eathiopian Republic, thirteen or fourteen states of Ethiopia or disintegrating societies? Which of the four organizations or CC members has caused so much trouble that should be held accountable? Let us examine albeit briefly of each organization’s positive contributions.

Name Leader Objective Mission Goal

1. ESAPA Menghistu H.M Socialism Class struggle Classless Society

2. TPLF Melse Zenawi State Ethnic Struggle Ethnic State

3. EPLF Issais Afeworki Independence Race Struggle Nationalist State

4. EPRP Collective Leaders Republic Democratic struggle Eathiopian Republic

The blame or credit should have been rested solely on the merits and demerits of economic progress by ESAPA, ethnic equality by TPLF, social egalitarian by EPLF or democratization of EPRP. It is with these backgrounds that we should define our costs and benefits. Otherwise, incriminating and blame games will not work.

ESAPA

Class by definition is division. The Menghistu regime popularly known as the DERG had proclaimed socialism based on class struggle for seventeen years (1974-1991). Because the ESAPA top leader has run away, the party had to disintegrate into thin air. Its members and supporters might have believed that they were doing the right thing for the country as a whole. Now they have come to believe that they were dead wrong but could not admit for the simple reason that its top leaders were not prosecuted. For this reason and for other reasons of their own, many of them have become either spoilers of the DIASPORA politics or have become paid agents for the regime of TPLF.

As at now, the most hated word is politics. Sometimes, I wonder why the most valuable word is berated to a low level of crime and criminals. In the West World, the message and the messenger are separated and as such, politics and politicians are differentiated. In today’s world, some politicians have become literally bandits and vulgar. I believe because there are too many loopholes in the rules and regulations by which they have to follow. Nevertheless, the voters have the power to change the rules and regulations of their constituents. In other words, the corruption is reversible and for this reason, voters love politics but not politicians.

The current leaders of Ethiopia including the so-called legislators have no clue of what politics is about let alone to know the importance of justice and policy matters.

Take for example, the case of politics in action that was held in Washington DC on August 5, 2010 by a group of supporters of the Ethiopian regime. The regime have initiated a call for a demonstration for the support of America on the use of the Blue, Black or White Nile. I know that both the regime and its proxy demonstrators do not know or did not care to know what the American government possesses in its data base of water resources.

Groups of people were involved in demonstration (of course peaceful one as is in America). A group of Ethiopians in support of the government of Ethiopia has come to plead with the American government and the government of Egypt to keep off their hands from interfering in the handling of the Nile. In my opinion, this group either doesn’t know the color of the Nile water or they are camouflaged in the name of Eathiopia’s interest wrapped up in fear of the unknown.

Everything with the Nile Basin (Black or Abbay) concern or development has to do with the peoples of Illubabor, Keffa, Shewa, Wellega, Wollo, Gondar, Tigrai and Eritrea and of course with the peoples of Godjam. The solution or the dispute of the Black Nile solely rests with the above named people. They need the support of a sober and a stable government in Eathiopia.

Whatever, the case is, the ABAY (Black) Basin comprises app. 318,000 sq. miles or roughly one third of Eathiopia. The plan, according to a comprehensive water resources development study that was carried out by the Americans was meant a panacea for Eathiopia to be a prosperous nation and a self-sustained economic development.

Another group of people who opposes the current Ethiopian regime have gone to demonstrate to the Chinese Embassy to protest against the Chinese government support in technology equipment that can block broadcasting and Internet to Ethiopia. This group has at least a demand for freedom but nevertheless, it is a futile attempt to depend on others instead on oneself.

Both demonstrations have taken place on August 5, 2010. Different groups with different claims for the purpose of demonstrating to a foreign country. Why? Maybe, they were copying the model of the EPLF and TPLF proxy war in Somalia. Let us believe in ourselves. The solutions lie within us.

TPLF’s model

First it was nationalism based on Woyane-ism, then it was communism based on Enver Hoja (Albania), then it was “Market” modeled on American Capitalism. Curently, it is “capitalism” based on Chinese model.

What is wrong with the TPLF leadership model? Within 50 years, they have managed to switch ideologies five times, an average of 10 years for a model to emulate.

Is this because of lack of education or luck of confidence or trust? I cannot say it is because of lack of education as there are thousands of educated individuals from that region.

I believe it is because of the rejection of their own strength namely their church education and Christian heritage. The TPLF leadership has been in a state of search as they say “a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat which is not there”. The last attempt the TPLF leaders are seem to doing now is the Mao Tse Tung (Zedong) style which was to close their society from the outside world. The province of Tigrai is currently has been closed to the outside world including to other Eathiopians. The leaders are operating from Addis Ababa.

What an ideology and what a leadership style? This blend of the Middle Age and 21^st Century should change or would have to collapse like its predecessor. This is untenable to say the least. By the year 2013, the leadership of TPLF will step down according to my predictions. The pretension of having Constitution and Congress (CC) in the name of Eathiopia seem to be a naked lie and a down right harmful to all Eathiopians including to Tigrian origin.

It is time to alienate the so-called CC leadership of TPLF from its ranks and files. And it is time for all involved in some form of leadership within the TPLF to regret and correct their honest mistakes and stop to pay lip service but to be involved in action - the action of the Eway Ethiopian Revolution.

EPLF

For 114 years (1896-2010), the Eritreans have struggled and are (still struggling) for Independence, Harnet and Nazanet wrapped up together. For this reason, there is bound to be confusion in distinguishing choices among liberty, independence and freedom.

Added to that, the EPLF’ secret organization within itself has created more problems than it can handle.

For too long discussion issues of religion, race, ethnic and politics were suppressed at the expense of Colonialism – that was based on race.

Nonetheless, the Eritreans for the first time are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Surprising, this light is coming neither from the government of Issais nor from the opposition groups who have just completed conference on unity of oppositions in Ethiopia.

The light is coming from two individuals who wrote books, one in Tigrigna and the other in English. The English version is entitled “of Kings and Bandits” written by Saleh “Gadi”, Johar founder and publisher of Awate.com website and the Tigrigna version is titled “Kab RiQ- Hifnti). Roughly translated “a drop in the ocean – or piece of the action as narrated by the author himself to himself.” It is written by Tekie Beyene, one time national bank governor of Eritrea…

What is amazing of these two books is the fact that both books fit the maxim “a picture is worth thousand words”. Saleh, depicts a king and a bandit facing each other as if making deals. It does not explain much of the current reality though. He is depicting the past. If Saleh “Gadi” Johar is depicting the struggle of the Eritrean common folk’s alias known as Hafash, he has wasted his time and energy to convince those of us who did not participate directly in the Eritrean struggle. I believe that Awate’s single bullet had heralded the good news of Harnet and Nazanet. I hope Awate was not a bandit as some quarters attempt to portray him. For me, the book of Saleh is as good as the book of ELI. All over again! I don’t believe 5 decades of struggle has been wasted. We have evolved.

The book of Tekie is commendable for the simple reason that he wrote in the First Person Singular (I). It is indeed a huge step in the right direction. It is the beginning for individualism to be restored in the Eritrean society. I hope Tekie’s intention is not to salvage the power holders but to salvage the civil society. We have to wait and see.

EPRP’s model

EPRP had ideas about the role of any government even when it is outside of the mainstream. EPRP does not also rebel without a pause. It gave a chance to the DERG’s government to focus on what it knows best i.e. the military and to return to its barracks leaving the country for civilians to fight among themselves, be it for Socialism or Capitalism. Instead of abiding to the demands of workers, peasants, students and intellectuals, the military had taken the reign of the government. In fact, without understanding the model of control and command (CC), the DERG had formed a group of (CC) comprising eleven members of which seven were picked from the military and five of them were engineers. Such was the power base and a structure of ESAPA.

These Eleven people should be held responsible for all the atrocities that their followers had committed as well as for the failures of an envisaged ideology of progress. I don’t think that all ESAPA members and followers are to be blamed or incriminated. Rather, they should take the blame to themselves for themselves.

EPRP had extended to the Eritrean freedom fighters the benefit of the doubt to liberate the minds and hearts of all Eritrean as to choose soberly and freely among the agendas of independence, autonomy or federation with Ethiopia. EPRP had honestly struggled to implement these three choices by demanding first, peace in Eritrea and democracy Ethiopia. EPRP had even sent or encouraged its members and supporters to join the Eritrean struggle on individual volition.

The end result was war and not revolution. Who was responsible for this? CC (central committee)! Who were these people and how many of them? According to some written documents, they were about seventy members. Where are they now, I can not tell. Hafash Eritreans cannot distinguish between the CC of EPLF and the CC of the United States where CC means Congress and the Constitution rule.

Conclusion

On the one hand, instead of following up any study, subsequent Ethiopian governments have been sabotaging the development effort of struggle or agenda by inculcating fear instead of freedom among the people.

While on the other, four organizations were and are responsible either for the construction or destruction of Eathiopia. America, Europe and Asia or the satellite organizations around these four main organizations could not have been blamed. It is our own making. If we evaluate each organization in accordance with its stated objectives against its accomplishment, then we will have reached the bottom line or the Truth – a Truth of which we will appreciate the past and encourage the future.

Inasmuch as the governments of Haile Sellassie I, Menghistu and Issais have tried to inculcate fear about the “Red Sea”, the Meles regime has embarked on a fear of the Nile River. This is an outdated trick. The Washington demonstrators on the case of the Nile are not dummy PEOPLE. Their protest was for money not for a cause.

It is very unfortunate that Eathiopian M’HUR Akal had either access or uninitiated comfort zone of not make a primary study of the ABAY.

August 5^th demonstration that was carried out in front of the State Department or in front of the Chinese Embassy has nothing to do with real cause. It was either for financial gain or frustration.

I don’t think we need provocative governments. The Black River is neither for damned groups as in that type of demonstrators nor to be dammed for the purpose of governments. The ABBAy is Black in soil and soul. The peasants of Eathiopia will benefit without going to war diplomatically or otherwise. What is my name? Call me by my character not by my color, please.

The model of EPLF and TPLF are not to be emulated, they ought to be corrected if not eliminated. The demonstrations of August 5, 2010 are similar in style and content with the proxy war by the TPLF and ELF in Somalia. In the long run, they are unproductive if not outright harmful to all Eathiopians.

TRUTH WILL PREVAIL

For comments and questions

woldetewolde@yahoo.com

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13. August 2010 by Assimba.

August 11, 2010 at 7:10 pm (Commenatry)

Seifu Tsegaye Demmissie

The last week`s Pro- Meles Zenawi demonstration in Washington DC using the Nile as one of the rallying issues, is Zenawi`s political maneuver in the waters of the Nile. The main purpose and timing of this maneuver are all combined in a manner which is meant to send out signals of deterrent or scare Ethiopians struggling for democracy, freedom and justice. The tone of the message that came out from his mole rats who were forced to come out of their hiding burrows is that of intimidation and threats. They are typical of Zenawi`s horrible and ethno-fascistic rule. He will not achieve his political goal of keeping Ethiopians off the streets of Washington DC or any other western Capital. The marching of few TPLF and greedy souls in the streets of Washington DC will not scare Ethiopians.

The ethno-fascist Meles Zenawi has developed this false sense of total triumph over the Ethiopian opposition operating inside Ethiopia and the west where the major part of the Diaspora is based. The display of his followers and beneficiaries in the streets of Washington DC has obviously been intended to show his reach and presence in the Diaspora. However, the Nile an Ethiopian issue he should not encroach upon to provoke us. He should not be allowed to pollute or fish in our waters though he can not catch any big fish in them.

Meles Zenawi is well aware of the sensitivity of the Nile issue and the vital importance Ethiopians attach to it. Besides, he has realized the international or regional side of the issue and calculated to make a political capital or fortune out of it.  However, as Ethiopians we have long known that Zenaw`s gains have always incurred lamentable losses on our country, Ethiopia. Zenawi`s gains of any kind including his adoption as the nasty child of the Global Aid Industry, are taking their tolls on our people and country. Therefore, his political maneuvering in the waters of the Nile will never fool and make us lose sight of his anti-Ethiopia stands, treason and atrocities. Zenawi will never be in a position to win the hearts and minds of Ethiopians and garner a commanding support. Nor will he be able to achieve his stated goal of crippling and demoralizing the democratic and genuine Ethiopian opposition. Despite their temporary setbacks, the Ethiopian opposition is capable of resilience and will strengthen themselves to continue waging the popular anti-fascist struggle.

It is obvious that we are located in or the proximity of a region where water is becoming a scarce resource and will likely be the source of future conflicts or wars. The pressure on or demand for this resource is increasing as a consequence of increasing population and unfavorable climatic changes in the region. Despite facing persistent and devastating famines, Ethiopia has not used or underused its water resources including the waters of the Nile for various reasons. It is ironical to witness Ethiopia which is also called Africa`s water tower suffering from periodic drought related famines. Droughts or failing rains are not the sole causes of famine in Ethiopia. A regime in control of the fertile or productive lands of the country and on a land selling spree should take its significant share of the blame. With Zenawi in power, there will not be any wonder if the fertile lands and waters of the country end up in the hands of hostile foreign powers.

The TPLF guys and their comrades in bellies who had taken part in the pro- Zenawi demonstration in Washington DC have only brought disgrace and shame on themselves. They can not promote the image of their paymaster and his rule in Ethiopia. The Nile issue is an Ethiopian one and should be left to Ethiopians. The members and supporters of the ethno-fascist Zenawi have got nothing to do with this issue. It is important to re-emphasize that Ethiopians never expect Zenawi to be the guardian or protector of the national interests of their country. Given the vital economic as well as political dimensions of the Nile issue, Ethiopians have persisted in their demands for transparency and accountability in any dealings with it. This is justifiable because we value the issue as part of our national interests. There are reports of his earlier secretive deals with Egypt in which Zenawi has agreed to accept the current unfair arrangement regarding the use of the Nile waters. This arrangement which is known to be based on the British colonial interests favoring Egypt is unjust and unfair and is not legally binding. The parties involved can not be bound by it.

The leaders of the TPLF with Zenawi in the forefront have been ridiculing any concern and demand for the protection and promotion of Ethiopia`s national interests including its rightful access to the Red Sea, as the politics of the chauvinists or Amharas. The demonstration of Zenawi`s guys and the sellouts clad in the politics of the chauvinists in Washington DC, should not come as any to surprise Ethiopians.

Ethiopia is not only the source of most of the waters of the Nile but almost all of the fertile and rich soil making particularly significant contributions to Egyptian agriculture. The Nile has played a significant role in the emergence and growth of the ancient Egyptian civilization and is the lifeline of the present day Egypt. Various expeditions were launched to find the source of the Nile. Thus a lot is at stake in the Nile issue. The Blue Nile contributes approximately 80-90% of the Nile River discharge and 96% of the transported sediment carried by the Nile originates in Ethiopia, with 59% of the water from the Blue Nile (the rest being from Tekeze , Atbara , Sobat  and small tributaries). The erosion and transportation of silt only occurs during the Ethiopian rainy season in the summer, when rainfall is especially high on the Ethiopian Plateau; (http://en..wikpedia.org/wiki/Nile). Since the Nile is an International river, no country can justify sole ownership or an inequitable use of its waters and efforts aimed at having in place agreements for equitable and fair use of this resource are of crucial importance. The riparian countries need to work out and accept a fair and just agreement for the equitable and sustainable use of the Nile waters.

The Nile issue is a vital component of the national interest of Ethiopia which Zenawi has been damaging and undermining since his days in the bush. In fact, Zenawi in the palace has proved to be more detrimental to the national interests of Ethiopia. However, it is important to note that Ethiopia is not in a position to take care of its national interests since it is in the hands of Meles Zenawi. Egypt and the Sudan can exploit Ethiopia`s current weak position or absence to retain the former British Colonial treaty on the use of the Nile waters. As stated earlier, this treaty is known to favour Egypt and has remained contentious. Egypt`s direct or indirect hand (through other fellow Arab Countries) in destabilising Ethiopia is known to be connected to the Nile issue. It is worth recalling that Meles Zenawi has based the resolution of the so called border dispute with the Eritrean People`s Liberation Front (EPLF) on the colonial treaties which are defunct and void. He has done this deliberately or intentionally to harm and undermine the national interests and security of Ethiopia. Despite his political machinations using the Nile as an appealing issue, there is no reason for us Ethiopians to believe that Zenawi will reject the colonial treaty on the use of the waters of the Nile. His reported signing of the recent agreement among the upper stream countries can turn out to be a ploy designed to hoodwink these countries which are genuinely concerned with securing their national interests. They should be ware of Zenawi who plays a mercenary role in Africa.

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28. July 2010 by Assimba.

Seyoum Gelaye, Professor
E-mail: Sboggale@yahoo.com
July 22, 2010
Ethiopia.org’s July 18, 2010 interview with Mr. Hassan Abdullahi- Ogaden Liberation Front’s (ONLF’s) Ethiopian Affairs, and Foreign Relations officer- is a good start. We trust that this dialogue will be perused further because Mr. Hassan was allowed to echo-unchallenged- Oromo Liberation Front’s (OLF’s), Eritrean Liberation Front’s (EPLF’s), and Tigri Liberation Front’s (TPLF’s) fictitious histories as his justification for Ogade’s Non-Ethiopianess by repeatedly pointing out article 39 (1) in TPLF’s constitution, which states, “Every Nation, Nationality and people in Ethiopia has an unconditional right to self-determination, including the right to secession.”

The fallacies of TPLF’s constitution and Mr. Hassan’s subsequent declaration have not been adequately challenged by the interviewer. Ogaden has never been an independent African Nation, such as: Uganda, Kenya, Sudan etc., for a nation signifies a self-governing and sovereign territory, inhabited by people sharing similar culture, values, and mores with a strong economic interrelationship, and recognized as such by other independent nations throughout the world. Ogaden or the other nine so called “nations” and “nationalities” in the present Ethiopia are TPLF’s creation emanating from Joseph Stalin’s Communist Constitution.

The “nation” and “nationality” designation, unfortunately, are  direct copies from the constitution of the then Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin forcefully annexed officially independent nations in Europe, Asia and formed the United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). The Radical Leftists of Ethiopia and other dubious individuals  like:  Melese Zenawi, Isayas Afewerk etc have copied verbatim the defunct Marxism and Leninism ideology of the then USSR and have attempted to impose these alien USSR experiences on the nation of present Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a home to many linguistic groups. During the Country’s 5000 years of recorded history, its citizens have interspersed sometimes voluntarily, and at other times due to internal conflicts or because of trade resulting in intermarriage, and settlement in various parts of Ethiopia. As a result, one time Oromo speakers are now speaking Tigrigna, Amargna, Guragigna, Sidamegna, Wolayetagna and vice versa.

Also, according to Mr. Hassan, Ogaden has been an independent country prior to Menelik II’s (Reign 1889-1913) “invasion and annexation”. He further stated that ONLF is  not only fighting to fully enshrine TPLF’s constitution but also to enforce United Nation’s post colonial charter designed to give rights to only the nations who were occupied by European colonial powers.  This UN Charter does not have relevance to Ethiopia.

Eritrea was granted its independence by Melese Zenawi using the same assertions and presently OLF, ONLF, TPLF are pursing the same bankrupt agenda.

Mr. Hassan has gotten away with the distortion that Ogaden was a colony of Ethiopia. However, the fact is that Ogaden and- for that matter- the whole of Somalia was one time part and parcel of Ethiopia’s territory.

There are no nations and nationalities in Ethiopia.  Instead, in Ethiopia’s context there are Negedes or Gossas and not Nations and nationalities.

Immam Ahmed Ebrahim, who was multi-ethnic Ethiopian (Somali/Adal/Belew), invaded Ethiopia using the present Somali (Including Ogaden) as his spring board and ruled for fifteen years all the territories extending up to Lake Tana. After Immam Ahmed’s defeat, a large number of his surviving fighters settled in all parts of the Country, adopting the local languages, cultures, and since then most have become Amargna, Tigregna, Guragigna, Wolaitigna,  etc. speakers.

Immam Ahmed Ebrahim’s war of destruction took place during and after the era of Atse Libna Dengel of Ethiopia (1508-1540); this was 373 to 381 years prior to the coronation of Menelik II as an Emperor of Ethiopia.

Mr. Hassan also emphatically declared that the Amhara King, Menelik II of Shoa, invaded all independent “nations” in the south, including Ogaden, some hundred years ago and forcefully annexed these “independent nations” with the highland territories of the then “Amhara Kinggom.”

Menelik II- akin to most Ethiopians then and now- is multiethnic. His mother (Woizero Ejigayehu Lemma Adyamo) was a concierge in King Sahle Sillasse Palace in Ankober.  Menelik II was, therefore, the son of Prince Haile-Melekot (son of King Sahle Sillasse) and Woizero Ejigayehu Lemma Adyamo. After the birth of Menelik, Woizero Ejigayehu Lemma Adyamo had to move to  Angolel near Debreberhane, where the baby Menelik spent his 11 Childhood years  among his  lifelong Oromo friends, like                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Gobena Dacho, the son of Tulema Oromo leader Dacho.

Contrary to Ato Hassan’s assertion, Ethipia’s history did not start and end with Menelik II.  Menelik II succeeded Yohannis IV (1831-1889). Yohannis’ Ethiopia was threatened and invaded by various colonizing powers from Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Emperor Yohannes was always, therefore, seeking diplomatic and/or military support from Christian Nations all over Europe.  The following is an excerpt of a letter Yohannis wrote in 1881 to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany:

“I will be satisfied if Your Majesty will mediate, so long as it is done on the basis of what my ancestors, the Emperors of Ethiopia, held prior to the fall of the regime due to the advent of Gragn. After Gragn, the Empire was regained during Sertse Dengel, Iyaasu I, and Fasil, and later was lost by a certain Gugsa… To the east and south […east] the boundary is the sea. To the west north, where there Haran Dawa, Gash, Massawa, Bedew Shoho, and Tiltal. Further, the regions inhabited by Galla, Shankilla, and Adal is all mine and yet recently in the middle of Shoa [!], a place known by the name of Harar was taken [from us]. All the same I listed these places so that my country’s boundaries be known, Page 321.”

It is time for all  Ethiopians to unite and struggle so we may fight back folks like Mr. Hassan Abdullahi, Melese Zenawi, Isayas Afewerk and other indigenous ethnic warlords, threatening  the survival of this glorious nation, Ethiopia.

References:

Atse Mnelik. By: Pawlos GnoGno, Yekatit 1984.

Immam Ahmed Ebrahim (Ahmed Giragne). By: Teshome Berhanu Kemal, Miazia 2000;

Kasa and Kasa: Papers on the Lives, times and Images of Tewodros II Yohannes IV (1855-188). Edited by: Taddese Beyene, Richard Pankhrust, and Shiferaw Bekele, Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University, June 1990;

Radicalism and Cultural Dislocation in Ethiopia 1960-1974. By: Messay Kebede, Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora, December 2008;

YeEtiopia Regim Yehizbena YeMengist TaRik, Andegna Metsehaf. By: Lapiso Ge. Dilebo,  Nigde Matemia Bete, Addis Ababa, 1982; and

YeEtiopia Tarik, Be Asra Sdestegnaw Kifle Zemen. By: Yeilm Dressa, Hidar 20, 1959.

Seyoum Gelaye, Professor
E-mail: Sboggale@yahoo.com
July 22, 2010

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24. June 2010 by Assimba.

By Yilma Bekele

Foreign policy magazine had an article by Professor George Ayittey titled “The worst of the worst-bad dude dictators and general coconut heads.” As an Ethiopian I was sold by the title. I knew I was in familiar territory. That is one category we can claim ownership. There are a few human experiences that are sort of associated with our country. It is like when you mention marathon or distance running the first thing that comes to mind is mother Ethiopia and her barefoot runners. That is good. On the other hand say famine or starvation the face presented is that of an Ethiopian. That is bad.

Thus I was sure that Professor Ayittey’s article was such a place where our country will outshine the competition. Yes sir, we will make them eat dust. Gentlemen rev your engines here comes the most important list. This special list contains 23 autocrats that control 1.9 billion people. Here is how he started his article:

I call these revolutionaries-turned-tyrants “crocodile liberators,” joining the ranks of other fine specimens: the Swiss bank socialists who force the people to pay for economic losses while stashing personal gains abroad, the quack revolutionaries who betray the ideals that brought them to power, and the briefcase bandits who simply pillage and steal. Here’s my list of the world’s worst dictators. I have ranked them based on ignoble qualities of perfidy, cultural betrayal, and economic devastation. If this account of their evils makes you cringe, just imagine living under their rule.

That is just page one. So I shout hurry up with the list and turn the page over. Number one is Kim Jung IL of North Korea. It is ok no surprise here. Kim Jung is a formidable tyrant with some sort of crude Nuclear weapon by his bedside. Guess who comes next. Freaking Mugabe, that is who. I was a little disappointed but continued turning the page. The picture was that of General Than Shwe of Burma. He looks like some character from Disney with all the self- awarded medals covering half his chest. No mention of us. Next is none other than our neighbor General Al Bashir of Sudan.

Well you should see my disappointment. Why do you do this to me Professor, I plead. Are you trying to take the only thing we got going for us? The professor is very cruel. He ranked some dentist turned tyrant from Turkmenistan as number six, followed by our neighbor from the north Isaiyas Afworki, coming at number eight is a ‘ruthless thug’ from Uzbekistan, and Ahmadinejad of Iran taking the number nine spot. Our dear leader for life, architect of 99.6% victory Prime Minister Meles is ranked number ten.

To say I was furious is an under statement. I was crushed. I Googled Professor George B.N. Ayittey’s name. I wanted to know what beef he got with mother Ethiopia. What is going on here? What kind of joke is the professor playing on us? I can understand number three, may be number four but number ten seems a little harsh to me.

This does not bode well to either the Prime Minister or his TPLF cadres. They have been sharpening their craft for the last twenty-five years and all they got to show for it is lousy number ten ranking? I do believe the Professor is trying to make them the laughing stock of the country if not the neighborhood. Have you ever heard of respect for number ten?

As a self-respecting loyal subject of number ten I fired off an email to the good professor. I told him in no uncertain terms that we take offense to that. I understand we might not brandish Nuclear weapons like ‘Dear Leader’ Kim but we make it up with other cowardly acts. Just take the ranking of those crude Generals from Burma as number two. What do they got that we don’t have? For starters they have the Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi but we got Bertukan Mediksa. That is a wash. On the other hand while Aung San Suu Kyi is under a house arrest, Judge Bertukan is in solitary confinement at the rat infested Kaliti Prison. Surely number ten gets extra points for that.

Number ten has sacrificed over eighty thousand subjects in the Eritrean war with another ten thousand or more in Somalia and various other conflicts, can the Burmese tyrants equal that? They don’t even have the balls to start a war with their neighbors. Give me a break professor. The lower ranking of Mugabe and Al Bashir is further insult that should not go un noticed. When it comes to terrorizing ones own population they can’t even hold a candle to number ten. We are talking about targeted shooting of unarmed peaceful demonstrators in broad daylight, imprisonment of over forty thousand suspected opposition sympathizers and incarceration of the entire opposition party leaders. None of the two tin pot dictators can boast of such a feat. A few unorganized acts of terror here and there but I doubt they have a well-equipped Agazi force at their disposal.

I am really surprised that of all the glorious achievements by number ten the Professor saw fit to mention the following:

Worse than the former Marxist dictator he ousted nearly two decades ago, Zenawi has clamped down on the opposition, stifled all dissent, and rigged elections. Like a true Marxist revolutionary, Zenawi has stashed millions in foreign banks and acquired mansions in Maryland and London in his wife’s name, according to the opposition 

I tend to disagree. I would like to think murder and genocide will out rank simple thievery in the scheme of criminal acts. I also think those properties are a ruse to camouflage the real location of the retirement venue. As you know both countries have no qualms regarding shipping former tyrants to The Hague, thus I would think number ten is aiming for either Shanghai or Pyongyang.

Further more do you see any of the other contestants at the G20 meeting anywhere? No sir, it is number ten that shows up consistently. The fact that he has noting of value to contribute hasn’t stopped him from hobnobbing with elected leaders. It is not lost on the organizers that number ten’s presence gives vibrancy to a boring and uneventful gathering. It is also true that the organizers reserve a special section for the Ethiopian Diaspora to vent out while forcing number ten to crawl down in the back seat. Master Card is doing a commercial based on this true story. According to reliable sources the ad campaign goes like this:

Plane ticket to Toronto- $1500.00

First class Hotel- $2000.00/night

Limousine rental $500.00/day

The look on number ten hiding in his limo driving by angry Ethiopians: priceless.

There is some things money can’t buy, for everything else there is MasterCard!

In the name of fairness and decency we ask Professor Ayittey to revise his list and restore our well-deserved ranking. Number ten is getting ready to take the oath of office after the grueling campaign and we hope this ranking will not deter the Mugabes, Al Bashirs and other highly rated misfits from skipping the ceremony. Some are claiming that the lower ranking is a conspiracy by Ethiopian haters to discredit numbers ten’s glorious achievement, but I wouldn’t go that far. I urge the Professor to reconsider. You can read his article by clicking at the following site.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/21/the_worst_of_the_worst?page=0,0

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11. June 2010 by Assimba.

“You can take me out of Ethiopia, but you can’t take Ethiopia out of me”
Please take your time to read the article.
Thank you.

Many Ethiopians and those interested in Ethiopia have asked themselves over the years why Ethiopians cannot get along, or why Ethiopian organizations, groups, or collectives seem to not work very well. Indeed, over the past few decades, we have seen countless Ethiopian collectives of all types split apart, disbanded, abandoned, rendered ineffective, or operating inefficiently, often because of intra-group conflict-conflict among the membership-and an inability to practice effective conflict resolution

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For example, consider the state of Ethiopian Orthodox churches in the Diaspora, which for various reasons happen to be the strongest voluntary organizations in the community. It is fair to say that at least half these churches have experienced serious conflict leading to break-ups. And much of this conflict is not substantive - not due to political or theological differences. A priest, during a recent sermon, remarked that nearly all the large North American cities have Ethiopian Orthodox churches. “What else do they have in common?” he asked the congregation. The answer was quick - “Feuds!”

I believe that the propensity for conflict and the lack of tools and capacity for conflict resolution are fundamental reasons for Ethiopia ’s poverty and underdevelopment. Endless feuding and infighting from the grassroots level upwards have made it difficult for Ethiopians to build and sustain the social capital and institutions necessary for development. I think it is imperative that academicians and development practitioners make awareness of intra-group conflict a top priority for study and intervention. But before I make my case, I would like to describe the nature of the problem in greater detail. Here are a few interesting points.

First, the intra-group conflicts we see in Ethiopian collectives are seldom caused by differences in ideology, organizational structure, or other substantive reasons. Nor are they confined to organizations whose members come from a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives. Indeed, virulent conflicts occur in apparently homogeneous groups whose memberships have not only similar ideologies, but similar frames of reference, perspectives, and interests.

Another interesting point is that such conflicts occur just as much in the Ethiopian Diaspora as they do in Ethiopia . This is interesting because in the Diaspora, factors such as poverty, various types of oppression, lack of education, etc., do not exist.

Finally, intra-group conflicts are found in all types of Ethiopian collectives. We can observe chronic feuding and infighting in families, extended families, non-political civic organizations such as professional associations, religious institutions, local community and charity organizations, as well as political associations.

So, why is there so much intra-group conflict characterized by personal feuds and infighting in Ethiopian society? And when there is conflict, why is conflict resolution so difficult? One explanation is that we have been brought up in an environment where certain dysfunctional behaviors that hamper effective communication, cause conflict, and hinder conflict resolution are the norm. Below is a list of some of these behaviors that I have observed. I ask readers to reflect on whether you have seen them in yourself, in others, in meetings, and other group settings.

Personalization of issues

This is when we are unable to conceptually distinguish between people and their ideas or thoughts. For example, if someone objects to a suggestion I make, I see the objection as personal attack, not as a simple difference of opinion. In response to the perceived personal attack, I respond with a personal attack, instead of discussing the issues. Hence, the initial disagreement over ideas turns into a personal struggle, and because it is a personal struggle where pride and survival are at stake, we end up unable to constructively ‘agree to disagree’. Groups whose members find it difficult to ‘agree to disagree’ become paralyzed by feuding and infighting and eventually collapse.

Parochialism

We tend to irrationally favor those from our own kin-family, village, team, and ethnic group-no matter what the cost. That is, if a person from my kin has a conflict with someone outside my kin, I automatically favor my colleague, no matter what the substance of the disagreement. Furthermore, I extend the conflict to a dislike of the stranger and his entire kin-his family, friends, place of employment, ethnic group, etc. This is the root of blood feuds.

Parochialism within organizations leads to ineffectiveness, as decisions are made based on who supports the decisions, rather than on their merit. It also leads to organizations being split into smaller and smaller factions, and eventually collapsing. An organization may split into two main factions. Factions will develop within those factions, and further splitting will occur, until the organization fails.

Chronic suspicion and mistrust

We view each other first and foremost as potential threats. With such a heightened level of threat-awareness, any idea or thought, no matter how innocuous, is quickly considered to have negative ulterior motives behind it. Even the most innocent comments by the closest of friends can be misinterpreted as sinister, resulting in the breakup of relationships. This behavior is a fundamental cause of conflict in a group setting. No group can be effective without trust.

Paranoia

As we view everyone as a threat, we tend to disproportionately develop a paranoid outlook in our interaction with others, with the ‘threat’ foremost in our minds in our interactions. This paranoia, in a group setting, results in organizational paralysis with everyone looking over their shoulder and hesitant, instead of working towards the common goal.

Lack of empathy and empathetic understanding

Empathy, the ability to identify with or understand others’ situation, feelings, and actions, is critical for effective communication and teamwork. However, in our society, we are not sensitized to the importance of empathy. We do not ask questions such as ‘what in his background might have caused him to react this way’, or ‘what would I have done in his shoes’. This leads us to make erroneous judgments based on incomplete understanding, which in turn leads to confusion and conflict within groups.

Lack of suspending judgment or giving others the benefit of the doubt

Suspending judgment is fundamental to effective communication. However, due to our suspicious nature and lack of empathetic understanding, we have a tendency to judge and not give others the benefit of the doubt. If someone does something we do not understand, we do not say, ‘Perhaps there is something he knows that I don’t,’ or ‘Let me wait and see before making a judgment.’ We judge hastily, without taking time to examine all possibilities. This results in erroneous judgments and personal conflicts.

Character assassination

Rather than addressing conflict directly, we spread rumors and innuendo about those with whom we disagree. We engage in character assassination because we know that it is an effective weapon in our society. Since we do not give each other the benefit of the doubt, we tend to believe bad things about others! A strategy of muddying someones reputation will render them useless, as people will simply have had their existing suspicions confirmed.

Lack of openness

Openness facilitates effective communication. As Ethiopians, we are not open and forthcoming about our thoughts and expect the same guarded approach from others. This is related to our lack of empathy, which makes us afraid of being judged hastily and incorrectly if we speak openly. This fear causes us to be vague, unclear, and non-committal, which inevitably leads to communication gaps and communication breakdown, as others persistently try to interpret the hidden meaning of what is said, and often end up interpreting negatively and incorrectly. Lack of openness leads to misunderstanding and ultimately conflict.

Holding grudges

We tend to chronically hold on to personal grudges. Understanding or forgiveness of perceived affronts is seen as weakness, as it is assumed that everyone is and remains to be a threat. In a group setting, there are bound to be conflicts, and if people hold on to grudges, there can be no effective teamwork.

Envy

We hate it when others are better off than we are in any context, but instead of struggling to improve our own lot, we work to reduce others’! This comes from our ingrained perception that everything in life is a zero-sum game. If someone is rich, it is because another is poor. If someone is happy, it is because another is sad. It is as if the world has been allotted a fixed amount of wealth, happiness, etc., and it has been ordained that everyone should have more or less the same amount. Failing this, the ones with more must have committed some kind of crime to improve their lot and the ones who have less must be cursed.

Stubbornness and lack of compromise

Because of our zero-sum view of the world, compromise is seen as a weakness. We do not understand the concept of compromise as a building block for future win-win endeavors. Instead, compromise is seen as a loss forever.

I am sure that all of us have seen first hand these behaviors manifested in our various collectives, from families to religious groups to political organizations. Many of us in the Diaspora have been exposed to non-Ethiopian collectives where, generally speaking, such conflicts occur far less often. We have also observed that these collectives are, as a result, far more effective and efficient than Ethiopian collectives.

It is crucial that we find a way to raise awareness that intra-group conflict is a fundamental barrier to development, to put an end to our dysfunctional group behaviors, and to promote positive, constructive behaviors that reduce conflict, increase our capacity for conflict resolution, and increase our collective propensity (tendency) for cooperation.

To this end, as a first step, I suggest that all of us look inward and self-reflect, try to identify these behaviors in ourselves, and then try to change our thoughts and actions in ways that help us reduce the conflict in our own lives, and in those of our families, friends, and acquaintances.

My second suggestion is that there should be a collective attempt to stigmatize dysfunctional behaviors in our everyday lives. For example, we must make it unacceptable to attack anyone personally instead of addressing issues. We must not only refuse to listen to character assassination, but openly chastise (discipline) and correct those who do it - in a charitable and constructive manner, of course. We have to keep in mind that most of us engage in such behavior almost unknowingly, because of the culture we have grown up in. Unless sensitized to the ramifications of such speech and actions, we cannot become fully aware of the consequences.

Finally, I suggest that academicians, development practitioners, and institutions make the topic of dysfunctional behaviors, social norms conducive (encouraging) to development, social capital, and the like, a priority for research and action.

Salaam Yitbarek works for Statistics Canada in Ottawa , Canada . He is also a research fellow at the Ethiopian Institute for Nonviolence Education and Peace Studies (EINEPS)

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5. June 2010 by Assimba.

My friend came from out of town for a visit. I took him around to all the tourist places, including our local Museum of Modern Art. Lucky for us there was a Picasso exhibit the critics were raving about. It was a delight to view Picasso’s work in living color.

I was transfixed by the painting ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon’ or the chicks from d’ Avignon. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chicks-from-avignon.jpg)

Even though Picasso denied it, this work shows a strong resemblance to African art. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is the maestro at his best. By some it is considered his most daring and outrageous work. The use of bold colors and brash diagonal lines makes the painting full of activity and perpetual motion. Pablo Picasso was a genius. Looking at Les Demoiselles d’Avignon one is left with the impression that Picasso was developing a new means of artistic expression. He is considered a maestro or ‘king of his craft.’

Then it came to me. I know some one that fits the description. It is no other than our dear leader for life Meles Zenawi. Picasso used his god given talent to bring joy to humanity while Meles uses his devil inspired negatively charged machinations to create chaos, mistrust and uncertainty to his subjects. The maestro, our very own ‘prince of darkness.’

It was a sad realization but nevertheless a realization that will at eat my heart for the next two weeks. No matter how hard I tried to push it out of my head, it wouldn’t go away. I have to admit it was an apt comparison. There was no escaping from the fact that we are witnessing the scientific evolution of the ‘art of terror’ and our very own Meles Zenawi is achieving the rank of maestro in his chosen field. OK I concede, we can qualify it by creating a new classification of ‘mal maestro’. It must be a proud moment for his friends and family. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some just cheat, lie, push, shove, and kill just to make it. We have a winner amongst us.

Bestowing the title of maestro on our ‘Dear leader’ might be offensive to some. But ladies and gentlemen, if you will forgive me, I don’t see anything wrong in giving credit where credit is due. The tightly choreographed play that passed for a democratic and free election is worthy of mention in any history book. Mal maestro sounds like a perfect title to me. Our friend Picasso introduced the African sense of unrestricted vibrant wild energy into the ‘Cubist’ style of the time. Last weekend humanity watched in living color the modern drama of unabashed robbery as witnessed by distinguished guests from Europe and Africa. The opposition candidates were led to the sacrificial pooling booth accompanied by neatly dressed and well-fed toy solders adorned in their best-imported uniforms.

Just to add a little bit of drama our mal maestro erected video cameras in every major corners to watch, record and intimidate while a low flying helicopter supposedly equipped with video camera and automatic weapons was thrown in for special effect. The 2010 fourth general election in Ethiopia is another milestone in our history that will be judged as the best work of mal maestro Meles Zenawi by generations to come.

It took five years of preparation to put paint to canvas, and come up with such glorious achievement of 99.6% purity. Many have tried it but none have achieved such pure nirvana. Sudan’s Al Bashir was awe stricken, Zimbabwe’s Mugabe was flabbergasted, Mymar’s nameless Generals demanded the blueprint, and the Chinese Communist Party was humbled. Iran’s Ahmadinejad called a cabinet meeting upon hearing such colossal achievement, and Kyrgyzstan’s petty tyrant is said to have wept openly from his hiding place in Belarus. Solomon Tekaligne is right ‘the eye browed’ one is one cool hombre.

Watching the mal maestro at work is a delight. Professionals make a difficult task look so easy. The election drama was played out to a mesmerized audience with such passion that it left the feeble opposition dumbstruck and shell-shocked. Mal maestro Meles displayed such bold moves as TV debates in undisclosed location to be edited and broadcasted at a later time. His use of vibrant colors full of energy was evident in his ‘warning’ of contestants that they will be held liable for their negative uttering regarding his policy. The only location they could campaign without being taunted, beaten or abused was thousands of miles away in North America among non-voting supporters. Even there, they were reminded of the penalty of ‘mis- speaking’ that will await them. They were forced to relearn the art of speaking without saying anything of value. The fact that the opposition sacrificed a few die-hards was compared to the 2005 election and declared an improvement.

Our mal maestro was so sure of success that he organized a victory celebration before the ballots were in. The neat beautiful tri-color posters were printed months back, the participants paid ahead and the beautiful dais at Meskel Square lit with special lighting. The bulletproof vest was adorned with a casual jacket, the baseball hat was lined with silk and the big Israeli gun was brought out openly to make a bold statement of ‘don’t thread on me.’ The picture of the little dictator behind the bulletproof glass in front of his adoring fans was a symbol of our insanity taken to a higher level.

Mal maestro Meles is not faint hearted. That is his undoing. Why pussyfoot around when you can overwhelm and relieve the peasants of their misery is his motto. He is daring but lacks wisdom. Crude is the word I am looking for. He is void of ingenuity, creativity and nuance. A wise person searches a clever way out of an unpleasant situation. Our mal maestro is not blessed with subtlety. By any standards a blunt force such as 99.6% is the least elegant solution. It is like calling upon the US Air Force to settle a bar room brawl.

What did his subjects do, you might ask? I will try to answer that delicately. For a people who have been trampled upon for the last thirty years, we have developed a very fragile ego. Who would blame us if we turn around and fault ourselves? Victim blaming certainly did not start with us. Didn’t the Europeans blame Africans for the slave trade? Didn’t Hitler blame the Jews for his atrocities? Didn’t Meles blame Kinijit for planning Interhamwe? Well it is no surprise that some are blaming the opposition for losing.

Please tell me something new. Isn’t self-flagellation our national past time? No one can surpass Ethiopians in that field. We leave our homeland empty handed, we settle in strange places, we build a life, we raise a family and we still bad mouth each other. Do you notice that we live together in humongous apartment complexes, eat Tibs and Kitfo in our own restaurants, buy insurance from our cousins but without pause, we talk about the uselessness of Abeshas. Why stop there while you are at it why not blame the University massacre, the war with Eritrea, the genocide in Hawasa, Ogaden and Gambella the over 40% unemployment, the debacle of Gibe Dam and other mal maestros misdeeds on the opposition. Hey why not include the lack of rain in the mix. That should show everybody the only smart choice is the gang from Adwa.

So how did we deal with our current debacle? I am afraid I have nothing positive to report. We have decided to direct the rage on each other. Our programming was so complete we were ready to accept any crumbs thrown by the mal maestro. The contestants openly admitted the impossibility of wining. The issue was presented how much less was acceptable. Talks about low expectations, our gallant parties were reduced to dampening the enthusiasm of some of their hotheaded supporters that took the fake election to heart.

Where do we go from here? Do we go back to old habit of passing the blame around, knocking each other down and hiding our head under the sand or try something new for a change. Something like looking at the glass half full rather than half empty. Do we dare building on what we have instead of raising the bar so high and setting ourselves for another failure?

I am an optimist. I see the glass half full. I believe the mal maestro due to arrogance of power or the freelance nature of his well-trained zombie cadres committed a slight error. 99.6% was not the intention. But you can’t undue what is already done. He has made it difficult to his foreign benefactors to turn the usual blind eye. So they will complain a little, wring their hands a little and advise his victims to be a little patient. Some of us have already started to crow about the few isolated statements foreign office junior officials regarding the lack of ‘level playing field’ yadi yada. We seem to revelle when the Ferenjis tell us how brutal the mal maestro is. Ferenjis enable the victimizer then tell us how painful it is.

Now the ball is in our court so to say. The opposition that entered this unequal competition has indicated that they do not accept the results and are asking for a ‘new vote’. It is very unlikely that would happen. They have no leverage to force the regime to listen to them. The ‘peaceful’ struggle they waged is all carrot no stick. They have not prepared or educated their supporters in the wonderful art of civil disobedience and boycott. It looks like they compromised their principles on the assumption they will be allowed a few seats. Mal maestro pulled the rug from under them. Can they recover is a good question. But their silence and disorientation the last few days does not bode well to the pro democracy forces.

We will argue for some time if their participation helped or hurt the movement.

On the other hand it is about time groups that have charted a different path show they got tooth, that we can and we will bite back. We want our own ‘shock and awe’ moment. The time for talk is over. Baby steps are not the solution. Condemnations, outrage, anger are so yesterday. Today should be ‘look mom I can stand up with no support’ display moment. It is to show the world we are not dead, that we are capable of sacrifice and when we set our minds to the task we can do it! The issue is not how strong the enemy is but how committed we are for freedom. It is about hitting them in their most vulnerable spots and creating uncertainty and doubt. It is about finding the weakest link in the chain and breaking it. Their benefactors will abandon them the first whiff of trouble. Our people will rally around the first inkling of trouble brewing. We ask someone to step forward and do the maestro a favor. He is tired, let us relieve him of such a heavy burden of bullying eighty million souls and let him get his deserved rest in a four by six room at Kaliti. We will include weight watchers manual in case of a few kilos from such comfort.

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3. June 2010 by Assimba.

Fretsidiq Fekade

A receipt of acknowledgment to insufficient and misguided TPLF’s code of conduct yields a landslide victory to the self-declared and illegitimate regime . A political process carried out by a single authoritarian directive, to unequivocally serve its own interest and deliberate more insult to receptive oppositions. Bereft of candid vision , it mainly been a primary contention that guarantees the continuance of state enterprise and its existing power. TPLF’S govt. unlawful and arbitrary policy, practically unchallenged by the oppositions beyond rhetoric; more to it, less scrutinized and no effort made to resist in the process , certainly made possible the actor to ride on safe venue. Its crystal clear that Weyane launched a preemptive strike on both sides of the isles by presenting “the new deal“ in the name of code of conduct.  In short, the master of deception had declared victory prior to the election.  The later has simply been a show case to dissuade the “runner ups” from further taking center stage on the political platform. It was by far a grandiose do over in the history of TPLF political struggle; if one seriously looks into where the result points to. It is a synonym to obscene gesture the middle finger to mean I don’t give a flying f.  Thus spoke Weyane, call me any epithet, nonetheless, I am that finger points to your rear. Sorry…, you have been dozed off, that’s who I was, that’s who I am, and that’s who I will be.

In the absence of authentic opportunities and in the realm of unjust and unbalanced political space, the delirious oppositions hoodwinked by Weyane’s “ amicable” language of “election”. knowing this self- conducted election from the outset never instituted the principle of democracy, luck would have said it!, the slumber political experts amongst the oppositions were even convinced as such that would bring forth a solid outcome. The old saying “ yemilushion besemash gebeya balwetash”, or else if you were to know what has been said about you (fool !), you had better stayed home. While lost in translation as to how define the incumbent or else steadfastly probe into the deep-seated intrinsic identity of the ruling party, on contrary, entrenched into the uncharted territory of Weyane under the guise of “election,” with blurred vision and less audacity, culminated in a historical embarrassment . Would have been great if the oppositions had
known weyane thoroughly besides its superficial identity!!

If logical argument put in place let alone the indisputable reality unfolds before our eyes, how in the earth one can deny the nature of tyrants?  Is there any natural affinity for oil to mix with water if they find themselves together in one place? They may claim to have shared same container but doesn’t mean relate to one another via their predisposed quality. By the same token, it can be said an entity with despotic qualities and attributes cant relate its ethos or social context with one diametrically oppose it. By sheer chance or stroke of luck, or opportunity presents itself for each one randomly associate; it is inevitable their co-existence is short lived. Weyane has been adamant all the way through its political life to pronounce judgment when it comes to those stand against its view. Therefore all have been recognized enemies according to its ideology- revolutionary democracy. Point blank. Never been witnessed to vainly wasted a fraction of a second or giving a second thought to retract itself from such and such labeling . But for the most hallucinated oppositions to give a definitive look to weyane up until I write this last word is unimaginable.  What has been more clear is oppositions prefer to meander in  futile political course to define weyane as an enemy and denounce its rubber stamp constitution; before winning one parliamentary seat!

Same old fashioned exchanges of rhetoric and discourse between the junta and the oppositions, wasting time in futile parliamentary theater and so forth, is like Albert Camus’s expression of “ an absurd reasoning”. Rolling a rock up a mountain which would roll back down before one get it to the peak . There is no quick philosophical or political fix for the problems born out of the womb of TPLF. It is this same rock which one roll up and down to no avail. The political parties are condemned by the gods of TPLF govt. to the endless frivolous task of rolling this rock.

If our endeavor is more to be participants of a weyane drama, we may as well dare not say freedom fighters or agents for courageous people of Ethiopia. The people deserves leaders and representatives who can stand out as an emblem of liberty. Our people deserve to have politicians who can roll up a rock to the mountain and claim all vantage points with courage. Our people deserve to keep off those smooth political persona who strive for keeping their absurd soul alive.  It wasn’t a remote past for courageous Ethiopians to raise their voice before their slaughters- the voice which remains overwhelmingly in the conscious of many- tiglu new hiwete!
Weyane conducted election more to dishonor Ethiopians and reclaim its dictatorial run-of-the-mill governance. As simple as that. Needless to say more about its undemocratic and nontransparent mod-us operand i. Weyane has been always on top of its game, no one can play the rules of games on its own turf. Everything was done as business as usual and an attempt to mystify the process is nothing more than to introduce the most familiar. Same can be said to the oppositions; being duped by lunatics time and again is a habitual stuff.

A new, perhaps, most determined political movement must be galvanized with “ enough is enough” dictum to rid off the mobsters! No more same old propaganda is required, no more unique degree of political intelligence is anticipated, no pseudo-political farce is accepted, no more riddles and prose to be scribbled, no more to be confused by insensitive political opinions-if genuinely desired to emancipate Ethiopians from ethnocentric regime- we must bravely fight with one accord and one spirit against weyane. With all our ability, by all means necessary, lets do the best we can to save Ethiopia.
“All is despair,
Not much to repair.
Dwell in the insignificance,
Wandering in the realm of menace.
Too shallow to redirect the course.
Ignorance begets pseudo intellectuals
Wisdom hasn’t left footprints,
‘cause the spirit has been annihilated,
And the body is mutilated.

The mother of all
Left to work alone.
Her redemption and resilience
Slowed by vain politics.
Save me, she spoke,
To those being betrayed
By chance and opportunity;
Your politics is of pure unity
Your objective is not of conspiracy.”
Ethiopia will prevail!

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26. May 2010 by Assimba.

BY Obo Arada Shawl   - MAY 23, 2010

Where there is no political war, there is no election

ELECTION IN ETHIOPIA = NO ELECTION IN ERITREA

What is election? It’s a process of choice. What is choice? It’s a selection among many alternatives. But choice involves free spirit.

But free spirit lives in an environment of freedom. Do we have freedom in Eathiopia? Did the Eathiopian people get their freedom? Or they did not have any, in the first place?

Historically Eathiopian politics was understood in terms of foreign powers. Kings, queens and the like did not bother the Eathiopians. If we believe they did, it is an anachronism (out of time and place). Eathiopians have to come to define our history of the Middle Ages as well as the Renaissance, in order to understand a feudal system of government.

ETHIOPIA

The personal names of Melesse and Isais is deciphered as MI =13 and 9

Mr. Melesse’s name adoption from that Legese has put him into a very complex personality. He is a materialist par excellence. He is in the business of accumulating riches without wealth. He is desperate to be recognized as a true image as a follower of Melese Tecle and an advocate of 13. On both accounts, he is faking. He is no Melese Tecle and he does not represent the 13^th. By the way elections were formally started functioning during the 13^th century.

The Ethiopians should stop believing that Ethiopia is being ruled by constitution and congress (cc). It’s being ruled by the central committee of adua.

TPLF’s deadly sin is their leading by lying- an uninterrupted lie will lead to nowhere.

The liars of Adwa clique leaders have put/in place congress and constitution but they have denied citizens of Ethiopia to exercise their hard-won freedom and liberties form Fascistic military regime. They are acting like foreign invaders – if they don’t allow DEMOCRACIA to flourish – they will be doomed to failure. My prediction is that the TPLF will be phased out in year 2013. Faking election after all we have gone through wars and revolution is not only wrong but stupid.

ERITREA

The EPLF considered itself as a conquered people by the Eathiopians. It is a paradox to be colonized by oneself when most of its members are considered themselves as Axumite Ethiopians. It is also a paradox to be colonized by “primitive peoples of Ethiopia.”

EPLF’s strategy of being a colony of Italy and a colony of Eathiopia was untenable. ELF’s stand on Eritrean Independence was tenable. This dilemma has remained an obstacle to any headway. What is worst, both organizations dwell on grievances, regret and possibly revenge. Their bet for solutions is DEMOCRACIA – nothing else will work. It is unfortunate that DEMOCRACIA is being abused by their leader, PIA.

Eritrean organizations have been cheating their people for too long instead of teaching them the right stuff – “who is your friend and who is your enemy?”

Mr. Isais is not in the business of pretension. He is traveling to reach the letter J =10.

In perception as in reality though, the Eritreans think that they are being ruled by the Central Committee (CC). But instead, they are being ruled by one man.

Lessons to be learned from Important Events

This week in history, three important events are taking place which are relevant to all Eathiopians

• Election - in Pennsylvania, USA

• Burial ceremony - in Hazega-Tseazega, Eritrea

• Election – at Adua, Ethiopia

The case of Pennsylvania is about a long-time Republican Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania who lost his seat. Voters proved unreceptive to the converted Senator. The US Senator has switched parties after 44 years of serving as a Republican. It is reported that his move was to align himself with his Penn Public so as to prolong his political career. According to one journalist, he characterized the situation in America as “Ideology is out Trust is in”.

The Hazega-Tseazega case is about Tsehaye Minlik who has dedicated his knowledge, personal life and his children’s name to the cause of humanity, freedom and to the working classes of Eritrea and Ethiopia.

The annals of Revolutionary history of Eathiopia will remember this little unknown but great man who has served well the employees of the Assab Petroleum Refinery.

His name and family name transcends any other name in our region. The Sun (Tsehaye) which gives life here on Earth enjoys its presence in Eathiopia. Minlik is to the one who unified us not the one who divides us.

So what has happened to this man? This week on May 2010, on the eve of Eritrean Independence, he was buried on his village having buried in German soil for 20 years. Why is that his corpse was dug out and sent home? Why was he not buried in the cemetery that was allocated for the Eritrean Patriots? These are relevant questions to be dealt with in my subsequent articles.

For now, let me say that he was not only a fighter for the human free spirit but also he planned for posterity by naming his twin children as Nazanet and Harnet – both words have created confusion and chaos among the elites of Eritrea.

Tsehaye had definitely predicted the outcomes of the Eritrean Revolution. He died one year shy before the Eritrean Refendum.

Two decades have elapsed without enjoying the fruits of Nazanet and I hope the next decade will be the fruits of Harnet,

It’s reported that Melse is to complete with a lady for a parliamentary seat.

Election in Adwa is reported to be between the sexes not between ideas or positions. Both Mr. Melse and w/o Aregash have been together all along while messing up the Eathiopian societies. They are two sides of the same coin, so to speak.

There are people who said that Aregash is such a strong-willed individual that they don’t think that Melse is going to manipulate her.

The episode of Adwa election is helpless to bring us any closure. There is no finale to the TPLF leadership drama but maybe the end of the line.

Conclusion

Election in Ethiopia is equivalent to no election in Eritrea. I have predicted that the TPLF will phase out in 2013 and that the unity of Eritrea with Ethiopia will take place in 2013. There is no common era for 2013. They are Gregorian or Julian calendar.

Election in Ethiopia and no election in Eritrea are not different from each other. Cheating and lying are synonymous words. What both Liberation Fronts have been doing may seem to them as strategy and tactics. The TPLF leadership has developed hatred toward Eritreans while the EPLF leadership in turn hates the Eathiopians. In terms of hatred both are in the same wave length but in terms of strategy and tactics, they are different. One preaches for democracy while the other stands against democracy. TPLF leadership swims in fake democracy while EPLF leadership perverts democracy. Both parties depend on bullets not ballots. Eathiopians should strategize for a showdown for DEMOCRACIA – a political warfare.

The coincidence of today’s celebration of Eritrean Independence and the re-burial of my best brother/friend clearly tells me that the struggle was for cultural values not colonial.

TRUTH WILL PREVAIL

For comments and questions

woldetewolde@yahoo.com

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26. May 2010 by Assimba.

Hama Tuma

This is really a joke, a pastime actually as dictator and intelligent are oxymoron. Sort of an idiot Savant, a fine mess, a little pregnant, accurate rumors. An Amhara Weyane and abundant poverty. Of late some quarters have insisted on calling the tyrant in Addis Abeba intelligent at a time when he is blatantly rigging an election while at the same time insisting on calling Robert Mugabe a blundering fool. When Idi Amin of Uganda was engineered by Britain and Israel to stage his coup against “Socialist” Milton Obote the British media was quick to mention and even praise his “native” intelligence. Native was the code word used for covering up “almost illiterate brute soldier of British colonialism”. Toe the line and you will be called intelligent.

The whole charade stems from two sources or motivations: the fist one being that notorious racist prejudice which makes a coherent black person intelligent, surprise, surprises the Kaffir boy knows how to talk at least. Or as the surprised Italian fascist officer said in a famous Ethiopian poem: “I saw the blacks eating like human beings” sort of surprise. In my own experience I have met this monster many times, with my listeners being surprised that I could explain the situation in my country and Africa as a whole and even debate with them. Without being cruel I have to state it is like the monkey doing new tricks very well, the ape speaks English and he can hold his own in a debate, hallelujah! And thus every street smart smooth talker becomes an intelligent person, with qualifications of course. As Santiago Carrillo, the late leader of the Spanish CP said it, “to ask for Western type democracy in countries like Ethiopia and Vietnam is to bray at the moon”. He was arguing that Ethiopians have to make do with a brutal colonel called Mengistu and his fake democracy as Carrillo, a pro Soviet to boot, was supporting the tyrant backed by Moscow. Thus, intelligent is by our own reduced standard, no one is comparing Meles with even any joke of a western miserable leader, mind you. The tyrants have used this prejudice to their own advantage as expected, they wear their Yes Bwana smile as a permanent fixture, they do the slave dance to perfection ( as Meles did sometime ago backing Sarkozy and Obama and betraying Africa in Copenhagen), repeat the buzz words that please the ears of the donors and, presto or voila, whichever you prefer, they or he appear as intelligent. When they say Meles is intelligent they do not mean he is crafty, devious, sneaky, able to hide his ignorance, intriguer, cruel, and a docile puppet, no. Meles said give me an opposition lest I become corrupt with absolute power and they clapped (intelligent was the cry). The dictator of Turkmenistan was one step ahead as he said: there are no oppoition parties so how can I give them freedom? An intelligent chap!

The second reason for some calling these depots intelligent is because they are their puppets, instruments of neo colonial domination, and their mercenaries. Albert Camus called an intellectual an unsuccessful idiot and the late Walter Rodney defined the dictator as follows:

“A dictator is defined as one who elevates himself above all other citizens and often makes claims to be closer to God than mere mortals. Emperors, kings and nobles of the feudal period easily became dictators because they could justify despotic acts on the grounds that royal power and authority were of sacred origin. In more modern versions of dictatorship, the absolute ruler has to fabricate an elaborate cult of the personality to prove that he is more intelligent, more potent and generally superior to any other human being. Idi Amin fancied himself not only a physical giant but also as an intellectual giant. Besides, he boasted of a direct line to Allah. Eric Gairy, our Caribbean ex-dictator, dabbled in obeah and convinced himself that he was better than the world’s leading scientists and would personally solve the problem of unidentified flying objects. This is the stuff of which dictators are made”. Not intelligence at all unless one mistakes vulgar notions and instinct for intelligence.

Back in 2008 TV personality Barbara Walters went to Damascus and called dictator Bashr Al Assad an intelligent and charming man. The friend of many African dictators, peanut farmer Jimmy carter, went to Korea and declared “I find Kim Il Sung to be vigorous and intelligent”. Castro came to Addis. talked to the killer who declared: I hate hurting even a fly” and publicly declared “Mengistu is an honest revolutionary!” America’s admired and “intelligent” allies ranged from El Salvador’s General Maximiliano Hernandez (the very man of the occult who said “it is a great crime to kill a fly than a man because men are resurrected while flies die forever”) to Ian Smith, apartheid Botha, Mobutu and Samuel Doe, Franco and Videla, Pinochet and Papadopoulos, Suharto and Nguema ( the latter who said “I am in permanent direct contact with God and the only man who can kill and will never go to hell” and then went ahead to slaughter thousands in Equatorial Guinea), So long as the dictators are theirs they are called intelligent. Washington, London, Berlin and the EU as a whole bankroll the dictator in Ethiopia. One western diplomat in Addis Abeba has gone on record admiring Meles Zenawi’s capability to lie outright and in more than four directions. He is so intelligent he can rig elections, slaughter hundreds and stay in power! The man who makes a fine mess, intelligent!

The admired native intelligence of Idi Amin (His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Conqueror of the British Empire [CBE] in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular and King Of Scotland”)
fast evaporated when he started to step on British and Western interests. He quickly became a monster, a fool, a cannibal, a savage, anything but intelligent. The “demonization” of all those who refuse to toe the line of the West is swift, cruel and relentless–just ask Gadafi, Mugabe, Sadam and others. The very people who praise Baathist and dictator par excellence Basher as intelligent would not be caught dead uttering one word of consideration as regards Sadam for example though he was a close ally of America at one time. Mengistu became crude and cruel because he was pro Soviet and not because he killed Ethiopians en masse which the new darling of Washington, a.k.a Meles, has been doing in earnest. The political alliance and consideration dictates the qualification. In actual fact, where there is intelligence there is knowledge and this does not mean vulgar and pedestrian groping to get one’s way by all means necessary, selling the country and the people wholesale if need be as Meles and others have done without qualms. It does not also mean power or authority but rather on how one obtains power and how he or she uses it. The West back then in the mid forties considered Mussolini civilized and mocked at Ethiopians trying to defend their country. The fascist was intelligent as was Hitler with whom many American companies such as General Motors, DuPont, Standard Oil of New Jersey, Davis Oil co., Ford, ITT, Chase National Bank, etc did brisk business, forget Nazism please, be intelligent. “Henry Ford was a good friend of Hitler and his book The International Jew inspired Hitler’s Mein Kampf and the Fuehrer kept Ford’s picture in his office and Ford was one of the four foreigners to receive the German’s highest civilian award”, wrote one fact finder. Intelligent people all around–they pay the piper and even the song is theirs. The intelligent West also did business with and backed the intelligent regime of apartheid in South Africa.

Of course, we may be crying foul because we have failed to understand the very meaning of being intelligent. If being intelligent means being a tyrant, a cruel murderer. a corrupt embezzler, a liar, an election rigger, a Western puppet, a traitor to one’s own people and nation, a complete idiot with the right buzz words, then Meles and other tyrants and their thieving wives are indeed intelligent. If we take intelligence as cleverly disguised stupidity then intelligent people are ruling us and making our lives so miserable that we want to intelligently but definitively remove them from power and the face of the earth. In the end all this can be taken just as an important trivia.

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24. May 2010 by Assimba.

Sunday 23 May 2010
By Fitsum Alemu
May 22, 2010 — After one watches the “parliamentary” meetings and sees the assembled members with their varied “intelligence”, one has to pray for the country.
It is well-known that a Parliament supposed to be a deliberative assembly of one nation, with one interest, that of the whole; where, not local purposes, not local or ethnic prejudices ought to guide, but the general good and the best interest of the country. Well, that is not the case in this Ethiopian “parliament”. Having been a member of the three consecutive “parliaments”, Ato Meles trained himself to talk, sometimes utters weird and unfortunate words and phrases which were repeated and quoted by friends and foes. The “speaker of the parliament”, Ato Teshome Toga, is incompetent to lead the meeting, as well as, afraid of following his own rules and discipline his boss, Ato Meles. Rather, the “speaker” has used his utmost power against the opposition. He shut them off and threatened them. It is disturbing to see the bullying and threatening of opposition members of parliament. What Ato Mels forgets or would like to forget is that, at the end of the day, in this “parliament”, he only represents the city of Adowa, if he really represents it at all. Opposition party members also represent districts- voters who sent them there. By insulting, threatening and bullying these members, he and the “speaker” are doing the same to the constituents. Instead of making this assembly “the house of bullies”, they could have spent their time by doing people’s business. One of them would be enacting real laws. Laws that will improve the everyday life of Ethiopian people, laws that facilitate growth and unity, laws that insure the respect of human and civil rights, laws that prohibits discrimination, laws that promotes equality and fair representation, laws that protects the environment, laws that give clear guidance about the role of the federal and regional governments, a law that creates a constitutional court to interpret the constitution, a land act which provides private ownership of a land, laws that regulates endowments and prohibits political parties from directly or indirectly engaging in business, many, many laws that will come up given the circumstances and events that triggers them. That should have been the role of parliament. Other countries of Africa are a head of Ethiopia by hundreds of miles. While the Ethiopia parliament sits and mostly deal with approving international aid agreements like board of directors of a big company, other African parliaments enacted laws that help their country’s development and advance the democratic process.
For instance, in 2009-2010 the Ethiopian parliament approved 58 International treaties dealing with aid and loan, and enacted 24 laws, including anti-terrorism law and charities law; in 2007- 2008, again the parliament approved 44 aid and loan agreements. Most of the laws that were passed since 2005 were intended to curb opposition activities, suppress free press, dismantle human rights organization, but strength the government financial resources so that it can spend unlimited resources to buy weapons and technology to monitor and persecute opponents and to hire more and more spies and security officers. That is why it passed the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, the Mass Media and Freedom of Information Proclamation, the Charities Act and the Electoral Code, to mention the few.
In comparison, the South African Parliament, in 2008, passed 21 bills that include social assistance, protection of information, regulation of the post office, consumer protection and even the sale and exchange of second hand goods. The Nigerian parliament debates dozens of bills dealing with employees rights, chemical waste management, lobbying, credit administration, disaster management, establishment of a space agency, cyber security, prohibition of torture, to mention some of them. Its counterpart in Kenya also passed 16 bills in 2008-2010. One of them is a new constitution. Moreover, the Kenyan parliament is debating bills like witness protection, free legal assistance and the control of alcohol drinks.
The point is, while other African parliaments are debating advanced issues and passing laws that serve the best interest of their country, the “parliament” of Ethiopia remained a rubber stamp for EPRDF’s loan and aid agreements and has continued to be a bullying field and a “speakers’ corner” of Ato Meles and co. That is why EPRDF is conducting election every five years, that is why people have to be killed, imprisoned, tortured, and that is why the country’s limited resources should be spent. It is high time for the Ethiopian people to say to EPRDF that you have sat too long for any good you have been doing.
The writer could be reached at fitsumka@aol.com

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