By Yilma Bekele 

By all accounts the minority based dictatorial regime in Ethiopia is in big trouble. Circumstances in the neighborhood are a bit disconcerting to Meles and company. You can tell from the flurry of activity being orchestrated the last three months that Arat Kilo is on pins and needles. The Woyane regime is doing its best to keep the Ethiopian people at home and their Diaspora relatives focused on something else other than the vision of an uprising. The events in North Africa and the Middle East have unnerved our TPLF bosses. It is rumored a few of them are in need of diapers, may we suggest Huggies due to their patented leakage protection.  

The regime has devised a two-pronged attack to postpone the inevitable uprising. At home the Junta leader is busy wagging his fingers and huffing and puffing to scare and bully. The last two weeks he has put on a performance with the local cadre press to assure his followers that their job is safe due to the phenomenal economic growth that the chances of upheaval is deemed to be non-existent. No one believed him. Looks like it was not enough. 

He decided to use his podium in the kangaroo Parliament to vent some more. There is a video posted on his web site. It is as usual two a part series. I listened to part two. Is it possible that all tyrants attend the same school? Castro used to speak for four hours, Mengistu used to speak for hours, Gaddafi was given a fifteen-minute slot to speak at the UN but rambled for an hour and half and our own orator spoke for an hour and twelve minutes in part one and an hour and thirty-four minutes in part two. He must love his voice. Of course it was a captive audience. He knows no one will dare leave his lecture. I am sure most of the cadre parliamentarians have no idea what he is talking about and the fact is he was not actually addressing them. They are just a prop.  

This lecture was more focused on preparing the ground for his actions when the people’s demand for democracy begins. He was lining up the new enemies that are going to get the blame. This time around Egypt got the top billing. According to Ato Meles Egypt is in the process of undermining our way of life. Egypt in collusion with archenemy Eritrea and the local opposition including OLF, Andenet and Medrek and others are conspiring to topple our democratically elected government. He was very theatrical when he started waving his fingers and adjusting his glasses. It looks like the subject is dear to his heart. He just wanted to say I told you so when his sharp shooters start the mayhem.  

His Diaspora strategy is unfolding as we speak. His cadre representatives are in North America. According to the World Bank the Diaspora sent in remittances $3.2billion USD in 2009 which is about $52 billion Bir. In 2009 Ethiopia earned $375.8 million from coffee, $158 million from flowers, $205 million from Khat and $129 million from sesame seed. You see what I mean. The Diaspora contributes ten times as much as the number one export. We are the premier benefactors of our precious homeland. I can say ‘may the almighty bless the Ethiopian Diaspora’ but I won’t.  It is not something to be proud of. If the regime attracts $3.2 billion without working for it the question becomes what is the meaning of the current tour?

The fact that the illegal regime is dispatching its ‘top guns’ to face the fury of the dreaded Diaspora is a little, shall I say strange.  Why at this juncture in time is a good question? It is not logical to think the DLA Piper advised regime would send its officials into the lion’s den and in broad daylight without a valid and compelling reason.  My hunch is there is more to it than selling land. When you consider the temperature reaching a boiling point against tyranny around the neighborhood I have a feeling Woyane probably felt this to be a good time to shift the attention of the Diaspora away from lighting the fuse.

Nice try but it won’t work this time. Looks like all the vital ingredients for a ‘BEKA’ moment are all present and accounted for. Based on our recent experience in North Africa and the Middle East we pass the test with flying colors. Let us see, the main causes for the peoples uprising were, leaders in power for too long, rampant corruption and runaway nepotism, economic stagnation and recurring high inflation, high unemployment and a vast majority under thirty and under utilized, general hopelessness and resignation with high rate of migration. It is what is commonly referred to as volatile situation.

The weakest link in our peoples yearning for a better future is a small section of the Diaspora. It is a sad fact. To see those that got away due to a matter of chance using their new found success to bring misery on their own people is shameful. Without the cash inflow from the Diaspora the Ethiopian regime will not have been emboldened to be so arrogant. Remittances enable the regime to live for another day. This is not about the few hundred dollars that is sent to keep a family alive. That is a humanitarian act. It is about the big money. The money, that goes to buy stolen land to build a fake foreign looking building in collaboration with government and government affiliated businesses at an inflated price. The dollars that come in without strings attached enable the regime to pay its many employees that exist to torment our people.

Today we have government cadres in our cities promoting the so-called Growth and Transformation Plan. It sounds like something DLA Piper will come up with to give it a positive and friendly spin. What ever it is you can be sure that the Ethiopian people do not have any input in this plan. Their representatives are government cadres chosen for loyalty not ability. They are not capable of understanding the issue and they do not have expert staff to help them. The plan is the brainchild of Meles and company in consultation with IMF and World Bank. Eighty million people are beholden to a handful of cadres that are in power because they have big guns.

What they want from the Diaspora is more cash to be invested in enterprises they choose. Buying land, building a house, establishing bar and nightclub is encouraged. It is not allowed to start an Internet provider company, private television transmission, private radio station, independent newspaper and magazine or a printing press. The TPLF regime is allergic to knowledge-based investment.

So what is the rational for investing? Some say it is patriotic and that it creates jobs. That argument has been tried before. That is what the Western governments said about their investment in Apartheid South Africa. They called it ‘constructive engagement’. It was a big lie. They were just greedy and slave labor was always cheaper. The South Africans response was best delivered by Noble Laureate Albert Luthuli, President of the African National Congress who said ‘“The economic boycott of South Africa will entail undoubted hardship for African. We do not doubt that. But if it is a method which shortens the day of bloodshed, the suffering to us will be a price we are willing to pay.”

The use of economic muscle to modify an adversary’s behavior is common in International dealings. One of the earliest examples is In fact the American Revolution that owes its inception from the movement that erupted when the British Parliament passed what is known as the ‘stamp act’ in March of 1765. The act required printed materials in the colonies to be produced on stamped paper from London and carry revenue stamp. Colonial America revolted. The stamp act was the spark that started the prairie fire that led to the American Revolution. The American colonies took exception to the ‘stamp act’ because they felt they were being taxed without consent. Since they have no representation in the British parliament the colonies felt the act to be an affront to the system of local representation that they have put in place. The colonies said  ‘no taxation without representation.’ 

A few months back here in the US the state of Arizona passed a draconian bill to control the so-called illegal immigration problem. Some people felt it was an attempt to increase the power and intrusiveness of the State and should not be tolerated. Labor organizations, liberal groups and Human Rights advocates went on the offensive and organized boycotts of all business associated with Arizona.  They used their economic muscle as a leverage to advocate change.

Mrs. Rosa Parks’s refusal to give her bus seat to a white man sparked the ‘Montgomery Bus boycott.’ Our African people in North America used their economic power to fight injustice. Martin Luther King was in the forefront of using boycott as a weapon to secure the rights of black people in America. The freedom we enjoy here today came because some fought using every means necessary. Today’s Diaspora is working, learning, raising a family and helping their brethren back home because MLK, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and others said BEKA, GEYE, BAS, ALONE, WETANDEM, YAAKEL, GIDES, DETEM! 

Dear Diaspora, don’t you think it is a BEKA moment today. Do you really think the cadres that have been in power the last twenty years are capable of bringing change and transformation? Do you think they have the interest of Ethiopia at heart or are they focused in staying in power using any means necessary? I am sure a lot of you went to check on your investment, tell me were you satisfied with what you saw? I know the Woyane regime have prepared all that is necessary to make your stay comfortable and fun. When you consider the vast number of Hotels, nightclubs and whorehouses set in place to suck your dollars did you think that reflected the reality your parents and cousins face everyday? Did you notice the fear permeating the society, the unfriendly stare by cadres and security to remind you of your place? May be you thought that foreign passport afforded you some form of protection but how about your brothers and sisters? No matter how you look at it is a betrayal of country and people to wine and dine with killers and psychos. A mistake has been done but there is no point compounding it further. Today is a BEKA time.

When you consider how India, Korea, Israel and others used the potential of their Diaspora for transforming their country it is sad that we are still fighting against a predator regime that is hell bent in dividing us, setting us against each other and spending our resources in useless, unsustainable projects that do not help our country. Those countries did not invite their Diaspora to come and lease their parents land to build condominium. No they asked for investment in education, agriculture, industry and manufacturing. They wanted brainpower, they encouraged and subsidized knowledge not fell good projects for show and tell.

Change is coming. Mubarak did not stop it. Gaddafi tried but it looks like his days are numbered. Meles is trying to devise new ways of buying another week, another month but it is a useless exercise. He is not stupid, but he is blinded by power and false sense of security. It is the nature of dictators to think they are unique and what ever happened to their neighbor is not possible in their house. History has shown us otherwise. Ato Meles and company will not escape the judgment of their people. For now we will be in their face where ever they show up and say loud and clear BEKA!

Obo Arada Abashawl   –  May 13, 2011

The signs of the time: Cooperation or Confrontation (CC)?

Introduction

On April 22, 2011, on Good Friday, I have attended a book signing ceremony by Professor Bereket H. Sellasie. The book is titled “Wounded Nation” with reference to Eritrea.

In his presentation, the professor informed the audience that he has abandoned his ambition for power due to his old age (octagerian). I thought he was an intellectual meaning that his C-brain will not cease until his death. In other words, he was struggling in the war of liberation physically and emotionally all these years like that of “Hafash” who only use his/her D-brain. I can understand that the “Hafash” of Eritrea can arrest its political activity due to its weak physical condition. But I would never believe that this M’hur Akal professor would come to this conclusion – having distracted the causes of Eathiopian for almost half a century. I presume that he has – as well – resigned from his teaching career.

When asked about the Eritrean opposition in the Diaspora, he told the audience verbatim that “they come together to disperse.” He did not know the reason. Again, I was puzzled by this professor’s statement. Was he emotionally or intellectually involved in the Eritrean struggle? A lawyer turned into rebel? Everybody can observe that there is lack of unity in the Diaspora Community. The question is why? The audience had expected reason for disunity from the professor or confession on his part.

Ato Kebede D.Yimam aka “Esatu” has posed a fundamental character issue about the professor. Professor Bereket in his presentation repeatedly said that the leaders of Eritrea were less intelligent than their Ethiopian counterpart and essentially had been referred to “immaculate conception” derived by deception and greed. Kebede’s challenge came as a surprise to professor Bereket’s anatomy of leaders. Kebede admitted that his political story was similar to Bereket H. Sellassie. I believe, at one time both Professor Bereket and Ato Kebede have been delegated as spokesmen for EPLF and EPRP in North America respectively.

In fact professor Bereket said to Kebede “this is an astute observation” nevertheless instead of admitting his mistakes of evaluating the leadership of EPLF and TPLF, he attempted to explain that he has been studying them for many years – a study based on information from their friends and families. Dr. Bereket is not a sociologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist or any of the –gist. He is a lawyer and a constitutional lawyer at that.

Due to the credit of Esatu, poet of struggle, he said he had almost read all Professor Bereket’s books while I have read none of his books. And I asked Ato Kebede if he is satisfied with the professor’s answer to his question. “Professor Bereket is too partisan to be African” quipped Ato Kebede. The professor’s main theme of the night apart from selling books was to show how true an African son he was/is. It was like Colonel Ghadafi’s pronouncement for African Unity. I guess Howard University is the right place to make such announcements.

The signing ceremony was arranged by Professor Haile Gerima, owner of Sankofa, books, videos and film firm.

Collaboration and cooperation (CC): ADWA I

As most Eathiopian readers know, Professor Haile Gerima is known for his film making. With the exception of the “unfinished journey”, I have not seen any of Haile’s films so far. So I should refrain from making any judgment about Haile’s film making or professor Bereket’s constitution making conceptions and procedures.

The sure thing about these two individual professors that I know is the fact that both do not see eye to eye on the issue of Eathiopia (Ethiopia & Eritrea). The film maker perceives and evaluates Eathiopia from the victory of ADWA “I” whereas the constitution lawyer perceives and evaluates Eritrea & Ethiopia (Eathiopia) from the prism of abandonment by the Emperor of Shewa, Minilik II.

So why and how did these two professionals come together for a joint venture? From what I observed professor Haile were the coordinator and commercial announcer for the book signing. I have not asked them personally but that was what I saw.

My main theme of this article is the fact that two educated Eathiopians became comrade-in-arms so to speak as to disseminate information, knowledge and perhaps wisdom not only to the Eritrean, Ethiopian or African communities in the Diaspora particularly in Washington DC. That for me is ‘the last straw that broke the camel’s back’.

As I said in previous paragraphs, I have neither read the lawyers books and nor seen the film-makers films. But what I was sure of these two individual M’hur Akals objectives and goals in regards to their respective birth places. The lawyer was born in a village called Adi Nefas (country of winds) in Hamasien Awraja; the Artist was born in Gondar town. As knowledgeable elders, I want them to educate us what Hamasien and Gondar meant (call me by my name!). Instead, both of them have been fighting tooth and nail to tell us about the “victory” of Adwa I.

Adwa I for the Artist is the basis of Unity for Ethiopia whereas for the lawyer, Adwa I was the basis for “Separation” of Ethiopia. These antagonistic approaches by both professors have led to all Ethiopian and Eritrean deaths and migration for almost a century (1896-1991). I am glad to see these 95 years of feud by these two professional came to an end.

Without keen noticing on their part, Adwa II – a group of individual leaders have come to rule Ethiopia for good or for worst. The professors should take close look at these groups’ intentions and motivations before they regret producing books, films and cds.

Confrontation and disintegration: Adwa II

Adwa II is about the coming of groups of individuals who are ruling Ethiopia and Eritrea separately for twenty years (1991-2011). I think that the lawyer true to his profession is deeply worried that there is no rule by law (as opposed to rule of law) in Eritrea and the Artist similarly believes that the application of the rule of law in Ethiopia is totally missing. Both professors will join the Diaspora opposition in rectifying the situation in both Eritrea and Ethiopia which I call Eathiopia.

I believe that these two professors have passed the argument and counter argument of ADWA I – in terms of forgiveness. The only doubt I have is in their ability to forget about ADWA “I” for at the end of the discussion, Professor Haile Gerima challenged Professor Bereket for his saying that the American Revolution was peaceful. Professor Bereket declared that Thomas Jefferson gave the Americans a “peaceful and perfect constitution.” At this juncture Professor Haile Gerima was agitated about the statement for him the American Revolution was never peaceful and perfect. In fact, Professor Haile said emphatically that Jefferson had slaves and was cruel and bloody. Here lies unnecessary argument and side issues that we had inherited from these elders and professors. How do we pass the truth about ADWA I to our children? I hope these professors will answer my question in joint venture via films and books.

According to Professor Tesfatsion Medhane, political scientist and a lawyer wrote that Thomas Jefferson had never given Constitution to the American people but the “Declaration of Independence.” And so there is a gap of knowledge and lack of wisdom on the part of our educated leaders. Of course, I am referring to the Eway Revolution of Eathiopia and I am hoping that these two professors will learn about the “Ethiopian Revolution” in its true context. Professor Haile is on the way to getting acquainted to the Eway Revolution as he is gradually collecting data from individual EPRP members on why they joined the “true Revolution” as opposed to the fake Revolution by the DERG.

Concluding Remarks

One of the amazing things that I found it necessary to tell is the fact that the concepts of communication and intelligence in the Eathiopian Communities and societies are deeply unrecognized. For instance, Professor Bereket stated that PM Meles is more intelligent than President Issias. This fundamental flow is the basis for a lot of the educated mistrust by the Eathiopian masses.

For the majority of Eathiopians, communication is about listening and intelligence is about the willingness to learn. Both these traits are rampant in the Eathiopian societies.

In Melese’s case, he is not willing to learn what is/will happen to the country or to its people. He is just lecturing or giving instructions every now and then. In Issais case, his lack of communication is poor. He is not listening to any body but to himself. This is the dilemma we are in. And that is why the majority do not want to follow the educated Drs or Professors. We hope they will change their attitude before they delivery information, knowledge or wisdom.

Intelligence and Communication skills are no alien to Eathiopians. AADWA III will demonstrate these characteristics in due course and time.

TRUTH WILL PREVAIL

For comments and question

woldetewolde@yahoo.com

Hama Tuma

Back in 2006, I wrote a short story called The Case of the Criminal Walk in which I lampooned the Meles Zenawi regime’s ridiculous ethnic bantustanization of Ethiopia. In the story, a man who had walked outside of “his region” was accused of being a criminal and a saboteur. And the prosecutor was interested in the type of walk the man had engaged in. Here is how that prosecutor in the story asked his question:

“Was he strolling arrogantly? Walking briskly? Were his lips curled in disgust as he walked? Were his eyes narrow like a chauvinist? Was he pounding at the pavement or moving surreptitiously like a spy? Did he dodder, falter, lumber, stagger, totter, trudge, hobble or plod? When you saw him walk did you see an innocent man like say someone rushing to church not to miss Mass? Or did you see a suspicious man with a saintly smile like all criminals, puffed up with arrogance, happy at the mere thought of having trampled on yet another sacred law, angrily pounding on our poor road? Did he prowl, tiptoe, slink away or stalk? Was he shuffling, slouching off or creeping? Did he march, surge or meander? A lot depends on that walk…Was it leisurely like a stroll, the pastime of a lazy man propagating unemployment? Was he moving briskly like a criminal trying to distance himself from the scene of his foul crime? Was he lifting his legs up like the parading soldiers of the former regime and pounding hard on our pavement to dig potholes? Or was he trying to be smaller than his shadow and walking stealthily?”

In the end the prosecutor in the story gives his own definition of the criminal walk:

“The criminal walk as we all know combines the rush and the prowl with the swoop and stomp, the trudge and the swagger, and all this accompanied by a maniacal chuckle.”

Did Ugandan opposition leader Dr. Kizza Beisgye wear a maniacal chuckle as he walked to work in opposition to the Museveni regime? Did he just walk or did he trudge and swoop on downtown Kampala? How did the authorities determine his walk was criminal and then resort to arresting and beating him up? By the way did the good doctor, who was Museveni’s personal physician in the past, get the idea of turning a walk into a political protest action from my short story? Seriously though, the intriguing question to most Africans, who are fortunate enough to have a job in the first place, is how come walking to work becomes a protest as more often than not they all walk to work? Early morning Nairobi, a stream of humanity trudges out of the notorious Kibera slum to go to or to search for work. With price of petrol skyrocketing and the price of transport too expensive to ponder many have been forced to walk not as a protest (heaven forbid) but as a necessity. Have Ugandans turned as rich as Museveni claims and are driving to work or take public transport in their thousands every day? Who cares if Besigye walks to work? For all we know, as a doctor, he may be doing it for health reasons? If walk to work is a protest Ethiopians have been protesting for decades without even knowing it.

But Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a frightened man, haunted by the specter of a popular revolt against his dictatorial rule and his tearing up of the Constitution to be “elected” as fourth time president of Uganda. An Ethiopian proverb says no one dies looking as good as he was. Alas, things and human beings change and in most cases in Africa for the worst. Yoweri Museveni was a progressive militant, a better and promising breed than the Obotes and Amins that Uganda had to bear. In the first years, his rule was not also that bad (in Africa we do not easily say good knowing what we know) despite creeping corruption, ethnic favoritism and alarming demagogy on his part. Museveni’s declared “modernization” drive and his penchant for power clashed with tradition and customs (the place of kings in Uganda for example) and the call for a better deal by Ugandans suffering from economic hardships. Museveni wrote a book in which he identified one of the major malaise of governance in Africa as being the tendency of the rulers to stay in power for long and went on right away to cling to power for 25 years now even by changing the Constitution to run as a presidential candidate for the fourth time. Over the years, Museveni turned into a run of the mill African dictator, relying on his control of the repression apparatus and family circles and engaging in repression of any dissent. Besigye’s call for walk to work as a protest could have been taken as a patriotic gesture to save on fuel but Museveni had to rile and rant against it and turn it into a big cause and thus spurred the opposition leader to come up with walk to prayer calls.

The Museveni clan, much like the Meles Zenawi clan in Ethiopia, is controlling Uganda like their private property. None of them walks to work by the way. Museveni holds absolute power and is involved big time in the economic sector. His wife Janet Museveni, admired for not wearing western wigs ever, is a minister for Karamoja region and the owner of the Gemtel mobile telephone service that has extended its activities into Juba too. His half brother General Caleb Akandwanaho (also known as Salim Saleh) is presidential advisor on defence and a man accused of gross corruption including the plunder of gold and minerals from Eastern Congo. His brother in law, Sam Kutea, is Foreign Affairs Minister while his daughter Natasha Karugire is his private secretary. Janet’s nephew Justus Karuhanga is Museveni’s secretary for legal affairs while his son Lt. Colonel Kainerugaba Muhoozi is commander of the Special Forces guarding the newly discovered oil fields. The colonel also leads the elite presidential guard. As one Kenyan journalist recently commented– Ugandans are not all amused by the “familiarization of the State” as much as Museveni says he is not pleased with walking to work as a sign of protest.

Museveni is bound to be history, the past—perhaps sooner than he may expect. Yet, he owes his ongoing survival, as much as Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia, to the fact that he has slavishly bowed to the superpower and became cannon fodder in the so called war against terror. His regime is a minority one and his claim to be a messiah from the Munyankole/Bahima unconvincing to the majority of Bagandans. The LRA still roams murderously uncontrolled filling the pockets of the general who are the real beneficiaries of the ongoing war. Museveni has opened up Uganda for American special troops, has rushed into Somalia to fulfill America’s order (much like Meles Zenawi before him) and proved an ally of the West. That has assured him financial help and security protection and overall backing and support against a Revolution that may turn nationalist/Ugandan and throw out the foreign agenda and diktat. After all, Idi Amin was also an Israeli and British baby before he grew a shark’s teeth and became a nuisance. But will Washington’s backing save Museveni from impending doom? Judging from Egypt and what is happening elsewhere it does not seem likely and Museveni, who has outlived four US presidents, may not outlive Obama. Still, his rule and his ministers have given other tyrants very many valuable lessons. For those tyrants who kill their people and suffer their blame Museveni’s Internal Affairs State Minister, Kirunda Kivejinja, has come out with a gem of a self defense. Admitting that people were killed and hundreds wounded or arrested in the protest demonstrations he, however, said the government is not taking responsibility for those killed and he advised Ugandans to blame the deaths “ on the British and the Americans who manufacture bullets”.

Now we know the real culprits!

 By Elias Mengesha (Heppenheim-Germany)

The recent campaign of the Meles regime throughout the Diaspora to raise funds by selling bonds and using the proceeds to build a dam on the Blue Nile river has met fierce resistance. It’s ironic to oppose such a development project but the fact of the matter is that the Meles regime is not interested in genuine economic task but to give Ethiopians in the Diaspora and at home an agenda to talk about and divert their attention from a possible mass uprising in removing the ethnocentric dictatorial regime of the Woyanes.

In addition to the Blue Nile dam saga, Woyanes also tried to test the feeling of Ethiopians by announcing another conflict with Eritrea. They thought by telling Ethiopians about a possible war with Eritrea, they could bring the nation under their command and control so that domestic rebellion against them could be suppressed.

What is happening in North Africa including Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and other middle eastern countries is a wild fire that is going to engulf many autocratic nations in Africa. The train of freedom will cruise south bound all the way from Egypt to Zimbabwe and it will for sure affect Ethiopia. Freedom is colorless. One should not be White, Arab, Indian, Chinese or Black to enjoy freedom and dignity. Freedom comes naturally to every human being but will later be taken away or oppressed by dictators like Mubarak, Gadafi or Meles.

In pursuing freedom, many people could die, properties get damaged and fearful turmoil could prevail on the horizon of nations that struggle to remove their dictatorial leaders. However, the sacrifices paid would bring the change sought and it is simply a matter of time before it materializes.

There are three common attributes of dictators whoever they are and where ever they live. These are lies, fear and control. Woyanes are expert liars who have double faces one for the local and another for the foreigners. They are also expert terrorisers who bring forward issues that spread fear among Ethiopians. They are also ruthless killers who have even gone to the extent of forming their own brand army called Agazi to silence decent and eliminate opposition.

In spite of these, the people of Ethiopia who suffer from poverty, disease, media suffocation, lack of rule of law, nepotism and all kinds of corruption created and maintained by the Meles regime are looking for change and probably waiting for the right moment or a triggering situation. Woyanes are well aware of the developing mass appraisals everywhere and they would do anything to stay in power. The greatest weakness of dictators is their inability to learn from history until it is too late for them to fix a broken system. Just like any other dictator, Mr. Meles and his regime will whether away by popular movement and these guys who look formidable and untouchable will perish and definitely face justice for the crimes and sins they have been exhibiting throughout their reign. Freedom will take over suppression and goodness will reign over evil, and that is for sure.

Hama Tuma

Dogs and cats as pets live much better than most Africans—this is no news really. And yet, the depravity and cruelty of it all continues to amaze. Consider one newspaper report below:

“The air kisses were flying, the Italian sparkling wine was flowing, and white hyacinths perfumed the air. Marilyn Riseman, society doyenne, was in attendance, and by 7 p.m. the South End’s beautiful people were packed so thick it was hard to reach the cheese-and-olive platters. What else would you expect at the grand opening of a boutique hotel and day-care center for dogs? Boston may or may not have achieved its dream of being a world class city for humans, but from a canine perspective we have arrived.

The Urban Hound is but one of three new luxury pet hotels, complete with spa services and flat-screen televisions usually tuned to Animal Planet, that have opened in the past few months. Boston Red Dog Pet Resort and Spa, on Southampton Street near the Southeast Expressway, charges as much as $85 a night for a room, and at Fenway Bark in South Boston, the room rates go up to $150. Pricey? Perhaps, but because it is considered a service, at least there is no room tax.

Trade spending figures are hard to come by, but Bob Vetere, president of the American Pet Products Association, said these businesses represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the $48 billion pet industry. He credits baby boomers for much of the increasing humanization of pets and everything that has followed: designer leashes, five-figure doghouses, dogs staying in human hotels, and pet hotels that serve Starbucks (to the pets’ owners).

“Their children are growing up and moving out,’’ Vetere said, “and as helicopter parents, they need to find something else to hover over.’’

With 91 percent of owners calling their pet a member of the family and with the economic downturn easing, there is increasing demand for luxury pet lodging, according to a report by Packaged Facts, a Maryland research firm. Many facilities have added upscale amenities, such as customized suites with individualized decor or advanced air purification systems, according to the company’s most recent report.”

A $ 48 billion pet industry! Talk of being a spoilt dog: consider the following report from Japan.

“Merumo, a 10-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, is a top model for dog magazines in Japan. Since she is a model, she is given special treatment such as two expensive haircuts a month, but the pampering doesn’t end there. A reporter visits the apartment where Merumo lives to discover the following luxuries:

• The apartment has a special security system that won’t allow visitors to take the elevator to that floor without an invitation.

• Merumo doesn’t like being hot, so her owner bought marble flooring for the living room. (estimated cost: 3,000,000 yen)

• She drinks out of a silver Gucci dog bowl.

• When leaving the house, she can ride in a Louis Vuitton carry bag (236,250 yen).

• When going for a walk, she can wear one of several brand name dog collars and leashes: Hermès (65,000 yen + 85,000 yen) or Gucci (69,300).

• Merumo’s owner rents another room in the apartment building just to store all of Merumo’s special clothing. Merumo has a fancy kimono (80,000 yen), 10 fur coats (one costs 180,000 yen), and a whole bunch of other stuff. (Total cost: about 3,000,000 yen)

Since Merumo is pretty old in dog years, her owner is determined to give her the finest foods. A typical meal consists of premium vegetables special ordered from a department store prepared alongside some expensive Matsusaka beef (2,500 yen for 100 grams). The humans of the house eat cheap vegetables and chicken from the local grocery store.

Merumo’s owner justifies the money she spends by comparing Merumo to a child. Many parents spend large sums of money to send their children to college, so why can’t she spend a similar amount buying dresses and fancy food for Merumo?”

Is there no responsibility at all? No urge to have a balance in one’s outlook towards other human beings. Consider the following report:

“According to a conservative estimate the pet owning citizens of the European Union spend about 150 million USD daily or 45 billion USD per annum on pet food. This staggering amount that the citizens of the European Union spent to keep their cats and dogs alive is nearly three times as much as the total amount that Sub-Saharan Africa annually gets from the industrialized countries in terms of official development assistance”.

This is no war on dogs but on the humans who own these dogs. Let us not generalize either. The pampered dog in Africa is way down the dog class ladder even if it lives better off than the majority of Africans. It is common knowledge that the status of pampered dogs in the USA and Europe is much higher than that of the pampered dogs in Africa just as the rich in America and Europe are many in number and more wealthy than those in Africa. In Ethiopia, anyone with more than US$200,000 becomes a millionaire Birr wise. The Mobutus, Bongos, Meles and Muabaraks are not really that many—too greedy and restrictive may best explain the situation. And yet, pampered African dogs are now accompanying their masters to Joburg and Bangkok for specialized medical care. Some apologists of the African tyrants proclaim loud and high that the health system has improved (for example in Ethiopia) while no one with real money would be found dreaming of entering an Ethiopian hospital. Why should the dogs trust hospitals their masters have no confidence in? The answer is clear. Dogs have been “humanized” and Africans “dehumanized”—go check the capsized boats and black corpses of Lampadusa for one. The African children in the arms of Madonna, Jolie and others could very well be pets of a sort.

Here is another report:

April 8/ 2011 at 11:34am

REUTERS

A British dog owner has splashed out an incredible £20 000 on giving her pampered pooch the perfect wedding day, says a report.

According to orange news, Louise Harris, 32, invited 80 guests to the lavish ceremony to watch her Yorkshire terrier Lola tie the knot with Mugly, a Chinese Crested.

The bash was reportedly held in an outdoor marquee in the grounds of a mansion in Essex, costing £2 500 for the venue alone.

Lola wore a £1 000 wedding dress, customized with 1 800 Swarovski crystals.

Her outfit was finished off with a £400 pearl necklace, Swarovski crystal leg cuffs costing £250, and finally a Swarovski crystal lead costing £350.

Harris also spent £1 000 on flowers, £3 000 on designers to decorate the marquee, £400 on a personal wedding planner, and even £400 for security guards, the report said.

Harris, who owns two other Yorkshire Terriers, Lulu, four, and two-year-old Larry, who acted as bridesmaid and page boy, was quoted as saying: “I wanted Lola to have the perfect day.

“My dogs are my pride and joy so nothing is too good for them. I enjoy spoiling them because it makes me happy.”

Harris, who runs a dog boutique and grooming parlour, ran an online competition on her website and Facebook to find the perfect husband for Lola.

She said she had received hundreds of entries but whittled it down to a final six potential partners and was surprised when Lola’s obvious favourite was Mugly, voted Britain’s ugliest dog.

According to the report, Harris said: “I must admit when I went to meet Bev and Mugly I really didn’t think Lola would like him. She is a bit of a diva and loves her clothes and jewellery so I did think she would go for a dog more like her.

“But they do say opposites attract and they happily played together all day. They seemed to really enjoy being together and had a lot of fun so I thought he was the perfect future husband for Lola.”

No need to mention that most Africans survive on US$ 2 per day. Some do not feel guilty on such spending on their pets as they claim that $26.53 billion is spent on cafes, restaurants and takeaways while dogs ( and to a certain extent even cats) at least greet you with joy and act as good and long lasting companions. Moreover, pampering dogs is not as costly or as bad for example as pampering George W. Bush who said recently “I miss being pampered” and Bush was no pet at all. We now have quite a few millionaire dogs and cats thanks to inheritance and laws allowing it. But, I still have no report if these dog or cat millionaires have given some money to charities officially claiming to help African children even though quite a few of such bodies or organizations are known to be merciless swindlers– cruel dogs in the bad sense of the word.

In the end it is obvious that some dogs are more equal than others and possibly much better than some robbers and despots who call themselves human. It’s a sad, sad world we live in and our continent has gone to the dogs.

By Yilma Bekele

When you take an object apart to see how it works, or take software and disassemble it to locate the source code it is referred to as reverse engineering. Basically what you are doing is inverting the system by going back wards the developmental cycle all the way to conception. Reverse engineering begins with a final product and works backwards.

This is done for various reasons. It could be done for learning purpose to see how it works, to enhance the product to make it function better, to copy it which is mostly illegal or for malicious purpose such as infecting it with virus.

I believe we have been reverse engineered by the TPLF government. You can be sure the purpose was not to learn, enhance or integrate but rather to destroy or disrupt. The pie in the sky idea of the Millennium Dam was the malicious code that was inserted into our operating system.

We woke up one morning and were appalled to discover TPLF was clad in our beautiful tri colored flag and we were left covered in Eritrean and Egyptian clothing. My hats off to our Woyane hackers. Today ladies and gentlemen we have TPLF on this corner proudly dressed in green yellow and red and on the other side is the opposition dressed in Eritrean t-shirt top and Egyptian briefs. Watch Ato Meles bouncing around in his new Chinese made uniform jabbing the air with his beautiful tri colored gloves and raising his fist up high and Ato Bulcha Demeksa getting booed by the spectators.

The Americans call it topsy-turvy situation. In Ethiopia it is called the coming of sementegna shi, the eight-millennium. It is uttered to signify a bizarre, unexplainable and totally weird situation. It is a sign of total resignation. What is there to do when you are witnessing the end of the world? I believe that is what we got here. The real sementegnaw shi is upon us.

The theft of our uniform also managed to put the question in a different perspective. All of a sudden the debate became for and against Abay. Did you notice that? To build a dam or not became the issue. That is the way the regime defined the debate.

Now tell me have you met any Ethiopian opposed to building a dam on Abay or any river? The question is absurd. Why would anybody not wish a dam, a factory, a research university and other beautiful things for his country? Then what is all this false debate about?

Like everything else in Ethiopia, due to its monopoly of the media the TPLF regime defines the issues and presents its side using every available means. The Ethiopian people, those that are able or have conquered fear get bits of information from ESAT (www.ethsat.com) VOA, DW and Internet.

The issue is not about building a freaking dam or not but rather it is all about democracy. Such colossal projects require sober discussion and a national consensus. When governments plan such huge and costly endeavors they usually carry out a consorted effort to include the population in a lively debate to build enthusiasm and good will. Again, like everything else TPLF, they have managed to stand the concept on its head. They have put the cart in front of the horse. I know it is nothing new.

We wanted to discuss intelligently and answer the two vital questions of why and how? They don’t have adequate answers so they resorted into stealing the flag and hiding behind it like a coward. We are saying hold on, before we decide shouldn’t we discuss it? Unfortunately, today we are actually forced to discuss an event that is not going to happen. Why it is not going to happen has been analyzed and dissected by Ethiopian experts in the fields of economics, engineering and politics. No one from the regime has presented a compelling reason to use our limited resources on one gigantic project or answered the simple issue of affording it. It cannot be done because there is no study to justify Ato Meles’s delusion.

The purpose of the Abay dam issue is to deflect attention from the current economic failure and the specter of uprising in the vicinity. They have managed to confuse some people. They have used a very important question to win political point. In their tiny little heads they have won the day. How pathetic. Here is a good timely quotation from FIFA’s (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Fair play code.

Play fair 
Winning is without value if victory has been achieved unfairly or dishonestly. Cheating is easy, but brings no pleasure. Playing fair requires courage and character. It is also more satisfying. Fair play always has its reward, even when the game is lost. Playing fair earns respect, while cheating only brings shame. Remember: it is only a game. And games are pointless unless played fairly.

TPLF plays dishonestly. Winning by cheating is second nature to our Woyane warriors. TPLF refuses to grow up. The Ethiopian regime is infected with toxic philosophy of us against them. They spend a lot of time concocting negative ideas and scenarios to confuse, set one up against the other and survive another day. Since Woyane assumed power our people have not seen a single day of peace.

Today democratic Ethiopia is demanding businesses use a cash register furnished and maintained by the government. The cash register costs over seven thousand Bir and maintenance and upgrades cost over two thousand. It is not open for discussion. Today democratic Ethiopia demands the citizen report to Kebele if he has an overnight visitor in his own house. Today democratic Ethiopia determines how much a private merchant should charge for his goods.

The Abay dam theatre is one more abuse to prop up a dying system. The regime has already started to expropriate money from civil servants and the banks to finance its military and security due to the threat of people’s uprising. The willing Diaspora that was lulled over by promise of appreciating real estate values is now coming face to face with TPLF’s ugly side. Forty percent is the current rate of the rip off billed as tax, but it is just the beginning. The song ‘Don’t cry for me Argentina’ comes to mind. I have a feeling some of my Hodam relatives will soon be singing the Ethiopian blues.

The reality on the ground is that the regime has spent the entire budget appropriated to the dam building project. Transporting Ato Meles and his friends to Benishangul Zone, setting up the necessary prop for television cameras bringing a marching band and two worn out caterpillar tractors is all the investment required to stir up this hollow discussion. The rest is all about fleecing the citizen and the Diaspora. Don’t hold your breath about seeing an actual dam on the mighty Abay.

The mighty Abay is not just another river. Abay is special. Abbay is born in Ethiopia. Abay nurtured the Pharos and help build the great pyramids. Abay was close when Jesus walked on Earth. The prophet Mohammed sent his relatives and followers on the first Hijra (migration) for safety to Ethiopia by the shores of the mighty Abay. Without Abay there will be no such thing as Egyptian civilization the fore bearer of World civilization. It is not a good idea to toy with Abay. Abay is not a forgiving River.

Everything else Ethiopian has been debased and degraded so it is nothing new Abay is the current victim. When you think the flag is a playground for some infantile scribble Abay stands no chance.

As one of the important treasures of our country, Blue Nile has been playing a major role in our lives and that of our ancestors. A lot has been written and said about Blue Nile and i am not intending to add up on that on this article. I rather would like to focus on the current goverment’s recent action in using out this national treasure as an excuse to cheat and literally loot the nation.

Please try not to get me wrong as I am not against the idea of constructing a dam on Blue Nile. But i most of all have a problem with the timing of this plan specially after being a witness of obvious one ethnic group dominance in the TPLF’s meeting here in Frankfurt and hearing the same report from such other meetings all over Europe and North America. If only Tigrians are allowed to have a say in such a major national issue, it leaves it questionable if at all every Ethiopian would ever benefit from it or if they would go on claiming themselves as the sole beneficiaries. I have seen them being in full control of the meeting and i do not think that nothing would make them incapable of enjoying the merits of the dam leaving the rest of the nation as a spectator of the whole show.

Getting back to my problem with the timing of this plan, i believe that TPLF has made a big mistake in setting a priority to bring about real development in Ethiopia. Instead of deciding for the nation that it needs a dam before having democratic rights, TPLF should start with letting the nation set its own priority. As i have found out from many sources, nobody has been asked if it is the right time to construct this dam and to finance the project with the so called ‘Bond’. The whole thing is rather imposed on the nation which again is left with no right to say ‘No’ to this plan just like the other plans of TPLF.

Thus, i finally would like to make a wrap by saying that such a project gives no perspective to any Ethiopian in anyway as it once agian proofs to the nation that it has no say on anything but is obliged to financially support TPLF though knowing that the plan will not lead to any real development.

My call to my fellow Ethiopian diasporas – stop supporting such a government and help out your brothers and sisters in Ethiopia to say NO to dictatorship and finally make it to set an end to the 20 years of agony of our homeland.

Yonas Kebede from Frankfurt, Germany

E-mail: yonas.kebede@yahoo.com

By Yilma Bekele

Being an Ethiopian has always been difficult. The bad news is, it is not going to get any easier. Two weeks ago I found out it can be taken away too. It has come to a point where names and looks plus attitude can determine who is and who is not an Ethiopian. Welcome to Kilil in America.

The Ethiopian government reps. held a town hall meeting in a city not far from where I live. There were over a hundred of us protesting outside and two hundred plus were inside listening to the marketing. It was an out of this world experience. San Jose and other cities where the salesmen went were transformed in a new and positive manner. The intervention was definitely divine. Ethiopia stretched her hands to God and it was answered.

They came with their ethnic baggage in hand; we waited for them as one. They came to divide, we ended up together. They came to saw hate and discord but they made us see how beautiful our diversity is. They are programmed to think as one while we celebrate the many voices that enrich our discussion. It was obvious we were like oil and water. Woyane and Ethiopia don’t mix. Mengistu and Ethiopia did not mesh either. Too bad we ended up where we started.

The government is perfectly aware that there was no chance of holding a fund raising or any event in any western city. None. Why do it then? Why does a snake bite? It is embedded in its DNA. Hate and violence are imbedded in Woyane’s nature. They came specifically to stir the pot of hate and ethnic division. They knew they were going to set up a single ethnic group against all others. If it serves their purpose and they did not care for the consequences. They are cold blooded.

San Jose was one such place where this tragic theatre was played. It was financed by all but directed, stared by and played by a single ethnic group. It started late, sound and video were not set up and things never got any better. When it did start the presentation made you wonder why a meeting was called for. The presenter who later on the program introduced himself as Minster of Internet just read the power point presentation word for word. That was the whole shpeel. The question and answer were a wholesale situation where nothing of significance was asked or answered. It was a depressing display of weakness.

Looking at the officials made me think how much we all contributed to this madness. I thought of my cousins starving, their children not learning, the graduates not working and the mothers and fathers watching their kids wasting their productive years. Here we have a 35 people strong delegation visiting 10 US cites to stir trouble. It is not a cheap trip. Here is a very conservative budget for building a bridge to nowhere.

Do you think the investment is worth the return? Or should the question be what exactly was the regime expecting from such an investment. I believe it was meant to deflect attention away from the current peoples uprisings in North Africa. It is also to cover up the ongoing economic melt down. As far as the regime is concerned both are very troubling issues currently eating up scarce resources to safeguard the status quo. The whole country is employee of the Ethiopian government. There is no branch of activity the government either directly or thru its proxies such as EFFORT is not involved in. Land, Communication, banking, insurance, import export, are all under the control of the TPLF party. It requires a lot of resources to run an illegal enterprise.

It requires constant injection of new capital. The economic downturn in the west and the Middle East is having a negative impact on the regime. The remittance cash is drying up. Expenses are going up. As usual the government is throwing up all kinds of solutions hoping one works. We have seen this before. You remember when growing for bio-fuels was the salvation or was it flowers? How does that compare to railway line to Port Sudan or was it to Mombassa? I believe even Hargessa was in the running. I do not think it was as dramatic as fiber optics wiring for good old Ethiopia and that was five years ago. A few weeks ago the PM was speculating about streetcars for Addis, hope he was dreaming of solar powered, you don’t want all those trolleys stuck in the middle of the road for lack of electricity do you? Menged be fereka.

The new scam to expropriate cash from the citizen is the millennium dam on the mighty Nile. The idea is so beautiful it takes your breath away. It is a very bold proposition that stirs the soul. Imagine a big dam holding our water just for us. As usual as far as TPLF is concerned the dam is done. The computer-generated design is awe-inspiring. You can almost touch it. That is all it is, pie in the sky. They will collect a few dollars and let it die a natural death. Just like the railway line to Kenya, the great highway to Sudan, broadband Internet all over Ethiopia the Millennium Dam will be allowed to evaporate. But, what a warm feeling it created in all of us. Thank you for the wonderful trip Woyane.

While the regime is in such a generous mood to modernize Ethiopia we have a few suggestions if we are allowed. It does not require a single penny from the government. Let us start with education. It is the key. Knowledge is what makes the world go round. Knowledge is what is needed in Ethiopia. Can we allow the privatization of the communication sector and unleash the power of the Internet to spread knowledge free of charge? The rewards are beyond our dreams. It will create thousands of jobs (service providers, web designers, programmers, sales and advertising) not to mention a smarter generation.

Let us also allow the private press to flourish. Private television, radio, newspaper and magazines inform and nurture our people. The government will collect revenues from all this enterprises while the citizen creates jobs and wealth. The San Jose participants were freely given beautifully printed brochures full of pictures, graphs and marketing all done by government-confiscated presses. How sad due to the artificial price of paper, ink and Communications department sanctioned use of violence, threat and other illegal acts the free press in Ethiopia is withering away as we watch. Today our country is the last in Africa in newspaper distribution, variety and freedom scale. Darkness is the friend of the totalitarian system. Knowledge and freedom go hand in hand.

The Ethiopian government means to keep the population in ignorance. Our country is the worst wired and the least digitized on the planet. The government is afraid of the citizen getting unbiased opinion. Independent Web sites are blocked, our satellite TV transmission is jammed (www.esat.com) even VOA and Deutsche Welle are victims of TPLF madness. How could such a government be trusted to do anything good? Why would such a system that degrades human beings be allowed to exist?

It exists because we allow it. It exists because we feed it. It exists because some of us have decided our personal interest is bigger than our love for country and fellow human being. It exists because we have knowingly decided to turn our face away. There are no two sides to dying of hunger. There is nothing to be said about being exiled from your homeland and finding yourself wondering in the deserts of Libya, the Jungles of Malawi, the ghettos of Rome or Frankfort the projects of America. But our silence makes all this happen. If not for us telling the world the trials and tribulations of our people who else?

Since the uprisings in the Moslem world the Ethiopian government has been experimenting with various responses to hold this tsunami of freedom at bay. I believe we are on response #5. It is good to notice that there has never been this flurry of activity in past crisis situations. This one is different. It seems to have a life of its own. No one has found the right combination of response. The one that has come close is Ben Ali of Tunisia. He left early, he left clean. The others, like patients on AID medicine are trying different combinations.

Ato Meles is trying hard. There is no margin for error here. If history is any indication his neck is on line. To his credit he sent Berket, gave a press conference, used the speech at the kangaroo Parliament, sent his delegates to Europe and America and created the Millennium Dam fiction. That is five different responses in two months time. For a person whose contract specifies eight hours a day this uprising business is creating over time situation. It is lonely at the top. He does not have any good will left with anybody. His old friends are more than happy to be called as witnesses for the prosecution, his Kilil servants will even the score at a drop of a hat, his foreign benefactors will send Ambassadors to meet the new guys in town and the reliability of family and close friends is not certain. This is not a happy Easter.

By Hama Tuma

The Western machine of demonization and disinformation is huge, very, very huge. The absolute control of the media and its unhealthy impact on the world has been documented by the likes of Chomsky and Michael Moore and I have little to add to all that. You run a murderous regime but if the West likes you, definitely you will be enjoying much slack and tolerance. And even praise from the World Bank, the IMF and the Western ambassadors. The West hates you, then you become a demon and the huge machinery rolls over you. Check out many of America’s allies that have been demonized when their luck changed.

The disinformation also knows no bounds. Saudi Arabia crushed a demonstration in its own land with brutality and not much was said about it. Bahrain has done the same and the invasion by the Saudis is glossed over. Yemen’s Saleh has burnt himself and is now being abandoned as Washington becomes the kingmaker aggressively saying this or that ruler has to go and must be replaced in this or that way. When Khadafy’s turn came Libyans under his rule were almost being presented as the most destitute in that part of Africa! No one cared to explain why thousands of foreign workers flocked there. Where did the Obama promise to treat others with respect and not to arrogantly strut and ride roughshod over their sovereignty go to? The American president is telling every Saleh and Gbagbo to leave. Who gave him that right especially when he cuddles pro American tyrants from Ethiopia to Equatorial Guinea to Saudi Arabia and beyond?

Khadafy is Jewish said the Western media fearing no ridicule whatsoever. We are being told also that some of his sons are plotting against him and all of them are at one another’s throats. The man called The Guide is now being called a tyrant as if the West discovered his nature just last February. On the other side of the ideological divide, Hugo Chavez ridiculed himself recently calling Basher Al Assad a humanitarian, a good doctor trained in London! Goebbels was Dr. Goebbels, no? What has being a doctor trained in London got to do with it? Basher, son of Assad, presides over a military-security junta of sorts described by polite Syrians as dictatorial. In other words, by declaring Basher a humanitarian Chavez has exposed the sad truth of the deficiency and warped state of his concept of humanitarianism.

The tin pot dictators allied to the West have learnt from all the disinformation and the double standard. Have oil and reign supreme is the underlying motto and for those that got the oil it is working just fine. Gabon, Congo Brazza, Eaquatorial Guinea, Saudi Arabia and more are examples. Those without oil can sell and peddle themselves to the West and serve as canon fodder and mercenary. The Meles, Museveni, Ben Ali, Saleh and Mubarak regimes come to mind. In any case, they all try their own pathetic disinformation aided and abetted by the West. Take an example: American ambassador to Ethiopia, Donald Booth, has expectedly joined his predecessors in praising the butcher of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi and his regime which benefit annually more than a billion dollar of aid from Washington.

““Ethiopia is an island of stability in a very troubled region,” Booth said explaining that the US is keen to continue working with Ethiopia to promote regional peace and stability. “We look to Ethiopia to help resolve regional conflicts, to contribute peacekeeping forces where those are needed in Africa, and for cooperation in countering terrorism and violent extremism,” the ambassador elaborated.

Do not be mistaken—Booth does know what is going on. He knows the regime he is endorsing directly and otherwise is a repressive and violent regime that has massacred thousands and is far from being stable. The Meles regime is actually the problem par excellence in the search for the region’s stability. A war mongering regime like many, the Meles regime praised by Booth has remained alien to peace. But all this does not matter. The dictator is on the right side of the alignment, taking orders from Washington, proving itself the obedient baby of the West, corrupt and malleable to boot. Aren’t Meles, his wife and many officials keeping millions of stolen money in America, Britain and other Western countries?

Meles Zenawi has in the past committed one the most heinous acts of national betrayal in Ethiopian history by forfeiting strategic land. The ceding of Ethiopian land to the Sudan and the ongoing land grab by foreigners constitute more treasonous acts of high perfidy. The damage that foreign companies engaged in the land grab have brought to the land and the environment is known by the world at large and even criticized by the UN itself. And yet, the regime has the chutzpah to “wash its eyes with salt”, as we say in Ethiopia, and to formally and openly declare the following:

“ Land deals in Ethiopia bring food self-sufficiency, and prosperity
Foreign investments help Ethiopia to develop, and provide knowledge, skills and taxes. The Ethiopian government’s absolute prime concern is ensuring food self-sufficiency at both national and household level. The first has already been attained and we are now working towards the second”.

Khadafi is Jewish? Fantastic! How come then he is not treated as such? We never saw Israel being bombed for bombing Gaza or the Palestinians. And no less than 10 million Ethiopians under the Meles regime are not surviving through food aid but are self sufficient in food at the national level. As we say in Ethiopia “beje! Ewinet? lelas?—what else is there to say? Fiction of the fantasy genre. Disinformation to be effective must base itself on a portion (however tiny) of the truth. It must appear believable enough to dupe the victims. Disinformation does not mean spinning wild tales and macabre stories so much so that the listeners and readers break into a frenzy of laughter or disgust. Still, Khadafy being Jewish is more believable than arguing land grab brought self sufficiency and that now Ethiopians are nationally self sufficient in food. Mind you nationally but not individually which must mean the country is awash with food and the citizens are as hungry as ever. Oh yes, and to declare boldly, as Booth did, that Ethiopia is an island of stability in the troubled region and a bulwark of peace falls within the realm of Newspeak. To add insult to injury, Meles says Ethiopia will by itself fund a US $ 4.7 billion dam project which is, among other factors, very close to the Sudanese border and thus security wise very stupid. Who will pay? Not Meles and his cronies from their stolen millions, no. The very, very poor people are going to be forced to buy bonds, to hand over a month’s salary and to give up their provident funds and savings.

Teret Teret is all this talk of national food self sufficiency as the land of Ethiopia gets auctioned for cheap and millions survive on food aid. The days of the Meles regime are numbered and it is not disinformation at all. Khadafy is not Jewish but he did tell the world Meles Zenawi is an Arab from Yemen. This can be believed as it was Meles himself who told him that Ethiopians are Arabs from Yemen, Ethiopia would join the Arab League, and that even his father’s name Zenawi is a Yemenite name. Now, this is an interesting and amusing statement which can be made to fly every which way you can.

 By Yilma Bekele

The regime has devised a two‐pronged attack to postpone the inevitable uprising. At home the Junta leader is busy wagging his fingers and huffing and puffing to scare and bully. The last two weeks he has put on a performance with the local cadre press to assure his followers that their job is safe due to the phenomenal economic growth that the chances of upheaval is deemed to be non‐existent. No one believed him. Looks like it was not enough. He decided to use his podium in the kangaroo Parliament to vent some more. There is a video posted on his web site. It is as usual two a part series. I listened to part two. Is it possible that all tyrants attend the same school? Castro used to speak for four hours, Mengistu used to speak for hours, Gaddafi was given a fifteen‐minute slot to speak at the UN but rambled for an hour and half and our own orator spoke for an hour and twelve minutes in part one and an hour and thirty‐four minutes in part two. He must love his voice. Of course it was a captive audience. He knows no one will dare leave his lecture. I am sure most of the cadre parliamentarians have no idea what he is talking about and the fact is he was not actually addressing them. They are just a prop.

Today we have government cadres in our cities promoting the so‐called Growth and Transformation Plan. It sounds like something DLA Piper will come up with to give it a positive and friendly spin. What ever it is you can be sure that the Ethiopian people do not have any input in this plan. Their representatives are government cadres chosen for loyalty not ability. They are not capable of understanding the issue and they do not have expert staff to help them. The plan is the brainchild of Meles and company in consultation with IMF and World Bank. Eighty million people are beholden to a handful of cadres that are in power because they have big guns. What they want from the Diaspora is more cash to be invested in enterprises they choose. Buying land, building a house, establishing bar and nightclub is encouraged. It is not allowed to start an Internet provider company, private television transmission, private radio station, independent newspaper and magazine or a printing press. The TPLF regime is allergic to knowledge‐based investment.

A few months back here in the US the state of Arizona passed a draconian bill to control the so‐called illegal immigration problem. Some people felt it was an attempt to increase the power and intrusiveness of the State and should not be tolerated. Labor organizations, liberal groups and Human Rights advocates went on the offensive and organized boycotts of all business associated with Arizona. They used their economic muscle as a leverage to advocate change.