Hama Tuma

By Hama Tuma

As the Bob Dylan song put it the times they are “ achanging”. But, try to tell that to the tyrant and dictators of the world and to the Western powers who are bonded to their hypocrisy, double standards and greed. 

We can once again blame Africa for the ongoing “return of the dictators” malady. Worse than Ebola and other viruses we are supposed to have given to the West (I still wonder why we did not give them the sleeping sickness).  The notable dictator to get back to power after being ousted was Uganda’s Milton Obote. He ended up by killing more than the blood thirsty Idi Amin. And then came Benin’s “call me Socialist” Kerekou. Weeping Kaunda and bloody Mengistu are still “awaiting”, thanks to the spirit of our ancestors as the late Chadian dictator Tombolbaye would have said. The Haitians have again proved that they are Africans to their core with their voodoo and penchant for disasters, tyrants and suffering. There is no other way of explaining why they allowed the return (with a hero’s welcome at that) of the bloody tyrant Baby Doc Duvalier and the priest dictator Aristide. Why do Haitians need these pests if not to put them on trial? Why were not these fellows arrested at the airport? Tyrants are obdurate and most of the time delusional. They imagine they are loved and missed by the very people they had tormented and killed. They think even the dead exhibit the Stockholm syndrome. How can anyone love his/her killer or tormentor? 

If tyrants stage a comeback (at least to return the country from exile) they are also showing a stubborn penchant for staying in power even when the majority of the population tells them to go away. Mubarak tried to linger on and his system is more or less still in place. Saleh of Yemen is finished but refusing to grasp his irrelevance and still posturing as a unifier and a bulwark against the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Assad in Syria is trying to weather the storm. Gelleh of Djibouti has arrested and tortured opposition leaders and sought help from fellow dictator Meles in Ethiopia who is himself apprehensive of a mass uprising. Kaddafi is fighting on and forced to confront a destructive array of western powers whose alleged concern for Libyan civilian lives (in Benghazi) has not hampered them from bombarding Tripoli with the savagery we had witnessed some years ago in the former Yugoslavia. The same hype is activated, the media manipulates public opinion and Kaddafi, very much like Milosevic and Sadam, is an unsavory fellow for whom few have any serious sympathy and thus a proper scarecrow. 

And through it all we observe the ugly head of Western hypocrisy and double standards that had for long been a scourge on democracy at world wide level. Hilary Clinton criticized the UAE for sending soldiers into Bahrain along with the Saudis but lamented against it for not joining the so called coalition against Khadafy. One wonders why the West, especially America, goes through this ridiculous charade of a coalition (even Ethiopia was part of the coalition against Iraq!) when the whole world knows the main protagonists are America and its western allies. America refused to label the Saudi intervention into Bahrain as an invasion without explaining how many foreign soldiers have to cross a border with tanks and armored cars for the action to be called an invasion. Are the Saudi soldiers in Bahrain just visiting? It was interesting to hear Obama pronounce Libyan towns (Ajawiya etc..)  properly but his expressed concern for the safety of Libyans in these places sounded hollow. There is no doubt that the Libyan upsurge which started (and not by coincidence) in oil rich and often separatist Cyrenaica has been aided and abetted by foreign elements and then taken over by those who had for long sought the ouster of Khadafy to lay their hands on its oil riches. The captured Dutch mercenaries, the infiltrated American and British intelligence agents and special force elements prove the assertion. 

Sarkozy “the Libyan” also appears as ridiculous as the Westerners’ concern for the lives of Libyan civilians. The strutting of France as a big power, the delusion of grandeur (often exercised on small countries like Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti and Mali) would have been amusing if it had not been destructive. Sarkozy, whose harsh and brutal action against Romas (Gypsies) is fresh in pour minds, is suffering from a low popularity rate in his own country, surpassed at the polls even by the right wing leader of the National Front. Moreover, he had to endure blunders in Tunisia where his foreign minister offered security help to dictator Ben Ali and so his sudden  posturing as the guardian of Libyans has little to do with concern and everything to do with cheap politics and an eye for the oil that France had not been getting unlike Italy for example. Franco Libyan relations, meaning ties with Khadafy were strong and financially beneficial to France and the Western powers. Blair and Condoleezza Rice trekked to Tripoli as did Berlusconi who publicly kissed the hands of the Libyan dictator and praised him for being a bulwark against African immigration. Britain forgot shot to death police woman Yvonne Fletcher and Lockerbie and acquiesced to his whims and dealt with Khadafy as a clean and deserving partner. In other words, Khadafy was kosher, an ally, halal so to speak. And so when the recent events arose, the Western media had to do the “bedeviling” work fast and wide. Feudal despot King Idris’ flag was resurrected as poorly armed but heroic rebels appeared on our TV screens, and all of a sudden Khadafy “the butcher” revealed. Sadam Hussein had gone through the same road. The Western controlled mass media shamed itself once again. 

Why did not the West intervene in Bahrain? In Yemen? Let us take it further: what has the West done to stop the bloodshed in eastern Congo, a tragedy that has killed close to 6 million Congolese and is caused by the West’s own greed for Congo’s mineral wealth? Obama said it is US policy that Khadafy needs to go. Good—but what about pro American tyrants like Kabila Jr, Meles, Nguema, the despots in the Middle East? In 2005, Meles Zenawi stole an election and murdered more than 275 people in Addis Abeba alone (snipers on rooftops as in Sana’a) but he still enjoys massive US, British and EU financial and military help. There is much hue and cry as concerns Darfur and not a peep on the carnage in the Congo. France did fine business with the dour and bloody generals in Burma and still is the life support for many African dictators. Any claim by Britain, in the past or now, to be concerned about the welfare of other peoples is not funny but still laughable. Hence, if Putin calls the campaign against Libya something like the Crusades he does have a point. It alls smacks of an ill concealed colonialist arrogance and violence. Base and crude economic interest is at the bottom of it. Oil. The times they are achanging for sure and sometimes, alas, the more they change the more they stay the same. Mubarak and Ben Ali were allies of Washington but the popular revolt got rid of them much to the chagrin of America. Khadafy and Saleh will go as it is the will of the people but the war of the West against Libya has nothing to do with democracy or defending civilians. The AU has proved once again its relevance by failing to come to the rescue of its “king of all African Tribes” and the Arab League’s call for the bombardment of Libya has not, alas, surprised anyone.  

It is evidend that  pro American dictators in Africa and the Middle East will also face popular uprising and if Bahrain is an indicator we can safely declare that the West will try to salvage them until it becomes impossible to do so and it is forced to sing another tune. Changing times but same despots, same double standards, same hypocrites.  

(A poem By Henoke Yeshetlla)

They said “fear is the power by which the human anger is preserved by”
but I said, “It is a service and an obedience to the causeless nothingness”
But they said, “it remains inward and mute”
and I said..- the whole reality of it has the loudest sound.
It is endured…and yet loved….
How slavery is thus graced.
Fear is when one diverts from seeing the power in him
and when one denies the truth in himself for a better pain.
It is when a tree gathers energy and sheds from its own falling leaves.
And it is when the sprit of the hero expands to powerlessness.
to the causeless nothingness.
Yet, little will remain known
fear is still the power….
an axis of rotation for the “voluntary beggars”….
And they said, “Is life so dear or peace so sweet?”
And my answer, “there is no peace without life, nor a life with out
the sweet peace”
So why is fear…
why is it the cause for our slavery?
I said, “as being nothing and subsets in it”
we loved to feel it….
the causeless nothingness….
casting its darkness,
and we said, “there is no peace” and yet hope and faith….
when there is nothing to hope
But hope is a spiritual fear in this case
It is a silent sorrow….
And faith is another instance of it….
when paganism is roving in our veins…..
It is all a causeless nothingness

By Obo Arada Shawl

March 23, 2011

Introduction

Somalia-Eritrea-Libya had common colonial heritage, an Italian heritage at that. But after Independence each country has passed through its unique transformation and development.

Somalia’s aspiration is based on self-rule with limited national government of the day. For this reason, the EU label it as a “failed state”  in response to the self-rule concept and the USA is concerned of the concept of limited government for fear of a breeding space for terrorism.

Eritrea fought a dual struggle for Independence long overdue as well as democratization process from Ethiopia. For strategic purpose, the United States remained unenthusiastic for Eritrea’s independence whereas the EU is adamant of the democratization process in Eritrean societies.

Libya has installed “the Green Revolution” but because of its erratic leader has shifted sides numerous times the result of which is the abandonment of EU, the AU and possibly the USA. Libya is on the verge of losing its cash resources.

The Second wave of colonialism

What is happening now in this digital colonial age is nothing new to these three countries. Globalization is simply about trade and export for the United States, for EU, it is also about trade but with emphasis on immigration. For the Arab world, it is about employment and corruption. For the United Nation and the African Union, globalization is just confusion, maybe it is about trade and people.

Trade and people is nothing new to Somalia, Eritrea and Libya. The peoples of these three countries have been conducting trade and development with or without money. Their motivation and inspiration were based on trust with profit or no profit, it did not matter. The peoples of those countries used to enjoy free traveling if not within their own vast territories but around the globe.

Geographically, the Libyans are sandwiched by the Arabs of Egypt, Tunisia, and the Sudan. Psychologically, the Eritreans are sandwiched by religious and cultural factors. Socially, the Somalis are sandwiched among themselves. It is no wonder that these populace are in trouble of no faults of theirs.

So what was wrong with these peoples way of life? It was being disrupted not by trade but by no trade. They want to show the world how to trade with people outside the WTO. If they are obstructed by free trade, their youth will live by other means necessary as pirating in Somalia, emigrating as in Eritrea and protesting as in Libya. These trends could not be stopped by the digital age, it could only be enhanced.

Conclusion

These days, the global world as led by knowledgeable but not wise young leaders of France, England, Russia, China and America are striving hard how to trade and export. Their model of WTO may be of little help to the little world. It is time to incorporate the models of Somalia, Eritrea and Libya. One has to look into their positive side not their negative aspect. The Libyans are circulating their cash via investment, the Eritreans are debt free through self-reliance and the Somalis are in for self-rule.

What is wrong with the underlined concepts?

We know that their respective leaders are dictators. But the question is dictators of what? For them, dictatorship is the same as authoritarian, democracy or rule of law. We are not communicating with them or with the people they rule. It is a futile attempt to change their way of life (culture) by force.

The leader as in Libya is full of threats, the leader of Eritrea has no language for diplomacy, and the leader of Somalia has no spokesman. If the World takes the threats of Colonel Gaddaffi as real, if the West takes President Essayas’s silence as terrorism or Somalia’s leader’s plea as helplessness, then we have problems with the peoples of that region not with their leaders.

Currently, the western world is engaged in Libya to democratize or destabilize. Africans are regrouping to send troops to Somalia. They seem to forget that Libya is an African member state. We may see Western leaders supporting Melese’s regime to invade Eritrea to submit to globalization. The question is who are the countries behind Melese’s regime? Will it be NATO, the Pentagon or the People’s army of China? I hope it is not the UN or African Union. Who can forget what the League of Nations did to Ethiopia in 1935?

Today’s problem are not leaders of Africa, it is their untapped resources. In order to exploit their resources, we should give them the chance to be educated not in terms of value and belief but in terms of respect and interest. The West as well as the East is focused to gain an immediate gratification from the resources of Africa.

In order to carry out the second wave of colonialism, let us take the following UN Survey conducted on a “joke” level

The survey was a huge failure: In Africa they didn’t know what ‘**food**’ meant,

 In India they didn’t know what ‘**honest**’ meant, In Europe they didn’t know what ‘**shortage**’ meant,  In China they didn’t know what ‘**opinion**’ meant, In the Middle East they didn’t know what ‘**solution**’ meant,  In South America they didn’t know what ‘**please**’ meant, And in the USA they didn’t know what **’the rest of the world’** meant! * 

People of Africa, just like the rest of us, have kept their resources for posterity not to be squandered by globalization phenomenon.

The real solution may come from our understanding of the fake “UN survey”. Let us change our attitude, as attitude is everything.

Dear readers,

Use the above question in relation to the reading of article “role models for transformation and development in Africa.” that was missing in the article.

For comments, questions and concerns

woldetewolde@yahoo.com

 By Yilma Bekele

The people’s uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have been the talk of Ethiopians both at home and the Diaspora for the last month and half. We are surprised by the sudden fall of the tyrants of Tunisia and Egypt. We are watching with keen interest the volatile situation in Libya and Yemen.

You know the one thing in common these far away places have is the large number of displaced Africans caught in this wave. Most of our people are refugees from bad economy, civil war, lack of opportunity, tyranny and other curable ills. There are plenty of Ethiopians that are currently exposed to danger while searching for a meaningful life. It was sad to hear Meles Zenawi pretending about using air and sea to pluck our people from Libya. When you consider most of these people paid large sums of money to reach Libya escaping sadness and misery in their homeland it is inconceivable that they will return to hell willingly.  

Even though the world media was transfixed by the upheaval in the lands of the Arabs, the Government controlled media was going to great length to pretend nothing out of the ordinary was going on in the neighborhood. The Ethiopian peoples information regarding the tsunami in their vicinity came from a few brave Independent News Papers at home, ESAT (Ethiopian Satellite TV (http://www.ethsat.com/), Diaspora Web sites, VOA, Deutche Welle, and Al Jazeera. The regime was also investing large amounts of money and labor to jam and interfere with ESAT and Diaspora based independent Web sites.

Denial of independent news is the hallmark of a dictatorial regime. Creating confusion, misinforming and revising the news is also a prefered and a known modus operandi of a closed system. It is with this in mind the Ethiopian Prime Minster called his government certified reporters for press conference after a month long hiatus from public view to tell us his version of the story. He wanted to bully, threaten, scold and warn eighty million people against an attempt to remove him, his family and friends from power. As you know his lieutenant Berket offered some bogus explanation a la Seif Gaddafi to show why an uprising is not possible in a 12% growing economy. Needless to say he was laughed out of town.

Ato Meles decided to approach the situation from a different angle. It looks like Ato Melese’s strategy is to stick to the good old method of belligerency as the best way out of this mess he finds himself in. We the rest of ordinary Ethiopians have been looking at the unfolding situation and learning a valuable lesson in overcoming our fear and devising low cost methods of removing this TPLF tumor from our home land. It looks like Ato Meles sitting in his guarded bunker has been pouring over documents to draw a lesson on how to avert being Mubaraked by the people.

The so-called press conference was to unfurl his ‘doctrine’ regarding the hard lessons of the last few weeks. The usual suspects from Walta, Aiga Forum, The Reporter, Ben’s page etc. were summoned and given the prepared question to ask. It is always perplexing to see six microphones on the podium when one should be more than enough considering they all go to the same news editor.

Ato Meles was exhibiting a brand new haircut, a five thousand dollar Savile Row suit and a better makeup than the last time we saw him. You can tell that he has been under tremendous stress by looking at the bags under his eyes and the violent way he was pounding the table to make his point. When it came to answering the question regarding the ‘uprising’ the pounding got louder, the head scratching and fidgeting got intense and the internal fury was producing lots of heat like the crippled Japanese Nuclear plants and needed venting to avert explosion.

I want to concentrate on his response regarding the chances of an uprising in Ethiopia, but I would like to comment on a few of the points raised by the TPLF leader before he got to his main talking point.

Ato Meles seems to have a very strange understanding of the office he occupies. He said that ‘his contract with the Ethiopian people is for an eight hour a day labor’ and he does not feel it is important for him to be ‘a role model’ for anybody. That is a disturbing statement coming from a person entrusted for the welfare of eighty million souls. One would think being a leader of such a poor country with over eight million citizens suffering the scourge of hunger, double-digit inflation, high rate of unemployment etc. is more than a 24/7 responsibility. As for the issue of being a ‘role model’ who better than the head of the government and guardian of what is good and noble in all of us for the people to follow.

When asked about inflation the price of fuel and general failure of the economy, again I find his response very illiterate and far from the truth. His take on basic economics 101 is a little confusing to say the least. He said ‘ why would the price of potatoes go up due to the increase in gasoline?’ Let us see. Potatoes are generally grown in the countryside and require trucks to transport them to the market. In some instances fertilizers are applied for good harvest, tractors are used to dig out the bounty and the warehouse they are stored require electricity. What is common here is the importance of oil in this chain of economic activity. Why wouldn’t the hike in the price of fuel affect potatoes my dear Meles?

So much for economics, now to the important issue at hand, the current trend of peaceful peoples uprising to bring democracy and the rule of law. This press conference was to deal with the problem before it rears its ugly head in Ethiopia. It was Ato Melese’s response to the Ethiopian people on how he was going to handle the situation. It was his way of putting lipstick on a pig in a futile attempt to stop the impending implosion. It was a nice try. Unfortunately like everything else he tries it was an abject failure.   

What Ato Meles learned from the uprisings became clear from his response to his own questions as read by his staff. From Tunisia he learnt quick exit is not the answer since Ben Ali’s exile did not save his family’s fortune from being under consideration for confiscation or stop the demand by the people to haul his criminal ass back to Tunisia for trial, Mubarak’s futile attempt to hang on only postponed the inevitable for a few days and resulted in his being a virtual prisoner in his home land, Saleh’s attempt both to offer concessions and kill at the same time has only resulted in his hanging on to power by his fingernails while Gaddafi and sons are in a do or die situation with no light at the end of the tunnel.

Ato Meles decided to attack before the idea of uprising took roots. The pres conference was to bully his people and at the same time show his followers that he is still in charge; he is not afraid and give them a nudge to intensify the offense. In a nutshell the main speaking points could be summarized as follows. ‘There is no chance of uprising here because we carried an election about ten months ago and EPDRF won overwhelmingly, we have in place a constitutional method of changing leaders unlike Egypt and Tunisia and all our problems can be traced to Shabia and Al Qaeda Islamists blah blah.’

What is revealing is the charge he leveled against his ‘enemies’ regarding the crimes they are supposedly hatching against his regime. According to him Shabia in cooperation with rogue Ethiopians and some of the legal opposition is planning to turn ‘Addis into Baghdad.’ That is his story and he is sticking to it. If you notice this madness has similarity to the charges leveled against Kinijit leaders and Civic organization heads in the aftermath of the 2005 elections where they were accused of planning a ‘genocide.’ You see even before the civil disobedience starts Ato Meles is accusing all those that oppose him of planning violence to justify his gangster type response. Not a bad tactic if you ask me. Hijacking the cry of the victim is nothing new. What is sad is the idea of a ‘government’ spending so much time and energy to sabotage and suppress the dreams and aspirations of its own population for the benefit of a few individual’s thirst for power and money.

So what do you think of Ato Meles’s take on the situation? Is he correct in his assessment of the situation both at home and the neighborhood? Is he telling the truth when he says ‘we do not consider it (the question of civil disobedience) as an immediate and relevant issue…and it is not discussed by his Politburo?’ In other words as they say here in the US ‘would you buy a used car’ from this salesman?

If you have your doubts, I understand. I concur that It is very difficult to accept Meles’s analysis as correct and based on facts. He does not seem to have a good track record when it comes to having a clear understanding of the situations in the neighborhood and his assessment of the moods and wants of the Ethiopian people. In other words the individual is clueless when it comes to relating to the people he is supposed to lead. We don’t have to go far to prove our point.

Do you remember his conclusion that Shabia is not going to attack? Shabia did and we paid the price with over eighty thousand dead and millions of dollars wasted on weapons from Korea and East Europe. We are also aware of Siyoum Mesfin’s lying declaration that the International Court have agreed with Ethiopia regarding Badme and four years later it is still unresolved issue. How could we forget the so-called ‘cake walk’ into Somalia and the ensuing humiliation? Do I need to remind you of the 2005 election and EPDRF’s loss of Addis and most of the country? There is no need to mention the utterly weird situation of 12% growth to go with hyperinflation, famine and the dwindling foreign reserve? As you can see the palace folks are poster children for miscalculation and fiction rather than a sober and realistic assessment of any situation. It is my firm belief that TPLF folks are not capable of finding the exit door in a studio apartment.

If we are permitted we can actually give our friends some advice on avoiding the fate of Ben Ali, Mubarak or Gaddafi. There is a cheaper solution that does not require spending time and energy on exotic and expensive scenarios to fight what is inevitable. History is full of examples where in the end no matter how much one tries victory of good over evil is as sure as the sun rising from the East tomorrow morning. Here is a short list of responses by Meles and company that will assure them keeping their head intact with the rest of their body and avoiding humiliation in front of the people of Ethiopia and humanity in general.

The simple and more direct solution will be to resign. The TPLF boss can say he wants to spend more time with his family and we will understand. If that is too radical then there are other options. Let us start by abandoning this self-serving Constitution and starting fresh. We can undo the illegal act of the Derge that made land property of the government instead of the people. All land and property should be returned to the rightful owners with no ifs or buts. The concept of Kilil and formation of Ethnic based party and organization should have no place in our new Ethiopia. The internal security will be dismantled never to show its ugly and brutal face ever again. The new Ethiopia will allocate large portion of its budget on education instead of Arms and repressive organs. The emerging free and democratic Ethiopia will sit down with our Eritrean cousins and resolve the issue of security and use of port facilities in amicable ways. Ethiopia will sign a non aggression pact with all is neighbors including Somalia and work towards cultural, educational and sports exchange to turn East Africa in to a zone of peace and tranquility.

Tell you what if you take our advice we will even convince Judge Wolde Michael Meshesha not to press on this issue of criminal act committed way back in October 2005. It is not easy but we will do our best in lieu of the benefits to our poor and tired country and people. We might even go as far as looking the other way regarding the loot some of you have stashed in foreign banks but it all depends on your cooperation and your solemn oath that you will refrain from denying your guilt and will ask the Ethiopian people for forgiveness and show real remorse. I believe our way is a lot better than a protracted and ugly struggle you might wage for a few days before the inevitable collapse of your ponzi scheme.

You know it, we know it and everybody and his dog knows it that there is no easy way out. The bullying and repression have bought you a measly ten years or so. It is not effective anymore because of the new international situation being allergic towards despots and finally to the current deteriorating economic situation where gas costs 18.50/liter, Oil costs 36 or more, teff costs thousands, chicken costs triple digits etc. etc. You see what I mean, people are coming to the realization that there is nothing to loose anymore. That is scary and that is what is keeping you awake at night. That is what makes you come up with scenarios like ‘Addis into Baghdad’ and the specter of all those unemployed youth breaching the palace walls with Meles and company running around in their pajamas pursued by an angry mob! It gives me shivers just to think about it. Let us agree to nip this horrible situation in the bud before it gets traction. Good luck my friend, please don’t make me say ‘I told you so!’              

“Fair and Balance Reporting”

Berhanu Nega group wants to know about the Army Generals ethnic background while its supporters want to play no part in ethnic politics (check current affair group stand of late!)! EPRP with its 40 years of experience of pamphlet distribution wants to lead the Tahrir (actually Tahdid) revolution while UDJ wants to start its revolution from city to countryside! Our own extremists in Diaspora want everyone to smile and talk kind to any one thus why they called a friendship rally in DC for (2/27/11). In other words the Tahdid revolution is in full swing and in a very short time we should know if EPRP or Ginbot 7 or UDJ or pal talk extremists have the upper hand to land at Tahdid palace (Betemengist). Last but not least EPRDF would be supporters are also dishing it out with the extremists arguing that there will not be a revolution because the country had one already! This in a nut shell is the news from Diaspora we did not cover over the last week! [Aigaforum 2/27/11]

By Tesfay Atsbeha & Kahsay Berhe  – February 18, 2011

For the TPLF the month of February is officially a month of its birth day celebrations. The real celebration behind the veil of the birth day is actually the propaganda of the regime to exploit the emotions of Ethiopians, especially Tigrayans who lost their loved ones during the armed struggle, play the big benefactor for removing the military dictatorship and justify its “entitlement” to stay in power.

This recurring celebration will end up with the end of the regime, because there will not be any legacy left worth remembering in connection with the birth day of the TPLF. This event is neither connected with independence from colonial rule nor has it brought any social justice; it is simply a victory of an evil over another evil. Small extremist Tigrayan nationalist elements may continue to boast of the military exploits of the TPLF even in the future, but the future will belong to those who stand for the unity of the Ethiopian people, the respect of human and democratic rights, the supremacy of law and the prevalence of justice. No rational person in his/her right mind will defend the anti-Ethiopian, barbaric, deceitful and corrupt system of Meles in the future.

While the criminals and beneficiaries of the tyranny pay lip service to the deceased in order to dupe the innocent and maintain their own privileges and safety, a small segment of the people supports them out of respect for the “martyrs” and due to angst of the unknown, which it fears may follow. This is the Satanist segment, for it, in line with the old pessimistic adage, prefers the known Satan to the unknown Angel. Another segment, without the mood for celebration, remembers similar martyrs who lost their lives and whose history has been ruined by the crimes of those who came to power and stuck to it for almost a generation. According to the latter, which can be called the falsifier segment, the victory of the Front has been hijacked and therefore the real TPLF does not exist anymore.

The Satanist lacks clarity of aim, confidence in the future and a sense of justice transcending ethnicity. The segment of the falsifier is distorting the objective facts that the leadership of the TPLF never practiced transparency, accountability and justice during the armed struggle. It is also denying the fact that Meles and cohorts notwithstanding their negligible role for the success of the armed struggle nevertheless controlled the TPLF, molded its undemocratic culture, deprived the members of the organization of their voice in decision making, decided on its aims and policies and used it as an instrument to fulfill their wishes from the beginning.

Meles was not in the leadership of the TPLF on 18 February 1975, when the Front formally started the armed struggle, but he was befriended with those who became members of the CC in the first year and became one of the protagonists who could influence the aims and activities of the Front before he was officially a member of the CC. Meles has been destroying innocent human lives for more than 35 years.

As we tried in the last consecutive years to portray the phenomenon of Meles as the tyranny of a traitor, the fulfillment of two major conditions contributed to this unique occurrence. Firstly, his anti-Ethiopian aim was facilitated by the creation of the TPLF as an Ethnic organization; and secondly, the vulnerability of our society to fall victim to the tyranny of a single person was effectively exploited by Meles to seize absolute power. He got the collaboration of the CC to isolate the rank-and-file-members and deprive them of all their human and democratic rights, thus creating an army of sycophants who do not try to get their own rights respected, let alone stand for the rights of the people. Then, he got rid of his actual and potential contenders within the CC and politburo and monopolized power in the TPLF. The absolute power of Meles in the politburo of the TPLF led automatically to his absolute power in the TPLF in the EPRDF, in Tigray and then in the whole of Ethiopia.

It is our worst tradition in Ethiopia to be tyrannized by a single person who exercises absolute power and Meles is not an exception in this case, but in his anti-Ethiopian views and actions. Why do some Ethiopian pundits wake up after every major event, like the sham elections and discover anew the degeneration of the system to tyranny, when tyranny was never abolished in the first place? Some individuals from the opposition may get parliamentary seats or be denied of any seats with the permission of Meles. These changes in form do not affect the system.

As we express our appreciation for the human and matured decision of the Tunisian and Egyptian armed forces not to shoot at their own people, we must remind the present Ethiopian armed forces that those of them who have not yet committed crimes against humanity on the orders of the tyrant should desist from doing similar things and defend their people. Meles, the serial murderer and those who executed his orders will one day be brought to court for the massacres of unarmed Ethiopians:

1.) In 1991 in Addis Ababa,

2.) in 1993 in Addis Ababa,

3.) In 2001 in Addis Ababa,

4.) In 2002 in Awassa,

5.) In 2003 in Gambella,

6.) In June 2005 in Addis Ababa,

7.) In November 2005 in Addis Ababa and, for murders of many more individual Ethiopians.

By Yelfiwos Wondaya

Knowing the fact that the so-called Ethiopian constitution is framed by an ethnocentric dictatorial regime to serve its narrow purpose, one would not expect to see it working for all parties on board, much less to preserve Ethiopia’s unity and territorial integrity intact. Although mentioned in the constitution still the TPLF is not willing to comply with its own rule of law. At its will, though the TPLF undermines the basic substances mentioned in its own fake constitution one of which is a common platform in which both parties [the regime and the oppositions] could be able to build an agreement to settle a difference of opinion in a way that is acceptable to all. Worst of all, its constitution does not promote unity, equality, fraternity and social justice for all to take root in Ethiopia. So in this case, one would conclude that not merely a regime change or reform but a revolution that ought to be played out by the genuine parties and the public at large. Thus in order to turn the popular revolution into a success, one would also conclude that the objective condition at hand needs to acquire the following important continuities, a society that defies all orders from Mele’s tyrant regime, unity, organization, leadership, and outside factors that would influence Ethiopians in a positive and uplifted ways.

Firstly, though Ethiopians openly resisted the regime in the past but the resistances were not conducted in a cohesive manner as a result have been crashed and suppressed by the regime one at a time. After all, “a house divided against itself cannot stand” often times than not, however, students in Addis, Mekele, Gimma and other higher learning institutions were striking but not collectively in a cohesive manner, which is why they did not get anywhere, and also Christian worshipers in Gondar, Muslims in Addis and then, the youths together with the general public came out in thousands to oppose the election result of 2005, during which time over 35 thousands people locked up in prison and are subjected to pain, and suffering from torture and continue to languishing in woyanes’ top-security prisons allover. At the same time, some 200 people were gun down by the regime’s police and secret agents sought after suspects and intimidated them wherever they were. In unison, though there were about three million people came out in Addis to oppose the regime but were dispersed non other than by the so-called opposition leaders in 2005. Potentially though such pattern of events are positive indications for one to confirm that we have indeed a defying society in Ethiopia. With that in mind, Ethiopians have a reason to believe that there is a meeting place both for the public and the genuine political groupings to join forces and carry out a collective form of protest against the regime. And also they are convinced that taking a campaign of brief action in such a manner against enemy can bring about change and enforce their deliberation of thought to fruition.

Next, it is time for the public at large and as well for the genuine political parties to take ownership of their country by taking concrete actions that can set off a chain of events ahead. Eventually though the said chain of events will create more chain reactions and shall lead us to widespread uprisings against enemy. Is there any option left other than changing this situation mentioned above into something promising and certainly make the revolution a success? In brief, it is time to change trend and embark on a new strategy that would take Ethiopians to the point where their struggle is be fruitful. To that end, providing the Ethiopian people with an effective leadership and promoting a pragmatic course of action in a bid to liberate our people from the yoke of tyranny is the burning question of the day.

Secondly, the question of leadership is vital, if once the question of leadership is resolved, the rest is possible to change the no-win situation around and move on to the next level where waging a pragmatic form of action is possible. And then again, move on to the next level in which our superior moral truth is caused to dominate enemy’s position and brings about the downfall of our last few rivals in power. To that end the task of leadership is to coordinate, guide, and direct the revolution and further influence the youths and the elderly to join the protest against their common enemy the TPLF that is.

Thirdly, the question of unity is vital too. Although the task of leadership falls upon the entire organizations, coalitions and alliances it takes an initiative of individuals to determine whether or not the organizations function effectively, and upon their functioning depends on the determination and the commitment of members of different ranks and beyond. The society on the other hand is the sea in which individuals, organizations and associations are brought to shore. Together, all of whom are parts and parcels of the shore and of the wave of the sea in which more leaders will emerge from within to coordinate further the different functions and resources into a one pathway forward. In such a way, leaders could let numerous citizens involve at will and bring their contributions to the coherent form of action in place. Isn’t that a challenge for us all, and a test of time to preserve the genesis and the progression of our revolution and its success story ahead? After all, “United we stand divided we fall” unity is power! If not right, Might is absolutely essential for us to survive my fellow Ethiopians. In all fairness, might is the answer for an upper hand: as lip service is for an empty technique of rhetoric. “Actions speak louder than words” Taken as a whole, the popular insurrection of Ethiopian people is prone to generate more of pragmatic actions ahead. So, at this critical time, an action oriented political entity capable of providing the public with an effective leadership is highly required to appear into the political arena in order to topple Mele’s regime and rescue the victory on the horizon. Indeed, a leadership envisaging and contemplating a future ahead, a leadership that has a firm hold on the public’s imagination has to come forward to assume a new role of leadership to lead the revolution. In short, a resolute leadership is is need now! Then, the said leadership would share a great deal of experiences with foreign movements that are already successful and what not, would carefully apply it in a ways it would help the movements go forward.

Fourthly, the wind of change blowing from the North and the shock wave it sends toward the south may well have positive impact on Ethiopians’ situation as a whole. If not decisive, it is an encouraging factor for Ethiopians’ situation to get ahead of time and use it before hand to weaken our enemy. It also helps them feel emotionally and intellectually attached to the movement and their comrades in arm in a positive and uplifted ways, it helps leaders utilize their natural talents and to convey optimism and send that down the line with a message that conveys strength and security for all in the ground. It indeed gives them morale boost especially, when they see that the opinions of the world powers are changed in favor of the winning situations in Tunisia, Egypt etc. Be that as it may, the groundbreaking revolution in Ethiopia is imminent although Meles will try his best to appease it by massacring the people indiscriminately or what have you. Despite the pain and injuries his excessive force may will have inflicted, he will not make it this time. Much like those dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, etc, Mele’s will lose grip of power and leave on the backdoor without any traces. The Tunisians and Egyptians have done it so will Ethiopians so long as they are determined in terms of moving forward in a full force to defend their human and constitutional rights in the open. And then, much like Egyptians and others, Ethiopians’ uprising will enjoy the support of democratic countries and international communities across the world. And then, the WOYANES’ deceptive and distorted information that had been systematically spreading to confuse the international community will be silenced at the end. For that to happen, the Mass Medias of all oppositions are expected to convey a coordinated message against Mele’s press and get in the way to frustrate his military and other forces on the ground as well. And then, the friendly press together with general public would make it clear even clearer to that of our defectors and collaborators not to taking side with the dying regime and more. Those false prophets aside, however, the foremost duty of all genuine Ethiopian political and civic organizations is to depose the TPLF/EPRDF and replace its ethnocentric regime with a democratic system of government. Clearly, this is the central theme as is a dividing wall separated us from the enemy. The TPLF/ EPRDF together with those fortified collaborators that are relentlessly reinforcing its political muscle must be condemned permanently to the fire of hell.

Lastly, we are at a time when we need to make our choices not only to condemn the regime but also to have the courage to defy and let the blast blew the dictator off! And of course, winning the war against all odds is the choice and the goal of moral forces as opposed to losers that are in battle for evil deeds. Victors Vs. losers. If there is anything in between of these two forces it should be nothing but belongs to those who are neglected and left in oblivion during the course of this watershed time in our history. History is in the making and the positive aspect of all this is that victory is inevitable so long as we are determined to keep on struggling in spite of obstacles and so long as the movement is led by an experienced and well competent leadership. In the aftermath, however, the said leadership will find itself in a position where the vast majority of the people are awaiting in the wings to cast their vote to it given that friendship is the product of privileged circumstances and authentic victories and hardly ever any enemy thereafter.

In conclusion, a competent leadership together with a defying society, unity, and organization is ultimately needed to make our national struggle a success in terms of changing Meles’ ethnocentric philosophy together with his an ethnic oriented federal system. So much so, such continuities as competent leadership, a defying society, united forces and organizations will also be the resources to found some broadly based transitional government in Addis, which in turn, will frame a constitution that paves a way to broadly representative government, and allows parties of all persuasions to freely participate in the upcoming political system and equally permits different professional and civic associations, to join or choose political organizations of their own choices.

Enachenifalen!!

Hama Tuma

The ongoing mass protest and popular change going on in North Africa, the Sudan and the Middle East highlights that the Western powers, for all their strutting, are in most cases paper tigers who cannot prevent a people’s revolutionary uprising. Paper tigers have no teeth and, as a Wiki leak cable revealed vis a vis Egypt, they have no ears either.

Years ago, an Egyptian activist of the April 6 group visited Washington and told the American officials that Mubarak would go before the 2011 general election but they found his information baseless, unrealistic and unsubstantiated by any other intelligence.¹ Talk of being warned! The American officials did not listen and when the Egyptian people rose up to shake the regime to its dirty boots Washington had no other program other than to rush El Baradei to Cairo and conduct a media blitz to present him as a credible opposition leader (which he is not by any measure). Hilary Clinton said Egypt “ is stable” right after the Tunisian uprising started, then went on to call reform from Mubarak, changed tune to “ a transition to democracy” and so forth in confusion and all of it very late. The strongly organized Moslem Brotherhood organization may agree that Washington’s man el Baradei represent the opposition in the negotiations with the regime knowing full well that the main enemy is the Mubarak regime and El Baradei, with no organization behind him, would easily be dealt with. If the Brotherhood comes to power as Israel fears then the fault is Washington’s for backing a dictator to the hilt just as it had done in Iran with the Shah. Egypt under Mubarak has for long been the major US ally in the region (annual military aid US$ 1 billion) and one wonders how come Washington and Israel (the famous Mossad) were caught by surprise. For those who imagine these quarters to be all knowing and omnipotent this is a good lesson indeed. The same happened to France in Tunisia which under Ben Ali was for long the backyard of Paris (let alone the spies, more than a million French tourists visit Tunisia every year). The French were caught off guard, following the people’s protest almost just like you and me. Paper Tigers!

It has been a longstanding confirmed fact that Western powers hobnob with dictators and corrupt officials so much that they lose sight of the reality of the people no matter the number of their spies. Their persistent arrogance also covers their eyes and especially their ears and no matter how often you tell them the storm is brewing they tend to believe it is always a storm in the tea cup. They also rely on their own self declared experts who, more often than not, recycle their own pet conclusions and even prejudices. I remember a week or so into the February 1974 Revolution in Ethiopia, an expert and historian called Edward Ullendorff telling his BBC audience that the Emperor had everything under control. A week before the former prime minister (and now Pentecostal preacher) Tamrat Layne was to be thrown into prison by his former comrade (and now PM), Meles Zenawi, the French ambassador in Addis Ababa sent his government a cable affirming “ Tamrat Layne is on the rise and he is a good friend of France”! In short, they do not know and they do not listen. The more you appeal to the Western powers the more they think you are pathetic, weak, lying, besmirching the name of their favorite tyrant and, as the cable on the Egyptian activist’s warning showed, that you are dreaming and fantasizing of a people’s uprising. In Ethiopia, we have the propagandist Paul Henze and others who categorize every opposition as “remnants of the former regime and Amhara chauvinists” and sing nauseating eulogy of the petty tyrant. And then there are the lobbyists of K Street, down town Washington.

Money can’t buy me love sang the Beatles. The same in politics. The financial power of dictators can’t buy them popular support. Money can’t buy you love but sure can buy you scribes and trumpeters or mouth pieces. In our case, and in Africa as a whole, the tyrants are not so greedy as not to buy lobbyists. Still, America may be a super power but it cannot in the end block the popular revolt of oppressed people be it in Egypt or Ethiopia and beyond. Final decisive power is in the hand of the sovereign people. That this is not a cliché has been once again proven by the events in Tunisia, Egypt, etc and perhaps tomorrow in Ethiopia itself. The 2005 missed change in Ethiopia was sabotaged by America and Britain but the main culprits are the spineless leaders of the Opposition who sold out and brought defeat on the people despite the heavy sacrifice paid. If one imagines the heavy presence of America in Egypt and the massive backing it gave to Mubarak one would be excused to conclude that Mubarak would not be moved by any challenge. This appeared as truth to many so much so that Mubarak himself believed it and was conspiring to name his own son as his successor like in North Korea, Gabon, Togo and Syria. It is safe to conclude now that Washington abandoned Mubarak from the outset and is now trying to salvage the situation in one way or another. Salvage in their vocabulary means sabotaging the people’s struggle in ours. The tyrants who appear invincible are actually paper tigers when confronted by the people’s determined uprising. That is the lesson of Tunisia and Egypt for now and perhaps of Algeria, Yemen and Sudan tomorrow. And who knows of Ethiopia and other countries too. We can say with certainty that Mubarak would go the soft or hard way depending on how the situation, the uprising progresses. The Mubarak attempt to short circuit the people’s revolt through reforms and using the military is bound to fail too. The people are demanding an end to the regime and reform, sincere or otherwise, is not the agenda and would be coming too late. In the broader sense, the time of the tyrants is up. Egyptians gave warning in Mahalla in 2008 and other times too—too bad if Mubarak and his allies slept on their ears as the African tyrants that Washington still defends and supports are doing and failed to listen.

Alas, Ethiopian activists who were not easy dupes in the past –they were actually anti imperialist as they defined themselves—are in a worse situation than the hesitant Egyptian opposition from Wafd to the Nasserites and the Brotherhood. The new animal called politician in Ethiopia is a bizarre creature indeed. It is made up of some, whom we shall politely call naïve though their name is another, who seriously believe that Western troops are in Iraq and Afghanistan to bring democracy to those people and if we beg them hard they will do the same for Ethiopia and others too. The other part of this new animal does not even know who is the enemy and thus accepts the diktat of the local tyrant and the so called advice and “kurkum” of the Western officials. These hope that their patient knocking at the conscience of the West will melt its hard heart and merciless greed in their favor. They know not History. Those who have succeeded to achieve meaningful change or have sent the tyrants packing are usually those who opposed the politics of the Western governments in their countries. The go ahead and green light for a people’s revolution cannot come from Washington, London or Paris. It would be contra nature, a strange occurrence, a sad and never to happen wishful thinking. Won’t happen ever. That is the lesson of all Revolutions and of the events we are witnessing in Tunisia and Egypt. The outcome of the uprising in Egypt is still not settled but the Rubicon has been crossed. One hopes the aspiration of the Egyptian people would not be short circuited or sabotaged as was the dream of Ethiopians for change in May 2005.

1 For a full report on this check the relevant wikileaks cable at http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/12/08CAIRO2572.html

 By Yilma Bekele

According to Wiki “in contemporary usage, dictatorship refers to an autocratic form of absolute rule by leadership unrestricted by law, constitutions, or other social and political factors within the state.” That is what we have in Ethiopia. That is what we are used to in Ethiopia. We have never known any other type of system.

Emperor Menilik is considered the father of modern day Ethiopia. He was crowned in 1889 and reined till 1910. His title was Neguse Negest or king of kings. He was followed by Haile Sellasie who acted as a regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1074. His title was “His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and Elect of God” (Ge’ez ግርማዊ፡ ቀዳማዊ፡ አፄ፡ ኃይለ፡ ሥላሴ፡ ሞዓ፡ አንበሳ፡ ዘእምነገደ፡ ይሁዳ፡ ንጉሠ፡ ነገሥት፡ ዘኢትዮጵያ፡ ሰዩመ፡ እግዚአብሔር; girmāwī ḳadāmāwī ‘aṣē ḫaile śelassie, mō’ā ‘ambassā ze’imneggede yehūda negus negast ze’ītyōṗṗyā, tsehume ‘igzī’a’bihēr)

The French absolute Monarch Louis the XIV of France defined the term when he said L’État, c’est moi (the state, it is me). All power was vested on the individual and the citizen is referred to as a subject.

Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam was the next de facto Emperor. His ascension to power was, as far as I am concerned definitely a freak accident. He was cunning enough to use ruthlessness as a calling card. We witnessed his purges. We became part of his convoluted worldview. We did a lot of harm to each other. Everybody carries a scar. Indifference carries its own baggage too. Colonel Mengistu and his minions abused us till his departure in 1991. If you are keeping count Mengistu precedes Ben Ali of Tunisia as the original deportee from his own country. He was thrown out. Hosni Mubarak of Egypt is scheduled to join us the next few days. Frankly I am tired of welcoming tyrants. Hosni rest assured we are in no mood to furl the welcome mat. You are on your own.

Our current leader tormentor Meles Zenawi became President of the Transitional Government from 1991 to 1995 and has been the Prime Minister and kingmaker since 1996. He controls the army, banking thus the economy, the judiciary and the parliament (legislative body). He is the new emperor in a different guise. That is the condensed version of our history of the last one hundred twenty two years.

It looks like we are conditioned to accept the rule of a single individual. We are bred to follow power and authority. Subservient to someone because of age, wealth, education, heredity is part of our DNA. We invite what is known as ‘strong leader.’ We insist on it. The more abusive those leaders are the more our appreciation and respect out of fear.

This abusive relationship is not confined to the political realm alone. It permeates our social and family life too. We allow unscrupulous individuals to climb into position of leadership even in our civic and religious organizations. We know they are up to nothing good but we pretend, ignore and deny. We just wait for the crap to hit the fan and we come out of our hiding place and feign surprise. Our women tolerate their abusive partners; our children suffer under a suffocating and irrational family life.

This ugly trait we cultivate is carried over to the highest office in the land. Our leaders whether Emperors, solders or ordinary garden variety criminals are our own products. We gave birth to them. We coddled them, nurtured them and let them loose on ourselves. It looks like it is not them alone that have to change. We have to change too. We have to learn to respect our selves. We have to believe we deserve the best. How could we demand change when we ourselves are not willing to change? How could we respect strangers when we don’t respect those around us?

Our current Emperor is in a dilemma? We have allowed him to mistreat, abuse and kick us around for the last thirty years or more. He fine-tuned his style of bullying way back when he was an ordinary member of a study group. Now it has gone to his head and I am afraid he does not know the difference between right and wrong. There is no point in psychoanalysis. It is right in front of us for all to see. His habit of resorting to force at the drop of a hat, his tendency to be little others and his show of contempt for those that disagree with him is a glaring example of an individual with no moral compass. You cannot reason with such person.

Let us be clear that any show of good will and compromise is seen as a weakness by such individuals and will be dealt with harshly. Such people are not interested in just wining but require the absolute destruction of their perceived enemy. They get a jolt of adrenalin rush from delivering such a devastating blow. Do we need examples of such behavior? If you insist.

The utter humiliation of comrade in arms Tamrat Laine, the public flogging of Abate Kisho, the imprisonment of the whole clan of Seye Abraha and confiscation of their ill gotten wealth, the harsh treatment of Kinijit leaders and the over forty thousand young people in the aftermath of the 2005 elections and the re imprisonment of Bertukan are symptoms of a sick mind at work. The fact that the ‘leader’ was even keeping tab of Bertukan’s diet and weight is an indication of a very disturbed mind at work.

I dealt with dictatorship because of the current trend of emerging from the yoke of abuse and humiliation in our neighborhood. The example set by Tunisia knows no sign of slowing down. It took Tunisians twenty eight days to topple a twenty-three years old dictatorship. It looks like the Egyptians might do it in less than fifteen days. They were exactly in the same boat like us. Some pundits are trying to show how different we are. I disagree. Our similarities are more than our differences. All three dictators used fear as their potent weapon. All three used excessive force for minor offenses. Murdering, imprisoning or exiling opponents is common to all three. All three economies were on the verge of collapse.

Trying to compare who is the most autocratic between the three misfits is a useless exercise. All three would not blink when it comes to killing to stay in power. Ours is a little primitive due to the backward economic condition of our country. Using ethnic divide, economic disparity or education level is the hallmark of a dictatorship. Nothing-new there.

We learned from Tunisia that the yearning for freedom is a universal wish. We also found out that the people united speak with one loud voice. There was no lamentation regarding the lack of a viable opposition party or leader. No one except Ben Ali and company was worried what would come after the demise of the rotten system. There was no sign of lawless ness because there was a ‘void’. The dictator was sent packing and Tunisians are slowly trying to undo years of mismanagement.

We are learning additional lessons from our Egyptians brothers and sisters. We are beginning to witness the correct approach to dealing with the military. We are finding out the average solder is committed to protecting his country and flag not the tyrant. We are also watching closely the emergence of an independent individual to coordinate the various actors in this drama. Notice that he is someone that is not associated with the dictator or the opposition. It is a very interesting development.

It is a very important and timely lesson for our country. Some would like to scare us with the specter of a military dictatorship upon the demise of TPLF. Egypt is a good example of not looking at the military as a simple tool of the ruling class. It is a living organism with different independent parts not always controlled from the center. When it comes to our country what we see is a beautiful picture. Our job is to build on that discontent and appeal to the good in all of us. We know the Generals and officers are from the ruling ethnic group. Fortunately the ordinary foot solders are just like us. A rainbow of nations and nationalities.

Let us resolve to approach this situation with hope and anticipation of a better tomorrow. Let us ignore the naysayers, the scaremongers and the negative merchants. Our country is ripe for change. Our people are ready for change. Our situation cries out for change. We are going to bring about positive change. We are going to use every available means to help our people and ourselves to emerge as a shining light in East Africa. That is our destiny.

We are in the process of organizing a ‘peaceful occupation’ of Ethiopian Embassy’s all over the world. We are going to use ESAT, Facebook, our independent websites and Ginbot7 short wave radio to gather our forces. Our intention is to show the lack of democracy and civil rights in our ancient land. Our hope is those who are clinging to power will realize change is inevitable and they will see the writing on the wall and go wherever dictators go without a futile attempt to deny reality. We are not into revenge but are committed never to allow the rule of a single individual. We also realize those who still stand with abusers even at the last hour will not receive mercy from us. It is time all decide where they stand at this hour of change. Enough is enough.