by Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam

… Tonight, we celebrate a great statesman who made monumental contributions to the liberation of Africa and the establishment of African unity, the late Emperor Haile Selassie (applause). There is no need to remind those of us in this room about the monumental contributions of Emperor Haile Selassie… He had at the time shared that our awareness of our past is essential to the establishment of our personality and identity as Africans…. I want to take this opportunity to thank the African Union for recognizing His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie’s efforts in the liberation struggle and for fostering Pan Africanism (applause)… H.E. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed, (forward clip to 41:35), February 8, 2019.

“It is only Nkrumah who is remembered whenever we talk about pan Africanism. It is a shame not to accept his role”, the late Meles Zenawi adamantly arguing the African Union should not erect a statute for H.I.M. Haile Selassie and dismissing his role in Pan African unity, February 12, 2012.

We  should all be happy and proud to have Nkrumah’s statue on the grounds of the AU in Ethiopia. H.I.M. Haile Selassie will no doubt get his statue in timebecause “truth cannot remain forever on the scaffold nor wrong remain forever on the throne.” Alemayehu G. Mariam, “Ethiopia Shall Rise”, May 26, 2012, on the occasion of the erection of Kwame Nkrumah’s statute on the grounds of the African Union.

Thank you P.M. Abiy for restoring H.I.M. Haile Selassie to a place of honor  in the AU

I want to publicly thank H.E. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed for fulfilling one of my fondest dreams today!

For years, I have called for an official recognition of H.I.M. Haile Selassie’s monumental contributions to African diplomacy with a monument on the grounds of the African Union.

In May 2012, in a commentary entitled “Ethiopia Shall Rise”, I pleaded for the erection of a commemorative statute for H.I.M, the first chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), alongside Kwame Nkrumah’s, Ghana’s first president and principal founder of the OAU.

But the late Meles Zenawi would not allow it.

Meles Zenawi was not only adamantly opposed to the erection of a commemorative statute, he was also contemptuously dismissive of H.I.M. and his achievements as the “Father of African Unity”.

On February 12, 2012, Meles Zenawi argued, “ It is only Nkrumah who is remembered whenever we talk about pan Africanism. It is a shame not to accept his role.”

Meles Zenawi piped his hateful message against honoring H.I.M.’s through his ignorant flunkeys.

Meles believed he could outshine H.I.M. and become the leader of the “new generation” of African leaders.

The only thing Meles Zenawi could lead is a band of blood thirsty and corrupt thugs.

I have often asked myself why Meles Zenawi and his gang of thugs hated H.I.M. so much?

I have come to the conclusion that only a man who deeply hates himself and is afflicted by inferiority complex is capable of such blind hate!

The fact of the matter is that H.I.M. Haile Selassie tirelessly worked for African unity and peace. He never, never tried to sell out Africa.

But Meles Zenawi did!

At the Copenhagen G-77 conference on climate change, Meles Zenawi sold out Africa cold.

Lumumba Di-Aping, the chief negotiator of the G-77 bloc of countries, representing some 130 nations, mauled Zenawi for selling out Africa to the rich countries:

Meles [Zenawi] agrees with the EU perspective and the EU perspective accepts the destruction of a whole continent plus dozens of other states… The EU’s very moral foundation is deeply questionable because she accepts that a large section of the human family should suffer in order for her to continue to thrive and prosper… The African Union has not accepted this. Meles is not the author of this proposal, the EU definitely is, along with the UK and France. (Emphasis added.)

Suffice it to say, in his opposition to the erection of a simple statute for King Haile Selassie, Meles Zenawi proved to me he was indeed the Prince of Darkness.

The irony of history is that today Meles Zenawi lies six feet under and H.I.M. stands nine feet tall!

I don’t mean to rag on the late Meles Zenawi. To me he is only a woyane avatar. The hate that coursed in his blood when he was alive today courses in the blood of every woyane thug in hideout or sitting silently gnashing his/her teeth among us.

Perhaps I should be more charitable to Meles Zenawi.

After all, he and his gang of thugs came from the bush, untutored in the ways of civilization.

It is said one cannot squeeze blood from turnip. That is, you can’t get gold from iron ore. But from Meles and his gang of thugs, Ethiopia got nothing but bloodshed.

Meles and his gang are today in the trash bin of history just like I prophesied to them for over a decade!

But let there be NO MISTAKE.

Everything I said about Meles Zenawi applies to that gruesome monster Mengistu Hailemariam who murdered H.I.M.

An old and broken down Mengistu Hailemariam today suffers Macbeth’s fate (Macbeth, Act 3 Scene 2) enduring endless mental torture and harrowing sleep deprivation thinking about those he killed hoping to get peace of mind.

Today, H.I.M., whom Mengistu murdered, is resting and standing in peace rising nine feet tall.

Today, Mengistu lives as a miserable, godforsaken refugee in Zimbabwe in his own private hell. Damn him!

In 2012, I prophesied, “H.I.M. Haile Selassie will no doubt get his statue in time because “truth cannot remain forever on the scaffold nor wrong remain forever on the throne.”

That day arrived today, February 10, 2019, almost 6 years to the day Meles Zenawi said H.I.M does not deserve a statute.

Today wrong is no longer on the throne and truth crushed to earth  has risen in Ethiopia.

The dethroned king stands nine feet tall in the heart of the African Union.

The Prince of Darkness and his Forces of Darkness today are skulking around  in DamNation.

H.I.M. Haile Selassie was regent from 1916 to 1930 and emperor from 1930 to 1974.

The “King of Kings” had many faults as a leader.

He was an old-style absolute monarch who ruled his nation with a sense of paternalism. He believed he knew what is best for Ethiopia.

He sought to modernize a feudal system but failed to undertake land reform.

In his old age, he seemed to be completely out of touch with the conditions in his country to the point of expressing lack of awareness of a ravaging famine that killed thousands. That famine precipitated his downfall.

But his giant role in Ethiopia’s international diplomacy — fighting against colonialism, apartheid, in supporting African liberation movements and representation of Africa in world forums– cannot be denied.

In 1962, H.I.M. ordered military training for Nelson Mandela and issued an Ethiopian passport for him to continue his struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

Mandela wrote in his autobiography Ethiopia “has always held a special place in my own imagination and the prospect of visiting […] attracted me more strongly than a trip to France, England and America combined. I felt I would be visiting my own genesis, unearthing the roots of what made me an African.”

H.I.M. has done a lot for his country.

In fact, he did what no other leader had ever done at the League of Nations by personally pleading and delivering an impassioned appeal in Ethiopia’s cause against fascist Italian aggression. He laid out the facts of fascist Italy’s genocidal efforts against Ethiopians through the use of poison gas:

There is no precedent for a Head of State himself speaking in this assembly. But also there has never before been an example of any Government proceeding to the systematic extermination of a nation by barbarous means.

Italy has above all attacked populations far removed from hostilities, in order to terrorize and exterminate them. The Italian aircraft then resorted to mustard gas. It was at the time when the operations for the encircling of Makalle were taking place that the Italian command, fearing a rout, followed the procedure which it is now my duty to denounce to the world.

Special sprayers were installed on board aircraft so that they could vaporize, over vast areas of territory, a fine, death-dealing rain. Groups of nine, fifteen, eighteen aircraft followed one another so that the fog issuing from them formed a continuous sheet. It was thus that, as from the end of January, 1936, soldiers, women, children, cattle, rivers, lakes and pastures were drenched continually with this deadly rain. In order to kill off systematically all living creatures, in order to more surely to poison waters and pastures, the Italian command made its aircraft pass over and over again. That was its chief method of warfare.

Despite H.I.M.’s pleas, the League lifted sanctions against Italy, which was driven out of Ethiopia in 1941.

By then Europe was facing the Axis Powers in WW II. Legend has it H.I.M. warned the League, “Today it is us; tomorrow it will be you.”

H.I.M. was elected by his peers as the “Father of African Unity” at the 1972 Ninth Heads of States and Governments meeting of the Organization of African Unity.

H.I.M. was the African face of resistance, defiance and victory over European colonialism.

As the first chairman of the OAU, H.I.M.’s singular accomplishment in Africa was his ability to bring together 32 African leaders and persuading them to sign the charter of the Organization of African Unity.

On May 25, 1963 when the Organization for African Unity (OAU) was established with a permanent headquarters in Addis Ababa, H.I.M.  made the most compelling case,  the most passionate plea for African unity, independence and Pan-Africanism:

…We look to the vision of an Africa not merely free but united. In facing this new challenge, we can take comfort and encouragement from the lessons of the past. We know that there are differences among us. Africans enjoy different cultures, distinctive values, special attributes. But we also know that unity can be and has been attained among men of the most disparate origins, that differences of race, of religion, of culture, of tradition, are no insuperable obstacle to the coming together of peoples. History teaches us that unity is strength, and cautions us to submerge and overcome our differences in the quest for common goals, to strive, with all our combined strength, for the path to true African brotherhood and unity… Our efforts as free men must be to establish new relationships, devoid of any resentment and hostility, restored to our belief and faith in ourselves as individuals, dealing on a basis of equality with other equally free peoples…

In September 1963, H.I.M. told the United Nations General Assembly:

Twenty-seven years ago as Emperor of Ethiopia I mounted the rostrum in Geneva Switzerland to address to the League of Nations and appeal for relief from the destruction which had been unleashed against my defenceless nation by the fascist invaders.

I spoke then both to and for the conscience of the world. My words went unheeded, but history testifies to the accuracy of the warning that I gave in 1936… Here in this assembly reposes the best, perhaps the last hope for the peaceful survival of mankind.

His words in that speech on the “question of racial discrimination” are immortalized in Bob Marley’s song, “War”.

In that speech, H.I.M. passionately defended the cause of Pan-Africanism and articulated the ideology needed for the ongoing struggle to protect and defend African independence and secure world peace:

… Until the philosophy that holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned; until there are no longer first class and second class citizens of any nature; until the colour of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes, and until the basic human rights are guaranteed to all without regard for race… the dream of lasting peace … will remain but a fleeting illusion to be pursued but never attained…. That until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique and South Africa in subhuman bondages have been toppled and destroyed; until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding, tolerance and good-will; until all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men as they are in Heaven — until that day the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight, if necessary and we know that we shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over evil…

I was barely a teenager but I remember the opening of the OAU in 1963.

I even remember the television monitors set up for public viewing across from the African Hall, on the opposite side of the Jubilee Palace in Addis Ababa.

When I visited Africa Hall this past September is was under plans for renovation. But it brought back some fond memories after some 48 years.

Today, February 10, 2019, African leaders officially unveiled H.I.M.’s statue on the grounds of the African Union.

I wish I could have been there. It would have been a powerfully emotional moment for me after so many years of advocating for his statute.

It did not matter. P.M. Abiy was there for me.

Nkrumah, whom Zenawi said should be the only one to “remembered whenever we talk about pan Africanism”, would roll over in his grave if he heard what Meles Zenawi said about H.I.M.

Unlike Meles Zenawi whose heart was filled with absolute hate for Ethiopia, Nkrumah had unrequited love for Ethiopia.

Nkrumah took pride in the fact that Ethiopia was able to defend its sovereignty and independence against repeated incursions by European colonialists. He saw Ethiopia as the spoke in the wheel of African unity.

Nkrumah so loved Ethiopia, he wrote a poem for her. He had a love affair with Ethiopia.

Meles Zenawi almost always referred to Ethiopia as “the country” (ageritu).

I once offered Meles Zenawi an offer I thought he could never refuse.

If Meles Zenawi ever said publicly, “I love Ethiopia.”, I would forever stop criticizing him.

I could confidently make Meles Zenawi that offer because I knew how much and how deeply he hated Ethiopia. But I was prepared to make good on my offer.

But Nkrumah wrote a love poem for Ethiopia. Indeed, Nkrumah is the only leader in the world who has ever written a panegyric poem for Ethiopia!

Ethiopia shall rise

Ethiopia, Africa’s bright gem
Set high among the verdant hills
That gave birth to the unfailing
Waters of the Nile
Ethiopia shall rise
Ethiopia, land of the wise;
Ethiopia, bold cradle of Africa’s ancient rule
And fertile school
Of our African culture;
Ethiopia, the wise
Shall rise
And remould with us the full figure
Of Africa’s hopes

Looking back, I believe Nkrumah was not only an ardent Pan-Africanist but also an African “prophet”.

Nkrumah knew Ethiopia shall rise long before the blind visionaries made her slip and fall into the quagmire of ethnic politics.

Nkrumah knew Ethiopia shall rise long before the hate-blinded visionary declared, “Africa is rising… The African Renaissance has begun…”

Nkrumah’s poem is indeed “prophesy”.

Ethiopia shall rise up and shake off the sooty dust of dictatorship that covers her. Ethiopia shall rise above sectarianism and communalism.

As inscribed on the pad of Nkrumah’s statute at the AU, “Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands to God. Africans must unite.”

I would simply add, “Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands to God. Ethiopians  must unite.”

To paraphrase the lyrics of Bob Marley song (“Africa Unite”)

Ethiopia unite
‘Cause we’re moving right out of Babylon
And we’re going to our Father’s land
How good and how pleasant it would be
Before God and man, yeah
To see the unification of all Ethiopians, yeah

As it’s been said already
Let it be done, yeah
We are the children of the Rastaman
So, Ethiopia unite…

So, Ethiopia unite
Unite for the benefit (Ethiopia unite) of your people!
Unite for the benefit (Ethiopia unite) of my children!
Unite for the Ethiopians (Ethiopia uniting) abroad!

In May 2012, I wrote the following poem foretelling my vision of Ethiopia rising from the grave of ethnic apartheid tyranny and the fall and burial of ethnic apartheid in the very grave dug up for Ethiopia through the struggle of Ethiopia’s young people.

Ethiopia up-Rising! Africa Rising!

Ethiopia Africa’s bright gem
Shall rise up from the ashes of tyranny
Like the spring sun rising at dawn over the African horizon
Like the full moon rising over the darkness of the African night
Ethiopia shall rise and shine!

Ethiopia shall rise from the heights of Ras Dejen
To the peaks of Kilimanjaro
From the pits of the politics of identity
To the summit of national unity and diversity
Ethiopia shall rise and shine!

Ethiopia of the wise
Shall rise above the streetwise
Its people to galvanize, mobilize and organize
To humanize, harmonize and compromise
Ethiopia shall rise and shine!

Ethiopia Africa’s hope and destiny
Shall rise and its tyrants shall fall
Their lies, cruelty and corruption
Buried with them in the steel coffin of history
For “justice will rise in Ethiopia like the sun, with abundance of peace forever.” 

Ethiopia shall rise by the sinews of her youth
Up-rise on the wings of her persevering children
Ethiopia shall rise and rise
Her youth will up-rise
Rise Ethiopia, up-rise.

In a risen Ethiopia, there shall be no place for a philosophy that holds one ethnic, religious, linguistic or gender group superior to another.

There shall no longer be first class and second-class citizens in a risen Ethiopia.

In a risen Ethiopia, ethnicity, religion, language, region or gender shall have no more significance than the color of  one’s eyes.

In a risen Ethiopia, human rights shall be guaranteed to all.

In a risen Ethiopia, there shall be peace and justice!

Thank you, PM Abiy for successfully pleading the case before the African Union to honor  H.I.M. Haile Selassie.

May you now rise tall H.I.M. Haile Selassie for all to see the “Father of African Unity”.

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Messay Kebede

Thanks to a friend, I recently read an article written by Andreas Eshete and Samuel Assefa for a conference held in Addis Ababa and titled “Reflections on Expanding Ethiopia’s Democratic Space” (http://fes-ethiopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Printing-Version.pdf). The article takes note of Ethiopia’s turn toward a more open and democratic path and applauds it as a timely and relevant correction to the glaring mistakes of the past. It also gives a cogent analysis of the challenges and dangers that the turn is already facing and is bound to face with increasing intensity as the date of the national elections approaches. My focus in this write-up is on the article’s conceptualization of the main danger threatening the country and the remedy that it proposes.

According to the article, among the challenges that Ethiopia is facing, the proliferation and exasperation of “nationalist populisms” hold by far the highest rank. Nationalist populism is the highest danger because it can break up and weaken the only nationally viable governing alliance, namely, the EPRDF, the obvious consequence of which would be the disintegration of Ethiopia. The article attributes, albeit in a veiled manner, this ominous possible outcome to the reckless breakup of the new leadership, both in the name of reform and for the purpose of gaining popular support, with the guiding ideology of the EPRDF. Otherwise known as the “developmental state,” this guiding principle had enabled the EPRDF to unite the various nationalisms around a shared common goal while countering by its very developmental project the proliferation of populisms.

In rejecting the developmental ideology, the new leadership underestimates its “great potential in restraining nationalist passions and in building national cohesion.” Instead, the new leadership wants to mitigate ethnonationalism by championing “a form of pan-Ethiopian nationalism.” In so doing, it forgets that the popular unrests that made possible a change in leadership were driven by nationalist and populist demands, be they in the Oromo or Amhara regions, to name the most important ones. The attempt to unite such nationalist movements by a pan-Ethiopian ideology and economic liberalism has little chance to succeed, as shown by the fact that even those who champion the ideology are increasingly forced to support ethnonationalist claims under pain of losing their constituents to rival ethnic parties. It stands to reason that the integration of nationalist and populist demands is the only way by which the various parties composing the EPRDF can compete against their rival regional parties and maintain their political relevance. With national elections fast approaching, the tendency to identify with the nationalist and populist base can only increase, thereby putting a severe strain on the ability of the new leadership to keep the EPRDF united.

Most striking about Andreas and Samuel’s article is the discrepancy between the lucidity of the analysis of the challenges facing the country and the solution it suggests to offset those challenges. Indeed, the plea for a resumption of the ideology of developmental state to counter nationalist populisms and consolidate the unity of the EPRDF seems hardly appropriate. Moreover, what else does the plea disclose but a long overdue refusal to engage in a serious critical analysis of the ideological orientation and practices of the previous TPLF-dominated EPRDF? After all, who can deny that the proliferation and intensification of nationalist populisms are the direct results of the TPLF’s rule, not to mention the fact that the TPLF is currently pouring fuel on these movements in an attempt to destabilize the new leadership? Not only does the proposed solution want to change the disease into a remedy, but it also refuses to admit that the theory of developmental state cannot work where national unity and cohesion are undermined by ethnonationalist movements, especially when one ethnic group has a hegemonic position, as was the case with the TPLF. In other words, a serious attempt to implement the theory of developmental state would require, from the start, a Pan-Ethiopian ideology, not the institution of ethnonationalist borders.

As stated above, the article questions the viability of a pan-Ethiopian ideology on the ground that identification with ethnic and populist demands determines, whether one likes it or not, political legitimacy in today’s Ethiopia. So that, the likelihood of preserving the unity of the EPRDF in the framework of a pan-Ethiopian ideology is little sustainable, especially in the context of free and fair national elections. But is it true that only a return to the ideology of developmental state can guarantee the unity of the country? As I have already suggested many times, the feasible way to harmonize the unity of the country with the ethnic units is to institute a nationally elected presidential figure with substantial executive power. However, I admit that this solution is hard to implement, since it demands nothing short of a change in the Constitution, a move that both ethnicized elites and nationalist populist movements would certainly oppose.

Admittedly, then, no other alternative is left to preserve the unity of the country than a resurgence of some form of authoritarian government. It seems to me that this is exactly where Andreas and Samuel’s article is heading when it advises the resumption of the ideology of the developmental state minus the corruptions and human rights abuses of the previous government. To be sure, it would have been the only way out were it not for the availability of a form of authoritarianism that is transitory in addition to not being inimical to the progression of democracy and the free market economy. The truth is that the concept of developmental state is unworkable in an ethnically divided country. It is equally true that only democracy granting an extensive self-rule prerogative can satisfy ethnonationalist demands and that this requirement is incompatible with the interventionist and authoritarian methods of the developmental state.

We owe to Max Weber the conceptualization of a transitory type of authoritarianism with the potential to pave the way for democratic changes. I have in mind the phenomenon of charisma (the usual term being “great man”): unlike traditional authority, charismatic authority is transformative and, unlike revolutionary authority, it has a great potential to avoid dictatorship on condition that it is progressively institutionalized. Charisma provides a form of leadership whose legitimacy emanates neither from the sanctity of tradition nor from the fear that a dictatorial authority often inspires. Instead, its authority derives from the perceived uncommon qualities of the leader, whatever be the origin assigned to those qualities. The perception creates a special bond between the leader and the people as a result of which the latter readily respond to the directives of the leader, often outside or against their traditional or partisan references.

The main question should then be whether Prime Minister Abiye shows the signs of being a charismatic leader. Recall that it is right after his election to premiership that observers, seeing the electrifying impact that he has on people, started to speak of “Abiymania.” In an article I wrote in September, I myself cautioned against the rush to see Abiye as a God-sent messiah because such a qualification visibly carries the danger of deviation toward dictatorship. However, I saw, since then, some signs, which, although unable to dismiss my fear, are reassuring enough. Abiye seems to be using his charisma as much to galvanize people as to building institutions, as shown by his sustained dialogue with the opposition so as to ensure fair and free elections and his effort to protect the independence of the judiciary. If this trend continues, there is no doubt that Abiye’s lofty vision for Ethiopia, the concrete steps he is taking to materialize it, and his obvious humanitarian penchant tick all the boxes of a charismatic leader.

Assuming that this analysis is correct, the next question is to know in what way the emergence of a charismatic leader from the EPRDF can deflect the danger posed by nationalist populism. The answer is not hard to find: since charisma is a galvanizing power that overflows localities and regions, it is well suited to promote a Pan-Ethiopian vision. What the various parties composing the EPRDF must to do to prevail over the nationalist populist movements in a fair and free election is to add to their program the factor Abiye. They can do this in various ways, but the principal message must be that their victory means nothing less than the continuation of Abiye as Prime Minister. Notably, they must inculcate in the mind of their regional voters that their electoral loss entails the loss of Abiye’s leadership with all the uncertainties and dangers that such an outcome is bound to cause. In other words, to marginalize their opponents, they must compete with their own positive agenda but also as supporters and electors of Abiye.

This is to say that charisma provides a concrete link between pan-Ethiopianism and regional identities. If it achieves electoral success through the reelection of Abiye as Prime Minister and the sidelining of nationalist populist movements, the remaining urgent task would be to institutionalize it. It is urgent because if charisma continues to operate as a personal magnetism it will deteriorate, as sated earlier, into a personal dictatorship. Institutionalization makes it accountable to the people while also allowing a legal transfer of power to whomever wins in the next presidential elections. Be it noted that the electoral success of the EPRDF as a guarantor of Abiye’s premiership is a de facto approval of a presidential system by the majority of Ethiopians. This popular sanction nicely prepares the ground for the legalization and implementation of a presidential power by means of democratic universal suffrage occurring in conjunction with ethnic based regional elections. In this way, identity politics will have its representation in the parliament while it is at the same time transcended by a presidential power incarnating pan-Ethiopianism.

Messay Kebede

University of Dayton

https://udayton.academia.edu/MessayKebede

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By Faisal Roble

With the coming of Dr. Abiy Ahmed to power in April 2018, the political scene of Ethiopia has changed, or so it seemed at first glance. Overthrowing TPLF bloodlessly itself is a miracle. However much one celebrates Dr. Abiy’s promise to have brought Ethiopia back from the brink, his ability to divorce that country from the ghost of TPLF is less certain. At least, the TPLF ghost has reincarnated in the Somali region. If Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus Christ, Jigjiga is the closest place to qualify for the reincarnation of the ghost of TPLF.

Using his preacher’s skills, Dr. Abiy has instantly earned the admiration and support of millions of Ethiopians for his ecumenical promises to engender a complete revolution. Alas, the Abiy revolution has stagnated in some areas, and certainly has failed in the Somali region for the simple reason that the local administration looks like more of a TPLF apparatus than a new system of governance.

In general, non-substantive changes in Sub-Sahara Africa are often welcomed, simply because people are desperate for a live-altering change. In the case of Ethiopia, the threshold to evaluate change is so low that often both so-called revolutions and their leaders are often uncritically accepted by the masses. Then follows suit extreme power abuse.

Dr. Abiy has exploited that low threshold. With no substantive change in the body politic of the country, the society gave him a seal of approval, mainly for ending the curfew, releasing political prisoners, making peace with Eritrea, and declaring ceasefire with multiple rebel groups. But these steps are nothing more than a step in the right direction. Despite the Ogaden National Liberation Front disarming itself, and ceding all its fighters to the government, as the regional president said in a recent ceremony in Jigjiga, the seal of approval for Dr. Abiy’s revolution in the Somali region is already showing cracks, as the case has been with previous promising changes in the past. Whether things will further deteriorate is a thing in the future.

Promises Broken and Healthy Skepticism

I was an idealistic high school kid when Mengistu Haile Mariam took power in 1974. People did not know what to make of him. But they all agreed he was a

charismatic leader. Coming from the rank and file of the Harar and Jigjiga stationed powerful mechanized 3rd Division, he had less inhibitions about royalty and more down-trodden guts to dare the powerful. It was that low-class quality that earned him the respect of many youngster in the center.

More and more people admired him initially for his “great speech” at Chan Meda, now Red Square, or Qayi Masqal. Chan Meda was the first place where people saw the maverick and hitherto reclusive junior captain from Jigjiga and Harar. In his speech he decidedly accommodated ideas for which the progressives fought.

The words of “Ethiopia Tiqdam iska Maqaabir dhiras,” or “Ethiopia first even if we have to go to grave for it” reverberated well with the young and the change-seekers. Followed by his “land to the tillers, rural campaign (Zamacha), and nationalization of the productive sectors of the economy appealed to the youth and the idealist. But that positive impression did not last long.

What followed was one of the worst purges in history. Thousands of high school kids, university revolutionaries and trade union members have perished. A good account of the mayhem Mengistu committed was methodically narrated by Dan Connell in an article he wrote for the Horn of Africa Journal in 1978. Mr. Connell gives a gore account of the type of purges and underground live by students and members of EPRP, and the architecture of the infamous red terror that spanned between 1977 and 1978.

The killings of about 60 Prisoners right after Mengistu and his Dergi junta clutched in power is still fresh in my memory. I still vividly recall what I was doing on that fateful day of November 23, 1974. I went to my regular restaurant for breakfast that often consisted of lamb liver, French bread, and sweet Somali tea. Upon entering Abdulahi Taganghn’s restaurant (Abdullahi Taganghn, or the Abdullahi who was found was a Walayta convert to Islam who became through time a Somali whose business and life thrived in his adopted land), I was hit in the face by the marching military music broadcasted over the radio.

Instantly Hashi, a chubby waiter of about 24, approached my table. “What are all these commotions” I asked.

“Did you not hear it?” he asked in a bewilderment placing my usual order in a sequence of tea first, followed by the liver dish, and French bread at last.

“No, I did not,” I replied still eying hungrily my food steaming right in front of me.

“The crazy guy passed a national proclamation and passed a verdict over the execution of 60 imprisoned officers who were held at Karchle prison.”

Before he proceeded, a second round of announcement came on the radio. I attentively listened and the names of the prisoners were read one by one! they were the “who is who” of Ethiopia’s ministers, generals, members of the elite. Sixty of them! It was one of a kind, never heard before or thereafter (the 60 included 2 Prime Ministers, more than 20 generals, more than 15 with honorary titles like Dejazmach, and several colonels).

One General stood up for me and that was Lt. General Yilma Shibashi, who was my Grand uncle’s friend.

My Grand uncle, Ahmed Yasin Heban loved Lt. General Yilma Shibashi as his mentor. With the help of General Yilma, Mr. Heban rose in the ranks of national police force and served as the senior police commander in Dambidola and Nekemti, located in Welega. Mr. Heban in his retirement lost faith in the system and often retort the words of “Inquan Yilma Shibasim gadalaju,” or “you even killed Yilma Shibashi” to emphasize the cruelty of the Dergi, and the “end of Ethiopia face that he knew well.

That morning was the eeriest moment that I would ever see since. In one scoop, the government of Ethiopia murdered 60 of the best and the brightest without habeas corpus. Thus, came my undying skepticism about African revolutions. I simply don’t trust change so easily.

Then came the TPLF “revolution,” in 1991. All but only some unionists welcomed it without reservations. I was from the get-go one of those rare Somali skeptics from the peripheries and approached TPLF rhetoric with a healthy dose of reservation.

Right away, Meles became a turnoff to me when he mistreated Somalis. I lost faith in him when I saw in him an element of Mengistu early one, especially after I listened to one of his earliest interviews; he gave an unsettling interview to Sayyid Khalifa of Sudan right after the first parliament was put together. A veteran journalist, Sayyid Khalif inquired about the small share of four seats given to the Somalis who fought Mengistu more than any other group.

Meles’ answer was that Somalis cannot administer for they are nomads (I wrote an article then in 1991). How this experience with Meles compares to Abiy’s utter disregard of Somalis when he put together both the boundary and reconciliation commissions to the exclusion of Somalis, except one member in each commission of 41 members, is a subject of immense interest to Somalis.

However, Meles used Somalis as a token “model minority” to benefit from a phantom “Article 39” more than other ethnic groups; he did so without ever ceding or availing any form of real political and economic muscle to them. Nonetheless, he marveled all Somalis no matter where they are from; I still wonder why did they buy his empty rhetoric? He did all this while stealing their wealth and their political representation within the federal scheme, plus humiliating them.

As history later would show, more Somali civilians in the Ogaden regions of Wardheer, Qorahay, and Jarar have been leveled to the ground. He also destroyed Mogadishu by serving America’s “war on terror” as their stooge in the Horn of Africa.

As a contributing editor of the Ethiopian Review (1992-1998), I wrote critical essays, which often earned me the scorn of multiple feeble governments in Jigjiga. In my last two trips to Ethiopia (2006 and 2014), I had to only go as far as Addis Ababa and never ventured to go down to Jigjiga. As a punishment, thought, the now-imprisoned former local henchman, Abdi Mahomed Omar (CMC), confiscated my family’s property illegally. Without any crime, I was deprived of the simple pleasure to visit my late father’s grave or spend time with two of my siblings who are still there.

As much as Haile Marian Desalaign was, in the words of Terrence Lyons, “not a token but a transitional leader,” he did not capture any traction with Ethiopians. But he shared one common trait with Meles – Somalis have been massacred during his administration and he kept silent. Despite that delay is death, he nonetheless finally apologized and asked for forgiveness for the Somalis killed in Oromia during his tenure. It is never late to contrite and apologize. Reconciliation begins with contrite and a sincere apology; so, the former PM did it with class.

Reincarnation of TPLF Ghost in Jigjiga

The coming of Dr. Abiy Ahmed, in April 2018, was significantly different. Unlike his predecessors, he instantly captured the admiration and appreciations of almost

Ethiopia’s 105 million residents. He was successful in articulating a concept called “medemer,” or add-up, implying that we have to be one large family – an idea akin to America’s unity-based motto of “E Pluribus Unum.” As usual, Somalis uncritically jumped the bandwagon and even sung for the new Nugus louder than any other group.

In getting his point across, Dr. Abiy preaches like a Black American priest – Most of what he says is not relevant or practical public policies but ecumenical messages that soothes the aching hearts of millions of indigents; some even consider him as the coming of the second messiah, simply because he speaks to their pain.

In Ethiopia, when one side heals, another side must hurt; if one group wins, there shall be a losing and hurting counterpart. But, Dr. Abiy like a “messiah” promised that in his coming everybody will win. He promised to this country of 105 million-person ancient empire that TPLF was dead. In so many media outlets, the TPLF carcass and what is pejoratively called the “day-time-hyena,” (ya qan Jiib) was crucified.

However, skeptics like I found irresistibly repeating the Amharic phrase of “zor ale injii alshasham,” that it camouflaged itself but did not go away. If the names and personalities associated with TPLF have disappeared, its political machinations and intrigues are well and alive, at least in the Somali region.

For the unsuspecting Ethiopian eye in the center, the removal of the former regional henchman, Abdi Mohamoud Omar, was done in total contravention of the existing constitutional framework. The pretext was a childish one and remains so -that he was a threat to the non-Somali residents of Jigjiga. But there lies the machination and intrigues Abiy and his revolutionaries learned from TPLF – utter fabrication of fake facts to promote an illegal political act. On the contrary, Abdi Mohamoud Omar was their “house nigger,” if any, and wanted to be liked so much by the neftegna in Jigjiga he empowered them. He reportedly allocated about 600,000 bir annually for the church in Jigjiga. With that in the background, the ploy to accuse Abdi Mohamoud Omar as someone out there to destroy the Christian community in Jigjiga is to say that the Bueutaleza of apartheid South Africa conspired against his apartheid white settlers. Such a childish ploy is a verse from the book of TPLF.

As if the was not enough of an insult to our intelligence, the Oromo elite, who became the new Nugus of the country, handpicked the current administrator of the region in a hasty decision. Mustafa Omar is by far more nuanced than Abdi Mohamed Omar; that is given. But he was chosen not because of his political

blueprint or executive [managerial] skills, or even his revolutionary credentials. Simply put, Jawer Mohamed and his inner circle parachuted him into the office. They did so not that they loved him more but that they loved CMC less – akin to Brutus’ murdering of Caesar, then declaring that “not that I loved Cesar less but that I loved Rome more.”

As far as we now, Mustafa has no political philosophy or executive experience in government administration. What most Somalis admire about him, though, is his tenacious attitude to have waged a fearless war of words, even if it was vitriolic, with the former President; he did so over his Facebook page (his younger brother was allegedly murdered by the former regional President). For that, he earned a lot of sympathy. Most of what they accused CMC were facts; but they also fabricated their own facts to satisfy the Jawer clique. It is those fabricated facts that are haunting him now, where propaganda to help achieve power does not match facts on the ground.

However, most Somalis openly now grumble about him being a weak and disheveled client regional administrator with his credibility waning by the day for two reasons:

1. As a viceroy handpicked by OPDO (now ODP), he has no agenda of his own when it comes to administering the region. Nor has he shown the discipline to follow governmental procedures thus plunging the region into an ever-widening crisis with no end in sight. Reports from Jigjiga are indicating that he is firing parliamentarians and civil servants without any due process and replacing them with inexperienced wonders from lands from afar. And that is creating unnecessary anarchy and making transition more difficult in this otherwise fragile region.

2. He remained silent on the incisive and non-stop killings of Somalis along Oromo-Somali boundary areas. To date, he kept silent over the death of innocent civilians in Tuliguuleed, Moyale, Babili, Sitti, and elsewhere. Neither did he produce a blueprint to arrest the crisis. As I draft this op-ed, there is an overnight bitter war between an invading Oromo militia and civilians in Tuliguuleed, which is only 20 KM to the north of his office. Thus far, he has hung on to what he calls “freedom of speech,” which is largely a relieve whose bell is ringing in the entire country.

To their delight, he and his ministers derive around this small and decrepit town expansive V8 SUVs in the dusty streets of Jigjiga and are thus far oblivious to their neighborhood. Alas, the late Saado Ali sung of the same situation where undeserving undereducated government officials vainly derive Land Cruiser SUVs in the face of starving indigents and the sound of bullets being heard inside his office. If they walked, they could have seen what is happening in their surrounding and in the way would have picked up healthy habits. After all, the city consists of only few blocks.

To the chagrin of many, President Mustafa’s blanket silence in the face of constant killings of hundreds of Somalis and the accompanying displacement of thousands is unsettling. The conflicts on the outskirts of Jigjiga, Babili, Sitti, and Moyale, a jaw-dropping and harrowing experience for thousands of Somalis, have also inadvertently made him irrelevant in the region’s safety and public welfare.

It is fitting to mention that while the former Prime Minister, Haile Mariam, has shown contrite and apologized for the killing of about less than one hundred Somalis in Oromia area during his tenure, President Mustafa has brushed aside the cause of hundreds being killed since he came to office. Instead, he is busy to perfect the following TPLF tools:

1. Making the regional government a viceroy to ODP and the military generals in the region, as CMC was to TPLF and Tigre generals. In the case of President Mustafa, they toy with him as they on-and-off give him mixed messages. Nonetheless, he remains in a servitude to ODP.

2. Arresting, intimidating, and harassing dissent voices at will is back. There is no month that passes by without mass arrests of one group or another. On 2/11/2019, for example, about 64 young adults have been arrested without any warrant or explanation. Prior to that, several young adults and elders were arrested. Even, women in the middle of their maternity have been sent to jail. A similar of such an arrest happened under Meles Zenawi in 2010 when a mother who gave birth only few days before was arrested because of an unfounded suspicion that her husband joined ONLF.

3. The worst TPLF tools President Mustafa has reinstituted is his proclivity and obsession to play one Somali clan against another. Reliable information coming from Jigjiga testifies that he encourages inter clan conflicts, when

necessary, and has perfected the art of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” in giving political positions and government contracts.

If the Getachaws of TPLF are dead in Addis Ababa, their ghost has reincarnated with venom in Jigjiga. Revolutions happen for a reason, often when oppression is no longer sustainable. However, revolutionaries could also be susceptible to corruption. The Abiy revolution is on the verge of being corrupted. The proof is in the pudding, and Jigjiga is in more than one way the center for the reincarnation of the ghost of TPLF.

By FaisalAbdi Roble
Email: faisalroble19@gmail.com
———–
Faisal Roble, a writer, political analyst and a former Editor-in-Chief of WardheerNews, is mainly interested in the Horn of Africa region. He is currently the Principal Planner for the City of Los Angeles in charge of Master Planning, Economic Development and Project Implementation Division.

The post THE GHOST OF TPLF: REVOLUTION’S PROMISES VS. SUBSTANCE appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Zekarias Ezra

Something is seriously wrong with our brothers, the self-appointed Oromo elites, activists and politicians.

Of course, it has been wrong for many years now, but we just thought, with the ascendency of one of their own vowing to do differently than his evil predecessor, they have changed. Alas! They have not a bit. They in fact have ratcheted up a notch.

The thorny case of Addis Ababa

This has always been a hot issue among the self-appointed Oromo elites, activists and politicians. But I doubt the gallant youths of Oromo have died for a mere name change; from Addis Ababa to Finfine. They were pro-democracy and anti-EPRDF and have died for democracy and freedom.

They have succeeded, aided by their brothers and sisters, the Fanos and others, at least in giving TPLF a run for its money and hiding in Mekelle abdicating power to their former comrades from OPDO.

Ethiopia is now run by ODP-EPRDF; and not TPLF-EPRDF. Yet, day in and day out the self-appointed Oromo elites, activists and politicians keep crying foul every time they show up on TV or any public gathering. What really is up with them?

Dr Abiy had appointed, illegally I might add, Eng. Takele as Mayor of Addis Ababa. It is widely reported this Mayor has been busy doing many questionable actions since taking office and his deputy W/O Dagmawit was removed. Even then the cries of the self-appointed Oromo elites, activists and politicians has continued unabated.

Just this past week, Ato Jawar has made his intentions known. By hook or crook, he and his Queero will make sure Addis Ababa will be a ‘Finfine of their dream. The special privileges and rights guaranteed by the Woyane legislation will be implemented. No one has yet told us what those privileges and rights are. As for who is Mayor, Jawar has advised us we can bring from China or planet Mars, for all he cares. If one reads between the lines, he is basically saying ‘it does not matter, one way or another we will execute our, (jawar’s and his team) plan. By the way, all this is taking place in Addis Ababa, the seat of the government.

When we were still processing what has transpired, another  self-appointed Oromo politician, Ato Lencho Bati, showed up on LTV, with Bethlehem Tafesse, and rehashed the same old-fake story with a twist.

After letting us in with a little secret that he and his group were in-the-know of the activities of the ‘Team Lemma’ group as far back as 2012, he declared that they have effectively changed things in the ground. He gave an example. In the past to find an Oromo speaking resident in Addis was difficult, now, according to Lencho, 3 out of 5 speak Affan Oromo. Anyone who has lived in Addis Ababa for any length of time would know this is utter lie. Shame on this politician! Our Oromo brothers and sisters had been an integral part of Addis Ababa for generations. For Lencho to imply Addis Ababa was closed for Oromos until Dr Abiy ascended to power is an absurd statement that has no equivalence.

You wish he has stopped on this absurdity, but he did not. He added another two for us to process. The legislation to grant Oromia Regional State special privileges in Addis Ababa should be construed, according to the self-appointed legal expert Ato Lencho Bati, to mean ‘Oromia just want equal rights and privileges, not any special one’.  Does he think we are gullible fools? Let along for those of us trained in law, even for a non-lawyer person, the intent of the provision of the legislation is clear. We are just waiting to see the regulations that implements or outlines what those special interest are.

Ato Lencho and W/t Bethlehem Tafesse also defined for us who are not the true heroes of the struggle. Getting imprisoned, so they argued, does not make one a hero even if that person suffered repeated imprisonment on account of his political views while he/she could easily avoid such suffering by fleeing from the country as Lencho, Jawar and others have done. They made it clear that Eskinder is no hero because he said, ‘the Addis Ababa electorate will punish Mayor Takele in the upcoming election’. Ato Lencho also echoed Jawar and advised us to hire a Mayor from any other country in the world. Translation: “The Oromo plan for Addis Ababa will be executed.”

The rest of us shall wait and see what plan they have in store for us!

The post Have the self-appointed Oromo elites, activists and politicians lost their mind? It sure seems appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

By Assegid Habtewold[1]

The theme of my speech at a community empowerment event organized by Jantilla on Saturday, February 2^nd, 2019 in Silver Spring, MD at DoubleTree by Hilton hotel was “Leadership in the 21st C”. Last week, I wrote a follow-up article concerning one of the reasons why we Ethiopians don’t have as many leaders as we need. If you have missed the article, check it out from this link: “What is the primary reason that prevents many Ethiopians from becoming leaders?”

In that article, I shared how the way leadership is defined discourages many from taking lead in the area of their passion. In this sequel article, let me share with you another reason that prevents many Ethiopians from becoming leaders, from playing their fair share in transforming our country. In my book I quoted in the previous article- “Redefining Leadership”, which was published in 2011, I pointed out four major barriers that keep many at bay from claiming their birthright of leadership. One of the four reasons is culture. During the Q&A session, we explained how our culture doesn’t incentivize outward looking individuals and how this, in turn, discourages many from going out to take leadership initiatives to advance the cause they care about. Rather than recounting what I said at the Jantilla event concerning the impacts of culture, I thought to share with you an excerpt from the above-mentioned book to show you how many people are victims of their own culture:

“Culture is simply the collection of beliefs and values a given society or organization reflects collectively. These shared viewpoints, principles, rules, and behaviors bind stakeholders together as they live, work, and fellowship together. Culture is an environment that nurtures and shapes the various personalities of those who dwell in it. As a person with a medical background, let me give you a metaphor using culturing microorganisms in a laboratory to explain how a nurturing culture is. First of all, each microorganism requires a certain dose of feeding substances and composition of some chemical compounds. Using media such as plates, cultures are built in the lab to harvest some useful microorganisms. The final nature of a given organism is dependent upon the content of the culture it was fed.

Likewise, we are the products of those cultures (s) that fed and nurtured us. For that matter, the progress and competitiveness of organizations and nations depend upon their cultural elements. For example, Harrison & Huntington compared the economic data of Ghana and South Korea in the 1960s and found out that these two countries were having similar GNP and almost on an equal footing. However, after some decades later, South Korea became an industrial country with lots of economic success. The authors attributed this contrasting difference to South Koreans cultural values, which embraced ideals such as working hard, educating their citizens, investing, and promoting discipline, and the likes.

Whether it was the hunting-culture or today’s cyber-culture, culture shapes the personality of the individual as what he eats and drinks shapes his physical appearances. Culture plays a significant role in cultivating the individual who would have gone nowhere without the collective knowledge, identity, and guidance he has got as he grows from nobody to somebody. Throughout the years, we are fed and cultivated to become who we are today. Our thinking patterns, decision-making processes, and the way we behave and act deal with time, relate with others, interact with nature, view the future, perceive the invisible world, etc. are highly influenced by our respective cultures.

Though at times we may have counter-cultural stands and refuse to get molded all the time, the sum total of who we are at present is the product of those cultures we have been exposed. We should be grateful for the opportunity we were given to find ourselves embraced within those environments that finally helped us on our way up. We started naked, alone, and empty, and look at where we are now. We read the books, observed the arts crafted, used the system built in a given culture, and so on. Therefore, we owe our cultures. Yet, culture plays some negative roles against individual uniqueness and leadership.

If you don’t wrongly mistake me, almost every culture has some elements that discourage individual uniqueness. Some cultures, especially those individualistic, produce many unique individuals while others discourage individual uniqueness altogether. I call the latter communal cultures that are common in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and South America. In these cultures, individuals are ‘forced’ to group thinking. Very few break through and become leaders of their unique destiny while the majority is led into lifetime obscurity in the name of showing loyalty for group identity and destiny.

Though communal cultures discourage individual uniqueness and leadership the most, almost all other cultures within the individualistic culture have some cultural elements that undermine individual uniqueness and leadership. There are cultural myths, taboos, and sayings that discourage people from taking leadership. Let’s look at some sayings from representative cultures.

In my country, there is a saying: “Silence is gold”. There is a similar saying in Spain: “A closed mouth catches no flies”. Without talking, there is no way one becomes unique and takes leadership initiative to share with others his message and vision. These kinds of mottos are disincentives for individuals to go out and pursue their uniqueness through leadership. There are similar myths in western cultures too such as “Don’t blow your own horn”. In the Far East, “The nail that sticks up will get pounded down”. In the Middle East, “Woe to leadership, for it buries those who possess it”.

Surrounded by the noises such as the above and many similar discouraging myths, since childhood, it is very hard for many to venture and go out to pursue their uniqueness by leading their own destiny towards fulfillment. As leading is considered making noise, self-promoting, troublemaking, we can imagine how many individuals find no incentive to claim their uniqueness, communicate that to their respective peers and communities, and stride forward to bear the fruits of leadership.

What is tricky about culture is that many of us may not even know that the way we think, the pattern of our behavior, the way we decide, and act is the result of our cultural orientation. We may not question those things that don’t promote individual uniqueness and allow us to claim our birthright of leadership and lead a distinct path towards fulfillment. These things operate at a deeper level without much awareness and control from our conscious side of the brain. That makes it a very dangerous barrier against leading an original life and pursuing a distinct path.

The frustrating thing is that the majority in a given culture defends the above discussed and similar counterproductive myths, taboos, and sayings without questioning and knowing why they were installed in the first place. This reminded me of the most popular psychological experiment of Harry Harlow’s. This experiment involved a couple of monkeys, a banana, a stair, and cold ice water spray. The banana was hung on the ceiling and the stair put under it. When one of these monkeys stepped on the stair to reach the banana, all of the monkeys were sprayed with cold ice water. After a couple of trials with the same brutal cold ice water sprays on all the monkeys, the monkeys developed group-thinking and stopped trying. Not only that, they attacked newcomers who tried to step on the stair even when there was no more cold water spray. This continued even if all the monkeys who witnessed the cold-water spray firsthand were substituted with new ones.

The insight from this experiment was that even if the initial monkeys substituted with new ones, which hadn’t been there when cold ice water was sprayed, continued to attack newcomers who tried to get the banana. What these monkeys knew was that they were beaten the first time they tried even if they didn’t know why. They also watched while other newcomers were beaten. Soon after, they joined the group-thinking and started to defend the banana from newcomers even if they didn’t have any clue why this beating started in the first place. The same with culture; people zealously defend unproductive cultural myths without knowing why they were installed in the first place. I have been beaten and watched others beaten because of similar group-thinking without fully understanding why these group-thinking were put in the first place. What I am saying here in this section is that ‘there is no more cold ice water spray in place that we should stop beating one another but rather let’s enjoy the banana’…”

Knowing how many people are blindly loyal to their respective culture, I don’t expect a lot of people to immediately break through cultural barriers to taking leadership initiatives just because they read this article. This is my hope, however, that this article sparked curiosity in you if in case you’re one of the victims of your own culture; if in case, your culture discouraged you from venturing out to take lead in the area of your passion.

Don’t misunderstand me. Yes, communal cultures like ours have so many great cultural attributes we need to keep and promote. However, our culture needs to be reformed if our desire is to come out of poverty and enjoy sustainable development, which cannot happen without raising enough leaders at all levels. Please understand that I’m not suggesting copying and pasting a foreign culture from somewhere. That doesn’t work. I’m talking about indigenous reform- reforming the existing culture by keeping what has been productive and substituting those cultural attributes that have been counterproductive without losing our Ethiopiawinet.

Countries like Ethiopia must pass through a deep change to enjoy prosperity, stability, peace, and harmony. Unfortunately, deep change is impossible without cultural reform. The culture we have had brought us this far. If we would like to go somewhere better than where we have been so far, we don’t have any other choice but to reform our culture so that it empowers us to have the right mindset, attitude, discipline, principles, and standards, which in turn enable us to transform Ethiopia once and for all and in one generation.

Remember the metaphor I shared above. A given organism is a product of the culture that fed it. Using one and the same bacteria but two different cultures, you can harvest two totally different bacteria colonies: A very deadly bacteria that can be used as a deadly biological weapon, and another benign bacteria that can be used for vaccination. The difference between the two is the culture that nurtured them.

Culture- whether individual, corporate, or societal, matters. It’s one of the most important competitive advantages. You cannot experience true and lasting transformation without reforming your culture. Period. Deep change that doesn’t entail reforming the existing culture doesn’t lead to somewhere better.

Let’s reform the culture that predisposed us to the troubles that inflicted us for decades, if not for centuries. Let’s create a culture that nurtures our people and enable us to defeat poverty, despise corruption, incentivize cleanliness, promote hard work, embrace discipline, and encourages excellence and quality. Let’s have a culture that allows our people to identify their uniqueness and venture out to take lead to serve their respective community with leadership excellence in the area of their passion.

Ethiopia cannot compete regionally, continentally, and globally successfully without tapping into the full potential of her people. Sadly, no one can release his/her potential without knowing who they truly are, their unique lane and passion, and without developing some key leadership attributes. What is more? Ethiopia cannot unleash her greatness without unleashing the greatness within each citizen. Let’s create a culture that adequately produces great citizens that can transform Ethiopia into her greatness and enable her to play her unique leadership roles regionally, continentally, and beyond.

[1] Dr. Assegid Habtewold is a coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator at Success Pathways, LLC. He is also the Founder of PRO Leadership Global, Inc. He has written five books that are available on Amazon. He is a leadership speaker and workshop facilitator for some government agencies and major corporations. Assegid can be reached at ahabtewold@yahoo.com

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 By Medhane Tadesse

Time has come to say the following.

Since the changing of the guard in early 2018 the new leadership has stepped up its commitment to alter the significance of the EPRDF using various internal and external intervention instruments gathered under the banner of change(for whatever it is worth?) and the nomenclature of Medemer. These instruments are designed to decrease the functional and normative assets of the ruling party. However, intentions aside, the broader range of actions are prescriptive than normative and structural.

The damage to the TPLF is essentially tactical partly because at least in the short and medium term almost all structural and strategic issues will continue to reflect the norms, principles and values, some would say sidekicks, of the Front. Besides, the restructuring of the Ethiopian state along ethnic lines and the attempt to anchor it in a developmental state model might endure for a long time to come. Moreover, coalition politics mainly among identity groups has become the norm in Ethiopia. It will become the most critical tool of political contestation. Nonetheless, due to the recent actions coalition politics, at least at the level of the EPRDF, has lost its fundamental values, organizing principles or standardized procedures. Although these are fundamental in regulating and normalizing identity politics coalition building they are being tempered in the absence of alternative instruments with terrible costs. Thus the time has come to say the following: the harm is more on the EPRDF than the TPLF. As a consequence the EPRDF is flat-shifted, if not crushed.

From futility to callousness: First, any change within the EPRDF will not fundamentally change the nature and direction of political alliances. The TPLFs loss of influence within the ruling party could not halt identity politics or interest-based alliances around it. Organized politics has come a long and tortuous way in the last quarter of a century, so long a way that makes the other currents critically compromised and less relevant to resolving the problems confronting the country today. That is why philandering around the only workable architecture makes it all the more risky.

Second, continually demonizing the group that left the helm of power through intra-party elections (obviously in the face of widespread protests and a looming danger to the country) will not bode well for a peaceful transfer of power in the future; a phenomenon largely overlooked by many. It might serve as a startling warning to new dominant circles that leaving power without fighting till the end, including by violent means, invites a painful price. The very fact that it will not be rewarded is enough to generate a great deal of trepidation. If a domestic force is required to pay a heavy price for losing power and influence, this cannot be described as political transition.

Another otherwise-fatal occurrence is the perpetual delegtimization and criminalization of security institutions as a weapon of political contestation. Started in 2001, fueled during the protest years and the sprinting changes in recent months it has the potential to make the security sector, particularly the defense force feel lonely and abandoned. This will weaken their resolve and operational effectiveness; not to mention its impact on the long-held Weberian status of the Ethiopian state. Deep faultiness such as religion (about which I wrote sequentially since 1998) will find themselves violently agitated to offer a challenge. Jihadists in the region such as al-Shabaab will come closer to threaten us, once a distant prospect, further complicating the conduct of normal politics. This will undoubtedly facilitate political thuggery prominent among which the drop in the importance of an organizing principle will only expedite the potential axis between criminality and ethnicity.

I hope this attempt to problematic emerging trends will provide some signposts for what needs to be done.

Related links…..On populism and activism:
It is more than mere happenstance that populists and activists are weak at governing partly because they devour a jumbled understanding of intricate issues. They both thrive on the sentiment of ordinary people than on informed decisions about complex policy issues. They are not only anti-establishment but also, very often, glued to anti-intellectualism. They frequently reside in a serious if misguided historical scholarship. They adore easy slogans and easy solutions. But they have tremendous power to move people and-in our case- they command a disproportionate level of influence. The danger in Ethiopia is that populism is compounded by ethnic ‘firsts’: Oromo First, Amhara First and what have you. This remains the biggest challenge to democracy and inclusive society.

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by Mekuria Gize 

Medhane Tadesse wrote an interesting  piece on Satenaw  highlighting the flat-shift of EPRDF   and tactical defeat of TPLF in the Ethiopian political landscape.  In this article he ascribed the greater loss to EPRDF than to TPLF because the cause TPLF fought for remains to be there for years to come. I say the TPLF is decisively defeated and retreated to its enclave. True, the TPLF was not circled from its place in Arat Kilo and surrendered,  but it sensed the developments in the country and gave a belated response of retreating back to Tigray. This did not happen out of the blue or for favouring  the Ethiopian people. The much coordinated insurrection in Oromia and the stiff Amara resistance in Gonder have made TPLF sleepless. It has acquired loss in many places in  many ways: the economy of the country was collapsing; foreign capital was down; foreign exchange was near zero; sister organization like OPDO and ANDM were in discontent over the continued killing of their people; Lawlessness was spreading, a clear sign the society was not normal.  Had the TPLF continued the force measure to stay in power, the economy would have collapsed flat to the point unable to pay civil servants and the  military personnel.

Here is the fundamental equation  Medhane Tadesse overlooked. Can the EPRDF continue to get loyalty from the military and civil servants without being able to pay their wages? The answer is a big no. No civil servant is going to fold its arms and serve the TPLF while they go empty stomach. The same thing will happen for the military. The end of this quagmire would be complete encirclement of the TPLF warlords and get pulled in the streets of Addis Ababa. The TPLF were smart to retreat to Tigray without losing anything of their own. They get their budget from the federal system, their businesses all over the country are running smooth. Their factories continue to get raw materials from the rest of Ethiopia.  It is a win-win solution for them.

I cannot  understand why Medhane Tadesse  is crying for people who overused they power to commit crimes against humanity beyond imagination.  The atrocities inflicted on Amara and Oromo youth  by the TPLF security is not something to say bygone is bygone. How would you spare Getachew Assefa and Kinfe Dagnew? The former is directly responsible for all deaths and sufferings in Ethiopia. The latter used the Ethiopian resources as his personal account. As a scholar, Medhane Tadesse should have been the first  to request  for  justice to prevail. PM Abiy did not do anything painful to the political leadership of TPLF. Rather the TPLF political leadership is creating unrest in every corner of the country.   Medhane Tadesse  seems to be nostalgia of the days  TPLF had a leading role in the Ethiopian Politics. To us when he says the significance of EPRDF has gone down, it  means he is weary of the  fact that TPLF role is diminished.

Medhane Tadesse thinks medemer and change being advanced by the new PM are key instruments to decrease the significance of EPRDF. By EPRDF significance,  Medhane meant to say  the role TPLF played in EPRDF is curtained. But what EPRDF we Ethiopians are grieving for? TPLF’s falling from its grace when the majority of the people are second class citizens?  Ethiopians do not really care if an EPRDF that deprived them of their basic rights is gone to its grave yard at this time in their political history.

Medhane Tadesse is right when he says the value and principles  of TPLF will remain  implanted in the Ethiopian politics  for years to come. Not only that, Today’s alliance will likely change in many ways while this basic TPLF political values remain the same. Medhane Tadesse continues, “due to the recent actions coalition politics, at least at the level of the EPRDF, has lost its fundamental values, organizing principles or standardized procedures.” Medhane Tadesse’s analysis here is skin depth at best on this issue. Ethiopia had never had coalition governing party. It was a gathering of pseudo political parties with an internal relationship of Ashiker ena geta. It was only one giant armed party, the TPLF that was the maker of everything in Ethiopia: the constitution, boundary demarcation, laws enacting, military and security leadership, etc). The real coalition politics is going to manifest itself from now on  if democratic principles are to be the governing principles from here on.  I would not be surprised to see two major coalitions, if ethnic politics is the playing field.  If Oromo nationalists gain power through the ballot box the future alliance will likely be Tigray-Oromia on one front and Amara-south Ethiopia-Afar on another front.  Tegaru elites and TPLF will remain against the interest of Amaras for unforeseeable future  because their thesis of Ethiopianism  is solely based on annihilation of the Amara.

Medhane Tadesse regrets  the perpetual delegtimization and criminalization of security institutions as a weapon of political contestation. It is undeniable fact the Ethiopian military and security worked in tandem to suffocate the opposition, kill and imprison Ethiopians who demanded their rights. There is no tears we can shade now for these idiots. They have committed crime against humanity as an organised institution. The Ethiopian people are generous  for not demanding military leaders to face justice except pointing fingers to selected few. Medhane should know better the sole guiding principle for a military should be keeping law and order and not imprisoning political opponents

Medhane Tadesse’s undermining of the much adored  leader of Ethiopia is an insult to our intelligence. Medhane Tadesse portrayed  PM Abiy an unknowledgeable and  inexperienced leader  when he says  “populists and activists are weak at governing partly because they devour a jumbled understanding of intricate issues.”   Medhane is  articulating this hasty generalization simply  because his cousins at Mekelle are not allowed anymore to have heavy hands in Ethiopian politics the way they acted during Hailemariam Desalegn. Our worry about PM Abiy’s  leadership is he is doing too little to curb TPLF’s wild lawlessness Tegaru elites are grieving now that TPLF lost power because it did not fight tooth and nail siding injustice. Amara elites have been grieving against the 1960s Amara student activists indicating they were  the Trojan horses for northerners  and Oromo fundamentalists so much so creating conditions  for the current misery of Amara people. Where does the truth rest on?

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February 18, 2019

Open letter:

My humble appeal to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, the Parlama of Ethiopia, all Ethiopian activists, all media outlets, all regional governments, and all citizens:

I am writing this appeal to all Ethiopian people, to do my part to defuse the underline peril of civil war facing the people of Ethiopia. For this writing, I have chosen to be as neutral as possible in addressing the concerns that I have, and I pray for your understanding and support in every step of the way until Ethiopia is at peace with itself.

On one hand, it is a matter of fact that all Ethiopians have different ideas on which direction Ethiopian politics should go. Our differences vary from what kind of flag, to the kind of constitution we should have…, how the election should be handled…, who should go to jail and who should stay free…, what statues to erect, who was the great king or who was the best leader, which region owns what territory, and so on….

On the other hand, I understand there are things that tie us all together as people. Some of them are history, the love for our country, the hunger for peace, the will to eliminate poverty, the passion for freedom, our love for our country, the love for God, and more……

It is what ties us as one that should make us strive to solve our differences in a respectable way!  It is the only way. It is urgent to calm the rhetoric of hate and promote tolerance amongst all regions and ethnic groups. We must respect the law of the land and allow due process to take its course before we prosecute people on Social Media and other outlets. We also must refrain from spreading hate in any form. Politicians must use politically correct language in order to avoid offending people. Social Media activists must STOP insulting tribes or groups such as Amara, Tigre, Oromo, Somalia, Islam, Christian and so on.

If we care, we really must stop promoting hate and destabilize Ethiopia! News outlets should refrain from broadcasting inflammatory news and should stay focused on just the facts without being biased.

The Government of Ethiopia must create a law to fight this dangerous behavior of hate based politics.
I am sorry to say, but a country that has existed over thousands of years should NOT be standing to survive the ills of our behavior, instead we should work in concert to pull Ethiopia out of the madness of hate and mistrust…we must, all of us, do our part.

In doing our part, we must compromise and we must not allow our pride to stand in the way of Ethiopia’s journey to “swim out of the troubled waters.”  We must see the bigger picture.  We MUST stop …”Hate Preaching!”

I decided to write because as Martin Luther King once said, “The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.”  I can’t remain silent when I know Ethiopia must change for the good of the people and advance its peoples plight for peace and prosperity.

On the spirit of tolerance, we should all help to create a condition for all Ethiopians the following:

We need to voice our concerns until all Ethiopian citizens from all tribe and religious backgrounds are free to move, at will, within all Ethiopian territories without fear.
-All Ethiopians should express their views any way they wish without fear of prosecution whatsoever.
-Ethiopian business owners should be able to travel to any part of Ethiopian territory to conduct legal business with confidence, safe and without fear of harassment from anyone or any group.
-Not even a single Ethiopian should be evicted from his/her home and made to be homeless for any reason.
-All Ethiopian citizens should be able to own, sell and trade property(s), own a business (or more than one business), and have full rights in all Ethiopian territories without discrimination.
-The Government should protect all people from all criminal activities such as vigilantes….no one should take the law into their own hands.
-All citizens should be careful not to encourage crime and criminal behavior of any sort.

We all must be responsible citizens by cooperating and abiding by the rules. We must mind our behaviors and not take the law into our own hands.

I am calling on all Ethiopians to cool down, compose themselves, and tolerate each other’s faults and ask what is needed to bring us together as people.  Finger pointing does no good.

Another quote from Martin Luther King…. “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

No one will win through violence. We must NOT promote “lawlessness.”  We should know better!! War has gotten us to nowhere.  And, again as Dr. Martin Luther King said, “I was not afraid of the words of the violent, but the silence of the honest.”

So I ask the influential people to step up to the plate and do the right thing.  Do not choose silence!!!

Where are the principled Ethiopians?  You must speak on behalf of the peace loving majority. The very few haters must be stopped from overtaking the peoples dream and immerse us in a messy civil war.

We must do our VERY best to bring Ethiopia to the top of the list of countries doing well, both free and prosperous.

God bless Ethiopia and its entire people.

I challenge you all to do your part!!

I pledge:
For the sake of Ethiopia I promise to do my part to STOP HATE…And Promote Peace…as follows:

Because Ethiopia cannot afford to ignore the Hate being promoted, I promise to promote peace and unity without compromising on freedom of speech!!

May God protect Ethiopia and its People!

Note: Although I am not against freedom of speech, I ask that you refrain from promoting culturally unacceptable messages that are offensive, and I am strongly against religion, tribe, and ethnic based Hate messages. It is also immoral and in some cases illegal. It could cost you your freedom. Beware!!
Join us at our Facebook address! By typing:-
War Free Ethiopia

Berhane Alemayoh.

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By – Berhane Tadese – Engineer

February 18, 2019

At 1:30 PM, On Sunday, February 17, 2019 Ethiopian community in metropolitan NYC area – gathered to honor and pay tribute “The Addis Ababa massacre” by Italian Fascist armies. The Addis Ababa Massacre took place on Yekatit 12, 1929 (Ethiopian calendar). They also paid tribute to the Ethiopians heroes who sacrificed their lives for the sovereignty of Ethiopia. It is annually remembered events that held at home and abroad and brought Ethiopians together and raise awareness of our history.  Knowledge of history is one of the ingredients that shape our identity and restore the national pride.

The Remembrance Day was organized by Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistances Association with partnering with Global Alliance for Justice -for Ethiopia cause. The program started with minutes of silence prayer to tribute to those massacred and who lost their lives fighting for our country, followed by several inspired feature Speakers. Speakers Include: Dr. Teshale Tibebu is  a professor in the History Department at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.  Dr. Shimelis Bonsea is a Professor in the History Department at Stony Brook University. New York. Dr. Girma Abebe a former United Nation diplomat a graduate of New York University, in New York, New York. Dr. Zergabachew Asfaw is founding member and president of Hakim Workineh and Melaku Beyan society of physicians in North America, graduated from Addis Ababa University Faculty of Medicine  and M r. Nicola Antonio DeMarco, JD a Human Rights activist in New York.  Mr. DeMarco graduated in law  from The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, New York.

The programs include a special film clip about war crimes during 1935 Italian invasion, an inspiring patriotic poem from Poet Laureate Tsegaye Gebre Medhin poem collection, and power point slideshow commemorative hero photographs of the time. The organizers made all possible efforts to make sure we honor our victims and the patriots by making this event the best it can be 2019 Remembrance Day.

What is the significance of Remembrance Day? It is a national event to pay tribute for the infamous Addis Ababa Massacre of Yekatit 12, 1929, and to ensure that our brave forefathers who have sacrificed themselves to protect the sovereignty of our country are not forgotten. It is a special day to express our patriotic feeling aganist the Italian Fascist aggression. Also, it gives us the sense of belonging to our motherland, to reflect more deeply on the history of Ethiopia and to pass important heroic stories to the next generation of Ethiopians. It is also a day to say “Thank You very much” for setting us free from yoke of the Italians invaders.

Why and how did it all happen?  Several books/articles are written why and how did it all happen by many historians and expatriate scholars. However, to make a quick reference for the wider community Wikipedia page provides this. “ The Abyssinia Crisis was a crisis in 1935 originating in what was called the Walwal incident in the then-ongoing conflict between the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Ethiopia(then commonly known as “Abyssinia” in Europe). The League of Nations ruled against Italy and voted for economic sanctions, but they were not fully applied. Italy ignored the sanctions, quit the League, made special deals with Britain and France and ultimately established control of Ethiopia. The crisis discredited the League and moved Fascist Italy closer to an alliance with Nazi Germany.”

The cause of the aggression is not only the Walwal “crisis”. It was avenged of defeat of Italians known as Battle of Adwa in March 1, 1896. The Italians had military supremacy in airplanes, poison gas and tanks. They used the WalWal crisis as pretext to invade Ethiopia.  The Fascist Italian occupied Ethiopia for five years, and during their occupation, they did brutal agression by village burning, torturing, detaining, killing etc.  to terrorize the population, and to defeat armed resistance that waged by patriotic Ethiopians. Yekatit 12 is the bloodiest killing unleashed against at the ordinary citizens in Addis Ababa.  They intensified and expanded the colonial cruel repression all over the country. They attempted to exploit religious and ethnic rivalry. . Although the Italian occupation was brief, but they planted the seed of ethnic division. They employed the strategy of divide and rule along ethno-linguistic lines in this multicultural Ethiopia.

Fast forward to the present situation, the reconfiguration of the nine regions along ethno-linguistic line imposed by EPDRF ruling elites is similar to colonial dividing  tactics. The EPRDF administrative divisions along ethnic lines has caused ethnics clashes, and thousands dislocated from their homes and killed. It is threatening the existence of Ethiopia as state. In light of this experience, the current Prime Minister need to take some actions to reconfigure administrative divisions to minimize and possibly avoid ethnic conflicts.

Remembrance Day is a springboard for an African victory against European colonial power in many part of African countries in 1960. It gives us a sense of pride and gives us opportunity to open dialogue other communities to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

Long live Ethiopia!!

The post Yekatit 12 : Remembrance Day  of Fascist Aggression of Ethiopia (1937 to 2019) appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

by Mekuria Gize

Smart politics is the art of  rallying people and getting one’s party political program accomplished. That program can be beneficial or harmful to a nation. Drafting the path of political strategies and tactics leading to victory requires careful understanding of the surrounding, and the people politicians come from.  At this time in our political history there are three parties that can shape the future of Ethiopia in a better direction (skipping the TPLF, the architect of wicked politics that landlocked Ethiopia and devastated its people): ODP, Abn (NAMA) and Ginbot 7. It is very crucial at this time to foster friendly cooperation among these three political groups.

The political reality for ODP is that it is going to meet stiff resistance from regional parties in Oromiya. Therefore the political programs ODP devises springs from its base in Oromia. Keeping the current federal system is a significant election manifesto in Oromia. The recent release by ODP is fundamentally a reflection of this reality, and ODP seems to understand this very well. Ethiopian politicians, and amateurish activists should be cognisant of these facts.  ODP is not going to dismantle the current federal system because pan Ethiopian parties or politicians wanted it. The fact that Lemma Megerssa and PM Abiy stressed about Ethiopianism does not mean they will change the federal system. They wanted strong Ethiopia with the federal system maintained (it is different from TPLF which is Tigray first). At no time they promised that. Pan-Ethiopianists, you have to win an election and earn it. Your  only demand should be a levelled playing field.

Since election 2005 (the last relatively more open election), the political environment in Ethiopia has been obliterated. With the passing away of aged citizens, an increase in the number of politically agitated literate youth, increasing repression by EPRDF (since 2005, based on ethnicity, particularly in the last 4 years, when Hailemariam Desalegn was in charge – due to his willingness to do the dirty job for TPLF) has profoundly changed the political equation in Ethiopia.  In simple terms, Ethiopians political understanding of their country has been to a large extent radicalized. The Oromo youth are more inclined to believing in the necessity of exclusive self rule; their last four years’ continued struggle has shaped that approach, added with the day to day bombardment of fundamentalists on social media.

Pan Ethiopian politicians, largely consisting of elites with higher level of education, and activists that rally around them were very energetic pre 2005 (1997 E.C.)  These groups come from every walks of ethnicity and their guiding principle is in the model of western civilization and in the foot prints of western democracy  where citizens should equally be treated  across every spectrum of the nation. According to these groups, party programs, ability and love for one’s country, public legitimacy by voting were considered to be the mechanism to assume political power. Following the devastating defeat of the EPRDF in the 2005 election, this group have seriously been weekend by killings, imprisonment, migration (due to persecution) due to the repressive government of the late Meles Zenawi and Haile Mariam Desalegn.  Exiled political activity nevertheless continued unabated which became energy for the protesting youth; eventually the TPLF fell to its knee and has lost its  political leadership in Ethiopia since April 2018. This group still enjoys strong support among the educated and those living in bigger cities in Ethiopia, and the Diaspora. However, support from the youth in rural villages  and towns seemed to have been eroded seriously since the days of the  CUD, a pan Ethiopian party that either was in par or defeated the Oromo National Congress, the South Peoples parties in their own political turf. That level of influential acceptance now seems to have dipped.

The  Amara known for their pan Ethiopian thinking have recently started to feel the pain inflicted upon them by the ethnically federated Ethiopia. The fact that there was practically no development in their region, becoming  at the bottom of the ladder  by development index relative to other ethnic groups has brought serious dilemma to the Amara way of political thinking. Today, the Amara are the most impoverished people who largely depend on agrarian economy. Electric power, road networks, school system, health stations, industrialization are all at the very low level. For instance when Tigray regional state built 7 top-level universities for 6 million people, the Amara for 30 million people has far less and most inferior. Meeting basic needs in Amara region is a struggle. For this reason there was a strong resentment against the then Amara party, ANDM ( a coalition to the ruling party,  TPLF). The  cruel treatment of Amara by the TPLF created grievance and day to day resentment. Moreover the Amaras were scapegoats for all perceived maladministration of past governments. Like the Oromos,  the Amara youth started to resist TPLF oppression, mostly armed insurrection, and practically coordinated their rebellion with the Oromo youth without communication in person. The resistance in Gonder by an Amara ex-military and the support he was given from the Gonder youth was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. This was the first sign of  the loss of TPLF invincibility and legitimacy. It exposed TPLF was a mere paper tiger. Both the Oromo and Amara youth sensed that TPLF was for sure to fall. This was the final turning point for the Oromo youth. Their protest came in waves; ultimately TPLF’s economy came down to its knee.

Well educated Amara youth who had no peace of mind in the continued death and imprisonment of their people gathered informally and formed Abin shortly before PM Abiy came to Power. PM Abiy brought profound reforms;  a wave of Diaspora politicians came to Ethiopia including the strongest and well organized Ginbot 7.  Abin and Ginbot 7 are now in a  competing mode for votes in Amara region. This situation is not useful in any way to advance Ethiopian political landscape. My humble advise for both parties is they should quickly assemble and sort out the way forward. For instance a couple  days ago Ginbot 7 held a massive rally in Debre Markos. For sure if Abn comes to Debre Markos, there will be another massive rally as well. None is  a winner from this except the radical groups. For instance the G7 chairman’s speech that highlighted Gojam’s resistance for freedom may be well deserved in terms of highlighting Gojam’s contribution in the past. But this kind of narration is not useful for Amara people now. It is this kind of politics that marginalized Amaras and empowered ethno centrists in Ethiopia. Our people should not be fooled by this kind of politics. On the other hand, Abn (NAMA) and its supporters should run seasoned political campaigns, and in no way come on the way of Ginbot 7’s activity in Amara region. There are numerous arguments Abin can have upper hand in Amara region simply using season politics.  If at the end of the day you lose,  accept the will of the people. But you have numerous talking points to have the upper hand except you have to prepare for it from this time on.  In all its efforts, one thing Abin should not follow is to give legitimacy to ethnic politics. In no way Abin should pronounce that organizing by ethnicity is right. All you have to mention is the  pain our people underwent, the reality on the ground,  and that Amara people should handle their affairs for a better deal as well as for current obstacle Amaras are facing. In the end Abin’s destination is pan-Ethiopianism.

My advice for Ginbot 7: It is useful for Ginbot 7 to work together with Abin. Amara parties always have pan Ethiopian mentality. Ginbot 7 can be more effective in Addis Ababa and the South. The South is the only region that has strong pan Ethiopian thinking next to the Amara. Considering many members from South Ethiopia, and Addis Abebans love for Ginbot 7, I am optimistic Ginbot 7 will get swiping votes in Addis Ababa and the South. Ginbot 7 should not waste much energy in Amara. So it is high time now a memorandum of understanding be signed between Abn and Ginbot 7 for a coalition either for a seat in parliament, or governance provided they get the winning votes, or for a possible coordination with ODP for working together. This coalition avenue by the three parties (ODP, Ginbot 7 and Abn) in my opinion is the road for a strong and peaceful Ethiopia. My other humble advise for Ginbot 7 and its leaders is to minimize the lobbying work at Arat Kilo, and get  fully engaged in  party and organizational tasks in Addis and south of Addis. Up to now you have not opened an office or visited single electoral regions south of Addis Ababa.

The post Time for talks between ABN (NAMA) and Ginbot 7: the urgent needs of the time appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

                                                                                                   February 14, 2018

Your Holiness,

The Global Alliance for Justice – The Ethiopian Cause presents its compliments, in our most humble and respectful manner, to Your Holiness and submits this petition for a formal Vatican apology to the Ethiopian people for its complicity with Fascist Italy in the war crimes perpetrated in Ethiopia by the Italian regime then led by Benito Mussolini during 1935-41.

We take this opportunity to express our joy and sincere appreciation of Your Holiness’ formal apology to the people of Latin America on Thursday, July 9, 2015 at Santa Cruz during your official visit to Bolivia. According to the New York Times issue of the same date, Your Holiness had apologized “for the complicity of the Roman Catholic Church in the oppression of Latin America”. It was also reported that Your Holiness had stated:

“I humbly ask forgiveness, not only for the offences of the church herself but also for crimes    committed against the native peoples during the so-called conquest of America.”

We also recall the Catholic Church’s recent apology to the people of Rwanda.

We fervently submit that a similar apology is owed to the Ethiopian people for the Roman Catholic Church’s (The Vatican’s) complicity in the war crimes committed by Fascist Italy.

Fascist War Crimes Committed in Ethiopia

It is well known that the war crimes committed by Fascist Italy with the Vatican’s blessing had the following devastating consequences:

• One million Ethiopians were massacred including 30,000 people who were killed within only three days in Addis Ababa. 3,000 monks and parishioners were murdered at the Debre Libanos monastery. Bishops Abune Petros and Abune Mikael as well as numerous patriots, women and children were also massacred.

• 2,000 churches and 525,000 homes were destroyed as well as the devastation of 14 million animals and the perpetration of an expansive environmental pollution;
• The extensive use of the internationally forbidden poison gas through numerous airplanes;
• The looting of vast quantities of Ethiopian properties including over 500 manuscripts still in the possession of the Vatican.

EVIDENCE OF VATICAN’S COMPLICITY WITH FASCIST ITALY

There is an abundant and overwhelming evidence proving beyond any reasonable doubt as to the Vatican’s complicity with Fascist Italy in the war crimes committed in Ethiopia. The following are mere examples:

1. The Lateran Treaty between the Vatican and the Italian Government led by Benito Mussolini was signed in 1929 resulting in the Italian Government’s recognition of the Vatican’s sovereignty as well as its provision of Lire 1,500,000,000 to the Vatican;
2. On February 13, 1929, Pope Pius XI proclaimed to the world that Mussolini was a man sent by Providence (Avro Manhattan);
3. “After the conquest of Abyssinia, the Pope expressed his joy in his speech of May 12, 1936 by stating: “……the triumphant joy of an entire, great and good people over a peace which, it is hoped and intended, will be an effective contribution and prelude to the true peace in Europe and the world.”(Avro Manhattan)
4. The Archbishop of Tarano declared: “The war against Ethiopia should be considered as a holy war, a crusade” because the Italian victory would “open Ethiopia, a country of infidels and schismatics, to the expansion of the Catholic faith.”(Avro Manhattan);
5. Pope Pius XI blessed the Italian king, Victor Emmanuel, as the “King of Italy and Emperor of Ethiopia” (New York Times item of February 13, 1937);
6. “Practically without exception the whole world condemned Mussolini, all except the Pope (Pius XI).”(Teeling);
7. Italian Cardinals, 29 Archbishops, and 61 bishops gave immediate support to the aggression (against Ethiopia).(Slavembini);
8. In his address to archbishops, bishops and priests, Mussolini admired: “the efficient cooperation given by the clergy during the war against the Abyssinians…remembering with particular sympathy the example of patriotism shown by Italian bishops, who brought their gold to the local office of the Fascist Party…”(Corriere della Sera, January 10, 1938);
9. “Pope Pius XI is credited with much admiration for Mussolini.That the Italian clergy as a whole are pro-Fascist is easy to understand, seeing that Fascism is antinationalist, authoritarian, anti-liberal, and anti-Socialist force.”(Manchester Guardian, February 12, 1929);

10. Martindale, the Jesuit scholar representing the Pope, confirmed that the secretary of state at the Vatican, Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII), offered Haile Selassie 1 million (Sterling Pounds) on behalf of Italy in return for his abdication.”(Alberto Sbacchi);
11. Sbacchi stated: “Bishop Andre Marie Elie Jarosseau, Haile Selassie’s former tutor and a man who had influence over him, also invited the exiled ruler to recognize Italian sovereignty over Ethiopia. By submitting to Italy he could rule with Italian consent.” P. 124 (Sbacchi’s sources: “Times (London), 29 April 1938; Le Petit Parisien, 22 August 1939; La Garonne, 22 August 1939; Bernoville, Monseigneur Jarosseau et la Mission des Gallas, p. 360” p. 127);
12. Statement by an eye-witness, Dr. Syoum Gebregziabher, author of “Symphony of my Life”, 2012: “From my book you can note, how one of the Catholic priests took the personal responsibility to entice me to be a priest! How we the seminarians marched outside Harar in a heavily Moslem region protected by Fascist military to attend church every week! This was a clear policy of the Catholic Church in support of Fascism. The establishment of “Collegio Ethiopico” within the Vatican compound was to train and indoctrinate Ethiopian seminarians. We were then told that if we become good potential priests, we will be eligible to go to Rome for further education (indoctrination)! There was a definite crusade to propagate Catholicism in Ethiopia with the help of fascism based on apartheid policy I had faced on my way to priesthood!”

In addition, Dr. Syoum Gebregziabher stated in his letter to me dated July 19, 2012:

“…In 1948 my uncle Gebremeskel Habtemariam (Dejasmach) mentioned in the book; not only protested the Vatican collaboration with Mussolini; but officially dropped his Catholicism and joined and embraced the Ethiopian Orthodox Church!”

13. Contrary to the abundance of evidence proving Pope Pius XI’s complicity with Mussolini and the Fascists, there are some who claim that the Pope, in his speech to

graduating nurses, expressed, as an aside to his formal speech a statement to the effect      that he objected to Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia. However, in addition to the evidence provided above, Rev Dr. Mikre-Sellassie G/Ammanuel quotes Gaetano Salvemini, in his book: “Church and Missions in Ethiopia During the Italian Occupation”:

“To anyone reading without close attention, Pius XI’s address to the nurses gives an impression of condemning not only war but also this particular war as an abominable crime. In actual fact it does not condemn the imminent war. It condones it as a war of self-defense. In addition it puts in a plea for indulgence and leniency should Mussolini, in the exercise of his rights of self-defense, exceed the limits of moderation.”

14. Dr. Mikre-Sellassie G/Amanuel stated further in the above book:

“…the Pope very clearly expressed his love and wholehearted support to Italy and the Fascist Government.”

15. Another eyewitness account by the 97-year old, General Lema Gabremariam, a participant in the war at Maichew in 1936 states, in his open letter to Pope Francis I:

“ … the battle of Maichew, 1936… was my first experience of war.  I witnessed the deadly poison gas, yperite raining from aircrafts, which was a routine of the Fascist warfare.  As a result of the acidic-rain, my eyes were affected and I was nearly blinded and made unconscious.

…When I regained my consciousness, I found myself in the middle of heaps of dead bodies of humans and pack animals…..

There are proofs that some (Vatican) Cardinals and clergy rallied behind fascism, among them the Cardinal of Milan, Alfredo Ildefons Schucter. In addition to his anti Ethiopia campaign, the Cardinal was photographed with war generals next to tanks, machineguns, and the army, which were on their way to invade Ethiopia.

As Your Holiness is aware, His Holiness Pope Bendict XVI had apologized to the Jewish people in the year 2000 for failing to take action in challenging the Nazi, though the Vatican had not collaborated with Hitler.  What would God say when the Vatican confessed to the Jews, but not to Ethiopians?

I have learned about your reputation through the mass media that you are a man of many firsts.  I hope and pray that you will add more to your great achievement by apologizing to the Ethiopian people and peace loving people at large.”

16. Karlheinz Deschner, “God and the Fascists”, 2013, :

“Even Catholic papers flatly admitted that Pisus XI had permitted colonial war. The conscience of the world condemned Italy’s vigorous approach.” Gert Buchheit also wrote in 1938: “What did the Papacy do? ….The Church demanded that the bishops hand in their gold crosses and chains…..Yes, the Pope even gave the Duce (Mussolini) the frozen assets in Germany so that Italy could purchase the necessary raw materials…”

17. David I Kertzer, “The Pope and Mussolini”, 2014:

“The Vatican (Pope Pius XI) played a central role both in making the Fascist regime possible and in keeping it in power…..The central player in the effort to keep Pope Pius XI (in check) was Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli – later Pope Pius XII.

18. Jeff Pearce, “Prevail”, 2014:

“…By mid-September (1935), Eugenio Pacelli, Cardinal Secretary of State (and later Pius XII) sent word to Musolini that the Pope (Pius XI) would not stand in the way of an invasion (of Ethiopia). As Professor Christopher Duggan noted in Fascist Voices, “The Church provided overwhelming backing for the war, with seven cardinals, twenty-nine archbishops, and seventy-five bishops offering public endorsements to the press.”

JUSTICE FOR ETHIOPIA

Despite the clear prevalence of the abundant evidence for the Fascist war crimes in Ethiopia and the Vatican’s complicity, justice has not prevailed for the country. None of the Fascist criminals were brought to justice. The Vatican has not yet expressed its apology. No adequate reparations have been undertaken by the Italian Government although the Italian President, H.E. Mr. Luigi Scalfaro, did express his apology during a visit to Ethiopia in 1997.

It is important to note that the Vatican has apologized to the Jewish people for having been silent during the Nazi holocaust.

Therefore, our Alliance is undertaking a global struggle for justice including the payment of adequate reparations by the Italian Government, a Vatican apology to the Ethiopian people, restitution of Ethiopian properties currently in the possession of the Vatican and the Italian Government, UN recognition of the Fascist war crimes in Ethiopia; and the removal of the Graziani mausoleum at Affile.

It should be noted here that over 5,800 people from some 30 countries have signed the petition presented on our website (www.globalallianceforethiopia.net) appealing to the Vatican to apologize to the Ethiopian people.

In conclusion, we appeal to Your Holiness to continue with your exemplary Christian service to humanity by offering the Vatican’s formal and public apology to the Ethiopian people thereby finally bringing justice that has been owed for over three quarters of a century.

With the assurances of our highest respect,

Yours faithfully,

Kidane Alemayehu

Executive Director

The post OPEN LETTER OF APPEAL TO POPE FRANCIS I REGARDING JUSTICE FOR ETHIOPIA appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

February 21, 2019

To Prime Minister-, Dr. Abiy Ahmed

CC: Lemma Megersa, President of Oromia Regional State

Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE) pens this letter to express its concern following the demolition and planned demolition of thousands of houses in Legetafo town which left families on the street. This comes as a shock to AHRE which has warmly welcomed the overall reforms in Ethiopia, despite some pressing challenges.

AHRE has published numerous statements concerning forced displacements and other human rights concerns that recurred in the country and intensified to a larger scale in the past couple of years. The mass eviction against thousands of families is being conducted by officials themselves, unlike intercommunal conflicts and displacement in the rest of the country which involved the communities themselves, albeit reports of lower level of officials’ involvement.

AHRE has learned that the town was established in 2008 as a new special Zone along with seven other towns as part of the then Oromo People Democratic Organisation (OPDP) plan to curb the expansion of Addis Ababa to its outskirts. Against the local authorities’ claim that the houses were built violating the town’s master plan, several evicted families have bought the plots of land and built the homes before 2008. Many of them also say they have been paying hundreds of thousands in local currency to the town administration for utilities including electric and water bill, and other land payment fees.  Those evicted include children, mothers, new born infants, the elderly, and the handicapped. This is all the more disappointing when evictees were given a short notice (7 days) with no other options of a possible substitute residence.

Dear honourable Prime Minister Abiy, AHRE has in different occasions warmly welcomed and commended the incredible positive steps your admiration took towards bringing peace with Eritrea; releasing political prisoners; opening up the political space etc.  Ethiopia is signatory to The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The right to adequate housing mandated by the UN defines forced eviction as “the permanent or temporary removal against the will of individuals, families and/or communities from the homes and/or land which they occupy, without the provision of and access to appropriate forms of legal or other protection.” Thus, the measure is in clear violation of the right to housing which Ethiopia is signatory to.

We kindly urge your good office and your administration to issue an order to local authorities to immediately stop mass demolition and evictions; and compensate those families whose houses were demolished.

Kind Regards,

Yared Hailemariam

Executive Director of AHRE

Mobile: +32 (0)486 336 367

The post An open letter concerning house demolition and forced mass evictions in Oromia Region, Legetafo town appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

By Dula Abdu

During my life time, Ethiopia experienced brief euphoria whenever a new regime came into existence. I witnessed violent transfer of power from Haile Selassie to the military led by Mengistu Haile Mariam and from Mengistu to TPLF (Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front) led by Meles Zenawi. Unfortunately these brief euphoria disappeared quickly and people started to hope for a return to the old system or for change. Unless Dr. Abiy acts immediately to halt ethnic killings and displacement of innocent children, women and families he may face a similar situation.

The euphoria in the overthrow of Haile Selassie was short cut by internal conflict mostly led by secessionist forces like TPLF and internal opposition led by Ethiopian Peoples Revolution Party (EPRP). Of course, the invasion by Somalia engineered by Siad Barre aided and abetted by the U.S. brought more challenge for the Mengistu Regime. These dynamic forces led Mengistu to be more violent and desperate to keep the country together. The military was eventually defeated by the combined forced of TPLF and the Eritrean Liberation Front (EPLF) helped by the withdrawal of support from USSR. Immediately, TPLF facilitated the session of Eritrea, and introduced a toxic tribal system that enabled it to establish a political and economic monopoly at the expense of the majority of Ethiopians.

TPLF had some support initially because people were tired of war and conflict and the heavy handedness of the Mengistu regime. Unfortunately, TPLF superimposed a system called Kilil, akin to apartheid system as it realized it lacked enough support in the country to stay in power.

TPLF system of Kilil became so exploitative economically and toxic politically it enabled TPLF affiliated tribes or leaders a ticket to kill and exploit other tribes with impunity. Now under a more open society ushered by Dr. Abiy the hate and division built in the last three decades became more toxic and it has become the cause for the displacement of millions of people and hundreds of death.

Ethiopia will face genocide and will disintegrate like Yugoslavia unless Dr. Abiy says enough is enough and gets rid of Kilel and return Ethiopia to its old traditional provincial system or states without solely relying on ethnic boundaries where governors and mayors will be elected by the people without any consideration to their tribe or religion simply based on the content of their character and leadership to govern.

Since Dr. Abiy took over in less than a year over 3 million people are displaced and hundreds of innocent children and women have lost their lives by tribal gangs with impunity.

Kilil is anathema to democracy, individual rights and nation building. Kilil was devised to divide and conquer and to destroy Ethiopia’s unity and its viability as a nation by anti-Ethiopian TPLF secessionists who has loathed the Ethiopian nation and its history. To continue such a system by Dr. Abiy is contrary to his often stated belief of “Endemere”.

Innocent women, children and others are killed throughout the country with impunity because there seems to be no rule of law to protect minorities or innocent people as some local police and authority are in collusion or look the other way.

No nation in a 21st century upholds such a rotten system except Ethiopia. The apartheid system was the last bastion of a racist and ethnic based system. When South Africa got rid of minority rule it returned to democracy, and apartheid was scrapped. Unlike the Afrikaners, who wanted merely to rule and exploited, TPLF aims included the destruction of Ethiopia as a nation out of malice and hate for the system that some Tigrean leaders thought kept them out of power led by Anmharas for centuries. European colonial powers implemented a divide and conquer system, but it was also abandoned with the demise of colonialism.

Ethiopia cannot survive as a viable and peaceful nation under a kilil system. It will face more violence and disruption if the current system is continued.

Cities should be administered like any other city around the world by their own elected representatives instead of tribally selected and unaccountable robots appointed by misguided and ill equipped tribal leaders.

Parties should be structured on values and principles not based on tribes or nepotism. Tribal parties should be discouraged even made illegal as they are a catalyst for further division and bloodshed.

Ethiopia can return to its provincial system and governors and mayors should be elected by their own representatives like in the U.S. and other countries. Ethiopia should not be an exception to the rule for the wrong reason.

Dr. Abiy should bit the bullet and bring an end to chaos and Kilil that displaced millions and resulted in the loss of so many innocent lives. Otherwise, it will continue to spread further like a wild fire with devastating results unless reigned on without delay.

As a leader Dr. Abiy is accountable to the current and future bloodshed despite the fact that he inherited the system from TPLF, but failing to take drastic action will eventually erode his leadership and eventually his regime. Time is the essence to act decisively and immediately to end the impending cloud of anarchy. Act today, as tomorrow may be too late to save lives and the whole country from imploding.

Dula Abdu is a retired banker and economist. He can be reached at dula06@gmail.com

The post Ethiopia: Dr. Abiy Kill Kilil today, not tomorrow appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

By Mekuria Gize

“The tragedy of life is often not in our failure, but rather in our complacency; not in our doing too much, but rather in our doing too little; not in our living above our ability, but rather in our living below our capacities.” Benjamin E. Mays

PM Abiy’s early office days

When Abiy came to the helm of power in the 100% EPRDF controlled Ethiopian government, we witnessed many positive developments which were not imaginable in Ethiopia, even by the most optimistic people. Gossip spread across the country that PM Abiy is going to be a lame Prime Mister, and he was taken to be no better than Hailemariam Desalegn. Many reasons were cited: EPRDF’s political business is democratic centralism, the military and security apparatus and the economy are controlled by TPLF, and so on kind of excuses. Albeit this, few including myself had faith in him citing his personality is different from Hailemariam and many other opportunists within EPRDF. Hailemariam is a very shameful person who was more TPLF than the TPLF (even the much respected ESAT people have crocodile tears for him – often heard of them saying he is not in charge as if he has the desire to be in charge). Many Oromos and Amaras died under his direct command of the military. Worst than that he comes out regularly to the international media and proclaims that democracy is not luxury to Ethiopia but a matter of survival. This is a sickening statement. Anyhow, against all odds, PM Abiy brought fundamental changes in curbing the power of TPLF to nothing. My hats off!! He chased out the prominent old TPLF guards like Seyoum Mesfin, Abay Tehaye, Sebhat Nega, Samora Yenus, Getachew Assefa, Getachew Reda, Bereket Simon and etc with a stroke of a pen. This brought self imposition of the TPLFites to hide in the state of Tigray, in Makelle to be specific.  Makelle became the new Dedebit cave for many TPLF criminals.

Abiy’s complacency

As time passes however, PM Abiy seems to be immersed in self satisfaction, and as a result bypassed many serious law transgressions in the country. It started out first by the displacements of over 800,000 Gedions by Guji Oromos in South Ethiopia,  and followed by village warriors in Awassa who displaced thousands of Wolayita people; PM Abiy’s response was a carrot instead of a carrot and a stick. The lawless Somali leader, Abdi Ille who noticed nothing happening to criminals decided to expel and kill those non-Somali Ethiopians living in his capital Gigjiga. Many churches and businesses were burned or robbed as a result of this irresponsible action. PM Abiy took action only after two weeks and after the death of 90 innocent civilians. The excuse given by PM Abiy’s apologists was, “the Somali region, that committed the crime, did not invite the Federal Government to interfere; doing so will be breaking the constitution” according to the apologists. Come on!!! What constitution are we talking about? The constitution is broken by the regional state when life is lost and when huge property damage resulted in. Following the action of Abdi Ille, Benishangule warlords displaced over 100, 000 non-Benishangule Ethiopians. PM Abiy’s response was – people who lost power did that. No serious action was undertaken until very recently against Benishangule warlords. Also OLF die-hard supporters, motivated by Jawar Mohammed’s speech all over Oromia brought unimaginable damage both in life and property as near as to the nation’s capital. Jawar is now an invincible warlord of Oromia that he says he will change loss in election to victory by Fiticha or confrontation, to a party he likes (the law does not matter to him because he is the law).

Subsequent to this chaos, the OLF who observed PM Abiy’s inaction changed western Ethiopia to a war field. For the first time in the 50 years of OLF history, it managed to rob hundreds of millions of birr from 17 banks in just two hours, the first-large scale security failure in a functioning society. The manner the problem temporarily resolved was a mere reconciliation without bringing crime instigators to justice.

Another area of PM Abiy’s hesitation is lack of taking any major action against the TPLF and its economic interests, in response to the day to day disturbance TPLF is running. The TPLF has decided to harbour criminals and the response from PM Abiy is appeasement.  Today civil rights are violated by TPLF; Raya and Wolkayit people are being killed, and arrested as terrorists. The federal government must protect civil rights. TPLF is constantly engaged on propaganda work against the federal government. Yet, Tigray continues to get its 80% budget from PM Abiy’s government. Many delusional politicians either ethnic or pan Ethiopianists are heard asking for a road map from Abiy’s government. The road map is first to defeat TPLF, and you do not put a road map on how to defeat TPLF. Our worry is, are there any good days ahead we can think of PM Abiy will use his power to stop instability, particularly in Amara region? We do not see him recruiting decisive defenders the revolution he ignited. He has kept putting previous corrupt TPLF officials in high positions. This is despite his consistent and unwavering stand to push the reform ahead which many of us still have a high regard.

PM Abiy’s sometimes unorthodox leadership

Whereas PM Abiy has made tremendous progress as far as the reform goes, from choosing the president of the Justice system to the head of Election commissioner and many other notable undertakings, he is not without faults. He committed serious errors from electing personnel in his government cabinet to the newly constituted institutions such as the Boundary Commission and the Peace and Reconciliation Commissions. PM Abiy has kept symbols of TPLF atrocities such as Shiferaw Shigutie, Workineh Gebeyehu, Siraj Fegessa, Redan Hussien, Getachew Ambaye, Alemneh mekonen, General Abiyu Geleta, Asmelash Weldeselassie, Hailemariam Desalegn and other prominent human right abusers. PM Abiy has given a normal courts systems (with 14 days appointments), a privilege that should not have been given for criminals. A special court should be established in a way the Derg officials were tried. PM Abiy has enough votes in parliament to enact laws to help him fight TPLF atrocities. Today PM Abiy still uses TPLF’s corrupt judges and court system that give order for the release of criminals. This is a mockery of justice. All TPLF affiliate judges should be removed and replaced

The immediate task now is to push the reform ahead vigorously; not even democracy is a matter of such urgency in today’s Ethiopia. In this context he is expected to bring determined change agents around him, clean from TPLF in any form. As a trained military, PM Abiy is expected to seal the border between the so called western Tigray (confiscated Amara lands) in order to control the flow of armaments. TPLF is going to use this route to import military hardware to the interior of Tigray. It has a good long-time connection with corrupted Sudanese military personnel including the president of Sudan. The federal government has the legal right to do that without getting permission from anybody. Not acting against TPLF is allowing TPLF to capture the gates of Addis Ababa, and eventually Abiy’s own government.

Peace and Reconciliation, and Boundary Commissions

PM Abiy has selected members to the newly formed commissions. The inclusion of Hailemariam Desalegn in the Reconciliation Commission is worrying. Who would think our prime minister will choose greedy and opportunist Hailemariam, the very symbol of the TPLF suppression in such kind of commission? More than the nomination, I am amused by the muted response of opposition parties, victims and Ethiopian human right activists. Amara parties and Amaras who suffered the most under Hailemariam premiership should automatically reject Hailemariam’s nomination if he does not withdraw from the Commission.  The other area of concern is the nomination of the members of the Boundary Commission composition. For instance Tigray is more represented in this commission than its ethnic percentage. Whether we like it or not everything in today’s Ethiopia is evaluated along ethnic thinking. An Amara grieves about the loss of his/her land, a Tigre insist they own the land. I would expect an Amara party would detail such overrepresentation and reject as it sees fit.

ODP’s undemocratic attitude

The ODP committed two unexpected controversial measures just within the last 3 days: controversial press release and the displacement of poor people in Legetafo and other parts of Addis Ababa.  Whereas the ODP have the right to choose its election platform, including firm position in the current federal system, its recent press release meant to imply it is not going to accept the people’s decision even if  it is defeated by the ballot box. If the ODP is not governed by the will of the people what is the purpose of going into an election in 2020? No Ethiopian asked you to abandon your Oromoness. Personally I take ODP’s press release as an overreaction to pressure from fundamentalists and therefore won’t take it as serious issue.

The mass demolition of houses constructed by poor people in Legetafo and other parts of Addis Ababa is however inhuman. The reason behind mass eviction is illegal land grabing as explained by ODP officials. But the people said they bought from farmers and lived there for more than 10 years. Farmers have the right to sell rights of land use, and the people who bought those rights are legal well within their rights. Farmers prefer to sell their land to individuals because government often take away their land at cheap prices. This government gave chances for refuges in Gambella, tried to help people living in streets but why is it so adamant for  hasty measures on poor people? When I saw an old blind man crying, I can imagine how Jawar et al. are rejoicing but a ruling party like ODP should take a more balanced decision. The party of a prime minister who cares about the elderly and children would do such  cruel things? These poor people should be thanked for trying to support themselves without have to be dependent on the government. One would also expect the need to have court orders to demolish houses. Even TPLF’s criminals got better treatment than that. The ODP should not panic for pressures coming from Oromo radical parties and individuals. It can win enough votes in Oromia, and can still be the governing party in coalition with other parties.  The ODP is fooling itself if it thinks it can fight its way out by colluding with radical parties and individual activists. You are pushing your people  into unnecessary fight. We know Jawar said he will win Addis Ababa with Fiticha and the ODP’s action in Legetafo is that grand plot.

Pan Ethiopianists’ fault-finding attitude

Instead of stressing on  issues of displaced people in the outskirts of Addis Ababa by irresponsible ODP cadres, Pan Ethiopianists are all over the social media overreacting and protesting ODP’s press release regarding its position on the current federal arrangement. What pan Ethiopianists do not understand is ODP is a regional party that depends on Oromo vote for its legitimacy in Oromia. The party has fundamental right to choose it own election platform, not us. Even not doing this could lead to the removal of  ODP from power,  and endanger the political liberalization we are currently enjoying. Understand that ODP is in  stiff competition with other Oromo parties such as the OLF and OFC. To begin with, expecting ODP to dismantle the current federal arrangement and organise it in geographically based federation is unrealistic. Pan Ethiopian activists, and constitutional scholars who fanfare this fight on  social media  against ODP’s choice should put up your own party or choose a party they want to campaign with in Oromia. Win an election and install a government of your liking. There is no other short route. Pan Ethiopianists have a fair chance to get votes in Oromiya from regular citizens even though the educated youth is highly radicalized by the OLF and Jawar et al. What we should do is to focus on the election process: the election should be free and fair, parties should be able to freely campaign. In the event the environment for political campaign  is not suitable, opposition parties should get the instrument to overcome it, such as police protection, disqualifying the election through Election Board, and through other measures. Pan Ethiopianists should coordinate their energies against any form of suppression in violation of democratic principles, and should pay less attention to other party internal affairs. The way forward to defeat EPRDF is coalition politics; there is no time we waste on unnecessary topics.

Threat from fundamentalist Oromos and Tigray’s ethnocentrism

The Oromo fundamentalists ring leader Jawar is restless until he takes the people’s vote if the party he supports is not elected. He has publicly made statements after statements in his media, OMN saying that he will send qeerro to do his dirty job to realize his goals. Contrary to the practice and culture of the civilized world, and any descent country, Jawar is determined to create an Oromia where other Ethiopians will be reduced to second class citizens. This Oromo activist, and an American by citizenship, has been treated in America like any American without discrimination. Yet he wants Ethiopians in their own country to own only leftovers after the Oromo fundamentalists have everything. Having come 600 km from near the foot of Bale highlands, he wants to chase Amaras that came to Addis just from within 50 km radius merely because they do not speak Afan Oromo or he thinks the land does not belong to them. Fundamentalist Oromos, be it activists like Jawar, Tsegaye Ararsa, Dereje Hawas, Etana Habte, Henok Gabissa,  and prof Eskial Gabissa and some from the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) are not interested to play by  the rules of the game – accept the will of the people through election.  They tell us Addis Ababa is their sole ownership without getting the votes from the people.

One of the avenues used by Oromo fundamentalists to suffocate Amara is to bring the issue of  Minilik, who happen to be the ruler of Ethiopia some 150 years ago. The Oromo fundamentalists are still obsessed with the story of Minilik cutting breasts in Arsi. It is true King Minilik expanded to the south to prevent European colonialists from advancing to his kingdom. He was determined to get back old Ethiopia territories once ruled by his ancestors. He sent his army in every direction to ask small kingdoms to get unified under his authority.  Kingdoms who agreed were spared (e.g. King Aba Jiffar of Jimma). Those who resisted were made to surrender through militarily action. This was the practice of the days King Minilik lived in.  Arsi was one region that resisted and there was heavy return from Minilik’s army mostly composed of Shewa Oromos. Minilik himself was not a part of the battle. The battle was made between male soldiers and not with women. In this regard, the story of breast cutting was an invented story. Moreover it was not a practice to cut human organs in Minilik’s Christian kingdom. Minilik had a battle with the Gojam Kingdom. Gojam Amaras are not hateful of Minilik for one thing local rulers were more harsh than Minilik; second they understand it was made to unify the country. It was Minilik who prevented Aba Jiffar (who used to sell his own people) not to do slave trade. Prior to Minilik, King Tewodros came to Shewa and cut hands but no Shewa Amaras are hateful of Tewodros or Gonderes  by extension. King Yohannes killed thousands of Amaras in Gojam and Wello and no Amaras are hateful of Yohannes or Tigray people for this reason.  Minilik on the other hand after defeating every local king, put them back to their throne only asking their loyalty (e.g.,  Negus Tona and Negus Tekle Haymanot can be cited). He was a 21st century politician in 19^th century so to speak.

The Amaras are being blamed by Tigray and Oromo activists for all faults under the skies. The irony of the matter is they blame Amara kings in today’s mentality. They think their issue should have been answered in a round table during the time such things are unknown. When Abba Jiffar was selling slaves, Minilik is blamed for not introducing democracy to Ethiopia. When France, Italy and England were encroaching Ethiopia, they blame Minilik for not establishing today’s type of kilils. For instance the Oromia people would have been divided into three parts, Sudan, Somalia and Kenya were it not due to the resistance of King Minilik. This constant barrage of Ethiopian past kings is not merely to chastise the dead bodies but to undermine the proud people of Amara. The extension of this day to day blaming is to deprive Amaras of their rights as members of the federal system.

How did we remove TPLF? The chief mechanism for the removal of TPLF as state actor is through the determination of President Lemma to correct past political mistakes, mistakes that portray Amaras as enemies. Lemma Megerssa learned this quickly after observing the displacement of his one million people from Somali region. His travel to Bahir Dar, and announcement of fraternity with Gedu cemented the first sign of the death of TPLF dictatorship. Are we to continue this legacy or fall into unnecessary friction? Unrestricted Oromo fundamentalist’s propaganda for sure is heading toward that direction. They defy every democratic principle and are prisoners of past perceived grievance. Amara people paid their fair share for the right of the oppressed since the King’s days. Over 80% of the red terror victims (assumed 500, 000) during the Derg time were Amaras. What are Oromo fundamentalists demanding from Amara? It was Me-eson, dominated by Oromos elites,  in support of the Derg. Amaras interests are democracy and rule of law, nothing more nothing less.

One of the invented stories by Tigray elites is Minilik did not want to fight Italians and he only went to Adwa because he was forced by his wife, Tayitu. They lie as far as saying he never participated in the battle and was in the church praying. According to Tigray elites Alula’s  soldiers, and the master spy Awalom defeated Italy at Adwa. Contrary to their bravery bragging,  Tigray elites accuse King Minilik of him going to Mereb river and ordering his soldiers not to cross into Eritrea and chase the Italians because he had a sinister motive of weakening Tigray people albeit the lack of logistics to furthering the war and the imminent famine of that year.  If the Tigray soldiers were the one that defeated Italy, who prevented them from following Italy and decisively conquering them out of Eritrea? Today’s Tigray elites are such self contradictory and blatant liars (not withstanding ordinary Tigres have no axe to grind with Minilik, according to the late Sebhat Gebre-Egziabher, a famous writer of Tigrian origin).

Failures of Amara regional government and the suffering of Amaras

In All this political drama, the Amaras were the most who suffered from PM Abiy’s failure to keep law and order in many regional states. Now the security breakdown has come to the Amara kilil itself. In all this suffering of the Amara people, Gedu’s leadership has been one of in action and opted for a cowardly approach. To the eminent problem, Gedu chose to come out with day to day political statements that read out – certain people in other regions whose advantage has been curbed by the reform have hands in the security problem of the Amara region. Over 80,000 Amaras are now internally displaced despite the fact that no single person has been displaced internally in Tigray, the state that became the scapegoat for Amara displacement. The region that lost land would be expected to run proxy war in Tigray region but ironically this happened to the victim Amara region, all as a result of Gedu’s cowardly leadership in the face of vivid Tigray’s readiness for a war against Amara.

As we speak now, more than two rounds of soldier recruits (nearly 60,000) are ready for the war against Amara along the Raya front alone. A region like Amara that has immense manpower and motivated youth to defend the public’s security has been useless due to lack of organisers. As a result even sacred worship institutions are being burned down and people are now running for shelter elsewhere, a very shameful situation. The talk of the town now in Mekelle by the Tegaru elites is “Gedu’s untrained and inexperienced army, which is defeated by Kimant and Benishangule, is no match to the battle hardened TPLF army, and if Gedu mistakenly starts the first bullet, we will catch his hands from his comfortable palace in Bahir Dar.”  Mind you, Amaras and Kimant are genetically the same except minor cultural changes through time.

Abin (NAMA) a very young inexperienced political organization neither is seen trying to alert and mobilize the young to defend itself and the public. It can create the link within the military wing of the Amara state and look for alternatives to stop the unending suffering of the Amara people if it is serious enough. The Amara people’s option now is to organise in the form of ye gobez aleka. Once they organise themselves in this manner they can request training from military personnel in order to be a more potent force. Amara intellectuals must avoid unnecessary squabble whether on social media or otherwise with other ethnic groups and avoid to be the guardian of Ethiopian unity. It undermines Amara’s cause, detracts us from the main goal, – creating a self sufficient proud people. Our people are the most impoverished by any standard. Look at their faces in TV screens and watch them walking bare footed, all indicators of poverty. Let us understand that there is no one we beg to stay in Ethiopia. Amara has a unique geographic position to continue as a self-sustaining and a functioning state if we are resolute enough, and know what we are doing from A to Z.

Right now Gedu’s leadership is failing Amaras. One of the reasons for this is his regional state has no adequate representation in the central government to take action against the TPLF. Amara regional state has no significant leaders in the military. Much of the leadership is either still occupied by the TPLF or some Oromo generals. PM Abiy’s government may be accountable for this, but primarily Gedu’s party takes the blame since it is less enthusiastic for power sharing. For decades, Amara regional state has been a victim of inequality both in the political and economic fronts. There are many Amara villages within 50-70  km distance from Addis Ababa that can easily be developed, and Gedu’s party has got no idea how to get the share of Addis Ababa’s wealth by virtue of being close to it. If such villages and towns are developed, Oromo fundamentalist like Jawar Mohammed, Tsegaye Ararsa and Prof. Eskial Gabissa  would not dare to come out on OMN and irresponsibly brag that they can easily  strangle Addis Ababa to death.

Option for Amaras

The first and foremost concern of the Amara people is to regain the lost territories like Metekel of Gojam  Wolkayit-Tegede-Setit Humera of Gonder, and Raya of Wello. The criterion to reclaim these lost territories is historical ownership. Language has nothing to do in this equation. As Oromos of Kenya are not part of Ethiopia’s Oromia, As Tigrigna speakers of Eritrea are not part of Ethiopia’s Tigray; and as Gumuz, Agnuak, Neur of Sudan are not part of Gambella or Benishangule, so are other ethnic groups within Amara. They have been part of Amara administration since thousands of years. Ethiopian kilils are not merely administrative regions as PM Abiy often cites. They have the right to secede from the federal government as they wish. In this context they can take somebody’s land under the disguise of ethnicity and go away. It seems they also have the right to expel or kill  (almost there is no accountability) other Ethiopians they do not like, without any consequences from the central government. These are manifestations of rights of sovereignty empowered by the crazy Ethiopian constitution.

Abin (NAMA) leaders must be polished, carefully choose their words,  when they come out to national media and must use their best and articulate speakers such as Gashaw Goshu and the head of Abin’s political strategy and research unit. They must pay less attention to propaganda on social and completely desist from fanatic Amaras engaged in racial slur on social media.  They should keep on exposing the TPLF atrocities on Amara in the economic and socio-political fronts. The self confidence seen in the president, vice president and public relation head of Abin is admirable. They are the kind of leaders who walk the talk. There are still rooms for improvement. They must focus as the brain of the party giving priority to organizational tasks, party plans and programs. They must do the diplomacy work with the rest of the Ethiopian people. It has to start its work by meeting with well respected people from Oromia, Afar and the South, starting with the Gurages. Addis Ababa is a rallying point for any well intentioned Ethiopian, and Abin should use this common interest to advance relationships by working with people of the South, Afar, and with  well respected Oromo community leaders in order to annihilate the threat coming from Oromo fundamentalists such as Jawar Mohammed, Tsegaye Ararsa and Prof Eskial Gabissa. Finally Abin (NAMA) has to transform itself to a new more inclusive party like Semien Ethiopia Democratic Party (SEP or SEDP)

Conclusions

PM Abiy is a descent and well respected leader in Ethiopia that still enjoys enormous support from all Ethiopians in general, and from Amaras in particular. But his complacency and sometimes unorthodox leadership is endangering the change he helped to advance. Amaras suffering has continued day by day. This is largely due to Abiy’s government refusal to resist TPLF in any form. This is not ordinary time to sleep for Amara people. When a party like the TPLF should have been banned in Ethiopia, it continued to enjoy appeasement from Abiy’s government.  There is no punishment despite it harbours criminals needed by the country’s justice system.

The Amara people have lost confidence in Gedu’s party. It has no appetite or the courage to face the TPLF. The solution for Gedu’s party is to call for an early election or voluntarily pass power to a transitional local government, and negotiate their exit.  Alternatively, the younger and more energetic members of ADP could merge with Abin, whereas Gedu et al. remain behind the scene as advisors. This is a double win for both the Amara people and Gedu’s party.

Since the current form of  ethnic politics (not a preferred venue for political organization) is here to stay for some time in Ethiopia,  Abin must be more proactive and take the lead in mobilizing the youth to defend Amara region interests as well as stop TPLF attacks. Teach our people, and engage in talks with other Ethiopians outside of Amara for a coalition, and transform the party  in to Semien Ethiopia Party (SEP). Amaras must understand that they do not need Oromia or the rest of Ethiopia for their survival, and hence should not overreact. It is a mutual benefit for all Ethiopians to live together.

Oromo fundamentalist must believe in democracy and should not try to be obstacles on Amara-Oromo alliance. I tell them to win everything they want by the ballot box.  We know when Amaras and Oromos make alliance they can move the mountains, and make the enemy trembling from afar. This has been witnessed in Adwa, Ogaden and all over Ethiopia in 1896, 1977, and 2018 respectively. Somalia’s Siad Barre claimed the whole of present-day eastern Oromia up to Nazret and he nearly realized that dream until the joint Oromo-Amara militia’s response decisively annihilated his forces. The basis of the alliance is democracy, accepting the will of the people. The Amaras do abide by the peoples’ decision through voting.  We expect the same from our Oromo brothers and sisters. If Oromo and Amara elites are keen to maintaining the interest of their people, it makes sense to work closely as brothers and sisters. Fundamentalist Oromos attitude, not heeding to the obvious cooperation that gave us victory, is not in any way useful to the Oromo people. The Oromos share border with many ethnic groups and are going to face unrelenting war in every direction. That means Ethiopia will not attract foreign capital if there is no harmony between people. So the middle ground (cooperation) is in the footsteps of Lemma Megerssa et al. The choice ahead is either to reject or to  listen to Oromo fundamentalists who continue to scare Amaras. Amaras hope the scaring tactics will be rejected and the two people will live side by side with respect and peacefully. I challenge both Oromo and Amara governing parties and elites alike, if they care about their people to recognise the right to property including land by changing the constitution. That is the best instrument to keep the interest of farmers and other property owners. Both ANDM and OPDO were the principal tools for TPLF who displaced poor Addis Ababa residents and Oromo farmers; fundamentalist should know this better. Finally I recommend Oromia (not Oromo) Democratic Party and Semien Ethiopia Democratic Party  (ODP & SEP or SEDP) for any two leading parties in Oromia and Amara regions respectively, instead of using ethnic names which isolate other ethnic groups living in the two regions. These two parties can form a coalition,  and eventually convert  the coalition to a pan-Ethiopian party.

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By Teshome M. Borago | Satenaw columnist

As the 123rd anniversary of Ethiopia’s historic victory at ADWA approaches, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s ruling party in Oromia (ODP) recently made a brazen statement that ethnic-federalism is “non-negotiable.” This undemocratic announcement by the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) has been condemned by many Ethiopians, including by members of the largest opposition party Ginbot 7.

ODP’s dictatorial statement seems to be a copy & paste of czarlike slogans often used by Oromo nationalists like Jawar Mohammed (OMN) and Mohammed Ademo (OBN). In fact, Mohammed Ademo posted an article this week criticizing my old article on TRT World media discussing the dangers of ethnic federalism in Ethiopia (a system of segregation fueling ethnic land conflicts nationwide.) According to the conclusions of Mr. Ademo’s 2017 article, the only reason for endless ethnic clashes in Ethiopia is TPLF; so everything will be rosy and peaceful when TPLF loses power. Unfortunately, that has not been the reality. Thanks to the leadership of PM Abiy Ahmed, many things did improve after TPLF was gone, but ethnic conflict is not one of them. With hundreds dead and a record 2 million Ethiopians displaced since mid 2018 (and counting); every region has already witnessed some form of tragic tribal bloodshed due to ethnic competition. Even  in major cities, Dire Dawa‘s 40/40/20 segregation policy was a source of recurring violence; while Addis Ababa is claimed by both ODP hardliners (and their Rush Limbaugh-like puppeteer Jawar Mohammed) and by Amhara nationalists of Abiy’s own partner organization ADP.

This Ethnic federalism policy is not only a threat to peace, but it is also an antithesis to democracy and individual liberty. It has institutionalized ethnic apartheid and a permanent underclass. Plus, for millions of mixed-Ethiopians born from multiethnic families, the policy does not even make sense on a personal level. To make matters worse, ethnic federalism can not even be peacefully implemented because many territories are still contested between tribal elites. For example: Moyale, Metekel, Kamashi, Sitti, Baro, Dire, Welkait, Dera, Qimant and Raya, just to name few; but even Adama, Hawassa and countless woredas inside SNNPR as well as the long border between Somali & Oromia states will remain the site of bloodbath for years to come.

A recent New York Times (NYT) article criticized “the fiction of ethnic homelands” in Ethiopia, and recommended territorial-federalism with citizenship based democratic institutions (civic nationalism). Western diplomats and Ethiopian scholars have long warned of the risks of institutionalizing ethnic division.

The alternative, civic nationalism is not a new or foreign concept for Ethiopia. It was already manifested in our historic victory at the 1896 Battle of Adwa when tens of thousands of Muslims from Harar and Oromos from Shewa proudly said Tigray is MY LAND and travelled north to die for their country. Those countless Ethiopian heroes who made Ethiopia the pride of black people worldwide…like the Wollo Oromos who died fighting Italy in Adwa…and their Amharic speaking compatriots, would be embarrassed today by the new generation who are now fighting each other over scraps of shared land.

So It is an oxymoron for Ethiopia to celebrate the meaning of ADWA today, while normalizing ethnic segregation nationwide. It is also ironic that we finally honored former Emperor Haile Selassie with a Statue, but we remain under tribal apartheid, a system that he helped defeat by training & arming Nelson Mandela.

Some defenders of ethnic federalism use scare tactics and propaganda. When modern Ethiopians support civic nationalism and oppose ethnic federalism; tribal elites usually accuse them of nostalgia for feudalism or unitary state. To the contrary, the modern alternative to ethnic federalism is not a unitary one, but MORE federalism. The current tyranny of ethnic blocs must be decentralized and replaced by small geographic regions tailored to local realities on the ground. Some supporters of ethnic federalism also say the system is good on paper, but they claim it failed only because we do not have real democracy. But, when did we ever had a real democracy? This is the same excuse given by Derg (Mengistu) apologists of the Marxist-Leninist regime. Just like Marxism, ethnic-federalism must be abolished; not expanded.

Ethnic nationalists seem always confident that the new generation is too indoctrinated by tribalism to support liberal democracy, even during the 2005 national election. However, the CUD opposition party easily won the election on a platform rejecting ethnic nationalism while advocating unity and individual liberty; until the ruling party rigged the results using “State of Emergency.” So When the ODP today says ethnic-federalism is “non-negotiable,” is it threatening to repeat what happened in 2005 again in 2020?

The irony of this story is that Prime Minister Abiy himself acknowledges that Ethiopia is a great mixed nation that does not deserve a primitive system of ethnic federalism. For example, Abiy is often quick to discourage Amhara nationalists who claim ownership of contested regions like Metekel, Raya and Welkait or even Addis Ababa, Adama and Dera zones in Oromia as “Amhara regions.” Last year, Abiy told Amhara activists that many Ethiopians in Amhara region today have Oromo ancestors because of the 1600s Oromo migration that eventually led to Afan Oromo speaking Gondar rulers in ancient Abyssinia. He is correct; Amhara is a Supra-ethnic group that any Ethiopian may and have become by adopting the language. And He is correct that Oromo were Abyssinians as well. Even Oromo nationalist scholars like Dr. Merera Gudina have written a lot about the unique “dual history” of the Oromo.

Abiy similarly reminded Tigrayan nationalists that the thousands of Oromos who fought in ADWA have resulted into blood mixture with Tigreans (despite linguistic assimilation.) Certainly, what Abiy is preaching about Ethiopia’s intertwined history is old news. Not only Tigray and Amhara, but we know that even a significant part of today’s Oromo population itself descends from non-Oromo ancestors of extinct kingdoms, like the Ennarea, who gradually and linguistically assimilated into the powerful Oromo pioneers of southern Ethiopia over the centuries. So migrations and conquests have molded Ethiopians into one people and one nation in more ways than they can imagine.

Abiy’s rhetoric promoting Ethiopian nationalism and his recent plan to create an “Identity Commission” shows that he knows that the current ethnic federalism has major problems. Abiy’s administration also dropped tribal IDs in Addis Ababa and added the “mixed ethnicity” category for the upcoming Ethiopian CENSUS. If officials, activists and local media educate the public of these important changes to the upcoming Census; there is a strong possibility that the “mixed-Ethiopian” category will become as big as the “Oromo” and “Amhara” classification. Recognizing the millions of mixed-Ethiopian population institutionally will help weaken tribalism and ethnic polarization nationwide.

Despite these potential reforms, Abiy is giving mixed signals about identity politics. Abiy’s silence or inaction during the endless tribal conflicts, and the recent totalitarian statements made by his ODP political organization are sending mixed messages nationwide. Just like civil rights leaders in America stood firm against racism; if Abiy wants to be a transformational reformer, he must be clear against tribalism. Abiy must remember that millions of Ethiopians in Addis Ababa rallied for him because he promoted “Ethiopiawinet” and unity; not because he supports one tribe ownership of Addis Ababa or any city. Abiy must know that even the Qeerroo Oromo movement would have collapsed in 2018 under TPLF’s divide & rule brutal strategy, if the Amhara & Gondar protests had not joined (followed by his bipartisan election to premiership.) Without interethnic unity, Ethiopia becomes a weak prey for her enemies. Ethiopia is a country of minorities, thus no single majority identity can ever earn a mandate to govern.

Ultimately, the Ethiopian people are not expecting Abiy to be the prime guardian of Ethiopian nationalism because, after-all, he is a hostage stuck inside an ethnic party. But as a reformer, he should not reject the will of the people. Historically, Nation-states have always been shaped by the mainstream school of thought of their urban centers. Abiy or any leader with a political ideology incompatible with the mainstream can not stand on the people’s way without turning into another dictator like Meles Zenawi. Therefore, in Ethiopia, everything is negotiable, reversible or at least constitutionally amendable, including the disastrous ethnic-federalism.

The day we tear down the walls of tribalism in Ethiopia will be remembered forever as the rebirth of the spirit of Adwa.  Abiy Ahmed and every Ethiopian citizen must ask ourselves: are we on the right or wrong side of history?

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Asfaw Regasa

It’s been reported in the news media that some 12 thousand residential homes at the outskirts of Addis Ababa (Legetafo) are being demolished and our fellow Ethiopians evicted from their decades of domicile by the local government under a shameful pretext of “developing a green area”. It is excruciatingly painful to watch on television children, elderlies, women and men thrown out in the streets under such lame excuses! One can only see bewilderment, helplessness and hopelessness on the faces of those fellow citizens who have been subjected to such draconian measure that has disrupted their lives! Children cannot go to school and men and women cannot run their daily routines and manage their families! Where are we headed as a nation?

First of all, it is conflicting to claim that the local government intends to “develop a green area” allegedly for its residents and concurrently evict the residents! It just doesn’t add up unless there is some hidden ulterior evil motive! This was common practice when the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) lords were in power. They dispossessed the lands of millions of Ethiopians in different parts of the country under similar pretexts to finally end up selling their lands to foreigners and/or handing them out to their criminal associates and amassing incalculable amount of money that they stashed in foreign banks. Is the current dispossession a replay of what we witnessed under the apartheid TPLF rule?

According to the media, it was initially reported that when those displaced citizens petitioned the office of the Oromia President Ato Lemma Megersa they were not given any remedy. Furthermore, it was reported that when they attempted to appeal to Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed, they were told that he does not involve in matters of the Oromia region. It goes without saying that the offices of both Ato Lemma Megersa and Dr. Abiy Ahmed must be accessible to these fellow citizens and take an immediate remedial action to stop this madness! For Ato Lemma, it is an issue of great priority because the eviction is taking place in part of the region that he supposedly presides over. Similarly, for Dr. Abiy this is an issue of urgent priority because the eviction is taking place in the country that he supposedly leads. It is hard for me to comprehend why Dr. Abiy does not involve in matters of Oromia – it is simply laughable! As the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, isn’t he responsible for citizens in all parts of the country?

Of late, we heard the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ato Nigussu Tilahun on Voice of America Amharic Service claiming that he and Ato Mesfin Arega, Oromia Region official, had visited the city where the eviction is taking place and spoken with the city administrators. According to him, the demolition affects those who built houses illegally, condoning the heartless actions of the city administration. In the same breath, he talked about the need for the city administration to protect the rights of those fellow citizens who have been thrown out in the streets. When asked what the Prime Minister’s position is in this matter he confirmed that he is on board with the city’s actions as long as the citizen’s rights is not violated.

It is oxymoronic to claim the protection of rights of the citizens while condoning (or even possibly being a part of the decision behind the scene) the eviction of those citizens. Mr. Prime Minister – these are our own fellow citizens, they are Ethiopians!!! Even if they built the houses illegally, this is not the way to treat them after living for decades and given ID cards by the city administration recognizing their status as residents!!! Their status should either be legalized for the mere reason that they have been given such recognition for decades, or moved to another place to reside as a community, without disrupting the fabrics of their social life, for example in an affordable condominium, with adequate advance notice (let’s say a year or two) at a time that does not disrupt children’s school (for example when schools close at the end of the school year). The Government should be able to fund such a plan from tax payers’ resources, or even through loans and have the residents pay reasonable amounts in mortgage over 20 to 30 years. There are all sorts of solutions if the Prime Minister means what he says about the protection of citizens’ rights!

What is more important??? The alleged green area or our thousands of citizens??? The piece of land (in the big scheme of things) or human beings that God created in his image??? It is truly painful to watch the children on television talking about their families’ dire economic situation and their inability to go to school because of their eviction. It is distressing to watch those women and young children confused by what has happened to them!!!

The Ethiopian people have embraced the Prime Minister due to, among other things (such as the release of political prisoners), his preaching of freedom, justice, equality for all Ethiopians and bringing back “Ethiopia” into the political discourse of our country after its decades of suppression by the brutal TPLF regime. However, he and his associates are expected to walk the talk!!!

The timing of the eviction of our citizens is also a matter of great concern! The TPLF mafia group has recently been beating the drums of war and reports indicate that they are actually been preparing for war. As if that is not enough to be worried about our country, destabilizing the nation through evictions such as in Legetafo could even worsen the political environment of our country. This is a time for the Prime Minister and associates to unite and not divide us!!!

Considering the predicament of our fellow citizens and in view of the above, as a concerned Ethiopian who loves my country dearly, I ask Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed and Oromia President Ato Lemma Megersa to stop the eviction of our citizens immediately and unconditionally!!!

May Almighty God protect our people and May He bless Ethiopia!!!

Asfaw Regasa

The writer can be reached at asfawregasa1@gmail.com

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Yimer Muhe – February 24, 2019

When one thinks of Ana Gomes, the inescapable question in everybody’s mind should be why a Portuguese national is so much immersed in Ethiopian affairs. Considering the intensity of her passion and the scale of her involvement, no doubt it would give us great pleasure to imagine an Ethiopian identity underneath her Portuguese one. Her background as a member of the Portuguese Chapter of Amnesty International way before the advent of the apocalyptic TPLF on the Ethiopian political scene might partially help us understand her crusade on the side of the Ethiopian people. Her gravitation towards Ethiopia and Ethiopians may also remind history buffs about the Portuguese interest in Ethiopia during the 16^th century. Her ancestor Christopher da Gama – the son of Vasco da Gama – and his musketeers fought alongside the queen mother Seblewengel and her son Atse Gelawdiwos against Imam Ahmad Ibn Ibrahim Al-Ghazi. Da Gama was later captured in one of the battles and executed by the Imam in August 1542. No matter how we try to explain and understand it, Ana Gomes’s unflinching stand for our cause is so powerful, it makes us think the unthinkable such as if she was an Ethiopian in another life only to be reincarnated as a Portuguese in our time. Simply put, Ana Gomes is God-send.

Ana Gomes has been a member of the European Parliament representing her country since 2004. However, for most of her life, she has been a diplomat with a zeal of an activist. In 2008, she was named “Activist of the Year” by the Parliament Magazine – a publication that deals with the European Union.

Ana Gomes’s legendary expose of TPLF is a glaring testimony that Ethiopia and Ethiopians have a special place in her heart.  Her dedication to our cause as a non-Ethiopian is simply unrivalled. Characterizing her as more Ethiopian than some of us is not a hyperbole at all. She made our issues her own and stood with us steadfast. She felt our pains and sufferings and trials and tribulations and did everything she could to help us deliver ourselves from the fangs of the TPLF tyranny. When our own brothers and sisters made our country a living hell for us, Ana Gomes stood on our side wiping our tears, and nursing our wounds. For the last several years, she lectured the European Parliament so much about TPLF’s crimes that one might justifiably wonder if she ever paid enough attention to issues affecting her own country. Even the most articulate among us wouldn’t have conveyed the depth of our agony the way she has done it from the benches of the European Parliament with her voice rising and falling, and quivering with passion and rage. She is indeed our Florence Nightingale (the Lady with the Lamp), and a midwife to the transformation that is transpiring in Ethiopia today.

Let’s not forget when Ana Gomes’s unwavering voice was reverberating, at the same time she was putting on notice the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank that were generously funding TPLF’ tyranny. She was warning the leaders of the West such as Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barrack Obama who were providing TPLF with a diplomatic cover and at times lionizing its leader Meles Zenawi ignoring its horrendous human rights violations only because it was considered as an alley in the so-called “War on Terror”. Of course, we will never forget former President Obama who, in August 2015, standing next to PM Hailemariam Dessalegn in Addis Ababa, went as far as declaring Ethiopia as a democratic country under TPLF and sternly warning anyone who dared to destabilize it – meaning anyone who did not like the murderous TPLF including us Ethiopians. Obama’s no less powerful advisors such as Susan Rice, Gail Smith, and Wendy Sherman were no less reckless and disdainful towards Ethiopians in general. Time and again, be it in the European Parliament, during Press Conferences, or any other gatherings, Ana Gomes, in diplomatic jargon, never stopped reminding IMF, the World Bank and leaders of the West that they were partners in crime with TPLF.

When Ana Gomes came to Ethiopia in 2005 at the head of the European Union’s Election Observation Mission (EOM), she got her first opportunity to witness in her own eyes and conclude that the election was nothing but a shenanigan that TPLF was trying to pull in order to give a semblance of democracy for donors’ consumption. She also observed and concluded that TPLF was nothing but a conniving and heartless ballot robber not fit to run a country by any measurement. That was a watershed moment for her.

Ana Gomes’s occasional heated exchanges of barbs with that pathological liar and current inmate Bereket Simon which at times culminated to a personal level are testimonial to her determination to help us dislodge TPLF from its very lucrative seat. She was probably caught unaware like the rest of us when the TPLF leadership suddenly converged in Mekale and dug in there in defeat. But, have no doubt that her fingerprint is all over TPLF’s exodus out of the rest of the country, and  undoubtedly her overall relentless efforts supplemented the sacrifices made by Ethiopians of all walks of life resulting in the birth of a very promising new era for Ethiopia. Thus, Ana Gomes belongs to an exclusive club of icons such as Sylvia and Richard Pankrust – the mother and son duo and others like them. She is to our struggle against TPLF what the Pankrusts were to our history who lived and breathed it while collecting, preserving, teaching and writing it.

When on February 16, 2019, Ana Gomes appeared on the stage at the Millennium Hall in Addis Ababa, where a fundraising event for ESAT was taking place, the crowd went wild. I doubt if there was a single soul in the crowd that didn’t cry to express their gratitude for this savior and champion of peace. In fact, her visit to Ethiopia on the heels of the return from exile of the leaders of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Patriotic Ginbot 7 Movement for Unity and Democracy, Oromo Democratic Front, Oromo Liberation Front, EPRP, the Ogaden National Liberation Front and prominent individuals such as Sheikh Seid Ahmed Mustofa, and Obang Metho, etc. was a crowning moment. It would not have happened at a better time.

Ana Gomes is already being memorialized by parents naming their newborns after her. She is also affectionately referred to as Hanna Gobeze – ethiopianizing her name. She is a household name far away from her home. We should not be surprised to see in Ethiopia in the near future a statue of her being erected or being considered; highways, schools, institutions, hospitals, bridges and business being named after her and deservedly so. She will definitely be inducted into our history books and remembered for generations to come.

Ana Gomes’s fight for Ethiopia and Ethiopians is not over yet. We should expect her to remain a leading voice in support of the reform underway in Ethiopia. She would not back down from doing everything under her power to make sure TPLF is decisively dealt with and its leaders brought to justice either at home or before a body like the International Criminal Court (ICC). She is not either going to sit idle and let TPLF spoil the rainbow of hope that we are experiencing today of which she is part and parcel. No matter what we do: erecting statues, naming bridges and hospitals in her honor, etc., we will never thank enough this living legend – Ana Maria Rosa Martins Gomes.

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By Mekuria Gize

Ethiopia is watching two aspects of citizens: one group are the regular citizens who struggle for subsistence. Their main interests are how to win their daily bread, and are not interested in any other political friction. They try to live by selling items in the streets, hiding from police. Peasants are toiling day and night to feed their family and us the elites. Girls are scrambling to go to the Middle East to support their families back home, indirectly supporting the government’s foreign currency needs

On the second front we have warring elites who do not understand the level of poverty our people are destined to live. We have the likes of Jawar Mohammed, Eskial Gabissa and Tsegaye Ararsa, the most fundamentalist Oromos advocating for an exclusive right – more equals than others  status for  Oromos within the state of Ethiopia, without any regard for other Ethiopians. TPLF and its henchmen are also busy  advocating about Tigray’s “natural right”  that Tigrayans are superior race who deserve to rule over the rest of Ethiopia, and exclusively siphon the country’s resources to Tigray. They do not want to engage themselves in free completion. Their daily slogan is, “we overthrew the Derg and so we rule over you” which defeats the very purpose of removing the Derg in the first place. Pan Ethiopianists emphasize that when we respect the rights of individuals, the groups will be taken care of. Amaras are playing the victim card and demand more development work to be done in their region. Ethiopia is stretched  among these political warriors.

On the other hand, activists, freelance writers, journalists and media outlets, political pundits, opposition party representatives and TPLF apologists and others  who harboured in one way or another in these contradictory political  thoughts are often heard blaming PM Abiy’s government for not chartering  the road map (finote-carta) ahead. They are saying PM Abiy should tell us where we are going. In my opinion there are several things in the open air  PM Abiy’s government is working on: 1) open up the political space, 2) prepare the ground  for a free and fair election 3) preparation for 2020 election 4) Reform the justice system. 5) Reform the security and military institutions 6) Maintain Peace and security. As far as the road map is concerned the first three are key points, and I add, defeating the TPLF as the fourth element, beside running the economic affairs of the nation.  A lot of highly regarded intellectuals are misguided when they demand a road map from PM Abiy. His Excellency’s  role is no more than facilitating the transition and defeating the TPLF. Opposition parties are now free to organise and participate in the election. The prime minister has elected a well respected personality as the head of Election Board, has put a new president for the Justice system and is trying to balance the composition of the security and military apparatus. In my opinion PM Abiy’s performance is super except some glitches in the area of peace and security. Critics should be specific on what they want. EPRDF is not their party, they have to ask  more explanation from a party they support. The road map is clear: we are going for an election next year if situation permits. The winner will then charter the road map ahead. On defeating the TPLF, PM Abiy is not expected to gives a road map explanation on how to do it; these are the rules of the game.

With that note, PM Abiy needs to use all available tools, including economic sanctions, to defeat TPLF if they do not concede to the rule of law. If I were the PM, I will start from a simple measure – I would order all bankers not to lend money to investments in Tigray because there is no guarantee bankers can recover their assets since TPLF is known to  harbouring  defaulters and criminals. TPLF and Tigray elites robbed us who we are, our country and our pride. I have never been so emotion in my entire life until I watched the video streaming of the reunion of Ethsat journalists with their family and loved ones. TPLF came 700 km down south and decided who should be in Addis Ababa and who shouldn’t. Cry the Beloved Country!!

Let us keep reminding PM Abiy where it due – keeping peace and security,  and to be  resilient until  TPLF’s  and Tigray elites’  ego subsides.

ADP’s Press Release

ADP’s press release was timely and forceful by any measure. All the contents Migbaru Kebede and Endawek Abite explained were to the point, and a warning to ODP hardliners. When ADP says Addis Ababa is for its residents, the seat of the Federal government and international organization, they meant it. ADP did not claim it Amara people own Addis Ababa. When ADP says anti-change elements are behind problems on the issue of Addis Ababa, it is referring to ODP hardliners that ADP is not on board with ODP on the issue of Addis Ababa, even if it means endangering the revolution ahead. Some in the social media tried to undermine ADP’s press release as something with the intent of demobilizing Amaras, which I say is simplistic, with the mere intent of opposition. So let us give credit where it is due. The African union and the international community will be in support of ADP’s position.  It is clear hardliners such as Addisu Arega within ODP are in collusion with Jawar, Tsegaye Ararsa, and prof. When Jawar  et al., say they are working to win the election they mean ethnic cleansing from Oromia.  ADP should carefully watch these hardliners and should not be bullied by ODP cadres. Opposition parties should note this and report the matter to Election Commission. Do not be fooled when the ODP says they are removing “illegals.”

The post Ethiopia: Road Map, Road Map and Road Map: What is in a Road map? appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Tegenaw Goshu

Dear Mr. Prime Minister, let me first say that despite the fact that you have terribly failed in certain aspects of the ongoing struggle for genuine freedom, justice and equal opportunity; you have done considerable positive and encouraging things in this process of making efforts for a common good.  Compared to we have gone through for a quarter of a century, where we are now is undoubtedly much better, and you deserve due credit for what you did.  Whether it is possible for you as the leader of a ruling circle that is seriously characterized by the mutually destructive political identity of ethnicity and language to bring about a fundamental democratic is very debatable. We have heard you declaring that the already rotten EPRDF and its Trojan horses (partners) will become one party that will be open for any Ethiopian. I wish the very mentality and practice of leaders and members of the would –be party could be willing and able to make themselves free from their delusional believe that puts their ethnic group first but Ethiopiawinet second. What matters most is what is in the very minds of ethno-centric politicians (content), not the outer appearance (form) of a body or organization. I strongly argue this will be a very tough challenge for not only EPRDF and its allies/partners in particular but also for the Ethiopian people in general.

Let me go back to the point what I specifically want to make concerning the grand development project in Addis Ababa.

I read the news that you are prepared to host fund raising dinner for a grand development project in Addis Ababa.  Both as  a matter of fact and principle, there won’t be any Ethiopian with his or her right mind who would not be happy with your idea and plan to make Addis Ababa environment friendly, clean,  beautiful and of course resourceful.

But it is quite right and legitimate for any genuinely concerned Ethiopian to question and challenge your highly distorted and delusional priorities at this extremely critical moment in the country. It is very unfortunate to see you these days using anything to make your political appearance look great whereas the very hard reality on the ground speaks volumes differently.    Let me as a genuinely concerned ordinary Ethiopian respectfully forward my comment with regard to this specific development project in Addis Ababa in the form of questions:

• Are you going to invite those thousands of innocent citizens whose houses have been bulldozed in the middle of the night and have become not only homeless but most disturbingly without food, medical help, and most miserably without hope?  Would you let them tell the very huge difference between your highly jargonized and disingenuous political rhetoric and the reality on the ground they are dealing with?

• Would you please invite children of those dislocated/displaced innocent citizens who are forced to be out of their schools and have become victims of untold sufferings together with their innocent parents? Would you allow them to tell their horrible stories they have to go through in their own country and villages or towns?

• Are you willing to invite those newly born babies who are forced to wander around (just moving around with no any hope) in the arms of their beloved mothers? Could you let these babies whose small and beautiful eyes and hearts are being painfully hurt tell the very miserable life they have to face as soon as they came to this world? Particularly their world of Ethiopia?

• Can you invite those beloved mothers who found their houses bulldozed when they came back from medical centers where they delivered their babies? Could you please let one of those mothers tell their devastating stories?

• Would you please invite those elders or aged mothers and fathers to your dinner and let them ask the very serious question they do have and let yourself respond accordingly? Are you morally courageous enough to see those aged or senior citizens of the country with your eyes you use to see your own beloved parents?

• Do you remember what you said during your acceptance speech about your mother, your wife and your family? Can you see those innocent mothers, wives, children and families with your eyes you use to see your own beloved family? Can you feel the gravely painful pain of those innocent parents and children?

• Are you courageous enough to explain why you keep silent when all those inhumane and painfully immoral actions are being taken by the political party you lead and by your own political cadres who are not willing and able to see the very consequences of their own brutal behaviors and actions? Did you hear your mayors and cadres mocking at the very sufferings of innocent citizens?
• Do you really mind to challenge your own inner soul as far as how the very dirty and deadly politics of ethnicity and parochialism you have been part and parcel of it for a quarter of a century is a very serious threat to the very survival of the country?
• Don’t you really know this kind of political mentality and behavior is the very deep-rooted political illness of your own ethno-centric party?
• Is it not a terrible crime against humanity for your party to allow its ruthless mayors and cadres to evict thousands of innocent families from their homes and dump them anywhere just like unwanted stuff? Should you be a mayor of those towns and villages of horror to speak out or decry? What is the very responsibility and accountability of a leader of a country who represents all citizens (the whole country) if he is not at least morally sensitive and sensible enough about the untold sufferings of innocent citizens?
• Don’t you really feel how the very gap between what you say and what you do is extremely wide and deep? Think about your colorful and highly jargonized words of political rhetoric and the very hard reality on the ground that are falling apart?

• Is not at least morally painful to host an event or dinner and collect money for making Addis Ababa a city of “heaven on earth” whereas millions of innocent citizens are struggling between life and death in every corner of the country including not far from your palace? Can you hear the very loud and extremely heart-breaking voices of those millions of innocent citizens?

• Can you hear the very hopeless voices of thousands of innocent children asking their parents all kinds of questions including the question about why they were brought to this world?

• Can you hear the very heart-breaking voices of millions of not – born yet (in the very womb of their mothers) reciting the very powerful words of Abe Gobegna “I DO NOT WANT TO BE BORN (Alwoledim)”?

So, is it your priority to make yourself busy with a magnificent project of making Addis a city of “heaven on this planet” whereas the country in general and the capital city in particular is in a very horrible general   (political, socio-economic, moral, psychological, spiritual, ethical, and cultural) crisis? Don’t you have a road map that is supposed to  guide your plan of action based on the very question of what and which come first ( priority of importance) ? Believe or not, it is this kind of arbitrary and terribly disorganized and distorted way of doing politics that could become the very threat of the ongoing struggle for the realization of genuine Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, not necessarily the outside or anti- democratic change forces.

I hope things will take the right direction and take us to a truly bright future!

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