22 Years On: The Caravan Still Rolls On

22 Years On: The Caravan Still Rolls On

By Destaw Andargie (Dr.) ∗
It will soon be twenty-two years since TPLF seized power in Ethiopia. Over these long and torturous years, TPLF faced no serious external challenge whatsoever. It has been in absolute command. Its rule has never come under threat. Even during its worst internal crisis back in 2001, the issue was all about which faction would emerge the winner. It was still all about TPLF- the sole star in the political theatre. Indeed, despite dubious and useless rumors about infighting within TPLF, all objective indications suggest that TPLF will continue to dictate the country for the foreseeable future. The demise of its longtime leader notwithstanding, TPLF is as assured of its hegemony as ever. After 22 years of absolute domination, many are only hoping (against hope) for TPLF to commit suicide. The extent to which people are moved by the deceptive rumors that TPLF is fracturing proves nothing but the prevailing level of defeatism. After all these years and everything that has happened; all the talk from the opposition camp (as with citizens) is still about what the TPLF does and does not, as if action was the natural monopoly of the TPLF. After twenty-two years, we still continue to talk about how divisive and tyrannical TPLF is. Obviously, such defeatist talks neither make news nor change anything. Yet, we continue down that path either because blaming TPLF for everything (including our own weaknesses) has transformed into a sort of addiction or just because it makes us feel somewhat good about ourselves for it relieves us from asking ourselves tougher questions. We seem to enjoy blaming TPLF for everything, and never to ask ourselves. And, of course, TPLF loves that, for talk is cheap and will never alter the status quo.

Food or freedom: Which comes first?

Food or freedom: Which comes first? By Abraha Desta, Mekelle April 5, 2013 Abraha Desta It is true that economic growth is a necessary condition for a country like Ethiopia..... Yet, food is not sufficient. Food is necessary for our survival but our survival is meaningless without freedom. Food and freedom cannot be dealt separately. Food must be accompanied by freedom to make humanity flourish. Human beings are like trees. Trees need water (and other nutrients) ... This is food. But they need sunlight (They must be free to see the sun), if they are to flower and get ripe. Though water is important for the growth of trees, it is sunlight that makes their growth meaningful. Same is true to human beings: Human beings need both food and freedom. We are also in a position to have them both by transforming our political system from the rule of man to the rule of law. People have the right to food (food is one component of freedom). Human beings must be free to get food. Plus, citizens have also the right to express what they want. Freedom of consciousness (freedom of speech, expression, to be listened ........ every other aspect beyond filling the belly or stomach). We are not here to eat only; we also want to express our lives freely so as to realize our true selves. Food and freedom are not mutually exclusive. We can achieve them all together. We may exert efforts to eradicate poverty (achieve food security). But there is no effort needed to let people free. Because freedom is just allowing people to be the way they like as long as their actions do not affect the right (freedom) of other fellow citizens. So, freedom only needs a good will of the ruling class accompanied by the maturity of individual citizens. In order to achieve and sustain food security, every citizen must take part (participate) in the development endeavors of the nation. Participation is all rounded. It includes.....freedom of speech (or expression).... Freedom of speech needs free thinking. When citizens are free to think, express and act the way they like, there is high possibility of inventing new ways of doing things. With freedom, there will be new innovations which help us develop our economic growth and other aspects. So, Freedom of Expression must be allowed for the sake of our national development. Economic growth (food) is one component of development. Development subsumes democracy (besides economic growth). The essence of democracy is freedom; freedom in all aspects. Without freedom, development is not complete. The Human Development Index is all about freedom (access to education, democratic participation etc). The well being of the people is measured by the freedom the people enjoy. As the people are the major actors in bringing development, they must be let free. People without freedom cannot be innovative..... Without freedom we are weak who cannot achieve remarkable changes. So, freedom and food reinforce with each other. We cannot expect people without freedom to bring development. As the saying goes, we eat to live (we do not live to eat). Our fathers (including those who had a good opportunity of having huge incomes) struggled for freedom. Because people do not live to eat; they eat to live (living with freedom). Living is not only eating.... but also realizing the fruits of life, which is possible only with freedom. I am not prioritizing food or freedom. We should not prioritize ... because both of them are equally important. Economic growth is not a guarantee for unity and stability. The people in Libya, Egypt and other Middle Eastern peoples do not have food problem. They have excess food (economic growth). But they lack freedom (democracy). This is why they violently opposed to their own rulers (that resulted in bloodshed). Freedom is also a component of the development of a nation. Therefore, the EPRDF led government must let the Ethiopian people free. OR, if the ruling party is not capable of achieving both (food and freedom), it must confess that it is time for the other parties to come to power to make them both happen to humankind. However, if the ruling party tends to continue denying freedom (of the people) by naming and/or defaming ‘freedom fighters’ as ‘terrorists’, it really poisons our future political systems and results in ‘social decay’. This may lead to instability. When the government terrorizes people in order not to express their political view freely, they tend to use force as a last resort. So, if the government continues to suppress human freedom in the name of 'terrorism', it is aggravating violence. Therefore, the EPRDF-led government should openly be informed to stop such activities that could lead to violence which brings more loss! As responsible citizens, we do not want to see violence; this is why we strongly oppose to the EPRDF led government, its actions of oppression and ethnic discrimination. The basic and immediate cause of violence is oppression. The ruling party should accept and observe the principle of ‘peaceful transfer of power’. We shall respect and/or observe the ballot -and NOT the bullet. As a final remark, even though it is self evident that the so called double digit economic growth in Ethiopia is cooked from (based on) false data, my concern goes that the importance of economic growth is not feasible in a country where there is no tendency for equitable distribution of wealth. What is the relevance of economic growth (if there is any) without freedom? We need both growth (food) and democracy (freedom). Yes, oppression is the mother of violence. Freedom is the Cause. --- Abraha Desta is a political science instructor at Mekelle University, Ethiopia. He's also doing his PhD with a South African university. The young scholar is a member of the opposition Arena/Medrek, and a vocal critic of the the ruling party and regime, even though he lives in the midst of the fear-ridden society. His writings on Ethiomedia.com as well as on FaceBook have earned him thousands of followers. Ethiomedia.com - An African-American news and views website. Copyright 2012 Ethiomedia.com. Email: editor@ethiomedia.com

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Scholar accuses Ethiopian authorities of "ethnic cleansing"

Scholar accuses Ethiopian authorities of "ethnic cleansing" By Ethiomedia April 3, 2013 WASHINGTON, DC (Ethiomedia) - Ethiopian authorities could be charged with the crimes of "ethnic cleansing" at anytime in their life, a leading law professor said on Tuesday. Yacob Hailemariam, a prominent opposition leader who previously was a senior UN Prosecutor at the Rwanda Genocide Trials, told the Ethiopian Satellite TV (ESAT) the recent forceful eviction of members of the Amhara from Benishangul-Gumuz area was an obvious case of ethnic cleansing which is a serious crime for which Rwandan officials were sentenced to life in prison. Last week about 59 Ethiopians targetted as 'Amhara' were killed when their truck overturned as they were being forcefully removed from the Benishangul-Gumuz region. The crime is not 'genocide' but it is a crime of'ethnic cleansing' for which the current authorities could be prosecuted according to both Ethiopian and international laws, the business law professor warned. If Ethiopians at home and abroad collect evidences for the UN Security Council, the officials could be brought before the court of an international law, Yacob warned. Scholars generally agree and define ethnic cleansing as the "the systematic and violent removal of undesired ethnic groups from a given territory." Yacob said ethnic cleansing is an international crime and the perpetrators of the crime could be prosecuted at an international criminal court. "The forceful deportation of people because they speak a certain language could destabilize a region, and if reported with tangible evidences, the UN Security Council could order the International Criminal Court to begin to examine the crimes," Yacob said. "At the Rwanda Tribunal, individuals who were charged with ethnic cleansing were sentenced to life in prison," Professor Yacob said of the event for which he was a Senior UN prosecutor. Benishangul officials as well as the late dictator Meles Zenawi at one time had said those being removed were for destroying forests and not for being Amhara. Commenting on this remark, Yacob said people accused of cutting down trees may face legal action but to condemn them to ethnic cleansing is to commit a very serious crime that the perpetrators could face justice irrespective of the passage of time - even 30 or 40 years later. Ethiopian authorities should be duly reminded that their actions of removing citizens from any part of their country is a criminal offense prosecutable as per Ethiopian and international humanitarian laws, Professor Yacob Hailemariam warned. Ethiopia is signatory to several conventions, including Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Africa Human and Peoples Rights Charter, which, among others, state in clear terms that any citizen of a certain country has the right to work and live in any part of his or her country. Therefore, Yacob warned, there cannot be any excuse like a resettlement program etc. to violate such laws and commit the serious crimes of 'ethnic cleansing.' Ethiomedia.com - An African-American news and views website. Copyright 2012 Ethiomedia.com. Email: editor@ethiomedia.com

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Ethiopia: Muslim Protesters Face Unfair Trial

Human Rights Watch

April 2, 2013

(Nairobi) – The prosecution of 29 Muslim protest leaders and others charged under Ethiopia’s deeply flawed anti-terrorism law raises serious fair trial concerns. The trial is scheduled to resume in Addis Ababa on April 2, 2013, after a 40-day postponement.


The case has already had major due process problems. Some defendants have alleged ill-treatment in pre-trial detention. The government has provided defendants limited access to legal counsel and has taken actions that undermined their presumption of innocence. Since January 22 the High Court has closed the hearings to the public, including the media, diplomats, and family members of defendants.
“There seems to be no limit to the Ethiopian government’s use of its anti-terrorism law and unfair trials to stop peaceful dissent,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director. “The government’s treatment of these Muslim leaders bears the hallmarks of a politically motivated prosecution.”

በአማራ ህዝብ ላይ እየተፈጸመ ያለው ግፍ በኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ላይ እየተፈጸመ ያለው ግፍ አካል ነዉ!

መግለጫ

በአማራ ህዝብ ላይ እየተፈጸመ ያለው ግፍ በኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ላይ እየተፈጸመ  ያለው ግፍ አካል ነዉ!

የወያኔ መሪዎች እነ መለስ ዜናዊና ስብሐት ነጋ በ1967 ዓም ለትግል ደደቢት በረሀ እንዲገቡ ያነሳሳቸዉና ያሰባሰባቸዉ በአማራዉ ህዝብ ላይ ያላቸው  ጥላቻና የበቀል ስሜት  እንጂ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ በደልና እሮሮ አንገፍግፏቸዉ እንዳልሆነ በተለያዩ ግዜዎች ለህዝብ ይፋ የሆኑት የወያኔ  መግለጫዎችና ለረጂም ግዜ ወያኔን የመሩት መለስ ዜናዊና ስብሐት ነጋ በየአደባባዩ ላይ ያደረጓቸዉ ንግግሮች በግልጽ ያሳያሉ። እነዚህ ከወጣትነት ግዜያቸዉ ጀምሮ በአማራ ህዝብ ላይ ጥርሳቸዉን የነከሱ የወያኔ  መስራቾች በለስ ቀንቷቸዉ አዲስ አበባን ከተቆጣጠሩ በኋላም ቢሆን ለአማራ ህዝብ፤ ባህልና ታሪክ ያለቻዉ ጥላቻ ከተራ ጥላቻ አልፎ በተግባር አማራዉን ወደ ማጥቃት ዘመቻ አደገ እንጂ ለአንድም ቀን ቀንሶ አያውቅም።

Ethiopia: The Death of Democracy and a New Level of Tyranny

Ethiopia: The Death of Democracy and a New Level of Tyranny By Dawit W. Bedada(Norway) April 1, 2013 For those who had any lingering doubt about the death and burial of democracy in Ethiopia, a recent incident in Addis Ababa gave all the evidence they might have needed. A few weeks ago, there was a perfectly legal and peaceful demonstration by concerned citizens to protest against the construction—in Italy—of a mausoleum dedicated to the fascist war criminal Rodolfo Graziani. Graziani, also known as “the Butcher of Ethiopia” and “the Butcher of Fezzan (Libya)”, was Mussolini’s viceroy to Ethiopia during the five- year Italian occupation in the 1930s that massacred tens of thousands of Ethiopians with weapons that included poison gas. It would have been very reasonable for any mentally healthy human being to expect the Ethiopian government at least to show some meaningful opposition against any attempt, anywhere, to honor “the butcher”. That didn’t happen; well, far from it. The peaceful demonstration, organized by Semayawi Party and Baleraeye Youth Association, was planned to start at Martyrs’ Monument and end at the Embassy of Italy in Addis. However, moments after the demonstrators arrived at the Martyrs’ Monument, something totally unexpected happened: the security forces of the regime swiftly arrived on the scene and started confiscating the cell phones of the demonstrators, beating them up, and more outrageously, mopping them up. This was an unmistakable sign that Ethiopia has become a police state, a prison of over 90 million inmates, as it were. Outrageous as the crackdown on the anti-Graziani protest is, it is hardly surprising, since the regime has been, especially for the past seven years, consistently destroying democratic institutions, opposition parties, and the free press. Elections have become terrible jokes; thousands of innocent citizens are being kidnapped and tortured; independent journalists have been routinely imprisoned and exiled (Ethiopia is one of the worst jailors and exilers of journalists in the world); so-called anti-terror laws criminalize any word or action the regime doesn’t like; high-level, ethnic-based economic injustice and corruption have always been damaging the country. While any despotic action the regime might take is barely surprising, three conclusions can be drawn from what happened at the anti-Graziani demonstration. First, the political repression in Ethiopia is so ruthlessly effective and efficient that the authority in charge of it is, of all things, a ghost—the ghost of the late tyrant MelesZenawi, whose spirit and influence is still almost everywhere in the nation. There was some belief before the death of Meles that if he had died or somehow relinquished power, Ethiopia would be a better country. Alas, that belief is now proven to have been spectacularly wrong. Things are getting worse at a breathtaking speed. Second, like many Ethiopians have always been pointing out, the regime will do anything to stay in power. It could be argued that mopping up citizens who were protesting against a common historical enemy of a nation does not help a dictator to stay in power. But that argument would be wrong. The TPLF/EPRDF regime has shown time and again in recent years that it is willing and ready to do anything and everything to terrorize Ethiopians into unquestioning submission. Third, and most important, the regime has become paranoid. This is simply disturbing. If the incident in question is any indication, banning all public gatherings would be a very small step. Arresting legal, peaceful demonstrators protesting against something the regime should have done everything in its power to stop or reverse is a clear sign that it has begun to be afraid of its own shadow, so to speak. Should anyone be surprised, then, if Ethiopians get deprived of their rights to celebrate Easter, Eid al Fitr, and Mesqel, holidays they have been celebrating by the hundreds of thousands since time immemorial? Should anyone be surprised if Ethiopians are banned from watching sports competitions and from burying their dead? As if the death and burial of democracy and freedom were not enough, we are starting to worry about the possible death and burial of almost all of social life. And we should be forgiven for that.

Land and Ethiopia’s Corruptocracy

Land and Ethiopia’s Corruptocracy By Alemayehu G Mariam April 1, 2013 Prof. Al Mariam The silence of Ethiopia’s “beautiful minds” Professor A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the renowned Indian scientist  (“Missile Man of India”)  and Eleventh President of India (2002-2007) said, “If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.” Recently, the World Bank released its 448-page World Bank (WB) report, “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia” with evidence galore showing that Ethiopia under the absolute dictatorship of the Meles Zenawi regime has become a full-fledged corruptocracy (a regime controlled and operated by a small clique of corrupt-to-the-core vampiric kleptocrats who cling to power to enrich themselves at public expense). Perhaps the report’s findings should not come as surprise to anyone since “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Over the past several weeks, I have made a number of cursory remarks on the shocking findings of the WB report. I have also discreetly appealed to a segment of  Ethiopia’s  “beautiful minds”  (its teachers, professors, economists, political and social scientists, lawyers, and other members of the learned professions)  to critically examine the report and inform their compatriots on the devastating impact of  corruption on the future of their poor country and make some recommendations on how to deal with it.