Ethiopian Foreign Minister fled the scene on foot after scuffle with opposition in a South African hotel.

Breaking News: Ethiopian Foreign Minister fled the scene on foot

The Horn Times Breaking News 29 March 2013
by Getahune Bekele, South Africa .Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Warlord Tedros Adhanom’s 30 meters sprint to a waiting car after being separated from his

Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Tedros Adhanom

body guards during scuffle with refugees must have been the most embarrassing moment of his life.
He lost his wallet, a note book and his glasses while sprinting like a cheetah.
The warlord was in South Africa to meet TPLF cadres and supporters at Hyatt hotel in Rose bank near Johannesburg when angry refugees and members of the Ethiopian community association gate crashed the gathering which was being attended by less than 50 TPLF cadres out of an estimated 3,000 belived to be living in South Africa.
The rest stayed away fearing the opposition and the reaction of the South African government which unknowingly offered them political asylum.
As the ruling minority junta continues to suffer total rejection by Ethiopians at home and abroad and as guerrilla activities flaring up in northern part of the country, Tedros Adhanom was trying to allay fears that the junta is collapsing when the sound of “freedom, freedom! Let our voice be heard! Death to the TPLF!” began to reverberate inside and outside of the hall.
Realizing the huge presence of the opposition the warlord then panicked and sneaked out through the back door and dashed towards the car with his driver sprinting after him but unable to catch up.
Few refugees gave a mock chase amid laughter and excitement enjoyed by South African on lookers, hotel security guards and staff members of the hotel.
“Your foreign Minister is fit but a coward.” A female hotel employee joked with the Horn Times reporter.
“Look how this decayed junta is scared of its own people. We didn’t come here to make a citizen’s arrest, we are here to confront the warlord about issues of human rights, absconding with his tail between his legs is what we got as an answer.” A refugee who cannot be named for fear of attack on his family back home told the Horn Times.

Information controls in Ethiopia

In its updated report on Information controls in Ethiopia, the OpenNet Initiative states that Ethiopia remains a highly restrictive environment in which to express political dissent online. The government of Ethiopia has long filtered critical and oppositional political content, ONI reports. Anti-terrorism legislation is frequently used to target online speech, including in the recent conviction of a dozen individuals, many of whom were tried based on their online writings. OpenNet Initiative (ONI) testing conducted in Ethiopia in September 2012 found that online political and news content continues to be blocked, including the blogs and websites of a number of recently convicted individuals.
Most URLs found blocked belonged to ONI’s ‘political’ category, including independent media and critical political blogs. The blocked content includes online portals Cyber Ethiopia (http://cyberethiopia.com), diaspora media such as Toronto-based TZTA Ethiopia Newspaper (http://www.tzta.ca), and other critical political organizations, including the website of the Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political Prisoners (http://www.socepp.de/).
Read the updated ONI Report

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

Dawit W. Bedada (Norway)

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

The Total Domination of the Ethiopian Army by Ethnic Tigrean Officers

Ginbot 7 Report

Since day one of its active political life, Ginbot 7 has repeatedly informed the international community that the ethnocentric political and economic policies of the TPLF regime are the primary sources of violence and instability in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa at large Despite the different masks that this crafty regime wears to dupe donor nations and other stakeholders, Ginbot 7 has delved deep into the inner workings of the TPLF regime and exposed the toxic ethnic policies that consumed the life of many Ethiopians, and forced many others to seek refuge in neighboring countries.
Unlike any other time in the nation’s history, a minority ethnic group that comprises no more than 6% of the total population (80 Million) controls the political, economic, and social life of 94% of the Ethiopian people. In the last month, the military intelligence wing of Ginbot 7 has uncovered vital information that substantiates its past claims that all high level military positions in the Ethiopian army are asymmetrically dominated by a minority ethnic group lead by the TPLF elite.)
Article 88, Sub Article 2 of the Ethiopian constitution states: “The State shall have the duty to respect the identity of the nations, nationalities and peoples and on the basis of this promote equality, unity and fraternity among them”. However, despite what the Constitution says, in the last 18 years, the political, social, and economic affairs of Ethiopia has been disproportionately controlled by a handful of Tigrean elites. For example, 93.5% of all key military positions in the Ethiopian National Defense Forces are occupied by ethnic Tigreans, far in excess of their 6% representation among the Ethiopian population.
Historically, the ethnic composition of the Ethiopian army was evenly distributed between the different ethnic groups. Besides, a military tradition of the Ethiopian Armed Forces which spans back through the nation’s long history was the ultimate example of a system based on meritocracy. However, under the TPLF regime, since the Ethiopian army is organized to defend the ruling party from the people, incompetent officers who are loyal and ethnically related to the ruling party elites occupy almost all key positions in the army.
In 1991, when the TPLF regime controlled Addis Ababa, economic development, political inclusion, and ethnic equality were its three very important promises that convinced the Ethiopian people to change their heart and give the incoming new regime the benefit of the doubt, despite all signs that TPLF was a party of one ethnic group. In fact, it wasn’t just the Ethiopian people that temporarily trusted the TPLF party; the entire free world that stood with the Ethiopian people during the dark days of communism trusted the minority TPLF regime as a vector of peace, equality, and democracy in Ethiopia.
Today, after 18 long years, the Ethiopian people and many in the free world realize that the guerrilla movement that took power preaching liberal democracy and free market economy is neither democratic nor capitalist.
In the past three weeks, Ginbot 7 has issued a plethora of press releases and public statements exposing the entrenched corruption of the TPLF regime, which includes political exclusiveness, nepotism, and absolute control of power. As it was clearly indicated in many of the public statements, ethnic favoritism and nepotism are rampant in every aspect of public life in Ethiopia, leading to deep disaffection and ethnic polarization in a nation packed with a large number of ethnic groups.
Ginbot 7 fully understands that when channeling multi million dollar aid packages to Ethiopia, the intention of donor nations is to finance economic development in Ethiopia and to feed its growing population. However, a good deal of the aid package is used by the regime for political purposes that neither benefits the poor nor stimulates economic development. The grave concern of Ginbot 7 and other Ethiopian progressive forces is not that the world is helping Ethiopia, but that these donor nations and international organizations do not hold the secretive TPLF regime accountable for the amount of aid it receives every year.
For the most part, donor nations do not have proper monitoring mechanisms that assess how aid funds are spent and who benefits from the expenditure. Obviously, donor nations and tax payers in donor countries do not want to see their funds used by dictators who deny freedom and justice to the very people to whom the aid is intended. Likewise, no democratic citizen of the world wants its hard earned money to go to a Third World country and be used to prop up a dictatorial regime that muffles free press and kills democratic movements. The message of Ginbot 7 to donor nations has always been to hold the TPLF regime accountable for its political and economic actions, and judge this authoritarian regime by applying the same moral standard used in the Ukraine, the former Yugoslavia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.
The TPLF regime and its puppets have used the state propaganda machines internally and state funded news outlets internationally, to refute the human rights reports of well respected international organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Association of Journalists (IAJ) as well as the U.S. State Department.
The table below shows that the TPLF regime has a virtual monopoly over political power;

The Ethiopian Military Leadership Under Haile Selassie and Derg Regimes.

By Ginbot 7 Research Team
Introduction
A few months ago, Ginbot 7’s research team presented an extensive list of the top military commanders of the Woyane regime including their names, their position in the military and their ethnic background. That meticulously researched study showed how the current military of Meles Zenawi’s regime is totally dominated by one ethnic group where by some 95% of the top brass of the military emanate from the Tigrian ethnic group representing about 6% of the population. While this was a shocking revelation to Ethiopians and foreign observers alike, some apologists of the Woyane regime, presented this as a natural development similar to the dominance of the Shewa Amharas during the imperial regime and the broader ethnic Amharas that supposedly dominated the Derg regime. We felt at the time that this argument was problematic for two reasons. First, the nature of ethnic dominance that is observed during the Woyane period seemed to be more purposeful, calculated and certainly more excessive than any of the regimes in the past. Second, even if there was systematic ethnic dominance in the past, it surely does not justify the perpetuation of dominance by a new group, which would only increase ethnic animosity and destabilize the society further.

While the second point is self evident, our first point needed some investigation to present a solid proof for our contention. At the time, we promised to do a detailed study of the military command and personnel of the earlier two regimes for comparison with our study of the Woyane period. The first portion of that study is now complete. We will briefly summarize the main findings below, and present two tables for the reader to go through the detailed observation. A note on the data is also available to make it easier for the reader to follow the information on the tables.

This study has been conducted with the help of a large number of people mainly involving former military officers who know the institution well and the people involved. We have involved a significant number of people to verify the accuracy of our description of the people involved and their role in the military. We are very thankful for their assistance and we hope their cooperation will continue as we do the second phase of the study involving the lower ranking officers at the Birgadier General level. We also thank some family members of these officers who helped us in cross checking the ethnic identities.

Main findings:

Contrary to the long held claim of the Woyane propagandists, this careful study reveals that the top military brass of the Ethiopian state, although not directly proportional, was much more broadly representative of the country’s ethnic configuration than is commonly claimed. When seen along with our earlier study of the top military brass of the Woyane regime, both the Derg and the imperial periods showed a much more representative picture of the country’s ethnic mixture in the military leadership. As can be seen, persons of various ethnic groups successfully made it to the highest positions such as Chief of Staff and Commanders of Armies (Serawit/Hayiel), Command (Eze), Core (Kore), and Division (Kifle Tore).
With one notable exception, we took officers over and above the Major General level for this study because of the significant actual power they hold in the military rank at their time of service. There was a very close correlation between military rank and actual power at the time.
A cursory look at the data shows that broadly speaking the Amharas dominated the imperial army top brass holding 55.5% of the top positions, while the Shewa Amharas, who supposedly were in control of the state represent only 20% of the military leadership during the imperial period. The second largest representation was that of people with mixed heritage with 15.5%, followed by Oromos with 13.3%. Eritreans and Tigreans with 11.1% and Gurages at 4.4%. The Derg period brought a significant improvement from the imperial period not only by including hitherto unrepresented groups to the top brass (Wolayita and Harari) but also by spreading the representation relatively more evenly. Accordingly, the Amhara representation, although still high compared with the size of its population, was decreased to 45%, of which the Shewa Amhara representation decreased further to 17.5%. On the other hand, Oromo representation increased to 25% bringing it closer to its proportional size to the population. Indicative of the increasing inter marriage between ethnic communities, those with mixed heritage account for 17.5% of the top military brass during the Derge period followed by Gurage (5%), Tigray/Eritrea, Wolayita and Harari each with 2.5% representation. We encourage the reader to look at these figures along with the ethnic distribution among the whole population. We also wish to direct the reader to read this numbers with the earlier study of power distribution in the current Woyane military.
We have presented the detailed table below for the reader to check the veracity of this study and reach his/her own conclusion about the nature of ethnocentric distribution of power during the two regimes. We wish to note here that our aim in doing this and the earlier study on the composition of the Woyane military brass, is not to argue that ethnic identity and proportional representation along ethnic lines should be the basis for appointing career military officers. Far from it. We actually would like to see an Ethiopia where the capability of citizens shall be the most important criteria for appointing public officials in so far as the process is fair, equitable and transparent. We also note that before Woyane’s usurpation of power in Ethiopia, previous regimes never openly and officially used ethnicity as the criteria for government appointment. It is Woyane who brought the issue to the fore, claimed to bring ethnic equality in the country and shamelessly made ethnicity the quintessential criteria for defining one’s identity. Woyane insisted on being measured by the criteria of equitable ethnic distribution of power as a justification for its rule.
Our aim is therefore to show the hypocrisy of this ethnocentric mafia group that claims to bring ethnic calculus as the sole criteria for distribution of power in the country while allocating the lion’s share of power to the benefit of its own minority ethnic group. What is amazing about this group is its audacity. A group that represents 6% of the population claims 95% of the top military brass in the country, and blames previous regimes for playing it unfair. It is this same group that purportedly fought for 17 years against the Derg regime in the name of bringing ethnic equality. It is now clear what it really wishes to achieve. To use ethnicity to divide the nation and maintain its hold on power, while using this power to bleed the country dry for the benefit of the small group of bandits that are shamelessly stealing the resources of some 80 million poor souls. This simply cannot, and should not stand.
Finally, It is also our aim to show the slippery nature of ethnic based politics and the danger it poses to our collective survival as a free and stable multi ethnic society. Surely we should all be sensitive to issues of equity and social justice. We should always be ready to lift those that have been left behind because of the trajectories of our history. We should commit ourselves to justice and the equality of all citizens of our country. But, we should also know that it is only when we are united as citizens of a free country whose rights are respected and who are ruled by people of our own choosing that we have a chance to achieve these lofty objectives. We should have little room for those who appeal to our basest instincts for the purpose of dividing us and subjecting us to live under the yoke of intolerable tyranny.

1. Brief Notes on the study.

a. The vexing problem in undertaking this study has been to put a firm handle on who has what ethnic background. It seems as if the two eras—The Emperor’s and that of the Derg—were mostly, if not totally blind, as to who has what kind of ethnic background.
There are several instances where we were given the ethnic background of the generals to be from this or that ethnic group. But in several instances, it ends up being overturned by another person involved in the checking and counterchecking process.
Despite the involvement of several officers starting from the rank of general down to majors from all departments of the armed forces, the challenge of certainty when it comes to ethnic background has increased as the number increased when we go down the ladder in the military hierarchy.

One method we used in this study to minimize committing gross errors is to give the names to several officers from all forces to provide their tally. We have taken what the majority have agreed the case to be. There may well be a 5% margin of error in ethnic identification but not more in this study, where we take the rank of major general and above with the top military posts in the country. That may increase in the study that we will issue in the near future where we are sifting through the background of over 200 Birgadier Generals from both the Emperor and Derg era.
b. The study has solicited the help and input of several former officers – from generals to other officers –from Air force, Ground Force, and Navy. It has also solicited a learned review from knowledgeable civilians who had intimate knowledge of both periods (including close relatives) to verify the final version.

2. Keys to symbols:
a. **** shows those non-Derg members but loyal to Col Mengistu. Gebre Kirstos Bulli, the only Big General in the list is included because he was among a handful of officers the Derg promoted to a rank of General for the first time. He was also the most influenatial milliary officer directly reporting to the Chairman of the Derg, and having parallel positions with the Defense Minsistry’s Military Operations Main Department. He was presumed killed in the early 1980s after attempting to escape via Djibouti and having fallen out of grace with Col Mengistu as a result of a fist fight with then Chief of Staff Merid Negussie.
b. *** Means those who were members of the Derg but got to their position following the professional track and stayed in the military unlike their colleagues who were transferred from civilian life to military at a later period.

Second Annual International Conference of Ethiopian Women in the Diaspora Ended with Resounding Success

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ESFNA commits to future collaboration and support

Center for the Rights of Ethiopian Women (CREW), a non-profit, non-government, peace and human rights organization dedicated to promoting the rights of Ethiopian women worldwide through advocacy and education, was established as an outcome of a successful international conference on Ethiopian women that was held last year in March 2012. CREW held the Second Annual International Conference of Ethiopian Women in the Diaspora on March 23 and 24, 2013. The theme of the conference was “Ending Violence Against Ethiopian Women”
The Conference was opened with a welcoming address by Dr. Maigenet Shifferraw, President of CREW. Dr. Maigenet gave a brief statement about the one year work that CREW had done. Among the achievements that she spoke about was the work that was done on behalf of Shewaye Molla, the domestic worker that was the victim of abuse by the family of Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. Dr. Maigenet also highlighted the various advocacy and awareness work that was done by CREW members on behalf of Ethiopian sisters who are working in the Middle East.
Ethiopian Sport Federation in North America (ESFNA), sponsor of the Second Annual Conference of Ethiopian Women in the Diaspora, had sent its Vice-President, Mr. Teddy Tamiru, to address the participants of the Conference. Mr. Teddy Tamiru congratulated CREW on its work and announced that the 30^th year anniversary of ESFNA, which will be held in Washington DC from June 30-July 6, will have “Celebrating Ethiopian Women” as its theme. In addition, Mr. Teddy Tamiru stated the commitment of ESFNA in supporting and collaborating with CREW in all its work. He also announced that ESFNA will offer CREW its total support at the July event to promote its work. As a representative of a sport federation dominated by men, his speech connoted the unity of women and men in fighting injustices against Ethiopian women around the world. CREW underscores with great appreciation the generosity of ESFNA.
The first day, March 23, covered numerous topics that addressed the violence that Ethiopian women are facing in Ethiopia and outside of Ethiopia.
The session was opened with the Keynote address by Ms. Frances E Ashe-Goins, Deputy Director, Health Science Administrator, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women Health.
Dr. Kesslyn A Brade Stennis from Bowie State University was a featured speaker who highlighted important strategies to combat domestic violence and provided numerous resources that victims of domestic violence can use.
Ms. Peggy Araya and Ms Tanya Araya, the mother and daughter team, made a presentation on “The New Violence Against Women Act.” Ms. Aleme Feyissa, a social worker who works closely with the Ethiopian immigrant community in the Washington D.C. area, made a presentation on the prevalence of Domestic Violence among the Ethiopian immigrant community

Over 3000 people of the Amhara ethnic origin, who have been evicted from the Benishangul Region of Ethiopia, have now

ESAT News: Over 3000 evictees remain unsheltered

ESAT News

PHOTO: ECADF file

been resettled into a land found in front of FenoteSelam City Administration of Western Gojjam Zone. The land is open air and all of the evictees are living unsheltered. According to the residents of the City, the evictees are suffering from the scorching sun in the daytime and chill in the night. The majority of the homeless are mothers and children. The evictees are reportedly baking and eating the meager flour they brought along with them from Benishangul. No official has so far spoken to the evictees.
It is to be recalled that ESAT reported that fifty nine people had reportedly died after a lorry that was transporting 60 people of the Amhara ethnic origin and evicted from the BeniShangul Gumz Region crashed into Jedesa River in Tekesha District of Ethiopia on March 24, 2013. ESAT also reported yesterday that two children have died of asphyxiation while being transported.

Ethnic-based Politics in Ethiopia

by Teklu Abate

According to the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, there are 79 political parties registered under Proclamation No573/2008. Of these, only 29% have country-wide (national) identity whereas 71% are regional parties that are organized around ethnic lines.
Of those parties dubbed to have national outreach, some such as All Amhara People’s Organization (AAPO), Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Front (EPRDF), Geda System Advancement Party, Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, and All Oromo People Democratic Party do actually have, as their names indicate, ethnicity as their organizing logic. Several armed groups and parties are also following suit. Stated simply, Ethiopian politics is heavily smeared with ethnicism. On average, each nationality (ethnic group) has got its own political party.
That means, the political philosophy of the EPRDF (ethnic federalism) seems to have gotten popularity from the opposition. By necessity, affinity, and/or rhetoric, the majority of opposition political parties make ethnicism their core. Meaning, ethnic federalism is what unifies EPRDF and the opposition. Although the former has got the power/legitimation to enforce the ideology, the latter have been playing a no-less-than-important role in giving it real life.
Some people tend to mistakenly trace the commencement of ethnic politics in Ethiopia to the political participation of the late Professor and accomplished surgeon Asrat Woldeyes. Following the ratification of the FDRE Constitution and in response to the rampant persecution and mass killing of