Tuesday, June 11, 2013

አንለያይም! I am Proud of my people, the Ethiopians!


by Teshome Debalke
I always wonder how people with such political turmoil and economic hardship ruled under a hollow ethnic tyranny as Woyane behave in exceptionally high standard of civility, discipline and impeccable class and unity never seen in the human experience.
Ethiopians are extremely modest beyond believe How is it when people around the world continue to find petty excuses to divide and wage war and conflicts against each other Ethiopians remain calm and collected with such diverse ethnicities, languages and religions unlike any other nation on earth and under a ruling regime that instituted an Apartheid system to provoke and divide us? How it is the people of Ethiopia maintain their dignity and kept the brazen ethnic regime and its stooges hiding in shame?
Frankly, it defies any human experience to believe such civilized people exist in our world. For that reason, a while back I wrote ‘Civilized people uncivilized regime: how did it happen?’. With my limited knowledge about my own people like most of my compatriots I was trying to explore how uncivilized regime like Woyane and its sorry stooges ended up ruling the sea of civilized people as Ethiopians?
Our religious tolerance is deeper than what our ethnic political elites would be able to understand ever. At the meantime, how it is the stooges, supporters and apologists of the ethnic regime behave in such uncivilized manner; defending not only a regime known for its atrocities, human right violation, corruption, treason and up to committing genocide and ethnic cleansing to stay alive but lie like a darken sailor on behalf of ethnic tyranny . Could only their greed and corruption explain their behavior of going out of their way to sustain the brazen ethnic tyranny? Could it be possible they are mercenaries doing the bidding of foreign enemy? Can racism; as the dead tyrant claimed play a role in their behavior?
Whatever it may be, twenty two years passed since the self-declared ethnic minority regime came to power and began instituting ethnic Apartheid and instigate ethnic and sectarian conflicts with declared mission of ransacking the fabric of Ethiopia. Yet, it failed to convince anyone its uncultured and corrupt rule worth a penny on the dollar. In fact, the stooges slowly and surly are learning from the people how to behave civilized. But, it is not fast enough to abandon the uncivilized regime they serve and join the people to help dismantle the ethnic regime they help sustain fast enough to institute democratic rule. Some are in an illusion bordering mental disorder. Others are trapped in a system they help create with no way out. The vast majority are embarrassed to show their face and doing everything to disassociate with a dying ethnic regime. Of course, the few die hard will stick around until the last second doing everything they can to disfranchise Ethiopians in a hope of sustaining the regime.
The blatant Techola Hagos is a living proof of the apologist of the Apartheid system trying to rescue the regime by undermining the oppositions in-and-out of the country. His latest rant like the previous is undermining any treat to the ethnic Apartheid regime he helped institute and want to sustain. This time around his target is the Blue Party and the Diaspora oppositions. In an article titled ‘Running the Political Gauntlet: The Blue Party and the Diaspora’ he kept repeating the same mantra to legitimizing the TPLF regime. He zeroed in on any perceived gathering danger to the Apartheid regime than the regime itself as many apologists do in the pretending to oppose the regime. This time, the Blue Party and the Diasporas are preempted as a gather danger. He conveniently doesn’t mention TPLF’s goons in Diaspora doing their dirty job on behalf of the regime but only the oppositions. He never talks about bringing TPLF’s officials to justice but recommend the opposition to prepare for the next election under TPLF goons that wouldn’t allow a meeting hall. He never exposes TPLF agents in Diaspora undermining the oppositions but putting the opposition in bad light. He never talk about TPLF regime intrusion in the religious affair but talks about ‘any contact in terms of unity with Jihadist Muslims, or fanatical Christians, or any Diaspora based political organization is a kiss of death for the Blue Party’ condemning Ethiopian Muslims protesting as jihadist and Christians as fanatics just like the kangaroo court of TPLF. He also makes it sound as if the oppositions are pleading instead of demanding TPLF to surrender for democratic rule.
In his pervious article he was recommending the release of journalist like Eskinder and political leaders like Andualem that galvanized Ethiopians and send them in exile while on his latest article he is calling ‘associating with Diaspora based politics as ‘a kiss of death’; reviling his main mission is to deflate the opposition in-and-out of the country in order to protect TPLF regime from any serious challenge anywhere.
Then he pulled his stunt and the main reason he wrote the article; to galvanize Ethiopians behind TPLF regime against Egypt through the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam connecting it with the ruling Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt and our Ethiopian Muslims. He said;
“The Muslim Brotherhood dominated Egyptian politicians are simply using the Ethiopian Dam building as a pretext for their eternal goal to destroy Ethiopia’s Christianity. Look what is happening in Egypt already, Mohammed Morsi’s Government is imprisoning and charging those brave men and women who started the rebellion in Egypt and made it possible through their sacrifices for an unknown academic to get elected as President of Egypt. Mind you the Brotherhood was a bystander of that movement and only joined later when victory was within reach, and proceeded to steal the work-product of the democratic movement and is trying to change Egypt into a Sharia-law State right this moment.”
Last time around Egypt was a ‘historical enemy of Ethiopia’. Never mind TPLF went to bed with Mubarak of Egypt to come to power. This time around TPLF is defender of Ethiopian Christianity and the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt is conspiring with Ethiopian Muslims for ‘their eternal goal to destroy Ethiopian Christianity’? Now, if the man is not a TPLF mole with a mission of sustaining TPLF by all means necessary we don’t know who could be.
Regardless of what the Morsi’s government may be he didn’t steal the show like the Woyane regime did in 2005 but elected by the majority of Egyptians because it was better organized, thanks to Mubarak’s suppression of religion like Woyane does. Second, the ‘pretext to destroy Ethiopia’s Christianity and ‘trying to change Egypt into Sharia-law state’ is a scare tactic straight from the cook book of TPLF. For his information Woyane is destroying Ethiopia’s Christianity unlike any other foreign or domestic entity ever did by filling our religious institutions with Godless cadres. In fact, Ethiopians of the Muslim faith defended their Christian traditions like no Woyane would ever will. If truth must be told, Egypt under Mubarak did more damage to Ethiopian Christians through Woyane than Morsi’s government would ever imagine. Therefore, the desperate Tecola Hagos would be better off to come up with a better excuse than wagging war with our flash and blood of the Muslim faith by associating them with Jihadist. Again, if truth must be told Woyane have more communality with Jihadist than our people of the Muslim faith, period and case closed.
Frankly, Ethiomedia would do Ethiopians a favor if it entertains more of how to get rid of TPLF’s regime by accommodating more of what brings Ethiopians together than apart. Accommodating frustrated TPLF apologist or searching for foreign and domestic enemies to distract us from business of democracy is not good public service and wise.
Ethiopians are extremely modest beyond believe to call the obvious fact that the TPLF regime is uncivilized enough to qualify for prehistoric warlord/raider. Quite frankly, Woyane’s behaviors and actions are as if it came from ancient period to stumble into modern era. But, what isn’t explainable is the behavior of the willing stooges and apologist that choose to go back in time to lend hand for archaic regime. Yet, Ethiopians didn’t deny them their rights to behave like deadly clowns; knowing their behavior and actions are beyond what is expected of any decent human in modern times, not to mention contrary to the Ethiopian experience.
How it is our people master this level of tolerance and civilization never seen in the human experience while the stooges of Woyane behave in the exact opposite? More questions no answer yet.
Unlike what the world want to make us believe; thanks again for ethnic tyranny and its contemporary élites that accompanying it, our religious tradition explain better what Ethiopians are all about.
Our religious tolerance is deeper than what our ethnic political elites would be able to understand ever. Before it was fashionable to say inter-faith dialog in the ‘modern world’ we mastered it at home 1000 years ago. Before it was fashionable to cash-in in the name of international terrorism, our people defended their people from terrorism of fascism and tyranny as they do now. Before it was fashionable to say conflict resolution to bring paid stranger to mediate our conflicts, our people practiced it at village level with our unpaid elders. Before the marriages of convenient between ethnic tyranny and our religions was fashionable to populate our religious institutions with their offspring to impose their will, our religious leaders were respected by the people and feared by the ruling regimes to earn their statues by popular choice than forced by political cadres. Before it was fashionable our clueless modern elites venture to undermine our religious tradition we solved most of our disagreement under our religious institutions, on and on.
When the world is going in flame in the name of terrorism, sectarian and ethnic conflicts instigated by regimes and the political elites of our time Ethiopians are saying አንለያይም (we will not be separated)- sending the ethnic tyranny and its stooges in disarray to search for anything to wage more conflicts and division.
When Prophet Mohammed sent his followers to seek safety from the Godless regime of the time he didn’t expect the children of Ethiopia would go through the same thing from Godless regime at home in the 21st century. Can anyone explain how, for the first time in the history of Ethiopia our people go to jail for their religious beliefs? More question no answer.
Instead of our people of the Muslim faith being the solution for the global problem of sectarian conflicts and terrorism a small time Godless ethnic tyranny and its hired messengers want us to abandon them; contrary to the Ethiopian tradition of we are our peoples’ keepers. What possible reasons we have to side with the Woyane Apartheid regime against our own people? Count me out.
The recent demonstration organized by Blue Party in Addis Ababa reinforced again what Ethiopians around the world have been saying. Our people were civilized way back before the uncivilized regime pulls its village trickery. If Woyane understood what it means to be Ethiopian it wouldn’t bring foreign ideology, religion and ethnic divide. It wouldn’t attempt to break up 1000s of years of bonding for petty corruption and illegitimate rule. It wouldn’t involve in treachery, ethnic cleansing and shopping for enemies for Ethiopians. As expected the disoriented regime one and only option (short of surrender) turned out to be sending its stooges with Islamic name to separate Ethiopian Muslims from their Christian compatriots like it did by ethnicity. No way José
That isn’t all, the frightened ethnic tyranny dispatched its goons around the world are trying to lamp our flash and blood of Ethiopian Muslims with international terrorism. Digging holes, clipping photos, manufacturing dramas and raiding the social media to separate Ethiopians from each other. If that isn’t reaching further to the bottom of the pits we don’t know what could be.
No one should be surprised if Woyane came up with controlled explosions even if it hires al-Qaida to do its dirt job. After all, it is not the first time or will be the last time. My people, we are dealing with a terrorist regime, this time, dressed up to look like Development Regime. The regime is always in a shopping spree to make friends and enemies of its kind to deprive us peace and freedom.
For those attentive to follow up Woyane trickery, the recent provocation of Egypt was preplanned way back when it bused its unformed zombies in North America to demonstrate in front of the White House with a slogan Ethiopians right to use the Nile water. Have you heard Woyane demonstrate about our natural rights of using our sea access? Not in a million years.
The planned diversion was in case its domestic diversion didn’t work. As expected it didn’t, therefore it uses one among many on the list of ‘foreign enemies’. As planned the Abbye Dam and the coordinated bond sell came out of no where. And Egyptians became our historical enemy after she, under Mubarak spent considerable resources to help bring Woyane to power to comeback bit it. As we observed the poor Egyptians are talking to undo Woyane; exposing the regime further as their old mercenary tuned sour.
For those that didn’t notice the stooges and apologist of Woyane they coming out of the woodwork in coordinated fashion to divert the issue of Woyane surrender into mobilizing our people to defend Woyane from ‘foreign enemy’ the same enemy Woyane went to bed with and sold the country in hand basket. There is no question Woyane have lists of foreign as well as demotic diversion to use to remain in power. Eritrea is one of the ‘enemies’ on the list that the stooges and apologists remind us frequently.

Egypt lawmakers lambast PM over Ethiopia dam

By MAGGIE MICHAEL, AP
CAIRO (AP) — Angry Egyptian lawmakers accused the country's prime minister and government on Monday of doing nothing to prevent Ethiopia from completing a dam that threatens to leave Nile-dependent Egypt with a dangerous water shortage.
Prime Minister Hesham Kandil had just finished addressing parliament about how the government planned to work diplomatically, legally and technically to negotiate with Ethiopia over the dam when the session heated up.
He called the dam's construction an "act of defiance" and stressed that Egypt will not give "a single drop of water," but then hurriedly left the chamber despite calls for clarification over how to handle the situation if Ethiopia rejects overtures.
"Egypt will turn to a graveyard" if the dam is completed, geologist and Egyptian lawmaker Khaled Ouda shouted to parliament. "The prime minister didn't provide anything."
"We have to stop the construction of this dam first before entering negotiations," he said.
Egypt in the past has threatened to go to war over its "historic rights" to the waters of the Nile River. Last week, Egyptian political leaders caused uproar after proposing to aid rebels against the Ethiopian government or even sabotaging the dam itself. Ethiopia demanded an official explanation.
Egypt faces the prospect of its current water shortage worsening when the so-called Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is completed.
Ethiopia's decision challenges a colonial-era agreement that had given downstream Egypt and Sudan rights to the Nile water, with Egypt taking 55.5 billion cubic meters and Sudan 18.5 billion cubic meters of 84 billion cubic meters, with 10 billion lost to evaporation. That agreement, first signed in 1929, took no account of the eight other nations along the 6,700-kilometer (4,160-mile) river and its basin, which have been agitating for a decade for a more equitable accord.
Ethiopia's unilateral action seems to ignore the 10-nation Nile Basin Initiative, a regional partnership formed in 1999 that seeks to develop the river in a cooperative manner.
Ethiopia is leading a group of five nations threatening to sign a new cooperation agreement without Egypt and Sudan, effectively taking control from Egypt of the Nile, which serves some 238 million people.
Experts estimate that Egypt could lose as much as 20 percent of its Nile water in the three to five years needed for Ethiopia to fill a massive planned reservoir.
Abdullah Badr, who leads the ultraconservative Salafi caucus in parliament, held up a blank notebook after Kandil's speech and said: "I have been taking notes and the page for solutions is blank."
"Where are the studies? Where are the solutions?" He added. "There is nothing more dangerous than this. This is about water security and there are enemies outside and inside — what is the role of the government and what did it do?" he said.
Ethiopian officials have downplayed he effect the dam will have on Egypt, saying it is needed to provide much-needed power for the country's development.

Egypt warns all options open for Ethiopia Nile dam

By AYA BATRAWY and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press     
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's president on Monday hardened his stance against Ethiopia and its construction of a Nile dam, warning that "all options are open" in dealing with the project that threatens to leave Egypt with a dangerous water shortage.
Speaking in a live televised speech before hundreds of supporters, Mohammed Morsi said Egypt is not calling for war, but it is willing to confront any threats to its water security.
"If it loses one drop, our blood is the alternative," he said to a raucous crowd of largely Islamist supporters that erupted into a standing ovation.
Ethiopia's $4.2 billion hydroelectric dam, which would be Africa's largest, challenges a colonial-era agreement that had given Egypt and Sudan the lion's share of rights to Nile water. Experts estimate that Egypt could lose as much as 20 percent of its Nile water in the three to five years needed for Ethiopia to fill a massive reservoir.
"If Egypt is the Nile's gift, then the Nile is a gift to Egypt," Morsi said in his opening remarks.
The president's speech reflected the importance of the Nile River to Egypt. It provides almost all of the fresh water to a country that is otherwise largely parched desert. As much as 85 percent of the Nile's water comes from Ethiopia.
"We are not calling for war, but we will not allow, at all, threats against our water security," Morsi said before adding, "all options are open."
Morsi appeared to be using concern about Ethiopia's megaproject to whip up nationalistic fervor ahead of protests planned against him later this month.
In the conference hall where Morsi delivered his speech, some of his supporters chanted slogans against Israel and accused it of colluding with Ethiopia to harm Egypt. Blaming Israel for Egypt's problems is common here. Israel denied any connection to the construction of the dam.
Morsi said he would be willing to approach opposition groups in order to unite Egyptians around a common position with regard to the dam. This came after two prominent opposition parties declined an invitation to meet Morsi last week, citing a lack of transparency in dealing with national issues and a failure to listen to them.
"The great Nile is that which all our lives are connected to. The lives of the Egyptians are connected around it ... as one great people," Morsi told the crowd.
Shifting his tone later in the speech, Morsi said that Egypt considers Ethiopia a "friend" and noted he has visited the country twice since taking office. He said his administration is in continuous dialogue with Ethiopia and Sudan to discuss water rights.
Earlier in the day, angry Egyptian lawmakers accused Morsi's premier of doing nothing to prevent Ethiopia from building the dam. Prime Minister Hesham Kandil had just finished addressing parliament about how the government planned to work diplomatically, legally and technically with Ethiopia over the dam when the session heated up.
Kandil called the dam's construction an "act of defiance," but then hurriedly left the chamber despite calls for clarification over how to handle the situation if Ethiopia rejects overtures.
"Egypt will turn to a graveyard" if the dam is completed, Egyptian lawmaker Khaled Ouda, a geologist, shouted to parliament. "The prime minister didn't provide anything."
Abdullah Badr, who leads the ultraconservative Islamist Salafi caucus in parliament, held up a blank notebook after Kandil's speech and said: "I have been taking notes and the page for solutions is blank."
"Where are the studies? Where are the solutions? This is about water security and there are enemies outside and inside — what is the role of the government and what did it do?" he said.
The crisis plays into a wider feeling of malaise in Egypt.
A diverse spectrum of the population is growing increasingly impatient with Morsi's handling of the country's instability, including a security breakdown and a struggling economy, more than two years after an uprising toppled longtime President Hosni Mubarak.
Opposition activists are hoping to harness the frustration of Egyptians into mass protests planned on the anniversary of Morsi's taking office June 30.
Suggestions last week by some political leaders to aid rebels against the Ethiopian government or even sabotage the dam itself also heightened concerns in Egypt. Ethiopia has demanded an official explanation.
Egypt faces the prospect of its current water shortage worsening when the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is completed.
The crisis started last month when Ethiopia diverted the flow of the Blue Nile, one of the Nile's sources, to make way for the dam — before a 10-member panel of experts from Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and other countries released a study on the dam's impact. The move took the Egyptian government by surprise.
Ethiopia's unilateral action appeared to ignore the 10-nation Nile Basin Initiative, a regional partnership formed in 1999 that seeks to develop the river in a cooperative manner.
Egypt complained that the 10-member panel did not give concrete answers to the impact of the dam, because Ethiopia failed to provide enough updated data to the panel. Ethiopia said the report assured that the dam will not harm Egypt. It was not possible to obtain a copy of the report to independently examine its conclusions.