Friday, August 16, 2013

አምና የወያኔ ባለስልጣን ሲዋኙ ባየሁ ግዜ ደስ አለኝ…

    
 ተፃፈ ጋዜጠኛ ሃኒ ሰለሞን
እነሆ ክረምት መጣ… ጠቅላይ ሚንስትሩ ከሞቱ አመት ሞላ፡፡ ኢቲቪ በግድ አስታውሱ በግድ ዳግሞ አልቅሱ ብሎ ሙት አመት ምናምን እያለ ሆዳችንን ሊያባባ ይሞክራል እንጂ እኛማ ከሳቸው ሞት በኋላ ስንት የሚያስለቅስ ገጥሞናል፡፡ ሆድ ይፍጀው ብለን እንጂ፡፡
አሁንም ክረምት መጣ ኧረ እንደውም ወደ መጋመሱ ነው…እኛም ያኖርንበት የጠፋንን ወፋፍራም ልብስ በራሳችንና በአጋዥ ግብረሀይል ተረድተን ፈልገን አጠብን ተኳኮስን፡፡ ከአምና የተረፈ ቡትስ ጫማ ያለን እሱን ጠራረግን…የሌለንም ለሸመታ ወጣን…ምን ዋጋ አለው? …ዋጋው ጨምሯል…ንሯል!
ለአንድ ደንበኛ ቡትስ የሚጠየቀው ብር ከሆኑ ዓመታት በፊት ጋሻ መሬት ይገዛበት ነበር አሉ፡፡
በጣም እርር…አንጀታችን ቁስል…ወሽመጣችን ቁርጥ ብሎ…እንደው የት ሀገር ልሂድ? ብለን አልተማረርንም፡፡ እኛ እኮ ኩሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን ነን፡፡ ቲማቲም እንኳ በኪሎ 25 ብር እየገዛን አይደለም እንዴ?
እግር ኳስ ፌዴሬሽኑ በዝርክርክ አሰራር 3 ነጥብ አስቀነሰብን ሲባል እንዳላንባረቅንበት…ግብርና ሚንስቴር የቲማቲም በሽታ ሊገባ መሆኑን እያወቀ ምንም ሳያደርግ አንቀላፍቶ ይህው የ10 ሳንቲም ፌስታል(መጠሪዋ እንጂ ለካ ዋጋዋ 25 ሳንቲም ገብቷል) የማትሞላ ቲማቲም በ100 ብር ስንገዛ የፈረደበትን ፈጣሪን አማረርን እንጂ ተቋሙን ምንም አላልንም፡፡
ይበለን!
ግብርና ሚኒስቴር ልጅ…ፌዴሬሽኑ የእንጀራ ልጅ ነው እንዴ? ነው ወይስ መንግስት በፌዴሬሽኑ ጉዳይ እንደርጎ ዝንብ ጥልቅ አይልም ስለተባለ ማን አባቱ ያስጥለዋል ብለን ነው?
መተውን የመሰለ ነገር እያለ ምን አበሳጨኝ…ቲማቲም ሆይ እደጊ ተመንደጊ በኪሎ መቶ ብር ግቢ፡፡ እኔ እንደው እርሜን አውጥቻለሁ ያለቲማቲም አይኖርም እንዴ? ብያለው፡፡
ስለክረምት ነበር አይደል የማወራው?
የዘንድሮው ክረምት ለየት ያለ ነው፡፡ የናንተን ባላውቅም በተለይ እኛ ሰፈር በረዶውም አይጣል ነው፡፡ ይቀውራል፡፡ ምቱ ሃሳብን…አልፎ አልፎ ደግሞ የበሉትን ሁሉ እየበተነ የአምቦ ውሃን ስራንም ደርቦ ይሰራል፡፡
አቤት አስፓልቱ ደግሞ…ጉድ አይደል?
እመት ቻይና እጅሽ ይባረክ ብያለሁ፡፡ እውነት አሁን እሷን የመሰለ ወዳጅ ከወዴት ይገኛል? በአንድ ክፍያ መልቲ ፐርፐዝ የሆነ አስፓልት ሰርታልን መሄዷን ልብ ብላችኋል?
በጋ በጋ እንደ አስፓልት ክረምቱን ደግሞ የዋና ገንዳ ይሆናል፡፡
ያኔ አቶ መለስ ዜናዊ አስረስ የሞቱ ግዜ….ስናለቅስ ደረታችን ስንደቃ  ሳምንት ከምናምን አለፈና…አፈር ነህና ወደ አፈር ትመለሳለህ እንዲሉ የእሳቸውም (የአቶ መለስ) አስክሬን ከቤተመንግስት ወጥቶ  ወደ መስቀል አደባባይ ሲሄድ ከዛም ወደ ቀብር ቦታ ሲሸኝ ሰውም ባቻ ሳይሆን ሰማዩም አለቀሰ፡፡እንደጉድ ዘነበ፡፡ አስፓልቱም 2ኛ ስራውን ደርቦ መስራቱን ተያያዘ፡፡
ማን ባለስልጣን ቀረ? ከሟቹ በቀር፡፡ አባይ የተቀየሰው ወደ አዲስ አበባ በሚመስለው አስፓልት ላይ መሪዎቼ ሲምቦጫረቁ ሳይ ልቤ አላዘነም፤ እስቲ ይቅመሷት አለ እንጂ፡፡ ብዙዎቹ ማለት ይቻላል ያን ህይወት ረስተውታል፡፡
ወዳጅነታችን ውሃ ለመሻገር እስከመተዛዘል መድረሱን በዚህም የፈጠርነው የስራ እድል መንግስት በኮብልስቶን ለተደራጁት ከሰጠው እንደማይተናነስ የምናውቀው እኛ ነን፡፡
መሪዎቻችን ያንን ቀን…እንዳያልፉት የለ እያሉ…አለፉት ግን ረሱት መሰለኝ፡፡ ይኸው እኛ ተረኛዎቹ ዛሬም እንዋኛለን፡፡
ለነገሩ ይበለን!
መቸም ጣት መቀሰር ይቀናናል እንጂ ሰው አየ አላየ ብለን የጣልነው ቆሻሻ እና የደፈነው ቱቦ ገና ብዙ ያሳየናል፡፡
የራሳችን ጥፋት በሙሉ አፋችን የመንግስታችንን ስህተት እንኳ እንዳንናገር ሸብቦናል፡፡
ይበለን!
ስንዋኝ እንገናኝ ይሆናል፡፡

ሁሉም የትግራይ ህዝብ የህወሓት ደጋፊ ኣይደለም (አብርሃ ደስታ – ከትግራይ)


የትግራይ ህዝብና ህወሓት! (በአብርሃ ደስታ – ከትግራይ)
abraha desta
እውነት ነው። የህወሓት መሪዎች የትጥቅ ትግሉ ጀመሩት። ደርግ ዓማፅያኑ ለማጥፋትና ትግራይን ለመቆጣጠር የሃይል እርምጃ መውሰድ ጀመረ። ትግራይ የጦርነት ኣውድማ ሆነች። የትግራይ ገበሬዎች በሰላም የእርሻ ስራቸው ማከናወን ኣቃታቸው። የደርግ ወታደሮች ገበሬዎቹን ማስፈራራት፣ ሴቶችን መድፈር፣ ወጣቶችን በግደል (በጥርጣሬ) ተያያዙት።

በደርግ ኣሰራር የተማረረው የትግራይ ገበሬ ጫካ ገባ። እዛው ጫካ ከህወሓቶች ጋር ተቀላቀለ። ኣብዛኛው ታጋይ (ገበሬ ወይ ኣርሶ ኣደር) ደርግን ለመታገል ጠመንጃ ያነሳው በደርግ ስርዓት በነበረ ጥሩ ያልሆነ የሰለማዊ ሰዎች ኣያያዝ እንጂ እንደሚነገረን እንዳልሆነ እንዲታወቅልኝ። በዚ ምክንያት በትግራይ ከኣንድ ቤተሰብ ቢያንስ ኣንድ ታጋይ (የተሰዋም በህይወት ያለም) ነበር (ኣለ)።

ነገር ግን ሁሉም የትግራይ ተወላጅ የህወሓት ደጋፊ ኣይደለም። ምሳሌዎችን ልጥቀስ።

ምሳሌ ኣንድ

የትግራይ ኣርሶ ኣደር የታገለበት ዓላማና የመሪዎቹ ለየቅል ነበር። በ1983 ዓም የህወሓት መሪዎች ኣራት ኪሎ ቤተ መንግስት ከገቡ በኋላ የመሪዎቹ ዓላማ ለታጋይ ገበሬዎቹ ግልፅ ሆነ። በታጋዮቹና መሪዎች የዓላማ ልዩነት ግልፅ ሆነ። ታጋይ ገበሬዎቹ ጥያቄ ኣስነሱ። ጥያቂያቸው ምን ነበር??? ስድስት ጥያቄዎች:

(1) የኤርትራ ረፈረንደም (ነፃነት ወይ ባርነት የሚል ኣማራጭ) ስሕተት ነው፤ ለሀገር ኣንድነት መስራት ሲጠበቅብን ምንሊክ የሰራው ስሕተት እየደገምን ነው (ኃይለስላሴ እንኳ ለማስተካከል ሞክሮ ነበር)።

(2) የባህር በር (ወደብ) ያስፈልገናል። ሁሉም ነገር ለሻዕቢያ መስጠትና ኣገልጋይ መሆን በታሪክ ተጠያቂዎች ያደርገናል።

(3) የተታገልንበት ዓላማ መንገዱ እየሳተ ነው። ዓላማችን ስልጣን መያዝ ብቻ ኣልነበረም፤ ዲሞክራሲ ማስፈን ነው።

(4) ሙስና እየተስፋፋ ነው፣ ትግላችንና መስዋእትነቻን በኣሉታዊ መልኩ ይጎደዋል።

(5) የደርግ መሪዎች እንጂ ሁሉም የደርግ ወታደሮች ጠላቶቻችን ኣይደሉም፤ በመከላከያ ሰራዊታችን ይጠቃለሉ፣ ብዙ የሰለጠኑና የሀገር ሃብት ፈሰስ የተደረገባቸው ናቸው።

(6) ሻዕቢያ ሊወረን እየተዘጋጀ ነው፤ ወታደራዊ ዓቅሙ እየገነባ ነው። እኛ ደግሞ ሀገራዊ መከላከያ ሰራዊት ይኑረን።
የሚሉ ጥያቄዎች ተነሱ። ነገር ግን ጥያቄዎቹ ወድያው ሻዕቢያ ጀሮ ደረሱ። የሻዕቢያ መሪ ኢሳያስ ኣፈዎርቂ ከመለስ ዜናዊ ጋር ተነጋገሩበት። እንደዉጤቱም በ1985 ዓም ከ32, 000 በላይ የሚሆኑ የህወሓት ታጋዮች (ጥያቄ ያነሱ) እንዲባረሩ ተደረገ።

እንኳን የትግራይ ህዝብ በሙሉ፣ ህወሓት የታጋዮቹ ድጋፍ የለውም። መረጃ ስለሌለን ግን ሁሉም የትግራይ ህዝብ የህወሓት ደጋፊ ኣድርገን እናስባለን።

ምሳሌ ሁለት
ሑመራ ኣከባቢ ነው፣ ልዩ ስሙ ማይካድራ። ኣንድ የድሮ ታጋይ ሴት ሦስት ልጆች ብቻዋ ታሳድጋለች። የማይካድራ ህዝብ (እንደሌላው ሁሉ) በመለስ ሞት ምክንያት የሓዘን ሰልፍ እንዲያደርግ በካድሬዎች ታዘዋል። ሴትየዋ በሓዘን ሰልፉ ኣልተገኘችም። በፖሊስ ተይዛ እንድትታሰር ተደረገ (የታሰሩ ብዙ ናቸው ግን ይቺ ሴት መረጥኩኝ)። በፖሊስ ለምን እንዳልተገኘች ተጠየቀች።

ሴትየው: ስራ ስለበዛብኝ ነው ያልመጣሁት

ፖሊስ: ስራ ቢበዛብሽስ??? ስራ ከመለስ ይበልጣል?

ሴትየው: እኔ ኮ ብቻየን ሦስት ልጆች ኣሳድጋለሁ።
ፖሊስ: እና?
ሴትየው: እናማ ስራ ይበልጥብኛል። ደሞኮ ሞት ብርቅ ኣይደለም። መስዋእትነት ኮ እናውቀዋለን። ባሌን ታውቀዋለህ። ታጋይ ነበር። ድሮ ተሰውተዋል። ልጆቹ ማሳደግ ኣይችልም። የኔና የተሰዋው ባለቤቴ ሓላፊነት ተሸክሜ ልጆቻችን ለማሳደግ ሌት ተቀን መስራት ኣለብኝ። መለስ ከሞተ እናንተ ቅበሩት።

ፖሊስ: ኣንቺ ራስሽ ታጋይ ነበርሽ። ባልሽም ተሰውተዋል። መለስ ደግሞ የሰማእታት ኣርኣያ ነው። ስለዚ ልታዝኚለት ይገባል።

ሴትየው: መለስ ከምወደው ባሌ ኣይበልጥብኝም። ኣሳዛኝ መስዋእት ኮ ጫካ ዉስጥ ተሰውተው ያለቀባሪ ተጥለው የቀሩ፣ ሬሳቸው የጅብና ኣሞራ ሲሳይ የሆነ፣ (ኣብ ፈቀዶ ጎቦታትን ሽንጥሮታትን ዝተረፉ) እንጂ ……. መለስ ኮ ብዙ ነገር ኣይተዋል። ኣሁን ደግሞ በክብር፣ በስርዓት እያረፈ ነው። ባሌኮ የቀብር ስነስርዓት ኣልተደረገለትም። ምን ታካብዳላቹ?! በመለስ ሞት ግን ባሌና የትግል ጓደኞቼ (ስውኣት ብፆተይ) ኣስታውሼ ኣዝኛለሁ።

ሴትዮዋ ተፈታች። እኛ ግን የትግራይ ህዝብ በስርዓቱ ደስተኛ ይመስለናል። ዉስጡ እየነደደ ነው።

ምሳሌ ሦስት

በትግራይ ሓውዜን ኣከባቢ ነው። ኣንድ ኣብሮ ኣደጌ (ጓደኛየ) ኣስታወስኩ። ኣብረን እንማር ነበር (እስከ ስድስተኛ ክፍል)። ከስድስተኛ ክፍል በላይ ትምህርቱ መቀጠል ኣልቻለም። የልጁ ኣባት የህወሓት ታጋይ ነበር፤ ተሰውተዋል። ከኣያቶቹ ጋር ይኖራል። ኣያቶቹ ሦስት ልጆች ነበሯቸው። ሁሉም ተሰውተዋል። የቀራቸው የልጅ ልጃቸው (እሱ ብቻ) ነው።

ከሁለት ዓመት በፊት ልጁ ከመንግስት የወሰደውን ብድር መመለስ ስላልቻለ ወደ ሑመራ ኣከባቢ ይጠፋል። ኣያቶቹ ይታሰራሉ።

መታሰራቸው ሰምቶ መጣ። ብዙ ነገር ደረሰበት። የጣብያ (ቀበሌ) ካድሬዎቹ ተቃወማቸው። ካድሬዎቹ ኣስተዳዳሪዎችም ኣባቱ የተሰዋበት ዓላማ ተቃወመ ብለው የኣከባቢው ሰዎች ከነሱ ቤተሰብ ጋር ምንም ዓይነት ግንኙነት እንዳያደርጉ ተነገራቸው። (ያ ሦስት ልጆች የተሰውበት ቤተሰብ እንዲገለል ተደረገ)። በኣሁኑ ሰዓት ግን ይሄን የማግለል ስትራተጂ እየተውት ይገኛሉ።

ምሳሌ ኣራት

በትግራይ ኣስተማሪዎች በገዢው ፓርቲ የሚደርሳቸው ኣስተዳደራዊና ኢኮኖሚያዊ በደል በመቃወም የተለያዩ እርምጃዎች የሚወስዱበት ኣጋጣሚ ኣለ። ተደጋጋሚ የስራ ማቆም ኣድማ ይደረጋል። ኣንዳንዴም የመምህርነት ስራው ጠቅልሎ የመተው ነገር ኣለ። ለምሳሌ ትግራይ ምስራቃዊ ዞን የመማር ማስተማር ሂደቱ ተስተጓጉሏል። ነጋሽ ኣከባቢ በሚገኝ ኣንድ ትምህርትቤት ሁሉንም ኣስተማሪዎች (ዳይሬክተሩ ጨምሮ) ትምህርትቤቱ ዘግተው ጠፍተዋል። ግን የሚዘግበው ሰው የለም።

ምሳሌ ኣምስት

በኣንዳንድ ኢትዮዽያውያን የትግራይ ተወላጆች የኢህኣዴግ መንግስት በመደገፍ ኢትዮዽያውያንን ይበድላሉ ብለው ያስባሉ። ነገር ግን ብዙዎች ይህንን እንደሚቃወሙ እንዴት ልንገራቹ?

ዓረና ትግራይ ፓርቲ በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ኣባላት እንዳሉት ሰምቻለሁ። እነዚህ ታድያ ህወሓት የሚቃወሙ ኣይደሉምን? ዴምህት የተባለ ኣማፂ ቡድን 60 ሺ ወታደሮች እንዳሉት ይነገራል። 60 ሺው ትክክል ላይሆን ይችላል። ግን ከ 20-25 ሺ ወታደር እንደሚኖረው ግን ይገመታል። እንዚህ ሁሉ የትግራይ ተወላጆች ናቸው።

በ1997/98 ዓም ከሻዕቢያ ሬድዮ በሰማሁት መረጃ መሰረት (ቃለ መጠይቅ ሲደረግባቸው) ብዙዎቹ የፌደራል ፖሊስ እንዲሁም የመከላከያ ሰራዊት ኣባላት ነበሩ። ወደ ኤርትራ የገቡበት ምክንያት ሲያስረዱ በ1997 ና98 በነበረ የህዝብ ዓመፅ የተወሰደ እርምጃ በመቃወም ነበር። ስለዚ ሁሉም የትግራይ ህዝብ ገዢው ስርዓት ይደግፋል ብሎ ማሰብ ስሕተት ነው።

በሌላ በኩል ስናየው ደግሞ ስራ ነው። ኣንድ ሰው ስራ ፈልጎ ወደ ፖሊስነት ወይ ውትድርና ሊገባ ይችላል። የእንጀራ ጉዳይ ነው። ከገባ ታድያ (ደመወዙን ለማግኘት) የታዘዘውን መስራት ኣለበት። ካልሰራ ይባረራል፤ ከተባረረ መኖር ኣይችልም (ሌላ ስራ እስካላገኘ ድረስ)። ስለዚ ጠንክሮ ቢሰራ ኣይደንቀኝም።

ባጠቃላይ የትግራይ ህዝብ በሙሉ የህወሓት ደጋፊ ነው ማለት ኣይቻልም። ብዙ የሚቃወም ኣለ። ብዙ የሚጨቆን ኣለ። በትግራይ የሌለው ጭቆናን የሚያጋልጥ ነው። በሌሎች ኣከባቢዎች (ከትግራይ ውጭ) ሰው ሲታሰር ወይ ሲገደል የሚናገርለት ወይ የሚጮህለት ወገን ኣለው። በትግራይ ግን የለም። ኣንዱ ሲታፈን ሌላው ኣብሮ ዝም ይላል። ይሄ ነው ልዩነቱ እንጂ በትግራይ ጭቆና ስለሌለ ኣይደለም።

በመጨረሻም

እንደው ሁሉንም ትተን፣ የትግራይ ህዝብ ህወሓትን ቢደግፍ (ከህወሓት ጎን ቢቆም) ችግሩ ምንድነው? ኣንድ ህዝብ የፈለገውን የመደገፍ ወይ የመቃወም መብቱ የተጠበቀ ነው። የትግራይ ህዝብ ህወሓትን (በፍላጎቱ ኣይደግፍም እንጂ) ቢደገፍ ደስተኛ ነኝ። ምክንያቱ ‘ለምን ህወሓትን ትደግፋለህ?’ ሊባል ኣይገባም። ሌሎች ህዝቦች ህወሓትን የመቃወም መብት ያላቸው ያህል የትግራይ ህዝብም የመደገፍ መብት ኣለው።

ስለዚ (1) ሁሉንም የትግራይ ህዝብ (ብዙዎች እንደሚያስቡት) የህወሓት ደጋፊ ኣለመሆኑ እንዲታወቅ። (2) የትግራይ ህዝብ ህወሓትን ይደግፋል ብሎ መውቀስም ተገቢ ኣይደለም

H&M To Leverage On Ethiopia’s Low Cost Clothing Industry

Posted on August 16, 2013 09:47 am under Business, Retail & Manufacturing, Strategies & Solutions
H&M
VENTURES AFRICA – World’s second biggest fashion retailer, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), plans to make clothing in Ethiopia, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Friday.
The influential business newspaper reported that the company targeted Ethiopia because it would costs less to make clothing in the East African hub which is also one of the fastest-growing economies on the continent.
WSJ reported that the move was driven by an increasing number of clothing stores the company has to stock up with its brands as it starts operations in more countries.
Ventures Africa recently reported that H&M planned to set up shop in Johannesburg, South Africa. It opened its first shop in Sweden in 1947. It is currently present in over 40 countries.
According to WSJ, H&M currently depends on Bangladesh for the making of clothes and itsAfrican expansion strategy is aimed at increasing its sourcing footmark.
Camilla Emilsson-Falk, H&M spokesperson, confirmed to WSJ that the company hadalready placed “test orders with Ethiopian suppliers.”
“As a growing global company we have to look at how we guarantee that we have the capacity to deliver products to all our stores where we have a rapid pace of expansion,” WSJ quoted Edmilsson-Falk as saying.
“We are doing that by increasing production in our existing production areas and also by looking at new ones.”

Genel Energy to farm in to Adigala Block onshore Ethiopia

Genel Energy announces that it has agreed to acquire a 40% interest in the Adigala Block onshore Ethiopia from New Age (African Global Energy) Limited (the "Transaction").

Under the Transaction, Genel Energy plc ("Genel") will acquire a 40% non-operated interest in the Adigala Block from New Age (Ethiopia) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of New Age (African Global Energy) Limited ("New Age"). The consideration involves a payment in respect of back costs and a contribution to the cost of a 2D seismic acquisition planned before the end of 2013.

The Adigala Block covers an area of c27,000km2 and is located in the northeast of Ethiopia, bordering Djibouti to the north and Somaliland to the east. An existing 520km of 2D seismic was reprocessed in 2012 and augmented by a Full Tensor Gravity survey. The integration of these data has provided evidence that all the elements of a working petroleum system exist on the Adigala Block. In particular, oil seeps and surface outcrops support the presence of a mature and active Jurassic oil prone system, which is thought to be analogous to the prolific producing Jurassic Rift Basins of Yemen. Several large potential structural closures have been identified on existing data. The planned 2D seismic and further technical work will help in refining these leads into drill ready prospects.

The Transaction is targeted for completion by September 2013 and is conditional upon government approval by the Ethiopian authorities.

Commenting on the transaction, Dr John Hurst, Head of Exploration said:

"The Adigala Block farm-in is a natural extension of our exploration strategy, which seeks to acquire material equity positions in hydrocarbon basins with significant potential, as well as complementing our extensive interests onshore Somaliland where drilling is planned for 2014. We look forward to working with our new partners to high-grade the prospectivity on the block and add further depth and materiality to our exploration inventory."

'Salat Man' is symbol of resistance for Muslims in Ethiopia

The Salat Man is a lone worshiper who was encircled by riot police [Dimtsachin Yisema Facebook page]
The appeal of non-violence as a means of social transformation is almost universal. Few deny its awesome power when unleashed with discipline. However, in the face of an impeding danger, especially one known to be as brutal as they come, it takes a lot of courage to remain nonviolent. Even though it calls for more valor than one need in a pitched battle, history has recorded only a handful of such defiant acts of ultimate heroism in man's long quest for freedom and justice.
But no incident exemplifies the true genius of such silent rebellion more than China's Tank Man. The year was 1989, at the height of a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing that saw hundreds, if not thousands, dead and many more arrested. A sole rebel, whose identity remains unknown quarter of a century later, took matters onto his own hands by blocking the advance of rumbling Chinese tanks near Tiananmen Square - at least 18 of them ­- dispatched to squash the popular protests threatening one-party rule, once and for all.
The Unknown Soldier walked to the middle of the street, held what looked like a shopping bag, and swerved left and right to halt the advance of the juggernaut. The symbolism of his defiance was instantly broadcast around the world and photos of his heroic resistance were globally published. Even in the pre-Internet era, that single image of a skinny young man blocking the path of the most fearsome of war machines immortalised the eventual triumph of the fight against authoritarianism worldwide.
Ethiopia's 'China Tank Man'
On August 8, 2013 - far from China's Tiananmen Square, in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, a lone worshiper prayed the Eid Salat and was encircled by an army of riot police. The image shows a man on his knees praying unintimidated as a phalange of soldiers, bearing shields and batons, looked on. The desolate background, apparently deserted by other worshipers fearful for their lives or carted away, against an array of uniform police magnifies the image of this unknown rebel. Asked to name the faithful in the picture, Dimtsachin Yisema, the Facebook group often seen as the de facto leading body of the horizontal Ethiopian Muslims movement, said in an email, "it was sent to us by an activist."
Ethiopia's unemployment pushes young people to extremes
Like the Chinese activists of the 80s, even if for different grievances, Muslims in Ethiopia have been protesting against government interference in religious matters for nearly two years.
Some 29 leaders of the nonviolent campaign that calls on the Ethiopian government to respect it's own constitution remain incarcerated on tramped up terrorism charges, the same charges used to muzzle journalists like Eskinder Nega and dissenting politicians Bekele Garba .
A week before Eid-al-Fitr in Kofele, central Oromia, far removed from the prying eyes of foreign cameras, over a dozen Muslim protesters, including a mother and child, were massacred in broad daylight. The story received passing references in the mainstream media. A foreign correspondent who visited the town few days after the incident was returned to the capital under threat of imprisonment.
As was with the Tiananmen  Square protests of 1989 , sometimes it takes a symbolic gesture to inspire courage. The photo of the " Salat Man" in Addis Ababa will likely go down the annals of history as one of the most iconic symbols in the history of not just the Muslim protests but also of the struggle of the country's diverse population for an end to the mounting repression by a one-party rule, now in power for more than two decades.
Although similar in appearance, the two iconic images faced starkly different fates. One was captured by CNN and the Associated Press cameras - and instantly broadcast around the world. The other was captured by a citizen journalist, perhaps with a mobile phone camera, and casually uploaded on Facebook.
Ethiopia, a donor darling of the West, is considered to be one of the most oppressive countries for journalists. It also boasts the largest number of exiled journalists in the world.
Under these dire circumstances, even with a below regional average Internet penetration rate, social media has enabled Ethiopian activists, at least in urban areas, to organise and get their message across more effectively than the state, albeit to an indifferent world .
Paradigm shift?
Protests are rare in Ethiopia. The last sustained protests in the country's long but troubled history took down Emperor Haile Selassie, the last monarch. The fatal blow to the tottering imperial regime was delivered by Muslim protesters, joined by their liberal Christian allies, who staged one of the largest demonstrations preceding the Ethiopian Revolution of 1974. The ongoing Muslim movement is the most sustained, unified and well organised the country has seen, perhaps in its entire history.
Muslims, estimated to be more than a third of Ethiopia's 93 million people, began protesting against government meddling in religious affairs in late 2011. Demonstrations were set off when students at the nation's only Islamic institute walked out of classes after their teachers were dismissed, and replaced by regime loyalists through a government edict in an effort to impose Lebanese Islamic sect called Al-Ahbash .
Absent the alternative, activists now use social media as a primary broadcasting medium
But the incident had an unforeseen consequence for the regime; it served as a catalyst for a wider Muslim movement that called for a redress of years of marginalisation and silent suffering. The protesters demanded a free and fair election of Islamic leaders to the highest Muslim council, known as Majlis.
First, the government agreed to negotiate with the protesters. The protesters elected a committee of 17 Muslim activists to communicate their grievances to the authorities. When the negotiations failed, the regime arrested all of them in a desperate attempt to nip the movement that it deemed extremist at the bud. This too backfired as the protester's calls grew bolder and their nonviolent tactics more sophisticated. Ironically, the jailed leaders of the two-year-old protest movement were among the most educated and moderate Muslim thinkers the public has known.
As was the case in China throughout the 1980s, Ethiopia's state-run media have launched continuous attacks on the movement and its leaders, including a now famous mockumentary called Jihadawi Harakat. The fictitious film juxtaposes unrelated events in an attempt to link the protesters to terrorist groups in Mali, Nigeria, and Somalia.
Absent the alternative, activists now use social media as a primary broadcasting medium. The greatest strengths of utilizing digital platforms are also its greatest weaknesses. Given the information overload on social media networks, some of the most important messages can easily be buried - including the photo of the Salat Man .
If the image of Tank Man was one of the top 10 photos that changed the world, then when the symbolism and the defiant spirit of the Salat Man finally reaches the public - those on the exteriors of Facebook walls - his image too will forever inspire a generation of Ethiopian human rights activists, Muslims or not.
Mohammed Ademo is a New York-based freelance journalist. A recent graduate of Columbia Journalism School, he's also the founder and editor of OPride.com, an independent news website about Ethiopia.
Follow him on Twitter at @OPride.
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The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.
Source:
Al Jazeera

Urgent Call for Protest Demonstration August 15, 2013


The Woyane regime is barbarically killing, beating and imprisoning Muslims in the towns of Kofele, Shashemene, Addis Ababa and other cities for peacefully forwarding their demands for religious rights and the release of the Imams who had been unlawfully detained. Members of Andinet and Semayawi parties are being thrown in to jail for simply exercising their constitutionally guaranteed political freedom and campaign to get support from the people for their legal and peaceful protests.
To condemn this injustice and show our indignation, as well as to pass our message to members of US congress who will be traveling to Ethiopia soon, a protest demonstration will be held on August 19, 2013 in front of the US State Department.
 
WHERE:  Department of State 2201 C St NW, Washington, DC. 20037
WHEN:  MONDAY AUGUST 19, 2013
TIME:  9.00 AM
For more information Email: dcjointtaskforce@gmail.com or call (202) 556-3078
Call for protest - Monday August 19, 2013