Wednesday, April 2, 2014

[በአባይ ግድብ ዙሪያ የተጻፈ አጭር ሀተታ] ትንሹዋ ወያኔና ትልቁ ወያኔ አላኖሩኝም


ነፃነት ዘለቀ (አዲስ አበባ) 
ለለውጥ ያህል ከራሴ ችግር ብጀምር ምን አለበት? ግለሰብ ካልኖረ ማኅበረስብ አይኖርም፡፡ ደሞም የኔ ችግር የሁሉም ፣ የሁሉም ችግር የኔ መሆኑን የማያምን አንባቢ ቢኖር ችግር አለበት ማለት ነውና በጊዜ ራሱን ፈትሾ መድሓኒት ቢጤ ቢያፈላልግ ሳይሻለው አይቀርም፡፡TPLF is just like a Rat
ትንሹዋ ወያኔ ጠምሳኛለች፡፡ እኔን ብቻም አይደለም የጠመሰችው፡፡ ብዙዎች ኢትዮጵያውያንንም እንጂ ነው፡፡ ከወያኔ ባልተናነሰ ሁኔታ ኑሯችንን እያቃወሰችው ትገኛለች – ትልቁ ወያኔ በደጅና በቤት ውስጥ እርሷ ደግሞ በቤት ውስጥ ብቻ በተናጠልና በቡድን እየተጋገዙ ወዲያ ወዲህ ውልፊት ልንል በማይቻለን ሁኔታ ወጥረውናል፡፡ ምን እንደምናደርግም ጨንቆናአለ፡፡ ይቺ የቤት ውስጥ ወያኔ ዐይጥ ናት፡፡
ዘመኑ ለይቶለት የዐይጦችና  የወያኔዎች ሆኗል ወንድሞቼና እህቶቼ ማለትም ኢትዮጵያውያን፡፡ በኔ ቤት የተረፋት ነገር የለም፤ ለወትሮው ካልሲና ጨርቃ ጨርቅ እየለቃቀመች ነበር ወደጎሬዋ እምትወስድ፡፡ ዛሬ ግን ዘመን ተቀይሮ ባዶ ሞሰብ ሣይቀር መቆርጠም፣ አልሙኒየም የምጣድ አከንባሎ መጎርደም፣ ቁም ሣጥን መቀርጠፍ ይዛለች፤ ወያኔነት ከዚህ በላይ አለ? መጽሐፎችን አንብባ ላታነብ ነገር በጥርሶቿ መከታተፍ፣ ምግቦችን ከጉሮሮዋችን እየነጠቀች ማንከት፣ በሌሊትና አንዳንዴ ደግሞ በማንአለብኝነትና ወደር በሌለው ዕብሪት በቀንም ቤትን ተቆጣጥራ ሰላምን ማወክ የዘመናችን ትንሹዋ ወያኔ ገደቡን ያለፈ የድፍረት ተግባር ሊሆን በቅቷል – ወያኔን ተማምና መሆን አለበት መቼም፡፡ ድፍረቷ እኮ ድፍረት እንዳይመስላችሁ፡፡ ኧረረረረረ…. እንዳቃጠልሽኝ የሚያቃጥል ይዘዝብሽ፡፡ ብዙ ሰዎች በርሷ እንደተቸገሩና ዘመኑ ለርሷና ለወያኔ ዓይነቶቹ ምሥጥ መሠሪዎች የሰጠ መሆኑን ይህን ችግር የማወያያቸው ሰዎች ሁሉ ይነግሩኛል፡፡
ዛሬና አሁን በኢትዮጵያ የሰዓት አቆጣጠር ከሌሊቱ 6፡30 ገደማ ሲሆን ቀን የገዛሁትን እንትን በስምንት የጦር ግምባር አጥምጄ ወደብሶት አደባባይ መውጣቴ ነው – እንዳትሰማኝና እንዳታውቅብኝ ነው የገዛሁትን ነገር በእንትን የገለጸኩላችሁ ታዲያን – እንጂ “እዚያው በላች እዚያው ቀረች” የሚል አደገኛ መርዝ መግዛቴን ለመናገር አፍሬ እንዳይመስላችሁ፡፡ ለነገሩ ወያኔና ዐይጥ ከጠላታቸው የሚከላከሉበት ብዙ ተለዋዋጭ ዘዴ ስላላቸው በበሶ ዱዔት ያዘጋጀሁትን ግብዣ እንደሚቀበሉትና እንደማይቀበሉት አላውቅም – ውጤቱን ነገ አያለሁ፤ ዲዲቲና ወባ እንኳን ተለማምደው ጓደኛሞች መሆናቸውን ቀደም ሲል ሰምተን የለም? የሆነው ሆኖ ችግሩ ቀላል እንዳይመስላችሁ፤ ከአራት ኪሎ ቤተ መንግሥት የተለቀቁ ነው የሚመስሉት – እንደደፋርነታቸውና እንደሆዳምነታቸው፡፡ የሚምሩት ነገር እኮ የላቸውም፡፡ የሚሆንልኝ መስሎኝ “ዕቃ አትንኩብኝ፤ ቤቱ እንደሆነ ይበቃናል፡፡ ካለኝ አልፎ አልፎ ቀለብ እቆርጥላችኋለሁ – ከሌለኝ ግን ምን አደርጋለሁ? ብቻ አትተናኮሉኝ እንጂ እኔ መርዝ አላጠምድባችሁም፤ የዛሬን ኑሮ መቼም እናንተም ታውቁታላችሁ፡፡ ከመጠለቁ እግርን የሚፋጀው እሳተ መለኮቱ የቻይና ካልሲ እንኳን ባቅሙ ሠላሣና ዐርባ ብር በገባበት ወቅት እባካችሁን ተከባብረን እንኑር፡፡…” ብዬ ቃል ገብቼ በቤቴ ውስጥ የሚያደርሱትን ጉዳት ሰምቼ እንዳልሰማሁና ዐይቼም እንዳላየሁ ለብዙ ጊዜ ትቻቸው ነበር፡፡ እነሱ ግን የእንጀራ ሞሰብ አልጋችን ላይ አስቀምጠን ከባለቤቴ ጋር በየተራ እየጠበቅን እስክናድር ድረስ አሰቃዩን – የቤት ውስጥ ወያኔዎች! አሁን ባሰብኝና ቃሌን አፈረስኩ፡፡ እናም … የነሱስ አብነቱ ቀላል ነው፡፡ አለ እንጂ ወያኔ ለያዥ ለገራዥ ያስቸገረ! የወያኔስ ሰማያዊ መርዝ ካልተጨመረበት በምድራዊ መርዝ ብቻ አይጠራም፡፡ እናም ጎበዝ ግዴላችሁም ለላይኛውም በርትተን እንጩህ፡፡ የቃመ ብቻ ሣይሆን የጮኸም ተጠቀመ ሲባል ሰምቻለሁ፡፡
ወያኔና ዐይጥ አንድ ናቸው፡፡ ይሉኝታ አያውቁ፤ ፍቅር አያውቁ፤ ሀፍረትና ኅሊና እሚባል የላቸው፤ የተረገሙ ፀረ-ሕዝቦች፡፡
የሰሞኑ የወያኔ ኢቲቪ ወሬ የአባይ የህዳሴ ግድብ ብቻ ሆኗል፡፡ ነገሩ “አንድ ያላት እንቅልፍ የላት” ዓይነት ነው፡፡ በሌሎች ሀገራት በየአሥር ኪሎ ሜትሩ የሚገኝ ግድብ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ብርቅ ሆኖ ጆሯችን እስኪደነቁርና እጅ እጅ እስኪለን ድረስ አባይን እየተጋትን ነው፡፡ ይህ ግድብ ከኢኮኖሚያዊ ጠቀሜታው ይልቅ ፖለቲካዊ ፋይዳው እንደሚያመዝን ቀድሞውንም የታወቀ ነው፡፡ ፈረንጆቹ አንድን ነገር “politicized” ሆኗል ሲሉ ያ እንዲያ ሆነ የሚሉት ነገር በፊት ለፊት ከቆመለትና ከሚወራለት ዓላማ ውጪ ለሌላ ጉዳይ ውሏል ማለታቸው ነው፡፡ የወያኔ የህዳሴ ግድብም ወያኔ እንደሚለው ለሀገሪቱ የሚሰጠው የተለዬ ጥቅም ኖሮ ሣይሆን ሕዝብን ለማዘናጊያነትና ሊጠቀስም ሣይጠቀስ ሊዘለልም ለሚችል የተለዬ ፖለቲካዊ ፍጆታ መሆኑን እናውቃለን፡፡ አለበለዚያ የስድስት ሺህ ሜጋ ዋት ኮረንቲ ከቁም ነገር ተጥፎ እስከዚህን ድረስ 24 ሰዓት ከበሮ የሚያስደልቅና ይቀምሰውና ይልሰው ያጣን ድሃ ሕዝብ ያለ ርህራሄ የሚያዘርፍ ሆኖ አይደለም፡፡ “አንቺ ቁም ነገርሽ የጎመን ወጥሽ” እንደምንል ወያኔም በዚህች ድልድይ ማነው ግድብ ዕንቅልፍ አጥቶ እኛንም እንደሱ አትተኙብኝ እያለን ነው፡፡
በማለፊያ ክርስቶሳዊ አባባል አንድ የአደባባይ ምሥጢር እንድናገር መልካም ፈቃዳችሁ ይሁንልኝ፤ “እውነት እውነት እላችኋለሁ” አባይ ተገድቦ ቢያልቅ በኔም ሆነ በሌሎች ወገኖቼ ሕይወት ላይ አንዳችም ቁሣዊም ሆነ መንፈሣዊ ለውጥ አያመጣም፡፡ በምንም ዓይነት መንገድ፡፡ እርግጥ ነው – የተሟላ የቴክኒክ ዕውቀት ያለው የሰው ኃይል ካለና እንዳሁኑ በተጭበረበረ የግዢ ሂደት አማካይነት ፎርጅድና የአገልግሎት ዘመኑን ጨርሶ የተጣለ የማቴሪያል አቅርቦት ከተወገደ እንዲሁም የሕዝብ ብዛት በቁጥጥር ሥር ከዋለ ምናልባት ልክ እንዳሁኑ በመብራት ዕጦት ዳፍንት ውስጥ ላንገባ እንችል ይሆናል፡፡ እንዲያም ሆኖ ግን አሁንም ልክ እንዳሁኑ ሁሉ ለማይጠረቃው የመንግሥት ባለሥልጣናት ኪስ ማደለቢያና ለአነስተኛ የሀገር ገቢ ሲባል ቤት ያለው ሰው ሳይጠግብ ለዬጎረቤት ሀገር ኮረንቲ መቸብቸቡ ከቀጠለ የዚያኔም ቢሆን – አባይም ተገድቦ ማለት ነው – የመብራት ፈረቃው ላይቀርልን ይችላል፡፡ እናም በአባይ ግድብ ሳቢያ ከወያኔ ጋ ድብን ያለ ፍቅር የገባችሁ ወገኖች እውነቱን ከወዲሁ እንድትረዱት ላሳስብ እወዳለሁ፡፡ ወጥመድ ውስጥ ዘው ብላችሁ አትግቡ፡፡ ሀገር ካላችሁ ሁሉም አለና፡፡
ኢትዮጵያዊ መንግሥት ቢኖረን አንድ አይደለም አሥርና ከዚያም በላይ ትላልቅ ግድቦች ሊኖሩን የመቻላቸው ዕድል ሰፊ ነው፡፡ “ልማታዊ መንግሥታችን፤ ባለራዕዩና አባይን የደፈረ ጠቅላይ ሰይጣናችን ማነው ሚኒስትራችን” እያላችሁ ሟቹን ወያኔ የምታንቆለጳጵሱ ጥቅመኞች ሁሉ ዐይናችሁን ወደጭቁኑ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አዙሩና እውነቱን ለመረዳት ሞክሩ፡፡ ወያኔ ከኢትዮጵያ ታሪክ አንጻር ዕድሜው የጤዛ ያህል ነው፡፡ በማታለልና በማጭበርበር 23 ዓመታትን መኖሩም የሚገርም ነው፡፡ ለዚህ ቆይታው ግን ተጠያቂው ወያኔ ብቻ ሣይሆን በተንሸዋረረ ልማት ስም አንጀታቸው ለወያኔ የሚንቦጫቦጭ አድር ባዮችና እበላ ባይ ሆዳሞች የሚያደርጉለት ሁለገብ እገዛም ጭምር ነው፡፡ የኛም አንድ አለመሆንና በሃሳብ መለያየት ለወያኔ ዕድሜ መርዘም የድርሻውን አበርክቷል፡፡ ሌላ ሌላውን ምክንያት እናንተም ታውቃላችሁ፡፡
ወያኔ የአባይን ግድብ ብቻ ሣይሆን ሌሎች በሃያና ሠላሣ የሚቆጠሩ ታላላቅ ግድቦችን መሥራት ይችላል፡፡ እንዴት? በየተራ እንይ፡፡
ለአንድ ጡረተኛ ፕሬዚደንት መኖሪያ ቤት የተከራዩት በወር ስንት ብር ነው? (ልብ አድርግ – ከ400 ሺ ብር በላይ ነው!) በየወሩ የተመደበው ሌላ ሌላ ጥቅማ ጥቅምስ ስንት ነው ? ይህ በራሱ ቢደማመር በዓመትና በሁለት ዓመት ጊዜ ውስጥ – የሙስና መርዝ ካልተጠናወተው በቀር- አንድ መለስተኛ ግድብ ይሠራል፡፡ ለአንዲት ድሃ ሀገር ተጧሪ “ፕሬዚደንት” – ለዚያውም ፈርም የሚባልን ወያኔያዊ ደብዳቤ ለሚፈርም ከዘበኛ ያነሰ ሥልጣን ለነበረው ሰው – ይህን ሁሉ ወጪ መመደብ በስተጀርባው ሌላ ቤተኛን በእግረ መንገድ ለመጥቀም የተሸረበ ሤራ አለ ማለት ነው እንጂ አሳማኝነቱና ምክንያታዊነቱ በፍጹም አይተየኝም – “ራቁቱን ለተወለደ … “ ምን አነሰው ነበር እንዴ የሚባል? ይህ ነገር ራስን ያለማወቅ ችግር ወይም ስለሀገር ያለማሰብና በእልህ የሀገርን ሀብት የማባከን አዝማሚያ ይመስለኛል፡፡ እንደኢቲቪ የቁጭ በሉ አገላለጽ ሣይሆን እንደተጨባጩ እውነታ ከአጠቃላዩ ሕዝብ ከ85 በመቶ በላይ በባዶ እግሩ በሚሄድባት የድሃ ገበሬዎች ሀገር ውስጥ አንድን ተጧሪ ባለሥልጣን እንዲህ አንቀባርሮ የሚይዝ መንግሥት ደግሞ አንድ ግድብ ለመገንባት በሚል ሰበብ ከኔ ቢጤው ተራ ዜጋ – የወር ደመወዙ ከልመና ካላወጣው፣ እየሠራ ከሚደኸይና የኗሪ አኗኗሪ ከሆነ ምንዱብ ሠራተኛ መዋጮ መጠየቅ አልነበረበትም – አሣፋሪ ነው፡፡ እኔ እንዴት እንደምኖር አውቃለሁ፡፡ እንኳንስ ከደመወዜ ተቆርጦ ይቅርና አሁን የሚከፈለኝ ደመወዝ ተብዬ ዕጥፍ ድርብ ቢከፈለኝ እንኳን የኑሮውን ክብደት ሊያቃልልኝ አይችልም፤ የኔ ቢጤዎች የምንኖረው አንዷን ኪሎ ቅቤ በ“አጠቃቀስኩሽ” ሥልት ለዓመት እንደተጠቀመችባት ብልህ ሴት ዓይነት የኑሮን ጨውና ቅመም በብልሃት ‹አጠቃቀስኩሽ› እያልን ነው፡፡ ይህን የአባይ መዋጮ በተመለከተ የወያኔ መንግሥት ደደብነትና አስተዋይነትን ማጣት በእጅጉ ይገርመኛል – ለነገሩ ደደብነትና ወያኔ ለካንስ ሞክሼዎች ናቸውና፡፡ ስንቶችን እያዘባነነ የሚያኖር መንግሥት ጦሙን ከሚያድር ዜጋ በግድ የወር ደመወዙን ሲቆርጥ በዚህ መንግሥት ባለሥልጣናት ጭንቅላት ውስጥ የሚገኘው ነጭ ጭቃ ምን እንደሆነ ወይም የምን እንደሆነ ለማወቅ በከንቱ የምንዳክር አንጠፋም – በበኩሌ በራስ ቅላቸው ውስጥ ምን ተሸክመው እንደሚዞሩ ለመረዳት ሞክሬ ሲሰለቸኝ ደክሞኝ ትቸዋለሁ – እንዲያው ግን አምባርጭቃ ይሆን እንዴ? ሲገርሙ!
ወያኔዎች ኢንሳ በሚሉት የስለላ ድርጅታቸው ኢሳትን በዋናነት ጨምሮ የተቃዋሚ ሚዲያዎችን ሲቻላቸው ከዓለም ለማጥፋት ያ ባይቻል ደግሞ ወደ ሀገር ገብተው ሕዝብን በማንቃት የወያኔ ቅሌትና ውርደት እንዲሁም ከብረት የጠነከረ ፈርዖናዊና ናቡከደነፆራዊ የግፍ አገዛዛቸው ሕዝብ ላይ በዬጊዜው የሚፈጥረው ጭቆናና ግፍና በደል እንዳይገለጥባቸው በማሰብ በየወሩ የሚከሰክሱት የሀገር ሀብት አንድ አባይን ብቻ ሳይሆን አሥር ባሮና አሥር አዋሽን ያስገድባል፡፡ በዚያ ረገድ እኛን ብቻ ሣይሆን ሌላውን ዓለምም በሚያስደምም ሁኔታ እንደጉድ ነው ገንዘባችንን ለኛው መጨቆኛ የሚመዠርጡት፡፡ ይህን የማናውቅ እየመሰላቸው ከሆነ ተሞኝተዋል፡፡ በብዙ ሚሊዮን የሚቆጠር ዶላር ለትርኪ ምርኪ የሚዲያ ማፈኛ ቁሣቁስና የውጪ ኤክስፐርቶች እንዲሁም የስለላ ቫይረስ ለመግዛት ሜዳ ላይ ከሚበትኑት ለሀገር ዕድገት ቢያውሉት ከጉራማይሌያዊ የልመና ባህላቸው በወጡ ነበር፡፡ እንደነሱ የገንዘብ አወጣጥ እኮ ኢትዮጵያ እጅግ ሀብታም ናት፡፡ እነሱ ገንዘብን በሚሊዮንና በቢሊዮን መዝረጥ የሚያደርጉት የነሱን ሥልጣን ለማስጠበቅ መሆኑ ከፋ እንጂ እንዳመነዛዘራቸው ለጭቁኑ ሕዝብ ቢሆን ኖሮ ረሀብና እርዛት ከሀገራችን ጠቅልለው ከወጡ በትንሹ 23 ዓመታትን ባስቆጠሩ ነበር፡፡ ለደኅንነት የተቃዋሚ ክትትልና የፀረ-ስለላ ስለላ አባላት በገፍ የሚወጣው መዝገብ የማያውቀው ወጪ፣ በወያኔ አገዛዝ የፊጥኝ ከታሰረው ምሥኪን ሕዝብ ተቀምቶ የወያኔን ወንበር ለመጠበቅ ለተሠማራው የሀገር መከላከያ ሠራዊት ተብዬ የሚገፈገፈው ገንዘብ፤ ለመሣሪያ ግዢና በግዢው ሰበብ በሙስና ወደግል ካዝና የሚዶለው ቁጥር የማይገልጸው እጅግ ብዙ ገንዘብ፣ በመከላከያና በደኅንነት እንዲሁም በመሰል የፀጥታ ተቋማት ለሚርመሰመሰው ጆሮ ጠቢና አፋዳሽ ሁላ ካለበቂ ሥራ እንደ ቅጠል የሚረግፈው የሀገር ገንዘብ፣ ካበቂ ጥናትና ካለተጨባጭ ሀገራዊ ፋይዳ በዬጊዜው ለሚቋቋሙ አዳዲስ መሥሪያ ቤቶችና አደረጃጀቶች የሚወጣው ገንዘብ፣ ውጤቱ አስቀድሞ ለሚታወቅ የማይረባ ምርጫ የሚከሰከሰው ብዙ ሚሊዮን ገንዘብ፣ ለአብዮታቸው ጥበቃ ሲባል ለዬግልገል ካድሬው የሚዘራው ብር፣ሕወሓትን በዋናነት ይዞ ለዬአጋር ድርጅት ተብዎች ዓመታዊ የምሥረታ በዓላት ለፈንጠዝያና ለቸበርቻቻ የሚወጣው ገንዘብ፣ በሀገር ውስጥም ከሀገር ውጪም በባለሥልጣናት የሚመዘበረው የሀገር ሀብትና ንብረት … ሁሉ ቢደማመር ሀገራዊ ልመና ሱስ ላልሆነበት የመንግሥት መዋቅር ያለ አንዳች ምፅዋትና ቡገታ  አንድ አይደለም ከመቶ በላይ ግድብና ሌላም የልማት ዕቅድ ያሠራል፡፡ ዓለም አቀፍ ደረጃውን የጠበቀ አንድ ብሔራዊ እስቴዲየም ለማሠራት ወገቤን የሚል መንግሥት ያላት ኢትዮጵያ 200 ታንኮችንና በአሥራዎች የሚቆጠሩ የጦር አውሮፕላኖችን በአንዴ ሲገዛ በሰበቡም ከፍ ሲል ለመግለጽ እንደተሞከረው በመቶ ሚሊዮን የሚገመት ገንዘብ በየማይማን የጦር “ጄኔራሎች” የግል ካዝና ሲገባ ስናይ “የነዚህ ሰዎች ዜግነት ምን ይሆን? በውነቱ ኢትዮጵያዊነቱ ይቅርና ጤናማነታቸው የማያጠራጥር ሰዎችስ ናቸው ወይ?” ብለን መጨነቃችን አይቀርም፡፡ ሰው እኮ አንድ ዓመት ይዘርፋል፤ አንድ ዓመት ይዋሻል፤ አንድ ዓመት ይሰርቃል፤ አንድ ዓመት ይሞስናል፤ አንድ ዓመት ይዘሙታል፣ አንድ ዓመት ያጭበረብራል፣ አንድ ዓመት … አዎ፣ በወረት ለተወሰነ ጊዜ ከመስመር መሠወር/መጥፋት ያለ ነው፡ አንድ ሰው የሀብት ፍቅር ካራዠው  መቼስ ምን ይደረጋል በሚፈልገው ነገር እስኪጠረቃ ድረስ ወይም በቃኝን እስያውቅ ድረስ ለተወሰነ ጊዜ መጥፎ ነገርን እያደረገ ይቆያል፤ ሰው ከሆነ ግና በሕይወት ውጣ ውረድ መማር አለበት፡፡ የተሸከመው አንጎል ጭቃ ሣይሆን ዛሬን ከነገና ትናንትን ከትናንት በስቲያ እያመዛዘነ ገምቢ ግንዛቤን ሊያስጨብጠው የሚችል ትልቅ መለኮታዊ ስጦታ ስለሆነ በሕይወት ፈተና ተሸንፎ ከተዘፈቀበት ሰውነትን ከሚያሳንስና ኅሊናን ከሚያጎድፍ ወደእንስሳነት ደረጃም ከሚያወርድ አዘቅት ለመውጣት መሞከር አለበት – ከወያኔ እንዲያውም ብዙ እንስሳት የተሻሉ “ሞራላዊ” ፍጡራን ናቸው፡፡ ዕድሜ ልኩን በክፋትና በመጥፎ ድርጊቶች ተበክሎና በዚያው ቆርቦ መኖር ለታዛቢም ይሰቀጥጣል፡፡ ወያኔዎች ከጧት እስከማታ ቢያጋፍሩ በቃኝን የማያውቁና በቂምና በበቀል የታጀሉ ትንግርተኛ ፍጡራን ናቸው – “የሞኝ ዘፈን ሁልጊዜ አበባዬ” እንዳትሉኝ እንጂ ለምሳሌ በዐሥራዎቹ ዕድሜ ሳሉ የጀመራቸው ፀረ-ኢትዮጵያና ፀረ-አማራ ጥላቻ አሁን ድረስ በስተርጅናም አብሮ ዘልቆ እነስብሃትንና ሣሞራን ምን ያህል እያሰቃያቸው እንደሆነ የምናውቀው ነው፡፡ ይሄ ታዲያ መረገም አይደለም ትላላችሁ? ብቻ ይህንን የምለውን ሁሉ የማናውቅና ሁኔታዎች ሲያመቹና ጊዜው ሲደርስ የማንጠይቅ ከመሰላቸው አሁንም ተሞኝተዋል፡፡
ካሉት ጥቂት መጻሕፍት ውጪ ምንም ምድራዊ ሀብትና ንብረት እንዳልነበረው ካላንዳች ሀፍረት በራሱ አንደበት ሲናገር የነበረውና የባሕርይ አምሳያው ወላጅ አባቱም “ [በድህነቱ ምክንያት] የአምስት ብርና የአሥር ብር ኖቶችን እንኳን መለየት አይችልም” በማለት የወፍ ምሥክሯ ድምቢጥ ዓይነት የዋቢነት ቃሉን የሰጠለት መለስ ዜናዊ 3.7 ቢሊዮን ዶላር በስሙ ተመዝግቦ መገኘቱን አንድ ዓለም አቀፍ ተቋም በቅርቡ አጋልጧል፡፡ ከዚያም ቀደም ብሎ በዚሁ ብዔል ዘቡል የበኩር ልጅ በሰምሃል መለስ ስም ከአምስት ቢሊዮን ዶላር (ሚሊዮን አይደለም!) – ልድገመው ከአምስት ቢሊዮን ዶላር በላይ ተቀማጭ ገንዘብ እንደተገኘ ተዘግቧል፡፡ በአባትና ልጅ ስም የተገኘው ገንዘብ ብቻውን ከሁለት በላይ የአባይን መሰል ግድቦችን ያስገነባል፡፡ ታዲያ የምን ቧጋችነትና ማራሪነት ነው? የምንስ ማስመሰል ነው? የቆሎ ተማሪ የሀብታምም ልጅ ቢሆን ቧግቶ መብላቱ፣ ለምኖ ካልበላ ትምህርቱ ስለማይገባው ነው የሚል አፈ ታሪክ ስላለ ነው፡፡ ኢትዮጵያስ ካልቧገተችና ድሃ ልጆቿን ራቁታቸውን ካላስቀረች ልትለማ አትችልም ማለት ነው? ምን ዓይነት ዕንቆቅልሽ ነው? ኢትዮጵያየን ከ30 ዓመታት በላይ በሙያዬ ያገለገልኳት ሰውዬ የእኔ ልጅ በወያኔ ወለድ የኑሮ ውድነት ሳቢያ በቀን አንዴም መመገብ እያቃተው ከኔ ከአባቱ መናኛ የወር ደሞዝ ለአባይ አዋጣ ስባል ሰምሃል መለስ ደግሞ የኢትዮጵያን አንጡራ ሀብት በሎንዶን ታላላቅ ሆቴሎች እየተዘዋወረች ከሎንዶናውያንና ወያኔያውያን ወሮበሎች ጋር በዬምሽት ክበባቱ ጢምቢራዋ እስኪዞር እየጠጣች ስታስታውክበትና አለመላው ስትዘባነንበት ሲታይ ምን ዓይነት ሀገራዊ ስዕል ነው የምናስተውለው? የዚህን አስገራሚ እውነት ተፈጥሯዊ ፍትህስ መቼ ነው የምናየው? የሆነ የሚያበሳጭ ሀገራዊ ምስል በአእምሯችሁ ብልጭ አላለባችሁም? ስንቱ ባለሥልጣንና የጦር አበጋዝ ነው ከነየልጁ በዚህ መልክ በሀገር ሀብት እየተጫወተ የሚገኘው? ታዲያ ይሄ ሁሉ አላግባብ በሙስናና በዝርፊያ የሚባክን ሀብት ስንት ግድብ፣ ስንት የባቡር መንገድ፣ ስንት አውራ ጎዳና፣ ስንት ሆስፒታል፣ ስንት ትምህርት ቤት፣ ስንት ኮሌጅና ዩኒቨርስቲ (ያልተማሩ መምህራን የታጨቁበት ባዶና ከርክክብ ሥነ ሥርዓቱ ቀድሞ የሚሰነጣጠቅ – ጥቂት ቆይቶም የሚፈራርስ ሕንፃ ሣይሆን በሁሉም ረገድ ደረጃውን የጠበቀ ማለቴ እንደሆነ ተረዱልኝ)፣ ስንት የበጎ አድራት ተቋም፣ ስንት ክሊኒክና የጤና ኬላ፣ ስንትና ስንት የመኖሪያ ቤቶችና ሕንፃዎች አይሠራም ነበርን? ይህ ሁሉ ገንዘብ ቅን ተገዢ ያደረገንን ማይምነት ከኢትዮጵያ ምድር ጠራርጎ አያወጣውም ነበርን? ይህንንም ሕዝቡ አያውቅብንም ዘመኑ ሲደርስም አይጠይቀንም ብለው ከሆነ በርግጥም ተጃጅለዋል፡፡ ለነገሩ ሆድ አለልክ ሲጠግብ እኮ ጭንቅላት ፉዞ ይሆናል አሉ፡፡
በቀዳማዊ ኃ/ሥ ጊዜ ስንት ብድርና ዕርዳታ ወደ ሀገር ገባ? በደርጉስ? በአሁኑ የወያኔ ጉጅሌስ? በዕርዳታና በብድር መልክ ከሚገባው ገንዘብ ምን ያህሉ ነው በትክክል በታለመበት ሥራ ላይ የሚውለው? አሁን የሚባለውን እንስማ ካልን ወደ ሀገር ከሚገባው የብድርም ሆነ የዕርዳታ ገንዘብ ውስጥ ሩብ ያህሉ እንኳን የሀገር ጥቅም ላይ አይውልም፡፡ ይመዘበራል፤ የግለሰቦችን ኪስ ያሞቃል፡፡ ለሀገር የሚቆረቆር ባለሥልጣንም ሆነ ተቆጣጣሪ ለጋሽና አበዳሪ ሀገር ባለመኖሩ በኢትዮጵያ ስም የተቃፈፈው የዕርዳታም ይሁን የብድር ገንዘብ እሳት ውስጥ የገባ ቅቤ ሆኖ ይቀራል፡፡ በመሠረቱ ሙሰኝነት ዱሮም ነበር – ግን እንደዛሬው ዐይኑን ያፈጠጠና ግዘፍ ነስቶ በአደባባይ ሲራመድ የሚታይ አልነበረም፤ ይሉኝታ የሚባል የኅሊና ዳኛ በመጠኑም ቢሆን  ነበር፡፡ ዛሬ ግን ደመወዙን የምናውቀው አነስተኛ ባለሥልጣንና የሥራ ኃላፊ ሁሉ የወር ገቢው ለሦስት ቀንም እንደማይበቃው እየተረዳን ወር ከወር ጮማ ሲቆርጥና ዊስኪ ሲጨልጥ ነው የሚገኘው – የሚመነዝረው ረብጣ ብርማ አይነሣ፡፡ ከየት አመጣው? ባለፈው ከአንድ መጽሔት እንዳነበብኩት እርሱና ሚስቱ ተኝተው ባደረጉት ነገር ምክንያት ፈጣሪ የሰጣቸውን ሦስተኛ ልጅ ሚስቱ ብቻ እንደሰጠችው በመቁጠር ትልቅ የፌሽታ ድግስ በቤቱ ውስጥ አድርጎ የ2.5 ሚሊዮን ብር መኪና ቁልፍ ለምሽቱ የሸለመው ወያኔ ሀብታም ያን የሚጫወትበትን ገንዘብ ከየት አባቱ እንዳመጣው ብንጠይቅ መልስ የሚሰጠን የለም፡፡ እነዚህን መሰል የወያኔ ንፋስ ወለድ ሀብታሞች በከንቱ የሚቀዳድዱትን ብር ለቁም ነገር ቢያውሉት አንድ ቀርቶ አምስት ስድስት ግድብ አይሠሩም ነበር ወይ? የኔ ቢጤን የሥጋን ምግብ ተውትና በቅጡ የተሠራች ኩርጥ ያለች የአተር ወጥ እንኳን ካዬ ወራት ያስቆጠረ መንዳካ ድሃ ያለችውን መናኛ ሣንቲም በግድ ከሚቀሙ እነዚህንና አላሙዲንን የመሳሰሉ ደደብ ሀብታሞችንና ቱጃር የባለሥልጣን ነቀዞችን  ቢያስተባብሩ አባይን የሚያስንቅ ስንትና ስንት ግንባታ ሊሠሩ አይችሉም ነበር ወይ? እነሱ እንደልባቸው ለሚምነሸነሹባት ሀገር እኔ ምን ቤት ነኝና የሌለኝን ልስጥ? ይህኛው ግፍ ከሁሉም ግፎች አይበልጥምን? አሁን ኢትዮጵያ በርግጥ የማን ናት? ከትንሽ ጣት ምን ተቆርጦ ይወሰዳል? እነዚህ የመንግሥት ሰዎች ግፍ ማለት ምን ማለት እንደሆነ አያውቁም ማለት ነው? ጤፍ በኩንታል ከብር 1600 በላይ በሆነበትና የአንድ ወዛደር ወርሃዊ ደሞዝ ከ400 ባልበለጠበት ሁኔታ ምኑን ነው ከምኑ የሚቆርጡት? ምነው እስከዚህን አቅል አሳጣቸው? …
አባይን ተገድቦ ማየት ማንም አይጠላም፡፡ “አሻራውን አባይ ላይ የማያስቀምጥ ኢትዮጵያዊ አይደለም” የሚሉት ፈሊጥ ደግሞ የእውነት መሠረት የሌለውና ጠርዝ የለቀቀ የግድብ ‹ፖሊቲሳይዜሽን› ነው፡፡ ከእውነቱ ፍጹም የራቀ የማጨናበሪያ ፕሮፓጋንዳ ነው፡፡ መቼም ቢሆን አባይ ቢገድብ የሚጠላ ኢትዮጵያዊ ሊኖር አይችልም – መንግሥት ቀርቶ የመንግሥት ጳጳስ ቢያወግዘንም የአባይን መገደብ ሣይሆን የምንቃወመው ጠንጋራ አካሄዱንና የወያኔን ገደብ የለሽ ቱልቱላ ነው፡፡ ለምሳሌ ከፍ ሲል እንደተገለጸው ግድቡ ለሆነ ችግር ማስተንፈሻ ድንገት ጣልቃ ገባ እንጂ ሕዝብ አልመከረበትም፤ የሥራው ኮንትራት አሰጣጥም ብዙ ችግር እንዳለበት፣ ዕቃ አቀራረብና ሌላ ሌላ ሂደት ላይም ወያኔያውያን ባለጠጎችና ሞሰቦን የመሳሰሉ የወያኔው መርዝአቀባይ  ደንገጡር ድርጅቶች ይበልጥ እንዲከብሩበት ተደርጎ እየተካሄደ መሆኑ ከታማኝ የዜና ምንጮች ሰምተናል፤ ታዲያስ? ለምን እንታለላለን? እንጂ በመሠረቱማ ወያኔን መጥላትና የአባይ መገደብ የግድ የሆነ ግንኙነት ሊኖራቸው አይችልም፡፡ ችግሩ ተደጋግሞ እንደተነገረው ዘረኝነትን በዋነኛነት ጨምሮ ከአባይ በፊት መገደብ ያለባቸው ብዙ ወያኔያዊ የመጥፎ አገዛዝ ጎርፎች መኖራቸው ነው፡፡ እኔ ለምሳሌ ለአባይ ድምቡሎ አላዋጣም፤ ፍላጎቴ ራሱ ዜሮ ነው፡፡ የኔ ሰዎች የያዙት ስለማይመስለኝና ስላልሆኑም እንዲያውም ስለአባይ ወሬው ራሱ ባይነሳብኝ እመርጣለሁ – ወያኔን ብሎ ለኢትዮጵያ አሳቢ ይታያችሁ! አንድስ አንድስ እሚያህል መሬት እየገነደሰ ለባዕድ የሚሸጥ ወያኔ እንዴት ለሀገር ተቆርቁሮ ይህን ታላቅ ፕሮጀክት ሊጀምር ይችላል? እደግመዋለሁ – ግድቡን ግን ጠልቼ አይደለም፡፡ በሌላም በኩል ካየነው እኔን እየራበኝ፣ ኑሮየ የጎሪጥ እያየኝ ነጋ ጠባ እያላገጠብኝ ከኔ ተርፎ ለአባይ ማለት ከጅብ ተርፎ ለውሻ እንደማለት ስለሆነ ላዋጣ ብዬ ልግደርደር ብል እንኳን እንደስድብ ተቆጥሮ “ተው አንተ፣ አቅምህን ዕወቅ፣ ዕረፍ እንጂ፣ አንተን አይመለከትም፤ ምን አለህና! “ ነው ልባል እሚገባ፡፡ ዐይን አይቶ ልብ ይፈርዳል ይባላል፡፡ በቀን አንዴ መቅመስ ያቃተው ሰው፣ የነተበ ሸሚዝና አቧራ የቃመ የሸራ ይሁን የላስቲክ ጫማ ማድረጉ የማይታወቅ ሰው፣ ወር በገባ በአምስተኛውና ስድሰተኛው ቀን ሁሉም የቤት አስቤዛው ተመካክሮ በአንዴ የሚያልቅበትና ኑሮውን በብድርና እልፍ ሲልም በውጭ ሀገራት በሚኖሩ ዘመዶቹ መጠነኛ የበጀት ድጋፍ ተሰናባቹን ወር ከአዲሱ ወር ለማገጣጠም የሚፍጨረጨር ሰው፣ ልብሱ እላዩ ላይ አልቆ – ከአንሶላ ጋር ተቆራርጦ – ከሶፋና አዳዲስ የቤት ዕቃዎች ግዢና ጥገና ጋር እስከወዲያኛው ተፋትቶ፣ … በደመ ነፍስ ብቻ (ጌታ) ናስቲለው የሚኖር ሰው የግድብ ወሬ አይገባውም – እንዲገባው መጠበቅ ራሱ ቂልነትና ለተቀማጭ ሰማይ ቅርቡን የሚያስተርት ፌዝና ቀልድ ነገር ይመስለኛል፡፡ ይህ ግድብና የግድብ ቱሪናፋ የቅንጦት ወሬና እውነትም ለቡትለካ እንዲያመች ለወያኔ ዕድሜ ማራዘሚያነት ተለክቶ የተሰፋ መለስ ዜናዊያዊ የማጭበርበሪያ ካባ ነው – ካባ አሰፋፍ እንደሱ እንደመለስ የሚሆን ደግሞ በዓለም የለም፤ ማገብት፣ ተሓት፣ ተሓህት፣ ሕወሓት፣ማሌሊት፣ ኢማሌኃ፣ ኢዴመአን፣ ኢሕዲን፣ ብኣዴን፣ ደኢሕዴግ፣ ኦሕዴድ፣ ብዙ ንቅናቄዎች፣ ብዙ ዴዶች … ስልቻ ቀልቀሎ፣ ቀልቀሎ ስልቻ …ይህ ሁሉ ካባ ወያኔ ላይ የሚጠለቅና በአብዛኛው በኢንጂኔር መለስ ዜናዊ የተሰፋ ነውና ነበርም – አማርኛውም ጠፋኝ ልጄ፡፡ በዚህ በአባይ ግድብ የውሸት ካባ ደግሞ ኢትዮጵያዊነት አይለካም – መለካት ካለበት እንግዲያውስ ይህን ወያኔያዊ ቅራቅንቦና የነፃነት ትግልን የማደናቀፊያ ሥልት ተከትሎ ራሱ በመወናበድ ሌሎችን የሚያወናብድ ቀፎ ዜጋ ነው – በቃ ቀፎ፡፡ አናቱን በመዶሻ እየወቀጡት እግሩን ሲያኩት መታለሉ የማይገባው ዝንጉ ካለ ቀፎ ብቻ ሣይሆን ድንጋይ ራስም ሆዳምም ደንቆሮም ነው፡፡ ለእኔ ሀገርና መሪ ሲኖረኝ ሁሉም ይደርሳል፡፡ ዝንጀሮ “ቀድሞ የመቀመጫየን” እንዳለችው  ሀገራዊ ነፃነት ሣይኖረኝ አንድ ሺህ ግድብና አንድ ሌላ ሺህ ባቡር ከነሃዲዱ ቢኖረኝ ምንም አይፈይድልኝም፡፡ ጣሊያን በአምስት ዓመት የሠራቸው የልማት አውታሮች ጥቅማቸው እንዳለ ሆኖ ቅኝ ገዢውን ግን ወደ መልአክነት አልለወጡትም፤ በአፓርታይድ ዘመን ደቡብ አፍሪካ ውስጥ የታዩና ሀገሪቷን ከበለጸጉ የዓለም ሀገሮች ተርታ ያስሰለፉ የዕድገትና ልማት እመርታዎች የአፓርታይድን ሥርዓት ከመገርሰስ ካለማዳናቸውም በላይ ሥርዓቱን ከዓለም አቀፍ ውግዘትና መነጠል አውጥተው ለጽድቅና ለበረከት አላበቁትም፡፡ ኦ!ኦ! አሁንስ በቃኝ እባክህን፡፡ ዕንቅልፌ እያዳፋኝ ነው፡፡ እነዚያ እርጉም ትናንሽ ወያኔዎችም ግብዣየን መቀበል አለመቀበላቸውን ላረጋግጥና ጋደም ልበል፡፡ ከቅብዥር ነፃ የሆነ እውነተኛ ዕንቅልፍ ባይኖርም ዐረፍ ማለቱ አይከፋም፡፡ እነዚህ ነቀዝ ወያኔዎች እያሉ በቅጡ መተኛትም እኮ ቀረ፡፡ 11፡30 ሌሊት (ንጋት?)፡፡ 24/7/2006ዓ.ም

ህግን ተላልፈን ከህገወጦች ጋር አንተባበርም! (ከአንድነት የአዲስ አበባ ም/ቤት የተሰጠ መግለጫ)


አንድነት ለዴሞክራሲና ለፍትሕ ፓርቲ (አንድነት)
ከአንድነት የአዲስ አበባ ም/ቤት የተሰጠ መግለጫ
Andenat Party UDJ
የእሪታ ቀን በሚል መሪቃል በመዲናችን አዲስ አበባ ያሉ ማህበራዊና ኢኮ ኖሚያዉ ቀውሶችን አስመልክቶ በተለይም ከተማዋን ወደ ማህበራዊ ቀውስ እየመሯት የሆኑትን የውሃ፣ መብራት፣ ስልክ፣ የትራንስፖርት ችግር እንዲቀረፍ ህዝቡ የተቃውሞ ድምፁን እንዲያሰማ መጋቢት 28 ቀን 2ዐዐ6 ዓም ለማካሄድ ያቀደውን ሕዝባዊ ሠላማዊ ሠልፍ አስመልክቶ በህዝብ መገናኛ ብዙሃን ይፋ ካደረግንበት ቀን ጀምሮ የሚጠበቅብንን ህጋዊ የማሣወቅ ሥራዎችን ስንሠራ የቆየን መሆኑና መድረስ ለሚገባው አካል ሁሉ አካል ሁሉ በተገቢው ሁኔታ ማሳወቃችን ይታወቃል፡፡ ነገር ግን ጥሪው ለሕዝብ ይፋ ከተደረገበት ጊዜ ጀምሮ የሚመለከተው የሠላማዊ ሠልፍና ስብሰባ ማሳወቂያ ክፍል በህግ የተቋቋመበትን ኃላፊነት በመዘንጋት ለጠየቅነው ጥያቄ ቀጥተኛ መልስ ከመስጠት ይልቅ ህግ በመተላለፍ ክልከላ አዘል ደብዳበ ልኳል፡፡ ሆኖም የአንድነት የአዲስ አበባ ከተማ ምክር ቤት በትላንትናው እለት ባደረገው አስቸኳይ ስብሰባ ለሠላማዊ ሠልፍ ማሳወቂያ ክፍል የላከው ደብዳቤ በአዋጅ ከተደነገገ ህግ ጋር የሚጣረስና የዜጎችን መብት የሚያፍን መሆኑን የአዲስ አበባ ከተማ የአንድነት ምክር ቤት ግንዛቤ በመያዝ ከዚህ የሚከተለውን የአቋም መግለጫ በማውጣት ለመገናኛ ብዙሃን እንዲተላለፍ ወስኗል፡፡
የአቋም መግለጫው የአዲስ አበባ ከተማ መስተዳደር የሠላማዊ ሠልፍና የፖለቲካ ስብሰባ ማሳወቂያ ክፍል ፓርቲያችን መጋቢት 15 ቀን 2ዐዐ6 ዓም ላስገባለት የሠላማዊ ሠልፍ እውቅና መጠየቂያ ደብዳቤ መጋቢት 17 ቀን 2ዐዐ6 ዓም በሠጠው ምላሽ የሠላማዊ ሠልፍ ጥያቄውን አለመቀበሉን ማሳታወቁንና ለዚህ ደብዳቤ የላክንለትን መልስ አልቀበልም በማለት የወጣ ነው፡፡
1. የሠላማዊ ሠልፍ ማሳወቂያ ክፍሉ ለሚቀርብለት የሠላማዊ ሠልፍ የእውቅና ጥያቄ ህገ መንገሥቱንና አዋጅን በሚቃረን መልኩ ምላሽ መስጠት የማይችል ቢሆንም በማን አለብኝነት አዋጁን በጣሰ መልኩ ምላሽ መስጠቱን አልተቀበልነውም፡፡
2. ህዝብን በተለይም ህገ መንግሥታዊ ድንጋጌዎች እንዲያገለግል ኃላፊነት የተሰጠው አካል ህጋዊ እውቅና ካገኘ ተፎካካሪ ፓርቲ የሚቀርብለትን ደብዳቤ አልቀበልም ማለቱም ህገ ወጥ ተግባር በመሆኑ ግለሰቡ በመደበኛ ፍርድ ቤት ክስ እንዲመሰረትባቸው ወስነናል፡፡
3. ለህግና ህገ መንግሥታዊነት ጥብቅና ለመቆም ቃል የገቡት የፌዴራልና የአዲስ አበባ ከተማ ፖሊሶች ህግን አክብሮ እየተንቀሳቀሰ ከሚገኘው ፓርቲያችን ጎን እንዲቆሙ እንጠይቃለን፡፡
4. አዋጁን ያፀደቀው ፖርላማ ለሠላማዊ ሠልፍ ጥያቄያችን የተሰጠን ምላሽ ህገ ወጥ መሆኑን እንዲመለከት አባሪ በማድረግ ለላክንለት ደበዳቤ አፋጣኝ ምላሽ እንዲሰጠን እንጠይቃለን፡፡
5. ለመጋቢት 28 ቀን 2ዐዐ6 ዓም የጠራነው ‹‹የእሪታ ቀን›› ሠላማዊ ሠልፍ ህጋዊ መስመሩን ተከትሎ የቀረበ በመሆኑና በህገ ወጥ አሰራር ሊታጠፍ ስለማይችል ምክር ቤታችን ሙሉ እውቅና ሰጥቶታል፡፡
6. በሠላማዊ ሠልፍ ለሚደርስ ማናቸውም አይነት ኪሳራዎች፣ ጉዳቶችና መጉላላቶች ተጠያቂው ህጋዊ ቢሮ ይዞ ህገ ወጥ አሰራር የሚከተለው አካል መሆኑን ለማሳወቅ እንወዳለን፡፡
7. አሁን የገጠመን የመሠረታዊ አገልግሎቶች ችግር የውሃ፣ የመብራት፣ የስልክ ችግር የመኖርና ያለመኖር ጥያቄ ከሆነ ውሎ አድሯል፡፡ የአዲስ አበባ ከተማ ነዋሪ ህዝብ የገጠመውን ስቃይ እሪ በማለት እንዲያሰማ አንድነት ለዴሞክራሲና ለፍትሕ ፓርቲ (አንድነት) መድረኩን ያዘጋጀ ስለሆነ ጥያቄያችሁን ለመንግሥት እንድታስተላልፉ የአዲስ አበባ አንድነት ም/ቤት ጥሪውን ያስተላልፋል፡፡
ስለሆነም በአዲስ አበባ ከተማ የሚደረገው የቅስቀሳ ስራ ከዛሬ መጋቢት 24 ቀን 2ዐዐ6 ዓም ጀምሮ በይፋ የሚጀመር መሆኑን እየገለጽን፤ በዚህ የዘመቻ ስራ ላይ መንግሥት አስፈላጊውን ትብብር እንዱያደርግ ከወዲሁ ጥሪያችንን እናቀርባለን፡፡ ከዚህ ውጭ በቅስቀሳው ስራላይ ለሚገጥመን ህገወጥ ችግር መንግሥት ሃላፊነቱን እንደሚወስድ እንገልፃለን፡፡
ድል የህዝብ ነው!
መጋቢት 24 ቀን 2ዐዐ6 ዓም
አዲስ አበባ

Forward with the victory of Bahr Dar Demo


by Robele Ababya
Tribute to Organizers and Participants of the Bahr Dar Demo
It was with great Ethiopian pride and exceeding joy in my heart that I watched the mammoth demonstration by the heroic residents of Bahr Dar. The lady participant in the demo with her child on her back reminded me of the history of the suffering mothers carrying their babies on their backs and playing their part bravely in the resistance to Fascist Italian invaders.demonstration by the heroic residents of Bahr Dar
The massive demonstration had no doubt marked the beginning of the end of the TPLF/EPRDF regime!!!
Thank you my fellow Ethiopians residing in Bahr Dar. Thank you the distinguished patriotic leaders of the UDJP, AEUP and Group for Democratic for your exemplary collaboration in this noble undertaking to organize the inspiring demonstration jointly that has torn the wall of fear for good. The success of the Bahr Dar Demo proved to be a nightmare to TPLF tyrants and it will no doubt continue to be so.
Popular anger inevitably spreading across the nation
The Deputy President of the Amhara Kilil, Alemnew Mekonnen, made a colossal mistake detrimental not only to his party but also to his own safety. He will in time be disowned publicly by his colleagues in the ANDM. His fate will be similar to that of Salman Rushdie who had to run for his life and hide in various places in order to escape the death sentence decreed on him by the Grand Ayatollah of Iran for his slur on the Prophet Mohammed in his book titled “Satanic Verses”.
Alemnew Mekonnen exposed the low level mental capacity of himself and his colleagues. His disgraceful rude utterance supported by his likes in the ANDM degrading the valiant Amhara people must be condemned by all Ethiopians until he and his likes are politically dead.
Absence of the word “apology” in the lexicon of his mentors, the TPLF thugs, Alemnew fell into the trap of blaming the opposition with the ridiculous accusation that his words uttered in a meeting of four days of his party were computer-engineered to produce the publicly disseminated speech attributed to him. His shameful denial apparently led to the laughable drama – concocted by the Weyane pathological liars and masters of deception – of the senseless fight between ANDM and OPDO supporters at the recent football match of their respective teams at Bahr Dar
Their low IQ raises the grand question whether the entire ANDM leadership can understand and manage development projects and prioritize their implementation in the Amhara region. For example do they understand the domestic and international implications of the extremely complex Grand Renaissance Dam (GRD) project in the face of multiple issues related to economic benefits, environmental degradation and objection of Egypt to the big size of the Dam? Do they understand that the Blue Nile is an international river governed by moral imperative and international law?
Forward with the victory of Bahr Dar Demo
The success of the mammoth demonstration in Bahr Dar has generated a significant driving momentum to the quest for change across Ethiopia. The heroes and heroines of its success have come up with the creative idea of launching public outcry (vociferation) at major cities to express popular anger at the failure of the TPLF regime to govern the country since it came to power by the barrel of the gun in   May 1991.
The planned “vociferation” at major cities across Ethiopia will surely hasten the fall of the misruling TPLF/EPRDF genocidal regime. But extreme care is required not to create a power vacuum and thereby plunge our country into chaos and anarchy. Therefore all the opposition forces, civil societies, youth movement activists, human rights activists, members of national defense and security organs, top officials in the TPLF/EPRDF regime, and the millions of cadres in the EPRDF party have moral and legal responsibility to avert the occurrence of power vacuum leading to anarchy. Internal strength and harmony are indispensable in the face of multiple hot issues with which a new government has to deal with. The issues among others include:-
1.         Establishing a transitional government; drafting a new constitution of the people, by the people, for the people
2.         Releasing all political prisoners unconditionally
3.         Allowing unfettered freedom of expression and all pillars of democracy to function
4.         Resolving the economic plight of the Ethiopian people; improving service delivery to the public on the part of the government
5.         Implementing private land property to all citizens in general and the peasants in particular
6.         Restoring stability in the Horn of Africa
7.         Developing sound foreign policy taking mutual interests of concerned parties into accounts
8.         Resolving Ethiopia’s hot issues (a) Nile waters with Egypt & Sudan; and (b) land with the Sudan
9.         Resolving the plight of Ethiopian migrant workers and refugees in the Middle East and elsewhere including Africa
10.       Forging stronger unity between citizens at home and Ethiopians in the Diaspora
Let me throw some light on items No.5 (Implementing private land property to the peasants in particular) and No.8 (Resolving Ethiopia’s hot issues (a) Nile waters with Egypt & Sudan; and (b) land with the Sudan).
Issue N0. 5 has potential as an effective game changer in the fight to dethroning the brutal TPLF/EPRDF regime because private land ownership is what the peasants want; entitlement to private farmland shall provide peasants with effective incentive to rise in unison and get rid of the system of slavery in serfdom. There is no freedom without private property ownership!
Issue N0. 8 is essential for regional stability, peace, and prosperity and as such will draw the support of the international community. This one involves a Herculean task in its own right. Why?
In my article titled “Nile and other rivers as key to new policy after TPLF demise” dated 22 April 2011, I wrote: ”A sovereign state has the right to defend its fundamental values, human resources and physical resources by all means at its disposal – diplomatically and militarily as required if the threat to these values comes from external adversaries; retaliation to external threats is best done through an all-inclusive participatory democratic governance and prudent economic management at home in order to unify the people as legitimate owners of their common values. Such right is enshrined in national policies and the constitution of that state.”
At all times and at this time of uncertainty in regional politics particularly, I reiterate my stand that robust defense force and internal harmony are essential to preserve and protect national values; however, the repressive TPLF/EPRDF government in power must change its ethnic-based policy and open the political space for very serious consultations with all political opposition parties, civic organizations, and above all the Ethiopian people as the ultimate and supreme source of power and owners of the country’s resources. I would like to underline that it would be foolhardy to construct the GRD at a location within artillery range from Sudan – a situation that will require credible defense against Egyptian attacks – militarily or otherwise. My hunch is however that Egypt will send a commando force at some critical stage to destroy the Dam, which action would engender political turmoil at home and hefty loss of capital expenditure – a highly probable grave scenario indeed.
As the old adage goes, “A house divided against it cannot stand”. It is long overdue time that Ethiopians set aside ethnic and other petty difference and act in in unison to defend, preserve and protect vital national interests and cultural values.
Paradigm shift in Ethiopia-Egypt-Sudan relations
Emperor Menilik First of the Axumite Kingdom during his reign more than 3000 years ago threatened to divert the course of the Blue Nile River (BNR) and let it flow to the Red Sea. Obviously this threat was provoked by the acts of overt and covert subversion by the Egyptian rulers against vital interests of Ethiopia in order to weaken and control the source of the River. Egypt has relentlessly hatched and pursued its policy of undermining fundamental values of Ethiopia diplomatically at international fora and militarily through repeated attempts to invade our country through the port of Massawa where it was dealt a heavy blow by the illustrious Ethiopian leaders Ras Alula Aba Nega hailing from the Tigray region.
The resolution of the longstanding BNR issue needs paradigm shift in the mindset of policy-makers of Ethiopia-Egypt-Sudan relations in the rest of 21st century and beyond. The trio must appreciate that the BNR is an international river whether they like it or not. Quintessential moral law, international law and state constitutions directly or indirectly stipulate the judicious share of life sustaining natural flow of water across the boundaries of states regardless of their form of governance – democratic or undemocratic; but relationships among the former provide a peaceful fertile ground for resolving contentious issues amicably.
The 1959 agreement to which Ethiopia is not a party allots 55.5 billion cubic meters to Egypt and 18.5 cubic meters to Sudan.  Egyptian experts argue that only 5% of the Nile waters reach Egypt and that the rest 95% (1.52 trillion cubic meters) is lost mainly due to seepage and evaporation. It is also true that the Nile River is the only one Egypt has got and on which its 84 million populations depend. On the other hand the fertile soil of Ethiopia, the waters of the BNR, and networks of its tributaries (mainly from the Amhara, Oromia and Gambella regions) are indispensable natural resources on which 91 million Ethiopians depend.
BNR contributes 85% of the waters to the Sudan and Egypt. Therefore, cooperative and collaborative effort should be an overriding factor governing amicable relations underpinned by techno-scientifically minimizing the loss of water. Paradigm shift in Ethiopia-Egypt-Sudan relations is quintessential in the 21st century. The trio can be a formidable regional power under the umbrella of the African Union as I have been advocating for about the last four decades. Expenditure on defense can be drastically reduced thus allocating resources to socio-economic development.
In the worst case scenario, as a citadel of the source of the BNR from which 85% of the water flows to the Sudan and Egypt, Ethiopia has to be the one to control the River and use it as ultimate weapon of last resort in self-defense. To that effect, Ethiopians must ensure the existence of internal peace and robust strength – economically, politically, and militarily.
Diminishing per capita quota of Nile water
The table below is reproduced from my article titled “Likely war over the Blue Nile water”, dated 09 November 2012. It provides a frightening data of rapidly diminishing quota per capita of water available to riparian states for the period 1995 to 2025 vindicating the predicted fear that future wars would be over water more than anything else. Water is life!
It can be deduced from the table below that nine of the ten riparian states of the Nile for which data is available are victims of frightening data of rapidly diminishing quota per capita of water available to them. This is a stern warning that the states must work together to minimize the colossal loss of the Nile waters estimated at 1.292 trillion cubic meters according to Egyptian experts. This situation calls for cooperation and collaboration – not beating war drums.
It can be argued that Ethiopia as provider of the lion’s portion of the Nile is entitled to have veto power in any bilateral or multilateral agreement. It would be best if Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan enter into a viable single agreement and forge a regional community emulating the countries of the Great Lake Region.
Country
Population 1995 (millions)
Population 2025 (millions)
GNP per capita 1996 (US $)
Population below the poverty line (1US$/day) (PPP) (%)
Per capita water availability 1990 (m³)
Per capita water availability 2025 (m³)
Burundi
6.4
13.5
170
655
269
DRC
43.9
104.6
160
359,803
139,309
Egypt
62.9
97.3
1,090
7.6
1,123
630
Ethiopia
55.1
126.9
100
33.8
2,207
842
Eritrea
?
?
?
?
?
?
Kenya
28.8
63.4
320
50.2
636
235
Rwanda
8
15.8
190
45.7
897
306
Sudan
28.1
58.4
4,792
1,993
Tanzania
29.7
62.9
170
16.4
2,924
1,025
Uganda
21.3
48.1
300
50
3,759
1,437
Source: Water politics in the Nile Basin: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, (December 2007)
Some three decades ago in an informal friendly discussion with Egyptian experts at the reception held at their Embassy in Addis Ababa I recommended that genuine cooperation and collaboration would open the door for regional economic block involving Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, arguing that it would be a powerful regional block in bolstering and expediting the African Union to realize continental integration. Moreover, the saving of resources from such arrangement would be enormous; the present generation has the moral duty to ensure that the future generations will not be victims of mutually destructive interminable clashes militarily and politically.
In closing,
The illustrious leaders of UDJP and AEUP including their associate national political parties deserve deep gratitude for their noble role in the exemplary success of the massive Bahr Dar Demo that had torn down the curtain of fear and opened the way forward to a peaceful dethroning the TPLF warlords who had completely lost the trust of the Ethiopian people
Petty differences must be set aside between and among all opposition political entities and civic organization for the sake of the suffering people of Ethiopia en masse; blame game must be avoided on grounds of method of struggle for freedom
It is of paramount importance to avert perilous relations affecting Ethiopia, Egypt & Sudan. To that end: – Ethiopia should scale down the size of the GRD; land-rich Sudan should renounce its greedy claim on Ethiopia’s legitimate land; Egypt should reward Ethiopia, in kind or monetarily, for consenting to reduce the size of her GRD. The trio should work towards the noble undertaking of forming a prosperous, democratic, and powerful regional block amenable to security and stability in the Horn of Africa under the AU umbrella
The ball is in the quarters of TPLF top echelon to usher in a bloodless transfer of power to an all-inclusive transitional government of Ethiopia.
LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA!!!
rababya@gmail.com

Ethiopian American Council (EAC) Endorses Isiah “Ike” Leggett for Re-Election


Ethiopian-American Community in Maryland Montgomery County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett Upcoming Montgomery County Elections

Maryland Montgomery County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett
Isiah “Ike” Leggett
“I am an Ethiopian.”
Those were the opening words from Montgomery County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett as he delivered the keynote speech at the Ethiopian Battle of Adwa Commemoration Ceremony held recently, for a standing-room-only audience, in Silver Spring, Maryland. The ceremony was sponsored and organized by the Ethiopian-Heritage Society in North America (EHSNA).
Ethiopian American Council (EAC) Endorses Isiah “Ike” Leggett for Re-Election
Intrigued by what they saw, EAC members sent a questionnaire to Mr. Leggett regarding some concerns they had about being Ethiopian-American and living in Montgomery County. His responses were thoughtful and compelling enough that EAC has decided to endorse him in his bid for re-election as Montgomery County Executive.
Ike Leggett: Point-by-Point
Mr. Leggett’s responses to issues included in the aforementioned questionnaire have been  summarized here for consideration by Ethiopian-American voters and their supporters residing in Montgomery County, Maryland.
  • Creating an Ethiopian-American Community Center
Mr. Leggett provided funds in the current county budget, with the promise of more next year, to help in the creation of an Ethiopian Community Center. He acknowledged that our community may have other goals beyond that, and that he would consider all possibilities when it comes to preserving Ethiopian heritage and history.
  • Support for U.S. Immigration Reform
Mr. Leggett realizes that ineffective and sometimes unreasonable current immigration policies and laws are adversely affecting the lives of many immigrants. He believes that reform should provide an achievable pathway to U.S. citizenship. He has provided county funds to non-profits for legal assistance for the undocumented seeking to become legal. He has advised federal and local officials regarding his views on immigration reform. He and his staff have testified for reform before the U.S. Congress and the Maryland State General Assembly.
  • Making Amharic a “Working Language”
Mr Leggatt has indicated that he would be happy to work with the Ethiopian community to make Amharic a “working language” in Montgomery County, as has been done in D.C. and other communities. He will ask the Office of Community Partnerships to contact EAC and the Ethiopian-American community about this issue.
  • Commitment to All Who Live Here
Mr. Leggett is committed to immigrant populations who have chosen to come to Montgomery County to realize their potential and dreams. He established the Office of Community Partnerships and charged that office with broadening and deepening the outreach of county government into more diverse community groups. He created new advisory panels to assist him in understanding the needs of various groups and communicating more effectively with Pan African, Middle Eastern, Caribbean, and diverse faith communities.
  • Celebrating Many Faiths, Cultures, Nationalities
Mr. Leggett believes that in a diverse community we all must honor the traditions of many faiths, cultures, and nationalities. He offers that he is thrilled to participate in the Jewish, Chinese, Persian, Christian, and Tet New Years. He says he would be delighted to work with the Ethiopian community on a Heritage Flag Raising Ceremony for the county to mark the beginning of the Ethiopian New Year.
  • Voting Rights and Transparent Government
Mr Leggett has fully supported and implemented early voting to make voting easier and more convenient. He ensures that printed election materials are language sensitive. He created the Office of Community Partnership to engage residents, especially ethnic and cultural groups, to become more fully and meaningfully involved in the local governmental process, including the processes and responsibilities of full citizenship.
  • Civic Education Through Internships
Under Mr. Leggett’s guidance, the county government already provides internships to a diverse group of young people. He would be delighted to increase those numbers. He introduced funding to nonprofit organizations that help prepare immigrant youth to fully understand and participate in local civic affairs. He hopes that the new Ethiopian-American Community Center will help the county engage in offering more important intern work and education as well.
  • Humor in a Public Servant Is Always Good
“If you calculated my age by the number of New Year’s celebrations I attend annually, I would be a centenarian.” That was one of the more humorous responses Mr. Leggett gave in his recent letter to EAC. In its letter of endorsement to Mr. Leggett, EAC surmised that Mr. Leggett probably awakens every Monday morning wondering which group is going to have a New Year celebration ceremony that week.
More to Come
As we near the Montgomery County Primary Elections in June, more information about Mr. Leggett will become available. Points mentioned above are only the beginning. We at EAC will endeavor to keep the Ethiopian-American community in Montgomery County abreast of political news and happenings as we work for the re-election of Ike Leggett as Montgomery County Executive.
Register – Then Vote!
One of the pitiful lies about American democracy is that it is “participatory.” It was meant to be, but officials count themselves lucky if just 50 percent (often less) of registered voters show up at the polls, especially during off-year (non-presidential) elections. EAC reminds Ethiopian-Americans that it is their duty as citizens to vote in each and every election available to them. If any Ethiopian-American needs assistance or is facing difficulty in registering, they are encouraged to call EAC or the County Registrar’s Office.
Isiah “Ike” Leggett – The Best Candidate
Remember that primary elections for Montgomery County officials will be held in June. Do your part: Register – then vote! Keep in mind that Ike Leggett is the best candidate for the Ethiopian-American community and we should help him keep his position as Montgomery County Executive. So far he has done a fine job for Ethiopian-Americans and the other residents of Montgomery County.

“Nineteen Eighty-Four” in 2014 Ethiopiana


by Alemayehu G. Mariam
“Big Brother is Watching You!” secretly: The snooping thug state in 2014 Ethiopiana
The secrecy-obsessed regime in Ethiopia has a huge creepy dragnet of secret electronic surveillance programs to sniff out the deeply-buried secrets of the people of Ethiopia. They spend sleepless nights interrogating  themselves about what the people could do to them. Who do they talk to secretly? What do they secretly say about them? Do the people secretly despise them as much as they think they do? (That’s an open secret.) Are the people secretly planning to overthrow them? Who are the secret conspirators? Where are they? In Ethiopia? Europe? America? Could the secret enemies be extraterrestrial Ethiopians from Planet X?The passing  of Meles Zenawi
For the regime knowledge is strength. No! Ignorance is strength. The regime must find out by hook or crook. Bug the landlines. Intercept the mobile phones. Hack the personal computers.   Filter the critical websites. What else? They rack their brains and spend sleepless nights not only because they don’t know but also because they do. They know what they have done; and now they want to know what could be done unto them, secretly.  They turn and toss. In their nightmares, they are chased by the Truth. They wake up in cold sweat. Such is the secret night life of ignorant thugs in power in Ethiopiana.
Secrecy is the brick and mortar in the architecture of oppression established by the regime in Ethiopia over the past two decades. The regime is so obsessed with secrecy that nearly two years after the passing  of Meles Zenawi, its  “Great, Visionary, Heroic, Renaissance, etc., Leader”, there is no official word on the cause of his death. It is a highly guarded state secret. From their days in the bush, those running regime have cultivated a stenchy culture of official secrecy and corruption (what I call a “culture of secrruption” for readers familiar with my neologisms). In fact, they have refined official secrecy and corruption to an art form. They make decisions under the proverbial cone of silence and secrecy. A secret shadow government  (a “state within a state”) of faceless, nameless and conscienceless power-brokers makes all of the important decisions in the country. The regime operators and their cronies stash their stolen millions in secret off shore accounts. Global Financial Integrity not long ago reported that since 2000, Ethiopia has lost nearly USD$12 billion in secret illicit financial outflows. A cloak of secrecy shrouds public works and projects contracts which are back-channeled secretly to regime supporters and cronies.  The country’s best lands are given away (excuse me, “leased for 99 years”) for pennies to Saudi, Indian and Chinese “investors” in total secrecy. An Indian multinational actually claimed it acquired “2,500 sq km of virgin, fertile land – an area the size of Dorset, England-” in Ethiopia, together with generous tax breaks,  for £150 a week ($USD245). (Yeah! Right. If anyone believes that, I have the Brooklyn Bridge for sale at rock bottom prices. Somebodies got big secret paydays from that deal.)  The regime operators are secret (silent) partners in all of the investments and procurement deals they hand out.
Winston Churchill once observed that, “Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” I would say the ruling regime in Ethiopia is a riddle wrapped in secrecy inside corruption. It is comically ironic that the secrecy-obsessed regime recently sought membership in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international organization dedicated exclusively to promote openness, transparency and accountability in the global mining industry.  It is like the proverbial Ethiopian wolf who sought membership among a flock of sheep by wrapping himself in sheep’s wool to keep his identity secret. (Could EITI be a pack of wolves wrapped in sheep’s wool?)
“They Know Everything We Do”
Last week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released its report on the secret massive electronic surveillance program of the regime in Ethiopia. In its report entitled, “‘They Know Everything We Do’: Telecom and Internet Surveillance in Ethiopia”, HRW concluded, “The Ethiopian government is using foreign technology to bolster its widespread telecom surveillance of opposition activists and journalists both in Ethiopia and abroad… The government is using control of its telecom system as a tool to silence dissenting voices…” The report documents the regime’s “complete control over the telecom system… (and the fact that) Ethiopian security officials have virtually unlimited access to the call records of all telephone users in Ethiopia. They regularly and easily record phone calls without any legal process or oversight. Recorded phone calls with family members and friends – particularly those with foreign phone numbers – are often played during abusive interrogations in which people who have been arbitrarily detained are accused of belonging to banned organizations.”
The regime has gone to extraordinary lengths to “curtail access to information by blocking websites and bloggers that offer any independent or critical analysis of political events in Ethiopia.” The regime has used “mobile surveillance” and “frequently targeted the ethnic Oromo population.” It has used “taped phone calls to compel people in custody to confess to being part of banned groups, such as the Oromo Liberation Front.”  The surveillance technology is provided by China which has been the “exclusive supplier of telecom equipment from 2006 to 2009.” A number of “European companies have also provided advanced surveillance technology to Ethiopia, which have been used to target members of the diaspora.” The report points an accusatory finger at the “foreign firms that are providing products and services that facilitate Ethiopia’s illegal surveillance are risking complicity in rights abuses.”
Redwan Hussein, an apparatchik in the regime’s “Ministry of Information”, regurgitated the now familiar litany of demonization against Human Rights Watch:  “This is one of the issues that it [HRW] has in the list of its campaigns to smear Ethiopia’s image, so there is nothing new to respond to it, because there is nothing new to it.”
The regime is simply not constructed to handle the truth. Time and again, it has shown unwillingness and inability to defend against the truth; so it reverts to its favorite and predictable five-pronged PR tactic: Deny the truth. Dismiss the truth as “smear”. Disguise the truth. Divert attention from the truth. Denigrate the truth-sayers and truth-diggers. But resistance to truth is futile.
When the European Union Election Observer Group confronted the late Meles Zenawi with the truth about his daylight theft of the May 2010 election by 99.6 percent, he denied and dismissed the truth and denigrated the entire EU Group for preparing a “trash report that deserves to be thrown in the garbage.” In August 2005, Meles, following the electoral drubbing of his party by a coalition of opposition parties in May, unleashed his wrath on European Union parliamentarian Ana Gomes and her election observer group. “We shall, in the coming days and weeks, see what we can do to expose the pack of lies and innuendoes that characterise the garbage in this report.”
So it is with the HRW and its report on internet and telecom surveillance in Ethiopia. All the regime can say in its defense is, “It is a campaign to smear Ethiopia’s image.” Truth be told, when it comes to “fear and smear campaigns” and fabrication of falsehoods, the regime in Ethiopia takes the cake. In my commentary, “The Politics of Fear and Smear” in Ethiopia, I demonstrated the regime’s propaganda campaign of smear, falsehoods and defamation against Ethiopian Muslims protesting political interference in their internal religious affairs.
The Federal Republic of Dystopia Ethiopia
With every passing day, Ethiopia is becoming a hardcore dystopia (that would be the exact opposite of a utopia.) Dystopia Ethiopia is a frightening place. It is a place where thugs rule! It is a place where humans are dehumanized, civilization is barbarized, justice corrupted, ethnic cleansing practiced, people impoverished and hungry, the youth gagged, bound and canned, the environment destroyed, dams used to damn indigenous peoples and society in cataclysmic decline. If that sounds like George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” Oceania, it is not. It is “Nineteen Eighty-Four” in 2014 Federal Republic of Dystopia Ethiopia!
In Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” Oceania, there is omnipresent government surveillance, public manipulation and thought-control by a regime under the control of a privileged “Inner Party” elite that persecutes all dissent and prosecutes freedom of thought as “thought crimes”. The state in Oceania thrives on deception, secret surveillance and mass psychological manipulation. The head honcho tyrant is an elusive “Big Brother” who is worshiped as a demigod. Orwell writes, “Nobody has ever seen Big Brother. He is a face on the hoardings and a voice on the telescreen. We may be reasonably sure that he will never die, and there is already considerable uncertainty as to when he was born. Big Brother is the guise in which the Party chooses to exhibit itself to the world. His function is to act as a focusing point for love, fear, and reverence, emotions which are more easily felt towards an individual than towards an organization.” The slogans of Big Brother’s party are: “War is peace. Ignorance is strength. Slavery is freedom.”
The “state” in 2014 Ethiopiana is uncannily similar to Orwell’s fictional Oceania. Big Brother Meles is the  infallible and all-powerful leader from the “telescreen” when he was alive (he never mingled with people in the street) and now from the grave. To Big Brother Meles belongs, “Every success, every achievement, every victory, every scientific discovery, all knowledge, all wisdom, all happiness, all virtue, are held to issue directly from his leadership and inspiration.”  To his party acolytes, Big Brother Meles the omniscient,  was, is and will forever be the fountainhead of knowledge and wisdom. He is the source of all good and great ideas.
Meles’ handpicked replacement, Hailemariam Desalegn, in his eulogy at Meles funeral spoke of the “great and exemplary leader” who created the “grand vision of what we can achieve and become in the future.” He described Big Brother Meles as the man with the plan who led Ethiopia to stratospheric heights. Hailemariam said, the “wise, insightful and decisive leader established the EPDRF party and was the chief architect and engineer of Ethiopia’s developmental plan”. Hailemariam credited Meles for singularly designing policies and strategies for the country and creating an economy that produced 10 percent plus growth over a period of 9 years. Meles was the “Renaissance and heroic leader who gave Ethiopia economic growth and transformation. Even though he left us, his vision will remain nor only with the party but also every individual in the country,” eulogized Hailemariam.
Big Brother Meles is “superman”, if not demigod, in the imagination of a few of his powerful foreign Little Sisters.  Clare Short, Tony Blair’s former Secretary for International Development and the current chair of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative spoke of her unbounded admiration for Meles as “the most intelligent politician I’ve ever met in my life.“ Ditto for Susan Rice, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and the current national security advisor to Obama. In her eulogy Rice said, “The Meles I knew was…  the smartest person in the room, and most of the time Meles was right…” Big Brother Meles of Ethiopiana, like the Big Brother of Oceania, comes alive today not only on the telescreen, but also from the grave, to guide and goad his Little Brothers, “War is peace. Ignorance is strength. Slavery is freedom.” He taught his Little Brothers, “Surveillance is the soul of secrecy.”
Indeed, in Ethiopiana war is peace (though the society is seething with rage and rebellion but they can pretend it is all peaceful); ignorance is bliss (the less the people know, the happier they will be and therefore it is necessary to twist and distort the truth to keep the people ignorant) and freedom is slavery (“Secrecy is the freedom tyrants dream of”, said Bill Moyers.)
The freedom to think freely is the death knell of tyranny. The unshackled mind is the terror of the ignorant.   In Oceania,  2+2=5, because everyone is manipulated to believe it to be so. In Ethiopiana’s voodoo economics, 6.5% annual economic growth= 11-15% annual economic growth, if there is anyone to believe it (that is, other than he World Bank and the International Monetary Fund).  Orwell’s formulaic slogans for Nineteen Eighty Four Oceania have been updated for 2014 Ethiopiana: Poverty is prosperity; famine is feast; government wrongs are human rights; repression is expression and thugogcracy is democracy. Ignorance is illuminance. Ignorance in Ethiopiana is the national equalizer. The purpose of the state is to twist, stretch and massage the truth to keep the people ignorant, dumb and unquestioning.
Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Knowledge, information, consciousness and enlightenment are the most powerful weapons in the hands of 21st Century men and women to change their lives, the lives of their families and communities and control the destiny of their nations. For the regime in Ethiopia, the reverse is true: Ignorance and secrecy are the most powerful weapons they can use to prevent change and cling to power. The singular motto of the “Little Brothers of Dystopia Ethiopia” is, “Secrecy is power. Secrecy is strength.” Secrecy combined with ignorance yields absolute power. Absolute power in the hands of the “ignorati” (willfully ignorant) ensures the manipulation,  emasculation and subjugation of the masses. “Keep ‘em ignorant, impoverished, hungry and divided and they will be your door mats,” is the mantra of the “Inner Party” (the “state within the state’) of Ethiopiana.
As I have argued on numerous occasions, the regime knows that it is detested and contemned by the vast majority of the population. Thus, the sleepless nights. They have done everything to get a little peace of mind, but to no avail. They have undertaken vicious propaganda campaigns to pit one ethnic group against another. They have tried to create war between Christians and Muslims; and thank God, they have completely failed! They have unleashed a barrage of propaganda, misinformation, disinformation, indoctrination, worn out slogans and sterile dogmas from a bygone era to cling to power. They have tried to clothe their deplorable human rights record with bogus statistics of economic growth and economic development.
For over two decades, Meles and his gang have tried to keep Ethiopians in a state of blissful ignorance. At gunpoint, they have forced the people speak no evil, see no evil and hear no evil about them.  Meles and his posse have spent a king’s ransom to jam international radio and satellite transmissions to prevent the free flow of information to the people. They have blocked internet access to alternative and critical sources of information and views. According to a  2012 report of  Freedom House, the highly respected nongovernmental research and advocacy organization established in 1941, “Ethiopia has one of the lowest rates of internet and mobile telephone penetration on the continent. Despite low access, the government maintains a strict system of controls and is the only country in Sub-Saharan Africa to implement nationwide internet filtering.” They have shuttered independent newspapers, jailed reporters, editors and bloggers and exiled dozens of journalists in a futile attempt to conceal their horrific crimes against humanity and vampiric corruption. Their “growth and transformation plan” has succeeded in transforming Ethiopia from the “Land of 13 Months of Sunshine” to “Ethiopiana, the Land of Perpetual Ignorance and Darkness”.
All of the surveillance and spying program is part of an elaborate conspiracy by the regime to create the “Benighted Kingdom of Ethiopiana”, where ignoramuses are kings, queens, princes and princesses.  The educational system in Ethiopiana is corrupted and serves as a system of indoctrination. By providing the youth with substandard education, the regime aims to permanently cripple them intellectually not only by denying them formal learning opportunities but also the chance to acquire knowledge on the Internet and transform their lives and take control of the destiny of their nation. In my September 2010 commentary, “Indoctri-Nation”, I criticized the Meles regime for politicizing education. The “Ministry of Education” (reminds one of Orwell’s “Ministry of Truth” (Ignorance)) a few years ago issued a “directive” effectively outlawing distance learning (education programs that are not delivered in the traditional university classroom or campus) throughout the country.  (Interestingly, Meles and his top lieutenants got their “graduate education” using foreign distance learning programs.) The regime also sought to corner the disciplines of law and teaching for state-controlled universities, creating a monopoly and pipeline for the training of party hacks to swarm the teaching and legal professions.  There is no academic freedom in Ethiopiana. I have previously commented on the lack of academic freedom in Ethiopian higher education and the politicization of education in Ethiopia. In my February 2008 commentary “Tyranny in the Academy”, I called attention to the lack of academic freedom at Mekelle Law School.
Why does the regime spy on the people?   
The regime secretly spies on the people because it is afraid of the people. In 1962, President  John F. Kennedy cautioned the American people, “We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.” The regime in Ethiopia is afraid  of the people and seeks to overcome its fear through secret surveillance programs and open harassment.
What is tragically ironic is the fact that the official secrecy religiously practiced by the regime today is a constitutional anathema. The Ethiopian Constitution mandates government transparency and accountability under Article 12 (1) (“Functions and Accountability of Government”): “The activities of government shall be undertaken in a manner which is open and transparent to the public.” The regime has translated that constitutional mandate to mean, “The activities of government shall be undertaken in a manner which is totally secret and non-transparent to the public.” Secrecy is a powerful tool to deceive the people.
The great French man of letters, Victor Hugo observed, “You can resist an invading army; you cannot resist an idea whose time has come.” The Internet is an idea whose time has come. B.I. (Before the Internet) will never come back, only A.I. (After the Internet).  The Internet, not ignorance, is the great equalizer and democratizer in the world. With an inexpensive personal computer or mobile phone, knowledge and information in any language are at one’s fingertips. The regime in Ethiopia is fighting a losing war against the invisible empire of ideas and knowledge. The Internet is the 21st Century’s evergreen Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The regime in its assumed divinity wants to impose an edict on the people of Ethiopia: “Thou must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” The Internet “Tree of Knowledge” shall give life to all those that have been rendered zombies by ignorant tyrants.  The Internet genie is out of the bottle, and there is no way of putting it back. Neither telecom filters, electronic monitoring nor ownership of entire telecom systems will deter the determined “cyber-warriors” from empowering themselves with the truth, knowledge and information. In the Internet Age, resistance to truth, knowledge and information is futile!
Well, Big Brother Meles is gone (sort of) from Ethiopiana but he shall live on the “telescreen” and in the grave for his  ”Little Brothers” of his “Inner Party”. They shall go on visioning,  watching, looking, peeping, observing, surveilling, ogling, listening, sniffing, and yodeling:
…The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from the oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know what no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to understand me.
Ethiopiana’s Inner Party should know a few truths about the 21st Century: Secrecy is impotency. Ignorance is indolence.  Freedom is the essence of humanity; and the truth shall make them and all Ethiopians free. Orwell wrote, “During times of deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” But what happens when silence is accepted as a revolutionary act?
“When an entire generation of Ethiopian scholars, academics, professors and learned elites stands silent as a bronze  statute witnessing the tyranny of ignorance in action, the burden on the few who try to become the voices of the voiceless on every issue is enormous.” From my commentary, “Edu-corruption and Mis-education in Ethiopia”.
Oceania Ethiopiana!  Welcome to the Federal Republic of Dystopia Ethiopia!
Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.
Previous commentaries by the author are available at:
Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at: