ሠራዊቱ የህዝብ ወገንተኛነቱን የሚያስመሰክርበት ግዜ እየመጣ ነው

በኢትዮጵያ ታሪክ ውስጥ የቀደመው ትውልድ ከቱርክ ኤምፓየር፤ ከግብፅ እና ከደረቡሽ፤ ከጣሊያን ወራሪ፤ ከሶማሊያ ተስፋፊ ኃይል እና ከሌሎችም የኢትዮጵያ ጠላቶች ጋር ተዋግቶ አገሪቷን ለአሁኑ ትውልድ ለማቆየት ትልቅ መስዋዕትነት ከፍሏል። በተለይ ነፍጥ አንግቦ የተሠለፈው ኃይል የከፈለው የህይወት መሥዋዕትነት የሚረሳ አይደለም። አገራችን ኢትዮጵያ ለዛሬው ትውልድ የቆየችው ከራሱ ይልቅ ለአገርና ለወገን የሚያስብ ትውልድ በመኖሩ መሆኑ የሚያከራክረን ጉዳይ አይሆንም።

የአገር መከላከያ ሠራዊት እና የአገር ደህንነት ኃይል የቆመው አገርን ከጥቃት ለመከላከል ነው። አገር በጠላት እጅ ወድቃ በወገን ላይ ስቃይ እንዳይደርስ፤ ህዝቡም አገር አልባ እንዳይሆን መጠበቅ የአገሪቷ የሠራዊትና የደህንነት ኃይል ዋና ተግባር ነበር። ህወሃት መራሹ መንግስት አገሪቷን ከተቆጣጠረ ዘመን ጀምሮ በኢትዮጵያ ሥም የቆመው ሠራዊት እና የደህንነት ኃይል ተግባሩ ሌላ ሁኗል።

በዚህ ዘመን ሠራዊቱና የደህንነት ኃይሉ የአገርን ብሄራዊ ደህንነት የሚጠብቅ ሳይሆን ህወሃት የተባለውን ዘረኛና ዘራፊውን ቡድን የሚጠብቅ ኃይል መሆንን እንዲመርጥ ሁኖ አገርን ከጠላት የመከላከል ተግባሩን ረስቷል። ይህን ኃይል የሚመሩትም ደማቸውንና አጥንታቸውን ቆጥረው ከአንድ መንደር/ጎሣ የተሰባሰቡ እና ካርታ ይዘው የቆሙበትን ሥፍራ እንኳን ለመለየት የማይችሉ መሃይማን መሆናቸው አገሪቷ ያለችበትን አደጋ ከሚያመላክቱ ምልክቶች መካከል አንዱ ነው። ህወሃቶች የደርግ ሠራዊት እያሉ ሊሳለቁበት የሚሞክሩት የቀድሞው የአገሪቷ መከላከያ ኃይል ሲመራ የነበረው አውሮፓና አሜሪካን ድረስ ተጉዘው በተማሩ፤ ማዕረጋቸውም የዓለም ዓቀፉን ደረጃ የጠበቀ፤ አገሪቷን ወክለው አደባባይ ቢወጡ የሚያኮሩ እንደነበረ የታወቀ ነው። የሹመታቸው መሠረትም ደምና አጥንት ሳይሆን እውቀታቸው፤ ችሎታቸውና ወታዳራዊ ብቃታቸው ነበረ።በህወሃት የሚመራውን ሠራዊትና የደህንነት ኃይል የሚመሩት ቡድኖች ከቀድሞዎቹ ሥርዓት የጦር መሪዎች ጋር ሲወዳደሩ የጫማቸውን ጠፍር እንኳ ለመፍታት የሚታጩ አይሆኑም።ግዜ የሰጠው ቅል ድንጋይ ይሰብራል እንደሚባለው ሆነና ጨካኞችና ነፍሰ ገዳዮች በወንበሩ ቁጭ ብለው የአገሪቷን ውድቀት እያፋጠኑት ይገኛሉ።

ዛሬ ህወሃቶች በወንበሩ ቁጭ ብለዋል። እነዚህ ከጭካኔ በቀር እንጥፍጣፊ የአገር ፍቅር የሌላቸው ቡድኖች አቋቋምን ያሉት ሠራዊትና የደህንነት ኃይልም አገሩንና ወገኑን ከመጠበቅ ይልቅ የገዛ ወገኑን የሚያሸበር ቡድን እንዲሆን ተደርጓል። ሠራዊቱ እና የደህንነት ኃይሉ ለአገርና ለትውልድ እንዲያስብ ሳይሆን የጥቂት ዘረኞችን ዕድሜ ለማራዘም ዘብ የቆመ ኃይል እንዲሆንም ሁኗል። ህወሃት እየፈጠረ ያለው ሠራዊትና የደህንነት ኃይል በጀግና ማዕረግ አገሩንና ህዝቡን ከጥቃት ተከላክሎ በህዝቡ ተከብሮና ተወዶ እንዲኖር ሳይሆን በጭካኔው ታውቆ እና የወገኑን ፍቅር አጥቶ በስነ ልቦና ቀውስ ውስጥ የሚኖርን ኃይል ነው። እንዲህም ሁኖ በመቀረፁ ግደል ሲባል ገስግሶ ሂዶ የገዛ ወገኑን ይገድላል። አፍርስ ሲባል ፈጥኖ በብዙ ድካምና ወጪ የተገነባውን የወገኑን መኖሪያ ቤት ያፈርሳል። እሠር ሲባል ህፃን ከአዛውንት ሳይለይ ያገኘውን ሁሉ ወደ ወይኒ ቤት ያግዛል። በእንዲህ ሁኔታ ከወገኑ ተለይቶ፤ በወገኑ ላይ ዘምቶ፤ ወገኑን ወግቶ፤ ወገኑን አሥሮና አሰቃይቶ ራሡም እንደገና በክፉ ድርጊቱ ታሥሮ እንዲኖር ሁኗል።

ህወሃት የፈጠራችሁ እና በአገር መከላከያ እና ደህንነት ኃይል ሥም ቁማችሁ በወገኖቻችሁ ላይ እንድትዘመቱ የተደረጋችሁ የሠራዊቱና የደህንነት ኃይሎች አድምጡ። አሁን አገራችን ባለችበት ሁኔታ ለኢትዮጵያና ለህዝቧ ዋነኛው ጠላት ህወሃት ነው። ህወሃት የዘረኞችና የዘራፊዎች ስብሰብ ነው። የዘረኝነታቸው መገለጫ ብዙ ነው። የሚያዙህ ጄኔራል ተብየዎች ደማቸውን ቆጥረው የተጫኑብህ መሆናቸውን ተመለከት። እነዚህ ጄኔራሎች አገሪቷን ከተቆጣጠሩ ዘመን ጀምሮ ያካበቱትን የሃብት ብዛት ተመልከት። ሁሉም በሚሊዮን የሚቆጠር ሃብት ባለቤት ናቸው። ልጆቻቸው በአውሮፓና በአሜሪካን ይማራሉ። ሚስቶቻቸው አውሮፓና አሜሪካን እየሄዱ እንዲወልዱ ይደረጋል።ይሄን ለምን ያደርጋሉ ቢባል እየገዙ ያሉት አገር የራሳቸው አገር ስለመሆኗ ብርቱ ጥርጣሬ ስላላቸው ነው። ህዝቧንም እንደ ወገኖቻቸው ለማየት ሥር የሰደደ ጥላቻማላቸው። አንተ እና ወገኖችህ ግን ከሙታን ትንሽ ከፍ ብላችሁ፤ ከሚኖሩት እገር ሥር ተረግጣችሁ የህወሃቶች አኗኗሪ ሁናችሁ የመከራውን ዘመን ትቆጥራላችሁ። በድህነት የሚወቅሯችሁ እንሷቸው ይሄና አስባችሁ፤ ያንን ተናገረችሁ እያሉ በዓለም ላይ በተከለከለ የቶርቸር ዓይነት እንድትሰቃዩ ትደረጋላችሁ። ይህ የጠላት ተግባር ነው።አሁን ባለንበት ዘመንም የኢትጵያ ዋነኛው ጠላት ህወሃት መሆኑን ያለምንም ጥርጣሬ ማመን ይኖርባችኋል።

ህወሃትን ጠላት የሚያድረገው ምንድ ነው ?

ህወሃቶች ወደ ስልጣን ከመጡ ዘመን ጀምሮ ሁለት ሚሊዮን አማራ ጠፍቷል። ይሄ ሁሉ አማራ የት እንደገባ ህወሃት እስከ አሁን አልተናገረም። ይሄ ዘረኛ ቡድን አገሪቷን ከተቆጣጠረ ዘመን ጀምሮ በዜጎች መካከል ሊኖር የሚገባው መተማመን ጠፍቷል። በዚህም ምክንያት ዜጎች ከኖሩበት ሥፍራ እየተነቀሉ ሜዳ ላይ እንዲወድቁ ሁኗል። ይሄ ዘራፊ ቡድን አገሪቷን ከተቆጣጠረ ግዜ ጀምሮ ከአገሪቷ ውስጥ በስምንት ዓመታት ውስጥ ብቻ ከ11 ቢሊዮን ዶላር በላይ ተዘርፎ በውጪ አገራት ባንኮች ውስጥ ተደብቋል። ይህ ቡድን ስልጣኑን ከተቆጣጠረ ዘመን ጀምሮ ከአገሪቷ በሚሰደዱ ምሁራን፤ ጋዜጠኞች፤ የኃይማኖት አባቶች እና በሌሎች ዜጎች ቁጥር ኢትዮጵያን የሚያክል አልተገኘም። ህወሃት የተባለው ዘረኛ እና ዘራፊ ቡድን አገሪቷን ከተቆጣጠረ በኋላ አባቶች በደምና አጥንታቸው ያቆዩት ድንበር እየፈረሰ እና ኢትዮጵያዊያን እየተፈናቀሉ ሜዳ ላይ ተጥለው መሬቱ ለባእዳን እየተሰጠ ነው። ይሄ ቡድን አገሪቷን ከተቆጣጠረ ዘመን ጀምሮ ድሃ ሜዳ ላይ ተጥሎ የድሃውን መሬት ህወሃቶች እየነጠቁ ባለሃብት ነን ብለዋል። ይሄ ቡድን አገሪቷን ከተቆጣጠረ ዘመን ጀምሮ ሃሳብን በነፃ መግለፅ አሸባሪነት ሁኗል። ህወሃትን መንቀፍ በሞት የሚያሰቀጣ ወንጀል እስከመሆን ደርሷል። ኢትዮጵያ ይህን በሚመስለው ጠላት እጅ ተይዛለች።

ኢትዮጵያን ከዚህ ጠላት እጅ ለማላቀቅ የሠራዊቱና የአገር ደህንነት ኃይሉ ከፍተኛ ሚና መጫወት አለበት። ከህወሃት የበለጠ ጠላት ኢትዮጵያ የላትም፤ በታሪኳም እንዲህ ዓይነት ጠላት አይታ አታውቅም። ይህን ጠላት ወደ ከርሰ መቃብሩ የሚከት የለውጥ ባቡር እየገሰገሰ ነው። ይሄን የለወጥ ባቡር ፈፅሞ ማቆም አይቻልም። ህወሃቶች የለውጡ ባቡር በፍጥነት እየገሰገሰ እንደሆነ እያዩት ነው። በዚህም አንዳንዶቹ የዘረፉትን ሃብት ይዘው እየሸሹ ነው። ሌሎቹም የሚያደርጉትን አጥተው በዜጎች ላይ በስቃይ ላይ ስቃይ እያበዙ ነው። የሠራዊቱና የደህንነቱ ኃይል የኢትዮጵያዊያን ጠላት መሆንን ከመረጡ ዘረኞች ጎራ ራሱን ለይቶ የህዝብ ልጅ፤ የአገር ጥላ ከለላ መሆኑን አሁኑኑ ማሳየት መጀመር ይጠበቅበታል። የአገር መከላከያ አባል ስትሆን አገርህን ከጠላት ለመከላከል እንጂ ከጠላት ጋር አብረህ የገዛ ወገንህን ስቃይ ለማብዛት አይደለም። ከጠላት ጋር መወገንን ከመረጥክ ግን የተነሳው የለውጥ ባቡር አንተንም ጨፍልቆ እና ታሪክህን ከዘረኞችና ከዘራፊዎች ጎራ ፅፎ እንደሚያልፍ ቅንጣት ታክል ጥርጣሬ አይኑርህ።

የእኛ እምነት ግን ከህወሃቶች ጎን ቁመህ ወንድሞችህን ትወጋለህ የሚል አይደለም። ህወሃቶች ለአንት ወንድምም ጋሻም መከታም የሚሆኑ አይደሉም። በአሁን ሠዓት የህወሃቶች ጭንቀት የዘረፉትን ሃብት የሚያሸሹበትን ሥፍራ የማግኘት ነው እንጂ የአንተ ደህንነት አይደለም። ህወሃቶችን እንቅልፍ የሚነሳቸው የሠሯቸው ትላልቅ ህንፃዎች ፍፃሜ እንጂ የኢትዮጵያዊያኑ በሠላም የመኖር ጉዳይ አይደለም። ህወሃቶች የሚሞቱለትም ሆነ የሚኖሩለት አንድ እና አንድ ምክንያት ዘርፈው ያካባቱት ሃብት እንጂ ኢትዮጵያ የምትባል አገር እንዳልሆነች የታወቀ ነው። አንተ የሠራዊቱ አባል ግን የእነዚህን ዘረኞችና ዘራፊ ህወሃቶችን እድሜ ለማራዘም የምትሞተውና የምትገድለው ለምንድ ነው? የእነርሱን እድሜ ለማራዘም ብለህ ብትሞት ለህወሃቶች ወግኖ ኢትዮጵያዊያንን ሲወጋ ሞተ ተብለህ መሳለቂያ ሆነህ መቅረትህን አታውቅምን ?

እኛ ግን እንዲህ እንልሃለን ለአገርህ መሞት ክብር ነው። ለአገር መሞት ማለትም በዚያች አገር ውስጥ ለፍትህ፤ ለህግ የበላይነት፤ ለነፃነት፤ ለእኩልነት እና ለእውነተኛ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሥርዓት ግንባታ ራስን አሳልፎ መስጠት ማለት ነው።በዚህ ሞትህ ማንም ማንንም ሳይጫን፤ ማንም ማንንም ሳይሸከም መኖር የሚቻልባት አገር ተፈጥራ እኩልነት ሲሰፍን የአንት ስም በአገሪቷ እስከ ዘላለሙ ሲታወስ ይኖራል። ልጆችህና ልጅ ልጆችህ በአንተ ሥራ ኮርተውና አንገታቸውን ቀና አድርገው የሚሄዱ ይሆናሉ። ለዚህ ዘላቂ ክብር ብለህ ብትሞት ሞትህ የክብር ሞት ይሆናል። የሣሞራንና የጓደኞቹን የሥልጣን ጥም ለማርካት ብለህ ብትገልና ብትሞት ግን አሟሟትህ ከንቱ ይሆናል። ለነፃነት፤ ለእኩልነት እና ለህግ የበላይነት ብለው የተነሱ ነፁሃን ዜጎችን ለመግደል የታጠከውን ነፍጥ ብታነሳ ፍፃሜህ ከንቱ ሁኖ እንደሚቀር አትጠራጠር። የምትሞትለትም ሆነ የምትኖርለት ዋናው ቁም ነገር ሊሆን የሚገባው በህወሃቶች የተጣመመውን ፍትህ ለማቃናት፤ ወገኖችህና አንተ የተነጠቃችሁትን ነፃነት ለመቀዳጀት፤ እውነተኛ ዴሞክራሲዊ ሥርዓት በአገርህ እንዲሠፍን፤ ጥቂት ዘረኞች ብዙሃኑን ተጭነው፤ ብዙሃኑም እነዚህ ጥቂት ዘረኞችን ተሸክመው የሚኖሩበት ሥርዓት እንዲያበቃ ሊሆን ይገባዋል። ለእነዚህ ድንቅ ሃሳቦች ብለህ ብትሰዋ መስዋዕትነትህ የጀግና መሥዋዕትነት ይሆናል። እንዲህ ዓይነቱ መሰዋዕትነት ለአገርና ለወገን የሚሰጥ ውድ እና ታላቅ ስጦታ ነው። ይሄን ውድ እና ታላቅ ስጦታ የሰጠ ደግሞ በታሪክ ማህደራት ውስጥ ስሙ ለዘላለም ሲታወስ ይኖራልና የለወጡን ባቡር እንድትሳፈር እንመክርሃለን።

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ !!!

Ethiopia: The Tale of Two Minister D’états

by Eyassu Lebenu

This is not a narrative presented as a way of telling a story. It is rather mean to give a broader message to anyone who aspires to free themselves and follow their heart in doing the right thing by breaking the shackles of deception and discrimination. It is then, only then, one can really be free and party to sanity and humanity by becoming a force for the truth. Although the title focuses on two rather complete different personalities it has a broader appeal to a lot more others who find themselves in this similar situation these two d’états represent.
My inspiration to write this article is not motivated by any personal hatred I held to anyone, not even the one I portrayed in a negative way.

What inspires me has something to do with the recent information we all came across with when a person in the name of Mr. Ermias Legesse, who came forward glittering like a shooting star with a lesson for every mindful, not mindless, to learn. The former minister d’etat of communication under the Tigray People Liberation Front led Ethiopian government who abandoned the regime for all the right reasons as we saw it in his interviews strike me to put my fingers on my key board and come up with this idea of comparing him with another TPLF minister d’état who stands in contrast to this young minister d’état. So goes the title ‘The Tale of Two Minister d’états’.

As I have stated one of the d’état you might wonder who the other would be. So, I call upon Dr. Tekeda Alemu since he best explains thepoint I am trying to make in this short article. As much as I saw passion for doing the right thing and conviction for the truth I see limitless deception and shameless determination to serve a regime on the side of the latter. It doesn’t matter what you good at, good or bad, your name will be raised everywhere for all the wrong or right reasons depending on your deeds. So, these two people represent those kinds of people who deserve mentioning in light with their own character, personality and other relevant matters addressed below. The two minister d’états have nothing in common, even if you search it with a spot light. So, I skip to dealing with the issue head on with no further introduction and avoiding all well-known information to avoid wasting everyone’s time.

The two personalities have unimaginable differences in age, education, experience, exposure and party affiliation. Dr. Tekeda is a PHD as the name indicates. He has served under the Monarchy, the Derg and now under the TPLF led government since the very day they came to power. He has been in the for front of Ethiopian/TPLF/ diplomacy which, failed the nation its access to the sea; cost the nation the Badme area following thousands of Ethiopians sons were slaughtered to free it; gave the western Gondar areas to the Sudan; engaged in covering up the human rights violation in the country and the brutal crackdown on journalists and activists from the international community. In the last twenty three years, in the name of ‘I am not a member’ children game the Minister d’etat has been more ardent defender of the deeds and atrocities of TPLF more than any EPRDF member. Keeping aside his relatively older blunders, other than the one I stated above ,you all recall that after he was sent to the UN as ambassador he continue to serve as a Trojan horse to the TPLF minority junta with no reservation and shame. His effort to make the TPLF government member of the UN human rights commission speaks volumes as to what Tekeda stood for and his conviction, serving TPLF what they want, when they want and where they want with no questions asked and reservation. This is a story of a PHD.

Other former diplomatic personalities of Ethiopia who were younger in age and education than Tekeda, Aklilu Habtewold and Mr. Ketema Yefru to mention a few, were instrumental in making Eritrea united with Ethiopian and forming the OAU/AU and making the seat in Addis respectively. But what Tekeda does is nothing but serving and defending tyranny which ever form it comes, military junta or ethnic apartheid. What do we call such level of opportunism exhibited by such an individual with so much diplomatic experience almost the age of the next minister I am moving on to? Honestly speaking, Tekeda is a good example that shows the root cause of the vicious cycle of poverty, war and human rights violation in Ethiopia. Because, people like him either they don’t make their opinion heard and change the wrong path the regime takes or they abandon it so it chokes with absence of the technocrat. They sit there and dance with the beat TPLF plays!
I begin by expressing my heartfelt appreciation and regard to the young, 37 years of age as I am, minister d’état Ermias Legesse who defected from the TPLF propaganda machine refusing to serve the white lies and deceptive and destructive policies. Not only that he deserve commending for abandoning the brutal regime his passion and conviction to come forward with his free will to share his experience and bring to light all the atrocities and government led looting of the nation to the benefit of one group is so courageous. Who did we see before him with his status coming out from the TPLF system with that kind of citizen responsibility by opposing the atrocities committed on targeted population? Who did we see before him telling the world that TPLF as a government is engaged in looting the nation and undertaking a massive wealth transfer to TPLF cadres and their affiliates? Who did we see before him with his stature telling everybody that in TPLF Ethiopia you can serve TPLF but you can’t serve Ethiopia as an Ethiopian? With his decency, eloquence and brilliance he puts everything out. It is not age, PHD or other when measured in moral character, deeds and maturity I think he got a lot to teach Tekeda and Tekeda likes.

The point that matters is not Ermias has been an EPRDF member and Tekeda not. The point is, disregarding having a paper claiming someone is a member or not, we have to measure it in terms of their effort to make what was wrong right. While we see it in these criteria it is easy to categorize Tekeda in the hard core members group for his quarter of a century service and counting on. Ermias determination to break from the cell he found himself in calling on the regime to reform and change makes him nothing but a true and patriotic Ethiopian who other, including Tekeda Alemu, has to emulate.

While wrapping up this short article I would say the following. Ermias Legesse is Ethiopian as Tekeda Alemu claims to be. Is Ethiopia of Ermias different to that of Tekeda? Didn’t Ethiopia carry Tekeda on her back more than she carries Ermias by investing her meager resources? But the story of the old man is stabbing the country being accessory to those leaders who envision dismantling it from the beginning so as to install their Republic on the grave of the great nation. When does Tekeda and the likes come to their senses and realize they are in the dark. Does his wife Almaz Goytom being from the Tigre group that formed TPLF blind a man’s conscience to this extent? If it goes to that level it would make the person even less worthy of all this talk I am talking and I would assume that I wasted my time.

So, as Ermias did, I call upon all non-TPLF Ethiopian officials, diplomats, civil servants and others serving in Ethiopia and under the current Ethiopian government to abandon the one party and one ethnic group controlled dictatorship in the country and be part of sanity by any means possible. In so doing, not only will it make TPLF cease to flourish it would cease it to exist ultimately.

Thank you
Fg840472@gmail.com

What is the Value of American Values in Africa?

by Alemayehu G. Mariam*

“We did a whole lot of things that were right, but we tortured some folks; we did some things that were  contrary to our values. When we engaged in some of these enhanced interrogation techniques, techniques that I believe and I think any fair-minded person would believe were torture, we crossed a line. And that needs to be understood and accepted,” said President Obama at a press conference a couple of days ago.

President Obama offered his comments to blunt Congressional criticism following an inspector general’s report which concluded that the CIA improperly scanned the computers of Senate staffers looking into allegations of enhanced interrogation techniques by that agency. He cautioned Americans “not to feel too sanctimonious in retrospect about the tough job that those folks had.” In the same breath, he instructed, “The character of our country has to be measured in part, not by what we do when things are easy, but what we do when things are hard.”

The “torture” condemned by President Obama was initially launched under the auspices of former Vice President Dick Cheney, the architect of the “War on Terror”  and enhanced interrogation. The Bush Administration denied “enhanced interrogation”, which included such techniques as waterboarding, sleep deprivation, sensory bombardment by noise and light, prolonged isolation and sexual humiliation, among others, is torture. Recently, Cheney said, “If I would have to do it all over again, I would.”

The President’s remarks on torture got me thinking about the torturers attending the “U.S.-Africa Leaders” Summit. On August 5-6, President Obama has invited to the White House the “finest” practitioners of torture, corruption experts and master criminals against humanity from Africa to talk business and American investments (not human rights or American values). Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, who is on trial with his deputy president William Ruto, at the International Criminal Court on various counts of crimes against humanity is expected to attend. The roster of invitees reads like a rogues’ gallery of certified human rights violators including Paul Biya of Cameroon,  Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of  Equatorial Guinea, José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, Idriss Deby of Chad and Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia. These wicked African criminals against humanity make the CIA’s practice of “enhanced interrogation techniques” look like a walk in the park.

Incredibly, President Obama calls these human rights scofflaws and crooks America’s “partners”.  President Obama exhorted, “The character of our country has to be measured in part, not by what we do when things are easy, but what we do when things are hard.” But how do we “measure the character”  of our President? By his lofty words and catchy phrases or his inactions “when things are hard” ?   If the old saying that “one can judge a man by the quality of friends he keeps” is true, does it necessarily follow that one can also judge a man by the quality of the “partners” he keeps?  When President Obama made “partners” of African criminals against humanity,  did he “cross the line”  between decency and sleaze?  Should it not be “understood and accepted” thatAmerican values make no distinction between torturers in America and torturers in Africa?

I believe American business investments in Africa without morality breed only misery and thievery.  An American economic investment policy in Africa that is not anchored in human rights will only accelerate the endemic corruption on the continent and deepen the despair and agony of Africans. President Obama should realize that it is wholly insufficient to invest in African banks, dams, mines, rail lines, hotels and bricks and mortars without a moral foundation. After all, America is not China.  American values are not Chinese values.  President Obama said, “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks…” That exceptionalism is built on the American values of liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, republicanism, populism and laissez-faire economics.

Even Adam Smith, the “father” of capitalism understood the utmost importance of a moral foundation and continued education in creating and maintaining a just, fair and harmonious society in a free enterprise system. He called it “mutual sympathy”, something without which a society would degenerate into immorality and amorality. It is  “mutual sympathy” that restrains and bridles the natural predation and avarice of the rich and powerful from ravaging the weak and powerless.  In American business investments in Africa, the moral foundation of “mutual sympathy” is and should always be human rights. I lament the fact that Africa, the cradle of humanity,  is today the graveyard of human rights.

Does President Obama “truly believe” in “American values”? Which American values has he “betrayed” in “partnering” with African dictators?

In his book, the Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream”, then-Senator Obama wrote:

We hang on to our values, even if they seem at times tarnished and worn; even if, as a nation and in our own lives, we have betrayed them more often that we care to remember. What else is there to guide us? Those values are our inheritance, what makes us who we are as a people. And although we recognize that they are subject to challenge, can be poked and prodded and debunked and turned inside out by intellectuals and cultural critics, they have proven to be both surprisingly durable and surprisingly constant across classes, and races, and faiths, and generations. We can make claims on their behalf, so long as we understand thatour values must be tested against fact and experience, so long as we recall that they demand deeds and not just words… If we aren’t willing to pay a price for our values, if we aren’t willing to make some sacrifices in order to realize them, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.

I am not sure what President Obama means when he speaks of “American values” or “our values”. He never quite spells them out. It is hard to know on which values he wants us  “to hang on”. Which values have “we” “inherited” or “betrayed”? Who has really betrayed American values: the “intellectuals and cultural critics” who “poke, prod and debunk” American values or the leaders who are not willing “to pay a price for our values”? What American values are we supposed to “test against fact and experience”? Can we “test against fact and experience” American values in Africa? For which values are we supposed to “pay a price” and make “sacrifices in order to realize them”? What American values do Americans “truly believe in”?

Is torture an American value? 

In a rare instance, President Obama, speaking at the United Auto Workers Conference in February 2012, offered a glimpse of his conception of American values. “Let me tell you, I keep on hearing these same folks talk about values all the time.  You want to talk about values?  Hard work — that’s a value. (Applause.)  Looking out for one another — that’s a value.  The idea that we’re all in it together, and I’m my brother’s keeper and sister’s keeper — that’s a value.”

American values I “truly believe in”

Americans have many great cultural values that I value highly and “truly believe in”.  A strong work ethic,  altruism and giving a hand up to those who are down are definitely signature American values. I think there are many great American values the President glibly omitted in his stump-like speech. Americans place a high value on individual freedom and individualism, which simply means they believe in the uniqueness and paramountcy of the individual person. They value highly individual initiative, individual expression and individual privacy. They value equality and an open society. They value science and technology. They believe in competition (they have a “USA #1 mentality”). They value and practice volunteerism and philanthropy. They believe in pragmatism and are achievement-oriented.  They are frank, open, and direct in their dealings.  I “truly believe” in these values.

However, there are other American values I believe in even more and am “willing to make some sacrifices in order to realize them.” The most important one is the rule of law. It simply means that law should govern a nation, not politicians. To paraphrase President Dwight D. Eisenhower, “The clearest way to show what the rule of law means to Americans in everyday life is to recall what is happening in much of Africa today where there is no rule of law.” I became a constitutional lawyer because I have an unshakable belief in the rule of law.

I am “willing to make some sacrifices in order to realize”, defend and protect the American values of freedom of speech, and of the press, the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, the right to counsel and against self-incrimination and so on. I “truly believe in” due process, the principle that before government takes a person’s life, liberty or property, it must comply with fair procedures and be guided by fundamental American values of fairness: The accused is presumed innocent until the government proves the accused’s guilt. The government bears the entire burden of proving the accused’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The government may not interrogate a criminal suspect without informing the suspect of his/her right to remain silent and right to counsel during custodial interrogations, and so on.

I am also “willing to make some sacrifices in order to realize” the American values of representative government, limited government and federalism. I believe in a system of government where “ambition is made to counteract ambition”, there is constitutional separation of powers so that there is not a dangerous  concentration of power in the hands of one individual or branch of government. I believe in a system of government where there are checks and balances with an independent judiciary as the backbone of that system. I believe in a federal form of government that clearly delineates the powers of the national and sub-national governments.  In short, I have a worldview founded on the values of liberty, equality and human rights; and I am “willing to make some sacrifices in order to realize”.

Is it possible to form a “partnership” with African dictators if one “truly believes in” American values?

Over the past six years, we have heard a lot of talk about American values and many promises on human rights in Africa from President Obama and his Administration. “We will work diligently with Ethiopia to ensure that strengthened democratic institutions and open political dialogue become a reality for the Ethiopian people… We will work for the release of jailed scholars, activists, and opposition party leaders… We align ourselves with men and women around the world who struggle for the right to speak their minds, to choose their leaders, and to be treated with dignity and respect…. Africa’s future belongs to its young people… We’re going to keep helping empower African youth… Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions. We support strong and sustainable democratic governments…. America will be more responsible in extending our hand. Aid is not an end in itself… [Dictatorship] is not democracy, [it] is tyranny, and now is the time for it to end… America is watching…” All empty promises and cheap talk.

Edmund Burke, the British statesman and philosopher said, “Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing.” Talk of magnificent American values costs nothing to those who talk the talk and never have to walk the talk. However, talk of magnificent American values exacts an exorbitant price on those who listen to the talk and harbor deep in their hearts the audacity of hope that they will one day see those talking the talk in America walking the talk in Africa.

In the global “war on terrorism”, it may be necessary for the U.S. to partner with state terrorists. As between terrorists and state terrorists, state terrorists may be the lesser of two (d)evils for the Obama Administration. It is true that the politics of “anti-terrorism” has made for strange bedfellows of U.S. and African leaders. Having said that, I am exasperated watching the American people being flimflammed into believing that their tax dollars are supporting American values in Africa. I get completely bummed out watching hard-earned American tax dollars bankrolling ruthless and cunning African dictators who laugh straight to the bank to deposit their American tax dollars. But when I think about those miserable Africa-leaders-cum-panhandlers “enfolded in the purple of Emperors” making a beeline at the White House rubbing their palms and grinning ear to ear ready to pick up their foreign aid welfare checks in a couple of days, I just plain get pissed off!!!

“If we aren’t willing to pay a price for our values, if we aren’t willing to make some sacrifices in order to realize them, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.” Senator Barack Obama.

“When the United States stands up for human rights, by example at home and by effort abroad, we align ourselves with men and women around the world who struggle for the right to speak their minds, to choose their leaders, and to be treated with dignity and respect. We also strengthen our security and well being, because the abuse of human rights can feed many of the global dangers that we confront — from armed conflict and humanitarian crises, to corruption and the spread of ideologies that promote hatred and violence.” President Barack Obama.

=================

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:

• http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/

Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:

• http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic 

Closet Medias forced to come out as the struggle intensify

by Teshome Debalke

Somehow and at some point truth became allergic for our contemporary elites. The elites that run Woyane’s machinery breathe and chew lies and deceit as we witness every time they make a jackass out of themselves. Others are skillful to obscure the truth to confuse the public.

Though the source of such deviant behavior can be debated one way or another and demand scientific investigation to find out, the result on the ground i.e. the chaos it created in the daily lives of our people is incalculable.

No single institution comes close as vehicle of deceit than the Media simply because its capacity to reach large audiences instantly. That is why any tyranny that lived on the planet earth hold on to the Media as a life-and-death to its rule—proving tyranny can’t survive without lies and deceit at the expenses of the people.

When that isn’t enough, noting exhibited the chaos our contemporary Medias put our people in abrogating the truth than the online Medias disguised as independent. Pick any online Media and you will find on-your-face lies or obscured reality of what our people go through to the benefit of the status qua. In fact, the problems are not the certified Medias that lie as their occupation to sustain the regime or others that counter the certified liars to expose the regime’s lies but, those disguised as independent Media skillfully misleading the public in favor of the regime.

The good news is when the truth starts coming out in abandons they are forced to come out of the closet to show their true color.

Witnessing the agony these Medias go through not to blow their cover, one can’t help but enjoy their frantic search to find anything that would divert our attention from the rotten regime in the verge of collapse of its own making. A typical diversion is posting anything from foreign personality or organizations to say; if it is good enough to foreigners it must be good for Ethiopians. Eritrea-terrorist is still hold the # 1 diversion followed by economic growth.

The recent news where PM Halimariam was the jock of the world is nowhere to be found. For halfway decent Media it would be the news-of-all news to extensively follow up to the bottom as we found out his PHD as fraudulent as his premiership but, not for the closet Medias. Instead, all kinds of diversion are substituted.

The funniest diversion I seen lately was Awramba Times’s article titled — A conversation with Samuel Zemichael ahead of his capture by INTERPOL (Audio). Samuel Zemichael is the fake doctor/engineer TPLF Medias were parading for the last month for misrepresenting his credential. No one knows what Interpol has to do with a smalltime Woyane conman falsifying his credential to be worthy news– ignoring the entire Woyane/ TPLF officials carry falsified credential as the former Deputy Minister Ermias Leggse reviled. What kinds of Medias ignore such juicy news dropped on his laps?

When I wrote ‘The accidental journalist, refugee, tourist, or the all-in-one spy?’ last year I was not jiving. Dawit Kebede of Awramba Time finally came out of the closet for good as expected. It is about time somebody notify Pen International to withdraw the prize he was awarded by falsifying his credential?

When ‘The Media’ fail to tell the truth or obscure the reality chaos is inevitable; as it is evident in contemporary Ethiopia. So my people, the struggle for freedom is also outing the closet Medias, cadres, snake oil salesmen and there-is- a cow in the sky crowed as much as crashing the Apartheid regime.

Albert Einstein said ‘Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters’.

Closet Medias are between a hard place and a rock. To-tell-or-not-to tell-the-truth is the problem. Knowing the truth will send Woyane running for dear life is a hard bargain for closet Medias.

No wonder ESAT is a pain on the ass for closet Medias. If one carefully observe, the closet Medias source news from any source including ETV but not ESAT, what is wrong with that picture?

Now, let face it; can Medias play hide-and-seek in the closet and live to see the day?

I don’t know about you my people, but, in bubble of Woyane if you can earn PHD in two weeks and can be a General with 5th grade education anything is possible. Could it be the closet Medias are run by…, you be the judge. Please…please don’t tell me the universities are full of fake PHDs too.

Here is the homework for closet Medias. Can you inquire the credential of the regime’s officials ASAP and let us know?

God save Ethiopia

አንድ መቶ ሰባ አምስት ኪሎ ወርቅ ከሃገር ሊወጣ ሲል ቢያዝም በሳሞራ የኑስ ትእዛዝ እንዲያልፍ ተደርጓል።

የጄኔራል ሳሞራ የኑስ እንደሆነ የሚጠረጠረው አንድ መቶ ሰባ አምስት ኪሎ ወርቅ ከአገር ሊወጣ ሲል ተይዞ የነበረ ቢሆንም በጄኔራሉ ትእዛዝ ከአገር እንዲወጣ መደረጉን የአየር መንገዱ የደህንነት ምንጮች ጠቁመዋል። ይህ በሁለት ካርቶን ታሽጎ በበረራ ቁጥር 600 እና 612 ወደ ዱባይ ሊሻገር ሲል በቁጥጥር ስር የዋለው ወርቅ በጊዜው ባለንብረቱ ተፈልገው ባለመገኘታቸው እንዲቆይ ቢደረግም ጄኔራል ሳሞራ የኑስ ቦታው ድረስ አሽከሮቹን በመላክ እንዲለቀቅ እና እንዲያልፍ/እንዲጫን የተደረገ መሆኑ ታውቋል።

ይህ የሃገር ሃብት የሆነን ወርቅ የወያኔ ባለስልጣናት ካለምንም ገደብ በማሸሽ እና በመዝረፍ ላይ የተሰማሩ ሲሆን ፒያሳ አከባቢ በሚገኘው በአፍሪካ ወርቅ ቤት ሽፋን እንዳልካቸው እና ዳንኤል በሚባሉ ስሞች በሚሊዮን ዶላሮች የሚገመት የወርቅ መጠን ከአገር በማስወጣት እና እንዲሁም የውጪ ወርቆችን ካለምንም የቀረጥ ክፍያ ወደ ሃገር ውስጥ በማስገባት ስራ ላይ መሰማራታቸው በተጨማሪም ሃገሪቷ የምታገኛቸው የውጪ ምንዛሬዎች በጥሬው እየታሸጉ ከሃገር እንደሚወጡ ታውቋል።

የጦማሪያኑና ጋዜጠኞቹ የክስ መቃወሚያ ቀጠሮ ተላለፈ

የዞን ዘጠኝ ስድስት ጦማርያንና ሶሰት ጋዜጠኞች በወንጀለኛ መቅጫ ህግና በፀረ ሽብር አዋጁ ላይ የተመለከተውን በመተላለፍ የሽብር ወንጀል ለመፈፀም አቅደዋል፣ ተዘጋጅተዋል፣ አሲረዋል፣ አነሳስተዋል እንዲሁም ህገ መንግሥታዊ ሥርዓቱን በሁከትና በአመፅ ለመለወጥ አስበዋል ተብለው በዋና ወንጀል አድራጊነት በፈፀሙት በህገ መንግሥትና በህገ መንግሥታዊ ሥርዓት ላይ በሚደረግ የሙከራ ወንጀል ተከሰው ባለፈው ሐምሌ 11 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም ፍርድ ቤት መቅረባቸው ይታወሳል፡፡

ከሦስት ወራት የምርመራ ጊዜ በኃላ የፌደራሉ ከፍተኛ ፍርድ ቤት ልደታ ምድብ 8ኛ የወንጀል ችሎት የቀረቡት ተከሳሾች በፅሑፍ የቀረበላቸውን ክስ ካደመጡ በኃላ በአቃቢ ህግና በጠበቆቻቸው መካከል በተደረገ የዋስትና ጥያቄ ክርክር ብይን ለመስጠትና የክስ መቃወሚያ ለማዳመጥ ፍርድ ቤቱ ለሐምሌ 28 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም የጊዜ ቀጠሮ መስጠቱ ይታወሳል፡፡

በዛሬው ቀጠሮ ዘጠኙም ተከሳሾች ፍርድ ቤት የቀረቡ ቢሆንም በዋስትና መብት ጉዳይ በጠበቃና በአቃቢ ሕግ መካከል የተደረገው ክርክር የህግ ትርጓሜ እንደሚያስፈልገው ጠበቃዎች በጠየቁት መሰረት ከመቅረጸ ድምጹ ላይ ተገልብጦ ለህግ አስተርጓሚ እንዲላክ እንዲሁም በሌለችበት ክስ የተመሰረተባት 1ኛ ተከሳሽ ሶሊያና ሽመልስ በጋዜጣ ጥሪ እንዲደረግላት የተሰጠው ትዕዛዝ ባለመፈፀሙ ፍርድ ቤቱ ተለዋጭ ቀጠሮ ሰጥቷል።

ባለፈው ቀጠሮ ተከሳሾች የክስ መቃወሚያቸውን እንዲያቀርቡ ከፍርድ ቤቱ ብይን ተሰጥቶ የነበረ ቢሆንም ፍርድ ቤቱ በዛሬው ቀጠሮ የሰጣቸው ትዕዛዞች ተፈጻሚ ባለመሆናቸው ለብይን ያስቸግረናል በሚል የክስ መቃወሚያቸውን ሳያደምጥ ቀርቷል፡፡
ጠበቆቹ ለፍርድ ቤቱ በሰጡት አስተያየት በመጀመሪያው የፍርድ ቤት ውሎ ለዛሬ ቀጠሮ የክስ መቃወሚያ እንዲቀርብ ብይን የተሰጠ መሆኑን አስታውሰው ፍርድ ቤቱም ሆነ አቃቢ ህጉ የክስ መቃመወሚውን ለማየት በቂ ጊዜ የሚሰጥ በመሆኑ የክስ መቃወሚያ በጽሁፍ እንድናቀርብ ይፈቀድልን ብለው ጠይቀዋል፡፡ ችሎቱም የጠበቆችን ጥያቄ በመቀበሉ የክስ መቃወሚያው ለአቃቢ ህግና ለፍርድ ቤቱ በጽሁፍ ቀርቦ በቀጣዩ ቀጠሮ በንባብ እንዲሰማ አዟል።

በ1ኛ ክስ ላይ ለተዘረዘሩ የወንጀል ድርጊቶች 5 መቃወሚያ እንዲሁም በ2ኛ ክስ ለቀረቡት የወንጀል ድርጊቶች 4 መቃወሚያ ነጥቦች የተዘረዘረበት ሰነድ “የቀረበው ክስ ከተጠቀሰው የህግ አነጋገር ጋር የሚቀራረብ አለመሆኑን፣ ተከሳሾች ፈጽመዋቸዋል የተባሉት በክስ ዝርዝሩ የተመለከቱ ተግባራት በህግ የተፈቀዱና ሕገ መንግስታዊ ጥበቃም የተደረገባቸው ሰብአዊና ዲሞክራሲያዊ መብቶች መሆናቸውን፣ የቀረበው ክስ ግልፅ አለመሆኑን፣ ወስደዋል የተባሉት ሥልጠናዎችና ለመገናኛ ብዙኃን ያስተላለፉት መረጃ ወንጀል አለመሆኑን የተመለከቱ መቃወሚያዎችን የያዘ ነው፡፡

በ2ኛ ክስ የቀረበው የክስ መቃወሚያ ደግሞ ጠበቃው ማሰብ የማያስከስስና የማያስቀጣ መሆኑን፣ መደራጀት፣ የሥራ ክፍፍል መፍጠር እና የተለያዩ ሥልጠናዎችን መውሰድ ወንጀል አለመሆኑን፣ በአንድ ድርጊት ሁለት ክስ መቅረቡ አግባብ አለመሆኑ፣ የቀረበው የማስረጃ ሰነድ አለመሟላትን በተመለከተ ከወንጀለኛ መቅጫ እና ከጸረሽብር አዋጁ አንቀጽ ጠቅሰው ተቃውሞዎቻቸውን በጽሑፍ በዝርዝር አቅርበዋል፡፡

የዕለቱን ችሎት የሚመሩት ዳኛ ባስተላለፉት ውሳኔ የዋስትና መብት ጥያቄ ክርክር ከመቅረጸ ድምጽ ተገልብጦ ከመዝገቡ ጋር ተያይዞ ለህግ አውጪ አካል እንዲልክ እንዲሁም ለ1ኛ ተከሳሽ በፕሬስ ጥሪ እንዲደረግና የክስ መቃወሚያ በንባብ እንዲደመጥ ትዕዛዝ አስተላልፈው ለነሐሴ 14 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም ቀጠሮ ሰጥተዋል፡፡