Ethiopia: Victim of geopolitics & tribal feud

 

by Robele Ababya
Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa in a hostile environment surrounded by Eretria, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and the only friendly Kenya. The Blue Nile River is a strong link between Egypt and Ethiopia. The Middle East is a stone throw away where conservative Arab leaders plot to annex Ethiopia and become the masters of her strategic location, temperate climate, fertile land, and abundant rivers suitable for irrigation to produce food.
Addis Ababa is host to one of the largest diplomatic missions in the world. Big and intermediate powers including the members of the UN Security Council, G8 and G20 are present in pursuit of their political or economic interests.
The USA is a global power that puts its national interests first, and rightly so in the sense that alliance with the Ethiopian regime is paramount to its national security. The same goes for European powers threatened by Al Qaeda. The powerful Communist China is competing with the USA not to mention India and Saudi Arabia to get foothold in Ethiopia. Little superpower Israel will not relinquish its historical relations with Ethiopia. Russia will not be a silent observer.
Pro-Ethiopia visionary leaders of the future have to carefully craft a strategic balancing policy to safeguard vital national security and economic interests, a Herculean task that the puppet TPLF warlord dudes behaving like foreign occupiers cannot be trusted to perform.
Hurdles to unified action to evict the brutal regime from power are briefly presented in the following sections under the captions: “The Adam Pedigree Chart; “Inter-racial marriages”; “Religion and freedom of conscience”; and “Letters between the Titans: Drs. Fikre and Beyan”
The Adam Pedigree Chart
The grand question being asked to this day is “Given that it was only Adam and Eve on Earth how did the human race multiply? This difficult question is better answered by the clerics and the producers of “The Adam Pedigree Chart” -published in Google – from which I would like to glean a few points for the purpose of this piece.
Adam begat three sons – Abel, Cain and Seth. Cain killed Abel and was banished in exile from his birth place to another land where he settled, married and produced children. This is probably the reason that the Chart starts with Seth as the son of Adam and Eve in the genealogy of European Monarchs for example of up to Queen Elizabeth II.
Ethiopians might ask is there a pedigree for Ethiopian Monarchs? The answer is yes. Berihun Kebede has produced a strikingly similar pedigree in tabular format in the Amharic text tracing the lineage of Emperor Haile Selassie to Adam and Eve in his voluminous book titled “Ye Atsie Haile Selassie Tarik” (History of Emperor Haile Selassie), vide pp. 129 – 135. He shows that the mother of the Monarch is called Yeshimebeit Gamicho (an Oromo) of royal descent. This reference is extremely helpful to the debate of the origin of Cushitic Kingdom of Ethiopia in that it lives no doubt that Oromos were part and parcel of the Kingdom in influential positions of power in Ethiopia, which is universally acknowledged as the origin of the human species.
I should add that Emperor Iyoas whose mother hailed from Yeju ruled from his palace in Gondar; Oromiffa was the official language and his bodyguards were Oromos from Yeju.
I got this from Google to reinforce my argument: “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman” (Num. 12.1). Every now and again someone asks how it could be that Moses, the champion of the Lord for the chosen people, could have married an Ethiopian who was therefore of the descendants of Ham, youngest son of Noah. There was strong objection in Israel to such marriages although the assumption that Moses had married before he left Egypt only raises the second question how he later came to marry Zipporah the Midianite when he apparently had left one wife back in Egypt. The word “Ethiopian” is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word “Cush” who in Genesis 10.8 is recorded as one of the sons of Ham, father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan.” My emphasis
Inter-racial marriages:
Inter-racial marriages had occurred in the distant past, continue to take place to the present, and will continue increasingly at a rapid rate in the future in my opinion. Take Mosses and his Ethiopian wife as an example and ask the unanswerable question whether his Ethiopian spouse was an Amhara, Oromo, Guraghe, Kembata, Sidama, Hadia, Welaita et al. At what point in time in the Adam and Eve genecology did the first Amhara couple arose and propagated in racial purity to this date without intermarriage with other ethnic groups? The same question applies to the first couples of Oromo, Guraghe, Kembata, Sidama, Hadia, Welaita et al. This cardinal question is especially directed to hypocrites like the late tyrant Meles Zenawi of the ‘Golden Race’ of which he was bragging.
Religion, freedom of conscience and freedom of worship

“Millions of Voices for Freedom” Ethiopians Standing against the Brutal Regime

 

by Betre Yacob
The Daily Journalist
The Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), the most important opposition political party working under the narrowest political landscape of Ethiopia, has launched a “peaceful struggle campaign” with a motto——“Millions of Voices for Freedom” against the brutal regime ruling the country since 1991. Many millions of Ethiopians suffering from racial discrimination, exploitation, injustice, abject poverty, rampant human rights violations are expected to actively participate in the struggle.
In a launching press conference held on 20 June 2013, Mr. Dawite Solomon, the spokesperson of the party, called upon the people, political parties, civic organizations, the mass media, the Ethiopian diaspora and concerned members of the ruling party who give priority to the interest of the nation to take an active part and participate in the campaign. He said that it is the time to get together and struggle for freedom.
The press release of the party issued on 20 June 2013 says that the “objective of the campaign is to oppose the ever growing system of dictatorship that deprives citizens of their human and democratic rights, forces them to live in a state of fear and to sell their dignity for petty favors and privileges.” The press release further says: “we shall struggle resolutely to create a society where our basic rights are respected, power belongs to the people, citizens are not imprisoned for expressing their views freely and where justice prevails.”
According to the party, the campaign includes several peaceful activities including public discussions, signature gathering, and frequent rallies. The struggle is planned to be done throughout the country including the capital Addis Ababa.
“We have made public a document on which people will put their signatures in opposition of the Anti-Terrorism Law”, the press release says. “Along with this, we shall demand that imprisoned politicians, journalists and those who demand religious freedom be released. To translate this demand into action, we shall organize meetings and public square rallies. We shall conduct six public meetings in Addis. In the regions, we shall organize ten public meetings initially. The peaceful public demonstrations that give expression to the millions of voices to ensure freedom will involve all Ethiopians”, the press release explains.
Answering questions raised by journalists in the press conference, the Chairperson of the UDJ’s National Council, Mr. Tigestu Awolu, said that the struggle is absolutely different from those in the past. He said that it’s not spontaneous and improvised but strategically well designed in such a way which can bring about the needed changes effectively and efficiently. In line with this, different political activities are suggesting that the campaign would be successful as far as it is well organized.
Ethiopia is one of the most repressive nations in Africa, and has very poor human right records. It is a place where there is no freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. It is a place where law abiding citizens are simply imprisoned, beaten or executed; where innocents are subjected to mass arrests and theatrical charges just because they demanded for their religious freedom; where journalists are considered as enemies and their rights are completely denied and thrown into prison because they expressed their ideas freely.
Different researches show that since recent years these human rights violations coupled with widespread discrimination, corruption, unemployment, and sky rocket price inflation have made the country an intolerable prison for the majority and lead many to the fact that drastic political change is badly needed to transform the country for the better.

አንድነት የፀረ-ሽብር አዋጁን ለማሰረዝ የ1ሚ. ሰዎችን ፊርማ ያሰባስባል

 ዶ/ር ነጋሶ የመጀመሪያው ፈራሚ ሆነዋል
“የአገሩን በሬ በአገሩ ሰርዶ እንጂ በውጭ ተቋማት መተማመንይቅር” – ዶ/ር ያዕቆብ ኃ/ማሪያም
አንድነት ለፍትህና ለዴሞክራሲ ፓርቲ (አንድነት) ከትላንት በስቲያ በይፋ የጀመረው ህዝባዊ ንቅናቄ የፀረ-ሽብር አዋጁን ማሰረዝ ዋነኛ አላማው እንደሆነ ገለፀ፡፡ ለዚህ ዓላማውም የአንድ ሚሊዮን ሰዎችን የድጋፍ ፊርማ (ፒቲሽን) በዕለቱ ማስፈረም የጀመረ ሲሆን የመጀመሪያው ፈራሚ የፓርቲው ሊቀመንበር ዶ/ር ነጋሶ ጊዳዳ ሆነዋል፡፡ ፓርቲው የፀረ-ሽብር ህጉን ለማሰረዝ ከሚንቀሳቀስባቸው ምክንያቶች አንዱ ህገ-መንግስቱን በእጅጉ የሚጥስና የኢትዮጵያን ዜጐች በማጥቃት የሚጀምር በመሆኑ ነው ብሏል – የህዝባዊ ንቅናቄው ኮሚቴ በሠጠው ጋዜጣዊ መግለጫ፡፡
ፓርቲው “የሚሊዮኖች ድምፅ ለነፃነት” በሚል መሪ ቃል የጀመረው የሶስት ወር ንቅናቄ የአንድ ሚሊዮን ህዝቦችን ድምፅ በማሰባሠብ የአገሪቱን ዜጐችና ተቋማትን በማጥቃት፣ በሀይማኖት ጣልቃ በመግባት፣ ከአባትና እናት የተወረሠን ንብረትና ሀብት በሽብርተኝነት ስም የሚገፈውን አዋጅ ለማሰረዝ ጥረት እናደርጋለን፤ ወደ ክስም እንሄዳለን” ብሏል፡፡ “ይህ ማለት ግን ኢትዮጵያ ካላት ተፈጥሯዊ ሀብትና መሠል ጉዳዮች ጋር በተያያዘ የፀረ-ሽብር ህግ አያስፈልጋትም ማለት እንዳልሆነ የገለፁት የንቅናቄው ኮሚቴ አባል አቶ ትዕግስቱ አወል፤ አሁን ስራ ላይ ያለው የፀረ ሽብር አዋጅ ግን ሰዎችን እና ተቋማትን የሚያጠቃ ነው ብለዋል፡፡
ከተጠቁት ተቋማት ውስጥ አንድነትና መድረክ ዋነኞቹ እንደሆኑ፣ ጋዜጠኞችና የፖለቲካ ሰዎችም የዚሁ አዋጅ ሠለባ መሆናቸውን፣ እንዲሁም ከህገ መንግስቱ ጋርም በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ ስለሚቃረን ትኩረት አድርገንበታል ሲሉም አክለዋል፡፡ “ምንም እንኳን በፍትህ ተቋማቱ ላይ ያለን እምነት የተሸረሸረ ቢሆንም አሁንም መብታችንን ከመጠየቅ የሚያግደን የለም” ያሉት የንቅናቄው ኮሚቴ አባል አቶ ዳንኤል ተፈራ፤ መንግስት የ1 ሚሊዮን ሠው ድምፅና ጥያቄ አልቀበልም ካለ የፓርቲውን ሳይሆን የህዝቡን ጥያቄ አልመልስም እንደማለት እንደሆነ አብራርተዋል፡፡
ፓርቲው በሶስት ወሩ ህዝባዊ ንቅናቄ ውስጥ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ እንደሚካተት ገልፆ፤ በዋናነት ህገ-መንግስቱን የሚፃረረውን የፀረ ሽብር አዋጅ ማሰረዝ፣ በአገር አቀፍ ደረጃ እየተካሄደ ያለውን በገጠርና በከተማ የዜጐች መፈናቀልና የመሬት ቅርምት ማስቆም፣ የስራ አጥነትና የኑሮ ውድነት እንዲቀረፍ ማድረግ፣ የኢኮኖሚ ፖሊሲ ማሻሻያ እርምጃ እንዲወሠድና የንግዱ ማህበረሠብ ከወንጀለኝነት ስምና ስግብግብ ከመባል ወጥቶ ጤናማ ውድድር እንዲኖር፣ እንዲሁም ማጥላላትና ማዋከብ እንዲቆም ማድረግ የሚሉት በዋናነት ተቀምጠዋል፡፡ የንቅናቄው ኮሚቴ አባል የሆኑት አቶ ተክሌ በቀለ፤ ንቅናቄው አሁን የተጀመረበትን ምክንያት ሲያብራሩ፤ “እስከዛሬ ንቅናቄውን ያልጀመርነው ፓርቲው በአየር ላይ የተንጠለጠለ እንዳይሆን በእግሩ እንዲቆም በማድረግ ስራ ላይ እና በውስጥ አደረጃጀት ተጠምደን ስለነበር ነው” ብለዋል፡፡
“እስከዛሬ እግር ሲያወጡ እንቆርጣቸዋለን እየተባለን፣ እግር ስናወጣና ስንቆረጥ ቆይተናል” በማለት ያከሉት አቶ ተክሌ፤ አሁን ግን በኢህአዴግ የሚደርስብንን ብቻ ሳይሆን የውስጥ ህመማችንንም ስናክም ቆይተን ከጨረስን በኋላ በእውቀት ላይ የተመሠረተ የህዝብ ንቅናቄ ለመጀመር ጊዜው አሁን እንደሆነ ውሳኔ ላይ ደርሰናል ብለዋል፡፡ “በፍ/ቤቶች ላይ እምነታችን ቢሸረሸርም ፍትህ መጠየቃችንን አናቆምም” ያሉት አቶ ዳንኤል፤ የአንድ የሚሊዮኖችን ድምፅ የምናሠባስበውም ለዚሁ ነው ብለዋል፡፡
ዶ/ር ሀይሉ አርአያ በሠጡት አስተያየት አንድ አካል አጥፍቶ ያለመጠየቅን ነገር ፈረንጆቹ (Impunity) ይሉታል” ካሉ በኋላ “እዚህ አገርም አጥፍቶ የሚጠየቅ የለም፤ ስለዚህ በአገራችን ፍ/ቤት ካልተሳካ ወደ አለም አቀፉ የወንጀለኞች ፍርድ ቤት የሚኬድበት አማራጭም መዘንጋት የለበትም” ብለዋል፡፡ ነጋዴዎችን በተመለከተ ለተነሳው ጥያቄ “የዚህን አገር ነጋዴዎች ለማወቅ የግድ የመጫኛ ነካሽ ልጅ መሆን አያስፈልግም” በማለት ምላሽ መስጠት የጀመሩት የንቅናቄው ኮሚቴ አባል አቶ አቶ ዳዊት ሰለሞን፤ በአሁኑ ሰዓት ነጋዴው ሌባ፣ ዘራፊ፣ ሙሰኛ እየተባለና እየተብጠለጠለ መሆኑን አስረድተዋል፡፡ “ገዢውን ፓርቲ የተጠጉ አካላት በአንድ ጀምበር የሀብት ማማ ላይ ሲወጡ፣ በህጋዊ መንገድ የሚንቀሳቀሱ ነጋዴዎች በስቃይ ላይ ናቸው ያሉት አቶ ዳዊት፤ የጥሬ እቃ እጥረትና መሠል ችግር ሲፈጠር መንግስት ጣቱን በነጋዴ ላይ እንደሚቀስር ጠቁመው፣ ነጋዴው በአገሩ አንገቱን ደፍቶ እንዲኖር የሚደረግበት አካሄድ እንዲቆም እንጠይቃለን ብለዋል፡

Dr. Berhanu Responds Re: Broadcast Of His “Pvt’ Voice Records”

ዶክተር ብሃኑ ነጋ ከግብፅ $500,000 ተቀበሉ ለተባለው ምላሽ ሰጡ

June 21, 2013
Dr. Berhanu Nega, associate professor of Economics at Bucknell University and Chairman of the opposition movement, Ginbot 7, has responded to recent reports by some websites which said were containing revelation about “his private phone conversation and financial support his Movement received”.
In an interview with ESAT Radio today, Dr. Berhanu said that such materials were released by the Ethiopian government to divert attention and there was no way that his Movement or himself was going to bicker into an argument of denying or admitting the reports about the said “secret audio”. However, he stressed that the alleged audio, in which some websites claimed was ‘tapped’ from “his phone conversation”, can be viewed in two ways. He said, the first message that the government wanted to pass was that Ginbot 7 was receiving support from Egypt and that as if his Movement did not value Ethiopia’s national interests. He said “Bereket Simon and his regime can not tell us about the meaning 0f national interest as they don’t know it”. Secondly, we have always said that we will take any support from anyone for the sake of our struggle for freedom. What we don’t do is that we don’t enter into any form of ”negotiation, discussion or agreement in the name of the Ethiopian people and Ethiopia” he affirmed.
This week, some Ethiopian websites carried a story and an audio recording that allegedly stated was a ‘secretly tapped’ audio of the Chairman “talking over the phone about the financial grant he received (from an unnamed source) and how it was being allocated”. The British News International’s phone hacking scandal/journalism has been one of the most scandalous events in the history of journalism in recent times which resulted in the investigation, sacking and arrest of many journalists of the media conglomerate for hacking the telephones of celebrities and politicians to make news.
Dr. Berhanu has neither admitted nor refuted if the said audio was his own voice and phone conversation.
source: http://debirhan.com audio

Ethiopia opposition threatens protests over anti-terrorism law

Reuters) - An Ethiopian opposition party called on Thursday for the government to scrap an anti-terrorism law it says is used to stifle dissent, threatening a repeat of protests that brought thousands onto the streets of Addis Ababa early this month.
The rally on June 2, organized by another opposition group, was the first large-scale protest in the Ethiopian capital since a disputed 2005 election ended in street violence that killed 200 people.

Opposition groups in the Horn of Africa country were vibrant until that vote but have since largely retreated from public view, the result, analysts say, of harassment by the authorities and divisions within their ranks.

They routinely accuse the government of intimidating and imprisoning their members and rigging elections against them. Ethiopia's 547-seat legislature has only one opposition member.

The anti-terrorism law ratified in 2009 makes anyone caught publishing information that could induce readers into acts of terrorism liable to jail terms of 10 to 20 years. Opponents say it is used indiscriminately to target anyone who opposes government policy.

"We shall demand that the anti-terror law be abolished immediately. It contradicts the constitution and violates the rights of people," Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party spokesman Daniel Tefera said at a news conference in Addis Ababa.

In a statement, UDJ said the government was doing too little to tackle unemployment and corruption and announced a campaign of nationwide debates and rallies.

"If there is no positive response from the ruling regime, we shall go to court with the millions of signatures in our hands," it said.

More than 10 journalists have been charged under the anti-terrorism law, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which says Ethiopia has the highest number of exiled journalists in the world.
The government dismisses the claims that it is cracking down on dissent and says the law is needed it its fight against separatist rebels and armed groups who it says are backed by arch-foe Eritrea.

Analysts say the opposition may have found renewed vigor since the death last year of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who was praised abroad for delivering strong economic growth but criticized for keeping a tight grip on power for 21 years.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has for now shown no sign of a major shift in policy away from his predecessor.

(Reporting by Aaron Maasho; editing by James Macharia and Tom Pfeiffer)

The Humanitarian Aid-Corruption Nexus in Ethiopia

 

Seid Hassan- Murray State University
A. Introduction
The Amharic version of the Voice of America (journalist Solomon Abate serving as moderator) entertained a discussion on corruption which was broadcast on May 17 and 18, 2013. Participants included Messrs. Mulugeta Aragawi of Addis Ababa University, Abebe Gutta (attorney at law in Addis Ababa), Berhanu Assefa (Ethical Education and Communication Affairs Director of the Federal Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission-FEACC) and I. The first two gentlemen who really knew the sources, extent and potential solution to the rampant Ethiopian corruption politely provided their views, including the approaches that the government has to take to fight the corruption that the government has admitted to be rampant. As expected and is customary of the members of the EPRDF, Mr. Berhanu Assefa of the FEACC was on the defensive and mostly on the attack mode, instead of listening to the complaints and suggestions of the two citizens. As those who listened to the debate can easily attest, Mr. Assefa spent most of his time talking about unrelated to the topic of discussion –yes, you guessed it right: the same old and tired double digit growth rates that all EPRDFites like to parrot each other ad nauseam. He also suggested that the current decision to fight against corruption is for real and the arrest of Minister Melaku Fenta, director general of the revenue and customs authority and his deputy Gebrewahed Woldegiorgis along with several officials and businessmen merchants should serve as proof and we ought not to discourage it. I partially agreed with Mr. Assefa’s suggestion in that all of us have to encourage the fight against corruption, if indeed it is for real while at the same time expressing my serious doubts.
I will perhaps address this issue (whether Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s government is both serious and capable of fighting the rampant corruption in the country) with a separate short write-up. Delay such a commentary also allow us to give the current authorities a little more time and the benefits of doubt to show it to the world, as promised, that they have ended embarked on fighting against the debilitating corruption in the country. This and the next two (probably more) series of short commentaries instead focus on my soon to be published research findings related to the foreign-aid–corruption-nexus as applied to Ethiopia. These two forthcoming articles are included in the upcoming Ethiopian e-Journal for Research and Innovation Foresight-Vol.5, no.1-Special issue on the Ethiopian Economy which incorporates seven professionally written manuscripts. The contributors include Professors Abu Girma Moges (two articles: one on federalism and the second one on the extent of and the sham nature of calculating and indexing of poverty in the country), Minga Negash (on the peculiar nature of corporate governance in Ethiopia and the way forward), Getachew Begashaw (on the effects of landlockedness), Zeleke Worku (on Traditional Financial Structures such as Iqub, etc.) and I (two articles on the foreign aid-corruption nexus). Both of my research articles are related but the first one tries to exclusively focus on the humanitarian aid-corruption nexus (that is, corruption when the TPLF was a rebel front) while the second one focuses on the development aid-corruption nexus (that is, corruption after the TPLF seized political power). They both are byproducts of many years of my extensive research and fact documentations regarding the nature and causes of corruption in Ethiopia. I expect readers of these articles to find the extensive literature, testimonials and interviews that I consulted to be highly beneficial to them.
B. The State Capture Onset in Ethiopia: Humanitarian Aid and Corruption. Forthcoming: Ethiopian e-Journal for Research and Innovation Foresight-Vol.5, no.1-Special issue on the Ethiopian Economy.
1. Abstract: The first part of this paper shows that a substantial part of the money that aid agencies gave to feed the 1984-5 Ethiopian famine victims, including those raised by Band Aid and Live Aid were siphoned off by the Tigrayan Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) to buy military weapons. I also use newly found evidences, interviews and testimonials accumulated over many years to show that famine aid scamming by the TPLF had gone beyond using humanitarian aid to purchase military weapons and feed the rebel Front’s red army. I show how humanitarian aid, as a resource in the midst of extreme scarcity, has enriched some quarters, fuelled corruption and intensified and prolonged conflicts among the warring factions of Ethiopia and legitimized the rebel fronts’ operations. Humanitarian aid lured the Fronts, particularly the TPLF, to parade hundreds of thousands of peasants to Sudan, which led to the deaths of tens of thousands of them (due to overcrowding, disease epidemics, lack of regular food supplies, poor water and sanitation problems, and from being exposed to targets for bombing). The documents I examined, the interviews that I conducted and the testimonials I have gathered over many years indicate that the refugees were abused by the TPLF both during their trek to the Ethio-Sudanese border which took 4-6 weeks and within the refugee camps. According to some ex-TPLF veterans, (and their claims to be indirectly proved by the written work of foreign nationals), a good portion of the humanitarian food aid was not made available to the starving peasants of Tigray. Their statements regarding this issue are indirectly corroborated by the field and research work of foreign nationals. By all these three counts, according to them, the TPLF has committed crimes against humanity (and, the International Committee of the Red Cross –ICRC agrees with them on this front). The documents I examined and the interviews and testimonials I gathered indicate that donors and aid agencies knew that the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) was the flip-side of the same coin- the TPLF and aid agency personnel knew a portion of the humanitarian aid that they were providing was being diverted for military purposes by the Fronts, indicating a violation of the principle of neutrality and impartiality on the part of aid agencies. There are also indications suggesting that the cross-border interventions by donors and aid agencies were against the

Appreciation Letter to Congressman Chris Smith

 

June 21, 2013

Congressman Chris Smith
Foreign Affairs Committee
Chairman of Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organization
The Congress of the United States of America
2373 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Tel. 202-225-3765
Fax. 202-225-7768
Dear Congressman Smith:
In the name of 90,000,000 voiceless Ethiopians, we would like to thank you for standing by the side of the imprisoned, tortured, disappeared and murdered Ethiopians. We deeply appreciate the holding of a public hearing on June 20, 2013. We believe the hearing enlightened US policy makers about the atrocities committed on the Ethiopian people by the dictatorial and ethnocentric regime that seized power for the last 21 years. We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt appreciation for your role in passing HR2003 along with the late Congressman Donald Payne.

Shown here is Rep. Chris Smith. (House of Representatives)

As a dedicated human rights defender, you travelled to Ethiopia and witnessed, that the Meles regime not only violated its own constitution but also deprived the people of Ethiopia to exercise their God given right. Even after the death of Mr. Meles, the human right violation continues at an alarming rate and with a level one can’t imagine. The regime in Ethiopia is a terrorist regime; A terrorist and non accountable regime that terrorizes its own people cannot be a long lasting ally to fight terrorism and protect lasting US interest. The interest of the United States will only be protected by a democratically elected government not by a dictatorial and terrorist regime.
We would like to bring to your attention that the people of Ethiopia have reached the point of no return. They are left with no hope and option. If the present level of atrocities and terror continues by this dictatorial regime, we are afraid the situation will be out of control. It is, therefore, high time for the United States act immediately to avoid regional instability and human catastrophe like that of Syria even Ruanda.
Once again, we thank you for being the voice for the voiceless and for your unwavering stance for justice, democracy and human rights.
God Bless you!

የትኛው አማራጭ ለአሜሪካ? “ኢህአዴግን ምን እናድርገው? ንገሩን!”

“ኢህአዴግን ምን እናድርገው? ንገሩን!”

አሜሪካ ከመቼውም ጊዜ በላይ ደንግጣለች። ኦባንግ እንዳሉት ለህዝባቸው “ሬት” ለምዕራባውያንና “ማር” (የቤት ቀጋ፤ የውጭ አልጋ) የነበሩት አምባገነን በድንገት እንደ ተነቀለ ቡሽ ተስፈንጥረው ከሲስተም መውጣታቸው አሜሪካንን አስጨንቋታል። በተለይም እሳቸው አፍነው የያዙት የስርዓቱ “ክፉ ጠረን” አሁን እነርሱ (አሜሪካውያኑ) ደጅ የደረሰ ያህል መፍትሄ ለመፈለግ የወሰኑ ይመስላሉ። አውቀውና ፈቅደው ሲታለሉ የቆዩበትን ጊዜ አስልተው መንገዳቸውን የማስተካከል ስራ የጀመሩት ዛሬ አይደለም። አንዳንድ ምንጮች እንደሚሉት ከመለስ ሞት በኋላ አሜሪካ በምስራቅ አፍሪካ ላይ ሚዛኗን ሊያስታት የሚችል ውድቀት የሚደርስባት ኢትዮጵያ ላይ ያላትን አቋም ማስተካከል ሲያቅታት ብቻ እንደሆነ ይናገራሉ።

“… ሆን ተብሎ በተቀነባበረ እቅድ ህወሃት አዲስ አበባን እንዲቆጣጠር የተወሰነው ውሳኔ አሳዛኝና ከቶውንም ሊታመን የማይችል ነው። የሰከረ ርዕዮት ዓለም የሚከተሉ፣ በብሄርና በጎሳ ፖለቲካ ላይ የተተከሉ ጠባብ ቡድኖች፣ በስታሊናዊ መርህ የተጠመቁ፣ እንኳንስ 50 ሚሊዮን ህዝብ ያላት አገር ቤተሰብን የመምራትና የማስተዳደር ተሞክሮ የሌላቸው፣ አገርን መምራትን የሚያክል ታላቅ ሃላፊነት ማሸከም ለኔ ከአእምሮ በላይ ነው …” የዛሬ 22ዓመት ኮሎኔል ጎሹ ወልዴ ከተናገሩት፡፡
“አሜሪካኖች ነጻ እንድታወጡን አንጠይቃችሁም። የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ እንዴት ነጻ እንደሚወጣ ያውቃል። እናንተ ግን በነጻነት መንገዳችን ላይ ዕንቅፋት አትሁኑብን፤ (የነጻነት መንገዱን አትዝጉብን)። ከመንገዱ ላይ ገለል በሉ … እስካሁን ያልተሞከረ መንገድ አለ … እሱም እርቅ ነው … ከመንግሥትም ሆነ ከተቃዋሚው በኩል ዓመኔታ የሚጣልባቸው አሉ … ” አቶ ኦባንግ ሜቶ፡፡
“የሚታየኝ ጦርነት ነው፣ የርስ በርስ ግጭት ነው። የርስ በርስ ግጭት በኢትዮጵያ የመነሳቱ ጉዳይ የማይቀር ነው። አገሪቱ ላለፉት 21 ዓመታት በተጓዘችበት መንገድ አትቀጥልም። … ሕዝብ በጭቆና አገዛዝ እየተገዛ ዝም ብሎ የማይኖርበት ደረጃ ላይ ደርሷል … ዝም ብሎ ግን አይቀመጥም … ይፈነዳል … ይህን እንድትገነዘቡ እፈልጋለሁ” ዶ/ር ብርሃኑ ነጋ፡፡
አቶ መለስ “አሮጋንት /እብሪተኛ/፤ የፈለገውን ነገር በፈለገው ጊዜ የሚያደርግ ሰው … እንደነበር አዲስ አበባ ሄጄ ባነጋገርኩበት ወቅት አረጋግጫለሁ” ክሪስ ስሚዝ፡፡
“እድሜ ልካችሁን አትገዙም ብለን መክረናቸዋል” ዶናልድ ያማሞቶ፡፡

የምክክሩ መድረክ

“ኢትዮጵያ ድኅረ መለስ፤ የዴሞክራሲና ሰብዓዊ መብቶች የወደፊት ዕጣ በኢትዮጵያ” በሚል ርዕስ፤ ከኢትዮጵያ ሁለት ተናጋሪዎች ዶ/ር ብርሃኑ ነጋ እና አቶ ኦባንግ ሜቶ፤ በኢትዮጵያ የአሜሪካን አምባሳደር የነበሩትና በአሁኑ ወቅት በአሜሪካ የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚ/ር የአፍሪካ ጉዳዮች ተጠባባቂ ጸሐፊ ዶናልድ ያማሞቶ፣ የአሜሪካ የዓለምአቀፍ የልማት ተራድዖ የአፍሪካ ቢሮ ረዳት አስተዳዳሪ ኤሪል ጋስት፤ የማይክል አንሳሪ የአፍሪካ ተቋም ዳይሬክተር ዶ/ር ፒተር ፓሃም እንዲሁም በአምነስቲ ኢንተርናሽናል የመንግሥት ጉዳዮች ዋና ዳይሬክተር አዶቴ አክዌ የተጋበዙበት የምክክር ሸንጎ ላይ የቀረቡት ሃሳቦች በርካታ ጉዳዮችን የዳሰሱ ነበሩ። ሰብሳቢው በአሜሪካ የተወካዮች ምክርቤት በአፍሪካ፣ በዓለምአቀፍ ጤናና ሰብዓዊ መብቶች እንዲሁም ዓለምአቀፋዊ ድርጅቶች ንዑስኮሚቴ ሰብሳቢ ክሪስቶፈር ስሚዝ ደግሞ ኢህአዴግ ከፍተኛ ገንዘብ አፍስሶ ያኮላሽው ኤችአር2003 የኢትዮጵያ የሰብዓዊ መብት ረቂቅ ህግ ከሟቹ ዶናልድ ፔይን ጋር በማዘጋጀት በምክርቤት ለማስወሰን ያስቻሉ ነበሩ።
የአዲሲቷ ኢትዮጵያ የጋራ ንቅናቄ (አኢጋን) ዋና ዳይሬክተር አቶ ኦባንግ ሜቶ፣ እንዲሁም በበክኔል ዩኒቨርሲቲ የኢኮኖሚክስ ተባባሪ ፕሮፌሰር የሆኑት የግንቦት 7 ሊቀ መንበር ዶ/ር ብርሃኑ ነጋ እንደ እምነታቸው ንግግር አድርገዋል። ለተጠየቁት ጥያቄ ምላሽ ሰጥተዋል። በምክክር ሸንጎው ላይ ከተጋበዙት መካካል ኢህአዴግ በቀጥታ ባለመወከሉ “ያለመመጣጠን (ያለመወከል)” ችግር አልነበረም፡፡ ኢህአዴግም ተገኝቶ ቢሆን ኖር ሊናገረው ከሚችለው በላይ ተናጋሪና ተከራካሪ ስለነበረው የኢህአዴግ መኖር አስፈላጊ አልነበረም የሚል አስተያየት ስብሰባውን በአካል ተገኝተው ከታዘቡና በቀጥታ ስርጭት ከተከታተሉ ወገኖች ተደምጧል።
ያም ሆኖ ግን ምክክሩ ከመካሄዱ ቀደም ብሎ በአሜሪካ የኢትዮጵያ ኤምባሲ የበላይ ሰው ክሪስ ስሚዝ ቢሮ በመገኘት አሉ የሚሏቸውን መከራከሪያዎች አቅርበው ነበር። የጎልጉል ምንጮች ለማረጋገጥ እንደቻሉት ኢህአዴግ ምክክሩን ተከትሎ ኤች አር 2003 ረቂቅ ሕግ እንዳይጸድቅ የተጠቀመበትን መንገድ ገና ካሁኑ በድጋሚ ጀምሯል።
ለኢትዮጵያውያን ሁሉ እያደር የእግር እሳት ሆኖ ያለፈውን የ1997 ምርጫ ተከትሎ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ በማምራት ከኢህአዴግ መሪ አቶ መለስ ጋር በርካታ ዲፕሎማቶች ተነጋግረዋል። አንዱ ከኒውጀርሲ ጠቅላይግዛት የአሜሪካ ም/ቤት ተወካይ ክሪስ ስሚዝ ነበሩ። “ኢትዮጵያ ከመለስ በኋላ” በሚል የተዘጋጀውን የምክክር ሸንጎ በመሪነታቸው ሲከፍቱ አቶ መለስን “አሮጋንት /እብሪተኛ/፤ የፈለገውን ነገር በፈለገው ጊዜ የሚያደርግ ሰው …” በማለት ነበር የገለጹዋቸው። የርሳቸው ገለጻ ታዲያ ከሁለት ዓስርተ ዓመታት በፊት ኢህአዴግ እንዲነግስ ሲወሰን ከቃል በላይ እሳት እየተፉ ንግግር ያደረጉትን ኢትዮጵያዊ አስታወሰ – የቀድሞው የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር ኮ/ሎ ጎሹ ወልዴ!
“… ሆን ተብሎ በተቀነባበረ እቅድ ህወሃት አዲስ አበባን እንዲቆጣጠር የተወሰነው ውሳኔ አሳዛኝና ከቶውንም ሊታመን የማይችል ነው። የሰከረ ርዕዮት ዓለም የሚከተሉ፣ በብሄርና በጎሳ ፖለቲካ ላይ የተተከሉ ጠባብ ቡድኖች፣ በስታሊናዊ መርህ የተጠመቁ፣ እንኳንስ 50 ሚሊዮን ህዝብ ያላት አገር ቤተሰብን የመምራትና የማስተዳደር ተሞክሮ የሌላቸው፣ አገርን መምራትን የሚያክል ታላቅ ሃላፊነት ማሸከም ለኔ ከአእምሮ በላይ ነው …” ኮሎኔል ጎሹ ወልዴ የትንቢት ያህል፤ ሳግ እየተናነቃቸው የኢትዮጵያን ተላልፎ መሰጠት በዚሁ በሰኔ ወር ከ22ዓመት በፊት አስረግጠው በማስረጃና በማስጠንቀቂያ በመቃወመ፣ በማሳሰብ፣ እንደማይሆን በመምከር፣ አድሮ እንደሚያቃጥል በማስጠንቀቅ፣ ላቀረቡት ንግግር የክሪስ ስሚዝ ገለጻ በማረጋገጫነት የሚቆም እውነት ይሆናል።