በሜይ 8, 2014 በኦስሎ ከተማ ታላቅ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ተደረገ

ሜይ 8, 2014

ሔለን ንጉሴ/ኖርዌ

የዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጥ በኢትዮጵያ ድጋፍ ድርጅት ኖርዌ የወያኔ መንግስት በኦሮሞ ተወላጆች ህፃናትን ጨምሮ በንፁሃን ዜጎች ላይ የፈፀመውን ግድያ በመቃወም በሜይ 8, 2014 በኦስሎ ከተማ ታላቅ የሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ተደረገ።

የዚህ ተቃውሞ ሰልፍ ዋና አላማ ህገመንግስታዊ መብታቸውን ተጠቅመው በሰላማዊ መንገድ ጥያቄያቸውን ባቀረቡ ወገኖች ላይ የወያኔ መንግስት ምላሹ ጥይት መሆኑና ከ40 በላይ ሰዎች ህፃናትንና ተማሪዎችን ጨምሮ ጭካኔ በተሞላበት በጥይት ደብድቦ መግደሉ ነው። ይህ ደግሞ ዛሬ በኦሮሞ ህዝቦች ላይ ብቻ የተፈፀመ ሳይሆን ከዚህም በፊት በአማራ ህዝብ ላይ በበደኖና በአርባጉጉ እንዲሁም በአኙዋክ ህዝቦች ላይ የጅምላ ግድያ የተፈፀመ በመሆኑ ይህንን ግፍ በመቃወም የተደረገ ሰልፍ ነበር። 

ዝግጅቱ በኖርዌጅያን የሰአት አቆጣጠር ከቀኑ 15፡00 ለሞቱት ወገኖቻችን የህሊና ፀሎት በማድረግ የተጀመረ ሲሆን ሰልፉም በተለያዩ መፈክሮችና በኢትዮጵያ ባንዲራ ያሸበረቀ ነበር። ኢትዮጵያውያኑም በወገኖቻችው ላይ የደረሰውን ግፍ በመቃወም በቁጣና በእልህ መፈክሮችን እየተቀባበሉ በአደባባይ ሲያሰሙ ውለዋል። የሰልፉ መጠናቀቂያ ስፍራ በሆነው በኖርዌጅያን ፓርላማ ፊት ለፊት ከተለያዩ ድርጅቶች የተወከሉ ተናጋሪዎች ወያኔ በህዝባችን ላይ እየፈፀመ ያለውን የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰት ግድያን ጨምሮ ሲያወግዙና ሲኮንኑ ተሰምተዋል። በስፍራውም የኖርዌጅያን ፓርላማ ተወካይ በሰልፉ መሃል በመገኘት ድብዳቤያችንን ተቀብለው ለፓርላማ ለውውይት እንደሚቀርቡ ተናግረዋል። ሰልፈኛውም ኖርዌ በልማት ስም ለወያኔ የምትለግሰው ገንዘብ ህዝብ ለመጨቆኛና ለማፈኛ እንዲሁም የሰው ህይወት ማጥፊያ በመሆኑ የሚሰጠው እርዳታ እንዲቆም ጥያቄ አቅርበዋል።

በመጨረሻም የዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጥ በኢትዮጵያ ድጋፍ ድርጅት ኖርዌ ሊቀመንበር የማጠቃለያ ንግግር ሲያሰሙ ወያኔ በህዝባችን ላይ እያደረሰ ያለውን የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰት ድርጅታቸው የሚያወግዘው መሆኑን የሚገልፅ የአቋም መግለጫ በማቅረብና ለሞቱ ወገኖቻችን ቤተሰቦች መፅናናትን ተመኝተው የታሰሩ የኦሮሞ ተማሪዎች በአስቸኳይ እንዲፈቱና ይህንን ድርጊት የፈፀሙ አምባገነኖች በአስቸኳይ ለፍርድ እንዲቀርቡ ጠይቀው ስብሰባው በተያዘለት ሰአት በተሳካ ሁኔታ ተጠናቋል። 

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ

ከኢትዮጵያዊነት የአንድነትና የፍቅር መንፈስ ጋር የሚጣሉ ሁለ ይደቃሉ!

“… ኢትዮጵያን አምላኬ ምትለው እግዚአብሔር ከኃያሉና ከብርቱ መዳፌ የሚያድናት፣ የሚታደጋት ከሆነ የእኔንም እግዚአብሔር ልጨምርላት እችላለሁ …፡፡” ቤኒቶ ሞሶሎኒ

ይህን ንግግር በሮማ አደባባይ የተናገረው ኢጣሊያዊ የፋሽስት መሪ ቤኒቶ ሞሶሎኒ ነው፡፡ ሞሶሎኒ ሮማውያኑ አያቶቹና አባቶቹ በዓድዋ የጦር ግንባር የተከናነቡትን ሽንፈትና ውርደት ከታሪክ መዛግብት እየቀፈፈውና እየዘገነነውም ቢሆን አንብቦ ነበር፡፡ ከዚህ ለማሰብ ቀርቶ ለማለም እንኳን ከሚከብድ የታሪክ ሐቅ ጋር የተፋጠጠው ሞሶሎኒ አምኖ ሊቀበለው የከበደውን ግን ደግሞ ሊፍቀው ያልቻለውን ይህን የታሪክ ውርደት፣ ይህን የታሪክ ስብራትና ክፉ ጠባሳ በሮማና በመላው አውሮጳ ምድር ይሻር ዘንድ ራሱን ታሪክን አዳሽ፣ ኃያልና ብርቱ የዘመኑ ጦረኛ ጎልያድ መሆኑን ለራሱም ለሕዝቡም አሳመነ፡፡

ሞሶሎኒ ሮማውያንን ብቻ ሳይሆን የመላውን አውሮጳውያን ቅኝ ገዢ ኃይሎችን ያዋረደ፣ ልክና ወደር ያጣውን ትዕቢታቸውንና ንቀታቸውን እንደ እንቧይ ካብ የናደውን ይህን የዓድዋውን ሽንፈት በመበቀል በአውሮጳ አዲስ አንጸባራቂ የድል ታሪክ ሊያስመዘግብ ቆርጦ ተነሣ፡፡ ሞሶሎኒ ሮማና መላው የአውሮጳ ቅኝ ገዢ ኃይሎች በኢትዮጵያና በኢትዮጵያውያን የደረሰባቸውን የውርድትና የሽንፈት አሳፋሪ ታሪክ ለማደስ በሮማ አደባባይ ለተሰበሰቡ የኢጣሊያ ሕዝብ እንዲህ ሲል በእብሪት ተሞልቶ ሮማ ዛሬም ኃያልና ታላቅ መሆኗን ለራሱና ለሕዝቡ ዳግም አበሰረ፡፡

ሞሶሎኒ ለ700 ዓመታት የዘለቀውን ታላቁን የሮማን ሥልጣኔና ታላቅነት እያስታወሰ ይህን አይደፈሬ የሆነውን የሮማን ታላቅነትና ክብር የተደፋፈሩትን ኢትዮጵያንና ኢትዮጵያውያንን ለመቅጣት ጊዜው አሁን መሆኑን በአደባባይ አወጀ፡፡ ይህ በኢትዮጵያውያን የደረሰውን የሮማን የታሪክ ስብራት ለመጠገን ሞሶሎኒ የኢጣሊያ ሕዝብ ሁሉ ከጎኑ ይቆም ዘንድ ቀጭን ትዕዛዝ አስተላለፈ፡፡

እናም ይህ አረመኔና ያልተገራ የኢትዮጵያን/ጥቁር ሕዝብን እንደ ሰም አቅልጬ፣ እንደ ገል ቀጥቅጬ በባርነት እገዛው ዘንድ የሚያግደኝ ማን ነው፣ የትኛው ጎበዝ፣ የትኛውስ ኃይል ነው ሲል ሮማዊው ጎልያድ፣ ሞሶሎኒ እንዲህ በኢትዮጵያና በኢትዮጵያዊነት ላይ ተሳለቀ፡፡ በኢትዮጵያ አምላክም ላይ በድፍረት አፉን አላቀቀ፡፡ እናም እንዲህ ሲል በሮማ አደባባይ ላይ ከፍ ባለ ድምፅ አወጀ፡፡

‹‹… ኢትዮጵያን አምላኬ ምትለው እግዚአብሔር ከኃያሉ መዳፌ የሚያድናት ከሆነ የእኔንም አምላክ ልጨምርላት እችላለሁ …፡፡›› ሲል በኢትዮጵያ አምላክ ላይ ተሳለቀ፣ በልዑል እግዚአብሔር ላይ የትእቢትንና የድፍረትን ነገርን ተናገረ፡፡ በሮማ ምድርም በእምዬ ኢትዮጵያ ላይ የጥፋት ቀን ተቀጠረላት፡፡ ማን ኃያል፣ ማን ብርቱ ነው ሊያቆመን የሚቻለው ያሉ የሮማ የጥፋት አበጋዝ፣ ታላቅ ሠራዊት በኢትዮጵያ ምድር ላይ ያለ ምንም ከልካይና ሃይ ባይ ተመመ፣ ዘመተ፤ ምድሪቷንም ክፉኛ አስጨነቋት፡፡
ኢትዮጵያንና ኢትዮጵያዊነትን የአንድነትና የፍቅር መንፈስ እንደ ከንቱነት የቆጠሩ፣ የኢትዮጵያን አምላክም ያቃለሉ እብሪተኞች በበቀል መንፈስ የጥፋት ሰይፋቸውን በሕዝባችን ላይ መዘዙት፡፡ ይህ የጥፋት ሰይፋቸውም ሕፃን፣ ሽማግሌ፣ ሴት ወንድ ሳይል ሁሉንም ያጭደው ያዘ፡፡ የመርዝ ጋዝን፣ የሞት አረርን የጫኑ አውሮፕላኖችም በኢትዮጵያ ሰማይ ላይ እየተገለባበጡና እያጓሩ ሰውና እንሰሳ ሳይሉ ይሄ ነው የማይባል ዘግናኝና አሰቃቂ የሆነ መአትንና መቅሰፍትን በሕዝባችን ላይ አወረዱበት፡፡

እነዚህን የኢትዮጵያን ሰማይ እያረሱ፣ እየሰነጠቁና እያጓሩ የሞት መርዝን የሚረጩ አካላትን አይቶም ሰምቶም የማያውቀው የአገሬ ሕዝብና ባለ ቅኔም፡-

የለህም እንዳልል ይመሻል ይነጋል፣
አለህም እንዳልል እንዲህ ይደረጋል፡፡
አምላክ ለአንተው ፍራ፣
በቤትህ አግድመት ጎዳና ተሠራ፡፡

ሲል ጭንቅ ጥበብ ብሎት ይህን አቤቱታ ለአምላኩ በቅኔው አሰማ፡፡

እማማ ኢትዮጵያ በሰይፍ ለወደቁ፣ በመርዝ ጋዝ ጭስ ላላቁ ልጆቿ፣ ወገቧን በገመድ ታጥቃ ብርቱ ጩኸትን ጮኸች፣ እንደ አይሁዳዊቷ ራሄል ያለ ብርቱ እንባዋንም ወደ አርያም፣ ወደ ፀባዖት ረጨችው፡፡ የሕፃናት፣ የጎበዛዝቱ፣ የእናቶችና የሽማግሌዎች ደም ምድሪቱን አጨቀየው፡፡ ዕንባ በሥፍር ተቀዳ፣ ደም እዚህም እዛም እንደ ጎርፍ ጎረፈ፡፡ ቅዱሳት መካናትና ገዳማት ሳይቀሩ በሮማውያኑ ሠራዊቶች ተደፈሩ፣ መነኮሳት፣ ካህናትና ዲያቆናት ያለ ምንም ርኅራኄ በጭካኔ ታረዱ፣ ተጨፈጨፉ፡፡

በወቅቱ ግራዝያኒ በኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ መጠቀም ስለሚገባው የመሣርያ ዓይነት በሚስጥር ያስተላለፈውን መልእክት የአሜሪካው ‘ላይብረሪ ኦፍ ኮንግረስ’ የሚገኝ አንድ ዶሴ እንደሚከተለው በሚስጢር ጽፎ እንደነበር ያጋልጣል፡፡ “ተልእኳችን እንዲሳካ ከተፈለገ በኢትዮጵያውያን/በጠላት ላይ እጅግ ከፍተኛ ውድመት ከዚህም በላይ የሞራል ስብራት የሚያስከትለውን ልዩ የሆነ ፈሳሽ ቦምብና መርዝ ሼል እንደፈለጉ በስፋት መጠቀም ያስፈልጋል፡፡”

የአገሬን ክብርና ነፃነት ለባዕድ አሳልፌ አልሰጥም፣ በኢትዮጵያዊነት ልዑላዊነትና የአንድነት መንፈስ ላይ በጭራሽ አልደራደርም ያሉት አቡነ ጴጥሮስም በሮማውያኑ መትረየስ በአደባባይ በጭካኔ ተደብደበው ሰማዕት ሆነው አለፉ፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ ፈጽማ በኀዘን ድባብ ተዋጠች፣ ክፉኛም አነባች፡፡

የኢትዮጵያ ታላቅ ባለውለታ የነበሩትና የኢጣሊያን ፋሽስት ግፍ ለዓለም ሁሉ በመግለጽ ከኢትዮጵያውያን ጎን የቆሙት ሲሊቪያ ፓንክረስት፣ የፋሽስቱ መሪ ቤኒቶ ሞሶሎኒ በኢትዮጵያውያን የሃይማኖት አባቶች ላይ እየተወሰደ ያለው እርምጃ ሌሎች ኢትዮጵያውያንን ሊያሸማቅቅ እንደሚችልና ጭፍጨፋውም ውጤታማ እንደሆነ በወቅቱ ለቅኝ ግዛት ሚ/ሩ ለግራዚያኒ ያስተላለፈውን ምስጢራዊ የቴሌግራም መልእክት Ethiopia and Eritrea በሚለው መጽሐፋቸው እንዲህ ገልጸውታል፡-

…The execution of Abune Petros, one of the four Ethiopian bishops, has terrified the leaders and the public. The work of repression against armed groups dispersed in the forest continues.

አቡነ ጴጥሮስም በመጨረሻ ቃላቸው፡- እምዬ ኢትዮጵያ … እናት አገሬ … ደሜ ለነፃነትሽ፣ ለክብርሽ፣ ለአንድነትሽ ንጹሕ የፍቅር መሥዋዕት ሆኖ የፈሰሰ ነውና ጽኑና ኃያል በሆነው አምላክሽ ፊት ልክ እንደ አቤል ደም ፍርድን የሚሻ፣ ፍትሕን የሚጠይቅ ይሁን፡፡ ሲሉ ዓይናቸውን ወደ ሰማየ ሰማይ አቅንተው አምላካቸውን እግዚአብሔርን በዕንባ ተለማመኑት፣ ተማጠኑት፡፡

እመብርሃን፣ ድንግል ሆይ … ይኸው ለቃል ኪዳን ምድርሽ እንባዬን ከደሜ ጋር ቀላቅያለሁና… ይህን በሕዝብሽ፣ በአገልጋዮችሽ ላይ እየወረደ ያለውን ግፍና መከራ በልጅሽ ፊት አዘክሪ፣ አሳስቢ፡፡ እናቴ ሆይ አዛኝቱ ያለ አንቺ ማን አለኝ፤ ድንግል ሆይ ‹‹ስምዒ ሐዘና ወብካያ ለሀገሪትነ ኢትዮጵያ!›› ሲሉ የኢትዮጵያን ሰቆቃዋን፣ ጣሯንና ጭንቀቷን አሳስቢ ሲሉ ተማፀኑ፡፡

ያ ለነጻነት ክቡር መንፈስ የፈሰሰ ዕንባቸውና ደማቸው በኢትዮጵያ ተራሮች፣ ሸንተረሮች፣ ዱርና ጫካ ታላቅ የሆነ የነጻነት ደወልን አሰማ፣ አስተጋባ፡፡ እምቢ ለነጻነቴ ያሉ የኢትዮጵያ የቁርጥ ቀን ልጆች ዘር፣ ጎሳ፣ ቋንቋና ሃይማኖት ሳይለያቸውና ሳይከፋፍላቸው ነፃነታቸውን በደማቸው ለማስመለስ ዱር ቤቴ ብለው ከተሙ፡፡ የእናት ኢትዮጵያን ህመሟን፣ ስቃይዋንና መከራዋን በዕንባቸውና በላባቸው፣ በደማቸውና በአጥንታቸው ታላቅ መሥዋዕትነት ይካፈሉ ዘንድ ዱር ቤቴ አሉ፡፡

የኢትዮጵያዊነትን የአንድነትንና የፍቅር ቅዱስ መቅደስ በደማቸው ዳግም ሊቀድሱና ሊያከብሩ በነፍሳቸው የተወራረዱ ኢትዮጵያውያን ጀግኖች በሮም አደባባይ በደማቸው ሕያው ታሪክን ጻፉ፡፡ የኦሮሞ ምድር ፍሬ የሆኑት ጀግናው ኮ/ል አብዲሳ አጋና ኤርትራዊው ዘርአይ ደረስ፡- በባዕድ ምድር፣ በግዞት እንኳን ሆነው፡- ‹‹ኢትዮጵያ ሆይ ብረሳሽ ቀኜ ትርሳኝ፣ ባላስብሽ ምላሴ በጉሮዬ ይጣበቅ፡፡›› በማለት የእናት ምድራቸውን አረንጓዴ፣ ቢጫና ቀዩ ሰንደቀ ዓላማቸውን በሮም አደባባይ ከፍ አድርገው በማውለብለብ ኢትዮጵያዊነት የአንድነት እና የፍቅር ቅዱስ መቅደስ መሆኑን በደማቸው መሰከሩ፡፡

በርካታ ኢትዮጵያውያን በአርበኝነት በአገራቸው ዱርና ተራራ ተሰደዱ፣ ሌሎች ደግሞ በዕንባና በለቅሶ እግዚአብሔር ኢትዮጵያን ይታደጋት ዘንድ ሱባኤ ገቡ፡፡ በኢየሩሳሌምም በሚገኘው የዴር ሱልጣን ገዳምም የተሰደዱ በርካታ ኢትዮጵያውያን መነኮሳት፣ ካህናትና ሹማምንቶች የኢትዮጵያ አምላክ ለአገራቸው ነጻነትን ይመልስላት ዘንድ በጸሎት መጋደል ያዙ፡፡

ኢየሩሳሌምን በሚገኘው ገዳማችንን ተሳልመው የጥቂት ቀናት ቆይታ አድርገው መንገዳቸውን ወደ ጄኔቭ ያደረጉት ዓፄ ኃይለ ሥላሴም በሊግ ኦፍ ኔሽን አቤቱታቸውን አቀረቡ፡፡ ንጉሡ በንግግራቸውም የኢጣሊያ የፋሽስት መንግሥት በአገራቸው ሕዝብ ላይ እያደረሱ ያሉትን ግፍና በዓለም መንግሥታት የተከለከለ መርዛማ ጭስ በአገራቸው ሕዝብ ላይ እያወረደ መሆኑን በመጥቀስ ይሄን ዘግናኝና አሰቃቂ መዓት ኃያላኑ ጣልቃ ገብተው እንዲያስቆሙ በብርቱ ተማፀኑ፡፡ የሕዝባቸውም አቤቱታ አሰሙ፡፡

የቀዳማዊ ኃይለ ሥላሴ አቤቱታና የሕዝባቸው ለቅሶና መከራ ግን ለአውሮጳውያኑ እምብዛም የሚያስጨንቃቸው ጉዳይ አልነበረም፡፡ እንደውም ለአንዳንዶቹ አውሮጳውያን ራሷን ከነጭ እኩል አድርጋ ለምታስበው ኢትዮጵያ ይህ ቅጣት የሚገባ፣ ልኳን እንድታውቅ የሚያደርግ መሆኑን በማመን ለሞሶሎኒ በግልጽና በስውር በርታ ሲሉ ቀኝ እጃቸውን አዋሱት፡፡

በሊግ ኦፍ ኔሽን መድረክ ተግባራዊ ምላሽ ያላገኙት ቀዳማዊ ኃይለ ሥላሴም፣ ‹‹… ይህን የአገሬንና የሕዝቤን ግፍና መከራ ችላ ብላችሁ ብታልፉት ታሪክና እግዚአብሔር ፍርዳችሁን ይሰጣችኋል … ፡፡ ሲሉ ትንቢታዊ የሚመስል ታሪካዊ ንግግርን አደረጉ፡፡ የኢትዮጵያን በአምባገነኑ የፋሽስት ሠራዊት መወረርና የሕዝባችንም ግፍ በዝምታ ያለፉ አውሮጳውያኑ አገራት ብዙም ሳይቆይ ከጀርመን በተነሳው በናዚ ሂትለርና በፋሽስቱ መሪ ሞሶሎኒ የጦር ክተት ታወጀባቸው፡፡

አምባገነኖችን በጊዜው ተው፣ እረፉ ለማለት የሞራል ብቃት፣ ጉልበት ያነሰውና ‹‹ጥርስ የሌለው አንበሳ›› የሚል ፖለቲካዊ ስላቅን ያተረፈው ‹‹ሊግ ኦፍ ኔሽንም›› በዓይኑ ፊት በአምባገነኖቹ ሂትለርና ሞሶሎኒ አገራት በግፍ ሲወረሩ የኃይለ ሥላሴ ትንቢታዊ ንግግር እየተፈጸመ እንደሆነ በወቅቱ ቀውሱን የታዘቡ ፖለቲከኞችና የታሪክ ምሁራን በሰፊው ጻፉ፣ መሰከሩ፡፡ በኢትዮጵያ ላይ የደረሰውን ኢፍትሐዊ ወረራና ግፍ በዝምታ ያለፉ አውሮጳውያን በራሳቸው ሲመጣ ግን ለመታገሥ አልቻሉም ነበር፡፡ ሳይወዱ ተገደው ወደ ጦርነት ገቡ፣ እናም የሁለተኛው የዓለም ጦርነት በአውሮጳ ሊፈነዳ ግድ ሆነ፡፡

የታሪክ ምሁራንና የፖለቲካ ተንታኞች እንደጻፉት ለሁለተኛው የዓለም ጦርነት መፈንዳት ሊግ ኦፍ ኔሽን ኢትዮጵያ በፋሽስት ኃይል ስትወረር ያሳየው መለሳለስና ደካማ አቋም እንደ አንድ ትልቅ ምክንያት ከሚጠቀሱት መካከል መሆኑን ያስመሩበታል፡፡ ‹‹አክሲስ ፓወር›› በሚል በጀርመኑ ሂትለር፣ በፋሽስቱ ሞሶሎኒና በቶኪዮ/ጃፓን የተባባረ ኃይል ዓለምን በራሳቸው ቁጥጥር ስር ለማድረግ የተነሡ ሮምንና ጀርመንን ለመመከት እንግሊዝና ፈረንሳይ ሌሎችን አገሮችን በማስተባበር ወደ ጦርነት ከተቱ፡፡

የኢትዮጵያና የሕዝቦቿም ለቅሶ በእግዚአብሔር ፊት ታሰበ፡፡ የግፍ ጽዋም ሞልቶ ፈሰሰ፡፡ እናም፣ ‹‹ስለ ድሆች፣ ስለ ምድሪቱ ግፉአን፣ ፍትሕንና ፍርድን ስለተነፈጉ ምንዱባን እግዚአብሔር አሁን ይነሳል፡፡››፣ ‹‹እግዚአብሔር ተዋጊ ነው ስሙም እግዚአብሔር ነው፡፡›› ተብሎ በአባቶቻችን ቅዱሳን ነቢያት የተነገረለት የሠራዊት አምላክ እግዚአብሔር የመዓቱን ጽዋ በአውሮጳ ምድር ላይ አፈሰሰው፡፡ አውሮጳ እስከዛሬ አይታው በማታውቀው መከራና ሰቆቃ ውስጥም ተዘፈቀች፡፡

በሚሊዮን የሚቆጠሩ ሰዎች ያለቁበትና የአካል ጉዳተኛ የሆኑበት የሁለተኛው የዓለም ጦርነት ከፍተኛ የሆነ ፖለቲካዊ፣ ኢኮኖሚያዊ፣ ማኅበራዊና ሥነ ልቦናዊ ቀውስ አስከትሎ የናዚውን ሂትለርና የፋሽስቱን ሞሶሎኒ ታሪክ በውርደት ደመደመው፡፡ የትኛው አምላክ ነው ኢትዮጵያን ከኃያሉ ክንዴ የሚያስጥላት ያለው ሞሶሎኒም በሮም አደባባይ አይወርዱ ውርደትን ተዋርዶ የሞት ስቅላት ተፈረደበት፡፡

‹‹ኢትዮጵያን ከሕዝቦቿ ጋር ካልሆነም ኢትዮጵያን ገጸ-በረከት አድርጌ አቀርብልሃለሁ፡፡›› ብሎ ለአለቃው ለሞሶሎኒ ቃል የገባው ማርሻል ግራዚያኒም በአርበኞቻችንና በእንግሊዛውያን የጦር ሠራዊት ዕርዳታ ከነሠራዊቱ አፍሮና ተዋርዶ አገራችንን ለቆ ወጣ፡፡ በኢትዮጵያ ሰማይ ላይ በልጆቿ ደም የተቀደሰው አረንጓዴ፣ ቢጫና ቀዩ ሰንደቀ ዓላማዋ ዳግመኛ ከፍ ብሎ ተውለበለበ፡፡ እነ ዘርአይ ደረስ፣ እነ አብዲሳ አጋ፣ እልፍ ኢትዮጵያውያን አርበኞች በሮም አደባባይ ሳይቀር በደማቸው ከፍ ያደረጓት ሰንደቀ ዓላማችን ሚያዚያ 27 ቀን 1933 ዓ.ም. በክብር ዳግመኛ ከፍ ብላ ተውለበለበች፡፡

ዳግመኛ ኢትዮጵያዊነት ለጊዜው የሚያንቀላፋ እንጂ የማይሞት ጽኑና ሕያው ቃል ኪዳን መሆኑ ተበሰረ፡፡ ከኢትዮጵያና ከኢትዮጵያዊነት ጽኑ ቃል ኪዳን ጋር የተገዳዳሩ ሁሉ ዕድል ፈንታቸው፣ ጽዋ ተርታቸው ድቀት፣ ውርደትና ጥፋት ሆነ፡፡ የኢትዮጵያዊነትን የአንድነትና የፍቅር ቅዱስ መቅደስን ሊያረክሱና ሊያራክሱ የተነሡ ሁሉ ለድቀት፣ ለውርደትና ለአሳፋሪ ሽንፈት መዳረጋቸው የታወቀ ሐቅ መሆኑ ተመሰከረም፡፡ በምንም የማይረታና የማይሸነፍ በዓድዋ የተበሰረው ጽኑ የኢትዮጵያዊነት ታላቅ መንፈስም ዳግመኛ በሮማ ውርደት የተነሣ ከዓለም ጫፍ እስከ ጫፍ ተሰማ፡፡

ይህ የኢትዮጵያዊነት ክቡር የአንድነትና የፍቅር መንፈስ የቋራው ካሣ/ቴዎድሮስ በመቅደላ አፋፍ የተሰውለት፣ አፄ ዮሐንስ፣ ‹‹ኢትዮጵያ አገርህ ልጅህ፣ ሚስትህ፣ እናትህ፣ ዘውድህ፣ ክብርህና መቃብር ናት፡፡› በሚል በመተማ አንገታቸውን ለሰይፍ፣ ደረታቸውን ለጦር የሰጡለት፣ እምዬ ምኒልክ፣ እቴጌ ጣይቱ፣ እልፍ የኢትዮጵያ ጀግኖች በዓድዋ ጦር ግንባር በደማቸው የቀደሱት፣ ያከበሩትና ያወደሱት ነው … ይህ ዘመን የማይሽረው የኢትዮጵያዊነት ቃል ኪዳን፣ ክቡርና ታላቅ መንፈስ!!

በየዓመቱ የምናከብረው፣ የምንዘክረው ሚያዚያ 27 ቀንም ክቡር አባቶቻችንና እናቶቻችን ለኢትዮጵያ ነጻነት፣ ልዑላዊነት፣ ለሰንደቀ ዓላማዋ ክብርም ያለ ምንም መሳሳት ውድ ሕይወታቸውን የከፈሉበት ነጻነታችንን ምናስታውስበት ታላቅ ቀን ነው፡፡

ደግሞም የኢትዮጵያዊነትን የአንድነትንና የፍቅርን ሸማ የተላበስን ሁሉ በኢትዮጵያዊነት የአንድነትና የፍቅር መንፈስ ላይ ለመገዳዳር ለሚነሡ ሁሉ ሌሎች የደረሰባቸውን ውርደትና ድቀት ከታሪክ ይማሩ ዘንድ የምናሳስብበት ቀንም ነው፡፡ የኢትዮጵያዊነት ክቡር መንፈስ የዘር፣ የነገድ፣ የቋንቋ፣ የሃይማኖት ድንበር የማያግደው ሕያውና ጽኑ ቃል ኪዳን፣ ቅዱስ የፍቅር መቅደስ መሆኑን ያስታውሱና ራሳቸውንም ከውርደት፣ ከጥፋትና ከድቀት ያድኑ ዘንድም እንነግራቸዋለን፣ ግድ እንላቸዋለንም!!

Ethiopia: Yelushen Alsemashe Gebeya Balwetashe

by Tedla Asfaw

“Comment: South Sudan can learn a lot from Ethiopia when it rewrites its constitution in the coming days as part of the agreement. Ethiopia has learned the hard way that forced assimilation and forced union is not an option! For a country with a crippling poverty and multi ethnic population, Ethnic Federalism, is the way to go!”

Can we allow those who are now put in one basket as “The Southern People” under the Ethnic Federalism to be allowed to form their ethnic enclave ?? How comes Sidama, Wolaita, Kembata is less than those who have their own “Kilil” ?? Ethiopia has more than 80 ethnic groups and needs according to the comment above 80 Kilils. The current Ethnic Federalism is discriminatory.

How comes South Africa was not redrawn as “White Kilil” and “Black Kilil” Why not our neighbors Kenya and Uganda.

The Ethiopian people will need to dismantle Ethnic Federalism and replace it by “Federalism” based on cultural and economic interest of our people. Ethnic Federalism is not different than Apartheid Bantusta it is backward and those that promote such failed idea are a very minority people who benefited from the current system.

Obama and Kerry Finally May Be Hearing Heartfelt Ethiopian Cries for Human Rights and Civil Liberties

San Jose, California, May 12 – Security was high at a Democratic National Committee fund-raising reception at San Jose’s Fairmont Hotel on May 9. And Ethiopian Journalist Abebe Gellaw probably chanced arrest more than the chance of educating the Obama Administration about the abject tyranny to which the people of Ethiopia have been subjected. As the President was wrapping up a speech to Silicon Valley political and business leaders, Mr. Gellaw spoke aloud, “Mr., Obama, we Ethiopians love you. We demand freedom for Ethiopia.”

President Obama: “I Agree With You.” “I love you back.”

The President was describing the importance of keeping the House and the Senate from Republican domination in the upcoming midterm elections. Gellaw interrupted the President, “Stand with the people of Ethiopia, don’t support tyranny.” “I agree with you,” replied Mr. Obama. Gellaw continued, “We have tyranny in Ethiopia. We love you!” “I love you back,” replied Mr. Obama. After Gellaw’s interruption, the President said that he would be around to talk with Gellaw after the speech. As promised, Mr. Obama briefly met with Mr. Gellaw, and Gellaw took the opportunity to hand over a letter specifically detailing the plight of the Ethiopian people.

Kerry’s Equivocation May Signal Acknowledgment of Ethiopia’s Plight

More than a week earlier, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a visit to the Ethiopian capital city of Addis Ababa on Thursday, May 1. He held high-level talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom to discuss peace efforts in the region, especially in the Sudan, and to strengthen ties with Ethiopia, according to State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki. Her statements led Ethiopians to ask: How can a regime that rules with the rifle promote peace in other countries? Who would want to strengthen ties with a despotic regime that treats its people with disdain, intimidation, displacement, and even torture and death?

Important U.S. Ally

For decades the U.S. has considered Ethiopia a supremely important ally in the region, especially regarding the so-called war against terrorism. Kerry’s five-day tour included stops in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo to encourage democratic development, to promote respect for human rights, and to advance peace and security. Before leaving Ethiopia, Kerry gave a short speech summarizing the results of his session with the Ethiopian Prime Minister.

Kerry Praises Economic Growth

During the initial part of his speech, Secretary Kerry focused on Ethiopia’s economic progress, noting that the nation is among the 10 fastest-growing economies on the globe. He went on to say that America supports this economic growth because it will eventually lead to greater stabilization in the region, as well as providing much needed jobs. He briefly held forth that a free press and democracy were essential to sustained economic growth, noting that free political systems are just as important as free markets.

Kerry Missed an Important Business Fact

While visiting Ethiopia, Kerry probably saw bustling business centers and cranes erecting skyscrapers. Skyscrapers and commercial truck traffic are not yard sticks for economic growth. While praising a supposedly booming economy, Kerry knew, but failed to acknowledge, that the greater part of business in Ethiopia is in the hands of the political elite and hardly benefits the ordinary citizens of Ethiopia in any way at all.

Kerry Did Make Free Press Demands

Many Ethiopians were glad that Secretary Kerry did visit Ethiopia on a mission promoting democracy and human rights. They were also pleased that the Secretary demanded the release of the Zone 9 Bloggers, including Nathnael Feleke, a young blogger Kerry had a chance to meet and inspire last year in Addis Ababa.

American Hypocrisy

Despite being long-regarded as the world’s bastion of civil liberty and promoter of democratic government, the U.S. has forged alliances with some nasty governments that have little regard for civil and political liberty, justice, and human rights – Ethiopia being a case in point. For decades, the Ethiopian people have been under the TPLF/EPRDF repressive regime that retains power with stuffed ballot boxes and voter intimidation.

U.S. Supports Corrupt Regime

Despite U.S. support for individual, civil, and political liberty, and freedom of the press, it seems to look the other way or holds its nose every time it writes a check for foreign aid to the government of Ethiopia. Surely the American government realizes that little of the aid actually benefits ordinary Ethiopian citizens. How can any government – especially the U.S. – support a regime that assassinates, maims, and illegally imprisons members of any opposition movement? Time and time again, it has been revealed that the present Ethiopian regime has little regard for the life and liberty of its citizens. Surely the American government is aware of this plight.

The U.S. and Its Allies Should Be Embarrassed

For almost two decades, the Ethiopian ruling parties have ensured their hold on the government, using means far beyond their moral authority, including assassination and unlawful imprisonment. For instance: Where was the U.S. during the 2005 Ethiopian elections? Human Rights Watch and the European Union issued reports after the election telling of systematic political repression during the election, with over 500 complaints of vote-rigging and fraud.

Election Fraud Leads to Protests, Deaths, Maiming, Imprisonment

While protesting in a peaceful demonstration against the fraud after the 2005 election, over 193 Ethiopians were assassinated – by their own government. Other demonstrators were subjected to savage beatings with batons and rifle butts. Thousands were arrested and imprisoned in remote military prison camps without access to legal representation nor the means to speak with families and friends.

Election Fraud Continued

The results of the 2010 elections supposedly won 99.6% for the TPLF/EPRDF; Once again, election observers complained of many election irregularities that worked to keep the TPLF/EPRDF in power. Human rights watch reported, “Systematically closing down space for political dissent and independent criticism.” And European election observers whispered that the election fell short of international standards. The regime claims popular election victories to make itself seem more acceptable to the world at large.

Misrule Rife for Decades

Since the TPLF/EPRDF parties gained power in Ethiopia over two decades ago, any political opposition has been met with rifles and jails. For instance, just recently over three dozen students were shot dead as they protested the enlargement of Addis Ababa, the capital city. The abuse of the Ethiopian people by their government has been quite visible; often there is not even an attempt to conceal the atrocities. The parliament, packed with TPLF/EPRDF members, has enacted bills to prevent terrorism. These bills do little to protect against terrorism, but they are quite effective in quelling any opposition movements.

Nation Under Martial Law

The nation is effectively under martial law. Ethiopian citizens are unable to speak freely, organize political activities, or challenge government policies. Scores of journalists, both foreign and domestic, have been jailed, and many newspapers have folded under the political repression of the outlaw regime. Presently, Ethiopia’s leaders are able to quell almost any dissent through a combination of legislation, intimidation, and harassment. Also, the government has agents in practically every town across the nation, watching and waiting for any person espousing or even hinting at the overthrow of the regime.

Buying Back the Dead

The extent of the cruelty by the government is far-reaching and overwhelming. For instance, if a person is murdered by government forces, the authorities will not allow collection of the body until a family member or friend signs documents averring that the deceased was a terrorist or involved in a plot to overthrow the government. Then the person collecting the body also must sign statements declaring his or her fealty to the present regime. Lastly, a bribe must be paid to get the body. The regime is so morally corrupt and underhanded that selling the bodies of the dead – innocents murdered by the government – is just another day of business as usual.

Land Grabs

Many times Ethiopian citizens have been evicted from ancestral lands and dragged to outlying fringe properties with little water and poor soil. Their ancestral lands are then leased to foreign firms to do with as they please, including the demolishing of edifices that have great historic and sentimental value; a number of historic and ancient churches and temples have met a bulldozing fate. Others try to remain in the homeland of their ancestors and they become indentured servants to Saudi, Indian, or other foreign lease-holders. None of the lease monies go to the displaced people, nor do the funds benefit any of Ethiopian society at large. Those lease payments most likely go into the personal bank accounts of ruling party members.

Other Agents of Control

Upon graduation from an Ethiopian college or university, students are required to pledge allegiance to the ruling regime. Without this oath of fealty to the government, finding a job or getting a loan to start a business, can be next to impossible. The regime regularly jams radio, especially the Voice of America and its Amharic broadcasts. To its advantage, the government can control cell phone use and social networking via the Internet. Earlier this year, six Ethiopian bloggers and three Ethiopian journalists, members of an informal activist group called the Zone 9 Bloggers, were arrested. They have published and blogged information critical of the regime. They were charged with attempting to incite violence.

U.S. Prime Enabler of Corrupt Ethiopian Regime

Citizens and governments around the world should become entities of good will in order to stand and vigorously argue for the people of Ethiopia. With foreign assistance accounting for one third of all Ethiopia’s governmental expenditures, EAC calls on major donors, such as the World Bank, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, to take a squint-eyed view of the dictatorial, repressive, and criminal Ethiopian government. The present Ethiopian regime seems intent on being a government and a society modeled after the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea.

Cruel Irony

The current regime in Ethiopia has been hosting peace talks between the government of South Sudan and the dissidents within that nation. Considering the egregious punishment meted out by the corrupt Ethiopian government on its own people, whose only guilt is their pursuit of reform and liberty, it is difficult to understand how that government could be a major player in promoting democratic government in other nations.

Nations and Peoples Abroad Should Assist the People of Ethiopia

All Ethiopian-Americans, as well as other Americans, must join EAC in demanding that the U.S. Congress, the Obama administration, particularly Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, do more to bring fair and free elections to the Ethiopian homeland. Unless free and fair election processes are employed in Ethiopia, now and into the future, EAC pleads that Ethiopian government officials be banned from traveling to the U.S. Ethiopian assets in foreign lands must be frozen as well. The Obama administration and the Congress, and other freedom-loving nations and governments, should stop funding the present Ethiopian government immediately.

Ethiopian American Council
Email: ethioamericans@gmail.com
Website: www.eacouncil.org

Of Elections and Diapers in Ethiopia in 2015

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Whether the people of Ethiopia are better off in 2014 than they were in 2010 or in 2005 is the sole question that should be decided in the 2015 parliamentary “election”. If they are not, the people should vote to change diapers. After all, “politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason.”  Aarrgh! the thought of poor Ethiopia wearing the same diapers for another 5 years, for a total of 25 years!

In June 2010, I wrote a commentary lamenting the ludicrous 99.6 percent “electoral victory” of the “EPDRF” (“Ethiopian People’s Democratic Revolutionary Front”) , the late Meles Zenawi’s party. In a self-congratulatory victory speech, Meles declared that preposterous election “recognized the efforts of the EPRDF and unequivocally sent a clear message to the opposition parties in our country.” He was referring to the 79 officially registered opposition political “parties” in Ethiopia which were unable to muster even one-half percent collectively in 2010.

The 2010 European Union Election Observation Mission Ethiopia made the understatement of the decade when it observed, “The electoral process fell short of certain international commitments, notably regarding the transparency of the process and the lack of a level playing field for all contesting parties.”  The 60-person African Union (AU) observer team led by former Botswana president Ketumile Masire with a straight face concluded, “the elections were free and fair and the team found no evidence of intimidation and misuse of state resources for ruling party campaigns.” The  White House shedding crocodile tears expressed “concern that international observers found the elections fell short of international commitments.” Ethiopia is wearing the same diapers today.

The ghosts of elections past

In 2010, Meles bulldozed, bribed, bullied and terrorized his way to a 99.6 percent election “victory” . He (mis)used foreign humanitarian and economic aid to buy and extort votes from the rural population. He provided make-work jobs to buy the loyalty of the youth. He (mis)used state resources to mobilize support for his party. He organized a massive surveillance programs and used a network of spies and informants to identify and neutralize his opposition.

When Meles Zenawi prepared for his 99.6 percent electoral victory in 2010, he spoke loudly and carried a big stick. He threatened to prosecute opposition leaders for their allegedly “inflammatory” and “hateful” campaign statements aimed at “inciting violence’. He threatened to jail them if they withdrew from the elections at the last minute and agitated the youth to demonstrate in the streets. After he vanquished his imaginary 78 opponents at the polls, he extended an olive branch to them. They will get his mercy as long as they keep their tails between their legs and licked his boots. “We make this pledge to all the parties who did not succeed in getting the support of the people, during this election, that whether or not you have won seats in the parliament, as long as you respect the will of the people and the country’s Constitution and other laws of the land, we will work by consulting and involving you in all major national issues. We are making this pledge not only because we believe that we should be partners … [but also] you have the right to participate and to be heard.” Meles’ pledges are not worth the breath used to make them.

The Ghost of Meles Zenawi in 2015?

The ghost of Meles Zenawi will hang over the 2015 elections like “pall in the dunnest (dark) smoke of hell”, to paraphrase Shakespeare. Meles was the supreme playwright of stolen and rigged elections. He wrote the script and playbook for rigging and hijacking elections in the bush, long before he held the mantle of power. He was a bit overconfident in 2005 and his party got a thumping; but he learned his lessons well. Never give the real opposition an even break. He jailed wholesale nearly all of the top opposition leaders, independent journalists, human rights advocates and civil society leaders that year.

The overall election mugging strategy for 2015 is the same old one crafted by Meles. Just as Meles wrote the “Growth and Transformation Plan” for the economy, he also wrote the “How To Use Stealth and Hijack the Ethiopian Election Plan” (SHEEP) for politics. The SHEEP plan is based on one simple proposition. “EPDRF” is the ONLY game in town! “EPDRF” is the protector, deliverer and sole guardian of Ethiopia. The “EPDRF” is the ONLY secure pillar of stability, peace, development and progress in Ethiopia.

The SHEEP plan anticipates winning the 2015 election by at least 100 percent. It would be a disgrace and an insult to the memory of Meles to win by anything less! The Plan will work only if the SHEEP shepherds (forgive the pun) manage to hoodwink and corral the various players into their election game.

There is no question that the ruling TPLF (“Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front”) regime, masquerading as “EPDRF”  will do everything in its power to convince the people of Ethiopia and the international loaners and donors that it is the one and ONLY force standing between order and total anarchy in that country. The TPLF will try to convince the people and its foreign bankrollers that without the “EPDRF”, Ethiopia will be plunged into civil war just like Rwanda. Without the “EPDRF” there will be ethnic fragmentation, conflict and warfare just like South Sudan. Without the “EPDRF”,  the “evil” “Amharas” will take over power. Without the “EPDRF”, the “Oromos” will take over power and punish the “Amharas”. Without the “EPDRF”, the “Tigrayans” will face persecution by “Amharas” and “Oromos”. The ethnically diverse people of Ethiopia will be forced out of their homes,  lose their lands and be  deprived of their right to speak in their languages.  Without the “EPDRF”, the infamous “Derg” will rear its ugly head. Without the EPDRF, the “Muslims” will  impose Islamic law in Ethiopia. Without the EPDRF, “Muslims” and “Christians” will persecute each other just like in the Central African Republic. Without the EPDRF, Islamist terrorism will wreak havoc in Ethiopia just like Boko Haram in Nigeria. Without the “EPDRF”, all of the rich people who got rich through corruption and theft will lose their wealth and go to jail or into exile. Without the “EPDRF”, the economy will collapse and Ethiopia will no longer enjoy the (imaginary) 11-15 percent annual economic growth. Without the EPDRF, there will be no development in Ethiopia. Without the “EPDRF”, the sky will fall and the stars come crashing down on Ethiopia! Without the “EPDRF”, there will be no Ethiopia.

Simply stated, the “EPDRF’s” winning strategy is good old fear and loathing. If they can manage to get “Amharas” to fear and dread an “Oromo takeover” of power, they get to win and stay in power. If they can get “Oromos” to hate “Amharas”, they get to win and stay in power. If they can keep  “Oromos” preoccupied by historical grievances and overlook the massacres of dozens of innocent university students, they get to win and stay in power. If they can frighten the smaller ethnic groups into believing the world will close on them without the “EPDRF”, they get to win and stay in power. If they can get “Christians” and “Muslims” to fear, loathe and distrust each other, they get to win and stay in power. If they can scare their rich supporters into believing that without the “EPDRF” , they will certainly lose their riches and end up in exile or in jail, they get to win and stay in power. If the “EPDRF” can get their loaners and donors to believe (wink, wink) the sky will fall on Ethiopia and their national interests if they fall out of power, they get to win and stay in power. If the loaners and donors turn a blind eye, purse their lips and plug their ears, as they always have, to the daylight theft of elections in Ethiopia, they get to win and stay in power.

Asking whether the “EPDRF” will win the 2015 elections is like asking whether darkness will envelope the land after sunset. It will be a cakewalk for them. With Meles, the election mugging playwright and director gone, his pitiful stagehands are now in charge. “Prime Minister” Hailemariam Desalegn, the man warming the “prime minister’s” armchair for Teodros Adhanom, the malaria-researcher-turned-instant-foreign-minster until 2015, has declared on numerous occasions that he and his colleagues will be guided (blindly) by Meles’ vision in everything they do.  In 2010, Meles vision was to win the election by 100 percent. He missed it by four-tenths of one percent. Hailemariam & Co. now face a tremendous challenge. They owe it to Meles to win the 2015 “election” by at least 150 percent. It will be a crying shame if their victory margin falls below the golden threshold of 99.6 percent.

To win by at least 100 percent and make Meles proud, Hailemariam & Co. must handout a little bit more fertilizer to the peasants than they did in 2010. They must at least double the “productive safety net payments” to poor rural household to buy their votes. They need to hand out a lot more “microfinance” loans to hoodwink the youth and buy their loyalty and votes. They also need to provide boatloads of empty promises for handout of condos to urban residents.

Over the next 11 months, the “EPDRF” will busier than a mosquito at a nudist colony subtly, cleverly and gradually implementing its SHEEP to pit the various ethnic groups against each other and spend hundreds of millions of birr to buy votes. They will build on their past successes of divide and conquer/rule strategy. For a quarter of a century, they have succeeded in stoking the fires of ethnic antagonisms. They are stoking ethnic fires today by massacring innocent university students (a little over a week ago BBC reported the regime in Ethiopia massacred 47 university studentsin Ambo 80 miles west of the capital).  They have had great difficulty in stoking the fires of sectarianism between Christians and Muslims, but they will keep trying. They are great at dirty tricks. Their local bankrollers, namely their corruption-fed fat cat supporters who have a chokehold on the economy, will flock to them ready to offer support. After all, they share the same destiny with the SHEEP herders. Naturally, the loaners and donors will babble the usual lip service nonsense about fair and free elections and at a blink of an eye turn a blind eye to the misuse of their foreign aid and loans for partisan political purposes.

What about the opposition?

What opposition?! The regime operators have nothing but contempt for the opposition. I have often remarked that Meles and his crew believed that opposition leaders are their intellectual inferiors. As Susan Rice, Obama’s current National Security Advisor, observed,  Meles believed those who opposed him are all “fools and idiots”.  Meles made it clear in his public statements that he can outwit, outthink, outsmart, outplay, outfox and outmaneuver his opponents any day of the week. He could. Meles’ acolytes today believe in their master’s teachings and visions. They too believe the opposition is dysfunctional, shiftless and inconsequential, and will never be able to pose a real challenge to their power. They view their opposition as  a bunch of delinquent children who need constant supervision, discipline and punishment to keep them in line. Like children, they will offer some of them candy — jobs, cars, houses — and whatever else it takes to buy their silence, if not their support. Those they cannot buy, they will intimidate, jail, prosecute or place under continuous surveillance and harass relentlessly.

The fact of the matter is that the Ethiopian opposition inside the country and in the Diaspora is terribly fragmented. Some opposition leaders are more concerned about their own power position than the dangers faced by the nation. They are unwilling to make genuine commitments to a common platform, unite and oppose a formidable common adversary. The opposition lacks the resources to counter the unlimited financial resources of the “EPDRF”. Opposition journalists are jailed and harassed. Even young bloggers are jacked up on silly terrorism charges. There is no civil society. To eliminate any traces of organized urban opposition, the regime has uprooted urban neighborhoods in the name of development. If push comes to shove, Meles’ minions will execute their master’s master plan. Meles once told an American diplomat, “We will crush the opposition with all our might.” The  TPLF (sorry, I meant the “EPDRF”) will “win” the 2015 “election” by push or crush.

The BIG known unknowns, unknown unknowns?

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld sometimes liked to speak in conundrums (riddles). He said, “there are things that we know that we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”

It is a known known that Meles was the brains and the brawns in the “EPDRF” operation (he single-handedly created the “EPDRF”). We know he was not only the “commander-in-chief” but also “strategist-cum-tactician-cum-guru-in-chief”. It is known that the combined intellectual capacity of all of Meles’ minions will not approximate four-tenths of Meles’ intellectual candlepower.

It is a  known unknown that there is no one in the “EPDRF” today who could replace Meles. Hailemariam Desalegn, the ceremonial prime minster in Ethiopia, once declared that he will never be able to “fill Meles’ shoes”. He is right. No one in the “EPDRF” can! It is a known unknown who will indeed fill Meles’ role if not his shoes in 2015.  (I think I know that known unknown.) The known unknowns are those things simmering behind the curtains of power in a regime that is legendary for its absolute secrecy. It is an unknown unknown how much infighting there is or has been since Meles’ death among the various TPLF factions. Those who claim to know the unknown unknown say the only thing keeping the various factions in the TPLF together is pure economic interest. They say the  only thing that is keeping the infighting within TPLF from exploding openly is the unwritten code of honor among thieves. Thou shalt not war with another thief for there are no winners in a war among thieves. There is much known unknowns about the inner workings of the TPLF power core. Unfortunately, those who know the unknowns do not talk and those who talk do not know the unknowns.

What will the donors and loaners do in the 2015  election?

The donors and loaners will do nothing to help or ensure that the 2015 election will be free and fair. They could not care less. They want an election drama, not  free and fair elections. They have their own old script to follow. In June 2010, I wrote a commentary entitled, “Speaking Truth to Strangers.” It was about the “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” attitude of the loaners and donors towards Meles and his regime. “Zenawi has cultivated and foisted the ‘stability’ canard on the Western donors for years. He has tried to convince them that he is the glue that keeps the 80 million Ethiopians from exploding into ethnic warfare and civil war. The donors know it is all a grim fairy tale, but they go along with it.”

The facts speak for themselves. The US, Britain and the European Union have poured in tens of billions of dollars of aid to support his regime for nearly two decades while pontificating about democracy and human rights in Ethiopia endlessly. They took no action when Meles personally ordered the massacre of hundreds of unarmed demonstrators in 2005. They pursed their lips when he passed a so-called press law criminalizing free speech and the free press. They moaned and groaned a little when he passed so-called anti-terrorism and civic society laws that effectively banned civic organizations and suppressed dissent. They have taken absolutely no action against the Meles regime to show restraint despite a quarter century record of uninterrupted gross human rights violations and criminality. Incredibly, these forked-tongue shameless “diplocrites” (practitioners of human rights hypocrisy by diplomacy) have sought to escape moral culpability by dumping  the blame on the opposition. They say, “There is no viable alternative in the opposition.” They know full well that the opposition is subjected to daily threats, intimidation, arbitrary arrests and detentions and violence, yet they have mustered the brazen audacity to blame the victims of tyranny for being ‘not viable’.

Why there can never be free and fair elections in Ethiopia  under the present regime

One cannot squeeze blood from turnip. One cannot squeeze democracy from dictatorship. The transition from “bushcraft” to statecraft requires tectonic transformations. Democratic statecraft requires an appreciation, understanding and application of basic democratic principles such as the rule of law, separation of powers, checks and balances and constitutionalism in the governance process. The TPLF dictators have little experience with or practical understanding of such principles. They never had free elections in the bush. Upholding the rule of law is absurd to them because they believe themselves to be THE LAW. Their ultimate justification for clinging to power is that they have made “sacrifices in the bush”. They expect those who oppose them to go in to the bush and fight their way to power. They scoff at civil liberties and civil rights as Western luxuries because they never lived in a system where the powers of government are constitutionally subordinated to the rights of the individual. In short, it is wishful thinking to expect the kind of statecraft necessary for democratic governance from a gang of  hateful ignoramuses from the bush.  Goethe observed, “There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.” Behold the overlords of Ethiopia today!

Sitting on a powder keg

The TPLF (“EPDRF”)  is sitting on a powder keg. Its leaders filled with hubris and arrogance are blinded to the fact that the ethnic fires they stoked will one day consume them. The hate, fear and loathing they have nurtured will one day turn against them. They believe they can go on forever clinging to power by pitting one ethnic group against another, one religion against another.    They may be able to fool all of the ethnic groups some of the time and some of the ethnic groups all of the time, but they can’t fool all of the ethnic groups all of the time.

The great African American author James Baldwin wrote, “Hatred, which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man who hated, and this was an immutable law.”

Let those in power in Ethiopia heed an old prophesy told in the lyrics of a song of African slaves from the harrowing days of slavery in America: “God gave Noah the Rainbow Sign: No more water. The fire next time!”

Vote Out Tyranny in Ethiopia 2015!

Victory Over Tyranny in Ethiopia in 2015!

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/

• www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/

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

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