Ethiopian-American Communities Must Be More Visible

Where Were You Last Election Day?

December 1, 2012Deportation Set for All Persons of Ethiopian Extraction

How would you react if you were greeted one morning with the words above, either as the top story on the TV morning news, or as headlines on the front-page of all the newspapers? Despite the fact that as a nation Americans are proud of their immigrant heritage, those words could be made into law by the U.S. Congress (the Senate and the House of Representatives), or the President could issue an executive order that would have nearly the same effect as a law. Although highly unlikely, it has happened in the past.

During World War II Japanese-Americans Faced Internment

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, President Roosevelt issued an executive order that all people – even citizens – of Japanese extraction were to be rounded up and sent to concentration camps far from the Pacific Coast. The order was prompted by fear that among this population of nearly 120,000 people some Japanese sympathizers could be found.  About two-thirds of that population was natural-born American citizens. The President used special “war-time powers” to make the internment official despite the fact that it was clearly unconstitutional.

The United States of America Is Not a Democracy

The U.S. is a republic based on the rule of law (the Constitution). Immigrants or members of any particular minority

 should be glad of that fact. Although American government does hold to the democratic principle of one individual with one vote, the rule of law prevents any tyranny of the majority. As the Constitution now stands, the majority does not always rule. No law can say which religion is best, no law can rule which life-style is best, no law can determine which political party is best, no law may say which skin color is best.

You Are the Government

In America the people determine how the government should operate according to the individuals that they vote into office, or expel from office. People are more or less allowed to do as they please as long as they don’t hurt others or go against the public welfare. However, in this lively political country, there are many battles regarding what is good and what is bad. As a voting citizen, you will often be called upon to help government decide what is best for your city, your state, and your nation. Use that vote thoughtfully, because you as a citizen are determining your government.

Ethiopian-Americans Careless with Their Voting Powers

The number of Ethiopian-American voters participating in the recent presidential election was disappointing. Poor turnout of voters is a sacrifice of much grass-roots power and could easily be remedied, since many Ethiopian-Americans fall into one of these groups:

• Those eligible for naturalization but haven’t claimed citizenship.
• Those who choose to become naturalized but never register to vote.
• Those who are naturalized and then choose not to exercise their right to vote.

Potential voters who fall into any of these groups usually explain away not voting with the flimsiest of excuses.

Ethiopian-American Communities Must Be More Visible

Ethiopian-Americans should find local candidates with the same political goals and support them as volunteers. This would ensure them taking notice of our fast-growing population and will make them more likely to consider their Ethiopian-American communities when setting policy. These leaders would be more likely to make appointments from among our community. They would mentor our voters on the sometimes-messy business of American politics.

This mentoring could pave the way for the development of our own political candidates. We are reaching second and third generations of Ethiopian-Americans in this country and it is important for our community to be active and visible on the local, state, and national political scenes.

Grass Roots Organizing is the Best Place to Start

American political figures often use the phrase: “All politics is [sic] local.” Local or community organizations are venues where the political power of American citizens starts. One important way to begin using political power is with the local boards of education. At these fundamental organizations citizens have a lot of clout in many ways. They can:

• Help develop local education policies.
• Become advocates for universal education of high quality.
• Help determine the most efficient uses of public education funds.
• Become leaders on issues of citizenship.
• Mobilize to increase voter registration and attendance at the polls.
• Invite elected officials of the city, county, state, and federal levels to attend events in the local Ethiopian-American communities.

Political Power Is Not Realized with Grip-and-Grin Photos

Being aware of the political clout of Ethiopian-Americans, and exercising it, is not just about getting a grip-and-grin photo with an elected official to hang on an office wall. Ethiopian-Americans need to get involved in main stream politics and Ethiopian-Americans need to run for office. Both Republican and Democrats candidates need to see that our vote is something worth earning. But we have to prove we vote.

The Ethiopian-American communities benefited to a degree that Obama was re-elected. Romney’s lack of sympathy for any immigrant community could have easily resulted in some rather draconian measures taken on any immigrant group in the U.S. By voting for candidates who are supportive of our communities, we can forestall any horrific actions such as that which befell the Japanese-American communities during World War II. So, where were you last election day?

May God bless the United States of America!

The Ethiopian American Council (EAC)

The Ethiopian American Council is a grassroots policy advocacy organization.

የጋዜጠኛ ተመስገን ደሳለኝ ክስ እንደገና ተቀሰቀሰ

የፍትህ ጋዜጣ ዋና አዘጋጅ ጋዜጠኛ ተመስገን ደሳለኝ ከዚህ ቀደም በፌዴራል ዐቃቤ- ሕግ ቀርቦበት የነበረው ክስ እንደገነ ተቀሰቀሰ፤

ትላንት ሃሙስ ህዳር 20 ቀን 2005 ዓ.ም ከቀትር በኋላ ወደ ጋዜጣው ቢሮ የፍርድ ቤት መጥሪያ ይዘው የመጡት የፖሊስ አባላት ጋዜጠኛ ተመስገን ከአዲስ አበባ ውጪ መሆኑ ተነግሯቸው ተመልሰዋል ።

ዓርብ ህዳር 21 ቀን 2005 ዓ.ም ከሰሃት በኋላ የፌዴራል ፍተኛው ፍርድ ቤት ልደታ ምድብ 16ተኛ ወንጀል ችሎት ጋዜጠኛ ተመስገን በሌለበት ችሎት የሰየመ ሲሆን የፍርድ ቤት መጥሪያ ለጋዜጠኛው ሊያደርሱ የሄዱት ፖሊሶች በጊዜው ሊያገኙት አለመቻላቸውንና ለሥራ ባልደረቦቹ ግን መንገራቸውን ገልጸዋል፡፡

ቀደም ሲል የጋዜጠኛ ተመስገን ደሳለኝን የዋስትና መብት የነፈጉት ዳኛ መጥሪያው እንዳልደረሰው ካረጋገጡ በኋላ ዐቃቤ- ሕግን የውሳኔ አስተያየት የጠየቁ ሲሆን ዐቃቤ- ሕግ በበኩሉ በቀጣይ እንዲቀርቡልኝ ማዘዣ ይጣፍልኝና አጭር ቀጠሮ ይሰጠኝ ብሏል፡፡

የችሎቱ ዳኛ በበኩላቸው የፍርድ ቤት መጥሪያ ለፍትህ ጋዜጣ ዋና አዘጋጅ ተመስገን ደሳለኝ እና ለድርጅቱ ጠበቃ እንዲደርስ ማዘዣ እንዲወጣ አዘው ቀጣይ ቀጠሮውንም ለታህሳስ 2 ቀን 2005 ዓ.ም ጊዜ ቀጠሮ ሰጥተዋል፡፡

ጋዜጠኛ ተመስገን ደሳለኝ  ከጤናው ጋር በተያያዘ ወደ አዋሳ መጓዙን ተከትሎ መጥሪያ እንደደረሰው ለኢሳት ገልጿል።

የፕሬስ አፈናው በአቶ ሀይለማርያም የስልጣን ዘመንም ተጠናክሮ መቀጠሉን ጋዜጠኛ ተመስገን ደሳለኝ በአዲስ ታይምስ መጽሄት ላይ ሲሰራ የገጠመውን ችግር በመዘርዝር ገልጿል

ተመስገን ፍትህ ጋዜጣን ሲያሳትም በነበረበት ወቅት ከ39 ባላነሱ እንያንዳንዳቸው ከ106 በላይ ዝርዝር ክሶችን በያዙ ወንጀሎች መከሰሱ ይታወቃል።

ከታዋቂው ጋዜጠኛ ተመስገን ደሳለኝ ጋር በፕሬስና በወቅታዊ የአገራች ፖለቲካ ዙሪያ ያደረግነውን ቃለምልልስ ከዜናው በሁዋላ በትኩረት ክፍለ ጊዜ የምናቀርብ መሆኑን ለመግለጽ እንወዳለን።

ከፍተኛ ሙስና ፈጽመዋል የተባሉት ግለሰብ የኦሮምያ ከፍተኛ ፍርድ ቤት ፕሬዚዳንት ሆነው ተሾሙ

የኦሮሚያ ክልል ምክር ቤት ዛሬ ጉባኤውን ሲያጠናቅቅ የ77 ዳኞችን ሹመት አጽድቋል።የክልሉ ከፍተኛ ፍርድ ቤት ፕሬዚዳንት ሆነው የተሾሙት አቶ ፍቅሩ አያና ከምክር ቤት አባላቱ ከፍተኛ የሆነ ተቃውሞ ቢቀርብባቸውም፣ ከፍተኛ አመራሮች ስለፈለጉዋቸው ብቻ እንዲሾሙ መደረጉን የኦህዴድ ምንጮች ገልጸዋል።

የምክር ቤት አባላት በአቶ ፍቅሩ ላይ ካቀረቡዋቸው የመቃወሚያ ሀሳቦች መካከል ግለሰቡ በሙስና የተዘፈቁ ናቸው፣ በዞናቸው ዳኛ ሆነው በሰሩበት ወቅት በህዝብ የተጠሉና ህዝብን ያንገላቱ ናቸው፣ የስነምግባር ችግር አለባቸው፣ በህብረተሰቡ ዘንድ ተቀባይነት የላቸውም የሚሉት ይገኙበታል። የክልሉ ባለስልጣናት ከምክር ቤት አባላት ለቀረበባቸው ተቃውሞ አጣርተን መልስ እንሰጣለን የሚል ድፍንፍን ያለመልስ በመስጠት ሹመቱ እንዲጸድቅ አድርገዋል።

የምክር ቤት አባላቱ በባለስልጣኑ አሰራር ላይ ነቀፌታ ሲያቀርቡ እንደነበር ታውቋል።

በጉባኤው ማጠናቀቂያ ላይ ክልሉን ፕሬዚዳንት አቶ አለማየሁ አቶምሳን ጨምሮ የስራ አስፈጻሚዎች የስልጣን ሹም ሽር ይኖራል የሚል አጀንዳ ተይዞ የነበረ ቢሆንም ምክንያቱ በውል ባልታወቀ ሁኔታ አጀንዳው እንዲሰረዝ ተድርጓል። መረጃዎች እንደሚያመለክቱት አቶ አለማየሁን ለመተካት ሀሳብ ቢቀርብም በሚተካው ሰው ላይ የስራ አስፈጻሚዎች ለመስማማት ባለመቻላቸው እንዲቀር ተድርጓል። አንዳንድ የስራ አስፈጻሚ  አባላት ስብሰባ ረግጠው እስከመውጣት መድረሳቸውን ለማወቅተ ችሎአል።

በሰሞኑ የምክር ቤት ስብሰባ ላይ አርብ እለት ከተገኙት ከምክትል ፕሬዚዳንቱ ከአቶ አብዱላዚዝ በስተቀር ፕሬዚዳንቱን ጨምሮ ሌሎች ከፍተኛ ባለስልጣናት በማጠቃለያው ጉባኤ ላይ አልተገኙም።

ሰሞኑን ለአቶ ሙክታር ከድር የተሰጠው የምክትል ጠቅላይ ሚኒሰትርነት ቦታ በተወሰነ መጠን በምክር ቤቱ ውስጥ ይነሳል ተብሎ የተጠበቀውን ተቃውሞ ማብረዱ ታውቋል።

በሌላ ዜና ደግሞ አዳማ 5ኛውን ከንቲባ ሾማለች። ከሙስና ጋር በተያያዘ ከህዝብ በቀረበ ተቃውሞ ከስልጣን እንዲባረሩ በተደረጉት የተወካዮች ምክር ቤት አባሉ በአቶ ጉታ ላንጮሬ በአቶ ባካር ሻሌ ተተክተዋል። አቶ ባካር ሻሌ አቶ በረከት የሚመሩት የኮሚኒኬሽን ጽህፈት ቤት ምክት ሃላፊ የነበሩ ናቸው።

አንዳንድ ወገኖች ግለሰቡ በእርግጥም ከሙስናና ከአስተዳደር ብቃት ጋር በተያያዘ በከተማው ህዝብ ዘንድ ተቃውሞ ተነስቶባቸው የነበረ ቢሆንም፣ አሁን ከስልጣናን የተባረሩት ግን ምናልባትም በኦህዴድ ውስጥ ከተፈጠረውን ችግር ጋር ተያይዞ ሊሆን እንደሚችል ይናገራሉ።

ኢሳት የከንቲባውንና የከተማ ልማት ቢሮ ሀላፊውን ከስልጣን መባረር መዘገቡ ይታወሳል።

የሁለቱ ም/ጠቅላይ ሚኒሰትሮች ሹመት ህገመንግስታዊ ድጋፍ የለውም ሲሉ አንድ ታዋቂ የህግ ባለሙያ ገለጹ

በሩዋንዳ ተቋቁሞ በነበረው የተበባሩት መንግስታት ድርጅት አለማቀፍ የወንጀለኞች ፍርድ ቤት ዋና አቃቢ ህግ በመሆን ያገለገሉት እና በህግ የማስተማር ሙያ ላይ ለረጅም ጊዜ አገልግሎት የሰጡት ዶ/ር ያቆብ ሀይለማርያም ለኢሳት እንደተናገሩት የሁለቱ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሮች ሹመት ህገመንግስታዊ ድጋፍ የለውም። ዶ/ር ያቆብ ” የህገመንግስቱ አንቀጽ 75 ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ በማይኖሩበት ጊዜ ምክትል ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ ተክቶ እንደሚሰራ ይደነግጋል  እንጅ ከሁለት ወይም ሶስት ምክትል ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሮች መካከል ተመርጦ አንዱ ይተካቸዋል አይልም” ብለዋል

ዶ/ር ያቆብ ሹመቱ ከመሰጠቱ በፊት የተወካዮች ምክር ቤትና የፌዴሬሽን ምክር ቤቶች በጋራ  ተስማምተው ህጉን ማሻሻል ይችሉ እንደነበር ገልጸዋል።

ምናልባት ሌሎች ያልታዩ የህግ ድንጋጌዎች በመኖራቸው በነዚያ ድንጋጌዎች መሰረት የተደረገ ሹመት ሊሆን አይችሉም ወይ ተብለው ለተጠየቁት ዶ/ር ያቆም ፣ ምንም የሚያሻማ ነገር ነገር የለም በማለት መልሰዋል

ኢህአዴግ ስለ ህገመንግስት  መታስ በተደጋጋሚ ይናገራል፣ በዚህ ድንጋጌ ላይ ህገመንግስቱ በግልጽ እንደተጣሰ ተናግረዋል፣ ኢህአዴግ እሞትለታለሁ የሚለውን ህገመንግስት ለምን በአደባባይ ለመጣስ የፈለገ የመስልዎታል በሚል ለቀረበላቸው ጥያቄ ደግሞ፣ ዶ/ር ያቆም ኢህአዴግን በመሰረቱ 4 ድርጅቶች መካከል ያለውን የስልጣን ሽኩቻ ለማብረድ ታስቦ ሊሆን ይችላል ብለዋል

አቶ ሀይለማርያም ደሳለኝ የህወሀቱን ዶ/ር ደብረጺዮን ገብረሚካኤልንና የኦህዴዱን አቶ ሙክታር ከድርን ምክትል ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር በማድረግ መሾማቸው ይታወሳል።

Young Ethiopian Human Rights activist Mekonnen Workineh, exposing the TPLF regime in Norway

Journalism is Not Terrorism: Calling on Ethiopia to Free Eskinder Nega

By Rainey Reitman

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Eskinder Nega, an award-winning journalist who has been imprisoned for over a year, appeared briefly in court to appeal

 the terrorism charges levied against him. Eskinder has unwaveringly denied the charges, maintaining that blogging about human rights abuses and democracy is not a form of terrorism. In July, Eskinder was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his reporting. In court this week, his appeal was cut short: according to one report EFF received from partners working on his case, Eskinder was not allowed to read his defense statement and the appeal was rescheduled to November 22. We are continuing to seek confirmation about the status of the trial. For now, we’re asking concerned individuals to join us in calling on the Ethiopian government to live up to the promises in their own Constitution and free Eskinder Nega.

While many journalists have either fled Ethiopia or been silenced by repressive policies, Eskinder Nega has become a national symbol for press freedom. Educated in the United States in the 1980s, Nega studied political science and economics at American University. He subsequently returned to Ethiopia where he has worked as a journalist for over twenty years. Nega founded 4 newspapers –all of which were shut down by the Ethiopian government –and has been jailed 9 times in the last two decades for his outspoken articles.

Upon his release from prison in 2007, Nega’s journalism license was revoked and he was banned from working on newspapers. He immediately turned to the Internet and began using blogs to speak out. Some of his work has been published on Ethiomedia, a blog that is inaccessible from inside Ethiopia.

Four years later in 2011, Nega was the recipient of the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. Peter Godwin, President on the PEN American Center, noted that Eskinder understood the risks of continuing to speak out publicly:

He went back into the breach knowing full well what the risks were for doing so. He had a number of other options. He grew up in the DC area. He could have left the country, but he chose to stay. He’d been arrested 6 or 7 times before, he’s had newspapers closed down. He’s really been hounded by the Ethiopian regime.

Birtukan Midekssa, a former federal judge and opposition leader in Ethiopia, says Nega has been unwavering even in the face of death threats from the police. Midekssa said: “At some point, they told him that, you know, they are tired of arresting him. And they said, this time around, we are not going to arrest you, we are going to kill you. Better stop it. But he can’t, you know. He can’t stop. That’s him.”

Already targeted by police, Eskinder Nega drew even more ire from the Ethiopian government when he continued to blog about the Arab Spring uprisings. Through articles like As Egypt and Yemen protest, wither Ethiopia’s opposition? and Egypt’s and General Tsadkan’s lesson to Ethiopian Generals, Nega discussed the implications of the pro-democracy movements in North Africa and the Middle East on Ethiopia. Nega was picked up by the police in February 2011. According to a harrowing account Nega wrote afterwards, he was interrogated at length about his journalism, and the police threatened to seek retribution against him if protests broke out in Ethiopia.

A few months later, he was arrested again. This time, Eskinder Nega was charged with terrorism.

Where are all the Newspapers? The Plight of Independent Press and Ethiopia’s Internet Access

To understand the risk –and importance—of Nega’s work, one must first understand the status of independent media in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Constitution promises to uphold freedom of expression, stating: “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression without any interference. This right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any media of his choice.” But Ethiopia has a dark history of shutting down newspapers and imprisoning journalists.

Immediately prior to the 1990s, there was no independent media to speak of in Ethiopia as the country struggled under a Communist regime and devastating famines. The early 1990s saw major political change in the country. Communism was ousted, a bicameral legislature and judicial system were created, and a new Constitution was written and enacted. Meles Zenawi, who would prove himself deeply aligned with U.S. interests, governed—initially as President, then as Prime Minister. While in some way Zenawi helped Ethiopia to recover after many difficult years of conflict and depravation, his government was marked by an intractable disrespect for human rights and press freedom.

In 1992, Ethiopia issued a Press Proclamation that, in addition to other restrictions on free expression, gave the government the ability to shut down publications that printed “false” information. Ethiopia became one of the leading countries in imprisoning journalists during the 1990s, trailing only Cuba and China.

In the lead up to the 2005 election, there was a brief period of improved journalistic freedom in Ethiopia. However, the aftermath of the controversial election brought a severe crack down on independent media. Even as clashes between government troops and protesters left dozens of civilians dead, law enforcement began a witch-hunt for journalists. Dozens of journalists were arrested and charged with serious crimes such as treason and even genocide. Some of these journalists faced decades in prison or even the death sentence.

The Committee to Protect Journalists described the crackdown:

Azeb Mesfin relative in most wanted list

Do you know anything about those individuals? Call Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-8477

Former Ethiopian first lady Azeb Mesfin relative, Bineam Gola is in most wanted list in Canada according to “Crime Stoppers”.

EPRDF GTP Plan includes the election of three Deputy Prime Ministers?

Ethiopian ruling junta showed progress in the 5 year GTP plan by electing 3 Deputy prime minister. We don’t have any

 constitutional provision that allow the parliament to elect three deputies prime minister though the ruling junta doesn’t respect their own constitution. There is only one Deputy Prime minister as stipulated under the constitution. The constitution states “the deputy Prime Minister… not the Deputy Prime ministers… ”.

Read Article 75 the Deputy Prime Minister:

1. The Deputy Prime Minister shall: (a) perform the duties assigned to him by the Prime Minister; (b) represent the Prime Minister in his absence.

2. The Deputy Prime Minister is accountable to the Prime Minister.

The election of three deputy prime ministers shows absence of trustee among the coalition members of EPRDF. They are trying to appoint higher officials from different tribe among the four political parties. This has happened in opposition with the interview of the communication minister Ato Bereket Simon after the election of Hailemariam Dessaleign and Demeke Mekonnen as Prime minister and Deputy Prime Minister respectively as the election is made irrespective of tribe or race rather than commitment and dedication among the new generation by excluding the old body guard.

Though the ruling junta always denies the existence of TPLF influence or supremacy, we can easily see from the election of yesterday cabinet members Dr. Tewodross Adehanom as foreign minister and Ato. Debretsion G/Michael as Deputy Prime Minister.

Ato Bereket Simon was trying to convince the Ethiopian people by false propaganda as always they did stating a change is made inside the EPRDF policy. We don’t see any change that can satisfy even the interest of the ruling party members. After yesterday parliament cabinet members election EPRDF members complaining as the government is unable to rule the country.

The following will be the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers ruling Ethiopia:-

1. Ato Hailemariam Dessaleign (Welayta) Prime Minister

2. Ato Demeke Mekonnen (Amhara) Deputy Prime Minister

3. Ato Debretsion G/Michael (Tigray) Deputy Prime Minister.

4. Dr. Tewodross Adehanom (Tigary) Foreign Minister

5. Ato Muktar Kedir (Oromiya) Deputy Prime Minister

As I have read from the EPRDF supporter website aiga forum “the new appointment is made in line with the transition plan EPRDF has started some three years ago.” Though the constitution is the supreme law of the land as stated under article 9 of the constitution they are ruling the country in the way they want in denial of human and democratic right of the Ethiopian people even as stipulated under their constitution.

Article 9 Supremacy of the Constitution

1. This Constitution is the supreme law of the land. All laws, customary practices, and decisions made by state organs or public officials inconsistent therewith, shall be null and void.

2. All citizens, state organs, political organizations, other associations and their officials, have the duty to comply with this Constitution and abide by it.

3. Assuming power in any manner other than as provided by this Constitution is prohibited.

4. International agreements ratified by Ethiopia are an integral part of the law of the land.

The democratic and human rights of the Ethiopian people aren’t respected since they took power. I am not trying to criticize in comparison with other country or the international law. But I am criticizing the ruling party based on the existed constitution ratified and approved by them, but not by the Ethiopian people. They don’t respect the stipulated provisions either. There is no freedom of speech and expression (Article 29), Freedom of Religion, Conscience and Thought (Article 27) and other. The government denied individual democratic right of freedom of expression.

A man got beaten up for handing out flyers for Zenawi memorial

An Ethiopian-American man handing out flyers for a memorial service for Ethiopia’s recently deceased prime minister, Meles Zenawi, claims he was assaulted by a countryman who reviled the repressive leader, according to criminal and civil court documents.

The victim and plaintiff, Tesfai Tsadik, is suing both Wossenu Gizaw, the alleged assailant, and Debre Salam Medahnealem Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Fondren Southwest house of worship near which the alleged assault took place.

According to the pleadings in the civil suit, on August 26, Tsadik attended services at the church. After church let out, Tsadik went across the street and started handing out flyers for Zenawi’s memorial service.

That might not have been the wisest move. According to the suit:

The church founders and many of its members are opponents of Meles Zenawi. The members of the church, including members in leadership positions, have openly shared their views and hatred of Meles Zenawi and his government. In fact, church members and leaders protested outside during the funeral of Mr. Zenawi.

So apparently Tsadik was decidedly not preaching to the choir. Even so, this is a free country, and what allegedly happened next is reprehensible.

According to the suit, an unidentified man drove by and told Tesfai to stop handing out the flyers. When Tesfai refused, the man drove back to the church and re-emerged with Gizaw, a man Tesfai reportedly had known for five years. With absolutely no preamble of any kind, no exchange of heated words, nothing, “Gizaw head-butted Tesfai so hard that he was knocked out cold,” according to the suit. And then, the suit goes on to claim, Gizaw and his fellow church members continued to kick Tesfai while he was unconscious.

When he came to minutes later, Tesfai was bruised on his backside, face and left eye, his upper lip was busted, his head was pounding, and he was dizzy. He now claims to be unable to work.

Gizaw has been charged with assault/bodily injury. After bonding out and resetting a court date, he has vanished. A capias warrant has been issued for his arrest. So far, neither he nor the church have filed a response to Tesfai’s suit, which is being handled by attorney Papa M. Dieye.

To broadly summarize a New York Times obituary of late prime minister Zenawi, many observers saw him as an extremely pro-development leader and loyal friend to the American government, especially in its fight against Muslim extremists in the Horn of Africa. His detractors claim he was savagely repressive, a chronic imprisoner of journalists, political opponents and dissidents.

The former rebel leader came to power in 1995 and both his fans and haters could agree that he was an extremely intelligent man and a shrewd operator. The former med student was said to be able to absorb seas of statistics at a single setting and had a penchant for quoting Shakespeare at length.

Which is fitting, as he seems to have left his country a nation of Montagues and Capulets.

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A multicultural Eve on Nov 24, 2012.Norway

UN ­Ambassador Susan Rice an “undiplomatic diplomat”

Susan Rice fails to win over 3 GOP senators

The Boston Globe

WASHINGTON — UN ­Ambassador Susan Rice told lawmakers Tuesday that her initial explanation of the deadly Sept. 11 raid

 in Libya was wrong, but her concession failed to mollify three Republican senators who signaled they would oppose her possible nomination to be secretary of state.

In a closed-door meeting that Rice requested, the ambassador answered questions from Senators John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Kelly ­Ayotte of New Hampshire about her much-maligned expla­nations over the cause of the attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. She was joined by acting CIA director Michael Morell.

‘‘The talking points provided by the intelligence community, and the initial assessment upon which they were based, were incorrect in a key respect: There was no protest or demonstration in Benghazi,’’ Rice said after the meeting. ‘‘While we certainly wish that we had had perfect information just days after the terrorist attack, as is often the case the intelligence assessment has evolved.’’

Rice’s unusual visit to Capitol Hill — typically only nominees meet privately with lawmakers — reflects the Obama administration’s campaign for the current front-runner to replace Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton against some strenuous GOP opposition.

‘‘We are significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got and some that we didn’t get concerning evidence that was leading up to the attack on the consulate,’’ McCain told reporters after emerging from the hour-plus session that he described as candid.

Said Graham: ‘‘Bottom line, I’m more disturbed now than I was before that 16 September explanation.’’ He said in a later interview that Rice went ‘‘far beyond the flawed talking points’’ and should be held accountable.

‘‘I’m more troubled today,’’ said Ayotte, who argued that it was clear in the days after the attack that it was terrorism and not a spontaneous demonstration prompted by an anti-Muslim video.

The White House remained defiant in its support for Rice, arguing that she was relying on an assessment from the intel­ligence community and had no responsibility in compiling the information on the cause of the attack. It dismissed what it characterized as a fixation on her national television appearances five days after the raid.

House Democrats, including female members of the Congressional Black Caucus, have suggested that the GOP opposition to Rice is sexist and racist. Senate Democrats, who will increase their advantage to 55-45 in the next Congress, said Rice could win confirmation if Republicans recognize the unfairness of penalizing her for the intelligence community’s talking points.

‘‘It is so unfair to hold her responsible for something that she didn’t produce and which the intelligence community has specifically stood by,’’ said Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who chairs the Armed Services Committee.

Despite lingering questions over her public comments after the Benghazi attack, Rice has emerged as the top candidate on a short list of possible successors to Clinton, with Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, seen as her closest alternative.

The strong statements from the three senators clouded Rice’s prospects only two days after Republican opposition seemed to be softening.

Rice planned meetings on Wednesday with Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, who is in line to become the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican.

—————————————————–

Susan Rice fails in attempt to win over Republican senators on Benghazi response

Ottawa Citizen

WASHINGTON – Susan Rice’s closed-door meeting on Tuesday with three Republican lawmakers did nothing to ease their criticisms of the UN ambassador’s public proclamations over the September attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya that killed four Americans, including envoy Chris Stevens.

“I’m more disturbed now than I was before,” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters after Rice explained why she initially characterized the Benghazi attack as a spontaneous eruption of violence over an anti-Islam video.

“I think it does not do justice to the reality at the time and in hindsight clearly was completely wrong…. In real time, it was a statement disconnected from reality.”

Rice’s 90-minute meeting with Graham and fellow senators John McCain and Kelly Ayotte came amid the roar of speculation in the U.S. capital that she’s about to be tapped by the Obama administration, possibly as early as this week, to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.

Clinton wants out of the job so Rice, who’s been serving as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations since 2009, is making the rounds on Capitol Hill this week on an apparent “charm offensive” aimed at getting lawmakers behind her potential nomination.

Her first foray onto the Hill on Tuesday with acting CIA director Michael Morell, however, backfired badly, thanks to the trio of senators who have been bitterly maligning her Benghazi response for weeks.

All three of them emerged from the meeting to say they’re more bothered now about her public remarks on Sunday morning talk shows a few days after the Sept. 11 attack than they were before she attempted to explain herself.

“I’m significantly troubled by the answers we got and didn’t get,” McCain said.

“It was clear that the information she gave the American people was incorrect when she said that it was a spontaneous demonstration triggered by a hateful group.”

Ayotte, meantime, said she had “many more questions that need to be answered” and suggested she’d vote against Rice’s nomination as secretary of state.

Rice, 48, has said her public remarks about the Benghazi attack were based on talking points provided by U.S. intelligence agencies.

Those in intelligence circles suggest the talking points were deliberately vague in order to protect covert operations in Libya in the aftermath of the attack, adding that an investigation was still underway when Rice made the rounds of talk shows on Sept. 16.

Republicans, meantime, suspect Rice was covering up for U.S. President Barack Obama, charging the administration didn’t want an al-Qaida terrorist attack to taint his re-election chances.

Obama has defended Rice, most fiercely in a White House news conference held soon after his re-election.

White House spokesman Jay Carney came to Rice’s defence again on Tuesday, shortly after her ill-fated visit to Capitol Hill.

“Ambassador Rice has no responsibility for collecting, analyzing and providing intelligence, nor does she have responsibility … for diplomatic security around the globe,” he said.

“The focus on — some might say obsession (with) — comments made on Sunday shows seems to me, and to many, to be misplaced. What is the point of the focus on this?”

Rice, a Rhodes scholar who’s married to Canadian television producer Ian Cameron, has risen through Democratic ranks over the years to counsel presidential candidates that include Michael Dukakis and John Kerry, himself a potential Hillary Clinton replacement.

She has an impressive pedigree — her father was the first black governor of the Federal Reserve Board, her mother a renowned education scholar — but Rice’s legendary abrasiveness has prompted misgivings about her suitability for the job from both the left and right.

“She is ill-equipped to be the nation’s top diplomat for reasons that have little to do with Libya,” Dana Milbank, a left-leaning Washington Post columnist, wrote recently in a piece that recounted how she once gave respected diplomat Richard Holbrooke the middle finger when she worked in the Bill Clinton White House.

He called her an “undiplomatic diplomat.”

የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አርበኞች ግንባር ሰራዊት አርማጭሆ ሳንጃ ወረዳ ልዩ ስሙ ጃንሱማ በተባለው ቦታ ወታደራዊ ጥቃት ፈጸመ

የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አርበኞች ግንባር ሰራዊት በወያኔ ቅጥረኛና ምንደኛ የልዩ ሃይል ታጣቂ ቡድን ላይ የጀመረውን የማጥቃት ዘመቻ አጠናክሮ በመቀጠል ሕዳር 15-2005 ዓ.ም

 አርማጭሆ ሳንጃ ወረዳ ልዩ ስሙ ጃንሱማ በተባለ ቦታ ባደረገው ውጊያ 14 የጠላት ወታደሮችን በመግደልና 12 በማቁሰል ከፍተኛ ወታደራዊ ድሎችን በማስመዝገብ ግንባሩ የተሰማራበትን ግዳጅ በድል እየተወጣ መሆኑን የግንባሩ ወታደራዊ መምሪያ አስታውቋል።

የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ከዘራፊውና ከነፍሰ-ገዳዩ የወያኔ አምባገነናዊ ገዥ ቡድን ለማላቀቅ ያለው ብቸኛ አማራጭ መንገድ በትጥቅ ትግል ስርዓቱን ማንበርከክ መሆኑን ጠንቅቆ ያወቀው የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አርበኞች ግንባር ሰራዊት ሀገርንና ወገንን ለመታደግ ቆርጦ በመነሳት በሰሜኑ የሐገራችን ክፍል ወታደራዊ ስትራቴጅውን ነድፎ እየተንቀሳቀሰ መሆኑ የሚታወቅ ሲሆን፣ ሰሞኑን አርማጭሆ ሳንጃ ወረዳ ልዩ ስሙ ጃንሱማ በተባለው ቦታ ባደረገው የማጥቃት ዘመቻ 26 የጠላት ወታደሮችን ሙትና ቁስለኛ በማድረግ ወታደራዊ የበላይነትን የተቀዳጀ ሲሆን፣ ከሞቱት 14 የልዩ ሃይል ታጣቂ ቡድን መካከል አበበ የሚባለው የቀራቅር ተወላጅና አለልኝ የሚባል የደባርቅ ተወላጅ የሆኑት ከፍተኛ አመራሮች መሞታቸውን የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አርበኞች ግንባር ወታደራዊ መምሪያ ገልጿል።

ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አርበኞች ግንባር ሰራዊት አርማጭሆ ሳንጃ ወረዳ ልዩ ስሙ ጃንሱማ በተባለ ቦታ በፈፀመው ወታደራዊ የማጥቃት ዘመቻና በጠላት ላይ ባደረሰው ከፍተኛ ኪሳራ የተደናገጠው የወያኔ ቡድን ተጨማሪ ጦር ወደ አካባቢው እያጓጓዘ መሆኑንም ከአካባቢው የተሰራጩ የዜና ምንጮች አጋልጠዋል።

ይሁን እንጅ በዓላማቸው ፅናትና በሐገራዊ ፍቅር የተገነባው የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አርበኞች ግንባር ሰራዊት በጀመረው ሕዝባዊና ሐገራዊ ተልዕኮ የፈረጠመ ክንዱን በጠላት ላይ በማሳረፍ አይበገሬነቱንና ቁርጠኝነቱን ሰሞኑን በተከታታይ ባደረጋቸው ውጊያዎች አስመስክሯል ሲሉ የአካባቢው ነዋሪዎች ገልፀዋል።

በመጨረሻም ውጊያው በተፈፀመባቸው አካባቢዎች የሚኖሩ የሕብረተሰብ ክፍሎች የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አርበኞች ግንባር ሰራዊት የጀመረውን ወታደራዊ የማጥቃት ዘመቻ አጠናክሮ እንዲገፋበትና እኛም የተለመደውን ሁለንተናዊ ድጋፍ ከማድረግ ባሻገር ግንባሩን ለመቀላቀል የሚያስችል መነሳሳትን የፈጠረ አኩሪ የአርበኝነት ገድል መፈፀሙን ነዋሪዎች አስታውቀዋል።

የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አርበኞች ግንባር በበኩሉ በስልጣን ላይ ያለው ፀረ-ሕዝብና ፀረ-ኢትዮጵያ ወንጀለኛ የወያኔ ቡድን የመጨረሻ ግብዓተ-መሬቱ እስኪፈፀም ድረስ ወታደራዊ የማጥቃት ዘመቻውን አጠናክሮ እንደሚቀጥል ገልፆ የአገዛዙን እድሜ ለማሳጠርም የተለመደው ሕዝባዊ ድጋፍ ተጠናክሮ እንዲቀጥል ለመላው ነፃነት ናፋቂና ሀገር ወዳድ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ሀገራዊ መልዕክቱን አስተላለፏል።

የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አርበኞች ግንባር

በኢትዮጵያ ከግማሽ ሚሊዮን በላይ ጎዳና ተዳዳሪዎች አሉ

ኢሳት ዜና:-በአዲስ አበባ ከተማ ከአንድ መቶ ሺህ በላይ ጎዳና ተዳዳሪዎች መኖራቸውን የተባበሩት መንግስታት የህጻናት መርጃ ድርጅት ጥናት አመለከተ።

የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ማእከላዊ ስታትስቲክ መስሪያ ቤት ደግሞ በአዲስ አበባ ያሉት ጎዳና ተዳዳሪዎች 60 000 ብቻ ናቸው የሚል መረጃ አሰራጭቷል።

የተባበሩት መንግስታት የአለም አቀፉ የህጻናት መርጃ ድርጅት ዩኒሴፍ እንዳመለከተው በኢትዩኦጵያ በአጠቃላይ ከግማሽ ሚሊዮን በላይ ጎዳና ተዳዳሪዎች ሲኖሩ ከዚህ ውስጥ አንድ መቶ ሺዎቹ በርዕሰ መዲናዋ አዲስ አበባ ይገኛሉ።

የኢትዮጵያ ማእከላዊ ስታትስቲክ መስሪያ ቤት በአጠቃላይ በኢትዮጵያ የሚገኙ ጎዳና ተዳዳሪዎች 150 000 ብቻ ናቸው ሲል አመልክቷል። ከዚህ ውስጥ አንድ ሶስተኛው ወይንም 60 000 ሺዎቹ በአዲስ አበባ ይገኛሉ ብሎል።

አለም አቀፍ ተቋማት የሚያወጡትን መረጃ የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት የማይቀበልባቸው አጋጣሚዎች የበዙ ናቸው። የአለም ጤና ድርጅት ከአለም ባንክ ጋር በጋራ ባወጡት ሪፖርት ከኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ውስጥ 17.6 በመቶ ወይም 14 ሚሊዮን ህዝብ የአካል ጉዳተኛ ነው ማለታቸው ሲታወስ አዲሱ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ሀ/ማሪያም ደሳለኝ ሳይንሳዊ በሆነ መንገድ አልተጠናም በማለት መቃወማቸው ተዘግቧል።

ስዊድን ኢትዮጵውያውያን ጥገኝነት ጠያቂ ጋዜጠኞችን ወደ አገራቸው እንዳትልክ የስዊድን ጋዜጠኛ ጠየቀ

ኢሳት ዜና:-ከአመት በላይ በቃሊቲ እስር ቤት ታስሮ የተፈታው ዮሃን ፐርሹን ይህን ያስገነዘበው ትናንት ባለፈው ሳምንት በስቶክሆልም ስዊድን ከተማ በሚካሄደው ዓመታዊው ታላቁ የስዊድሽ ጋዜጠኞች ሽልማት ስነስርዓት ላይ ሲሆን በዚሁ ወቅት እሱና ባልደረባው  ማርቲን ሺብዬ ከእስር ተፈተው በነጻነት እንደልባቸው ለመንቀሳቀስ ቢችሉም በአሁን ሰዓት በቃሊቲ እና በሌሎች እስር ቤቶች በመማቀቅ ላይ የሚገኙት ኢትዮጵያውያን የህሊና እስረኞች ጉዳይ እጅግ እንደሚያሳስባቸው ተናግሯል።

በቃሊቲ ታስረው የሚገኙ ጋዜጠኞች ወንጀላቸው መንግስትን የሚተቹ ጽሁፎችን በመጻፋቸው ብቻ ነው፡እነዚህ የህሊና እስረኞች በአሸባሪነት ተከሰው እስከ 20ዓመት የሚደርስ እስራት የተፈረደባቸው ሲሆን በዚህም የተነሳ ኢትዮጵያ ጋዜጠኞቿን እንዲሰደዱ በማድረግ በግንባርቀደምትነት ተጠቃሽ ነች።

በስደት ላይ የሚገኙ ኢትዮጵያውያን የእኛን እስር በተመለከተ በአማርኛ በመጻፍ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ የሚኖረው ህብረተሰብ ግንዛቤ እንዲያገኝ ያደረጉት ጥረት መቼም አንዘነጋውም።  ስዊድን ጋዜጠኞችን ወደ ቃሊቲ ከመላክ እንድትቆጠብ እጠይቃለሁ በማለት በሽልማት ስነስርዓቱ ላይ ለተገኙት ጋዜጠኞችና የሚዲያ ተወካዮች የችግሩን አሳሳቢነት አመልከቷል።

ከሽልማቱ ስነስርዓቱ ማብቂያ በኋላ በሰጠው ቃለምልልስ እሱና ባልደረባው ይግባኝ ያልጠየቁት በኢትዮጵያ ባለው የፍትህ ስርዓት እምነት ስሌላቸው መሆኑን በመጥቀስ የእነእስክንድር ነጋን ይግባኝ ለማየት ከተቀጠረው ችሎት ምንም የተለየ ነገር እንደማይጠብቅ ገልጿል።

ባልደረባው ማርቲን ሺብዬ በበኩሉ በሰጠው አስተያየት በእለቱ ቪየና ኦስትሪያ ዩኔስኮ በግጭት ክልሎች የሚገኙ ጋዜጠኞች ደህንነት እንዴት መከላከል እንደሚቻል ለመወያየት ባዘጋጀው ስብሰባ ላይ በመገኘት ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ለ14 ወራት በታሰሩበት ወቅት ስላሳለፉት ስቃይ እና መከራ እንዲሁም በውሸት ማስረጃ ስለተከሰሱበት የፍርድ ሂደት ለተሰብሳቢዎቹ ማስረዳቱንና የስብሰባው ተሳታፊዎች በሁኔታው እጅግ መገረማቸውንና ማዘናቸውን ገልጿል።

አብዛኛው ህብረተሰብ እኔ እና ዮሃን ከተፈታን በኋላ በኢትዮጵያ ያለው ችግር እንደተቃለለ ይገምታል ነገርግን አንድ መረሳት የሌለበት ጉዳይ የጸረሽብርተኝነት ህጉ አሁንም በስራ ላይ ሲሆን በሱም የተነሳ ብዙ ጋዜጠኞች በእስር ላይ በመማቀቅ ላይ ይገኛሉ።

በአሁኑ ወቅት በኢትዮጵያ የሚካሄደው የሰብዓዊ መብት ጥሰት እየተባባሰ ነው። ከዚህም በመቀጠል እሱና ማርቲን ቃሊቲ እስር ቤት ለሚገኙ ጓደኞቻቸው የገቡትን ቃልኪዳን በመጠበቅ በተገኘው አጋጣሚ ዓለምዓቀፉ ህብረተሰብ በኢትዮጵያ ላይ ጫና በማድረግ እነዚህ የህሊና እስረኞች እንዲፈቱ የሚያደርጉትን ትግል እንደሚያጠናክሩና በመጽሃፍ መልክ የሚታተተመው የእስርቤት ቆይታቸው በአማርኛ ተተርጉሞ ለኢትዮጵያውያን በነጻ እንዲያነቡት የሚቻላቸውን ሁሉ እንደሚያደርጉ አስታውቋል በማለት ቴውድሮስ አረጋ ከስዊድን ዘግቧል።

የሱዛን ራይስ ሸፍጥ በቤንጋዚው ጥቃት ላይ!

ፕሮፌሰር  ዓለማየሁ  ገብረማርያም 

በሴፕቴምበር 2 2012 የአሜሪካዋ አምባሳደር በተባበሩት መንግስታት: ሱዛን ራይስ በኢትዮጵያ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር መለስ ዜናዊ የቀብር ስርአት ላይ ስሜታዊ ሆና የሚያቅለሸልሽ ቃላት ያዘለ ንግግር አነብንባ ነበር፡፡ መለስን፤ ‹‹የማይደክምና ራሱን የማይወድ››በአጠቃላይ እሱነቱ ለስራውና ለቤተሰቡ የሆነ ብላዋለች፡፡ ‹‹ጠንካራ፤ በእምነቱ የጸና እና በእርግጥም ለጂሎችና ለደደቦች  እሱ እንደሚጠራቸው ትእግስቱ ትንሽ ነበር፡፡ ሱዛን ራይስ ይህን ቅጥ ያጣና ከአንድ አሜሪካን ከሚያህል ሃገር ወኪል ጨርሶ ሊሰማ የማይገባ ያልተገራ ንግግር ስታደርግ ጅልና ደደብ የሚለውን ቃል በድፍረትና በአጥንኦት የለጠፈችው በኢትዮጵያዊያን ነጻ ጋዜጠኞች፤የተቃዋሚ መሪዎች፤ተሟጋቾች፤የፖለቲካ እስረኞች፤የሲቪል ማሕበረ ሰብ መሪዎች፤እና የሰብአዊ መብት ተሟጋቾች ላይ ነው፡፡ የንግግሯን ቪዲዮ በመመልከት  ሴትዮዋ ይህን ንግግር የመለስን ተቃዋሚዎች በመጨረሻ ጡጫ  ደረታቸዉን ብላ ለመለስ የአስከሬን መሸኛ አድርጋ ማቅረቧ እንደነበር ያስታውቃል፡፡

‹‹ አንድ አይነት ላባ ያላቸው ወፎች አብረው ይከንፋሉ›› ይባባል፡፡ ራይስ እንደ መለስ ሁሉ ተቃዋሚዎቿንና ሃሳቧን የማይጋሯትን ትሳደባለች ታንቋሽሻለች፡፡ በስቴት ዲፓርትመንት አካባቢ የሚያውቋት በዘለፋ በቁጣና በማስፈራራት አነጋገራዎ ነው፡፡ በዚህም አጉል ደንፊ ተብላ ትታወቃለች፡፡ አለያም በጣም በሚያውቋት ዘንድ ‹‹የቻይና መደብር በሬ›› (አተራማሽ ወይም በጥባጭ ማለት ነው) ይሏታል፡፡ በስብሰባዎች ላይ በቃላት ርችት፤በአፈነበልባል፤በጣት ቀሳሪነት ራይስ ትታወቃለች፡፡ በአንድ ወቅት በአሜሪካን ዲፕሎማቶች ዋና ታዋቂ በነበሩት ሪቻርድ ሆል ብሩክ ላይ የበላዮች ስቴት ዲፓርትመንት አባላት ስብሰባ ላይ በአሜሪካንና በሌላውም ዓለም በሳቸው ደረጃ ካሉ ሰዎች የማይጠበቀውንና ጸያፍ ተብሎ የሚጠራውን ድርጊት በአደባባይ የመሃል ጣታቸውን ቀስረውባቸዋል ይባላል፡፡

በማርች 2012 የፈረንሳዩ የተባበሩት መንግስታት አምባሳደር ለራይስ እንደምክር የአውሮፓ ዩኒየን አሜሪካ ደገፈም አልደገፈም የበረራ ክልከላ ዞን ከተባበሩት መንግስታት የደህንነት ካውንስል ይፈልጋል በማለት ላቀረቡላት ሃሳብ ራይስ ለአምባሳደሩ ወሽመጥ በሚቆርጥ አነጋገር ‹‹መቼም ወደ አዛባ ጦርነታችሁ እንደማትጎትቱን አምናለሁ›› በማለት ከያዘችው ስልጣንና ከፈረንሳይ አቻዋ ጋር ሊደረግ በማይገባ የጋጠ ወጥ አባባል መልሳላቸዋል፡፡ በኋላ ግን ይህ ያጥላላችው ሃሳብ አመርቂ ውጤት በማስገኘቱ የሃሰቡ አፍላቂ በመምሰል ምስጋናውን ጠቅላ ለራሷ ለማድረግ በመዘየድ ‹‹ከማሰብና ከማቀድ ባለፈ የበረራ ክልከላውን ዞን በማጠናከር ልናተኩርበትና ልንተገብረውም አስፈላጊነቱ ወሳኝ ነው፡፡ የምድሩ ፍልሚያ ብዙም ስላላዋጣና ሲቪል ማህበረሰቡንም ከአደጋው ለመጠበቅ አዋጪው ይሄው ነውና›› በማለት ቀድማ ያጣጣለችውንና የፈረንሳዩን አቻዋን የሰደበችበትን ሃሳብ መልሳ በራሷ አፍላቂነት የተገኘ ለማስመሰል ጥራበታለች፡፡ ባለፈው ጁላይ ቻይናና ሩስያ ስለዓየር ለውጥ የቀረበውን ሂደት በተቃወሙበት ወቅት ራይስ ጉደኛዋ እዚህም ላይ ‹‹እርባና ቢስ›› ‹‹ሃሳበ ቢስ›› በማለት በማጣጣል ‹‹ የተግባር ውድቀት›› በማለት ኮንናቸዋለች፡፡

ያ እንግዲህ ያ ነበር፡፡ባለፈው ሳምንት በቤንጋዚ ሊቢያ ውስጥ በሴፕቴምበር 11 የ አራት አሜሪካውያንን ሕይወት የቀጠፈውን በአሜሪካን ኮንሱሌት የደረሰውን ፍንዳታ አስመልክቶ ራይስ በሰጠችው ዘገባ የተነሳ የሪፓብሊካን ሴኔተሮች ጆን ማኬይንና ሊንድሲ ግራሃም ሱዛን ራይስን ጅል ደደብ ስራዋን የማታዉቅ ናት የሚል ሃያል አስተያየታቸውን ሰንዝረውባታል፡፡ ራይስ ከፍንዳታው አምስት ቀናት በኋላ በአምስት የተሌቪዝን ዜና ፕሮግራሞች ላይ ቀርባ፤ “በኮንስሌቱ ላይ የደረሰው ፍንዳታ ግብታዊ፤ በእቅድ ያልተደረገ፤ ነው:: በካይሮ በተነሳሳው ተቃውሞ ላይ የተመሰረተና ዋናው አነሳሽም አጸያፊውና አሳዛኝ የሆነው የእስላምን እምነት የሚያንቁያሽሽ የቪዲዮ ዝግጅት ያስከተለው ነው” በማለት ገለጠች፡፡ እንደ ራይስ አባባል፤በጥቂት ሰዎች ስብስብ ወደ ኤምባሲው የሄደው የተቃውሞ ትዕይንት በድንገት በተጠናከረ መሳርያ በታጠቁ አክራሪ ስብስቦች ‹‹ተጠልፎ›› ነው አደጋው የተፈጸመው ብላ ነበር፡፡

The Tall Tale of Susan Rice

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

On September 2, 2012, Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., delivered a nauseatingly sentimental oration at the

 funeral of Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi. She called Meles “selfless and tireless” and “totally dedicated to his work and family.” She said he was “tough, unsentimental and sometimes unyielding. And, of course, he had little patience for fools, or idiots, as he liked to call them.”  The “fools” and “idiots” that Rice caricatured with rhetorical gusto and flair are Ethiopia’s  independent  journalists, opposition leaders, dissidents, political prisoners, civil society leaders and human rights advocates.Watching the video of her eulogy, one could easily say she “had gone native” completely. But it was clear that her aim was to deliver the last punch to the gut of Meles’ opponents as a sendoff present.

As the old saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together”. Rice, like Meles, likes to insult and humiliate those who disagree with her. She had a reputation in the State Department as boor and a bit of a bully; or as those who knew her say, she was a “bull-in-a-china-shop”. She is known for verbal pyrotechnics, shouting matches and finger wagging at meetings. On one occasion, she is reported to have flipped her middle finger at the late Richard Holbrooke, the dean of American diplomats, at a senior State Department staff meeting. Prior to the onset of the air campaign in Libya in March 2012, France’s U.N. ambassador, Gerard Araud, advised Rice that the European Union would seek a no-fly zone resolution from the Security Council regardless of U.S. support. She gave Araud the verbal equivalent of a kick in the rear end: “You’re not going to drag us into your shitty war.” She later tried to claim full credit for the effort: “We need to be prepared to contemplate steps that include, but perhaps go beyond, a no-fly zone at this point, as the situation on the ground has evolved, and as a no-fly zone has inherent limitations in terms of protection of civilians at immediate risk.” This past July when China and Russia at the U.N. blocked adoption of language linking climate change to international security, she lambasted them as “pathetic” and “shortsighted” and accused them of “dereliction of duty.”

That was then. In the past several days, Rice was on the receiving end. Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham virtually called Rice a fool and an idiot for her statements following the U.S. Consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya on September 11 in which four Americans were murdered. Rice appeared on five national Sunday talk shows five days after the attack and made the boldfaced claim that the attack on the consulate “was a spontaneous — not a premeditated — response to what had transpired in Cairo in response to this very offensive video that was disseminated”. According to Rice, the protest by a “small number of people who came to the consulate” was “hijacked” by “clusters of extremists who came with heavier weapons.”

Senator McCain showed “little patience for fools, or idiots” and fairy tales when he angrily threatened  to block Rice if she were nominated to become Secretary of State: “Susan Rice should have known better, and if she didn’t know better, she’s not qualified. She has proven that she either doesn’t understand or she is not willing to accept evidence on its face. There is no doubt five days later what this attack was and for.”  Rice’s Benghazi story was reminiscent of the bedtime stories of the late Meles Zenawi.

Truth be told, only a “fool” or an “idiot” would not know or reasonably surmise the attack on the U.S. consulate  was a terrorist act. CIA Director David Petraeus recently testified that from the moment he heard of the attack, he knew it was a terrorist act. He included this fact in the talking points he sent to the White House which somehow got redacted form Rice’s public statements. The experts and pundits also called it a terrorist act. For Rice, it was a protest gone wrong.

But there remain a number of puzzling questions: Why was Rice selected to become the point person on the attack in light of President Obama’s defense that Rice “had nothing to do with Benghazi.” Why didn’t Hilary Clinton step up to explain what happened? Did the White House throw Rice under the bus to save Hilary? Was Rice supposed to provide plausible deniability and political cover until the election was over by calling a manifest terrorist attack a protest over an offensive anti-Muslim video?  Did Rice have to fall on the Benghazi sword to divert attention or delay accountability for the Administration’s failure to take appropriate preventive action in Benghazi as the price for nomination to the job of Secretary of State? Or was the White House trying to showcase Rice’s diplomatic adroitness and savvy in a futile attempt to bridge her unbridgeable competence and “stature gap” to become America’s foreign policy chief?

President Obama was ready to drive a lance through the heart of Republican villains hell bent on capturing and devouring his prevaricating damsel in distress. He told McCain and Graham to bring it on. If the Republican duo and their buddies “want to go after somebody, they should go after me. But for them to go after the U.N. ambassador? Who had nothing to do with Benghazi? And was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received? To besmirch her reputation is outrageous.” That was great drama staged by “no drama Obama.”

Ethiopia’s ruling minority junta decides to remove the iconic statue of Martyred bishop, Abune Petros

The Horn Times breaking News- November 23, 2012,
by Getahune Bekele

“My countrymen… do not believe the fascists if they tell you that the patriots are bandits. The patriots are people who yearn for freedom from the terrors of fascism.

“Bandits are the solders (Italians) who are standing in front of you and me; who came from afar to terrorize and violently occupy a weak but peaceful country. May God give the people of Ethiopia the strength to resist. Never to bow down to the fascist army and its violence.

“May the Ethiopian soil never accept the invading army’s rule.”

The last pithy words of his holiness Abune Petros, executed by the Italians on 29 July₁₉₃₆, for denouncing colonialism and brutal oppression.

No one thought that the little shepherd born in the tiny northern town of Fiche would become a shining comet of Ethiopian patriotism which still flows from one generation to the other like the mighty river of Abaye.

In the year 2000, honered as one of the millenniums’ martyrs by the church of Sweden, Abune Petros was just a young monk when fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1932. That same year, the patriotic clergy followed emperor Hailesilassie to the decisive battle of Maichew where he witnessed the undiscerning terror of the invading Italian army.

He watched Italian bombers spraying nerve gas, wiping out forests, burning villages and indiscriminately killing civilians.

Later, he safely returned to the famous Debre Libanos monastery and started preaching against the invasion and unlawful occupation of Ethiopia, at times visiting the patriots and guerilla groups in their hideouts of central and northern highlands.

However, in July 1936, he was captured inside Addis Ababa while encouraging the people to show merciless resistance to the Italians.

Once in jail, the occupiers gave him an ultimatum of accepting the Italians as legitimate rulers or face death by hanging, to which he famously replied “the cry of my country men who were killed by nerve gas will never allow my conscious to accept your ultimatum. How can I see my God if I turn a blind eye to such a crime.”

Soon after giving that incandescent speech, a swarm of bullets from the execution platoon killed the beloved bishop on July 29, 1936 in central Addis Ababa.

His statue was raised 10 years after his death, a few meters away from where he was martyred.

Nonetheless, according to fresh reports emerging out of Addis Ababa, the imposing structure will be demolished in the coming days to make way for a rail project that passes through the capital,  and it remains to be seen if such cruel move doesn’t incite the people of Ethiopia to open rebellion.

As the junta continues to destroy the country’s revered heritage sites, the removal of Abune Petros’s statue will go down in history as the most ignoble and gruesome one.

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