The Pain of the Ogaden Somali People

by GRAHAM PEEBLES

“Every night, they took all of us girls to [interrogations]. They would separate us and beat us. The second time they took me, they raped me… All three of the men raped me, consecutively”.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) report in Collective Punishment, along with 15 other female students, this innocent 17 year-old Ogaden girl, was held captive for three months in a “dark hole in the ground” and raped 13 times. This is just one of countless accounts of abuse, from within the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, where it is widely reported criminal acts like these are perpetrated by the Ethiopian military and paramilitary forces on a daily basis. Untold atrocities like this; past and present are awaiting investigation, amid what is a much-ignored, little known conflict in the Horn of Africa.

In an attempt to hide the facts from the rest of the world, in 2007 the Ethiopian government banned all international media, and expelled many humanitarian aid groups from the area. It is reputed that any Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) allowed to stay do so on the condition that they sign a waiver document, agreeing not to report human rights violations by the government. Ethiopia, Leslie Lefkow of HRW states, “is one of the most difficult places to work for human rights groups or humanitarian agencies on the African continent”, and the Ogaden (a barren land, littered with military remnants from past conflicts), “is one of the most difficult places to work in Ethiopia.” There are “huge challenges to doing investigations on the ground because the security apparatus of the government is extremely extensive and permeates even the lowest levels, the grass roots, the village levels”, where regime spies and informers operate, reporting anything and anyone suspicious.

Information about life within the region comes from whispering sources on the ground, and from those who have fled the violence, and are now living outside Ethiopia. Many are in refugee camps in Kenya and Yemen, from where they recount stories of horrific abuse. Mohammed, from the Dhadhaab (or Dadaab) camp in Kenya, described to Ogaden Online (OO) 1/12/2012 how he was captured by the Ethiopian military, accused of being a supporter of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and mercilessly tortured. “They hogtied me”, he said, “and then flogged me while pinned down.” Mohamed’s face “was disfigured to the point where he can’t be recognized”. Refugees support Amnesty International’s (AI) findings of “torture and extrajudicial executions of detainees in the region” – women tell of multiple gang rapes, their arms, feet and necks tied with wire, for which they bear the scars, men speak of barbaric torture techniques at the hands of the Ethiopian military and paramilitary – the notorious, semi legal, completely barbaric Liyu Police, who, Laetitia Bader of HRW says, “fit into this context of impunity where security forces can do more or less what they want”.

ውያኔ በተዋሕዶ ሃይማኖታችን ላይ ያለማቋረጥ ያካሄደውን ጦርነት በተመለከተ በኮለምበስ ኦሃዮና አጎራባች ከተሞች ከምንገኝ የተዋሕዶ ልጆች የተሰጠ የአቋም መግለጫ

መጋቢት 13 ቀን 2005 ዓ.ም. ( March 22, 2013 )

በስመ አብ፣ ወወልድ፣ ወመንፈስ ቅዱስ አሀዱ አምላክ፤ አሜን።

“እውነትን በግልጥ የማይናገር ሰው ሁከትን ይፈጥራል…”
መጽሐፈ ምሳሌ 10፥10

“የሐሰት ዕድሜ አጭር ነው፤ እውነት ግን ለዘላለም ትኖራለች። ”
መጽሐፈ ምሳሌ 12፥19

ሀገራችን ኢትዮጵያና ጥንታዊው ሃይማኖታችን ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ክርስትና ለረጅም ዘመናት ሳይነጣጠሉ ተቆራኝተው በአንድነት የኖሩ መሆናቸውን የታሪክ ማኅደር በሰፊው ይመሰክራል፡፡
በሀገራችን አንድነት፤ በሕዝባችንም ነፃነት እንዲሁም በቅድስት ቤተክርስቲያናችንና በተዋሕዶ ሃይማኖታችን ጽናትና ጥንካሬ ላይ በተለያዩ ጊዜያት ልዩ ልዩ ፈተናዎች ቢገጥሙም፤ በቆራጥ የሃይማኖት አባቶቻችን ጽኑ አመራር፣ ተጋድሎና መስዋዕትነት የተጋረጡባቸውን መከራ እያለፉ ሃይማኖታችንን ጠብቀው፤ የሀገራችንና የሕዝባችንም አንድነትና ነፃነት ሳያስደፍሩ አቆይተውልናል፡፡

ፀረ-ኢትዮጵያዊና ፋሽስቱ ወያኔ ከሽፍትነት ወደ ገዥ ቡድንነት ተሸጋግሮ ሥልጣን ላይ ከወጣበት 21 ዓመታት ጀመሮ የጥፋት እጁን ዘርግቶ የሀገራችንን ሕልውና አደጋ ላይ ለመጣል እየተፍጨረጨረ ከሚገኝባቸው በርካታ አጀንዳዎች መካከል ከፍተኛውን እጅ የያዘው የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያንን ለማጥፋት እንደሆነ ይታወቃል። ይህንን ተግባር እውን ለማድረግ ከጅምሩ ሕገ-ቤተክርስቲያን አፍርሶ፣ ሕጋዊ ፓትርያርኩን ከመንበራቸው አውርዶ ለስደት ከመዳረጉ በላይ የዘር መድልኦ ተልዕኮውን በመዘርጋት ቤተክርስቲያኒቱን በቁጥጥሩ ሥር አውሎ የታሪክ ቅርሶቿን በማጥፋት ላይ ይገኛል፡፡

ከዚህ በፊት በክርስትና ሃይማኖታችን ላይ ከደረሱት ጥፋቶች፤ ከዮዲት ጉዲት ሆነ ከግራኝ መሐመድ የመከራ ዘመን ይህ አሁን ያለንበት ወቅት አጅግ ላቅ ያለ መከራ የተጋረጠበት፤አጅግ በረቀቀ የጥፋት መረብ ውስጥ ሕዝበ ክርስቲያኑን ለማጥመድ የተንኮል ሴራ የተሸረበበት፤ ቤተክርስቲያንን ለማጥፋት በታሪካዊ ጠላቶቻችን ለዘመናት ሲጠኑ የኖሩ እቅዶችን ተግባራዊ በማድረግ ፋሽስቱ ወያኔ ፀረ-ኢትዮጵያና ፀረ-ተዋሕዶ ድርጊቱን በግልጽ እየፈጸመ ይገኛል።ለአስረጅነት ለመጥቀስ ያህል መናኞችና ባሕታውያን በጾም በፀሎት የሚኖሩባቸው ታሪካዊ ገዳሞቻችንን እንደ ዝቋላ፣ አሰቦት ወዘተ. . . የመሳሰሉት ለማጥፋት ሆን ተብሎ በእሳት ማጋየት፤ ታላቁን ዋልድባ ገዳምን በልማት ስም ይዞታውን በመቆጣጠር የቅዱሳን አባቶቻችን መካነ-መቃብር ማረስ፤ መናንያን መነኮሳት አባቶችን እያንገላቱ ማሰር፤ እንዲሁም በርከት ያሉትን ከገዳማቸው በማፈናቀል ማባረርን የመሳሰሉት ይገኙበታል።

በኮለምበስ ኦሃዮና አጎራባች ከተሞች ከምንገኝ የተዋሕዶ ልጆች የተሰጠ የአቋም መግለጫ ገጽ 2 ፀረ-ኢትዮጵያዊና ፋሽስቱ ወያኔ ኢትዮጵያን በ1983 እ.ኢትዮ.አ. ከተቆጣጠረ በኋላ የችግሩ መንስዔና የሁኔታዎች ሂደት እንዴት እንደነበሩ በአጭሩ እንመልከት፥

1. የችግሩ መንስዔ፥

ወልደ ኀጉሉ ( ለአጥፊነት የተፈጠረ ) የኢትዮጵያ ጠላት ፋሽስቱ ወያኔ ኢትዮጵያን በገዥነት በተቆጣጠረበት ጊዜ ተግባሩ አድርጎ የወሰደው 17 ዓመት በርሃ በነበረበት ወቅት ሲያውጠነጥን የቆየውን ኢትዮጵያንና የኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ሃይማኖታችንን ለማጥፋት፤ እንዲሁም ከሃይማኖታችን ጋር ለሺህ ዓመታት ታሪካዊ ቁርኝት ያላቸው ሕዝባዊ ቅርሶቻችንን የማውደም ተልዕኮውን መወጣት ነበር። ይህንን እቅድ ለመፈጸም ይቻል ዘንድ በርሃ ሳለ ጣምራ ገጸ-ባሕሪ የተላበሱ፤ በጎሰኝነታቸው የሚታወቁ፤ ለሚያራምደው የጎሳ ፖለቲካ ምቹ የሆኑና የተዋህዶ ሃይማኖት ትምህርት የቀሰሙ ግለሰቦችን መልምሎ
አሰለጠነ።

ፋሽስቱ ወያኔ ኢትዮጵያን በአገዛዙ ሥር ሲያስገባ እነዚህን ሃሳዊ-መሢህና የበግ ለምድ የለበሱ ተኩላዎች የሃይማኖቱ መሪዎች አድርጎ ሾመ። በዚሁ መሠረት የጥፋት እጁን በኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ሃይማኖታችን ላይ ዘረጋ። በቁጥጥር ሥር ያደረጋቸውን የብዙሃን መገናኛ አውታሮች በመጠቀም የሕገ-ቤተክርስቲያን ደንብ ተሟልቶና ተጠብቆ በሥርዓት የተመረጡትን ሕጋዊ ፓትርያርክ ብፁዕ ወቅዱስ አቡነ መርቆሬዎስ ርዕሰ ሊቃነ ጳጳሳት ፓትርያርክ ዘኢትዮጵያ ላይ የሀሰት ፕሮፓጋንዳ መንዛቱን ተያያዘው። የስውር ታጣቂ ኃይሉንም በመጠቀም አስገድዶ ከመንበራቸው አወረዳቸው። በምትካቸው የአድዋ ተወላጅና የወያኔ አባል የነበሩትን አባ ገብረመድህንን (ጳውሎስ) ሾመ።

በዚህ የተነሳ ሕገ ቀኖና ፈረሰ።ሥርዓተ ቤተክርስቲያንም ተጣሰ። ለመጀመርያ ጊዜ በሃይማኖታችን ታሪክ ውስጥ ሁለት ሲኖዶሶችና ገለልተኛ ቤተክርስቲያን ተከሰቱ። ይኸም በስደት የሚገኘው ሕጋዊው ቅዱስ ሲኖደስ፤ የወያኔ ተቀጥላ የሆነው የአዲስ አበባው ሲኖዶስ እና ከሁለቱም ሲኖዶሶች ውጭ ነን የሚል ገለልተኛ ቤተክርስቲያን።

2. የእርቀ ሰላሙ ሂደትና ፍጻሜ፥

የሕገ-ቤተክርስቲያን (ቀኖና) መጣስ የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተክርስቲያንን ከሦስት(3) ከፍሎ፤ ታይቶና ተሰምቶ በማይታወቅ ሁኔታ በዘር ዙርያ ባጠነጠነ ባሕሪው ቤተክርስቲያናችንን ችግር ላይ ጣላት፤ አንድነቷም ተናጋ፤ምዕመናን ተስፋ ቆረጡ።

ይህ ጉዳይ በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ያሳሰባቸው የተዋሕዶ ልጆች ሁለቱን ሲኖዶሶች ለማስታረቅ ሁለት የሰላም ስብሰባዎች ጠርተውና አካሂደው ጉዳዩ በእንጥልጥል ላይ እንዳለ፤ እግዚአብሔር ሁኔታውን ለማመቻቸት ሲል አባ ገብረመድህንን (ጳውሎስ) ሳይታሰብ ወደ ማይቀረው ዓለም ወሰዳቸው። ይህ ሁኔታ ለሰላሙ በር ከፍቶ ታላቅ እድል ሰጠ። በሀገር ቤትና በውጭ ሀገራት ያሉት ምዕመናን የቤተክርስቲያን አንድነት ይመጣል ብለው ታላቅ ተስፋ አደረጉ። የሰላም ኮሚቴውም እርቀ-ሰላም ለማምጣት ከማንኛውም ጊዜ በላይ ተንቀሳቀሰ። ሆኖም ግን፣ ፀረ-ኢትዮጵያዊነትና ፀረ-ተዋሕዶ ሃይማኖት ግንባር-ቀደም አራማጁ ወያኔ የቆመለትን ኢትዮጵያን የማፍረስና ተዋሕዶ ሃይማኖታችንን የማጥፋት ዓላማውን ለማሳካት ሲል የሰላሙን በር ለአንዴና ለመጨራሻ ጊዜ ዘጋው።

Ethiopia: The vulture regime’s deception and our ignorance of the truth took a toll on our people

The truth is Woyane is illegitimate regime of Ethiopia, illegal representative of the people of Tigray and chronically corrupt entity. Let the truth set it free than the constant deception it perpetuate to stay alive. Those that choose to take the deception as truth are digging their own grave. If anyone has any doubts to that reality they must be part of the hoax, delusional or victims of the elaborate deception. That is the honest truth.

by Teshome Debalke

Every living and breathing Ethiopian or in new politically correct language of Woyane, Nation and Nationalities of Ethiopia should be ashamed of ourselves for not seeking the truth but noting but the truth about our people and country to stop vultures’ instigated conflicts and corruption. Our ignorance about ourselves, each other and what is happening around us open the door for vultures like Woyane, the one time self declared non Ethiopian insurgency to tell us who we are in the 21^st century. To make matter worst, Berket Simon, an Eritrean national that was planted to represent the Amhara region is in charge of telling us about ourselves. Sadly, lots of us are going along with it; thanks for the vulture’s propaganda and our inability to get to the truth. The co-opted ‘journalists’ that make a living spinning the lies are not helping us to get to the truth either.

Before some out of control messengers of the vulture regime jump all over me and label me terrorist to throw me in jail or order for my stoning or hanging for telling the truth as they did to many brave Ethiopian truth seekers, let me explain what I mean. After all, am I not free to speak the truth and innocent until proven guilty? I wish.

Quite honestly, our problem isn’t the vulture Woyane or its mindless cadres that took the opportunity of our ignorance to do us harm but, the messengers of vultures and our inability to get to the truth are to blame. Woyane happen to be on the right place at the right time to exploit our differences and live-off on our ignorance about each other to end up where it is now.

As they say, we are what we eat, in this case the information we consume. Therefore, what we know about ourselves and each other matters. But, when we are at the mercy of vultures like Woyane for our daily information we are bound to be ignorant enough to do unforgivable crimes against our own people and country.

Count me out; I don’t have the taste or the propensity to entertain rubbish propaganda from vultures of any kind, especially from Woyane. I wouldn’t be caught dead making a self trashing decisions based on information the vulture regime provide against my own people just because… I leave that to the messengers of vultures and the scavengers that see the lack of knowledge and the misery of our people as an opportunity. In fact, they have no self respect to see themselves any other way beyond serving the vulture regime.

A Critical Appraisal of the Diaspora Organized Groups Opposed to the Regime in Ethiopia

Walle Engedayehu, Ph.D.

An Overview

The collective staying-power of the opposition within the Ethiopian Diaspora community against the regime in Addis Ababa still remains in a state of paralysis after more than two decades of cry-out for a unity of purpose, goals, and objectives. The opposition has not been able, as yet, to help stamp out both authoritarianism and a minority ethnic oligarchy, which are both well-entrenched in Ethiopia. As its primary objective, this commentary strives to address some of the salient issues that affect unity amongst Ethiopians in the Diaspora. More importantly, it deciphers the adverse consequences of such issues on efforts to usher in a positive political transformation of our country, while offering some possible remedies central to forging a united front among the variety of groups that make up the opposition. Nonetheless, the essay does not purport to be a research-based study on the hard-to-pin-down unity of the Diaspora opposition, but is an opinion that is based on both personal reflections and a keen awareness of the issues with which the writer has been familiar over the years, as a long-time observer of Ethiopian Diaspora-based political activities.

The Nature of the Problem and Purpose of the Commentary

The writer posits that the ceaseless divide, which ostensibly characterizes the Ethiopian Diaspora community in general and the opposition particularly, has unquestionably offered a golden opportunity for the regime in Addis Ababa to continue the ethnic-based authoritarian rule that it has imposed on our country— practically unchallenged. Furthermore, in the opinion of this writer, there has not been a serious challenge exerted against the regime at a level necessary to force the rulers— even at a minimum—to come to a bargaining table for a possible compromise

with the opposition on any possible power-sharing modalities. This has stemmed from the undeniable fact that the opposition, both inside and outside of the country, is divided and thus has failed to marshal its collective resources to confront the regime on the many fronts that would be necessary to weaken its grip of power and strangulate its narrow support-base throughout the country. However, the scope of this essay is limited to and exclusively on the Diaspora opposition, although the domestic foes of the regime are also central to any broader examination of the issues.

Indeed, more than two decades have elapsed since the opposition throughout the Diaspora started a campaign of struggle against the Ethiopian regime through peaceful means, mainly aimed at forcing the ethnic minority regime to negotiate with its political opponents on ways to bring about not only a lasting political reconciliation in Ethiopia, but also a national unity government that will lead the country on a genuine path of democracy, transparency and the rule of law. However, all efforts to that end have fallen on deaf ear, as the Tigrean People Liberation Front (TPLF)-dominated government in Ethiopia appears to see the opposition simply as an inconsequential political adversary not worthy of any recognition. Why has the opposition failed regretfully to impel the regime to change its behavior of intransigence for more than 22 years? Retrospectively speaking, why have protests, demonstrations, and condemnations of regime policies throughout the years failed to budge the minority rulers from the North, making them amenable to a negotiated political settlement of power-sharing? Why has our plea for help become so pointless that Western governments have dismissed us as seemingly irrelevant? What have been the glaring consequences of failure of the opposition to wage an effective, united struggle against the regime in power? What lessons have been learned so far from this failure? Are there any changes of tactic that the opposition should explore in order to find a lasting solution to a minority ethnic oligarchy that is well entrenched on the home front? What should we, as concerned and despondent citizens of Ethiopian descent, do to put an end to all the crises beleaguering the Horn of Africa country and shorten the life of a regime hell-bent on pursuing a totalitarian control of all aspects of life in Ethiopia? This essay navigates through these and other related issues here forth.

World Bank to probe links to ‘villagisation’

William Lloyd George in Addis Ababa

An independent panel has called for an investigation into a World Bank-funded project in Ethiopia following accusations from refugees that the bank is funding a programme that forced people off their land.

In a report, seen by the Guardian, the inspection panel – the World Bank’s independent accountability mechanism – calls for an investigation into complaints made by refugees from the Anuak indigenous group from Gambella, western Ethiopia, in relation to the bank’s policies and procedures.

The refugees claim the Protection of Basic Services (PBS) programme funded by the bank and the UK Department for International Development (DfID), is contributing directly to the Ethiopian government’s “villagisation” programme, introduced in 2010. The programme seeks to move people to new villages, but residents say this is done with little consultation or compensation, and that these sites lack adequate facilities.

In a letter sent to the panel in September, the refugees say some people have been forcibly relocated from their land, which is now being leased to foreign investors.

“These mass evictions have been carried out under the pretext of providing better services and improving the livelihoods of the communities,” says the letter. “However, once they moved to the new sites, they found not only infertile land, but also no schools, clinics, wells or other basic services.”

It says the government forced them to abandon their crops just before harvest, and they were not given any food assistance during the move. “Those farmers who refused to implement the programme … have been targeted with arrest, beating, torture and killing,” the letter says.

The refugees say they “have all been severely harmed by the World Bank-financed [project], which is contributing directly to the Ethiopian government’s villagisation programme in Gambella region”.

The letter says Ethiopian government workers, whose salaries are paid for through the PBS programme, have been forced to implement villagisation.

DfID has been criticised for failing to address abuse allegations in the South Omo region of Ethiopia, where residents told DfID and USAid officials of their experiences.

DfID is also embroiled in a legal action over its links to the villagisation programme. An Ethiopian farmer claims he was forcibly evicted from his farm. His lawyers, Leigh Day & Co, say DfID money is linked to these abuses through PBS funding in Gambella. DfID has said it is responding to the legal concerns and reviewing the allegations of rights abuses in Ethiopia.

In its report, the panel says that although the World Bank management denies links between villagisation and the PBS programme, the two are attempting to achieve the same things. “[Villagisation] is a programme that aims at fundamentally restructuring settlement patterns, service infrastructure and livelihoods, including farming systems, in the Gambella region, and as such constitutes a significant context in which PBS operates. In this sense from a development perspective, the two programmes depend on each other, and may mutually influence the results of the other,” says the panel report.

The panel says there are “conflicting assertions and differing views” on links between PBS and villagisation, the complaints by the refugees and the bank’s adherence to its policies and procedures, which could adequately be addressed through an investigation.

In a response to the refugees’ letter, the World Bank denied all links between the PBS and villagisation. It said it had not encountered any evidence of human rights abuses. It did admit the new sites “were not desirable”, but said the Ethiopian government had asked for assistance to improve them.

According to David Pred, founder of Inclusive Development Internationalwho helped the Anuak file their complaint, the PBS is funding the majority of government departments responsible for implementing the villagisation programme. “It provides both the means and the justification for villagisation,” said Pred.

The World Bank has been supporting the PBS programme since May 2006 with a commitment of more than $2bn. The bank’s board was scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the panel’s report, but the meeting was postponed.

Human Rights Watch says many of the communities affected by villagisation have not been properly consulted about resettlement. It has interviewed several refugees from the region who reported that government officials have responded with violence and arbitrary detention when people have not agreed to relocate.

“The World Bank’s president and board need to let the inspection panel do its job and answer the critical questions that have been raised by Ethiopians affected by this project,” said Jessica Evans, senior international financial institutions advocate at Human Rights Watch. “If the World Bank doesn’t support this investigation, its Ethiopia programme will continue to be shadowed by controversy.”

The chairman of the UK parliament’s international development committee, Sir Malcolm Bruce, said the allegations against villagisation are unsubstantiated. Bruce, who visited Ethiopia last week, said the UK programme “is delivering a very good result”.

• This article was amended on 20 March 2013. Gambella is in western Ethiopia, not eastern as we originally said

The Guardian

Obama “Moonwalking” Human Rights in Africa?

The great American poet Walt Whitman said, “Either define the moment or the moment will define you.” Will the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as president of Kenya define President Barack Obama in Africa or will President Barack Obama use the election of President Kenyatta to define his human rights policy in Africa?

Following the presidential election in late December 2007 and the Kenya Electoral Commission’s hurried declaration of incumbent President Mwai Kibaki as the winner, supporters of opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga in the Orange Democratic Movement alleged widespread electoral fraud and irregularities. For nearly two months following that election, ethnic violence and strife in Kenya raged resulting in more than 1200 deaths, 3,500 injuries, and the displacement of over 350,000 persons and destruction of over 100,000 properties.

In March 2011, Uhuru Kenyatta was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on various counts of crimes against humanity arising from the post-election violence. The details of the ICC charges against Kenyatta and other defendants are set forth in exhaustive detail in a 10-count indictment.Kenyatta allegedly conspired, planned, financed, and coordinated violence against the supporters of Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement. He allegedly “controlled the Mungiki organization” and directed the commission of murders, deportations, rapes, persecutions, and other inhumane acts against civilians in the towns of Kibera, Kisumu, Naivasha, and Nakuru. Kenyatta’s trial is scheduled to start at The Hague on July 9. Kenyatta’s election running mate and vice president-elect William Ruto as well as other top Kenyan officials are part of different ICC cases. Ruto’s trial has been postponed to May 28.

Kenyatta and Ruto are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Kenyatta’s lawyer Steven Kay claimed the ICC charges were “determined on false evidence, evidence that was concealed from the defense and the facts underlying the charges have been put utterly and fully in doubt.”

U.S. efforts to ensure free and fair elections in Kenya after 2008

The U.S. was among the first nations to recognize the validity of Kenya’s 2007 presidential election. At the time, U.S. State Department Spokesman Robert McInturff announced, “The United States congratulates the winners and is calling for calm, and for Kenyans to abide by the results declared by the election commission. We support the commission’s decision.” But U.S. validation of that election was completely unwarranted since there was substantial credible evidence of rampant electoral fraud and vote rigging in favor of Kibaki and considerable doubt about the neutrality and integrity of the Kenya Electoral Commission.

Over the past two years, the U.S. has made significant investments to promote free and fair elections in Kenya and prevent a repetition of the 2007 violence. According to the U.S. State Department, “since 2010, the U.S. Government has contributed more than $35 million to support electoral reform, civic education, and elections preparation in Kenya. In addition, since 2008, we have provided more than $90 million to support constitutional reform, conflict mitigation, civil society strengthening, and youth leadership and empowerment, all of which contribute significantly to the goal of free, fair, and peaceful elections in Kenya.”

Obama’s defining moment in Africa?

The selling of Ethiopia

By Yilma Bekele

Actually that statement might not be true. We do know our country is being sold but we have no idea if the bidding has been open or closed. We have sold almost all of Gambella, we have leased half of Afar and Oromia has been parceled out bit by bit. Our Beer factories are under new owners, our gold mines belong to the fake Ethiopian sheik, Telephone is under the Chinese and our Airlines is looking for a suitor. Have we always looked for outsiders to own us?

Not really when you consider that we celebrated the victory at the battle of Adwa a few weeks back and that was the mother of all wars that made it clear this African country is not for sale.  We might not have contributed much to the industrial revolution but we did manage to rely on our own ingenuity to follow along and do things our own way. You might not believe this but there was a time when Ethiopians actually used to be involved in making stuff from scratch. You think I am making things up don’t you? I don’t blame you because today you cannot even come up with one name that stands out as an Ethiopian entrepreneur, go getter  or  someone that shines like the north star based solely on his own sweat and blood.

The things that were accomplished by earlier Ethiopians are all around us but we don’t see them.  All the things the current government brags about have their roots in the yester years they so much condemn and brush off. I don’t know where to start but here we go. Let us start with hospitals.  Bella Haile Selassie (Bella), Leelt Tshay (armed Forces),  Paulos, Haile Selassie Hospital (Yekati 12), Balcha, Ghandi, Tikur Anbessa, Ras Desta, Minilik etc.  The vast majority of the doctors were Ethiopians, the hospitals were clean, well equipped and you don’t even have to take your own sheets and blankets.

How about Hotels? Ethiopia, Ghion, Wabi Shebele, Ras, Bekele Molla were the premier destinations. They were owned and operated by Ethiopians. When it comes to Ethiopian Airlines the Pilots were proud Ethiopians and the technicians were the envy of Africa. The Imperial government built the Airlines from scratch. Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a partner until we were able to train and staff our own and we did manage to do that.

If we talk about agriculture we did manage to establish the Sugar estates of Metehara and Wonji not to mention Setit Humera, the wheat and corn fields of Arsi, the fiber plants of Sidama and the cotton fields of Awash Valley are testimonial to our ingenuity. The sixties saw the emergence of the new educated Ethiopians that raised the bar of excellence.

The establishment of Africa Hall was how Africans showed respect to our Emperor and our old history when they choose Addis Abeba as the head quarter for the continent. The University at sadist Kilo was a gift to his people by the Emperor and it was a spectacular success. All the teachers were highly educated Ethiopians and the graduates were the pride of our country.

Why am I discussing such subject today? It is because two items reported by the media caught my eye a few days back. Both are an assault on our sovereignty and our ability to grow our own economy by Ethiopians for Ethiopians. Heineken a Dutch conglomerate is building the biggest brewery in Ethiopia and Guangdong Chuan Hui Group from China is given 41,000 Sq. meter of land to construct hotel and industrial complex. The way the story is being reported we should be jumping with joy. What could be better than those two benevolent multi nationals investing so much in our poor destitute country?

Is that how we should look at it?  Is there another aspect to this story? In order to see the pros and con of the question posed In front of us it would have been nice if there has been a nationwide discussion to see if the plan makes sense when it comes to our homeland. That is how smart decisions are made. Open and vibrant nationwide discussion regarding such important issues that impact our national economy and our people’s well-being assures a better outcome.

That usually is not the case in our country. There are no checks and balances. There is no independent legislative body and the judiciary is a government tool. A single party the TPLF controls all and everything in the country. Our political leaders have no faith in the ability of the people to know what is good for them. That is why they approach their job as being a ‘baby sitter’ and are constantly fretting about what the people hear and read. Decisions are made by a few TPLF politburo members to be approved by the rubber stamp Parliament. Anyone that questions such a decision is branded as enemy of the people and dealt with.

Let us start with our beer story. You know beer is nothing but European Tella. It is bottled fancy and costs a little bit more. How long ago do you think we acquired the idea of brewing for a larger crowd? Eighty years ago my friend! St George brewery was started in 1922. Meta Abo Brewery was founded in 1963. Meta Abo was a partnership between government and private capital and started with a base capital of 2million Birr. The military junta nationalized both and the current TPLF Woyane regime inherited them with the rest of Ethiopia. What do you think these successive regimes did with our own old industry and land? Did they build on what was started? Did they reinvest the profit to make the enterprises bigger and better? Did they run our industries, enterprises and farms in a responsible and judicious manner?

Both St. George and Meta Abo are no more Ethiopian enterprises. BGI (an internationally acclaimed Brewing Company that operates in many countries.??) bought St George in 1998 for US 10 million ‘through foreign direct investment’(??)  Meta Ambo was sold to Diego Industries-a British congalmorate for US 225 million. Heineken a Dutch multi-national acquired 18% of Bedele and Harar breweries for US 163 million in 2011.  Raya Brewery an idea that has not materialized yet but promoted by Lt. General Tsadkan W.Tensai and investors such as  Yemane (Jamaica) Kidane and other TPLF officials sold 25% interest to BGI for 650 million Br and invited Brewtech a German company as a partner.

As you can see the TPLF regime collected close to US 400 million from the sale of our home grown breweries. By all imagination that is chump change when you consider the ownership is lost and the profit for eternity belongs to the foreigners. Is this a good way to grow a national economy? Has it been done before or is this another of that failed ‘revolutionary democracy’ pipe dream?

BGI, Diego or Heineken are investing in our country to realize profit for their shareholders. What is our country getting out of this? The beer manufacturing business is a highly automated enterprise so it is not about job creation. Most if not all of the high paying managerial jobs will be occupied by the parent company. The malt, barley and other ingredients are imported and are considered a trade secret. We all know about creative accounting thus I am sure our country does not even benefit from the profit because the bookkeeping is rigged to minimize taxes.

Let us not even think of technology transfer since we cannot learn what we have already mastered. Remember we have been brewing beer since 1922. I will tell you what we got out of this unequal relationship. We as a people got royally screwed. The TPLF party officials got paid plenty for their pimping effort. The regime in its insatiable appetite for foreign currency bought a few months of respite to purchase oil, wheat, cooking oil etc. to postpone its inevitable collapse.

There are certain things we know how a growing economy with a nationalist government operates. We have seen how China, India, Malaysia, Brazil and other emerging economies handled their growth potential. They use what is known as subsidy to protect their infant industries from foreign predators. They allowed investment where technology transfer will bring benefit to their people but shielded their home grown industries from foreign competition.

Why do you think the TPLF bosses are interested in selling our sovereignty?  I doubt it is because they are anti-Ethiopian even though the late evil PM used to suffer from inferiority complex when it comes to central highlanders. I believe it is because of their ‘get rich quick’ philosophy. They are in a hurry to accumulate before their Ponzi scheme comes crashing down. According to the UN billions of dollars are leaving our country. They are buying properties in the US and Europe, sending their children to expensive schools abroad and vacationing in exotic places with the money they steal from our country.

What are we the victims doing about this rape and pillage of our resources and the degradation of our national pride?  I am afraid other than insistently talking there is nothing more most of us are doing about it. Why do you think that is so? I could think of a few things but ignorance comes to mind first and foremost. Our ignorance prevents us from connecting the dots and looking at the bigger picture. Our misplaced pride does not allow us to listen to others and learn to be able to formulate better solutions to our problems.

Today we have a population that is not familiar with its history. Sixty four percent (64%) of our people are under twenty five years old while twenty nine percent (29%) are under the age of 54 years. We have a toxic population on our hands. Those under twenty five grew up under the Woyane regime where being an Ethiopian is taken as a liability. While those under fifty four are the result of the Derge era of undermining religion, family, and stability. Ninety three (93%) of our population is a fertile ground for evil Woyane to plant shame, doubt and insecurity about being Ethiopian.

It is this population that is sitting on the side and cheering the selling of their country. For most people what bothers them is not what is lost but they spend endless energy to get a piece of the action. In Ethiopia stealing, lying, being part of a criminal enterprise is encouraged by the regime. When the recently dead Meles Zenawi said ‘even being a thief requires being smart’ he was giving a green light to his cadres and the population at large. The so called Diaspora is the number one enabler of the criminal Woyane machine. They use their new found riches to bribe Woyane so they could acquire stolen land to build their flimsy unsustainable condominiums and spend endless nights worrying if the next highest bidder will in turn take it away in broad day light.

This is exactly the reason we are having a problem forming a united front to get rid of this cancerous body in our midst. This is the reason even in exile we are unable to form a democratic, inclusive and worthy association that will benefit the many. The ninety three percent are in need of education in civic affairs and a dose of what it means to love your neighbor as you would love yourself.

May be it is the lords way of teaching us little humility and humbleness as he did with the children of Israel when he left them to wonder for forty years in the wilderness so they know what is in their heart. It is a choice we have-to be humble or perish due to pride.