“ሌባ… ሌባ… ሌባ…!” What did the Ethiopian regime do to deserve such humiliation?

by Teshome Debalke

Clash of civilization between TPLF/Woyane and the people of Ethiopia is reaching the tipping point. It seems Ethiopians in large number figured out the ruling Ethiopian regime and its partners in crime are common ሌቦች (thieves) disguised as a government. Surprisingly, the regime or its corrupt cadres never denied stealing with impunity. They only try to justify it as a good thing for ‘growth and transformation’. Therefore, their determination to funnel public money through TPLF clandestine businesses earned them the label they rightly deserve. And, their audacity to skirt it as something else isn’t helping to prove otherwise.

Take for instance the sorry Woyane Foreign Minster, Dr. Tedros Adhanom that came up with absurd excuse; portraying the opposition as anti development. Speaking softly to sound an innocent bystander in a staged interview, the poor Woyane said ‘we may have political disagreement but why someone would oppose development of their country?’ Like a broken record; repeating what TPLF cadres’ spew over-and-over again for decades. Fortunately, this is the best the Minster can come up with to convince Ethiopians Woyane’s highway robbery is a good thing. Whoever trained him in public relation to make fool of himself should refund his money.  But, how is it a trained PhD comes out in public to tell us, not to give money for TPLF’s thieves is anti development and still qualifies as a Foreign Minster of Ethiopia is a million dollar question he must answer, not on ETV but ESAT? Quite frankly, I don’t understand why Woyane stooges are scared to their pants to come on ESAT and answer the hard questions.

Incidentally, the indictment of Woyane and its partners in crime didn’t come out of the blues.  It is based on 22 years overwhelming evidence that showed Woyane and associates’ rampant and organized theft that would make a typical extortion of an organize mob ‘a child play’.

The fact the ruling regime acts as a government; making and enforcing the rules and a merchant; selling, buying and financing as owner of businesses and civic organization; funneling humanitarian assistance through its businesses and non-for-profit tarnish its image beyond repair and earn it a label of ሌባ (thief).  This behavior didn’t come just because Woyane wanted to steal for the sake of stealing to enrich itself like many depots do but, to finance its bigger mission of the establishment of the Apartheid system with stolen money and cash-in for itself and cronies at the same time.

In the real world, an average tyrant doesn’t own a business or involve in trade and financing its own business with the people’s money. The most he does is bring a partner to steal and stash his share in offshore account. In many cases, wise relatives setup a business and advance kickbacks to the tyrant and his family.  Individual government official also accept bribes or extortion money from one or another businesses to fatten their pocket. But, Woyane put itself in position for grand theft of historical proportion. When a ruling regime owns every conceivable business and eliminate others based on ethnicity and village politics it surly declared war on the people of Ethiopia. When it collects foreign aid and distributes it for its cronies and uses it as a tool of ethnic cleansing it commit the heinous crime against humanity on the people of Ethiopia.

Woyane goes further; claiming it is stealing for the benefit of the people of Tgray, and called its grand theft ‘Endowment Fund for Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT). According to the grand thief and the former Chairman of EFFORT, the wealth TPLF stole from the people of Ethiopia is the largest in the whole country but refuse to revile the figure for the obvious reason.  To make matter worst, Azeb Mesfin, the present Chairwomen/owner and the wife of the late Prime Minster and TPLF’s ringleader, known as a Queen of Corruption declared her husband is so poor he lives on few hundred dollar salary with no bank account in his name. She has gone where no Woyane thief has ever gone before; covering up the crime of the century.  She may be right about him not having bank account; why need it when you own the bank?

Shadowboxing Smoke and Mirrors

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Meles Zenawi when he was alive and his apostles today (“Melesistas”) keep playing us in the Diaspora like a cheap fiddle. They make us screech, shriek, scream and shout by simply showing their mugs in our cities. How do they do it? Every now and then, the Melesistas suit up a few of their bumbling and bungling zombies from central casting and unleash them into the Ethiopian Diaspora to “sell bonds” for the “Grand Meles Dam” to be built over the Blue Nile. Anytime these zombies show up to panhandle chump change from their supporters, a welcoming committee of defiant and patriotic Ethiopian activists show up to chase them out of town like campers at a national park chasing coyotes scrounging at the trash bin. For the past several weeks, Diaspora activists have been routing these imposters across European and American cities; but incredibly, these brazen con artists show up in the next city like snake oil salesmen at a carnival. That really piqued my curiosity. Why do these scammers show up in city after city knowing that they will be confronted and chased out by young patriotic Ethiopians? Are they really fundraising by “selling bonds” in the Diaspora or are they using “fundraising” as a cover for something altogether different? Ummm!!!

First, the irrefutable facts about the Meles Dam hogwash.  As I demonstrated in my March 11 commentary, “Rumors of Water War on the Nile?”, the Meles Dam on the Blue Nile (Abay River) was  the exquisite figment of Meles’ imagination, and now the phantasmic idol of worship for his discombobulated apostles. Anyone who bothers to study the facts of this so-called dam project will readily conclude that it is pie in the sky. It is “self-funded” because the multilateral lending institutions and private investors who normally bankroll such major infrastructure projects wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole standing a mile away. They have determined it is a white elephant. Egypt has also used its leverage to block funding sources.  Egypt has contingency military plans to undam the dam if it ever comes on line.