Saturday, November 17, 2012

መነገር ያለበት ቁጥር ሦስት፣ ለእውነት ወይስ ለውሸት የቀረበ


ከበልጅግ ዓሊ

እስከ መቼ ነው ዝምታ? እስከ መቼ ነው አርምሞ ?
የልብን ሐቅ አስታሞ፣ የብእር አንደበት ለጉሞ፣
እስከመቼ ነው ዝሙ ? እስከ መቼ ነው አርምሞ??
“መቼን” የማታውቅ ልቤ ፣ አርምሞህን እነቀው፣
በል እባክህ እንዳቅምህ ፣ ባለችህ መንገድ አፍስሰው፣
እስከመቼ ነው አርምሞህ? ዝሙስ እስከመቼ ነው ??
ነሐሴ 1970 ,ፍቃደ አዘዘ
ሱዛን ራይስ በተባበሩት መንግሥታት የአሜሪካ ተወካይ ለጠቅላዩ ቀብር አዲስ አበባ በነበረችበት ወቅት ባደረገችው ንግግር መለስ ለሞኞችና ለደደቦች ትዕግስት አልነበረውም (Of course he had little patience for fools, or idiots, as he liked to call them.) ብላ ተናግራ ነበር። መለስ (fools, or idiots) ብሎ የሚጠራው ወዳጆቹን ሳይሆን ተቃዋሚውን ክፍል መሆኑ ይታወቃል።
መለስ በግል ጥቅም ምክንያት ባሰባሳባቸው ኮልኮሌዎች ወይም እንደ ሱዛን ዓይነት የሃገራቸውን ጥቅም ባስጠበቀላቸው የውጭ ዜጎች አካባቢ እንደ <<ምርጥ መሪ>> ይቆጠር እንደሆን እንጂ፣ በምንም መለኪያ አምባሳደሯ እንደካበችው ዓይነት እንዳልነበረ ቢያንስ የ97 ምርጫና ውጤቱን ለተከታተለ ግልጽ ነው።
ዛሬ  የመለስ ራዕይ ተብሎ ሽብ እረብ የሚባልለት፣ ምርጫ ከማጭበርበር፣ ተቃዋሚዎችንና ጋዜጠኞችን በሽብርተኖች ስም ከማሰር፣ ተቃዋሚ የፖለቲካ አካላትን ከማሳደድ፣  በሃይማኖት ውስጥ እየገባ ከማራበሽ ሊያልፍ አልቻለም። ለዚህ ነው የሱዛን ንግግር ለውሽት የቀረበ ተራ የካድሬ ፕሮፖጋንዳ እንጂ አደባባይ ላይ በግልጽ የሚታይ ክስተት ያልሆነው።
ምንም እንኳን የሱዛን ማጋነን ተራ ጭፍን ድጋፍ ቢሆንም ለእውነት የቀረበበት ጉዳይ የለበትም ማለት አይደለም።  ተቃዋሚዎች በተለይ መሪዎቻቸው መለስ እንደ ጅልና ደደብ አድርጎ እንደቆጠራቸው አይደሉም ብሎ ለመከራከር እኔ በበኩሌ ድፍረት አይኖረኝም። ተቃዋሚዎች ብዙ ቢያስወግዷቸው ለድል የሚቀርቧቸውን፣ በሕዝብ ታማኝነት ሊያስገኙላቸው የሚችሉ ጠንካራ ጎኖቻቸውን በመተው፣ ለግል ታዋቂነት፣ ለሥልጠን ጉጉት፣ ለአንዳንድ ትናንንሽ ጥቅማ ጥቅሞች ሲሉ የሚያሰድባቸውን ደካማ ተግባራትን አይፈጽሙም ማለት ለውሸት የቀረበ ይሆናል።
የቅንጅት መሪዎች በተለይ ከ97 ምርጫ በኋላ ያገኙትን የሕዝብ ድጋፍ ወደ ጎን በመተው፣ በእንቶ ፈንቶ ጭቅጭቅ ተከፋፍለው፣ ሃገር ጥለው ወጥተው በሰሜን አሜሪካ ጡንቻቸውን ሲፈታተኑና ሕዝብን ተስፋ ሲያስቆርጡ ለተከታተለ ተመልካች እነዚህ ሰዎች እውነትም ጅሎች ናቸው እንዴ? ብሎ ቢጠይቅ ወይም ቢሳደብ ትክክል አይደለም ለማለት እንደፍር ይሆን? ከዛ በኋላስ ስንት ድርጅቶች ተራ ቅራኔዎችን ሰማይ አሳክለው ተከፋፍለዋል? ይህንን እያወቅን ብንደብቀውም የአደባባይ ምሥጢር ነውና ያጋልጠናል።
በዚህ ምክንያት የሱዛን ዘለፋን እንደ ስድብ ሳንወስደው<<በገንቢ ሂስነቱ>> ከተመለከትነው ለእውነት የቀረበ ሊሆን ይችላል። ቢሆንም መለስ ይህንን ዘለፋ የተጠቀመው የሥልጣን ዘመኑን ለማራዘም እንጂ የተቃዋሚዎችን ድክመት ለማረም እንዳልሆነ በሕዝብ ላይ የሚፈጽማቸው ግፎች ደግሞ አጉልተው ያሳዩናል። ሱዛንም ይህንን በመደገፍ ለዴሞክራሲ ሳይሆን ለሃገሯ ጥቅም እንደቆመች ያጋልጣል።
በእውነት ለተመለከተው በተቃዋሚው ጎራ የሚሠሩ፣ ወይም የሚቀነቀኑ ብዙ ሊያሰድቡ የሚችሉ ተግዳሮቶች
በየወቅቱ እንመለከታለን። ተቃዋሚዎች በአንዳንድ ወቅት ከሕዝብ ድጋፍ የሚያገኙበትን ትተው በሕዝብ የተወገዘውን አንስተው መርህ መፈክራቸው አድርገው ሲነጉዱ ይታያሉ። ታዲያ ይህንን ልብ ብሎ ለተመለከተ እነዚህ ተቃዋሚዎች ሞኝ ናቸው? ብሎ ቢጠይቅ ምን ይደንቃል?
የሕዝብን ድጋፍ በመመልከት እነመለስ ሰንደቅ ዓላማችንን <<ጨርቅ>> ነው ማለት እንዳላዋጣቸው ሲያውቁ በዚያ አልቀጠሉም። እንዲያውም አልፈው ተርፈው የሕዝብ ድጋፍን ለማግኘት የማያምኑበትን ሰንደቅ ዓላማ አፍቃሪ ሆነው በእሱ ተጠቅልላው እስከመቀበር ደረሱ እንጂ። ወያኔ ይህንን የፖለቲካ ቁማር ሲጫወት አንዳንድ ተቃዋሚዎች ደግሞ ሰንደቅ ዓላማውን በመሸሽ ከሕዝብ ፍላጎት ውጭ የዘር ፖለቲካን በማጉላት የተለያዩ የጎጥ ሰንደቅ ዓላማዎች ይዘው ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ  እስከመውጣት፣ ብሎም ስለ ኢትዮጵያ ሰንደቅ ዓላማ የሚያወራውን እስከ ማውገዝ  የተደረሰበት ሁኔታ እያየነው ነው።
ይህ የተለያየ ሰንደቅ ዓላማ ይዞ <<እኛ ከወያኔ የበለጠ ዘረኞች ነን>> የሚለው መፈክር አንግቦ መጓዝ ከግል የሥልጣን ፍላጎት አንጻር የተተለመ እንጂ የሕዝብ ፍላጎት ያላካተተ መሆኑን በ21 ዓመት የተቃዋሚዎች ንቅናቄ አለመረዳት ቢያሰድብ ሊገርመን አይገባም። የሕዝብ ፍላጎትን ባለማጤን፣ የዓለምን ተጨባጭ ሁኔታ ሳያገናዝቡ የሚታለም ትግል የት ሊያደረስ እንደሚችል የታወቀ ነው። ግልጽ ለማድረግ የግልን ኪስ ያዳብር እንደሆን እንጂ ወያኔን በተጨባጭ መቃወም የሚችል አማራጭ አይሆንም። በሕዝብ ዘንድም ተቀባይነት አያገኝም። የዘር ፖለቲካን ከወያኔ በላይ እናስፈጽማለን ብለው የሚባዝቱ የተቃዋሚነት ትግሉን ትተው ወያኔን መደባለቅ እንደ ብልህ ያስቆጥራቸዋል።
ወያኔ የዓባይ ግድብ እያለ የኢትዮጵያዊነት ራዕይ አለኝ በሚልበት ወቅትና  በዛ ስም ለመነገድ ጥረት ሲያደርግ  አንዳንድ ተቃዋሚዎች ደግሞ፣ የእከሌ ነጻ አውጭ ፣ የዚህ ዘር ነጻ አውጭ በሚል  በሚጓዙበት ወቅት ላይ ደርሰናል።ከወያኔ በኋላ የሚመጣው መንግሥት በዘር ላይ የተመሰረተ ይሆናል ብለው የሚያምኑ ካሉ ሱዛን ከመለስ ነው ብላ የወሰደችው ስድብ ትክክል ነው ማለት ነው።
በጀርመን ቋንቋ 1982 የዓመቱ ምርጥ ቃል ተብሎ የተመረጠ ቃል አለ።ይኸውም (Ellbogengesellschaft) የሚል ነው። ቃሉ የመሠረተው ከሁለት ቃላት ነው። Ellbogen – ክርን፣ ጡጫ ማለት ሲሆን gesellschaft- ማህበረሰብ ማለት ነው። በአጠቃለይ ቃሉ  በሕብረተሰብ ውስጥ  በግል ለመታወቅ ወይንም የግል ታዋቂነትን በመሻት(Egoismus) በመፈለግ የሚደረግን የእርስ በእርስ ትግል ለመግለጽ የሚጠቀሙበት ነው። በእንግሊዘኛ (everyone-for-himself- dog-eat-dog society) የሚለው ይሆናል። ይህ አገላለጽ በአሁኑ ወቅት በተቃዋሚው ጎራ እየሰፋ የመጣውን የመከፋፈል ፖለቲካን በደንብ ይገልጸዋል።
ወያኔ የትግራይ ነጻ አውጭን የሚለው ስሙ ስላልጠቀመው በኢሕአዴግ ስም አንድ ሆኖ ለመታየት ሲጥር ተቃዋሚዎች ደግሞ አዲስ በተፈጠረው “የዴ“ ፖለቲካ ራሳቸውን እየከፋፈሉ የሕዝብ ፍላጎትን ሲጋፉ ለተመለከተ “ኢዲየትስ” ቢላቸው ሊጨንቀን አይገባም።
<<የዴ ፖለቲካ>> ከመከፋፈል አንጻር በኢትዮጵያ ፖለቲካ ውስጥ የቆየ  ቢሆንም በዚህ ዓይነት መልኩ ግን አዲስ የተፈጠረ ነው።  ይህ አዲስ የክፍፍል ፖለቲካ በተለያየ ምክንያት ይምጣ እንጂ ትግሉን በጣም የጎዳ ነው። ድርጅት ሲከፋፈል  ምን ያህል ተስፋ አስቆራጭ እንደሆነ ከቅንጅትና ከኢሕአፓ መማር ይቻላል። የእህል ናዳ ሲቃጠል ሞኝ ይስቃል ፣ ብልጥ ያለቅሳል እንዲሉ በክፍፍል ወደ ሥልጣን የቀረቡ እየመሰላቸው ጮቤ የሚረግጡ እንደሞኝ ቢቆጠሩ ሊገርመን አይገባም። ከሁሉ የሚያሰድበው ደግሞ የድርጅት ምስጢር የአደባባይ ወሬ ሲሆን ነው። በተለይም ደግሞ ይህ ክፍፍል(እንደ ዓይጋ ፎረም ) ዓይነት የጠላት መድረክ ላይ ሲሆን ምንኛ ያስጠላል? አብረው የተገበሩትን ጉዳይ ሲጣሉ እርስ በእርስ መገላለጥ ያላሰደበ ምን ያሰድብ? የወያኔ ደጋፊዎች ይህንን እየተመለከቱ እነዚህ “ኢዲየትስ” ቢሉ ሊገርመን አይገባም።
በአንድ የፖለቲካ ድርጅት ውስጥ ይህ የመከፋፈል አዝማሚያ ሲጀምር አብሮ የሚጀምረው የክፍፍሉ መሪዎች ብዙሃኑ እኔን ነው የሚደግፈው የሚለው ይሆናል። ይህ ሞኝነት ነው። ታሪክ ግን ያስተማረን ሌላ ነው። ብዙሃኑ በክፍፍሉ ተስፋ ቆርጦ ትግሉን ነው የሚያቆርጠው ወይም ዝምታን የሚመርጠው ነው። መሪዎች የሚከራከሩበት ብዙሃን ሊሆን የሚችለው ከደሃጣኑ ላይ ነው። ይህንን በቅንጅት አይተነዋል። ግንቦት ሰባትም ይሆን መኢአድ ቢደመሩ የቅንጅትን ዓይነት ኃይል አይኖራቸውም ። ኢሕአፓና ኢሕአፓዴም ከመከፋፈላቸው በፊት የነበረውን ኃይል አለን ብለው መዋሸት አይችሉም ። ግንቦት ሰባትና ዴውም እንደዚሁ። ሕዝብ ወይም አባላት የሚፈልጉት አንድነታቸውን ሲሆን መከፋፈላቸውን የሚቀነቅኑትን ጅሎች ቢባሉ ሊከፋን ነው ማለት ነው?
በሌላ ደግሞ እንመልከት ለደቂቃ ታክል የአሁኑ መሪ መፈክራችን ምንድነው? ብለን እንጠይቅ። መልሱ ቀላል ነው። <<አዜብ ከቤተመንግሥት ትውጣ>>?ከቤተመንግሥት ለማውጣት ነው ወይ የምንታገለው? ብለን ብናስብ መልሱ ቀላል ነው። የተነሳንበት ዓላማ የኢትዮጵያ አንድነት እንጂ የአንዲት እንስት የቤተመንግሥት የቤት ኪራይ ጉዳይ አይደለም። አሁንም ቢሆን ከልደታም ሆነ ከቄራ ፣ ከጨርቆስም ይሆን ከቦሌ ይህንን መንግሥት እስከ መራች ድረስ ቤተመንግሥት መኖር አለመኖሯ ልዩነት አያመጣም። ግን ተቃዋሚዎች የአዜብ የቤት ኪራይ ጉዳይ እንደ ወሳኝ ጥያቄ በሚስተዳድሯቸው የመገናኛ ዘዴዎች ሲቀነቅኑ መስማት ደግሞ ለምንድነው የምንታገልው ? እውነትም “ ኢዲየትስ “  ነን እንዴ?  ብሎ መጠየቅ ያስፈልጋል። ተቃዋሚዎች የሚሰባስባቸውን አንድ መሪ መፈክር ማግኘት ይኖርባቸዋል። ይህ የመሪን መፈክር በወቅታዊ መፈክር መቀየር በተከታታይ የታየ የተቃዋሚዎች ድክመት ነው።

Friday, November 16, 2012

Tell it like it is: Chauvinism, in its worst form, is the real danger

by Dimetros Birku, November 16, 2012
The late Meles Zenawi made, it seems, more appearance in international print and electronic media and became a preferred
Hailemariam Dessalege was mainly TPLF’s ethnic chauvinism ideology
 topic for think thanks and researchers alike after his demise than he did in his 21 years of rule. Substances in discussions range from retrospective analysis of his personality to his contribution, from his “influential” presence in international politics to impending instability, which,for some is inevitable.

Emerging accounts in most cases nearly tally, except differences in wording and presentations, with the official government account which paints Meles simply as exceptionally mystic (political and social) in the entire history of the country – even in the continent. Most that we read are rosy portrayals: “selfless”, “insightful leadership” and “influential in the world stage”.  I have no doubt in my mind that most of the leadership of his ex-guerrilla friends don’t mean it. The motive of mystification, so to speak, has a lot to do with crafting political legitimacy to help maintain their uneasy hold on power. Meles Zenawi is now like an ideology unto himself: he is like the “Chairman Mao” of Ethiopia. I get it, I hope any one would, why his friends in the leadership position are in the business of reformation and transformation of the image of the late Zenawi. What I don’t get is the sort of confirmation from international actors and politicians in the international stage. Susan Rice is exceptionally annoying in that. Some organizations seem to send similar message, subtly.
Recent analysis, actually they call it briefings-  “Rapid Response Briefings”  (here after the paper), from  a UK based “non-governmental organization” that “aim to provide high level analysis of rapidly emerging and unexpected global events and their impact on global development policy and practice” is subtly rosy: “…without the steadying hand of a practised and seasoned global player, Ethiopia’s presence and capacity for global influence may well have diminished.” My question is: “how do we measure influence?” Could the size of financial aid from “The International Community” be an indicator as to how influential a leader is in the world stage? If so, how is Zenawi different from Nouri Almaliki of Iraq and/or Hamid Karazi of Afghanistan, or from the former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarek? The more international organizations are trying to transform an image of Meles Zenawi that never existed, the more clues they give about their real nature and where they stand on issues like justice, democracy and corruption, among other things. What would emerging young critical voices in Ethiopia , who are a living witnesses of the atrocities authorised by Zenawi, think about these organizations?
That is not just it. The paper discussed findings or observations rather in the areas of “politics of transition”, “geopolitics” and the economy as it relates to “development” of Ethiopia.  Besides numerous inaccuracies of descriptions and statements throughout the paper, it ignores matters which would otherwise have been essential for the discussion in the creation of stability and democratic ambiance in the post Meles Ethiopia. I will do justice if I try to address them all. I’ll just focus on selected issues which I think are even more crucially important;
First of all, it seems that an implied assumption is made that political instability is not a thing of the past under the leadership of Meles Zenawi. If that is the case, the truth is entirely different. May be how we view political stability/instability played into the making of the assumption.  Whatever the case is, it is not disputable that Meles Zenawi presided over one of the most brutal regimes in Africa. And to transform Meles’ image in total disregard to his brutal aspect amounts to condoning injustice and human rights violation.
Among other evidences, records in the hands of reputable international human rights organizations like the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International vindicate repeated mass killings in the capital, south central, south eastern and south western parts of the country among others. Civil society is virtually non-existent. The attack on free press was and is exceptionally brutal to the extent that vocal critics of the political system could simply be implicated in trumped up charges of “terrorism” and the best journalists in the country are thrown to prison. The justice system is simply serving a distinct form of totalitarian regime –one that espoused ethnic chauvinism as an ideology. Opposition parties are pushed to the point of irrelevance not just because of organizational weakness and lack of vision, as indicated in the paper, but because “legal”, political, security and economic muscle of the government is being flexed regularly to make the idea of peaceful and democratic political opposition nearly impossible and creation of a single party state, like China, possible. When institutions are non-functional and repression is considered as a norm and political virtue, they do not tell stories of political stability.  It is more like political instability. Regular invitation and attendance at the G-20 and other international gatherings should not blind analysts from seeing the fact that political instability was part and parcel of 21 years of Meles rule and in fact he engineered it.
In regards to political transition, while the paper captured, rightly, the insignificance of “political transition”, and uselessness of assumption of the premiership position by Hailemariam Dessalegne, it tends to employ a reductionist approach on the explanations of it. And what that does is that it camouflage the real sources of political instability.  The paper simply tries to explain the obvious that TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front)  is more powerful –militarily, economically and in terms of controlling security apparatus – than other members of the ruling coalition. Had the problem been that simple, not that it really is simple from the point of view of democratization process but relatively speaking, anticipated challenges would have been less worrisome. They need to tell it like it is: The problem is chauvinism and aspiration for ethnic supremacy and that is the true ideology of TPLF. Not just it represents a malaise for the democratization process (by the way there is no aspiration for democratization on the part of the government. The trend is Sinification ), it may bring about total chaos as well.

Ethiopia: Bad news for coffee lovers


It’s bad news for coffee lovers. A study published this month by researchers at Britain’s Royal Botanic Gardens,
Ethiopia, Africa’s largest coffee producer
Kew together with scientists in Ethiopia, predicts that the end is near for wild Arabica coffee — Coffea Arabica — thanks to the effects of climate change and deforestation.

Using computer modeling of various climate conditions between now and 2020, 2050 and 2080, the researchers found there would be at least a 65% decline in the number of existing suitable environments to grow indigenous Arabica — and in the worst case a 99.7% reduction by 2080. The researchers are still calling this a ‘conservative’ estimate, because it doesn’t take into account full-scale deforestation.
In terms of the world’s most traded commodities, coffee is second only to oil. Some 93.4 million bags were shipped globally from 2009 to 2010; it’s crucial to the economies of many countries — including Ethiopia, Africa’s largest coffee producer — and over 100 million people depend on the crop for their livelihood.
These projections are certainly alarming, but don’t start hoarding your favorite beans just yet. The coffee that is grown for everyday consumption is not wild Arabica, but commercially cultivated. This bean makes up some 70% of the world’s commercial production, while the Robusta bean — with a higher caffeine content, it’s normally used for making freeze-dried coffee — makes up the rest.
But while climate change won’t pose an immediate threat to your morning cup of coffee, there’s still a problem. Coffee grown on commercial plantations, like many other crops grown to produce high yields, lack genetic diversity — and are thus highly susceptible to disease. Wild Arabica, which makes up just 5% of Ethiopia’s coffee crop compared to other kinds of coffee, is thought to account for over 98% of the coffee bean’s gene pool and has an estimated value to the coffee industry of almost $1.5 billion per year.
Aaron Davis, Kew Gardens’ head of coffee research, explained why this is a problem:
“If you lose those natural resources you are really shooting yourself in the foot because you have no back-up for unforeseen changes that could occur in the future in commercial crops.”
If disease or climate change causes a die-off of commercially grown Arabica, it’d still be possible to re-engineer it from a wider genetic pool — which is why wild Arabica is so precious. Ethiopian scientist Tadesse Woldemariam Gole, who also took part in the study, explained that protecting the wild variety would be a “future-proofing exercise for the long-term sustainability of Arabica production.”
While these worst-case scenarios are still a long way away (we hope), coffee, like other crops, is already taking a hit from climate change.  Prices hit their highest point in 34 years last summer when a poor harvest caused frenzied speculation on the world’s coffee markets. For java aficionados, the future without wild Arabica could be bleak.
Source: Time

Thursday, November 15, 2012

የፌድራል ፖሊሶች ህፃን በናትዋ ጀርባ ላይ እንዳለች በዱላ መተው መግደላቸው ተዘገበ


ኢሳት ዜና:-በሀና  ማሪያም  አካባቢ  መንግስት  የሚያደርገውን  መኖሪያ  ቤቶችን  የማፍረስ ዘመቻ  አስፈፃሚ  የሆኑ  የፌድራል  ፖሊሶች  ህፃን  በናትዋ  ጀርባ  ላይ  እንዳለች  በዱላ  መተው  መግደላቸው  ተዘገበ።
ከ30.000 ሺህ  በላይ   አባ ወራ  በተፈናቀለበት  የንፋስልክ  ላፍቶ  ክፍለ ከተማ ወረዳ 01  መኖሪያ  ቤቶችን  የማፍረስ  ዘመቻ   ትላንት  በናትዋ  ጀርባ  እንዳለች በፌድራል ፖሊስ  ተመታ  ከሞተችው   ህፃን  ጋር  የሞቱት  ቁጥር  አራት  ደርሰዋል።
መጠለያም  ሆነ  ተለዋጭ  ቤት  ሳያገኙ  ቤታቸውን  ከነንብረታቸው  በግሬደር እየተደረመሰ  ያለው  የወረዳ  01  ነዋሪዎች   ለብርድና  ለሀሩር  ከመዳረጋችን አልፎ  በፌድራል ፖሊሶች  የሚደርስባቸው  ድብደባ  ፣  እስራትና  ግድያ  ባስቸኮይ  እንዲቆምላቸው   ጥሪ  አድርገዋል ።
 በፌድራል  ፖሊስ  ወደ  ተገደለችው  ህፃን  መጠለያ  ለቅሶ  ለመድረስ  እንኮን አልተፈቀደልንም  ያሉ  ነዋሪዎች  መንግስት  የበደል በደል  እየፈፀመብን  ነው ሲሉ  ምሬታቸውን  ገልፀዋል።
በንፋስልክ  ላፍቶ  ክፍለ  ከተማ  ወረዳ  01  ከሳምንት በላይ  በዘለቀው  ቤቶችን የማፍረስ  ዘመቻ  ከ30 ሺህ  በላይ  ቤቶች  ፈርሰው  ከ100 ሺህ  በላይ  ሰዎች  ከቤት  ንብረታቸው  ተፈናቅለው  በሜዳ  ላይ  ወድቀው  እንደሚገኙ  ካአካባቢው  ሰዎች  የሚደርሰን  መረጃ  ያመለክታል።በዚህ  የማፍረስ  ዘመቻ  ቤተክርስቲያንና  መስኪድ  ሳይቀር መፍረሳቸውንም መዘገባችን  ይታወሳል።

    አጫጭር የሀገር ቤት ወሬዎች – ኢሣት ቴሌቪዥን እንዳይሠራጭ ታፈነ (ዘግይቶ የደረሰ አስደሳች ዜና፡- ኢሣት ሠራ!)

    ኢሣት ቴሌቪዥን በኢትዮጵያ እንዳይሠራጭ ታፈነከአንድ ዓመት ተኩል ስኬታማ አፈና በኋላ የተጣለበትን ተደጋጋሚ የአየር ሞገድ እመቃ ተቋቁሞ ላለፉት ጥቂት ሣምንታት በኢትዮጵያ ሥርጭቱን ጀምሮ የነበረው የኢሣት ቴሌቪዥንና
    Ethiopian Satellite Television, ESAT TV
    ሬዲዮ ከትናንት በስቲያ ኅዳር 4 ቀን 2005ዓ.ም ምሽት ጀምሮ ዝነኛ ሥርጭቱ መቋረጡ ታወቀ፡፡ ባለፉት የሥርጭት ጊዜያት ለበርካታ ኢትዮጵያውያን የብሶት መተንፈሻና የታፈኑ የሀገር ቤት ዜናዎች ማወጃ ሆኖ መሰንበቱ የሚታወቅ ነው፡፡

    ሰሞኑን ግን ኢቢኤስ የሚባለው ወያኔ-ዘመም የቴሌቪዥን ጣቢያ ከአረብሣት ወጥቶ ወደናይልሣት መግባቱን ተከትሎ የሁለቱም ሞገድ የሚተላለፍባቸው 10815 የማሰራጫ ፍሪኩየንሲ መዘጋቱ ተረጋግጧል፡፡ ይህን የማፈን ድርጊት የፈጸሙትም የወያኔው መንግሥትና የቻይና የቴክሎጂ ጠበብት እንደሆኑ ኢንሣ (INSA) ከሚባለው ከሥራ አመራር እስከጽዳትና ዘበኛ ድረስ የተመረጡ የትግሬ የጉልበትና የኢንተሊጀንስ ባለሙያዎች ብቻ ከሚሠሩበት የወያኔው መንግሥት የፀረ ድረገፅ ሚዲያ ተቋም በፌስታል ተጠቅልሎ እንዳልባሌ ከወጣ ዕቃ መረዳት ተችሏል፡፡ አንዳንድ ወገኖች እንደሚሉት የኢቢኤስ ወደናይልሣት መግባት ከኢሣት መታፈን ጋር የቀረበ ግንኙነት አለው ተብሏል፡፡

    አሁን ዘግይቶ የደረሰ አስደሳች ዜና፡- ኢሣት ሠራ!

    የዚህ ዜና አቀናባሪ ዜናዎቹን ወደማጠናቀቁ ላይ ሳለ ምሣ ቢጤ ሊቀምስ ሣሎን ተቀምጦ ቲቪ ሲከፍት ኢሣት ከ24 ሰዓት መታፈን በኋላ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ አየር መመለሱን ባይኑ በብረቱ አረጋግጧል፡፡ ያላረጋገጠው እስከምን ጊዜ ሳይታፈን እንደሚቆይ መሆኑንም ለመረዳት ችላችኋል ተብሎ ተገምቷል፡፡ ያ ነገረኛ ኢቢኤስ የተባለው በመለስ ሞት ደረቱን ጥሎ በአደባባይ ያለቀሰው ቲቪ ግን አሁንም አይሠራም፡፡ ለኢሣት መታፈን ጦሱ እሱ ሳይሆን እንደማይቀር ይህ ዘጋቢ ክፉኛ ሲጠራጠር መቆየቱ የሚታወስ ነው፡፡ የኢቢኤስን የወያኔ ቤተኛነት መጠራጠር ስለማይቻል እሱን መጠንቀቅ እንደሚገባም ብዙዎች ከወዲሁ እያስጠነቀቁ እንደሆነ ለማወቅ ተችሏል – ኢቢኤስን በሩቅ በማለት፡፡ ኢሣቶችም ይህን ነገር አያጡትም ተብሎ ይገመታል፡፡

    ኢትጵያ የሁለት ፕሬዝደንቶች ሀገር መሆኗ ተገለጸ

    የወያኔው መንግሥት ቁንጮና አድራጊ ፈጣሪ የነበረው አቶ መለስ ዜናዊ በተለይ የዓለምን ማኅበረሰብ ለማሞኘት ሲል በቀየሰው ሥልት ሁሉንም ሥልጣን በእጁ ካስገባ በኋላ ለይስሙላ ሀገሪቱ ፕሬዚዳንት ያላት እንዲመስልና ያም ፕሬዚዳንት ራሱን ችሎ የማይንቀሳቀስ በአካላዊ ብቃትም ሆነ በአጠቃላይ እንቅስቀሳሴው ከአሻንጉሊት ብዙም ተለይቶ የማይታይ ዕድሜ ጠገብና በእንፉቅቂት የሚሄድ አሳፋሪ ፕሬዚዳንት መሾሙ ይታወሳል፡፡ ይህ ዜና እስኪጠናቀር ድረስም ይሄው ቤት ጠባቂ ፕሬዚደንት በሰው ግፊ በምትነዳ ተሸከርካሪ እየተጓዘና ለሰላምታም በቅጡ የሚዘረጋ እጅና ሰውነት ሳይኖረው ተሹዋሚና ተሰናባች የውጭ ሀገር አምባሳደሮችን እየሸኘ ቤተ መንግሥት ውስጥ አሣፋሪ በሆነ መልክ ተጎልቶ እንደሚገኝ ለማወቅ ተችሏል፡፡
    ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ ምንም እንኳ ስሙ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ቢባልም በአገልግሎቱ ግን ከተጠቀሰው ዘፍዛፋ ፕሬዚደንት የማይሻል ኃይለማርያም ደሳለኝ የተባለ የወያኔ አሽከር በላይኛው ቤተ መንግሥት ከነቤተሰቡ እንዲቀመጥ ለሥልት ሲባል መፈቀዱን ከሥፍራው የደረሰን መረጃ ያመለክታል፡፡ እንደአንዳንድ ታዛቢዎች ከሆነ የሁለቱም ተግባር በስተጀርባ ተጠናቅቆ የሚሠጣቸውን ወያኔያዊ ጉዳይ መፈረም ወይም በሚዲያ መናገር በመሆኑ ሁለቱም አንድ ዓይነት የሥልጣን ደረጃ አላቸው እየተባለ ነው፡፡ ስለዚህ የሁለቱም ሥራ አንድ ነውና ሁለቱም በመቀለጃው የፕሬዚደንትነት ሥፍራ ለጊዜው ተጎልተውበት የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ግን ከእውነተኛ ተቃዋሚዎች ጋር በመተባበር እውነተኛ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትርና እውነተኛ ፕሬዚንደንት በአፋጣኝ በዴሞክራሲያዊ መንገድ መርጦ እንዲሾም ዘጋቢያችን ያነጋገራቸው ወገኖች ቁጭት በተሞላት ኩንስርና(concern/-edness) አሳስበዋል፡፡

    የመለስ ፎቶ ሀገር አስለቀቀ

    በኢትዮጰያ ታላቁ የሥልጣን ቁንጮ ላይ ተቀምጦ ለ21 ዓመታት ያህል ጥሬ ‹ራዕዩ›ን በሀገሪቱና በሕዝቧ ላይ ሲያራግብ/ፍ የነበረው የቤት ቀጋው የውጭ አልጋው መለስ ዜናዊ በቅርቡ ወደመጣበት ወደአፈር መመለሱን ስማቸው እንዲገለጽ ያልፈለጉ አንድ ዕድሜ ጠገብ የኢሕአዴግ ባለሥልጣን ለዚህ ዘጋቢ ጠቁመዋል፡፡ ሀገር ላወቀው የዚህ የበላዔሰብ መለስ ዜናዊ ሞት ለምን ስማቸው እንዳይገለጽ እንደፈለጉ የተጠየቁት ባለሥልጣን እንደተናሩት የድርጅቱ ዲስፕሊን መረጃን መስጠት በጥብቅ ስለሚከለክልና ሬሣውን ባለማየታቸው በመረጃው ትክክለኝትም ስለማይተማመኑ የመለስ ሞት ሀሰት ሆኖ ቢገኝ ለሂስና ግለሂስ እንዳይጋለጡ በመፍራት እንደሆነ በፍርሀት እየራዱ ለዘጋቢያችን አስረድተዋል፡፡
    ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ ጋዜጠኞቻችንን በመላዋ ሀገሪቱ አሰማርተን ባገኘነው ተጨባጭና በሚታይ ማስረጃ የተደገፈ መረጃ መሠረት የአቶ መለስ ፎቶ በሁሉም ክልሎች በተለይም በትግራይ ከማጀት እስከ አደባባይ በትላልቅና በትናንሽ ቅርጾች – በፖስተሮችና በቢልቦርዶች በበራ ኤፎር ሳይዝ ወረቀቶች – ተለጥፎና ተሰቅሎ እንደሚገኝ ይሄም ሁኔታ እጅግ አሰልቺ እንደሆነባቸው በርካታ ዜጎች መጠቆማቸው ታውቋል፡፡ እነዚህን ሁሉ ፎቶዎች በዚህ በሚታየው መልክ ለማዘጋጀት የወጣው የገንዘብና የቁሣቁስ ወጪ በድምሩ ቢሰላ እስካሁን የወጣው ብቻ የሀገሪቱ የግማሽ ዓመት በጀት ሊሆን እንደሚችል ስማቸው በሽፍን እንዳይያዝ የፈለጉ የኢትዮጵያ የኢኮኖሚክስ ባለሙያዎች ማኅበር ዶክተር አልፎአይቼው ብዙአየሁ ገልጠዋል፡፡ ዶክተሩ አያይዘውም ‹እንደዚህ ያለ መንግሥታዊ ማይምነትና የቁጭ በሉ አጭበርባሪነት በታሪክም አላነበብኩም፤ በተዘዋወርኩባቸው በርካታ የዓለም ሀገራትም አላየሁም፤ አንድ መሪ ከሞተ በኋላ ደጋፊ ነን የሚሉ ወገኖች ይህን ያህል ጥፋትና ጦም አዳሪ በበዛት ድሃ ሀገር ውስጥ እንዲህ ያለ የሀብት ውድመት ማካሄዳቸው እጅግ ያሳዝናል፡፡ ለወደፊትም ተጠያቂ ያደርጋቸዋል፡፡ የሰዎቹ ስምና ማንነት ደግሞ በጉልህ ተመዝግቦ መቀመጥ አለበት›ሲሉ አሳስበዋል፡፡

    Briefing: Ethiopia’s Muslim protests


    ADDIS ABABA, 15 November 2012 (IRIN) – Tensions have been simmering over several months between Muslims and the
    Protestors say the government is interfering in religious affairs
    Protestors say the government is interfering in religious affairs
    government, with thousands holding demonstrations in protest at the government’s alleged interference in religious affairs; the government has blamed the protests on a small group of extremists.
    Around 60 percent of Ethiopia’s 84 million people are Christians; Muslims make up about one-third of the population, according to official figures. Religion-related clashes have been rare in the country, but unrest over the past several months has led to several deaths and dozens of arrests. IRIN looks at the causes of, and fallout from, the protests.
    What sparked the protests?
    The leaders of the protests, which began in December 2011, accuse the Ethiopian government of trying to impose the al-Ahbash Islamic sect on the country’s Muslim community, which traditionally practises the Sufi form of Islam. Al-Ahbash beliefs are an interpretation of Islam combining elements of Sunni Islam and Sufism; its teachings are popular in Lebanon. Said to be first taught by Ethiopian scholar Abdullah al-Harari, the Ethiopian Al-Ahbash teachings are moderate, advocating Islamic pluralism, while opposing political activism.
    In December 2011, the state moved to dismiss the administration of the Awoliya religious school in Addis Ababa. In July, police dispersed an overnight meeting at the school on the eve of an African Union heads of state summit, and arrested several protesters and organizers of the meeting, which police officials said did not have a permit.
    Those behind the meeting, an “Arbitration Committee” of 17 led by prominent religious scholars, said they wanted to dialogue with the government but insisted they would continue legitimate protests to oppose its continued interference in the administration of the religious school and the election of members of the country’s supreme Islamic Council.
    They accuse the government of dictating elections to the council, which concluded on 5 November, and favour the Al-Ahbash Muslim sect.
    Temam Ababulga, a lawyer representing activists who led the protests – some of them are currently behind bars – says they are appealing to a federal court to cancel the election and its outcome, on the grounds that the elections were not conducted in accordance with the council’s by-laws.
    “The opposition to Ahbash at this time is not theological… the protesters oppose… that the regime is sponsoring the movement, providing finance, logistical support and allowing it to use both the Islamic Council and the state institution in its proselytization,” said Jawar Mohammed, an Ethiopian analyst now studying at Columbia University in the USA.
    “Ahbash has been in Ethiopia since the 1990s and has peacefully coexisted with the rest of Islamic revival movements,” he added. “The confrontation came only after the government invited the leading figures from Lebanon and started aggressive re-indoctrination campaign.”
    What is the government’s response?
    The government denies that it is violating the country’s constitution by meddling in religious affairs. Addressing parliament on 16 October, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said: “The government is not and would not interfere in the affairs of any religion in the country.”
    At the height of the protests in mid-April, then Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who died in August, told parliament that “a few extremists are working to erode the age-old tradition of tolerance between traditional Sufi Muslims and Christians in Ethiopia,” and stressed that they would not be tolerated by the government.
    “The government… has made a number of efforts to encourage engagement with the protesters and has, for example, also done all it can to support the matter of elections for the Islamic Council,” said a statement by the government in response to Amnesty International’s allegations.
    “It is true that some members of a `protesters committee’ have been arrested following violent protests, but it is completely misleading to suggest that this `committee’ had been `chosen to represent the Muslim community’s grievances to the government’. This `committee’ was not chosen nor elected by anyone… It was, in sum, a small, self-appointed committee of protesters whose support in the community at large, as the recent election clearly demonstrated, was minimal.”
    Increasing Islamic militancy in the region – Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania have all witnessed increased Islamist activity – is of concern to the Ethiopian authorities, who say they are facing growing threats evident from the discovery of the first Al-Qaeda cell in the country; 11 people have been in an on-going trial, suspected of being members of an Al-Qaeda cell and accused of planning terrorist attacks.
    What are rights groups saying?
    The USA has added its voice to accusations that Ethiopia has been interfering in the religious affairs of its Islamic population and wrongfully arresting people. Addis Ababa has on several occasions rejected these charges.
    “Since July 2011, the Ethiopian government has sought to force a change in the sect of Islam practiced nationwide and has punished clergy and laity who have resisted,” an 8 November press statement by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom – a bipartisan federal government body – said. “Muslims throughout Ethiopia have been arrested during peaceful protests.”

    አምባሳደር ተወልደ ዓጋመ ከፓርቲው ለቀቁ (እየሩሳሌም አርአያ)


    አምባሳደር ተወልደ ዓጋመ ከፓርቲው ለቀቁ (እየሩሳሌም አርአያ)

    የሕወሐት ማ/ኰሚቴ አምባሳደር ተወልደ ገብሩ (በቅጽል ስማቸው ተወልደ ዓጋመ) በገዛ ፈቃዳቸው ከፓርቲው እንደለቀቁ ምንጮች አረጋገጡ። ባለፈው በተካሔደው የፓርቲው ጉባኤ ላይ የመልቀቂያ ጥያቄ አቅርበው ከማ/ኰሚቴ አባልነት እራሳቸውን እንዳገለሉ አስታውቀዋል።

    በአምባሳደርነት ሲያገለግሉ የቆዩት ተወልደ «አጋሜ» ከ 1993ዓ.ም በሑዋላ ተዛውረው በአትሌቲክስ ፌዴረሽን ያለሙያቸው ተመድበው ቆይተዋል። በተጨማሪ ባለቤታቸው ሮማን ገ/ስላሴ በፓርቲው ሊ/መንበር « አይኖዋን ማየት አልፈልግም» ተብለው ከፓርቲው ርቀው እንደነበር ምንጮቹ አስታውሰዋል።

    የሕወሃት አንጋፋ ሴት ታጋይ የነበሩት ሮማን የተሓድሶ «አቀንቃኝ» ሆነው ወደ መድረክ በመውጣታቸው በትግራይ የሴቶች ጉዳይ ቢሮ ሃላፊ ተደርገው በመለስ ከመሾማቸው ባሻገር በፓርቲው ማ/ኰሚቴ አባልነት መካተታቸውን ጠቁመዋል።

    አምባሳደር ተወልደ ለረጅም አመት ይበሳጩና ብዙውን ጊዜ በዝምታ ያሳልፉ እንደነበር የቅርብ ምንጮች ጠቁመው፤ እርሳቸው ከፓርቲው ሲለቁ ባለቤታቸው ሮማን ግን እንዳለቀቁ አያይዘው ገልጸዋል።

    በሌላም በኩል በሕወሓት ማ/ኰሚቴ ዙሪያ ያለውን ቤተሰባዊ ስብስብ በተመለከተ የቅርብ ምንጮች እንዲህ ብለዋል፤የሻዕቢያ ከፍተኛ የጦር አዛዥ ጄ/ል ስብሃት ኤፍሬም ባለቤት ታጋይ ሩት ሃይሌ ትባላለች። ሩት ሃይሌ እና የሕወሓቱ ሽማግሌ ስብሃት ነጋ የቅርብ ስጋ ዝምድና እንዳላቸው ምንጮች አረጋግጠዋል።

    ሌላው ዶ/ር ሰለሞን እንቑይ ይጠቀሳሉ፤ ፓርቲውን የተቀላቀሉት በ1983ዓ.ም ሲሆን ቀደም ሲል በለንደን ይኖሩ ነበር።በወቅቱ የ «ማ.ረ.ት» ሃላፊነት ቦታ ተቆናጠጡ። በ1993ዓ.ም የትግራይ አፈ-ጉባኤ ተደርገው ተሾሙ፤ የድርጅቱ ማ/ኰሚቴ አባልነትን ጨምሮ 5 ቁልፍ ሃላፊነቶችን እንዲጨብጡ ተደረገ። 

    በ1994ዓ.ም መጋቢት ወር ከፓርቲው ልሳን ጋር በትግርኛ ቁዋንቑ ባደረጉት ቃለምልልስ አስመራ ተወልደው እንዳደጉ የገለጹት ዶ/ር ሰለሞን የሻዕብያው መሪ ኢሳያስ አፈወርቂ የአጎት ልጅ መሆናቸው ምንጮች አረጋግጠዋል።

    በ1995ዓ.ም በመቀሌ በተነሳ ተቃውሞ፡ አምስት ሰላማዊ ነዋሪዎች መገደላቸውን ተከትሎ ፦ በሺህ የሚቆጠር ህዝብ የዶ/ር ሰለሞንን መኖሪያ ቤት ከማውደሙም በተጨማሪ « የሻዕብያ ወኪል እኛን አይመራንም» በሚል የተቃውሞ ድምጹን አሰምቶዋል። ( በነገራችን ላይ ይህ ጉዳይ « በኢትኦጵ» ጋዜጣ በወቅቱ በዝርዝር መረጃው ቀርቦ ነበር።)

    ሌላው የሻዕቢያ አባል የነበረው ኤርትራዊው ሳሙኤል ገ/ማሪያም ሲጠቀስ፤ የ ጠ/ሚ/ሩ አማካሪ ሆኖ የተመደበው በ1993ዓ.ም ነበር። ከሁለት አመት ቆይታ በሁዋላ የአድዋ ከተማ ዋና አስተዳዳሪ ተደርጎ ተዛወረ። በ1996ዓ.ም ወደ ኢሮብ ወረዳ ያቀናው ሳሙኤል የአካባቢውን ሕዝብ ሰብስቦ … በአቶ መለስ በወቅቱ የረቀቀውን ባለ 5 ነጥብ አጀንዳ ተብዬ ለነዋሪው ለማስረዳት ይሞክራል።

    በፅኑ ኢትዮጲያዊነቱና በጀግንነቱ የሚታወቀው የኢሮብና አካባቢዋ ነዋሪ የሳሙኤልን ማንነት አብጠርጥሮ በመናገርና አጀንዳውን በማብጠልጠል ተቃውሞ ያሰማል። ሳሙኤል ገ/ማሪያም ስብሰባውን በማቑዋረጥ በመጣበት ኮብራ መኪና ተሳፍሮ ጥቂት እንደተጉዋዘ.. በአካባቢው ነዋሪ በ12 ጥይት ተደብድቦ ተገደለ።

    በአሁኑ ወቅት የትግራይ ክልል ፍ/ቤት ፕሬዝዳንት ሆነው የሚመሩት ወ/ሮ ሒሩት ናቸው። ኤርትራዊ የሆኑት ሒሩት የአባዲ ዘሞ ባለቤት ሲሆኑ፤ የሂሩት ወንድም እያብ (የቀድሞ መጠሪያ ስሙ ሱራፌል) ከአራት አመት በፊት ም/ሚንስትርና የጠ/ሚ/ሩ አማካሪ ተደርጎ በመለስ መሾሙን ምንጮች ጠቁመዋል። ኤርትራዊው እያብ ትምህርት የሌለው፤ ምንም አይነት ችሎታና ብቃት እንደሌለው እየታወቀ ሃላፊነት በሚጠይቅ ትልቅ ቦታ መመደቡ አስገራሚ ነው ያሉት ምንጮች አሁንም በጠ/ሚ/ር ሃ/ማሪያም ካቢኔ መቀጠሉን አክለው ገልጸዋል።

    በማስከተል በሕወሓት ማ/ኰሚቴ ያለውን ቤተሰባዊ ግሩፕ ምንጮቹ እንደሚከተለው አስቀምጠዋል፤
    ቅዱሳን ነጋ፡ ፀጋዬ በርሄ፡ ፈትለወርቅ ገ/እግዚያብሄር ከማ/ኰሚቴ አባላት ቅድሚያ ይጠቀሳሉ። ቅዱሳን የሽማግሌው ስብሃት ነጋ እህት ስትሆን የጸጋዬ ባለቤት ናት። ፈትለወርቅ ደግሞ የስብሃት ወንድም ልጅ ናት። ፈትለወርቅ የአባይ ፀሓዬ ባለቤት ነበረች። አንድ ልጅ አፍርተዋል፤ ከተለያዩ ቆይቶዋል። አባይ ፀሃዬ ወጣት ኮረዳ ተሞሽረው በሙስና የደለበ ኑሮ ይገፋሉ ብለዋል ምንጮች። 

    በአደገኛ ሰላይነታቸው የሚታወቁት ብርሃነ ኪ/ማርያም (በቅፅል ስማቸው ብርሃነ ማረት) ከስብሃት ነጋ ጋር የጋብቻ ዝምድና ያላቸው ሌላው የማ/ኰሚቴ አባል ናቸው። የአዲስአለም ባሌማ ባለቤት ፀሓይ እቁባይ ትባላለች፤ የአርከበ እቁባይ እሕት ናት። የአርከበ ባለቤት ደግሞ ንግስቲ ገ/ክርስቶስ ስትሆን፡
    የብርሃነ ገ/ክርስቶስ እሕት ናት።

    Reform in China vs crisis within EPRDF


    by Robele Ababya, 15 November 2012
    The 18th Congress of Communist Party of China (CPC) opened in Beijing with a keynote speech by its General Secretary (GS)
    The power transfer in the one-party system of China and Ethiopia
    Hu Jintao on 07 November 2012. The GS articulated the stunning achievement in economic growth in the last decade. He vowed continuation of the “construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics “, a phrase frequently used by Chinese officials and scholars.

    The CPC is the largest communist party in the world comprising 82.6 million members ruling 1.3 billion people with iron fist. The Congress, comprising 2307 delegates ‘elected’ from within the CPC, met in the Great Hall of People where an imposing portrait of Chairman Mao was conspicuous for its big size. Following deliberations during the period 7 – 14 November 2012 the Congress passed a number of major resolutions involving amendment to the CPC Constitution and replacing most of its affluent top leadership including the GS and the Prime Minister among others.
    The power transfer in the one-party system of China was in all fairness a remarkable achievement far beyond the sham transfer within the EPRDF – the diehard custodian of one of the legacies left behind by the late tyrant Zenawi whose party had signed  a treaty of friendship with the CPC.
    The GS extolled the Scientific Outlook on Development Guidance, based on Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, is the best achievement of the CPC in the past decade and told leading delegates that the Party must adhere for a long time for it shall be enshrined in the CPC Constitution as part and parcel of the new model for China’s all-inclusive development plan for the next decade.
    By the way Prime Minister Deng Xiaoping Theory saved China from catastrophe due to the reckless experiment set into motion by Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution. And it is true that his Theory “over the past ten years, has enabled China to advance to the world’s second-largest economy from the sixth place in the world.”
    The GS in his speech to leading officials underlined the unprecedented stride in economic growth achieved in the last decade but asking them “to exercise strict self-discipline and strengthen supervision over their families and staff.”  He said “Leading officials at all levels, especially high-ranking officials, must readily observe the code of conduct on clean governance and report all important matters” adding that “If we fail to handle this issue well, it could prove fatal to the Party, and even cause the collapse of the Party and the fall of the state”. He made a passionate plea that “the CPC must make unremitting efforts to combat corruption, promote integrity and stay vigilant against degeneration.” He singled out corruption as a major problem in his closing speech also. And the incoming General Secretary Xi Japing strongly underscored the same thing in condemning the rampant corruption.
    On the other hand Ethiopia’s PM aggrandized the economic growth of China justifying why it is adopted as a role model for growth by developing nations. He said Ethiopia scored double digit growth in the past nine years ignoring the fact that the IMF and the WB have revised that growth downwards to single digit. He was dead silent on rotten corruption which, by the way, his predecessor did not deny.
    I watched on the China Central TV (CCTV) renowned pundits including Western economists arguing and reaching consensus that the average economic growth for China for the period 2010 – 2020 would be 5% to 6%. The pundits noted that the double-digit massive growth in the last three decades brought corresponding mind boggling social problems with it – such as income disparity, social unrest, and rampant corruption. It was argued that the CPC cannot rectify its blunders by itself without check-and-balance in the political system. I thought the several dialogues hosted by CCTV during the proceedings of the CPC Congress are a sure sign of China opening up to the world.
    Therefore, the introduction of political pluralism in China is a must in the face of changing economic orientation from dependence on exports to domestic consumption coupled with 6 million degree holding graduates annually flooding the job market seeking employment that the CPC cannot provide without the support of private business enterprises. Add to this the 500 million informed and angry Chinese having access to the internet using the social media to expose rampant corruption and calling for multi-party democracy to change the present ‘vertical democracy’ method of CPC of replacing the affluent top plutocracy in the CPC.
    The GS in all fairness deserves high respect for his courage and frankness for so clearly and unequivocally articulating the pervasive corruption within the CPC threatening to bring it down.
    I cannot say the same for the EPRDF Prime Minister (PM) who had opted to copycat the Chinese aging model as a role model for Ethiopia and the developing nations.  I would quickly add that it is perfectly normal to adapt models of other countries, but only to the extent that they are suitable to one’s strategic objectives and national characteristics. Emulating best practices is laudable.
    My argument is that the PM should rather pay serious attention to multiple problems associated with the ongoing political and social crisis on the watch of his Stalinist party, which itself is incurably divided. A splinter group of TPLF has gone underground with determination to lead the government from behind; a second splinter group spearheaded by the senile Sebhat Nega is concocting to resurface the glory days of the all-pervasive TPLF supremacy; the widow of Zenawi controls all the resources of the TPLF in her capacity as the CEO of EFFORT that she grabbed from Sebhat; it is an open secret that the OPDO top brass, purportedly struggling for  the right of the their ethnic group, are angry at being denied not even one key ministerial post, which is humiliating to the great Oromo people – the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. So the PM has a lot to worry about and no wonder that the formation of his Cabinet is inordinately late and the government is in limbo.

    Wednesday, November 14, 2012

    New Prime Minister same old regime story

    Unity The Path To Change In Ethiopia: The King Is Dead, Long Live The King – OpEd 

    It is a new-year in Ethiopia, (belated) happy 2005 one and all. With it comes a new prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn,


     deputy PM under Meles Zenawi who died some time in August or was it July. A fog of misinformation and uncertainty surrounds the final months of Meles life, ingrained secrecy being both a political and national characteristic that works against social and ethnic cohesion, strengthening mistrust and division.

    It is unclear what route the deputy PM, a Protestant from humble beginnings in the small, desperately poor Wolayta community, took to step into the prime ministerial shoes. Some believe the US administration through its powerful military machine Africom, engineered the sympathetic replacement. The US is Ethiopia’s main donor, giving around $3 billion a year, Ethiopia for it’s part and in exchange for such generosity perhaps, allows the US military to station and launch drones from it’s sacred soil into Somalia, or indeed anywhere the Pentagon hacks choose and the deadly drones can reach.

    New Prime Minister same old regime story

    The new Prime Minister has worryingly vowed, the BBC 21/09/12i report, to continue Mr. Meles “legacy without any change,” a legacy littered with human rights violations and injustices, which has little to recommend it. Meles ruled over a single party State in all but name, for, as the International Crisis Group (ICG)ii make clear, “the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and his Tigrayan inner circle, with the complicity of other ethnic elites that were co-opted into the ruling alliance, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).” A dictatorship in fact and form and as is consistent with such regimes, brutal, controlling and intolerant. No matter the accolades expressed on Meles death by senior politicians and diplomats around the world, who like nothing more it seems than a friendly tyrant.
    Hailemariam was chosen, it is alleged, simply to give the appearance of an ethnically balanced leadership, that he will have little independence, and dutifully tow the ideologically driven line of Revolutionary Democracy. Whatever the method and no doubt it was constitutionally correct, Hailemariam and deputy Demeke Mekonnen, are now enthroned, let us wish them well for there is much work to be done within Ethiopia.

    Old injustices urgent issues

    Human rights issues cry out to be dealt with, starting with the immediate unconditional release of all so called ‘political prisoners’, tried and Imprisoned under the internationally condemned, unjust Anti Terrorist Proclamation, for the heinous crime of publicly disagreeing with the TPLF dominated government. The Ethiopian government should, HRWiii demand, “amend the law’s most pernicious provisions, which are being used to criminalize free expression and peaceful dissent.” Journalists, mainly working outside of Ethiopia and supporters of opposition political parties are the common targets, tried in absentia in Ethiopian courts by a judiciary that functions as little more than a sentencing body for the government and thinks nothing of handing down life sentences to dissenting voices, based on fabricated charges. Human Rights Watch (HRW)iv make this illegal pattern clear, stating “the use of draconian laws and trumped-up charges to crack down on free speech and peaceful dissent makes a mockery of the rule of law,” both Federal and International.
    The government, immersed in paranoia and determined to control all forms of debate and platforms of expression, fire off accusations of terrorist activity to anyone seen to disagree with their disagreeable policies. The ambiguous provision of ‘conspiracy to commit terrorist acts’ is usually cited as criminal activity, or the even more foggy crime of offering ‘moral support’, which has little or no specific meaning and as HRW assert, “is contrary to the principle of legality.” Such ill-defined terms are employed to criminalize dissent and justify the unjust.
    Each urgently required reform flows into and out of the other, connected, as they are by the fundamental need to observe basic human rights, at the heart of which sits freedom and justice. Constitutional law provides for the statutory observation of all freedoms of expression that are nevertheless denied in practice or at best grossly restricted. The press, TV and radio is almost exclusively State owned, television is firmly under government control and with literacy resting at around 48% of the adult population is the arm with the greatest reach and influence. Control of the World wide-web is also in the hands of the EPRDF, the sole telecommunications company being listed in the extensive business portfolio of the government, who control and restrict both Internet expansion and use. Over 80% live in rural areas and currently a mere 0.5% (400,000) of the population have Internet access, the second lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Unity in diversity

    With between 70 and 80 tribal sets within the seven major ethnic groups and a 45/35% Christian, Muslim split, cooperation tolerance and unity are essential factors in the countries wellbeing and strength, as well as its internal security. As imperial nations have long known a united civilian population is a threat; divide the factions, separate the ethnic groups, fragment the people make them compete, even fight among themselves and maintain dominion. This, contrary to the EPRDF’s policy of Ethnic Federalism devised in 1991 when they took power, has consistently been the regimes approach. All political authority rests firmly within the party controlled by the TPLF, as the ICG report makes clear, “behind the façade of devolution, [the EPRDF] adopted a highly centralized system that has exacerbated identity-based conflicts.”
    Self-determination and self-rule for the major regional groups was, on paper, a central component of Ethnic Federalism, however, as The international human rights group Advocates for Human Rights v(AHR) in its report on ethnic groups in Ethiopia found, the government, “actively impedes the rights of disadvantaged ethnic groups to self determination.” Far from building partnerships and cultivating cooperation and tolerance, policies flowing from the TPLF/EPRDF’s desire to maximize control in all areas of society, including the powerful religious groups work to encourage fragmentation, create religious dissonance, strengthen ethnic divisions and deny much needed social unity.
    Ethiopia has the third largest population of Muslims in Africa and is thought to be the birthplace of Islam in the continent as well as the cradle of African Christianity. The government has for long controlled Muslim affairs via The Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, which is simply a mouthpiece for the ruling party. There has, as Crescent Internationalvi reports, “been no election in the council for the last 13 years. The council has remained against the rights of Muslims including wearing hijab and congregational prayer in universities.” Muslims have been calling with increasing intensity for the removal of the unelected council and the State sponsored imposition of Al-Ahbash (The Abyssinian) Islam, a movement that blends elements of Sunni Islam with Sufism. Protests against government meddling are now a regular extension to Friday prayers in Addis Ababa. The Washington Post 2nd November reports the new PM speaking to parliament on 16th October, stating, surprisingly given the EPRDF’s involvement in all things religious, that “the government fully respects freedom of religion and “would not interfere in the affairs of religion just as religion would not interfere in matters of politics.” It does indeed seem he is determined to follow in word and deed in the dictatorial duplicitous footsteps of his predecessor.

    Tuesday, November 13, 2012

    Meskerem Getachew of ETV and Hurricane Sandy


    by Tedla Asfaw
    Meles Zenawi Memorial on the Abyssinian Baptist Church Harlem, New York Oct. 27, 2012
    Meskerem Gertachew of ETV’s less than half hour program about the late Meles Zenawi Memorial  on the Abyssinian Baptist Church Harlem, New York Oct. 27, 2012 was posted as November event on Aiga Forum Website as Event happened during/after Hurricane Sandy. The distortion started by connecting the memorial with Hurricane Sandy that hit East Coast Monday night Oct. 30. Meskerem Getachew boasted that the Hurricane did not deter those who admire Meles Zenawi not to show up. This is blatant propaganda as we all know Saturday Oct. 27 all was well in New York and its surroundings but for Meskerem Getachew Hurricane Sandy landed in Harlem during the memorial service.
    One of VOA journalists Henoke failed to contact us to tell VOA listeners on what has happened on that day in Harlem. Of course David Shinn on his blog tried to tell his side of story by playing a number game and about disrespect. Both were a distraction from our protest on that day, “Pray for the Victims not a Killer”. To show her “unbiased coverage” Meskerem aired fraction of a second of “ETV Leba” cry from Harlem. The big cry was to challenge all foreigners who showed up that day to “Pray for the victims not a killer”. Supporting the slogan carried by Ethiopian Muslim Protesters on Eid Al Adha, “ETV Leba” we cry also “ETV leba”. We indeed reconfirmed that cry after watching this propaganda piece prepared by her.
    The 26 minutes propaganda on ETV should be challenged and we are ready for it. If Henok or anyone can give us air time we are ready to expose all the lies of the propaganda piece. Meskerem Getachew should be asked  to differentiate between “Tikemet” and “Hidar”. We are proud of what we did on that day because we were the voice the voiceless victims and their  family members. If Meles had been alive he should be charged for those crimes. When Ethiopians have independent media all who took direct order to shoot and kill will tell us what had happened in November 2005 seven years ago. Seven years now no one was charged for the death of 200 innocent people in Addis Ababa streets, no doubt Justice will be served sooner or later.

    ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋ እና ወጣቱ ፖለቲከኛ አንዷለም አራጌ ዛሬ ፍ/ቤት ቀረቡ

    ኢሳት ዜና:-በእነ አንዷለም ዓራጌ መዝገብ በተከሰሱት ፖለቲከኞችና ጋዜጠኞች ንብረት እንዲወረስ ዓቃቤ ሕግ በጠየቀው መሠረት ታዋቂው ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋ እና ወጣቱ ፖለቲከኛ አንዷለም አራጌ በዛሬው እለት ፍ/ቤት መቅረባቸው ታውቋል።

    በንብረቱ የዕግድ ትዕዛዝ ላይ አስተያየቱን እንዲሰጥ የተጠየቀው ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋ መንግስት ይውሰደው አልከራከርም ባለቤቴም ድርሻዋን እትጠይቅም በማለት ልፍርድ ቤቱ ምላሽ መስጠቱን ከአዲስ አበባ የመጣው ዜና ያስረዳል። ፍ/ቤቱም ሥለራስህ እንጂ ባለቤትህን ወክለህ መናገር አትችልም በማለት ባለቤቱ ጋዜጠኛ ሠርክዓለም ፋሲል ራስዋ ቀርባ እንድታስረዳ አዟል በጉዳዩ ላይ ውሳኔ ለመስጠት ለሕዳር 28/2005 ቀጠሮ ሠጥቶ ችሎቱ መነሳቱም ታውቋል።

    ዓቃቤ ሕግ እንዲወረስ የጠየቀው የጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋ ቤት ባለ ሁለት ፎቅ ዘመናዊ መኖሪያ ቤት እንዲሁም የወላጅ እናቱ ቤትና መኪና መሆኑን ለማወቅ ተችሏል።

    ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋ እንዲሁም ወጣቱ ፖለቲከኛና የአንድነት ፓርቲ ምክትል ፕሬዝደንት አቶ አንዷለም አራጌ የአንድነት ማዕከላዊ ምክር ቤት አባል ናትናኤል መኮንን እንዲሁም የመኢዴፓ ስራ አስፈጻሚ ኮሚቴ አባል ወጣት ክንፈሚካኤል ደበበ በአሸባሪነት ተከሰው ከታሰሩ አንድ አመት ያለፋቸው ሲሆን እስከ እድሜ ልክ የደረሰ ቅጣት እንደተወሰነባቸውም ይታወቃል።

    በደራ ወረዳ አንዲት ሴት የባሉዋን ብልት በአደባባይ በገመድ እንድትጎትትና እንድትስም ተደረገ

    Ethiopian Patriot Yenesew Gebre: Give me Liberty or Give me Death!


    Give me Liberty or Give me Death .By Abebe Gellaw
    On 11/11/11, Yenesew Gebre, a 29 year-old Ethiopian school teacher and human rights activist set himself ablaze outside a public meeting hall in the town of Tarcha located in Dawro Zone in Southern Ethiopia. He died three days later from his injuries. In an interview with the Voice of America Amharic program, a witness described the horrific event:
    Teacher Yenesew Gebre was in the meeting hall telling officials that the young people were being held in detention for 15 days without their right to bail being honored. On Friday, the young detainees were expected to have a hearing. Yenesew said ‘the young detainees have been held for a very long time and their rights should be protected and honored. They must not be imprisoned; they must be released.’ When he demanded that they [officials] told him, ‘here is 200 birr, go and enjoy yourself. We are busy at this meeting.’ He said, ‘I am not going to sell my conscience. I do not want money. I want my people released.’ He told them:  ‘In a country where there is no justice and no fair administration, where human rights are not respected, I will sacrifice myself so that these young people will be set free.’ He went outside and set himself on fire. They put out the fire and rushed him to the hospital. He died yesterday and was buried today at 2 p.m. under police cordon.
    I want to show to all that death is preferable than a life without justice and liberty and I call upon my fellow compatriots to fear nothing and rise up to wrest their freedom and rights from the hands of the local and national tyrants.
    Give me liberty or give me death! Such were the last words spoken by a young Ethiopian patriot and martyr to the ruthless tyrants that cling to power in Ethiopia today.
    Yenesew remained under police guard while he was hospitalized for two days. The attending physician recommended that he be transferred to a facility in the capital where he could receive a higher level of care for second degree burns and very likely save his life. That recommendation was disregarded for fear that news of his self-immolation in the capital could spark spontaneous public protests. No one was allowed to visit Yenesew at the hospital (clinic). His family, friends and neighbors were warned to stay away. Officials denied his family’s request for a decent public burial. They also banned family members, friends, neighbors and community folks from attending the funeral fearing a spontaneous public demonstration.
    Dictator Meles Zenawi sent a reinforcement of some 300 police officers, imposed a complete news blackout and sealed off the town. Telephone services to the town were cut in a futile attempt to stonewall all news of Yenesew’s sacrifice from spreading throughout Ethiopia.
    Yenesew was buried by the very sadistic police and administrative thugs who had harassed, threatened and persecuted him for so long. By preventing a public funeral and burying Yenesew in an unmarked grave, Zenawi hoped the story will blow over and Yenesew soon forgotten. But Zenawi could not have been more wrong! Yenesew lived and died a freedom fighter and a hero. Though Zenawi had his body buried in an unmarked grave, Yenesew’s spirit of liberty, his love for his compatriots, his vision of democracy and his yearning for justice shall live forever in the hearts and minds of 90 million of his fellow citizens.  Long Live Yenesew Gebre!
    Human Rights Matters in Ethiopia
    Yenesews’ self-immolation illuminates not only the serious and widespread human rights abuses by Zenawi’s regime but also Zenawi’s hubris and depraved indifference to the demands of the people at the local and regional levels. According to reports, Yenesew had been a human rights activist for some time and clashed on various occasions with the local representatives of Zenawi’s regime.  It is believed that the 50 or so young people in detention on whose behalf Yenesew spoke at the public meeting were suspected of supplying critical information used in a report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) in Southern Ethiopia in August. The BIJ and BBC Newsnight covert investigation “uncovered evidence that the Ethiopian government is using billions of dollars of development aid as a tool for political oppression.”
    The arrest and detention of the young people came on the heels of a petition submitted by community elders to authorities to reclassify the local area to its previous status as a sub-district (woreda). After local and regional authorities ignored the petition, the elders travelled to Addis Ababa to seek help from “federal” authorities; but their petition fell on deaf ears. When the elders returned, the local authorities jailed them.  A second delegation of elders travelled to Addis Ababa to pursue their appeal with high-level Zenawi officials.  In the meantime, the local authorities had rounded up and jailed some 50 young people without charge or bail.  Yenesew attended that public meeting to protest their imprisonment and to demand their release.

    በደራ ወረዳ አንዲት ሴት የባሉዋን ብልት በአደባባይ በገመድ እንድትጎትትና እንድትስም ተደረገ


    ኢሳት ዜና:-በኦሮሚያ ክልል በሰሜን ሸዋ ዞን በደራ ወረዳ በገብሮ ቀበሌ የወረዳው የአስተዳደርና ፍትህ ሀላፊ የቅርብ ዘመድ የሆነ አቶ አየለ የተባለ ከሌሎች ሁለት ግብረ አበር ፖሊሶች ጋር በመሆን በቀበሌው የሚኖርን አንድን ግለሰብ መሳሪያ ደብቀሀል በሚል ሰበብ ግለሰቡንና ባለቤታቸውን ልብሳቸውን በማስወለቅ እርቃናቸውን እንዲታሰሩ አድርገዋል።
     የሚሊሺያ ዘርፍ ሀላፊውና ፖሊሶች በመቀጠልም ባልየው ብልቱ በገመድ እንዲታሰር ካስደረጉ በሁዋላ ህዝብ በተሰበሰበበት አደባባይ እርቃኑዋን የሆነቸው ባለቤቱ ብልቱን በገመድ እንድትስብ እንዲሁም ብልቱን እንድትስም አስደርገዋል። በእርግጫ በመመታቱዋም የስድስት ወር ልጅ አስወርዳለች። በድርጊቱ አልሳቃችሁም የተባሉትም ተደብድበዋል።
    ድርጊቱ ይፋ የሆነው አቶ ይመሩ በተባሉ የቀበሌው የጸጥታ ዘርፍ ሀላፊ ሲሆን፣ ድርጊቱንም ይፋ ያደረጉት የዞኑና የወረዳው ባለስልጣናት በተሰበሰቡበት ወቅት ነው።
     ኢሳት ጥቆማው እንደደረሰው በስብሰባው ላይ የተሳተፉትን  አንድ የወረዳው ባለስልጣንን አነጋግሯል፡፤ ባለስልጣኑ ስማቸው እንዳይጠቀስባቸው በመግለጽ ስለ ተፈጸመው ድርጊት በዝርዝር አስረድተዋል።
    የፖሊስ ምርመራ ክፍል የሀኪም ማስረጃዋን ለመቅደድ መሞከሩንና ድርጊቱም በተራው የኢህአዴግ አባላት ውስጥ ቁጣ መፍጠሩንም ባለስልጣኑ ተናግረዋል ።
    ይህ ግለሰብ ባሂት በሚባለው ቀበሌ ደግሞ አንድን ግለሰብ በችቦ ማቃጣሉን ባለስልጣኑ ተናግረዋል::
    የወረዳው የፍትህና አስተዳዳር ሀላፊ ከድርጊቱ ጀርባ እጁ እንዳለበትም ባለስልጣኑ ተናግረዋል::
     ግለሰቡ  በማዳበሪያ እና በሌሎችም ምክንያቶች እያሳበበ አባዎራዎችን ወደ እስር ቤት በመወርወር  እርሱና ጓደኞቹ ሚስቶቻቸውን እንደሚደፍሩም ታውቋል።