Leveling the playing field in Ethiopia

by Yilma Bekele

The press release was short and to the point. It was only six paragraphs long and was written in a matter of fact way. There were no trumpets blaring, no press conference with TV lights and no lavish dinner to commemorate the event. The announcement reminded me of the proverb ‘best things come in small packages.’ So it was without much fanfare I read the most important announcement on Abbay Media and Quatero. Tucked among the news was the announcement regarding the formation of Ginbot 7 Popular Force (GPF)

It is vintage G7. Doing what needs to be done in a deliberate and intelligent manner. Since their inception the folks of G7 have gone about building their organization, finding common ground with others and laying a firm and solid foundation to move our quest for freedom and dignity in a purposeful manner. Their accomplishment the last four years speaks volumes to their ability as leaders of a new style of struggle that is beginning to bear fruit.

As the establishment of ESAT was a game changer, as the successful meeting of mind with the OLF was a ground shaking event this announcement regarding the formation of Ginbot 7 Popular Forces is a monumental achievement in the annals of our struggle. It is a milestone in the evolution of our struggle to be free and democratic.

It is a brand new day in Ethiopia. Our struggle is entering a new phase. It is a necessary phase imposed upon our people by the belligerent and lawless regime. It was not an easy decision for the Front to make. No one relishes the idea of an armed confrontation especially with one’s own brothers and sisters but there comes a time when self-preservation becomes a vital issue. The short announcement makes that fact clear.

The TPLF regime has been in power for over twenty years now. The last twenty years have been a period of destabilization, conflict and agony for our people. No one can deny that. The result of this chaotic and illegal system is laid in front of us. Despite the much heralded so called ‘economic miracle’ thrown on our face our country is mired in famine and poverty, our children are scattered all over the world, our daughters are enslaved in the Middle East by the thousands, our people are denied the simple luxury of reading a free paper or listening to independent news and our jails are filled by innocent victims of a mad system.

This is what makes the formation of GPF a must and important component of our struggle. The Ethiopian people have tried every avenue open to let the regime know that the monopoly of power is not conducive to a just and harmonious system. Our people have bent backwards to accommodate the regime to change its aggressive ways. International organizations such as the European Union and others have tried to mediate. The arrogant and petty government has shown complete disregard to our needs and concerns.

That is why I wrote ‘leveling the playing field’ in the title. Violence is a two way street. Up until now the TPLF regime has the monopoly of violence. It has used it with impunity. The late dictator even used to taunt as to try fighting back. We are patient people. But despite the failings of the last few years we are also brave people. At long last we have decided to stand our ground and defend our people from evil. Self-defense is a God given right to every human being. It is time we in Ethiopia exercise that right.

We celebrate those that are still trying to let the TPLF regime know their peaceful intentions to bring change. It is to no one’s interest to shed blood in anger. The death of a single Ethiopian should be avoided at all cost. That can only happen when there is the rule of law in the country we call Ethiopia. It could not come about by a government based on a single ethnic group, by a government hell bent on monopolizing army, commerce, communications and politics by a chosen few.

GPF is our shield. GPF will prove to the arrogant TPLF army and security there will be consequences to aggression. As anything started by the seasoned leaders of Ginbot 7 there is no question GPF will prove itself to be a worthy child of Tewodros, Yohanes, Minilik, Aba Jifar, Tona and many other patriots. There is no question in my mind that the Ethiopian people will take GPF into their fold, love and nurture it. Our wish has been fulfilled and TPLF nightmare has just started.

There will be those that will try to belittle our effort and mock our resolve. Some will accuse the Diaspora of fanning the flames of war. No matter the die has been cast and the long journey has started. It is sad that in this day and age we have to pick up arms instead of the ballot to bring change. But one cannot choose his battle. This has been forced upon us. We have waited too long to respond in kind. Once we have started the process our job is to try to make it a short and less costly endeavor. Our responsibility is to encourage, support in any way possible and push our family, friends and the international community to stand with us at this time of great need.

We salute the combatants of GPF for their sacrifice on our behalf.  We want them to know they are in our hearts and minds every waking moment of our life. We promise we will do all that we could in our part to help them achieve the goal of liberating our mother land from the clutches of darkness. Forward with the brave sons and daughters of Ethiopia, we your people in exile raise our hands in salute and shout so all can hear ‘Ethiopia is rising and a new day has begun!!!’ May you march in triumph as your ancestors did thru the millennium.

Ethiopia can be transformed but the change we seek should start from within our own souls and hearts

As many of our fellow Ethiopians of Christian faith gather with family and friends over the next days to celebrate one of

 the most important of Christian holidays, we in the SMNE (the Board Members, Task Force Leaders, Volunteers and Interns) want to extend our warmest greetings. Whether you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish or of another belief, this can be a time to reflect on how we might bring good will, encouragement and help to others we know or meet as well as to those—some of whom are loved ones—who are struggling back home in Ethiopia or in another foreign country throughout the world where they may have sought refuge. The real stories of these people tell us of the great effort it takes to just survive. All of the problems we Ethiopians are facing within the country or outside of it are because we lack freedom, justice, security and prosperity in our homeland.

If we had a government which cared about all the people and gave them equal opportunity, we may not be hearing the heartbreaking stories of Ethiopians suffering throughout the world as they seek a better life outside their country that boasts of double-digit economic growth. Please open this link to view the sad and shocking details of the numbers New Arrivals in Yemen Comparison 2009-2012 and difficulties being faced by these Ethiopians and others from the Horn of Africa. Those remaining in Ethiopia have a daily struggle to just provide for themselves and their families.

Ethiopia has become a country where the poor have been neglected while those with power go after the most vulnerable for the little they have. Land is confiscated in the rural areas and homes are bulldozed down in the cities. The people are displaced and forgotten. The disparity of power, voice and control has created an impenetrable ceiling which obstructs the majority from ever rising above it despite hard work, perseverance and talent.

The message of Christmas is that Christ came for all—that there is no obstruction or favoritism. This same principle of serving all people as equally valuable and worthy of justice and opportunity—rather than just ethnic group or elitist group—should also apply to the Ethiopian government if a society is going to be healthy, successful and prosperous. In fact, Christianity teaches that those who push others aside and trample on their rights will be last, at best, while the meek and poor of the world will be first.

Those of us of Abrahamic faith backgrounds—Jews, Muslims and Christians—can embrace the rightness of this kind of justice, liberty and dignity for all people. It is also a universal value. Look at the struggle of Ethiopian Muslims right now as many rise up to seek freedom to worship without government interference—a right enshrined in the Ethiopian Constitution—but also a God-given principle. God has always wanted hearts freely and wholly given to Him—not forced or manipulated. Nothing short of that really means anything to Him. This is why no genuine religious group wants the government to appoint their leaders. Now, many Muslim leaders are locked up in jail for demanding such freedom as well as dignity, truth and the respect for human rights.

Countless other courageous and principled Ethiopians share their plight. Just this week, Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu, Woubshet Taye and Mesfin Negash were honored with awards from Human Rights Watch for their brave efforts to freely express themselves in one of the most repressive countries for journalists in all of Africa. The first three are imprisoned but Mesfin Negash was forced to leave the country. He is one of many Ethiopians who have left the country to escape imprisonment or other harsh consequences for speaking the truth.

የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል” የምሥረታ መግለጫና ሃገራዊ ጥሪ

የወያኔን ዘረኛና አምባገነን አገዛዝ ከኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ጫንቃ ላይ በትጥቅ ትግል ለማስወገድ “የግንቦት7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል” የሚል ስያሜ የሰጠነውን፣ በሃገር ወዳድና ለህዝብ ተቆርቋሪ

 በሆኑ ወጣቶች፣ ምሁራንና ዜጎች የተሞላውን ድርጅት መመሥረታችን በዛሬው እለት ለመላው የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ በይፋ እናበስራልን።

የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል፣ የሕዝብ ሉዓላዊ የሥልጣን ባለቤትነት የተረጋገጠባት፤ የዜጎች መብቶች፣ ሃገራዊ አንድነት፣ ደህንነትና ጥቅም የተከበሩባት ጠንካራና ዲሞክራሲያዊት ኢትዮጵያ እውን ሆና የማየትን ራዕይ የሰነቀ ድርጅት ነው።

የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል ወያኔን በኃይል የማስወገድ፤ ሰላማዊና ዲሞክራሲ የሥልጣን ሽግግር በሃገሪቱ እንዲኖር የማስቻል እና ከማንኛዉም የፓለቲካ ድርጅት ጋር ያልወገኑ ነፃ፣ ጠንካራና ብቃት ያላቸው ህገ-መንግሥታዊ የመከላከያ፣ የፓሊስና የደህንነት ተቋማት እንዲኖሩ አስተዋጽዖ የማድረግ ተልዕኮ ይዞ የተነሳ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አለኝታ ነው።

የግንቦት7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል ራዕይና ተልዕኮ የተቀዳው በቀጥታ ሕዝብ በህይወቱ በደሙ በስቃይና በመከራ ውድ መስዋዕትነት ከከፈለለት የ1997 ብሄራዊ ምርጫ ነው።

የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይልን እውን ያደረገው ወያኔ የ1997ቱን ምርጫ ተከትሎ ህገ ወጥ በሆነ መንገድ በስልጣን ለመቆየት በምርጫው ማግስትና እስካለንበት ወቅት በወሰደውና እየወሰደ ካለው የእብሪት እርምጃ ነው።

የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል ወያኔ ድርድርና እርቅ የማይገባው፣ ትዕግስትን እንደፍራቻ፣ አርቆ  አሳቢነት እንደ ሞኝነት የሚቆጥር በዚህም ስሌት ሕዝብን ለዘላላም እየረገጠና እየዘረፈ ለመግዛት ቆርጦ የተነሳ እኩይ ኃይል መሆኑ ጠንቅቆ  የተረዳ ነው። የወያኔ አገዛዝ ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ የተወለት ምርጫ በዝምታ በባርነት መገዛት ወይም ለነጻነት መዋጋትን ብቻ መሆኑን የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል ጠንቅቆ ያውቃል ።

በግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል ውስጥ የተሰባሰብን ዜጎች በደማችን የሚፈስ የቀደምቶቻችንን የነጻነት ቅርስ ተሸካሚዎች ነንና ባርነትን አማራጭ አድርገን ለመቀበል ከቶውኑ አይቻለንም። ብቸኛው ምርጫ የወያኔን የባርነት ግብዣ በአመጽ መክተን በወያኔ  መቃብር ላይ የነጻነትን ሰንደቅ ማውለብለብ ነው።

ዛሬ በሃገራችን በወያኔ አምባገነናዊ እብሪት ያልታፈነ፣ ያልተዋረደና ያልተዘረፈ የሃገሪቱ ዜጋ አይገኝም። የወያኔ ሹማምንት በሃብት ላይ ሃብት፤ በድሎት ላይ ድሎት ሲጨምሩ፣ የአብዛኛው ኢትዮጵያዊ እጣ ፈንታ ግን መፈናቀል፣ መሰደድ፣ መንገላታት፣ መታሰር፣ መደብደብና መገደል ሆኗል። ኢትዮጵያ እና ኢትዮጵያዊያን እንደ ወያኔ ዘመን የተዋረዱበት፣ የተናቁበትና የተበደሉበት ጊዜ የለም። የዚህ  ሁሉ ሰቆቃ አብይ ምክንያት የወያኔ ዘረኛ አምባገነን አገዛዝ ነው። ወያኔ ከሥልጣን ሳይባረር አንዳችም በጎ ለውጥ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ማሰብ አይቻልም።

የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል የወያኔን እኩይ ባህሪያትና ተፈጥሮ በመመርመር፣ የወያኔ  የአመጽ እብሪት በሕዝባዊ አመጽ የሚተነፍስበት ሁኔታ  እስካልመጣ ድረስ፣ ወያኔ መብታቸውን ከመጠየቅ ውጭ ምንም እንከን የሌለባቸውን ንጹሃን ዜጎች ከማሰር፣ ሰቆቃ ከመፈጸም፣ ከመግደል ከማሳደድና  ከማፈናቀል እንደማይቦዝን ከልብ ያምናል።

ሁላችንም ሃገራችንን ነጻነታችንን የምንወድ  ዜጎች ያለን ምርጫ ቀበቷችንንና  መቀነታችንን ጠበቅ፣ ሃሞታችንን ኮስተር አድርገን ወያኔ ያሳጣንን ሰላምና ነጻነት፡ የቀማንን ሃገርና አንድነት በመራራው ትግላችን ማስመለስ ብቻ  ነው።

የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ሃይል በዛሬው እለት ራሱን ይፋ ያደረገው ይህ ወያኔን የማስወገድ ትግል የተጀመረ መሆኑን የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ እንዲያውቀውና ትግሉን እንዲቀላቀል ወገናዊ ጥሪውን ለማሰማት ነው ።

1. ህገ- መንግስታዊ መብታቸውን ተጠቅመው ሰላማዊ ተቃውሞዎች ለማድረግ ጥረት ያደረጉ ዜጎች በሽብርተኛነት እየተከሰሱ በእድሜ ልክ እስራት ሲቀጡና ሰቆቃ ሲፈፀምባቸው የታዘባችሁ ወጣቶች፤
2. ለሃይማኖት እኩልነት በመታገላቸው በእስር ላይ እየማቀቁ፣ እየተገረፉና እየተሰቃዩ  ያሉ የሙስሊም ምዕመናን ተወካዮች ጉዳይ የሚያሳስባችሁ ወገኖች፤
3. በቤተክህነትና በክርስትና ተቋማት ላይ እየተፈፀመ ያለው ደባ የሚያንገበግባችሁ ወገኖች ሁሉ፤
4. ለወያኔዎችና ሸሪኮቻቸው እድገትና ምቾት ሲባል ከይዞታችሁ የተፈናቀላችሁ ወገኖቻችን ሁሉ፤
5. በወያኔ ቱጃሮች ሥራችሁ መቀማቱ ሳያንስ፣ ገቢን ሳይሆን ወገንተኛነትን መስፈረት ባደረገ መመዘኛ ከአቅም በላይ የሆነ የወያኔ ግብር፣ ታክስና መዋጮ የተማረራችሁ ነጋዴዎች፤
6. ማኅበራችሁ በወያኔ ፈርሶ ወይም ተጠልፎ የጋራ ድምፃችሁን የምታሰሙበት፣ ከቀጣሪያችሁ ከወያኔ  ጋር ፍትሃዊ የጉልበታችሁን ዋጋ ክፍያ መደራደሪያ  ያጣችሁ ላብአደሮች፣ መምህራን፣ የሲቪል ሰርቪስ ሠራተኞች፤
7. ምንም አይነት የአካዳሚ ነጻነት በሌለበት ሁኔታ ጥራቱን ያልጠበቀ ትምህርት እንድትከታተሉ የተፈረደባችሁ፣ ትምህርታችሁን ጨርሳችሁ ከየኮሌጁና ከየዩንቨርስቲው ስትመረቁ እጣችሁ ድንጋይ ማንጠፍ የሆነው ወጣት ተማሪዎች ፣
8. በነጻነት ወጥቶ  መግባት፣ ሰርቶ ለመኖር የተሳናችሁ፣ በገዛ ሃገራችሁ ገና በጎልማሳ እድሜችሁ የወላጆቻችሁ ጡረተኞች እንድትሆኑ የተፈረደባችሁ፣ እንደ ወላጆቻችሁ ትዳር መስርታችሁ ልጆች ወልዳችሁ የመሳም እድላችሁ በወያኔ ዘረኛና ዘራፊ ፖሊሲዎች ጨንግፎ የቀረባችሁ፣ አደገኛ በረሃዎችንና ባህሮችን በማቋረጥ ለመሰደድ ልባችሁ እየከጀለ ያለ የሃገራችን ውድ ወጣቶች፤
9. በአረብ ሃገራት ለባርነት ስራ በወያኔ እየተሸጣችሁ፣ እጣችሁ ተገዶ  መደፈር፣ በፈላው ወሃ መቀቀል፣ መደብደብ፣ መዋረድና ከፎቅ ላይ እየተወረሩ ክቡር ህይወትን ማጣት ለሆነው ውድ እህቶች፣

10. ለኢትዮጵያ የወደፊት እጣ ፈንታ ግድ ያላችሁ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ምሁራን በሙሉ፤

11. የሕዝብ ድምጽ ይከበር በማለታችሁ፣ ለሃገር አንድነትና ክብር መሰለፍ እንደ ወንጀል ተቆጥሮባችሁ እንደ ባዕድ ጦር የተበተናችሁና የተገፋችሁ፣ በመከላከያ ሰራዊት ውስጥ በሚታየው ዘረኛነት እየተቃጠላችሁ፣ በሕዝብ ላይ ዝመቱ በተባላችሁ ቁጥር ከህሊናችሁ ጋር መዳማት የመረራችሁ  የኢትዮጵያ ወታደሮች እና፤

12. በድህነት አስገዳጅነት፣ እንዲሁም በሌሎችም ማስፈራሪያዎችና ጫናዎች የወያኔ/ኢህአዴግ ድርጅቶች አባል የሆናችሁ ወገኖቻችን በሙሉ፣

ዛሬ ነገ ሳትሉ የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይላችንን ተቀላቀሉ።

ተባብረን ወያኔን እናስወግድ!

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ!!!

አድራሻ:  ስልክ ቁጥር – +442081230056

The EOTC Patriarchate: A Cause for Disunity

by Teklu Abate

The division of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church (EOTC) into two competing synods has a single cause: the way

 the most infamous patriarch, the late Abune Paulos, was instated as leader of the church twenty years ago.  The then members of the synod did not oppose the political maneuvering made and several even praised the move. That effectively divided the top leadership of the church that survived countless challenges before. For the last two decades, the two synods invested a lot of their time and resources to ‘fight and kill’ each other, which in the end unfavorably checked the church’s growth and development.

Three reconciliation efforts were made so far, all ended in fiasco. Some argued that the third one, which took place in Dallas, was relatively smooth, peaceful, and promising. The signs such folks identified include the fact that delegates of the two synods shared prayers and meals together, that they showed respect to each other, and that both sides agreed to further negotiate in January 2013. Had the parties been secular, these signs could have been dubbed significant. But we are talking about bishops who reached or are supposed to reach the highest level of spirituality and wisdom. In principle, they should not have allowed the division of the synod in the first place. Or at least, they should have solved the problem in just one negotiation. Unfortunately, it seems that they want to make “reconciliation” their annual agenda.

Reconciliation Failed?

In my previous post, http://tekluabate.blogspot.no/2012/11/eotcthe-two-synods.html, I, based on some clues and cues available then, indicated that the 3rd reconciliation effort would be no different than the previous ones. And that unfortunately seems materialized now. The synod in Addis disgraced itself by making perhaps the most offensive, immature, and upsetting decision ever. There is this time around ample evidence which testifies to the fact that reconciliation was never genuinely sought after in the first place. All the talks and media bravados seemed to show a false political gesture made to simply ‘please’ the public.

The synod delegated four members for the peace talks in Dallas. Astonishingly, the Addis Ababa synod deliberately sent bold signals which showed the lack of interest and readiness thereof to embrace peace and unity. One, they first distributed the rumors that a law that supports patriarch choice was being formulated. Two, they in one way or another indicated that they would soon elect nominating committee that would oversee choice of a patriarch. Three, the Acting Patriarch Abune Natanael emphatically told VOA that Abune Merkorios could not assume his position as patriarch. And he talked of the possibility of offering Abune Merkorios cars, houses, and other utilities and facilities if he wishes to enter the country.

This was the most devastating news to the reconciliation committee and the entire Christian community and unity lovers. How on earth a father of such position and age came up with these childish, egoistic, amoral, and ice-cold speeches? Abune Natanael initially worked hard to ease the tensions between the two synods and to even allow Abune Merkorios to serve the church while residing in Addis. Lately, the bishop clearly and publicly appeared dismissive, dictatorial, and cruel in his interviews. In a way, his talk sent shockwaves to the entire church community and powerfully signaled the beginning of the end of peace and unity talks.

The Landmark

While we were regurgitating Abune Natanael’s incapacitating talks, two more developments that seemed to mark the impossibility of unity emerged. One, a bylaw that governs patriarch choice is now ratified. The law left no room for God to intervene during election of patriarchs- voting will be used to choose a leader from beginning to end. This leaves pretty good space for manipulating elections for whatever reasons. Two, the most severe blow to the reconciliation and unity effort was made a day before: a nominating committee of 13 personalities was elected. The committee will identify, in just less than two months, potential candidates who would bid for the church’s highest office. Whatelse could herald the complete failure of the peace talks than this one? Nothing. But am not still advising the peace committee to quit their jobs. Just keep going!

መጪውን እሑድ – ከቅዳሴ በኋላ “ከፓትርያርክ ምርጫ ዕርቅና ሰላም ይቅደም” የምንልበት ቀን ስለማድረግ

by Deje Selam on Friday, 21 December 2012
(ደጀ ሰላም ታኅሣሥ 12/2005 ዓ.ም፤ ዲሴምበር 21/2012)፦ ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን በመስቀልያ መንገድ ላይ እንድትቆም ያደረጉ ዋነኛዎቹ ርዕሰ ጉዳዮች ሁለት ናቸው።

የመጀመሪያው ለ20 ዓመታት በውግዘት የተለያዩ አባቶች አንድ እንዲሆኑ፣ አንዲት ቤተ ክርስቲያን፣ አንድ አስተዳደር፣ አንድ ቅ/ሲኖዶስ እንዲኖረን ለማድረግ ያልቻልነው ለምንድነው? የሚለው ሲሆን ሁለተኛው ደግሞ 20 ዓመት ለቆየው የአባቶች በውግዘት መለያየት ዓምድና ምልክት የነበረው የፕትርክናው ሥልጣን ጉዳይ ነው።

እንደ እግዚአብሔር ፈቃድም ይህ ልዩነቱ ሊፈታ የሚችልበት ጭላንጭል ታይቶ ነበር። ነገር ግን ይህንን የተስፋ ጭላንጭል በሚያዳፍን መልኩ በጥቂት የቅ/ሲኖዶስ አባላት ግፊት 6ኛ ፓትርያርክ ለመሾም “አስመራጭ ኮሚቴ” ተቋቁሟል። “የቤተ ክርስቲያኔ ጉዳይ ያገባኛል” የሚሉ ምእመናን በሙሉ ውሳኔውን በጽኑዕ በመቃወም ላይ ይገኛሉ። ይህንን “ከኮምፒውተር ጀርባ”ና በስልክ የሚደረግ የኢንተርኔት ተቃውሞ መልክ ለመስጠት በመጪው እሑድ፣ ቅዳሴ ካለቀ በኋላ በየአጥቢያችን በመሰባሰብ ይህንን ሐዘናችንንና መከፋታችንን እንዲሁም በውሳኔው ማዘናችንን ለቅዱስ ሲኖዶስ አባላት ለመግለጽ መሰባሰብ ይኖርብናል።

ሰንበት ት/ቤቶች፣ ማኅበራት፣ ሰንበቴዎች እና ምእመናን በሙሉ ከሚያውቋቸው ሰዎች በመጀመር ለእሑዱ ቀጠሮ መያዝ እና የመሰባሰቡን ሁናቴ መልክ መስጠት መጀመር ይኖርባቸዋል። ዓላማችን አንድ ነው። እርሱም “ሃይማኖታችንን እና ሃይማኖታችንን ብቻ የተመለከተ ነው”። ስብስባችንን የሚጠሉ ሰዎች በፖለቲካ በማሳበብ በመንግሥት ዱላ ለማስደብደብ የሚያደርጉት ሙከራ እንደሚኖር ስለምናውቅ ከወዲሁ ለሚመለከተው ሁሉ ዓላማችንን መግለጽ እንፈልጋለን። መነጋገር የምንፈልገው ከቅ/ሲኖዶስ አባላት ብፁዓን አባቶች ጋር ነው። ይህንን በተመለከተ ሁላችሁም ሐሳባችሁን በመጨመርና በማስፋፋት መልክ ትሰጡት ዘንድ ደጀ ሰላም በትህትና ጥሪዋን ታቀርባለች።

ይህንን ፍፁም ሃይማኖታዊ ጥያቄ ሌላ መልክ ለመስጠት፣ ኢሕአዴግ ላይ የተነሣ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ለማስመሰል የሚሞክሩትን በግልጽ ከወዲሁ መልስ ልንሰጣቸው ያስፈልጋል። በሃይማኖት ስም ፖለቲካ አንነግደም። ፖለቲካውን በራሱ በፖለቲካነቱ የማራመድ ሙሉ ኢትዮጵያዊ መብት አለን። በዜግነታችን እርሱን በቦታው ማድረግ እንችላለን። አሁን የምንጠይቀው ጥያቄ ሃይማኖታዊ ነው፤ ማቅረብም የምንፈልገው ለቅ/ሲኖዶስ ነው ማለት ይገባናል።

እስካሁን ባየነው፣ ክርስቲያኑ ማንኛውንም ጥያቄ ለማንሣት ሲነሣ “በመጽሐፍ ቅዱስ ጥቅስ” ጭንቅላት ጭንቅላቱን በማለት ክርስቲያኑ እንዳይተባበር፣ እንዳይሰባሰብ፣ እንዳያውቅ፣ እንዳይጠይቅ የሚያደርጉ የተደራጁ ክፍሎች እንዳሉ ደጀ ሰላም ለማሳሰብ ትፈልጋለች። እነዚህ ሰዎች ፌስቡክን በመሳሰሉ ቦታዎች በመበተን ለሁሉም የክርስቲያኑ ጥያቄ የተጣመመ ሃይማኖት ቀመስ ማብራሪያ በመስጠት የሰዉን አፍ ያስዘጋሉ።

ለምሳሌ በተደጋጋሚ ከሚያነሷቸው አስተያየቶች አንዱ “ዋናው ጸሎት ነው፤ ሌላ ምንም ነገር አያስፈልግም” የሚል ነው። ጸሎት የሁሉ ነገር መጀመሪያና መጨረሻ ነው። ወሳኝ ነው። በጸሎት የማይለወጥ ነገር የለም። የኤርትራ ባሕር የተከፈለው፣ የኢያሪኮ ግንብ የፈረሰው፣ የአናብስት አፍ የተዘጋው ወዘተ በጸሎት ነው። ነገር ግን ጸሎት ያለ ሥራ/ምግባር ብቻውን አልነበረም። ሙሴ ከግብጽ እስከ ከነዓን ተጉዟል፣ ኢያሱ ኢያሪኮን ግንብ እየዞረ እንጂ ቁጭ ብሎ አልጮኸም፣ ዳንኤል ቀን ከሌሊት ወደ እግዚአብሔር ተማጠነ፤ ጉድጓዱ ከለከለው እንጂ። ስለዚህ “ጸሎት ብቻ” በሚል የክርስቲያኑን ልብ ከሥራ የሚያቀዘቅዙትን ልንነቃባቸው ይገባል።

ከዚህም በላይ የክርስቲያኑ ጥያቄ “አመጽ” የሆነ ይመስል ክርስቲያን አያምጽም በሚል ለማቀዝቀዝ ይፈልጋሉ። አመጽ የሰይጣን ነው። ነገር ግን ክፉ ነገርን መቃወም ግዴታችን ነው። ሰው ባንጎዳም ራሳችን ለሰማዕትነት ለማቅረብ ማን ይከለክለናል። “እክህደከ ሰይጣን” ብለን እንነሳለን። የተጣመመ ሃይማኖታዊ ትምህርት የምታስተምሩትን ነቅተንባችኋል እንላችኋለን።

እስከ እሑድ ባለው ጊዜ ለመነሻ እንዲሆን ይህንን ለማድረግ እንሞክር፦

• መረጃውን ለመላው ሕዝበ ክርስቲያን እናድርስ፣ (በስልክ የኤስ.ኤም.ኤስ መልእክቶች፣ በፌስቡክ፣ በትዊተር)፣
• ዜናውን ለመገናኛ ብዙኃን እናድርስ፣
• ብፁዓን አባቶችን በስልክም በአካልም በመቅረብ ስለ ጉዳዩ ማነጋገር፣ በውሳኔው እንደማንስማማ እናሳውቅ፣
• ጉዳያችን እና ዓላማችን “ድብቅ የፖለቲካ አጀንዳ” ሳይሆን የቤተ ክርስቲያናችን አባት የመምረጥ ጉዳይ መሆኑን ለሚመለከታቸው አካላት አለ ፍርሃትና ያለ ሥጋት እንግለጽ፣
• ከመንግሥት አካላት የተደበቀ የመሥራት ፍላጎት እንደሌለን ከወዲሁ በተደጋጋሚ እንግለጽ፣
• በአገር ውስጥ ያሉ ጋዜጦችና መጽሔቶች ለጉዳዩ ሽፋን እንዲሰጡት እናበረታታ፣
• የውጪ አገር ኢትዮጵያውያን ሚዲያዎችም በአንድ ድንጋይ ሁለት ወፍ በሚል በዚሁ ሰበብ ኢሕአዴግን ለመተቸት ሳይሆን ጉዳዩን ለክርስቲያኑ ሕዝብ በማይጎረብት መልክ እንዲያቀርቡት እናግዝ፣
• ኦርቶዶክሳውያን ጡመራ መድረኮችም ዜናዎችን በትብብርና በኅብረት ለምእመኑ እናድርስ፣
• እሑድን ለቤተ ክርስቲያን ጥያቄ ማቅረብ የምንጀምርበት የመጀመሪያው ቀን እናድርገው።

ቸር ወሬ ያሰማን፣ አሜን።

Top TPLF General warns Ethiopian exiles against taking part in armed insurrection

The Horn Times Newsletter 20 December 2012

by Getahune Bekele

The most pre-eminent among hordes of loathsome TPLF warlords, he became famous after threatening the entire Eritrean population with genocide during the 1998 – 2000 boarder war.

However, when he later turned his anger on the late despot Meles Zenawi for bringing the war to an abrupt end without his consent, and threatened him with a coup, the General lost his job as the army’s chief – of – staff.

He then miraculously avoided execution or long term imprisonment due to his popularity in the army and remained critical of Zenawi’s iron hand rule, but after the death of the tyrant, the man who is unwittingly the most violent in the TPLF rank, rejoined the ruling junta along with warlord Seye Abreha.

Gen Tsadkan Gebretinsay

On Tuesday 18 Dec 2012, Gen Tsadkan Gebretinsay (pictured) was in the republic of South Sudan capital Juba, where he issued a stern warning to Ethiopian refugees against wagging armed insurrection to overthrow the minority junta.

In the meeting organized by the Ethiopian embassy in Juba and held at Juba’s grand hotel conference hall, General Tsadkan vowed to deport all refugees back to Ethiopia if the attack on government installations and foreign owned farms in Gambella province intensifies.

Flanked by Juba city residents such as Tilahune Hailemariam, younger brother of former ruler Mengistu Hailemariam, Ethiopian embassy officials and a high ranking S.Sudan interior ministry official, Tsadkan told refugees to report any suspicious activities directly to the Ethiopian embassy or to South Sudan police or interior ministry officers.

According to our sources in Juba city, the meeting was hastily arranged after a rumor spread in the city that some senior opposition figures were secretly recruiting Anuak fighters to destabilize the troubled province of Gambella.

“All this meetings and warnings are is designed to intimidate the Anuaks who are still struggling with the trauma of thousands of deaths through brutal repression since 2003. The ruling minority junta is extremely worried. If a fire starts in Gambella, it will be hard to put out.” An Ethiopian medical practitioner working in Juba told the Horn Times reporters.

However, contrary to the junta’s warmongering, the well respected and popular leader of the Anuaks, Obang Metho has repeatedly rejected using violence as political tool and he is still calling on the TPLF to end repression.

ምርጫ ቦርድ ከኢህአምርጫ ቦርድ ከኢህአዴግ በላይ ኢህአዴግ ሆኖብናል ሲሉ ተቃዋሚዎች ገለጹዴግ በላይ ኢህአዴግ ሆኖብናል ሲሉ ተቃዋሚዎች ገለጹ

መጪው የአካባቢና የአዲስ አበባ ምርጫ ፍትሀዊ መሆን አለበት በማለት ፔትሺን ተፈራርመው ያስገቡት 33 የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶች ዛሬ በመኢአድ ጽህፈት ቤት በሰጡት ጋዜጣዊ መግለጫ ፣ ምርጫ ቦርድ ለጥያቄያቸው መልስ አለመስጠቱን ገልጸው፣ በንባብ የሰጡዋቸውን ምላሽ እንደ አንድ ትልቅ መንግስታዊ ተቋም በደብዳቤ ለመግለጽ እንኳን ፈቃደኛ አልሆኑም ፣ ምርጫ ቦርድ ከኢህአዴግ በላይ ኢህአዴግ ሆኖብናል ብለዋል።

የፓርቲዎች ጥምረት ኮሚቴ በጋዜጣዊ መግለጫው ላይ እንዳስታወቀው ምርጫ ቦርድ ለገዢው ፓርቲ በግልጽ ወገናዊነቱን አሳይቷል ብሎአል። ያቀረቡትን የውይይት ሀሳቦች ቦርዱ አለመቀበሉን ያሳወቁት ፓርቲዎች ፣ ምርጫው ላይ ለመሳተፍ እና ላለመሳተፍ ገና አለመወሰናቸውን ገልጸዋል።

የምርጫ ቦርድ የህዝብ ግንኙነት ሀላፊ ወ/ሮ የሺ ፈቃደ በምርጫ 1997 ዓም ኢህአዴግን ወክለው ለምርጫ የተወዳደሩ ሲሆን ፣ በ80 ድምጽ ብቻ በማግኘት ተሸንፈው ሲወድቁ የምርጫ ቦርድ ኤክስፐርት ተብለው በህዝብ ግንኙነት ባለሙያነት ተሹመው የፓርቲውን ስራ ያስፈጽማሉ ብለዋል።

ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ የኢትዮጵያ ብሄራዊ የምርጫ ቦርድ ከ33ቱ ፓርቲዎች የቀረበለትን ከምርጫ በፊት ባሉት ችግሮች ላይ የእንወያይ

ጥያቄ “በተጨባጭ መረጃ የተደገፈ አይደለም፣ጥያቄዎቹ ከ2002 ምርጫ ጋር የተያያዙ ናቸው” በሚል ውድቅ

ያደረገበት አካሄድ የቦርዱን ገለልተኛ አለመሆን በተጨባጭ ያሳየ መሆኑን ከ33ቱ ፓርቲዎች አስተባባሪዎች አንዱ

ገለጸዋል፡፡

ይህ አስተያየት በ33ቱ ፓርቲዎች የጋራ አቋም የተያዘበት ባለመሆኑ የሚሰጡት የግል ሃሳባቸውን መሆኑን የተናገሩ

ከፍተኛ አመራሩ ምርጫ ቦርድ ጥቅምት 15 ቀን 2005 ዓ.ም በአዳማ በጠራው መድረክ ላይ አንድ አቋም የያዙት

33 ፓርቲዎች ያቀረቡትን የእንወያይ ጥያቄ ሆን ብሎ ምላሽ ሳይሰጥ ሲያንከባልል ቆይቶ ከወራት በኃላ

ሳያነጋግራቸው በራሱ ጊዜ በመንግስት መገናኛ ብዙሃን መግለጫ በመስጠት ውድቅ ማድረጉ ከዚህ ቀደም በተደጋጋሚ

የሚነሳበትን የገለልተኝነት ጥያቄ ያረጋገጠ ነው ሲሉ ኮንነውታል፡፡

ቦርዱ ትክክለኛ ቢሆን ኖሮ ለገዥው ፓርቲ በመወገን የፓርቲዎቹን የእንወያይ ጥያቄ ውድቅ ወደማድረግ ከመሄዱ በፊት

ቢያንስ ባሉት ችግሮች ላይ በመወያየት፣ኀሳቡንም ለፓርቲዎቹ በማስረዳት ወደ መግለጫው ቢሄድ ኖሮ ቢያንስ ውጥረቱንና

አለመተማመኑን በመጠኑ መቅረፍ በቻለ ነበር ብለዋል፡፡

አያይዘውም ቦርዱ ፓርቲዎቹ ያቀረቡት ማለትም የምርጫ ቦርዱ ከላይ እስከታች ያሉ መዋቅሮች ገለልተኛ ያለመሆን

ጉዳይ፣በነጻነት የመንቀሳቀስ፣ደጋፊዎቻቸውን ሰብስበው ማነጋገር ያለመቻላቸው ጉዳይ፣በየክልሉ በአባሎቻቸውና

ደጋፊዎቻቸው ላይ ሕገወጥ እስሮች፣ማሳደድና ከስራ ማሰናበት የመኖሩ ጉዳይ፣የመንግስት መገናኛ ብዙሃን ፍትሐዊ

አጠቃቀም ጉዳይ፣የአንድነት ጋዜጣ በሕገወጥ መንገድ ዕትሙ እንዲቆም መደረጉና የመሳሰሉት ናቸው፡፡

“ቦርዱ ፓርቲዎቹን ጠርቶ ላቀረባችሁት አቤቱታ ምን መረጃ አላችሁ ብሎ ፓርቲዎቹን ሳይጠይቅ የሰጠው ምላሽ

ለፓርቲዎቹ ያለውን ግምት የቱን ያህል የዘቀጠ መሆኑን የሚያሳይና እነዚህ ችግሮች እንደሌሉ ለማረጋገጥ ያደረገው

ሙከራ በመሆኑ ይህ አካል ነጻና ገለልተኛ ምርጫ ያካሂዳል ብሎ ማሰብ እንዴት ይቻላል” ሲሉ ባለስልጣኑ  ጠይቀዋል፡፡

ከአሁን በኃላ ምን ታደርጋላችሁ ተብሎ ለቀረበላቸው ጥያቄ ይህ ውሳኔ በጋራ የሚተላለፍ መሆኑን አስታውሰው ነገር ግን

ከ33ቱ ፓርቲዎች አብዛኛዎቹ ሕዝባዊ ተቃውሞ በመስቀል አደባባይ ለመጥራት ፍላጎት እንዳላቸው አውቃለሁ ብለዋል፡፡

ምርጫ ቦርድ ዘንድሮ የሚያካሂደውን የአካባቢና የአዲስአበባ አስተዳደር ጊዜያዊ የጊዜ ሰሌዳ ላይ ለመምከር በአዳማ

ኤግዚኪዩቲቭ ሆቴል ጥቅምት 15 ቀን 2005 ዓ.ም በጠራው ስብሰባ ላይ ከተገኙ 65 ፓርቲዎች መካከል 33 ያህሉ

ከምርጫ በፊት ውይይት ይቅደም በሚል የጋራ አቋም በመያዝ ለቦርዱ ማሳወቃቸው ይታወሳል፡፡