ሰበር ዜና

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የአንድነት ፓርቲ አመራሮች ቤት በፖሊሶች እየተበረበረ ነው
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- ብርበራው ቀኑን ሙሉ እንደሚደረግ ታውቋል
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በደቡብ ወሎ ዞን በሀይቅ ከተማ የሚገኙ የአንድነት ፓርቲ አመራሮችና አባላት ቤት ላይ ዛሬ ከማለዳው 12 ሰዓት ጀምሮ ብርበራ እንደተጀመረ የዞኑ የአንድነት ፓርቲ አመራሮች ለፍኖተ ነፃነት አስታወቁ፡፡
የአንድነት ፓርቲ የወረባቡ ወረዳ ሰብሳቢ አቶ እድሪስ ሰኢድ ለፍኖተ ነፃነት እንዳስታወቁት ዛሬ ከማለዳው 12 ሰዓት ጀምሮ “የጦር መሳሪያ ሰውራችኋል” በሚል ፖሊሶችና ሚኒሻዎች በሀይቅ ከተማ ባሉ ከ16 በላይ በሚሆኑ የአንድነት ፓርቲ አመራሮችና አባላት መኖሪያ ቤት ውስጥ ብርበራ አካሂደዋል፡፡ ብርበራው ከተካሄደባቸው አመራሮች መሀከል አንዱ የሆኑት የወረዳው የአንድነት ፓርቲ የፋይናንስ ኃላፊ አቶ አራጌ ሑሴን ለሪፖርተራችን እንደገለፁት 5 ፖሊሶችና 1 ሚሊሻ ከማለዳው 12 ሰዓት ጀምረው መኖሪያ ቤታቸውን ፈትሸዋል፡፡ አቶ አራጌ ሁሴን አክለውም “እኔ ሰላማዊ ሰው ነኝ ምንም አታገኙም አልኳቸው፤እንዳልኩትም 2 ሰዓት የፈጀ ብርበራ አድርገውም አንዳች ሳያገኙ ወጥተዋል” በማለት ገልፀዋል፡፡
“ብርበራው መንግስት በአንድነት አባላት ቤት ውስጥ የጦር መሳሪያ አገኘሁ በሚል የተለመደ ድራማ ለመስራት እንደተዘጋጀ የሚያስረዳ ነው” ያሉት የአንድነት ፓርቲ የደቡብ ወሎ ዞን ሰብሳቢ አቶ ብስራት አቢ ኢህአዴግ የደቡብ ወሎ ህዝብ በግዳጅ አንድነት ፓርቲን እንዲያወግዝ በተለያዩ ከተሞች ስብሰባና ሰላማዊ ሰልፎችን እንደጠራ አስረድተዋል፡፡ በአንድነት አባላት ቤት የሚደረገው ብርበራ እስከ ምሽት ሊቀጥል እንደሚችልም ለፍኖተ ነፃነት የደረሱ መረጃዎች አመላክተዋል፡፡

የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ጥያቄ እና የመንግስት ምላሽ በአዲስ ዘመን ጋዜጣ ገፅ 3 (አጀንዳ)

የሰማያዊው ፓርቲ ጥቁር ተግባራት
ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ በጠራው ሕዝባዊ ሰልፍ ላይ ያቀረባቸው ጥያቄዎች የተሰላፊዎች ጥንቅርና መሰረታዊ ዓላማ በእጅጉ አነጋጋሪ ለሆኑ ጉዳዮች መነሻና መንደርደሪያ ሆነውኛል።
ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ከአንድነት ፓርቲ ባለመስማማትና በልዩነት ራሳቸውን ያገለሉ፣ መርህ ይከበር በሚል ተሰባስበው የነበሩ ግለሰቦች የመሰረቱት ፓርቲ ነው፡፡ ወደ ኋላ ስንመለስም በ1997 ዓ.ም ቅንጅትን ከመሰረቱትና የከሸፈውን አመጽ በማስተባበርና በመምራት ከፊትና ከኋላ የነበሩ፤ ዛሬ ደግሞ የቀድሞውን ማንነታቸውን ሳይለቁ በአዲስ መልክና በአዲስ ኮፍያ ለመንቀሳቀስ እየሞከሩ ያሉ ናቸው፡፡
አንድ ተቃዋሚ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ሕገ መንግስቱ በሰጠው መብት በሰላምና በሕጋዊ መንገድ ሕጉንና ስርዓቱን አሟልቶ መንቀሳቀስ ይጠበቅበታል፡፡ ሰማያዊም ፓርቲ ሆነ ሌሎቹ ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች በውጭ ከሚገኘው ጽንፈኛና አክራሪ ኃይል ጋር በመቀናጀት በአረቡ ዓለም የታየውን አብዮት ወደ ኢትዮጵያ እናመጣለን በሚል ለረዥም ጊዜያት ውስጥ ውስጡን ሲንቀሳቀሱ ቆይተዋል፡፡ ሆኖም እውነቱን የተረዳው ሕዝብ በአንድም ሆነ በሌላ መልኩ ይህንን ሊቀበላቸው አልፈቀደም፡፡
ከውጭ የአሸባሪው ግንቦት ሰባት ቴሌቪዥን ጣቢያ «ኢሳት» ባለፉት አመታትም ሆነ አሁን ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ የጠራውን ሕዝባዊ ሰልፍ አይነት እንዲካሄድ በዚህም ጠንካራ ጸረ-መንግስት እንቅስቃሴና አመጽ በአዲስ አበባና በክልሎች እንዲቀጣጠል፤ሁኔታዎች ከቁጥጥር ውጭ እንዲሆኑ፤ ሀገሪቷ ሰላሟ ደፍርሶ ወደ ሁከት፣ ብጥብጥና ስርዓተ አልበኛ ሁኔታ እንድታመራ፤ ያልፈነቀሉት ድንጋይ ያልጫሩትና ለማቀጣጠል ያለኮሱት እሳት የለም፡፡ አሁንም ሕዝቡ የተረጋጋ ሰላማዊ ሕይወቱን፣ የሀገሩን ሰላምና ደህንነት አጥብቆ የሚፈልግ በመሆኑ ይኸው እኩይ ሙከራቸው ሳይሳካ ቀርቷል፡፡
ካለፈው አመት ጀምሮ በአዲስ አበባ የሚገኙ ተቃዋሚዎች በርቀት ካለው ጽንፈኛው አክራሪ ሀይል ጋር በውስጣዊ ትስስር በመቀናጀት፤ አጀንዳ በመጋራት ሌላው የሴራ መንገድ አላዋጣቸው ሲል፤የሙስሊም ወንድሞቻችንን ትግል እንደግፋለን፤ ከጎናቸው እንሰለፋለን፤ መንግስት በሙስሊሞች ጉዳይ ጣልቃ ገብቷል፣ የታሰሩት ይፈቱ፣ ወዘተ የሚሉ መፈክሮችን በአገር ውስጥ ደጋፊዎቻቸው በጋዜጦች በዌብ ሳይቶች (በተለይም በአረቡ ዓለም መገናኛ ብዙሀንና ድረ ገጾች) በመጠቀም የፖለቲካ ድጋፋቸውን ለማስፋት በእጅጉ ደክመዋል፡፡አሁንም ገፍተውበታል፡፡
በአሜሪካና በሌሎች አገሮች የሚገኙ የጽንፈኛው ግንቦት ሰባት አክራሪ ቡድን አባላትና ደጋፊዎች በጅምላው የሙስሊሙን ጥያቄ እንደግፋለን በሚል ስብሰባ አካሂደዋል፣ ሰልፍ ጠርተዋል፡፡ ከሂጅራ ፋውንዴሽን ጋር በመተባበር የገንዘብ እርዳታ አሰባስበዋል፡፡ ይህንን ሁሉ ሸብ ረብ ሲያካሂዱ በኢትዮጵያ የአክራሪ እስልምና አደጋ መሰረት እየጣለና የሸረሪት ድሩን እያደራ መሆኑን እያወቁም ቢሆን ይክዳሉ፡፡
እነሱ የሚፈልጉት ምንም ሆነ ምን ከጎናቸው ተሰልፎ ኢሕአዴግን የሚጥል ሀይል ማበራከት በሚለው የጨለማ አስተሳሰብ የተቃኘ ነው፡፡ ስለዚህም ጥቂት አክራሪ ሙስሊሞች በየሳምንቱ የዓርብ ጁምአ ጸሎት፤ለስግደት በወጣው ሕዝበ ሙስሊም መካከል መፈክር በማሰማትና በማስተጋባት ሲያካሂዱት የነበረውን እንቅስቃሴ ተቃዋሚው ሀይል አይኑን ጨፍኖ ሕጋዊ ጥያቄ ነው በማለት ድጋፉን እየሰጠ ይገኛል፡፡ ይህንኑ አንድነት፣ መድረክና ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ በአይዞአችሁ ባይነት እያጋፈሩና ስፖንሰር እያደረጉት ይገኛሉ፡፡ ጉዳዩ ኢሕአዴግን የመደገፍ ወይንም ያለመደገፍ ጉዳይ ሳይሆን የአክራሪ ሙስሊሞች እንቅስቃሴ በኢትዮጵያ መከሰት የኢትዮጵያ ሀገራዊ ሕልውናና የደህንነት ጉዳይ መሆኑን ከጥላቻ ወጥቶ ማስተዋል ያልቻለ ተቃዋሚ ይሏል ይህ ነው።
መንግስትና የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ የችግሩን መሰረታዊነትና አሳሳቢነት በውል የተረዳው በመሆኑ ይህንን አደጋ ለመቅረፍ በጋራ እየሰሩ ይገኛሉ፣ ውጤታማም ሆነዋል፡፡ ምንም እንኳ ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ያካሄደው ሕዝባዊ ሰልፍ ለሌሎች ጸረ ሰላም ኃይሎች አጀንዳ ማራመጃነትና መጠቀሚያነት ያገለገለ ቢሆንም። ሁከትና ብጥብጥ ሳይነሳ፤ በትዕግስት ማስጨረሱ የመንግስትን ብስለት በገሀድ ያረጋግጣል፡፡
ይህንን እንደ መልካም አጋጣሚ የወሰደው ጽንፈኛ ተቃዋሚ በድርጊቱ በመግፋት በክልሎችም ሰልፉን እያስተባበረ ይገኛል፡፡ መድረክ በመቀሌ ሰልፍ ለማድረግ ተከለከልኩ ሲል አንድነት ደግሞ ሁለት ወር የሚዘልቅ ሰልፍ በየክልሉ ለማድረግ ፕሮግራም አውጥቷል፡፡ የግብፆች እቅድ፤በአገር ውስጥ ተቃዋሚ በመጠቀምና በገንዘብ በመርዳት መንግስትን ማዳከም፤መወጠር የሚለው ስትራቴጂያቸው በገሀድ ነፍስ ሲዘራ እያየን ነው ማለት ነው፡፡ በመሰረቱ ሀገር በስራ እንጂ በሰልፍና በጩኸት አትለወጥም፣ አታድግምም፡፡ የውጭ ሀይሎች ተላላኪና መሳሪያ መሆን፤ የሀገርን ልማትና እድገት ለማጨናገፍ በፖለቲካ ሽፋን መንቀሳቀስ በሀገር ላይ የሚፈጸም ከባድ ወንጀል ነው፡፡ በሰማያዊው ፓርቲ ሰልፍ ላይ የታየው የሌሎች ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች መሪዎችና አባላት ብቻ ሳይሆኑ በአብዛኛው ለአክራሪዎች ወግኖ የቆመው ኃይል ነው፡፡ይህም ሰማያዊው ፓርቲ አስቀድሞ ውስጥ ውስጡን የማስተባበር ስራ መስራቱን በገሀድ ያረጋግጣል፡፡ መካከለኛ እድሜ ላይ ያሉና አዛውንቶች ጭርሱንም በሰልፍ ላይ የሉም ማለት ይቻላል፡፡
የሰልፈኛው ቁጥር አናሳ ከመሆኑ አንጻር ያን ያህልም ግምት የሚሰጠው እንዳልሆነ በግልጽ የሚታወቅ ቢሆንም፣ «ለራስ ሲቆርሱ አያሳንሱ» ዓይነት ተረት ሆነና 100 ሺ ሰው ሰልፍ ወጥቷል ሲሉ የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ኃላፊ ከእውነታው የተጣላ መግለጫ ለተለያዩ ሚዲያዎች ሰጡ፡፡ ኢትዮ ምሕዳር ጋዜጣም ይህንኑ በማስተጋባት ይሁን በራሱ ስሜት ተነሳስቶ እንደሆነ አይታወቅም በመጀመሪያ ገጹ ላይ «100 ሺ ሰዎች ሰልፍ ወጡ» ሲል ግነቱን በመድገም ዘገባ አቅርቧል፡፡ መልእክቱ አያሻማም፣ ለቀጣዩ ሰልፍ ሰዎች እንዲሰናዱ በኋላም ብዙ መቶ ሺዎች ወጡ ለማለት እንዲመች የተዘጋጀ የቅድመ ፕሮፖጋንዳ ስራ ወይም የቅስቀሳ ማስታወቂያ መሆኑ ነው፡፡
ሌሎቹም የውስጥና የውጭ ሚዲያዎች ከ1997 በኋላ የነበረው ፍርሃት ተሰበረ በሚል በመቶ ሺዎች ሰልፍ ወጡ፤ መንግስት በሶስት ወራት ለቀረቡለት ጥያቄዎች መልስ ካልሰጠ ተቃውሞውና ሰልፉ ተጠናክሮ ይቀጥላል፤ ተቃዋሚውም የበለጡ የተቃውሞ ሰልፎችን ለማድረግ እቅድ እያወጣ ነው፣ ተባብሮ እየሰራ ነው የሚሉ ዘገባዎችንም አንብበናል፡፡
ለዚሁም ተግባራዊነት አሜሪካና አውሮፓ ከሚገኙ አክራሪ ተቃዋሚ ሀይሎች ገንዘብ የማሰባሰብ ስራ እየተካሄደና ከወዲሁም ለመንቀሳቀስና ለማስተባበሪያ የሚሆን ገንዘብ በተለያዩ ሽፋኖች ወደ ሀገር ውስጥ እየገባ መሆኑን አንዳንድ መረጃዎች ያሳያሉ፡፡ በቀጣይም መሰል የተቃውሞ ሰልፎችንና የአደባባይ ስብሰባዎችን ለማደራጀት እንደሚንቀሳቀሱ እየገለጹ ይገኛሉ።
የአረቡ ዓለም ዓይነት አብዮት በመፍጠር በሁከትና በትርምስ መንግስትን በኃይል ለመጣል ይቻላል ብለውም ዕምነት ይዘዋል። ይህ ግን ኢ-ሕገመንግሥ ታዊና ሕገወጥ ከመሆኑም በላይ የሃገራችን ነባራዊ ሁኔታ ሊያስተናግደው የማይችል ከንቱ ምኞት ከመሆን የዘለለ አይሆንም።፡፡ እነሱ እንዳሰቡት ሕብረተሰቡ የስውር ሴራቸውና የአመጻቸው ተባባሪ ይሆናል ተብሎም ጭራሽ አይታሰብም። በዚህ ዓይነቱ ድርጊት ጀርባ በቀጥታና በተዘዋዋሪ የእነማን እጅ አለ? የነማንን ጥቅም ለማስከበርና ዓላማ ለማሳካት ነው ይህ ሁሉ እየታሰበ ያለው? ለዚህ ዓላማ መሳካት ሲባልስ በተለያየ መንገድ ከውጭ የሚገባ ስውር ድጋፍ የለም ወይ? የተለያዩ ክፍተቶች እንዲፈጠሩ በማድረግ የራሳቸውን ጥቅም ለማስከበር የሚራወጡ የተለያዩ የውጭና የውስጥ ኃይሎች የሉም ወይ? ወዘተ የሚሉትን ጥያቄዎች አንስቶ በሚገባ መፈተሽ ተገቢ ይሆናል። የመንግሥትን ጥብቅ ክትትልና ቁጥጥር በመፍራት ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ባሉ በመንግስትም ሆነ በግል የገንዘብ ተቋማት በኩል ግዙፍ ገንዘብ በቀጥታ አይልኩም፡፡ ሽብርተኞች በውጭው ዓለም እንደሚያደርጉት ሁሉ እነዚህም ጨዋታውን የሚያካሂዱትና ገንዘብ የሚያስገቡት ሕጋዊ ባልሆኑ የተለያዩ ስውር መንገዶች ነው፡፡
ይህ ሁሉ ደፋ ቀና በእርግጥ በዚህች አገር የተሻለ ለውጥ ለማምጣት ሳይሆን የሀገሪቷን ሰላም በማደፍረስ ወደ ሁካታና ትርምስ ማዕከልነት ለመለወጥ በዚህም ጥፋትና ውድመት መካከል በሚፈጠር የመርፌ ቀዳዳ በሚያህል ክፍተት ተሽሎክሉኮ በሕገወጥነትና በኃይል ሥልጣን መጨበጥ ብቻ ነው፡፡ ይህ የቀን ቅዥታቸው ግን በምንም መንገድ ዳር የሚደርስ አይሆንም፡፡ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ለዚህ የኢትዮጵያ ጠላቶች ከጀርባ ሆነው በፋይናንስ በመርዳት ለሚያደርጉት ርብርብ ውስብስቡን ገጽታቸውን ስለሚረዳው ፈጽሞ አይንበረከክም፡፡
የታላቁን ሕዳሴ ግድብ ግንባታና ሌሎችን የተጀመሩ ፈጣን የልማት እንቅስቃሴዎችን ለመግታት የሚራወጡት በተቃዋሚነት ስም ያሉ ሰማያዊ ፓርቲን የመሳሰሉና ሌሎች የሃይማኖትና የፖለቲካ ጽንፈኞች እንቅስቃሴ በአንዳንድ የውጭ ሀይሎች ስለላና መረጃ እንዲሁም ቀጥተኛ የፋይናንስ ድጋፍ ሊታገዙ እንደሚችሉ መገመት ከእውነታው የራቀ አይሆንም። ይህን ለማለት የሚያስደፍረውም በአቋም ደረጃ እያራመዱት ያለውና በተግባርም እንተረጉመዋለን የሚሉት ሁሉ ያለው ተመሳሳይነት ነው። የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ፣የአንድነትም ሆነ የመድረክ ሽር ጉድ ለሰላም፣ለዕድገት፣ለፍትሕና ለዲሞክራሲ መስፈን ሳይሆን በአቋራጭ ራሳቸውን ለሥልጣን ለማብቃት የሚያደርጉት የህልም እሩጫ ነው።
ለዚህም ሕዝቡን ለማነሳሳት፣በዲሞክራሲና በሰብአዊ መብት ስም መነገድ፤የሕዝብ ስሜትን ይቀሰቅስልናል ብለው የሚያስቡትን የተዘጋና ፈጽሞ ተቀባይነት የሌለውን አጀንዳ ሁሉ ከተቀበረበት አውጥቶ የሌለ ሕይወት ለመስጠት አቧራ ማስነሳት፣ በአሸባሪነት ተጠርጥረው ጉዳያቸው በነጻ ፍርድ ቤት በመታየት ላይ ያሉ ሰዎችንና ቀደም ብሎም የፍርድ ውሳኔ የተላለፈባቸውን በተመለከተ ከፍርድ ቤት ይልቅ ራሳቸውን ፈራጅ አድርገው በመሰየም ይፈቱ ማለትና በዚህም አክራሪነትንና ጽንፈኝነትን መደገፍ ነው ስራየ ብለው የያዙት፡፡
ታላቅ የሆነ ሀገራዊ ጉዳይ እያለ ያንን ለማሰናከልና ለውጭ ሀይሎች መሳሪያ በመሆን ሕዝቡን ለመከፋፈል መሮጣቸው ማንነታቸውን ይበልጥ አጋልጦታል፡፡ ማንም በዚህ የሚዘናጋና የሚታለል አይኖርም፡፡ ጥሪያቸውም ሆነ ቅስቀሳቸው ተቀባይነት የለውም፡፡ የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ፣ የአንድነትና የመድረክ ጥቁር ተግባራት ሀገሪቷን ወደ ጥፋት አቅጣጫ ለመውሰድ ያነጣጠረ እንጂ ለሕዝብ ጥቅምና ክብር ከማሰብ የመነጨ አይደለም፡፡ በዚህ ድርጊታቸው ግን የታሪክና የትውልድ ተጠያቂነትም እንደሚኖርባቸው ጠንቅቀው ሊገነዘቡት ይገባል፡፡

“I am Ethiopian first” Abebe Gellaw"

July 23, 2013

by Abebe Gellaw

Abebe Gellaw

It has come to my attention that my brief Facebook comment regarding a few controversial statements made by Jawar Mohammed has been posted on ECADF’s website as an article. I had no intention of writing a series piece on the issue. Quite obviously, there is a big difference between a well-thought out lengthy commentary and a brief message in a particular context.

My intention was just to appeal for calm and harmony, a necessary effort lacking in our political discourse. Often times, a message without its context is open to misinterpretation and misunderstanding. So there seems to be a need to clarify.

Politics, as far as I understand, is a mechanism of managing conflict of interests. It is a means of building consensus through dialogue and compromise. Since the early 1960s, the major political conflict in Ethiopia has been between ethno-nationalists and nationalists. The forces on both ends of the political spectrum have not still found a middle ground that can bring them towards consensus and compromise.

My understanding is that Jawar is an ethno-nationalist. As an ethno-nationalist, he says he is an Oromo first. Unlike him, I am a nationalist. But that is not the major problem. The problem is the way he has chosen to articulate and present his views in question that have been widely perceived as inflammatory and divisive.

I firmly and fervently believe that I am an Ethiopian first. I do not wish to allow the ethnic origin of my predecessors and parents to define me as a human being and overshadow my Ethiopian identity.

Jawar said Ethiopian identity was imposed on him. On the contrary, I argue that such a position is fundamentally flawed. Nowhere in the world is anyone given choices of national identity.

The Chinese-American writer, Eric Liu, once said: “The next time someone uses denial of citizenship as a weapon or brandishes the special status conferred upon him by the accident of birth, ask him this: What have you done lately to earn it?” Our predecessors, who have bequeathed us a country called Ethiopia with all its faults, challenges and problems, have made huge sacrifices in blood and flesh so that we’ll never be stateless. We should rather make sacrifices to reclaim our country and make our citizenship more meaningful by winning our rights, as citizens, to live in our country with full dignity, freedom and equality. We should make Ethiopia a country where every citizen and ethnic group is equal.

Unfortunately, our birthplaces also define the major problems and opportunities we inherit. Ethiopia is not a perfect nation. Far from it, it is defective and faulty as a result of the age-old tyrannies and injustices we have been condemned to suffer collectively.

Like any nation, it offers unique challenges as well as opportunities. With all its problems and baggage, Ethiopia is a nation of 80 million people. Our destiny is intertwined. We are diverse and yet we are all Ethiopians, whether we like it or not. I believe that rejecting Ethiopia as our country is not a solution to any of the problems we are supposed to confront. We should rather make strenuous efforts to reconstruct Ethiopia as a country where all of its citizens live in freedom, harmony, justice, peace and prosperity.

In the new Ethiopia we envision, there should be no room for inequality, injustice and tyranny. It should never be a prison for its children, regardless of their political, ethnic or cultural backgrounds. No ethnic or political group should be allowed to impose hegemony at the detriment of the majority.

The worst challenges all citizens of Ethiopia, except the oppressors, face are political oppression, grinding poverty, indignity, inequality, injustice and discrimination, just to mention a few among so many. At this time and age, what has been imposed on us is not national identity but the tyranny of the TPLF, an extremist ethno-nationalist group whose aim was nothing more than seceding Tigray. That is why we should continue struggling to throw off this backbreaking tyranny from our shoulders.

As I have clearly stated in another Facebook post, addressed to Jawar, “No nation-state was formed through consensus and democratic deliberations. Nation-states emerged out of conflicts, conquests, occupations and colonialism. While almost all African states were created by the colonial powers, Ethiopia was formed through internal processes. It was a painful process but not even as painful as what Native Americans and Europeans, who had gone through two devastating [world] wars.”

“We Ethiopians do not need to be bitter about the past. We are not part of the old history. But we certainly need to preserve our country and make it a nation for all correcting past injustices and mistakes. We need to move forward with a united spirit. As long as we can bring about real equality, justice, freedom and democracy, we will be fine. That is what we should all fight for rather than dwelling on the past [and gnaw old bones]. It is the present and the future that really matter….”

While I called for unity rather than condemning each other, making such inflammatory and controversial statements that turned out to be divisive are not only wrong but also damaging to our common cause for freedom. I said Jawar had misspoken. The dictionary definition of misspeak is not to endorse or approve. It means, “To speak mistakenly, inappropriately, or rashly.” I think that should be clear enough. It was particularly wrong for Jawar to speak in such a divisive ethno-religious tone at a time when we desperately need to unify to overcome and overwhelm the divide-and-rule tyranny of the TPLF. That is where he misspoke, in my humble opinion, without completely disregarding so many positive contributions.

I was under the impression that calling for sanity and unity at this critical juncture in our struggle would not also be misconstrued as a sign of weakness. I always see myself as a moderate. Compromise for the sake of the greater good is at times a mechanism to avoid unnecessary conflict and feelings. Even if that was my intention, I believe that we Ethiopians should never compromise on anything that undermines our unity, freedom, harmony and peace.

After all, our aspiration is to rebuild a united nation that will accommodate every citizen as equal and guarantee the freedom of every individual citizen including those who believe that they are the byproducts of their cultural and ethnic heritage. For that to happen, we need to preserve Ethiopia, a country that we will all be proud of when we claim our freedom despite its troubles and predicaments.

Anyone is not entitled to apologize on behalf of Jawar. If any apologies are needed, no one but only Jawar is entitled to make. As far as I am concerned, I am nobody’s apologist.

That said, I will be disingenuous if I do not repeat my main message. Let us move on with a united spirit and focus on our just cause for freedom, equality and justice. That is much more important than the war of attrition and divisiveness that is derailing our gains. Whenever we have problems, we should first have the courage to address them in a civilized manner. Again let us move on united as Ethiopians…

Deconstructing Construction Corruption in Ethiopia

July 21, 2013

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

In my fifth commentary on corruption in Ethiopia this year, I focus on the construction sector. The other commentaries are available at my blogsite.

The cancer of corruption in the construction sector the World Bank (WB) documented in its “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia” is just as malignant and metastatic as in the land, education and telecommunications sectors. According to the WB report:

In the construction sector, Ethiopia exhibits most of the classic warning signs of corruption risk, including instances of poor-quality construction, inflated unit output costs, and delays in implementation. In turn, these factors appear in some cases to be driven by unequal or unclear contractual relationships, poor enforcement of professional standards, high multipliers between public sector and private sector salaries, wide-ranging discretionary powers exercised by government, a lack of transparency, and a widespread perception of hidden barriers to market entry.

Ethiopia’s “construction sector” falls into four categories: roads, water supply and irrigation, power, and other public works including construction of universities, schools, hospitals and markets. Annual spending on roads alone is estimated to be US$1.2 billion. The “government” totally dominates the construction sector. “Ethiopia is unusual compared with most other African countries, which have already fully privatized the design and construction of public works.”

There are multiple and “interrelated drivers of corruption in Ethiopia’s construction sector.” These drivers are “related to deficiencies in accountability (transparency based on clear performance criteria), capacity (availability of sufficient material and human resources and proper procedures), and trust (confidence in the market that allows businesses to invest in increasing their own capacity). In Ethiopia, “A lack of capacity makes corruption possible, a lack of accountability makes corruption happen, and a lack of trust allows corruption to take root.”

The WB report highlights corruption in Ethiopia’s construction sector along six dimensions. The policymaking and regulatory processes are at high-risk area of corruption. Such corruption “has a major effect on sector governance.” Policies and regulations could “encourage, or help hide, corrupt practices” and unless corrected perpetuate corruption by groups or individuals. The Ethiopian “government” “controls the price of construction materials, access to finance, and access to equipment. It controls professional and company registrations. It maintains high-level, bilateral infrastructure deals with China and lacks independent performance audits.” According to the WB report, “Many stakeholders are concerned about the possibility of a connection between the dominant role of Chinese contractors in the road sector and high-level links between the Ethiopian and Chinese governments” and the “lack of effective competition, with Chinese contractors dominating the international market and a limited set of domestic contractors dominating the national market.” These problems are compounded by other factors such as poor quality control, weak enforcement of professional standards and overall lack of transparency. Professionals in the construction sector are reluctant to complain “for fear of being victimized” and believing there is no truly independent body to which they can appeal.” Since the “government is a major client”, “there is a reluctance to express dissent.”

Dawit Kebede: From Hero to Zero

July 5, 2013

by Selam Tesfay

When Dawit Kebede received a CPJ award, as a ‘hero’ of press freedom in 2010, Ethiopians in the Diaspora fired fireworks. So many people were proud of him. His story was compelling. Unfortunately, it didn’t take Dawit too long to ruin his good records unleash a self-destructive war that has harmed himself more than anyone else.

Dawit was one of the journalists who were locked up after the 2005 election turmoil. He was then editor and publisher of a little known paper called Hadar. Then he was released along with Kinijit leaders in late 2007. Unlike other journalists, such as Eskinder Nega and Sisay Agena, he was able to secured an operating license and launched Awramba Times. His courage was admired. The paper became popular even among the Diaspora as he distributed the soft copy online. This was indeed very commendable that made Dawit a darling among Ethiopians all over the world. But today Dawit Kebede has chosen to play a destructive role, much like Aigaforum that leaves no stone unturned to divide activists and dissidents opposed to the Tigryan dictators in power.

Coming to America

Like Eddie Murphy’s popular comedy, Dawit’s Coming to America is full of drama although it may not be too comedic. Dawit suddenly decided to flee Ethiopia. That was not unusual as Ethiopia is the number one source of exiled journalists in the world in the last decade. But there were definitely confusions on the circumstances that led him into exile after he had declared to the world that he would never flee whatever the risks. His colleagues working for Awramba, whom he did not even inform on his new plan, had one version. The regime had another. Dawit had two versions; one for public consumption another one that he says is the real one.

According to the last version of events, one day Dawit got a phone call from the outgoing U.S. Ambassador Donald Booth. The U.S. Ambassador wanted an urgent secret meeting with him. Dawit rushed to the sprawling American Embassy in Northern Addis Ababa. He was wondering about the “top secret” that His Excellency wanted to report to him. Normally U.S. Ambassadors around the world report to the State Department in Washington DC. So Dawit was a bit wary when a U.S. Ambassador was eager to share a secret with him.

At the U.S. Embassy in Addis, Ambassador Booth was waiting for his guest from Awramba. As soon as he arrived, the Ambassador started to share the secrets. Dawit claims that the Ambassador expressed his concern over his safety and future. Booth said that he had received very credible information from his informants within the Ethiopian government that Bereket Simon and his colleagues had hatched a new plan to throw him in jail again. Dawit, claimed that the Ambassador went out of his way and gave him an ultimatum. He had no option but to to leave the country urgently.

Endorsed by the ambassador, his visa was processed speedily in a paranormal manner. So Dawit flew to Washington D.C. and sought political asylum. Though the story seems a passage out of a movie script, it is the version that Dawit Kebede stamped as official.

The Root Cause

It is customary in any part of the world that a job application can either be accepted or rejected. That is a fact of life. But it is extremely unusual for anyone to commit suicide or become an arsonist just because a job application has not been successful. Sadly enough, Dawit Kebede’s problems with ESAT, an emergent media organization he used to praise in flourishing terms (watch the video), began due to such a rare scenario.

When Dawit arrived in the U.S., he was received and welcomed warmly by activists. Anyone arriving in a new country needs some help. That is quite normal. Washington D.C. did not disappoint Dawit. Wherever he went, people accepted and embraced him like their hero.

He wanted to work for ESAT. No problem, of course. Owing to his once cozy relationship with Dr. Berhanu Nega, he asked him to give him a job. But Dr. Berhanu, regardless of his valuable contributions, does not own ESAT. So his application had to be considered by ESAT’s management. As an organization with limited budget and resources, the management had to find budget to cover the cost of hiring Dawit.

While his application was pending, Dawit became too impatient. He started spreading rumors that ESAT did not want to hire him because he was a Tigrian. Many do not want to be seen around ESAT let alone working for it. ESAT believes in diversity and there was a consensus that he would be an asset. He took his strong opinion to the next level. He started saying that ESAT was anti-Tigrian. The evidence he submitted was the focus on the crimes of the TPLF. But it is still a fact that TPLF is the major force behind the corruption, tyranny, abuse of power, gross human rights violations and massive robberies under the guise of EFFORT companies.

In the meantime, Dawit decided to move to Arizona, where his brother lives. His brother is known to be a long time operative of the TPLF. As a matter of fact, he is said to be very close to the top TPLF hatemongers.

Aggressive strategy

While Dawit’s frustration was building up, Ethiomedia and a few other websites published an article critical of the questionable Awramba Times editor. Dawit went ballistic. He responded by launching a personal attack against Abraha Belai. Instead of discrediting Abraha, Dawit exposed his weak side and raised serious doubts about his maturity not only as a journalist but also as an adult. A few more critical articles appeared on ECAD Forum. This time he called Dr. Berhanu Nega a few times and demanded that he stopped ECADF from discussing and publishing anything about him. Again he linked the issue with his Tigrian identity.

Dr. Berhanu politely told him that he had no control over the people criticizing him and was logically unable to censor them for him. He correctly advised him to contact the people running ECADF instead of him. Again, Dawit got threatening and ballistic like the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the punk dictator that threatened to destroy the United States.

Dawit started exhibiting his overt hostility toward ESAT and Ginbot 7. ESAT and Dr. Berhanu Nega became his punching bags. Whenever ESAT broadcasts anything that seriously exposes TPLF crimes, Dawit comes up with a counter effort to “discredit” ESAT. While Dawit’s spin has had no impact on the growing popularity of ESAT, he fully exposed is deviousness more than his skills in journalism.

Dawit went on the offensive and appeared on former TPLF motor-mouth Berhanu Damte’s “Civility Forum.” Then Berhanu was amenably bending too much for the TPLF, who used him in exchange for food and pocket money. Dawit claimed that he had a mission of saving Ethiopian journalism from bankruptcy. He wanted to restore ethics and professional journalism. But it was an ambitious effort as his inexperience and lack of training wasn’t too evident to miss.

The whole project was futility at its best, Awramba Times way of ethical journalism was nothing more than spreading distorted, biased, twisted, divisive and inflammatory stories. The story of hero to zero became more and more bizarre. Dawit’s Kebede’s journey from hero to zero is quite confounding. What is even tragic is his loss of credibility by making a fool of himself.

To be continued.

The Oromo issue on Al Jazeera

July 4, 2013

by Yilma Bekele

There was a half hour discussion on the Oromo issue in Ethiopia on Al Jazeera Television Network. It was one of those situations where you go ‘what just happened’ after an experience that leaves you confused and dumbfounded when it is over. As an Ethiopian I am familiar with the issue and as someone who was born and raised in Sidama I certainly have enough real experience to have a handle on the matter. Furthermore as an Ethiopian that has been exposed to the opinions presented by the OLF and other Oromo groups I thought this program will give me further insight to the grievances by the party’s concerned.

I am sad to say the discussion did not shine any new light on the issue, was not able to define the problem in a coherent manner and failed to present a solution that is well thought of and acceptable to all the parties involved. What is the point of appearing on a discussion program if the net result is to not being able to teach some, respond to difficult questions with rational and verifiable argument and show the world why your position is just and convince all peace loving people to support your cause.

I would like to say that the hosts of ‘The Stream’ show were very gracious and asked very important and probing questions and gave the participants plenty of opportunity to state their case. You can tell the interviewers were as confused as we the viewers based on the trend of their questions which was asking for specifics and some kind of solution as the program was coming to an end. In fact one of the hosts brought out her own experience belonging to a majority tribe in Nigeria trying to make sense of the confusing analysis made by the guests.

U.S. Double-talking Human Rights in Ethiopia, Again!

June 30, 2013

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

As my readers know, I enjoy watchin’ American diplomats chillin’ out and kickin’ it with African dictators. I like watchin’ ‘em kumbaya-ing, back-pattin’ and fist bumpin’. I have trained myself to decipher their cryptic diplomatese spoken with forked tongue. I have also learned chew on their indigestible words with a whopping spoonful of salt and pepper.

Despite years of relentless effort, I have been unable to fathom their mendacity. I am mystified and spellbound by the depth of their duplicity and height of hypocrisy. Bewildered and frustrated, I was compelled to engage in a neologistic exercise and create a word that captured their culture of mendacity. I coined the term “diplocrisy” to refer to the deliberate and calculated use of double-talk, double-speak and double-dealing to misrepresent facts and mislead the inattentive public about what the U.S. is doing to actively promote human rights in Africa.

Diplocrisy is diplomatic hypocrisy in “lights, camera and action”. For instance, the diplocrites say, “We will work diligently with Ethiopia to ensure that strengthened democratic institutions and open political dialogue become a reality for the Ethiopian people…” Yet they turn a blind eye (or pretend to be legally blind) to the complete “closure of political space” in Ethiopia. (The euphemism “closure of political space” is what used to be called in the old days, oppression, repression and suppression.) The diplocrites promise to “work for the release of jailed scholars, activists, and opposition party leaders…”, but when Africa’s ruthless dictators tongue-lash them, the diplocrites become tongue-less (or tongue-tied) and their lips are sealed.

The diplocrites say, “When a free media is under attack anywhere, all human rights are under attack everywhere. That is why the United States joins its global partners in calling for the release of all imprisoned journalists in every country across the globe and for the end to intimidation.” The truth is they plug their ears to avoid hearing the pained whimpers of heroic journalists like Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu, Woubshet Taye and so many other political prisoners chained deep in the bowels of Meles Zenawi Prison in Ethiopia. When they proclaim, “History is on the side of brave Africans…” and conveniently position themselves on the right side of the bed with Africa’s brutal dictators, I marvel at the height of their diplocrisy.