Ethiopia: Suppressing Protest during Electoral Crises

Georgetown University

Tuesday, February 26, 2013 from 12:00pm to 1:30pm

Mortara Building Mortara Center Conference Room

Suppressing Protest during Electoral Crises: The Geographic Logic of Mass Arrests in Ethiopia

by Leonardo Arriola, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, UC Berkeley

How do authoritarian governments respond to the threat of opposition protest after disputed election results? Governments often use coercion to suppress protests that threaten the political status quo, but it remains unclear whether they seek to maximize the impact of repression by imposing sanctions indiscriminately, stoking general terror to induce acquiescence, or by targeting sanctions against those most likely to mobilize against the regime in power. This paper contributes to the study of electoral authoritarianism by showing how governments use the urban geography of their capitals to target repression during electoral crises. The argument is illustrated with evidence from the Ethiopian government’s response to opposition protests in the national capital after disputed election results in 2005. Based on an analysis of nearly 15,000 protest-related arrests, the paper shows that the Ethiopian government pursued a strategy of geographic targeting, preemptively detaining young men mainly residing near the executive office, in order to forestall further anti-regime mobilization. Distance from the executive office alone is shown to explain nearly a third of the variation in neighborhood arrest rates, while factors such as protest history, the intensity of protest, the location of opposition leader arrests, and the location of police stations are found to have no impact on neighborhood arrest rates.

About the Speaker:

Leonardo Arriola is Assistant Professor for Comparative Politics and African at the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Arriola studies electoral politics, ethnic politics, and political violence with a focus on African countries. His current research examines how electoral violence affects multiparty competition, power sharing, and state repression. He has conducted field research in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, and Senegal. He has previously been a visiting scholar at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at Notre Dame, a Fulbright scholar at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies at Addis Ababa University, and a visiting researcher at the West African Research Center in Dakar, Senegal.

This event is free and open to the public. A Q&A session will follow the lecture.

A light lunch will be served.

Contact africanstudies@georgetown.edu

Sponsors The Mortara Center and the African Studies Program

British firm drills for Ethiopia’s first oil

LONDON: Tullow Oil, the British explorer that found Kenya’s first crude a year ago, is about to find out whether the resources extend into neighbouring Ethiopia, a nation dependent on agriculture that’s yet to discover any petroleum.

Tullow, Africa Oil Corp and Marathon Oil Corp plan to complete their Sabisa well in western Ethiopia’s South Omo Block this quarter. “The first discovery would be big news,” said Martin Mbogo, Tullow’s manager for Kenya, where its Ngamia well struck oil in March. “That would be historical for Ethiopia.”

Tullow, a London-based explorer, is targeting East Africa’s Tertiary Rift, a geological fault that’s yielded oil in Uganda as well as Kenya. For the company, an Ethiopian find may prove a new oil province. For the country, evidence of crude could help the government curb energy imports and diversify an economy that relied on coffee for about a quarter of export earnings in 2011.

“We are importing every drop of oil and gas,” Ethiopian Mines Minister Sinknesh Ejigu said. “We want to change this game.”

Licenses won by Tullow and Africa Oil in Kenya and Ethiopia cover an area almost as large as the North Sea. Only 11 wells have been drilled there so far, compared with more than 2,400 wells in the sea. While gas has been found in eastern Ethiopia, the partners are focusing on the western Omo region in the hope it will prove the extension of the petroleum system from Kenya.

“The structure is almost identical to what we see at Ngamia,” Africa Oil Vice President of Business Development James Phillips said in an interview in Addis Ababa. “This is a huge well for Ethiopia. This is really a key well.”

The country needs energy to support economic growth. The East African nation still ranks 211th in terms of gross domestic product per capita, behind Mozambique and ahead of Togo, according to Central Intelligence Agency data.

“A hit at the well would effectively bookend the string- of-pearls play from Ngamia to Sabisa,” Brian Gallagher, a London-based analyst at Investec Bank, wrote in a report this month. “Sabisa represents a trigger well with the potential to open up a new basin.” The government has a right to 10 percent of the South Omo Block should the companies discover oil, Gallagher said. The Sabisa well is targeting about 140 million barrels of oil resources, he said, citing Tullow estimates.

Africa Oil’s Phillips, who served as chief operating officer until September 9, declined to comment on the progress of the well.

The Omo region is a “strange” area, he said. “A place like Omo is frankly the end of the Earth. It hasn’t had any attention from oil and gas exploration ever.”

The project partners are in talks with Kenya and Ethiopia to allow their contractor, China’s BGP Inc., to conduct seismic studies in the border area covering the Omo River wetlands. The border is currently closed and it takes days to transport equipment on dirt roads to cross at the nearest checkpoint.

“It could be one of most prospective, interesting areas,” Phillips said. “It’s going to be a tricky area to work,” which is similar to the Mississippi River delta in Louisiana.

WP-Bloomberg

The Emperor’s Last Stand: Before The Italian Elections, An Attempt To Tear Down Fascist Monument

by Maya Shwayder
International Business Times

His Highness Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie Haile Selassie of Ethiopia would like to speak with you, Mr. Giorgio Napolitano,

 President of Italy. Selassie, the grandson of the last emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, has taken a personal interest in a small monument in the small town of  Affile, near Rome.

Haile Selassie, who is worshiped by the Rastafarian religion as an incarnation of God, was forced to flee his country in 1936 when the Italians invaded. In 1937, the Italian viceroy in Ethiopia, General Rodolfo Graziani, retaliated against an assassination attempt on him by Ethopians by ordering the genocide of native civilians, with one of his subordinates saying, “Comrades, today is the day when we should show our devotion to our Viceroy by reacting and destroying the Ethiopians for three days. For three days I give you carte blanche to destroy and kill and do what you want to the Ethiopians.”

True to their orders, in the next three days, Italian troops killed approximately 30,000 Ethiopians in the capital, Addis Ababa. Homes were set on fire, and the servants of American and Greek expats were lynched.  Graziani earned the nickname “the Butcher of Ethiopia.”

After the end of world War II Graziani was tried as a war criminal and sentenced to 19 years in prison, but served only a few months. He died peacefully in 1955.

His name lay then dormant for decades, mentioned pretty much only by Italy’s neofascist fringe which revered him as a hero, until August 2012. That’s when the mayor of Affile, Ettore Viri, spent $160,000 in taxpayer money to erect a mausoleum to Graziani in his town, which includes the inscribed words “Fatherland” and “Honor.”

Viri is known to be a politician of the far-right ideology. According to a report from the New York Times, many of the residents still “appreciate” Benito Mussolini, the Fascist leader who led Italy into World War Two, disastrous defeat, and civil war. Viri also told the NYTimes that he keeps a bust of Graziani in his living room.

In a letter dated September 5, 2012 and sent on behalf of Prince Ermias, the Global Alliance for Justice: The Ethiopian Cause asked Napolitano to take down the mausoleum, saying, “Italy must immediately act to halt a handful of right-wing extremists from ruining Italy’s international reputation and credibility.  No park or memorial should be named in honor of Rodolfo Graziani and those who perpetuate it should be stopped from doing so.

“If someone were to paint a portrait of Mussolini on the side of the Coliseum, wouldn’t it be a national imperative to reverse that?” the letter continued.

The letter has no yet received a public response from Napolitano. A second letter from the Global Alliance, dated February 7, 2013, has also not received a response.

Watch a survivor of the 1937 Graziani massacres tell his story:

On February 19 in New York, people including an official from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church gathered outside the Italian Mission to the U.N. on Second Avenue, carrying signs that said “Dismantle the Graziani Mausoleum Now,” and “Shame on Italy.” According to Nicola DeMarco, the organizer of the protest, the demonstrators “somewhat spontaneously” demanded to speak with consular officials, and were allowed an audience with First Secretary of the Mission Giuseppe Perricone.

ለርዕሰ አድባራት ለንደን ደብረ ጽዮን ቅድስት ማርያም ቤተ ክርስቲያን አባላትና ወዳጆች ሁሉ

በስመ አብ፤ ወወልድ ወመንፈስ ቅዱስ አሐዱ አምላክ፤ አሜን!!

የሰው ልጅ መብትና ነጻነት ከእግዚአብሔር ያገኘው ነጻ ሥጦታ እንጂ መስቀልም ሆነ ጠመንጃ በያዙ ሰዎች ችሮታ የሚታደለው አይደለም!!

አባ ግርማ ከበደ

“በእኔ በኩል ይህንን የቤተ ክርስቲያንን ንብረት ይይዛል የሚባለውን ካምፓኒ እስከተው ድረሥ ሌላውን ጉዳይ ለመነጋገር ዝግጁ ነኝ” መሪጌታ ዓለማየሁ ደስታ

“ጽላቱም ሆነ ንብረቱ በእጃችን ስለሚገኝ ይህ ሕንፃ ቤተ ክርስቲያን የሚሉት ይሸጥና ድርሻችንን ወስደን ሌላ ቤተ ክርስቲያን እንመሠርታለን”

ከላይ የተመለከተው የሁለቱ ካህናት ንግግርና ገለጻ የተደመጠበት ጊዜ ሩቅ አይደለም። ሁለቱም ካህናት መግለጫውን የሰጡት ዓርብ 15 February 2013 ሲሆን አባ ግርማ ከበደ የተናገሩት በቤተ ክርስቲያኗ ውስጥ የተፈጠረውን የሰላም መታጣት አስመልክቶ መፍትሔ ለማስገኘት የሚጥሩ ሰዎች ሲያነጋግራቸው ሲሆን፤ መሪጌታ ዓለማየሁ ደግሞ ንግግሩን ያደረጉት በተመሳሳይ ዕለት በቤተ ክርስቲያኑ ቅጥር ግቢ ውስጥ በሚገኘው የመሰብሰቢያ አዳራሽ ደጋፊዎቻችን ናቸው የሚሏቸውን የተወሰኑ ካህናት፤ ምእመናንና የሰንበት ት/ቤት ወጣቶችን በድብቅ ሰብስበው የተንኮል ዕቅድ በሚሸርቡበት ወቅት ነው።

ሕዝበ ክርስቲያን ሆይ፡

ሰራተኛው ለፍቶና ጥሮ፤ ግሮ ከሚያገኘው ደምወዙና ገቢው፤ ሥራ የሌለው፤ ጡረተኛ፤ አቅመ ደካማና ልጅ አሳዳጊ ደግሞ ከሚያገኘው ድጎማና ጡረታው ላይ በመቀነስ የኦርቶዶክስ

 ሃይማኖቱ ማዕከልና የሃገሩ ኢትዮጵያ ምትክ አድርጎ ለሚያያት ለንደን ደብረ ጽዮን ቅድስት ማርያም ቤተ ክርስቲያን በመለገስ ሁሉም ባደረጉት እጅግ የሚያኮራ መረባረብ £1.7 ሚሊዮን ፓውንድ በማውጣት ሕንጻ ቤተ ክርስቲያን እና ለተለያየ አገልግሎት የሚውል ትልቅ የመኖሪያ ሕንፃ ገዙ።

ከዚህም በተጨማሪ ጊዜአቸውን፤ ጉልበታቸውንና እውቀታቸውን ያለ አንዳች ጥቅምና ክፍያ ለቤተ ክርስቲያኗ አገልግሎት በማበርከት በከፍተኛ መስዋዕትነት ቤተ ክርስቲያኗን አሁን ለደረሰችበ የዕድገት ደረጃ ካበቋት በኋላ ዛሬ ባለቤቶችና በቤተ ክርስቲያኗ የወደፊት እጣ ፋንታ ላይ ወሳኝኞቹም ሆኑ ተደራዳሪዎቹ አባ ግርማ ከበደና መሪ ጌታ ዓለማየሁ ሆነዋል።

ይህ ብቻም አይደለም ለአባ ግርማም ሆነ ለመሪ ጌታ ዓለማየሁ በድምሩ በወር ከ£2.300 ፓውንድ በላይ ደምወዝ የሚከፍለውና ለሌሎችም አገልጋይ ካህናት ደምወዝ እየከፈለ የሚያኖራቸው ይኸው መኖሩንም ሊረሱት የሚሞክሩት ሕዝብ ነው።

እነ አባ ግርማ ከበደና ተከታዮቻቸው ግን ይህንን ሃቅ ንቀው በመተው ካህናት ስለሆንን ብቻ ለሕዝቡ የፈለግነውን የሃሰት ወሬ ብንነግረው አምኖ ይከተለናል በሚል እብሪት በመሞላት በሕዝቡ ውስጥ የሃሰት ወሬና ማስፈራሪያ እየነዙ ሕዝቡን ከፋፍለውና አበጣብጠው በቤተ ክርስቲያኗ የወደፊት እጣ ፋንታ ላይ ከነሱ ሌላ ማንም ወሳኝ እንዳይኖር ለማድረግ በመጣር ላይ ይገኛሉ።

በእርግጥ ሕዝበ ከርስቲያኑ ለሃይማኖቱና ለቤተ ክርስቲያኑ ባለው ታላቅ ፍቅርና ከበሬታ አንጻር ካህናቱ በሚነዙት የሃሰት ወሬ በመወናበድ የተወሰነው ክፍል ለጊዜውም ቢሆን የነሱ መሣሪያና መጠቀሚያ ሊሆን እንደሚችል መገንዘብ አዳጋች አይሆንም፤ ነገር ግን ይህ የሚሆነው የማትሞተውና ተቀብራ የማትቀረው እውነት ጎልታ እስከምትወጣ ድረስ ብቻ ነው።

ለምሳሌ ከቅርብ ጊዜ ጀምሮ ካህናቱ “ቤተ ክርስቲያንን ካምፓኒ ሊያደርጓት ነው፤ ይህም ከክርስቶስ ይለየናል፤ ቆኖና ይፈርሳል” ወ.ዘ.ተ የሚል በሬ ወለደ ውሸትን በማስወራት በሕዝቡ ውስጥ ከፍተኛ ሽብርን ይነዛሉ። ይህ ግን በእርግጥ እውነት ነው?

ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን በዚህ ሃገር የቻሪቲ ሕግ መሠረት Charitable Trust (የምግባረ ሰናይ ተቋም) ነች። ይህ የሆነበት ምክንያትም ቤተ ክርስቲያኗ በቻሪቲ ኮሚሽን ተመዝግባ የቻሪቲ ቁጥር ካላገኘች የቤተ ክርስቲያን አገልግሎቷን ለመቀጥል የሚያስችላትን ከታክስ ነጻ የሆነ ገንዘብ ከሕዝብም ሆነ ከሌላ አካል ማሰባሰብ ስለማትችል ነው።

ይህም ብቻ አይደለም ቻሪቴብል ትረስት በመሆኗ ከመንግሥት የGift Aid እና ሌሎች ድጎማዎችን የማግኘት መብትን ያስገኝላታል።

ታዲያ ቤተ ክርስቲያኗ ቻሪቴብል ትረስት ከሆነች፤ ቻሪቲ ደግሞ አትራፊ ያልሆነ የበጎ አድራጊ ድርጅት ማለት ከሆነ፤ እንዴት ብሎ ካምፓኒ ወይም አትራፊ የንግድ ድርጅት በመሆን ሁለት ተጻራሪ ነገሮች አንድ ይሆናሉ? (እዚህ ላይ ነው ካህናቱ የሕዝቡን እውቀትና የማገናዘብ ችሎታ እጅግ ዝቅ አድርገው በማየት አይንህን ጨፍንና እናሞኝህ የሚሉት)

ቤተ ክርስቲያን ያህል ቀርቶ ግለሰብም ቤት ገዝቶ ባለቤትነቱን ለሌላ ሰው በአደራ ልስጥ አይልም። አይደለም ቤትን ያህል ነገር ቴሌቪዥንም ሆነ ከዛ ያነሰ ዕቃ እንኳ ቢሆን ገዝቶ በሌላ ሰው ስም በአደራ ይያዝልኝ ብሎ የሚመርጥ ሰው የለም።

በአሁኑ ወቅት ግን በ£1.7 ሚሊዮን ፓውንድ የተገዛው የርዕሰ አድባራት ለንደን ደብረ ጽዮን ቅድስት ማርያም ቤተ ክርስቲያን ንብረት የተያዘው በ4 ሰዎች ስም ነው። ይህ ለምን ሆነ? ለምንስ ቤተ ክርስቲያኗ በራሷ ስም ንብረቷን መያዝ አልቻለችም?

ድንቄም ምርጫ!

ከይኸነው አንተሁነኝ,,,,

የካቲት 21 2013

ላንዲት ሀገር መሰረታዊ የእድገት ሃይል ያላት የተፈጥሮ ሃብትና የሕዝቦቿ ሁለንተናዊ ብቃት ናቸው። የሕዝቦቿን ሁለንተናዊ ብቃት ለመገንባት ደግሞ ካሏት የትምህርት ተቋማትና

የትምህርቱ ስርአት በተጨማሪ በሕዝቦቿ መካከል  ያለው የባህል፣ የሃይማኖትና የአኗኗር መስተጋብር የሚያበረክቱት አስተዋጽኦና በዚሁ ሳቢያም የሚገኘው ቀጥተኛ ያልሆነ የእውቀትና የልምድ አቅምና ዝውውሩ የሚናቅ አይሆንም። የተረጋጋና በመከባበር የሚመራ የሃይማኖት ስርአት፣ የአንደኛው እንቅስቃሴ ሌላኛውን በመደገፍ ላይ የተመሰረተ ማህበራዊ እንቅስቃሴ፣ ጎጂ የሆኑ ብህሎችን በማስቀረት ላይ ያተኮረና የሁሉም ብህላዊ ዕሴቶቻችን አስፈላጊነት ላይ ጥያቄ የማያነሳ ማሕበረሰብ ከሁሉም በላይ ለአንዲት ሀገር እድገት አስፈላጊዎች ናቸው።

በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ምንም እንኳ የተፈጥሮ ሃብትና ብቃት ያለው የሰው ህይል የእድገት መሰረቶች ናቸው ቢባልም እነዚህን ሃብቶች ስርአት ባለው መልክ አቀናጅቶና አስተባብሮ መምራት የሚችል የሕዝብ አስተዳደርም ወሳኝ መሆኑ አሌ ልባል አይገባም። ያሉንን ሃብቶች ወደ ውጤት የመቀየሩ ሂደት ሳይደናቀፍ እንዲቀጥል ደግሞ ሀገሪቱ የህግን የበላይነት ያለምንም ቅድመ ሁኔታ የሚቀበል ዴሞክራሲያዊ አስተዳደርና የሕዝብን የበላይነት የሚያምን ዴሞክራሲያዊ ስርአት ሊኖራት ይገባል። ይህም ሲጠቃለል ለአንዲት ሀገር ሁለንተናዊ እድገት ቀጣይነት ዴሞክራሲና ዴሞክራሲአዊ ስርአት ወሳኝ ግብአት ነቸው ማለት ነው።

አንዳንድ ሰዎች ከዴሞክራሲ ውጭ እድገት ሊመጣ እንደሚችል አንዳንድ ሀገሮችን እየጠቀሱ ቢሞግቱም በቅርብ ጊዜያት እየወጡ ያሉ ስለ እድገት የሚያወሩ ከሂዎት ልምድ የተገኙ ተሞክሮዎችና ትንተናዎች ግን የእድገት መሰረት የሆነው ማሕበረሰብ ነፃነትና ሁሉንም ያማከለ የሃብት ክፍፍል ወሳኝ እንደሆኑ ያረጋግጣሉ። ነጻነትና የተማከለ የሃብት ክፍፍል ደግሞ ከዴሞክራሲ ፍሬዎች ዋና ዋናዎቹ መሆናቸውን ልብ ይሏል።

በሀገራችን ኢትዮጵያም ለእድገት ዋና ግብአት የሆነውን ዴሞክራሲን በወረቀት ላይ ለተመልካች እንዲመች በማስቀመጥና የነጻነትን አስፈላጊነትም በሚዲያ በመልፈፍ  ወያኔ ተወዳዳሪ አልተገኘለትም። የዴሞክራሲ ውጤት የሆነው ነፃ ምርጫም ለወያኔ የፕሮፓጋንዳ አንዱ ጭራ እንጅ  የህግ የበላይነት የሚታይበት፣ የሕዝብ አሸናፊነት የሚታወጅበት፣ የምርጫ ቦርድ ገለልተኛነት የሚገለጽበትና የምርጫ ታዛቢዎች ሳይሸማቀቁ ያዩትን የህሊና ፍርድ የሚሰጡበት መድረክ አይደለም። ይልቅስ ወያኔ ሲመቸው  እየታገለ ሳይመቸው እያጭበረበረ የሚጋልብበት ነጻ የግሉ ሜዳ እንጅ።

የወያኔ ምርጫ ተሳታፊዎች የተወሰኑት ከምርጫ በፊት በሰበብ አስባቡ የሚገፉ ውድድር ተብየው ውስጥ የገቡትም ቢሆኑ ወያኔ የፈቀደውን ያህል የምርጫ ድምጽ የሚሰጡ እንጅ የሕዝባቸውን እውነተኛ ድምጽ የሚያገኙ እይደሉም አልነበሩምም። ይህን ለማረጋገጥ ሩቅ መሄድ አያስፈልገንም በቅርቡ የወያኔው አፈ ቀላጤ የምርጫ ህጉ ይከበር ብለው ጥያቄ ስላነሱት 33 ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች የተናገረውን ብቻ መጥቀስ በቂ ይሆናልና።

ሰላሳ ሶስቱ ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች (በሗላ ላይ ቁጥራቸው በሶስት ወይም ባራት ቀንሷል) ባነሱት የምርጫ ህግ ይከበር ጥያቄ ላይ ተንተርሶ የተናገረው የወያኔው አፈ ቀላጤ “ተቃዋሚዎች ኖሩም አልኖሩም በምርጫው ላይ ብዙ ለውጥ አይኖርም” ነበር አለው። ይህን በብዙ መልኩ መተንተን ይቻል ይሆናል ባጭሩ ግን መልክቱ ተቃዋሚዎች ኖሩም አልኖሩም ምራጫውን በምንፈልገው መልኩ የምናስኬደው እኛ ወያኔዎች ነን፣ ተቃዋሚዎች ኖራችሁም አልኖራችሁም ውጤቱ ታውቋል፣ ተቃዋሚዎችን የምንፈልጋችሁ ላሯሯጭነት ብቻ ነውና ሌሎችንም ማለት እንደሆነ መገመት ከወያኔና አገዛዙ ጋር ከለሁለት አስርት ዓመታት በላይ ለቆየ ማንኛውም ዜጋ የሚያስገርም አይሆንም።

ባለፉት የወያኔ ምርጫዎች መታዘብ እንደተቻለው በእንደዚህ ያሉ ኩነቶች ወቅት ወያኔ የሚገርሙ ድርጊቶችን ባጋጣሚ ሳይሆን ሆን ብሎ፣ በማንአለብኝነት ሲተገብር ቆይቷል እየተገበረም ነው። ከዚህ በፊት ወያኔን ወክለው በይስሙላ ምርጫው ላይ ተሳትፈው የነበሩ ዜጎችን ያለ ምንም ጭንቀት ሕዝብን በመናቅ ገለልተኛ ነኝ እያለ እራሱን በሚያታልለው የወያኔ ምርጫ ቦርድ ውስጥ እንዲሰገሰጉ በማድረግ የወያኔን አሸናፊነት ህጋዊ ሽፋን እንዲሰጡ ሲያደርግ መቆየቱና እያደረገም መሆኑ በማስረጃ ተረጋግጧል።

ከዚህም በተጨማሪ ወያኔ የሚተማመንበትና ኩኩ ብሎ የሚታዘዝ ለማግኘት እርግጠኛ ሳይሆን ሲቀር ከዚህ በፊት የሚያውቃቸውን መልካም ታዛዦቹን ከከፍተኛ ወታደራዊ ስልጣን ሳይቀር አውርዶ በእንደዚህ አይነቶቹ የቀልድ ምርጫዎች ላይ ተሳትፈው አሸነፋችሁ እንዲባሉ ሲያደርግ መቆየቱ ያደባባይ ሚስጥር ነው። ከዚህ እጅግ የከፋውና ቀልድ ለማለትም የሚያስቸግረው ደግሞ ወያኔ  ሰሞኑን ለወረዳና አካባቢ ምርጫ እያደረገው ነው የተባለው ነው።  ባደባባይ ከአምስት ሚሊዮን በላይ አባላት እንዳሉት የሚለፈው ወያኔ በተለይ በአዲስ አበባ ለምርጫ የሚያቀርበው በመቸገሩ የተለያዩ መስሪያ ቤቶች ሃላፊዎችን ለምርጫ ለማቅረብ ወስኖ ማስመዝገቡ እየተወራ ይገኛል። ይህ ማለት ደግሞ ሁሉም የሕዝብ አገልግሎት የሚሰጥባቸው ተቋማት ሙሉ በሙሉ በወያኔ ቁጥጥር ስር መሆናቸውን ያረጋግጣል ማለት ነው።

ከዚህ በፊት አንዳንድ መስሪያ ቤቶች ሙሉ በሙሉ ወይም እጅግ በጣም የሚበዛው የስልጣን ቦታቸው በህወሃትና ወያኔዎች መወረሩ በጥናት መረጋገጡና መገለጹ የሚታወቅ ሲሆን በሰሞኑም ወያኔ ለይስሙላ ምርጫው በሚያደርገው እንቅስቃሴ ሌሎች ቀሪ የሕዝበ አገልግሎት ተቋማትም ቢሆኑ ሙሉ በሙሉ  በራሱ ቁጥጥር ስር መሆናቸውን እንደከዚህ ቀደሙ ጥናት ሳያስፈልግ  ወይም ማንም ሳይጠይቀው በራሱ መንገድ ወያኔ አረጋግጧል። ይህም ማለት ወያኔ በሁሉም መስሪያ ቤቶች ሰርጎ ገብቶ የወያኔውን ምርጫ ቦርድን ሳይቀር በራሱ ሰዎች መቶ በመቶ ተቆጣጥሮ የፈለገውን እየገፋ ያሻውን እያወጣ ቀጥሏል። ስለዚህም ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች ሕዝብን እንወክላለን እስካሉ ድረስ እንደዚህ ካሉ ቀድመው ከተጠናቀቁ የይስሙላ ምርጫዎች ይልቅ ሕዝባዊ እምቢተኝነትን በማጠናከር ሕዝቡ ለመብቱ እንዲነሳና ነፃነቱን ራሱ እንዲያስከብር ለማድረግ የበኩላቸውን መወጣት ከሕዝባዊ ተወካይነታቸው በተጨማሪ የዜግነት ግዴታቸው ነው። አበቃሁ።

ከቫንኮቨር ፀደንያ ቅድስት ማሪያም ቤተክርስትያን የተሰጠ የአቋም መግለጫ

በስመ አብ በወልድ ወመንፈስ ቅዱስ አሀዱ አምላክ አሜን!!በሕጋዊውና በብፁእ አቡነ መርቆሪዮስ የሚመራው የኢትዮዽያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ቤተክርስቲያን ያስተላለፈዉን የአቋም መግለጫ ስለመደገፍ፡፡

ለአምላካቸዉ ለእግዚአብሄር አምላክነት በግልፅ ስለመሰከሩና ስለተጋደሉ አባቶቻችን በቅዱሳን መጻህፍት እንደተፃፈው በብሉይ ኪዳን ነቢያት አባቶቻችን ፣ በአዲስ ኪዳን ሐዋሪያት

አባቶቻችን ፣ ባደረጉት ተጋድሎዎች ተጠብቆ የኖረዉን ስርዓት እኛም በዚህ ዘመን የምንገኝ በክርስቶስ ደም የቆመችዉን የኢትዮዽያ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተክርስቲያናችንን ዶግማና ቀኖናዋን ሳይፋረስ የመጠበቅና የማስጠበቅ ብሎም ለትውልድ የማስተላልፈ ክርስቲያናዊ አደራ አለብን፡፡

በመሰረቱ ወደ ኋላ ዞር ብልን ስንመለከት የትኛውም ነብይ ወይንም ሐዋሪያ ምንም አይነት ፈተና ሳያገኝ ቅድስናን ወይንም ነብይነትን የተቀበለ የለም፡፡ አንገታቸውን ለሰይፍ ፣ ቆዳቸውን ለስለት፣ ሰውነታቸውን በድንጋይ ተወግረው ስለ እግዚሃቢሄር አመላክነት ለመመስከር ሕይወታቸውን መስዋእት በማድረግ ይህንን ሃይማኖታችንን ለቀጣዩ ትውልድ አቆይተውልናል፡፡

ታዲያ እኛም ዛሬ እንደ አባቶቻችን የቤተ ክርስቲያናችን ጉዳይ ያገባናል እንላለን፡፡ ለመላው የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተክርስቲያን አማኞች አወዛጋቢ የነበረው የሁለቱ ሲኖዶሶች ጉዳይ በእርቅና በሰላም መንገድ እንዲፈታ ከቤተክርስቲያንዋ አብራክ የወጡት ወገኖቻችን ላለፉት ሶስት አመታት የእርቁን ሂድት ሲያካሂዱ እንደነበር በዜና ማሰራጫዎች በስፋት ሲነገርበትና ስንከታተለው ሰንብተናል፡፡

ከጅምሩ በቅንነትና ለአንድንት ያልትንሳውና የመንግስት እጅ ያለበት የአዲስ አበባው ሲኖዶስ በአባ ዻውሎስ እልፈት የተፈጠረውን አጋጣሚ ተጠቅሞ ያለ አግባብ በቀድሞው የወያኔው ጠቅላይ ሚኒስተር በነብሩት በአቶ ታምራት ላይኔ ትእዛዝ የተናደውን የቤተክርስትያንዋን ቀኖና እንደማስትካከል ዛሬም እነ አባይ ፀሀይ በሃይማኖታችን ጣልቃ በመግባት የእርቁን ሂደት ሳይቋጭ አዲስ ፓትሪያርክ ለመሾም እየትዘጋጁ ይገኛሉ፡፡ የዛሬ ዋና መልእክታችን በገሀድ እየተፈፀመና እየተነገረ ያለዉን ለኦርቶዶክስ ምእመናን በድጋሚ ለማሰማት ሳይሆን በስደት የሚገኘው ሕጋዊው ሲኖዶስ ያወጣውን መግልጫ ሙሉ በሙሉ እንደምንደግፍ ለማሳወቅ እና ዛሬም እንደትላንትናዉ ከአባቶቻችን ጎን በፅናት እንደምንቆም እኛ የፀደንያ ቅድስት ማሪያም ልጆቻቸው በአንድ ድምፅ እንገልፃለን፡፡

ልማት ማለት የነበረዉን እየናዱ ታሪክን እየደመሰሱ ከሆነ ጥፋት እንጂ ልማት አንለዉም፡፡ ለዘመናት የቆየዉንና እንደ ሀገር ቅርስ የሚታየዉን ቤተክርስቲያናችንን እያፈራረሱ የሸንኮራ ተክል መትከል ማለት የሀገርን ሀዉልትና የታሪክ አሻራን ከምጥፋት ለይተን አናየውም፡፡ እንደዋልድባ ከመሳሰሉት ገዳማት ሙሁሮችና ሊቆች የሚፈልቁበት ስፍራ በልማት ስም ማፈራረስ ማለት ጅረቱን ለማቆም ምንጩን ማድረቅ እንደሚሉት ሁሉ ይህ የሀይማኖት፣የባህልና የአገር ማጥፋት ሴራ ክርስትያን ወገኖች ልናስተዉልና በጋራ ልንቋቋመው የሚገባ ጉዳይ ነው፡፡

ዛሬም ለዚህች አገር በውጪው አለም ተሰደው ወያኔ በቤተክርስቲያናችን ዉስጥ የሚያደርገውን ጣልቃ ገብነት እያጋለጡና እየተፋለሙ ኢትዮጵያዊነትን እንደ ችቦ አቀጣጥለው ለቀጣዩ ተውልድ እያስትላልፉ ያሉት አባቶቻችን ትላንትም የጣሊያንን የጠላት ሀይል ታቦትና ካህናትን ጭምር በመያዝ መስዋዕትነትን ከፍለው አኛ ልጆቻቸው በነፃነትና በክብር እንድንኖር ያደረጉት እነኚሁ አባቶቻችን ናቸው፡፡ ታዲያ ከዚህ አብራክ የወጣው ትውልድ ግን አገርና ሀይማኖት ሲጠፋ በየምክንያቱ ተከፋፍሎ አንገቱን ደፍቶ በባይተዋርነት መኖርን የመረጠ ይመስላል፡፡

ከፊታችን ለተጋረጠው ችግር ዝምታና አንገት መድፋቱ መፍተሄ አንደማይሆን አውቀን እውነተኞች ኢትዮጵያውያንና የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ልጆች እርስ በእርስ ያለውን ንትርክ ትተን ለአገራችንና ለቤተክርስቲያናችን ቅድሚያ በመስጠት እጅ ለእጅ ተያይዘን አጥፊውን በአንድነት እንቋቋም ብለን ጥሪያችንን እናቀርባልን፡፡

እግዚአብሄር አምላካችን ቤተክርስቲያናችንን እና አገራችንን ኢትዮጵያን ይጠብቅልን፡፡

ከፀደንያ ቅድስት ማሪያም ቤተክርስቲያን

ቫንኮቨር, ብሪቲሽ ኮሎምብያ

TPLF: Too undemocratic to split

by Tesfay Atsbeha

It is being disseminated that a certain group of the TPLF and Bereket are trying to purge some veteran members of the TPLF. Purges are not new in the TPLF, but it is a break from the tradition of the TPLF, if a group has really disclosed its intention before taking an irrevocable measure.

Ambush and pre-emptive attack

One aspect of the tradition of the TPLF, which is devoid of any transparency and accountability was that the perpetrators

prepare their intrigues to harm their victims without informing the targeted victims and the rank-and-file-members of the TPLF and purge (as they did to Aregawi and Ghidey in 1985, to Seeye, Gebru Tewelde etc in 2001) or liquidate their victims (Abera Manka, Hagos Haileselassie etc0in 1977/78 and Teklu Hawaz in 1985). In all the cases mentioned, the victims did not get a fair chance to express their opinions and this practice of injustice applies to many others.

To put it in military terminologies, the protagonists behaved as if they had to ambush their victims. They launched surprise attacks against their victims whenever the latter list expected the attacks. Another aspect of the tradition pertains to the fact that the perpetrators used to go over to a pre-emptive attack, whenever they felt insecure and feared being held accountable for crimes or feared losing power. Accusing Kinnjit was for instance a pre-emptive attack. Those who ordered the massacre and those who executed the order after the election should have been accused, but the killer framed the accusation to pre-empt his exposition and the mobilization of the people against him. This also shows that conflict resolutions in the TPLF have always been zero-sum-games. On the surface, the perpetrators seem to achieve their aims with dishonest accusations. In reality, it is the use and threat of physical force (the control of the army) which enables them to implement deceptive measures which they try to sell as sophistication and smartness.

During the armed struggle, they (the perpetrators) used to inform others after the fait accompli to justify their measures and silence any potential expression of any grievances in the case of purges. They kept liquidations secrete with the exception of that of Teklu. With the murders they committed in 1977/78, the perpetrators succeeded in making the none-CC members of the TPLF as apolitical as the weapons the latter carry by destroying mutual trust and instilling a feeling of suspicion and fear amongst the fighters of the TPLF. The evaluations (Gmgemas) are mainly meant to maintain the atmosphere of insecurity by forcing everybody control everybody else reciprocally.

A few individuals in the TPLF have been exploiting the lack of a democratic culture and consciousness amongst the members to maintain their repressive rule. Such individuals are perpetuating the undemocratic culture. In this connection, most members of the TPLF are victims, objects of experiment for tyranny and tools of the oppressors at the same time. The few who are in charge of the TPLF have the key (an organized and armed force) to control Ethiopia. They are controlling almost all key positions in Ethiopia that their dominance is too unjust to be tolerable and sustainable. As this lopsided ethnic relationship is the objective reality, exposing and opposing it should be the duty of any democrat. Objectively exposing the repressive and corrupt practices of the Tigrayan elite is not an attack on the people of Tigray. But there are also people who generalize. On both sides, some generalize deliberately, others innocently or due to their inability to differentiate.

Now, coming back to the alleged split, Sebhat Nega, in an interview with Dawit Solomon of Fnote Democracy (posted on 31 January 2013 in zehabesha) has said part of the truth, in saying that the TPLF has never experienced a split. The whole truth is that there were splits in the leadership, but no splits of the whole organization, because the none-CC-members have neither the right to make decisions nor the right to get information on the issues prior to the decisions. Generally, armed undemocratic organisations (like fascists, Stalinists and religious fanatics), do not split, because the leaders do not inform their members about their differences of opinion and let the members freely discuss as well as take sides on the issues. What the perpetrators do always is take measures on the dissidents and spread lies about them. And this was what the leadership of the TPLF has been doing so far.

Sebhat is trying to hide the fact that the TPLF is too undemocratic even to split. The clique which controls the TPLF cannot tolerate any differences of opinion even within itself and that is why it subordinated itself to a single tyrant. Of course, a split would certainly have entailed war, since no independent groups would have tolerated each other. If the Sebhat clique were sincere and had confidence in the correctness of the decisions it arrived at, it would allowed the members of the Front to participate in the process of decision making. Since the clique is used to depriving its own members of their rights, it is depriving all Ethiopians of an alternative and harassing the opposition.

After speaking a single sentence with a partial truth, Sebhat resorted to his lies. He claimed that he and his cohorts are used to discussing as long as it takes, to iron out their differences. Meles gave a similar disinformation in the summer of 1998 while he, in violation of the regulations of the organization, was preparing to purge almost half of the members of the CC of the TPLF. The example Sebhat gave about a long discussion with Ghidey Zeratsion is utter nonsense. Ghidey and Aregawi, while expressing their opinions within the CC, were not aware that the Meles/Sebhat clique was preparing to get rid of them and there were no formal discussions amongst members not belonging to the CC on the issue before the purges. One of the reasons for the expulsion of Ghidey was his mild opposition to the Marxist rhetoric (the tactic not the strategy) so that the aid from the West may not be affected. The whole rhetorical jargon and the aim were totally abandoned after his expulsion.

In a similar manner, the claim by Sebhat that incompetent members are expelled does not correspond to the truth. The victims are mainly those who empress their opinions. By the way, why should incompetence, if that were the case, be a crime? Why are individuals who served the TPLF suddenly treated as enemies? The truth is, while incompetent people can be marginalized without being incriminated through elections in a democratic organization, those who control the TPLF are interested in blind loyalty so that they can maintain their power and their economic advantages.

Differences of opinion within an armed organization and differences between armed organizations in Ethiopia are resolved eventually by intrigues and force and/or the threat of it. No major organization waging an armed struggle has restrained itself from going to war against any other in the recent past in Ethiopia. Therefore there is no basic difference between the feudal lords of the era of the princes and the present war mongers when it comes to attempts at monopolizing power by force. In spite of the similarities in intolerance, the present politicians are more hypocritical than the feudal lords of the past; because the present ones understand the concept of democracy and pay only lip service to it unlike those of the past who lived in an era in which democracy was unknown in the region. Even in the absence of modernity, Emperor Yohannes and King (later Emperor) Menilik were unique in their tolerance of each other and in avoiding war between them. Those who are agitating ethnic enmity should learn from the responsible behaviour of both emperors.1

Who are the contending groups, if there are any?

We can talk about the groups, irrespective of whether or not the individuals have formed groups. One alleged group is supposed to include Sebhat, Abay, Seyoum, Tsegay and Qedusan. The first three (they will henceforth be called the trio.) are the most veteran, but also responsible for many cases of crimes against humanity and corruption. They were the individuals along with Meles who started their career in the armed struggle with an anti-Ethiopian and undemocratic obsession. They wrote a manifesto for the secession of Tigray from Ethiopia and undemocratically kept other members of the TPLF in the dark about the content. Despite their manifesto, they ironically became the rulers of Ethiopia and continued committing crimes.

If the other group includes Bereket, he is a liability to his group. Azeb can get sympathy from some Meles Voodoo (spirit) worshipers. For critical minds, Azeb is a negative symbol of corruption linking her husband, the trio and a few others. The fact that Azeb, without a corresponding qualification controls EFFORT, such a business conglomerate worth billions of dollars and the fact that she is the only female member of the politburo of the TPLF is an evidence of nepotism. Since Azeb got her position by virtue of being the wife of Meles, Meles was involved in this act of corruption. Pardon! He was involved in his own words, in acts of pervasive rent seeking and patronage, as is also the case with his political corruption of claiming an election victory exceeding 99% of the seats. EFFORT, which came into being with stolen (withheld) aid money, is basically a colossal evidence of the corruption of the TPLF mafia clique. (A propos aid, the best way for a fair distribution of aid under the rule of the EPRDF is to make an arrangement for the opposition and the EPRDF to mutually control each other. It is impossible for the donors to control the abuse of aid by the

EPRF).

Several people have proposed that EFFORT should be controlled by external auditors. But I think any attempt at controlling is useless as long as our people are not free. It is only with the prevalence of freedom that any control can make sense.

Notwithstanding the facts mentioned above, it is worth pointing out that many young Ethiopians have been so indoctrinated by the monopolized media outlets that they don’t perceive the evilness of the incumbent.

Possible results of the conflict

Abay woldu, in an angry speech after the death of Meles, had implied some sort of a conflict. If his anger was provoked by the suggestion that the loyal dissidents like Tsadkan should be readmitted into the TPLF, it does not make sense. His fear could not have been caused by the reintegration of the dissidents, but rather by the danger that someone would manipulate and dominate the TPLF to his disadvantage.

Some latecomers in the TPLF leadership positions cannot, with the presumption of innocence, be considered as criminals (by commission). A single tyrant is not controlling Ethiopia for the first time in our modern history and that is in itself a welcome development; although the whole system has yet to be changed for the better. The new initiative of an open conflict may be resolved in several ways and entail different outcomes or it may bring nothing. The best solution would be for all members of the EPRDF, as a whole, to eventually participate in free discussions, get rid of the criminal and corrupt elements and democratically elect a new leadership. Is this a wishful thinking? That may be the case, but it is worth wishing, provided those who can make the change, especially the unprivileged members who make up an overwhelming majority of the army share the wish of abolishing the totalitarian regime and respecting the rights of all Ethiopians.

1 : In my opinion, those who attack emperors Yohannes and Menilik – the former mostly muslin extremists the latter narrow ethnic nationalists – belong to the most destructive elements amongst Ethiopians. I was shocked when I heard a person in the current Affairs pal talk room, on 13 February 2013, expressing his Schadenfreude at the barbaric beheading of emperor Yohannes by the dervishes. The attack on emperor Menilik revolves around his alleged policy of dividing Tigrayans. This accusation should have been buried at least after the Tigrayans on both sides of the Mereb came to power and consolidated the division.