Ethiopia: Liberating a “Prison Nation” By Alemayehu G Mariam

Ethiopia today is a “prison of nations and nationalities with the Oromo being one of the prisoners”, proclaimed the recently issued Declaration of the Congress of the Oromo Democratic Front (ODF). This open-air prison is administered through a system of “bogus federalism” in which “communities exercise neither self-rule nor shared-rule but have been enduring the TPLF/EPRDF’s tyrannical rule for more than two decades.” The jail keepers or the “ruling party directly and centrally micro-manage all communities by pre-selecting its surrogates that the people are then coerced to ‘elect’ at elections that are neither free nor fair”. Ethiopians can escape from “prison nation” and get on the “path to democracy, stability, peace, justice, and sustainable development” when they are able to establish a democratic process in which “all communities elect their representatives in fair and free elections.” The Declaration foresees genuine federalism as the basis for freedom, justice and equality in Ethiopia. It argues that the ruling Tigriyan Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) hijacked the federalism, which was originally birthed by the “mounting pressures of the struggles for self-determination by the Oromo and other oppressed nations”,  and subsequently corrupted it into a political scheme that serves the “present ruling elite’s aspiration of emerging and permanently remaining as a new dominant group by simply stepping into the shoes of those that it replaced.” The ODF “aspire[s] to build on the positive aspects of Ethiopia’s current federal set-up” by “remov[ing] the procedural and substantive shortcomings that stand in the way of democracy and federalism.”The ODF is a “new movement” launched by “pioneers of the Oromo nationalist struggle” who “have mapped out a new path that embraces the struggle of all oppressed Ethiopians for social justice and democracy.” Central to the collective struggle to bust the walls and crash the gates of  “prison nation” Ethiopia is a commitment to constitutional democracy based on principles of “shared and separate political institutions as the more promising and enduring uniting factor” and robust protections for civil liberties and civil rights. Shared governance and the rule of law provide the glue “that will bind the diverse nations into a united political community” and return to the people their government which has been privatized and corporatized by the ruling regime “to advance and serve their partisan and sectarian interests.” The Declaration finds traditional notions of unity inadequate. “Invoking a common history, culture or language has not guaranteed unity. We similarly reject the present ruling party’s presumption that it serves as the sole embodiment and defender of the so-called ‘revolutionary democratic unity.’” It also rejects “the ruling party’s illusory expectation that the promotion of economic development would serve as an alternative source of unity in the absence of democratic participation.” The Declaration incorporates principles of constitutional accountability, separation of powers and check balances and enumerates “bundles” of participatory, social  and cultural rights secured in international human rights conventions. It proposes “overhauling” the civil service system and restructuring of the military and intelligence institutions to serve the society instead of functioning as the  private protective services of the ruling party and elites. The Declaration broadly commits to economic and social justice and condemns the mistreatment and “eviction from ancestral lands of indigenous populations, and environmental degradation.” Significance of the Declaration The world is constantly changing and we must change with it. Henry David Thoreau correctly observed, “Things do not change; we change.” We change by discarding old and tired ideas and by embracing new and energetic ones. The old ideas which demonize other ethnic groups as mortal enemies are no longer tenable and are simply counterproductive. In a poor country like Ethiopia, the vast majority of the people of all ethnic groups get the shaft while the political and economic elites create ethnic tensions and conflict to cling to power and line their pockets. We change by casting away self-deception and facing the truth. The truth is that “united we stand, divided we fall”. When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, Benjamin Franklin said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”  For the past 21 years, we have been falling like a pack of dominoes. They have been hanging us separately on the hooks of “ethnic federalism”. We must be prepared to change our minds as objective conditions change. As George Bernard Shaw said, “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” We must change our ideas, beliefs, attitudes and perspectives to keep up with the times. The alternative is becoming irrelevant. No organization can achieve unanimity in making change because change makes some in the organization uncomfortable, uneasy and uncertain. However, change is necessary and unavoidable. In line with George Ayittey’s metaphor, we can change and remain viable and relevant like the Cheetahs or suffer the fate of the hopeless Hippos. It is refreshing and inspiring to see a transformative and forward-looking declaration forged by some of the important founding members and leaders of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) emphatically affirming the common destiny of all Ethiopians and underscoring the urgency for consolidating a common cause in waging a struggle for freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia. These leaders show great courage and conviction of conscience in changing their minds with the changing political realities. The reality today is that the “economic and security interests of the Oromo people are intertwined with that of other peoples in Ethiopia. In addition, their geographic location, demography, democratic heritage and bond forged with all peoples over the years make it incumbent upon the Oromo to play a uniting and democratizing role.” It must have taken a staggering amount of effort to overcome internal discord and issue such a bold and positively affirmative Declaration signaling a fundamental change in position. These leaders deserve commendation for an extraordinary achievement. I believe the Declaration is immensely important not only for the principles it upholds and articulates but most importantly for the fact that it represents a genuine paradigmatic shift in political strategy and tactics by the founders of the OLF. The Declaration signals a tectonic shift in long held views, ideology and political strategy.   It represents a profound change in the perception and understanding of politics, change and society not only in Ethiopia but also in the continent and globally. By emphasizing inclusiveness and common struggle, the Declaration rejects the destructive politics of ethnicity and identity (the bane of Africa)  for politics based on issues of social, political and economic justice. By embracing a common struggle for freedom, democracy and human rights, the Declaration rejects ethnocentrism (the arrogant philosophy of narrow-minded African dictators) and fully accepts federalism as a basis for political power and shared governance. What are we to make of the Declaration? Is it merely an aspirational statement, an invitation to dialogue, a call to action or all of the above? It appears the Declaration is not merely a statement of principles but also an invitation to dialogue and a call to action. It affirms the universal truth that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” and acknowledges that “struggling for justice for oneself alone without advocating justice for all could ultimately prove futile”.  It urges Oromo groups to stop “trivial political wrangling” and “join hands with us in strengthening our camp to intensify our legitimate struggle and put an end to sufferings of our people.” It counsels the “ruling regime to reconsider its ultimately counterproductive policy of aspiring to indefinitely stay in power by fanning inter communal and interreligious suspicion and tension.” It proposes a “country-wide movement sharing” a common “vision, principles and policies” to “propel Ethiopia forward and ending the current political paralysis.” It pleads with the “international community to stand with us in implementing our vision and proposal of transforming the Ethiopian state to bring peace and sustainable stability in Ethiopia and Horn of Africa.” Dialoguing over “Federalism” or the futility of putting lipstick on “bogus federalism” It is the privilege of the human rights advocate and defender to speak his/her mind on all matters of human rights. I should like to exercise that privilege by raising an important issue in the Declaration and respectfully taking exception to it. The Declaration states: We aspire to build on the positive aspects of Ethiopia’s current federal set-up. However, to make the simultaneous exercise of self-rule and shared-rule possible it is necessary to remove the procedural and substantive shortcomings that stand in the way of democracy and federalism… [which] can be  accomplished by [allowing] subject nations, in due course, freely elect delegates to their respective state and central constitutional assemblies. When this process is completed, the present “holding together” type of bogus federalism will be transformed into a genuine ‘coming together’ variety. I consider myself a hardcore federalist who believes in a clear division of power between a national and sub-national (local, state) governments. In fact, I consider the “Federalist Papers” written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution as unsurpassed works of political genius on the theory and practice of federalism. Having said that, I do not believe there is an alchemy that can  transmute “bogus federalism” into “genuine federalism”. Just as there is no such thing as being a “little bit pregnant”, there is also no such thing as building upon “bogus federalism”. Either it is genuine federalism or it is bogus federalism. As I argued in my May 2010 commentary “Putting Lipstick on a Pig, Ethiopian Style”, discussing the elections, “You can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig. You can jazz up a bogus election in a one-man, one-party dictatorship with a ‘Code of Conduct’, but to all the world it is still a bogus election under a one-man, one-party dictatorship… They want us to believe that a pig with lipstick is actually a swan floating on a placid lake, or a butterfly fluttering in the rose garden or even a lamb frolicking in the meadows. They think lipstick will make everything look pretty.” You can put lipstick on “ethnic federalism” and call it “federalism”, but it is still bogus federalism. As I have often argued, the late Meles Zenawi, the chief architect of  “ethnic federalism” in Ethiopia was driven by a “vision of ethnic division. His warped idea of ‘ethnic federalism’ is merely a kinder and gentler reincarnation of Apartheid in Ethiopia. For nearly two decades, Meles toiled ceaselessly to shred the very fabric of Ethiopian society, and sculpt a landscape balkanized into tribal, ethnic, linguistic and regional enclaves.” He crafted a constitution based entirely on ethnicity and tribal affiliation as the basis for political organization. He wrote in Article 46 (2) of the Constitution: “States shall be structured on the basis of settlement patterns, language, identity and consent of the people.” In other words, “states”, (and the people who live in them) shall be corralled like cattle in tribal homelands in much the same way as the 10 Bantustans (black homelands) of Apartheid South Africa.  Ethiopia’s tribal homelands are officially called “kilils” (enclaves or distinct enclosed and effectively isolated geographic areas within a seemingly integrated national territory). Like the Bantustans, Ethiopia’s 9 killilistans ultimately aim to create homogeneous and autonomous ethnic states in Ethiopia, effectively scrubbing out any meaningful notion of Ethiopian national citizenship. You can put lipstick on bantustans and call them “ethnic federalism” but at the end of the day a Killilistan with lipstick is a Bantustan without lipstick. Before committing to “build up on the positive aspects of Ethiopia’s current federal set-up”, I urge the ODF and all others interested in institutionalizing genuine federalism in Ethiopia to carefully study and consider the long line of Apartheid laws creating and maintaining bantustans in South Africa. I commend a couple of illustrative examples of such laws to those interested. The Bantu Authorities Act, 1951(“Black Authorities Act, 1951”)  created the legal basis for the deportation of blacks into designated homeland reserve areas and established tribal, regional and territorial authorities. This Act was subsequently augmented by the Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act, 1970 (“Black States Citizenship Act & National States Citizenship Act, 1970) which sought to change the legal status of the inhabitants of the bantustans by effectively denaturalizing them from enjoying  citizenship rights as South Africans. These laws imposed draconian restrictions on the freedom of movement of black South Africans.  These laws further sought to ensure that white South Africans would represent the majority of the de jure population of South Africa with the right to vote and monopolize control of the state machinery. The Group Areas Act of 1950 (as re-enacted in the Group Areas Act of 1966), divided South Africa into separate areas for whites and blacks and gave the government the power to forcibly remove people from areas not designated for their particular tribal and racial group. Under this Act, anyone living in the “wrong” area was deported to his/her tribal group homeland. The law also denied Africans the right to own land anywhere in South Africa and stripped them of all political rights. The lives of over 3.5 million people were destroyed by this law as they were forcibly deported and corralled like cattle in their tribal group bantustans. Recently, Prof. Yacob Hailemariam, a prominent Ethiopian opposition leader and a former senior Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda commented that the forceful eviction of members of the Amhara ethnic group  from Benishangul-Gumuz (one of the nine kililistans) was a de facto ethnic cleansing. “The forceful deportation of people because they speak a certain language could destabilize a region, and if reported with tangible evidence, the UN Security Council could order the International Criminal Court to begin to examine the crimes.”  A year ago to the month Meles Zenawi justified the forced expulsion of tens of thousands of Amharas  from Southern Ethiopia stating, “… By coincidence of history, over the past ten years numerous people — some 30,000 sefaris (squatters) from North Gojam – have settled in Benji Maji (BM) zone [in Southern Ethiopia]. In Gura Ferda, there are some 24,000 sefaris.” Meles approved the de facto ethnic cleansing of Amharas from the “wrong” areas and repatriation back to their kililistan Amhara homelands. Through “villagization” programs, indigenous populations have been forced of their  ancestral lands  in Gambella, Benishangul and the Oromo River Valley and their land auctioned off to voracious  multinational agribusinesses.  The undeniable fact of the matter is that over the past two decades the Meles regime has implemented a kinder and gentler version of Bantustanism in Ethiopia. The perils and untenability of Meles’ “bogus federalism” have been documented in the International Crises Group’s report “Ethiopia: Ethnic Federalism and Its Discontents”. That report points out the glaring deficiencies and problems engendered by “ethnic federalism” in  “redefine[ing]  citizenship, politics and identity on ethnic grounds.” The study argues that “ethnic federalism” has resulted in “an asymmetrical federation that combines populous regional states like Oromiya and Amhara in the central highlands with sparsely populated and underdeveloped ones like Gambella and Somali.” Moreover, “ethnic federalism” has created “weak regional states”, “empowered some groups” and failed to resolve the “national question”. Aggravating the underlying situation has been the Meles dictatorship’s failure to promote “dialogue and reconciliation” among groups in Ethiopian society, further fueling “growing discontent with the EPRDF’s ethnically defined state and rigid grip on power and fears of continued inter-ethnic conflict.” “Ethnic federalism” is indefensible in theory or practice. While intrinsically nonsensical as public policy, “ethnic federalism” in the hands of the Meles regime has become a dangerous weapon of divide and rule, divide and control and divide and destroy. Those in power entertain themselves watching the pitiful drama of kililistans compete and fight with each other for crumbs and preoccupying  themselves with historical grievances. The ICG report makes it clear that in the long term “ethnic federalism” could trigger an implosion and disintegration of the Ethiopian nation. Meles used to boast that his “ethnic federalism” policy had saved the “country [which] was on the brink of total disintegration.” He argued that “Every analyst worth his salt was suggesting that Ethiopia will go the way of Yugoslavia or the Soviet Union. What we have now is a going-concern.” The truth of the matter is that ethnic balkanization, fragmentation, segregation and polarization are the tools of trade used by the Meles regime to cling to power while lining their pockets. In a genuine federalism, the national government is the creature of the subnational governments. In Ethiopia, the “kilil” (regional) “governments” are creatures and handmaidens of the national “government”. In a genuine federalism, the national government is entrusted with limited and enumerated powers for the purpose effectuating the common purposes of the  subnational “governments”. In Ethiopia, the powers of the national “government” are vast and unlimited;  and there are no barriers to its usurpatory powers which it exercises at will. There are no safeguards against encroachment on the rights and liberties of the people by the national or subnational “governments”. Simply stated, “ethnic federalism” as practiced in Ethiopia today is not only a recipe for tyranny by the  national “government” but also the creed for secessionists in the name of self-determination. “Ethnic federalism” is an idea whose time has passed and should be consigned to the dustbin of history along with its author.  “Well, back to the old drawing board!” The Curse of  Meles                                                         According to those in the know, the late Meles Zenawi used to say “Diaspora Ethiopians can start things but never manage to finish them.” Regardless of the veracity of the attribution, there is a ring of truth to the proposition. Since 2005, we have read lofty declarations and heard  announcements on the establishment of political and advocacy groups and organizations. We have welcomed them with fanfare but they have come and gone like the seasons. I do not believe those who drafted the Declaration of the Congress of the Oromo Democratic Front will be visited by the Curse of Meles. The Declaration seems to be the product of an enormous amount of organizational soul-searching, discussion, debate, introspection and contemplation. The ODF has come up with an honest, practical, bold and hopeful declaration. I have some questions as do others; but the fact that questions are being raised is proof that the Declaration has considerable appeal, credibility and traction. I ask questions to engage in dialogue and discussion, not to undermine or cause doubt about the worth or value of the Declaration. To be sure, I raise questions about the Declaration in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King’s counsel: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” My questions originate from the question: “What does the Declaration do for all of our people?  With sustained effort and the good will and cooperation of all stakeholders, there is no reason why new alliances cannot be created and old ones reinvigorated to move forward the struggle for freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia. I am inspired by the Declaration’s commitment to wage a united struggle: “We will exert all efforts in order to pull together as many advocates and promoters of the interests of diverse social sectors as possible in order to popularize and refine the principles and processes that would transform Ethiopia into a genuinely democratic multinational federation.” I understand “to pull together” means to stop pushing, shoving,  ripping, picking and tearing each other apart. That is why I have an unshakeable faith in the proposition that “Ethiopians united — pulling together — can never be defeated by the bloody hands of tyrants!” Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer. staff reporter | April 15, 2013 at 6:44 am | Categories: Africa | URL: http://wp.me/p2gxmh-1IE Comment    See all

His Excellency, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations

Dear Your Excellency,
Subject:  Ethnic Cleansing in Ethiopia

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon

First, we, the leadership team of the undersigned Ethiopian civic and political organizations, present our compliments to Your Excellency. It is with deep anguish and regret that we should like to alert you and appeal to your office, and through your office, to the Security Council of the United Nations concerning the unprecedented level of human displacement and ethnic cleansing that is currently taking place in Ethiopia. You will agree with us that ethnic cleansing is an affront to human worth and dignity and endangers peace and stability in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. It must be halted without any delay. These recurring and well documented violations of fundamental human rights are perpetrated by the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) the ethnic-elite coalition government that has been ruling Ethiopia for the past 21 years.
Your Excellency,
As you know, Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country with an established history of peaceful coexistence, mutual acceptance and tolerance. This tradition is being torn apart by the governing party. There is disturbingly accumulated anecdotal evidence which shows that ethnic cleansing is planned systematically by the governing party and executed at the regional or Kilil level by officials who are accountable to the central government. The specific incident in the Benishangul-Gumuz regional state involved an estimated 8000 people of the Amhara nationality, the second largest ethnic group in the country. This latest unprovoked removal and displacement of innocent families from their farms and livelihoods follows a similar and large-scale ethnic cleansing of the same Amharic speaking population from the Gura Ferda District of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) regional state. Displaced Ethiopians have no legal or constitutional recourse to secure their livelihood, personal safety, personal property and or to seek compensation. On the contrary, they are forced to expend their meager savings for transport and to support themselves in temporary shelters.
The fundamental principle we should like to flag is that such a deliberate form of ethnic cleansing against any specific ethnic, linguistic or religious group is a violation of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and must cease in order to avert escalation of conflict in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. Your Excellency is fully aware that the Horn of Africa is one of the most conflict ridden and prone regions of the world. In light of this, we are deeply concerned that, unless the attention of the UN family of nations under your leadership is drawn and responds to this ongoing crisis, we fear that the world is about to witness, once again, another cycle of violence in one of the oldest nations of the world and one of the founding members of the United Nations. Your Excellency will agree with us that the world cannot afford another Somalia or Rwanda. Such an occurrence should be averted before it is too late.
Your Excellency,
The collapse of the Military regime in May 1991 and the cessation of hostilities, albeit temporarily, had raised hopes for peace, stability, democracy and inclusive development in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. These expectations have been dashed by a dictatorial regime that is determined to remake Ethiopia by tearing it apart along ethnic and other sectarian lines. The current administrative structure is much more akin to the defunct Apartheid system of South Africa than a genuine federal system of government. The governing party’s core ideology was founded on ethnic-based divide and rule, hate, prejudice and narrow ethnic elite rivalry for riches and resources. Its international diplomatic facade has been camouflaged by its opportunistic pretentions of respecting international law on paper rather than in practice. Inadvertently, the United Nations itself has used the services of this sectarian regime and paid huge sums of money for peace keeping in various parts of Africa.
For all practical purposes, Ethiopia is ruled by a brutal minority ethnic elite-led regime with the Tigrean People Liberation Front (TPLF) in command. It has a puppet Prime Minister and a ceremonial president. It runs farce elections so that 99.6% of the seats in the parliament are controlled by the TPLF. There is credible documentary evidence from Human Rights Watch and others that show that the minority regime has been and continues to be the cause of death, destruction, extermination, internal displacements, incarcerations and forced migration. Ethiopia’s largest export is human capital. The number of refugees has increased dramatically and is unlikely to decline unless the system of governance changes. Thousands of young girls and children are entrapped by human traffickers. State-sponsored, deliberate and planned ethnic cleansings will, we are convinced, sooner than later turn an already ethnically fractured Ethiopia into a failed state.
Ethiopia’s current fragile situation is worsened by the government’s absolute politicization of ethnicity, faith, politics and economics. The governing party predetermines winners and losers. People are evicted from prime lands in cities to pave the way for the newly rich, and forced to vacate their ancestral lands in favor of international investors who now own hundreds of thousands of hectares of farmlands and water basins. There is massive land grab in Addis Ababa, Afar, Bahir Dar, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, Oromia and Southern regions of the country. Indigenous people in the Omo and Gambella regions and centuries-old monasteries like Waldiba had to give way to the government’s own sugar plantations and to satisfy foreign investor demand from China, India, Korea, the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia. Such an unprecedented level of land grab causes massive human displacement and environmental catastrophe. This is compounded by recurrent ethnic cleansing that threatens the very existence of the country.  In direct contravention of the country’s Constitution and all international laws and conventions, many of the leaders of the ethnic enclaves are now implementing a federal policy of ethnic cleansing and coercive villagization that benefits ethnic elites. At present the Amhara nationality and Amharic speakers whose members traditionally live in various parts of the country are the targets. However, we fear that the government’s strategy of minority rule through “managed ethnic conflict” will result in a civil war of all against all as citizens are forced to seek protection from the state rather than by the state.
Your Excellency,
The TPLF’s animosity against the Amhara nationality group dates back to the 1970s and originates from the leadership’s poor understanding of the history of Ethiopia. The animosity continues unabated.  An organized ethnic cleansing is being carried out in several parts of the country, including in Benishangul-Gumuz, Gura Ferda, and the Ogaden.  Regional governors and the cadres of the ruling regime are routinely giving written eviction orders and warnings to the Amhara to leave their homes, farms and other establishments. Over the past few years, tens of thousands of innocent people, including women and children, have become victims of this methodical ethnic cleansing by the ruling party. The human toll and the gravity of the situation call for immediate and urgent attention, protection and support of the international community in general and the United Nations in particular. We are especially troubled by the notion that the displaced and dislocated who sought refuge in Addis Ababa and Finote Selam  are “being protected  by the same Federal  security forces in undisclosed locations,”  the same forces who were instrumental in  “uprooting”  them in the first place.  As Your Excellency knows, Ethiopia is a signatory to international and human rights laws and conventions that govern “crimes against humanity” and its officials must be held accountable
We believe that the rights of all human beings are inalienable and universal and should be respected as such. Your Excellency will agree with us that there cannot be two international standards of justice. As you know  the warrant of arrest against General Omar Al Bashir of the Sudan was issued on a list of 7 counts of his individual criminal responsibility (article 25(3)(a) including five counts of crimes against humanity: murder–article 7(1)(a); extermination– article 7(1)(b); forcible transfer–article 7(1)(d); torture–article 7(1)(f); and rape–article 7(1)(g); two counts of war crimes: intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities–article 8(2)(e)(i); and pillaging – article 8(2)(e)(v).  Similar and numerous human rights violations have taken place in Ethiopia and well documented by authoritative and independent organizations (please see below for references).
Your Excellency,
We believe that the tragic events that have been recurring in Ethiopia fit the definition of crimes against humanity.  There is an overwhelming and credible prima facie evidence for the United Nations Security Council to initiate a formal investigation without delay. We urge you to consider the fact that, the April 2013 ethnic-cleansing perpetrated against the Amhara population in Benishangul-Gumuz, enhances greatly earlier depositions that are similar and or identical in nature. These “crimes against humanity” committed by Ethiopian officials in different parts of the country have been disclosed to the UN Human Rights Commission. Accordingly, we believe that there is sufficient ground to refer the matter to the International Criminal Court without any delay.
We, therefore, appeal to Your Excellency to give proper attention to the matter. We are fully confident that you will agree with us that the United Nations cannot and must not be seen to have double standards for different countries and peoples.  Given the gravity of the situation, the UN can no longer ignore or pay lip service to the degradation of human dignity and honor. It cannot afford to defer interventions when such glaring and “recurring crimes against humanity” are committed by a member government. If the United Nations continues to ignore this call and request for justice, it would be repeating its previous mistakes in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda and Somalia. It should take preventive steps urgently in order to bring about the cessation of the human rights violations and “crimes against humanity” in Ethiopia.
We also appeal through your good office to the international donor community to provide urgent humanitarian aid that is specifically targeted in support of the displaced people in various parts of Ethiopia.  In light of the recurrence of human rights violations and systematic corruption and illicit outflow of massive foreign exchange from one of the poorest and aid dependent countries in the world, we feel strongly that the international aid community in Ethiopia has a moral obligation to refrain from supporting programs that aggravate “ethnic-cleansing and the displacement of indigenous people from their ancestral homes”, and the diversion of aid funds for political repression and control.
Finally, we the members of the organizations whose names appear below avail ourselves for meaningful dialogue and consultation. Please accept our highest consideration and appreciation for your leadership.
Sincerely,

TPLF/EPRDF Nefarious Deeds That Will Blow Your Mind – Ethnic Cleansing

By Ewnetu Sime -
We are witnessing unprecedented hatred to Amhara ethnic group under Tigrai People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)/ Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Party (EPRDF) ethno-centric dictatorial rule. As soon as TPLF/EPRDF came to power in 1992, the regime and supporters began to brutalize the Amhara ethnic group in particular. A well-coordinated support with extremist loyalist to the TPLF/EPRDF regime incited conflict in Arba Gugu, Hararghe area against the Amhara ethnic group. The houses of Amhara were burned with people inside, people were killed thrown over the cliff, people of hacked to death in broad day light, robbed, bodies mutilated by regime supporters., Some of the lucky ones fled to Addis Ababa, other took shelters in nearby towns. Ethnic cleansing was conducted in unprecedented scale. In 2012, poor farmers of Amhara ethnic group from the southern part of Ethiopia were expelled. People were made homeless; similarly, in 2013 Amhara ethnic group from Benishangul-Gumuz area forceful evicted. TPLF/EPRDF’s ethnic dictatorship anti-Amhara policy claimed many lives in many parts of Ethiopia. Sadly, the TPLF/EPRDF’s leaders and associated tugs are getting away with ethnic cleansing crimes. To-date no one is charged for it.
It is evident that as Derg came to power in 1974, they ruled the whole country in terror and brutality. Derg’s regime was faced with resistance and gravely weakened and finally defeated by TPLF/EPRDF and Eritrea Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF) guerrilla warfare. TPLF/EPRDF guerrilla movement transformed to large scale by recruiting fighters partly by intimidation of the Tigeran peasants, and finally able to mobilized thousands of fighters. They disseminated in their fighters propaganda of hatred to other ethnic and continuing to exhibit parochialism even after they assumption of power. Before TPLF enter Addis Ababa they quickly formed EPRDF to get a cover as an Ethiopian force. The TPLF claims in its propaganda that they fought Derg dictatorship for the pursuit of liberty or ideals of democracy has been revealed as carefully crafted deceptions. It is not too surprising that it is done to stay in power by coercion enforced by viscous Agaiz private armies that are recruited from one minority ethnic and secret police organization to continue their tyrannical rule.
As we briefly look back why the Weyane’s/TPLF revolt started we found that primarily reason was a conflict with the local authority to protect economic interest within Ethiopia. However, in mid-1970’s the Weyane intelligesta has shifted from the regional problem to call secession from the centralized Ethiopia state. For this reason, since the guerrilla years the Tigrian identity and historical heritage to Ethiopia has been deliberately and systematically reinvented by their leaders to mislead others. The rich and long Ethiopians history and nationalism has been distorted.
Their leaders have no love for Ethiopia or compassion for people except for their interest that is driven in creating non-viable ethnic states and provoking ethnic conflicts.
It is well to remind ourselves, their supreme leader Meles Zenawi made statements in public that Ethiopia flag is a piece of rug, proud to be pure gold ethnic, has done treachery acts about Assab, the Algerian agreement etc. all these originated from dogmatic ethnic political beliefs.
Furthermore, as TPLF/EPRDF’s seized the power, they implemented the divide and rule strategy under disguise of ethnic rights ideology. It quickly adopted a new constitution “the right of ethnic/nationalities Rights” under Article 39, 46 and 47. Of course, these articles objective are to divide and rule at same time to erode the eighty nationalities unity and diversity that coexisted side by side for generations. Even though active social interaction and intermarriage among nationalities is always a given fact.
The recent forceful eviction of members of the Amhara people from Benishangul-Gumuz area is indeed a direct implementation of the TPLF/EPRDF’s ethnic policy. They have a wrong belief that creating ethnic conflict is the foundation of their strength to stay in power. As demonstrated with above few facts, they are deliberately creating ethnic conflict as one of the tactics to stay in power.
We cannot afford to remain as onlookers where ethnic cleansing encouraged by regime. As stated by many scholars the international laws is applicable for this type of crime, and TPLF/EPRDF leaders can be charge by ethnic cleansing. This cannot be seen as a long shot. The role of Ethiopians, at least in USA, has to demand through available avenues such email/letters/on line petition, etc. to our senators, congressmen/women to expose the ongoing ethnic cleansing act. We should always keep in mind that the Opposition political groups, independents journalist, other concerned citizens risked all they had, their families, friends, homes, etc. all these sacrifice is for glimmering hope of a better life for all Ethiopians.
We should support them by intensifying campaign in exposing their ethnic cleansing that blow our minds, and put in its own coffin as seen in past world history. Ethnic cleansing is barbarous and heartless. As it said in the past, if you care about Ethiopia do not remain idle, get involved and make your voice be heard. It will take a massive effort, discourse, dialogue, and to get Ethiopia back on its feet and to make it home again for all Ethiopians

Eskinder is a hero to the world but a villain to Meles Zenawi and his disciples

 

Right in Prison, Wrong on the Throne

by Alemayehu G. Mariam
Last April, I wrote a “Special Tribute to My Personal Hero Eskinder Nega”.  In that tribute, I groped for words as I tried to describe this common Ethiopian man of uncommon valor, an ordinary journalist of extraordinary integrity and audacity.

Eskinder Nega

Frankly, what could be said of a simple man of humility possessed of indomitable dignity? Eskinder Nega is a man who stood up to brutality with his gentle humanity. What could I really say of a gentleman of the utmost civility, nobility and authenticity who was jailed 8 times for loving liberty?  What could I say of a man and his wife who defiantly defended press freedom in Ethiopia, even when they were both locked up in Meles Zenawi Prison just outside of the capital in Kality for 17 months! What could anybody say of a man, a woman and their child who sacrificed their liberties, their peace of mind, their futures and earthly possessions so that their countrymen, women and children could be free!?
Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega is a special kind of hero who fights with nothing more than ideas and the truth. He slays falsehoods with the sword of truth. He chases bad ideas with good ones. Armed only with a pen, Eskinder fights despair with hope; fear with courage; anger with reason; arrogance with humility; ignorance with knowledge; intolerance with forbearance; oppression with perseverance; doubt with trust and cruelty with compassion. Above all, Eskinder speaks truth to power and to those who abuse, misuse, overuse and are corrupted by power.
Now almost a year since I wrote my tribute, I remember my great friend and brother Eskinder Nega as he languishes in Meles Zenawi Prison.  But I do not remember him in sadness or with heartache.  No! No! I remember Eskinder in the hopeful, faith-filled and resolute words of American poet James Russell Lowell (“The Present Crisis”): “When a deed is done for Freedom, through the broad earth’s aching breast…/ Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide…/ In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side… For Humanity sweeps onward: where to-day the martyr stands…/ Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne…/
Eskinder and his wife Serkalem did the right deed to defend the right of press freedom in Ethiopia. They spoke truth to falsehood in their newspapers and never backed down. They spoke right to wrong in kangaroo court. The man who tried for 20 years to right the wrongs of tyranny, today, like Lowell’s Truth, hangs on the scaffold in the belly of Meles Zenawi Prison, a place of  “wrath and tears where the horror of the shade looms”, with his head bloodied but UNBOWED!
Last week, Birtukan Mideksa wrote an opinion piece for Al Jazeera urging the release of Eskinder Nega and  other journalists including Reeyot Alemu (winner of the International Women’s Media Foundation 2012 Courage in Journalism Award) and Woubshet Taye (2012 Hellman/Hammett Grant Award) and all political prisoners in Ethiopia. Birtukan is the first female political party (Unity for Democracy and Justice) leader in Ethiopian history. Birtukan, like Eskinder, was the personal political prisoner of the late dictator Meles Zenawi.   Meles personally ordered Birtukan’s arrest and on December 29, 2008, a year and half after he “pardoned” and released her from prison, he threw her back in jail without even the usual song and dance of kangaroo court.  On January 9, 2010, Meles sent chills down the spines of reporters when he declared sadistically that “there will never be an agreement with anybody to release Birtukan. Ever. Full stop. That’s a dead issue.” On January 15, 2010, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention adopted an opinion finding that Birtukan Midekksa is a political prisoner.
It is heartwarming to read Birtukan’s moving and robustly principled defense of Eskinder Nega and the other Ethiopian journalists and political prisoners. It is also ironic that Eskinder should replace Birtukan as the foremost political prisoner in Ethiopia today.
Few can speak more authoritatively on the plight of Eskinder and all Ethiopian political prisoners than my great sister Birtukan who also spent years in in the belly of Meles Zenawi Prison, a substantial part of it in solitary confinement. In her Al Jazeera commentary she wrote:

My journey to become a political prisoner in Ethiopia began as a federal judge fighting to uphold the rule of law. Despite institutional challenges and even death threats, I hoped to use constitutional principles to ensure respect for basic rights… [Ethiopian] authorities have detained my friend Eskinder Nega eight times over his 20-year career as a journalist and publisher. After the 2005 elections, Eskinder and his wife – Serkalem Fasil – spent 17 months in prison. Pregnant at the time, Serkalem gave birth to a son despite her confinement and almost no pre-natal care. Banned from publishing after his release in 2007, Eskinder continued to write online. In early 2011, he began focusing particularly on the protest movements then sweeping North Africa and the Middle East. Eskinder, who does not belong to any political party because of a commitment to maintain his independence, offered a unique and incisive take on what those movements meant for the future of Ethiopia. Committed to the principle of non-violence, Eskinder repeatedly emphasised that any similar movements in Ethiopia would have to remain peaceful. Despite this, police briefly detained him and warned him that his writings had crossed the line and he could face prosecution. Then in September [14], 2011, the government made good on that threat. Authorities arrested Eskinder just days after he publicly criticised the use of anti-terror laws to stifle dissent. They held him without charge or access to an attorney for nearly two months. The government eventually charged Eskinder with terrorism and treason, sentencing him to 18 years in prison after a political trial. Unfortunately, Eskinder is not alone; independent journalists Woubshet Taye and Reeyot Alemu also face long prison terms on terrorism charges.

Eskinder is a hero to the world but a villain to Meles Zenawi and his disciples 
Who really is Eskinder Nega? In Meles Zenawi’s kangaroo court, Eskinder has been judged a “terrorist”, a “public enemy”. In the court of world public opinion, Eskinder is celebrated as the undisputed champion and defender of press freedom.
When speaking of my brother Eskinder, I could be accused of exaggerating his virtues, hyperbolizing his singular contributions to press freedom in Ethiopia and overstating his importance to the cause of free expression throughout the world. Perhaps I am biased because I hold this great man in such high respect, honor and admiration. If I am guilty of bias, it is because seemingly in Ethiopia they have stopped making genuine heroes like Eskinder Nega, Woubeshet Taye, Anudalem Aragie, Temesgen Desalegn… and heroines like Birtukan Midekssa, Serkalem Fasil, Reeyot Alemu….
Let others more qualified and more eloquent than I speak of Eskinder Nega’s heroism, courage, fortitude, audacity and tenacity in the defense of press freedom.
On December 3, 2012, when Carl Bernstein (one of the two investigative journalists who exposed the Watergate scandal leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon) read at a public forum Eskinder’s last blog before he was arrested, he said:

… No honor can be greater than to read Eskinder Nega’s words. He is more than a symbol. He is the embodiment of the greatness of truth, of writing and reporting real truth, of persisting in truth and resisting the oppression of untruth… So let us marvel at and  celebrate Eskinder Nega. For who among us could write what I am about to read [a blog of Eskinder’s] spirit unbound, faith in freedom and the power of the word untrammeled…

When Eskinder was named as the recipient of the prestigious 2012 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, Peter Godwin, president of PEN American Center said, “The Ethiopian writer Eskinder Nega is that bravest and most admirable of writers, one who picked up his pen to write things that he knew would surely put him at grave risk…”
Larry Siems, director of PEN Freedom to Write Award, at the award ceremonies groped for words trying to describe Eskinder Nega. “…[This year] one [journalist] really stood out, and that is Eskinder Nega. So tonight we recognize one of the world’s most courageous, most intrepid, most creative advocates of press freedom that I have ever seen…”
In awarding its prestigious Hellman/Hammett Award for 2012,  Human Rights Watch described Eskinder and the other journalists as “exemplifying  the courage and dire situation of independent journalism in Ethiopia today. Their ordeals illustrate the price of speaking freely in a country where free speech is no longer tolerated.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists declared, “The charges against Eskinder are baseless and politically motivated in reprisal for his writings. His conviction reiterates that Ethiopia will not hesitate to punish a probing press by imprisoning journalists or pushing them into exile in misusing the law to silence critical and independent reporting.”
Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the American civil rights heroine and former CNN Johannesburg bureau chief defended Eskinder and travelled to Ethiopia to plead for his release:

The specific charge against Eskinder was that he conspired with a banned opposition party called Ginbot 7 to overthrow the government. At his trial, government prosecutors showed as evidence a fuzzy video, available on YouTube, of Eskinder at a public town-hall meeting, discussing the potential of an Arab Spring-type uprising in Ethiopia. State television labeled Eskinder and the other journalists as “spies for foreign forces.” There were also allegations that he had accepted a terrorist mission—what the mission involved was never specified.

United States Senator Patrick Leahy read a lenghty statement into the Congressional Record informing his colleagues that “7,000 miles from Washington, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia… a journalist named Eskinder Nega stands accused of supporting terrorism simply for refusing to remain silent about the Ethiopian government’s increasingly authoritarian drift…”
The U.S. State Department has condemned the imprisonment of Eskinder and the other journalists:

The United States remains deeply concerned about the trial, conviction, and sentencing of Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega, as well as seven political opposition figures, under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. The sentences handed down today, including 18 years for Eskinder and life imprisonment for the opposition leader Andualem Arage, are extremely harsh and reinforce our serious questions about the politicized use of Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law in this and other cases.

Eskinder is a hero to the heroes of international journalism. In April 2012,  twenty international journalists who have been recognised as “World Press Freedom Heroes” by the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) stood by Eskinder’s side, condemned his unjust imprisonment on trumped up terrorism charges and demanded his release and the release of other journalists. These press freedom heroes minced no words in telling Meles Zenawi of their “extremely strong condemnation of the Ethiopian government’s decision to jail journalist Eskinder Nega on terrorism charges.”
On November 21, 2012, the U.N. Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a 9-page legal Opinion concluding:

“The deprivation of liberty of Eskinder Nega is arbitrary in violation of articles 9, 10, 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 9, 14, and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights… The Working Group requests the Government to take the necessary steps to remedy the situation, which include the         immediate release of Mr. Nega and adequate reparation to him.”

In December 2012, 16 member of the European parliament demanded the release of Eskinder Nega and journalists Reeyot Alemu and Woubshet Taye.
Who is (are) the real terrorist(s) in Ethiopia?
Meles said Eskinder and all of the journalists he jailed are “terrorists”.  If Eskinder Nega is a terrorist, then speaking truth to power is an act of terrorism. If Eskinder Nega is a terrorist, then advocacy of peaceful change is terrorism; thinking is terrorism; dissent is terrorism; having a conscience is terrorism; refusing to sell out one’s soul is terrorism; standing up for democracy and human rights is terrorism; defending the rule of law is terrorism and peaceful resistance of state terrorism is terrorism. If Eskinder Nega is a terrorist today, then Nelson Mandela was a terrorist then. The same goes for all of the other jailed journalists and opposition leaders jailed by Meles Zenawi.
But the real terrorists know who they are. When Meles and his horde of guerilla fighters challenged military dictator Mengistu Hailemariam, they were officially branded as terrorists, bandits, mercenaries, criminals, thugs, murderers, marauders, public enemies, subversives, rebels, assassins, malcontents, invaders, traitors, saboteurs and other names.  Were they?
Let the evidence speak for itself. In an interview Meles Zenawi gave to an Eritrean magazine called Hiwot (which was translated into Amharic and published by Etiop newspaper, (Vol. 5 Issue No. 52), he presented himself as the Willie Sutton of Tigray pulling bank jobs all over the palce. Meles spoke proudly of the banks he and his comrade-in-arms robbed or attempted to rob to finance their guerilla war. Meles boasted of his “victorious” robberies in Shire and Adwa while regretting botched jobs in Axum. Today they own the banks!
The current ruling party, “Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Movement” (TPLF), is listed today in the Global Terrorism Database as a terrorist organization.  Documented acts of terrorism by the TPLF include armed robberies, assaults, hostage taking and kidnapping of foreign nationals and journalists and local leaders, hijacking of truck convoys, extortion of business owners and merchants, nongovernmental organizations, local leaders and private citizens and intimidation of religious leaders and journalists.
An official Inquiry Commission established by Meles Zenawi to investigate the deaths that occurred in the post-2005 election period determined that security forces under the personal control and command of Meles Zenawi  massacred 193 unarmed protesters in the streets and severely wounded another 763. The Commission concluded the “shots fired by government forces were intended not to disperse the crowd of protesters but to kill by targeting the head and chest of the protesters.” On November 1, 2005, security forces in the Meles Zenawi Prison in Kality gunned down 65 inmates while confined in their cells. No one has ever been brought to justice for these crimes against humanity.
In September 2011, the world learned that “Ethiopian security forces (had) planted 3 bombs that went off in the Ethiopian capital on September 16, 2006 and then blamed Eritrea and the Oromo resistance for the blasts in a case that raised serious questions about the claims made about the bombing attempt against the African Union summit earlier this year in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.” Following its own investigation and “clandestine reporting”, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa fingered “GoE (Government of Ethiopia) security forces” for this criminal act. If all other acts of state terrorism committed against Ethiopian civilians were to be included, the body count would be in the hundreds of thousands.
Who are the real terrorists and criminals in Ethiopia today?
Tale of the Good Wolf and Evil Wolf
The late Meles Zenawi and his apostles remind me of an old Cherokee (Native American) tale of two wolves:  A grandfather tells his young grandson that everyone has a Good Wolf and an Evil Wolf inside of them fighting with each other every day. The Good Wolf thrives on peace, love, truth, generosity, humility and kindness. The Evil Wolf feeds on hatred, anger, greed, lies and arrogance. “Which wolf will win, grandfather?” asked the boy. “Whichever one you feed,” replied the grandfather.
Meles and his disciples have been feeding the Evil Wolf for decades, and now the Evil Wolf sits triumphantly crowned on the Throne of Hatred and Falsehood. They have fattened the Evil Wolf with a lavish diet of inhumanity, barbarity, brutality, ignobility, immorality, depravity, duplicity, incivility, criminality, ethnocentricity, mediocrity, corruptibility and pomposity.
Eskinder, Reeyot, Woubshet, Andualem. Temesgen and the rest have managed to tame the Good Wolf and have followed the path of peace, love and truth. Their wolf thrives on a simple diet of humanity, unity, integrity, authenticity, civility, morality, incorruptibility, dignity, affability, humility, nobility, creativity, intellectuality and audacity.
It is hard for the reasonable mind to fathom why Meles and his disciples chose to embrace and follow the path of the Evil Wolf. Indeed, the Evil Wolf has been very good to them. The Evil Wolf has made it possible for them to accumulate great wealth and amass enormous power. They have unleashed the Evil Wolf to divide and rule the country along ethnic, religious, linguistic and regional lines. They have used the Evil Wolf to destroy not only the lives and futures of young professionals like Eskinder, Birtukan,  Reeyot, Woubshet, Temesgen and  Andualem but also the future of the younger generation. They have used the Evil Wolf to sell off the country’s most fertile lands for pennies and plunder its natural resources. They have used the Evil Wolf to convict the innocent in kangaroo courts. They have used the Evil Wolf to strike fear and loathing in the hearts and minds or ordinary citizens.
They have given new meaning to the ancient Roman playwright Paluatus’ aphorism homo homini lupus est  (“man is a wolf to his fellow man”).  They have used the Evil Wolf to create war from peace; strife from harmony;  wrong from right; vice from virtue; division from unity;  shame from honor;  immorality from decency; poverty from wealth; hatred from love; ignorance from knowledge; corruption from blessing; bondage from freedom and dictatorship from democracy.  In 21 years, Meles and his disciples have managed to jam a whole nation between the jaws of a snarling, gnarling and howling Evil Wolf.
How long before the Good Wolf wins over the Evil Wolf?
The great Nelson Mandela wondered when Apartheid would end. He told those who had unleashed the Evil Wolf of Apartheid,  “You may succeed in delaying, but never in preventing the transition of South Africa to a democracy.”
My friend Eskinder Nega warned the overlords of the Evil Wolf in Ethiopia, “Freedom is partial to no race. Freedom has no religion. Freedom favors no ethnicity. Freedom discriminates not between rich and poor countries.  Inevitably freedom will overwhelm Ethiopia.”
But how long before freedom overwhelms Ethiopia? How long before Ethiopia transitions to democracy? How long before “truth crushed to earth rises again” in Ethiopia? How long before all Ethiopian political prisoners are set free? Before Eskinder is released and joins his wife Sekalem and their son Nafkot? How long before Reeyot, Woubshet, Andualem… rejoin their families? How long before the Good Wolf wins over the Evil Wolf?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. agonized over similar questions during the darkest days of the struggle for civil rights in America. His answer to the question, “How long?” was “Not long!”.

I know you are asking today, “How long will it take?”  Somebody’s asking, “How long will prejudice blind the visions of men…?”

Somebody’s asking, “When will wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Selma and Birmingham… be lifted from this dust of shame…? … How long will justice be crucified, and truth bear it?”

I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because “truth crushed to earth will rise again.”

How long? Not long, because “no lie can live forever.”

How long? Not long, because “you shall reap what you sow.”

How long before the Good Wolf wins over the Evil Wolf? Not long, because “once to every man and nation comes the moment” to decide between Good and Evil.
How long before wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Addis Ababa, Mekele, Adama, Gondar, Awassa, Jimma… is lifted from the dust of shame? Not long, “because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
How long before truth and right crushed to earth rise up again in Ethiopia? Not long, because truth and right will not remain forever on the scaffold nor wrong and falsehood nest forever on the throne!
I have no greater honor than to stand up, speak up and defend my friends, brothers and sisters Eskinder Nega, Serkalem Fasil, Reeyot Alemu, Woubshet Taye, Temesgen Desalegn, Andualem Aragie and all political prisoners held in Meles Zenawi Prison!
Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.
Previous commentaries by the author are available at:

Is the TPLF Using the Tigeri People for their Dirty Game?

 

by Surafel Admassu
First and foremost, I would like to let my Tigrian brothers and sisters know that my opinion in this writing does not intended to attack any one of you except those perpetrators and hard core TPLF supporters and members who work tirelessly to destroy our country and unanimity. Even though we speak different languages and rooted from different tribes, we, Ethiopians, has been intertwined with love and great respect for one another. Our country has been stand strong for long time because our forefathers and mothers defended the union as one nation and people. However, currently, the TPLF led Sicilian Mafia type government resides at Addis Ababa and Mekele endangered our perfect union as one nation.
Contrary to most Ethiopians, I did not surprise when I heard the TPLF click and cos are currently committing a very dangerous and heinous crime against one of the most populous and dominant ethnic figure in Ethiopian history. As we always hear from former and current TPLF highest officials in different times, since they were at Dedebit Berha, the TPLF ultimate goal was not only toppled the Mengistu regime but also to wipe out the Amaras from Ethiopian map. This is for me undoubtedly a nightmare. It’s not only improbable but it’s absolutely impossible to destroy the second most populous ethnic group in the country. How dare any human being think this?
We started to see here and there that the TPLF click is rushing to implement its long held agenda against the Amara people. They have a deep seated haterate for Ethiopia and its people. What is happening right now in the Benshangule area is the extension of their long held scheme to abuse the Amara people systematically and arbitrary. This action currently taken by the TPLF led government is outrageous and despicable! Based on the historical lesson, I am warning all Ethiopians from every corner of the country, if we are not stopping this ethnic cleansing as quick as possible, there is no doubt in my mind that our country will suffer for long lasting Civil War. This government, in addition to push the Ethiopian people in to the brinks of Civil War; it also committed a serious crime against humanity. As some individuals wrongly argue, the definition of Genocide is not only the mass murder of specific group but it also includes multiple definitions.
What is Genocide?
According to the United States Holocaust Memorial records, the term Genocide created during the Holocaust and declared an international crime in the 1948 United Nation Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the crime of Genocide. In this convention, they defined genocide as “acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” The convention also elaborates the definitions as the following:
1. Killing members of the group
2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
As clearly stated in the above definitions of Genocide, the Ethiopian government violated the international law at list mentioned in number two and three. I am absolutely confident that sooner or latter the perpetrator will face justice in the International Criminal Court. What we have seen in the Benshangule region is just the beginning of the ugly reality. This minority group is executing their agenda crudely and methodologically. If we don’t act now, our country faces the ultimate consequences
What keeps me awake all night is; these scam bags (TPLF) are on the way to repeat the regrettable mistake done by the Rwandan Tutsi in 1990s. As most of us pretty much aware of it, the Rwandan Tutsis are 10% of the total population while the Hutus are 90% of the total population. During colonization, the Tutsis have been told they are unique and superior to the majority Hutus by their colonizers, however, instead of defusing this false comparison; the Tutsis convinced they are superior to the Hutus. During colonization, the Tutsis enjoyed better education, jobs and good life styles than their counterpart Hutus. After the Hutus take over the power, resentment among Hutus gradually built up and culminating a series of riots against Tutsis. As a result of long held grudge against Tutsis, the Hutus butchered thousands of Tutsis.
The main reason why I interjected the Rwanda genocide history is: In multiple occasions, by different TPLF clicks, our Tigerian people have been told they are unique and special people than the rest of the other Ethiopians. They have been told by the TPLF that they are the one and only who oppressed by previous Ethiopian leaders while labeling the Amaras are among the oppressors. Sadly, not all but most of our Tigerian brothers and sisters seem well coming this conclusion. The Tigerians should reject this B.S. coming out of the TPLF. They just simply are using our Tigerian people to clinging their power.
Please listen the late PM Meles Zenawi’s racist and dangerous speech!
What surprised me the most is that the TPLF junta doesn’t seem understand the constitution of the country they crafted. As stated on their own constitution, Article 32 states,
(1) Any Ethiopian or foreign national lawfully in Ethiopia has,
within the national territory, the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence, as well as the freedom to leave the country at any time he wishes to
(2) Any Ethiopian national has the right to return to his country.
As presented in the Ethiopian constitution, any Ethiopian can inhabit any place of his or her choice within the national territory. It is not the federal or local government duty to unsettle the settlers. Removing the Amara people from the Benshangule region with out the people’s interest is a felony. This government violates both the local and international law.
It is not new for the Ethiopian people that the TPLF primary goal is to eradicate the Amara people from Ethiopia because the TPLF, down from their heart, believes that the Amara people is the bedrock of Ethiopian unity. These parasites do not see a unified Ethiopia as a nation and country. I am not surprised by their action because they have been advocating their agenda to destroy the Amara people for the past 40 years. However what touches me the most is that they keep using our Tigeri people to fulfill their wishful thinking. Even though few Tigrian people are hijacked by the TPLF, there is no doubt in my mined that the majority of Tigerians will standing with their fellow Ethiopians in this very critical time.
The Tigeri people must condemn the TPLF regime unequivocally and stand with their Amara brother and sisters. Before the TPLF cancerous poison spells over in our country, our Tigeri people should say enough is enough; otherwise, the consequences will be calamitous. Unless the TPLF want to send our people to the ugly Civil War, it’s impossible to destroy the second most populous Ethnic group in the country. Today is the Amara people, whose turn is tomorrow?
Finally I will conclude my opinion by direct coating Abraha Desta, a political science lecturer at Mekele University.

ሰዎች ከቀያቸው በሃይል (በግፍ በዘርሓረጋቸው እየተለዩ) ሲፈናቀሉ (ሲባረሩ) የከፋ የሰብኣዊ መብት ጥሰት ነው። ዜጎቻችን (ወገኖቻችን) ሲፈናቀሉ የሚደርሳቸው ኢኮኖሚያዊ፣ ማሕበራዊና ስነልቦናዊ ቀውስ (Helplessness) መገመት ኣይከብድም። ሁሉም ኢትዮዽያ ሊተባበራቸው ይገባል፤ መንግስት ይህን ተግባሩ እንዲያቆም ተፅዕኖ ማድረግ ኣለብን።
እኛም እየተፈናቀሉ ካሉ ሰዎች ጎን መሰለፍ ያለብን ይመስለኛል። ምክንያቱም (1) ወገኖቻችን ናቸው። እኛ ኢትዮዽያውያን ያልደረስንላቸው ማን መጥቶ ይረዳቸዋል? (2) ዛሬ በኣማራ ተወላጆች እየተፈፀመ ያለው ግፍ (ኣሁንኑ ካልቆመ) ነገ በእያንዳንዳችን እንደሚፈፀም ማወቅ ይኖርብናል። (3)-የማፈናቀል ተግባሩ የብሄር ፖለቲካ ችግር ኣባብሶ የጥላቻ ፖለቲካ ስር ሰዶ የኢትዮዽያ ሀገራችን ኣንድነት የሚፈታተን ይሆናል።
የስርዓቱ ደጋፊዎች ይህንን ችግር ተረድታቹ በገዢው ፓርቲ Pressure ፍጠሩ ፤ ኣለበለዝያ ግን ችግሩ ሁሉም ዜጋ ይነካል። በተለይ የትግራይ ተወላጆች በግልፅ ተቃውሞኣችንን ማሰማት ኣለብን። ህወሓት /ኢህኣዴግ ከተግባሩ እንዲቆጠብ ማድረግ ወይ ተግባሩ እንዲያቆም በመቃወም ከነዚህ ተፈናቃዮች ጎን መሰለፍ ኣለብን። ምክንያቱም እነዚህ ተፈናቃዮች ብዙ ችግር እንደሚደርስባቸው የታወቀ ነው። ቂም መያዛቸው (በገዢው ፓርቲ ቅር መሰኘታቸው) ኣይቀርም። ገዢው ፓርቲ (ኢህኣዴግ) የህወሓት ስራ መሆኑ ይታወቃል። ህወሓት ስልጣን መያዝ የቻለው በትግራይ ህዝብ ትግል ነው (ህወሓት ህዝቦች ማፈናቀል ወይ መጨቆን እንዲችል ለማብቃት ባይሆንም)።
ስለዚ የኣማራ ተፈናቃዮች በህወሓት ተግባር ምክንያት በትግራይ ህዝብ ቅር ሊሰኙ ይችላሉ። እንዲህ ከሆነ ደግሞ ዛሬ በኣማራ ህዝብ እየተፈፀመ ያለው ግፍ ነገ በትግራይ ህዝብ መደረጉ ኣይቀርም። ግለሰዎች በስልጣን ለማቆየት ሲባል በሰለማዊና ንፁህ ዜጎች ግፍ እየተፈፀመ ዝም ብሎ መመልከት ተገቢ ኣይደለም።

ሀገራችን ትንሽ እንኳ በማያመነቱ አደገኛ ሰዎች መዳፍ ስር ወድቃለች::ተመስገን ደሳለኝ

…አሁን ሀገራችን አስፈሪ ደረጃ ላይ ደርሳለች፡፡ በአደባባይ ህግ ለመጣስና የፈቀዳቸውን ለማድረግ ትንሽ እንኳ በማያመነቱ አደገኛ ሰዎች መዳፍ ስር ወድቃለች፡፡ የአማርኛ ቋንቋ ተናገሪዎች ለዓመታት ከሰፈሩበት ቀዬ በኃይል መፈናቀላቸው ቀጥሏል፡፡ በእርግጥ በመለስ ዘመንም ቢሆን መፈናቀሉ ነበር፡፡ ኧረ እንዲያውም ‹‹ደን እየጨፈጨፉ ስላስቸገሩ ነው›› ብሎ ሁሉ አላግጦባቸዋል፡፡ የአማራው ‹‹ወኪል›› ነኝ የሚለው ብአዴንም ቢሆን ከታምራት ላይኔ ክፉ መንፈስ ገና ነፃ አልወጣም፡፡ ታምራት ላይኔ በስልጣን ዘመኑ በርካታ የአማርኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪ ተወላጆች በየአካባቢው ሞትና መፈናቀል እየደረሰባቸው እንደሆነ ሲነገረው ‹‹እኛ ከክልል ሶስት ውጪ ስለሚኖሩ አማሮች አያገባንም፡፡ ምክንያቱም በነፍጠኝነት ለወረራ የሄዱ ናቸው›› ብሎ ተሳለቆ ነበር፡፡ ዛሬ እነኦቦ አዲሱ ለገሰም ከዚህ አቋማቸው አልተቀየሩም፡፡  **************************************************************************** ከምሽቱ አንድ ሰአት አልፏል፤ የእጅ ስልኬ ደጋግሞ ቢጮኽም ትኩረት አልሰጠሁትም፡፡ ከጥቂት ሰከንዶች ፋታ በኋላ የቢሮዬ ስልክ ጮኸ፤ አነሳሁት፡፡ ለካስ እንዲህ በአንዱ አልመልስ ስላት፣ በሌላው እያፈራረቀች የምትደውለው ዕድሜዋ ወደ ሰባ እየተጠጋ ያለው አሮጊቷ እናቴ ኖራለች፡- ‹‹አቤት! እናቴ›› ‹‹ለምንድነው የዚህን ያህል ስልኩ ሲጮኽ የማትመልሰው?›› ቆጣ ብላ ጠየቀችኝ፡፡ ‹‹አስቸኳይ ስራ ላይ ስለነበርኩ ነው›› ‹‹ኤዲያ! አንተ ደግሞ ሁል ጊዜ ጠብ ለማይል ነገር፣ ችክ ማለት ትወዳለህ›› …በእርግጥ እናቴ እውነቷን ነው! ችክ ያልኩ ቸካካ ነገር ሳልሆን አልቀርም ፡፡ ተመስገን ደሳለኝ ‹‹ልዕልና›› ጋዜጣ ታግዳለች፤ እንደ‹‹ፍትህ›› እና ‹‹አዲስ ታይምስ›› ሁሉ የስርዓቱ የአፈና ሰለባ ሆናለች፤ የሚገርመው ግን መታገዷ አይደለም፣ የታገደችበት መንገድ እንጂ፡፡ ከዚህ ቀደም ደጋግሜ እንደገለፅኩት አቶ መለስን የተኩት ሰዎች ከእረሱም የባሱ ጭፍን አምባገነኖች ናቸው፡፡ ማንንም አይፈሩም፡፡ እግዚአብሄርንም ቢሆን ‹‹በአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ካልተጠመቅህ አምላክ ሆነ እንድትቀጥል አንፈቅድልህም›› ከማለት አይመለሱም፡፡ የሆነ ሆኖ የስርዓቱ አይን አውጣነት የደረሰበትን ደረጃ ለመገንዘብ የሚከተለውን በጥሞና አንብቡ፡፡ የ‹‹ልዕልና›› አሳታሚ ድርጅት በሁለት ወዳጆቼ ስም ከተገዛ በኋላ፣ ስም ከመዞሩ በፊት ስርዓቱን ወጥመድ ውስጥ የሚከት ስልት (አይን ያወጣ አምባገነን ባህሪውን ወዳጆቹ ሳይቀር ይኮንኑት ዘንድ ወደ አደባባይ የሚያወጣ) ተነደፈ፡፡ በስልቱ መሰረትም ከቀድሞ የድርጅቱ ባለቤቶች ጋር አንድ ስምምነት ተደረገ፡፡ ይኸውም እኔ የሚጠበቅብኝን የአክሲዎን ሽያጭ ክፍያ አስቀድሜ ብከፍልም፤ ምንም አይነት የስም ዝውውር ሳይደረግ ባለቤትነቱ በእነርሱ ስም ሆኖ እንዲቀጥል ተስማማን፡፡ በዚሁ መንገድ ስራው ተጀመረ፡፡ ለአፈና ሲንደረደር ግራና ቀኝ ለማያጣራው መንግስት ደግሞ እንዲህ የሚል የ‹‹ተጋገረ›› መረጃ በጋዜጣችን ላይ አስተላለፍን ፡- ‹‹በህጋዊ መንገድ የስም ዝውውር አድርገን ነው ስራ የጀመርነው፡፡›› እነሆ ይህ በሆነ በአስራ ሶስተኛው ቀን (13/07/05) ብሮድካስት ውስጥ ያሉ ዞምቢዎች ‹‹ድርጅቱ ለሌላ ሶስተኛ ወገን በህገ-ወጥ መንገድ የስም ዝውውር አስተላልፏል›› ሲሉ ድምፃቸውን አሰሙ፡፡ መቼ ተላለፈ? የተላለፈላቸው ሰዎችስ ስም ማን ይባላል? የሚሉት መሰረታዊ ጥያቄዎች ብሮድካስትን አያሳስቡትም፤ ያውም አንድ የሚዲያ ተቋምን ያህል ነገር ሲዘጋ (በነገራችን ላይ የስም ዝውውር የተደረገው ብሮድካስት ደብዳቤውን ከፃፈ ከአምስት ቀን በኋላ /በ18/07/05/) ነው፡፡ ለብሮድካስት ህገ-ወጥ እግድ ጋዜጣዋ መገዛት እንደሌለባት አዘጋጆቹ ስምምነት ላይ ስለደርሰን በ20/07/05 ታተመች፡፡ ሆኖም ሌላው ዞምቢ ድምፁን አሰማ-ንግድና ኢንዱስትሪ ሚኒስቴር፡፡ ይህ መስሪያ ቤት ያለምንም ማጣራት ጋዜጣዋ በወጣችበት ዕለት (20/07/05) ንግድ ፍቃዳችንን መሰረዙን የሚገልፅ ደብዳቤ ላከልን፡፡ በእጅጉ የሚገርመው ሁለቱም ‹‹ተቋምዎች›› ህገ-ወጥነታችንን የገለፁት ተመሳሳይ የአዋጅ ቁጥር በመጥቀስ መሆኑ ነው፡፡ ‹‹ከመገናኛ እና ብዙሃን የመረጃ ነፃነት አዋጅ ቁጥር 590/200 ከሚፈቅደው ውጪ…›› በማለት፡፡ …ይህ ምን ማለት ነው? በዚህ አዋጅ ውስጥ በርካታ አንቀፆች ተደንግገዋል፡፡ ስለአታሚ፣ አሳታሚ፣ ዋና አዘጋጅ፣ መረጃ የማግኘት መብት፣ የማሳተምና የመደራጀት ነፃነት፣ ስለአከፋፋዮች… አጅግ ብዙ ጉዳዮችን ያካትታል፡፡ ታዲያ እኛ የታገድነው ከእነዚህ ሁሉ አንቀፆች የትኛውን ተላልፈን ነው? …ቢያንስ መንግስት የሚመስል ነገር ወይም ‹‹መንግስት ነኝ›› የሚል ካለ ጥፋታችንና የተላለፍነውን የአዋጁን አንቀፅ ቢነግረን ሌላው ቢቀር ከስሜት መጎዳት እንድን ነበር፡፡ ነገር ግትን ዞምቢዎቹ እንደከዚህ ቀደሙ አንቀፅ በመጥቀስ ማስመሰል እንኳን አልቻሉም፡፡ በደፈናው የአዋጅ ቁጥር ጠቀሱና አረፉት፡፡ …አሁን ሀገራችን አስፈሪ ደረጃ ላይ ደርሳለች፡፡ በአደባባይ ህግ ለመጣስና የፈቀዳቸውን ለማድረግ ትንሽ እንኳ በማያመነቱ አደገኛ ሰዎች መዳፍ ስር ወድቃለች፡፡ የአማርኛ ቋንቋ ተናገሪዎች ለዓመታት ከሰፈሩበት ቀዬ በኃይል መፈናቀላቸው ቀጥሏል፡፡ በእርግጥ በመለስ ዘመንም ቢሆን መፈናቀሉ ነበር፡፡ ኧረ እንዲያውም ‹‹ደን እየጨፈጨፉ ስላስቸገሩ ነው›› ብሎ ሁሉ አላግጦባቸዋል፡፡ የአማራው ‹‹ወኪል›› ነኝ የሚለው ብአዴንም ቢሆን ከታምራት ላይኔ ክፉ መንፈስ ገና ነፃ አልወጣም፡፡ ታምራት ላይኔ በስልጣን ዘመኑ በርካታ የአማርኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪ ተወላጆች በየአካባቢው ሞትና መፈናቀል እየደረሰባቸው እንደሆነ ሲነገረው ‹‹እኛ ከክልል ሶስት ውጪ ስለሚኖሩ አማሮች አያገባንም፡፡ ምክንያቱም በነፍጠኝነት ለወረራ የሄዱ ናቸው›› ብሎ ተሳለቆ ነበር፡፡ ዛሬ እነኦቦ አዲሱ ለገሰም ከዚህ አቋማቸው አልተቀየሩም፡፡ ተወልደ ወ/ማርያም በክፍፍሉ ወቅት ብአዴኖች ከመለስ ጎን በመቆማቸው ተበሳጭቶ ‹‹የፖለቲካ ደሀ ናችሁ›› ሲል መተቸቱ በረከት ስምዖን ዛሬም የገባው አይመስለኝም፡፡ የማፈናቀሉ መሀንዲስ ህወሓትም ቢሆን ይህ መንገድ ብዙ ርቀት የማያስኬድ ስለመሆኑ ከሃያ ዓመት በኋላም አልተገለፀለትም፡፡ ለዚህም ይመስለኛል ከፋፍሎ በመግዛት እና በማዳከም ላይ የተመሰረተ ፖለቲካ በመከተል ጉልበቱን እያዛለ ያለው፡፡ በነገራችን ላይ መረሳት የሌለበት ቁም-ነገር የጥፋት ስራው ተጠያቂ ህወሓት እንጂ ‹‹እወክለዋለው›› የሚለው የትግራይ ህዝብ አለመሆኑ ነው፡፡ አማራ- በብአዴን፣ ኦሮሞ-በኦህዴድ እንደማይገለፀው ሁሉ፣ የትግራይ ህዝብም በህወሓት ይገለፃል የሚል የጨዋታ ህግ የለም፡፡ እነዚህ ሰዎች ለስልጣናቸው እስከጠቀመ ድረስ የማይፈፅሙት ህገ-ወጥ ድርጊት አለመኖሩ ላይ መስማማት የሚኖርብን ይመስለኛል፤ የማይፈፅሙት ጭካኔም የለም፡፡ ይህንን የሚያሳይ አንድ ነገር ልንገራችሁ፡፡ ታሪኩ የቀድሞ የደህንነት ሹም የነበረው ክንፈ ገ/መድህንን በጥይት ደብድቦ ስለገደለው ሻለቃ ፀሀዬን የሚመለከት ነው፡፡ እንደሚታወቀው ሟችም ገዳይም ትግርኛ ተናጋሪዎች ቢሆኑም፣ ሻለቃው ወንጀሉን ከፈፀመ በኋላ ለብዙ ችግር ተዳርጎ ነበር፣ ያውም ከነቤተሰቡ፡፡ መጀመሪያ ባለቤቱን ከምትሰራበት ብርሃንና ሰላም ማተሚያ ቤት አባረሯት፡፡ እግር በእግርም እየተከታተሉ በኪራይ ከምትኖርበት ቤት አፈናቀሏት (በጊዜው እስክንድር ነጋ የገንዘብ ድጋፍ ያደርግላት ነበር) ሻለቃውም ለስድስት ዓመት ያህል በጨለማ ቤት ውስጥ በመታሰሩ የአይን ብርሃኑ በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ተጎዳ፡፡ ፍርድ ቤት ሲቀርብ እንዴት ለመራመድ ይቸገር እንደነበረ አስተውለናል፡፡ እኔ እያልኩ ያለሁት ያጠፋ ሰው በህግ አይጠየቅ አይደለም፤ ከህግ ውጪ ስለምን የበቀል ሰለባ ይሆናል ነው? ሰዎቹ ከየትኛውም ብሄር ተወለዱ በጠላትነት ከመዘገቧችሁ ለጭካኔያቸው ወደር የለውም፡፡ የሆነው ሆኖ ስርዓቱ ገደብ ላጣው ጭካኔው ‹‹ብሄር›› የተሰኘ አጥር የለውም ያስባለኝ በሻለቃው ህይወት መጨረሻ የተፈፀመው ድርጊት ነውና እሱን ልንገራችሁ፡፡ ዕለቱ የኦርቶዶክስ ክርስትና እምነት ተከታዮች ‹‹ፍልሰታ›› እያሉ የሚጠሩት የአስራ ስድስት ቀን ፆም ዋዜማ ነው-ሐምሌ 30ቀን፡፡ ሻለቃው ይህች ቀን የመጨረሻዋ መሆኗን ሊያውቅ የሚችልበት አገጣሚ አልነበረምና ጥብቅ ሀይማኖተኛ በመሆኑ ለፆሙ የመንፍስና የቁስ ዝግጅቱን አጠናቆ በደስታ እየጠበቀ ነው፡፡ የሆነው ግን በተቃራኒው ነበር፡፡ በፃሃፊ ብዕር ልተርክላችሁ፡፡ …ወቅቱ ክረምት ቢሆንም ፀሀይ ህቡዕ የገባች እስኪመስል ድረስ ዝናብን አግደው የያዙ የሰማይ መስኮቶች ከንጋት ጀምረው ላንቃቸውን ከፍተው ምድሪቱን እያረሰረሷት ነው፡፡ ቀኑ ተገባዶ አስር ሰዓት ላይ ደርሷል፡፡ አብዛኛው እስረኛ በየክፍሉ ከቷል፡፡ ጥቂቶቹ ደግሞ ውሽንፍሩን ተከትሎ ያረበበውን ቅዝቃዜ ይከላከልልናል በሚል ካፍቴሪያ ውስጥ ቁጭ ብለው ሻይና ቡና ደጋግመው ያዛሉ፡፡ አንዲት የደህንነት መኪና ሾፌሩን ጨምሮ አራት ሰዎች አሳፍራ ወደማረሚያ ቤቱ አስተዳደር መግባቷን ማንም አላስተዋለም፡፡ መኪናዋ የኃላፊውን ቢሮ ታካ ስትቆም የቡድኑ መሪ ቀልጠፍ ብሎ ወርዶ በቀጥታ ከፊቱ ወደአለው ቢሮ በመግባት፣ ከማረሚያ ቤቱ ኃላፊ ጋር ለጥቂት ደቂቃዎች ቆይታ ከአደረገ በኋላ በወህኒ ቤቱ ውስጥ ያልተለመደ ትዕዛዝ ተላለፈ፤ ሁሉም እስረኛ ወደ ክፍሉ እንዲገባ የሚል፡፡ እስረኞቹ በሙሉ ወደ ክፍላቸው መግባታቸው ከተረጋገጠ በኋላ የሞት ፍርድ ተፈርዶበት ቀኑን እየጠበቀ የነበረው ሻለቃ ፀሀዬ ከክፍሉ ወጥቶከደህንነትቢሮወደመጣችውመኪናውስጥእንዲገባተደረገ፡፡መኪናዋምበመጣችበትፍጥነትየመልስጉዞአደረገች፡፡ ይህ ሁሉ ነገር ተካሄዶ ያለቀው በአስራ አምስት ደቂቃ ውስጥ ነበር፡፡ …ጎዳናው ላይ አልፎ አልፎ እየተንገዳገደ ከሚያዘግም ሰካራም እና ከሚያላዝኑ የመንገድ ዳር ውሾች በቀር አንዳች እንቅስቃሴ አይታይም፤ ጭር ብሏል፡፡ የክረምቱ ቅዝቃዜ በድቅድቅ ጨለማ ቁጥጥር ስር ከዋለው ሌሊት ጋር ተቀላቅሎ በእጅጉ ያስፈራል፡፡ የሻለቃው ባለቤት ወ/ሮ አምሳለ የመኖሪያ ቤቷ በር ሲንኳኳ ከሶስት ልጆቿ ጋር በእንቅልፍ ዓለም ውስጥ ነበረች፡፡ ማንኳኳቱ ሳይቋረጥ ለደቂቃዎች በመቀጠሉ ድንገት ካሰጠማት እንቅልፍ አባነናት፡፡ እናም በሩን ከፈተች፡፡ ከዚህ ቀደም አይታቸው የማታውቃቸው ሁለት ሰዎች ቆመዋል፡ ፡ ደነገጠች፡፡ ‹‹ምንድን ነው? ምን ፈልጋችሁ ነው?›› አከታትላ ጠየቀች፡፡ ‹‹ፖሊሶች ነን፣ ሻለቃ ፀሀዬ በጣም ስለታመመ አምሳለን ጥሩልኝ ስላለን ነው የመጣነው›› ሲል መለሰ አንደኛው ሰውዬ፡፡ ‹‹ቀን ስንቅ ስወስድለት ደህና አልነበረ እንዴ? አሁን ምን ተፈጠረ?›› ‹‹ድንገት ነው የታመመው፤ ልታዪው የምትፈልጊ ከሆነ ቶሎ እንሂድ?›› አለና አጣደፋት በሌሊት ከሰው ደጅ ቆሞ መመላለሱ ያልተመቸው ሁለተኛው ሰው፡፡ ወ/ሮ አምሳለም ስጋት እንደሞላት ሰዎቹን አሳፍራ በመጣችው መኪና ውስጥ ገብች፡፡ ሆኖም መኪናዋ ወደመጣችበት መመለሰ ስትጀምር መንገዱ ወደቃሊቲ የሚወስደው እንዳልሆነ ተረዳች፡፡ ከሃያ ደቂቃ ጉዞ በኋላም መኪናዋ አንድ ግቢ ውስጥ ገብታ ቆመች፡፡ ሁሉም ወረዱ፡፡ ‹‹የታለ ባለቤቴ?›› አምሳለ ጠየቀች፣ ‹‹ያው! እዛ ክፍል ውስጥ ግቢ፣ እየጠበቀሽ ነው›› አላት አንደኛው ሰው፣ በሩ ወደተከፈተ ክፍል በእጁ እያመለከተ፡፡ እንደተባለችው ገርበብ የተደረገውን በር ሙሉ በሙሉ ከፍታ ገባች፡፡ …ክፍሉ ወለል መሀል ላይ ሻለቃው በጥይት ተበሳስቶ በጀርባው ተዘርሯል፡፡ …ያልጠበቀችውን ክስተት የተመለከተችው የሻለቃው ባለቤት እንደሎጥ ሚስት የጨው አምድ ሆነች፡፡ …የዚህን ያህል ነው የህወሓት ጭካኔ፡፡ ከመስመሩ ካፈነገጣችሁ ትግሬ ሆናችሁ አማራ ጉዳዩ አይደለም፡፡ እናም ማቆሚያ ላጣው የአማርኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪዎች መፈናቀልም ብቸኛው ተጠያቂ ህወሓት እንጂ ‹‹ወከልኩት›› የሚለው ህዝብ በፍፁም ሊሆን አይችልም፡፡ ይህ አመለካከት የተሳሳተ ከመሆኑም በላይ የማይታረም አደጋ ያስከትላል፡፡ የሆነ ሆኖ እንዲህ አይነቱን አጓጉል ችግር ፈጣሪ ድርጊት ሁላችንም በጋራ ለማስቆም መሰለፍ አለብን፡፡ በይበልጥ ደግሞ ከሀገሪቱ የተለያዩ አካባባዎች መጥታችሁ፣ የተለያየ አካባቢ ሰፍራችሁ ሀብት እያፈራችሁ ያላችሁ ኢትዮጵያውያን ነጋዴዎች ይህ አይነቱ ማፈናቀል ባስቸኳይ ይቆም ዘንድ ነግ በእኔ ብላችሁ ስርዓቱ ላይ ጫና ማሳደር አለባችሁ፡፡ ቀጣዩ ተረኛ እናንተ ላለመሆናችሁ ምንም ማረጋገጫ የለም፡፡ የስርዓቱ ደጋፊዎችም ሆናችሁ ልሂቃኖች፣ በአሰልቺ ዜማ ጠዋትና ማታ ‹‹አባይ፣ አባይ…›› የምትሉ አርቲስቶች ከምንም በፊት ስለንፁሀን እምባመገደብልትናገሩይገባል፡፡አገዛዙየዱርዬባህሪውንይገድብዘንድስትዘምሩመስማትእንፈልጋለን፡፡ …እስቲዙሪያችንን እንመልከት፤ ትላንት ከኋላችው ቆምን ነፃ ያወጣናቸው ሀገራት ዛሬ የብሄር ፖለቲካን ለእኛ ጥለውልን ርቀው ሄደዋል፡፡ በዘላቂነት አብሮን ለማይቆይና ጠብ ለማይል ነገር እንማስናለን፡፡ እናቴም እንዲሁ ነበር ያለችኝ ‹‹ችክ አትበል! ጠብ ለማይል ነገር!›› ሆኖም ግሳጼዋን ችላ ብዬ ለምን እንደደወለችልኝ ጠየኳት፡፡ ‹‹ትላንት ለምን ወደ ቤት አልመጣህም?›› ‹‹ምነው ፈልገሽኝ ነበር እንዴ?›› ‹‹አዎ! የአባትህ 13ኛ ሙት ዓመት ነበር እኮ›› …ደነገጥኩ፡፡ ጊዜው እንዴት ይሮጣል? ግና በለሆሳስ ‹‹አባቴ ሆይ ነፍስህ በአፀደ ገነት እንዳለችአምናለሁ!›› ስልእናቴማነብነቤንሰምታኝኖሮምንእንዳልኩጠየቀችኝ፡፡ ‹‹አይ! ምንም አላልኩም›› ‹‹ለማንኛውም ዛሬ ወደ ቤት እንድትመጣ?›› ‹‹እናቴ! ቢሮ ስለማመሽ ልመጣ አልችልም፤ ራሴ ቤት ነው የማድረው›› ‹‹እረስተከዋል እንዴ! ዛሬ እኮ መጋቢት ሀያ ሰባት ነው›› ‹‹እና ታዲያ?›› ‹‹የተወለድክበት ቀን ነዋ!›› …ሌላ የተረሳ ጉዳይ፡፡ ይህ ሳምንት ድብልቅልቅ ያለ ነው፡፡ የአባቴ 13ኛ ሙት ዓመት፣ የልደት ቀን፣ ሽልማት (በነገራችን ላይ ‹‹ኢትዮቲዩብ›› ሀሳብን በነፃነት የመግለፅ መብትን ለማስከበር አስተዋፆ አድርገሀል በማለት የሸለመው እኔን ብቻ ሳይሆን ባልደረቦቼንና አንባብያንንም ጭምር በመሆኑ በሁሉም ስም እንዲህ ማመስገኑ አስፈላጊ ሆኖ አግኝቸዋለው፡- ‹‹እንዳከበራችሁን እግዚአብሄር ያክብርልን፤ መጪውም ከዚህ የበለጠ ስራ የምትሰሩበት የስኬት ዘመን ይሆንላችሁ ዘንድ እመኛለሁ››) ይህንን ርዕሰ ጉዳይ ከማሳረጌ በፊት መልዕክቴን ላስተላልፍ፡- አሁንም ትግሉ ይቀጥላል፡፡ ‹‹ልዕልና›› ብትዘጋም ሌላ ይከፈታል፡፡ ትግል… ሽንፈት፤ …ድል፤ እንደገና መሸነፍ… ተስፋ አንቆረጥም፤ ገና ወደፊት እንቀጥላለን፤ በዘመናችን ብዙ ነገር አይተናል፤ ርዕዮተ-ዓለም ሲሸነፍ ተመልከተናል፤ ስርዓት ድል ሲመታ አይተናል፤ ህዝብ እንደ ህዝብ ሲሸነፍ ግን ማንም ተመልክቶ አያውቅም፡፡ እናም እኔ ጋዜጠኛ ነኝ ‹‹ለዲሞክራሲና መልካም አስተዳደር ፀልዩ›› ብዬ ልመክር አልችልም፡፡ ነገር ግን እልፍ ሆነን እንዘምር ዘንድ ድምፄን ከፍ አድርጌ እጠይቃለሁ፡- አትነሳም ወይ? አትነሳም ወይ? ይሄ ባንዲራ የአንተ አይደለም ወይ? …ኢ-ፍታሀዊነትን እንዋጋለን፣ የከፋፍለህ ግዛን አስተዳደር እንቀይራለን፡፡ በሩንም በሰላም ይከፍቱልን ዘንድ ደጋግመን እናንኳኳለን፤ ካልከፈቱልንም ገንጥለን እንገባለን፡፡ ከዛ በኋላም ሀገራችንን የራሳችን እናደርጋለን! ያዘኑትም ይስቃሉ፤ የታሰሩትም ይፈታሉ፤ የተሰደዱትም ይመለሳሉ፤ የወጡትም ይወርዳሉ፡፡ (መጋቢት 27/2005 ዓ.ም እኩለ ሌሊት)   maleda times | April 7, 2013 at 10:19 am | Categories: AMHARIC NEWS | URL: http://wp.me/p2gxmh-1GG Comment    See all

The Scramble for Ethiopia By Prof. Messay Kebede

              

What else could better express the existence in today’s Ethiopia of more than eighty political parties, out of which ethnic parties represent the overwhelming majority, than the term “scramble?” That for now the TPLF holds together the disjoined parts of the country by force for its own sectarian interests only reconfirms the accuracy of the term. How did this come about?

When we try to understand what happened to Ethiopia and, by extension, to Eritrea, since the overthrow of the imperial regime, we are invariably overtaken by a mounting perplexity. Unlike the imperial regime, which never declared its intention to empower the people, the political movements that opposed the regime emphatically and without exception asserted their primary and unique goal to be the liberation and empowerment of the people. The EPRP, MEISON, the Derg, the OLF, the TPLF, and the EPLF, to name the most important ones, all claimed to fight for the cause of the people. Yet, none of the movements that succeeded to seize power and implement their programs came anywhere near to fulfilling the promise of liberation and empowerment. On the contrary, all ended in similar types of abject dictatorial and sectarian rules.
The dominant explanation attributes the failures to accidental derailments. It argues that the initial intention and corresponding organizations were fully committed to the goal of liberation until they were derailed by the rise to the leadership position of unfit or fraudulent individuals, who used their position to institute a dictatorial rule and surround themselves by cynical and self-serving groups. Mengistu Haile Mariam, Meles Zenawi, and Isiyas Afeworki negatively altered, so it is said, the original good intention of the movements that brought them to power.
The trouble with the explanation is that the notion of derailment presupposes what needs to be explained. How could individuals, however smart, determined, and cunning they may be, succeed in overturning movements that were often able to overcome very challenging situations. Even if it was short-lived, the triumph of the Derg over so many opponents remains an exploit. Equally remarkable is the defeat that the EPLF and the TPLF inflicted on the military machine of the Derg. It just begs the question to assert that one or several individuals were able to misdirect movements with such proven strength.
Hence the need for a change of paradigm: instead of taking for granted an initial good intention, what if the devil was already in the intention? Rather than derailment, such an explanation sees continuity between departure and arrival, despite contrary appearances. What happened and is happening are already contained in the initial intention, which therefore was itself vicious. In other words, though the movements promised liberation and empowerment, the real and hidden goal was self-promotion and exclusive control of power. Ideologies advocating the liberation of the masses by revolutionary elites, such as Leninism, Maoism, and ethnonationalism, came in handy and quickly spread like a bushfire.
It must not be made to seem that the adoption of these ideologies by the revolutionary elites was a deliberate deception. The tragedy is that they honestly believed in these ideologies and honestly thought that they were working for the empowerment of the people. The fault was and still is in their mind, in the mistaken understanding of what liberation and empowerment mean. The misunderstanding can be traced to their colonial attitude toward their own people, itself being a resultant of the colonial education they received and thank to which they earned their elite status. The education convinced them that they are the native heirs to the civilizing mission of the colonizer, that the measure of their own modernity is the extent to which they see themselves as tutors and agents of change.
At first look, being agent of change is rather positive and expected from educated people. The problem, however, was that it was conceived in the colonial fashion: it was perceived as an imposition from above and deliberately excluded the active participation of the people. Modernity was not what people bring about through their active engagement and creativity; it was a dictate flowing from the enlightened ones and as such demanding passive compliance.  The relationship that exists between elites and the masses is not one of answerability, but of elites fashioning their people according to an idea of modernity that defines them as domesticators, thereby entitling them to absolute power. Whether you call the goal socialism, revolutionary democracy, national liberation movement, it always amounts to a dictatorial rule lining up a whole people in the name of a self-serving idea of modernity.
Ethiopians who are familiar with my books on Ethiopia know that I have developed this flawed idea of modernity and its toxic implications from various angels. The happy surprise for me was that the idea has now crossed into Eritrea’s intellectual space, as witnessed by Yosief Ghebrehiwet’s article titled “Eritrea’s Drive for Modernity: In Search of Asmara” posted on Asmarino. Not only is the article witty and very perceptive, but it also proposes a paradigm change in our understanding of what happened both in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Thus, in analyzing the Eritrean case, Yosief barely refers to the usual motive for the uprising, namely, the national oppression by the Amhara. Instead he focusses on the impact of Italian colonization, which created “a generation that imitated the Italians in every gesture without having any understanding of the beauty of the Italian culture . . . a generation that contemptuously gave its back to the Habesha culture.” The imitation induced an abstract idea of modernity, that is, a conception of modernity “devoid of human factor” and hence intrinsically totalitarian. The modernity of the uprooted is paradoxical: though it speaks of national liberation and empowerment, it is nothing but a replica of colonization by foreign natives. Yosief courageously writes: “the structure of Shaebia’s army that marched to Asmara looked like a colonial army, with the urban elite replacing the Italian positions at the top and the peasants accorded their old place of askaris at the bottom – this was how they came to colonize Asmara.”
The reason for Eritrean uprising is thus obvious: it was a renewed scramble for Ethiopia, a reconstitution of the Italian invasion by natives. This applies to the secessionist movements in Ogadan and Oromia as well, since they aspire to dismantle the conquest by which Menilik defeated the colonial design on Ethiopia. In construing the return to a pre-Menilik political situation as decolonization of Oromia, Ogaden, etc., these movements draw, as elsewhere in Africa, the entitlement to rule from being enlightened natives pushing out alien colonizers. In other words, the ideology of Amhara colonization is how elites invent an ascriptive legitimacy to rule based on ethnic belonging. Without the ideology, the elites would have to justify their entitlement to rule by the implementation of socioeconomic progress, that is, by actual achievement and merit rather than by natural relatedness.
Needless to say, the creation of an ascriptive right to rule through the denunciation of Amhara colonization is little prone to democratic competition and accountability. Accordingly, the so-called national liberation movements are not so much liberation as elite conflicts for the control of territories resulting from the dismantling of Ethiopia. Speaking of the Eritrean war of liberation, Yoseif rightly says, “it was a war fought between Addis Ababa and Asmara elite. In between, the peasants of both Ethiopia and Eritrea perished fighting the respective urban elite’s causes.”
Elite conflicts accurately sum up the Ethiopian revolution and the ethnonationalist assaults on Ethiopia subsequent to that revolution. The reason for the radicalization of the Ethiopian educated elite through the adoption of Leninism in the 60s and 70s was the need to dislodge the old aristocracy with its bureaucracy and military apparatus from power and the control of resources. Class struggle furnished the ideology necessary to mobilize the working people against the old state apparatus and the church, not so much to liberate them as to empower elites defining themselves as “revolutionaries.” In the meantime, ethnonationalist elites were preparing the ground for another round of elite conflicts, this time by creating a form of exclusion based on ethnic belonging, which resulted in the defeat of the Ethiopian Revolution by ethnonationalist forces.
What should be underlined is that the class struggle and the ethnonationalist forms of exclusion find their common source in the colonial understanding of modernity, that is, of modernity as an imposition from above and whose main purpose is to benefit the few. Not only this form of modernization does not tolerate grass-root movements (autonomous civil societies, professional organizations, and unions), independent political parties, and a liberal economic system, but the narrowness of its goal stemming from the colonial model of modernization reserves economic benefits for the few. Such a restricted development further divides elite and unleashes a violent struggle for the control of scarce resources.
As a result, the country moves in a vicious circle: the empowerment of the few at the expense of the majority curtails economic development, which curtailment exasperates elite conflicts for the control of scarce resources. No more than overseas colonizers, internal or native colonizers can allow the enlargement of social wealth and distribution under pain of losing the absolute control of power that their faulty idea of modernity justifies. The opposite, that is, grass-roots modernization is anathema to them because it pushes for the democratization of all forms of social life and for the accountability to the people. By definition, colonizers, those who “civilize,” be they external or internal, cannot but target absolute power.
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Messay Kebede is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Dayton in Ohio. He taught philosophy at Addis Ababa University from 1976 to 1993. He also served as chair of the department of philosophy from 1980 to 1991