Ethiopia: Raya under destruction

by Teumay Debesay

Raya refers a tract of land stretching from Ala wuha in the south to Alaje in the north. That is bigger than Adwa and Axum awrajas combined. Historically, this is where the Weyane rebellion started in 1928 as a spontaneous reaction to a repressive system of the time. Originating in their present day Kobo wereda, the revolt would quickly spread to cover the entire Raya and Wejerat provinces. Later, the inhabitants of Enderta joined the revolt and a sort of quasi-organized alliance was formed after a decade of Raya and Wejerat rebellion. This alliance, Weyane, would emerge so potent that by its heyday it practically liberated the provinces of Raya, Wejerat and Enderta. The imperial government with the support of British Air force resorted to aerial bombardment of the rebel held areas which caused a wide-spread damage, including complete erasure of villages. However, the most detrimental factor that actually caused the demise of Weyane was to come from none other than Adwa people. In 1943, Dejazmach Gebrehiwot Meshesha along with a dozen of Adwans exploited the trust vested on them to assassinate the leaders of the Weyane movement. This is significant for in the Ethiopian tradition, at least until then, if one manages to kill the leader one will win the battle. Meshesha and co. breach of the traditional trust and value was so venomous that even to this date mistrust and resentment runs high in Raya. It is to be noted that if not for Meshesha of Adwa, the people were in a very strong bargaining position and if one has to look how similar revolts in Bale and other regions were resolved, the rebels demand for better governance was within reach. As a thank you for their contribution, Meshesha and his fellow Adwans were rewarded heavily by Haileselasse while a series of punitive attacks continued on the ‘originators’ of Weyane and ultimately Raya was divided between Wollo and Tigray.

PM Haile Mariam Desalegn: Where’s the Political Reform?

by Ewnetu Sime | February 01, 2013

Mr. Haile Mariam Desalegn, the new Ethiopian PM, marks 100 plus days in office and brought frustration to all pro-democracy campaigners starting from his first exclusive interview with Peter Heinlein the Voice of America – VOA news correspondent.  Some people predicted he will be a compromise candidate to bring more political freedom.  Some say the predatory TPLF ruling party replaces the deceased Meles Zenawi by another stooge figure to continue dictatorial control. But it was not a secret that he is woven into TPLF autocratic regime in the past several years. In as much as he is the closest ally of the aristocracy of TPLF regime, in some of us thinking there is magical expectation he might bring better vision for the country, or at minimum he will make an effort of some kind for political reform including freeing political prisoners or respect – its own existing constitutions such as press freedom, guarantees of the right of public assembly, etc.. In reality what we observed so far is our citizens continue to carry the yoke of oppression.

A Critique of Professor Getachew Haile’s Recent Posting

Reflections on the Misguided Stance of Neutrality held by Some Diaspora EOTCs:  A Critique of Professor Getachew Haile’s Recent Posting on Ethiomedia.com

by Walle Engedayehu, Ph.D. 

Introduction

This is yet another small contribution, among others that this author has made in the most recent past, to the dialogue that has shaped the latest postings on issues concerning the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC). Thought-provoking analyses have appeared on the Diaspora Ethiopian websites immediately following the recent fiasco of the peace and unity meetings between the representatives of the two Holy Synods— the Exiled and the home-based— in the United States.  For many keen observers and supporters of reconciliation, the final blow came, of course, with the arbitrary decision of the Holy Synod in Ethiopia—under duress from the regime— to go forward with the installment of the sixth Patriarch in spite of the peace talks that could have resulted in the return of the exiled Patriarch, His Holiness Abune Merkorios, to his rightful throne. Once again, the Ethiopian regime’s obsession with imposing its will illegally on the selection of the next Patriarch was clearly and unambiguously on display, as a small group of the Synod’s members in Addis Ababa successfully put into action the government’s bidding in a dramatic show of force, supported by the mighty hand of regime operatives. Many other colleagues have written insightful pieces on this very subject, providing critical but timely analyses.

Ethiopian telecoms sector amongst most corrupt in country

The telecommunications sector in Ethiopia is one of the most prone to corruption, according to a much-anticipated World Bank report which shines light on the role of state-run operator Ethio-Telecom.

According to the “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia” report, which analysed eight important industry sectors, the corruption within the sector is mainly due to the lack of accountability in the field and the monopoly currently operated by Ethio-Telecom. 

 

It advises that the country begin auditing telecommunications transactions in connection with Ethio-Telecom.

Particular light was shone upon a 2006 vendor financing contract entered into by the operator, then known as the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC), which saw the lack of an official tender procedure for the grant of the US$1.5 billion financing contract and the company’s failure to provide potential suppliers with the financial requirements related to the contract. Suggestions are rife that only the winning supplier, China’s ZTE, was provided with the relevant information. 

“This brief study should not be seen as an investigation or interpreted as alleging in itself that corruption has necessarily occurred. However, the circumstances as perceived both by stakeholders and by independent observers do raise serious questions about the control of risks in this sector,” reads the report. 

“By appointing one supplier without competitive tender, the ETC has no opportunity to assess the degree of technical compliance of the supplier’s equipment. The contract was also inappropriate and went through unclear procedures for ensuring technical quality and competitive pricing.” 

The Unchecked Rape-Tale of Ethiopian Army

by Amsale Getnet Aberra

Let Me Defend Your Honor and Ravish Your Woman: The Unchecked Rape-Tale of Ethiopian Army from Eritrea to Gambella and Dollo-Ado

We all have witnessed over the years that the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has no democratic attributes to

Author, Amsale Getnet Aberra LL.M student at the University of Washington

show for in the national and international arena. Countries such as United States, United Kingdom and Human Rights advocacy groups such as Human Rights Watch have issued countless reports exposing the lack of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the country. For instance, the 2012 Human Rights Watch report states that the Ethiopian government continues to curtail freedom of expression, association and political participation and dissent. The report also went on to state that citizens, due to their ethnic identities are continuing to be persecuted by the government including the Amhara and Oromo.

The Human Rights records of the government being as clear as it is, I would like to devote the following short article to show the rarely talked about violation committed by the government, violation of the right to be free from sexual violence in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia. The writer would, however, like to mention that these are a few instance of sexual violence against women committed by the Ethiopian military personnel and this, by no means is an exhaustive list of such atrocities.

Sexual violence against woman which reinforces the inequality of women touches upon the Human Rights of the victim, including her right to health, dignity, autonomy and security. And when the same act committed on women in internal or international armed conflict settings, it can be a violation of Customary International Humanitarian Law as reflected in the Geneva Conventions.

East Africa stagnates near bottom of the index, Ethiopia 137th

In Somalia (175th, -11) 18 journalists were killed, caught up in bomb attacks or the direct targets of murder, making 2012 the deadliest in history for the country’s media. The Horn of Africa state was the second most dangerous country in the world for those working in news and information, behind Syria. In Eritrea (in last place in the index for the sixth successive year), no journalists were killed but some were left to die, which amounts to the same thing. With at least 30 behind bars, it is Africa’s biggest prison for journalists. Of 11 incarcerated since 2001, seven have died as a result of prison conditions or have killed themselves. Since the independent media were abolished more than 10 years ago, there are no independent Eritrean news outlets, other than outside the country, and terror prevails.

East Africa is also a region of censorship and crackdowns. Omar al-Bashir’s Sudan, where more newspapers were seized and the arrests of journalists continued during the summer, is stuck firmly in 170th place, in the bottom 10 of the index. Djibouti (167th, -8), which also has no independent media, detained a correspondent of the foreign-based news site La Voix de Djibouti. Despite the release of two Swedish journalists arrested in 2011, Ethiopia(137th) fell ten places because of its repressive application of the 2009 anti-terrorist law and the continued detention of several local journalists.

ህወሐት ለሁለት ተሰነጠቀ፤ ወረቀት ለአባለት ተበተነ

(ከእየሩሳሌም አርአያ)
ዛሬ በመቀሌ ለአባላትና አልፎም ለህዝቡ በተበተነ የትግርኛ ፅሁፍ እነ ስዩም መስፍን፣ አባይ ፀሐዬ፣ ፀጋዬ በርሔ ከነባለቤታቸው እንዲሁም ሌሎች ከድርጅቱ እንዲባረሩ በተበተነው መግለጫ ተጠቁሞዋል። በመግለጫው፥ ከጀርባ አሉ የተባሉትና « የዚህ መኅንዲስ» ተብለው የተፈረጁት ስብሃት ነጋ እርምጃ እንዲወሰድባቸው ከተባሉት መካከል በዋነኛነት ተፈርጀዋል። እነ ቴውድሮስ ሃጎስ፣አዜብ መስፍንና በረከት እጃቸው እንዳለበት የተነገረለት ይኸው መግለጫ ተከታዩን ይመስላል፤
«ተቆርቋሪ ለሆናችሁ የትግራይ ተወላጆ በሙሉ፤
«ድርጅትህ ሕወሐት እስከ ዛሬ ታግላ እዚህ ደረጃ አድርሰሃለች። በተለይም የሁሉም ነገር አድራጊና ፈጣሪ የነበረው ባለ ራዕይው መሪህ በቅርብ ጊዜ አጥተኽል።
“ዛሬ እነዚህን ደካማ ጐኖች ተጠቅመው ለጠላት አሳልፈው ሊሰጡህ የሚፈልጉ ያውም ደግሞ የእኔ የምትላቸው ጅቦች ተነስተውብህ ይገኛሉ። ይህንን ግልፅ ለማቅድረግ አሁን በቅርብ ጊዜ በመቀሌ የድርጅቱ ማ/ኰሚቴ ስብሰባ አካሄደን ነበር። በዚህ ስብሰባ ላይ ነው እንግዲህ ተከታዩ ነገር የተነሳው። ይኽውም፥ እነ ስዩም መስፍን፣ አባይ ፀሐዬ፣ ፀጋዬ ከሚስቱ ጋርና ሌሎችም ያሉበት ይህን አሉ፤
«ድርጅታችን ጨርሶ ተዳክሞዋል። እኛ የኢትዮጲያ ሕዝብ ትግል መስራች ሆነን ሳለ ወደኋላ ተገፍትረን በአንፃሩ ሌሎች ከእኛ ኋላ የተፈጠሩና ራሳችን ያሳደግናቸው ሲጠናከሩ ድርጅታችን ግን እየተዳከመ በመሄድ ላይ ነው። ባዛው መጠን ሕዝባችን እየተጎዳ ነው። ስለዚህ አሁን ካጋጠመን አደጋ መውጣት ካለብን ከድርጅቱ -የተወገዱትን ግን በመጥፎ ጎዳና ያልተሰማሩትን መልሰን ወደ ፓርቲው ማስገባት አለብን። ይህ ካልሆነ ግን የሕዝብ ትግል አውላላ ሜዳ ላይ ጅብ በልቶት ሊቀር ነው።» በማለት ከጠላቶቻችን ጋር እንታረቅ እያሉን ነው።
“ሕዝባችን አስተውል። በዚህ አይነት ዳግመኛ በድርጅታችን ተኃድሶ እንደሚያስፈልገን ነው የተገነዘብነው። በሚቀጥለው የካቲት ወር በሚካሄደው ጉባኤያችን ይህንን ጉዳይ ትኩረት ሰጥቶና አጥርቶ (ውሳኔ አሳልፎ) እንደሚወጣና እነዚህንና መሰሎቻቸው ከሚያራምዱት አቋም ጋር ጠራርጐ እንደሚያስወግድልን ተስፋ እናደርጋለን። በዚህም እያንዳንዱ እንደከዚህ ቀደሙ የተለመደ አስተዋፅኦ (ሚና) እንደሚያበረክት አንጠራጠርም።
በተጨማሪ ከጀርባ ሆኖ የዚህ አፍራሽ ዋና ቀያሽ መሃንዲስ ስብሃት ነጋ መሆኑን ደርሰንበታል።»
ከመቀሌ…..

Ethiopia: Rise of the Chee-Hippo Generation

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

The Silent World of Hippos on Planet Cheetah

In my first weekly commentary of the new year, I “proclaimed” 2013 “Year of Ethiopia’s Cheetah Generation” (young people). I also promised to reach, teach and preach to Ethiopia’s youth this year and exhorted members of the Ethiopian intellectual class (particularly the privileged “professorati”) to do the same. I have also been pleading with (some say badgering) the wider Ethiopian Hippo Generation (the lost generation) to find itself, get in gear and help the youth.

The SOS I put out in June 2012 (Where have Ethiopia’s Intellectuals Gone?) and now (The Irresponsibility of the Privileged) has been unwelcomed by tone deaf and deaf mute “Hippogenarians”. My plea for standing up and with the victims of tyranny and human rights abuses has been received with stony and deafening silence. I have gathered anecdotally that some Hippos are offended by what they perceive to be my self-righteous and holier-than-thou finger wagging and audacious, “J’accuse!”.  Some have claimed that I am sitting atop my high horse crusading, pontificating, showboating, grandstanding and self-promoting.

There seems to be palpable consternation and anxiety among some (perhaps many) Hippos over the fact that I dared to betray them in a public campaign of name and shame and called unwelcome attention to their self-inflicted paralysis and faintheartedness. Some have even suggested that by using the seductively oversimplified metaphor of cheetahs and hippos, I have invented a new and dangerous division in society between the young and old in a land already fractured and fragmented by ethnic, religious and regional divisions. “Methinks they doth protest too much”, to invoke Shakespeare.

ከአሜሪካ የህወሓት ሰላዮች ዛቻ (ከኢየሩሳሌም አርአያ)

አሜሪካ የመሸጉ የሕወሐት ሰላዮች ዛቻና ማስፈራሪያ መሰንዘር ጀምረዋል። አልፈው ተርፈው «ክስ» እንመሰርታለን ብለዋል። ለማስፈራሪያቸው የሚበረግግ ባይኖርም - ነገር ግን ነፃነት ባለበት አሜሪካ ያሉ የፍትህ አካላት በብርሃነ፣ ስብሃት፣ በረከት፣ አዜብ አሊያም ሽመልስ….የሚሽከረከሩ መስሎዋቸው ያለሃፍረት አንደበታቸውን ሞልተው ሲደነፉና ለማሸማቀቅ ሲሞክሩ መታየታቸው …ምን ያክል የሞራል ድቀት እንደተጠናወታቸው ያሳያል። ባለፉት ወራት ከተሰነዘሩ ተራ ስድቦችና ዛቻዎች የትላንቱ ለየት የሚያደርገው ነጥብ ስላለ ነው፥ ይህችን መልክት ለመፃፍ የተገደድኩት። እነዚህ ሰዎች አሜሪካ ዋሽንግተን ዲሲ የመሸጉ የሕወሐት ሰላዮች እንደሆኑ ላሰምርበት እወዳለሁ። ከጀርባቸው ብርሃነ እንዳለ በግልፅ በአንደበታቸው አረጋግጠውልኛል። ዋናው አላማቸው ደግሞ « ሳንጋለጥ..ቀድመን እናሸማቅ፤..» ከሚል ከንቱ አስተሳሰባቸው የመነጨ ነው።

እናንተ በንፁሃን ደም የታጠባቹ ወንጀለኛ የብርሃነ ጀሌዎች፥ የፈለጋችሁትን ብትደረድሩ እናንተን ከማጋለጥ ወደኋላ የሚያፈገፍግ ብዕር የለም!! በአሜሪካ ተቀምጣችሁ ከምትፈፅሙት የስለላ ወንጀል ባሻገር ያለው የጀርባ ጉድፍ ታሪካችሁ ገና አልተነካም። ከአገራችን ባህል ውጭ በሚያሳፍር ፀያፍ ተግባር ተዘፍቃችሁ … በሴት እህቶቻችን ላይ ስትፈፅሙ የነበረው የቡድንና የተናጠል…የአመንዝራ -ሴሰኛ ድርጊታችሁ የማይታወቅ መስሎዋችሁ ከሆነ ተሳስታችኋል። በመንግስት ቢሮዎች ጭምር ምን አይነት ርካሽ ተግባር ስትፈፅሙ እንደነበረ የተሟላ ማስረጃ እንዳለ ልትገነዘቡ ይገባል። የምታመልኳቸውና የምታገለግሏቸው አገር ቤት ያሉ አለቆቻቹ ሁለት እህትማማቾችን በአንድ ሌሊት ከተገናኙዋቸው በኋላ አንገታቸውን በሰይፍ ቀልተው እልም ካለ ገደል ውስጥ የጨመሩ አረመኔዎች እንደሆኑና እናተም የእነርሱ«ዱካ» ተከታዮች እንደሆናችሁ ተግባራችሁ ይመሰክራል። ይህና ሌላው የወንጀል ተግባራችሁ በዝርዝር ለአደባባይ የሚበቃበት ጊዜ እሩቅ እንደማይሆን ልታውቁት ይገባል። ..ትላንት በአገር ቤት የተጀመረው እናንተን የማጋለጥ ሂደት ከማስጨነቅ፡በገንዘብ ለመደለል ከመሞከር ባለፈ የፌዴራል ፖሊሶችን በማሰማራት የግድያ ሙከራ ፈፅማችኋል። ለረጅም ወራት ለአልጋ ብትዳርጉም… ለተለመደው አረመኒያዊ ተግባራችሁ የተንበረከከ እንዳልነበረ ሁሉ ዛሬም የሚንበረከክ እንደሌለ ልታውቁ ይገባል። በጣም የሚገርመው «ክብራችን ተነካ» ለማለት መዳዳታቸው ነው፤ ለመሆኑ ክብር ምን እንደሆነ ያውቁታል?..ለሌላው ክብር የሌለው ስለ ክብር አንስቶ መናገር እንዴት ይቻለዋል?..በአገሪቱ የተለያዩ ስፍራዎች ያፈሰሳችሁትና አሁንም የምታፈሱት የንፁሃን ደም …ክብር ያለው የሰው ልጅ እንደሆነ አታውቁም?...ለነገሩ<ጥፋት> ብቻ ከተጠናወተው አዕምሮ ፥ ምንም መጠበቅ አይቻልም።