Ethiopian Foreign Minister fled the scene on foot

The Horn Times Breaking News 29 March 2013
By Getahune Bekele, South Africa

Ethiopian Foreign Minister fled the scene on foot after scuffle with opposition in a South African hotel.

Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Warlord Tedros Adhanom’s 30 meters sprint to a waiting car after being separated from his body guards during scuffle with refugees must have been the most embarrassing moment of his life.

 

He lost his wallet, a note book and his glasses while sprinting like a cheetah.

 The warlord was in South Africa to meet TPLF cadres and supporters at Hyatt hotel in Rose bank near Johannesburg when angry refugees and members of the Ethiopian community association get crashed the gathering which was being attended by less than 50 TPLF cadres out of an estimated 3,000 believed to be living in South Africa.

The rest stayed away fearing the opposition and the reaction of the South African government which unknowingly offered them political asylum.

Oromo struggle pioneers embrace Ethiopian struggle for justice & democracy

SEATTLE - Pioneers of the Oromo nationalist struggle have mapped out a new path that embraces the struggle of all oppressed Ethiopians for social justice and democracy.

In a statement released to the media on Friday, the Oromo Democratic Front (ODF) emphasized that the destiny of the Oromo people has never been different from the destiny of the rest of the Ethiopian people. The ODF underscored that the interests of the Oromo people are equally shared by the rest of the people of Ethiopia. In a nutshell, the statement said:

"We also believe 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."

The ODF called on various political organizations, including the ruling party EPRDF, to join forces that would guarantee durable peace and stability in the country.
Following is the full text of the ODF Declaration:
* * * * * *

We, members of the Founding Congress of the Oromo Democratic Front (ODF), announce the launching of a new Oromo political movement that advocates justice for the Oromo and all other nations in Ethiopia. The founding of ODF ushers in a new phase in the Oromo nationalist struggle with the objective of working for the transformation of the Ethiopian state into a truly democratic multinational federation equitably owned by all the nations.

Meles had no bank account, Azeb Mesfin says

Delegates of the ninth convention of the ruling EPRDF party have shown their dissatisfaction over a eulogy written for their late leader, Meles Zenawi, while some were critical of the quality of its writing and completeness of the content.

Translated from Tigrigna, the eulogy was first presented to the congress of the TPLF, held in Meqelle two weeks ago, before it was presented to over 1,000 delegates at the conclusion of the ruling coalition’s convention on Tuesday, held in Bahir Dar.

The first to voice such disappointment over the organization of the eulogy and its content structure was Meles’s widow. Elected to the political bureau of the TPLF for the second time and to the all too powerful Executive Committee of the EPRDF, Azeb Mesfin was displeased to see the eulogy incomplete.

Some of the points she argued as missed are Meles’s place, role and the contributions he made as an Editor-in-Chief of the party’s ideological organ, Addis Ra’ey. Azeb feels that the contributions Meles had made in originating the idea of forming a training facility for the rank and file, now directed by Addisu Legesse, and the manual he develop ought to be forcefully underlined.

Azeb defended her late husband’s legacy in relations to how he had handled the conflict and the subsequent war with Eritrea. Despite condemnations from his political opponents due to his heritage, Azeb told delegates that Meles had never negotiated on the national interests of Ethiopia.

“Not even for a second,” Azeb told delegates rather emphatically.

Ban Ki-moon appoints Tegegnework Gettu of Ethiopia for top UN position

25 March 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Tegegnework Gettu of Ethiopia as the new Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM), it was announced today.

With about 1,200 staff at United Nations Headquarters in New York and 2,200 worldwide, including the conference management staff at the UN Offices at Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi, DGACM is the largest department in the UN Secretariat.

Among the department’s staff are committee secretaries and research clerks, meeting planners and protocol officers, translators and verbatim reporters, interpreters and editors, graphic designers and printers, conference officers and administrators.

According to the announcement, Mr. Gettu brings to his new position “analytical skills and proven operational capacity on the ground and at headquarters, managing complex organizational structures and leading effectively large departments in challenging environments.”

He has over 30 years of increasingly responsible management experience in the development field, at both the national and international levels, including academia, government and private sector.

Prime Minister Bereket Simon

Amanuel Biedemariam

After the late genocidal dictator Meles Zenawi was rumored to have been sick, incapacitated or dead, Bereket Simon used the time cunningly to direct the course of the current Ethiopian political direction to suit his needs and the needs of few of his close allies. I have in the past written that “the End of TPLF is here”; and current political developments in Ethiopia prove that in deed, has happened. TPLF revolution, Gedli Tigray is over, caput because Bereket Simon is the undisputed victor for now.

Gedli Tigray died when the TPLF abandoned their number one agenda, Greater Tigray (Abay Tigray) after they decided to rule Ethiopia instead of Tigray. As Ambassador Cohen stated, the minority hegemony in Ethiopia is unsustainable.  However, and unfortunately for the people of Ethiopia, the minority regime was able to hold-on to power using force, intimidation and by rigging elections. They managed for a while by dividing the nation along ethnic lines and with the blessing of Western donors that funded the dictatorship unreservedly in pursuit of their agendas and interests.

The disappearance of Meles Zenawi fueled speculations about succession and the country’s future. The cloud of secrecy favored one person and that person is information Minister Bereket Simon who used the time to plot Ethiopia’s future political makeup and leadership. Bereket’s agenda are based on his need for his personal safety, since he has made many enemies from within the political circles of TPLF. And to ensure that the successors are friendly to him as well as his allies.

Egypt and Ethiopia Heading Toward a War Over Water by Mustafa al-Labbad

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politic ... z2OXAAPw1k

Egypt and Ethiopia Heading Toward a War Over Water
By Mustafa al-Labbad Translated from As-Safir (Lebanon).

In the coming years, Egypt and Ethiopia may be forced to fight a “water war” because Ethiopia’s ambitions contradict Egypt’s historical and legal rights in the Nile waters. Ethiopia can only be deterred by the regional and international balance of powers, which in recent years has favored Ethiopia.

For any Egyptian government, Egypt’s water share and securing the Nile’s headwaters are the top national security priorities, irrespective of the Egyptian government’s ideology or domestic policies. This fact is dictated by geography. For thousands of years, Egyptian rulers have been aware how important water is for Egypt. Water is the lifeline of Egypt (97.5% of Egypt is barren desert). Egyptian rulers have always used any means to defend their country’s historic rights to the Nile waters. As Greek historian Herodotus said, “Egypt is the gift of the Nile.” Egyptian civilization, which is one of history’s greatest civilizations, depends on the Nile. To illustrate the Nile’s importance, we should remember that Egypt is the largest desert oasis in the world. Life in Egypt is concentrated on the river banks where 90 million people live. In short, any Egyptian government should have one eye on the Horn of Africa — on Ethiopia, where the source of the Nile lies — and another eye on the Sinai Peninsula and the Levant, and the balance of power there. History has shown that most of Egypt’s invaders entered through that door.

The Dragon Eating the Eagle’s Lunch in Africa? y Prof. Al. Mariam

Flight of the Eagle and pursuit of the Dragon

In June 2011, during her visit to Zambia U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton pulled the alarm bell on a creeping “new colonialism” in Africa. While dismissing “China’s Model” of authoritarian state capitalism as a governance model for Africa, she took a swipe at China for its unprincipled opportunism in Africa. “In the long-run, medium-run, even short-run, no I don’t [think China is a good model of governance in Africa]…We saw that during colonial times, it is easy to come in, take out natural resources, pay off leaders and leave, …And when you leave, you don’t leave much behind for the people who are there. We don’t want to see a new colonialism in Africa…”

It seems the Eagle has finally taken a good look at the sidewinding Dragon eating its lunch in Africa. The U.S. is in stiff competition not only in Africa but also in the “world’s least explored” country. Clinton minced no words in telling the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “We are in a competition for influence with China; let’s put aside the moral, humanitarian, do-good side of what we believe in, and let’s just talk straight realpolitik… Take Papua New Guinea: huge energy find … ExxonMobil is producing it. China is in there every day in every way, trying to figure out how it’s going to come in behind us, come under us.”

For the past decade, the U.S. has been nonchalant and complacent about China’s “invasion” and lightning-fast penetration of Africa. It was a complacency born of a combination of underestimation, miscalculation, hubris and dismissive thinking that often comes with being a superpower. But the U.S. is finally reading the memo.

የመቐለው ዘጋቢ “አሸባሪ” ተባለ

የሰሞኑን የህወሃት ስብሰባ እና ውሎ ከመቐለ ሲዘግብ የነበረው አብርሃ ደስታ፤ በህወሃት ሰዎች ማስፈራሪያ እና ዛቻ እንደደረሰበት ገለጸ። ከዚህም በተጨማሪ በኢትዮጵያ የፌስ ቡክ አካውንቱንም እንዳይሰራ አድርገውበት ነበር። አብርሃ ስለሰሞኑ ውሎው ውንዲህ በማለት ጽፏል።

! …….. “ኣሸባሪ” ነኝ ………..!

ትናንት በሰሩት ነገር ገርሞኝ ወድያ ወዲህ ስል ስለ ህወሓት ጉባኤ መረጃ ኣላሰባሰብኩም ነበር። ወደ ማታ ኣከባቢ በማላውቀው ስልክ ተደወለልኝ። ከተወሰነ ሰጣገባ በኋላ “ኣንተ ኣሸባሪ ነህ። በኣሸባሪነት እንደምንትያዝ ኣትጠራጠር” ኣለኝ።

“ኣዎ ኣሸባሪ ነኝ። ያሸበርኳቹ ያህል ነው የሚሰማኝ። ምክንያቱም ባላሸብራቹ ኑሮ የኔን ፌስቡክ ለማስዘጋት ባልተረባረባቹ ነበር” መለስኩለት።

ስልኩን ጀሮየ ላይ ጥርቅም ኣድርጎ ዘጋው።

“ለካ እንዲህ ለነፃነት የሚቆሙ፣ የፈለጉትን የሚፅፉ፣ ስለ ፍትሕ የሚዘምሩ ግለሰዎች ናቸው ‘ኣሸባሪ’ ተብለው በኣምባገነን ገዢዎች የሚሰየሙት” ስል ኣሰላሰልኩ። “ኣሸባሪ” የሚለውን ስም ወድጀዋለሁ። “ኣሸባሪ” መሆን ደስ ይላል። ጥያቄው መሆን ያለበት ‘የሚሸበረው ኣካል ማነው?’ (ሰለማዊ ህዝብ ወይስ ገዢው መደብ) ነው። ምናልባት እኔ “ኣሸባሪ” ከተባልኩ በኔ የተሸበረው ገዢው ፓርቲ ብቻ ነው።

ግን ገዢው መደብ የሚያሸብሩ ሰዎች ሌላ ስም ሊሰጣቸው ይገባል እላለሁ። ምክንያቱም መሪዎቻችን ስልጣናቸውን ያለ ኣግባብ ተጠቅመው ሰለማዊ ህዝብ ሲያሸብሩ ምን ብለን ልንሰይማቸው ነው? መንግስትን የሚቃወም “ኣሸባሪ” ከተባለ፣ ህዝብን በጭቆና የሚያሸብር ባለስልጣንስ ????

ከጭቆና በላይ ሽብር የለም። ምክንያቱም ጭቆና ማስፈራራት፣ ግድያ ……… ምናምን (ሰው ፈርቶና ተሸብሮ ሳይቃወም እንዲገዛ ለማድረግ የሚደረጉ ጥረቶች የሽብር ተግባራት ናቸው)። “ሽብር” ማለት’ኮ ኣንድ ኣካል ራሱ የሚፈልገውን ተግባር በሌሎች ሃይል በመጠቀም ወይ በማስፈራራት ለመጫን ሲሞክር ነው። ሌሎችን እያስፈራራ ያለው ማነው??? እኔ ወይስ ገዢው ፓርቲ? ኣሸባሪ ማነው? ማነው ሰለማዊ ዜጎችን በማፈን እያሸበረ ያለው?

በህወሓት መሪዎች ምርጫ የትግራይ ህዝብ ኣሳዘነ (Abraha Desta from Mekele)

ኣንድ
በቅድመ ጉባኤ ስብሰባቸው፣ ሁለቱም ቡድኖች ልዩነታቸውን ለማጥበብ ‘የመተካካት መርህ’ እንደሚተገብሩ ቃል ገብተው ነበር። ከሁለቱም ቡድኖች የተወሰኑ እንደሚቀነሱ (የቀሩ ደግሞ ስልጣን እንደ ሚከፋፈሉ) ስምምነት ነበር። ሸምጋዮቹ ኣዲሱ ለገሰ፣ ሃይለማርያም ደሳለኝና ቴድሮስ ኣድሓኖም (በረከት ስምዖንም እጅ ነበረው) የነ ኣባይ ወልዱ ኣደረጃጀት ስለተረዱ በነ ኣርከበ ቡድን ጫና ፈጥረዋል። የሸምጋዮቹ ኣቋም ‘ህወሓት መከፋፈል የለበትም፤ ህወሓት ከተዳከመ ኢህኣዴግ ኣቅሙ ይዳከማል፣ ስለዚ compromise ማድረግ ኣለባቹ’ የሚል ነበር። ግዝያዊ ሽምግልናው ሰራና ወደ ጉባኤ ተገባ።
ሁለት
የነ ኣባይ ወልዱ ቡድን ራሱ የመለመላቸው ጉባኤተኞች (በራስ ኣለመተማመን ይመስላል) በስብሰባው 1ለ5 ኣደረጃጀት (የድርጅት ስራ) ተግባራዊ በማድረግ እነሆ የነ ኣርከበ ቡድን መምታት ችለዋል። ዕቅዱ የነ ኣርከበ ቡድን ሙሉ በሙሉ ከስራ ኣስፈፃሚነት ማስወገድ ነበር።
በጉባኤው ‘የመለስ ታሪክና ራእይ’ የኣንድ ቀን ሙሉ ኣጀንዳ ነበር። ‘የመለስ ራእይ’ ተብለው የሚነገሩ ፖሊሲና ስትራተጂዎች በቡድኖቹ ልዩነት ፈጥረው ሲያከራክሩ ውለዋል። ኣንዱ ቡድን ‘የመለስ ራእይ ሳይከለስ ሳይበረዝ መተግበር ኣለበት’ ሲል (እነ ኣባይና ኣዜብ) ሌላኛው ደግሞ ‘መለስ የራሱ ሚና ተጫውተዋል፣ ሁሉም የህወሓት ታሪክ ለመለስ መስጠት ግን የሰማእታት ሚና ማራከስ ይሆንብናል’ ተብሏል (የነ ኣርከበ ቡድን)።
ኣርከበ ‘መለስን ኣታካብዱት የራሳችሁን ታሪክ ስሩ’ (ቃል በቃል ኣይደለም) የሚል ሓሳብ ሲያንፀባርቅ፣ ስዩም መስፍን ደግሞ ‘መለስ ጥሩ ነገር ሰርተዋል ግን በዲፕሎማሲ እሱ የሰራውን ካለ ‘እስቲ የሰራቸውን ነገሮች ዘርዝሩልኝ’ ዓይነት ኣንድምታ ያለው ሓሳብ ሲሰጥ የመለስን ሚና ኣታጋንኑት ለማለት ነበር። ነገር ግን የስዩምን ሓሳብ በኢቲቪና ሬድዮ ፋና ሲቀርብ መለስን ያሞካሸበት ሓሳብ ኣስመስለው እንዳቀረቡት ስምቻለሁ።
ባጠቃላይ ልዩነታቸው ግልፅ ነበር። የነ ኣርከበ ቡድን በነ ኣባይ ወልዱ የተደራጀ 1ለ5 ታክቲክ ተረድተውታል። እንደሚሸነፉ ገብቷቸዋል። ተመካከሩ። በምርጫ ተሸንፈዋል ከሚባሉ ራሳቸው እንድያገሉ (እንዲቀነሱ) ተገደዱ። ጥሩ ማምለጫ ኣገኙ፤ ‘ተገንጥለው ወጡ’ ወይ ምርጫ ተሸነፉ ከሚባሉ ‘በፍቃደኝነት ተሰናበቱ’ ቢባሉ ይሻላል።
ከተቀነሱ ዘጠኝ ሰዎች ሰባቱ የነ ኣርከበ ናቸው። ኣንዱ የነ ኣባይ ወልዱ ሲሆን ኣንድ ደግሞ ከመሃል ሰፋሪዎች ነው። ጸጋይ በርሀ እንዲቀነስ ታስቦ የነበረ ቢሆንም ባልታወቀ ምክንያት ንጉሰ ገበረ ተቀነሰ። ከተመረጡት 45 የህወሓት ማእከላዊ ኮሚቴ ኣባላት ዘጠኙ ሲቪል እንደሆኑ ከመንግስት ሚድያ ሰምተናል። ዘጠኝ ከኣርባ ኣምስት ትንሽ ነው። ይባስ ብሎ ደግሞ እነዚህ ሲቪሎች የኣለቆቻቸው ታማኝ ኣገልጋዮች የነበሩ ናቸው። በራሳቸው መቆም የሚችሉ ኣይደልም።